#I'll proof read this later

[moongothic]

So I wrote this god forsaken post the other day because of the Crocodad brainworms, hoping doing so would clear my mind, but no, appearently I wasn't done, there's more shit I need to yell about, so here we go, Crocodile Specution Part 2

Not me coming back to this post a day later with an edit because I realized that not only is that SBS quote mistranslated, but it straight up debunks Crocodad from ever being plausible

I went and double checked how Oda had phrased his answer (in Japanese, SBS from Vol 78, page 86) to the SBS question and he explicitly stated that Crocodile became a Shichibukai in the first half of his 20s ("20代前半で", literally "first half of his 20s" and not mid-20s as the OPWikia fantranslation claims), and canonically, he would've been 27 when Luffy was born. (Crocodile's 46, Luffy 19)

So the canon timeline makes Crocodad just straight up impossible, unless he somehow still got pregnant after transitioning and managed to hide that while a Shichibukai, because the theory assumes that Crocodile's secret is that he's stealth trans. And I mean, I guess it's possible he could've transitioned years after becoming a Shichibukai, but there is no fucking way in a million years that he could've kept that a secret, and based on the interaction he has with Iva-chan in Impel Down, Iva-chan seems to know something about Crocodile that he doesn't want "revealed", so then that secret can't be him being trans since it wouldn't be a secret and wouldn't work as actual blackmail so like??? It just doesn't work???*

I dunno man, I'm emotionally devastated, I was straight up losing my fucking mind over this theory, trying to figure out if it was actually plausible or not, and. Well, I did. I managed to debunk it. But only after getting severely emotionally attached to the idea and the sheer storytelling potential it could've had

Like trans Croco is still plausible and I will never be normal about Crocodile ever again, but. God

RIP Crocodad, you will be fondly remembered in AU fanfics

*Edit again because I can't stop thinking about this stupid asshole god fucking damnit Considdering how Iva-chan talked to Kuma about him becoming a Shichibukai (at Marineford) I feel it'd be unlikely and would make little sense for Dragon want to be at all affiliated with a pirate "government dog", even in secret. But also. Hypothetically:

Crocodile could've moonlighted as a Revolutionary while a Shichibukai and like tried to leak info about the Government's plans etc to the Revolutionary Army

At one point or another he would've gone no contact with the Army though (because he had a weapon of mass destruction to find and a civil war he wanted to start and Dragon would not have been cool with that), which could've just added to why Iva-chan felt the way they did about Kuma joining the Shichibukai too

If Crocodile did transition years after becoming a Shichibukai, even if that was public knowledge it kinda would make sense nobody would bring that up because at this point, whatever scandal that might've caused would've happened almost 20 whole years ago. Also we don't know how often he would've been on the news back then, all we know is that he started appearing often on the news after doing his Heroics at Alabasta 16 years ago. Hell it's plausible Crocodile only ever got his one and only bounty before getting picked for a Shichibukai, and if he didn't really do much in public to get talked about and didn't settle down anywhere specific until like 18 years ago (after transitioning specifically)... There could be people who might not have noticed that one Shichibukai suddenly becoming a man. Hell if most people aren't aware of Ivankov's abilities, some people might've just been like "dude must've hit puberty late" / "he was a woman? That can't be possible, you must've imagined things"

Iva-chan's wording for blackmailing Crocodile might've been less about outting him and more of a vague way for them to threaten to detransition Crocodile (just written by Oda in a way that wasn't too obvious?) ((Tho Iva totally could've just said that, regardless of if Crocodile is trans or not, the average man does not want to become a woman so the threat would still be like REAL regardless of if it was involuntary transition or detransition))

Like.

I'm adding this to get this out of my system, like yes, there is still an argument and a theoretical, vaguely plausible scenario where Crocodad could still be real. I highly fucking doubt it. Like I feel desperate and delusional just writing that out (which I am, both, absolutely, 100%), but it's still theoretically plausible, I GUESS.

But whatever genuine faith I had in the theory is still gone.

(Below is the original post, now entirely moot) (At least as far as Crocodad goes, Crocodile's behaviour is still strange in Marineford so there could be something to it, just not Crocodad (at least the way I envisioned it). So please enjoy the general speculation anyways, just ignore the Crocodad parts)

Originally I thought it'd be good enough if I just rewatched some relevant parts of OP here and there, but in the end I just absolutely caved in, went and reread most of Marineford. Mainly because I knew I was forgetting scenes and stuff, and Toei adding/changing things can easily affect a character reading. Also it was just going to be easier to go through the manga and save all of Crocodile's scenes into an image folder for easier browsing, mainly because there's so much shit that happens between those scattered scenes it can be hard to like focus on one thing (especially if you're trying to specifically FIND those scattered scenes and appearances)

Anyway, because I had completely forgotten about this somehow (I'm such a fake fan smh)

We did learn that Whitebeard kicked Crocodile's ass at some point, to the point it left him Extremely Bitter About It, and him losing to Whitebeard is known to the Government at least

And very conventiently I came across this SBS Snippet about that

"D: I have a question for Odacchi. In "The White City", chapter 762 of volume 76, during the scene where Law stabs Cora-san, I found Crocodile printed on the paper Cora-san was reading. So what was that article about? P.N. Yamamoto・Sugiyama・Hori O: Yes. I'm quite impressed you found this one~. As you've pointed out, if you look really closely, you can find Crocodile there. This was from the time when Law was 10 and Doflamingo was 25; 16 years ago from now. Crocodile was 30 at the time. Similar to Luffy, back when he was young, Crocodile's name spread across the seas with incredible momentum, but soon after he was admitted into the Shichibukai in his mid-20's, he tried to fight Whitebeard and was completely and utterly crushed by him. Though he seemingly calmed down at this point, his eyes became set on the kingdom of Alabasta, and it happened to be precisely during this time period that he was being featured in the papers as a hero who hunted down pirates. In other words, that was an article reporting the acts of heroism by Crocodile at the time!"

So I think that pretty much confirms that it was Whitebeard who broke Crocodile's dreams, maybe even being the one who took his left arm.

It's still the sheer intensity of Crocodile's reaction though that's so interesting here. Like is it just him being bitter about "some weakling" landing a hit on Whitebeard but he couldn't, or is it even because that attack came from one of Whitebeard's followers, someone Whitebeard was supposed to be able to trust? Like why is Crocodile unable to trust anyone? What happened to give him his iconic trust issues? Did he get backstabbed too, and did that sight just trigger a horrible memory in him (a cherry on top of the pre-existing bitterness), thus his wild outburst? Who knows

This does also tell us a lot about the canon timeline actually, since we know Crocodile was at Roger's execution 24 years ago, where he like many others was inspired to go out to the sea and find One Piece, just a few years before the Ohara incident (only bringing that up because as much as I want Crocodad to be real, if it requires him being a former Revolutionary even for a few years, then we need to somehow believe he got inspired with a dream but didn't act on it for some reason for five whole years because the Army didn't exist for another two years and Luffy wouldn't be born for another 3 from there) (Of course, we do know that Dragon had been the captain of a group of Freedom Fighters (as we've learned from Vegapunk's flashback), so it's not like Crocodile couldn't have been a part of the forces even before they became the Revolutionary Army, it just feels odd if he had been as we've never heard as much as a suggestion that there could be another Founding Member of the Revolutionary Army beyond Dragon, Iva-chan and Kuma) (But again, there's many ways you could explain how Crocodad could still be real despite these things. Like I mentioned in my first post. There's many potential explanations. It's just the more you need to explain it, the less plausible it feels to me (which I only care about because I want to speculate about canon, like I love me a good headcanon but I want to speculate about canon here))

After Roger's death Crocodile did some pirating for about 8 years until he "retired as a Shichibukai" in Alabasta after his asskicking (can't tell if he decided to make his base in Alabasta immidiately after his asskicking or if he wandered around for a few more years before settling down there), and he proceeded to do his adorable Pirate Hunting Heroism Thing. Which we know was meant to be just a front he put on to gain the trust from Alabasta's people and the King so nooobody would ever suspect a thing. Like good god dude was playing The Long Game

(Sidenote, if Crocodile had been a part of the Freedom Fighters and/or the Revolutionary Army, it would make sense if deep inside he wanted to like, "maintain peace" even just a little, wouldn't it? Like of course the Army and Crocodile want to yeet the World Government into the bin first and foremost, but that doesn't mean either party nececarily want to allow random pirates to just run amock and ruin people's lives. So while defending the people of Alabasta definitely became a tactic for Crocodile to gain the people's trust, I do wonder if at he might've done it sincerely for a short while?)

