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literallys-illiteracy · 3 months ago

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The floor of natural sciences:

I've been sitting on this essay for a long time and its finally up to the standard i want to start maintaining (at least somewhat) from now on.

As a preface, i am so sorry for how long this one is. No, its unlikely that the other realisation analysis will be this long, its just because of how many threads there are in this one, plus the addition of Jungian psychology and tarot cards.

i only have a tangent anywhere near as long as the tarot stuff in one other essay at most, at least for the floor realisations.

Magical girls:

The story of all four* Magical girls are intertwined, with all of them meant to represent virtues; the magical girls of Happiness, Justice, Love, and Courage, eventually growing to represent Greed, Despair, Hatred, and Wrath; each magical girl represents a dichotomy of human emotions.

The Queen of hatred, also known as the difficulty wall, is the magical girl of love, whose sole purpose in the world is to defeat villains, to act as a force against evil. If the world lacks a villain, if her purpose is null, then she shall fulfil it by becoming the villain herself, her neurotic obsession with justice leading to her coming to represent the hatred against villains in the world, and the love towards those who defeat them.

The King of Greed, the Magical girl who represents happiness, who seeks desires, who believes that the root of desire is the greed to claim more; The King, in seeking her desires, eventually fell, now trapped in the amber seal.

The king Devours all, seeking more to consume for her desires, the sin of greed inherently seeks more, seeks for eternity, seeks to claim until it cannot anymore; The day the King’s hunger ceases will be the end of everything.

The Knight of despair, the knight dedicated to protect the kingdom, to protect what was right in the world, and her sisters, the king and queen (that felt weird typing). The faith and dedication she felt towards her country was betrayed. One who fought for good became evil, upon realising that there was no longer evil in the world. One who dreamed of happiness for all, a world where everyone could meet their desires was consumed themselves, and began to devour everything; All that remains of this kingdom is the Despair and pain of one who found that everything they had fought for, everything they had upheld, was for nothing, the knight, looking back, was never able to protect, nor uphold, anything at all.

The knight wishes to save others, to ensure that she could protect others in the world, otherwise her blade shall have no purpose, only to be turned against the world that she could not protect

The servant of Wrath…. I'll be honest I remember absolutely nothing of wonderlab, all you need to know is that, after finding, and subsequently losing companions, the servant was consumed by rage, knowing only hatred and wrath against the hermit… I'll reread Wonderlab eventually and update this… maybe?

Tarot and playing cards:

The King and Queen are rather obvious in terms of playing cards, with the Jack representing both the Knight and Servant, and the Jester trumping them all as the Joker card.

Tarot cards:

This was probably not what you expected to be reading today was it?

All of the Magical Girls have allusions to the Tarot in some way shape or form, most strongly tied to the Tarot are the Knight of Despair and the Servant of Wrath (and by extension the Hermit).

From the Major Arcana:

The hermit, when reversed, represents loneliness and isolation of a person, the person having lost their way in life, blind to all else; The Servant of Wrath being the opposition of the Hermit, thus, represents these traits, Blind rage against the Hermit, and the loss of companions to them, isolating them from the world.

Simultaneously the Servants themselves represent the Tarot of strength, showing bravery and courage, feeling strong compassion towards those who have been lost and finding the strength to stand against the Hermit.

Minor Arcana:

The Suits of the Minor Arcana are more akin to playing cards, as in they each have 4 picture cards; The King, Queen, Knight, and Page (a royal or knight’s servant), which we may link clearly to our four magical cast.

There are four suits of minor arcana as well, akin to a deck of cards, the suits of Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles, representing: the passion and the pursuance (meursault jumpscare) towards one's goals, the invigorating passion that drives oneself; the depth of emotion, especially emotions felt towards and directed at others, from love and compassion to hatred, the emotional complexities of one's heart; intellect and judgement, the ability to resolve through reason and ethics with a clear mind, being able to see your path and find balance within yourself; and finally the physical world, the tangible possessions that one may have, take, or desire, the importance of happiness and stability in the world.

Each of the minor arcana may be linked to the Magical girls, the servant for wands, queen of cups, knight of swords, and king of pentacles.

As a final note i want to talk about a specific card in the suit of swords, i'm not aware if this was an intentional reference by project moon however; In the Suppression fight of the Knight of Despair, three enemies appear as the swords of a forgotten knight, additionally when in despair, all swords use a unique page; the heart-piercing sword, Heart-breaking Sword, and Heart-tearing sword; The Three of swords represents heartbreak, ones suffering, ones grief in life, the exact virtues which the knight represents.

The jester of Nihil

The jester of Nihil has a strange amount of nuance for an abnormality without a lore page to look through within Lobotomy Corporation, as it is one of the few abnormalities original to the game of Ruina, however the Jester makes reference to the tarot of the fool, to the meaning of the magical girls, and strongly links to the Floor realisation as a whole.

The Jester is a strange case among the floor, as it’s true nature is presented at face value, the magical girls all act as mirrors of themselves, showing their virtues and their flaws in all, yet Nihil is all that the jester represents, the Nihilism that all things in life are worthless, what good are virtues when the virtuous are never rewarded, when there is no true meaning in life why care to exist as a person, rather than indulge in your own flaws.

The jester acts as a mirror, the Joker being played as a trump card over the reigning achievements of the magical girls, showing their flaws, telling them that all they have done is nothing, the worthless greed, pointless hate, meaningless despair, and senseless wrath; The Magical Girls must each shatter this distorted reflection of themselves in order to defeat the jester, for greed to become happiness, for hatred to dissolve into love, for Wrath to uncover courage, for despair to make way for justice.

The internal battle to overcome one's nihilism in life, the expectation for the meaning of existence to come to oneself, the Magical Girls must overcome their flaws, realise and remember their purpose.

Back on tarot cards quickly:

The Tarot of the fool is a young man venturing across a road, joyful and unaware of himself, uncaring for any dangers that life may present. As he ventures further, the dog by his side warns him, about to topple over a cliff, and lest he become aware he will venture and fall.

The Text of the Jesters cards makes allusions to the tarot, walking the road without the dog to warn the jester it has no purpose, a head of void, walking without a purpose or direction, simply walking.

To add on to this, and to link it further back to the mirror that the jester is meant to be, the abnormality page “magical girls” reads:

the jester retraced the steps of a path everybody would’ve taken. The jester always found itself at the end of that road. There was no way to know if they had gathered to become the jester, or if the jester had come to resemble them;

the road of life, the one which the tarot of the fool walks unaware of himself, the one that the jester walks without any intent or meaning, the path that all people take, always came back to the jester, those who walk the path began to resemble the nihilism of the jester, or perhaps those who walked before him imprinted upon him, now, driven by base instinct, the jester walks the path, speaking the names of all he has met before him.

As the magical girls walked upon their paths, blinded by obsession (ishmael jumpscare), consumed by their greed, lost to wrath, and broken by despair, their shared agonies led their roads to the same destination, to the jester who denied meaning in life:

In essence, the jester, and the tarot of the fool, represents all of the magical girls, they walked their paths in life, oblivious to what was in front of them, blinded by rage, driven forward by greed, complacent and unaware of the cliff they walked towards; the knight, broken by an endless cycle of betrayal, blinded through teardrops, and the queen, denied a purpose in life, left to aimlessly wander and create her own path, all walked, blissfully unaware of the direction they walk.

The expectation for the meaning of existence:

As should be fairly obvious, the nihilism portrayed by the jester in the floor's final act is in direct opposition to the floor’s theme labelled above.

In nihilism, a large aspect is the lack of drive, if one has no meaning in life, no set path before them to walk, left only to their intuition, then they may stray further towards a cliff’s edge, with no set place in the world, one can expect nothing in life; Tiphereth embodies the opposite of this viewpoint, mirroring the nihil of Roland and the jester, in Enoch’s final death, rather than despairing and giving into grief, Tiphereth (A) finds her path in ensuring that her brother’s death, and the countless copies within lobotomy corporation, were for a reason. Tiphereth, after Enoch dies, seeks to complete the seed of light with Angela, she finds her path, resolving to give her brother’s death a meaning.

In this we may mirror the jester to Tiphereth’s character, but we may also mirror the magical girls as a whole, who act as a foil; The servant of wrath, after losing a companion, gives into blind rage towards the Hermit, while Tiphereth accepts her loss. The king of Greed, in pursuing her desires, consumes more and more, before sealing herself away. Tiphereth, after her brother was lost in the pursuit of a better world, remained in wanting, rather than taking more. The Knight of despair, and the Queen of hatred, both losing a purpose in life, The Knight being robbed of one from another’s greed, and the Queen losing hers in obsession, mirror Tiphereth as well: Tiphereth, after working towards the seed of light’s completion, being her only goal in life to complete, watched as Angela took the light for herself, Just like the Knight, she was robbed of her purpose, finding that everything she had worked towards in the past was for nothing. However, Tiphereth join’s Angela, rather than falling to despair she seeks to ensure that all she did was not truly in vain, that she worked towards something tangible, that her life had a meaning.

The Queen, is in essence the same, seeing the light germinated, if Angela was not to interfere, would leave Tiphereth without a meaning, to be left and powered down; The Queen, after completing her purpose, went forth to seek more, the obsession to have a meaning in life driving her towards destruction, rather than acceptance of completion

Magical Roland:

I have nothing but my sorrow, and I want nothing more. It has been, it still is, faithful to me. Why should I begrudge it, since during the hours when my soul crushed the depths of my heart, it was seated there beside me?

Each magical Girl’s link to Roland is quite obvious, with them each acting as a reflection of himself, through the looking glass of the jester, and portraying his past sorrows, channelling their shared agonies into one.

"What is the reason I exist, when there’s nothing to look forward to… All I wished for was a peaceful world, what’s so wrong with that? ...In the end, I failed to keep one person safe… One person…"

The queen of hatred, as the name suggests, represents Roland’s hatred; Roland, in losing his wife, lost his purpose in life, he was no longer the ‘person’ Roland as far as he was the mask he wore, both Roland and the Queen, losing sight of the future, losing purpose to fight for justice, losing what defined them in the world, become beasts, destroying recklessly in their path in a desperately despairing attempt to create a new meaning for themselves, their purpose of love, leading to their rampage of hatred.

Both Queen and Roland sought to find a meaning to exist; If fighting villains was her purpose, then she must become the villain in their stead; if Angelica was his purpose, then his vengeance must drive him until it is done.

"I should have emptied out my heart, so I wouldn’t have to experience loss ever again."

In Return from an operation in district 25, Roland finds himself without a home, the pianist having ravaged district 9 - Roland finds the disfigured corpse of Angelica, reaching out in her last moments, now fused to the piano; Roland and Anglica had plans for life, they wanted to live a happy life free from the dangers of the city, they wanted to protect each other, and their child. They failed. In finding that all he had fought for was for nothing, that he was not able to uphold his virtues in the world, Roland fell into a pit of despair, having failed to protect, Roland turns his blade upon the world like the Knight does, his eyes too blinded by tears to know where his blade points.

"Only darkness resides here. How can I suddenly start seeing what I couldn’t my whole life."

