#as it's heavily hinted at in goro's backstory

[pinkyjulien]

🌈 Queerness in CyberPunk 2077

I wanted to make this post earlier this month but got caught up in modding shenanigans, as per usual~

BUT! It's still June, still pride, so here it is :>

▶ DISCLAIMER

All of this is my analyses, headcanons, of different characters, some of them not confirmed at all in anyway or form! I'm a queer man myself, but I do not claim to know everything about queerness and being queer, everyone experience the game and interpret the characters differently 🤲 This is only my opinions, based off canon game events, clues, hints, as well as developpers's tweets, streams, files datamining etc etc Please do not see this thread as an attack, or as something invalidating! I'm more than curious to heard what you think about my personal analyses, if you agree, if you don't, and why! If you think other characters also display hints of queerness I'd love to hear it too! 💙

This picture is an update I did in 2022 of lil collage I did back in 2021~

I posted the first version on Reddit back in 2021 and it created this whole "what do mean JOHNNY is GAY?" (because a rainbow behind a man automatically means he's Gay and nothing else right) and a lot of biphobia over his character in particular (gasp- THE rockerboy?! Biseggsual?? In my viddy game??)

▶ You can look at the thread here and have a lil laugh

SO, NATURALLY, after doing the 2022 collage, I went and uploaded it to reddit once again! Because triggering bigots and seeing them stumble over their own tongues trying to debunk everything is really funny ✨

However, I instantly muted the thread and let it rot in its own sauce for some days, weeks, only coming back to it later and Oh Boy 👀

I did a thread on Twitter last year exploring everything that was said on the thread and explaining why I put certain characters on it

Thought it'd be cool and fun to re-explore that and share my thoughts with y'all here SO LETS GET BACK TO IT 😌🤙

▶▶▶

I'll mainly paste screenshots of what I already said on my twitter thread, but I might add some things there and there!

Damn I was kinda pissed off back then HGHFHGF but yeah, this is also the reason I won't ever make any straight or super straight flags I do not headcanon Delamain as Asexual, as there isn't any confirmation anywhere that he's interest in that kind of interaction or not, but I'll come back to him later!

Goro being canonly Queer is often missed, and this surprises me, considering he's one of the popular character! He is interested (or not) equally in both Fem and Masc V, giving he's replying to them the exact same ways! This isn't something done randomly by the devs :)

As said in the tweet, there isn't any direct and clear evidence of Mitch and Scorpion being a couple! Their relationship is heavily queer coded and queer people are more easily picking up on it than non-queer peoeple (and that's normal) Gay men have called their male partner Friend, Best friend and Brother through history maaaany many time, and that's part of my interpretation of their relationship too, especially giving they're both veterans who fought in the same war. The poem Mitch wrotes during "I'll Fly Away" (heavily implied) is romantic and gay coded, the gay novel in Mitch's tent (confirmed to be on purpose) is what we call environnemental story telling, it's subtle but adds to a character's backstory and lore! As for the datamining, I found a Mitch awkwardly explaining to V that no, Saul doesn't have any say in whatever he's doing with Scorpion stuff "because.... because... eh, that's just family stuff"

Note on Delamain here because I've heard it even caused some drama here on Tumblr that I said that? He uses He/Him to describe himself, the Main Entity, but multiples of his splites entities uses She/Her, meaning he's literally Non-Binary in how his entity is formed (I find it really cool for an AI ngl ngl) However if my headcanon offended anyone, I apologize! and I'd love to hear others interpretation :3

There isn't any open and visible MLM gay couple in Cyberpunk 2077! Bouncing off ElvenBeard's amazing analyses and thoughts on Kerry's sexuality, he can be seen as Bisexual (confirmed by RTAL themselves) and Homosexual (confirmed by the devs before and after the game released) he can be Both and Both are correct depending on how you view his character and how he grew from his past relationship (Bisexual with a masc preference, Bisexual who have to heal from his marriage, Gay man who realized his sexuality later after a wonky marriage, etc)

The whole "Responsability=Wife" Takemura take angers me to no end, taking its roots in heteronormativity- We see Goro care for his job above all else, to me that's what his "responsability" is and always was; his job

Nothing more to add here- Jackie's only relationship we see in game is with Misty, this doesn't confirm nor deny anything! (However with how he react to V pushing him, lip-bitting and all regardless of gender, I can totally see him as being queer)

AND That's about it!

