#Time will tell in the end

[moongothic]

Honestly the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced OPLA's [random Background Extra at Roger's execution everyone thought was pre-t Crocodile] isn't actually Crocodile.

And just so we're clear; we don't need that Background Extra to be pre-t Crocodile for Crocodile to be trans and/or Luffy's other dad. One Piece already has a fuck ton of material to provide for us to push the Crocodad Agenda and this Extra from OPLA would not and frankly does not tip the scale of Crocodad's plausibility in either direction (as I'm going to attempt to explain). I know a lot of us got kind of attached to the idea that the Extra could be Croc because it added fuel to the fire for the fandom (hell, it is what made me fall down the Crocodad Rabbithole to begin with), and so the fact that I'm now going to try to dismiss it might feel a little bad. I just want you to understand that we don't need that Extra to be Crocodile. We have better evidence for Crocodad elsewhere.

Anyways, yeah, the more I think about the less I think that lady is pre-transition Crocodile (-> going to be she/her'ing her). To be fair, there isn't really much to provide as evidence for either case, since she was just A Background Extra who we saw for a split second. It's just that I don't think it's a "50/50 it could go either way", but more like a "92/8 probably not, though not impossible" Also quick reminder I have not watched OPLA, all I know about this Extra is from screencaps so if I'm missing any helpful context then yeah that's why.

My key reasoning is pretty boring though. It's just that she does not look like Crocodile. As in, she does not have enough of Crocodile's key features (in his character design overall) that help us recognize Crocodile as Crocodile. Yes, we have no idea how he looked during Roger's execution. Yes, he probably did not have his iconic scar nor hook during this time. That's not what I'm talking about. There's more to Crocodile's character design than those two things.

When we saw Crocodile at Roger's execution in Chapter 0, we specifically saw him from behind. We don't know how his face looked nor do we know what he might've been wearing. All we do know is that: He was wearing a furlined (or a full fur) coat. He had his cigars. He wore his hair slicked back, and he had at least one earring.

And all this Background Extra has going for her is the earring(s). Even her hair, which, sure, IS slicked back, is still quite different from how Crocodile wears his hair, as it seems much longer with braids and seeming to be tied back. And yes I know pre-t Crocodile might had long hair, it's not like we can really see or tell in the panel.

But there's two things I want you to think about here.

1) Oda generally speaking does not change character designs that much through out the series, as the characters get older etc. Like generally speaking, each character has certain traits and features that help us recognize the characters, and while Oda may change some features about the characters, he'll also always go out of his way to ensure they also retain other features, so that they remain recognizable to the readers. Here's a few examples to drive my point

Moria's body changes a lot as he gets older but his facial features remain essentially the same as does his haircut (and his alt fashion style)

Sabo's haircut changes completely as does his face a little bit, but his fashion sense has not changed one bit

Her ⌛️ phase aside (because Oda is a horny bastard), baby Charlotte Linlin has the same big nose, large eyes and huge smile as she does as Big Mom+the rotund body shape in general (and even ⌛️ Linlin, who is otherwise unrecognizable, has Big Mom's iconic pirate hat)

Baby Doflamingo wearing his stupid little glasses even as a kid- we don't know what he looks like without them, but the sunglasses make him weirdly more recognizable that way

Really, I could go on, but the point remains; Oda does not drastically change character designs often, and even when he does, they're still recognizable because they retain certain features. And so the fact that the Background Extra doesn't really have "enough" of those features makes it hard for me to buy that's Crocodile. Because...

2) ...If OPLA did want to include pre-t Crocodile as an easter egg, why make it this vague? Genuinely, they could've given the Extra something slightly more recognizable to us, like given her either a cigar or a furlined coat (maybe not both), and honestly there'd still be a really good level of deniability if Netflix wanted to be cheeky about it. Like OPLA wouldn't have to worry about them confirming Crocodile being trans before Oda, because we don't know how Crocodile looked during this time. Even with the coat or a cigar we'd still have no way to prove or debunk whether or not the Extra really was pre-t Croc (as long as nobody in staff went and blurted it out).

But as the Extra is right now, her resemblance to Crocodile is so non-existant that it feels frankly pointless to me if that really was him, it's too deniable. Where as, imagine if she had a furlined coat on. We'd be having a much more heated discussion about whether or not that really was Crocodile, because then the resemblance would be immidiately much more noticable, but still just vague enough to be deniable -> much more heated debate.

And I know, I know, people can change drastically how they present themselves when transing their gender, so it could be realistic if pre-t Crocodile looked nothing like post-t Croc. But this is a silly comic with a funny rubber boy as the protagonist. This is fucking One Piece, man, you can't get much more unrealistic than OP And again, like. How many characters in OP have dressed nearly the exact same and presented themselves in the exact same style their whole lives? It's not realistic, but that's what OP is like, so frankly it would be much more on-brand for the series if pre-t Crocodile presented himself the exact same as he does now. Because that is how Oda normally does it.

