#rare ultimate ot3 content appears!

[ashxketchum]

SWEET, SUMMER DAY ~ (✿ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)⁾⁾

[marshmallowgoop]

Sushio’s latest Kill la Kill fanart got me thinking.

[Image description: A sketch. Ryuko walks briskly, her hands in the pockets of her jacket. She smiles at Senketsu beside her, who appears to be very happy.]

See, Senketsu... doesn’t exactly get a ton of stuff like this. Kill la Kill animator doujin and Twitter accounts won’t include much content featuring him.

And that’s totally fine, of course! These are drawings the staff do for fun, and I completely understand if drawing Senketsu ain’t as fun as drawing human characters.

But I actually got the Kill la Kill Starter Book recently, which was originally sold at Comiket 84 and then included as a purchase bonus on Aniplex+:

[Image description: The cover of the Kill la Kill Starter Book. It's an illustration of Ryuko Matoi and Senketsu by Hiroyuki Imaishi. Ryuko stands, smiling, wearing an untransformed Senketsu and holding her Scissor Blade.]

And flipping through the book, I was reminded that while Senketsu may not get a lot of animator fanart, he does get some good official art.

Now, I dunno how "official" the Starter Book really is. (I mean, it was sold at Comiket originally, so maybe it’s more in the “animator fanart” category, but at the same time, it is also a product kind of featured on the official Kill la Kill site, and, like, the SSSS. Gridman Starter Book was sold on Trigger’s online shop....)

But if you do consider the starter book to be official merchandise, then Sachiko Yajima's piece is not only my favorite in the collection but one of my favorite pieces of official Kill la Kill art, period.

The image is very simple; it's an illustration of Ryuko holding her bag behind her, smiling down at Senketsu. It’s nothing elaborate, but its sweetness means the world to me. With Kill la Kill’s fast pace, we rarely get those quiet moments where these two are just happy together.

And there’s more good stuff where that came from! Here are some more of my favorite pieces of official/semi-official Kill la Kill artwork that feature Senketsu!

1. Hug

[Image source]

[Image description: Ryuko hugs Senketsu, naked, smiling. He looks up at her, his mouth around her arms. Sparkles surround them, implying that they're Synchronizing through the hug.]

First, the final Blu-ray/DVD cover, by Sushio (sushio_)! So sweet. This is what Kill la Kill ultimately wants you to take away from it. 

The recently released Promare Blu-ray/DVD cover gave me flashbacks:

Two characters and a representation of their synchronized way of fighting together. My heart.

2. Waving Goodbye

[Image source]

[Image description: Three characters are pictured. On the top, Senketsu waves goodbye. Below them, Ryuko smiles in Senketsu-Kisaragi and waves goodbye, winking. At the bottom, Guts sleeps with a big snot bubble coming out of his nose.]

Then, also from the final Kill la Kill volume, the adorable side art by Mago (magodesu)! Ryuko and Senketsu happy in Senketsu-Kisaragi, and Senketsu waving goodbye? My heart. Again.

I love Ryuko's winking. Her hand covers Senketsu's right eye, she's closing her left... the symmetry....

3. Date

[Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4]

[Image descriptions: The first image depicts Ryuko in a yellow bikini, smiling as she holds Senketsu’s sleeves. The second image is of a figure designed after this image. The third and fourth images are cards made from this image, called “Swimsuit Ryuko” and “Senketsu’s Date with Ryuko.”]

And of course, I can't talk about favorite official Senketsu art without mentioning Akira Amemiya's "Senketsu's Date with Ryuko"! An illustration, two cards, a figure... this is one image they really want you to see. Kill la Kill is actually adorable.

4. Don’t Look...

[Image source]

[Image description: A double-sided dakimakura, with one side featuring Ryuko in Synchronized Senketsu and the other side featuring Satsuki in Overridden Junketsu. Ryuko looks bashful and tries to cover Senketsu's eye. Satsuki looks angry and ready to attack with her sword, Bakuzan.]

