#and wrote the first paragraphs of this

[sketchyorsomething]

I loathe painting landscapes and nature. The colors never turn out the way I want, clouds are ever changing, looking completely different the moment I put a brush on my paper. Nature is insidious, deceiving a painter's eye with colors, with feelings.

How can I ever hope to portray the air, tickling from electricity before the storm, as it fills my lungs while the only thing I paint are the contrasting colors of the dark, cloudy sky and the bright canola field? Will I ever be able to show everyone the vastness of the night sky after I came back home, drunk on happiness after a show at a theatre? When the stars seem to glow brighter with every passing thought of the memories I just made? Who would be able to know of the guy who complimented my french, of the book I was reading at that moment, of the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore, when all I paint is the deep green of the trees on the cliff and rays of sunlight gleam through the clouds? No one will ever be able to feel the wind twirling my hair around, when all I can draw are the bright colors of the flowers in front of the emerald green sea but even then, the colors look all wrong, too bright, too vibrant, just too much, to look realistic, even when they match the real ones just right.

How am I meant to show the adrenaline flowing through my body when I explore the forest with its giant boulders, waiting for me to climb them, to see the world around me in the way Nature itself does: ever-lasting in its continuous state of change. How am I meant to capture the vastness of the horizon, where the waves of the sea meet the sky, when all I can draw is confined in one single piece of paper?

It is so difficult to paint nature, to fill the painting with not only a landscape but instead with the feeling of that moment and the memories that lead to it and those it will lead to. It is so difficult finding the right motif, when it is inevitable to reduce the things I see so much, that it is not bursting out of the paper. Because the motif lives off of the things I have to take out. You can feel the missing pieces.

Nature is devasting because we never know what awaits us (it is there; it is waiting for us). Because all we know about it, was knowledge seen though a human's eyes and it will remain that way. How can humanity compare to Nature itself, even think that we know Nature, when we are only a part in it, in no way different than the ants crawling on the ground

[mcondance]

size kink, peter-esque dirty talk, reader is smaller than peter, dug this out of my drafts because. . . well duh feat. peter quill

peter’s a tease as he strokes himself all slow and smooth above you. hovering over your cunt, he’s hard and leaking and big, the cause of his teasing. like you haven’t done this before, he’s still fucked up over how you always take him so well, and he loves the visual that lies before what he loves most, the way he can see just how deep he goes.

“you see? can’t believe you take all of it,” he says, trailing his eyes up your body and finding his treasure in the glint in your eyes, the desperation that he gives into.

peter has a few favorites when he’s fucking you. he could list them all, if given the chance. one of them is the look on your face when he’s notching himself at your entrance, the beautifully vile look in your eyes that you only have just for him, just for now.

he slips in the slightest bit and you’re whining for him already, watching his face contort and twist up the farther he slides into you.

“baby, you’re-” peter attempts to say, but all trains of thought are derailed as he bottoms out and your warmth hugs every inch of his cock. you’re singing in his ear, crooning for him, and he can’t do anything but fuck you.

so that’s what he does.

pulling back, he readies himself to slide deep again. reveling in the pretty sound he draws from you, he pushes back in and your gasp has him chasing your pleasure. peter wants to hear you sing for him. you’re so tight around him, and you’re gripping onto his arm and trying your best to grapple at his back to ground yourself against the pounding of his cock inside you, but it’s no use. not with how peter fucks.

“you’re so— god, i don’t even know how you could be so perfect,” he rambles. casting his eyes down between the two of you, he’s met with a sight that sends him reeling. “god, and you’re taking it so good, don’t even know how you do it, but you do. god, you do. my star girl takes it all.”

[seleneprince]

Little something from my current project...

Tim’s jaw tightens, his fists clenching so hard that his nails bite into his palms.

Something to control?

She thinks this is about control?

God, he fucking wishes.