But again. Regardless, there's plenty of material in the manga for trans Crocodile truthers to cling onto. This Extra does not add anything substantial by any stretch of imagination. She just does not matter.

[chiisana-lion]

[rainintheevening]

Enjoyed everyone's comments on the last one so much, here's another.

[bamsara]

I think that one thing people fail to understand is that unsolicited literary criticism coming from an online stranger who is reading with no knowledge of what the authors intended goal is, is not going to be received the same as say: the authors beta reader or friends who know what the authors intended goal and has the sufficient knowledge and input to help the author reach that desired outcome.

"But I'm only trying to be helpful" How do I know you have the knowledge and literary skill for you to be able to actaully do that when we don't know each other and you are essentially a stranger to me? Are you applying this criticism based out of personal biased experience and desire to see the story or characterization be driven in another direction or tweaked, or do you know the author's intentions for the character? If the story is incomplete, are you basing your criticism of a character on the incomplete narration with only partial information available of them or are you building up a report until the story's completion? Did the author provide you with the information needed to make a fully informed criticism?

Have you discussed with the author what their plans are or are you assuming them based off the narration, especially if the narration is proven or implied to be unreliable or missing key points of the plot? Are you unbiased enough to help them reach their desired outcome for the characters and story regardless of your personal feelings towards the characters/antagonists and setting? Can you handle being told your specific input isn't wanted because you're a reader and/or have no written anything relating to their genre or topic? Do you understand and respect that the author's personal experiences might influence their writing and make it different than how you would have done it personally? Do you understand if an author only wants input from a specific demographic relating to their story?

If it's for fanfiction or other hobby media, are you holding a free hobby to a professional standard? Are you trying to give criticism because you feel like the author has produced 'subpar job performance' of their fic? Are you viewing their work as a personal intimate outlet or something that must conform with mass media? Are you applying rules and guidelines when the fic is shared for simple sharing sake? Is your criticism worded appropriately and focused on the parts where the author has requested input on rather than a general dismissal and or disapproval?

Have you put yourself in a place where you assumed you have the input needed for the story to evolve better, or have you asked what the author needs and what they're having trouble with? Can you handle having your criticism rejected if the author decides their story doesn't need the change and not take it as a personal offense against your character? Are you crossing that boundary because you think you are doing the author a favor? Are you trying to be helpful, or do you just want to be?

I think sometimes when people hear authors go 'please don't give me unsolicited writing advice or criticism' they automatically chalk it up to 'this author doesn't want ANY constructive feedback on their stuff at all' and not "i already have trusted individuals who will help me with my writing goals and- hey i don't know you like that, please stop acting so overly familiar with me'

[noodles-and-tea]

Little Stan getting manipulated by Bill has excellent angst potential but consider.

Stanley just, keeps tricking Bill. Because Bill would definitely massively underestimate Stanley and how far he’ll go to protect Ford (like in the actual show). We also know Stanley has the street smarts between the twins and could absolutely tell Bill is full of it.

And because Bill would absolutely loose his mind if he kept getting foiled by a snot nosed eight year old that isn’t even supposed to be here

I like to think that he doesn’t even try that hard he just does not even care about bill

[inkskinned]

at some point it's just like. do they even fucking like the thing they're asking AI to make? "oh we'll just use AI for all the scripts" "we'll just use AI for art" "no worries AI can write this book" "oh, AI could easily design this"

like... it's so clear they've never stood in the middle of an art museum and felt like crying, looking at a piece that somehow cuts into your marrow even though the artist and you are separated by space and time. they've never looked at a poem - once, twice, three times - just because the words feel like a fired gun, something too-close, clanging behind your eyes. they've never gotten to the end of the movie and had to arrive, blinking, back into their body, laughing a little because they were holding their breath without realizing.

"oh AI can mimic style" "AI can mimic emotion" "AI can mimic you and your job is almost gone, kid."

... how do i explain to you - you can make AI that does a perfect job of imitating me. you could disseminate it through the entire world and make so much money, using my works and my ideas and my everything.

and i'd still keep writing.

i don't know there's a word for it. in high school, we become aware that the way we feel about our artform is a cliche - it's like breathing. over and over, artists all feel the same thing. "i write because i need to" and "my music is how i speak" and "i make art because it's either that or i stop existing." it is such a common experience, the violence and immediacy we mean behind it is like breathing to me - comes out like a useless understatement. it's a cliche because we all feel it, not because the experience isn't actually persistent. so many of us have this ... fluttering urgency behind our ribs.

i'm not doing it for the money. for a star on the ground in some city i've never visited. i am doing it because when i was seven i started taking notebooks with me on walks. i am doing it because in second grade i wrote a poem and stood up in front of my whole class to read it out while i shook with nerves. i am doing it because i spent high school scribbling all my feelings down. i am doing it for the 16 year old me and the 18 year old me and the today-me, how we can never put the pen down. you can take me down to a subatomic layer, eviscerate me - and never find the source of it; it is of me. when i was 19 i named this blog inkskinned because i was dramatic and lonely and it felt like the only thing that was actually permanently-true about me was that this is what is inside of me, that the words come up over everything, coat everything, bloom their little twilight arias into every nook and corner and alley

