So I spoke somewhat about my thoughts on Emanator Sampo here, but I never really thought of it from a design point of view or what kind of powers he would have until just recently. But I actually kind of love leaning into it from a "stage hand" perspective?
Because like. Aha's body in THEIR official art is completely black, giving attention to all the fun brightly colored things around THEM. And that's so fitting for Sampo! He usually prefers to be a side character. He likes to act from the shadows. His is a much more subtle hand.
So I wonder if as an Emanator, a lot of his clothes are actually very dark? Not necessarily plain, still extravagant and needlessly detailed in things like cut and quality with lots of different fabrics and textures and ornamentation, but dark. Or maybe even his skin itself becomes blackened further down his body; his hands in particular are dark, as a sort of sleight of hand reference.
The motif of a lot of straps wrapped around him like in his canon design is still present, but they're all loose and flowing off of him like paper streamers now instead of restraining him or holding him together. He is no longer contained! Or maybe they're still a bit more rigid/heavy, but just draped more like red stage curtains!
And this is like. Fully self-indulgent, but I love inhuman designs, and there's nothing in canon to say I can't do this, so screw it! Go for broke!! Maybe it's not visible to normal people, but Sampo having a second set of arms would be really cool, as further sleight of hand reference. One set is almost normal looking, but his hands are a bright, attention-drawing white, and the other is dark, set almost in the shadows of the first arms, to act less noticeably.
He also has something of a broken heart design to him in canon (the front of his black shirt with its jagged shape down the middle; his coat looks like a full heart shape in the back), and I actually like him keeping that element as an Emanator, because I think it suits him. Sampo says his taste in aesthetics and views on Elation involve human dignity,
and the story he helps create in Belobog involves the long and winding road of resistance and survival and eventual triumph in the face of some very adverse, oppressing odds. (I'm pretty sure I heard he once called Wildfire "artless" though, plus the man acts like he thinks Shame is some kind of dessert, so like ndkdjzjskkd) But the point being!!
I think Sampo is someone who can appreciate heartbreak and angst and tragedy in a story, because it makes the victory at the end all the sweeter. And this would be another thing he shares with Aha, because I think THEY did bless the Mourning Actors partly just to be a little shit, but also because Aha does recognize tragedy as part of THEIR Path, too, and you can see it in some of the game. So a broken heart motif can still suit him, and I like him having elements of both comedy and tragedy. Like his clothing having a happy sun/sad moon (like the moon in Aha's art) or him having both of the traditional comedy/tragedy masks in his design.
And as Emanator, Sampo can maybe play with the stage settings environment, too. Like lights sometimes behave strangely around him, appearing blindingly bright to someone or dramatically dark. Sampo wills it and suddenly there seems to be a metaphorical spotlight right where he wants everyone to look. And when he doesn't want to be noticed, his face seems to be cast in shadow, he seemingly just fades into the background, no one notices or recognizes him and he sneaks away easily. He can create smoke or fog literally out of thin air without his bombs now, too, the air will just suddenly thicken until his stage is obscured, and Sampo can set the scene as he pleases or disappear without a trace.
And in line with being a stage hand, Sampo can direct attention like no other. He was already extremely good at this as a normal mortal, and becoming an Emanator only took it up to 11, past human limits. Sampo points, and all present feel compelled to follow his fingertip. He looks away, and they all follow his gaze. He can even affect the mood of an audience; he can influence everyone to be calm and placid or he can whip them into a feverish frenzy. Sometimes a crowd will start to become unsettled, agitation stirring until it boils over, until it incites a full on violent mob.
And in the middle of all that chaos will stand one perfectly calm figure, face cast in shadow, until they quietly slip away out of sight.
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I feel like the main reason this evil shanks theory is so prevalent (besides the private meeting the the gorsei which up even I can’t explain) is that his general cheeriness and lackadaisical disposition is more of a presented front, a mask to be slipped on and off at will which would be fine if he weren’t often put in the same boat as Roger and Luffy two people ( for as much as we know about roger) who have no masks at all.
Don’t get me wrong I’m pretty sure that Shanks is a naturally happy, good natured dude but he’s also the most politically minded pirate we have seen on the show (and some of these pirates were actual politicians) like I’m pretty sure Roger is more mature and secretive than Luffy ( makes sense he’s older and has seen more of the world) but with both of them you never get the sense that their silliness is something they are putting on for the direct purpose of making themselves less of a threat. They both can get serious when the situation calls for it but that feels more of an extension of their already established personality more than a hidden personality.
While with shanks it’s undeniable that something changed within him and his goals the day Roger died I don’t know if Roger actually told him something or if he just wasn’t dealing with the abandonment well it was probably a mix of both honestly. But yeah Shanks comes off as a guy with his ear to the ground someone who has schemes on schemes on schemes. he’s someone playing in the long run, kind of like crocodile but not nefarious. And when compared with a straight forward head first always kinda guy like Luffy, like he often is, he can come off a little suspicious.
