#the story in this current state feels like it was outlined by game designers

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Exactly!!

Conflict in storytelling works best when it's argumentative in nature. And Ganondorf works great as "the other side of the argument" kind of guy.

I'm thinking of his appearances in Wind Waker and Twilight Princess; in WW, he is the one who sees a broken world and clings to the past, of what should have been, instead of being willing to imagine any kind of future for himself and the world, denying others the future he feels he was denied. In TP, his personal journey is that the entire world is about prey/predator logic where only the strongest and more deserving will survive (which is understandable given what he went through), but also that the only way to prevail is through brute and selfish self-preservation --the parallel to the relationship of Link and Midna, where they worked to respect one another and become equals, which happens through Zant, is an endless struggle of domination and backstabbing and lies because Ganondorf is incapable of being vulnerable or trusting anyone to see him as a man rather than a god-wannabe, and this is ultimately what ends up killing him.

(genuinely I feel like his character arc in TP is incredible even if hammered in a little bit --and maybe not developed enough-- the more time goes on and the more I'm impressed at the way the writers integrated his story to the game given he was a marketing addition if I understand well)

But in TotK, he is making so many half-hearted nods towards unrelated things that I never felt like me defeating him was me defeating a cruel and toxic philosophy that can only end in suffering (including his own). And even if we accept the very vague "technology make people weak, only strong muscly men should survive!!!" shtick he has going on during the final fight, we shouldn't have learned it right before killing him! And if that's the case, why are monsters mining zonite??? Why are the Yigas doing Team Rocket shenanigans in the Depths (bless their hearts)???

Okay, but maybe it isn't that. Maybe it's that he stands alone and betrays everybody while we stand united as friends to face him, which would make for a good parallel to what went down against Calamity in BotW the first time. But that's also not true!! If we discard the very weird and frankly stupid thing where he somehow attacked his own people that were mostly already on his side at that point (and even if we don't honestly); have you *seen* the size of the demon king army waiting for you on his doorstep? Or again, Master Kohga and everyone else?

Okay, then there are some people saying the theme of the game is "sacrifice". Okay! So surely, Ganondorf never sacrificed a single thing to reach his goals, right? *cues to the fact that he accepted Rauru's casual humiliation, even temporarily, as a stepladder to a Secret Stone, that he apparently did sacrifice his people???, that he for sure sacrificed his humanity, and then AGAIN sacrifices his consciousness in the final breath of the fight*

Yeah, to me his only consistent motivation is "fuck Rauru and his whole entire grind" (which, frankly, fair, and also, same) but it's not even something we actually refute! We don't know enough of Rauru to defend the fact he was a deserving or undeserving king, or that his method of governance was better, and it's not at all a stake in the final conflict. All we have are Vibes, because that's all Rauru ever gives us, and that's all we can actually judge him on (beyond, you know, many other things, but I hardly think the game took five seconds to question their implications so yeah). He doesn't even come after Zelda and the fact she's still upholding Hyrule in the future, which he could and honestly should have done, so this whole setup of Fake Zelda is never actually paid off thematically.

I mean, I've been vocal enough about how hollow I find this entire story to be, but this is mostly why I don't think Ganondorf as pure evil works in this particular context, where I think he worked extremely well in BotW.

the "classic" villain

some ppl try to defend totk ganondorf’s one-dimensional characterization by arguing that he’s meant to be a “pure evil”, “classic” villain. now, personally, i’m not entirely opposed to having ganondorf just be an unhinged evil guy – in my opinion, part of what makes him great is the fact that he can do it all, he can be the tragic fallen hero, the sympathetic anti-villain, the remorseful old man who can’t give up the ghost of his ambitions, and also the magnificent bastard who enjoys terrorizing hyrule bc they kinda had it coming, let’s be real here. pure evil villains are fun, that’s why i love sukuna from jujutsu kaisen, he’s just an absolute unapologetic menace.

but the thing about “pure evil” or “classic” villains is that they still have to make sense. take, for instance, big jack horner from puss in boots: the last wish, a character who some have smugly pointed to as an example of a “real villain” that’s supposedly rare nowadays. the main point of jack horner is that he’s an asshole, a real piece of shit who’s uninterested in redemption or helping others, despite the best efforts of his jiminy-cricket inspired companion. jack horner is fun and adds some variety to a film that also has a sympathetic antagonist who experiences growth (goldilocks) and a force-of-nature antagonist who absolutely steals the show (death). but jack horner still makes sense; he’s an over-privileged man-child who wanted for nothing and therefore feels entitled to everything, and he’s also spiteful bc pinocchio upstaged him that one time. plus, jack horner is funny, so that’s a bonus.

same goes for every other classic villain that people like, whether it’s the old-school disney villains or the bad guys from classic cartoons. pure evil villains still have to be coherent and understandable in some way. that doesn’t mean their reasons have to be good – in fact, i think pure evil villains are basically defined by NOT having good reasons to justify their actions. but they still need to have reasons.

but totk ganondorf? this dude makes no damn sense. why does the king of the gerudo, out of all people, become king of demons? it might as well have been the king of gorons or zora or rito who turned evil. why did the gerudo support his conquest of hyrule only to turn against him once he transformed into the demon king? where did he get his powers from? how and why did ganondorf, of all people, reach the conclusion that hyrule must be bathed in eternal darkness, and why is he so dedicated to this goal that he’s willing to sacrifice his own mind and body to achieve it? what, exactly, is driving this man? you can’t call him selfish because again, he’s willing to permanently damage himself to attain his goals, that shows he’s bound to a higher cause. but there’s no explanation for why he, of all people, has chosen this particular cause.

and sure, the fandom can speculate and try to use the lore to fill in the gaps, but the fact that there are such big gaps in the first place is totk’s biggest failure, in my opinion. if people have to look at lore guides to make sense of your villain, then you’ve failed as a storyteller.

totk ganondorf might have made more sense as just a monster that spawned from the Depths rather than a man who was born among the gerudo. maybe the zonai dug around too deep and activated the Depths’ defense mechanism, and boom, ganon emerges, furious at the surface world that has dared to intrude upon his domain, and determined to return the favor by covering the land of light with darkness. he’s still a monster who must be defeated but at least there would have been some logic to his actions.

[digital-chance]

writeblr intro

hey i'm chance! i've done a writeblr intro recently but i didn't like it, so this is take 2. here's the old one.

─── about me -⋆⋅☆

name : chance

pronouns : they/he

likes : cyberpunk, romance, anime, kpop, music, history, design

age : 20

i tend to swear both on here and in my writing, so if you're sensitive to that, i don't think my blog or work is for you. i also use the word 'queer' a lot since i self-identify as such, when i do choose to self-identify.

i'm interested in so much, which would be impossible to fully state. there are so many new things out there and i love learning about them all!! this blog is mainly for writing but i'm not strict on that.

i also am pretty sure i'm neurodivergent (no diagnosis or anything yet) and tend to delve into hyper-fixations for weeks at a time. if i haven't posted for a while, it's probably because of one of my other hyper-fixations or school.

i'm going to college for my bachelor's in graphic design, which might make my responses during the school year delayed.

i'm always open to ask or tag games!! it might take me a few to respond but i'll respond.

─── writing -⋆⋅☆

you'll find a lot of diverse characters, the found/chosen family trope, romance or rom-com, angst, and references to actual history or historical events within my work. sometimes i throw in a little art fact since i'm an art student. in nearly every one of my works you can find a prominent lgbtq+ character, too.

i write for original works and fanfiction alike. i often alternate what project i'm writing on and tend to leave wips unfinished. there's no one specific fandom that i'm in since i tend to dabble in everything.

i enjoy reading all sorts of stories, but some of the tropes and genres that have a special place in my heart include:

[ genres : romance . action . sci-fi . dystopian . heists . cyberpunk . horror . comedy . mystery ] [ tropes : friends to lovers , enemies to lovers , fake/pretend relationship , college au , coffee shop au , domestic , fluff , angst ]

─── ⋆ looking for ⋆⋅☆

more writers to follow!

good vibes & friends

writing advice & critique buddies (will help critique ur work too)

─── works in progress -⋆⋅☆

nova futurum | original work | #wip: nova futurum

─── ⋆ status : brainstorming

a lgbtq+ mafia cyberpunk story with the working title "Nova Futurum." i've got the general information down and i'm currently working on fleshing out my main characters. for now it's in the very basic stages, but feel free to ask me about it or give any tips!

you still would've been mine | fanfiction | #wip: yswbm

─── ⋆ status : outlining, research, & writing draft 1

Steven "Steve" Rogers wakes up in the 21st century after crashing into the ice in 1942, leaving behind his life as the mascot of the USA along with his childhood in Brooklyn NYC. The Winter Soldier, a man left behind in the war recovers his memories as the man known as James "Bucky" Buchanan Barnes after meeting Steve in the modern time. Steve and Bucky recall their childhood and their experience in the war as they recover.

matchbreakers | original work | #wip: match

─── ⋆ status : brainstorming

xavier works at match breakers. instead of setting people up on blind dates, he goes to dates and breaks up the couple. all sorts of people hire him, disapproving parents, jealous ex's, and those scared to see their ex's angry side. what he doesn't expect is falling in love with one of his own clients.

scars of duty | original work | #wip: sod

─── ⋆ status : plotting

Lucian is a hero who protects the city of Haines and the other members of his hero's league. They're a small-name hero just trying to make do with what they've got. A villain new to the city shows up and shakes Lucian’s perception of their own superpowers and the world.

< tag lists: if you'd like to be added for any project, let me know. i'm not the greatest at remembering the tag list but i will try! >

─── ⋆ more of my socials & my design portfolio

[eccentric-nucleus]

i'm gonna be talking about the weird porn game stuff i'm working on now, so you know, watch out

so as you may have gathered from my various posts, i've been working on the hell game 2 engine. currently i have events running mostly-correctly from data files, but i don't currently have state & pc data hooked up correctly so i can't actually e.g., test out various different sex scene variations based on the pc's bodytype. given one of the big failures of hell game (the first) was that i never really got complex event interactions working, i should probably think up some multi-stage demo events and get them working early on, so i don't end up repeating the same mistake

anyway as i have been putting this together i've been reflecting on the stuff i was dissatisfied with with hell game. unfortunately for me one of those things was "the sex scenes weren't as parametric as i wanted". hell game tended to break sex scenes down based on fundamental body plan (what i usually call 'bodytype' b/c that's the variable name for it in the code). that was stuff like: biped, centaur, quadruped, naga, snake, and 'other'. that's already a lot of totally-different variations but given i also let people change size there did kind of also need to be at least some size-based changes. but that's even more stuff to write for a single sex scene to have full coverage.

(this kinda thing is why i love to bring up the whole thing about nagas having a thigh gap in TiTS. they didn't want to change the scene blocking for all the doggystyle sex scenes! you can just say "between your thighs" either way!! i mean i get it, just, lol.)

but the other thing with hell game is that it was always uhhh a very early demo. it was basically a collection of contextless sex scenes with demons, and while there are worse things for a game to be, i did kinda have aspirations of, you know, plot, story, named characters that weren't just procgen demons, etc. so one of the things i've been working on currently is a ~design doc~ that covers setting & story details in a concrete enough way that i can reference off it and not end up writing myself into a corner.

and that gets us to the weird porn part of the post. i haven't fully committed to the current setting concept (scifi space station sucked through an interdimensional portal so it's now orbiting around hell, a la your dooms and hellpoints and the like; i feel like i'm maybe being a little too derivative here) so i won't go into too much detail but on the whole there is probably gonna be a more pronounced, you know, horror/grotesque influence. we'll... see how that works given that it is also a porn game

like yeah yeah plenty of porn games are kind of libidinal nightmare realms. coc had the parasitic dick worms. people love gross sex stuff. i feel like i kinda lost touch with a lot of my audience and now i spend more time around, uh, normal people who don't have deeply-rooted fixations. currently the first encounter i have outlined for this is uhhh a reanimated zombie who... lemme just paste the description in

A thing that was once a dead body, overtaken by something new. Its skin is a faded grey and its muscles are overgrown, proportions inhuman: shoulders impossibly wide, arms and legs slabs of striated muscle. It moves with an inhuman gait, as if the thing inhabiting it is still getting adjusted to human articulation.

There's a squirming thing wrapped around its head, all leathery purple-black flesh. A central mass covers the corpse's head: face smooth, back of the head a mess of overlapping tentacles. It has many long octopus-like tentacles that fan out across its shoulders and back. The tentacles trail down its body, clamped tight to the skin, before they sink into its body across its shoulders, chest, and back, squirming under the skin like gigantic veins. The skin around the punctures is painted with purple-black bruises. Glowing green ichor pulses through its body, pumped into it from its penetrating tentacles, feeding its muscles with unnatural energy. Its skin is a faded grey, streaked with ash, save for where its glowing-green blood flows, forming branching lines of bulging veins that cover its shoulders and chest.

A single loose tentacle extends from its face like an enormous proboscis, tapering in wormlike rings to a squirming tip, slavering shed ichor in gummy lines down its bare chest.

Its cock hangs heavily between its thighs, perpetually bloated and half-hard, with its glowing green ichor visibly pumping through its altered flesh. Its massive, oversized balls churn and lurch behind the fat stalk of its dick, pulsing with burgeoning larvae. Thick, translucent grey pre perpetually spills from its bloated glowing-green cocktip, painting wet smears of fluid down its monstrously-muscular legs.

it talks to you and asks if you wanna get pumped full of squirming zombie larvae so it can reproduce and reanimate more corpses. a lot of the encounter design is very much "what if you could fuck this DOOM monster"

anyway, that's like, normal. that's completely usual actually. having a cop fetish is what's weird and disturbing. okay okay that's just dumb glib moralizing i don't actually think that. but i mean, it is super weird to write stuff like that and then go back into the normal realm where people keep talking about college jocks or w/e.

but before i do much more writing i gotta hammer out the rest of the engine. next up: a lot of variable storage & thinking about how to separate npc data from the events they take part in. that's all stuff that needs to get coded regardless of which setting i go with

[its-dean]

Hey just wanted to say that this while Odyssey thing looks Really REALLY cool!!! Forgive me if it's already stated elsewhere, but how do you plan on releasing it when its done?? Like is it gonna be an emulator thing or more of a standalone type of thing?? Also I Love the character designs you've been putting out, and I think I followed you a while back just for those lol. Anyway keep up the good work and consider me excited!!