Roland’s Connection to the Knight runs deeper into Roland’s past however, when Roland joined the smoke war, the moment he realised the machinations by which the city runs, the awful truth which remains concealed from vision, fueling each motion of the greater machine; Roland cannot fight to upstand a moral world, he cannot uphold justice in an unjust world. In realising this, Roland conceals himself in response, slowly becoming the mask he wears, an empty cold darkness.

"The first bit of humanity's desire started with the bite of a sweet apple. We've been banished from Eden for that sin. And now we're standing inside a vast orchard. My basket is so large, all the fruits of the world can't make it full. But, is it so bad to lust for honey when there are flowers? After all, we are born to pursue happiness."

Roland, long into his existence, yet never having lived, experienced this joy meeting Angelica, she taught him to become a human, and, after all, Humans are born to pursue happiness.

While Roland’s greed was not a folly, he sought for more joy in life: he married Angelica, quit his work as a fixer, had a child, settled down in a home, he needed these joys in life to live, rather than just exist. Roland sought for more, to migrate to a nest – to do one last job as a fixer, seeking his friend’s connections.

It is the Nature of Greed to hunger for more…

"...Sadness says: ‘Begone, pass away!’ But greed seeks eternity—seeks deep, deep eternity."

Much like the King, Roland began to devour everything in his path, the city… those responsible… everyone must feel the same sorrow that he had felt. In the hell which served as their one and only home, Angelica was no more, the city took from Roland, and he would take everything from the city.

Roland’s rampage was fueled by hunger, a hunger for revenge, a hunger for meaning, all ways to fill the void which took residence within him, the consuming abyss taking the place of his soul; His heart belonged to Angelica, and it was taken alongside her life.

Though not the greed to gain what he hadn’t, it was the greed which compelled him, which caused him to fill the vacuum of emotions that Angelica had left behind, no matter how many were to die, the hunger never ceased, Greed seeks eternity—seeks deep, deep eternity

"That’s why I lost… Broke down because of someone I loved dearly…"

In his emptiness, Roland was filled with despair and hatred. Anger. Wrath. All the rage he had ever felt blinded him to the world. Like the Servant he was no more than a mindless monster destroying all that stood in his path—Roland was not a fixer, he was not the same Roland who led Charles’s office, he was simply a rampaging beast, directing his hate towards all who were near, friend or foe.

(listen i still haven’t re read wonderlab so i can't remember if there's really any more nuance to the servant’s story)

"Blinded by carnal desires and jealousy, he willingly walks to the edge of the cliff…"

The jester of Nihil represents Roland’s EGO in whole, not in the sense that it is him manifesting one, rather that it is the nature for all who walk the road of life without meaning to resemble the Jester; Taking the part of the fool, Roland is blind to his path ahead, expecting no meaning in his life past revenge; The Nihilism trumping the virtues of the Magical Girls, who Roland has walked the path of; Roland’s persona of the Jester denying the virtues which he has held, reflecting hollow shells of the magical girls.

The battle of the Jester acts to remind Roland of himself, in defeating Nihil, Roland confronts his past, knowing that, even if one loses themselves, it is not the past that defines a person; The road they walk leads back to the jester, but only the Fool continues walking blindly.

One must find themselves in order to continue in life, rather than walking blindly to the path's end.

In playing the fool, Roland’s life may be represented by the tarot itself, as many interpret the Major Arcana to be the path waiting before the fool, the journey and story of his life ahead, split into thirds.

Beginning the story as the everyman (expanded on in Chesed), the fool, Roland's life, and the first 7 of the arcana preceding him represent one's personal relationships, the bonds one forms and the knowledge or intuition gained from them.

Though I'm sure that someone more knowledgeable of the tarot could likely match these tarot to specific points, events, and people throughout Roland’s life, its not necessary for the understanding of the journey at large.

The journey starts with the fundamental balancing forces of the material world and human psyche, naturally.

The Magician and High Priestess, as mentioned above, represent the human conscious, and unconscious respectively. They represent the ego and the unconscious of one's mind, the current awareness, grounded in the present and holding the power to act, and the passive potential waiting to be called upon.

The reason I am discussing these two in particular is due to their connection to the mind and psychology, in which Roland is deeply linked, specifically to the concept of the Persona.

In Jungian psychology exists the concept of the persona, the outward mask that you present to the world and to others, the way in which you present yourself, on one hand, to make a definitive impression of yourself upon others, on the other hand, to conceal the true nature of the individual.

The way in which someone presents themselves is vital to society, in order to communicate and function with others, the risk is, that if a person lacks a definitive sense of self, a strong ego in a sense, then they risk becoming, or rather, being consumed by their persona; if a person lacks a separation between who they are and what society expects of them they are identical to their persona, they have hidden behind a mask of what others expect that you no longer remember your face behind.

A persona may adapt, change, or be abandoned over time, if a person attempts to gain social reputation, they will hide more of their true face, limit their selfhood in favour of social acceptance; Should a person lack a persona, they are blind to the social world in a sense, seeing it as a playground without consequences, lacking social tact.

Roland and the jester are both connected to this concept; Roland’s defining piece of equipment being a mask which blocks all others from perceiving the real him, only shattered by Angelica, who gave him a reason to live as a person, rather than as the void hid behind.

The Jester can be understood as the mask itself, the nihilistic persona taken on by those who have no path forward, who continue walking the road ahead without reason, without a drive to define themselves by, to define them as a “Self” by.

I look just like them, and they look just like me when they’re together

In order to prevent losing oneself to the mask they wear, it is important to have a strong ego to remain present; As mentioned above, the beginning of the fool’s journey represents the ego, the conscious mind which acts to maintain the self against the persona.

The remaining cards are not strictly important to discuss for understanding of this story; The Lovers could be understood as Angelica and Roland, the Hierophant as Roland leading/joining Chales’s office, but they aren’t integral.

Leading into the second stage of the journey is the chariot, representing confidence and stability and, when reversed, the loss of one's path

Losing sight of his path, the fool, our fool, retraced his steps back, and found himself at the start of the road, walking in the steps that everyone must have taken before:

From here, our fool(s) journey diverges, the second leg of this journey, faced by the fool who has faced, who has learned from those that he met along the path, is silent, bearing the weight of a man longing for death.

Losing his path in life, Roland’s story continues in his rampage; Though he has a reason to live, it acts as his drive to die, his desire for this suffering to end; Through the death of Angelica, he loses the ego that was found in the past, his conscious self, his human mind of the present blinded to emotion, Roland is no different than the fool at the beginning of the journey, approaching the cliff without care, simply walking along the path.

The second stage of the journey, following the discovery of oneself, represents the ordeals of life larger than yourself, beyond your personal sphere.

As with before, discussion of each card’s meaning is not needed to understand these legs, Roland’s journey is not one that has ended, yet he may be understood in the third leg as well, the search for meaning, for one's place in this world, for your own meaning in the universe.

Lacking the ego gained in his first leg, our fool; The Jester; Roland, continues travelling without purpose, retracting his steps, Roland returns to a road that everyone would've taken, finding himself lost at the end of this road.

Though finding the meaning that the fool sought from the hermit, the reason to live, Roland no longer has the answer to guide him, instead he is simply isolated, never able to live as a human again;

Roland embraces the Devil, releasing his desires, acting on these urges, believing that they are the only thing that may bring him joy.

In the rampage which was the extent of his continued life, Roland eventually finds himself along the end of the path, this road which was meant to end his sorrow.

still, he finds himself lost.

Roland finds himself at the start of a path everyone would've taken.

He always finds himself at the start of that road.

He always finds himself at the end of that road.

In the end, Roland seeks his final completion, the end of his life’s journey, the tarot of the world, of absolution, completion, resolution.

Roland, seeking fulfilment, seeking his sense of self, he finds himself at the start of a path everyone would've taken.

He always finds himself at the end of this road.

Roland cannot find his self at the start of this road.

Roland can never find his self at the end of this road.

#project moon #essays i wrote primarily while half asleep #literally's illiteracy #library of ruina #lobotomy corporation #lor #projmoon #roland lor #Roland #Ruina #essay #Tiphereth #Tarot #literary analysis #Floor analysis #Roland Series

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symphonic-scream · 3 months ago

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Okay.

New Arcana Swap

(tag for now is Transboy Haru I need a new name for this I know)

Anyways. It's been like 2 hours here's everything I have so far

So it's a Fool Haru au, but as a trans guy. He's been transitioning since the year before he started high school, and he's had top surgery. Now he's in his final year, and he's being shipped out to Tokyo after a summer in Juvi, all for something he didn't do

Toranosuke Yoshida as the Hierophant with Goro as the Hermit too it's. This ex politician who has been adopting these kids who's rich and important parents abandon them

Emperor Makoto. And then with Makoto, she's been "staying" with Kobayakawa as a pupil and StuCo Prez, and once he's confessed, she reaches out to her sister and returns home to live with Hanged Man Sae. She's sorta non-binary genderfluid? She doesn't have a term coined yet. But pronouns vary each day

Makoto: thanks, so much. For saving me, for helping me find my sister again, for accepting who I am, and- and for loving me,

Haru: oh, Mako dearest,

Makoto, crying: d-dont look at me like that, Loverboy. Just- let's hurry, the others are waiting

(in case you couldn't tell yet, this is Okujima)

Haru: hey why are you so close with that pharmacist?

Yoshida: oh, cause. I take pills?

It's cause Goro's on anti-psychotics lmao

It's how he so easily got Haru in with the counsellor Death Maruki

Maruki: yep, I see your files are completely true. So, I'll get you set up with your old regime of hormones

Haru: just like that?

Maruki: yep, but I also have to give you anger management sessions. Your parole demands it

Haru: ...I understand. Just, thank you. For understanding who I am

Chariot Shiho and Lovers Futaba, and the Temperance is Kanji-

Cause his husband is the Judgement and their wife is Fortune-

Moon Joker, Magician Ryuji (he's a lil lizard), Star Ann, Empress, uh, Yusuke?

Shiho a recovering amputee. She got in an accident that ended her volleyball career, but she's trying to not get too depressed about it

She cost them the national title. She ends up starting her training again to aim for the Paralympics, and manages the school team

Shiho: hey, why was Shit Head calling you a girl?

Haru: I, I'm trans,

Shiho: THAT BASTARD! Urgh, I'm so sorry, I know a teacher who'll help report that bullshit. I'm Shiho Suzui, school cripple. Nice to meet you, transfer boy

Haru: thanks, I'm Haru Yoshida. Thanks for not, freaking out on ke

Ryuji's a little bearded dragon in the real world

And MORGANA! He's like, Shinya's age? Human

He's playing the hero, trying to take down the Yakuza that ruined his family and left him alone, but he's young and scared, and the group saves him and he moves in with Yoshida too and he's like Haru's little brother

Goro: you're getting soft, old man.

Yoshida: maybe I am. Or maybe, I'm finally doing what I was meant to all along

He runs a homey beef bowl shop and Haru helps out, and Morgana sits at the counter slurping his noodles and Goro studies away in the back booth. Little family of three brothers

Goro: thanks for changing my heart, I guess

Futaba: no problem, man

Goro: ...I, feel like I need to tell you all. My mom was schizophrenic, and I've been being treated for it since Yoshida took me in. I, I'm gonna get myeds adjusted too. So I can be reliable for you all as navigator

Shiho: whatever you need to be yourself, and to be healthy

Haru: and if you end up like that again, we'll race back in and save you

It's shown in how his palace would change every other day. Like if you wait too long the infiltration route changes

Once he's doing better again, he gets back into school, and ends up in the other third year class with Makoto

Goro: your partner is a pain in my ass. They're making it hard to get that #1 spot

Haru: isn't my love so smart?

