#taking break for personal things to draw him

[artbyblastweave]

I’ve been vaguely following TF2 comics (I’ve read 6 and 7 and know a few plot beats and the general storyline) and from the outside it seems like Engineer and Pyro have gotten way less “screen time” than anyone else

Pyro makes sense, there’s only so much you can do with them but Engineer feels way to engaging to be left out like that

so am i wrong or is Engie just not shown to much, and if so why?

Engineer is noticeably out of focus in the comics, and there are two important throughlines in his characterization contributing to this.

The first is that out of the nine mercenaries he's always been the most plugged in to the backstory- the comic where we learned his real name is the one that introduced the backstory, he's the only one of the mercenaries to have actually canonically met one the Mann brothers, the only one who for sure knows what the gravel wars are ostensibly being fought over- and that level of involvement with the background plot, coupled with his genius, level-headedness and comparatively high empathy, makes him difficult to position front-and-center as a protagonist without breaking a bunch of things.

The second thing setting him apart from the rest of the mercenaries is that while he's enough of an eccentric to rise to the challenge of the setting's gonzo insanity, he's almost never the instigator of any of it. His Meet the Team video consists of him sitting and relaxing while his sentry guns mow down waves of assailants, monologuing about the measured practicality of his escalating response. His response to the teleporter tumor problem in Expiration Date is a grounded and practical approach to a ridiculous situation (that's exacerbated by Soldier.) He's minding his own business when a rocket full of space guns lands on his back acre on Christmas Eve, he spends the entirety of Loose Canon flummoxed by Blutarch's amoral insanity (though importantly, he's nonetheless willing to take the man's money for services rendered.) He's a fantastic straight man when the narrative needs such a figure, but his isn't a flashy insanity. He's not Soldier, he's not Medic, he's not even Heavy as far as out-of-pocket gag behavior goes. Almost all humor involving the Engineer has to do with his reaction (or lack thereof) to the bizarre carnage around him.

These factors are reflected in the role he ends up playing in TF comics 6 and 7. He's kept in the background of the plot in a reactive role, doing his professional best as an Engineer to maintain the Administrator's life extender- a frustated care-provider to a deeply unwell patient who doesn't always take his advice, a grounded, practical facilitator of what ultimately turns out to be the most deranged behavior of the entire story, seeing his contract out to the bitter end. And this is the way in which his apparent groundedness wraps back around into a distinct brand of crazy, no better than anyone else. The Administrator's real plan is something he's a reasonable enough person to disapprove of in the abstract. He's clearly aware something is rotten at the core of all this- he describes Miss Pauling actually managing to recover more Australium as her having created a problem rather than having solved one, he was on some level relieved to realize this was all drawing to a close. But none of this was something he was willing to break his professional obligations over and thus something he (and two generations of his family before him) deliberately kept themselves in the dark about so that they wouldn't have to reckon with it or make that call.

This passivity and level-headedness allow him to play an extremely important narrative role once everything is out in the open- he's the only member of the main cast who can present Miss Pauling with her Road-to-Damascus moment over what to do with the remaining Australium with any credible gravity. He's the only character left in the main cast besides Pauling herself who's plugged in enough that his analysis of her situation carries any weight. He's the only one of the Mercenaries from whom "If you keep it, I won't help you" means anything at all or is even a believable ultimatum- the rest of the mercs might have been freaked out by The Administrator specifically, but do you really think they wouldn't have just kept following their friend Miss Pauling if she kept signing their checks? He does what he's always done- he examines the situation, lays out the available options, and leaves the final call up to others. The only thing that changes- and, to some extent, a sign of his off-screen character development- is this time is that he finally draws a line in the sand as to what course of action he'll lend his expertise to. He threatens to finally, finally remove himself from the situation unless Pauling decides that she wants him to help her finally, finally solve the problem once and for all.

[cheshiresense]

Ok so I've actually gotten several asks about what Starrk's relationship with Unohana/the Fourth is/was like, but I don't have time atm to get into it, but I also want to toss out some of my headcanons about it because I've thought about it a lot, so I'll just list out a few headcanons in no particular order and get back to those asks later.

- First of all, Unohana is actually super protective of Starrk, but in a way that just confuses and/or scares people. Like she’s the sort to say dead serious no joke “my lieutenant is a gentle soul, you will answer to me if you upset him” while Starrk’s murdering his way across a battlefield and his reiatsu is eating a bunch of people for lunch 😂😂

- Unohana never thought she even had any protective instincts but Starrk just brings it out in her. At her age, with her experience, she can better sense just how old he actually is, just as she can sense-smell the amount of blood on him, so she knows he's lived a long time and killed a lot of people. But she can also tell he's not like her, he doesn't enjoy that sort of thing—when he kills, it's probably either because he has no choice or because he does it out of a sense of duty to whatever it is he believes in enough to fight for. Case in point, literally no one as powerful as she knows Starrk to be would choose to enter the Fourth with an honest interest in learning even more about healing than he already does. He's patient with even the weakest unseated Shinigami, and Unohana no longer has to personally come running every time the Eleventh decides to stop by to harass her officers because Starrk is there to stonewall them at the gates. But at the same time, the grief and loneliness she can sense in his reiatsu makes her want to shed blood because it never goes away. He can coax the shyest officers out of their shells with that no-pressure-calm he's constantly radiating, and for all that he'd prefer a nap over conversation any day of the week, he's also indulgent with members of his own squad when they ask him questions about a lecture or for a spar when he has time. He's reliable and steady and everything the Fourth needs him to be, with a reserved personality and a long-suffering air about him but careful hands and an even more careful mind in everything he does. And yet, hidden beneath all that, Unohana has never met anyone so constantly, miserably tired all the time. So yes, in her opinion, Starrk is a gentle, even fragile soul. She doesn't know - yet - what broke him so badly, but he's also hers now—she chose him, and he chose her, and she doesn't think she's imagining the way the Fourth feels stronger and stabler with his presence, with the easy way he shoulders the weight of a division right alongside her, with how their subordinates walk around with more confidence too in response to having two monsters watching over them now. For his competence as her second-in-command alone, she would've shielded him from anyone who upset him. But for the way he follows her around, genuinely eager to learn; for the way he sits with the younger officers and answers their questions and shows them new Kidou spells and treats them to snacks and protects them on missions; for the way he can stare down her Bankai without flinching and only grumble afterwards about how he deserves a week of sleep for such a hard spar but never even bat an eye when she reaches out to heal him with the very hands that had done their level best to rip him apart for several hours only minutes earlier; for the way he can give back just as good as he gets and allows her the chance to let herself off her own self-made leash every few weeks without having to hold back—for all of that and more, she would challenge anyone who dares try and force him to draw his blade against his will or break him any further than he already has been.

