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daily-rayless · 6 months

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Fic-writer questions!

I stole this from @runicmagitek so thank you! I'm not going to tag anyone specifically, but I know I have a number of talented fic-writing mutuals, so take a stab at this if you want to.

I'm going to include original fiction in a few places, as well as all my fics currently posted to FFN, just so we have more data to work with.

How many works do you have on AO3?

FFN: 52

AO3: 10

What's your total AO3 word count?

FFN (assuming their word counter is still functional, which is perhaps foolish of me): 601436

AO3: 517070

What fandoms do you write for? Tales of the Abyss, Transistor, and Fate most recently. In the past, Persona, Suikoden, Harry Potter, Soul Nomad, Makai Kingdom, Yggdra Union, Wild Arms, and some assorted others.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? (Including FFN's faves):

363 – Birds (Harry Potter)

333 – Death and Ker (Persona 3)

182 – Elysion (Persona 3 & 4)

180 – Word on the Inside (Persona 4)

122 – Crime and Creme Brulee (Persona 4)

All on FFN! These are all very old fics, and I think I'll need a good long while before I get numbers like that on AO3.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Generally, yes. I like to let the reader know I'm aware of them and appreciate them leaving their thoughts, because readers who do want to comment are a minority. As for situations where I wouldn't, I'd probably ignore a flame. Or if a person leaves a bunch of comments at once, I might not respond to each individually. Or if someone left something without much context, like “huh” or “wow”, I might have no idea how to respond and just leave it.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hm, it could depend. Anyone who's reading Scarlet has probably already played Yggdra Union and knows we're going to end with our fourteen-year-old heroine falling in battle while desperately defending her kingdom. “Misbegotten” focuses on the Demon Path of Soul Nomad, so, again, you'd go into that with a certain expectation of angst. So I think my ending that combines the most angst with surprise is the ending of “Cycles”, a Normal Path Soul Nomad fic where I decided to explore the game's concept of reincarnation. So someone dies at the end, very abruptly and somewhat graphically. The fact that I let Gig and Revya be married in it adds to the angst. Looking back more than ten years, yeah, it's very angsty, but I got some good feedback for it, so I don't regret it.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? On the subject of happy endings, I've been accused of not liking them. I love happy endings! But I do live in some dread of things feeling too pat and “wrapped up with a bow”. A lot of my oneshots are fairly low stakes, so the endings are happy enough, but looking at my longer stuff... Soul Searching ends with Gig and Revya getting married, the world being at peace, everything on a pretty happy note. (Unless you count the tragedy of Danette eating all of Gig's and Revya's hotpods, and, honestly, you should.)

Do you get hate on fics? I've never gotten seriously flamed so far. In the early 2010s, there was this one anon going through Persona fics and leaving very short flames on MinakoxShinjiro stuff, barely changing their wording at all. It was extremely low effort, impersonal, and I don't really count it.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? No, I wouldn't say so. When it comes to sex, I tend to focus more on a few individual details than a moment-to-moment description, and then the reader can fill in what they're comfortable with. With my latest original project (not Eola), I did get the threshold moment of my mom reading the draft and saying, “You write sex really well!”

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Okay, so when I was much younger, in the early 2000s, I had this long-running thing I wrote that I ended up calling “Kuja's Coffee-Bean Cafe”. Basically, it was a crossover of every video game I'd played at the time, where Kuja from Final Fantasy 9 ran a restaurant where all the various villains gather and have their own hierarchy and petty infighting and shenanigans. Some good guys are allowed to visit, and some of them have been captured for the villains' amusement, and all of it was played for humor. Trust me when I tell you that it was very funny to me at the time and it does not hold up. (Though it did make me speculatively ship Sephiroth and Celes, and I still think that ship has merit...) Since then, I do still sometimes write crossovers, but they're for my own amusement.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Last year (I think?) there was a post going around about how a lesser-known fan archive was grabbing stuff from FFN and AO3...but I honestly don't remember whether any of my fics were affected.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope, not that I know of.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? My best friend and I came up with a Lion King sequel which I then wrote down. Some years later, me and the same friend wrote two original novellas together. For the first one, one of us would write a paragraph or two, and then the other would take over, and it built from there. For the second one (which we never finished), we each controlled a main character, so we would switch off for dialogue and individual actions, but otherwise we shared the rest of the story. It worked pretty well, and if you have a writing buddy whose style works with yours, I highly recommend it.

What's your all-time favorite ship? I'm not sure I have a mathematically favorite ship versus whatever ship I'm currently most focused on. In 2019, it was Red and Boxer from Transistor. Last year, it was Asch and Natalia from Tales of the Abyss. Right now, I've been swinging back towards Archer and Hakuno from Fate.

What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I've always been sad I never finished Public Speaking, my Suikoden V longfic about super minor npc Salisha Raulbel and what she thought of the war. It was very niche, but readers still found it and enjoyed it. I hung with it for two years, between 2006-08, but a lot was happening in my life, I was changing as a person, I was getting into new fandoms, and I couldn't maintain my interest; I also abandoned another long Suikoden fic and an original novel during that period. What's even worse was that the fic was over halfway done, and for a couple years afterwards, I would get comments asking for an update. I think that's part of why I now never start posting fics until I've completed at least one draft. Do I think I'll pull one of those 10+ Years Later updates? Probably not. But it was a good fic, and I'm sorry I left people hanging.

What are your writing strengths? I'm told my dialogue and descriptions are good. People also seem to respond well to my emotional scenes. And of course on my next book I'm going to put this right on the cover:

“She writes sex well!” – Her Mom

What are your writing weaknesses? Having just praised my dialogue, I'll admit I have a problem with slowing down dialogue to add too much physical communication – compressed lips, narrowed eyes, raised eyebrows. I know it can start to feel ridiculous, but I want you all to see the scene I'm seeing and I can't very well hire actors. I also feel like my fight scenes aren't the greatest; I find them a pain to write. Probably a byproduct of not running around the wilderness with a sword myself. I also, no matter how hard I try, fall prey to typos. I'm pretty good at editing other people's work, but my own writing is a whole 'nother animal.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I think it's a case by case thing. In general though, it can be overdone, especially if the author is, say, writing a character who's speaking in Spanish, but they keep having the character saying “I'm going to do my tarea” or “I need to go to la escuela!” when just saying “homework” and “school” flows so much more naturally. On the other hand, language is culture and character and history – using some of it can be very helpful in establishing setting and even time period. It also changes depending on how tightly we're in a character's pov. If we're right in the protagonist's head, and my hero doesn't speak French, and they overhear a spy saying, “J'ai volé le lapin sacré!" the meaning should remain a mystery. I shouldn't have the translation provided in a footnote or a parenthetical. On the other hand, if the pov is more pulled back and omniscient, then the author can translate it while reminding the reader the hero didn't understand it.

Overall, when it comes to using other languages, I think you need to keep the reader's needs in mind. If you want to throw out foreign phrases for a bit of flair, go for it, but limit it to phrases that aren't crucial to understanding the scene or story. Otherwise, you need to find a way to elegantly explain what's being said, without making it feel like a footnote. Something like that just breaks the immersive feeling of reading.

First fandom you wrote for? Probably that Lion King story. It was called The Lion King IV: The Revenge of Scar. There was a) no Lion King III and b) no Scar. I called it that because it took place three generations after the original (because that's how titles work), and Scar apparently had such a long con going he'd foreseen the actions of future evil lion villains who'd never even met him.

Favorite fic you've ever written? I'm going to repeat what I said on this post – The Beast in the Dark, the third installment of my unposted Fate trilogy. All three fics were written with the intention that I wouldn't be sharing them. That's also true of the Muse Trilogy and all my recent Tales of the Abyss stuff, but the Fate stuff was at a somewhat sadder, lonelier period in my life. I think that's one reason it's so special to me. Also, like I say in the linked post, because I wasn't going to share it, I allowed myself to throw all sorts of over the top tropes at it. I think it really helped me along in my writing, and, arguably, opening it up for public consumption might mess with how I feel about it. We'll see. I'm still not sure about posting it.

When it comes to fics I have posted though, I'll refer back to the same post and say Death and Ker. It was a fic that was really exciting both to write and post, right as Persona 3: Portable was coming out. I feel a lot of nostalgia for it, and while it's not perfect, I think parts of it still hold up.

#fanfiction #fandom #persona #tales of the abyss #fate #suikoden #ao3 #fanfiction.net

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miyukihoshizora · 11 months

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Oh yeah, also, finished the second disk of FFIX yesterday. (My livetweet here.)

It was pretty intense. Still not sure what Amarant's deal is but I like that he is in a constant state of realizing he chased after Zidane this entire time only for him to turn out to be a little dork.

Also the party dynamics continue to be pretty interesting, though I did spend the better part of the big climax wondering where Quina went. My girl (gender neutral) is getting kind of the short end of the stick.

Still not a lot to say about Kuja beyond him being pretty much Kefka and Sephiroth's mpreg baby is kind of neat.

I'm really glad Dagger loved her adoptive mother to the end, even after remembering her biological mother. I was so afraid she'd give up on Brahme and that the entire story would have just kept shitting on her because she is fat and ugly (plus, media being weird about adoptive families is like, a trope I hate so much lmao). But no, they really go out of their way to explain Dagger definitely still loved the person she was before the Mist corrupted her, and it was cool to see her subjects being genuinely upset by her passing. Doesn't excuse the war crimes, but hey it's something!

I do like that the last disk starts with Vivi all alone in Alexandria. We're bookending this bitch, except now we know the baby has an expiration date, everyone's still unsure of what's going on, Kuja's out there causing chaos we don't know why, and it's going to be So upsetting for everybody.

I'm hooked.

#arz plays ix;#puri gaming;#Final Fantasy IX

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basedkikuenjoyer · 1 year

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Spiderwebs, Pt. 3: Looking Out for the Little Guy

So this one is pretty straightforward but timely. Franky’s the one who really sells this idea, but the Tontatta are the main vehicle Dressrosa has to invest the Straw Hats in the nation’s story. Incidentally, you could argue this is where Rebecca subtly is taken off the table. If we were just going to stick to Law’s plan she’d have more reason to run and less time to see the chance to go back. She gets to, because Dressrosa’s past was worth going back to in a way Wano’s wasn’t. Leo and the Tontatta by extension though fill a very basic structural role like Kiku and I’d argue Chiffon in Totland as well. The Tontatta are very fundamentally symbolic here; as Luffy’s star rises the crew needs to think about collateral damage. How what you do affects the little guy. Kiku’s story is one of being hurt by that same damage. We could have done this without Dressrosa reduced to rubble.

What we see in this scene is also something we’ll see with Franky and it plays into Robin’s growth that, like Usopp’s, will blossom more come Wano. If anyone ends up in that orator/organizer combo Usopp is showing why he’s volatile in that role. He doesn’t have the tact to do that at the level we need. It’s just like Chopper serving as Helmsman in a pinch earlier or even Usopp the de facto shipwright. It was fun, but he’s a sniper. His big feats first with the Tontatta in beating Sugar and then with awakening haki this arc set that in motion. The first contributes to earning Izo’s recognition in Wano which is huge for him; that’s a marksman on the same tier as his dad. Franky, if you’re wondering, has a good moment for this early on. It’s the shakedown, he and Luffy try to interrogate a guy and it’s the right idea but he just isn’t the guy for that. Same with Nami & co. and their failed diversion with Giolla. I’m also counting Donquixote Kin’flamingo. That gets us back to Leo.

