When the story started, Chase perceived Buddy as someone exactly his type. He was a guy straight out of his bedroom posters. The vampire adjacent goth bad boy of his dreams with his smug smile, his soft pettable hair and cool clothes.
But it all falls away. He enters a vampire book and is not a vampire even there. But he's still someone Chase would jump vampires for. He shows up with white hair and while Chase never had a thing for white hair, he loves it. The bad boy with the smug smile gets nervous easily, he worries and it shows. He tries to hide his insecurities behind layers of sarcasm. Chase sees through it, and elects to hold him in his arms. His hair is metal and he has never worn fancy clothing which hasn't been fictional. The big jerk is 5 inches tall. And yet, it changes nothing.
For he's still his Buddy. He became his Buddy when he first called him that name. He's his Buddy whenever he calls out his name, in frustration, in irritation, in anger, in awe, in want, with love, amidst giggles.
When Chase says the name Buddy now, he's addressing someone he loves. When Buddy says he likes the name Buddy above his real name, he's addressing the fact that his Buddy is what he wants to be, above all else.
He can look anyway, be anyone, but that's all secondary. As long as Chase calls him that name, he will be exactly what Chase wanted. As long as Buddy answers to that name, he will be exactly what Chase expected.
He'll always be Buddy, and thus, he'll always be his. It's incorrigible.
How long does it take you to make a “doodle”? Since you color them I’m so curious!! And they’re so beautiful!!!!
I forgot about your ask anon, I'm so sorry!!! I need to get better at this
Thank you so much! The short answer is, anywhere from a few minutes to a maximum of 4 hours.
The long answer is, it really changes according to the number of characters, the complexity of the interaction and how much of the body is in the frame.
The coloring is the quick part, really! Put down the flat colors, add some blush on the cheeks (a very important step hehe) and maybe add a bold rim light on a layer set to Screen or Glow Dodge, and it's done!
I spend most of the time trying to find a good line of action, fixing the anatomy and tweaking the proportions. I consider it a doodle when I don't take the time to clean up the lines and do a full overpainting/render pass.
Here is a 30 minute Persephone from the Raven Cycle! I tried to time myself, it was fun because I've never done that before :D Thank you again for the ask!
Thinking about the parallels between Majima's relationship with Makoto in Y0 and with Kiryu in Pirate Yakuza, from a narrative standpoint to a mere visual one :
Majima not being able to stay put and "do nothing" while his loved ones, Kiryu and Makoto in this case, are suffering, to the point of becoming borderline suicidal (as he thinks, because of his poor self esteem, no one will miss him anyways, but Kiryu and Makoto ? They're far better people than him, of course they deserve to live more than he does), making the decision of endangering his own life for even the smallest chance of being helpful, to be able to do something meaningful for them.
Majima's decision to stay away from Makoto to guarantee she will have a normal life, and the subsequent birth of the mad dog as a way to not only regain control from his past traumas, but to also put a shield, a barrier, in front of his emotions. Not wanting to face them, just doing whatever he thinks would be right for Makoto in that case. Mostly due to self loathing (he isn't 'worthy' of someone like her, and will never give her the life she deserves), and because he feels like he could never truly let go of the Yakuza lifestyle.
How could he with a constant reminder of his poor life choices directly engraved on his face ?
All of this is mirrored in the last scene of pirate Yakuza 'the beginning and the end are one and the same', but Majima decides to break the circle : he lost his mad dog persona along with the representation of it, his snakeskin jacket, when he almost drowned back in Hawaii. He 'shed' the old skin, the mask, away and in the final scene decided to, possibly never, put it on again. Even if in a subtle way, he grows from the man who couldn't think of anything but to hide his emotions by walking away from Makoto, to someone who matured and is finally able to confront them.
He decided to give up on the love he had for Makoto for her own sake, but couldn't bring himself to do the same for Kiryu.