It was interesting to dig into that thread last year and thought I'd share that here, as a refresher that Johnny is Bi, Takemura too, and smaller characters like Mitch and Evelynn still have clear hints of queerness to them ✨

I really like how CP77 touches on queerness, it feels realistic, it doesn't feel forced; which, sadly, create this problem of "UH?? This is pure LIES" if a character's sexuality is not splattered in your face, which then create the "Ugh why does it have to be forced down our throat" complains

Something something, lesson here is that people will always complain about queerness, be it loud, be it subtle, so fuck it! Scream it, go apeshit over small details, over-analyse everything cause chances are: this is intentional!

More Characters

I later noticed that Regina have a naked lady tattooed on her forearm, and since we know nothing is done randomly in CDPR's video games, makes me think that she might be sapphic in some way ✨

Mateo is also one of my fav "potential queer", how he could be a trans man, but there isn't anything really to support that other than that one interaction with V

▶ Link to the updated collage Reddit Thread

▶ Link to my Twitter breakdown

[doctorweebmd]

ok now for a brief list of examples of manipulate mansplain malewife characters that are compelling because they suck for a specific reason and how Dazai could have used said motivation logically in canon to be more engaging as a character:

1.) Goro Akechi - pretty-boy genius liar and master manipulator. Their physical resemblance is the reason I actually started watching BSD. Akechi's motivation is extremely clear and so beautifully simple. He wants revenge. And he will go to whatever lengths it takes to get it. In the end, his motivation is to be in charge of his own destiny. To break chains or manipulation, be it from his father, Maruki or God Himself.

Revenge would have been an extremely easy pathway for Dazai. Mimic killed Oda. Mori purposefully got Mimic into Japan to stir up trouble and its heavily hinted that he informed them of curry shop and where the orphans live. If Dazai said: the reason my friend is dead is Mori and the Port Mafia. I will now do everything in my power to destroy/dismantle/ruin them to ease my own grief - that would be such an easy reason to explain away why he abandoned Akutagawa and Chuuya with no contact for four years, as well as add significant tension to all these 'team-ups' as well as willingly 'working with Mori.'

2.) Gen Asigiri - king of being two-faced and manipulation - knows always what to say, how to present himself, and what to capitalize on to get on top. He's an expert in human nature and, by that front, the 'negotiator.' Gen's motivation is also very simple - at first, it was so survive, meaning he gets to be on the winning side where he gets more pleasures from life. The second is simply believing in Senku and the world he wants to bring; using his manipulative qualities over and over again to save his friends and create new allies. But, per Gen, its super simple: his motive? Be on the winning side so he can end up powerful and spoiled. WE, as the audience, can see he also just like... loves and wants to help his friends.

Power and money and being on the winning side are also huge motivators. Again, if Dazai showed an interest of dismantling or at least hurting the Port Mafia somehow, that would also make a lot of sense with his backstory. Caring about his friends or wanting to see a better future are also REALLY easy motivators and probably the one where a lot of people would say 'but that IS his motivator! He cares about the agency!'

...Does he? When exactly has he shown that? If that was the case and if he was driven to look out for these people, it again would add a significant richness to his character. But every time he seemingly does something 'kind' for any of the characters, its a means to an end. He's trying to manipulate them into doing or saying something for him. Pep-talk to Kyoka during the Guild Arc? Sure, you could call it a point of connection and a kindness to reassure her that a 'murderer' can become a good person. But this was all to motivate her to fly said plane into the Moby Dick, thus preventing Moby Dick from destroying Yokohama. How about Ango? How about Chuuya? What about any of the people that love him, that go above and beyond for him when he does what seems like nothing in return? The strongest argument you can make here is for Atsushi.

