#Baba Zero

[summerwritesfics]

🧊An Unexpected Twist

Pairing: None Length: 613 Words Rating: General Warnings: Mortal Kombat 1 timeline, Kuai Liang is Scorpion, Pyromancer!Kuai Liang, Fluff, Power Awakening, Bàba Zero is trying his best

Ice, Ice, Smoke And Fire Masterlist

Notes: Another one I’ve had written up and edited for a while. Ice, Ice, Smoke And Fire is just gonna be a series of silly fluffy oneshots following Bàba Zero (dubbed Sub Zero in this, I’m kinda going with Bi-Han taking the title after Bàba Zero’s death) trying his best… cuz tbh I just want to write the Lin Kuei trio as children getting into trouble and making their dad’s life difficult. I kinda like the idea that Kuai being a pyromancer was a surprise to everyone, hence why he still has an ice related name. I’d also like to say I wrote this before MK1 came out (just after Dominic accidentally dropped that Kuai was Scorpion in that IGN interview), so we didn’t have the intro’s where Bi-Han and Tomas talk about Mama Zero. That said, Kuai never really talks about her, so I’m going with the headcanon that she died when he was still young and he doesn’t have as many memories of her as Bi-Han and Tomas do (I headcanon Tomas is the middle brother). Anyway, enough of me clarifying stuff: enjoy the fluff :)

“Bàba, look what I can do!”

Sub Zero looked up from his paperwork to watch as Kuai Liang ran into the room. He was 6 years old now, around the age where his cryomancy should be starting to come through. He held his breath and smiled, eagerly awaiting to see if indeed Kuai’s cryomancy was finally taking form.

Kuai held his little hands up in the air, his face scrunching up as he did his best to summon his new abilities. Sub Zero didn’t say anything, wanting his son to do this by himself. Finally, there was a small flash, as magic finally erupted from his hands.

Except… that was not ice.

Inside Kuai’s palm was a small flame, flickering away like a lit candle.

“Look! My ice is orange!” Kuai seemed blissfully unaware that what he held in his hand was pretty much the complete opposite of ice.

Sub Zero could only stare in shocked silence, trying to wrack his brain as to some explanation of how this could have happened. His bloodline had been one of cryomancy for generations, and as far as he remembered, his late wife had no inherent magical abilities that could offer an explanation.

“I can also do this,” Kuai announced, quickly turning to his left, and putting the flame directly under the room's curtains.

Unfortunately, Sub Zero had not quite realised what Kuai was about to do until the curtain set ablaze. He scrambled out of the seat, grabbing Kuai around the waist with one arm, while summoning a thick layer of ice to douse the flames. Kuai giggled the entire time, not grasping the danger he’d just posed to them. Despite Sub Zero’s delayed reaction, thankfully the damage was minimal.

Sub Zero let out a relieved breath, before shifting his arms until Kuai was comfortable and in front of him. Kuai clapped his hands in triumph, clearly very proud of himself. Weirdly, Sub Zero was proud of him too, even if he was a menace. Even if this entire debacle raised so many questions.

“Kuai Liang, could you show me again?” He asked gently, wanting to see it one more time, slightly closer up this time. “Cup your hands together, and let the magic flow to them.”

Kuai nodded confidently. He cupped his hands together, that same look of sheer concentration gracing his features. Eventually, the same thing happened again, and there in Kuai’s hands was a flame. Sub Zero smiled, this was in no way something he ever expected, but it was what was happening. He would just have to find a way to help navigate his son through this strange new power.

“Grandmaster!” The door slammed open and Hydro stumbled inside, looking extremely panicked. “We believe we’re under attack, we’ve found fire’s all over the temp-“

He stopped speaking when he noticed the small flame in Kuai Liang’s hands.

“Stand down, Master Hydro,” Sub Zero replied, trying not to laugh. “I suspect the attack came from within and have apprehended the culprit.”

He shot Kuai a glance, and he still looked far too happy with himself.

“I… see…” Hydro sounded as shocked as Sub Zero had been. Still he straightened himself out. “I will… Uh… Go and aid the efforts to fix the damage.”

Hydro bowed to him, before turning to leave. Sub Zero redirected his attention back to Kuai Liang, who had put out the flame and was now looking at his father with bright eyes. The child needed guidance, and even though Sub Zero wasn’t sure he would be enough, he would do everything possible to do so.

No matter what, he would always do his best to support his child.