Bahahahahahahahahaha! I love this gag of Leo & Mansherry. Cindry-grade lack of chill. Mansherry & Giolla, don’t let it slip that’s pretty damn similar to Holdem & Tama. But seriously, we mentioned this with Cavendish. The Grand Fleet captains have a shard of what’s missing, but they aren’t quite right for a full member on the main ship. One of those things I’d really look at in Kiku or someone like her stepping into a Quartermaster role defined by working with the Grand Fleet is that potential dynamic. Someone with that archetype threads the needle well. In Leo’s case? He’s the driven, ambitious arguable prodigy. The standout of his people. Quite capable and very noble but humble. Also love the bit about him going whole hog into the pirate aesthetic, I’ve mentioned if it’s Kiku I think she’ll do that. But he’s a little too naive and lacks tact. Leo’s lovely, but he can’t do the diplomat/negotiator side.

If my hunch is right by the way, cool in hindsight we introduce Kiku as this cover serial is wrapping up. These two shots line up with Luffytaro Returns the Favor & The Ruins of Oden Castle. This kind of stuff is why I don’t mind daring to dream, the potential for it to all fit together so beautifully. Since the Tontatta are easy, let’s just lay this out:

Cavendish could fill this position but he’s too vain, too much his own captain, and can’t control his demon side.

Barto could as well, but someone like Kiku can do more than just provoke and Barto’s earnest admiration is a little too much. Sorta the same logic as why Boa wouldn’t fit but the Kuja under Luffy’s banner would.

Leo as said is too naive and lacks tact. He has the spirit but needs guidance or his trusting nature becomes a liability.

Orlumbus is the opposite. He has the poise and skills to do this, but needs to develop that scoundrel side. Too stuffy.

Don Sai is a tricky one. His example has a lot more to do with Baby 5. There’s a lot to be said about the hyper-people pleaser and a marriage happening here on the battlefield. It’s not as much of a problem for Cavendish the exiled noble, but Sai’s position with Kano is also a relevant hurdle here. It’s why Kiku’s the only Akazaya this would work with, right? Because she does have the wiggle room to be dissatisfied with that role. Sai isn’t.

Hajrudin & Ideo were the least developed but they do have relevant elements. They have the combat prowess but they’re still young and full of potential. We just need more than that for the main officers. Hajrudin has the national pride and honor angle & Ideo’s cover story shows a little diplomatic skill but they need room to grow. You could also argue these two are reminding you how great Jinbei is. I don’t think the Captains are supposed to be equal; Cabbage & Barto are in a different class. Worth noting from my angle at least once too, Kiku does outshine all of them in terms of battle prowess. I’d say Stussy as well but Vivi would have to be full on field marshal. Which would work just fine. Either way, it’s an ensemble who’d all play nice with this type of character in a dispatch/command capacity.

#one piece #dressrosa arc #little guy leo #Straw Hat Grand Fleet

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ruvelli · 1 year

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Castle Swimmer x Final Fantasy AUs General Update

Here’s some thoughts and ideas I’ve chosen to share. Feel free to toss in your own two cents, so long as it isn’t something rude.

There’s a few things I wouldn’t mind getting feedback on, or having ideas tossed at.

Starting with FFX-2, I have quite a few things fleshed out now (mostly by accident), but again I feel like I’ll have to replay it/watch a playthrough of it before I can do too, too much.

I do like where it’s going with Galoo and Mono, as well as Kappa’s role.

I also plan on putting Kappa into that moogle mascot outfit somehow >> Because I said so. Once he’s introduced I want to get into the quests stuff more.

FFIX no clue if I’m keeping the genomes. They don’t seem to have a purpose for the plot I’m plotting, which has a different end game (plot end game, still gonna be KappaSiren) than the game did.

I did figure out what’s up with the sharks, and it’s a little sad (whoops). Galoo has a purpose within the story that makes sense now, at least. I may be changing who Mucku, Mono, and Neth are.

Because some friends were curious about it, I had considered making Kappa Garnet, of course. But given how bold he can be, he’s far more traveled, becoming an “evil witch” while still being a good guy, and given how Siren started off so naive with no clue what he was doing—he would just stubbornly push forward with what he believed was right, etc… it made sense to put them where I did. To me. And then I adjusted the plot to make sense to their personalities.

For instance, Siren won’t be drugging anyone because he thinks he knows better than everyone else, and how dare they treat him as someone who doesn’t (I could rant about how much I can’t stand Garnet for days). Siren wants to help and be useful and hates that he has to be left behind, but realizes he’s just a liability if he goes. I have a different plan for why he ends up back in Alexandria.

I’m still not sure what to do with/who would be Vivi 💀 Or Kuja.

As for FFVIII, I have maybe… 30% planned. Blegh.

Most of the problem is when I first started maladaptive daydreaming about it, it was with a good deal of the FFVIII characters still in it. I love those kinds of cross-overs and don’t mind doing them, but would that be weird to anyone else?

If I did a full cross-over instead there’s a lot that would have to be tossed from the original idea and I’m not even sure what would go where. But in my head, it began with Siren already an established SeeD during the Garden “civil war” defending the doctor’s area with Pagoon and Pim before being sent to defend the garage and then library type deal. He was more in Nida’s position.

(side-note: Pagoon was too young to be a SeeD yet, though the three of them together had a reputation that was “You see those three? That’s Pim and her boys. Don’t piss them off.”)

Then again, I don’t have to have things from the perspective of the way the game goes the entire time… Hm.

And just to be clear, yes, in the current idea it would go the way of the game the whole time except for the SeeD exam. I’m probably cutting that chunk off and saying Siren has been a SeeD.

Anyway, to anyone who cares let me know whacha think. The one I’m most likely to start on sooner than later is FFIX. (I even drew one of Siren’s outfits, and if I was a better artist I’d happily show it).

#castle swimmer #final fantasy ix #final fantasy viii #final fantasy x 2 #AU #Ideas for AUs

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roleplay-abiogenesis2 · 1 year

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4.is there a muse that not a lot of people roleplay with?

11. is there another muse you’ve been thinking of adding or writing for? who?

30. most importantly, are you having fun playing each one of your muses?

Multimuse Asks || Currently Accepting!

4.is there a muse that not a lot of people roleplay with?

Honestly, there are LOADS. Nothing I have gripes about, mind you. Their fandoms are very dead and niche, and I am not exactly busting my ass off to put them out there either. So for most cases, I really do not mind.

If there is anyone I wish got more interactions from its own fandom at the moment would be Cyno, just because my Genshin Impact brainrot is so strong. Most of my current Cyno threads were initiated by me, so I can sense that the interest isn't great. But, even if I am struggling to get in-fandom mutuals, the mutuals that I have are being extremely sweet and welcoming by letting me throw the desert bean at them, even for crossover stuff, and for that I couldn't be any more grateful!

Other than that, I kinda miss using Sesshomaru. Seems the IY wave has faded down.. but I can't say I miss it too much, considering the controversies my muse got into because of Yashahime.

11. is there another muse you’ve been thinking of adding or writing for? who?

Won't lie, the Dissidia Opera Omnia story has made me want to add Kuja and Vayne for a long time. The only thing that's stopping me is the full awareness that absolutely nobody here is into Dissidia. I don't know why such a cross-over friendly verse isn't more popular in the Final Fantasy RPC. What easiest way to put characters from different games together?!

30. most importantly, are you having fun playing each one of your muses?

I always have a blast with my muses. The only thing that kills my mojo on occasion is the worry that my partner may not be into it because of what my muses do or say. I'm a self conscious bean and while I do am stubborn and headstrong in not breaking character for the sake of my partners, that determination is balanced by a constant nagging feeling that I am disappointing my partner's agenda.

Even so, I am strongly convinced that one shouldn't RP with the aim to please. Yes, in a way we are entertainers, but it's not a game where you must win or lose your partner's approval with your writing. So even though I have this nagging feeling, I do my best to make it shut up and go back where it came from in my anxiety closet.

#00j || that's what they said. [asked & answered]#the-thread-of-muses #//thanks for the ask!#you lovely bean\\#00A || Saru-mun is still alive! [OOC]

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wellfine · 3 years

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✨ One Piece Timeskip Redesigns! ✨

My last art of 2020 went off with a bang! I’ve been working on these for a while and they’re finally ready to share. I thought it might be fun to concept designs for the crew with more influence from the islands they were sent to! They ended up a lil costume-y, but I like that too.

Read below for flavour text/design notes or just enjoy the art!

LUFFY: I wanted him to have “King of the Pirates” vibes! His hooded cape/mantle is inspired by the coats Shanks and Roger wore, but less cumbersome, mixed with the Kuja’s capes. The design on the back is Ace’s comedy/tragedy drama masks in the shape of Sabo’s goggles, inside angel wings. He can store things inside the sash. The golden snakes around his ankles can expand with him (the tail comes out of the mouth, like a bangle). The Kuja women made his clothes for him!

ZORO: Not a whole lot to say here except he forgot how normal people dressed while he was on Kuraigana LOL. His design is a mix of European and East Asian vampire lore and he just keeps... losin limbs lmao. With all his prominent scars he really does look undead!! This was the first design I came up with and it’s what made me want to do all the others!

NAMI: She’s a Weather Witch! The old men on Weatheria were scandalised by her short hair and tattoos so she... got shorter hair, and another tattoo. Her second tattoo is a four-pointed star inside a ship’s wheel/compass, to represent where she’s going, because her old tattoo represents where she came from. Her hair is also obviously inspired by Bellemere! Her suit is a swimsuit so she’s ready for any weather, and her hood opens up into a giant witch/rain hat. The moons on her shoes are skate-model wavers and can retract up around her ankles when she’s not using them. Combined with her (canon) “milky road” abilities, she can use them with her Clima-Tact to “fly” across clouds!

USOPP: He basically leveled-up in running away, so he kinda fights parkour-style now. His gloves and shoes are made by dipping his hands/feet in natural tree rubber sap so they give him excellent grip. He has little bands between his index & middle fingers he can use as slingshots in a pinch. He KEPT HIS ORIGINAL GOGGLES BECAUSE WHY WOULD HE ABANDON THEM, ODA?? even though he ahd to repair them a few times. The multiple watches keep track of the island’s time cycles and vibrate to alert him rather than make any sound. His coat of leaves provides camouflage, and he can also inflate it along with a birdcall whistle to look like a giant owl and scare off predators!

SANJI: What if Sanji went to Gender Island and realised all masculinity is performative so he came back a drag king I wanted to lean harder into his “waiter > chef” pre-TS design elements. His vest is backless and has more heart shapes at the back lmao. He leaves heart-shaped stamps on people when he kicks them

CHOPPER: Chopper was hard because I think his post-TS design is perfect already BUT! He got the little capelet and the feather from the people/birds of Torino kingdom. The swirls are from Hiluluk’s coat lapels! His doctor bag is actually a little backpack.

