#As someone who kins the Mom from the Devils and the Details she should not be allowed to be this goofy. Whadahell. /pos

[always-just-down-the-street]

THE DARK JACKBOX LORE OF THE DAY

As shown in RubberRoss's preview video of TeeK.O. 2, the TeeK.O. 1 cast is fucking dead. Their ghosts appear in the Round 1 and 2 transitional screens.

That is all, have a good day.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Crescendo

Luffy picking his nose during big reveals is I C O N I C. Whatever this is all building towards, it feels like we’re seeing it escalate. It’s so weird seeing the concepts I was thinking about starting this blog spelled out. Been going on all Egghead. Ketsu, or a detached Act 4. Vegapunk’s dream, or Luffy’s reaction to it actually, is a big example. For how I felt about someone else from Wano. 

I’m talking about Yamato in this case. There’s no point in rehashing A Tale of Two Hannya, the basic idea is all you need. In a vacuum, Yamato is cool and flashy but his motives look more shaky the more you put them in the context of the arc. Especially when he comes in halfway sharing the stage with that massive foil in a girl we’d been spending two years getting to know very well. The more I see of Vegapunk, the more I’m disliking him. Bonney & Jinbei are right, the genius sorta has a bad habit of blitzing past everything to make a big to-do about what he’s interested in. I don’t think he has the sheer capacity for malice under the rosy goal as Big Mom, but he’s reminding me a lot of both Kozuki Odens. I'm starting to see how this guy could work alongside Caesar/Judge, which makes the cover flashback interesting.

Shark Daddy with the ominous af Chekov’s Gun! But wait...Luffy doesn’t even know what a CP0 is? Does that imply he doesn’t know about them chasing Robin/Brook? Who interfered in his fight? About Izo’s death? Izo’s someone he should remember from Marineford based on the gunman’s actions; helping Luffy get past Kizaru (!) and being the one trying to talk Ace down from being a reckless hothead (!!). Usopp explicitly knows all about the relationship, and don’t forget the other Chekov’s Gun in X Drake being the sole witness to the Commander’s fall. 

Makes Izo both an echo of “Nothing Happened” and Bon’s many sacrifices. Remember how much it frustrated Luffy that Bon kept bailing him out? Ashura died to protect the Akazaya, Izo for the Straw Hats with a dash of repaying his own favor. This gets more fun as we move into 1069 though: 

Love this. Luffy reaping the benefits of a title. Just a nice little beat about "class" from Kaku. The old timey talking dude who had a name double in Wano. We’ll have another one about hierachies in the same chapter, with the Seraphim command structure. The cool thing though is how we’re framing the fight. Uh...feel familiar? CP0 has an independent mission, crosses paths with a notorious pirate by sheer coincidence, willing to ignore him until the pirate pushes the fight for his own motives. A major incident indeed! 

Now for our main event. Oh, Vegapunk and the Devil Fruit lore? No, have you been paying attention? It’s cool for us yes, it might even have some solid implications to what I’m talking about incidentally. It’s not important right now, it feels big but the lore is kinda vague and grandiose. It’s not really a technical detail about how they work beyond what we knew, Vega even admits it’s just his theory, and the crew there is asserting it’s just Luffy. Are we building to a “Chosen One” story or a subversion? The thread I’m talking about running underneath is why I think the latter. Now for the real closer:

Woah woah, Sentomaru!? Not surprised. Vegapunk’s bodyguard but had blatantly Japanese vibes. Folklore homage, the weird little bit about the Kanji in his name. Being honest, I didn’t really intend to cover him in the big Buggy, Croc, Hancock, etc. round-up. I...was saving him for grander ambitions. Had I been right about Kiku at the end of Wano, y’all would have gotten a joke post about how it was obvious because she even had her own “Fake Straw Hat” in Sabody! Oh..but the timing doesn’t work out you say, that’s part of the bit. Seriously though, you have a lot of foreshadowing for Wano in Sentomaru and Kin/Kiku’s bond immedately remind me of Sento/Kizaru. And now we're...giving him the same rough backstory?

But damn, this is brutal. First, Vegapunk is kind of a dick here. He really is using that against Sentomaru. Especially with the dramatic irony we know it’s set up to put him in a situation of directly having to choose between Vegapunk and Kizaru. That’s a lot of rough potential. But then how it ends...right after setting up this idea of Awakened Zoans losing themselves to the ability, Luffy’s carefree attitude in G5 leads to letting Sentomaru get rocked when he could have easily prevented it. Beautiful. Bring on the next batch, I’m excited!

