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thiefbird · 3 months
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We are once more reading JSTOR for fanfiction purposes: I gotta know how long a medical degree took at Trinity in the 1790s For Reasons
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aealzx · 1 year
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Better Genes pg 1-5 / 38
A short ROTTMNT comic based off of 2003 TMNT Good Genes
(Read right to left)
Note, this comic will contain in either imagery or text: illness, fever, injury, bruises, blood, IV, needles, syringes, drugs, sedatives, body aches, sprained ankle, mild mutation, cracked ribs, injured eye, tranquilizer gun, pharmacy, TV Medicine, TV Science
as well as
familial fluff, hurt/comfort, very minor drama/angst, personal adjustments to canon designs
Featured characters: Donnie, Mikey, Leo, Raph, April, Splinter, Casey
. . . .     Pg 6-10    Pg 11-14     Pg 15-18     Pg 19-22      Pg 23-25
Pg 26-29
Written Add on Part 1
Pg 30-33     Pg 34-35     Pg 36-38
___________
Hey 8′D So the backstory for this is pretty much over in this post (contains spoilers). This’ll be a short comic, only 38 pages, ‘cause it was actually supposed to be shorter but my brain ran off on too many details |D
One thing I will mention though is that I almost completely skip the fight scene in this, so if you’re looking forward to that, my bad. I don’t want to draw a fight scene in a comic just yet, I’m still a noob at comics.
Also there’ll be no set update schedule. I’m a busy woman and also too much of a perfectionist XDD I also have a bad habit of working on the pages that are more interesting to me at the moment, even if they aren’t the next ones in order. But I’ll try to upload multiple pages at a time. I started this on Nov 1, 2022, and only have 14/38 pages “finished”, I am very slow, so be patient X’DDD
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drakulana · 6 months
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the first spark // trafalgar law x reader
content: sfw, fem! reader, female pronouns, sloooow burn w little resolution, long reader backstory, violence
part 2, part 3
word count: 5.5k
notes: this is my first ever fan fic!!! i’m very proud of it, and i worked on it for a few weeks on and off. i hope you enjoy!!
⋆⭒˚‧₊˚°❀⋆₊⊹ ⋆。𖦹˚. ͟͟͞☆
The Polar Tang had been under the water for about a month now. Never in a million years did (Y/n) think she’d be in the middle of the ocean, let alone underneath the surface in a submarine, 395 meters down. She had joined the Heart Pirates about 6 months ago and was just now getting used to being underwater for such a long amount of time. She had been having continuous headaches she assumed to be due to the pressure of being underwater for such a long time. They would come and go, some days worse than others. Today was one of the worst days. The chores had been done, and all the tasks were complete. Most of the crew decided to lounge around, hanging out with one another. To (Y/n) it seemed as if all corners of the submarine were occupied, and they all had too much noise to focus. Trying to find some peace and quiet, she made her way down to the boiler room, letting the laughter and chatter of her crew fade as she departed. It was not the first time she had done this, in fact this was her little secret. No one liked to come down here unless it was included in the work that they had to do. Pipes lined the walls, and the low hum of engines from a few doors over buzzed through the room. Finally at peace, she took a deep breath and exhaled.
A week ago, (Y/n) had stashed a book and a blanket down here, along with a pillow and a cushion she found in storage. She tucked herself into the corner, and sat down on the box that had placed the cushion on. She pulled out the book she was reading which was just a volume of some medical book Captain Law had in the library. Principles of Neurology. It was not an interesting read in the slightest, but there really was not a wide variety to choose from in the Surgeon of Death’s library.
Her mind started to wander as she flipped page by page trying to follow along the best she could with what she was reading. An entity of “frailty” has been conceived to encompass the sum of breakdown in multiple organ systems… She read the sentence over a few times. She made a mental note to get a book that was relatively interesting on the next island that they stopped on. Letting out a sigh, she continued to try to read but ended up drifting away with her thoughts. She was still relatively new to the crew, she had been with them for 6 months. Long enough to get comfortable with her crewmates, but not so long that they knew everything about her.
(Y/n) joined the Heart Pirates after aiding Law with intel that he needed about someone he was “researching.” During the process of this, she got caught up with the conflicts of whoever Law was looking into, and was taken hostage. While in hostage, the person pressed her for information of who was after them, how she knew all of their info, who was her informant? Despite the pressure, and the fear of looming death, she did not give out any answers. She chose against ratting out the Heart Pirates. At that moment, she was sure she was gonna die either way. If she gave out the information, the Heart Pirates were sure to come after her. If they were to get a hold of her, she’d have to answer to the Surgeon of Death. However, if she didn’t give out the answers, the man who was holding her hostage could kill her. So naturally, she picked the lesser of the two evils. Her mouth was staying shut. Like hell was she going to answer to Trafalgar Law of all people. She sat back and recalled that day.
She was held in a damp, dim, humid room. She wasn’t too sure on how long she had been there, but it was probably half a day. The interrogation started out like all of them did with questions and threats. After the first few hours of not speaking punches began to be thrown, and weapons were soon pulled out. Somebody’s hasty, she thought to herself as the interrogation took turns for the worst faster than she had anticipated. It was clear the man she had sold out was in a hurry. He was scared. How he found out it was her that sold his information, she didn’t know. All she knew was that this guy found out, and now he was mad and had a dagger. He kept questioning, each unanswered question he got a couple cuts in. Midquestion, a commotion outside the door started. Yelling ensued, then things breaking and then a panicked, “Boss, we have visitors.” The man interrogating you paused his mild torture, faltering as he stepped towards the door, like he was weighing his options. Would he stay in this room, or deal with the inevitable of being confronted by the man who seemed out his information, Trafalgar Law. He turned to the girl who was sitting in the chair. Her hands were tied in front of her, and her feet were tied together. “You,” He pointed an accusatory finger, “this is all your fault!” and you know, he was right, it was all her fault. She gave the intel for a very pretty penny, but how was she suppose to know she was going to get kidnapped and interrogated. How did they even know it was her who gave the intel? Questions zoomed through her head as he stormed towards her with the dagger in his hand. He held it to her throat. “I oughta kill you right here, right now. A life for a life.” The cool edge of the shaky blade pressed into her skin, nicking her in the slightest due to his unsteady hands. Then, with a sharp slice, her warm sticky blood poured down her neck. An involuntary gasp ripped from her throat as she felt the blood gather at the neckline of her shirt, soaking it. This is it, she thought, Here’s where I die. But before he could cut any deeper, the door to the room burst open. A warm yellow light illuminated the room from the hall outside. A tall figure stood in the doorway. It stormed over to the man, grabbing him by the back of his collar, turning him around. The warm light from the hallway casted across the face of the figure, it was none other than Trafalgar Law. Law craned down to the man’s height, paying the woman tied to the chair no mind, “I believe you have something I want,” he said in a low gruff voice. The man trembled in his grasp. “Now why don’t we take a little trip to your laboratory,” Trafalgar Law dragged the man out of the room, leaving the woman in there alone. It was a quick few minutes before she realized she was gonna have to free herself, and this was her only chance.
She looked around the room and spotted the dagger that the man had dropped near the doorway. Seeing her chance of escape, she scooted the chair towards the entrance. She grabbed the knife with her feet. Reaching down with her tied hands, she cut the ropes that bound her. Whoever tied her up did a really shitty job. Finally free, she prepared herself to escape. Dagger in hand, the silver of the blade glinting as she gazed upon the object. She couldn’t help but notice the blood on the edge from the man attempting to slit her throat. She tried to pay no mind to the wet sticky pain that was starting to raidiate down her neck and into her collarbones. Pushing the pain aside, she made her way through the place, careful to avoid anyone who might be lurking. Once she made it out, she let out a sigh of relief. Barefoot and bleeding, she decided she should probably take the alleyways home. She would hate to scare oncoming bypassers, or god forbid someone contact the authorities. Slipping into the alley, she started to make her way home before a voice cut through the night, “And where do you think you’re going?” Her head whipped around, gripping the dagger that she held in her hand. That voice was the one of Trafalgar Law. She met the man’s golden eyes. She quickly took in his appearance. When she first gave him the intel she had noticed his height, but she also wasn’t fearing for her life at the time. The weight of impending doom really added a foot or two to his appearance. “I didn’t tell them anything,” she breathed. “I didn’t say a word, I swear.” The words tumbled out of her mouth, and her voice didn’t sound like hers as it bounced off the alleyway walls. He took a step closer to her, “I know, but I still can’t let you go. You’re hurt, let me look at it,” he stepped closer. Her mouth felt as if it were filled with cotton. She took a step back, “I’m fine,” she gritted while taking one more step back, trying to put enough distance between them just so she’d have a chance of running away. She was just interrogated and borderline tortured, if she had known what the intentions were behind the wanted intel, she would’ve denied the offer. Besides, it wasn’t like the intel was collected for malice in the first place. (Y/n) had a goal, and that goal was to collect the most information she could, and write it all down into a book. This extended from histories of islands, pirates, doctors, scientists, government officials. Few people knew about her knowledges of the world and it’s inhabitants. Every now and then she would get someone wanting some information, and if the price was right she’d give it to them. She never thought it would lead to this, cornered in an alleyway by the Surgeon of Death himself. “I’m a doctor,” Law’s voice echoed off the walls as he slowly stepped forward towards her, like he was trying to approach a scared stray, careful not to spook it. His hands were held out in front of him, as if he meant no harm, however the word ‘DEATH’ tattooed across both his hands stated otherwise.
“I know good and well who and what you are.” Unintentional venom laced her words. She knew all about the reputation that seemed to proceed him. She had done her research whenever she came across his wanted poster a year ago. She never thought she would cross paths with him, he was just another name in her book for the longest time.
“Then you know it’s in your best interest if you just come with me.” With that last sentence from him, she falsely dropped her guard, muttering a small okay. She didn’t think this tactic was going to work, but as soon as she saw him relax his stance, she bolted. Running through the alleyway with no shoes seemed to be a difficult task, impeding her usual speed. Trying her best to avoid glass and nails, she darted in between the buildings, and in and out of the alleyways. She had the advantage, she knew this city. The poorly maintained asphalt stung, but she had no other choice but to ignore it if she wanted to get away.
She finally was able to duck behind a building after what felt like an eternity of turning down random streets and alleys. She leaned against the bricks to catch her breath, gripping the dagger in her hand. Her heartbeat was in her ears, she could feel the blood rushing through every vein. She stilled and tried to stay quiet, the only sound leaving her was a shaky exhale. The adrenaline slightly wore off as the silence of the night settled. The events of the night really started to set into her body. Her arms and legs aches, her lungs burned, her throat was on fire. Despite the pain setting in, she thought she had gotten away by some miracle, but a second later the same low voice she was running from bounced around her again. “You really think you could get away from me that easily?” His voice echoed, giving it a more sinister sound than what he had intended. She met his eyes. She didn’t know if it was the adrenaline making her analyze her situation in full detail, or if she was just delusional, but she found herself taking in every detail of his presence. The eyes that held her eye contact were golden. He had a lean figure, and was undoubtedly in shape. The moonlight poured over his figure, casting an intimidating shadow as he now stood in front of her. She noted the yellow button up that was halfway buttoned, showing a glimpse of the tattoo on his chest. He had on jeans that had spots on them, and a white hat that shared those same spots. Draped over his shoulders was a long navy coat. If she wasn’t running from him, she could’ve admitted that he was quite an attractive man, but in her head he was trying to catch her so he could kill her.
Her grip on the handle of the dagger tightened before hurling it in Law’s direction. The blade rotated in the air before hitting Law in the shoulder. The way the dagger was thrown would’ve been deemed as impressive by him if he wasn’t on the receiving end of the throw. He quickly pulled the dagger out of his shoulder, and threw it to the ground before chasing after her, once again. This time she was only able to make it a few blocks before he finally tackled her to the ground against the rough concrete. She felt the skin of her knees and elbows scrape against the asphalt, surely breaking the skin. Heart racing, and body trembling, the woman underneath him had no choice but to accept her fate. “You’ll be coming with me,” he growled at her, bitterness lacing his tone. He pulled her up and off the ground then led her to the dock on the bay. His grip was more than enough of a reminder that there was nowhere she could go.
The walk to the submarine was silent, and the man next to her was not giving off a very welcoming energy considering he was taking her against her will. Blood slightly bled through his shirt where the dagger had hit him. He walked her down the dock, and onto a yellow submarine that had ‘DEATH’ written on the side of it. Well how lovely is that? She thought to herself. His firm grip on her upper arm never faltered as he guided her down the hallways of the submarine. Several of his crew members moved aside to make way for the two of them to walk down the hall. It was like a walk of shame. Once they reached the end of the hall, he opened a door. The sterile smell of rubbing alcohol and latex filled her nose, as the bright white lights poured out of the room. It was an examination room. “Sit,” he pointed to the examination table. Having no other choice, that’s exactly what she did, she sat.
