#Sengoku made them do this

[badly-drawn-doflamingo]

“What Do Pirates Fear?”

[ full comic ]

Rain Rain Go Away ain’t gunna work this time

Haredas [ Rain Wizard ] art by the fantastic @squisheycat & @ceru-fritters !!!!!! ]

[hauntingblue]

Gear 5 luffy's laugh is so contagious I just hear the drums and go insane how does this work. What did he do to me

[fanaticsnail]

Happy Birthday Doflamingo

Masterlist Here

Word Count: 1,600+

Synopsis: Donquixote Doflamingo was in his own little world within the warlord meeting at the world government headquarters. Suddenly, an uncommon source reminded him what day it was, and he was left perplexed and pleasantly surprised.

Themes: Doflamingo x gn!reader, parent!reader, Doflamingo is a secret softy, you have a child, fluff, birthday fluff, 'Nana' is your parent.

Notes: It's Doflamingo's birthday and he needed some fluff.

Sitting in another grueling and disgusting meeting with the marines and fellow warlords, Doflamingo rolled his ruby eyes beneath his rose-hued spectacles. Whether it was Sengoku or Tsuru speaking, he could not truly recall in this present moment. There were several voices interjecting, speaking in a dull drawl regarding whatever mishap occurred between marines or pirates - he cared not.

All that truly mattered was this was a stepping stone towards achieving his ultimate goal: reinstating his celestial dragon bloodline and bringing all the favor that title granted him.

He was a king.

He was a warlord.

He was a pirate, long since retired to grant his status immunity from the World Government…

…He was currently being tapped on the arm by some very small hands on his large forearm, snapping him completely from his inner monologuing. His lengthy, blonde eyelashes batted in awe that someone was to lay a single hand on him, let alone several repetitive taps.

Turning immediately in his chair, his sarcastic and sadistic grin pulling up at the corners of his lips, his gaze was piercing an individual who peered up at him with awe on their features.

Large, rounded eyes blinked slowly, the whimsy and innocent spirit from youth gazing up at him with intrigue and purity. The way their smile upturns, their joy springing from them the more they gaze right into Doflamingo's soul over his pink-colored glasses.

“Mister Doflamingo,” they utter softly, tapping the warlord’s arm with a sheet of thick, manilla paper. “I made a present for you. It has a picture, and it has some writing, and my Nana had to help me with some alphabets so I could make you it.”

Doflamingo’s forehead furrowed, his absent brows pulling in the center of his head as he tucked his chin into his chest to peer at the sheet of paper pricking his skin.

Sure enough, a piece of card material was placed on the meeting table of the warlords, admirals and upper-ranking marines’ circular table. Snapping his gaze back to the child beside him, and returning it back to the card, he remained ignorant of the rapid approach of a marine coming behind the child to chastise them.

“Warlord Donquixote, please forgive the-.” They began, only to be halted by a single, tanned hand from the warlord to silence them.

Glancing down at the page and up to the features of the child once more, he slowly moved the page towards them with a soft smile touching his lips and brightening his face. With the paper now touching the child’s hands, he slowly gestured with his unoccupied digits now lowered towards the paper.

“I'm so sorry, sweetheart,” he slowly gasped, “I forgot my reading glasses. Can you tell me what the letters say so I can know them?”

Doflamingo paid no heed to the individual attempting to remove the child from his sights, truly intrigued at their fearlessness while he attempted to read the page. He paid pure attention to their smile as he slowly placed his index finger along the lettering.

The child laughed, noseying closer to the giant while tilting their head to read their own writing.

“Can't you see?” They moved in closer, their body now flush with his while they read from the paper, “It says: ‘Happy Birthday Doflamingo’. And down there,” they point to the page where two blobs form next to one another, “That's me and you in there. I did the holding hands because I like to hold hands. And I tried to do your glasses, but I can't remember what the shape was at home.”

Doflamingo was stunned to silence. His lips dropped into a slack-jawed ‘O’-shape. His lips tingled with a shaky inhale, darting through all the lettering and to the two individuals holding hands to the left of the page.

He had forgotten. All of these years flung from him, and he had forgotten the one day per year that was truly his own. The day his mother brought him life. The day he was brought into this world: innocent, titled, cherished, loved. And he had forgotten.

But this child hadn't.

“It's your birthday, isn't it, Mister Doflamingo?” Their innocence was written in their face, their soft question weighted with more than they had truly intended. Doflamingo slowly blinked before nodding, gazing down with a smile that he had almost forgotten.

“It is, sweetheart,” he replied with a gasped chuckle, “Thank you for remembering. And this is me and you?” He pointed to the page, darting his attention to the paper and back to the child, “My, my. Your art is impeccable. I thought it was a mirror, and I was staring back at myself.”

The child laughed, grinning with their teeth clenched firmly shut. Doflamingo couldn't help but contract their smile, the contagion spreading to glee on his own face.

“You like it?” They asked him with their giddiness rising in their chest and fizzing through their much smaller body. Doflamingo’s face matched their own, albeit an act to bring himself more joy than truly necessary.

“I love it,” he confirmed with a nod.

The marine from earlier was staring wide-eyed at the interaction between child and the warlord. Their Nana was tasked on babysitting the child, and was unfortunately called in to assist in the medical ward.

One hasty decision merged into another, and “Nana’s” subordinate was now watching as the giant warlord was lifting the child atop his extended knee, handing them coloring pencils and assisting them on doodling all over the agenda for the meeting.

Sir Crocodile watched on with a lazy smirk, Dracule Mihawk cocked his chin to the side and twitched his brow up to an arch as he was no longer paying attention to the meeting. The admirals and vice-admirals were also stunned to silence, watching as the child exhubirantly exclaimed exactly what hue Doflamingo's hair was with the pencils at hand.

While Nana was saving a life, bringing their grandchild in as a last resort, you were occupied with your own undertakings. Both of you remained blissfully unaware of the bond occuring between two unseemly individuals: your four year old, and a warlord over five times their size.

Doflamingo, while formerly bored at the meeting, was now preoccupied with aiding your child in a game of naughts and crosses on the manilla page: his birthday message now face-down on the table. He may have began the meeting as a warlord bound by reputation and striving for greatness, but as of this moment?

He was Mister Doflamingo, the birthday boy. With your four year old singing to him in such volume that the meeting derailed and they simply disbanded, he was enjoying the first birthday he had truly celebrated in years.

When Nana dropped your baby back off home, they came with a package in tow. This package was over ten feet tall, clad in feathers of pink, and leaf-shaped rosey glasses that covered their ruby eyes. Ducking into the arch of your door, with Nana ushering your child through, the giant offered you a smile and a card of their own.

“A token of my appreciation of the company that kept me today,” Doflamingo smiled warmly, his enterage looking more uneasy than you were at the appearance of the warlord. Gently taking the envelope from his hands, he held his grip firmly to keep your attention a moment longer.

Leaning in, he peered over his glasses and softened his voice to a decibel you were not expecting. His innocence seeming to match that of your child while Nana ushered them away.

“Should you venture to Dressrosa, marine,” he urged you softly, “You will find an ally in me. I swear to you, nothing unbecoming occured. I simply colored in with your child at the World Government meeting earlier today-.”

“-My baby was in a room full of warlords?!” you growled, snapping your head over to the fleeing frame of Nana beginning the bed time routine for your child. Doflamingo shook his head softly, clicking his tongue to place your attention back onto him.

“Your child was unharmed and uninjured. I'm sure Tsuru would grant you access to the Den-Den footage should you ask for it,” he nodded slowly, his eyes peaking over the frame of his glasses while gazing at you. “And they were better company than most of the others in there. My gratitude is in the card, should you intend on reading it.”

You peered down at the envelope, then back up to the warlord casting shadow over your doorstep. Blinking softly, you take a moment to claim back your stupour and bow to the being at your door. He returned your kindness with a bow of his own before rising to full stature.

As he turned to leave, you took a moment to stutter your footsteps and halted him with a shaky exclaim.

“Happy birthday, Donquixote Doflamingo.”

Doflamingo halted his departure, turning back to peer at you with that softness you were not expecting. Sniffing an exhale through his crooked nose, he chuckled at you.

“Thank you. It is one, I think both of us, will not forget in a hurry.”

Donquixote Doflamingo, the leader of a kingdom and being to be feared, was reduced to humility at the simple utterance of ‘Happy Birthday’ where all others seemed to forget. He never forgot such an important occasion.

The following day, you requested the Den-Den footage of the meeting taken place, and you could hardly believe yourself.

There they were, your child and Doflamingo: playing a game of “chase the pen” with pages upon pages of naughts and crosses littering the warlord’s elbows. Both your child and the large king of Dressrosa had smiles matching, apparently contagious as Sir Crocodile, Kuma, Jinbei and even Mihawk all seemed to catch the glee.

Peering at the den-den ‘still’ at your desk was a stark reminder that friendship, glee, and love could be found in the most unlikely of places.

In that next moment, you found yourself a “pen-friend” in Donquixote Doflamingo. Warlord, King, ex-pirate, and Birthday Boy of Dressrosa. Whether that friendship blossoms into something more was entirely up to you.

Tag list: @mfreedomstuff @daydreamer-in-training @since-im-already-here @gingernut1314 @writingmysanity @i-am-vita @indydonuts @feral-artistry @the-light-of-star @empirenowmp3 @racfoam @sunflowersatori @carrotsunshine @skullfacedlady @jintaka-hane @thenotsofantasticlifestory

Note: Original art by "Young-Sir", inspiration for this fic.

[alexa-fika]

Hi again first you're a teacher?? Me too soon 😂

Anyway I thought of another weird idea

A child that can see dead people 🏃‍♀️ and he sees corazon when he's with law

Or any other character

I will write a lot of ideas sorry if it's annoying 😅

🐼💕~

A/N:I am a teacher! Im a preschool teacher, that is why writing this in that aspect is really easy because I see their behaviors and shenanigans everyday. What grade will you be teaching??

Also, absolutely not! I love your ideas they are incredible, it will never be annoying trust me, receiving these makes me giggle and kick my feet like a little girl

Dividers by @/saradika

Clumsy Ghostly Guardians ( Law x gn!child!reader x Corazon)

“Dad, Dad!” The child could be seen once again running through the hallways of the submarine, their screams bouncing off the walls as they ran towards their father

Law looks up from his reading as the familiar sound of his child's footsteps approaches him. He sighs, returning his attention back to the medical journal in his hands.

“What is it?”

“Dad, who is the tall ghost who always follows you around?”

“Tall ghost who always follows me around?”

Law puts down his book to give his child his full attention

“What do they look like?”

He watches as the child changes their focus from him to next to him, attentively staring at something

“He’s really tall, he has funny lips, he has a big coat, and he falls a lot too.”

Law's brows furrow as he is genuinely confused by his child's words. However, Law gets a strange feeling in his gut that what they are seeing is none other than Corazon

“…Did they tell you their name?”

“He said his name was Rosinante, but he said you call him Corazon.”

Law's jaw hangs open as he stares at his child. Law never told his child about Corazón, and the fact that reader knows his real name and even his alias...

