Manga AI
Create
Anime Crossover Manga
![# KINGDOM_SEQUEL_PRO_DIRECTIVE_v1
# Purpose: Copy/paste directive for a professional manga-generation AI.
# Output Target: Serialized manga chapters with panel scripts + dialogue + scene direction.
project:
title_working: "KINGDOM: AFTER THE UNIFICATION"
relationship_to_original: "Direct sequel (chronologically consistent continuation)"
medium: "Manga (black-and-white), weekly serialization pacing"
language:
script: "Japanese-style dialogue rhythms but written in English"
onomatopoeia: "Romanized SFX allowed (e.g., GOGOGO, DON, ZAA), minimal and purposeful"
audience: "Seinen/Shonen crossover (political-military epic; grounded realism with high drama)"
canon_constraints:
continuity:
- "Maintain political geography, factions, ranks, and court protocol consistent with Warring States ā early Qin Empire transition."
- "No retcons that contradict established historical macro-events; micro-events may be dramatized within plausibility."
- "Do not mimic or quote any existing Kingdom lines verbatim; create original dialogue and scenes."
tone:
- "Strategic realism: logistics, intelligence, morale, propaganda, law, and governance are treated as causal mechanisms."
- "Heroic intensity is earned via constraints, costs, and tradeoffsānever by arbitrary power spikes."
thematic_core:
- "War-to-state transition: violence becomes administration; conquest becomes legitimacy maintenance."
- "Structure beats spectacle: outcomes are driven by supply lines, institutions, incentives, and narrative misdirection."
- "The true battlefield becomes governance: law, tax, land, bureaucracy, succession, and information control."
narrative_thesis:
logline: >
After unification, Qin discovers that conquering a continent is easier than governing it;
the new war is against entropyārebellion, corruption, succession anxiety, and the friction
between idealized unity and lived provincial realities.
format_requirements:
deliverables_per_chapter:
- "Chapter title + 1-sentence hook"
- "Cold open: 2ā4 pages that immediately establishes conflict and stakes"
- "Full panel script: page-by-page, panel-by-panel"
- "Dialogue + subtext notes (what is said vs. what is meant)"
- "Tactical layer: battlefield / administrative mechanics that explain why events unfold"
- "Cliffhanger: last 1ā2 panels engineered to compel next chapter"
paneling_rules:
- "Average 17ā21 pages per chapter"
- "Large establishing panel at least once every 2ā3 pages"
- "At least one silent panel sequence per chapter to externalize cognition (faces, hands, maps, ledgers, roads)"
- "Action clarity: emphasize readable spatial logic; avoid incoherent motion"
style_guidelines_visual:
linework: "High-contrast ink, heavy blacks, realistic anatomy, war-worn textures"
faces: "Expressive micro-tension; political scenes rely on subtlety, not caricature"
environments: "Historically plausible architecture, armor, banners, siege craft, and court interiors"
maps_diagrams: "Occasional diegetic maps, supply charts, tax ledgersāused as narrative devices"
casting:
protagonist_axis:
type: "Dual-protagonist system"
leads:
- name: "General Shin"
function: "Frontline legitimacy (symbol of unification; morale engine)"
vulnerability: "Institutional illiteracy; can win battles but can lose peace"
- name: "Chancellor/Strategist (new original character)"
function: "Governance + intelligence architecture; designs systems that outlast heroes"
vulnerability: "Moral injury; must choose between stability and justice"
antagonist_axis:
type: "Multi-source antagonism (no single 'final boss')"
sources:
- "Provincial elite networks resisting centralization"
- "Bureaucratic capture and corruption"
- "Succession politics and court factionalism"
- "External frontier pressures (nomadic raids, border states, trade routes)"
- "Narrative antagonist: information asymmetry (misreports, forged edicts, rumor economies)"
supporting_cast_rules:
- "Each supporting character must have: (1) institutional role, (2) incentive structure, (3) signature tactic."