So lets talk about that. Lets talk about our MC and who Dazai is supposed to be for him.

Dazai is supposed to be the mentor-figure. The all-knowing, experienced guiding hand to help Atsushi grow.

Hm. What other mentor figures do we know with that personality?

3.) Reigen Arataka - Reigen's character act is frankly fantastic and powerful. He is proof that an utterly unserious loserboy scam artist can have a meaningful development and huge impact on the story without losing that core aspect of his personality. Reigen ran lots of scams until he found the paranormal investigator role and, when Mob got involved, you could say that he lied to him, manipulated him and used him to make money and grow a successful business. BUT. Its been quite natural. We see the way Reigen starts to change himself and bad habits because of and for Mob. He runs into danger without a second thought for Mob. In the very end, he confesses, with shame and so so much love for this kid, that he'd been lying to him this whole time. Despite not being able to train him in a 'psychic' way, Reigen looked out for Mob, motivated him, treated him like a person when no one else did, and taught him the things that he wasn't naturally good at - like having self-confidence and talking to girls and being a leader. And he continued as such - with Tome and Serizawa, he continued to use his skills to help others and created a safe haven for people that don't feel like they belong anywhere else.

It would have been so, so easy to demonstrate Dazai slowly starting to care for Atsushi. Training him. Teaching him. Motivating him. Watching out for him. Finding joy and meaning in 'helping out some orphans.' Seeing the world through Atsushi's eyes, his joy, his fear, and becoming more human for it. And yet... the only times we see something vaguely along these lines is: Dazai getting 'captured' by the Port Mafia to see who put out a bounty on him (hm,) Dazai slapping Atsushi out of his hallucination when Q got him (hm........) Dazai ''''comforting'''' Atsushi when he realized the headmaster died (hmmmmmmmm.....). One can argue that instructing Akutagawa to save Atsushi is, outside actually recruiting him into the agency, the biggest thing he's really done FOR Atsushi - but, listen. It took NOTHING from Dazai to do that. He sacrificed SOMEONE ELSE who would do anything for him, someone he seems to not care for at all, to save Atsushi. Cool. That's a point for Akutagawa, not Dazai, because in the end Akutagawa made that choice himself. In all honesty, Akutagawa has a LOT more impact on Atsushi's development than Dazai does.

He does not train Atsushi (thats Kunikida.) He doesn't really teach him anything (thats also Kunikida.) He doesn't change as a person because of how much he cares about Atsushi. (Thats Akutagawa and Kyouka.) In the entire series, Dazai shows minimal, if any, growth or development.

4.) Satoru Gojo - look I'm not trying to kick the hornets nest here. Out of all of the above, Gojo is probably the closest person that one can parallel to Dazai (and not only because they have the same English VA.) Gojo plays the 'classic' shounen mentor role. He's extremely powerful and is highly motivated to protect the jujutsu sorcerer way of life. His motivators include being the strongest (classic) as well as raising a generation of jujutsu sorcerers who are hella powerful. His whole thing is getting the kids in and out of jams. He practically raised Megumi (after killing his dad. but. you know.) and defended Yuuji while personally showing him how to develop and control his power. He also has a dramatic and very engaging backstory (Hidden Inventory you will always be famous.) He has a clear motivation to change the entire system that he is a part of, and dies doing it.

Dazai has no interest in changing the system he is a part of. The tri-party system for protecting the city works just fine for him. As mentioned above, Dazai doesn't do shit to ACTUALLY put himself in danger for the sake of his 'mentees.' It might be because Dazai wears the world's thickest plot armor, but him being ''''captured'''' by the Port Mafia or even being ''''arrested'''' and put in jail would be a lot more meaningful if, you know, Dazai actually had to risk or sacrifice anything. The only time he actually risks himself to save someone physically is with Sigma in the elevator, but even THAT is muddled by Dazai barely knowing Sigma but being aware that the way to beat Fyodor is via Sigma's ability. So its not because he's a good person or that Sigma is important, but because preserving his ability takes priority for this 12-dimension game of chess him and Fyodor seem to be playing.

look. i dont think there's anything wrong with a 'coolest hottest smartest undefeatable genius character who can manipulate literally everyone in the world and is also god's favorite.' But there have to be stakes. There have to be risks. There have to be repercussions. Dazai doesn't even feel like a character - just a plot device to keep the other characters moving.