His love language is sacrificing himself for others/put their well-being and happiness first. Even if it's one sided, even if it's painful, he does not stop genuinely wanting the other person's happiness.
Saitama and Genos' break up arc is one of the more possible, if not predictable, outcomes that could happen given it's happened in MP100 too.
It even feels as if both the anime and manga have slowly gotten us used to the idea of them eventually separating (bridge scene in season 1 before Genos fully moves in with Saitama, their sparring, etc), and, in the webcomic, Saitama getting ready to possibly interrupt (in case he gets there on time) the battle Genos has invested his life on has only prepared us for this even more, especially taking into consideration Genos' extreme concepts of self-righteousness and of justice brought by his own hand. A teacher and his disciple fighting due to the teacher's negligence/bluntness leading to the teacher's further isolation and the disciple's growth is not a new concept for ONE at all.
The thing is.. Saitama and Genos'"master/disciple" relationship is miles different from Reigen and Mob's.
Disclaimer: My opinion about Saitama, Genos and their famous codependency FULL OF OPM SPOILERS. I just wanted to have somewhere to finally write what I think of these guys. I also haven't finished rereading the manga nor webcomic so some things MIGHT be wrong. If I got something terribly wrong please lmk though I might die of shame in the process (but it will let me become a better OPM fan). Also, first time I do one of these, kinda nervous.
I think we're all (in OPM TumbIr at least) familiar with the "Saigenos Codependency" thing and it's neat! The fanfics have never been any greater! To have 2 people so isolated from society and that had seemingly lost what made them human (Saitama losing his emotions, Genos being a cyborg and the only human thing remaining being his brain) meet each other and have them form this almost familial bond almost instantly and bring humanity back to each other is cute! Great, even!
"I've only met you two months ago, yet meeting you has brought me closer to humanity than I could've ever gotten on my own and more than I ever expected" <-Saigenos, basically
But there's a huge problem with this too. It's nice to think "They mean so much to each other", and this is true! Countless times has Saitama said to Genos "let's go home" (despite at first not wanting Genos to live with him) and worried about his state and countless times has Genos (tried) defending Saitama's reputation and has complimented him to hell and back.
"It's all thanks to you and Dr. Kuseno", "I didn't do anything!" <- Saitama responds while blushing.
Not to mention their infamous domestic life. Genos being called "the perfect housewife", adapting his own arms for housework, buying groceries together, eating, bathing, sleeping. You can say they're together all the time just because Genos is his disciple and he wants to learn as much as he can about Saitama and the reason for his strength, meaning he's made it his third personal mission to be next to Saitama 24/7, which is true! But there's no denying there's also a cute attachment to this, too.
And it is cute at first.
"Saitama and Genos shopping together in the background of the manga covers! They're fishing together! They went out to eat together! Genos has his apron again! Love domestic sg" <- All reactions. From me.
Until we see the full picture and we bring up humanity and saigenos together again. When I said "You've brought me closer to humanity" the real issue with them pops up like a really ugly pimple and once you notice it theres no way back until you pop it and it leaves a scar, one either permanent or temporary.
So, remember the two small examples I gave when I talked about Saitama caring for Genos? Well, I think might have skipped one. That small, unimportant, teeny tiny thing, I think you won't even remember it: the ominous future.
This is the issue with Saitama and Genos. The responsibility that comes with having brought someone back to life.
So, let's talk about their respective responsibilities. Saitama's first:
Saitama is Genos' "teacher", or "master", whatever you want to call it. Early on Saitama knows there's nothing he can teach Genos (reminds you of Reigen and Mob yet?) to make him become as strong as him because he and Genos grow differently.
Muscle training doesn't work because Genos doesn't really have muscles to train, he can just change parts and become as strong as they allow him to be. Genos' limiter also can't break the same way Saitama's did. This leads Saitama to, also early on, think he's scamming Genos.