If it was just about control—if she was just another variable to contain, analyze, and neutralize—then maybe he’d be sleeping at night instead of obsessing over her every movement. Maybe he wouldn’t be so unbearably aware of her in every room she enters. Maybe he wouldn’t be so goddamn weak whenever she touches him, whenever she looks at him like she knows the war raging in his mind and dares him to fight it.

Maybe he wouldn’t ache for her.

Maybe he wouldn’t dream of her—feel her absence like a phantom limb when she’s not near.

But no, it’s not that simple.

It’s never that simple with her.

"You think that’s what this is about?" His voice is low—dangerous. Not his usual sharp, calculated tone, but something rougher. Something raw. "You think I’m doing all this because I want to control you?"

She glares at him, chin lifted defiantly.

"Aren’t you?" she throws back, voice laced with venom. "You track me, you follow me, you interfere in my life like I’m some loose thread you need to tie up—"

"Because I fucking need to!"

The words rip out of him before he can stop them, and for a moment, the silence that follows is deafening.

She blinks. His breathing is ragged, shoulders rising and falling, his hands shaking just slightly at his sides.

"You think I have a choice?" His laugh is bitter, his eyes burning. "You think I can just—just turn this off? Like it’s that easy?"

She crosses her arms, defensive, but there’s something in her eyes now—something hesitating.

"You think you’re just some problem I need to fix?" he continues, voice dangerously close to breaking. "God, I wish that’s all it was. I wish I could just analyze you, categorize you, put you in a goddamn box and walk away."

His hand slams against the table, startling her.

"But I can’t." His voice is quieter now, but somehow heavier, sharper. His eyes lock onto hers, a storm of emotions he’s too tired to hide anymore.

"Because you’re already under my skin. And I can’t do shit about it."

The confession hangs between them, thick and suffocating.

Her heart pounds, her breath catches, but she refuses to back down.

"...Then maybe you should learn how."

And that—that does it.

Before she can say another word, he’s on her.

[azaleax-x]

if you’re taking requests for said X reader, you’ll NEVER guess which Housewarden I want <3.

Riddle. RIDDLERIDDLERIDDLERIDDLE BARKBARKABRKABRK. Ahem… tangled AU, please, for the love of god.

(I would also settle for Azul or Epel <3. I have a type LOL)

ALSO I WAS ON YOUR CHARACTER AI AND I MISREAD THE RIDDLE BOT AS ‘impregnated’ INSTEAD OF INTERROGATED

MY BRAIN IMMEDIATELY WENT TO THE KINGDOM DANCE!! It's so iconic. I have the song in my playlist. TOO GOATED. I know people probably want the lantern scene but erm... maybe part 2 guys.. part 2...

I know Rapunzel is the one who starts the whole dance, but I ERMM didn't know how in character that would be for Riddle. So, reader is the one initiating it!! Sorry guys!!

Notes: Reader is GN, not proofread, might write part 2 with the lanterns, first time writing a real fanfiction after a billion years

Kingdom Dance (Rapunzel! Riddle Rosehearts x Flynn Rider! Reader)

or, at least, my twist of the Kingdom Dance...

Loud laughter can be heard from miles away. Shoes clack against the concrete to go with the rhythm of the music. The people who are not dancing are clapping, echoing the beat of the music. The atmosphere is lively, even the elderly are having a fun time.

And then there's Riddle.

He takes a step back as a couple whirl past him, catching a glimpse of their joyful faces.

How overstimulating... He thinks.

His hand subconsciously goes to rake through his hair, a habit he does to keep his nerves still, but he is reminded that the local kids braided it for him. A feat that he never knew was possible. How was he even dragged into this..?

He looks back at the bustling dance floor, his eyes immediately finding you, the culprit of his rebellious behavior.

You're laughing in glee as you twirl with a stranger, somehow not losing the rhythm of the dance. You had managed to create this whole phenomenon by yourself, a sight that would give his mother a heart attack! Just at the thought of his mother makes him take another step back, wanting to be away from the *horrible crime scene*.

