#sylver-drawer

[completeoveranalysis]

While rereading your liveblogs, I have discovered more things that would’ve foreshadowed Acid Tokyo being past Clow

Specifically that the book in the old language Clow used to have supposedly talked about vampires (cough cough)

(Another person sent a submission about this page as well - thank you both of you!)

I love so many things about this detail. It's ABSURD that they put this in here with such a tiny focus and then never addressed it again BUT YES THIS BOOK IS ABSOLUTELY written in modern Japanese, which would be "ancient" to the people of Clow.

BUT ALSO? THE AUDACITY OF THIS?

At the time you first read this scene, it is just "an old book that is about vampires".

But with hindsight, if this book is written in the time of Acid Tokyo, then it is more than likely actually talking about Subaru and Kamui. So Seishirou is here, looking for tales about vampires to try and find Subaru, and reading about BASED ON Subaru when he was IN THIS ACTUAL WORLD.

Meaning Seishirou WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE just several hundred/thousand years too late.

WHICH IS EVEN FUNNIER considering Kamui and Subaru wanted to leave Acid Tokyo as soon as they could because they knew Seishirou would find that world eventually. TURNS OUT THEY WERE RIGHT, BUT THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY NEED TO RUSH AFTER ALL.

[jeweled-blue-eyes]

Hello! First of all, I wanted to say I love your content! Please continue to spoil us with amazing posts! I wanted to ask if you know about a Google Doc that criticizes WWMap as a whole. I saw it a while ago but couldn't find it again 😭. If you know of a document like that, please let me know! Also, on your Tumblr blog, do you have a tag that discusses or criticizes certain aspects of WWMap? Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the manhwa; I just enjoy reading reviews and criticism posts!

I don't have a general tag. The tags would be anti [full character name] i.e. anti claude de alger obelia, anti lee jihye or [character first name] + critical/criticism or headscratchers. My wmmap blog is @sharper-than-a-serpents-tooth. I don't post anything wmmap related here anymore.

I have never heard of such a google doc existing. Perhaps sylver-drawer knows? I heard that the author of Daughter of the Emperor accused the author of wmmap of plagarism and that there was a google doc with evidence, but I never cared about learning about the specifics of the scandal. That's the only doc I know of.

[voicehydrangea]

I just found out that WMMAP has an AO3 Tag. And somehow, the summary of a fic @sylver-drawer made my brain go crazy stupid. My stylus privileges should be revoked for this very reason.

[fivekrystalpetals]

My thoughts about Retrace 76/77

This is just me trying to understand what exactly is happening in these two chapters plus appreciating how beautiful was the love between the two sisters in glaring contrast to Jack's blatant lies that always painted Alyss as a maniac villain out to kill Alice at every turn

(long post under the cut because these girls deserve all my love; I have more or less wrote this whole chapter down lol ;-;)

Once Oz rejects Alice, she finds herself back in the Core of the Abyss where Alyss is waiting for her. Alyss greets her with a wistful smile and remarks how it's been a long while since they met each other face-to-face like this

But Alice doesn't understand immediately who she is talking to because the Intention has only ever appeared as a White Rabbit before her while she had no memories of her past. Alice cries and insists on going back to the real world to get Oz. Alyss tries to explain that it is impossible for her to return once Oz has rejected her soul, because B-Rabbit's body was never hers to begin with.

(It hurts me to look at the melancholy on her face in every panel, her eyes speaks volumes.)

Alyss now offers Alice all her memories, something that has been intact all along and safe with her. It appears that it was Alyss' memories that had all been destroyed in the first place. Now, this make sense too... why Cheshire Cat was so desperately trying to protect the shards in his bell and kept saying that his Alice didn't want to remember and that's why she had tore them up. I was so confused at first because Cheshire was clearly Alyss' pet whereas it's Alice who was searching for her memories. Reading this carefully, I understand now.

And we return to the flashback, right after Alice takes her own life.

The soul of Alice meets Alyss in the Core just like how they are meeting now, however aware of what's happening. annnnd, who would have thought that Alyss would be so devastated by her dear sister Alice's death that she is cradling her head in her lap and sobbing over her death *grits teeth Jack you bastard*

Even in death, Alice has a smile on her face as she talks to Alyss, had only Jack not interfered between them, we could have had a lot more of this precious interactions between the sisters ;-;

@/sylver-drawer wrote this in comment on my previous post and I had to add it here bc it perfectly sums up this situation

It’s not a spoiler since the manga doesn’t expand on or show it after the plot twist arc, but it’s tragic how Jack practically ruined the relationship between the sisters. It’s hinted that before Jack came into their lives, they were very close (the couch room in retrace 76 implying it well). It directly juxtaposed the previous Alyss experience of her being this crazy, murderous and cruel Jack-obsessed girl to her very first response at Alice killing herself is—not throwing a fit at never seeing Jack again—but falling into great despair that her dear sister had killed herself to protect her. It just becomes so clear how much Jack took advantage of that girl and secluded her world to him alone enough for her to shun her own sister.

Alice laments that they haven't been talking much lately because Alyss kept refusing to respond to her voice. I bet, no, I am sure this is the same kind of manipulation this lot pulled on Vincent as well. That until the Ceremony and the Ritual is over, Alyss and Vincent should not utter a word about this to anyone else the 'Ritual' won't go along well. No wonder, Alice put on one of Alyss' white dresses and waited for Jack to come up and spill his plans himself.

I have to add this panel because the look in her eyes is so cold and intense unlike anything I have seen:

Jack not only managed to infuriate a cheerful and lively girl but also pushed her into a corner leaving her no choice but to take her own life. I can never forgive this guy.