There’s something that’s a little fake about his cheer, something a little too performative about his optimism and foolishness. I think it’s a mix of; he’s housing a deep sadness, he’s more of a realist that an optimist and also dudes just a pacifist unlike like luffy who loves to brawl ( like luffy knows when it’s better not to fight but he also loves a good fight) and he would rather deescalate a situation than fight it out and sometimes the easiest way to do that is with an air of cluelessness and making yourself seem less of a threat which makes it so much more jarring but effective when he reveals just how big a threat he is. but I can see why people think it’s suspicious.
(Interestingly even when luffy tries to emulate this behavior like when he first encountered Bellamy at the pub his plan is to just not react which while in the same vain is very different than Shanks actively playing the drunken good natured take it on the chin role for the bandits Luffy was still essentially himself he just refused to react while Shanks played a role which made it more terrifying and effective when he stopped)
Also it doesn’t help that until recently he’s largely been missing from the narrative with just a man echoing or a whisper here or there of how powerful he is.
But I think we should remember that Shank’s goal is essentially world peace. and peace, a true lasting peace, is just a little more of a precarious balancing act, than utmost freedom. For freedom you have to destroy the old game, for peace you have to learn to play a new one, hopefully with a bit more kindness injected into the foundation.
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Hey, Jake & Jack fans, is this anything?
Both men imprisoned (literal & metaphorical).
Both offered an out from their current predicament by an outside force (arguably in the case of Brain Ghost Dirk).
Both have loose ties to Lord English visually.
Yellow initial glow & Gamzee involvement too.
Sometimes a guy just needs to explode (same pose too).
Both dual wielding weapons.
That same said weapon type (for Jack Noir) having killed Jane Crocker.
It's really looking like Jake is going to do her in.
I would also like to point out that we've had interactions involving these three (Jane, Jake, and Brain Ghost Dirk) before that consisted of similar topics & themes.
Brain Ghost Dirk implying that he's just there as moral support, a manifestation of Jake's powers, and as a coping mechanism. Jane also talking about ruling an empire with him while talking down to him, similar to how she saw and/or still sees him in Beyond Canon's Candy timeline. Jake also being uncertain about doing anything to harm her despite all the bad things she's doing.
Brain Ghost Dirk going away tells us that Jake's more hopeful than he's ever been. This is the moment where he is the most sure of his decisions than he's ever been in his life, whatever those decisions may be in regards to Jane and how to handle this situation.
He is probably going to shoot Jane down, quite literally. I would also argue that after all this time, the lad isn't beating the Lord English allegations. We might as well have a parallel of him killing Jane much like how Jack Noir killed her right before he got possessed by Lil Cal & given some of Lord English's immense power.
Alternatively maybe we'll get to see what the power of hope or hope bullets can do to someone whose done so much wrong & come so far off the deep end in terms of moral wrongdoings. Maybe with every shot that hits her, she'll begin to be swayed to the side of good & start to self-reflect.
I'm still not fully convinced that Gamzee actually cured Tavros' peanut allergy, I mean just look at the panel.
This could absolutely be interpreted as Jake injecting his hope power into the epipen and by proxy injecting both his power & the epipen into his son! If younger Jake is strong enough to defeat Grimbark Jade, then adult Jake might just be strong enough to defeat a peanut allergy is all I'm saying! In fact, now that I'm rambling about it, this seems like the more likely outcome is Jake's hope power swaying or (in the very least) confusing Jane mid-fight. Hope bullets, they would look cool & would be pretty strong!
The power of believing in others & wanting things to change can be a strong tool indeed, Mister English.
If there's one person who still believes in changing Jane's mind (or bringing her back to proper canonicity depending on how you interpret the recent lore), it would be Jake English, the believer.
Okay, maybe this is something! Tally ho!
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Dating Headcanons for Himiko Toga
Request: Could you possibly write headcanons for Toga with a fem civilian s/o?
A/N: I love her design so much!! I love her fangs and bangs and her eyes!! She’s so cute!!
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Himiko loves with her entire being. She never meant it to be twisted or malicious, but certain upbringings and repression has made it out to be so. Having her as a partner is a dangerous one, she’s a villain- a young one at that. She is unstable, but she never means for her own obsession to hurt you with malicious intent. She can’t control it, she loves too much- too wholeheartedly.
Perhaps she has a type looking at her past two most obvious crushes. She likes to think that she doesn’t- that she loves people and all that they are, but she likes convictions. That’s what attracted her to the young two promising heroes, how far they were willing to go for the other, but you aren’t a hero. You’re a civilian, and it's been a long time since she actually liked anyone like you. But she becomes lovestruck when she sees how kind you are.