[good-fwiend-in-wome]

this would work much better with a third naissancee-ultrakill axis but that's beyond my graphing capabilities

[cconfusedkat]

Family Reunion, /silly

Anyways, extremely low effort shitpost.... Kallamar would tell Ajdaha what type of swears there are in old faith. Leshy and heket are HORRIBLE examples and would take AJ on their resource team parties filled of heretics. Shamura is busy with candle making and undertaking all day. Narinder is busy with sparring and teaching followers how to fight. Maybe giuseppe is allure's last bet at babysitting. 💀

[spotlightlover]

this isn't rly tbhx related specifically but i love that to be hero (first show in the to be hero series) also seems to be called to be hero baba?? (at least i've seen the name mentioned before and i only know three shows in the to be hero series and i know to be heroine is also known as to be hero leaf so my assumption is that the to be hero baba i've heard of is to be hero)

anyways the name to be hero baba is cute :] reminds me of baba is you

[chamomile-teacup]

games i'd play again if i could eternal sunshine myself

Tunic

La-Mulana

Oneshot

Outer Wilds

Paranormasight

Journey

Zero Escape series

Baba is You

To the Moon

FEZ

Psycholonials

like obviously i'd want to reread homestuck without knowing what happens but that ain't a game :)

what about y'all? what other games have that, one-play-only vibe?

[megamanzerov20]

If zero from Mega man x saves Dogday from baba chops

[ghastlycrew]

alsooooo. the differences between how kiryu and saejima respond to majima's "death" are really making me go hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii <3

[gimmeshelter]

i've seen other people do this and i think it's funn what are, according to you, the best songs of all time? then i'll make a dashboard all timers playlist

[haveyouseenthistoku]

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

i gotta make a banner and a pfp for it but I kinda wanna make a community for recipes that are like. SPECIFICALLY retrieved from unhinged calls made to 60+ year old parents with absolutely no actual ingredient measurements.

I already have a bunch of these on this blog that I can reblog to it, but know the vibe is gonna be like the antithesis of the average polished recipe community.

I want to be able to scroll through recipe that your nonna vaguely guided you through on a 9pm phone call or recipes you cobbled together after calling your baba on a 6pm ingredient run and end the call with a near net zero of informatoin.

i'll let yall know when it's set up so you can start reblogging shit to it

[siriuslyobsessedwithfiction]

Alternate Shadow and Bone idea: The sun summoner turns out to be an old lady from a quiet village, who sensing she didn't have long left to live, hired a skiff and decided to brave the journey through the Fold in hopes of seeing her estranged extended family on the other side. When the volcra attacked, her fear set her power free, which until then she was ignorant of because it only came out as burning things when she got frustrated with cooking. Because of lack of education in commoners, she too considered Grisha abnormal witches until she was taken to the palace by the extremely disappointed Darkling. She sees the Grisha children, orphaned, hunted and abused for existing anywhere else, the Darkling running around to keep the country from collapsing while the King sits on his ass and decides to do something worthy since she has practically waned away her whole life anyway.

Her training progresses slowly because of her age and not because "wahh, I can't live without Mal for a month". Also because she and Baghra have the biggest old lady beef and bicker all the time. She's a better mother figure to Aleksander than Baghra. Kills the stag with zero hesitation because she had to butcher animals and store the meat for long winters. Has beef with the Apparat as well and tells the brainwashed children that he gathered in a cult to wise up and go get a life. Doesn't blame Genya for doing what she had to to survive and doesn't guilt trip her to take her side. She understands because her parents married her off when she was young, fortunately her bastard of a husband died soon after. Becomes friends with Ivan because paranoid Darkling assigned him to keep her heartbeat and blood pressure in check, so the old sun summoner won't randomly die. Is not impressed with Nikolai when he comes back to Ravka at all. In her opinion, everybody has done more for Ravka than him and he doesn't get to swoop in, decide he wants to be King and take all the credit.

Ending: Either gives her powers up because she's old and tired of life or leaves after things settle down, continues living for centuries as a healthy old woman because of her powers and becomes a local legend like Baba Yaga. She and Aleksander keep in touch, he comes over for tea, пирог (pie) and advice.

[diminuel]

I said I'd try to write a little companion piece/ continuation to my Luffy time traveling into the past to meet a young Crocodile comic!

As a warning: I know nothing about ships and since this is just a little no pressure project to try to get out of writer's block I didn’t do a lot of research. There is also a plot discrepancy because Luffy mentions Bonney and her abilities which he shouldn’t know based on the frame story I’ve given this fic *lol* Also: I don't know how to write these characters yet.

No beta, sorry for mistakes.

This is a Crocodad AU fic of course! ♥

--

Maybe This Time Part 1 (3.5k)

“Better get down from there, Luffy!” Nami called from the upper deck. “I don’t quite trust these clouds.” Luffy turned to look over his shoulder, feet dangling over the railing. Nami stood with a hand over her brow, looking up at the sky. Luffy turned back to look out at the sea and tilted his head up. The sky had a pretty green hue, nearly blending seamlessly into a dark mist rising above them. A huge dark cloud had formed ahead, casting a shadow over the sea in the distance.