ROBIN: ............... ma’am She’s a fantasy/video-game-archeologist mixed with a sleek, modern super spy. She uses the harnesses to lift/hoist herself around by her own hands, using her devil fruit power instead of ropes, Mission Impossible style. She uses throwing knives even though her accuracy isn’t that great because she’s basically just gonna pick them up with one of her flower hands and stab the target close-range anyway.

FRANKY: I actually like that he’s a big messed up robo post-TS LMAO I just think he would love Vegapunk’s chimera designs. He’s sort of a griffon/manticore fusion with obvious inspiration from the Sunny, which he can probably mecha-fuse with somehow now. The paw pads can pop out of the gloves and act like smaller hands for more delicate stuff, just like his canon design. Robin is a big fan of squishing them. Gas from his cola chamber fuels powerful hydraulic attacks! (He can still do the nipple beam :/)

BROOK: Brook was hardest because I couldn’t change that much about his original design, but I lke the result! His skull cracked all the way through (probably excited groupies) so he welded it back together with gold (kintsugi). It can actually swing open like a purse, though, so he can store stuff in it, and his two gold teeth act as the clasp. His collar is an inverted violin, and his outfit is themed around ghost ships. The soles of his shoes are sabaody technology that make his foosteps silent. His cane-sword is now also a mic!

THAT’S IT! PHEW! If you have any questions I’d be happy to try and answer, but in the meantime, thank you for reading/looking! ♥

I can’t tag because Tumblr hates any links, even within Tumblr, but I was inspired to make these redesigns by Bridget’s lovely redesigns which you can find on her Tumblr elekilokal!

#One Piece #Roronoa Zoro #Usopp #Soul King Brook #Nico Robin #Luffy #Nami #Sanji #Tony Tony Chopper #Franky #long post

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createandconstruct · 3 years

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Wait, Garland

So. I started this reply, worked on it for two hours, and then moved my window and tumblr eviscerated most of it. Safe to say after that I had to mourn what I lost for a bit. I hope I can channel my original thoughts and words! Maybe it’ll be even better? We’ll see!

Anyway let’s talk about the wrinkly genome himself. Buckle up this one’s a doozy (enjoy some required reading music that fits the man of the hour).

favorite thing about them:

His design. This all knowing watchful eye of Terra is as lifeless as he is old. His eyes are blank and empty. His face is withered. His body, without the imposing cape, is like an emancipated black skeleton, where at its center lies the only light and color of Garland’s entire form. He is entirely black and white, except for the red glowing sphere at his center. At first look when I saw it I felt that it’s very much a metaphor for the role designated to him by the Terrans. In Garland’s chest lies the red glow of Terra, the exposed ribs of his black, armorlike chest, keep it within - protecting and hiding it from the outside world of Gaia. Until the time is right. Garland is nothing more than what the Terrans made him to be. An eternal servant that takes every breath for the protection of Terra as that is the reason he was given for living. Every inch of his body was designed for such purpose. Its only right he was designed to aware like a living cage, protecting that last flickers of Terra and its souls that lie within.

On that note let’s look at his design another way. Terra’s revival is Garland’s only reason for living. Zidane questions Garland’s own wants and desires to which he can only claim they are the restoration of Terra and its souls. He has nothing except the words he was fed by the Terrans millennia ago. Garland is the true hollow shell of a man you find in the remains of Terra. He is worn, withered, and ancient. He has lived so long for one reason only, a reason that was never even his own. The light of Terra - the light of the selfish, arrogant, and greedy souls of Terra - are stuck within his opened chest, powering him like an exposed heart or soul. Terra is his power source. Garland cannot rest. He was not created to rest. He was created to follow the reasons the Terrans gave him for his existence. (I exist only to kill) Garland exists and has existed unable to find his own reason for living - Terra’s forever trapped within him. A constant reminder. On the outside, Garland has withered away through his taste of eternity, while Terra’s light has remained strong within him, still forcing, powering, and pulling him forward to the ultimate goal. Perhaps that’s why Garland is only able to voice his own thoughts in death (even calling their failures towards their planet arrogant, and reflecting positively on his chance at existence despite his purpose), after the light of Terra inside him has finally gone out and he is beyond his creators’ reach.

Though, my final, and favorite, interpretation of his design begs a question… are there truly even any Terrans left? Memories and experiences make the soul, FFIX tells us. Garland cannot take Zidane’s soul from him as his soul is no longer the power source Garland gifted him. It is the laughter, tears, and memories Zidane shared with his loved ones on Gaia. Zidane is of Gaia. He is Gaian. So then who is Terran? The genomes, even Kuja, are not of Terra. Not the true Terra, anyway. The Terra the sleeping souls tried to preserve in the face of mortality and the wasting away that comes with time. The people we see are from the planet’s remains. The true Terrans are those who know the history, who know the culture, who lived and walked and experienced the planet when it was its own, and not a parasite latched inside another. The genomes know nothing of these things. If we call them “Terrans” it’s only because they were created on the fragments that were left inside of Gaia. In reality the Genomes were finally born on Gaia, once they began to experience - began to create memories of their own. There’s a reason Terra’s water does no flow. The world we visit within Gaia is just a frozen memory of a long dead planet.

And when those sleeping souls of Terra... when they finally arise will they even be Terran? They will have no memories of the planet or crystal where they originally cycled. Even if Gaia was assimilated, they will have bodies born on the planet of Gaia, where only remains of Terra lie, from the failed merging of the crystals. Even if the crystal of Gaia turns red the memories of these new “Terrans” will be of their new planet. They will essentially be Gaian and will likely consider themselves so as there is no plan to pass down memories to these new people from Garland. Garland is restoring the Terran souls into a new cycle, as if trying to return things to how they were before Terra’s death. It’s like a child trying to get a deceased loved one to play or react to them like they always do, not understanding things will never be like that again. Garland can never truly restore Terra or the Terrans to the they were. Those people, the original Terrans, even if their souls remain, have been lost to death and time. Perhaps their memories could have been passed on much like Vivi’s at the end of the game but because they were so desperate to ensure that their “superior” life, history, culture, and race endured forever, they lost the chance to truly persevere such things by passing it down to others in the present for the future. Instead such things were lost when they tried to allow themselves to endure by erasing the life from another planet.

All this is to say that, the only true Terrans are those who hold one of their souls, who know the history, and the culture and the only such person who exists, is Garland. He is the last true Terran. The remains of Terra have been cast with the blue of Gaia’s light. The Terra we see, that we visit? That’s not Terra. Terra is gone. Only one of its people remains. And the tragedy is that while Garland says his goal is to restore Terra, he’s going about it in the wrong way. In reality, Garland, an almost immortal being, who carries the last true light of Terra within himself, always had the means to truly preserve Terra and its people’s memories: by simply sharing them with the future. Instead, the Terrans doomed Garland and their planet with their plans of grandeur and eternity. A doomed fate that follows all who attempt to escape death. Which is why it is perhaps so appropriate that when Kuja destroys the remains of Terra within Gaia it is only fitting that Garland has died along with them too.

least favorite thing about them:

Like Kuja, as an antagonist, there’s a lot to dislike about Garland, but that’s intentional. He’s a good villain, I like him. I rather mention something that kinda annoys me writing wise? Not even annoying, just something that gave me a raised brow the first time I played the game and now gives me a headache the more I think about it: Omnipresent Garland voice.

Now Garland speaking to Zidane in Memoria I can deal with. It can make sense, even though it’s not explained. He’s a timeless being who existed before the current civilization on Gaia began. You could argue through his soul experimentation and millennia existence he has found a way to keep a level of consciousness as his own soul travels to the crystal. We know the cycle of souls is slower due to the manipulation of the crystal by Garland so it makes sense his souls is traveling slowly in the cycle towards the crystal after his death, allowing him to find Zidane and chat. Its also an interesting parallel of Zidane and co. traveling through Memoria, deeper into the crystal, while Garland’s souls travels too. Memoria is almost like Garland’s 5000 year life flashing before his eyes. Until he eventually reaches the end. The void of space. Perhaps the void of death. It’s the place his voice finally leaves Zidane. Is Garland’s voice disappearing into that void an indication of him stuck in a purgatory like state? Never return to a crystal? Or perhaps that void is the end of himself (of his consciousness), as we know him, but his soul continues on like Zidane and the others do as he is accepted into the cycle of Gaia’s Crystal? Whatever the case I can deal with Garland’s bodiless voice in the end game. I like it honestly.

What bothers me a bit is Garland’s voice appearing right after Kuja kicks him off the cliff. I get it. Kuja has to feel on top of the world before he spirals and crashes. He finishes off Garland and gets to dance about in victorious glee only before Garland’s voice resounds in everyone’s heads. His presence still lingering even after death to inform Kuja of his own impending fate. But it’s still a little jarring when it happens the first time you play it. Garland falls to his death and then he’s telepathing through the force. There’s a moment of “wait he’s alive?” then “wait he’s not” and then “how’s he doing this?” It can take you out of the scene which should very much be about Kuja. This is very much a nitpick and something that can be explained away because of Garland’s character and capabilities but whenever I play I’m like oh here comes ghost Garland. Though maybe it’s better to think that Garland actually did survive the fall and as he lies dying in the abyss beneath Pandemonium, with his remaining strength, he speaks to Kuja and others in the same way Kuja speaks to Mikoto and Zidane at the end of the game. Yeah I like that. Seems I fixed my own gripe. And now the essays are over and we can get to the fun stuff.

favorite line: I have some favorite villain lines of Garland and some favorite sentimental post-Mufasa’d-Garland lines. We’ll start with villain: "Forget all that. You are destined to live among the stars for all eternity.” I love this line, it’s kinda haunting that this is not just Garland’s motive but the motive of the Terrans. I then love Zidane’s retort. Their whole back and forth is just William Shatner Shakespeare drama father vs very angry teenage theater kid son. Number 2: "Don't you know what it means to meet your maker?" Something about this line real hits home the clashing between Zidane and Garland in Pandemonium. It always stood out to me, especially the first time I played. It’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Garland. He is Zidane’s creator who was so ready to erase him with barely a snap of his fingers. As for sentimental lines, I’m predictable: “Zidane… take care of Kuja.” and “Even if I were created to serve one purpose alone, I do not regret being born to this world." Shout out to - despite my earlier ravings - Garland’s narration over the scenes in Memoria. When you encounter each memory and then get the fade to black with his objective description, it’s like the souls who have experienced each memory I talking through him. Both Terran and Gaian.

brOTP: Garland has no bros. He has no friends. Though I would have liked to see Mikoto and Garland interact. I wonder what her feelings were towards him as she was his third project, a last resort, who would easily be replaced if she went wrong in the same way Zidane replaced Kuja, and she replaced Zidane.

