#and challenged to find his way

[lucky-clover-gazette]

14 year old me seeing myself in zuko and feeling entitled to my own anger and angst and healing … thank you atla

#i had a lil firebender self insert :) #still have the art #i love that world in general so much #i didn’t have like a severe situation in my life #but the way his depression and anger and angst manifested was really really resonant #and when he chilled out i really connected to that part of him too #(he never rly chilled out) #(just used his passion for good) #and the things i couldn't relate to (thankfully by circumstance) still meant a lot bc i care about them #for other people #i think zuko being just this cringy angsty teen with weird philosophical thoughts who is actually uplifted by the narrative #and challenged to find his way #and rewarded for doing what was scary and difficult but necessary for his own liberation #still really really matters #i hope this show continues to be known for itself and not some new iteration that dumbs it down

[kisses4kaia]

I've been looking everywhere for new challengers content so I'm GLAD you're asking

idk if you just want thoughts or like fic ideas (I have both if you want to let me know) but I'll start with the thoughts cuz I needed to talk about patrick zweig 24/7 sorry

I can't stop thinking about marking him/him marking me LET ME EXPLAIN just in every way possible, hickeys, bite/scratch marks, all kind of bruises (given very lovingly and consensualy ofc)

him being so cocky for basically branding and claiming you BUT being even more proud of the marks on his own body, wearing slightly shorter shorts on the court the next day so it's showing a little etc...

anonnnnn this is too good to be true thank u (college!patrick x college!reader)

you and patrick zweig were not exclusive.

he ran around his tennis court, campus, parties, the city, getting in bed with whichever warm body welcomed him—you never knew him to be picky—and you did similarly, just not nearly as indulgent as he.

but for being just friends who fool around from time to time, patrick was awfully careless. his hands would get greedy and leave lasting bruises on your hip-dips (love handles, as he likes to call them), and his cologne lingered due to his insistence on you wearing his clothes while he fucked you.

all of the tell-tale signs of his familiarity with your body weren’t fooling anybody, but more than anything it was the marks. he loved displaying his whereabouts on your body with his mouth, and there wasn’t much that could top hearing the stutter in your voice when somebody points out the nasty rash on your collarbone. there was not much, but there was something.

the one thing patrick zweig adored more than marking you, was your marking of him. it wasn’t even the product of the love-bites he liked the most, although he was quite fond of those, but it was the feral cloud that overtook you, the heat of the passion getting to you and throwing your caution to the wind. it was the eagerness you had to really fuck him well, the best. making him feel your need and desires and all of your experiences without words through your sex was his favorite part—one of yours, too. and if that meant hurting him (at least a little bit) for him to get the sentiment, you could do that.

and even when he claims you went a little bit overboard, patrick still shows up to practice with you, shorts a little shorter due to what only could have been an intentional scrunching, spreading his heavy legs on his seat with his crotch and inner-thigh hickies exposed.

art shook his head and laughed when he saw them, and the look on your face seeing them, too. all his brunette friend could say in response was “you wish that was you, huh?” nodding down to art’s glares’ subject.

the retort was taken in good jest, but the flush of his friend’s cheeks at the comment made patrick wonder what both you and art would look like with matching stains of skin, whether it be hickies or bruises on love handles. he smiled at the thought, and stood to play.

#.𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚ 𝐤𝐚𝐢𝐚 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 ! #unproofread.. 😴😴 #art always finds his way in #kaia writes patrick #challengers #challengers fanfiction #challengers smut #patrick zweig #patrick zweig smut #patrick zweig x reader #patrick zweig imagine #patrick zweig drabble #josh o’connor smut #josh o'connor #angelnon 🤍 #kai's got mail <3📑

[uncanny-tranny]

You know, I feel like other trans people might get this, but it's honestly kind of refreshing when a cis person has, like, undeniable tboy/tgirl/whatever swag. It's like when you come across somebody who speaks the same language as you and you only find out when they start speaking it, too.

