#sorry just being sappy on main don't mind me

[queer-reader-07]

just out here reminding myself that the core of my belief system is faith in the human story

[fanaticsnail]

I have no words because I have been thinking about an Anastasia Au with one piece for so long. It's literally the perfect movie for it. This is courtesy of one of my favorite scenes from Anastasia.

Shanks: Stop fiddling with that thing. Sit up straight. Remember you're a grand duchess.

Y/N: *slouches and crosses arms* How is it that you know what grand Duchess' do or don't do?

Shanks: I make it my business to know. 😏

Y/N: Oh..😒

Shanks: Look, I'm just trying to help, alright?

Beckmann: *rolls eyes*

Y/N: Shanks, Do you really think I'm Royalty?

Shanks: You know I do

Y/N: Then stop bossing me around.

Beckman: *smirks* She certainly has a mind of her own.

Shanks: *jokingly* Yeah. I hate that in a woman.

Y/N: *sticks out tongue*

Beckmann: *slyly takes out paper and gives Y/N two tally marks*

Shank Y/N

IIIII II IIIII IIIII

IIIII II

(Sidenote: I'm sorry I have written that Beckmann fic I told you about, I've been so busy. 🥲~🌈🎶)

The way I am desperate to write this scene in particular 🥹👌.

There are a couple of things holding me back from deep diving into this concept:

Finishing Sapsorrow for Mihawk, starting Sands of Time for Sir Crocodile and Forge in Gold for the Donquixote Brothers. I have written a little bit for the latter two - but I really wanna finish the first one before I fall down the rabbit hole of a new series. Because, lets face it, this is gonna be a series.

Naming a Reader: considering the concept has a named princess in mind, I would have to give them a name to aim for. The way I'd go about it is giving them an incredibly long, titled name that they believe themselves is too obnoxious to refer to themselves that way. I don't write "y/n" or "name" or "reader" for the insert to refer to themselves as their working station title (boatswain, counsellor, chronicler) or a pet name. I dunno why, but I do. Not sure how to go about it. Might have Shanks call her "Brat" or "Bossy", and have Beckman call her "Princess" or "Ms Royalty" - I dunno, I'm open to suggestions!!

Shanks is an enigma. He's not one of the main ones I write for, mostly because of my love for his first mate. I need to really focus on his character to get a grasp on him. I feel like he's suited best for this concept, so I'll be running with him. Just gotta think real hard.

The Villain: I need Buggy to be Bartok so bad. So, so bad. But I don't want to villainize Sir Crocodile, which could make the most sense as a scheming advisor. I would have to make them an OC, and that will take a little bit of time. Smol-Snail (@since-im-already-here) might have some thoughts, huh sis? (Help me, bestie. You have the best ideas for concepts. See "WhEn aRe YoU gOnnA WriTe THe SapSoRRoW FIc")

My WIP list is expanding with an insane amount of requests being chucked in my ask box. I feel like I should close requests for now so I can get through those. It's getting a little overwhelming, truthfully.

BUT I WILL WRITE THIS! Fairytale Aus and romance are my thing, and I love them. Sappy romance, twists and turns, dialogue banter - I love it.

@since-im-already-here, @writingmysanity & @lightningstriker deserve a Shanks series, especially with a childhood favourite.

[sirenlulls]

she's thunderstorms → g. gallagher

pairing —gene gallagher x albarn!reader (diana silvers face claim!)

summary —where you're the best nepo baby pairing there is

she's been loop-the-looping around my mind. her motorcycle boots give me this kind of acrobatic blood, concertina

♡ liked by lilamoss, inhalerdublin, and 99,863 others

yourusername lots of smiles this week 😇🫶

gracieabrams ur the loml

↳ yourusername hihihi wife

genegallagher Deleting this would be a bad idea

↳ yourusername thanks for the advice king 🙏🙏

genegallagher Keep blessing the feed

↳ yourusername the grind never stops 😮‍💨

gallagher_anais the second pic speaks to me

↳ yourusername hmmmm maybe bcs you took it?

user ur so stunning omg

user the ultimate sunshine girlie

user mother!!!

user hey *leaning against me 21 porsches and fixing my ysl jumper while the light reflects off of my 50 rolexes*

irisapatow obsessed with u

user when's the new pod episode out?

↳ yourusername tomorrow!! xx

ruby1kid Such an angel!!!! Never stop smiling gorgeous girl 😆❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

↳ yourusername love you xxx

damonalbarn Always love to see you smiling ❤️

↳ yourusername love u forever dad 🫶🥹

user she's actually perfect wtf

genegallagher just posted an instagram story!

♡ liked by gallagher_anais, stellajones, and 21,556 others

genegallagher Y/n told me to post because I give "major Phoebe Bridgers energy"

yourusername omg 🤭🤭

yourusername can i have ur number??

↳ genegallagher No I've got a gf xx

↳ yourusername smh all boys are the same ur not even that cute anyway

yourusername phoebe my queen 😍😍

yourusername love u a little bit

↳ genegallagher Love you a lot xx

liamgallagher Bumbaclarts

ruby1kid So gorgeous xx

user he looks like he's about to tell me im sick, and im married, and i might be dying, but im holding him like water in my hands

user need someone to hype me up the way y/n hypes gene up fr

user THE LAST PIC!!!! MUM AND DAD

user hottest couple ever omg

damonalbarn ❤️

liked by genegallagher

♡ liked by ryanmcmahon_15, gracebrns, and 101,489 others

yourusername fooled around n fell in love or whatever elvin bishop said

genegallagher Cute or whatevz 🥱

↳ yourusername k...

liamgallagher Sappy bastards

↳ yourusername see u sunday king lg 🫶

genegallagher Honoured to be posted with that song

↳ yourusername you deserve it 💞

genegallagher 7/10 post, should have more you

↳ yourusername sorry to disappoint 💔

↳ genegallagher Don't let it happen again smh 😔

ruby1kid Awwww!!! Love you little angels so much!!! Sending kisses xx ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

↳ genegallagher We love you too xx

↳ yourusername you have to come over sometime soon 🫶🫶

damonalbarn Gross 🤮🤣

↳ yourusername breaking my heart old man 💔

bobbyskeetz might be sick

↳ yourusername shut up u loser

↳ bobbyskeetz oh how you wound me

user sorry y/n and rob interaction giving me war flashbacks to gene being petty on main after he jokingly flirted with y/n

↳ user OMG STOP THE WHOLE "she likes drummers" STORY CAPTION HES SO CHILDISH I WAS WEAK

user going deep sea diving with ankle weights!!

user will never get over the shock of realising she wasn't for the girls

user how am i supposed to live knowing i'll never have this

user never beating the parents allegations i'm afraid

genegallagher just posted an instagram story!

[in-search-of-a-fallen-star]

hello friends!! this is a psa- i've changed my url, pseud and pronouns!

Kaia ➡ Vesper

they/she ➡ they/them

kaiapaia ➡ in-search-of-a-fallen-star

@strawberrystepmom @ohtokki @kitashousewife sorry, i hope you don't mind me tagging you! just wanted to keep you in the loop so you're not surprised when i interact!

i'll put the sappy details under a readmore, but i just wanted to put this out there. reblogs would be appreciated!

i got the notification from tumblr this spring that my blog turned 8 years old this year. i've been thinking about it for months- this blog started out as an archive for my photography, when i was first starting to explore the arts. it's changed a lot since then, and to be honest, so have i.

in 8 years, i've graduated high school, graduated college, moved away from home, traveled alone for the first time, went to my first Pride celebration, and really started understanding and exploring my own identity.

i am finally in a place where i feel comfortable being really myself. i understand why the community calls it 'gender euphoria'- there's no better word to describe how it feels when people call me by the right name, or use the right pronouns for me in conversation. it feels like i can take a deep breath for the first time.

so let me reintroduce myself. hi, my name is Vesper, or Ves for short. i am a nonbinary bisexual (never beating the indecisive allegations), my favorite color is blue, i main Waluigi in MarioKart and i have the soggiest star chart known to man.

if you've made it this far, i just want to say thank you. being a part of this community, falling back in love with writing (even if i'm really slow at actually writing things), and making wonderful friends has been an incredible part of the 8 years i've been on this hellsite.

love you guys <3 happy pride!!