Goro: fucking gross. Bleh. I'm going to go watch a documentary on serial killers.

Toranosuke and his three sons, such a proud dad

Haru doesn't leave Tokyo at the end of the year. He gets formally adopted, and moves from the attic to the proper Yoshida house

Naoto: so. You're the leader of the Phantom Thieves?

Haru: ...what's it matter how I answer? They got their signed confession.

Naoto: I knew it, there was no way they'd have gotten a genuine one so quickly... Those bastards... Well, hopefully our chat can clear things up. Tell me, why'd you do it? How? The more I know, the better I can help you out

Naoto recognizes the boy from his husband's class roster, from his chats about the transfer boy that seemed to affect everyone around him

Naoto: so. Your dad kicked you out?

Haru: yes. Not for being a boy, he accepted that part of me. No, I caught on about some of his shadier business deals. So, he framed me for assault, disowned me. I got lucky, that Mr Yoshida agreed to house me, otherwise I would have probably ended up back in Juvi,

Okay this is getting too long so MORE UNDER THE CUT BUT WHAT DO YALL THINK LEMME KNOW

Okay. More

Shiho with her slight hobble cause of her prosthetic, and when she just *can't* wear it, she's on crutches, Like at the beach

She wears her leg to the beach, but takes it off when Makoto and Morgana egg her into running out to the water with them. Makoto loads her onto their back until they reach the water and then it's just. Splashing and fun

Goro's reading a book while Ryuji lies on a towel in the sun, soaking in the heat. Haru and Futaba are munching on popsicles and watching the others

Two Jokers

Moon is Akira, and Ren was in Shiho's role

They're Futaba's foster brothers. So that's why Futaba really wants to join up. To avenge Ren. And it's why Akira helps out

Futaba: hey, so Ren's awake. He's going to need physical therapy, but he's keeping all his parts. He's, also going to testify. He won't be returning to Shujin,

Akira: he's going to finish at Kosei. It'll be a better fit for him

Makoto, fluid, having more they or he days but still having she days. Masc she days, but still

Coloured bandanas around their upper arm for their different days. Now embracing their baby punk side

And smiling so much more, back home with their sister and able to be themselves with support, and having friends and a sweet boyfriend

Hifumi for the Faith and. Justice Kasumi and Sumire TRSUT ME

Haru: hey!

Makoto, wearing a dark red bandana: hey Loverboy, can I get a kiss?

Haru: course, love. How's my girl today?

Makoto: feeling great, Sis and I are going out tonight. She said you're welcome to join if you want? And then maybe come over after later to "study"?

Haru: how can I say no to you?

#transboy haru #makoto niijima #haru okumura #okujima #ryuji sakamoto #goro akechi #futaba sakura #shiho suzui #arcana swap #p5 arcana swap #persona 5 au

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rontra · 8 months ago

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some more failteacher yuri asks... go here. go in the roundup ❤

princedetectives asked:

the failteacher yuri comics youve been making are so so great i love lesbianism so much. genuinely its really impressive the quality of it and the storyline youve set up <- just realized ive been anticipating the next comics like a weekly manga or something

HELP that's funny i'm flattered you're so invested!!! the season's hottest ongoing 😭 i love lesbianism too god bless us all . thank you!!

cuddlebearable asked:

"what are lesbians into" with the fucking focused-ass look on her face fucking killed me it is so funny and the "good luck with that" really nails it down oh my god thank you so much for sharing these failgirl lesbians with us

Anonymous asked:

every time I read a new chapter of failteacher yuri I whoop and holler so loud the earth beneath me rumbles. thank you so much for the comic, your art and humour and writing are immaculate

YOU GUYS ARE SO SWEET!!!! HFHBG THANK YOU... i'm happy you think its funny 🥰 no matter how many Taking It Seriously episodes we have...there will always be silly women getting into Situations<3

Anonymous asked:

I just want to say that you’re a fucking genius. I think failteacher yuri might be the greatest invention ever created. Thank you for bringing this to us <3

i guarantee someone else has had the idea that they should kiss before me but it is my honor to flood their tags with my gray ass canvases 🫡 thank you for reading!

aokozaki asked:

Timeline Divergence occurs when Miss Toriumi requests Becky on the same night that would've been Operation Maidwatch. Joker, Mishima, and Ryuji get some other maid who immediately notices they're underage and calls it off > Joker never sees her again because there's no chance encounter helping them out at school > They never make a "deal" forming a Confidant > The role of Temperance Arcana will be played by that one student who sits behind Joker and doesn't mention the cat or lockpicks or sleeping in class "Look man, I'm not gonna ask" (← virtues of temperance and grace)

👆 this is pretty much the exact handwave going on here yeah. ASSUMING the plot of p5 is even happening in the background ofc (???) <- has no plans to address this

but if it is, yeah pretty much the paths just coincidentally never intersect due to Hermit Meddling. i cant believe ms toriumi from p3 intercepted our confidant 😭 I LOVE THE STUDENT BEHIND YOU GAG THOUGH THATS SO FUNNY HDFHJBGKJM MINDING MY OWN FUCKING BUSINESS #TEMPERANCE #BALANCE #MODERATION #HARMONY

"this is the computer. you're not getting that" (kawakami voice) its so fucking over

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cale-alchemist · 8 months ago

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A persona au idea I've been playing with for a while is a wildcard akechi au where he gets a persona for every confidant he has.

Still debating whether he gets them just after forming the confidant or at rank 10 because I want Loki to be his devil confidant and shidos one but to get to rank 10 he'd probably need Loki in the first place. Robin hood is his first persona similar to Arsene or orpheus

Also he absolutely gets a new outfit per persona I want to dress him up (I have deemed this the magical girl akechi au mentally due to that( I also think he'd also have several interactions with the thieves while in different costumes)

Anyways actual persona ideas I have for him.

Pinocchio is a big one, I'm not sure if theres actually a pinocchio persona in any of the games but I figure it fits what personas tend to be based off really well and like. The Themes are so peak. Not sure what confidant I'd actually relate it back to though. The star perhaps?

I think sherlock could also work as one since jokers persona is Arsene lupin (or herlock? I actually havent read the lupin books yet so I know more about normal sherlock) i can also just see akechi not enjoying having sherlock as a persona at all, too stereotypical in his eyes. Probably from saes confidant? (If this were to be a full fledged au I'd probably make ocs for him to have confidants with)

Those are my two main ideas but I also think giving him a persona based off of Christian myth could be neat but I'd have to do more research. And giving him a persona of the greek goddess nemesis is also a idea I like but again I'd have to do more research

Some silly lil extra persona ideas I'm iffy on are doing one based off Jekyll and hyde because the themes just fit him very well (if anyone's actually reading this in the books Jekyll very much is just one person who uses the persona of hyde to let out any dark desires look if Arsene lupin can become a persona so can he)

The snow queen or the boy from the snow queen (basically the snow queen is the force of snow and cold, nature given a face. She fits more as a persona but less for akechi. While the boy is a kind little boy who when two shards of a evil mirror fall into his eye and heart it makes him both see the world as ugly and it freezes his heart. Eventually hes kidnapped by the ice queen and becomes her servant I guess?? Hes basically her pet in the literal sense) this would be his hermit persona I'd imagine.

Not sure what his fool (akira) one would be. I could keep it as hereward just change it to it's own being instead of a fusion? And with a funky new outfit of course

Anyways that's all! Nice to get some of this written down

#persona 5 #persona 5 royal #goro akechi #i speak #magical girl akechi au #(just in case i ever post more on it)#Anyways if you see this and are interested please talk to me about it dm me send me a ask comment

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hccn-overseer · 8 months ago

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Issure 34, 2/29/24

Welcome, one and all, to the second season of the Hermitcitizen Overseer and the tenth of Hermitcraft itself! There are scenanigans aplenty waiting for us in the upcoming season, so let's not hesitate to get going!

Bookwatch

Written by AzureClouds

This season, in an attempt to not use trading systems, Grian has decided to try and fish up a book of mending to use for enchanting.

Until recently, he has had little luck catching the elusive mending books, although he had caught several other enchanted books. Additionally, (as of writing) Grian has managed to catch roughly 6500 fish-the majority of which have been cod-, Nautilus shells, fishing rods and bows with various enchantments, and saddles, all to various degrees of usefulness.

Statistically, there is generally a 1.9% chance of catching an Enchanted book while fishing, with a 0.015% chance of catching a mending book! Meaning that, supposedly for every 100 times Grian casts his line, he should catch 2 books, and if he catches 127 books, he should be able to find two mending books.

In addition, Grian built a Cod Dungeon, complete with a secret entrance, and statues decorating the walls, even a special painting by Hoffen in an attempt to raise his chances of catching a mending book, officially named the Chamber of Sea Critters.

Finally, after over nine thousand attempts, Grian was able to fish up a mending book, specifically with Piercing 3 and mending, and he has decided to instead trade for the rest of the books he needs.

Now on to other news below the cut!

Hermit Permits

By AzureClouds

This season, shops, and what you will be selling has been decided by various permits, distributed randomly. Each hermit has received six permits, of various value. The three tiers are iron, gold, and diamond, with each hermit receiving three iron permits, two gold, and one diamond permit. This means that only one Hermit is able to sell any given item (that there is an existing permit for).

For some items, such as wood, glass or wool, hermits are required to build a shop with those who received a permit in the same category as them (for example, all hermits who received a permit for wood will be building a shop together), with these shops being either collaborative, competitive or anything in between!

Additionally, as the winner of demise, False Symmetry was awarded a Joker permit, giving her the ability to pick an item to sell at any time. This special permit can only be used once, and has not yet been put into play.

A Small(Ishbeans) Introduction! By Roo

This season, we welcomed another two hermits- Skizzleman, and Smallishbeans. While an article for Skizz is anticipated and hoped for, this one is about none other than Joel Smallishbeans.

First, let’s get you acquainted, shall we? Joel Smallishbeans- often called Joel Beans, Bean, Big Man, or just plain Joel- is a British YouTuber who, other than the green streak in the hair of his minecraft skin, can be recognized as “That One Guy Who Used To Be Shrek”*. A former member of both of the seasons of Empires SMP, as well as other servers such as the life series (he won Last Life in our hearts), or KingdomCraft, way back when, Joel is renowned for making buildings and areas that take immense amounts of time, effort, and skill, as well as the absolute beast he is at PVP. (Yes, we are aware this article would boost his ego immensely. That’s alright.) From the giant spires of the Mazalean Palace to the looming castles of his hardcore world, to the beginnings of his Hermitcraft base, it’s easy to say that Joel is a legendary builder that’ll be at home on Hermitcraft.

As for how his Hermitcraft is going- other than the multitude of failed attempts to kill XBCrafted, and the one successful attempt (yes, that took 74 TNT), everything seems to be going well for our favorite bean man. He already has a glow squid farm that works- well, it works- in addition to a lovely road, four buildings, and his first Hermitcraft diamond hanging proudly on the wall. His build style, a mixture of traditional Japanese architecture and a modern-cyberpunk-ish-vibe, seems to involve an astounding level of detail, which is impressive in and of itself, and also in the lag that is generated. Those glowing signs may have to decrease sometime through the season.

