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#at least she’s gonna be a standard character but ffs

theerurishipper · 2 years

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This is the first time I've ever been prompted to actually post something, but what was that battle.

I looked forward to this for a while, and it fell short of my standards by a long shot. It wasn't bad, I enjoyed it well enough, but these are supposed to be the strongest trainers in the world. Why are they getting one shotted, or two shotted? Steven was built up as this awesome trainer who was kicking Alain's ass in TSME and this is how easily he goes out? I know that Ash is strong enough to beat him but it wasn't shown well, at all. The Masters Tournament and JN in general has a huge problem with the battles being stiff and lacking in creativity. Every now and then we have some gems, but other than that? The same formula of Ash being cornered and overcoming it, with one shots galore. This is no different. Lance vs Diantha and Iris vs Cynthia were so much better. And the battles were good in the beginning of the series too, but as it went on it became so formulaic and uninspired. And what happened to the animation? It's so stiff sometimes. I'm not impressed.

(Are the battles so bad because they're trying to be like the games? Because Goh is Pokemon Go, and so... is Ash gonna emulate game style battling now? I don't know).

More on JN in general under the cut because I'm a coward.

I won't say that JN is a bad series. But it has a lot of issues with its pacing. Why are we getting two Chloe episodes in the middle of the M8? Why didn't Chloe get any focus before this other than a few, admittedly well written, episodes? Why didn't we see Ash's rise through the other classes? There are only 3 characters to focus on ffs, it shouldn't be that hard to divide episodes between them. Sun and Moon had so many and yet even characters like Mallow who were a bit neglected had a strong character and focus. At least she appeared as a main character. Chloe doesn't appear in half the episodes though, so...what? And dont get me started on Project Mew. Good concept, bad execution. How many episodes did we even get on that? We spent no valuable time on it, and the episodes were so boring. Horace and Gary as rivals is a good concept but the episodes feel so far apart that I forgot what it was. It's good development for Goh, I guess, but is it? My feelings on Project Mew are conflicted and my most positive response is that it just bores me. And Team Rocket are a shadow of their former selves. They don't catch pokemon, instead they use that stupid machine. The one redeeming quality of Team Rocket is that they really love each other and that they really love their pokemon. And it's been taken away from them, so why are they here? It's nice to see them supporting Ash, but they've lost their essence.

Not to say that JN is bad as a whole. Every series has its strengths and weaknesses. XY had a Gary-stu Ash and he was boring, Serena didn't have much going for her either. It lacked great characterisation. Sun and Moon didn't know how to handle so many characters and its comedic timing needed work (this issue was resolved though, I can't criticize Sun and Moon too much, I'm sorry). And JN, to its credit, has very strong character writing when the character is given a chance to be written. As a whole, Chloe's arc sucks but the individual episodes are very good. Goh is honestly a well written character and has many good episodes that help him develop in a natural way. Admittedly his development is rushed but it is still solid. You can see how much he's grown and learned from Ash. But I'm not a fan of sidelining Cinderace and Inteleon after their evolution.

If you took any one episode of JN without context and watched it, you'd probably like it, other than a select few. The episode with the girl and her Cleffa was on par with Sun and Moon's episodes tackling the same subject. The episode with Goh and Drizzle was really good. The Alola episodes were amazing, as expected. JN does well with the worldbuilding and this is the first series that made me feel like there was a whole world of pokemon. The world feels alive and the characters feel real, and they have certain moments that actually made me think, that is, I feel like they actually have some complex thought processes which I didnt really get from other series (except of course Sun and Moon). The companion returns feel natural and their character and dynamics with the new cast feel natural too. Where they are now shows their growth and the way they are used as mentors for the new cast shows how far they've come. I think JN has a lot of good and natural interactions between characters too. I'm not a huge fan of how Gary has been doing in the series, but that conversation with Goh in 113 about why he's in Project Mew if taken by itself is pretty good.

But we shouldn't have to take it alone. And I can't say that all the returns got good treatment either. Iris got outstanding treatment. Her character was handled well, she mellowed out more which showed her growth, she was allowed to be part of the M8 as Unova Champion and go toe to toe with her idol Cynthia. Dawn too got a good return with her appearing in many episodes and being able to show off how far she's come with her dynamic with Chloe and being like a mentor to her. Lillie and Gladion got a beautiful end to their journey that began in Sun and Moon, and Sophocles got a good episode too. Gary is fine too, his character is well incorporated. I wish he interacted with Ash though. Paul was done well, with him clearly having changed a lot and grown. Greninja as a mentor to Lucario was well done and they nailed his character and his power. The cameos are great, I love the distinct battle styles they gave each Champion, but... Alain.

Fuck that, they massacred him. I'm not even Alain's biggest fan. I like him, and I was looking forward to seeing him, but not a huge fan. And even I think they ruined him. I don't mind that he didn't battle Ash. But I wanted him to be shown the respect he deserves, and he was given a mere half episode to shine and then demolished to show off Leon. I get why, but they could have treated him better. Alain is no pushover either. But this highlights the main problem with JN, great ideas, poor execution. JN has ambition but falls woefully short most of the time. I respect the writers for being bold enough to try this new formula but they didn't pull it off. JN is really not a bad series and it keeps me excited but not for the quality of the episodes. In no way are they bad but I'm more excited for the spectacle of nostalgia than for anything the series itself has done. I'm fond of this season because it gave me fanservice. I got companion returns which were done reasonably well, some nice episodes, the game champions duking it out in a tournament, Alola rights, and basically everything I love about JN is because of other seasons.

Again I will say that JN isn't bad. But it's not good either, and watching it after something like Sun and Moon feels like a downgrade. Sun and Moon had its own flaws as did every season, but JN has some that even I can't really overlook anymore. It's no Black and White, but it's no Sun and Moon or XY either. It's... there, it's reasonably enjoyable, it had some great ideas that excited Twitter, but it fell short of its own hype.

I really want to love JN. And for a while in the beginning, I did. I still like it, but it's not the same. Maybe after a while I can look back at the good and enjoy it for what it is. I've done it before with other series once I've accepted whatever happens. But the fact that I have to is sad. I'm not mad, just... disappointed, I guess.

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wispforever · 3 years

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if youre still doing the character thing, how about spirit or marie?

I sure am. How about Spirit And Marie? Both wonderful characters. I’ll do Marie first, then Spirit. Thanks for the excuse to infodump, really. You people are too kind.

Marie Mjolnir

My first impression of Marie was the same impression I get of most female characters in anime. It’s either “why do their clothes have to look like that” or “oh god here comes the obligatory sexist heteronormative romance”. For Marie, it was more of the second. They mention in the same episode she’s introduced that Stein is her “first love”, which told me that if she had a large place in the plot, her assigned male counterpart around which to orbit would be him. Though I’ve never read the Soul Eater manga, I believe they do end up getting together there (I could be wrong). Whatever the case, I was relieved that Marie’s and Stein’s relationship (though heavily implied to be romantic, at least on Marie’s side) was left open to interpretation in the anime. I’m just very sick of cool badass female characters like Marie being reduced to the man they pine after. So, I guess my first impression of Marie and my impression of her now are largely the same. While I appreciate the moments we get to see her strengths and ability to operate on her own, I do think that her character really suffers because of the whole sexist “oh gosh all I want is to find a husband and retire” “oh my I have to take care of Stein” like okay, I had enough at the cat girl smothering Soul with her humungo-tits. I had enough at sexualizing underage girls and women in general. I had enough at making sexual harassment a punchline. That being said, when we push all of the shitty writing to the side, I admire Marie for her strength and how she interacts with the children, Crona in particular. Which leads me to my favorite moment(s).

The relationship Crona and Marie have interests me the most, since I’m really drawn to the parallels between Marie and Medusa. As parental figures (and as characters), they’re about as different as you can get. As Crona’s mother, Medusa is obviously abusive. Along with being negligent, she abuses Crona mentally, emotionally, and physically. In general, Medusa is a person who doesn’t appear to value interpersonal relationships, putting it nicely. She instead is more focused on her own interests, often to the detriment of those around her. Crona is Medusa’s only immediate family (besides Arachne who she is estranged from), and so they suffer the most from her refusal to show even a shred of human decency or warmth. They suffer especially because they are her child, meaning they’re stuck with her essentially, and repetivie abuse between family members like a mother and child often becomes complex because of the necessity of having a parental figure in your life to support you as you grow up. Medusa teaches Crona that their boundaries don’t matter and that they are only good as long as they are useful and do as they’re told. This is what makes Marie’s influence on Crona so cool to watch. Marie is caring by nature, loving and nurturing by nature. Her very wavelegnth is healing. She is kind and does what’s right reflexively. Marie is the exact embodiment of what Crona always needed but what, even upon being rescued by the academy, still felt so foreign to them: unconditional love. Crona struggles to understand why the other kids helped them, why Maka felt the inclination to stop their battle and save Crona instead by trying to understand them, why the kids are still so kind to them even after everything. They do not understand that love is not a bargaining chip. It isn’t leverage in an argument. It’s not a tool for emotional manipulation. Love is caring for the people close to you, just because. Love for the sake of love. The other kids and teachers at the academy are the ones who are able to pull Crona out of all Medusa’s lies, and Marie is a Huge part of that. Even though I have greivances with this being the largest part of her character and what that implies for female characters in general, it doesn’t stop being so beautiful to me that she could help Crona heal in this way. Marie = best mom for the win

Most of the story ideas I have for Marie involve her relationship with Crona or Stein. Say, this covers my unpopular opinion too. I don’t like Stein and Marie as a couple, but I really enjoy writing them as friends, because even though I don’t really jive with them being together romantically, I think their dynamic is an interesting one to explore because they Are so different.

Getting into that a little bit more, I’d like to start by saying I don’t care if other people like Stein and Marie being a couple. That’s great doods, keep doing you. The fanart’s adorable, the meta’s fantastic. Whoever you are, SteinMarie shippers, ffs keep kicking ASS. This is just my preference and opinion. Zero shade in this house. That said, because of my frustrations about Marie’s character I discussed in the first paragraph, I don’t like the idea of her and Stein being together romantically. It’s really a classic sexist trope: the troubled man and his sweet nurse. I’m also just fed up in general with the hetero-nonsense, so there. However, they are both wonderful characters that I enjoy very much seperately. Also, I think it’s worth mentioning that I’ve only seen the anime, so I can’t speak for the manga as far as their relationship or Marie’s character in general.

Oh shit I accidentally already talked about this one lmao [see the second paragraph]

One headcanon I like to think about when I’m writing Marie is that she likes women (in addition to men or not) and she struggles with comphet. Just something interesting I like to think about. It’s really fun for me to take characters who have been written as pining or had 10 million failed relationships and be like “say what if they can’t find a husband cuz really what they really need is a wife”. I’ll talk about that more with Spirit inevitably.

Spirit Albarn

My first impression of Spirit, obviously him being a cheater, really came with a lot of distaste. I come from a family that was torn apart by infidelity, among other things, so it really rubs me the wrong way. However, his saving grace for me was that he genuinely loves his daughter. It appears that, whether it’s played for laughs or not, he just can’t find fulfillment in his romantic relationships. The reason is left up to the veiwers. Spirit, ultimately, is not just a shitty person, which is how most cheaters are protrayed in media. “Well, they cheated because they don’t care if they hurt people”, “they cheated because they are shit and that’s it”. That’s a fine explanation if you plan to do nothing with whatever character you’re describing, but Spirit is relatively recurring and is shown to be neither mean-spirited or emotionally unintelligent. It bothers me that his cheating and routine sexist behaviour isn’t taken seriously enough to be a subject that Soul Eater tackles and deals with. But that’s fine. I’ll just do it myself. At any rate, I still feel that same way about Spirit’s character, but I find it intriguing that he seems to genuinely want to become a better father and is actually a pretty good dad when it comes to his interactions with Maka. If Soul Eater had been brave enough to develop him more, maybe delve into the reasoning behind his impulsive romantic affairs, I think Spirit as a character could have been done more justice. It seems to me that he could be suffering from some of that wonderful compulsory heterosexuality that I mentioned before, then becoming confused when the woman he claims to love leaves him feeling empty. Rattling my gay little cage

When I think of my favorite moments with Spirit, I think of his moments with Maka, but I’m gonna hold off on that until I get to favorite relationship(s). In reference to what I talked about in the first paragraph, one moment I find really interesting when I’m thinking about my interpretation of Spirit’s character is the scene where he and Maka are on the roof talking. Maka asks Spirit why he cheated on her mother if he did, in fact, love her. He doesn’t appear to know the answer, and he doesn’t really understand how to effectively communicate that, though he was shitty husband, what he really wants now is to try and be a better dad. We hear his inner monologue, and he says something like “I love you [Maka] and your mama. That’s the truth. That’s the truth. That’s the truth.” Every time he says “its the truth” it sounds more like he’s forcing it. This is actually something that is SO strange to me. Even if I didn’t project a queer narrative on to the characters I love, I would look at this and be like “huh that is a Weird thing to say in that specific way”. Why does he say it like that? Why does he have to say it more than once? He’s only talking to HIMSELF. It isn’t like he’s trying to convince Maka. Why does he have to convince himself?? Could it possibly be because he’s reached a conclusion about his romantic/sexual orientation that he’s been trying to swallow his Entire Life??? makes ya wonder, doesn’t it, queers?

Just like I said when I talked about Stein, most of the stories I have in mind with Spirit center around that sweet gayness. But also, I like to think of ways Spirit could come to terms with his sexuality, how it might have affected him when he was young, his relationship with all these women, with his wife. I love to think about him being a dad at 18 and trying his best, but how much responsibility that must have been. Lots of great ideas when it comes to Spirit.

Um? unpopular opinion would be all the standard like I said with Stein lmao. “Oh no!” scream the heteros, “that they/them on tumblr is making Soul Eater queer we canst not allow that in our church!!!111!” But besides that, maybe even the fact that I think he’s redeemable?? Idk most everyone I’ve met thinks Spirit is funny at least and just calls him a dumbass and a slut (affectionate). Doesn’t mean anybody thinks cheating on your wife 56 times is okay so. I like this fandom, it’s chill here. My favorite is when I see my art tagged like “aw the stupid man and his crazy bf” like YOU ARE RIGHT

My favorite relationship when it comes to Spirit (besides Stein cuz if I start talking about them again I’ll never finish this ask) is the one he has with Maka. If you can call it a relationship lol. I guess I just find Spirit’s approach to Maka as a parent really refreshing. Not that the parents in other shows don’t love their kids or whatever, it’s just that the loving parent always seems to be paired with some other trope that makes their character hard to approach. especially in anime. Like the perfect mother who dies in the first episode, and we spend the rest of the show mourning her. Or the father whose love is somehow everlasting even though he’s never home. It’s really the fact that Spirit is even THERE that I love. He knows what Maka is up to. He talks about her. He’s invested in her life, and he loves her. All he wants is to spend time with her, and though he’s sad when she turns him down, he doesn’t push her. god dammit I just like a dad who actually loves his kids without all the usual strings attached like. oh my kids are a huge pain in my ass, but I love them in spite of it. oh i’m a man so can’t relate to my children in a meaningful way but i try. Get the fuck outta here with that shit. I want all the dads to get so happy when their daughters wanna hang with them that they throw up like Spirit. Give me the guy who loves his daughter so naturally, whose daughter is such a huge part of his life, that it doesn’t even occur to him stop trying even if she literally wants to murder him. That’s Spirit. jfc

To end with a cute little headcanon, I really love to think that when Spirit gets older and starts losing the color in his hair, instead of getting white or grey, his hair turns a pale pink color cuz he’s such an aggressive redhead. Wouldn’t that just be adorable? late 30′s, early 40′s, Spirit starts getting little pink streaks in his hair and then bam. Little pink old man Spirit XD

There ya have it. Thanks for the ask, and feel free to send more.

#Soul Eater #Ask #Ask game #anon #Marie Mjolnir #Spirit Albarn #this is wisp

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funky-boat-zone · 3 years

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the lighthouse chronicles: part 8/??

some guys have all the luck

well, at least they changed boomer’s voice so he doesn’t sound so similar to zug.

you can still hear some of zug’s raspiness slipping in at certain points though

it’s weird seeing boomer so upbeat abt his jinx tbh, especially since he was relieved at the idea of sinking in the original episode

how it captain star coughing from the smoke if she’s a good distance away from the tugs and at least a story above them?

ffs sunshine, never say “what could possibly go wrong”, ever. because if you do, anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

“think positive, happy thoughts” he is though? he’s mostly optimistic about all his mishaps, especially compared to tugs!boomer

“we gotta take a look under your waterline” “in front of everybody?” i guess that makes sense as the boat equivalent of something taboo (ie. embarrassing medical checkups), since everything under the waterline is supposed to stay submerged.. i still hate that this implies that the boats have an equivalent to human standards of “decency”

they used footage from “munitions” for the fireworks, and that made me think of what would have happened if boomer was in charge of the munitions for that episode. (hint: it’s Very Bad)

and so the moral of the story is that if you constantly fail at everything you try, you simply haven’t tried hard enough or tried it enough times! (and yes i know that’s not always a bad lesson but it feels really condescending/insincere in this context)

dream on

oh hey, a top hat-focused episode

nooooo they’re making my boy sea rogue a bad guy :(

wait, this episode makes sea rogue and the green-eyed pirates into the same character (and it’s obviously really inconsistent between shots)

top hat not knowing if what he saw was real implies that he almost never dreams and has very little understanding of how they work

don’t do this to sea rogue :(

the idea of ten cents and sunshine (who are pretty heavily implied to be kids) trying to stop sea rogue makes me worry for their safety

GRAMPUS DON’T ENCOURAGE THEM

holy shit this is an awful idea

it was fine in the original series, but this just feels like two kids trying to stop a (potentially armed) criminal and their grandfather figure encouraging them to do so!

and so it was all a dream, sea rogue was never real, making this whole episode pretty much pointless.

gotta say, top hat has surprisingly well-constructed and cohesive dreams

sound off

ten cents breaks up a fight between two grown adults (then again, that’s entirely normal for ttte so i don’t really have the right to point it out)

i do not like how boffo/socko (idek which one is which) called captain star “babe”. you are a boat, my good sir. don’t do that.

i can understand why they couldn’t keep burke and blair as corpse dealers, but i don’t understand why the people in charge of adapting the episodes made them a duo of shady movie producers

like steamer/johnny cuba, this is another episode where the original context unfairly colors my view of the guest characters

captain star you literally just met these boats and have no real proof that they’re trustworthy beyond their word, don’t just hand otis over to them without question

with the original episode in mind and how no one is questioning their intentions, it almost feels like boffo and socko are gonna scrap otis at the end of of this!

zorran really considers himself movie star material when he looks like a less batshit waluigi

also otis keeps insisting that he’s fine when the other boats doubt him, pretty ironic with “quarantine” in mind

captain star don’t let otis go with them

nooooooo

treasure hunt

gotta appreciate top hat laughing at his own bad jokes

kinda weird how they’re sort of treating the fultan ferry as sapient and also.. not? they’re very worried about its disappearance (moreso than something like a barge), but don’t acknowledge it like it’s sapient

oh nvm, the fultan ferry can talk and is also using masculine pronouns now. probably a continuity error, but y’know what? good for it/him

how many rusty, identical old trampers can possibly be in snugboat harbor? first rusty, then tramper, then this one. i think it’s just nantucket putting on voices and pretending to be a bunch of separate, inexplicably identical boats tbh

when was ten cents’ using his imagination established as his “special talent”?? he doesn’t do anything particularly imaginative (unless you count this series’ equivalent of “ghosts”)

ten cents, stop explaining to sally how she can help because she can fly. she already knows this stuff, just ask her for help

also wow, sally doesn’t even get any lines outside the narration? poor girl

“even grampus helped” don’t discredit grampus like that

#the lighthouse chronicles #shitpost #ask to tag #all caps #reaction tag

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ridasverkisto · 3 years

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for the black clover meme ask: 1, 13, 23, 30 and 48

Oh! I didn’t actually expect to get any asks for it...cool! For reference, the ask meme post is here.

1. Favorite Character?

This is a hard one—I don’t usually tend to have only one favorite character, but a herd of them that I love for a lot of different reasons. The two that jump out at me off the top of my head though are Dorothy and Noelle—Dorothy just because she’s fun and I love her, and Noelle because I love her character arc. Noelle specifically is the only character I’ve yelled at a TV screen for lol 😂

13. Favorite Clover Kingdom place?

...see, I don’t usually think about this sort of thing, just because I don’t get attached to places unless I go there in person. I guess just off the top of my head it would probably be the Capital, if only because I’m a shameless worldbuilding junkie and I’m extremely curious to see more of it.

23. Any (hetero or LGBT) romantic/platonic pairings you’re fond of?

I think the biggest is Magna/Luck, either romantic or platonic—I’m soft for two dumbasses sharing a brain cell and being best friends, regardless of whether it’s romantic or not. I also once saw a pairing for Charmy/Rill/Langris and I hold it close to my heart if only bc the potential for comedy and character growth is amazing.

Finral & Langris is also a good one, so long as it’s like...actual Sibling Energy and not thinly veiled incest wishing. Oh! And Yuno & Asta. I understand why people ship them romantically, and I can see it to some extent, but...you can’t tell me Yuno isn’t a Dramatic Bitch specifically to troll Asta, and if that isn’t peak Sibling Energy I don’t know what is.

30. Least favorite fandom theory?

Without a doubt, the idea that Dante could be Asta’s dad. Don’t get me wrong, I can see where the thought came from, but it just—it completely goes against how Black Clover handles tropes, and it’s just. Ugh.

If Tabata goes that way, that’s fine and I’ll live—but as it stands without better evidence and set up it just feels gross and I really don’t like it.

48. What do you feel is the series’s biggest flaw? How would you have handled it differently?

Hm. This is a hard one, bc overall I really do like how Tabata has been handling the series. I think the biggest flaw to me, personally, is how he handles his female characters in presentation. Like, personality-wise they’re pretty good overall (various female characters, each with different personalities and motivations, thank you!), but. How he handles crushes in the series, plus how Noelle and Mimosa in the art have been consistently drawn in fanservice-y ways is really bad.

First and foremost, let me get this out of the way: it’s not that I disapprove of the crushes in the series—in fact, I think they’re all believable. It’s the way the characters—specifically Charlotte—hem and haw around being adults about their emotions. Noelle and Mimosa—cool, fine, they’re 15, they’re not supposed to be adults about their emotions. And Charlotte’s a bit of a neurotic mess sometimes, so her struggling to tell Yami makes sense. HOWEVER.

I’m aware Tabata doesn’t rly want to write romance into the series (he’s on record saying so, tho I can’t find the source as of rn), but if you don’t want full on romance, then a crush shouldn’t be such an integral part of how you present a character to the audience. I’m also aware that this is probably mainly an anime problem due to fillers, but the point remains—Charlotte’s personality gets filtered down to “strict and serious on the battlefield” and “oh no it’s Yami 😖😳”

It’s a less serious problem with Noelle and Mimosa because we see more of them, and we get to see parts of their personalities that don’t revolve around their crush on Asta, but like. Maybe it’s because I’m aromantic, but constantly seeing “will-they-won’t-they” is so tired at this point.

My solution? Either a) don’t focus on it so much—flushing, being tongue-tied, cool, fine, but it’s not the CENTER OF THEIR PERSONALITY FFS. Or b) have one or all of them confess to their crush. Have it actually go somewhere, with the growth that entails; because whether or not Yami or Asta, etc., accept their feelings, that’s a change in the status quo. It’s progress and development. It’s INTERESTING.

Or you know, instead of having all of your romantic stuff being crushes, have someone like...Vanessa or idk, Dorothy or David or something with a background relationship. Not just a barely mentioned one with Kaiser—but one that is shown in the text and shapes part of their growth.

Also, male crush representation! Let the guys want a relationship and have a crush. Finral and Asta are the outliers here and they’re both treated as comedic relief—Asta has a sort of creepily insistent puppy crush on Sister Lily, and I really really wish it was written differently, and Finral is working on getting better already. But let the guys have interpersonal wants and needs without constantly playing it for comedic effect! Or using awful tropes!!

Basically, my take is that how romance and certain interpersonal relationships in the series is handled isn’t...terrible, exactly, it’s pretty Shounen standard, but how I’d like to see it handled is with more variety and respect. If you’re gonna write in crushes and implied romance, then actually commit to the bit and do something with it.

(Also please don’t get me started on the Silvas and how their treatment of Noelle gets sort of...hand waved, after they apologize during the Reincarnation Arc. Forgiveness and rebuilding a relationship of any kind from abuse like that isn’t easy, and I hate that it just sort of...gets ignored like everything’s fine now. Because it’s NOT.)

...that got long, sorry. I have issues with how mainstream media writes romance a lot of the time, and I think it shows. 😅

#black clover #black clover ask meme #ask meme #I have THOUGHTS on how the series has handled certain things #overall it’s really solid #but it falls into the trap a lot of shounen’s do #really the vast majority of mainstream media does #and that’s thinking that the will-they-won’t-they is more entertaining than the actual RELATIONSHIP #it’s fine if a crush is just thinking someone is physically attractive and doesn’t go any deeper than that #but you can’t have all of your crushes in a story just sit there pining after someone #that’s why so many harem anime’s get on my nerves #have some variety #bc having them all waffle around is so fucking stupid #you could even have someone else get fed up and either reveal it to the crush themselves #or lock them in a room together to force the person to confess to their crush #tension is all well and good but not when it just sits there and is always teased and never resolved #if you have tension DO SOMETHING WITH IT DONT WASTE IT #this is also the problem I have with a lot of romance stories #slow burn is fine bc they’re always steadily moving towards a relationship and the tension is built and resolved in increments #but if you aren’t going to USE the tension #or at least contrast it with different examples #don’t fucking put it in your story #Chekhov’s gun is a thing for a REASON #bluh #this is probably at least in part bc I am VERY aromantic #and I just straight up don’t understand romantic attraction at all #mixed with my huge soft spot for character dynamics #thanks for coming to my TEDtalk

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themountainsays · 4 years

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It's clear Anna and Elsa have loved each other since ALWAYS, because they grew up together (partially), and I've seen a lot of fics develop their romantic relationship from that point, their feelings evolving towards that direction.