Next up, I don't think I'd call this a "fave" exactly; it breaks my heart. But I appreciate (?) that Senketsu is acknowledged in the semi-official dakimakura.

Ryuko and Senketsu were drawn by Shota Iwasaki (tarou2), and Satsuki and Junketsu were drawn by Mai Yoneyama (yonema).

5. Shocked

[Image source]

[Image description: Official Kill la Kill breast mousepads. There is one for Ryuko in Synchronized Senketsu and one for Satsuki in Overridden Junketsu. Both girls have their arms up. Ryuko looks bashful. Satsuki looks angry. Senketsu is shocked.]

On the same note, I could say similar things about these official mousepads found on Trigger's Kill la Kill site. Why is it that fanservice products pay more attention to Senketsu's character than a lot of discussion on the show? I cry. 

6. Bath Time

[Image source]

[Image description: A figure. The description on the site reads, “This figure captures the Kill La Kill protagonist at an awkward time, as she's just getting out of a hot spring. Water drips down her body, and the only thing keeping her from being totally exposed is a tiny, soaked towel. While she looks shamed and demure, she still has a chance to take it out on you with severe prejudice. Her trusty Scissor Blade is just mere feet behind her, and Senketsu, her sentient uniform, is grasping onto her thigh, ready to help her suit up and unleash all her power towards any peeping toms foolish enough to sneak a peek.”]

And I’ve already talked up a storm about the bath figures, but to keep it short, let’s just say that I’m glad Senketsu is included because he wants to cover Ryuko and prevent any creeps from peeping on her. And also Synchronize with her so they can take out the creeps together. He is drinking all the Respect Women Juice.

7. Stickers!

[Image source]

[Image description: Ryuko and Senketsu stickers sold in Trigger's online shop. There's a sticker of Ryuko in her tracksuit wearing scarf!Senketsu. There's a sticker of Ryuko in untransformed Senketsu. There's a sticker of Senketsu posing and a sticker of Ryuko posing. There's also a plain sticker of Senketsu looking forward.]

But on the more adorable side, these stickers by Sushio! The artwork is from SUSHIO CLUB LOVE LOVE KLKL, which has tons of cute Kill la Kill content. Of all the stickers from the book sold in Trigger's shop, these are the only ones sold out....

8. Dressing Up

[Image source]

[Image description: Senketsu has become a red dress, and his eye and eyepatch are integrated into a ruffled design. Ryuko wears two red bracelets on her left wrist, red lipstick, and brown boots. She has her jacket slung over her shoulder, and her hair is styled with a clip.]

Another Sushio piece, Ryuko and Senketsu being fancy together! The art was done for an Aniplex display at AnimeJapan in 2014 and is also included in SUSHIO THE IDOL. 

See that extra bit of red in Ryuko's hair? It implies they Synced to make that dress!

9. Bikini!Senketsu

[Image source]

[Image description: A sketch. Ryuko wears bikini!Senketsu and sandals.]

I also totally headcanon that Senketsu can transform into other outfits, and the official manga adaptation with art by Ryo Akizuki (akizuki072) includes a snippet of Ryuko in bikini!Senketsu in the third volume! The full image (above) was posted on Twitter.

10. Nendoroid Love

[Image source]

[Image description: Chaos. Aikuro sits at a table and has a huge glass of wine. Next to him, Tsumugu cleans... something? Shiro scowls at Houka, who has perhaps taken Mako's laptop, as its adorned with a bunny image. Mako opens a fridge; a chicken comes out. Satsuki has her arms around a horde of Nendos of her, Ryuko, and Mako. Nonon and Uzu are scowling in the back. Ryuko smiles at her Nendo.]

This next one is more minor, but Sushio's art for this Kill la Kill Radio CD just gets to me. Ryuko's admiring her Nendoroid... which features her and Senketsu. She's like, "We look so good together, don't we, Sen?" 

 Idk, I think it's cute....

