#Kuros Hybrid

[bunnyberrypies]

Dunmeshi Hybrid Au from an Rp I did! I love em.

[bittersweetresilience]

Adrien Agreste and Borderline Personality Disorder

DISCLAIMER: I've been a bit low on spoons this week, so I haven't gathered as much evidence as I probably could have. Also, I am but a humble student in clinical psychology. This is mainly a thought compilation for @moonieratty!

To introduce the topic, without going into it too much, personality is described by features and behavioral patterns, or traits, consistent across situations and across time. Personality disorders are therefore enduring patterns of highly maladaptive traits evaluated in personal and sociocultural context (Dozois, 2019, p. 290).

Like other disorders, personality disorders have diagnostic criteria. The DSM is used primarily for diagnosis in the US and Canada while the ICD is used more widely in Europe and other places. I'm more familiar with the DSM, but I've included a brief section on the ICD to be comprehensive. It ended up a bit longer than anticipated, so let's go below the cut. Warning for discussions of abuse, self harm, and suicide, and a brief mention of substance use.

Overview of Borderline Personality Disorder

BPD is prevalent in a small percentage of the population, about 1-2% by varying estimates, and is characterized by instability across domains of emotions, identity, interpersonal relationships, and behavior. Its onset is usually in late adolescence or early adulthood and symptoms may diminish with age, after one's thirties or forties, especially with therapeutic intervention. Along with ASPD, it has been the focus of a lot of clinical research; it is unfortunately associated with high rates of non-suicidal self-injury and suicide (APA, 2022, pp. 754–755; Dozois, 2019, pp. 308–309).

Etiological factors for BPD include both biological and environmental disturbances. Of note to our discussion is the heightened risk for BPD in cases of child abuse or neglect, as well as growing up with another family member with a serious mental health condition (NHS, 2022). It's been well established that Gabriel is emotionally neglectful if not outright abusive toward Adrien in multiple ways, so this is a clear risk factor. In addition, although I won't argue definitively for Gabriel having a psychological condition, he did keep Emilie's body in the basement, so there is clearly some kind of disturbance going on.

From a cognitive-behavioral perspective, Linehan argues that BPD stems from families who consistently invalidate childhood emotional experiences and "oversimplify the ease with which life's problems can be solved," which may cause children to learn to seek attention and communicate with others through emotional outbursts (Dozois, 2019, p. 297). This rings true for Adrien and Gabriel as well.

I have to apologize for my son, Ladybug, he's like his mother. Way too overly dramatic. (Jackady)

It doesn't seem like this is the first time Gabriel has thought this, and labeling an emotional reaction as being overly dramatic is very much invalidation of it. As for emotional outbursts, Adrien has had quite a few, mostly as Chat Noir. More on this later.

To round out this first section, attachment theory proposes a connection between poor parent-child attachments and BPD relationship difficulties. Specifically, maladaptive behavior in relationships may stem from childhood development of an anxious-ambivalent attachment style, where intense fears of abandonment interfere with a strong desire for intimacy (Dozois, 2019, p. 310). You can clearly see this in Chat Noir's relationship with Ladybug, and I'm sure other people have discussed Adrien's attachment style more in depth, but suffice to say I think this is an apt description.

Argument from DSM-5-TR

In the DSM, personality disorders are primarily diagnosed on a categorical model. There are a few general criteria which I won't be going into, but I will highlight that personality disorders are stable and pervasive, and would be diagnosed only if they were leading to significant distress or dysfunction. Adrien's mental state is not great, so the latter shouldn't be a problem, but this show does not always pay attention to consistency, so I'm going to be speculating some. Everything in this section is cited to the relevant DSM entry unless otherwise stated.

The DSM characterizes BPD with instability in relationships, self image, and affects, as well as marked impulsivity. It has no exclusion criteria, so BPD can be and frequently is comorbid with other disorders like mood disorders, PTSD, and ADHD. Of the below criteria, five need to be met in order for a diagnosis to be made.

Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment

Hey, where're you going? . . . So you're allowed to know her true identity, but I'm not? (Syren)

You're not really replacing me with a turtle, are you? (Anansi)

A lot of people have delved into Adrien's abandonment issues, which feature most prominently in his relationship with Ladybug. His fears of being replaced result in him seeking reassurance from Ladybug, and he can lash out if he does not receive the response he hopes for. Ladybug is his world, and he wants to be hers, so anything infringing on that feels to him like a threat of being abandoned, and he does not like it very much.

Impulsive behaviors like giving up his ring can be interpreted under this lens: he can avoid abandonment by doing the abandoning first. Then it will be him leaving, and not the other way around.

I also interpret Adrien's nightmare (Le Marchand de Sable) as being a fear of being alone as much as it is a fear of being trapped.

Unstable and intense interpersonal relationships alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation

We'll be united, more powerful and free. We'll defeat Hawk Moth, then we can both run away to an island! Far away from everything. We will live off nothing but fruits, and we will have a little pet hamster and we will name it— (Le Patineur)

I just can't do this anymore. I give up… on everything. Even you . . . If I become Chat Noir again, Ladybug will just end up rejecting me, over and over. (Kuro Neko)

Even though Adrien mostly keeps his head on straight regarding what he's owed and not owed by other people, his relationship with Ladybug is full of highs and lows. He thinks Ladybug is the most amazing girl, but this can recoil quickly into feeling as though Ladybug doesn't care about him enough or isn't meeting his needs.

Furthermore, he developed this idealization of Ladybug as a potential lover or caregiver at one of their first meetings (Cœur de Pierre), and continually sought to spend time together and share the intimate details of their secret identities early on. These are all common to individuals with BPD, as is the switch from idealization to feeling as if the other person "does not care enough, does not give enough, or is not 'there' enough." Ladybug is the only person Adrien consistently projects this instability and intensity on, which might be something interesting to explore.