And, this is unrelated but interesting to me that Vincent had passed out after opening the Door to the Abyss. Jack was carrying him in his arms, listening to the sound of the Chains breaking, completely unperturbed by the corpses and only when the sound of the breaking Chains stops does he hurry to Glen to demand what was going on. And, he drops Vincent right in the middle of the corpses which is where he wakes up and has a mental breakdown if this was his doing, and that he only opened the Door as per his instructions.

A terrifying look on his face--the first time his selfish, pointless and remorseless desperation contorts his face into something that probably mirrors his present mental state the closest

Back to Retrace 76, we have Alyss apologizing profusely to Alice and saying this:

Signs of Jack's manipulation and grooming, right? She doesn't find things that were dear to her once, no longer dear to her,, because ofc Jack has monopolized her and twisted her hopes and dreams, such as the way he framed that the reason he wants to plunge the world into the Abyss is so that:

He has effectively bent her to his will and she became his unwitting tool after all. He probably turned her against her sister as well so that the two girls won't discuss his plans and find something fishy beforehand. (Was his manipulation also the reason Alyss keeps saying that she hated Glen? but again, Alyss seemed to hate Glen right from the beginning, even before she met Jack so idk)

Back to the Tragedy, Alice consoles Alyss that it doesn't matter anymore bc her bodily vessel has been destroyed and neither of them can go out into the real world again so it won't be a problem. However, Alyss rejects this, on the grounds that even if Jack's voice would stop reaching her, she might yearn for him someday and lose herself again. And so, Alyss decides to destroy her memories altogether so that she doesn't desire for Jack again. The Core won't let her hurt herself so she plans to use the power of the B-Rabbit to this effect.

And Alyss comes out of Alice's, or rather, their shared body to erase her memories of Jack--

--whereas just take a look at this bastard's face; he really believes, even after all this time, that Alyss has come out to help him istfg I wanna kick him to somewhere from where he can never ever return

Alice too has followed Alyss out of their body. She decides that she won't let Oz destroy anything anymore and merges her own soul with the Chain to use all of Oz' powers for herself, thus turning into Alice, the B-Rabbit so that she, Alice, not Oz, would be the one to destroy Alyss' memories. Phew. I understood so far.

Now onto Retrace 77,

Me too, Alice, me too ;-; (also godtier foreshadowing, the other panel is from Retrace 1.)

@/sylver-drawer:

The scene in Retrace One of Alice choking ‘Oz’ is still crazy to me, as it was Jack’s memory of Alice as newly B-Rabbit telling him how she’d never forgive him. It certainly gives perspective too, that all the memories of Jack Oz had seen the whole time wasn’t because he was ‘Jack’s reincarnation’, but because he was living in Jack’s body itself.//

(yes yes omg!! I would never have noticed this detail if you hadn't mentioned it! It's really crazy how much in advance the author had planned, I am.... just stumped for words. I remembered this scene from Retrace 1, but to think it was Jack's own memories we were seeing, framed in such a way the reader and Oz assumes 'Alice' is some sort of bloodthirsty, predatory monster while he is oh-so-look-at-me-cinnamon-roll)

I can't even imagine what Alice must be going through in this moment. Jack, within the span of a few hours, destroyed everything she held dear-- their worldly body, Oz, Alyss (the fact that she killed herself not merely to stop Jack but more because she doesn't want Oz and Alyss to suffer anymore *sheds big fat tears* she even sincerely apologizes to Alyss for 'ruining' their body like... what? little girl, you were forced to commit suicide in a gruesome manner, don't apologize for this or I will break down again into a pool of tears ;-;), Glen too (we don't see much interaction between Glen and Alice after Jack entered their lives but see this:

--those are her happy memories, even Levi is here lol, but yeah, both Oz and Uncle Oz are part of her good memories!!)

Alice is so enraged that she wants to chop Jack up on the spot.

Honestly, she should have done that first, we could have avoided the Second Tragedy of Sablier but..... I guess, they didn't know if Alice's soul will be able to sustain B-Rabbit's power any longer so destroying Alyss' memories holds precedence.

I am sorry, Alice... for making you suffer until the very end. But now, I won't... have to hurt anyone anymore--

It's so painful reading this, because the two sisters are continually, inwardly apologizing to each other, blaming herself for all the tragedy whereas the truth is both of them were tools and victims at the hands of Jack.

Did I talk about how The Core has been a better guardian to the daughters of Lacie than Jack ever could have been? I think I did, somewhere, I can't find it now-- but yes, for me, The Core genuinely and truly loved Lacie in a way Jack could never. The Core salvaged the last piece of her memory for Jack, hoping it would reach him (only for him to think that since Lacie is lonely and loved this world, let's take it to her in the Abyss); The Core warned Jack about what he was trying to do, how it would cause Alyss a burden beyond her body (only for him to plan of making a Chain instead) and that The Core didn't want to break her (or anything, for that matter) more (Retrace 73):

(So, Jack went against the wishes of Lacie, The Core of the Abyss, Oz, Alice, Alyss and Glen. None of them wanted the destruction of the World. Just for whose sake and whose wishes was he fulfilling?)

and now again, The Core comes out of Alyss to make Alice stop.

Stop. Do not hurt Alice.

Alice remembers Alyss' words how The Core won't let her hurt herself and tries to reason with The Core that she was not trying to hurt her but only destroy her memories. By then, the powers of The Core and the B-Rabbit clash.... causing a bunch of more massive problems starting from Jack's age regression, Alice getting sealed in the Abyss etc. etc.

Back to the couch room, Alyss asks Alice if she remembers everything now. Alice can't reply in words, simply tears up more to which Alyss inquires if she was feeling sad. Alice doesn't know, all she knows is that she is confused inside. Alyss continues that since The Core interfered, her wish to make her memories disappear couldn't happen right. Instead, they were simply torn into pieces, and most of them still involved Jack so it merely birthed a greater chaos (which Jack, of course, used of in his favor).

