#it also will depend on what most piqued their interest on the main show. if they liked twd's character study element then they'll like towl

[whateverisbeautiful]

So I am trying to get my friends to watch TOWL so I can have people to talk about it with. They stopped watching TWD a while ago and are interested in the spin off but aren't in a rush. I tried to explain that is so different from the main show but I don't know how to explain it without spoilers.

How would you describe the show to get someone excited to watch?

This is a good one. Your question made me think - especially because I wanted to figure out a way to describe the show that wasn't just from my richonne-stan perspective (because my initial description is 'it's a beautifully mesmerizing exploration of the best soulmates on TV finding each other again in every way after years apart.') But here's how I'd describe The Ones Who Live, without being too spoilery and from a slightly broader audience perspective:

In 9 seasons of Rick Grimes on TWD, he’s overcome a lot of arcs, a lot of trials, and a lot of face-offs, but there’s one thing we’ve never really seen in the main show - and that’s seeing Rick have to do any of that without his family. That’s an element of The Ones Who Live that’s new (and devastating) because it shows us a Rick we’ve never seen before since we’ve never seen Rick go this long without any family around. And considering family is everything that fuels him to keep fighting and keep living, this TOWL era is essentially his hardest chapter yet, especially mentally. With Rick in his absolute darkest state, it becomes extra compelling and extra complicated when Michonne - the brightest light in his world, his wife, his everything, and the greatest woman ever (had to stan a little bit🙌🏽) - abruptly comes back into his life after resiliently searching for her long lost love. But even when Michonne finds Rick, after going on her own journey and going through hell being away from her family too, she still has a long way to go before she finds her Rick. And as the show progresses, these soulmates both try to rescue each other from danger but they wrestle with having significantly different ideas of what that rescue should look like. TOWL explores how internal imprisonment is almost harder to escape than literal imprisonment and it powerfully answers the question of if love really is the key. 🗝️👌🏽

[kaisacobra]

Relationship HCs - Mindy Meeks-Martin & Anika Kayoko

Summary: What would a relationship between you, Mindy and Anika be like?

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1.1k

♡ HOW YOU MET

You became friends with Chad early in college, taking a few classes in common.

Chad would always mention you in conversations, talking about how you had been nice enough to go on a campus tour with him, not mentioning the Woodsboro events like other classmates had done.

Mindy even made a joke about her brother having a little crush, but he made it clear that he wasn't exactly your type. That piqued Mindy's curiosity, but she didn't do anything about it because she had just started dating Anika and that was her main focus.

Everything changed at Chad's birthday party, however.

Being one of his best friends, you were obviously invited to the small celebration dinner at one of his favorite pizza places.

And everyone was dying to know about you, since you were the only person outside of the group that Chad let near him (aside from Ethan, but he was his roommate).

When you arrived, most of them thought you were a nice person (Sam was still deciding if you were trustworthy or not) but Mindy and Anika? Oh, their heads were playing Bound - Ponderosa Twins Plus One.

Anika was more subtle about her attraction than Mindy (who couldn't stop staring at you all night) but she also felt something magnetic about you.

You didn't even notice it on the day. The two of them had been introduced as girlfriends so it was almost out of the question that there might be some interest on their part.

You only found out days into the relationship how much they had adored you from the first time they laid eyes on you.

♡ HOW THE RELATIONSHIP STARTED

They had this conversation immediately after the birthday was over.

Like I said, Mindy hadn't exactly been sudden + I think Anika is very good at interpreting signs from people, especially if they are close to her.

It was a very calm conversation as they are both open-minded people and their biggest concern was that you might not think the same.

They started in a gentle way. Anika would ask you about your major in college here, Mindy would recommend a horror movie there, all in cautious steps.

And then "happy coincidences" started happening frequently. Mindy had to deliver something to Chad at the end of some class? Why not take advantage of it and call you to grab a coffee with her and Anika?

And when you were with them, all interactions were on a fine line between friendship affections or something more. Constant compliments, hugs that lasted a few seconds too long, touches that lingered.

And the more you seemed comfortable and seemed to enjoy those acts, the more they did and intensified them. Hugs turned into kisses on the cheek and a touch on the shoulder turned into hands on your thighs.

No words of confession needed to be exchanged between you, such was the connection the three of you shared. You just knew how each other felt and it all seemed so natural.

One day, without ceremony, the two of them asked you to become their girlfriend in the middle of a picnic they had organized and, as much as it was expected that you would accept, their hearts raced as you said your answer.

You said yes, of course, and they were so happy that they dropped you in an awkward hug on the spread towel, peppering your face with little kisses to show how much they liked you.

After they pulled away and you could get a better look into their eyes, you exchanged a long-awaited kiss, full of passion and affection. Anika went first, being the more impatient of the two, but soon you kissed Mindy too and the two exchanged a kiss between them as well.

That was the official start of your relationship.

♡ HOW THE RELATIONSHIP WORKS

There is no option to dislike physical contact in this relationship. Their prominent love language is touch, and that's pretty clear to everyone.

They are not shy with PDA, but they may tone it down depending on how comfortable you are with it. However, they always need to have at least one hand on your arm at all times.

Your favorite types of dates are movie nights that take place at Anika's apartment (because you and Mindy live in dorms), although art workshops are a program you love to do together as well.

Anika made beaded bracelets with all of your initials and other decorations. She pouts if she notices you or Mindy aren't wearing them.

Going back to the movie nights, Anika lies on both of your laps every time, while Mindy slings her arms around your shoulders to bring you closer.

However, if there's a scary movie on and you get scared easily, the two of them will have you in the middle of a tight hug. Mindy will try to calm you down by telling you facts about the behind the scenes while Anika holds your hand.

I can see them both really enjoying doing those tiktok couple trends. Their favorite one was when you filled each other's faces with kiss marks from Anika's red lipstick.

They are your BIGGEST hype girls on earth. They always love to compliment you and won't let you think anything negative about yourself.

But if you do, they are great listeners and will want to have a better understanding of how you're feeling, thinking of ways on how to make you feel more confident about yourself.

You guys are the most judgmental throuple in the world. One of you will say "you won't believe what that person did." and for the next few minutes, you'll gossip together about it.

Usually "babe" is the most used pet name between you, but sometimes Anika calls you "Angel" and Mindy calls you "Darling" (fun fact, the first time she called you that, it was a joke, but it sounded so good that she still calls you darling occasionally).

You don't have a fixed position in bed when you go to sleep. Anika likes to stay between you most of the time but that can change depending on how you and Mindy are feeling on the day.

Especially when Mindy wakes up in the middle of the night with nightmares about Woodsboro and you and Anika need to hold her in your arms and assure her that she is safe and well.

Overall, you have a great relationship with clear displays of affection and great communication. 

(Ps: Mindy loves to tease Chad, saying she has two partners while he has none).

[zenki-soukokq]

Hi! I'd like to request a romantic match-up for genshin if that's ok with you

I’m non-binary and I use all pronouns, but most times i like to lean towards they/them. I'd like to be referred to as Mika.

I’m pansexual but I’d like to be matched up with a male since most of my favs are male

I'm afab and I'm 171 cm tall. I have pale skin and green eyes, and long eyelashes that I'm very proud of. I have really light brown and curly hair, and i had it cut short in a pixie cut, but its started to grow a bit at the back. I have an athletic body shape, and I prefer to wear a binder to appear more androgynous even though I have a small chest size. I'm considering getting top surgery though. My style is dark Akademiya and alt depending on how i feel.

My personality type is INTJ 5w6, I’m similar to Diluc and Scaramouche the most. I come off as cold and unwelcoming to most people at first and I'm very closed off, but I’m very warm and chaotic once you get to know me. I have a hard time talking to others because I’m very shy, but I’m loud, chaotic and teasing to people I’m comfortable with, more like Heizou and Childe. I value loyalty and comfort above all else, and I try my best to make sure the people I care about know this even though I have a hard time at expressing how I feel. I speak through actions rather than words. I also have some autistic traits.

I don’t really have a main aesthetic, but recently my style has been more dark Akademiya. I like to appear well-dressed in button-ups, turtlenecks, slacks and trench coats. I also really like flannel, my favourite colour is red although i own several in many colours.

I tend to have a saviour complex, I want to be a detective when I’m older and use my brain to help others.

As for hobbies, I’m an artist and musician. I’m very picky with my tools and prefer to work digitally with the best programs and brushes I can get my hands on. My work has no meaning, I just draw what I like and what appeals to me. I draw for my friends on their birthdays. I use art to show that I care, putting lots of work to draw a character my friends care about is how I show that I care, I want to take time and effort to show them that I care. I can play the guitar and sing and dance too. Sometimes i compose and write songs. I also love reading in my spare time, I’m a maladaptive daydreamer, and spend a lot of time immersing myself in fictional worlds.

For a romantic partner, I see the personality above all else. I have no preference for gender, as long as they’re someone gentle and loyal. I also love a good sense of humour

My love languages are quality time and physical touch (giving and receiving), since I’m very touch-starved, I like to be physically close to my loved ones. But i overthink a lot, so I also like to be reassured that my partner cares. I don’t have much experience in relationships, but I’m a hopeless romantic.

You have been matched up with...Gorou!

"The great general of Watatsumi Island's forces. He has gained respect and prestige, but always shows himself to be a humble leader. He is deeply trusted by his subordinates and is someone with whom you can share your feelings without shame."

How you two met:

At one point in time, on Watatsumi, they noticed that they had a staggering lack of detectives. By that, I mean that they had none. So, they opened up applications for newly created positions, and you applied.

Gorou had been assigned to review the applications, and to interview the selected applicants

Your application had piqued his interest quite a bit, as he had heard of your artistic hobbies from some of the islanders, and he wouldn't have expected you to put in an application

At the interview, he was captured by your capabilities, and your personality

Despite the initially cold impression he got of you, he saw slivers of a more outgoing and chaotic personality underneath

This, paired with the seemingly quite intelligent nature that he picked up from you, only further heightened his interest in you

Once he learned that you were hoping to become a detective, he almost gave you the position right then and there

A couple of applicants had been hired for the jobs of Watatsumi's detectives, you amongst them. Some training for the position was in line, and Gorou, still captivated, took the opportunity to learn more about you.

At first, he went through some basic procedures of fake investigations, basic analyzation, etc.

Each time you cleared through each one with ease, he was stunned

To him, it seemed like you had already been a detective for ages, and it almost reminded him of Heizou's level of intellectual prestige

As the training sessions went on, he made them more personalized, and more difficult

He noticed that with each session he designed, he felt closer and closer to you

Every time you two met up, you would become more relaxed and comfortable with him, yet still not losing your apt nature

As the days went by, and as the end of your training approached, he was still in a bit of an oblivious state, only thinking his feelings to be that of a close friend's

That is, until he was thinking one day, about what the last training session should be like

Eventually, his mind wandered, away from your training, and just to you in general

Realizing that after a long time, he hadn't been able to plan anything, he decided to ask Kokomi for a little bit of assistance

Through this assistance, Kokomi pried a little at how he felt about you, and helped him come to his overall realization that he had fallen in love with you

"So, today marks the last day of your training until you can officially become a detective amongst Watatsumi's forces. Because of this, I have prepared a special gift to commemorate the occaision. Mika, I have- or, no, I've fallen- not literally, but- well- ah! I want to say that I've fallen in love with you!"

Why you two are compatible:

A loyal and brave general of Watatsumi island. Born with a beast-like fighting intuition and tenacious will, he can find a way to victory even in the most critical moments. He leads the Watatsumi troops, who have far fewer military resources compared to the Shogunate. Gorou strives to ensure that the inhabitants of this island will live in safety and peace.

Gorou is a virtuous person, seeking to ensure the safety and peace of Watatsumi, which fits well with your want to save/help people

In the case that Watatsumi receives you as a detective, he would likely already be naturally curious about who's in the position

Gorou is also a naturally loyal person, so if he were to fall in love, it would be incredibly likely that he would become highly dedicated to that person

We can also see with Gorou, that despite his job and position, he remains kind and gentle with everyone

Both of the aforementioned points pair well with your personal preferences for someone in a relationship

I feel like Gorou would also be very reassuring in a relationship, due to the previously-mentioned loyalty

He would likely attempt to reassure you in any manner he deems necessary, whether it be physical, emotional, or mental

For me, I can also imagine Gorou to usually have physical touch as his love language

I don't envision him as someone who's very dependent on verbally giving and receiving love, nor do I envision him as someone who has gift-giving as his primary love language

I think quality time and physical touch with him would be his primary love language, possibly because of how your time might be incredibly meaningful to him

Generally, I think he just enjoys physical touch, so he'd be very positively receptive to that

Relationship Headcanons:

Out of curiosity, I checked Gorou's height, and you happen to be a bit taller than him

Because of this, I think he probably gets just slightly embarrassed, because someone like Yae would likely tease him over it

I think that sometimes, when he sees some of the things you wear, he gets a little confused on whether or not your a visitor from Fontaine

He probably tries on your clothes sometimes, out of curiosity

Personally, I see him as the type of person to really like the arts, but he previously didn't have much time to learn about it, or interact with it

Because of that, I think he has a lot of interest in the things you make, and he would often spend a while just appreciating what you've made

He'd love listening to whatever songs you make, without a doubt

I think Gorou would be a bit interested in your daydreams

He would wonder what worlds you think of, what places you go to, what people you see (if any at all), and all of that

Generally, in a relationship, I think Gorou would be very affectionate

He'd probably want to spend a lot of time talking to you, doing things with you, and just being around you in general

A part of him likely enjoys the fact that you work with/near him, so he could always pop in and spend time with you

New Years Headcanons:

He probably prepared a little bit about a week before New Years

He scouted out the different areas of Watatsumi, and tried to find the ideal viewing spot for the fireworks he ordered

That said, he custom ordered fireworks for you

Eventually, he decided on the beach near the backside of Watatsumi, since it was rather secluded, and there was plenty of space for fireworks to be shot without any safety concerns

He prepared a ton of things in advance, everything from drinks, to snacks, to small activities, and more

When New Years Eve rolled by, he spent the day exactly how he planned it, so that by the end, he would have the perfect amount of time left to lead you through all of his surprises

As the hours flew by, and as you opened gifts, played games, and snacked away, it got closer and closer to twelve

Gorou, of course, was fully aware, and was ready to let off his final surprises

Right as the clock struck twelve, the fireworks had been let loose into the sky, and illuminated the starry blankets behind it with vibrant colors

As you had stared up into the skies splashed with new colors, he hugged you, and pulled you closer

"Happy New Years, Mika! I hope you liked this- because I want to do it again with you next year, the year after, and...well, until I can't anymore!"

Afterword:

Thank you for requesting! I had fun writing this, so I hope you enjoy reading this!

[meltingpotimagines]

Boyfriend!Bakugo

Warnings: None

A/N: Thank you for 100 followers!! I still can't believe 100 people have liked what I've written enough to follow me asjksjkd I appreciate every single one of you and will do my best to keep producing even better content 🤍

okay

if you have any sweet thoughts about katsuki as a boyfriend, imma need you to leave them at the door thanks

he's not kirishima

this boy is an explosive punk

but i mean isn't that the appeal?

i do however headcanon him as a lowkey mama's boy

and you know what they say about mama's boys

how they treat their mom is how they'll treat you

hope you can keep up in an argument asjdksjsk

imma be honest

he

did not like you at first

but it's okay bc he doesn't like anyone at first

he doesn't like most people at all aksjsj

but somewhere along the line you became less annoying than the others

more tolerable

almost... enjoyable to be around

he even liked you more than kirishima, not that he was willing to admit it

partially bc that would mean admitting to liking kiri and he was not about to acknowledge his feelings like that

honestly it didn't hurt that you didn't seem to be afraid of him

you said hi to him whenever you saw him, and you invited him to a party you threw a while back

and your smiles were never... forced

they were genuine and kind and it didn't seem like you had anything against him??

which makes no sense bc he's

him

loud and explosive

even his classmates only tolerated him baby they like you and kiri and denki frickin LOVE you hush

you definitely piqued his interest

so when he found out you needed a tutor, boy nonchalantly offered to tutor you

and by nonchalantly i mean practically j u m p e d at the chance but in a way that made it seem like he was only doing it so you'd owe him

which... would be a little challenging bc he's not the most patient person in the world

but he is one of the smartest in his class so you were willing to make it work plus he's super cute soooo

surprisingly he's more patient than you thought he'd be?

he's not deku but he's not screaming at you or bonking you on the head like he did kirishima asjdkad

he actively did his best to be patient and understanding, which shocked the entire class when they found out

kiri and denki had figured out from that that katsuki liked you and immediately started encouraging him to ask you out

which obviously he fought bc no wdym i don't like anyone

l i a r

did they accept that answer? no

took a few months of them constantly pushing and risking being blown to bits before he finally accepted that he likes you

still took him a little longer before he could work up the courage to ask you out

you know he's insecure, he had to make sure you weren't going to reject him before putting himself out there like that

and considering you were painfully obvious about your crush to everyone b u t him, kiri had no problem reassuring him that you wouldn't turn him down

he was a frickin t s u n d r e when he asked you out, but of course that didn't stop you from saying yes

nor did his slightly stand-offish attitude stop you from going on more dates

he was trying his best and you knew that

the dates were simple but (for him) sweet

he'd hesitate for a moment before quickly grabbing your hand to hold, slightly blushing and refusing to look at you

he'd buy you a snack from a street vendor when he bought himself one and act like it was no big deal

occasionally if he was really struggling with his emotions, he'd "buy himself a snack" and take one bite before giving it to you

he most definitely actually bought it for you but he wasn't going to admit that

honestly he was even awkward when he asked you to be official

"so... we're dating now. you're mine. aight?"

this frickin loser aksnsjs

but it's okay bc he's a cutie

and angy cutie but a cutie nonetheless

and now he's your cutie~

and boy if it ain't an interesting experience

he's ticklish on the sides of his neck only

you only found out bc you had your face buried in his neck while cuddling and he flinched slightly when you sighed

it was barely noticeable, but you were in tune with him well enough that you noticed

threatened to punch you if you ever dared intentionally tickle him

it was an empty threat and you both knew it

luckily for him, you agreed to not tickle him most of the time

definitely the type to hold your hand 24/7 while driving

like, he doesn't let go even to shift gears, just uses your hand to do it

will make you food when you're sick

or if there's something you really really wanna eat

it's one of his ways of saying i love you without actually saying it

gets jealous easily but never in a way that's directed at you

if he notices someone checking you out, he'd show them that you're his

what he does depends on how interested or sleezy they seem

if it's not much, he'll just grab your hand or wrap an arm around your shoulders

if it's a little too much for his liking, he'll wrap an arm around your waist or peck your cheek or lips

if they're r e a l l y lookin, he'll pull you into him and give you a deep kiss before locking eyes with them, a fire in his that just screams "get lost"

honestly comes off as more protective than jealous if you know him well enough which you do~

also

if someone smacks your butt, grabs you, or gropes you in a n y way

hope they picked out their casket bc they w i l l die

that boy will beat the living crap out of them

w i t h o u t his powers just to make it worse and to avoid getting in trouble bc this boy is a future hero

when you hold hands, he does the thing where he rubs your thumb with his

90% of the time he doesn't even realize he's doing it

it just helps him relax a little more and maybe just maybe helps remind him that yes you a r e real and there is indeed someone who loves him that much but you didn't hear that from me

he's not usually the greatest at initiating any kind of physical contact, but sometimes if he's feeling really cuddly or missed you a lot, he'll just kinda throw you over his shoulder and take you to bed to snuggle

if you're willing, he actually really likes working out with you

you encourage him, he encourages you (in his own way ofc)

and he takes care of you, but like... wordlessly

like he'll bring you a towel if he notices you need one or fill your water bottle when he fills his

he may not say it, but he feels responsible for you

you're his partner after all

everyone else may be extras but maybe- just maybe- you can be a main character with him

[yors-truly]

YAY INTRO POST!!

