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rendy-a · 3 months ago

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Meant to Be

Someone liked this old post I reblogged from @writingforatwistedworld today and it brought this writing prompt back to my attention. This was such a cool idea, and since Veil has chosen not to write it, I thought I’d visit the idea with my own spin.

Confusion was the only thought you were able to summon in your head. You remembered lights and sounds. Honking maybe? And now you were just barely conscious of lying on the ground with your head spinning. What exactly happened?

Your head feels like it is splitting but somehow voices are beginning to come though. “Coach, I think they are waking up!” a black-haired boy says as he kneels beside you, hovering over you protectively. Were you at school? You can’t remember. Nor can you immediately place the boy who is so concerned about you. He is speaking to you but it’s too hard to focus. All you can do is notice the guilty look in his eyes and wonder what he did. Suddenly, he stops speaking and looks across your body towards the field beside you. You turn your head curiously and follow his gaze to see a red-haired boy running towards you at top speed. Something about this tickles your memory. You look again at the black-haired boy and notice a strange marking you hadn’t been able to bring into focus before. It looked like a spade from a playing card. Then you looked back at the boy coming closer and closer to your location. Suddenly, you had it. It was impossible, yet you couldn’t shake the feeling that you’d miraculously transported yourself into one of your favorite phone games; Twisted Wonderland.

As sort of a test, you hesitantly spoke, “Deuce?” The black-haired boy, Deuce, looks at you and you think him on the edge of tears. “Thank Sevens!” he whispers as rubs your arm comfortingly. The red-haired boy slides the last distance to reach your side in an anxious kneel. “Ace?” you confirm groggily. Ace looks at you with what you feel is fear in his eyes, and when he speaks, it is towards Deuce. “Just what were you thinking? You know the Prefect doesn’t have magic!” Deuce looks away, it is certainly guilt on his face. “I didn’t mean to throw it that hard.” Ace scowls at Deuce and shouts, “Well you did and see what a mess you’ve made!” You force yourself to a sitting position and wave Ace down. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” Then, still feeling a bit woozy, you amend, “Well, I think I’m GOING to be fine.”

Ace looks at you with concern and says, “I’m taking you to the nurse’s office. Right now.” Deuce intervenes, “I’ll do it. It was my fault for throwing that disk so hard.” Ace appears ready to retort angrily, so you wave them both away. “I’ll go myself. Or you can both come with. We’re all buddies here, right?” You watch them cautiously to confirm that this is the case. After all, you weren’t pulled into a game every day. Who knows what might be different. Deuce answers you right away in a relieved affirmative while Ace only frowns mildly. “Ok, but if you feel bad at all, I’m carrying you. No complaints.” You give him a shaky smile and let them guide you to the nurse’s office.

It’s a little embarrassing, but there is so much that you don’t know about Night Raven College, that you end up claiming selective amnesia from the impact. Your professors appear suspicious, but no one can offer an alternative reason for why you’ve forgotten so many simple things, like the layout of the school, while retaining such vivid memories of other experiences, like Riddle’s overbot incident. So ultimately, they accept this odd explanation from you and assign your friends Ace and Deuce to once again play your guide at NRC. The cast slowly re-introduce themselves to you. Some find it remarkable and others unbelievable. Idia finds it amusing, “Khee he he. This is just like the plot of the manga Ramen Shop Summer where the protagonist gets in an accident in gym and forgets their crush! But then they end up working together over the summer in a ramen shop, and Boom Badda Bing, romance!” Then he shyly adds, “Maybe you’ll have your own summertime romance. All the tropes are right for it.” You chuckle with him but privately think, ‘If only you knew.’

A few days later at lunch, you were sitting at a table and rubbing your bandaged head softly while eating the sad sandwich you’d been able to cobble together with the junk in the fridge back at Ramshackle when your friends slam a plate down on either side of you, “Here Prefect, eat this,” and “I got something special for you,” come out of their mouths at the same time. You look up at them surprised. Deuce looks at your hand on your head and adds in a soft voice, “I feel bad for what I did so I thought this would help make up for it.” Ace scoffs and interjects, “I know what the Prefect likes best. Don’t worry about it and let them eat mine.” You look at Ace’s plate and somehow, he is right, he has gathered one of your favorites to eat. “Actually, this looks pretty good.” Then you turn and reassure Deuce, “I appreciate the offer too, but you don’t have to feel bad. I know it was an accident.” They both seem happy at the outcome, and you enjoy a nice lunch.

As you are leaving the lunchroom, you pass a floating tablet (Idia you know), and it surprisingly speaks to you. “It’s just like my manga,” Idia comments. You turn and look at the tablet quizzically and it prompts him to continue, “If this was a story, that would be a flag event between the Male Lead and Second Male Lead for your affection.” You stumble over your reply, “But..but it isn’t a manga.” The unsettling, “Kwee he he,” that emerges follows you all the way to your next special lesson.

You were used to thinking of special lessons as when Crowley randomly shows up to class and everyone suddenly finds the motivation to pay attention, but apparently, this was a Very Special Lesson that they wouldn’t give the students any prior details on. The older students seemed to know what it was about as the first year’s had gotten several secretive smiles and leading comments. Rook passes you right before you enter and remarks with an expression both sly and amused, “It is a fine day for fate, is it not Prefect?” You look at him puzzled as he continues past you to class, and you shrug as you enter the room and sit beside your friends. Ace scowls and remarks, “They’ve been doing that all day and it’s getting on my nerves.” Deuce is fidgeting more than usual, and you raise an eyebrow as thought to ask what’s up. “What if it’s a test?” he asks nervously before flipping open a notebook. “A little late to study then,” Ace scoffs before looking at you out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I’m sure it won’t be a test.” You smile at his gesture. Tests haven’t been easy for you these past weeks as you’ve not actually studied any of the curriculum for the classes.