Thank you for reaching out, you’re very kind! In terms of the things I’ve been posting, everything that I make is simply for fun. I just enjoy getting to share all the things I come up with, and it motivates me to make what I share feel that much more interesting.

I don’t have any experience with game design, and I don’t have plans to develop anything I come up with to be part of an actual fan-game. I like creating vivosaurs, giving them stats, and imagining what tweaks I’d make to how a Fossil Battle works, but I feel like I’d be in over my head if I were to try and program any of those things. It simple doesn’t interest me enough, and I’m nowhere near experienced enough 😅

However, very big big however, my biggest passion with Fossil Fighters is its story and its world, and that’s what I want to work on with what I create. I study filmmaking in school and want to go into some kind of career as a creative writer, and my biggest personal project is Fossil Fighters Ofyssey, my own idea of where the story of the first 2 games would go from where they left off, 9 whole years later. Since I finished developing my cast of original characters and vivosaurs, I’ve been trying to shift gears to thinking of the story I want to tell using them. I’ve worked out outlines and currently am working on writing finalized scripts (some of them I’ll probably post here), the dream would be to someday illustrate my story in a manga/graphic novel format, but again I don’t wanna go further into video game territory.

I apologize for the really long-winded response, this is just my biggest personal passion and I’m really appreciative that there are people who enjoy seeing what I share enough to ask me these kinds of questions. Thanks for hearing me out on all of this, I wish you the best as well! 🙏

[taoofshigeru]

I think discussions like this one on OT2 Main Character-ness are interesting, and serve as a jumping-off point for something I wanted to talk about wrt Octopath 2 on the whole.

[spoilers follow]

When I see the specific critique that it's 8 small stories and not one big arc spanning all the characters, and that's a negative, I feel chafed by it for a couple of reasons. I'm going to try to outline them here.

1: In a broad sense, Octopath as a whole is designed such that the world is a major character. Every single NPC, even ones wholly irrelevant to plot or side quests, has a backstory that is at least somewhat carefully considered and some of them were written with Baby Shoes Never Worn ambitions of word count/reader reaction ratios. And it's a big world. It's hard not to get attached to some of it, and the fact that it's pretty doesn't hurt.

2: The way I read it, it's a key facet of OT2's story that there are two competing central themes, not one. The fundamental struggle with the Moonshade Order and HTAPOTCO is about apathy vs. hope. But there's also a broader sense in the world as you explore it that there's a lot of inequity and class/caste segregation. It figures most prominently in Partitio's story, but is also present in Osvald's tour of the sterling state of the prison system and constabulary, as well as the brutal way in which Papa Mishuyo is murdered. The basic question answered through gameplay is:

A) Can our heroes prevent the end of the world? (Yes, answered via gameplay)

In that sense, Ori's failed sacrifice is totally extraneous to the plot. Unless you specifically read it that her not dying led to a weaker Vide coming back (possible, but not confirmed in canon), it doesn't really matter from a gameplay perspective. Either way, you have to rekindle 4 flames and fight a cool boss to set things right. But the specific details of her character arc absolutely matters with regards to the second theme, and the question it asks:

B1) Is the world in its current state worth protecting? And, as an important corollary, B2) How do you convince someone who's experienced the worst the world's had to offer that is worth preserving and trying to improve?

Seeing the horrors of the world inflicted by humans on humans were a big part of how Ori, Oboro, and Trousseau (to an extent) were turned to the Moonshade Order's cause. Castti's very direct answer to question B2 is "Sometimes you can't." Partitio manages to answer the How without even realizing it. Hikari also makes a very serious effort to find this answer for three separate people in his life, and succeeds once (Thanks, Rai Mei). The message that I see the writers trying to land with all this is that you might not be able to convince everyone that the world is worth it, but there is worth in trying.

The message itself is not unique, but I feel it's been uniquely well delivered here.

3: And, conversely, I feel like this narrative goal falls apart if you play through a game with any one of the eight as the primary protagonist from beginning to end. The deeper cuts I don't think can be as easily achieved through a central narrative that ends with one overarching villain serving as a foil for a single protagonist. You need several sympathetic but differing points of view, and several foils to see the world through another's shoes. I think it's a level of nuance and complexity that needed a big world with a lot of people, and individual characters who experience that world differently, in order to really be delivered upon.

Unless the writing is sublime and gets a lot of underlying and dev resource-intensive support from gameplay integration, what you're getting is a game where Hikari is the protagonist and the other seven are co-protagonists. I think Hikari's an interesting character. I think all 8 characters are, but I have issues with making his or any other story the most central one. One of the things I like about a game like say, Final Fantasy 6 is that you do start with Tera and then get forced to use different party members in a way that allows you to see the world from many different points of view. But, this creates a game design issue where you're specifically forced to abandon large swaths of your party composition for story reasons at various points on the plot, which could create consternation for a number of players whose leader just went from level 68 to level 7. I think it can sometimes feel lame how modern rpgs can be allergic to any plot point that requires permanently altering party composition or playstyle, but I do feel it's an understandable constraint of the need to appeal to a broad player base. Within that constraint, there aren't a lot of way to avoid the drawbacks of Main Protagonist Syndrome.

Like, not to pick on Xenoblade Chroncles 3, but it's a recent game that also deals heavily in themes of choosing to exist even if it means struggling through a crappy world, and while it does a lot of things really well, it does suffer for the final villain being essentially The Face of Nihilism with no human traits. There are lots of subvillains in that game with more interesting dynamics, but their contributions to the overall theme didn't hit as strongly with me personally because they were presented in gameplay as optional obstacles on the way to the fight with big generic rather than the final counterpoint at the end of an individual character's journey.

I recognize this is a pretty subjective point. Vide is also The Face of Nihilism with no human traits. But because the individual route antagonists represent and give voice to more human reasons for hating the world, that conversation carried actual emotional weight with me personally.

Likewise, I understand that some people prefer stories with a strongly centralized arc that involves the characters bouncing off each other more. But I feel that OT2, more than just being something unique in the way it's represented, stays dynamic and interesting by bouncing characters both off their antagonists and the world at large, and delivers a pretty special end result.

For all I know, OT3 might never come out, or it might take the franchise in a pretty different direction. But I'm pretty confident the writers and designers of 2 navigated their game design/narrative trade-offs with finesse and knocked it out of the park thematically.

[pikolswonderland]

are u still working on GoBB as above so below? I saw your posts a few days ago, and thought they were really interesting! But noticed you haven’t done anything with it for a while.

Heya, sorry I'm late to responding to this. I feel like I should really go in more detail with this right now because I know everyone here who was following me for AASB and GoBB in general are confused as to where I have been.

CW// Bit of a vent

Yeah, I am indeed still working on As Above So Below, I’m just taking a break from GoBB for right now. I haven’t been super motivated to work on AASB for a bit now since there hasn’t been a lot of updates on Chapter 8 as of right now and I've been hyperfixated on other stuff. I feel like the Euphoric Brothers are also taking GoBB a bit more slowly as well, as the release days for the games have been getting father and father apart from each other as the games have been getting bigger.

I've been pretty burnt out on AASB and GoBB in general as of late, and I've been more hyperfixated on TMNT and Pokémon. As stated in that post I've been really struggling on making my redesigns for the characters in AASB, committing to a design is always really difficult for me in my experience in character design (ESPECIALLY with more complex designs like my redesigns for AASB). I have, however, come up with an idea for my designs that I think would really elevate them that I haven't really seen in other GoBB redesigns. Another thing with AASB that I am struggling to finish is the story, since GoBB is still currently an ongoing story, there are plenty of changes I am going to be adding as time goes on (I DO have a rough outline of events, characters, and the beginning and ending). Overall, the main reason I haven't been working on AASB is because of creative block and my stupid ADHD brain.

I often feel self-conscious about things like this, procrastinating on things and feeling like I'm betraying everyone by not doing anything, especially when i comes to updating with new content for something I know people are interested in. I get I don't have to owe anyone here on this hellsite anything, this is my creative project I'm doing for my own enjoyment. I forget that sometimes, and I'm trying my hardest to not.

However, I am currently working on another long explanation post similar to my one on the plot and the one on GV. I won't be revealing what this lore post is about just yet, so I hope you'll be looking forward to it once it comes out!

So, yeah. AASB is far from over, it's just on a bit of an undetermined hiatus for now. Thank you to everyone who has supported me with AASB so far now, I appreciate all of you! You can also keep sending in asks about AASB, I'll get to them eventually. I just hope everyone here can still be a little patient.

[fitmanagement]

Dear Gym Salespeople,

Are you ready to take your sales game to the next level? Are you looking for effective strategies to attract more prospects and boost gym memberships? Look no further! This article is your ultimate guide to becoming a persuasive salesperson and attracting potential clients to your gym. Read on, as we unveil the secrets to success in the fitness industry.

Understanding Your Audience:

The key to successful sales lies in understanding your prospects. Recognize that each individual has unique goals, motivations, and preferences. Take the time to connect with them on a personal level. By building rapport and showing genuine interest, you can establish trust and credibility, making it easier to promote the benefits of your gym.

Highlight the Unique Selling Points:

In a saturated market, it’s crucial to differentiate your gym from the competition. Identify and emphasize your gym’s unique selling points, such as state-of-the-art equipment, certified trainers, specialized classes, or convenient location. Showcase these features to pique the interest of potential clients and demonstrate why your gym is the best choice for achieving their fitness goals.

Create an Irresistible Offer:

Prospects are more likely to commit when they feel they are getting a great deal. Design enticing promotions, introductory packages, or limited-time discounts to attract new members. The allure of a compelling offer can be the tipping point that turns a potential customer into a loyal, long-term member.

Harness the Power of Social Proof:

Leverage the positive experiences of your current members to attract new ones. Encourage satisfied customers to share their success stories and testimonials. Consider hosting events or sharing before-and-after transformations on social media. Positive reviews and real-life success stories create a sense of trust and inspire others to take action.

Embrace Technology:

In this digital age, harnessing technology is paramount for effective sales and marketing. Leverage social media platforms, create engaging content, and develop a strong online presence. Utilize email marketing campaigns, virtual tours, and online booking systems to streamline the process and make it easy for prospects to join your gym.

Conclusion:

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Don’t settle for mediocre sales performance. Take advantage of the expertise and resources offered by Fitness Management & Consulting, and witness the transformation of your gym’s sales and profitability.

Remember, success in sales is an ongoing journey of growth and adaptation. By implementing the strategies outlined in this article and partnering with Fitness Management & Consulting, you can unlock the full potential of your gym and achieve unprecedented success in the competitive fitness industry. Contact FMC here.

Happy selling!

Click here for more details on financing options or call 214-629-7223 or email jthomas@fmconsulting.net for more information. Or, apply now.

An Outsourced CEO and expert witness, Jim Thomas is the founder and president of Fitness Management USA Inc., a management consulting, turnaround, financing  and brokerage firm specializing in the gym and sports industry. With more than 25 years of experience owning, operating and managing clubs of all sizes, Thomas lectures and delivers seminars, webinars and workshops across the globe on the practical skills required to successfully overcome obscurity, improve sales, build teamwork and market fitness programs and products. Visit his Web site at: www.fmconsulting.net or www.youtube.com/gymconsultant.

[georgewfmpyear2]

Evaluation

I think this project for the most part was pretty rocky compared to some of my previous projects, particularly with the current state of the outcome but I do think it continued to help me build upon the specialisms that I’ve carved out during my time at college. I expanded and improved upon my use of child actors and arrays which helped me to create  a system where I could add entirely new spells for the player to use and skill sets to go with that spell in just a matter of minutes along with a clear dynamic menu to go along with those spells. I also built upon previous projects in a more direct way, using the voxel plugin and my own foliage spawning code to make entirely randomized open maps which is something I originally tried all the way back in my year 1 FMP and then attempted to improve upon using a different system in my first year 2 project. Although I didn’t end up sticking with a linear level format I did end up setting up my own system for laying out and planning the levels which I only used once but was very helpful for making that one level easier to design and make and would’ve been even more helpful if I had stuck to that original level structure. I also made use of various widget based techniques that I only know about due to projects I’ve worked on at home to improve the overall quality of this project.

For a lot of this project I felt pressured by the time limit that I had which was a product of setting my expectations for myself too high at the start of the project. I think this led to trying to rush in a lot of areas since there was so much I wanted to get done in the end. Rushing a lot of things had a backwards effect, crumbling my motivation for the project and hampering my decision making my game fall behind my own expectations of myself even more so then if I had managed to stay calm and take my time with many of the aspects. This is the most prevalent with the change to use fully randomized open levels rather than the tight linear gauntlets that I had spent much of the project building towards. At this point I can say that I think it was a good decisions as the project now falls into place as a more obvious progression of my previous work and led to me having a bit more of a complete game then I would’ve had otherwise but looking back at the initial decision I think I rushed into and should’ve spent more time going other then benefits and drawbacks of that decision. Despite some of those rushed decisions and the level structure change I think for the most part I have managed to stick too and achieve what I lined out in my project proposal, creating something that mechanically feels like a progression of my previous work and also shows off my creativity although many of the aspects didn’t quite live up to what I envisioned in my head.

As mentioned before I made a decision somewhat too late into the project to completely alter the direction I was going in with the level design and overall structure of the game which I think hurt then final outcome simply because I didn’t have enough time to fully flesh out that new direction and other areas also suffered since I was spending my time working on that new direction. For the most part however my project still meets the concept I outlined in my project proposal. The game still centres around a wizard and an author talking about the wizards' life stories with the actual levels being set in those stories, the only main difference being the structure of the levels. Like many of my previous projects I failed to live up to my own expectations with my ideas going beyond what I could physically do within the time that I had but considering the sudden level structure change reasonably late into the project I think I did as well as I could’ve within that short time frame and since having a complete game isn’t required for hand in I can continue working on and finish the game after the project has ended if I still want to get to my envisioned end goal.