“Just-“

He titled forward, lost his grip on the railing. A swooping feeling of falling tickled his stomach but before he could make a surprised sound he hit the surface of the water. It felt like he was crashing through glass.

And then it was dark.

This wasn’t the first time Luffy woke up after having been tossed into the water, but for some reason he was bone dry. And oddly thirsty.

“Thirsty,” he wheezed, sticking out his tongue to escape the uncomfortable dryness of his mouth.

A small barrel with a straw was held out to him with a curt “here.” Luffy’s attention zeroed in on the offering and he grabbed it without second-thought. A couple of deep gulps of the water later he felt a lot better already. He heaved a sigh in relief. He took the straw into his mouth again, starting a thank you as he turned towards his savior.

Startled, he sucked in water and spit it out again before he could choke on it, right into the face of someone who looked shockingly familiar.

“BABA?!” Luffy yelled. The person in front of stared at him blanky, the water dripping off his face.

Luffy stared right back. Could it be? This wasn’t Baba as he knew him, but much younger. Sure, they hadn’t seen each other in a couple of months, but he couldn’t change that much, right? But who else could it be? The same hair, the same eyes, the same scar, the same unimpressed expression.

A thousand questions rampaged through Luffy’s minds. How was Baba here? Last they had talked he had been still on Buggy’s homebase. Had he saved him? Where was his crew? What kind of island was this? But one question seemed most important.

“Why are you so young?!” Luffy asked, staring at Baba who couldn’t be much older than Luffy was now.

“Huh?”

“Was it Bonney?” The confusion on Baba’s face only grew.

“Who?” he asked. Luffy stared back at him taking in the complete lack of recognition on Baba’s face.

What?

“Don’t you recognize me, Baba?!” Luffy shouted in horror. The corners of Baba’s mouth twitched and his brows drew down. At least that was a marginally more familiar expression on his face.

“My name isn’t Baba,” he insisted. “And no. Should I?” That hit Luffy like Grandpa’s fist of love.

“Yes!!” Luffy argued, feeling overwhelmed and his crew wasn’t even here to help figure this out. Robin or Jinbei would know what to do! Luffy looked at the sea. It was overcast, the sun faint, the air cool. It was most likely early morning. There wasn’t a single ship visible in the bay or beyond. No other people on this beach. He could feel tears form in his eyes.

“What is going on?” he yelled.

--

There were rules for unexpected situations that had been drilled into his head at an early age. Get yourself out of any immediate danger. Figure out where your people are and regroup. Figure out where you are. Eat. Everything else can wait until after you’ve eaten.

Maybe the importance placed on food was just the Monkey family’s way of dealing with problems, but Luffy wasn’t about to complain. The perfectly grilled meat and the little stick that was loaded with huge mushrooms helped to dampen the anxious pit in his stomach. But the moment he looked up and caught a glimpse of the person sitting across from him, tearing the meat straight off the bone in an unsettling lack of finesse, he felt like he was being dunked into sea water again.

Just what was going on here? Luffy had been travelling with his crew, enjoying that exhilarating part of adventuring where you were simply sailing, facing the challenges the sea of the New World threw at you, not yet knowing where the path would take you. And then the next thing he knew he was plunged into water, sank, blacked out.

Nothing after made any sense. Because the person that had saved him…

“You’re staring.” Luffy startled at the unsettlingly unfamiliar voice. He watched the person opposite him pick his teeth. “Do I really look like that Baba person?” Maybe a smart man would keep his mouth shut and Luffy had been raised to have at least a pinch of common sense between his ears but…

Just what was he supposed to do when a young version of his father was sitting opposite him?!

“You do,” he settled on saying, wary. Baba didn’t look particularly upset by his lack of an explanation, not even a hint of annoyance pinching his brow. And that was unusual too.

What was this? A hallucination? Someone’s devil fruit power? Actual time travel?

(And why not into the future so Luffy could at least see cool robots shooting lasers?)

“What did you say your name was?” Baba asked, genuinely curious, then he pointed at the food in Luffy’s hands. “More where that came from,” he promised. “Eat.” And wasn’t that just another strange thing? Why was he so nice to him if he didn’t even know who Luffy was? Luffy stuffed the food in his mouth, chewing morosely.

“Monkey D. Luffy. I’m going to be the pirate king,” he announced, though far more subdued than he usually was when introducing himself. Baba’s eyebrow lifted.