- I headcanon that for students who want to enter the Fourth, they have to take a separate written exam before they graduate. Results aren't great because there isn't actually much of a medical track at the Academy, plus it's generally considered uncool to end up at the Fourth, so there aren't many who would even take the exam, and of those who do, most can't even finish the entire thing, and minimum pass percentage is probably something like 50% lmao. At this point, it's less an exam and more an assessment of where the student is at so the Fourth's seated officers can sort the newcomers more easily when they have to start them on the basics. Then along comes Starrk who not only finishes the entire exam but also gets everything right, and it catches Unohana's attention enough to get her to make the trip to the Academy to speak to Starrk herself just to find out more, and the more she finds out, the more she thinks she'll finally be able to name a lieutenant with the kind of standards she's always wanted to be able to measure them by. At the end of the impromptu interview, she asks one more question—she asks him if he'd be willing to take one more test and become her official student. The lieutenant seat is his either way, but she's never had a personal student before. She won't be teaching him from scratch, which is a shame—someone with potential and a learning curve like Starrk's should've been scooped up long ago. But there's also more than just medical Kidou and surgical procedures she can pass on to him, and he may be a gentle soul, but he's a gentle soul with something he fiercely wants to protect, and that means there are other things she can teach him. He says yes, and that day, on the day they meet for the first time in any timeline, in a training room deep beneath the Academy, all seals activated for both privacy and containment, and even then they'd barely held—Unohana unseals her Bankai for the first time in centuries, and Starrk weathers every blow with the unyielding bedrock found beneath mountains and deserts and canyons and oceans, timeworn but timeless and enduring all the same. In the aftermath, both of them bleeding from multiple wounds with a good chunk of their reiatsu depleted, she thinks, yes, this one will be mine. He is strong enough to stand with me, tempered enough to be unafraid of me, old enough to have experienced the worst the world can offer, and wise enough to accept and bear it. And yet he remains... soft, at heart. Kind, in a way I do not fully understand, but it is precious nonetheless. It is something that should be protected. He is someone I can protect, so he will be mine.

- She'd prob also be like "let's get this signed and sealed before the old coot catches wind of another dual-wielding Shinigami and thinks he has first dibs just because he got the other two" 😂

- She would 1000% give Shunsui a shovel talk. It's probably the most terrifying shovel talk anyone has ever received in living memory ganbaa shunsui be brave you can do it.

- As for Starrk, he adores the fuck out of Unohana. But he’s also constantly baffled by how she kind of mothers him sometimes, in really off-putting ways (to others) but he doesn't realize that. Like the first time he goes out on a not-a-date with Shunsui, Unohana will be like "I wrote a dissertation called 101 Ways to Sterilize a Man, please read it over, I require urgent feedback" all while staring gloomy-eyed straight at a sweating Shunsui from behind Starrk's back because she'd watched this brat grow up, so she knows his skirt-chasing tendencies better than most, knows the way he likes beautiful people, likes flirting with them and charming them, likes the novelty of a new relationship and the thrill of the chase, and so she also knows the way it always ends with broken hearts but hardly ever his own. At most, he'll pout for a few days or a few weeks and mope and whine to Ukitake, and then he'll move on. He's always earnest and genuine in the moment, treats his lovers with all the respect and affection in the world when they're together, but he bores easily, and for all that he plays a good game of being open and friendly and approachable, Unohana has rarely met anyone more guarded when it comes to matters of the heart than Kyouraku Shunsui. He'd grown out of genuinely pursuing people in more recent decades, goes through the motions but no longer seems very interested in romance or even short dalliances, mostly only flirts these days with his long-time female acquaintances who all know better, but it would be easy for him to fall back into old habits. If he dares to be as careless with Starrk's heart as he'd been with previous lovers, Unohana won't stop until the Eighth Division will require a new captain.

- Starrk totally calls Unohana Shishou-san eventually. He has a thing for nicknames. Shunsui is of course Taichou-san. Shiina is Sensei-san. Unohana is Shishou-san. One person per category. It's an odd quirk of his.

[sandrakir31]

Sorry, I'm in the mood for a bit of an argument. Consider this simply a discussion on specific topics.

1. Heatwave, Boulder - ok. But Blades and Chase? Even though Blades was given a dark-skinned human holoform, we can still think that he got what he could have gotten without adjustment. It's like being a green-skinned zombie for Halloween, just because it's easy to do. But what about the metal on Chase and Blades' faces? It's white. I think people are following the same logic when they draw Heatwave and Boulder as dark-skinned.

2. In principle, I agree. AI Morocco is already some kind of interpretation from the villains from slightly older films. I think it could be the concept of HYDRA from Captain America. The old villain has risen with renewed vigor and all that.

3. I totally agree. Personally, I see Heatwave and Blades' relationship as being similar to Raphael and Michelangelo from TMNT. Blades is just having fun, and Heatwave has to watch so that this miracle doesn’t break anything.

4. I basically only visit AO3 when necessary, when I have nothing else to read on Ficbook. I think that this is true, it is noticeable even in the arts of some artists.

5. Nobody's perfect, but how could Charlie have known that in the old mine he and Chase would fall through the floor?

Charlie has been raising children on his own for many years (which already makes him better than many fathers in our world), and as a parent, he cannot allow his child to go with them to a dangerous place because he is worried.

Blades and Dany's bucket claw is a really good thing and I'm glad they were able to help others. But let's face it. Even if they are lifesavers, it's not worth putting everyone else out of work. Even if Cade still acts like he's the most important person. The problem with this series is that it's literally like My Little Pony. They make mistakes and learn from them.

Charlie shouldn't make mistakes, but he's still a normal person. «Errare humanum est».

6. I absolutely agree.

Yes, I can sometimes find fault with others for no reason, but I only act in my own interests. 🤷

Update: Damn, I missed the original take when I wrote this. 🤦

I've made a post like this some time ago on twitter but decided to take it here

We listen and we don't judge: transformers rescue bots edition

Mine is that graham burns is super hot and sexy and that he should marry me 😁😁

[gamerbot-22]

Touchstarved LIs as Study Buddies

Because when I was studying for my macroeconomics final the only way I survived was imagining a rotating cast of blorbos helping me out (I got a 70% btw)

Recommended Listening: Zelda & Chill Trilogy

TW/CWs: Potential Accidental Canon Deviancy, not proofread.

Can be read as romantic or platonic, whatever floats your boat! Likes and reblogs appreciated!

Special thanks to @asexual-abomination for helping with Lea and Mhin <3

🕊️ Kuras

You two will study and do nothing else.

Okay, not exactly, but it’s 90% study with a couple mental breaks tossed in to keep your mind sharp.

And you can bet your ass he’s making sure you’re drinking water and getting some good brain food in you (good luck with his cooking lol)

He’s not big on the idea of pulling all-nighters, but if it’s a necessity (say, you’re cramming,) he’ll turn into something of a spotter, making sure that you stay sane and make the most of the time you have before you eventually conk out.

Has anyone here seen Elementary? There’s a scene early in the series where Watson helps Sherlock stay awake by showing him how to do squats to get his blood pumping. Kuras does the same.

Also he’s making flashcards! Unironically I think this is a highlight for him.

His Best Subject is obviously any kind of Biological Science, but I think he’s also really good for History.

🪄 Leander

He’s good at studying on his own, but the second he’s in a Buddy System he just starts doing. The Most.

I’m talking like an hour and a half at least of set up where he’s getting drinks and snacks and a nest of pillows and blankets set up so your backs don’t get sore hunched over a table.

Lowkey I think he’s trying to be The Study Buddy Ever for you, but he doesn’t quite clock that all the prep work is eating into your study time and while that can be okay if the test isn’t pressing, if you’re cramming it’s a problem.

Once he’s settled though, he’s actually really helpful.

Very “there’s no stupid questions!” about it all, and will work with you to make sure you’ve got it all down.

Every magician worth his salt knows how to study, damnit, he’s just a social himbo.

His best subjects I think are Psychology and Social Studies. He’s a People Person.

🦊 Vere

He’s either not helping even a little bit by not showing up or not helping even a little bit by being a distraction.