The most important thing I could’ve done to improve this project was simply better planning so that I could be sure of the direction I was going in and whether or not it would work and be feasible within the time that I have. Most of the problems I had during this project were due to releasing certain things too late or properly making sure that certain things were actually possible to do and wouldn’t take time away from working on other areas. Even if they would’ve taken a bit of time to set up, creating more in depth, tighter plans would’ve helped me in the long run and hopefully spot time based issues before it's too late and make better, informed decisions about the direction of the project. Another thing I could’ve done is make time to give playtests and get more feedback from people to help with making those decisions about the direction of the project and whether any of the new things I’m trying to do are worth the time that I intended to put into them. 

Overall I think that this was a project of my own conflicting opinions. On one hand I’ve got some of the best mechanical systems I’ve ever made that are the end product of the specific areas I’ve worked in since starting the course and on the other hand i’ve got a game that is belo my own expectations of myself and could’ve turned out much better if I had stayed committed or made the decision to change direction much earlier into the project. Despite this I think that many of the elements of my project I wouldn’t have even begun to know how to make and make efficiently without all of my projects since starting college both at college and at home which shows that I’ve carved out a niche area and have continuously improved on that area to get to the point I am with this project and many of the things I’ve learnt while making it will help in any games I try to make in the future making this project a valuable part of both my college portfolio that I should feel proud of and can help me getting closer to being able to accurately create my increasingly ambitious ideas.

[ratsoh-writes]

What do their bedrooms/living areas look like? I'm going to use all 3 of my asks to request this for all of the boys if that's ok! ❤

Man, I’ve had this one in my secret notes for a good while now!

Undertale:

Both the tale brothers live in a nice little gated community. Their house is one of the smaller ones and has the same layout as the one in Snowdin. The house is pretty basic with some cozy throws and wall tapestries to spruce it up

Sans: his room actually has a proper bed and frame this time. The sheets and blankets are still bundled up in a pile on the floor though. Sans also has his homemade trashnado in the corner. There’s a desk on the wall adjacent to the door which has his laptop. And several folders stacked next to it. Other than a dresser, there’s literally nothing else in there. Sans doesn’t care much about stuff

Papyrus: his room has bright orange walls. He left the race car bed behind underground but has a race car blanket to make up for it. His walls are covered in superhero and comic posters. He also has a display case for some old figurines and his comic collection. Papyrus’ desk is one of those nice fancy drafting ones where he can adjust it to tilt upwards. He has a ship wheel attached to his door for some reason.

Underswap

The swap bros home is only a few blocks from the classic brothers neighborhood. The only thing basic about it is the cream walls. All the furniture and decorations are bright colors. The kitchen especially is real nice. The oven and stove are top notch, and the counters are filled with mason jars full of goodies.

Star: his room can blind a lesser man when you walk in. The walls are bright yellow, the bed (which is a bunk bed by the way) is neon orange. Galaxy posters decorate the wall. Besides the clashing colors, the furniture is pretty basic. Only the top bunk actually has a mattress. The bottom bunk is used as a storage shelf. He also has a shoe rack by his door

Honey: you can practically feel the nerdy aura as you enter his room. The first thing you see is a display case housing some neat figurines of characters from his favorite shows. He’s also got a pretty nice bookshelf on the opposite wall that’s nearly full. Honeys bed has a curtain around it for extra privacy with a nice little wall lamp above the pillows

Underfell

They have a home a little closer to the city center but still far enough to be considered suburbs. It’s a very sleek and modern house with white walls, tile floors and sleek black and metal furniture. The only thing that doesn’t fit the rest of the theme is this nasty old patched up sofa in the living room. The thing is absolutely hideous but is sooo comfy.

Red: his room has soft grey walls and smells like miter oil. Makes sense since one wall is just a long basic table covered in machine parts that red tinkers with in his down time. He actually doesn’t have a bed. Instead he sleeps on this giant leather bean bag. He likes it that way. There’s a few car posters decorating the walls

Edge: he obviously put a lot of thought into his rooms decorations. Everything is pretty black marble or a sleek white wood. His bed covers are blood red with a nice geometric designs on top in silver. He has a beautiful black desk with some pretty jars filled to the brim with nothing but novelty pens. If you looked in his desk drawers you would find notebooks and even more pens

Swapfell

They don’t own a house and instead live in a two bedroom one bath apartment on the third floor of one of lords complexes. The furniture is pretty minimalistic but very nice quality. Most decorations are metal

Mal: the first thing you’ll see in his room is a large wooden drawing desk where pencils and watercolors are neatly arranged on the side. There’s also a vanity with a light up mirror and a nice collection of makeup. Also a huge slanted hunters knife. He uses it to make sure his eyeliner is extra sharp.

Cash: his bedroom is the perfect definition of organized chaos. It looks messy but for cash, he knows exactly where every thing is. There’s a small tv in there with some old game consoles hooked up to it. The bed is never made.

Horrortale

Their home rests in a neighborhood bordering the forest of ebott. The houses there all have a lot more yard space than most houses in the city. The horrortale home is super cozy with lots of knit throws and pillows scattered around. The back patio has a little dog door and there’s a 50% chance of seeing a chicken walk through lol

Oak: his room is also pretty basic. The bed however has so many blankets. Like way more than any person should need. Oak is a blanket hoarder. There’s a lot of notebooks stacked on his wooden desk along with a file of patterned paper for scrapbooking.

Willow: his room has a raised bed with a cute little ladder on the side so that his dog can jump up. You can tell a lot of the furniture has been homemade or refurbished. The room is larger and in the middle is a circular stone table that’s stained with paint. It’s usually housing his latest craft

Underlust

They used to live in the same neighborhood as the classic brothers but have recently moved closer to the inner city because of work. Their home is still in the process of being unpacked mostly, but their rooms are done! The house is actually pretty conservative looking with grey walls, white wooden furniture and soft pastel decor. They do have a stripper pole in the living room though lol

Charm: his room looks exactly how you expect from him. Dark walls with lots of bright rave type decorations. On his dresser is a large pretty cake display that stands out from the rest of the rooms theme lol. His room is always on a state of organized chaos with his desk and bed covered in nick knacks but the floors staying oddly clean

Sugar: his room has light lavender walls and black furniture. It’s a big difference from the soft feminine style people expect from him. Instead sugar has a more sleek modern style to his room. He also has a standard mannequin in the middle that always has a new dresses pinned to it.

Fellswap (red)

They own a pretty two story house only a block away from the two apartment complexes that lord owns. The front lawn/garden is in top shape with lots of those metal flower decorations stuck in the ground along the dirt outline. Inside the house is most worn but comfy looking furniture. Nothing special

Lord: his room is pretty basic with mostly brown and grey accents. He does have a large mostly filled bookcase. There’s also two white bean bags and a deep red rug that covers nearly the whole floor of the room.

Mutt: he actually has two rooms. The first is pretty simple with just his bed, a writing desk and a rack for some shoes. Also his bird cage for KFC (pet pigeon). The second room has a sink, and several cages and boxes for the injured animals that he rehabilitates. The second room is slightly larger than his actual room.

Fellswap gold

They actually live in a studio apartment above wines antique shop. The apartment used to be an unused storage static until wine bought the building and repurposed it. The living space itself is a little small, but they also have access to the roof which the gold bros use as a potted garden and dining area.

Wine: his room is very classy with silk curtains on the window and a silky cream canopy above his head. All the furniture is a dark grey wood with pretty carvings and designs. The walls are decorated with beautiful floral paintings from his brother. It’s a pretty well planned out room. Very cosy and luxurious

Coffee: he has two rooms as well. The smaller of the two is just his bed, dresser, closet and a tv with some consoles hooked up to it. The second room has shelves lining nearly every wall except for one which is just a big collab mural. On the shelves is various art supplies and projects. There’s one large sketch desk on one wall. And finally in the middle of the room is a tarp attached to the floor housing whatever piece of furniture coffee is restoring at the moment .

Dancetale

They also own an apartment, one of the flats in lords buildings on the ground floor. It’s the other building from the swapfell brothers. The walls are painted a cheery yellow and the house is mostly decorated with spring colors. There’s always a huge bowl of fresh fruit in the kitchen.

Pop: his room is mix and match of completely different furniture and gadgets. Pop isn’t someone who cares about themes so he will keep whatever catches his fancy. Instead of a bed, he has a hammock attacked to the ceiling with a pillow and some throw blankets casually tossed on top lol.

Rhythm: his room is pretty sparse with just his bed, a shoe rack, and a dresser. On the dresser are pictures of each of his face classes right before they graduate. Rhythm doesn’t really care all that much about decor so the walls are pretty bare too

Outertale

They live in the same gated community as the classic brothers! The outertale home has high ceilings and lots of windows. The living room is the real centerpiece of the home. It has several large antique bookcases and display cases. Inside the displays are various rocks and crystals and the occasional fossil. It’s really neat.

Pluto: his room is comprised of mostly blues grays and greens. He has a small bookcase on the side of his bed where he keeps the things he’s currently reading. There’s also a large fish-tank with an assortment of saltwater fish inside. Pluto’s room also has a large circular fluffy rug in the middle of the floor. The floor itself is hardwood

Jupiter: his room has a similar color scheme except instead of greens, Jupiter has gold instead. He has some exercise equipment stacked nicely on the side of his bed including weights. There’s a wall tapestry with a printed picture of the asteroid belt the outertale monsters used to live in.

Gastertale

The gaster brothers also live in the same neighborhood as the classic and outertale bros. They’re at the very end in the little cul-de-sac. The interior of the house is almost all white with cream carpet, metro grey walls, and white furniture. A few of the small decorations add a bit of color. There’s a lot of potted succulents.

G: his room is probably the only dark room of the house. His walls are a charcoal grey and the furniture is mostly jet black with a few mustard colored decorations. There’s a metal wire bookcase hanging on the wall. G also has a plastic anatomy dummy that he dresses up in his motorcycle gear when he’s not using it. G thinks he’s funny

Green: like the rest of the home, his room is also mostly white. He has a pretty pale green rack for all of his glasses on his dresser. Green also has his several degrees framed in silver on the walls. his room is always spotless

Farmtale:

The farm bros have an old Victorian home that they fixed up themselves. They’re home borders the acres of farmland they own and is about a 45 minute drive from ebott city. The inside is decorated with mostly wooden furniture. There’s like four rocking chairs on the porch lol

Peaches: his room fits the theme of the house with mostly wooden furniture and a lot of quilts and rugs to add color and soften it up. Peaches always has a vase of fresh wildflowers on his dresser. The walls have photographs of plants and animals taped to them that peaches took himself.

Rancher: this mad lad has a large moose skull hanging above his four poster log cabin bed. He also hangs his favorite hunting rifles just below the moose lol. His bedroom is mostly wooden of course but is also decorated with lots of red and orange plaids.

Horrorfell

They live in the same neighborhood as the horrortale and horrorswap brothers. Their home is literally right in between the two. Inside it’s decorated in a mix between sleek modern metals and frumpy cozy style. Somehow the horrorfell bros still have their original sofa from the underground. There’s a lot of little homemade staircases for their cat doomfanger who’s too old to claim on top of things herself now

Rust: his walls are painted a soft heather grey and have some basic wooden decorations that noir painted for fun. The furniture is pretty normal with the exception of a large treasure style chest next to his bed. Open it up and you’ll find a collection of drawings and gifts from the kids he’s watched over the years. Rust didn’t have the heart to throw them away.

Noir: unsurprisingly, his room is littered in canvases and paintings on the walls. It’s divided into two sides: the messy paint side and his nice neat living side. He even has a line of tape going down the middle to complete the divide. On his living side is his bed, closet, and a low bookcase that he uses as a second dresser. The actual bookcase is in the living room

Horrorswap

As y’all all know, their house is right next to the horrorfells and one house away from the horrortales. They like bright colors and have a sort of summery themed house. The best part is the back garden which is filled with garden boxes of veggies, fruit bushes, and fruit trees.

Lilac: his rooms main color is a pretty powder blue along with canary yellow and some bright green. He has a yoga mat on the floor in place of a rug. The walls have some neat sunrise posters

Basil: his room is pretty cosy with lots of knit blankets and fluffy pillows. He has a massive poster of Pixar’s ratatouille that rust got him as a joke. Basil has like five coconut planters, each housing a different herb plant making his room smell like an Italian restaurant

The Mafias (tale, fell, swap)

The mafia brothers live in an apartment complex masquerading as a warehouse. The ground and top two floors are working area while there were three secret basement levels. The mafia bros home consists of the whole bottom level with all their rooms connected to a hallway. At the end of the hallway is a living space and the kitchen.

Snipe: his room is the one closest to the living area. Inside is sage walls with a few house plants that can survive in low light. His bed is almost never made lol. If one was to tear the room apart, they would find at least six different guns stashed in hidden compartments

Bruiser: his room is the closest to the staircase. Inside the room somehow looks super messy but is actually spotless. Bruiser decorates the walls with all kinds of gifts people randomly give him during his vigilante escapes. Stuff from pocket mirrors, to foreign currency to even a small collection of sea shells. He drilled holes into them and hung them up on strings. Other than his walls, the furniture is pretty plain

Butch: his room is a mix of greys, blacks an silvers with the basics of furniture and a small black leather sofa. On the walls are some pretty hand melded metal decorations that butch made himself. He smokes in his room so it reeks of cigars

Boss: his room fits him perfectly with clean white plaster walls, sleek metal furniture and black and gold marble decor. Everything in that room has a specific place. If anyone moved his stuff, he’d know. It’s the only mafia bro room that doesn’t caught smell like smoke somehow. There’s a male model mannequin that he uses to practice designing clothes on

Ace: the most eye catching part of his room is a large vanity with several lamps attached and a very extensive makeup kit. I’m talking professional grade. Ace isn’t the spy for nothing. He also has an open closet so all his clothing is out on display. The main color of his room is mauve funny enough

Slim: his room is a drab grey and has a large desk taking up a whole wall. It’s filled with screens and monitors. He also has a few tv screens hooked up to the wall. It almost looks like a security room. On the other side is his bed with a canopy curtain for privacy. There’s a few anime posters on the wall as well

[puppyluver256]

[Image Description: A fan-made Pokemon made up of an amalgamation of technological bits and bobs. Its body consists of a large metal rod passing through five large silver gears. Its head is a yellow mask-like object with a red X and blue circle for eyes, a long white line down the center resembling a nose, and a dark yellow diamond shape resembling a mouth, and long red and blue wires extending from the back in a manner akin to tentacles. A large metal gear floats above its head, with blue, red, yellow, and white ring designs around the center. Six metallic spheres float around it. Yellow text outlined in silver to the right of the image reads "Progurrent". End ID.]