Of course we now know that Pluton wasn't even in Alabasta, it's all the way back in Wano, so even if Crocodile had successfully usurped the country he still wouldn't have gotten the thing (poor dude just wasted like a decade of his life for nothing lmao) But I do have to ask; how, when and where did Crocodile learn about Ancient Weapons even existing, and where did he get the idea he might find Pluton in Alabasta? Like they aren't common knowledge at all, even Dragon had been shocked when Robin confirmed the existence of Ancient Weapons to him. So where did Crocodile find out about them? Did someone tell him about them, and if so, who? Did he learn about them soon after his asskicking and immidiately went after Alabasta because of it, or did he settle down in Alabasta first simply wanting to grab the throne for himself and later learned about how he could be sitting on top of a nuclear gold mine?

Mind you, Robin didn't join Baroque Works until 6 years ago, we don't know for sure if she joined when BW was being founded or if she joined a few years into the operation, so without her it's not like Crocodile would've been able to get what he wanted. So it does feel like between Robin being the only thing who could confirm existence of Poneglyphs (and read them), and the fact that Crocodile gave out orders etc exclusively through Miss All-Sunday, I feel like Robin joining should be what allowed Baroque Works to go into full operation at all

So to recap canon timeline

24 years ago Roger dies

22 years ago Ohara burns, the Revolutionary Army is founded

19 years ago Luffy is born

16 years ago Crocodile is making a name as a hero of a Shichibukai after having his ass kicked and dreams ruined, making base in Alabasta

6 years ago Robin joins Baroque Works

I dunno I just want to keep this mind for theorizing and for headcanons. Crocodile was a pirate for 3-8 years (depending on his involvement with the Revolutionary Army and if there was any at all), and then spent about 10 years in Alabasta having fun with his casino and protecting Alabasta for questionable reasons until Baroque Works went into full motion with Robin joining

Now, back to Marineford for a bit. There's something that's bothered me a lot about what we see of Crocodile in Marineford, and that's the timeskip between Crocodile attacking Whitebeard and when we next see him.

Crocodile makes his way onto Moby Dick to attack Whitebeard the second he spots him, Luffy deflects said attack and Whitebeard's underlings get between Crocodile and Whitebeard.

The next time we see Crocodile, he's off the ship. We never see how, when or why he got off the ship, but he did.

And this I find interesting for multiple reasons. Of course, most people tend to point out that during this time Sengoku announces to everyone that Dragon is Luffy's father, and we never see Crocodile's reaction to this. Even if you put Crocodad aside, knowing Crocodile may have known Dragon due to his past with Iva-chan, the ommission of Crocodile's reaction is very suspicious, considdering all the other reactions we end up seeing (including Kuma's non-reaction, which like, in theory makes sense since Kuma did know Dragon, but also, Kuma's dead, he had no reaction, and his involvement with the Revolutionaries wasn't known yet to the readers, so having his reaction was kind of pointless???)

But then when you add Crocodile getting off Whitebeard's ship, it just gets even more suspicious

Like. I think Oda wants us to just assume that someone off-screen managed to get Crocodile to back off the ship and he's trying to get back to Whitebeard, since he's fighting off Whitebeard's underlings in that next scene on top of getting sent flying Jozu, so it is certainly plausible. Someone pushed him off and he's annoyed he can't get back to Whitebeard now there's resistance. I think that's what Oda wants us to believe is happening.

But it's this line Crocodile says here that's messing with me

Now. Problem. Translation issues. Kinda. Fantranslation on the left, official translation on the right.

I'll get into it a moment but needless to say the implications of what Crocodile says on this panel is actually kind of important, but the thing is. Like, fantranslations aren't always correct, since they are questionable fantranslations from like 10+ years ago at this point. Of course, the same can be applied to the official translations, especially when the official translations go through actual localization while the fantranslations are often far too literal to be genuinely accurate. Translation is an artform, alright, it's not at all a straight forward thing, thus neither translation here is fully reliable

And try as I might, I was not able to find raw scans of this chapter (560) so I could check what Crocodile says in this panel myself. And annoyingly, I can't make out what he says in the anime either ("zuibun tou muita"???), at least not clearly enough to then try to figure out how to write it (like with what kanji) to try to retranslate it myself (plus I could be mishearing the line)

So this bit needs to be taken with a massive grain of salt, alright

But if Crocodile is actually saying they've "gotten far behind", doesn't it kind of sound like he's actively trying to chase someone?

Of course, that could be just him complaining the amount of distance that's been put between him and Whitebeard, but if so it'd be a strange way to complain considdering Whitebeard has not moved an inch-- Crocodile hasn't fallen behind chasing him, he's just been pushed away, right?

But then, he gets pushed even further away from Whitebeard by Jozu, he has his little chat with Doflamingo, yells at Whitebeard when the old man gets stabbed, then saves Ace from Execution Attempt One after having gotten close enough to do so (which is in the opposite direction of Whitebeard mind you) and finally saves Luffy

It's completely possible that Crocodile was trying to get back to Whitebeard to kill him, but between Jozu proving himself as a force to be reckoned with and Whitebeard showing himself "being weak" Crocodile gave just up, figuring getting to Whitebeard was too much effort at that moment, and that he'd get another chance later.

But he never does attempt to get closer to Whitebeard again, not that we see that at least

Instead he chases Luffy around the battlefield

So I can't help but to wonder if that line with questionable translation choises wasn't about Whitebeard but Luffy instead. Did Crocodile during that missing scene, where he hears about Luffy's father, decide to abandon Whitebeard, intentionally got off Moby Dick and backed away, only to have Whitebeard's crew chase him and Daz (since they didn't realize Crocodile was backing off)? Daz thus clearing a path for them to move towards Luffy while Crocodile was holding off the people chasing them? (We don't see when Crocodile gives Daz the orders to assist Luffy either, so he could've given those orders immidiately after he got off Moby Dick) Was Crocodile complaining not about getting further away from Whitebeard, but from falling behind on Luffy?

Moving on a little bit though, to some smaller things

It really is also strange how Crocodile spares Ace's life. Even the Government knew about his beef with Whitebeard, and considdering how Crocodile feels about both Luffy and Whitebeard, he should have no reason to try to spare Ace's life, even if he hates the Marines more.

And yeah, considdering how Luffy ruined not just his plans for usurping Alabasta but also stopped him from touching Whitebeard like less than 5 minutes ago...

...He shields Luffy from getting cut down by Mihawk. And aids Daz at the same time.

This is just absolute bizarro behaviour from Sir "I kill useless underlings for fun" Crocodile. Again, even if he doesn't want the Marines to "win", considdering how he should not be on good terms with the Revolutionary Army (regardless of if they were actually affiliated in the past or not), he should have no reason to give a flying fuck about Dragon's son, let alone the idiot who ruined his plans

Regardless of his reasoning, dude is not happy about any of this, not at all

The last thing Crocodile says at the end of this battle, was him telling Jinbei "if you want to protect something, do it right".

When Whitebeard finally dies, we do see Crocodile's reaction to it. Considdering his previous outburst, you'd think he'd have like, strong opinions about it. But doesn't he seem like he's... pre-occupied, thinking about something else???

Like, doesn't he seem kind of... distant? Detached?

Sure, maybe by this point he had kind of emotionally prepared and knew he wouldn't get his vengeance on Whitebeard and missed his opportunity. But if so, wouldn't he have a bit more of an, I dunno, an annoyed, pissed off expression?? Instead of that?? (Also minor addition, but it is kind of interesting that of all these reactions, Crocodile seems to be the only one facing to the right, Doflamingo facing kind of straight ahead at a slight angle aside. Because you could like, see it as a sign that while everyone else is focusing on Whitebeard (looking to the left), Crocodile has already "turned his back" on it and is focusing on something else. And soon enough after these panels Akainu continues his pursue of Luffy and Jinbei, a pursue which multiple people do step in to try to stop, but the last one? It's Crocodile, being the last person we see to step in to deal with Akainu ensuring Luffy and Jinbei's escape.)

Not really connected to anything but I just keep on thinking about this one panel. Mainly because when I see people bring up Crocodile reading the news about Luffy defeating Big Mom as confirmation that he's invested in Luffy, they tend to use the anime screenshot of the scene

Because yeah it does kinda look like a "proud dad reading about his son" etc. But what I'm really interested in is original the manga panel

'Cause boy howdy do they not look the same at all

Motherfucker looks like he's aged like 20 years

And I'm not sure what to make of that at all. Like. If I'm not misremembering I think this is actually the first time we saw Crocodile's face post-timeskip, so part of me wonders if Oda originally did intend to make Crocodile look considderably older from pre-timeskip and just went back on that decision later on

But, regardless of if that's the case... That's not the expression of a proud father at all, is it? Like??? I'm not even sure what to make of it, doesn't he look kind of... sad? Stressed out?? It's so strange????