He is bored off his ass almost the entire time, and he will make it your problem by just going on the most random of tangents after he’s done complaining.

And failing that, he’ll just go take a big nap somewhere.

He just curls right up and goes to snoozeville for like an hour before waking up and going “you’re STILL at it???”

If you want him to engage with you—or even just stick around, really—you’re going to have to bribe him in some way or another.

Of course he asks for the most out of pocket shit but tbh I think if you’ve got good snacks and something cozy he’ll just take it as a break.

Generally though he’s very much just doing his own thing while you study, it’s barely beneficial to either of you.

Except sometimes you talk at him while he draws you mayhaps…

It’s canon that he’s really artistically talented so I think his Best Subjects are Art and Literature. Those are the two things you have any hope of getting help from him on.

⛩️ Ais

Ais also takes some convincing to come around and help, tbh—

He doesn’t strike me as a guy that really studies, not just because of his personality but because he’s literally part of a Hivemind I’m pretty certain he can just ping for information if he really needs it.

But once he’s gotten settled he’s actually a surprisingly good rubber duck, letting you talk at him about theory and formula while he pokes around your space.

Like Vere, I think he naps if he’s not directly involved but he a) usually gives a head’s up but b) ends up snoring really loud which makes studying a nightmare.

Sometimes he’ll actually pay attention—maybe even leaning over the back of your chair to read over your shoulder sometimes—and you find out he’s really good at actually taking a look at a concept and Getting It really fast.

Just… don’t ask him to explain it to you.

That’s a different skill set that I don’t think he quite has off the bat.

Surprisingly maybe I think his Best Subject is Math/Arithmetic. There’s just something about how cut and dry the formulas are that make it click for him really well. Also lowkey good at Biology, specifically the behavioral side of Animal Biology.

🪡 Mhin

Good Fucking Luck

Genuinely, I don’t think Mhin has either the patience or the social bandwidth to be a decent study partner.

The best you’re getting out of them is someone who’s leading by example.

Mhin will get their own book, sit next to you, and read. And if you make any kind of noise or significant disturbance, they’ll grumble or nudge your chair to tell you to be quiet.

You can ask them to help with review questions if you want, but I think unless it’s something they already know, don’t expect any type of feedback outside of eye contact.

If it’s a regular thing and you get the chance to get used to each other, they might occasionally mention stuff in their own reading that they find interesting/you might find interesting, but generally it’s few and far between.

Just because they’re not really helping doesn’t mean they want to be a distraction, unlike some…

Like Kuras, I think Mhin is really good at Science, specifically Anatomy, but they also have a bit of a soft spot for Poetry and Strategy.

[kingqueensoobscene]

OMG YOU WRITE FOR LIL POOTIS' SCOUT... this series made me change my opinion on him to Insufferable Boston Boy to Okay He's Kinda Cute Actually™

so um may we get a Lil Pootis Red Scout x gn or fem Reader where Pootis also imprints on reader? like, he sees scout as his mom and reader as his dad (lol)

Scout is so fucking embarrassed when pootis calls them papa and mama the first time (cause he got a big fat crush on reader) but they reassure it's okay and that they dont mind

yadda yadda yadda shenanigans and they end up kissing :3 sorry for the long ask, feel free to ignore it !!

— 🌻 SunFlower anon

AHHHH!! I LOVED THIS REQUEST SO MUCH!!!! I rewatched the entirety of Lil Pootis just to do your idea justice! Enjoy!!

LIL POOTIS!RED!SCOUT X READER WHO BECOMES A PARENT TO LIL POOTIS

-Scout was your buddy. He had always been, ever since you enlisted, you made friends with one of the other young persons at Mann Co. Putting up with someone who was oblivious to most things and had no awareness at all was hard, even harder when you started to think that he was a cute guy, despite being the most annoying person spat out from Massachusetts. Noticing his habits, like putting his hand behind his neck and scratching his neck or noticing that his nose was small and his lips were pouty and things he did for you. 

-He always wanted to seem like a cool guy to everyone, but really? He is a dork. But a cute dork. Even before he got a crush on you, he wanted to help you out. He notices when you got it rough on the field, coming to your room to talk to you or even take you up the road to that one diner. He likes to go to the comic book store or go the park with you and eat snacks and talk until the sun sets. Now why is Scout able to do this still even with his newfound crush on you and without breaking down?

-Well, unlike canon Scout, he is much more calm with his crushes, not by much. He gets very nervous to talk to you every time he has to see you and starts stuttering and doing awkward body movements, however he relaxes.  He knows he doesn’t have to impress you, though he still tries, but you like him the way he is. As a friend, at least that’s what he thinks. 

-It kind of shocked you when he adopted a Pootis pet from the store. As I have said before, he has this “Cool Guy” persona he likes to play.  But he really cares about this little booger, though he was careless at first. As we move ahead, he does change his parenting style to care for Pootis. Though, Scout still had his moments. Pootis and Scout were never really apart when they didn’t have to be.

-Scout always liked having you over. Pootis did too, though for a different reason. Since you were never not around, and as Pootis grew older, he saw your relationship as the ones he had seen on TV or from his Grandma and the Spy. While, you two didn’t kiss or hold each other, which puzzled Pootis, but Scout would jump his eyes away from yours then back again when you made eye contact or scratch his neck again. You would face your full body towards him, mentioning details brought up in past conversation, playing with your hands way too much. You were obviously in love with him. And you, too, did not think Scout liked you back.

-You would play with Pootis, shake his feathers, draw with him. Pootis drew Scout and you holding hands while Pootis was drawn as an orange blob between you. The words Mom and Dad scrawled respectively. Scout would get embarrassed when he sees what’s on the paper you’re holding. Scout has told Pootis that you are not his “Dad”. But Pootis only gets confused. You care for both him and Mama, so how aren’t you? 

-You told Scout you didn’t mind being called “Papa”, even if you happened to identify as a woman or gender less, and Pootis immediately lights up. He immediately opens his arms and squeaks at you. You pick up the little fart and hug him. A sigh of relief escapes the boy. 

-No matter the weather, Scout always took Pootis out to play. You could catch them at the park, in the snow or making mud pies after the rain. Scout tells you there is no obligation to join them, but Pootis makes his lil sad face that makes you feel bad for not wanting too. You would do anything for this bird. Especially as his “Papa”. You played into it too much.

-Scout keeps photographs of the team next to his bed. He has many of you and him together, him and Sniper, him and a drunk Demoman, There is one be managed to get a photograph of a photograph of, that being you holding Pootis while he took the picture next to you, so the copy on the wall is blurry, but the original is kept on him at all times.

-You know how Lil Pootis has a habit of screaming. And do you know of the Psychological term, “Secure Attachment”?  Well, it’s when a child, in an experiment involving the strange situation procedure, is in a room with their parent and a stranger and the parent leaves, leaving the child distressed until the parent comes back and they immediately calm down. It’s like that except that you are babysitting him for Scout and you go to the bathroom, he will do that until you come back. 

-One day, Scout came back from a mission and he heard Pootis squealing from the kitchen and ran to his room. Pootis calmed down when he saw Scout and you came back after washing up. Scout looked at you confused. Then Pootis spilled out a “Mwah!” sound and opened his arms. He wanted a hug from both of you. Scout got rosy. 