Of course, seeing as it’s Hermitcraft, shenanigans are bound to ensue, and from the past, we know Joel is one who will never back down from a good shenanigan. Those twelve kills in Last Life didn’t get themselves, after all. His neighbors, whom he has dubbed the Magic Mountaineers- Grian, Mumbo, Scar, Gem, Impulse, Skizz, and himself- are all settled around one big cherry blossom mountain (hence the name), and with Hermits that close together, we know that mischief is already brewing, pranks are being planned, and friendly rivalries formed.

No matter where the season goes for him, Joel seems to have an amazing start to this season, and for any of you who are considering giving him a watch, we would highly recommend- his sarcasm, skill, and hatred for Minecraft chickens and horses are hard to forget, and many a good time is had over on the Smallishbeans channel.

Look out, Hermitcraft Season 10!

Skizzleman, the man, the myth the legend.

By Winter.

Skizzleman is one of the new members of Hermitcraft Season 10. As you saw Mr Beans introduced in another article it is now Skizzleman’s turn. Now most people may not know what Skizzleman has done before Hermitcraft, so here is a run down.

Skizzleman is part of the Z.I.T.S, aka Zedaph. Impulse. Tango. Skizzleman. These four have been creating videos together for a while. The first series that Impulse and Skizzleman created together is “Naked and Scared” which was and continues to be a unique spin on the genre of Hardcore.

For the wider audience, you may know Skizzleman from the hit series “The Life Series”. While Skizzleman has never won any series he has always left a resounding echo within each character he has portrayed. This often creates a very emotional ending to each series. He always commits to the bit, even to the character's demise.

Another place you may know Skizzleman from is the GIGS Phasmophobia streams, or the 2020 Assorted Hermits(and Skizzleman) Among Us Streams. Both of the streams are different in the dynamics that they invoke. The streams are memorable and cemented in the viewer's hearts that Skizzleman was already a Hermit way before his invite.

In other endeavours he runs a podcast with ImpulseSV called the “Imp and Skizz podcast”. Within this podcast, they discuss a variety of topics such as: how they became friends, parenting, what makes a great leader, and other big philosophical topics. They also have special guests such as Geminitay, Xisumavoid, Evan and Kate, and others. On this podcast, Impulse also proposed to Skizzleman about joining Hermitcraft.

They now have started the season and with that new connections are being formed. As of current Skizzleman has a starter base which is lovingly called “Skizz’s Crack”. He is staying in the area with fellow hermits Grian, SmallishBeans, GoodTimesWithScar, ImpulseSV, Mumbo Jumbo, and GeminiTay. He is currently creating a pyramid. We at the Overseer wish him well on his journey to creating joy within people's hearts.

Lost + Found Collected by Roo

lost item:

a blue crochet squid on a crochet piece of sushi.

it has large eyes and is wrapped around the crochet sushi.

lost item(s)

5 boxes of cod.

i doubt whoever lost it actually wants to find it again.

...but i dont really want this either.

lost item:

ive found another one. the cursed enchanted items.

a luck of the sea, lure,unbreaking, and.

multishot...

fishing rod.

you can. assume what it does.

That's all for this week! Tune in next time to hear about the endeavors of the Citizens and the Hermits themselves!

#hermitcitizen #hccn lost and found #issue

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convexicalcrow · 6 months ago

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Everything Beef just said vanished from her mind as she looked at the TCG card he'd just handed her. It was-

"M-you knew about her?" False said quietly. "I didn't tell anyone about her."

"I heard tales about her, and well, what other alter ego would you have wanted?" Beef said.

"Well, see, she's n- I mean, she is me, but she's- we're sisters, that's all," False said, trying to decide how much of the story to tell.

"Oh, I see. Still, who else would I have picked? I felt she deserved to be here, given what happened with the Rift," Beef said.

"No, no, I see that, I see why you picked her. I just- how did you know? You weren't there, right? You never met her," False said.

"Are you so sure about that?" Beef said.

His words sent a shiver down her spine. Suddenly the- well. Perhaps a lot of things started making sense.

"I-I gotta go, sorry, I'll - thanks for the cards, hey? I'll see you round," False said, tucking the cards into her pocket before flying off.

She didn't stop until she was a thousand blocks away. She buried herself into the side of a hill, set down a torch, and took out her card again. She-

She thought back to Demise. Thought about how the season started with death. Of joint caving adventures, of Demise turning the early game into a death game, how she somehow triumphed over everyone else and won, securing her joker permit that she hadn't used yet.

It's not that the energy felt weird this season, it's more- She was sure she'd left behind all of that stuff. All of her. Trapped in that world on her own, unable to get out. To find her again. Except.

Perhaps she'd seen some signs. Maybe she'd heard whispering about murder, maybe her dreams had been awful lately. Maybe- maybe it wasn't just because the rivers were haunted. Maybe she'd found her.

False avoided her base for days, thrown right back into the paranoia that engulfed her during Demise. She saw threats everywhere. Even Gem had noticed how jumpy she was whenever she stopped by her base. But that was the thing, she couldn't stay still, but she couldn't return. Who knew what she was seeing over there? What if she had a base there that False hadn't found yet. Maybe she was hiding out, preparing to take her revenge for trapping her in an empty world, for rejecting her so harshly and wiping her meories that she still found it hard to accept she'd done that.

But she'd had to! She was too dangerous! She'd kill all the other Hermits if she was left in contact with them.

"Are you so sure about that?"

Beef's words haunted her. She buried her head in her arms and hoped this nightmare would end.

She saw something moving at her base when she finally needed to return. Something under the big base, a shadowy figuer walking around between the pillars. False didn't dare approach. She busied herself with restocking her food and rockets, hoping to be out before she noticed.

False's problem was she was too anxious about the wrong thing. So as she shoved some golden carrots into her bag, she froze as she heard a door open behind her, and looked to see who had come in.

"Yep, I knew you'd come back eventually, you coward," her sister said. She drew her sword and walked towards her. "No chance of escaping me now."

False backed up. "No, no, look, I'm sorry, I-"

False sat on the bank of the river going by her house, washing her sword in the water. It was turning red and the salmon swiming there fled, leaving the water emty and barren. The rivers slooshed in her briefcase. She felt-

She didnt know how to feel, not really. Too many things at once, as might be expected when you come face to face witn your sister. Her memory's a bit off. It all felt like such a blur. The shouting, the running, the killing, the-

False concentrated on washing the sword, staring anywhere than at her own reflection. They reallly had looked so very alike, no wonder people got them confused. Not anymore, though. There was only one sister, only one False. No one would ever know the awful truth, or they'd kick her out as quick as they'd invited her. She sighed. The moon was bright tonight, reflecting on the water.

"The sky looks different tonight. I wonder why."

#hermitcraft #hermitfic #fanfic #falsesymmetry #vintagebeef #hc x esmp #hc!false #e!false #mild spoilers for Beef's latest ep #if you haven't seen the tcg news yet

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tex-now · 7 months ago

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thank you to THESE people who have supplied me with ideas (@wodimewoahtime and @the-one-that-weeps you guys are great)

SO. SOME BIG CHANGES.

will be having a "theme" for each group to make things easier on myself because coming up with an individual theme for everyone is a nightmare. These are just some ideas, and I have more ideas than others for certain groups

WxS: Myths and mystical creatures, card deck, or a marching band.

I'm iffy on the card deck idea because well. World Link. All aces. I don't wanna just steal everything from canon. But if I go through with it... Tsukasa is the joker, Rui is the king, Nene is the queen, and Emu is the Jack (I think that's what it is).

For myths and legends tsukasa would be either a pegasus or a phoenix or even a dragon, Nene would be a mermaid, Emu would be a fairy, and rui would be a wizard/alchemist.

For marching band, Emu would play the tube or trumpet, Nene would play the flute, and rui and tsukasa are the conductor and the drum player I'm not sure which one goes where. This idea is the most cohesive but idk what powers I would give them other than. Music. This idea would actually be based off of the Let Your Song Resonate Throughout the SEKAI event rather than their own event cards.

N:25: Tarot cards. Tarot cards. Tarot cards. Lower save me.

Mizuki is obviously The Reverse Hermit and Kanade is The Reversed Hanged Man, but Mafuyu and Ena are the ones i have to do on my own.

For Mafuyu I'm thinking either Reversed Empress or Reversed Hierophant. Honestly both of them could be incorporated because they represent her during different stages of her development. Maybe if there ends up being like. An evolution of ones costumes. She could look more like the Reversed Empress at the beginning and then end up looking more like Reversed Hierophant at the end. just an idea

I'm looking at Reversed Chariot or Reversed Strength Ena. BUT I'm not 100% sure these represent her character well, so if anyone has anything to say about my choice here then go for it.

MMJ: Tokyo Mew M- I mean animal magical girls. Haruka could be a penguin, shizuku a dove, airi a cat, and maybe squirrel Minori? I need help with Minori. Maybe lamb Minori. Idc that lambs are associated with kohane she's a hamster that's the end of it. Also this is def gonna take from both their DREAM PLACE and Ai No Material outfits.

ANOTHER IDEA!!! their theme could be "gemstones" and they could take from their jewelery box set. Minori is sunstone, Haruka is aquamarine, Shizuku is jade, and Airi is spinel. These gems are all just from the project sekai Jewelery Box card game I think it is?

VBS: Okay so this one is most likely gonna be the most diverse out of all of them. Their theme is seasons. Kohane is spring (because spring baby), An is summer (she just gives off those vibes + her fiery spirit, Akito is fall because of the fact that his name normally gets mistaken for "fall" (look it up its on the wiki) and toya is winter (because mirai).

Akito is going to be based on his Kashika card (I think I can do something with the red strings) An is going to be based on her Machi card, Kohane is going to be based off of her Flyer Card (ty hoc) and her Beat Eater card (big ol hammer), and toya will be based off of his mirai and maybe Valentine's Day cards. Maybe. All of them are most likely going to take elements from blender.

L/N: Times of day. Was originally going to do this with VBS, but I moved it to Leoni.

I'm not too sure about the order but for now I will say that honami is morning, saki is midday, shiho is evening, and ichika is night.

All of them are going to be taking elements from the From Tokyo set, saki especially. Honami is going also use elements from her fea card (if I find a way to incorporate it), Shiho will take from her Draw Your Bow card (idk I like the outfit) and ichika I'm undecided on but she'll either take from her Stage of SEKAI card or her Made To Order card..

That's it

#au shit #project sekai #wxs #niigo #mmj #leo need #vbs #prsk #pjsk

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nehswritesstuffs · 2 years ago

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Siblings of Water

If all my years of reading One Piece has taught me anything it’s A) remember minor characters, and B) always check for a shown corpse.