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Progurrent - Innovation Pokemon - electric/steel People who had seen Progurrent in even the recent past would be hard pressed to recognize its appearance today. It is drawn to technology and models its appearance and abilities based on what is available. / Also known as the Spirit of Progress. Its appearance seems to have changed considerably even between individual years, let alone the eons. Even its typing may have changed, as some accounts state that it once had fire and rock traits.

More Cantessy Fakemon, and here's the other of the "box Legendaries"! Progurrent is the box legend of Pokemon Circuit (and as such is exclusive to that version), obviously meant to represent technology but it is also representative of Cantessy's intellectual advancement as a whole. It is constantly changing alongside the development of all kinds of technology, and has been ever since humanity first set foot in the region, to the point where a grandparent and grandchild who both see it will disagree over what it looks like depending on when either one saw it. It holds all kinds of data and information in itself, both significant and mundane, but its memory for significant or even day-to-day events is rather poor. Like the difference between knowing how to code a whole program within a couple days and remembering what exactly you ate for meals during those couple days, if that makes sense. As such, I wanna make this distinct point: despite their vast differences, or perhaps because of them, Antiquitree and Progurrent would get along very well in the lore! If there was a third version to complement Plow and Circuit (which there isn't, sorry), it would involve them teaming up to solve that game's problem in some way. I imagine their relationship is kind of like a wise grandparent with lots of stories of the past to tell and a hyperactive grandchild who's always super-excited to tell their grandparent All The Cool Things They Learned and show them the neat toys they just got.

The main inspiration here design-wise was bits and bobs of electronics and machinery all thrown together haphazardly. I wanted it to look like its appearance is completely modular based on the materials that are available, but also remain cohesive as a whole entity. I think I did a decent job of that? And the weird ball things, I have to clarify what those are so they're not just random floating steel balls. In Progurrent's current form, those are clusters of nanomachines! Of course nanomachines weren't always around, so in an earlier form they prolly woulda been...flaming lumps of coal or something XD But yeah, this mechanical hodgepodge is gonna be a pretty big part of Pokemon Circuit's plot, as all box legendaries are of course.

And just like with Antiquitree and Team Fields, there is a villain team that wants to use Progurrent as the means to their end as well...

Reminder that if anyone wants to suggest moves for any Cantessy Fakemon to learn and some physical stats where I haven’t yet figured them out, feel free to throw ‘em at me :3 Links to their info pages will be provided in the replies!

💖🐶 Check out my pinned post for ways to support my artwork, among other things! 🐶💖

~If you like, please reblog to show your friends! Likes are appreciated, but reblogs let more people see my content! If you have something to say, feel free to give feedback in tags/comments/replies as well!~

Pokemon and related concepts © Nintendo/GameFreak Progurrent, the Cantessy region, and artwork © PuppyLuver Studios

[tortoisenottortoise]

Am I the only one who likes seeing muscular women in media more than muscular men?

Alright so, this one will probably end up much shorter and a little more ranty than I'd like, but this is kind of personal so be fairly warned. 

 Recently I've seen a few complaints about the new He-Man show and honestly, I fully understand and empathize with them. Whilst I haven't fully seen the show, from what I've viewed I can personally speaking agree (or at the very least understand) where most criticisms come from. I think it's incredibly shitty that the writer basically lied to his audience about how the show would run. Now normally I'd be fine with a twist such as He-man dying, but he's an important part of the show and the way the marketing & merchandising for it was running kind of comes across as him basically using He-Man's name to get people into the show. I also feel like it's fine to view Teela as obnoxious and annoying, nothing about her personality-wise seems likable to me. I also heard a few complaints about Orko's (I think that's his name, don't crucify me) backstory and how his character was handled.Yet as the title suggests one that didn't stick with me was the criticism of Teela and a general trend towards the criticism of women in media as being "masculine". 

I've heard over and over that Hollywood representing strong women by giving them masculine traits is a bad thing and yet... I kind of don't get it? It feels odd to say, almost like I'm the dumbest man alive for admitting something which most people on the internet seem to be so sure about, yet I just don't understand where this is coming from. I've seen this thrown at She-hulk, Wonder Woman, Abby, and many other characters, yet when inquired it usually loops back around to, "Yeah they have muscles", and that's about it. This type of criticism in specific seems to overly focus on the appearance of said characters. It's the one critique I just can't get behind and it feels like at best it's a shallow criticism that fails to get its point across, and at worst it's actively demeaning to women who desire to or show masculine traits. But first, let me break this down into sections.

Section 1: Muscles =/= Masculinity (In my opinion at least)

Oh boy, I feel like this is a section that might rustle some feathers, but I'm going to try and explain myself best as possible. I simply do not view muscularity as a feature that is inherent to or should be inherent to men. I'm not going to pretend as if muscular men aren't more saturated in media and art, nor as if they're societally treated as masculine, but one of the reasons I fail to understand this criticism is that I see muscles beyond the horizons as being just a masculine trait. 

I believe that muscles should instead be seen as a sign of hard work and determination. As someone who's currently trying (and struggling) to stay healthy and fit, it's much harder than a lot of media portrays it to be. It's a test where you push yourself to the limits, not just for the sake of doing it, but so you can improve as a person. Whenever I go to the gym and see a muscular gal or guy walk by, my immediate thought isn't, "how masculine" or anything like that my thought is, "wow! They worked hard to get like that, I should work hard as well!". 

This interpretation tends to feel like it's just simply taking a piss on people who actively work hard to achieve higher levels of strength. Especially when society places and enforces these unrealistic standards onto people. If you don't have a six-quintillion pack nor can bench press a fucking house then you're worthless, of course, that is unless you actually attempt to pursue said standards which in that case you're automatically dismissed as cheating your way to gaining your muscles instead of putting any work in. And that's just for men who often don't have to deal with traditional idiots who are stuck in the year 1950 where I can't walk on the same street as them. My skin crawls when reading tweets from older men talking about how weightlifting women are "ruining their fertility" and I absolutely hate it when people in my life treat these women as if they're mythical creatures from a fairy tale, or when females who have trained to such a degree are simply dismissed as being inferior. 

Obviously, I don't think the people who say this are like that, but whenever I hear this type of critique I can't help but think of the culmination of all these experiences I've gone through. But then again, this might honestly just be because I'm personally attracted to muscular women.

  Section 2: Body type diversity

  Another reason that I tend to like muscular women in media over muscular men is simply due to the sheer oversaturation of muscular men. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem if anybody likes muscular men. I totally get wanting to shove your face in between some man titties or get inspired by their physiques. In all honesty, almost everything I said earlier can directly apply to men, but one of the reasons I bring up body type diversity is that there tend to be much less muscular women than men. I

f anything, I'd have to say that muscular men are almost treated as the default when it comes to things like superhero comics, movies, video games, anime, etc. In a similar vein, the default for women tends to be slim and curvaceous, you get the drill. Whenever someone who doesn't fit into either body type shows up and isn't treated like a joke/gag or a character to rip on, I can't help but be happy about it. As much as I have no clue wtf is going on with TLOU2, I can appreciate that Abby's portrayal doesn't seem to exist solely as a joke meant to demean women for working out. I'm excited when an anime protagonist is a fat character who can go beyond just being a "fat guy" and is treated the same way a normal person would be.

 Regardless of what you think about whatever trait you're criticizing, there's probably someone out there who fits it. If you're not into it or dislike it, then that's fine, but I'd rather have that expressed than it being actively made out as a harmful trope as opposed to just literally another body type that some women have.

  Section 3: Muscular women inspire me more

Ok so, we've now blown into a full-on personal experience, buckle up boys, girls, NBs, anything in between, and I feel like I'm forgetting someone so apologies! But yeah, muscular women in media tend to be a lot more inspiring than people seem to give them credit for. This comes down to a mix of both the qualities I outlined earlier in what makes the characters inspiring but also plays into the idea of body diversity. 

One of the traits that make amazons seem more inspiring is their inherent rarity/lack of screentime. As I stated earlier, whilst I do enjoy my fair share of man-titties, it kind of gets to a point where it's more depressing than inspiring when all you see is just super-models shoved in your face whenever you walk into a theater. If for every Goku I could find ten other guys who were on the chubbier side then I'd be able to take more from when I see Goku and other characters with his body type, yet it's so saturated that it no longer becomes something to aspire to, but simply the norm.  It's not that you can work to become muscular or skinny with hard work and effort, you have to be muscular or skinny unless you want to be deemed a failure. Being chubby often isn't presented as a starting point but just treated as a defect. As someone who spent years battling with my own self-perception, that's just not a good message to get across.

Now, this obviously isn't to say that people can never make muscular characters. After all, it's their story so they can put whatever they want in it. The aim of the game isn't to stop people from making a specific type of character, but to encourage a diverse set of people to make a diverse set of characters. This is the reason why I view muscular women as so inspiring. Instead of coming across as just "the norm" or "the standard" they stand out from the crowd and despite knowing what they have to deal with, are still ready and willing to work out and improve their bodies. They had a goal in mind and set time aside to achieve said goal, that's something I can get behind.

  Conclusion:

This will be another short section, but I just wanted to mention it because it caps off my thoughts on this post in general. What originally started as me just not getting the reason why people disliked Teela's design somehow turned into a passionate rant and I'm A) not sure if it fits on this particular subsection of the community, B) scared I'm going to get ripped to pieces, and C) somewhat unsatisfied with all that I said. At the end of the day, this probably won't be seen by too many people, but to those who do see it, I hope you have a wonderful day. I just wanted to talk about something that was near and dear to my heart and hoped that I made it clear why I view things the way I do. 

P.S: Can we stop having this double standard where we act like women whose arms show the slightest hint of definition are "unrealistic" whilst men can look like tree trunks and be considered normal and healthy? please and thank you!

[gateway-to-glimmer]

Otherkin Topics

Otherkin experience a type of alteration in their sense of self and place in the world. Some otherkin experience a shift in personal identity from human to that of a nonhuman entity, fictional character, or animal. Other people experience a slightly more elaborated form of this, and feel as though they are from another place or time, and may feel an internal location inside or sense of plot from this other time.

Being otherkin is a form of natural multiplicity that can co-occur with traumagenic multiplicity. Some kin experience their kin self as a part of themselves, others have a degree of dissociation from this self and may experience as a guide or other identity. Otherkin experiences involve an alteration in the way the person sees themselves. The experience of guides or being possessed by another sense of self is a more elaborate form of this basic experience. The difference is that in those types of experiences, the other sense of self is seen as different from the main sense of self - instead of being seen as a different mode or aspect of the main sense of self. Even if someone logically knows that all things inside of themselves are an expression of themselves, people can still feel as though they have another self on a fundamental level that defies logic.

It is possible to fully explain the phenomenon of otherkin experiences from the perspective that they are a normal shift in the way someone experiences themselves and relates to the external world, which can be intensified in their expression if this form of natural multiplicity co-occurs with trauma-induced alterations of consciousness seen in dissociative disorders. However, some people maintain spiritual explanations for their shifts in their sense of self and place, and see these changes as an indication that they were another animal or fictional character in another life and these experiences are their way of picking up on this past life. The mind treats memories of imagined experiences as well as real experiences similarly, and assigns them both an equal amount of importance.

It is easy to understand that these experiences are an expression of the contents of our memory rather than something external, although many people see it differently and enjoy the explanation that these are past lives. Using psychological therapies that re-frame past experiences or current psychological issues using fictional stories to give the person a sense of self-esteem and mastery over their life, even if it is found through a fictional vignette, does have tangible positive benefits on the self. Engaging with past life memories can be beneficial from the perspective that, although these may be false memories based on a synthesis of real and imagined scenarios, changing them into constructive experiences and stories can have positive effects on someone’s psychological state.

Shifts

Otherkin tend to experience their shifts in identity in particular ways, known as shifts. These shifts have been reported fairly consistently among people claiming to be therians. They likely represent a psychological construct that exists in the general population- not necessarily as a mental illness, although it may be related to a healthy form of dissociation- in predictable rates and expressed in particular ways.

Mental.

The person shifts into a different mental state associated with an animal or other character. In cases of significant- often but not always trauma-based- multiplicity, this shift feels like becoming another person or is forgotten entirely. This feels distinct from the general atmosphere or sense of existing from normal life, and is connected to the experience of shifting into another form in some way. This is similar to but more distinct from entering another mode or self for a different situation (such as how we talk to our friends differently than our parents), which are forms of mild natural multiplicity that everyone experiences.

Dream.

The person finds that they naturally shift into a particular form, or set of forms, while dreaming. This form is generally predictable and consistent over time. This can be helpful for someone to have evidence of what form they take when shifting, and to establish that they recurrently experience this psychological construct.

Sensory.

The person hallucinates their sense of self in some way. Their vision may feel sharper, they may see a faint outline of fur or their kintype overlaid on their body or reflections of such. This represents semi-conscious imposition, or the ability to influence what we perceive via voluntary sensory hallucinations with our internal expectations and visualizations. The way we perceive the world can be affected consciously, or by significant mental states like those provoked by the experience of shifting. Some people experience the sense of invisible wings or paws or other features or their kintype.

Narrative.

In a narrative shift, the otherkin experiences a sense of being from another world or another life. They may see something in their mind’s eye, like a story that plays out with or without their input, related to their life in another place. They may feel as though they have relationships and an entire life within this state of mind. These are likely translations of the person’s memories for their real life, imagined scenarios, and their own imagination coming to life to create something new. People who endorse spiritual explanations for these experiences would consider these past life memories or memories of being a fictive in their cannon.

Voluntary Shifting.

It is possible to voluntarily shift for people who are ‘kin. This can be useful for certain reasons. It can help the person feel in touch with their identity; it can be used for creative, psychological, or spiritual exploration; and some people enjoy the feeling of embracing their internal representation.

Mental Shifts.

Whenever you experience a mental shift, bring up a specific mental image. The image you choose to associate with the feeling of shifting doesn’t matter, although it helps if it has some kind of symbolic meaning for you. Imagine a blue diamond or a symbol from a favorite video game or whatever other symbol you have chosen whenever you experience a mental shift. Imagine the feeling of being your kintype as a rainbow thread that you wrap around this symbol. Every time you shift, think about that symbol. Eventually the experience of mentally shifting will become associated with this symbol, and whenever you visualize it you chance provoking a shift.