11. Into the Stars

[Image description: My photo of the “ambiguous” and “Sirius” album art. Both are star themed. For the “ambiguous” art, Ryuko smiles in Synchronized Senketsu, up in the stars. Below her, Satsuki, Soroi, and the Elite Four (with Mako on Ira's shoulders, looking up in awe) watch. For “Sirius,” Ryuko and Senketsu shoot up towards the stars. The Mankanshoku family try to run after them, their arms outstretched, but can't keep up.]

And on the topic of CD art, the "ambiguous" and "Sirius" album art by Sushio are adorable! My photo isn't great, but I get so emotional at Ryuko and Senketsu flying up into the stars together. Nobody can keep up with them. They are on a whole 'nother level. So precious.

12. OT3

[Image source]

[Image description: Ryuko, Senketsu, and Mako hold each other, posing for the camera.]

For this next one, a WonderGOO purchase bonus for the Kill la Kill game drawn by Kengo Saito (kengo1212), I know Senketsu is often ignored. But I was so happy to see him acknowledged and posing for a photo with his loved ones. So cute. I bought this bonus!

13. I Don’t Think He’s Her Dad...

[Image source]

[Image description: A poster of Ryuko transforming with Senketsu. She is naked, her eyes shut as strands of Senketsu's fabric wrap around her.]

For another poster, by Sushio (thank you for confirming, @dont-lose-your-edge​!), I wouldn't say Senketsu is characterized exactly, but I think it's one of the most sensual pieces of official Kill la Kill art. It really makes the “Senketsu is/is like Ryuko’s dad” reading very implausible to me....

14. Best Box

[Image source]

[Image description: An image of the All the Anime Collector's box. The right side has the Kill la Kill logo, the left side has art of Ryuko and Satsuki looking at each other, and the spine has Ryuko hugging Senketsu. The three volumes that All the Anime sold the series in can be placed inside the box.]

I don't have much else, but since I love that final volume cover art so much, I have to say that I so appreciate All the Anime for placing it on the spine of their collector's box. 

That is what Kill la Kill is all about, y'all. Not fighting. Not fanservice. Shirt friendship.

[thedegenerateasexual]

Derek Hale/Chris Argent Fic Reclist

Derek/Chris is such a very very rare ship that I have been through the (currently) 158 works in the tag numerous times and picked out all my favorites (13 in total), carefully filtering out the stuff I don't like (OT3s, kinks, unwanted sideships, etc - just my own personal tastes). So I decided to write up a reclist for anybody who was craving content and didn't want to sift through AO3 themselves! The fics are sorted by season, and my favorites are marked with a ♡.

(A note: because everybody does warnings differently and what needs to be warned for is so subjective and I'm a little short on time, I chose not to cover warnings on this list. If you're the type of person who wishes to avoid certain material, please check the warnings on the fic page itself before you read!)

Season 2

The Scars That We Earned by Sandrine Shaw [10k]

The Alpha pack closes in and finds them easy targets: still recovering from their latest battle, old alliances fractured and new ones not formed yet. Chris Argent makes a fateful choice, setting in motion a chain of events that will leave the status quo forever changed.

Firstly: shoutout to this one for being (according to AO3, I don't know about other sites) the first Derek/Chris fic ever. It's got werewolf!Allison in it, and deals a bit with what happened to Victoria, and Allison especially has to deal with what happened to Victoria after she's turned, which is an interesting sideplot I wasn't expecting when I first read it. It feels really IC; prior to the get-together, Chris and Derek aren't afraid to hurt each other physically or with words. It takes a little time for them to get used to one another, it isn't too immediate or sudden.

Back and Forth by incendiary1 [1.9k]

This is how they are, this is how they'll always be. Derek and Chris have a tenuous balance.

This one is short, but it's basically all unresolved (semi-sexual) tension, which is really what I loved between these two at the very end of Season 2. I like especially that Chris attempts to excuse Gerard and Kate for what they did by excusing Derek for Victoria; it doesn't quite work like that, of course, but it's nice to see him written a bit flawed.