Like, because don't know canonically yet what Crocodile currently thinks of Luffy, if we wanted to still believe he has a grudge against Luffy, even if he was displeased, annoyed and even jealous about Luffy pulling off a stunt he never could've, I still can't imagine THAT being his reaction to reading about it.

But if he does actually care about Luffy and is worried about what kind of trouble he's going to get into next... I dunno, would that explain that expression???

I dunno man, this panel just haunts me

And now, in the present.

Crocodile's back at it again, trying to create his Utopia, this time with Mihawk by his side (also Buggy, as their mascot). Which is an interesting choise- Crocodile justified his invitation to Mihawk based on how neither of them trusted anyone and how together they'd be less of an easy target to take down, but he did also mention that Mihawk is known as a Marine Hunter. Which. Y'know. Considdering how Crocodile feels about the Government, yeah, greatest swordsman aside it makes sense he'd want to team up with Mihawk.

But it also truly makes me wonder about where the Cross Guild plotline is supposed to go from here.

Buggy has his little moment of inspiration and realizes he wants to get One Piece and become Pirate King, but neither Mihawk nor Crocodile seem to be interested in that at all

If anything, Buggy blurting that out made poor Crocodile age like 10 years between panels from being so angy

(It's just funny because Crocodile is supposed to be 7 years older than Buggy but based on how they look in the average panel you'd think it was the reverse lmao)

Of course, his anger is understandable considdering 1) Buggy may have singlehandedly ruined Crocodile's Utopia Plans once again, this time taking even less effort than Luffy 2) That IS Crocodile's broken dream Buggy is talking about. Like, he's rubbing salt directly into Crocodile's wounds

But Crocodile still wanting to make that Utopia is so interesting, 'cause like.

He probably understands that as long as the Government exists, they will continue to try to hunt him down. Same for Mihawk, and every single pirate out there (including the Strawhats). They will never know peace until their bounties are nullified, which isn't great for Mihawk especially since he seems to yearn for a quiet life. But surely it's not the only reason Crocodile wants to destroy the Government, right

(Sidenote, did I misread or did the fucking Government just send the three remaining Seraphim to Empteebluffs to take down Cross Guild??? Like as if I wasn't curious enough about what kind of a fruit power Vegapunk gave to S-Croc considdering he can't replicate Logias, could we maybe see Crocodile fight his Seraphim? Oda please, I am dying, if that's gonna happen please I need to actually see it, don't have it happen off screen I will perish)

Like. We know Crocodile wants to destroy the Government, that's what the military force is for, that's kind of why Cross Guild came to exist and possibly part of his reasoning for inviting Mihawk

Where is this going, where are these plot threads leading? Like it would be so strange for Oda to introduce this plot thread if they're only going to get wiped the fuck out by the Seraphim, and I can't imagine Crocodile and Mihawk actually joining Buggy and trying to get One Piece first (especially if they don't have the Poneglyphs for it)(and again, that's Crocodile's broken dream, even if Buggy did somehow inspire him and reignite that flame there's no way Crocodile would do it under Buggy's name), neither should have any interest in that

Like??? Is Crocodile just going to take over the Cross Guild from Buggy and bringing them to war against the Government with the Revolutionary Army?????????????????? I mean Dragon seems to be on the move since he contacted Vegapunk??????????????

But also

Like, considdering all the shit Crocodile has done and/or attempted to do, even if they were exes (or hell, especially if they're exes), I find it hard to imagine Dragon would just welcome Crocodile and Cross Guild into the Army with open arms.

Or maybe they would because they'll need all the help they can get?? And having the greatest swordman in the world on their side against the Government would be extremely useful, would it not???

If Crocodad real, it would make for one hell of a reunion though and I'd be dying to know how Luffy would feel the stupid alligator meeting his dad. (Robin too, I'd love to see her reaction)

Although, considdering Luffy is going to be escorting Vegapunk to Elbaf (at least that's the plan rn), and if Dragon is on the move, and if Cross Guild has three Seraphim on their asses and one clownish ship ready for them... Might they all meet in Elbaf????????????? Thing is I don't think Luffy would want to pause his adventure to help his dad take down the government mind you, but also, Vivi is in trouble and he did want to go save her????????

I just

Where the fuck is any of this going Oda

Is Crocodad real

If so, what the fuck is going to happen next

(Just whatever the fuck it is, Oda, please don't make it stupid and transphobic, please, for the love of god)

(Also I literally just found out about this panel from a short Red promo Oda drew and I swear to god if that's supposed to be Luffy and his mom I will fucking cry)

(Like do not fucking tell me I have been loosing my god damn mind over Crocodad for the past two weeks only to find out I missed this page because I didn't give a shit about RED when it first came out)

[momentomori24]

I just had an epiphany about The Cold that I never really realised before:

Isn't it like, super ironic, that despite being one of the most OP voices, the only one able slay the Princess in one decisive blow when she's at her most defenseless like the ruthless motherfucker he is, where killing the princess results in her being permanately dead later on, he always appears in the routes where we are just doomed to die by her hand every time? She came back a ghost, an incoporeal being without a body, and he was so confident there was nothing in the world she could do to hurt us. But she either burns us, or drowns us, or takes our body for herself to make her escape, and we can only helplessly watch and futilely struggle while being unable to do a single thing to stop her from killing us the same way she couldn't stop us from killing her. He's a cold, unfeeling and unyielding force who would push through being choked to death by chains and moral restraints and guilty conscience to deal the killing blow and see it to the end no matter what. He's merciless, utterly relentless. And those exact same character traits are what shape the Princess the next route and bites us all in the ass. His biggest strength is his biggest weakness, and honestly I'd say sucks to be him but he does not care anyway. So sucks to be literally everyone else (including me).

[telleroftime]

Imagine an arranged marriage between Toji Zenin and a chronically ill Reader that much like him comes from a well regarded Jujutsu clan.

You get tired easily, eyes constantly sagging with unwavering exhaustion and heart pounding awkwardly in the confines of your rattling ribs. Your body aches and burns and itches but like always, against what you truly need, you still move forward. You have to. You're supposed to. That is what your clan dictates you should do.

Because of your illness and that fatigue that coats you far more prominently than the bounty of your cursed technique, the Zenin clan would never normally have agreed to such a proposition. A marriage? Between the dog of their clan and a useless pup of another? They have a reputation to uphold that a sick addition could taint and frankly, as long as they have control over the dangerous Toji, they would never consider the option of marrying him off. He's better off remaining a runt in their prebuilt hierarchy.

An object to show others what not to be. A warning, and someone who does not deserve the honour of a union. Their possession, forever and always belonging to the Zenin clan.

However, one way or another the talk of marriage goes through. After all both their clan and yours are reputable. Your clans are both influential enough. Powerful enough. They deem it a decent trade. Like two blunt tools traded off as a gag gift between master swordsmen: the bottom of the barrel failure that is Toji and the nobody that is you are set to marry.

You who has been seen as worthless, for what is a cursed technique if you don't have a body that could back up its power. "You're perfect for each other." The irony forever bitter. Unavoidable.

And Toji would care less about you. When all is said and done and the papers are signed in binding ink, the marriage is spared any extravagant ceremony. There's rings and vows shared but the beautiful robes are limited to worn silk. Traditional, yes, but all too outdated. "What a joke," he'd think about the whole ordeal, though Toji is far beyond feeling insulted by the antics of his clan. Are you his punishment for the transgression of his curseless birth? Or perhaps it's him being a blemish on your already fragile constitution.

He does not care; he shouldn't care. Toji ignores you for as long as he can. Glances are all he spares for you bar from the stray words and greetings and bemused huffs that rumble in his throat whenever he tries to make somewhat of an appearance. The smirks are cold, no different to how he treats the clan that so desperately forsakes him, and yet you insist on butting in where you should not be. A busybody trying to aid him. Trying to be near him for the one person that you have in the confines of the Zenin clan is him.

Toji wants to ignore you but there you are, alone and watching as he trains with an abundance of chipped blades. Cursed objects and weapons that lay discarded for him to snatch up as his. You're lifting things far heavier than what your body is comfortable carrying. Cleaning up after him, making his space neat. He wants to ignore you but there you are, rushing after his long strides, breath short in your lungs as you struggle just to keep up with him. You follow like the pup the elders claimed you to be.

There's a determined look on your face. A furrow of your brow complimenting your jutted out lips. Nose flared, eyes watery. He notices all of that.

