#playing around with haizaki's character has to be my favourite thing to do

[evelhak]

Ossu! Eve-san!! can I request an art of your fav KnB characters lounging around in living room :D With Kagami and Aomine argue as they play card games, Midorima trying his best to meditate with his face so annoyed with AoKaga, and Kuroko trying his best to focus on reading a book, but Kise pestering him nonstop. Murasakibara lazily listening to Akashi explaining Shogi strategy (mura munching on snacks as always) and if it's okay, can we add haizaki as well, joining AoKaga playing card games and he also fights with them?

If it's too much, I totally understand! :D

I finally did it. Damn, this took me many hours, but it was so worth it. It was challenging for me with the number of characters, and I love challenges. Thank you so much for requesting it!

I couldn't imagine Haizaki in this scene naturally, so I added Momoi, Takao and grown up Nigou instead! This is the gang in my heart. 💙

I didn't imagine them in any particular living room, because I didn't want to be restricted with so much already going on, but when the picture was ready, I realized I had drawn a scene from my next planned fic, where they celebrate graduation by taking a trip together and stay in a house that turns out to be haunted. This would probably be their first night there, when nothing weird has happened yet. It's based on the novel Haunting of Hill House, and it was supposed to be an Aomine centric fic, but while looking at this picture I started feeling like it might benefit from switching POVs between everyone.

The wallpaper was the last detail I drew, and it was right after that when I heard a conversation between Aomine and Kagami in my head, Kagami saying he felt like the walls were full of eyes that were staring at them, and Aomine being like "Nah, they're boobs." That's how I realized they were in the haunted house, haha.

For someone who reads my fics, this picture is going to be so much fun to analyse, by the way. You have to zoom in a lot though. (Someone coming to me with a list of all the Easter eggs and riddles I put there, with their analysis about them, would be a day to remember. I'll just say most of them have multiple meanings or things they refer to. And some of them actually refer to the future.)

I love that I drew this, even though there's a lot I would still want to do better. I spent so much time getting the proportions right, only to realize too late that they still weren't quite right. But I like the interaction in there, and I think Murasakibara is my favourite part, since I had never drawn him before, but he turned out quite well, I think.

The process of drawing this was so much fun. It was so stimulating for my brain! Always up for complex requests. ✨

art requests

[kirisaki-daichi-scenarios]

studies on an asexual haizaki

tw: aphobia (internalised and otherwise); toxic masculinity; (mild) sexual harassment and objectification of women

It starts when Haizaki’s in his first year of middle school, when he’s with his older brother, running errands for their mother (for a change).

“You see that chick over there?” says his older brother, as Haizaki chucks a chocolate bar into the shopping basket (what’s the point in agreeing to buy groceries if you don’t get a little something out of it). “She’s so fucking hot. Man, I’d like to fuck her, cum all over her- Hey, Shougo are you listening?”

Haizaki has been busy deciding whether he should get himself another chocolate bar whilst he’s at it. When his brother elbows him, he glances up at the woman in question - she vaguely looks like his teacher from a while back, with that permanently pissed off expression on her face - and then back down at the chocolate.

“I’m listening,” he replies, blatantly not.

“Guess you’re too young - has puberty not hit you yet?”

His brother’s voice twists into a mocking tone - his laugh is like that of a playground bully’s.

Without thinking, Haizaki snaps, “I’m past puberty. Fuck off. She’s just boring - I see girls like her all the time.”

His brother laughs again, and slaps Shougo’s shoulder.

“If you say so, kid,” he grabs himself a chocolate bar too - now there’s three in the shopping basket, “but, next time you’re chatting with your friends - if you have any, make sure you know how to act. Or else you’ll embarrass yourself. Sex is what being a man is all about.”

The woman looks in their direction. The older Haizaki brother makes a thrusting gesture with his crotch. Her cheeks go an angry red, and she storms off. Judging by his brother’s chuckle, Haizaki presumes that her reaction is a good thing.

That’s the thing about Haizaki Shougo; he’s a good learner, and he’s quick to adapt. Not long after the grocery store event, he gets reported to the headmaster for being overly sexual to the female students (wolf-whistling, straying hands, making ‘jokes’ that are nothing of the sort), and telling one of his female teachers that he’ll only listen in her classes if she strips for him. His mother is furious with him on the way home - he’s been suspended for a few days, and the only reason he hasn’t been expelled is that the headmaster understands that Haizaki’s at an age where his hormones are all over the place.