[aemehhh]

Heya! I don’t usually wrote requests so sorry if I come off as awkward😅 I was wondering if you could write a small thing about gorino being with someone who’s insecure about their height

I’m 5’10 and sometimes I just feel down about it Yknow? I don’t feel desirable because guys prefer short girls or whatever, if this is to much you can completely ignore this. I do really enjoy your work btw<33

YAY!! I got my first ever request!!! :D

It's definitely not too much to ask, I think this is an amazing request! I had to ask some of my tall girlie friends about their experiences, because I am on the opposite end of the height-spectrum 💀 This is also a little rushed, so I'm sorry if it doesn't meet your expectations!

Also, I am so sorry I took so long to write the request! I hope you had a wonderful start to the new year!

Little message to the Readers in general; I just want everybody to know, you're absolutely gorgeous, no matter your height!!!

Giorno is ~20 and Reader and him are engaged, so it's an established relationship :3

Giorno with a tall! fem! Reader

Wc: 905, a short lil thing!

———————————————————————

This day was genuine ass. You went shopping with you friend and genuinely couldn't find a single piece of clothing that looked good or that fit right. Jeans that looked perfect on your shorter friend were way above your ankle on yourself and the long-sleeved shirts you tried, since winter is approaching, just looked so weird on you. You didn't even attempt to look for shoes, instead you told your friend you were going home because of an "emergency".

And there you were, sitting on your bed, cuddled up in a blanket and reading a book in order to distract you from the loud voice of insecurity that rang in the back of your head. Turns out the book wasn't helping, though.

It was a regular romance book, sappy as shit and a slow-burn. Usually you ate these up like crazy, but the main character was described as a short, beautiful woman. There it was again; having to lean up on your tip-toes to kiss your partner, your partner looking down at you, all those things that were considered super cutesy and desirable. You weren't that. You threw the book on the bedside table with a mad huff, throwing your blanket over your head.

Fuck, no, you're literally taller than your beautiful, angel of a fiancé. You lean down slightly when you kiss him, and you don't have to stand on your tip-toes in order to hug him. You just knew the nonnas on the streets send judging looks your way when they see you two holding hands.

Speaking of your fiancé, he entered your shared bedroom, seemingly home from whatever job he had today. You were aware Giorno most-likely already knew you didn't buy anything today; you've seen his subordinate follow you around the whole time. To be frank, you kinda signed up for constant supervision when you started dating the Don of Passione.

"Cara mia, are you alright?" Giorno spoke softly, he always does so with you. His voice held the upmost adoration for you; a tone nobody got to hear, but you. He knelt down on the floor by your bedside and lifted your blanket slightly to look at you. His beautiful, bright eyes met yours as he took your hand into his.

"Just a bad day, don't mind me, my love." You spoke and sat up. You felt Giorno's hand grasp yours just a tad tighter.

"I do mind, though. Something is bothering you, I can see that clear as day. Alessandro told me you didn't get yourself anything today either. What's the matter, amore? Please let me know so I can take some of the burden off of your heart." Giorno reached up and put his hand on your cheek oh-so gently. His touch was full of love, as usual.

You averted your gaze to your sheets. You felt stupid for thinking the way you do. You know all too well that Giorno loves you more than anything in this world, but you don't feel as desirable as other women. They would look so much better by his side, so why did he choose you?

You were silent for a little while, but then you started to feel guilty. Not telling him would make him feel as though you didn't trust him, which you did. So, you took a deep breath and told him everything. You spoke about your shopping trip; how it made you insecure about your height again and then about how your book made it worse. All in all, your head really wasn't up in the clouds and by the end, you almost had tears pricking in the corner of your eyes, which you tried masking by blinking a lot and looking at the ceiling.

Giorno noticed, of course. He stroked your cheek gently and pressed a kiss to the back of your hand before he spoke again.

"Amore, you're the most beautiful woman that has walked this earth. I do not care about your height in the slightest. I love you more than I have ever loved anything ever before. If these measly, cheap stores do not carry clothes appropriate for you, I will hire the designers personally to tailor the perfect clothing for you. If someone looks at you the wrong way, consider them dead tomorrow. There is nothing that would stop me from making sure you're comfortable and happy. You're the light of my life, the ray of sunshine in the early mornings of a beautiful summer day and I wish, I so wish you would see yourself in the way that I see you. You're perfect to me in every way, my love. Just seeing you smile makes my heart fill with so much joy, I wish to scream it out to the whole world. Sono pazzo di te, tesoro." Giorno's voice was filled with sincerity as he put a hand to your chin, gently tilting your head to face his eyes again. He then smiled and gave you a gentle peck on the lips before getting on the bed on top of you to hug you tightly.

Giorno's words made you smile as you returned his embrace, croaking out a quiet "I love you" before burying your head in the juncture between his neck and shoulder.

In a world that doesn't see your worth, Giorno worships the very ground you walk on. He vows to do so until the day he dies.

[netherfeildren]

hiiii idk why i’m weirdly nervous to even send this ask bc you’re truly my favorite writer. i was wondering if you would ever consider writing a (joel x reader) story without smut? or maybe not fully without it, just not focused or centered on the actual sex? i can’t really articulate what i’m saying, i’m sorry. please don’t get me wrong, i think i would die without having your smut to read, but i just love your writing so much and think about it so often and the parts that always stick with me are the tender moments, the emotional turmoil, the intimacy. so i always wonder what a full story like that from you would be like? idk i really hope you don’t take this the wrong way because i truly love and won’t stop reading anything you write. idk i feel like such a sappy nerd for even saying this out loud. i hope you get what i’m trying to say, and don’t take this as being unappreciative of what you write, because it’s really the opposite. this is just my awkward love letter to you and your work. ok bye 🫣

hi honey, please don't feel bad or awkward at all! I think I do understand what you mean. I can see how it can kind of seem like sex is used as an emotional crutch in fic and it definitely can fee like that when writing on my end as well like... the pressure to include smut bc it engages better and garners more attention etc. I worried about that when posting the first chapter of pink, and then on the complete opposite, for a while I felt that there was too much sex in tcc and was sort of fretting over that but then told myself that it's the main way they're connecting and communicating at this point in their relationship so it makes sense for them now.... and spoiler alert, there will not be any sex for a while in that one soon. and then on the opposite side of the spectrum again, my new Joel story, I think as I'm seeing it unfold at this point, will actually be somewhat of a slowburn and there's a lot of plot details moving around in that despite the fact that the entire thing happens in the same place the whole time, there's almost no geographical movement if that makes sense. I haven't exactly worked out the nature of the sex at this point and I'm not sure if it'll be a huge focus or somewhat peripheral but this is what I know of the story thus far.

I'm not sure if this has answered your question, it probably hasn't, and I'm sorry for that. but again, please don't feel awkward at all I entirely see and understand what it is you're trying to say. will I ever be able to write a romantic relationship without sex? I'm not sure, I use sex as a crutch in relationships in real life too, lol not to show my ass on here or anything, so it would go without saying that the sentiment translates in my writing as well. I did have an idea some time ago for something with Joel when he's very young and Sarah is a newborn that was focused solely on him and I have a tiny bit on that written, perhaps that would fit your idea, perhaps I'll finish and publish one day. idk we'll see but I do promise that I will keep this in mind and think on it, and thank you for sharing your thoughts with me I really do appreciate it :)

[lollipop1141]

*sneaky jingle bells sounds as i walk in*

Hohoho?

Hello! Sorry if it's been a bit long! It has been a very busy week here, but im back and i want to know more about you!

So how are you doing?! How has this month been? I hope everything is good🤗✨ i also wanted to know if there is a special prompt that you like, or which ship is your otp so i can make a great thing for you ✨✨✨

Well, i hope you have a nice week, i will be writing back soon ❤️✨🎅🏻

Hello Santaa 👋 this month has been pretty busy with work and stuff but I don't mind those, I just mind the COLD as it is freezing over here ((my asian ass could never))

As for prompts...that's tough..uuhhh can I give you several?

So my favorite ships are as follows:

1. HEIZUHA (main ship comfort ship otp the first ship i ever wrote fanfic for)

2. KaiAo (shocker i know but tbh i love their back and forth and how Kaito just adores and teases Aoko whereas she thinks it's all just a joke for him and THE SECRET IDENTITIES I CAN'T EVEN-)

3. ShinRan (tbh they're the sappy angsty love story that I'd rather read in the manga than read fanfic for..you get me? Like, those ships that just look good as is)

Some side ships would be: Amuro/Azusa (not the fake one, but the one where Azusa finds out his real identity, BO finds them out and he has to reveal his real identity to her and they escape *chef's kiss* THE TENSION)...uhh i guess that's it?