Without another word, he started inspecting her injuries. He lifted her chin to get a better look at her neck. “This will need stitches,” he said flatly. He examined the other scrapes and cuts on her body. The adrenaline wore off long ago, and pain radiated from her toes to her head. He cleaned the area and prepped his needle. The stitching process was painful. She sharply inhaled when he stuck the needle through. “Be still,” he commanded, “It’ll only hurt worse if you move.” She had to force herself not to flinch at the needle stitching up her wound. Finally having her still, and in front of him, Law couldn’t deny that (Y/n) was very attractive. The way her hair framed her face, the way she held herself with such self assurance. Fear still resided in her pretty eyes, as she stayed as still as possible while he stitched. He ended up doing seven stitches, the cut was sure to leave a scar to adorn her pretty neck. He cleaned the other wounds and bandaged them up. It was silent in that exam room, and then finally he broke the silence. “Why did you run away?” He asked her. She looked at him like asked the stupidest question, and in some way he did. Who wouldn’t run away from the Surgeon of Death? His reputation alone was enough to make a grown man fall to his knees, and she had literally just seen a grown man fall to his knees at the hand of him. After weighing her response, she broke the silence, “Dying wasn’t on my agenda once I got out of there,” her voice quiet, but not weak.
“Why would I kill you?” He asked her. Again, another incredulous look was thrown at him. Was he not aware of the grumbling that went along with his name?
“For knowing too much?” She answered, in a duh tone.
“You don’t know anymore than you did whenever I approached you for intel. I had some of my men go through your files, you have some very impressive intel on multiple pirates including the warlords and emperors. Where do you get all that?”
“Verified sources,” she simply answered, not letting onto her process of gathering information. There was another silence before she broke it this time. “Listen, if you’re going to kill me, just go ahead and make it quick. Medical torture really doesn’t sound appealing.”
He chuckled lightly at this, but it was not one of humor, “I’m not gonna kill you, but I’m definitely not letting you go either. I know what you’re working on, and I want your intel. Join my crew.” It wasn’t a question, it was a demand, and by the way he was talking to her that was very obvious.
“What’s in it for me?” She inquired like she had a choice.
“You can do some more of your research, and we could use your intel,” He stated like it was obvious. “Everybody wins.” Unfortunately, he was right. Going island to island would be great for her research, and it would give her an opportunity to get first count perspective about the things she was writing about. For a pirate, the information that she held would be very helpful, they would never go into a situation blind. However, being a pirate was not appealing. If she joined the Heart Pirates, she’d surely be wanted, especially with the information that she had collected over the years. She had been able to keep the things that she knew on the low, only occasionally being visited by certain people who wanted intel, but the intel always came at a price. It was a very hush-hush thing. Putting aside the fact that she knew more than most about what was going on in the world, she was just an ordinary woman with no devil fruit, no haki, how was she supposed to be a wanted woman? After mulling over his words, she finally spoke up, “I don’t think you know what I do. I’m gathering information to add to a book. I am not a pirate. I don’t have any fighting techniques, I would die as soon as we hit the battlefield. I will slow you down, no information is worth dying for, or putting your crew in danger for,” she argued, trying to convince herself if she made herself look like a burden, she would be let go.
“Your knowledge outweighs your weaknesses,” he stated. He wasn’t budging on this matter. “Join my crew, and you’ll get to gain more knowledge about the world. Think about the intel you could get if you were traveling the seas?” Once again, he did make a very good point.
“What if I say no?” She asked, wondering if he’d confirm her suspicions. A pregnant silence fell over the room again. She knew she wasn’t getting out of this one, and this just might be the death of her.
“You don’t want to say no.” He left it at that, and finished cleaning her wounds and patching her up.
That was six months ago. Six months of being on this submarine. Six months ago and she still didn’t feel as if she belonged, still felt as if she served no purpose. Sure after the first month, her crew mates started to adore her with her little jokes and random fun facts, but what was she really doing out on the open ocean? She sat there pondering until a voice ripped her out of her head. “You enjoying the Principles of Neurology?” It was her dear captain. She didn’t know he had been standing there, watching her unmovingly stare at the same page. She looked up at him, and then back down at the page she had been staring at for what felt like forever. “Sure, I’m having a blast learning about…The Neurology of Aging,” she read out the chapter name.
“What are you doing down here?” her captain asked her, curiosity lacing his tone.
“This is my secret hiding place, don’t tell the others,” she mused at him. Their relationship was very professional, and in fact for the first month and a half she was on the Polar Tang, she hardly said a word to him outside of him asking for information about various people and places. It’s not like she had a choice or not to be on the damned submarine. It still didn’t feel quite right to be there, but in the past few months she had started to let her guard down. She always addressed her captain with a professional tone, but every now and then she’d throw in a bit of a playful tone, and most times he would entertain her antics. “What are you doing down here?” she asked. She looked at her captain, taking in his appearance. She couldn’t lie, he was a very attractive man. Whenever she would have thoughts like this she would kick herself. She would remind herself who he was. He was her captain, and that’s all that was.
He looked down at her, discreetly looking her up and down, “I was looking for you. I would like to discuss some information about an island we will be arriving to in the next few days. There is an epidemic there and I will need all the information you have on the island, and the citizens so that we can take the proper precautions upon arrival.” His voice echoed off the metal walls.
“Oh okay, let me go up and grab my notes,” She said as she got up from her box, folding the blanket and placing the Neurology book on top.
“Meet me in my office,” he ordered, as he turned to go up the ladder. She made her way into her bunk and pulled out a notebook and a binder filled with stuff about all the islands she knew about. They were organized by North Blue, South Blue, East Blue, West Blue, Grandline, and New World. She gathered all her things and made her way towards Captain Law’s office.
She entered the Captain’s Quarters with a binder that was bursting at the seams, holding all her notes. As she walked in she took in her surroundings. It wasn’t the first time she had been in the Captain’s Quarters, but everytime she had been in there it was only for a brief period, usually dropping off files and papers from her research. Papers were stacked high on his desk, and there were files and books scattered across the room. It was messy, but it was not dirty. The room smelled like paper, ink, and Law.
She made her way over to his desk and started to flip through her binder. The binder was as full as it could be, and while the different places were organized, the contents of the binder within her neatly divided sections were scrawls of writing and small sketches here and there. “So, where we going?” She asked, beaming. She loved talking about all the things she had researched. She loved gathering information and putting it all together. Her goal was to write a full encyclopedia on the world and maybe one day she could write about the One Piece, if it was ever found. Without looking up, Law answered, “Bronze Island.” She was aware of the location, and she was also very aware of the disease that spread through the island, almost 60% of cases were fatal.
She flipped to the section where the island’s information was found, hesitantly inhaling before stating, “Uhh… I don’t think you want to go there.” Law looked up at her for the first time since she had entered his office, feigning annoyance behind his eyes. “I do think I want to go there,” He countered. She didn’t argue with him, he was the captain after all, but this island was being raided by pestilence.
“This disease has a high mortality rate, and it’s more contagious than the common cold. It’s an airborne disease. It spread mostly through bodily fluids,” she spouted off. “The island has poor air quality which just adds to the mix, making the citizens’ immune systems weaker. The island’s government is riddled with corrupt officials. There have been many uprisings staged, but none of them have aided in the ridding of the corrupt officials,” She set the paper in front of her captain. “If you have any questions, let me know. I’ll leave the rest of these pages to you,” she took a stack of papers out of the binder and laid them on his desk. There must have been at least 20 of them. The pages consisted of information about the epidemic, information on the citizens, as well the island officials. Law looked through the papers, before setting them back down. She used that as her cue to leave, and went towards the door, “Just let me know when you’re done with them.”
“Where are you going?” He asked her as if it were normal for her to stay. He never asked her to stay after giving him her research. He usually just looked at them and returned them. They shared eye contact for a split second before he answered her unasked question of why. “I’m going to need your help on this one.” Without replying, she turned back towards him and sat in a chair that was in front of his desk. The chair was hardly broken in, and it was obvious her captain didn’t really enjoy visitors all that much in his study, unless necessary. A dull sense of pride bubbled up inside of her, hearing that he needed her help. For a second she was able to push aside the feeling of not belonging on this ship. Her captain picked up the pages that she had given him and handed them back to her. “Let’s start with the island officials.” (Y/n) flipped through the papers getting to the officials section of her research, and started spouting off the names and the roles they played within the island’s government. She didn’t know what her captain was planning, nor did she think she wanted to know what he was planning. She was still new to this pirate thing, new to the notion that sometimes some people will get hurt in the crossfire. Hell, she was almost one of those people.
Brushing off her thoughts she skimmed across the paper, coming across some grammatical errors. “Captain Law?” A comfortable softness laced her tone as he caught her eyes. He had never heard her voice sound so sweet, so warm. His heart almost melted. “Could I borrow a pencil?” She asked him, holding his gaze with hers. He mumbled a quick of course before holding the object towards her. She reached out to take it, the tips of her fingers brushing his. When they touched, a jolt of electricity shocked them both. His golden eyes met hers once again, but lingered for a second too long this time. Long enough for her eyes to travel down to his lips, and then back up to his eyes. It felt as if time stood still. It felt like it was the first time she had really taken a good look at her captain since that night 3 months ago. She pulled her attention away, muttering a quick thank you as she took the pencil, hoping the lighting in his office didn’t capture the slight pink dusting her cheeks. She internally kicked herself for letting her eyes travel, for letting herself put him on a pedestal in her mind, even if it was only for a split second. It was wrong in so many ways, she couldn’t let herself think about him in that way. She couldn’t let her guard down. Mutually ignoring their little moment, they both resumed to what they were doing.
After about 2 hours of going through the information about the island and it’s government, as well as its citizens, they wrapped up their work. “Would you like me to leave you these papers?” She asked him. Without looking up from all of the notes that he had taken, he let a single, “Yes,” fall from his lips. She nodded, and put the papers on his desk. “If you have any questions, you know where to find me,” As she was about to make her exit, she heard her name being called. She turned her head to look at her captain, unintentionally savoring the way her name rolled off his tongue. “Thank you for the help,” he said smoothly, hesitating before continuing, “And if you ever need a place to hide, don’t hesitate to come in here to read or to finish your research.” She smiled and nodded her head as the feeling of belonging settled in her core for the second time that night. “Thank you, if you ever need anymore help I’m more than happy to do so,” she replied trying to sound as professional as possible in order to combat the warm feeling that was starting to bubble in her stomach. She turned on her heel and made her way back to her bunk.
That night, against her will, her thoughts were consumed by her captain and the moment they had shared. She felt guilty feeling this way, it wasn’t right to feel borderline giddy as she recalled such minor events. Sure, maybe their fingers touched, and maybe he made her feel like she belonged for once, but it was a moral dilemma just waiting to happen. Internally, she berated herself for even thinking about her captain in that way. Despite her self berating, she let her thoughts drift to her captain as she stared at the metal ceiling. There was a comfortable air around him, one she didn’t like to acknowledge that often. He felt safe, but she knew he could be dangerous. He seemed sane, but she knew he wasn’t. She was aware the longer she stayed with the Heart Pirates the more she let her guard down, and that included Law. She surely was trusted if he was offering to share his quiet space. She thought about how he offered it to her, with softer words than his usual tone. No matter how hard she tried to shake the doctor from her thoughts she couldn’t. That night, she went to sleep with Trafalgar Law taking up the space where her dreams usually lay.
Down the hall, in the captain quarters, Law mulled over what he had said to her before she left the room. It wasn’t like him to just offer someone a place in his study like that. Law worked alone. It was his space. That was the one place he was guaranteed to get some peace and quiet. What was even more strange was that he didn’t even regret offering his space to her. In fact, he was hoping that she would take him up on it and spend her time there instead of in the boiler room. He pushed his thoughts away, rationalizing his offer as just an excuse to gather more of the information she held. If she were to come to the office for peace and quiet, it was inevitable for her to work there too. He told himself that was the real reason he had offered it, rather not acknowledging the warmth he felt when he was around her. He pushed his thoughts away and buried himself in his work for the night, every now and then thinking about his crew member. The feeling that was tugging in his chest would have to be for another day.
⋆⭒˚‧₊˚°❀⋆₊⊹ ⋆。𖦹˚. ͟͟͞☆
@drakulana 2023 // i do not give permission to copy, translate, or repost without my consent
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pepsiboyy · 1 month
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beyond the contract - part 6
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P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8
pairing: matt sturniolo x reader summary: where the sturniolo triplets are part of an organization known as the eclipse alliance, matt has constantly failed to pull through with pulling the trigger on a target. fed up, their boss gives matt one last chance, where he is sent to northside high school to get some answers out of a girl. warnings: just some fluff gaurr author's note: HI GUYS!! this chapter is good compared to the last one imo but it is gonna get CRAYYY i love u guys <3 WC: 1730 lowercase intentional !!
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"come on matt," i giggled and lightly hit his shoulder.
"all i'm saying is you're being corny by doing all this," he stated matter-of-factly, but a warm smile remained on his face that reminded me that he meant no harm.
i chuckled and shrugged as i looked down at the notes app on my phone.
COLOR IDEAS FOR PROM: pink purple blue green
"does it matter that much?" matt questioned, peering over to look at my phone screen. i scoffed and shook my head in disbelief, looking at the clock that read 5:47pm.
matt and i had been hanging out in my room most of the day, waiting for night to roll around to go and look at the stars as promised.
"yes it matters, matt! all the couples match and stuff!" i chuckled as i kept looking through pinterest.
matt reached forward and gently picked up my phone, taking it and setting it face down between us. "no need for that, y/n. i promise we will look great. i'll make sure of it." he smiled warmly.
i couldn't help but feel my face heat up as i nodded and gently moved to take his hand in mine, holding it softly. matt ran his thumb over my knuckles before he sighed and stood up.