“There’s no such thing as a king of pirates,” he said, chuckling to himself. “Isn’t that the whole point? The freedom?” Luffy swallowed his food, tilting his head in confusion. Baba put his elbow on his knee, and propped his chin in his palm. He grinned at Luffy, the expression open and joyful, almost mischievous. “That’s why I set sail. I want to do things for myself, see what I can achieve on the Grandline!” His grin softened to an expression a lot more familiar to Luffy though he couldn’t exactly place it. “A big adventure before…,” he trailed off and sat up straight, still grinning but not sharing his thoughts.

It was strange to hear Baba talk of freedom and piracy like that. While Baba had given Ace, Sabo and him a lot of practical information on what to expect out of piracy, he almost never talked about how it used to be for him when he just starting out. Luffy didn’t know when he became a pirate, what motivated him or why he gave up that freedom for a warlord position.

He just knew that nowadays everything, even freedom, was shackled by conditions upon conditions. A thousand locks for Baba and Dad to pick before it could be achieved. Luffy had never quite understood it. Freedom was so easy to achieve if you just pushed your boat off the shore.

Maybe this Baba still trusted that freedom was always within reach.

“How old are you?” Luffy blurted out, putting aside the unease about the situation to admit a little bit of curiosity. Even if it was a hallucination or the work of a very capable impostor, he wanted to know more about him. He wanted to know everything about him.

“19,” Baba answered. “And you?”

“Uh, me too,” Luffy said, then lifted his fingers. “46 minus 19.”

“27,” Baba answered right away, chewing on a mushroom. It seems Baba hadn’t yet discovered the “don’t talk with your mouth full” rule.

“27 years?” Luffy repeated in dawning horror, touching his palms to his cheeks. “I’m 27 years in the past?!” He whined and let himself drop onto his back. He stared up at the overcast sky, partially visible through the sparse trees here so close to the shore. How was that possible?! Did they sail into some sort of mystical area of the Grandline and were now all scattered across time? Was that even possible?

Baba’s face appeared in his field of vision, blocking out the sky.

“What are you talking about?” he wanted to know, his hands in his hips as he bent down to study Luffy. “You can’t seriously believe that you’re from the future.”

“But I am!” Luffy insisted and jumped to his feet. Luckily Baba straightened quickly enough to not be hit by Luffy’s head. He grimaced, momentarily distracted by the fact that even now his father was nearly a head taller than him. He shrugged it off. “I know that there is no known devil fruit that will grant the user the ability to go back in time. But there has got to be an explanation for this!”

“Other than you being insane?” Baba offered but judged by his tone and the grin stretching his lips he was teasing, not mocking. Luffy groaned, then crossed his arms over his chest. “You do realize that what you’re saying is improbable.”

“But it’s still true!” Baba didn’t react to his outburst. “I’ve seen a lot of so-called improbable things before! Islands with dinosaurs! Islands that fly in the sky! Islands where people turned into living toys!” Baba lifted his eyebrows at that. Luffy waved him off. “It was just Mingo, don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not worrying about it,” Baba answered, amusement evident. “But it seems like you’ve already travelled a bit. I thought you were new to the Grandline. You look like a rookie.”

“I’m not!” Luffy protested then pointed his thumb at his chest. “I’ve been on the Grandline for 2 years! I’ve got an amazing ship and the best crew in the world!” At the mention of his crew his spirits sunk like an anchor. He hoped they were okay…!

“Where were you when you got separated from your crew? You can’t have been washed ashore from that far away,” Baba asked. Luffy hummed, trying to remember. He scratched his head.

“We’d been on sea for about three weeks after Wano,” he said. “But we hadn’t come into stable climate yet, so I don’t think we were close to an island.”

“Wano,” Baba repeated. “You were in the New World?” He seemed surprised now. Was he doubting him again?

“You’re in the New World too,” Luffy shot back.

“No! We’re on Agaricus,” Baba insisted. Luffy squinted at him. Where had he heard that name before? He was sure he had heard Baba mention it. “The next big island you might have heard of is Alabasta.” Luffy hit his balled fist into his palm in recognition.

“The autumn island where you like to go mushroom hunting!” he said then the words registered. “What?! We’re in the first half of the Grandline?!” Baba looked about as shocked as Luffy felt.

“How do you know that?” he asked and it took a moment for Luffy to realize that he looked wary all of a sudden, his stance a lot less relaxed. Luffy knew that he should be able to defend himself against a 19-year-old version of his father, but he still didn’t want to test that hypothesis if Baba actually started to believe that Luffy was a threat.

“I told you! I’m from the future! I know you!” Luffy defended himself. Baba frowned at him, but his stance shifted just a bit. A soft sound at Luffy’s feet made him look down just to see tendrils of sand slip back down on the floor. He hadn’t even realized that Baba must have manipulated the sand to grab him if needed. When Luffy looked up Baba’s expression was serious, a crease between his eyebrows.