Identity disturbance: unstable self image or sense of self

When I was a kid, I always wanted to be what my parents wanted me to be! (Exauceur)

But, does that mean Chat Noir is who I really am? Deep down inside? (Kuro Neko)

With all the secret identities, it isn't surprising that Adrien fits this criterion, but canon even explicitly draws a link between Adrien's unstable sense of self and his childhood experiences. He doesn't know who he is, and he distracts from this by being Chat Noir, only to struggle even more when he feels useless and underlooked as his hero self. His behavior shifts dramatically between trying to prove himself with grand gestures and refusing to participate or lashing out. There is definitely something to discuss on this front.

Impulsivity in at least two potentially self-damaging areas

Giving you some extra time . . . I trust you to bring me back, m'lady. (Gamer 2.0)

There are only two liars left in Paris and one of them knows the ultimate way to catch her attention . . . Crazy about you, m'lady. (Mensonge)

This is walking a thin line between impulsivity and suicidal behavior, which would be excluded from this criterion, but I'll list self sacrifice here because I can see an argument for Chat Noir's impulsive behaviors being out of love or the desire to be useful. There may still be some self injurious intent or euphoria, but Chat Noir does have faith in Ladybug to bring him back eventually. Nevertheless, this is impulsive and unhealthy. Chat Noir jumps too quickly to this option to have thought it through.

I can't think of another area, because Adrien isn't old enough for reckless driving, spending, substance use, or sex. This is also a kids' show. Just presenting these options for fanfiction writers out there.

Recurrent suicidal or self mutilating behavior, gestures, or threats

I... I don't know what to do! (Chat Blanc)

This is all our fault . . . Cataclysm. (Culpabysse)

By itself, what happened in Chat Blanc would not be solid evidence, as that was an unprecedentedly traumatic situation. Combined with Culpabysse, though, there is a strong case to be made for at least passive suicidality for this to be able to come up as an option.

You could also interpret the self sacrifice in this category. Suicidal behavior in individuals with BPD is often preempted by fears of rejection or abandonment, so an interesting analysis could be made on this front.

Affective instability due to marked reactivity of mood

He's still only thinking of himself! I just want this terrible day to be over and done with! I hate Christmas! (Pire Noël)

Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to make you so mad. I get it. You're sick of me . . . No one can help me, Kagami. (Glaciator 2)

Adrien's prolonged episodes of anger and despair reflect a high reactivity to emotional stressors, especially interpersonal ones. In general, he just doesn't feel very well unless something is actively bringing him joy. Most of his outbursts are brief, though, and I will discuss them as part of a later criterion.

Chronic feelings of emptiness

I'm not Adrien, so I wouldn't know if this is the case, but I can say he has experienced at least one depressive episode (Kuro Neko) and emptiness would not be unfamiliar. You can look at him and decide.

Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger

How was your amazing evening with your "friends"? . . . What do you think? (Glaciator)

Why not? No one'll know if I quit. No one'll care! (Syren)

A two-person plan?! There's only one two-person plan, and that's Ladybug and me! (Sentibulleur)

Give me a break, Miss "I can't even come up with a superhero name"! (Hack-San)

Anger in individuals with BPD can manifest as bitterness, sarcasm, or recurrent verbal outbursts, which Chat Noir absolutely exemplifies. These outbursts are often followed by feelings of shame or guilt and contribute to a feeling of being bad. Chat Noir apologizes after being harsh in Glaciator, and I wouldn't be surprised if he felt badly about the other times. Again, these outbursts are often precipitated by interpersonal fears and perceived threats of abandonment. Unlike other symptoms, this specific one tends to be unique to BPD.

Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociation

I cannot recall any evidence for this but headcanon away, my friends.

All in all, I think Adrien has a strong case for BPD presentation according to the DSM. Canon is not always consistent, but I think it presents an interesting and mostly coherent narrative for this lens. From this perspective, Adrien's behavior reflects a deep intolerance of being alone and a dependence on other people to define the self.

As a corollary, BPD behavioral patterns are frequently linked to self sabotage and self undermining right when a goal is about to be realized, which could manifest as dropping out of school right before graduating or ending a relationship when it seems to be going well. Food for thought. Individuals with BPD may also feel more secure with transitional objects like pets than with interpersonal relationships, which could reflect in Adrien's relationship with Plagg.

To add some subjective understanding to this clinical mumbo jumbo, I've added a source of genuine BPD experiences below (Mind, 2022).

Argument from ICD-11

With the release of the ICD-11, a dimensional model for diagnosis of personality disorders became the new standard. What this means is that individuals are no longer labeled as having 'histrionic' or 'dependent' or, indeed, 'borderline' personality disorders, but are rather assessed as having any form of personality disorder on a sliding scale of severity and with trait domain specifiers (Swales, 2022). To put it more simply, people are diagnosed only with a general personality disorder or personality difficulty which can be optionally specified as deviating on one of the personality traits in the Big Five model, which is well established in personality psychology.

This move has several benefits. Stigmatization related to particular personality disorders can be reduced, and differential diagnosis and comorbidity between personality disorders becomes irrelevant. However, people retain access to treatment and support. Evidence-based treatments like dialectical behavior therapy are particularly well established and crucial for BPD; for this pragmatic purpose, the ICD contains one additional specifier for borderline pattern personality disorder (Bach et al., 2022; Swales, 2022).

The DSM and ICD are designed to be compatible with each other in many ways, and in this case, the borderline specifier in the ICD is directly lifted from the criterion of the DSM (WHO, 2023, 6D11.5). Based on our previous discussion, Adrien would be equally qualified for a diagnosis in France. I would likely describe his personality disorder with moderate severity, where multiple areas of functioning are affected and self harming behaviors may be present, but not all areas or relationships may be equally impacted and traits are not as rigid and inflexible (WHO, 2023, 6D10.0–6D10.2).

Interestingly, the ICD includes three additional manifestations of borderline pattern which are optional and may vary across time (WHO, 2023, 6D11.5).

A view of the self as inadequate, bad, guilty, disgusting, and contemptible

An experience of the self as profoundly different and isolated from other people; a painful sense of alienation and pervasive loneliness

Proneness to rejection hypersensitivity; problems in establishing and maintaining appropriate levels of trust in relationships; frequent misinterpretation of social signals

I'm fascinated by the number of adjectives in here. I simplified very slightly, as I did with the DSM criteria, but I had to keep all these adjectives. Anyway, I won't elaborate for too many more paragraphs, so let's say sentimonster moment and leave it at that. I will spare you my mirrored Félix essay. For now.

