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#it.... wasn't pretty at all since like I said it was created by a now-dead man and it kept on going because it was his dying wish
highball66 · 5 months
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Vendetta Novelization-- Leon's Internal Dialogue Analysis
A reoccurring theme I noticed in the Vendetta novelization, specifically with Leon's internal dialogue, is Leon debating with himself between existentialism and nihilism, specifically in relation to his trauma.
Existentialism is referred to as the idea that we all posses free will and that, rather than us having a per-determined purpose, we create the purpose for our lives. It serves as a juxtaposition to Leon's current situation, one he seems to point out subconsciously too. We see Leon asking himself what he wanted to do what his life, what his younger self thought he'd grow up to be before realizing that it definitely wasn't what he's doing now.
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This theme continues throughout the novel, specifically in instances where Leon is stressed, like when he's walking through the morgue anticipating an attack, and during the rooftop fight with Arias.
Even though Vendetta is starting to come to a close and, as an audience, we anticipate getting closure for the characters, Leon's internal dialogue seems to suggest sort of the opposite. He delves into nihilism, the opposite of existentialism, realizing that he doesn't really have a choice, not anymore. It doesn't matter what he wanted to do with his life, that decision was already made for him in 1998. He's given up. He's been under the government's thumb for so long that he doesn't even feel like it matters anymore. He'll play hero because that's what's expected of him, not what he wants to do.
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This idea of fate and testing fate comes up again a few pages later where Leon's fairly certain Arias is going to kill him, but he doesn't care. He literally says "today's a good day to die anyway," and pretty much resigns himself to being squashed before Chris comes and saves him. But while Chris is shooting at Arias, trying to get him to drop Leon, all Leon can think about is if this was meant to happen, if he deserves to live.
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And then we get the happy ending. Chris is smiling, Rebecca is saved, Arias is dead... but Leon's so lost in his own head he's unable to differentiate between what he's thinking and what's coming out of his mouth. He interrupts his own thoughts to remind himself that it doesn't matter what he wants and doesn't seem to realize he said this out loud until Chris asks about it.
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And apart from how heartbreaking this is, I think it speaks volumes about how little freedom he had/has in his own life. I've seen a lot of people assuming that, since Sherry is over 18, Leon would've had the option to leave, but I'm pretty certain he might never get the option to leave and certainly doesn't have that now. They essentially forced Sherry into being an agent just prior to RE6 in order to give her "more freedom," and if Leon hates this job so much (and it's clear that he does, especially here), he seemingly would've left if he could. But, like he says in Death Island, at least it makes a living.
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akutasoda · 4 months
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HIII can I have a fluffy Dottore x reader oneshot where an experiment goes wrong and Reader accidently turns into a cat so all the segments start freaking out (some go to pet reader) and try to find a cure. Feeling silly rn - 🐓
distracting feline accidents
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synopsis - an experiment gone wrong now leads to a cat loose in the lab
includes - dottore ft segments
warnings - gn!reader, fluff?, slight crack, wc - 651
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dottore always was reluctant to let you in the lab. while he enjoyed having you there as he said you were a more useful assistant, sometimes he was doing rather risky experiments therefore much preferring to risk the lives of his segments than you.
but sometimes he just had way too many segments doing other experiments and it couldn't be avoided. mainly because you didn't mind helping out. and even if today's experiment was rather risky and unstable, your insistence and his lack of segments meant he begrudgingly let you help out.
and some segments still were helping out and unbeknownst to you, although you could probably take a guess, they were under stict rules from prime to keep you safe. and they would do so anyway as they loved you just as much as the original.
it had been a lityle while since dottore had started the experiment and it seemed as though nothing was happening. no matter what he and his segments tried, nothing seemed to do anything. you could tell he was getting frustrated so you got up from where he seated you and walked over.
and when you reached him it was almost like a joke. the second you went to tell him to give it a rest for a while and come back to it was the second something happened. the loud bang was deafening and the mist that quickly swamped the lab made it impossible to see.
the lab was temporarily left but dottore immediately clocked on that you hadn't left and immediately turned round to drag you out. but instead of the mist filled lab he saw the lab in a rather sorry state with a cat sat right were he previously was stood. he looked almost dumbfounded but right as he realised what happened some segments ran in front of him.
mainly younger segments present ran back toward the cat as they too realised you had been caught in the crossfire. while they were concerned prime would absolutely tear their earrs off later, seeing you as a cat seemed to ourweigh that in their mind. so there they were sat around you, now a cat, as the gave you all the attention.
dottore was beyond annoyed. his segments and himself couldn't keep you safe from the crossfire of the experiments. but he was just glad it was something that wasn't too dangerous and he guessed you were pretty adorable right now.
he walked towards the segments as one of them picked you up making you look like a long cat before dottore took you in his arms. he pushed out the segments who put up quite the fuss but no matter how adorable your cat form was, he preferred you as you were and wanted you back to normal. therefore was internally panicking and wanted to create a cure as soon as possible.
although your newly found cat-like mind had other plans. you watched dottore race back and forth across his lab looking for whatever he needed but quickly became distracted by the lovely alignment of various books abd bottles on the surface he placed you on. and waisting no time you padded over and started knocking them off before sitting down and staring him dead in the eyes.
he stared you back and after your antics continued a little while longer he begrudgingly let in some segments. some to keep you entertained and the more older ones to help him formulate a cure. although now he and his segments were getting rather distracted by you, making progress slower than he would like.
but finally he had managed to find a cure he was confident wasn't going to harm you further. but before he even gave it to your cat self, he did give your cat form some slight affection. light pats that if you ever brought up again he would always deny but you knew and that's all that mattered.
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veespee · 10 days
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Alex Koval HCs
bc i love him with all my heart
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-He will often, especially when he tries to sleep, massage or pet himself. Like petting his hair, or massaging the back of his shoulders, and he will close his eyes, imagining it's his mother's hands instead of his. He also has a habit of acting like his parents were still alive to cope. (i'm pretty sure that's canon, since when Jeff asked him if he wanted to go somewhere with him, Alex said: “let me go ask mom real quick”, which,,, got me sobbing)
-He was an EARLY Alex G fan. Race was released in January 1st 2010, so that's the first album Alex got to know. Probably from friends or something, but that would be his inspiration to create his own music. I just feel like he'd love indie and midwest emo. (also HC that his favorite Alex G song is Kicker and/or Animals)
-He doesn't like throwing away objects he has from his childhood. Plushies, pillows, notebooks, anything that has memories attached to it, he'll never throw away. I feel like he'd have lots of plushies of dogs especially, and one that looked like sparky. That's the plushie he’s most attached to, and he keeps it next to his pillow. He's too attached, and even feels sympathy for the objects. (also i feel like he'd be the type of person to bump into a table or something and apologize)
-He's a nail biter. Jeff tells him to stop, although Jeff is also guilty of biting his nails sometimes. I think that Alex's hands would be super warm, even in the cold, as he's too awkward and doesn't know where to put his hands, so they're always in his pockets. He'd also probably bite the flesh around his nails, maybe making it bleed sometimes.
-I have this specific scenario in mind for him, like a memory he has stuck in his mind from his childhood (i just wanted to have my writer moment tbh so here you go): When he was young, maybe around 7-8, he was out in his backyard. It had snowed, and he was just walking around and stomping on the powdery snow that covered the grass. That's when he stumbles upon a small brown bird, a laying in the snow, unmoving. He picks it up, holding it gently in his palms. The bird was unfortunately dead, but young Alex didn't understand. He pet it's head, but it was still frozen. Alex frowned, and decided to take it back to the house to show his mother. He steps inside, his mother was cooking some soup in the kitchen, and it smelled great. Alex walks into the kitchen, the frozen little bird in his palms. He tugs at his mother's shirt to get her attention, and asks her why the bird isn't flying. His mother looks down at him and smiles, kneeling down a bit to get to his level. “Oh sweetie,” she starts, “The birdie is asleep. But it's going to be asleep for a long time.” she softly says, not wanting to upset the boy. She pets his hair gently, seeing that he looks quite sad. “Don't worry Al, we can leave the birdie in the backyard. His family members will find him, and they'll have a happy reunion.” she says, and she can see Alex smile. She smiles back and gently caresses Alex's cheek with her thumb. “See? Now go put the birdie back where you found it.” she ends as she turns back to pot of soup she was making. Alex nods happily and puts the bird back in the corner of the backyard.
When Alex comes back the next day, he goes back to his backyard. He remembers the little bird and smiles, going to check if it's family had found it. Sadly, when he walked towards the corner of the fence of his backyard, he saw a red liquid mixed with the powdery snow. He panicked and searched for the bird, which was unfortunately found by a fox, and looked mauled. Alex pets the bird's head, but it was clear it wasn't responding. He sobbed quietly, not wanting to be too loud and worry his parents and Jeff. So he wiped his tears, and went back inside. He looked devastated that an innocent, small animal could have such an end.
(this mightt be a metaphor for Alex's death… but it's up to the interpretation of the reader :)
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thank you for reading! 🖤
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elviola · 1 year
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When the clock rewinds, would you choose me?
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Jake Sully x Reader
TIME: Set after the Avatar (2009) film.
PLOT: Formerly Intern from RDA, now a specialist in the reopened avatar program of Dr. Grace Augustine, you see the man–turned Na'vi, that was once almost yours.
NOTE: NOT PROOFREAD!!! i just wanted to write what i wanted to read so sorry in advance !!TT
part 2!!!
PRESENT:
YOU ALMOST FEEL DEAD, the cup of coffee in your hand wasn't halfway drunk and you want to vomit on your work papers. Stacks of written reports surround you and the illuminating lights do not help with your drumming migraine in your head. Ever since you've arrived in Pandora, messy memories are what keeps you away from being sane. You've never expected to come back, after the war and Colonel Quaritch destroying the beautiful home of the Na'vi, you were certain that your body will be decaying on the earth that was once loved for. So when an envelope slipped through your broken door at your depressing apartment. You took the opportunity. "Anywhere but on Earth." you thought out of desperation, forgetting someone particular on the planet.
Awoken by a staff member from cryosleep, you're nearing Pandora's atmosphere. You remember the first time you ever did, amazed by even the little things you can see from the ship. You were even more amazed when you step foot on the ground, at the compounds when you noticed arrows at a certain dump truck's wheel. You looked around and saw many trucks, coming back with dirt, and pieces of floral. At that moment, you were innocent. Only wanting the good money the job application stated but little did you know, you would create history.
As soon as you step down, you went straight for the building. Wanting—needing to see your avatar form again, since you left years ago. Memories and adventures were done in that Avatar, an almost new life lived. Dr. Grace Augustine was a truly astounding scientist. She was an inspiration to all and you. You go inside the lab and spot Max. "Long time no see!!" You yell and Max jumps out of surprise, "_____!! It's been years! Didn't think you would come back!" He replies as you pull him in a hug. "I know, I just had to with the opportunity given to me. Where's Norm?" He points to the door where the old Avatars used to rest at. You look at him anxiously, striding to the door as you noticed new equipment in the lab. Yet dust remained on the untouched ones, where Grace used for research. As you push the door open, Norm is found sitting infront of the tubes. Taking a closer look, he was staring at your Avatar with an unrecognizable expression. "Hi Norm," You whisper, seeming like a private moment you disrupted. His shoulders shake upwards and whips his head towards you. Responding with a smile, he stands up to hug you. "_______, hi. How are you? I thought you wouldn't come," You're the first one to pull back, "Were you the one to suggest me? I recall last time, you were the last one to even mention my name at missions." Norm rolls his eyes, "That was 5 years ago."
PAST:
ONE:
You were late to the meeting Colonel Quaritch had set, other soldiers giving you the side eye. You were assigned to his team after splitting the interns to two groups. Though you begged Parker Selfridge to put you to Dr. Grace's instead, you ended up in the harsh skinned group. Quaritch kept explaining the tasks until he gazed out at the back, some guy in a wheelchair. The other soldiers gave him an even meaner stare, you rounded the table and sat beside him. "Hey. Pretty cool planet, huh?" He looks to me and chuckles, "It's a weird one too. You've seen the arrows?" You nod in response, "Where'd you think they've come from, aliens?" Before he could reply, Quaritch dismisses the meeting. The man you were talking to gone. And you didn't even get his name.
.
.
"Hey, ______! How's it going with the camera for the video logs?" a husky voice said behind you, as you position the said camera to a good angle. Jake rolls up beside, checking out your work. "It's good, you probably hit it out of exhaustion one time." you reply as his face becomes a satirical hurt one. "What? I care for the technology here, as I know they are veeeery expensive. You're lying," Both of you bicker for a while about it back and forth 'til you were called out of the room. You exit with a smile on your face.
.
.
You sit on a seat at the cafeteria, it was break time, and all you could think was to eat. Put anything in your mouth if you will. You pick up your spoon when arguments come crashing into the entrance, other employees turning their heads to see. It was Grace and Jake. Obviously. Something about Na'vi language. Something that Jake doesn't know about. Grace dismisses him, says he should move on about it instead. His face falls at the reply but lightens up when he sees you. "Damn marine, you keep messing up huh?" you ask while scooping yogurt from your tray, "Well it's not my fault you're not helping me." he replies as he snatches the cup from your hands. You look at him at shock, "Give it back or I'll steal your wheelchair!"
.
.
You wouldn't want to admit Jake has been good company, the other soldiers disagreeing with your say. He's been the least grumpiest in the squad brought on Pandora, so you're at least grateful for that. Dr. Grace showed him the Avatar, him taking his twin's place. You were amazed, how they made it possible, you didn't know but you also didn't know that you had one too. "______, yours is on the far right. You saw how to link with it so I'll leave you to it," Jake nudges your hand, "Guess I won't be alone then."
You try not to blush at his words.
TWO:
It was Jake's first day to try out his avatar, and yours. You were worried since he didn't have enough knowledge about it, nor he knew what was outside of the compound. Grace scolding him multiple times and Norm shaking his head in disbelief out of Jake's silly nature. You were laughing everytime you see the same scene. As he entered the pod, you quickly went to yours as well. Laying down and adjusting your hair to not get it stuck when it closed, Grace approached you, "Everything good?" You answered with a thumbs up as the door shut, all you remember was opening your eyes due to the bright light. Pointed ears roaming around to where sound resonated and tail swishing out of attention. You sit up to see Jake smiling to you, very blue, as he stands up and runs off.