Then you make eye contact with him, causing him to freeze up. Riddle watches as you stop dancing, giving him a grin that he has learned to -adore- hate. You make a hand motion for him to come over, but he just furrows his eyebrows. He was hoping you would give up at his stubbornness, but his heart could only beat faster as you sighed in defeat and walked *toward* him. It's just the nerves, he tells himself. Why would he be excited at the idea of you inviting him to dance? With you??

"Riddle! Why don't you come and join me?" You ask loudly over the music, to which he just scoffs at the question. You already knew the answer, and yet, you waited for him to speak.

"Why should I? This is just... wrong! My mother would be disappointed in me," Riddle responds, voice dripping with annoyance. He tries to stand his ground, but the urge to join you gets stronger each second, and he feels like you could see through him.

"You helped me escape the guards. At a pub." You retort, "I'm pretty sure dancing is the least of your concerns."

"...." His face turns red as he clenches his hand in offense. Riddle hates the shit-eating grin on your face, wanting to wipe it off.

"Well-!" Before he could snap at you, you go to grab both of his hands, dragging him to the middle. In a way, he's thankful that you did so since he would most likely spew out something embarrassing to defend himself.

"Exactly! So, come on! Don't be a bum," you laugh, and he hates himself for perking his head up at the sound of your laughter.

You can't help but find his mindset a bit hilarious. He snuck out of the tower, *willingly*, too! According to your calculations, that might be a bigger offense. "Worst case scenario is that we get chased by guards, but we can be discreet."

"As if! Anybody is going to recognize you from your wanted poster. You're literally posing in it! Are you even listening? Stop dragging me-!" He stammers his usual complaints, stumbling as he tries to keep up with you, accidentally bumping into a few people. He doesn't even have time to apologize since you're a little too excited dragging him to the middle. Somehow, he doesn't have the heart to pull away, not wanting to see the dejected look on your face.

"I would ask if anyone taught you manners..." He trails off with a disappointed look, averting his eyes to look at a wanted poster with your face on it. It looks like you're posing for a photoshoot...

"And did anyone teach you not to trust strangers? Not everyone is truthful like me!" You bite back playfully, trying to withhold your giggles since he would most likely hit you with his pan again.

Despite his irk at your snide remarks, his eyes are always on your face, admiring the playful gleam in your eyes. He knew you were a criminal, someone he shouldn't even be talking to, but he can't help that he desires to be closer to you.

You quickly take the initiative, putting a hand on his hip and taking his left hand in yours. Riddle becomes red at the proximity, but your warmth allows him to slowly ease up. With defeat upon knowing that he won't be able to leave, he finally allows his lips to form a small but soft smile at your childlike glee.

"It's really simple, okay? We just twirl and jump around with the rhythm of the music! Try not to step on my feet, though," you lightly tease him, starting with slow movements for his sake.

"Those are rather vague instructions. Is there a rulebook? What if I mess up?" He worries, a little too much in your opinion. You watch him stumble for a moment, often having to hold him up with your arm around his waist.

"It's called following the flow, silly." You can only lightly tease him for now since the poor soul is nervous as hell.

With every small mistake he makes, you squeeze his hand reassuringly, encouraging him to keep going. You're patient with him as he tries to keep up with your steps, gradually increasing the pace. He keeps his eyes on you, slowly joining your small laughing fit as he gets the hang of it. His hesitance has faded, and for the first time in his life, he feels at genuine ease. He isn't living in fear of his mother seeing him. He isn't worried about completing a textbook full of complicated problem. He's only worried about staying with you, not wanting to let you go just yet.

To your surprise, he starts taking the lead. He spins both of your around with a childish laugh, making *you* the one stumbling around. His long braid flows with the breeze, the flowers somehow staying on with all the movement.

"Who would think you would be the one stumbling now?" Riddle teases you with a smug expression, a rare sight for you. You were used to the scowls and sneers, but this? You huff to distract yourself from your reddening cheeks.