Toji wants to ignore you but despite himself, despite that apathy he wants to keep as a boundary between himself and the vile world he was spawned into, he finds himself slowing down for you. He finds his eyes lingering on your body, on the way you strain yourself to match his antics. He finds himself letting you stick to him. To cling to his shadow and the ironic protection his clan's rejection and comments offer you. Toji finds himself doing things for you; he finds himself caring.

He starts to see you.

Just two runts of your respective clans, married off and finding solace in what people claim are your shortcomings when it's simply fate having drawn you both a short stick. Nothing more, nothing less. And it is that understanding, not the vows or wedding bands or pressure of titles, that made you accept one another. It's what makes the two of you fall in love.

A comfort, a promise. The singular light to ease the darkness of the day, in a corner you call home.

[anglerflsh]

my favourite passtime is making up incredibly unaccurate armour designs. That's a lie my passtime is researching but this comes at a close second

[ohshi-kaboom]

Murder Drones Rider Au + Uzi fanart

Or should i say... Murder Drive AU HEHEHEHE

This lovely amalgamation was made by yours truly when putting murder drones and pretty bikes on a blender hoping for something fancy. And i did it.

The mechanics are simple! (Haha get it? Mechanics)

Uzi is a moody mechanic (i will get real tired of the word mechanic and so will you.) Working in your local Auto shop: Copper's 9 ! Owned by daddy dearest Khan Doorman! She mostly does repairs and common car maintenance, aaand if she decides she likes you well enough you'll get some neat modifications for half the price! (Its a lie but only she knows that)

In her free time she stays around the back of the store repairing and selling old cars as a hobby that also doubles as a side hustle.

Her life in home isn't as sweet as she would hope for but she's learned to cope, something that she specializes in after her Moms disappearance; Nori Doorman, presumed dead.

Shes the only occupant of a nice little apartment, moving from their parents house a few years after Nori's disappearance and Khan's neglect. Rarely visited by anyone she stays little time in her apartment, either watching anime after a tiring day, eating lunch, showering after a messy oil spill or just existing after closing hours. Youll definitely see her more at the shop doing gods knows what this time. The reson why Uzi doesn't spend more time in the little home shes built herself is because of the atmosphere, too cold and gloomy for her liking, the barren space reminding her too much of her loneliness.

("She looks soo much like Uzi" you all say in unison.)

Nathaniel, or best known as "N" is a Bike racer, youll see him proudly sporting his various motorcycles all earned by his sweat, hard work, and money from illegal races.

N has and incredible set of bad luck, following him like a stubborn rain cloud with every single bike he touches breaking down at some point. No matter how much he dotes over them or how carefull he is; they will break. And thats a promise from the universe, aparently.

He lives in a fairly big house with his other two roommates: Jay, "J" and Veronica, "V". They all participate in their own races, N and V competing frequently while J sits back and collects their winnings. J also participates in rare ocations.

When N is not flying through the streets, or winning the months rent he resides in his little corner of the garage painting, drawing, scrap booking or doing whatever craft he can get his hands onto.

(I will probably add more on N later on)

N and Uzi meet when Ns bike breaks in "the middle of nowhere" according to V, so he just sits quietly besides the road waiting for either backup (V showing up to rescue him after cackling over the phone and then hanging up) or to simply perish. Uzi was heading to the workshop in Railgun (a very beat up, highly modified but very loved minitruck that she herself constructed from other cars parts) When she came across a very puppy kicked to the side of the road sad looking person laying down besides the road by a very nice looking motorcycle. She slows down to take a quick peek to the bike when the person laying down jumps immediately at her side after noticing her slowing down, begging asking for a ride to the closest Auto shop explaining how his bike broke. Uzi (although very begrudgingly) decides to help this weird friendly stranger as her good deed of the year. She parks to the side of the road helping N heave the bike into the trunk and waits until he hops into the passenger seat to begin their way to Copper's 9.

After Fixing N's bike (and getting a tip she will not complain about) She gives the rundown on what the problem of the bike was and how to avoid it. N thanks her (a little too much if you ask Uzi) and parts ways. Uzi not dwelling about it goes on to the rest of her day, not thinking about seeing N again anytime soon.

Not even a week later N shows up again with another bike, this one looking like it went into the devils asscrack and back. Uzi just gives him a glare and gets to work.

That is NOT the last time that happens. (She counts 12 visits in one month, what the hell N?)

So! This is the basic information about my silly little Au, i don't have a name for it yet, I have been calling it Murder Drive for gits and shiggles but i don't know if I should make it the official name of this Au, if you have any suggestions tell me about it!

And I've been thinking about making it a fic buuut I've never written anything lengthy before, and English is not my first language so you can imagine how I feel.

Do tell me how you feel about it, or if you have any asks send 'em my way!

ALSO! THIS IS A HUMAN AU!! YAYAY HUMANS‼️‼️

[otterquirks]

Hi, once again I forget to post on this account because that was the point of making an account aside from my art blog.

The Acolyte. I did enjoy this story. It showed we can have Star Wars stories exist without (mostly) pre-existing characters. I loved this take on the imperfections and fall of a Jedi.

NOW. of course I have Sabezra on the brain with all things Star Wars. I have been thinking about what would be their individual weakness. The shipper in me automatically goes to their weakness being each other, but I think they both have grown to where losing the other would be devastating but they would learn to accept it. Especially Ezra since his training covered this. Not saying he still wouldn't hurt, but he has the fortitude to grieve and pick himself up again.

SABINE THO. I was thinking about what could push her. I think she would sooner say she is a Mandalorian before announcing herself as a Jedi. Ahsoka has shown the death of her clan did a lot to her. BEFORE their death she had shown she can hold herself back and not give in to emotions/desires. She chose not to kill Rau and instead disarmed him, despite wanting payback for Hera. AND she chose not to kill Gar Saxon. Her way vs the Mandalorian way. That was before tho. Training as a Jedi might instill this back despite her family's death. And again I think if Ezra and Sabine were to lose each other, they are capable of carrying on eventually.

BUT WHAT IF SABINE HAD A DAUGHTER. Something that is so precious to her and vulnerable. I think this is what could push Sabine over the edge. She is now the only member of Clan Wren and I am sure she would want to honor her clan via the upbringing of her own child. Maybe unconsciously applying some hope onto said daughter. Not to mention the strained relationship of Sabine and Ursa. She would understand Ursa's disposition of choosing your daughter over the clan, political vs personal. BUT, Sabine would not want to make the same mistakes with her daughter now that she is the leader of the clan. Sabine would make the other choice and risk anything for her daughter. As she did for Ezra because she felt he was her only family left. Ezra of course would be the one to reel her back if she is getting, we'll say, too passionate/stressed/overwhelmed/ect. I think her training as a Jedi would also tell her to step back. But her child, her heart taking shape to walk within the galaxy and the only hope for the future of her clan, could be what can push her to give into her emotions. To truly break all that training. To be more Mandalorian than Jedi.

So thank you The Acolyte for making me think about my fave's weaknesses. This has been my TedTalk.

[rep-precedes-me]

.

[infriga]

I watched the live action One Piece because of you and your excitement over it and I really loved it, so thank you! Wondering if you have suggestions of where to go next? Read the manga or watch the anime? It honestly seems a bit overwhelming, so not sure where to start.

That's awesome! I love inspiring people to try One Piece, it's a really fun ride! It's always great seeing new fans coming in to enjoy the series! 🤗

I wanted to be as informative and thorough as I could for anyone wondering about this, so this might be long, but I'll provide a summarized version to start then include the long version under a readmore if you want more info in order to decide. Sorry if it gets a bit rambling lol.

So the answer to the "anime or manga" question is not necessarily complicated, but it is a little more nuanced than some fans will lead you to believe (a lot of manga-only elitists have a hate boner for the anime to a degree that imo isn't warranted) . There are a few major factors.

Summarized version:

1) this one's obvious, but bears saying; if you prefer manga, go with the manga, if you prefer anime, go with the anime. If you like both, go with both, unless you only want to consume one. Some people tend to gravitate towards one over another, and that's fine.

2) if you're interested in consuming both, I recommend starting with the anime, then going to the manga after, to avoid tainting your experience with the anime by comparing it to the manga all the time. If you only want to consume one, stick to the manga, because it is the better version. If you're on the fence or haven't decided yet, start with the manga then decide if you want to also try the anime later.