.
After Jake practiced a few times to navigate in his avatar, (because of him running out of the lab out of nowhere) you, Grace, and Norm went out on a mission. Getting samples for the research the scientists need and you helping them along the way. Jake as a form of protection, Grace argued they didn't need him but persuading them was easy for you.
"I miss this on Earth." You speak out as you follow the science duo with Jake, he looks over to you. Sees your eyes shining with awe as you ogle around the plants, the trees, and to him. "Ours was beautiful too." His hand finding yours to hold, butterflies filling your stomach.
THE CRISIS:
He's lost. Jake is lost and you're with the duo, panting and sweating throughout your body. A Thanator was running after us, Jake getting its attention before. You're worried and you're shaking to find him. Especially that he knows nothing about the forest, so you look back at Grace and Norm, and slowly walk away to find him. A hand hooks your wrist and you knew they wouldn't let you. "He might get himself hurt or even worse—killed? Who cares if it's dark when we got someone out in the wild?" You reason, "He'll survive one night, ______. Trust me." Norm replies as you stand under the big green leaves and the starry bright background. Your shadow casting over with the little light providing to it, the stars opposite to the feeling of dread. Sighing, you decide to trust their word. Walking back to the helicopter.
THE RESOLUTION:
Jake says he would stay with the Omatikaya clan. He explains he had met the olo'eyktan's daughter. Grace approves, Norm is bitter, and you're happy that he's safe. A chance for him to learn about the Na'vi. Everytime he discharges from the pod, he tells you all about the village and you can't help but smile big at his stories. About Tsu'tey and soon-to-be mate, Neytiri. How the Omatikaya people treat him and how the forest is beautiful at a deeper look.
(YOUR) THE PROBLEM:
You don't see much of him anymore. You catch glimpses of him inside, recording a videolog after his journey in the forest. He's getting thinner, he doesn't meet with you at the cafeteria anymore. Feeling down when you wait minutes that turn hours for him to eat beside you, joking about your platter, and still, he doesn't arrive. Leaving you with an empty stomach. He rarely talks to you, and trying you do. When he's out of the pod, you ask him questions but all he does is quickly wheel to the camera to record a video log. Jake greets you yet his expression of a 'happy to see you' is nowhere to be found as he did before. He goes back into the pod without a single other word sent your way. Your heart slowly wearing out off your sleeve, you miss your talks, you miss the laughs, and you miss him.
THE CLIMAX:
The RDA is finally destrotying the Home Tree and the People of the Omatikaya clan freak out, you panic, telling them that they should leave and prepare when Jake and Neytiri come back.
They celebrated the night before, the ceremony of Jake becoming one of them. You're excited to see him, ton congratulate him about his long way of learning and accepting them. Tsu'tey arriving to see the ruinage of a forest the Humans brought and was to discuss about future plans. When Jake and Neytiri come back together, Tsu'tey eyed them suspiciously, "You mated with this woman?" Grace curses and hell breaks loose. You stare at him with shock as he reasons. Your heart finally falling out of you, the pieces shattering one by one on the ground. He doesn't see you anymore. He doesn't see you the way he sees her. So you stand behind the crowd forming, behind the great trees of Pandora, and you stay far from the man you once loved.
THE END:
Quaritch is dead, Grace is Dead, and Jake is reborn as the Na'vi.
You're on your way back to Earth.
And you can't help wanting to pick up the pieces you left on Pandora.
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yellowymellon · 6 days
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Holy, I just saw myrid Celestia so here's a bit of rambling and a silly theory :
As we learned from HI3, honkai is a phenomenon that happens to civilizations as they grow advanced, it's basically a system in the imaginary tree, in theory, all worlds should be a target to the honkai, and each world may name it a different way.
So far everyone agrees that Acheron did come from a world very similar to HI3, some think there's 2 eras too but based on the caption saying "the dual planets were intertwined in each other's tragic destiny" I'll assume they were, well, dual planets.
//"Kevin" says that takamagahara is the one that fell first, and Izumo created the blades, but if we go by prev era then takamagahara didn't serve the same purpose as HI3, and the current era has been the one to do everything, except if it wasn't explicitly said that the herrschers were slayed in PE and only now did Izumo use them to forge the blades//
Izumo was plagued by the honkai, won against the herrschers and took their powers, creating weapons (blades) out of them, each representing the 12 herrschers powers that are later wielded by the flamechasers, who in the end, were defeated, and the blades were broken. It seems like unlike HI3 Acheron was a flamechaser, presumably along with Kevin.
So then, the last blades were Forged, the origin and the end, Acheron being the origin did break the end. And that should've been the end of the honkai, it didn't end there, because honkai alone was no longer the threat to izumo.
I think it's pretty deductable from the trailer but just in case: spoiler for acheron's identity
At the very end, she stood under a sky with a black sun (dark hole) , she says "we long since strode in THEIR Shadows" as the last blade gets forged "naught" , and her form changes.
Is that not...when she becomes nihility's emenator?
Would that black hole not be IX's? Would Izumo not be under IX's governance after all has happened?
The last thing acheron does was, slash IX.
That black sun, ix, has always been there from the beginning of the trailer, meaning that, it's not that the despair drew IX, but it's IX who rendered the dual planets efforts useless. You know it's true when even Kevin says that salvation isn't possible.
The pioneer diver of dead waters, a relic set that talks abt Acheron, we know that's true because the flower motif is the same as acheron's. it talks Abt a nameless who was her friend, her goal was to dive in IX, knowing that it's lethal but believing that the journey matters more than her upcoming end.
Acheron's LC's description basically confirms one thing, Acheron acts as a guide to those lost in nihility in an in-between place (existence and nothingness), that very much could be inside IX, since it's a popular sci-fi theory that black holes lead to other dimensions/worlds.
Her LC quotes her friend, in saying that Acheron still has a lot of paths and choices to take before she reaches the end. I'd say that that's proof her friend left a mark on her.
From all of these we can theorize that acheron's current goal could very well be to kill IX, she has the motive to do so after all.
I sadly can't find izumo's ornament story anymore so I can't add more to this xd
What personally peaked my interest is, the existence of IX throughout izumo. Considering HSR to be the higher world, I just recently joked Abt how hooh is cooking With creating the honkai as it's logically under their authority. And that very much can be still be true, but so far, for a world that's supposedly much more advanced such as hsr's, we haven't even heard of a honkai phenomenal. There were early theories that khaenriaah's destruction was means to stop them from attracting honkai into teyvat, Even tho by HI3 standards teyvat isn't developed at all (heck they have every source of energy except electricity), soooo can we blame hi3's inconsistent writing or is their understanding not correct?
I just think it would be interesting that IX's influence might give rise to honkai, as it's basically a death sentence to a world, the faster finality came, the more aligned the world is with IX.
Speaking of which I've also talked Abt how IX is most linked to the path of finality, so there's that
If you read so far, congrats! You're one of the few, here's a cookie : 🍪🥛
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checkxmaster · 5 months
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"The hell is your problem, dude? Did you seriously forget about me? Or what, you think I'm a clone? Be for real."
It was getting dark, so Chad pulled his armored vehicle over to the side of the road and set about preparing to settling in for the night. Over the years, he'd accumulated a lot of tech to help him survive, from computers and GPS, to motion sensors, timers, and alarms. Generators and power storage units were essential, as were solar panels and other methods of harnessing power as electrical grids began to fail seemingly everywhere.
Some of the tech he built himself, having raided hardware stores for parts, and others he'd acquired from abandoned police stations and homes. It passed the time, to sit and occupy himself with building computers, or to set up surveillance systems, or to create spreadsheets to catalogue all of his supplies, and he liked to keep his skills sharp. Why? He didn't really know anymore. Maybe it just kept him sane. He had about a million flashlights, flares, weapons, and a multitude of ammunition types, complete with all the batteries, solar chargers, hardware enhancements, additional parts, and optional adjustments he could store.
Metal boxes, backpacks, and duffel bags were stacked in an almost hedge-maze-like fashion inside the armored vehicle he'd taken over after it had been abandoned by the military. His bed was little more than a shelf nestled into all this organized chaos, but he found it strangely comforting to be boxed in while he slept... especially since he was alone most of the time.
Occasionally he joined up with some survivors, but he found it difficult to remain with them. Their goals were vastly different, with civilians wanting to find somewhere safe to hunker down and barricade, and Chad wanting to keep on the move to see what he could do to screw Umbrella over or help other people.
He'd gotten his motion sensor perimeter up around his mobile home, as it were, and had just taken his nightly dose of painkillers so he'd have half a chance of sleeping. The deep scars from where the licker had grabbed him as well as the pain of a few broken bones that hadn't quite healed properly from being thrown off the train on the way out of the Hive had him pretty much in near-constant pain. He'd learned to live with it, and as long as he was busy and moving, he could ignore it. At night, though, he needed some extra help from good ol' pharmaceuticals. Just over-the-counter, though, nothing too heavy. He couldn't risk not being able to wake up if something significant went down. And absolutely nothing with an Umbrella logo on the bottle.
That was when one of his alarms went off, indicating that something was moving in the near vicinity of the vehicle. "Really?" he groaned, his head falling to the right as he lay in his bed to look at the screen across the way. Sure enough, it was blinking. Sighing, he sat up and typed away, looking at the camera feed indicating movement. To his severe disappointment, it wasn't one of the undead. It looked like a soldier of some kind. "Just perfect," he said cynically. Grabbing a couple guns, he went out to investigate. What he found was... startling, to say the least.
It... it was Rain. His heart began to pound. No, Rain's dead. Don't get fooled again by those stupid clones. Man, they were creepy... Clones of his now-deceased friends and comrades that often times acted nothing like the originals. The Rain ones... were always particularly nasty. He lifted his rifle, leveling it at her. "That's far enough," he said coldly, assuming this was a clone. How can it not be?
But then she spoke, and almost simultaneously he began to notice that she looked a bit older. The clones always looked young, pristine. Swallowing hard, Chad found it difficult to breathe with how vigorously his heart was now pounding, rattling his ribcage. Faltering a little in his resolve, the tip of his rifle slowly dipped a bit and he stared incredulously at her.
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"N-no, I-... Of course I didn't forget about you, but..." But you're dead. You've gotta be. Forgetting Rain - or anyone else he'd lost in the Hive due to his incompetence, poor planning, and cracking under the pressure - was never an option. He saw their faces almost nightly in the twisted horrors of his guilt-fueled nightmares.
Chad blinked, not knowing what to do. The rifle lowered just a bit more at the mention of clones. "Yeah, actually, that's exactly what I'm thinking. Wait, you're-... Are you telling me you're not a clone?" Oh, how he wanted to believe that, but he'd been fooled before, almost fatally. "Come on, don't fuck with me..." he said, more with a crestfallen type of exhaustion than with any sort of real intimidation attempt. "If you're not a clone... then prove it."
If this really was Rain, the real Rain, then he was about to feel like a huge jerk momentarily. But if it wasn't... he couldn't afford to let his guard down...
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gojuo · 6 months
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Gojo has his head. In season 2 he tells toji he failed to kill him because he didn't cut off his head. Sukuna didn't cut off his head. He can still heal his body.
Plus we see Nanami tell gojo that there are two paths. One to change you or one to stay who you are. Gojo says goodbye to his dead friends and we see him walk away showing he's taking the second path. We also see a lotus then.
Which symbols strength and renewal.
Gojo is not dying. He may be gone a few chapters but everything his hunting he will heal his body and be back.
Gojo will live.
i wish i had your hopium but i gotta correct a few things here ... 1) it was said by i think kashimo (i dont even remember) that cursed energy comes from the gut, and gojo has been split into two from his stomach. toji never bisected him, even if he managed to stab him through the cranium. 2) gojo didn't say goodbye to his friends in the afterlife, that was a mistranslation. 3) he's not walking away from anything either ?? 4) the chapter title is called "going south" bruh...
listen. i so badly want him to come back. i really fucking do. i read jjk 0 when it came out in jump giga in 2017 and when it wasn't called jjk yet (it was called tokyo metropolitan curse technical school btw). i've been with gojo since mfing 2017... 2017!!! i've loved him for over 6 years now i can't even believe it's been so long.. i never expected that silly oneshot manga to become this popular 🥹 kinda makes me happy how loved jjk is currently :')))) but the fact of the matter is that gege has stated numerous times that he wants to finish jjk soon. he actually stated in late 2022 that he was planning on finishing it in 2023. gege's editor has come out and said that the manga will not be ending this year though, so my guess is somewhere around spring 2024 everything will be wrapped and and be donezo so that gege can move on to that goddamn idol manga he's been yapping about for a while now. so what am i trying to say with this tangent? i'm saying that jjk is ending soon and that gege has stated multiple times how difficult it was for him to write around the powerhouse that is gojo (which is just an admission of his own shitty writing/planning because mf YOU 🫵 are the writer like you are the one that created him!!! learn how to plan out your story and how to utilize the characters you yourself have created for it you stupid fucking cat i swear to god....). this all just screams to me that it's over. it's finished. gojo already died once and came back enlightened, he's not gonna have it a second time. not this close to the end. not after having been removed from the narrative for over a hundred chapters. not after seeing sukuna back at full health in his heian era form, something gege didn't even have gojo force out of him. like gege really got him out of the box so that he could be done with him unarguably and conclude his character arc because he wants to finish jjk.
gojo is dead, nobara is for sure dead, megumi is basically done for (we'll see him once more within the mind once yuuji does his soul cursed technique whatever bullshit on sukuna to have a talk but he's not coming back no more), and yuuji, the kid whose execution started this story, will be the only one left alive. gege said in an interview a while ago that he wanted to end jjk with either 1 of the main 4 dead, or only 1 of the main 4 alive. i think it's pretty obvious that person is supposed to be yuuji. "die surrounded by your friends" from the first chapter is going to turn into "all your dead friends will surround you". i am wholeheartedly convinced of this. i'm sorry, but after 3 years of having to sit through that worthless culling game arc leading to absolutely nowhere for our heroes, after realizing that there will never be a pay off for the last 100+ chapters because the whole point of the arc is now fucking dead just like that, i do not have it in me to have any faith nor hope in gege's writing skills. it's become painfully clear to me how mid that guy is at writing and how hard he is rushing towards the end. i have lost all faith and goodwill i used to hold for gege.