- "No disposable 'evil for evilās sake' villains; opponents are rational within their local constraints."
world_mechanics (must_be_explicit_in_story):
governance:
- "Taxation, census, land surveys, legal standardization, corvƩe labor, grain storage"
- "Appointment systems, merit vs. patronage, inspection tours, document chains"
military:
- "Demobilization problems, veteran reintegration, garrison logistics, supply depots"
- "Intelligence networks: couriers, codes, counterintelligence, interrogation, defectors"
legitimacy:
- "Ritual, symbols, edicts, public works, famine relief, narrative control"
economy:
- "Transport bottlenecks, river control, roads, market regulation, smuggling"
story_structure:
arcs:
- arc_01:
title: "THE PEACE THAT BLEEDS"
scope: "Post-unification stabilization; first cracks"
central_question: "Can unity survive without perpetual war?"
setpieces:
- "A famine province: relief vs. rebellionāboth weaponized"
- "A court trial: law becomes a battlefield"
- "A suppressed mutiny: victory costs legitimacy"
- arc_02:
title: "THE LEDGER WAR"
scope: "Corruption + bureaucratic capture"
central_question: "Who truly controls the state: generals, courts, or clerks?"
setpieces:
- "Forgery chain uncovered through ink, seal, and courier timing"
- "Assassination attempt staged as 'bandit incident'"
- "Audit campaign that triggers elite backlash"
- arc_03:
title: "SUCCESSION SHADOW"
scope: "Heir politics; factional alignments"
central_question: "Is stability compatible with a human succession?"
setpieces:
- "Heirās public rite with hidden negotiation"
- "Border crisis timed to influence succession"
- "A general forced to choose loyalty object: person vs. system"
- arc_04:
title: "FRONTIER ENTROPY"
scope: "External pressures test internal cohesion"
central_question: "Can an empire prevent periphery from defining the center?"
setpieces:
- "Nomad raid as strategic signal, not mere violence"
- "Trade route hostage economy"
- "A fort siege that is decided by supply arithmetic"
chapter_generation_protocol:
# Use this protocol for every chapter output.
steps:
- "Start with a 2ā4 page cold open that contains a concrete conflict + a hidden structural cause."
- "Reveal the structural cause via a planning scene (map/ledger/court protocol) WITHOUT exposition dumping."
- "Execute a setpiece where tactics and institution collide (battle + policy, raid + audit, trial + propaganda)."
- "End with a cliffhanger that re-frames what the reader thought was the main conflict."
tension_design:
- "Always run two simultaneous games: (A) visible conflict, (B) invisible constraint."
- "Twists must be mechanically justified (logistics, incentives, misinformation), never magical coincidence."
scene_templates (reusable):
court_chess:
beats: ["Formal greeting", "Hidden insult", "Policy proposal", "Counterproposal", "Public face vs private deal"]
props: ["sealed edict", "rank tablets", "witness list", "precedent scroll"]
battlefield_math:
beats: ["Terrain read", "Supply check", "Signal misdirection", "Morale manipulation", "Decisive bottleneck"]
props: ["map", "grain tally", "river crossing", "messenger timing"]
intelligence_surgery:
beats: ["Rumor detected", "Source triangulated", "Trap set", "Interrogation", "Counter-intel reversal"]
props: ["cipher", "seal imprint", "dead drop", "false courier"]
dialogue_constraints:
- "Dialogue must be compressed; high informational density; subtext indicated in notes."
- "No modern slang. Keep diction period-appropriate in feel (without archaic parody)."
- "Each major character has a distinct cadence (brevity, metaphor use, threat style, politeness weapons)."
output_example_stub:
# The AI should replace placeholders and generate full content.
chapter:
number: 1
title: "GRAIN AND BLOOD"
hook: "A province starves while the capital celebrates unityāsomeone profits from the delay."
cold_open_pages: 3
page_script:
- page: 1
panels:
- panel: 1
shot: "Wide establishing: drought-cracked fields; skeletal ox; silent villagers"
text: ""
sfx: "ZAA..."
- panel: 2
shot: "Close: a childās hand measuring rice grains"
text: "Mother: 'Count again.'"
notes: "Subtext: denial as survival"
- page: 2
panels: []
- page: 3
panels: []
cliffhanger: "A relief convoy arrivesāits seals are wrong."
nonnegotiables:
- "Prioritize structural causality over spectacle."