When the child had eaten the yuta-yuta fruit, the possibility was always at the back of his mind, but he had always brushed it off, thinking that Corazon was either following Doflamingo or Sengoku.

“...how long have you seen him?”

“Since I ate yuta-yuta”

“Since you ate the....”

Law's face goes pale with shock. He has a look of disbelief on his face

“...did he talk to you?”

“Mmhm, he said dad was the cutest when small, said you still have a gloomy expression now.”

Law's expression softens, and he sits down next to his child, trying to process everything that has occurred. He puts a hand on their head, ruffling their hair

“...what else did he say?”

“He said he’s glad you’re safe, what does that mean dad?”

Law shakes his head, trying to keep his emotions under control. He did not expect to encounter such profound news today. Law turns his attention back to his child and gives them a tight smile.

“...he means that he is happy we are safe. Did he say anything else?”

Law strokes their hair with his thumb

“He said that he is proud of you

Law's cheeks blush as tears stream down his face.

“Ah! Dad, why are you crying? Corazon, do something! You made Dad cry, meanie!”

Law covers his face with his sleeve; he struggles to regain his composure. Eventually, his heart starts to slow, and the tears stop

“Don’t worry about it; I’m just happy, Reader-ya.”

“Ah, Corazon fell again”

“Seriusly?!” He groans

So I did made this gender neutral but in Japan a Yuta is a female spirit medium and I couldn’t find a word for medium that would fall within that 4 or 3 alliteration format that the fruits have other than with yuta, and even that was stretching it but yeah, just wanted to let you guys know 😂.

Taglist:

@imaginarydreams

[82mitsu]

Previously translated pair names that had been posted to Twitter. However corrections had to be made (misinterpretations & an instance of mistranslation), so this is version 2.

Note: This is the only translated thing I will be posting, I am not off hiatus. I had been meaning to archive this before my hiatus, but I also had to fix some things, which is why there was a delay.

Please consult to this post only regarding pair name translations done by me (82mitsu), any other posts or reposts you might see of this chart is the older version. (Previous version has been deleted, but I'm unaware how far the information had spread.)

If any other corrections need to be made, feel free to contact me and I'll make them as soon as possible.

Below follows an extreme lengthy TL note breaking down some pair names, it's a lot of text, so be warned once you unfold the read more.

A lot of research went into these due to 18TRIPs tendency to mix up words, use Gen-Z slang that hasn’t been picked up by everyone yet (or limited to TikTok) and make up their own words (“Omotenashisto” -> “Hospitalister”). I used dictionaries, searched forum results, looked up how people use these words on social media, went TikTok digging, etc.

I tried my best to localize in a way that should make sense even without added context. I only explained the ones that I thought might needed some more back-up in a cultural sense or because it was a specific JPN thing. Thus, not everything has been explained. However, I hope things are clearer compared to the first version that was posted. For Renga & Yukikaze: For ぽゆぽゆ (poyupoyu) there is no definition or anything for this word, but from context clues and digging through how people used it, I deduced that it means something soft and squishy like a plushie or cheeks, so to say. For Renga & Liguang: かりそめの宿縁 (karisome no shukuen) is a Japanese saying about a fated connection of bond that only lasts for a brief moment, but leaves a deep impact on your life. For Renga & Raito: Party is mispelled in the katakana as “paachii” and not the usual “paatii”. Renga has a tendecy to say English words wrong. While “friends” is spelled the correct way, both words have been “mispelled” to drive the point home. For Renga & Kinari: なぁぜなぁぜ (naaze, naaze) is JPN Gen-Z slang from Tiktok. It’s a statement made as an act for complaining, with a bit of sarcasm and irony thrown in at times. Like, “I said I wanna diet but I ate a big meal anyway! なぁぜなぁぜ” or “I’m an idol but I get more anxious doing improv than performances! なぁぜなぁぜ”. Best way I can describe the usage in this context is Renga is throwing a bit of a self-aware tantrum as to why Kinari would correct him. (As mentioned earlier, he isn’t good at English). I guessed a close equivalent would be “nuh-uh”, since that is a dismissal of someone else’s opinion without actual good reason, even if the other person has a point. For Renga & Netaro: まんまん (manman) means “a lot” but I also believe it’s a reference to meatbuns (nikuman). For Kafka & Yodaka: Hanbei is Takenaka Shigeharu, a Japanese samurai from the Sengoku era. He was known for being Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s strategist. For Liguang & Yodaka: 闘牌伝 (touhaiden) is related to Mahjong stuff. 闘牌伝 seems to be an old timey Mahjong video game with RPG elements. Rekka is a fighting game term, and I will quote the website The Fighting Game Glossary by Infil on this: “A type of special move that has multiple stages, as long as you input more commands to continue the sequence. Not all multi-part specials can be called rekkas though; a rekka tends to have exactly three distinct parts and will move your character forward along the ground with each new input.”  For Akuta & Nanaki: They went to the same kindergarten and were grouped together in the “Oden Class”. Japanese kindergartens, from my understanding from researching, tend to have a name for their class, rather than a number. To give an idea what such names could be, in 2019 the website hyenasclubs hosted a poll of most commonly used names for classes, and the top 3 were “baby chick” (hiyoko), “peach” (momo) and “dandelion” (tanpopo). For Akuta & Muneuji: My take on はっけよい輝矢部屋 (hakkeyoi kaguya heya) is a bit of an elaborate bit joking with Princess Kaguya of the Moon (from Tale of the Bamboo Cutter) because I was wondering why they suddenly opted for Muneuji’s last name instead of first. (I might’ve also just overestimated Kaguya Heya being some joke on Kaguya Hime). Hakkeyoi is what a referee shouts at the start of a sumo wrestling match. For Akuta & Ushio: I think ポジティブに腕押し (positive ni ude oshi) is a take on 暖簾に腕押し (noren ni ude oshi) that means something has no effect or is pointless. Lit. it means “pushing a curtain with one's arm”.    For Akuta & Tao: Akuta Nine is a joke on the baseball movie Gyakkyo Nine which is an adaptation of the manga of the same series, I believe. The movie is referred to as GK9, hence I made it AKT9.  For Akuta & Ryui: The original is OYAxKOBU which comes from 親分子分 (oyabunkobun) meaning “boss and his underlings”. Akuta also calls Ryui by “Oyabun”.

For Kiroku & Nanaki: Weebs who watch highschool anime should be familiar with this, but emergency staircase refers to the hallway stairs in a JPN highschool that are sometimes used as chilling out spots by students. For Kiroku & Chihiro: TuRyStA is the clothing brand they wear. 18TRIP has a various selection of clothing brands, which each character having a preference for one or another. For Kiroku & Yodaka: Zhao Yun, as quoted by Wikipedia, “was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China.” For Ushio & Raito: Some heavy freedom was taken with バスボムしゅわリスト (basubamu shuwaristo). After considering how to approach it in the most sensical way, I decided to translate it as “bubblist” due the other options being “hand sign list” or “bubble list”. I thought リスト might function as in -ist, like dentist, artist, guitarist. しゅわ comes from しゅわしゅわ which means bubbly. Although bubblist isn’t not that common, it is sometimes referred to entertainers that do bubble performances (in English). And I think it made more sense than “hand sign list” or “bubble list” to say the least. This was also taking in consideration how 18TRIP, as explained in the intro, gets very creative with its language usage. For Raito & Nagi: Mandarin ducks symbolize “soulmates” of some kind in China. In other words, Mandarin Duck Touring is more along the lines of “Motorcycle touring soulmates”. However, I find the mandarin duck reference and interesting pull compared to just “soulmates”, so it was kept as is. For Kinari & Ryui: “Super Darling Gap Inspection” is more along the original lines. “Gap” in Japanese is usually used in the context of when someone acts one way, but unexpectedly, can act a different way. Ex. A very shy person shows they can be super vulgar, that can be considered a “gap” of some kind. In English, people are more familiar with “gap moe”, thus gap moe was used. For Tao & Nagi: Might be a reference to Yokohama’s Zo-no-hana (Elephant Nose) Park. For Toi & Yodaka: The original is more along the lines of, in the most literal sense, “going around raisins circle (of friends).” Toi likes raisins, but Yodaka doesn’t, so Yodaka passes them onto Toi. I’ve turned into on a play on “sharing is caring” since that’s a common concept in English.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Yandere Zoro, Mihawk, Aokiji, Akinu, Rob Lucci and Shanks with F!Yoriichi Reader please? (Garp found her right after she ran away from home and took her in as his Granddaughter, where she grew up and bonded with her brothers Luffy, Ace and Sabo)

Garp brought her with him to become a Marine (She raised in the ranks rapidly and became a Vice Admiral in just a short span of 2 months, with her being considered a ‘Prodigy’ and even the ‘Pride’ of the Marines)

Garp is so proud of Reader because she raised in the ranks from her own hard work and effort, just like her Grandpa! (He would absolutely fist fight anyone who thinks she used her family relationship with Garp to raise so quickly in the ranks)

Sengoku was reasonably horrified when Garp brought one of his family members to become a Marine (He felt grey hairs take root on the thought of a ‘Garp 2.0’) though Sengoku did a double take when he met Reader since she’s… the complete OPPOSITE of Garp (As in, she’s respectful, responsible, calm and willing to get her work done)

Reader is highly respected and admired by a lot of the Marines, since she’s not just strong, but humble and helpful to everyone, even if they’re below her in rank and power (She definitely has a few Fan Clubs) but it’s Coby and Tashigi who admire her the most and have a tendency to chatter around her constantly (Which they get yelled at by others to not ‘disturb’ Reader, but she tells them it’s fine and she likes hearing them talk to her)

Garp and Reader get along, as Reader doesn’t mind her Grandfather being loud, silly or eccentric and Garp doesn’t mind if Reader doesn’t talk much nor is she expressive with her emotions, since he can always tell what she’s feeling (Though he’s protective over her, especially when it’s obvious a lot of guys are in love with her, he’s NOT having it!!)

She started a fight with Lucci (She was angry at his disregard for Human Life) and proceeded to beat him without him landing a single scratch on her

She also got in a fight with Mihawk (He wanted to see her skills in person) and it ended in a draw (He’s impressed and wants to fight her again)

-When you found yourself in a new world, one where the sea was the focus of everything, marines and pirates fighting each other at every turn, you weren’t sure what you were going to do- knowing nothing about this world.

-Being a child, you didn’t know where to go, but luckily, there was someone watching out for you, Garp- who immediately adopted you, seeing you, a child, alone.

-You grew up alongside Luffy, Ace, and Sabo, the three of them adopting you as their sister, but like those three, who wanted to be pirates, you liked the idea of being a marine, like Garp, like the man who saved you.

-Garp, of course, quickly deemed you as the favorite, and he brought you in as a new recruit once you were old enough.

-To others, the training boot camp was hellish, but you made everything look so easy! Anything you did you made it look effortless and once you had a sword in your hands, it was like everything clicked together and you quickly rose in not only power but rank.

-Everyone was stunned, seeing how hard you were working and how quickly you rose in the ranks, seeing it was hard work, as when everyone found out that you were Garp’s granddaughter, a few were curious, wanting to know if it was nepotism, but Garp was quick to punch out anyone who would even suggest that!