Tbh I do love platonic relationships and dynamics between the characters tho, esp with Shinichi (the big one) being overprotective of the Detective Boys

TO THE PROMPTS

1. Secret identity au (it can be a royalty/spy au, canon/non-canon i love anything)

2. One of them shrinking 🤣

3. Found family or friendship (tbh i love the family dynamics between the characters of the show and how they would totally lay down their life to protect each other)

4. Fluff (GIVE ME ALL THE FLUFF) can be a normal daily interaction at school or an amusement park outing (only Heizuha have yet to do a canon amusement park date) or just ships interacting with each other

5. Bed sharing au

6. DCMK crossover with Miraculous Ladybug (ignore this this one's just self indulgent 🤣 unless 😳)

7. Shinichi revealing his identity to Ran/Detective Boys/police men (can be crack 😆)

8. Enemies to lovers (the classic i know but still)

...well that's long. You don't really have to use these or all of it or even one of it, but yeah these are the ones i thought of up the top of my head..

I hope you're doing well wherever you are! Also! You've yet to tell me what sort of gift im getting 👀👀

[arsynnotarson]

In your response to one of my asks, you implied that you knew who I was ("even if you are on anon it's not too hard to tell it's you"), and... I think about that a lot. It's... almost hard to believe. I mean, it could be hard for someone to tell who I am; there's not much of me outside of here, but I don't doubt you could figure it out. It's just... hard to believe you wouldn't mind, I guess. Even though you said you know who I am I'm scared to say anything personally identifiable, which is the main reason why I'm saying this; I sort of curate what I say in your inbox to try not to reveal myself... even though you said you know who I am. I mean, you can't blame me for being cautious. Of course I didn't want you to know it was me... I was scared. I am scared. All the asks I sent about why I like to talk to you, it's not that I have some kindheartedness or anything; it's because it's you! I want to make you happy! Of course you're the main person I talk to. Who else would it be? Maybe it sounds like I'm simplifying you to just your source, but it's more than that! I came here because you're Marina, yes, but like I've said, you've far surpassed my expectations! You're so kind and thoughtful and interesting and nothing makes me happier than talking to you! Maybe it was weird to come here just because of pre-existing source connections, but the ends justify the means; I don't regret it all if it means I got to know you. I knew of you within days of forming, and I tried to avoid contacting you, to just focus on the Marina I knew, the thought of her, but I couldn't help myself. It's not like I had weird intentions; I just wanted to brighten your day, say nice things to you, make you happy, but of course I got attached. Now I send you asks whenever I front. And you like me! You like my asks! You like when I talk to you! It feels incredible! It's so hard to believe. I'm sorry for being so weird. I just had to get this out. I hope none of this makes you uncomfortable. Thank you for being the best thing in my life here

aaaaa you flatter me so ヽﾐ ´∀｀ﾐノ you really poured your heart out in this one huh smiley

i didnt necessarily mean i knew who you are, just that youre remarkable; i know when i see a notification in my inbox, i expect it to be "that anon", also known as you. i do have a suspicion of who you are though, but i dont jump to conclusions quick. be as cautious as you desire. id want you to be comfortable here at the very least if you have nowhere to go.

'nd yeah, maybe i am too humble, now that i think about it. i really do hold close the enjoyment you get from me, but sometimes it buffers in my head that others could be so... like you and enjoy me. i can assure you make me happy, oveejoyed, even. not to be sappy, though!!! dont want to get too feely.

i see where youre coming from with that. you have no idea how lucky i am to have beat your source impression of me, while not even knowing what it was. being only in my inbox beats seeing me back in prehevil? now thats an accomplishment...

on the topic, do you have any source memories you think youd wanna bring up? draw the differences and similarities between ours, perhaps?

all up to you. have a good evening, 'non ^^

[chococookiez]

nightly ptv posting in random places until i see them live (123 days left!!) - not in the greatest place rn as this cold covid continues to fuck with me both physically and mentally so im gonna get really sappy and talk about how significant each album is to me cause i could write a whole essay on this. under cut cause this is gonna be long

collide with the sky was the album that got me into this band. one of my irl friends was reposting tiktoks about them, i heard the hell above transition and instantly ran to them for recommendations cause i was HOOKED. that night i think i listened to them for around 3 and a half hours straight, i think i went through the entirety of collide, selfish machines and afftd (im not sure if i finished afftd or if i looked at misadventures yet) and the only thing that stopped me from continuing the binge was a massive headache that came over me. hold on till may inspired two of my ocs as i imagined them taking the roles of both people in the song, their personalities and how that'd fit into an existing universe we (me and my friends) had. they're still the two ocs i think about the most since i connect them with ptv very often and - yknow, hyperfixation. fun fact: i timed the "im sorry but ive made up my mind" in bulls in the bronx to happen when it hit midnight on my birthday. no clue why, just thought it was cool ig

the jaws of life was the first album i owned physically, accidentally managing to acquire both the cd and the vinyl on my birthday (cd was spotted in hmv, vinyl was my grandma's gift. there's a certain cashier at that hmv that i think happened to be working that day who shares my music taste, they recommended my dad listen to them since he said he got the cd for me lmaoo) the songs on that album were the first ones my parents heard, as my dad's car has a cd player so i popped it in on the way back home. much later on due to some shenanigans involving a shitbox car thats best music source was cds and oh look ptv is the one band my mum didn't mind listening to and i had 2 of their cds (i'll talk about that later), it ended up becoming her favourite album of theirs so we'd very often listen to it on journeys even when she got her car back as it was one of the few things we shared taste wise after i took a dive bomb into rock/metal, so while its my least favourite in terms of songs as im writing this (i don't dislike them!! some of my faves are on there!!), im incredibly sentimental towards it regardless.

misadventures was the second album i owned physically, finding the cd buried in a local record shop (it has the acoustic bonuses on it!!), and i think i can sorta call it my favourite album of all time. almost every single song in that album has been put on loop at least once (i mean that very literally. every single one. except sambuka? idk, just wasn't in my head as much...) it was also involved in the shitbox car shenanigans which might have influenced my love for it too. the divine zero in particular had (and still has tbh) a strong chokehold on me, being a little too relatable for me as i was going through a very dark patch in life that im not sure is entirely over yet actually, though it at least feels like it might be. i still can't listen to that song only one time whenever it comes on, i have to replay it at least once. it was my top song on spotify and i barely even fucking use spotify. can you tell im normal about the divine zero?

tl;dr - ptv are cool. im normal about them. thumbs up emoji.

a flair for the dramatic and selfish machines, while not having a big long story behind them, have been incredibly important to me during The Cold Covid as their songs are the main ones im obsessed with currently. some noteworthy songs off them are she sings in the morning/yeah boy and doll face (ok this one's kinda silly: i found out people found the first song through osu which i hadn't played in ages and these two was some of the first plays i got in a very long time so i currently hold them very close. fun fact: i like rhythm games!), wonderless/chemical kids and mechanical brides (INCREDIBLY calming to me, go tos when i need to lower my energy levels), million dollar houses (very closely connected to one of the two hold on till may connected ocs) and fast times at clairemont high (ok it's just a banger to me. the high notes make me fucking feral and i listened to the song 10 times in a row once. oops)

[sns-tropes]

can you write/rec a sappy sasuke fic? one where he’s all lovey-dovery because that would make me MELT

I know this prompt is old but i literally LOVE this. more sappy, emotionally stunted sasuke. i set this in a universe where no one grew up and got married and had kids, and they're all just big gay adults chilling in konoha.

this might not be exactly what you want because i feel like the only way sasuke would get like this without too much ooc is if he was mean first, so that's what we're working with here.

-jeni

He didn't know how to say it. He didn't know how to say much of anything around Naruto. So of course, he said nothing at all. It was hard to say anything nice to him. So rude things came out instead. He always wondered why he felt the need to take things so far. Be so mean, throw jabs with fury behind them. Just for the sake of saying them. Because that's what they do. That's what they're used to.

Sometimes it's even funny. Until it's not.