But i wonder, if they didn't know each other, what would they find attractive about the other? What would first attract them to each other? What would make them love each other? Because non-familial love is always conditional (as all healthy non-familial love is), so there must be a reason for them to love each other. Shared experience and the gradual development of a bond is a great answer but I'm thinking more about the particular personality traits, for lack of a better word, that make them want to spend time together or even like each other at all.

I can very easily see why someone would be attracted to Anna because ngl she's pretty much my type. Funny, energetic, idealistic, a heart full of love and kindness and courage. Not afraid to get dirty or engage in risky physically activity. I think what I admire the most about her was her willingness to do the right thing, no matter how painful. Watching her try to destroy her own home simply because it was the correct thing to do sent chills down my spine because thats exactly what I admire in a comrade. Someone willing to sacrifice individual happiness for the good of the community.

(Oof getting pretty lefty latina on main let's go back to frozen)

But for Elsa? I mean, most of her character development revolves around her powers and the trauma related to them. It's reached a point where it's impossible to tell where the powers end and Elsa begins. I do think this is intentional and it's not a bad writing decision, even I personally would rather explore who she is as a person and a human being in a way that doesn't revolve entirely around her powers and trauma.

I remember making a post about it? You can read it here and it's basically about how Elsa deserves better than becoming a norse godess: she deserves to he a normal woman among normal people. It makes more sense in the post go read it

So that's what i'm gonna try to do! As you can see no structure no essay only unorganized thoughts posted in tumbrl dot com for everyone to disagree with

I mean from canon we Uuuh well this is going to sound like a no brainer but Elsa is a very careful person. With other people not with herself lmao but you can see in every scene with how much care she treats others. This is usually physical care, because she was raised to believe emotions didn't matter and physical safety was the most important thing, and this is why she repeately ends up hurting people's feelings, all in an attempt to keep then physically safe (rejecting Anna at the party TWICE, both events clearly hurting both. Sending Anna away on the canoe (NOT A KAYAK), which again is painful for both sisters). But if you look at the bigger picture you can observe there's much more than that. From the beginning she spoils her little sister and takes care of her as kids, and through Frozen Fever she cranks up the spoiling to eleven, because she actually loves to see Anna happy. It's very painful for Elsa to reject her. You can see it at the party and during the canoe scene. Actually she loves to see EVERYONE happy. At the end of Frozen i, during OFA and at the beginning of frozen ii she spends time with her people literally making toys for children like fucking Santa Claus, creating an ice skating rink in her own backyard and organizing a fest for everyone to eat for fucking free (two fests, actually. maybe three? Can't remember) i mean what kind of queen does this?? She's way too nice. Even when people are trying to kill her her first reaction is to beg them to stay away so she won't hurt them. She makes it clear she's hiding in the mountains not because she's scared of being hurt (WHICH IS WHAT GRAND PABBIE PREDICTED WOULD HAPPEN). She's hiding because she doesn't want to cause harm. She's trying to fucking protect the people who want to kill her. In frozen ii her first reaction to seeing the tiny dragon is trapped is to offer him a hand and play with him because she's just that nice. She later cuddles a baby reindeer. Oh and in FF she's being mom friend on main by mothering kristoff and olaf as well. Remember she bought him a new sledge and invented a whole new job for him when she could do it herself with her magic? Now she's wiping the paint from his face. You know, like a mom. She even does it in thay gross mom way, licking her thumb and smearing the saliva all over ew ew my mom did that every time i got food on my face its gross. I wonder how kristoff didn't get a cold too that shit's contagious. Anyways, conclussion: while i think her desire to protect people was exacerbated by her trauma, i do think she always had it on her. She likes making people happy. She makes fucking toys for children is she a queen or a toy factory. She likes to spoil everyone around her. And I think this is partially because she wants people to like her. You can see how much it hurts her when people think badly of her ("you only know how to shut people out"). Later, seeing her people scared of her is what makes her run away. Hans telling her not to be the monster everyone thinks she is is what stops her and snaps her back into reality. No one likes to be disliked, but I think Elsa is particularly sensitive to this. And you can see her at her happiest in two different situations:

When she's being loved and cherished by her people (with Anna by her side)

And when she's free and in the wild.

Which leads me to my second point: Elsa is a horse girl

Ok but apart from being a horse girl you can see she... really enjoys being outside, and being free, and exploring the unknown. I'm thinking about LIG, SY and in part yeah ITU. She seems to actually enjoy physical activity like running and probably also hiking? Being away from society seems to be very stimulating for her which, first of all same. If i could live in a glacier i would i completely understand her choice because that's every girl's dream: live in the ice AND study history all day. What else could you possibly want? This is actually when she's at her highest energy. Being introverted doesn't mean you have low energy it doesn't mean jack shit which is why I think I can safely say Elsa is a kinda high energy person actually. Particularly when she's happy (hello??? Frozen Fever??), and what seems to bring the most excitement to her is to be outdoors and in nature. You know like a horse girl. She sings and dances and she's a huge dork who likes to play in the snow and ride horses and sleep on moving sledges and cuddle smelly baby reindeer and climb mountains. It does take her a bit to come out of her shell tho. You can see how stiff she is during the charades scene. But by the end of Frozen i she's dancing with her sister in the ice, surrounded by the entire kingdom.

Shes highly sensitive too. Like I mean this is a no brainer. And her lack of emotional intelligence doesn't help. But if you focus more on how strongly she feels and less on how little control she has over her emotions in frozen i at least you can appreciate how kind her heart is. Did i mention she makes toys for random kids like santa claus? But seriously, she doesn't have a mean spirited bone in her body. Apart from making Anna dance with the duke of weaselton (Oooh mischevious little shit). She's ALWAYS feeling things and VERY STRONGLY. ALL THE TIME. Its like she doesn't have a neutral mode. She's either crying of happiness and dancing like a hippie or having a mental breakdown. I can only imagine she experiences love, wonder, tenderness, care, excitement, indignation, surprise, grief... all so intensely. Her view of the world must be through a filter of constant emotion. When everything elicits such a strong reaction in her heart, she must experience the world in a very special way.

She's also an architecture nerd. She made a whole ice castle by herself in like a minute. Which means she's also a math nerd. She likes geography and physics. This is canon. She built a castle by herself.

She also giggles when awkward or nervous or maybe embarassed (but not scared) (sources, FF, that scene when kai startles her and she freezes her own hands).

Now i'm thinking about about a very famous architect visiting Arendelle and the mighty legendary ice queen giggling like a little girl and fiddling with her hands as she's organizing the welcome and making sure everything is PERFECT because she's going to meet someone she admires. See? Can you picture that scene? Yeah that has more personality than some of her scenes in f2

Oh right and she's also a hardcore perfectionist. She has high standards for herself and she gets frustrated and dissapointed if she can't meet them. Observe how she doesn't hold anyone but herself to these standards. Just look at the first scene in FF, how much pressure she puts in herself to make the PERFECT CAKE DECORATION but she's more accepting of Kristoff and Olaf's imperfections.

Kinda delving into headcanon territory but remember that comic with Anna separating all the blue M&Ms bc she knows those are Elsa's favorite so she can eat them all in front of her as revenge for shutting her out, and Elsa is having a philosophical breakdown at 8 in her room and Anna angrily eating all the blue M&Ms snaps her back into reality? Yep that's her. Elsa thinks too much. But she gets stuck in her ideas and doesn't end up doing anything unless she's pushed to it. Compare to Anna, who might be less thoughtful but more active, coming up with plans and solutions on the spot (not all of which are good but at least they're SOMETHING) while Elsa philosophizes too much and ends up doing nothing. But the scene that made me think of this was when, after her parents tell her the story of the magic forest, Anna goes "that was EPIC" while Elsa looks down and very quietly she asks what happened to the forest and Ahtohallan yep that's bc she thinks too much and also she's an enneagram 6

Speaking of which if i had to type i think her tritype would be... 6w7, 1w2, 5w4? In that order. Yep she's a 6w7 like Rapunzel. I thought about typying her as a 6w5 but i think her 5 wing comes out the most when she's repressing herself and hiding and concealing and not feeling and all that shit. When she's free and happy she's acting much more like a 7. Whoever said Anna is a 6 and Elsa is a 4 can get out of my blog bc Anna is clearly a 2. Probably. I think. No 6 would throw a snowball at marshmallow. I do think it's somewhere in her tritype considering frozen ii tho. Too much enneagram bullshit. To the conclussion:

Conclussion: these are some of the reasons why someone (including Anna) could fall in love with Elsa. In the movie Anna loves Elsa bc she's her sister but if her love was conditional, like most healthy love is, i think these could be the reasons why she would love her, platonically or romantically. Basically she's too nice, was probably be the kindest and most sensitive queen ever, and she's a nerd, and she's a horse girl, and she giggles when nervous (v important). And also she's a perfectionist.

#don't mind me i'm just rambling and thinking about my fic over here #maybe half of thse are headcanons maybe not who knows definitely not me #i wrote this at uuuuh 6 am but like at night bc i didnt sleep #frozen #elsa #character analysis if you squint

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p-st · 5 years

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sakura haruno fics (ao3)

an old anon sent me on the quest of a lifetime when they first asked for sakura fic recs and my brain went “lets read every fic on ao3 in the sakura haruno tag” (also ff.net but thats gonna have to be another post in the far off future bc ff is an old giant)

fics are split into finished, in progress, and abandoned (and the fics with ⭐ are my top faves) plus every category’s fics will be in order from shortest to longest. im gonna include the original summaries along with my own separate take (really more of a reaction) and any warnings the fics need!

THIS IS A LABOR OF LOVE!!!!! which is a nice way of saying it’s long as shit, it took me forever, and i loved every second of it! let me know if any links dont work, theres typos that dont look purposeful, there’s warnings missing, if any fics arent in order, the formatting isnt right, etc.etc.

my sincerest apologies to mobile users

fair warning: im not exaggerating when i say it’s really long

(pic from naruto-manga-caps)

author’s note: im dumb and have adhd and though ive read most of these fics at least twice, i tend to skip over text. with this in mind PLEASE let me know if you come across anything in these fics that makes you uncomfy so i can either add a warning or remove it entirely

want to navigate faster? ctrl+f to search key words like: [ship], [author], bamf, mokuton, (team as) family, etc!

FINISHED

in the roots of the forest (i am birthed) by frostnesia

ship: none // words: 272 // chapters: 1/1

so little sakura walks; past the flowers, the vines, the bright red gates and enters to a sanctuary no one with a beating heart had stepped in for more than a hundred years.

au. little ficlet! OOF im always a little heart eyed about godly iconography. plotless! just a good short read that would absolutely rock my world if it was expanded into a multichapter story but it’s still good as is!

Seven or Two by grit

ship: sakura & kakashi // words: 623 // chapters: 1/1

He makes a split-second decision. Their teamwork was atrocious, but he knows who to blame, and it’s not the girl who blackmailed her teammates into giving a damn.

i really do need more fics where kakashi recognizes the similarities between himself and sakura. tbh i just need more fics where sakura gets the love and recognition she deserves. this is a good short fic for that! team seven doesnt make it through but sakura does! eventually! warning for one weird line abt the yamanakas that might make ppl uncomfy

Twelve and Sixteen by therebaeka

ship: none // words: 625 // chapters: 1/1

Twelve years old Sakura was weak. She was annoying. She cried over the littlest thing. She had no pain tolerance at all. She wanted to be strong. Sixteen years old Sakura was strong. She can split the earth. She can heal anything. She can take anything thrown at her. She wanted to be twelve again.

god i love fics that touch on all the negative effects a shinobi lifestyle has on ninja kids (like the loss of childhood innocence/wonderment). character growth and mostly a character analysis type fic which i love. sakura just loves her team but she misses being a kid (team as family!!)

Three Sentence Ficlets by Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling)

ship: narusasusaku // words: 626 // chapters: 3/3

Tiny ficlets written for various iterations of the Three Sentence Ficathon:

1) A quiet moment, after the world doesn't end. 2) Sakura reaches the valley's rim just in time. 3) The night before Naruto's investiture as Hokage.

soft and kind short fics abt my fav ot3. first chap is set post-war, 2nd is set during naruto and sasukes fight in the valley before he goes to orochimaru, and the setting of the 3rd is in the above description. these are really soft fics and im a sucker for the slice of life feelings

Another Kind of You by rhenna

ship: sasusaku // words: 655 // chapters: 1/1

"The problem with the color black is that it can't decide whether it is the color of the classically evil or the color of the bad-boy hero."

they are.. just liddle babies..team as family feelings bc that’s what really gets me in my uwus. not shippy! just sakura’s usual baby crush! surprisingly introspective

Unravel by grit

ship: none // words: 683 // chapters: 1/1

Sakura will be a shinobi soon and they know to coat their bare skin in poison.

au. sakura is a kiri nin amidst the bloodline purges. honestly just a super interesting look into life in kirigakure during this time and how its beliefs reflect on its children. warning for animal death and a little bit of an unhinged world view

I’ll Carry You by naru_writes

ship: narusasusaku // words: 701 // chapters 1/1

I’ll just rest my eyes for a bit, Sakura tells herself, slowly petting the now sleeping kitten, and then I’ll start on dinner.

i LIVE for domestic fluff and established relationships aaa. they love and care about her so much it makes my heart happy. all from sakura’s pov

Puppy Love by Dovey

ship: kibasaku // words: 852 // chapters: 1/1

It’s Sakura’s first day in the academy when she falls in love with Kiba Inuzuka.

i looooove how differently she grows as a character with just one difference. really cute baby genin crush. theyre rowdy, muddy, rough housing best friends. really short and lighthearted

Selfless Stunt by Michinokao

ship: sakura & naruto & sasuke // words: 859 // chapters: 1/1

Sakura wants to become chunin. She really does. However, after seeing Naruto’s nervousness, she decides to raise her hand to drop out with her team.

set during chunin exams. OOF babey im always here for team 7 as family fics!! short little thing and just feel good for ppl who stan sakura and love when others take her feelings into consideration :’)

What You See is What You Get, So Look Away by Dovey

ship: none // words: 903 // chapters: 1/1

a warmup piece i wrote trying to make a Kakashi who’s not so oblivious.

kakashi’s pov. lots of introspection and meta and i love this kind of stuff a lot. analysis on how different naruto and sasuke are from the rest of their team. love love love when anyone brings up sakura’s own mortality and what she had to do to get to where she is. aaa also the author notes at the end are very worth the read

Snake Tooth by Pinnacle of Failure (Cromirn)

ship: none // words: 904 // chapters: 1/1

The Forest of Death doesn't go right. Sakura can't tell what's real and what's not.

exactly as the summary says! orochimaru does some genjutsu stuff and my poor girl get severely messed up mentally. warning for implications of gore and an unstable mind. part one in a trilogy (others are on this list)

Here Are Your Bones Crossed by grit

ship: none // words: 977 // chapters: 1/1

Sakura begins recovery by unfurling her hands and giving him a tense report. Kakashi waits patiently for her to stumble through Konoha Standard, motions well-memorised but never practiced, and gently reaches out to lift her chin, making her look at him.

(Sakura blames herself. For trusting Kabuto, for not being stronger, for being here when really it should have been Naruto who survived.)

it’s fucked :( sakura is gonna need such a good therapist it’s really what she deserves. and if i did tear up a little after that last thing kakashi said? well thats between me and whoever’s reading this. read the author notes at the end for an explanation of whats going on in this timeline

Wind and Water, Earth and Rain by theformerone

ship: narusaku // words: 1020 // chapters: 1/1

Naruto almost loses himself on the Wave Mission. But in a world where Team Seven was created to prevent another Kyuubi attack, there is always someone there to remind him of who he is.

set during wave arc. MOKUTON SAKURA. not shippy at all? incredibly easy to take as platonic and just a sweet team 7 as family fic (which i did before i looked at the tags??) warning for super brief gore

⭐How Do You Tell a Girl You Want to Kiss Her? by theformerone

ship: shikasaku // words: 1084 // chapters: 1/1

Shikamaru punches a hole through Sakura’s wall. She can’t really deal with that until she has her morning coffee.

au. part three of the role reversal au (others are listed later) this is really cute and theres nothing life or death about it and i love how idk. normal it is? sakura is just tired and taking it in stride and shikamaru is a flustered mess (choji is a good wingman) (and god this is a small thing but i love the lowkey team 7 stuff. my faves are my faves in any universe)

Of Gardens and Girls by Dovey

ship: sakura & team 7 // words: 1128 // chapters: 1/1

Soulmates: a person so important, so loved, and so central to your life that the universe acknowledges it. Flowers representing that love will grow inside of you until the love is requited, or you move on.

Sakura has a lot of soulmates.

au. set throughout timeline. really bittersweet, so damn bittersweet. this fic makes my heart hurt bc she’s so full of love and deserves better. (theres also a lot more ships nd every single one is platonic except for the naruhinagaa) warning for death :’(

Forgetting Something by theformerone

ship: sakukarin // words: 1130 // chapters: 1/1

Well I’m not eating you out in the kitchen like I was planning on when your daughter left.”

Sakura snorts.

“So she’s just my daughter now?”

Karin follows her into the room and sets down Sarada’s new spare pair of glasses on her desk.

“When you help her cause minor property damage before seven in the morning, yes, she’s your daughter.”

set in boruto universe. really fucking sweet. this is just a short and cute little slice of life thing w adorable sakura and sarada interactions

Smiles in Spring by Kalira

ship: inosaku // words: 1179 // chapters: 1/1

One spring day when they are very small, Ino meets a little girl with shy eyes, a beautiful smile, and pink hair, and immediately knows what she wants in her future. Ino's never had any qualms bending the force of her will on the universe to be sure she gets whatever she wants.

NOT sakura centric but i excused a couple of other fics already PLUS this is cute so whatever. it’s just short and cute and makes my heart swell

Drawing Her Back by Kalira

ship: inosaku // words: 1197 // chapters: 1/1

It's not the first time Sakura has had to lead her lover back to herself from deep in her own mind, and it probably won't be the last. She doesn't like it . . . but she can do it.

sakura is the best. have i mentioned that before? i love her more than anything if you didnt already know that about me. sakura is just making sure ino is okay and helping in any way she can and my heart is soft

Underneath the Underneath (is nothing but bones and blood) by Dovey

ship: none // words: 1269 // chapters: 1/1

Sakura has a weak heart. This isn’t metaphorical, but literal- she’s born with a heart too small to pump properly. A valve is slightly misaligned, and any strenuous activity could kill her.

set from genin era to the attack on the village amidst the chunin exam. and again! dovey delivers the good stuff! no dialogue. life kinda comes at her fast and you can almost feel her whole mindset shift

Nothing but Paint by grit

ship: none // words: 1382 // chapters: 1/1

Sakura has her hand fist-deep in Sasuke's rib cage, seriously tempted to rip his heart out like he did hers, a conflict of interest mitigated only by the code of honor her shishou drilled into her, when she realizes that Team Seven won't return to Konoha without him this time.

character exploration of team 7 surrounding sakura (my weakness) not sure where in the timeline this is but i know it's post sai and yamato joining the team. it's short but interesting as hell!! immediate warning for blood if the desc didnt give it away

Hands Reaching Out by orlha

ship: shikasaku // words: 1412 // chapters: 1/1

The price of winning the war was steeper than Sakura imagined it to be. It was a price she gladly pay over and over again but the thought of not living long enough to see this new peace burns in her chest.

post war. just a short angsty little thing abt sakura and her seal. mentions of death

Canary Bill by Pinnacle of Failure (Cromirn)

ship: none // words: 1474 // chapters: 1/1

she knows that what they did for her will come back around. she didn't expect it to be this way.

part two of the disjointed realities series! still set during the exams and my poor girl still has some residual effects of the genjutsu orochimaru put her through. it’s not clear whether it’s real or not

From Ashes by Dovey

ship: none // words: 1476 // chapters: 2/2

She hasn’t got a family, hasn’t got a team, not in any way either of those words should count. It’s time to come to terms with that.

set near the beginning of shippuden it seems? interesting implications about her family that i want more of plus emphasis on team 7 as family minus her which hurts my heart aa. warning for death, blood, and gore (not super graphic)

Boar Tusk by Pinnacle of Failure (Cromirn)

ship: none // words: 1499 // chapters: 1/1

she burns in the flames of memories of which are fake, they boil her skin and melt flesh and she is nothing more than a skeleton of what she was. she wishes she were not what she is now, what she was then, and she begs.

last part of the disjointed realities series! still during the exams! yeah she’s definitely traumatized, no question about it.

How Lame by theformerone

ship: shikasaku // words: 1527 // chapters: 1/1

Nara Shikamaru is the Godaime’s apprentice. Sakura thinks he’s a world class nag.

au. ROLE REVERSALS!! super interesting!!!!! teams are still the same but their stories and personalities are different? anyway this au is cute and i love team seven’s relationship and also sakura’s skills are cool as SHIT. plus the shikasaku interactions are cute. part one of this role swap series.

Letters to the Front by Kalira

ship: hinasaku // words: 1644 // chapters: 1/1

Sakura, as both head medic and close friend and advisor to the Hokage, is not lacking for news from back home even as she manages the field hospital at the front lines, but her most prized letters are not those advising her of news on the war and politics.

set during war time. sakura just loves and appreciates her girlfriend so much aa warning for implied nsf/w. none of it graphic!

The One With the Eye Thing by Dovey

ship: none // words: 1776 // chapters: 1/1

a one chapter story that’s 100% just sakura getting a very gross revenge on her sensei and on the shinobi class system as a whole, at least as far as SHE sees it.

that also means this is SUPER gorey. let it be said that i give the people what they want

au. bamf sakura! set pre shippuden surprisingly enough. believe it or not, there is a very gorey eye thing. sexy ass takes on the role of civilians in a shinobi village. warnings for graphic gore and a mental breakdown

I Spy by AshesFall (Cloud_Nine)

ship: none // words: 1782 // chapters: 1/1

Team 7, Missing in Action.

The aftermath of the Wave Mission gone wrong.

part one of the Lucky Sevens series. not very sakura centric but the whole series is just neat! team as family which im always a sucker for. the series focuses on how team 7 copes with being back in the village and i just think it’s neat idk! warning for mentions torture! individual warnings for every other fic in the series in the tags but most are about torture, trauma, and general violence

Ghosts in Her Blood by Dovey

ship: gaasaku // words: 1831 // chapters: 1/1

After Wave, Inner Sakura changes into a familar face to help Sakura cope with her new reality

au. set during chunin arc. tbh!! no idea this was a ship fic til i read the tags so this can absolutely be read as a shipless fic. really makes you think abt how (not) good a shinobi village is at teaching children how to compartmentalize. my girl’s a bamf but traumatized and trying. warnings for gore and death

Coming Home by Angelchexmex

ship: sakura & team 7 // words: 1901 // chapters: 1/1

Kakashi isn't surprised that his little brats had made themselves at home in his apartment while he was gone, he was just a bit curious as to why.

kakashi pov! set early genin days! not much plot wise but i love fics like that so much aa i love fics that just showcase the familiarity between team 7 in more domestic settings. they love sakura!! they all care abt her so much and kakashi love his kids a lot!!! really cute short and sweet team as family fic! warning for implications of abuse and starvation

Does He Make You Feel Special? by Dovey

ship: none // words: 1905 // chapters: 1/1

Sakura develops an eating disorder, and then she recovers with help from some friends.

au. starts pre shippuden. read the tags because this realy is what it says on the tin. warnings for eating disorders, self esteem issues, and relapse. she gets mostly adopted by tsunade and everyone takes care of her in general. hinata gets the place of apprentice and sakura gets more friends and support and gets trained by anko! focuses on recovery before plot so the only “real” plot is at the very end

Ink Stains and Cherry Blossoms by Hannahmayski

ship: sai & sakura // words: 1922 // chapters: 1/1

Ice cream doesn’t solve all of the world’s problems but Sakura is pretty sure it solves most of them.

Sai’s having a bad day and has never had ice cream before. Sakura fixes both.

sai centric fic w sunshine sakura. budding friendship. can be interpreted as romantic if you want? i didnt see it as that, but if it’s what u want! delves a little into sai’s feelings towards danzo. just dang cute and i always love a sakura who is there for her friends. allusion to an eating disorder and emotional manipulation.

⭐What Lingers by spacefleeting

ship: none // words: 1994 // chapters: 1/1

For someone who just watched her friend get beaten to a pulp, had her head nearly punched in, and stopped her teammate from going on a curse-induced murder spree, Sakura is handling everything very well. Until she’s not.

(Or: Sakura blossomed and she’s not really sure how she feels about it yet)

set during chunin exam. trying and failing to compartmentalize and naruto trying to help as best as another kid can. it’s endearing but wow, does canon naruto ever touch on how they help get children through the trauma of shinobi life?? the answer is no. mentions of blood. she takes a bite out of a dude. like. real shit

What’s Yours is Mine by DefiantDreams

ship: narusasusaku // words: 1994 // chapters: 1/1

Sakura doesn’t quite know how it happens, but suddenly their closets are a free-for-all for each other.

au. sakuras pov. just plain soft. short and cute budding romance between my faves aaa,, also genderfluid naruto!!

Last Match in the Matchbox by Endoplasmic Panda

ship: none // words: 2071 // chapters: 1/1

In which Sakura Haruno realizes that being discontent with adult life is part of the Team Seven contractual fine print.

(got rid of the rest of the summary bc it was too many text blocks) set during boruto! just some build up to sakura FINALLY getting her own time to just travel aa. everyone supports her and that’s how it should be

How a Fire is Born by ThroughtheMirrorDarkly

ship: none // words: 2075 // chapters: 1/1

What if there had been no Ino that fateful day in the park? What if Sakura is mercilessly bullied until one day she is pushed to her breaking point, with surprising results?

starts off during early academy days. sakura came here to learn and fuck people up and she just finished the curriculum. i HATE hiruzen but i love my girl so :/ also team seven are all rivals which sounds like it would be chaotic poor kakashi. warnings for abuse and bullying

How Sakura Discovers Her Love for Fighting by smolwhite_ugly

ship: none // words: 2087 // chapters: 1/1

Sakura Haruno is five-years-old when she decides that she really wants to become a ninja. Not a paper ninja. A shinobi.

set during early academy days uvu. rowdy girl rights!!!!! sakura is the ride or die friend everyone wishes they had. sakura is that short comic “you have befriended [name], [name] will now die for you” except it’s beat someone up. sakura’s best friends are blondes uwu

What a Pain by theforemerone

ship: shikasaku // words: 2269 // chapters: 1/1

Yamanaka Ino is an S-ranked missing nin. But before that, she was Shikamaru and Chouji’s best friend and comrade.