So, Saitama tries teaching him a different kind:
"(...) instead of strength in terms of physical power (...) you should be working on your mental strength" <- What Saitama pulls out of his ass when Genos wants to accompany him in a fight early on.
Saitama sees this as just "presentation is more important than content", but, in actuality, this is exactly what Genos has been trying to learn since. This is why Genos sticks around so much, he wants to learn about the ways of his teacher, of Saitama's living, his, unexpected, wisdom at times and his selflessness, his sense of justice, his meaning to being a hero because he hopes the mindset is what will make him stronger.
"If the heroes run and hide, who will stay and fight?" <-Saitama sums up what OPM is about, practically.
Now, Saitama's a human. No doubt about it. Well, maybe a bit of doubt. Fuck it, I doubt it a lot but this is not what this rant is about. The point is, Saitama is a flawed human being.
He's a good hero, the greatest, even. Perfect, too, if you're Genos. But he is a flawed person. His strength doesn't put him beyond this. He's blunt, he's bad at social cues, he's a bit of an asshole sometimes, he has a horrible sense of fashion and he doesn't care too much about whether people want to recruit him or make him his disciple because he is good as he already is. This is a big flaw. Saitama had grown used to his loneliness and believed this to be okay. He also believed he's already at the top because he, according to himself, has nothing left to learn. King calls him out on his bullshit as soon as Saitama says this, though.
So, back to responsibilities. What are Saitama's responsibilities as Genos's teacher? Well, to teach him about how to become stronger, of course. But is there anything else? His responsibility as Saitama? Well, isn't there anything harder than putting your thoughts into words?
Heroism comes to Saitama so naturally that it's in his behavior too. Imagine you want to describe breathing: you take a breath in and you take a breath out. But how do you explain it to someone who wants to know every single minuscule detail about breathing? And the way you breathe, specifically, because yours is the only and best way to do it? And what if this person has already spent years trying to learn? We're already talking about 3 responsibilities here.
Basically, Saitama's heroism is natural to him. Way too natural to put to words, but Genos wants the theory too, not just the practice. So Saitama somehow has to find a way to teach Genos how to become stronger while managing the sort of idolatry and pedestal Genos puts him on (not that he cares too much anyway).
"It'd be such a shame to disappoint Genos, right? (1) He's so hellbent on his mission to defeat the Mad Cyborg, he's a 'direct to S-Class' hero and he's spending every waking moment next to me, hoping and waiting for the moment I teach him something useful, whatever that could be, (2) when he could be out there with a better teacher, someone who actually knows how to make cyborgs more powerful. He expects way too much of me (3) but it's too late anyway. Guess I'll just tell him to make sure to buy whatever is on sale (4)" <- Teacher Saitama's responsibilites, maybe.
Did you catch it? That last fourth responsibility? I didn't mention it in the breathing example but it's so subtle, too subtle for its own good. At least until the webcomic calls it out in one of its more recent chapters.
Domestic life.
Genos wants to learn about how Saitama lives, how he's come to grow in strength, he wants to learn this so bad, so much so that he's willing to do anything. Even learning about sales and buying stuff with good discount prices and about saving coupons and searching for certain magazines and about cooking certain things and getting the right instruments for it and ... you get it.
This is the point where Genos is brought back to life as a human, he's not a cyborg anymore when he's with Saitama living- well... "playing" domestic life together. This is where his core is not just a power source but rather his heart. Genos is no longer just a short way of saying "genocide" but rather has become into his own self.
This is also where Genos' dependency and Saitama's true responsibility as himself start, at the beginning of new life in spite of the world they've grown and surrounded themselves in. Saitama has to become the perfect teacher, the one who knows everything and will show Genos the way towards incredible strength and will show the world the way to true justice, and, at the same time, the perfect hero that will save Genos and show him the way back to humanity.
Now, let's talk about Genos:
Genos' responsibilities towards Saitama are a bit trickier. Here, they're not to be confused with the responsibilities he gives himself as a disciple
So, what are his responsibilities as himself? Well, this is where we have to take the ominous future in mind and where humanity and saigenos come into play again.