Naruto has been avoiding him. It's been a couple days. Sasuke waits for him at the ramen shop. They always meet here at this time on the same night every week. He knows Naruto has a lot of work, being Hokage and all, but he usually never misses this. It's they're only time to catch up and maybe push each other buttons a little.

Sasuke's mind flashes back to last night. He's wondering if maybe it was a little too much what he said to Naruto. Sasuke's gotten more talkative now that he's approaching his 30's. Which feels... fine. But sometimes it gets him into trouble. It makes staying close to Naruto easier. Also makes it pretty easy to push him away.

They had a case land on Naruto's desk last week. A missing-nin. Kids been gone about two weeks with a tragic past to match his disappearance. It's all very serious. Of course it is. So Why Sasuke felt the need to open his big mouth and make a joke, he's not quite sure. He cringes slightly as he remembers, tea getting cold in front of him.

"yeah, seems we don't all have someone who's obsessed with us enough to drag us back home every week."

He did not mean it like that. He really didn't. It sounded funnier in his head. Naruto looks up, a little dejected at first, as if the words were a slap. Then he turned his nose back down to his work, seemingly determined to not acknowledge the comment.

"Is this all the paperwork on the kid?" He had asked, voice turning very serious, all business.

"That's everything." Sasuke had told him, feeling very out of his depth suddenly.

He should apologize. Because he doubts that Naruto will show up if he hasn't yet. He's probably still in his office.

Sasuke pays for his tea quickly and practically speed walks back to the main office complex. He feels kind of stupid. How he still doesn't pick up on when people are upset quicker, he's not sure.

He knocks, Hears a mumble to come in. Naruto is exactly where he thought he would be. Knee deep in work at his desk, eyes rimmed red a bit, sleep deprived.

"You missed ramen." Sasuke accuses. Not a great opener.

"Yeah. Sorry. Lots to do here."

"It's fine." He still feels awkward. Doesn't know what to say.

"Was there something else, new intel on the missing-nin?"

"No, nothing."

"Then, what is it?" He sighs out, slightly irritated. Overworked. Suppressing something.

Sauske lets a beat pass, steels himself. Knows it will be worth it if he tells himself to stop being awful for just five minutes and just be honest with himself about how he really feels.

"I- uh. I'm sorry."

"What?" Still not looking up. God, Sasuke just wants him to look at him.

"I'm sorry for what I said."

Naruto looks even more upset now, brows knitting together confliction. His eyes seem to be glazed over, he just looks so burnt out. Sasuke is suddenly feeling like such an idiot for not seeing how close to home this would hit Naruto.

"Hey," Sasuke rounds Naruto's desk, turning his office chair, making Naruto face him. He gets down onto the rug, kneeling to Naruto's level, making him see the look in his eyes. "Hey, look at me."

Like a fucking blessing from the gods, Naruto finally does.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you last night. I didn't mean it like that." He takes Naruto's hands, squeezes them slightly. "I wasn't trying to make fun of you."

It almost looks like Naruto is shutting down even more. It's not enough to make it better. God, he's never doing enough.

"You loved me enough to find me."

That gets his attention. Sasuke can't tear his eyes away, he has to make this better.

"I did. I do." Naruto says slowly, quietly, but not lacking any conviction.

"Someone loves this kid enough too." Sasuke says. He doesn't quite know where it came from but somehow he knows it's true.

"You think so?" He asks, eyes welling up a little more.

Sasuke could cry at the very waver in Naruto's voice. He can't be the strong one for them all the time, that much is clear. Sasuke can take that place for bit.

"I know so." He runs his hand through the back of Naruto hair, holding his head gently, takes the liberty of planting a soft kiss on his head. "We'll find him."

"Okay." Naruto breathes out tiredly, agreeing. "We'll find him."

Sasuke takes the opportunity to drag Naruto away from his work the rest of the night. He embraces him swiftly, as if he would disappear if he didn't do it right this instant.

Naruto melts into it with ease as Sasuke curls his hand back into Naruto's hair.

Sasuke takes him home, thinking this was a pretty okay outcome to being stood up for date-night.

He makes them tea, makes Naruto shower and literally tucks him in. He leaves him there under the covers, half asleep.

"Sasuke," Naruto says right before Sasuke can leave out of the front door to his own apartment. Sauke turns around sharply.

"Stay?"

He can't refuse. He'll never refuse him. He can try. But for some reason the bitter, biting remark is at bay tonight. He just wants to hold him.

"Scoot over."

[lovingcorleone]

“Stronger Together, Weaker Without” — Michael Corleone x Reader

(gifcredit)

Summary: Y/N and Michael were put into a difficult situation, when unexpected things happened just before their wedding.

Pairing: Michael Corleone x Fem!Reader

Request: "Hello could you do one where Michael Corleone and his wife are having a difficult time at the wedding and are trying to talk to resolve it?" — @loveilovetoo

Author's note: (English is my second language.) ; I needed to overcome writer's block, and that's why it took me so long - my sincere apologies! I really hope you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Warning: strong language, sappy conversation?

STRONGER TOGETHER, WEAKER WITHOUT

Friday, the day before wedding.

It is safe to say that many things went wrong on your and Michael's wedding weekend. It all started a day before the ceremony and you weren't sure what to think about it. First, the main bridesmaid, your best friend B/F/N, called you early in the morning, telling that she was sorry but she didn't feel twice as good and probably caught some illness. That would be okay, it wasn't a big deal, because these things just happen and you cannot really prevent them. Little did you know that it was only the beginning of a nightmare.

With this information you went right to Michael to tell him the news, but he only assured you that, yes, it was dissapointing, but nothing that couldn't be solved easily. You only wished this was the first and also the last unpleasant thing of the whole wedding. Another suprise came later in the afternoon when Michael got a call from Tom. Your soon to-be husband was hesistant at first if he should tell you that place where you two were suppossed to have your first dance as married couple, was completely burned down. He quietly came to you and gave you a tight hug. „I have good and bad news.“ he started, „I guess you want to hear the bad news first, huh?“ You pulled back from his hug and gave him worried look. „What happened?“ „So ... the thing is that our venue is gone. Burned down. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. But! The good news is that people who did that are already caught.“ After he had spoken, you were speechless. You couldn't find the words. You blankly stared at Michael, then turned away from him and hugged yourself. „Why would someone do that? Why? We deserve to be happy too, why can't we be?!“ you raised your voice a bit and a few tears escaped from your eyes from pure frustration. Your fiancé was desperate just as much as you were. His blood was boiling, but he knew he should be calm and supportive. Michael was heartbroken too. It was supposed to be his happiest weekend in his life.

Fortunately, your day ended without any more complications. You couldn't sleep with Michael in the same room, because tradition clearly said that it was forbidden and it brings bad luck, so you two just called each other that night. „Everything will be just fine. I promise you that. No one will take away our wedding day from us.“ „Michael, that sounded a bit threatening..“ you laughed, „But yeah. Tomorrow's about us.“

Saturday, Wedding Day, 6:00am.

You didn't have to wake up that early, but the thing was that, you had a very strong feeling that you should be fully awake no matter what. Also, around 7:15am Connie and Sandra promised you to come and start with your preparation for your big day. By that time you were just sitting on your bed watching sun rising up through your window. The bed felt so lonely without Michael in it. You got used to falling asleep and waking up next to him. You wondered if he was still sleeping.

In the middle of your showering, there was a loud knock on the door followed by excited voices of two girls mentioned above. „Come on, sleepyhead. We need you to get ready!“ said Connie with joyful voice. You opened the door with a towel covering your body and wet hair. „About damn time, dear. I hope you slept enough, because I'm sure that right after wedding there will be no sleep for you.“ continued Sandra and winked at you giving you a sign what she really meant by it. You giggled and hugged both of them. „Thanks. Thanks a lot for helping me. I don't know what would I do without you two.“ you sighed and sat at the chair in front of big mirror. It took Sandra about one hour to make your hair looking like it belonged to a princess. It was exactly what you wanted. Then it was Connie's turn with doing your make-up and, of course, it turned out even better than you expected. All of you were so satisfied with final result. Then you put on your dress. Now, you looked like a real princess. Your B/F/N was the one who helped you decide which dress was, metaphorically, made for you. Even though, she couldn't be there with you, the dress reminded you of her. For a minute, all your troubles suddenly disappeared and you were filled with pure joy.