Sakura has an easier time compartmentalizing than they do. Especially in a fight.

au. second part of the role swap au! ino essentially took the place of sasuke. pretty focused on the ino-shika-cho story but entirely from sakura’s pov. shes so FUCKING COOL I LOVE THE JUTSUS OP GAVE HER SHES SUCH A BAMF IM IN LOVE. this au is so interesting i need more

Galvanize by nerazenn

ship: narusaku // words: 2352 // chapters: 1/1

gal·va·nize (v): shock or excite (someone), typically into taking action.

Sakura’s victorious wail was cut short, however, as she became immediately aware of two things.

One, her hand was in a lot of pain.

And two, Ino was nowhere near Sakura.

modern au. just a short meet cute fic sjcndek honestly id expect nothing less. it’s just cute and makes me laugh. something not serious thrown into the mix of recs

Truth in Platitudes by Kalira

ship: narusasusaku // words: 2454 // chapters: 1/1

Naruto stepped in with no thought to his own safety to protect theirs; now Sakura and Sasuke are left to try and get him out of the trap in his own mind.

yeah it’s exactly what it says on the tin. not sure where on the timeline this is. THEY LOVE EACH OTHER!!!!! im really so easy please

And Then the Desert Blooms by spacefleeting

ship: sakura & gaara // words: 2457 // chapters: 1/1

Haruno Sakura meets Gaara of the Desert piece by piece, name by name.

set throughout timeline. mostly sakura’s thoughts during the few times she’s interacted with gaara. development as friends! naruto would be so happy

Little Moments by iBloo

ship: sasusaku // words: 2519 // chapters: 1/1

Sasuke, Sakura, and Sarada enjoy an afternoon shopping and spending time with each other.

set during boruto’s dad’s son’s time. sasuke just loves his girls and sakura loves her family and sarada loves her parents so much and loves to spend time with them together. just a nice little slice of life feel good fic. im a sucker for domestic “filler episode” type fics aa they make me so tender

Bumpy Future by Dovey

ship: hinasaku // words: 2553 // chapters: 1/1

It’s her last year at the academy when Sakura hits her head. When she wakes up, she has a little trouble matching memories to the people in them- but she’ll have to get it right eventually, yeah?

in which sakura pairs vague associations with the wrong people, and everyone is much happier because of it (Except Iruka-sensei).

acadamy days!! newborns!!! everything changes djsbjd ino is her rival, kiba’s her bestfriend, and hinata is her crush and her class supports all of it, it’s cute (also read the author notes at the end, the last paragraph is so fucking quality)

Hello, Bright Eyes (been waiting on you) by mouseymightymarvellous

ship: saisaku // words: 2651 // chapters: 1/1

“look underneath the underneath,” except no one has ever really bothered to look at sakura and see her. and then there is a boy (isn’t there always). maybe they’re both just ghosts, making each other real.

no clear timeline. large focus on sakura and how she’s (not) seen by other people. emphasis on sai and sakura’s disconnect from naruto and sasuke. the plot confused me a bit but im pretty positive it’s about sakura dismantling root per request of tsunade. THE ENDING THOUGH??? sai deserves so much love that really made me melt a little

Prodigal Sons by Fiction_Over_Fact

ship: sakura & team 7 // words: 2779 // chapters: 1/1

Sasuke is gone and Naruto is gone and Kakashi might as well be.

In which Sakura is sad and alone but discovers she doesn’t have to be either.

set after naruto leaves with jiraiya. sort of a character analysis/coming of age type fic. touches on the disparity of who she was and who she’s becoming. also has bits of her friendship with the rest of the rookie 9!

Sasuke Discovers Emotion #4 by Dovey

ship: sasusaku // words: 2852 // chapters: 1/1

In which Sasuke manages to avoid getting a team with any fangirls, and then figures out maybe he was secretly the fangirl all along, because a little distance and the influence of Sensei Tenten helps Sakura flourish and now he’s got a big old crush to deal with on top of everything else.

set during genin days. also sasuke centric but sakura gets put into a different team and her development as a result is so beautiful even though it isnt the focus aaa. sasuke pines and it’s cute!!

⭐An Improper Apology Properly Backfires by rex101111

ship: sasusaku // words: 2996 // chapters: 1/1

Sasuke Uchiha apologizes, or at least makes an attempt. Sakura thinks he could do better than THAT.

set at the end of the war. naruto is the innocent bystander and it’s all in his pov. god i WISH this went down in canon. this fic is so fucking funny and cathartic bc sakura finally gets to air her grievances. DEFINITELY a top fave of mine and i have it bookmarked for whenever i just so happen to be in the mood

The Value of Learning to Bloom by Yourself by alunbalanced

ship: shikasaku // words: 3001 // chapters: 2/2

Sasuke asks a question and receives an unexpected answer and Sakura stands on her own two feet as she walks away.

set post war. really good self indulgent fic for ppl who love sakura and arent the biggest fans of sasuke (this fic is a bit mean to him so i wouldnt recommend to sasuke stans). this doesnt read as one consecutive fic but more like two individual one shots. sasuke is only in the first chapter and the second one is dedicated to sakura’s first time training w tsunade and shikamaru analyzing her. also the author notes are me always

San by Demeter

ship: none // words: 3046 // chapters: 1/1

When three whittles down to one. A very biased view.

set throughout pre shippuden timeline. heavy on that introspection! not all that plot focused, just sakura’s thoughts on where she stands and how she’s always left behind

The Shadows are Darker When the Sun is Bright by EndoplasmicPanda

ship: none // words: 3437 // chapters: 1/1

She remembers that Team 7, from all those years ago, and then remembers the real Team 7, with bickering teammates and bloody spars and careful, loving admonishment. She remembers the Team 7 without Sasuke, remembers the Team 7 where it was just her and Kakashi for three long years. Remembers Sai and Yamato, sets aside her guilt for not visiting them in far too long, remembers Naruto’s grin and Sasuke’s smile.

They loved her. She loved them.

Can she love herself?

set after the war. sakura becomes hokage and shes good even though shes traumatized and not moving past it (bc shes trying to live the lives her teammates shouldve had) open ending but i choose to believe she takes to wandering the lands and going back into medical things while learning how to live her own life for herself and no one else :’)

Sense Memory by KuriQuinn

ship: sasusaku // word count: 3501 // chapters: 1/1

She’s not breathing, or showing any signs of life, and that worries him.

takes place when sarada is a baby. almost all of it is a flashback to smthn that took place in their baby days and it’s all in sasuke’s pov. the non flashback bits are soft and slice of life-esque. warnings for near death and drowning in the flashback and implied ns/fw near the very beginning and the very end

Coming Undone by Dovey

ship: none // words: 3643 // chapters: 1/1

The Uchiha Massacre is world-famous within weeks. The homicide of the Haruno family, in comparison, is a barely a blip on the radar- another case of personal drama with an unfortunate end. Sakura, the only survivor of her family tragedy, tries to grow up normal, chasing after boys and running away from nightmares.

She doesn’t grow up normal.

au. she’s a bamf with trauma babey!! she uses battle axes and hammers and her summons are tigers which is cool as shit. loss of morality and unquestionable loyalty is always so interesting. warnings for gore, death, and drug use

Sakura’s Plants by ba262

ship: none // words: 3704 // chapters: 15/15 // updated: 3/8/19

Sakura was given Ukki-kun the day she was officially left behind by team 7

set throughout timeline. a story told in parts surrounding the plants in sakura’s life. no dialogue! i love sakura so much and my heart hurtsss,, we get to see more of her reaction to being left behind by her team and im in PAIN!! shout out to sakura’s newfound support group. short chapters and a nice short read! idk how to describe it but the writing flows REALLY nicely

Pinpoint by CountessCzan

ship: sakura & shisui // words: 3792 // chapters: 1/1

Shisui takes care of a child named Sakura for a mission once. Sakura never lets go of him after that.

set when shisui is a genin post-war. sakura is a cute little baby and im sobbing at the picture this fic paints. I LOVE SHISUI A LOT he’s so soft im really tender

Stars Exploding by blesseth

ship: sasusaku // words: 4098 // chapters: 1/1

Don’t get Sakura wrong, she was happy she and Sasuke were becoming friends, following everything that had happened. Ecstatic even. But hell, did he have to be on her mind all the damn time?

set post war. BYE i had the cheesiest grin the entire time i was reading this. just a cute little pre-relationship type fic and i love the little team 7 as family things sprinkled in. just another good light hearted fic to break up the serious/plot focused fics

Sharkman and Cherrygirl by The_Floating_World

ship: none // words: 4245 // chapters: 1/1

Newly five Haruno Sakura joins her parents on a merchant trip, has a life-changing encounter, and gains a new goal.

YES BABEY!!! i love my little fearless to the point of just plain idiotic girl!! there’s a surprising amount of fics where kisame becomes a bit of an inspiration to my number one fave and i love all of them! more fuel for my love of sakura who focuses more towards her water aspect// anyway! my little baby is just in desperate need for a mentor figure/someone she can base herself off of bc shes a shy little things whom i love more than life itsself aa GOD the way she gets absolutely star eyed the moment she sees kisame has my heart in fits. i absolutely support my little murder kid and her life goals to be Just Like That (read the notes)

Warmth by kosmeja

ship: narusasusaku // words: 4296 // chapters: 1/1

In which Naruto has a nightlight, Sasuke is afraid of the dark and doesn't want to admit it, and somehow, Sakura is the perverted one.

Or: Team 7 have a brief conversation in the dark.

au. not to sure where this is timeline wise, but sakura is a chunin. they love her so much, yeah im crying about it. they just want her to feel good about herself and that theyre there to support her and im sobbing rn i love team 7 so much

House Upon a Rock by KuriQuinn

ship: sasusaku // words: 4311 // chapters: 1/1

She sort of considers herself the last resort, the one to pull him through; it never really occurs to her that she’s the one that could fall.

yeah!!! literal and metaphorical support!!! sakura is so good here i love her. shes just a kid and she wants to be able to support her teammates even if that means literally carrying them after they pass out from exhaustion. i super love how kuriquinn writes ss interactions and this fic is no different aa (also i cant believe he never gave her the spar she asked for :/) can be read as platonic if you want! it’s mostly onesided any way

Sakura of the Red Sands by Dovey

ship: gaasaku // words: 4811 // chapters: 1/1

Sasori hates Hatake Kakashi. He meets a young girl with reason to hate the man too, and finds the perfect opportunity for revenge.

If he accidentally builds a family along the way, well. He always was exemplary at exceeding expectations.

au. sasori never defected. set roughly around chunin exam arc. sasori is an asshole as per usual and accidently becomes sakura’s pseudo older brother figure? it’s actually super endearing how proud of her he becomes and how much he starts to root for her sjdndk though it is a Little unnerving here and there and there are parts where sasori is noticeably less normal than the average person. also MOKUTON SAKURA!!!!! she’s op and meets gaara and they click and this whole fic is maybe a little weird but mostly interesting (also the author notes are good please read them!!) warning for maybe questionable levels of attachment? oh also a kind of coerced amputation!

⭐Into the Water by BasicallyAnIdiot

ship: none // words: 5192 // chapters: 1/1

Sakura had always loved the water.

set throughout timeline. i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again but i love when people write sakura as someone who leans more towards her water aspect and this is one of my favorite fics that show that. my girl is connected directly to tobirama nd while he’s actually a bastard, this fic single handedly made me have a reluctant soft spot for him. plus she follows directly in his footsteps and invents jutsus too (god i love her shes so smart and cool) plenty of little spots about love that make me tender. god i love this fic so much and my girl kicks ass 100/10

Parsley Seed Goes Nine Times to the Devil by Mook_aron

ship: none // words: 5445 // chapters: 1/1

Slow to grow, quick to sprout, parsley seed goes nine times to the devil

When she’s six, a man murders her family.

The man is tall, and his features are burned into her mind. She won’t forget him- she won’t let herself forget him.

root sakura au! changes her whole childhood and perspective on village loyalty. kind of poetic and nice to read despite the dark themes. sai is there!! not a lot but he’s there and i love him. i hesitate to call this team as family bc it’s only just starting to develop but you can feel the potential! part 1 of a series i hope continues aa// warnings for emotional abuse, blood, mentions of gore, and murder

⭐Most Girls, or, the one Where Sakura Grows up and Gets a Fan Girl Along the Way by theformerone

ship: none // words: 5869 // chapters: 1/1

In the years between Naruto’s departure and return, Sakura develops.

Aggressively.

She also gains a second shadow.

set throughout timeline, starts immediately after naruto leaves. YEAH BABEY!!! BAMF SAKURA!!! she gets so fucking cool and she trains with team 8 and team gai (and gets close w the rest of the konaha 11 in general)!! she gets the muscles that she deserves that could only aid the fighting style tsunade taught her (and that she deserves in canon ugh) and she turns into such a powerhouse and people love her and it’s what she deserves (also sakura takes moegi under her wing and they’re good for eachother im crying ajdjdj this fic single handedly made me love moegi)

tag along fic: That Girl Thinks She’s the Queen of the Neighborhood (i got news for you! she is!) by theformerone

same au but all from moegi’s perspective and BOY OH BOY I RELATE. she’s got a huge fucking crush on sakura and it’s cute and sakura is teaching her how to kick ass and it’s inspiring *chef hand kiss* (word count: 6624)

I Won’t Go Down, Your Blushing Bride by felinedetached

ship: inosaku // words: 6186 // chapters: 1/1

(Three things come after that:

1. The moment of realisation. The moment she realises Sasuke’s left the village, gone off to do who knows what with Orochimaru-

2. Her memory returns to her - she was useless against her teammate; taken down by a pressure point and unable to do anything to prevent him from getting at it.

3. Inner rages, throws herself around, cursing and screaming until finally, finally she calms and she says Uchiha Sasuke is a traitor.)

In which Sakura gets the character development she deserved.

set throughout timeline. sakura basically gets adopted by every shinobi adult and it makes my heart so happy. not a lot of plot (minus that bit near the end), but so much depth!! she really does get the character development she deserves. she grows up scary and so op and inner is still there and she dates ino and theyre so soft im crying

Is the Real Over There More Vivid Than Here Ever Feels by falterth

ship: hinasaku // words: 6366 // chapters: 1/1

The healing process is slow.

set some time after the war. i hate this fic SO much it left me ugly crying. fucking NARUTO dies?????? naruto is eternal he's not allowed to die,, okay but aside from the fact that im in my feelings, this fic is so good in how it deals with grief and coping and other such things of dealing with the death of a loved one and how "coping" by ignoring/forgetting the emotions isnt actually coping. warning for death and therapy and a teensy bit of victim blaming? (it gets worked out tho!)

Ain’t no princess in this tower by atomicmuffin

ship: sakura & tenten // words: 6448 //chapters: 1/1

Boys are idiots. Ninja boys are idiots with deadly weapons, and it's the kunoichi's privilege and duty to call them out on their bullshit.

Or: how Tenten becomes the Konoha equivalent of a coach for kunoichi completely on accident, mostly because of her pathological inability to let shit go.

set after tsunade becomes hokage (au where sasuke doesnt immediately leave) tenten’s pov! oooo we love a girl who supports girls! she helps sakura treat her teammates like normal people who mess up and are really just dumb boys. BIG fan of fics where tenten takes up a mentor/older sis position for sakura bc she holds a really soft spot in my heart. oof im so proud of my girl’s development im really crying about it

⭐Sing as Their Bones Go Marching in Again by felinedetached

ship: inosaku // words: 6929 // chapters: 1/1

Instead, it goes like this: Haruno Sakura is the daughter of two civilians, from civilian families. She is nothing and no one—smart, yes, top kunoichi, yes, but she will never be on par with clan kids. She is teammates to an orphan powerhouse from a dead clan and the last remaining Uchiha.

Haruno Sakura is nothing and nobody, but she breathes and grows and thrives and the forest thrives with her.

(She opens her eyes to wood, grown from nothing, and Hatake Kakashi stares in disbelief at the tree where his student used to be.)

Or, Haruno Sakura should have had the goddamn Mokuton and this author is mad.

set throughout timeline. this fic has me FOAMING at the mouth!!! MOKUTON SAKURA!!! SENJU SAKURA!!! HASHIRAMA PARALLELS!!! SHE’S A BAMF AND OP AS SHIT!!! TSUNADE ADOPTS HER!!! INO IS HER GIRLFRIEND!!!!! i could sing my praises for this fic all day and still not be finished ahxndkek everything is so good, every little detail (like choji and kiba taking up healing) is so fucking delicious PLEASE read, im BEGGING

For Want of Freedom by ThroughtheMirrorDarkly

ship: sakura & team 7 // words: 8908 // chapters: 1/1

Haruno Sakura may seem like she is destined for being a paper ninja, that her choice in this career was a flight of fancy or all based on a fangirl crush. The pink haired girl had no delusions about the life she had chosen, but she would rather die as a ninja then to be bled dry as a slave to her family. Lies and deceptions have built the world around her and Sakura is ready to tear it down, grabbing freedom with both hands.

au. starts off when team 7 first tries to get the bells. sakura’s entire family and backstory is altered and abusive. budding team as family and maybe even actual family between naruto and sakura? *winkwink* some implications of a heavy plot but it doesnt go anywhere and there’s no plans to continue it! warnings for abuse, child experimentation, and mentions of blood

Walk Forward, Don't Look Back by teslatempest

ship: hinasaku // words: 9311 // chapters: 1/1

After the war, Sakura is exhausted.

She decides to make a change.

set post war, some of my favorite types of fics! she goes on a literal road to recovery and it makes my heart so warm because i love her so much and i just want her to be happy and this fic makes me melt///// the hinasaku is only implied once so dont get your hopes up BUT!!! sakura makes narusasu happen and i really said aww out loud in the dopiest voice when sasuke kissed his cheek,, my favorite parts are easily when shes thinking/talking about her emotions bc im a sucker for that good good introspection! warning for mentions of trauma i guess? none of it is all that bad it’s just a good coping fic

Thank You for the Meal by theformerone

ship: narusaku // words: 9876 // chapters: 1/1

Tsunade tells him that the best way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach. Naruto leaves Sakura snacks.

au! not anywhere near as shippy as the tags and description imply? lots of little odd ships like brief mentions of nejisasu nd hinakarin (which has a bit more focus). not very sakura centric but damn beautiful regardless so im keeping it here. actually really fucking emotional with a huge focus on uzushio and the uzumaki clan. made me cry 10/10

⭐Hounds Follow Those Who Feed Them by dragonyfox

ship: narusasusaku // words: 10597 // chapters: 3/3

Kakashi knows when to outsource training, but he also knows that only he can teach them some things.

little bits and pieces of their lives before the last chapter in the first part of this series :(( my heart is soft and full of sadness **READ THE FIRST PART OF THIS SERIES** it’s a hound will die for you but never lie to you and i have it listed a little further down

⭐The Sound by LadyKG

ship: none // words:13231 // chapters: 4/4

They lost. Completely. Totally. Lost. They thought it impossible, that the fates would reject this outcome for tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. They have been punished for this belief. And for that, she will go back. Sakura-time travel AU

set post war. INCREDIBLY disorienting. really good to read when you’re existing a little to the left. im not a huge fan of time travel fics but holy shit?? this fic really is something else/ sakura needs to keep obito alive while dealing with hallucinations(?) of her family from her timeline. this is really fucking good actually and she kills danzo and ive got the second part here further down. warning for death

Gallant by Crunchysunrises

ship: sakura & itachi // words: 14890 // chapters: 3/3

On the day that he makes genin, Itachi sees Sakura. It changes the course of his life.

starts when itachi is a genin and sakura is a tiny little baby. non mass. very itachi centric but sakura is such a pivotal part of his life. itachi truly deserves better (it’s friendship!!! itachi is traumatized and dependent)

The Fury by LadyKG

ship: none // words: 15711 // chapters: 4/4

Sequel to 'The Sound'. She needs to keep moving, looking forward and fixing the problems of the past. If she doesn’t the world might just fall apart a second time. Sakura time travel AU.

sequal to The Sound (above somewhere)(read that one first ofc). just as confusing and disorienting as the first one! i love love love how the flashbacks are written where theres no discernible break between past and present. also i didnt mention it in the summary of pt 1 but yamato is so cute! im glad he’s getting better things (same goes for itachi!). warning that things kinda loop and it really is a little disorienting. like whole paragraphs repeat. warning for death too

The Lessons Change by exarite

ship: none // words: 17529 // chapters: 5/5

In another world, Haruno Sakura is known to be the best medic-nin of all time, renowned for her surpassing of her master and with a fearsome reputation for her strength and medical feats.

This is not that world.

aus. bundle of oneshots where sakura gets different teachers and how that changes things. (notes in the first chapter highlight the little issue i have w how sakura developed under tsunade) read the summaries and notes (beginning and end) for info abt the chapter! heavy warnings in chapter 4 for gore, emotional manipulation, blood, and experimentation. also in chapter 2 sakura has a childish crush on shisui and in chapter 3 theres a single line where he implies smthn

⭐Your Childhood Home is just Powder-White Bones (and You'll Never Find Your Way Back) by Dovey

ship: none // words: 24367 // chapters: 11/11

Sasuke is not the only one who worries he's getting too comfortable in his genin life. Itachi decides to add another motivator to Sasuke's revenge plans by kidnapping the teammate who wasn't a charismatic Jinchuriki. Sakura is used to being an objective for those around her, not a person, but even for her this is a little much.

In which Sakura is held captive and learns what a genjutsu specialist can do to a person's mind, that sharks can actually make great friends, joins a dying clan, and gets regifted multiple times before she's finally strong enough to fight back.

starts off when theyre genin. itachi is unhinged and sakura gets the short end of the stick :( LOTS of trauma. my girl gets really messed up and learns a lot of things purely to survive and has a loose grasp on reality. kisame isnt a good guy (read the notes at the end of chapter 10!) but he gives her sharks which is cool. kabuto is bad and so is orochimaru and kimimaro makes me sad but thats all par for the course. sakura gets some sick water things and also tsunade gets to be there and sakura makes her own family. warnings for torture, gore, dissociation, general loss of reality, blood, and death

⭐Survival of the Fittest by cywscross

ship: sakura & shikamaru // words: 24790 // chapters: 1/1

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

au. naruto i love you but jesus christ. bamf sakura and shikamaru just trying to survive so they can get home and hopefully rip naruto a new one. really really cool to read abt shikamaru and sakura being smart and working together and plenty interesting bits of introspection. god this fic is just so good and the slow deterioration into kids just trying to stay alive while having nothing but each other and developing unhealthy codependency as a result is so damn interesting. also i cried 10/10 they care about each other so much

⭐Being Over-Prepared is Impossible (and other mottos) by Pleasedial123

ship: none // words: 40071 // chapters: 15/15

In one world, Kakashi awoke, felt grieved at being assigned a team he sees his own in, and he let that grief make him a lazy teacher. He saw himself in Sasuke, Obito in Naruto, and Rin in Sakura. He woke, saw himself in them, and took a large step back, regretting accepting them as his new team. In another world he was quite hands off, merely a watcher because it was so very painful to watch. He saw himself and all his mistakes in this new team of his.

In this world, Kakashi awoke, saw the similarities, and instantly panicked. He suddenly realized what he had done, passing a team. Kakashi was left scrambling not to repeat old mistakes and regrets. This team would not suffer the fate of his team.

In this world, simply put, Kakashi became a teacher. This is the starting of a new Team seven.

set early genin days. TEAM AS FAMILY BABY!!!!!!!! theyre all babies and dumb and reckless but theyre in it together! not as sakura centric as other fics on this list but her development into essentially team leader is so so good!! kakashi loves his kids so much aa

can be read alone but theres a sequel!: Surviving is the Same Thing as Winning (words: 22492 // chapters: 11/? // updated: 2/9/19)

⭐A Hound Will Die For You, but Never Lie to You by dragonyfox

ship: narusasusaku // words: 41065 // chapters: 9/9

Kakashi caught his breath and pretended like he was just thinking about what to say. His dogs saw through it. “I’m thinking of having my team sign the dog contract.”

Pakkun nodded thoughtfully. “That might piss off some powerful people, boss.”

au! (chapter title is the pov) starts somewhere post wave and pre chunin exam. sakura is kakashis favorite and it really makes me wanna cry when fics do that PLUS SHE GETS A HUGE FUCK OFF BATTLE AXE BABY!!!!!!!! they get different developments!!! sasuke gets to be the medic and im really happy about it because he seems sO HAPPY!!! also they get cute dogs and it’s all very sweet. developing themes of team as family which im a sucker for plus developing poly t7 (pining sasuke!) which im REALLY a sucker for aa it was such a happy fic but WOW that last chapter takes no prisoners warning for super brief mention of rape and there’s major character death in the last chapter :(

⭐Samsara by KuriQuinn

ship: sasusaku // words: 54177 // chapters: 8/8

Sakura’s words die in her throat as the man’s eyes shoot open, and the coldest red irises she has ever seen meet hers. She is hit by a wave of terrifying certainty about two things right then – that she knows these eyes better than any other and that, if he wanted to, this man could stop her heart with just a look.

set during their travels. FINALLY!!! the parallels of three that ive been needing my whole ass life!! also sasuke is doting and worried and it’s cute. super fucking interesting and half of it takes place during the Ootsutsuki time (aka naruto & sasuke’s first incarnations) warnings for nsfw and some weird loss of identity/time stuff? it’s a great fic though, easily one of my top faves

⭐A Girl in the Forest of Moss and Bone by theformerone

ship: none // words: 65665 // chapters: 6/6

Katsuyu spits acid in her eyes, and Sakura must prove herself worthy enough for the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest to heal.

Or, it doesn’t translate to ‘damp bone forest’ for nothing.