Looking at images or other things you associate with your kintype can also provoke a shift. In order to prompt mental shifting with this technique, it can help to think about what comes to mind easily when you shift. What aspects of your kintype or other life come to mind immediately when you look at your thoughts? The things that come to mind are associated with your mental shifting and can be used to help trigger a shift when you’re outside of that state.

Sensory Shifts.

Learning imposition is helpful here. Imposition is training the self to create voluntary sensory hallucinations. It is possible to visually hallucinate the features of your kintype or experience a physical sense of your kintype. Imposition is simple and involves training the self, after clearing the mind in a manner similar to meditation, to trick the self into seeing something that isn’t there. You see what you would be imagining in your mind’s eye. It’s easy to practice with simple things first and then move on to more complex things. Try imagining a blue line crossing between two points, like two black dots you have drawn on a paper. Within five to ten minutes of visualizing the blue line between the black dots in front of you, you should begin to get the hang of altering your sensory output consciously.

Dream/Astral Shifts.

There are two different methods of provoking astral shifting that I will mention here. Astral shifting refers to shifting into the feeling/form of your kintype during either deep sleep or light sleep.

The first method involves learning to lucid dream. There are many guides for this, although most people learn to tell the difference between sleeping and being awake by keeping a journal and looking at patterns of things seen only in dreams as well as making a habit of asking yourself several times a day if you are dreaming or not. After learning to lucid dream, come up with a symbol that you associate with your intention to shift into your kintype. Before going to bed, think about that symbol. When you question if you are awake or not, think about that symbol and your intention to shift. When you attain lucidity in dreams, think about that symbol to anchor yourself to lucidity while you are dreaming and to remind yourself of your intention to shapeshift into your kintype during your dream.

The second method involves lucid dreaming as well, although the method of entering the lucid dream is different from the above method. Begin by imagining an internal landscape you have designed with the intention of visiting as your kintype. What is your kintype? A tiger, dragon, fictive, and so on? Meditate in a specific environment you feel should be associated with your form. As you go to sleep, every night, imagine yourself as your kintype in that mental environment. As you fall asleep, stay lucid as that alternate form. Eventually, you will stay lucid after falling asleep in this form, which enables you to enter a lucid dream this way.

[fandom-imagines]

The Assassin and The Spy

Fandom: Overwatch

Pairing: Hanzo Shimada X Reader

Words: 7k+ (It’s a long one)

Authors Note: Okay, this got a bit out of hand; but, I hope you enjoy!

Summary: Hanzo Shimada is a strong, tall and charming Overwatch Agent from Hanamura. His life is going downhill until he meets Y/N Y/S/N, an attractive woman with a passion for gaming .Hanzo takes an instant disliking to Y/N and the manipulative and intense ways she learnt during her years in Kings Row, London. However, when someone tries to kill Hanzo, Y/N springs to the rescue and Hanzo begins to notice that Y/N is actually rather sweet at heart. But, the pressures of Y/N’s job as a spy leave her blind to Hanzo’s affections and Hanzo takes up numerous hobbies to try and distract himself. Finally, when dangerous assassin and Talon member, Gabriel Reyes, threatens to come between them, Y/N must act fast. But will they ever find the love that they deserve?

The wind blew viciously as Y/N wandered the streets of Hanamura, Japan, her jet-black leather jacket wrapped tightly around her chest, almost crushing her body in a vain attempt to keep herself warm. 

She had been sent there on a recent mission by her higher-ups, whoever they were, to find Overwatch agent, Hanzo Shimada along with his younger brother Genji Shimada. 

She had no idea what those two had done, besides their obvious affiliation with Overwatch, the group who defended the world from evil, but she did know that this was her job and, as well as that, she was getting paid extremely well for this one simple task. 

The streets themselves were empty, most people remaining indoors to keep themselves distant from the wind and upcoming rain, but Y/N did not care too much about silly, unimportant things such as the weather. No, she knew exactly what she was doing and what she wanted.

The money.

As stated previously, the spy had no idea who these men were or what they did in order to have such a huge bounty on their heads by those who ordered her services. She assumed that it must be something of importance considering the huge reward she was offered in order to infiltrate Overwatch and get close to those two brothers, mostly Genji was what she recalled being told before she was flown to Hanamura, the birthplace of the two men. 

Despite having never visited before, this place made her feel like she was home, something she had never experienced. She felt almost drawn to this place, as though she was supposed to be here. Well, she was in theory. 

Y/N had no idea where she was heading as she walked around the city, taking in all the beautiful blossoms falling from the trees that outlined each street. It isn’t often a busy spy got the opportunity to enjoy the sites of a new city, after all. With each step she took, she got more and more bored, her lips pulled into a straight, unamused line as she cursed whoever gave her the order to come here without any further instructions. 

It was then that she spotted a gathering in the distance.

Masses of people were crowded together, some shoving others as they did their best to reach the tents the were littered around, what the spy assumed to be, a field. Further on Y/N could see some metal, which was obviously something to do with roller coasters, or so she assumed having not been on any in her life, been raised to be a spy from a young age. 

Face neutral, she headed forward, hoping that the walk wouldn’t be too tedious. 

*

It was around twenty minutes after spotting the gathering that she finally reached it. 

It was, in fact, a tedious walk only made more tedious by her not wanting to follow the guided route and risk coming across others that would question her. Instead, she decided to climb onto a high roof, nobody being able to see her, and looked forward.

She let out a hum as he realised that it was only a few rooftops away, immediately setting off into a run then followed by a jump and a quiet thud and she skillfully landed on her feet on the next rooftop. This then continued until she dropped from the final one, landing carefully on the ground just meters away from the place she had seen. 

“Well, that was easy.” She whispered to herself, unaffected by the extensive exercise that she had done just mere moments ago as she just continued walking. 

Once she reached the area, she took a proper look around.

She was right, there were rides, if that’s what they’re called here, and tents everywhere. People walked through the entrances of the tents, some entering with empty hands but excitement on their faces while others left the tent, hands full but still with the same look of excitement, if not more as the grins filled their faces.

The Y/H/C haired girl turned around, spotting a makeshift bar and restaurant behind her, also surrounded by people who were peacefully enjoying their food which smelt delicious. Her eyes scanned further past, seeing two men stood behind the bar, out of view for everyone but her. One man had long brown hair that was tied up neatly, he was quite handsome she noted to herself before her eyes darted towards the other man, immediately knowing his identity.

Genji Shimada.

Which meant that the other man is most likely his older brother, Hanzo. 

“Found you,” Y/N whispered through her painted lips, before quietly walking towards the two to hear their conversation, remaining unnoticed by those around her.

“Hanzo, you can’t be serious?” The cyborg groaned, shaking his head in disapproval.

“It had to be done,” The man, who she now knew was definitely Hanzo, spoke, “We don’t know where father is.” 

“Fine.” Genji sighed, eyes darting towards Y/N who had been too interested in their conversation to notice that her foot was only slightly in view.

Hanzo noticed his brother didn’t continue his sentence, instead looking towards something Hanzo couldn’t see. The long-haired man stepped forward, walking towards his brother so he could see what he was seeing. This was when Y/N’s eyes widened, knowing she had been caught.

“Come out, stalker.” Hanzo’s deep voice called, as she slammed her eyes closed.

“Don’t be mean, Hanzo.” Genji interrupted, walking towards Y/N who was slightly more relaxed now, having come up with an idea.

“S-sorry.” She faked stuttered, “It’s just, I’m looking for someone I was supposed to meet here but, he hasn’t shown.” Continued Y/N, awkwardly twiddling with her fingers in hopes that it would increase the fake awkwardness that was radiating from her.

“Someone?” Hanzo asked, not completely convinced at her story.

“Yeah… A date, if you can even call him that now.” A chuckle left the girls lips as she looked slightly afraid at their reactions, despite being the opposite. 

“Come on, Hanzo!” Genji said, placing a hand on the elder’s shoulder, “We can’t leave such a pretty lady on her own. What’s your name?” 

Great, they fell for it. She grinned inwardly.

“Y-Y/N.” She fake stuttered again, holding her hand out for the cyborg to shake.

“Genji! It’s nice to meet you.” He nodded, shaking her hand. “This is Hanzo. Ignore his rudeness, he’s not good around new people.”

Y/N simply giggled, “That’s fine. I know how that is.” She winked at Hanzo who simply looked away, a small blush on his cheeks. 

“Come, Y/N. Let me show you around.” Genji said excitedly, gently grasping her hand in his own metal one. 

“Oh, that won’t be necessary. I don’t want to intrude on your business.” Y/N said, fake tenderness crawling on her tongue. Despite the manipulation she was currently doing, it didn’t mean she didn’t blush at the unexpected contact from the younger Shimada. 

“I agree.” Hanzo cleared his throat as he looked intently at Y/N with a warning glare, almost as if he knew she was manipulating his younger brother.

He did.

“Don’t be mean, Hanzo!” Genji scolded, “Come along, Y/N.” And with that Genji dragged the smaller girl away, leaving Hanzo with no choice but to follow them. 

*

Genji and Y/N wandered through the crowds, hands still interwind. Y/N’s hair flowing in the wind as it blew through her, occasionally shivering at the gusts. The blush that dusted her cheeks was still there, Hanzo noticed this as he trailed behind them, not wanting to leave his brother that he cared so deeply for alone with this girl. 

“How did you come to see this festival then, Y/N?” Genji asked, making the girl internally panic despite her face remaining the same smile plastered on, “I haven’t seen you around here before.” 

“Well, I’ve had an online boyfriend for a few months now. He claimed to live here so I booked a ticket to come see him and he seemed excited, but he didn’t show even though he said that he would meet me here.” The lies slipped without hesitation from her lips, “I don’t know why I’m telling you actually, never mind.” 

“No, no. Keep talking.” Genji nodded in encouragement, seemingly genuinely interested in this story. 

“I was born in London,” was the first truth the spy told since she had met Genji, “I’ve lived there all my life, but I travel a lot.” Another truth, despite having left out that she travels for work. She definitely didn’t want to be asked about her job. No, that was the last thing she wanted.

They continued walking for a while, Hanzo still casually strolling behind them like a stalker, until they stopped outside a tent. 

“What’s in there?” Y/N’s voice left a pitch higher than usual; the physical contact was having an obvious effect on her that she didn’t wish to share. 

“Stickers,” Genji chuckled, finger raised towards the stall towards the end of the tent that was selling stickers, “want some?” He asked her, not waiting for an answer before tugging her into the tent and towards the stall.

On the wall behind the actual stall lay hundreds, maybe even thousands, of stickers. Each sticker had a different design, some were big, others were small while some were huge, almost big enough that they could be stuck on someone’s face. The stickers designs ranged from just a casual colour to a detailed cherry blossom that she had seen earlier the same day. 

“Which one do you want?” Genji asked her, looking around them himself as though he wished to purchase one.

“I don’t have much money.” She admitted, telling the truth again.

She didn’t think she’d be here long, so she didn’t carry much money on her. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay!” Genji chuckled, patting her on the hair, making sure that the strands did not get stuck in the cybernetic joints. 

“I can’t let you do that.” Y/N’s head shook immediately, only increasing in speed as she spoke.

Genji chuckled again, kissing her on the forehead leaving her eyes wide and speechless.

“I-I…” She blushed, eyes darting to the floor.

Had anyone been looking into that situation, they would have assumed that the two had a thing for each other. Hanzo, who was in fact watching the entire display knew that she harboured no feelings for her brother, despite her supposed kindness. He knew it was all manipulation and that there was something about her, something that he could not quite put his finger on, but he wanted to know; he needed to know. Genji? Well, he wouldn’t exactly deny the fact that he thought she was cute. But neither Hanzo, nor Genji knew her well enough for either of them to harbour feelings. They had only known her for less than an hour after all. 

“Come on, let’s get matching ones.” Genji cheered, walking towards the lady who was serving customers to order three: one for Y/N, one for himself and one for Hanzo.

“Here you go!” Genji nodded when he returned, sticking one onto the blushing girls’ jacket, before calling over for Hanzo to give him his own.

“Here we go, now we’re all matching!” The words that were leaving Genji’s mouth were filled with excitement, almost making Hanzo and Y/N genuinely smile, but neither did. 

“Brother,” Hanzo spoke for the first time since meeting the girl, “should we not return? We are busy tomorrow.” 

Genji sighed before responding, “I suppose so. But we shall see you again, Y/N?” He asked, earning a nod for the questioned girl. 

“If you very so wish.” She winked at him, grinning slightly as she gently poked the sticker on his chest in a teasing manner at which Genji chuckled. “I’m staying at a nearby hotel, call me if you need me.” She finished, handing him a card with her number on which she always carried, giving them both a final wink before turning around to leave, both brothers eyes unmoving from her until she faded into the distance.

*

“You shouldn’t see her again.” Were Hanzo’s first words as the door slammed shut behind them.

“Why not?” Genji asked, curious as to why his brother was being extremely protective.

“She is manipulating you.” The elder stated bluntly, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Could you not see it?” 

“You seemed to like her enough,” Genji teased, referring to the blushing from his brother at the girl’s actions.

“Enough, Genji. I will not allow you to be manipulated like this.”

“No, Hanzo. I will not allow you to prevent me from becoming friends with somebody due to your paranoia.” Genji stated blankly as he turned to leave, “Goodnight, Hanzo.”

The door slammed shut.

*

Ringing.

That is all Y/N could hear when she left the bathroom, hair wet as droplets rolled down her bare body which was only covered by a beige towel.

“Hello?” Y/N asked, answering the call to an unknown number as she moved to seat herself on the hotel bed, beginning to dry off.

“Hey, it’s Genji.” The unknown person spoke, now identifying himself as one of the men she had met earlier today.

“Hey, Genji.” She smiled, a genuine smile, despite knowing that he could not see. She couldn’t believe that she was actually happy to know that he had called. 

“I know this might be a bit… cheeky.” He began awkwardly, to the point that she could feel his hesitance through the phone, “But, I don’t suppose I could stay with you tonight, could I? I had an argument with Hanzo, and I don’t want to be around him right now.” He admitted, nervously running his hand across the back of his neck, a habit that followed him into adulthood. 