This connects back to the Cheshire Cat's Lair Arc where he tells Oz that 'Alice' tore up all her memories of her own accord because they were so painful. It was Alyss' memories, not Alice's. (Retrace 16)

Coz what's here is... the memory

(Chills! The hints were right there under my nose; I was blind lol. And, I was simply skimming through this Arc yet my god, every word that this man speaks, every scene that's shown is loaded heavy! I have to reread everything for sure and marvel how every single thing tied up like is this for real?!)

Also, why Alyss was so confused with her words and desires while Break was dragged into the Core. Even then, she had enough wits to remember and put this forth as her only wish (Retrace 63):

Since Alyss and Alice are linked, Alice ended up misplacing her own memories as well. Alice thinks back to the time when she first woke up in the depths of the Abyss, remembering nothing but her name as Alice and her mistaken identity as B-Rabbit. Finally. Finally, everything makes sense.

I had been theorizing that Alice was B-Rabbit's original contractor and that after she was murdered, the B-Rabbit managed to save a piece of her soul as the chain was departing to the depths of the Abyss. But, even after Oz became its new contractor, the B-Rabbit continued to try and protect her soul the reason it was getting more violent and hasty, going to the extent of taking over Oz's body time and again as the hand moved more, for fear of losing her completely. turns out I was wrong from all angles. But mine was also an interesting theory don't you think? hehe

Alyss is so precious ;-; she plops down on the floor beside her sister and wipes at her tears, chuckling ;-;

More of The Core trying to protect the girls: Alyss wonders if The Core hadn't been trying to protect not just her but Alice as well. Had Alice continued to use the powers of destruction of the B-Rabbit, her soul might have been annihilated by those powers since she had taken in the B-Rabbit's powers by force.

And The Core even goes to the extent of sealing up the B-Rabbit. (We retrace to Retrace 2, once again with full explanations for every little bit of details. I mean, I didn't even wonder why there was a limiter on the B-Rabbit or the likes; I simply took it for granted: oh, it's like that, the contract takes place like that, okay. The author is going out of her way to give me little details I didn't know I needed.)

[[Then, of course, Jack, being Jack, makes use of this too to his advantage, making Oz contract an unknowing and amnesiac Alice in the Abyss. Or, rather it's Oz with his own sealed power. (Retrace 82)

ME RN about Jack:

I don't know, nobody knows, it's like whenever he comes onto the scene, things just fall in place for him. He uses even his age regression curse and his exclusion from the 100 years cycle to his advantage like how? Is there anything that can stop this guy?!]]

After this, the two sisters wonder what exactly is the being called Oz? But I am not going into that now, because this post will go even longer.

All I can say is that-- the two sisters deserved to be happily chomping on meat, playing with Cheshire and Oz and their other dolls and not worrying about anything else. But Jack and his intentions completely and remorselessly screwed over their lives and the lives of everyone and everything that they held precious.

[ceo-of-jennette-de-alger-obelia]

Posting birthday art in advanced for timezones but anyways

Happy birthday baby-girl :D

Okiedokie oc roll-call, sorry if I let you out there were only so many I could fit

First up are Jennie's girlfriendsz

Letizia is mine

Ha-eun belongs to @myearts-uwu

Next up are her relatives-

Luciana belongs to @lukielstuff stuff

Ei belongs to @ladyriia

Finally we have her caretakers-

Her peusdo-aunt Léontine belongs to @parad0xang3l

Her beloved maid Kirstina who belongs to @sylver-drawer

[myearts-uwu]

Halloween doodle #2

Drew Kristina and Jennette having fun on Halloween for @sylver-drawer!

Sorry if the sketch is too messy! But still I had fun drawing these lovely ladies together :D

[lonelieremperor]

Zenetien de Alger Obelia

WHAT'S UP, MANHWA PEOPLE. @jennettemargaritalove got me obsessed with a male Jennette that I decided to write a fanfic and draw a fanart! Thanks a lot to @jeweled-blue-eyes and @sylver-drawer !

I'm so excited for you guys to meet him! I enjoyed drawing him. His name's Zenetien from Zen and Etienne! I couldn't choose between the two because Etienne has been engraved in my mind. And I also wanna have his name to be similar to Jennette (well, this is male Jennette).

P.S. finally, I can rest now

P.P.S. his hairstyle's inspired by Penelope and Anastacius (tODOROKI?!)

[hollyoaksloversx]

The Escape is on...

Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (11th-15th November 2019)

It was a big week for Ste as he finally took his first steps towards leaving the far right group. At the end of last week, we saw Ste throw a note begging for help over the Maalik’s fence. The note was found by Azim, who went out to speak to Ste through the fence and agreed to try and help him. After some persuading, Azim was able to get Leela and Peri on board and, together, they arranged to meet with Ste in The Dog car park to take him to speak to someone from Prevent. As Jonny and Stuart left the house to meet with a rival gang, Ste looked to have found a way to escape. However, young Sid had been left in charge, and was under strict instructions not to let Ste out of his sight. Luckily for Ste, Sid had arranged a date with Juliet and it didn’t take Ste much time at all to convince the youngster that he would be fine on his own. Upon Sid’s departure, Ste prepared to leave, however, he was dismayed to discover that he was locked in. However, he was able to escape and made his way to The Dog, where he was spotted by Sid getting into a car with Leela and Peri...