When Crewel stomps into class and sets a crate of potions on the desk, it startles you out of your thoughts. You hear gasps from around the class and realize that most students seem to understand what is happening. It is only you in the dark. Then the Professor smiles slyly and declares, “It’s Matching Day.” An eruption of conversation spreads across the room and Professor Crewel, appearing as excited as the students, surprisingly allows it. ‘I can’t believe its today!’ and ‘I wonder if I’ll meet my pair!’ reach your ears. You turn to Ace and find him looking at you with an expression you just can’t place. You nod towards the Professor and ask, “You know what this is about?” He looks at you startled, “You don’t know? Its Matching day?” When you shrug and continue to look at him with questions in your eyes he goes on. “You know, the day you can take the potion to manifest your red string and try to find your Soulmate. Matching Day!”

It hits you suddenly like a blow. ‘My god,’ you think, ‘This isn’t TWST at all. Idia was right, there are too many tropes in this story. I’m in someone’s Fanfic! This is a damn Soulmate AU story!’ You weren’t sure what to say, but luckily, Professor Crewel had decided he’s allowed the pups to misbehave enough and cracked his whip over his gloved hand, “Settle down you mutts. Good pups need to know how to behave properly if they are going to impress their mate!” Silence is quickly restored as the excited students obediently wait for the Professor to continue. “Come up when I call your name. I don’t think I should have to explain, but just in case, let me remind you what you can expect. When you drink the potion, you’ll feel a tug on your heart as your soul manifests your bond to your Soulmate. After that, you’ll be able to see your red string in the general area of your pinky finger.” A groan comes from an over-excited student, “We know, we know.”

Crewel doesn’t take the interruption well this time and cracks his whip again, “STAY! Pups need to learn to take instruction before receiving a treat!” The student bashfully looks away and Crewel continues, “Remember to not get your hopes up. It is very rare to find your Soulmate the first day you take your potion.” This sobering comment seems to bring down the mood of the students. Crewel smiles more gently at the students he’s fondly guided, “But be happy you are proud students of Night Raven College. Many mages find they have Soulmates who are also proficient in magic, so your chances of meeting your Soulmate while in school here are raised.” You turn to see how your friends are taking this news. Deuce is looking intently at his hands, as though he will find his courage in the focus. Ace is only looking at you, again with a look you just can’t read.

“Now, come to the front of the room as I call your name,” Crewel instructs. It appears the students are being called alphabetically. You wonder when you might be called as you don’t recall “Yuu” having a last name. You focus a long time, making sure you don’t miss it but before your turn, your friend gets called. “Deuce Spade!” Crewel summons loudly. Deuce gulps beside you and stands suddenly. Then he holds his hand up as though trying to fire himself up and marches determinedly to claim his potion. He drinks it down and you wait with interest to see how Deuce would react. You’d seen several others take the potion at this point, but this wasn’t just some NPC, it was your friend. He concentrates nervously for several seconds before gasping and grabbing his chest. Then he looks down at his hand and makes a sound between a sigh and a laugh. “There it is!” he says and looks out the door where the string must lead. Then he laughs again and looks toward where you and Ace sit with a smile and makes his ‘honor student’ pose. You give him a thumbs up and pat his back as he rejoins you.

You want to ask him what it was like but the next name, “Ace Trappola!” breaks your concentration. You hadn’t realized your other friend would get his turn so soon after. You turn to Ace and give him an encouraging smile. Ace looks deep into your eyes for a long moment before giving you a mischievous grin, “Wish me luck, Prefect!” You give him an excited smile and some jazz hands to cheer him on and he goes happily to the front of the class. You watch as he takes the potion and waits in a quiet meditation before he makes a gasp and grasps at something that only he can see. Then he looks up and smiles over in your direction happily, “I knew it!” he laughs happily. He returns to his seat with a bounce in his step and you look at him eagerly. “Was it cool?” you ask. He smiles at you, “It was the coolest thing ever.” You have a million questions that come to mind, but you ask none of them as Deuce taps you on the shoulder. You turn to look at him and he nervously tells you, “Prefect, it’s your turn.”

You look up at Professor Crewel who seems none too pleased to have you ignore his summons. Great. Somehow, you’d missed your turn being called and garnered his ire. You gulp and stand to answer his summons. When you grasp the potion, a question occurs to you and you ask, “Will this work for me?” Professor Crewel smiles at your worry, “Not to worry, Prefect, even people without magic have Soulmates.” It was more that you wondered if people from other worlds had Soulmates but you figured that wasn’t a conversation to have right now. So, you smile at him as though satisfied with his response and drink the potion down.

At first it was nothing but bubbly in your stomach and then you felt giddy. Like a drunkenness that had nothing to do with alcohol which rose from your stomach to take hold of your whole body. Your heart beat faster and faster until you feel as alert as though you were running for your life. Then, it was gone. Mostly gone. A tiny tingle remained, and you followed the sensation down to see the bright red string wound around your pinky. It really worked.

You looked toward your friends, wanting to share the moment with them and felt the weight of Ace’s gaze. He was looking at you so intently it was startling. You couldn’t break eye contact for a moment. Then you felt a small tug and looked down at your finger. The red string was tugging slightly, as though wanting you to follow it. You didn’t have far to go. You raised your eyes and found Ace holding his red string in his hand and you knew it connected to your own. Well, that did make sense in a way. If this was a TWST fanfic, your Soulmate had to be a member of the main case. And now you knew, it was Ace. You looked at Ace clutching the red string and thought that he held it like it was a lifeline, something he couldn’t live with if he let go. Well, that was silly. You were right here. Perhaps it was due to the plot of the story, but you suddenly felt like you couldn’t bear to see him worried like that.