In the ominous future, Saitama lost Genos. Much more, he was at a point where he almost lost himself. And he's the hero that had practically remained consistent throughout the entirety of OPM! He'd always been the one to save the day and to help others and make them grow. It's almost confusing to see Garou know how much Saitama cared for Genos given he never knew Saitama personally neither did he know about their relationship beforehand. Except we do know why he knows this.
In the MA arc, right when Saitama shows up again when the Cadres just finished breaking havoc, instead of going up to Garou, despite making eye contact and Garou readying himself for any attack, Saitama doesn't do anything to him at all. Do you remember what Saitama did? He went right to Genos. He ignored Garou, went to see Genos and asked him whether or not had Garou been the one to beat him up with a much darker, hidden face.
This says anything that needs to be said about what Genos means to Saitama and, at the same time, his responsibility. But this is not a good responsibility at all, especially knowing what Saitama does after. And this is not just because Genos didn't ask for it, he doesn't even know he's supposed to have it at all, much less is he able to handle it.
Genos is responsible for Saitama's humanity.
This responsibility is much different than Saitama's. Saitama had just taught him a new way of life, a life out of heroism and reintroduced Genos to domesticity with balanced hero work to it. This one, whoever, has a lot more weight. It's so much more dangerous.
Much later, Genos dies after what they had last seen of each other was themselves under "stars". Genos' core, that had been a heart, in his hand once again, Saitama had lost. Any form of Genos, whether he is himself or a piece of scrap metal, is what Saitama clings onto for humanity, for anything that reminds him that he, before anything else, is a hero.
But why do I call it dangerous? Saitama is a hero, after all. He even remembers it before the battle is actually over.
"This is bad! The earth will be shattered!" <- Blast after witnessing Saitama and Cosmic Garou's "Killer Series: Serious Punch (^2)"
Yeah. This is really fucking bad.
Genos had given support to Saitama ever since the start. Whenever Saitama was wronged Genos and the support he brought had been the only consistent thing in Saitama's life other than the apathy he felt. So, without Genos, who's there to support him?
Saitama says he doesn't care about fans, or fan letters, or fan groups, or what others think about him, and at a certain point it's true. Whether the public or other heroes showor don't show support or approval doesn't affect him at all because he is a hero because he wants to, not for the fame. But Saitama isn't exactly a reliable narrator.
"The thing is... I'm not famous" <- says a distraught Saitama to Genos after realizing that in the 3 years he's been a hero and saving the world, no one recognizes nor knows about him at all.
Genos' support was different to Saitama because Genos had been there from the start, Genos knew him, Genos lived with him. So, this arc is where Genos' responsibility and Saitama's dependency are shown, rather than born. Genos is different to the others in Saitama's life because he is the reason why Saitama isn't alone anymore. Getting Saitama to register himself as a professional hero and, because of this, meet so many people and live is another reason why this dependency in particular is also stronger than the one Manga Genos holds for Saitama.
Manga Genos' dependency seems like it transitioned naturally into their relationship and narrative, we started seeing him and Saitama hanging out more and doing stuff together as well as him complimenting and defending Saitama's from others more and more (and being called "infatuated" and "dog" by them, lol).
Meanwhile, Manga Saitama's dependency strikes, or at least it strikes me. It feels too sudden. When Saitama asks Genos "Is this the guy who beat you up?" (referring to Garou) we can catch a glimpse of it, he's ready to punch whoever hurt Genos, that's his disciple after all, but Saitama genuinely going insane at the loss of Genos and clinging so desperately to whatever is left of him?
In easier words (and letting more of my shipper-self be revealed here), Genos fell first, Saitama fell harder. And he will make it everyone's problem sooner or later. Maybe even sooner than we think.