#trans #transgender #lgbt #lgbtq #ftm #mtf #nonbinary #all this to say that we are existing on a rock hurling through space #and this universe is going to collide into another and does it all truly matter in the end? #a lot of this is based on ideas we have about what constitutes certain people and i think it can be a fun observation #so long as you do not inherently ascribe certain traits as being indicative of who somebody Is #it can be amusing when you're SO confident that somebody is a certain way until you realize how Wrong you were #the amusement for me only comes because it's like... 'you tried your best to box somebody and you FAILED lmao' #and in a weird way it's kind of comforting because it reminds me that we all come into this world with bias that Will be challenged... #...so the best thing you can do is recognize those biases and then try to overcome them through great effort... #...so yes maybe i did think that cis dude had tboy swag but. that's not inherently his problem you know? #it probably just means he's confident in his manhood in a way that reminds me of the trans men* i know and love #i noticed that in him and it reminded me of my friends who are trans so i think 'oh! maybe that's why he's giving off those vibes!' #so while i won't treat him any differently before or after finding out i was wrong i'm still going to appreciate the fact that... #...he and i are literally just Vibing on the same planet and we both don't have time for petty arguing about manhood #i'll acknowledge what inspired those thoughts in me but that is Not his problem and that's good and beautiful actually #i don't always mind the tboy/tgirl swag meme just so long as you don't treat it like an Inherent Trans Experience Only Trans People Have #just recognize where those ideas are inspired from and it's fine <3 #sometimes you will be Wrong and that's actually fucking neutral <<3 #anyway rant over i just think this is /generally/ harmless and fun #like astrology. sometimes you just look up your star sign without ascribing your Entire Life to it <3 #i think what i lot of people mean by saying a cis person has tboy/tgirl swag is just that... #...that cis person has an understanding of themself that comes from deep introspection that isn't necessarily expected of cis folk... #...but it is often something trans people do as part of our exploration of gender... #how is this the FIRST POST to reach tag limit... ask me for more thoughts if you want lol!

[the-woman-upstairs]

Lassen shoots his shot right out there in front of the entire crew and Freddie’s only response is “Hmmmmm….try harder :) :) :)”

#what’s funny is how Lassen is 100% ready to take that challenge #like sorry on the list of most unhinged ways to respond to a crewmate’s sudden interest in you #’you’ll have to catch me first’ is way up there #ministry of ungentlemanly warfare #anders lassen #i also laugh so hard every time at appleyard’s incredibly loud ANYWAY #hey can someone help me i’m developing brainrot over two characters in a guy ritchie film and their ten seconds of flirting #guy ritchie when i find you… #how dare you just give me *ONE* scene of intense flirting between the two most unhinged members of the crew #played by two incredibly attractive actors #costume design went crazy in that film- alan ritchson always looks one flex away from busting through his shirts #someone stop me from seeing it again…even tho i just saw it again

[sun-archeron]

thinking abt luffy, and how he grew up so poor that if he wanted to have a decent meal he had to go into the forest and fight big, dangerous animals. but at least he was strong enough to be able to fight, while there were people that lived close to him that had to live amongst the trash, hoping to find scraps they could sell so they could eat once during the day.

thinking abt how luffy values food so much, how he always eats as much as he physically can. how he values the people that feed him, that eat with him. whether its a luxurious meal or just an apple they share.

thinking abt how pretty much everytime he saved/liberated a place/island/nation was bc someone from the place had fed him.

how when he actived gear 5 he was fighting to save a nation that its main problem was starvation. and not only that but the food there had also been weaponized to mock them and make them suffer more. and it was fighting for them that he fully reached the form of nika, the form that will allow him to bring down the current government and its system which creates these areas where people starve

also! how in zoros introduction we see him eat something that was on the dirt, partly bc he hadnt eaten in a long time and partly bc someone made it and risked themselves to bring it to him. and how sanji is always happy to cook for anyone whos hungry and absolutely hates food waste. and how these two are luffys wings