[hvneymelons]

Yesterday, last week’s, last month’s - who cares! At least he thought of it. “Thank you.” she said, fighting a creeping smile and the gnawing feeling of longing. Dilara placed both hands firmly on the container so she wouldn’t reach out. She instead focused on thinking about how she’d transfer it over to another container so they didn’t go through an awkward tupperware exchange later down the line. Giving to Helena whom she saw weekly would bring about far too probing questions from the older woman. Even if there was nothing to actually share, and oftentimes she didn’t mind giving into their parents wishful thinking, but this was different. This was a step in their real life and she’d rather keep the fantasies at a good distance. “It smells amazing, even though the lid.” Laughter bubbled its way up Dee’s belly, “I don’t think Adobo and Fajita wouldn’t appreciate that very much.” she said, grinning at him. She had definitely thought about it, but over time began to grow a fondness for them she hadn’t thought possible. Chickens, along with plenty of other animals, terrified her at first glance. She owed Terry her ease with them now, but the first time having to pick their eggs had been horrible. “Their kin, however?” Dee added on, thinking of him making her some deviled eggs or some eggs in purgatory, “Any time you’d like. They’d laid so much this summer that I’ve been able to bring some by mom’s and last week Helena.” For as small as it was, Dee was proud of her success with them. She never thought she’d be handling pets. Perhaps she should get a cow next. Please Dilara’s insides fluttered uncontrollably and she bit the side of her lip but continued onto the backyard - dropping off the container on her kitchen island on her way out. Facing him only once they’d made it through the backdoor, she replied, “It is. The owner didn’t want to let it go at first, but after a couple years of negotiating he relented. I guess it belonged to his late mother’s, but they couldn’t maintain it over the years.” The house was far too beautiful for Dee to give up on, and with a promise to make sure it saw better days she was able to purchase it. Every detail she had added up to this point had been in order to watch it flourish from the ruined it once stood on. Dee guided the way towards her makeshift chicken coop she carelessly put together, scrunching her nose as she turned to give him a disclaimer, “I’m planning on getting someone to make it more pretty, but here they are! It’s not so bad if it doesn't break, right?”

for me?

the question brought a small smile to leon’s lips as he watched the surprise play across her face. “yeah, for you. it’s yesterday’s stew… so, still fresh.” he shrugged, knowing that, in his opinion, it was even better. the meat had time to tenderize, the vegetables soaked up the flavor of the sauce even more—perfectly marinated. he knew she liked it; it had been a family recipe since they were kids, a staple at the pub so nothing exciting in his opinion... so there was nothing hidden behind the gesture. absolutely nothing, except that he knew she’d enjoy it. and maybe, just maybe, if she smiled at this small gesture, he could convince himself that they weren’t in such a bad place after all.

“and i’d love it if you showed me around. i do like chickens, you know. if you ever need someone to cook them…” he trailed off, realizing as the words left his mouth how that sounded. “i mean, the eggs. not the chickens. i don’t want to kill your chickens, i swear.” an awkward laugh escaped his lips, as awkward as he felt. fuck, what am i saying? he thought, mentally kicking himself.

“i feel like i… know this house?” he changed the subject as they made their way outside. it had been ages since he’d visited this part of town, but he remembered the two of them walking around here, killing time or taking strolls after family gatherings. he hadn’t paid much attention to the houses back then, but he did remember dee mentioning one in particular. “is it, like… the house?” he asked, the memory tugging at the back of his mind. there was a faint recollection of her going on about a place she loved, but back then, leon had been too focused on working multiple jobs and planning his escape from blue harbor to really listen. now, standing there, he felt a flicker of recognition he hadn’t expected.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Dragon Dancer III: The Night After: Part 2

“We received contact from another Cassell Spy earlier tonight. A woman who goes by the name Zero.”

“There’s a lot of detail. The gist of it is, there’s a river flowing underground in one of the lava tubes created by Mount Fuji when it was active. The combination of the water and the volcanic activity created a nutrient bath for dragon kin. It was sealed away in ancient times by the legendary Izanagi... supposedly. They believe the White King went there to regain her strength.”

“The plan was to drill into the tunnel and dump 5,000 tons of mercury in the tunnel and kill everything in it. Then ignite a thermite bomb after that.”

“Chisei went to supervise the drilling after dropping you off, but by then... one of the Hydra clans rebelled and attacked the Hydra clan members supervising the work. The casualties were... substantial.”

“Did they fail to reach the Light King?”

“No. Apparently, our agent embedded with the group held them off long enough for the Miyamoto clan head to speed up the work and open up the well and dump the poison. Unfortunately, he lost his life in the process.”

My brow furrowed in confusion. “I don’t understand. You’d think that the Hydras would have united together in face of such threats?”

“You’ll have to talk to her if you have questions.”

