Uniform Stealing Board

rufusluciusivan wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 4:52 pm
Glad you enjoyed it. I wanted to make it a little different than the usual "knockout dart". I picture these DC one-shots as darker and grittier (well, to some extent), so I wanted the description to highlight that. Hence why it's described paralyzing the vocal cords - which must be a scary thing to live through IRL. For a split second, Sakura probably feared this was poison - and it would also paralyze her lungs and throat. Of course, the knockout serum is non-lethal, but its description is meant to make people more ill-at-ease.

Interesting that in the DC universe you make the drug work like it did her. While in the Marvel universe you made the drug work differently. I always love the scene in "Something About and Orchid" when Gwen took out the delivery woman with a dart. As you described it "As the employee was sitting behind the wheel, just as she was about to close the door, Gwen shot her with a strong sleeping dart – SHIELD’s most efficient non-lethal weapon. Five seconds later, the employee was deeply asleep, her forehead resting on the wheel."

In that scene the drug just worked quickly to put the woman to sleep presumably without the paralyzing effects of the drug used on Sakura.

meditions142 wrote: Mon Jan 05, 2026 2:19 pm Interesting that in the DC universe you make the drug work like it did her. While in the Marvel universe you made the drug work differently. I always love the scene in "Something About and Orchid" when Gwen took out the delivery woman with a dart. As you described it "As the employee was sitting behind the wheel, just as she was about to close the door, Gwen shot her with a strong sleeping dart – SHIELD’s most efficient non-lethal weapon. Five seconds later, the employee was deeply asleep, her forehead resting on the wheel."

In that scene the drug just worked quickly to put the woman to sleep presumably without the paralyzing effects of the drug used on Sakura.

Since the universe was different, I figured out it would've been a missed opportunity to not try and write a diffferent kind of atmosphere. My Marvel saga is lighter and zanier, thus the sleeping dart's effects are described as quick and unnoticeable. I wanted the DC one-shots to have a bit of a darker edge, so the description of the sleeping dart emphasizes how scary the experience feels for the one who's hit by the dart.