Ste was taken to speak with a ‘Prevent’ officer and it was arranged that he would leave the village for Newcastle. However, this couldn’t happen right away, and in the meantime, Ste was instructed to return home and carry on as ‘normal’ with Stuart and Jonny. Ste was much happier as he returned home, however, his secret was discovered when Juliet turned up at the house and Stuart and Jonny realised that Ste had been out. Furious that Sid had disobeyed him, Stuart punched his son before turning on Ste and demanding to know where he had been. Despite initially insisting that he’d stayed indoors, Ste eventually told Stuart and Jonny that Leela had taken him to Mike’s to see Leah and Lucas. The pair appeared to be satisfied with Ste’s excuse and were soon heading off again to meet with the rival gang, with Stuart taking a knife from the kitchen drawer on his way. Later, Peri was shocked when a seriously injured man was brought into the hospital after a gang fight in town, and Johnny later arrived back home also having been stabbed. With Stuart insisting that Jonny refrain from getting medical attention for his wound, Jonny told Ste that he wanted out...

The following day, Jonny began pressing Ste for information about the escape he knew he was planning, but Ste refused to be drawn in and insisted that there was no escape plan. However, Jonny continued to push Ste and he eventually confessed that he was off to Newcastle and that Jonny could come with him. Not only that, but Ste admitted that he’d been stealing money from Stuart to fund his escape. Later, Ste and Azim came face to face for the first time and the pair ended up kissing when Azim offered him his support. However, back in the house, Jonny informed Stuart about Ste’s plan to escape. Yep, Jonny was lying and it looks like Ste’s now in grave danger...

Meanwhile, preparations for Sami and Sinead’s wedding were well underway, despite Misbah having to jet off to care for her sick Mother and the bride-to-be being missing in action. Yasmine was feeling left out as Sami, Azim and Imran larked about and headed off to meet with Finn. Imran was later shocked when he realised who his Sister was hanging out with, but he agreed to keep quiet when he realised how much Finn’s friendship meant to her. However, their friendship soon hit a Sami shaped bump in the road when Edward informed him that Yasmine and Finn were getting close. Understandably horrified that his Sister was spending time with a convicted rapist, Sami ordered them to stop seeing each other, leading to Yasmine telling him that she wasn’t coming to the wedding if she couldn’t be friends with Finn...

Elsewhere this week, Mercedes remained in a coma following the shooting whilst Grace begged James to help get Liam released from custody. Finally, Darren struggled to hide his jealousy when Mandy allowed Luke to spend some time with DJ.

This Week’s Cast:

Azim, Bobby, Courtney, Darren, Diane, DJ, Edward, Finn, Goldie, Grace, Imran, James, Jonny, Juliet, Leela, Liam, Liberty, Luke, Mandy, Marnie, Mercedes, Nana McQueen, Peri, Sally, Sami, Sid, Sienna, Ste, Stuart, Sylver and Yasmine. 

Blasts From The Past:

Amy Barnes, Mike Barnes, Danny Lomax, Sam Lomax, Tegan Lomax, Myra McQueen, Donna-Marie Quinn, Harry Thompson.

[whiteclericmaris]

Oh man the Princess Tutu finale like where do I start. Ahiru sure led the story away from what Drosselmeyer intended the story to be after all. The Raven having Rue inside of him and Prince Siegfried trying to save her until he actually does with some help from Ahiru.

I can't help but think of Ahiru and Mytho as a QPP relationship from that. Fakir doing his best to write the story to help Ahiru and golly the book man almost ripped out his hand if not for Autor and Uzura.

While I didn't like it the first time I watched it because the prince develops a relationship with Rue I can appreciate it in my rewatch.

Thank you @sylver-drawer ! You motivated me to watch it to the end.

[completeoveranalysis]

YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT IT WAS IN THE END OF NIHON.

YUUKO MENTIONS THAT WATANUKI PAID HIS MEMORIES AS THE PRICE OF LAVA LAMP KNOWING WHERE SAKURA HAD BEEN TAKEN. No wonder I couldn't find it in xxxholic.

Goodness gracious there goes my memory.

[jeweled-blue-eyes]

“Claude de Alger Obelia,” the once lovely princess had said. “For your tyranny, you have been overthrown.”

[merieltla]

Don't judge my drawing skills because I'm not a drawer lol but these are their suits! They hare imagined around their helmets in the movie and their characters in the fic.

Rooster

1. Think of Captain America's suit in Winter soldier.

2. Pants and boots are black but I didnt have one so I had to pencil it lol

3. Powers as of now are super strenght, speed, enhanced senses (sight, smell, hearing), flight, high invulnerability and a high healing factor.

Hangman

1. He had to have a flowy cape because he's a drama queen.

2. Sylver mask with 3 red eyes and yellow markings.

3. Suit is basically grey scales with black undersuit.

4. Powers: enhanced physical habilities, master fighter with afinity for knives (stores them under the cape). Think Deadpool in fighting style.

Hangster Enemies to lovers Superhero AU.

This thing already pushed out 6 chapters out of me, wtf is it with this ship??

[jghouse-asia-pacific]

An Old Man and His Friend in Paris

An Old Man and His Friend in Paris

“Watch where you’re going, Little Man,” Sylvere said, speaking in Kikongo and placing his hand on the head of the small boy. Sylvere stood next to the open drawer of his desk inside the room he used as an office at his modest but comfortable two-story house in the old section, built in the ’70s, of Combs-la-Ville not far from the municipal swimming pool. He had been looking for some documents…

[agent-7-at-your-service]

Plot: Ink-License Renewed - Part 6: We Will Endure!