“’Boys will be boys!’” his mother quotes when they get home, as Haizaki stands awkwardly in the doorway, “all you boys will be is the death of me. Hormones are no excuse for your behaviour!”

Her rant almost convinces him that there’s no real reason to do what he does - his hormones (he worries) are still very much dormant - but, before he can start to contemplate his behaviour, his older brother (who is actually expelled from school - always one step ahead of Haizaki - and is probably going to drop out high school soon anyway) interjects,

“Hey, he’s growing up. You should be praising him - Shougo’s finally becoming a man-“

Their mother then starts yelling at him too, for being such an awful influence, but the diversion of her attention gives Haizaki enough time to disappear up to his room, and lock the door behind him - the way his older brother does when he’s watching porn.

Coincidentally, it’s his older brother who introduced Haizaki to porn too - not directly, but Haizaki saw it on his computer when he was borrowing it to play video games. It’s porn which introduces Haizaki to the thrilling and shivering tension that is getting off. It’s the first thing he thinks of when he gets home, chucking his homework on the growing pile of late sheets and assignments. 

And he’ll watch practically anything, no matter how violent (though he stops short of brown showers; even he can’t get off to that), because, regardless of the content, he gets that feeling of release at the end. And it’s when he cleans up the sticky white liquid that he feels most like a man. Most like his brother.

The tricky part only comes when his brother starts pretending he gives a shit about his younger brother’s life. When he starts asking questions like “any of your classmates sexy?” or “who’s your favourite porn star?” Really, Haizaki doesn’t particularly care about people - he just likes getting off; even the concept of sex doesn’t massively beguile him.

But he can’t tell his older brother that. Instead, he says something about how all pussies look the same - so who cares about the girl attached - and his brother tells him never to say that to a chick, or she’ll slap him, so Haizaki says that “it’s more entertaining when they fight you”, and his brother says “you sick fuck” but laughs, to emphasis that it’s not an insult.

The only problem is that, back at school, people are starting to sleep with one another. Not everyone, but very much Haizaki’s crowd. And that makes Haizaki’s life a little trickier, cause he’s real good at talking about porn, but real bad talking about actual girls, and all he can say is that these girls are nothing like porn stars, so how could he want to fuck any of them? His companions (not many) take that as meaning that Haizaki’s into older women. And he can’t correct them, because otherwise they could get suspicious that he’s gay - and he’s not, but there’s definitely something wrong with his head, since his hormones still haven’t started acting up.

So, just to shut them, he decides he’ll fuck Kise’s girl. (If she’s Kise’s girl, then she’s definitely hot, aka definitely the type of girl he should be fucking).

And they do fuck. They fuck in her bedroom, when her parents are away, but it’s still awkward as shit cause it feels like her teddy bear is staring at Haizaki’s naked body the whole time. So, when Haizaki finally cums, when he yells out ‘fuck’, what he really means is ‘why won’t this bear stop fucking look at me’ and not ‘this pussy is so fucking tight’.

He doesn’t know what he was expecting from sex, but it’s definitely not this.

There’s something so repulsive about her face now, as he’s staring at her from the distance, like his head and his dick are connected to two different bodies.

“We should do this again,” she murmurs, running her hands down his chest.

“Nah,” Haizaki swallows, makes his voice so gravelly and uninterested (like he imagines his brother would, in a similar situation), “you weren’t good enough.”

At school the next day, she starts crying and screaming at him - which solidifies the rumours that he’s a player, and brings him a whole lot of respect from all the guys in his class, because not only does he have sex, but he’s also had so much of it that he doesn’t even care about it anymore.

“It’s just sex, right?” says Haizaki with a cigarette in his lips, in high school later on, “it’s no big deal.”

The first year he’s talking to has his eyes wide, like he’s realising just how big the gap is between himself and his senior - after all, Haizaki would never get embarrassed asking out his crush, and Haizaki would never get a hard on in the middle of a presentation, and Haizaki would never wait for his girl to say that they should ‘make love’. Hell, Haizaki never even uses the phrase ‘make love’; he just says ‘fuck’, like all the other cool guys.

