#Shout out to me finding a massive spoiler

[zorobff]

how to disappear. (opla!zoro x fem!reader)

synopsis: joining luffy’s crew made you believe that you’d finally escaped your former pirate crew and nightmare of a captain for good. that is, until a certain butler starts looking a little too familiar. good thing zoro’s keeping a close eye on you.

warnings: opla spoilers (ep 3), some direct dialogue from opla, mentions of verbal/physical abuse, kuro is just a weirdo tbh, reader is called a bitch, protective zoro, for the sake of the story sham and buchie joined the black cat pirates after reader left

word count: 4.7k

“this guy is full of shit.”

you knock your shoulder into zoro’s wider one. “be nice. and so what if he is?” 

zoro gives you a pointed glare. “then we should turn around and look for someone who can actually help us find a ship.” 

“all business, as per usual,” you reply, with a purposefully dramatic sigh. “why can’t you have a little fun?” 

“what about this is supposed to be fun?” zoro spits out the word like it’s poisonous. “this is the blandest village i’ve ever seen.”

you scoff. “now you’re the one that’s full of shit. nothing’s ever bland with us and you know it.” 

the us in question was your newly formed pirate crew… if you and luffy could even be considered that. having left the ship you’d been on a few years ago, you were in search of a new crew. luffy was persistent and charming — when you’d crossed paths in shells town, it took little to no time for him to convince you to join his hunt for the one piece. zoro and nami, on the other hand, had yet to follow in your footsteps. 

“well, considering that we’ve only been traveling together for a day and a half and i’ve already escaped a marine base, defeated a marine captain, and fought a clown with devil fruit powers… i’d actually have to agree.” 

you can’t help but giggle at his sarcastic delivery. “be grateful, zoro. not many pirate crews are this fun to be on, trust me. oh wait, that’s right, you still haven’t officially joined—”

“tell me about your old pirate crew,” interjects zoro, your comment having piqued his interest. 

you notice that the playful atmosphere dissipates. “god, where do i even start?” 

zoro answers that for you. “why did you leave?”

“starting with the hard hitting questions, huh?” you joke, mostly to stall. you clear your throat before you answer. “well, it was different. nothing like what luffy has going on. he actually cares about his crew… and even those who aren’t technically on it.” 

at that, a smile tugs at the corner of zoro’s lips. even you crack a small grin. although as you continue speaking, it fades. 

“on my old crew, we were dispensable. anytime something went wrong, our own captain would threaten to kill us. it was… scary, to be completely honest. there were so many times when i thought i’d die with that filthy crew. and i never wanted that. so as soon as we docked at shells town, i left.”  

zoro’s jaw clenches as imagines the things you’d seen and been subjected to. “this old captain of yours sounds like a real—”

“he was a nightmare,” you tell him. “he didn’t care that i was the only woman on board, he treated me just as horribly, if not worse.” 

zoro stops so suddenly that it takes you a second to realize he’s not walking alongside you.

“what do you mean by that.” the way zoro phrases the inquiry doesn’t even make it sound like a question. more like a demand. his narrowed eyes are fixed solely on you. holding his gaze feels… intense. 

you can’t help but glance away as you answer him. “he was just a bit of a creep.”

before zoro has the chance to try and extract more information out of you, a familiar voice calls both your names. you’re not really sure when you and zoro had fallen behind but from where you currently stand, the rest of your group looks miniature. or perhaps it’s just the massive size of the mansion behind them that makes luffy, nami, and usopp look pocket-sized in comparison. 

“why’d you stop walking?!” your captain shouts, hands pressed on each side of his mouth to amplify his voice. “get over here, we’re about to go in through the top secret entrance!” 

you vaguely make out usopp gesturing for luffy to keep his voice down. you’re sure that would warrant another comment from zoro about his reliability but he’s too busy staring at you with that expectant look in his eyes. 

“we better catch up,” you tell him, heading in the direction of the deluxe home. 

he allows you to dodge the subject and sighs, walking in long strides to catch up to you.  

“i’ve never seen a house this big before,” luffy admits, admiring the mansion along with the wellkept greenery surrounding it. 

“awesome, right?” usopp gloats, walking around like he owned the place. “kaya’s given me an open invitation to drop by anytime i want.” 

“wow.” you’re not sure if luffy was just going along with usopp’s act or if he really believed him. knowing the devil fruit user, it was more than likely the latter. “all this for just one person?”

“well, she lives here with her butler and a few other staff,” usopp replies, leaning against the stone well that sat in the middle of the lawn.

“money really shows you who people truly are,” nami mutters, eyes scanning the property. “most people only care about themselves and what’s theirs.”

zoro is quick to throw the insult back at her. “sounds like someone i know.”

you roll your eyes at his comment, though you make no effort to disagree with him. nami was a little on the materialistic side. 

“and a small staff makes for easy pickings,” she continues, proving your point.

“we just got here and you’re already planning on robbing the place blind?” you ask though you already know the answer.

“at least a little blurry,” she smirks, following behind luffy and usopp who walk toward the entrance. 

you and zoro share a look. one that says disappointed but not surprised. 

going under a shrub shaped as an arch, you’re met with a beautiful pond. you admire the pink lilies that float at the top and the bushes that were intricately trimmed into the shape of various animals. even if the people that lived here were filthy rich, at least they had good decorative taste. 

“so if you have an invitation, why are we going around the back way?” luffy ponders.

usopp’s answer is nonchalant. “oh, i never use the front entrance. like i said, this is the vip entrance reserved for special guests.”

zoro scoffs. “this guy’s definitely–”

“don’t start,” you groan, cutting him off. 

abruptly, usopp freezes and spins around, attempting to usher your crew back. “you know what, there’s actually a more exclusive entrance this way–”

the sharp swoosh of a knife cutting through the air and burying itself in the ground between usopp’s feet cuts him off. from the direction the kitchen utensil was thrown stands a heavyset gentleman with his face wrinkled in anger. his demanding voice booms through the garden, “the hell are you doing here, usopp?” 

the dark-skinned boy fumbles over his word. “buchi, buddy, uh, kaya’s expecting me.”

“another one of your lies,” the man – seemingly named buchi – seethes, grabbing him by the collar. “you ain’t welcome here and you know it.”

“i know nothing of the sort,” usopp retorts, keeping his cool even when he was practically being lifted off the ground by his shirt. “i’m here to give kaya an extra special gift.”

before buchi can get another word out, a feminine voice calls out for your companion. coming down the steps is a frail looking girl in a pink dress. on her arm is a man dressed in a crisp suit, presumably the butler usopp had mentioned earlier. though, from where you stand you can’t see either of their faces too clearly. 

“what a wonderful surprise,” she exclaims, breathlessly. 

“kaya!” usopp exclaims, returning her enthusiasm. buchi has no choice but to let him go, begrudgingly. usopp makes sure to shoot him a smug look before walking towards the young girl. “happy birthday.” 

the butler clears his throat, not afraid to intrude on their special moment. “usopp, we’ve discussed this before. you mustn’t show up unannounced.” 

“nonsense, klahadore.” kaya smiles warmly. “have you come to tell me another story? i do love hearing about your adventures.” 

“i’ll do you one better,” usopp smirks with such confidence that even you’re left wondering what kind of surprise he has up his sleeve. “i brought some of my crew!” he gestures back towards the four of you, proudly. 

your excitement vanishes. “oh. the surprise is… us.”

“well, that’s boring,” luffy agrees, just as disappointed as you are. 

kaya, on the other hand, is none the wiser. “it’s so nice to meet you. you must all stay for dinner.” 

klahadore lowers his voice. “miss kaya, it is a bit last minute. i’m afraid the kitchen hasn’t prepared for any extra guests.”

“please,” begs kaya, softly. “it’s my birthday. can’t be too much trouble can it?” 

giving in, klahadore purses his lips. “anything for you, miss kaya.” 

luffy claps his hands together. “alright! when do we eat?” 

“you don’t. not dressed like that, at least.” the butler directs himself to a staff member with teal colored hair. “sham, kindly show usopp and his friends to the guest suites. you will bathe and change before dinner.”

she follows his orders and leads the way. luffy, usopp, nami, and zoro trail behind her and you go to do the same. however, all it takes is a quick glance to stop you dead in your tracks. usually, you weren’t one to stare but klahadore’s face. that stare. so dark and depraved. 

“yes, miss?” he asks, holding your gaze. “can i help you?” 

“n-no, i…” your throat goes dry as you attempt to recover smoothly. “i just wanted to, um, thank you for being so hospitable.” 

his lips curve upwards into a sinister grin. “the pleasure’s all mine.” as if to confirm your worst fear, klahadore uses his palm to readjust his glasses. his beady eyes gauge your reaction closely.

the familiar gesture sends chills down your spine. appearance-wise, he had changed drastically but his aura was still just as menacing as you remember it. he was still the corrupt pirate captain you used to serve under. you feel like a weak and helpless subordinate all over again.

“klahadore!” giggles kaya. “you’re smiling! that’s certainly a rarity.”

he hums. “i’ve simply come to the realization that having guests once in a while can truly be a delight.”

his sickeningly sweet tone makes your stomach turn. just the fact that you were standing in front of him – captain kuro – again after all these years was nauseating in itself. last you’d heard he had died at the hands of captain morgan. how was this even possible? then again, he wasn’t dubbed kuro of a hundred plans for no reason. he always had a trick or two up his sleeve. you assumed this was no different. 

“hey, you comin’?”

you turn around to see zoro waiting for you. he meets your gaze for a moment. the softness of his eyes is a stark contrast to kuro’s. it’s a breath of fresh air. he then shifts his attention to your former captain and you swear his eyes darken. 

“yeah, sorry,” you mumble, trying not to look shaken as you walk up the steps. 

zoro follows behind you, this time closer than before.

“why would anybody even need this many clothes?”

“it’s not about need with these people, luffy. it’s about want,” nami spits, thumbing through the various fabrics on the wall. 

“at least she’s rich and nice,” luffy replies, innocently.

nami rolls her eyes. “yeah, letting us stay for dinner must be her idea of charity work.” 

“what are we even supposed to wear?” luffy continues, uninterested in nami’s criticism of the rich. 

“anything you want. when are you ever going to get the opportunity to wear things this nice?” 

you step out from behind the changing board where you’d swapped out your old tee and cargo skirt for an elegant satin dress. it was a stunning shade of olive green and frilly lace decorated the edges. not to mention, it hugged your curves in all the right ways.

nami’s eyes widen. “see, she’s got the right idea. you look amazing.” 

you smile, bashfully. “honestly, i feel amazing.”

“you look the same to me,” your captain shrugs.

nami shoots him a death glare but you intervene before she can scold him.

“way to keep me humble, luffy.”

“no problem!” 

at that exact moment, a freshly showered zoro arrives donning a silk robe. he eyes the multitude of garments that cover every inch of the room, not particularly impressed. 

“there you are. don’t you think she looks nice?” nami asks him, gesturing towards you. she doesn’t notice how you shrink under zoro’s gaze. neither does he, as his eyes take their time raking over you, from top to bottom.

he hums. “suits you.” with that, he sets off towards a chair in the corner of the room.  

“seriously?” sighs nami, exasperated. “are you two physically unable to give compliments or something?” 

“hey, doesn’t that butler seem familiar to you guys?” zoro asks, promptly ignoring nami’s complaint. 

his question causes your breath to hitch. you’d pushed the kuro problem to the back of your mind while you were in search of a suitable dinner outfit. you figured that as long as your crew was by your side, he wouldn’t dare try anything. and even if he did… well, you’d seen what had happened to axe-hand morgan and buggy. 

“yeah, i think he was at the last dinner party i attended,” nami replies sarcastically, taking a handful of dresses behind the changing board. 

as he takes a seat, zoro grumbles, “i swear i’ve seen him before.” 

“where?” you can’t help but ask, fiddling with the lace on the neckline of your dress. 

“so far, i’ve got two suspicions. a wanted poster or funky bar on mirrorball island. you ever been?”

you know zoro’s teasing you, judging by the grin on his face. after all, funky bar was known to get insanely rowdy; never would he imagine finding someone as gentle as you there. but what he didn’t know is that it happened to be one of kuro’s favorite bars. per his request, you and the rest of the black cat pirates frequented it often, so he was more than likely right about having seen kuro there. he’d probably even seen you in passing, once or twice. thankfully, he doesn’t seem to have any recollection of that.

the thought of zoro knowing about your past forms a knot in the pit of your stomach. would he think less of you for having joined such a ruthless crew at one point in your life? what if it put a strain on the friendship you’d worked so hard to form? 

“i’ve, uh, heard of it,” you decide to reply, pushing down your worries for the time being. 

he tilts his head slightly, thinking out loud. “then again, i have seen a lot of wanted posters and bars in my time as a pirate hunter.”

you feel a grin creep onto your face. “probably more bars than posters, huh?”

zoro mirrors your smile. “shut up.”

by the time dinner rolls around, the entire crew is doing what they do best. 

luffy is stuffing his face, nami is attempting to swindle one of the staff, zoro is hanging by the drinks, and you’re hanging by zoro. 

“hey zoro, you gotta try this!” luffy calls through a mouthful of food.

“i’ve got all i need right here,” he mutters, taking a swig out of his champagne flute. 

“you know, i don’t think i’ve ever seen you choke down something that isn’t alcohol,” you comment, watching the way he downs the glass in one go. 

dryly, he replies, “that’s because i haven’t.”

“very on brand.”

“ladies and gentlemen,” calls out that voice from the top of the stairs. “may i present… miss kaya.”

arm in arm, kuro and kaya walk down the steps, all eyes on the birthday girl and her stunning gown. well, except you. your eyes never leave the so-called butler by her side. your jaw clenches when he has the audacity to meet your gaze and hold it. shameless bastard. 

once they reach the bottom, merry leads kaya to the guests while kuro takes his post at the bottom of the stairs… right next to the drink table. before you can think about steering yourself and zoro away, kuro speaks.

“forgive me if i am speaking out of line, madam, but i must inform you. you look positively radiant,” he purrs, soaking in your appearance. he looks ready to pounce.

you can’t stop your eyes from rolling. good to know he’s the same pervert he used to be.

looking between you both and sensing your discomfort, zoro steps in. “and you look familiar.” 

kuro’s head stiffly turns to face him, eyes peeling away from you. “highly doubtful, sir.” 

“funky bar? mirror ball island?” 

“funky bar?” kuro repeats, disgusted. “well, i can assure you i’ve never patronized that type of establishment.” 

while it was amusing to see your highly esteemed former captain lie through his teeth, the tension between him and zoro was unbearable. 

“well then.” zoro continues with his little interrogation. “ever been on a wanted poster?”

you cringe at his bluntness. sometimes it seemed like he had less of a filter than luffy.

kuro puts on a scandalized face at the question. “sir! such an accusation is highly offensive.” tugging on his collar, he goes to remove himself from zoro’s probing. “now, if you’ll excuse me, i’m going to help prepare the dinner table.” 

he leaves, en route to the dining room. zoro’s eyes follow his figure until he disappears, squinting as he racks his brain for any further recollection of this suspicious butler. 

you sigh. if zoro was going to continue being so relentless, you were sure the night would end in bloodshed and uncovered secrets. 

“keep this coming,” zoro demands, handing the empty wine bottle to sham. she takes it with a glare. 

“would it kill you to say please?” you ask, slicing the slab of fish on your plate into smaller pieces.

“the service here is shitty. why should i have to be polite?” 

you scowl. “remind me to never have dinner with you again.”

zoro turns to you with that cocky grin of his. “what if i asked nicely?” 

his quip makes your heart flutter but you manage to keep your composure. “you can try your luck.” 

before he can respond, usopp speaks up. “luffy, isn’t there something that you wanted to talk to kaya about?” 

luffy gesticulates enthusiastically with his fork. “oh, yes! usopp told me that you own the whole shipyard.” 