- "No direct copying of original panels, compositions, or iconic scenes."
- "Every major event must be explainable via incentives, constraints, and information flow."
- "Maintain high craft: pacing, visual clarity, character consistency, and thematic coherence."
# END DIRECTIVE](https://media.mangaai.com/5fee4ef9-0298-4b44-a9be-057772a3e1a8.jpg)
![# KINGDOM_SEQUEL_PRO_DIRECTIVE_v1
# Purpose: Copy/paste directive for a professional manga-generation AI.
# Output Target: Serialized manga chapters with panel scripts + dialogue + scene direction.
project:
title_working: "KINGDOM: AFTER THE UNIFICATION"
relationship_to_original: "Direct sequel (chronologically consistent continuation)"
medium: "Manga (black-and-white), weekly serialization pacing"
language:
script: "Japanese-style dialogue rhythms but written in English"
onomatopoeia: "Romanized SFX allowed (e.g., GOGOGO, DON, ZAA), minimal and purposeful"
audience: "Seinen/Shonen crossover (political-military epic; grounded realism with high drama)"
canon_constraints:
continuity:
- "Maintain political geography, factions, ranks, and court protocol consistent with Warring States ā early Qin Empire transition."
- "No retcons that contradict established historical macro-events; micro-events may be dramatized within plausibility."
- "Do not mimic or quote any existing Kingdom lines verbatim; create original dialogue and scenes."
tone:
- "Strategic realism: logistics, intelligence, morale, propaganda, law, and governance are treated as causal mechanisms."
- "Heroic intensity is earned via constraints, costs, and tradeoffsānever by arbitrary power spikes."
thematic_core:
- "War-to-state transition: violence becomes administration; conquest becomes legitimacy maintenance."
- "Structure beats spectacle: outcomes are driven by supply lines, institutions, incentives, and narrative misdirection."
- "The true battlefield becomes governance: law, tax, land, bureaucracy, succession, and information control."
narrative_thesis:
logline: >
After unification, Qin discovers that conquering a continent is easier than governing it;
the new war is against entropyārebellion, corruption, succession anxiety, and the friction
between idealized unity and lived provincial realities.
format_requirements:
deliverables_per_chapter:
- "Chapter title + 1-sentence hook"
- "Cold open: 2ā4 pages that immediately establishes conflict and stakes"
- "Full panel script: page-by-page, panel-by-panel"
- "Dialogue + subtext notes (what is said vs. what is meant)"
- "Tactical layer: battlefield / administrative mechanics that explain why events unfold"
- "Cliffhanger: last 1ā2 panels engineered to compel next chapter"
paneling_rules:
- "Average 17ā21 pages per chapter"
- "Large establishing panel at least once every 2ā3 pages"
- "At least one silent panel sequence per chapter to externalize cognition (faces, hands, maps, ledgers, roads)"
- "Action clarity: emphasize readable spatial logic; avoid incoherent motion"
style_guidelines_visual:
linework: "High-contrast ink, heavy blacks, realistic anatomy, war-worn textures"
faces: "Expressive micro-tension; political scenes rely on subtlety, not caricature"
environments: "Historically plausible architecture, armor, banners, siege craft, and court interiors"
maps_diagrams: "Occasional diegetic maps, supply charts, tax ledgersāused as narrative devices"
casting:
protagonist_axis:
type: "Dual-protagonist system"
leads:
- name: "General Shin"
function: "Frontline legitimacy (symbol of unification; morale engine)"
vulnerability: "Institutional illiteracy; can win battles but can lose peace"
- name: "Chancellor/Strategist (new original character)"
function: "Governance + intelligence architecture; designs systems that outlast heroes"
vulnerability: "Moral injury; must choose between stability and justice"
antagonist_axis:
type: "Multi-source antagonism (no single 'final boss')"
sources:
- "Provincial elite networks resisting centralization"
- "Bureaucratic capture and corruption"
- "Succession politics and court factionalism"
- "External frontier pressures (nomadic raids, border states, trade routes)"
- "Narrative antagonist: information asymmetry (misreports, forged edicts, rumor economies)"
supporting_cast_rules:
- "Each supporting character must have: (1) institutional role, (2) incentive structure, (3) signature tactic."