“27 years into the future,” Baba affirmed. “When you and your crew sailed the New World. As apparently I do too.” He rubbed his arms, his face uncertain for the first time. “I’m still alive in 27 years?”

“Obviously!” Luffy insisted, angry at the suggestion that Baba would not make it on the Grandline. “You’re strong!” A small grin appeared on Baba’s face.

“Yeah? So how do we know each other? Am I your captain or something?” Luffy wrinkled his nose but at the same time Baba did too. “Do I insist on everybody calling me Baba like fucking Whitebeard wants everyone to call him Pops?” Baba made a disgusted expression at that. Luffy of course knew that Baba and Whitebeard had history, but as most things of his father’s past, this was something he kept close to his chest. Sometimes his secrecy was quite annoying and it was hard to pretend not to care about what had happened, especially since the old man had meant so much to Ace.

“How can you already have a grudge against Whitebeard at 19?”

“Oh, so you don’t know everything, Monkey D. Luffy,” Baba said, his grim look dropping quickly at the supposed upper hand he fancied himself to have. Luffy wasn’t used to these quick mood changes. Still, instead of answering he grimaced. “What?”

“I don’t like when you call me by my full name. You only do that when you’re scolding me. Call me Luffy or Strawhat.”

“Strawhat?” Baba asked, laughing. Luffy pulled his hat from his back and put it onto his head demonstratively. “And you let me scold you? What am I? Your mom?” Luffy pressed his lips together, the question feeling like someone had upended a bucket of cold water onto his head. But Baba laughed in amusement as if the thought was absurd. “Am I your captain?”

For the first time a different kind of worry made a home in Luffy’s mind. He had arguably no experience in time traveling but he wondered if it was a good idea to let his father know too much. Could Luffy change the past just by being here? Could he change his own present if he messed up here?

Luffy knew that he was a “happy accident.” What if he told Baba who he was and Baba decided to be a bit more careful so that no happy accidents happened accidentally? That’d be horrible! Would Luffy just disappear?! Maybe this was the true danger of this situation!

“You’re not my captain! I’m the captain of my ship!” Luffy insisted, pride in his position winning out over the moment of panic.

“Then what’s our connection?” Crocodile asked and took a step closer to Luffy, a glint in his eyes that Luffy didn’t quite like. He didn’t have a sharp hook to hold under his nose but he had a sharp and menacing grin. “Spit it out, Strawhat.”

“I… I don’t know anything!” Luffy said through pursed lips, looking away. But other than grab him and shake him or worse (as Luffy had seen Baba do to people who annoyed him or lied to him) Baba just blinked at him. Then he threw his head back and laughed.

“I know someone who’s just as horrible as you are at lying!” he said. Luffy wrinkled his nose. Not everyone could lie professionally. “But why don’t you want to tell me?”

“Because I am from the future!” Luffy insisted. “What if I say something that changes something big?! I don’t want that! I like my life! Maybe if someone sent me into this past, this is their objective?! What if they’re trying to kill me by letting me make a mistake here in the past that leads to me not being born?!”

“That seems far too much effort,” Baba said, looking Luffy up and down. “You don’t look particularly strong, Strawhat,” he said his tone annoyingly patronizing. “A stray bullet could kill you.”

“What?! I am strong! And my bounty is higher than yours!” he protested. Luffy would never have said that to his Baba’s face but this young version of him was different. “And I’m not going to tell you what it is!” Baba rolled his eyes.

“At least tell me I didn’t choose something as stupid as Baba as my name,” he said, then he moved his hand and a wave of sand spread over the fire they had roasted their food on, dousing it at once.

“I’ve always done my best to fly under the marine’s radar and it’s hard to break the habit. I haven’t really gotten my name out there yet,” Baba continued. He pointed at Luffy. “But I will! The world will soon hear of the exploits of Crocodile!” Luffy stared at him, taking in his wide, confident grin.

Baba looked impossibly young.

“Yes,” Luffy agreed, not sure why there was a lump in his throat. Baba smiled at him, then he reached out to pat Luffy’s shoulder. “Let’s go.” Baba turned around and started packing up the rest of the cooked meat and mushrooms. He tossed Luffy a bag, then shouldered his own. When he walked away from the camp, Luffy trailed after him.

“Where are we going?” he asked. They stepped out of the outskirts of the forest and back onto the beach. There was a small ship docking on a pier that Luffy hadn’t noticed back when he had first woken up. It wasn’t much bigger than the one Luffy had initially set out on. Far too small for a crew of more than two. Not a vessel that looked suited for the Grandline.

“You’re looking for your crew, right? And a way to get back home, wherever and whenever that might be,” Baba said and then thrust his thumb behind him, towards the ship. “So what do you say, Strawhat Luffy? Want to join me?” Luffy looked at him in surprise. Baba wasn’t exactly the kind of person to make such generous offers to strangers, at least he wasn’t today.