3) if you want to consume the anime, then determine how much of the original experience you want to be retained. There's not many filler episodes, but they do exist, and there are watch lists that explain which episodes to skip if you don't want to watch them. Otherwise obviously the manga is the true original and is the best version of the story. The anime isn't terrible, I still enjoy it, but it does have its flaws compared to the manga. That said, it does also have some benefits you can't get from the manga such as the top notch voice acting (at least in Japanese) and incredible soundtrack. Also the animation in Wano has been sending One Piece fans to the emergency room with priapism lately so do with that what you will.

4) determine how much time you're willing to invest. The manga is going to be the fastest way to consume the series, but there is a fan edited version of the anime that speeds up the pacing to match the manga, and thus takes a lot less time to catch up on. You can also read the manga then look up your favourite scenes in the anime as a supplement without investing into watching the whole anime, either shorter or longer version. The only thing to keep in mind is don't ever skip any canon arcs, you WILL regret it later. Oda never forgets.

Where to watch/read:

If you want help finding a good place to read or watch the series, for free or otherwise, let me know and I can provide some links! I can also provide recommendations for which movies to watch and when if anyone is interested in those, or even just OP fanfic recs if there's a market for that lol.

Now, for:

The long version (oh god I'm so sorry this got so long I am incapable of talking about this topic succinctly):

1) what type of media do you prefer and have an easier time consuming? Comic or animation?

I have an anime only friend who struggles with reading comics for some reason (he can read books just fine, but he struggles with comics and he doesn't know why), but he loves the anime, and is even currently rewatching it so we can catch up on watching Wano together since that arc is ending soon and we like to wait and binge entire arcs instead of watching weekly. If you prefer one over another, then whichever that is, is fine fine to go with. If you don't have a preference, then your next factor is:

2) do you want to only consume one, or are you open to consuming both?

I read the manga and watch the anime. I get a slightly different experience from both, I prefer the art and pacing of the manga, but I love the voice acting and music of the anime, and some moments just hit harder for me in the anime. I haven't cried very often reading the manga, but I have cried quite a bit more watching the anime when seeing the same scenes, like full on sobbing at some points ngl. It's not that I think the moments are done better in the anime or that they're not just as sad, but I have an easier time crying when seeing something in motion with sound for some reason. I rarely ever cry when reading books or comics. It happens, but not as easily or as often. Also while the animation throughout most of the series is middling (not bad but not amazing) for most of the series, aside from major fights, the most recent arcs have seen a huge upgrade in regards to the animation, WCI to some extent but especially Wano. The animators have just been going HAM on the animation during Wano. Like, it's all but impossible to find good examples without spoilers because of just, how many spoilers there are at that point in the story, but I'll at least show Luffy being pretty lol:

That said, the anime isn't without its flaws, but I'll get to that in a bit.

If you do want to consume both, then personally I recommend watching the anime first. I find people who read the manga first are more prone to comparing everything in the anime to the manga and wanting things to fit 1:1, which I think puts the anime at a disadvantage and makes people a bit more hypercritical of it. But ultimately this is up to you. Maybe you don't know yet if you'll try both, in which case the manga is probably better because it's the version that, by its nature, is the best version, and will give you the original experience, and you can decide later whether you want to supplement that with the anime as well.

If you only want to consume 1, at least mainly, then the next factor is:

3) How much of the original experience do you want to stick to?

The One Piece anime doesn't have nearly as many filler arcs/episodes as other long running shounens have had in the past, and past Enies Lobby there's almost no filler arcs whatsoever, aside from the rare 2-5 episode arcs, usually ones that advertise the movies that came out not long after they aired. But there are some full filler arcs earlier in the anime, and the general consensus is that most are pretty meh. Not horrid, but nothing special, and many of them ended up accidentally contradicting canon when new information about the world or certain in-world systems came out later. There are watch guides for skipping these widely available, and most OP fans do recommend watching the G8 filler arc because it's viewed as the only one that is on par with, or at least close to, canon content. I enjoy it myself as well personally.

That said, one of my biggest gripes about the anime, especially after sabaody up until Wano, is how it takes Odas more mild level of sexualization in comparison and dials it up to 1000. At its worst it has taken scenes where a female character is introduced with a full body shot and a name/title card in the manga, and turned it into a scene where the camera zooms in on her boobs, thighs, waist, butt, and then slowly pans up her body starting from the feet, including boi-oing noises or weird many sound effects with each zoom in shot. It also increased the boobs sizes and decreased the waist sizes constantly, put a lot more effort and attention into boobs jiggles than was necessary, and at least one point they even blatantly zoomed in on Nami's boobs bouncing isolated on the screen while she was running for absolutely NO reason. Oda doesn't do this in the manga. He doesn't introduce women in bits and pieces focusing on their body parts in an oggling manner, he doesn't put their boobs front and centre unless it's maybe by accident because of necessary framing. Even when he has sexy shots of women, they're usually full body shots that also even manage to serve as establishing shots most of the time. I also often get the feeling that a lot of it is also him being aware of his target audience in Japan, which is teenage boys. You can see a lot of how his approach adjusted when he has a different audience in mind in the Live action, not only regarding stuff like diversity (which WAS present in the original, their real life equivalent ethnicities have been said to be diverse for a long time, but Oda himself, as much as I love him, only has one skin tone marker in his whole house apparently and he uses it for every single character in colourspreads and covers, including the characters that are supposed to be black, and the anime isn't much better on that front, so it's nice to really see the proof of the diversity visually in the live action in a way that doesn't come across as clearly in the anime or manga), but also in regards to adjusting shounen tropes to better fit a live action setting. You can see in a lot of his SBS answers that he takes his target audience and what he wanted to see as a young boy into account a lot even if he might otherwise explore different tropes or depictions or structures in a different medium or genre.

BUT the anime does have its flaws. I won't pretend that Oda doesn't draw his female characters sexier as the series goes on, and while he also does with the men (Zoro canonically has the biggest bust size on the crew according to Oda lmao) it's not to the same degree as the women. This is especially concentrated around Nami, possibly because Oda's wife is a Nami cosplayer and iirc he met her while she was cosplaying Nami. It's the most overt in certain later arcs, but not too present in earlier arcs up to, say, Sabaody. But, while he does draw the women sexier, he's not... Idk the right terminology to use but he doesn't employ an oggling pov towards the women very often. Not never, but compared to the manga you relatively rarely get much particular purposeful focus on body parts like boobs or ass, there's also never any panty shots (seriously, not a single one in the entire series). That's not so say that the series is always perfect in this sense, but rather that's to compare it to the anime. And while there are some things One Piece doesn't do perfectly sometimes, there are also a lot of things it definitely gets right about how the women are written as complex multifaceted people with conflicts and motivations just as deep and diverse and complicated as the men. They mostly just look extra seggsy sometimes, at least the main ones do. And YMMV, but personally I'm okay with some sexiness, so long as it doesn't compromise the characters story and personality and doesn't go overboard to the point of being softcore porn, which Oda doesn't do in the manga. And I also don't like how often criticism of sexiness turns into shaming any clothing that shows more skin. There's a difference between disliking fanservice and going full conservative prude.

Now from what I've seen this has gotten significantly better in Wano in the anime, probably because Oda himself purposefully played down even his own horniness during Wano because of the focus on traditional Japanese aesthetics and dress. Idk if it will get bad again after Wano, but a lot has changed regarding the way the anime is animated and directed since the last time it was bad, so hopefully not. But this can be a significant barrier to the anime for some people. If that's the case, then I definitely recommend the manga. It's the original, and in comparison it is practically chaste. It's not prevalent throughout the entire anime, it's mostly bad for the stretch from Fishman Island to the end of WCI, which consists of 3 big arcs and 2 smaller in-between arcs, but improves significantly in Wano, and isn't too bad in arcs before Fishman Island. Still more egregious than the manga, but not to the same degree. So it's possible you can tolerate it for that stretch since there are still lots of good moments in the anime in these arcs too. Though I'll note that there's quite a bit of censorship in the anime compared to the manga, Zeff eating his own leg for example, while included in the live action, was not included in the anime. Instead he lost it when it got caught in some ship debris while he was rescuing Sanji from drowning. Stuff like gore and blood are also tones down a lot. The live action honestly isn't any more gory than the manga is, even at the beginning. There's even less blood in the live action, the wound Zoro got from Mihawk was nastayyyy in the manga. Bro nearly got bisected fr.