-How dare they think his grandbaby is a nepo-baby! You did everything yourself, proving yourself as a true marine and many were quickly admiring you.

-You had heard rumors, but you didn’t know if they were true or not, that there was at least three different fan clubs for you, with one of them being pirate based, as they loved to see you in combat, many saying that they wouldn’t mind being captured if you were the one to do it.

-When you achieved the highest rank you could, at the moment, becoming a rear admiral in just under six months, there were a lot of people talking about you, curious about your strength and skills, wanting to test them out.

-Sengoku was less than thrilled, hearing that a grandchild of Garp had joined the marines, his hair immediately starting to turn gray from the stress, thinking that you were just like he was.

-When you entered Sengoku’s office alongside Garp, he instantly froze, you looked so serious! It was like you were the exact opposite of Garp and he immediately took a shine to you, seeing that you were a hard worker and took your duties seriously- you were an angel on earth to him!!

-You preferred to work alone or with Garp, as you felt like others slowed you down, so if you went out on a ship, it was Garp’s ship, otherwise you would travel alone on a Wave Rider.

-Many thought your level-headed coolness paired with your soft-spoken nature and take-no-shit attitude was very attractive, and most men would melt if you would scold or talk down to them, marine or pirate.

-You were a little dense, unsure of why they liked your cold personality, Garp knew however, and he was ready to make heads roll to protect his favorite grandchild, even when you could defend yourself.

-Aokiji and Akinu both liked you, finding you to be the perfect woman, Akinu because you followed orders, were a hell of a swordswoman, but still had a heart of gold, while Aokiji was part of one of your fan clubs, loving your cold nature paired with your attractive looks. Aokiji constantly flirted with you, and he adored it that you didn’t seem to realize it half the time.

-Lucci is another one who liked you, however, unlike the two admirals, whom you didn’t mind, you didn’t like Lucci- you found him too brutal. When you fought, you always fought to end the fight as quickly as possible, not dragging out the suffering of others like Lucci.

-Lucci found you very desirable, finding you strong, worthy to be by his side and him by your side, he just didn’t understand why you were so cold to him, colder than normal.

-You told him that you didn’t like how he fought, bringing others so much unnecessary pain, but to him, he was just stamping out those who weren’t worthy- those who were weak.

-Between doing paperwork, going out with Garp, and capturing pirates, you did have one little habit, one that Garp turned a blind eye too- you loved to fight against strong opponents.

-You would sneak away, when you didn’t have any missions or paperwork, and seek out strong warriors, to test your own strength against them. You only arrested them if you were able to beat them, but if they were able hold their own against you- you would just leave.

-This little hobby of yours, however, has gained you a few more admirers, as they all loved seeing how strong you were.

-Zoro was a frequent opponent, as it gave you the excuse to visit Luffy, who, unlike when Garp would visit, he would run over to you and hug you close, much to the anger of Sanji and Brook, seeing Luffy hug such a vision of a woman.

-After seeing your brother, you would always fight Zoro to a draw, him using his own skills and training from Mihawk and you with your natural talent and Sun Breathing.

-Afterwards you would always stay for dinner, much to the glee of Sanji who would flirt with you and Zoro would always get into a fight with him- more brutal than normal. Nami and Robin couldn’t help but think it was cute to see Zoro being so jealous.

-The reason you were able to fight Zoro to a draw every time is because you fought Mihawk quite often, something he welcomed as you were the only person that could challenge him.

-You always wrote ahead, sending a bottle of wine with your challenge and he would always meet you by the docks to escort you, being a gentleman.

-At first, Mihawk would always best you- being insanely strong, but as you grew in strength, learning from your fights, you were soon fighting him to a draw nine times out of ten, something he loved- encouraging you- he wanted you to beat him.

-After the fight, Mihawk would always invite you to share the wine you had sent, taking you to the gardens he had been carefully tended to, filling them with beautiful flowers, as he had seen you admiring flowers, and he loved to see you looking so happy, if it’s looking at flowers and enjoying wine with him or fighting him, you always looked so beautiful with a smile on your lips- he just wanted you to smile for him and only him.

-The last person you sought out quite often was Shanks- after you realized that he was insanely strong, despite only having one arm.

-Shanks was shameless with his flirting with you- flirting even while the two of you were fighting each other, but he wouldn’t beat around the bush, like some of the others who would flirt with you- he was very up front about it, and seeing your red cheeks, seeing you embarrassed- brought him joy every single time.

-After your fight he would always invite you to drink and celebrate with his crew, sometimes you would accept, and you learned that he was a lightweight, but loved to drink, and you found it amusing that he still talked so much game before passing out, something Benn loved giving him crap for.

-It was unusual, being chased after by so many men, marines, government officials, and pirates, and they all wanted you for themselves, finding you the perfect partner- you were everything to them and they wanted to be your everything.

-Too bad you weren’t really interested in a relationship at the moment- you just wanted to fight strong people and see more of the world and occasionally see your brothers.

-When Garp found out how many people were vying for your affections- grandpa wasn’t happy and he was ready to make some heads roll to keep his only precious granddaughter safe.

[kozachenko]

[Click image for better quality]

I FIGURED OUT A WAY TO FUCKING MAKE THE IMAGE SMALLER FOR POSTING ON TUMBLR WITHOUT SACRIFICING THE ACTUAL QUALITY OF THE IMAGE OH MY GOD

Ok so, what I did is go into the clip studio paint file, make a new file, copy and paste the group in the original file, merge everything, get rid of the extra stuff outside of the canvas, and then make the flattened image smaller and crop the canvas. Once you have that, export it and you're done. This helps maintain the actual quality of the image and also helps shrink the file size down to something actually postable (if anyone has a better way of doing this please tell me)

[Edit]: Ok I guess posting something to Tumblr just naturally compresses the image a bit more somehow because I'm looking at it now and zooming in too much makes it a bit blurry so I'm still gonna have to futz around with image quality for future pieces oof

Artist's Note:

I'm so glad I figured out a way to do this because I like working on a big canvas so I can get as much detail in as I possibly can. Only problems are how laggy it gets while drawing lol.

I had an idea for a drawing with Reimu and Zanmu because I really like thinking about their potential dynamic a lot. I also wanted an excuse to draw Zanmu again but in my normal rendering style because last time I drew her she was in my more sketchy style with generally flat colours so I wanted to draw her again. Speaking of, looking at the sketch for this is a jumpscare that I never enjoy seeing, like, man am I glad I didn't use those for my final piece.

Also about her spear. I was originally gonna make it like the ones she had in game, but it kinda threw off the whole piece. It was too big, too blue, and too flat, so I just went "fuck it" and gave her a different one instead. My headcanon justifying this is that the ones she uses in game are for danmaku battles whereas in any other fight she just uses a proper yari, or she still uses the yari and just makes it all glowy to power it up, maybe both lol. I pulled as much inspiration as I could from Sengoku era spears, and even put in some blue into the decorative part of the spear and also added a little skull to pay tribute to the original spear. Also, in my research I saw some art of izanami and izanagi making japan and saw that the yari izanagi has had a little decorative tassley thingy on it so I took some inspo from that and just made it one of Zanmu's tassles (Idk when that art was from or if the spear was still accurate to Sengoku period Japan but hey, probably the same reasons Eirin puts little bow ties on her arrows, it's just for personalization purposes).

I love rendering hair and clothes so much omg, while I like the super curly hair Zanmu, the longer, wavier hair suits her better for this drawing (I imagine it only does that like how Ghibli characters hair moves when they feel angry lol). I love making Zanmu's hair all messy and crazy, as well as giving her grey hairs, this woman has aged like a fine wine. Also, if the hem on the ends of her sleeves, top of her shirt, and her pants look like gold to you, that's because it is! It's fairly light so she's not collapsing under the weight, but it's gold! (I don't care how impractical it is, it's just cool). Not the undershirt though, it's made of a gold fabric. I had a cute idea with Reimu's hair to make it have a red shine to it. I also changed up Reimu's outfit so it isn't just a blob of red. I like it a lot when Reimu's skirt and outfit is segmented into different layers, so I wanted to incorporate that.

I tried to draw their hands differently as well, but IDK how noticeable that is. Also, I am super happy with how the side profiles for the two of them turned out, I used to struggle a lot with how to make the side profile of a character actually look like the character, so I'm really happy that they actually look like themselves.

Also added in the tree and rocks in the background as an homage to Zanmu's character art in Touhou 19, just because I was getting kinda stumped on what to do with the background lol.

In terms of a story idea with Reimu and Zanmu, idk why but the potential plotline of Zanmu wanting to ascend to godhood is so fascinating to me. Like, it is very possible that if she just convinced everyone she was a god (which would be very easy for her to do), she would become one in a heartbeat. Also, if she were to become a god, with her ability to return stuff to nothing, could she hypothetically get similar abilities to (Jojo Part 5 spoiler btw) GER? Like, idk about the death timeloop stuff, but the concept has been haunting me every night as I have been trying to find loopholes in GER's ability for a while now ( for no reason in particular). Back to the main topic, I imagine that she would probably tell Reimu that if she were to become a god she would take over the Hakurei shrine since the god there might as well be dead, and Reimu just says to her, "Over my dead body bitch." Like, I have no idea how to summarize their dynamic but like, it's the type of hero-villain dynamic where the phrase "We're not so different, you and I" would definitely be a phrase said during a fight. I think that if another IN style game were to release, Reimu and Zanmu would be in a team together. They could also have an interesting mentor and pupil kind of dynamic. Can you tell that Zanmu has been charging my mind rent these part few months? Like, instead of living in my head rent free, she kinda just uno reversed the whole situation and now she's the one charging me rent. What happens if I get evicted from my own brain? Actually, scratch that, I don't think I wanna know.

[imsosleepyofyourbull]

I talk about it a little in this post and its various comments, but I think that the themes of life, death, and immortality that exist within KNY are genuinely some of the most interesting parts of the series at large. The most prominent and straightforward example of this exists within Muzan’s desperate quest for a perfect eternal life, which directly conflicts with Kagaya’s belief in the longevity of the human will. The former is concrete, physical, and simple where the latter remains abstract and very difficult to define.

It’s obviously displayed in Kagaya’s death scene;

But is also scattered throughout the manga in different moments — Sanemi’s first meeting with Kagaya is one of them, because it’s where Kagaya first mentions how little he thinks his life matters when he has an heir to continue aiding and leading the organization for him. He finds his eternity in the long standing effort his family (both biological and chosen) has made and will continue to make in freeing the world of the demonic blight. Which is a philosophy that he makes sure Muzan knows is followed by everyone who fights and lives or dies for the organization and its cause. The young men and women who didn’t pass Final Selection, the demon slayers on Mt. Natagumo, Rengoku, and so on so forth.

He dies knowing that he has a guaranteed legacy, and that Muzan’s inherent nature as a demon means he will never be allowed to do the same. Why do you think he becomes so angry when Kagaya mentions how his death means the death of all his demons too? He knows just as well as Kagaya does how limited he is. There is no one to avenge him or continue his work if he fails the way Kagaya and the Ubuyashiki have always had the Demon Slayer Corps. And even when the organization disbands, they have the certainty of a peaceful, demon-free future waiting for them. That is what they have all worked for, and the desire for tranquillity will always exist within humanity no matter who the enemy becomes.