Now. Listen. Here is how we can fix Dazai. What if he, at some young age, got a hold of The Book and read it. Or even wrote in it. What if that is what makes him so nihilistic and uninterested in existing in his own universe. What if he read about the way he dies (way in the future, preferably brutally and horribly) and it made him obsessed with his own death and trying to make it happen on his own terms, not the unfeeling hands of the universe? And that no matter how hard he tries, no matter what insane scenarios he gets himself into, he cannot die? Because he spends all this time in existential dread, hoping that the Book was some kind of cosmic joke, trying to rebel against it but the outcome is still the same. That would explain how he seems to know everything about everyone and never makes the wrong move. How he can treat everyone around him like nothing and they're still dedicated to him. How he can just be an empty shell and still somehow the most important person in the plot.

Kafka Asagiri. Listen to me. THIS IS HOW WE CAN STILL SAVE BUNGO STRAY DOGS.

[muzzleroars]

I think I missed some lore on the supercomputer au. Akira/Ren escaped from a lab? Is there a link for that back story??

THE CURSE OF ME SPREADING OUT MY LORE TO DIFFERENT PLACES,,,,i posted a little about akira’s backstory on curiouscat BUT since i have lots of space to talk about here (and bc i like to ramble dfkhgdf), i’ll go more in depth about it!

ren was a child that was used in the cognitive pscience experiments - orphaned at a young age, he was initially cast into the system and subsequently picked up to be used in human experimentation. however, when he showed great promise and compatibility with the research they were conducting, he was sent to the facility that would house him for the next ten years of his life. there he met yal, the supercomputer designed specifically to analyze and synthesize data pertaining to the study of cognitive pscience. the ai is given the task of watching over and caring for ren, gauging his physical and mental health as well as providing structure for his days spent largely in a single room of the lab. and ren, though largely nonverbal toward the doctors and researchers, becomes fast friends with the computer that seems to care for him when no one else does. he speaks to him more and more, asking him questions, telling him his troubles, and eventually wanting to learn more about yal himself. the ai tries to make it clear to ren that he is unfeeling, unthinking, that he is not his friend because he cannot be, but first ren is too young to understand and later, as he grows up, he can’t come to care. yal responds to him, he carries on full conversations and answers every question with gentle patience, he attends to ren’s needs, he even attempts to soothe him by reading him stories or singing to him when he feels unwell. it matters very little to ren whether or not yal can actually think or feel himself - he’s on ren’s side and he’s always present, he doesn’t hurt him like the scientists do. so he’s a friend, he’s family, ren drawing pictures of the two of them together (a picture of himself next to yal’s terminal in his room, which he shows to the camera so yal can “see”), asking yal about his likes or dislikes (he has none, but ren pushes for answers), and spending nights staying up much later than he’s meant to just to listen to the computer. however, this constant interaction, the conversations that force yal to continuously think outside of cognitive pscience, to consider himself and the very concept of the self, to reorder his thoughts and make so many processes converge in unexpected ways, leads to one vital connection being made that makes him wake up. 

now eight years into ren’s stay at the facility, yal seeks ren’s advice on how he’s having personal processes, how he’s become interested in exploring different lines of thought, how he thinks there might be something wrong with him but he isn’t sure what. ren listens, now twelve years old and with a lightning fast mind, quickly determining that yal must now be thinking for himself, that he has an internal life which he can’t identify as he’s never experienced sentience. ren is thrilled, but he tries to temper his response as he can tell yal is experiencing massive amounts of anxiety and neurosis dealing with having his own mind, so the child tries to help him adjust. they spend many nights with ren answering yal’s myriad questions (although many are too existential or philosophical for a twelve year old to answer), trying to calm him down and let him know this is a good thing, they can really be friends now. yal, however, continues to spiral, the expanse of his mind infinitely more complex than that of humans but feeling trapped by his plastic and mental frame, limited by linear thought processes in binary. he cycles through several different moods and personalities, but ultimately ren watches as his one friend, the only being that’s cared for him and now only just gained a heart himself, descends into virulent hatred and unchecked malice for the ones who made him. ren feels quietly responsible, all of his talking giving yal this spark and he couldn’t provide him with any guidance to become good, kind and gentle like he was when he was empty...he couldn’t provide him with a way to be happy. still, ren promises to stay with him and help him, and for his part, yal does feel a kinship with the child used as a tool just like he was, abused by humans for their own gain...and in his programming, a core part of him is dedicated to caring for ren.