6211 words; set post-Wano but also pre-whatever-the-flip nonsense our lads are in at the moment; if something like this ever went down I would freaking scream and idk if anyone in a five mile radius would survive; we need more good blood-siblings in this series because as of this posting the best blood-siblings have been, like, the Ryugu royals and two sets of Wano sibs unless I’m missing someone don’t try to lie to me about any Charlotte shenanigans (though really this has the side-effect of tons of adoptive siblings/found family that are excellent and I admit I am greedy and want it all); one of the most sensible and natural real-world equivalent languages for Law to probably speak is Northern Low Saxon you can’t change my mind I’m not getting out of this chair this has little to do with the fic but it is important to me; we also need Trafalgar Family angst so here we are; this is my 200th fic on FFN and that’s not only pretty cool but my 20th fic was also my first One Piece fic and that was even well before these jokers showed up in the story so idk what that says about a lot of things

Siblings of Water; After their adventures in Wano, the Heart Pirates stumble a quiet island that holds a very jarring surprise for their captain.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Nuh-uh; you’re coming with us,” she said. She was standing in the doorway to his cabin, completely not-caring that he was giving her an absolutely murderous look from his position reclined on his bed.

“It’s festival season—I’m not going,” he replied. He tried to look as though he was going back to the highly academic tome of Magicks and Poshuns of Wano and Her Dauters, though in reality, he was simply trying to hide a copy of Sora, Warrior of the Sea from everyone’s prying eyes.

“You were barely at any of the parties in Wano.”

“I was obliged to attend in a nominal and symbolic manner,” he countered. “I’m all festivaled out.”

“Yeah, where you were there for five minutes before wandering off.”

“I enjoy wandering.”

“Wander the festival.”

“I can’t be guaranteed there shall be other adults there.”

“We’ll be there.”

“I know.”

Narrowing her eyes, Ikkaku made an extremely executive decision and stepped into the cabin and grabbed onto Law’s ear, tugging until he closed the book and got out of the bed. She pulled him through the submarine—to the shock of all their crewmates lingering just outside in the corridor—until she had him above deck and down the gangplank and on solid ground again.

“Now, you are going to go with us to the festival, and you are going to enjoy yourself, and you aren’t going to use wandering as an excuse to make your way back here,” she demanded. The rest of the Heart Pirates watched from atop deck, wondering whose will was going to win this time.

“It still doesn’t mean I want to,” he growled.

Ikkaku crossed her arms across her chest, unfazed. “Bepo!”

“Yes, ma’am…?”

“You’re in charge of making sure Law stays out here!” she said. The bear blanched.

“Now that’s not entirely fair,” Law noted.

“It’s fair,” she reasoned. “Stay with us, you’ll be fine. Try to run away and you’re getting sat on by an ass full of fur and Electro that also happens to have you wrapped around his little claw.”

“I am not.”

“We all are and you know this.”

A beat.

“I hate you.”

“You need to touch grass more often, you weird hermit-man.”

“I just touched a lot of grass for an extended period of time, thank you.”

“More often, dweebus.” She then glanced over at the rest of the crew, who shivered in response. “Let’s go, lads! Fun awaits!”

“…but what if someone tries to steal the Tang?” Law asked. Bepo walked up to him and put a comforting paw on his shoulder.

“No one other than Ikka can get the thing started properly,” he grimaced. “Sorry, but, we’re stuck.”

“We were able to work it before she joined up.”

“That was before she made the modifications. It’s mostly anti-theft measures, but if we’re the thieves…”

“I should have left you all on Strawhat-ya’s deck like orphan puppies.”

Bepo didn’t respond to that, which only made Law sigh in resignation.

“Okay, yeah, I’d never do that.”

“Glad you’re aware.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Festivals always made Law feel extremely uncomfortable. It reminded him of a time when he would rather study than anything else, sending a searing pang of guilt ripping through his heart. It all reminded him of then, of them, and he was doing his best to seem as disaffected as possible while still trying to figure out a way to speed-chess his way back to the Tang without any repercussions.

Well, at least the beer was decent. It was actual beer at that—Wano had fine native brewing traditions, but none of them resulted in beer. Law found himself huddled over a tankard of stuff leagues better than whatever swill it was that Kaido imported as his crew held him hostage in a picnic area, with them taking up two whole tables on one end, while a band set up on the other end near a stage. Stalls boxed in the varying picnickers and festival-goers alike, which made the particular pirate captain skittish.

“Relax,” Ikkaku smirked into her own beer. It was her first; Law’s third. “You look like a cornered cat.”

“I feel like a cornered cat,” he scowled. Bepo brought over another pile of soft pretzels for the table, which Law wordlessly shambled into bits with ease. Maybe he could get away with wanting to go back in another hour… “Whatever happened to a captain’s veto?”

“It’s because the captain knows that I could have either pulled him by the ear, or the earrings.” Ikkaku popped a bit of pretzel into her mouth and nodded—not bad. “Besides, it’s quality time with just us. It’s been a while since it was just us, all together, no other weirdos in the mix.”

“Yeah, come on, Cap,” Penguin chuckled. “You know, this is why you don’t get laid.”

Shachi choked on his pretzel bite so badly that Law had to get it out.

“Can we please save talk of my non-existent love life for, oh, I don’t know: never?” Law growled.

“All I know is that you’re Emperor material and got nothing to show for it,” Penguin noted. “You could be slaying anything you wanted, as much as you wanted.”

“I hate this conversation.”

“Our captain doesn’t seem like the ‘slaying’ type, though,” Clione offered.

“I really hate this conversation.”

“Yeah,” Penguin nodded, “you’re right—we’d need to recruit whomever it is to the crew, just so they can get to know each other first, then we let them on private shore leave.”

“I swear if this conversation goes on any further I am going to put up the biggest Room I can and drop you in the ocean.”

“You’re in luck, grumpass,” Ikkaku said. She pointed at the stage. “Looks like someone’s coming up to talk—she’s got a transponder snail.” Sure enough, most of the picnic area went quiet, waiting for the person that Law was flat-out refusing to look at out of sheer principle.

“Hi everyone!” a cheery woman said into her Den Den, voice amplified by the tiny snail. “For those of you visiting today, my name is Milla, and I’m one of the island’s resident doctors and chairwoman of this year’s festival!” She paused to let people clap, during which Shachi whistled lowly.

“Oooh, she’s a cutie,” he noted.

“…and probably too smart to be taken in by your dumb ass,” Penguin chortled. The pair kept elbowing one another as the chairwoman continued.

“I just wanted to extend a very warm welcome and thank you from the rest of the committee and island to you,” she said. “Festivals are one of the things that really keeps us going here in the Grand Line, punctuating our seasons in a way that the weather is incapable of doing. It was the same in the town where I grew up, in an icy Blue far away from here, though for different reasons, of course.”

“Huh… she’s from the North?” Hakugan wondered. Despite the fact Law was the one who rolled his eyes, it was Ikkaku who replied.

“The South Blue’s cold too, you know,” she said. She patted Law’s forearm, feeling that his muscles and tendons were tight under his shirt as he held the ale tankard. “Relax.”

“Festivals… really aren’t my thing…”

“You tried that—now stop being so tense and just enjoy some time out of the fart-box.”

“Now,” the chairwoman said, “I’ll sing you a song from that sea to officially open up our festivities. It’s an old one, but it has always warmed my heart after all these years. The music’s not the same, so bear with us, please, if you heard it before. Alright! Hit it!”

The music was slow at first, haunting and eerie—something very out-of-sorts for an otherwise-bright festival. It twisted and turned and reached deep into the crowd that was barely able to contain its excitement. The Heart Pirates mostly gave the chairwoman their attention, the entire orchestra silent except for a singular violin. Then another joined in, then a piano, and finally, the chairwoman herself in words just barely familiar to the Hearts. The North dripped from her voice as she sang a ballad of old heroes and exciting tales; a song of heartbreak and death; a tale of life and what horrors it brought. After the following chorus, the orchestra picked the tempo up slightly, bringing more instruments into the fray.

“Are you alright, Captain?” Ikkaku wondered. The Heart Pirates all looked at Law and saw that he was deathly pale, as though he was sitting across from a ghost instead of Uni. His hands—always surgeon-steady—were trembling and he was chewing on his lower lip.

Adjusting slightly, Law turned so that he could see the festival chairwoman as she continued her song. His eyes went wide and his breath hitched—no… it couldn’t be…

The very image of his mother stood atop the stage.

“Law…? Hellllooooo…” Penguin waved his hand in front of his captain’s face, failing to break him from the trance. “Oh, shit, this isn’t good.”

“Do you think maybe they sang this back where he’s from?” Clione asked. The crew at-large did not know much, but they did know better than to say the White City’s name aloud.

“Why else would he behave this way?” Shachi frowned. He tried snapping his fingers next to their captain’s ear—nothing. “We’re gonna have to take evasive action if this doesn’t stop.”

Then, suddenly, Law stood up, facing the stage and the chairwoman on it. He stared at her, eyes now resolute, watching her as she finished the chorus. His standing there was not out of place, as there were still many around and in the seating areas who were milling about and moving from stalls to tables, yet there was no one else who proceeded to do what he did upon the next verse and an additional strengthening of the tempo…

...Trafalgar Law started singing.

Heart Pirates and villagers alike began to stare, wondering about how he knew this song. His crew’s jaws all dropped at the sound of his singing voice; low and clear, it was one that invoked the idea that he might have even had training at one point—when in the hell did their captain sit with a vocal coach?!

As he continued to sing, Law began to walk up towards the stage. The festival chairwoman saw him and skipped a line of verse, though quickly collected herself and pretended to beckon him up to share the microphone snail with her. They reached the chorus and the band picked up the tempo again, the song now fully becoming cheerful and vibrant and full.

“I’m sorry,” Bepo squeaked, slackjawed, “but in all my years of knowing the captain, this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“I think this is the weirdest thing any of us have ever seen,” Shachi replied, “and we literally just helped take down two Emperors and an authoritarian regime.”

“He’s smiling,” Ikkaku marveled. “Holy shit he’s smiling… and no one’s about to die.”

“I… don’t feel safe,” Jean Bart muttered. His smaller crewmates all unanimously agreed—there was something that did not feel right about this entire thing, as though their captain might have been in a trance, or in some grave danger.

“Oh, no, he’s dancing,” Shachi groaned. The acute sense of horror that set in amongst his and the other Hearts’ very souls was palpable. “None of this is right. They replaced the captain with a fake…”

“It might be he never found the opportunity before…?” Bepo offered.

“The opportunity to folk dance?!”

“Oh, sorry…”

One more round of the chorus and the song ended, with Law and the chairwoman laughing while taking their bow together. The Hearts watched as their captain ducked down and whispered something in the woman’s ear, her expression startled as she took him by the hand and dragged him off the stage.

“Let’s give him fifteen minutes,” Penguin decided. “If this isn’t resolved by then, we’re going to have to take evasive action and get him back to the Tang for a debrief.”

“What if she’s killed him by then?” Uni asked. Penguin shrugged.

“Maybe Straw Hat’s accepting applications…?”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Still completely stunned, Law allowed himself to be dragged throughout the backways of the festival by the chairwoman. She hid their path behind stalls and tents as she ducked into a small tent, which was occupied by some other festival officials.

“I need to question this man,” she said firmly. The other two looked at each other, then at her.

“He knew the song,” one noted. “That was a pretty neat trick you pulled.”

“Yeah, and I need to talk to him about it, because random people here just don’t know near-extinct folk songs from the North Blue,” the chairwoman frowned. The other two shrugged at that and left, promising that they would not be disturbed. Once they were out, the chairwoman muttered lowly as she drew the flaps, making it so no one saw them either.