IF THERE’S A FIC WHOSE SERIES ID RECCOMEND IN ITS ENTIRETY IT IS ABSOLUTELY THIS FIC. IF YOU LOVE SAKURA (AND SLUG SAGE SAKURA ESPECIALLY) PLEASE READ THE BALLAD OF THE SLUG SAGE SERIES. IT OWNS MY WHOLE SOUL. guhh sakura is so adorable in the first chapter (kakashi.. choke) GOD. the fucking uhhhh worldbuilding??????? its Actually my favorite thing aa op’s writing style makes me wanna cry it flows so smoothly and it’s so clever and makes me laugh and keeps me enthralled and FUCK sakura IS SO FUCKING COOL AAAAAAAA /// she loves learning and she loves the world and the world loves her and MAYBE im screaming about it. and i LOVE that this fic leans into how nature is ever changing and always moving and a constant balance like it really makes me choke on love.. her friends love her lots :((( warning for blood and mentions of death. im BEGGING you guys to read the rest of this series.. my girl is worth songs :’)

Broken Glass by Emma_Raye

ship: none // words: 68800 // chapters: 29/29 // updated: 11/6/18

Naruto and Sasuke left Sakura pathetically broken, but like any good shinobi she put the pieces back together the only way she knew how: relentless training. Years later Konoha is in the midst of a war and Sakura is a force to be reckoned with. Frankly, she's not even sure if she wants her teammates back.

au. starts during the early parts of tsunades training (with a timeskip) sakura has a lot of feelings of abandonment and im proud of how much shes achieved! shes in anbu and a diplomat (theres a war going on) and she stands on her own two feet! shes got a weird relationship w morality and starts questioning the way things are run.. also she holds a lot of resentment towards naruto and sasuke but it gets worked on throughout (and they become a team again!!!) im not a fan of how they treated her like shes something to be protected however briefly. sakura needs a mental health lifetime but god damn if she isnt smart and OOF the poetic cinema of it all,, warning for blood, death, and major character death

Home is Where the Heart is by deeppoeticgirl

ship: sasusaku // words: 100849 // chapters: 26/26 // updated: 12/20/18

And with every moment together, they get just a little closer, a little more comfortable with each other. Fall a little more in love.

set post war. okay listen. barring morally repulsive ships (kksk, itsk, mdsk, etc.) any sakura ship makes me happy if it’s healthy and loving even if i dont like the ship (like i dont care abt shikasaku and canon ss is SO bad i still cant believe it happened) THAT BEING SAID. this fic is cute and sasuke cares a lot and op wrote him so emotive and i love the little family he became a part of on his trips and sakura is a lovestruck fool (which still has me gritting my teeth bc it doesnt idk. Fit with the rest of her personality) but it’s cute if second hand embarrassing,, honestly this fic is so ooey gooey and full of cheesy love and it’s damn near too much (how many times can a person blush.. like fr..) and theres annoying bits of needless drama and lack of communication but im stubbornly holding onto this fic bc i LOVE the character study type route this fic takes/// (this fic is like. really dramatic.. thats a warning in and of itself and i mean like telenovela type dramatic emotion and subtext. not plot twisty dramatic) warning for violence, mentions of blood, and nsfw

Follow the Sun by LaceyJane

ship: gaasaku // words: 106341 // chapters: 21/21

Stranded in the desert, without food, water, or her supplies, Sakura decides to head west to the land of shifting winds and scorching sands. It hasn’t even been a year since the wind nation had tried to overthrow her city, but she knows of someone out there, someone who, above anyone else, holds the best chance of finding her in this barren land. Able to only hope her attempts to raise attention aren’t in vain, she sets off across the sands towards the west, intent to follow the sun.

not super positive where in the timeline this is (or if it’s an au) but if i had to hazard a guess id say between sakura being taken on as an apprentice and before sasuke leaves. starts off w sakura by herself traversing through a desert with the clothes on her back. she suffers before she gains but at least it’s not for long (Well..) also can i say that i LOVE worldbuilding and i LOVE how different aspects of suna were protrayed here. like the scouting and political things (sakura being the hokages apprentice and how shed be treated in other villages) and temari in general? ugh! theres focus on gaara and how he’s coping with his demon too plus he’s just kinda cute in this fic. warning for violence, the general bad things that happen while unprepared in a desert, and the q slur except it’s not used in regard to gay ppl in any way. nothing is romantic so it can be taken as friendship if it’s what you’d prefer!

⭐Time Flies Like an Arrow by Katlou303

ship: inosaku // words: 240288 // chapters: 36/36 // updated: 2/1/19

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

time travel fic!!!!! oh my heart is soft :( starts off when theyre tiny kids and sakura stands up for naruto (childhood friends!!) sakura’s memories of her prev timeline come to her in dreams (pretty intense for a kid to be having.. ily kagami:( ) SHISUI AND GENMA ARE THERE!!! ILY BABIES,, shes literally so baby and small and full of love for her friends :((((( shisui is fanastic and also a mess, baby sasuke is the cutest, itachi deserves better, sakuras family has me weak as hell theyre so perfect, and inner sakura in this fic is prev timeline sakura (who is so fucked up holy jesus) tsunade gets a new family member and oh fuck gaara is so cute and same goes for tenzo AND BONUS MOKUTON????? the ocs are really interesting and good and i love them (the word count is a little inaccurate bc theres parts at the end of the chapters themselves that are more like authors notes) warning for trauma, flashbacks, blood, gore, death, implied child abuse (never happens but it gets mentioned a lot), and major character death (kagami… :( ) GUYS I JUST REALIZED IT ENDED ON MY BDAY

IN PROGRESS

Grit Your Teeth (and Smile) by kattenprinsen

ship: none // words: 1423 // chapters: 2/? // updated: 8/1/18

Sakura is an immigrant. Her father is an immigrant too.

au. okay okay this is a pet peeve of mine with canon itself bc sakura was team seven’s token “has parent’s that are alive and support her” except that was genuinely never shown?? we know Nothing substantial about mebuki and kizashi and their relationship with sakura and fsnsksnk im ranting. this fic is nice and yeah there’s not a lot happening so far but i love the depth op is giving to sakura’s parents so much (and they are totally different from canon btw. theyre very good ocs and her dad is a missing nin from mist with sharp teeth aaa) (sakura is also a little bit of a bamf as a result of her parents and im crying about it)

Was That Your Voice or Was That Me by grit

ship: sakura & sasori // words: 1528 // chapters: 1/5 // updated: 10/9/18

Sasori takes Sakura on as an apprentice out of boredom and keeps her because she has potential and he is pragmatic to a fault.

Spontaneity doesn't suit his plans though and Sakura has her own opinion on murder, so it goes about as well as you'd expect.

au where this story take free reign of the timeline. sasori meets sakura when shes a little kid and takes a shining to her potential (as everyone should...). kinda fucked up tbh! at least a little bit! warning for murder and emotional manipulation. the only chapter seems to just be setting up the rest of the story where sasori essentially changes her whole mentality

Tables They Are Turning (Bridges They Are Burning) by pg13

ship: sakura & team 7 // words: 1555 // chapters: 1/? // updated: 7/19/18

It’s not until she’s convulsing and the heat from her neck is spreading that she wonders if maybe she should’ve listened when her mother told her to reconsider being a shinobi.

set during chunin exam. SAKURA GETS BIT INSTEAD OF SASUKE. sasuke gets fiercely protective and learns of the incredible emotion called friendship. lots of promising things happen and then it gets cut off when it REALLY starts to get into it AAA/// i Know this fic is gonna be delicious

Skin is Just a Ready Made Coffin by ulittuq

ship: none // words: 2026 // chapters: 2/? // updated: 7/27/18

The night of the Uchiha Massacre is chaos. Alarms are blaring and shinobi are flying through the street and somewhere Sasuke Uchiha is waking up from seventy-two hours of psychological torture courtesy of his big brother.

Sakura Haruno hides under her bed with her hands clasped over her mouth trying to stifle her breathing and praying that the stranger prowling her house can’t hear her heartbeat.

(read author note at the beginning to see how the timeline is changed) some faceless guy takes advantage of the disaster on the night of the massacre and kills sakura’s family to help his mom(??) and that’s literally it! starts off balls to the walls!! feeds into my feral love of the naruto civilians and how they might resent shinobi. i LOVE fics where civilians are the main focus and how they might be disenfranchised (especially in the hidden villages) as opposed to ninjas. theres not a lot of plot yet but it’s building up to smthn good!! i hope sakura keeps that little bit distrust towards shinobi and the system in her heart! blind loyalty to the state is unhealthy. warning for death, murder, gore, and panic attacks

Daisies and Lilacs by Pinnacle of Failure (Cromirn)

ship: none // words: 2487 // chapters: 1/? // updated: 12/5/18

She's always seen them. Sometimes they scare her, like every shadow to a child should. But there's something to them that she doesn't have, something that she doesn't want.

starts off early academy days up to when they meet kakashi. might not end up being a multi chapter fic. she sees things so im clocking her as psychotic in this fic bc same hat! not a whole lot in the way of plot but the writing style is neat!

⭐To Serve Man by Dovey

ship: none // words: 3090 // chapters: 2/? // updated: 3/19/18

Kizashi Haruno was a civilian man with a simple shop, from a civilian family of simple farmers; Mebuki Haruno was a missing nin from the land of Rain. Sakura took after both her parents.

“You owe yourself to three things, in order: the ones you love, yourself, and then your village.”

au. the rest of the summary is such a mood, i wish we got actual info about her parents :/ i LOVE this fic and i want more content about this universe because im nothing if not a sucker for sakura with a missing nin parent aaa,,, mebuki is so cool and sakura learns early on that blind loyalty to a village is not a good thing to cultivate. her morals are very based around earned loyalty and death bc thats what her mom knew (and i love and appreciate that she motivates sakura to aim for “flee on sight” if she were to ever end up in the bingo book) also kizashi is so sweet and supportive djefk warning for animal death and murder

I’ve Been Waiting my Whole Life (When I’ve Only Been Dreaming) by SheBeanSheep

ship: none // words: 3329 // chapters: 3/? // updated: 7/19/18

Before she was a boy-crazy fangirl, Sakura wanted nothing more than to be a good shinobi. Afterall, that’s what the voice, Inner Sakura, wanted. But Sakura just wanted to be Ino’s friend. So all of her energy went into making sure Ino would still like her, would still consider her a friend and a rival. So, Sakura bypassed the training scrolls of her childhood and picked up a hairbrush, shutting Inner Sakura away.

Then, Team 7 got the Wave Mission.

Then, Inner Sakura got a name.

Then, everything changed.

starts during wave. INNER BECOMES A SUBSTANTIAL CHARACTER HELL YEAH. and now shes actually mito uzumaki?? fucking legendary, nothing less than the best for my queen! mito kicks sakura’s ass into high gear and starts turning her into the bamf she was destined to be (though it hasnt actually gotten to that point ajdj i cant wait for future updates aaa)

Training Sakura by Kalira

ship: sakura & kakashi // words: 3601 // chapters: 2/? // updated: 11/25/18

Two members of Team Seven broke away on their own, and in the aftermath there remains only one thing to be settled. . . That one thing is not what anyone expected.

With Sakura as his sole remaining student, Kakashi settles in to train her properly, determined to help her achieve her ambitions as a ninja and become a great one.

set after naruto leaves. gai is a real one! yeah maybe i did start tearing up by the end of the first chapter. im emotional okay. also ive read so many fics where ino doesnt GET to be sakura’s best friend and it hurts me directly so this fic really makes me happy (bonus really short tag-along fic title Mistress where sakura gets a puppy aa)

Of Which Do I Change by Pinnacle of Failure (Cromirn)

ship: none // words: 3772 // chapters: 4/? // updated: 1/16/19

It starts and it ends in confusion. There never was a true destination in life, in what she was and what actually defined her. But one thing happened, and now she is someone, her name is on the lips of the Hokage and Clan heads and now they see who she is. Too bad she can't do that anymore.

But she takes pride in that. She has pink hair and green, useless, eyes. She is an anomaly in her own right, and that makes her strong, that makes her a terror in her own right.

starts off pre/early academy days. seems to be setting up to be a longer fic? interesting bits abt clan stuff! i do feel a little bad for ino :( sakura’s drive to have a name again is really nice to read and i KNOW shes gonna be cool as shit. not much in the way of a major plot insofar but still really good!!!

The Senju Whisperer by callmeportgas

ship: sakura & hashirama // words: 4754 // chapters: 2/? // updated: 11/14/18

In which Sakura comes to fully embrace the heritage her family couldn't, with some help from her imaginary friend.

au! MOKUTON SAKURA BBY!!!!! the story is only JUST developing but i can already see the building friendship between naruto and sakura!!!

Dont Think, Just Run by alicemc12

ship: none // words: 4806 // chapters: 5/? // updated: 3/10/19

Sakura was left behind after an ambush. Left for dead by mistake, until her life is saved by a young girl. With everyone believing her dead, Sakura is left to see the world from a different side. Without thinking, she runs away from the past she can't change and to a fate only she can control. Because it's just as a little girl said, the future will never be set in stone unless you let it.

starts off in oc pov. not sure where in the timeline this is but she knows how to heal by this point. COOL PLOT!! love the fate stuff and how much of a bamf sakura gets to be even though it's very ff.net-esque

Way of the Cherry Blossom by chadsuke

ship: none // words: 5422 // chapters: 16/? // updated: 9/8/18

Healing isn't a bad profession, Sakura knows. She could do well in it. But healing means that you're the one picking up the pieces, putting your teammates back together.

Sakura wants to stop them from getting hurt at all.

starts after sasuke “dies” in wave but before they go back to the village. shes a baby and wants to be able to stand beside the rest of her team. her family is so good in this fic! and so is kakashi even though he subjected her to gai. sasuke is cute too and naruto always is. theres some sentences that arent really jokes but are worded in such a fantastic way that i end up cackling. it’s all pretty lighthearted! warning for brief mention of death

⭐Salt in the Wound by Dovey

ship: sakura/oc // words: 6033 // chapters: 4/? // updated: 3/30/18

The Wave arc, except Sakura’s flimsy attempt at protecting the client results in her accidentally faking her death. Zabuza survives and takes her along with him as an apprentice, and she grows up in the harder but more emotional life of a nin on the run.

aka I have a lot ideas of how Missing-Nin would have a different culture than the rest of Naruto-verse, that would place a high-value on youngins’ in the trade given the rarity, and Sakura gets a lot of teachers over the years for the price of lots of emotional trauma & loss.

also, she gets a big fuck-off sword.

starts off during wave arc. ZABUZA I LOVE YOU. he takes sakura in because he’s a lonely missing nin who got used to caring for another person. sakura isnt as against the idea of staying with zabuza as she tries to pretend to be. also, GOD the reactions of the rest of the konoha twelve really really break me?? sasuke spirals faster and naruto gets essentially adopted by sakura’s parents? and kakashi gets fiercely protective. warning for death, animal death, and kinda graphic murder? also theres no actual ship even a little implied so far

Sharp by ineffableblue

ship: none // words: 6309 // chapters 2/? // updated: 3/12/19

Sakura has been teased, gotten angry for that, then gotten teased for getting angry. Everything she does isn't enough. But she's observant and slowly she starts to find out that she fits in better in the ninja world than she ever imagined. The best ninja are always thought to be something else and Sakura is a master at being mistaken for harmless.

starts when shes baby. sakura is full of rage and bottling it up like a molotov cocktail (and her parent are given depth which is great! but they kinda suck which isnt so great! it's a "tough love" sort of thing but it still rubs me wrong) i love and support sakura's desire to seek out knowledge on her own! and i am SO HAPPY this fic updated i could cry,, i KNEW the title and desc were familiar when i saw them at the top of the sakura fic tag one day and i yelled when i realized it WAS the same fic i had already put under left unfished// op if you're reading this know that im filled w love and support :')

Because I Ache by Wyle23

ship: narusaku // words: 6512 // chapters: 3/? // updated: 9/4/18

Ugly are the truths of the world. Hate's competitor can jail just as blindly. Focused otherwise, though, what changes would her shift in truth bring? In which Konoha's young jinchuuriki stumbles upon not a Hyuuga, but a Haruno.

starts when theyre babies!! little five year olds who deserve better (bby sakura id do anything for you.. :’() theyve got tiny crushes and theyre so cute i wanna cry about it. ino nd sakura stay friends (thank god) and GOD i want ppl to stop being mean to naruto :((

The Shadows Claim Us by Nine_Stoic_Crayolas

ship: gaasaku // words: 6586 // chapters: 39/? // updated: 4/21/18

"You don't want to go near that one." "Why?" "...She's damaged goods."

takes place in suna! (sakura is an iwa native!) (also i have.no idea how old they are. it’s mentioned at one point that sakura’s 4 but.. idk? if there?s time skips?? there’s just lots of bits that arent worded right for them to be 4 through the whole fic.. idk. gimme ur input actually idk if i wanna keep this) gaara takes a shining to her bc sakura also gets called a monster. bro these little gremlins are fucking pissed. imagine a toddler yelling “fuck!” at you but constantly. warning for general mistreatment of children and mentions of death and blood

Serendipity by stirringwinds

ship: none // words: 6751 // chapters: 2/? // updated: 10/24/18

Sasuke had never known Senju Hashirama in person, of course. But he had grown up hearing stories about the First Hokage at his mother’s knee—about the legend who had defeated the most powerful member of their own clan. Enough stories to recognise what he was seeing—and to know he was witnessing his teammate perform the impossible.

Or, in the fight against Gaara during Suna’s attempted invasion of Konoha, the Ichibi’s attempt to kill Sakura awakens an unexpected power. It changes the destiny of Team Seven forever.

MOKUTON SAKURA BABEYYY!!!!! largely sasuke’s pov. also they’re all stupid and it’s funny and i love them// im literally foaming at the mouth and excited to see where the story goes and im :pensive:

Warmth by PotatoeGoddess

ship: inosaku // words: 7135 // chapters: 5/? // updated: 4/7/18

Sakura Haruno was born screaming and kicking and in some ways, she felt, she kind of never stopped.

starts off pre/early academy days. sakura is full of strong emotions and same hat. there’s comphet and sakura has such a crush on ino. what a useless gay. that’s not really a focus in the story (more just consistently implied) honestly dont all together know whats going on! but that’s par for the course

What Happens After by stirringwinds

ship: narusasusaku // words: 8044 // chapters: 3/? // updated: 1/13/19

Sakura deals with her feelings once she can stop focusing on stopping the world from imploding. Just what exactly is her place in this world?

This is just a lot of Sakura can't deal with life right now.

set post series. lotta sakura introspection! she’s dealing with a lot of feelings of inferiority and emotions she doesnt acknowledge bc shes a disaster bi. i actually cried bc her feelings towards her own self worth hit me with all kinds of feelings of catharsis. canon sakura really needs smthn like this. just a chance to recover :(.. warning for lots of poly ships if ur not into that

⭐Catharsis by pastanoodle

ship: none // words: 10198 // chapters: 5/? // updated: 8/16/17

Sakura isn’t the kind of person to survive past Genin. She wears pink, fights over boys, and can’t throw a Kunai to save her life. Which is why no one expects her to live very long. To Sakura, graduating from the academy is like a reality check. Being a shinobi is nothing close to how civilian romance novels make it seem. Sakura has always been terrible at stopping when she should. So she changes pink to grey, forces herself to ignore Sasuke, and learns how to shatter bones with a single punch. Screw surviving. Sakura knows she’s going to die, but she’ll go down fighting.

starts off a little before wave except!! the full wave arc never happens and everything changes!! inner becomes a substantial part of the story and im so glad for it. oh my god this fic is so good and i love all the author notes, theyre so delicious. sakura starts developing from a calm, quiet, and accepting girl. to a shinobi who is pissed off about the hand she was dealt with and goddammit! shes gonna do something about it!!! you fucking go, girl, live your dream of being in the bingo books i love you. this fic hasnt updated in a while and im so teary eyed about it, i hope it’s not being left unfinished. i refuse to put it under that category bc im stubborn and hopeful. warning for death and gore in the second chapter

Red With Clay, or Into Fire by grit

ship: sakura & team 7 // words: 10420 // chapters: 5/? // updated: 11/4/18

Headstrong, carrying her heart on her sleeve: Sakura is a smart and driven child who will fight for what's hers.

Or: Sakura gets a personality, Naruto some friends and Sasuke a childhood.

starts off during their litle genin introductions.TEAM AS FAMILY Y’ALL ALREADY KNOW! sasuke actually likes his team basically from the get go??? and sakura just wants her team to workout and they do! theyre getting there!!! oof!!!!!!!!

Breathe and Heal by Himechiiii

ship: narusasusaku // words: 11535 // chapters: 3/? // updated: 1/6/18

Two months. Two months had passed since the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Two months and Sakura still hadn’t fully processed. Hadn’t fully healed. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. I don’t know what my goal is supposed to be. You say that I’ve passed them, but it doesn’t feel like it. I close my eyes and all I see is their backs in front of me.”

Or in which Sakura realizes she is more than she thought she was, and lets herself be loved.

set post war. sakura gets well deserved time off of work to cope with things (and ino is real one :( please stop forgetting she’s her best friend) sakura loves her boys so much but god her inferiority complex makes me so sad

Promises by BombsAreForBabies

ship: none // words: 12376 // chapters: 8/? // updated: 10/29/18

It's her first kiss and Naruto's last. She promises him that she will bring Sasuke home. It's his dying wish, after all.

(Naruto bleeds out faster than the kyuubi can heal him.

Sakura learns that being a ninja is more than fancy jutsu and fun.

Sasuke does not know that he just killed his best friend and turned his most loyal comrade into his worst enemy.)

set after the first fight in the valley of the end. bamf sakura that deserves a break.. immediate warning for death :( kakashi and sakura connect in the aftermath and ino remains as the realest. sakura learns poisons from shizune!!!!! FINALLY!!! everyone cares about her a lot and that makes me happy but god can she PLEASE get a therapist

When I Grow Up I’ll Be An Avalanche (and i’ll grow up soon) by ulittuq

ship: none // words: 12900 // chapters: 5/? // updated: 12/10/18

A little civilian girl hears that genin are considered adults in the eyes of the law and she think yes please I need to get out--

The next week she starts the Academy.

Once a little civilian girl tells an orphan boy, God I wish I didn’t have parents, and she means it as a confession. A cry for help. The orphan boy hears selfishness spill from her mouth and snaps.

A little civilian girl, who has yet to see combat, wakes from nightmares gasping and clawing at her skin. No one notices.

au! naruto canon never gave us anything for sakura’s parent so fics like this own me! i like where theyre portrayed as abusive bc well canon doesnt disprove it! and projection. also. owns me inner also has more focus!! sakura just wants an out and she’s gonna do most anything to get there. also naruto love!! because he deserves it! warning for abuse (mentions of emotional and physical) im super excited for more updates i like where the story is going!!

Mune Ga Hachikire Soude by clohsoo

ship: none // words: 15815 // chapters: 5/? // updated: 3/24/19

A deal is made between two devils and two girls share a demon.

HEY OP IF YOURE READING THIS: I LOVE YOU AND I SUPPORT YOU AND THIS IS SO GOOD TY FOR GIVING LOVE TO MY GIRL RIN,, au set mostly in rin's pov (i love the hobbies rin picks up, my little jack of all trades) danzo can still choke, sakura bby.. ily..:(((, ino is always amazing, and ANKO!! I LOVE YOU!!! OOF sakura's attempts at acting like a normal kid REALLY plucks at my heart strings// warning for child abuse bc root, death bc root, and trauma also.. bc root

⭐The Best-Looking Truth by Dovey

ship: sakura & team 7 // words: 17378 // chapters: 6/? // updated: 1/7/19

Sakura doesn’t like to talk about her family. Most people assume it’s because she’s a nice young girl, and she doesn’t want to make everyone else feel bad, considering she’s on a team of orphans.

It has more to do with the fact that she killed her parents in self-defense and is desperately trying to cover up the murders, than any sympathy for her teammates- but she’s happy to let you assume what you want.

did that summary give you whiplash? because it absolutely made me collapse. set just before the bell test. also starts off pretty fucking strong. shes a traumatized kid trying to compartmentalize on her own while trying to make sure no one finds out about what she did. also she’s really smart in the way she’s dealing with the aftermath. really interesting (at least to me) is how despite her parents no longer having a direct hold on her life, she still abides by their rules. warning for (past) child abuse, murder, and occassionaly descriptive gore. godd i really want more (there’s narusaku and some sakura/oc but i dont think theyre permanent? the narusaku definitely isnt bc it was mostly an accident but im not sure abt the sakura/oc)

Control by Dragonist

ship: none // words: 17816 // chapters: 14/? // updated: 6/8/18

Kumo kidnaps a child of Konoha.

Sakura graduates from the academy only a year after starting it. There's a war going on, and she's obedient enough to stay quiet and follow orders.

Then the war ends, and it's unclear who is really giving them.

au (read notes for the changes) starts pre academy. bro??? theres a war going on and im stressed at how young she is when she graduates.. sai ily..warning for death, blood, and uh. bad medical practices

If I Live by Lalit

ship: none // words: 18344 // chapters: 9/? // updated: 8/21/18

Every action has a consequence. It took one girl to screw all of Orochimaru’s plans up, and nothing will ever be the same. “Look at you, such bloodlust. Darkness is a lovely shade on you, my dear.”

set during chunin exam. ANOTHER SAKURA GETS BIT INSTEAD OF SASUKE FIC. a little slow going in terms of timeline i guess? no timeskipping so far. love the relationship between team 7 here (esp that one scene w naruto. u did amazing sweetie!) warning for death and gore and also sexual undertones when orochimaru is there. he’s a creep and op sells it.

Black Hole Heart by LadyNyxRavus

ship: none // words: 20017 // chapters: 5/8 // updated: 2/18/19

By all accounts, Sakura is dead for the first five minutes of her life.

Yet, she continues. If she occasionally has too many, too sharp teeth then that's their business.

OKAY SO. im NOT a big of crossovers but HEAR ME OUT. sakura gets a symbiote in place of inner and she eats people and naruto is a little more feral and sasuke is the closest thing they have to handlers. warnings for cannibalism, blood, and gore. this is up there as one of the most self indulgent fics on here

Throwing a Stone in a River by theroadkillcafe

ship: none // words: 20221 // chapters: 5/? // updated: 9/7/18

When Sakura graduates from the academy, she suddenly finds her head invaded by the ghost of Uchiha Shisui. Her inner is gone, but not forgotten, and she struggles with impulse control more than ever before. But also, Shisui gives a lot of unsolicited advice - useful and otherwise - and does not shut the fuck up. He’s not thrilled about current events.

warning for immediate mentions of suicide and drowning (and implied eye gore) set just after they graduated from the academy. sakura’s got some fun mental things to deal with now that shes stuck w the ghost and seeing them kinda everywhere. have i mentioned that i love shisui? he’s really good and helps sakura out with gratuitous amounts of snark. warnings for more eye gore, blood, nightmares, and torture

If You Can't Hold on, Hold on by Fiercest

ship: sasusaku // words: 20780 // chapters: 8/? // updated: 12/4/18

Sakura always wished she could relate to her teammates better. She wishes she could take it back.