-After coming home from the store to have a movie night with Pootis, Scout saw you and Pootis watching an old noir film on the channel before you two would watch Scout’s Dirty Harry cassette. You were mindlessly reading your comic Scout bought you the last time you two went on the beam bag. As he pulled out candies and some seed for Pootis, a squeak came from the little, squishy, orange bird to pointed at the black and white couple kissing passionately. You were confused. Yes, you cute little bird, they’re kissing. Then he paddles up to draw something. It’s a drawing of Scout and you, Mom and Dad respectively, sharing a kiss with a heart between you.

-Scout gets super embarrassed and gently scolds Pootis about how that was inappropriate to ask. But you told him it was fine and that Pootis was simply confused. Pootis imprinted on you, but you weren’t together like normal parents. But, really, Scout wants that. Not for himself, but for Pootis as well.

-The denial in the air that was between you both could be cut with a knife. 

-Feverish skin was hit by sun rays from where you were under the tree. Little shade reached you from the angle of the setting sun in front of you. Little Pootis fell asleep next to Scout with his cap on his head. You could actually see his light-colored hair better. He smelled like a teenage boy, but it was scent that you have grown to associate with him rather than your traumatizing middle school years. You looked over at him, he had his eyes on the water filter, which was currently incapacitated and the yellow and black indicator was set to red. His eyes met yours and he gave a gap toothed smile. You leaned up and scooted closer to him, you could see his dimples. Your hand moved up to his face, slowly, waiting to see if he was ok with you touching him. His light brows furrowed, confused. You had to go for it, even if you regretted it and ruined this friendship. You kissed him. And thank the Lord, he kissed you back. 

[gingerkunoichii]

♡ College AU Itachi Headcanon ♡

Summary: Itachi as your college boyfriend in a modern university AU! Warnings: SFW and NSFW descriptions (nsfw at the bottom)

How you meet and get together. ⋆ Itachi is in his final year at university, double-majoring in Business Administration and Political Science. He’s calm, collected, and commands quiet respect from both professors and peers. You meet him during your first semester in a shared elective—philosophy, of course. He’s the student who speaks rarely but with such precision that even the professor seems to pause and think about his words. At first, he’s polite but distant. You catch his attention when you challenge an idea during a class discussion. The way you articulate your thoughts, bold yet thoughtful, intrigues him- he is very much interested in a person with intelligence on par with his. ⋆ He invites you to study together, claiming it’s purely for academic purposes. During these study sessions, you’re struck by how patient he is when explaining complex concepts, his quiet intelligence effortlessly drawing you in. ⋆ It’s during one late-night session in the library that you see his reserved demeanour crack just slightly finally—he leans back in his chair, a rare, soft smile on his lips as he listens to you rant about a particularly annoying professor. ⋆ Itachi’s older brother tendencies shine through as he begins looking out for you on campus, even if his younger brother loathes him. He walks you to your dorm if you’re studying late, subtly reminds you about upcoming deadlines, and offers quiet encouragement during stressful times.

⋆ The two of you have been meeting like this for weeks now, sharing ideas and quiet companionship, and while you’ve caught glimpses of something deeper in the way he looks at you, he’s never said anything outright, not yet at least. ⋆ As you work, you notice his gaze lingering on you longer than usual. When you look up, he doesn’t look away, his dark eyes steady and thoughtful. “You’ve been quiet tonight,” you tease, trying to lighten the mood, but his lips curve into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. “Just thinking,” he replies, his voice calm but with a certain weight to it. He sets down his pen and leans back slightly, studying you as if considering his next move. ⋆ He finally speaks. “These past few weeks... spending time with you has become something I look forward to,” he says, his gaze unwavering. “You challenge me. You intrigue me. And, more than that, you make me feel at ease in a way I haven’t felt in a long time.” He pauses for a moment, as if choosing his next words carefully. “I don’t want this to be something fleeting. I want to be more than just someone you study with."

⋆ He reaches across the table, his hand brushing yours before gently intertwining your fingers. The touch is warm and steady, grounding you in the moment. “Would you let me be more than that?” he asks, his voice barely above a whisper. “Would you let me be yours?” There’s no hesitation in his tone, no fear of rejection—just quiet confidence and a deep sincerity that leaves you breathless.

⋆ Of course you say yes, it's him. You'd been hoping something like this would happen in the back of your mind for weeks now. When you nod, his expression softens in a way you've never seen before. The faint smile that curves his lips reaches his tired eyes, and for a brief moment, he looks almost vulnerable.

How he would act with you as his girlfriend SFW ⋆ Itachi is incredibly attuned to your needs, often noticing things about you before you even voice them. Whether it’s the stress in your voice or the way your shoulders tense after a long day, he picks up on the little cues and takes action without needing to be asked. For example if you’re overwhelmed, he’ll offer quiet solutions—a cup of tea, a break to sit in the park together, or simply holding you in comfortable silence.

⋆ He remembers everything you tell him, from your favourite type of coffee to the details of a story you mentioned weeks ago, he uses his intelligence and knowledge in thoughtful ways. ⋆ Though he's not flashy, Itachi loves surprising you with small, meaningful gestures. He might leave a handwritten note in your bag, pick up your favourite flowers on a whim, or take you to a quiet spot on campus he thought you'd like. "I thought of you when I walked past the flower shop earlier, Y/N. I hope you don't mind." ⋆ For special occasions, he happily puts in extra effort - as if he was waiting for the moment to spoil you. ⋆ Itachi has a subtle but unshakable protective side to him. He won't hover or smother you, but if he senses someone being disrespectful or causing you distress, he will act accordingly. ⋆ He won't need to raise his voice or even act physically to make his point. A few well-chosen words in his deep, composed tone is usually enough to handle any situation, whether that be a small petty argument you both have or someone else trying to bother you or him. ⋆ Itachi isn't one to wear his heart on his sleeve at all, but his emotions become clearer the longer you're with him. His love is quiet but unwavering, shown through his loyalty, thoughtfulness and the way he prioritises your well-being above all. You can count on him, he's got his shit together. ⋆ While most people see him as serious and reserved, you get to experience his subtle humour and playful side. He teases you in quiet, knowing ways, smirking when he knows only you'll understand. ⋆ He might lean in close during a lecture and murmur something unexpectedly flirty just to see you blush, enjoying the way you try to brush it off.

NSFW ⋆ Itachi's cock is proportionate to his lean and elegant build. He's just about above average in length at around 6.2 inches when fully hard, with a thickness that feels just right - not overly intimidating but definitely enough to leave an pression. ⋆ He's meticiously groomed - clean and well maintained, with a sparse but soft patch of dark hair at the base of his cock. It's clear he takes care of himself. ⋆ Itachi is confident but not cocky (pun intended) about his size or general appearance; his focus is entirely on making sure you're comfortable rather than bragging or talking about his size. ⋆ The first time you’re with him is unhurried, almost reverent. It’s in his apartment, the room dimly lit with soft golden light. He takes his time, his touch gentle as he maps out your body with his hands, lips, and tongue. ⋆ His voice is low and velvety, murmuring quiet reassurances as he strips away every layer of your clothing. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispers against your skin, the warmth of his breath sending goosebumps racing down your spine. ⋆ Itachi doesn’t rush. His hands move with purpose—one sliding up your thigh while the other cups your jaw, tilting your head so he can kiss you deeply. His lips are soft but firm, every kiss leaving you breathless and aching for more. ⋆ When he finally presses into you, he’s achingly slow, giving you time to adjust to the stretch. His forehead rests against yours, his dark eyes locked onto yours as he groans softly, his voice husky. “It feels like you were made for me.”