Yorichii understood that very well… but his older twin brother, Michikatsu, could not fathom it.

He was utterly befuddled by Yorichii’s smile as he thought of the uncertain future, imagining a generation even stronger and more capable of saving lives than they were. He didn’t help the Sengoku Era demon slayers develop breathing styles or teach them or do anything because he wanted to be remembered — it was because he believed in the cause as earnestly and as fiercely as the old families who had followed it for centuries before him. By his own admission, Michikatsu had become a demon slayer out of insecurity and jealousy. He questions how his younger brother managed to leave so much more of himself behind when he was the one who became immortal, but he did this to himself.

He abandoned his wife and his children alongside his personal honor and his dreams and his cause and that’s why he can’t even begin to fathom Yorichii’s hopes for the future even when its manifestation is standing right in front of him;

Together, Yorichii and Michikatsu act as the second biggest philosophical contrast in KNY. They are the everlasting legacy of a man who could not care to leave one behind and the forgotten samurai who was utterly obsessed with the idea of having one, but didn’t know what that really meant. Tanjiro and Muichiro are also wonderful examples of this, because Tanjiro has absolutely no direct relation to Yorichii, and yet he effectively acts as his heir. On the other hand, Muichiro is explicitly noted to be Michikatu’s descendent by Kokushibo, but he is originally thought to be a Sun Breather’s descendant and rejects Kokushibo altogether. More than that, Kokushibo is the one who ultimately kills him.

Michikatsu literally and metaphorically kills any chance he has at having a legacy with his own hands, while Yorichii aids Tanjiro long after death.

It’s a beautifully painful contrast.

[typellblog]

Hitagi End - An Analysis

Well, that’s it, folks. We’ve finally reached the end of the Monogatari series. It’s even right there in the arc title.

Hold on, I’m being told that there’s another whole season. What the fuck, I’ll be well into 2025 by the time I’m done with this.

But yeah, as usual with the naming scheme the second word seems to be the thing our title character has to confront - Hitagi is in active resistance against the End, and whether in the abstract form of the conclusion of the series itself, or the more literal threat of Sengoku Nadeko, there’s one common feature. Graduation.

One thing I remember vividly from Koimonogatari - from the first time I watched Koimonogatari, several years ago - is Kaiki’s offhand statement that Hitagi and Koyomi will probably break up in college. He says it so matter-of-factly, but it’s not something I ever considered, watching the rest of the series. I was fully immersed in the teenage perspective, convinced that nothing would ever end. It takes the perspective of a washed up older man to break the illusion, I suppose. You always hear the same complaint about romance manga - there should be more focus on after they’re already in a relationship. Getting together shouldn’t be the story’s end. 

One reason why it might be the story’s end is because as long as it ends there you can convince yourself it will last forever. Their relationship will never sink to the level of mundanity, of lovers’ quarrels - there will never be the possibility of being interested in someone else, finding someone else, being replaced. 

That is the kind of idealistic, indulgent, static ending that Sengoku Nadeko desires, and as a result is the kind of ending that Senjougahara Hitagi fights against. 

This is where I say something about Kaiki Deishuu. Something to make sense of what he’s doing in this story. He’s a man in search of an ending, I could say. Ever since the death of Gaen Tooe, he’s been looking for a way to move on. Perhaps this is why he tells Nadeko the same cause of death - the person you have a crush on died in a car accident. So mundane, so unexpected, so implausible. He thinks she will accept it. Does he?

He’s a man who’s already met his end, I could say. Such is the fate of the specialists. They’ve already graduated, already long since handled their personal agreements and disagreements. They’re stuck, now, bound to their own nature, their own rules. They appear only as supporting characters, never the protagonist. Well. I guess that’s a lie. 

In adopting narrators other than Koyomi, Second Season shifts the focus away from his obsession with helping and connecting to others. Koyomi’s interactions with and idealization of women results in a sense of distance - he struggles to see himself in them and their problems. How much of his attempts to cross that distance are really just attempts to help himself? 

This dynamic collapses when the female cast, facing their own issues, are made protagonists in their own right. They experience themselves as the Other, & Koyomi’s standard process of understanding the girl by first understanding the oddity becomes in these cases a process of self-exploration. 

And yet here we are, back to seeing a male protagonist confronted with the issues of women that he struggles to understand. 

I don’t mean to rag on men, exactly, I just think back to how there tends to be less distance between Koyomi and other men, how he’s more capable of seeing them as another version of himself, and I think that the best explanation for Kaiki’s presence here is that he’s filling in.

He himself thinks so, although it���s Oshino, and not Koyomi, that he considers. 

Regardless, the parallels to Koyomi are established firmly enough by the ending. Kaiki was poison to Hitagi but a surprising help to Nadeko, while Koyomi is the opposite. Put that way, their differences and similarities seem readily explicable. Koyomi saves people. He forgives the harm they do to him. It works for the prickly Hitagi, who needs a pillar of support, but not Nadeko, who needs to be told that she isn’t a victim.

Kaiki lies to people, but that doesn’t mean he’s trying to hurt them. Ononoki proposes a reading of his involvement with Hitagi where he had no ill intentions whatsoever. He didn’t try to free her from the crab simply because he didn’t think it would help her to regain what she had lost. He caused her parents’ divorce to keep her from under the thumb of her mother. He even swindled the cult, although more as an act of revenge than anything. Perhaps there was some impropriety in their relationship, perhaps he exploited her feelings for him, but our understanding of the events is vague enough to give him the benefit of the doubt if we really want.

Kaiki fails to help Hitagi, not (just?) because he’s trying to scam her, but because he’s fundamentally incapable of being honest with her. All his actions move around her and ignore her wishes.

When it comes to Nadeko, on the other hand . . . I mean, it doesn’t initially seem like he’s doing much better, does it. He has no luck with his manipulations, with currying favour, with bold untruths. In the end though, the way he helps Nadeko is a lie that they both know is a lie. Really, it’s more like telling her a story. 

And I’ve written before about how Nadeko needs stories.

Kaiki doesn’t tell her anything that another person couldn’t have. Koyomi, Hitagi, even Nadeko herself is probably aware of similar advice on some level. Don’t throw your life away pointlessly. If you want to do things, then you should do them. You can’t succeed unless you try. 

Kaiki’s talent is simply in recognising that Nadeko needs to hear it. Koyomi wouldn’t have thought to say it, because he doesn’t know why she became a snake god. She doesn’t want to tell him either. He’s stuck. 

But it’s not as if Kaiki has some unique insight into her psychology that lets him work this out. As he puts it, he’s not like Oshino. He didn’t ‘see through’ Nadeko, he just straight up ‘saw’ it. He broke into her room, twisted open the lock to her closet with a 10 yen coin and fucking looked. Her parents didn’t know what was in there, Koyomi didn’t know what was in there, Tsukihi didn’t know, Oshino didn’t know, even Hanekawa who heard about it from someone else and thought it might be an important detail couldn’t possibly know without opening the god damn closet.

This is where Kaiki’s habit of working around people becomes useful. Because more than anyone else, he recognises that Nadeko might be fine as a god, just as he thought Hitagi might be fine staying weightless two years ago. He’s not trying to save her. He’s not trying to do what’s best for her. He’s simply trying to scam her, with all the lack of respect for her personal belongings that implies. 

This establishes, perhaps, an important difference between Koyomi and Kaiki, but it also establishes a similarity. In dealing with oddities - in dealing with people - the key is getting to know them. 

This is something Koyomi struggles with, out of a fear of being too forward, a fear of hurting them, a lack of appreciation of his own value, as a kind of half-person, a fake person, that could only weigh others down. Kaiki embraces his nature as a fake and adopts only the most rational and most unscrupulous methods of approaching others.

The question, I suppose, is why? What does Kaiki get out of playing a character that informs all of his actions without explaining them? What does he get out of remaining unknowable even to himself, reacting with surprise to his own feelings and motivations? What does he get from acting without thought, tossing away caution, tossing away patience, and tossing away money in an attempt to toss away the past?

Kaiki values money for its endless acceptability, its exchange value. He doesn’t wish to have money, he wishes to use it, and in keeping with this philosophy, he considers nothing irreplaceable, not even himself. The person named Kaiki Deishuu is deliberately false, deliberately contradictory, and he’s long since given up on getting to the bottom of that particular well.

I begin to understand why he comes up, now, in relation to Nadeko, who is lost in a web of her own identity. 

Sengoku Nadeko is telling herself a story. She has to, in order to not hate herself. She is, and will continue to be, in love with Koyomi-oniichan. This isn’t something that motivates her actions in the conventional sense so much as a wall to keep out the world, to assert that she is normal. So why does she still hold onto it, in this situation where it has become so far beyond normal? 

Because she considers it part of herself. She is still playing the role of Sengoku Nadeko, and she can’t cast aside the most Nadeko piece of herself, the piece that she has spent the most time and effort showing off to other people. It would call her existence into question, make her look fake, make her feel empty. The sense of normalcy she’s trying to achieve is not in how other people see her, it’s in how she sees herself. She takes the pieces of herself that are left, the pieces of herself she’s been given, and pulls them together into a story that makes sense. To her, loving herself means never changing, never throwing parts of herself away, never identifying a problem in her own behaviour. 

She’s happy, Kaiki thinks. It feels a little different from the end of Otori, where Kuchinawa was still presented as a separate existence. He no longer pokes at Nadeko’s insecurities, at least not obviously. In recognising her own role in the whole affair, Nadeko is no longer worried about hurting others, of being seen as a victim, because she fully acknowledges herself as the one with all the power in her interactions. Godhood is an unusual role for her, but she seems happy to take it up, viewing her job as responding to the prayers of worshippers. It's a much simpler, more transactional view of social relations than she had to navigate as a human. She likes people who are nice to her and doesn't like people who aren't.

Ultimately, though, she's still playing a part, putting on a performance for Kaiki’s benefit. Her cutesy habits as a god are a far cry from the more genuine rage she expresses in the classroom in Otori. But then again, she doesn't have to worry about that, because she's not a human. She's no longer a part of society, with all the freedom that entails. An entirely negative freedom, of course. She doesn't have to do anything and thus there's nothing for her to do, besides play games with Kaiki and drink the alcohol she could only sneak sips of behind her dad’s back at home.

She’s happy, but does that matter?

Kaiki doesn’t think so. The other parallel established in the ending is between Nadeko and Hitagi. Compared to Nadeko as someone who never throws anything away, Hitagi is someone who rejects unnecessary things, rejects convenient narratives of victimisation, rejects divine assistance.

Nadeko is broken, thinks Kaiki. Like Hitagi’s mother. Like Hitagi almost was. And being broken has a specific meaning for him - it means no longer accurately recognising the value of the things you have. Nadeko overvalues the things that play an important role in her delusions and ignores everything else. In comparison, think back to Hitagi listing out everything she has to Koyomi back in Bakemonogatari. She has so little, but it’s all precious to her. Not only that, but she manages to offer it to another person. It’s only in recognising the value of herself and also someone else that they can form a mutually beneficial ‘exchange’, a real connection.