“Sure! I’ll text you the details.”

“Thank you, see you soon.” 

Soon was extremely soon. In fact, that soon that Y/N was still in her towel by the time he arrived. The cyborg must have immense speed, she assumed as she opened the door.

“Hey, Y-Y/N…” Genji stuttered as the door swung open, revealing a wet-haired, towel wearing Y/N.

“Hey, Genji.” She answered with confidence, seemingly unfazed about answering the door to a male in simply a towel. “Come in. I’m just going to change.” The door swung open as Genji followed, doing his best to not watch her enter the bathroom. 

*

Y/N re-entered the main room of the hotel she was staying in, this time wearing a pair of shorts and a vest top as she seated herself on the double bed beside Genji, the two sitting in silence for a few moments, both mindlessly watching whatever show was now playing on the television opposite the bed.

“Genji?” Y/N sweet voice broke the silence causing Genji’s eyes to dart towards her own, looking deep into them.

“Yes, Y/N?” He asked her, head tilted slightly like a confused puppy.

“There’s only one bed.” She grinned cheekily, nodding towards the bed and the fact that, despite the expensive price of the hotel, there was no couch.

“I-I can just…” Genji trailed off, taking Y/N’s words as flirting, which they were.

“You can share with me, don’t worry.” She chuckled as she shot him a slight wink, still flirting despite having no attraction to Genji. In fact, if she were to be interested in either of the Shimada brothers, it would be Hanzo. He was the one she noted as attractive upon first meeting them.

“Are you sure?” Genji asked her, twiddling with his fingers in nervousness. “I don’t want to intrude…”

“You’re not don’t worry. I know we just met, but I trust you.” She smiled, being genuine with her words. 

She did know that Genji had no intention of hurting her. She was smart; that was why she was good at her job. She knew how to sweet talk people, read those around her and use what she reads to her advantage. This was what lead her to be one of the top spies global, being given tasks all around the globe. 

“Thank you.”

*

The night was calm, spent discussing random topics that the two thought of in their mind until the pair drifted off to sleep, bundled together in a platonic way, or as platonic as two people cuddling can be. Neither Genji nor Y/N had any intentions to do anything, they were simply just two friends spending the night together, sharing a bed because there is no couch.

Normal things like that.

However, Genji was wondering what he could say to Hanzo upon his return.

“Hi, Hanzo. I just spent the night sharing a bed with the girl you dislike. How are you?” Didn’t exactly seem a good choice in his mind. It wouldn’t sound good in anyone’s.

“Morning, Genji.” Y/N yawned, patting her messy hair flat as she sat up.

“Good morning, Y/N.” He chuckled, helping her adjust her hair. “How did you sleep?” 

“Are you really making small talk with me?” She teased, patting Genji on the shoulder as she climbed over him to get out of the bed. 

“I suppose I am.” He chuckled, completely oblivious to the fact that this entire situation would seem strange to anybody that looked at it.

He had just spent a night with a complete stranger. Both were sober and nothing happened. That is something out of the norm.

“Are you returning home today?” The girl asked him, preparing them both a cup of tea, not bothering to ask Genji if he wanted one.

She knew he did.

“I will be.” Genji sighed, nervous about how his brother will react. 

“It’ll be okay, Genji. Hanzo loves you.” Came Y/N’s voice, earning a simple nod from Genji. 

The two sat and drank their tea in light chatter, Y/N helping him plan what to say to Hanzo while he did his best to dig up more of her past, desperate to prove to Hanzo that she was no threat, but she revealed nothing. Nothing that could be used anyway.

It wasn’t long before Genji left, bidding Y/N and goodbye and thanking her for allowing him to stay the night, leaving her alone and left to gather her thoughts about what had happened.

She had gained Genji’s trust, the main part of the mission, but not Hanzo’s. She needed both the brothers, but she was genuinely enjoying Genji’s company. That can’t be good. She knew she shouldn’t allow herself to become attached to the people she is being paid to spy onto her, but there was something about the Shimada brothers. She wanted to protect them. 

*

The stars shone brightly in the sky as Y/N wandered around the streets, just as she had done the previous day. She was alone now, exploring for the sake of exploring. She wanted to know the area better, unaware of how long she could be staying so she assumed that it would be for the best.

Everywhere was closed, the streets quiet besides the occasional car passing by, headlights blinding her for a moment before they sped past, leaving her able to see again. The weather was clear today, the sky also clear, with no wind or rain meaning that it was simply a quiet and warm night. The spy was enjoying the work, happy to be in silence. Or at least she was, that was until she heard a commotion down an alleyway ahead of her. 

Now usually, she wouldn’t get involved in other people drama. She was going to stick to that until she heard Hanzo’s name mentioned.

“Hanzo Shimada.” A man spat the name as though it was venom, that was what caught her attention as she peeked around the corner. 

“I do not know what you wish from me, but I assure you this will not be dealt with lightly.” 

There stood Hanzo, backed against a wall while surrounded by a large group of me. Hanzo appeared unarmed, but so did the men, besides one. But, Y/N knew that she could easily take him down, having taken down far bigger targets in the past.

“Nobody will hear anything from a corpse.” Another man chuckled; his face covered by a mask much like the others.

Y/N knew she had to act fast if she wanted to save the Shimada, especially due to the fact that there was now a gun pointed towards him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Y/N’s calm voice came from the end of the alleyway as she slowly walked down it, eyes cast onto the ground, her whole demeanour threatening. She appeared calm, despite the gun now being aimed towards her.

“Why is that pretty lady?” The gun-wielding man asked her, smirking at her as if he had the upper hand by being armed.

He didn’t.

Y/N raised her hand, grasping his wrist tightly, applying an immense amount of pressure that gave his body no choice but to drop the weapon out of reflex. She quickly kicked the gun behind her, letting go of his wrist to reach into her pocket and whip out her own gun: an L9A1. She found it comical how quickly their faces dropped, their attention now directed primarily on her, not on Hanzo. However, Hanzo’s attention was also on her, extremely confused.

“Because I’m an assassin for a large worldwide clan that can have you and your little group killed and disposed of within minutes. I’m sure nobody would notice.” She gave them an innocent smile, eyes batting with such sweetness that you would be unable to tell the fact that she had just threatened to have them all murdered seconds ago.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t realise he was-“ They tried to defend themselves, only to be cut off by her once again.

“He’s under our protection.” 

The whole thing was a lie, but she was incredibly talented at lying that she had them all fooled, well all except one.

Hanzo.

She watched as the group of men fled the scene, leaving the gun behind which Y/N gladly picked up, unloading it before tossing it to Hanzo.

“New weapon.” She winked, watching him blush once again.

“Thank you.” Hanzo’s voice broke the silence they had fallen into. “Seriously, I don’t think I would have made it out without you I came for a walk unarmed and was cornered.” 

“Don’t mention it.” Y/N shrugged casually, as though she had just helped someone with their homework, not just saved their life. 

“How can I repay you?” He asked her, assuming she wanted something in return.

“No need. Anyone under Genji’s protection is under mine too.” The words that left her mouth were filled with such genuine kindness that he found it almost impossible not to smile; he didn’t though, instead he simply nodded.

“Thank you.”

And that was the start of a friendship between Hanzo Shimada and Y/N Y/S/N. There are some things that you can’t experience without becoming friends and saving the other from being murdered by a gang is one of them.

*

By the end of that night, Y/N knew what had happened.

Despite having known them for less than two days, Y/N had become attached to the Shimada brothers and was no longer capable of completing the mission. Logically, she should hand it over to somebody else, but she didn’t wish to put them in danger. She knew that, in order to protect them, she would have to sacrifice her job and that was something she was willing to do. She had ruined many people’s lives, and she hoped that this would make up for it. 

*

The following weeks were spent with the Shimada brothers while passing on fake information to her contractor. Genji and her became fast friends, spending their time together playing games, one of Y/N’s few hobbies. She had also met Hana, another video game fanatic and the two got along well too. 

Hanzo? Well, he watched his brother and new friend interact on a daily basis, favouring to simply sit and enjoy their company with the occasional conversation instead of playing games. However, Y/N and Hanzo would spend time together, usually sharing general chat over a cup of their famous tea. The two would talk about anything and everything. They were slowly opening up to each other, however, Y/N was careful about what she would share, not wishing to expose herself as a spy, despite no longer doing what the contractor had asked of her. 

That leads me to where we are now, sat in Y/N’s hotel room, enjoying a cup of tea. The two were sat beside each other, cup of tea in hand as they enjoyed the company, both just sipping their tea, not wishing to disturb the silence. But there was something playing on Hanzo’s mind. 

“Y/N?” Hanzo’s voice came out unsure, he didn’t know whether she would mind him breaking the silence. 

“Yes, Hanzo?” Her eyes glanced up to Hanzo’s, such innocence filling them that he couldn’t prevent the blush covering his cheeks as he thought of… some things. 

He cleared his throat, along with his mind, “If you could, would you be interested in joining Overwatch?” He asked her, genuine curiosity in his question.

This caught her attention, knowing of his affiliation with the Overwatch group. 

“Well, yeah. I suppose I would. What they do is good, and I’d like to help the best I could.” She was careful with her response, doing her best to sound as nonchalant as possible, acting as though she thought it was just another random Hanzo question.

Hanzo himself gave a short nod before continuing to sip his tea.

*

The conversation lingered on Y/N’s mind for the next week. She wondered what he was gaining by asking her that question. Had he figured out her identity maybe? Or was it just a question? She was anxious to find out, but that day soon came. The day she received the invite to Overwatch. 

Her eyes were wide as she read the letter which stated she had been selected to join Overwatch. That was when she realised the reasoning for Hanzo’s question.

He had requested that she join.

Her eyes widened even more at this realisation, a blush covering her cheeks at the thought. She knew she had too. Not only would it look good to her contractor, but she would also be doing good for the world. 

“Y/N?” A knock came from her door followed by the voice that could only belong to Hanzo. 

She quickly rushed to the door, forgetting the blush on her cheeks as she swung it open.

“Was this you?” She asked him immediately, holding out the letter to him.

His eyes widened, assuming that she was angry. 

“I-I… Yes.” He stuttered, afraid that he had upset her and that she wouldn’t want to talk to her anymore. 

Instead of yelling at him or slapping him like he expected from her tone, she simply lifted herself up onto her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him into a hug.

Hanzo’s body went rigid at the contact, cheeks lighting up red yet again, feeling as though his heart could escape his chest any moment. What seemed like forever was only a mere second before he realised, he should probably return the hug.

“Thank you, Hanzo.” Her voice came out gentle, her eyes filled with tears for some reason he didn’t know yet he felt his heart warm at her kind words, pupils involuntarily dilating as he pulled away to look at her.

“Why are you crying?” He asked softly, raising his hand to wipe away her tears with his thumb, both blushing at the contact. 

“Nobody has ever been this kind to me. Never believed in me.” She admitted.

And it was the truth. 

Y/N had been brought up as a spy; that was her destiny. She was brought up training every single day, for hours a day. No matter her potential, she was never believed in. She was just bunched up with everyone else.

Hanzo’s usually cold eyes softened, thumb continuing to wipe her tears.

He didn’t want to see her cry…

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I shouldn’t be showing this part of me.” She chuckled sadly, smiling slightly as Hanzo quickly shook his head.

“You don’t have to be afraid to show your emotions around me.” 

*

It was when she was in front of their commander that she realised her mistake.

She had let her guard down.

“So, you’re the spy?” Jack Morrison spoke, voice stable and monotone.

“Yes.” She admitted, not wishing to hide anything, she needs to protect them.

“Then why are you here? To infiltrate our base?” 

Overwatch had been informed of a spy looking to join them and Y/N had just arrived when they received the news. Only the commander knew about this, hence why he quickly accepted the girl that Hanzo had recommended. 

“No, sir.” She said quietly, looking up at him despite having her hands bound behind her back. “I want to protect the Shimada brothers. I was sent here to investigate them but now I wish to protect them.” 

Jack could see that she was telling the truth. He too was good at reading people.

“Why?” He asked simply, wanting to know her reasoning behind this.

“I like them.” Came her simple yet truthful response.

Jack nodded, “I see.” 

“You believe me.” Y/N could read him like a book, just like he could read her, “So let’s work together.” 

“I suppose that can be arranged.”

*

Y/N became quick friends with the entire Overwatch team.

She had already met Hana through Genji and their friendship remained. The three of them would often play games together, often spending the entire night together until they fell asleep in whoever’s room they were playing in that night.

Hanzo and Y/N however, their friendship was different. 

Everyone could see the look in their eyes, the way each of their gazes lingered on each other for a second too long and how they would often glance towards the other. Well, everyone but them that is. It was actually quite frustrating to those around them to see the two pining after each other, neither of them realising the others' feelings. 

It was another meeting in the Overwatch base, they were organising a new mission and each person was being given their job. 

Hanzo was assigned to be a sniper, and Y/N a spy.

She would be infiltrating the Talon base, and nobody, not even the commander, knew how long she would be gone.

Since she had joined the team, all her ties had been cut with whoever her contractor was, and she was under Overwatch’s protection. Sending her on this mission could essentially be a death wish for her if the contractor knew where she was, she knew this, the commander knew this, but she agreed anyway. She knew she had to do it; it was for the greater good, even if she died. 

“So, I guess this is it for now,” Genji said sadly, standing in front of Y/N as she prepared to go infiltrate Talon. 

She would be pretending to be a hostage who had insider information on Overwatch and their next mission. Of course, everything was false, but they wouldn’t know that. At least, not until it was too late. 

“I guess it is.” Y/N’s voice was as sad as Genji’s as the two shared one final hug. 

“Y/N,” Hanzo’s voice came as Genji left. 

He now stood in front of her, a small smile on his lips.

“Hanzo.” She smiled; both their pupils now dilated.

A sign of attraction.

“Be careful.” 

Those two words held so much meaning.

He didn’t want her to be hurt. 

No, he needed her to not be hurt.

But she knew this might not be the case. But she would not, could not, tell him this.

“You too, Hanzo.” She nodded, reaching up to pull him into a tight hug; once that neither wanted to let go. 

“See you around.” She smiled. 

“I hope you do.” 

*

“So, you have insider information on Overwatch?” Came Reapers deep voice, his mask staring directly at her, but she did not falter. 