⋆ Itachi is so incredibly attentive and in tune with you, every movement calculated to draw the most pleasure from you each time he fucks you. He loves the way your body reacts to him, the way you arch into his touch, the soft sounds you mewl when he finds your sensitive spots. ⋆ When he's inside you, he moves with a rhythm that feels both deliberate and instinctual, his hips rolling slowly but deeply as his cock moves inside and out of you. He groans, barely keeping himself in check, but his focus is entirely on you, watching every flutter of your lashes, every gasp, every moan.

⋆ When you close your eyes to focus on the feeling he often moves his hand to cup your chin. "Look at me," he murmurs against your lips, firm but tender. He loves the intimacy of eye contact, the way it binds you to him in the moment. ⋆ Itachi is deeply invested in your own pleasure more than his own, finding satisfaction in every cry he pulls from you. He adores going down on you late at night when you least expect it, his mouth and tongue skilled against your most sensitive spot as he works you to the edge and back again. ⋆ His tongue moves in slow, circling strokes, sucking every now and then - paired with his fingers curling inside of you. He's patient, teasing you until you're gripping his long ink black hair and begging for more, he relishes in you whimpering his name. "Be patient.." ⋆ When you cum, he doesn't stop right away- he rides the wave with you, coaxing every last bit of pleasure from your body. "Y/N, I want to hear you," he'll say softly, his voice like a caress, encouraging you to let go completely in his presence alone. ⋆ Itachi rarely lets his composure slip, but when he's overwhelmed by desire after a particularly long day - you see a complete different side of him. His kisses are hungry, his usually soft hands turning rough as his long fingers curl easily around your soft flesh, pulling you flush against him. ⋆ When he presses you against a wall, unable to help himself, you feel the full weight of his need - the way his cock is hard and heavy against you, the low growl in his throat as he murmurs, "I can't wait any longer to fuck you. You've been teasing me all day." ⋆ Even in his urgency though, he's still careful with you. He checks in with a quiet "Is this okay?" before sinking his cock deep inside you, his breath faltering as he bottoms out into you fully. ⋆ Itachi considers aftercare part of the experience. He'll hold you close, kiss you softly, and quite literally do anything you request after. He enjoys the intimacy of these moments, whispering words of love and affection and gently massaging you where he had touched. It's during aftercare that he's at his most vulnerable, quietly expressing how much you actually mean to him in the quiet of his apartment "I love you so much.."

[xyywrites]

Writing ✨Villains ✨

Villains aren’t just bad guys to be defeated—they’re individuals with desires, insecurities, and emotions that shape their actions. So how do you write a villain that draws empathy, admiration, or even love from your audience?

Let’s break it down.

1. Give Them a Relatable Motivation

Villains often have personal stakes in their actions, which makes their goals more understandable. Even if their methods are extreme, the why behind them should make sense. Take Magneto from Marvel—he’s fighting for mutant rights because of the trauma he endured in the Holocaust. His hatred of humanity isn’t just for the sake of being evil; it’s rooted in a deep fear of oppression. Readers don’t just see a villain—they see someone who has been hurt and is trying to prevent others from experiencing that same pain.

2. Give Them Depth and Complexity

One-dimensional villains are hard to relate to, so give them layers. Kylo Ren from Star Wars also falls into this category—he's torn between the dark side and the light, haunted by his family and the shadow of Darth Vader. His internal struggle makes him more sympathetic, and while his actions are dark, you can’t help but wonder if he’ll ever turn things around.

3. Make Them Charming or Charismatic

Loki from the Marvel universe is a prime example of this. He's witty, clever, and has a tragic backstory that makes him compelling, even when he’s causing chaos. The charm helps balance out his darker actions, and there are moments where the audience wonders if they should root for him.

In The Dark Knight, The Joker is a complete anarchist, but his unsettling charisma and unpredictable nature make him compelling to watch, even if you hate his methods. He challenges the status quo, which in turn makes readers consider if maybe some of his ideas have merit.

4. Let Them Be Vulnerable

Villains don’t exist in a vacuum. Show their weaknesses, fears, and internal struggles to make them more human. Scar from The Lion King may be an intimidating figure, but his jealousy and bitterness stem from being overshadowed by his brother Mufasa. His vulnerability in wanting to be noticed and loved gives readers a glimpse into why he acts the way he does.

Darth Vader in Star Wars is another example. His descent into darkness is rooted in love and loss—the desire to save his wife from death led him to make tragic choices. As the audience sees him struggle with these emotions, they can understand why he fell to the dark side, even if they don’t agree with his actions.

5. Make Their Actions Justifiable (From Their Point of View)

Thanos from the Marvel Cinematic Universe sees himself as a savior, even though his plans involve wiping out half of all life in the universe. To him, it's a necessary evil. While the audience may not agree, they can see how someone could come to this conclusion, and that complexity is what makes him so compelling.

6. Use Their Relationships to Humanize Them

Villains often have relationships with others that show a more tender side. Raven from Teen Titans has a complicated relationship with her father, Trigon. His manipulation and the psychological toll he puts on her create empathy for Raven, as we see her fight against the very darkness she is born from. Similarly, Hela from Thor: Ragnarok has a complicated relationship with Thor and Loki, adding layers to her villainy.

Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender is another example. While she’s ruthlessly ambitious and terrifying, her relationship with her family—especially her father, Fire Lord Ozai—provides a glimpse into the motivations that drive her cruelty. Her vulnerability shows when she struggles with her identity, especially when she loses the one person who ever fully supported her.

7. Let Them Be 'The Antihero'

Sometimes villains are antiheroes, and their actions, though extreme, may align with the reader's personal values. Deadpool is a great example of a character who straddles the line between hero and villain. His sense of humor, emotional trauma, and self-preservation make him easy to root for, even if his methods are chaotic and unorthodox.

Harley Quinn : Her backstory with the Joker and her eventual break from him makes her a villain-turned-antihero. She’s a product of her abusive relationship, and as she seeks redemption, readers can’t help but want her to succeed—even if she’s still a bit off the rails.

8. Make Their Death (or Potential Redemption) Impactful

When a villain’s arc concludes—whether through death, redemption, or failure—it needs to feel earned. Severus Snape in Harry Potter is a perfect example of this. He’s a villain for most of the series, but by the end, readers learn the truth about his motivations and sacrifice. His redemption arc is poignant, and while he’s a morally grey character, his death is deeply impactful.

Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender also starts as a villain but grows into an antihero as his relationship with his father, his sister, and his country evolves. His redemption is gradual and earned, making his eventual turn toward good feel earned and satisfying.

TL;DR: Villains who make you almost root for them have depth, vulnerability, and charisma. They're not just "evil"—they’re complicated. And that's why we keep coming back for more.

[crimsondoesstuff]

OKAY SO HEAR ME OUT

HEAR ME OUT, CHAT.

Crossover idea between Mouthwashing and Five Nights at Freddy’s where the FNAF characters take over the places of the preexisting crew. The events go down the same, with some small changes in the scenes and dialogue to fit with the different character’s personalities and shit.

Not convinced? WELL I MADE ART TOO (this was the big project I mentioned in my last post)

BEHOLD! The crew of the Ursine!

I put a lot of love and thought into every little bit of this crossover. Things like the symbolism seen in the original game are referenced (the flowers symbolism, the board game, the attraction to cartoon animals /j), but there are also all new kinds of symbolism I threw in to really bring it all together. I’ll let you figure that out on your own, if you really want to.