Season 3A

But It Won't Erase by broadcastdelay [8.9k]

When newly-turned werewolves start popping up in Beacon Hills, Chris Argent goes to bring Derek back to town to help clean up the mess. In cleaning up the mess, though, one last werewolf gets created. And somehow that’s not even the most unexpected development in Chris’s life that year.

So this one has werewolf!Chris, which is one of my favorite tropes, mainly because of all the tension and internal struggle involved, which this delivers on. It's VERY well-paced, and the thoughtfulness in Chris's internal narrative about his family and their history and his own history with Derek is a nice addition. I like the most that even though Derek is an alpha in this, Chris finds the idea of submitting to his authority laughable; eventually, so does Derek.

♡ a year in the life by allthebees [27k]

Things are as close to normal as they’re ever going to get for the Hale pack, after everything they’ve all been through in the last couple of years, when Cora starts noticing something weird going on between her brother and Chris Argent at the beginning of senior year. As if that weren’t enough of a problem it isn’t long before the odd monster here and there turns into a coven of witches who roll into town, decide to kick the werewolves’ den, and very nearly ruin everything.

Or: snapshots of a year in the life.

I did not, even a little bit, expect you could sell this pairing to me in a way like this. This fic is almost romcomish, in the plot of Cora trying to figure out what's going between her brother and Chris before anything is actually going on and the both of them remaining perfectly oblivious to any sexual tension while they contentedly go about becoming better friends. I like also that Chris and Derek hang out with Melissa and the sheriff a lot in this fic because it's very refreshing to get to see Derek around other adults, and for them to have their own friend group outside of the kids. While the fic doesn't exactly focus on the Derek/Chris (it's one of many plots going on throughout the year) it happens pretty believably and there's a nice moment where Derek has to address with Cora how it's different than what happened with Kate and how Chris and Allison, similarly, have to talk about what happened to Victoria (another thing I didn't think I could be sold on; usually I prefer to spare her the horror, but this fic does it really believably and well!). I absolutely love this one and it's definitely the longest one on this list, so if you enjoy longfic, you’ll like it too.

Season 3B

Allies by darkmagess [4.1k]

1. The scene at the end of 3x19 between Derek and Chris Argent that was so clearly missing.

2. When Derek wakes up after the nogitsune's fly almost makes him kill Chris.

3. After the nogitsune is taken care of, Chris disappears into his mourning for Allison. Derek decides to not leave him alone in his grief.

This is actually a series of 3 short episode codas, and while they're actually friendship fics and not technically slash, for a long time they were some of the only 3B content I had for these guys, and I still really enjoy them; there's a lot of rawness and vulnerability in them on both Chris’s and Derek’s part.

Nous protégeons by salvage [1.8k]

Immediately post-Letharia Vulpina. Chris and Derek in the aftermath of the explosion.

This is another 3B coda, except this one is, to quote the author's notes, a sexy coda. I'm pretty sure this is the first slash for this pairing I ever read, and the sex really is pretty sexy; despite Chris having to do the work of pulling the shrapnel out of Derek's back, they try to stay impersonal with each other up until they moment they don't, so it's just the right amount of rough.

I'm no good (you're no better) by broadcastdelay [1.5k]

Despite his intention of avoiding both Argents and heroism, neither of which he feels particularly well-suited for, Derek ends up with 74 shards of glass embedded in his back and a Chris Argent who seems to disagree.

Yet another coda from from the season that keeps on giving. What I like about this one is all of Chris's deep existential thoughts meet with Derek's usual impersonal and blunt nature, and the juxtaposition is almost funny. He still winds up eyeing Chris suspiciously, then turns his back on him. The dynamic in this one is really something.

To Vex by Twisted_Slinky [2.3k]

Derek is in the middle of hunting down a deadly creature when Chris Argent appears to save the day and strip off his shirt. Blame it on the gremlins.