Rewriting this because my first draft was super messy lol!

NOW, WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?

Hi, hello, and greetings! My codename is Tru (other things you can call me are Aster and Astro, and maybe Hue but I have an OC named Hue so I might get confuzzled). I am an afro-irish girl who currently goes by she/they pronouns, and I love love LOVE writing and illustrating (I do both traditional and digital art). Because I love those things so much, I decided to make this account, with my main/personal being @randomdidsomething (no longer active). Currently looking for some cool moots in the creative sphere, have you be a fellow writer, traditional/digital artist, screenwriter, animator, etc., or just a jack of all trades :)

NICE TO MEET YOU! WHAT DO YOU POST?

Very good question! As of now, this blog is just my journey in personal growth within the sphere of art and general creative works. I'm very passionate about my original stuff right now, and I'm currently working on an animated series called "Beyond Time and Space," which is a fantasy, portal world, coming of age adventure. More on that another day because I'm still trying to figure out how I can talk about it without going off the rails about why I love it so much :) In other words, expect most of my posts to also be w.i.p.s and fanart of that.

OKAY. UH, ANYTHING THAT INTERESTS YOU?

As said before, I'm very much into original art in general, but what type of art specifically piques my interest? A good old mix of fantasy and sci-fi is something I will always love to see, especially if they're together. Give me something about a techno-magic alliance and I will EAT THAT UP! Nothing is better than good old robots and wizards being pals :) (also anything featuring minority characters, like I'll lap that stuff up, buddy boy, yum yum)

My interests do tend to fluctuate, though. One moment I'll be into both, another moment just one, and the next I'll be into neither of them but rather the psychology of the human condition. It really just depends.

Fandom-wise, I'd generally consider myself multifandom, or just out of fandoms in general. Some would consider me part of the Disney sphere (or as I like to call it, "Gisnep"), others see me as a huge transformers fan (and don't get them wrong, I definitely am), but I actually haven't been indulging in those things for a VERY long while now (at least up until 2023). The only fandom I've been consistent with as of recent is the object show community, and that's only because my brother's in it.

HEY, THIS IS REALLY DRAGGING OUT. FINAL THOUGHTS BEFORE I ASK YOU POLITELY TO SHUT UP?

Sorry, sorry. I get that from my father.

To wrap this up, here are some other places you can find me...

My main account (as stated before): @randomdidsomething (no longer active)

My new YouTube channel, which covers the same purpose of this blog

You can find me on Twitter @/RandomDS1...

... on Instagram @/hue_ships...

... on Wattpad (I guess, I don't really post there anymore but I still use it) @/RandomWritesStuff

... on my fandom side blog @a-tru-fan

... and via the Beyond Time and Space blog, @lotus-btas

... as well as my tags!

art tag: #huesterdribbles

traditonal art tag: #huesterdribblesT

digital art tag: #huesterdribblesD

writing tag: #huesterwribbles

literally me talking out of my butt tag: #huestersvoid

reblogged stuff I like: #huestersfaves

Story tags:

#Beyond Time and Space

#BTaS wip

#BTaS art

#BTaS writing

-----

Alright, that's it! Thanks for reading and keep being creative! <3

If you have any questions regarding ANYTHING, like EVER, feel free to reach out!

[snakeassassins]

Rabbit Dad Theory: A Weapon to Surpass Dad for One

okay so. I know that the theory about local big bad of the series being the protagonist’s father , but I’m pretty sure the real reason that midoriya’s dad hasn’t shown up in the plot is because he’s a rabbit

no really

[ WARNING: LONG post under the cut ]

Part 1: Rabbit Motifs

To get this party started properly, let’s begin with a bunch of the rabbit symbolism regarding Midoriya himself.

The most notable of which being that his hero costume is literally him dressing up as a rabbit

His freckles are even stylized to look like little rabbit whiskers. fuckin naruto kinnie

It bleeds into his fighting style too

Two big innovations he has that aren’t based on previous users of one for all

are hopping from place to place

and his big, rabbit-like kicks.

(which would also go a ways to explain why the plot thought Midoriya having legs was a big deal)

A lot of this goes into his characterization as well. The most notable bit being how much the first chapter of bnha parallels the story of the moon rabbit.

(Sometimes referred to as the jade rabbit which. Green)

Anyway, the story goes that a rabbit, along with a bunch of other animals (it varies depending on region) decided to gather food for the full moon as an offering, believing that the best one will bring a reward from the gods.

All of the animals bring plentiful amounts of food, sans the rabbit, who brings only grass.

Eventually, a starving old man comes along.

The other animals have food to give him, but refuse to do so to meet their own ends.

The rabbit, sympathizing with the old man,throws itself into a fire he was kindling so that he can be fed.

The old man, touched by the rabbit’s actions, reveals himself to be a god and saves it.

In honor of the rabbits deeds, the god imprints his image on the moon, bestowing special gifts to him.

Along with this there are a number of other mild rabbity traits tho.

Such as his skittishness.

Not to mention his general resourcefulness.

The show regularly conflates Midoriya being himself with him looking and acting more and more like a rabbit. This isn’t too hard to understand from a Doylist perspective; Horikoshi blatantly just likes bunnies. (I mean just look at Miruko)

What’s interesting here is that we’ve never been given an in-universe explanation for why midoriya himself identifies this way. In a series that is otherwise really invested in dissecting the ideal versions of themselves that characters want to live up to, the show doesn’t provide any justification for a character motif Midoriya has that is almost as present as all might himself.

Judging from the title of this post, you can probably guess what my reasoning for this choice is.

**Part 2: Hisashi’s Quirk **

“But snake,” you may be asking yourself, “We already know what Hisashi Midoriya’s quirk is. He breathes fire.”

This is true. he probably does. Consider what we know in-universe, though.

Characters with heteromorphic quirks don’t have their physical attributes listed as a part of their quirks if they have a secondary characteristic.

Tokoyami is the most obvious example. He’s a bird person, but his quirk is dark shadow. The fact that he’s a bird man goes unmentioned because as far as anyone is concerned, the shadow monster is his power.

Characters like Spinner have their animal attributes listed as quirks, but that’s only because he can’t do anything a gecko wouldn’t. If he didn’t make his lizard powers his quirk he’d have nothing to put.

If Midoriya’s dad happened to be, say, a rabbit that could breathe fire, the fire quirk would be listed while the rabbit bit went unstated. In fact, in a roundabout way, the fire quirk makes rabbit dad even more plausible.

You see, most of the animal character designs in bnha are actually recycled from an old series horikoshi did called oumagadoki zoo. Mind you this isn’t a knock at horikoshi or anything. A lot of mangaka do this sort of thing. I’m mostly bringing it up because one of the main characters is a rabbit called Shiina

and one of the early gags in the series is him smoking a carrot like a cigar.

This would be very easy to translate to my hero academia’s setting if said character happened to breathe fire.

I should also say for those keeping score at home that I don’t necessarily think Hizashi is a Shiina expy specifically (tbh I kinda imagine him being more like a fluffy spike spiegel). At most I think it’s probably just some design motifs and some VERY loose plot points.

There is also the somewhat mild rebuttal of Midoriya never attempting to do anything rabbit-like while trying to see if he had a quirk, but I think that’s self explanatory. If Izuku was a rabbit he’d notice right away, so of course he didn’t bother checking.

**Part 3: Why He’s Absent **

Of course, another big question that might be on your mind is why he’s not present if that’s the simple truth of his identity. Why have him fail to show himself for what has now been 300 chapters?

I can think of two simple reasons:

1) It’s really funny

Just fuckin. The Mystique of it all. You can’t tell fans a character is going to show up eventually and fail to have them appear without piquing someone’s interest. It’s bound to make fans speculate, especially with the canon dabi twist hanging in the air. Years to imagine what his presence might entail if it was something big enough to be worth planning ahead for.

And then. Boom. Bunny.

Fucking. Hysterical.

2) The themes. Oh god the themes

You might have noticed by now but Horikoshi has a tendency of making like. The Shounen Jump equivalent to that rpg character you make as a joke that then has like. an undeniably tragic life when you’re actually forced to tackle with the implications of your own character building.

I would not be surprised if the Midoriyas ended up falling into that category.

So let’s get into that.

One of the big things that my hero academia attempts to tackle is the concept of normalcy.

Mostly how it’s kinda bullshit and, in many cases, outright harmful.

What makes this bit interesting within the context of Midoriya family is Izuku’s sort of. Artificial Plainness.

He is a character deliberately designed to look as normal as possible. The key word there is look. Basically anyone who’s been following the series long enough to be reading this post knows that the kid often struggles to keep his head down

which also makes it interesting that the only two scenes where Midoriya wears his rabbit cowl are scenes where he is actively questioning the status quo.

Methinks there is some symbolism here.

Which I guess brings us back to square one.

At the end of the day, the concept of Midoriya’s dad being a rabbit is funny because it’s so unexpected. Without him around, the Midoriyas look like a normal family.

But that’s also the kicker.

Without him around, the Midoriyas look like a normal family.

A lot of people are quick to call Izuku’s dad an absentee father, but technically speaking, we don’t quite know that yet. We’ve only been in a position where we don’t see him as the audience.

And, well, when your kid is being bullied for something as banal as being quirkless, you might not want to give society more ammunition to use against him.

It wouldn’t strike me as strange if he just avoided being seen in public with his son to keep him safe in his own way.

They say that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down the most. Under those circumstances, it’s not too hard to understand why the loosest nail might just feel safer wriggling out of the wood altogether.

[himbodemon]

HC: The brothers as KPop Stans

I have an itch to scratch.

Purely self-indulgent headcanons that sprung from the thought of Asmo dancing to HyunA like yes king serve it up

DISCLAIMER: All are fully fluffy/SFW except for Satan’s which is mildly suggestive.

LUCIFER:

Not a fan AT ALL. Finds it too loud and flashy & cannot understand why so many humans are infatuated by it

Gets wee woo by pristin stuck in his head and is FURIOUS about it

You’ll be hanging around in his room while he works, scrolling through your D.D.D when you hear him breathe out a deep little “we are pristin...” followed by a painfully disgruntled groan of annoyance. You try so hard not to laugh and fail.

Might end up occasionally listening to acoustic / orchestral covers and arrangements of some of your favourite songs so he can try and connect with you / understand your interests. 

If you forced him to pick, Fave singers / groups would be AKMU, IU and Hwasa (The instrumentals aren’t really his style but he finds her singing style / voice soothing and also she’s... gorgeous wow...)

MAMMON:

Yeah the music’s fine and all but people are paying $50 for Photocards!?!?!?

One of those people that buys like, 200 albums to get into a fansign, only to sell off the fansign ticket for an extortionate price

I fully believe that Mammon would like to visit MC’s room whenever he’s stressed out or overwhelmed, and they’d just sit and listen to music together - maybe subtly dancing along with their shoulders or tapping their feet but mostly just silently enjoying each other’s presence

You’re doing that one day when he tells you to play “That one song he likes”. You immediately know it’s ‘HYLT’ by Blackpink

Probably in love with the flashy MV’s, every time he sees a new model of car in the background he wants to buy one for himself

Fave groups would be BLACKPINK, BTS and EXO

LEVIATHAN:

100% in love with cutesy girlgroups

Will listen to Twice’s ‘candy pop’ on a loop for 12 hours straight because it’s so precious and bubbly and the girls are so cute??? plus he can pretend they’re still 2D waifus that way

Walks into your room to show you the new lightstick he just ordered, only to see you practicing the choreography to ‘cheer up’. Immediately flares up in a blush and BOLTS out at record speed

Please don’t dance around him his little weeb heart can’t take it

Every time he gets into a new group, it only takes him about a week before he’s fully memorised their online profiles and knows every single fanchant

Might get a little upset if you compliment an idols looks/visuals/talents because he’ll start comparing himself to them, says things like “W-Why would you be interested in me?? I’m not exactly Jungkook now am I???”. He knows it’s hypocritical with how overly invested he gets in idols but he is the avatar of envy after all, it can’t really be helped

Fave groups would be TWICE, K/DA (not his music style but pretty 2D catgirl makes his brain go brrrr) and Weeekly

SATAN:

You’re sat in the living room watching KPop MV’s, he walks past you and just so happens to see the AOA ‘Like a Cat’ MV on your D.D.D

You’ve successfully piqued his interest

Would ask you lots of questions about the industry, different groups, what you like about it etc..

Would do a lot of research into significant figures of the genre and probably knows every single detail about KPop Slave Contracts, if he’s feeling argumentative might ask how you can enjoy a form of media that treats its artists so badly

Any group with a jazz / sultry aspect is immediately going in his playlist. I know a lot of people put Satan down as a metal-lover and while I fully agree, I could also see him appreciating some nice brass music now and then.

Will never stop pestering you to dance to ‘Like A Cat’. From the first glance all he could imagine was you dancing to it in their stage outfits and... wow. 

Fave groups would be AOA, Mamamoo and EXID

ASMODEUS:

Absolutely 100% a KPop stan. He finds the experimental fashion, showy choreography and grandeur aesthetics so enticing and it’s 100% his style.

I HC Asmo as a big big dance fan, I think he’d adore how it can be dainty, strong or elusive fully depending on the way you perform it. He probably already knows tango, salsa, pole dancing and ballet and spends a bunch of his free time learning his favourite choreographies (the main ones being Chungha’s ‘gotta go’, EXO’s ‘Love shot’, Red Velvet’s ‘bad boy’ and HyunA’s ‘how’s this’ or ‘Lip & Hip’)

Diavolo decides to hold a Devildom talent show at the end of the semester to celebrate the exchange program going well. Asmo IMMEDIATELY calls you asking you to perform ‘Naughty’ by Irene & Seulgi with him. You both rehearse it in secret and fully tear up the stage when the talent show rolls around. You win, which he fully expected, and leave the brothers in a mix of confusion, adoration and embarrassment. 

Thirsts over the idols as if his life depends on it. The prettiest idols for him to look at and fantasize about are BTS’ V, Weki Meki’s Doyeon (Only in the stuff she performed as an adult post-IOI), EXO’s Suho, (G)I-DLE’S Soojin and SNSD’s Tiffany

Fave groups would be: Every Single SM Group he’s such a whipped SM Stan

Red Velvet are all beautiful, SHINee’s vocals are delicious, EXO’s discography is... the perfect level of lewd for him, F(x)’s unique style is beautiful and WOW Luna’s solo work is just his style, but his most most loved SM group is Girl’s Generation and he will NOT hesitate to bust into a fully rehearsed performance as soon as he hears ‘the boys’ on your playlist.

BEELZEBUB:

Has never heard of KPop before you introduce it to him. You were both cuddling together in his room while he snacked on the gummies you’d bought him, listening to you excitedly ramble about this new KPop group that you thought he’d like!

A die-hard metalhead, can’t enjoy any music that doesn’t hurt his ears a little bit, so he’s already mentally preparing how he’ll pretend to like it and is just grateful that you were thinking of him, when suddenly his eyes are met with Dreamcatcher’s ‘Chase Me’ MV

And wow. Wow. This isn’t what he was expecting at all. Electric guitar? drums?... NOT bubblegum pop?

Doesn’t become a major fan but definitely adds a lot of the heavier songs from their discography to his gym playlist, still happily listens to your excited ramblings and talks about other groups, but will probably pay a bit more attention if you mention a Dreamcatcher comeback.

Fave groups: Exclusively Dreamcatcher, but also likes ‘Clap’ by seventeen as an exception since he finds the guitar riff mixed into the instrumental cool.

BELPHEGOR:

Not interested. Similarly to Lucifer finds it too loud, too bright and too in-your-face

Not a huge music lover in general, but can tolerate some easy-on-the-ears gentle songs. Has a soft spot for Melanie Martinez & Lo-Fi.

You can try all you want to convince him to enjoy it, show him whatever cutesy MV’s you want, as many live stages or variety shows as possible, even the sweetest most gentle kdrama OST, he’s not interested.