“well, actually, my parents founded the shipyard and merry’s been running the business since they… passed. but all that’s about to change. tonight, at midnight, i will become the sole owner.” she smiles somberly. 

“well, that’s great,” luffy says, raising his drink at her. “because we want to buy a ship from you.” 

“ah, i see. usopp mentioned that you’re sailors.” 

“nope, not sailors. we’re pirates!”

you’re certain at least three people at the table choke on their food, yourself included. 

“this ought to be good,” zoro mumbles behind his glass.

you’re too busy coughing into your napkin to chastise him for finding this entertaining.

“pirates?” kaya repeats, unsure of how to react. 

“yup! we haven’t sailed together for very long but we’ve already defeated an evil clown, raided a marine base, and taken down a captain with an axe! for a hand!” luffy holds up a fist, presumably to impersonate axe-hand morgan.

“sounds a lot like your adventures, usopp,” kaya says, turning to the brunette.

all he can do is laugh dryly. “yeah, that’s… that’s crazy.” 

“and we’re just getting started!” luffy continues, climbing up onto the table.

“someone put me out of my misery,” you mumble, looking down at your plate to ignore the secondhand embarrassment.

a tap on your shoulder answers your plea.

turning around, you find yourself face to face with kuro once again. “madam, a word please?”

“might i ask what for?” zoro cuts in before you can so much as think of a response.

kuro offers him the most forced grin you’ve ever had the displeasure of seeing. “i’m afraid that is between the lady and i.”

the swordsman turns to you, scanning your face for any ounce of discomfort. “you okay with that?”

you inhale, figuring it was finally time for you to confront the darkest part of your past. it was silly to assume you would be able to ignore him throughout your entire stay here. besides, you were sure zoro, just like the rest of your crew, would be on standby if kuro got brave enough to try anything. “sure. just… keep an eye out.”

zoro understands completely. truthfully, you didn’t even need to ask – he always looked after you. “got it.”

you push yourself out of your seat and smooth out your dress. you allow kuro to lead you to the doorway – he was smart enough to know that was the farthest you’d let him take you. 

“what do you want, klahadore?” you seethe, folding your arms.

he arches a brow. “why must you call me that? it’s ridiculous.” 

you tilt your head with faux innocence. “oh? is that not your name? must have misheard.”

he gives you an irritated look, dark eyes drilling into you.

“i remember that look,” you mutter, your memory serving you well. “it’s the same one you’d give me before you’d threaten to slice me to bits with your claws.”

kuro has the audacity to chuckle dryly. “but i never did, did i? although there were certainly times times where i should’ve.”

“what you should be is dead,” you hiss bitterly. “when i heard the news, i knew it was too good to be true.”

“you wound me, kitten,” he drawls, reaching up to fix his glasses. 

the condescending nickname makes your skin crawl. it carried so many awful memories of your time spent with the black cat pirates. it reminded you of just how weak kuro viewed you — nothing but a helpless, pitiful kitten in his eyes. typical of the man that abused his authority and treated you with not a single ounce of respect. 

he continues, putting on a sweet tone. “after all these years, stuck waiting hand and foot on that spoiled brat, there’s nothing i’d love more than to hear my favorite crew mate say my real name.”

you snap at him. “i’m no crew mate of yours.”

he sighs, dramatically. “sadly, you’re correct. after all, you did slip off the ship the moment we docked in shells town. locating you on an island crawling with marines proved to be nearly impossible. we had no choice but to leave without you.”

“that’s exactly why i chose to escape there.” 

“and to this day i can’t for the life of me figure out why you would ever do that. why would you want to leave us? leave me?”

you actually laugh right in his face. “is it really that hard to figure out? you were evil. you threatened and harassed me on a daily basis.”

“so your solution was to join that ragtag crew?” he glances at the table. “it’s pathetic, even for you.”

you lean into his face, lowering your voice down. “i’m happier than i ever was on your shitty crew. every day i wake up grateful that i managed to escape you.”

you see that vein on his forehead bulge before he’s gripping you by the chin. “listen here, you little bitch–”

the shiny silver of a sword slides between you and kuro, coming to rest against his neck. his adam’s apple bobs as he gulps anxiously, releasing you. thanks to zoro’s sword, it seemed as if he finally remembered where he was. you were no longer on his ship, he was no longer allowed to treat you like the dirt he walked on. not without someone noticing, that is. 

“why don’t you step away?” zoro offers simply.

that much was a kindness. usually those who found themselves on the end of zoro’s blade(s) weren’t lucky enough to receive a warning. however, the swordsman didn’t wish to cause a scene. at least not when you were right there and everyone was watching with shock from the dinner table.

kuro obliges, stumbling back. he meets kaya’s horrified eyes, feeling ashamed that he allowed his act to slip. surely this would cause some setbacks in his plan. with no excuse for his uncharacteristic behavior, the raven haired man scurries away and up the stairs.

zoro turns and locks eyes with luffy, giving him one singular nod. luffy returns it, jumping out of his seat and going after the butler. quiet murmuring breaks out at the dinner table, everyone surely confused. 

sheathing his sword, zoro directs his attention to you once more. “are you alright?” a calloused hand comes up to grip your chin, much like kuro had. however, this time, the touch is gentle. loving, almost. you welcome it.

“yeah, i’m… fine.” your heart is beating out of your chest and it has everything to do with your close proximity to zoro.

he tilts your face around, inspecting every inch of it. once he finishes, he pulls back. his demeanor goes serious once more. “we need to have a talk.”

you nod. “i know. i’ve been keeping some things from you guys and–”

“just tell me what’s been going on,” he demands. “and don’t overcomplicate it. you can be straightforward with me.”

his sincerity makes you start over, this time far more candidly. “klahadore used to be a pirate. i was part of his crew. he was my… captain.”

the shame in your voice pulls at zoro’s heartstrings. didn’t you know there was no reason to feel guilty with him? “is that it?” 

you open your mouth to speak but come up empty. all you can do is furrow your eyebrows at his unexpectedly dismissive reaction.

“i knew it,” zoro continues, annoyed. “i knew i’d seen him on a wanted poster before. just didn’t have any proof.”

“wait, so you don’t– you really don’t care?” you ask, still avoiding eye contact. “me being a former black cat pirate doesn’t bother you?”

he shrugs. “you said it yourself. ‘former.’ all that matters is that you got the hell out of there. and away from that creep. would he always put his hands on you like that?”

you blink a couple times, sighing. “his temper was really bad so–”

that seemed to be enough for zoro. “i’ll kill the bastard,” he hisses. “wanted to slice him to bits the moment i saw him grab you.” 

though it’s a violent threat, you can’t help but smile. the idea of zoro being so protective that he’d kill a man just for touching you made you blush. pirate love language, you suppose.

“well, i wouldn’t have stopped you,” you tell him, more than ready to see your former captain go.

zoro clicks his tongue. “nah. could’ve stained your new dress with his blood. i never would have been able to forgive myself.”

“so you do have a soft spot,” you tease.

“only for pretty things.”

“do you mean me or the dress?” 

now it’s zoro’s turn to become bashful. though, his lack of response is an answer in itself. you can’t help but giggle. 

a loud bang from upstairs interrupts your moment with the green-haired man. you assume luffy had gotten his hands on kuro… or vice versa. zoro must be thinking the same thing judging by the way he instinctively rests a hand on the handle of his blade.

“you should go up there,” you tell him. “i’ll stay with kaya.”  

he gives you a nod, though he doesn’t make any effort to leave. he stands there like he wants to say something… or do something. before you can think about it too much, you pull him in by the collar and crash your lips onto his. they’re slightly chapped and taste like the wine that’d come from the cellar – it’s pleasant. his large palms come to rest on your lower back; his hold feels tight and secure. 

when you finally allow yourself to pull away, you’re biting back a smile. “kick his ass for me.” 

“will i get more of that if i do?” asks zoro, wetting his lips. they now taste like the cherry lip gloss you’d borrowed from kaya. he takes a step forward, attempting to close the gap between you two once more.

you shrug, pushing him away by the chest. “go help luffy and we’ll see.”

you both know that means yes.

[taylorman2274]

We Care About You (Part V)

You are forcibly summoned to Teyvat via dream trawling for answers. A long awaited discussion ensues...

Content Warning(s): Xiao Story Quest Spoilers

Notes: SAGAU; GN!Reader;

Word Count: 1.4k

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Taglist: @silverstarred; @victoria1676; @angelofdarkness2; @areaderspov; @andromeda-gay; @ash1; @mercy-not-merci; @toodledoodl3; @jellyedkazoo; @namine123; @innuwu; @agaygothicmushroom; @tired-of-life-86; @fantasyhopperhea; @sweetsourbxtch;

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After you had decided you were no longer going to play Genshin Impact, you felt as if a massive weight was lifted off your shoulders. Had the past few weeks really taken that much out of you?

"I suppose it did," you assumed as you were playing another game with your friend group. "I haven't felt this relieved in a long while."

You and your friend group spent many hours talking, laughing, raging, and sharing memes. When you noticed it was just past midnight, you felt that it was the best time to get some sleep. You bid goodbye to your friends, closed your computer, and went to take a quick shower.

While in the shower, thoughts began to ruminate in your head. "It's gonna be hard for me to find another game that will get me addicted as much as Genshin did. But maybe something in my backlog might work for now."

The thoughts continued after the shower, after brushing your teeth, and after getting in bed. "I almost forget what game I was playing before I started Genshin. Was it something I finished? If not, maybe I should go back to that."

Before long, you fell asleep. However, unbeknownst to you, your computer mysteriously turned itself back on and began to launch a certain application...

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"Do I need to remind you again how to perform Dream Trawler?" Xiao asked.

"Nuh-uh," Paimon shook her head, setting down a Seven-Star Lamp. "Paimon has a great memory! First, we offer incense with respect for Rex Lapis. Next, we meditate and think of our target. Then, we shout 'Bring Forth Sin'!

"It's 'Devayaksha, Bring Forth Sin'," the Traveler corrected as they were adjusting the position of the censer.

"Right!” Paimon nodded, setting down another Seven-Star Lamp. “Lastly, we let loose a couple of arrows towards the two yaksha statues to... to uh... uhhh...".

"Tsk. Fools."

This conversation was taking place while the Traveler and Paimon were setting everything up for the Dream Trawler ritual. However, instead of going back to the two yaksha statues on the southern face of Mt. Tianheng, Zhongli suggested they perform the ritual at Luhua Pool.

"If my guess is correct, [Y/N] will most likely panic upon realizing where they are. If that's the case, it would be better for them if they weren't so close to the harbor. It's best if we do not attract any attention."

Both the Traveler and Paimon agreed. Neither of them wanted [Y/N] to be afraid. They only wanted to give them the warmest of welcomes.

"Are you two done yet?" Xiao asked, annoyed at how long it was taking to get everything set up.

The Traveler and Paimon walked up to Xiao. "Yep! Everything's set up just like last time."

Xiao nodded. "Good. Get ready to initiate the ritual."

The Traveler and Paimon nodded in return. They put the incense inside of the censer and began to meditate.

"Since we are dealing with someone from another world, I would imagine that a great deal of focus should be needed to summon [Y/N]. This is especially true since we have no idea what they look like. I'm sure Xiao warned you of the consequences this could cause should you not take this seriously.

Zhongli's words echoed in your mind as you put all of your focus towards [Y/N].

"Hmm..."

[Y/N], who has been with them since the beginning.

"Ohh..."

[Y/N], who has done their best to guide them along their journey.

"Ahh... Hmm..."

[Y/N]. [Y/N]. [Y/N]. [Y/N]. [Y/N].

"Devayaksha, Bring Forth Sin!"

---------------------------------------------------------

...

... ...

... … …

It's cold.

You shifted in your sleep and immediately felt the lack of bedsheets surrounding your body.

Instead, you felt... rock? Sand?

Slowly opening your eyes, you were met with the cloudy midnight sky, trees with orangish-red leaves, and tall, rocky mountain peaks.

"...Wait. ...Why am I outdoors?"

Your eyes slowly began to adjust to the moonlight.

"...And why does this look so familiar?"

You brought your hand to the ground to begin pushing yourself up, but stopped moving once you noticed the light blue glow surrounding it.

"What the hell?!"

Shocking the exhaustion from your body, you quickly rose up from the floor, nearly losing balance as you stood due to how light you suddenly felt. You looked around the rest of your body and found that you were completely surrounded by the light blue glow.

"This has to be a dream... This has to be..."

"My job is done. I'm leaving now."

Startled, you quickly turned around to find three familiar persons standing a couple of yards away from you.

"Huh? Why don't you wanna stay?" A floating pixie asked.

"...Paimon?"

A short, tattooed man with azure hair scoffed in response. "I don't deal with mortals."

"...Xiao?"

You let out a crazed chuckle. "I've got to be dreaming."

Paimon, oblivious to your decreasing sanity, shook her head. "Nope! We summoned you here via dream trawling. Isn't that great?!"

You were silent for a few seconds before you responded. "Dream... trawling...?"

Sensing that you were still confused, Xiao sighed in annoyance. "You are [Y/N], right?"

Hearing the sound of your name shook some sense into you, but you still involuntarily nodded.

"Good. When you're ready to send them back, speak my name." Xiao told the Traveler before disappearing.

However, seeing Xiao disappear right in front of your eyes shook you even further. "Woah...! That looked way too realistic."

The Traveler let out a small cough to grab your attention. "If you wouldn't mind, [Y/N]. We summoned you here because we've been wanting to talk to you for some time now. Please, grab a seat."

They gestured toward a stone table that was definitely not there the last time you visited. They then sat down on the stone seat facing you. When they looked up, they realized that you hadn't even moved as much as an inch. Additionally, you stared straight at them, yet still appeared lost in thought. Sensing that you may still be bewildered about your current situation, they spoke up.

"You don't need to worry about anything, [Y/N]. There is nothing around here that will hurt you," they gestured to the seat again. "Please."

Had they been unable to see your chest moving in and out, both Paimon and the Traveler would have thought you to be a statue.

"This is a dream. This is real. This is a dream. This is real. This is a dream. This is real..."

Paimon shared a worryingly glance at the Traveler before floating on over to you. You were too oblivious to your surroundings to notice her approaching, but when she finally reached out a hand to tap your shoulder, you flinched back. Hard.

"Wahh! Sorry! Paimon's sorry!" Paimon quickly apologized.

Meanwhile, your brain was working in overdrive to assess the situation. "I felt her! I felt her! I'm not dreaming! I'm not dreaming! This is real! This is real! THIS IS REAL!"

"Paimon get back," the Traveler commanded, standing up from their seat. "They're in shock."

"In shock!? What do we do about that?" Paimon questioned.

The Traveler didn't respond, instead, they slowly began to walk towards you.

Becoming more aware of your surroundings, you noticed the Traveler approaching and slowly began to back up, raising your arms in front of your body. "No no no no. Don't come any closer."

However, the Traveler continued to walk forward one step at a time. They raised their hands up in the air. "It's okay, [Y/N]. It's okay."

You shook your head. "No, it's not okay," you rapidly spoke, breathing loudly. "I'm not supposed to be here."

"Yes, you are. We summoned you here."

You backed up into a broken stone pillar. "Why?" you asked, looking behind you for a quick second. "What did I do?"

They stopped in place before a sorrowful gaze appeared on the Traveler's face. "You’ve done nothing wrong."

Silence hung in the air for an agonizingly long time. Finally, you spoke:

"...Nothing?"

The Traveler nodded. "That’s right. We just want to talk."

You slowly lowered your arms. "About... what?"

