#and also shanks destroy her. like they give her nothing to fight against him

[bingus35]

V2 uta is fun but in hindsight its probably not the best idea to spend everything on a banner with no guarantee

[holykillercake]

One Year

pairing: Zoro x Reader

word count: 2k

summary: No summary this time. I´ll just say this ¨Bartholomew Kuma and Sabaody¨. Read at your own risk. Seriously, ¨KUMA AND SABAODY¨, do you understand?

highlight: ¨Everyone did their best, but no one could have done better.¨

warnings: angst with happy ending; Sabaody Archipelago spoilers (?)

notes: Hey guys! This was a request from @roronoatrash​ in which ¨Zoro who has 0 sense of direction seemed to always find his way back to is s/o, and his s/o only.¨. I really hope you like it!💚 This is also the first time I write a Devil Fruit user, so I'm considering a sequel to develop the character and add more humor.

𝕷𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖘, 𝖗𝖊𝖖𝖚𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖘, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊!

It was a cloudy and melancholic day in the New World. The men on board were leisurely enjoying their afternoon; some drinking, some napping, some eating. The air was humid and cold, and the tides were strangely calm. No one seemed to care. After all, that was the New World. 

¨Boss!¨ the lookout shouted from the crow's nest ¨Something is falling from the sky! It´s going to land on deck!¨

All men tilted their heads to look at the sky, watching a tiny black spot become bigger and more recognizable.

¨Is that what I think it is?¨ the captain asked himself, not believing his eyes.

¨Boss, is that a girl?¨

¨Yep, I think so.¨

They stood still watching what they suspected was a girl fall from the skies. The red-haired took a quick glimpse at his first-mate and officers, and since no one moved, he felt safe to assume that that was not a threat. Mainly because whatever was falling towards the ship looked dead already. 

The body fell through the main deck and went straight to the lower level of the ship. The captain and his officers stood around the hole on the wooden floor, observing the unconscious and injured body of a girl. 

¨I´ve seen some crazy things rain around here... but this is new.¨ he spoke.

They were ready to have someone dispose of the dead body when the girl opened her eyes, putting herself on her shaky legs. Blood dripped from her eyebrows and nose, and she had bruises all over. Her eyes wandered around as if she was looking for something.

¨Z-Zoro...¨ she spoke when her teary eyes met the captain´s ¨I-I need to find Zoro.¨ 

That was all she said before falling on her knees and collapsing. 

                                                             </>

Almost a year has passed since the tragedy in Sabaody Archipelago. A year passed since you were defeated in the fight against the marine force. Your gashes closed, and your bruises healed, but there was a wound that would not go away, even after one year. 

So much had happened since that day. Luffy had broken into Impel Down, fought in the Paramount War, and lost his brother, Ace. A few days later you received the hidden message he had left you, saying that you were no longer going to meet in Sabaody in three days but in two years.

It took you a while to understand the situation you and the rest of the Strawhats were in, and it took you even more to let go of your selfishness and trust them. The guilt for not being strong enough to protect yourself and your comrades ate you alive during the first weeks, but then you considered how they must be feeling too. No one could have done better. 

Everyone did their best, but no one could have done better. 

For one year, whenever a News Coo flew by to deliver a newspaper, you would run and grab it before anyone did, hoping to see another message from your friends. But the status of your captain was the only one you knew so far. You knew he was training with Rayleigh-san, and this whole two years thing should have been his idea. 

When Bartholomeu Kuma used his Devil Fruit powers on you, you ended up landing on the ship of the Red Hair Pirates. They would always tell you how you rained on their Red Force and broke the deck floor. They said you were looking for someone, and during your stay in the infirmary, you would always call for the same person. 

For months nightmares had you waking up in the middle of the night panting and crying. The same one, torturing you in an infinite and merciless loop. 

Every detail, color, and noise. Everything was so precise and clear in your head. 

When he fought still injured from the last encounter with the Shichibukai; when he stood up and faced the Warlord fearlessly. Even with the damages caused by Kizaru and the Pacifistas, he stood up. 

And maybe your eyes fooled you, maybe your exhausted body played a sick trick on you because he was there until he wasn´t.