OTP: Garland x the eternal sleep

nOTP: Do people even ship Garland with anyone

random headcanon: I always thought that after Garland attempted to steal Zidane's soul he carried him in his arms to inside of Pandemonium and placed him in that chair. It felt disturbing and poetic to me. This idea that when Zidane is at his most vulnerable - his soul literally being pulled from his flesh - Garland, his creator, carries him away like a father would a son. Yet Garland brings Zidane to the deepest part of Pandemonium to place him on a throne where he’ll sit alone, as everything that makes Zidane, Zidane, slowly slips away. A creator - a father in some sense - drops his son into solitude never expecting Zidane’s true family to come through, reigniting Zidane’s very soul. Perhaps at that point when they come to face him, Garland already had an inclination he’d lose.

unpopular opinion: Not sure I have an unpopular one? Something I realized though is Kuja’s purple/silver/white hair may very well be his natural color as it matches Garland’s hair. I’d like to think that Kuja, as Garland’s first unique, soul-filled genome, was created in Garland’s image. Garlands also a great villain who is built up well by the entire game and he does not come out of nowhere. That may be a hot take for the non-ffix appreciators

song i associate with them: Copied City by Keigo Hoashi and of course, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (though this piece also has a distinctly dramatic Kuja vibe as well). If Garland got his own unique boss theme I’d imagine it being something dramatically played on the organ. Though nothing fits Garland like and Mourning by Keiichi Okabe. This piece is just incredible in general but it's insanely powerful and well, mournful. (And you KNOW WHAT I just found the ARRANGED piece of mourning and hOLY ORGAN: Mourning Arranged by Sachiko Miyano. I am now adding it as required reading music for this post.)

favorite picture of them: This piece by @spoonybart is haunting. The colors and lighting form the center glow of Garland’s chest really give him the other worldly and imposing presence he has in game.

Also this art by @oeilvert Literally so incredible. It is ingrained in my experience of playing FFIX for the first time. When I got to Terra and experienced Pandemonium for the first time I went searching for art that captured my feelings and found this piece. It is perfect.

And then there’s this piece by もりもり on pixiv. I found it and can’t stop thinking about it. Absolutely incredible. It makes me wheeze whenever I see it. Garterbelt Garland. Amazing 100/10 everyone else go home.

#asks #werareallkujaandkadajstans #ffix #final fantasy ix #garland #garland ffix #final fantasy 9 #kuja #zidane tribal #feel free to send me whatever characters ya'll i will continue my essay writing #you're also now legally obligated to go give love to all that art and the artists #if you don't your soul won't cycle

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asheanon · 11 months

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Ahaha so, uh... 🥴 I didn't share this thing here, but I'm going to answer some questions from it here because, once again, I hate fighting with text limitations from another side of the internet!

I am tagging you for this, though, @vinjaryou, so you get the notification and whatnot. I hope you don't mind. 🙏

From: Ship Ask Game - The Basics

Here we go with more ship posting... 🤠 (Meaning I'm sorry to everyone except the MVPs who don't mind. Hahaha!)

🌌🌹💜

5. Do they argue often? If so, what do they argue about?

Not really. Or so I think, anyway. 🤔 They could be more prone to arguments if Sal wasn't so non-confrontational. She also values information over ego, so it's less of an argument and more of a deliberation if she ever gets involved in something. The less proper communication-friendly it is, the more likely it is to be dropped. It's not worth wasting her breath over!

Kuja is similar in the sense that some arguments just aren't worth his time as well, though. He's "too good" for that. Something really has to feel like it's on the line for it to be worth arguing over, otherwise, he'll just let whatever "idiot" is trying to argue with him "die mad." It's not quite like Sal's approach of leaving them be with whatever beliefs they may have; he likes to make a much firmer point of insulting them because he really is all the ego Sal lacks. Sal = information. Kuja = ego. Haha!

There are less serious matters where they both can be open to a more facetious argument, though. They're both just playful enough to get a kick out of being contrary with one another over some of the little things out there! It's with silly little things, such as fashion sense, puzzles, food, etc.

14. Do they enjoy PDA, or are they more private with affection?

More private, 110%. They had private beginnings that were kept as much of a secret as possible from the others for various reasons, plus, Sal is definitely not a PDA type. Even when things are more comfortable/less secretive between everyone, she's very... uncertain of it.

I've described Sal as being very control-oriented out of fear for a great majority of things. "Fire, which fears its own heat. Despite how beautifully it burns" as Kuja himself more eloquently worded it! And that very much applies here too. There's something she's scared of and that uncertainty puts a damper on something like PDA.

As for Kuja, he has some sense of decorum; meaning he doesn't mind maintaining some privacy, though, there are times later on where he would like showing off a little more. He is very vain, after all; to have a lady like Sal to feed into that vanity (and be a little possessive with, I won't lie) appeals to him too.

That being said, however, I will say that it's actually a sign of growth to see Sal become more confident and open to it over time. 🤍

18. How do they care for each other when one of them is wounded/sick?

They both do the best they can, despite having their individual shortcomings. 💕

For Sal, the more proper medical know-how that she's picked up from years of what is most easily summarized as "lab work" comes into play here. She'll care for Kuja much like a nurse or a doctor. While it has its softness, it also has this respectful distance to it. She isn't the type to cuddle and dote on someone in this situation. I'll bring it up over and over: she's warm, but distant. Just like a star. And that aforementioned "fear" has a lot to do with that too.

As for Kuja, he has some knowledge of his own (it's basically "magic vs. science," if you will. Technically just two different types of medical science, really!) but he's definitely more of the doter/lover when it comes to a problem. If he's emotionally invested, that is! I'd actually say he's had a lot of moments where he's just clueless as to what to do in these situations.

Though both of them are more prone to keeping problems such as these hidden from one another, Kuja opens up to Sal way more easily than she does to him later down the road. Sal is the epitome of being closed off and prone to hiding any form of suffering she has from anyone. It's very rare that she allows that sort of weakness to be seen, if she can help it.

Once again, I'll bring up character development, though: those walls of theirs do gradually start to fall with time. There is a period where both of them aren't entirely sure of themselves and their actions at times like these, but they eventually start meeting face to face in all those layers of vulnerability. It's very endearing. 💙

33. How do they flirt? Who’s the worse flirt?

You have more of your classically romantic flirt with Kuja while Sal is simply sincere, but unintentionally mystique all in the same.

It's needless to be said, but as a professional flirt by default, Kuja is definitely the better flirt. It's a regular part of his character even outside of whatever is going on between him and Sal, haha! He flirts with intention and it's very clear that he's doing it (and he's very successful with it, more often than not.) To make it more sensual is effortless for him just as well.

By comparison, Sal is the worse flirt, hands down. Again, she's merely genuine with an air of mystery; when she decides to throw in a playful remark or gesture on occasion, some may interpret it as flirtatious, however, despite it not being her intention. She'll often take on a more analytical demeanor to help subdue amorous undertones in most social situations, but... man, when she chooses to drop those walls of hers and that sincerity intertwines with the more intimate, it's really something to behold in its own right (at least, in my own incredibly biased opinion! Haha!) She'll never leave you feeling like her love is fake. Let's just put it that way. 🌌

#that’s a good question ❔#🌌🌹💜#Kuja 🪶🌹#Sal 🌌🎹#filling the void 🌌#with #oc x canon #shenanigans #I am so sorry #I need to come up with a tag for shippy stuff #so you guys have something to blacklist #if needed #but thank you for the questions!#vinjaryou #🥴💕

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rcsetorn · 2 years

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4) Name one thing you don’t like about your character. 5) Name one thing you love about your character. 9) If there is one thing you can change regarding your character’s world, what would it be? 26) Name one thing about your character(s) that no one knows about.

◈ ╼ ༺ :| Questions for Mun | @animus-inspire |: ༻ ╼ ◈

4. Name one thing you don’t like about your character.

She’s not exactly the most friendly. And I say this in the sense of... I don’t like how it makes her less interactive with other muses while I’m writing her. Granted, it feels ic since she adds to how she’s less approachable. Unless she’s developed some sort of bond, needing to share information, or wanting to spar/kill, she’ll keep to herself.

5. Name one thing you love about your character.

I like many, but Something I don’t have a lot of. Ahah... If I could take a trait from her and apply it to myself, it’d be her confidence. Though hers does cross into realms of arrogance and where she gets insulted over others belittling her in any manner. She’s a queen in her own right, She is beauty, she is grace, she can stab you in the face. (...yeah, I did that...I sorry.)

9. If there is one thing you can change regarding your character’s world, what would it be?

I can’t think of anything. IX is exquisite. Which is why I don’t want a remake ruining it.

26. Name one thing about your character(s) that no one knows about.

Beatrix really is more bloodthirsty than she lets on and what gets seen. I've taken it from @xkuja where Kuja is one of the few that has seen it since he likes to remind her.. But there was a time she unnerved many nobles when carried a bloody griffin heart into the auction house and placed it on the block. She wanted to intimidate them, not just show off what she could do even after losing her eye. It was also a big deal since griffins imagery within Treno.

#animusinspire #◈ ╼ ༺ :| asks |: ༻ ╼ ◈#i wouldn't say no one knows about that last one.#but people don't really realize it.#and often that's how it's preferred.#like a dark guilty pleasure of sorts.

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megashadowdragon · 3 years

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Warning: this theory contains HEAVY SPOILERS! If you’re not fully caught up with the manga, read at your own risk.

Since English isn’t my first language, I apologize in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes. Also, this is my first time posting.

It’s practically obvious to everyone that we will get a Kaido flashback in this arc, whether he dies or not: of course, there will be a part about his time in the Rocks Pirates, but we will also get to know possibly one of the most important people for him: his wife.

Because, let’s face it, Oda hasn’t done much yet to give his personality some depth and not being just an arrogant, cruel, child-beating antagonist with a penchant for alcohol and an obsession for death, and a figure such a woman he loved could be a great opportunity for doing so.

Some might speculate that she’s actually dead and that’s why Kaido started drinking.

It could be true but, knowing Oda, he would never introduce a deceased character of that importance out of the blue, without some sort of foreshadowing: a well-kept grave located in a secret place where an important character stumbles upon in the Onigashima raid (on screen, obviously), a framed portrait on a desk or a wall, a name seemingly being thrown offhandedly in a conversation… but there is nothing in Wano which even remotely resembles one of those things.

Therefore, she must be alive.

(Also, there are already too much fundamental figures in various characters’ history who ended up dead in flashbacks, such as Bellemere, Rocinante, Russian and so on. Come on, Oda.)

Is she going to be someone new, at least?

Well, that’s a possibility, however in next arc(s) new characters will be introduced and One Piece has got more than a thousand of them already… quite a lot, aren’t they? Consequently, there is a very good chance for her to be someone who has been already introduced into the story.

Of course, there must have been some sort of foreshadowing when she had been introduced, too: she was the lover of a Yonko, after all. Has there been a woman with an unknown lover in the past arcs?

Yes, actually.

It was her:

And I believe that the mysterious man she fell in love with was none other than Kaido himself. But wait, there’s more: Gloriosa has also eaten a Devil Fruit. An extremely powerful one.

Don’t worry, I will explain everything on the way. Now, hold onto your seat, because this will be quite the long ride.

Kaido and Gloriosa comparison

Kaido of the Beasts, Governor General of the Beasts Pirates, one of the Four Emperors, the Strongest Being in the world and Gloriosa, a former Kuja ruler. These two may have little to nothing in common... or have they?

Probably the most striking difference between them is their respective height: while Kaido easily dwarfs normal humans, Gloriosa is shorter than Luffy; however, both of their heights are currently not canonically stated.