#this all makes me very emotional #but setting that aside #theory time #its pratically a given that luffy will get to laughtale > find out what was joyboys goal > #see that it aligns with his true dream (the one oda keeps teasing but never revealing) > and go on to finish joyboys mission > #which will involve taking down if not the world government at least the celestial dragons (especially imu and the gorousei) #but for that to happen his true dream has to be something world changing #and even though he causes a lot of revolutions he does so for personal reasons #he doesnt care abt politics #and only challenges the system when it personally affects him and/or those he cares abt #so the only way i can see his dream aligning with joyboys goal is #if he wants to make sure that the people he cares abt never go hungry again #and to end starvation on a global scale he will have to destroy the current system #ive seen people theorise that his dream is to have a giant feast with a bunch of people #but i think he would want something more permanent #one piece #monkey d luffy #luffy #gear 5th #roronoa zoro #black leg sanji #sun god nika #joy boy #wano arc #ANYWAY #ODA AND THE FANS MAKE A LOT OF JOKES ABOUT LUFFYS RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD BUT I THINK ITS BEAUTIFUL #AND SAD #AND IT BRINGS ME JOY TO SEE HOW HAPPY HE IS WHEN HES EATING

[audhd-nightwing]

headcanon: dick actually prefers wearing baggy clothes in public and is way more comfortable in them because nobody comments on his body when he’s not in form-fitting outfits

and it sucks because he actually really enjoys wearing form-fitting outfits and feels good in them, but any time he does people stare or catcall or even grope him and he just. can’t handle that after everything

plus the villains kissing him as nightwing thing has gotten so bad that he’s genuinely considering getting a mask that covers the lower half of his face

#i have a lot of feelings about him okay #dick grayson #dc comics #nightwing #dc stop having characters sexually harass nightwing challenge #these are not fun hcs #moreso ‘how i think these things would affect him’ #dick not even feeling comfortable wearing skinny jeans in public. #dc i am coming for you #cuz the amount of times that he’s harassed and objectified etc is ridiculous!! #and it would definitely affect him!!!! #he’s shown to be visually uncomfortable with it! multiple times! #and is also canonically a SA/rape survivor!! #dc writers i will find you. #cw sa mention #when in costume around people he is constantly on edge #except his family and friends ofc #but even in a mask and armor he feels less safe than he would in a hoodie and sweats #anywayyyyy #yeah i cant stop thinking about him again #the Grayson writers specifically i will hunt down and kill one by one #in my head this started with me thinking about amab nonbinary dick grayson #and then i was like #yeah cuz he’s woman coded so it makes sense which brought me to WHY he’s women coded #(because he’s just as sexualized and objectified as them) #i’ve literally never seen any other male character treated this way. just dick grayson #ok sorry i’m rambling

[moeblob]

Thinking about my dumb OCs ever since I saw a video of two guys trying to demonstrate the kabedon and one of them could not stop laughing...

#my characters #right politely raising his hand to cuss at his buddies thats true friendship #he has to humor them at least a little and he also knows this is an actual challenge now #he has paul trying to help him and oh boy this is going to go the way right wants it to and no exceptions #paul does in fact act not disappoint and says karen can demonstrate then #because hes taking this very seriously despite right not taking it seriously while pretending to care #in rights defense he gets a date before paul gets a date with his crush and right just cusses at his crush #in fact he finds it really funny when the guy he likes cusses because its rare and deadpanned so he tries to #prompt a repetition because its really funny when he gets indulged #cause not many people indulge him so hes like thats my best friend now its wonderful look at him hes hilarious #and paul is like yes as funny as a brick wall im so happy for you

[rainymoodlet]

Kiss Me in Komorebi+ 🌸

[Ep. Eleven] A Colorful Day

Congratulations to our fourth date winner, Mr. Suraj Kennedy! Daniel opted to take our resident botanical expert to the Wakaba Community Gardens! Though it’s the beginning of autumn, the muted colors and fragile sakura petals provided a wonderful backdrop to their outdoor date!

They enjoyed carving pumpkins, bonding with bees and grubs and beetles, and exploring the natural variety of local flora! Suraj felt much more at ease out here than in the confines of the busy house, and his personality absolutely shined through!