 Right in front of your eyes.

 His cropped green hair and tanned skin, the vibrant red and white striped shirt, the scar across his chest, the haramaki, and the swords. Gone, simple as that. 

But after all the training that you had with the Red Hair Pirates, you seemed more in peace with yourself. After one year, the nightmares would bother you only every once in a while. You were not prepared for the New World before, maybe still aren´t, but you will get there. 

And they made everything easier. It was no mystery why Luffy liked them so much. Whenever you were not engaged in a fight or some other Emperor crap, those guys were incredibly light-spirited. And the moment they realized you were part of Luffy´s crew they treated your wounds and welcomed you onboard. 

Shanks agreed to have his men training you, but he made very clear that no one would babysit you, so it was ¨keep up or keep out.¨. You spent most of your time with Yassop, Benn, or Roux, for they were the best in the abilities you exercised. 

Inside the Strawhats you were a stealth agent, mostly because of your Devil Fruit, the Nagi Nagi no Mi, once possessed by a Marine Commander. Another Supernova, the Surgeon of Death Trafalgar Law had told you that before shit broke in Sabaody. 

You used that combined with your fighting skills to breach the enemy´s first line of defense before they saw you coming. Usually, Usopp would assist you with the sniper training, trade he ¨learned from a friend¨, Sogeking. 

His father was an extraordinary sniper, and he used the same kind of firearms as you, differently than Usopp´s slingshot. Benn´s combat skills were remarkable, and Roux was exceptionally fast for a man his size. You haven´t had a lot of opportunities to fight the Red Hair himself, though you had a strong will, his Haki was something you have never seen before. 

¨We´re going to a bar, kid. You´re coming?¨ Benn asked you with his cigarette on his lips. 

You pondered a little over his invitation but decided to decline it. ¨Thanks, Benn, but I´m keeping a low profile tonight.¨ He nodded and smiled, turning to follow his crewmates ¨Don´t drink too much, we have training tomorrow!¨ 

The first mate laughed shortly and spoke without looking at you ¨Roger that, kid.¨ 

You walked the opposite way, wandering between the vegetables and gimmicks tents, feeling the kind sunset kiss your skin. There was some music playing, kids running around with ice cream in their hands, laughing loudly and happily. Marketers were announcing their prices, housewives were thinking about delicious recipes to prepare for their families, and couples would sit together around the font, swearing love to each other.

Every day was like that. The citizens would wish their neighbors ¨good morning¨ from their windows; bakers would open the doors early, letting the delightful smell of fresh bread wake up those who slept in.  

How could you, in the middle of all that happiness, feel so sad and lost?

You sighed and made a route change. Maybe you needed a little bit of booze. 

The island where Shanks had decided to dock was in the Grand Line, a place where they were known and welcomed. So you knew where they were, and it would be a short walk to get there.

¨Y/N?¨ 

You turned automatically, thinking that a crew member had gotten lost and was looking for his captain - or boss, how he likes to be called.

 But when you saw the man standing in front of you, everything stopped. The music, the kids, and the love promises. 

At some point, you started to cry and hyperventilate, believing you were in another nightmare, and you would have to go through that day all over again. Your lover carried pain in his eyes as well, like his fears were the same as yours. 

Those minutes you stared at each other felt like hours while you kept every detail of him in your memory. His hair was slightly longer, and his complexion was paler, even with the sunset painting his skin. 

¨Z-Zoro...¨ you whispered shakily.

He gave a step forward ¨Y/N... it´s you...¨ 

You ran in his direction as soon as your name fell out of his mouth. Your arms embraced his neck, and your legs gave up when he held you tight against his body, whispering comforting words as you broke into tears. 

¨I...¨ nothing but sobs came out.

¨I know... me too.¨ he fondled your hair and hid his face in the curve of your neck. And there stood the both of you, not wanting to let the other go. 

                                                          </>

¨How did you know I was here?¨ you asked and he blushed a little.

¨I didn´t... I had to buy stuff for the castle, and I got lost.¨ a loud laugh came out of your mouth. It was so obvious, how didn´t you guess that?