Unstated as both of their ages are, although it’s clear that both of them are past their younger days: in Gloriosa this is highlighted by her grey hair and wrinkled face, but it’s clear that Kaido is not that young any more, too, having crow’s feet under his eyes and forehead lines. It is likely that these two are quite close in age, actually.

A notably interesting fact is, canon heights and ages of the various characters, along with things such as their favourite food, are revealed in the SBS corner in manga volumes. And yet, not even one of these little pieces of information has been revealed for both Kaido and Gloriosa.

It’s very unlikely that nobody has ever sent these question to Oda, or that the latter forgot to answer them; given the importance of the two characters in the arc where they have appeared, there must be a very specific reason why Oda didn’t tell us a thing. More than that, when Gloriosa talked about her Love Sickness in chapter 522, there was no flashback; not even silhouettes.

With these things and questions on mind, let’s move on to their position. Kaido is now an Emperor of the Sea, and Gloriosa was an Empress of the Kuja. Also, while Gloriosa was an Empress Kaido held no particular position, except by maybe being a pirate captain; and now the tables have turned, Kaido being an Emperor and Gloriosa being a nobody. A neat little parallel, isn’t it?

Now, let’s get to their Haki usage and knowledge: Gloriosa seems to have some knowledge about how it works and the characteristics of the people who are able to use the various Colours: in fact, in chapter 521 she comments about Luffy’s Haki, surprised by how he willingly bowed his head to Hancock to help those who saved him instead of a boat to leave the island without a second thought. She is not a confirmed user of any form of Haki; however, in a place where pretty much every powerful warrior can use at least Observation and Armament, it is hinted she is a wielder of these two colours at least and, since she used to be an Empress, there is also a chance she can use Conqueror’s, too. Kaido is a confirmed Observation, Armament and Conqueror user, and also one of the very few people, as he himself stated in chapter 1010, who can make the latter colour flowing through their body and coat their weapon(s). In the very same chapter, he also recognized Zoro’s illusions while performing Ashura as a manifestation of Conqueror’s Haki, revealing his in-depth knowledge about the subject.

Last but certainly not least... their strength. Kaido one-shot Luffy in Gear Fourth despite the Emperor being so drunk he could not stand on his feet properly; also, he was able to clash against a fellow Yonko for days and tanked pretty much both all the Scabbard’s hits and the majority of the Supernova’s attacks on the rooftop. Moreover, how can his absolutely epic introduction not be taken into account? He fell from a Sky Island literally 10000 metres above the sea level and he ended up with... a strong headache. I’ll tell you what: Gloriosa fell from a great height, too! In addiction to it, she landed without suffering any serious consequences, as shown in chapter 517, where she landed on her feet seemingly undamaged after Hancock quite literally threw her out of the Kuja Castle. As Gloriosa herself said, she might have grown old, but she is still a Kuja warrior. Also, being a former ruler where strength is beauty, she undoubtedly was a force to be reckoned with in her prime.

That being said*... Maybe they’re not so different, after all, huh?*

Mythology references

One Piece has loads of references to Japanese myths and folklore, however Wano is especially loaded with these; and how could it not be? It is inspired by Japan, after all.

Moreover, since Kaido can transform into a dragon, there must be some kind of reference to Japanese myths and legends regarding these legendary creatures.

There’s one in particular, which might be the key to Kaido’s backstory: the story of the Enoshima Dragon.

According to this myth, in the mountains near the Koshigoe village lived a five-headed dragon, called Gozuryu, who terrorized the inhabitants over a period of some-thousand years by provoking countless natural disasters such as huge storms, floods and earthquakes, as well as eating their children. The villagers kept praying and praying, until something happened: in 31st May, 552 AD, during a bigger and more violent storm than the usual, the clouds split in two and a rock began to emerge from the sea. A beautiful woman descended from a ray of light where the clouds slit and sat foot on the island just created, making it her home. The dragon, who assisted to the whole thing, immediately fell in love with her and asked her to marry him.

The woman, who was perfectly aware of the dragon’s evil actions, was none other than the goddess Benzaiten herself.

Benzaiten on a white dragon

Now, there are two versions of how the story ends: in one, the goddess turned him down at first, and told the dragon she would have considered his proposal only if he helped the people he used to terrorise. Gozuryu accepted and the village prospered thanks to their dual protection; in the end, the goddess agreed to marry him and the couple lived happily until the dragon met his demise. In the other version, Benzaiten straight up refused Gozuryu’s proposal due to his evil actions; ashamed for his wrongdoings, the dragon promised the goddess he would have never disturbed the village again, and retired in the mountains where he died of guilt.

Anyway, regardless of how the story goes, when the dragon died he fused with the land of Kamakura, creating the Dragon’s Mouth hill (Japanese: Tatsu no kuchi yama) facing south, the direction of the island where his beloved lived. Needless to say, the island of the myth is Enoshima.

The comparison between Kaido and Gozuryu is immediate: both are extremely cruel towards children, with the former having no qualms beating them, even his own, and the latter eating them. Moreover, the Emperor, much like the five-headed dragon, terrorizes the inhabitants of the place near where he lives (Wano Country and Koshigoe Village respectively) turning the land into completely inhabitable wasteland in the process, and is capable of causing huge storms; his apparition in chapter 921 is also being accompanied by a thunderstorm. Note that, in Chapter 1003, Zoro states that fighting Kaido was like “facing a natural disaster”, much like the natural catastrophes Gozuryu caused.

Now, let’s talk about Benzaiten.

Goddess of water (especially rivers), eloquence, and good fortune, Benzaiten is considered one of the protector deities of Japan, where she’s one of the most beloved and revered gods: every major city has at least one place for her worship and countless temples and shrines dedicated to her cult are present in many other areas across the country, all located near water sources such as rivers, ponds, lakes or even in the sea. She is part of Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods, and she’s the only woman among them.

Benzaiten, however, is not originally Japanese: she is in fact a syncretic deity derived from the Hindu goddess Saraswati whose cult was brought to Japan by Buddhist monks who arrived in the VII century from China.

Due to her extreme complexity, only the most relevant facts to this theory will be reported.

She wasn’t very popular until the XI century, when her cult was fused with Ugajin’s, an obscure Japanese Kami of water, agriculture and good fortune, often represented as an old man with a snake body. Once this happened, her popularity skyrocketed as a goddess of water and by assonance ‘of everything that flows’: rivers, eloquence, knowledge, music, art and Haki. Even nowadays, Uga Benzaiten, the goddess with Ugajin on her head, is one of the most common Benzaiten representations.

Both lived in an island inhabited only by women: Gloriosa in Amazon Lily, and Benzaiten in Enoshima, since she was the sole inhabitant of said island and also a woman;

Benzaiten originated from an Indian goddess and Gloriosas, the flowers which Gloriosa was named after, grow in India too! Gloriosa superba is even Tamil Nadu’s national flower.

Due to being goddess of water, Benzaiten was naturally associated with animals connected with said element: snakes, turtles… and dragons. Especially the white ones, since this colour is linked with water in Japanese culture.

Snakes are a big part of Amazon Lily’s culture: almost every warrior on the island has her own Snake Weapon which can be used as a bow, the island’s dome is sculpted with snake motifs, the Perfume Yuda, Kuja Pirates’ flagship, is carried by two Yuda snakes, even Kuja, the name of the tribe, means ‘Nine snakes’

White snakes were considered to be Benzaiten’s main messengers and avatars and Gloriosa in Share the World opening appeared with a blue top and*...* a white snake.

Also, the traditional representation of the Black Warrior is a turtle intertwined with a snake, much like Kujas with their Snake Weapon. Due to these facts, I believe that Gloriosa has eaten the Mythical Zoan Kame Kame no Mi model: Genbu.

Timeline and character analysis – a PERSONAL take on what could have happened and when (and why)

For this section, other than time markings scattered throughout the story, Momonosuke’s (biological 8 – actual 28), Yamato’s (28), and Hancock’s (31) ages will also be taken into account for comparison.

It is known that the Rocks Pirates were defeated and subsequently disbanded 38 years before the current time. Also, Kaido was captured, and presumably sentenced to jail, eighteen times; given his reputation and danger, it’s pretty safe to assume that at least one of those nine prison ships he sunk was directed to Impel Down.

Impel Down is actually not that far from Amazon Lily: the journey takes one sailing week with an average ship, while Marine ones can make it in just four days, about half the time, because of the reserved currents. In my opinion, it makes sense thinking that Kaido has sunk a prison ship in the Paradise and somehow ended up in Amazon Lily.

Now, everyone here knows the supreme rule of the Island of Women:

NO. MEN. ALLOWED.

For any reasons.

So, by the laws of the island, he was imprisoned and, just like Luffy, was sentenced to death. But, like the latter pirate did, Kaido defeated/broke/knocked unconscious all the animal/things commonly used for executions on the island, therefore the Empress finally decided to take the matter into her own hands.

I believe the Kuja Empress at the time was Gloriosa. Why?

Well, it was stated that 33 years ago the remnants of the Rocks Pirates sent off to found their own crews, and probably Kaido arrived in Amazon Lily even earlier, between 38 and 33 years ago. As Hancock stated, Gloriosa is actually the former-former-former empress of Amazon Lily: this means that there were two Empresses between her and Hancock; since the latter is stated to have become Empress at the age of 18, 13 years ago, and given that the other two unnamed Empresses died of Love Sickness which probably is more likely to strike the unlucky rulers at a fairly young age, 20-25 years are more than enough for two Empresses to have reigned.

To estimate her actual force at the time, let’s analyse her name a bit.

Like all Kujas, Gloriosa is named after a flower (or a genus of those): Gloriosa is a genus of 12 flower species, widely spread in areas of the world such as Africa, the Arabic Peninsula and tropical parts of Asia. It can reach 3 metres in height and they display showy, vibrant-colored flowers with distinctively shaped petals, earning them the nickname of fire lily.

So, the question arises spontaneously: why is this short, wrinkly old woman named after one of the most beautiful (and tallest) flowers in the world? Given Oda’s attention even for the tiniest details, I highly doubt he chose this name randomly; at least, not for her.

Either she’s a grotesque parody of her own name… or it could be a foreshadow.

Gloriosa is also the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan word meaning ‘glorious’, if the subject it’s related to is feminine and singular. A truly fitting name for a ruler and the wife of a Yonko, isn’t it? And Kaido want his death to be… glorious.

Maybe Gloriosa in her prime was actually even more beautiful and stronger than the current Hancock, to the point where nobody had ever beaten her in combat.

Anyway, you know how the saying goes: if it’s one on one, always bet on Kaido.

Therefore, Gloriosa was defeated for the first time. By a man.

Hancock’s case probably gives us how Empresses fall ill with Love Sickness: it happens when a man catches them off guard by behaving in a totally and positively unexpected way, defying all the previous experiences the rulers have. Hancock fell in love with Luffy because he showed her kindness and didn’t judge her when she told him about her past; Gloriosa got Love Sickness because she fell in love with Kaido for his strength.

Because love… is always like a Dragon Twister hurricane!

How about Kaido?

It is common knowledge that he respects physical strength, even in his enemies.