(( Agent 7, Nakano-868 (mentioned), Mitsuhide-582 (mentioned), Masato, Date-567, and Sanada-600 belong to me

Mercury belongs to @teamuntyblue / @ryan-sign-guy​

Agent J1.0 (Jay H) and Agent J2.0 (Jim H) belong to @ask-the-h-bros​

Agent Firefly (Cameo) belongs to @squished-by-inkbrush​

Lee belongs to @inklingleesquidly​

Ami belongs to @amethystsuki​

Leo belongs to @theoctogellifamily​

Cassi and Vanille (Agent 27) belong to @candiphoenixesartblog / @thephoeninxknightsblog​

Chihiro belongs to @petit-blu-inkling​

Vincent and Beaker Jr belong to @askvincent and @scrushling​

Sylver (Cameo) belongs to @twelvetailedkitsune​

Robin and friends (Cameo) belongs to @alpinesquid​

Jess (Cameo) belongs to @helpful-yellow-inkling​

Depiction of Agent 3 and Agent 4 (cameos) belong to @ofsquidsandkids / @squiidhero​

Blueshift belongs to @myzzy​

Agent 0 belongs to @son-of-joy ))

We Will Endure! We Will Endure! We Will Endure!

Inkopolis Square is full of rioters, chanting this slogan. It was a small group of students, but their message is strong: the witchhunts must stop; the extreme censorship must stop; the discrimination must stop; the mob rule must stop; the Rīkībaketto Party reign must stop.

This sowed the seeds of a rebellion.

In order to explain, Masato “Senshi” Sosharu and the Rīkībaketto Party have already passed a law allowing their new Security department to gain control of the media, seize artists and writers, and detain Off the Hook for a trial. That last part would cancel another Splatfest which angered the fanbase who saw it as the last straw.

Inkopolis Square was given promises from this political party through their acts of justice and prosperity. Those actions and deeds are finally questioned by their witchhunts, extreme censorship, mob rule, discrimination, false accusations, and unlawful arrests and executions. All this brought fear, control, and discontent from those already living in this part of Inkopolis.

At sunset, ink chargers were shot, and there were screams and retaliation. A mob leader named Sanada-600 is already at the scene with his union of gangs and mobsters to turn the riot into a rebellion. However, there were still some civilians in the riot that were already panicking to the point of routing. Those that weren’t part either the rebellion or the riot and those that were bystanders ended up in the mess.

Vincent managed to get Beaker Jr out of the disarray. All he was doing before this sudden battle was strolling with his son. He ended up stumbling into Lee, Ami, Leo, Cassi, and Chihiro in some pharmacy. They got their ink-weapons with them, but they weren’t planning on joining this battle in the Square.

“You guys, too?” Vincent was holding Beaker Jr close who was crying. He tried to calm him down.

“Well, things aren’t looking good out there.” Cassi is with Chihiro, peeking out the window. “We can’t just risk our lives.”

“Who would do this?” Chihiro recognized seeing these Ammonites before. “I thought those ammonites were gone two years ago!”

“Whoever these guys are, those poor guys in the square are going to get hurt,” Leo commented, “There are children still out there.”

Ami has never seen tension rise like this. She’s covering her ears and closing her eyes tightly. Lee was there to calm his friend down, and he didn’t want to be in this mess either.

“We need to get out of here somehow,” Leo stated. She held her roller close.

“We need to get everyone out of here before someone splats forever.” Cassi is already on a phone to call someone. She kept her Gold Dynamo roller in one hand just in case. “Vanille, we got some trouble here in Inkopolis Square...”

Meanwhile, Agent 7 just arrived back in Inkopolis. He was in Calamari County, negotiating with his mother, and later in Octo-Valley having a meeting with his arch-enemy, Calypso.

When he arrived in old Inkopolis Plaza, there were numerous citizens of Inkopolis Square in tents. Sylver and Jess can be seen doing what they can to comfort them. Robin and friends were there to keep their spirits up. Agent Firefly, Agent 3, Agent 4, and Captain Cuttlefish can be seen assuring protection.

Blueshift and Agent 0 approached. Blueshift and Agent 0 tried not to mention Marie or Agent 7′s situation in finding her. However, both of those Agents know something is up.

“Agent 7, thing’s are heating up in Inkopolis Square, what’s going on?” Agent 0 asked.

“Agent 7, what’s going on?” Agent Blueshift.

Agent 7 soon realizes what happened. Masato and the Rīkībaketto Party have brought a rebellion upon themselves.

“It has begun...” Agent 7 passes by the two agents, and they followed him.

Agent 7 approaches Captain Cuttlefish. He salutes. “Captain!”

“Agent 7, did you figure out the whereabouts of my grand-daughter?” Cuttlefish asked.

Agent 7 shook his head. “Close, but I’ll explain later. Right now, there might be some innocent lives still in Inkopolis Square.”

“I already sent some back-up to execute a rescue mission,” Cuttlefish replied, “It’s not too late to follow them.”

“Is Agent 1 with them?” Agent 7 needed to tell her something.

“She refuses to join... I’m sorry.” Cuttlefish couldn’t explain.

“...Alright.” Agent 7 nods and looks to Blueshift and Agent 0. “You two, with me.”

As Agent 7 superjumps to Inkopolis Square, Agent 0 and Blueshift followed, but each shared a look of concern relating to Marie. They want to know what Agent 7 has found out about Marie and her kidnapping.

As the battle in Inkopolis Square intensifies, there were already Agents in the premises, taking cover. This is the rescue team, made up of Bigfin Splatoon, two agents from  Squidforce Splatters named Agent J1.0 and Agent J2.0, and an Agent named Agent 27.

They manage to detect a number of civilians who got caught up in the war in two locations in Inkopolis Square, so they decided to split up to rescue them. Bigfin Splatoon went off to rescue civilians near the stores of Inkopolis Square. The rest handles rescuing a few civilians in a pharmacy. Agent 27 manages to talk with those civilians through a communicator.