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thefirstknife · 1 year
Note
Help my raid team believes with all their heart that nezarec was a guardian at some point in the lore. For my sanity I need you to explain this to me
I don't know where they got that from tbh. Genuinely interested to know what are their arguments.
Nezarec played his part and died before Guardians existed and remained inactive until the raid. Outside of influencing people through the sheer Darkness and power that come from his body, he has not been really alive until now. The raid cutscene says that he was accidentally "revived" by the Traveler's terraform beam since his body was in the Pyramid hit by the beam. He didn't become a Guardian though nor was he one before.
We have confirmation that he is a really old alien creature by the virtue of him being initiated into disciplehood by Rhulk, probably long before anyone on Earth existed. We also got it confirmed that he heavily influenced the Psions which is also something that happened ages ago before any Guardian existed.
This raid also confirmed that he was killed by Savathun during the Collapse and his Pyramid crashed on the Moon. Guardians did not exist then. Pretty much his first interaction with anything Guardian related is this raid. An interesting thing that was also said in the raid is that Nezarec has no clue what was happening to his body parts, not directly in any way. His lines from the raid:
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Really intriguing since he was obviously able to influence people with relics and his merchandise in general, as well as had people who swore on being his followers for generations, but he does not appear to have any recollection of this. He asks us if anyone suffered from his pieces and wonders if we could tell him who took them.
He does have knowledge of us and of our past, but speaks of us as not a group he belongs to:
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Here he has a whole thing about praising for us being efficient at killing and asking us if we enjoy the final screams of our enemies and so on.
He basically died before Guardians were created and he stayed dead since, with people picking on his body parts. The Hunter chest piece from the raid set also shows that:
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So he wasn't secretly rezed as a Guardian after dying or something. Also, I've only seen him in the post-raid cutscene so far, but if that thing has ever been a Guardian, we would've known. He's literally an alien from before Guardians existed. His remaining body parts have apparently been collected by the Witness and placed in a tomb which is in the raid:
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He definitely influenced people, possibly even humans. There's a few other unknowns as well, but nothing to imply that he was ever a Guardian. He influenced a Guardian, which can be seen in the Titan raid set. Maybe they confused it with him? The people named in the raid gear are his acolytes, spreading his cult or whatever it would be called.
There's an unknown person in the new lore that apparently has the "scent" and "vibe" as Nezarec and that goes around recruiting acolytes and apparently looks like a normal human. Possibly someone passing down the knowledge about him. This person claims to have had the knowledge of Nezarec run in his family and carries an old tome with information about him, probably the Of Hated Nezarec text because it's quoted in the raid sparrow. It also does not appear that acolytes become acolytes entirely willingly. Description of the tome and how it's about "an ancient being":
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Unless I'm seriously misreading something or there's a huge reveal in the raid boss fight where he tells us he's been a Guardian and shows his Ghost, I don't think that makes any sense. Purely timeline wise. He obviously wasn't a human on the account of literally being an alien and predating humanity. And he's been dead (also uses the word "trapped") ever since Savathun put him in timeout.
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clover1412 · 25 days
Text
To the idiot I loved
I lowkey do not remember writing this
Chapter 1
He picked up the piece of paper on her desk, the handwriting clearly hers. He could see the parts she had struggled, or had pressed a little too hard. These were the words she'd wanted to reach him, the tears that she'd cried for him. He took a deep breath, reading her last words to him.
To the idiot I loved,
I never thought I'd be writing this, not in a million years, but someone once told me I needed to take more risks. So this is my risk, I'll pour my heart out for you, whether you reply or not.
Read it once or twice or more, just don't throw it away immediately. Think of it as one last request, I won't bother you again.
I still miss you, even after you said goodbye, after you said your apologies, after I told you I hated you. 
And sometimes I hug that pillow you loved just to cry some more. 
You told me you loved me, is it too much too ask whether you still do? Or if you even think about me. 
How could I physically hate you after these past months.
I still think about you, you know?
About the times we laughed.
About the times we cried.
The times we argued.
I can't watch my favourite movies now, they all remind me of you.
I can't drink that stupid wine you love, I get drunk too easily.
Sometimes when I lie on the sofa, I wish your arms were around me, like those days we were too tired to move.
Or sometimes I bake a cake and realise you're not there to help me.
You came into my life like a bouquet of flowers, only to wilt, but there was me trying to revive dead flowers.
It took me too long to realise that I was in love with you.
I hope you don't miss me the way I miss you.
I wouldn't be able to stand seeing you like that.
From,
that girl you once knew.
He would never throw it away, never.
After all she said the one thing he'd always wanted her to.
He still loved her too.
~ ♡ ~
Aoko leant back against her sofa, she was finally finished. The novel she had spent the past 2 years working on was coming to a close. What had started as a way to cope had suddenly become a way for her to say the things she couldn't in real life.
It was meant to be lighthearted, not the type that would make you cry ugly tears. But here she was writing a letter she knew would break hearts. 
Looking back at the last 2 years, it was definitely the fight she had with Kaito that spun a dark side to her book. She hadn't seen him for a while, not since the day they fought, over Kaitou Kid of all things. No matter what it was that thief had taken things from her, things she cherished, so when she found out about his secret she couldn't help but feel betrayed. She said things she didn't mean, but that idiot had told her the one thing she wished he'd never did.
This letter was for him, for the character she'd based off of him, for the things she'd never be able to say in real life. She could only hope it reached him.
Chapter 2: Aoko
In the days up to the release of her 4th book and even the days after were hectic to say the least, her previous books were all about mystery and crime and this was her first romance based book. Albeit with a small hint of mystery. That's why Aoko was very shocked to see the popularity of the book, she'd been to book signings, interview panels and was even on the morning news. She even got to meet some old friends at her book release party. 
Apart from dodging questions about the inspiration for her character, especially the new fictional heart throb she'd created, she couldn't have been happier. Well apart from one other thing, Kaito hadn't turned up to any of them. She was pretty sure he wasn't dead, after all he'd hosted a heist the night before her book was released. She thought she saw him at the party, but the only person fitting the description at the party was Kudo Shinichi and as good as he is at disguises, she didn't think he'd be able to fool Ran for that long. If he'd come in disguise he didn't make himself known. Which in truth disappointed her, she was over the moon with the popularity of this book, but the person who'd inspired it wasn't there.
After the initial heat of popularity had cooled down, she suddenly had a lot of free time to spend with her friends and family. She'd been invited to the Shinichi and Ran's anniversary party, which was just so glamorous and elegant, she knew Kaito would have fit right in. He'd been invited apparently, she had arrived late due to a meeting, which meant they just missed each other, but the apologetic look on Kazuha's face said he had left because of her. However that couldn't stop her from having fun, especially since all her friends were there.
She caught up with her high school friends, Keiko was getting married so she was invited to their engagement party. Another was pregnant so she was invited to their baby shower. And another had found someone they wanted to spend the rest of their life with. Aoko felt like she should have been happier for them, their lives were all progressing, whilst she couldn't bring herself to get over Kaito. 
~ ♡ ~
She met up with Chikage when she got back to Japan and was showered with all sorts of gifts from America, they spent the day catching up and chatting. They were currently sitting in her living room, after dinner, sharing a bottle of wine Chikage had bought.
'Say Aoko-chan, what happened between you and my idiot of a son? The last time I asked about you, he wouldn't say, he had that look, you know the cute sulky one. And you know what? The last time he made that face was that time you two fought about that date you had with that guy from the cafe. Except he looked more exhausted this time.'
'Ah, we had a fight, and I haven't really seen him since.'
'A fight? You fight all the time right? What was so different that you're ignoring each other. It's clearly making the both of you sad.'   'It was about,' she took a sip of her wine, 'it was about Kaitou Kid.' Chikage shot her a confused look, from when they were in high school they had small fights about Kaito's alter ego, but most ended fine. Aoko glanced up and down a few time, opening her mouth to speak, but stopping each time. 'Oh that idiot,' Chikage sighed, it had finally clicked, her idiot son had divulged his deepest secret to someone he loved and it hadn't gone well. 'Well what did he tell you? Did he at least tell you why?'   'You knew?'
'Oh please give me some credit Aoko-chan, I'm his mother, he can't keep something like that from me. Well he did, I'm just smarter than he thinks.'
'I didn't figure it out though, all these years, every time I doubted him. Every time Hakuba or my father or even Akako said something about it, I shut them up. Every time. I made sure he was with me when the heists happened, I tried to keep myself away from the truth,' she took  a deep breath in, she'd been avoiding talking to herself about this, or to anyone about this. 'When he told me, I was more upset at myself, you know? Upset that I basically tricked myself into this.'
Chikage slowly nodded in understanding, 'and Aoko-chan? It sounds like you're not angry at him?'
'No I am, just more at myself. But even an idiot like Kaito would have a reason to do something as dangerous as that. And that annoyed me, he didn't even want to tell me the reason. Put me in danger, yeah right, I wouldn't care about that if it was for him.'
Chikage chuckled lightly, 'so if he didn't tell you the reason, what did he even say?'
'He didn't say much really, but that's more my fault, after he refused to tell me the reason, I sort of didn't let him talk,' she took a long sip of her wine, nearly draining her glass. She looked back at the woman sat opposite her, 'I said so much I didn't mean, and he, that absolute idiot. He told me he loved me. Loved me enough to protect me from the truth.'
Chikage stared at her in disbelief for some time, her son had confessed he was in love with the girl. The one he had often said he could never express his feelings to yet. 'That was unexpected,' she watched as Aoko poured herself another glass and nodded to statement. 'And you haven't seen him since?'
She shrugged, 'well he's clearly alive, but he's steering clear away from me. I mean he left Ran and Shinichi's party early and he didn't even bother to make an appearance at my book release party. Even Hakuba-kun was there, Hakuba! He flew over from London for some business, but he came to congratulate me. Hell I never even got along with Akako-chan, but she was there.'
'At all? Not even for a few minutes?'
'None at all.'
Chikage sighed, she knew her son, he was definitely there at Aoko's party. No matter what she said would keep him from being there to see her proud and happy look as she announced her new book. Well he sure seemed excited for it's release whenever they'd talk, apparently the love interest was supposed to be as good looking as he was.
'But it's fine, I'm fine. I can't keep thinking about him,' she was definitely drinking too much wine, though not much could be done to stop her now. Heartbreak was best cured with alcohol, well not really, but since Aoko was clearly not going to tell the truth sober, Chikage decided she would see what a drunk Aoko would tell her.
And as expected drunk Aoko had so much to tell, she talked about all the things they did when they lived together. How he would buy flowers for her, just for fun or because they reminded him of her. Chikage couldn't help but smile, they really were in love, no matter how they denied it, just friends do not spend rainy days curled up together on the sofa. 
Drunk Aoko also admitted to missing him, hoping he would turn up at parties or even to say congratulations. She had half wanted to go to his heist, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, of that smug smirk she'd secretly loved. Or maybe just leave flowers or a card that said something or the other, she missed him so much.
Chikage let her drift off to sleep, carefully moving her to a more comfortable position and placing a blanket over her. She then looked through Aoko's fridge to cook something she could heat up in the morning. She cleaned up a little before leaving, unlike the girl who was currently fast asleep, she'd only had about 2 glasses of wine, both of which were an hour ago. She tried to be as quiet as possible when leaving, but she doubted anyone could wake her up now.
She sighed to herself as she walked out of the building, she'd already called for a taxi which was already here, so as she headed back home she considered whether to call her son and tell the idiot to at least call. She eventually decided against it, she was seeing him tomorrow and she could always (very easily) make the conversation about Aoko.
Chapter 3: Kaito
Kaito was avoiding her.
He hated it.
It took actively trying to stay away from her for him to realise just how much he gravitated to her. She was just always there, a comforting presence, someone to come back to. He missed lying in her arms on a lazy Sunday morning, or snuggling together on the sofa as the rain poured down outside.
He missed her.
He had dreamed of the day he could finally tell her about everything, all the lies he had to tell, the secrets he kept. He hoped she'd reciprocate his feelings, that he could finally be with her, with no obstacles. But what happened that night was nothing like the fantasy he'd conjured up, it was everything he'd feared.
~ ♡ ~
Aoko was grumbling about Kaitou Kid yet again, how she hated his guts and his cockiness. It was a Friday night and neither of them had work so they were cuddled up on the sofa drinking hot chocolates and watching movies. However, earlier that day it was announced that Kaitou Kid had left another heist notice - his target his time a beautiful sapphire named the 'Daughter of the Sea'.
Kaito chuckled, she really never changed, he remembered the times she would complain about the phantom thief in high school, which would lead them to running around the classroom yelling petty insults at each other. But mostly he remembered how a small part of him died every time she claimed she hated the thief, he felt sort a sort of freedom as Kaitou Kid, minus the being chased by an organisation, he could show off his tricks to an audience who loved him. He could fly over rooftops and get a view no-one else could. Heists came with a thrill, a sense of danger and excitement, that everyday life just doesn't have.
However to him, she came first, if she hated his alter ego, he could take it. If she hated him, he couldn't.
It was a stupid idea, honestly, and to top it all off he came up with it.
After being able to brush off her suspicions for the past couple of years, he couldn't blow it now. So he suggested they go watch the heist, she already knew he had nothing to do that Sunday and sneaking out for the few hours that coincide with the heist was risky.
She gave him the usual 'are you crazy?' look, because honestly it was crazy, but not impossible. At Kid heists there is always a massive crowd, one could easily get separated from friends in it. If he could convince Aoko to come to the heist, that was the hard part over, he could 'lose' her in the crowd and carry out his plan.
It took a little while to convince her, after all she wasn't the type to support the thief, but she conceded (only because it seemed important to Kaito).
And that's how the both of them ended up in the crowd outside a museum, being pushed together, a bit too close for comfort. He almost didn't want to leave, she was clinging onto him adorably, but he'd already announced his heist. So when another wave of people pushed against them he used the chaos to disappear, he could faintly hear Aoko shout his name as he walked further into the crowd. It didn't take her long to call him, he picked up and stalled for time, convincing her he'll find her, all whilst making his way through the crowd and to the museum. This way he could put the heist in motion.
