#and that's great that's cool that i've come to this conclusion. i don't think i can solve this one

[arcaneyouth]

i'm starting to think living with 5 other people may simply be a problem

[hanniluvi]

ෆ — A LOVE LETTER - JAY FIC

SYNOPSIS — sometimes, only a love letter is what it takes for someone to get into a relationship.

PAIRING — crush!jay x crush-gn!reader

WARNINGS — a kiss i think that’s it? || WC : 1.9K+ (1966)

SOPH — tysm for requesting anon ! i hope i did it justice , and i did gn reader since you didn’t specify !

"I'm telling you, Jay totally has a thing for you!" Chaewon excitedly whispered in class, poking you with her pencil insistently. You attempted to brush off her words, even attempting to snatch her pencil away. "No way! Have you seen him with that other girl?"

"Just because he smiled at her doesn't mean he has feelings for her!" Chaewon's frustration grew as she wondered how oblivious you could be. "He has smiled and talked to you countless times. Why wouldn't he like you?"

"I don't know..." you scribbled in your notebook, unable to focus on taking notes any longer. You stole a glance at Jay, your crush, diligently jotting down his own notes like the great student he was. "I just don't think I'm his type."

"Come on, YN," Chaewon sighed, giving you an exasperated look. "You have no idea what his type is, and if you're too scared to make a move, you can't jump to conclusions," she emphasized, pointing her finger at you for emphasis.

"Do you think so?" Your gaze remained fixated on him, captivated by his every move. Even in the simplicity of his school uniform, he managed to make it look effortlessly stylish.

Suddenly, someone called out Jay's name, causing him to turn in your direction. Inadvertently, your eyes met, and he rewarded you with a warm smile. You returned the gesture, but quickly averted your gaze.

"Chaewon, what's happening to me?" you whispered, holding your breath as your heart raced.

The sound of the bell resonated through the classroom, instantly filling the air with a cacophony of noise. Chaewon rose from her seat, wearing a mischievous smile as she nudged you gently.

"That's love, you idiot," she teased, her voice barely audible amidst the commotion. “Let’s not be late to our next class, okay?”

With a sense of urgency, you hastily gathered your books and shoved them into your bag, eager to catch up with Chaewon. Walking side by side, the two of you engaged in your usual banter, oblivious to the bustling hallways around you. It was a stroke of luck that you shared a majority of your classes with your best friend, Chaewon. But what made it even more special was the fact that you found yourself in many classes with Jay, your secret crush.

Despite your best efforts to keep your feelings hidden, it seemed that Chaewon had caught onto your little secret. She had been an observant friend from the beginning and could sense the chemistry between you and Jay. You had always shared an effortless connection with Jay, as if you had known each other for years. It was this natural connection that made Chaewon ship the two of you right from the start.

"You know, YN, it's so obvious that you and Jay have something special," Chaewon teased, nudging you playfully as you walked together.

You rolled your eyes, trying to brush off her comment. "Oh, come on, Chaewon. We're just good friends. Nothing more."

She raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smile on her face. "Good friends, huh? I've seen the way he looks at you, and the way you light up when he's around. There's definitely more going on there."

You let out a nervous laugh, feeling your cheeks heat up. "You're reading too much into it, Chaewon. We're just really close."

She chuckled, giving you a knowing look. "Well, if you say so. But mark my words, something's bound to happen between you two. Love has a way of finding its way, you know."

You shrugged, trying to play it cool. "We'll see. For now, let's just focus on walking to our class together."

And so, you arrived at your next class, reluctantly parting ways with Chaewon as you followed the seating chart. It was an unfortunate moment, as you wished you could continue your conversations with her. However, fate seemed to smile upon you as you made your way to the back of the classroom, spotting an empty seat next to Jay.

Taking a seat beside Jay, you caught his eye and a bright smile spread across his face.

"Hey there, seatmate," Jay playfully greeted, his tone filled with warmth and familiarity.

Taking a moment to compose yourself, you met Jay's gaze and returned his smile, feeling your heart flutter at his playful greeting.

"Hey, seatmate," you replied, your voice laced with a mix of excitement and slight shyness. The term "seatmate" seemed to hold a certain charm, as it implied a level of closeness that thrilled you.

You were grateful that this class was a free period, as it meant you could focus on your own tasks without much interruption. As the class started, you settled into your usual routine, pulling out your books and assignments to work on.

While you were immersed in your own world, Jay's voice caught your attention. It seemed like he was engaged in a friendly argument with his friend seated beside him. Curiosity piqued, you glanced in their direction, but soon realized you couldn't decipher the details of their conversation.

Deciding to maintain your focus on your work, you popped in an earbud, tuning in to your favorite playlist. The familiar tunes enveloped you, creating a pleasant soundtrack to accompany your tasks. With the music playing softly in your ears, you allowed yourself to delve into the world of your assignments, momentarily oblivious to the conversations happening around you.

Jay's friend persisted, nudging him with a mischievous grin. "Come on, man, just give them the letter. It's not that difficult."

Jay's eyes widened with a hint of panic, quickly shushing his friend. "No way, I can't do that," he whispered urgently. "And lower your voice! We don't want the whole class to know."

His friend chuckled, but lowered his voice as instructed. "Why not? You've been crushing on them for months now. It's time to make a move."

Jay fidgeted in his seat, his cheeks turning a faint shade of pink. "I don't know, man. What if they don’t feel the same way? It'll just make things awkward."

His friend leaned closer, whispering in a conspiratorial tone. "Trust me, Jay. I've seen the way they look at you when you're not looking. There's definitely something there. You just need to take the chance."

Jay's gaze shifted nervously towards you, who seemed engrossed in your work, unaware of the conversation unfolding nearby. His heart pounded in his chest as he contemplated the possibility of confessing his feelings. The fear of rejection battled against the hope of reciprocation within him.

After a moment of hesitation, Jay let out a sigh, realizing that his friend might be onto something. "Fine," he whispered reluctantly. "I'll think about it, okay? But no guarantees."

He stole another glance at you, his eyes softening with affection. As the class continued, he found himself lost in thoughts of what might be, contemplating the possibility of taking a leap of faith and sharing his true feelings with you.

As you were engrossed in your writing, you noticed Jay discreetly sliding something towards you. Curiosity piqued, you removed your earbud and met his gaze, sensing his nervousness. "Just read it," he stammered, his voice betraying his inner turmoil.

Putting the earbud back in, you carefully looked at the envelope, intrigued by its possible contents. A cute sticker adorned the front, causing a smile to grace your lips as you peeled it off.

With anticipation, you unfolded the letter and began reading its words, immersing yourself in the words. Jay discreetly stole a few glances at you, his heart pounding in his chest, anxious about your reaction.

"I always find myself questioning the warm, bubbly feeling inside me. Who and what made me feel this way? Well it was simple; the answer is you. It would be foolish not to seize this opportunity to confess my feelings. So, here I am, presenting you with this letter to express what I've been wanting to say. Perhaps it's a cowardly move to resort to written words instead of speaking them directly, but it brings me a sense of peace to share my feelings with you in this way.

Anyway, YN, I like you. More than you may realize. I find myself constantly drawn to you, observing you as you work and have fun with your friends. You have an undeniable ability to light up the entire room, whether you believe it or not.

Being with you evokes emotions I've never experienced before. It's inexplicable, but undeniably positive. You have made me discover what it truly means to have a crush on someone.

You will always be remembered as the best seatmate I could ever ask for. Now, to avoid overwhelming you any further, please know that you are under no obligation to accept this confession. Even if you don't, my feelings for you will persist. I have no problem with waiting for you until I can’t no more.