You send him ‘ZZZ’ by LimeSoda jokingly and tell him it’s his theme-song, he’s not amused.

Fave groups: None.

Songs he’ll tolerate if you’re listening to them: Pporappippam - Sunmi, Why So Lonely - Wonder Girls, Butterfly - LOONA, Night Rather Than Day - EXID, Kazino - BiBi

[beatriceeagle]

I'm more of a fantasy than sci-fi person, but consider my interest piqued. Why should I watch farscape?

Okay, the thing is, every Farscape fan’s pitch on Why You, Yes You, Should Watch Farscape ends up sounding very similar, and that’s because Farscape is a black hole that sucks you in and does things to your brain, and after you’ve watched it you are never, ever the same, which incidentally is basically the plot of Farscape.

I would summarize the basic plot for you, but that’s work, and luckily, the show’s credits sequence includes a handy summary that I will provide instead of doing that work: “My name is John Crichton, an astronaut. A radiation wave hit, and I got shot through a wormhole. Now I’m lost in some distant part of the universe on a ship, a living ship, full of strange alien life forms. Help me. Listen, please. Is there anybody out there who can hear me? I’m being hunted by an insane military commander. Doing everything I can. I’m just looking for a way home.“

So let me break down that monologue into its component reasons you should watch Farscape.

1) Some of the strange alien life forms are Muppets.

Farscape a co-production with the Jim Henson Company, and while there are many aliens played by humans in make-up, there are also a considerable number (including two of the regular crew) who are Muppets. By which I do not mean Kermit. I mean really gorgeous, elaborate works of art.

Also, even a lot of the humans-in-makeup aliens just look cool, and incredibly weird. Here’s an alien who appears in a single episode of season 1:

Not that there aren’t, you know, occasional Star Trek-style “these guys are just humans with weird hair,” or whatever, but in general, the aliens on Farscape look really alien. And that’s more than an aesthetic choice; it’s Farscape’s driving narrative principle. The aliens look alien, they act alien, they have alien values.

You know how a lot of sci-fi shows will have a stand-in for “fuck,” like Battlestar Galactica has “frak”? Well, Farscape has “frell.” And also “dren.” And yotz, hezmana, mivonks, loomas, tralk, snurch, eema, drannit, dench, biznak, arn, drad, fahrbot, narl. Some of those are swear words, but some of them are just words, never explicitly translated, that the alien characters will pepper into their speech, because, well, why should translator microbes be able to completely translate all the nuances of an alien culture? You’ll pick it up from context. One time, in passing, a character mentions that he’s familiar with the concept of suicide, but there’s no word for it in his language. I cannot emphasize to you enough how fleeting this moment is; the episode is not about suicide, we’re not having a great exchange of cultural ideas—at the time, the characters are running down a corridor in a crisis, as they are about 70 percent of the time—it’s just that the subject got brought up, and this character needed to talk around the fact that he literally didn’t have a word, in that moment. Things like that happen all the time, on Farscape.

Because more than anything else, Farscape is a show about culture shock. John Crichton is this straight, white Southern guy, at the top of his game—he’s an astronaut! he’s incredibly high status!—and then he ends up on the other side of the galaxy, where none of his cultural markers of privilege hold any meaning, where he doesn’t know the rules, where he literally can’t even open the doors. And he has to unlearn the idea that humanity is central, that he is the norm.

2) John Crichton, an astronaut, is pretty great.

A show that’s about a straight white guy with high status having to learn that he’s not the center of the universe could easily be centered around a really insufferable person, but one of the subtle things that makes Farscape so wonderful is that Crichton is, for the most part, pretty excellent. He has a lot of presumptions to unlearn because almost anyone in his cultural position would, but he’s also just a stand-up guy: compassionate, intelligent, open-minded, decent, forgiving, brave, hopeful.

And the galaxy tries to kick a whole lot of that out of him. It doesn’t succeed, mostly, but if Farscape is about anything other than culture shock, it’s about the lasting effects of trauma. How you can go through a wormhole one person, and experience things that turn you into someone you don’t recognize.

That’s kind of grim-sounding, but ultimately, what I’m trying to say is that Farscape is almost fanatically devoted to character work. Crichton is not the only character who sounds like he should be one thing and ends up being another. All of the characters—all of them, all of them, even the annoying ones—are complicated wonders. And you don’t have to wonder whether the events of the episode you’re watching are going to matter. They will. Everything that happens to the characters leaves a mark. Everything leaves them forever changed. Whether it’s mentioned explicitly or not—and often enough, it’s not explicit—the characters remember what has happened to them.

3) The living ship houses a lot of excellent women, among them the ship itself.

Ah, the women of Farscape, thou art the loves of my fucking life.

There’s Aeryn Sun, former Peacekeeper (that’s the military that the “insane military commander” hails from) now fugitive, currently learning the meaning of the word “compassion” (literally). She will break your fingers and also your heart. John/Aeryn is the main canon romantic ship.

There’s Pa’u Zhoto Zhaan, a priestess of the ninth level, current pacifist, former anarchist. Sorry, leading anarchist. She orgasms in bright light! (Oh my god, Farscape.)

There’s Chiana, my fucking bestie, a teenage(ish? ages in Farscape are weird) fugitive on the run from a repressive authoritarian state. Chiana is like a seductress con artist grifter thief who mostly just wants to survive so that she can have fun, damn it. Characters on Farscape do not really discuss sexualities (sex, yes, sexualities, no) and it would be fair to say that several of them do not fall along human sexuality lines generally, but I’m gonna go ahead and say that Chiana is canonically not straight.

Then there’s Moya, the ship herself, and it’s hard to get a straight read on Moya’s personality, since she mostly can’t speak. But she definitely has opinions, and things and people she cares about. And she moves the plot, though that gets into spoiler territory.

Past first season, further excellent women show up: Jool (controversial, but I like her), Sikozu (I once saw a Tumblr meme where someone had marked down that Sikozu would lose her shit when someone pronounced “gif” wrong, and that’s absolutely correct, and it’s why I love her), and Noranti (who is incredibly weird, and incredibly hard to summarize, but man, you gotta love her willingness to just show up and do her thing). Plus, there’s a recurring female villain, Grayza, who I could write probably multiple essays about. (I don’t know how you will feel about Grayza, as not everyone loves her, but I think she’s fucking fascinating, especially because she’s not actually the only recurring female villain. We also get Ahkna!)

(Side note: I should mention, here, that the cast of Farscape is really, really white. There is one cast member of color, Lani Tupu, but he pretty much represents the entirety of even, like, incidental diversity in casting for the series.)

Anyway, Farscape is full of awesome women, and also awesome and unexpected men, and it really enjoys playing with audience expectations of gender roles, generally. Literal entire books have been written about the way that Farscape fucks around with sex, sexuality, and gender. It’s a little weird because it was the late 90s/early 2000s, and sometimes that does come through, but Farscape’s guiding principle was always to try not to present American culture of the time as the norm, so like. It is not.

(An aside on Farscape and sex: Literally every character on Farscape has sexual tension with every other character. If you are a shipper, this is a Good Show, because no matter who you ship, there will not only be subtext, you will get a Moment of some kind. Multiple characters kiss the Muppet. Farscape is dedicated to getting into the nitty-gritty of the galaxy—I like to think of it as showing the guts of the universe—so a lot of the show is kind of squishy. They live on a biomechanoid ship, instead of androids there are “bioloids,” there’s a lot of focus on strange alien biologies, and lots of weird glowing fluids and things. I think the sex thing is kind of part and parcel of the larger biology focus: Farscape is really fascinated with how we all eat and evolve and live and die and, well, fuck. Which is in turn, kind of part of its focus on making everything really alien.)

4) Other stuff you should know.

Farscape as a whole is excellent, but it was kind of the product of creative anarchy—an Australian/American coproduction (oh yeah, everyone except Crichton speaks with an Australian accent) that was also partnered with the Henson company, whose showrunners were based in America but whose actual production all took place in Australia, and who was just constantly trying new things. So individual episodes can vary wildly in quality. It really takes off in the back half of season one, but no season is without a few off episodes.

It is extraordinarily funny, and I really think I haven’t stressed that enough. It’s one of the shows I want to quote the most in my daily life, but almost all of its humor is really context-dependent, and if you just wander around going, “Hey Stark? What’s black and white, and black and white, and black and white?” people look at you really funny.

It’s very conversant with pop culture generally (although obviously sci-fi  specifically, and Star Trek most specifically of all) and really enjoys deconstructing tropes, often to the effect of, “Well, Crichton really does not know what to do here, does he?” but sometimes just to be interesting.

There are also a lot of themes about science, and its uses and misuses.

The whole thing is fucking epic, and if you get invested at all, will take you on an emotional ride.

This show is weird. I know that that’s probably come across by now, but I think it’s worth reiterating as its own point: Farscape is so weird. Like, proudly, unabashedly, trying its hardest, weird. An amazing kind of weird.

If you’re into fantasy, you should know that there’s a recurring villain who’s just a wizard. Like, they don’t bother to explain it any more than that, he’s just a fucking wizard.

In summary: You should watch Farscape because it is a weird, wild, emotional, epic romance/drama/action/allegory full of Muppets and leather and one-liners and emotional gut punches and love, and if you let it, it will worm its way into you and never let go, which, now that I think of it, is another Farscape plot.

Send me meta prompts to distract me from my migraine!

[nerdymom4]

A getting to know you thing I was tagged in by the delightful @demonweasel

1: What to you preferred to be called (name-wise)? Ashley or Princess 👑

2: When is your birthday? September 18th

3: Where do you live? Arizona

4: Three things you are doing right now?

Watching Wall-e, sitting on the couch, and texting this guy from my dart league

5: Four fandoms that have piqued your interest? Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Marvel and DC

6: How has the pandemic been treating you? I was a stay at home mom before and still am! Now there are less things for us to go do tho to get out of the house

7: What a song you can’t stop listening to?Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria has recently popped back up on my playlist and I listen to it all the time right now!

8: Recommend a tv show/movie: Gotham is one that I lived but I don’t think it got very popular! Also my best friend and I binge watch The Bold Type (it’s more for the ladies tho)

9: How old are you? 28

10: School, university, occupation? High school graduate, never went to college, and now I’m a stay at home mom

11: Do you prefer to be hot or cold? Cold!! I can always bundle up easier than I can cool off!

12: Name a fact others may not know about you? When I was 3 I had my pinky partially cut off by getting slammed in a door

13: Are you shy? In person, yes!

14: What are your pronouns? She/her

15: Biggest pet peeve? When I am talking to a single person or group and no one even acknowledges that I’m speaking.

16. How would you describe the personality traits you like most in other people? Gotta have a great sense of humor and be able to keep up with my sarcasm! Also being kind and caring for people, even if you don’t know them

17: Rate your life 1-10? Honestly depends on the day for me. I’d say like a 5 overall. Could be happier but it could be worse.

18: What is your main blog? Dis my only blog

19: List all your side blogs and what are they for? Don’t have any

20: Is there anything people should know before becoming friends with you? I’m really weird 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’ll tag @vee-aye-en, @tattoovonbeardy, @a-torrid-affair, @anime-daydream, @valkyrusfiend, @dirt99, @zombearzilla, @zoxiii!! Only if you want to of course

[mashounen2003]

Sonic opinions - 1

Honestly, I think it's time for me to give closure to the “Sonic fan phase” of my life. I’ll keep playing the games if they pique my interest, but in terms of the stories they tell and how their characters are portrayed, these games no longer appeal to me. The comic currently published by IDW isn’t complete garbage nor does it have so much drama and controversy surrounding it, in addition to having Whisper and Tangle, two characters I really like at least on a conceptual level, but the story and characterizations are leaving me deeply disappointed and sometimes fall even lower than the recent games written by Pontac & Graff, namely with regard to the characterization of Sonic himself.

The continuity of the TV series Sonic SatAM and the comics published by Archie was always the branch of the franchise that truly caught my attention and is my main source of inspiration for writing stories; in fact, SatAM was the way I found out about Sonic and became a fan in the first place. But this “North-American continuity” is already as dead as the Mega Man Legends saga, and it looks like the vast majority want to forget it as if each and every one of its elements and ideas inherently had just been a massive nightmare regardless of its execution by the writers. At best, the fandom currently sees this branch of Sonic as some silly “edgy” attempt to take the franchise seriously, something that may have been laudable but was always foolish and doomed to fail and is such a risky gamble that it's not worth trying again.

I'm also getting fed up with the Sonic fandom in general, despite sharing a lot of opinions with some individual fans. Yes, I know there are already many who have declared this for the most varied reasons, be it the “shipp wars”, something in Sonic or even the franchise as a whole suddenly becoming “cringe” due to a whim of a majority portion of the fandom, or the way Sonic reuses "hackneyed" tropes in an alleged demonstration of lack of originality; however, when someone gives Sonic the middle finger for this kind of reasons, they usually do it hypocritically.

No, what got me tired of the Sonic fandom is the way everyone becomes obsessed with picking one branch of the franchise, calling it "the true Sonic", claiming this is the only pure and genuine incarnation of the ���soul of Sonic” (if there really is such a thing), marking as “foreigner” every character, concept or element from any other branch of the franchise, and demanding from the fans of those other branches to get on their knees and be thankful that the "True Fans (TM)" even allow them to stay in the fandom. Note that I’m not accusing fans of only one specific portion of the franchise: there are such people among fans of the videogames’ continuity, @skull001 being probably the worst offender, but there’s also that kind of people among the SatAM and Archie-Sonic fans, such as the “nostalgic” delusional pissbabies, blatantly homophobic and conservative, who are now supporting Twitter hashtags like “Rally4Sally” and “Udon4Sonic”. You may think this is actually something typical of all fandoms, but it’s not: this is truly something unique to the Sonic fandom; I don't see huge hordes of Mega Man fans bullying the Legends fandom or making fun of them for the way their favourite saga ended two decades ago; even in the Dragon Ball fandom, despite constant discussions about what is canon and what is not, there’s some kind of tacit consensus that GT and Super are two offshoots of the franchise, equally valid although not coexisting in one same fictional universe (although Shūeisha itself seems to officially support this view, which certainly helps prevent some discourse), while the only part of Dragon Ball universally despised (and rightly so) is Dragon Ball Evolution.

I'm sorry if this hurts some people’s sensibilities, but if I decide to write a story with any given set of characters, elements, concepts, setting, internal rules and whatnot, the only thing in my mind will be to write a mildly decent story. I'm not here to “honour” -let alone honour at all costs- some supposed legacy and traditions that some people say should be upheld by each and every Sonic content creator. And let’s be brutally frank: we’re talking about a franchise that started as platformer 16-bit videogames whose sole purpose was to show SEGA’s consoles were better and handled speed better than Nintendo's; SEGA never really intended to tell a story or portray its characters consistently, only later did the cast begin to receive more defined personalities and the games start telling stories because SEGA suddenly saw this would make them sell more, and even that varied wildly according to whatever seemed more convenient at the time; not to mention SEGA's unique habit of entering vicious cycles of failure and over-correction, where Sonic Team makes a few mistakes in a game that did everything else more or less well, SEGA throws away the entire game along with the foundations on which it was built and the story that was told by that game, Sonic Team makes a new game with absolutely everything replaced and makes mistakes again but those mistakes are different from those of the previous game, the process is repeated ad nauseam and no-one is ever satisfied with anything. A few Sonic fans trying to impose on every other fan a supposed single Sonic canon with some kind of official approval seal by SEGA & Sonic Team is something quite backward, because that single official canon almost never really existed, and if it does exist, it makes no sense and is internally inconsistent, dependent on the creation of new games, and very likely to be retconned, overwritten and modified at any time.

There are other "bad habits" of the Sonic fandom that have led me to break ties with them. One of them is the way many fans take one trait of a character, be it simply one of many facets of their personality or even a physical trait, and turn that into the entire personality of the character; many of those same fans are also massive hypocrites, complaining (albeit rightfully) about how SEGA oversimplifies Shadow into either “Sasuke the Hedgehog” or “Vegeta the Hedgehog”, but then they do the same as SEGA. One of the cases in which this is most evident is when they make Sonic's personality boil down to "gotta go fast" and "be a free spirit"; based on that, they denounce that Sonic saying "I would slow down for you" to one of his closest friends (even if Sonic and Sally weren’t a couple when he said that and/or you don’t support that shipp, it can be said she was at least one of his closest friends in the SatAM-Archie continuity) contradicts the very essence of the character, or they do something even worse: saying that "being a free spirit" means being away from your friends and not having "ties" (like... literal ties, made with ropes, the ones that are actually a bad thing) with anything or anyone. It's like when Goku is portrayed by Dragon Ball fans as far more insensitive than the actual way Akira Toriyama had conceived him and always wrote and portrayed him in his official work.

There are also the plainly disturbing ideas many fans seem to have about personal relationships, judging by the opinions they give about the relationships of Sonic and the rest of the cast. In addition to making everything revolve around vaguely defined words and concepts they throw right and left almost without thinking about their actual meaning, they also seem to believe that having friends and caring for them, or any kind of responsibility no matter what kind it is, is nothing but a drag, like rat-s*** stopping you on your way to "freedom" (this is just amazing: they say the entire Western canon is edgy and the British comic’s Sonic is a jerk, but if you think about this for a bit, these fans’ version of Sonic turns out to be even edgier and more of a jerk than Shadow in his spin-off videogame); in the case of Archie-Sonic, there are all the abuse apologists supporting Scourge and Fiona being a couple, even though you don’t need any “meta” analysis to see he’s (at the very least) verbally abusive towards her and had attracted her by posing as someone else in the first place.

[heartcravings]

twenty questions tag

thank you @diamozi and @jongin-be-my-jagi for tagging me! sorry it took me so long to actually reply tho! 

1. what do you prefer to be called name-wise?

sam

2. when is your birthday?

a little after winter’s solstice, 26th december. 