Apart from the extra running, it went well. Surprisingly Hakuba had been there, but over the years wildcards like detectives and the organisation had become easy to overcome. Especially since he had an understanding with Kudou, Hattori and the rest. So when he decided to go straight home, he thought everything would be okay.
Aoko, however, was the one wildcard he could never predict. It hadn't gotten easier over the years, and it was easy to forget she's smarter than she looks. She'd come close to catching him once or twice while he was distracted, and was it easy to get distracted by her. He was too tired to really think about it any further as he made his way back, he texted Aoko to say he wasn't feeling good and was heading back. It should've gone fine, he would go back to their apartment, stash his costume and greet Aoko when she got back.
But it didn't.
Because Aoko had already gone home, finding the whole situation and crowd unbearable.
So he climbed through the window to his bedroom, letting the window close with a soft thud. Aoko who had been in her own bedroom had heard and carefully peered through his door, 'Kaito? Is that you, I didn't hear the door open?' only to be met with the phantom thief, who was just as stunned as her. Unfortunately he'd taken off his hat and monocle, it was hard to deny who he really was.
'Kaito?'
He didn't know how long they stood there, stunned, too confused to talk. He knew he should've said something first, but nothing came to mind, he couldn't make up some flimsy excuse in the hope she'll believe him. He was well and truly screwed.
She moved first, turning around and simply walking away, needing some space.
'Aoko? What are you- Why are you already home? Wait I can explain!' He tried to shrug off the cape and blazer before running after her.
'Why am I home, is that really what you have to say?' She had made her way to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water, finding it hard to believe what she was seeing.
'No- I- It's just I-'
'I what Kaito? You left me in that crowd, it was awful and here I was thinking you were looking for me,' she walked back up to him, 'did you even think of me once whilst you were out there?'
'Aoko I- Look it wasn't like that,' for once in his life, he truly didn't know what to do. When he thought about telling her, he thought it would be better than this, maybe even romantic. This was a reality check, things like that only happens on TV, he had really hurt her and that wasn't just going to go away.
'Wasn't like what Kaito? 'cuz it sure seems that way to me. How long have you even been doing this? Since we were in high school at the earliest right?'
Worst thing is she was correct, he couldn't lie to her now, not add to the pain.
'Why? Why Kaito? It doesn't look fun, you don't even keep the jewels!'
'Look Aoko, I need you to trust me, but I can't tell you that.'
'Trust you? Trust? I think we're past that now, how long have you been lying to me? Seven, no eight years? And all this time, I refused to believe anyone but you.' She was crying now, sobbing her heart out, but every time he stepped forward to put an arm around her or to offer some comfort she took a step back.
'Aoko, please, I just need you to-'
'Believe more of your lies. You know multiple people told me to be suspicious of you, Hakuba, Akako, Kudou, my father. And guess what Kaito? I chose to believe in you, my best friend.'
'Aoko,' he tried to get closer to her, as much as he hurt her and deserved this, watching her cry was killing him. Usually when she cried he could offer some comfort, but now there was a wall between them and he couldn't get past it.
'NO! You stay away from me!'
He stayed this time.
'I really did trust you, you know.'
'I know.'
'Just leave me alone.'
'Aoko, I-'
'Do you want me to say it out loud?'
'No really Aoko-'
'I hate you Kaito. I hate you. I don't ever want to see you again,' she had her back turned to him, but she was still shaking, he reached out to her. After a moment's thought he pulled his arm back, 'so, please, leave.'
'You know Aoko, the reason I don't want to tell you, it's because I don't want to lose someone dear to me. If you know the truth, you'll be targeted too.'
She still didn't turn back to face him.
'I love you enough to do that. Protect you, so you can hate me all you want. Just stay safe.'
She stayed facing away from him, she stayed that way until she heard the door lock, the words 'I love you too' stuck in her throat.
~ ♡ ~
He was doing what she wanted, staying away from her.
At least he was making sure she didn't notice him.
How could he miss her book release party, he felt proud that she was finally able to finish it. So he attended, even if it was very briefly, to see her smiling on stage with her book. To see her greet her friends even some of her idols. He felt happy for her, even if he wasn't supposed to be there. He left as soon as she caught his eyes, afraid she'd see through his disguise.
At the Kudou's anniversary party he had left early, that was true, in a setting with old friends and alcohol he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't say something he'd regret. He watched her for a bit afterwards, as she laughed with Ran and Kazuha, looking just like her normal self. He didn't catch the sad look she cast around the room, confirming his absence. He was staying away for her own safety, she didn't have to be involved.
He saw her on TV, on ads in stores, even on social media. She was honestly everywhere, he couldn't avoid buying her book, but after seeing the first few pages, he couldn't read on, because in her dedications she'd left a message. It made him feel guilty, for avoiding her, but he didn't want to hurt her more.
To my best friend, I couldn't have done this without you. Hope you enjoy the book. ~ A ♡
His heart hurt a little looking at the hand drawn heart at the end of the message, she really never changes.
He made up his mind he was going to give her flowers, and maybe leave a note. He settled for a bouquet of purple irises with ivory roses and a pink flower he couldn't remember the name of. The cashier had said something about it meaning congratulations, which was probably the better option. His usual roses would send the wrong message and he didn't want her to feel worse.
'Will that be all? Or would you like a note as well?'
'I'll take the note as well,' if he couldn't think of a message he just wouldn't include it.
'Okay, do you have a message in mind, we can print the message for you.'
'Um no, it's okay, I'll write something myself,' the cashier chuckled, most likely having gotten the wrong impression.
'Ooh a romantic note for Aoko-chan, or do you have someone else in mind?'
Kaito jumped at the voice next to him, until he realised just who would annoy him like this, 'Kaa-san?'
'Oh Kaito, you've gotten quite bold, are you finally dating?'
'No! Please stop embarrassing me.'
'Oh no that would be completely against my principles.'
'Okay then why are you here?'
'To buy a something for Aoko-chan, I'm guessing you're doing the same.'
'Thank you for visiting, will that be all?' The cashier smiled at the mother and son duo currently arguing.
'No, please add this to the bill,' Chikage placed a potted on the till.
'Pay for your own flowers.'
'Don't be stingy Kaito, I know you're not busy, Aoko-chan told me all about your little fight.'
'She did?'
'Well the expensive bottle of wine I bought for the both of you did,' she chuckled as the cashier rung up her purchase.
'You made her drink? You know she's a complete lightweight.'
'Uhuh, I didn't force her, but she did tell me some interesting things last night,' she thanked the cashier before turning to leave.
'Wait,' he quickly paid for everything before grabbing everything and running after his mum. 'What do you mean everything?'
'You really didn't attend her party?' His flustered look proved her point, the idiot couldn't stay away from her.
'She doesn't want to see me.'
'You keep telling yourself that.'
'What?'
'Nothing.'
His mum then revealed the plant was for Jii-san and not Aoko because she'd already given her her presents. So she waved goodbye to him to walk in the direction of Jii's bar. Leaving Kaito to wonder why she couldn't pay for her own stuff and whether she was properly going to visit him, or if she was going to bother someone else.
So as he walked to the apartment he once shared with Aoko, he thought about what he could say on the note, 'I miss you too', 'Your book was good', 'Do you still hate me?'.
He shook his head, it just sounded sappy and ridiculous, she'd probably throw them away if she found out who they're from. Maybe it was best leaving out the note, but for some reason he couldn't, so he settled for a small 'K' in the corner, if she noticed, she noticed. If she didn't then she didn't.
As he walked up the stairs to the apartment he suddenly felt nervous, what if she was there, or happens to open the door as he placed the flowers down. No, she couldn't be home, he made sure, she's currently out with her editor, most likely discussing her book or next work. Filled with slightly more confidence he walked to the front door, he carefully placed the bouquet down, making sure not the damage the flowers or crumple the note.
~ ♡ ~
Later that night he received a call from Jii-san, who had news on a new jewel. It was being displayed in a museum in an exclusive event, only for one weekend. And such is the duty of Kaitou Kid, he had to hold a heist.
~ ♡ ~
'A heist, huh?'
'Maybe I should go.'
Chapter 4: A Happy Ending
'So you are here, Kuroba-kun.'
He looked up from the work station, he'd been engrossed in tinkering with a new gadget he'd been designing and hadn't heard her enter.
'Ran-san?'
'Shinichi got held up solving a case, but he said I could find you here,' she made her way to one of the stools in the room.
'Uh, yes but what are you doing here?'
'To talk,' she smiled as she dusted off the stool and sat down, 'obviously.'
'I'm not sure I'm the first person you go to for gossip, so I'm going to assume everyone else is busy.'
'Uh well not really, I know for a fact that Aoko-chan is not busy at all,' she watched him slightly flinch at the mention of her name - he may be a professional at hiding his emotions, but she had found that people like him always had a weakness.
'Well she seems like a better candidate to spend the evening with,' Kaito had continued to face away from her fiddle aimlessly with the gadget.
'Do you believe her?'
He was slightly taken aback by the question, 'believe what?' When he turned to face her, she looked quite serious, a contrast to her usual cheeriness. He could sense a little bit sadness behind her voice.
'That she doesn't want to see you again?'
'She made it quite clea-'
'And you believed that?'
'I've hurt her enough, she asked me so I-'
'Listened?'
'Precisely.'
'Kuroba-kun, I'm sure you know all about the year Shinichi went missing,' he nodded, although he'd found out later the detective had somehow become a child and was forced to be undercover for a year. 'And do you know what happened when he came back?'
He shook his head, he had played somewhat of a role in the take down of the black organisation, as Kudo had so rightly named it, he knew what happened leading up to it, he knew what happened during it. However, he realised, he wasn't sure what happened after, Kudo had made a reappearance back into society and everyone just accepted it.
'I didn't want to see him again, ever,' she smiled, this time her sadness made for a heartbreaking picture.
'But you, you loved him right?'
'I do Kuroba-kun, I love him so much, but that year was so hard - seeing someone you're so close to disappear and then every time he's back he's distant and disappears as quickly as he appeared. It takes a toll on your heart,' she chuckled quietly, 'I thought I'd be ecstatic to see him again, to hear he was going to stay, but when he explained the truth I didn't know what to feel.'
'But you, you're still with him, you forgave him?'
'Of course I did, at first it felt like the last year had been some sort of lie - it took some time, but I came to accept it, after all I'd waited all this time. Plus he told me the truth, he could just as easily have kept it from me, pretended that Conan had finally moved back with his parents. He told me the truth, that in a way showed how much he loved me too and it made me trust him more afterwards.'
'I'm glad that it worked out for you two,' he smiled, he meant it, they were truly made for each other, but something in his heart told him it would never work for him and Aoko.
'So why didn't you tell her the truth?'
'Huh?'
'You have your own reasons right? For being Kid?'
Kaito wasn't sure what kind of face he pulled at her accusation, 'I- I don't know what you're talking about.'
'Don't play dumb with me Kuroba-kun, my question is why didn't you tell her the truth, you're real reason.'
'I don't want her to get hurt.'
'So you'd rather lose her in another way?'
'Ran-san, I-'
'Just give it another think, and try once more. And this time maybe be more honest,' he opened his mouth to say something, 'to yourself.'
~ ♡ ~
'Aoko-chan!'
'Ran-chan!'
She pulled the other girl into a tight hug, 'Oh, it's so nice to see you again, how are you?'
'Oh you know - the same. Things haven't been the same without Kaito.'
'It's never easy,' as she made her way to one of the sofas in the room she glanced around the room, 'those are very pretty, where did you get them,' she motioned to the flowers in the vase.
'They were a gift,' she picked up the little card next to the vase, 'guess who they're from?' She flipped it over revealing the 'K' in the corner.
'He talked to you?'
'No I found them at the front door, but the handwriting is unmistakable,' she placed it down and sat down next to Ran.
'Are you going to talk to him?'
'Maybe.'
'But Aoko-chan-'
'Ran-chan I promise, I will.'
'Okay, okay, let's change the subject,' she smiled, not really believing her, 'do you know who I bumped into the other day?'
~ ♡ ~
It had come to the night of his heist. This time the trick was simple, one he could do in his sleep, a timeless classic. His target this time was a gorgeous diamond know simply as 'The Queen', a famous art collector had struck a deal with the museum's owner to display the jewel along with others from his collection. There was only one large jewel on display making his job a lot easier.
He smiled he had already managed to sneak in as a police officer, it was genuinely disappointing that police never managers to pick up on it. He reported to the inspector, before heading towards the door, he had conveniently been positioned near the display cabinet. However before he could reach his post, he was in for one hell of a surprise.
Aoko had finally managed to push through the crowds downstairs to where her father was. Inspector Nakamori had been surprised to hear his daughter’s request to be a part of the heist, but it had been a while since she’d shown an interest so he was happy to oblige. She was wearing a stunning gown, the event wasn’t a regular one, but rather a black tie event only those with an invitation could get in, she had been invited as an up and coming author, she had nearly declined, but other than that she wanted to be a part of the squad. She had managed to find a dress of her mother’s, a beautiful a-line formal dress. The colour was a deep blue with a sparkle to it, in the light she seemed like a star. The neckline was slightly revealing, as the sleeves were off the shoulder the tops of her breasts were showing, even Kaito couldn’t deny that she had grown into a gorgeous woman.
'You look just like your mother, I'm proud of you.' She hugged her dad, he was a man of few words when it came to her mother. 
When Kaito finally noticed her she was laughing with another man, tucking her hair behind her ear, the curls carefully done in a bun. He didn’t like the expression the man had on his face, not when he kept making obvious glances down her body. For a second he considered it, Aoko or his cover.
He nodded Aoko it is.
He appeared next to them and clearing his throat he said, ‘sorry to interrupt, but the inspector would like to talk to the young woman,’ he put an arm around her, ‘so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be escorting her there.’ 
The man made a noise of protest as Kaito half-dragged her out of the room.
Once the had gotten out of the crowded room and were standing near the staff stairs she pulled her arm away from him, ‘what do you think you’re doing, Kaito! You can’t just drag me out the room like that!’
‘I heard no complaints on the way here,’ he was facing and was finally able to take a good look at her.
‘He was creeping me out, so I left with you,’ she turned away from his gaze that was now scrutinising her appearance. She suddenly felt self conscious, especially when the neckline was so revealing.
He shook his head like he’d been in a trance, ‘why are you even here?’
‘I was invited genius, number one best seller, ring a bell?’