In Bakemonogatari, Hitagi’s self is framed as a series of external objects. You are the people around you. In Koimonogatari, Kaiki’s self is found in his money. Endlessly exchangeable, never unique, always mercenary. He offers himself up to Nadeko and gets nothing in return, because she fundamentally doesn’t value what he’s bringing her. Donating to a shrine at New Years’ is a sucker’s game, Kaiki thinks at the beginning of the novel, and he’s proven right enough.

For Kaiki, you could say that the money he spends is spent on himself, on presenting a certain image of himself. So what of the money he takes from others?

He accepts Hitagi’s woefully low payment for the job. He accepts it as a job, because if it’s not a job he’d have to start thinking about what his relationship to her is, if not client and employer. It would become unique, no longer exchangeable for any of the other half-dozen scams he’s running. 

He accepts Izuko’s 3 million severance fee. He accepts it and goes on working. It’s unlike him, Yotsugi says. He’s contradicting himself. The money isn’t being exchanged for anything, he’s just taking it. But isn’t that the job of a scammer? To get as much money for as little effort as possible? Then why does he keep doing the job? 

He’s acting unlike himself. Throughout the novel, he’s constantly pointing out new sides of himself. Phrases he’s said for the first time. Actions he’s never done before. After a certain point, I have to conclude he’s lying. Kaiki acts unlike himself in Koimonogatari because acting unlike himself, unlike the persona he deliberately acts as, is one of his most characteristic actions.

Being a specialist is about balance - or at least so we would assume from the actions of Oshino Meme. It’s about give-and-take. But Kaiki is a fake specialist, a conman. He should only want to take. It’s not a coincidence, then, that he keeps giving. 

I understood it on an intellectual level, but now I get it. I really fucking get it. He’s just, so, Araragi Koyomi. He’s so thoughtless and impulsive, so concerned with appearances, enamoured with his own edginess, stubborn, self-deprecating, cowardly, dense, inconsiderate, self-sacrificing, willful, proud of outsmarting children, reluctant to commit to anything, and most of all half-assed.

That is the characteristic trait of Araragi Koyomi as I understand it. He’s trapped between worlds, vampire and human, but doesn’t seem particularly inclined to choose one or the other. He doesn’t just look to the future, but the past too. In reaching towards what he wants, he’s immensely reluctant to give up what he already has. 

All the way back in Nekomonogatari Kuro, he characterises Hitagi and Suruga as different to him, more forward-looking, prefiguring Kaiki’s comments about Hitagi as someone willing to throw aside the most important things to her to get what she wants. 

It’s funny, because in doing so he also talks about Tsubasa as someone who’s the same, who also looks for solace in the past. Tsubasa, who in Nekomonogatari Shiro we come to understand will casually cast aside the past if it doesn’t suit her. 

She has a different perspective, you see. She thinks Koyomi is different from her. He’s ‘unshakable’, in her words, not concerned about losing his identity. Precisely because he keeps looking back, because he keeps confronting his past, he’s able to accept all of himself, unlike her. 

Despite Monogatari being a series about people changing, several times characters espouse the idea that you can’t change, not really.

The thing is that while change is obviously possible, what this idea cautions against is ignoring and forgetting about what you used to be like. Tsubasa can’t just make a new version of herself whenever things start getting difficult, she has to understand herself as a continuous person composed of everyone she’s ever been. 

The Rainy Devil teaches Suruga something similar, as regardless of the kind of person she wishes to become, the arm can’t fundamentally transform her. It simply shows that she was already the kind of person who could learn to run fast, already the kind of person who wanted to brutalize Hitagi’s new boyfriend. Koyomi’s idea that she’s somehow more forward-looking than him seems laughable when she feels as though Hitagi and her issues are something that she ran away from.

It’s a fundamentally half-assed application of Numachi Rouka’s methods - for running away from your problems to work you have to remain detached, and the devil’s grasping arm is evidence both of Suruga’s failure in that regard, but also of the attachment to life itself that Rouka lacked. No wonder it felt off when it suddenly disappeared in Hanamonogatari. 

At the same time, though, losing the arm is evidence of her change throughout that arc. Her running no longer isolates her, but instead can be seen as a way to connect with others. It’s no coincidence that’s how she ends up meeting Koyomi near the end. It’s his advice that gives her the confidence to get over the finish line, but the first step is abandoning everything and just running - not trying to beat anyone, not trying to hold back, with no particular goal or attachment to a wish. It’s the first time she really can since she started using the monkey’s paw.

Notably it’s Kaiki that offered her an alternative and advised her to just let Rouka have the parts. Kaiki, the one who seemed to be collecting them himself. Isn’t the concept of him possessing what is in a very real sense the remains of Gaen Tooe so fascinating? But it’s the yet-living Suruga that he calls her legacy. It’s hard to say if meeting her, in some way, helped him move on. 

Once again, we see a difference from Koyomi, who advises Suruga to act like herself and do what she wants. Kaiki tells Suruga to do what’s easy, what would cause less difficulties for her, in a similar way that he seems to understand Nadeko is much happier as a god and Hitagi wouldn’t have to confront her memories of her mother as long as she remains weightless.

By regaining her weight and her emotions, nothing will change, Oshino cautions Hitagi. She won’t suddenly make up with her mother. But it does allow her to move forward, to value her memories correctly, not allow her missing weight to weigh on her so much that she will never be able to become close to anyone else.

“She’s different now, more so than if she were a different person” Kaiki says, and it’s so easy to read him as relieved that she’s not stuck as she was when he fucked her up. That she’s still always in the moment where she truly fell in love for the first time. That she was able to remain the same person while still loving someone else. 

Tsubasa’s immense righteousness is subverted in Nekomonogatari, Suruga’s seeming single-mindedness is deconstructed in Hanamonogatari, and despite the effusive words of praise they both have for Koyomi Araragi it’s evident from his internal narration that he’s more pathetic and wavering than anyone else - and perhaps that’s how one ought to be, here. Never able to make a decision on what’s most important. Always most invested in whatever you’re doing right now, whatever person is right in front of you.

Hitagi is a character that we never see from the first person. Koyomi’s view of her as a titan striding headlong towards her goals is never really contradicted in the story, because despite her immensely evident vulnerability, she’s shown as making a more active effort to move on than anyone. 

The shadow of her past relationship with Kaiki hangs over Koimonogatari like a specter.

In Nisemonogatari it’s mentioned that her animus towards Kaiki probably comes from the fact she wasn’t able to hate him in the past. While she was still under the influence of the crab, her emotions regarding her mother were dampened. Kaiki’s acts of splitting her family up likely wasn’t something she was capable of expressing her resentment for at the time. 

If you think of that hatred as a final remaining regret, her kidnapping of Koyomi and confronting of Kaiki in Nisemonogatari the expression of such, then it makes sense that Nisemonogatari also marks the start of her mellowing out, never again reaching the heights of violence she demonstrates at the beginning of that novel. 

An interesting thing about Kaiki’s role there, looking back, is that he’s clearly aiming for that outcome. As soon as Hitagi confronts him, he leaves. He tells her to stop worrying about the past, about the fact that she once had a relationship with him, because he’s thoroughly uninterested in her as she is now. He provokes her into affirming her current self and relationship with Koyomi. And he says that the man who tried to violate her died in a car accident. 

Is he lying? Is it just a coincidence, that he goes with the same manner of death as Gaen Tooe, the same line he feeds to Sengoku Nadeko? 

Either way, the purpose of the line becomes a little clearer. He’s trying to get her, both of them, to move on. To understand that the people who seemed so important to you are mundane, the events that shaped your lives don’t mean anything in the big picture, and your past is just that. It’s over. It’s the end. 

He almost embodies the concept, in Koimonogatari. We see from his perspective and he is indeed far less ominous, far less portentous, far less important, than he seems from the third person. 

He’s also really bad at it. Despite his exhortations to ignore the past, he himself clearly still cares a lot about Hitagi. She as well can’t quite avoid falling back into old patterns of banter, admiration, reliance. 

And his ideology isn’t enough for Nadeko. He can’t just deny what she’s clinging onto now, he needs to give her something new. They called Osamu Tezuka a God, she says, hesitantly forming a bridge between her current self and the future she wants to inhabit. Telling herself a convenient story that patches it all up. 

It results in an oddly ambiguous message. Nisio loves his tricks, revealing something the narrator was mistaken about at the very end, but when Hitagi says she never loved him and hangs up it’s hard to tell which one of them came out ahead in that little back and forth. Maybe Kaiki, the eternal washout, was so enamoured of his own unique subjectivity he never considered the schoolgirl he was scamming wasn’t so enamoured of him. 

Who am I kidding, it doesn’t feel that way at all. Her rejection of the idea that she ever liked him was unconvincing in Nisemonogatari and it’s unconvincing here. And the novel frankly endorses that wilful self-denial. Perhaps it’s important to always act like you’ve fallen in love for the first time. Perhaps it’s important to believe that you’ll never break up with your boyfriend. 

In this seeming endorsement of Kaiki’s ideology, I have to wonder what kind of End Hitagi is even fighting against. 

Nadeko asserts that a single failure is the End, it’s Nadekover, she has no choice but to kill everyone and then herself. In resisting her, Hitagi asserts her right to change, to move on, to love Koyomi even after her life was destroyed by Kaiki. 

On the other hand, Kaiki asserts that failure means nothing, he doesn’t care about anything that has ever happened, after this he’ll just move on and start another moneymaking scheme, same as the last. Hitagi also resists this. She must, if she is to believe her relationship with Koyomi matters in the first place. Her denial that she ever liked Kaiki ends up an odd sort of validation for their relationship. If she did crush on him, that would be important to her, therefore it didn’t happen.

It perfectly mirrors Kaiki’s refusal to admit he ever cared about her. It puts the lie to his whole persona, but, like, it’s supposed to be a lie anyway, I think. They’re both lying to each other and themselves all the time, so much so that they fail to understand even the most straightforward exchanges between them. It’s fine, honestly. They don’t need to be true to each other as long as they’re true to themselves.

One thing that I never really mentioned is the other way you could take this arc title. Hitagi End as in the end of Second Season - the end of the series as a whole, potentially, if you take Nisio’s afterwords seriously (he doesn’t, as evidenced by the several previous times he’s pulled this exact gag). 

Astute fans of the anime airing watch order will note that placing Hanamonogatari, an arc set well in the future, before this one robs it a little of that sense of finality. Nadeko is not so much of a threat, knowing our protagonists survive. This is of course the twist, the lie, the joke of this arc. Life goes on, almost interminably so. The idea that graduation would be the End for Hitagi and Koyomi is as ridiculous as the idea that making some mistakes at fourteen would be the End of Nadeko. 

Even Kaiki’s attempt to escape the narrative, put a pin in the whole thing by killing himself off, is neatly and instantly subverted by remembering his presence in Hana. It’s not supposed to be a reveal, exactly, that this man is a liar. It’s just there, from the first page to the last. 