3. where do you live?

portugal

4. three things you are doing right now?

hm, trying to have better routines (like sleeping and eating and drinking more water), be more focused on my thesis work (so that i can move on with my life) and also trying to draw more consistently because it really makes me happy.  

5. four fandoms that have piqued your interest?

I don’t think I am a fan of anything else other than exo and even to them I am a lousy fan type of person. I just love what I love and that is that I guess.

6. how has the pandemic been treating you?

so-so? I was on a hard journey already and when it came it certainly didn’t help me. quite on the contrary, I felt like I regressed so much in my mental state, my motivation and concentration dropped and I developed a certain level of anxiety I wasn’t used to. but I feel like I had to go through these hardships to grow and learn more about myself. I’m slowly (very slowly!) getting back on horse and in control of my life. hopefully I'll continue to grow and steadily increase stability in my emotional/mental side. I hope it gets easier to find some happy too. 

7. a song you can’t stop listening to right now?

last week I was working on my gluttony art and I listened to it a lot. today I listened to ending by yeule around 4 times? i'm not one to listen to the same music on loop all day, rather listen to it everyday instead. but sometimes some songs get to me and I can’t let them go right a way.

8. recommend a movie?

somehow I've been thinking of Little Forest: Summer/Autumn and Little Forest: Winter/Spring a lot lately. It’s a 2014 japanese adaptation of a manga and it is so wholesome. I definitely recommend  for some peaceful time.

9. how old are you?

a little older than kim minseok (not by a lot, but still an 80s baby) 

10. school, university, occupation, other?

finishing my phd. 

11. do you prefer heat or cold?

cold, cold cold! (I can always dress warmer, hide under blankets or drink hot beverages!) 12. name one fact others may not know about you?

I got an email last weekend of a friend I first met in Transylvania 7 years ago. The total amount of time physically shared between us in the same space was around 6 weeks. We randomly met twice in the same year in our lives. 7 years without talking to each other or even following each other on social media. And he wrote me the most amazing letter last weekend. It’s really cool to know that the people who touch you deeply sometimes were touched back just as much. 

13. are you shy?

I don’t think so? i open better in one on one relationships though. in group settings it depends:

. if I'm surrounded by people I don’t know at all, I'm friendly and quiet but I approach people first or show that I am open to be talked to and try to mingle and meet new people.  . if I'm surrounded by my group of friends and they bring someone I don’t know to the group, I try to be kind and make them feel welcomed but I'm more quiet and observant. . if I'm surrounded by people I feel safe with, I'm just me: happy and silly if happy or quiet and observant if I need a little more energy to interact. . if there are people that I don’t feel comfortable with around me, my energy tends to drop significantly and I hide more. (pro at blending with the wall ^^)

but amongst all the scenarios I always tend to have my moments of solitude, being inside my own head, lost in thought, daydreams, etc. so if I'm suddenly quiet I'm probably noticing how you touch your ear lobe when you get nervous, or how your left eye has a little dot, or how the clouds look like bunnies right now, or how the light makes my cats hair shine in warm gold tones... you get it xD  

14. preferred pronouns?

she/her due to the social norms I grew up with. but those are just labels right?  

15. biggest pet peeve?

I don’t like saliva... not even my own? idk if this counts. 

16. what is your favorite “dere” type?

oh idk, almost all of the ‘deres’ have their charm. but I think I relate more to dandere? i think i’m just a dandere (silent type) trying to be a kuudere (cool type) but ending up like bakadere (clumsy type) xD

17. rate your life 1-10, 1 being crappy and 10 being the best it could be:

since once upon a time it was already an 8 (saving the 9 and 10 for a the possibility of being better) I'd say right now it is a 5/6. 

18. what’s your main blog?

this!

19. list your side blogs and what they’re used for:

hm, I had @100daystofinishmyphd but I haven’t used it at all. I have another recent one but it is (for now) a sort of secret dairy log, sry! 

20. is there anything people need to know about you before becoming friends?

I'm very demanding with myself. I don’t judge others easily. I used to wear my heart out on my sleeve but life happens and now i hide it a lot more. once I love you, I love you forever. but I will still need time alone once in a while, so i tend to disappear sometimes. 

I think everyone already did this but I'll tag: @byuns-coco @xiuminscheeks @thedeviousdo @delhyun @yeolville @kyungseokie​ @bacon-notbaekhyun-jaehyun-mingyu​ @bikeryeollie​ @hkynm​ @guardians-of-exo​ and everyone else who’d like to be a little closer with me! (of course you don’t need to do this, we can just talk on pm ^^)

[interstellix]

🌻 get to know me 🌻

this was pre fun, thank you sweets for tagging me @kachulein!! :’)

🌻 what do you prefer to be called name wise? depends on who's asking! i'm actually not so picky as long as it's not my actual name (given they're aware i don't like it). in general i prefer nine, which is a nickname my family and most of my friends call me by, but admittingly not sure how i feel about being called that online. vivi, also a common nickname of mine, works just as fine either way tho and other than that, oddly enough a lot of my friends have their own nicknames for me :)

🌻 when is your birthday? december 5th ❄

🌻 where do you live? sweden

🌻 three things you are doing right now? watching my favorite talk show, drinking tea and just resting :)

🌻 four fandoms that have piqued your interest right now? not sure about piqued but lately i've been getting more and more involved than i already was in mamamoo, ateez, the boyz and seventeen's fandoms basically i'm turning more into a clown than i already am.

🌻 how's the pandemic treating you? so-so, i'd say? in a way it's not that different, seeing how even before the pandemic my socially anxious ass often spent a lot of time at home doing diy works, editing, writing and even work (as it's something i can do from home as well). i did notice though that being forced, or like recommended to stay at home is a lot more torturing than when you do it on own free will haha. i'm also missing some friends and going to certain places :(

🌻 a song you can't stop listening to right now? oof i can't just name one lmao so,,,

the boyz – salty

mamamoo – hip

khalid – talk

namika – lieblingsmensch

🌻 recommend a movie? intouchables is really, really good, no joke when i say i bawled my eyes out, literally just that touching :'(

🌻 how old are you? going 20

🌻 school, university, occupation, other? i'm not in school nor uni but am currently studying a physics class. i also do secretary work at a company and work at a hair salon :')

🌻 do you prefer hot or cold? fjdkdk that's a hard one but i think i'll go with hot. i'm awful with heat, always gives me a headache and just feels really uncomfortable. onnn the other hand, my body starts hurting stupid easily from the cold and i :') no :')

🌻 name one fact others may not know about you? i- ... i’m sorry i’m not much of an interesting person so i really can’t come up w any interesting facts or secrets or stuff lmao

🌻 are you shy? i don’t think shy even begins to explain it djdskjdsk. i am shy ye, quite a lot hhhh

🌻 do you have any preferred pronouns? she/her

🌻 any pet peeves? people who interrupt you while you're talking 🙂 it literally takes so much of my willpower to not break smth oof. also, if there’s something i really, really hate, it’s when people just. can’t. cough. or. sneeze into the inside of their elbow, like please i-

🌻 what's your favorite "dere" type? not a question i often think about but perhaps dandere :0

🌻 rate your life 1-10. currently i’m going back and forth between 4 and 6

🌻 what's your main blog? this one!

🌻 list your side blogs and what they are used for. let's keep this one a secret 😌

🌻 is there anything you think people need to know about you before being friends with you? oof there are a few things yeah haha. if we’re talking online, something that def should be known is that i can be v v slow at answering messages. i’m not sure how to put it in words, it’s not that i don’t want to talk to my friends, but i’m often either too anxious or too drained of energy to answer for a good while :/ i’m also god awful at putting my thoughts into words, especially over text. other than that, i’ve never really been comfortable enough to let people irl know this but i wish irl friends or “soon-to-be friends” would know that i pretty damn often feel absolutely run over by social anxiety. this goes even with my closest friends so like, whenever i say no to some plans, cancel last minute or act a bit off while hanging out with friends somewhere, i often get misunderstood for not wanting to be with them, hence coming off as rude but really, it’s just out of anxiety lmao

not sure who’s up for doing it, not a must butbut! @soulkhunscompass @astronomlns @tetsusbabe @0325-4419

[gxymlky]

Master Bio: Aristhea Veritas

BASIC INFORMATION

Name || Aristhea Suzuran Veritas [ne. Plume]

Nickname || Thea

Character Type || spellcaster (another term for mages who doesn’t practice the typical mage lifestyle), master

Gender || female

Birthdate || November 30, 1999

Age || 21

Height || 155 cm

Weight || 43 kg

Origin || Inure

Inure is Aristhea’s origin. Something that one is accustomed to negativity or anything horrendous happening around her, she is solemn or unwavering about it. People perceived her as heartless because of this, but whether it's a coping mechanism or not, she is fully aware that it is something that she couldn't deviate herself from. Also comes from the fact, she experience painful sensation on her body when or after performing magecraft comes with acceptance that this is what she is. However, just because she is accustomed to anything horrendous happening doesn't mean she isn't capable of showing emotions on joyous moments.

Character Alignment || Chaotic Neutral

Affiliation || Chaldea Security Organization

Elemental Affinity || Hollow (Imaginary Numbers)

Magic Circuit Quality || C+

Magic Circuit Quantity || C

Likes || 

pastel colors

Lolita fashion

early morning walks

Magical girl anime genre

true crime

going to the local library

photography

Dislikes ||

centipedes

snakes (figuratively and literally)

traffic

Magus society 

alleyways 

closed spaces

confrontation

BACKGROUND ||

The Plumes are of noble blood that had been around since the time the Roman Empire was declined and settled in British Isles, their background is similar to the Fragas except they had affair with the fairies resulting in the descendants having fairy blood, though at the cost of having side effects affecting their well-being depending on how much effort they are willing to use, they also have a long history of sacrificing their offsprings with strong fairy blood as they have a short lifespan and are seen only as battery to fuel the lineage.

The Plumes possessed Fae, a quality of hereditary trait found in their genes, allows to summon fairies as familiars at their will, Imaginary Numbers, Hollow and Fire element are the main source of their magecraft.

Unlike the Fragas, they are nobles and their name soon catches the attention of the Association, fearing for their safety and in fear they would be put under Sealing Designation, the Plumes changed their name from Plume to Veritas and hid in obscurity for a while. They decided to practice magecraft in secret and not to let it affect their lifestyle. While they still live a comfortable lifestyle, they prefer to lay low and live a decent life.

Aristhea was born to Arina Koei and Uriel Plume as the first daughter, she has abnormal magical energy and mediocre magic circuits causing her to be born fragile. As a result, Uriel gave Aristhea to his mother, Isolde where Isolde raised her and taught her how to control her thaumaturgy. She gets occasional visits from her mother and father. So far, her childhood has ups and downs but doesn’t include a beating when she makes a mistake, her only traumatic memory was where she lost control of her body and fell down the stairs leaving in a pool of dark, red almost black blood. 

Aristhea was around 5 when Rene, her younger brother was born, around that time, Arina died a few months due to the strain of Rene’s birth. Aristhea took care of Rene followed by their aunt, Cosette. She is homeschooled in her primary days but was allowed to enter Elementary and Secondary school but wore a Mystic Code to prevent her from bleeding as side effects. 

Her father Uriel is often away on a business trip but shows that he cares for his children greatly by coming home during holidays and their birthdays.

PERSONALITY

Aristhea is known to have eccentric, complex personality, she can’t make decisions or would take very long time to make them as she is continually fighting what to do if she chose one choice or branching them making more imaginary scenarios and making things complicated. She also has a habit of zoning out or not paying attention to scenarios deeming to others if she was stupid or challenged. She also makes sarcastic comments sometimes at the wrong timing causing her to go into trouble.

Despite this, she is known to be crafty and calculated, at times using her head to think outside the box and use whatever means to get what she wants, she is also good with reading emotions of other people and using it against them, calm and precise, she also has a way of getting back to them in the most creative way possible whether inflicting physical harm or emotionally breaking them, though she also refuses to admit defeat or humiliation when it doesn’t go her way. 

Aristhea may be distant, aloof or even downright, intimidating thanks to her scornful and contempt expression, but this was simply the work of her origin, Inure causing her indifference over negative situations or unfortunate things happening around, people cite her as a callous individual, perhaps she herself cite this as this is how she looks onto herself. But just because it’s her origin doesn’t mean she isn’t capable of showing moments of joy. It was simply because she was a selective young woman when it comes to who she would show her sweet, amicable side. She has a big, sisterly love to her younger brother as a promise she kept to her mother in her dying moments.

How she speaks is direct and short when it comes to strangers as she have no interest in a short talk unless it piqued her interest.

She loves reading books but shows little to no interest on growing technology, but still handles around gadgets such as phone and laptop to get on with the trend but overall, she loves the aesthetic of papers, especially old books and their scent. Her favorite book/s overall are Tristan and Iseult especially as it’s the book her grandmother read to her during bedtime and the Tale of Genji as well as classics such as Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott and of course, Erotica novels. Yes, she also read Eroticas even bad ones.

APPEARANCE

Aristhea is a young, attractive woman with fair complexion and dirty white, long hair with bangs cut above her eyes. She wears a simple, white shirt and a skirt with black stockings and some shoes but overall, she wears anything she finds stylish herself. Aristhea owns a lot of frilled clothing 90% of those are from her grandmother back in her youth.

ABILITIES

Her elemental attributes is Hollow or better known as Imaginary Numbers, it is usually associated with children born with Fae blood, and as mentioned before, the stronger the mixed blood where, the better, but comes with a short lifespan. Though, Amiya was a unique case as she hoards souls of tormented children that where sacrificed for the family's personal gain, their hatred is so powerful in fact that whenever Aristhea performs her attack on her opponent, their hatred is channeled through her forcing her to convert her body's entire nervous system initially then her muscular system, adding more magic circuits to eradicate a single target. Similar manner to Illyasviel's NP but more fatal as it causes rupture in her internal organs. She practices witchcraft in her past time but rarely does it as she refused sacrificing animals or even using her blood whenever she wanted too. Similar case to Erice Utsumi, unlike Erice, she manifests magical energy from her palms which requires practice and intense training and uses a Mystic Code in form of a Lance to channel through her magecraft. 

Besides magic, she uses a Lance given to her by her aunt as training where she channels her magical energy to enhance it but it’s much weaker due to the Mystic Code’s nature in suppressing its holder to make sure she doesn’t collapse from the aftermath.

RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER CHARACTERS/SERVANTS:

Isolde Veritas: Rene and Aristhea’s grandmother, she is a stern, firm, no-nonsense woman who nurtures her grandchildren. Coming from a toxic, mage background, she understood what was going on and made sure to make up lies in order to not let her grandchildren pick up their ways as she finds there’s no happiness attained to it. However, she is stricter to Aristhea when training only to benefit her granddaughter and made sure she isn’t fragile or vulnerable when she is on her own.

Arina Koei: mother of Aristhea and Rene, she is a loving and kind mother coming from a decaying bloodline, she is completely unaware of her husband’s dark past and unstable behavior, she willingly chose to give birth to Rene and keeping promise to Uriel to love their children as much as she loves him. Her death is one of the factor of Uriel’s paranoia.

Cosette Veritas: Cosette is Isolde’s younger daughter, Rene and Aristhea’s aunt. Like her mother, she is painfully aware of how shady and corrupt mages are and has no interest in finding the Root, only sees magecraft as something of a hobby. 

Horacio Lope: a mage, an intern in Chaldea like her. He found her to be quite odd. That’s because of her thaumaturgy allows him to see spirits and they happen to be hostile towards him. Horacio and Aristhea have a brother/sister dynamic that has their own vicissitudes.

Template Credit: Θεός

[gunnerpalace]

YoruIchiRuki (Neapolitan Ice Cream) AUs & Headcanons

(Art by @371am​, used with permission and originally posted here; if you like it, please go show your appreciation!)

INTRODUCTION & CONTINUITIES

YoruIchiRuki, or variously YIR, The Idiots, or Neapolitan Ice Cream (so named because Yoruichi: chocolate, Ichigo: strawberry, Rukia: vanilla) is my AU-only OT3 of choice, and I’m here to talk about their major AUs and my headcanons for them! Most of the notes I have are from discussions some years ago with @sequencefairy (Jess), although many other people have contributed as well and I will try to point them out as and when possible. If you find this post interesting, please give me your feedback!

As YIR is explicitly AU-only (because it doesn’t really make any sense at all in anything even really remotely resembling “canonical” Bleach) it’s probably prudent to go over its contexts first. The major AUs are as follows:

Grounded! Modern Continuity - What might be called the “prime” YIR continuity, Grounded! is the original timeline, set in a No Powers, Human, and Modern alternate-history in which Japan colonized the West Coast of North America. Rukia, Yoruichi, and Ichigo are drawn together in a series of comic (yet sometimes angsty) circumstances in the midst of the worst snowstorm in ages, and become entangled going forward. Its revised outline can be seen here, its namesake fic here, and other fics set in its timeline here (with two more associated fics here and here). I am attempting to get back to continuing the main fic in the near future.

Western Continuity - Set earlier in the above timeline (but technically in a parallel universe version of it), the as-yet unnamed Western Continuity is intended to be an east-meets-west fusion set in the Wild West, reminiscent of things such as Sukiyaki Western Django. Currently largely undeveloped. There is, however, a post about some of the aesthetics here.

Samurai Continuity - The as-yet unnamed Samurai Continuity is much the same as Western Continuity, except set earlier still during the Edo period and drawing major inspiration from Samurai Champloo, with Ichigo in a role like Mugen, Yoruichi in a role like Jin, and Rukia in a role like Fuu (searching for Byakuya, “the samurai who smells of sakura”). Currently largely undeveloped.

BattleTech Continuity - The as-yet unnamed BattleTech Continuity is set in a distant future where mankind has colonized the stars, only to divide into five major political powers and descend into internecine warfare, often waged by means of BattleMechs, hulking bipedal war machines. Yoruichi, Ichigo, and Rukia are members of the elite of three of these powers, and wind up serving together as soldiers of fortune due to a strange series of events. The initial outline can be seen here.