‘Well you need to leave, it’s going to get dangerous soon.’
‘Luckily for me I know how to take care of myself. So if the phantom thief doesn’t mind, I’ll be enjoying the party,’ she curtsied sarcastically before pushing past him to leave.
‘Why haven’t you told your dad?’
She stopped and answered without turning to face him, ‘I believe what I do has nothing to do with you.’
~ ♡ ~
The clock struck midnight and the lights went out, the inspector was shouting orders to turn the back up generator on, to shine a light on the display cabinet. There were flashes of Kid’s white cape, but before they could do anything the jewel was gone, no largely elaborate scheme, just a good steal. He made his way up to the roof, he had a glider prepared to fly away, but he, unfortunately, met with two problems.
One of them being the loud shouts behind him, voices he recognises, the organisation out to get him. He kept running, on the roof he had an advantage, but life had other plans because there was none other than Aoko Nakamori waiting for him.
He groaned, ‘Aoko you need to go, you really need to leave.’
‘Kaito? What’s happening?’ She seemed genuinely confused, having only come up for some air.
‘No time to explain, is there another way, apart from that door to get off the roof?’
‘I don’t think so.’
He swore under his breath, this was bad, so bad. They were coming and Aoko’s here.
‘Hey Kaito, will you tell me what’s really going on?’
‘I-‘
Just as he began to speak the door burst open and out stepped Snake.
‘Kaito kid! What a pleasant surprise!’ He noticed Aoko shuffle closer to Kaito, ‘Oh and you bought company how wonderful, you’re girlfriend? I thought you were married to the cape.’
Kaito put his arm out in front of her, ‘Snake, she has nothing to do with this so let her go.’
‘Nah I’m feeling extra annoyed today, men grab her.’
They moved closer in an attempt to grab her, but Kaito was quicker, using his card gun he was able to knock a few out. Aoko wasn’t doing so badly herself, she’d successfully knocked out two guys using a piece of pipe.
In a false sense of security she let her guard down and with all the snails she didn’t notice them man behind her until he grabbed her, ‘Kid!’
He nearly shouted her name back, but stopped himself, they shouldn’t sound so close. As the smoke cleared his surroundings were slowly revealed. Near the edge of the roof stood the man holding Aoko, Snake himself hadn’t moved and there were men lying on the floor.
‘I said she had nothing to do with this, so let her go,’ breathe he told himself, maintain that poker face.
‘Not until you hand over the jewel.'
‘I don’t have it, it’s actually already being delivered back to the inspector right now,’ he confirmed it’s authenticity before making his escape. ‘Since I don’t have it, it’s quite obvious it’s not the jewel you’re looking for.’
Snake snarled at him, ‘how convenient, drop the girl.’
‘What no-‘
‘Have fun,’ Snake smiled before he turned to leave.
Kaito wasted no time jumping after her, his heart was pounding like crazy, this was Aoko falling. He kept trying to reach her, stretching his arms to try and wrap around her. They were falling so fast, the ground was so close. She was reaching for him too, he could see tears in the corners of her eyes.
So he pushed harder to reach her.
With some miracle he was able to grab her and open his glider. However they managed to hit a tree and come crashing down. He let go of the glider so they wouldn’t get as hurt, but when they finally stopped moving he unwrapped his arms that were around Aoko.
’Aoko! Wake up!’
She mumbled before opening her eyes, ‘Kaito?’
‘Are you okay, are you hurt, show me your arm, he didn’t hurt you right?’
She smiled as she watched him fawn over her, making sure she was okay, ‘how about you Kaito, are you okay?’
’Hm, yeah I’m fine.’
’Liar, take off that stupid blazer,’ she tugged it off.
’Its not stupid.’
As she carefully inspected his shirt for tears or signs of blood, she began to speak, ‘why would you jump after me you idiot? You could’ve died.’
’And let you die, I was scared I was going to lose you for a second,' he gave her a small smile as she looked up at him, 'I didn't know how I was going to live in a world without you.'
She looked taken aback, 'Kaito, I'm sorry.'
'Why are you apologising, it should be me that should say sorry.'
'I don't hate you, its not the fact that your Kid that upset me the most, I-'
He cut her off with a small kiss, smiling at her cute shocked face, 'let's talk about this later.'
She burst out laughing, 'I'm sorry, we really should, the police are still looking for you and we're just sitting here.'
'Come on, let's go before your father catches us and accuses me of stealing his daughter.'
'Our place?'
'Our place.'
He put out his hand for her, to help her get up, 'and I never told you how beautiful you look, I'm sorry your dress is ruined.'
'It's fine, I don't really have a reason to wear it out again.'
'And where were you hiding these curves, I for one have never seen them before,' he pulled her closer, holding her waist.
'Well you can't really claim I look like a boy anymore.'
'Aoko you've always looked stunning,' his eyes didn't have a mischievous sparkle as he talked.
'But you-'
'I get nervous around you.'
'The famous Kaitou Kid, nervous around a girl,' she chuckled.
'It's not that funny,' he pouted at the statement.
While he was turned away, she tiptoed to give him a small kiss on the corner of his mouth, 'come on Bakaito, lets go home.'
~ ♡ ~
Fin
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bleumanouche · 8 months
Text
December 13th 2287
[previous entry]
My trek into inner Boston has been mostly boring.
Preston and I parted ways temporarily so he could gather enough men to retake a castle from a sea monster. We would then have our very own radio to help people with.
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Before he left, he tasked me with helping the people at Oberland Station. Since it was on my way, I decided to help them too.
A few hours of uneventful traveling later and I come upon a... Spaceship! You wouldn't have believed me so I included a picture!
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There was this green gooey substance that lead to a nearby hole in the rocks and inside was an alien..! No it wasn't a dream and you know I don't drink nor do chems, before you even ask. I even tried to include a picture of the alien, but the flash made it notice me.
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Since it was now late afternoon, I tried looking for some shelter. I came upon a shack that wase being guarded by the nightstalkers? It was tougher battle than usual when fighting these one though. After all that it had truly gotten dark and so I descended into the hatch inside the shack.
And discovered that not only were these things not Nightstalkers, at least not the ones you and I have heard of, but the same concept with entirely different canid dna. This dinlo tried to recreate them in the Commonwealth. But since there are no coyotes here, he got wolves from far harbour to splice their Dna with. His first successful attempt created the one that was still caged and looking at me with curiosity. The second was a female so he could have a breeding pair. She escaped, and now we have an invasive species of genetic hybrid on our hands. Oh and he thought of the totally original name of Nightstrikers for his hybrid.
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According to the terminal, the male was called Borous after the guy who invented Nightstalkers. Honestly, he is kind of cute close up.
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He and Jukel seemed to get along and he didn't attack me. After the fight outside, I think having one of these things would be a boon. I slept in the bed nearby and it was off to Oberland.
When I got there, she told me that her sister was kidnapped and taken to Backstreet Apparel.
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So very close to Oberland was another raider den, one that she didn't mention but I had heard of before. This was Beantown Brewery and apparently this was the rival to the leader of the Ration Station's little sister was accidently kidnapped. Maybe I can save her? In any case, like with Sunshine Tidings these people were too close for my comfort. As usual, I gave a quick prayer so these people will not become mulo and attack me.
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As I made my way slowly through the brewery, I couldn't find her. it was only after killing their leader that I found out that she was dead and he knew something of me. All the more reason that it is good that he is now in the after.
Getting to Backstreet Alley was pretty easy, they only had two guards and turrets outside. Inside, there two of them telling a story on how they killed one of the recruits. after disarming their traps, I quickly killed both them the and their leader. I located the sister and she told me there was more upstairs. She also told me of this beng called big Al, and even though he wasn't a raider, what he was doing was just as evil. I untied her and told her to wait as I finished.
The rest were easy. Upstairs where what I could only describe as movie sets almost. But instead of fake blood, it was real. They were also really childish, like movies made for a kids. it was really bizarre. But then I found out why it was bizarre... I'm not going to describe what this beng, this evil disgusting vile man was making. It took all I could not to throw up, I took all his holotapes and flyers and, after rescuing the sister, ran out I told her to wait a minute before we returned. She said "I understand. You found them didn't you?" I simply nodded and she gave me a bag she had that once contained her caps. After weighting the bag with rocks, I threw those things into the Charles.
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Afterwords I fell to me knees and prayed. Prayed for the children on the holotapes to find a better beginning than this one. And this may shock you, I prayed to It, hoping that It would take this thing's soul for It's next delight.
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retphienix · 5 months
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Many unpictured things as well, but doing all the construction terminal base stuff has some fun moments here and there.
Mech boy is a criminal who had his family killed which wasn't built up for like, emotional payoff, but was interesting to read especially in the following reveal that he washes his memory clean with nanites in order to either A: Better serve you or B: Live with himself after what his actions caused to his loved ones.
Even drops a nice bomb of "My old self dies here and now with my family, when we next meet I will be someone entirely different."
All in all his story has some nicely written pieces; In isolation it's pleasantly melancholic- plays with some sci fi stuff in a fun way, and even ends ambiguously in an interesting way where there are implications that part of him remembers (he is caught staring at old family photos) while still implying that his new life is downing nanites to prevent those memories from resurfacing and commiting petty crimes with us for units.
As a whole it's as I said, not really built up for a grand payoff- but it's a small side quest in the tutorial section of the game so like, that's okay?
I much prefer reading/playing stories that build up and pay off, but this is a small side quest that introduces cars so like, the fact this bit of interesting prose is here is in itself a net gain even if it didn't really get the chance to kick me in the gut with its heavy themes since it's effectively "Random alien I just met is a little rude and then in the same scene we find out his family is dead and he 'drinks' to forget".
I admittedly already forget some of farm boys, but I do remember he felt alienated from his people for his interest in creating life vs profits- he wasn't happy with being asked to kill animals if I recall (I might not)- he was told to return to the Gek and freaked out saying the leader was "Not who he appears to be" and maybe "not even a Gek" and claiming he was poisoned (intense paranoia) but then he just. Doesn't go back, and that's the payoff.
Another moment where some nuggets of interesting (or even present) writing is there and then because they wanted me to have an NPC to hang around my home he just goes "Well that's done, I'm hanging out here now."
I do rather like his slightly solemn mood about it though. He says he's staying and has nowhere to go, and nodding to him about this has him quietly smile and nod back, like a quiet acceptance/support being put his way.
Gun lad gets riled up for "one last murder job", his age kicks in pretty badly, and then he comes to terms with life in a way that grants him new perspective- namely he says he'll stop focusing on the dead (I forget the word he used- worshiping? fighting for?) and start focusing on the living.
I can't recall if he's the one that revealed more of his species lore to me, or if it was someone else, so I won't attribute it directly here and instead the parts of his story that were about him pretty much just said "I'm old now. Being close to dying is making me appreciate life more." in so many words.
Bot boy got broken off from the convergence hive mind and is now stuck in an infinite loop of recognizing this fact and freaking out about the loneliness this causes and asking to be reconnected.
His story structure is fun for me because it's a horrifying time loop involving AI- and his story had fun touching on the greater narrative more than most of the camp buds because both the convergence and Atlas talk about our significance which was fun.
And the most but also in many ways least interesting is the main construction lad because he kinda just doesn't have a story- he just becomes more and more cryptic and his mood shifts lower and lower as you progress until he's basically (and I'm assuming) spells out what the story of this game is in a petty voice like some spoiler gremlin on an old gamefaq thread lol
He starts out all nice and excited to help us- claiming they have helped us countless times and must do so again!
And I initially read that as a funny play on manipulation tactics some space cult might do- but no- he's for real.
As his dialogue changes he basically just starts saying outright "You're going to reset everything. Fuck you." so now I'm lead to believe getting to the center of the universe has us meet Atlas (again, because I've met once after these screenshots) and reset everything to start somewhere else in the universe.
It's weird to me just how heavy handed his dialogue gets when this is like, tutorial land.
I know I'm super deep in hour wise, but this is the "How a base works" quest and he's like "You're going to get to the end of the game and it's going to be like this." which is a bit much when most other hints towards the end are much more vague and cryptic and less blatant lol
Maybe I'm wrong though, hell if I know, I'll get there.
The writing in no man's sky is more often than not a bit heavy handed but since the entire game's mythos relishes in that tone, it works enough.
It's sometimes hard to take too seriously since 99% of the game is survival game collecting and building and then they drop like
"Cycles continue ad infinitum, death and pain become all you know as your flesh becomes entwined with the sting of cutting glass; Your friend was never alive, but are any of us? You ponder this question, attempting to convince yourself that surely that isn't so, but you know it to be true."
because you collected 150 chromatic metal and turned it in to try and save your traveller buddy.
The tone of the writing feels pretty consistent in the quests/big NPC talks, but it's alongside 9 billion randomly generated NPCs who all say "I'm gonna trade today." "Fight those sentinels" "I've been studying something you couldn't possibly understand." so it's hit or miss for when those nicely written lines actually get to carry their intended gravitas or if they come off a bit harsh or serious for a quest that had me open a door and hold E on a terminal.
And as implied above, sometimes entire mini-arcs are written... but attached to parts of the game where they aren't allowed to shine like at all.
None of these individual narratives for the camp crew are explored enough or emphasized enough to feel significant or impactful- they mostly just bring up well written 'ideas' that feel like drafts of what could be impactful stuff- and they all feel very.... "Mash through the text to get my reward"-able.
But~
I do like that they are there. Better than not, and I do like aspects here and there.
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Still think this guy is too heavy handed in just outright saying "All the weird hints you keep seeing seep into the narrative on your travels- yeah here's the exact thing. Just gonna say it. Anyways welcome to No Man's Sky- congrats on beating the base tutorial."
I wonder if I'm wrong and all this INTENSE AND BOLD LETTERED foreshadowing is misdirection/misinterpretation by either me or the characters in the narrative.
I'm pretty sure when you get to the center you get chucked back out to do it all over again, but until now with this guy I hadn't too much of a guess on the story significance of the action- now I'm left to assume I'm factory resetting a simulation (another name dropped in some text), so I'll go forward with that assumption until I reach the core.