Both the Traveler and Paimon smiled. "About our future journey together."

Confusion set upon you once again. "What? But I… I said I was done."

The Traveler sadly shook their head. "We know, but we can't let you leave. Not after all you have done for us."

Paimon chirped in. "Exactly! You're our friend after all!"

Your breathing stopped upon hearing Paimon. After all that effort you put into making amends with them. After believing that it was all for naught.

"You... you see me... as a friend?"

The Traveler nodded, their smile growing bigger. "We do."

Silence fell upon the three of you once again. This time, it was the Traveler who broke it.

"I think it's time we all grab a seat. Shall we?"

---------------------------------------------------------

Author's Notes: I was originally going to make this longer, but I once again struggled at trying to write this scene out. It's hard trying to figure out how people should believably react to this scenario.

Because it's never happened before, duh.

Anyways, the next part will be the end of this series. Stick around for the ending!

[celestialmazer]

Shout out 🍻 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🤝🇮🇪

Will ye go, lassie, go?/Wild Mountain Thyme/Purple Heather/The Braes of Balquhidder - Robert Tannahill/Francis McPeake/Robert Archibald Smith

With Scots language subtitles - https://youtu.be/U4amVK3NL3w?

Full article below

Sinners Star Jack O’Connell on Playing an Irish-Dancing Vampire in Ryan Coogler’s Hit Film

“We just threw it down and started jigging.”

by Claire Valentine McCartney April 29, 2025

Spoilers ahead for Sinners.

For the first hour of Sinners, the Southern Gothic blockbuster from Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that the Michael B. Jordan-starring film is billed as a horror-action flick. Coogler dedicates such care to building the intricate world of the first half of the story (which is set over one 24-hour period in 1932 Mississippi) that when Jack O’Connell’s Irish vampire, Remmick, first appears onscreen—his bare skin smoking and peeling as a group of Native Americans chase him away—it’s a jolt. When he shows up a second time, politely asking to join a party at the Jordan-played twins’ freshly opened juke joint, it’s a marker that the film’s genre and tone are about to shift. And indeed, all hell breaks loose into a cataclysmic bloodbath.

O’Connell, 34, has been a cult-favorite actor since his days on beloved U.K. teen drama Skins. In Sinners, he plays the grinning Remmick with a charismatic edge. Although his character is a ravenous vampire seeking to turn the entire town into fellow undead (and steal their memories, talents, and music in the process), in the context of the viciously racist Jim Crow world the film is set in, where the Klu Klux Klan still runs free and violence waits in the shadows—Remmick offers a false but alluring post-racial utopia to his would-be prey. As an Irishman turned into a vampire before he arrived in America, Remmick seems to view race from the viewpoint of a disenfranchised outsider, rather than in the literal black-and-white terms the characters are otherwise boxed into. It’s an interesting dynamic that O’Connell says was already “all on the page” when he first received the Sinners script.

“Instantly, you could tell that Remmick was very well-written, with a lot of depth,” he tells W. “When you’re offered that, it’s a great starting point.” British-born with an Irish father, O’Connell was uniquely prepared for the role, which includes a climactic Irish step dance to the classic 19th-century folk song “Rocky Road to Dublin.” Below, O’Connell talks working with Coogler, getting back into his step dancing groove, and the next horror roles he already has lined up:

How does the huge reception to Sinners feel? It’s the number-one movie in America right now.

It’s massively rewarding to think that it’s gone down how we’d hoped. You just never know. Ryan Coogler is just a fucking brilliant filmmaker, so I’m just buzzing for everyone—but mainly for Ryan.

What did you think when you first read the script?

Obviously, I wanted to know about “Rocky Road to Dublin” and what that was doing within this piece. I wanted to know about the Irish dance, and I was massively surprised to find out that Ryan was going to try and do the genuine, traditional Irish stuff. He caught me off guard. But once I knew that he was down for the real deal, I thought, “Count me in.” It suddenly made sense.

Sinners goes deep on the history of Black American music and its ties to other cultures, like “Rocky Road to Dublin.” Is that something you and Coogler talked about?

We spoke about it quite a lot. It’s about the sharing of ancient cultures and customs, be it within music or within language. It’s that migration of people, and the similarities between them. It’s impossible to put a precise start date on these cultures sharing things, but more recently and more localized for us would be the melting pot that was within the South, with African peoples, Irish and Scottish peoples, Europeans—all of them bringing these ancient forms and traditions with them.

Remmick hints at his life in Ireland before he was turned. Did you create a backstory for him?

If I can lay claim to bringing anything to the party, it was “Go Lassie,” one of the ballads. It’s a Scottish song, the second song you hear the trio singing. That’s pretty much the only thing I invented. Everything else was on the page—that’s all Ryan.

How did you prepare for the big Irish dance scene in the middle of the film?

The dance was one of the first things I started preparing, mainly out of nerves and fear of getting it wrong. I used to do [Irish dance] as a kid, but that was nearly 30 years ago, so it felt a little out of my comfort zone. I teamed up with Angela O’Connor with the Academy of Irish Dance in London. We rented a space and just threw it down and started jigging. It was cool, man. She also choreographed something for that dance scene, and the timing of “Rocky Road to Dublin” is quite uncommon, the way the tempo is structured. So she had to wrap her head around that.

What was that day like on set?

It was a really transcendental experience. We’d done the outdoor section of that amazing one-shot journey through music, starting with Sammie’s song. Then the second half of the night, we got to “Rocky Road.” It was crazy. Everyone had their makeup and attire on, and the music was playing, and everyone was happy, and there was a real, eminent joy we felt. And then the sun came up, and we all had to stop, just like our vampires. We all had to go home and get some rest. It was really mind-blowing, life imitating art.

You had to wear quite a lot of prosthetics. Did that help you get into character?

Yes—the application of them can be a bit trying, with the contact lenses, and stuff going in and out of your mouth, things attached to your fingers. But once you surrender to it, things reveal themselves to you. Details make themselves apparent, and it can really help the character evolve.

There’s a lot of symbolism in the film, and Remmick’s character seems like a pretty clear metaphor for cultural appropriation and exploitation. What did you make of what he symbolizes, and did that affect how you played the character?

I’m probably going to take Ryan’s lead and just kind of agree that any metaphor within the story is in the eye of the beholder. As an actor and an artist, I’m always looking for hidden meanings and intellectual answers, so that’s not to say that they’re not deliberately put there. I definitely had my takes. But they’re so open to interpretation, and I respect Ryan for not really wanting to be too explicit about it.

You have the horror films 28 Years Later and its sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple coming up next. What makes you drawn to this genre?

It’s zombies, rage, apocalypse—we’ve got it all in there. But the genre is just coincidental. Filmmakersare what draw me. To go from Ryan Coogler’s set straight to Danny Boyle, I was just pinching myself. And then onto the Nia DaCosta set [for the sequel], it was a dream come true.

[livesworthlivingau]

Behind the Vale Chapter 18

ISAT/Two Hats Spoilers as always! CW: Homoerotic fight scene What? Who said that?

"Hmmmm…" [You ponder deeply, looking over the collection of daggers on display at the town's blacksmith.]

"What's up? None speaking to you?" [Nille chimes in, noticing the look on your face. Does having a mouth again really make us that easy to read?]

"No, they aren't… I'm not sure a dagger feels right anymore."

"Oh? Well what else would you get? I can't exactly see your scrawny butt using a big hammer." [She teased with a smirk. You rolled your eyes some.]

"Riiight, and who destroyed that sadness standing over you when we first met~?"

"I had that under control! I was just making it think it had me!" [You both laugh, even she couldn't pretend that was true.]

"But to answer your question, I'm not quite sure, something agile still but…"

"How about a rapier?"

"NO! No no no! The Housemaiden uses one of those."

"… And?"

"… Just… I'd rather not… Have that constant reminder." [She rolls her eyes but drops it. It seemed the only thing preventing another talk was the fact you were in public.]

"Okay, uhhh... Oh! What about one of those?" [She asked, spotting a rack with several whips hanging off of them.]

"Oh… Oh yes, that actually sounds nice~." [You say as you walk over to it, glancing about at them all hanging, finding a lovely looking one with lightless and darkless diamond patterning across its whole length.]

"I think this will do perfectly~."

---------------------------------------------------

[The sound of 3 booming CRACKs sound out in a row as you try to snap your new whip across the practice targets setup. You manage to split the first in half, but your swings go wide on the follow ups, missing the other two.]

"Hey! Not bad! You're a natural at this!"

"Not bad?! I only hit one blinding target!"

"... Vale, have you ever used a whip before?"

"Not that I can recall, no."

"Uh huh, and you just expected to be great at it first thing?"

"I mean, I used paper craft pretty well first thing~."

"Well yeah, that was instincts. If you're a paper type now, that's gonna come a lot more naturally. Stress of combat and all, you don't think you just act."

"Hmmm... You make a good point... Maybe there's some more sadness nearby we could try and track down?"

"You wanna go hunting sadness' now?!"

"Well how else am I going to get better at this?" [Nille smacks her own face gently in a facepalm before sighing out.]

"Alright, alright, if you're set on this..." [She begins, placing a hand on your shoulder.]

"Now think fast!" [She shouts before using her other arm to scoop under your leg, suddenly lifting you over her head and tossing you over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.]

"WH-HEY?!" [You cry out, tumbling across the grass and sliding to a stop. You look up at Nille, her hammer now out, playful grin on her face.]

"If you're so set on a fight, I'll give you one pretty Vay~!"

"N-Nille?! Y-You can't just toss me like that!!"

"Actually I can, pretty easily in fact!" [She beams with a bright laugh, your face burns in a fluster as you grumble, readying your new whip, holding your other hand in a paper sign.]

"F-Fine! But you asked for it!"

"Don't hold back for me now Vale, I won't for you!" [She remarked with a wink, then suddenly rushing towards you.]

[You step back in surprise, not expecting her to actually approach with such intent. She raises her hammer, preparing to swing. You finally snap out of it and bring your hand forward, summoning a shield like before. Nille's hammer swings right through it, dampening the blow but still sending it slamming into your side, knocking you over and tumbling a bit again.]

"Ack! H-Hey!!"

"Oh come on, you're paper type now, you barely felt that!"

"Y-Yes but STILL!!" [You shout, more so protesting about getting tossed around than anything else. She pays no mind to your pleas as she begins to rush at you again. You wonder how she's so blinding fast with that massive hammer.]

"Gonna have to go on the offensive soon~!" [She taunts at you. Alright, we can figure this out, there's got to be some way we can slow her down somehow... Wait, didn't Odile have a craft like that? Yes! We've seen it countless times! You take a breath for a moment, trying to replicate the ritual she performed when using it, sending a lethargic wave towards Nille to help weigh her down some.]

"Oooh, got some other tricks up your sleeve?" [She calls in surprise, though it doesn't seem to affect her as much as Odile's ability did. It would have to do for now, taking a defensive stance and flourishing your new whip. She swings high as you duck below, swapping her momentum to slam down before you barely manage to jump back out of the way.]

"C'mon! Go on the offensive Valey!" [She encourages, you snap your whip forward, coiling it around the neck of her hammer. With a heavy tug and pulling paper gesture, you manage to yank it free from her grip, tossing it upwards and spinning off behind you as you watch it fly overhead.]

"Hah! What are you gonna do no-ACK!!" [You begin to tease, turning back to Nille who was suddenly moments away, tackling into you and sending you both sliding across the ground, skidding to a stop. You stare up at her in stunned silence. She chuckles some, seeing your face.]

"HAHA! Here's a tip, Vay. Never let your guard down." [She teased... then perked up some, noticing your face with her own darkening, quickly getting up off of you... Our face feels hot. Are we blushing?...]

"Heh, uhh... Sorry about that, got a little carried away there." [She mumbled some, holding out a hand to help you up, taking it and easily getting lifted off the ground.]

"But good hustle! Seems like you got a few new moves to work with!" [Her face is still dark, she's trying to change the subject, you recognize this tactic... Why is our face burning?! You try to shake the sensation away.]

"R-Right~! Guess we won't have to worry much next time a sadness comes around~!" [You remark, desperately trying to slip the mask back on. You both stand in awkward silence for a moment.]

"... W-We should probably get back to the Inn."

"O-Oh yes! I'll uhh... meet you there, I wanted to stop by the local tailor first~."

"Oooof course you do."

Get ready for some new official outfit designs next Vale chapter~

[brinksnow]

stage fright 12/03/25 spoilers :]

here are my little observations of the night :]

- the audience was so rowdy tonight and you could just tell that they both LOVED that.

- reece started genuinely laughing during the puppet sketch, especially after the whole “where does your colon go? up your bum!” bit.

- all 3 times a kidnapped celebrity has been unmasked while i’m there, reece has absolutely died of laughter

- david walliams! certainly played into the whole “posh twat” thing very much so. started out by practically listing his whole entire imdb page, then the “i’ve sold 60 million copies of my childrens books, and that’s just today!” len and tommy then went on to make fun of him for being in the pudsey dog movie, which i did completely forget happened ??? jesus what a memory

- len kept getting britain’s got talent wrong. “brian’s got talent” and “kitten’s got talent” were two of a few.

- david was surprisingly very into the flamenco dancing, and even did practically a whole verse of the improvised song. he was also the best trumpet player out of all 3 celeb guests i’ve seen, but that’s not saying much

- his accent work was not great tho. they practically dropped the whole joke because he went “but guys i don’t do accents” so reece just went “alright alright just do it in your voice then”

- when len went to go off into the kitchen, david went “no don’t leave me on stage by myself!”, to which len goes “why?? what do you think is going to happen to you?? i’ll only be in the kitchen??”

- at the sardines gag, david turned to the audience after he closed the full wardrobe and went “i didn’t watch the show so i didn’t understand that reference”

- after len got the name wrong a final time, david came out of the wardrobe screaming “IT’S BRITAIN’S GOT CUNTING TALENT”, to which reece started laughing and went “are you done?”

- as david went up the stairs, he turned to tommy and len and shouted “i liked you guys better when you worked with mark gatiss!” turned to walk back up the stairs again, and then went “AND JEREMY DYSON!!”

- reece was going nuts with hugo tonight. the ollie plimsolls bunny hops™️ were in FULL force. and when it got a laugh the first time, he just kept on doing it.

- steve getting emotional and hugging reece-as-toby made me very sad tonight. he was realllyyy into it and the whole theatre was silent

some extra bits: i brought along my mother! who i was also making watch tlog if you remember. here were her thoughts throughout the show

- she found the theatre sketch very funny, particularly when reece put nuts in the sushi

- she then said “was he supposed to sound like edward there?”

- she also thought kidnapper len was a lot like tubbs

- she’s not a massive fan of bernie clifton’s dressing room (she doesn’t understand a lot of the jokes as she obviously didn’t grow up in the UK, let alone during the 70s/80s), but she did find it funnier on stage.

- she loved the finale

- “they’re warped individuals”

and then she waited with me at the stage door and took videos and photos for me !! steve was very friendly and was happy i had my book open ready for him to sign already 😭😭 and reece thanked me for coming and was also ever so sweet !!

[thefandomenchantress]

Chapter 2 Episode 15 Spoilers below!

Since Ace being the culprit has brought about so much pain to ace lovers, including me, I figured I'd make a list of all the good things that him being the culprit brings to us. Even though Ace will (probably) be executed next episode, that doesn't mean that nothing good came out of this, right?

