Tumgik
#i learned to draw manga style for her
abby-howard · 8 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Some damsel art! I updated her distant sprites (the old sprites were holdovers from demo #1 when the backgrounds for chapter 2 didn't change)
And a bonus unfinished sprite for ya!
Oh yeah and wishlist our game :3
718 notes · View notes
dadfathers · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media
natsume yuujinchou 🌿 natori
672 notes · View notes
kvroii · 4 months
Text
Tumblr media
I've been trying to draw Spark Iskra in very many styles, so there is a lot of visual interest in her toyhouse gallery. This style is one I used back in 2019! I don't see myself revisiting this style often, but it was fun to try it again.
5 notes · View notes
Text
Tumblr media
Lesson 1: "White Man Painted Black"?
Okay, I recognize that this is a strong foot to step off on! But! If you learn nothing else from this series, if you decide for whatever reason to forsake me: this is the ONE perspective I'd like you to take away!
You may have heard this quote before, when Black fans deride a character design as 'a white man with the brown bucket tool'. On its face, it means exactly what was said. But specifically, what it means is that we recognize that whomever designed the character drew the way they normally draw for a 'default' character in their mind- default usually meaning White/Eurocentric features- and they added a shade of brown within the line art to make that character now 'Black'.
Now if you're feeling defensive, wait just a moment! This discomfort is not inherently a bad thing!
I'm going to use both a 'real world' example first, to show you what your Black fans and peers are seeing, and perhaps you will also understand our discomfort!
Tumblr media
(if anyone was curious, my folder for this lesson is titled 'brad' lmao and you'll see why)
Tumblr media Tumblr media
(I'll have y'all know that I actually worked very hard to make Blackface Brad look mildly presentable lmao I'm sorry, I'm wheezing, I can hardly breathe looking at him 🤣)
You see how, despite knowing where this was going, and using one of the darkest shades of brown in my Skin Tones arsenal, you still know that that's Brad Pitt? That nothing about his hair texture, his lips, his nose, or really anything other than the palette change... changed? And you can still see that?
It's incredibly hurtful to be told that that's supposed to be you. You know it's not, you know why it's not, but rather than hearing how it makes you feel unseen and what they could do to be better (since they wanted to draw a Black character!), the artist lashes out at you.
And as an artist, you might have worked VERY HARD to do this! That might be a real handsome guy you drew!! But... is he really Black? Did you walk into it with the intention, that you were drawing a Black Character, or did you draw a character that just happened to be Black? It seems like a silly thing, but it matters!
Okay. I just finished laughing over Brad. Now let's get into some more perspective changes:
Now, imagine you drew a character. You want to make her Black, so you change the hair and skin colors. All right! You have your Black character... right?
Tumblr media
Changed ONE feature about her? (You should obviously change more than one feature, but let's just go with the simplified example.)
What if, instead of just changing her palette, we changed her:
Hair?
Tumblr media
There isn't nearly enough time in the world, let alone in this little scribble and blurb, for me to describe the IMPORTANCE of Black hair in Black character design. There are so many ways to do curls, afros, braids, twists, locs, SO MANY HAIRSTYLES!! Get used to searching in the 3C-4C hair textures!!!! I plan on doing an entire lesson or two on hair alone, but suffice it to say, Hair Texture is thee BIGGEST giveaway that you 'painted a white person Black'- from cartoon styles to realistic! It reveals itself in your writing as well- just based on how your character takes care of their hair, how your describe the texture, how other people might perceive it... it lets me know just how much research was done. Because we can have straight hair! But again, that's a conversation for a whole 'nother lesson so- come back later 👀?
Lips?
Tumblr media
I love our lips, I really do. There's a long history of shaming Black women in particular for the way our lips look. So when I see them done in all their glory, it makes me very happy. Two-toned lips vary in shade and intensity, so make sure you're using references if you want to be 'realistic', but it doesn't have to be that hard. Even a little subtle shift like this in the design/story description lets me know that a creator was thinking about me.
Nose?
Tumblr media
One thing I've noticed ever since I starting drawing is that... people in a lot of mangas/manhwas barely have noses! I admit, out of all the features on the face, the nose isn't the most important. I think they should be, especially when you want to emphasize that your characters look different! People have different types of noses! I especially want to gear this towards those with a goal of drawing realistic portraits and the like- there, the nose is ANOTHER dead giveaway. There are Black people with aquiline and straight noses- we aren't a monolith- but is that why you drew it? Consider why you went for that nose specifically. That's part of the intent, in all this!
Now, you might be looking at me and going "Ice... this is just character design". To which my answer is: Yes! It is! It feels so basic, and yet if you ask your Black friends/peers how often they've come across this feeling of not being properly drawn/written, from fanart to professionally produced works, it's unfortunately common despite how simple of a concept it is.
I hope that you can walk away from my first lil lesson with new eyes. Remember, it's the thought that counts, but the action that delivers!
1K notes · View notes
just-jordie-things · 10 months
Text
[part eight] to build a home - gojo satoru
Tumblr media
word count: 5k warnings: !!manga spoilers!! swearing, jjk-verse style fighting series summary: when (y/n) (y/l/n) catches wind that the notorious sorcerer killer, toji fushiguro, has children, she makes it her personal mission to find them. the catch being she couldn't tell a soul about them- the risk of the zen'in clan learning about them was too great. keeping the secret isn't the hard part, it's lying to her friends, shoko ieiri, geto suguru, and of course gojo satoru, that she struggles with. especially when satoru has suddenly become so keen on keeping an eye on her lately.
series masterlist
[part eight] : "Bury A Friend" ___
(y/n) knew she wasn’t the ideal choice of mentor to Megumi.  But she was the only choice.  So she did everything she could to teach him everything she knew.  Megumi wasn’t always fond of spending his after school time learning, especially the more boring lessons (y/n) provided like history, or the specifics of the prominent families.
“This is important, Megumi” (y/n) said to the boy that had thrown his head down against the table.
“I’m tired of studying,” He groaned.  “I want to learn more about cursed techniques!” 
“And you will,” (y/n) told him.  “But I need you to understand this” 
“Why?” The boy whined, turning his head so his cheek rested on the kitchen table, staring at her.  “Who cares about a bunch of old people?” 
(y/n) laughed at him, reminded of Satoru and his distaste for the elders as well.
“These old people control everything in the jujutsu world,” (y/n) said.  “They’re in charge of all the rules, and they have the money to enforce them.  They’re very powerful, Megumi, and they don’t take kindly to those who defect” 
“Defect?” He asks, confused.
“It’s what they call sorcerers who… don’t play by the rules” She says carefully.
“Bad guys?” Megumi asks.  (y/n) nods.
“That’s one way to think of it” She sighs.
Her hands are wringing together, and she can barely look at him.  The young boy frowns.
“What’s wrong?” He asks, lifting his head.
“Nothing, honey, I just want you to pay attention” 
“You’re bad at lying,” Megumi deadpans.  “Are you defecting?” 
The question makes her eyes sharpen, and she stares at his inquisitive face.  She doesn’t want to tell him the truth.  She knows he won’t accept another lie.
“There’s a lot of things that won’t make sense right now,” She explains to him.  “I’m not trying to lie to you.  I’m just trying to keep things easy-” 
“Well then make it make sense,” Megumi cuts her off, shrugging his shoulders.
(y/n) gives him a look, shaking her head.
“Is it because of me?” He asks.  “Are you going to be in trouble because of me?” 
“Of course not,” She lies with ease.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, she leans closer, staring at him with complete sincerity in her eyes.
“Of course not” She repeats.
Megumi nods, a little bit.  He believed her.
It was the first time she’d told a decent lie.  And it was probably the most important one.
“Okay,” He sighs.  “Then what’s so tricky to understand?” 
(y/n) sighs, and she wishes she had spent more time practicing her cursed technique so that she could teleport away.  He was too young to be told the complete truth.  Even if he did understand it all, it was a harsh reality to bring a seven year old to
“Let’s just say your Dad had a knack for making things complicated, okay?” (y/n) says.
Megumi snorts.
“Yeah.  He sucks” 
(y/n) nods, smiling endearingly back at him.
“I’m not trying to lie to you,” She tells him honestly.  “But there’s a lot you still need to learn, and it can be complicated.  Is it okay if for now, we just take this all step by step?” 
The child nods in agreement,
“Yeah, that’s okay” He says.
“Okay.  So let’s go back to the big families” (y/n) says, drawing a chart on a scrap piece of paper of the big three.
The rest of their little study session goes well.  Megumi is a good learner, who picks things up quickly once he’s shown them.  (y/n’s) grateful he’s such a smart student, because she knows she’s a terrible teacher.
Once he’s got an understanding of the important families in jujutsu society, she decides to call it a day, with the promise of practicing with his shikigami over the weekend.  Megumi seems excited enough by that, before he runs off to tell Tsumiki about everything he’d just learned.
(y/n) stayed at the kitchen table, and once he was out of sight, she allowed herself to hold her head in her hands.  Her eyes fell shut, and she let out a shaky breath.
The idea of telling him the truth one day makes her gut twist into sharp knots.  Had there been anything in her stomach, she certainly would have rushed to the kitchen sink, keeled over it, and emptied it out.
Was this a mistake? She asked herself.  If I hadn’t gotten involved, could Megumi had happily gone with the Zen’in Clan? Now that I’ve harbored him and Tsumiki, have I made their lives worse? 
Her fingers dragged against her skin as she lifted her head.  Just as she opened her eyes, she noticed her phone was silently ringing on the table, the screen lit up with a photo of Satoru.  
She answers it, bringing her phone to her ear.
“What’s up?” She asks.
“(y/n)...” Satoru’s voice is serious.  
She sits up a little straighter in her chair.
“Satoru, what is it?” She asks.  It wasn’t like him to hesitate.
“How quickly can you come to the school?” He asks her.
“What happened?” (y/n) ignores his question.  “Is something wrong? Is someone hurt?” 
“I can come get you.  Where are you-?” 
“Satoru,” (y/n) cuts him off, standing from her seat suddenly, causing the chair to knock over and clatter to the ground.  “What happened? What’s going on?”
“(y/n), I don’t want to tell you on the phone.  Just- please, I can come and get you right now-” 
“Just tell me!” She’s yelling now, not thinking twice about raising the attention of the others in the house.
Unbeknownst to her, Megumi and Tsumiki had rushed into the kitchen as soon as she’d knocked over the chair.  They stood in the doorway, watching her with worry.
“It’s Yu,” Satoru sighs.  “He went on a mission with Nanami, he’s-” 
“I’m coming” She says firmly, before ending the call.
She turns around, about to go straight to Megumi and Tsumiki to tell them she had to go, only to find them right in front of her.  She startles, not having heard them come into the room.
“Hey, guys,” She sighs, crouching before them.  “Something happened, I have to go a little early” 
“Is everything okay?” Tsumiki asks worriedly.  (y/n) forces a smile on her face.
“Everything will be fine,” She tells her.  “But I need to go” 
“You’ll be back on Saturday?” Megumi asks, his voice small.
“Of course,” (y/n) assures him.  “I can’t wait to see your Divine Dogs, Megumi” She adds, bringing a small smile to the boy’s face, even though he knew she was hiding something, and things weren’t alright as she was trying to make them seem.
“Be safe,” She tells them as she stands.  “I’ll be back on Saturday” 
They both bid their goodbyes as (y/n) goes out the door as hastily as she can without running.  She mutters the incantation to lower a curtain hurriedly, and as soon as she seals the house under her protection, she brings her middle and forefinger to her forehead.
___
(y/n) appears suddenly at the school, stumbling on her feet a bit from the messy and sudden teleportation.  Her mind had been anything but clear when she’d summoned her cursed energy to bring herself here.  However this was the fastest way she could get here.