Qualifications and Limitations

First of all, Adrien is a teenager. The distinguishing factor between a personality disorder and regular adolescent difficulties would be longevity and identity concerns beyond his developmental phase (APA, 2022, p. 758). Second of all, Adrien has a uniquely terrible home life and magical problems. Some of his behaviors could be normal considering his experiences and sociocultural context, and this matters when it comes to psychological evaluation. Take everything with a grain of salt!

More generally, the categorical model of the DSM has several issues, not to mention diagnostic issues related to culture, gender, and stigma. Some but not all of these issues are addressed by the dimensional model it includes in a later section, which shares theoretical foundations with the model of personality disorders in the ICD. Even so, issues remain. Diagnosis, access to treatment, and political statements are intrinsically linked in complex ways. I won't get into all of the nuances, but be safe, remember this is a fictional character, and keep an open mind.

REFERENCES:

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787

Bach, B., Kramer, U., Doering, S., di Giacomo, E., Hutsebaut, J., Kaera, A., De Panfilis, C., Schmahl, C., Swales, M., Taubner, S., & Renneberg, B. (2022). The ICD-11 classification of personality disorders: A European perspective on challenges and opportunities. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-022-00182-0

Dozois, D. J. A. (2019). Abnormal psychology: Perspectives (6th ed.). Pearson.

Mind. (2022, September). What does BPD feel like? https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/borderline-personality-disorder-bpd/experiences-of-bpd/

National Health Service. (2022, November 4). Causes - Borderline personality disorder. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/causes/

Swales, M. A. (2022). Personality disorder diagnoses in ICD-11: Transforming conceptualisations and practice. Clinical Psychology in Europe, 4(Special Issue). https://doi.org/10.32872/cpe.9635

World Health Organization. (2023). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems (11th ed.). https://icd.who.int/

[kurokrisps]

Holstaur Jack!! 🐮💙

(and yeah a farmer Jo too)

[formless-entity]

kuro and dragon cov

[beamer7thepoko]

Awww

Definitely am reblogging this.

And here's Kuro with his mate Vera, hearing and feeling the baby inside her womb.

(Sorry it took awhile, been doing stuffa and forgot to finish this one so here it is o3o)

.

Kuro by Me

Vera by @ladyabigail24

Photo Filter Versions

[yardsards]

something interesting about dungeon meshi's worldbuilding: the elf-tallman hybrids that we see are referred to as "half-elves" rather than "half-tallmen"

hell, they're oftentimes just called "elves" by other characters.

in the case of laios's party not knowing marcille was a half-elf, it's explained that they just didn't know she wasn't a full elf. which makes sense, none of them pay enough attention to that kind of thing, or know enough about elves to know that certain features like rounded ear tips are highly unusual for full-elves. 

but it's more interesting in the case of kabru's party. kabru, who is super observant and was also raised by elves, describes both marcille and fionil (who are both canonically half-elves) simply as "elves". kuro also simply identifies marcille's scent as "elf", despite half-elves probably having slightly different scents than full-elves.

and! even word-of-god type material casually lumps marcille and fionil in with elves, rather than lumping them in with tallmen or giving them their own half-elf category

is this a case of hyperdescent (or hypodescent, depending on if elves are thought of as higher or lower status than tallmen in a given culture)? is it just that half-elves tend to be more similar to elves than to tallmen in matters like lifespan?

of course, our sample size is literally 2 and we know so little about fionil, it's hard to know for sure or rule out other factors.

SIDENOTE:

what is this random character from the elf page's deal? their rounded ear tips definitely look like they're a half-elf, but their facial features and size and ear shape makes me think their other half is half-foot, rather than tallman (...or maybe they're just a kid, lol). the adventurer's bible does say that tallmen can have fertile offspring with half-foots, and we know that tallmen can have infertile offspring with elves. so it would kinda make sense if half-foots could have infertile offspring with elves too.

[subjectively-incorrect]

It's occurred to me that other people may want to make sense of my tagging system. So here's a guide.

Basic tags:

#ask and ye shall receive: An ask of mine, answered.

#hint: Information (usually about me) can be indirectly gleaned from this post.

#i see you: A "vague-post" about me.

#information gained: An ask directly giving me information on an individual.

#investigation request: An ask directing me to an individual to investigate.

#pre investigation: A post regarding an individual I have not yet investigated in any detail. This does not mean I ever will investigate this person.

#show yourself: "Anon hate".

#veritas revelatur: I am satisfied (for the time being) with the results of the investigation.

Individuals

Individuals I reference (regardless of investigation status) will be given a codename. Posts regarding them will have that codename as a tag.

#The Baron: @real-team-luster

#The Chosen: @aura-acolyte

#The Dog: @thatfailedpokemontrainer

#The Fox: @a-nickits-den

#The Gaul: @battle-subway-ghost

#The Hummingbird: @subjectively-incorrect

#The Hunter: @lumenflowered

#The Hybrid: @goldenrodchef

#The Lamb: @keoke03

#The Lunar: @bleeding-crescent

#The Rat King: @prof-snakewood

#The Revenant: @ariadosanon

#The Showman: Z on @jaimemes (posts viewable here)

#The Snake: @subzeroiceshard

#The Soulseeker: Shallahi of @shallahi-and-snowflake

#The Star: @wishmaker-astra

#The Surrogate: @prof-polaris

#The Tormented: @j0ht0-gh0sthunt3r

Projects

Investigations will take on a project name. These may refer to "projects" by other users.

#project: morelia viridis: Beedrill's project revealing information on himself, Sprite, and Kuro. Also the source of the codenames for those individuals.

#project: cognatus spiritus: Personal investigation into the user known as Z (posts viewable here).

#project: lenta caritate: Investigation into Blake's supposed assault of an ex-lover over a failed Pokemon trade.

#project: stultus aurum: Investigation into the possible unethical practices of Team Luster and its leader Darren Scintiller.