You went to him and stood in front of him, “So, you and me, huh?” He looked up at you and said in a chocked voice, “Yeah, you and me.” A clapping sound comes from behind you and then all around. You are embarrassed to find that all your classmates are celebrating your union with Ace. “What a fine surprise,” Professor Crewel says with a smile. You don’t know what to do but Ace has no such qualms. He grabs onto you and pulls you into a side hug with one arm will giving a V with his other hand. You bashfully wind your arm around him and repeat the gesture yourself. It seems like you’ve really fallen into the perfect romance fantasy.

The transition from friend to significant other was jarring but anytime you felt unsure about your new ties to Ace, you had only to look at him to feel reassured. He was always holding the red string. It was cute in a way, as though he thought about you so often, he had to hold onto the string to remind himself you were there with him in spirit. You still felt safe seeing the string in his hand back then.

Why is Crowley always at the start of all your problems? On a late spring day, the headmaster summoned you to his office. You found it was never good news when he did this, and this time would prove no exception. “Ah Prefect, how lovely to see you today,” he began carefully, as though sizing up how big a fuss you would kick up this time. You hummed at him in a noncommittal way. ��Indeed,” he acknowledges your evasion and gets right into his secret business. “I was wondering what you planned to do over Summer Break.” You look at him deadpan, “Not do chores for you.” He huffs at you in pretend amusement, “Ah HA ha. Uh-hem. That is to say, where do you plan to go while the campus is closed?” Now this was actually news to you. “What do you mean closed? I’ll just stay here like I did over Winter Break.” Crowley turns, unable to meet your eye, “Ah-HA hem, its just that we do the annual fumigation over summer so we need all living residents to be off-campus.” Then much quieter, “The insurance wouldn’t allow it…I checked.”

You left the office not certain which was worse, that the headmaster actually considered leaving you in a poisoned campus over break or the fact that you suddenly had no where to go. You walked lost in thought, mechanically headed to lunch when you hit something solid, and a hush fell over the room. You felt a moment of worry until you looked up and into the quizzical face of Malleus and smiled. This might seem like a dangerous occurrence to the random students around you, but it was nothing alarming to you. “Hi there Hornton,” you warmly greet your fae friend. He puts a finger to his chin and ponders to himself, “You seem quite distracted today, Prefect. Is anything the matter?” Happy to have someone to discuss it with, you give him a run-down on your situation. “And so, I just have no idea where I’m going to go!” you finish in a flurry. “Hmm,” Malleus hums in consideration, “That is a quandary. I’d invite you to join me in Briar Valley but unfortunately Lilia has decided we are to take a, how do you call it, road trip this break.” You can practically hear the air quotes in his voice as he says, ‘road trip.’

You give your friend a small understanding smile, “I get it. I’m fine. I just need to figure this out. I’ll find what I’m looking for, I’m sure.” This seems to perk your friend up, “Why yes, that might work.” Then he saunters to a nearby table and picks up a vile of liquid. You weren’t sure if this was part of someone’s lunch or classwork. Sometimes it was like that at magic school. As Malleus holds the vile, a green magic seeps from his fingers to engulf it and the liquid inside boils ominously. Then the magic fades and the boiling stops. He hands you the vile and instructs, “I will bestow a boon upon you. Pour this tincture upon a mirror and the knowledge you need will be summoned forth.” Great. This was even better than posting an ad online. You thank Malleus and give him a grateful smile.

That is when you feel an arm slip over your shoulder and Ace appears at your side, “Say Prefect, what is going on here?” You merely gesture as thought to say, ‘I’m talking to Malleus.’ Ace gives your friend a look that is downright insolent and you mentally scoff that only your Ace would be so bold as to have such an attitude with Malleus Draconia. “Thanks for your help,” you offer your friend to give him an easy way to end the conversation. Regardless of Malleus’s wishes, Ace jumps in and distracts you easily, “Hey Prefect, I heard you can’t stay over break this year.” It’s a relief to talk it out with another person and you turn to tell your beau all about the chat in Crowley’s office. By the time you pause to take a breath, Malleus has departed unnoticed. You grip the flask, resolving to thank him more earnestly later, and slip it in your pocket. Then you let Ace lead you away to your next class. He obliges you by listening to all your complaints and agreeing in all the right places. Not that it solved the issue at all, but it did make you feel better to have someone fully on your side to complain to.

After class, you automatically hold out your hand to walk with Ace to the alchemy lab, but he asks you to go on ahead instead. It’s an unusual request but the mystery is cleared up before Professor Crewel arrives to begin your lesson. “Hey Prefect, great news!” Ace shouts as he slips into the seat next to you, “I called my mom, and she says I can bring you home with me over break!” At first, all you feel is the pressure being lifted. Then comes the guilt. “Are you sure I wouldn’t be intruding?” you ask nervously. “Nah,” Ace assures you, “Mom already knows about this.” Then he holds up his hand where he is gripping the red string, “So it was easy to convince her.” Then he gives you a mischievous smile, “Plus my bro has been away since he graduated, and I think Mom is getting lonely. Won’t you come cheer up a poor lonely old woman, Prefect?” Ace says in mock sadness. You swat him, smiling and chide, “Don’t talk about my future mother-in-law that way.” Then you both laugh.