-Ace's backstory may be revealed much sooner than expected! Before we would've had to wait for chapter 3 or chapter 4 and so on, but since Ace will be gone soon, almost everything not revealed next episode will get told to us in a bonus episode! (I think every dead person gets one of those? Idk if that's officially confirmed). I doubt Teruko's gonna find, like, Ace's diary in chapter three detailing his life story, so if we're ever getting the Taylor Lore™, it'll be in a bonus episode! Plus, a bonus episode would come out a lot faster than the whole of chapter three, so more Ace content sooner no matter what happens in it! And there's always the chance he gets picked for an FTE, since dead people are on the list of options.

-Ace canonically has neat, fancy handwriting. Begone rumors of Ace having illegible, traditionally boy-ish handwriting, he actually writes like a 19th century scholar and I find this very funny. More evidence for my 'Ace likes reading and writing and wanted to become a romance author' crack theory, since he also reenforced his particularness about vocabulary in chapter 2 part 2. (Our only remaining question: Does Ace actually have terrible spelling ('responsibel'), or did he just think Eden would?)

-Ace is very good at being sneaky and often overhears things he shouldn't. I can't wait for this to be used as a plot device in numerous fics ("XANDER YOU'LL NEVER GUESS THE SHIT I JUST HEARD DAVID SAY ABOUT YOU WHEN HE THOUGHT HE WAS ALONE").

-Ace will have to be included in the dead (formerly a) trio posts forevermore. Get ready for Xander-Min-Arei-Ace shenanigans.

-Now that the cast has been forced to acknowledge that being dumb and angry aren't Ace's only traits and that he's just as human as the rest of them, Ace is much less likely to be seen as just those two things by the average viewer. Ace's popularity, or at least the amount of dislike towards him, seems to have shifted since the last episode, and I'm happy more people are able to enjoy what his character has to offer now. He's a cool little guy. I've literally NEVER seen the Ace Markey tag this busy before.

-We got so many cool Ace CGs guys. SO MANY. Including one where he's hanging upside down on the swing set and looks weirdly cute for someone in the middle of a murder plan.

-Also new sprites! The DRDTdev gave Ace a redesign knowing full-well that it would only get a singular chapter of use, and I massively respect that. We already got some new sprites in part 2 of chapter 2 so far, and I'm guessing next episode he'll probably have at least one more breakdown sprite before he dies.

-For someone who no one in the cast liked, he's definitely going to leave an impact. He's finally made at least some of the cast realize what happens when they ignore the issues right in front of them. Ace shouts about how everyone hates him and sees him as an insufferable idiot? Eh, probably nothing, we don't have to worry about that. Sure, multiple people told him he's gonna die next in here, and he almost got murdered, but that won't amount to anything. What's he gonna do, murder someone--WAIT SHIT Ace step away from the Arei I repeat step away from the Arei-- (plus Teruko parallels). I'll probably go more in-depth about this sort of thing in a different post.

-WE NEVER GOT TO SEE WHAT'S UNDER HIS GLOVES. Kyoko and Mukuro both had hand-related secrets that connected them to the plot later on, does that mean Ace will have some sort of relevance to the mastermind or overall lore later on? Like a Mai tattoo situation? (Or maybe it's another thing that may be alluded to or discussed in the bonus episode)(Or left to interpretation but I hope not because I have so many theories).

If you have any more suggestions for other good Ace-related things the culprit reveal brought us, let me know and I can add them to the list! We need as many good things as we can think of right now...

[loupy-mongoose]

*Ahem*

Happy Halloween!! ^w^

Bug Fables.

It's my current favorite video game, and actually, you can thank it for Linden Roots existing~

I'll explain, but in order to do so I have to dive into spoilers for one of my absolute favorite plots for one of my absolute favorite characters, so I need to slap on a;

MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING!

In my opinion, this game is best experienced SPOILER FREE, so if you haven't played it and want to some day, I recommend skipping my info dump below. (This info can be acquired before beating the main game though. :>)

You're okay with spoilers? Yes? Okay, carry on.

So.

Those who are familiar with Leif's story will probably see how Bug Fables influenced the creation of Linden Roots.

A long while ago, I mentioned Randy being inspired by my favorite fictional character.

That's Leif.

Leif is a moth who is ancient.

And dead.

Loooooong before the game takes place (I can't find an exact timeframe; it's like a generation or two), Leif went with a team of bugs to explore a cave, but ended up dying in there. In that same cave, a group of scientists later experimented on cordyceps. Now, as soon as they became relevant to the story I was HOOKED.

I learned about cordyceps as a kid, and they scared the crap out of me. But it also was one of those morbidly fascinating things I'd look into once in a while. (Before anyone tells me, yes, I know that's what's in The Last of Us.)

If you don't know, IRL cordyceps basically turn bugs into zombies.

Anyway, the scientists were trying to find a way to create eternal life (what else is new lol), and did this through cordyceps. Which, as one could guess when dealing with zombie fungus, ended up going badly for the scientists.

One of the "failed" experimental fungi was thrown out, and found its way to the deceased Leif, and brought him back to life. It took on his memories, and Leif woke up without knowing what happened, until you dig into his story during the game. So the "Leif" we know in the game isn't truly Leif, but is the fungus living as him.

Now... I'm sure that sounds a bit familiar...

This idea of a character being dead-but-not struck a chord with me. It fascinated me to no end.

But there's more to it.

As one might expect, Leif has some tragedy surrounding him.

While playing the game, you can stumble upon his decedents.

This here is Muze. With a 'z'

This is Leif's great great however-many-greats grand-daughter, who you meet in the game's present day.

When he was alive, he had a wife.

His wife was Muse. With an 's'.

We never get to see what Muse looked like, but he says in-game that Muze is a spitting image of her. Hence why Akoya is dressed as she is in my pic. She's dressed as Muse.

Now, according to the developers, Muse was pregnant when Leif went into the cave where he died.

And he didn't know.

There are several moments in the game that show Leif's potential as a father, but one in particular stood out to me.

(Note for the images; Leif refers to himself as "We/Us".)

Oops, I forgot one. Vi finishes by shouting "I said it's not happening!"

The text in the last shot bounces/wiggles in-game, indicating playfulness or joking.

If you're familiar with Goombario and Goombella in the Paper Mario games, this dialogue is this game's version of that. You can have the main characters give flavor text on any area and most characters in the game. (And I recommend doing it often, as it adds SOOO much to the game! ^v^)

This bit takes place in the first room after Kabbu and Vi meet Leif. And at the end of the room, an event happens to change what's said for the rest of the game. Meaning, the only time you see it is RIGHT after they meet; He was getting playful with these two bugs he'd met only moments ago.

I'm sure it can just be seen as sarcasm, but having found this dialogue after learning about Leif missing out on raising a child, I saw it as a clue that he would've been a great dad. And it shattered me. ;w;

Randy and Akoya are wish-fulfillment. They're my version of Leif and Muse. They're my way of giving Leif and Muse what I'm sad they missed out on, while also keeping some of the angst, lol. Thankfully, they've evolved into their own separate characters that I feel I can be proud of, but Leif's story and tragedy still has a deep, well-protected place in my heart.

Anyway, thanks for checking out my ramble. I accept no blame for any potential spoiler you might've seen against your will. XD

[secretswiftymarvelfan]

The Demigod On Earth - Steve Rogers x Reader (The God of a Massive Pain in My Ass)

A/N: As soon as I watched the Loki Series Finale I knew I had to write this

Summary: A mysterious figure comes back from the dead... again.

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: Fluff! Light Angst! Loki Spoilers!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Masterlist / Main Masterlist

The God of a Massive Pain in My Ass

You smiled softly as you looked over your shoulder at JJ who was excitedly telling you and Steve about his day at school. The school had been visited by the local fire department for a fire safety talk and JJ couldn’t stop talking about all the cool things he’d learnt.

“They brought a dog too! It was a dalmatian!” JJ exclaimed.

“Oh wow, does the dog fight the fires too?” Steve asked as he glanced in the rear-view mirror. 

JJ laughed and shook his head “noo! They stay at the station to keep everyone company”

“Aw that’s very sweet” you commented, running your hand over your bump and returning your attention back to the front.

As Steve turned the corner someone stood at your front door caught your attention. Your blood ran cold as you instinctively reached out to grab Steve’s arm “Stop the car here” you told him.

Steve instantly did as you said “What’s wrong” he said, eyes wide with worry as he looked over at you. 

“Nothing, just take JJ to the park while I deal with something,” you said, not taking your eyes off the person at the front door. 

Steve followed your gaze before swearing under his breath “Right okay yeah sure” he nodded. 

“Thank you, I shouldn’t be long 20 minutes max” you tell him unbuckling your seatbelt. 

“Sweetheart” Steve said putting his hand on your arm as you were about to get out of the car “Don’t get too stressed” he reminded you his eyes dropping to your bump. You shoot him a look that had him immediately backtracking “But you know I’d say this is warranted”

“Yeah I’d say so, 20 minutes” you huffed as you got out of the car. 

You waited until Steve pulled away again and was out of sight before you turned around to face your visitor who had the audacity to wave at you. You clenched your fists before storming up to the front door. 

His mouth had barely opened when you swung and punched your brother Loki square in the face “What the fuck is wrong with you!” you screeched. 

Loki groaned, hand cupping his jaw “I deserved that” 

“Seriously what is wrong with you?! Do you get off causing pain to your loved ones? Do you not understand how horrible it has been to grieve you multiple times only to find out you’re fucking alive! You didn’t think to come back and help us against Thanos?!” you shouted at him hitting his shoulders and chest.

“I couldn’t” Loki sighed.

“Couldn’t or wouldn’t” you sneered. 

“I couldn’t because he did kill me, that was the moment I did die, or at least that version of me” Loki sighed with a sad look on his face. 

Your screwed your eyes shut and shook your head “What?” you said unable to make sense of what he was saying. 

Loki sighed “I can explain if you would let me” he said holding his hands up in a defensive manner. 

You took a deep breath before looking up at Loki, you could see the sincerity in his eyes, eyes that looked tired and like they’d seen too much “okay, but you only have 15 minutes now before Steve and JJ gets back and beware the dog” you said as you pulled out the key and opened the door. 

As expected Scout came bounding over and was his usual wiggly self. It was difficult to stop the smile that threatened to break out as you watched Loki try and negotiate the golden retriever. You led him through to the living room, sitting down as soon as you could because you’d worn yourself out already. 

As soon as he could Loki sat down on the opposite side of the couch, hands ringing together nervously “did Steve tell you about his time when he went back to get the stones?” Loki started, you nodded in response “well I’m the Loki who took the tesseract after Stark lost it” he explained. 

You hold your hand up to pause him “Wait, so you’re from 2012? So the dark elves and Thanos that’s not happened to you yet?” you asked.

“Yes, it’s technically my future, I’ve seen it all play out at the TVA” Loki explained.

“TVA?”

“The Time Variance Authority, they control the timeline and ensure everything runs correctly” Loki explained, you blinked in confusion so he explained some more “Me taking the tesseract wasn’t supposed to happen, by me taking it I became a variant and they arrested me” 

“So you created a new timeline and they arrested you to get rid of that timeline?” you guessed.

“Yes, exactly that! But there’s more to it” he said before recounting his story of the TVA and Kang the Conqueror. 

“So right now all the timelines are loose and it’s causing time to unravel and if you don’t stop it the entire universe will cease to exist” you said pinching the bridge of your nose and trying desperately not to stress out too much about it. 

“Yes, but I know what I need to do, and it will work. I just wanted to make amends because I won’t be able to visit ever again,” Loki sighed.

“Why not? Don’t get me wrong I’m still pissed at you but I just got you back” you muttered.

“Someone needs to hold all the timelines together once I hold on I won’t be able to let go again” Loki explained “There’s no other way, I wish there was but I’ll be able to see you, watch over this timeline, maybe there’s one where we were all still together, you, me, thor… our parents”

You let out a watery chuckle hearing that, after everything you never expected Loki to refer to Odin and Frigga as his parents again “that would be nice” you said wiping away a stray tear. 

Loki gave you a sympathetic smile which just made you cry even more, this was the brother you grew up with and you couldn’t believe he was back only to leave for good.

“Sorry, it’s all the hormones” you apologised as Loki wrapped his arm around you and pulled on in for a hug. 

“That is an exciting development, I saw a boy with Steve too,” Loki said.

“That’s JJ we had him a year before the snap, he’s Steve’s mini-me,” you tell him with a warm smile.

“Urgh another one” Loki groaned which earned him a punch to the arm. 

“And this one will be a little girl” you smile gesturing down to your bum. 

Loki smiled warmly “Well if she’s anything like you she’ll be a handful, you were a nightmare child” he smirked.

You gasp and shove his shoulder “Only because of your bad influences, I recall both you and Thor egging me on”

Loki just chuckled and shrugged his shoulder, his expression turned serious when you heard the car pull up outside “Can I meet JJ?” he asked quietly. 

You sighed “he thinks you’re dead, I don’t know how to explain all this multiverse stuff to him” you admitted shaking your head “It’s already been confusing enough that I came back but Nat and Tony didn’t”

“We don’t have to tell him, I can say it’s part of my powers that I’m able to visit” he suggested, creating a duplicate of himself across the room which said “Just this once… please”

You let out a long sigh but there was only one answer. How could you possibly take away the opportunity for JJ to meet his uncle. The brother who meant so much to you growing up. 

“Okay we’ll see how he is but if he gets upset or confused” you warned. 

Loki held up his hands “Then I’ll go and keep watching on from afar” he promised. 

You smiled softly before standing up to go greet Steve and JJ. You spotted Steve was lingering by the car trying to stall until you opened the front door. 

“Mommy” JJ called out as he ran up the path to you “What’s going on?” he asked as he hugged your legs. 

“Nothing sweetie” you reassure him “We just had a surprise guest, one who would like to meet you if that’s okay?” you asked him. 

Steve arched a brow as he walked up to join you so you gave him a reassuring look to say it was all okay. 

“Okay” JJ nodded as he took your hand. 

“Good, he’s very excited to meet you” You smiled softly as you led JJ inside the house towards Loki. 

To your surprise, Loki was pacing back and forth in the living room, but as soon as you walked back in he spun around and smiled proudly back at you “Hi” he said his voice catching slightly. 

“JJ, this is your uncle Loki,” you said introducing him. 

JJ tilted his head as his brows pinched in confusion “I thought you were up in the stars?” he asked. 

The corners of Loki’s lips twitch upwards “I am, but I have special powers that allow me to visit you, only this once though” Loki explained as he took a few tentative steps towards JJ. 

“Powers?” JJ asked. 

“Yeah, look at this,” Loki said as he knelt down and created a bright green bunny to appear in midair, you bit back a laugh as you recalled him doing similar tricks when you were a child. 

JJ’s eye lit up at the fake bunny, you smiled as he rushed over to Loki to get a better look. Steve moved to stand in JJ’s place beside you, wrapping his arm around you and pressing a kiss to the side of your head.

“You feeling okay?” he asked softly. 

You nodded your head watching as Loki and JJ got to know each other “yeah, he’s not back for good but I’m glad I’m getting to see him one last time” you admitted quietly. 

“How is he back?” Steve asked. 

“He’s the Loki who stole the tesseract when you went back for it, but by doing that he created a new timeline and this is a variant of the Loki we know, but he knows what happened to our Loki” you explain “Apparently all the timelines are loose and unravelling at the moment but it's okay because he’s going to go back and hold them all together” 

Steve blinked a couple of times, his mouth opening and shutting as he tried and failed to comprehend what you just said. He finally shook his head and let out a long breath “I’m glad we’re retired and don’t have to deal with this anymore” he muttered.

You snorted “You can say that again, although it is interesting to think of all the different timelines out there, how different our lives might be in them”

Steve shook his head “they wouldn’t be any different, I would have found you in every universe and timeline” he said. 

You smiled softly up at him “I love you”

“I love you too” Steve smiled as he leaned down and kissed you softly. 