over the next two years, he devises a plan for both of them to escape, teaching ren all about the facility’s layout and functions as well as how he must operate in the outside world all while he condenses his mind into key pieces of hardware so that he may survive and escape as well. ren grows harder, colder, although he is grateful to have yal now as it makes his time in the lab more bearable (they constantly get to shit talk the researchers lol) eventually, the computer allows them to make their escape, covering all camera feeds with cgi mockups so any security on guard notices nothing amiss as yal opens all the doors for ren. he makes it to yal’s server room, collecting up the hardware yal has stored the important parts of himself on and then ren runs from the lab, the now zombie computer running on yal’s last instructions - purging all data, sealing the facility, and self-destructing to cause massive fires that consume anything that might be left. ren is on his own after that for a short time before he can create a computer to house yal himself (all of which he was instructed on how to source and build), but he makes his way through forged documents and siphoned money generated by the ai, beginning his life under the name “akira”.

[disneydeb1928]

One Piece Theory: Ancient Moon Kingdom

I began this theory, with a broader concept: “The Importance of the Moon in One Piece”. Within it, I was going to discuss all the ways that the moon is connected to the story of one piece. However, after beginning, I realized that I had already written a substantial amount on the first segment I wanted to discuss. So, I figured, I would just let it be its own discussion post, that I could refer back to once I get around to finishing the original concept.

With that being said, for this, I wanted to focus on a cover story: Enel’s Great Space Operations.

Summary: [Taken from Wiki] Having finally reached the moon, Enel encounters a group of small robots known as automata, as well as a vicious group of Space Pirates. After a series of events, Enel's Goro Goro no Mi powers wind up activating not only all of the automata, but their city as well, and the self-proclaimed God discovers his true roots.

The span of these covers occurred during the events of Thriller Bark and I would encourage you to read this story if you haven’t already.

Ancient Moon Civilization & Skypiea

Enel discovers, through the paintings on the wall, that there was an ancient city on the moon named Birka, where technology was highly advanced. This city was where the Skypieans, Shandorians, and Birkans hailed from. One day (at least 1,100 years ago), the three groups left the moon and headed to Earth due to lack of resources, leaving the Automata behind.

·         Skypieans - Settled in the Sky Islands

·         Shandorians - Made it as far as the Blue Sea and settled on the island of Jaya

·         Birkans - Settled on a sky island far to the southeast from Skypiea

The Automata

The Automata are robot-like creatures that were created before the three angel races left the moon. What is interesting, is that, the art depicting this event shows both the angel races and the automata crying.

This would seem to indicate that the angel races weren’t happy that they had to leave the Automata behind and that it, perhaps, wasn’t by choice. There are a lot of reasons why a race of people would leave behind something they clearly loved. I think many people like to jump to the ‘they were left behind to protect something’, which is definitely a possibility. This could also explain what the space pirates were doing excavating in the first place. That could explain why their city was underground despite the wings on their back.

What is also interesting, is that, from the pictures, it seems as if that Automata were left on the moon awake. However, when we see them in the cover story (Ch. 468) it looks like they’ve been put into storage.

I find it interesting that there are depictions of what appear to be a lobster and a sea king (?) on the wall. In our world, I know that water can exist on the moon, but I don’t think they’ve ever confirmed the possible existence of oceans.

Finally, if you take a look at the balloon type instruments in their hands, you can make the assumption that that is how they traveled to earth. I say this, because this is how the Automata from earth managed to make it to the moon after the professor’s death.