Things seemed to finally be going smoothly, but of course, that couldn’t last. The alchemy lesson had barely started when Headmaster Crowley arrives by bursting in through the skylight. He was just as extra in-person as he was in game. You chuckle to yourself as the rest of the class appears to become hyper-focused on the lesson. Then, right before leaving, Crowley stops in front of your caldron and remarks, “Ah Prefect, will you stop by my office after your lesson?” Ace leans in as Crowley retreats and whispers, “What is that about?” You can only shake your head, “I have no idea. Want to come with and find out?” Ace gives the thread a stroke with his thumb, “Of course. I can’t let a troublemaker like you out of my sight.” You laugh at his joke and pat his arm, thankful for his backup. You are sure you will need it.

When you and Ace arrive in the headmaster’s office, he looks up from his desk and lets out a squawk of surprise, “Ah! Trappola, uh, I was not expecting you to be here as well.” You feel like you’ve made the right choice in bringing him along. “So, Headmaster, what’s this business you have with me?” He looks away, avoiding your eye. “Well, that. So, you see…it turns out that our contract for the fumigation this summer does not include covering important school property with protective sheets. Can you believe that! Ah-hem, anyway, I’m going to have to ask you to stay until after the rest of the students have departed and cover the furniture in the classrooms before you go.” The response from your boyfriend is immediate, “No.” You pull back a smile you feel forming on your lips, “Well, there you have it. I also have made plans for break, since you have so cruelly abandoned me.” You can see the gears in his head turning as he thinks over the situation.

“Well,” you comment over your shoulder as you shake out a sheet over a cauldron, “At least he is paying us both to do this. Thanks for keeping me company.” Ace grins at you, “I can’t abandon my darling Prefect to be all by their lonesome right before a family trip!” Then he sheepishly adds, “Plus I can use some extra pocket money to buy you a treat when we are back home.” A family trip. It had a nice sound to it. You hum as you continue covering cauldrons with the large tablecloths Crowely had supplied. “There,” you say and clap your hands once for emphasis, “That is the last one. And…I think that is all the alchemy rooms.” Ace gets a thinking expression, “Ah…so that leaves the elective rooms in the Senior’s tower and the botanical gardens.” You shrug, “Wanna split them?” Ace nods and you agree to cover the worktables in the botanical gardens while Ace climbs the tower to handle the senior’s classrooms.

There are far fewer tables in the botanical gardens, so while it was a hike to get there, you finished fairly quickly. When you add that to the fact that the mirror chamber was nearby, it didn’t surprise you that you arrived ahead of Ace. Your small bag of clothes sat in the corner, ready to be taken through the mirror to the Queendom of Roses with Ace. Until then, you had nothing to do here. You circle the room, looking into the various mysterious mirrors. Make a few faces and poses to pass time. It was so boring. You turn out your pockets, just looking for something to occupy your time and find two items inside. One is the vial Malleus had given you to help you find a place for Summer Break. The other was a candy wrapper. You frown as you look at it. This wrapper was left over from a candy you had on you when you arrived in Twisted Wonderland; one of the last ties to your old world that remained. You haven’t thought about the old world for a while now. Not since before you’d found your Soulmate. Now, a feeling of melancholy washes over you. Why had you stopped looking for a way home? You didn’t even remember consciously giving up on that dream.

You hold the vial and consider it carefully. What exactly had Malleus said this did? Something about helping you find what you needed when you poured it on a mirror? Well, there were plenty of mirrors available and you had time to kill. Maybe, if you poured the potion, it would give you a clue on how you could return home someday. You walked to the nearest mirror and uncorked the bottle. The liquid flowed slowly out of the container as though it was molasses. When it touched the mirror, it seemed to slip inside until a glossy shimmer coated the surface. It rippled and you were aware that there were words to be seen inside. You leaned closer and read the message. Then you read it again. And again. By the fourth time, you were shaking so badly you could no longer read it. It wasn’t a way to get home. It was the summary of the fanfiction you were in.

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The Chain That Binds

When the Prefect of Ramshackle dorm is invited home with their Soulmate to visit the family, they never suspect the plan Ace has in store for them. Sometimes the chain that binds you to a partner also binds you to a darker fate.

TW Yandere, TW Imprisonment, TW Kidnapping

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Just what kind of sick story was this?

A click sounds behind you as the door closes. Never had you heard a sound so ominous. “Something wrong, Prefect?” Ace says carefully. You notice he is gripping the string of fate tightly. It no longer felt comforting but more like the hold a master would have on a dog’s leash. “You seem kind of agitated.” You try to downplay it, “Oh no, its nothing.” He tilts his head, attempting to see past you and into the mirror. You sidestep to make sure the view was blocked. He gives you a cold smile, “Are you sure because I can feel your fear through the bond.” You meet his eye for a moment and then bolt. Ace is so much faster than you that you never had a real chance. You scream out for help and Ace laughs and shouts with you, “Help! Help!” You look at him in horror. “Who do you think is left here to hear you, Prefect? Its only us now.” Then he pulls out his magic pen and casts a binding spell on you.

You can only lay limply as Ace steps over to the mirror and reads what is inside. “Hmm,” He finally says, “I don’t know where you get these ideas from, but I don’t think they are healthy for you. You should stop consorting with people who put these things into your mind. I’ll talk to my mom when we get home. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you stayed there instead of coming back to school. That will take care of all these intrusive thoughts you have.” His grip on the red string was so tight that you were beginning to feel it like a phantom pain in your heart. “Don’t worry about a thing, Prefect. I’m going to take care of you. I know what you need,” then he turns and looks coldly into your eyes, “you were made just for me after all. You’re supposed to be mine alone.”

Then as you struggle against your bonds, he lifts you up over his shoulder and drags you and your belongings to the central mirror. He gives the mirror the destination as you take one final look at the place you’d considered your second home. Then Ace carries you over the threshold of the mirror into the beyond. Unfortunately for you, this wasn’t the ending. Your story was just beginning.