¨They didn´t give you a log pose?¨

¨They did, but I took a nap and when I woke up, I was here.¨

You spent the rest of the day cuddling on the beach sand. Zoro was laying on his back, and you were resting on his chest. You had one year worth of conversation to catch up on, and neither of you rushed to do so. He told you about Mihawk, the creepy island in which the only native habitants were copycat human drills, the boat he destroyed, and even how he begged the Warlord to train him.

The sun had started to hide behind the sea, and the warm sand was cooling down. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore together with the salty breeze made you question if you had died at some point, and that was heaven.

¨You´re paler.¨ he chuckled.

¨It´s not very sunny where I´m living.¨ 

¨Hm...¨ you hummed ¨And how long did you take to figure out Luffy´s message?¨ 

¨Oh...¨ he thought for a second ¨ I knew right away.¨ you giggled and doodled on his chest with your finger. 

You felt his chest go up and down as he let out a sigh. 

¨I missed you, Y/N.¨ he hugged you tighter. 

¨I missed you too.¨ you stayed in silence for a few minutes ¨Anyway, when are you setting sail again?¨ You asked him softly, and he tensed up. ¨I know... ¨ your lips began to tremble ¨ I don´t want to go either, but what happened in Sabaody... I don´t want that to happen ever again.¨ you bit your lip as tears started to roll on your cheeks. 

He wiped the tears with his fingers and pulled you closer. None of you wanted to part ways again, but not only those were your captain´s order that was your future. If something like that happens again in the New World, a two-year separation would be the best scenario possible. 

¨It won´t. I promise.¨

When the night came, you decided to stay on the beach and talked until you fell asleep under the stars. The best sleep you´ve had in a long time. No nightmares, no agony, and no pain. Just the warmth and peace you missed so much.

On the following morning, you helped him get the provisions for Mihawk´s castle. You toured around the city holding hands and joking, kinda like the couples sitting by the font, enjoying every second you had before he left. 

If he didn´t get lost trying to go back to Kuraigana Island, it would be a quick trip. You assisted him with the bags and walked him to his boat. Your heart ached to say goodbye to him, but you had to. The circumstances were bigger than the two of you.

¨I love you, Zoro.¨ you hugged him and tried not to cry again.

¨I love you more, Y/N.¨

¨Careful with the naps, ok?¨ he chuckled and nodded ¨One year. We´ll meet again in one year.¨ 

¨Wait for me. I´ll go get you, and we´ll return to Sabaody together.¨ 

¨But how will you know where I will be?¨

¨It doesn´t matter where you´ll be. I´ll always find you.¨

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 16 part one

(Masterpost of All the Recaps)  (Canary’s Pinboard)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes

All righty, this one is going to be a laff riot...not. Let's do it.

The first half of this episode is like a beautifully executed standalone tragedy, while also threading together all sorts of themes and paying off all sorts of relationship building that's happened in the previous episodes. My hat is off to the writers, while I also shake a fist at them for making me cry an unreasonable amount.

We’re Sailing on a Strange Boat

The episode starts right off absolutely DESTROYING me with the Yunmeng brothers holding hands, fingers interlaced, in the first of many hand-touching moments that punctuate the episode.

Jiang Cheng has to be pretty far gone to accept this degree of comfort and tenderness. I think, from their positions, he is also holding Yanli's hand out of the camera's view. 

Zidian finally lets the trio go, and they immediately turn the boat around and head back to Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian gets the clever idea to turn the benches into makeshift oars but nobody gets the clever idea to use magic to push the boat like they do literally every other time they are in a boat. 

Their emotional need to go back to Lotus Pier is understandable, but they are being disobedient and irresponsible by doing it. Jiang Cheng is the future of the clan, and should not risk his life, particularly after his mother chose to sacrifice herself to protect him and after both of his parents told him to go hide with his sister and personal bodyguard brother. 

On the other hand, Jiang Fengmian, as clan leader, probably had a duty to go into hiding himself rather than go home to die romantically, so his authority is questionable at this point. Anyway, this is the Jiang Clan, they get to kind of do what they want, except when that pisses Jiang Cheng off.