"we're gonna replace you". that is okay. you think that i am writing to fill a space. that someone said JOB OPENING: Writer Needed, and i wrote to answer. you think one raindrop replaces another, and i think they're both just falling. you think art has a place, that is simply arrives on walls when it is needed, that is only ever on demand, perfect, easily requested. you see "audience spending" and "marketability" and "multi-line merch opportunity"

and i see a kid drowning. i am writing to make her a boat. i am writing because what used to be a river raft has long become a fully-rigged ship. i am writing because you can fucking rip this out of my cold dead clammy hands and i will still come back as a ghost and i will still be penning poems about it.

it isn't even love. the word we use the most i think is "passion". devotion, obsession, necessity. my favorite little fact about the magic of artists - "abracadabra" means i create as i speak. we make because it sluices out of us. because we look down and our hands are somehow already busy. because it was the first thing we knew and it is our backbone and heartbreak and everything. because we have given up well-paying jobs and a "real life" and the approval of our parents. we create because - the cliche again. it's like breathing. we create because we must.

you create because you're greedy.

[cavalierclavier]

When I broke the cycle, I made sure that the tear was rough. You carry a part of what should be her, and she carries a part of what should be you.

[originalartblog]

Don't forget to eat to keep the demons at bay

[marisatomay]

there should be an oscar category called “movie my dad completed without falling asleep on the couch” and it’s more prestigious and contentious than best picture

[time-woods]

sleeping habits

[egophiliac]

don't think I'm not still deep in the episode 7 brainrot. because OH BOY AM I

(also one more extremely, obnoxiously self-referential thing, I'm -- I'm so sorry)

[starry-bi-sky]

on a completely separate note; shizun luo binghe with a disciple shen yuan who fell into the abyss??? *thinks about LBH canonically stealing SQQ's corpse for 5 years* he'd hallucinate i think. like, like visual and audial hallucinations.

Keeps thinking he's seeing SQQ in the corner of his eyes, or wandering between the trees, amongst a group of disciples. Thinks he hears him calling for him, but its just the wind or another disciple.

Gets Xiu Ya reforged but patently fucking refuses to make a sword mound. Because his disciple Is Not Dead :))) There was No Body. He's Not Dead. And If You keep Insisting That He Is, He's Gonna Skewer You :). He's holding onto Xiu Ya so he can return his most favored disciple's sword when he returns. It's on his hip right next to Zheng Yang where it's supposed to be.

Also this motherfucker?? does not sleep btw. He has the image of SQQ, wide eyed and hysterical and standing at the mouth of the abyss burned into his fucking eyelids. Can't use the dreamscape to escape it either because he keeps trying to save him and either he does and it's an incredibly cruel trick to wake up to, or he doesn't and he gets his heart broken in several different pieces again.

There is no convincing this man that Shen Qingqiu is dead. Absolutely nothing at all. He is buried so deep in denial that moles would be jealous of how deep he is. He keeps making tea for two in the bamboo house only to remember that it's just him. SQQ's fans are hiding everywhere, little reminders of his presence. He goes to wake up SQQ on the mornings he sleeps in-- only to find the room empty.

[bluerosefox]

Batman sighs deeply and rubs a temple.

It was meant to be a simple space mission, nothing to big. Just a quick check and report back.

Only problem is the ones he would normally assign this to are all dealing with other things so he had to ask... Someone else...

Like...

The ones that were once Young Justice.

Look, they were the only only ones with a spaceship (How? He still had no idea, Tim keeps saying 'What happens in YJ, stays in YJ') that could go far out without problems, and even though he knew putting the old YJ team together might be a bad idea, he trusted them especially Red Robin to be just a bit more professional at least. Since they were no longer teens but young adults now.

And again it was meant to just be a quick mission.

Nothing big.

So...

So why was Young Justice currently wrangling two floating black haired toddlers, one with blue eyes while the other one had red, and a black haired baby.

Turns out they found these children floating in space on their way back from their mission, cryo sleeping in a ice block huddled and cuddled together around a well loved teddybear with a teal headband on its head.

Or they were sleeping in cryo sleep until Superboy brought the ice block in and the thing melted allowing the children to wake up.

Batman could feel a headache coming on when he noticed just how... attached Young Justice was becoming to the children as well and knew it would be a miracle if he could get them to separate from the children.

[bookalicent]

yeah so this was insane

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

MDZS x Brazil (1985)

(Yes. Real movie dialogue)

[basalting]

after jasons death bruce "accidentally" slips harvey a crowbar while hes in arkham and kisses his cheek and says, voice soft and colder than ice, "make him hurt for me honey"

it takes 6 guards to sedate and drag two face off the joker the next time two face sees him and for the rest of their lives as soon as harvey sees the joker he goes after him like a rabid dog.