#twst #twisted wonderland #tw: yandere #yandere ace trappola #yandere twst

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red-dia · 5 months ago

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Twitter user @/inspirashamul dug up an old Ichikawa interview from 2015. I don't think there's anything earthshattering, but it's still pretty cool (and I think it's the only time she's directly acknowledged the 7 treasures ? unless i'm mistaken)

Transcription under the cut :

"Throughout history gems have decorated every aspect of our lives - and afterlives as well. Buddhist sutras describe the Land of Bliss as a realm of dazzling splendour covered in precious gems and metals.

Furthermore, in Shariputra, the world know as the Land of Bliss, there are lotus ponds, all made of seven precious substances, namely, gold. silver, emerald, rockcrystal, red pearl, sapphire, and mother of pearl as the seventh. [...] The bottom of each pond is covered with golden sand. [...] These stairways are colourful, elegant, and made of four precious substances, namely, gold, silver, emerald, and rock crystal. "

Japanese manga author Haruko Ichikawa was inspired by this description to transform the gems into characters in her series, Houseki no Kuni (The Kingdom of Gems). In the distant future, Gem Warriors battle with the Moon People who mount raids from above to kidnap the living gems to use as for decorations.

Gem warriors look human but shatter upon impact. Their broken surfaces reflect light with a brilliant lustre. The moment of destruction is shockingly beautiful, yet they never truly die and can regain human form if their shards are put back together.

In the course of the story, we learn that the rival Gem Warriors and Moon People share the same origin-they were both once human. Bone became gemstone and the soul became the Moon People. The setup makes The Kingdom of Gems a story of humanity told through gems. Current Obsession conducted an e-mail interview with Haruko Ichikawa to find out what's behind the story and what she wants to say with her gem-laden allegory,

Background and Aesthetic

Many Japanese manga artists did not start as manga artists. Haruko Ichikawa is no exception. She was an editorial designer before she broke into manga.

'I enjoyed drawing when I was a little girl and that's why choose a high school that had an art course. Then, my interest moved from art to design, and in university, I majored in visual image design. After graduation, I worked as an editorial designer at a design company. I think the experience taught me how to design panels, how to make panels flow and how to balance black and white-basically, effective layouts that smoothly lead the eye of the reader. I'm also able to design my own books thanks to the techniques that I developed as an editorial designer.'

Usually design studios handle book design, but Ichikawa does it herself. Her brightly coloured covers glitter with lamé to suggest the world of gems waiting inside, while her minimalist two-dimensional style makes each panel stand as a pleasing piece of graphic design. The brilliance of the Gems stands out among the strong contrast of black and white pages. They look most beautiful when they shatter. The human-like appearance of the Gems makes this moment shocking, but also bewitching.

'I'm most attracted to the beauty within the horrific. Imagine the thrill of peeking at the secret hidden under a veil - an unexpected shock, or a macabre scene you can't turn away from. That's what I hope to recreate on the page.'

Her aesthetic is evident in the unique design of the characters. If the Gems are beautiful, then the bizarre Moon People are simply otherworldly. How did Ichikawa create these characters?

Character Design

There are two main groups of characters. While the colour and brilliance of gems are expressed as a Gem fighter's hair, Moon People are covered with ornate Buddhist decorations, such as multiple layers of delicate, heavenly garments and jewellery.

'When I design Gem Warriors, I try to get a specimen of the stone and base the design on its physical properties such as colour, hardness, strength, crystal shape and scarcity. On the other hand, I try to show Moon People as soft eerie beings with a hint of grace in order to make them look bizarre.'

Nearly every real world property is reflected in a Gem warrior's personality. Phosphophyllite (Phos), the main character with the "beautiful colour of shallow water on a western beach', lacks hardness and breaks as easily as actual phosphophyllite. Twin crystal amethyst is literally transformed into captivating twins, while the red-haired Cinnabar is knowledgeable, though cast as a lone wolf because her body is filled with a toxin. Real life cinnabar is known as the philosopher's stone and contains mercury. Alexandrite is usually a green-haired Moon People researcher, but she turns into a violent redhead in front actual Moon People, Her personality is in line with real alexandrite that changes colour depending on the type of light it reflects.

These properties come out as comical conversations between gems. For example, Morganite references the Mohs hardness scale when Phos grabs her. 'Hey! That was close! If you touch us directly, you're the one who's gonna shatter, three-and-a-half! Phos responds 'I am well aware, my dear seven.'

When speaking with Ichikawa it becomes apparent that her rich knowledge of stones and scientific viewpoint comes from her passion as a collector.

'My biggest pleasure is the surprise of discovery. Recently I'm most interested in how good intentions can lead to misfortune. This phenomenon happens quite often in science, which is why I like the field. I have around 300 stones in my collection. I've beest interested in stones since I was a little girl, so I've forgotten how I started to collect them: I' attracted to their simple chemical formula, near infiniteness, uniqueness, as well as the wonderful colour, texture and shape. I think every stone has its own appeal, be it a pebble on the beach or the most beautiful gem.'

Her choice of gems in the manga backs up the statement.

The Gem Warriors include valuable precious stones, such as diamond, as well as semi precious stones that are usually acknowledged as inforiors to gems. In her story, Gems vary in terms of fighting ability but are essentially treated as equals.

Inspiration

In The Kingdom of Gems, gems walk, talk and feel emotions just like us. How did Ichikawa come up with a unique idea of turning a gem into a human-shaped character?

'I had the idea that maybe minerals lived on a different time axis as ours - we just didn't realize it.'