Your silent admiration of your look was however interrupted by someone knocking on the door. Connie was the closest person to it so she carefully opened, but only her face was seen, in case if it was Michael looking for you. Luckily, it was not Michael, but his brother. Which was not good scenario either. „Sonny? Don't you have a work to do?“ Connie asked in quite annoyed voice, because he obviously interrupted their –girls moment-. Sonny was visibly nervous and his hairline was covered in drops of sweat. His sister could swear she saw a glimpse of fear in his eyes. „I need to speak to Y/N. Like right now.“ he said urgently and tried to step into the room, but Connie didn't let him to do so. „C'mon Connie. Just let me in...“ „Who's that?“ you asked with a raised voice so the person on the other side of the door could hear you.

„It's Sonny. I need to tell you somethin'.“ You nodded to Connie that she could let him in. He didn't hesitate and made his way right to you. His first reaction was adorable, because his look fell on your dress and then on your face. He widely smiled ready to give you some cheeky compliment, but he quickly remembered why he came there. „Okay, now, don't be mad.“ As he said that, your happy face dropped. „Everytime when someone says „Don't be mad.“, something really bad happened. I hope this is not that case.“ He made a squinted face and took a deep breath. „Look... aaagh...Something happened.“ „Continue...“ „You know.. your wedding rings...Well...ughh...they are kind of gone. We can't find them and we looked for them everywhere.“ he finally admitted as you fell down on your chair. „Oh my god.“ Sandra whispered and ran to hug you and Connie's jaw dropped down. „But ..how..? They were put in a safe place. Does Michael know?“ Sonny scratched the back of his head. „Tom and Fredo are tellin' him now.“

You felt your chest got tight and it was a bit harder for you to breathe. „Bridesmaid's ill, the venue is gone and so are the rings.“ you whispered holding back tears. For a moment there was a tense silence, and everyone in the room felt kind of embarrassed. The best day of your life turned out to be the worst. Connie didn't even had a chance to comfort you because you stood up with emotionless face and went to the door. You were about to stepped out of room, but Sonny gently grabbed your elbow. „Where are you going? You can't see Michael. It's a tradition..“ You angrily glared at him „Fuck tradition. I need to talk with Michael.“ Sonny let go of you very quickly and felt ashamed of his words. The situation was way more important than some tradition.

Your soon-to-be husband had the same idea. He was on his way to your room when you two bumped into each other at the corner.

„Our rings are gone.“ both of you said at the same time and he pulled you into a hug. Though his mind was full of emotions and mostly full of anger, he did notice how incredibly beautiful you were. Of course, for him you were beautiful everyday, but seeing you in wedding dress made him tear up a bit. He then suggested to move to some empty room so you could talk in private. You sat on a bed and Michael joined you. His arm hugged you over your shoulders and you gently put your head on his chest. After overcoming primary shock, you spoke first. „I don't feel like this is all just stupid coincidence.“ you sobbed and let the tears make their own way down your cheeks. „Then what do you think it is?“ he asked quietly. You raised your head and looked into his eyes. „What if this is a bad sign? At the moment, I feel like everything is ruined and we are just helplessly standing in the middle of the chaos not knowing what to do. What if we are not meant to be married.“ your voice broke and you couldn't keep looking into his eyes anymore. His arm fell off of your shoulders. He wiped away his own tears and got down on his knees grabbing your hands, which made you look at him. „So? Even if we are not meant to get married, that doesn't mean that we are not meant to be together, Y/N. I believe in us. But I need you to believe in us too.“ His voice was steady but you could hear how hard he tried to remain being steady. Not only your heart was breaking, his was too. Some couples would turn this situation into a humorous one, but for you and Michael, it was really serious. You sniffled and bit your lip. „I believe in us too. But these things don't happen without a reason. I just- I don't know.“ „I love you. Do you love me?“ You were shocked by his question. „Of course, I do. You are my everything, Mike.“ you sobbed again and his finger moved to your face and wiped away new tears. „You are my everything too. And I know how long you've dreamed about this day. We can cancel it if you want. Or we will face this very eventful day together. Like we always do with everything that crosses our path. How does that sound to you, hm?“ a very faint smile appeared on his lips. He made a good point. You could've run from it or face it. „The venue is destroyed, we don't have our rings and we also broke the tradition...Every single thing is against us. Maybe marriage can break this curse or whatever it is. Maybe we should shoot our shot.“ your lips formed into a weak smile. He took your face into his hands and kissed you softly. Then he added: „We will be okay. From now on.“

[kino-alternative]

“ To Be Someone ”

|| Hajime Hinata X Gender Neutral!Reader ||

❀ There he stood, staring at the huge building in front of him. The building in front of him was Hope's Peak Academy, the school of the talented and gifted.

From sports stars, singers, musicians to something as big as a yakuza, princess, heck- even something as complicated as luck. Those that excel at their own specific talent that no average person could reach are called an Ultimate.

That's what Hajime Hinata dreamed to be. Someone with an ultimate. Someone with talent. To be someone. Though, he is nothing but an average, normal, talentless and good for nothing reserve course student. That was him. He was nobody. A nobody who could only dream.

Hajime gripped on the strap of his bag as his eyebrows furrowed. Just dreaming. A dream that won't become reality. He turned around, looking at the ground as he began to walk away from the main building.

As he continued to walk to the Reserve Course Department, someone else passed by him and headed to the main building. Hajime stopped his tracks and turned his head to look behind him. Sakura petals blocked his view. The only thing he could see was the main building uniform and the keychain clipped onto their bag.

Soon enough, the person disappeared from sight when the gates closed. Hajime continued to stare, his eyes glistened before tearing away his gaze and walking back to his original destination.

❀ Leaning on the bench of the park located in between the two schools, Hajime let out a long sigh of exhaustion. Throwing his head back, he admired the orange-red-yellow mixed sky. It was quiet. No one really went to the park since the talentless and talented refused to meet each other.. or something like that.

Huh? what was that? Is that... Is someone humming? Before Hajime could even lift his head, he gave in. He couldn't help but let himself relax to it. It was soothing and comforting. Like most sappy writers describe, it felt like a warm hug or being cradled gently like a baby.

Bringing himself back to reality, he opened his eyes and lifted his head. He then turned around to look behind him. There, he spotted a familiar looking keychain and the main building uniform. This was the person from before. What were they doing here?

The person opened their eyes, revealing a (E/C} color. They stared right back at him, their humming stopped as silence once again returned. Both took this as their chance to get a better look of the other.

They opened their mouth, their eyebrows raised "You're...The boy from before, right?" Hajime slowly nodded, almost hesitantly "Y-Yeah.. Are you..?" He trailed off once they answered with a nod as well. The boy thought for a moment. He wanted to ask them something but wasn't quite sure if it's okay.

After debating in his head and listing the cons and pros, he opened his mouth and asked "If you don't mind me asking...What were you doing at the Reserve Course Department?" Dang it. That came out rude.

They didn't seem to pay any mind to it and furrowed their eyebrows, a smile forming on their face. "You want to be an Ultimate someday... Right?" Before he could respond to their rather true assumption, they added on "The same goes for me...Just the exact opposite of what you want to be"

Opposite? "The exact opposite of what I want to be...?" Hajime slowly repeated as he processed their answer. The gears in his head started to turn when it clicked, his eyes slowly widening while at it. "You... Want to be a Reserve Course Student?"

They nodded.

He was confused.

"Why-" "Maybe some other time" They cut him off, standing up from their seat and grabbing their bag as they put their earphones and phone away. They began to walk back to the main department, stopping for a moment and looking at the brunette. Raising their hand and smiling, they said "See ya! Oh, and don't forget to tell me your name, alright?"

Before the boy could even utter a word or sound, the same kind of petals once again blocked his view. And once they were out of his sight, the person was already gone.

Hajime didn't noticed until now that his hand was reached out. He looked at it and stared at his palm. The exact opposite of what he wanted to be. That was their reasoning.

Unlike him, a person who wishes to have talent... Wishes to be someone special... They want to be a person who has no talent? Do they wish to be someone ordinary?

❀ Back in front of the gates of Hope's Peak Academy. Hajime sighed, lowering his head. He still didn't quite understood why the person wanted to be like him. To be nobody.

"Ah, so you are here" He flinched and immediately turned around. There standing with their usual smile was the person themselves. They raised their hand, waved it "Hey" "S-Sorry.. Er.." That's right. They still haven't introduced to each other.