What the first year doesn’t recognise is that Haizaki only doesn’t use the phrase cause he’s convinced that love and sex are worlds apart (if they’re not, then Haizaki will never love someone - and that thought depresses him, even if he pretends it doesn’t). And Haizaki only says ‘fuck’ because that’s the word his older brother used, and all Haizaki wants to be is his older brother.

But the first year better never recognise that, thinks Haizaki, as he lets a girl suck him off (staring at everything but not her face) because then he’ll see Haizaki as Haizaki sees himself: a joke.

[hunterartemisanime]

KnB Commentary: Kise Ryouta and the Curse of Being “Pretty Boy” in Shonen Anime

Cheerful, extroverted, happy-go-lucky and sunshine with a face, Kise Ryota is the screen ikemen in Kuroko no Basket. Although Kise is a cult favourite, but I think he is sometimes pushed aside with Momoi. In KnB people tend to focus more on the other GoMs rather than Kise. Here is my take on how Kise Ryota’s character and his types are scorned in Shonen Manga.

Shonen and Shojo manga revolve around two different dimensions: while shonen manga focuses on friendships, journeys and solid characteristic developments, shojo manga focuses generally on the romance parts, interpersonal relationships, appearance and struggles of the ordinary main character. Both manga lauds ordinariness and makes the ordinary extra-ordinary one just by showing that they have the possibility to be sublime. While Shojo manga greatly appreciates male beauty to the point of worship, Shonen sort of looks down on male beauty: anyone who identifies himself as good looking, or wants to be good looking is put down by others around him. Let’s see how Kise fell into the same trap.

Kise is introduced in the story in a very Shojo manga fashion. He is looked from the female point of view of Seirin’s girl students as he walks down the main pathway of the school. That piece of scene almost reminded me Takumi Usui entering school in Kaichou wa Maid Sama. From that point, wherever he goes he is greeted and surrounded by female population en large, much to the annoyance of his team members and opponents. Similar to the effect of “male gaze”, exists a “female gaze” which supposedly decides the desirability of a boy, especially in a high school setting. Kise, being handsome by the contemporary Japanese standards thus somewhat becomes the focus of the female gaze which makes males around him conscious and equally anxious. This phenomenon can be asserted with Momoi’s first encounter in the anime with Kuroko in Aida Gym pool. When Kuroko is hugged by a very beautiful and buxom Momoi Satsuki, the boys on his team lament: “I am so jealous of you Kuroko, hope you’ll die.” This was from a rather “harmless” and “normal” bunch of High School Basketballers, then just imagine how it effects the powerhouse boys with similar primal instinct and with greater ego. Thus Kise is treated with hot-and-cold attitude from males around him: be its his former teammates or current.

Kise is thus definitely an eligible bachelor and he surely knows it. However his self-awareness is without vanity or narcissistic edge. He is shown to be appreciative of female attention and not portray himself as a “playboy” or a “Scorer”; he is never addressed by anyone as “charan poran” (womanizer) in the series. This is a very contradictory attitude in Shonen anime. In shonen anime Male sexuality have very limited outlets: either one should be hyper-celibate and not pay attention to any organism marked as female, or one could be hyper-sexual to the point where they objectify the female form in a not so respectable manner--there is nothing in the Middle. In KnB Akashi, Kuroko and Midorima fall in the former end of spectrum while Haizaki Shogo and Aomine Daiki fall into the latter. Even dating and having girlfriend can make you the object of male scorn: in the anime Grand Blue, the department of Mechanical Engineer has a secret pact to stay single and when they find out that Iori Kitahara is living with Chisa (who is his cousin), they almost throw a violent fit. The male solidarity in Shonen thus ostricise the males who express appreciation in female company and show interest in courting and romance. Kise is snubbed in a similar manner for showing interest in a more feminine side. A same kind of snubbing was delivered to Hiroshi Fukuda of Seirin when he confessed on the rooftop that he wanted to get into the team for dating someone. In Free Momotarou Mikoshiba too, is either ridiculed or snubbed by his teammates for openly admitting to like Gou Matsuoka.