#project: ardeat gloria: Personal investigation into Lady Maria, including her past in another universe.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1113 - Initial Thoughts

It is time

One Piece is back again and the big announcement is almost underway. The Gorosei are circling though, much of the Straw Hats are cornered, will the revelation turn the tide?

Let's find out

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release too!

A chess-themed colour spread this time; Robin playing chess with the crew as chess pieces

Contrary to the message the King should not be the attacking piece but other than that I did find it funny that Usopp is a Bishop with a bow and arrow, this cleric does harm!

Also lil Chopper pawns!

Picking up where we left off, Markus Mars has been stopped in awe of a sight in Punk Records

The remains of Vegapunk's humungous brain, as big or maybe even bigger than a giant, kept in a pod and still working even after his death

Mars does wonder if this is more Vegapunk's true self, which I guess if it has his brain it's probably the main part that's biologically living

People around the world brace themselves though

Syrup Village! Kaya, Merry and the old Usopp Pirates get a cameo

Despite her wealth being enough for Kuro to plan a murder/retirement spree, they do not have a Video Den Den Mushi

Though it seems like it's more size than price, and Kaya is already keen to hear what Vegapunk is saying, given his role in the medical field

Also lil' Merry details on the Den Den Mushi

The Marines are monitoring it too

Laboon and Crocus cameo!

And we even get to go to Baldimore, birthplace of Vegapunk

Some dialogue from the group that found Franky during the separation too

'I heard he's turned himself into a ship now' XD because of the bounty poster, and the bad timeline SBS image maybe, though I still think we could in the future get a Sunny mecha

Also got Chopper's bird and medic island listening in

The tribespeople even know about Vegapunk, they call him a 'king of modern science'

Even despite the Garp and SWORD attack, some pirates from Fullalead are listening in - some still wanna fight each other though

Mars tries to stamp out the Den Den Mushi, but it's of course a fake! It shatters to reveal just another regular Den Den Mushi

Fooled again motherfucker!

Vegapunk does introductions once more but now everyone wants him to get on with it XD

For the most part the more obscure world shots seem somewhat familiar, I couldn't tell what the rainy place was but it could be Water 7, the other one looked a bit familiar, the Longarm place looks like to have Brook's old talent agents too

But this campfire one, a child is hushed back to sleep by their likely mother, they're in tipi tents, what's interesting is the other person there, almost like Oda's pulling something sneaky

Through their collective telepathy, Mars announces his failure, it was a decoy so they have no leads

They wonder what Vegapunk intends to say, fearing that he'll carry on what Clover started before he was silenced

Back to Sanji and he hears a woman's scream

Bonney is being targeted by V. Nusjuro, Franky standing between them but Sanji demands to be the white knight

He jumps off the sword to kick him in the jaw

By comparison V. Nusjuro is pretty damn huge

His body sets on fire - fitting to his Yokai lore - but then the horse's head comes out to bite Sanji

Lots of crackling of bones, I wonder if his Healing Factor is still a thing

As Oimo and Kashii tackle V. Nusjuro (about the same size as them), Vegapunk's broadcast begins, admitting to committing two grave sins

Bonney turns into a giant with her fruit to attack V. Nusjuro, who has returned to his hybrid form

Vegapunk's broadcast admits that he is likely to be executed, and that this broadcast would start when his heart has stopped

Sabaody reacts first, realising that this means Vegapunk is dead

Duval has trouble processing this, since the news said that he was a hostage for the Straw Hats

Caesar's also mad, he and Judge went through that whole cover story alliance for nothing, so now they can promptly fuck off

And Morgans is angry because Vegapunk is giving BIG NEWS without him like it's not in his name

Interestingly, Vegapunk is quick to state that his killers should not be portrayed as 'evil' - because they're looking pretty damn evil to me

It seems maybe this is because he expects Luffy to have been pinned as to blame for his death, though it could be scanlations saying 'him'

Saturn faces off with the Labophase group, demanding they move away

Saturn and Robin however recognize one another, Robin from his voice back in Ohara and Saturn by her image

Seems Saturn blames Akainu directly for Robin's escape, I mean he did blow up the hostage ship but still, there were more marines out there

He goes to attack Robin, so all the other Straw Hats go into protection mode

Brook cuts a few limbs, but worryingly Chopper blocked some with his Guard Point - those limbs are poisonous remember? Though it's impressive that he could suppress a claw that could go straight through Kuma

Nami also remembers that she can use Zeus to block attacks

Mars is still on recon, but his senses can't pick up any 'telepathic waves' - wonder if that's a Haki feat or something relative to the Gorosei's shared thoughts?

York is also having trouble figuring out where the Stella would've put it, since her position as a Celestial Dragon is on the line

Vegapunk's about to deliver his mission statement, which is putting the Gorosei into a panic

Mars considers blowing up the entire place, but Saturn and Warcury are weighing it against the possible losses; men, equipment, and any chance of recreating the Mother Flame

Wait. What?

"Our World...is going to sink into the ocean!"

Well you can't deny it: Global Warming is Real.

It's not just Water Seven and Aqua Laguna then, it's all going to sink, there's a lot of thematic consequences to that when you think about it.

Did the World Government ostracize the Fish-Men because of this? Knowing that they would inherit the world? Does this have any connection to Devil Fruits and why the Ocean really saps their strength? Did the ancient kingdom like Old Wano sink to the bottom of the sea?

It begets a lot of questions, in true Oda fashion.

The rest of the chapter was a lot more jam-packed than the last, even without Luffy. The carried tension of the announcement is followed by Saturn and V. Nusjuro's confrontations with the crew, giants and Bonney. As expected, Sanji took on V. Nusjuro, the hit didn't seem to do much in the long term as expected, though I kinda wish Franky also got a hit in but the extent of his own injuries is worth wondering.

I'm glad the Labophase crew are stepping up against Saturn, at least until the expected arrival of Zoro and Jinbe, but it does show their furthered growth versus Enies Lobby if they can successfully repel Saturn from Robin - her injury being validated by this scene, though I still wish we saw a flashback of the Straw Hats vs Seraphim and them uncovering York as the traitor.