And how did a passage from a Buddhist sutra, "the land of the Perfect Bliss is made of gems', contribute to the story?

'In the sutra gems are an accessible way to describe the beauty and majesty of the Land of Bliss. They are native to the Land of Bliss, not stolen from elsewhere. When I first read the sutra it occurred to me that Buddhism didn't consider these ornamental gems as eligible for salvation. It's not that the sutra made me feel disappointed in Buddhism or want to liberate gems myself. The sutra provides a simple message for the masses by comparing objects of unparalleled beauty to gems. It made me realize that there's a limit to our shared imagination. There's a line somewhere. So where does that put inorganic compounds? They can't speak for themselves. It's pretty convenient to ignore this and assume them to be subservient. It's hard to put my feelings into words, but I felt a very human danger - and attraction - in the vivid examples that assigned gems value and the matter-of-fact manner that passes over these same objects for salvation.

People emphasize with objects that appear human. So I followed this lite of thought - how would we react to a being that was totally unlike a human except in its appearance? Would we want to help them, or feel guilt for persecuting them? What would cause us to feel compassion? This is my experiment find out. It boils down to having empathy for others, be they organic or otherwise.

I'm also interested in what part of our nature is human, and what is animal - both the good and bad. Just as we struggle with the unknowable animal nature within us, life forms in the future will struggle with the untamed nature leftover from humans. At least, that's my hypothesis for what I write.'

This kind of humanity is strongly depicted in the conversation between Phos and Ventricosus, the ruler of the sea.

Ventricosus understands that the Moon People mean to reclaim their flesh and bones to return to their human form, but since they divided from humans so long ago there is no way back. Knowing that the character is not human makes the following dialogue all the more impressive.

'The Moon People, despite lacking natural enemies, love war and are never satisfied. I get the feeling that this undirected anxiety is leftover from when they were human.'

Unique Use of Ornamentation

All sorts of decorations will catch your eye as you read through the pages. For instance, the Moon People are defined by their lavish outfits. From their opulent fabrics to elegans curved ornamentation it's hard to imagine they are capable of such aggression.

The highly decorative quality of the Moon People and the way they steal gems to decorate their homeland makes ornamentation an allegory for earthly desires. However, Ichikawa's statement from the previous wection reveals her unique attitude to wards ornamentation. She uses gems, a typical decoration, to show how the reader feels toward the materials we use for decotation. Yet she has a positive view of the subject. For example, the Gem Warriors fashion reveals clothing lined with flower patterns and special costumes worn during hibernation. Ichikawa obviously enjoys drawing these scenes. Her pages overflow with fun.

'I appreciate sophisticated adornment, Bizarre, extravagant adornment is also atractive. I'm rather interested in the reason behind such decoration. People must have reasons to (or not to) decorate For example, some people decorate them selves to feel confident or be popular, while others don't because they have different priorities.

It's interesting to see what people place importance on.

As for the Gem Warrior outfits, materials are scarce in their world so I try to make the most of simplicity. I also wanted to show how the Gems take pleasure from fashion.

People will decorate. Some for personal reasons, and some out of a desire to get close to something greater than themselves. It is a very human behaviour we should love and be proud of.

I like decorations, I like jewellery. Even more so I like people who decorate themselves and our nature that drives us to. I'm sure many readers understand this sentiment.

However, like all human practices, the act and desire to decorate hides our vulnerabilities.'

Haruko Ichikawa points this out through characters that are living decorations themselves. She does not view this negatively. For in her world, everything is beautiful, even our weaknesses.

#(this is mostly me putting this here for safekeeping because i know ill want to get back to it later and twitter sucks for archiving :()#big shoutout to op for sharing this tho. please give some love to their tweet if u read this #there might be a few mistakes in here because proofreading isnt my thing + the character profiles don't have anything out of the ordinary s #i'm not transcribing them #cheers!

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sayaka-mga2024mi4017 · 5 months ago

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Persepolis

My thoughts on Persepolis;

My thoughts on Persepolis, is that I much prefer the graphic novel over the film medium. My preference comes from my own bias as I am an avid fan of Japanese comics (manga) so this is a medium that I am quite familiar with.

The topic of a comic format being generally labeled as a childish medium and discussing themes of religion, war, trauma, coming-of-age, and so on, is not a novel thing within the world of comics. Which is why I feel it's redundant to presume, that although a graphic novel like this is open to children it is not strictly exclusive to them only and can be read by anyone. Another thing worth noting is why the author wanted to represent her story (or somewhat semi-autobiography) in comic form and the advantages of portraying it through this medium and its favourable qualities.

A guess we can make towards her using a comic format is because of the advantage of showing a story through a visual format. A comic is almost akin to a storyboard of a film, creating this visual language for the reader makes it easier for the author to communicate their story and the characters in the way they intended in their mind. Considering how Satrapi comes from a Persian background and embraces this throughout her comic, it is much preferable for it to be drawn rather than written out as Persian literary styles can be difficult to interpret due to its rich cultural background and translating the language while maintaining the nuance is quite difficult as well. Hence, Satrapi’s decision to portray it in a comic was a smart move along with referencing Persian art as well.

Another favourable quality of Persepolis is its simplicity. In terms of formatting the composition of the panels and artstyle. Although the storyline centers around Satrapi’s own personal experience in the Iranian civil war, Satrapi manages her best to simplify such a complex matter which makes it comprehensible to the reader. Sticking firmly to the use of only black and white, Satrapi relies on negative and positive shapes and this also creates a unique dynamic especially when portraying the veil. Panel layout is also simplified and Satrapi does not really utilize the gutters as she prefers to stick strictly within the panel itself to communicate the scene. Following the western format of comic reading style which is from left to right, her panels composition also follow a horizontal panel form of storytelling from left to right.