Though I will say that I think one thing that helps make the more sexualized aspects of the series feel more balanced and a lot less center stage is that Luffy himself, the main character, is completely and totally 1000% gender blind. He's not blind to stuff like masculinity or femininity, but he's blind to whether masculinity or femininity is something that is only applicable to men or women. He likes plenty of manly things, there's a gag about him not wanting frills on his shirt because he doesn't think they're manly and he doesn't like that, but he doesn't think that it makes a man less of a man if he wears a frilly shirt, and he's not opposed to wearing other clothes that might be more feminine coded like his fuckin cute li'l dress thing in Egghead, or the literal dress he wears proudly for all of 3 seconds in Film Gold lmao. There are plenty of men in the series who wear frilly shirts. There are also men who wear makeup, wear pink, crossdress, etc. Luffy could not give less of a shit what men, or women, wear. He does not discriminate between women and men in how he treats them in any way shape or form, his awareness of gender expression is limited entirely in how he personally expresses *his* idea of *his* gender. If a woman pisses him off he'll beat them up just as easily as he will a dude. If a trans man says they identify as a man, he'll refer to them as a man, even if they have a more feminine appearance, and vice versa. He does not blink an eye at non-binary/genderfluid/queer characters, etc. That's one of my favourite things about his character, in part because I'm aroace and identify with him and his gender blindness a lot (among other things, he is an aroace icon for a reason lmao), but also because it's nice to have a 100% gender blind character as the main pov throughout the series.

Then there's the final factor, which is

4) How much time are you willing to spend?

The anime is undoubtedly the longer time investment. Which can be good or bad depending on your view. I know when I caught up sometime after episode 505, I was devastated at not having any more episodes to watch. I started out thinking "this will take me forever and I probably won't finish it", then shifted to "damn those 100 episodes went by fast, but that's okay, I still have 400 episodes left" to "200 episodes already? Well I'm not even halfway yet, that's fine" to "300... Oh God I'm already more than halfway" to "400!? Where are they all going?? Why aren't there more?!?" to "well I HAVE to read the manga now because I can't stand to wait for the episodes to come out weekly" then I banged out the rest of the series in the manga in a few days like I was a drug addict trying to hide my stash from the police by snorting it all at once. So to some, the length can be a blessing rather than a curse lmao. But if you are worried about length, the manga is a lot easier to go through without taking months and months to catch up, unless you take your time reading it. There is a fan edited version of the anime called One Pace, which takes out all the filler and adjusts the pacing to be closer to the manga, which might also be an option if you want to watch the anime but still want a less exhaustive itinerary to watch. They. Might even edit out a bunch of the excess sexual shots and editing in the anime though I haven't watched it myself to determine that. The main issue is that One Pace hasn't completed every single arc, but it is an option for watching the arcs it does have. I know Dressrosa is one of the longest arcs and might benefit from some trimming. I also recommend, if you choose the anime, to watch episodes in batches rather than weekly. While the pacing of the manga is quite a bit faster, so it lends itself to weekly updates better, the anime does suffer from being watched weekly. I've always binged arcs all together and I find that improves the experience a lot.

Aside from that, you can also always just read the manga then only look up and watch particular scenes you wanna see in the anime to get the experience with the voice acting and music and animation, without having to invest as much extra time into it. I may not be a dedicated anime hater, but I do agree that the manga is undoubtedly superior to it as a whole, so while I don't think there's anything wrong with being anime only, if you are open to both, but only want to choose one to consume, it's the manga all the way. You only have to start at chapter 1 and go from there. Or episode 1 for the anime.

I hope this helped, and wasn't too confusing or overwhelming. I know how daunting the series can be to get into so I wanted to try and be comprehensive and objective, and provide some approachable options for people new to the series by explaining some pros and cons of each approach.

[synintheraven]

I just took an hour to 'write' but ended up shitposting and screaming over a picture BYE

[six-improbable-things]

Actual dialogue from today's session:

NPC: I've been meaning to bring this up for a while, but never really got a chance. In the recording we found [BBEG] mentioned a Lord Alistair Lockwood. For your identification papers, you used the name Adrian Lockwood. Is there any relation between the two of you? Rook, obviously lying: No, there's not. If that's all you wanted to ask me... [*points her towards the door*] NPC: So I'm just supposed to believe that you put that name down by random chance? Rook: Is there any reason it couldn't be random chance? NPC: Rook. You look just like the man. Rook: [*sighs*]

(The NPC in question is an elderly, grandmotherly half-orc barbarian with a strong southern drawl, btw. Her name is Regina.)

[momentomori24]

Ever since I made that longass rant about soushin and general stupid fandom discourse I've been seeing even more tomfoolery on Twitter as some weird, backwards effect. Someone saying that most proshippers are pedophiles when "explaining" what proship means, another person qrt soushin gift art to shit on soushin shippers before insulting the recipient by calling them gross and saying that people deserve to feel like shit for ""shipping abuse"" and other BS as well. Also found an account basically just for hating on soushin and its shippers. Oh, and other people watering down the abusive nature of the ship again to defend it too. This fandom makes me so tired sometimes.

[shippy-from-apocalypse]

Soulmates can be Fun and they have some REALLY creative prompts, that being said they're usually not my Cup of tea

I get frustrated because they have SO MUCH potential (and when they're really explored it can make GREAT stories) but mostly it stays surface level

Curious, I haven’t really seen any real trend among aspec people and the ship tropes they do like, however I think I kinda seen a trend in what they dislike. So in the tags tell me if you’re aspec (ace and/or aro) and if you dislike soulmates, and I mean the most straightforward romantic non subverted kind (but if there are versions you like feel free to elaborate)

[saymio]

Thanos headcanons | (NSFW)

Pairing: Thanos (Choi Su bong/player 230) x Fem!reader

Genre: smut, headcanons

Warning: dead dove do not eat, noncon, you get forced to take drugs, cum eating, groping, Thanos is a huge asshole. might be more but im too lazy to write it down

A/N: not proof read.

Thanos, the man that comes up to you during the endless questions the guards received before the first game. calling you "senorita" and asking you to join him and his friend during the games. you declined, making him tsk and walk away.

Thanos, the man you stared at in fear during red light green light. he pushed down a row of people, pushing them to their death. he just stared at you back and winked, as if he did it to impress you.

Thanos, the man that approached you right after the game ended. asking you to join him and his newly formed team. the 5 people stood over you eerily, scaring you into saying yes.

Thanos, the man that kicked out gyeong su during the team game. whispering into your ear, "I saved you baby" before sitting down onto the floor with the other 3 people in the team.

Thanos, the man that scares you to your core, he's unpredictable. kicking out someone from the team without a second thought but then running to him when he makes out alive. explaining how it was an accident.

Thanos, the man that says outloud "so y/n! whatcha gonna do for me, y'know..as a thanks for not kicking you out of my team." his voice was loud and annoying..but you knew deep down he had meant it with dark intentions.

Thanos, the man that will force his weird pills into your mouth right before the lights go off. telling you it helps with sleeping well.

Thanos, the man that insists on sharing a bed tonight because you're "deeeeefiantly scared"

Thanos, the man that gropes your ass and the rest of your body when the lights go off. whispering into your ear " I know you want this.." his dark voice filling your eardrums

Thanos, the man that slips his finger into your pussy, aggressively pumping them in and out, ruining your delicate insides until you cum all over his fingers.

Thanos, the man that will bring his fingers to your mouth. the ones that were just inside of you, he commands you to eat your own cum unless you want him to kill you that second.

Thanos, the man that will sneak into the bathroom with you to fuck you, using your disassociated state (from the drugs) as an excuse to reorganize your insides. explaining to you later when you sob into your hand infront of him that you 'never said no'

Thanos, the man that jerks off in the bathroom to the thought of your distressed state. you were so weak and small he wanted to ruin your entire life.

Thanos, the man that you overheard talking with his friend. slut shaming you, explaining how this entire time youve been begging for his cock. but you know its not true, when all you've been doing is begging him to stop

Thanos, the man that abandons you during mingle. leaving you to fend for yourself. and when you get upset at him for his, his excuse was "my team and I decided we don't want dirty whores with us. you might rub off on us. sorrry!"

Thanos, the man that slaps you infront of every in the room when you try to confront him. "bitch! you tryna ruin my life or whaaat? I never touched you! I'd never touch a dumb drooling slut like you"

Thanos, the man that groped your tits that night. whispering sweet nothings into your ear, explaining how he was 'sorry' for being so cruel and that he'd made it up to you with his cock.

Thanos, the man that you wished nothing but death upon. you were nothing but ecstatic when he had finally died.

Another note: I think I made him too much of a bitch and ooc idk...this was rushed and lazily made bc I just wanna push something out and idk if I'll write a longer fic today hshshsh ILL MAKE A PROPER THANOS FIC SOON I SWEAR sorry if this sucked.

TAGLIST: @pollys-doublelife @gongyoosgf

[anirudhpisharody]

.