You want to form a retort since you hated to be beaten in your own game of banter, but the music comes to an end, which didn't even realize until now. Riddle, with his sudden boldness and wanting to end strong, he pulls you closer to him, chest to chest. You guys look at each other for a moment, your eyes widening. Riddle's lips are in a soft smile, his hair now having stray aways from dancing so vigorously. To notice his eyes glancing down at your lips, causing you to tighten them into a line as the sudden wave of nervousness hits you.

The moment is interrupted when the crowd cheers and claps for you both. This is where Riddle comes back to reality, quickly pulling away. You guys didn't even know you were the star of the show! He quickly tucks a small strand of hair behind his ear, not knowing what to do with all of the attention. To his surprise (not really), you burst out laughing.

"WOW! Talk about being discreet, huh?" You giggling heartily, not looking away from him. He can only mentally roll his eyes, but your giggling is contagious as he soon joins you.

"Yeah..." His laughter dies on as he goes back to focusing on you.

As much as he hates to pretend otherwise, he has grown fond of you, the sole person who is willing to show him what life has to offer. Maybe in the end, even after the lanterns, you're willing to stay by his side.

----

I think what I struggle with is focusing on the reader 💔

As a c.ai bot creator, I'm used to focusing only on the character. So, THIS IS DIFFERENT. I TRIED GUYS... PLEASE DON'T BULLY ME

[azrael08]

I imagine that there's going to be a day in their future together where Dan and Herbert are having some argument about their work for the billionth time, and Hebert will bring up Meg mid-way through their argument because he's toxic like that and instead of it usually working and manipulating Dan like usual, Dan is just unfazed by it. He just casually deflects it like "c'mon Herb you know that has nothing to do with this" and he just continues making his points. But Herbert's not listening. He's stunned. He's baffled that his tactic didn't work, because bringing up Meg usually wins him their fights and at the least makes Dan storm off so they can both cool down and forget about it.

But not this time. Not today. To anyone else this it would've been obvious to see that this was going to happen eventually because it's been years since the bride and even longer since the Arkham massacre. Dan's healed, reflected, and worked on himself (Maybe not fully but you get the point). He's moved on from Meg. But Herbert hasn't.

Meg was his metaphorical fish bait to hook Dan onto and reel him back in towards Herbert. But today he's left with the sudden realization that it didn't work and it's not going to work ever again.

"Herbert are you even listening? Yknow what, I know you're not so I'm just going up to start on dinner, I'll call you when its ready."

Dan leaves.

Dan might leave him; Herbert's mind tells him. He might leave Herbert permanently, forever, his mind reels.

If Dan's gotten over Meg, then that means Herbert's lost his biggest grapple to keep Dan around when things get tense between the two of them. He has nothing to hold over Dan's head filled with a guilty conscience, nothing to hold onto Dan with.

Of course, Herbert doesn't realize that Dan's gotten over Meg, Francessca, and all other women and people because he's completely moved onto Herbert. Wonder how long it'll take him to get his thoughts in order and figure that out. Probably awhile considering that when Herbert snaps out of his funk by Dan calling "Dinner's ready!" from the kitchen he checks his watch and realizes that he's been standing in the same spot and staring into space for the past 43 minutes.

[hepbaestus]

I wish fic writers would get the same amount of support and admiration as fan artists do. (Long rant incoming and no I'm not even going to put it under a read more because it would be skipped over if it was.)

This might sound biased, coming from someone who posts fics and does not have a lick to talent when it comes to art, but just, please, read and try to understand.

It fucking sucks to see something that two different people have spent hours working on and only one gets the attention it rightly deserves because there's no stigma of it being "creepy" or "perverted" like fanfiction does and as publicly too.

I do understand that this will likely never change and that I'll have to get used to it as a fic writer, but, the fact that I'm having to 'get over it' because that's just how it is in fandom-spaces sucks. It shouldn't be like that, it's demoralising, and frankly off-putting. It makes me, and likely others who won't publicly say it, not want to post our written works.

Like there are times where people are literally spending hours and hours planning, drafting, proofreading and then correctly tagging a fic only for it to get no recognition or more critique than adoration. Whereas a fan artist can spend maybe a couple of hours on what they'll call a doodle and get all the praise. This isn't to bash any fan artists because goddamn I know y'all love what you do (and rightly so) but it feels like a stake to heart seeing two sides of the same coin being treated with completely different levels of respect.