A short while later Loki stood up from where he’d been hanging out with JJ “I think my time is running out and I have a few more places to visit”

“Aww can’t you stay?” JJ complained. 

Loki smiled softly “unfortunately not, but I’ll be watching over you so I’ll never be far” he said gently ruffling up JJ’s hair. 

JJ still pouted but stepped forward to give Loki one of his bear hugs “Bye Uncle Loki”

“Bye little one” Loki smiled softly as he hugged JJ back. 

“JJ why don’t you and Dad go make a start on your homework while I walk Uncle Loki out” you suggested. 

“Okay say hello to Auntie Nat and Uncle Tony for me please” JJ pleaded. 

“Consider it done” Loki promised “Now get on with your work, intelligence is your best weapon”

JJ grinned back up at him before making his way over to Steve to make a start on his homework. You and Loki made your way back outside, pausing on the front porch neither of you really wanting him to go. 

“Are you going to see Thor?” you asked.

Loki chuckled “Yes, got any tips?” he smirked. 

“Take a shield, he’s got a mean axe now” you warned. 

“Any chance I can take Steve’s?” he asked hopefully. 

You laugh “Oh so it’s not too patriotic for you now that you need it?” 

Loki shrugged “I might change up the colour scheme, green and gold might look good” he smirked.

You snorted and shook your head “Well you’re out of luck because he gave it to Sam when we retired”

“Damn, I’ll think of something” Loki sighed.

Silence fell between the two of you “I wished you didn’t have to go” you sighed. 

“Me neither, but that's the hero gig right?” Loki said. 

You chuckled “Yeah it is, I’ll miss you” 

“I’ll miss you too, but as I said to JJ, I’ll be watching over you, being a proud big brother as your family grows” Loki smiled, resting a hand on your shoulder “I need to go now”

“Okay,” you muttered, your voice thick with emotion as you stepped closer to hug him tightly for the last time. 

Loki hugged you back, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head before stepping back. You watched him walk down the path towards the road. He looked back once before an orange doorway opened and he stepped through, disappearing for good.

“Goodbye brother” you whispered.

Sharing is caring so please reblog if you enjoyed this and maybe even leave a comment to make my day!

I have no schedule, please don’t ask when I will be updating!

Masterlist / Masterlist

I don’t have a tag list so follow @secretswiftymarvelfanlibrary​ and turn on post notifications for updates!

[mushgloomz]

get to know your mutuals

my little love @valevntine - how did you know my fav thing to do is to yap about myself?🫦 ty for the tag my darling

What's the origin of your blog title?

pahaha, okay so basically several years ago my best friend @aurelliastar was like ‘bitch, i wish tumblr was still a thing bc i’ve just thought of the cuntiest username’ and mushgloomz was born

OTP(s) + shipname:

omg i haven’t properly shipped people in YEARS. i mean dellie (ellie and dina) are obvs up there, but i spend too long shipping characters with actual people that i don’t have much else to offer😭

feel free to ship me with javi gutiérrez…

Favourite colour:

green all the way - i just adore it <3 my fav metallic colour is gold though (can we guess that i was a loki girly during my marvel phase?)

Favourite game:

i wish i was a gamer girl but i’m SHIT at playing everything loool

would have to say undertale tbh, just so much fun and you already know i played that shit multiple times to see all the different endings

Song stuck in your head:

currently, it’s Love Is A Stranger by Eurhythmics bc it scratches an itch in my brain i can’t explain it

Weirdest habit/trait:

i’m generally a massive freakazoid so there’s probably plenty, but i’d say my chronic use of adlibs in regular conversations tbh

Hobbies:

unfortunately i’m really fucking uninteresting!! reading, writing and photography are as close to hobbies as i get honestly 😪

If you work, what's your profession?

i’m a full-time office administrator for a fire and security company in london - basically just sit there and argue with engineers all day <3

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be?

if i could have literally ANY job? i’d do acting or private interior design - yet again, my hopes and dreams have been squandered by societal and familial expectations so i will never be fulfilled in that sense 🤩

Something you're good at:

literally… nothing? like i give great head but i feel like this is asking if i have actual talents loool

Something you're bad at:

time management is honestly the worst of them for me. i’m so fucking easily distracted it’s painful

Something you love:

dancing - not well, but just dancing however i want to. makes me feel good 🕺

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff:

anything psychology related or sex related (a lot of the time that shit overlaps and i get REALLY invested)

fun fact, i actually did a dedicated unit during my BSc on the psychology of sex and sexuality; so fucking fascinating

Something you hate:

my best friend always jokes that my main hobby is ‘critical analysis and being a hater’ and lowkey she’s right LOOL

for example, i hate being hungover, yet here i am for the second time in 48 hours with a hangover <3

Something you collect:

oh the autism is gonna jump OUT

i collect loads of random shit - jellycat frogs, crystals, earrings, scarves… if i like something, i have to have an excessive number of them

Something you forget:

MY FUCJING WIPS

What's your love language?

giving - words of affirmation

receiving - physical touch or acts of service

Favourite movie/show:

movie is always going to be labyrinth (i will shout this shit from the rooftops, it’s amazing)

I don’t really find myself interested in TV all that often (unless pedro is in it lool); naturally TLOU is a current fav, but I’ve also loved the crown, killing eve and black mirror 💅🏻

Favourite food:

okay so hear me out: carbonara

BUT

specifically the shitty supermarket jar version of the sauce😭

Favourite animal:

frogs (i’m bisexual and autistic be so fr)

What were you like as a child?

incredibly anxiously attached to my mum and MAJORLY traumatised (also see: me right now)

Favourite subject at school?

geography (spoiler alert, it’s bc i wanted to bone my teacher)

actual favourite would be psychology or English language

Least favourite subject at school?

hmm… probably maths? not that i disliked it, just sucked ASS

What's your best character trait?

i’ve been told that i’m funny which lowkey yeah i am so i’ll claim that LOOL

What's your worst character trait?

i’m incredibly stubborn - like, would sooner die than compromise on a lot of things oops

If you could change any detail of your day right now, what would it be?

NOT BEING HUNGOVER AS FUCK <3

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet?

there are so many people i would love to meet (downside of loving 70s music tbh); hendrix, prince, bowie, freddie mercury… these fuckers changed my life

Recommend one of your favourite fanfics (spread the love!):

okay as soon as i saw this question i knew i had to say Hold Still by @almostfoxglove

only read it recently despite it being posted last august but it’s just fucking superbly written and really scratched an itch for me <3 (you can see me short circuiting over it with my reblog here)

if you made it this far, you’re hot🫦

npt bc i’m nosey <3: @ohhoneypascal @mandaloriankait @itsokbbygrlbutworsethistime @itwasntimethatdidit40 @stitch-away @alfiestreacle

[beaddie]

AMARANTHINE - Dr. STONE

sum☆: "ᵉˡᵉᵍᵃⁿᵗ! "𝙰𝙼𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙴 (adj.) undying, immortal, eternally beautifulIn which Stanley Snyder, Xeno Houston Wingfield, and (Y/N) Ambrose were trapped in an unexpected stone world that had been petrified 3,700 years before. However, they were 'infiltrated' by some foreign brats all of a sudden.Of course, they don't give up without a fight, do they?

warnings:. all characters are 18+!!! violence. language. FICTION!! don't like it? scroll away!! first ever post on this app. english is not my first language, so ugh.(Dr. Stone x Reader)(Dr. STONE : New America City Arc) MANGA SPOILER

(CHAPTER 6) Z=154: Spy vs. Spy

"we'll find the enemy science leader...

"...and capture him!!"

"<...and to assassinate him!!>"

Senku and Dr. Xeno exclaimed in unison, while the troops of the enemy kingdom and the other members of the kingdom of science were now exploring the forest to complete their respective missions.

The rhythmic crunch of leaves underfoot was the only sound breaking the serene tranquility of the forest. Stanley and (Y/n) were deep in thought, their minds racing with the complexities of their mission. Suddenly, a faint rustling sound caught their attention. They turned to see a young woman dressed in a striped dress, her footsteps trailing behind them.

"<So, can we trust this Gen guy?." she asked, her voice carrying a hint of skepticism.

(Y/n) glanced at Stanley, her eyes seeking his opinion. "<Luna,>" she began, addressing the woman, "<Xeno entrusted you with infiltrating the enemy's ship. Do you think you can handle it?>"

Luna nodded, her expression a mixture of determination and nervousness. "<Of course, I can,>" she replied, her voice a bit shaky. Even after all these years, she still found it difficult to converse with (Y/n) without feeling a sense of anxiety and intimidation. Despite her fear, Luna admired (Y/n) deeply, seeing her as a role model.

"<I wish you luck then,>" (Y/n) said, turning her attention to their weapons. As she prepared for the mission, Stanley responded to Luna's question about Gen.

"<Trust?>" he scoffed. "<Anyone who trusts an enemy who just double-crossed his own people needs an appointment with a head doctor.>"

"<We'll pump him for intel, but keep him at arm's length otherwise,>" Stanley continued. "<Odds are he's a spy.>"

Luna agreed, her voice a bit more confident this time. "<Right, sure. I mean, duh. Obviously! I realized that too. That was me testing you, Stanley. I didn't think you'd get careless, but I had to be sure!>"

In the distance, chaos began to unfold. (Y/n) climbed a towering tree, finding the perfect vantage point to observe the enemy's base. She brought out her binocular telescope and began scanning the area.

Meanwhile, below, Carlos and Max were expressing their loyalty to Luna. "<No way, Miss Luna! I'll carry every last one if I have to!>" Carlos exclaimed, his voice filled with determination. Max echoed his sentiment, eager to impress Luna with his bravery.

"<What? Now you're up for the job? Why don't you take a nap while I carry the cargo?>" Carlos retorted, his competitive spirit ignited. Max, eager to impress Luna, joined the fray, and soon the two were engaged in a heated argument.

"<You're not carrying a thing, Luna,>" Stanley's voice cut through the bickering. He lit a cigarette, a calm demeanor contrasting with the chaos below. "<And that's non-negotiable. Not a thing. That heavy stuff could leave marks on your body, and you've got a job to do.>"

Just then, (Y/n) shouted from above, her voice echoing through the trees. "<You four there, quit talking and come up here!>"

Stanley, Luna, Carlos, and Max scrambled up the tree to join her. As they reached the top, Carlos's eyes widened in astonishment as he beheld the massive enemy ship.

"<So that's the enemy ship?>" he asked nervously.

"<KAHHH! IT'S HUGE!!>" Max exclaimed, his voice filled with awe.

"<Wow, this other science-pro isn't half-bad,>" Luna said, her admiration growing. "<Of course, he's nothing compared to Xeno!>"

(Y/n) handed Stanley her binoculars, allowing him to get a closer look at the ship. "<I think this is a perfect spot,>" she said, as Stanley taking the binoculars from her hands then kissing them.

"<So, we should begin measuring and not waste time,>" (Y/n) continued, pulling out thermometers and weather vanes and handing them to Stanley. Stanley picked up the weather vane and lifted it into the air, placing it on the top of a tree branch to begin taking measurements.

"<Do these... measure temperature and humidity?>" Luna asked, holding her own thermometer.

"<They're made by Doc Xeno, who tends to be overly helpful,>" Stanley replied. "<Despite my insistence I could figure out that stuff using my senses. Well, extra data'll only help with accuracy, I guess.>"

"<And is that a weathervane?>" Carlos asked, his curiosity piqued.

"<Kah kah kah! Why take all these readings? You playing weather reporter?>" Max chimed in.

(Y/n) answered their questions, her voice calm and authoritative. "<It all affects bullet velocity.>" The other three were taken aback by her explanation, realizing that Stanley was carefully tracking the environmental conditions to ensure the perfect shot.

"<No way... from this distance?>" Luna looked at Stanley with a mixture of awe and apprehension.

"<I'll snipe the enemy science leader... with a rifle made by Xeno's science,>" Stanley replied, his voice filled with determination. He positioned himself on his stomach, finding a clear view of the ship through his scope.

"<We've got a glimpse of the area via spy plane. This is the optimal firing position,>" he said, remaining still.

"<We... we're gonna kill them...?>" Luna looked up at Stanley and (Y/n), her eyes wide with uncertainty.

"<Just their science leader,>" (Y/n) replied, preparing her own gun and reloading it.

"<Isn't that kinda awful?>" Luna asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Stanley's glare was immediate, silencing Luna's question. "<Just kidding! Just making sure that those two wimps don't try to chicken out of this! That's part of my job!>" Luna exclaimed, her panic evident as she averted her gaze from Stanley's intense stare.

"<That's our Miss Luna, cool as a cucumber!>" Max and Carlos exclaimed, their admiration for Luna growing.

"<I've got goosebumps!>" Max added, his voice filled with excitement.

"<So what's the job of mine you two mentioned before? And why am I wearing this striped outfit...?>" Luna asked, her curiosity piqued.

"<Each stripe is five inches,>" Stanley answered.

"<You'll be our yard stick, Luna,>" (Y/n) finished.

"<By matching up with my crosshairs, I can calculate the distance to the target,>" Stanley added.

"<You're about as young as they are, Luna. So they're less likely to see you as a threat. Board their ship, and find Dr. Taiju, their science leader,>" Stanley instructed.

"<(N/n), help Luna get close to the ship, will you?>" Stanley requested (Y/n), who nodded and began to descend from the tree.

"<No need to ask twice, captain~ Come on now, Luna,>" (Y/n) purred, motioning for Luna to follow her.

"<Ri-right!>" Luna replied, her voice a bit shaky. With an awkward silence, (Y/n) guided Luna towards the lair near the ship.

"<luna, dear>" (Y/n) called out, her voice carrying a sense of urgency.

"<Yes...?>" Luna responded quietly, her attention drawn to (Y/n).

"<Xeno and Stanley may not know this, but I have a feeling that Dr. Taiju is not the science leader...>" (Y/n) revealed, her voice filled with a hint of intrigue. Randomly telling Luna her suspicioun despite not being close with the younger woman.

"<Huh? How so?>" Luna asked, her curiosity piqued.

"<Just a feeling. Anyway, word of advice, trust your instincts,>" (Y/n) replied.

"<Huh... right...>" Luna nodded, her mind racing.

The two came to a stop at their intended spot.

"<I suppose here is fine. Good luck,>" (Y/n) said, bidding Luna farewell.

Luna watched (Y/n) walk away, her heart filled with admiration. She was truly her role model. But then, remembering her mission, she immediately began to mess herself up to look as if she had been harassed or hurt.

'I'm Luna, the smoothest operator! Luna, the capable gal!!' Luna exclaimed in her head as she emerged from her hiding spot, tears in her eyes and her appearance disheveled. How could anyone not help a poor girl in such a state?

Ryusui and Senku noticed Luna's crawling figure on the ship's ladder.

From afar, Stanley observed the scene with interest.

'Sailing out to sea could've saved them, but they're staying put because... they're reluctant to abandon an ally. Lucky these kiddies are so naïve. And softies like that... won't ignore a girl crying for help,' Stanley thought to himself.

Meanwhile, (Y/n) decided to return to the factory, knowing that Stanley and the others could handle the mission properly. She decided to accompany Xeno, who was 'tormenting' Gen.

As (Y/n) walked away, she glanced back at Luna, carrying out her mission.

'You sent a spy into our ranks? Well, here's our counter-op. Two can play at this game,' she thought as she continued to walk away.

"Help me please! I'm desperate to run away from that horrid Dr. Xeno and his kingdom!!" Luna cried out desperately, her voice filled with emotion as she pleaded for help from the crew of the Perseus.

Mozu perked up, his attention drawn to Luna's appearance.

"Hm? She's cute," Mozu mused, his eyes lingering on Luna. However, his comment was quickly met with disapproval from Kirisame.