"do you wanna go get food? we can bring it tonight," matt stated as he lifted his arms in the air and arched his back, stretching carefully.
i nodded eagerly and began to walk towards the door, but my eyes widened when i felt matt hold my wrist and turn me around, placing his lips on mine for a brief moment. he pulled away and smiled warmly at me, and with his hand encapsulating mine, we walked together to the front door.
-
my eyes traced the stars as i lifted a hand and connected them each like a child with a coloring page.
the empty container with crumbs laid between matt and i as we looked at the sky like corny teenagers.
matt wanted it, i keep telling myself. but i loved it so much.
matt was sitting up, sitting with his legs crossed and his hand gently caressing my hair.
i turned to him and smiled softly, which resulted in matt letting out a deep sigh.
he removed the container from between us and laid down beside me, gently holding my hand and allowing the sides of our heads to touch gently.
a comfortable silence emerged from between us, and i turned to face matt after a few minutes.
"what are your brothers like? i'd love to meet them," i breathed with a soft hum, and matt just smiled softly, a soft laugh escaping his lips.
"um.. well," he started with a deep sigh, exhaling with another laugh. "i love them more than life itself. but they're my brothers. we're bound to have arguments and whatnot." he rambled, before he sighed and turned to me.
i was just looking at him and nodding, a soft smile remaining on my face. "i love that."
we sat in silence for a few more moments before i decided to speak up again.
"i wish i knew more about my family backstory.. my mom and why she left, my dad.." i emphasized, a soft sigh leaving me.
matt kept looking at me, his blue eyes serious as he nodded along with my words. "maybe you can try asking him?" he pitched, but i chuckled.
"no no, trust me. i've tried it all." i stared at the sky before i turned to matt and smiled. "i'll figure something out.. don't worry."
matt gave me a soft nod before he moved to wrap his arms around me, planting a soft kiss to my forehead. "you'll figure it out. i know you will."
-
a loud laugh emerged from me as i booked it out of matt's car, holding myself. "stop tickling me!" i giggled.
matt left his car and followed after me with a bright smile, his arms opening. "what are you talking about?" he questioned innocently as he followed behind me.
i was so caught up in laughing that i didn't even realize his movements stop and his expression fall until i felt my body collide with a much larger one behind me.
i froze and slowly turned around, smiling softly. "hey dad!" i mumbled and chuckled nervously.
"who is this?"
i blinked a few times and turned to matt, then back to my dad. "this is matt!" i smiled.
"who's matt?"
my face fell. i realized that since my dad was hardly home, i never really got around to telling him much about matt.
"he's... my boyfriend," i trailed off, and carefully moved to matt to hold his hand softly. "we started dating a little bit ago, but i never really got around to telling you.."
matt looked like he had just seen a ghost, and my dad was examining the entirety of his features before a soft smile spread across his lips. "come in, matt." he stated softly before going inside.
we both followed closely behind him, matt shooting me an expression that i couldn't exactly read.
"take a seat, i'll make some tea." he stated softly as he gestured towards the dining room table and left towards the kitchen.
matt sat beside me and gently tugged on my hand in his lap, looking into my eyes. "you didn't tell me your dad was going to be home tonight," he stated quietly to me, and i shrugged softly back.
"i had no idea, matt," i defended, and he shot me a sarcastic smile.
"here you go, matt, and here, y/n." my dad placed two cups of tea down in front of us.
matt smiled warmly as he took a sip of the tea. there was an uncomfortable silence before my dad cleared his throat and decided to speak up.
"so matt, what're your intentions with my daughter?"
"dad-" i interrupted, and matt just chuckled softly, waving me off.
"i just want to make her happy, sir, nothing else." he stated.
i smiled softly at matt and he gently took my hand, squeezing it.
my dad let out a soft hum as he sipped his own cup of tea and shrugged. "i see." he stated.
i looked between the two as i blinked a few times, watching as the two seemed to have practically a stare-down. i didn't really get it.
"well i should probably get going," matt started as he stood up and held out his hand for my dad, a soft smile on his face. "it was great meeting you, sir."
i watched as my dad firmly shook his hand and smiled, waving him off.
i quickly stood up and walked matt out, smiling softly as him as i stepped out front. "sorry for the sudden meeting parents thing," i mumbled breathily, biting my lip as i looked at my feet.
matt shook his head and took me into a tight hug, kissing the top of my head gently as he hummed and swayed us softly. "it's okay. it had to happen eventually." he gently rubbed my back as he closed his eyes. "i had fun with you today." he stated softly.
i nodded and smiled softly, leaning into his embrace and hugging his waist softly.
once pulling away, i pressed my lips to his softly. we both smiled against one another, and once i began to pull away, matt leaned closer to keep our lips attached for a little longer before finally pulling away. "text me before you sleep?" he asked, and i nodded eagerly in response.
"text me when you get home." i whispered, gently letting go of his hand.
i watched as matt went to his car and started it, driving off before i made my way back inside. i looked at my dad and sighed softly. "sorry that was so sudden. you just haven't been home." i mumbled, but stopped when i noticed him frantically looking for something. "what are you looking for?"
he didn't turn to me, but instead kept searching under things in the kitchen. "my ring." he stated.
i furrowed my eyebrows. "the really big one that i hate?" i questioned, and he turned to me with an annoyed expression, making my own expression falter. "sorry."
"yes, that one." he stated.
i blinked a few times as i looked around. "you probably just left it somewhere or dropped it. it's okay." i smiled reassuringly, but he just rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"i'm going to go to bed now. goodnight, y/n. your boyfriend was nice." he stated and placed a soft kiss on my forehead before he walked to his room.
i blinked as i stared at him, looking down. i was so confused. but instead of pushing further or pondering harder on it, i shrugged it off and went to my room.
-
"a ring?"
chris and nick looked at matt with a confused expression, but matt bit his lip and set it down on the counter.
it was a large black ring, a little uncomfortably large, and it resembled a woman in a veil. "he's the leader." he stated firmly.
"where did you get this, matt?" nick stated, carefully picking up the ring and inspecting it.
"y/n's dad. he's the leader of black veil operations." matt stated, biting his lip.
nick and chris seemed to connect the dots.
"they want us to kill y/n just to get under his skin," chris thought out loud, looking between the two.
matt just rubbed his forehead and nodded, looking at them with a determined expression. "i won't let anything happen to her, i don't care what i have to do." matt stated firmly. "i really like her."
nick and chris looked at each other with a bit of sympathy as they nodded.
"we'll make sure nothing bad happens to her too, matt." nick stated firmly, a soft smile on his face.
-
y/n - just now hey matt, just got in bed. did you get home safe?
i carefully covered myself in my blanket and smiled at the response that popped up on my screen.
matt - just now got home a little bit ago, sleep well ok?
i smiled softly and hearted the message before typing a response and going to bed.
y/n - just now you too <3
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taglist;; @star-saturn-xx @sturniolo-girl @p1xieswrld @rac00ns-are-c00l4 @sweetbabydoe @iloveneilperry @matty-bear @sillysillygyal (comment to be added !!)
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signed-sapphire · 27 days
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Okayyyy rewatched Wish
Here are my notes
Valentino wasn’t as annoying as people say. Sure, he did nothing for the plot and could’ve been removed entirely, but he didn’t make near as many butt jokes as people say he did
The lead-ins for all the songs were great. Certain media (Hazbin, for example) just jump into the songs
Magnifico??? Didn’t touch the pages??? So why would he be corrupted? Why does Amaya know of obsidian oil? Don’t you just skim the pages to release the evil?
Dahlia was amazing
“At the very least break the hold it has on him” Amaya? Didn’t you found this kingdom with thin? Wouldn’t you know?
Also Amaya was very sidelined. Where’s her backstory?
Asha’s magic wand mishaps were… corny at best
Why did they make Dario high all the time? He’s not stupid. I feel like they made him try to be like Fred from Big Hero 6 but failed
“Nine zillyboo, twenty alphabet!” Val, buddy. No.
DAHLIA. MATE. TRUE LOVE’S KISS CAN BRUNG HIM BACK I swear, it feels like the directors were switched
The spider-carriage thing. I feel like that could’ve been a Disney reference instead
Gabo was still my favorite out of the teens. Bazeema was sweet too
Also. Halzeema moments were actually in canon.
Sabino did not act 100 at all.
Crushing wishes did nothing to people except make them sad for .2 seconds
Asha’s drawing, her magic wand, none of that was important to the actual plot
I feel like the horses could’ve been Disney references too
Why did the roof open? That was never explained
Mag’s hair needed to be messier. Evil Magnifico? Crazy hair
How did he hear them from all the way down there
Mag’s really out there beating up a minor
The curse rope green things were not scary at all
Was Simon just in the forest the entire time?
The Magnifico getting sucked inside his staff… I feel that could’ve been a play to Dr. Facilier somehow
The stars raining down were beautiful
Was Star’s nose tap a reference to something?
The people’s talking… idk how I felt about that
WE 👏 SHOULD’VE 👏 SEEN 👏 SAKINA’S 👏 WISH
Another half-assed apology. First Namaari, now you. At least Simon’s was an actual apology. Wait. More of it goes on.
Ok his apology isn’t too bad
How did the staff get all the way down there?
Changed my opinion, Amaya deserved to tell Mag off
Did Mag’s curse break once he was in the mirror? Why did he act sad all of a sudden?
I’ve heard Asha’s movements weren’t finalized until later, but her movements seem pretty fluent
Clumsy and energetic, sure, but besides from the mouth drooping part, she wasn’t that quirky
Which. Could be a bad thing. She didn’t really have much of a personality
I like the Peter Pan building a flying machine idea
Zootopia ref
DARIO. SHUT UP
Why does everyone suddenly understand Star
But off-topic they were so cute
“It” I guess
Why refer to Star as an it
“They” was too woke for the Disney execs? Why, you had a one-second offhand comment about a water cousin who’s nonbinary!
That Cinderella-reference thing… wasn’t slow enough to be a dress transformation. So I’m fine with her not having a different dress. I mean obviously I would’ve loved it but idk
SHOW DON’T TELL, DISNEY
STOP TELLING
“I understand you well enough” I DON’T! HOW ARE THEY TELLING YOU
Some of Valentino’s jokes were funny. Sue me
I liked the Tinkerbell and Mikey Mouse reference at the end
The storybook was a nice callback
The credits should’ve been moving. Also CHOOSE BAYMAX TO REPRESENT BIG HERO 6. WHY HAVE VILLAINS LIKE MALEFICENT THERE
Overall. Not as bad as people are making it out to be. But definitely not worthy to be Disney’s 100
I’d say… 7/10. The backgrounds did look watercolor, but the shading seemed off in places. Especially Sakina. There was major improvement to be done, but with the hell the execs were giving (and the proven creativity of the concept art) I feel this movie is getting too much hate. Critiques and criticism are fine. But don’t blame the writers for getting rid of Starboy. Yes, it could’ve been better. But it’s Disney. And the creators tried their best to pour their love into a movie that they didn’t have a full say in.
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gxthicupid · 18 days
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𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗢 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗱 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 + 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦
𝗡𝗘 𝗭𝗛𝗔 𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗬
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I know this theory has been talked about a lot, but I would like to put my own thoughts and opinions about Ne Zha’s age. Of course, Ne Zha died at the age of 12, yet in the series; considered to be a somewhat spin-off/sequel to the Journey to the West novel, he appears to be physically an adult.
Understandably, some people wanted to defend the idea of Ne Zha physically and mentally grown since Journey to the West by using other country’s beliefs of Ne Zha depicted as an adult, however, other countries still depict Ne Zha as a child, and the crew for LEGO Monkie Kid revealed he was canonically a child during Season 4, Episode 5 “The Court of the Yellow-Robed Demon”. This leaves to the question of how he managed to appear older. 
I have been pondering on the idea for quite some time, and while going through several posts of people’s headcanons, references from other media depicting the other characters from Journey to the West, I have come to a conclusion. 
To support this theory, I will be using Macaque as an example to answer the mystery behind Ne Zha’s sudden ageing in LEGO Monkie Kid. It has become abundantly clear Macaque has a missing eye, and in the Season 3, Episode 8, “Benched”, while trying to retrieve the third Samadhi Ring from Tang, for a split second, the tip of his tail becomes slightly white. 
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While going through fanart, people often depict Macaque, having glamorised his looks in order to hide his features (i.e., his scarred eye). Saying that, I believe Ne Zha has adapted to glamorise his child form into an adult form, possibly from wanting to fit his mental age physically and feel comfortable. Macaque so far, hasn’t shown his true form for a prologue time, I believe Nezha can hold his adult form without any difficulty. 
𝗠𝗞’𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗬
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Season 5 of LEGO Monkie Kid is bound to show Nuwa, or MK’s supposed mother, on the show. Most people are wanting Nuwa to be a loving and caring mother, however, I do not believe that will be the case considering the direction the show is taking on MK’s backstory.
In the Season 4 special “Emperor’s Wrath”, the Kings of Hell in the Underworld are shown to be devising a plan for the upcoming events for Season 5, and personally, I believe Nuwa will be some sort of secondary villain associated with the main plot in Season 5. 
I am predicting that Nuwa has some strong connections, or at the very least, is acquainted with the Kings of Hell. Perhaps in the past, the Kings of Hell held a grudge against Sun Wukong after erasing his name from the Book of the Dead.