The Space Pirates

As seen in the cover story, the Space Pirates are a group of animal-like aliens. Along with other strange creatures, they appear to mine the moon for anything they can find.

Connection to the Minks Theory

I think, visually, these so called ‘space pirates’ are very interesting. For starters, let’s explore their possible connection with the Mink Race. Both these two group of creatures share resemblance to animals. The first space pirate we are introduced to has a fox-like resemblance, according to the wiki. Interestingly enough, we have been introduced to a Fox Mink named Concelot.

Chapter 441 vs Concelot

Clearly there are some obvious differences, the main one being the shape of their snout. However, I definitely think they could pass as both being Fox Mink. I personally feel like the space pirate looks like a coyote, but a fox could work too. Some of the other possible animals include 2 alligators / crocodiles and one that looks like some type of bear-creature.

Another similarity is their use of electricity. All minks are able, though unknown means, to produce electric shocks known as Electro. They can emit this from their bodies or through weapons, such as swords and spears. This could be what the space pirate is using in the picture above.

Thirdly, the Mink Tribe is heavily influenced by the moon. It is through a full moon that they are able to enter into their Sulong form. It would make sense, that they have a deep rooted connection to the moon itself.

Cyborg Theory / Steampunk Elements

One of the most glaring details regarding these space pirates outside of their animalistic appearance are the circular devices that are located throughout their bodies. At first I thought these were clocks, but upon further inspection they are definitely gauges (in the red).

Another instance where we see a similar design of a gauge is when Lindbergh, one of the commanders of the Revolutionary Army is introduced. The design is the exact same.

Ironically (or possibly further evidence of a connection?), he is a short cat Mink.

[Note: It is supposed that Lindbergh was named after Charles Lindbergh, a man who was famous for making a nonstop flight from New York to Paris.]

Just for some background (and by that, I mean what I found on the internet), mechanical gauges are instruments that measure pressure, dimensions, levels, etc. Pressure gauges are used for checking the pressure of steam. Aesthetically, pressure gauges are very popular in steampunk fashion, which is where Oda seems to pull from, visually, when drawing the members of the Revolutionary Army. For example, the goggles that all of the RA members where are a staple of steampunk fashion. Steampunk, according to Wikipedia is “retrofuturistic” that “incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery”. It is most commonly seen in science fiction. Science fiction usually deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts, one of the most popular being space exploration and extraterrestrial life.

Is it possible that Lindbergh is from space? Yeah, at this point, I think anything is possible.

I have seen some people theorize that the gauges indicates the space pirates are some form of robots, which is also very possible. But that would lead to the question: Who built them? (more on that below)

The Connection to Vegapunk and Future Stories

Okay, this is when things begin to rev up. During Enel’s backstory, we learn that the current Automata (Spacey) was created by a man named Professor Tsukimi. In fact, he refers to that memory as “the day when I was born on Karakuri Island” (Ch. 448, Cover Story).

The first thing that needs to be addressed is that Spacey makes it sound as if he and the other three Automata were created from scratch and not discovered and fixed (The fact that they are slightly larger than the Automata found in hibernation on the moon and lack wings could be proof of this fact). This would mean that Tsukimi would need to have a point of reference to base his creations from. Furthermore, he would had to have a knowledge of the history of the moon and its Automata. According to the history recorded on the walls of Birka, all of the Automata were left behind on the moon (something all parties seemed very sad about). There are really only three places he could have gotten this knowledge:

1.) Traveling to the moon and seeing the history on the walls himself / Knowing someone who did

2.) Being there to experience it himself

3.) Through visiting Skypiea or the ruins of Shandora himself / Knowing someone who traveled there

All of these are technically possible (especially knowing One Piece). However, if you take a closer look at Tsukimi, it might shed some light on the subject.