(If you want a hint, the directions the characters are looking aren’t just stylistic.)

If you really wanna read more about my idea, I’ll be including more below the line. I just had to pitch this somewhere, I spent a week drawing this and I’ve already written parts of this that I could possibly post here or on AO3. Who knows.

HENRY EMILY, CAPTAIN.

Takes the place of Grant Curly.

The similarities between Jimmy and Curly / Henry and William’s dynamics was one of the main reasons I even got this idea in the first place. Specifically, listening to the song Brutus was when I really started to see the song as both Jimmy and William, and the rest devolved from there. I’ll go into more detail about that in William’s section.

Henry’s kindness, compassion, and dedication to his craft makes him the perfect candidate for captain of the Ursine. Problem is, he never knows when to stop. He’ll work himself until he passes out, only to wake up at his station and go right back to work. He’s on top of all of his responsibilities as captain, but with all the work on his plate, he doesn’t have as much time to handle the personal issues that seem to be arising among the crew.

Henry isn’t completely sure how he got to the level he’s at now, in all honesty. He was once a simple engineer on an older ship called the Tulpar, before being transferred and promoted to Second in Command. Fazbear Express said something about how he’s “good for morale” and “gets things done”, but they didn’t really account for Henry’s introverted personality. He’d rather hide out in the cockpit handling the controls, but that puts him back into a workaholic cycle that Charlie is working to break him out of. He’s lucky he has a daughter like her, and he’ll never stop saying it to anyone who will listen.

After the crash, Henry’s completely incapacitated. Not much else to say. He can do nothing but tremble and cry in pain, trying and trying to form coherent words and sentences, but it isn’t clear enough to the people around him. He feels more alone there on that medical bed than he has in his entire life. And he can do nothing but watch as everything falls apart.

WILLIAM AFTON, SECOND IN COMMAND.

Takes the place of Jimmy Zare.

Like I said before, I got really inspired to make this crossover by the song Brutus, but that was specifically the connection between Jimmy and William. I knew when I started making the ideas for this that the borderline obsession William has with Henry was a perfect fit here. Just utterly disgusting. I hate him. He should die.

William doesn’t have time to put up any sort of front like we see in the books. He has work to do on the ship, and he plans on getting it done as soon as possible with the highest efficiency possible. He wants to look good. He doesn’t care if he looks like an asshole while doing it. After all, he sees the rest of the crew as more of a burden on him than anything, obstacles dragging him back from reaching his full potential. From climbing to the top of his ladder. And yes, that includes his own children. He sees their presence on board the Ursine as a distraction.

Just like it’s suggested in the game, William and Henry were friends before the events of the story. Childhood friends who relied on each other through thick and thin. They both went into engineering, and William followed in Henry’s footsteps. But he was eager to get ahead, to pave the footsteps his old friend would walk in instead. It didn’t help that Henry always seemed better than him. Henry didn’t even want to become a captain, but there they were, running a god damn ship. William hated it. Hated them. It was so annoying how perfect he was all the damn time.

He doesn’t really care what happened to Henry in the crash. He didn’t make them run into the cockpit as the ship ran straight into an asteroid. That was their own stupid decision, and he had to clean up after their mess. Now that he was captain, just like he wanted, he planned on doing things right. Keeping the crew together. Despite the utterly hopeless situation at hand. It doesn’t help that emotions were never his strong suit.

CHARLOTTE “CHARLIE” EMILY, MEDICAL OFFICER.

Takes the place of Anya Musume.

I don’t know if I want to keep the more serious parts of the character’s story, but I think it’s too important to the plot as a whole to remove it. As someone who’s gone through a similar situation, it was a hard decision to make, but I have to respect the importance of a character’s trauma that makes them who they are.

Like Anya in the game, Charlie did make it to medical school, but never completed it. Her poor mental state combined with the overwhelming workload and the sheer number of years she’d have to be focused on nothing but schooling was too much, and she wasn’t getting the help she needed to keep up. So instead, she dropped out and sent an application to Fazbear Express where her father worked, getting accepted as a field nurse in training. Eventually, she was promoted to medical officer, but without a degree in nursing she was prevented from becoming chief.

Most of the shit she has to do on the Ursine is just scraped knees and the occasional dislocation, all of which she can handle with ease. She’s very confident in her work, and when she first started working on her father’s ship, she wasn’t afraid to show it. But something changed. Slowly, her demeanor shifted, and she lost that lively confidence that made her her. Nobody knew for sure what happened. At least, not at first.

After the crash, Charlie was absolutely distraught. She can barely look at her father when he’s in so much pain, and her job as a nurse is compromised by the rule of not treating family members. Since they have no other nurse or doctor on board, she’s left with the responsibility, but it’s debilitating. She often has panic attacks and break downs in the back corner of the medbay, hiding behind her desk where Henry and the other crew couldn’t see her.

MICHAEL “MIKE” AFTON, ENGINEER.

Takes the place of Swansea Hotard.

When I was deciding who to put in the other character’s places, I instantly thought of Michael and David (the crying child) and the tough love Swansea gives Daisuke in the game. I wanted to take that and make it so Michael is especially cruel to David to try and get the kid to quit. He doesn’t want David to work at this dead end job, stuck the rest of his life in this monotonous lifestyle with little to no time at home on Earth.

Mike is an incredibly hard worker, but he isn’t really sure why. He doesn’t like his job. He never wanted to be a mechanical engineer, and he never wanted to work for Fazbear Express. But when times got especially rough, his father showed up out of nowhere like some kind of stupid white knight and offered to teach Michael everything he knows. With William’s experience, Michael easily got a job with the company afterwards. But he feels indebted to his father for it, which- in the Afton household- is never a good feeling.

After the crash, Henry- who often acted as a sort of father figure for the younger members of the crew- was down for the count, and people were more afraid than ever. Nobody wanted to go to William, so they came to Michael, who tries his best to offer comfort (despite not being very good at it). This is especially true for Charlie, as she relies on him and goes to him to cry, since her father is in no state to worry about her as well as himself. Mike can’t help but feel overwhelmed by the sense of obligation put on his shoulders, but nonetheless, he keeps his head high and stands tall as an anchor for the group. Completely unwavering and stoic. Despite the pain he’s feeling as well.

Tensions between Michael and William are constantly high, and the two definitely don’t get along, just like Jimmy and Swansea in the game. And I can clearly imagine the pure hatred and rage in Michael’s eyes as he screams William’s name and chases him down with the axe. If I were to make this into a fanfic, I’d beat around the bush for most of the story, avoiding Michael calling William “dad” or “father”, at least until the part with Swansea’s/Michael’s monologue. Where he’d end it with the simple line, “Fuck you, dad.”

DAVID AFTON, INTERN ENGINEER.

Takes the place of Daisuke Juarez.

Funny enough, despite sharing the same role in the story- the new kid on the block, the intern who’s still getting his ropes- Daisuke and David couldn’t be any more different. David’s weaker, more timid, usually letting others speak for him and scrambling to hide when feeling in danger in any way. And we all know how Daisuke is. A free spirit with a gentle heart and a smile that can light up a room. Despite their apparent differences though, their stories end the same.

Unlike Daisuke, David’s mother didn’t believe he was a slacker. She thought he was too timid. She thought it would do him good if he put himself out there and got himself a job outside his comfort zone. She actually didn’t want him to get a job anywhere near his father (the two are divorced, and things didn’t end on good terms), but William practically stepped in and insisted that David work under his guidance at Fazbear Express. Ironically enough, William didn’t end up even being the person to train David, it was Michael instead.