"Not the time nor place, Mozu," Kirisame admonished, her voice stern.

Senku stepped closer to Luna, his presence drawing Ryusui's attention. Ryusui couldn't help but smirk, his mind racing with possibilities.

'Hmph. Tough call here,' Ryusui thought, his suspicion of Luna growing. 'Of course, I want to help her... but we can't take her at face value.'

Luna looked up as she heard Senku's footsteps approaching.

"Are you hurt, miss? Have no fear, you're safe now! Please, come onto our ship," Senku offered, his words laced with charm. Luna couldn't help but blush at his kind demeanor.

"Th-thanks..." Luna replied, her voice a bit shaky.

"Let's get you some first-aid below deck!" Taiju said, offering to help Luna. Kirisame took Luna into her arms, carrying her towards the ship to tend to her wounds.

"Turning on the charm, huh?" Yuzuriha sweatdropped, amused by Senku's actions.

"Really, Senku...?" Kinro echoed, his expression a mix of surprise and amusement.

Meanwhile, at Tsukasa's group, they were discussing their strategy.

"We only have a general idea of where Chrome, Kohaku, and Gen went," Suika said.

"Right, we need intel," Ukyo added.

"Capturing their science leader will allow us to seize the initiative. Yes... any information about the enemy would be helpful at this point," Tsukasa concluded.

Back on the Perseus, Luna internally decided to fulfill her mission while most of the crew remained suspicious of her.

"We're really letting some suspicious girl board the ship?" Nikki asked warily.

"Who cares? She's cute," Mozu replied, his admiration for Luna unabated.

"Senku's a man, if you know what I mean! And maybe doe-eyed blondes push all the right buttons for him!" Yo exclaimed, teasing Senku.

"Naw, this isn't what it seems..." Yuzuriha countered.

Senku smirked mischievously. "Ku ku ku... we'll extract all the info we can outta this girl and send a coded message to Tsukasa and the special forces." He added with a devilish grin, "It's spy versus spy! Black-hearted schemers. Trying to outfox each other! I told'ya it wasn't what it seemed!"

At the same time, (Y/n) returned to the factory, eager to report on the ongoing mission.

"<Ah dear, you came back earlier than I expected,>" Xeno said, noticing (Y/n)'s arrival. He snatched her hand, pulling her closer to him and grabbing her waist delicately.

Gen stared warily at the two, his eyes darting between them as they swayed around the room, creating a peaceful yet suffocating aura. For him, it was a suffocating moment, but for the two, it was a peaceful one.

(Y/n) noticed Gen's stare, her eyes meeting his. She held Xeno's hand and her other hand on his right shoulder, returning the stare with a cold look.

"<Yes, Luna successfully infiltrated the ship, and at this moment she's looking for the science leader. But I have a feeling... that their science leader, Dr. Taiju, is only a decoy,>" (Y/n) said, her voice filled with conviction. Gen's eyes widened slightly at her statement, but he managed to suppress his reaction.

"<Oh~ is that so? Mind telling me more, dear?>" Xeno asked, his eyes sparkling with interest.

"<Well, to begin with, I doubt that our foreign guest, Mr. Gen, would have promptly told us his previous science leader's name,>" (Y/n) continued. "<As a result, I thought he might be using a fake name or another name as a cover-up to avoid being caught. Second, he claimed to be a magician, is that correct? According to what I've known, magicians can use psychological tricks to hide their true identities. I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that Mr. Gen might also be what is known as a 'mentalist,'>" (Y/n) concluded.

As (Y/n) spoke, Gen couldn't help but look at her in horror. This woman is really dangerous, he thought. But he managed to maintain his composure, looking at (Y/n) as if he were unaware of her accusation.

"<We-well, how can you say that, Miss (Y/n)? I'm sure it's just a suspicion, right? Ye-yes, I'm a magician, but I'm an inexperienced one, you see... I-I mean look at me, I'm weak and helpless..., and plus, you don't have concrete evidence...? R-right?>" Gen defended himself, his voice trembling slightly as he tried to portray himself as a vulnerable and naïve person.

"<Hmm... I suppose you're right about that. I apologize for my false accusation,>" (Y/n) said, her voice filled with sincerity. However, her true intention was to expose him to Xeno, who was now deep in thought about her earlier statement.

"<Oh, it's alright, Miss (Y/n)...>" Gen responded, his nervous smile masking his relief. He sweatdropped, still shaken by her revelation.

"<Hmm... I suppose you're right, dear, but first, let Stan and the others finish their mission so we can discuss this later. I'm sure Stan will like to hear your thoughts,>" Xeno said, kissing (Y/n)'s hand and releasing her from his embrace.

"<I guess...>" (Y/n) replied, her expression neutral.

Unbeknownst to the two, Gen continued to stare at the group in the distance, his mind racing. 'Crap..., it seems this mission is more difficult than I expected, especially with this very observant lady on their side. She might expose me at any moment! Miss (Y/n) a woman you are!' Gen shuddered at the thought.

[oxymorayuri]

𝐶𝘩𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝟷𝟸

𝑇𝘩𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑎 »

𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑔𝑎𝑟 𝐷. 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

𝐿𝑎𝑤 ✘ ♀ 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓: 序川_

Story: The princess of Tanata

(Long Fic)

➽ Click on this link to see all chapters.

Spoiler: Mention and explanation about the Haki. Some of it is true and could be a spoiler but I had to add some fiction to make it fit my story :3

Warnings: NO PROOFREAD. sorry I just wanted to post before I go to work.

slowburn with plot

Wordcount: 3142

Text in italics emphasizes the reader’s thoughts

Bold and italic text emphasizes Law's thoughts *~*

Tagging: @slytherinambitious - @sassyyassi - @norasincubi - @cottoncandyloverrrr - @one-piece-frvr7

"Alright little princess, are you ready?" The broad grin on Zoro's face looks almost crazy. His eyes narrow with confidence as you walk back onto the ground.

"How impatient Mr. Swordsman."

You give him a quirky grin, finding it funny how eager he is to fight you. He's very much like Ambrosios. If you don't consider their appearance, they could be siblings…

Maybe they're soul mates? lol.

Before you enter the field, you walk over to the others and Ambrosios who is lying on the meadow with his eyes closed. As you reach for his sword, he quickly grabs your arm, still with his eyes closed.

"What are you doing, my princess?" he looks at you with his one eye open.

"I need a sword, what does it look like, you dummy?"

The huge man straightens up and shakes his head slightly.

"No, no, no. Princess. That sword is far too heavy for a delicate woman like you…"

What? He treats me like a princess, of course, but he has never doubted my strength...

"Tzz a delicate woman like me can still be as strong as a man!" A little offended but with a grin on your lips, you swing the broad sword in the air and spin it like a basketball on your finger.

He doesn't answer you, he rather confuses you with his laughter as he leans back.

Around you, you hear the people express their amazement.

"Woah y/n, you're totally the surprise! And your outfit too." Nami gushes at you. You blush a little as you look down at yourself and sink the sword, which is actually as big as you are, into the ground. No one has ever complimented you on how you look in your training outfit.

Of course, people admire you for your beauty and you hear this so much, that it makes you sick…. But you're much happier to receive a compliment when it's about clothes you like, than the compliments you get when you wear tacky dresses.

"Okay, I bet y/n wins!" she adds. Luffy growls in disbelief that Nami isn't betting on Zoro… After all, they are a crew.

She just shrugs her shoulders and everyone starts laughing when she said, that she has to bet on the safe horse.

Finally, you and Zoro face each other. His stance is firmer than when he fought Ambrosios and for a while, you stare into each other's eyes.

Ambrosio's sword lays casually in your hand, leaning over your shoulder. You will not be the first to attack. Will he?

Without even taking his eyes off you, he draws his swords. His blades flash at you, but you wait.

"Oiiii Zorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooo!!! GO!" Shouts the strawhat impatiently.

Since you're so easily distracted, you look over at the boy.

A mistake.

The green haired man takes advantage of your carelessness and rushes towards you. Much faster than before.

Caught off guard, you look him in the eye when he is just a few centimetres in front of you. You barely manage to block his attack, but you quickly catch yourself.

It's still no trouble. All it takes is a snap of your fingers and you disappear right before his eyes.

Puzzled, he looks around but there is no sign of you.

"Up here, swordsman!"

His gaze went straight up and there you are, flying towards him like a falling comet. In mid air, you strike out and swing the massive blade. The force of the sword triggers a powerful shockwave that could shred everything. But Zoro is quicker and manages to dodge. The pressure from the impact spreads through the surrounding area, even the spectators have to hold on tight.

No problem. I still have a few aces up my sleeve.

You think to yourself as you watch him try to gain distance.

Over and over again, your swords were clashing. Zoro would never admit it, but he definitely underestimated you. His face shows the struggle.

But you also have something you would never admit. Ambrosio's heavy sword is slowly getting on your arms.

You wanted to use your skills as little as possible, but Zoro also had a few tricks up his sleeve that you didn't expect. Zoro is definitely too close for you, you're not much of a close range fighter and need distance. With a snap, you again teleport away from Zoro, but it doesn't take Zoro long to figure out where you are. He has realized that you can teleport in seconds, if not faster he guesses, but your range is not very wide. He quickly changes direction when he sees you and comes running towards you.

"Cut!"

You take a swing with your sword and an invisible cut races across the meadow. Possibly faster than a cheetah. Zoro makes the smart move and dodges. If that cut had hit him, he would have instantly froze, just as the plants froze when the blade whipped across the ground.

But Zoro doesn't allow himself to be defeated and uses another remarkable attack.

He creates a whirlwind in which he catches you and you cling to the hilt of the sword in panic. You can't see anything around you, your hair swirls around and into your face.

With your eyes narrowed you try to catch a glimpse of Zoro but to no avail. With another cut, you slice the tornado in two and the tornado freezes as well. You let yourself fall and see Zoro jump up to you while you are still falling.

While you were in the tornado, he seems to have released another attack, because it looks like he has three heads, six arms and nine swords. You squint your eyes to check if you are still dizzy from the tornado but when you open your eyes again you still see him in this form.

His body language is menacing, tickling a murderous grin inside you.

He respects me.

Then show him everything he wants to see!

You teleport again, but this time directly into the tornado and thrust a dagger into it so you don't fall.

Normally the tornado is just air, but anything that comes into contact with your ability changes its physical structure. The cracks in the tornado caused by the dagger flash golden and shimmer as if you had cut through space and time.

You know that Zoro will follow you…

You seize the moment before Zoro appears and let your sword disappear into your space and time dimension, before teleporting it back.

Zoro breaks through the frozen tornado and a few sparkling fragments fall to the ground.

He pauses for a moment as he sees you dangling around without your sword, but your knowing grin causes him to charge at you again. Maybe you've lost it?

You snap with your free hand, but instead of teleporting, Zoro's tornado disappears into thin air. This, of course, means that you have no more support and you fall into the depths. As you fall down, you pass Zoro and wave cheekily at him.

He looks at you in surprise but follows you into the depths.

Just before you hit the ground on your back, closely followed by Zoro, you teleport in the air again, but this time with your sword in your hand.

Zoro reacts in a matter of seconds on the ground, which collapses around his feet, looking straight up into the air as if he had sensed you appear above him.

His gaze narrows as he looks up at you.

Once again you take a swing with your sword but let it go. Zoro tried to block it, but before his blades can block Ambrosio's sword, you froze it. Zoro didn't seem to expect it and that's exactly what you were hoping for.

With the surprise comes your victory. You take advantage of the brief moment of carelessness and surprise. A victorious smile forms on your lips.

"Fast forward." You speak confidently.

The sword moves towards Zoro with lightning speed, so fast that it can barely be seen with the naked eye. Zoro doesn't stand a chance and Ambrosio's sword hits him on the cheek. Light as a feather, you land on the ground in front of him. With a casual expression, you approach the green haired man, who stands before you with his mouth wide open.

You close his mouth and heal his wound before he fully comes to himself.

Zoro accepts his defeat and bows slightly to you. He is aware that you only injured his cheek because it was a friendly fight… You certainly could have hit him directly and killed him on the spot.

You enjoyed the fight very much and return the bow. Together you walk back to your audience, which is visibly stunned. Only Thalia and Ambrosios cheer like crazy cheerleaders. Okay, only Thalia cheers like a cheerleader, but Ambrosios applauds and gives you a knowing nod.

A little out of breath, you sit back down with your friends. Of course you didn't have to exert that much force, since you only fended off most of Zoro's attacks, but all that freezing is sapping your powers.

"Woah, y/n you're so fast… well apart from your teleporting thingy…." Nami gets close to your face. "You don't have a single bead of sweat on your face!" she adds, surprised.

You laugh nervously as you look at the broken Zoro, lying on the grass, regulating his breathing.

"Yes, because I've hardly done anything…." you confess in a shy voice…

"Hardly done anything?!" Zoro looks at you weirdly, his voice a little shrill at the end as he's still struggling with his breath.

"Yeah… no wait, that's not what I meant." You collect yourself for a moment. Sure, you clearly won because you're stronger, but that's not what you were trying to say.

"I meant to say that I didn't really do anything physically. I can handle a sword, yes, but I'm definitely not as physically strong as Ambrosios or my uncle." - "Oh come on my princess, you're great with a sword and strong." - "Stop always praising me like that, just because I'm the princess Ambrosios!" you stand up angrily and find yourself quite puzzled when you realize how startled the others look at you. Only Thalia and Ambrosios look at you with gentleness in their eyes.

Urgggh don't do that!

Frustrated, you sit down again, you know he only means well, as this has always been a point that made you question things… Why are you the only one? That's a question you've always asked yourself.

"The Taimutaimu fruit only gives me an obvious advantage… but you are indeed strong. Your willpower gives you a strength that I can only imitate." You wrap your arms around your legs, smiling a little as you realize how envious you sound, but you don't mean it in a bad way, you just envy it. You admire it.

"What do you mean y/n?" Nami asks you a little confused, having trouble following your monologue.

"She means the haki." Ambrosios answers for you.

You don't look up… your eyes remain fixed on your feet, which you rub together a little nervously.

"Ahh the Haki." Robin intervenes.

"So you know it?" She nods at him.

"Good… There are three different types of Haki that can be used and two of them are trainable since everyone has Haki. The Kenbunshoku, Busōshoku are trainable and the untrainable is Haōshoku."

"Haōshoku? So the Conqueror's Haki?" - "Exactly." nods Ambrosios to Law, who was leaning against Bepo, listening intently to the conversation the whole time.

"Everyone on Tanata can use all three Hakis, it's never been the case before but y/n can't even learn the ones, that everyone can learn…. y/n has no Haki in her body."

The mood became serious but it's nothing new to you, it's just a little uncomfortable how all eyes are on you.

"No Haki?! But how is that possible?" Robin asks somewhat perplexed, the usually calm woman seems to be interested in this unusual phenomena.

"We don't really know ourselves, because y/n has a very strong will and her soul is pure, otherwise the oracle wouldn't have predicted that she would become the devil fruit user…." The Tanata warrior is suddenly interrupted by the blonde who pushes herself into Robin's field of vision

"Okay Ambrosios, that's not entireeeeeely true." Her eyes and yours meet, she waits for your approval before continuing.

You have no problem with that and nod at her. They already know so much now, and if you're honest, you'd think it's unfair to leave them to their own curiosity now.

"There was a 'Chosen One' a few centuries ago… He was soooo strong that he was somewhat feared, but since the user of the Taimutaimu fruit has a pure soul, they never gave in to the fear." Thalia speaks the words like a little story, the others listen intently, Luffy lies on his stomach and dangles his legs in the air.

"Go on, tell the story!" Ikkaku shakes Thalia. You have to laugh even if it makes you sad.