Operation GAMER QZGS Continuity - Designed by @synoshian (Lies), Operation GAMER is set in the same timeline as Quan Zhi Gao Shou / The King’s Avatar, a Chinese property (novel, manhua, donghua, and live action series) revolving around an MMORPG called Glory. Taking place five years after that series begins, and focusing on the Japanese (rather than the Chinese) professional scene, it sees Rukia, Ichigo, and Yoruichi as pro-players on different teams who all meet on alternate accounts shortly after the opening of the 15th Server. Although largely undeveloped, there is some nifty art of Yoruichi and Rukia’s in-game characters.

All of the characters are aged up in these scenarios, with Ichigo and Rukia usually being in their early-to-mid-20s, and Yoruichi being in her mid-20s to early-30s, depending (with the youngest age I could see being Ichigo at 18 in the Western Continuity; even Mugen is 19 in Samurai Champloo). The mechanisms of how YIR gravitate together vary by continuity. For example: in Grounded!, Ichigo and Rukia know of each other, but only properly meet each other after Yoruichi makes moves on Rukia; meanwhile, in BattleTech Ichigo and Rukia meet much as they do in Bleach, with Yoruichi entering the picture roughly a month later as usual. What matters to their dynamic is less who makes the first moves, and more who they are as people and how they interrelate.

VISUAL NOTES

Before I move on, I would like to briefly note the visual contrasts each pair of the triad presents. Everyone already knows how Ichigo and Rukia visually contrast one another. Ichigo and Yoruichi have a similar height contrast (as manga-Yoruichi is notably shorter than anime-Yoruichi), a skin tone contrast, and a hair color contrast (orange vs. purple). Rukia and Yoruichi are of fairly similar heights, but again have a skin tone contrast, an eye color contrast (violet-blue vs. yellow), and a body shape contrast (petite but developed vs. curvy but thin).

Each set looks good and distinct from one another optically, and the same is true when they’re all together as a result. I feel that their aesthetic is reflected in the OT3 name of Neapolitan Ice Cream; they’re just really nice to look at together.

LOVE LANGUAGES

To expound on how the three relate to one another, I recently discussed the concept of love languages with @rukia-kuchiki-divided​ (having first been informed of the concept by Jess and having discussed it with her), and she wrote a lovely post introducing the concept and applying it to IchiRuki. I agree with her reading of how it applies to them, and find it useful to expand on what’s presented there as a means of better understanding how YIR interact with one another. My best estimate for a more detailed take on the love languages that each of them hear (desire) and speak (provide), based on “canonical” Bleach, is as follows:

Yoruichi • Desires: 1. Physical Touch, 2. Acts of Service, 3. Quality Time • Provides: 1. Acts of Service, 2. Physical Touch, 3. Quality Time Ichigo • Desires: 1. Words of Affirmation, 2. Physical Touch, 3. Quality Time • Provides: 1. Acts of Service, 2. Physical Touch, 3. Quality Time Rukia • Desires: 1. Acts of Service, 2. Physical Touch, 3. Quality Time • Provides: 1. Words of Affirmation, 2. Acts of Service, 3. Physical Touch

As can be seen, Ichigo and Rukia are almost perfectly reciprocal. (Rukia’s tertiary provision was settled on being Physical Touch rather than Quality Time due to her tendency to bond through token violence, and initially aloof disposition, although it’s a fairly close thing. I think most of the others are essentially self-evident and don’t require much substantiation.) However, it can also be seen that Yoruichi has very strong secondary and tertiary matches across the board. That is what forms the basis of her addition to the triad in all scenarios.

Having at least alluded to the sorts of circumstances under which they come together (and hopefully having piqued your interest!), allow me to elaborate upon that further by explaining the history of the concept, which is strongly related to the writing history of Grounded! itself, before moving on to actual headcanons. 

IDEA HISTORY

When I first came up with the idea for Grounded!, the original intent was for it to be a sort of sexy and comedic one-shot. The short version was, instead of “just as keikaku” shounen shenanigans organized by Kisuke and Aizen leading to Ichigo and Rukia meeting, it’s instead Yoruichi’s desire to live her life the way she wants and enjoy herself that lead to her bringing them together, as she basically steps into their nascent awareness of each other in pursuing a physical attraction to Rukia, and then decides to catalyze them meeting each other by going after Ichigo and then setting the two of them up together. This probably epitomizes it:

“Listen: you could do the normal thing of going on dates and trying to do some kind of long-distance relationship and whatever, and be miserable about the opportunity you might be losing. Or you could trust in my judgment and believe me. You and you,” Yoruichi said, pointing between them, “are like this.” She clapped her hands together, interlinking her fingers.

Ichigo and Rukia flushed and looked at each other with disbelief.

Yoruichi unhooked her fingers and made a circle with one thumb and forefinger, poking the other forefinger through it. “So, you should save us all the drama and just do this already.”

Their expressions shifted to mortification.

Yoruichi shrugged and lifted a hand, rolling her eyes. “If you’re so nervous, I could be there for your first time together,” she teased. She didn’t really believe they’d agree, but it wasn’t like she hadn’t been with both of them.

At that, Ichigo and Rukia both gaped.

She gave a mock frown. “What?”

“No!” they both stated at the same time, looking at one another in surprise.

Yoruichi smiled and held up her hands in surrender before scooting her chair back and sauntering off. She’d expected as much. Besides, it was clearly a mission accomplished.

The pair watched her abrupt departure together before slowly turning their attention toward one another. It wasn’t long until they both flushed.

Ichigo looked away decisively.

Rukia looked down. “Well...”

“Let me take you out to dinner.”

She blinked and side-eyed him.

“I don't know about... all the nonsense she was saying. And you can decide whatever you want. But at least... let me take you out to dinner.”

Which would lead to dinner and a movie and staying over for coffee and one thing leading to another until Ichigo and Rukia lay together, cuddled together under the sheets and blankets

“She was right,” Rukia whispered.

“... Yeah.”

One of her hands spiraled over his chest. “But?”

Ichigo shifted his jaw. How Yoruichi had gone about proving she was right still didn't entirely sit well with him.

She peered up at him lazily. “I guess we owe her.”

There was a long silence.

“Yeah...”

Which led to the idea of the two getting their “revenge” on Yoruichi by rewarding her in kind. All’s well that ends well, and the three were supposed to go their two separate ways.

It was only gradually that the internal timeline of the story expanded and more emotive and genuinely angsty elements started to creep into my notions of it: Ichigo’s self-loathing at being unable to work up the nerve to approach Rukia, Rukia’s loneliness and isolation, the touch-deprivation of both, Yoruichi’s growing realization she made a mess of things by following her own heart, her resolve to “fix” things, and finally and most importantly, her own budding attachment to the two of them.

I started thinking about Yoruichi’s physical attraction toward first Rukia (and then Ichigo) turning into actual feelings. My read of her has always been that she’s much more emotive than she lets on, she just has a fairly tight grip on her sentiments most of the time and tends to keep her observations to herself. But after having slept with both Ichigo and Rukia, and especially the two of them together, I imagined her seeing what they had together and missing it afterward. I thought of her going to Kisuke’s bar and asking if she could sleep in his room just to not be alone at night. And I imagined Rukia and Ichigo missing her too—her playfulness and teasing, her confident smile, her laugh. The more I contemplated that, the more I thought of them returning to her some weeks later to invite her on a proper trip with them, only to find Yoruichi still hurt and lonely and aching for the connection with them. This is where “The Ending” section of the summary of Grounded! (linked above) came in:

Yoruichi frowned and set her expression hard, focusing intently on some point off to the side. When she spoke, her voice carried the gravitas of authority. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Rukia blinked and automatically drew her hands back in confusion.

Ichigo likewise released her as he felt her go rigid.

Yoruichi closed her eyes. “I can understand wanting to pay me back, but you did that already! Do you think I was bullshitting you!? You’re perfect for each other! Hell, it’s like you were designed to be together! You’re like yin and yang, black and white! Why are you trying to ruin it, you idiots?!”

Ichigo and Rukia’s gazes found each other before they glanced to Yoruichi and then looking to either side.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Yoruichi’s tone was low, but in the quiet that had descended over the room it was more than loud enough.

The attentions of the two were instantly upon her again.

Yoruichi clamped her hands around her upper arms tighter yet, letting out a brief, harsh laugh. Her voice grew quieter still. “Do you think I’m stupid enough to believe that there’s any place for me in that kind of thing…?”

A moment passed. Then another.

Rukia bit her lip and looked to Ichigo.

He met her gaze. A decision flickered between them and he turned his attention to Yoruichi, delicately taking hold of her waist again.

She blinked her eyes open in surprise only to freeze as Rukia’s hands returned to her cheeks.

Rukia once more tried to turn Yoruichi’s head—succeeding given her preoccupation—and studied her intently. Yoruichi’s voice had been steady but there was no mistaking the gleam at the outer corners of her eyes. She carefully brought her thumbs up to wipe the tears away.

Yoruichi’s eyes widened in response and she was suddenly aware of her heartbeat hammering in her ears. She looked up, needing to focus on anything but the concern Rukia was radiating for her. “I just wanted you to be happy,” she whispered. There was no space for her in that picture. No room.

Ichigo moved closer so he was lightly pressed to her back, and brought his forehead down to rest against the top of her head, burying his nose against the start of her ponytail. The citrus scent of her hair put him at ease and his arms naturally slid around her waist. “Then come with us.”

She shivered at the contact but didn’t try to pull away.

Rukia released Yoruichi’s hands and slid her arms around her neck, hugging her and pushing her back against Ichigo. The sudden rush of the aromas that so defined Yoruichi filled her thoughts and she found herself relaxing at it. “Please?”

Yoruichi shut her eyes. “But…”

“We’d like you to be there,” Ichigo insisted.

“And we know you’d like it too,” Rukia whispered.

Yoruichi clenched her jaw before dropping her chin so she leaned against Rukia, unfolding her arms. She got one hand around to the back of Rukia’s head and brought the other up onto the back of Ichigo’s.

This is where I came to a conundrum, and then happened to find the solution a few weeks later. Ichigo and Rukia, even in AUs, still often feel like they have the weight of their “canonical” symbolism arrayed about them—their Sun and Moon symbolism in all its resplendent glory. And this is what Yoruichi is alluding to in her criticisms of their actions; how can one fit into such a picture?

It’ll probably sound silly to you when I try to explain it, but there was a video of a black cat that got into a bath tub full of seaweed-based glitter from a Lush bath bomb going around at the time. Someone then drew some art with the caption, “he’s cosplaying the night sky,” and something in my head just clicked. While I reblogged it at the time with, “I know this is a male cat, but: imagine Yoruichi…” the association went deeper than that.

The characters of Yoruichi’s name, 夜一, mean "night" and "one" respectively. There are a number of ways to potentially read her name. The use of numerals in names is often just a counter, so it could mean something like "(first daughter) night," but counters are usually reserved for men. (Presumably, her brother Yuushirou's name, whose characters are "evening," "four," and a suffix for "son," is a similar time reference to his birthday rather than a counter, as there is no evidence Yoruichi had any additional brothers, be it two or three more, whom would presumably be dead.) What I think it might actually be supposed to signify is wordplay on her birthday, as she was born on the 1st of January (thus, on the literal first night).

If taken more literally and combined with her shunshin nickname (usually translated as “Flash Goddess,” but more literally meaning something like, “God of Moving in the Blink of an Eye”), it becomes evocative of a meaning like, “The Goddess Who Disappeared in One Night.” (There was an old name meanings post on the Soul-Society LiveJournal which has since been deleted which affirms this, but her relevant entry is still quoted here.) This was sort of a play on her disappearance from Soul Society, but as an actual character it does her quite a disservice; she is actually quite loyal and sticks around when she wants to. (One could also easily make “one night stand” jokes about her and I think this likewise does her a disservice, but I’ll get into that more later.)

Regardless, her association with the night is very established through her name. It's the dominant component of her name.

And so I thought, “My god, that’s exactly it: she’s the night sky. She’s Space.” What’s interesting about the Sun and Moon is that they do not exist unto themselves. You might initially think of space as nothingness, yet not only is that scientifically inaccurate, but more importantly for our discussion it obscures its role in permitting the Sun and Moon to exist and move around. Space is not nothingness, it’s a place. It is a thing unto itself.

I don’t think Rukia and Ichigo, themselves, are aware of their Moon and Sun symbolism, because that is essentially metatextual to them as characters. But if they were, and they were trying to explain why they wanted Yoruichi to come along with them in the scene above, I think they would say exactly that: “The Sun and the Moon aren't just these Platonic ideals, you know. They exist out in Space. But Space isn't just nothing, doing nothing. And you, you're our Space. You helped make this happen. You’re a part of it.”

I have had this idea in mind from almost the very start of actually taking Grounded! (and YIR in general) seriously, and as I constructed the more detailed love languages chart above, I felt that I was again seeing the same kind of underlying logic borne out in it. My conception of YIR’s dynamics, the way I really see it, might be considered as an expansion on traditional IR dynamics, rather than something bolted onto the side; like going from the set of real numbers to complex numbers, rather than just adding on a new code library to a program.

This has been a somewhat long-winded way of circling back to where we were with that love languages chart, but I felt that addressing the historical process of how this happened was important to explaining it and why I personally feel it’s more than just run-of-the mill crack fic, even if it again makes no sense in relation to “canon.”

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

Ichigo and Rukia’s relational mechanism of being (playfully) combative is quite well established. They essentially play fight over petty or inconsequential matters as a way of showing engagement, but there’s a demonstrated understanding and affection underneath such behavior. Their comfort with and ease in being in physical contact and proximity with each other is a reflection of their secondary and tertiary love languages, with their primaries coming out in more serious and meaningful moments. This is not to say that they aren’t capable of being sappy or romantic, but rather that they often code it within their squabbling; arguing and teasing each other is often how they show they care. Consider Rukia’s teasing of Ichigo in chapter 423 of the manga as the archetypal example:

Rukia: What's this? Don't look so sad. Even if you can no longer see me, I will still be able to see you. Ichigo: What the hell? That's nothing to be happy about. And I don't look sad!

The image that Ichigo and Rukia front is one of a pair who seem to argue but do so mostly just to keep things interesting, like an old married couple, which is the main reason why so many people both in the text and reading it assume they are a thing. I think structurally similar but expressively different behavior would happen between the other two sides of the triangle.

Ichigo and Yoruichi’s behavior would often come across as being more like that of “bros.” In “canon,” Ichigo is clearly shown to have hobbies and interests (video games and literature) and to at least engage with other activities even if he doesn’t particularly care about them (sports, pop culture, movies). While the same is not immediately obvious for Yoruichi, it can be inferred she probably has similar token interests as otherwise there’d be precious little for her to do in the Living World. (I have always headcanoned her absence[s] from the Urahara Shop as being her out seeing the wider world.) We’re not talking about Bleach, but I think these behaviors are intrinsic to them as characters, and I think it’s how they’d often connect. They might talk about TV shows, movies, games, sports teams, whatever. I can imagine them setting up a fantasy football league between them, even if they didn’t care about football. The content is not really what matters to them so much as the fact that it provides them something to talk about and bond over, without necessarily being overtly emotional. They would probably also leaven it with physical teasing or innuendo (mostly from Yoruichi’s end, with Ichigo playing the role of straight man in response). The sense you would get as an outsider is a couple who are on the same wavelength and have the same values and interests and are rather physically in tune too.

Rukia and Yoruichi’s behavior would by contrast often come across as “girly.” I don’t mean that pejoratively or necessarily to typecast it. As they’re both proud, independent, and strong women, and are often in positions that require them to present a certain face to the world that relies on those attributes, I think they’d relish opportunities to figuratively let their hair and guards down, relax, and just laugh and smile and have a good time. I think one of the ways this would manifest is that they would see time together as a way of indulging in shared activities, many of which are seen as feminine, such as shopping, gossiping, and enjoying time out and about (such as in restaurants or cafes). A less traditional avenue of expressing it would be shared physical activities. I can imagine them wanting to do things like duos beach volleyball, badminton, paintball, and so on. (Ichigo, although physical and perfectly capable of playing sports, doesn’t seem much interested in them for their own sake; he is ironically the biggest “nerd” of the three.) I think they’d find a lot of commonality and companionship in these shared activities, regardless of what they were actually doing. They’d probably also tease each other and have a back and forth, as they both often tend to like adopting that role (perhaps more physically from Yoruichi’s side, and more emotionally from Rukia’s). From the outside, they would probably seem like a sprightly and sincere couple, more akin to “young love.”

I think what makes the concept of YIR really special to me is what happens when the three of them are all together, because what I see winding up happening is a synthesis of all three of these paired relationships. I imagine it as being fluid and fun. There is this concept in astronomy known as the three-body problem, the simple explanation of which is that when there are three (or more) celestial bodies moving together, it becomes impossible to accurately determine their future motion; there is no general closed-form solution and a dynamical and chaotic system is produced. And that’s exactly how I imagine YIR would work together. One minute, Yoruichi and Rukia would be teaming up to poke fun at Ichigo; the next, Ichigo and Yoruichi would be doting on Rukia and making her feel flustered; the one after, Ichigo and Rukia could be making Yoruichi feel sappy and mushy. From seemingly fairly simple operating rules, one gets very complex interactions that can turn on a dime. And I feel that’s really the joy of YIR as a triad: they’re very high-contrast and have tremendous range together.

I think all four sets of interactions (each pair and the triad) would have strong but subtle elements of verbal teasing and physical touch. Holding hands, light touches here or there (the shoulder, the side, the arm), and more provocative ones (little butt pats or brushes or slaps, or the ladies discreetly rubbing their chests against the recipient of affection), or a whisper in the ear... but I’ll address their teasing and more involved physicality and sexuality in more detail in two later sections.