Still it's bad PR from the Straw Hats either way, they're likely to be accused of killing Vegapunk, who was last deemed their hostage by the fake news machine (is Morgans still going to Egghead? I mean with Vivi with him we continue to tease a reunion), and while Punk Records still has a chance to live on this is definitely going to be something each crewmate will have to re-evaluate given the bigger picture. Still, that can come after getting off the island; Edison and the Sleeping Giant are still at play after all, Stussy still needs to release the barrier, it's looking more likely that we might finish up around 1120.

Still there has to be more to the announcement, if Vegapunk was waiting for a video display it means that there are visuals to corroborate his revelation - I wonder if the Gorosei are more open to this reveal coming out than what they expected with the Ancient Kingdom reveal they destroyed Ohara for? Like did Vegapunk dupe the WG into Buster Calling Egghead over a reveal they didn't care much for? He mentioned two grave sins too so there seems to be much more to his announcement than just the opening statement.

[ocmakerofcanada]

BNA OC!

Name: Hikari

Full Name: Hikari Nakiro Horner

Species: Merino Sheep Beastman 🐑

Personality MBTI Type: INFP

Age: 14

Height: 5'0" ( 152 cm )

Weight: 90 lbs ( 41 kg )

Birthday: March 19th

Zodiac: Pisces ♓️

Birthstone & Flower: Aquamarine & Daffodils

( English ) Voice Claim: Emily Neves ( Emi - The Ancient Magus' Bride )

( Japanese ) Voice Claim: Mikako Komatsu ( Akari Yukimura - Alderamin on the Sky )

Hikari is from the anime BNA: Brand New Animal, and she is a Beastman who transforms between a human and an animal. The animal she turns into is a Merino sheep. Hikari doesn’t have parents but she lives with her guardians, a cockerel beastman named Gem Horner, his wombat wife Melissa, their neighbour Shirou Ogami, a wolf beastman who is secretly Anima city’s god/hero the Silver Wolf, and Shirou’s pet crow Kuro who she befriends. She even becomes roommates with Michiru Kagemori, a human girl who became a beastman hybrid by having her dna blood mixed up after an accident.

Hikari is a little shy when she is first introduced, but opens up more once she gets befriended by Michiru. A secret that Hikari eventually realises is that she is actually the reincarnated soul of a beastman Shirou was friends once. A kid goat named Naki. Naki grew up in the ancient city of Nirvasyl and wanted to be a merchant just like Shirou. But everything changed when the war between humans and beastman began. Hikari has the powers of Naki within her, and she is just as powerful as Shirou when he transforms into the silver wolf, or when a beastman gets corrupted by the Nirvasyl syndrome. Which affected Naki in his last moments, but in his new reincarnation he gets much powerful once he reawakens within Hikari.

[sonicasura]

Question for the Rafflesia Woes here.

How would the rest of the Hoshina react to Soshiro's and Kafka's sutiation? Its not a everyday thing that you get the news that your son-in-law turns into almos 70 ft tall kaiju.

Also what about Skully and his sibilings? How would Soshiro's parents the fact that they are now grandparents to 6 ft tall human/kaiju hybrids? I bet it is most defently not the way they saw themself getting some grandkids from the pair.

I also feel like the kids aren't going to like their uncle Soichiro much.

Soshiro's family has met Kafka before. It was guaranteed to happen since the Hoshina clan have quite the amount of influence and gossip is easy to pick up. The only thing Soshiro's clan cares about involving the relationship was if Kafka can be a good husband or not. In other words, they approved of him.

You can imagine their reactions when they are informed about Kafka's incident. Some would say it was cruel irony for an in-law of Kaiju slayers to become the very creature they hunted. They're just relieved Kafka didn't lose his mind from the transformation and remained himself. Soshiro would severely be broken up if he had to mercy kill his lover.

As for Skully and his siblings, the Vice Captain pretty much got threatened with having the 'Talk' again. Kafka got a pass since he didn't know how deep the changes were to his kaiju body. Their son on the other hand didn't since one of the things a Hoshina must understand is Kaiju biology.

If he had, then the man would know that they are almost always intersex/hermaphrodite in nature. There's a reason why 'Accidents in the dark make children' is a saying. Soshiro's family didn't have much of an issue that their newest additions were half Kaiju. From what they were told, as long as the whelps were raised properly then there won't be any major problems in the future.

Skully, Kuro, and Haku are members of the Hoshina Clan. Also the whelps are definitely iffy about Uncle Soichiro. The man was quite the dick to their father during childhood so the kids will be protective of their smaller dad.

At most, Soichiro has been growled or ignored depending on the whelps' mood. He pretty much saw this coming, lol.

[hopeatiikeri]

Interview with Yoshihiro Takahashi (Anime magazine #133, 7 / 2023 )

Translator note: This is fan translation from Finnish to English. Please understand there might be some mistakes as English is not my first language, thank you! Please enjoy ♥ --------------

The companion of righteous dog warriors Interview with Yoshihiro Takahashi

Attention! Contains spoilers from the Ginga series!

Originally published in 1983-1987, Ginga Nagareboshi Gin also known as Silver Fang hardly needs to be introduced because Silver Fang and other Ginga-series have won the hearts of Finnish audience since the 80s, their creator Yoshihiro Takahashi is one of the most loved mangaka in Finland. At the end of last summer, Finnish fans were delighted to hear that Takahashi would visit Helsinki from 15th to 18h of September.

Japanese Yokote Masuda Manga Museum, which organized the visit, held an exhibition that presented the mangaka's original drawings from the series at the Kamppi, Muji store. Located in the city of Yokote, Akita Prefecture, the museum keeps the world's largest collection of Takahashi's original works. The mangaka himself is also from Akita, more specifically from a small village in Higashinaruse. During the exhibition, Takahashi met his fans at the autograph session. There was also reason to celebrate as the mangaka turned 70 during the visit. Silver Fang manga also turns 40 this year.

On Thursday, before the big autograph signing, Anime magazine got a rare opportunity to talk with Takahashi about his life - and of course about dogs. Mangaka joyfully met the representatives of Anime together with the museum director Oishi Takashi and founder of Komachi Consulting, Minako Lakso. Sangatsu Manga's editorial manager Antti Valkama acted as an interpreter.