After the crash, David didn’t know what to do. He wanted things to go back to normal, but he could barely keep himself from crying every time he passed by the infirmary and heard the captain’s cries of pain. He grows more clingy to Michael and his father as time passes on, rations grow slimmer, and painkillers run low. He’s scared, and he wants to keep the rest of the crew safe like his dad and his brother, but he feels too weak and pathetic to contribute anything.

Of course, David gets stronger throughout the story, and begins to believe in himself more thanks to Mike’s tough love teaching style. But it all leads to him getting manipulated into pushing his limits and going in over his head. We all know what happens in the vents.

FREDDY THE TEDDY, FAZBEAR EXPRESS’ MASCOT.

Takes the place of Polle the Pony.

You’d think there wasn’t much to the silly little mascot of the multibillion dollar industry behind the Ursine and its crew, but little Freddy the Teddy is a reminder of everything the crew stands for. Hard work, dedication, passion for the craft. Every poster around the Ursine reminds the crew that they are only a cog in the machine. And no matter what they do, they can’t escape unless Fazbear Express lets them go.

Luckily for them, Fazbear Express indeed let them go. Let everyone go. Just like that, everyone didn’t have a job. After their last shipment was over, that was it. Donezo. I sure hope that doesn’t cause any tension on board!

I’ll finish this off with a doodle I made to celebrate Henry’s birthday!! At least, my headcanon

I thought it was especially fitting, considering the impact of the captain’s birthday party on the crew. (More specifically the events that transpired and the news that was dumped on the crew with little to no warning. Imagine!!)

Thanks for reading this long ass post, I hope you all have a very happy holidays, merry whatever and all that

[swallowerofdharma]

Sorry, I failed to espress myself again. I was answering you but I was not trying to change your mind, just showing how I looked at things.

What I take issue with is the suggestion that readers who approach this story under a romantic lens would be distorting it into something it isn’t, which is what your original post appeared to suggest.

I didn’t say that tho. I made the new post to answer you on this and I am sorry I failed to clarify. I did say that the novel Lolita has been distorted into something else. And that made me think that with Saezuru we can have entirly different frames in mind as well. When talking about Saezuru I was then pointing at the arguments about consent because again, I am not trying to convince you to change your mind: the more you romanticize Doumeki’s intentions and problematicize Yashiro’s previous choices, the more you are shifting the scrutiny on the person who was at the bottom in that scene and who was asking to stop to the person who had taken charge. Stigmatization of Yashiro’s sexual past is the same as victim blaming. Without the romantic lens on, sex isn’t more morally acceptable if it’s gentle and the parts involved love each other, and if consent was revoked then it isn’t right in any case.

Frankly, I’m confused about why me holding the opinion that there is a lot of ambiguity about Yashiro’s consent in those chapters seems to be such a point of contention. I never argued that Yashiro gave any clear consent, nor that he has no right to object, I’m sorry but if that’s what you think that’s purely an assumption you’re making.

Please, don’t take it personally. I am purely looking at the arguments in the debate, not at who made them. I’m questioning the approach of analyzing in depth Yashiro and bringing all the attention to him instead of Doumeki in this case. That’s why I was talking about victim blaming: why you consider Yashiro a victim of his father first and of himself after, but you don’t consider him victimized by Doumeki too, which some of us do. Using Yashiro’s trauma or his past as arguments or putting responsability on him because he came on Doumeki first is taking away attention from Doumeki’s responsibilities and I don’t agree with that.

I like Saezuru because I like that Yashiro, a victim of domestic and prolongued CSA, is portrayed as a strong and independent adult, with problems sure, but not incapable. If you think that he can’t control himself or doesn’t know what he wants when he wants to have sex (which is not the case in every example given in the story), then you must think that maybe Doumeki could have had better control of his own sexual desires and could have waited. We are looking at the same pages, yet our emotional response is different. But at the end of the day, I look at the way Yoneda draws Yashiro after sex with Doumeki and he is always at a low point. To me, it seems that the point was to bring him to break, to experience a crisis. And I am having a hard time romanticizing it.

Personally, I refrain from conflating fiction with reality too much, because fiction doesn't operate under the same premises as reality; I believe to know what Yashiro actually wanted or didn't want based on my understanding of the story and in turn I base my opinion about chapters 23/24 on this belief.

The “I believe to know what Yashiro actually wanted” is a big theme in the manga as of the later chapters too. I find it interesting, because it is a possibility that this is Doumeki’s motivation now. And I am so very critical of it! Hugely critical of this approach, while also understanding that it is deliberate in the story.

In my analyses I will continue to be critical of things, and I can’t see that as a misuse of fiction. I am grateful that you took your time to read my arguments. This remains a place open to discussions as long as we are aware that romantic views about love and sex are not superior nor compulsory to read Saezuru.

Third to last page of ch 25: breaking the fourth wall

Following the discussion from here. Hoping you don’t mind if I make a new post so that the other one doesn’t become too heavy. I’m answering some lingering questions, but I am also saying that I won’t be dissuaded from treating this manga differently. As said recently*, Yoneda takes such care to give details and context to the story, that it is intriguing to look into things with analytical eyes and I can’t see the problem with it. For those who maybe feel like “the story isn’t that deep”, that is more offensive to the author tbh than to me or others in fandom who write commentaries. * @dragomfry said: “It makes our analyses of her work hold extra weight because there are things that she wants us to look for and derive meaning from (rather than us trying to derive meaning from nothing to begin with)”.

So to clear this first.

I can’t quite see why this story would be distorted into something it’s not intended to be if we approach it under a romantic lens.

I am not debating people for approaching the story romantically, but - because some troubling arguments were made about the recent poll - I will say this. Rape culture takes some arguments from romantic and patriarcal views to defend the aggressors and blame the victims instead: this isn’t romanticism’s fault, but the very fact should be at least taken into consideration. [More on this below**]. So several of the reflections I was writing about framing the manga as romance rather than literary realism were prompted by this issue. And reading your thoughts about the story, I can understand where we differ so much: and that is in how we view Doumeki especially, rather than the rest. Maybe you are not romanticizing Yashiro and his trauma, but you are especially romanticizing Doumeki. For example:

I allow myself to indulge in the romanticism of it all; both of them falling in love at first sight, depressed Yashiro finally finding someone who truly cares about him, Doumeki who doesn’t back down when Yashiro rejects him, Doumeki still having feelings for Yashiro even after he shot him in the leg and pretended not to remember him, etc. There’s so much in this story that’s blatantly romantic, almost corny.

There are many aspects of the manga that I do find realistic in it’s portrayal, such as the CSA, what I don’t find realistic, however, is the portrayal of love, the romance. I find it very idealised and romanticised for the most part (i.e the falling in love at first sight (I’ll get to that), Doumeki being Yashiro’s exact type, Doumeki happens to be impotent which allows Yashiro to develop feelings for him, the fact that Doumeki is completely accepting of everything Yashiro does regardless of how Yashiro treats him, the fact that Doumeki is still in love with Yashiro after he shot him the leg, maybe he even stayed in the Yakuza world just to be near him (although who knows why exactly he did that?) Idk maybe it’s just me but I find it very unrealistic. It’s this romantic idea of „there is this perfect person out there who accepts you just the way you are and you don’t have to do anything to keep them happy, you can even shoot them in the leg and they’ll still love you, they’ll stick around no matter what it takes to be with you“.