Although I have only spoken about the comic, I much prefer ranting about the comic because I am quite fond of this topic and I like the way Satrapi has portrayed her story, as I have discussed in the paragraphs above.

In terms of film, I would say that the film took its advantages with reinterpreting the comic and should be appreciated in its own form as well. The film slightly alters certain points of the plot and does not go as in-depth but it chooses a more abstract and symbolic approach to showing certain scenes.

The film in retrospect prefers to take the dialogue and text, and decides to represent it through visual allegory rather than quite a literal sense (which the comic does)

However, this is my take and my interpretation on both the mediums of Persepolis.

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y-otsubas · 3 years ago

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VEIL LAYOUTS [REQ]

#veil icons #veil layouts #veil kotteri #kotteri layouts #manga layouts #icons manga #messy layouts #random icons #random layouts anime #anime messy icons #random headers

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comicteaparty · 5 years ago

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April 4th-April 10th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from April 4th, 2020 to April 10th, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:

What is something you’ve improved with in regards to writing or comic creation thanks to working on your story?

carcarchu

Oh this one i can answer definitively. it's 100% lineart. forcing myself to have to do lineart for hours everyday is definitely a way to force yourself to get better at it while i still don't like it it's something that i can do now without being scared about it

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Colouring. I had to get really creative in expressing emotion and hinting plot devices with colour. Also got much better with drawing gesture drawings due to looking at a lot of references!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Either writing dialogue or drawing/painting backgrounds... I used to be particularly awful at writing dialogue. It was too stiff and formal, and sounded a lot like old prose. Now, because of writing a comic and going through several scripts, the dialogue is a lot more natural, and the pacing is more realistic to actual conversations. And the other: backgrounds. I really used to not even draw them at all, and doing a comic forced me to have to think about environments in scenes. So I went from drawing floating characters to having to consider where they are and how it affects the story/mood.(edited)

Feather J. Fern

Paneling! That was my main focus to figure out how to do good paneling to have clearer pages

Deo101 [Millennium]

Honestly? Everything. It's all gotten better and I've learned so much. I would say my biggest improvement is probably in my time management, and art wise is probably composition and layouts. But it's hard to pick because I've grown so much in every aspect!

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Biggest thing I learned was to keep the story small and focused - and that the smaller, more human struggles are much better in creating tension than the whole default "the world's gonna end!" thing. Mind you, I still love a good "world's ending" story, but you gotta make people CARE about the people in that world first!

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

ohohohoooo I have done more drawing in photoshop in this short time I have worked on Wayfinders, than the rest of my life! That has given me some skills for sure! Coloring is another one, and generally just efficiency and flow in a comic

Nutty (Court of Roses)

For me it's been my use of color, and getting more confident in experimenting with it to really drive home a scene's mood!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

The clearest improvement I always notice is my layouts - I’ve gotten more adventurous with panel shapes and placement as time has gone on, experimenting with more interesting designs for the whole page. Some of those experiments haven’t been totally successful but it always feels like a worthwhile try. I’ve gotten some really, REALLY cool layouts out of these experiments, and I love seeing how dynamic the panels have become compared to my first chapter. Also speed. I’m so much faster now. Thank gooooooodness (edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@LadyLazuli (Phantomarine) I've definitely noticed the experimental panel layouts! They're really cool.

AntiBunny

Planning. Book 2 is when I started using sketchbook thumbnails to plan ahead. The luxury of that first draft meant I could rethink panel layouts and how to best express the events happening if I first had an idea of what was happening laid out.

Also digital art by necessity since I switched to digital during the current arc. I was decent at lineart already, but other aspects have really challenged me to grow as an artist. I had to totally rethink the way I create backgrounds for instance. During this time the background quality actually declined a little while I got used to a new method, but experience has improved my skills greatly as I force myself into new methods.

DanitheCarutor

Hmmm maybe paneling, speechbubbles and backgrounds? My current project is my second real attempt at doing a comic, but I have learned a lot of stuff from the community and general art and story tutorials. Backgrounds and bubbles were the worst for me when first starting out, I only read manga before starting so the speechbubble shapes did not fit with how English is written. Plus I've only drawn wooded fantasy settings before making my comic, so using a ruler, figuring out perspective points and drawing buildings was very new to me. I still hate drawing cities and such, but I've gotten a lot better at it and it is easier to do now. Since I mostly stuck with B&W before my current project, coloring also kind of improved? Depending on who's looking at it. Lmao If I were to think about story/characters/dialogue, I have no idea if I've improved. Honestly, I don't pay much attention to the quality. Also my brain kinda says it's all bad regardless of what I make.(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

For my Improvements: I'm getting better at my comic panels, as I adjust to the vertical style. Before I've always drawn the standard format. It's more than just boxes, I try to keep a variety of sizes. I'm picking up roughly how much 'gutter space' I need per 2-3 panels.etc I'm also improving on choosing colors that fits my love of detailed linework.(edited)

OH! I'm also learning about Clip studio shortcuts, how to use the assets they provide which makes the process, abit easier on me. Things I need to change, is I want to get a good speedy coloring style, without referring to my usual coloring.(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

the more I worked on the comic, the more I feel ambitious in making different angles and perspective. So it's really hitting me out of my comfort zone which is good! lol Though I'm trying to keep in mind of my speed, what I feel like I've improved a bit is trying to keep in mind of paneling and dialogue.

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Process! Space and i have definitely figured out the most productive way to produce content at the rate and quality that also provides us with time for our own projects. Comics are a useful tool that helps you discover ways to better organize your creative workflow for sure!