@gothoffspring you chose the cutest coat for him omg 🥹

[ Part 1/2 ] 🌹

#ts4 #ts4 gameplay #ts4 screenshots #ts4 challenge #ts4 bachelor challenge #;kmik #sim: daniel #suraj kennedy by gothoffspring #|| #WAH look at that lil shot of suraj lookin’ at dan 🥹 as he’s all oblivious BWUH #its very indicative of how they act together dhshdhs daniel flip-flopped between flirting and enthusing about nature #while suraj was very much just flirty and playful and seemed much more relaxed #and at ease with the feelings he was experiencing for dan #i think dan felt a little nervous this date tbh!! #with fabian and daithi he was much more naturally flirty but #with josiah and suraj he seemed to be going between flirting and trying to impress them??? #which i find absolutely darling #they ALL make him nervous in some way of course dhdgdh #but suraj omg - what an absolute sweetheart #he is truly every bit the sim in his bio that he is claimed to be #he autonomously loved on the grubs and trimmed the foliage and tended the garden #and enthused to dan about the outdoors and gardening while flirting with him #here and there #it was so painfully charming omg #daniel was a big ol grinner the whole time #but surprisingly - suraj did most of the talking!! #i’m at work rn but!! i hope y’all enjoy~ #we’re halfway through these dates already!!

[vaguely-concerned]

I am so mad about how desperately into pan I am. he was specifically made to fuck me up. they dangled him in front of me like 'hey would you like to see a sad clown trickster with emotional intimacy issues and a heart of, if not gold, then some mysterious alloy with qualities not at all unlike those of gold at the end of the day?' and I went 'boy would I!' and now I'm lost. I'm on my knees he's like if reyes vidal was actually redeemable instead of just a 'release my man he did do all of that but I don't care' situation

#the way he seems so genuinely *delighted* by grace finding her voice and wants her to be able to make her music again #even when she's not the muse anymore............ what the fuck that is the sweetest thing I've ever heard in my LIFE dude #low-key grace's biggest fan musically at least fhsajkd #stray gods #stray gods pan #(this is not a slam on reyes btw the fact that he's unconscionable is part of the appeal in that specific case lol) #I went into the game mostly blind and from what I had seen I fully intended to romance freddie #and then... this bitch shows up for literally one song and I have to restart the whole thing before I even get to challenging a queen #because I now desire the goat guy carnally and I want to duet with him for the rest of forever thank u #also I don't think I can ever not romance him now seeing the contrast between what he gets up to in the endings #what do you MEAN if you don't romance him he just goes off and no one knows where he is. he's still just so alone??? no not on my watch #(if freddie is dead ( :( ) and you romance him there's an *adorable* part in the epilogue where he tells you hekate has him running around #getting lost relics back in a series of distinctly indiana jones-esque misadventures and it sounds like he's having the time of his life #if this is what it takes for him to actually talk to his family without anyone being complete dicks about it I must solemnly accept #the terrible burden of kissing him on every single run through of this game. it cannot be helped it's out of my hands now)

[dhmis-autism]

I want duck or even yellow guy to beat red in a “who’s the best one” poll at least once like come on they deserve some love too

anon that is such a sweet thought. that is NEVER happening tho like be real for five minutes. your naivete can only be cute for so long…. RGs fans are bigger in number, stamina AND sheer voracity they would level our towns,soldier………

#also they piss their pants when you say you dont like him #JOKING BTW. IM JOKING. /J /J /J /J /J #JOKING HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA #anyways. now that they're gone. #there's no way we are winning this war. #finding people like us is already a challenge finding people who would vote for one or the other over RG splits the vote even further thats #YG fans have their own intricate categorization between people who like him for what i would consider to be socially acceptable reasons and #oh you start splitting that up into people who are more interested in his dynamic with lesley and roy than his dynamic with the other two #OH THEN YOU SPLIT THE VOTE EVEN FURTHER BETWEEN PEOPLE WHO LIKE RED GUY AND YGS DYNAMIC MUCH BETTER AND SEE THEM AS A SIBLING DUO #listen buddy. we are not winning shit when it comes to voting. we are winning fuckall when it comes to popularity contests as well #that's why we must rely on each other!!! #we are alone in this world! braving against the cold...

[toasteaa]

how are you feeling about the neuvillette cameo in clorinde's trailer?