Like I also understand that, with how people's attention spans are lessening, that not everyone is bothered or able to read something that's 5k+ (or even 1k+) words and I get it, but also? Give it a chance? You might, now stick with me here, actually like what you read. I know. Shocker.

And, then, if you do actually read something someone has kindly put out into the world for free, don't put comments in your bookmarks or the comments section stating how you "wish it was written different" or "from another character's pov" or when you decided to drop the fic. The author does not want to know when you dropped their fic. Just move the fuck on. If you want it a certain way so much, fucking write it yourself (or if the writer has commissions open, commission them like you would an artist). It is rude to leave comments like this and so incredibly disheartening for the writer of that fic to see such comments. If you have a critique about a fic, privately talk to your friends in the same fandom as you about it or if you don't have that put it in a private discord or something. Unless the author has explictly stated that they would like critiques, which is when you would comment some critiques if you had any, you do not need to leave unwarranted critiques. It is rude and unnecessary.

I could share screenshots of people who leave unwarranted critiques to fics in their comments section or bookmark comments, but because I'm a kind individual who frankly cannot be bothered to compile several tumblr posts of solely images, I'm not. But do know that we do see every comment under our works and saying "oh I didn't think you'd see it" is not a fucking excuse. People who make fan creations often look into their comments to see people's reactions, in hopes of having spread the joy or similar emotion they had when writing or drawing their piece.

And content creators who review fan art with praise and then immediately make fun of fic writers, I despise you. Genuinely. The fact that you think it's okay to uplift one part of your creative audience while not doing such with the other is disgusting. I do understand that there are boundaries that a person will have towards both forms of media but completely writing off one form of fan creation while entertaining the other is genuinely one of the most saddening things. It creates a further divide between these two sides of fan creation and reinforces people's mean attitudes towards fanfic writers simply because how they express their love for a piece of media is not easily viewed. There are, obviously creators who do acknowledge but stay away from fanfiction and I respect that; it's about actively going into those spaces to criticise and, in some cases, bully, those writers about something they're passionate about. If you're that insistent on leaving a negative comment on something, please, for the love of everything get a fucking life.

This is a long winded way of saying respect people who make fan content because, 99% of the time, they're doing it for free and for their own entertainment.

[love-fireflysong]

I'm just saying you guys, if you're a fanfic author and you're going through a rough period where you keep feeling like your writing is shit and awful and just absolute garbage, just reread your own work.

You don't even have to look at the comments if you're going through a particularly nasty patch where you're convinced everyone is just lying and was only saying nice things to spare your feelings. Just reread the fic itself. It'll change your mind so quick I promise.

There's seriously nothing quite like clicking on what is *your* most popular fic and going 'Oh. I get it now. I think I understand why other people actually like this one so much holy shit'.

[rh1a]

just saying jason todd probably wrote batman fanfic as both a form of therapy and karma

my evidence:

- he's a lit nerd. every lit nerd has written fanfiction at somepoint. if you're a lit nerd and you haven't, you're a liar or you will be writing fanfiction soon. be ready.

- you're a liar if you think the batfam didn't have a giant fandom in gotham city (and other cities that had batman shipped with their hero (metropolis im looking at you))

- he'd get to tear the shit out of batman with well thought out arguments against stuff without actually having to try and make bruce listen

- the authors notes.