The person then walked to his side, staring at the main building. Though, unlike him, their eyes weren't filled with any positive emotions or even a tiny bit of admiration. It was just blank. No interest whatsoever.

He wonders why that is.

"We haven't introduced to each other yet, right?" They asked, their eyes now staring at his. Hajime blinked and nodded "Yeah.." The person faced him, pointing a finger at themselves, "I'm Y/N L/N, Ultimate Music Writer" They held out their hand for him to take and shake.

Hajime smiled awkwardly and took their hand "I'm Hajime Hinata. Reserve Course Student"

Their hand was warm/cold. How comforting.

"Well, Hajime, I don't normally go to class... Do you have enough time left before school starts?" Y/N asked with a tilt of their head, their eyebrows raising. Hajime pulled out his phone and pressed the on button, his screen opening and there said the time. Oh, he was- An hour early!? Since when!?

He decided not to ask and simply nodded at the person, "Yeah. At the park?" He asked back. They grinned and turned around, "Mhmm, c'mon"

The walk there was filled with small talk, just to ease the tension just a bit and get to know each other. Asking the basic questions, what do you like to do? Any hobbies? Etc...

Although Hajime - he believes - had pretty basic answers, Y/N didn't seem to mind at all and continued on.

Once they get to their destination, they sat on one of the benches.

Hajime glanced at them for a split second before looking at the fountain. He decided to think and zone out for a bit. Asking questions to himself as he pondered...

Is it okay for me to ask them?

Is it too early?

Before his thoughts could fully consume him, his mouth open and said on it's own "You don't have to tell me now. I think we should try to get each other first" Y/N stared at him , their eyes slightly wide. Ah, they didn't expect that. Neither did Hajime himself.

Y/N had a smile, a smile that you could tell was relief. Relief of not having to tell something you don't want to. They closed their eyes and thanked the brunette, "Agreed. Thanks"

Hajime couldn't help but smile back as well. Relief of not choosing/saying the wrong thing. "So, you were saying?" He asked with a tone to signal them. With that, the subject changed as the ultimate rambled "Oh! Right! Apparently, that wasn't the actual-"

❀ Everyday. Every hour. Every minute. Every second. They would meet at the park. The place that stored many memories between the two opposite students from the two different buildings. They would laugh. They would fight. They would vent. They would even stay quiet and still managed to enjoy their time together.

They would be there for the other when they need them most.

"Ah, there you are" Y/N smiled as they raised and turned their from the phone in their hands to the brunette walking towards them. They let out a hum. A hum that signals that they knew what the other was feeling. They set their phone down and asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Hajime, despite the fake smile on his face, knew better than to lie to them. Especially since the two have been best friends for a while now. Although he doesn't want to bother them, he was quite glad that someone asked him and actually sounded genuinely concern.

The boy sat down beside them, throwing his head back as he closed his eyes. With a sigh, he said "The leaves are green" That, indeed, was true. Y/N tilted their head, nodding slowly, "I see... Who or what? Why?" But to them, that meant something else.

As cheesy as it sounds, the music writer once told him that they had an idea. Specifically, signal ideas. Hajime, of course, thought it wasn't necessary but did so anyway. He thought he wouldn't need to use the them but they were, in fact, useful at most situations.

The one he just used now, meant envy and or jealousy.

"..." He stayed silent at first, having second thoughts before saying what he had on his mind. His thoughts and feelings. "This is gonna sound very stupid... And probably getting annoying but.. I guess I'm just really jealous of you"

Y/N blinked, "Me?" They didn't sound offended. They sounded more... Confused than anything. Which Hajime was thankful for since he didn't want to offend them in any way.

"An Ultimate. Someone that excels at a specific thing and an even higher than actual professionals.. Talent, basically" He smiled. A sad one. "The usual, you know?.."

"..."

Y/N stayed silent as they leaned on the bench, throwing their head back as well with their eyes closed. Hajime's, now open, eyes looked at them with a lift of his head. It looked like they were stuck in their mind.

It wasn't unusual, so he patiently waited.

""Maybe some other time", that's what I said when we first met, right?" They suddenly asked, which kind of startled him. Hajime fully lofted his head and shifted slightly in his seat to look at them despite their closed eyes. "Yeah.."

"I wanted to be free. Free from everyone's expectations. Free from my title" They stared back at him, noticing how he was closely listening to what they were saying. "To be someone who could just do what they want and who they want to be. To be someone even without talent. Because to me, talent isn't the only way that makes you someone or special"

They smiled and lifted their head, hands on their knees as they looked at the brunette. "To me, everyone is their own person and special in their own way. Talent or none" They grinned, their eyes closed as they exclaimed "And to me, Hajime Hinata is special and an ultimate in his own way"

Hajime stared at them, his eyes widening. Before he knew it, his face was red and his heart was pounding. Flustered. Touched. He felt... Special. Just by hearing them say it.

He cools down, his cheeks are still have a visible pink color on them. A smile made it's way on his face. Ah, so that's their reason.

"Oh, I was going to tell you more but it seems like time passes by rather quickly" Y/N pointed at the time on their phone. Hajime snapped out of his trance, eyebrows raised as he asked "Huh? What were you-"

Before he could continue, they stood up from the bench and looked down at the brunette. With their hand raised and waving, they said those words "Maybe some other time" And with that, they left.

Hajime watched them disappear from sight. He blinked before putting his hand down and smiled softly. He stood up from the bench and began to take his leave as well.

He understood what they meant. So now looking forward, he was taking his first step of not having to worry about becoming someone. Because now... Talent or talentless... Everyone is their own person, special in their own way.

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

Sorry you're not in a great brain place right now, hope you feel better soon. To help get your mind off the bad vibes, what romantic songs do you have in mind for each of your ocs and their partners?

hi friend <3333

Tumbletta (Tumblebrutus and Hestia):

"Friends Don't" by Maddie & Tae will ALWAYS be one of the main songs I associate with Tumblebrutus and Hestia. Their relationship is the ultimate pining childhood friends to lovers, it just takes a while for them to confess their feelings because they don't want to ruin their relationship with their favorite person.

also, "Love" by Nancy Adams is 100% a Tumbletta song, it's just so sweet and soft, and I can absolutely see tha being the song Tumblebrutus and Hestia dance to at their wedding 😭

ok ok one more because i have way too many for my beloved OTP, and because i just thought of this one after rereading some of our Human AU ideas, "All I Ask of You" from Phantom just SCREAMS Tumbletta, it's the two of them after confessing their feelings, they're just giggly and holding hands, and being so sappy and in love with each other. also bc you know why 👀

Quasinette (Quasi and Antoinette):

the first one is "Something Good" from The Sound of Music, it's just the ultimate Quasinette song, for when the two of them are finally safe and away from Macavity's clutches, just holding each other as tightly as possible, and realizing that "oh shit, we're here, we're okay, how do i deserve you?"

and the second one is from TikTok, because @hufferysnuffery (both of these songs are because of them, it's all their fault) likes to see me in pain, it's called "I just really miss your face" and it's a song i think about happening either after Quasi discovers Antoinette is a double agent for Macavity, or after Antoinette fakes his death and Quasi is thinking back on their relationship. either way, a n g s t

Cettiebug (Etcetera and Jitterbug):

"Introducing Me" by Nick Jonas gives off very strong Cettie vibes, once she and Jitter start talking about their feelings for each other, Cettie gets so excited that she lists off everything she thinks is interesting about herself, because it makes JItterbug giggle, and Cettie can't stop smiling!

Mielapat (Miela and Coricopat):

"When He Sees Me" by Sara Bareilles, specifically first date Miela and Cori, because as confident as my girl is, she still gets first date jitters, and I can see @rainbowratsstuff's Rooster helping her out and cheering her on!

[seventeendeer]

You said you have many cartoon horse opinions, and I would love to hear more - especially from the perspective on someone with an opinion on gen4 that I don't believe I've ever really seen before.