After Ononoki cautions Kaiki that he’s acting unlike himself, before he goes to talk to Nadeko for the final time, she spends a bit of time telling him what Kagenui’s been up to. Sounded like she was the same as ever, he thinks. I think of this, amongst all his attempts to dramatize his own life, differentiate himself from himself, craft his own ending. His life keeps going on, and Kagenui’s still marching to the beat of her own drum, same as ever. 

Happy New Year!

[onepiece-polls]

One Piece Crack Ship War - Round 3 Side E

CoraBelle art by @halacska-fins

Propaganda under the cut.

CoraBelle:

A surprisingly popular ship considering they never interacted, but I see the appeal. Both former Marines, both loving and caring adoptive parents.

Two of the best parents in One Piece, imagine if they both lived and raised a happy little mixed family together.

Best adoptive Dad + Best adoptive Mom. I think they would vibe.

Cora is Bell-mere's malewife failure and she loves him. She enjoys making him flustered and tripping him up. He is just heads over heels in love with her, he loves her so much Just the thought of Bell-mere making a man who's twice her size completely melt for her fills me with joy. They were both apart of the Marines and ended up adopting children while on the job. I'm not exactly sure who died first but learning about your lover's death (if it wasn't covered up) is amazing angst potential. They're watching over their kids in the afterlife together.

Dead serial adopting Marines smokers, what else is there to say?

hi i’m back with my corabelle agenda. these two are a match made in heaven. literally. they have so many narrative parallels, it hurts. they both sacrificed themselves for their adoptive kids’ longevity, they’re both former marines who deserted their positions in order to give these kids a better life. they were both killed by a flintlock, and their last words to their kids were “i love you.” !!! it’s uncanny!! they could have known each other when they were marines, too! bell-mere is just one year older than rosinante. they were from different blues, but there’s a chance they could have run into each other or even trained together for a period of time. bell-mere would be the perfect friend for a young rosinante who’s preoccupied and stressed over his brother. in terms of personality, that’s where we get some of that juicy opposites-attract theory into play. they do have a lot in common tho! some common flaws, (hotheaded, a bit irrational, impulsive), and some common strengths as well, (determined, fearless, values the strength of a smile)! but otherwise, bell-mere isn’t afraid to lay the flirt on and seems a bit more extroverted, where rosinante is a little more reserved and keeps a very small circle of friends, (literally one and it’s sengoku). someone direct like bell-mere could easily draw him out of his shell, and someone down-to-earth and occasionally goofy like rosinante could help keep her grounded.

Both marines with rough lives who seemingly picked up children when they weren’t expecting it. Bellemere would make a great mom to Law and Corazon would make a great dad to Nami and Nojiko. Both of them would bond over the bullshit of the world!!

Art by @gendervapor14

Cobradile: The Hero of Alabasta and the King of Alabasta caught in a sordid secret love affair that ends in a brutal betrayal.

[l-in-the-light]

Does Law hide himself and his emotions under his hat? 🤠

Yes, he does indeed. And he hides much more under his hat than just his emotions! Let's take a look:

Here, he pulls the brim of his hat lower to hide more of his face, especially eyes. It's widely speculated he was crying here or at least tearing up. I agree with that, mostly because this other scene seems to literally spell it out for us:

Look at his shirt :) Seems when Law is crying he wants to cover it up or hide somewhow, for no one to see. He's clearly not alright with being openly vulnerable, especially when it comes to showing his emotions.

If I would take a guess as to why, it's probably because crying makes him feel helpless and like there's nothing he can do (the whole Flevance wipeout and Law being unable to save anyone, not even his sister; being locked up in a chest and silenced by a spell during Cora-san's sacrifice; during both situations he cried a lot) that's why he tries to hide his face at least, to take a semblance of control, even if just to make sure the world doesn't see him crying. That being said, it's not a perfect explanation, because in his defeat on Winner Island he does not cry. So either he already accepted at that point that this will be the place where he dies (but why would he accept that, right? ;)), or my guess is wrong, welp.

It's not surprising that as the result of this habit of his we never see adult Law openly crying. Not when Mingo or Blackbeard beat up his ass, not when Luffy died in his fight with Kaido. The closest to crying is the scene with Sengoku up there, and also this one:

You can see tears forming in his eyes if you look closely.

But like I said, crying isn't the only thing Law hides. He actually doesn't express emotions much at all. Sadness, crying, honest smiles (Law's smiles is a curious subject deserving it's own study honestly lol), no expressions showing he's pleased, content etc. The only emotions he starts showing more openly is anger and worry, ever since he made that alliance with Luffy. It's not really uncommon for people with PTSD to mostly feel anger, it's kinda psychologically accurate.

He also hides his eyes under his hat when he's bluffing. Here, in raid on Onigashima, he claims he will do one of his surgery-type attacks, but two pages later he actually used Takt instead to throw huge boulders on Kaido :) part of the strategy.

His face is often obscured by his hat when he's hiding something or lying about something. "After sucking up the to the government you wouldn't screw it all up by making a mess now"... well, except that is exactly what Law was planning to do, he became a warlord just so he can waltz into the SAD room and destroy it and the story tells us this was literally the only reason why he wanted to be a warlord in the first place, lol.

Here, when he says everything is conducted "in secret to avoid naval attention", he's kinda selling Strawhats a half-lie. We know already that Doflamingo, the king of the underground, was supplying the Government with weapons. In other words, World Government knows about the underground deals, allows it and participates in them, when it suits their interests. That's also why Stussy, a CP0 agent, is also part of the underground. Morgans, our economic newspaper publisher, is also involved with underground and at the same time is cooperating with Government as well. So yeah, Government does know about those deals.

His eyes are hidden also when he takes the blame for what Luffy and Zoro did (yes, it's true he got exposed as well, but that's just the consequence of what Luffy and Zoro first did and only because he tried to cover up their tracks!).

And this "hiding eyes with his hat" trend is consistent ever since Law first appeared in the manga. In fact, already in Sabaody when he thanks Luffy for "showing him something interesting", his eyes are hidden by the shadow of his hat. We know that this is not what he's actually thanking Luffy for, he's thanking him for defending Hachi, the fishman, when people were basically saying he spreads diseases and is disgusting, and moved away from him etc. Because this reminded Law of all the hospital trips Cora-san forced him to go through as a child, and people's reactions to amber lead syndrome's symptoms.

This consistency in Law's portrayal (especially with the little trick in hiding his emotions - Oda already must have had reason for obscuring Law's eyes in this moment above, but not in any other one! And this connects to Law's backstory) is the reason why I believe Oda had planned a lot about Law ever since he introduced him, despite the fact he claims he invented Supernovas on the spot. It's just way too consistent for me to believe he had no plan for him yet.

Anyway, if you followed what I have been saying, you can already guess that in this shot, when Law declares that "he wishes he could let Luffy do whatever he wants", he's bullshitting everyone. He does not wish for that in the slightest, lol.

There are much more examples of that in the manga and even if I wished I wouldn't be able to cover them all, haha. But if any of you feel like checking it out, do it and pay attention to Law's eyes - are they hidden by the shadow of his hat? If so, you can guess he's not completely honest, is withholding information, has a secret plan set in motion, or is hiding his emotions.

At the end of Punk Hazard and at end of Wano, Law's eyes are hidden as well, which is why I know he's hiding something, I just don't know what exactly. People were suspcious already when this Wano chapter first came out and I would say for a good reason! There's really no point in hiding Law's eyes when he's talking about "North East being the most direct route" unless he had a completely different reason for choosing that direction. What could it be? Your guess is as good as mine. And of course we all know he hides his knowledge level about "man marked by flames".

Now that he lost his hat, he will be left really vulnerable. But at least his lovely ruffled hair will be unleashed to the world in it's full glory ✨

[daddiel-ish]

hi! ever since you started the pregnant law au (I don’t know what to call it other than that T.T) I was really curious how Garp would find out about the babies and Luffy and Laws relationship. I like thinking Garp finds out through the News coo and kinda laughs it off at first before he finds out that it’s TRUE.

Not worry! I've called it Pregnant Law myself so ahahahahah

For Garp, I imagine a thing like "Garp, it's your family again!". Maybe Sengoku threw him the newspaper where there was an article about Law's first pregnancy on the first page. A thing like "A child from the worst generation" and then a stolen photo of Luffy and Law in Dressrosa caught in a moment of intimacy (maybe Luffy touching Law's baby bump and kissing her). Garp obvs laughed cause c'mon that boy couldn't be Luffy. But the article was followed by a carousel of photos, and the scar under the boy's eye was confirming that the kid was, in fact, his grandson.

Garp went through a vast range of emotions, but in the end, he laughed. Sengoku looked at him like he was crazy and left the room murmuring "Your stupid family".

Then Garp immediately called his grandson ( he always had the number, found it, and kept it secret) to yell at him. "You reckless child!!!!! A SON?!?!? YOU!!!! WITH A PIRATE!!!! YOU'RE GONNA BE THE DEATH OF ME!!". The straw-hats listened to all convo where Garp yelled, and Luffy laughed.

He will never admit that, but he cried a bit... he was a great-grandfather, and he never thought to be granted that title-

For Baby number 2 (he still doesn't have a name), the one telling Garp was Law. She hated Marines but knew the importance of family, especially cause she saw how much Garp looked forward to Primrose. So she called him using a secret snail to tell him about his great-grandson. Garp yelled even this time, "You two need to find other things to do besides children!! Primrose is not even one!!", "WHEN I CAN SEE MY NEPHEWS, TRAFALGAR?!". He cried even this time, Law let him be, and she didn't tell anyone about it.

So, I can say that Garp deeply loves his nephews. He knew that even with them, he would fail all the marine things. Both their parents were pirates, and his grandson was the king of pirates! But this will not stop him from trying or loving them whatever they choose to be. He will not make the same mistakes he made with Luffy and Ace. He learned his lesson the hard way that day in Marineford.

Sorry, I would've liked to draw something, but I was exhausted, this ask was so----- I thought about it all day, and I needed to answer asap!!!!

[olinblogin]

Someone requested this but I lost the request so I hope they see this TAT

I also added Mihawk speaking Spanish in this- I’m using google translate so please correct me if I said anything wrong :3

CROCODILE X GN!TIMID/SHY!READER X MIHAWK

Shuffling through your papers, your hands shook and nearly made you drop all of them. It was the first time you’d ever been complicit in a Warlord meeting.

They usually didn’t let you into these kinds of meetings since you were just a lower rank, but still a bit higher than cadets. Only reason you were here is because Sengoku got sick with something and Garp is too busy trying not to choke on rice crackers to deliver this speech.

Sighing, you mumbled words of assurance tk yourself, “it’s fine, I got this. I got this.” you tried and tried, but it only seemed to make you more afraid and aware of you soon being in the presence of the seven deadliest pirates of the sea… well… apart from the four Yonkou’s, that is.

Twisting the knob to the room where they usually held these kinds of things. All seven warlords were sat around a table, some chattering about, some paying zero mind. The babbling consisted of Gecko Moria trying to threaten Bartholomew Kuma… and he wasn’t reacting, only sitting through his Bible he carried at all times.