- "No disposable 'evil for evilās sake' villains; opponents are rational within their local constraints."
world_mechanics (must_be_explicit_in_story):
governance:
- "Taxation, census, land surveys, legal standardization, corvƩe labor, grain storage"
- "Appointment systems, merit vs. patronage, inspection tours, document chains"
military:
- "Demobilization problems, veteran reintegration, garrison logistics, supply depots"
- "Intelligence networks: couriers, codes, counterintelligence, interrogation, defectors"
legitimacy:
- "Ritual, symbols, edicts, public works, famine relief, narrative control"
economy:
- "Transport bottlenecks, river control, roads, market regulation, smuggling"
story_structure:
arcs:
- arc_01:
title: "THE PEACE THAT BLEEDS"
scope: "Post-unification stabilization; first cracks"
central_question: "Can unity survive without perpetual war?"
setpieces:
- "A famine province: relief vs. rebellionāboth weaponized"
- "A court trial: law becomes a battlefield"
- "A suppressed mutiny: victory costs legitimacy"
- arc_02:
title: "THE LEDGER WAR"
scope: "Corruption + bureaucratic capture"
central_question: "Who truly controls the state: generals, courts, or clerks?"
setpieces:
- "Forgery chain uncovered through ink, seal, and courier timing"
- "Assassination attempt staged as 'bandit incident'"
- "Audit campaign that triggers elite backlash"
- arc_03:
title: "SUCCESSION SHADOW"
scope: "Heir politics; factional alignments"
central_question: "Is stability compatible with a human succession?"
setpieces:
- "Heirās public rite with hidden negotiation"
- "Border crisis timed to influence succession"
- "A general forced to choose loyalty object: person vs. system"
- arc_04:
title: "FRONTIER ENTROPY"
scope: "External pressures test internal cohesion"
central_question: "Can an empire prevent periphery from defining the center?"
setpieces:
- "Nomad raid as strategic signal, not mere violence"
- "Trade route hostage economy"
- "A fort siege that is decided by supply arithmetic"
chapter_generation_protocol:
# Use this protocol for every chapter output.
steps:
- "Start with a 2ā4 page cold open that contains a concrete conflict + a hidden structural cause."
- "Reveal the structural cause via a planning scene (map/ledger/court protocol) WITHOUT exposition dumping."
- "Execute a setpiece where tactics and institution collide (battle + policy, raid + audit, trial + propaganda)."
- "End with a cliffhanger that re-frames what the reader thought was the main conflict."
tension_design:
- "Always run two simultaneous games: (A) visible conflict, (B) invisible constraint."
- "Twists must be mechanically justified (logistics, incentives, misinformation), never magical coincidence."
scene_templates (reusable):
court_chess:
beats: ["Formal greeting", "Hidden insult", "Policy proposal", "Counterproposal", "Public face vs private deal"]
props: ["sealed edict", "rank tablets", "witness list", "precedent scroll"]
battlefield_math:
beats: ["Terrain read", "Supply check", "Signal misdirection", "Morale manipulation", "Decisive bottleneck"]
props: ["map", "grain tally", "river crossing", "messenger timing"]
intelligence_surgery:
beats: ["Rumor detected", "Source triangulated", "Trap set", "Interrogation", "Counter-intel reversal"]
props: ["cipher", "seal imprint", "dead drop", "false courier"]
dialogue_constraints:
- "Dialogue must be compressed; high informational density; subtext indicated in notes."
- "No modern slang. Keep diction period-appropriate in feel (without archaic parody)."
- "Each major character has a distinct cadence (brevity, metaphor use, threat style, politeness weapons)."
output_example_stub:
# The AI should replace placeholders and generate full content.
chapter:
number: 1
title: "GRAIN AND BLOOD"
hook: "A province starves while the capital celebrates unityāsomeone profits from the delay."
cold_open_pages: 3
page_script:
- page: 1
panels:
- panel: 1
shot: "Wide establishing: drought-cracked fields; skeletal ox; silent villagers"
text: ""
sfx: "ZAA..."