Lotus Pier Massacre

Back at Lotus Pier, the Wens are kicking Jiang ass. The fight choreography is pretty good, taking full advantage of walkways, railings, pools, and other features of the environment. 

Using the set this way always makes fights feel more kinetic and real, as opposed to simply sparring in an open area. 

(more after the cut)

Yu Ziyuan is fighting adequately with a sword, having given her preferred weapon to her son.  She's clearly been at it for a while, and is tiring; the Wen soldiers are starting to land more and more sword blows but no critical hits yet.

Wen Zhuliu is kicking ass and possibly melting cores, although we don't see him do it to anybody yet. Later we'll hear from Jiang Cheng that he crushed the cores of his parents, but it's not clear when that happens.

Sixth young master replays Jiang Fengmian's entire archery lesson in his head while he waits, and waits, for Wen Zhuliu to finish strangling a dude the right moment to shoot an arrow at Wen Zhuliu. 

Homicidal tart Wang Lingjiao notices him lining up a shot, strolls over, and stabs him in the back while he's still thinking about what Jiang Fengmian said. One could wish that JFM's archery lessons weren't quite so wordy. 

Wang Linjao normally doesn't carry a sword because of her low spiritual power, but apparently can use one just fine when she's killing kids.

If you start feeling like this episode is unreasonably painful, just think of it as building up calluses so you can handle Yi City when the time comes.

Jiang Fengmian to the Rescue

Jiang Fengmian shows up very far past the nick of time, although he is not actually useful, so it's questionable whether arriving earlier would have helped. But his wife is glad to see him.

Netflix subtitles say that Jiang Fengmian calls Yu Ziyuan "My Lady!" which sounds courtly and romantic in English. His actual words are "San Niangzi" which hunxi-gullai breaks out here.  I might render this as "lady wife!" rather than "my lady" but I don't think English really has a perfect equivalent.

Jiang Fengmian sails across the courtyard, knocking down a few Wen soldiers and becoming a young, slender man in the process.

I mean, come on, that stunt double does not look like a boxy middle-aged man from any angle.

The Dying Bit

The episode splits up the big death scene for dramatic effect but I'm recapping it all together to keep things simple.

Within moments of arriving, Jiang Fengmian gets shanked by Wen Zhuliu like Scatman Crothers in The Shining (or Groundskeeper Willie in The Shinning).

Wen Zhuliu stops a Wen soldier from finishing JFM off, just so that a different Wen soldier can deliver the killing blow from the back, which is kinda harsh. With all this spin-fighting there is probably not an implication of cowardice when someone dies from a stab in the back, but still. Too rude, Wen Zhuliu.

Yu Ziyuan sees Jiang Fengmian fall, and after having a moment of sorrow and despair, she stabs herself in the heart, falls down, crawls to him and interlaces her hand with his. He revives just enough to give her hand a squeeze and say "San Niangzi" one last time before dying. 

She dies next, with a smile on her face at the end. The soundtrack plays that amazing "horribly emotional death scene" music that isn't one of the tracks available on the OST, argh. This same music appears at the end of Xue Yang's story.  

Of the many things I love about the Untamed, the complexity of all the minor characters is possibly my favorite. These two people suck at parenting, and suck at being married, and ultimately suck at protecting and leading their clan, making stupid, selfish choices at every step of the building conflict. 

And then they have this incredibly romantic death scene, in which they both face the inevitability of failure, and find comfort in failing together. Yet their death scene is totally in keeping with who we know them to be, and who they are to each other; the drama doesn't cheat by making them ideal lovers or great people at the end. But they have a great, great moment.

Jiang Yanli, waiting in the woods while her brothers are presumably running toward Lotus Pier, drops her lotus pendant, which is made of the loudest jade ever discovered, and it breaks with a crash.  

Yanli, who is a well educated young lady, knows a moment of doomy symbolism when she sees it.

Jiang Yanli: Who put a giant rock out here in the woods? What are the odds I’d drop my pendant directly on it? 

It’s all Over Except for the Crying, Running and Choking

The brothers climb up on the roof and are shocked to see nothing but Wen soldiers and piled up Jiang corpses... 