Out of all the Generation of Miracles characters, I think Kise is the most discriminated of all. His discrimination is the unsual kind: he is too important in the plotline to be comic relief like Takao and Izuki and he is too cheerful enough to be the bad boy. So what kind of discrimination does he face? He faces the discrimination for being good looking. Yes, there is a thing to be discriminated for being good looking. I also think Kise has been played within the character of being the “dumb blond”. He is portrayed as “pretty boy” and is expected to limit himself within it. His cheerful attitude is often met with cold shoulder and it is absolutely normalised within the storyline. Unlike other players who greet their rivals outside the courts with a broody attitude and slightly glaring eyes, Kise is the one who advocates “Yesterday’s rivals are today’s friends”. This is a very positive attitude to use in real life to keep the unhealthy competitiveness in check, but it is met with a scorn in the anime. It is shown as if being cheerful is the by-product of being good looking and the former should reflect the latter. This is perhaps the reason Kise’s playing style was completely sniped out of the scene from being “the best of all”. According to the society, a good looking person is just an eye-candy for anyone to drool over and if they have too much agency or talent people enviously comment “(s)he gets all that because of the looks”. It stems from the insecurity of one person having too much social power. The entire thing is very limiting. Kise is not only good-looking, he is acing his modelling career, a field which is highly demanding and taxing and at the same time he is doing well in basketball also in a nationally reputed school. These attributes somewhat gets overshadowed because he is somewhat only identified on screen for his looks. This fact is highlighted with his rivalry with Haizaki Shogo. Haizaki, instead of acknowledging Kise as a player, “marked his territory” by “boning” one of the girls claiming to be Kise’s girlfriend. 

Kise is very much aware of the fact that the swarming bunch of girls are intrinsic to his image, especially as a model and for this reason he tries to be respectful towards them. However, he does not identify the admiration of the fan-brigade with genuine affection. This is the core fact which Haizaki misinterprets about Kise that he derives power from the admiring fangirls. Haizaki despite being the antagonist is pretty much shares the similar prejudice with the people near Kise: that Kise Ryota begins and ends with looks and even his playing style “perfect copy” is less than original. But Kise is not the prejudices that surround him, he is affectionate, loyal and genuine with enough dedication to pursue what he loves. The ideal type of Kise : “a girl that won’t tie me down” says a lot about him. He is eager to meet someone who will respect him for who he actually is and not for his looks or fame. He too is someone who grew out of seeing the surface and judge to observe someone and understand---that is how he started to respect Kuroko at the first place. At the end, when he loses to Touou, he sheds the image of a “cool handsome boy” and cries like a baby in public; something his own captain Kasamatsu or his former teammate Midorima could not do. This shows a lot of courage and strength but also shows that expressing ugly emotions in a public can also be dignified and not necessarily be stripping to masculinity.

Tags

: @sidd-hit-my-butt-ham @yanderebakugo @kurokonbscenarios @kurokonobasket @kurokonoboisket @art-zites @idinaxye @sp-chernobyl @strawbe3ryshortcake @reservethemoon @rilnen @a-shy-potato @thirsthourdemon @animebxxch @edagawasatoru @akawaiishi-blog @reinyrei @chloe-noir @theswahn @ahobaka-trash @jeilliane @trashtoria  @scarlettedwardsposts @quirkydarling @ghostieswaifu @levihan-freaks @hope-im-spirited-away @yves0809 @marshiro1101 @bubziles @heartfullofknb @kit-kat57 @akichan-th

[shootmesenpai]

Question tag for AO3 writers~~

I found the original questions on AFF a while back, and I thought since I’ve been tagged in so many meme things lately, I’d also tag a bunch more people in this one XD Since the questions were designed for AFF, I’ve reworked some of them to fit for AO3 writers. I also removed two questions rather than trying to translate them to AO3 terms. So, I’ll fill out my answers first, and then put the blank questions again at the bottom for you to easily copy and paste!

1. How did you come up with your username and what does it mean?

I came up with "Shootmesenpai” for my Tumblr originally a long time ago. It was pretty much a play on the whole “Notice me senpai” thing. Pretty basic and not very witty but it just ended up sticking so I even used it for AO3.