I can’t pick and choose what I want to romanticize or not, I have chosen to look at things differently, and I am keeping the same approach when looking at characterizarion. When I look at Doumeki, I see as many problems as those Yashiro has. He is the one depressed imo, at the beginning of the story, he is in much worse shape than Yashiro. Yashiro has a support network, Doumeki was isolated in prison and kept family away when he was released. Doumeki isn’t this strong and stoic person who is in love with Yashiro and is therefore shouldering a burden or enduring abuse in the name of love. I have been misunderstood before on this, but I want to say that I look at these characters without romanticizing either of them. I am not so much interested in looking at who is right or wrong, or to paint one character in a better light and bashing another: I want to understand their differences and how they came to be, how the relationship is affected by those differences. This is why I don’t take a shipper’s approach either, I am not solely focused in their relationship, but in the story as a whole.

There are several posts where I talked at lenght about these characters, because Yoneda gave a lot of backstory, and I encourage who may be interested in checking further. Doumeki has trouble facing or recognizing reality, until reality kicks him in the face, and that is happening to him since the nurse and Aoi. So he is only observing when it suits him. Yashiro established his emotional boundaries plenty of times, and Nanahara is there to corroborate and reinforce Yashiro’s prefereces. Here are some examples, and these are from volume one alone. It is a pretty clear situation, and Doumeki understood it.

I know that people are objecting to the very idea of framing Doumeki as the aggressor in this case, but the power dynamics had already shifted at that point when things went down in ch 24-25. It is the result of an escalation that sees Doumeki hiding his feelings and his arousal, and becoming more aggressive and unhinged towards others during the investigation into who ordered the hit on Yashiro. Yoneda was painstakingly building towards that scene, while also painting a bigger picture and external plot, and there are so many details that I haven’t even touched upon yet, but nothing is filler. And the parallels between Doumeki’s arousal and his violent behavior can’t be easily ignored.

Again, I feel quite powerless and unequipped to persuade those who already formed their opinion. But when given arguments in favor of dismissing Yashiro’s right to object or arguments that shift the focus away from the simple topic of consent, then I have to ask myself why this is happening. **Rape culture does play a role, and as I said, rape culture can and does weaponize some romantic ideas about love. Or against the autonomy of the person, against choice and so on.

I find it very important that Yoneda chose to put those words in the mouth of an ex-policeman, while dressed up as a policeman, and of another abusive detective with the police. Or the fact that Inami commented on Doumeki’s father building a career to cover up his crimes. See these statements from the Wikipedia page on rape culture:

With how difficult has become to search on the web for unbiased results, I am just giving the Wikipedia page not as a source of authority, but as a peer reviewed summary that provides a starting point for research and some bibliography on the subject. For example:

I want to add that I don’t agree with the way the article frames “men” as perpetrators and “women” as victims. That should be corrected and can be misleading. Men have been historically and consistently discouraged to speak up about being victims of rape themselves and often the law didn’t even consider them. And the gendered approach contributed to make so many victims invisibile. There is so much we have to learn.

Again, this post is solely for the purpose of answering arguments or points made directly to me about how we interpret the story in Saezuru. These are my observations and reflections, the links I see, and it is possible because these things are in the manga. And last, I love love-stories. But romance - especially romantic tropes, often reinforced by fandom shipping culture - don’t always equal love to me.

[bumfuzzled-bee]

Guy

[unjustgalaxy]

Lintroller fanart based on @justyouraverageleafykinnie fanfic?? more likely than u think etc go read that thing!! Could not stop thinking abt them!! and they cant stop thinking abt eachother, hell yeah

[mantisgodsdomain]

Finally, we get the opportunity to put our Spy Cards worldbuilding in a work. Though there are many questions about such things as "regulation" "how these cards are printed" "who approves a single spy card", and so on, we are here to present a bold new take: this game is based like 60% on obscure roach memory-reading tech that got turned into a card game with absolutely No card-game-related intentions included in the original tech and most of the card vetting is just from the fact that there aren't too many card printers out there and most of them make cards that need to be translated from Roach.

Strictly speaking, as a card game, it is not a terribly good or well-balanced one. It's popular primarily because of a mix of the difficulty involved in getting the data for high-level cards, the fun of seeing the variety of monsters that can be brought to the table, and the incredible amounts of ham and drama that goes into specifically the professional scene.

[lolathepeacocklord]

MY LOORD, I NEED HELP!!!

i need references for angry archer for my future art projects! He's so stupid i love him so much, i couldn't stop thinking abt him!!

PLS give me any screenshot that u have for refrence i am going insane!!

GOUUUWWWHHH THE ARCHHHHHHH lucky for yewwwwww I am also incredibly freaked up about this guy specifically, and I have quite a few images of him I cannot lie😼😼‼️🔥🔥🔥let me rally all these freeks upppppppppppppp

[thedevotionaltour]

i havent even read enough gl to justify the feelings and emotions i have about kyle i just have the lovers heart and also something wrong with me. and my projection. in my mind he's just like me. and he would have loved college vending machine frozen cheeseburger and heating it up in the microwave at 1 in the morning because he was bored and didn't want to work on a drawing assignment on 20" x 30" paper that was due tomorrow in his freshman year. he would have loved going to the club to push off finals work that's creating the worst stress known to man in his brain. and he would love to annoy the fuck out of his roommate when high and avoiding homework on a saturday.

[gothic-chicanery]

I just realized if I want to write about Oppenheimer for my final paper for my west class I probably have to rewatch it and it is So Damn Long. I’m also writing about it in comparison to a production I saw of Doctor atomic (the Oppenheimer opera (yes there’s an Oppenheimer opera)) but that will be a little bit easier bc I’m pretty sure no footage exists of that production so like at least I don’t have to rewatch that

[woolydemon]

All your ninjago art reblogging has hit me hard with a realisation of fucking why do people bother to make Zane black if their gonna just give him the whitest blonde hair and blue eyes. It would be one thing if his hair was dyed but they put no effort into showing that it is, and he still has the brightest blue eyes ever. I get that they like the colour contrast, I get that they wanna show his ice connections, but if you wanna make a character black then at LEAST drop the euro centric beauty standards oh my god.

i do agree that I actually would like to see more of Zane with light hair that resembles actual bleached hair + brown eyes if he's going to be depicted as black.

Though I do think for the blue eyes part it is largely based on him being a robot, so like he's got led eyes that glow blue. maybe I'm not the best person to ask if this is bad or not, but I'm personally ok with this. It's not like ppl are supposed to think that's realistic (they're glowing robot eyes) + if ur depicting the other characters with non-eurocentric eye colors (like please. they're like all asian ....) as it further shows it's simply a robot feature (You can also argue his hair not resembling dyed hair is also bc of robot stuff like. Artificial hair ig??? Idk how I fully feel abt that one though)

but even then he does occasionally don looks where he's supposed to blend in with humans, so blue eyes can be a bit odd for that (in s8 though his human disguise had blue eyes in it... But whatever).

Another thing that would be cool actually for Zane to have light hair + blue eyes is for him to be an albino black guy. I do not see a lot of ppl depict characters in general like this, so it would be, as I said, Cool to see that. Still doesn't mean u can skimp out on making sure his features aren't eurocentric in this one as he's still black here

grain of salt for my takes on this since I'm not black I'm just passionate abt diversity in character design, feel free to wreck my shit or add onto it if ur more qualified to talk about it <:] ,,