...including one child who is either about to become a zombie or who is being played by a young actor who can't control their curiosity, judging by the way this eye is sneakily opened while the camera is running.

There's a moment where Jiang Cheng is saying they must have spared his parents, they must be okay, where Wei Wuxian's face is just...wow. You can see right here the gulf in life experience between these two. 

Wen Zhuliu roams around looking troubled while searching for more people to kill. He’s an interesting villain; someone who believes his loyalty to his boss makes him a good guy, but knows his boss is a bad guy. 

Then we are treated to a hell of a camera move, where it tracks over Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian together on the floor, heroic in death and still holding hands, and then sweeps up to show their killers sitting on the lotus throne. 

The dead couple were at odds for their whole lives together, while the evil people who killed them are acting like devoted lovebirds. It's a stunning shot and a terrific thematic contrast. When Wei Wuxian eventually comes to take his vengeance, he will spend some time turning Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao against each other, before ending them. 

The camera shows us JC's reaction, then shows his mother, then WWX’s reaction, then JF; each reacting to the death of the person who loved them. Some folks may feel that Jiang Fengmian actually did love Jiang Cheng but was just bad at showing it. But Jiang Cheng doesn't think so, and I don't think it's a given that parents love their children.

Side note: Macroexpression king Wang Zhuocheng is able to open his eyes so far that a giant strip of white shows above his irises, and keep them like that, which is quite a trick. Try it yourself.

Meanwhile Wang Lingjiao and Wen Chao gossip about YZY and JFM's bad marriage. Wen Chao admires YZY's beauty, and Wang Lingjiao insults her character, and announces that she's going to stab YZY's body a few extra times. Jiang Cheng briefly faints at this, taking a page from Wei Wuxian's book, and rolls off the roof. 

Run Run Away

Both young men run, and run, and run away from Lotus Pier while Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao mistreat the bodies of Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan 

The stabbing happens off camera, because it's ok to stab a live child on camera, but not a dead adult. (As always, there are cultural reasons for "what's ok" in any country, and I'm not saying anybody's wrong about these choices). 

Wen Chao follows this up with pouring a cup of wine across their faces. He does this in the style of a libation for the dead, but as a desecration, combining mistreatment of bodies with profaning a ceremonial rite. In a world where ghosts are real and have sharp fingernails, this is deeply, deeply stupid.

Yu Ziyuan’s actress Zhang Jingtong is able to have liquid poured INTO HER EAR without flinching. Mad props.

The brothers eventually finish running and arrive in a field with an extreme purple photo filter on it. Which I've done my best to remove for these gifs, with variable results. 

Jiang Cheng wants to turn around and go back to Lotus Pier. He says he wants to retrieve his parents’ bodies and to take revenge, but he's devastated and it seems likely he just wants to die with everyone else.  

Wei Wuxian pleads with Jiang Cheng to calm down and stay safe, while Jiang Cheng gives himself over to anger and shock as the brothers shout at each other.

Punching and running ensues, and Wei Wuxian tries to hold his brother back, grabbing him around the shoulders him in a gesture that painfully echoes the many hugs he's given over the years. 

This time Jiang Cheng doesn't just push him off. He turns around and chokes his brother for nearly a full minute, while screaming at him and blaming him. 

Just as when Madame Yu beat him, Wei Wuxian doesn't fight back; he pulls on Jiang Cheng's wrists but doesn't hit him or try to break his hold.

Finally Jiang Cheng lets him go, and cries out for everyone he's lost, while Wei Wuxian weeps silently next to him. Eventually they fall asleep in the grass together, their bodies curled up in the form of a heart. 

Damn, this episode really brings it.

Side Note: during their argument, Wei Wuxian says, among other things, that "revenge is a dish best served cold," according to subtitles. It's a French saying from the 1800s so it's probably not precisely what Wei Wuxian is saying. More importantly, as a longtime Star Trek fan I can't help but hear James Kirk yelling "KHAN!!!!!" whenever I encounter that phrase.

There’s Got To Be A Morning After

When they wake up in the morning, Jiang Cheng is still in his feelings, but now his feelings have moved along to despair, from anger.