“Fine. But I’m captain!” Luffy said and extended his arm to grab onto the ship’s mast. He pulled himself onto the ship, Baba staring after him. Luffy sat himself down at the helm of the ship. Baba cursed to himself, then undid the rope and gave his ship a powerful shove with his foot. He turned into sand and landed on the ship next to Luffy.

“No way! This is my ship!” Luffy looked up the mast, noticing the lack of a pirate flag.

“Baba-“

“Don’t call me that.”

“Crocodile, you don’t even have a pirate flag!” he said disapprovingly and for the first time Baba actually seemed embarrassed. “Does your ship have name at least?”

“Yeah, it’s the Mind Your Own Business Strawhat!” Crocodile went down into the cabin and then came back with an eternal pose. Luffy couldn’t read the name written on it. Crocodile walked to the steering wheel and then looked up at the sail. Luffy watched as sand spread from Crocodile’s body until the sails were lifted and caught the wind.

“Where are we going?” Luffy asked, inspecting the stemhead but it didn’t seem particularly comfortable to sit on. Crocodile’s ship didn’t even have a figurehead! Maybe he had a banana in his galley so Luffy could put it on the stemhead. The "Mind your Own Business Strawhat" needed least some decoration. Momentarily caught up in his musings, it took him a moment to turn back around to look up at Crocodile behind the wheel. It was strange seeing him there. He had only sailed with Crocodile on the same ship once, leaving Impel Down. He didn’t know why it seemed so strange to see him man a ship himself. He knew that his father was a pirate and yet it seemed odd to realize what that actually meant. That he hadn’t always been a warlord who tended to stay in one place or travel on marine vessels, that he hadn’t always had 2000 people under his command, that he hadn’t always been an emperor’s commander. But he looked comfortable behind the wheel, like he had never done anything else.

“Do you want to go all the way to Wano?” Luffy eventually asked and jumped up to where Crocodile was. “What about your own adventure? Don’t you want to follow the log poses and do your route around the Grandline?”

“I don’t mind making a detour,” he easily said as if it wasn’t difficult at all for him to give up his plans. “And absolutely not, I’m not going to sail into the blue like that just based on your last location in allegedly 27 years from now” Crocodile said with a scoff. “We need information.” He smiled down at the log pose. “And I might have an idea where we could get it.”

To be continued? If you find it too hard to read on here I can post it on AO3.

[videogamepolls]

Video Games Polls 9-Month Report

It's been 3 months since my last report and I've polled over 500 more games since then so I wanted to post an update on the top 10 games across each of the four options included in my polls, plus a couple other new categories.

🏆 Most Played

Games with the highest percentage of "Yes" votes:

The Dinosaur Game (2014, AKA Chrome Dino Game) - 93.9%

Pac-Man (1980) - 93.4%

Wii Sports (2006) - 87.7%

Tetris (1985) - 86.9%

Pokemon Go (2016) - 82.9%

Minecraft (2011) - 81.1%

Angry Birds (2009) - 80.1%

Stardew Valley (2016) - 79.3%

Space Invaders (1978) - 78.5%

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020) - 74.1%

🏆 Most Known but Not Played

Games with the highest percentage of "No" votes:

Raid: Shadow Legends (2018) - 85.8%

Final Fantasy XI (2002) - 82.1%

Halo Infinite (2021) - 77.6%

Baldur's Gate (1998) - 76.1%

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000) - 75.8%

Call of Duty (2003) - 75.2%

Counter Strike 2 (2023) - 74.9%

Valorant (2020) - 74.7%

Donkey Kong 3 (1983) - 74.5%

The Last of Us: Part II (2020) - 74.4%

🏆 Most Watched

Games with the highest percentage of "I watched someone play it" votes:

Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy (2017) - 54.2%

I Am Bread (2015) - 51.3%

Octodad: Dadliest Catch (2014) - 47.0%

Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach (2021) - 45.6%

Phasmophobia (2020, Early Access) - 41.3%

P.T. (2014) - 41.0%

PowerWash Simulator (2022) - 40.4%

Slender: The Eight Pages (2012) - 38.4%

Raft (2022) - 38.3%

The Convenience Store (2020) - 38.1%

🏆 Most Obscure

Games with the highest percentage of "I've never heard of it" votes:

Just, Bearly (2018) - 96.9%

Anito: Defend a Land Enraged (2003) - 96.6%

That Damn Goat (2023) - 96.5%

Star Seeker in: The Secret of the Sorcerous Standoff (2020) - 96.4%

Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory (1983) - 96.1%

Quando Fuori Piove (2018) - 95.9%

Turovero: The Celestial Tower (2017) - 95.8%

I am Magicami (2020) - 95.8%

Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening (2020) - 95.5%

The Unholy War (1998) - 95.2%

🏆 Most Balanced

Games with the most even spread of votes:

Human Fall Flat (2016) - 19.3% Yes | 28.5% No | 26.1% Watched | 26.1% Never Heard

Kerbal Space Program (2015) - 21.9% | 31.1% | 24.5% | 22.5%

The Henry Stickmin Collection (2020) - 19.3% | 29.2% | 22% | 29.5%

Ib (2012) - 24.1% | 26.8% | 19.2% | 29.9%

Superhot (2016) - 24.9% | 25.1% | 30.5% | 19.5%

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2010) - 25.8% | 31.1% | 20% | 23.2%

Limbo (2010) - 30.2% | 28.7% | 23.9% | 17.1%

Wobble Dogs (2022) - 18% | 25.4% | 25.2% | 31.3%

Slay the Princess (2023) - 30.2% | 27.4% | 26.1% | 16.4%

Baba Is You (2019) - 26% | 32.9% | 19% | 22.1%

🏆 Most Votes

Games with the most number of votes:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) - 4,329

Flight Rising (2013) - 4,132

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (2004) - 4,053

Final Fantasy XV (2016) - 3,056

Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (2009) - 2,844

Dark Souls (2011) - 2,823

The Dinosaur Game (2014, AKA Chrome Dino Game) - 2,758

QWOP (2008) - 2,636

Dragon Age II (2011) - 2,576

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) - 2,398

*I did not take most Pokémon games into consideration since I handle those polls a little differently.

Check out my results spreadsheet for an alphabetized list of all poll results plus some other stats.

[zer0wlet]

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mwa mwa mwa mwa mwa

real canon TEKA character Kyurahk Blex is visiting Zerotar (who is also real and canon)

@mostlikelyblex @zer0wlet

[diejager]

Yall cool with your girl making more money than yall? Ladies yall cool with making more money than your man?

JOYCE, DROP ANOTHER 141 × READER FIC WITH POWER IMBALANCE AND MY LIFE IS YOURS

🐝

For The Right Price

Pairing: Poly Tf141 x assassin!reader

Cw: power imbalance, darkish!reader, assassin, hitmen, blood, violence, mafia stuff, french grammatical mistakes, tell me if I missed any. Note: this might not have been what you were expecting, but uh… I am back on my John Wick obsession😅 Note x2: I don’t really know how people in France speak, so I stuck to my Quebec dialect 😭

Gaz, like much of the others, was unsure —hesitant about this plan. He was initially - and still was - against the idea of hiring an outside hand after what they’d gone through with Graves, and he wasn’t exactly excited to relive that a second time this soon. He didn’t know the exact identity of this so-called assassin Laswell had called. Scratch that, he knew nothing of them: neither name or face, only the alias they went by. The dark and ominous reputation they’d garnered themself through the years of hard working kills and stealthy hits, appearing and disappear within seconds: The Chimera. 

A man eating, woman devouring and stealthy killer that anyone could hire for the right price. Anything went in the darker world under their feet, from the lower bowels of the underground, to the deepest parts of a family built into a towering pyramid. They had the police in their pockets, senators and politicians in their blood and even the government had a used for them. Assassins sent to do their dirty work and keep their hands clean. 

That’s something Gaz hated the most, people in high seats playing the martyr when they’d done nothing to help. He could at least respect The Chimera for being honest of their employment, self-aware of the dried blood caking their hands after every kill. 

“The Chimera as a reputation for being… honest,” Laswell had muttered with reluctance, as if she couldn’t find the right word to describe the killer they were hiring.

All they were given was a few papers with their skills and accomplishments —at least the few that were publicly recorded and known by anyone outside the world-wide organisation. Price had given them the night to memorise it and prepare for the meet-up somewhere in Paris. 

He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t a bit nervous, meeting someone as dangerous as an omen of death, lingering at the top of the food chain with this Baba Yaga who’d retired and another dubbed Zero. They all sat around ridiculously small table and in even smaller chairs at a café, the morning sun in Paris giving the place an air of elegance and artistry, a strange but subtle difference to the reason the five of them sat here, leaving a seat vacant for their mysterious hire. 

Gaz stared down at the french espresso, something he was somewhat excited to try, the small, round cup accompanied by a croissant, was much smaller than the cup he’d usually pay for in UK, but he wasn’t going to complain. It was a rich and creamy, slightly bitter on his tongue, but sweet at the end. Lifting the cup for a second sip, he caught a figure strutting through the patio of the café, slimmed down by a dark blazer, slacks and dress shoes. She looked like she just left a business meeting, a decked in fancy and expensive clothing that made almost made him shy away from his lack of style. 