“Yes, sir.” She said, just as she had said to Commander Morrison mere months ago. 

“What would that information be?” 

“I know about their next mission; a plan to attack your base.”

“Is that so, Y/N?”

Well, fuck.

Y/N knew that he knew her affiliation with Overwatch by that one word: her name.

She had given them a fake name, one that she had never been associated with, and he knew her real name.

“Yeah, I know who you are. In fact, I was the one who hired you and I don’t appreciate being ignored.” Before she knew it there was a knife at her throat, applying such a pressure that it slightly broke the skin. “Luckily for you, I took a liking to you. If I didn’t, you’d be dead right now.” He spat, pulling the knife away from her. 

“Is that so?” She smiled, looking up at him in a flirtatious manner, knowing she has to do this to survive.

He would surely kill her if she didn’t submit to him.

“Yes, it is. I admire your skills and think you would make an excellent addition to Talon. If you cut all ties with Overwatch which I am sure you will, especially when you take into account that we will kill those brothers you have been trying so desperately to protect.” 

“Yes, sir.” Came her quiet response.

She knew that, in order to protect them, she had to do what he asked. They wouldn’t ask her to spy on Overwatch, that would risk losing her. So, they had to have other plans for her, but she didn’t know what and she doesn’t like not knowing.

*

It had been a long few weeks for her, but Y/N had made it. 

She had passed her training flawlessly. However, nobody at Talon trusted her yet, but she was completely fine with that: it is not like she liked them anyway.

Each day she would be put through intense training, practicing everything from her shooting to her parkour, something she was already exceptionally good at from her years as a spy. But each day she would miss her friends more and more, especially Hanzo and Genji. 

The day was going by as normal as ever. Y/N currently practicing her aim with the infamous purple-skinned sniper, the two were stood in silence when the alarm sounded. 

The entire room shook at the loud noise, the power going out so the only light in the room being that of the red alarm screeching in the corner.

Within seconds, Widow had her gun drawn, grasping Y/N around the neck, gun to her head.

“Come with me.” Came her poisonous words as she dragged Y/N away. 

Talon had been preparing for this moment since Y/N’s arrival seven weeks ago. 

They knew that Overwatch would try and save her upon finding out that they knew who she was. In fact, Talon knew that they now knew who had ordered her ‘services’ and the leaders knew that they would come for her; that the Shimada’s would come for her. 

They would use her as bait and the brothers would fall into their trap.

*

“Where do you think she is?” Genji’s voice was hard to hear over the screaming alarm, but Hanzo heard it. 

“I have no idea.” He admitted sadly, bow in hand as they roamed the corridors of the Talon base, desperately looking for their dear friend. 

They had all been informed of Y/N’s reasoning for coming to Hanamura in the first place. But, at this point, all they wanted was their friend to be safe. No matter what she had done, they knew where her loyalties lie. 

With them.

The corridors were dark, walls black along with the floor making it hard to see, their only light being that of the siren that was deafening them with each beep. They were desperate to find Y/N and get out of there. There were twenty agents looking for her, Genji and Hanzo included who were the most desperate to find her. They were supposed to stay back at base, but they refused; they love her and wish to help her. 

It didn’t take long for them to find her. Actually, for Talon to find them.

“Ah, the Shimada’s, the true star of the show.”

Both brothers came to a halt, seeing their friend stood in front of them, Reaper behind her holding a gun to her head. 

No matter the liking he took to her, he had to do what was best for Talon.

“Let. Her. Go.” Hanzo spat, an arrow immediately placed into his bow.

Reaper simply chuckled at the man’s anger.

“Has unemotional Hanzo Shimada fallen in love with the spy that was sent to help us kill you?” Reaper taunted, enjoying the way Hanzo’s grip tightened, knuckles turning white. 

“I don’t care about her past. She’s my friend and she’s under our protection.” He said, using the very words that Y/N used the night that she saved him. 

“How sweet.” He continued to taunt, laughing manically as Hanzo’s face was fiery with anger, such intense emotion that nobody had ever seen on the archer. 

He must really love her, Genji thought. 

Neither the brothers nor Reaper had noticed the rest of the Overwatch agents behind them. They had heard the commotion over the comms and were quick to find them. 

“Let her go, Gabriel,” Jack said, catching the attention of the man that has his agent held hostage. 

“What if I just…” A bang then a scream, “Oops.” And with that Gabriel disappeared into thin air, completely dropping Y/N.

Hanzo was the first to run towards her, noticing the sticky blood that covered his hand as he picked her up, his eyes widening in panic.

“Get Angela!” He yelled, panic filling his body as Genji darted towards him, followed by the others.

“Y-Y/N!” Genji screamed, doing the best he could to apply pressure to the wound. “You’re going to be okay.” His hands shook as he spoke, hating the feel of the literal blood on his hands. 

Y/N chuckled, “I’m okay.” Her voice was hoarse, everyone could almost hear the pain she was in just from those two words. “Don’t worry about me.” Her eyes were closing.

“Hey. Hey! Don’t close your eyes.” Hanzo lowered her onto the ground to help Genji apply better pressure.

“Just… five minutes.” 

Her eyes shut.

*

Hanzo was pacing outside the medical bay, anxiety filling his body.

He wasn’t allowed to be in there while they helped her, saying that his constant questions would be distracting and overall, just unhelpful.

“Hanzo, relax. She’ll be fine.” Lena did her best to comfort him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder in a vain attempt to calm him.

It obviously did not work.

It felt like decades to everyone until Y/N was finally in a stable condition. 

They had managed to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding from the wound. 

Hanzo was the first in, being there the second they allowed him shortly followed by Genji. 

Hanzo sat beside the patient, hand in her own cold and pale one as he sat back in the uncomfortable chair he was provided; not that he cared about comfort at this precise moment in time. At the opposite side sit Genji, deep in thought as his hands lay beneath his chin. 

The two sat there for hours on end, neither moving. They refused to leave for too long in case she awoke, taken turns to use the restroom. Other Overwatch members brought them food, knowing that, if they didn’t, they wouldn’t eat. 

It wasn’t until it was nearing the night-time that Hanzo felt something, a pressure and it was coming from his hand. Eyes wide, he immediately shot up.

“Y/N?” He rushed out, desperate for her to reply.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were excited to see me.” Y/N croaked out jokingly, once again squeezing his hand. 

“Of course I’m glad to see you.” He whispered, thumb running across her hand much like he had done with her tears when she received the Overwatch invitation. 

“He isn’t joking. He didn’t stop pacing around outside until he was allowed in.” Genji’s joke followed Y/N’s own, making her chuckle despite her throat being dry.

“Have you got any water?” She asked quietly at which Hanzo immediately jumped up, grabbing a cup of water for her.

“Here,” Came his soft response as he helped her drink the water, worried that she might hurt herself by doing so herself. 

“Thank you,” Her voice sounded clearer now after drinking.

Hanzo gave her a small nod, heart racing as it fully sunk in that she was finally awake.

She’s safe.

“Do you remember what happened?” Genji asked her cautiously, doing his best to ignore the glare he was getting from Hanzo.

“Yeah, I remember everything.” 

“Let’s not talk about that.” Hanzo interrupted the two, for both Y/N and himself.

Neither of them wished to relive the situation.

“How do you feel?” Genji asked, changing the subject, but not too much.

“Like I slept for too long. My head hurts.” She smiled slightly, reaching up to rub her head.

“I’ll get Angela to bring you something for the pain.” Genji said, lifting himself onto his feet, “I’m glad you're awake.” 

“Me too.” She grinned.

Even after all this, she’s still herself, Hanzo smiled to himself, glad that she could finally be herself around him. No secrets, no lies. 

It was only once the door closed that Hanzo spoke two simple words, “I’m sorry.”

This left the former spy confused, “Why?” She asked him, facial expression saying everything. “It’s not your fault. In fact, it’s my own, Hanzo. I was the one who chose to go there; I put myself in that situation.”

“Don’t do that.” Hanzo scolded her like a mother would do to her child, “Don’t blame yourself.”

“Then, don’t you blame yourself either.” She whispered, raising her hand to cup Hanzo’s face to bring his face closer to his own, close enough that they could feel the other's breath on their lips.

“I love you, Hanzo.” She admitted, eyes darting down to the hospital bed she was currently seated in.

“I love you too, Y/N.” Hanzo smiled, moving his face to place a gentle kiss on her forehead, not wanting to risk putting her in pain by kissing her lips.

*

It had been a tough month, but Y/N was finally discharged from the med bay as long as she didn’t do any strenuous activity. Hanzo had been there every step of the way, as had Genji. The two Shimada’s were there through everything, especially Hanzo. He never left her side, even now.

His hand was holding her own as the two walked through the Overwatch base, heading towards the cafeteria to get food, or so Y/N thought. 

Hanzo, however, knew that there was going to be a welcome home party thrown by the others to make sure they knew that they didn’t mind her being a spy as well as congratulate her for getting through her treatment. 

As they entered the cafeteria, Y/N noticed the sign that read ‘Welcome back, Y/N!” in bright Y/F/C handwriting that she recognised as Hana’s.

“Welcome back, Y/N.” Lena grinned from behind a table which held a cake reading the same as the banner. 

“Awe guys,” Y/N smiled, blushing slightly, “you shouldn’t have.” She smiled gratefully; hand still enveloped in Hanzo’s who gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“And look at you two!” Hana cheered, being the first to notice the pairs' hands intertwined. “What a power couple.” She winked at the two, both blushing with Y/N blushing even more than before. 

Music began to play as people gathered around, sitting on a bench as they all cheered and began talking while Hana poured drinks for each of the agents who were all smiling happily, glad that Y/N was safe. 

After all the drinks were poured and everyone was seated, Hana raised her glass.

“To Y/N and Hanzo, the power couple!” She cheered.

“To Hanzo and Y/N!"

[grupaok]

EXHIBITION OF FORCE

In 2016 Arden Sherman and Julian Myers-Szupinska published “Exhibition of Force,” a review of the reopened SFMOMA, on the blog of The Exhibitionist, a journal about exhibition making, which was taken offline in 2017. We are retrieving that review here, as it speaks to the longer history of the current crisis at that museum.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has been closed for major renovations for the last three years. Designed by the Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, the new building, a hybrid of the 1995 building designed by Mario Botta and the white wavy tower designed by the Scandinavian architects, opens to the public this weekend.

The impetus for this renovation can be credited, in large part, to the donations of Doris and Donald Fisher, the progenitors of Gap Inc. The fortune accumulated from their clothing empire allowed the couple to become philanthropists, art collectors, and SFMOMA board members. After a long-bruited (but eventually abandoned) plan for the Fishers to build their own museum in San Francisco’s Presidio, the family negotiated a hundred-year “loan” of their vaunted collection to the museum, as well as a massive donation to a capital campaign that would allow for a $305 million building expansion to accommodate it. The museum subsequently raised a comparable amount to bolster its endowment and operating costs. The revamped institution held a sequence of opening events in April and May — press and member previews, a glitzy gala — that culminates with its May 14, 2016, reopening to the general public.

Bay Area institutions keyed a number of events to SFMOMA’s reopening to take advantage of increased visibility and visitors, among them the Parking Lot Art Fair at Fort Mason, various gallery openings and performances, and the Open Engagement conference at the Oakland Museum of California. That last, an annual conference of socially engaged artists and activists, took “power” as its theme. This was partly an homage to the history of organizers and radicals in the Bay Area (e.g., Black Power) but perhaps also a pointed riposte to the current tech boom in San Francisco (i.e., “money power”), which has occasioned skyrocketing rents and a massive reorganization of the city’s social ecology over the last several years.

The lens of “power” is a useful way to think about the new SFMOMA’s elaborate and overwhelming opening gambit. Take, for example, the architecture. When Mario Botta designed SFMOMA’s downtown San Francisco building in 1995, he took seriously the task of making a space where people were not intimidated and where art would be the star — even if the stately black marble of the Botta atrium and staircase was ultimately a peculiar way to enter (the new museum keeps the Botta marble but replaces his staircase with a lighter zigzag). The Snøhetta addition, too, focuses on the art, but does so at a massively enlarged scale: the new SFMOMA is two and a half times its former size and has more square footage than the Museum of Modern Art in New York, a city ten times the size of San Francisco. The result is something like a sprawling, seven-story, two-building mega-mansion: a huge feat, but one that feels endless rather than bountiful.

This building squares with the city’s new ambitions for itself. The two buildings hitched together, the somber Botta and the sleek Snøhetta, signal a sort of timetable of the city’s own history, and track an extreme influx of money in recent years. Such an architectural “twofer” confesses San Francisco’s specific brand of preservationism while also trumpeting its will to international and institutional power — and precisely in a neighborhood historically referred to as “skid row.”

The contents of this building, the expanded collection, signal a different sort of power. Museum collections are of course vital ways for regular viewers to see historically important works of art, and better that they are available to the public than squirreled away in collectors’ homes. And of course a museum’s holdings become a fundament of the institution’s identity. But this issue is complicated in the new SFMOMA by the branding of the works to particular donors — especially the two floors allotted for the Fishers’ collection and the one for Peter and Mimi Haas. Interestingly, the Haas works represent another fortune derived from jeans: Peter Haas was president and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. from 1976 until his death in 2005. This means that pretty much anyone with a pair of pants in their closet has something like an investor’s share in the museum’s collections.

These galleries retain the blue-chip outlines of their moneyed collectors. For the Fishers, this means postwar American and German abstraction, almost universally by white men, barring a single room of paintings by Agnes Martin. And for the Haases, it means rambunctious pop by a somewhat more diverse cohort of artists — a collection that feels rather more familiar for an “international museum.” And like the architecture, these collections too exhibit a certain divided personality: given pride of place in the new galleries, they nevertheless reproduce the tastes and purchasing strategies of their CEO collectors, whose predilections may not always align with the museum’s own “objective” priorities — though at SFMOMA the two priorities have now become hard to disentangle.

This is especially true with the Fisher collection. If their unambitious love of Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Serra, and Andy Warhol is vindicated by the history of art, it is vitiated by redundancies among big sign-value works throughout the museum, both within each floor and among the various “exhibitions” in which these artists make repeat appearances. The works become hard to distinguish from one another; each one signals the same sign-value, of importance plus ownership. Making one’s way through the museum one is constantly struck with déjà vu. In which room, or floor, did I see the blue Kelly painting? Did I already see that Warhol? What should we gather from these recurrences? That is, except for the co-presence of all these treasures.