Even more pronounced than that, however, would be their routine eye contact. Ichigo and Rukia are well known for using their eyes to communicate with one another, and I think Yoruichi would fit into that dynamic quite well, as she’s very visually expressive too. Where and how she is looking at things is a big tell for her mood and psychological state, just like it is for the other two, and I think she would be very good at speaking to them and hearing them in ways they already understand.

I’m working on a sort of compilation fic for @duckiesteasmiles​​ (Nami) called The Many Mornings of Yoruichi, where each entry is a different morning of Yoruichi waking up within a YIR relationship (nominally Modern Continuity), some of which are sweet and fluffy, some of which are spicy and sexy, and some of which are wistful and thoughtful. In one of them:

Her gaze continued to linger in his direction for long seconds until she closed her eyes and turned her head the other way, pressing her lips and nose to the back of his hand. She neither quite kissed it nor merely nuzzled it. His skin smelled good in a way she couldn't really explain, just like Rukia's hair did. Just like all of both of them did. And being like this with the two of them...

They gave her something that was difficult to put into words. It was like the difference between being out on the water and standing on dry land. It went beyond something as simple as a mere sense of stability. For the first time since she was a child, it felt like there was a place for her that she could truly call home. Such a gift, she wanted to both pay it back and pay it forward. She wanted them to have that feeling too, as best as she could possibly manage. Their family situations might not be nearly so estranged as hers, but... she wanted them to always feel that sense of home.

Yoruichi smooched the back of Ichigo's hand and turned her head back toward him and Rukia, quietly sighing in contentment. Did she really have butterflies in her stomach from just this? These two idiots have turned me into such a sap...

I feel like this middle paragraph is true for all three of them, if each in their own ways. In Bleach, it seems evident to me that Ichigo and Rukia create a sense of home for one another, and it manifests in the familiar and expected, the little things that fill in the gaps in their lives. I think things would be much the same for YIR.

A big part of that, I think, would be homemaking—mundane and domestic things through which they could show their care and affection. Things like washing the dishes together, going out for groceries, meeting each other at the arrivals gate and acting as chauffeurs for one another (Yoruichi would mostly drive, although sometimes Ichigo would), and collapsing on the couch together to watch TV or movies, or play games, or just lounge after they've had long days. Yoruichi would put away leftovers but always make sure there was lunch for them for the next day, Rukia would remember to pick up the juice she knows they like when she's at the store, and Ichigo would bring little things home for them when he comes back from wherever he's been travelling.

I think they would all take to cooking for one another. Yoruichi would do a lot of it and would be responsible for the majority of meal prep, and be the closest thing they had to a chef. Ichigo would only really be good at making a small set of about a half-dozen (hearty) hings, and they would often look a bit sketchy, but they’d taste fantastic (think like that one really ugly cake Gordon Ramsay hated to admit tasted great). Rukia is more into making fiddly pastries and desserts. They’d often wind up dividing dinnertime efforts between them (almost like an Iron Chef team) and sometimes it’d all go wrong and they’d have to order pizza, but they always have fun with it.

It feels like, by virtue of her choices in life (especially military service) and spending a lot of time living alone, Yoruichi would be primed to know the most about domestic activities (keeping things neat and tidy and clean, doing chores) and would try and set examples that way, even and especially when their schedules didn’t really line up. So, Ichigo and Rukia would come home to find everything in order and ready for them, and meals cooked in the freezer they could heat up. I think they’d always be kind of shocked she tried so hard, but that’d be part of how she justified her role in it to herself: she’d want them taken care of so they could be excellent, because that's what she was wanting and trying to do from the start.

And they’d take it up too and reciprocate it; when she was away from home for a while and they weren’t, they’d do the same for her—both of them realizing it was one of the ways she would tell them she loves them without saying it, and remembering to do it in return. Ichigo would perform a lot of this, sort of standing in as Yoruichi’s second in command in this regard, and also take on a lot of the “manlier” responsibilities like mowing the lawn, raking leaves, cleaning out the rain gutters, and so on. I imagine him becoming handy around the house and doing a lot of the heavy, tedious, or mindless things.

Meanwhile, Rukia would focus more on supporting morale, leaving around little notes and messages and reminders for them to keep up their spirits; things like fridge magnet messages or little framed photos or collages, cheery messages by text or chat or on social media. She’s the one who’d tell them both all the time how much she loves them—she's the one who would (eventually, because she’s stubborn sometimes herself) say that she misses them, who’d call when it was late and she thought they might be lonely, and when and she wanted and needed (however privately) to hear from them. She'd always be there with the right words at the right time; psyching Ichigo up before a big case, helping Yoruichi navigate a difficult co-worker situation... Rukia would always know what to say and when. (This, by itself, might move Yoruichi less, initially, but I think she would always appreciate the intent behind it.)

I think they’d also have interesting relationships with one another’s relatives. Ichigo would have to field some interesting questions from Karin and Yuzu and deal with some absurdities from Isshin (or Masaki!). Rukia and Yoruichi might work with Kuukaku to shield Ichigo from the public spotlight on the Shiba. Little things like that. Byakuya would probably be more than a little protective of Rukia and have interesting interactions with Yoruichi and Ichigo. Early on in the relationship, he might wind up getting into a staring contest with Yoruichi over the whole thing. Ichigo would back her up without question, and he’d just look between the two of them for a time before stating, “I know you will treat Rukia well.”  Later, Yoruichi would be annoyed at Ichigo and be all, “I didn’t need you to do that,” and he'd be like, “Yeah, yeah, I know, Captain.” 

(In the Modern Continuity, at any rate, Byakuya initially does not really approve, but also does not really disapprove. He sometimes checks in with Rukia by phone, and can occasionally hear Ichigo and Yoruichi yelling at each other in the background. This sometimes seems like an actual argument but is of no substance and is just about some surreal nonsense. [What is “Dance Dance Revolution” anyway?] Kuukaku catches him brooding about it after the calls sometimes, and is always touching a shoulder and intoning, “If she's happy, it’s fine.” “I know,” he says. Eventually, he really does come to believe it and respect the other two. In the other continuities, and especially BattleTech, it’d be... more complicated still.)

I also think the three would have a lot of intimate moments that weren’t sexual. Things like: Yoruichi and Rukia waiting for Ichigo to come home so they could surprise him with the contrasting lingerie they bought together; Ichigo and Yoruichi drawing a bath with candles and rose petals and scented wash for Rukia, sitting beside it and keeping her company while she soaks and then massaging her together; or Ichigo and Rukia laying out a candlelit dinner for Yoruichi and pulling her over to a fire place to sip wine with her, giving her just enough to loosen up but not enough to lay her out. (Yoruichi is “canonically” a total lightweight, although I sometimes headcanon that she developed a strong aversion to alcohol in her past; Nami has come up with a cute headcanon that she pops her hair-tie off and lets her hair down when she drinks, like Chisato in Love is Like a Cocktail.)

Hell, even the way they jockey for position in front of the mirror in the morning to brush their teeth together strikes me as cute.

To make a long story short, I think they could have a very mature and nuanced but still fun and playful relationship that winds up mutually supporting all of them.

TEASING

In my opinion, one of the other great joys of YIR is how they’d tease each other. I think their teasing of one another in public or private would be quite multifaceted, especially through repartee.

Yoruichi and Rukia would always be teasing Ichigo just for the fun of it; going to the bathroom together, shopping for clothes and going to the dressing rooms at the same time, it wouldn't matter. Always leaving him standing there in the store with the pile of bags or at the table with drinks and coming back giggling to each other and flushed. Maybe a third of the time they’d actually have done something, and the rest they’d just pretend they had, working each other up to the teasing by critiquing each other's acting and telling jokes. And he’d know, and play along even if they caught him off-guard:

“I know you're just saying these things.”

“Do you?” they both asked with raised eyebrows

They’d also always be being wing-women for one another, winding him up. They might be at a restaurant and:

Ichigo’s eyes instinctively tracked Rukia as she went to go get a bottle of ketchup from another table.

Yoruichi leaned sideways and brought her lips to his ear. “Did you know she's wearing crotchless panties?” she breathed.

He abruptly reddened.

She give his earlobe a kitten lick, adding, “So am I,” then smoothly leaned back into place before Rukia could return.

When she did so she stopped and studied him, noting the sweat at his hairline. She adopted an exasperated look. “Did you order your food too spicy again?”

Or Ichigo and Rukia might be laying on recliners poolside while Yoruichi is stretching some distance away before hitting the pool:

“Oi, Ichigo,” Rukia said mildly.

“What?”

“Have you ever noticed how well that swimsuit defines her mound?”

“Don't say things like that!”

Rukia grinned impishly at him.

And Ichigo would, of course, sometimes get them back:

Rukia: Don't act like you know my favorite kind of chocolate, fool. Ichigo: Of course I do. Yoruichi: So, what is it then? Ichigo: The same as yours: salted. Both ladies blink and then flush. Ichigo: The same as how I know your favorite pies are— They clasp their hands over his mouth while glaring at him.

But his main method of retaliation would be being really good at inappropriately hot goodbye kisses that leave whichever of them he’s kissing breathless and reaching for him as he steps back. That and he’d be good at low-key yet also really flagrant public displays of affection that give away they're a unit, like swatting or groping their asses, though he’d also be good at timing them so nobody else saw them.

This kind of teasing would extend across a wide range of scenarios too. Imagine, if you will: Ichigo and Rukia are sitting down for dinner in a really fancy restaurant; Ichigo has on a very fitted black tuxedo, Rukia has on a slinky black cocktail dress with lots of bling, and they're waiting on Yoruichi, who said she’d meet them there. When she walks in, she’s got on a white tuxedo jacket like James Bond (although her lapel flower is orange; I headcanon it as her favorite color) and the other two just kinda stop and stare because that is not at all what they were expecting, but damn.

Yoruichi: What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? Ichigo: ... Rukia: I think he’s just realized he’s kinda gay for you in that. Ichigo: ... Shut up! Rukia: ... I’m a little gay for you in that... Yoruichi: Haha. Only a little~?

When I was contemplating the Samurai Continuity, I thought about them commenting on the show intro of Samurai Champloo as though they were actors playing the roles and seeing the assembled cut for the first time:

Yoruichi: How fitting that Ichigo is symbolized by a cock. Ichigo: I could say the same about the irony of you being symbolized by a fish. Yoruichi: Are you insulting my hygiene, you bastard!? I don't recall you complaining about it last night when you had your head down there for an hour! Rukia: Shut up, both of you! How could I possibly be expected to eat so much food? It’s ridiculous!

In the same setting, I sort of imagined that Yoruichi and Ichigo would sleep together first given all the crackling tension between them (not quite a hatefuck the first time, but something competitive, rough, and passionate and not exactly loving) but would refuse to admit they had a thing together even afterwards:

Yoruichi: Me? With that orange-haired brat? Ichigo: With that purple-haired bitch? Yoruichi: With his stupid chocolate eyes? Ichigo: With her arrogant, gleaming, little canine-toothed smirk? Yoruichi: His oxen, large, dumb, wide shoulders. Ichigo: Her prissy, smug, sashaying hips. Yoruichi: Always getting you vice-like in those big, strong hands... Ichigo: Always shoving her chest into you every chance she gets... They both blush and go quiet. Rukia, in the background: GOD, JUST FUCK ALREADY! Yoruichi and Ichigo, turning: SHUT UP, HOW DO YOU KNOW WE HAVEN’T!?

I think Yoruichi would often indulge Rukia’s flights of fancy and cuteness. Going back to Grounded!, I can imagine them subjecting Ichigo to “The Thrilling Adventures of Chappy and Kitty” while he’s trying to work from home:

Yoruichi, wearing cat ears: He’s just mad because he doesn't have an animal associated with him, nyan.  Rukia, wearing bunny ears: That’s right! You’re just a strawberry, pyon! Ichigo: Seriously, it’s annoying, stop it. Rukia: Fool. Yoruichi, luridly: You plan on making us? Ichigo: Hmph... you wish! Rukia: You know, bunnies are famous for nibbling, and kitties for licking... Yoruichi leans over and gives Rukia a cute peck on the cheek followed by a small lick. Yoruichi: Maybe he doesn’t want to play~

A random little teasing scenario:

Yoruichi got her arms around Rukia’s shoulders from behind and put her in a light and playful choke hold, poking her head out to one side and leering at Ichigo. “Oi, wanna know how to make her squeal like a schoolgirl? I can tell you~”

I really just cannot emphasize enough how much I love their banter and playfulness and the different forms it can take, from mature and witty to childish and bratty.

ANGST

I don’t think YIR’s relationship would always be sunshine and rainbows. I think each of them has their own trauma to deal with, regardless of the timeline. In every one of these continuities (although not every possible continuity), Rukia would be dealing with the death of Kaien, and Ichigo would be dealing with the death of a parent (often Masaki, but as time goes on I think it’s increasingly more interesting that Isshin die instead). That’s well-established. But I also think Yoruichi has her own sources of angst too, albeit perhaps not as severe.

In “canon” Bleach, Yoruichi is shown as having given up everything in order to live on her own terms. This is often presented as no big deal, and as having been her choice, but I often get the sense that it added a contemplative and possibly even morose side to her. (If you made me pick two songs for her, one would be a song I had her choose to do karaoke to in a fic, Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life”, and the other would be a remix of Lana Del Rey’s “Born To Die”.)

I imagine the same is true of the various versions of Yoruichi in each of these continuities. I think many of them also have their own additional traumas. Yoruichi in Grounded! had some unpleasant experiences during the Gulf War (having had to eject and evade capture on the ground overnight), while Yoruichi in BattleTech would have seen (and done) a fair share of nasty things as Coordinator and as a mercenary, and the Yoruichi of the Samurai Continuity and the Yoruichi of the Western Continuity both probably would’ve done more than a little maiming, if not outright killing.

The result is that I see all three of them as burdened with some degree of PTSD, which would occasionally take the form of moods or nightmares. An example of the former, for Yoruichi:

Ichigo quickly finished shredding the pieces of chocolate he'd picked out and sprinkled them over the bowl of ice cream, peeking through the kitchen's breakfast bar into the living room.

Yoruichi's hair poked up above the back of the couch, unmoving.

He grabbed a spoon and slid it into the bowl, got a paper towel, and made his way out into the living room, going around to the other end of the couch so as not to walk in front of her.

Drawing nearer, he sat down next to her, scarcely hazarding a glance her way. He didn't have to, really.

Sometimes she would cry, but he had never seen it. She wouldn't ever let him see. Not even Rukia had ever seen it happen either. But he'd heard it, and listening to it was like standing in a rain made of nails. He hated it. Seeing her willingly vulnerable was one thing, but when she was compromised... Ah, there were times he wanted to burn the world down, go out and fight whoever had wronged her, hit them until blood trickled from their mouths like water from a faucet.

Mostly though, when she was in a mood, she'd be sullen. Sometimes with a side order of aggressive irritability if she was provoked. He could tell with a glance that that was how things were at the moment.

Yoruichi was curled up in a corner of the couch, sitting in a fetal position, her arms crossed atop her legs, frowning disinterestedly at the TV.

Ichigo kept his eyes on it. They'd bought a ridiculously large plasma screen after much deliberation, and it was currently playing an episode of Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet. The audio was barely perceptible.

He set the bowl of ice cream on his lap and took a bite, savoring it. It was chocolate chunk ice cream with chocolate syrup and more bits of milk chocolate on top. There was nothing subtle about the emphasis on boosting endorphins. After swallowing the bite, he took up another spoonful, holding it in front of her.

Yoruichi didn't react.

Ichigo kept waiting for a few seconds, then brought it back and ate it himself.

He kept on alternating for four more runs before he felt a tug on the spoon; she'd clamped her mouth over it.

After that they began to switch every bite until the bowl was empty.

Once Ichigo had finally set it on the coffee table, Yoruichi flopped over to one side, resting her head on his lap.

He started to gently rake his fingers through her hair, just carefully combing it out. They had all the time in the world.

I think they would have additional hang-ups that would occasionally beset them. Ichigo might sometimes feel that he didn’t deserve the attention of either Rukia or Yoruichi, let alone both. Rukia could sometimes feel that she was kind of superfluous or a burden upon Ichigo and Yoruichi. And Yoruichi could sometimes feel like she was just getting in the way of Ichigo and Rukia and didn’t deserve such companionship. (This is before getting into uncertainties they might have early on in their relationship together as a triad, which need not necessarily be a smooth process.)

I don’t have strongly developed ideas for hurt and comfort, but the BattleTech, Samurai, and Western Continuities all provide plenty of actual danger on a regular basis that could set up opportunities for it. We all know the lengths Ichigo would go to for Rukia, and vice versa, but I don’t think it’s very hard to imagine what Yoruichi would be capable of if either of them were threatened or injured.

I think that all these things give them an added dimension of complexity, as they’re not just perfectly content and happy forever, but it also gives them opportunities to lift one another up.

ASSORTED SCENARIOS

Within Grounded!, I have a line I like that may or may not wind up fitting in when (if) Rangiku goes to confront Yoruichi on what’s happening during the snowstorm, so I thought I’d include it here:

Rangiku: Kuchiki Rukia could decapitate a man with a meal tray’s plastic knife, and I just watched her giggle and pirouette up and down the shopping mall. What did you do, Yoruichi?

In the post-Grounded! era of the Modern Continuity, the vacation which Rukia and Ichigo invite Yoruichi on, which she assents to, is to the South Pacific, perhaps Tahiti. I can imagine the sand is hot and Ichigo has to carry Rukia and Yoruichi out onto the beach under each arm, like how he held Rukia at the Soukyoku in Bleach; Yoruichi acts indignant at being carried and deliberately makes it difficult by pouting like a kitty. (Maybe on a different day he takes Rukia in a bridal carry while Yoruichi rides piggyback, or vice-versa.) The three of them would have fun putting sun tan lotion or sun screen on each other. Yoruichi might casually strip off her swimsuit, making the other two blush only for her to chide them with, “What? We're the only people here, live a little.” They have a midday nap together on their bleach blanket under a big parasol. Yoruichi teases Ichigo and Rukia by poking them with cold ice pops, saying something like, “Ah, you're all sticky now, somebody will have to clean you off!” only for them to start returning the favor. Clouds roll in in the afternoon and they beat a hasty retreat through the brush to their rented bungalow, laughing in the warm rain that comes down before they make it. They wash off together and the power goes out, so they assemble in a sort of cabana area and listen to the steady rain and surf and thunder together, bundled up with one another. Things like that.