Her mind grows foggier, and eyelids heavier as she takes a few steps forward, dragging herself to the front doors.  Sleep threatens to overcome her, but she pushes forward anyways.
Teleporting like this was a risky choice, knowing she had yet to keep herself conscious after doing so.  But she had no other choice, and she was here now.  All that mattered was finding-
“Satoru” 
As (y/n) opens the door, she finds her friends, along with Nanami and Yaga right at the corridor.  She stands in the open doorway, or rather, she’s leaning on it, desperate to keep her body upright.
Shoko, Satoru, and Suguru rush right over to her, assuming the worst.
“Are you hurt?” Shoko asks, scanning her for injuries.
“Where were you?” Suguru asks.
She doesn’t answer either of them, she can’t focus on calming their worries when she knows something terrible has happened.
“Satoru,” She says to the man who hadn’t torn his gaze away from hers as soon as she’d arrived.  “What- what happened? What happened to Yu?” 
The room is silent.  Shoko and Suguru step back a bit, realizing she wasn’t in any danger, she was just wiped and starting to lose consciousness as a result of prematurely using her cursed technique.
The white haired sorcerer frowns, and reaches out to try to help her stand better.  She shuffles back against the door, shaking her head.
“Tell me,” She mumbles, her throat tightening, and burning.  “Tell me what- what happened to Yu?” 
“I’m sorry, (y/n/n)” He says softly.
There’s tears pooling in her eyes as she stares back at him.  She starts to shake her head in disbelief, but no words come out.
“Yu is dead” Another voice answers her question.
She looks past Satoru’s shoulder, to where Nanami is hanging his head, eyes focused on the floor.
(y/n’s) breath catches in her throat, choking her.  She sputters out a few shaky pants, before her knees give out and she’s crashing towards the ground.
Satoru’s faster than her fall, an arm wrapping around her shoulders to keep her steady on her knees in front of him.  Her head lands on his shoulder, tears seeping into his shirt as she begins to cry.
Shoko and Suguru look at each other, while the Six Eyes user silently tries to comfort her, his hand rubbing circles over her back in smooth motions.
“I don’t- I don’t-” (y/n) stammers over her words, despair, confusion, and exhaustion clouding her ability to form a proper sentence.  “I don’t understand- how- why-” 
Satoru shushes her quietly, knowing any minute now she was going to close her eyes and succumb to the fatigue.  He dropped his head so he could speak quietly to her.
“I’ll explain everything” He murmurs into her temple.
Her body shakes against his.  He has to close his own eyes to keep himself from tearing up just from seeing her in so much distress.
“Satoru- don’t-” (y/n) mumbles, fists weakly grabbing at the front of his uniform.
“I won’t go,” He assures her.  
Her body starts to feel a little heavier in his arms.
“I’ll be right here when you wake up, I’ll tell you everything” 
Her eyelids feel too heavy to bear, and when their weight is too much, she finally lets them close.  Shortly after, her breathing evens, and her body is slumped in Satoru’s arms.
“She teleported here,” Yaga says as Satoru gets a better hold on her, lifting her up with ease.  “That was the longest I’ve ever seen her stay awake after teleporting without a hex” 
“She was anxious” Satoru replies, about to walk away.
“When she wakes, tell her when she’s ready I’d like to speak to her” His teacher says, before he could walk too far away.
Satoru turns on his heel, his eyes fixed in a glare.
“She was only able to keep herself awake so long because she was grieving,” He said with a harsh tone of voice.  “She just lost someone she cares about.  And when she wakes up, she’s going to go through it all again,” 
Nanami watched Satoru intently as he spoke sharply towards Yaga.
“Don’t you dare try to get her to use that to perfect some stupid cursed technique,” He continues.  “Not a word of this to the elders” He says, head jerking around the room to make sure everyone present understood he was meant to be taken with absolute seriousness.
Everyone slowly nodded their heads.
“Understood” Yaga sighed.
“Good,” Satoru muttered.  “Now I’m taking her to rest.  Tell everyone not to bother her, or I’ll rip their head off” 
He finally leaves, teleporting himself to (y/n’s) room.  It’s dark, but Satoru leaves it that way as he carefully tucks the dozed off girl into her bed.  She doesn’t squirm or make a single noise as he covers her with the blanket.
Once he deems her comfortable enough, he wanders over to her desk, grabbing the chair from it and quietly placing it beside her bed.
He rests his head in his hands as he sits.
Why wouldn’t she just let me come to her?
Selfishly, he doesn’t want her to wake up anytime soon.  He doesn’t want to face her and relay to her how Yu’s mission had gone wrong.  He doesn’t want to be the one to bring her such bad news, to break her heart.
Yet at the same time, a part of him does want to be the one to tell her, so that he can be there for her if and when she needs him.  To dry her tears and tell her good, sweet things to comfort her.
It’s all a mess, he thinks, bringing his gaze up to the sleeping girl before him. ___
[TWO YEARS AGO]
(y/n) leaned further out the window of the classroom she was currently hiding in, making sure that all of the smoke she blew out her lungs went out the window.  Sneaking a cigarette on her first day of being at Jujutsu High was a bit reckless, sure, but her nerves needed to be relaxed and so far this was the first method that worked.
“That’s a bit stupid, isn’t it?”
She jolted at the sudden voice behind her, the cigarette in her fingers falling from her shock.  It fell straight out the window, and onto the ground.  Her jaw dropped as she watched a group of jogging upperclassmen run right over the thing.
Well, at least it was stumped out and she didn’t have to worry about starting a fire on her first day.
Annoyed, she spun around to see the perpetrator that had so rudely interrupted her.
It was a boy, standing in the doorway of the classroom.  He had lightning bright hair and an even brighter grin.  The oddest part wasn’t even the sunglasses he chose to wear inside, but how it seemed that even when she scowled at him, that grin remained.
“Having a cigarette on your first day here?” He chuckled.  “Do you know what they would’ve done to you if you’d been caught?” 
“Kicked me out?” (y/n) scoffed.  “Don’t you think I already knew that consequence when I lit it?” 
The boy laughed.  It was bubbly, and as annoyed as she was with him, she found herself fighting the urge to laugh as well.
“You’re right.  I owe you one.  Luckily I’m friends with the biggest nic addict here, so you’re lucky” 
“Lucky?” (y/n) repeated in a monotone voice.
“Sure are,” He replied.  “You’re the new first year right?” 
(y/n’s) brows drew together, disturbed that this overbearing boy already seemed to know who she was, and she had no idea who he was.
“Yes…” She answered slowly.  “I’m (y/n)” 
“Gojo Satoru” He introduced himself, walking into the classroom with his hand outstretched.
With a huff, (y/n) reaches her hand out to meet his, only to find something stopping her just an inch before touching him.
She retracts her hand instantly, and suddenly his name clicks in her mind.  He seems amused that she’d reacted to his Infinity in such a way.
“Shit,” She mumbled, her wide eyes staring up at him.  “So you’re the Six Eyes everyone’s been talking so much about” 
“Oh yeah?” He raises a brow, tucking his hands into his pockets.  “They sayin’ good things?” He asks.
“They’re saying you’re the most powerful sorcerer,” (y/n) replies.  “So I suppose it depends on who you ask,” She answers.  “Whether or not that’s a good thing” 
Satoru scoffs, his grin faltering for a brief second.  He had not expected such a cryptic answer.  Usually people flocked to him, always wanting something from him.  Clearly he’d gotten off on the wrong foot with this one.
“Normally being the best at something is a pretty good thing” He said smoothly.  (y/n) raised a shoulder and cocked her head to the side.
“Maybe,” She mused.  “But I can do something you can’t” 
He leans forward with a smirk, entering her personal space and peering down at her through his shades.
“And what’s that, sweetheart?” He asks slyly, clearly expecting some sort of sexy response.
(y/n) doesn’t give him the reaction he was looking for, instead keeping her face blank as she responds.
“Fly under the radar,” She answers.
His brows pinch together, chuckling to himself.  As if he’d ever want to do that.  What a stupid thing to brag about.
(y/n) steps around him, heading out of the classroom.  
“Don’t forget you owe me a cigarette, oh powerful Gojo” She calls over her shoulder as she leaves.
[PRESENT DAY]
Back when he’d first met (y/n), Satoru remembers that more than anything, she confused him.  She was probably the first person in his life to ever treat him like he wasn’t the most important person in the world.  She had weird opinions and a weirder personality.
And he was enamored with her.
It had taken him some time, maybe more than most, to figure out what she’d meant that first day they met.  He spent nights awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering why he’d want to fly under the radar, as she’d said.  But as he found his friends, Suguru, Shoko, and found himself in the meantime, he finally figured it out.
By that point, she’d already written him off.  Perhaps she didn’t hate him, but she certainly didn’t want to spend time with him if she didn’t have to.  Lucky for him, their mutual friends brought them together more often than she would have liked, so she had to get to know him anyways.
Years of training together, class together, hanging out with their friends, going on assignments- little moments and inches of steps brought them closer together.  Eventually he saw her give in a little, and (y/n) let him care about her, even if she wouldn’t reciprocate.
She stopped ignoring his texts, started laughing at his dumb jokes, and sometimes, Satoru swore that he would catch her smiling at him.  She openly enjoyed going on assignments with him, even if it was just from her competitive nature.  When Yaga would hand them the same mission, she’d smile at him, followed by her typical attitude.  But there’d be a bounce in her step.
He had been there the first time she’d tried to teleport without a hex.  She had been trying to save someone.  A kid.
The poor thing had been standing before a Grade One curse, trembling, frozen in fear.  Satoru had seen him first, but (y/n) was acting before he could.  She was too far to make it on foot, but without a second thought she did something she didn’t even know she was capable of.  It was as if human instinct and cursed energy merged in that moment, her drive to save that child overpowering her body and teleporting her there in the same instant she’d seen him.
In a second (y/n) was no longer by Satoru’s side, and was a few hundred feet away.  Her arms wrapped around his small body, and she stood there just long enough to scream for Suguru to exorcize the curse.  He came just in time, and once more, (y/n) disappeared from where she stood.
Kneeling at Satoru’s side, she kept her hands securely on the young boy’s shoulders.  He remembered the rushed, worried way she’d spoken to him.  
“Are you hurt? Are you alright? Do you know where your parents are?”
Satoru remembered when the boy finally ran off to where his parents were just a block away, (y/n’s) hands were shaking.  Just as he was about to congratulate her and help her to her feet, her body gave out.  Her eyes were shut and she was passed out before she’d even hit the ground.
That was a year ago.
Now, Satoru thinks that his stance with (y/n) is even messier than before.
He’d thought that he’d made some progress, redeemed himself a bit in her eyes.  At least he’d hoped he had.  She spent more time with him than she had before, and it wasn’t completely against her will.  Satoru had been overjoyed when she’d agreed to join him for breakfast.  He’d spent the whole day with her after that, and not for a second was he able to stop looking at her.  She’d only grown more beautiful, more confident and sure of herself, and as they matured bit by bit together, Satoru was certain he was only going to fall harder for her.
He’d known her for years now, and every day she challenged him in some new and exciting way.  He used to enjoy that about her.
Now, it brought him an immense amount of stress.
Not knowing where she was going when she snuck into town, not knowing what she was up to when she snuck back in late into the night, it had him worried sick.  He knew she was capable of protecting herself, she was a strong fighter, and loved her cursed tools almost as much as her friends.
But no matter how slowly the curiosity killed him, he knew he had to drop the subject.
After a lengthy discussion with Shoko, where she told him in all seriousness that she was certain (y/n) was meeting up with a lover, someone she cared about deeply and wanted a future with, he had buried every last feeling he’d had for her.
He’d decided he had to.  If he didn’t want his heart broken, he’d have to move on from her.