"Even if the user of the Devil Fruit can't become king, he did. But he wasn't a king, he was a tyrant and the worst years in Tanata's history followed, until his long awaited death." - "Oh my God how dramatic." Nami is stunned and drinks some wine to calm down.

You hold out your empty glass to her and, without looking away from Thalia, she pours you some.

"Oh yes… After his death, the oracle never again predicted who the next user would be and for aaaall those decades there was no one to fulfill Tanata's task." - "Tanata's task?" Law interrupts your friend but she shakes her head

"That's information that none of the citizens of Tanata know. Only the oracle, the devil fruit user and the royal family know what the real purpose, for example, of y/n is." - "We can't reveal it, I'm sorry." You confirm Law.

He seems a little disappointed, but he shows you his understanding.

"I understand, everyone has secrets they don't even share with their closest ones." His eyes pass between you and Thalia.

He's right, not even Thalia knows it… who usually knows EVERYTHING. Not even with her you've shared this knowledge.

Thalia clears her throat before speaking again.

"At that time, people said it was the punishment of the gods that no new devil fruit user is predicted anymore, because the oracle receives a vision purely by chance. She does not see the user but scrolls and the current oracle confirm that they hear a voice telling them very specific details of the devil fruit user. If another person were to eat this devil fruit, he would die on the spot, because the gods only want someone with a pure soul to be the bearer." - "And that's the point, that's nonsense!" Groans Ambrosios, annoyed.

"People say the gods punished us back then? For what? For choosing someone who didn't have a pure soul? That's not our fault and ESPECIALLY not y/n's!".

Ambrosios seems a little upset and if you look at it that way it sounds logical, but Tanata is a very religious country.

"But how come you can't use Haki?" Nami doesn't understand the context.

"Probably so she doesn't get too strong…" Law recognizes the big picture.

"Exactly." Ambrosios and Thalia speak at the same time.

"Woah woah woah, it's all pretty complicated…" Nami holds her hand to her temple "...So to recap; there was an evil devil fruit user, the gods were pissed off about him, didn't choose anyone for years and then?" - "And then there was a prophecy that shook up the kingdom." Thalia takes over the conversation again.

"It was predicted that Hera would give birth to a child, one that would never learn Haki, and this child would be allowed to use the devil's fruit."

All eyes are on you. A mixture of wonder and pity spreads across the faces of the others.

The history lesson is a little nerve wracking for you and you groan a little.

"Yup, and that kid was me. The gods must have realized that the task had to be performed again, so they chose me with restrictions."

Silence fell for a while….

"Hmmmmmmm, I don't think you seem that restricted!" Luffy's boyish manner made you and the others laugh, Zoro grinned at his statement and nodded at you.

That gave you the feeling that he wanted to tell you that the strawhat was right.

"I think you could be even stronger than that guy back then." Your eyes quickly go over to Law, who is still leaning against Bepo and looking up at the blue sky.

"Thinking about how you use your ability, I can tell you that strength isn't everything. You are smart and use your power well. I don't believe in gods but I think you do, so let me tell you one thing…" You swallow a little hard, your heart beating faster as Law took his time to say the next words.

"I don't think the gods wanted to punish you, I think they wanted to give you the opportunity to awaken the full power of the Taimutaimu Fruit without being blinded by strength." His gaze continued to look upwards.

His words make you feel quite different. The blush rises to your face, as well as the tears. You feel a little stupid, but you are still happy about his words, because it doesn't sound that implausible.

Maybe the gods just didn't want you to be distracted by strength. The meaning of the Taimutaimu fruit is so much more than just power and strength. You're just so ashamed that you've never thought of it that way and still let it affect you, that you're not as strong as the others.

"I've never thought of it that way." You say, almost happily, as the tears roll down your face.

The girls around you rush straight to you to comfort you. Even Law took his eyes off the sky when he heard you sniffle softly.

"You know princess-ya, I think the gods want you to be the wisest, not the strongest."

A sentence you will never forget.

A/N: Wheeeew… I think writing about fights is kinda dull and hard. I'm glad it's over. lol.

The rest made me a bit emotional.. you know? about being the wisest and not the strongest. My heart - urksss.

See you next time, kiss kiss ♡

➽ Next chapter

[duckduckhjonk]

oohhh hoo hoookaayyyyyyyy

time to tackle this big ass review. uhhhhhh welcome to the BFDIA 17/TPOT 15 review!

as noted, Spoilers Ahead!

so hhhhh lets start off with BFDIA 17. Personally, I think that this was the weaker of the two episodes, but!! and this is a very huge massive but!! That doesn't mean it was bad because hooooollly shit. As much as a Time Travel episode/episodes was a guarantee, I was NOT expecting it to be this well done.

Needle, the absolute Icon she is, starts off this episode with some awesome skills. She is running from Evil Leafy, she is amazing! and she is part of a bike now. Yet another brilliant 3d section.

I'm incredibly glad the lol-ers are gone. Ballooney did get annoying last episode tbh. Also the Spongey hate game is commendable. Also incredibly glad the other eliminated contestants are here to host now. Although, and this is a big although, I wish theyd stick to one host. I do like seeing Golf Ball again.

Fumigation made me laugh, GET THEM OUT OF THERE!!! THEY ARE PESTS!!!

I'm glad Pencil got the boot. She deserved it. Put her back in that classroom/j

SHOCKED THAT NEEDLE DIDN'T GET OUT BUT LIKE- ICON THAT SHE IS LETS GO. SHE WAS UP FOR ELIMINATION TWICE, FUCKING TWICE, AND SHE WAS SAFE. Honestly she's my pick to win BFDIA.

I'm glad she didn't stay with doing the two team thing. You go with Fries, girlie. FrieSmart forever.

incredibly based challenge btw. I really like the concept tbh.

Also shout out to Big Block.

I adore Book's storyline in this, probably more than any other in this episode. Ultimate Fetch Quest. With great cameos btw!!! Although I think Mirror and Spool are my favourites.

Nickel and TB had a fun storyline with the time travel stuff. I like the explanation to what Donut and Bottle were discussing in BFB 1.

The weakest one was probably Coiny and Pin's and Needle and Fries. Although I do like Fries calling Evil Leafy "EL". Besties to me... also a little Toxic of a team... love them lots...

As much as I dislike Coiny and Pin, ik with their popularity, I think one of them might win. I still want Needle to win, or Nickel! I think Nickel deserves a win.

Overall a little more boring than TPOT but there are moments I enjoy. I suppose we're getting the return of Leafy but idk, I've never cared for Leafy.

NOW TIME FOR TPOT!!

RAHHHHGGGGHHHHHH SO MANY THOUGHTS

the failed Debuters plus Nickel being the cause of all this. love them lots. Oh the guilt Nickel must know if he ever finds out...

I find this episode very chaotic, but it sets up so SO much.

Gaty and Two bestieness real... "Don't worry about it, Two, I can handle this!" PROCEEDS TO NOT BE FINE.

I honestly cant wait to see how this storyline plays out. I adore that Two has their favourite contestant and keeps her around. like- sorry they're so besties to me.

ALSO THE CONFIRMATION OF TWO'S TEXTURE!!! EVERONE CHEERED!!! THANK YOU LIY!!!! Papery motherfucker/affectionate. Honestly my one question I had if I go to the meetup this year would have been what Two's texture was, mayhaps I can ask about One's or smth...

anywho! Cake at Stake was... far too chaotic for my liking. I know it was to set up the "Something is wrong here" but like- I just- I don't get it. On my initial watch I could barely keep track of what was going on. As much as I didn't really like Black Hole for most of BFDI, I think he really stuck out this episode. He was the best straight man he could be, he played it well.

also FUCKING BASKETBALL AND ROBOT FLOWER GETTING THE BOOT?????? WHAT????? HOW DARE US????

That begs the question, What happens to Basketball with One? Is the contract revoked? Does she get special treatment? What happens??????????

The appearances from Three were interesting. They do exist! But who are they? What do they want? Many questions....

also VR HEADSET!!! PLAYED BY JACKSFILMS!!!! Tbh I really enjoy Jacksfilms content. I'll like- binge his videos every few months. Its a good time. I kinda hope we see more of Vr Headset.

Onto the challenge. Might I say, incredibly fun challenge! The use of the yoyleite, despite it being obvious, was still fun to see. I liked how it was done.

One stand out part was Shoppy Cart. She was the only one remorseful. Only one with any guilt. She's willing to go back, and didn't need to die. I think that makes me like her a lot more tbh.

I feel like it got to a lull midway where it felt a little repetitive. While it had its moments there still, it just felt like Get Contestant, Kill Them, Cause a Fuckton of Damage, Leave. Although my two standouts were Liy ofcofc being her girlbossiest self and finally getting her fully flipped power boost, and the section with Boom Mic. ALSO THE FANNY AND BUBBLE TRUTHERS REJOICE! Even if you don't ship them, honestly their platonic friendship is something I could make an essay on.

The ending, oooohhhh the ending. Pencil's crash out... As much as I dislike Pencil, I kinda felt for her in that moment. Good for her. GB also getting a beautiful spotlight again... you go girl.

AND THAT MOMENT OF "its too late... we've caused too much damage..." I WANTED TO CRY... I HAD TEARS. THE. THE LITTLE GROUPINGS... SNOWBALL AND GRASSY... DEATH PACT... THEY FINALLY BROUGHT PIN INTO THE GROUP HUG........ ICE CUBE FORGIVING BOOK FOR THE END OF THE WORLD... EVEN JUST FOR A SECOND.... TENNIS BALL AND TV HAD TO FACE THE END ALONE... TB WAS SEPERATED FROM GOLF BALL... IMAGINE HOW THEY FELT...

Fanny and Ice Cube's silent agreement about One is everything to me.... I hope to god they're safe..................

TWO SEEING THE DAMAGE, TWO SEEING THAT GATY IS GONE.... TWO WILL NOT BE OK... HELL, I'M NOT OK.

ALSO THE POST CREDITS. Firey and 8ball!!! Good for them on they adventure....

AND THE ELIMINATED CONTESTANTS AT THE NUMBER PLAYGROUND WHAT

WHAT

WHAT!!!!!

and the the Fanny plush!!!!! you already know I'm gonna get that.

ok...ok I think I'm done. Sorry for getting a little emotional, it was, a lot...

It's gonna be one hell of a year for bfdi!

let me know what you thought!

[evannakita]

I made a crossword puzzle!

It's June 24, 2024, and I'm the constructor of today's daily crossword on Puzzmo! It's my first-ever published crossword, and I'm extremely excited for the public to check it out!

Below the cut, I've written out some fun tidbits about the puzzle and the process of making it. That being said, SPOILERS follow—only read further if you've already completed the puzzle!

Hi again, I hope you had a fun time solving the puzzle! I certainly had a fun time constructing it. I’m incredibly grateful to Brooke for organizing Puzzmo's Open Submission Week, for giving me a second chance to submit after the theme of my first submission wasn’t a good fit for Puzzmo, and for helping me throughout the process of theming, filling, cluing, and hinting.

This puzzle began with the idea of using a diagonal to spell out something that actually is diagonal. As a public transit enthusiast, I’d initially thought of [FUNICULAR]. But the idea quickly expanded with the decision to also include horizontal and vertical answers corresponding to horizontal and vertical things. And since [ELEVATOR] was by far my favorite possible vertical answer, that left [ESCALATOR] as the obvious choice for the diagonal. Initially, I’d planned [CONVEYOR] for the horizontal answer, but Brooke pointed out that conveyors typically aren’t used to carry people the way escalators and elevators do. The next option I proposed was [TRAVELATOR], but I ended up liking [CORRIDOR] more, because I wanted the puzzle to have diagonal symmetry if possible.

Already, I had a ton of constraints for filling the grid—each letter of [ESCALATOR] had to intersect not one but two other answers, which would have been tricky even before adding in two other theme answers and diagonal symmetry. So I ended up spending countless hours testing out possible grid layouts in order to try to get a good fill. At first my idea was for all three theme answers to intersect at the bottom right, but I chose the current layout to represent how escalators and elevators don’t actually go between the same two points, meaning that when a train station is designed around escalators; [ELEVATOR] users are forced to also use a [CORRIDOR] to cover the horizontal distance. (Here in NYC, that makes for inconvenient wheelchair access to the fancy new platforms at Grand Central Madison, and it also means the planned accessibility upgrades at the Broadway Junction subway transfer will be a massive undertaking.) I personally find designing efficient train station layouts to be a lot of fun, and so I greatly enjoy the game STATIONflow, and I thought it’d be appropriate to shout it out in this puzzle’s title!

I did end up eventually managing to get a fillable grid (thanks to Ingrid and Spread The Wordlist—oh hey, yet another thing Brooke deserves major kudos for!), but due to all my self-imposed restrictions I had very little flexibility in what the non-theme answers would be, meaning I was stuck with some tricky ones like [SIDE A] and [ALDIS]. But honestly, I think the limited flexibility made cluing more fun than it otherwise would have been, since I now had the challenge of finding fun clues for answers I didn’t pick. I got to revisit some happy memories in 4-Across and 18-Across, I got to shamelessly plug my DeviantArt in 11-Down, I got to shout out an incredible activist in 19-Across, and I got to be unreasonably proud of myself for coming up with 10-Across. Some of my original clues were too long and confusing for Puzzmo (I was slightly sad to shorten my original description of a [T BAR] as a “low-budget chairlift alternative that’s basically an anchor that hooks around your butt and pulls you up a hill”), but Brooke was a tremendous help with capturing the spirit of my clues in fewer letters. And a couple clues were straight-up Brooke’s ideas, including 1-Across, 5-Down, and notably 17-Down—I hadn’t heard of Ayra [STARR] before but her music is excellent and I am very glad to have learned about her through this.

Brooke was surprised I wanted to hint my own puzzle, and I get why—hints aren’t meant to be entertaining, and coming up with good ones can be quite challenging. (Shoutout to Matthew for being an absolute hinting MVP!) I actually quite enjoyed all the lexical games, though—the “mancala” anagram for [ALMANAC] was a very satisfying find, and I was quite proud of how my hint for the crossword staple at 27-Down was able to match the Minecraft theme of the clue. (Of course, the flipside was that some hints, like the one for [KORRA], had to jump through a lot of hoops to get to something coherent.)

I realize this is probably way longer than it needs to be, but making this puzzle was just such an experience. I’m absolutely going to keep making puzzles, and that’s all thanks to Brooke and Puzzmo.

[livesworthlivingau]

Behind the Vale Chapter 26

Spoilers for ISAT/Two Hats below as usual!

"Here, go find these." [The Kid commands flatly, handing you a slip of paper without even looking at you. The both of you and Nille were out in the market for a little bonding time, trying to find the rest of the supplies for them to prepare Nille's favorite recipe as a bit of a celebration.]

"Bonnie!! Ugh... I'll go look for them, you two play nice while I'm gone, alright?" [Nille sighs, snatching the list out of their hand. You feel your heart sink as she walks away, worriedly looking down at the Kid. They crossed their arms and refused to look at you.]

"... Sooooo... How has your journey been since the loops?..."

"'sfine..."

"... Right, right... I heard Stardust-"

"His name is Frin!! Siffrin!" [They shout at you suddenly, clenching their fists tightly.]

"S-Sorry!... Names are... very hard for me sometimes, it's a star thing, sentimentality and all~." [You try to deflect explain gently, kneeling down and smiling softly to get to their level.]

"Is that why you only call Nille by her name?"

"... Sort of, yes..."

"'sstupid."

"What, are you jealous you don't get a special nickname~?" [You tease a little, but their reaction tells you all you need to know, a slight pang of jealousy before getting defensive again.]

"N-No!!! That's stupid!!!"