“You know,” Law stated in Northern, “I could honestly say the same thing about you.” He watched as the chairwoman spun on her heel to look at him and he felt an intense sadness creep over him again. This woman, wearing his mother’s face, able to sing a song he hadn’t heard in over fifteen years… it was a sick joke.

“Say it again,” she demanded. “What did you say on the stage?” He exhaled heavily

“I am the Law, you are the Lam.” He watched as her face went pale at the words. “You called yourself something else though…”

“Milla—it’s what I go by thanks to… you know… our name being dangerous.” She watched as he pulled off his hat and scratched at his scalp. Tears began to form in her eyes and her voice grew strained, croaking. “I… thought I forgot what Dad looked like… but he just looked like you.”

“…and you look like Mom.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah.”

The two siblings stood there in the tent awkwardly until Law quietly opened his arms, allowing his sister to crash into a hug. They both cried as they held each other, neither wanting to let go, nor wholly believing it was real.

“Lami… I thought you died.”

“I thought you died, Law,” she replied. “I saw what was left of your classmates… the Sister’s habit… I thought you were already taken away and buried.”

“No one severely hurt me, not physically, but I did get out to the countryside in one of the carts,” he admitted quietly. “When I got back to the hospital, it was in flames, so I did what I could to survive.” He held her at arm’s length and marveled at the fact they were even there. “How did you get out?”

“There was a man who came in before the fire and took me and some of the other kids; they probably would have taken you too had you stayed,” she explained. She then hesitated, wondering how to continue. “What do you know about a place called Punk Hazard?”

“More than I should,” he said lowly.

“We were taken there by the man from the hospital. He said that he was in charge of a program under Dr. Vegapunk meant to cure us, make us better. There was a doctor on the team who knew Dad and she started on me first, since my case was the most severe.” Tears were now streaming down her face in earnest. “She took it all out of me, Law! It was as if it never happened!”

“What did she do? What happened to the rest of the children? What…?”

She shook her head.

“After it was proven I was fully cured, she was killed for the Devil Fruit power that she used to do it, and all of us kids ordered destroyed as evidence. I only survived because her son, one of the nurses, smuggled me out.” She had to brace herself by holding onto the back of a chair. “Sorry… just… the very fact you’re alive right now and we’re talking… I…”

“Lami, my name has been all over the papers—I have one of the highest current bounties of all pirates—how did you not know I was alive?”

“I read medical journals, not the newspaper,” she defended. “Close I get is my coworkers leave me the comics section.”

“I have bounty posters.”

“I have literally been here the past five years, becoming a resident doctor and pouring my heart and soul into this place. If it happened during that, then I don’t know what to tell you.”

“That’s another thing,” Law noted. “Since when were you interested in being a doctor? I last saw you when you were five and you wanted to be a unicorn when you grew up.”

Lami shifted uncomfortably. “Like I said: I thought you were dead.”

He shook his head, a laugh on his lips. “Then you’re going to love what they call me.” A newspaper caught his eye and he picked it up; yes, it was the most recent edition. He found the bounty posters hidden inside and took out his own, passing it to her. She blanched as she read it, realizing exactly what it was her brother had become.

“‘Surgeon of Death’,” she read aloud. “Then you became a doctor too…? Just like Mom and Dad…?”

“At first I really just wanted to kill and destroy as much as I could after leaving Flevance, but by the time I had been cured, something had shifted.” He then looked at Lami, eyebrow raised. “How did the doctor on Punk Hazard cure you?”

“Devil Fruit,” she shrugged. “A twitch of her fingers and she could take me apart bit by bit without it hurting. She could even take things out of me without opening me up. Never did learn what it was called… but that doesn’t matter, because the Government I’m sure has it now, having a crony use it to make Pacifistas or something equally as horrible.”

Law shook his head and quietly opened a Room that surrounded her. “I wouldn’t say that.” He disassembled her right arm and she gasped, completely taken aback. “It must have slipped from their fingers, but I hear that it ended up in good hands.” He put her back together and she started to sob uncontrollably. She didn’t even resist when he pulled her into another hug, feeling more like they were children again than anything.

Then, without warning, Lami stopped making sound.

It wasn’t as though she stopped crying—oh no, she was still sobbing, borderline violently in fact—but as far as making noise? Completely quiet. He stared at her in silence, only to realize something: the entire time they had been in the tent, there was no audible evidence that they were in the middle of a festival.

“Lami?” She looked up at him and froze, realizing what had happened.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she sniffled. “I’m usually much better at controlling that.” She cringed as her brother grew gravely serious, as though everything relied on her answer to his next question.

“Since when have you been able to use a Devil Fruit?”

“Since I was about… I don’t remember… eleven…? Twelve…? I wasn’t paying attention because I was studying while traveling—thought it was a fancy apple.” It then hit her that he got her to unknowingly out herself, to which she scowled. “How could you tell it was a Fruit and not something else?”

“The man who saved me had your Devil Fruit,” he said. Law went to the tent flaps and looked outside—he couldn’t hear a thing until he psychically stuck his head out, retreating quickly. “I had no will to live, and then… he stole me from a pretty dangerous place too.”

“Then maybe, somehow, they both knew that we had to live in order to meet one another again… to give our names back their meaning.”

Law simply held out his hand, Lami staring at it warily. “Will you come with us, then? We could use a tactical advantage like you.”

“…but I’m not good at fighting.”

“…but you are good at this.” Law gestured with both arms at the tent surrounding them. “How long is the festival?”

“Until tomorrow night.”

“Think about it—we can afford to relax for another day.” He held out his hand again. “At least come meet my crew…?”

“Later; I’ve got… oh, shit, I’ve got things to do for the festival!” Lami panicked and went to exit the tent, only for her to be met with Shachi catching them as he was walking by. He started shouting at the two of them—despite the unknown silence—with Lami backing into the tent again as he approached.

“—and furthermore—!” He paused as he stepped over the threshold of the tent, blinking in confusion. “What the hell just happened? Where’s all the noise?”

“Nagi Nagi no Mi—Calm Calm Fruit—I can literally negate noise okay bye!” Lami skirted around Shachi and ran out of the tent, the noise barrier lifting as she went. Shachi watched her leave, then stared at Law curiously.

“What was that…?”

“Long story.”

“I’ve been around you for long enough—I got time.”

“Longer than we’ve known each other.”

“That’s… a long time.”

“Indeed.” The pair walked together back to where the rest of the crew was waiting nervously, all eyeing their captain in an attempt to figure out what happened. Law downed the remainder of his beer in one go and placed the tankard back on the table. “Drank, sang, danced; I think I’ve touched enough grass to earn the right to go back to the Tang.”

“I’ll agree with that,” Ikkaku nodded. They all watched as he stormed away, stride a bit too quick for normal. “Shit—looks like someone’s going to be grumpy all night. Let’s give him a bit, then grill him good.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Bepo grimaced.

“It’s what we have available to us, or else no one is going to enjoy this festival,” she shrugged. She popped a bit of pretzel in her mouth and sighed dramatically—traveling with a bunch of men certainly was tiresome sometimes.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The very moment that Law returned back to the Polar Tang, he went directly into his cabin and locked the door behind him. It did not matter that he literally had the entire ship to himself—only when he was inside the safety of his private quarters did he break down and allow himself to sob in earnest, curled up on his bunk and allowing himself a weakness he rarely indulged in, for what was the captain of a pirate crew except for strong?

Hours passed and Law laid there, his entire body shaking in trepidation. After all these years, all this time, his sister was alive. She was here, in the Grand Line, and alive.

Trafalgar D. Water Lami was alive.

Two of them survived.

After everything that tried to silence them over the years, they were still alive.

Fuck, he couldn’t stop thinking that word.

Alive.

Suddenly, he was restless. Law quickly stood and began pacing in his tiny cabin. Rarely had he felt as though he was going to bounce off the fucking walls, but that’s where he was, and he needed to calm down. He stopped in the middle of the room and looked at his hands, remembering what it was she had said earlier.

…I… thought I forgot what Dad looked like…

A weight dropped in his stomach.

…but he looked just like you.

Slowly, Law turned towards the mirror that was hanging in his sliver of a washroom. His mouth felt very dry all of a sudden as the face staring back at him stripped away the very thing he did his best to not address all these years. He grabbed onto his chair and shakily leaned on it—fuck, oh fuck, why did this hurt? Why was this so hard? His chest felt tight as he reached for a box sitting on a shelf, gingerly placing it on the desk before opening it. He pulled out a pair of charred eyeglass frames and shakily put them on, the thin metal burnished and lens-less, confirming everything bearing down on him. His eyesight blurred as tears distorted it, knowing that she assured him of the cruel joke that he had been terrified of all these years.

He really did look like their dad.

“Captain…?” It was Hakugan, pounding at the door, startling Law as he took the frames off in a panic. “Captain, you’ve got a visitor!”

“Don’t fuck with me,” he growled.

“That’s why Penguin sent me, because I don’t do that shit, apparently.”

Law put the eyeglass frames back in the box and placed it back in the box. He took a deep breath and opened the door, seeing the unchanging expression of his crewmate’s mask. “Who is it?”

“That lady you were singing with; she’s insisting we let her talk with you.”

“Is she in the Tang?”

“No; top deck.”

“Then I’m going to need you, Clione, and Bepo to run crowd control and make sure that no one bothers us.”

“Shachi says she’s got a Devil Fruit…”

“It’s a silencer, nothing more.” He waited until Hakugan stepped aside before heading up towards the roof of the ship. There was Lami, standing by the gangplank, a knapsack over her shoulder and a duffle bag in her hand as the rest of the crew gawked at her. Law calmly walked up to her, hearing the noise of the crew fade away as he entered her space. “That was fast.”

“They recognized you,” she said simply. “My committee members might have pulled a coup and voted to relieve me of my duties so I can go sail with my brother.”

“Do they…?”

“One says we look alike, but I don’t think that at all,” she laughed weakly. “They don’t think we’re eloping at least.”

“Well, that’s good,” he shuddered. He could feel a presence behind him, who he knew to be Bepo not only due to Haki and long-friendship with the bear, but also due to the way his sister’s eyes lit up. “What is it, Bepo?”

“I’m sorry, but, what’s going on…?”

“Oh, yeah, the rest of you are here,” Law frowned. He turned towards the rest of the crew and motioned towards Lami. “She’s staying.”

“Uh… Captain…?” Shachi said warily. “Why is the island’s festival chairwoman staying?”

“Lami’s staying with us for a while,” Law stated, leaving no further room for comment. “Ikkaku, it looks like you’re getting a women’s quarters after all.”

“Yes!” the aforementioned engineer grinned as she pumped her fist. “Keep asking and good things will come!”

“You know that, statistically-speaking, it was only a matter of time before another woman started traveling with us,” Uni stated. “Women are half the world.”

“Yeah, but for some reason there’s only a fraction of us on the seas, let alone the Grand Line,” she fired back. “So, Lami, was it? You and I need to talk about how we’re going to build this room, because it’s going to be a very important haven when these dweebs start doing shit like running around naked on laundry day or when they decide to induce shedding on Bepo or start playing Rivet, Rivet, Better Skip It…”

“You’re just jealous that you never win because you suck,” Penguin smirked.