In his career, Takahashi has created manga series on various topics, but the success of Silver Fang made him a true "dog mangaka". As one of the inspirations of his youth Takahashi mentions Kyuuta Ishikawa (1940-2018), who created dog and wolf mangas in the 60s and 70s. - Although Ishikawa drew the dogs much more realistically than I did. My dogs are a lot more expressive and cartoonish. Later, Takahashi met Ishikawa's assistant, Seiichi Ikeuchi, by chance. The two became friends through a shared hobby of golf, and Ikeuchi also draws especially golf-focused sports manga. Takahashi laughs that like Ishikawa, Ikeuchi tried to make a dog manga back in the day, but didn't succeed as well as he did with the golf manga.

Dogs have played a major role in Takahashi's stories as well as in everyday life. Different breeds and their the personalities have become familiar to him. From his youth, he fondly remembered the family's Akita mix named Kuro. Kuro (translated as Black) was Takahashi's brother-like partner. Akitas are considered challenging and difficult to approach, because they don't express their emotions as clearly as most other breeds. But Takahashi didn't have trouble understanding Kuro. - Once, I think I was 5 years old, a traveling shoe salesman came to our home. When the salesman stood in the hall, Kuro and I watched what he was doing. When the shopkeeper jokingly decided to grab me, Kuro growled at the man. Otherwise it didn't react to anything, but the child had to be protected. Takahashi learned from Kuro that important things to you should be protected. This is transmitted clearly in his works. During Takahashi's adulthood, the family has included, among other things, a Labrador retriever and a wolf-dog hybrid (mentioned to also have german shepherd and husky in their heritage) imported from the United States. In Finland, a hybrid between a dog and a wolf can not have more than 12.5% ​​wolf, but in Japan no dog breed or cross between dog and wolf is directly denied. Because Takahashi's hybrid arrived to Japan when it was two years old and well trained, there were no major difficulties in importation. They say the dog ran away sometimes, but in the end it always came back home.

When it comes to dogs in his works, Takahashi chooses a breed according to the personality of the character. In terms of stories, his favorite breed is the German Shepherd thanks to their sense of justice, but also their stubborn pride and edginess. Based on his long experience, writing male dogs is natural for him, but with productive female characters mangaka has difficulties. Besides Cross from Silver Fang and Lydia from Ginga Densetsu Weed (1999-2009, in Finland only known as Weed), female warriors are rare in the series. Timidly Takahashi says that he tries his best when it comes to female characters, although they are difficult to write. However, he is satisfied with Lydia thanks to character's multidimensionality.

In addition to challenging female characters, Takahashi has had to make difficult choices on character's fate. The death of the loved German Shepherd John was a difficult thing even for the mangaka. Readers especially give feedback when a character dies. Takahashi remembers an incident that happened when he visited Animecon in Kuopio in 2012. A fan who had just read about John's death in the Japanese manga came to the autograph session. According to Takahashi, the part in question was not yet published in Finland. John suffered a long and painful death in WEED. However, characteristically, John did not break mentally. Takahashi says the reader was angry that he killed John. - I then asked them if John's death wasn't just the right way for him. They then admitted that that was exactly how John would have wanted to die. Proud to the end. The violence of the Ginga series has attracted attention in Finland since Silver Fang arrived here in 1989 with four VHS parts. The publisher once tried to tone down Takahashi so that the series wouldn't become too much bloody. Takahashi suspects that the publishing house was probably afraid that they would get complaints of violence. Takahashi laughs that the story must have a good action. In the end, he heard no complaints from the publisher. - Readers perceive violence differently when it happens between animals than if the same would happen between people.

Regarding character deaths, Takahashi reveals that when he wrote Silver Fang, he wanted to kill all three of Kai brothers in one go. They were meant to die in the final battle between Ouu's dog army and the monster bear Akakabuto. But the publisher did not agree to this and in the end only the eldest brother Akatora experienced the bloody death. Despite the violence, Takahashi does not want his works to be, like many adult directed series, too attention catching, but there had to be some sort of moral limit. From this the works have been praised. Takahashi remembers meeting a Japanese older woman who had praised Silver Fang and stated that every student should read it.

Takahashi encapsulates the message of Ginga series to themes of justice and love. By love, he means more of companionship and caring. The themes of companionship and loyalty come up often In Takahashi's works. We asked if the history of Japan and bushidou perhaps inspired him. - In my hometown of Higashinaruse, there were stories about samurai and battles. I might have had them in the family, so I guess I have such ideas in the back of my mind. When thinking about the history of his home region, Takahashi remembers a memory from his childhood of the bear carcass he saw. In the countryside of Akita, it was common to display hunted bears for the whole village. One time the hunters had brought down a particularly large bear that was being kept displayed on the platform of a small truck. The sight of this huge beast remained permanently in the little boy's mind.

The nature of Japan's largest island, North Honshu, reminds Takahashi of Finnish nature. The mangaka thinks that the milieu that looks familiar and both cultural encounters with bears are part of the reason why the Ginga series have so many fans in Finland. Finnish readers' devotion to his works has made a great impression on Takahashi. The most ardent fans have even traveled Akita to see Takahashi's hometown. - I am taken and grateful that the Finnish readers have welcomed my manga so well. Thank you very much for your support.

Anime wishes 70-year-old Takahashi a long life and success. Mette Pesonen

[miramis248]

My Au - Updating, Introducing OC'S and plot divergence

Heh

Hey, how ya'll doing? It's been a while... My work schedule is unforgiving at the moment 🙃

So, i've been working on my Au for the past few weeks whenever I had the opportunity. It is inspired by multiple fanfictions that I've read, and here's how it's going so far:

Jake Sully

When Jake arrived, he was taken aback by how things were being run at Hells gate, lower Ranked workers were being overworked and underpaid, he also heard through the grape vine that many were being threatened and blackmailed into silence by superiors and SEC-OPS about shandy stuff that had been happening, such as the deviation of funds from the mining safety regulation programs towards more poaching equipment, weapons and bigger equipment for intensive mining, as well as lining the pockets of superior assets to the company, he was less than pleased, but what strengthen his resolve was watching how the scientists were being treated by Selfridge, he hates the guy, especially after the accident...