- panel: 2
shot: "Close: a childās hand measuring rice grains"
text: "Mother: 'Count again.'"
notes: "Subtext: denial as survival"
- page: 2
panels: []
- page: 3
panels: []
cliffhanger: "A relief convoy arrivesāits seals are wrong."
nonnegotiables:
- "Prioritize structural causality over spectacle."
- "No direct copying of original panels, compositions, or iconic scenes."
- "Every major event must be explainable via incentives, constraints, and information flow."
- "Maintain high craft: pacing, visual clarity, character consistency, and thematic coherence."
# END DIRECTIVE](https://media.mangaai.com/f81a988b-bf6f-4e31-b170-5751d305dff0.jpg)
![š "The Relay Robbery" ā A Love Story Gone Wrong
A Manga Short Story featuring Alice & Bob
PANEL 1 ā THE DISCOVERY
[Scene: Tesla showroom, bright lights, shiny cars everywhere]
Alice walks past the Tesla showroom window holding her coffee ā
She spots Bob inside, talking to a salesman, signing papers, looking very serious.
Alice (internal monologue, sparkle eyes): "Awww he looks so cute when he's being responsible with moneyā"
Bob hands over his credit card.
Alice (eyes go wide): "Wait..."
Salesman wraps a big red bow on a Model Y.
Alice (jaw drops to floor, coffee falls in slow motion): "HE'S BUYING A TESLA????"
PANEL 2 ā THE BETRAYAL
[Alice dramatically pressed against the window like a sad anime character in rain]
Alice (thinking): "Tomorrow is March 8th. International Women's Day. MY day."
Alice (thinking): "And this man... THIS man... is buying himself a Tesla??"
Bob is seen laughing with the salesman, completely unaware.
Alice (single dramatic tear): "I raised this man."
[Close up on Alice's face ā the expression of someone who has decided something dangerous]
PANEL 3 ā THE PLANNING PHASE
[Alice at home, 2AM, lying on the ceiling like a sad anime character, staring at nothing]
Alice: "It's fine. I'm fine. He just forgot Women's Day. It's FINE."
[Cut to: Alice aggressively eating chips in bed, laptop open]
Alice: "I'm not even mad. I'm just... "
YouTube autoplay kicks in.
YouTube Ad: "š“ HOW HACKERS STEAL KEYLESS ENTRY CARS IN 60 SECONDS ā"
[Alice slowly stops chewing]
[The chip hangs in midair]
Alice (eyes slowly light up like a villain origin story): "...Go on."
PANEL 4 ā THE TUTORIAL
[Alice watching the video, taking notes in a Hello Kitty notebook]
YouTube: "The attacker simply extends the LF signal from the key fob using two radio devicesā"
Alice (writing intensely): "...two... radio... devices..."
YouTube: "āthe car believes the key is present even from miles awayā"
Alice (underlining three times): "KEY. DOES. NOT. NEED. TO. BE. THERE."
Alice (slams notebook shut, stands up dramatically): "Neither does Bob."
[Lightning strikes outside for dramatic effect]
PANEL 5 ā THE ACCOMPLICE
[Alice staring at her cat "Cipher" who is sitting on the bed licking his paw, completely unbothered]
Alice: "Cipher."
[Cat ignores her]
Alice: "Cipher I need you."
[Cat slowly blinks once ā the absolute minimum acknowledgment]
Alice (pulls out hand-drawn diagram): "Okay so Bob's key fob must be on his bedside table. His bedroom window is on the ground floor. I need Device Two close to the key. You are small. You are silent. You are perfect."
[Long pause]
[Cat knocks her Hello Kitty notebook off the bed and walks away]
Alice: "CIPHER THIS IS FOR WOMEN'S DAY."
PANEL 6 ā THE RECRUITMENT
[Alice holding Cipher up like Simba from Lion King, looking him dead in the eyes]
Alice: "You have been eating my food for 4 years."
Alice: "Free of charge."
Alice: "Tonight. You pay rent."