“I ‘suck’ because, reportedly, ‘fuck you’,” Ikkaku sneered, using liberal amounts of air-quotes. She then grabbed onto Lami’s upper arm and pulled her along, disappearing into the bowels of the Tang. The rest of the crew simply stared at Law.

“I thought we were only really recruiting people from the North Blue,” Uni mentioned. “Y’know, barring Bepo and Jean Bart.”

“She is.”

“She knew a song, Captain—that doesn’t prove anything.”

“It proves more than you know.”

“Was she from Flevance?” Everyone looked over at Jean Bart, who seemed reserved in his accusation, making the large man seem so incredibly timid. No one else said a word, instead turning their attention towards their captain.

Instead of responding verbally, Law simply went down beneath the deck, finding where Ikkaku had dragged Lami off to; they were in the mess hall, the former having pulled out an impressive set of schematics that were boggling the younger’s mind.

“You sure you’re alright like this?” he asked. She glanced up at him, very clearly as though she knew the blueprints were over her head.

“I think so…” She ran her fingers over a cutaway illustration and her brow furrowed. “I can do complicated surgeries and can identify any humanoid organ by sight alone, but this…”

“She’s like a surgeon, but for a ship, in a way,” Law shrugged. “What we do with people, she does with metal.”

“Then you’re also a doctor?” Ikkaku noted. “Nice. You and the captain will make a good team then.” She waggled her eyes at Law, who scowled at her grouchily.

“Lami is my sister,” he said, deciding to cut that off at the bud. Ikkaku froze in place, letting the information wash over her before slowly nodding.

“Does anyone else know this?”

“No.”

“Is anyone else allowed to know this?”

“The crew is, yeah, but remember: they are a bunch of dumbasses.”

“True enough.” She then glanced over at Lami, who seemed to be flushing pink in embarrassment. “Anything else I need to know about?”

“I ate a Devil Fruit that makes everything quiet and I love reading Sora, Warrior of the Sea and festivals are literally my favorite thing ever and have been since I was little.”

“That actually explains a lot,” Ikkaku chuckled. She gave Law a shit-eating grin, one that sent a chill down his spine. “Don’t worry, Captain; we’ll take care of your little sister, not a problem.”

“LITTLE SISTER?!”

The three turned towards the doorway to find the rest of the crew standing by the mess hall’s entrance, jaws dropped in astonishment. Penguin and Shachi were so moved, even, that they both started crying.

“You came through for us and got the crew a cute little sister after all!” Shachi sobbed.

“Yeah, Captain! We’ll treat her just as we would our own little sister!” Penguin added tearfully.

“Neither of you have a sister, which begs many a question,” Law deadpanned.

“Not to mention how in the hell they’ve been treating me all these years,” Ikkaku griped. Lami went and surprised them both, along with the entire rest of the crew, by going between them and bowing at the waist.

“Thank you for taking such good care of my brother all these years!” she said. When she straightened, her eyes were glassy and red-rimmed. “It’s been my dream to find someone from Flevance again, and for it to be my brother… you have no idea what it means to me!”

“Big brothers are the best, aren’t they?” Bepo asked cheerfully. Lami mirrored his smile despite the tears leaking down her face.

“They really are! Especially when you haven’t seen them in a long time!”

Bepo brought Lami into a tight hug and the rest of the Hearts cheered—a new younger sister! The captain’s younger sister at that! Things really were looking up.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Pudding had long ago accepted the fact that she was a hostage, waiting to be rescued. In fact, she was perfectly fine with the idea that she was perfectly helpless until at least one of her siblings arrived. Was it going to be an enjoyable reunion? Probably not. What she also knew, however, was that the two men that made up her guard were complete and utter thugs.

“Mommy’s dead—she ain’t gonna help ya,” the guard on the left grinned. She felt the undying urge to take a shower just from him looking at her.

“I have more powerful people behind me than just my mother, if you’re that set on her dying,” she huffed. “Katakuri is a very protective older brother, I’ll have you know.”

“If he can bother hunting down one little lamb while the rest of the flock is panicking in the power vacuum?” Right chuckled. “I doubt. Mommy and Uncle Kaido kinda played into our commodore’s hands.”

“Hmm… I doubt.”

“Oh, you’re gonna doubt a lot of shit once the commodore’s done with you, girlie,” Left chortled.

Ugh. So fucking cringe.

Just then, Pudding noticed that as the two guards moved to better face—and therefore better taunt—her, two women came into view. One with curly hair and the other with hair pulled back in a neat bun, they both were motioning for her to keep quiet. Neither of them seemed to give off the same vibe as the rest of the crew, so Pudding decided to play along. Well, how bad could it get?

“Uh-huh, sure, as though he’d even know what to do with me.”

Without making a sound, both women moved behind the guards, the one with the curly hair hitting them in the back of the head with an oversized wrench to knock them out. The other woman grabbed the keys and unlocked the cell, the keys refusing to make even a single clinking noise. She approached Pudding and touched her pointer and middle finger to the teen’s lips before beginning to work on the restraints.

“Charlotte Pudding, I presume?”

“…and to whom do I owe this rescue?” she asked. “You don’t look like you’re from the Family.”

“Let’s just say we don’t think that a cute kid like you should be with these gross molesters-in-waiting,” the curly-haired woman smirked. She gave Pudding a wink, then a pistol. “I’m Ikkaku, this is Lami. Our captain’s providing us a distraction as we speak.”

“…and how do I know that I’m not walking right from one den of crazies into another?” Pudding asked. The two older women glanced at each other and shrugged.

“I swear on my belching metal baby, the Polar Tang, that we’re actually pretty decent,” Ikkaku claimed.

“…and I swear on my Hippocratic Oath that I would not do anything to provoke harm, nor allow senseless acts to be committed towards anyone under my care, which you now are,” Lami stated.

“So, really, we’re weird, but in an ‘everyone is weird’ sense,” Ikkaku shrugged, “or a ‘our gruff captain is a secret comic book nerd’ sort of sense.”

“I have over eighty siblings—I think I can handle that,” Pudding deadpanned. She tied up her skirt and turned all three eyes towards her rescuers. “Want to cause some trouble on the way out?”

“You sure that’s fine to do with the crew of your mother’s killer?” Ikkaku wondered, eyebrow raised. Pudding simply shrugged.

“It’s either cause some trouble with you two, or…” she grimaced at the sight of her prior jailers, “I get into trouble with these guys. My options aren’t exactly great right now.”

“Then maybe it’s a good thing that we put extra bunks in the women’s quarters after all,” Lami nodded. She then quickly looked over Pudding with a glance—they didn’t hurt you, did they?”

“No…” The young Charlotte looked at her rescuers cautiously. “You seem pretty calm.”

“Regarding what?” Ikkaku asked. An explosion went off on the other side of the wall, shaking the room they were in. “That’s just the rest of the losers we sail with—nothing more.”

“No, I mean…” She hesitated, not really knowing how to broach the topic she kept so long a secret. “You aren’t freaked out over my eyes.”

“I’m literally one of two known survivors of a mass poisoning event that everyone else thought was a plague, so you’re in luck: we know what it’s like to be stared at by assholes,” Lami shrugged. “Besides, that eye of yours reads Poneglyphs, correct?”

“Supposedly…”

“Then you’re going to love what we’ve got waiting for you.” Lami gestured towards the door with her head as another rumble shook them, though not quite as violently. “How ‘bout it? Prove to your family you can do something without them?”

“…and what makes you think I have that sort of family…?”

“You said it yourself, kid: you’ve got over eighty siblings.” Ikkaku nervously eyed what she hoped was not the ballast tank and laughed awkwardly. “C’mon ladies, we should really get out of here before our cover’s blown!”

Another rumble rocked the ship and the three got going, headed back towards the miniature docking sub and away from the mess. They got out and Ikkaku sent a pulse through the water, letting Shachi and Penguin know it was alright to begin attacking the ship in earnest.

Mission accomplished.

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niphredil-14 · 2 years ago

Text

Uneart My Heart Ch 5 (Jason Todd/Reader)

Summary: While Alfred and Dick care for the comatose Y/n, she has some interesting dreams Warnings: none? Let me know if I should add something here Word Count: 3.1k Taglist: @mxsmwndr SERIES MASTERLIST

“We are not moving her here just so you can feel like you’ve cleared your conscience, Alfred.” Batman stood, long strides carrying him out of the room, Alfred right behind him.

“But, Sir—"

“The hospital has it covered, besides, she tried to kill The Joker. That draws way too much attention to us.”

“Sir, Master Jason would want—"

“It doesn’t matter what he would want! He’s dead! Dead people can’t want anything.” Bruce had stopped walking, slamming a fist into the wall beside him, rattling the various photos, paintings, and memorabilia scattered on it. His chest was heaving, shoulders shaking, yet as quickly as his outburst had come, it was gone, leaving Bruce a blank canvas of stone, unreadable, distant, unemotional.

“Master Bruce.” The bat made no sound, yet neither did he make an effort to walk away. Alfred stepped forward, placing a hand on the man before him, who in the moment, looked almost like a child again, who even after losing his parents and being of the disposition that it’s better to be alone, relied on him. “Regardless of how you process loss, which is rather unhealthily, might I say, that girl loved Master Jason, and he loved her. Now, as far as I’m concerned, that practically makes her family, and we are the only home she has now. You cannot just abandon her because of a little risk, or because it is hard to imagine her trotting around here without Jason at her hip, no matter how painful the image is. That girl needs us, and we cannot just leave her in the hospital. Bruce had turned to look at Alfred, then to the portrait of his parents hanging behind him, his eyes softer, sadder. He sighed, meeting Alfred’s eyes and giving him a defeated half smile.

“Well, we don’t want Harley or her goons going in and trying to finish the job, do we?” At that, Alfred smiled, and squeezed the shoulder his hand had been resting on.

“No, Sir, that we do not.”

Several pieces of medical equipment had been added to her room in preparation for her arrival. A heart monitor and feeding tubes were the main tools, but there was also a tray with an extensive first aid kit and some other medical doodads. It had been a couple of days of making arrangements and plans for her and her treatment, though they passed quickly. And when she had been brought back to the manor, they quickly fell into their routine changes for her. Their minds had been made up, they lost one, they would not lose another. Bruce had almost instantly gone back to being an emotionally closed off hermit after his talk with Alfred, who delved headfirst into caretaking, with the assistance of both Dick and occasionally Barbara. They took shifts watching, caring for, and entertaining her. It was Dick in the room with her then.