When Jake was in the Avatar for the first time, he had a "seizure", at least that's what the science guys told him, and his human body went into a comatose, almost dead like state, while his mind was stuck in the Avatar, most likely permanently...Selfridge immediately goes into self-preservation mode and tries to make excuses, half-assed apologies, and then just straight-up blames Jake

"You read the contract. You knew the risks. This is all on you."

Now Jake reeeeeeeally wants to screw this guy over, and hopefully find a way to help the other workers and scientists along the way as well, so he starts hatching a plan, he talks to Grace and promises her he'll help them "get out" if they want to, he's leaving, but that doesn't mean he'll leave them high and dry, Grace and the other scientists are apprehensive of the idea, but decide to give Jake a set of Comns for safety and updates on how well his plan will work out.

He stays for around 3 months, getting a feel for his new body, working out, preparing himself...a few days before leaving, Trudy came to him with a serious request. She overhead him speaking to Max and Grace and needed help for a friend. She promised to keep his escape plans a secret.

Trudy took him to a room, there he finds Paz Socorro, an exhauted looking woman, who begs for him to help her, she has an health condition that only seems to be getting worse and she has another problem, Spider...

Spider is born a hybrid, the first human baby on pandora, born with a kuro and faded stripes along his body, covered in light freckles with the cutest little nose and pointy ears, Jake is as shocked as he is smitten by the little guy...how that happened...Paz saw the fruit growing outside, and her cravings got the best of her, they supposedly weren't dangerous for humans... Paz tells him that she might not survive because the human resources and insurance assholes that work for Selfridge keep making excuses as not to help pay for the surgery or having it at all on base, Paz has a heart condition discovered during her pregnancy, without proper help she will get sicker and most likely die, but they rather take their chances and send her back to earth even though she could also die in cryo and Spider would be left parentless, she's also worried about her son, selfridge knows about Spiders "condition" and she scared of what might happen to him.

She begs Jake to take her son, he can breath pandoran air, so he'll be fine, Jake is a bit worried about this decision but Paz tells him this might be the only way to keep her baby safe, he can't say no to that little face,so he accepts and is surprised when Paz pull out official papers

(Paz "His father is a dangerous man, he refused to sign the birth certificate, but I need to be sure he can't get him through any loopholes"

Jake "You're...adoption papers!? Paz, are you sure? Isn't it better to make me like a babysitter guardian guy or whatever? I mean we just met, and you asking me to take your kid, you dont know me!..."

Paz "No, this needs to be ironclad, I need this to be official. He will never get his hands on my baby boy, and I KNOW enough Sully, I know you offered others help to get out, so here i am accepting on the behalf of my son"

Jake "Ok!...ok, just...Jesus..."

Paz "i might not see either of you again...with the way things are going for me..."

Jake "I will take care of him...i promise you this, this kid is gonna be the happiest little guy"

Paz "You better you dumbass, or my spirit will haunt your blue ass")

(SPIDER DESERVES ALL THE LOVE, HE IS BABY)

And so, with the help of Truddy, Jake steals a bunch of supplies, including weapons and ammo, Grace helps cover up for him during their trip to look for samples. From there, with little Spider hidden in his backpack, he slowly shys away into the forest where he starts their new journey...

Still working out how he'll end up stumbling into Omatikaya territory...

So far, I've also been working on some of my Human OC'S that will be relevant to the AU, like the Viperwolf Hunters, we now also have

Maya Aguillar

Maya is an Avatar Driver, she worked in the labs, delved into Bioengineering, making prosthetics for both human nd na'vi alike, along with other medical devices built with Unobtainium, her search was defunded however because Harding's poaching was more profitable and she didn't exactly have the power to protest this decision, with her research on hold, she was then given the job of outside maintenance on her base(she only met Harding and Mercer once when she arrived, she she was tranfered to a lab a bit far out from the main base), Maya was sick and tired of all the excuses for not being able to fund her research, the mistreatment by higher ups and just the overall work conditions, when news of Jake Sullys escape and disappearance got out, aswell as learning that many others started leaving too, including some old friends, she made a risky decision and bounced, she had knowledge of a long abandoned mobile link inside a mountains wall far way, she took a jeep, hid her avatar in it and waited for nightfall, then she was gone... But that just the beginning because what she didn't realise is that the mobile link is very close to the Aranahe Clan, who didn't take long to notice their new neighbour...

(Had the time to doodle her)

John Maverick

Basically, it's a cowboy that came to Pandora, and now drives an Avatar.

Veterinary, big and small port animals, Pandoran Fauna and Flora enthusiast/expert, he was on animal care in a projet to study Pandoran animals, had to restrain himself from finding and strangling both Harding and Mercer after seeing the conditions in which the animals were being kept...he found a way to leave, as a human first, then busting open the gates on the back of an angstik he named Bluebell (like the cow he raised back home has a kid, his best friend), middle fingers up for the cameras with more than 15 heads of Catle and three funny and charismatic Pa'li that love to nip his ears... this man disapears, he finds a place(thank god thes people just abandon mobile links everywhere) where he can safely use the link unit, now he roams the plains with his herd of animals, he keeps them happy and safe, totally decked out in Cowboy fashion, hat and all (I imagine this man looping a rope on one of the bulls because they panic or something, throws himself on top of them rodeo style, lets them tire out and then just spends time sitting there calming this huge creature down with pats on their back and treats till the convince them to join the herd again) he's living his best life...in Zeswa lands...guess he thought the kites where just pretty decorations...(still working on drawing him)

That's it for now, but I'm still working in these OC'S, I'll don't more indept backgrounds for them later on.

There's also my concept of humans adapting to Pandora with Eywa's help. Basically, the Great Mother is loving and mischievous, and she'll use her children to guide these humans who long for a new life, for example, my take on humans being able to breath and eat and LIVE on Pandora will be because she'll use her Atokirina, or maybe animals to guide humans to flowers, moss or fungi, that when exposed to without a mask, changes their biology. Maybe they fall and break their mask and breath in spores or polen, maybe the animal suddenly pulls the mask from their face(A human guided by this nice, cute Syaksyuk getting their mask ripped of and face shoved into a flower) and then boom, they breath and eat from Pandora with no trouble!