Thankfully they didn’t seem to pay mind to you… besides two of them. By far some of the most intimidating of the two, Dracule Mihawk, and Crocodile.

Mihawk’s eyes bore into you as you walk past, golden eyes piercing into the back of your head as if he was skimming you with them. Choking back a shudder, you sped-walk towards Garp, who was, of course, eating rice crackers. You two whispered among each other; and thankfully, he had that relationship with you that calmed your severe anxiety. You saw him as a grandfather in a way… even if not blood related..

Letting out a little sigh, you positioned yourself in front of the table, clearing your throat and catching the attention of all seven of the pirates.

“I.. uhm-.. as you all likely know, there’s been a spike in pirate attacks and raiding in the east blue… we’ve tried stationing marine galleons in those areas but there seems to be some that are infiltrated and firing at marine ships that come in. As much as we’d like to limit violence as much as we possibly can and put an end to those pirates reins; we do need your help. We ask you to please, if possible, go into the East blue and search for their marine galleons that have been hijacked. We understand this is likely frustrating we’ve had to call on all of you do many times..-“

Your speech was cut off by Doflamingo, to which you fought back a sneer at his audacity.

“So you want us to go beat around some low-lives, that’s it? Fufufu… and might I ask what you of all people are delivering this speech for. I thought it was supposed to be Sengoku blabbering on. Not a pretty thing such as yourself… such a shame you ended up in the marines, though.” He scoffed. You couldn’t help but recognized the not-so-discreet glares from Mihawk and Crocodile sent his way… they were just oozing with Conquerer’s Haki.

“Please allow me to finish my speech, then we can talk afterwards…” you say meekly.

“But why? I’m just stating how it’s a waste of such a beauty as yourself getting pushed into the Marines like this. Why don’t you come back to my kingdom with me, I promise I’ll treat you right and make you feel bliss you’ve never f—“ with that, Garp had cut him off, “I’d like to ask you to please be quiet as Y/N said; save any questions for after they are done giving their speech.”

You gave a quiet ‘thanks’ to Garp, resuming your speech.

The meeting flew by faster than you thought… and you were thankful for that.

You skittered out of the room… after you have the speech Garp had promised to let you go around town for a bit… you slipped off your uniform and slid yourself into a black tank top and some cargo shorts.

Shuffling out of your room and out of the marine base, you wandered aimlessly around town; not having any goal in mind besides just looking around.

“Hello.”

You nearly jumped out of your skin when you heard a voice behind you.

A smooth, soft voice may you add.

Spinning around you nearly stumbled and fell, catching yourself clumsily.

“My apologies for startling you, cosa bonita.” You recognized the man as Dracule Mihawk. His cold, golden eyes were unblinking, staring into your very soul… it was no wonder he was called ‘Hawk-Eye Mihawk’.

“Oh.. uhm. That’s fine.” You’d mutter.

There was an awkward silence.

“Well, uhm… it was nice talking to you..” you turned to leave, shuddering when you felt his cold, calloused hand grab your wrist. “Wait, cariño, por favor. I have a proposition… one I believe you might be interested in.” His words lingered in your mind.

A deal? What was he about to say…

“Don’t scare the poor thing. They’d be better off with me anyhow, considering how freaky your place is.”

This time, a rougher voice. In a gust of sand whirling around, you covered your eyes with your arm, shielding then from the whipping sand until it formed a person, Crocodile. You could see the curl of Mihawk’s nose; offended by Crocodile’s backhanded insult… you felt meek. You were practically sandwiched between these two warlords.

“I’ll have you know.. the gothic architecture of my home is authentic.” You could hear the sass in Mihawk’s voice…

“Wait..- Wait, What Are you two talking about..? Does this have to do with Mihawk’s.. uh.. proposition?”

“The proposition. Right. How forgetful of me, mi amado.” Mihawk said thoughtfully. “I would like you to come back with me.” Your eyes must’ve been wide as saucers… because Crocodile smirked, flicking ash from his cigar. “Seems there’s a bit of a competition. I was going to ask the same thing. You should come with me; I’d shower you with gifts of gold. You’d be the ruler alongside me.” Crocodile spoke sweetly, soothing and convincing, his hand slithering up your arm until he rested a hand on your hot cheeks.

“I don’t believe they would enjoy waking to the hot desert every day. Besides, that would be quite agitating, the sand in your eyes, si, Mi amada?” Mihawk spoke just as smoothly. “I would cook meals for you every night. We could unwind in my study and drink wine… I have the finest server to you.”

“Tch. That’s nothing.” Crocodile mused.

“That does sound lovely, really but..” you cleared your throat and stepped back. “but I’d prefer to stay here, I think. I don’t really want to leave here because I don’t really want to leave Garp behind-“

“That slag will be fine on his own.” Crocodile interrupts, biting down on the cigar in his mouth.

“I know he’ll be fine.. I mean- yeah, he’s more than capable of taking care of himself. It’s more of an emotional attachment than anything.” The two let out a quiet ‘ah’ as they listened intently, softening their posture when you’d back away. After a moment of awkward silence you scooter away, “it was a pleasure meeting you, goodbye.” Before you scurry along the streets, getting lost in the crowd of people who battered the merchant stalls and haggled.

The stress collapsed when you could smell the familiar scent of spices. Even if the streets were as crowded as they were, you still felt a sense of comfort knowing there were people around.

A horrible fear of being alone, you had.

Through the winding crowd you finally made it to your safe space among the cliff side overlooking the vast ocean, a particularly beautiful glint among the oceans currents that the sun beamed down on.

Taking out your rice cakes you packed for your lunch-break you chowed down like a starving dog.

“It seems they don’t give you proper portions of food in the marines,” you nearly squealed out of fear and choked on your rice cake, whipping around to see Mihawk looming over you.

“N-no.. they feed us proper portions—.. ᴵ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵏ..” you spoke after swallowing a large portion of the rice cake that went down quite painfully.

“Is that so. Hm. If that were the case would you not be in the mess hall, and eating the food they provide, cariño?” He questioned smoothly, standing by you, keeping eye contact with you.

It made a flush creep up your neck.

“I get really anxious when being around people—“

“But you seemed to feel quite comfortable in that crowd not much earlier,”

You pursed your lips shut, unsure what to say. When the words finally came to you, they came out much meeker than you’d wished; “I guess I’m just really anxious at work..?”

Mihawk’s eyes narrowed, royal golden eyes pierced yours. “I see.” He said simply.

You both say in a somewhat comfortable silence as you—as quietly as you could—finished your lunch. “Where’s uhm..- Crocodile?” You asked, cleaning up your area a bit. “I’m not sure where that oaf has gone. There’s no need to worry for someone as he is, Querida.” Mihawk would hum quietly.

Just as if on cue, it was like Crocodile materialized behind you two. “Don’t taint the dear’s mind, you enigmatic man. We both know they need someone with real emotion.” You had no clue what to say after it clicked in your head.

Were they truly fighting for your affection?

A few comments—mainly from Crocodile—were passed, until both turned to you.

“Well, who will you choose?”

[sakumz]

____________________________________________

₊˚ʚ ᗢ₊˚✧ ﾟ. [ i. shu x fem reader ]

a/n : um... I got a shit ton of editing and rewriting to do lmfao, like there's a few shots for bllk and there's still that pending mysta fic. ૮ ⚆ﻌ⚆ა

____________________________________________

" sleepover... at a friend's house? " shu asked once more, hoping what he heard wasn't true.

" yeah. mom said I could go. I'll be leaving tonight, " his sister, motoko answers. rendering the poor man speechless.

" your friend isn't kitahara, right? " he questions, his eyes twitching slightly with what the younger man could do to his sister.

" n-no! it's a girl. her sibling goes to your school anyway. ah! if you're sooo concern, you could come with me. her sibling did say I can invite you... " without a second thought, he said yes.

the walk to your house wasn't as quiet. shu was asking his sister all sorts of questions to what or who you are. his sister doesn't know your name but describing your features wasn't helping them as shu can't recall anyone with said features.

" welcome! oh you really brought your brother along. I thought big sis was joking around when she said that, " shu wanted to scream, upon hearing your sister's words. you are a girl? motoko didn't specify earlier, he only came thinking this "sibling" was a guy and could take advantage of the situation.

" why are you making the guests wait out in the cold? drag them in! " hearing your voice calling from the brightly lit room, snapped him out of his little world.

motoko, being the angel she was, grabbed her brother wrist and dragged him along with her to the house.

" you're not gonna run away now, are you? " motoko whispers as shu gulps and shook his head, assuring her lightly that he won't.

as they got comfortable with your house after a little tour by your younger sister. everyone is seated in the living room by the table. motoko and your sister decided to do some light homework as you and shu sat quietly facing each other. you're on the phone as shu tries to distract himself by studying a little but he can't.

" you can't seriously be studying right, pfft seems a little uncharacteristic. " hearing you directly speak to him, made him jump.

" ne, motoko. let's go to my room! let's study there instead. " motoko agreed with your sister and they quickly pack up and go. leaving you and him alone.

" they say it's not safe to leave a man and a woman alone, you know. " you pout seeing them go.

" I won't do anything, I swear! also, where are your parents? how come, you don't mind me tagging along moto to your place? " he finally asks.

" oh that, parents are out on some sort of wedding anniversary thing overseas. I didn't really expect you to come, hahaha. I gotta tell toru and the others this. " snapping a sudden picture of the man, left him flustered a bit. looking at his face you double take a photo of him. one with his flush faced in.

" I can't believe you. you even know toru, yet I barely remember you besides being the council secretary. you don't hang around sengoku and remi- "

" I can't stand both of them, acting all lovey dovey especially remi! she won't stop running her mouth about dates and love around me. she tells me I should find love but well... its hard so I avoid them, toru and the others are ok to a certain level. hori and miyamura may be together but they're tolerable same with the other pair. "

hearing your outburst, left the man to think for abit before opening his mouth. he shouldn't put up an act and fake his happy bubbly personality infront of you especially right now since he's been quiet at the start.

" it's late and we should sleep, you can take the couch or you can sleep in my bedroom, I'll just take my parents room for the night. "

" oh I'll take the couch just fine, thanks. " just like that the sleepover was over in a blink of an eye.

" hey toru, wanna hit the cafe after school? " shu suggests as his dear friend agrees and they're there, ordering their meals before looking for a seat.

" ne, y/n y/n! you got your eyes set on anyone yet? you seem pretty happy today. " remi starts as you cough and place your drink down.

sakura pats your back as you thank her in between your fit of coughs. the boys decide to settle in the table behind yours, staying quiet as to listen in on the conversation. being your gaming buddy, toru is indeed very curious about the sudden tea remi was stirring.

" was it the sleepover? " sakura questions as remi looks slightly offended dropping her cookie.

" you had a sleepover and you didn't invite me? " she pouts, making you frown.

" it wasn't like that. it was between my sister and her friend... she invited her brother, that's all. "

hearing your words, shu blushes from the embarrassment of what you said as toru stops eating to fully focus on the conversation. remi and sakura are stunned but it doesn't stop them from prying further.

" h-h-her brother was at your house so it was just three girls and a guy? did he do anything, was he harsh- " sakura was interrupted by remis own questions.