- 'sorry i haven't updated in two years, i got blown up resurrected and turned into an assassin by my step-mum. here's some fluff as an apology'

- i feel like i could go on for a while but I'll leave it there

[hickeygender]

i'm thinking hard about how every meaningful interaction the player has with lambert in the witcher 3 is with a man who is grieving. first is the loss of aiden, who lambert is defensive of and shares the bare minimum about during following the thread, basically just enough of his positives so he can ensure geralt helps him track down aiden's killers.

when we see him at kaer morhen before juicing up the phylactry at the circle of elements during the final trial, he's making booze, and later admits to drinking alone. he's not coping well with any of his grief, either regarding the loss of aiden or his more distant past, as is evident by the conversation about voltehre and later the conversation about his childhood.

in following the thread he's mourning aiden, in the final trial he's mourning both voltehre and his life pre-trials, and in blood on the battlefield, well... he's mourning the only real father-figure he's ever known, as is made obvious by his voicelines if keira isn't present and he doesn't feel the need to put on a brave façade.

lambert's entire diposition in game is shaped by the fact that he's actively mourning aiden and later vesemir, and that he's still bitter over both the death of voltehre and of his childhood innocence. he's in pain, and lonely, and resentful of the entire world! he's a grief-stricken man haunted by the weight of the past!! every meaningful conversation geralt has with him feels like traversing a minefield because he's bereaved!!!

[gossippool]

i was gonna make a personal poolverine headcanons list because other people were doing it too but i realised my fics already have most of them so. here are some of my headcanons in fic snippet form. some contradict with others and some i don't even think are necessarily true but it's fun to experiment

people have said this before but logan fights wade because he sees himself in him (or because he realises that he actually doesn't and he hates that)

wade knows about and feels the (emotional and psychological) effects of all his other variant selves (and everything else if he tries)

logan's heightened senses gives him synesthesia

logan doesn't actually like violence/fighting/blood during sex or like ever. it's just an unhealthy addiction that started from him killing all those people that he snuffed with alcohol but revived with wade, and a way to take his anger out on (someone like) himself

with regard to wade's chronic pain slight p pressure on his skin hurts more and in a worse way than sharp pains like getting stabbed

[kingslionheart]

Just so some king in this world may have driven one of his favourites from him, or he may have been forced from the king against both of their wills; then hath he many torments and many mishaps in his exile, yet he may come to the same lord whom he before was with, and there be much more worshipful than he was. Then he will recall the misfortunes which he had there in his exile, and yet not be the more unhappy — Alfred the Great's translation of St. Augustine's Soliloquies

[yeyinde]

i can't talk right now. this fic just changed me fundamentally as a person and now i feel like a hollow shell of my former self.

[periru3]

I feel like some Buddie shippers are out here feeling really good after that episode, and I do understand why, I get that we're living our best Abby-parallels, hurt-comforty lives and there's gonna be even more fic about Buck being profoundly emotionally unwell while living in Eddie's house and it isn't that I'm not here for that..... but also I am mostly out here feeling DEEPLY annoyed with Eddie's stupid life choices and bitchiness in a way I certainly wouldn't be if it weren't clear that the show thinks all his bad choices are good choices and Buck's the one being unreasonable.

Like, I think the show wants us to empathize with Buck. But also he's the one who ends up having to sort of just get over his issues and go be there for Eddie without Eddie ever apologizing or acknowledging that it's reasonable for Buck to feel hurt about this. Eddie only gives him the most half assed "you think I like this anymore than you do?" and "don't ask me to chose between you and my son cause you'll lose every time" when Buck has never asked him to do that and also Eddie has not done anything to show Buck that he will legitimately miss him. Cause he's allergic to displays of emotional intimacy with Buck in any form other than sharing his son with him. Like, truly it was hard for me to derive any shippy satisfaction from this episode when Eddie was just legitimately being a dick to Buck. I do deep down have to believe that Eddie is going to miss Buck a LOT, whether for gay reasons or just cause Buck is the second most important person in his life whether or not he admits it, but what was actually in this episode just felt, for once, like watching an emotionally unavailable straight guy (a thing I truly never think of Eddie as) revealing that he actually does just give less of a shit about Buck than Buck does about him and that he kind of takes Buck for granted and thinks he's being too much about how much he cares about Eddie - like, "I trust and care enough about you to write you into my will as my son's guardian if I die, but actually you're being weird by having an emotional reaction to me leaving you and not even acting sad about it." And I found that profoundly un-fun to watch.