2. Which fanfic of yours has the most feedback? (bookmarks/subscriptions/hits/kudos)

Happy Birthday Aomine 

3. What is your AO3 profile icon, and why did you choose it?

My icon is Aomine Daiki. I choose it because he is my favorite boy and almost all the fanfics I have written are from his perspective. 

4. Do you have any regular/favourite commenters?

I’m not a very popular writer and my stuff is pretty low key so the commenters are fairly random. I have some friends that comment so I suppose they count....kinda. 

5. Is there a fanfic that you keep going back to read again and again?

Blackbird or the Ladder series by @emungere is amazing and I have reread them a number of times. I also have a huge soft spot for Across the Way by @gintamajustaway and that is not even finished yet. 

6. How many stories are you subscribed to? How many do you have bookmarked?

I am only subscribed to two stories at the moment since a couple just finished recently, but I have 29 bookmarks for things that need to be read. I’m kinda bad about actually doing this instead, I just leave 100 tabs open on my phone. 

7. Which AU do you find yourself writing the most?

I haven’t actually written any AU’s yet but I like reading student/teacher ones, yakuza AU’s or college AU’s. I would like to write a college AU one day as it’s not too far from reality so I think I may be able to handle it. 

8. How many people are subscribed and bookmarked to you in total? (you can view this on the stats page)

Oh, an embarrassingly small amount....I think I only have 29 subscriptions and 44 bookmarks...definitely, nothing to write home about. 

9. Is there something you’d like to write about but are afraid of people judging you for it? (Feeling brave? If so, share it!)

Honestly, I don’t really have much. I would like to write something really aggressive and complex but I don’t do well with long stories. A yakuza story with some rough subject matter (similar to Harada) would be amazing but....that's a bit much for most of the ships I enjoy. 

10. Is there anything you would like to be better at? Writing certain scenes or genres, replying to comments, updating better, etc.

I would like to finish my one long story and possibly rework a lot of it. It was the first one I wrote and looking back I can see a lot of flaws. I need to honestly just start writing more and learn the fundamentals of good storytelling. Even though I enjoy writing smutty one-shots the most, I still have ideas for long stories that I’m not confident enough to begin. 

11. Do you write rarepairs or popular ships more often?

I mainly write for AoKuro or AoKuroKaga which I guess is a bit rare for the KNB fan base. I also love ultra rare pairings like NijiHai. 

12. How many stories have you posted on AO3 to this day (finished and unfinished)?

5 total works with one unfinished. 

13. How many stories do you have saved in/with your writing program?

I have the next chapter started with Realization and Loss but it’s only a paragraph....that’s it at the moment. 

14. Do you write down story ideas, or just keep them in your head?

A little bit of both, my friend and I talk story ideas every once in a while so some of those are permanently locked in my head. There are some I came up with on my own that I have written down in a sketchbook somewhere. 

15. Have you ever co-authored a story?

Nope, I come up with ideas with a friend sometimes so it kinda feels like it has been co-authored at times. 

16. How did you discover AO3?

Just following the links of the fanfic rabbit hole. 

17. Do you consider yourself to be a popular or famous author in your fandom(s) on AO3?

Oh god no, I am extremely casual in my writings. I freak out for having like 5 kudos on a fic. I bow down to the famous authors. 

18. Do you have a nickname or fandom name for your readers?

Not that I’m aware of, again I am bottom of that totem pole. 

19. Was there an author who inspired or encouraged you to write?

I mean @humanitys-shortest-soldier kinda encouraged me after I continued to bug her about showing off her amazing writing skills. Other than that though @gintamajustaway was a huge inspiration, they are so amazing that I really have no words. 

20. What writing advice would you give to a beginning author?

I don’t think I’m qualified to give advice but I guess I would just say, don’t be afraid to put your ideas out there. Even if you think it’s weird, or you think your writing skills aren’t up to par, just do it! There are people out there who will encourage you and make your whole day with their kind words. I promise you. 

21. Do you plot out your stories, or do you just figure it out as you go?

I do basic plots, mainly just large points that I want to hit. Everything else just slowly forms around those foundation pieces. 