That was easier said than done. ___
(y/n’s) eyelashes fluttered for a brief moment, followed by a small groan.  It took a few minutes of stretching her tired limbs before she finally opened her eyes, and to her surprise, Gojo Satoru was sitting right there.
“You’re awake” He said softly.
(y/n) sat up and looked around herself, just to be sure she hadn’t woken up in the infirmary.  Just as she thought, she was in her own bed, her own room.
And then it all came flooding back to her.
“Yu…” She mumbled, her voice cracked over his name.  “He’s really gone?” 
Silently, Satoru nodded his head.
(y/n) leaned back against her headboard, her eyes on her lap as she processed this information rather slowly.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Satoru said quietly, reaching his hand out to her.  “I know you were close” 
To his surprise, she took his hand when he held it out, her thumb pressed to his palm and her fingers wrapping around his securely.
“He just wanted to be nice and walk me home,” She said softly.  “He was just trying to be a good person and I- I pushed him away” 
Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes as she remembered the last time she’d really spoken to him.  She’d seen him in passing since that day in Tokyo, but she’d been in such a rush all the time that she’d barely said more than a hello to him.
And now he was gone.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
“Don’t blame yourself for anything,” Satoru said, his thumb stroking over the back of her hand gently.  “What happened was an accident, no one could have known” 
She looks up at him, her tears falling freely now.
“What happened?” She whispered out.
Satoru sighed, pushing his sunglasses to the top of his head.
“Him and Nanami went on an assignment.  It was supposed to be a Grade One… but…” 
“Special Grade…” (y/n) mumbled, eyes falling away from his, glazed over as she thought it over.
Her hand that wasn’t in his tangled in her sheets, fisting them tightly until her knuckles turned white.
“Did they exorcize it?” She asks, her voice dropping an octave.
Satoru shakes his head.
“Nanami brought Yu back as soon as it happened.  They sent Suguru first thing this morning” 
“It’s morning?” 
“Almost seven” Satoru nods.
“It’s Friday” (y/n) confirmed, and he nodded again.
She nods back at him, the gears in her head turning.
She didn’t have to be at the Fushiguro house until tomorrow.
“Have you heard from Suguru since he left?” She asked.
When her eyes meet his again, there’s something there that he’d never seen before.  Something cold, and calculating.
“Don’t even think about it” He told her before she could even suggest what she was thinking.
(y/n) releases his hand, shuffling off the bed, but as soon as she stands, he grabs her by the shoulders to stop her.
“I said don’t even think about it-” 
“I’m going” She cuts him off, staring him directly in the eyes so he could see that there was nothing that could stop her.
“(y/n), Suguru will take care of it, you know that-” 
“It has nothing to do with that,” She snaps back at him.  “Yu was my friend.  I cared about him- and- and now he’s gone and he’s not coming back and I can’t just sit here and-” 
She’s getting choked up over her tears, and she raises her hands to violently wipe them from her eyes.
“I can’t just sit here and cry about it!” She wails.
She falters then.  The tears spilling over her cheeks won’t stop flowing no matter how much she wipes them away, she’s sobbing now, her whole body trembling.
Before she can fight him, Satoru pulls her into his chest.  She doesn’t put up a fight.  She lets him hold her and she doesn’t hold back a single sob that wracks her body.  He carefully sits them down on the edge of her bed, and she throws her arms around his neck as she continues to break down.
They sit together for quite some time.  (y/n) doesn’t leave his arms.  Satoru doesn’t let her go.
It’s a long day spent in the darkness of her room.  He brings her food and a new box of tissues every few hours, but for the most part, sits with her while she lays in bed.  Sometimes he holds her hand, sometimes he rubs her back.  She falls asleep here and there, but never longer than half an hour.
When it’s well into the middle of the night, she calls to him.
He’s sitting in bed with his back to her headboard while she’d been laying on her side, faced away from him.  But suddenly she turned over.
“Satoru?”
Her voice is strained, tired.  Her throat was surely sore from her day of grief.
He looks away from the book he was reading, something he’d stolen off her shelf.  Her eyes are sad, but no longer filled with tears, as she looks at him.  He hums softly in response to her, his hand sliding down the mattress to find hers.
When her fingers weakly brush into his, she tangles them together, slotting her own through the spaces between his.  His hand is warm, and comforting.
He’s warm and comforting.
“You’ll stay?” She murmurs, briefly looking from his eyes to his hand in hers, and then back up to his eyes.  “Through the night?” 
Satoru sets the book down in his lap, and now that it’s in her line of sight, she can see that he’s reading her copy of Charlotte’s Web.  The smallest of smiles tugs on the edge of her lips.  She had pulled it out of a box of old storage from her childhood just a week ago, having a newfound soft spot for the story after reading it cover to cover for the Fushiguro kids.
“Of course, sweetheart,” He tells her, and when she looks back up at him, she can see that he means it with every ounce of sincerity.
He picks the book up again, only to slide it onto her bedside table.  She watches as he then throws back the covers, sliding his long legs under them, and then the rest of his body.
He’s eye to eye with her as his head hits the pillow, and she can’t bring herself not to stare at him.
They’re incredibly close, since her bed wasn’t exactly made for two people, but the nerves that she would normally feel having him so close to her that she could feel his soft breath on her lips is nowhere to be found.
In fact she smiles.  It’s small, and her lips tremble in the slightest, but it’s a smile for him nonetheless.
Satoru squeezes her hand.
“I’ll stay as long as you’d like me to,” He tells her, his voice a hushed whisper.  “I’ll stay until you force me to go” 
She squeezes his hand back.
“Can I request one more thing?” She murmurs.  He nods.  “Would you read to me?” 
He turns to reach for the book right away, double checking what it was he’d been mindlessly reading just moments ago.
“Charlotte’s Web?” 
She nods.
“It’s grown to be a favorite of mine” She tells him.
“Then of course I will” 
He rolls onto his back, and he lets go of her hand so that he can open the book, flipping back to the first page.  Once he’s found a comfortable angle, he slides an arm around her shoulders, tucking her in close to him, to keep her comfortable, before he begins to read.
Satoru doesn’t even make it through the first chapter before (y/n’s) dozed off, her head resting on his shoulder, the rest of her body completely curled into his.
He finds himself getting tired shortly after as well.  When he finally gives into the drowsy feeling, he places the book on her bedside table, and lays his sunglasses on top of it.
He forgets all about how he was supposed to be burying his feelings, he forgets about the stranger she’s been going out with, and all that’s on his mind as he falls asleep beside her is the hope that tomorrow will be a fresh start for her.  He hopes that she’s able to work through her grief, and begin the journey to move past it tomorrow.  He hopes that she’ll let him help her.
Satoru falls asleep listening to the soft, steady buzzing of her cursed energy beside him.  It pulls him away like a lullaby.
___
xoxo - jordie
481 notes · View notes
byghostface · 2 months
Text
Daminika asking game
Questions for Daminika/Flamian Shippers! a Thread ♥️🫀 by @ damiandefenderr on Twitter(X)
1. What’s your favorite panel/moment of them?
Need them to hold hands again please…
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
-[Robin(2021)#7/#11]-Artist: Gleb Melnikov-
Also this one panel of reunion hugs from the newest issue🫶♥️
Tumblr media
-[Batman and Robin(2023)#6]-Artist: Nikola Čižmešija-
2. What was your initial reaction to them getting together?
Tears of joy + stayed up late drawing out of excitement, cuz I've been rooting for them since the Robin(2021) # 7 issue.
3. What song/lyric reminds you of daminika?
♪-We could be together, you could stay forever
We could waste time baby, nothing else matters
Oh, when I look into your eyes
I wanna bury you by my side-♪
-BURY YOU by Ari Abdul
4. How do you think their first date would go?
They catch up with each other 's life while having a meal and doodling on Damian's sketchbook at his favorite Arab restaurant.
5. What’s your headcanon for Nika regarding Damian?
She likes to listen to Damian talking about his original story and ideas, and his plans to present them with different forms of media( art, acting, music ).
//
Nika thinks Damian's an interesting and straightforward person and likes his pride in himself in the first introduction he has on Lazarus Island. Think he's an honorable and fairly challenging fighter. Plus the mystery ghost(Alfred) that keeps appearing around him intrigues her. After stealing back his manga from XXL and giving it a good read, she wanted to know more and more about him.
6. What’s your headcanon for Damian regarding Nika?
He likes to text Nika from time to time, and when he doesn't know what to say he sends pictures of his pets to her, Nika sends back pictures of her own pets(cat, insects, reptiles) and the activity she is doing or the sunset view that is outside of her room window.
//
Damian is angry with Nika at first but realizes that he can only blame himself for being impatient to learn the Death Tournament's rules, thus letting her get the upper hand. Damian thinks Nika is a quick wit, bold and resilient person. He admired her fighting skills from afar and was secretly pleased that she kept seeking him to talk and be friendly with him, and still kept a respectful personal space for him.
7. If you could publish a daminika mini, what would it be about?
daminika sketchbook tour (about their daily life inspirations, choice of art styles, their views on people who are around them), and they have doodles/comments cameo on each other's pages occasionally.
8. What do you think Bruce & Taila's reaction would be to Damian & Nika being official?
Bruce is wary about Nika but can’t say much to Damian because of his own dating/lovers history, later on, realizes what Damian has seen in her.
//
Talia tells Damian a few times how she is unimpressed by Nika, but Damian doesn’t hear a word from her after he introduces Nika to her in person.
9. What’s a trope that you think fits daminika?
Sent to kill each other (secret mission) but fell in love unintentionally when they met and learned more about one another.
10. How do you think their relationship would be like?
It’s both their first ever relationships, so they are cautious and consider each other’s feelings a lot. Damian is serious about it and mentally initiated. Nika is much more relaxed and physically initiated.
1.2 (dates and activities).3 (taking care of each other, sleep habits, gifts) .pet names.art styles.asking game
46 notes · View notes
myapothecarydiary · 2 days
Text
Thoughts from reading The Apothecary Diaries Manga Ch. 1
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Okay, I just first have to say I adore these little Maomao illustrations at the beginning of each volume. The art style is so cute!
Tumblr media
And we get straight to it: the comparison of the pleasure district to the rear/inner palace. The similarities go to show how Maomao is in a position to successfully navigate and understand the rear palace due to her upbringing in the pleasure district. Her background gives her a unique, and in this case, advantageous perspective.
Tumblr media
This introduction discussing eunuchs and the emperor's family is very hello! regarding Jinshi's real identity. I think it also introduces Apothecary's conversation on gender, specifically Maomao's perspective regarding it. She considers eunuchs to no longer be true men and to exist beyond the gender binary. She values frogs as a defining characteristic, if you will.
Tumblr media
This here introduces Maomao's relationship with her own appearance and beauty. We later learn she draws her freckles on and so is trying to subdue her natural beauty, but she is also pragmatic about her appearance. She accepts what she looks like and utilizes her unassuming qualities, even accentuating them, but though she adds she's "not interested or anything" in becoming a concubine, I think there is some supressed disappointment in her looks. She can't fathom that someone like the Emperor would find her attractive. She is not just pragmatic but resigned.
There's a greater conversation to be had about how Maomao values beauty and recognizes how beauty gives someone value (within the environments of the rear palace and the pleasure district as well as within her own mind?). I'm going to put a pin in it for now, but I have thoughts on how Maomao views Jinshi's beauty (a waste on a man, disastrously powerful on a woman, extra wasteful on a man sans frog?) + the benefit of certain assets (big boobs XD)
Tumblr media
Hello, future plot line and Jinshi's desire to increase literacy and education!
Tumblr media
I find this important to note as it is how Maomao is characterized for the audience. "Forward-thinking" with "an insatiable thirst for knowledge and overwhelming curiosity" and "a budding sense of justice." It is interesting how her sense of justice goes against her insistence on the idea of "it is what it is" and that most matters are above her.