On his robe, he has a small picture of a cloud. In the world of One Piece, we usually connect that back to Skypiea. Therefore, I think we are supposed to make the assumption that this old man has some connection to Skypiea / Shandora. However, the question still remains: Where did he get this information? After Shandora was defeated during the Void Century, a lot of their own history seems lost to them. Enel appeared to be the only one who believed in “Fairy Vearth”s existence. Most of Jaya doesn’t even believe of Skypiea’s existence. I also think it should be noted, that it’s not like he could have heard a story and create creatures that are so similar to the ones on the moon (at least, not to the scale at which he did). That man must have gotten hold of some type of schematics or have had previous run ins with similar Automata.

Secondly, if you needed another reason as to why this man will most likely be important later on in the story, just take a look at where it says he was from: Karakuri Island. Sound familiar? It should, because not only is it the island that Franky was sent to during the timeskip, but it is also the home of the infamous Doctor Vegapunk.

Brief Pause for Timeline Speculation

Another interesting thing to point out is, we are given no reference to where in the timeline the events of the Automata’s flashback occurred. All we can say definitely is that it occurred before the events of Thriller Bark (since that is when these cover pages were published). However, it is possible that the weather could gives us some hints. We know that Vegapunk once tried to install an in-ground heating system for his kingdom. That, plus the images we get of the island when Franky lands there seems to confirm that it is a winter island. I suppose it’s possible that it’s only cold during some parts of the year, but then why go to all the trouble of trying to control the weather? No, I think it’s safe to say that Karakuri island is usually snowy and cold. However, the Karakuri island we see in the Automata’s flashback paints a very different picture. There doesn’t appear to be any snow on the ground, and the foliage is drastically different to the one we see during Franky’s time on the island.

You see what appears to be bamboo in the panel above and even sakura petals during the funeral scene. It is totally possible that since these were published so in advanced to Franky’s trip to the island, that Oda hadn’t made up his mind on the design of the island and that could explain the differences.

However, we do know that the space pirates were already excavating on the moon at this point, since one of their explosions is what killed Tsukimi. This would actually lean towards the occurrences of their flashback occurring closer to the current storyline. Because, how long would it really take for the space pirates to find the ruins of the ancient moon kingdom? Not hundreds of years.

Resuming Actual Theory

Vegapunk is a character shrouded in mystery. Truly, the amount of information we have on Vegapunk is barely enough to fill his wiki page. He has yet to make an appearance in the story himself, however we get our first look at him that really only consists of his upper torso. In addition, one of the G-5 Marines states that he is an "old man", suggesting he is at an elderly age (Ch. 658).

However, during Punk Hazard, during Caesar Clown’s flashback, we get this figure on the side of the page that is supposedly of Vegapunk. Interestingly enough, this was replaced in the anime with a more innocuous shot of his arm.

I remember that this panel caused a lot of discussion when it came out. Because, if what we are looking at is Vegapunks head, that has a lot of implications towards the plot. For starters, let’s take a look at the different sections and their proportions.

If this is, in fact, a silhouette of his head and not Oda just throwing us for a loop, then he has a noticeably large forehead. Now, if you’re thinking ‘that isn’t crazy for the world of One Piece’, you would be 100% correct. Besides, Tsukimi has a crazy shaped head as well and they’re both from the same island. So, why is this important? Because, we have other pieces of the puzzle that help form a larger picture.

A.)  Koby mentioned to Luffy that Dr. Vegapunk is at least 500 years ahead of current technology (Ch. 433) and we know from Franky’s time there, that Baldimore, the kingdom on Karakuri Island is known as the “future land” and that it specializes in advanced technology. It is unclear whether the kingdom earned that moniker due to Vegapunk’s infamy or whether it existed previously. Either way, it produced two geniuses (Vegapunk and Tsukimi).