“I should have come to meet you when I found out that you had moved in here, I’m sorry that I didn’t. Jason used to talk about you sometimes, when we would patrol together, asking for advice about some girl he had a crush on in his class. He didn’t tell me your name, but when I heard that a friend of his was moving in, I figured that it must have been you. He used to ramble on and on about how pretty you were, how you were one of the only kids in his class who were nice to him, about how he was trying to learn all the constellations and their myths, because he knew you liked them and he wanted to impress you.” Dick spoke to her sleeping form as he pressed the small syringe to her skin, taking a blood sample, then placing it aide as he untied the tourniquet that rested about three inches above the puncture, his rambles never quieting. “What you did in the store was really brave, stupid too, but honestly, I probably would’ve done the same thing if I was in your place. I should have been better to him, I was supposed to be his big brother, but I was too mad about the fact that Bruce had replaced me, and that wasn’t fair to him. I’m glad that he had you, he deserved to feel loved.” He paused for a minute to take a breath and look at the girl. “Well, I’m gonna run down to the cave really quick to get the results on your blood, and then I’ll be right back.” And with that he left the room, returning minutes later. “Okay, so, everything’s normal with your blood for the most part, you could use a bit more of a few different vitams, but that’s not anything you need to worry about.” Having finished checking up on her health-wise, he settled down at her desk chair, glancing around her room. He didn’t mind helping Alfred care for the kid, he had regretted how he treated Jason, feeling that he should have been there for him more, that he should have been a better big brother. And so, in that moment, looking at the state of the girl, he had resolved to do his best to protect any child that Bruce was stupid enough to let so close. He didn’t have much time to ponder this promise before the door creaked open and Alfred strode in.

“Ah, Hello, Master Richard, Miss Y/n. I assume you’ve already checked her vitals and did the blood test?”

“Yup, just got back.”

“Very good, I can take over for a bit, if you’d like, Sir.”

“Sure, is there anything you want me to do in the meantime, Alf?” The old man smiled.

“I’d be very much obliged if you could switch to laundry from the washer to the dryer, and then put in the next load.”

“You got it.” Dick said, placing his hands on his knees and pushing up from the chair, bidding the butler and the girl goodbye as he closed the door behind him. After hearing the click of the door falling into place, Alfred took a seat on the side of the bed, gently picking up her hand and grasping it in both of his, resting in his lap.

“Oh, my dear, I am so, so unimaginably sorry. I never should have had you go out that day.” He spoke, looking down at the pile of hands. “None of this ever should have happened to you, or to him, you both deserved so much better, Miss.” Sighing, his eyes shifted from her hand to her face, seemingly peaceful in her rest. “However, I know that nothing I can say can undo what has happened, so I suppose I shall just move you a bit so you don’t get any bedsores, alright?” He knew that he wouldn’t be receiving any response then, but nonetheless he let silence sit in the air before standing and repositioning her, bending her arms and legs before returning her to her previous resting position. Moving over to the chair that Dick had previously occupied, he sat, looking at her, grief writhing in his eyes. “I wonder if you dream, or if perhaps you’re conscious and just unable to move or open your eyes. If you are able to hear me, then please, Miss Y/n, don’t stop fighting. We need you more than you know, please wake up.” His voice was quiet, barely audible, as if he was praying for mercy on her behalf, sounding as if it was himself he was speaking to. “If you are dreaming, though, I hope that they’re lovely and peaceful.”

She stood, surrounded by darkness, for quite some time, unmoving, staring into the abyss. Time seemed nonexistent. It was only her and the shadows, until it wasn’t. Emanating from every direction came that piercing laugh, and her stagnancy quickly transformed to sprinting. Forward, backwards, east and west. Direction, much like time, didn’t seem present in her void, but she ran nonetheless, the cackling unending and inescapable. It went on for longer than she thought her sanity could stay intact for, and maybe it hadn’t. It was entirely likely that the laughter was not what had caused the breaking of her mind, but what had signaled what had already shattered. Though a void filled with that ear-splitting sound was far from the best place for introspection and philosophy, so she ran, and continued to run, until she came to a door, and the laughter vanished. It was silent for several moments, or so it seemed, before quiet muffled music began to play from the other side. It was rap, some up-and-coming Gothamite’s SoundCloud , she presumed, and it was comforting, not because it sounded particularly great, but because it was Jason’s favorite. He wasn’t very particular about music, not really disliking any kind, but unknown Gotham rap was definitely his favorite. Feeling too many emotions than were identifiable, she knocked twice on the door, receiving no response. Looking back around and finding only void other than the door she took her chances and pushed it open. She hadn’t even noticed the tears until his thumbs had wiped them from her cheeks. Looking at her concerned, and gently pulling her into a hug. The small trickling of an afternoon shower had turned to a hurricane, and she collapsed into his arms, holding him as tight as she could and sinking to the floor, wailing into his neck, as he soothed her, whispering sweet nothings and positive affirmations in her ear until her eyes had dried. She was in his room, though it seemed much more occupied than she had recently remembered. Looking around the room, everything was in its place, yet dislodged enough that she could tell it was being used, the lights were off, except for two small lamps, one on his desk, and the other on his bedside table, adding just enough light to the evening rays brightening the room. A small candle was lit, too, as it usually was. Jason had somewhat of an obsession when it came to scents. She never asked, but assumed it came from his childhood. Living in a dump, and spending most of his time on the streets, he must have had to put up with a lot of nasty smells, so it really was no wonder why he burned so many homey-smelling candles. Nothing in the room combined could mean half as much to her as the boy she was kneeling with, who had pulled back from her hold to try and get a good look at her, only to have her arms tighten around him even more as she buried her face into his chest.

“Y/n?” He called, squeezing her against him. “What’s wrong?” She raised her head, meeting his gaze, full of love and worry, and couldn’t help thinking that something was missing, but she couldn’t place just what.

“I,” She stuttered. “I don’t know. I just, I, uh.” She paused. “I just really need you right now, so please don’t let go.”

“Okay, I won’t, I’m here, I’ve gotcha.”

***

It was like most days for them, Jason sat at his desk with a textbook and notebook open in front of him, his mind locked away from outside stimuli, and her, sprawled out on his bed, thumbs spamming the buttons on the portable console. They weren’t interacting, but they were together, not needing words and attention to find love and comfort in the air surrounding them. Their focus remained on their own activities, save for whenever the other one of them made some grunt, groan, or cheer. It was peaceful, just being, just feeling each other’s energy. Until boredom seeped in. Another level completed, of the same repeated tasks and strategies had her placing the console beside her, propping her feet up on one of his pillows, and tilting her head backwards to gaze at him. He was scribbling quickly, then pausing for a minute or so to read and ponder, then scribbling away again. A smile spread on her cheeks, sweet and peaceful at first, then devilish mere seconds later. She moved stealthily, quietly, and slowly before her attack. Grabbing a pillow in each hand, she braced herself. Then, when she felt the perfect moment had arrived, she threw one directly at the back of his head, and ran at him just after, swinging the other one at the side of his head. He moved quickly, ducking to dodge the second pillow, and grabbing the first, swinging it back at her, a look of smug determination on his face. He landed the hit, causing an ‘oof’ to leave her, followed by giggles. They both froze, staring at one another, waiting for the faintest movement to signal their opponent’s next attack. If asked, neither could tell what that cue had been, but as suddenly as it had first begun, it had started up again. Pillows swinging and feathers floating, the flurry of movement only stopped every few minutes for a few seconds before they were back at it again. Dodging one of his attacks, she lunged at him, pillow held tight to her chest, and tackled him to the ground. Pinning his hands beside his head, she spoke between laughs,

“Surrender!” Chuckling, he swiftly tucked one leg around hers from the inside and brought his knee up into her side to roll her over. Sitting on her stomach, he pinned her hands. A triumphant smirk plastered on his face, cockiness dripping from his voice, he said,

“Nah, you might wanna though.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” She snarked. The smirk on his face only grew into a sadistic smile. He shifted her wrists above her head so that he could hold them with one hand, and slowly, he moved his free hand down to her side, curling his hand into a fist, save for his index and middle finger, which extended stiffly.

“Last chance.” He teased his voice low and gravelly, his breath warm against her cheeks. Realization dawned on her, her eyes shooting wide open as she began to writhe and wriggle, a failed attempt to free herself from his grip.

“Don’t you dare, Jason!”

“Hm.” He hummed. “That didn’t sound like surrender to me.” And with that he dug his fingers into her side, tazing her. Her body shook, shivers running up and down her spine like electricity.

“Eep!” She yelped, wriggling around to no avail.

“Just say you give up and I’ll stop.” He said, his voice light with enjoyment.

“Never!” She exclaimed. He released her wrists and brought his second hand to her other side, just under the hem of her risen shirt, and begun mercilessly tickling her. “Ah! Fine! Fine! I surrender! Stop it!” She laughed. His response was immediate, removing his hands and rolling off her to lay on the floor by her side, laughing with her. When they both had calmed, and her breathing had slowed, she reached over and flicked him on the cheek.

“Hey!” Jason exclaimed, with no real heat in his voice.

“That’s what you get for being a dickface.” She said, lightheartedly, with no real vice either.

“Fair enough.” He chuckled, and they returned to laying in peace.

***

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she had first found him, but she couldn’t remember a time that she had felt so at peace. They laid, half sitting, half reclined on his bed. She had her head resting on his shoulder, her arms encircling his torso. He had one arm around her, coming to rest in front of him where he held a book, reading aloud to her.

“It was in the spring of the year 1894 that all London was interested, and the fashionable world dismayed, by the murder of the honorable Ronald Adair under the most unusual and inexplicable circumstances. The public had already learned those particulars of the crime which came out in the police investigation; but a good deal was suppressed upon-“ His voice carried on, but she was more focused on the sound of it, and of the feeling of it reverberating throughout her whole body than she was on the words he was speaking. Shifting ever so slightly, she looked up at him, his face soft and serene, the combination of the warm lamplight and his long lashes painting shadows on his cheeks. His downcast eyes waltzing across the page, blinking slowly, roughly every other sentence.

“Jason?” He stopped reading and turned his head to look at her, their faces almost touching, their breaths gently fanning each other’s cheeks. He smiled, waiting for her to continue. Rather than say more words, she moved her arms from encasing his torso to bracing herself on his chest, sitting up slightly so that she hovered just slightly above him. He made no movement of protest as her face inched closer and closer to his. Tilting his face upwards and just a smidge to the left, he let the book fall from his hands when their lips met. Her world was nothing save for bliss up until that kiss. It was nice, at first, but then it all came crashing down. He was warm, but all she could remember was a pair of lips, feeling so similar to his, yet icy to the touch. And she remembered. Pulling away from her, he cradled her face, wiping her tears away again. He looked at her wide eyes, staring down at him in despair, streaks of tears running down the mound of her cheeks. And he knew. His face morphed into a sympathetic smile, pressing another quick kiss to her lips, still holding her face.

“Oh, Baby.” His voice rang with sadness, as if he was losing everything too. “You should wake up.”

“No, please, I love you. I don’t care if this is real or not, I love you.” She begged, the tears gushing from her eyes.

“I love you too, but you need to go now. I’m sorry.” Though he wasn’t crying s much as her, there was a soft misting of water in his gaze, as he held her tight.

“Please, Jay, just a few more minutes. I’m not ready to lose you again.”

“Is anyone ever ready, Y/n?”

“Please, please, just five more minutes.” She begged, holding his wrists as she leaned into his hands.

“Five more minutes.” The serenity had been chased from the room by desperation and fear, she fell from his hands to his arms, pulling him tight into her own. Her face pressed against his cheek, sobbing uncontrollably. He matched her strength, mimicking her hold as he pressed his face back against hers. Turning his face to the side, he slanted his lips against hers, doing his best to steal away her pain and replace it only with his love. Caressing her cheek when they pulled apart, he gazed at her sadly, and her vision blurred and faded into darkness.

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