So, please don't keep me waiting any longer and let me know your answer. I have intentionally left a blank space for you to fill.

With sincerest affection,

Jay"

You wore a broad smile on your face, reaching for the pen on your desk. With a sense of excitement, you began writing your response, carefully choosing your words. Once finished, you folded the letter back up and confidently pushed it towards Jay, who was anxiously fidgeting nearby. With anticipation in his eyes, he eagerly took hold of the letter and unfolded it, ready to read your reply.

"The answer will always be yes for you,” he read the words, his face lighting up with a radiant smile. Playfully, he jotted down a little something on the paper, his smile growing cheekier by the second. Instead of folding the letter, he simply slid it across your desk, leaving it open for you to see.

"Let's seal this agreement with a kiss, shall we?" you couldn't help but chuckle, feeling a mix of embarrassment and amusement. "That was quite cheesy, Jay," you teased, finally turning to face him and removing your earbuds.

"Your blushing face tells a different story," he remarked, pointing out the obvious flush on your cheeks, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "But, you know, you don't have to—"

Before he could finish his sentence, you silenced him with a quick, unexpected kiss. The bold move left him momentarily speechless, his own face turning red as the realization sunk in. While his intention was merely to provoke a reaction from you, he couldn't deny the rush of excitement that coursed through him now.

“Quite bold, aren’t we?” he chuckled, feeling a surge of heat rush to his cheeks. He playfully fanned himself, trying to hide his flustered state.

"You started it," you replied, a mischievous laughter escaping your lips as you enjoyed the sudden role reversal.

"Wanna finish this assignment together?" he asked, turning his attention back to the task at hand. You nodded in agreement, prompting him to move closer and place his textbook between your desks.

In a bold move, you reached out and took his hand, holding it discreetly under the desks. He squeezed your hand in response, his heart racing with excitement.

"How am I supposed to focus on the work now?" Jay chuckled, pretending to be distracted by your touch.

"Don't worry," you reassured him, a playful grin on your face. "I can work on it while you provide the answers. You can just copy it later."

"Sounds like a plan," Jay agreed, glancing at your notes and offering his input.

Meanwhile, Chaewon watched the two of you with a knowing smile, silently celebrating the fact that you had finally become an item. It was a moment she had been eagerly anticipating for ages, and now her efforts had finally paid off.

💭 — jay one chance 🙏🙏

ENHA PERM TAGLIST — @flwoie @ixomiyu @yenavrse @shinsou-rii @bearseulgs @ilovewonyo @yenqa @dimplewonie @bubblytaetae @wtfhyuck @ineedaherosavemeenow @starcubes @starikizs @wonioml @chirokookie @xiaoderrrr @neozon3nha @en-chantedtomeetyou @millksea @enhaz1 @eundiarys @woon2u @ja4hyvn @judeduartewannabe @j-wyoung @thia-aep @vampcharxter @softpia @officiallyjaehyuns @itsactuallylina @hsheart @sweetjaemss @ahnneyong @hanienie @jwnghyuns @kpoplover718 @jiawji @rikizm @haknom @yeokii @wvnkoi @whoschr @teddywonss @shinunoga-iie-wa @flwrshee @skzenhalove @chaewon-slays @misoxhappy @s00buwu @ox1-lovesick

[avianyuh]

Yoon Jeonghan as a boyfriend

-

word count; 679

idk if it's because I've been watching a lot of svt content lately

(btw stream god of music)

but Jeonghan has been getting my attention lately so I thought this would be a fun write

first of all he's RUTHLESS

like you're not safe

he'd put you in your place if you said something dumb or tried to leave the house looking all weird

but you know, it's out of love

I think he's also a huge softie, which is shown in his friendships with the members

speaking of the members...

if you didn't get along with the members then...

bye bitch

I think he'd introduce you to Seungcheol and Joshua first

#95z

but for multiple reasons

#1; jeongcheol obvi. they're really close and I think Cheol's approval means a lot to him when it comes to letting someone in

#2; Jeonghan and Shua have known each other for a veryyyyy long time. I think those two were close to each other before anyone else because they had joined the company at the same time

So I think Jeonghan would really appreciate Joshua get to know you

#3; Seungcheol is great with vibe checks lol. Jeonghan probably wants a second opinion

#4;Jeonghan would probably just want you to be closer with Coups and Shua tbh (early on)

but he really wants you to get along with alllll of the members

they mean the world to him and he'd really make the effort to get all of you acquainted and friendly

I'm not saying you have to be besties with the boys (especially cuz there's 12 of them not including han)

but like, if one of the members is at home and doing nothing and you and Jeonghan are going out for the night

Jeonghan would invite his members along unless it was a really special date

it would mean a lot to Jeonghan if you were cool about that kind of stuff because he cares for you but he also really cares for his members

ANYWAYS

he's kind of a homebody

so you spend a lot of time inside

probably build Lego sets together

and when he goes on tour you take care of his pet rock

yes...that's a real thing he has, his name is Doljjong and he likes warm bathes

no seriously

Jeonghan is probably the best thing in your life if you're dating him

I think he'd be protective over you

He'd also probably enjoy taking care of you

making sure you're eating enough and checking in as frequently as he can if he's away

though he teases you a lot, I think he'd tell you he loves you alllll the time

like; "Jeonghan can you pass the remote" "Sure, I love you" "🤦🏻‍♀️"

you pretend you're sick of it but you love it and he knows that

he's very open with carats so if he really found the love of his life, he'd come clean and just show you off

I don't think he'd get caught I think he'd make you come on one of his lives or he'd mention you or something

but like I said, he's very protective and I think he might refrain from showing you off just in case it puts you in harm's way

he worries a lot about you

but it just shows how considerate he is

should I add some shexyyy shtufff???

ummmmmm

okay maybe a little bit

gentle in bed

like the type to brush the hair out of your face

heavy eye contact

I think he'd get shy to be honest

makes sure that NO ONE is around

kisses you everywhere

definitely into praising

just LOVES YOU

he shows it during sex and after

remember how I said he teases you?

I actually don't think he'd tease you during sex

I think he never wants to get his signals crossed

he wants you to know that he loves you

okay end of that

in conclusion; he's a dream man

loves you so so so much

loves being home with you and just being himself around you

he'd also be a great father

like...look at how he interacts with the younger members. he loves them so much and takes such good care of them

definitely think it's a testament to how he'd be as a parent

but even in your relationship, he's very caring with you and just such A BABE

-

enjoy some pics of Jeonghan❤️

{A/N; idk maybe I'll make a svt as dad's series lol. okay, anyways, stream svt god of music. vote for super for SOTY cuz it deserves it and send well wishes to Cheol and Mingyu. might do s.coups next cuz I've been missing him lately😢}

[bryce-bucher]

.50 Caliber 3D Platformer Post #7

Environment AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAART:

Finally, I've gotten around to making the environment art for the one level that I've got rn. I've been playing the system shock remake, and I really love how that game creates the illusion of grungy detail that reveals itself to be very low-resolution textures up-close. I knew I wanted the game to look like of grungy for a while now, but I didn't know exactly how I would go about achieving it. I toyed with the idea of layering photocopy textures over everything, but I eventually settled on using low resolution textures that are dithered with web colors. I'm quite happy with how it ended up looking. I think it has a source engineish vibe that reveals itself to be more colorful and strange up-close.