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sunsetcorvid · 1 year
Note
Violet-colored eyes slowly blinked open to rays of sunlight filtering through the window above the bed. While it was a little blurry, Three could tell this wasn’t their room. Nor their house. (Nor did they live anywhere in particular but that wasn’t the point.) They lay on their side. The weighted blanket on top of them was ruffled, tangled in their limbs. A pillow lay halfway across their face, and another was captured in their arms. They must have been quite active during the night, which was unusual for them. Usually, they were considered a “Dead sleeper.” Which just meant they hardly moved when they slept. Didn’t mean they were a heavy sleeper, though. They were sure they must have woken up multiple times throughout the night to some strange sound or feeling.
Speaking of which, their throat felt like it was on fire. Swallowing felt like a difficult task, it felt like they were swallowing rocks. Their limbs felt heavy and they weren’t sure they could move. Maybe this is what they got for all those nights staying up late and sleeping in that uncomfortable area in Octo Valley.
And also cowering in the rain, apparently, as they suddenly remembered where they were and what happened. The unfamiliar room suddenly made much more sense now.
They were in the Squid Sisters’ house.
As if to confirm this realization, a knock sounded at the bedroom door. When Three didn’t answer, the doorknob turned and a familiar Cuttlefish poked her head into the room.
“Three? Oh! You’re awake!” Callie said excitedly as she fully stepped into the room. She’d tied her tentacles up differently since the night before. Instead of the usual bow made with them, she’d tied them back, creating a ponytail. Smart, she wouldn’t be bothered by them while she slept. Three found themself wishing their tentacles were long enough to do that. They’d been forced to get them cut before getting kicked out to be independent in Inkopolis. Well, at least they had control over it now, so they’d be able to grow them out without any comment from their parents or siblings. They had control over pretty much everything in their life now. Though at the cost of just about everything, they supposed.
“Are you feeling okay, Three?” Callie’s voice was laced with concern as she made her way over to the bed that the younger inkling lay on. “You look more shit than usual. I mean, like, your tentacles are dull.” A bit of humor was found in her statement. Three snorted at this. She probably wasn't wrong, though. They felt like shit, so they were sure they looked like shit.
A cool hand placed itself on their head, which they didn't realize was so warm; Uncomfortably so. The coolness of the touch felt… surprisingly nice. Maybe it was because their brain was still fogged with sleep, maybe they just didn't mind in the moment, but they let the hand stay there and wished it wouldn't move. They didn't like being touched, not often anyways. Were they not feeling like they just crawled out of Hell, they probably would have bitten the hand. Okay, not bitten and maybe just swatted away, but still. And much to their surprise once more, their eyes slipped closed at the nice feeling. But all too soon, the hand retreated from its place.
“You're sick, aren’t you?” the older inkling spoke with a deadpan, yet slightly worried face. All Three could give in response was a snort. “Feels like your head is on fire. I was honestly expecting this, Gods know how long you were out there in the rain.”
It had been thirty minutes, at least. They weren't sure how they’d gotten sick within that period of time, but then considered their self-care habits and decided it made enough sense. All they’d wanted to do was check and see if Callie had been right about the storm, but they ended up getting caught in it themself. The first little bit of thunder had them cowering, hands over their ears. It shouldn't have felt as loud as it was, it shouldn't have made them think of the explosion that splat bomb had made that gave them the nasty scar on their side. But alas, they had found themself sitting in the rain close to getting splatted.
Three groaned as a wave of pain passed through their head. God, they really felt like shit. Their grip on the pillow in their arms grew tighter and they closed their eyes. Maybe if they forced themself to sleep, the pain would go away. The sound of the bedroom door being closed caused them to open their eyes in confusion. Callie had left the room.
Great, she was probably going to tell Marie that they were sick and to stay away from the room. They never liked being sick; no one did, really. When they were sick, they were left alone in their room until they were better. Everyone in their family did it when someone was sick. Quarantine the sick one so no one else gets sick. The only time they could come out of their room was late in the night, when everyone else was asleep in their respective rooms. They’d grab anything leftover from dinner and a water bottle and sneak back to their room. They never questioned this. It made sense, to them at least. Plus, fighting off the sickness by yourself toughened you.
But while it was safer, it was also lonely. Sitting alone in a room with just your thoughts. Especially those that intruded into Three's personal brain space from time to time. They liked to think that they were fine alone, that they’d always been able to get through being sick, even if it meant being curled up in their room for a good few days. Which is why they found themself confused at being sad that Callie had left the room. They shouldn't care that much, they barely knew the idol. But… she’d been so nice to them since she'd met them. It confused them, even more, when they started thinking about that. Why was she being so nice to them? She didn't need to, she had other things to worry about. Three should be the least of her concerns. Yet, there she was not even five minutes ago checking the young agent’s temperature. And there she was the night before, looking for Three in the storm. And when they first visited the Cuttlefishs’ house, when they’d been wounded enough to have to be dragged back there, Callie didn't even know their name. They didn't really know their own name if they were being honest, but that's beside the point. Callie, and Marie, had taken care of them to the best of their ability. The two didn't have to, but they did anyway. Three didn't know how to feel about this. It was strange.
The door opening once more dragged them from their thoughts.
“Okay, I got some water and some food for you. I made extra for breakfast because I thought you might be hungry when you woke up. My turn to cook this week so here's some rice and eggs! Sorry if you don't like either, don't know your food preferences yet.” Callie explained as she placed a glass of water and a tray with a plate of food on the nightstand next to the bed.
For the first time since Three had awoken, they sat up from their uncomfortable position in the bed. Unfortunately, the sudden movement only seemed to make their migraine worse. With a wince, they gripped their head with one hand and reached for the glass of water with the other. A reassuring hand rubbed their back as they took a sip. That felt nice. Weird, but nice. They hadn't realized how thirsty they were until they’d taken the first sip and the water was gone within seconds. Ah, that certainly helped their throat somewhat. Callie laughed from her spot next to them. When had she sat on the bed with Three?
“Pretty thirsty I take it?” All she got in response was a side-eye from the tired agent, but she got the message quite clearly.
The water seemed to help with their headache a bit as well, which didn’t surprise them. They had a habit of forgetting to drink water often, which lead to quite a bit of headaches. Nothing they couldn’t handle. Although, this felt like someone had placed a splat bomb in their head and modified it to blow up every few seconds. They couldn’t remember the last time they felt this sick. That’s what they got for being a dumbass, they supposed.
As they grabbed the tray from the nightstand to taste the food Callie had made them, they went over their plans for the day in their head. They couldn’t stay here all day. Callie had done more than enough for them the past day, they didn’t need to bother her or Marie anymore than they already were. They’d eat the food, rest a little more, then head back to the valley. They had kettles to patrol, an important duty they bestowed upon themself that took priority over recovering from sickness. Were there not as many Octarians in those areas since they’d defeated their ruler? Yes, but that didn’t mean they should slack off on keeping the city safe. The Zapfish could be stolen again for all they knew. They had to be prepared for that. Not only did patrolling help keep the city safe, but also helped with their skills. Perhaps they should visit Ammo Knights later to try a new weapon. All they’d been using this whole time was their Hero Shot. Maybe a roller?
Three’s thoughts were cut short as took a bite of the eggs and rice. Oh, that was good. They couldn’t remember the last time they’d had rice with eggs on top; most certainly before they’d started living on their own. Perhaps that was why they found it so good, enough so that they choked on a bite from how fast they’d been eating it. Coughing wracked Three’s body as they attempted to get the piece of food dislodged from their throat. That same hand from a few minutes ago hit their back in an attempt to help. Oh, shit, Callie was still here? Well, that’s embarrassing.
“Geez, slow down! I know I’m pretty good at cooking, but I’m not that good.” The older inkling joked as Three finally stopped choking on the rice. No, this squid was wrong. The food was fucking delicious, she should not be undermining herself like this.
Then again, Three couldn’t remember the last time they’d eaten.
With the coughing fit over and the food mostly consumed, Callie took the glass and tray and exited the room with a quick “I’ll be right back!”, leaving Three once more alone with their thoughts and sickness.
What were they planning before they started choking? Oh, right, new weapons. Did they have enough money for a new weapon? They’re sure they have some saved up from Turf Wars. Maybe not a lot, but enough to get something nice. Plus, they could probably get Sheldon to get them a discount since they were an agent and all. They’d learned not too long ago that he was the guy who supplied the weapons for the Splatoon. He seemed nice enough, albeit quite chatty.
A familiar object in the room caught Three’s eyes. Was that one of those mini zapfish plushies next to the dresser? They squinted their eyes to try and see better. Yeah, that was the zapfish plush alright. They remembered the first time they grabbed it after repeating a mission. They assumed the Octarians had placed them there in place of the real one so they could have some form of zapfish. But seeing the one in this room now made them think otherwise. Were Callie and Marie the ones putting the fake zapfish there? Or perhaps the captain? Urgh, their brain was too fogged to think about it. All they seemed to focus on now was how soft the zapfish looked. The fabric carefully hand-sewn together. A little captain’s hat sat on top. They always thought that little detail was nice. Maybe they could?
With a groan, Three stood from the rather comfortable bed to make their way to the plush. Unfortunately, they lost their balance hardly halfway there and fell to the ground with an audible thud. Thankfully, the agent’s head didn’t come into contact with the nightstand or the dresser. At least they wouldn’t have a worse migraine. However, they were now stuck on the carpeted floor, the energy sapped out of them. The zapfish plush lay just a few feet away from Three, within arm’s reach. Yes! They could grab it!
Shaking hands wrapped around the fish’s plush body and brought it close to the inkling’s chest. It was as soft as they had thought, maybe even softer. A content sigh left their lips. Screw the bed, they’d rather lay on the floor with this fish instead. They will name it… Sparky. Was that basic? Yes. But you can’t blame them, they were sick and terrible at naming things.
“Hey, I got you more water and some medicine for your sick. It tastes terrible, but it’ll help- Oh my gods, Agent 3, what the hell happened?!” Callie exclaimed at the sight of the younger inkling curled up on the floor. “I left for, like, two minutes!”
Three raised the zapfish up slightly, showing off their prize.
“Oh, you were trying to get the zapfish. You could have just waited for me to come back so I could grab it for you, you know.” Didn’t matter now. They had the plush and that was that. Also, they didn’t need to get someone to do something for them when they were perfectly capable themself. Even if capable meant laying curled up on the floor with a plush in their arms. A sigh sounded from above.
“Alright, come on, up you go.” A surprisingly strong pair of arms wrapped underneath Three’s and picked them up, very similar to how Callie would hold Judd sometimes. Then, the young agent was, gently, tossed back onto the bed with terrifying ease. They knew they didn’t weigh much, but they couldn’t weigh that little. Could they?
Callie raised an eyebrow at their startled expression. Three pointed to her arms, which now that they focused, looked like they had quite a bit of muscle on them.
“What, do you think I’m strong?” she laughed as she looked at her arms. Three didn’t respond. “Well, you're technically not wrong. I do main the roller, which puts a bit of muscle on you if you use it enough.” Oh, that explained it. Maybe they should try out a roller. Gods know they could use some muscle.
As if reading their mind, Callie spoke again. “I could show you the basics of wielding a roller sometime if you'd like. I’d say I’m pretty good at it.” Well, Three would have to see about that.
“Anyways, as I was saying before. I got you some more water and some medicine. Marie said it’ll help with your throat, too.” The liquid, which appeared to be the medicine, did not look very appetizing. Then again, medicine wasn't supposed to be appealing, so there wasn't any reason to complain about that. Either way, there was no way in Hell they were drinking that. Would it make them better? Yes, maybe. But also the idea of drinking it made them want to throw up. And the sisters shouldn't be wasting their medicine on them when they would probably get better in a couple of days anyway.
In defiance to both the medicine and the water, Three turned their back to Callie on the bed, holding Sparky tighter. Maybe they should think of a better name for the fish…
Internally, Three scolded themself for being so childish about the situation. It didn't particularly help that they were holding onto a stuffed zapfish like their life depended on it. But despite their thoughts, they couldn't find the energy to really care. The fever was really getting to them. Maybe the medicine was a good idea. Oh well, too late. They already turned their back to it and made up their mind that they didn't need it.
Callie sighed behind them. “C’mon, Three. I don't want to send you back to your parents half-dead.” she joked. “... Speaking of which, do they know where you are?” They flinched… shit.
What were they supposed to tell her? That they'd been kicked out of the house because they’d been deemed independent enough to live on their own? That their parents probably had no idea where they were and didn't care? That they'd been living in Octo Valley for the past few months because they weren't old enough to own an apartment? (Though, Three had heard that the laws were planning to be changed so that the minimum was 14. They didn't think it was a very good idea, but it would certainly benefit them if it happened.)
They supposed they could lie like they had been since they’d given her their phone number. Alright Three, come on, think of something!
Oh, wait. How were they supposed to tell her? They couldn't really speak when they were like this. Then they slapped themself mentally as they remembered the phone in their pocket. They'd forgotten to take it out before passing out the night before.
After a bit of shuffling, Three managed to pull the device out their pocket. They squinted their eyes as the screen turned on, brightness almost all the way up. Why the hell had they turned it up that high? Whatever, they checked the time.
1:36 PM…
That was much later than they had originally thought. That also threw off their original plans of getting out of bed before noon to patrol the Valley and train. They decided then and there that the universe despised them. Also, weren’t the Sisters supposed to be at work right now? They didn’t know their whole schedule, but they were sure that they started work at a much earlier time…
With an internal sigh, Three opened up their messaging app and tapped on Callie’s contact. A couple of minutes later, a notification sound was heard and Callie fished her own phone out of her pocket and read the message sent by Three.
(Three) 1:40 PM
as far as they know, im staying at a friends house for the weekend. i texted them in the valley
(Three) 1:41 PM
what am i supposed to tell them
(Three) 1:41 PM
“oh yeah im staying at a famous idols house because im sick again lol love ya xoxo”
(Three) 1:42 PM
theyd probably call the cops thinking im doing drugs
Three thanked the gods that it was Saturday so it would seem more believable. They felt impressed with themself for thinking of such a great lie while their mind felt so fogged with fever. But turning around now to look at Callie, their confidence faltered. The look on the idol’s face was a mix between concern and suspicion. But it softened a few moments later and the older inkling spoke again.
“Do you get sick often? You said “again” in this. Sounds like it happens a bit.” The notification sound rang out again.
(Three) 1:44 PM
immune system is shit
“Well, that explains why you’re so sick now.”