Tumblr media
Feels like ominous foreshadowing for a later reveal + an indication of how the previous Emperor's shadow hangs over everything to some extent. (Side thought: there's no actual curse on the imperial family causing the current Emperor's heirs to die, but perhaps Jinshi would feel like there is one)
Tumblr media
Introduction of Maomao's favorite concept/word–conjecture! She emphasizes how her dad drilled into her that she shouldn't go off of conjecture alone, yet she often engages in speculation to the point of it kind of being her "thing."
Tumblr media
A fateful meeting. Jinshi notices Maomao but she doesn't see him (and is too busy thinking/working out a problem in her head–very on the nose for their relationship going forward).
I also like how this was drawn with the white outline around the both of them! I think it is more apparent around Jinshi, but it does envelop them both and put them together, which is interesting.
Tumblr media
Maomao sees Jinshi for the first time. And going back to my prior pin on beauty! – Maomao's perception of Jinshi is tied to her thinking about the concept of him as a woman. There's almost a disappointment in how his beauty is not possessed by a woman.
Tumblr media
This is very indicative of Maomao's actions. A large part of her character involves not only figuring things out and possessing/acquiring information, but obscuring things/holding things back (in regards to both what she figures out and how she presents herself). This also speaks to how Maomao even suppresses certain feelings and realizations in her own mind.
Tumblr media
I feel like there is an instinct to write Maomao off as a cold loner type, and while part of this moment involves Maomao's relief at seeing the princess alive and healthy, I think (especially with how it is depicted) it shows a warmth for life and children. Maomao cares! You see this sweeter/softer (and protective) side of her in her interactions with Xiaolan as well.
Tumblr media
Maomao is all about that social hierarchy and knowing her place. Beauty and status are perhaps lenses through which she sees the world (interesting that a certain character will land at the highest level of both of those XD)
Tumblr media
My confession is that before I watched the anime and was just seeing people post about Jinshi as a sort of "silly little guy", I made assumptions about his intelligence and depth. I was very pleasantly surprised by the scene where he deduces Maomao left the note because she is the only one who can read. It even catches Maomao by surprise! Then again here, his ability to solve the sorts of little mysteries that will essentially become Maomao's main purpose goes to show their compatibility as a pair (that will work well together).
Tumblr media
This moment and quote just hits me hard every time. Beauty and life, how they interact, and the value of both will continue to be explored. It also directly shows how Maomao's experience of the pleasure district informs her ability to understand and navigate the rear palace.
And that's all for chapter 1! Onto the next.
23 notes · View notes
Text
Tumblr media
okie dokie @quixtrix
Gonna also tag @dextraicarus1994 since he’s a splinter cell fan and most likely has information to add to this discussion
We've heard the phase "everyone is the hero of their own story" at least once and while it's debatable if that is really true of everyone , there are some people who genuinely and unquestionably believe themselves to be the hero
And Sarah Fisher is one of those people
Unlike my Jade post, I'll be working somewhat backwards when it comes to evidence of my theory, primarily because one of the things that convinced me that Sarah has a hero complex was something that happens closer to the end of the first season
In the last episodes of CLH, we learn about Sarah's name and backstory. Her childhood where she got her father arrested , her military education and finally the death of her father
Sarah is a confusing character and until we get season two , theres so many questions surrounding her and very few, if any, answers to those questions
Did Sarah plan everything that happens in the show? If not, how much was Sarah's plan? Was her conversation with Dolph and Marcus genuine or an act? Or some combination of both?
What does Sarah really want out of all this? Did she have any involvement with Rayman becoming Ramon? If so, she's now the last of the board of directors and thus is in complete control of Eden, so what else can she possibly want?
And despite knowing first hand Eden killed her father , why did Sarah forego her human body and become a cyborg spider , essentially another cog in the machine that murdered her own father?
Is Sarah even "Sarah" anymore?
Then it clicked into my head that, the entire sequence of Sarah inside the VR , experiencing her past mistakes and trauma?
Can be read as a test of Sarah's convictions
Or other words, from her perspective ,she was on the hero's journey
And what's a common trope heroes experience? Challenges against their beliefs
Tumblr media
Now obviously Sarah's character doesn't actually fit into the hero's journey , at least not without some twisting here. That is not important, what's important is that Sarah believes herself as the hero regardless of her actual circumstances or position in the world
Take note of how the hero's journey is about transformation specifically, as I want to draw a parallel to the anime/manga known as Land of the Lustrous. I don't want to spoil too much of that series as this is meant as a CLH post (I also need to catch up) but there is three pages from Land of the Lustrous I want to share
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
People who know of this series knows exactly what I'm implying about Sarah with this comparison, but for those who don't know what this manga is about: these three pages only has one character in them
Land of the Lustrous (or Houseki no Kuni) is a story set in a world where humans went extinct, but other humanoid lifeforms evolved from that extinction with one of those being immortal and genderless beings made of gemstones
The main character is one of these gem people called phosphophyllite ,phos for short, and their story is basically:
"what if the ship of theseus was a living being with a conscious?"
Keeping spoilers as minimum as possible, Phos , physically and mentally, undergoes drastic changes throughout the narrative both from circumstances beyond their control and the choices they've made
I believe , much like Phos, Sarah herself is a conscious ship of theseus
Tumblr media Tumblr media
I want to bring attention to the connections between Bullfrog and Sarah , both in design and in narrative
Sarah's hair is the same colour as Bullfrog's hood , as well as being styled in a way that resemblances said hood. Both of these characters have colour palettes that share similarities with each other , in that they both primarily wear a monochromatic uniform with silver
They both also happen to have eye colours that's some shade of gold . Dolph's mother in the manga also has gold eyes. Coincidentally, both Bullfrog and Sarah are characters Dolph began to trust after he killed Alex for his betrayal
Bullfrog however leans more into wearing white while Sarah leans towards black, which happen to be colours used to represent themes of conflicting opposites , such as yin and yang or good vs evil
The other difference between them is Sarah has green accents while Bullfrog has red, which makes Bullfrog's palette more warmer while Sarah's is colder , fitting considering their personalities
Funny enough Bullfrog is a cold blooded frog hybrid. Meanwhile Sarah was is a human with a warm skin complexion
Red and Green are also opposites on the colour wheel, much like how Bullfrog and Sarah are opposites in the conflict between Assassins and Templars
Red and Green however, are complimentary colours too
As of season one we have very little regarding Bullfrog's life before the events of the show, but I'm betting my kidneys his life has some uncanny similarities with Sarah's
Remember how I said Sarah doesn't fit the hero's journey without twisting some things?
Bullfrog is an undeniable loyal, genuine character who does what he does out of the kindness of his heart. Bullfrog's heroism comes from caring for others and wanting justice
Sarah however, I believe has a hero complex that drives from her ego and a desire to control others
You can even say Sarah is a twisted remix of a hero
We can actually take a guess what experiences Bullfrog may have had in his life by comparing Sarah's life itself to the hero's journey set up, but let’s just focus on Sarah
I just want to have it at the back of our minds that Bulfrog’s life has likely paralleled with Sarah’s when we go down these points
Call to adventure: This is obviously when Sarah leaves the wasteland with Sam, her father , into Eden
Supernatural aid: Sam meets up with Marcus, who hacks the systems to help Sam and Sarah out
Threshold, beginning of transformation: Sarah snitches on the watch dogs
Tumblr media Tumblr media
I want to put some attention to this moment of Sarah’s life as it has had a significant impact on her. Not only did her father loose custody of her and she was placed into Eden’s child care system (or whatever they do with Ray kids who expose their parents doing anything illegal) and was exposed to even more brain washing propaganda without any outside influence (her father) , but more importantly this was the first time in Sarah’s life where she had power over someone else’s fate
When Sam asks why Sarah did what she did, she replies “we have to do the right thing”. Looking at her body language , Sarah is not happy to be doing what she’s doing but fully believes, with no doubts despite her pained expression , it’s what she has to do , it’s the right thing to do
It seems odd, that Sarah was this heavily brainwashed and Sam was unaware of it up till this moment. Considering the wasteland is well, a literal wasteland I doubt there was much after school activity programs to influence Sarah this much. Sam seemed like a very attentive single parent so I can’t imagine the guy would let such pro Eden propaganda influences, such as the Rayman kids’ programs, anywhere near Sarah. Considering how young Sarah is in this flashback as well , she wasn’t exactly at the age of sneaking off and hanging with the wrong crowd
Unless Sam wasn’t Sarah’s only parent
Having a quick skim of the Splinter Cell wiki, Sarah’s mother in the games is a woman called Regan burns. Regan and Sam were on opposing sides during their military careers but that didn’t stop them from having a stormy affair, which lead to Regan becoming pregnant and having a troubled marriage with Sam. In the games Regan is cryptanalyst for the NSA , but who is Regan in the remixed universe?
During his introduction Bullfrog rambled about how his ancestors memories live on in his DNA , which is a reference to how in the assassins creed games people can use technology (or other means depending on game) to travel through the memories of their relatives (both close and distant) and learn information from them, it’s even how some get their assassin training
In some stories of the franchise, the main character is the direct child of an assassin, which puts further emphasis on bloodlines and their importance in the assassins creed
Just so happens, the templars use technology to travel through memories and bloodlines play an important role in their organisation , just like the assassins they’re up against
So it’s possible that, in this universe , Regan was a Templar and how she raised her daughter is what influenced Sarah “to do the right thing” and how Sarah was exposed to propaganda such as Rayman’s shows right under Sam’s nose
If Regan was a Templar, that could explain how Sarah not only knew about the order, but managed to get into the position she currently has in show. Regan’s influerence may also have given Sarah (and to some degree Sam) some advantages other people could only dream off, such as an opportunity to have a comfortable life in Eden and her military education
Thanks to Regan, Sam was still allowed to communicate with his daughter despite being a traitor
Dolph , as a fellow soldier in comparison, was taken from his mother and not even allowed any contact with her. He suffered so much just by virtue of having “good genetics”, Dolph and his mother in comparison did not commit any crime and yet ended up with a worse life than Sarah and Sam
If Regan is alive or not in the show does not matter now, what matters is that she was present in Sarah’s life long enough to make an impact on the girl
I do want to say while this was the beginning of Sarah’s transformation, the little girl wasn’t beyond saving at this moment in time
But Sarah, as stubborn as she is, doesn’t want to be saved
Sarah wants to save others
Challenges and temptations: Sarah’s years in the education system and her military training
Revelation , death and rebirth: Sam dies and Sarah makes the choice to become a cyborg
During their last conversation, Sarah brings up that thanks to her good grades, she’s been given the opportunity in becoming a cyborg. Sam is heavily against it , the two argue
Something interesting to note here is how defensive Sarah is of Eden , telling Sam “if Eden was so bad, you wouldn’t be in probation you’d be in jail” , and that he should be grateful Sarah is being given this opportunity at all “despite being the daughter of a traitor”
Sarah does not trust Sam to know what’s best. Not only for his daughter, but also not even for himself
When talking about how Sam died and her grief over losing her father, Sarah asked herself “was he right?”. Worth noting, Sarah never tells Dolph the answer to that question
That’s important because while it shows that Sarah did have doubts about Eden , no , herself , when it comes to how the world works, her behaviour in the last episode tells us exactly what the answer to that question is:
Sarah decided the answer doesn’t matter
What mattered was protecting her father from HIMSELF, and she failed
Tumblr media
This was the moment Sarah’s fate was sealed
This was the moment Sarah shallowed her doubts, made the conscious choice to become a cyborg that would set her on the path to become sigma and never looked back
Regardless if she was influenced by Eden propaganda or her mother, Sarah came to her own conclusion about something that day: “order and peace will come through control and rules”
Sam , and all those innocent people, would still be alive if they just did what they were told
If Sam just did want Sarah told him to do
Before I talk about the last two points of the hero’s journey, transformation and atonement , I want to go back to that moment in Sarah’s childhood. The one where she had power
Tumblr media
At an incredibly young age , even if it was just this one moment, Sarah had power over the lives of others and influence over what happens to those lives. This likely also made Sarah feel responsible for those around her , particularly feeling strongest towards her own father and his well being. This is where Sarah’s hero complex stems from
I’ve talked a lot about the hero complex, but what exactly is the hero complex?