The Textures:

The process for making these is a lot simpler and less time consuming that how I usually make textures. This is mostly because I'm relying a lot more on the baked lighting to make things look good in this particular game, so the textures can get away with being less detailed. I'm mostly just grabbing stuff off of websites like textures.com and adjusting the contrast / coloration before shrinking them down and lowering the color depth. Here are some examples of how they look wowee wow:

Lightinggg:

For this game I'm using baked lighting as opposed to vertex based or realtime. I really like how it looks, and it ends up saving me a lot of time. If you don't know how baked lighting works, basically I place lights around a scene in unity, and then I use anything but unity's built in lightbaker that is bad and sucks (I use bakery) to essentially turn the lighting into a texture map that is placed on the mesh. It turns lights into textures basically. It is a lot more performant than real-time lighting, and it usually looks a lot better as well. With this game's particular art style, everything really ends up coming together with the lighting, and it would look pretty trash without it.

Cameo Skinz:

I've always really liked putting cameos in my stuff from artists that I'm friends with and/or take a lot of inspiration from. In this game, I plan to include a lot of unlockable skins for the player character that are characters from games / animations / whatever that I like. So far I've made a couple to breakup my time working on environment art. Check um out:

This one is Peter Shorts from an upcoming game called You Are Peter Shorts. I loved this dude at first sight and it was the first skin I ended up making. He was really fun to make because he has no body or hands, so I ended up making his head/torso one big thing that is attached to the head bone. You are Peter Shorts is made by the talented ondydev who I don't think I've actually asked permission to include this skin yet. If it doesn't end up in the final game pretend I didn't post about it lol. You should check out their previous game Tres-Bashers if you haven't.

This one is Appy from Brawlers World! Brawlers World is one of those creative projects that is so great that it gives me envy. I'm honestly so excited to be able to have this little dude in my game, and I think he ended up fitting into the art style super well. Those are the only two skins I've made so far. I have a lot more planned including Nova from Anodyne 2, Frog from Jamphibian, Knight of Trye from Knight's Try, Orbo from Peeb Adventures & Orbo's Odyssey, and some characters from my own stuff. They aren't a high priority right now because I have to actually make the game first, but I'll probably make a few here and there to curb burnout, and I'll show them off whenever I do. I am v passionate about the cool shit my peers are making, and I hope other people are too.

Conclusion:

idk it's like 8 am and I haven't slept. I've just been workin a lot while listening to the magnus archives. I guess I can turn this conclusion into me talking about the magnus archives. I'm on episode 197 while writing this so im almost done. It is p cool and I like how much it changes tonally overtime. It really feels like a big long journey, and I like media that can do that kinda thing. It is now a series that I will forever associate with the development of this game considering I listened to it all while working on it. It's kinda funny how that happens. Sometimes I'll be in a location in one of my games and it'll make me think about some video essay or w/e that I was watching while making it. Anyway, have a good day every1 pls tyty

[anonzentimes]

Hi Zen! This might be another difficult question for you to answer, but I'd like to ask: Which official artwork of Nagito do you like the most?

Even in the official art, he looks different sometimes, doesn't he? I am still confused as to what color his eyes are. (In a lot of fanfic they are described as gray, but in some art they are clearly blue).

I would like to know which of the official artwork, whether in games, anime or manga, is your favorite.

Whoa!! that Is a difficult question! I'll try to answer it though haha!

I have a lot of them I like but choosing one is pretty difficult... so I'll just start this answer off with a discussion on the inconsistencies statement! I believe Nagito's eyes are definitely gray, at some points it maybe hard to tell but they're definitely gray! There are a few anime moments where his eyes feel green, some promotional material straight up changes it to green, and a small amount spin off art may change it to something that can be interpreted as blue, but for the most part they are absolutely gray.

I think the only actual very small change he undergoes is his color tips? His hair always has a gradient but the colors used for it are a little inconsistent sometimes. In Danganronpa 3 they're red and occasionally purple so it's a little weird haha! Sometimes he's not drawn with his gradient at all, a slight gradient with the same color, a red gradient, or a purple gradient so it's pretty confusing. His gradient also changes with how prominent it is depending on the art if there even is one. He's drawn most often with red subtle tips though so I think that was the intention. You could probably chalk it up to lighting if you wanted Lol.

While I do love a lot of his sprites I think some of them are pretty restrictive and lack all of the emotions we know he's able to show because he does in other appearances. This is why I really like when the Mangas allow him to be very expressive beyond what his sprites can convey! I think his sprites can really excel with some expressions but falls flat with others.

Rambles about his sprites in Dr2 and his slight inconsistencies aside, a lot of his art is great! (I'm very biased) but I do have some strong opinions, positively and negatively, on quite a few of them. The main thing is that I don't know if I actually have a favorite??? It's a really difficult question.

But I do want to highlight these three dr2 cgs I really like! He isn't fully 100% consistent here but I really like them. I know a lot of people think Nagito's showing Junko's arm art looks bad but I honestly like it. Nagito about to play Russian Roulette is such an awesome moment too! The one where he has the fire behind him is not only really cool, but also a really good in game shot of most of his body from a different angle!

I truly, again, love his manga art! His specific spin off's manga has a lot of really amazing, interesting, and fun visuals! Even if I'm not really fond of the anatomy the artist uses it's still really good stuff. The Danganronpa 2 spin off mangas have really good anatomy and expressions he looks sooo good there I'm in love with it.

While I'm at it I also want to highlight his reference sheet, it's clearly consistent because that's the job of a reference and I think his expression is pretty cute here. I don't really see people talk about it so I just wanted to also bring it up Lol.

For the most part I've really struggled to directly answer your question because he has a lot of different interpretations, art, and appearances that all mix together into one mental image or understanding of what he looks like for me. I really love most all of his art so it's hard to say. Nagito has a lot of different tones in his art as well, from his crazed ramblings to happy expressions, he has so many tonally different art pieces because he excels at being sweet and intimidating. This makes it even more difficult!

In conclusion, I don't believe I can come up with an absolute answer for you unfortunately. Regardless though, I definitely learned from this that I have strong opinions on all of his art. I hope you enjoyed my appreciation for some of his art and small talk about mild inconsistencies of his haha!!

Apologies this took so long and Thank you for your ask <3

[littlewestern]

I must inquire about your feelings on douglas and oliver 👀

(Tags by @mean-scarlet-deceiver)

Absolutely! These tags are fantastic, and I think this is a great time to talk about a phenomenon I've noticed in certain fandoms. I don't have a word for it yet, but something that can happen, especially in cases like this where a ship is sort of a foregone conclusion (either for lack of options for the characters or - in this case - because there's one really compelling point of shared development), is that it can often feel like we are *supposed* to ship something, and that there aren't any other options.

I think 10x11 is absolutely one of those ships, and I can totally understand why it might not work for some the same way it does for others. It's easy to fall into the trap of complacency or to feel like there's not actually anything there and the rest of the fandom is just shipping cardboard cutouts. And because everyone treats the ship as default, there's no one out here really up on their soapbox for it or making any groundbreaking content. It runs the risk of feeling stale.

Luckily, I'm here, and I do this shit for free. In point of fact, you couldn't pay me to stop. So let me make the case. Hopefully by the end of this we'll all come away with a better understanding of the characters, their relationship, and ourselves. (I like to aim high.)

So there are a few major pitfalls that this ship can succumb to right out of the gate that I think can frequently make this a harder sell as a romance specifically:

First, the rescue. The foundational text. Everyone loves Escape!, and for good reason. It's an extremely rich vein to mine for drama and feelings and having these characters bond in a way that feels complex and authentic and real... And it also can make a relationship founded on romantic love between them feel compulsory on the part of Oliver. This is not at all cool or fun or sexy or even really in-character, and I expect it's one of the reasons this ship can be hard to work with at times. To put them in a romantic context without any kind of examination of what is desired vs. what is owed feels rushed and disingenuous to me. If your only reason for shipping Oliver and Douglas is that one of them saved the others' life - full stop, no further examination required - this ship is going to be quite boring and a little iffy besides. This is a fantastic foundation, but it can't be the only thing holding them together, or else you've just reinvented the booktok romance novel.