#toast talks #Look I am SO ready to get Clorinde. She and Sigewinne being on the same banner is torture to me. #BUT! #You put my husband in front of me and I'm immediately going to lock onto him and be abnormal #Side stepping how good the track that played in her trailer was and how her view of brutally enforcing judgment when needed #is a necessary factor in upholding the court of law when that judgement and justice is challenged and how resigned and #unfortunate Neuvillette finds the decision (yet maintains that the decision is irreversible) #There's just something about that resignation but adherence to the rules and guidelines of the court that does something to me #I don't even really want to call it resignation. More like...this is something that he's seen over and over again. #Centuries worth of trials ending in the accused declaring a duel instead of accepting their fate. #And each and every time it ends the same way: a death that could have been avoided had they not tried to upend judgement. #Believing they could outrun their fate and beat a Champion Duelist...it's asinine. It doesn't make sense to him. #But it doesn't need to make sense to him. It's not something he needs to understand here. That is not his role in court. #He feels no guilt. No shame. Just a deep set acceptance that this is the decision that some humans will take and he must oversee it. #He feels no enjoyment while watching this performance. There's no pleasure in the finality of it. Yet he's forced to watch every time. #And after each perfomance - each unfortunate death waltz - another storm sweeps over Fontaine. #UH. THIS WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE ME THINKING ABOUT HOW PRETTY HE WAS AND HOW HIS VOICE SOUNDED. #SORRY SORRY THE OTHER BRAINCELL TOOK OVER BEFORE I COULD STOP IT AND WDJWKDKSKD

[basuralindo]

Hey do you think Jamil has trouble seeing people his age as peers?

Like, growing up having to be a caretaker to a guy literally a few months older than him, always expected to act like the adult in the situation, expected to work with adults and adopt their perspectives and pick up their slack. Do you think he just, forgets sometimes?

I mean we've seen him go into caretaker mode with other sophomores, and the only people I've seen him take seriously are juniors like Vil who also act much older than they should have to (his reactions to Leona look more like a trauma response and I don't wanna get into it here). People like Malleus and Cater still somewhat get the caretaker treatment. Like I just highly doubt that he subconsciously realizes he's actually part of his age group

Aaand that inevitably brings up Azul, who also acts like he thinks he's older than he is. Whether you're looking at it from a shipping angle or not, he reacts to Azul like an actual peer. With older students, he seems more in his element but there's still a status hierarchy which he compulsively reacts to. With Azul he doesn't acknowledge any status worth respecting or see him as someone who needs to be looked after. He just bickers like an equal, in a way that implies he actually does see Azul as a real peer, like subconsciously he's categorized this guy into the same group as himself, who was previously alone on that level (he gets like this more with the twins too, over time, but it seems to start with Azul).

And my favorite part about this is, while that response stems from them both acting more like adults in general, they elicit a pettiness from each other which drags them both down to actually acting their own age, and I just love that. Their characters are perfect foils for each other and it seems to make them both less isolated in a way.

#idk how to fully explain this thought in the azul department #but other than that its... yeah. forced maturity is so fucking isolating #I'm not surprised the only people he seems to hang around with are the fish even though he claims to hate them #since they seem to be in a similar boat with that #jamil viper #on a more shippy note: #I feel like Jamil NEEDED someone who he didn't feel the need to respect. in order to avoid falling into programmed behaviors #he's able to be a person around Azul in a way that nobody else can give him #specifically because Azul CAN keep up. but doesn't command his respect in any way that his employers would force him to acknowledge #and stubbornly refuses to leave despite Jamil being an asshole in his desperate attempts to feel some sense of freedom and control #which results in him wearing himself out enough to calm down and socialize while actually being treated with respect and equality anyway. #And it seems like Azul needed to find someone that he couldn't just attain or control from behind his own walls #he's desperate for the attention of someone who refuses to let him play the role he's developed to distance himself from others #so he has to treat himself more like a real person in order to get what he wants #which is a guy who challenges him enough to prove that it's not just him and the twins vs the ignorant masses #he's spent so long building himself a fortress of wealth and arrogance to protect him from the rest of the world #and now he's faced with the fact that he can't stay in there and still get what he wants no matter how many well practiced tricks he uses #and suddenly they're both just teenagers bickering in school with a peer like everyone else for the first time in their lives #this got off topic

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

The Spider tag is a fucking MINEFIELD I just opened it to see if there were any good posts I needed to add to the queue and I scrolled for less than a minute and saw a post saying Lo’ak shot first and Lyle Wainfleet was justified in shooting Neteyam in self defense (not true and also INSANE TAKE) and a post that said Spider saying “don’t hurt her” and Kiri saying “don’t kill him” means Spider didn’t think Quaritch was capable of killing Kiri (W I L D) skskskskksks ya’ll need JESUS, especially that first post. 