“Noted author Laura Berman Fortgang, described the Hero Syndrome as a phenomenon affecting people who seek heroism or recognition, usually by creating a desperate situation which they can resolve and subsequently receive the accolades from. This can include unlawful acts, such as arson and attempted murder.” (Link here for further information about this)
We can actually see Sarah display this behaviour early on in the show, particularly in her treatment of team Ghost. The planting of bombs into their skulls under her control is the most obvious example but there’s two others I want to talk about
Tumblr media
In the ending of episode 3, Sarah swoops in to rescue Dolph from his own suicide attempt. What she tells Dolph in this scene is damning evidence of her need for control over other people
“I’m the one who decides where and when you die”
Knowing in hindsight that she’s a Templar cyborg , she likely purposely planned it so that the news would catch her “saving” Dolph and label her as a traitor
Why exactly? Can’t really say, but I bet some part of it is just to give Sarah a little ego boost , convince the world she’s the underdog hero she sees herself as
But we can go further than that , in that Sarah wants control over how people live their lives, not just when those lives end in how Jade is treated by her
Tumblr media
It’s really easy to assume Jade’s role in the show is due to sexism , and that’s possibly very much the case still
But comparing the role Sarah assigned Jade to the other ghosts, it really makes no sense that Jade was made to play the femme fatale
Dolph and Bullfrog were given jobs that they already do on the regular (Dolph stealing an item using his cyborg tech and Bullfrog sneaking into the building) and while Cody was (presumably) meant to be the one wrestling, Pey’J has the strength and body build to fill in Cody’s absent despite his lack of skills and experience in wrestling
Jade though? She clearly has no clue how to be a seductive temptress, and Sarah must have checked over the ghosts’ profile. Meaning she seen Jade’s profile and seen what she’s actually capable off
Unless Sarah didn’t actually want Jade to do her job
You know what else is common in hero stories? Damsels in distress
Tumblr media
I think much like what she did for Dolph in episode three, Sarah’s plan in episode two was to rescue Jade. That obviously did not happen , but my point stands Jade was made a femme fatale so that Sarah can boost her own ego
It’s been brought up on Reddit that Jade’s hair (especially when styled by Sarah in the femme fatale look) resembles Sam’s hair
The two also have green eyes, and wears a hat that casts a shadow over those eyes
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
We could go a shippy route with this, but this post is already extremely long and I think there’s more interesting things we take from this than Sarah’s weird sexual fantasies
Whether it’s a subconscious thing or something Sarah is fully aware of, Jade reminded Sarah of her father
or rather , how Sarah views her father
I’ve talked a lot about Jade already over here but the point I want to bring to this is that Jade is a passive character in this show. Sam in contrast is not a passive character, but it’s likely Sarah wishes he was
I don’t think Sarah was ever intentionally ableist towards Sam , but combined with her having power over him which makes her feel responsible for his well being from a young age and her believing in the Templar belief that control is the path to keeping everyone safe, I do think Sarah doesn’t respect Sam as a capable adult, especially his life choices that lead to him taking part and dying in the wasteland war
I don’t know what this really means for either Sam or Jade as characters or if these similarities will play a part in season two. What I do know is that this shows Sarah isn’t above trying to mold people to her liking
Which brings me the final two parts of the hero’s journey
Transformation: Sarah becomes a cyborg Templar
Tumblr media
”The Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment about whether an object is the same object after having had all of its original components replaced”
Since almost Sarah’s entire body is fully robotic , is it still Sarah’s body, or Eden’s property?
On the off chance that Sarah's brain is also robotic, is the things going through her head Sarah’s thoughts , or Eden’s programming?
Is Sarah even Sarah anymore?
Throughout this whole post I’ve spoke about Sarah , her hero complex and what may have influenced her behaviour. I don’t think Sarah came out of her transition into a cyborg member of the Templar order unscathed
While the ground work for Sarah’s hero complex were present, Sarah was once an innocent little girl who deeply loved her father. Sarah was not born into this world with an ego , she wasn’t born with an intense desire to control other people
Tumblr media
Sarah wasn’t born with blood lust in her smile
It was not just Sam who died that day in the wasteland, Sarah’s humanity and connection to other people died with him
There’s something odd about the fact Sarah is the only member of the board of directors who is a cyborg , we know this because Ramon killed the rest way too easily. We also know from Ramon , that people who make it to the top don’t stay at the top
Much like Phos in HNK, Sarah is very much a victim of drastic change due to her own choices and circumstances beyond her control
and finally
Atonement and return: ???
I don’t really have anything to add to this part , mainly because Sarah’s story isn't finished yet
We’ll have to see how things play out in season two it seems : )
29 notes · View notes
ladythot · 10 months
Note
What is ur opinion on all the Yuenchi characters that appeared so far?
Now this is a very great opportunity for me to introduce some of the cuties in the gaiden but let me just show you this unnamed boxer cutie before startin off with a few characters—
Tumblr media
*heart eyes, dick hard*
We'll call him boxer cutie, I recall he appears in 12th chapter but anything pass 11 of yuuenchi is almost nonexistent 'less you're desperate like me to go on reddit and scourge for the rest. I love his chill, free and easy personality. But one thing that bothered me is (cw spoilers) my guy already experienced his last moments before mumon could even become a bodyguard at his place and lost to one of those vacuum palm users aka nincompoops like yanagi, hopefully he atleast gives us his name before he rests in peace kek
Mumon Katsuragi :aka the bakiverse inosuke
Tumblr media
He's a natural cutie. I find it intriguing how his lips have more color than the rest of the male characters in the gaiden and female characters usually have those, right? I like it when people ask if he's a woman as soon as he takes off his cap. He probably wears it to look more manly and convincing. Besides that, I realize how close the connections are between presumably distant characters and characters he had raw connections with aka Tokugawa/taizan/rofu/kozue etc. They all know about katsumi and it makes me wonder if there's a time where lil informations about eachother are occasionally brought through random moments as they think about that time in the circus
I'd also like to say since he left the circus; there's one panel where kid katsumi can be seen crying over him and his dad, he slipped during his performance because he was worried about mumon and this goes back to that one canon detail where katsumi still appreciates his biological mom despite her having to leave him the same way—This small angsty detail burdened me with profound woes and made me feel bad for my boy katsumi because mumon never planned turning on his heels once as he left daw fuck me bro, me thinks what ifww katsumi held a grudge on him instead and they fwight epicly at the very end
Overall? He's such a good boy, but in the latest chapters....? He became feral after his trauma was relived (chapter 16)
Tumblr media
Taizan Matsumoto
Tumblr media
Best dad no words. He raised mumon so well—no better dilf could simply replace his raw capability as a functional parent in the bakiverse. Not only does he headlock properly, he takes things to another level by being the solid mvp of the gaiden. Mumon would simply stay as a famishing stray kid without him, what more is there without this man prior to recent chapters? None. He's such a good father figure to both mumon and kozue, but good things come to end sooner than bad earnings—Itagaki why indeed.
I think he's the reason why mumon likes hanging out under cherry blossoms? someone mentioned that and I'd like to take the lovely idea to heart without correcting myself or the other person in hand
Rofu Isomura
Tumblr media
Interesting character. Love him and the faces he made with kid mumon, their interaction, growth and everything. Anything about their interaction was wholesome and it showed mumon's unspoken aptitude for quick learning and being a genius at mastering techniques at such a young age. He's funny too, so unpredictable yet enjoyable
Mizuchi Koganemaru
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Ya really need my opinion lastly on this silver spoon? His talent for nude sculpting is pretty impressive and we're not hinting at the sculpture of lady in the corner of his room. I think he's so mysterious, I like it. But also, there haven't been enough source for the recent chapters nor updates so I can't tell much about my opinion on him. One thing I wanna know is, what's he doin sculpting mumon and holding the manmade cement head huh.
-
I vouch yuuenchi for the unique art style and well written details for the manga artist to consider drawing in the upcoming chapters :heart emoji: they have all my respect in terms of making mumon and the rest. The more the merrier innit for the main anime?
There are a few more characters I've had peeks of in the latest chapters which is really hard to find by the way, but this is all I could say for now lawl
103 notes · View notes
icecry · 2 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
【 PAGES 5-12 AND FULL SUMMARY BELOW KEEP READING】
Tumblr media Tumblr media
ARTIST NOTE: PIP BERNADOTTE’S DIALOGUE IS WRITTEN IN THE SAME STYLE AS THE HELLSING MANGA
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
【 HELLSING THE BENEDICTION CHAPTER 5: CLOCKWORK 】 The inner workings of the monster named Benedict. 「 The air is humming with exhilaration as Benedict embarks on his first venture outside the Hellsing grounds as per his request for his 10th birthday. However, misfortunate strikes when an unexpected, low-grade mission is brought to Alucard and Seras' attention. Despite being minor enough to leave to the soldiers that were dispatched, Alucard insists upon taking the opportunity to stretch his shadowy limbs after nearly a decade of stillness.
Teased for her overprotectiveness, Seras is reminded of an earlier birthday on another cold winter night during a very uncertain time. ⌋   COVER ART inspired by Viva La Vida,  “Be my mirror, my sword and shield.”  Thank you so much to everyone who waited patiently while my work schedule was so incredibly hectic the past few months. Lots of good things career-wise, so I am so incredibly grateful. This chapter was the deepest one I've worked on in this passion project of mine. I wanted to finally have a few scenes of Benedict with both Alucard and Seras to show the differences in the dynamics (much like my own parents as a kid). Also, I wanted the flashback to show just how serious the situation at hand is. We'll learn more about Newcomer Dr. Conan Hawke in future chapters. The scene between Pip and Sym has been one I've wanted to draw for a while now. I look forward to showing more of Pip's future interactions with Benedict as well as Sym's abilities.  HELLSING THE BENEDICTION will pick back up in SEPTEMBER with a small flashback interlude of The Knighting of Sir Icarus leading into CHAPTER 6, where Benedict comes face to face with his Father's shadows as well as his own.  I would love to hear your feedback! Thank you all again so so much!  Cheers!
586 notes · View notes
threeking · 4 months
Text
Tumblr media
... ⠀⠀יִיִ⠀𝃣 ⠀⠀ writeblr intro ⠀⠀ 💌 ⠀⠀ ── ⠀⠀ ;
hello ! my name is third king january but feel free to call me third or january ( or any other nickname you'd like ) ! i'm a twenty two year old black lesbian pursuing a graphic design major with a minor in art history and creative writing—considering media studies—who uses they/them pronouns !
ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧ :⠀ 🍓. i think this may be my third or fourth time trying out a writeblr, but the other attempts didn't go well since i was busy and didn't put a lot of effort into interacting with my mutuals </3. this time around, i really want to be a part of the community and be more supportive of everyone's writing! my goal for this account is to share my wips, any writing, and keep motivated to do more than just stare at a blank document for hours </3.
i'm a big reader and i plan to share some of my recently reads on this blog. please feel free to send me book recs if you think it's something i might like or if you just wanna ramble about something you read that you really liked! my favorite genres are horror, magical realism, fairy tales and fantasy. i love beautiful prose that's almost poetic and ambiguous writing that has you questioning everything until the grand reveal.
my favorite books are: bunny by mona awad, deathless by catherine m. valente, and how to win the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone. the last two books helped me understand the kind of writing style i want to strive for as did poetry !! i don't have a whole lot of fav poems, but worm king's lullaby by richard siken is one that's always spinning in my head.
alongside reading i like manga, webtoons, videogames, and anime. my all time favorite anime is hyouka followed by angel beats and clannad. my favorite webtoon is omniscient reader's viewpoint and i can't recommend it enough. it's soosososo good! ( i started with the webtoon before switching to the novel bc i was too impatient to wait for the updates ) my favorite games are the halo series and oxenfree.
other interests of mine include music, drawing, art, watching youtube videos, journaling, horror movies, and sleeping 😴. i have a few graphic novels / webcomics in my wips so i'm learning how to draw to make them a reality! i also have a video game that's tied to another wip so i'm getting into coding as well !
please never be shy / afraid to tag me in ask games, send me an ask, or even a message! i also have a discord ( username: thirdking ) if you'd like to add me and message me there. also never think or feel like you're bothering me or anything if you wanna say hi or ramble about your interests. i'm always looking to make new friends !! 😁
i ask that minors don't interact or follow !! thank you !!
i have a handful of wips that's been running laps in my head for some time now but these are the ones ( excluding shorter stories ) that aren't multimedia projects or animation ideas, but i may talk about those anyways 😋 since most of these are still in the outlining stage they're subject to change but i'll make sure to update anything to reflect those changes !
📝 𖹭 ⠀ֵ⠀ wip one ; spring ( technically untitled but springs gna be in the final title )
the story follows two ex band mates reconnecting in their adult years after they parted ways when their front man signed a major record deal.
📝 𖹭 ⠀ֵ⠀ wip two ; sisyphus
sisyphus stars three siblings at the center of a conspiracy 1!1!1 the oldest sibling, an astronaut, goes missing during a privately funded space mission embarking to a new planet found in the solar system. i wouldn't call this a greek retelling, but it does a feature a lot of nods to classic greek myths!
📝 𖹭 ⠀ֵ⠀ wip three ; atwe
atwe follows the mother of a teen superhero getting revenge after her kid is killed by an unknown villain. though it's my own special take on superheroes featuring my personal criticisms on teen heroes, it's also a study on family—in particular—distant family relations and saying i love you a little too late.
📝 𖹭 ⠀ֵ⠀ wip four ; march marchen ( title will definitely change )
march marchen is my sort of alice in wonderland / fairy tale retelling that follows an unnamed girl in what might be wonderland trying to figure out who she is and who she isn't. ft parallel worlds, escapism, the fear of childhood, and the fear of adulthood.
📝 𖹭 ⠀ֵ⠀ wip five ; neapolitan ( title will definitely change )
neapolitan is a magical girl webcomic / graphic novel. the story follows a trio of girls becoming the successors of a long line of ice cream inspired magical girls. ft a bright fun palette, gore, and cannibalism! though it's a webcomic, i intend to give it a novelization from the perspective of a different set of magical girls.
if you'd like to be added to a taglist please send me an ask! it'll be easier for me to keep track ! thank you for reading <3
23 notes · View notes
dyemelikeasunset · 1 year
Text
I feel chatty today but I'm also trying to draw the next comic so I'm gonna do some quick-fire manga recs of 3 series that have directly inspired me:
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Collectors by Nishi Uko: a wlw series about an avid book collector who is dating an avid fashionista, the two fight all the time because they keep spending money on different things. It's a 4-panel style slice-of-life that uses subtle humor and pacing. It has serious moments, but most of the story revolves around a slightly dysfunctional but cute couple
Our Dreams At Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani (orig. Shimanami Tasogare): a 4-volume drama series about a closeted high school boy who meets a group that runs a volunteer demolition service. He slowly finds out that all of them are in the LGBTQ+ community and learns about their stories. Uses a lot of gorgeous visual metaphors throughout, but also touches on some really serious topics. You will cry
Ikoku Nikki by Yamashita Tomoko (rough tr. Journal With a Witch): a slice-of-life about a writer who takes in her niece after the parents die in a car crash. To make matters more complicated, said author never got along with her sister, who was the mother to the girl now living with her. This series deals with death and loss in one of the most realistic ways I have ever seen in illustrated media, but also has humorous and touching moments. It explores the ups and downs and medians of life in a very real way. (The main characters are straight, but there are queer side characters)
110 notes · View notes
kvroii · 9 months
Text
Tumblr media
Reservations for two?
6 notes · View notes
ct-multifandom · 2 years
Text
Assorted ML Headcanons pt. 2
Once again, adding a read more early in because this thing is like five times longer than pt. 1
Juleka has Dyslexia
The long-sleeved shirt Alix wears with the snakes on the sleeves has some sort of inappropriate band name or slogan on the front, so she wears that weird tank top thing over it to avoid getting dress-coded.
Alya keeps trying to find an “our show” to watch with Marinette, but Marinette keeps caving into temptation and watching ahead on her own. So Alya starts choosing only new shows that are currently airing, but if they don’t hang out the day the episodes come out, Marinette will still watch them. They mostly do movies now.
Kagami is great at drawing realism, and can gorgeously render her real life references, but she’s unsatisfied with her work because what she’s really interested in is stylized art. She wants to develop a beautiful manga-like style, but whenever she tries to draw fictional characters, it ends up looking more like anime George Washington than the picture in her head. She’s further discouraged by people praising her realistic art, feeling pressure to keep doing what she’s good at over what she actually likes
Adrien was an Animal Jam kid
Chloe is inflicted with We Can’t Let People Know We Have Interests. She hears Alix and Mylene chatting about some popular sitcom she also likes in class, but as many times as she could’ve butted into the conversation, she can’t make it happen. On her way to lunch, Sabrina got stuck talking to Max and Rose about their Animal Crossing islands. Well Chloe’s is super cute if she can say so herself,,, no, she couldn’t say anything at all. Hurry up, Sabrina. Chloe knows that classic anime is the fastest way to Adrien’s heart, but she can’t bring herself to strike up a conversation about it. Isn’t being a weeb cringe? Not that Adrikins could ever be cringe- I mean- uh-
Sometimes Luka gets stuck in customer service mode after work and uses The Voice around his friends. At band practice, he introduces the next song into the mic, and Nino’s like, “are we about to hear rock music or phone line hold music?”
Astruc implied that Nath wasn’t in the Christmas special because he’s Jewish, but Mylene and Ivan weren’t there either, and ofc nobody asked about them, so headcanons! Ivan is Eastern Orthodox, so his Christmas isn’t on Dec 25th, and Mylene believes in certain spiritual stuff, but doesn’t participate in any organized religion or specific denomination.
Rose used to do ballet, but she stopped because her time in the hospital made her fall too far behind. She still likes dancing, and has a good feel for it because of ballet, but she prefers modern styles now.
Alix was named after her dad. If she was born a boy, she’d be Alim Jr., but since she’s a girl he changed one letter.
Marc forces Nath to get out of the house, get vitamin D, interact with other people, and exercise, but Nath returns the favor by bugging Question Marc about his posture, especially while they’re working.
Zoe’s “one and only good friend” from New York who wrote I ♥️ U on her shoe wasn’t a platonic gal pal at all.
Kim is colorblind, but he doesn’t know it
Mylene has that “not now, sweety. Mommy’s cyberbullying the mayor” t shirt
Alya learns that Hawkmoth reads the Ladyblog, and since he knows her identity but the public doesn’t, she hides passive aggressive “fuck you” jabs in her posts.
Alya putting the greater good over journalistic integrity by intentionally spreading misinformation on the blog if the team needs it. She’s staged a “candid” photo of LB with Marinette in the background after a close call. She “mistakenly” misreported the powers of a couple new villains as being brainwashing when they actually did things like grant wishes or were literally made of money so that people wouldn’t go after them and make them harder to defeat. She and Marinette set up “exclusive” semi-scripted interviews with the zodiac heroes where they told made-up origin stories so that Hawkmoth wouldn’t trace the compromised heroes back to their whole class or friend group. Alya is prohibited from typing the word “kwami”.
Luka has synesthesia and actually hears music when he sees people
Markov pretends to not have certain functions out of laziness. “Can you look this up?” I’m not a search engine (he’s not, but he has instant access to one). “Can you scan this document for me?” No. “Can you send my paper to the printer?” No.
He also pretends to be more advanced than he actually is. “Hey Markov, can you-” I am downloading your private browsing history as we speak. “Wh- you can’t do that!” I already did. Now I’m hacking into your Twitter account.
Markov likes to plays dumb and take everything literally. He understands jokes and sarcasm just fine, but enjoys a bit of trolling. He responds to idioms like Amelia Bedelia. If someone makes a joke with a euphemism, he pretends to be totally innocent. He says that Max put parental controls on him, but that’s a lie.
Everyone thinks Alix is an extrovert, but she’s actually an introvert. She’s very sociable, but hanging out too much wears her out, and she needs a lot of quiet or alone time to recharge.
Everyone thinks Marc is an introvert, but he’s actually an extrovert. He spends a lot of time in private, but that’s mostly because he’s shy, anxious, and afraid to leave his comfort zone. When he does, though, he gets that extrovert buzz.
The Sandboy kid, the Risk froggy kid, and the Kuro Neko cat girl based on Rhythm are all besties. Writing this reminded me of that kids’ book series called The Familiars about a blue jay, black cat, and frog.
Until he finally shows up again in the show, hc that the Sandboy kid is named Jay
Adrien is jealous of his friends’ ability to express themselves. He thinks about how he’d dress if not for his father and the brand. Would he dress alternatively or go for some aesthetic? Would he want to look rebellious or preppy (but not in a default Sims kind of way)? He doesn’t actually know, but wishes he could try stuff out.
Jalil is a cataphile (someone who explores the forbidden parts of the Paris catacombs, which is basically all of them except for the tiny tourist stretch, as a hobby). He goes with his friends, and brings Alix with him frequently. She’s practiced her spray painting skills down there.
Kagami and Juleka bonding over their affects and how their tone of voice doesn’t reflect how they actually feel, but from an outside perspective it just sounds like the most monotone conversation ever
Each of the doodles on Zoe’s shoes in canon corresponds to one of her friends and has a deeper meaning, even if it’s just a little inside joke. Okay real talk I need this lore in canon. We haven’t seen them super zoomed in and from all angles, but there are clearly individual, unique drawings on them.
Alya and Nino low-key had feelings for each other before Animan, but they were in denial and didn’t really take them seriously until then.
It started when Nino left school one day with sort of fluffy hair and a bit of bang, but came back the next morning with a buzz cut, and Alya was like huh he still looks cute somehow
Rose makes good tea and Nath makes good coffee
Mylene has a vegetable/herb garden on her balcony and rooftop. Her bedroom is also packed with potted plants. The air is so crisp.
The whole group has one big shared Minecraft server where they live in the same ever-expanding village together
Chloe likes those resource management mobile games where you run a cafe or build a kingdom or something
Nathalie plays video games in private, especially after she got sick. Gabriel doesn’t know. She usually buys whatever’s most popular lately, and prefers adventure games.
Ladybug explains the plan to her team and asks if they have any questions. Every time, they makes a point to ask the most off-topic questions possible. “What’s your favorite color?” Take a wild guess, buddy. (Saying pink might compromise her identity) “if you put a miraculous holder under a hydraulic press, would they die?” What the fuck? I don’t know, we’ve never encountered that problem and hopefully never will. Like, probably? “Who was your top artist on Spotify Wrapped?” That’s a secret (obviously Jagged). “If doing it would lead to instant world peace, would you rather kiss Hawkmoth or Gabriel Agreste?” Everyone shut up. Shut up. The villain is getting away.
Rose collects everything for her scrapbooks. Receipts, ticket stubs, stickers, brochures, you name it, tucked between photos of her hanging out with friends. “Hey, what was that cafe called that we went to last fall-” she has it all documented.