In which Sasuke acquires some unwanted roommates and a team becomes a family.

set post konoha crush. TEAM AS FAMILY!!! almost immediate warning for death :( gh// her team cares a lot abt her and want her to be okay and sasuke is making effort into being a source of support (he’s baby..) theyre all pretty traumatized (and god fucking awful at dealing with it) (not shippy at this point!)

⭐Find Your Place (Whatever it Takes) by Dovey

ship: none // words: 22296 // chapters: 11/? // updated: 12/28/18

The war lasts longer than in canon, and has only just ended. While most of the 'Konoha 12' are clan heirs and thus protected from having to go to war prematurely, Sakura is from a civilian family, with naturally advanced chakra control, and thus is thrown immediately onto the frontlines. Now she's on a genin team in peacetime, and she's struggling to figure out how to live when she's not constantly at risk of dying.

Team seven bonds in new weird ways, The Uchiha are actually all dead except for Sasuke (including war-hero itachi) who's got a chip on his shoulder the size of Konoha, Naruto isn't the kyuubi container and he finds Sakura kinda scary. Sakura would just like to have a hobby.

au. my girl deals with trauma and t7 learn to get along eventually (and unhealthily?) i love sakura’s war team a lot and they care abt each other a lot too and GOD i love shit that focuses on the advantages clan kids gets for being clan kids and especially for being heirs!! it’s just interesting as hell to read!! sakura fosters her hate and distrust for the state and GOD is that ever a good thing (kushina :(..) we’re in this shit for a REVOLUTION!! IM SO HYPE!!! warning for violence and mentions of death

⭐Building the Puzzle by ich_bin_ein_stern

ship: narusasusakusai // words: 22716 // chapters: 4/5 // updated: 8/27/18

In which Sakura feels disconnected after the 4th Shinobi War and decides to cut the string attaching her to Team Seven, if only for a few years. This does not settle well with the remaining members, past or present.

set post war. FULL POLY TEAM SEVEN BABY!!!!! there’s not a whole lot of content for poly7 that includes BOTH sai and sasuke. it’s usually one or the other which already puts this fic in my good graces uwu ino bby i love you so much they’re so tactile and close and it makes my heart melt and she cares abt sakura and wants them both to be okay. im indulging my need for a sakura who gets to travel!! she loves her team so much but she really needs to love herself first. the rest of her team learns to better themselves and it’s really nice to read. also GOD i say it often but sakura is so cool (esplecially vs the suna elders aa)

Moments of Perfection by kiwi_socks

ship: narusasusaku // words: 22880 // chapters: 6/? // updated: 5/9/18

It's a dream Sakura's had many times before. Until it is rudely interrupted by Naruto and Sasuke mistaking her kitchen window for the front door.

"Hey...we failed in so many ways before, do you think we'll get something right, or just screw up again?"

okay im NOT much of a fan of timetravel fics but everyone should know by now that poly team 7 actually owns me. theyre all stupid together (it’s solidarity). poor kakashi. there’s some fuckery happening!! perhaps i yelled WHAT!? at my phone at least once

⭐Kubikiribocho, My Love by IslitaBonita

ship: none // words: 23231 // chapters: 10/? // updated: 7/22/18

Where Sakura becomes better acquainted with Zabuza's sword, Kubikiribocho.

set mostly during wave. interesting bits of sakura vs herself. budding relationship between her and gaara (murder friends) the writing style is SUPER cool! blood, unhealthy attachment, impalement, and death. ugh! when will this fic come back from war

Believe Me When I Say I Cary All My Sins by Honestly Neptune (mypennameishidden)

ship: none // words: 24287 // chapters: 5/? // updated: 12/20/18

Sakura knew the best way to tear a man's spine out of his nose without breaking a sweat.

She didn't know how to live in a village with Minato as Hokage and the Uchiha clan as the beloved police force. She didn't know how to live as a disgraced genin in a bloody apartment with dead men knocking at her door.

She didn't know how to forgive herself for failing Konoha. Now she had a chance to save it.

au. SUCH cool take on the timetravel trope!! sakura is just angry and tired and she’s gonna make this timeline work so help her god. i love shisui and i love that he gets to be a main character here aa. warnings for blood and general violence

Dandelions Blow in Spring by capriicious

ship: none // words: 24507 // chapters: 13/? // updated: 11/25/18

sakura is in the land of waves, the seraphic, beautiful place filled with religious and cultural beliefs. her team mate is lying in front of her, dead, cold and so, so white. her sensei is bleeding out while fighting zabuza. naruto is fighting against the odds of hundred of senbons.

(or: sakura watches her team mates get beaten half to death and bleed out next to her when the fight ends and with that event set in her mind: realises that she's going to die unless she toughens up.)

au but starts off in wave during the fight w zabuza nd haku so immediate warning for blood, gore, death, and a bit of an unhinged mind bc it’s sakura pov and this is traumatic. i recommend reading the notes at the beginning of each chapter for trigger warnings. it’s a heavy fic. interesting bits about merchant business and the dark side of the village. only BARELY connected to canon. pretty much through characters alone, the whole story is different

Cut the Head off the Snake by itsthechocopuff

ship: none // words: 24601 // chapters: 8/? // updated: 1/2/19

when eighteen-year-old, post-war Sakura is thrown back into her tiny, pre-Academy body, she makes a decision. she’d had a childhood once already, and this time, she’s more interested in Not Dying when the inevitable shit hits the proverbial fan. so she will work harder, care less, kill more, and smile when she’s done.

and hey, if she ends up reviving an extinct nature transformation to attract the most corrupt, power-hungry man from her timeline, all the better for her, right?

IM MENTIONED IN THE NOTES?? UH HELLO I LOVE YOU. timetravel fic! war fesh sakura gets sent back into her pre academy self. sakura is gonna make shit work this time around and shes gonna go through root to do it! MOKUTON BABEY!!! it gets changed from a kekkai genkai to a learned skill based mostly on amazing chakra control (which my girl has in spades!!) SAI AND SHISUI BBY I LOVE YOU// im in love with shin now too and god damn it i want all of them to be okay :’( warning for death at the hand of trees, mentions of blood, and the massacre

Seeds of Knowledge by Ice_Eagle

ship: none // words: 24845 // chapters: 10/? // updated: 3/15/19

It starts with an Academy internship at the Konoha Library and Archives. The only problem is the Library/Archives has never had an intern before. Ever.

Everyone is an idiot at the beginning. There is always room to grow.

set during early academy days. first person pov and it switches from characters. i dont usually leans towards stories with lots of ocs (especially where theyre a major focus) BUT they’re all so interesting plus UM? i LOVE the detail put into the libraries aaa// sakura gets to live her strongest book nerd life. also im a huge fan of the concept of internships in shinobi villages and just of the adults caring abt the kids following them in their career choices. also sakura starts getting along with sasuke and it makes me super happy

Our Oath (We’re Expendable) by amako

ship: none // words: 27194 // chapters: 5/? // updated: 3/1/19

Apparently, Sakura is the last Haruno.

set post war, more during the recovery period. sakura gets to be part of a largely not well known clan with a secret that could put sakura’s life at risk if it got out. dont wanna spoil a lot but basically! she gets married and has to deal with clan things and letting other know

⭐If You Have the Hounds by dragonyfox

ship: narusasusaku // words: 31856 // chapters: 8/? // updated: 1/10/19

...go ahead and pursue.

can i just say.. this fic series really rips out my heart ..there were several parts i started tearing up at bc im tender and im baby! they all love each other more than anything and im crying just thinking about it. they literally built a whole fucking village because naruto is a mad man but his team loves him. literally they’re playing the longest con ever and it has me cackling. this is a hell of a fix it fic and it has me bawling itachi is really soft and team taka is there! (the way uzushio is described makes my heart swell w love im so proud of them)

These Bitter Weeds by Katlou303

ship: sasusaku // words: 33315 // chapters: 8/? // updated: 12/2/18

Sakura begged Sasuke to take her with him when he was leaving Konoha.

He said yes.

set when sasukes leaves. she somehow manages to convince him to let her join? her reasons are about as solid as they could be. in the first chapter you can definitely where it’s starting to change into unhealthy codependency. it really shows in this fic just how young they are.. all their ideals are fantastical and grandeur and it really drives a nail through my heart :( ino continues to be a real one, kakashi is going through it, and im reminded that i love kimi :(( warnings for violence, orochimaru and kabuto, and dismembered limbs. nothing shippy insofar, can be read as friendship

seek by cloverhoney

ship: sasusaku // words: 39062 // chapters: 12/? // updated: 1/15/19

Sakura disappears after taking a lifelong mission in exchange for Sasuke’s post-war acquittal. To give her the upper hand over her new targets and protect her from becoming a target herself, the world is told that Sakura is dead and gone - but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Sakura quickly finds she is still not strong enough to face her new enemies, and she seeks power in Shikkotsu forest. Sasuke, suspicious of the circumstances surrounding her death, seeks the truth regarding her disappearance, reconnecting with his childhood friends along the way.

Kakashi, the new Rokudaime, promises to keep Sakura’s secret, but with Sasuke on his heels, a council hell-bent on erasing the evidence, and the guilt of an empty grave, nothing can stay hidden for long.

set post war/pre epilogue. TAGS SAY SAGE SAKURA BITCH!!! (AND MOKUTON BABEY) shes nice but dumb and thats just team 7 (shes their single brain cell.. how dare she :(((( ) fuck the council. fuck those elders. fuck blue lives mariah carey’s skinny. my only gripe is that shes written as having small chakra reserves nd low stamina and im like. hello? Absolutely Not. whatever parts her Legendary chakra control dont cover, her seal is still there. small reserves my ass. also taijutsu is Literally one of her specialties >:( this happens in fics so often and im *teeth gritting* (FUCK. ACTUALLY. SHE’S FRESH OUT OF THE WAR. SHES TOUGH AS SHIT BY THIS POINT. im angry and annoyed and sad!!!) lol read if you want though. there are some neat bits (like when theyre in shikkotsu forest) mentions of eye gore, death, and blood (t..tbh.. i ignored all the sasuke bits :V IM SORRY I ONLY THINK THE PARTS WITH SAKURA ARE INTERESTING)

How Team 7 Came to Be by spica_starson

ship: sakura & team 7 // words: 40916 // chapters: 5/15 // updated: 10/22/18

What if: -Naruto had reached out to Sasuke earlier on? -Sakura never developed a crush on Sasuke? -The team isn't just a repeat of their predecessor?

What if Team 7 stayed together through thick and thin?

Or: If Team 7 was the focus of the series.

sakura isnt in the first chapter BUT she still gets to be a focal point because of course and the second chapter is dedicated to her. y’all already KNOW im soft for team as family fics!! they’re all best friends and care about each other a lot and im really weak okay. also kakashi loves his new kids. not a cliffhanger! so dont worry if you’re not up for waiting on an update or are like me and prefer reading finished fics! (there’s a separate spinoff one shot, not canon to the original fic, titled Alone set when naruto and sasuke fight on the roof)

Crow’s Disciple by Tobi_Black

ship: none // words: 42135 // chapters: 36/? // updated: 12/9/18

Sakura's just a child, a civilian, considered harmless. No one looks at the pink-haired little girl and sees the kunoichi, the shinobi, that she could become. They don't see the calculating glint in her eyes, nor the claws hidden. They don't see beyond the shy smile and tears. They don't see the loyal heart willing to give everything for those loved. Not yet.

starts off pre academy w sakura nd naruto both in the same orphanage. UGH MY GIRL IS SO SMART and this writing style lends itself so WELL to detail ghghgh// sakura’s bestfriends continue to be blondes and ino fosters a baby crush aa. SHISUI BBY ILY (and asuma gets to be a prominent figure in sakuras life which i hadnt read in a fic before) warnings for violence, death, blood

⭐Dangerous Habits (Dangerous Girl) by Dovey

ship: none // words: 44210 // chapters: 24/? // updated: 11/21/18

After the disasterous mission in Wave, Sakura returns to Konoha with a new drive: she wants to truly earn her spot on Team 7, and be able to protect her teammates. Unfortunately, nobody else seems to be willing to support her new goal, so she resorts to teaching herself: she decides her team needs a medic, and since she doesn’t have the connections or record to earn a place at the hospital, she practices on herself.

AKA the fic where sakura gets to be as dumb and have as little regard for her personal wellbeing as every other Naruto character, & teaches herself how to heal by inflicting & then fixing her own injuries. This deals both with some major changes to the plotline given her new skills, and the overall team dynamic.

starts post wave. sakura gets that kick in the ass to get better and do it fast and she gets to be as reckless as her teammates like she deserves! no one helps her initially but god DAMMIT if shes not gonna do something anyway (flexing her smarts!! shes such a genius and yeah it’s chaotic as hell in this fic but god if it isnt cool) she gets a VERY unhealthy addiction to pain and has to deal with generally negative feelings of self worth.. BUT finds a pal and a friend in gaara :) she gets close to her teammates (sasuke bby… :(((..) and friendly w tenten and tsunade and anko! chapter 12 has a scene w cool imagery// HEFTY (and pretty immediate bc it hits u in the first chapter) warnings for gore, death, self mutilation, misuse of organs (lol), blood, implications of sexual abuse (doesnt happen, the adults are just concerned that thats whats happening and not her. yknow. doing all of uh That)

Unbreakable Company by Shyaway95 and teslatempest

ship: sakura & kakashi // words: 44407 // chapters: 4/15 // updated: 2/5/19

Naruto and Sasuke were gone. Their Village had just begun recovering from the invasion, and every available shinobi was needed. Kakashi knew it was his duty to serve, to leap back into the darkness of ANBU at his Hokage’s command. It was only the thought of pink hair and desperate green eyes that made him pause. Would he abandon his last, remaining student?

He would as soon pluck out his right eye.

They were all that was left of Team Seven and Kakashi was going to make them unbreakable.

set after sasuke defects. HONESTLY kakashi actually doing smthn about his “people who abandon their teammates are worse than scum” saying that he likes to repeat is everything i couldve wanted. sakura deserves all the support in the world and this fic REALLY delivers. this is also a REALLY good fic if you like kakashi and want him to be happy about something. team seven as family is real!! could easily be read as a one shot if you dont wanna wait for updates or read a longer fic!

⭐Early Summer Rain by orlha

ship: none // words: 50063 // chapters: 14/15 // updated: 3/5/19

Having parents doesn’t always mean it’s a good thing and just because scars can’t be seen doesn’t mean they don’t exist. The Chuunin Exams leaves Sakura an orphan and she doesn’t cry.

set post konoha crush. immediate warning for death. sakura has been through a lot and kakashi is a sweetheart. he’s still pretty awkward but his heart is in the right place! god sakura i love you much :((((( shes got a lot of trauma and feelings of inadequacy and it hurts me. sasuke is angrier and naruto continues to be amazing (and i love him for giving sakura smthn to strive for) AND GENMA IS THERE! I LOVE YOU GENMAAA (AND SHIKA)!!! sakura gets praised for her chakra control and god does she deserve it. kakashi gets a clan! and sakura finds herself a family! and inner stays! listen. this shit has me SOBBING. she’s on the road to recovery and getting better everyday and my heart is WARM!! god im so happy this story has me happy stimming at some points ghuhg// warnings for child abuse, mentions of torture, attempted suicide, self harm, relapse, violence, blood, and mentions of eye trauma. there is an ongoing “sequel” with aus based in the early summer rain universe!

Learning Curve by ishiryoku

ship: sakura & team 7 // words: 50529 // chapter: 5/? // updated: 1/14/19

This is the life she chose: the path of the shinobi. It's either roll with the punches or be left behind by her team—and Sakura's not about to let them go off on their own.

starts off during the end of the wave arc. i love the self analyzing in the first chapter and also that wake up call. in a better (more sakura loving) universe this is that turning point that we shouldve gotten :( ALSO CAN I JUST AAA!!! all the little times kakashi is there to reassure her make me wanna fucking BAWL plus this is THE team as family fic i’ve been needing in my life aa GOD sakura just loves her team so muuucccchhh// the tags say mokuton sakura and fuuinjutsu naruto but it’s not there yet! (also naruto get bit, yikes) warnings for lots of dissociation, death, self loathing, paranoia, and trauma

Satori (Between the Lines) by jaylene

ship: none // words: 50665 // chapters: 12/? // updated: 3/3/18

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

another fic w/ the concept of interns and adults fostering the growth of ninja kids before they graduate! my girl is constantly flexing her smarts and im so proud! (torune is just a baby who deserved better than canon gave him :() and GOD i love ino!! and so does sakura and she just loves her friends a lot and people in general bc her baby heart is so filled with love and OOF// the aburame are SO interesting im thankful for the focus they get (and the focus on ciphers and T&I and ibiki!) god theyre all kids. just little babies :((( warnings for bullying and manipulation (however unintentional, it doesnt negate the harm caused)