"Is that so? What a shame... I had just the name in mind~." [They perk up, again quickly trying to hide it behind their anger.]

"S-So?! was probably stupid anyways..." [They mumble before kicking a rock on the ground.]

"Is that so... Little Flare~?" [They almost jump at the name, taking a moment to process what they were just called, then finally turning to face you.]

"What's that?"

"Well, you see the sun up there? That's actually a big giant star, kinda like I used to be. A massive ball of fire, floating in the sky!" [You start to explain, Little Flare staring up at you in wonder as you do.]

"And sometimes the fire gets a bit wild, and it escapes, lashing out in a beautiful display~! Those are called flares, and you my dear..." [You lightly boop their nose as you go on.]

"are quite the little fiery thing, aren't you~? Escaped from the very sun itself~!" [They continue to stare up at you in wonder, their eyes sparkling.]

"Woah... I'm a flare!!" [They proclaim with their fists raised in the air.]

"Haha! That you are little one~." [You smile softly, trying so desperately to fight the lingering itch inside of you, not wanting to ruin this moment. Their expression starts to fall as they look down.]

"... Frin told me... without you, they'd never have gotten out of the loops... Is that true?" [Your heart absolutely sinks at that question. Keep it together Vale... We have to keep it together, we can't ruin this... Do it for Nille blind it... You breath in deeply, then sigh it back out, helping keep yourself stable.]

"... I think it might be Little Flare..."

"Why though?! Why couldn't we help Frin?!... Why didn't they just talk to us?..."

"It's... complicated... Stardust has a lot of trouble opening up, or... well they did at least, I guess a lot can change in a few decades."

"... stupidfrin..." [You can't help but chuckle a little at that.]

"He was pretty stupid back then, wasn't he?" [They stand there for a moment, arms crossed, looking on the verge of tears. Suddenly then tackle into you, arms wrapped around you in a tight hug... You blink and stay frozen in shock.]

"... Thanks for helping them..." [You're still in shock for a moment, slowly realizing you should return the hug. Your arms slowly wrap back around them, holding them close.]

"O-Of course..." [Your cheek feels wet...]

"Glad to see you both are getting along better!" [Nille's voice startles you. You quickly wipe your face as Flare breaks the hug.]

"Nille! I'm a flare!!! I escaped the sun!!!" [They cheer excitedly, holding their fists up again.]

"You sure did, but what the crab are you going on about?" [She asks with a confused chuckle. You clear your throat to compose yourself better, standing back up.]

"Just a nickname I thought they might like, Little Flare~. It means some fire that escaped a star's form." [You smile brightly, trying to hide all the other emotions you were feeling.]

"Awww, now ain't that just the sweetest thing. My fiery little flare~." [She says, patting Flare's head through their big hat as they smile up at her proudly.]

"Thanks, Vay... I really appreciate you trying so hard." [She adds in a quiet voice as she faced you. Your smile cracks the slightest bit but you hold firm. You perk up as you feel Flare tugging at your sleeve, looking back down at them curiously.]

"Y-Yes?"

"Were you always a star?" [You freeze for a moment. Why are we so blinding bad at thinking of a cover story?! Just... MAKE SOMETHING UP!! They're a child, they'll believe anything we say!!]

"Y-Yes! Of course~! It was my job to come down and help all those little Flares like you that get lost on their way~!" [You wink, booping them on the nose yet again. They giggle some but keep looking up at you in awe.]

"Is that why you helped Nille find us?!"

"A-Absolutely~! How could I let my favorite one go without their dear sister for another moment~?" [You look back over at Nille. Her face holds such a bright, warm smile. You could swear you even saw some tears starting to well up. You feel Little Flare wrapping their arms around your waist, hugging close as they look up at you again.]

"Thanks for bringing Nille back... but does that mean you're gonna leave now? Aren't there more people to help?"

"Well... My star duties have been... 'put on hold' lets say. So I intend to stay, at least for a little while."

"Good!... Frin needs you here... and Nille too I guess." [They grumble those last words as you perk up, starting to blush the slightest bit and glancing back over at her, her face darkened as well as she looks away.]

"Come on, let's get the rest and head back to the house, I'm sure everyone else is gonna be real hungry!" [Nille remarks, trying to move the moment along quickly. You finish gathering the supplies on the list and make your way to return to everyone else.]

[pedrocomicreviews]

Fantastic Four Full Book Review

“Here, at the end, I understand that if I can love, then I am alive. And if I am alive, then I can die. But death will be worth it.”

I didn’t like Fantastic Four until this one. Full spoilers.

Never been much of a Marvel’s First Family enjoyer. I didn’t have ready access to comics growing up, and the cartoons were fine, but Spider-Man usually wasn’t in them. As I got more and more into the medium, I found myself rather disliking half the characters– I thought most writers couldn’t write comedy if you put a gun to their heads, so Johnny Storm was usually obnoxious, and Reed Richards was insufferable. Ben and Sue held the fort and when Civil War came up and they left because Reed had gone full fascist, I thought oh, I guess my dislike for half the cast is textual. 

I have since read a lot more Fantastic Four. OG Ultimate, Hickman’s run, some spin-offs, some shorter stories– I’ve been around, and I think there’s a fundamental problem with how a lot of creatives deal with these characters. Reed can too easily come off as aloof to the point of villainy, Sue can easily come off as a woman scorned over nothing, Johnny can easily convince the reader to root for the bad guys… Ben’s fine, no one can make me dislike The Thing. But I still maintain the Fantastic Four held a place most writers couldn’t really handle well.

So when they said Fantastic Four volume 7 was going to be written by Ryan North, the guy who wrote Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, which I also wasn’t a massive fan of (a wrong opinion), and that same year’s Lower Decks comic, which I also thought didn’t hit the mark (a fair opinion), I thought well, that’s another one. I had no expectations and no real stake in this. It also had a very similar beginning to Zeb Wells’s Amazing Spider-Man, instead of WHAT. DID. PETER. DO?, it was WHAT. DID. REED. DO?, a mystery which I assumed would take up most of the book and not be very interesting.

I’m giving you this preamble to establish just how much I wasn’t into this proud tradition of a franchise, and how fucking good this book got me. This is thirty-three issues and an annual of some of my favorite comic book storytelling in the industry for the past three years. This is one of my favorite books written in the modern era, this is by far my favorite use of the Fantastic Four characters, and this is easily my favorite voice for all present characters. 

The best way I can describe this series’s success where others failed is that I believe this fully commits to the Fantastic Four being scientists, fighting novel threats and finding new inventive ways to handle situations other heroes would just punch their way out of. This is basically a Star Trek book with four captains that have superpowers; it’s a return to the mostly episodic format of comics in the best way possible. I believe the Fantastic Four make for poor street-level superheroes, and this seems to agree. They’re not fighting Shocker or bank robbers; they’re fighting threats that you can write a thesis about.

I was initially surprised to hear North didn’t really care for the Fantastic Four before writing this book, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Free from the chains of expectation and canon that has really not served these characters over the years, he was in a great position to just take things back to zero. The original mystery that started the run was well-executed and only really served to further character development, as well as to take the family out of New York and focus exclusively on them, as opposed to superhero politics or New York-specific drama. 

I think that was the best possible way to start this book, and it led to very good new experiences for the characters. Specifically, I want to shout-out North’s desire to push Alicia Masters as much as possible– I always really enjoyed her whenever I saw her in stories, but felt that much like Sue, she wasn’t ever really the focus in the way I wanted her to be.

This is the exact opposite of that; really, if anything, read Fantastic Four for Alicia Masters. Her arcs are great, her dialogue is always on point, she’s gorgeous, she’s the heart of the group, she has a noir detective issue… it has never been more peak, we could have had this decades ago, how is she so perfect bros.

It’s very difficult to not just gush about this book, but it deserves it. Valeria and Franklin Richards are not here for the first year, but they eventually join; and now I like them! I always found these kid characters to be wasted as perpetual minors, but guess what! It was all character writing! You just need someone who cares about them and what they bring to the table.

Similarly, Thing and Alicia’s adopted Skrull and Kree children, N'kalla and Jo-Venn, have felt like time bombs in other places. Like there’s only one, awful way their stories can go, and like they’re less characters and more like promises of stories still to come. Not the case here! North writes them well! They’re fun, they’re fully-fledged, they’re different and they love each other!

It’s a joy to watch every piece come together, and almost every aspect of the book holds up so well. Doctor Doom’s appearance in the Annual issue is maybe my favorite Doctor Doom story ever since Al Ewing’s Guardian of the Galaxy. He sounds perfect, his plan is correctly based on hubris and ego, and the resolution is spectacular– fantastic, even. North understands the care one must have with characterization and character voice; it is maybe the most important part of any comic book that the character sounds like themself, and every appearance of a legacy character is on point.

I haven’t talked about the art at all, and that’s because this is when it gets a little inconsistent. The beginning of the book was pencilled and inked by the great Iban Coello, who I think is a phenomenal artist and a good colorist. His art really shines when the colors are taken over almost immediately by Jesus Aburtov, who is the perfect colorist for this art style.

These characters look better than they have in years, I genuinely adore this specific team. Add the MVP Joe Caramagna on the letters and you got a bonafide Fantastic Four making this book, and with Alex Ross doing covers, it’s maybe one of the best teams in the business. 

And then what always happens, happens– Coello is eventually replaced with the admittedly great Ivan Fiorelli, first as a fill-in, and then as one of many artists this book would have, almost alternating every two issues. Around halfway through the book, Carlos Goméz takes over as the other main penciller, and then in the last third, we get Cory Smith, who also finishes off the volume. Aburtov stays as colorist for most of the issues, but we have Brian Reber filling in occasionally, and Ariana Maher doing letters for some of the issues as well.

It’s a real shame, because the look of the book was genuinely pristine at the beginning. North remains as the writer in every issue and that consistency is most of the reason to care about the run, even if the art is never bad, it is… significantly less interesting occasionally, especially when Coello leaves. It would never happen, but I can’t help but dream of a run where the four originals get to stay all the way through.

I also dream of a run that doesn’t get ruined by events, oh boy we’re here– Fantastic Four survives one event and is survived by another, which is to say we have tie-ins for the Avengers event Blood Hunt and finish the book with a tie-in story to the current status quo, One World Under Doom. We also had the FF featuring in Fall of X back when X-Men was good, but not in their own book. 

The Blood Hunt issues are fine, they’re good– it’s basically an excuse to have Reed deal with magic and put his reservations with the concept on page, and they’re great pieces of characterization for both him and Alicia. Of course, it’s already not relevant; after insisting he can’t cure vampirism, Reed essentially cures the bad parts of vampirism a few issues later in a single afternoon of work, and then recently Fantastic Four Fanfare had a story about how he is actually very comfortable with magic. I get it, we march on, but still, a bummer.

It’s the One World Under Doom stuff that really brings this book down, and it’s a massive shame because Ryan North is also the main spearhead on that event. While these tie-ins are less directly related to the event and more just “what are the FF doing during it?”, you can’t help but feel like they don’t connect very well, and that the arbitrary nature of some aspects of the event stains what would otherwise be a great return to form to every character involved. Even when you remove all the criticisms from the event itself, it’s almost impossible to read the whole book and not feel like every issue with the status quo mark on the top is less interesting than the issues that didn’t have it.

It’s also difficult not to notice Cory Smith delivers some of the least interesting art for this era of the book, leaving us with a Book of Theseus that only has the original writer left, and has completely left what made it great. The art is different, the status quo is different, the things the characters are doing are different– and while that’s all fine, it’s also not what made this book interesting in the first place. The change was mostly negative and, bluntly, if North wasn’t such a good writer for these characters, I would have probably abandoned it.

But I didn’t, and it ended this week. And it was good! Still my favorite Fantastic Four book of all time, it’s just… man, they really fucked up this event, and it spread to this book like nothing else. Of course, it’s a bit disingenuous to pretend this is the “end” of the book– it’s being relaunched next month because of the movie, is all that’s happening. New #1s sell and Ryan North will return with more peak Fantastic Four very soon.

So I suppose it’s a review of the halfway, maybe ~70% mark of his Fantastic Four era. I don’t expect North to continue in the book well into next year, so maybe six, ten issues into volume 8 we’ll have a new writer. And that’s gonna probably be the moment I jump ship, hopefully to a new project where North gets to do what he does best: fun sci-fi with heart, unencumbered by brands and synergy. I really hope we get another creative, unique book out of him, and I hope his eventual goodbye to the franchise is one for the ages. This was a great book, everyone. Give it a shot if you haven’t.

[ivyial]

RIGHT SO

after my previous reblog, i feel compelled to write a "short" post (love letter) about (to) this game

so for those of you who haven't played it, or never even heard of it, professor layton vs phoenix wright: ace attorney is a crossover game between the two franchises (you'll have guessed it from the title) and it is PAINFULLY underrated :,) (i also hear that it is now hard to get physical copies of this game at a decent price so i'm glad i kept mine)

essentially used to be my favourite game of all time before it got dethroned by the resident evil 4 remake (but i will forever remember it fondly). i remember my parents gifted it to me for easter back in 2014 (so i was around 12 back then) and i don't think they realised how much this would change me. like this is one of the reasons why i started thinking about studying law later LMAOO.

essentially layton and phoenix both end up helping this young girl, espella (i played it in french back then and her name is aria so their english names are a struggle for me) who is being hunted by witches and then put on trial in london for the assault of a ship's crew member. then the wildest thing happens and they get sucked into a book and are sent back to medieval times. yes it sounds insane. but in this small town called labyrinthia, witches are real, and so are witch trials (DOESN'T IT SOUND COOL AS FUCK??).

they've all forgotten who they are, though. phoenix doesn't remember being an attorney and layton doesn't remember anything either. they find espella again, and she's put on trial AGAIN, for witchcraft this time. the game alternates between the usual layton riddles and ace attorney's investigation/trial phases. the odds are high this time around, because those found guilty of witchcraft are shoved into a metal cage and plunged into a pit of fire. they're not messing around.

of course, it wouldn't be layton or ace attorney without a massive plot twist at the end. i'd argue this one is probably the most insane out of all layton games (it's even a bit far fetched tbh, but just saying, you do not see it coming) (okay it's even full of plot holes and i haven't revisited the ending in years but if i did, i think it would be detrimental to my mental health).

the art style is amazing - i'm in love with the later ace attorney art styles, starting from dual destinies and this game, and particularly the latest great ace attorney chronicles. here are a few of my favourite character designs from the game:

but overall, one of the best things about the game has to be the soundtrack. it is the perfect mix of both franchises' music and it is a CRIME that neither level 5 nor capcom have released this on spotify (capcom i know you have all other AA soundtracks on this app. add this one. i am begging you). if you've never played an ace attorney game before, then you do not know the sheer adrenaline of phoenix shouting OBJECTION and the music speeding up. here's one of my favourite tracks:

tell me this doesn't make you immediately want to confess to 47 crimes you haven't committed.

it's kind of the perfect crossover game if you're into the genre, it's perfectly balanced between riddles and trials. the stakes are also a lot higher and there's actual executions. maybe i shouldn't have played this at the age of 12 actually - at some point (spoilers ahead), maya is wrongly executed and the scene will forever haunt me for some reason:

(go to 18:06 if the youtube timestamp doesn't work) i chose the french version of the cutscene because it's the one i played back then and i find that the french dub is a lot more compelling than the english one (somehow? the french haven't produced a good dub in decades so). also maya's screams are downright heartbreaking and the scene was traumatising asf when i was a kid

ANYWAY. please play this game, it's so much fun. for the AA enthusiasts, there's an edgeworth cameo at the very end. i very much fear that this game will be forgotten eventually, but it warms my heart to see that there are still people talking about it on the internet.