“Cassi, are you there?” Agent 27 managed to get her call. She was carrying a hero roller at the moment.

“We’re over here.” Cassi is at the pharmacy’s window, waving to her.

“Who’s in there with you.” Agent 27 is prepared to go towards the pharmacy. It was just across a street.

“Well, there’s Lee, Ami, Leo, Vincent, his kid, Chihiro... and me,” Cassi replied, “We were holding out here for a while because of the fight.”

“We know that, and that’s why Cuttlefish sent some agents here,” Agent 27 replied back.

“Finally, some rescue!” Leo walks over to the window.

Ink-shots suddenly fired on Agent 27′s party, and both everyone had to take cover. Ammonite Ashigaru were pointing their modified bamboozlers.

“Those things got us pinned!” Agent J2.0 stated.

“We can’t get into that pharmacy with those chargers shooting,” Agent J1.0 commented.

Agent 27 had an idea. “Cassi, do any of you guys have your turf wars weapons with you?”

“All except, Vincent and Beaker Jr.” Cassi was looking at everyone in the pharmacy.

“Good, here is what I need you guys to do,” Agent 27 ordered, “we’re going to draw all the firepower, and once they’re exposed, you guys will have to attack them. Afterward, make a run for it. We’ll cover you guys.”

And with that, Agents 27, J1.0, and J2.0 began taking all the fire, distracting those ammonites for Cassi and a few others to use their ink-weapons to splat the enemy. Afterward, they started running to safety with agents covering them.

Suddenly, seven ammonites on horseback delivered a surprise attack on the group. However, they were stopped by three more Agents: Agent 7, Blueshift, and Zero. The ammonite cavalry retreated to join the fight in the square. Agent 7 approaches Agent 27, J1.0, and J2.0 Agent J1.0 and J2.0 saluted. The others know about Agent 7 and were kind of glad he’s here.

“This is it, three agents? Where are the others?” Agent 7 questioned.

“Some are at the stores, rescuing the rest of the civilians,” Agent 27 replied.

Agent 7 sighs and gave them an order. “Get these guys out of there, and get word to Cuttlefish that we need agents to support this rebellion.”

Agent 27 nods and leads her party and the civilians back to safety in Inkopolis Square. Before Agent 7 can continue, Blueshift stops him.

“Agent 7, Zero and I need to speak with you.” Blueshift knew they can’t just talk on a battlefield, but it was a bit urgent. “Something about Marie.”

Agent 7 stopped. He’s listening.

“...What did you find out here when you were searching for Marie?” Agent 0 asked.

Agent 7 didn’t respond for a moment but then replied: “This is between us and us only. I already told enough people about it. So here is what I know, and it has to do with Masato and his political power.”

And he told them the truth about Nakano-868.

Minutes later, Blueshift and Agent 0 would be heading straight for the city hall, leaving Agent 7 to continue rescuing civilians at the Square. The fight was spreading from there all the way to the City Hall where Masato and his party resides.

Blueshift and Agent 0 had a small task from Agent 7: To retrieve whatever intel they can find from the Masato’s office. With the fighting going on, the two manage to break into the city hall and infiltrate the offices. When Blueshift and Agent 0 find Masato’s office, they began searching only to find nothing but empty files and drawers.

But then they heard a groan and a collapse. They leave office to check it out, and they find an injured Mercury. She has a bundle of papers in her hands.

An ammonite in blue and gold armor stood over her, carrying two ink katanas. The banner he carried had the sigil of sparrows and bamboo. Next to that ammonite is an inkling with cyan hair and light skin, wearing a black suit, brown tie, white gloves, and a short top hat -- this is Masato. He smoked a cigar.

“Greetings, spies,” Masato began, “I recognize you two. The Vigilante that the Commodore has hunted for years and the Agent who whiled the Commodore’s retainers.”

“That’s behind us now.” Blueshift has his Quasar Blade ready.

“Why did you do all this to Inkopolis Square?” Agent 0 demanded.

“I’m doing this for the people. For Justice. For the greater good. I’m doing this to make Inkopolis Square prosper.” Masato takes the cigar out of his mouth and blows some smoke. “It’s all that my party believes in.”

“Through witchhunts, crackdowns, and control?” Blueshift carefully stepped forward.

“Date-567,” Masato ordered.

The ammonite in blue and gold armor points two ink katanas at Mercury’s neck.

“One more step and she’ll have no head,” Masato threatened before turning around. “Get those papers if you dare. I have work to do.” He leaves.

Agent 0 takes out his shield and the flaming katana, and he charges at Date-567. The ammonite had to give up decapitating Mercury to guard. Blueshift quickly runs over to pull Mercury away from Date.

“Get these to Sev...,” Mercury mumbled, “He had to see this...” She passes out.

Blueshift gently places her down and gets up to face Date-567.

((BGM: https://youtu.be/xlYCxbBZUCY ))

“It’s time I do a favor for Mitsuhide, Vigilante and Agent.” Date-567 sharpens his katanas, smearing them with ink. “You’re deaths shall be my ascension.”

Blueshift and Agent 0 took the fighting to the main halls. Despite the legislators still in the building, the fight didn’t disrupt the sessions.

All can be seen is flecks of ink and sparks lighting the dark. Date-567 danced like a madman, deflecting the attacks, letting blade meet blade, and ink meet ink. Each clash of blades leave a few drops of ink covering the floors and walls.

Date-567 would do a few flips and quick moves to maneuver the slashes and thrusts. Blueshift and Agent 0 were coordinating every attack they can throw at the ammonite, and the only damages they dealt was on the armor and not the ammonite.

The fight was soon brought to the upper levels of the city hall. The blades kept clashing, and more ink was covering the floors like in Turf wars.