[sincerelybubbles]

hotch x shy!bau!reader <3 fem content: slight age gap implied. reader is new to the team and more on the introverted side! not proof read, as is my hubris.

Tired, nerves buzzing from a night spent up and chasing sleep that was not welcoming, you throw your bag down on your desk and go off in hunt of coffee. You usually try to curb your caffeine intake, especially with the travel associated with your new job, but this morning is a happy exception to your new rule.

"Here," Emily says, watching you scan the cabinets of the kitchen. You hadn't heard her walk in, but she's offering you a mug with a sympathetic smile. "Long night?"

"Yes," you say, tone thankful, and spin to figure out the coffee machine.

"Three weeks and i haven't seen you use that once," she comments, sipping from her own warm mug and watching you settle the filter in place.

"I've stayed away. it's harder to sleep when I get back because of the jet lag, anyway, don't need to add coffee at all odd hours to the list, too."

It's the most you've said in casual conversation like this. To say you've been shy with your new team would be an understatement. You're good at your job, you were pulled from the academy early to do this for a reason. You fit well into the team, generally. You like listening to Spencer ramble, especially on the longer flights. Rossi's dry humor reminds you of one of your old professors you grew up admiring. JJ is a constant breath of fresh air, Morgan's consistent strength has built up your own moral. Garcia took no getting used to, lifting you up and settling into your life easily. Hotch is intimidating but kind under the colder-tones, long glances sometimes distracting but oterhwise comforting. Emily is easily one of your favorites on the team, friendly and whip-smart. But, at the core of it, you're shy. Painfully so, even.

The team caught onto this quick, settling into the truth that your observational nature that makes you so adept at noticing the smaller details is bound to weep into your social life as well. So, despite your comfort levels rising with the team, you find these situations hard. Do you explain your nightmares to Emily? Share that you're a diagnosed insomniac who spent the night watching FRIENDS reruns after chasing sleep that pranced beyond reach?

"You're better than me, then," Emily says, smiling over her mug. Her eyes tell you she's pleased at the little crack into your life that you've let her see. They're all like that: insufferably kind and polite with your introverted nature but greedily sipping up everything they can learn about you.

"It's a new development," you admit, clicking start on the machine and settling back against the counter facing her. Something about your sleepiness makes it easier to talk, your tongue looser, your ache to let loose around the team more profound. "I'm sure most of us are insomniacs, though."

"Not me," Emily says, chuckling. "I get home and feel like I don't wake up until I get back here."

"Ah, well, I'm sure it can feel like a curse no matter what way you fall," you say with a shrug. Emily lifts her coffee in cheers to that.

"Morning," Morgan says, turning into the kitchen and giving you a surprised smile. "Hello, sunshine, you're looking bright eyed today."

You let out a small laugh, shaking your head. "I know, I know."

Emily points with her chin at you, "She's making the coffee this morning."

"Ah-ah, remaking it because you and pretty boy always get here first and finish the first pot." Morgan teases her with a slight shake of his head, grinning and opening the fridge to pull out the creamer.

"Well, you snooze you loose. Or," she sends you a smile, complete with a little nose wrinkle and a tilt of her head, "you don't snooze and still loose."

"Clever," you say, voice dry with humor, hiding your laugh by turning around as the pot finished brewing. "I'll remember this later."

"Careful, she's got teeth," Morgan warns Emily, reaching around you to grab the coffee before you can and filling his cup.

"Hey!" You call in protest, voice raising louder than usual and a pout hitting your lips. Morgan laughs, white teeth on display, eyes crinkled at the corners.

"Here, here," he says, placating, tipping the pitcher to fill your cup as well. "Any sugar or cream to placate the beast?"

Before you can answer, a laugh on the tip o your tongue, Hotch walks in and settles his watchful eyes on you, interest sparking them. You shrink, not in fear but in self-awareness, and send him a closed lip smile. Stepping away from Morgan, you turn quickly to fix your own coffee.

"Good morning," Hotch says, nodding at Emily and Morgan, answering Emily's question about Jack's recent sickness (he's recovering well, thank you) and trying to catch your eye.

You duck away, cowardly and regressing back into your shell, deciding it's time to get to work and stop indulging. You catch Morgan tease Hotch as you leave, though, "Aw, you've scared her off."

You try not to think about it as you duck away, pushing all thoughts of your boss away.

You're unsuccessful.

The problem isn't that you're afraid of him because you think he's mean or unkind in any way. He's done his best to welcome you to the team, allowing you to take investigations in your own direction and listening to your insights since day one. There was a brief moment in your first week where you felt tested, like his questions weren't to gain your insight but to see if you were up to the task, but you slipped past that easily. you have the credentials to back yourself up. you're quiet, yeah, but you're always right on track to where you need to be. pulled early from academy to jump into investigating was hard but it made this easy. a few years of experience under your belt and the job feels natural and, even with the shift in teams to join the big guns in Quantico, you feel like you're exactly where you're meant to be.

No, embarrassingly, this has nothing to do with you not liking your boss or being afraid of him. Rather, he makes you too comfortable. He ducks his head to hear you speak as you walk and talk, settling deep eyes on your face. He's sturdy, dependable, and exactly everything you're all too interested in.

You hate it, harboring a school crush on your boss like you're a teen pining over your teacher. You know it's normal, you know it's perfectly reasonable and there's absolutely nothing wrong with being attracted to him, but you still slink away from him more than the others because of that attraction.

Because it's more than physical.

He listens when you talk. Granted, so do the rest of the team - they're profilers, of course they catalogue everything everyone is saying for future reference. But, beyond that, you catch him paying attention. He complimented your new blouse earlier in the week and it caused air to catch in your throat, suffocating you. It looked new, bright white and without wrinkles, but you knew he must have been looking, noticing, to remember you not wearing it before. He's kind, remembering details about you and the team and using them to aid in everyone's comfort. He knows Spencer can't handle dairy and you've heard him reminding an intern to stock the dairy-free alternatives for creamer in the jet. He brought you a neck pillow on your second flight because you didn't have one.

That gift you accepted with stuttering thank-you's and a flushed face. It hadn't flared this crush, but it definitely aided in your ability to accept it when you finally got around to no longer avoiding how he made you feel with every kind smile and gentle good morning.

You settle down at your desk, putting your steaming mug on a pile of paperwork you really need to sort through, and try to physically push the thoughts out of your head by ranking your hands through your hair, lifting it from your forehead and squeezing your eyes shut. Today isn't the day. You're too tired, sure that the team will be flying out today, and really need to be on your A-Game.

"Everything okay?" A calm voice asks from your elbow. When you look up, you decide the universe hates you. Hotch is leaning on the desk adjacent to yours, holding his own travel cup full of fresh coffee, chin tilted down to check on you. His gaze is kind, light on your face, and his eyebrows are lifted slightly. You get the feeling that he's doing everything in his power to present himself as less imposing.

"Yes, of course," you answer automatically, heart thudding in your throat.

"You know, you shouldn't lie to profilers," he says, tone teasing, voice still low. "If you're tired, it's okay to admit it to me, too."

You're about to brush him off when something in your brain freezes before clicking into place.

He's looking at you, pleading, expression open. He's usually guarded, professional. Caring, but with a guard up. Rare are these moments of genuine asking, especially rarer so are the moment of pleading hidden behind a mask of gentle humor. You think, briefly, about how it must seem to him. He heard you, Emily, and Morgan joking in the kitchen. You haven't been here long, you're shy, but slowly thawing to everyone but him. He doesn't know your reasons, he couldn't, you've made a genuine effort to hide them, and you force yourself to see it from his perspective.

"Sorry," you say, softly, slowly. "I didn't sleep well. First nightmares and then insomnia. Hence," you gesture toward your mug. You shrug, heart beating out of your chest, eyes searching his. Nice, be nice, be open and kind and yourself. "At least I have FRIENDS reruns to keep me company."

You see something relax in him at your gentle offering of the information. He sends you a not-quite-smile, nodding once and pushing himself off of the desk he was lightly leaning against.

"Take a few minutes, I'm sure JJ will call us in soon." He scans your face for a moment before looking down at your desk. He reaches forward, slowly but with purpose, and lifts a file that has been nagging you for days. The new computer system is hard to get used to and the paperwork load is heavier than you've experienced before. "I can help you with this to ease some of your load, too."

He's walking away before you can protest, tucking the file under his arm and ducking into his office. He moves swiftly, leaving no room for argument, and you're left at your desk, mouth agape and heart in your mouth.