The second pitfall is one that isn't the fandom's fault but is definitely worsened by years of fandom dilution: Oliver lacks a lot of direct and explicit characterization as a result of showing up late to the RWS party. He has this great origin story, fucks up once, gets a few funny scenes, and then about drops off the page. This leave shippers in a bit of a predicament, because really compelling character romance needs really compelling characters in the first place. Oliver has such a great backstory and that immediate bond we talked about with another well-developed character who also has a great backstory. It feels like it should be very easy to make this work, but it just... doesn't. Because Oliver in-canon is often a role-fill character. He's great, but no one (least of all the later season TVS writers) can seem to agree what his personality actually is, so he ends up being written to slot wherever he's needed or to achieve a specific narrative beat. The resultant 10x11 content which is informed by this feels flat and boring because if the only goal is for them to end up together, you simply have to write that happening and it occurs. Fandom Oliver often has no desires or wants outside of getting together with Douglas, his knight in shining paintwork, and it makes for dry reading.

So how do we reconcile this? What can we do with this information to make it work in favor of our desired outcome instead of as a hindrance to it? How do we use the facts to enhance our fiction?

The first key is remembering that Oliver is actually a little badass who, for 95% of his time on the run, did not actually need any help. The only reason he got to the point at which Douglas could come rescue him was because he fled under his own power from the southern part of the country all the way up to Barrow. His journey only ended there because they ran out of coal, which probably wouldn't have happened if Oliver hadn't also elected to take a coach and an unrelated break van along with him. Because, again, he's a badass. When the big engines say that Oliver has "resource and sagacity", they're absolutely correct. There's material to work with here, we just need to spin it out.

So let's start there. Let's give Oliver that plucky spark back, and have him be a wee bit peppery as a treat. A guy doesn't outrun packs of rabid diesels only to come out the other side a meek and obedient little bore. Let's really lean into his loyalty and bravery too, since an engine willing to risk his own life to save the lives of some lowly rolling stock must be both. And finally, let's also have him really appreciate that second chance he's been given! My favorite Oliver characterization is one that swings at every wild pitch just for the joy of feeling and moving and being alive.

What Douglas has given him isn't a debt, it is a gift, and paying him back doesn't mean feeling like he owes him anything, it means hitting the rails every day with as much enthusiasm and excitement and verve as a little engine possibly can. I like an Oliver that works hard and plays hard and - crucially to the relationship in question - I think Douglas likes this too. Here's a pair of guys who are both brave, loyal, adventurous, quick-thinking, generous, and god damned happy to be alive. Their experiences in Escape! shouldn't make them rescuer/rescuee, it should make them some of the only guys on the railway who know what it's like to look death in the face and laugh. They're equals, and more importantly, friends.

And maybe I buried the lede a little bit there, but I think this really is the crux of it. To me, this relationship is one that starts as a very long, very close friendship with that little bit of extra complexity always simmering below the surface and the little bit of weirdness of falling in love with the guy who saved your life isn't something that should be swept under the rug, it should be an active part of the core relationship conflict.

Oliver looks at Douglas and thinks: He's my best friend. I love him. He saved my life. I don't know whether that last thing is influencing the other two and I'm worried that trying to find out will ruin everything.

and Douglas looks at Oliver and thinks: He's my best friend. I love him. I saved his life. But I don't want him to think he owes me anything just because I did.

So Douglas is waiting on Oliver, and Oliver is waiting on his complicated feelings to resolve themselves. In the meantime, in Ray world, I like to imagine them carrying on a very raucous and boisterous friendship/working relationship involving a lot of pranks and good-natured ribbing, because I think the Little Western being the most efficient branch line while also being the one comprised nearly entirely of chucklefucks is hilarious.

I also like the idea that during all of this, Oliver is constantly going through romantic partners because, again, just happy to be alive here! But also because maybe if he finds the right engine those sticky feelings he has towards his bestie will go away. And all the while Douglas looks on and smiles and plays his cards very close to the chest.

Maybe even gets himself a girlfriend in the meantime.

I have this whole arc plotted out for a story I will never write where Douglas and Emily become an item and everyone else loses their minds because oohh it's just so cute and they look so great together.

Very suddenly Douglas has a girlfriend and also very suddenly Oliver does not have a best friend anymore. And (much to Oliver’s surprise) he’s kinda upset about it!

At first he thinks it has to be jealousy, because like... On one hand, he’s over the moon for Douglas. Douglas seems happier now, quicker to laugh and more easygoing (not that he wasn’t always). But on the other hand, they’re not hanging out as often anymore and it’s not really fair that Douglas lands the perfect partner on what is ostensibly his first attempt when Oliver’s been trying and failing at it for so long. He writes it off as him being jealous of Douglas and tries to put it out of his mind.

Except he sees them together, and he sees how happy Douglas is in-person and how Emily is nice enough but all wrong for him. For one thing, she’s the *safety* engine, which– ha! Douglas? Not the most risk-averse engine to ever grace Sir Topham Hatt’s Railway. For another thing, she’s not willing to go on any of Douglas’s more adventurous errands. Too, her more staid nature doesn’t seem to be rubbing off on Douglas at all, so it’s a source of friction in their relationship. Oliver delights a little bit at that, and goes out of his way to tell Douglas he’d be happy to see how fast they can get the goods train to the harbor, speed limits be damned, just because Emily won't like it.

When Oliver explains this to Mavis later (the third time they’ve rehashed this subject this week) she pauses to fix Ollie with a Look.

“Are you sure you’re not jealous of *Emily*?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Oliver scoffs, dismissing it before the words have really sunk in. “If I were jealous of… of her, I’d– I’d be–”

And then the other shoe drops.

“Oh.” “Mhmm.” “Oh no.” “MmHMM.”

Oliver has fucked another of his relationships, the only one that actually mattered in his estimation. And now he’s stuck, because this is the happiest Oliver’s ever seen his best friend. And a real best friend wouldn’t try to sabotage that just because he was too stupid to see what was plainly obvious to everyone. No, he has to be cool about this, and it’s going to nearly kill him.

But hey, look who else in the yard is single and pining over a Caledonian engine. You wanna have a Great Western Time about it?

Again, because I am a sucker for true romance, this sorts itself out in time. Douglas and Emily realize they're not actually that great a fit for one another, Oliver and Duck get as much out of their time together as they like before moving on, and Douglas and Oliver get to have a long overdue conversation about what they mean to each other - no jokes, no bullshit. I'm sure it would all be very cute and romantic, if I were the type to write that sort of thing.

In the meantime, I hope I've at least made a case for why this ship tickles me and where I think everyone can improve in their writing of it. Thanks for the ask, sorry it was so long!

[wilcze-kudly]

Asking the azula=shaman theory, because I find it very unlikely. They don't have similar features at all.

I'll agree with you there. Other than surface level similarities, like eye colour and perhaps hairstyle, there isn't much to definitively tie these two characters together.

I could make an argument that people age in different ways and Azula wears a lot of makeup, so her face may not be as angular as it seems in most of her appearances. But it would be somewhat of a stretch at best

Though the idea of Azula being the shaman got stuck in my head and the more I think about it, the more of a perfect conclusion to Azula's story it feels.

It would, of course mean that Azula mellowed out and became "good" in her later years, which I am still advocating adamantly for an Azula redemption arc.