Soon, the fight stopped for a moment. Agent 0 and Blueshift circle Date-567 like predators surrounding their prey. Agent 0 and Blueshift made some eye contact for a moment, each getting the idea that they need to find a way to defeat him.

Agent 0 decided to give it his all and threw all his attacks on the ammonite. Blueshift stepped back to focus and figure out how to defeat him. There were are few damages to the armor, but Date-567 kept an eye for an attack on heavily damaged parts of his armor. Blueshift then figured out the truth: Date-567’s armor is not as tough as it looks.

Blueshift charged at Date-567 only to end up thrown down to the main floor below. Date-567 then threw Agent 0 down. This didn’t cause the two agents to splat.

Date-567 looked down on them, and he sheathed his katanas.

“You’re not yourselves since you defeated the Commodore’s men two years ago! Look are you now!” Date-567 mocked. “Masato will get what he wants out of the Square even if he has to control--”

Mercury, who has finally regained consciousness turns him around, pulls out his katanas, and stabs the ammonite with his own katanas. This time, Date-567 splats, and he will remain dead with the ink-puddles left like carrion.

((End of BGM))

Minutes later, Blueshift, Agent 0, and Mercury, began making their escape before more ammonites come. They would regroup. They didn’t share any sign of saying “Thank you” or “Your welcome”. There’s still a rebellion going on.

The papers that Mercury managed to retrieve all connected to one of Mitsuhide’s goals: A wedding day before the Vernal Equinox. But there was more to the wedding, and Masato is taking advantage of it. 

They want to go home.

[completeoveranalysis]

While you’re posting these liveblogs, I suddenly remembered. Are you going to watch the STC OVA now that you’ve finished the Nihon arc? Or does your outline plan(?) make it that you should watch it after this/a specific arc?

I put it up for consideration but the general consensus was that we should continue with the Manga for now and save the OVA as a treat for the end.

Which makes sense in hindsight, since these plot twists are WILD.

[fivekrystalpetals]

@sylver-drawer oooh, thanks for your reply!! on reading this line "It’s almost akin to adopting a wild animal who came to you in desperation in contrast to visiting a pet shop." suddenly things clicked into place for me lol,,, ah, it's kinda sad that nothing can be done about their 'illegal' contract now, bc I am worried about Oz's needle ticking faster whenever he experiences a heavy emotion and was wondering why it can't be legalized safely as long as the two remain under Pandora's watch and don't kill any humans. I haven't yet come across the mirror process of contracting you mentioned but let's see...

oh yeah, the aging thing did seem something minor to me too, I was just curious. it's just that if Gil had stopped aging like Break and Sharon, then he could have met Oz at the exact age (or maybe only slightly older) when he returned from the Abyss haha

I have some 200+ questions about the story so far lol; I am on Retrace XXIII and I need some time to let everything sink in before I move on to the next arc; let me try to frame all my thoughts in a coherent and chronological manner (lol)

1] starting from Alice, because everything in this story seems to revolve around her: she was a human who lived 100 years ago and was murdered during the so-called Tragedy of Sablier with a pair of scissors. the current Chain Alice is only assuming her form and has no memories of her past (which she is trying to collect but I fear the picture they piece together won't be a good one)

after all (re: Rt. 16)--

because her memories were that painful.

I feel like the ‘twisted’ Alice is the actual, remnant spirit of human Alice that created both the dimension inside the musical watch and the one Cheshire is guarding, is also the one Oz met in Retrace I from the graveyard. tho, idk how human Alice became the Chain Alice. or, rather, in Break's words, which is the true version of the chain--is it the Rabbit or is it the girl?

2] Vincent and Gil belong to the same era as Alice. there is some time leap shenanigans going on with them, that's how they landed in the present (or, well, 15 years ago from the present). Gil got adopted in the Vessalius household (as a nine-year-old so 15+9=24) whereas Vincent in the Nightray one.

a minor point: how is Gil growing older with his contract with Raven whereas Break and Sharon stopped aging?

3] Vincent.....this man knows everything. literally everything. Please someone squeeze out the details from him, please. and he is involved (heavily) in the Tragedy, going by these two panels (Rt. 19)

(poor baby ;-; if I have to make a wild guess, either he was lured or brainwashed into this....and he immediately goes into defensive mode, claiming everything is 'that person' 's fault. who is that person? Glen? Alice? although he carried a pair of scissors with him and Oz follows after him, I doubt this pair and the one found near her dead body is the same. def a blind. but I won't leave it out of the options that Vincent did kill Alice)

something else I noticed during that mindscape of Sablier Tragedy is that Oz knows how to get to Alice. he knows the place that was destroyed 100 years ago. idk what to make of this but interesting. this means he must have been alive at that time (Jack Vessalius reincarnation route or something else?)

4] I thought Gil's fear of cats was played for the sake of gags but if it makes him freeze up in a fight against a humanoid looking cat--Cheshire, then it's a serious matter.