They weren’t able to change the pages since the paper magically link to the people whose names are written, and possibly, recreating a new set of paper will negatively affect the other people’s mortality; which the Kings of Hell are not willing to risk. 
Leading to the Kings of Hell requesting the aid of the creator of humans, Nuwa, since the residents of the Celestial Realm are not going to approve such a dire plan without the approval of the Jade Emperor.
Maybe the Kings of Hell gained Nuwa’s interest throughout a promise with a type of reward at the end of deal, and making her create a lifeform with equal or stronger power than Sun Wukong.
From the flashback in Season 4 Episode 6, “Show Me The Monster'', there were several stone statues of various animals before the creation of MK (hinting there were several attempts to create the perfect lifeform). 
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The idea of creating MK as a mystic monkey probably links to the Journey to the West novel, in the chapter where Macaque shapeshifted into the Monkey King and deceives the other pilgrims; and before the reveal of the Six-Eared Macaque, it was stated that the imposter was close to Sun Wukong’s power level, which, I’m assuming, Nuwa took note.  
Since Season 4 has hinted that Sun Wukong had some sort of connection with MK before he was created, I am predicting that he possibly knew Nuwa as a friend before she became an acquaintance with the Kings of Hell. Nuwa used that relationship as an advantage to analyse his skills and powers, while discussing using Sun Wukong as a pawn to help MK to be trained by the Monkey King, in order for MK to unlock his powers later in life. 
Reasoning why I believe Sun Wukong isn’t aware of Nuwa is supported in the Season 4 special, “Emperor’s Wrath”, when Azure Lion was defeated, Sun Wukong questioned him who set him free from the Scroll of Memory, and Azure Lion had no recollection.
Supporting this theory, judging the age of MK when he first met Pigsy in Season 4, Episode 6, “Show Me The Monster”, he seemed to be around the age of 5 years old, which when he should some remembered of Nuwa or Sun Wukong to some degree, but it’s possibly she must have erased MK’s memories. This might be an ability that she might use in Season 5.  
Nuwa must have deceived Sun Wukong somehow to convince him to protect MK when he proves himself to have potential to become Sun Wukong’s successor, not only to allow MK’s abilities to develop and become stronger, but she might also use MK to spy on the Monkey King from afar.  
To support this theory, I will use the 5th Anniversary LEGO set of Monkie Kid, as Nuwa is seen to be in disguise while running a jade shop in Megapolis. Perhaps she purposely dropped MK off at Pisgy’s Noodles and lived around the city to observe MK and waited until he was ready to wield the staff. Sun Wukong must have done the same, but without the knowledge of Nuwa’s plan with the Kings of Hell (To learn Sun Wukong’s weaknesses for the sake of devising a plan).  
In the pilot episode of LEGO Monkie Kid, “A Hero is Born”, MK needed to deliver some noodles to a customer, but ended up dealing with the Demon Bull Family. Perhaps Nuwa also purposely made MK make the trip so that he can find Monkey King’s staff and allow MK to meet Sun Wukong and start training because Nuwa might have a deadline to finish her end of the deal, before the Kings of Hell will take action in Season 5.
𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗬𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗞𝗘𝗬𝗦 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
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Connecting to the last theory, I believe there will be a likely chance that Season 5 will introduce the other mystic monkeys from the Journey to the West novel. Judging from the direction of the LEGO Monkie Kid series, there will be new characters introduced other than Nuwa, considering that Season 5 will focus more on MK’s past, and him learning how to control his monkey powers.
For those who aren’t aware, in the Journey to the West novel, it is canon that there are a total of four mystic monkeys, which includes Sun Wukong (Spirit Intelligent Stone Monkey) and Macaque (Six-Eared Macaque Monkey). 
The other two are known as the Red Butt Horse Monkey and the Pass through Arm Ape Monkey (using the translated names from the Chinese characters).
Since the series does slightly alternate the Journey to the West lore, perhaps the Red Butt Horse Monkey and Pass through Arm Ape Monkey were created before Sun Wukong and Macaque, and the idea of MK being a new mystic monkey existing in the LEGO Monkie Kid show does bring their attention and they will contribute to the main conflict of Season 5 (Perhaps they know much more about the upcoming conflict with the Kings of Hell and MK’s monkey power awakening).
This prediction might be a bit of a stretch, but since MK’s monkey powers will most likely be one of the main focuses for the plot of Season 5, I believe these two monkeys are willing to become an influence; both negatively and positively.
Reasoning for this prediction is connected to the fact that the Red Butt Horse Monkey is known to have the ability to avoid death and lengthen its life, which I believe might lead the show to make an alliance with Nuwa and the Kings of Hell. 
Meanwhile, the Pass through Arm Ape Monkey might be helping MK through his glitching when it comes to his monkey form, and might have more knowledge about dealing with  MK’s problem than Monkey King.
To support this theory, in Season 4, Episode 7, “Pitiful Creatures”, when Wukong first sees MK’s glitching, he looks like he doesn’t look like he know how to deal this side-effect of unlocking the monkey powers, considering that Sun Wukong and Macaque were already created as monkeys and were able control their powers. 
The Pass through Arm Ape Monkey might have known of MK’s existence through the battle against Azure Lion in the Season 4 special, “Emperor’s Wrath”, as the sky and the whole world was breaking apart, and since the Pass through Arm Ape Monkey can manipulate the moon and stars.
It could be the reason why the Red Butt Horse Monkey told Nuwa and the Kings of Hell about MK’s powers.  
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I don’t have anything else to say about this theory/prediction. However, if the series doesn’t show them, there HAS to be some influence, Easter eggs, etc. connecting to these mystic monkeys.
𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
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Aside from Sun Wukong and Macaque having their pasts explored, the series does have the Demon Bull King appearance in these flashbacks since he was once a member of the Brotherhood, first revealed in Season 4, Episode 2, “New Adventures”, as everyone is discussing who will be the next Jade Emperor after overthrowing the current one.
From this single flashback alone, DBK was shown to be a good guy, fighting alongside his sworn brothers for they thought was right, and it does beg the question: What made him change his morality from good to bad?
In the pilot, Season 1, “A Hero is Born”, he is first introduced as the main antagonist whose goal is to conquer the world, and suddenly Sun Wukong traps him under a mountain despite DBK being his sworn brother. This minor detail is very unusual considering that in Season 3, Episode 10 “The Samadhi Fire”, showcases Sun Wukong, Demon Bull King and Ne Zha helping to separate the Samadhi Fire from Redson as a child.
Judging from this scene, the event must have taken place post to the Journey to the West, as the Monkey King isn’t wearing the circlet, as most of the flashbacks which are taking place in the Journey to the West shows him wearing the circlet given from Tang Sanzang. The pilot does show Sun Wukong wearing the same suit of armour as in Season 3, Episode 10 “The Samadhi Fire”, and it's strange how the Monkey King went from helping the Demon Bull King to fighting him. 
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Either something happened between the events of removing of the Samadhi Fire and the events occurred in the pilot, or off-screen there was some conflict between the two, but set a temporary truce to help Redson with the Samadhi Fire.
The most assumed event that could pinpoint the morality change of the Demon Bull King would be when he and Princess Iron Fan met during the battle against Heaven. However, I highly doubt that. Since this event took place before the birth of Redson, and if Demon Bull King and Sun Wukong didn’t have conflict during this time period, then this accusation would be inaccurate. 
This wasn’t a theory or a prediction, however, I REALLY do feel like talking about this since it’s been bugging me for quite some time. I hope that Season 5 will be able to resolve this plot hole and perhaps it might correlate with the main plot of the next.
While I do hope, I also doubt it since the Demon Bull Family has not had much screen time in recent seasons. But simultaneously, I bet there will be a chance since the new 5th Anniversary LEGO set does display Redson working at the BBQ restaurant in Megapolis, so maybe a slim chance. 
I was going to talk about Peng and Erlang working together in Season 5, considering the current conflict with the Monkie Gang and Peng, and due to the fact that Erlang is a cousin? Brother? Or a family member of the Jade Emperor according to the Journey to the West novel, and wanted to avenge his death.
(Probably ignore this one, this was a last minute theory)
But I didn’t know what else to talk about and it does seem like the two will be working on their own.  
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the theories that I have come up with. I haven’t gotten the chance to re-watch all of the episodes of LEGO Monkie Kid, so I mostly relied on my memory. Leave some comments about your thoughts and theories of the series or what will happen in Season 5.    
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rxcya · 9 months
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002. SIGN OF THE TIMES.
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hi ! this is my SECOND ever doc template, yes I did come back for round two, and i’m very proud of it <3. I worked pretty hard on this doc, trying a lot of new things out. if you are planning on using this doc ( blushing ) please do not remove the credits. 
・the link to the doc can be found in the source link! ・sign of the times is a new york times themed doc with certain layouts taken directly from the new york times website! ( https://www.nytimes.com/ ) a prime example of this being the first page of the doc! it has a black and white color palette as well that can be altered with different pictures and different colors of font! ・the doc itself is roughly 6 pages and consists of character synopsis, basic information, appearance, appearance description, personality, personality description, backstory, 11 connections with brief descriptions and 3 word descriptions and many bullets for extra notes or headcanons! ・it also has room for 15 different pictures of your character and 11 pictures for connections! ・sign of the times is not a mobile friendly doc. it just looks funky and overlaps a lot on mobile. also, there are several google drawings that are not accessible for mobile users! ・the faceclaim shown on the doc is @selenagomez on instagram ・likes and reblogs are SO appreciated, thank you SO much for your support!               - quickly, i’d like to regard the title “The New York Times”         - i fully understand if you want to change the title to something else ! but to do so, you’ll have to use an outside source.          - you’ll have to find a website that offers the new york times font for download. ( I used https://www.fontspace.com/category/new-york-times )         - type in what you want your title to be, download the image or screenshot it and then replace the image on the doc itself !         - i know its inconvenient, and i’m so sorry ! if you’re unable to do it, contact me and we’ll work it out! 
again, this is only my 2nd ever doc template ! i’m still learning the route of things and how to utilize doc’s in the best way. with that aside, i’d like to thank all of you for the great response i got on my last doc and my 1st doc, claremont st. it was so motivating and i am so so so appreciative! if you do have any suggestions or questions, feel free to DM me ! this can either be on tumblr, or on discord. my @ is rxcya#7080. with that being said, here is sign of the times, a doc by RXCYA 7.28.23
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pawschamp · 11 months
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VOL 8#2/CH35: “double team” appreciation
i’m a huge fan of the way nightow encapsulates a certain thematic or specified topic in each chapter, almost making each chapter its own arc with the way a character can change in just a few pages. as an example to appreciate this, i’m using chapter 35 aka “wolfwood doesn’t shoot” chapter aka one of my favorite chapters in the entire series.
warning, this is not a thought out essay, this is just the insane ramblings of a guy that likes trigun and wolfwood. there will be tangents, there will be derails, but overall, it’s a 4k insight into where my mind goes when i read these chapters. 
TW WARNING: wolfwood’s backstory pictured (child experimentation, child harm), blood, death
SPOILERS WARNING: mentions of vol 8 events
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for consistency sake, i’ll be using overhaul’s translation. 
this chapter throws us into the familiar perspective of wolfwood. the readers have been in his shoes, we’re made to understand his thoughts since the very beginning of maximum, considering max started from his perspective. his ordeal and his internal struggle was made clear since the leonef arc, but this chapter serves as a checkpoint of where he is now, paralleling almost to chapter 11 where it had began with wolfwood’s dream + where his internal conflict were first laid bare to readers.
it’s also good to note that this chapter is in vol 6, the vol that takes place after the midvalley/hopper arc. this entire volume consists the internal dialogue of essential characters and where they stand with vash; the first chapter being meryl, then wolfwood, legato, knives, milly (a bit of vash), and then an open ended one, but it leads into vash’s flashback -- obviously, each chapter progresses the story itself too, but the main focus tends to be the thoughts of these characters. i really appreciate nightow writing an immensely thoughts driven and relatively quiet (in terms of action) volume after the heavily action packed previous volume. he does this well in the chapters themselves, knowing when to lead the reader into quiet so we can all feel the scene much more intimately. these chapters become more emotional because we’re settled with each character individually, we lean into their fears, their worry and concerns. the fact we get so little of vash and his thoughts in these chapters aside from the flashback makes him feel distant and lonelier (which, considering his immense guilt of remembering july, it feels purposeful.) 
vol 10 will always be my favorite vol but vol 6 is certainly up there... i think it was masterfully put together and nightow’s character writing is one of my favorite parts of trigun. the introspection is such a core part of trigun itself alongside the action and i just appreciate the overall pacing of it and how it eventually leads into vol 7 where we return to vash, to the conflict between the brothers, and then into the harrowing 7 months of destruction on no man’s land where the kind of peacefulness that settled in vol 6 no longer exists for a long time in the future chapters. 
anyway, to the chapter now
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from the dream alone, we can tell there’s a progression of wolfwood’s risk taking heart beginning to open. from all the time he’s spent with vash and what he’s witness after the leonef arc, he’s starting to change internally, he’s no longer the same as he was at the beginning of trigun. the dream provides a what-if situation, where wolfwood kills off the eye of michael (vague individual, but probably chapel again?), freeing the children.
side note, but it’s particularly sad to me he says “i can never come back, but at least y’all will be safe now.” in an universe where a happy ending could be provided for the orphanage, there still wouldn’t be a happy ending for wolfwood. he can free the orphanage but even the destruction of the eye of michael wouldn’t free him from the man he’s grown into and it’s telling of just how little he believes he deserves to go/have a home. 