Adrien reads Marc and Nath’s ladynoir-centric comics laying on his stomach on his bed with his hands under his chin kicking his feet in the air and giggling
Once they made a comic with Carapace as the main character, and Nino was like omg THANK YOU :’-) and they’re like huh didn’t know he was such a big fan
Marc and Nath scrap the majority of their original concepts because they don’t want to give Hawkmoth any ideas. The angst stories and dangerous villains don’t make it to publishing so that Hawkmoth won’t copy them if he sees them. A lot of their villains are either real ones or original ones whose powers are fun but useless to Hawkmoth’s goals.
At the same time, sometimes Hawkmoth coincidentally makes villains similar to something the boys have already done, except Worse, like the trashiest bootleg equivalent.
LB: Rena Rouge texted me that someone just got akumatized over losing a chess tournament. CN: I wonder what their power is. Hey, this reminds me of that one comic issue with the chess villain. LB: oh yeah, The Grandmaster. She had that tall crown based off the white queen piece with the flowing robes, and she turned the whole city into a giant chessboard! We and the other heroes could only take turns moving across city blocks based on the piece role she assigned us. We had to let some of our friends get captured, but we managed to pull off a checkmate and break her akumatized crown. What if that story is about to become reality? The actual villain Gabe made: my name is The Bongcloud Opener. Everyone I touch turns into a giant lifeless pawn piece, and I look like a sentient checkered Van.
Kim has been blocked and unblocked from the group chat maybe five separate times for spamming memes
The “y’all watch bob l’éponge?” Tweet except it’s Zoe in New York
Chloe once had and maybe even still has a crush on Alix, but she doesn’t even really realize it because she has a severe case of comp het. Alix sees it, though. Of course, Alix is aro, so Chloe didn’t stand a chance regardless of her bullying. Alix uses this immoral opportunity to mess with Chloe as much as possible.
Everyone makes jokes about how Chloe is both gay and homophobic, but Adrien’s like oh sweetie you have to deal with those internalized problems
Rose got into embroidery, and she got Ivan into it too so that they could make punky battle jacket-like patches for themselves and their friends. They aren’t very good yet, but the shaky needlework is kind of charming.
Nino tells Adrien that his dad has such objectively horrible taste, anything he actually likes must be terrible. His designs? Ugly. His decor? Depression-inflicting. His “friends”? Assholes. The food he orders his private chef to cook? Unseasoned. Another time, Gabriel approaches Nino who came to his house to pick up Adrien, and tells him that he was genuinely impressed by Nino’s DJ work at his last fashion event. Nino shrivels up inside.
Anarka lets the kids try alcohol at home. Juleka thinks everything she’s tried is nasty unless it was drowned in fruit and sugar, but Luka thinks it’s okay. When Anarka gets wine, they try it together, and Luka tries to do the pretentious wine critic thing, but he can’t actually tell the difference between the types the way his mom can.
Y’know that hoodie Marc was wearing in his early concept art with the logo that’s a clear parody of Nirvana? Nath totally stole it from him and sleeps in it.
Marinette is Not Okay during exams week. She stresses tf out and gets like no sleep yet somehow still does exceptionally well
Everyone is suddenly ride or die during exams week. Tom and Sabine supply the kids with snacks while Max is compiling all the algebra formulas they might need to memorize into a Quizlet, Sabrina is trying to come up with mnemonic devices to help with physchem, and Adrien is doing a review lecture of the French readings like he’s on a podcast.
Marc folds cranes when he’s anxious
In the last post I wrote that Alix and Nath dyed their hair and did the messed up cuts together. Alix re-dyes hers more often to make sure it stays neon hot pink, which involves bleaching it the second her roots start showing, or else she hates it. Nath only re-dyes his when it starts looking really bad in that awkward phase with the faded color and long roots. Because of this, Nath maintains sooomewhat healthy hair, but Alix’s is fried. She doesn’t have to use as much hair gel or extra-fry it with a straightener now because it pretty much stands up on its own. It feels like straw. Juleka wants to scream every time she sees Alix has made it worse.
Rose makes cute contact names with a billion emojis for everyone in her phone
She has Juleka as “Juleka🦇🎸💜💘” [bat, electric guitar, purple heart, pink heart with an arrow], so she was offended when she found out that Juleka has her as “Rose”.
Turns out that Juleka doesn’t even make contacts for most people at all. The home screen of her text app is full of conversations with people who are just their phone number or “maybe: [name]”. The Kitty Section group chat is her, “Rose”, “Smurf”, and *Ivan’s phone number*
Speech and debate club Mylene
Marinette made all sorts of cute things for the kwamis under the guise of the dollhouse project. It started with the “dollhouse” being a temporary hiding place for the miracle box, but then she started making tiny clothes and furniture for the kwamis to play with, and wherever anyone asked she’d say she’s just gotten into making miniatures as a hobby. Fancy, decorative dollhouses used to be a big flex in Western Europe, after all, but this one is more like the one from the Borrowers.
Kagami has a traditionally Japanese bedroom arrangement with a futon that she puts away in the morning. The first time Adrien was in her room, it was during the day, and he’s like where the fuck is your bed
The girls play the wholesome fuck, marry, kills about the guys at their sleepovers like the "get them randomly assigned as your lab partner for a whole semester, get trapped with them on a broken elevator for ten hours, they’re your employee trainer for your new job at McDonalds” one from that one tumblr post
Kim tries to get the guys to play Truth or Dare at sleepovers, but they don’t really want to, reminding Kim that he legally can’t be involved in dares since Timebreaker. He makes them “play” anyways, but they can only do Truth, and the guys respond to each question with some smartass answer. They find loopholes in Kim’s wording like genies until they bully him into quitting/until it’s his turn.
Max and Alix got that 5D Chess game on Steam as a joke, but after messing around with it, they started really getting into it and taking it seriously
Adrien’s friends seeing his dad as cartoonishly villainous is already canon. They start a tabletop RPG campaign, and the major antagonists are suspiciously one-to-one with Gabriel, Nathalie, and the Gorilla.
Everyone jokes about dressing up as Gabriel, the scariest monster, for Halloween. Nobody actually does, but on a separate occasion, Kim tries to get Ivan to dress up as Gorilla and Nath to dress up as Nathalie and video call Kim from his tablet. Kim, dressed as Gabriel, takes the call from a remote room. Then, they break into Adrien’s house because that’s just what his friends do for fun, and they’re pretty much experts at this point. Nath tells Adrien his father needs to have a word with him, turning on the tablet to reveal Kim, who tells him, “Son. I need to have a word with you”.
Zoe and Marc are best friends, and Ivan and Luka are best friends. I think (?) this may be canon, but they’ve never actually said it.
Ivan is The Realest to Luka, like in Crocoduel when everyone was planning to manipulate him, Ivan stuck up for him. Also Luka explicitly hates liars and Ivan is physically unable to tell a lie. They make each other playlists and write lyrics together. The two of them have one of those Spotify Blends separate from the four-person Kitty Section one.
I feel like Zoe and Marc are a year below Marinette’s class, like they just give off younger sibling energy. As classmates, they spend more time with each other than with the rest of the group. In Gabriel Agreste, when Zoe manipulates Jean-Biblespoilers, she calls Marc afterwards instead of Marinette or Mylene or anyone else. They are wlw mlm solidarity. Ms. Mendeleev brings up a partner project and they look at each other like that Nicki Minaj Only meme with the Veggietales characters. They talk shit in really fast and informal English so that their classmates don’t understand them.
Rose’s sandals have a pink circle on the sole that isn’t positioned in a way for it to be the anchor between the sole and the rest of the sandal. It reminds me of this old Sketcher’s line called Bella Ballerina where the shoes had a round, spinning piece that you could balance and twirl on. Since Pigella’s design is inspired by ballet, I hc that Rose’s shoes also have that spinning piece.
Alix spreads historical misinformation to Jalil, who eats it right up, because it’s hilarious. Just trust me bro, I’m Bunnyx.
On the other hand, Jalil being like Ronaldo from Steven Universe by making absolutely insane conspiracy theories that happen to be 100% correct, and Alix is like shitshitshit how does he know??? Do I need to cover this up???
Kim is a great ally, and maybe even questioning, but he’s so confused all the time
Juleka tells him she’s a lesbian. Now she’s obviously French, but he’s pretty sure her mom is Scottish, and Jagged is a native English speaker. Is there some secret little island nation in the UK called Lesbia that he’s never heard of before?
Max: whoa, Nath, you’re ambidextrous? I didn’t know that! Kim: uh, dude? What rock have you been living under? He’s been with Marc for like five months
Zoe: don’t you think that girl over there looks a little, y’know, *limp wrist* Kim: you’re stereotyping someone based on their appearance and judging them? Wtf, I didn’t expect this from you. Zoe: uh, what? I’m wondering if I should ask for her number.
While Alix is gone, the kids fill in her place by putting her hat on and pretending to be her. What would Alix say if she were here? They try to copy her mannerisms while wearing it.
Y’know that one post I made about the true power of the rooster miraculous being that the holder can do anything they and the people around them believe they can do? Hence the concept of “pretension” as in pretending to be something you’re not, and the power of “sublimation” as in impressing people as well as turning something solid into vapor, like how the power is solid as long as people believe it but turns to vapor if they don’t. Yeah, that.
I feel like all the kids were Warrior Cats role players or the like at some point in their lives, even the “cool” ones, and some of them probably still are
I also feel like all of them would be good at grilling. I think every single one of them would be capable of making a great steak if they put their mind to it
All the Ace Attorney-like full name puns among the major cast are intentional in-universe:
“Anarka Couffaine” isn’t her given name; it’s a rock star stage name she came up with (Anarka=anarchy, acouphènes=tinnitus), but she changed it legally. When she had the twins, she gave them names that end with A to keep the acouphènes pun.
The Lavillants have that last name by coincidence, but when they had Rose, they intentionally chose the name Lavillant, Rose (la vie en rose, life in pink) to wish her a happy, ideal life
Mr. Anciel is an immigrant, and changed his name to be more westernized and easy to pronounce by French speakers similarly to Sabine. I’m thinking his given name had “Sun” in it and he was like, y’know what’d be so funny… which is how Marc Anciel (arc en ciel=rainbow) and any potential sibling(s) ended up being named after things “in the sky”.
I’m not applying this to Kim Ature ‘cause that’s not his canon name even though apparently one of his dads is Mr. Ature
Subcategory for family headcanons, but some of them are sad :(
Mylene has a mom who is black. She and Fred are happily married, but she’s usually pretty busy with work, so they mostly see her at home.
Rose has a bio mom and dad who love her very much, but they can be a little overbearing due to her illness and have trouble seeing her as not a little kid anymore. They don’t really get all that punk rock stuff she likes, but huh as long as she’s happy.
Alix had a mom, but she died a couple years before Origins. Jalil took after her while Alix took after their dad. Alix didn’t take it very well for a long time, but she’s better by the time this school year started.
Max’s dad died when he was very young, so he was pretty much raised by Claudie
Nino and Chris’s parents are divorced. It happened after Nino’s older brother died. (How much of this is canon? The Lahiffe lore is such a middle-of-the-iceberg thing, but apparently they’ve been putting off writing it into the show since season 2? Like can they please just explain it?)
The Cesaires have basically adopted Nino anyway
Nino used to bully tf out of Chris, but now he has to take on a more responsible role as an older brother, so he acts more mature.
If Kim’s last name is Le Chien, but he has two dads, Mr. Le Chien and Mr. Ature, does that imply that they’re divorced and Mr. Le Chien has custody? Maybe Kim is Mr. Le Chien’s biological kid from a previous relationship, perhaps with someone named Nguyen, and Mr. Ature is a stepdad? Sure, hc that they’re fiancés, and Kim accepts his soon-to-be stepfather as a dad.