Eywa will take to making humans See and learn, but also learn from them and adapt, so that everyone is happy 😊

There, that my Au so far, see ya'll later!

[kurokrisps]

🦋 Butterfly Hybrid Jack 🦋

He's a monarch.

[mizu-chin]

Sarcasm and Love "Coexistence"

*English is not my first language, sorry for any mistakes*

The morning was cold and foggy when S/N, Rin, and Shiemi were summoned for a practical exercise in the forest near True Cross Academy. The mission was to exorcise a Leaper, a demonic creature known for its aggressive and unpredictable nature. The group, led by Yukio Okumura, was prepared to face the challenge, though the members' confidence varied considerably.

Rin, with his usual enthusiasm, was ready for action, while Shiemi showed clear signs of nervousness. S/N, on the other hand, maintained her usual disinterested look, although her golden eyes were watching everything intently.

The Leaper appeared suddenly, its quick and erratic movements making it difficult to approach. Rin advanced with his Kurikara, the demon sword, but was quickly sidestepped by the creature’s agility. Shiemi tried to use her Tamer powers to control the situation, but her insecurity resulted in weak commands that the creature easily ignored.

Observing the scene, S/N sighed internally, silently disapproving of Shiemi’s weakness. With a quick and calculated move, she channeled her draconic abilities, generating an intense flame that enveloped the Leaper. In a matter of seconds, the creature was incinerated, leaving only ashes in the air. Rin looked at her with admiration, while Shiemi, embarrassed, averted her gaze.

S/N's impressive performance did not go unnoticed by Rin. He was already intrigued by her enigmatic personality, but now his interest began to evolve into something deeper, though he was not yet fully aware of it.

A few days later, a surprising decision was announced by the academy’s principal. S/N would be transferred to the same building where the Okumura brothers resided. The official reason was to observe how a human-dragon hybrid like S/N and the son of Satan with a human, like Rin, would react living under the same roof.

Rin and Yukio were initially perplexed but accepted the decision, while S/N remained indifferent, accepting the change with a shrug.

The initial adaptation was smooth. S/N maintained her reclusive behavior, spending most of her time in her room or in the gardens, avoiding unnecessary interactions. Yukio, with his usual rigor, observed closely, while Rin couldn’t hide his growing curiosity.

One morning, while Rin was preparing for another day of training, he descended the stairs and found an unexpected scene in the living room. S/N was sitting on the sofa, calmly petting Kuro, Rin’s demon cat familiar. The small feline purred happily, its eyes half-closed in contentment.

Rin paused at the door, surprised. It was the first time he had seen S/N smile, even if it was a small and almost imperceptible smile. Seeing her showing a moment of genuine tenderness and tranquility made something tighten in his chest in an unfamiliar way. He stood there, absorbing the scene.

"Good morning, Rin," S/N said without taking her eyes off Kuro, as if she had known he was there the whole time.

"Good morning," Rin replied, trying not to look too astonished. He slowly approached, sitting next to her. "Do you like cats?"

S/N shrugged, still petting Kuro. "They’re honest. They don’t pretend to be something they’re not."

Rin pondered this response, realizing that it revealed more about S/N than any conversation they had had before. The forced coexistence was beginning to bring out aspects of her personality that had previously been hidden, and Rin couldn’t help but feel increasingly fascinated by this enigmatic hybrid.

[sucrows]

I’m in such a mating cycle/animal instincts mood so a tierlist of that seems fitting. what animal hybrids would the cast be? -rei

so many of these characters could fit as so many different things but fuck it these are what i'm running with

(elaboration under cut)

Anzu would make a really cute fluffy lionhead type bunny or a wool breed. Eichi is probably some kind of purebred rex, super soft ears and calm. Leo reminds me of one of those really emotive rabbits that will thump at you for something entirely minor, then start binkying around all over the place for some other random reason. Makoto is your average white rabbit. Nazuna is just your standard dwarf rabbit, cute but nothing wild. Wataru might secretly be a hare. Mayoi is a lop, he's also the most prone to die on the spot from stress smh.

As cats... HiMERU is a very calm, but not very affectionate cat with very sleek fur. Ibara seems very affectionate but then bites you if you try to pet him too much, also has really coarse fur. Jun is the rare type of cat that's okay with literally anything. Keito is aloof, but not mean if sought out and doesn't run away. Natsume thwacks things he doesn't like away from him (including other people). Mika has a few people who he allows to pet him, and runs away from anyone else.

If i had to put the dog people to breeds: Arashi as a standard poodle with flashy looks and a lot of energy. Chiaki honestly makes me think of a shepherd breed, hardworking and loyal. While I could call Koga a corgi for the meme of it, I think he's actually more like some kind of high-strung spitz. Subaru reminds me of a heeler. Mao is def a kind of collie who is super hard working and gets anxious if he has nothing to do. Tatsumi is like a LGD to me (think great pyreneese), calm and chill but not a push over at all. Niki is a sighthound mix because he's so weird bless. Tsumugi is dependable, calm person that reminds me of a newfoundland (also fluffy)

Hiyori is a lovebird! So sweet, but also bratty. Hokuto is smart, but also weird, he's a magpie. Izumi is a peacock, showy to his own detriment. Have you ever seen fancy pigeons? Shu is one of the ones with the really dramatic trails and pulled back heads. Souma makes me think of a really inquisitive ringneck or a songbird. Yuzuru is a hawk! totally tethered and accustomed to society, but a hawk nonetheless.

With how regal and intimidating he is, Nagisa's gotta be some kind of big catboy. A white lion or tiger feels most fitting. Adonis was a struggle to place but I think being a bear suits him well. Cop out answer for Kanata would be to just call him a fish, but I think calling him a capybara is fitting. So i also struggled a bit with Kuro but ultimately, I want to call him wolf. Can you even be surprised if i call Madara a cowboy? No you can't. Ritsu and Rei are already vampires, might as well be batboys. Rinne is a crafty, scheming little shit, he's totally a fox.

god this took too much brainpower to type out