There’s a panic around the area caused by her and the others- people push past one another and somehow she’s been caught in the middle of it, pushed to the ground where her bare knees become scraped. The crowd disperses as soon as she's in the ground, and she’s not astanger to scrapes and cuts, but the knee injury hurts just a bit too much, and any pressure on her ankle makes her think that she might have twisted it. She’s taken in a sharp breath, ready to brace herself and move forward when a hand is held out in front of her. You must know who she is, when you hold out your hand to her when she’s fallen, there’s no doubt that even with her attire, there has to be some common sense in your head telling you to run the other way. Instead of doing the most logical option, you help her up, and hold her hand in yours for just a moment too long, until you pull away and mumble an apology, running the other, leaving her in the middle of the desolate plaza, with her heart beating against her chest. Late at night, she lays awake thinking of you, fisting the hand that you held and covering it protectively with her free hand.
She wishes that it were more of a challenge to find you- you’re too predictable, too easy and unaware of your surroundings, especially after an attack where you happened to be at. Fortunately for her, you walk home alone for a few blocks and that’s when she makes herself known, grabbing at your hand, and pulling you close to her. You’re startled, but not scared, and you let her lead you into an alleyway where you certainly don’t belong. She’s infatuated. Lovestruck. Obsessed. You aren’t scared of her. You’re letting her hold your hand. She already knows you’re kindhearted. She knows your name. She knows your schedule. She introduces herself, and when you reply back with your own name, she wraps her arms around you, already giving you a nickname, one dripped in sugar and everything nice.
There’s only so many places the two of you can be together without raising suspicions, and your family has already started to wonder why you keep going to the playground at night, so that location has to be shelved until further notice. Other than that, you often go wherever she leads you to which happens to be the current location of the League hideout. They didn’t take too kindly to you at first- Twice, or Jin- being the most harsh in wanting to keep you out of any type of League affairs. You later learn that he and Himiko have a rather close relationship, so you understand the brash behavior and reservations that he may have about you. The both of you usually meet up together after school. While you do your homework, she likes to peer over your shoulder and help with whatever she can. When you have passages to read, you like to read them outloud to her. She’s always happy when she gets to hear you read to her no matter how boring the story may be because she can rest her head on your shoulder.
No matter how sweet she can be, she’s still obsessive. Her questions always start off innocent enough- how did your day go? What did you learn? How was gym class? Who were you with during lunch? You’re not getting bothered are you? Is that teacher still giving you a hard time about your grades? She needs to know how your day went, and when she doesn’t know, that has her worrying her bottom lip. She cares too strongly, loves too fiercely. When she notices that you’ve had a particularly draining day, she holds off on the questions, instead taking you into her arms and resting her cheek over the top of your head.
It comes to no surprise that she’s an affectionate person. She loves to have her hand on you in some type of way. Your hand will be in hers, and she;ll press her palm against yours, comparing the size and slowly intertwine your hand with hers. Whenever you do your homework there at the hideout, she sits next to you, mumbling about how she always hated homework, and what subject she was the worst at. Sometimes, she’ll get a forlorn look in her eyes, and when she realizes that you;ve been staring at her, she’ll press her lips against your cheek and rest her head on your lap, asking you to read her the chapter of the day.
The rest of the League- once they get used to you and agree with each other that you probably won’t rat them out- do they actually tease the young member. It did take a while for the rest of the League to become comfortable with you and while you won’t admit it to your partner, you’re positive that they each gave you their own version of a shovel talk. During the threats, a part of you thinks that it’s nice that she found a family within them, how they all care for each other without actively saying it. Most of them didn’t even actually have a full conversation with you, only showcasing their quirks in front of you and you quickly understood that that was a threat.
With her quirk, she feels the need to have to suck on blood. And being around you can be a struggle. There has to be restraint, especially since she doesn’t want to scare you away from her. There’s been a handful of times where you’ve gotten a cut in front of her, and each and every time, she watched you with unblinking eyes. The scent of iron is thick in the air no matter how little the cut was, and there’s a heavy flush that reddens her face. She hardly makes a sound, and it reminds you of a predator watching their prey, with how her pupils dilate and how silently she moves. She leaves the room for a few minutes and returns as if nothing has happened, asking you if you’re okay and giving the bandaged wound a kiss.
Whether you give her a taste of your blood or not, she understands both decisions and she doesn’t press. She won’t ask for a drop of your blood. She’s loyal to you, and she just likes to be around you- more than she would have ever realized. If you were to offer your blood to drink to Himiko, she takes it as a great show of your relationship with her. She’ll take your arm and ask how you would like to do it. She could give you a little cut, or bite down, or press her needle into the soft of your elbow- whatever it is that you choose, she’s fine with that fact. Either way, she takes your hand in hers, twisting it around and kissing at every inch of skin that she can, mumbling how she's thankful for having met you. There’s still red beads of scarlet that prick from your skin, and watching you, she swipes the tip of her tongue across the wound, pressing a kiss into it and mumbling how she has to clean you up now. There’s a lovely look in her eyes when she glances up to you, her pink dusted in pink, and only deepening when you kiss her.
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