I think that Yoruichi’s lifestyle in the Modern Continuity is relatively austere given her history and background, but still very comfortable. Once Ichigo and Rukia decide they want to move in with her (which would probably happen sometime relatively soon after their post-Grounded! vacation together) Yoruichi would probably set about trying to get them a house, which would be quite nice but not palatial or opulent. 

I think her one eccentric and rich hobby, given her background as a naval aviator, would be having bought and maintained a surplus F-14 Tomcat (probably the unproduced-in-our-reality F-14 Super Tomcat 21) like she flew in the Navy. She’d keep it at a local airport, probably have a mechanic to help her maintain it (could be something Tessai does in his spare time?) and take it up now and then to have fun. I imagine it’d be heavily customized and have a lightning paint job. Anyway, I can imagine her getting really excited to show it off to Ichigo and Rukia and to take them up in it for the first time. (She would probably get a special safety harness and air supply splitter made so Rukia could safely sit on Ichigo’s lap in the rear RIO seat, rather than make them ride separately.) Anyway, I imagine that Yoruichi’s aviator call sign would have been either Flash or Flash Goddess (probably originally earned for her nonchalant and risqué behavior rather than her piloting ability), and she’d have a customized flight helmet. For their first visit, I imagine she’d have gotten them helmets made and would give them their own call signs. A short list I came up with, with @rukia-kuchiki-divided​​, were Glacier, Aurora, Ice Queen, Snow White, or Blizzard for Rukia (although the 3rd is normally an insult, I think it’d be taken as kind of endearing here, like how in “canon” Ichigo at one point thinks of Rukia as “bitch” and Rukia openly calls Ichigo a “brat”), and Anarchy, Mayhem, Skyscraper, Havoc, or Riot for Ichigo (with the 3rd being a reference to both “canon” Getsuga Tenshō and a dig at his height relative to them), with their own custom designs. (There could be a whole fic of Yoruichi just writing out different names and talking to herself about them; I imagine her laughing at Snowpiercer for Ichigo and Snowjob for Rukia.)

(These would probably also be used as their call signs in the BattleTech Continuity.)

I watched Top Gun a lot as a kid and the karaoke scene of The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” has always been in my head as a result, and I can picture Yoruichi hooking Rukia up with a spare Navy uniform and insignia so they could surprise Ichigo at a local bar by replicating it. (Which of them takes whose role is up for debate; I headcanon Rukia as being fantastic at singing and Yoruichi as pretty good, but the idea of Rukia in aviators tickles me more. They could mix it up and both wear sunglasses and treat it as a genuine duet.) Ichigo would be mortified (but enchanted), especially if other people recognized what was happening and joined in on the song.

I like the idea that, although Yoruichi and Rukia start out with their “canonical” haircuts (long and either of Rukia’s shoulder-length haircuts, respectively) that they might eventually decide to synchronize their styles; Yoruichi might cut hers short again (like in Turn Back the Pendulum) to match Rukia’s, or Rukia might grow hers out to match Yoruichi’s, or back and forth. I get these images of Ichigo and Rukia helping Yoruichi with her hair and maybe playfully braiding it too. I feel like Rukia would be sorta fascinated by Yoruichi's hair, just its length and the feel of it. The weight and texture of it would be different from her own (I imagine it’s a little thicker than Rukia’s) and she likes the feel of it spilled over her. This could also be an interesting reason for Rukia to later grow her own out. (Ichigo likes the hair of both and is often touching it or putting his face into it, especially since they’re shorter than him. The scent of it is one of the ways he thinks of home.)

I have this scene in mind of them going out fishing, which is something I feel Yoruichi would’ve picked up at some point before meeting them. I picture all of them out on a dock or in a rowboat real early in the morning, wearing personal flotation devices; the sun's not even come up fully yet, and there’s mist over this pond or little lake they’re on. Rukia is just conked out asleep between the other two, her head on one of their laps and feet and legs on the other’s. Yoruichi looks perfectly content and is just beaming. Ichigo is tired-looking and clearly wondering why he’s there, but he still is because Yoruichi thought it was important they had the experience and, as he thinks about it, it isn’t really so bad. Eventually he smiles despite himself.  

Sometimes I think Yoruichi would be resistant to Ichigo being sappy; their personalities are sort of similar in that they put on a tough exterior, but I think they would break each other down in interesting ways:

Yoruichi crossed her arms and looked aside dubiously. “Oi! I know I’m not her, and you miss her, but you don't have to be so sullen all the—” She stopped as his palms came to rest against her cheeks. Her gaze snapped toward him right as his fingers came to rest against and behind her ears.

Ichigo gently cradled her face and leaned in, studying her.

Her focal point swung from one of his eyes to the other as she searched. His look smoldered but what she saw was cryptic and it gave her pause. She wasn’t worried—she was never worried with him—but something about it made the difference in their sizes abundantly clear, made it obvious just how large and strong his hands were.

A beat passed before he irritably whispered, “I love you too.” He never felt that it needed to be said, but apparently he was wrong.

Yoruichi blinked.

Ichigo moved in closer and dropped his eyelids fractionally. “I’m in love with you too,” he added, with a quieter and almost-not-vexed delivery.

Her lips parted slightly before her eyes swung to one side again and she scoffed. She tried to follow suit with her whole head but found herself gently restrained. A furtive glance back at him had her eyes going wide as he kissed her. She resisted for a moment before leaning into it, reaching up to grasp his shirt with both hands.

He brought a hand around and slid his fingers into her hair, moving the other down to rest on one of her shoulders.

Yoruichi pushed closer and turned her head more to one side, taking in handfuls of his shirt.

I had this idea of the three of them going somewhere cold (Alaska? Hokkaido? Russia? Swiss Alps? Canada?) and having to wait around in a space that’s not really heated. Yoruichi’s wearing a round ushanka, while Rukia has on a flappy-eared one that’s just a touch too big. Ichigo takes off his coat and drapes it over both of them, who huddle up under it (as it’s big enough to fit them both), and:

Rukia: Idiot, you’ll catch a cold. Yoruichi: We're not babying you if you get sick. Ichigo: Shut up!

Maybe later they wind up in front of a fireplace together, curled into one another. Rukia has long since started calling Yoruichi “fool” as well, it being one of her signs of affection and care. They continue their gentle backbiting:

Yoruichi: Brings back memories, huh? Rukia: Fool. Ichigo: You know she has a thing for us tying her up, she just wants us to do it again. Yoruichi: I do not!

The three of them regularly alternate who is being spooned and who faces who. Yoruichi and Rukia take turns in the middle and change up who they face; Ichigo is usually only in the middle when he’s on his back and they can cuddle into his sides. Both Yoruichi and Rukia steal some of Ichigo’s t-shirts and boxers to use as pajamas and start to share them interchangeably. Whenever one of them has to go off for a couple of days, somehow one of his shirts is always mysteriously packed into their bags, and Ichigo never says anything about it. (They get him back by sometimes smuggling pairs of their underwear into his luggage with cheeky little notes.)

Ichigo is a t-shirt and boxers kind of guy when it comes to lounging or sleeping clothes, although he’ll swap out for long-sleeves and plaid lounging pants when it’s cold enough. Rukia has several sets of cute pajamas that she uses, in addition to items stolen from Ichigo. Yoruichi is highly variable, and sometimes can be found in odd combinations like a turtleneck, her panties, and long fluffy socks. In the winter she's prone to sprawling out in beams of sunlight filtering in through the windows and disrobing to catch the same; in the summer she might be found laying around in just her panties or Ichigo's boxers, fanning herself and complaining about the heat until they turn on the AC (both are very distracting).

Their soaking tub is spacious but isn't really properly big enough to hold all of them, so sometimes they share lap space, and both Rukia and Yoruichi are always glaring at Ichigo and warning him about funny business (as if they don't sometimes do things in the tub).

Rukia: There’s a time and a place, Ichigo. Ichigo: Watch those hands, Yoruichi. Yoruichi: Maybe watch where you've got your feet, Rukia.

In the Samurai Continuity, I can imagine them running out of food to eat like Mugen, Jin, and Fuu do, and Yoruichi's like, "Ichigo, you're the biggest, you have to eat more," and he's all, "No, shut up, I'm fine, there's enough here for you two." Yoruichi falls silent. Rukia continues protesting instead, only for Yoruichi to touch her arm to get her to stop because she knows what he's doing. Ichigo can take it better than they can precisely because he is bigger, and he’s always going to try and protect them first.

A little scene about comforting and snuggling together:

Ichigo cinched his arms a little tighter around Yoruichi's waist. There was a long silence. “Are you cold?”

She shook her head faintly against his chest. “No.” He was putting out enough warmth for two.

He shifted and brought his face down into her hair and inhaled. The orange and saffron scent underlying the spice and musk of her aroma made it smell bright and sunny despite its indigo hue. It was different but... right. “You smell good,” he eventually whispered.

A small chuckle escaped her. “You're such a sap, but you're not so bad yourself.”

“I mean it.”

A pause passed. “I know.”

“Yoruichi—”

“You're tired, get some rest.”

He gently squeezed her sides. “Hey.”

He used his grasp to draw her up while shifting down so they were face to face on the pillow they were sharing.

She studied him curiously.

Ichigo did the same before looking aside. “You shouldn’t need any more convincing that I’m a man, not a boy, so don’t treat me like one.”

Yoruichi blinked before smirking slightly. “Is that right?”

He locked eyes with her again. “I’m glad you're here.”

There was a pause before she looked down.

He started to rub her back and neck to assure her through touch. “And not because Rukia isn't.”

She just quietly pressed in a bit closer.

I feel like Yoruichi would have the least personal sense of “ownership” of the relationship, since she would have lingering doubts about her place in it, and Rukia would have the most. Ichigo thinks of them as “his girls,” but Rukia... Rukia views herself as theirs after a time, and accordingly, they’re hers. Not in some transactional or proprietary way, but just... it’s like her with that soul ribbon in the first ED of Bleach: it just is. And i think that’s where her knowing what to say often comes in, because she does have that perspective. She can ferret out when, say, Yoruichi is feeling like maybe she doesn't belong to them as much as they belong to each other, and Rukia is the one who brings her back, who reminds her that they are three—that two was nice, but three is best.

You might imagine her curling into Yoruichi and quietly stating, “I love you,” and Yoruichi's just kind of at a loss for words, so Rukia repeats herself and waits for Yoruichi to say it back. Yoruichi would feel... maybe a little overwhelmed at the quiet declaration, because it would never be a big or loud thing with Rukia, just firm and quiet and brooking no argument. And this is also why, for as much as Yoruichi and Ichigo wind up curled around Rukia, sometimes Rukia conspires with him to just snuggle Yoruichi between them:

“She's got better ‘pillows’ anyway,” Rukia stated.

Ichigo blinked and flushed, looking away. “There's nothing wrong with yours.”

She glanced to him dubiously but still cracked a thin smirk.

Yoruichi is often physical in showing her concern;  sometimes she plays it up and hugs Rukia’s head to her chest, and other times it's just very natural. Ichigo she can only really tease properly when he's sitting in some fashion; neither ever really objects much, no matter how ridiculous they think she's being.

They all drink coffee and tea alike. Yoruichi likes her coffee with sugar and cream, and her favorite tea is a heavily spiced chai. Ichigo likes his coffee black, and his favorite tea is Earl Grey. Rukia likes fancy dessert coffees (like Starbucks Frappuccinos) and likes white and green teas. Yoruichi is the one who actually makes coffee, while Rukia tends to make the tea.

Yoruichi is probably the only one who is really even remotely a morning person, although by habit rather than by choice. Making coffee is like her early morning ritual and meditation to start the day, and including their favorites into that routine just gives her more time to wake up naturally. On work days she likes to let them sleep in—she slides out of bed, careful not to jostle them, but sometimes Ichigo will wake up anyway and reach out for her before settling back when she pats at his hand. It also gives her a chance to have a bit of quiet in the morning and think about things. The sounds and smells of breakfast are often what wake Ichigo and Rukia.

They make an effort to bathe together whenever possible; although they wake up with breakfast, the shower and bath is when they really start their days. It’s a bonding thing for them. (They probably shower both morning and night, but bathe whenever they have the time.)

I sorta like the idea that Yoruichi is a loud and kind of angry gamer, which Ichigo and Rukia regard as kind of an endearing quirk given how put together she is most of the rest of the time. I can see her being really mean on mic to annoying pre-teens. “Yes, I’m a girl, you prepubescent brat! What’s your excuse for sounding like one other than that your balls haven’t dropped yet?!” Ichigo and Rukia just kinda look at each other when she really starts popping off; Ichigo goes over to start to massage her and she sinks into the couch, grumbling and focusing up on whatever she’s doing.

Ichigo is kinda ticklish, Rukia is not all that ticklish, and Yoruichi is very ticklish and she absolutely hates it.

SEXUALITY & PHYSICALITY

My personal read of these characters, which I invoke in these scenarios, is that Yoruichi is pansexual, and Ichigo and Rukia are both something approximating demisexual, with at least Rukia (and possibly Ichigo) being bisexual. (I think in “canon” a strong case could be made for them both being closer to but not necessarily purely at asexual, while Yoruichi could be read numerous ways, but that is neither here nor there.) These are, of course, only my interpretations. 

At any rate, Yoruichi is usually experienced (somewhere between fairly and quite so depending on the scenario; I imagine she and Kuukaku could have fooled around when they were younger, and that in more recent times she has had Kisuke as a lover, but that the two of them are an off-again, on-again thing) and views sex as a fun, normal, and healthy way of physical and/or emotional bonding; Ichigo is uniformly a virgin but is old enough to not be a stammering fool about it; and Rukia is either a virgin or may have had a sexual relationship previously (if so, with Renji) but is not very in tune with her sexuality or sexual desires to begin with.

It might initially seem like Yoruichi trains both Ichigo and Rukia, being the one who moves first physically and the one who’s got more experience, but I don’t think she herself or either of them think of it that way. Yoruichi would always be more interested in coaxing the other two, in helping them to figure out what they like and want, and encouraging them to explore it. That would quickly get turned back around on her as they grew more confident, as they would start to return the favor to her. Personally, I think that Ichigo is often physically dominant, but loves to serve and please. Rukia and Yoruichi can both be dominant themselves (with him or with each other) but also like being submissive; Rukia enjoys the comfort and safety of the headspace it puts her in, while for Yoruichi it heightens her pleasure more than she could imagine. I think this would be a surprise to Yoruichi, and eventually she’d come to realize that she had always still been keeping up walls in her past relationships to try and maintain some control. Ichigo and Rukia would be the first to really break through those, which would give her all kinds of feels and open her up more to trying things she had only rarely explored with partners before. (As examples, I think Yoruichi would have a thing for light bondage and anal sex, but only have tried them with other people a scant handful of times.) Their process of discovery would not at all be a one-sided thing, and I think they’d be very sexually active (probably having orgasms only every other day at the longest stretch).

If I had to pick words to describe what sex is like for each of the pairs, for Ichigo and Rukia it’d be cosmic (powerful and beautiful, breathtaking) for Yoruichi and Rukia it’d be oceanic (constant motion and energy, unifying) and for Ichigo and Yoruichi it’d be tectonic (earth-shattering and resonant, awesome). Just like with the rest of their behaviors, when they were all together, it would vary and oscillate among the three. However, sex between them wouldn’t necessarily always be a big production or need to go both ways either. I think they wouldn’t think much of pulling clothes down (or dipping their hands into them) and using their digits and mouths on each other, depending on the mood. I think they’d all just be very invested in making one another feel good, and that could be quick and servicing or slow and mutual as the case might be.

The three would always wind up appreciative of one another in states of undress, although Rukia and Yoruichi would be more circumspect and covert about it. Ichigo doesn’t hide his admiration, sometimes earning him rebukes, but those incidents really only tee him up to say something sappy and adoring, which usually result in the other two getting annoyed at how gooey it makes them feel. Sometimes they reward him by showing off, Rukia usually emphasizing her ass, and Yoruichi her chest. Yoruichi might turn quick so she swayed and bounced, put her hands on her hips and lean forward, say something like, “If you want to have a look you can always just ask, you know. I don't mind,” then lift her arms up and stretch. Rukia might lean forward or bend over to show off more, use a hand to pull a cheek aside and waggle her eyebrows, say something like, “If you see something you like, you should give a compliment.”

Something that would melt Ichigo and Yoruichi's hearts would be having Rukia between the two of them, arched and trembling, weakly clutching at them and moaning out, "Yoru... Ichi... go..." Hearing their names co-mingled like that, they'd be filled with thoughts of how they've got to protect her, they've got to deliver her, they've got to give her everything and be one with her. And afterward Ichigo would pull Yoruichi tight to gently squish Rukia between them, Yoruichi not much less spacey than Rukia would be. Rukia might be gathered between them, face buried in Ichigo's neck and Yoruichi pressed up against her back, the pair of them grounding her to the earth.

Yoruichi and Rukia sometimes pair off together while Ichigo is left in the dust recovering from his refractory period, and they make him watch. He'd always be astonished at seeing them together, how they can keep on and on, and always be kind of struck by, Why... do they need me...? and I don't think he'd ever fully get over it, but it would inspire him to always try and be worthy of them, and sometimes give them cause to reassure him.

“Fool. You think we'd just... always be doing this without you?” Rukia asked.

He turned and stayed silent. Why not?

Yoruichi maneuvered around so he she was in front of him, cupping his jaw. “We need you too.”

Ichigo's eyes widened as they met hers.

Rukia pressed against him from behind. “Who else is going to make us feel safe, idiot?”