A short and sometimes funny fic where Chris and Derek have to use the age-old technique of "pretending to be banging" to avoid raising the suspicion of the law. As always, Chris gets to make a pretty grand entrance.

♡ Not Yet by d0nquix0te [5.9k]

Three people who've lost their families make a family of their own.

In this one Chris and Derek accidentally kind of wind up becoming Isaac's dads right after Allison's death, and it's honestly such a perfect match-up I wish there were about a hundred more just like it. All three of them know grief and loneliness very well, and it winds up being the perfect environment for Chris, who didn't cry when his daughter cried, to finally allow the grief to catch up with him. What gives this a nice touch is that he's clearly terrified of facing it, and Derek opens up a little to him in an effort to give him some courage; overall a truly fantastic dynamic.

♡ Box of Wormwood by Emmessann [21k]

When Chris took the headshot, Kate exploded -- burst into a swarm of satanic butterflies. Now Derek's terminally infested, waiting to see what physical or emotional hell will break out next. Chris would give anything to save his friend, but they both know the clock is ticking on their last desperate hope.

This one is a really hard, heavy read—I've only read it twice myself—because of how heavily it deals with the themes of death, grief, terminal illness, and suicide. (And terror of all things buglike, but that's a personal thing, lol.) The actual slash here is minimal, considering Derek's condition, and the ending is a bit unexpected and pretty strange—but it's also ultimately hopeful, and the fic as a whole is definitely well-written, spectacularly written; not only are Chris and Derek's voices perfect, it's the only one on this list that actually not only made me cry, but got me crying both times I read it.  

Season ???

(For works that are set in the future, or for where the era it takes place in is unclear.)

♡ I've Seen This Face Before by entanglednow [1.1k]

"Come any closer and I'll shoot you in the throat."

Another werewolf!Chris fic, this one is very short and actually preslash, but it packs more tension in a thousand words than I even thought possible, both internal tension on Chris's part, fighting the shift, and tension of the sexual type between him and Derek. This fic introduced me to werewolf!Chris and I'm now highly into it, so take that as the glowing recommendation that it is.

♡ Slow Dance by RarePairFairy [1.6k]

They dated for some time before admitting that they were going on dates. At first, to reassure themselves and each other, it was just spending more time together. Derek was “just coming to look over some stuff”. Or Chris was just “heading out for a few drinks”.

Just to get this out of the way, I love this fic for having the most relatable tags:

That struggle is real; it took me about three years to figure out the proper tag to track on tumblr.

That aside, I absolutely adore this one for its own sake as well; as much as I love some nice rough sexual tension, I equally adore the slow and careful tenderness in this fic. Chris and Derek are both hyperaware of their history with each other and each others' families, and they do the smart thing and take it slow, so they can build something solid; it's different from most of the stuff I see for this ship but a dynamic I'm very very into.

Maybe, In the Future by dedougal [2.8k]

“I like you better as a beta,” Chris turned to him, looking over his shoulder. That surprised Derek.

The slowest of burns, Chris and Derek don't even get together in this one until at least five years down the line. I'm not normally one for futurefic, but this one meanders on its way without being too jarring or slow, and it's nice to watch them get to have a lot of time between enemies and lovers. (Also, I know I said I wasn't doing warnings, but I feel like I should warn for the sex pollen trope in this one; it's usually a hard pass on my part but it's about as consensual as that sort of trope gets if that's a thing you worry about.)

And finally, I'm not tacky or self-congratulatory enough to rec my own Derek/Chris fic here, but since I did go to the trouble of typing up a reclist, I don't have enough shame not to say I've earned a little plug—but no pressure if longfic's not your thing. :')

I also set up a tumblr blog for the ao3feed of this pairing; nothing yet, sadly, but if this ship is your thing you can follow it at @ao3feed-dergent.

Enjoy, and please consider hitting reblog if you did! (I want more people to yell about this with, lol.)