But it goes further than that.

Of course, the idea of Azula saving the next Avatar after the one she literally killed for a bit is wonderfully poetic. It also touches on an idea I like of Azula potentially gaining a connection to Roku. Roku appeared to Jeong Jeong, why not to his angsty great granddaughter? I think it would be interesting, especially since I think he could actually get through to her.

The firebending healing thing is also bery interesting. Most people catch Katara and Azula being parallels in the show. Why would they stop being that as they age? I think it's very Azula to hear of Katara being a master healer and going "ok. Bet." and learning to work with chi through her bending as well.

It's also a sweet metaphor, as I've spoken a little about the symbolism of Katara embracing healing in her old age. Azula doing something similar would be absolutely wonderful. Both Katara and Azula were young women forced to fight in a war by circumstances bigger than them, so them finally experiencing peace and healing and expressing that through their bending is beautiful.

The shaman having raising Sky Bisons is also a cute full circle type thing to the part of Appa's Lost Days where Azula scares him. It also goes deeper, with it being a symbolic attempt at restoring at least a semblance of what her ancestors destroyed.

So, you can see why I'm partial to this theory, despite it not having many actual footholds. The Shaman is implied to be older then Azula, and you yourself have said that not all their features match.

Similarly to my "Baatar Sr is a Sukka kid" theory, this isn't something I believe, or even see as likeely in canon. However, I think it's neat and a cool story the more you think about it. I love trying to come up with ideas on how she got to becoming a shaman and the spiritual endeavour that would take.I think that, in my mind, it would be an almost perfect ending for Azula.

To be completely honest, I just want Azula to have a proper redemption and for her to see some healing.

[survivetoread]

Do you agree with the popular conclusion in western linguistics that vowel length is not phonemic in modern Marathi (even if it’s indicated in writing)? I went to Maharashtra for the first time during my last visit to India and I did notice that vowel length was a lot more ambiguous than I expected in all cases, but especially in the distinction between अ and आ. But the mutual intelligibility between Maharashtrian Marathi and my dialect, Thanjavur Marathi, is not great, so wtf do I know

This sounds like one of those things that we don't really pay attention to as native speakers, but would be very important for someone learning the language!

However, I do think that there is plenty of ambiguity between short and long vowels, especially इ/ई and उ/ऊ. The example that comes to mind for me is that the -वू suffix in Marathi, where say धावू नकोस is pronounced closer to धाउ नकोस.

I can't say I've noticed an ambiguity between अ and आ though. I think some examples might help there.

I'm no linguist, but this was a really cool ask! Thank you!

[crownmemes]

House Sentences, Vol. 8

(Sentences from House (2004-2012). Adjust phrasing where needed)

"How come every time you compliment me, it sounds like an accusation?"

"Why don't you stop pretending that you haven't reached a conclusion?"

"You don’t trust me. Actually, it’s more fundamental than that. You don’t like me."

"I know this doesn’t come naturally to you, but you want my help, which means you need to trust me."

"Why do you think that people would treat you worse if they knew the truth?"

"Why did you kiss me?"

"Why do you value your failures more than your successes?"

"Doesn't this seem a little bit obsessive?"

"Only psychopaths can kill other people without having some sort of breakdown."

"Don't ask me questions you don't want to know the answer to."

"People don't get what they deserve, they just get what they get. There's nothing any of us can do about it."

"Whether you want to be in charge or not, you are and you always will be."

"I've crossed a line, and I’m having trouble getting back to the other side."

"I could help. Whatever this is, it's eating away at you. We could get past it together."

"I love you no matter what."

"It's been a while since I had a stimulating conversation."

"You don't have to be so gentle about everything."

"It's okay to get angry once in a while."

"She hurt my friend. She should be punished."

"A problem delayed is a problem denied."

"What do you call each other? Husband? Partner? Lover?"

"I can't decide if this plan is more despicable or illogical!"

"You're pretending you had an affair with my wife?"

"In the great game of chess that is our relationship, you see only one move ahead. I see dozens. That is why you will never mate me... That's a chess term."

"You can understand love and pain and empathy, but you can't feel them at all. You're a psychopath."

"I'm not so different from anybody else. Everyone I've ever known, they're all out for themselves. The difference is, I can admit it to myself."

"When you watch Star Wars, which side do you root for?"

"Your motives always run deeper than simple fun."

"You are a diabolical, yet benevolent, puppet master."

"You are one tough gal."

"You can portray me as a rich bastard in the press all you want, just as long as I stay rich."

"You really think you can lie your way out of this?"

"Turns out criminals are idiots. If they're not gonna bother to challenge you, what's the point?"

"You have some natural talent as a liar, but not enough brains to see it through."

"How good looking am I?"

"That was pretty cool what I did, right? You want to make out?"

"You better not be faking this just to get out of a tough conversation."

"I'm your best friend, and half the time, I don't understand you!"

"You're alone. You've been alone your whole life."

"How do you convince someone that you're not cheating on them?"

"Are you having an affair?"

"You can't keep letting other people define you!"

"Do you understand what bisexual means? It doesn't mean you have sex with two people at once."

[jamisafan]

Okay, it's time for my thoughts on Dragons Rising part 2. (This is super long by the way.)

(Spoilers below the cut.)

I'll get into my Cole rant in a bit because, oh boy, do I have things to say. But Soras story feels too important to leave for last.

Sora's story can reach out to so many different people that have issues with their parents and that kids really don't owe their parents anything. Sora is one of THE BEST role models I've ever seen in a cartoon. The fact that all her problems still weren't solved when she cut contact with her parents is realistic. The fact that they didn't give her parents a redemption was satisfying. And her just actually coming to the conclusion that she doesn't need to have her biological family in her life was beautiful. You are able to choose your family, and Sora showed that perfectly. Her character is amazing, and I don't even have the words to describe how absolutely beautiful her character is. She is perfect, and it makes me all emotional and stuff. I love her 😢

Arin has so much potential, and I think his whole spinjitzu thing is super important and cool. I think he'll get the MK treatment, maybe get thrown into an identity crisis, the works. Maybe he has a whole chosen one thing like Lloyd, who knows. All I know is that I love him and his little fan boy heart.

Kai and WyldFyres relationship is so great. I love seeing how far Kai has come and him referencing Nya becoming the ocean and how Master Wu helped him work through his emotions. This was exactly what the show needed. And having Kai be WyldFyres mentor was a fantastic choice because they are seriously alike in many way. Their struggle with not being patient and their hot headedness just gives me life. Kai has a freaking kid, and there little reunion hug was so freaking cute oh my god!!!!

I felt like Nya should have had a worse reaction to seeing a Djinn again. She was definitely traumatized from that, but maybe this was also some good closure for her, seeing that not all Djinn are evil creepy monsters. Nya and Soras' relationship is cool, too

Zane needs some more done with him. I need them to address the weird egg thing he hatched out of, but hopefully, it will be resolved soon. I think Zane got pushed to the side a bit, and it felt like he was jumping everywhere (like, he was just, at the administration? I know he got in trouble for portal stuff, but..... yeah). I'm sure he will get something eventually.

Lloyd is someone I never know how to talk about because he's just such a main character that it makes him less interesting to me. Don't get me wrong I love him, and him working on becoming the master of the monetary is cool and stuff. But he still needs a form of closure from past seasons, especially with garmadon. Unless they never bring him back then that's chill. I love garmadon but he always causes so much problems. Lloyd is learning how to be a good teacher though and that's really sweet.

Jay is a sassy shit Manger, and I love it. Can't wait to see more with him.