Ties That Bind; Break by Igot2peedou

ship: shikasaku // words: 50931 // chapters: 17/25 // updated: 8/25/18

She severs their ties, decidingly, not because of Sasuke. Well. Not for the reason Ino suspects (but Sakura never clarifies, and that is lying by omission. isn't it?)

~~~

Sakura Haruno can’t help but feel. Not only her emotions but other peoples emotions. She is always prone to crying and for good reason— she can’t shut others emotions and must deal with her own and those closest to her (relationship wise.) Because a painfully tragic incident involving her father’s murder Sakura can no longer handle her “gift” and does the only thing that will stop her suffering.

She commits social suicide, and lets her best friend think she ended their friendship over a boy. This is her story....

au. set when sakura starts her rivalry w ino. sakura can sense emotions??? warning for death mention in first chapter and wow okay thats a lot. sasuke is traumatized and it takes out sakura and oof! this story is so so interesting,, shes stumbling her way through figuring out how her small clan’s blood line(?) works (how it’s more of a hassle than anything) also it gives her a really good disposition to genjutsu which she tries to get better in (she also had an earth affinity plus all of team 7 have a petty rivalry going on) sakura has trauma and goes hard in the exams. warnings for blood, gore, disembowelment, dismemberment, animal and human abuse/death, the rivalry between t7 is baaaaadd,, also disorienting plot twist in chapter 16!

Her Eyes Saw It All by ich_bin_ein_stern

ship: none // words: 63502 // chapters: 13/? // updated: 8/29/18

Sakura can’t recall much of the details regarding the mission in Wave, but what she does remember - there are scars left behind. The life she knows changes after this mission and, for better or worse, she accepts it and moves forward. She won’t allow herself to fall behind.

set during wave au. i love when characters continue to survive due to sheer instinct and pure stubborness. TEAM AS FAMILY!! theyre all so supportive of each other it makes my heart hurt (im soft serving it so hard. theyre SO nice to each other and theyre Actually friends and naruto and sasuke support sakura SO much it makes me cry) sncjf and the nara family is so fucking sweet also MOKUTON!! AND SHE HAS THREE AFFINITIES!!!!! (mokuton is changed here from a kekkei genkai to a learned skill tho) honestly it’s just what she deserves. also sakura is just SO level headed and smooth??? it’s really neat. warning for a healthy dose of death and gore in chp12, it picks up fast

In Death, Life by TeaFourTwo

ship: none // words: 136409 // chapters: 13/? // updated: 3/24/19

Only by reason of having died does one enter into life.

“Sakura. Just Sakura” Thats how they’d introduced her. She knew it was true, she was no longer a Haruno after all, but it didn’t stop the words from feeling like a dull knife in her side.

Or, Sakura goes to the Uchiha compound the night of the massacre and comes away an orphan with more questions than answers.

au starts when theyre babies!!! before ino nd sakura become rivals. baby sakura loves her friends a lot she didnt deserve that :((( super interesting bits tying sakura to the uzumaki?? sasuke.. :( .. sakura is traumatized and doesnt know who her family is and doesnt trust what people say to her (tenten is in the same orphanage as her! naruto too and i love him and i wanna personally hurt everyone who’s ever been mean to him) NARUTO AND SAKURA BEST FRIENDS!!! traitors are everywhere!! and the branch family get me feeling some type of way (can danzo choke.. fr…) the depth given to yin and yang chakra… ops mind…FUCK all the myths and spiritual stuff and how it’s all forgotten history?? UGH im in love/// (tsunade… mom..) warnings for the massacre, death, and blood

⭐Second Bite at the Cherry by Sakinthra

ship: none // words: 142249 // words: 41/? // updated: 3/25/19

There's been a storm brewing inside Sakura ever since Sasuke left to seek out Orochimaru, and the growing realization that she might not be half the shinobi her teammates are. She's always been the one that held back and let the boys finish the job, but it's clear she can't let herself be the weak one any longer. It's time to take her fate into her own hands...and it starts with breaking into a library.

set post sasuke rescue mission. i LOVE the introspection and worldbuilding im such a sucker for it// she gets to make rash and stupid decisions while still flexin her smarts and i am HERE for it!! she questions the state and adds skills to her arsenal (which is. tiny for a long time) shes smart and quick thinking but rash and impulsive so of course leaving the village and convincing ppl she went after sasuke is what she settles on (smh. her heart and heads in the right place bust smh) GAARA BBY I LOVE YOU SO VER MUCH (shukaku.....) (and fine.. i kinda love u too kakashi >:/) theyre a couple of dumb brats trying to help people (sai joins!!!!! his interactions w gaara especially are endearing) (hidan? is a prominent figure? i hate that hes one of my faves...... big fan of the depth given to his religion tho. it's super fascinating) BOIII NARUTO GETS DISILLUSIONED BY JIRAIYA AND GOES TO TSUNADE AND MY HEART IS BEATING OUT OF MY CHEST/// naruto's choice makes me wanna cry and sasukes little intermissions are pretty funny and get interesting (i support u karin!!) theyre dumb kids stumbling into politics and ending up going on a quest to save the world? the way all the pieces shift into place.. how the wheels start turning... the rest of the nine getting involved... poetic cinema.....warnings for death, blood, and decapitation

⭐Five Petals by PrecariousSauce

ship: sasusaku // words: 143900 // chapters: 22/? // updated: 2/6/19

Several things happen all at once in less than a minute’s time.

Sakura’s elbow slams into Sasuke’s side from an angle he doesn’t anticipate, sending him tumbling end over end off the branch.

Sasuke rights himself just a second too late and without checking where he’s going to land– When he does his knee twists, he feels a lightning bolt of pain shoot from his sole to his head, his leg gives out.

And Orochimaru’s teeth sink down to the gum in Sakura’s shoulder.

starts during chunin exams. timeline is followed pretty closely. fic is mostly centered around sasuke and from his perspective but sakura has the most pivotal change (:(). sasuke is cute, sakura is so in over her head, and naruto is naruto. sasuke loves his team a lot :(( and GOD i love when the kids act like kids even though that reminder hurts. sasuke takes up healing!! how cool is that!! AND TSUNADE IS SO FUCKING COOL I LOVE HER!!! and danzo should choke fr..... AND GOD DO I LOVE THE KONOHA 12//// warning for orochimaru, violence, death, and blood

⭐Hoshigaki by writer168

ship: none // words: 168116 // chapters: 32/? // updated: 3/10/19

When Sakura was three, her father told her he was a criminal. When she was seven, the last thing she saw of him was the sword on his back. When she was eight, she had a friend named Kiba. When they were twelve, they met Shino.

And when they were genin, they began to fight for the truth because they could no longer fight for the sake of Konoha.

au. sakura is kisame’s kid! kakuzu.. kinda sucks, konan is alright, pein is really dramatic, and sasori nd orochimaru are awful as per usual. kisame is just doing what he can to be a good dad :((( sakura is real smart and kiba is great and so is shino!! (ily baby) theyre all bestfriends and theyre all a little weird and i love them so much :’) theyre all manipulative little shits and i love them for it (and i love you too naruto) kurenai’s team develops dangerously (really starts to show in chapter 18) honestly this writing style really knows how to keep me absolutely enthralled (hiruzen and danzo.. i’ll kill you with my bare hands) i love kurenai and i love how much she cares abt her team :’( tenzo baby.. be there for them (same at you kotetsu) kisame is a good dad okay!! im not changing my mind on that! orochimaru can choke!!!!! team 8 is a family and theyre ride or die bc theyre really in some deep shit!!! i need the state dismantled and my kids are gonna do great. (bro im so fucking weak for all the world building and symbolism, GOD this fic is written so fucking amazingly) warning for young pregnancy, death, blood, gore, child endangerment, human experimentation, and eye gore/horror

LEFT UNFINISHED

Dirty Family Secrets by orphan_account

ship: none // words: 1431 // chapters: 1/?

Post-Sasuke defection to Orochimaru.

Something feels off about Sakura's parents, but before she can question them about it, they're both gone. She came from a family of civilians, there is no way both her parents were traitors, right?

Kakashi's Apprentice by Right2nowthen

ship: narusasusaku // words: 3440 // chapters: 1/1

In which Kakashi and Sakura hit the road and everything changes.

The Cherry Blossom Blooms Twice by Right2nowthen

ship: none // words: 3666 // chapters: 1/1

Who or what is Inner Sakura? As the fate of the world hinges on this question, Sakura seeks answers...

Today I Choose Joy by Nine_Stoic_Crayolas

ship: none // words: words: 5867 // chapters: 4/? // updated: 8/11/17

Sakura can See certain things. A story about a little girl, a couple of red eyes and Death.

The Company of Trees by theroadkillcafe

ship: none // words: 22646 // chapters: 5/? // updated: 6/7/17

Sakura is bullied, a dead kekkei genkai is reborn, and things go a little bit...differently.

Haruno Sakura and the Heuristic Method by MoofieLou

ship: inosaku // words: 41986 // chapters: 8/? // updated: 6/22/17

The flower that blooms last may catch the wildest wind of them all.

Alternatively: Sakura graduates from the academy, buys herself some anmitsu to celebrate, and arrives home to find her mother being beaten bloody by a thief. Things are different after that.

A heuristic method (/hjᵿˈrɪstᵻk/; Ancient Greek: εὑρίσκω, "find" or "discover"), often called simply a heuristic, is any approach to problem solving, learning, or discovery that employs a practical method not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect, but sufficient for the immediate goals.

set when the kids graduate. op retconned ino nd sakura rivalry and im thankful they stay best friends warning for violence in chapter 2. theres smthn i love abt blinding panic turned into survival instinct. sakura is prone to anger and i LOVE it!! also her family is fleshed out!! i love sakura so so much shes really snarky and smart (and she becomes kakashis fave! oof!!!) ggg team 7 getting along fills me with icky gooey love/// warnings for violence and blood. this fic hasnt updated in such a long time but it’s so so good and im hurt it left on a cliffhanger :((

Tempest by cywsaphyre

ship: none // words: 45233 // chapters: 6/? // updated: 7/20/12

Back in time and armed with years of future knowledge, Sakura is ready to take the world by storm. Except... she's four again, not twelve. Ah well, nobody said she couldn't start a little early. Gen, time travel, AU, Sakuracentric.

time travel fic but she baby! also oh FUCK my heart is melting naruto is baby and sakura wants her boys to be happy this time :’( and also ino is baby and i love her. GOD theyre all four years old and babies and sasuke is so cute and my heart huuuurrtss :’((((( my baby girl is so smart and she loves strongly and theyre all little brats acting like kids and im soft (team 10 feelings..) (and sakura is Literally preventing a massacre bc she fucking rules) MY TEAM SEVEN LOVE MUSCLES ARE FLEXING!! warning for mentions of trauma, mentions of kidnapping, blood, and death. this fic hasnt updated since 2012 though like.. *incomprehensible*

A Lot of Fight Left in Me by Stormwind13

ship: none // words: 73814 // chapters: 12/? // updated: 10/29/17

Sasuke deserted the village. Naruto is being taken away for his own safety. Sakura is left with the broken remains of her team and a teacher that's barely in the village, but she'll find a way to make this work. She has to, because all those lectures about teamwork had to mean something. Didn't they?

this fic hasnt updated in a while but it's so good :((( team 7 is in shambles and sakura just wants a teacher and to get better (i love iruka...) OH! and i love how close the konoha 12 are:) i love the little worldbuildy bits that give depth to the village. theres lots of ocs and a mini uzushio (that sakuras a part of!!) it's super interesting but hasnt updated since 2017 and i checked and this fic was the most recently updated fic op has :((((( it's still a good length and a great read but leaves at a cliffhanger which isnt as bad if you stop at the last break. warning for violence

#naruto #naruto shippuden #sakura #sakura haruno #pro sakura haruno #pro sakura #sakura centric #sakura haruno fics #fic recs #post #lol @ all the tags i put on this #im literally so in love with sakura as a character like. this is a love letter #HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL

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marlahey · 5 years

Text

time only heals if we work through it now

a chicago pd fic pairings/characters: rising upstead, jay + hailey friendship if that’s more your speed episode tags/spoilers: set during and post 6.22 (reckoning) warnings: a lot of angsty avoidance of talking notes: this is the first really creative thing I’ve produced in like three months so please be gentle lol. title courtesy of the jonas brothers song ‘hesitate’ which I love and also stole from my friend grace. love you. read on: ao3 // ff

Jay is always the last person she touches before they breach a door.

Depending on who goes first (usually her, though she never knows if that’s out of respect for her abilities or old ranger habits) there is one hand on the shoulder, (usually his) a final, I’ve got you, before the doorframe splinters or groans and anything can happen on the other side. After their bricks shatter the glass, she is first through the stash house back door. And until they’re back at the precinct unloading their spoils, Hailey’s heart seems to live in her ears, a roaring soundtrack to the story cloaked entirely in black and spoken in aggressive shouts. Though it’s not nerves, not more than the standard I really don’t want to get shot, it feels like everything is muffled beneath a pressing reminder of everything they stand to lose. “That was a five hundred thousand dollar rip,” she marvels aloud. “...that we can’t tell anyone about.” “And if this whole thing doesn’t work,” Jay says in that dry tone of his, “We’re gonna go back to writing traffic tickets.” Levity feels like the only way they can look at the possibility of their failure head on. It’s too much, she thinks, to consider how everything might change for the unit if they can’t bring Kelton down. And for them. The second thought is a little harder to bear, though it’s an admission Hailey makes only to herself. “Your sergeant at organized crime take you back?” she asks. Would he take me, too? “No,” he replies around a laugh. It’s nice to hear him laugh again. “He holds grudges. He was so pissed when I left. Besides, I’m going where you go.” Jay says it so matter of factly that Hailey has to stop and look at him. “Yeah?” He keeps her gaze. “Yeah. It’s hard to find a good partner.” Something’s happening inside her chest, that thing she’s been trying to ignore for months now. “That sounds good to me.” Her cheeks can’t hold up a smile too long. “We both know Kelton won’t let any of us stay together.” Jay’s jaw sets, but before either of them can say anything more, the rest of the unit reappears and it’s back to business. Later, Hailey thinks. Think about this later. ii. Later, of course, there’s no time to think. The first shot pops off – barely muffled – her hand lands instinctively on her gun but it’s useless; the next four tear through the van like it’s made of butter. “Get down!” Before she can even gasp, Jay is yanking her down to the floor. Only instinct and training keep her from hitting her head. He peels away; she can’t catch her breath. Hailey gives up on her gun. The unmistakable weight of a vest falls open over her back and then Jay’s arms are around her again, dragging her closer, tight around her shoulders and her neck, forcing her head down against him. The part of her brain that says, this might be it is shouted quiet by the rest of her brain that says, Jay’s here. He’s got you. Debris and dust and light hail down; he growls and it jolts her out of her panic. She wants to tell him that one vest isn’t going to cut it. She wants to tell him that by holding her this way he’s exposed – his arms, his hands, his head – she wants to ask him if her ears are ever going to stop ringing – and then it’s over. The whole thing couldn’t have lasted more than eight seconds, but it felt like years between one heartbeat and the next. Does Hailey look as different as she feels? Jay’s solid warmth pulls away again and she wants – for a split second – beyond all reason or logic or anything resembling professionalism, to fold herself back into him. Where she’s safe. His hand is on her face, calluses rough against her cheek. Hailey can see his mouth moving, forming the syllables of her name, but she can’t hear yet. “You good? You okay?” She can’t speak yet either it seems; Hailey just nods, almost frantically. Voight’s voice from outside the hollowed van sounds as though it’s coming from underwater. “Jay! Hailey! You good?” “We’re good, we’re good!” Jay shouts back, and she jumps; her hearing is back, now dialled up to eleven. Are we? “Do not exit till we get the all clear! Who’s got eyes?” Jay’s chest heaves with exertion as he pushes up to his elbows above her. Adam is audible through the radio on the table, miraculously unscathed, but she can only just understand him over the tinny sound still in her ears. Wilson is down. Dread curls like a root in the pit of her stomach. Hailey has to swallow before she can speak. “Jay,” she says, and that’s all her mind can come up with. His hand lands on her shoulder, squeezing gently. I’ve got you. Hailey finds her eyes glued to his stomach, where she knows the scar of a bullet should have lived beneath his shirt. As they haul each other mostly upright, the vest slipping to hit the floor with a solid thump, her fingers brush the spot of their own accord. “I’m okay.” Jay touches her hand with his own and Hailey pulls away, feeling oddly like she’s been caught. “I’m okay.” I thought he was dead. Her breath shudders on the way out; the next is better. Hailey can feel the weight of his stare, as familiar as the kevlar. He starts, “You sure–” “I’m good.” She meets Jay’s gaze to prove her point. He just looks back, some of the adrenaline fading from around his eyes, and it’s a little too easy to fall back into the routine. Upton and Halstead: partners in Intelligence. She nods once and he lets go, shifting back only enough to sit heavily against the desk with a sigh. Hailey doesn’t think; she just follows him down to the floor, suddenly too bone-weary to care that they’re pressed together from hip to shoulder. She finds her eyes glued to the kevlar vest still splayed half-open at their feet. We almost died. He probably saved your life. You’re alive. “Think we have to write up the cost?” Jay asks sardonically, gesturing at the side of the vehicle riddled with holes. Hailey just snorts. He doesn’t say more and neither does she, suddenly content to come back down to earth in comfortable, relative quiet. It’s hard to tell how much time passes this way, though Hailey just lets herself be in it a while. Give us a break. But soon enough, sirens and tires and clamouring voices fill in the silence. Someone thumps on the side of the van– “All clear!” – and if Jay notices her flinch, he doesn’t say anything. Hailey takes one last deep, steadying breath and pulls herself to her feet. “I’ll take Wilson’s body, you check in with Voight? Maybe we can get lucky with his phone.” “Sounds good,” Jay replies. A uniformed officer pulls the door open; she has to squint against the light. He touches her shoulder again, just once, and lets her out first. iii. She knows something’s up the moment he appears at the top of the stairs. When she follows him into the break room and asks what’s going on, Hailey is half-expecting Jay to lie, for her to have to work a little harder to get at whatever it is that’s bothering him. “I have no idea.” And he doesn’t, she knows; it’s the same not knowing that’s been plaguing half the unit for weeks now– ever since Eva. While Kim and Kevin may be more content to politely pretend they can’t see the furtive looks Voight, Adam, and Antonio have been exchanging, it prickles beneath Hailey’s skin– and now, clearly, it’s come to a head with Jay too. “Voight just left and he said–” Jay breaks off and it takes everything in her to be steady– “he said something about me running the unit.” The root of dread coils tighter. Hailey follows Jay’s gaze out to the bullpen, where the announcement of Kelton’s victory still plays, and then back. “We lost.” She hasn’t seen him look this way in a long time– not since he almost died and she was almost too late to save him. Hailey takes a deep breath. Jay’s not wrong. So what’s left? “Kelton is who he is,” she says firmly. “His time for reckoning is coming.” He scoffs a little, more out of frustration than anything. “Not in time for this unit. For us.” Us? Her heart stumbles. “We’ve only been partners a couple years,” she starts, going for more levity and probably failing. “You’ll forget about me just fine.” Hailey forces a smile, but she can’t hold it up against the way Jay’s looking at her now, too open and unguarded to handle. “Hailey…” He does that thing where he laughs with just one corner of his mouth and trails off, shaking his head. Jay opens his mouth as if to speak. She thinks, not now. I’m not strong enough. Hailey knows him, and he knows her; Jay doesn’t say whatever he’s thinking– because he won’t (or can’t) give voice to whatever their partnership has become. She tries to smile again. Maybe she’s the one who can’t let him. “We’ll be alright,” Hailey says, and wills it to be true. iv. Kelton’s reckoning occurs through blood and bullets; theirs could also be counted in shell-casings and scars, but at least she and Jay have survived. So far, at least. With half the unit out of commission (speaking of things Hailey can’t look at head on), Voight’s strangely dark premonition comes to pass. As the most senior remaining detective, Jay assumes command of Intelligence. All their attempts to reach both Antonio and their sargeant go unanswered, which only carves deeper frown lines in Platt’s face. (She’s taken herself off the front desk to help them and pulled her best patrol officers up into the bullpen. Kim takes responsibility for them without being asked; Hailey mirrors Jay’s immensely grateful look at the routine grunt work being taken off their plates for the time being.) Whoever had killed Kelton had been careful; there’s evidence of a break-in but absolutely no DNA that isn’t their former mayor’s. It’s also hard to decide whether it’s a relief or not that the potential list of killers is long, since Jay had pointedly avoided eye contact when he told them that both Hank and Antonio were in the wind. I’m going to do what needs to be done. Voight’s last words to Jay keep replaying in her mind, but Hailey can see that they haunt her partner. Chicago, as difficult and often corrupt as it already is, feels truly rocked by this – the Ivory Tower calls for an update seemingly every time the unit tries to come up for air. CPD’s new interim superintendent is not exactly sympathetic to the strain the 21st district (and arguably the entire force) is now under; as the days wear on with few leads, Jay takes fewer and fewer breaks and stays behind later and later. Is their city just full of monsters? Are they only pretending to fight a darkness that already exists inside of them, rooted and watered by the horrors of this job? There has to be light somewhere, Hailey thinks, as she buzzes herself up the stairs in search of her phone she’d left behind. The solitary glow of her partner’s desk lamp lighting the Intelligence bullpen is perhaps a bit too on the nose. Voight’s office is still shuttered and closed; Jay refuses to work in there, even though his paperwork pile is already twice the height of hers. “You good?” he asks, beating her to the punch. Hailey nods, reaching into her drawer and holding up her cell. “Just forgot this. What are you working on?” Jay sighs, dragging a tired hand over his face. He’d tell her he needed a shave, she knows, if she pointed out the two-day scruff. She doesn't. “I hate reports,” he complains. It’s a familiar conversation. Hailey feels an abrupt urge to smile that she hasn’t had in at least a week. “I dunno how Voight dealt with all this red tape all the time.” He didn’t, a lot of the time, she thinks. Hailey doesn’t say that either. “Have you been home since yesterday?” she asks instead. “You were already here when I got in this morning. You haven’t eaten.” The scratching of pen slows. “What day is it?” “Wednesday.” Jay’s jaw flexes just slightly, his version of a wince. “You gotta get some rest Jay,” Hailey goes on. “You can’t keep this up. You’re gonna be dead on your feet.” “I’m fine,” he says. The stubbornness in his tone is familiar, too. “We have to get this right. Intelligence isn’t safe just because Kelton’s dead.” “We’re a team,” she counters. “You don’t have to do this all by yourself.” A shadow creases his face. Hailey knows there’s some things about his last conversation with Voight that Jay didn’t tell her, that his relationship with their (former?) sergeant is longer and more complex than even Adam’s was. Is. But she won’t back down. “Finish that and then I’m taking you home. You can ride with me tomorrow and get your car after shift.” Years or months or even a few weeks ago, Hailey would have considered what their co-workers would think at the sight of them arriving together. Besides the fact that neither Kim nor Kevin would say anything (Platt is probably another story) tonight she finds she doesn’t care. Her partner opens his mouth as if to argue, but Hailey just shrugs out of her coat and settles across from him in her own desk chair. She can be stubborn too. After a long beat of silence, Jay exhales slowly and his pen resumes its task across the page. Hailey forces herself not to look up from her phone, but every so often she can feel the weight of his stare. He doesn’t often accept support; even the spoken value of their ‘beer and talk’ arrangement sometimes isn’t enough to get Jay to cave. Hailey would cave though, for him. She’d do nearly anything if he was the one asking. Hailey has to resolve, right then and there in the silent and mostly dark bullpen, to never examine that truth too closely. “Okay,” Jay says sometime later, pulling her out of a mindless game of Crossy Road. “I’m done.” He leans back in his chair with a long sigh. “Tell me we’re doing the right thing here, Hailey.” You know I can’t tell you that. Though the unit and the district may have their suspicions as to the timing of Kelton’s murder and Intelligence leader disappearances, no one dares speak them aloud. Hailey squares her shoulders and meets Jay’s eye. “We’re doing our jobs.” It’s not an answer, of course; his scoff calls her out. But when Jay speaks again, it’s full of a quiet desperation she’s only heard a handful of times since they became partners. “I just hope I’m wrong.” Hailey doesn’t bother pretending. “I think we’re all hoping that too.” She picks up her coat and he follows as she hoped he would. “We can only do our jobs. The rest is for someone else to decide.” Jay possibly (probably) disagrees, but he just ushers her through the gate. As Hailey turns out of the district lot, he props his elbow against the window and tilts his head against his hand, staring out at nothing. She finds her attention drawn, almost unwittingly, over to him as the late night lights of Chicago pass them by. He looks so far away, even with the scant distance between them. So she reaches out the only way she knows how. ”Molly’s? I could use a drink.” Jay stills; Hailey braces herself for a refusal. Please just let us be us. “We can drink at mine,” he says. “I know I have a bottle of something kicking around.” She squeezes the steering wheel a little in relief. “Sounds good.” When they arrive, he holds the door open for her to enter first. “Sorry about the mess.” There’s a somewhat rumpled blanket over the back of the couch, half a newspaper on the coffee table, and Jay’s beanie dangling from a hook by the door. “This is a mess?” He laughs dryly. “Old habit.” Hailey drops herself onto the couch as he disappears into the kitchen. She hears cabinets and the clinking of glasses and wills her shoulders to relax. Jay isn’t the only one taking on more than usual; she’d never hear the end of it if he caught her not taking her own advice. A minute later, a heavy glass of amber liquid lands in front of Hailey with an audible thump. Jay pulls the blanket from behind his back and tosses it unceremoniously into her lap. “You’re always cold,” he says when she just looks at him. “Don’t even try to deny it.” Hailey just busies herself with the throw and her glass so she doesn’t blush. “Thanks.” She holds her glass out; Jay clinks against it with a silent nod. There’s gratitude in his eyes. Hailey just smiles gently and hopes it’s enough. The scotch burns on the way down and she thinks, you’re alive. You’re alive.

She wakes with a start; the blanket slips from around her shoulders (when had that happened?) and Hailey’s mind flashes back to the kevlar vest on the floor of their ruined surveillance van. But she blinks blearily and Jay’s apartment returns, quiet and dark. And when she turns her head, she’s surprised to find him slumped beside her, still holding his empty glass. Something aches deep inside her chest. Hailey sits up carefully. Leaning forward, she wraps her fingers around Jay’s glass and pries it gently from his hand. Before she can do anything more, his eyes snap open, bright and wild; Jay seizes her wrist in an iron grip before she can even reel back, and Hailey’s heart leaps up into her throat. “It’s me,” she says, as quiet and calm as she can manage. “It’s just me.” “Hailey,” Jay breathes. The hair on the back of her neck rises. He releases her. “Shit, sorry.” She just shakes her head. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.” “You and me both,” he replies. Hailey musters a faint smile. “I should–” “Stay.” Jay isn’t touching her anymore, but he may as well be for the way all her limbs suddenly freeze in place. Hailey sees a flash of that open expression from the break room, before everything truly went to hell. “It’s late,” he continues. “You’ve had a few.” “I’m fine, Jay.” It’s not a lie, exactly. But her body won’t stop betraying her. They haven’t been this close since the van. It’s like she suddenly stopped knowing how to be around him. Jay swallows; Hailey watches his Adam’s apple bob and hates herself a little. “I’d feel better if you stayed.” She can only stare. How can he be so inarticulate one day and so unselfconscious the next? Hailey wishes she could blame the alcohol, or the hour, but Jay is a Ranger; he’s asleep to alert faster than she can blink. “We can stop by your place before we go in.” “I keep an emergency go bag in the car,” she blurts, unthinking, and Jay exhales a laugh with just one side of his mouth. “Of course you do.” This is a bad idea. “Are you actually going to sleep?” she asks, “If I stay?” Jay’s jaw works. Gotcha. “Probably.” Hailey rolls her eyes fondly. “Gotta work on your poker face there, Halstead.” He chuckles and leans back. “Pretty sure it’s no use with you.” It’s so frank and honest that her stomach pitfalls. Hailey stands then, handing the glass back to Jay and feeling abruptly silly for playing hot potato with it. “Be right back.” When Hailey returns, Jay is in sweats and a t shirt, putting sheets on the couch. It’s the most dressed down she’s ever seen him. “I just washed the ones on my bed,” he says with a smile. “Promise. All yours.” “I’m not kicking you out of your own bed,” Hailey protests. “I’ll take the couch. You’ll barely fit on it anyway.” Jay goes to counter, but she musters her best don’t fuck with me glare. His lips twitch like he wants to laugh; he just puts a pillow down. It feels downright domestic, standing in the bathroom with him and brushing her teeth. The part of Hailey that wants to fidget in her pajama shorts and t-shirt struggles with the rest of her that is always a little more instinctively relaxed around her partner, in a way – if Hailey’s being honest with herself – she had to work for with Adam. Besides the disaster that was Booth, Jay makes no demands of her, never asking for more than she’s ready to give. They’ve disagreed before, certainly, on cases. But never morally – never fundamentally – or in a way that spoke to the core of their personalities clashing. Hailey supposes that’s the upside of dragging each other’s demons into the light and finding support in looking right at their own darkness. “Sure you’re okay out here?” Jay leans on the doorframe of his room and watches as she slides beneath both the throw and another blanket he’d insisted on leaving out for her. “Beats a concrete basement floor,” Hailey quips. He makes a face and she laughs lightly at him. “I’m kidding. Jay this is fine, really. Go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.” Jay looks at her a moment longer, before apparently deciding against whatever’s on his mind. “Night.” Hailey lies awake for longer than she’d like to admit, but he doesn’t have to know that.