Ahh sorry for the very, very late reply, life stuff got in the way and I wanted to respond properly, so here I am about a month later!

tHANK YOU for enabling me, I'll try to keep this somewhat readable and to the point, but it's true, I have a LOT of cartoon horse opinions, I could talk for hours about this haha

Okay so first, a bit of context: I've loved My Little Pony since before I could talk. I used to watch the gen 1 cartoons as a very young child and loved them. I had a big collection of gen 2 toys as a child. I skipped gen 3 and gen 3.5. As a teen, I was really into gen 4 and I continued to keep up with the series until around the beginning of gen 8. With that in mind:

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic will forever stick out in my mind as a wasted opportunity. Season 1 started in a good place and I still enjoy that one a lot now, but it's also easy to see the beginnings of the show's later problems even back then. I think if the series had held on to the general tone of season 1, it would have been a perfectly pleasant show - however, the change in headwriter from season 2 and onwards is extremely noticeable and not in a good way.

I think the biggest problem with the show, mostly post-season 1, is that for a story that's supposed to be about friendship, the tone is just way too mean. So much of its runtime is devoted to the characters being uncomfortable, frustrated, angry at each other, or having their feelings hurt. Of course, having some conflict makes sense - each episode is supposed to teach kids something about how to be better friends, after all - but the amount of time the main characters spend feeling upset is uncomfortable to watch. With how much work they all have to put into trying to understand each other and sort out conflicts, and how few easy, comfortable moments they have with one another on-screen, it's difficult to imagine why they even hang out after a certain point.

Another facet that I think damages the tone of later seasons is the increased focus on humor that hinges on making the characters look overly selfish, idiotic or obnoxious. The punchline of most jokes in the show can be summed up as "isn't this character ridiculous?" Too many jokes about the characters are also followed by their friends reacting negatively to whatever just happened. The frequency of mean-spirited jokes, plus the dismissive way the other ponies tend to react to their friends' antics, makes it seem like they can barely stand to be in a room with one another. This undermines most attempts at 'heartwarming' moments, making them feel artificial and unearned.

While I like a lot of Lauren Faust's work and I respect her attempt to write My Little Pony characters with more depth (and again, I do like the season she helmed a lot!), I can't help but think that the entire generation had a rough start when it was decided that the way to make the franchise better was to make it less sappy and "soft." I think it's difficult to make any story about love and friendship hold up without also seeing the value in sincerity and vulnerability. The show veered down an unfortunate path the moment the writers pussed out and named the last element of harmony 'magic' instead of 'friendship' - it set a precedent for the show being too afraid of coming off cheesy to fully commit to its own central theme.

In general, I think the writers cut out too much of what made older generations of My Little Pony likable. Instead of identifying poor plotting, shallow characterization and a lack of focus as the main problems holding older gens back from being good, the writers seem convinced that chill, cutesy good vibes = stale stories. There's nothing wrong with wanting to make a more actionized, snappy narrative for the reboot, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to focus on character flaws and drama more heavily, but it requires a better understanding of how to balance narrative tone than just "cool moments and snarky comedy good, gooey fluffy stuff bad."

I think a better way to approach the reboot would have been to pick a narrative direction and stick to it. If they wanted the show to be zany and full of cool magical adventures, they should have toned down the interpersonal drama and focused on outside threats, similar to something like Powerpuff Girls. If they wanted to explore the friendship theme and try to teach kids about interpersonal relationships, they should have toned down the more goofy/mean-spirited comedy and dared to be vulnerable and "cheesy" when necessary instead of sidestepping it whenever possible, more like Steven Universe.

Personally, if someone handed me the reigns to the franchise, I'd take it in the direction of something more like Summer Camp Island. I think the cute pony characters and the probably-network-mandated focus on wholesome friendship themes could mix really well with a mostly calm, easy-going narrative that combines relatable coming-of-age plots with a soothing atmosphere.

Characters don't have to be overly self-centered or mean in order for conflict-resolution stories to function. Small conflicts between characters who are overall portrayed as friendly and sympathetic can lead to much more relatable narratives that kids might actually learn from. Most kids want to be kind - teaching them how to be that is much more important, from my perspective.

But of course that requires a team of writers who can actually communicate nuanced narratives well, and unfortunately I don't think the FiM crew was up to the task.

[asherlockstudy]

Uncomfortable close-up to their Valentine Newlywed answers

Since Rhett was a tad reluctant to compliment Link sincerely I decided to use my psychoanalytical skills (anyway whatever) and seek the underlying honest answers they wanted to give. This could be a bit much at times and perhaps you shouldn't read if you are not a Rhink shipper, that's why I used a cut.

"What he loves about me" Link's expression is a little confusing - maybe an attempt at doubt or self-deprecation but it looks to me more like the embarrassment of the blushing bride.

"I love your..."

Who wants to bet that the first thing that came to Rhett's mind was ass but then he changed it to the first word that came to his mind after ass? A-ccent. Like, there's just no case accent was the first thing he thought because Link's accent isn't even that strong at this point. When Link got surprised at that, Rhett simply replied that he was trying to find something funny. But even so, like I said earlier, Rhett does love Link's accent. I am sure he is fond of it, he finds it adorable. And let's not forget he said "there was so much he could choose from"!

Link looks disappointed that it's not his guess, his eyes. An interesting thing here is that although he used a personality trait for Rhett, he expected / hoped for this physical trait for himself. But don't feel sorry - Rhett has talked about his baby blues and has even gone to the ridiculous extents of planning to make a blog exclusively for Link's eyes. So don't worry; it is known that Rhett at least acknowledges the beauty of Link's eyes. At least. And Link was expecting this from a place of knowledge and not as an attempt to be silly-sappy.

Things Rhett thinks Link loves about him:

voice (Link will later say he loves his laugh and this is close, he's also enchanted every time Rhett sings so...)

height (Link once said he is attracted to "people of extreme heights")

hair (we know that)

beard (lie detector test)

giving spirit (lol totally)

creativity (they've talked about this many times)

eyebrows (if Link has said he likes Rhett's eyelashes then liking his eyebrows is certain)

Rhett was guessing from a place of knowledge too.

Rhett then said he loves stories of Link's grandma doing weird things with him and I don't like being the weirdo to spell out the weird thing but Rhett's interest in that is vaguely associated to his weird mind being always in the gutter. I don't mean it turns him on of course but he loves hearing weird stuff that border on creepy. You know it's true. Sometimes he's like that. Link took revenge for the accent joke with the psoriasis.

Wow we saw some Rhett teeth. Link answered sincerely with a super cute "I love your laugh" but Rhett just said "I love the sound your mouth makes when you don't chew". Oh well. Link regretted being sincere and Rhett, after some good laughter, defended himself by saying "he (Link) walked himself into it". This makes exactly zero sense and I am wondering whether he meant Link walked himself into it by choosing the vulnerable / sincere way. Or if he just didn't know what he was talking about.

Rhett then asks for the next answer to be complimentary. He then repeats he has strong feelings about Link's accent. Again, I believe this! In a positive light. IDK, I do believe this. Link said he has strong positive feelings for Rhett's car which I found weird like Rhett because I thought it was established Link has the better car of the two. Who knows, maybe he lied about the positive thing. Unless he connects it in his mind with memories / experiences.

Link's guess a little later:

Link: If I wanted to, I could easily... start over.

Rhett: Start over?! Like, whole life?

L: ...Yeah, just like, get a re-do.

R: Huh.

L: And I would be like "Really? How?"

R: Mmkay. I said "If you wanted to, you could easily kill me".

Okay, this gets a little deeper. I think what initially Link meant was a joke about starting over regarding his relationship with Rhett. Rhett didn't get that and asked him if he meant his whole life. Link considered that "mmyeah..." and realised it wasn't that far off from what he meant, all jokes aside. Link does wish he could start over and redo many things in his life. This surely has A LOT to do with their religious upbringing. And maybe how it affected Link's choices. Stevie's laughter is so out of place sometimes. Rhett does not laugh and tries to rush this moment. Rhett's answer about Link killing him is not exactly weird or offensive or mean as I saw some people consider it. It shows, maybe subconsiously, several things; Link's intensity, Rhett's pliable nature especially to Link and it might be more indicative of how Rhett feels about Link than anything else, at least in this video.

And then, out of nowhere, or maybe so it seems to us, Rhett goes ballistic against everyone. He starts complaining about those complaining when they didn't give each other heartfelt compliments. Link joked he agrees with them. Rhett attempted to let this slip although it angered him. The crew laughed with Link's joke, meaning they kinda sided with him, and Rhett turned basically mad at Link.