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but the dream then panels to knives and his fear of someone/something other than himself is shown. as i mentioned earlier about how this parallels to chapter 11, in that dream, it showed how wolfwood can’t return to the kids because of the blood that stains his hands, a dream he gets after having killed rai-dei and confronted by vash about his role. 
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he still feels this way considering his mentioned thought of “can’t return” anymore, but the dream shifts focus to knives because the threat of him looms closer now more than before after having witness vash transform in the previous arc -- and it’s clear him being a first hand witness has influenced his fears considering knives is using his ability within the dream. 
overall, wolfwood has sooo much on his mind at this point; he saw vash transform, he came face to face with the rest of the gung-hos, met the strongest gung-ho, seen the price of betrayal with his own eyes (though b/c it was carried out by legato, it doesn’t necessarily hold the same weight)... he’s also done his fair share of trying to get others away from danger, notably when he speaks to meryl in the previous chapter, and tries to ward her away now that she’s seen first hand of vash’s strength, seen below from the chapter right before this. he’s relatively passive in his interactions with meryl so it’s insane how his behavior in ch 35 contrasts with this. 
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kind of a side note but i’ve always enjoyed this interaction between wolfwood and meryl. this is the first time they actually got to converse and he’s actively reading her and giving her advice; it’s advice he’d give to any average citizen, he’s always been an advocate for regular folks to turn their back so long it can keep them safe, but his advice here definitely felt a little personal considering how he’s gotten to known milly and he Knows for certain that this just isn’t the environment for her. the way he says “This isn’t the place for that cute partner of yers” as a reason to push Meryl to turn away always gets to me, because while there may be an implication for meryl to hightail out of there to protect herself, the discussion ends at wolfwood telling meryl to back out for milly. being with milly in the previous arc, he knows the lengths and sort of reckless, self sacrificial nature that milly has; she who refused to back out constantly, even after having expressed she was terrified, she still stayed, so wolfwood knows that if meryl leaves, then milly would too. he prods meryl, reminds her there’s another life aside from her own she’d be risking if she stayed. 
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after he wakes up and leaves the bar, he runs into zazie who just drops off a message from knives, as though to taunt him any further lmfao... it’s relevant that zazie shows up here considering wolfwood’s recent meeting with the rest of the gung-hos. zazie in particular is a complacent neutral party amidst the conflict, willing to see things through for knives / legato as long as the worms can be left alone.
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one of the funniest lines ever to be delivered to wolfwood, “You’re a scary one. Almost like Bluesummers.” i laugh every time i see it. 
but anyway, as stated by wolfwood, he recognizes that the point in conflict has reached far enough that what he does doesn’t necessarily matter anymore. sure, he’ll still keep to his job, but vash is going to end up at knives doorstep no matter what, especially with his recent recollection of july. wolfwood recognizes the minor part he plays, he recognizes how small he is amidst the overarching battle between the twins. i think this realization influences his dream too, being that he had rebelled and felt hope that the orphanage would be left alone, but still, the orphanage can’t avoid the fate that would fall on humanity as a whole. regardless, they would be caught up in what knives does.
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then we get to this insane flashback, this Gorgeously illustrated first meeting between wolfwood and knives that haunts me every day of my life. i just want to appreciate this page for a minute, art wise... the tubes forming the composition throughout the panels, trapping wolfwood, encaging him despite him being the one standing over knives. i like how that’s emphasized with the overlap on the top panels and the gun he holds is so small in the bottom right panel. in the bottom left panel, it’s a perspective shot from wolfwood’s eyes, the gun trained onto knives chest (i think compositionally, it just looks cooler which is potentially why it isn’t aimed at knives’ head, but i can also think wolfwood might’ve lost the resolved to kill knives already from fear alone and thus, his gun was lowered.) 
also i feel like not only did knives’ presence halt wolfwood but the medical equipment strung to knives might’ve triggered a terrible memory for wolfwood too, considering his experimentation. 
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above is from ch. 50. 
but the focus of this flashback is in knives’ otherworldliness and how despite wolfwood managing to get so far to be face to face with knives, he could not pull the trigger from fear alone. and wolfwood has this humane reaction every time he comes close to death which is a resurgence of a will to live; he feels it in this moment with knives, he feels death closing in on him despite him being the one with the trigger at his finger and knives against the ground. 
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above from chapter 6.
from the knives flashback, we can see the lack of choice that wolfwood had at that moment. the lack of choice in the mission given to him, the lack of choice in being able to shoot at all. it solidified him into the position where he is today and quelled the rebellion he dreamt of. 
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from his nightmares to the meeting with zazie to this flashback, remembering knives and his presence and comparing that fear to vash, him remembering the last time he felt that fear from vash at all... although he’s always known vash to be an “other” from humans, when faced with the actuality of it, he starts to think more on their differences and kind of distant himself mentally from vash? by calling him a monster and “the one who can save humankind”, honing in on his inhumane side. he knows vash, but wolfwood is thinking from the memories of knives, he’s thinking from his feelings of fear in that moment with vash, and he probably feels so small, not capable of anything beyond doing his job. as a reminder, this is what he thinks during that scene, similar feelings to how he felt with knives imo although vash’s anger is transformed into outer and inner, almost like he’s trying to kill that anger he holds to upkeep his resolve to not kill.
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and in the moment of deep pondering, with brilliant timing, vash calls out to him.
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no matter how many times i see this page, i explode with so much emotion. to stay on topic, this panel of vash sitting leisurely on top of a rooftop has a lot of elements to it. the moon he blew a hole into shown right behind him, an ever present reminder of his destructive powers which wolfwood, no doubt, is remembering it distinctively in this moment. but i loooove love how this page contrasts the one with knives. this scene following is just parallels to wolfwood's memory of knives and while in his confrontation of knives, wolfwood was trapped in both a physical and internal sense. the positions being different too, where wolfwood hovered over knives but still remained below in a hierarchical sense while now, vash is above him physically and wolfwood looks up towards him. considering wolfwood's thoughts so far, the positioning is reflective of that. but considering their space, the openness, outside, the expansive sky behind vash alongside the moon, there's so much freedom in where they're both standing. wolfwood is constrained beneath the thoughts he has, his worries, but he has freedom to move around vash and yet wolfwood chooses to go up to meet him.
now i can derail and go a little insane over their expressions here, IDK. im VERY vw-pilled, so excuse me, but VASH'S LOOK TO WOLFWOOD?? "You're a bit of a night owl, huh?" it’s just a plain observation really, the casual nature in how he converses with wolfwood, something he’d recognize over the course of their journey... this also isn’t the ONLY time they’ve met under the moon, they did so in multiple bullets too. gay ass moon couple... whatever... i’ve also seen people note that vash is fake smiling here and perhaps. some days, i can believe that because he is just so goddamn sad during this time, but i also like to think it’s genuine. maybe prior to seeing wolfwood, he was neutrally observing the on going events in the town, but the moment he saw wolfwood strolling about in deep thought, he’s just like “oh, wolfwood! :]” Just being a little happy to not be alone for the night. 
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it’s a small detail, but i like how nightow incorporates these side missions into the chapter’s arc and the overall theme in little ways. because it’s been these yin-yang brothers that’s been making trouble since the last chapter and in this moment, vash watching these two brothers bringing down mayhem on a peaceful town.
alongside this page, we see wolfwood’s steady approach, vash’s back turned to him as they chitchat before wolfwood quietly
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positioned the same way as before, the gun held to a twin that’s positioned lower and wolfwood looks down. 
aside from how beautiful he is, i like how wolfwood holds a resolute gaze. he probably feels he has the upper hand, Knows it in some way because vash is seemingly defenseless. if he wanted to, he can shoot. 
meanwhile, vash just Looks tired. not necessarily sorrowful, to me, he just looks exhausted. from the many clues later in this chapter, i think the reader can clue in that vash definitely knew wolfwood pointed a gun at him. whether it’s sorrow, a sense of betrayal, or nonchalance is unclear. i think vash might’ve knew wolfwood wouldn’t pull the trigger and if he had, i think vash would’ve felt resigned to it. vash understands the reason why wolfwood kills; in all his instances of killing, it’s been for the sole purpose to protect. when he killed rai-dei, it was to protect vash. when he killed gray, he was doing his part in protecting vash’s home which vash had entrusted to him. there’s tons of thoughts that goes through wolfwood’s head when he does kill and what it means to him personally, but to vash, wolfwood has never killed for a selfish reason so when wolfwood points a gun at him, if he has intentions to kill, there would be a reason that vash understands considering his own beliefs on protecting humanity. i think at the end of it though, he knew wolfwood wouldn’t shoot him.
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and wolfwood doesn’t pull the trigger. his hand doesn’t shake, there are no sweat marks on his face, he’s not afraid at all. with a soundless mind, he decides not to shoot. it’s important that we get wolfwood’s thoughts because it’s not as if he has any particular doubts in his own abilities. to wolfwood, if he put a bullet through vash’s head, he may die, he may be immobilized to be easier to kill, etc etc but ultimately, he chooses not to. just prior to meeting vash, he was already riddled with the memory of his rebellions amounting to nothing, so if he had “killed” vash (just like how he had “killed” chapel before), he’d still have to face knives and he’s already experienced once what going against knives was like. he can’t do it, wolfwood wouldn’t be able to kill knives and there would be nothing to ultimately gain from killing vash. 
naturally, i think we can also conclude the “reasonable” reasons aren’t the only things keeping him from shooting vash. it’ll be mentioned later, but what wolfwood thinks vs what he does can be fundamentally different because sometimes, wolfwood Just isn’t fully aware of how he acts, doesn’t know it. i think that’s part of the reason we don’t get his thoughts here when he lowers his gun, because he doesn’t know, he doesn’t understand why he can’t shoot vash either. if i had to reason it, it would be what i said before and that’s how i view how wolfwood might reason it, but that isn’t all of it. <-- this thought will be continued later.
i always found it funny how vash looks back because i’m sure he sensed something was weird about how quiet wolfwood was and how nothing was happened, so he just looks at him like “???”
wolfwood hits him with the reminder again of what to keep his focus on, as he usually does, and it’s ironic of him to say “It’ll be pointless if ya get yerself killed before ya meet him.”, having pointed a gun at him literally 2 seconds ago. 
anyway, as the story progresses, the yin-yang brothers has started to blow shit up and vash, ever so involved, runs after to stop them. wolfwood, diligent, runs after vash. 
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i don’t have a lot to note but i like how vash is called a pretty boy. he is the prettiest boy. the page after this, they basically try to run him over, but vash sidesteps just in time to avoid that and turns towards the car to shoot at them. turns out though, the brother hopped off the car and appeared behind to hurl these sharp thingies at vash’s vulnerable back. please read the next 3 beautiful pages carefully
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this sequence is just So well done. it’s very simple to bring back the hard ass table that wolfwood had woken up on and smacked his hand hard against at the start of this chapter, a purposefully strong table made to withstand drunkards... but it was pulled into the fight, to cover that split second to defend vash before wolfwood himself makes it to him. it’s important to note that vash doesn’t even look at wolfwood here. he’s not the least surprised, he’s still keeping his eyes directly on the tank. he does briefly look at the enemy behind him on the previous page for one panel, but i think that glance may have been targeted at the table wolfwood threw. i say this because vash moves fast and if he had wanted to target the yinyang brother behind him, he would’ve shot him already. 
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the both of them focus on the targets they’re aiming at. vash with his gun can’t break the armor of the tank and wolfwood’s punisher isn’t made for a single target unless he wanted to pulverized the dude with bullets and his aim won’t be precise with the punisher either. they’re mainly talking to themselves on this page, but the fact they don’t even say anything to each other, only giving a single glance before...
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changing positions immediately -- understanding where the other had lacked in, understanding what they themselves would be capable of doing and what the other could not... like.... wolfwood quickly changing the punisher’s form to activate the torpedo to take care of the armored up tank and vash quickly getting aim on the yinyang brother the moment he turns around. in just fighting together, it communicated everything we needed to know about their teamwork. and taking into consideration how they’ve been fighting alone for their entire lives only to flawlessly come together as a team despite that... they’ve developed a trust on each other, a trust i think vash is relatively aware of at this point, but wolfwood hadn’t realized it.
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i’m saying that because of his expression here lmfao 
i think wolfwood can be pretty slow on realizing things for himself. i think for vash, he’s already built a recognition that wolfwood was going to be following him, that wolfwood would be there to protect his back, and i think that feeling stems from personal trust, considering how often wolfwood has done that for him already and i think a bit of that is also vash being aware that wolfwood has a job he’s upkeeping to protect/keep an eye on vash, so he’d expect wolfwood to upkeep that too.
on wolfwood’s end, he turns back to vash immediately, realizing that he had left his own back unattended. wolfwood knows vash, he understands the kind of person he is, but he was still anxious because of all the thoughts he held up throughout this chapter. i don’t think wolfwood’s trust in vash was purposeful prior this chapter and really, there wasn’t any particular scene that showed him trusting vash outright because wolfwood has always moved pretty independently throughout the arcs. it tended to be vash putting his faith in wolfwood instead while wolfwood himself was still trying to figure out where he stood with vash. but through battle, through the nonverbal communication and through instincts, i think that provides a lot of context of how his trust is ingrained instinctually and how despite what he states, what he thinks for himself, he internally already knows otherwise that he would never be able to harm vash, that he has already deeply sided with him.