That’s probably why he joined the Rocks Pirates in the first place: out of respect for Rocks D. Xebec, because he was actually the first person ever to defeat him in combat.

Just like Zoro with Kuina, or Douglas Bullet with Gol D. Roger (in the Stampede movie).

Gloriosa may have not defeated him in combat, but she surely gave him a very good run for his money, maybe she almost won. And he respected her for that, to the point where he actually accepted to leave Amazon Lily, even if he won. He stayed there for a little more, while a ship for him to sail the sea was being prepared, and lived peacefully (meaning: extensively touched and examined) with the Kujas.; what are the chances that one of his favourite (or least) foods is actually penne with Gorgonzola and Sea King’s meat, the island’s culinary speciality?

When he sat sail, he probably found out that the Empress snuck aboard his ship when he was far away from the island already. He thought of bringing her back, but, after listening to her reasons, he decided to let her stay with him because, let’s face it, Kaido is not Luffy, he actually appreciates the company of women.

The most beautiful woman in the world fell in love with him and contracted a mysterious illness which would have killed her if she didn’t go with him and follow him anywhere?

Oh no! /s

I’ll tell you what, I don’t think that Kaido was actually in love with her at first that much. He surely enjoyed spending passionate nights with her, and was amused by her curiosity due to Gloriosa knowing little to nothing about the external world.

There was a specific moment when he actually fell in love with her.

Have you noticed that, despite being often shirtless, Kaido's back is never fully uncovered even in his dragon form? He always wears a coat, a shirt, or both.

That hints that Kaido has some kind of mark on his back he wants to hide from public view, just like the Gorgon Sisters. Something must have happened that made him show her said mark, maybe Gloriosa caught a glimpse and asked him to see it. Anyway, Kaido was reclutant at first, but she had the right to know, she was his wife after all.

So he showed it to her, in a way that, when it will be shown in the flashback, might be a callback to when Hancock showed Luffy the Celestial Dragon hoof.

That mark meant that for the world he had and would always have been something inhuman, a failed experiment, a monster; even Big Mom, who has the best spy network in the world, calls him a 'thing'. But Gloriosa didn’t judge him for said mark, nor she believed he was a monster. For Gloriosa, he was just Kaido, the man who she had fallen in love with.

That's when Kaido fell for her. And he fell hard, probably to the point of no return.

At some point, the two conceived a child, and that's when Kaido decided that it was time to move to Wano instead of travelling the world: the pirate life is dangerous for grown people let alone for a child, plus he was one of the most wanted men by the World Government, meaning the child was in danger simply by existing.

But how did Kaido know about Wano?

He probably heard something about the Continent Puller and the ‘country’ he formed about 600 years before but, since it was a closed nation, he probably didn’t know much more until he met someone who escaped from said island: Kurozumi Higurashi.

41 years ago, she told Orochi that she fled the country because of the persecutions against the Kurozumi clan, and because she knew nothing about the outside world, joining pirates was the easier choice. Also, in that way she could have found allies and power for the Kurozumi cause easier.

The Mane Mane no Mi allows the user to create a perfect copy of a person whose face has been touched. She transformed in a woman, who, judging by the color scheme in the anime, is heavily hinted to be Bakkin and a young Shiki, both known members of the Rocks Pirates, so Higurashi may have traveled with said crew for a while. There she met Kaido, who she sensed he could have been a great help for the Kurozumis: big, powerful, and stupid, easy to manipulate.

A closed off country not part of the World Government: a perfect nation for Kaido to reside to ensure the safety of his family (mainly his child, because Gloriosa was more than capable of defending herself) and to use as a base for his operations.

When Oden went with Whitebeard 29 years ago, there were no factories in Wano, but they were there when Toki arrived in Wano with Momonosuke, who was 3 at the time, and Hiyori; so Kaido must have arrived in Wano three years earlier at last.

Gloriosa may not have been the Kuja Empress anymore, but had everything a woman like her could ask for: she was one of the heads of a soon to be powerful army, plus a devoted, loving husband and a child.

Why did she leave it all behind?

I have already talked about the parallels between Gloriosa and turtles in the mythology section, but here’s another one: in Chinese culture, turtle (especially turtle egg) is a very serious insult regarding the morality of one’s mother; that’s why Genbu is called Black Warrior instead of Black Tortoise.

This also expands one of Wano’s most prominent themes: betrayal.

Gloriosa was forced to leave Wano and Yamato behind because she cheated on Kaido. But with who?

Well, the Beast Pirates follow a card games and decks naming theme, and currently there is none named Ace; also, when Oden faced Kaido, Jack was only 8, so my hypothesis is that the third Calamity before him was called Ace. He probably had a crush on Gloriosa and when she went to him for comfort while Kaido was away, probably out to recruit subordinates or captured, he couldn’t resist.

But Kaido caught the two in the act, and was absolutely furious.

He killed Ace, and his position remained vacant for quite some time, until Jack finally took his place in the Calamities; that's why, in Episode 972, there were only King and Queen along with the fodder.

However, Kaido couldn't bring himself to kill his wife personally, so he offered her a choice: be dispatched by the hands of King or Queen, or leave and never return.

Gloriosa chose the second option.

She packed her things and left, only to realize she had nowhere to go: Wano obviously was not an option, but she couldn't just go back to Amazon Lily, not after she betrayed Kujas by abandoning them while she was an Empress. Plus, as a pirate, she was wanted by the Marine. So she lived on the run, continuously assuming new identities and never staying in the same place for too long.

Also, Love Sickness certainly has played its role in weakening her, making her age faster and dramatically decreasing her height in the process.

Taking a look at Hancock’s bed, it’s decisiverly oversized for her: said bed could comfortably fit a laid Boa Hancock together with her Snake Weapon, which is way larger than the others, her sisters, the doctor and Gloriosa, and still have room left for someone else to stand on it.

It is very likely that this bed was the Empress’s for a long time, and, since that position is not inherited, it had to fit Kujas of all sizes. So Gloriosa could have been taller in her youth, maybe a little shorter than Kaido, but still enough to handle him.

Anyway, Gloriosa managed to survive through sheer willpower, the same that allows her to snap out of Hancock’s charm much faster than the others, until her feelings for Kaido eventually faded away, thus healing from said illness.

When she finally arrived to Sabaody Archipelago, at least fifteen years ago, she was unrecognisable. Coincidentally, Shakky's Rip-Off bar was searching for new waiters, and Gloriosa applied because she needed money. The former pirate immediately recognised her.

How is that possible? Feminine intuition!

In chapter 591, she correctly predicted that Hancock would became smitten with Luffy despite not seeing her for thirteen years and every evidence in Hancock's behaviour pointing out the contrary. (Also in the very same chapter Hancock asks Gloriosa how to have a proper marriage while surrounded by monkeys wearing Wano's typical hat. Let that sink in).

Shakky understood that Kaido had no interest in her anymore and let her stay with her and Rayleigh, until the Boa sisters arrived and Gloriosa could finally return to Amazon Lily with the excuse of bringing them back home.

On the other hand, Kaido was devastated, to say the least.

Can you blame him? His beloved wife was cheating on him with one of his most trusted subordinates. He needed to forget, to get rid of all those negative feelings overwhelming him: that's why he started drinking.

However, Kaido isn't stupid. Okay, he may not be as smart as Benn Beckman, the most intelligent person introduced in the East Blue arc, but he surely has some brains: you don't reach and mantain high positions within a crew without some smarts, let alone being an Emperor of the Sea. Kaido soon realised that he caught the two relatively easily. Too easily.

Almost if they wanted to get caught in the act.

While Kaido was drinking his sorrow away, someone else was toasting to a risky plan gone smoothly.

The Kurozumi clan.

Higurashi may have lured Kaido into Wano and the alliance with the Kurozumi, but she didn’t predict that he would have arrived with a wife and a child. Gloriosa probably had a great influence on Kaido, who was (and maybe is still) regarded as little more than a muscle head; and the Kurozumis were actually afraid that she may have been plotting something. This impression was confirmed by the Onibanshu who spied the two pirates: probably Gloriosa wasn't happy about the shogun and suggested her husband some ways to dethronate him.

She was a threat, and they needed to get rid of her as soon as possible.

They sensed that one of Kaido’s top subordinates had feelings for Gloriosa, and they decided to use this fact to their advantage. So Higurashi transformed using her Devil Fruit powers and seduced the crew’s Ace, in a time and a place where she was sure Kaido could see them, while someone else distracted Gloriosa. In the end, everything went according to plan.

However, when Kaido saw the old hag using her powers some time after, he understood everything. But he had no concrete proofs, and certainly wasn't in the position to kill someone so important to his pawn based only on simple suspects; so he waited, until the perfect moment arrived.

Meanwhile, Kaido kept drinking, to forget his actions and to numb his guilt. At first, a little quantity of alcohol did the trick, but eventually he needed more and more, slowly falling into addiction.

You know, Gloriosas’ beauty is only matched by their toxicity: as proud members of the Colchicaceae family, they contain colchicine, a powerful metabolic toxin; all parts of these plants can be fatal if eaten, even a simple touch can cause skin irritation. Due to this, Gloriosa superba has been used for centuries to commit suicide.

Just like colchicine corrodes the body, alcohol, together with shame, guilt and anger, slowly eroded Kaido’s soul, corrupting him from within.

While Kaido's original plan for Wano was simply to make the island his operational base, after all that happened he decided to destroy and utterly annihililate it, just like Orochi destroyed his happiness. The shogun was fine with his ally’s devastations and never suspected that Kaido knew. The latter made Orochi believe he wouldn’t touch the Flower Capital, just to completely erase it from the face of Earth once his army would have been powerful enough to fight an all-out war. Revenge is a dish best served cold and then smashed on the forehead.

The rest is history.

Surely Kaido will be defeated, but he will not be completely dealt with in this arc.

Yamato probably got their kind, selfless nature from Gloriosa. The latter would have never approved of the terms of Kaido’s promise to Oden, let alone all the hostages and atrocities done by her husband; since Oden began to dance naked in the streets 25 years ago, probably Gloriosa was already gone at that time.

Because of this, Yamato has little to no memories of their mother, so they will likely ask Kaido about her at the end of the battle. However, Kaido himself doesn’t know her whereabouts because he didn’t send spies after her; at first, because he didn’t care about her anymore. When he realised his mistake, he still didn’t search for her because otherwise it would have shown that she was still important to him. He is not naive, he knows there are spies in his ranks, even at high levels; therefore he wants to avoid attracting unwanted attentions to her.

Plus, Kaido doesn’t even want to know, because Gloriosa probably is dead or has found another person to be with; and he deep down knows that those news would definitely break him.

However, there’s one little detail: Gloriosa’s speech quirk-nyon. Even if her appearance has changed quite a bit, she surely did nyot change her way of talking. Luffy would probably understand Kaido is talking about her because of this, and will tell them that she’s alive and well in Amazon Lily.

It is a known fact that our protagonist either kills the villains’ dreams or changes them: Kaido will change his goal too. He wouldn’t want to die yet, he will probably want to meet Gloriosa again to apologize properly for what he had done to her.

Thus, he will survive the battle and somehow, after almost thirty years, Kaido and Gloriosa will meet again.