In which case, hc that Kim is fully Vietnamese, but the stepdad is French
Nath’s family isn’t very cash money :(
Ivan has a pretty large family compared to everyone else. Lots of siblings and close extended family.
Sabrina’s family is Irish. Tbh this isn’t inspired by her being ginger so much as her miraculous being based off a piece of Celtic jewelry which I only learned after the official website made me Google what a torc is.
Is Marc the only major POC character who doesn’t have a canon ethnicity? I think he is… someone with a Twitter ask Astruc about this for me. I saw people hc him as Latino which is very valid, but I always assumed he was Asian. Hc that his mom is Chinese and his dad is Korean. Until canon proves or disproves me, I hc that the Sandboy kid is his brother.
I love the semi-popular hc that Marc and Marinette are cousins. I will hold on to it until canon proves it right or wrong, although if it’s true then I feel like they would’ve said so already. In this case, Shu Yin would be Marc’s mom. Since she lives in London and he lives in Paris, she and the dad would be divorced. Considering how the DPCs talk about her,,, it’d be no wonder. It happened recently, and Marc only moved to Paris from London in late season 2, which is why Marinette was already friends with him and checking in on him despite him appearing out of nowhere.
Marinette growing up hearing “you should be more like Marc. He’s so organized and dedicated” while Marc’s hearing “you should be more like Marinette. She’s so outgoing and ambitious” and they’re both like shut uppp
When they played pretend as little kids, the plot lines were always so complex. And each time they saw each other, they picked up from where they left off
The same way Roland is shown to be bigoted by having him be uncomfortable with everything that’s not super outdated, Shu Yin is shown to be bigoted by simply hating everything that inspires love and sparks joy
I need to meet canon Shu Yin at some point
Subcategory for the kids interacting with their kwamis after they become permanent holders. The pronouns I used for the kwamis aren’t my headcanons so much as me dealing with the “canon” ones being different across every dub.
Sometimes Kim forgets that Xuppu exists which allows him to get up to trouble on his own. Kim uses only the worst lies and most incomprehensible bs to explain the mischief Xuppu caused, but his dads are like eh, just Kim being Kim *shrug*. Kim is proud of himself for being so smooth about it but nobody has any clue what he just said.
Kim gets Xuppu going about something and then uses his rambling as background noise to help him concentrate better
Roarr annoys Sass for sport
Roarr is a big fan of the music Anarka tends to blast at an unhealthy volume on the Liberty. Juleka makes him playlists of songs she thinks he’d like, partially because sitting down and listening to them through an earbud prevents him from bouncing off the walls 24/7.
Sass low-key hates it here, but he has saintly patience and loves Luka, so he acts like he’s having a great time around him. Anarka’s immature behavior ticks him off sometimes, but he’d never tell him that.
Sass getting Luka to focus on things that benefit him instead of putting other people first all the time
Max builds Markov an update that allows him to actually see and talk to Kaalki. Maybe with the help of some magic alien technology sent over by Olympia and Aeon as a favor between superheroes.
Kaalki has a hard time believing that researchers and inventors can be glorious and famous until Max catches her up on the exponential growth of technology during the last ~200 years she spent inactive. Sure, Kaalki’s seen phones and computers, appliances, cars and planes, all that since becoming active again, but she never stopped to think about the humans who made all this stuff possible.
Kaalki having a “yassify Max” agenda vs Max trying to explain what light/dark academia is and that the vintage look is very much on purpose. Also Kaalki being the devil on Max’s shoulder trying to convince him to make more bad decisions, and he’s like that’s okay, Kaalki.
He gets on her case for backseat gaming too much, so she tries to only cheer him on when he plays, but with her prim and proper way of speaking it sounds absolutely hilarious. “Desecrate him, love! Yes! Absolutely fantastic execution!” It gets worse when she starts picking up on gamer lingo.
Daizzi tells Rose that they miss the little hats Ladybug would make them and Rose is like don’t worry I got you and pulls out her craft supplies
They have little tea parties together
Mullo bugs Mylene because they think it’s hilarious, and at first they get to her, but then she grows a tolerance to the pranks and jokes, and eventually starts to get revenge. Mullo will change Mylene’s phone alarm to horror monster heavy breathing audio and Mylene will just pull an air horn out from under her pillow and set it off in Mullo’s face.
She sprays water at them with a spray bottle like a naughty cat when they’re up to no good.
Orikko has very sophisticated tastes. When Marc asks what to feed him, he asks for caviar toast followed by truffle bouillon with a main course of wagyu steak and a gold leaf-covered pastry for dessert. Marc’s like yeah no give me something I can buy with the comic book money. Popcorn? Sunflower seeds? He’ll get a boxed sandwich from Carrefour, plate a tiny piece of it like it’s from a Michelin rated restaurant, and lie.
If Orikko could’ve chosen any holder he’d have gone with Adrien
On day one, Nath gives Ziggy some kiddy paints and construction paper while he’s working on the comic, and she dips her little hooves in it and starts finger-painting a picture that looks like something a little kid would make. When she’s done she’s like, “hey, look! I made a picture of you!” :) And Nath’s like aww that’s so cute :) Later, she tells him she’s been trying to catch up with all the contemporary and modern art movements she missed. She’s more comfortable with renaissance art. Anyways, here’s an indistinguishable study of a Rembrandt painting she made.
Nath regrets teaching Ziggy how to use his computer. She learns quickly and somehow gets into every piece of media with a reputation of being cringe. Nath is jumpscared awake by Ziggy playing FNAF in the middle of the night, and when he tells her to turn that off, she shows him her Michael Afton fan art where she made him way more attractive than he likely is in canon. He opens Spotify Daily Mix 1 expecting the usual ten-minute-long songs that are at least 30 years old, but his algorithm has been invaded by hyperpop. He opens his art program to find that Ziggy made a whole Baroque style painting on a single layer. He notices his Minecraft playtime has risen an inhuman amount, and after spending forever loading the server, finds a ridiculously detailed replica of Versailles. He opens his notebook and finds doodles of Among Us crewmates. She sleeps on an amoung pequeño plushie.
Sabrina and Barrk watch corny reality TV together and Discuss. They sit on the couch with a bag of peanut butter chips and comment on everything that happens. “I can’t believe that arrogant jerk got the last rose instead of that really sweet guy. Did you hear what he was saying behind The Bachelorette’s back?” “Why did they send home the only drag queen who actually did something super original while some of the other ones barely even followed the prompt? The judges are so biased.” They talk back and forth really fast, too.
Ivan gets Stompp to critique his poetry. They don’t know much about this stuff, but when they have an opinion, they tell it how it is.
Sometimes Stompp suggest taking a bit of a Machiavellian approach to Ivan’s problems and Ivan’s like, dude it is NOT that serious.
Nino and Wayzz have opposite tastes in everything. Wayzz likes green tea while Nino thinks it’s too earthy and prefers energy drinks that practically turn your piss into acid, to Wayzz’s horror. Wayzz likes minimalist decoration, neutral colors, and natural sunlight, but Nino’s room is full of neon colors, a million posters, and LED strip lights. Nino likes EDM, but Wayzz can’t see the appeal and prefers relaxing instrumental music, which bores Nino. They don’t look down on each other for liking different stuff, but it’s hard to live so close together and be so different.
They discover that they both like lo-fi and chillhop music. Nino empties out one of his larger desk drawers and converts it into a personal space for Wayzz, who is independent and values privacy. He decorates it the way Wayzz likes and threads some lantern string lights in there.
Here’s a pound it for reading the whole thing! You deserve it, whew!
176 notes · View notes
silvermoon424 · 6 months
Note
Do you think Naoko Takeuchi will ever draw the Silver Millennium prequel she’s mused about drawing from time to time? I suspect if she hasn’t drawn it yet she’s not about to, but not because she never has to work again in her life but because the romanticism of what was implied was enough so she can leave it alone. But damn, her art style’s only gotten more refined and beautiful over her years I would love to see it 😭
Unfortunately, Naoko Takeuchi hasn't created a new manga in literal decades so I really doubt she'd start now. She still does the occasional illustration (which, as you said, are gorgeous) but I think her days of creating manga are over.
If she does create manga, it'll be for her husband's series, Hunter x Hunter, and not in her own style. I've heard that, because of Togashi's health problems, Naoko Takeuchi has been learning how to draw in his style so she can finish the series if the worst happens.
20 notes · View notes
officialinuyasha · 7 months
Text
Yashahime Manga Volume 2 - Bonus Interview with Rumiko Takahashi and Takashi Shiina
Tumblr media
The long-awaited interview with Rumiko Takahashi, legendary creator of Inuyasha, and Takashi Shiina, who pens Yashahime, continues! How was it reading Takahashi's manga for the first time? Shiina: I read Urusei Yatsura in middle school when it was first serialized, and I thought, "This is the start of something big!" It was set in a fantasy manga world, but the characters were modeled after real people. I was surprised that they seemed like they were really there. I thought, "If you can make these characters seem real, imagine the potential for other manga!" That's how Takahashi's work became the catalyst for me to enter the manga world. That's how great an impact she made on me. What do you mean, "it seemed like they were really there"? Shiina: The characters in manga up till then would express themselves directly and pretty much mean what they said. That was the norm, especially with kids' manga. But when Takahashi came onto the scene, her characters' speech had subtext. Previously, characters lacked dimension and nuance. Her portrayal of multi- dimensional characters was a leap forward. Plus, her stories were slapstick comedies. Those two elements in one manga really surprised me. Takahashi, were you conscious of this innovation when drawing your manga? Takahashi: I didn't think about it at all. I've always just wanted to have fun drawing manga and hoped that my audience would laugh along. I love shonen manga, and I was reading a lot of that at the time. What Shiina is describing is something I learned from a variety of sources. I think when I began working professionally, I'd been stockpiling inspiration from manga and novels. Those were the elements I wanted to put into my work, and I guess everything just clicked into place.
Tumblr media
^ Lum and Ataru from Urusei Yatsura, the manga that inspired Shiina. Takahashi, what was the first manga by Shiina that you read? Takahashi: I read his four-panel joke manga Shiina Department Store. When the series began in Sunday, I thought to myself, "It looks so effortless. How can it be so good when he isn't a veteran manga artist?" I wondered what he had worked on before to get to that level. When Ghost Sweeper Mikami began, I really enjoyed its momentum. Shiiina's work still has that energy. I can tell he puts a lot of thought into his characters. His manga are such a pleasure to read. Those were my first impressions of him.
Tumblr media
^ From the short story "Pocket Knight," included in Shiina Department Store, one of Shiina's first works.
Do you think it was the near-professional quality of his work that led you to believe that his first series was effortless? Takahashi: That's right. It just appeared one day in Sunday without any fanfare. I remember reading it uncritically. He was so young yet so professional. Shiina: (LOL). Takahashi herself appeared in Ghost Sweeper Mikami. How did that happen? Shiina: Well, I asked her if I could put her in the manga. (LOL) I wanted to have a 1970s vibe when I flashed back to Mikami's boss's younger days-like a time-travel story. At that time, Narita International Airport was still being built, and the Shinjuku skyscrapers didn't exist. But those details alone would have been boring, so I wanted to add in some of Sunday's history. I told Takahashi that I wanted to include a scene about the moment Urusei Yatsura was born. I asked her permission, and then I went ahead with it. She got mad at me afterwards though. (LOL) Takahashi: He asked me for permission, and I said, "Sure." I let him take care of the rest. (LOL). I think it's another interesting feature of Shiina's storytelling style.
Tumblr media
^ Rumiko Takahashi appears from Ghost Sweeper Mikami vol. 37 on. It's totally her!
Tumblr media
30 notes · View notes