#new challenge #is he babygirl or did he just commit a warcrime??/ #a lot of you are gonna fail that challenge!!! #the insanity the utter audacity to say an adult fully trained marine shooting at and killing a 15 year old child #is not his fault #because of another child shooting first (which again isn't true) #when that child had just been kidnapped by them and was trying to save the OTHER CHILD they had kidnapped and tortured #war crimes on top of war crimes #excuse on top of dumbass excuse #like your villains find them sexy whatever but jesus don't excuse their actions it's gross #i'm actually so close to blocking all the recom tags #god all right that's enough tumblr for today i'll get to all ya'lls asks and stuff tomorrow then #miles spider socorro #spider socorro #miles quaritch #lo'ak sully #lyle wainfleet #kiri sully #avatar #avatar the way of water #james cameron avatar #melissa og #melissa on avatar (cameron) #melissa does discourse

[sysig]

I did some Souichi studies because I’m love he <3 (Patreon)

Bonus:

Here are the Studies compared to their Originals btw :3

So like, not a joke, not an exaggeration, I’m pretty sure this is my favourite panel in the entire Challengers/KoiBo continuity (and I decided to draw it first lol - it’s ‘cause I have such big feelings about it!!) It just hhhhhh, it so perfectly encapsulates everything he’s feeling in that moment; disbelief, betrayal, uncertainty, distrust, conflict - every moment of love he’s built up to that point has been thrown into immediate relief to what he’s been told and it’s all there, right on his face, it’s such a masterfully done expression ;; <3 I legit cry every time I reread, that whole scene is just so good, I could actually talk forever about his relationship with Morinaga in that one moment

The rest aren’t nearly so intense lol, mostly just grabbed from moments when I thought he was being especially cute <3 Concerned lad! His hair is so swoopy in Challengers hehe <3 <3 It’s actually even fluffier in his super early-on appearances, which are also excellent >:3c But I still like his KoiBo look best ♪ You can also see it’s a bit of a challenge to make his face as slim as he actually is, just thicken the lines inward until it almost looks right! Lol

I love this panel haha, everyone so silly chibi’d out. You can also really get a good look at how ridiculous his hair is, look at how the tuft that’s tucked behind his ear joins up with the tie! How does he tie it up like that, consistently?? How is he allowed in labs like that!! He’s ridiculous <3

Confused and blushy Souichi ft. Morinaga, I just kind of filled in the details he was covering lol. I love Souichi being dumb and having no self-awareness <3 He’s actually quite intelligent and emotionally aware a surprising majority of the time! But his blind spots leave big gaps haha

I love when he has his eyebrows in a relatively neutral position, he’s normally so grumpy! He looks so friendly even with just a neutral expression :D Plus his hair!! The way it’s communicated to be thin and feathery by being able to “see through it” to his lab coat, ah <3 Handsomest

Shy boy <3 I also really love the way his hands and wrists are shaped, such cool lines ah

I could’ve sworn he and Morinaga were like, almost the same size in Challengers... I guess Morinaga did have a second growth spurt, but still! It’s just an excuse to see him being cute!! Oh noooooo (lol)

Grump man <3 Beauty boy <3 His hair flows so beautifully!

It’s also fun to see a younger Souichi in a flashback, rather than in the Challengers style haha. He was a mess by himself, he’d hate to hear it but he really only does well with others haha. I also love how this scene is from the POV of one of his admirers, Momo is such a good girl and she’s so right <3

He’s being such a meanie to his sister in this scene lol, he’s the worst! <3 I was going to leave it at that, but adding his little frameless-glasses stem holes really made it look like Spamton’s googly eyes and I about lost it lol