I feel bad for noticing how handsome they both look in this scene. Let's all feel bad about this together.

Jiang Cheng is free to have this level of emotional breakdown because Wei Wuxian is there keeping his own shit together and focusing on what matters.

When Jiang Cheng refuses to get up, Wei Wuxian reminds him, very, very gently, that they have a sister, who has waited all night to know what happened.

At this, Jiang Cheng gets up, but won't look at Wei Wuxian, continuing to blame him for everybody else's actions, as he walks onward to find Yanli.

Wei Wuxian follows, hurt and bereft, as he gets to work internalizing everything that he's being accused of. This is good practice for his future as a widely reviled bogeyman.

Part two will be slightly less awful! Coming soon!

[wanderingaroundwriting]

Gally ~The Death Cure~

Prompt: *Plus Size Reader*

"It’s not as bad as it looks.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N stood beside Brenda, holding tightly onto the girl’s arm. She couldn’t believe what she seeing. 

Gally. 

Gally was a live. 

“How are you alive...we saw you die.” Newt spoke, breaking the silence. 

“No...you left me to die. I was was rescued not long after you by Lawrence. He is the leader of The Right Arm.” Gally answered. 

“So what you are a good guy now?” Thomas spat, he was growing more and more angry. 

“I was never the bad guy Greenie.” Gally replied, within seconds Thomas lunged for Gally, punching him to the ground. Y/N shouted at Thomas to stop, every ounce of her didn’t want to defend Gally but she couldn’t help it. Frypan and Jorge both pulled Thomas away. Gally stood up and wiped his lip of blood. 

“I deserved that.” Gally stated. 

“Gally if you say you are a good guy than can you help us? WCKD took Minho and we need to get him back.” Newt explained. “We need to get into the city.” 

Gally thought for a moment. 

“Lawrence can help...you have to get permission from him to enter and if he does...he knows the best ways.” Thomas knew better than to trust Gally but he could be their only way of saving Minho. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ride to where The Right Arm was located was rough and bumpy. Y/N never let go of Brenda and refused to look at Gally, she couldn’t bring herself too. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived to an old warehouse that Y/N didn’t want to enter. 

“Before we see Lawrence...just don’t stare at him.” Gally warned, everyone shared glances. Y/N linked her hand with Newt as they began their way towards Lawrence. They stopped at a large metal door where Gally opened in. 

“Gally...who have you brought back?” The man asked, as soon as Y/N looked, se understood exactly why Gally said not to stare. She felt Newt grip her hand tighter, assuring her she was fine. She looked at her friend and gave a faint smile.  

“Friends...from the maze. They need help entering the city to save someone important to them...to me too.” Gally explained, Y/N looked at Gally.

“How important can be?” Lawrence asked. He approached the group and stopped at Y/N. 

“V...Very.” Y/N whispered, avoiding looking at him. 

“Well then...I guess you do need my help. I can get you into the city no issue but only two of you go with Gally...the rest stay incase this is some trick.” Lawrence told them. “I can’t put my full trust in people I don’t know.”

“Newt and I will go.” Thomas spoke. 

“Come in and we will talk about how you are getting in.” Lawrence told them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N sat in silence beside Frypan as they began to discuss their options. 

“Underground tunnels are the way in...but once we reach WCKD we need to have a way in the building.” Gally said to them. “And I know that way.” Gally took Thomas and Newt outside onto the balcony. 

“You ever going to talk to him?” Frypan asked. Y/N looked down. 

“He...he hasn’t even looked at me.” Y/N spoke softly. “I can understand why.” 

“He made his choice not to leave and you made yours...don’t blame yourself.” Frypan assured her, she nodded her head. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Come back safely...both of you.” Y/N said to Thomas and Newt before giving them both hugs. Y/N looked at Gally who was opening the way to the tunnels, she wanted to badly to hug him, to hold him, but she gave a soft smile to the boys and backed away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After what felt like hours Thomas, Newt, and Gally returned but not alone, they had Teresa. Y/N ran over to Teresa to hug her but Gally quickly blocked Y/N from doing so. He glared down at the girl. 