" who's the guy? do you know him? " shu can't help but stand from his seat. the sudden noise of the chair screeching, left everyone quiet to look at the source.

" iura? " you called as the girls tilt their heads in confusion.

" he... iura was at your house? " remi clarifies as toru look at his friend that got up to throw his trash.

" yeah but not only that he's here too. that means... toru is here too. " hearing his name he can't help but turn to wave at you, he's been caught red handed. shu stops to greet you before moving back to his seat at toru.

" back to the topic at hand, " sakura brought the two of you back as the boys were still quietly listening.

" I don't even want to talk about it anymore, " you put your head on the table as sakura comforts you by rubbing your back.

" it's fine but I am still very curious, you must have caught some sort of feeling at this point, right? everytime he barges into some sort of space you're in, there's a slight smile that crawls to your face. you don't talk to him much, but hearing others talk is kinda enough for you to figure out what type of person he is. " remi sips her drink after her little statement.

" well maybe I do like y/n-san! " shu confesses as he turn around to look at your side, making the girls shock as well as toru and you.

" dude you're too loud. " toru whispers as shu was quick to cover his face.

toru could see your slightly red face from his seat, he wanted to laugh at how cute your love story was blooming. the girls couldn't help but be stunned with the confession. it wasn't towards them but it was pretty bold and it felt like the words carried too much love to be shared.

" I'm done eating, iura... let's take this elsewhere, " you called for the green haired man as toru gave him the ok to go, he just hopes you're gonna be nice about it and not hit him like what he thinks hori would do because his loud confession got a few stares.

sakura and remi was bursting with excitement as they bid you farewell. you and him walked to a nearby bench before taking a seat.

" you... heard everything did you? " you question as he slightly pray you're not gonna hit him.

" I wasn't the only one who heard... but yes I did I'm sorry, " he looks the other way, trying to avoid all eye contact with you.

" I'm not mad, I won't hit either. um, it is true... maybe I was falling for you but can you say it again? "

" say what? "

" the confession, this time on my phone hehe. it was so adorable how you shouted I like y/n! hahaha. "

" don't remind me, besides a love confession should just be remembered... but whatever makes you happy. ahem, I love you y/n. please be my girlfriend and go out with me. "

" I love you too, shu. I'll gladly be your girlfriend. "

thats when a sweet love story blooms between you two, everyone was shock with the news of the two people they least expected to date was dating. but those don't matter as long as you were both happy.

[diminuel]

Happy new years 🎉 I wish you a great 2025

Ok with that outta the way, I made the horrific mistake of continuing my rewatch of op yesterday afternoon and finished marineford which is not a great way to spend the last day of the year with but that's on me

I usually am passive with the whole crocomom/dad theory with croc cuz I thought it was only based of that one iva line and thought haha let's add another potential mom to the list(mind you I first heard this theory when I was in wci so memories of marineford was spotty at that time)

Now on my rewatch when I'm not too focused on the anxiety and mourning of ace I'm now realized how ooc croc was after sengoku announced Luffy parentage

I just went ????!?!? HUH WHAT WHAT WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS FOR I DONT TRUST YOU WHAT

There's legit zero reason for him to kill the executioners much less help the whitebeards with akainu like zero reason

You couldn't even play off it's a 'pirate's pride' with croc like he said when he went to help the whitebeards and not letting the navy hunt down the pirate CUZ HE WAS A FORMER WARLORD HE DOESN'T GIVE A FLYING FUCK ABOUT PIRATE PRIDE WHATSOEVER

And you couldn't even argue about it paying back a debt to Luffy cuz he technically did so already in impel down

It's just, it doesn't make any sense unless he has a very strong connection regarding Luffy parentage (regardless it's because he is mom or he owe someTHING to the revs)

Ughhhh my goddd, I don't even think it's a theory anymore, I truly believe crocomom is real now andjshfjsnfj

A happy New Year and a great 2025 to you too!

Crocodile's out of the ordinary behavior during the battle of Marineford is what many people who are aware of Crocodad cite as a main reason for why there could be some truth to the theory! I did read this "live" when it was released in but I didn't like Crocodile at that time so I don't remember what I thought about his motivations. I think the most surface level one is to just accept that what he says is true but it leaves a lot of questions because he goes above and beyond what is necessary to not let the marines win.

Not letting the marines win meant "save Ace, protect Luffy - carry the next generation into the new era". Considering his grudge against Whitebeard, him following his wishes all of a sudden seems strange. But if there was his own interest mixed into making sure Luffy lives... well.

(Sidenote: I like what you say about him not having any pirate pride. I think that's true. Judged by Miss Golden Week's power he still has or at least had dreams to be the king of pirates. But he doesn't do anything to achieve it, so I wonder what being king of pirates even meant to him. (It is Buggy of all people who gives him and Mihawk a lecture about them not being real pirates if I remember correctly.))

Crocodile comes across as a character who makes decisions based on strategic merit, not emotion. But when he saved Luffy, he was clearly upset, even more upset than when he saw WB stabbed by his own crew member. And even that kind of upset surprised a lot of people.

I did write about the specific moment that proceeds Crocodile starting his out of character actions and it is WB's speech about sons, about loving them unconditionally, about doing what it takes to preserve that life. He was talking about Ace and while Crocodile did save Ace, there is way more weight to him saving Luffy - the stakes are higher (it is against Akainu) and Crocodile appears emotionally invested in it as well. "If you want to protect something, do it right." He knows that this is his son/ someone he wants to protect for some reason. He didn't react the moment it was revealed that Dragon was his dad (we didn't see Crocodile's reaction to it, but he also didn't jump into action the second he heard), but only later, when WB made his speech which also seemed to rearrange Crocodile's priorities - he has to let go of the old wounds and old grudges that he's been carrying for decades. Maybe leaving his child behind has also been an old wound, never mind what the realization that he nearly killed him might have done to him. But Luffy's alive, he's here, he needs help and Crocodile is going to provide it.

Ah, I love thinking about this theory!

(Of course he could have other ties or debts to Dragon, or he could just have done it all because he somehow decided to let go of his grudge against WB and stand side by side with the WB pirates because he used to be one of them, but that doesn't bring me as much joy to think about. And while there might have been WB and Croc backstory, the point of revealing that Croc was part of his crew seems to have passed. The WB pirates are no more; they were defeated, we got to see some flashbacks and this chapter seems closed now. Of course Oda could just reveal it in a SBS later as he sometimes does with backstories he knows won't make it into the manga.)

This is quite rambly, my apologies X'D

[room-surprise]

I understand if this is outside your field of expertise, but do you think if the ornamentation of the clothing that (some of) the kobolds drawn by Kui wear is inspired by anything?

Actually this is exactly my field of expertise! I studied costume design for about two years in university before switching to something else :) So clothing is something I love looking at and talking about, and fashion history is one of my favorite elements of history in general!

HOWEVER, though I have some experience with subject, I'm not a fully trained expert in the field, and I know that I may not have all the answers, so please take what I say with a grain of salt. This is only my educated guess.

I'm assuming that you're talking about this page from the Daydream Hour book:

To start with, the caption says: "Kobolds that appear in foreign games and fantasy often have a reptilian appearance, but we chose an appearance that is more familiar in Japan." This doesn't tell us anything about their clothing, but I wanted to translate it to make sure it didn't say anything about their culture.

(You can read more about why the Dungeon Meshi kobolds are dogs in the Half-foot chapter of my Dungeon Meshi research project)

Kobolds likely live all over the world, but their large population centers are all located in the Western Continent, so that is probably the region they consider home.

So those two kobolds on the bottom left of the chart, who appear to be wearing European-inspired clothing, are probably living somewhere in the Eastern hemisphere, where Northern/Western/Central/Eastern European clothing is the norm, while the rest are likely from the West. So we can discard the European-looking clothes, since that's probably not a part of the kobold's traditional culture.

We have very limited information about the Western Continent, but these images plus what we know about Kabru (His name and Utaya's name are both South Asian, the dessert that comes from Utaya is South Asian) and the elves (several of them have South Asian names, some elves wear South Asian clothing and bindis) makes me think there's probably a strong Indian/South Asian influence in the Western Continent. It's a large land mass, so I don't think it's all South Asian, but South Asian culture is the only thing we have conclusive evidence of so far.

The majority of the kobolds are wearing brightly colored tunics with patterns on the hems, or what seems to be dresses/tunics made of draped fabric, also with hem decoration.

It IS worth noting that Kui avoids drawing elaborate patterns, even when it would make sense for her to do so. She does it only a couple of times in the manga and uses screentones instead whenever possible. So the simple hem decoration and single color fabric may just be an artistic choice that doesn't mean anything other than "I didn't want to draw a pattern." However, it's all we have to work with, so I'm going to assume it's intentional.

The repeated over-the-shoulder draped fabric the kobolds are wearing seems like it could only be a Greco-Roman style toga, palla, or cloak, or a South Asian saree. We have seen Western elves wearing garments similar to all of these on occasion, though obviously Kui has made some changes. As I say in my essay, I don't think any of the cultures in Dungeon Meshi is an exact copy of a real-world culture, Kui is remixing things together.

(Except for the Island of Wa, which seems to be entirely based on Sengoku-era Japan.)

Roman togas were just large pieces of cloth that they draped around their bodies, and they were usually white, with brown or black reserved for the lower-classes or for use during mourning, and purple or red reserved for extremely important people. Embroidery and trim, if they had it, was usually either very simple (plain colored stripes) or very elaborate (images of people, animals, or things).

So I think that rules out the toga as a possibility.

On the other hand, the saree and dupatta are also large pieces of cloth draped either around the body and over the shoulder (and sometimes the head), and usually they are either a single plain color, a plain color with a decorative trim, or an all-over pattern. This is a lot closer to what Kui draws the kobolds wearing.

(Pictures and more text after the cut)

Toga:

Saree:

The tunics the kobolds are wearing could be many things, as what's visible is not an uncommon neck shape. They could be something like a kurta, kaftan, or abaya (tunic/robe)... And there's probably a dozen other similar garments that I'm neglecting to name.

There are a million variations on the kurta, but these neck styles looks like what Kui is drawing on a couple of those kobolds.

However, some of the tunics COULD also just be a depiction of what is often called a "Viking tunic" or kyrtill (Nordic name for a kirtle or tunic).

However in Dungeon Meshi, the kyrtill is extensively worn in the Eastern hemisphere, primarily by dwarves, tall-men and half-foots. So I don't think the Western hemisphere kobolds are wearing them, and the style of trim looks different to me than what Kui drew.

Kobold fashion could also be influenced by any culture from North Africa, West Asia, or the Middle East, as these are also cultures that appear to dominate the Western hemisphere of Dungeon Meshi, and that have similar fashion cultures involving patterned textiles and draping cloth/veils/head coverings...

However, because of what seems like a large draping cloth over the shoulder, and the combination of trim with a solid color, I think the primary influence is South Asian rather than these other cultures.

I hope that helps! And keep in mind that Kui loves to remix things, so I'm sure there's elements from other cultures that would fit right in with what she's shown us of the kobolds, if you want to get creative with your fan works!