Will Gloriosa forgive him? Will she not?

Only Oda will tell.

Other references

Black Maria Many people actually believe she’s a Kuja, and I admit, they have pretty good reasons for thinking so. Let’s start by her name: other than being a card game, Black Maria is also a variety of bougainvillea, a clear reference to Kuja’s floral naming theme; there is also a flower named Spider Lily (Lycoris radiata) referencing her Devil Fruit powers and Amazon Lily alike. Black Maria has also flowers in her hair; the most prominent ones, colored in red, have also five petals, much like the one Gloriosa wears in her hair! She is also the owner of a brothel in Onigashima and, also due to her size, it’s heavily implied that she and Kaido have a… passionate relationship, as Oda would put it (However, Kaido probably views her as nothing more than a distraction). Of course, Kaido and his wife must have had their passionate moments, since they have a child. Moreover, Benzaiten is almost always represented playing a biwa, and, as shown in chapter 992, Black Maria can play it very well. She also has a remarkable singing voice, a feature which was one of the basic requisites to become a geisha. Geishas also were protected by Benzaiten. All in all, Black Maria is actually the biggest reference to Gloriosa... in a literal and figurative sense! Oh, one last thing: the men tied to her webs in Chapter 1005 can be a symbol for Kaido’s soul, unable to move on and perpetually being trapped in the memories and regrets of his relationship with Gloriosa together with his alcohol addiction.

Kaido’s flagship Currently, Kaido’s flagship is the only one among the four Emperors’ which has yet to be seen or named. Some speculate that it’s actually Onigashima, but, in my opinion, that’s not the case: why would he travel with his entire home, with the concrete risk of it being destroyed every time he faces an opponent? Also, Yamato is in there: they have explosive handcuffs which doesn’t allow them to leave the island, but what if someone with internal destruction haki actually removes them thus freeing Yamato and letting them escape? Also, what if Yamato actually gets severely wounded, or worse, killed by invaders? Kaido actually strikes me as an overprotective dad, thus he will never directly expose his child to external danger. The handcuffs will explode if and only if Yamato actually tries to leave Onigashima: if they stay there, nothing will happen. Plus, in chapter 997, when Kaido started lifting Onigashima someone said that the island had never trembled like that before. Kaido actually has his flagship, and the reason why it hasn’t been shown is its name. I’ve said before that Gloriosa means glorious in some languages, therefore there’s a big chance that the ship will have in its name also the Japanese word of the same meaning. Maybe it’s called ‘Glorious Dragon’ in Japanese, or something like that.

Yamato Now, this will touch one of the most controversial topics within the community right now, which is Yamato’s gender; I wish not to discuss about it under this post, because this isn’t the time nor the place (IMO it’s better to delay the discussion at the end of this arc, when Yamato will hopefully detach from the Kozuki Oden persona and find their own identity). Regardless of all this, Yamato was born as a female: and Kujas give birth to female babies only.

Kaido and Big Mom comparison: Although they were part of the same pirate crew for some time and both of them being now Emperors, there are a lot of things about their characters which mark these two as counterparts: first of all, Kaido is male and Big Mom is female. Big Mom belongs to the older generations of pirates, while Kaido belongs to the new one (together with Shanks). Kaido drinks a lot while Big Mom eats a lot. Big Mom has more than 80 children, while Kaido just one*. Lastly, Big Mom has had many unknown husbands, who she married and treated as equals only to discard them when their children are born, revealing she had zero feelings towards them. With the previous comparisons in mind, it would make perfect sense for Kaido to have had only one wife who has already appeared in the story and who he has loved dearly and maybe still does.

*In my opinion, Katakuri, Oven and Daifuku aren’t Kaido’s sons. Even if the physical resemblance is uncanny, there are two major arguments against this supposed paternity: first, the triplets don’t display any type of horns, which Yamato, the known child of Kaido, has. Secondly, the Yonko’s age: he is surely younger than 68, since this is Big Mom’s age and she considers him like a little brother; however, being heavily implied that Shakuyaku was part of the Rocks Pirates as well and she was considered a pirate, while Kaido was only an apprentice, it’s implicitly stated that he must be younger than her, too. She’s now 64, and this puts his maximum age at 63; given the triplet’s age, 48, Kaido may have had them when he was 15, which is an age when men usually have reached their sexual maturity, but he may be even younger than that, so draw your conclusion.

I admit, this turned out a lot longer than I actually expected. My sincerest kudos to you, dear reader, for reading all this time-consuming post – I hope you enjoyed it as much as I had fun writing it.

Please, let me know your thoughts, they are more than welcome!

TL;DR: Gloriosa is Kaido’s wife and Yamato’s mother, she has eaten the mythical variant of the Kame Kame fruit, Katakuri is not Kaido’s son and Gin will become Pirate King.

comments on reddit :

kaido has been revealed to be 59

I really want to know who yamatos mother was and I am willing to accept any theory for now

#one piece #op theory #one piece theory #one piece theories #kaido of the beasts #kaido one piece #op kaido #one piece kaido

11 notes · View notes

opbackgrounds · 4 years

Note

Hi there Sarc' ;) I am sorry if the question has already been asked but I thought it could be interesting to have your opinion about this. While I love most of the female characters in OP and think that most of them are well developed and can be truly good role models for girls I still feel that Oda sometimes has a sexist view on female characters (the jokes about the naked bath scenes for example or Kororo being considered ugly make me really uncomfortable). What do you think about it?

Ah, I wondered when I would get this question.

When people talk about sexism in One Piece they typically are referring to two different things: How women are drawn, and how they’re treated within the narrative. While there’s some overlap here, there’s enough distinction that I want to address them as two separate points in two separate posts, because I guess I had Opinions, and by god there should be a limit to how much text one tumblr post can be expected to hold. Consider this an introduction.

Buckle up, kiddos. This is gonna be a long one.

Nami Face Syndrome Isn’t the Problem...

An important thing to remember with Oda’s art and storytelling style is that almost everything is hyper exaggerated for effect. You don’t go into One Piece looking for realism. You don’t go into One Piece expecting the characters to act like normal people. Everything--from the art to the humor to the battles--is stretched and pulled to its absolute limit in hopes of garnering a particular reaction. When a character is sad they cry big bubbly tears with dribbles of snot coming from their nose. When they laugh their mouths take up half their face.

And when a girl is hot, her tiddies are two great big watermelons stuck to the center of her chest.

What is often dubbed “Nami Face Syndrome” within the fandom is somewhat misleading. After all, why was Wanda, who is a literal dog that walks on two legs, decried as yet another Nami clone at her introduction? I would postulate it’s less to do with her face and more to do with the fact that from the neck down they are virtually identical, something that’s made more obvious because Wanda is literally wearing Nami’s clothes

What makes this frustrating for a lot of people, myself included, is that it’s not that Oda is incapable of drawing more diverse body types, but that he often chooses not to. Take for example the Kuja tribe

or the Charlotte family daughters (thanks to Arthur at Library of Ohara for the resource). It’s pretty clear Oda has the chops to make his women as weird as the men, and he often does! For important characters, even. And yes, as the Kokoro example given above sometimes the gonkness is brought attention to, but for others like Lola and Chiffon it’s...not.

(more on mermaids later)

But Sarcasticles, one might protest, even Oda’s “ugly” characters have ginormous boobs! Where is my itty bitty titty committee representation >:(

To which I can only shrug. For Oda, boobs on a woman are like abs on men. It doesn’t matter if it makes sense, they’re gonna have ‘em

Seriously, Oda. What the fuck.

...So What Is?

I have a theory that’s impossible to prove, and that the problem isn’t so much Oda’s character design so much as the ratio of his male to female characters in general. It’s not that every female character is a Nami clone, but Oda has a template he uses for attractive female characters ages 16-25, the same way he uses Robin as a template for attractive women ages 26-35, which is how you get cases of mistaken identity like Viola for Robin or scenes during Reverie where one could be forgiven for thinking Nami’s supposed to be an identical triplet

Oda does this for his men, too. It’s not as obvious because 1) Even men with similar facial features can have a wider variety body types due to Oda having a sliding scale of buffness he’s willing to attach to a pretty face and 2) There are more men.

There are a lot more men.

In groups where the male to female ratio is more or less equal (Baroque Works, Big Mom’s kids) you get a wide variety of designs. But there’s only one female Supernova. There’s one female Warlord. CP9 only has one female agent. Only one of the Revolutionary Commanders is a woman. There are very few female background characters in crowd shots, especially among marines. Big Mom might be the only female Emperor, but she’s not young, In fact, when drawing her at age 28, Oda defaults to a much more generic “pretty girl” face before giving her much more striking, memorable features in her 40s

If you look at Oda’s male characters, the ones that are supposed to be hot are often given the same square jawline and the thin-bladed nose that at one point in time was reserved for Robin. Both Coby and Sabo had very distinctive noses before their glowups, while Ace must have had a laser treatment done on his eyebrows sometime between Alabasta and Marineford.

But the biggest difference on the men has got to be muscle mass. The overgrown noodles of early One Piece are lost to the annals of time. Shanks alone must have gained 30 pounds of pure muscle from the time Luffy got his first bounty to his appearance at Marineford.

Now, I will acknowledge that there is a difference between the increasing sexualization of female characters and the male power fantasy of giving Zoro bara tiddies post-timeskip. While I do think there are certain male characters specifically designed to be the Hot Dude, what I’m trying to emphasize here is that Oda works with templates for both men and women, and both of those templates have been exaggerated over time. Bigger boobs for women, more muscles for men. And when you’re only slotting for one girl in any given group, and that one girl has to be The Hot One then you’re going to have a lot of ladies that end up looking the same.

My love for Otohime on this blog is well known, and I want to use her as an example of what Oda can do when he works beyond this template, because it’s really freaking good

Otohime is neither conventionally attractive nor gonk. She’s dressed in very conservative, traditional clothing and has a narrow waist and small chest.

There are no sharp edges on Otohime. Not her eyebrows, not her jaw, and most of the time not even her hands, emphasizing her gentle nature. You don’t see it as well in this panel, but Otohime’s head is often drawn wider than her shoulders, emphasizing her frailty. Oda gives her a longer neck to compensate, and the overall effect is a very soft, willowy figure.

Her headpiece looks like a sunburst. The audience never sees her fins, so Oda gives her a scale patterned kimono-dress-thingy (my knowledge of Japanese clothing is, uh, not good) as a visual reminder that she’s not human. The sash that circles around her head harkens back to Japanese mythology as a symbol of divinity, similar to a halo in Western culture. And fun fact: Otohime is named after a god, just like Neptune, while her goals and ideals are pure enough to be heaven-sent.

I’m not an artist, but this is a really damn good character design. A lot of Oda’s older female characters are. Dandan, Tsuru, O-Tsuru, Shakky, Kureha, Big Mom, and Nyon are all instantly recognizable and have strong designs, even if a few of them fall into the hourglass figure that Oda often defaults to. It’s just...there aren’t that many of them.

So the question becomes why aren’t there more women, and I think the answer is because, ultimately, One Piece is a series geared at boys. While I wish there were a few more important ladies, I can understand why there aren’t.