He brought his sight away from her, blinking once before he nearly jumped at her sudden appearance beside him, hand placed over the back of the seat. 

“Bonjour, messieurs,” she smiled at them and turned to greet Laswell, “et madam. J’espère que vous aimiez ce café, j’aime bien ce petit coin de Paris.”

Then she turned her gaze to him, her eyes brushing over his face and landing on the cup in his hand:

“Oh, merveilleux choix! That’s my favourite as well.”

He cursed in his mind, now feeling even more reluctant to work with The Chimera someone who was both a ruthless killer and a dangerous beauty, threatening to warm the tips of his ears with a small amount of bashfulness. 

“A pleasure to meet you,” she shook Laswell and Price’s hand, muttering out her name, “This should be interesting, I haven’t worked for the British yet. Americans though, that’s another thing.”

Gaz was almost fearful of you, if not amazed by your efficiency. You moved like a shadow, sliding from wall to wall while they worked to catch up to you. Perhaps it was your smaller and slimmer build that made you so agile, where you lacked in strength, you made up in agility.

He felt this imbalance, where he would admire and fear you. You had shown you hand many times when you sneaked up to them, suddenly appearing beside or behind them, surprising even Ghost whose first instinct was to attack, and much to his dismay, found himself locked under you.

There were many occasions where, if you weren’t on their side, you could have disposed of them, shot, stabbed and killed either one or all of them. It felt like helll, living on the edge of life and death on both sides, the exhaustion it led with you hovering over and around them like an omen of death. 

But for all the hardship and frustration they all shared, you had made this mission easier to finish: with less set backs and surprises. You worked behind the enemy line, letting them know where each person was and the weaker points in their surveillance. Your size had come in handy a second time, squeezing through the smallest gap you could find, and he’d watched and listened you work in near awe. 

It didn’t help either, that you had a pretty face, appealing to stare at but not overly beautiful. You were a subtle and quiet beauty, waiting and observing, stalking and learning, you were like a panther, a majestic animal waiting for the right time to strike. If you weren’t so pretty and amazing, he wouldn’t have the issue of being left in amazement while his fingers twitched for his gun, an instinctual act for survival against a bigger predator.

Taglist: @sae1kie @yeoldedumbslut @bvxygriimes @distracteddragoness @konigsblog @im-making-an-effort @daisychainsinknots @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @danielle143 @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @notspiders @brokenpieces-72 @petwifed @randominstake @haven-1307 @shironasumi @sparky--bunny @bloobewy @cod-z @sweetnanah @aldis-nuts @evolutionarry @kaoyamamegami @cassiecasluciluce

[writtenjewels]

Four Zero

The sayings that “age is but a number” or “you're only as old as you feel” did little when Salim was faced with his fortieth birthday. As the months drew closer to May, he could feel that number looming in front of him larger and larger. Once the clock turned past ten o'clock that day, he would officially be a middle-aged man.

Bad enough that he had a son who would be eighteen only a few weeks later; even worse that he was divorced. To see that four and that zero put together was just too much.

But when Zain surprised him with birthday basbousa, he couldn't help smiling and embracing his thoughtful son.

[I bought it,] Zain admitted. [I wanted to try baking it from scratch, but I was worried I'd burn it.]

[It's wonderful,] Salim assured him. He took out a knife to cut the cake into pieces. [Come. I hope you don't expect me to eat this by myself.]

[Wait!] Zain jumped up and briefly disappeared into his room. He returned with small candles. He began sticking them on the cake; Salim was a little pleased that there only ended up being five in total. [We need to light these so you can make a wish!]

[I may be a little old for that,] Salim said with a shake of his head.

[That's what I said last year, and you still made me do it,] Zain pointed out. [Please, Baba?] Again, Salim had no other choice but to indulge his boy. Zain beamed and grabbed his father's lighter. [And it has to be a wish for something you want for yourself,] he said as he lit the candles.

[Isn't it my birthday wish?] Salim asked playfully. Nevermind that Zain wouldn't know the difference anyway.

[Just try it, Baba,] Zain persuaded him.

Truth be told, it'd been years since Salim thought of asking for anything he wanted for himself. He sighed and stared at the flickering candlelight, letting his mind wander. He would never wish back for the things he chose to give up for Zain; it had all been worth it. Nor did he want Maysa back in his life. Salim rolled his eyes at himself. He was taking this too seriously. It was just a bit of flame, nothing magical about it. He could wish for world peace or a new pair of socks and it would mean the same.

Then he thought of that four and that zero looming over him, and he didn't want to let go of one more thing.

I want to be healed, even if just a little, he thought. I want to find hope. He took a breath and blew out the candles.

One flickered a second longer than the others before snuffing out. Almost like that last flame was the one to carry his wish to the air.