And Cole........ Cole is perfect in everything single way, and no one can deny that. Like actually, if someone doesn't like Cole from Ninjago, that's a red flag. He ended up in the place of lost things. THATS PERFECT FOR HIM! Cole Who almost got forgotten by everyone he loves, who literally ran away from home. It's perfect! He's perfect! He's the best! I love him! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! And now he's going on his own mission to follow Master Wus voice and figure out why the earth is screaming?!?!? God I love him. He's the best 😢

Also, I've had thoughts and ideas about Cole hearing the earth screaming, and I'm SUPER curious to see what that means.

Okay, now that I've ranted about how perfect Cole is...... I need to say it.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Them.

I already made a post about this but I'll never get over how perfect they are. It felt borderline canon.

People are talking about how Cole just straight up left him to chase master Wu, but I'm positive that Cole either talked to the others beforehand or right after leaving Nya about it. About how he would totally come back for them and figure out some way for them to leave the land of lost things and get in all those good tearful see you laters.

If Geo doesn't come back I will fucking riot. And I'm not one to swear super often. Mostly for dramatic effect. So you know I'm serious. Geo and Cole left me feeling high for days. I need them in my life. They can't just introduce new characters and then LEAVE THEM!!?!?!!?!!!?

Anyways, my full ale thought on Dragons Rising.

It was good. It felt risky at first to add all these new characters, especially main ones but they did it perfectly. I love me a well paced story that doesn't feel like it's going to fast or slow. Beatrix's story is very interesting but I'm still super excited to see what happens with my boy Lord Ras. He's just so cool and evil and stuff :D I wonder who his boss is?

The show felt somewhat nostalgic but also super fresh and the writing was good.

Also

Does anyone know what this symbol is? I can't tell if this is new or if I'm just stupid and it's been there before. Sorry if it's a dumb question.

[romance-club-daily]

A little bit late, but I'm gonna jump in on the recent "RC uses AI art" bandwagon. I understand where you're coming from — I'm an aspiring translator and even before the whole AI craze I had no idea how tf I'm gonna look for a job once I'd graduate, but now the situation's even more dire. That being said, I think we really really REALLY shouldn't jump to conclusions about in this case because

do we actually have any proof that it's AI generated art besides "it looks like that"? Because AI... doesn't really have a "style", it's literally gonna look like the art you feed to it/what it finds on the web. I've already seen at least one instance of artists being told that their art is actually AI generated just because it looks similiar. CGs in all stories are usually more realistic-looking, imo, and showcase the biggest differences between different artists' styles. All of this is speculation is conjecture, but like, so is the whole thing about RC using AI art in the first place. So I'll just move on to more solid argument

just last month, on August 4th, RC announced an open call for hiring artists. I guess this vacancy was targeted at CIS countries since as far as I'm aware they didn't crosspost it to Facebook or Twitter or anywhere besides VK and Telegram channel. On 28th they stopped accepting applications from artists and are, most likely, currently continuing the tryouts. My point is: what kind of company would resort to using free AI and then go and hire real humans you actually have to pay? It just doesn't make sense

Here is my translation of these posts about the whole hiring business and screenshots. I'll send you links via another submission or ask because I'm afraid tumblr might nuke this one

translation, if anyone knows russian and thinks I made a mistake of some sort feel free to correct me, after all there's a lot of artist argot I'm not too sure about:

august 4th:

2D artist vacancy

Friends, we announce that we started hiring artists to Romance Club team. ❤

We're YSI, an independent game development sudio from Moldova, that creates interactive visual novels. We're looking for people who may become a part of our big family.

If you're a talented character and/or game locations 2D artist (or you're just great at drawing), then you're exactly who we're looking for!

✅ What do we want from the applicants?

- creativity and rich imagination;

- to be professionaly versed in 2D graphics softwares (experience with Adobe Photoshop is necessary);

- to be able to draw by hand using a graphic tablet;

- your portfolio is necessary.

❗All of the applicants will be given a test assignment❗

✅ Why you should choose Romance Club:

- friendly young team as well as modern office in the capital of Moldova;

- to work with experienced professionals in informal and inspiring environment;

- opportunity to realize your own creative ideas;

- exciting long-term projects;

- fair wage + bonuses;

- possible career development;

- game dev is cool!

If you're interested, send us your portfolio at jobs @ yourstoryinteractive. com and briefly tell us about your skills

August 28th:

2D artist vacancy, applications closed

Friends, we finished the hiring process for artists❗

Huge thanks to those who sent us their resume. Everyone turned out to be incredibly talented and interesting.

✅ Candidates that received an e-mail from us move on to the next stage of tryouts

Our apologies for not being able to reply to everyone personally. We received a great deal of applications and, unfortunately, couldn't possibly contact everybody.

Thank you for showing interest in Romance Club and working for our company!

With all due respect,

Your Story Interactive

As a side note, it is possible that some of the artists may use AI without their hire-ups and writers and so on even knowing that — unlikely, I don't have any proof of that, but it's a possibility. But I feel that the only thing we're doing here is treading muddy waters of conspiracy theories. I'm repeating myself, but it just seems unlikely that there's actually any AI involved when the company in question just started hiring new artists. You may argue that they had to use AI for the most recent update because of the staff shortage but once again: let's not dive into conspiracy theories. Okay, I took longer than I needed to, but I rest my case

_____________________________________________________________

I agree with you on some points, it could be the artist using it without the company knowing and it is a possibility (although I think would be naive of them). But I believe that hiring artists and using AI is something that can happen simultaneously, in the beginning. One thing may not have to do with the other either. That said, it has caught our attention because the style has changed drastically from one update to the next and is very similar to how AI-generated images look. The public used to complain that the characters didn't have realistic poses and out of nowhere they change some to something ultra-realistic (without being able to see a real evolution until reaching this point), almost like a painting which happens to be very similar to how the AI works with images. It's something to be suspicious of, we shouldn't straight accuse them, but being suspicious and sharing our distrust is valid, given that many companies have recently been doing this. And if an employee is using AI and they know about it, It has to be approved by someone at the company, and it carries the company name. I don't think they're that naive (an artist's style changes suddenly and no one wonders why).

Since when they see that using AI is cheaper (or costs almost nothing) and it's fast, they have to make a decision, ethical or not.

Let's see what will happen, but I hope for a good outcome! I love RC stories and would be shame if they go for this path.

And of course, this is absolutely my opinion on this, you can agree or not and that's ok for me.

[emsylcatac]

Honestly from hearing what you're saying about the movie and listening to others, I've come to the conclusion that people who love the show hate the movie and those who love the movie hate the show or at least the show's ending lol. Cause I really loved the movie and wished they introduced the concepts brought up in the movie into the show...... and also get rid of Thomas cause he's ass lmao

I honestly have a hard time thinking people thought it was better than the show, sorry but??