5] Cheshire might try to kill everyone in his territory but I am still gonna love him bc he is the cutest cat with the cutest bell that goes ring ring (even if it's for a little while, he made Alice smile while she was alive, look at him snuggled up in her arms)

plus I don't believe Break's words that the Cat is a ‘fanatical follower of the Will’ (Rt:15) and since the Will hates Alice, Cheshire must hate Alice too. I doubt Cheshire would want to kill Alice in any form. he is very loyal to her that even 100 years after her death, he is still here trying to protect the fragment of memory in his bell. he is still trying, in his own little catlike ways, to protect Alice from getting hurt from her painful memories and I just </3 </3

5] Sometime in the past, the Will of the Abyss plucked out Break's left eye and gave it to Cheshire. Why? plus again to my question: what exactly is the Will of the Abyss? What is its connection to Cheshire, Alice and Break? Why does the Will hate Alice? What does the Will want with Oz? and so on

6] Also interesting that here, it’s the Mad Hatter that takes Alice to the mad tea-party conducted by Cheshire Cat

whereas in the original story, it was Cheshire Cat that sent Alice the Mad Hatter’s way. Mad Hatter was not at all gracious to Alice during the mad tea-party lol

Talking of that, Break’s chain seems like some sort of nullification ability (Rt. 20)

aaannd.... Break wonders if the power of the B-Rabbit and that of the Mad Hatter is the same? Break vs Alice soon? But Break's body can't take much of his Chain's power so he will be the first to lose anw

7] Oz feels so strongly for Alice that he singlehandedly started to pull down Cheshire's dimension. In a way, both Oz and Cheshire are the same. they want to protect Alice by destroying everything that hurts her. Cheshire was even ready to go up against the Mad Hatter, against which he stood no chance, just to protect her.

8] Jack Vessalius..... is an enigma. He is hailed as a hero of Sablier, and he, along with the Four Dukedoms, put a stop to the reign of terror under the Baskervilles and saved the country from sinking completely into the Abyss and so on.,..

what I am more curious about is that he appears a lot in Alice's memories and her (the human one, not the chain) reactions to him vary from being highly pleased to be in presence to eagerly waiting for him to downright wanting to kill him. Is she mistaking Oz for Jack? Even Gil mistook Jack for Oz for the same shining golden hair, emerald green eyes. (Rt.17) But Jack was quite affectionate to her in those memories, patting her head and lightly scolding her (Rt.8), then why would she want to kill him? What is their relationship? do I want to know

9] after his speech via Oz's lips, the Pandora officials now believe that Oz is Jack's reincarnation after completing his 100 year cycle. means more burden for Oz to not only maintain the Vessalius House but also the image of Jack.

10] anddd I dunno how to feel about Jack's constant possession of Oz's body. It’s already happened three times now (Rt. 11, Rt.18, Rt. 21) Oz being a hundred year reincarnation of the hero is a bit iffy and cliche but ok, but to be able to ‘possess’ (for the lack of a better word) him every time something arises... if Oz is gonna be under the shadow of the celebrated Jack Vessalius all the time, he won’t have any character development for himself. Oz might try to rely more on Jack than becoming stronger by himself. (two souls possessing one body is only interesting and chaotic when they have opposing interests like Sukuna/Yuuji or Greed/Ling etc.)

11] Baskervilles are even more mysterious. What's their deal? Why do they want the Will of the Abyss? Why did they sink the capital city into the Abyss? Were they trying to make Chains out of the humans by forcing them into the Abyss? and why to massacre everyone? to make crests of blood, FMA-style? After the Tragedy, the remnants of the Baskervilles went into hiding and only came out now with Oz coming of age. According to Jack, they are preparing for a comeback by their master Glen who isn't actually dead apparently. ofc everything starts when our protagonist hits 15

12] The organization of Pandora is... sketchy to say the least. Among many other reasons, but primarily this (Rt. 9)

The members of Pandora too can make a contract with the otherworldly Chains, but apparently, legal. No Seal, no ticking needle, nothing. They get all the benefits from the Chains without risking their lives, which automatically creates a hierarchy of sorts, a kind of divide between the ‘upper class’ and the commoners who blindly walk into these contracts. 

since I am guessing only the people from the four Dukedoms (Rainsworth and Nightray being two) get to make ‘legal’ contracts

the common people get lured into making contracts with the Chains at the promise of ‘ability to change the past’ and eventually, inevitably, failing (bc let’s be real, there’s no way you can do that by killing a bunch of people and even if you do get to change the past, only a hundred new problems will arise and so I never understand the prospects of doing that re: all of those time traveling movies) 

and sinking into the Abyss or dying at the hands of the Pandora

—and watch over the other households (Rt. 13)

(I think Vincent is easily the most perceptive characters we have met so far. He could understand all the underlying politics among the noble families at the age of what? six? seven?

he agrees that part of their status was because of the four families' role in the Tragedy of Sablier but more because they got their hands on the Door to the Abyss. which is really interesting. because it means that the war (massacre?) from 100 years ago also benefited the 'heroes' in many ways. hmmm. was it simply coincidentally spoils of the war? or... was something else going on?)

well, anw my point is that’s for Chains that have already devoured people. But what about Oz and Alice? Oz hasn’t killed anyone nor has Alice eaten anyone bc (Rt.15)

Oz had no choice. He didn’t have any kind of greedy ambition to change the past, to save his business, save someone etc. etc., he just wanted to get out of the Abyss where he had been cast by the Baskervilles in the first place (which they are at again even after ten years)... and the only choice he had, to escape and escape from the mouths of the other Chains dwelling in the Abyss was to make a contract with the strongest Chain there– B. Rabbit. He is not at fault, he had no idea of Chains or Contracts prior to meeting Chain Alice, he did it in the spur of the moment to save his own life and no ulterior motives. 

My question is: If Pandora does have a means to make legal contracts, why don’t they legalize the one between Alice and Oz? The needle’s already moved by two degrees (Rt. 20) and it won’t be long before he is pulled back into the Abyss, this time into the very depths. 

Unless that’s what Pandora wants. 

I literally don’t trust any of the adults around Oz and Alice (except for Gil. I don’t consider Gil as an adult) because Vincent, one of the top echelons of Pandora, is working with the Baskervilles. I don’t know if it’s just him or there are more working with the Baskervilles. (oh but it isn't like he is actually working with them. He is probably planning to backstab them when the time comes and capture the fifth door from them to get hold of the Will.)