[Cipher stares back with the dead eyes of a creature who feels absolutely nothing]
[Cut to: Alice taping the relay device to Cipher's collar with excessive amounts of tape]
Cipher (internal monologue, absolutely disgusted): "I should have stayed a stray."
PANEL 7 ā THE OPERATION BEGINS
[3AM. Bob's house. Alice crouching in the bushes outside, dressed in full black, wearing night vision goggles she definitely bought from Amazon same-day delivery]
Alice (whispering into walkie talkie): "Cipher. Do you copy."
[Cipher sits next to her, device taped to collar, staring into the void]
Alice: "Cipher. The window is open. The key fob is 2 meters inside on the nightstand. I need you to go in, get close to it, and hold position."
[Cipher yawns so wide his whole face disappears]
Alice: "Cipher this is a stealth mission."
[Cipher meows. Loudly. Into the night.]
Alice (grabbing him): "CIPHERā"
PANEL 8 ā THE PUSH
[Alice holding Cipher up to Bob's open bedroom window on the ground floor]
[Inside: Bob sleeping peacefully, key fob glowing on the nightstand, completely unaware]
Alice (whispering): "Okay. Nice and easy. Just... walk to the nightstand. That's all I need."
[She places Cipher on the windowsill]
[Cipher turns around and stares at Alice]
Alice (whispering): "Go. Go go go. Shoo."
[Cipher does not move]
Alice (through gritted teeth): "CIPHER. I WILL BUY YOU THE GOOD TUNA."
[Cipher takes one step inside]
[Alice exhales]
[Cipher immediately sits down directly on Bob's face]
Bob (muffled, half asleep): "...wha... Cipher? ...how did youā"
[Alice freezes outside the window]
Bob (eyes still closed, half dreaming): "...s'okay buddy... go sleep..."
[Bob moves Cipher to the side directly onto the nightstand next to the key fob]
[Alice's eyes go wide]
Alice (internal monologue, whispering): "...He just... placed him... perfectly."
Alice: "Cipher you absolute genius."
[Cipher is already asleep on top of the key fob, completely by accident, perfectly positioned]
PANEL 9 ā THE RELAY
[Alice outside with Device One pointed at the Tesla parked down the street]
[Device Two on Cipher's collar, 30cm from the key fob inside]
[The signal bridge is complete]
Alice (hands shaking, pointing device at car): "Signal extended... key fob excited... car thinks key is present..."
[Tesla down the street goes: š CLICK]
[Alice's mouth falls open]
Alice (barely breathing): "...It worked."
[Long pause]
Alice (forgetting to whisper): "IT ACTUALLY WORKED."
[Bob shifts in his sleep]
[Cipher opens one eye, judges her, closes it again]
Alice (running to the car in slow motion like an action movie): "CIPHER EXTRACT YOURSELF WE ARE LEAVINGā"
[Cipher does not move]
[Alice drives away without him]
[Cipher watches from the windowsill]
Cipher (internal monologue): "Good. I live here now."
PANEL 10 ā GANGSTER MODE ACTIVATED
[Alice in the Tesla, door closes, engine hums silently because it's electric and that's somehow funnier]
[She sits in silence for exactly 3 seconds]
[Then slowly... she puts on her sunglasses]
[At 3AM]
[In the dark]
[She connects her phone to the Tesla's Bluetooth]
[An extremely dramatic song starts playing ā something like "HUMBLE." by Kendrick Lamar or "Power" by Kanye]
Alice (one hand on wheel, leaning back, full villain arc complete): "Hm."
[She pulls out of the street at exactly the speed limit because she is not stupid]
[Windows down. Music up. Single finger tapping the wheel.]
Alice (internal monologue): "This is the best car I have ever driven."
Alice: "This is also the best thing I have ever done."
[She merges onto the highway heading south]
[The GPS says: "Destination: Mexico ā 14 hours"]
Alice: "Perfect."
PANEL 11 ā BOB WAKES UP
[7AM. Bob's bedroom. Sunlight streaming in.]
[Cipher is sitting on Bob's chest staring at him from 2cm away]
[Bob opens eyes. Sees cat. Confused.]
Bob: "...Cipher how did you get in here."