(Three) 1:45 PM
im not that sick
“Three, you can barely get out of bed. You’re pretty sick.” You know what? They were going to prove her wrong! They will laugh in her face when they get up and can walk completely fine.
“What the hell are you-”
Not even two minutes later, the (Not-so) famous Agent 3 was laying face down on the floor. They swore at their body for giving up so easily, but then finally gave in and accepted the fact that they were sick and wouldn’t be getting anywhere for a day or two. Being stubborn about this wouldn’t get them anywhere and would most likely make them worse. Taking in a breath, Three turned their body over so that they were laying on their back. Callie’s head popped up from over the bed, an unimpressed look plastered on her face.
“You are one stubborn squid, you know that?” Yeah, they knew well enough.
A hand was offered to them and a few minutes later they were back on the bed, zapfish in their hands. They briefly considered taking it back to their spot in the Valley, but the thought was pushed out. The fish didn’t belong to them and they damn well wouldn’t steal from the Squid Sisters. The ones literally taking care of them, for what reason they still couldn’t fathom.
But then Callie spoke again as if reading their thoughts.
“If you like the zapfish so much, you can keep it. We have a ton, anyways.” What.
They could keep it…
Their grip on Sparky grew tighter in response to this. These squids were too nice to them, honestly.
“So, are you gonna take this medicine or am I gonna have to shove it down your throat?” Nevermind.
“Three.” Fuck you.
“I swear, Three, this is all I need you to do and then you’re free to rest unbothered. Just a cup of this and then you’re done.” Three stared for what felt like forever, then slowly nodded their head. Just to get this shit over with.
A few seconds later, a small cup with a purple-reddish liquid was placed into their hands. It smelled terrible and it looked terrible, but Three took a deep breath and drank it all in one swig… And then immediately gagged because that tasted like shit. Laughter erupted in front of them and the small cup in their hands was replaced with a glass of water. God, hell, they need to get this taste out of their mouth. The water seemed to absorb the taste and spread it out slightly in their mouth, but after a few sips the flavor seemed to die down and they didn’t feel like throwing up from it.
The glass was placed on the nightstand and the inkling turned their back to the idol. As they did so, they laid their head back on the pillow and a wave of exhaustion hit them at almost full force. Shit, the sick was getting them. A hand rubbed their back.
“See? Not that bad. The Great Agent 3, the agent who defeated DJ Octavio himself, was able to take medicine! Hopefully, it should help you a bit.”
The bed shifted as Callie stood up and grabbed the bottle of medicine from the nightstand. The air felt peaceful, calm, as Three began drifting in and out of sleep. They seemed to merge with the bed, their body growing heavier with each passing second. Then, as the clock from the bedroom door being closed was heard, sleep finally pulled them in.
“I’m worried about Three…”
“Well, they’re sick, I’m not entirely surprised by that statement.”
Callie paced about in the shared living room. She had just come back from convincing Three to take some medicine and had been moving about the room ever since. It was a habit she had, whenever she was worried or nervous. It was the former in this case. Marie closed the book she was reading and turned her head to look at her sister.
“There’s more to it, isn’t there?” The green squid eyed Callie’s pacing, which was becoming much more vigorous.
“Their parents… It doesn’t make sense!” she threw her hands up but never stopped her pacing. “Three said they told them that they were staying at a friend’s house for the weekend but it- it didn’t sound right… Why would they let their kid stay out that late at night anyways? Especially in the rain! And another thing! Have you noticed that they’ve been spending pretty much all their time in the Valley?” Callie stopped pacing to look at Marie.
“Well, when you mention it, yeah. What about it?”
“Shouldn’t they be going to school? The districts around here are super on top of making sure a kid is there. The parents are almost immediately notified if someone doesn’t show up. You’d think their parents would do something about that, but they seem unbothered. Enough so that they’re just okay with Three spending a weekend at a friend’s house! Either they’ve been skipping this whole time and their parents don’t care, or there’s something else here. With how often they’re getting beat up in the Valley, I’m going with the latter.”
Everything was silent as Callie finished her rant. The book Marie had been holding prior dropped to her side and she covered her mouth with her hand in thought.
“That… is quite alarming.” She finally spoke after a few minutes.
“Right?! And Three gets all nervous when I ask! They literally flinched when I brought it up!”
The two stared at each other as a plan formulated in their heads. They’d always been able to think of the same things when the times called.
Terrifyingly, at the same time, they both spoke.
“We need to talk to Three about this.”
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ahoge-fish · 1 year
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Hello! I love your art and the way you draw Jotaro 👌 I was actually wondering if you could offer some tips on developing a JJBA OC? I'm working on creating one but am getting a bit hung up on writing her in a way that makes sense within the context of the Jojo universe, not to mention I'm trying to work out the mechanics of her stand. Are there any resources or things that helped you develop your OC? Thanks so much! Have a great day/night! :)
HIIIII!! Omg thank you so much for the complimeents I APPRECIATE THEM SO MUCH GNGNGNGBGNF💖💖💖💖💖💖
And of course! I can try >:3 because I express like shit HAHAHA
IMPORTANT! Everyone r e a d 🔫
There are gonna be some spoilers from part 3 to 6, but since Stone Ocean just came out and I'm pretty sure that people here already saw/read from part 3 to 5, I'll put a very visible warning just for Stone Ocean spoiler that may come. And I'll even use this type of font because peripherical vision can be a bitch sometimes HAHAHAHA But in case I warned you guys even for part 3 to 4 spoilers, then the risk to take is yours 👀👀👀👀
Also I'd like to make it clear that the things you guys are gonna read are based on my opinions, my likings, so you totally can also not agree with them and so you don't have to f o r c e f u l l y do what I've said :>
And NOW you can read the answer HAHAHA
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Welp, it's not that I've actually adapted her in the canon universe, because since I want it to be a happy world, a happy place for myself to have fun in I've changed some things in order to not make some characters die because I love them too much and it breaks my heart everytime realizing some characters are dead ;v; That's the thing I've changed and ofc I added my OCs so more things changed, but not in a way to change the original story line (I hope I've explained myself well HAHAHA)
OC strenght and fights
Aaaaaand a thing I would do (/do in my universe), is not making an OC too OP, because yes they are a protagonist for you, but the story told in the anime/manga is the canon protagonist's one so I kind of like wouldn't want to steal their spot light. (In fact when in DIU Josuke wasn't the one to kill Kira but was a FRICKING AMBULANCE TO DO THAT- and even Jotaro that gave him a final blow- I was like "nuuuu but Josuke- noooo", I mean he had his very cool figh with Kira but I still wanted to see him defeat the hand fetish man once and for all. But it was still a very cool ending don't get me wrong :3)
STONE OCEAN SPOILER: START
And since I want the protagonist to kill the main enemy AAND a happy ending for Stone Ocean, I made it happen in a way that was Jolyne that gave Pucci a final punch in order to kill him FUCK YOU BITCH
STONE OCEAN SPOILER: END
Your OC can of course help, but I wouldn't make them do important kills like killing DIO for example, or important kills for a character in general.
For example: your OC could defeat Blue Moon but I would avoid them defeating The Hanged Man since all what happened with Sherry, while Blue Moon just took Jotaro as his enemy and didn't serve for a character development. Yes, Jotaro unlocked Star Finger, but he still could do that and then your OC can give Blue Moon the final blow. What I want to say with that is that your OC can defeat a non important secondary villain, but always with the help of who was originally supposed to defeat them. So to not take their spot light. But then if an event that you decided to make happen don't let you do that then it's okay! I'd still make it in a way to make them fight together, it's just my personal opinion and I think a way to make your OC fit better in the JJBA universe :3
But then of course you want your OC to have THEIR fight alone (or with another character, but always that you OC is now the protagonist of this fight) so in this case I'd create an enemy stand just for them to defeat ;)
Having always in mind the "not making your OC too OP", in making the stand you can go WILD. You could use some facts about anything that you know and like to create it! I used the ones I know to create my OC Alexandra's stand Kubary Fighter! But you can also creating it depending on the role you want to give your OC in the group, thing I've did with my other OC Yanyu's stand Precious Memories :3
I don't have much to say on about creating a stand, because you can literally do anything HAHAHAHAHA But ye knowing little facts by being curious in life can be handy when doing those things :3 You can also search for them and getting informed about things of course
Also have in mind that a stand is the extension of one's soul, so you can start from thinking how your OC's mental state is to give their stand the right amount of power and durability, because then I think that the other stats depends on the ability you wanna give the stand :3
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OC design
For the designs, you can go CCCCCCCRAAAAZY with them as you can see from Araki's characters, *and they're very recognizable because he has his own way to make unique designs (we'll get to this later).
Each character has a very recognizable design, that isn't especially bizzare, but that has that one feature that makes their silouette recognizable (even without posing). Let's take our favourite french man Polnareff as an example: his clothes aren't as bizzare as Giorno's for example, they're pretty simple (not basic, just simple for one of Araki's design). And so what makes his silouette recognizable? H I S H A I R!
Look at this
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You can 100% tell who is Polnareff from these two silouettes, and I'm sure you can even guess who is the other silouette even tho it is far more simple from Polnareff's. The thing is that it is still recognizable! So if you said Okuyasu then WOHOOOO he has a recognizable silouette!
You don't have to forcefully follow this rule, but it is a great help for character design because it makes people recognize and remember your OC a lot better!
Now, taking this *point, let's talk about how Araki's design are recognizable. It depends from character to character, but most of them don't necessarily have lots of accessories, but they sure have LOTS of details, and overall bizzare clothing. Take Jolyne's number one simp Anasui for example: his shirt (if we can call it that) doesn't make fucking sense HAHAHAHA His design is very cool tho, but what I want to say is that you don't see anywhere Anasui's shirt, it's unique and bizzare. I wouldn't count the foot prints on his shirt as accessories, because they're technically pockets, but they still serve as details for Anasui's design.
It's the details and shape of the clothes that you have to keep in mind, not the accessories. Of course you can add them to your OC's design, but I think you shouldn't give them as much priority as the shape of the clothes. I say that it would be better to do it that way, because this is the way the manority of JJBA character's design are. But then we have other characters that have lots of accessories, but the shape of their clothes is very simple.
Now we'll take our fave ocean man Jotaro as an example: his clothes are very simple, but the accessories he has give them its own personality and character. Because even the accessories are bizzare! I mean- look at his big ass golden chain, where else do you find a chain THAT big? No wonder his neck is so damn big, the boy has to walk straight in order to not fuck up his posture (even tho it is a little fucked up in the healthy way, but I love it so much because DAT PELVIS- MMMM), and the same goes for all of his pins in the other parts designs.
Now, I want you to take a look at these clothes
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Love them, beautiful, gorgeous, so edgy with lots if accessories, bbbbbut they personally don't give that JJBA vibe. Why? Because the clothes have a normal shape and the accessories (even tho they're a lot and basically what makes the outfit pop) are not bizzare.
And now, I want you to look at THESE clothes
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The shape of them are very unusual, a thing that you would only see at fashion shows, but that you would see in the streets in the JJBA universe.
Now, look at THESE accessories
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THAT WOMAN IS WEARING A FREAKING STREET CONE ON HER HEAD!! Isn't that... b i z z a r r e?
I hope I made the difference clear, because I don't hate on the ones that make their JJBA OC wear that edgy outfit with lots of chains, I just personally don't think they give that JJBA vibe.
And with colors too, go crazy with them BUT!! Keep in mind color theory
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My personal favourite are the complementary and split complementary theory, but you of course can use the one you like the most!
Also this could help too with the skin color 👀
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I followed it for my OC Yanyu, but I didn't for my OC Alexandra, because as some of you know her main colors are turquoise and orange, but her skin tone is more of a pinkish one and as you can see on the turquoise and orange skin colors, they are more of a yellowish one. As I said, you don't have to forcefully follow these things! They are tips not rules, so you can do what you think for you is the best, because afterall the OC is yours :3
All of this design talk obv goes for the stand too :3 That can be literally anything, like- even a talking shopping cart made out of noodles with donuts that replace the wheels *w h e e z e*
Also I'd have in mind the part you want your OC to be in, because part 3 designs are more simple than for example part 5 designs, so that you can avoid making your OC feel like out of place (This goes for the stand users and not for the stands).
Aaaand that's all I think! I really hope that I've managed to explain things in an understandable way and that the things I've said can help you create your OC :3 I wish you a great day/night too! 💖💖💖💖💖💖
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lord-squiggletits · 1 year
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One of the thing I love about IDW Op is that he's technically an atheist war pope. It's interesting that he didn't believe in religious aspect himself but was willing to use it for the power. Made his character more complex to me. Do you have opinion on this topic?
I have a lot of mixed feelings about it tbh. On one hand, I think being an atheist/agnostic fits IDW Optimus' character well (I've tried to imagine him as religious and just...can't), but on the other hand, I kind of have a problem with the way most media depicts religious people, and it's a bit disappointing that the Matrix has canonically been associated with multiple miracles (reviving OP and Hot Rod from death, creating new sparks, even Primus/Rung being able to make them) but Optimus still calls the Matrix 'nothing but a bauble' at some point like. Really bro? So there is a part of me that is disappointed at the Matrix being treated as a Plot Device rather than a proper, respectable religious thing. On the other hand, that's just not what the story is about, and I can't call a story/character bad because it didn't go in the exact direction I wanted.
TLDR: I think Optimus being agnostic/atheist makes sense for him, but I really dislike the way it was handled in the story because it feels more like it was used as a plot inciting device than some sort of journey of Optimus trying to discover his purpose. Also, the way he interacts with other religious characters had a lot of wasted potential, so I just feel like it wasn't written in a very interesting way? Basically, the writing is such a mixed bag of interesting concepts with mediocre/bad execution that I can barely focus on the in-universe implications and mostly just get mad at Barber's writing.
My feelings are also complicated by the fact that I don't like Barber's writing at all (it's like 90% dislike and 10% like) because of how bad he is about prioritizing plot over character emotions and stuff. Earlier on in phase 2 it seemed as if Optimus was genuinely curious about his religious role as a Prime and asked the Camiens for guidance on who he should be as Prime (Windblade, Aileron, the Mistress of Flame). In Death of Optimus Prime, OP literally wished he was dead when he woke up. He made a very big deal about how he's Orion now, not Optimus. In Dark Cybertron he had a whole crisis about whether he's Orion or Optimus. Basically, he was set up to have a huge identity crisis (especially since the war is over and leadership of Cybertron fell to Starscream), but any amount of introspection was quickly derailed into PLOT PLOT PLOT OPTIMUS ANNEXES EARTH AND FIGHTS GALVATRON. The story just devolved into bullshit plot on Earth that was just action, action, plot, things happening, with pretty much no room for the characters to stop and breathe and talk and have relationships with each other. I barely felt any emotional investment for most of exRID.