Anyway, I think this plotline would be annoying me a hell of a lot less if the show wasn't clearly on Eddie's side. Like if he was acting this way and making these choices but people were questioning it at all like "hey are you sure you want to leave your extensive support system and life you like in LA? Are you positive that's completely necessary? Have you talked to Chris about this, and if not have you considered that that might be repeating some of the tendencies that got you in this mess? Have you considered taking some time off work and getting an Airbnb in Texas? Have you considered that Chris is 14 and giving him space is great and totally reasonable but letting him chose to fully move to Texas is maybe a bit much and not actually normal?" I might be fine with all this cause it would be forcing Eddie to confront his issues! But instead the show seems extremely determined for us to believe this IS what he has to do and what is best for himself and his family, but if they want me to believe that they really really need to show me just one single scene of Eddie actually talking to Chris about coming home and Chris telling him point blank he won't. But they haven't, so it just feels completely insane that everyone is acting like Eddie is making the obviously right call and they're all thrilled for him. What even was the point of the priest if he's gonna continue to be this way oh my god???

Anyway that episode has me so stressed and irritated with Eddie and generally with the writing of this whole plot line. Thrilled we're back, but god I am ready for this shit to be resolved, ideally in a way that involves Chris and Eddie back from Texas and actually addressing Eddie's damn issues.

[ships-n-bats]

Putting under read more 'cause it kind of turned out way longer than intended and has big images attached. ^^'

Warning: I literally am reviewing and judging sketches Kub0 drew of the Ichi//Hime fam post-manga and just being critical of I//H as a whole.

“Kub0 has yet to release any artwork of the Ichi//Hime family together!”

I just recently recalled this statement made years ago by anti I//Hs and became rather curious over whether or not this statement was still true or not. It’s been about 8+ years since the manga ended and I//H became canon with their mini-me child being revealed alongside. So, out of genuine curiosity, I decided to see if Kub0 had since drawn the I//H family in any capacity.

Only to discover that, nope, he indeed had not.

The closest I could find of any drawings made by Kub0 that involved Ichig0's family post-manga were these two sketches he made:

A sketch of Ichig0 and Kαzui with Kub0's signature.

And the pic he drew of Ichig0 with Kαzui during quarantine (which I will admit is super adorable omg).

Two pictures featuring a father and his son.

But! You'll notice with both of these sketches, 0rihime is missing. You know, the wife of Ichig0 and mother to said child?? She's not so much as shown in the background or right there alongside her husband and kid! She's just, not present what-so-ever...

And the saddest part? When I tried searching for any sketches Kub0 made of Kαzui with 0rihime, nothing came up. Not a single sketch featuring mother and son. I only found those two pics of Kαzui with his father. That's it.

And there wasn't a single sketch that had all three of them together.

The closest I could find was of an edited version of the quarantine pic an I//H fan drew where they added 0rihime in. That's right, an I//H fan had to add 0rihime into the sketch in order to get a proper Ichi//Hime family pic, because Mr. Tite Kub0 couldn't be bothered to do so himself in the first place. I also found other edited pics that just took separate pics of the three and mashed them together, which is just... sad.

I think the closest there's been to the three being seen together as a family was in the manga and even that is a bit of a stretch.

This then led me to see if Kub0 had since drawn Ichig0 and 0rihime together and came up with two more sketches:

A sketch of the two standing next to each other, looking at one another.

Another sketch of the two's portraits.

And just like with the previous two pics, I noticed something about both pics. In the first one, 0rihime and Ichig0 are keeping a distance between themselves, and the sketch overall is rather simplistic and not really readable. I can barely make out either of their expressions, though 0rihime looks shocked? Confused?? idk Meanwhile, Ichig0 looks either blank or irritated? He might be talking to her??

As for the second sketch, Ichig0 looks like he had more time and effort put into his portrait, while 0rihime looks thrown in last second. Given how much bigger Ichig0 is, it gives off the impression that Kub0 drew a pic of Ichig0 first, and then added 0rihime off to the side, in the background, which explains why she's so small and seems tacked on. You can essentially remove her from the sketch entirely as she doesn't look part of it as a whole.