The smell of coffee draws her into awareness. Hailey tries to sit up quickly, suddenly too mindful of Jay potentially catching her asleep and vulnerable again. But there’s no sign of him until she’s folding the blankets carefully into a small pile on one end of the couch. Jay emerges from the kitchen with two mugs and offers her one, which she accepts with a grateful, “Thanks.” Hailey pulls her legs up to sit cross legged, leaning back against the arm of the couch while he shifts to face her. It would be too easy, she thinks, to shuffle forward a little and be touching knees. Somehow it seems more intimate than being locked in his arms with nowhere to go. “Get any sleep?” Jay asks, eyeing her over the rim of his mug. “Yeah,” Hailey admits after a moment of thought. “Actually. You?” She can see the edges of a smile: the corner of his mouth, the gentle crinkle of his eyes. “Yeah, actually.” There’s something inexplicably tender in his expression, despite the fact that she can’t see half his face. Hailey suddenly wishes she could flee, but just wraps both hands around her cup and drinks instead. “Bathroom’s all yours,” Jay says. “I’m just gonna get dressed.” The rest of the morning passes in the same quiet camaraderie that settles in during a long sting. By the time they’re pulling back up to the precinct, Hailey can almost pretend the last 12 hours were just a strange dream. She and Jay are early enough to work that not even Platt has arrived quite yet; the buzzer of the gate up to Intelligence feels almost jarring in the quiet. Hailey can see Atwater’s desk before they hit the top of the stairs. She’s almost there; they’re almost back to normal and then– “Hailey.” His fingers brush her elbow and she turns. Just behind her, Jay is just below as well; they’re very nearly the same height. The air feels close, like it did on the couch, and the van, like something electric is rising, or a flash flood that might just sweep her away. He glances down then up, as though suddenly boyish and bashful. It’s somehow difficult to imagine any other version of Jay that isn’t calm and confident. His jaw flexes. She sees that same look, that almost lost, vulnerable, and open one that always catches her off guard; she’s unmoored and the one thing that usually grounds her is the same thing knocking her off balance. Jay’s just looking at her, like he wants to speak but he knows that the truth – whatever the Truth is – might be the thing that shatters them both to pieces. She thinks, tell me. She thinks, don’t. And then Hailey stops thinking. She just leans forward and slides her arms around Jay’s neck, letting herself fit between the open edges of his jacket. He stiffens, but before Hailey can jump back over the enormous line she’s just crossed, Jay pulls her in. His arm wraps around her so far that she’s sure he can feel her ribs against his fingertips, while his other hand touches the back of her neck, so lightly at first that Hailey shivers. And then Jay tightens his grip and she’s suddenly safe again, despite everything. Hailey hooks her chin over his shoulder; he turns his face into the curve of her neck. She can only keep breathing as Jay sighs, so deeply that Hailey can feel his whole body rise and fall against hers. The whole world seems to have narrowed into sensations: fingertips tangling into her hair, calluses on the nape of her neck, warm breath over her collar. Hailey closes her eyes. You’re alive. She pulls back first, if only because she risks never moving again. She also risks crying, with the look in Jay’s eyes. But Hailey manages a smile and puts her hand on his shoulder. “C’mon. Let’s get to work.” As she turns, Jay’s hand touches her own. He squeezes, just once. Hailey returns the pressure without looking back and Jay releases her, following her up into the bullpen. It’s not enough, she thinks, a little selfish and foolish and desperate. But for now it has to be.

#chicago pd #upstead #chicago pd imagine #jay halstead #hailey upton #mine: fic #feels good to finally put this out

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tellywoodtrash · 5 years

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khkt 28.08.19 lb

gosh, every girl deserves a mother in law like veena. saas ho toh aisi ho, warna na ho.

mummy is well aware that Raja Beta is a handful.

mild resentment feelz i am having that she expects sona to put up with that and fix her son.

ouff, i don't like this aunty. like i sympathize with the character and all, but......... her acting annoys me.

also her hatred for rohit better warrant some actual fault by him, like making a fatal mistake while operating (that a surgeon of his level should have known better than to do.) yeh nahi ki she's just mad at him for a random medical happenstance that he couldn't actively avoid.

lol nishi is suchhhhhhhh a jalkukdi. whatever stereotypical auntiness is missing from veena, koot koot ke ismein bhari hai.

yk's wry smile is everything.

yk reppin #teamSonakshi.

nishi is like oh helllll naah, not in my bedroom! this is a sonakshi-free zone!!!!!!!

askkkk her yk, ask her!

god nishi you are so elitist.

of course i'm not for sona being put to work at the age of 12, but maybe that's the only option suman had in order to raise the family on her own? it's not morally right, but then survival tactics rarely ever are.

oh ho, yk reminding her that he isn't from a family that is exactly comparable to hers either.

yeah, i find this especially disingenuous, coz nishi was grumbling about sonakshi not being sindhi, and yk isn't either? (isn't his surname kapoor or kumar or something?) why is she applying all these cut-off qualifications to rohit's spouse when she didn't while choosing someone to marry herself?

yup, typical desi hypocrisy, ki jawaab nahi hai toh incredulous topic change.

she's so easily distracted, like a magpie.

ugh.

nosy chachu yahaan bhi taang adaa rahein hain. but for once i welcome it. adaao idhar, please adaao! aur iski moti akal ko thikaane lagao pls!

lol ajit, you know they're faking and you're still shipping them. i love you, you idiot. you are truly this fandom’s in-show proxy.

ajit family ka game show host bhi hai. waah, mera multi-talented chutku!

lmao rohit's face knowing badi mumma is gonna choose them.

sonakshi's bitchface of the night #5.

oh god suman ko call to get permission for her to stay later, ffs, she a grown woman, could you stop calling her mom like she's a 7 year old over at your place for a play date????

ajit tu pitega. aaj bhi pitega.

ohhhhh newlywed's game haiiiiiiii.

relationship mein clarity in dono ko khud nahi hai, aap logo ko kya dikhayenge?

first question about gussa.

rohit, honestly, how fucking dare you???????

also this moment has the same energy as........

joke i forever love: someone angrily screaming that they do not get angry.

............ i don't think the sippys get how to play this game. if one of them says "woh", the other is supposed to agree and say "main". this is them contradicting each other at every question.

did rohit hold up "main" for the forgiveness question?

"lekin rohit toh kissi ko asaani se maaf karta nahi."

uh yeah, easy forgiveness is for small shit like not renewing her license or feeding him karela or something. NOT FOR CHEATING ON HIS MOTHER AND HAVING A WHOLEASS LOVECHILD THAT YOU GOT ADOPTED INTO THE FAMILY. (the audacity of men, is2g.)

oufffffffff. yk coming in with a heavyyyyyyy one: "tum dono mein se zyaada pyaar kaun karta hai?"

pffffffffffft. both should have put up "main", then it would have been hort-crushingly romantic. i iz disappoint.

(also rohit ne sonakshi ko abhi se easy liya hua hai???? he at least should have put up "main" since he's the one pretending to be so in love with her????? hmph.)

ugh. don't care. i don't care about any of this nonsense until raima actually wakes the fuck up.

my question is, itniiiiiii gracious aur wholesome family mein rohit aur nishi kaise paida ho gaye?

cutesttttttttttt. i love her soooooo much.

i guess ravi bhaiyya is that trusted, if they're discussing this in front of him??? we're absolutely sure he won't go spill to vimmi????

sona is honestly too good for anyone in this damn show. a whole different planet itself for my queen! it shall have only puppies and kittens and kids below the age of 12; other pure beings who can never hurt her heart of solid gold.

yup, canon-confirmed that ravi bhaiyya is trustworthy. so it’s sona/ravi/ajit/mom, in terms of rohit’s secret-keeping inner circle.

ohhhhhhhhhh great. raima's gonna be in some hospital in mumbai. asdlkjfdslkflsdkj lord, why?????

oh thank god, he didn't see Angry Friend.... Hitesh? Ritesh? some "itesh", imma just call him Angry-tesh from now on.

ouff this aunty's acting is intolerable cruelty.

phew.

also, metaphor samajh rahe ho aap? raima’s gonna appear outta nowhere, literally come in between them, but then slip away off to her intended destination (wherever that may be), so roankshi can ultimately unite.

ouffffff, too much deep meaning nikaal diya maine traffic situation mein se.

ouff too cute, end of first date type squishy smiles.

"itna sudharaa hua dr. surgeon mujhe digest nahi hoga."

ugh, she a masochist, like all other tellywood girls. sis, learn to accept and expect respectful, good behaviour from men. have some fucking standards, pls.

oh boy samaaj seva type rambling.

... which has given rohit a social justice waala boner.

(the only boner we all should be having in these dark times. in 2k19 we only fuck with people who are into radical compassion and equal rights for all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

"kitni alag ho tum.... raima se."

ughhhhhh, had us in the first half, not gonna lie.

ok but if raima was so hyper and restless, then how did she calm bad boy rohit down???? does not compute.

"woh jitni restless thi, tum utni suljhi hui."

god, this fucker has no sense on what to say when. literally no one in any situation ever wants to be compared to an ex, rohit. esp. one that you're so painfully hung up on. and that's what sona's face is screaaaaaaming.

lol ok sona that's a dumb question. a really dumb question. you know why.

jesus h. christ will someone please get this man to therapy?????? fucking hell, y'all own a damn hospital, surely you have SOMEONE in there who can help??????? fuck!!!!!!!!!!!

#kahaan hum kahaan tum #khkt lbs #episode liveblogs

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canonicallysoulmates · 5 years

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SPN SDCC 2019 OPINIONS

Right now some of you are probably wondering why the fuck you're seeing a post about SDCC when it's September and the answer to that is that I did not have a computer when SDCC happened back in July so I couldn't make this post then, trust me I would have preferred it if I could have, and why am I even bothering to make it when so long a time has passed? Cause I said I was going to and as I've stated in the past I was going to watch the panel and some interviews anyways and share my opinion so I might as well make it into a proper post. Or at least try to, this turned out a little over the place. Now, originally, back in July, I was thinking of doing something like I had done last year meaning a massive post full of spoilers and info available but as you can guess from the title of this post that did not happen this is because of two reasons: 1) I feel like there was less info than there was for s14, to be fair like I said I didn't have a computer during the time and I wasn't on SM a lot so it's entirely possible that there was a bunch of info and spoilers that never made their way into my very limited radar. 2) September is ending, the s15 premiere is literally around the corner, I don't have the time necessary to go through any and all news and info and spoilers about s15, and to be very honest I don't have the patience either. So this post is going to be just my opinion on the panel and on some of the things that were said in SDCC interviews, there are still timestamps and some transcripts and all the interviews I talk about plus the panel are linked at the end in their entirety. I watched 4 interviews for each person on the panel with the exception of two people, I did not watch any of M. Collins interviews, I also didn't watch any of Berner's interviews I was going to but Dabb, Singer and BuckLemming test my patience enough as it is. Also I want to keep this post brief so I'm only talking about things that really stood out to me. Standard disclamer applies that these are all just my opinions and you might not agree with them.... SDCC 2019 Panel I don't have much to say about this panel, most of it was everybody talking a bit about the legacy of the show, there wasn't really any info given about s15 and in that regard, I am a bit disappointed, I wish they had used the panel more and found a balance between talking about the legacy of the show while also incorporating info about the final season. But I can understand why they would do something more subdued. The only things that stood out to me was Dabb trying to make what I hope is a joke about the ending of the show pleasing only 30% of people and bringing up GOT, regular which I'm not gonna comment on cause I want to keep this post general but those who know know 😉, should go without saying that my heart broke all over again seeing j2 cry over the show ending 💔 And I cannot go without mentioning Dabb's intro to the panel cause it fucking killed me, he must have written it himself 😂 "our next guest very first job on tv was writing for supernatural, after eight seasons in the trenches he ascended to the coveted position of showrunner. Armed with genius talent and deep respect for the characters and stories he's beautifully shouldered the shows vision for the past 3 seasons and now leads us bravely forward on the shows final chapter" [TIMESTAMP] Interviews

Let's talk about Chuck, everybody seemed to be on the same page about this, they all gave similar answers when asked about it which is a nice change of pace usually they all give different answers but to me it seems like they, once again, dug themselves into a hole they don't know how to get out of and are trying to back out of it, like in one of the interviews Lemming says at one point Castiel will point out to Sam and Dean that whether or not it was god playing tricks on them they would have come across the same crossroads and they are the ones who made the decision about which direction to go not someone else ("cas will point out to them weather it was god playing tricks on us or us doing it ourselves out in the world we would have met the same crossroads or they would have been different crossroads but whatever crossroads we would have come across we made a decision whether to go right or left no one else did that to us" [TIMESTAMP] ) which to me sounds a hell of a lot like free will. And look, everybody has a different interpretation or views on what free will is, I, personally, think free will has nothing to do with whether or not someone/something puts an obstacle in front of us it has to do with whether or not we're the ones who decide how to deal with it meaning that someone/something doesn't make the choice for us. So to me what Lemming is talking about is free will which is what supposedly Sam and Dean never actually had, to be fair it's possible that scene won't happen or that explanation won't be given or it'll be something different but at this point I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that it was all a test by Chuck and when Sam and Dean go to kill him or something he'll be all 'surprise! you passed your mission is done now you can have peace'; I also wouldn't be surprised if Dabb&co do what they usually do and ignore things after the first three episodes until the mid-season finale and the finale. But hey, maybe they'll prove me wrong, and do something really interesting and complex...not gonna hold my breathe for it though. Since I already mentioned Lemming there was something she said that irked me, she was asked about the shows influence/impact on sci-fi shows and stuff, I'll leave a link so you can see the whole thing point is she was talking about early seasons and said: "....we really worked on the physical nature of horror and the psychological results of that, but that takes you just so far as a writer then you sort of realize we have to write about personalities and psychologies of the people living in that horrible universe, so you end up once again revisiting what drama is..." This irks me. Look I'm not a horror buff, so perhaps it's not my place to talk and to be fair maybe this is not the way she meant to come across and I'm probably alone in this but the way she talks about horror at least in this particular answer comes across to me as somebody who doesn't understand or respect horror. I don't really know how to properly explain myself but her going "but that takes you just so far as a writer then you sort of realize we have to write about personalities and psychologies of the people living in that horrible universe, so you end up once again revisiting what drama is" to me this come across as somebody who doesn't know or understand that you can write personalities and the psychology of people and still be horror. Still stay in that genre, without going into drama territory like horror is so much more than just jump scares. I don't know maybe it's that I'm so tired of everything being put in what I consider outdated boxes of either comedy or drama. Or that I'm tired of horror being shoved into drama's box. Or horror being shoved into a box where it's just gore and jump scares and if it's more than that it's a drama or artsy horror or classy horror or some other bs people say when they don't wanna admit they like horror. Or maybe it's the fact that Eugenie Lemming of all people is the last one that should be saying this when with the exception of ONE episode she and her writing partner don't actually explore personalities or peoples psychology. Or maybe it's the fact that the early seasons where this show was more horror it explored personalities and the psychology of the people in that world way better than the later seasons, even though the later seasons have moved into drama territory and have moved away from its horror roots! Anyways I'm gonna leave a full transcript here plus the timestamp so you can go and get full context, this was just something that like I said irked me: "when the show started the mission was to do an hour horror film every week, and really pay attention to the elements of what made horror horror and really put a lot of money into production and make it look good i think we didn't really break ground- yes there were some scary things and special effects in prior shows but we really approached this and build up a post production community, we really worked on the physical nature of horror and the psychological results of that, but that takes you just so far as a writer then you sort of realize we have to write about personalities and psychologies of the people living in that horrible universe, so you end up once again revisiting what drama is love between brothers betrayal between family members, hope dreams promises honor deceit and you do all that- so that can be in every genre it's just packaged as a very classy horror genre..." [TIMESTAMP]

Let's move on to Buckner, he, unsurprisingly, said a lot of things that made me roll my eyes, like he said romance might make an appearance which why??? that's not the point of this show, and: "that's one of the more exciting aspects of this season is that it's actually covering new turf instead of just doing the things that ave worked for us and just going out on a high note actually it's going to be quite experimental" [TIMESTAMP]

Do I even need to point out why this is a dumb ass approach to handle a shows last season? Speaking of dumb asses...Dabb. He got asked if Sam was still psychic he answered: "No, since Sam decided to stop drinking demon blood his powers have gone away, unless he picks it [demon blood] up again" [TIMESTAMP]

Sam had his powers before he got addicted to demon blood, he got his powers when he was a baby because of Azazel, ffs we saw him use his powers in an episode! In season 2! Before the demon blood addiction! He drank demon blood to enhance the powers he already had; it would have made more sense if he had said something like Sam burned his powers after what happened in s5. Sucks that we might never see Sam with powers again but with Dabb behind the wheel it might be for the best.

Now you’ve probably noticed that so far I’ve made no mention of Jared, Jensen or Alex and that’s because with the exception of Jared and Jensen talking about the ending nothing stood out that much to me and as for why I don’t talk about the ending it’s cause I don’t have much to say, Jensen said it took some time but he’s ok with the ending now, Jared that he was ok with the ending they had planned but that it might change and I am both comforted and concerned by their words; even though I didn’t talk about them I am going to link to the Jared and Jensen’s interviews I watched, I personally really enjoyed Jared’s (I love the way he answers questions ❤), sadly I forgot to save the links to Alex’s interviews but if I might try to find them and add them.

So there it is my edited down opinions on this year’s SDCC, if you read this whole thing, thank you. If you read it and didn’t agree with any of it that’s ok, this is as I said just my opinion.

Links:

SDCC Panel

Lemming Interview 1

Lemming Interview 2

Buckner Interview

Dabb Interview

Jensen’s Interviews:

Interview 1

Interview 2

Interview 3

Interview 4

Jared’s Interviews:

Interview 1

Interview 2

Interview 3

Interview 4

#you can tell i lost some steam at the end that's because i am tired af #anti bucklemming #anti andrew dabb #do i even make sense in this post? probably not #mine #incredibly late opinion post about #spn sdcc 2019 #one of jared's interviews might be repeated cause i lost the original link and had to go off my history #there are most definetely tags missing but i am too tired to care #i was going to include jared's analogy that ending this show is like putting down a pet but it's gonna get its own post

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unfolded73 · 5 years

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Transformative (1/1) - schitt’s creek ff

A Stevie Budd character study: she navigates being David's Best Person at the wedding reception. This fic explores an idea I've been playing with that Stevie is aro. Although this is set at David and Patrick's wedding, they exist mostly in the background of this story.

This is dedicated to my fandom BFF, @j-philly-b. After eleven years of dragging each other from one fandom to another, I literally don't know what I would do without you in my life.

Thanks to @startswithhope aka @language-of-love for giving this a quick beta read.

Rated Teen, 3260 words. (ao3) / (schitt’s fic masterpost)

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Stevie is making a concerted effort not to drink too much at the wedding reception, and not only because she tends to try to make out with people when she gets boozy. There is also the very real worry that the tears she managed to keep from spilling over during the ceremony, while David and Patrick said their vows, will overflow if she gets drunk.

And no, before anyone asks, it’s not because she’s still hung up on David, God. She got over that not too long after she told him she had, her face-saving lie becoming retroactively true. It’s just emotional, seeing her closest friends making each other so happy. Especially when she thinks back to what David was like when he first got to Schitt’s Creek, to see him so euphoric now is… it’s a lot. It makes her emotional, and Stevie is not a fan of being emotional in front of people. She’s not a fan of doing much of anything in front of people, but between the musical last year and being David’s best person today, she’s been forced to get used to it.

Which reminds her, she has to give a fucking toast in a little while.

Well, maybe one more drink won’t hurt. For courage.

She makes her way over to the bar and orders herself a glass of white wine (as long as she stays away from the hard stuff, she’ll be fine). When she thanks the bartender and steps away, she almost collides with a guy in a charcoal suit holding a bottle of beer.

“Oh! Sorry,” Stevie says.

“No worries. It’s Stevie, right?” the guy says, reaching out with his free hand to shake hers.

“Yeah.” She’s probably supposed to ask his name, but she drops his hand and waits for him to volunteer it if he wants to.

“I’m Tim. One of Patrick’s cousins.”

Stevie eyes him. She met several cousins at the rehearsal dinner, but she can’t remember if this was one of them. “He has a lot of cousins.”

Tim laughs. “Yeah. I’m not even sure how many of us there are.”

There’s a lull that Stevie doesn’t know how to fill. “Okay, well--” She starts to step away, back toward her seat at the head table.

“So you’re David’s closest friend, I take it? Since you were his best…”

“‘Best Person’ is what we went with.”

“Not that you’re full of yourself or anything,” he says with a grin.

Stevie doesn’t feel like doing this. She doesn’t feel like bantering with a guy (even a reasonably good-looking one like Tim) at a wedding. She doesn’t feel like at some point making the decision between going to bed with this guy and not. She doesn’t feel like doing the walk of shame from his hotel room (she assumes hotel; she’s pretty sure he’s not one of the wedding guests staying at her motel) and figuring out how to get back home without bumming a ride from her one night stand. She’s so… tired of all of it.

“It’s just, when I heard Patrick was engaged to this guy, I googled him, and…” He shrugs. “I mean it’s not that I don’t trust Patrick’s judgment, but…” He seems to be leaving a blank for her to fill in. What, does he expect her to agree with him? Yeah, dude-I-just-met, my best friend is a shallow slut who’s going to break your cousin’s heart, you got it out of me!

Stevie blinks at him and pastes on a fake smile. “But what?”

“No, I mean, nothing,” he flounders.

Another similar-looking guy comes up and claps Tim on the back. “Whatever he’s saying, ignore him; he’s an asshole.”

“Yeah, that was starting to become clear.” She does recognize this one from the rehearsal dinner. Another cousin from Patrick’s never-ending supply of cousins, one who actually had some kind of ushering responsibility, if she remembers correctly.

“Tim, I think I saw some kids loitering around your car,” the new cousin says. “You might want to go check.”

Tim gets a panicked look on his face and bolts away.

“Thanks,” Stevie says. “Sorry, I know we met last night but I can’t remember your name.”

“It’s Dennis. And don’t worry about it, no one deserves to have to make conversation with Tim for any length of time.”

“Yeah, he seemed like a real prince.”

Dennis winces. “He didn’t say anything homophobic, did he? Because I told him--”

“No, nothing like that. Just… David-phobic, I guess.”

“Aren’t you David’s closest friend?” he says with an eye roll. “Sorry, I called Tim an asshole when clearly I should have said ‘stupid asshole’.”

Stevie laughs at that.

“Look, as far as I’m concerned, Patty’s always had a good head on his shoulders. Okay, yeah, I guess he took a while to figure out , you know… what he needed in a partner,” he says, gesturing over to the dance floor. Patrick is currently laughing at something David is saying and attempting to restrain him from leaving to sit down when the DJ starts to play ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca.’ “But he’s clearly figured it out now. So David’s okay in my book, because he’s what makes Patty happy.”

Stevie bites her lip about ‘Patty’. She’s not going to make fun of Patrick about the nickname today, oh no. She’s going to save it until after they get back from their honeymoon, and then she’s going to pick her moment and tease him mercilessly. She might call him Patty for an entire week if she doesn’t get bored with it.

“Patrick’s what makes David happy too,” she says, surprised that something so sentimental would come out of her mouth to a near-stranger. “Okay, I gotta…” she says, gesturing back to the head table before escaping from Dennis. She doesn’t gotta anything at the moment, really, but the escape feels necessary.

Necessary but short-lived, because Stevie can barely take another sip of her wine before Alexis is dragging her out on the dance floor. The song is one of David’s favorite Mariah ballads, and Alexis pulls Stevie into a slow dance like they’re a high school couple at prom, her bony arms slung over Stevie’s shoulders. The fact that, as part of the wedding party, they are wearing matching dresses makes the tableau look even weirder, or so Stevie assumes. Still, she puts her hands on Alexis’ tiny waist and dutifully sways to the music.

“You couldn’t dance with Ted to this?”

Alexis huffs. “Ted is doing shots with Ronnie and Jocelyn.”

“Oh my God, they are going to drink him so far under the table--”

“I know,” she says with an eye roll. “He’s such a lightweight.”

“Alexis… David is married,” Stevie says, because even though she’s been along with him and Patrick for the entire ride, the fact that David Rose is a married man… it’s like learning that a starfish has mastered calculus.

“Right?” Alexis says. “I literally never thought this day would come. Like, ever.” Then Alexis’ eyes wander the room and a grin unfurls on her face. “That guy you were talking to earlier is watching us. I think he might be into you.”

Stevie starts to turn, but Alexis quickly says, “Don’t look. The cute usher. Dennis, I think?”

“Oh. Yeah. He’s probably looking at you, Alexis.”

Alexis simpers. “I get why you would think that, but I’m pretty sure it’s you this time.” She wiggles her body, and Stevie feels the undulations of Alexis’ hips under her hands. “Stevie’s gonna get some!”

“No, I’m not gonna fuck one of Patrick’s cousins, but thanks for your well-wishes.”

“You could, though.”

Stevie sighs. “I know that given my past and my low standards--”

“Like David,” Alexis says with a giggle.

“--that this might come as a shock, but the thought of hooking up with someone at this wedding, even a cute boy, is a painfully dull idea. I think I’m past that.”

Alexis gives her a serious look. “You don’t want to do meaningless sex anymore, I totally get that.” She gives another wiggle of her hips like she’s a happy puppy. “So what we need to do is, we need to find your soulmate.”

Stevie drops her chin to her chest. “No, that’s not…” She sighs, and then looks back at Alexis. “That’s what everyone always says. ‘You haven’t met the right person yet’ or ‘Let me fix you up with my friend’ or ‘You just need to put yourself out there.’ But what if I’m… happy like this? Running the motel, helping Mr. Rose plan the Elmdale expansion, hanging out with my friends, or just being by myself in my apartment? What if I’ve only been looking for a romantic relationship because everyone tells me I’m supposed to, and not because I’ve ever actually wanted one?”

Alexis looks pensively at her, taking all of that in.

After Emir, Stevie spent a lot of time thinking about her feelings -- more time than she ever wanted to spend thinking about her feelings. She’d liked Emir a lot and the sex had been fantastic, but she realized that a lot of her heartbreak when he made it clear he didn’t want anything more than an occasional hook-up was because of what she thought it said about her. That she was provincial and small and worthless. Even her feelings for David, when she’d really interrogated them after he stole Roland’s truck and ran away, were rooted in insecurity about herself. David Rose was the very definition of experienced and worldly, and the idea that he might care even a tiny bit less about her than she cared about him had been excruciating. It wasn’t that she loved David, at least not that way. It was that she couldn’t bear to watch him inevitably lose interest in her as a person. She’d wanted so much to keep David in her life. The sex was incidental to that, except for its inherent power, in her experience, to keep men interested.

Alexis is giving Stevie a soft smile, one that would have been completely foreign on her face a few years ago. “If you’re happy, babe, then that’s all that matters.”

The Mariah ballad is reaching its vocally excessive climax, and Stevie notices the DJ signaling her. “I guess it’s time for me to do this stupid toast now.” Her stomach flutters with nerves. Despite her foray into the world of theater, she feels a little like she’s headed to her own execution.

Walking over, she takes the microphone as someone presses a champagne glass into her hand. The song fades out, and the sound of her throat-clearing comes blaring out of the speakers. There’s some glass-clinking from someone, and then everyone quiets down. Stevie pauses, looking out over the crowd. She sees Patrick and David standing side-by-side, arms around each other, smiling at her.

“Hi, everybody. I guess it’s my job to give a toast to the grooms, so, uh, here goes.” Stevie flinches at the whine of feedback on the first few words and adjusts the position of the mic in front of her face.

“I remember the first time that Patrick walked into the store while I was there, probably helping David do something that he was too lazy to do on his own.” There is a smattering of laughter from the assembly, and it makes her feel a little bit better. “It didn’t take more than a few minutes of watching them talking to each other, kidding around and trying to one-up each other, that I knew there was some kind of spark there. Apparently I was the only one who knew, though, because David invited me to come on their first date with them.” More laughter. “I mean, they did figure it out eventually, based on the fact that I caught Patrick with a hickey on his neck at the store a couple of weeks later. And the fact that they were desperate to fool around together in my apartment when they couldn’t find privacy anywhere else.” Patrick puts his face in his hands at that, shaking his head. Stevie thinks fleetingly that she should feel bad saying all that in front of the parents of the grooms, but she very much does not. “I mean, when you think about it, there’s no way David and Patrick would even be together now if it wasn’t for me. It’s a favor they may never be able to repay, but I’ll take cash if you guys want to try it.”

That gets her a really big laugh, and Stevie beams.

“My point is, I’ve had a front row seat to all these milestones between these two, and…” She pauses and swallows on a dry mouth. She once told David she was incapable of sincerity, but she is going to attempt it now. “I’ve heard that love can be transformative, and I always thought that was bullshit. But watching Patrick and David, the way their differences complement each other, the way they support each other through good times and bad times, the way they love each other…” Her voice breaks on that; Stevie struggles to hold it together but she is rapidly losing her battle with tears. “I guess it might be true. So anyway, I’m glad I got to watch them fall in love, and I’m glad I got to be here today to watch them promise each other forever.” Holding up her champagne, she finishes with, “I love both you idiots. To David and Patrick.”

There is a rousing cheer and a chorus of ‘To David and Patrick,’ and Stevie hands the microphone back to the DJ like it’s made of snakes and hurries off the stage. She looks down at her glass, realizing she forgot to take a drink after her own toast.