So, summed up, Genos' dependency on Saitama exists because of the fact that Saitama has allowed him to feel and live as 'truly human' again (basically, a new life) and, because of this feat, the pedestal he puts Saitama on, the vision of a perfect teacher who knows everything and will save everyone, including him, is too high, enough for the fall to be tragic (for Genos).
Meanwhile, Manga Saitama's dependency on Genos exists because of the fact that Genos coming into his life had almost automatically made it better and introduced him to another world (basically, a new life too) and, because of this new addition to him, losing Genos means going back to the isolation he had just gotten out of.
And you could say Saitama didn't mind being alone, but that couldn't be further from the truth. All Saitama has done with characters such as the leader of the Paradise Group, Boros, King, Tatsumaki, etc, has been to try to relate to them. The man yearns for connection.
And sure, Manga Saitama might have King, Suiryu, Tatsumaki, Fubuki, Bang, hell, even the ninjas by his side. But he only does so in the manga. This 'isolation' Saitama can suffer from applies to the webcomic so much better.
The webcomic is a lot less fluffier and warm than the manga. In a way, it's part of its charm. Here, Genos and Saitama certainly feel much more like just 'master and disciple', but this is most likely because this was the first ever iteration of OPM to exist and Murata's artstyle truly makes the homoromanticism potential shine throughout.
There's much less instances of domesticity between Saitama and Genos here too, but this is mostly because the dynamic between them also changes. Now, Saitama's not just even more blunt, he's just plain up an asshole sometimes. You can see why they changed this in the manga later on.
"Nah, I'm worried that you're gonna break again or something" <- WC Saitama says after Dr. Kuseno assumes he worries that vengeance will corrupt Genos. What an asshole, huh? Where's the hero I had come to love so much?
Well, he is still right here. Saitama's dependency on Genos in the webcomic is still unknown. There's still no way to figure out whether he'd do everything Manga Saitama has done for Genos, but he cares. Even if he doesn't express it at all. Remember when I said Manga Saitama's attachment to Genos surprised me? Well, I'm ready for WC Saitama's to do so, too
"But if you're about to lose... I'll destroy it for you. Is that okay?" <- Now, here's the Saitama I was used to! I wonder if-
"Then, what chance do you have...?" <- Oh goddamn it.
That's about all I can say about WC Saitama at the moment. But WC Genos? Dear lord!
I know I said there aren't many instances of domesticity in the Webcomic, but they still do fool around. In this case, WC Genos' dependency on Saitama is almost essentially the same as in the manga.
"(...) Genos is brought back to life as a human, he's not a cyborg anymore when he's with Saitama living- well... "playing" domestic life together. This is where his core is not just a power source but rather his heart." <- what I had said about Genos's dependency and relationship to Saitama earlier.
The reason this dependency is different to Manga Genos' is the way it has constantly transformed.
WC Genos' dependency doesn't solely rely on the idolization of his teacher but now also relies on Saitama being there to remind him of his humanity. Specifically, that he is a hero. And now, with Dr. Kuseno gone (and having revealed to be evil) the only 'family' left for Genos to genuinely hold onto is, whether we like it or not, our hero Saitama. Who does this remind you of?
"It seems that the reason why Genos hasn't lost his humanity (...) is due in part to the influence of Saitama-kun" <- Says Dr. Kuseno after Genos tells him that seeing Saitama's face in a cloud calmed him down.
There may have not been as much warmth between them in the webcomic neither are they as united as they are in the manga, but what they did have clearly was enough for a bond similar to Manga Saitama's to be recreated in WC Genos. WC Genos does cling onto his Saitama for support just how Manga Saitama has onto his Genos.
"You weren't just clinging onto him for support...?", "(...) what would you kno... is that what you're doing, too...?" <- Cosmic Garou to Saitama once he sees Tareo dead and recognizes Saitama's own clinging to Genos' core.