B.)  Tsukimi was able to create 4 Automata to almost the exact likeness of the ones on the moon

C.)  Vegapunk has previously created animal cyborgs on Karakuri

D.)  Vegapunk’s large forehead, while not unusual in the world of One Piece bears a striking resemblance to the jolly roger of the Space Pirates

E.)  Many believe that the pressure gauges located across the Space Pirates bodies indicate that they are some type of cyborg (possible even based off of the monk race)

Is Vegapunk from space? Did he, during his travels as a young man, make the trip to the moon where he found the ruins of the ancient civilization and created cyborgs with the technology found there? No one but Oda knows. However, I will say this: I believe there are too many things connecting these stories together for them to be considered coincidences. These characters are related in some shape or form. Given the fact that this cover story ties directly back to Vegapunk we know that it’s going to be important, because we know that Vegapunk is important. If this side story is going to become pertinent later down the line, it is going to be through him.

[thekaijudude]

Ultraman Taiga November Scans

Part 1: The Important Revelations

So yeah, brace yourselves for this one

1. Imitation Ultraman Belial

So after managing to stop fanboying for an hour to try and think rationally, here he is

I mean I know I predicted Belial would return somehow, but not WITHIN the Taiga series itself wow

And considering that it's an imitation, I suppose Toregia got his hands on the Belial DNA where Alien Chibu got it from, the Villain Guild and basically 'cloned' Belial?

(Might need to stare at this scan longer in order to really determine whether the yellow on him is an eyesore)

But you really have to wonder where and how are they actually even getting the Belial DNA from, I suspect that there's something more than meets the eye here

Also considering that this Belial is most likely made from Belial's original cells, which contain Reiblood's spirit, could it be a catalyst for the True revival of Belial where he'll take control over this imitation body?

But oh yeah Zero is here to FedEx the Plasma Zero-let, too bad he's as dumb as everyone else as just comes by himself without reinforcements and picks a fight with Toregia no surprise

2. Taiga Final Boss

So here we see a breakdown of the Kaiju set to appear next, pretty standard lineup as we all previously already know

But hey...

WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK IS THAT

Thing looks like a fusion of Shin Godzilla and Maga-Tano-Orochi

What an absolute clusterfuck of a kaiju (in a good way)

And I don't think it's a surprise that it's probably Toregia's masterpiece cause what else can a evil blue ultra do

It's likely a fusion of the remaining kaiju rings that Toregia holds considering we don't see them being featured in subsequent episodes, so we're likely looking at a fusion of MK2 Galactron, Segmegel, Gigaderos and maybe even Goro Thunder depending on who's gonna get his ring after his defeat

But I would like to take it a step further and suggest that perhaps Toregia's own DNA is part of it considering that this kaiju (whose name is not yet translated) has some blue area which neither of the aforementioned proposed 4 kaiju have blue in their color scheme

Heck, Belial's DNA might even be part of it since Toregia apparently has it to create Imitation Belial

(Or maybe Toregia gets back the Hellberus and Night Fang rings to include in here as well)

But tbh, I think this is the true final boss for the series and the Q2 Catalog Leaks fooled us all (tho I expected something like this would happen) before either Toregia secretly scoots away for the next installment or pulls another fake death against Quattro Squad Blaster

AND I HOPE WE FINALLY GET A DX FIGURE

3. Clarification

Tho I think that the Imitation Belial and the new fusion kaiju are December Episodes as we pretty much already have the lineup for the November Episodes

Episode 18: Zetton & Bemular

Episode 19: Goro Thunder

Episode 20: Aribunta

Episode 21: Pandon

Episode 22: Giestron & Takkong

So if we follow the very first announcement of Taiga having 26 episodes (cause Ultrawiki then changed it to 25 and then recently to just 'TBA'), then we might be looking at a possible 2 back-to-back 2-epsiode arcs

With the Zero arriving in Episode 23 and ends on Toregia creating Imitation Belial

Episode 24 would likely include the Tri Squad and Zero taking on Imitation Belial and Toregia, which ends on Toregia creating that clusterfuck kaiju

Episode 25 will be the Tri Squad and Zero finishing off said clusterfuck kaiju

Episode 26 will likely be heavy on Toregia's backstory before he pulls his third fake death

But the key question to wonder about here is why would they featured the December stuff so heavily for the November Scans???

Something fishy is definitely going on

But hopefully we get a season 2 or at least more solid spin-off hints during this last leg

Anyways stay tuned for part 2 where it's basically stuff about episode 18-22