"Wow," Spencer says, jolting you in your chair to spin around and face him. His desk is near yours, across a walkway, and you hadn't registered him sitting there. You think he was nose-deep in a book when you walked in but you hadn't been paying attention. "I don't think I've seen him warm up to someone that fast," Spencer admits, leaning back in his seat and giving you a confused look, eyebrows lowered. "Actually, he's never offered to help me do my paperwork. Ever."

"That's because you read far too fast for it to actually help you," you offer, mind racing, words hollow as your thoughts are elsewhere.

Eyes trained on the windows of Hotch's office, you take his advice and relax for the few minutes before JJ comes to gather you all in the conference room. Coffee on your lips, you let yourself smile behind the rim of your mug. You can't imagine how you could think of anything other than that, really.

[gothicfied]

Hey, i love your writing. I was wondering if you could do a Dae-ho fic where the reader is apart of his group (with gi-hun and stuff) but used to date Thanos, who is trying to win her back. She asks the boys to help stop her from going back to him cause she can;' help but want to. Later dae ho asks why she dated thanos cause he was toxic and she admits she feels she doesn't deserve better. Dae ho confesses and promises that he will give her better. I don't know if this makes sense, but thanks :)

Why can't I let go? - Kang Dae-ho / Player 388

Pairing: Kang Dae-ho / Player 388 x fem!reader (maybe slight Thanos x reader)

Summary: Seeing your ex months after your break up made you question things again, but Dae-ho gave you a reason not to go back to him.

Warnings: Mentions of death/dying, gunshots (typical squid game stuff), other than that it's just fluff, not proof read (english isn't my first language)

Word count: ~ 1.6k

A/N: hi and thank you sm!! I hope this comes close to what you had in mind (:

What made being in this slaughter house even worse for you, besides the fact that you had to worry about dying every few seconds, was the fact that your literal ex boyfriend somehow also ended up here. Well, actually, you knew exactly why Thanos, as he liked to call himself now, entered the games as well — Not only did he basically bankrupt himself with investing in that stupid crypto currency, no, he took most of your savings too and created unnecessary money problems for you. That was obviously the break-up-reason, although he just wasn't the best boyfriend over all.

His presence already pissed you off when spotting him in the crowd after initially waking up in that uncomfortable bunk bed. Thanos only spotted you when walking up the weird, colorful stairs to the first game. Pushing other players to the side, he made his way up to you and tapped you on the shoulder, non-stop apologizing for what he had done to you. It has been like that since you broke things off with him, but you made the effort to block him on everything and simply not answer the door when he came by every now and then to win you back.

Thanos was annoying and dangerous, as it showed itself in Red-Light-Green-Light. Not only was he a junkie, he was also seemingly ready to sacrifice the life of other people for his own benefit. At first, when Player 456 yelled out that everyone who got 'disqualified' would essentially get shot, you didn't want to believe him. Even Thanos leaned over to you, much to your annoyance, and said "What the fuck is this guy on?". He's one to talk, huh. In the end, when Player 456 was right, you immediately took his advice and voted 'X' during the first voting.

"Thanks for saving us back there." you said to Player 456, hesitantly approaching him and his friend, Player 390. They introduced themselves as Gi-hun and Jung-bae, inviting you to sit down and eat with them. A few moments later another young man dropped down from his bed and agreed with you, also claiming that how Gi-hun acted was heroic. "Why'd you vote like that then?" you asked Dae-ho after he sat down next to you, pointing at the blue badge upon his chest. "Ah, you know," feeling like he got caught, he kept looking away from your eyes, "the money now is not nearly enough to pay off my debts. But, don't worry, I'll definitely vote different next time!" You guys continued talking and even laughing a bit, telling each other about your life outside of here.

You, alongside Jung-bae, found out that he was a marine. Both were actually, immediately finding common ground. Watching them joke around with each other, you couldn't help but smile — Which stopped as soon as you looked to the other side, to the people who voted 'O', and spotted Thanos staring at you. He was clearly not happy with how you voted or the fact that another man made you laugh, even though you only met him a few minutes ago. That's just how Thanos is, you feared: always jealous about someone, worried you're going to cheat on him, but would then flirt with his female fans in the same breath. He always claimed it was because they were his fans and they loved to feel like he was reachable, but that was never a justification for you.

For some reason, that you didn't pay attention to, a little fight between the two sides broke out, and Thanos thought this was the best time to drag you away from all that and talk with you. You saw him stand up and approach you, to which you already shook your head, but when he grabbed your arm and just took you with him, you couldn't do much. "Why would you do that?" he asked you, his eyes staring into yours. "What? What did I do now? Can't you just leave me alone?" You crossed your arms in front if your chest and just looked down at your feet, because, if you were being honest with yourself, when your ex boyfriend looked at you like that.. it kind of did something to you. Perhaps regret your decision.

"Baby, seriously?"

"Don't fucking call me that."

"Come on, I know you love it, princess.."

"Get to the point."

You were annoyed, agitated, but somehow still wanted to hear what he had to say. Thanos huffed, furrowing his eyebrows. "Why did you vote like that? If we play just two more games, we could pay off our debts and maybe.. try again?" He grabbed you by your shoulders, shaking you a little so you'd look up at him again. When that didn't work, he wrapped his arms around your waist and tried to pull you close, but that was your breaking point. Forcefully, you ripped yourself out of his grasp and started walking back to your group again: "Don't even start with that. You ruined my life."

In a twisted way, you felt bad. His proposal almost, almost, made you give in. It was just nice to see a familiar face and hear a familiar voice in this environment, it brought you comfort to know that there was someone you shared so many special memories with that you could turn to. And, you would, just if it wasn't Choi Su-bong. "Is everything okay? Was he giving you trouble?" Jung-bae asked, looking like he was ready to fight him. Actually, he was probably ready to fight everyone who voted 'O'. "No.. no, I'm okay." Without another word you sat back down next to Dae-ho, picking away at your fingernails.

"Who is he?"

"What?"

"That guy.. who is he?"

"To me? My ex boyfriend."

The man let out an 'aha', just nodding along. When he looked at Thanos and then back to you, he couldn't really believe it — That purple-haired guy was almost the complete opposite of you. You were pretty, seemed to be kind and gentle and Thanos was just kind of.. Dae-ho would say you're way out of his league. "If he's bothering you, just tell me, okay? I'll take care of it." You looked at the former marine, giving him a smile when noticing that he was serious about that. You thanked him quickly and looked away, feeling your cheeks heat up slightly.

After surviving the second game together, Dae-ho and you have gotten closer incredibly fast. He was mesmerized by you, to say the least, and you appreciated that you had someone to rely on at all times. That still didn't stop Thanos from perusing you, though, it actually was the complete opposite. A few minutes before lights out he tried to talk to you again, following you to your bed, which was right behind Dae-ho's. The two of you slept head to head together, only a metal bar separating the beds.

"Please.. just listen to me! I miss you.. I swear, I'll vote 'X' the next time!" Thanos' annoying voice rang through your ears and no matter how often you told him to leave you alone, he didn't want to understand it. At some point he got annoyed and just walked off himself, sighing and planning to try again next day. With a quiet groan, you let your head fall back against your pillow, Dae-ho watching you the whole time from his side. He felt like it wasn't his place to continue to ask you about the situation when you didn't bring it up yourself, but he was still curios as to why you'd ever be with that guy.

"Hey, are you okay? Do you need me to say something to him next time?"

"No.. It's fine, I can handle it. It's just- complicated, that's all." You were tired, your mind was reeling — People dying was stressful enough and now you had to handle your immature and manipulative ex boyfriend as well. "You don't have to answer this but," Dae-ho tucked some of his hair behind his ears, sitting up so he could properly look at you, "why did you date him? You're too good for him." His little comment made you chuckle, even though he was right and it probably wasn't all that funny. "I don't know.. to be honest, at that time I just felt like I didn't deserve any better."

Dae-ho was appalled by your words, his face scrunching up. How could you even talk about yourself like that? "You do deserve better. You deserve the world." His tone wasn't angry, but definitely a lot firmer than before, showing you that he actually meant what he said. "What?" you asked him, also slowly sitting up now. "I'm serious, you're kind and smart and deserve a better life, a better boyfriend." His words made your heart beat a little faster.

"He doesn't deserve you. I would treat you be-" As soon as Dae-ho noticed what he just said himself, he immediately stopped talking, looking at you with wide eyes. "You would treat me better?" Your voice was laced with amusement, maybe teasing him a little now. That question made him stutter a quiet 'Yeah..' and it was clear how taken aback Dae-ho was from his own words. He didn't want you to know, at least not now. He knew this wasn't an ideal place to develop a crush on a girl he could lose in an instant, but he couldn't control his feelings now, could he?

"A lot better even."

"Then show me.."