#Doodles #Koisuru Boukun #Warning: Mushy design and characterization love ramblings under the cut lol #My beautiful trash boy <3 <3 #So I actually have a folder specifically dedicated to just Souichi's beautiful face/interesting behaviours lol #They're mostly collected from the last big reread but I have some from years and years and years ago! #The last big reread also included Challengers because Morinaga >:| Fucker Supreme (derogatory) #I needed to look at his characterization from original to spinoff #But Souichi is the only one with the dedicated folder lol #He deserves it <3 Little insect man <3 <3 Poison nerd Engrish enjoyer Idiot man <3 <3 <3 #He actually really fun to draw??? I ran out of room on my paper but I was like ''Well I could fit just one more...Well maybe just one more!' #I ended up with several half-finished sketches because I just straight up could not fit any more on the page lol #If I'm able to capture even a little bit of the reasons that I find him so beautiful and lovely and interesting in my own art then I'm happy #His hair! His eyes! His caring nature! His opinionated blind spots! His childishness and his trauma and his self-expression hhhhhh #I love him so much what a beautifully flawed character <3 <3 <3 #Watching him grow into himself for over a decade has been such a wonderful experience as a reader hh #Plenty of bumps along the way lol but I don't think I could stop loving him even if I tried hehe

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Ok finally, finally, here is part 3 of my touch and relationships series: Partners! I'll be covering Kunikida and Chuuya here.

Here's Part 1: Friends in case you missed it, and Part 2: Mentees, underneath!

I Like to Write Things — So I realized that 3 am me is not coherent and... (tumblr.com)

I Like to Write Things — Part 2 (Mentees) of my notes on touch in bsd! If... (tumblr.com)

Now without further ado, let's start with Kunikida! This is actually the first solidified dynamic we see in the series and I think it does a good job of setting up the tone for not just the two characters, but also the series in general.

Their dynamic is at once straightforward and deeper than it seems. Dazai annoys Kunikida. Kunikida gets mad. Kunikida typically inflicts some kind of bodily harm on Dazai (played for comedy).

Yet, they work really well together. In terms of a professional partnership, I'd say it's the best in the series; they near perfectly fill in each other's weak spots as seen in the fight scene in the Entrance Exam story where they switch opponents. Kunikida respects Dazai because he always gets results, while he keeps them both on track. And I think Dazai respects Kunikida too. He speaks quite highly of him and his potential as leader to the younger members of the ADA, and despite thinking of him as straightforward, even simplistic, I think this might be something Dazai likes about him. Kunikida is exactly who he appears to be. He says exactly what he'll do and does it. He wears his ideals on his sleeve. Dazai can trust him for this very reason, and indeed, Dazai seems comfortable getting in the man's personal space (indirect contact).

On the flip side, for however well they work together, their relationship does not currently have much personal depth. The only significant direct contact between them is Kunikida's rather aggressive berating to behave on the job. It's a workplace relationship, not a personal one.

Wan implies that Kunikida actually does worry about Dazai but it seems that he's uncertain of whether to broach more serious topics in a workplace environment and so he doesn't say anything. On the flip side, Dazai sees fit to warn him about the dangers of taking his ideals too far, but otherwise doesn't really "get serious" with him.

And I think that's intentional. It's a strong partnership but relatively shallow on a personal level. Kunikida is a very consistent person who won't change the relationship. It's a safe dynamic for Dazai. And that's why, any contact between them is of a humorous nature (note, there still is contact - it is a significant relationship), as at this point, it doesn't really go beyond surface level. I wonder if their dynamic will develop more after this current arc... I certainly hope so.

And that brings us to the final dynamic, Dazai's former partner, Chuuya.

Their dynamic is easily one of my favourites to explore, as we're given a lot of content to work with and they're also foil characters. On a surface level, it seems as though Dazai's dynamic with Kunikida shares a lot in common with his former one with Chuuya - he certainly likes to irritate them and they both have a quick temper and tend to lash out as a response - but here's something interesting I noticed.

In the comedic scenes where Chuuya attacks Dazai, I can't remember an instance where he actually makes contact. Dazai dodges his strikes. Even in the scene where Dazai reveals his arm is uninjured in the fight against Lovecraft and Chuuya gets pissed (because he was worried...) he's still only readying a fist to punch him and his other hand is on his collar, not making direct contact.

When Chuuya does make direct contact with a blow, it is decidedly not played for laughs. I think about scenes where Chuuya attacks Dazai in the dungeon after his betrayal, or when he kicks the gun out of his hand in Fifteen, or when he punches him in the face during the DHC. These are callouts. They force Dazai to confront himself, something he hates doing. Any actual violence between them is no gag but carries a definite kind of emotional weight - another expression of the tension that constantly exists between them.