The works from SFMOMA’s permanent collection, many installed in the same spot as before the renovation, are varied in comparison, and feel distinct from the Fisher trove, not least because they have a greater number of works by artists of color, and by women. The galleries devoted to photography are excellent, too, and include works by younger and more experimental artists. And the works on view from the museum’s Campaign for Art initiative — assembled since 2009 by a wider range of donors, and including three thousand works to date — incorporate more pieces by living artists and artists from California, some of whom donated their own works to the collection.

Such works have a reason to be here. More so, at least, than those resulting from the Fishers’ proclivity for Germans, which, in a perplexing turn, gives SFMOMA particularly strong holdings in postwar German artists such as Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, and Anselm Kiefer. But why exactly do major stores of these artists belong in San Francisco, aside from the Fishers’ fascination with them? Kiefer in particular is poorly served by being so abstracted from the German history in which his Wagnerian dramatism has ambiguous force. In San Francisco, and presented without mediation as such, they read as merely apocalyptic decor. One can only wonder why corporate CEOs have an affinity for this stuff.

Two more aspects of power come to mind. One is that of audience: Just which public does this new museum address? With admission set at a steep $25 and tightly timed timeslots for gallery access, will this institution appeal to a local audience, or largely to tourists for whom this sticker shock won’t matter so much? Major expansions at other institutions have not reliably led to expanded audiences, local or touristic, and it is not sure what will happen in this case, either. SFMOMA’s free admission for those under eighteen is a salutary countermove. Even better is an ongoing collaboration between the education and curatorial departments under the rubric of Public Dialogue, which aims to build partnerships with community galleries and public libraries. Such programs promise to continue the vision of the museum’s founders, which hoped to make the museum a vital part of the cultural life of city residents. But this is a long game, and it is hard to tell just how much it will engage Bay Area audiences on a deep and meaningful level.

And this affirmation of “city residents” rests on an anxious precipice in today’s San Francisco, where citizenship and residency are increasingly attenuated. Perhaps, given the extreme dislocations that characterize the city today, with warehouse districts now serving as tent cities for homeless post-residents, the museum ought to hold a “displaced residents day?” One has to wonder what they, or we, should think about when looking at a work like Charles Ray’s Sleeping Woman (2012) — which, as the wall text helpfully explains, speaks to how homeless people are frequently ignored or invisible in society. Ray’s work calls to mind another “gap,” that between rich and poor, between those included in San Francisco’s current boom and those ejected from it. This disparity is hardly invisible in San Francisco these days, but rather is a harsh and inescapable part of daily life.

Furthermore, moments of strategic generosity as described above are balanced uneasily against the power of money in the museum as it stands (the value of the expanded collection has been estimated at a billion dollars). One must nevertheless mark a circular logic to this extraordinary concentration of value: the Fishers and others gave SFMOMA money to expand, while the very reason the museum needed to expand was to house the Fishers’ “loan.” And so SFMOMA is the channel through which this money coursed, while accumulating comparatively little capital, intellectual or otherwise, of its own, independent of its lenders. In some weird sense, therefore, the power of money in this case may be more marginal than it appears. Perhaps the best we can hope, then, is that this perpetual motion machine now locked onto the old museum might spin off more programs like Public Dialogue, and worthwhile exhibitions off the main, collector-driven concourse — and that there is still a local audience in San Francisco interested in seeing them.

__

Arden Sherman is Curator at Hunter East Harlem Gallery, a multi-disciplinary space for art exhibitions and socially-minded projects located in Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work in New York City. Julian Myers-Szupinska was senior editor of The Exhibitionist, and is a member of grupa o.k. Photo: Charles Ray, Sleeping Woman, 2012, installation view, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Photograph by Julian Myers-Szupinska.

[gunnerpalace]

YoruIchiRuki (Neapolitan Ice Cream) AUs & Headcanons

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

INTRODUCTION & CONTINUITIES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

VISUAL NOTES

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

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

LOVE LANGUAGES

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

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

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

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

IDEA HISTORY

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

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

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

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

Their expressions shifted to mortification.

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

At that, Ichigo and Rukia both gaped.

She gave a mock frown. “What?”

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

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

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

Ichigo looked away decisively.

Rukia looked down. “Well...”

“Let me take you out to dinner.”

She blinked and side-eyed him.

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

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

“She was right,” Rukia whispered.

“... Yeah.”

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

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

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

There was a long silence.

“Yeah...”

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

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

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

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

Rukia blinked and automatically drew her hands back in confusion.

Ichigo likewise released her as he felt her go rigid.

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

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

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

The attentions of the two were instantly upon her again.

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

A moment passed. Then another.

Rukia bit her lip and looked to Ichigo.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yoruichi shut her eyes. “But…”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TEASING

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

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

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

“Do you?” they both asked with raised eyebrows

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

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

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

He abruptly reddened.

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

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

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

“Oi, Ichigo,” Rukia said mildly.

“What?”

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

“Don't say things like that!”

Rukia grinned impishly at him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A random little teasing scenario:

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

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

ANGST

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yoruichi didn't react.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASSORTED SCENARIOS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yoruichi blinked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A little scene about comforting and snuggling together:

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

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

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

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

“I mean it.”

A pause passed. “I know.”

“Yoruichi—”

“You're tired, get some rest.”

He gently squeezed her sides. “Hey.”

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

She studied him curiously.

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

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

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

There was a pause before she looked down.

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

She just quietly pressed in a bit closer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEXUALITY & PHYSICALITY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He turned and stayed silent. Why not?

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

Ichigo's eyes widened as they met hers.

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

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

“Not bad at all,” Rukia added quietly.

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

Ichigo's face heated. “Well. I...”

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

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

Ichigo cleared his throat.

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

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

“It doesn't clutch at your hips.”

“It doesn't tremble between your thighs.”

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

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

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

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

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

His fingers dug into the sides of her waist appreciatively.

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

“Hmm?”

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

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

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

Ichigo met her gaze.

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

He blinked.

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

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

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

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

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

And with Ichigo and Yoruichi:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She blinked in surprise.

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

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

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

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

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

CONCLUSION

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

[petpoker133-blog]

Betus

BetUS – We’ve Got Your GAME. NOTE: BetUS does NOT accept players from Canada. Please check our other recommended online sportsbooks page for sportsbooks that accept Canadian bettors. BetUS.com is a leading online sports betting and sports wagering entertainment website, providing a safe and secure place for online gambling for more than 12 years now. BetUS Betus 10 Pack Wine Bottles Cork String Lights - Battery Powered - Decorations for Garden, Wedding, Christmas & Party - Warm Light – 10 LEDs/3 Ft (Packs of 10) Average Rating: ( 4.6 ) stars out of 5 stars 44 ratings, based on 44 reviews.

Betus Blues

Www.betus.com.pa

Update (September 2020) – We are pleased to report that BetUS has undergone a total relaunch since we reported the issues outlined on this page.

The old team has been kicked to the curb, with new management and new investors in place to breathe new life into the brand. BetUS may have been established in 1994, but it’s most certainly a new beginning for the online sportsbook. Everyone involved is determined to build a new reputation. We aren’t quite sold on the bold claim of BetUS being “America’s Favorite Sportsbook”, but we are excited about the revised platform.

Read our BetUS review to discover why we now consider this sportsbook a premier destination for US bettors.

BetUS has a notorious history in the offshore industry and has taken players for hundreds of thousands of dollars at minimum since their inception in 1994. The book has a terrible reputation with US-based online sports bettors and has been one of the major offshore targets for their vitriol in the last decade plus.

In this article, we go over just some of the scams and tactics used by BetUS’s management over the years. There have been so many problems and complaints regarding this sportsbook that we could write three separate articles on their poor business practices and deception.

From reneging on bonus offers, changing terms and conditions on the fly and confiscating winnings from players with little explanation – this book is truly shameless.

Enticing Bonus and Website

We almost feel like a broken record when writing about these scam sportsbook articles, because we keep warning players about the same things over and again.

Like we’ve said about other scam sportsbooks in the past, appearances can be deceiving. BetUS has one of the nicest looking websites which offers a sleek and professional look[1] Their betting engine is excellent, and they have a large array of betting options, including live betting and mobile wagering.

On top of all that, they offer a litany of different deposit bonuses based on the amount players wish to deposit. The bonuses could go as high as $5,000 depending on how much a player makes with his first deposit.

But, BetUS does not stop there. They offer frequent reloads and VIP membership rewards program, as well.

Wow, it sure sounds like we’re shilling out BetUS to sports bettors, but that could not be further from the truth. BetUS touts to their players that they have the “the biggest bonuses in the business” which may be true, at least on paper.

However, players that win will realize they will have a hard time collecting their money from BetUS. All these bonus amounts and promotions do not cost the book anything unless they actually have to pay. Something that BetUS seems to pride itself in not doing.

Avoid scams & view our selection of The Best US Sportsbooks.

Last updated: February 2021

Even A Scam In The Heyday

Many online betting sites that were once industry leaders in the early to mid 2000s are now closed, and some have run off with player funds. Don’t get us wrong, there are still many active in the industry, but the UIGEA and the US DOJ’s crackdown on online sports betting seriously hurt the business.

Before the UIGEA passage in 2006, the online gambling world was growing at an exponential rate and online sportsbooks had been taking in hundreds of millions of bets each year. Oddsmakers who played it safe and understood the industry has a much better chance of being successful back then compared to today. That’s not to say that there were not still excellent options for US players now, but they were much better 10 years ago.

Even back then, circa 2004, BetUS was known as a scam sportsbook with a poor reputation. SBR first began reporting on BetUS in 2002 and had complaints of the book slow playing players. Even in this time of quick and simple payment processing for US players, (Neteller, other e-wallets) BetUS was regularly weeks or months late with withdrawal requests to players.

This news article on The RX details a situation where a player had $25,000 in funds in limbo with BetUS and had to settle for a deal for 2/3rds of his balance out of fear of losing the whole thing.[2] It also goes into the history behind BetUS and the two brothers that were once a part of NASA Sports but now both ran separate sportsbooks. One went on to run BetUS and the other BetOnSports.

The article did not have much nice to say in regards to the two Rizzo brothers, Joey and Tommy.

An anonymous sportsbook owner stated, ‘In this business, your word is your bond, if you say you are going to do something, you do it. THESE guys did not honor their word with me. After that, I wanted nothing more to do with them. The last thing I wanted was to have someone accidentally affiliate myself or my company with them.’

Betus Blues

Players were forced to forfeit some of their winnings due to supposed non-recreational play and winning too much from bonuses or free plays – even though there were no restrictions on how much they could win via their bonus. Management also accused players of syndicate play or non-leisure play, another charge that came with almost no evidence.

Bettors were forced to negotiate for their fairly won balance with BetUS – because if they did not – they risked getting stiffed for the amount, even their original deposits. Players settled for substantially fewer amounts than they were entitled to receive. One player reportedly settled for $40,000 despite being owed a small six figure sum.

Scam Copycat Site

BetUS once owned and operated a domain at “bestsportsbookreview.com” which was designed to be a Sportsbook Review knockoff site. The site, not so shockingly, heavily promoted BetUS and picked them as their top recommended bookmaker.

The site was run directly from the sportsbook themselves and had a fake affiliate or advertiser as a cover up to their true intentions. This is a disgusting way to do business and without a doubt misled thousands of players into depositing at BetUS.

More Problems and One Dastardly Scam

In the next several years, forums and watchdog sites were full of complaints from players who had funds suck at BetUS or felt the wrath of management. This included altering bets after the wagers had been settled, voiding bonuses and winnings from bonuses and much more.

However, there was one tactic pulled by BetUS that might be the worst display of behavior we’ve ever seen from a rogue online sportsbook.

This story broke via SBR, and there was a lengthy discussion at Covers Forum in regards to BetUS’ scam[3][4]. A handicapper named John Morrison, the man behind the “John Morrison Chase Betting System” was working with BetUS.com to scam players. We assume the two had a lucrative affiliate type deal where Morrison received a large percentage of the players’ losses to BetUS.

Referring players to an online sportsbook for a percentage of the profits is perfectly respectable and how many webmasters make their living today. But, if that was all John Morrison and BetUS we would not be talking about them.

Things took a turn for the worse when players discovered that BetUS was offering alternate lines to John Morrison referred clients. For instance, if Morrison’s service pick was New York +7, BetUS would offer a line of +5 or +5.5 to those were referred by Morrison.

SBR verified that the alternate lines were only on picks that were released by Morrison’s service and always hurt the players that followed and paid for the picks. Because of BetUS’s line movement in relation to this play, bettors were being charged an effective price of -140 for their wagers as they were at least 1.5 points off the market price.

This despicable scam is a massive breach of players’ trust and highway robbery for a criminal tout in John Morrison and criminal sportsbook, BetUS.

The Future for BetUS?

BetUS is still receiving loads of complaints from players from lack of payment to bait n’ switch bonus scams and everything in between. Thankfully, for players, complaints are becoming less and less common as BetUS has absolutely spoiled any shred of dignity they had in the offshore industry.

Www.betus.com.pa

Avoid BetUS at all costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is BetUS safe?

No and there are much better sportsbooks to use in the US. There are many examples of BetUS scamming their customers and we recommend visiting one of our top US Sportsbooks.

What is an alternative to BetUS?

We strongly recommend using proven betting providers with good reputation. At SBO.net our team prepared a list of the best sportsbooks for US users based on factors like licensing, reputation and bonus

Are US sportsbooks legal?

US sportsbooks are legal, but they are only permitted to take bets in certain states e.g Nevada. Many states across the US are currently reviewing their gambling laws so it’s becoming more common to bet legally.

What should I know before I start betting online?

Despite most sportsbooks being trustworthy, there are some that are an exception to the rule. We recommend you do a small background check before you start betting. The key things to look out for include licensing, reputation and customer service. These are all thing our team consider before recommending sites.

Refrences

[1] www.betus.com.pa – BetUS Homepage [2] Angelciti / BetUS Saga More Insatiable Than… – The Rx Forum [3] Sports Betting & Handicapper Scam: SBR investigates – SBR Newswire [4] BetUS and John Morrison scam exposed – Covers Forum