“Where is she?” 

“Laid up. She was injured in her escape. Ended up needed surgery.”

“So what’s the state of Hydra now?”

“They’re down Tachibana, Inuyama, Ryoma, and Miyamoto. Only four clan chiefs left.”

I rested my forehead against the heel of my hand and whispered. “Poor Chisei. Do we know where he is?”

“Last seen at the dig site. But uh... he should be here shortly. Our positions were given away somehow. He knows Ruri is here. They have us completely surrounded.”

“How did that happen?” I whimpered. 

Johann just shook his head.

“Do you think... Ruri... betrayed us?” 

“If he did, it wouldn’t make sense for him to come back here. But... At this point, they’ve got snipers of the roofs, blocked off all the streets. They just haven’t entered the building. They’re waiting for something... or someone.”

“Chisei? How could he allow this?”

Johann just looked at me. “He might like you. But he’s still High Patriarch of the Hydras. Chime must be dealt with... because he’s the leader of the Devils.”

“I thought I told him to stop with all this law and order garbage!” I threw off the covers but Johann caught my arm.

 “Rest. You can’t do anything. Clan Chief Sakurai and Chief Fuma are also here right now. Nono has been handling the negotiations with the owner of Takamagahara. But Clan Chief Fuma and Sakurai are only taking our requests. They’re not promising anything.”

“So... they’re not attacking?”

He let me go. “No... the owner of this place is a long time investor in the Hydras. They owe her a lot of money... and well.. she likes us... for some reason.” Johann’s voice drifted off.

“Why do I feel... suddenly out of control of this situation...? We were picked up by this person who is a friend of Lu Mingfei, here in Japan who also owns the Hydras and provides the perfect hideout? Anjou arranged this?” I asked.

Johann was silent a moment. “Possibly, but she did not present any identification from Cassell.”

“Well...” I sighed. “I can only focus on one thing, so long as we’re safe for now...”

Nono suddenly walked into the room, waving some keys. “Guess what guys?!”

“Nono!” I grinned.

“The owner of the place gave us some keys to get out of here. We can finally leave!”

My smile faded. “But the King’s still alive. Did we get confirmation that White King is dead?”

“Girl, I’m just telling you. You’re the fearless leader.” She pressed my nose with her finger and handed me the keys. 

I couldn’t help but laugh. “No, we’re not leaving yet. But thanks. I still want to talk to Chisei. If we can combine him and his brother, and get in touch with Lu’s girl friend, it’s over for the White King AND the Ghost King.”

“I should talk to Chisei...” The soft humble voice came from the crack in the door. At first, I thought the person standing there was Chisei, but Chisei would never put on such a sad pathetic expression. 

Nono stood up. “What are you doing up! Go back to bed!”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Ruri?” I couldn’t believe it. It was him! But that creepy aura was gone. He looked at Nono the same way a child would look at his mom after he’d had a nightmare. His kimono was too big for his tiny frame, emphasizing his child like look.

Johann turned to him. “How long were you listening?”

He let out a quiet laugh. “Not very long.”

His voice reminded me a lot of that lilt that Michael Jackson had. “I’ll go with you.” I told him.

“No... we need to meet alone.” He lowered his eyes.

“That’s never a good idea. He gets so hopped up on how things should be, that he loses sight of how things actually are. Besides. I don’t think he’ll mind me being there. Both your fates matter to me because we both have depended on you until now.”

“I... was hoping to have killed the King. And I would be able to show him his head... so I could tell him, I’m a friend of justice too...” Chime’s eyes glittered with tears. “But I failed.”

“I wouldn’t call that a failure. You chopped the guys head off. He’s little over powered, R... I mean Chime...”

Nono walked over to him and embraced him. He seemed to be falling apart before our eyes, trembling in panic. “He’s going to devour the world and nothing can stop him. Nothing! Once he gets ahold of the Dragon King’s blood, he’ll evolve into a pure dragon...”

I looked at Johann. “But aren’t they dumping mercury into the breeding ground?”

Chime composed himself. “It’s... not really about that. I just... I just want to see my brother.”

I lifted my head. “Oh. I gotcha.”

“You do?”

Chime looked at me and I felt a lump in my throat. “Blood is thicker than water. I believe you can convince him.” I gave him a thumbs up.

“You do?” He perked up a bit.

“OH yeah...” I grinned. “Your brother loves you.”

“You’re going to make me cry.” He did cry, turning his face into Nono and sobbing like a man who’d lost everything.

I wiped my eyes.

“You shouldn’t throw such words around cavalierly.” Johann said, handing me a box of tissues.

I blew my nose. “Don’t tell me what to do.”