Also, this same sketch had an I//H shipper tack on Kαzui to try and make it a family pic, just like with the other one.

Despite Kub0 canonizing Ichig0 and 0rihime as a married couple with a kid, despite it being nearly a decade now, despite I//H shippers asking Kub0 to give more details about how the two got together and what their relationship is like as a family and couple, he still hasn't bothered to actually give the Ichi//Hime fam any proper spotlight.

I hate bringing up other mangas for comparison, but even Nαruto, despite its own controversial ending and endgame ships, showcased some sweet family moments with their next gen families and even had cute couple-y moments between the endgame pairs. Kishim0t0 at least bothered to put some effort into trying to sell his endgame ships to fans. Meanwhile, Kub0 has left I//H high and dry of any basic domestic fluff.

And honestly?

I just find that to be plain sad. Sad that even though a pairing is made canon, is made to be married with a child, there's still this lack of intimacy between the two. Yes, many I//H antis have pointed out how much Ichig0 and 0rihime lacked development and intimacy prior to the ending, but it's post-ending where I feel the failure of I//H really comes to ahead.

I//H stans tend to use Ichig0 and 0rihime's marriage and product of their consummation as a crutch or a "got'cha" to prove them being canon somehow means they're a perfect pairing. But it really doesn't mean anything if there's no real intimacy outside of a legal piece of paper and offspring. Those two things don't prove anything and shouldn't be used as evidence for a happy, healthy relationship.

Because, despite what is believed by many, a marriage and kids does not automatically translate to a good relationship. People can be married with kids and still be unhappy or lack real closeness or intimacy in their relationship. Just like how the alternative (i.e. not married and no kids), can mean a happy and close relationship. Basically, a marriage and children are not required nor are proof of a happy, healthy relationship.

Kub0 himself has already proven to me that he doesn't even care about Ichi//Hime as a pairing, despite the marriage and kid. He hasn't shown that Ichig0 and 0rihime are close and seems to actively avoid drawing the family together, leading the fans to do so for him out of desperation. He was more than happy to show 0rihime's one-sided devotion towards Ichig0 throughout the manga, but never bothered to show Ichig0 ever returning those feelings, and then just ended with the two married with a son. Only later offhandedly mentioning that the two got together sometime after university when a fan asked him about it. And Ichig0 had to be prompted by his friends to make a move on her, not because he did so on his own accord.

Ichi//Hime may be endgame canon, but it's still hollow and empty.

Update 7/9/24

I had actually forgotten about another pic Kub0 did and was only recently reminded of it by a twt user.

The pic features Ichig0, Rukiα, Ichikα, and Kαzui altogether.

And I have to agree with the twt user’s assessment on it, it does look like an accidental family pic. I can totally see some people who aren’t familiar with Bleαch taking this out of context and mistaking Rukiα and Ichig0 as the parents. It’s a very cute and silly sketch too, with Rukiα and Kαzui messing around with Ichig0 and Ichikα dealing with their antics. An overall happy, wholesome pic.

Which makes the fact that Kub0 drew Rukiα alongside Kαzui and not his own mother, 0rihime, all the more noticeable and depressing. It really does feel like Kub0 is actively avoiding making any happy I//H fam material. He always falls back on drawing Ichig0 and Rukiα together (which he has admitted to enjoy doing).

[jessamine-rose]

Capitano in Natlan’s Archon Quest, Capitano in Hoyofair, 12 fics + short posts written for Capitano, 9 WIPs + fic ideas for Capitano, at least 5 dreams about Capitano x Damsel…..

Atp I might as well call 2024 the Year of the Captain _:(´ཀ`」 ∠):

[thatscarletflycatcher]

"In Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South (1854) a girl who is dying of tuberculosis accuses her master of refusing to invest twenty pounds in a ventilator which would have made the air much less harmful to breathe."

Reader, I'm slamming my head on my desk.