Swigging down the champagne and setting the glass aside, Stevie looks up to see David approaching.

“Don’t you dare hug me, David.”

“I’m going to,” he says with a smiling head-shake, that smirking smile he has when he can barely contain his happiness.

His tuxedo fabric is smooth against her cheek, his arms enveloping her in a warm embrace. Stevie returns the hug, settling into it like a comfortable blanket.

“You made me cry, so you get a hug whether you like it or not,” David says.

“Please, you’ve been crying off and on all day; you can’t blame me.” She pulls away, then reaches out absently to brush away any trace of her makeup (expertly applied by Alexis this morning) from the lapel of his jacket.

“True.” He’s giving her a knowing look. “You know, you can be quite the romantic.”

“About other people’s relationships, yes I can,” she says with a sage nod. “Like, I can appreciate another person’s cute baby without wanting my own baby.”

David shudders at the mention of babies and makes a disgusted face.

“How does it feel to be somebody’s husband, David?”

David turns to look behind him, and Stevie follows his gaze to the dance floor where Patrick is dancing with Mrs. Rose. Stevie grins, wondering who’s leading in that pair. “So far, I guess it’s okay,” David says with another smirk, his eyes shining, then he looks back at her. “I love you.”

“How dare you,” Stevie says, the lump in her throat growing larger.

“I know. Come on, let’s dance.” David takes her hand, and Stevie lets herself be led.

Much later, as she watches the people on the dance floor and catches her breath, Mr. Rose makes his way over. “So I was thinking about the new motel,” he says by way of greeting.

“You were thinking about the new motel at your son’s wedding?” Stevie asks, not really surprised but enjoying the chance to shame Mr. Rose a little.

“Well, I don’t mean…” He opens and closes his mouth a few times before explaining, “I was thinking about it last night.”

“And what about it?” They were breaking ground on the Rosebud Motel in Elmdale next month, which, for reasons that still mostly surpassed her understanding, was going to be styled in much the same way as the original Rosebud Motel. Hipsters like the aesthetic, Alexis had told them. Even the use of the term ‘motel’ contributed to a sort of ironic realness, she’d said, a statement that gave Stevie a good laugh at the time.

“When the new motel is built, someone will have to run it and I was thinking, why not Stevie?” Mr. Rose says with a big grin.

“I already run a motel.”

“I… I know that, Stevie, but the new motel is going to be bigger, and in a town with a lot more going on. Better restaurants, better culture, more to do. It might be an interesting opportunity for you if you want it. We can hire someone else to run the original Rosebud.”

She blinks. Stevie Budd has spent her entire life in Schitt’s Creek. She went to high school here, spending her Friday nights learning to shotgun beers or giving a fumbling handjob in the backseat of a car. She’s always expected she’d probably die here in her shitty apartment, maybe with a couple of pet cats to round out the lonely spinster aesthetic.

“I don’t know, Mr. Rose. My friends are here.” She gestures toward the dance floor, where Ted and Twyla are flailing around to ‘Don’t Stop Me Now,’ and then cringes at the idea that she would actually miss a lot of these people if she moved.

“Well, Elmdale isn’t that far, so you’d still be able to spend time with the gang here.” Mr. Rose pats her gently on the shoulder, his body language filled with hesitancy. “You can stay in Schitt’s Creek if you want to, of course you can. But I want the choice of which motel to run to be yours.”

She can’t decide if she wants to bask in the fatherly smile he gives her or flee from it. “Thank you, Mr. Rose.”

“And who knows, if we keep expanding?” He holds his arms out wide. “Think what the future might hold!”

“Uh huh.” She looks back out at the dancers, but she can feel Mr. Rose’s eyes still on her.

“You know, Stevie, I hope you know I’m not… I’m not just giving you this opportunity out of some kind of fatherly impulse.”

The war between basking and fleeing intensifies. “Fatherly--?”

“It’s because I’ve been watching you since we hired more staff, and you’re very good at managing people -- getting them to do what you need them to do. I hate to admit it, but you might be better at it than I am.”

Stevie blinks. She didn’t expect to be getting a performance review at David’s wedding, but that seems to be what’s happening.

“So I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather see running the new motel. It’s not only that you deserve the opportunity, Stevie. It’s that I’m confident you’ll succeed.”

“Oh.” She feels her eyes welling up with tears for approximately the fiftieth time that day. “Thank you.”

He gives her a warm smile. “We can talk about it more later. You should go dance with your friends.”

She goes. Stevie dances in a loose circle with the people who have gradually wormed their way into her heart over the last few years, with the people who have made her feel like her life is full. Smiling and closing her eyes, she soaks up some of that transformative love for herself.

#stevie budd #stevie budd ff #schitt's creek #schitt's creek ff #my fic

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athicfa · 3 years

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Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 #27 Spider-Man Unlimited Vol 1 #1 Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 #201 Spider-Man Vol 1 #35 Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #379 Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 #202 Spider-Man Vol 1 #36 Web of Spider-Man Vol 1 #102 Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #380 Spider-Man Unlimited Vol 1 #2

The 90′s Maximum Carnage event!

Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 #27

Felicia’s story has her stealing back a painting that was stolen from an art museum. Another good use for her talents.

Solo shows up and kills a bunch of people, to which she is RIGHTFULLY MORTIFIED WHAT THE FUCK SOLO

She gets the painting and leaves. That’s pretty much it.

Spider-Man Unlimited Vol 1 #1

CARNAGE

HARRY’S DEAD RIP MY DUDE

So...is Shriek gonna be Felicia’s rival while Peter deals with Carnage?

Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 #201

Feel like I’m missing an issue somewhere because we start with Eddie and Felicia both in a bad state because of Carnage. I’ll figure it out later I guess.

Felicia talking mad shit to Venom when she knows he could rip her apart is such vibe for her character istg

Now she’s mad at Peter for saving her instead of taking out carnage because, and I quote, “my life doesn’t mean a thing when you weigh it against the slaughter that could be going on out there right now.” and OUCHHHHHHH

Peter refuses to work with Venom and Felicia’s upset because she says they all need to work together. Venom leaves and Felicia goes with him. OOF OOF OOF OOF

Fe and Venom meet up with Cloak, who’s still having issues since Dagger died but wants to help.

“NO MORE MERCY FROM SPIDER-MAN!!!!” uhhhh Peter you okay my dude???? obviously not but Peter????? please??????? we need at least one person to NOT be having a breakdown right now

Spider-Man Vol 1 #35

I feel like this was supposed to come before Spectacular Spider-Man #201 because Eddie just showed up to tell Peter that Carnage is back and Peter goes to Felicia for advice. And her advice is that they should work with Venom.

Peter hates the idea but Felicia goes to find Venom anyway. So he reluctantly follows her to join up too.

Ah there’s Cloak too

Yeah they get wrecked. Building’s on fire and falling apart. Felicia’s unconscious and so is Venom so Peter stops chasing Carnage to save them, hence the argument at the beginning of Spectacular Spider-Man #201.

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #379

Look the whole “tied storylines” gimmick was okay when it was just the Amazing Spider-Man and Spectacular Spider-Man series that you have to go back and forth between, but now there’s like four or five that you have to keep up with for this Maximum Carnage event and it’s just too much tbh.

They’ve all grouped up again (did I miss an issue again or time skip idk at this point). They’re diving into Carnage’s past to uncover his weaknesses.

Venom suggests getting Reed Richard’s sonic gun and Felicia suggests they recruit Johnny to torch carnage. But unfortunately the FF are out of town according to Peter. So they tease me with the idea of recruiting Firestar and THEY BETTER DELIVER

a tease that maybe Dagger ISN’T dead after all since Cloak can still teleport

MORBIUS YOU GLORIOUS BASTARD

Peter stops a carjacking in the middle of a bunch of mob violence and almost gets shot, but Felicia kicks the gun. She chides him for getting distracted but tbh not sure if I like this scene. Better ways for them to get the point across that Peter’s torn between tracking Carnage and dealing with the rioting.

There’s more than mob mentality driving everyone to chaos obviously

Aunt May almost got mugged but Richard Parker said “not today motherfucker”

“Lighten up Venom. You’re gonna get ulcers.” I love my smart ass cat girl.

FIRESTAR!!!!! I LOVE THE COSTUME CHANGE TOO!!!!!

Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 #202

dude honestly I gotta agree with Felicia here, the more they all sit and argue about morality, the more time they waste and more people die. It’s not as big of an issue in the other concurrent series so why Spectacular Spider-Man continuously repeats the same morality crisis every two pages is baffling to me. Also feels weirdly ooc for Peter because they treat him like his attitude is “I don’t care if more innocent people are dying I can’t get my hands dirty no matter what” which is NOT IT CHIEF and conflicts with his characterization in the past and in the concurrent series. And now they’ve pulled in Firestar to the argument for an excuse to drag it out more which is headache-inducing. I love a good morality conflict within a hero but this is not the right way to communicate that. Amazing Spider-Man is actually handling this better than Spectacular Spider-Man, but tbh the standards aren’t that high.

These panels are literally on the next page and communicate Peter’s moral dilemma MUCH better than all of the ridiculous arguing up to this point. They could have left it at this and it would have been fine.

Venom’s pissed because Firestar stopped in the middle of killing Carnage and he regenerated, so the team’s falling apart again.

“...the way would make itself known” CUE EPIC CAPTAIN AMERICA INTRO

Spider-Man Vol 1 #36

Team got their shit together I guess and now they’re harassing Jameson for some reason

WHERE’S CAP THEY PROMISED ME CAP

Iron Fist!?

I feel like some of the previous issues were out of order again but I’m not sure. I think it’s just the inconsistency between the concurrent runs.

They ripped the symbiote off of Cletus and since he’s not a threat anymore Peter stops Venom from killing him. K. Good. Morality resolution.

nevermind the symbiote has permanently bonded with his bloodstream

Web of Spider-Man Vol 1 #102

This one’s out of order too I’m so done with this event I’m just gonna breeze through this. Felicia’s not doing much anyway except fighting, getting hurt, or trying to talk Peter through his morality crisis (or argue with him about it).

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #380

They’ve got Venom captive after the last Spectacular Spider-man issue. Now they better give me the Cap team-up they promised me or I’ll riot.

OH FUCK IS THAT SPAWN??? WHAT????

all these people just see Captain America and realize they’re being foolish I FUCKING CAN’T WITH THIS SERIES LMAOOO

Felicia’s been side-lined apparently??? Issues must be out of order AGAIN.

so done with all this switching around istg

this is the exact opposite of what her attitude has been for this entire event so looks like they’re back butchering her characterization again.

Spider-Man Unlimited Vol 1 #2

THAT’S BETTER

she’ caves and goes to help Peter of course

Eddie saves them all and then slinks away before anyone can figure out if he’s alive or dead

the Avengers are here! A little too late but the post-crisis pep talk is appreciated.

“you need to have a little faith, pretty lady!” oh Peter

THANK GOD IT’S OVER OMFG

#[comic commentary]#long post tw #maximum carnage was a horrible event and you can't change my mind #way too drawn out with pointless drama and character redundancies #could have just been like 5-6 issues MAX #the same cycle of ''we beat him'' then ''no wait we didn't'' to ''we need to kill him but we CANT because its WRONG'' rinse and repeat

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niuniente · 6 years

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I'm gonna say it right now because I've been harbouring this for months since ffxv came out but I'm to afraid to say. As a woman of colour, it bothers me sometimes that everyone in ffxv is white. I love the characters. I don't mind it that much because yeah the game is made in Japan, most people are pale or not very dark skinned. But it still would've been nice to at least have some people of colour? Just more than one. But whatever, it might just be me.

I understand. I think it’s part of Japanese society as the concept of a Western gamer is a white man (as FFXV was formed from original JRPG Versus XIII to cater casual Western gamers for the sake of money). You don’t see much people of color (African, Arabs etc.) in Japan overall and the country treats every single foreigner living or born there as a foreigner. A few years ago there was a national scandal when Japanese-African woman won Miss Japan contest, because she was viewed as a foreigner, though she was Japanese born. This nationalist attitude toward foreigners is a huge problem in Japan, affecting also it’s socio-economical structure as companies don’t want to invite nor let foreign professionals from different fields into Japanese science and business scenes. Even Western, white people are non-welcomed foreigners.

Then there’s the female beauty standard, where the whiter the skin, the more prettier you are. Skin lightments are a big business in Asia and everyone wants to be as fair as a snowfield. As Final Fantasy main game level characters act pretty much like fictional idols (also promoting and advertising items for big corporations), we can also draw a line why there aren’t much poc in FF-mainline games - or in Japanese games overall.

I’M SORRY I RAMBLED, LET’S GO BACK TO THE GAME TOPIC!

In FF-mainline games we have always had some poc representation, but those game have always been directed as JRPGs, which will have international sales. Not as international game to Western gamers which will have domestic sales as the case with FFXV was. The moment SE decided to built the game to Western casual gamers it shot itself into the foot and also into the foot of old FF-fans, if you ask me.

I think when it comes to a different racial representation (is that the right word? IDK I’m Finnish, and in Europe it has always mattered more to what nationality and religious group you belong to than color of skin when it comes to oppression, so I lack the American based cultural concept of these matters…), Tekken is doing good with it! There’s Raven and Master Raven and Bruce and Armor King if I’m not forgetting anyone from the Afro-American group. Then there’s Spanish Miguel, Brazilians Eddie, Christie and Katarina, and Mexican King. We have Shaheen from Saudi-Arabia and Zafina from Egypt. Many more to go.

#long post #i'm sorry I rambled aaa #Anonymous #ask niu

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tea-leef · 7 years

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Man I am so frustrated about the new spider man movie... :(

it’s just. I’ve been looking forward to this for months, I loved the actor, I’ve been defending it for so long from everyone who already decided it sucked before it even came out and it wasn’t...bad but it’s more the characters and the highschool setting i’m frustrated about because my dude this didn't feel like a real high-school to me AT ALL. Man... I just graduated barely a month ago, I think I can I remember it pretty well. This was every fake high-school cliche story we've been recycling since the 80s with basically NO variation. The high school setting was so so so disappointing to me because I was looking forward to getting a younger character in this universe I could actually relate to, but it was the most phoned in cliche thing ever...The nerdy outcast kid who gets made fun of for being nerdy (haha we like STAR WARS we're so nerdy! no one else likes star wars! even had some hot cheerleader sneer and go "ugh lame, they like STAR WARS?" really??? you couldn't even make a more original nerd?? why does he even get made fun of they didn't give any reason for it) who has a crush on the (BLANDEST COMPLETE LACK OF A REAL PERSONALITY EVER I already forgot her name) pretty love interest who's so out of his league! but with the help of his funny comic relief wise-cracking fat kid friend maybe he'll get the chance to ask Blandy Mchotchick to the school dance!! :)) like....are they joking? they hit every single trope about high school ever. If I was playing "typical high school sitcom" bingo I would have gotten a fricken black out (only things missing were that the protagonist wasn't a C student, and his love interest wasn't a blond cheer leader, and while his standard bully wasn't a football playing jock he may as well have been for how non-existent his motivation and personality are) everything else was right on the money....I expect this sort of setting and high school characters out of a nickelodeon sitcom not MARVEL. THEY’VE BEEN DOING SO GOOD! it was painful to sit through cause i knew everything they were doing with it. I loved the second act really! I thought (spoilers?) that the twist of who the bad guy really was was interesting I really do like how Tom Holland plays the part but...ugh who do I have to kill to get a story about high-schoolers in a modern high school setting that really feels like MODERN DAY high school? beyond the most basic of tropes? because I don't feel like the writers have ever set foot in a high-school since the 80s and it really shows :// maybe they just didn't care and didn't think it was important enough because it's more about the super hero stuff but considering how much TIME they spent in the high school, I wish it felt more genuine... The one sarcastic side character girl is the only one I didn’t painfully roll my eyes at every time she opened her mouth. She felt more like at least an attempt to reflect some modern high schoolers even if she wasn’t perfect either

I wouldn’t be so frustrated if I hadn’t been so excited for this particular aspect and i’m even more frustrated that every review i’ve seen so far has been like MAN IT WAS ALL SO GOOD THE HIGH SCHOOL FELT LIKE REAL HIGH SCHOOL SO DIVERSE TO RELATABLE SO REFRESHING the fuck are y’all smoking? you people haven’t set foot in a high school in over a decade tf about that was “refreshing and new???” i’m actually baffled how anyone could say that

fffffff I’m just gonna hope really hard that I like the other ones better....and that they don’t try to turn that one sarcastic girl (ffs I can’t remember any of their names) into the new love interest now that Blandy is moving away because if they do they will RUIN her and she’s barely got to do anything yet. I mean it would be better than Blandy (yes that is her name to me now) I guess because they shared ZERO chemistry, absolutely zero, i mean pretty much ALL super hero romances have no chemistry and are just there to check the “romantic subplot” box off the list, (really have you ever been invested in a super heroes love life? I haven’t and not just because I hate romance as a concept and a genre in general) but this one was particularly painful (WHY did she go to the dance with him? WHEN was it ever implied she liked him or would consider liking him and why did she suddenly decide to?? what???) so i’m glad they (hopefully) don’t seem to be keeping them together. I just have to accept that every character in a super hero movie who becomes a love interest is going to start being awful.

ok that was absurdly long I’ll stop now

#personal #spiderman #spider-man: homecoming

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blargha-the-mighty-elven-warrior · 7 years

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like i’m trying to put into words why the sara ryder update bothers me so much b/c it’s not the most offensive or even the most sexist thing bioware has ever done, but it’s possibly the most ridiculous.

b/c it’s not like default!sara was ugly by any reasonable standards, she just wasn’t deemed fuckable™ enough by dudebros which as we all know is the highest crime a character can commit.

and you know ppl are gonna argue to hell and back that it’s not sexism (as if default!scott’s fucking face could ever have gotten enough hate to warrant a fix in a patch), that it was necessary to fix the face animations (as if the fact that default!sara’s face animations needed fixing wasn’t part of the problem to begin with), that gee some of us just want to look at something pretty while playing the game (as if their own beauty standards weren’t part of the problem; as if the game didn’t have a fucking character creator ffs), that we shouldn’t be mean to bioware because at least they’re trying (they’re not).

just. beauty standards for female & female presenting video game characters are already fucking ridiculous and the fact that even player-customizable characters aren’t safe from that kind of bullshit is infuriating.

#vent

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janiedean · 7 years

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I'm the anon who said you don't glorify obesity. Look I don't know anything about that ship y'all keep referring to and I don't know who "Hunk" is or whatever, I'm talking in general terms. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT SHIPPING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT just to clarify. I think it's wrong that people glorify being skinny but I don't think glorifying obesity is any better (I'm talking about more than overweight - ACTUALLY OBESE)

I’m probably not explaining myself properly but I think people should be able to ship whatever they want, the shipping was never my point. I just think the way people on the internet have been going on like “Fat women are goddesses!!! Real women have curves!!! If you don’t agree you’re fatphobic!!!” is wrong. I have been hospitalized twice for anorexia, I know how being skinny is glorified but I don’t think switching it around so it becomes “being obese is totally awesome and if you say otherwise you’re a horrible fatphobe” is any better. I’m sorry for sending you so many messages, I’ll stop now.

okay so GIVEN THAT WE ALREADY CLARIFIED OURSELVES ON THE MISUNDERSTANDING: the problem is that we were actually talking about shipping XD and the other anon decided it had to be about health but like the problem in general is that as usual (on tumblr and I guess in the US because it’s mostly US beauty standards I’m seeing thrown around) is that there’s no middle way in anything. I mean, like:

body shaming is a thing. in general. the problem is that fatshaming is, like, a thing that is more culturally spread than the contrary even if in some countries (ie italy) there’s this concept that if you’re skinnier than a size 42 (I guess it’s like an S or small M) you’re omg so unhealthy please EAT SOME PUT MEAT ON YOUR BONES WHY DO U HATE GOOD FOOD, but it’s more of an older generation thing. like, I’ve had problems with weight bc when I was in freaking elementary school people would go like ‘omg you’re so fat’ at me and I thought I was and then I looked at some pictures years later and I was like ‘… wtf I was perfectly fine what the hell’ and there’s a general implication that fat/overweight = unhealthy when it’s not necessarily the case.

the problem is that when it comes to body positivity there is like literally zero distinction between curvy, overweight, fat and obese which are not the same thing, and there is zero distinction between body positivity and promote a healthy lifestyle. I mean, according to US standards someone who’s fat would be… like… normal here? a size M is seen as perfectly regular stuff but from what I see of US sizes, M is like OMG I’M FAT already, which… like. here it’s maybe curvy. also being some 3/4kgs overweight never killed anyone. but since I see ZERO DISTINCTION here, it’s all thrown in the same bag and it’s the exact same for people who have 3 kgs more than average, 10, 25, 50 or freaking 200. which is obviously not the same.

also, there is the complete lack of realizing what it means to be healthy and to not be thin. like, as has been said already it’s absolutely not a guarantee that being thin or skinny means that you’re healthy (I had a friend who used to be chubby, then got sick with a freaking chronic disease and came out of it with a body that ended up finding her a job as a fashion model but SHE STILL WAS HEALTHIER BEFORE THE FREAKING CHRONIC DISEASE), I’ve struggled with my extra kgs all my damned life and whenever I go on vacation with friends that are thinner than me but move around less or don’t go to the gym and the likes I am the one who can walk for longer or gets tired less and I have better blood tests than my father who’s at his ideal weight and takes five pills for a bunch of different stuff. some people are just heavier as a body type but if it’s their body and it’s not due to shitty eating or lack of exercise or whatever then they’re not unhealthy. obviously severely obese people who can’t walk for more than twenty minutes without feeling like fainting aren’t in that category but like never mind that for a moment, the problem is that your size doesn’t automatically mean unhealthy and having 20 extra kgs on you makes you fat maybe but not freaking obese.

THEN, on body positivity: there is a healthy difference between NOT BEING A JERK and spreading awareness re healthy habits. like, society/media and the likes shouldn’t promote being thin, they should promote being healthy ie eating well and exercising, not THIN = HEALTHY. as stated you can be healthy without being thin. (or, as the character we were talking about that you weren’t referencing, you can be mostly muscle and have some chub over it and THAT’S NOT BEING OBESE XD at the same time, if someone is overweight or obese or whatever for any reason whatsoever you can’t go at them and tell them omg go lose some weight you loser THAT’S HORRIBLE. I mean, there’s a difference between saying that one should try to be as healthy as possible and go like OMG YOU’RE FAT YOU’RE HORRIBLE. if body positivity means not shaming someone else for their body then go the fuck for it. the problem is that then according to people saying ‘okay but if you can’t walk to the supermarket and back without feeling short of breath and you might get heart diseases maybe you should consider dropping some extra weight for your own benefit’ is fatphobic which… lolno. not everyone is fat because of bad habits and they shouldn’t have people making them feel bad even if they are but assuming that the above sentence (especially when doctors recommend you to do more exercise) is inherently fatphobic imo is ridiculous. if my doctor tells me I should lose some weight then I’m gonna consider it and I’m not gonna feel like he’s *phobic*, if someone goes like ‘omg you’re so fat you’ll never find a guy who wants you’, that is fatphobic. like, THERE’S A DIFFERENCE. (at the same time people who are skinny/thinner than average shouldn’t get told all the time OMG PUT SOME MEAT ON THAT SKELETON REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES like fuck’s sake respect all body types. being a real woman has zero to do with how much meat you have on you.) what should be glorified is be healthy and be happy with whatever body type you have as long as it doesn’t cause you problems and at that point nicely try to make those problems right while you’re encouraged without shaming anyone in the process. (which also means: gdi don��t put other people down if they’re trying to gain weight or lose it, ffs.)

now, the problem with shipping: the thing is - and I swear to god I don’t wanna sound like a sjw now but I hope the previous essay has made clear how I feel in general on this issue - that, in my experience, fat/overweight characters especially if they’re male are seen as… either the laughing stock of the group or the harmless nerd or anyway never as sexual objects. every damned time I ship something where a guy is overweight/fat (notable exceptions jacob and queenie from fantastic beasts which tbh really was a nice surprise for the part where the fat guy who’s also a sweetheart hooks up with the bombshell and it’s THE BEST ROMANCE OF ALL good go you man) right as rain there’s rarely fic for it least of all porn, and even if there is someone will go around saying the fat character isn’t attractive or deserving of getting some. when I say ‘sam tarly syndrome’ I mean ‘fat/overweight guy is a sweetheart who has a lot of nice ships they could be in but they get thoroughly ignored or if it happens in canon fandom lols at it’. I mean, I basically had to start the jon/sam tag on my own (if you see the fics at the beginning it’s honestly sad to see TEN of mine all after the other), once on a kinkmeme I was like ‘okay doing it’ at a pwp prompt and I got as an answer OMG I WAS HOPING YOU’D SEE THIS NO ONE ELSE IN THIS FANDOM WRITES PORN FOR THESE TWO and whenever people discuss canon sex scenes…. the only one in the book that always gets lol-ed at is sam and gilly’s in spite of the fact that okay, it’s badly written, but ALL of the sex scenes in asoiaf except one are badly written. it’s not worse than the average. but sam getting some because a relatively hot girl wants him and the sex - omg! - actually being somewhat not vanilla is seen as… like… OMG HAHAHAHAHA I CAN’T BELIEVE HE’S GETTING SOME OMG HOW EMBARRASSING as if this guy being overweight means he can’t be seen as a palatable partner when it comes to having a sex life. same as the other anon being like ‘omg hunk (the person we were referring) is fat and unhealthy so he’s not good enough for the other person’ is… exactly the same. I mean, this hunk character is admittedly the one person in that bunch I’d actually date irl same as sam is the one character from asoiaf I’d date irl the others are completely out of the question, but since they’re *fat* naaaaah? and guess what sam/WHOEVER is a lot less popular than ships which make a lot less sense but are two hot characters stashed together bc they’re hot. (jaime/sansa has like 300+ fics and jon/sam is still under 100 but okay sure tell me it’s because it makes no sense. lol no. and being that the only porn around for those two was written by me and maybe two/three other people says all.)

at that point then people go like ‘well but it’s because they’re unhealthy’ and that is when it becomes ridiculous. because going with the above problem re fatshaming being a thing that happens on a societal level, it becomes IF YOU’RE FAT YOU’RE NOT SEXUALLY DESIRABLE AND NO ONE SHOULD WANT YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR UNHEALTHY WEIGHT, which mixes stuff that doesn’t even go together with being sexually desirable which is something inherently personal. as in: if someone who’s unhealthily fat for whichever reason has a significant other who loves them and their body guess what THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO HAVE A SEXUAL LIFE AND TO BANG PEOPLE/GET BANGED TO THEIR PLEASURE. because when it comes to preferences in the bedroom or loving a person, size can be a thing - some people have certain body shapes preferences and so on - or it cannot be a thing at all and anyway it doesn’t matter when it comes to your right to be seen as desirable/being desirable. people of all sizes can be desirable or sexy or definitely sexually available regardless of the size - like everyone is freaking allowed to be sexually desirable even if they don’t conform to whichever is the beauty canon around.

and given that I personally got told more than once also by admittedly well-meaning people that they wouldn’t ever consider seeing me as desirable because I was overweight or not as thin as other hot person around our class or even better, the aforementioned friend who turned out to be a fashion model using that as some coping mechanism (as in, she didn’t like being sick obv. but since she had come out of it with a scorching hot physique while I had then undiagnosed pcos so I was struggling with weight all the damned time and I was healthy otherwise... er let’s say that she used to tell me stuff like ‘ah well look at you and look at me instead how much better looking I am’ which obviously was in order to make herself feel better about her illness but sure as hell didn’t help me feeling good about myself), I’m honestly fucking tired of this whole trend in shipping where overweight/fat people don’t get any from their hot best friends with whom they’re absolutely shippable but the hot friends get shipped instead with the most improbable hot people that happens in 90% of fandoms I run into. because it’s just a reflection of how irl if you’re overweight a lot of the time people will say that your weight puts you out of the goddamned dating field and everyone deserves to be in there, damn it, regardless of their size. it has nothing to do with being healthy or unhealthy. and saying shit like ‘omg X is fat they’re not good enough for Y’ is really fucking old already.

tldr: I hope I made clear why I got pissed at the other anon and what I think of the whole matter. obviously no one has to glorify being *unhealthy* (extreme obesity and anorexia are both unhealthy) and no one needs to put other groups down while doing it (looking at you n*icki m*inaj - like sorry but according to my standards she’s thin, having a nice ass doesn’t make you *fat* or curvy, and going like FUCK ALL THOSE SKINNY BITCHES is the exact contrary of body positivity tbh). but at the same time everyone deserves to be seen as sexually desirable and it’s bullshit that the current narrative depicts being overweight as something undesirable. both in society and in fandom.

/peace

#Anonymous #ask post #janie rants #weight issues cw #obesity cw #anorexia cw #janie vs fandom

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