The miraculous lore is so flat and empty. No lucky charm?? What's great about Ladybug's power is that she finds solutions with her cleverness and it wasn't at all exploited. It was honestly hard to understand how they even managed to beat the villains at all. No akumatised objects, you don't understand well how the akuma leave them or anything

They made Chat Noir a misogynistic asshole lmao who is this guy, I don't know him

None of the characters backstory is exploited nor make sense. Adrien was in school all along? He's not a model? He can stand up to his father like it's normal? Sorry but no

WHERE IS THE TENSION NONE FOUND HERE. There's an identity reveal that couldn't fall more flat because there's no time to see the characters interact, there's no time to build some tension of sort. Adrinette is barely seen onscreen so a reveal cannot be impactful knowing that

The way they fall in love is just....lame and empty?? Marinette just falls for a guy in a library who asks her if she's alright. Cool. Chat Noir falls for Ladybug after she saved his sorry macho ass and there's no big moment or whatever apart from Careless Whisper playing

The themes were basics and done in the most cliché way (be yourself, not be afraid, loveeee wins etc)

Marinette wants to be ladybug again because?? Of some song with Tikki??? And that's it? No big moment where she realises she has to stand in or anything. She just suddenly goes 'ok I have to do that'

Don't get me started on the Gabriel/Adrien reveal and their hug and all fjzjjdje anyways

Marinette's cleverness and what makes her a hero in the series just isn't here. She's not standing out. Zag said fuck u feminism for real

Anyway I'll stop with the negative points hahaha, and share the bits I liked:

The ladynoir practice/play-fight was great and I wished we had had more of that in the series

The visuals in terms of background were great (still hate the characters design). But for instance the Eiffel Tower reaaaally looked huge as it is and we got that impression, the Paris of the movie feels a lot like the real Paris

And yeah Thomas doesn't have the best way of handling twitter at all but from what I've heard, Zag really isn't as great as the fandom makes him seem to be, he's just good at hiding it on social medias 😅 at least Thomas is a good storyteller and the same cannot be said about Zag with what happened in this movie and how...well.....his other shows are working

[modmad]

I gotta say you are an absolute delight to see on my dash because between the anxiety and the multiple hobbies that put stress on my hands/wrists a frequent fear is what I'll do if my dominant hand gets injured and I stop being able to use it as well,, but seeing you having that very issue but still being able to create art and do stuff while fully taking care of and accounting for The Agonies makes me feel a lot calmer about it all. I've been following some of your tips on learning to use your non dominant hand to take the stress off the dominant one and they've been super helpful! and seeing that you did this newest (Super Cool!!) page entirely left handed has certainly given me a lot more hope even if worst case comes to pass haha. not much to say in conclusion, just, thank you and I hope you're having a great day :-)

here's a new super duper helpful trick that I gave another pal with Wobbly Hands(TM) lately: when you have to fill a pan full of water to put on the stove (for the pasghetti or what have you), don't fill it at the tap and stagger around with it! Take a small/medium sized jug which you are comfortable with using, and fill THAT at the tap, and fill up the pan with it already on the stove.

Likewise, do the reverse: when you have fished out the pasta or whatever by using a big spoon with holes in, wait for the water to cool down. Then you can pour the water away one jugful at a time, and if you're me you can use that water on your plants (they go bananas for water used to boil veg or eggs!)

We're all going to have shitty weeks, and if you over use your NON dominant hand you can end up with no hands at all so be Super Careful about that, but it is possible for us to survive and keep creating: it just takes a bit of patience sometimes, and to me what is the most heartening is the amount of patience and understanding I get from you guys. Whenever I have to make these sorry announcements about having to take a week off I get nothing but love in the comments, and I think that speaks hugely about people as a whole. We all want each other to be happy and healthy, and I sincerely hope that for you- have a great day!

[enjomo-arch]

hii cool moots in my phone !! i've been thinking about it for a whole day and i came to the conclusion that i want to remake my blog. i've been on this blog for a good year since i started writing ace on january but it became a bit too cluttered with over 5 thousand posts in here. and while i cherish all of the 5k posts and the blog holds great memories of my writing journey, it also holds some i want to forget about entirely.

i'm not sure yet about this decision since i don't really like moving like at all and i don't want to be an inconvenience to people so my final decision will come soon enough.

[aurora-313]

In all your readings, have you found another couple that functions perfectly as both platonic friends and as lovers as ichiruki do, but that is so underutilized by its creator in any capacity?

(Imagine Lisa easing out from Black and Blue, then she and Kaien are friends for a little while, then they see each other once a century.Fans of their relationship will be upset, and it will be their right. What will not be their right will be to act nasty about it. You know that you assume a risk with a WIP. )

Any author can do what they want with their story, but when you create expectations that you don't meet, people will be upset, especially if they pay you, and you use their friendship/romance as a selling pitch. I still don't get why people are upset on the people that are upset. Again being a WIP, doesn't mean that I have to like whatever direction the author chooses. I personally rarely take risks on WIPs, so I STARTED BLEACH AFTER IT WAS FINISHED AND I KNEW THE ENDING, and the false advertising still hit me. I fell for ichiruki, and the end and then the soul burriel chapter where they barely speak on the phone and Renji now replaced Rukia as Ichigo's friend was an 180degree if I ever saw one. I wonder if in the Hell Arc, they'll even recognize each other anymore..

P.S. Thank you for remembering Rukia in your fiction more than her creator does in canon.

(Please forgive me. This answer went on a ramble and I don't think I actually answered your question.)

I'm sure I've seen a few in my time.

The ones that readily leap to mind from my childhood are Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill from Stargate SG1, and Doctor Weir and Major Shepperd from Stargate Atlantis. Although I'm not sure the first duo count since there's multiple alternate universes where they do get hitched.

But onto Bleach. IchiHime fits under this category in my opinion: the 'under developed and under utilized' part.

Sure we have the 'love you in five lives' speech and the not-kiss, but"

One: Kissing an unconscious person that you're not in a committed relationship with is not cool. Under any circumstance.

Two: She's consistently scared shitless of Ichigo's powers and rejects his hollow, even though the Hollow is literally his soul manifest.

Three: Orihime repeatedly demonstrates she doesn't really understand how Ichigo works.

In the post-Deicide novels, Orihime was actively happy Ichigo didn't have powers anymore, only to reluctantly change her tune when she saw how thoroughly miserable he was without them.

It would've been great character progression to see Orihime delve into that personal stance: why was she happy about Ichigo being powerless? Because she legitimately didn't want him to get hurt anymore? Or relief that he wouldn't turn into a monster again?

And overcoming those personal scruples would've been a fantastic personal journey to see in the manga. Her coming to terms and reconciling her image of Ichigo being this heroic ideal and the flawed, deeply traumatized individual who had the capacity to be literally monstrous.

Orihime could've reexamined her feelings about ichigo at their core, and realise perhaps she doesn't actually love him after all. That she lusts after an ideal she's modelled in Ichigo's image. In realizing and coming to terms with that error, in abandoning her preconceived notions and actually seeing Ichigo for the first time, warts and all, Orihime could've paved the foundation to build a genuine friendship. Later possibly a romance.

If this was the journey Orihime went on through Bleach, taken entirely of her own accord, with a conclusion on her own terms? Then I wouldn't have been nearly as jarred by the epilogue. Ichigo's Oedipus complex aside.

But I digress.

Rukia was one half of the main duo that made Bleach compelling. And Kubo absolutely pushed her away after FKT, attempting (key word "attempting") to put Orihime in her place. Which is a frankly bizarre decision. Rukia is the "Death" to Ichigo's "Strawberry". She is the deuteragonist, the inciting incident to the whole story and the primary motivation for the first two arcs (Aizen's and Kisuke's century's long trans-dimensional chess match aside).

Ichigo pushed himself beyond breaking and learned skills well beyond his paygrade to save Rukia from unjust execution. In his desperation to achieve that goal, Ichigo had to learn to fly before he could crawl, ultimately mutilating his own powerset in the process.

In any other media, in any other story, that tends to be a giant glowing give away about the nature of his feelings, even if Ichigo wasn't entirely clear on them himself. Its the classic handsome knight rescuing the princess in the tower and riding off in the sunset to live happily ever after.