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when the fight is over, vash immediately disarms himself, thanks wolfwood, and his back is once again bare, turned towards wolfwood, vulnerable and full of trust. it’s intentional in how vash shows his trust towards wolfwood and wolfwood, processing, realizing that in full... how despite all of his worries, his fears, pondering about how this monster was going to save humanity, he’s ultimately just looking back at someone who’s grown so close to him. and i think this page is wolfwood coming to realize what his relationship with vash has become. overall, this chapter just feels like the moment when wolfwood has come to be honest and frank with himself on where his allegiance lies. in the previous arc, midvalley came at him constantly about who he was betraying and i think wolfwood was like “what the fuck is he talking about” for a good portion of it up until this chapter. 
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a lot of what wolfwood had to tackle that previous arc was where he stood in the crossfire. being a gung-ho after having killed “chapel” and stolen his spot which in turn led him to working under knives directly which led him to become vash’s guide, merely a job to be his guide until it no longer was just a job. he has a lot in common with midvalley, both being assassins, both having a heart that lied elsewhere and not in line with knives or legato. they both acted out, betrayed before, and midvalley himself mentioned how the twins were beyond them, higher beings while they were mere insects, or something along those lines... which wolfwood basically echoes similar sentiments here. when midvalley died, he most likely saw a reflection of himself. when he comes before midvalley’s grave, he thinks on that, the “can’t make a stand, even with those fangs of yours”, thinking of betrayal that comes about in his dreams. he knows for certainty that he wants to protect the orphanage; beyond that, i don’t think wolfwood believed he sided with anyone at the beginning of chapter 35. it’s a realization he makes steadily throughout the course of it and only when he’s back to back with vash does he realize he’s already sided with him whether he wanted to or not.
the chapters in vol 6, from all these different perspectives, they all end up concluding something new about vash, something they realize from what they’ve observed of vash in the previous arc and in person. meryl recognizes that vash’s fears and shame won’t stop him from shooting his gun. legato recognizing the significance of if vash could collect all the coins that becomes prevalent in chapter 80s. knives realizing that vash is already in the process of dying due to the black hair. milly seeing vash’s muddled up expression, the smiling facade he holds automatically when he doesn’t know what to do and gets a glimpse into the loneliness he feels.
the significance of wolfwood coming to terms with his feelings of vash makes his actions in vol 8 all the more meaningful and comprehendible. granted, i think throughout the previous chapters, we can all sense this sort of change in wolfwood and how much he cares about vash and all that... but i think the trust that wolfwood solidifies in vash goes beyond personal sentiments. after all, i think wolfwood having saved vash in vol 8 is because he trusted vash would be capable of saving humanity and that trust was enough for him to risk his own life... despite being afraid of dying, despite not being Ready to die, despite his own personal doubts and uncertainties and the echo of rebellions falling into ruins, he still went forth to save vash for the sake of humanity and he trusts that vash, despite his lonesome for those 7 months, would be resolute enough to stop knives. --> i’m saying “for the sake of humanity” because that’s just relevant with his thoughts in this chapter. him freeing vash has multitudes of layers that’s both personal and selfless to the fault, but that’s for another post.
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and the final light hearted page in this chapter, where they chit chat a bit casually. i feel like every time we see wolfwood in his off time, he’s always eating something/discussing eating, which is kind of cute. he’s on top of his meals!! and of course, one of the best panels for millymeryl, the utter destruction and devastation in that house and meryl looking like she definitely Did not sleep from the chaos (and probably due to her own nightmares too) while milly is refreshed... they’re the cutest ever. 
anyway, that was the last page so that means this chapter is finished! the way this chapter went full circle in regards to wolfwood’s thoughts, how all of his worries eventually led to a resolution to his feelings about vash... i think wolfwood’s point of view is always a gift to explore because his thoughts sometimes conflict to the resolution he comes to, especially when it comes to vash. wolfwood never had a presence like vash in his life, never known someone so different but still so similar to him. it’s all very new, so i think wolfwood’s circling thoughts, confusion, and the eventual choices he make when it comes to vash is a precious insight that i’m Very grateful towards nightow for.
i don’t know how to conclude this, but that’s all i have to observe! i hope it’s understandable what i mean when i say this chapter feels like an arc of itself and yet, it’s still so perfectly entwine with the rest of the plot. wolfwood’s thoughts here are not foreign, his development doesn’t come from nothing; it’s all a steady progression and i think it’s valuable for all the decisions he ultimately makes in the future chapters.
158 notes · View notes
lulu2992 · 10 months
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Hey there!
After reading your great insight on what to keep in mind when, say, writing the Seed brothers in fanfiction, I was wondering if you wanted to cap things off on what to keep in mind when writing Faith?
You don’t have to do it immediately, just when you have the time.
Hi! Sure, let’s conclude this “series” with the last member of the family, Faith Seed :)
First, while she’s referred to as a/the Siren by Dutch, a couple of NPCs, and in promotional material, this isn’t her official title in the Project. And as you probably know, Faith Seed’s real name is actually Rachel. However, unlike what the Far Cry Wiki claims, I’m quite certain her full name was never Rachel Jessop. Unfortunately, the biography on her Wiki page is partly made up and based on that incorrect assumption, so I really don’t recommend trusting it. This advice goes for all Far Cry characters, and I don’t think the Far Cry 6 Season Pass is a good reference, either, since the DLCs were written with the help of the Wiki.
In Far Cry 5, in addition to the story cutscenes, she has three sermons (here, here, and here), four answering machine messages (here, here, here, and here), and can also be randomly encountered in the Henbane River region as a “specter” (term used in the files). When she appears, she either hums the song “Oh The Bliss” (here and here) or talks to the Deputy. I think what she says really is worth listening to and adds a lot to her character. @teamhawkeye has done a tremendous job recording and compiling all her appearances in 9 videos (1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9)! As for Marshal Burke’s “apology video”, in which Faith also appears, it’s here.
I wrote a summary of what other characters say about her here (masterpost here), and all the NPCs’ comments about the Seed family are available here and here.
Faith isn’t in Far Cry Arcade and doesn’t have the same “combat lines” as most other characters, but you can still listen to everything she says during the final fight against her here.
Her deleted lines are here, and she has even more here. Most of them probably aren’t relevant anymore, but they’re still interesting and make me wonder what they originally had in mind for the character!
If I’m not mistaken, there’s only one note in Far Cry 5 written by Faith: the “Note for Tracey” (Hope County Jail). The note “A Confession” (Throne of Mercy Church) was also written by “Faith”, but it seems to me the author is one of Rachel’s predecessors.
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Indeed, in-game evidence indicates Rachel wasn’t the first woman who took on the role of Faith Seed. There were at least two others before her, Lana and Selena, but we barely know anything about them or why they were replaced. Two letters, written by people who knew and loved them, can be found in the game in the Horned Serpent Cave and the King’s Hot Springs Hotel, but that’s pretty much it.
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There was another note written by Faith, apparently cut from the game but still available in oasisstrings. It was supposed to be in her bunker, Faith’s Gate:
To my guardians, Because we have each other, we are already strong. But when the Collapse comes, this gate will need to be the heart of our strength. Guard it with your lives, knowing that any sacrifice you make will be for the future of humanity's greatest ideals and dreams. Jacob and Joseph have chosen you to guard this gate. You should be very proud. I know you serve me with love, but never forget that this will be your home, too. If you falter from this purpose, remember the bliss is there for you. With love, Faith
It’s worth noting that, in the game’s files, Faith (or the Henbane River) is sometimes referred to as “Selena Seed”. To me, this suggests that her identity and her backstory went through many changes during the development of Far Cry 5, and that might explain at least some of the grey areas surrounding the character.
Since she isn’t the Seed brothers’ biological sister and they weren’t raised together, The Book of Joseph doesn’t give a lot of information about her life before Eden’s Gate aside from what the game already tells us: she was a broken person, addicted to drugs, and was “adopted” by Joseph as his sister and Herald. When she joined the cult, since drugs are forbidden by the rules, she first had to overcome her addiction, and the book says she succeeded with the help of scopolamine (basically Bliss). It’s also explained she then worked with a geneticist named Peter, probably on developing Bliss. That said, in the game, he’s never mentioned, cultists never use the word “scopolamine” (always “Bliss”), and nothing clearly indicates it can be or has ever been used as a substitution treatment, so I’m not sure what’s still canonical...
Faith also appears in the short film Inside Eden’s Gate (not entirely canon to me but still good) where she’s played by Mackenzie “Kenz” Lawrén Johnson. I must admit Faith is my favorite Herald in the film; I really like Kenz Lawrén’s interpretation as well as her opinion on the character, which she gave in this interview!
Weirdly, Faith has often been referred to as the “half-sister” by the game’s main writers (such as here or here) even though she isn’t related to the Seed family in the game. It’s possible that she used to be but that was changed at some point. According to the Lead Writer, “Maybe she isn’t liked by the other two brothers as she didn’t grow up with them” (which is hinted at by NPCs and John himself in Far Cry 5). In a now-deleted interview for GameCrate, he also described her as “more of an outsider” and “probably the most fervent believer in Joseph”.
Greg Bryk, who co-created and played the Father, said he believed he needed Faith because “the maternal aspect of the feminine energy is missing” in his life even though it’s something “essential for Joseph to have”. He thinks there have been several Faiths because “when [Joseph] would lose faith, [he] would find another Faith.” And according to him, “she doesn’t need to have a specific energy because there’s something of an essence that [he needs] as opposed to a person”, and she almost has a “mother earth energy”.
While she does give a bit of information about her past life as Rachel in the game, saying she was “ostracized by her community”, “bullied by friends”, “abused by her family”, and “wanted to die”, it’s not always easy to know what’s true and what’s not when it comes to Faith because she’s known for being a master manipulator; lying is canonically part of her modus operandi. In a way, because Faith Seed is a role, I would say she’s also always performing. Unlike what a few NPCs claim, I don’t think that means she never tells the truth, but she’s still undoubtedly “very skilled at twisting the facts and turning any situation to her advantage”, as the game’s Narrative Director put it.
Although the details are unclear, I believe it’s true Rachel was “lost” and “broken” before she arrived in Hope County and joined the Project. It’s also true that, as Faith Seed, she’s now powerful, dangerous, and not innocent anymore, as her former best friend Tracey Lader, who knows her very well and witnessed her transformation (but was unable to stop it), warns the Deputy. I neither mean nor think the situation Faith is in is normal, healthy, or the best thing that could have happened to her, but I do think saying she’s unhappy with it, helpless, in danger, or that she only wishes she could run away from the cult really is a misunderstanding of the character. Faith knows what she’s doing, and she’s very good at doing it. To me, she’s the most powerful Herald.
Since the lore is a bit inconsistent, we’re not entirely sure how the Bliss works and who created it, but we know it’s an almost magical, hallucinogenic and pacifying drug made from “bliss flowers” (heavily inspired by Datura stramonium) that Faith is immune to, can control, and uses to brainwash people. “The Bliss” is also a place, but once again, the details are unclear. It could be her bunker, or maybe just a distorted version of reality that individuals who are exposed to the drug “live” in. Wherever or whatever it is, most people never truly come back from it or fully break free from Faith’s influence, as seen with the Marshal in the game…
In the Project, Faith’s role is to lure (hence the nickname “Siren”) people into the cult and convince them to follow the Father, often with the help of Bliss. If they keep resisting or are “too full of fear and doubt”, high doses of the drug can be administered to them and turn them into Angels, who are comparable to zombies according to some characters. Bliss irreversibly damages people’s brains, and those who become Angels unfortunately can never be saved. Faith and her followers seem to think they’re beautiful creations because they’re faithful to the Project and unable to sin. It seems she has the power to control them (at least partly), and the cult doesn’t hesitate to use them as “shock troops” or “slave labor and beasts of burden”, as NPCs say. They’re indeed very docile and resistant... as well as hard to kill.
Again, there are some discrepancies regarding what happens to potential converts in the Henbane River region, but it seems people first have to walk along the Pilgrimage path and, at the end of it, take a literal leap of faith from the statue of Joseph, just like Faith explains she did (even though whether or not the statue already existed at the time is a bit uncertain). As unbelievable as it sounds, NPCs confirm it’s entirely possible to survive the leap. After walking the Path, some pilgrims become Angels, some simply join the Project, and others don’t survive, either because they don’t make it to the end or die when they jump (maybe because their faith isn’t strong enough, I’m not sure how that works).
In the Family, Faith can be described as “the favorite child” (and I think that makes John jealous), who saw Joseph as her savior when they met and wants others to experience the same feeling, by force if necessary. Just like her brothers, she basically weaponizes her trauma and makes people relive a sublimated version of her life story: she targets the most vulnerable individuals, gives them drugs to ease their torment, and sometimes takes their minds away from them. Even though Faith is fully capable of thinking for herself, isn’t mind-controlled, was a drug user before she joined the Project (not after), and left her old self Rachel “in the darkness” willingly to be reborn as Faith Seed, she still became a new person for the Father and expects the same from anyone she converts, even if that means she has to completely brainwash them.