However, there's a bit of a dark hint to this clinging. Not necessarily as dangerous as Manga Saitama's dependency, neither has Manga Genos shown signs of this too, but WC Genos, at least for a second, recognizes he's gone soft because of someone in particular.
"I knew he was a dangerous man (...) What clouded my judgment?" <- WC Genos says to himself about Dr. Bofoi before memories from Saitama flood back to him (and he hits himself because of this).
What had started as a dependency for a "perfect teacher who knows everything and will save everyone, including me" turns into "clinging to someone who keeps me human" and, finally, transforms into "clinging onto the only family I have left".
WC Genos has been able to recognize that Saitama, for the most part, has made him go soft. With the most important battle of OPM history happening soon, there's many things that could go wrong, the most likely outcome being Saitama arriving at the worst time. However, there's also another outcome, one where Saitama interrupts his fight, and here is where things get messy (and where I mention my own theories surrounding them).
WC Genos (if he survives because of Saitama's participation in the fight) could truly believe this time that Saitama's influence, their domesticity and the focus on "becoming human again" has made him weaker and that this has costed him the one victory he needed for himself. And this time he might not snap back to reality soon enough.
So, to sum Manga Saitama and WC Genos, the more dependent ones:
"I've only met you two months ago, yet meeting you has brought me closer to humanity than I could've ever gotten on my own and more than I ever expected. But humanity isn't what I need right now. Your humanity has made me weaker. // But your humanity has turned me vulnerable. Because I can't live without you anymore." <- WC Genos and Manga Saitama, respectively. Probably.
So, this is where the Break Up arc enters and we go back to comparing Saitama and Genos' "master/disciple" relationship to Mob and Reigen's.
Mob and Reigen's relationship, in comparison to Saitama and Genos' is not as complex at all, (I'm not talking about MP100, this entire thing should be enough in case you've already watched/read MP100) which is why I find it unfair to think of them as essentially the same (actually, ONE drew Ritsu as Genos and Mob as Saitama once, which is... not ideal). Overall I think relationships in OPM are a lot more complex than those in MP100 but it's also unfair to say this when OPM takes place in such a dystopian reality. But, either way, Mob and Reigen's separation arc can and might work as a base for what awaits us in saigenos hell.
ONE might be a great author and OPM and MP100 are vastly different, but they still share one same message at the end of the day: Human kind's innate ability to become who you want to be // to become your own ideal hero.
Do you have any more thoughts about how spamton feels in your spamtenna au? Absolutely love this.
In fact, he feels kind of sad, scared and guilty, maybe a little hurt/angry? But deeply caring underneath
I mean—
Spamton and Tenna had a complicated relationship during their fame years. They were friends and deeply respected, deeply loved each other— but they didn't trust each other. Not in the way that's matters. They just— they couldn't. Spamton had a deal with the [REDACTED] over the Phone, and Tenna tried to keep a good mood despite problems in the Dreemurr&Holiday family
They were both acting, pretending in front of each other, and both were aware of it but couldn't say it because it would mean revealing what THEY were hiding something
(Plus, they had completely different views on work ethics, which brought them into conflict more than once)
So. The mistrust grew more and more, and at one point they just broke up with each other
And now, after so many years, Spamton meets Tenna again. (Well, technically Tenna yeet him into his inventory without warning, but who cares about formalities?)
Spamton is angry that Tenna didn't recognize him and sprayed him. He is confused about the whole situation. He feels some kind of guilt and panic for hiding himself in the form of glasses without telling the truth
He is sad that all these years have taken away his chance to get to know the person his friend/business partner/love has grown into. But he still has some hope of building at least a good friendship with Tenna
On a solid foundation, at least now
("???wdym on a solid foundation, he literally took the form of glasses so as not to talk about the current situation with Tenna" he's trying, okay?? He still has a lot of secrets, but at least this time he's starting to talk about them and not pretending like nothing's happening. Building trust is hard, and Spamton step-by-step begins to reveal what he was hiding to. It's important!!!)