22. Have you ever gotten a bad comment on a story? If so, what did you do?

No, I haven’t gotten any bad comments yet but I am always open to them. I handle criticism well and I think bad comments can help a person grow to become a better writer. 

23. Is there a certain type of scene that you have a hard time writing? (action, smut, etc..)

Ummm.....probably really serious stuff. I love writing smut and I read a lot of garbage so it helps but the serious stuff requires a build up on top of a solid foundation. Those are definitely weak points for me. 

24. What story(s) are you working on now?

I have Realization and Loss....which I will probably finish...one day. Other than that though I don’t have anything in the works, although I was prompted today to write more Brotp for AoAka. 

25. Do you plan your next project(s) before you finish your current ongoing story(s)?

Yeaaaa, I really shouldn’t but sometimes the idea is too fun to wait. 

26. Do you have a daily writing goal set for yourself?

Nope, I just write when I have the time or a burning idea. It has been a while since I have done anything though. 

27. Do you think you’ve improved as a writer since you first started?

I think I have improved a bit, there is still a lot that I need to work on. I would love to eventually get back into it and improve my fundamentals and basics storytelling abilities. 

28. What is your favorite story that you’ve written?

Haizaki’s Day Off, it was just a lot of fun to write and I really enjoy writing for Haizaki since he is a huge asshole. 

29. What is your least favorite story that you’ve written?

I don’t really have a least favorite but if I had to say...it would be Realization and Loss. It was my first one and I still need to finish it, but looking back I see a lot of errors and crutches throughout the story. 

30. Where do you see yourself (as a writer) in 5 years?

Probably close to where I am now, I love writing but I don’t think I am cut out for anything serious within the field. I love drawing and a lot of my free time is spent trying to improve there, while also finding the courage to post it. 

31. What is the easiest thing about writing?

Coming up with the basic plot and all the fun bits that it involves. 

32. What is the hardest thing about writing?

Actually sitting down to write it.....also in-character dialogue!

33. Why do you write?

I write because sometimes an idea is too fun to keep to myself or between my friends. I write so that hopefully other people get some enjoyment out of the weird stuff I create. 

Anyways that’s all the questions, so I’ll put them here as well without the answers to easily c+p.

1. How did you come up with your username and what does it mean? 2. Which fanfic of yours has the most feedback? (bookmarks/subscriptions/hits/kudos) 3. What is your AO3 profile icon, and why did you choose it? 4. Do you have any regular/favourite commenters? 5. Is there a fanfic that you keep going back to read again and again? 6. How many stories are you subscribed to? How many do you have bookmarked? 7. Which AU do you find yourself writing the most? 8. How many people are subscribed and bookmarked to you in total? (you can view this on the stats page) 9. Is there something you’d like to write about but are afraid of people judging you for it? (Feeling brave? If so, share it!) 10. Is there anything you would like to be better at? Writing certain scenes or genres, replying to comments, updating better, etc. 11. Do you write rarepairs or popular ships more often? 12. How many stories have you posted on AO3 to this day (finished and unfinished)? 13. How many stories do you have saved in/with your writing program? 14. Do you write down story ideas, or just keep them in your head? 15. Have you ever co-authored a story? 16. How did you discover AO3? 17. Do you consider yourself to be a popular or famous author in your fandom(s) on AO3? 18. Do you have a nickname or fandom name for your readers? 19. Was there an author who inspired or encouraged you to write? 20. What writing advice would you give to a beginning author? 21. Do you plot out your stories, or do you just figure it out as you go? 22. Have you ever gotten a bad comment on a story? If so, what did you do? 23. Is there a certain type of scene that you have a hard time writing? (action, smut, etc..) 24. What story(s) are you working on now? 25. Do you plan your next project(s) before you finish your current ongoing story(s)? 26. Do you have a daily writing goal set for yourself? 27. Do you think you’ve improved as a writer since you first started? 28. What is your favorite story that you’ve written? 29. What is your least favorite story that you’ve written? 30. Where do you see yourself (as a writer) in 5 years? 31. What is the easiest thing about writing? 32. What is the hardest thing about writing? 33. Why do you write?

Tagged by: @humanitys-shortest-soldier

I tag @emungere @gintamajustaway @criscura and other amazing writers who want to tell all us beginners how it’s done.