In conclusion, we don’t really know much about Rachel and her backstory, simply that she was broken, saw Eden’s Gate as a chance to start anew, and happily took it. Since she was young, desperate, and therefore suggestible when she met Joseph, one can wonder if Faith is simply a manipulated, brainwashed victim; a poor, helpless soul devoured by a cult. But although that situation is far from ideal or normal, she and other characters confirm that she too has teeth, and she doesn’t hesitate to use them. Rachel should theoretically just have been a victim, but as Faith Seed, she’s transcended this status. She’s found purpose, power, and is committed to her beliefs. Not everyone in Hope County precisely knows who she is, but now, she does. She’s a multifaceted mystery whom people tend to underestimate, and it’s something she likes to cultivate because that’s how she gets them. She’s a Siren, but in my opinion, also a Phoenix, who was consumed completely and rose up from her own ashes to be born again. Rachel was broken, but Faith is strong. Rachel lost herself, but Faith was found. Rachel was nothing; Faith can be anything.
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menheramar · 5 months
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Otogi No Uta Masterlist [WIP]
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This series has like 3 fans so I figured I'd make it easier for people to get into it. The story is told through a series of "movements," CD dramas, and a manga. It also has cute comics, posted on the official Mute Twitter. This list will focus on collecting sources for English speaking fans.
If you don't know anything about the series, you should start by reading this twitter thread by nemuruoogarasu! Feel free to look through the unofficial wiki as well, you can learn a little more about each band and character there. The series is mostly based on the bands and the characters, so pick your favorites :)
After that, listen to some of the songs. I have a playlist compiling them from the official channel here, and I have listed them below as well. There is no specific order you have to listen to them in. Be aware that some of the songs are not uploaded in their entirety, as some have to be purchased through the official drama CDs. The full mp3 files can accessed through amazon.jp.
Translations are in progress as of writing.
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Story
The story is a bit confusing to follow, and as of writing, not everything has been translated. I will be updating this as often as possible.
Basically, Otogi no Uta is about several bands fighting with special music powers in "Live Battles" against each other. This is in order to obtain "The End," a thing which can grant any wish. Those who posess music powers are called "Utaibito," which could roughly translate to "Melody User," "Musician," or "Music Person" in english (though I left it as is in the manga).
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Manga
The manga serves as a backstory for each band and character. You should probably get to know the characters a little through the wiki first so you are not completely lost. Each two chapters go over the backstory of how one of the bands formed and what their goal is and set the group dynamics and personalities.
Also to note, each chapter title corresponds to a song by that band!
Ch 0 - Prologue (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 1 - Ensa no Roubitsu Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 2 - Ensa no Roubitsu Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 3 - HelLO wOnder WorLd♣ Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 4 - HelLO wOnder WorLd♣ Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 5 - Kazoe Uta Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 6 - Kazoe Uta Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 7 - Weltreise Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 8 - Weltreise Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 9 - Reine Seele Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 10 - Reine Seele Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 11 - Jyuroku Yaman Hana Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 12 - Jyuroku Yaman Hana Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 13 - Rinnegyo Kei Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 14 - Rinnegyo Kei Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 15 - LOUDBRAVE Part 1 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 16 - LOUDBRAVE Part 2 (tumblr) (mangadex) Ch 17 - Epilogue
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Movements
There are 45 "movements" (and 2 overtures and 1 prelude), starting here. Make sure you don't miss the tabs on the top of the page to read all of them! I believe it goes over all the bands meeting up to participate in the live battles.
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Songs + Drama Tracks
From my understanding, the drama tracks that aren't part of a "vs" CD go over mostly the same as the manga but more in depth.
Note: The wiki has auto translated lyrics for untranslated songs! A lot is still untranslated, but I'll do my best to gather everything here. If you find any links to translations, please send them my way, I'll be sure to add them!
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Shuan no Gokumon - Setsudan Club (translated lyrics) Togabito no Shirabe - Setsudan Club (translated lyrics) Ensa no Roubitsu - Setsudan Club (translated lyrics) Setsudan Club DRAMA TRACK 01 Setsudan Club DRAMA TRACK 02
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Hitoribōshi - Issun-Bōshi Komo Yūgi - Issun-Bōshi Kazoe Uta - Issun-Bōshi Issun-Bōshi DRAMA TRACK 01 Issun-Bōshi DRAMA TRACK 02
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Blinzen Parade - Bremüsik Gutes Fest! - Bremüsik Weltreise - Bremüsik Bremüsik DRAMA TRACK 01 Bremüsik DRAMA TRACK 02
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Rosen Melodie - BLASSKAIZ Ritus - BLASSKAIZ Reine Seele - BLASSKAIZ BLASSKAIZ DRAMA TRACK 01 BLASSKAIZ DRAMA TRACK 02
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HaPpY uNBirThDAy♠ - AlicexToxic (translated lyrics) HaVE A NicE tRIP♧ - AlicexToxic HelLO wOnder WorLd♣ - AlicexToxic Alice×Toxic DRAMA TRACK 01 Alice×Toxic DRAMA TRACK 02
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Liberty - Momotroop Imperfect - Momotroop LOUDBRAVE - Momotroop Momotroop DRAMA TRACK 01 Momotroop DRAMA TRACK 02
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Note: I will be shortening "Mushoku no Sora to Warau Ito" to "MSWI" Ochiyuku Hasu No Hanabira Rinne Wo Mitsumete - MSWI Nehan Jakujo - MSWI Rinnegyo Kei - MSWI MSWI DRAMA TRACK 01 MSWI DRAMA TRACK 02
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Jyuroku Yaman Hana - Kashin no Okina SPECIAL VOICE DRAMA
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Fantasie Nacht - Bremüsik VS Setsudan Club Kaimei no Doukoku - Bremüsik VS Setsudan Club (translated lyrics) Bremüsik VS Setsudan Club DRAMA TRACK 01 (translation) Bremüsik VS Setsudan Club DRAMA TRACK 02
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Hitorigoto - Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI Keep on… - Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI Rinne no Kubiki - Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI DRAMA TRACK 01 Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI DRAMA TRACK 02 Issun-Bōshi vs Momotroop vs MSWI DRAMA TRACK 03
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Möbius - BLASSKAIZ VS Alice×Toxic ♢WoNdeR PaRTy♦ - BLASSKAIZ VS Alice×Toxic BLASSKAIZ VS Alice×Toxic DRAMA TRACK 01 BLASSKAIZ VS Alice×Toxic DRAMA TRACK 02
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Oshimai wo Kono Te Ni - all (translated lyrics) Medorē (DJ Remix) feat. Issun-Bōshi - connected the songs of 7 units from the 1st series by Issun-Bōshi Otogi no Uta 〜CHRONICLE〜 ALL STARS - DRAMA TRACK 01 Otogi no Uta 〜CHRONICLE〜 ALL STARS -DRAMA TRACK 02 Otogi no Uta 〜CHRONICLE〜 ALL STARS -DRAMA TRACK 03
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nightlyxeternals · 1 year
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03. SPRING SEARCH ─ Paid Google Doc Character Template. . .$5
hey there! this doc has been a highly anticipated doc for myself to release. it's such a pretty and cute doc and i'm absolutely in love with the way it turned out. the doc is so pretty and i spent so much time on it and i'm super excited to share with y'all! note: this doc is not really for beginners nor is it "mobile friendly" when it comes to editing. most of these images are drawings so you will need to edit them that way. other than that i hope y'all have fun using this doc ♡ also credit to @lemondaydream for two posts linked in this for the rules on why doc stealing is wrong and how to prevent people stealing/using a doc you paid for
** click source link to gain access **
rules & features:
01. please don't remove credits or claim as your own ─ you may edit it how you like just don't remove credits/claim as yours 02. the images/pngs were not made by me 03. changing around image sizes/positions may mess with the doc a little as well as going over/under text limit in text boxes 04. please like or reblog if you like this template and while i know this is a paid doc, please consider donating to my ko-fi ♡ 05. this is a paid doc so you may share this post and the link to the ko-fi post. but do not send a copy of the doc to your friend for free! explaination here 06. this is for personal use only! do not edit/change a little and resell or claim as yours to publish 07. do not try to edit the doc directly, make a copy. also please change your settings so when you share the doc it's not shareable with anyone else: tutorial here 01. single muse google doc template 02. 6 pages available 03. brief character intro/information, personality, appearance, connections, extra page, and backstory
how to use:
01. after purchasing open the link inside the rules page and hit file > make a copy > name your doc and edit and have fun with it 02. add your own images to the doc and please note that most of these images are "drawings" so they will need to be edited on pc by double clicking the image and going into the drawings tab 03. if you need to move a box that's overlapping another box, move the box on top to put it back underneath again
feel free to share with me what you've made! i'm always curious to see what people create with my docs!
122 notes · View notes
rp-partnerfinder · 2 months
Note
🕊 hey, 21F adv.lit–novella discord writer here who is looking to reignite her love for collaborative writing by engaging in a dark romance rp full of intense drama, sizzling emotions, and electrifying chemistry. i'm a little out of practice, but i can write multiple discord messages worth of content, hitting up to 2–6+ messages as an experienced novella writer. though, i'm also university student with a job, so i do reply at a relaxed pace (once or twice per week-ish), but i'm decently quick with OOC and employ a very lax reply policy for my partners (meaning you can do you with no worries). i will happily engage in lots of headcanoning, sharing aesthetics, tiktoks, ideas, and planning for rps, and i love to get that same enthusiasm in return !! don't be dry, contribute, and we'll get on well !! i can send pages of headcanons, and i will screech over our ocs, so let's fangirl together !!
an added note is that complex, imperfect, twisted, and flawed ocs are my bread and butter, and darker/villainous characters will always have my heart. so this is a love letter to all of y'all with a preference for writing well-developed, fucked-up ocs, your darlings have a safe haven with me. seriously, all my girlies are very far from cliche, and they're often decently messed-up, so i love it when i feel love&worry for your ocs cuz that's how you'll feel about my crazy darlings. i'm fine with dead-dove & darker themes (my only hard no is big age-gaps, ED's and incest, all other dark themes are welcome), other specifics like limits/kinks/rules can be discussed in dms.
idea-wise, i recently created twin sister ocs with a very interesting backstory, tons of darkness, and a codependent enmity. i'd love to write them within something akin to a mumu-esque rp– as in, writing two storylines within a shared timeframe/plot, two romances that are entwined, four characters that will overlap into each others lives and become tightly knit as either a 'found family' or 'clashing enemies'. so, it's like this: characters a/b and c/d may be our romantic pairings, but a/c are sister's with a complex set of issues to work through while b/d could be brother's, friends, rivals, etc (i'll leave that up to you, but i'd love if your two ocs also have a history) and we can have moments where their plotlines overlap where a/d might have a friendship moment, b/c may have a enmity storyline, while still writing a/b and c/d as main pairings.
note: a little cliche, but as of now, i am someone who prefers playing F roles within the MxF pairing, and also prefers to write with other F/nb writers (mdni).
themes i'm interested in: old money with criminal entanglements, different flavours of fucked-up characters, morally-questionable actions, rich kids gone wild, dark academia in university/high society, possessive/obsessiveness, blackmail, stalking, power imbalances, old money vs new money, music/art scene (kpop vibes, rock scene, industry harshness, scandals) contrasted with corporate/business. my ocs will be east asian so kdrama/cdrama vibes are also welcome. dark romance is a must.
react if interested, and i'll get back to you asap.
.
10 notes · View notes
roleplayfinder · 2 months
Note
🕊 hey, 21F adv.lit–novella discord writer here who is looking to reignite her love for collaborative writing by engaging in a dark romance rp full of intense drama, sizzling emotions, and electrifying chemistry. i'm a little out of practice, but i can write multiple discord messages worth of content, hitting up to 2–6+ messages as an experienced novella writer. though, i'm also university student with a job, so i do reply at a relaxed pace (once or twice per week-ish), but i'm decently quick with OOC and employ a very lax reply policy for my partners (meaning you can do you with no worries). i will happily engage in lots of headcanoning, sharing aesthetics, tiktoks, ideas, and planning for rps, and i love to get that same enthusiasm in return !! don't be dry, contribute, and we'll get on well !! i can send pages of headcanons, and i will screech over our ocs, so let's fangirl together !!
an added note is that complex, imperfect, twisted, and flawed ocs are my bread and butter, and darker/villainous characters will always have my heart. so this is a love letter to all of y'all with a preference for writing well-developed, fucked-up ocs, your darlings have a safe haven with me. seriously, all my girlies are very far from cliche, and they're often decently messed-up, so i love it when i feel love&worry for your ocs cuz that's how you'll feel about my crazy darlings. i'm fine with dead-dove & darker themes (my only hard no is big age-gaps, ED's and incest, all other dark themes are welcome), other specifics like limits/kinks/rules can be discussed in dms.
idea-wise, i recently created twin sister ocs with a very interesting backstory, tons of darkness, and a codependent enmity. i'd love to write them within something akin to a mumu-esque rp– as in, writing two storylines within a shared timeframe/plot, two romances that are entwined, four characters that will overlap into each others lives and become tightly knit as either a 'found family' or 'clashing enemies'. so, it's like this: characters a/b and c/d may be our romantic pairings, but a/c are sister's with a complex set of issues to work through while b/d could be brother's, friends, rivals, etc (i'll leave that up to you, but i'd love if your two ocs also have a history) and we can have moments where their plotlines overlap where a/d might have a friendship moment, b/c may have a enmity storyline, while still writing a/b and c/d as main pairings.
note: a little cliche, but as of now, i am someone who prefers playing F roles within the MxF pairing, and also prefers to write with other F/nb writers (mdni).
themes i'm interested in: old money with criminal entanglements, different flavours of fucked-up characters, morally-questionable actions, rich kids gone wild, dark academia in university/high society, possessive/obsessiveness, stalking, power imbalances, blackmail, old money vs new money, music/art scene (kpop vibes, rock scene, industry harshness, scandals) contrasted with corporate/business. my ocs will be east asian so kdrama/cdrama vibes are also welcome. dark romance is a must.
react if interested, and i'll get back to you asap.