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I think probably scenery. I used to dread drawing inanimate objects but now I feel more confident in filling in a scene & even look forward to it sometimes. Maybe also page composition and paneling but I still have a lot to learn there

eli [a winged tale]

One of the reasons I embarked on the webcomic journey is to push myself to improve not only storytelling but also utilizing art to create a reader experience that would be difficult to replicate with just words. I’d like to think that 9 months into making A Winged Tale, I’ve improved on deciding when is a good opportunity to invest more into backgrounds vs character dynamics and when should be focused more on sequences of panels and composition. While the comic is written in a four panel format, more and more I’m finding areas where the story could be told by breaking those rules (attached pic). It’s a balance and I hope going forward I will improve more in pushing the limits of panels and find ways to express the story in fun and interesting ways.(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Wow that's a very good description @eli [a winged tale] I look forward to reading more of your story journey

eli [a winged tale]

Thanks so much Joichi! I’m eager to keep learning~

Capitania do Azar

I'm gonna go with planning and actually getting it done. I'm so much faster because now the process is much more streamlined to me

kayotics

My whole comic was started s an exercise to just get better at comics generally so I’d probably say every part I’ve improved at? The biggest things are probably colors and the upfront planning process

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

Ooof hard question. I think my main improvement lies with page and speechballoon layouts and writing natural feeling dialouge. I'd say maybe also character acting?

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I'm slowly learning how to create more engaging comic narrative. I read and research in the polished prem webcomics to see what makes them engaging? Like I'm going to challenge myself by creating a series of short stories with a reoccurring set of characters. Every new comic series I create is an experience, trial and error. Sometimes I skip the writeup and just go in blind, trust my own instincts. I'm glad to reach out and talk about it than in my own head. I hope by this year, I'll have at least 2 chapters of Hybrid Dolls out.(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I've definitely gotten better at planning/ outlining multiple chapters ahead of time. I did not even do this when I was doing the first 10 something chapters. (I did attempt an outline before I began the comic, but the story changed significantly from the outline by the time I started the comic, and I did not try to do it again for a long while.) I can't remember when I started, but I do recall having a lot of trouble the first time I tried to do it. It's gotten a little easier each time, though. In fact, I just spent the past few days outlining the next few very important chapters, de-tangling some big tangles. I'm really glad my outlining (and overall writing) skills had leveled up, because HOO boy, I don't think my 2014-2015 self could have done this!

I also became friends with enviros. I had already become somewhat comfortable drawing perspective when HoK started, but I had a sort of mechanical approach to it, like "oh I need some enviro for these establishing shots, guess I'll draw them." But now I LOVE drawing enviros! (some types anyway...) It's my comfort activity, something I treat myself to after a long day! In the thumbnails for my next few pages, there's a few enviro-heavy panels that I have to remove, because I drew too many of them (and the pacing got too slow as a result). I have to stop myself from drawing too many of these.

My biggest improvement is probably I've come to understand my characters and my themes much better, but that's more of a "I got better at making HoK" than a "I got better at making comics." There's definitely a difference between the two.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

@keii’ii (Heart of Keol) ah I totally understand I tried the outline method before I start but my story changed alot after I drew it. So it start to feel like a waste of time for me, but I'll still write an outline to make sure to plan where my story heads(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah! I needed to draw those first few chapters to understand the direction of my own story.

The drawing part is an essential part of self-reflection, to try to understand what it is that I want out of the story. The answer has always been there in my heart, but I'm not able to see it clearly from the get-go.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I end up breaking scenes and put them in for future episodes, since I want to get a certain flow in the story.

It could be tricky to see what it is you want out of the story until you are in at least 3 chapters in?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I needed way more than 3 chapters -- though granted, my chapters are short, so that could be a part of it

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I see the early first script as testing the water. like a test to figure out the characters personalities. Unless you are bringing in old characters which you knew before?(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Even if the characters have been with you for a while, unless I have made a comic with them, there is a big chance that the characters will completely change, too.

DanitheCarutor

You know, I was thinking about about this, mostly about how I wouldn't have been happy if I was able to finish my comic the day I started. Then I realized I'm happy that I didn't. The first chapter wasn't the best, I was just learning how to coloring a comic, still fleshing out my characters and was still brainstorming small kinks in the story. I also still didn't have as much of an understanding of perspective, or panel and bubble layout. Even though I still have a lot I need to work on, I've gotten a lot better in all those aspects. Even though my use of color is weird, I've definitely gotten much more confident in it, enough so that I experiment and take a lot more risks with style. Even though my panelling can be boring, I have a much better understanding of how I want a page to look. I've improved a lot with my planning as well, like even though my thumbnailing/storyboarding only takes maybe 30, I've learned to step away for a bit if I don't like a layout, or analyzing why I don't like it and brainstorming ways to make it better. If I had magically finished the comic all at once, it would look really bad and may have been less readable.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

That is inspiring to hear about your improvement @DanitheCarutor

Natsu-no-Hikari

Chiming in! Just this week, Miko (my co-creator) and I were discussing how far we've come from when we started our first comic (https://liarsgotoparadise.com/) vs. where we are now. I think there have been a lot of learn experiences, such as art, dialogue, general editing - but especially with pacing and character interaction. We regret that we didn't stop to focus more on that interaction, as we wanted to move ahead in the story...and now we can't change that, except to start now and not allow ourselves to grow impatient. Take our time and enjoy the journey - that's our new motto. There's a time to rush ahead in perilous moments, but there's also definitely a time to catch our breaths and let the characters mingle and speak. It's an improvement that will become more noticeable going forward in Liars and our second comic as well.

#ctarchive #comic #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble #comic tea party #ctp

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