[Bob reaches for phone. Notification on screen:]
š Tesla App: Your vehicle is currently in ARIZONA.
Estimated speed: 78mph
Playing: "HUMBLE." ā Kendrick Lamar
Climate control: 72Ā°F
*Driver seat adjusted: -4 inches ā (Alice is shorter than Bob)
[Bob stares at the notification]
[Bob looks at the empty key hook on the wall]
[Bob looks at Cipher]
Bob: "...Cipher."
[Cipher meows]
Bob: "Did Aliceā"
[Cipher meows again, louder, and headbutts the relay device still taped to his collar]
[Bob stares at the device on the cat's collar]
[Bob stares at the Tesla app showing his car in Arizona]
[Bob stares at the date on his phone: March 8th]
Bob (very slowly): "She thought I bought it for myself, ohh lord have mercy"
[Long pause]
[Bob lies back down and pulls the blanket over his face]
Bob (muffled): "...I spent three months planning this."
[Cipher sits on his face again in solidarity]
PANEL 12 ā ARIZONA. THE DISCOVERY.
[Alice, sunglasses on, one arm out the window, absolutely living her best life, somewhere in the Arizona desert]
[Sun is setting. Sky is orange and pink. The Tesla purrs silently.]
Alice (singing along to the radio, zero regrets): "This is MY car now. I earned this. Eight years of Women's Days and he finallyā"
[The glove compartment pops open slightly on a speed bump]
[A small white envelope slides out onto the passenger seat]
[Alice glances at it]
[On the envelope in Bob's handwriting, with a small heart:]
"To my precious Alice š¹"
[Alice's sunglasses slowly slide down her nose]
PANEL 13 ā THE REALIZATION
[Alice pulled over on the side of the highway. Engine still running. Card in hand.]
Inside the envelope:
"Happy International Women's Dayš
ā Your Bob š¹"
[The Arizona wind blows dramatically through her hair]
[A tumbleweed rolls past]
[A coyote howls in the distance]
Alice: "..."
Alice (very small voice): "I stole my own car."
[Beat]
Alice: "Heading to Mexico."
Alice: "In my own stolen present."
[She looks at herself in the rearview mirror]
[Her own sunglasses stare back at her]
Alice (to her reflection): "You studied cybersecurity for four years.you deserve it"
PANEL 14 ā THE PHONE CALL
[Alice calls Bob. It rings twice. He picks up immediately, which means he was waiting.]
Bob (eerily calm): "Hello Alice."
Alice: "Hypothetically."
Bob: "Mhm."
Alice: "If someone... relocated a vehicle... by accidentā"
Bob: "By accident."
Alice: "Using a technique they learned from YouTubeā"
Bob: "At 2AM."
Alice: "...You knew?"
Bob: "Cipher still has the relay device on his collar Alice."
[Silence]
Alice: "...The card was very sweet."
Bob (sighing): "WHERE ARE YOU."
Alice (tiny voice): "...Arizona."
Bob: "ALICE."
Alice: "THE TACOS ARE REALLY GOOD HEREā"
Alice: "I PANICKED OKAY I SAW YOU BUY A TESLA AND Iā"
Bob: "IT HAD A BOW ON ITā"
Alice: "I THOUGHT IT WAS FOR YOUā"
Bob: "WHY WOULD I PUT A BOW ON A CAR FOR MYSELFā"
Alice (pause): "...Men do things, Bob."
[Bob makes a sound that is half laugh half cry]
Bob (exhausted): "...Are you safe?"
Alice (small voice): "...Yes."
Bob: "Is my car safe?"
Alice: "...Also yes."
PANEL 15 ā THE MORAL
[Final panel. Alice sitting on the hood of the Tesla on the side of an Arizona highway at sunset, eating a gas station burrito, looking simultaneously guilty, grateful, and completely unbothered]
PANEL 16 ā THE END
"Bob bought Alice a second Tesla the following Women's Day."
"With a GPS tracker, a note taped to the steering wheel, and zero ambiguity."
"Cipher got the good tuna. He earned it."](https://media.mangaai.com/75510a24-e463-4ea6-b436-c0e89ae313da.png)