He accused Link that he did the same that day and Link entirely deflected the conversation. All I'm gonna say is that don't think they don't communicate with each other about how they approach certain situations. I wonder if at times they misunderstand each other or one changes opinion suddenly and leaves the other hanging. Link tries to stop Rhett from going on but Rhett is unstoppable at this point.

You might say Rhett was straight out mean right there and I sure was like "whoa where did this all come from, man" but mean is not a reasonable explanation. He was angry and his words show he is in a pressured state. Unless you tend to have mood swings, which Rhett doesn't really have as far as I know, you don't go from all cutesy and mischievous to furious in milliseconds. Except if there is an underlying suppressed cause. And you may ask, okay does he feel pressured to say a compliment to Link? Is this such a big deal? Well, yes and no. I don't think Rhett meant "we're not gonna hold hands" or "compliment each other" when we ask it. I think we know what he means. I think he's talking about the - well, in his words - elephant in the room. The actually serious consideration that there is something more there. The expectation that it might get revealed at any point - whether intentionally or unintentionally. Rhett loses control at that moment, which is why Link, who knows him well, warns him to not go there but Rhett still does. And again, you might say: well, no fan asked them to kiss or to confirm anything! We asked them simple stuff that can be normal between platonic friends too. Yes, but there is something we don't take often into account. The mythical crew. The mythical crew are actually the ones who monitor closely what the fans believe, want and prefer to watch. This means that the crew has to inform and discuss with Rhett and Link how much they are gonna please the audience and in what ways. Which means that a crew of 50+ people have an elaborate opinion on what fans think of Rhett and Link's relationship (next to their own opinion of course) and this has to be communicated with them face to face. In short, Rhett and Link have their privacy invaded not only by the fans but by their employees and, moreover, they are forced to always have fun with it and take it lightly. Again, you could think: well, they could forbid any rhink reference to the crew from now on. And you would think this WOULDN'T make the crew MORE suspicious at this point? All I am saying, they are fine when they make rhink insinuations / jokes voluntarily but most of the time is forced upon them by both the fans and employees and this can be uncomfortable at best if they are just friends or tyrannical if there is something more there that they still keep for themselves. So, Rhett's frustration comes from a deeper place than being expected to give a compliment. If I were in their place as I imagine it (I could always be entirely wrong) I would feel like a muppet trying to balance all my reactions towards thousands of people, with several dozens of them being paid by me to scrutinize me and order me how exactly to act!

There is a cut following Rhett's vent and you can see that Rhett is trying to calm himself down.

He speaks to himself, mumbling "yeah alright yeah ok ok" and by the expressions I can tell he acknowledges he lost control. That doesn't mean he regretted what he said - just that he said more than it benefits him to say and apparently he said a lot more in the unedited video. Kudos then to Link, who actively tries to calm his friend down and make him feel more comfortable.

This might be unpleasant to some but from his stance I conclude that Link agrees with Rhett or at least understands him. He was just wise enough to not say it out loud. Link first warned Rhett to not speak and then stayed quiet as Rhett was venting. After the cut, we see him trying to help Rhett calm down and relax and he characteristically invites Rhett to focus his attention on him and find something he really loves about him. This is not a complaint - Link is smiling and is warm to Rhett. What he essentially does is trying to help Rhett forget he is being watched by thousands and his every word is weighted, which of course is Rhett's main problem. He just says "forget about them and focus on me and just say something you love, it's all good". I just love Link here. He's supportive and caring.

The next question is what Link loves when Rhett blanks his blank and Rhett is trying to picture it-

I have no doubt Link loves that. The ear thumbing, I mean.

So, then I am adding the stills that redeemed Rhett in the fandom:

But not to be that person, it's obvious that Rhett plays it up a ridiculous lot. And not even to appease the angry fans but probably to make fun of their anger. That's why Link laughs with his face and his answer "I love remembering the time we met".

This doesn't interest me at all. Instead, I am much more interested in Link's nonsensical answer "I love remembering the time we died" because what?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Link tends to say occasionally stuff that doesn't make sense but I don't think he would pass on the chance to say something even remotely meaningful in an opportunity like this and especially regarding his relationship with Rhett. Link clarifies: "...when we died. This is heaven". There are two possibilities and only two: a) this makes ZERO sense and it's the worst and most pointless joke ever and b) this is symbolic or something only Rhett could understand. Rhett does not dismiss this as stupid or silly with his usual done look. He asks questions about it and they discuss at length about how it happened that they died and why they went to heaven since it seems they killed each other. Well, it's because they killed each other in the exact same time with a prod-like tool and they escaped Good Ol' God's (in Link's words) notice. Okay. I'm just leaving this here and you can all draw your own conclusions. Personally, I am torn between a symbolical death and rebirth when they left their religious selves behind and death being used as a well known old metaphor of a certain physical state. It would work even more if it was both. Or Link was just talking nonsense. Let's not exclude that. So yeah. That's all I had to say................

[hyperfixatinglove]

Kyle for the ask game! 💕💕💕

The last one was bit long already without my Kyle so here's long version for @sunshine-ships

What made me like them

Similarly to Deacon, how relatable he is. Kyle tends to say things anyone would in his situation, but not everyone would go to the lengths he goes to help others, on top of the danger to his own life.

He's also somewhat pacifistic in nature, he only ever kills in self-defense (unless you do every challenge in game, but in main story he does) which is rare in zombie genre as a whole, especially in video games.

Kyle does share this search for danger - if player chooses to do the additional night challenges - but in contrast to say Frank or mentioned Joel, Kyle gets into danger in order to help someone else, often as byproduct of him trying to help in first place.

He's just badass too, but not purely in combat, his strength lies in his agility, how good he is at parkouring and evading the enemy. This sets him apart from other protagonists who usually use just raw power to cut through anything (like Joel, Lee, Frank etc) and it's refreshing to see and as much as I love a strong man as romantic partner, there is certain allure to a man who relies on other kind of skill and talking to do the job.

His voice is so soothing, I just instantly trust guys who's voices I like, I'm sorry.

Also he's cute.

There's so many reasons I love him & what made me like him but some I've already discussed in detail many times or shown, like his interactions with children.

-My favorite thing about them

His compassion.

It's the force that drives him forward, this need to help anyone he can in any way that he can.

I know I put emphasis on the fact he's legend in Harran, but for me, the legendary thing about him is his compassion. Rarely a zombie genre protagonist is this close to outright saint, as close as you can get with this. I'd argue he is the closest to a saint you can be in the setting without dying. But even saints have limits, he's no pushover.

-Nicknames we have for each other

Kyle calls me ace. Because I like it and it validates me and he would say it. It sounds so Kyle thing to call someone he adores as such.

I call him braveheart, loverboy or Kyley if I want to tease him. The last one is rare for me to use and it's relatively new.

-A headcanon of our relationship

I think we'd have this calm and steady relationship, sort of like a haven in midst of chaos we live in, a resemblance of normalcy.

We aren't that disgustingly sappy, affectionate couple but you can tell we completely adore one another from the way we put each other first, through the looks we give and the vibe we just radiate.

Many of my ships involve some aspect of saving the other from pain or trauma or outright worship of another, putting them on pedestal. This ship of mine lacks that aspect and in my own opinion is one of the most grounded ones I have. We might start as emotional support to each other, reeling dangerously close to living emotional clutch, especially for me,but in the end I think we're one of the most stable couples my mind has conjured. We share same ideals, similar morals.

Kyle with me is just one of my favorites. Even if I don't talk about Kyle as much as say, Frankie or Blazkowicz.

-My favorite image of them

This purely because I get to see him in 3rd view glory in almost full-body shot. Whoever made this & how has my eternal thanks.

This is just chef kiss worthy of a photo also I don't think he even has this outfit but he looks so good in that orange. There he also goes being strategist.

This promo/official picture of him my beloved. I guess it's the stance he has or it's like one of only official pictures there is of him from the front this clearly, as others are usually from the back or incredibly far away to focus or has multiples of him because co-op.

Lastly this one. I love the angle this is shot from, like the viewer is looking him bit upwards. The stance and outfit are immaculate (though the outfit in game is missing the scarf around his mouth).

-Anything else!

I'll spite canon if Dying Light 2 does canonize his fate in anyway I don't like.

I tend to forget he's bitten even when the story does have some far apart reminders. In my canon he just isn't lol, it's too much hassle to guess whenever or not a kiss could turn you into a viral in Dying Light.