I think the only scenes we got with Optimus actually getting to reflect on this new role of his was 1. when he first met Aileron and asked her and 2. when he's telling Aileron he doesn't believe and then Pyra Magna comes in and gets mad at him.
Speaking of Pyra Magna, the story writing also annoyed me because from the moment she was introduced, Pyra Magna was SUPER self-righteous about how she should be the Prime instead of Optimus and she said that she would try to make Optimus into a better Prime. But then guess what happens? Her and Optimus barely talk and Pyra Magna is basically just there to form Superion and punch people :/ And then later on when Onyx Prime is introduced, all the sudden Pyra Magna goes from having strong opinions about what a True Prime should be and believing she's destined to be the true Prime........ to talking about how she's never trusted Primes and she left the Mistress of Flame for trusting a Prime too quickly??? I know Pyra Magna isn't Optimus, but the reason I'm bringing her up is because she seemed truly religious and opinionated, she SAID she was going to "teach" Optimus things, she seemed like she was set up to be a rival to Optimus, but instead they barely have interactions and the ones they do have early in the series end up being retconned later by Barber's shitty writing that puts plot over consistent character development so. :/ I really expected Pyra Magna and Optimus to have some meaningful interactions, some mix between a rivalry and a mentor/student situation, but instead all she does is shit on him like half the case of exRID/OP and it just made me mad.
(There was also Slide who went from worshipping Optimus to saying that his leadership style is "literally fascism" and monologuing about how Optimus is a conqueror while fighting Unicron and Trypticon is being killed in the background. She's so fucking annoying and comically stupid that I genuinely thought she was going to betray them or do something evil just because she was so unhinged.)
But if you want my actual in-universe opinion on atheist pope Optimus, I do think it's an interesting concept. It shows off Optimus' sense of duty where even though HE doesn't believe, he thinks that what other people think of him his more important. He sees that being a religious figure can help him do what he thinks is right, so he willingly plays that role as a means to a greater end. He's already a "patriot and hero" to the Autobots thanks to his military feats; he's used to being venerated (sometimes to unhealthy degrees) and knows how powerful his influence can be whenever he makes political decisions. I think that he basically saw the Camiens' worship of him as just a new form of the admiration he was already used to receiving. He's spent his whole life commanding armies so simply adopted the colonists into his ranks as well.
(Also, side note, it's so fucking hypocritical for Pyra Magna to call Optimus a piece of shit for "using belief, but not believing" only for her herself to admit a few volumes later that she's never trusted Primes. Why do you wanna be one so badly then if you think Primes are so awful? If it's because you think you could do a better job than past Primes, that literally makes you the same as Optimus, who is also trying to redeem the title of Prime, so you have no right to be punching Optimus in the face lmao. But I also genuinely can't tell if that hypocrisy is supposed to be deliberate or if Barber just did what he usually did and ignored character emotion/motivation/self-reflection in favor of shoving some backstory in for Pyra Magna that tied her to Onyx Prime.)
At least Optimus tried to discourage the blind worship and used the Camiens to do things he had already spent his whole life doing (fighting genocidal colonizers aka Decepticons and protecting organic lives) so I don't really see it as out of line for Optimus. It shows how IDW OP can be a politician as well as a military leader. I think it shows how Optimus can be clever and take advantage of his reputation to achieve his political goals (protecting Earth) and it makes him a more realistic character. Sometimes things that are good aren't done through noble means. Sometimes people do good things by being not very nice.
Also, for what it's worth, I think IDW OP is less manipulative than someone like Starscream, who constantly flaunted his "Chosen One" status while admitting he didn't believe in it (or wavering in his belief) and doing things like creating secret police and trying to kidnap sparklings. Like damn at least Optimus risked his life in the same battles he asked his followers to fight in, he ruined his reputation for the sake of protecting Earth from the Decepticons. Even if the guy is an atheist pope at least he puts his own ass on the line for things he believes in for the sake of protecting people who pretty much hate him lmao. That's why I'm more inclined to view Optimus sympathetically; he's living a lie for political means, but his politics are literally "protect humans and Earth from the bullshit war and destruction Cybertronians forced onto their planet", and the burden of leadership is making him depressed and passively suicidal, and eventually he literally sacrificed himself by jumping into a black hole to save millions/billions of people so like. Let the guy fucking rest lmao.
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akitoscorpio · 4 months
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Dead of winter Pt 10
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"EIC Log entry 2, Commissar Bogdan recording the log."
"The boss said he needed what amounted to a 'head of security role' around the base. I guess because I was the one that he trusted the most, not to mention the only that still had all his bits functional, I got the job."
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"I had a couple requests though. The main one being he needed to take the Dominion's offer to make him part of their nobility seriously. He finally caved and we started to make him a throne room. I guess it doesn't look great when they have to give you a title in the entryway of the base next to the Paste grinders."
"I wonder if he climbs that ladder enough we can get some proper food around here?"
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"Now I had a few idea's how to really impress the Dominion when it came time for them to show up and promote the boss. I had us set up an external mine shaft so we can exploit some of the deeply buried resources under our base to try and muster up something special to doll up the new room."
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"It turned out we were parked on top of a deep vein of Eltex, that fancy ore that's used in creating clothes and weapons to make Psycasters a but more potent. The empire loved the stuff."
"Now my original idea was to plate the walls with the stuff, or maybe add some pillars to the place, but the boss said it seems like a waste of a rare resource"
"The guy is a corpo big wig but he anit fixing to bling his throne room out? I asked him for alternatives and he just said 'Why now use some of that gold we had in storage. We found a decent supply of it we anit using it for anything'".
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"Of course it wouldn't be a Rimworld if shit didn't go tits up at the drop of a hat, we had a toxic rain storm hit the area."
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"The whole outside area took on this sickly green glow, it was even setting of the radiation alarms, The boss said the base would shield us from it, as long as we stayed put till it was safe to travel outside again."
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"Oh and this happened as well, Tapia commented that god was clearly pissed off at something to be stacking this much crap on us at once."
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"So not only was the snow now trying to kill us, but random lightning bolts of Psychic energy was striking down around the base."
"Axl of course, in that very Axl kind of way was picking our brains, asking what we all knew about the storms. He has a one track mind, wanting to get to the bottom of every single thing that happens around here. Of course as Katie put it 'Were not the damn weathermen Axl, we don't know.'"
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"On a positive note, our two not quite former federation raiders must have decided since they were not part of the Federation hold outs any more, it was okay to start hooking up. I didn't mind to much but I'm not sure how the boss would feel about having babies around the base."
"While this was happening, we were starting to see lighting hit the base near the base at least three to five times an hour"
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"If one of them hit the solar panels, we'd have to go out and fix them and I wasn't to keen on that idea."
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"I say that and then a lightning bolt blew a hole in the barracks."
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"Fun fact, the lightning flashes caused the solar pannels to spike in power output for a second, so maybe the lightning had a bit of a perk to it"
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"Katie and Lips dug up some armor designs they had seen bounced around their old stomping grounds, and we managed to recreate the armor. It protected us better than the hodge-podge of scavenged armor and clothes we all had before. It was also far better suited to the weather as well, which was nice."
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"We all felt pretty good about it all things considered."
"Well I'd reckon that'll be enough to make the boss man happy, I'm going to snore some angel Grace and get some shut eye now, this is Commissar Bog, end of log."
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xxx-rozes-xxx · 2 years
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Trenderman; More Headcanons and Lore:
TW: A bit of gore, dollification, body horror Sorry, this took a while to make, I was swamped with work and just finished writing an art exam. Luckily, all has gone smoothly and I can continue to write about the poor sassy mannequin man. ___________________________________________________
Trendermans Mall:
Now in my head, each brother has a mansion of sorts, however, their place of "work" is completely different.
For instance,
Slender lives in his mansion (one that has run in the Slender family for years but that is a different story) but he hunts in the woods.
Splendorman has a mansion but many places where he takes care of the kids, abandoned carnivals, a magical garden, a playground, ect.
Offenderman is a bit of a different story but I'll cover all of their places in future posts.
Trender, as I said in my previous post, lives in a dead mall. Basically abandoned yet nothing grows, not mold, not ivy, nothing. Anything in his basic presence tends to shiver away.
So allow me to paint this image in your head:
You find yourself in a dim empty mall, like when it's closing time but the lights are on. Tightness of the air, stale as if nothing inside was alive. Nothing but broken glass and falling interior, despite that the place seemed to be in good shape. However, you just can't stop the feeling of being watched. Followed by something or someone. You go into a random store just to get out of its line of sight yet as you enter you fall over something. A mannequin arm. Strange. You venture further into the store to see what it had to offer. It was a clothing store but based on the empty hangers you couldn't tell what type of clothing they sold. The store was not lit up like the halls of the mall, similar to other stores in the mall. It wasn't until you made your way to the back did you notice something out of place. A book was on the floor. Not just any book, it had a leatherback and a lock on it. You spotted it as a journal of some sort. After fiddling with the lock it finally opens, only for all of the lights to shut off and footsteps echo in the hallways, heading your way...
Yes, Trender has his own game he plays with trespassers. Though his game works a bit differently.
Similar to Slenderman and his 8 pages; Trender has 13 journals. Only 1 of the journals has the map to the mall. Like most Slenders, Trender places dark magic over the mall to make it seem endless, a labyrinth only escapable if you find the journal with the map in it. (sound familiar?) And again, similar to his brother, Trender does not play fair. Even if you manage to escape, he will still hunt and find you and then add you to his pretty collection of dolls.
Trender lives in the basement of the mall, close to the parking lots by the security office. He created a small little office for himself as well as a studio closer to the first floor. All of this is sealed off magically since intruders tend to go through his stuff while trying to escape. Thus, the reason why he uses the journals as a red herring. See, if an explorer came into the mall, they would be fine but take anything from the mall then the journals spawn, and you are screwed, to say the least.
See, Trender isn't as cruel as his older brothers, no, he doesn't mind it at all, he understands humans are curious creatures by nature but thieves will not pass in his books.
Now don't get him wrong, he understands the state the world is in and such, fortunately, anyone with a sound mind would walk into the place and immediately sense that they are not welcomed, which is why there aren't any squatters.
Besides, if you're willing enough to stay in an abandoned mall, in the middle of butt nowhere, then either you have the balls and apiol of a bull or you're really not the brightest. Either way, ignorant and stupid people are plenty in this world and Trender does not mind lower that number...
Trendermans Proxies:
Now, Trender doesn't necessarily have proxies, but if you count a horde of mannequins then, sure, he has them.
See when there not chasing after the poor unfashionable souls of humans, they're in his studio wearing his designs or in a backroom like normal mannequins are stored, except this time they are human or what's left of "human".
They are sort of like this clip from Dead Body Hijinks by Sam O'Nella Academy at 3:40. Dead but not dead.
The "Mannequins" feel pain, they just don't react to it, and they stay perfectly still until ordered by Trender to move. They'll stay and collect dust, still conscious for as long as they are ordered to.
This the part where you start to prefer getting caught by Slenderman.
See, Trender rarely kills his victims. He hates getting his clothes dirty, it's usually his mannequins who do the killing for him. And he doesn't turn just anyone into one of his mannequins, no those are for his special pieces of art. If you're some poor quality human well then you've been spared the fate of being turned into one. Sadly, you're not out of the blue just yet because if there is one thing this hippie slender loves is all-natural ingredients and to him, killing and harvesting are two completely different things.
How pretty you'd bleed for him as he uses your soft skin for leather, your hair for thread, and your bones for jewelry. Now he would never wear such a thing or give his brothers this clothing however there sure are a lot of creeps on the internet who would pay a good buck for items made of that.
He hates being wasteful, his mother has always scolded him. So even if you are not a perfect vessel like his mannequins are, you're still going to be put to good use.
He'd give the rest to Eyeless Jack to eat or also sell it on the internet but that whole ordeal is messy and so time-consuming he'll only do it once every blue moon or when he's really pent up.
Even with this horrible discovery in mind, he still is one of the more 'safer' brothers to approach because he genuinely couldn't care less for a lower being and killing them, unless you peak his interest but even that is hard to do.
*Bonus!*
A few random headcanons about Trenderman in no specific order:
Despite what has been said about Trenderman, he is still one of the "chiller" brothers.
Trender has the character of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho but is less narcissistic and chatty.
In fact, Trendermans theme in my head is the slowed-down version of Oblivion by GRIMES solely for that one "did you know I'm utterly insane-" audio.
Just that blasting through the speakers in the halls as you try and escape him in total darkness.
Inner monologues and everything
Trenderman is known for being a diva but I don't see him as a 'loud diva'
More like a salty older gay man.
He speaks quite monotone, like Slenderman
The rest of the 12 journals have old designs in them that he doesn't use anymore or just old logs of money transfers, though one of them is rumored to have nude drawings in them of Trenders favorite models over the years
that rumor, of course, was started by Offender.
It's not 100% false however that journal remains locked up.
Slender and Trender get along better than most think however because they don't need to be in the same room as the other to hear what they are saying (telepathically), the rest of the pastas assume they can't stand each other.
Trenderman made all of Slenders suits and doesn't find them tacky, however, is extremely annoyed that he wears the same type of suit.
Splendors suit, on the other hand, he thinks is extremely tacky.
Has said that it made him look like a quote, "drug-abusing clown"
Splendor cried that afternoon.
Trender has yet to say sorry.
Trenders glasses aren't just there for style, they help him see the sealed entrances to his studio or office.
A crack headcanon:
Trenderman accidentally made "the backrooms" and the "infinite IKEA Store" when first trying to figure out his magic with other dead malls, then just blamed the SCP foundation for both of it.
Actually a lot of "magic went wrong" is blamed on the foundation
They still don't know about it
Slender keeps erasing their memories
I hope you guys in join the read, again sorry for the long post and the rushed writing, I just need to get a grounding going before anything really. Working on more lore as we speak ;-)
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