Yes, Ichigo went through the same motions to rescue Orihime from Aizen, but he had doubts about her. Even in his venture, Ichigo entertained the idea that Orihime had legitimately betrayed them. Then the narrative goes out of its way to demonstrate her presence was merely an excuse for Ichigo to settle his scores with Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, and for Aizen to remove Soul Society's best weapon from play. Ichigo did personally want to save Orihime but he felt like he was conducting himself out of obligation, driven by his white knight/martyr complex. As soon as Ichigo felt Rukia's reiatsu flagging, he immediately shifted gears because 'Oh shit, gotta go save my totally platonic bestie first, bye!' and would've proceeded to do exactly that until Ulquiorra goaded him.

To me, Ichigo and Rukia is what made Bleach BLEACH. Their banter is what I loved about the first arcs, the teasing sprinkled with moments of heartfelt connection (in case you can't tell, its my favourite love language. Hence why Lisa and Kaien poke and tease each other all the time).

There's no 'Now I realise I why I wanted to save you' moment with Orihime in HM. She's narratively bait for Aizen's schemes and little more, as soon as she's safe-ish, Ichigo ditches and moves onto other grudge matches.

Then the final arc and the epilogue chapters roll around and I had to ask myself, is this even the same manga? Where's the Death and the Strawberry? Where is the bond that started ALL of this? Rukia is the woman who gave Ichigo the means to combat his despair, and they don't even talk anymore? You don't think Ichigo would've wanted to extend his congratulations for Rukia getting married? Having a kid? Getting prompted to Captaincy? Or anything to indicate they were friends at all?

(yes, Ichigo does in the novel but its telling one interaction between them is completely overshadows the story's 'main' pairing.)

My issue with TYBW and epilogue isn't the pairings - though that is a part. My issue is the narrative took great pains from the start to demonstrate Ichigo never felt like he belonged in the living world. His life was a dull tedious affair. The Fullbring arc reveals how much he actively hates Karakura and wants to leave ASAP.

Ichigo only began to truly LIVE once he gained shinigami powers (we'll ignore the fact he was only born and raised to be a weapon/universal battery). He loved every second of it, even when the power scared him and acted beyond his control. He fit into the realm of the dead far better than he ever did in the living.

Then Kubo turns around and claims; actually, NO. Ichigo's super content with exactly the same quiet kind of life he despised with every fibre of his being, living in a town he fucking hates and wanted to leave as soon as he graduated.

How does that shift in gears not raise serious red flags?

I'm not saying Ichigo had to go and live in Soul Society (though that was being set up thanks to the god-tier powers he'd been juiced with) but I did expect him to leave Karakura behind when all was said and done.

As a random-ish segue on the matter of friendship.

The Karakura gang feel like fair-weather friends more than anything else, excepting two circumstances: Ichigo and Chad (first arc) and Tatsuki and Orihime. Even then, those friendships become a stretch in later arcs before basically disappearing entirely. Sure, Chad, Ishida, Ichigo and Orihime have had life and death adventures together, but those scenarios were either a matter of self-preservation or wounded pride. Sometimes both.

But remove the supernatural circumstances, the Karakura gang felt like the average transient high school friendship. Circumstance brought them together, they would remain friends until graduation, then they'd all go their separate ways never to see each other again. Which is a sad state of affairs given Bleach's theme about the heart and nature of human connection.

But one must ask how strong those friendship really are when Ichigo will jump to the worst conclusion at the drop of a hat?

Orihime in Hueco Mundo, as stated above, Ichigo seriously entertained the idea she was a traitor until Ulquiorra claimed otherwise.

Chad with Xcution, Ichigo immediately assumed the worst intentions about it until Chad revealed he joined as a means to help Ichigo get his powers back.

Ishida joining the Quincy, Ichigo instantly assumed Ishida was 110% on board with the whole destroy reality plan until Ishida outright states 'I'm a double agent, you fucking dumbass.' (I give the Fullbringer arc incident a pass because Ichigo was not thinking clearly at the time)

It doesn't strike me as particularly strong or healthy when the first instinct is to immediately assume the worst.

But anyway, I shall get off my soapbox for now.

I do enjoy writing a great deal of Kaien, which means Rukia is inevitably involved given how intrinsically linked their stories are. Kind of hard to have a story about him and not have her in it. :D

I hope you continue to enjoy Kaien and Rukia in my writings. :)

[bess3714]

I had so much fun with the first Birds of Prey issue. Like seriously, I like all my pulls but I got to the end of this one and was mad that it wasn't longer because I wanted more, and I don't often feel that way about a comic.

Spoilers ahead!

The Art

The art kind of reminded me of old school comics which was really cool, but at the same time it had a more modern feel, which I think was due to the colors. I really like the art in this comic, the previews looked cool and the actual comic didn't disappoint.

I swear this panel feels like it could have come from a Batman comic in the eighties, which I like, since that's what I read a lot of, but also it's a little different and fresh, which I also like because it's fun and new to me.

I love the way the characters are shaped. They are all drawn like solid, sturdy people. Out of the five, Harley and Dinah have the most revealing costumes (Dinah wears fishnets, and Harley has a crop top), but none of their costumes have that sexualized feel to them. I'm very used to reading pre-Flashpoint comics and wow the women's costumes are revealing. Which is not a bad thing, I suppose, but it does feel very distinct to me then when costumes aren't.

The panels are fun. I have a tendency to focus more on dialogue than on art (which I've been working on not doing), especially when pages have a lot going on, but I didn't have that trouble here. The panels were very clean and easy for me to follow, but they weren't boring either. I loved the spread of Cass and Dinah fighting the assassins, and the page of Cass and Barda fighting the vampire guys (I have more to say later about Barda and Cass!)

Finally, the colors! Which I love! They're very crisp and bold and so pretty! I really really really liked them. In case you couldn't tell.

(Also, if there are any trans Cass truthers out there, they're going to love this panel. I'm not one but I'm sure somewhere out there, there's someone who's going to go, 'trans flag colors on a Cassandra Cain panel?!?!' and have a really great day.)

Characters and Story

First we have Dinah Lance (Black Canary), who is assembling a team to rescue her sister, Sin.

Then we have Cassandra Cain (Batgirl), who immediately agrees to join Dinah's team to help Sin.

Next is Big Barda, who also agrees to join Dinah's team to help Sin.

Dinah calls in a favor from Lady Zannah (Zealot) to get her to join the team.

And finally, Cass suggests Harley Quinn for their fifth member, and when she finds out it's to help save a teenager, she agrees.

Story

So! What I liked, and what I didn't.

I loved Cass and Big Barda's interactions. Big Barda immediately respects Cass's abilities as a fighter. When she tells Cass she isn't good at telling stories, she follows it up with reassurance of her other strengths. And Big Barda calls her 'small bat' and 'little bat' which is so sweet and adorable and I want them to be friends.

When I saw the announcement that Harley was going to in this comic, I wasn't surprised, and I was uncertain how well that would work. Harley is a big moneymaker right now, which is why she seems to be popping up in everything. I'm hesitant, but I think she could be written well and we'll just have to wait and see. I liked that Cass suggested her because of her unpredictable nature and I'm curious to see where that goes. I'd like to see more Cass and Harley interactions because I think they could be a really fun and interesting duo.

I didn't like that they didn't tell us why Dinah can't bring in Barbara on this. I have a sneaking suspicion that they're going to build up to the 'why' and it's going to be for a stupid reason and then I'll be disappointed. I'm crossing my fingers my hunch is wrong.

Finally, I'm uncertain how I feel about the whole Dinah-Harley dynamic. Dinah wrote off Harley pretty quick, but she let Harley on the team anyway. I wonder how that dynamic is going to play out in the future.

Conclusion

I'm excited! I think this is going to be a fun comic, I'm excited to see what happens next, and I think people should read it

Now to wait for the next issue... *sigh*