Yoruichi tapped a finger above his heart. “And it's not like you're bad...” she purred.

“Not bad at all,” Rukia added quietly.

"There's some things toys just can't do,” Yoruichi mused, looking deep into him.

Ichigo's face heated. “Well. I...”

Rukia grinned, pressing against him. “Fingers and tongues and toys are good and all, but...”

"Nothing like a man who knows how to use what he's got,” Yoruichi finished, and she and Rukia shared a meaningful look.

Ichigo cleared his throat.

“A toy doesn't feel warm like sunlight.”

“It doesn't tangle fingers in your hair and smoothly pull your head back.”

“It doesn't clutch at your hips.”

“It doesn't tremble between your thighs.”

“It doesn't curl up with you after and tell you it loves you.”

And he quietly thought, But, you can do that to each other... And yet, even so, his cheeks went red and he just kind of sank between them as they petted and stroked at him and whispered sweet nothings that eventually became soft kisses here and there.

When they’re separated due to travel, I think they would remember each other in different ways. Much of it would be domestic and fluffy, but when their thoughts turned to intimacy, the focus would be a little different for each of them. I think that Ichigo would remember sights and feelings: Yoruichi on her back and Rukia atop her, their legs interlocked so as to spread each other and both of them looking back over their shoulders at him expectantly and hungrily, and how that made his chest clench around his heart. Yoruichi would recall images and physical sensations: Ichigo and Rukia moving together, Rukia spread under her, the feeling of Ichigo’s hands tangled in her hair, the tastes and smells of them. Rukia would focus on emotional memories, of what it felt like in the afterglow and during aftercare: Yoruichi and Ichigo curling around her and the way she felt safe and warm in their arms, the way it felt like they built a boundary between her and the world. (Rukia would still sometimes think of particular things though; things like images of Yoruichi between her thighs, while Ichigo held her from behind—his voice in her ear, a low rumble of all the things he was going to do to her when Yoruichi was finished...)

I think, when they were paired off with Ichigo due to the absence of the other, Yoruichi and Rukia would be intrigued with how he treated the other. I imagine they'd watch each other often when they were all together; sometimes it might be all three of them at once, but other times they'd take turns. Rukia might be fascinated by the contrast in Ichigo and Yoruichi's skin and the difference in the way they moved, the power of them. Yoruichi might be bewitched by the tenderness Ichigo showed Rukia, the softness of them even when they were rough together. So you might have, with Ichigo and Rukia:

Rukia ended the kiss and dipped her head, bringing the fringe of her hair to rest against Ichigo’s chin. She gently squeezed his shoulders and pressed closer.

His fingers dug into the sides of her waist appreciatively.

She let out a small sound and pressed her face down against his neck, getting secure against him. Being so close seemed to distort things, as if she was in a deep gravity well. She closed her eyes. “Ichigo...?”

“Hmm?”

She spiraled her pointer fingers against his collarbones with a touch of uncertainty. “Um...”

He began to massage her sides in reassurance. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing’s... wrong, I just—” She broke off and pulled her head back, looking up at him.

Ichigo met her gaze.

Rukia looked between his eyes, wondering at how soft they were—always so soft for her. She looked down again. “I want you to treat me like you do Yoruichi,” she whispered.

He blinked.

“I’m... not made of glass, Ichigo,” she murmured. She loved how tender he was with her, but... He was always powerful with Yoruichi, even when he was slow with her, and the two of them always looked... so damn sexy! The more she’d seen of it, the more she wanted it for herself. She wanted to feel that power, that strength, that energy.

Ichigo soon reached a hand up to brush her hair. “No, you’re not.”

Something about his tone made Rukia bite her lip, and she pressed her head toward his hand, appreciating the contact for a short time. She then released his shoulders and carefully turned around, getting her legs astride his and pushing back firmly against him before slowly starting to roll her rear suggestively against his hips.

He gripped her sides firmly. “Rukia...”

She turned her head fractionally to look at him out of the corner of her eyes, asking with them. She needed to know what it was like.

And with Ichigo and Yoruichi:

Yoruichi softly bit Ichigo’s tongue to signal an end to the kiss, wrenching her lips away from his and sliding her head forward so they were cheek to cheek.

He turned his head toward her neck to follow on as he pushing her up against the fridge more firmly, squeezing handfuls of her ass.

She let out a needy moan and pressed her cheek to his, drawing her arms tighter around his neck and tangling her fingers in his hair. “Ichigo.”

“What?” he whispered, his impatience hanging from every letter of the word.

“Wait.” It was a soft instruction, but an instruction nonetheless.

Ichigo paused and blinked, very deliberately focusing on her. She’d never been one for delays. A little silence rolled out between them before his eyelids slid halfway shut again. “What's wrong?”

“Don't assume something is wrong,” Yoruichi chided mildly, slowly arching a little to push her rear into his hands. She waited a few breaths, beginning to brush through his hair. “I want to try something different,” she eventually conceded.

He started to rub his cheek against hers as a memory returned to him of something very much like this. “Different? How...?”

Yoruichi lowered her head a little. “Treat me like Rukia?” He was so caring and patient with Rukia—always making love to her in the most passionate yet considerate way. She loved what she had with him—it was always fun and satisfying—but she’d seen them so many times and she increasingly found herself wondering...

Ichigo looked askew at the side of her head for long seconds before lowering his face, snuggling her against the refrigerator door. “You know... Last time, she asked me to treat her like you.”

She blinked in surprise.

A little smile curved his lips and he gave her neck a soft kiss, musing on the irony. “Did you two plan this?”

“No!” she denied in a sharp whisper, only for her eyes to widen as he squeezed her ass again, very differently. The motion was smooth, celebratory, and made her shiver—something about it made her soul ache with recognition.

“Okay,” Ichigo promised, standing up and pulling her away from the appliance. He held onto her securely as he bore her to the bedroom.

Yoruichi faintly bit her lower lip at the sudden change in his attitude but clung to him, offering no resistance or further comment.

All three of them quite like one another’s scents and flavors (although Ichigo and Yoruichi regard Rukia as primus inter pares and think she’s the best) and they’re not shy about it. You can imagine Yoruichi mocking the old Tootsie-Rolls commercial line while she and Rukia are holding Ichigo, whose cock is covered in magic shell topping: “How many licks does it take to get to the creamy center...?”

CONCLUSION

There is even more (as there are a dozen or so little in-progress fics and ficlets scattered around, mostly for Modern Continuity) but that’s the end of all the notes I have on hand for now. If you made it this far, thank you, and I hope you found this charming or persuasive, or at least entertaining! If you did, please leave me your thoughts! 

[secondlifep]

Unasked questions, answered...

I saw @aloveaffairwithlight post this and tag everyone, and while I am not everyone I found the questions kinda interesting so here are my answers...

1. What do you prefer to be called (name wise)? My name is Patrick, most people call me P.

2. When is your birthday? July 29 (Leo as @coloursoflovelustlife always reminds me)

3. Where do you live? Northwestern Pennsylvania

4. Three things I’m doing right now? Sitting, drinking S. Pellegrino Essenza (Dark Morello Cherry & Pomegranate flavor), answering these questions, and a bonus, loading some photos in Lightroom (in the background)

5. Four fandoms that have piqued your interest? I grew up Star Wars, so that would be number one.  I also love Avatar: The Last Airbender as well as Cowboy Bebop.  And more recently, my youngest son has me watching “JoJo's Bizarre Adventure”, which I am really enjoying.

6. How has the pandemic been treating you? A bizarre combination of not too bad and like fucking shit.  On the not too bad side of things, I already am a “remote” worked, have been for most of my career (full of great luck and stories), however I do miss the opportunity to get out a bit, because that was my stress relief and relaxation thing.  It is fucking shit because I traveled a bit for work, which I really enjoyed and my primary non-nesting partner lives in China, so we have not been able to get together physically for over a year, which fucking sucks ...  Did I mention it fucking sucks?  Well, it does.

7. A song you can’t stop listening to? Oh, there are a lot of these.  Music is a love language for me (🐤) so there is always music in my head.  These past couple of days I’ve been listening to a collection of “greatest hits” from Journey.   

8. Recommend a movie:  I will 

     Fun: Ocean’s Eleven

     Thought Provoking: Er ist wieder da (Look Who’s Back)

     Bond: From Russian With Love

     Watched too many times: Thomas Crown Affair (remake)

     Sci-fi:  Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

     Foreign Fun: A Chinese Odyssey: Part One and Two

      And of course anything classic Ghibli ...  

9. How old are you? Complete the TV show, Hawaii X-X ;-)

10. School, university, occupation: I went to a local University and majoring in Information Technology.  I was lucky enough to be hired into that profession out of Uni and now am an IT leader in a large company ...  Over time, I have grown tired of the capitalist, corporate, beauracratic bull shit, and so I am buying my time to retirement...

11. Do you prefer to be hot or cold? Cold, easier to put on than take off ;-)

12. Name a fact other may not know about you. I repeated 7th grade when we moved and I switched schools.  My parents thought that it would be good for my development and maturity, and maybe help with my academic achievements.  Did that work? I dunno.  Maybe a little bit.

13. Are you shy? Depends on the circumstance.  Around people I already know and feel comfortable with, no ... but in a crowd by myself, or with anyone I don’t know real well, yes - very much so.  I’m an ambivert...

14. Preferred pronouns: he/him is fine, thank you.

15. Biggest pet peeve: Stealing @aloveaffairwithlight answer: inconsiderate people, people who do not think for themself and follow along without questioning things, bad breath and sexist, racist, people.

16. Favorite dere type? Had know idea what that was ... a quick google found this: https://www.allthetests.com/quiz32/quiz/1435981998/What-type-of-Dere-Are-You which I took.

The answer is: 

     60% you are: a Deredere. 

     20% you are: a Yandere. 

     10% you are: a Dandere

     10% you are: a Kuudere

     ok, I guess.... um ... ... alrighty then.

17. Rate your life 1-10. 7.491822 Is that too precise?

18. What is your main blog? You’re looking at it.

19. List all your side blogs and what are the for? secondlifeparallax, I started a long time ago to share iphone wallpapers that I have made from various images and stuff...  It is not very active but I keep it for archival purposes.

20. Tag who you want to know more: Nope, not gonna do it... If after wasting your time reading my answers you want to do the same then go for it.  And please tag me so I know my shit inspired you.  ;-)

[alexisluthor]

A view of Prodigal Son through my lens of mental health

Prodigal Son is a fantastic show. One of the reasons I got so drawn into it is because I can relate to Malcolm. I have PTSD, night terrors, panic attacks...in short - trauma. 

Malcolm’s trauma, and how he deals with it, plays a significant role in the show and the writer’s have done a great job exploring this, but there’s always room to explore further. 

For as much as I have in common with the character of Malcolm, I have just as many differences. I’m not pretty, I’m not rich, I don’t have medication that works for me, and my father’s not a serial killer. I’m average on a good day, totally broke, allergic to the majority of SSRI’s and my dad’s a geologist. Writing all of that down I realize that only the last point works in my favor. 

My own personal drabbles aside, there’s a lot I’ve experienced that I’m sure the show could explore as well. 

For one, finding the right medication can be a slow, terrifying and tedious process. There can be side effects...withdrawals like ‘brain zaps,’ when you’re going off one and getting on another. It can be quite rough. There’s maintenance medication, and emergency medication like Xanax. Malcolm said that he’s wildly dependent on Benzos, but we’ve never seen him take an emergency medication I don’t think.

Still, he has his medication and his routine, which is good. Maybe he’s got all that figured out already. I don’t really know what that’s like - to have that all figured out. I’ve tried. I’ve been prescribed (what feels like) nearly everything and have had a whole host of terrible side effects - one of which (rather ironically) is anxiety. My body simply can’t break down anxiety medication, the drugs building up in my system until side effects become inevitable. That’s just my own weirdness though.

Another thing that works out pretty well for Malcolm is how others, namely his team, treats him. They know that he’s ‘different,’ but they accept him. In real life...well...in my experience...it’s not like that really. 

What it *is* like is people judging you or trying to help you or blowing you off entirely. I personally devote a massive amount of time and energy attempting to ‘come off’ as normal. I do things that scare me to death - things I wouldn’t normally do - just to prove my normalcy. But I’m not normal.

I bend over backwards to make concessions for other people, but (aside from a few family members) no one does the same for me. They don’t do it because they don’t understand. And if I try to explain my aversion to certain things...if I try to explain my anxiety to someone who has never dealt with it themselves (or know someone who has) it’s nearly impossible to explain. It’s like trying to describe colors to someone who’s colorblind.

There’s this inherent loneliness, this clawing desire to be known and understood that goes unmet, and this massive fear that no one out there cares or understands. 

You try to explain things in such a way that people will understand.

To demonstrate the disheartening result of me trying to open up to people, these are the kinds of things I hear from people in response to my trying to explain. “Why don’t you just get over it?” “You should put yourself out there more.” “Well I never had a problem with XYZ, why do you?” “Being anxious means you’re not being strong enough in your faith.” “Have you tried essential oils?” Have you tried yoga?” “You should go Keto.” “It sounds like you need to work on XYZ…” “Why do you have PTSD? You were never in a war.”

Eventually, you just stop putting yourself out there. You stop trying to make friends. You stop trying to date. Because the experiences you have - the truly bad ones - are so crushing, discouraging and heart wrenching. 

I’ve had bosses pick on me for being anxious. I’ve had some ask me to do things that really made my anxiety quite bad - and I did them anyway, rather than trying to explain. I’ve had terrible coworkers, and awful people who I thought were my friends, who turned out not to be. 

And Malcolm’s team is just...there for him...supporting him. And it’s wonderful. But it would also be wonderful to see him interact with someone who really doesn’t get it. Because that happens quite a lot.

Switching gears, I’ve also had some different experiences when it came to therapists - if I could afford them. I had a good one, but she went to work at a hospital. She left, and she was the only therapist I had ever connected with. I tried to see one before her, but we didn’t connect at all and it left me wondering if therapy was even an option for me. Then I found her and it was a good option. It worked out nicely. Then she left. And I’ve struggled with my anxiety now more than ever...but I don’t have her...so I’m trying someone new. 

And each time you start with a therapist, it’s like starting at zero. Recalling all of your trauma with them...wondering if they can help or not. One lady I saw, who was very much the wrong fit, told me that I couldn’t have a kid on my own. That it wasn’t right if I didn’t have a husband. Needless to say - that didn’t work out.

And you do try everything. You try the tapping method thing and the brain spotting thing. You try traditional therapy and so many other things because, more than anything, you want to be normal. People say normal is overrated, but it isn’t. It’s a golden, beautiful thing that feels so out of reach - so unattainable sometimes. 

And you’re not sure when it happened, but you’ve somehow got this label. This necklace that says, “broken,” that’s chained around your neck. And you carry it, believing that you are inherently defective - the belief seeping into other areas of your life like a poison. 

You try to cope, but that’s not always possible. Malcolm copes through his job, but that can be extremely dangerous, as I found out when I no longer had a job. You have to be able to stand on your own...without putting your chips into anything that you have the potential to lose. A job. A relationship. A certain home. A particular friend. 

What would happen if Malcolm no longer had his job? Or like...during this quarantine, for example...he wasn’t able to do it? 

I think Malcolm said it best when he said that he’s a mess, but he’s a functioning mess. Right now, I can’t make that same claim. There are peaks and valleys of dealing with anxiety on this level. There are moments - years - where I did wonderfully. And then there are moments like this - years - where I’m at the very lowest point possible. 

It’s a rollercoaster ride that you can’t get off. There are moments of progress and major setbacks. 

I realize that the show’s main focus isn’t Malcolm’s mental state - although it probably could be - but I think that there is more room for the show to delve into this ongoing battle more. 

I’m terrible at transitions at 12:37 am so I’ll just go on in saying that there’s another thing I, personally struggle with. My Dad has cancer. Terminal. And I often feel guilt. Guilt for not spending enough time with him or guilt because I don’t get along with him. We’re quite different people and he - in no way, shape, or form understands what my anxiety/PTSD is. Some of the most hurtful things ever said to me, were said by him. And it creates this dichotomy. On one hand, I love him - and on the other, he’s hurt me beyond measure. 

I think Malcolm feels this same dichotomy, only in a different way. His father’s a monster. He wants to hate him - part of him does. But part of him also loves him. There's guilt there. It’s the same type of guilt that I have, although it’s a different flavor - it exists for a different reason. 

I’m not really allowed to be mad at my dying father. Malcolm’s not really allowed to love his monster of a father. Etcetera, etcetera. Which I think is a fascinating bit of cognitive dissonance for the show to dissect.

So...that is my very lengthy and probably barely relevant analysis of the show through my mental health lens. 

There is such a stigma attached to mental health that I didn’t even want to admit I had a problem until I was eighteen, even though my struggles started a decade prior to that. The stigma is so difficult to get past. The questions you get asked are so intolerable and invasive at times. The progress forward can be so slow and painful. Still I try my best. And I realize this is just a show, but it’s a show that means a lot to me for obvious reasons.

There are those massive differences between real-life-me and TV character, Malcolm Bright.

Malcolm is beautiful. He’s wonderfully dressed and comes from money. He had enough money to attend one of the best Ivy League colleges and attain an amazing degree. He doesn’t have to worry about paying for meds or his therapist. He has meds that work for him. He has a fulfilling job that piques his interest and pays him enough to live off of. He has coworkers and a mother and a mentor who are there for him in a non-judgmental way. He is not the norm - but the exception. And it works for the show. 

I just hope that people know that having these issues is not thrilling or sexy. It doesn’t make me a more interesting person. And oftentimes, people who do suffer from these issues don’t have half the support or care that this character does. 

I hope that this show succeeds in getting the conversation about mental health started. I hope that the stigma around mental health begins to wane. And someday, I hope that mental healthcare will be available to everyone - no matter their social class or income.  

There’s a lot that this show can explore with Malcolm and his mental health journey and I hope that we get a season two so that it can.