Note, that doesn’t mean I think it’s right or that Oda is obligated to include more women. It’s just one of the facts of the shonen manga industry at this point in time.

A more important question, I think, is why does every younger woman have to be attractive? And why do the attractive ladies have to wear outfits that are blatant fanservice? This is something I don’t have an answer for. Oda has said on more than one occasion that he writes One Piece with his twelve year old self in mind. It could be that it’s a calculated move to appeal to his audience, in which case it’s certainly worked because said Hot Ladies are constantly used in marketing and merchandising. It’s the Hot Ladies that top the popularity charts (although, to be fair, who’s there for competition?). In the most recent chapter a new Hot Lady was introduced, and the fandom went batshit crazy for her.

Even the fans who are very vocal about how Oda sucks at drawing women. It’s interesting how that works out sometimes.

Or maybe I’m giving Oda too much credit, and he’s just horny. Not having direct access to Oda’s mind, I don’t have an answer. If I had to guess I’d say it’s a little of Column A, a little of Column B, because that’s usually how life is.

But in a vacuum big tiddies are just a design choice. An exaggerated aesthetic, in a series full of exaggerated aesthetics. It’s when that design choice is paired with in-story comments, actions, and decisions where things really start to get heated. But that’s a whole other ball of wax, and there should be a limit to how much one tumblr post can be expected to hold. I promise I’ll get to the meat of your question next time.

Thank you so much for your patience. I really do think it’s important to start here before diving into everything else, if only because it helps keep my thoughts organized. I hope you’ve found this helpful, and if not, I hope to do better next time.

#long post #dear lord what a long post #Character Design #one piece #I don't know why tumblr fucked up with the formatting of my answer #but I apologize in advance #sexism #sarc talks

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circle-bircle · 2 years

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12 Days of Whumpmas (Day 1): Given as a Gift

I misread the prompt and thought it said “given a gift” so... it’s just final fantasy 9 stuff, kuja & zidane.

mild cw for not-very-nice-things-happening-to-kuja? memories, specifically. and also weird descriptions of being burnt and frostbitten

ok :) here’s the ao3 version if you like that more

Though his magic was limited through the gratuitous use of Silence and other trinkets to lower his potential, Kuja still seemed to frighten the guards as he was led through endless corridors of the grand castle.

And I can’t even decimate the lot, Kuja thinks bitterly, glaring at the ground in lieu of glancing around at the guards and soldiers posted for duty. Not that they need the duty, of course - what with Queen Garnet seemingly perfect at maintaining peace in the city. The thought puts a bitter taste in Kuja’s mouth.

Along he’s led to what seems to be the throne room. Kuja’s surprised he doesn’t see Queen Garnet’s faithful knight anywhere, nor any of the ragtag family she has made for herself. Though, I suppose they have their own battles to fight. Kuja understands, somewhat. He doesn’t think about it any longer.

The guard that Kuja did not like - he spoke in a babyish voice to the genome, which only made him want to char his silly helmet - opens the door, but seems to know his presence is not needed within the room. Disregarding him entirely, Kuja enters through the door and has little time to look around before he’s thrown to the ground from a bone-crushing hug.

“You came!” Zidane exclaims, squeezing Kuja so tight that it’s nearly suffocating. “Man- I was so worried that you wouldn’t have gotten the letter. Honestly, I kinda expected you not to come, but look at you!”

“I haven’t changed, Zidane. You can get off of me.” Kuja tries not to make it snippy, but his tone is so sharp Zidane ends up helping the two of them to a proper standing position.

Zidane… hasn’t changed, either. He’s still shorter than Kuja, still with the blonde hair all genomes after him have had, still with the goofy smile and the harum-scarum aura wavering over him.

Still him. It’s weird to think about.

And Kuja knows he hasn’t changed, not inwardly. Zidane doesn’t seem to notice the clouds, turning back around.

“Well, I know you didn’t have it on Terra, or anything, but here we have a thing called Christmas, and so, uhhh-”

“-I know what Christmas is, Zidane.”

“Eheh… I guess you do, huh?”

Zidane begins to walk back to the grand doors of the throne room - for being a throne room, there really is little purpose for the existence of it. At least, nothing now. Kuja follows Zidane when he is beckoned, and re-treads the familiar hallways of the castle. At least he’s with company that is slightly more pleasant than anyone he’s been forced to interact with, but ‘slightly’ is an overstatement.

“Well, anyway. I wanted to give you a gift! Well, several gifts. Dag’ helped me with some of them, but I figured - hey, you’ve never really celebrated Christmas with family before, so I thought it’d be fun!”

“You haven’t celebrated Christmas with your family before, either,” Kuja points out.

Zidane laughs, waving his hand. “No, not my blood family, I guess! But still a family, so that’s gotta count.”

Kuja doesn’t say anything, but he notices the jealous feeling he receives from Zidane’s words. Of course he’s had a family - that theatre troupe, wasn’t it? And they loved each other like a family. It was more of a family than he had, certainly.

Speaking of his family, where is his faithful wife?

“And Garnet, she is…?”

Zidane looks at Kuja strangely for a moment, but answers the question nonetheless. “Oh, she’s busy. She’s the Queen and all, gotta keep people happy, doin’ good stuff for families… things like that.”

Because she doesn’t want to talk to her kidnapper remains unsaid. Kuja doesn’t blame him.

They reach a kitschy little room with a table and a bed and a dresser; clearly a guest room. Kuja wasn’t planning to stay for very long - he’s a very busy man, and by that, he means that he should not be mingling too much - but if Zidane wants him to stay so badly, he suppose he can bite his tongue and pretend he wants to stay.

Upon the table are a small amount of gifts, and Zidane presents them with a flourish and a small, “Ta-da! I bet you’ll like at least one of them.”

“At least one,” Kuja says. There are three on the table, so perhaps one-in-three is not terrible. He can’t remember the last time someone had given him a gift out of pure, good deeds. He often got gifts while in Treno, but those were falsified niceties to move up in the sleepless city. And, they were useless trinkets he often sold at the auction house, blowing them up to be something big when they were more worthless than the dirt he walked on.

“Yep! Go ahead and open ‘em now.” Zidane walks over to the bed and leaps up onto the mattress, swinging his legs against it in a childish fashion that Kuja struggles not to roll his eyes at.

Kuja goes to the package that is more tall-than-wide out of the three presents. He tears open the packaging to see a lovely bottle, cream-colored with no name attached to the package. He looks up to Zidane, who is fidgeting where he sits.

“Well, I know that black magic is kinda hard on your hands. So I figured that you might want to have more lotion? I mean, I bet you already do, I bet you’re planned for that kind of stuff, but. Just in case. Or you can toss it or something, I really don’t care, haha…”

Kuja looks down at the bottle, trying not to cringe as he thinks about the blistering sensation of Ultima. How his hands were burnt and did not heal for weeks, how he was bedbound from the heat and the stress and the blood, the scent of burning flesh will always stay with him.

“I’ll use it,” Kuja says lightly, setting it to the side. He doesn’t say anything about not using magic like that anymore.

He doesn’t miss the smile Zidane gives him when he knows at least one present has been a success. Kuja picks up the box that is more wide than tall, and studies it for a moment before tearing open the package. He doesn’t miss the flicker of Zidane’s tail, nor the big grin when Kuja pulls out… a box.

Kuja isn’t going to tell Zidane he has an array of jewellery boxes. This is ornate and rustic, but it doesn’t seem to do anything different than any other jewellery box he might have acquired - or any different from the ones in the desert palace.

“Open it,” Zidane goads.

Kuja does, and peers inside the box. A single ring is laid within the nest of fabric to keep it safe - it’s pretty, yes, but he knows there is some underlying magic attached to it. He wishes he could tap into the hidden incantations, see what exactly the benefits of this ring are, but the Silence spell hasn’t worn off yet - despite Kuja’s melodramatic voice.

“It’s pretty,” he muses. “Where did you find this?”

“Oh, on our travels.” Zidane waves a hand dismissively. “I thought you might like it ‘cause it’s a relic-sorta thing, see? And even if you don’t like it, I bet you could sell it or something.”

The iridescent red-orange hue of the gem makes Kuja think about fire spells, and the blistering heat of a snapping Firaga, the one-and-only time Kuja attempted to show Garland something he was proud of before most of his body was singed from a poorly-judged Flare. It had been days before that had healed, and even longer for Garland to stop his ceaseless complaints.

“I think it’s pretty. I don’t own anything that might go well with it, but perhaps I might.” Kuja makes a show of admiring the ring in the light filtering through the guestroom. “What do you think, Zidane? Do you think a burgundy might work best with this? Or perhaps a deep charcoal-”

“-I think it’ll look great on you no matter what color you wear,” Zidane assures, though his tone is clearly unknowing.

Kuja sets his hand down, and puts the jewellery box next to the lotion. He reaches over to pick up the last present, something that is in a box - or, some dilapidated box. The wrapping doesn’t seem to stick, and when Kuja looks up at Zidane he is flicking his tail and curling it and smiling, too happy-go-lucky for his taste.

He decides not to comment on the poor wrapping skills. Tearing open the package, he knows Zidane’s eyes are carefully trained on his face and his movement and what will he think of it? Probably not highly, if Kuja notices how bothersome his brother is being. Prying open the box, Kuja balks when he finds a scarf as the sole content within.

“Ta-da!” Zidane says, voice an octave higher - bordering on nervousness. “Well, I know it’s kind of cold, and… well, I dunno, whenever I look at you I feel cold! So I knitted you a scarf. Well, Dagger helped me. And Freya helped me, too. She’s actually surprisingly good at this stuff…”

As Zidane rambles and rambles, Kuja stares at the mishmash color of wine-red wool that was improperly dyed and the wool is teased in some areas and in others it’s a little lopsided, but it’s a scarf nonetheless. It’s used to keep you warm, he thinks, and he tries not to think about Garland, and Terra and the hostile cold that always seems to plague the rocky land, and how if you hurt yourself on the land in the nameless winter-summer season it would feel as if the wound froze over. And he tries not to think about how he was all chattering teeth and shaking limbs when he attempted to tell Garland something, anything, because he was always cold and it wasn’t just a temperature cold, but a distasteful cold that made Kuja want to relive Trancing over and over and over--

“Thank you, Zidane. I love it.”

When Kuja looks up, Zidane seems startled for a moment - but his friendly smile comes back. “No problem!” he exclaims. “It might not go with anything in your closet, but maybe one day you’ll need it…?”

“Oh, no, I can find plenty of ways to incorporate a scarf into my wardrobe, darling.” Kuja smirks, setting down the scarf and the box. “Perhaps you’d like some pointers? You hardly wear more than five outfits a week.”

“Hey, I-” Zidane huffs, “I like these pants!”

“Yes, yes, and I adore your present, so don’t worry about trying to pretend it wasn’t ‘big.’ I still appreciate it, you know.” Kuja tuts, but before he can stop Zidane he’s thrown into another bone-crushing hug.

Zidane squeezes the life out of him, but when Kuja wraps his own arms around his dear brother, he feels more alive than ever.

#amow twelve days of whumpmas #whump #final fantasy #final fantasy ix #it's fluffy but a little angsty #reading the prompt right would have helped...#given as a gift

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