Unlike Dazai's relationships with Kunikida or Odasaku, which are comfortable and consistent - emotionally safe, his dynamic with Chuuya is fraught with conflict - emotionally unsafe. Connection with Chuuya often brings him pain and internal discomfort with himself because they are just so darn similar at their cores - so, Dazai dodges. He evades direct contact from Chuuya, so they can never really have the true slapstick dynamic he has with Kunikida or the comfortable coexistence he had with Odasaku.

Of course, the violence from Chuuya is countered by his very obvious concern and worry when Dazai gets hurt or is in actual danger - pushing him out of harm's way in Stormbringer, rushing over to him when he gets hit by Lovecraft, and the punch he gives him to save his life in Dead Apple. All this with his admittance of trust and the light punch to his chest after the Lovecraft fight, and it's fairly obvious that while Chuuya can't bring himself to admit Dazai matters to him, he does.

And if that were the end of it, then maybe we could assume that there's no reciprocal care on Dazai's end. Except, there's so much evidence this is not the case and most of it stems from the fact that for someone who avoids contact from Chuuya, he sure initiates an awful lot of it. Let's make a list of notable instances here:

Gets in his personal space regularly

Pats his head in Fifteen

Pokes him in the cheek to deactivate his ability in the Fifteen omake

Grabs his hand in Fifteen's fight scene anime adaptation (a rare mutual contact) or indirect contact (also mutual) in the novel with the drape

Carries him on his back so he can say goodbye to The Flags in Stormbringer

Catches him falling out of the sky after Corruption in Stormbringer

Nullifies Corruption in the DHC by touching his cheek then letting him rest in his lap

Nullifies Corruption at the resolution of Dead Apple much the same way

Implied to have laid him on his back and cleaned the blood off his face after the fight against Lovecraft

I... what do I even say here? Dazai initiates a ridiculous amount of contact between them, and when looking at it in chronological order, it seems these particular gestures become more emotional and less teasing as time goes on. Unfortunately, many of these instances of fondness occur when Chuuya is injured, grief-stricken or otherwise exhausted, which may contribute to Chuuya's apparent doubtfulness when it comes to Dazai having any helpful or "good" intentions.

Ultimately, the characterization of their dynamic when looking at touch shows two people who clash but care about each other... but are also both so emotionally constipated and prideful that they can barely admit that to themselves, let alone each other. I am begging for the return of the prison arc to kickstart at least some present-day development for them.

And that brings me to the end of my touch and relationships series which was really just more me rambling about Dazai's relationships with other people in the series. Hope this was enjoyable anyways.

#bsd #bsd meta #bsd analysis #bsd dazai #bsd kunikida #bsd chuuya #kunikidazai #soukoku #skk #storyrambles #fr i would love to see more main story content like in that wan chapter #where kunikida thinks he's talking to dazai from behind a screen #and decides it might be a good way to broach his concerns about dazai's attempts and open a dialogue #...only to find that dazai wasn't actually there lol #also soukoku admit you care about each other challenge #it's getting ridiculous at this point

[pinkhysteria]

“you were a seventeen year old girl, katherine. none of this is your fault.”

#katherine pierce #tvd my beloathed <3 #‘betray betray betray’ WHAT ARE U TALKING ABOUT... #tvdu not being a weirdo about women not wanting to die challenge one out of many (FAILED) #either they were making shit up (elijah ‘saving’ katherine??) or villainizing her for not laying down and dying LMFAOOOO #the way the chrs and sections of fandom discussed this you would think the sequence of events was #klaus wants to sacrifice katherine → elijah comes up with way to save her → #klaus agrees and they both nicely go ask katherine if she’ll cooperate with the revival potion plan → #katherine tells them to go fuck themselves #instead of #klaus wants to sacrifice katherine → elijah comes up with way to save her but does not tell katherine → #klaus refuses plan anyway and insists on murdering katherine → katherine finds out about brutal murder plan and runs away → #klaus resents her for escaping and elijah resents her for ruining his secret white knight moment #💝.edit #tvd