.
8 notes · View notes
darkdoverpseeker · 2 months
Note
🕊 hey, 21F adv.lit–novella discord writer here who is looking to reignite her love for collaborative writing by engaging in a dark romance rp full of intense drama, sizzling emotions, and electrifying chemistry. i'm a little out of practice, but i can write multiple discord messages worth of content, hitting up to 2–6+ messages as an experienced novella writer. though, i'm also university student with a job, so i do reply at a relaxed pace (once or twice per week-ish), but i'm decently quick with OOC and employ a very lax reply policy for my partners (meaning you can do you with no worries). i will happily engage in lots of headcanoning, sharing aesthetics, tiktoks, ideas, and planning for rps, and i love to get that same enthusiasm in return !! don't be dry, contribute, and we'll get on well !! i can send pages of headcanons, and i will screech over our ocs, so let's fangirl together !!
an added note is that complex, imperfect, twisted, and flawed ocs are my bread and butter, and darker/villainous characters will always have my heart. so this is a love letter to all of y'all with a preference for writing well-developed, fucked-up ocs, your darlings have a safe haven with me. seriously, all my girlies are very far from cliche, and they're often decently messed-up, so i love it when i feel love&worry for your ocs cuz that's how you'll feel about my crazy darlings. i'm fine with dead-dove & darker themes (my only hard no is big age-gaps, ED's and incest, all other dark themes are welcome), other specifics like limits/kinks/rules can be discussed in dms.
idea-wise, i recently created twin sister ocs with a very interesting backstory, tons of darkness, and a codependent enmity. i'd love to write them within something akin to a mumu-esque rp– as in, writing two storylines within a shared timeframe/plot, two romances that are entwined, four characters that will overlap into each others lives and become tightly knit as either a 'found family' or 'clashing enemies'. so, it's like this: characters a/b and c/d may be our romantic pairings, but a/c are sister's with a complex set of issues to work through while b/d could be brother's, friends, rivals, etc (i'll leave that up to you, but i'd love if your two ocs also have a history) and we can have moments where their plotlines overlap where a/d might have a friendship moment, b/c may have a enmity storyline, while still writing a/b and c/d as main pairings.
note: a little cliche, but as of now, i am someone who prefers playing F roles within the MxF pairing, and also prefers to write with other F/nb writers (mdni).
themes i'm interested in: old money with criminal entanglements, different flavours of fucked-up characters, morally-questionable actions, rich kids gone wild, dark academia in university/high society, power imbalances, blackmail, old money vs new money, music/art scene (kpop vibes, rock scene, industry harshness, scandals) contrasted with corporate/business. my ocs will be east asian so kdrama/cdrama vibes are also welcome. dark romance is a must.
react if interested, and i'll get back to you asap.
like if interested !
7 notes · View notes
albertonykus · 1 month
Text
Which Stories from the Doraemon Manga Have Not Been Translated into English?
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When I compiled my spreadsheet of Doraemon manga chapters available in English, I noted that 16 stories from the manga remain untranslated. (That number only covers Doraemon manga by the original author, Fujiko F. Fujio, and not the various spin-offs and adaptations by other authors.) However, at the time I hadn't gone to the trouble of tracking down exactly which ones these were. I have now done the work, so here I can provide the complete list of Doraemon manga stories unavailable in English.
As I'd observed previously, none of the stories featuring the retconned character Gachako were translated, of which there are five in total:
"ドラえもん対ガチャ子" ("Doraemon vs. Gachako", 1970)
"ロボットのガチャ子" ("Gachako the Robot", 1970)
"きょうりゅうが来た" ("A Dinosaur is Here", 1970)
"まほうのかがみ" ("Magic Mirror", 1970)
"おかしなでんぱ" ("Strange Electromagnetic Waves", 1970)
In addition to those, the following Doraemon stories lack official English translations:
"ドラえもんのおとしだま" ("Doraemon's New Year's Money", 1971): Doraemon tricks Nobita and his friends into giving him money for New Year's. (Early Doraemon had a somewhat different personality from what we're used to now...) A two-page bonus comic drawn to promote a manga contest.
"遊園地になる木" ("A Tree That Becomes an Amusement Park", 1972): Doraemon plants a tree that does what the title implies. Out of all the untranslated Doraemon stories, this is the only one for which I can't think of any obvious explanation for why it has been omitted. It's a very short, one-page comic directed at kindergarteners, but other such Doraemon stories have been translated for the Kindle release, so... I've got nothing.
"はりええほんドラえもん" ("Sticker Picture Book Doraemon", 1973): An interactive comic in which the reader is encouraged to cut out provided images and glue them into blank spaces to complete the plot. Notably features the earliest appearance of the Mini Doraemons. Given that English Doraemon comics have primarily been released in digital format, it's understandable why this story has not been translated.
"じゅん番入れかわりそうち" ("Order Changer", 1974): Title page pictured above. This was the introduction to the Dorami spin-off in which she takes care of Nobita's identical-looking distant relative, Nobitaro. The other stories from the spin-off were later redrawn to be part of the main Doraemon series, rendering this one out of place for most future releases.
"ドラえもん百科" ("The Doraemon Encyclopedia", 1975): A bonus comic presenting an illustrated guide to Doraemon's gadgets, first published in vol. 6 of the 45-volume Doraemon print compilation. Based on the art style, this entry was not illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio himself, and it was not included in The Complete Works of Fujiko F. Fujio. It really only qualifies for this list on the technicality of being printed in the 45-volume set (the contents of which were selected by Fujio). Not to be confused with "ドラえもん大事典", which despite also translating to "The Doraemon Encyclopedia" and having been first published in 1975, is included in the English Kindle release.
"ジャックと豆の木" ("Jack and the Beanstalk", 1975): Gian asks Doraemon for a giant beanstalk. This story was released as part of Fujio's Shonen SF Short Story Collection, so it is technically not part of the Doraemon series. However, given that it features Doraemon characters as protagonists, it can be considered a Fujio-authored Doraemon story.
"ドラえもんの大ひみつ" ("Doraemon's Big Secret", 1976): A two-page bonus comic in which Nobita learns Doraemon's backstory.
"未来の遊び百科" ("Future Game Encyclopedia", 1976): Doraemon shows Nobita games that people will play in the 22nd Century. Much of the material from this comic was later merged with "ドラえもん大事典" ("The Doraemon Encyclopedia") when the latter was reprinted in vol. 11 of the 45-volume set.
"さよならハンカチ" ("Goodbye Handkerchief", 1980): A two-page bonus comic drawn as a prize for a contest in which readers could send in their own gadget concepts.
"シューズセット" ("Shoe Set", 1980): A two-page bonus comic drawn as a prize for a contest in which readers could send in their own gadget concepts.
"人間そっくりたまご" ("Human Lookalike Egg", 1981): A three-page bonus comic drawn as a prize for a contest in which readers could send in their own gadget concepts.
That covers the 16 missing entries based on the total number of Fujio-authored Doraemon stories recognized by Yasuyuki Yokoyama, professor of education at the University of Toyama and founder of Doraemonology (yes, that’s a thing). However, there are a couple of remaining stories that should arguably be considered as well, and also remain untranslated:
"道路光線" ("Pathway Beam", 1980): A two-page bonus comic drawn as a prize for a contest in which readers could send in their own gadget concepts. Yokoyama didn't count this as a separate story because it was expanded in 1981 into a regular-length chapter, "歩け歩け月までも" ("Walking to the Moon") (which is available in English), but the argument could be made that it should be, much like how he considered the original short version of "Nobita's Dinosaur" and its extended Doraemon Long Stories version independent entries.
"ドラQパーマン" ("Dora Q Perman", 1979): A crossover with two of Fujio's other series, Obake no Q-Tarō and Perman. This story was primarily drawn by Hideo Shinoda, which is why it was omitted from Yokoyama's list. However, Fujio is still credited as one of the authors and it is included in The Complete Works of Fujiko F. Fujio.
I have added all of the above stories to my spreadsheet so that it now doubles as a complete list of Fujio-authored Doraemon entries.
If there is a takeaway to all of this, it's that the English Kindle release really is a very complete record of the Doraemon manga. If you read every Doraemon story available on Kindle in English, you will have read nearly every Doraemon work made by the original author, outside of a few exceptional outliers. That being said, it's clear that the Kindle version takes some liberties with its translation (as I have previously noted), so if one wishes to gain an accurate picture of the original dialogue, the Japanese version should always be consulted when possible.
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garthofshayeris · 4 months
Note
How can all of Garth’s personality, relationships, and history became irrelevant to the current comics runs? What happened?
Great question! After Flashpoint happened, the Dc Universe reset. For a lot of comics, there were no major character or lore changes. However, the Aquaman comics got a major overhaul.
It’s important to note that Aquaman lore has changed over the years, but the changes were either slow or the kept much of the same characterization, but updated certain aspects. For example, although Death of a Prince takes place in the Bronze Age of comics, it was playing off dynamics already established in the Silver Age, and the story was tweaked slightly when the post-crisis reboot happened, so the events were still relevant in Volumes 4-6 (80s-early 2000s). The lore expanded to say, these major elements are still here! We have changed some things, and here they are! And this is how it effected what you might be familiar with, etc.
Then comes the New52. In order to make the comics easier for newcomers to read, about 90% of the characters and Atlantean history were removed completely from canon. This includes Garth, who was the longest-running humanoid supporting character!! (Topo the octopus is the longest-running returning character, and for the record they also got rid of him)
They re-did Arthur’s backstory (adapted to something similar to his Silver Age origins) and some characters, like Orm, were completely re-done as well to fit the new lore. They did not do this for Garth; in fact, every major element of his character that tied him to the story was removed. His kingdom I mentioned in that last ask? Gone. Atlan, the wizard who trained him? Gone (although they do re-use that name, the New52 character named Atlan is not Atlan from previous stories). The rumor about purple eyes? Actually not gone, but they did completely change what it meant and when we meet an entire community of purple-eyed Atlanteans, Garth is not among them. (Purple eyes have been an element to his character since his introduction, btw)
“But comicvine says Garth appeared in the New52!” I hear you cry. Technically true. But here’s a fun fact: they “teased” his return on the last page of one comics, and his design was so off from all previous versions that the fans did not know who he was supposed to be. Why? He was wearing a color Garth was never seen in, sporting a strange tattoo on the wrong side of his face (those lines aren’t a tattoo in pre-flashpoint btw…it’s a scar, that Atlan gave him) and because Garth had always, always, always been the child that Arthur adopted…the fact that he showed up as a fully formed adult with no connection to Arthur was so strange that even the Aquafans did not make the connection!!
This character, a mercenary who never spoke to Arthur, appeared a few more times before being quietly re-set in Rebirth.
Now, let’s recall that the comics removed all aspects of this character’s connection to the story, including the very fact that he was essentially Arthur’s adopted child. This is STILL TRUE in Rebirth. I cannot think of a time that Garth spoke directly to Arthur in any of the comics, but Mera said once that Arthur basically paid for Garth to go to Magic Underwater Wizard College, which is something that exists for some reason. Also he dropped out of Magic Underwater Wizard College because his girlfriend died, but we don’t know that woman’s name and he has literally never brought it up outside that single comics.
I want to say, I am not against changing backstories. Garth has had two and a half backstories since the 60s! But they grow and expand to fit the new world they live in. The writers took time and energy, they poured their hearts into making this new character appeal to their brave new world. But DC has not given Garth that same grace these past 15ish years. They had so, so many chances as well! They could have rewritten him in a way that was satisfying to his old fans. But they do not give a shit about Garth.
You see. DC wants to trick you. They want to say “everything is canon now” and not have to put in any effort. except my dears, the Aquaman comics are so complicated that they cannot exist at the same time. Because sure, maybe we can say Garth is no longer royal, because that kingdom his parents ruled no longer exists. But without that bloodline, why is he the most powerful Atlantean sorcerer? Did he never complete a highly emotional task of claiming his birthright, and accepting the death of Tula so he can heal his emotional wounds? Oh. Tula is alive? And now related to Orm? And they hardly know each other? Well, he just went to Magic College and he’s good for absolutely no reason at all. Is he still close with Arthur? I’m not sure. Arthur paid for college, but has never spoken to Garth. Garth is absent from all major life events in the Aquafamily. He has never met Arthur’s biological kid. He has no useful role inside a comic that he used to be an integral part of, his usual role has been split among others. So there goes his backstory. There go his emotional connections. Goodbye to the major emotional highs and lows as well. Goodbye to his personality traits, intentionally written to be played off of Arthur’s. Goodbye to any kind of role in the narrative; when you can replace his character with a nameless extra, is he really part of the story?
And when you remove all of that…what is there to like about this character, anyway?
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