“It’s okay Y/N.” Teresa said. Y/N fought back tears and moved away. It wasn’t till Gally sat Teresa down that she noticed Teresa’s hands were bound together. 

“You are going to help us get Minho.” Gally spoke. Teresa looked over to Thomas. “Don’t look at him, what are you looking at him? Look at me.” 

“Even if I could get you in...Minho isn’t where my access card will let me in.” Teresa told them. 

“You get us in that building and I can handle the rest.” Gally told her. Y/N looked at Thomas who remained silent, letting Gally intimidate her with no remorse. 

“You don’t have to be-” 

“Have to be what? She is the reason Minho was taken Y/N!” Newt shouted, he had never risen his voice at her before. 

“He’s right...she isn’t who she said she was back in the maze.” Gally added. Y/N not being able to fight her tears back turned away and left the group, she rushed outside and welcomed the cold air. She wiped the tears that still formed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Y/N...” She quickly turned and saw Newt looking at her. She turned away and said nothing. “I am sorry I shouted at you love.” He approached her gently. 

“Then why did you?” She asked. “No matter what she did...she is my friend...the first friend I made...”

“I...I haven’t been completely honest with you all and I know telling Thomas will be hard.” She looked at him, confused. Instead of telling her, he showed her. He rolled up his sleeve and there was a large scratch mark that looked infected. 

A Crank. 

“Newt...” The tears began to form again, it explained why he had lashed out on her. Without saying anything else, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer in. 

“I will tell the others.” He assured her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they returned inside they were all gathering supplies to start their mission of getting Minho. Y/N walked past Gally and straight towards Brenda and Jorge. 

“You are going to be with us...apparently there are others that have been captured. We are going to use a bus to get them all here safely.” Brenda explained. Y/N isn’t tough like Brenda or brave like Teresa. She isn’t sure how she had lasted this long without being killed. 

She was scared. 

“You are going to be alright.” Jorge told her, placing his hand on her shoulder. 

“I can’t imagine I will be much help...” Y/N told them. She looked over at Gally, for the first time he looked at her, she quickly looked away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waiting outside the city walls with the bus was hard for Y/N. She knew knowing that her friends within the walls could be in trouble made her heart ache. She worried about Newt, she was scared for Minho, she felt guilty for Teresa. 

“They should be in there by now.” Lawrence who joined Brenda and Jorge said. “Gally knows what he is doing.” 

“Why did you save Gally?” Y/N blurted out. 

“When we found him he was barely breathing, I could have left him to die, but I also saw he was infected...leaving him there alone wasn’t something I could do...just a kid.”  Lawrence explained. “And now he is one of my strongest guys and most trusting too.” Y/N nodded her head, agreeing with everything he was telling her, because he was right. In the maze he was the strongest and everyone trusted him, including her. Just as she was about to say something else, the four of them heard a burst of gun shots and an explosion. 

“It’s happening...they must be in.” Jorge said. 

“That’s are sign to go in.” Lawrence said, Brenda hopped into the driving seat and the they all piled into the bus. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The city was in shambles. Y/N looked out the window of the bus and saw fire everywhere, places destroyed, and bodies on the ground. 

She hated death and she hated violence. The bus came to a stop when another large explosion went off, it was close enough to shake the large vehicle. Y/N felt useless like always just waiting in the bus while her friends were risking their lives. 

She began to have this feeling inside of her. She needed off the bus. She rushed from her seat and began to leave. 

“Y/N stop!” Frypan shouted. Y/N snatched a gun from one the nearest bags they had prepared and went outside. She wasn’t sure what this feeling was but it was only growing. She ignored the calls from Brenda and Jorge and ran towards the chaos. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The smoke from the explosions made it difficult for Y/N to see. She heard constant cries for help, people pushing past her. She had just reached the end of a large crowed when a large man came past her, pushing her to the ground. 

She fell hard, hitting her head. 

The noises around her were muffled. 

Her vision was blurry. She pulled all her strength together and managed to stand on up. She clutched the gun which she had no idea how to use in her hand tightly and pushed on. 

She noticed the WCKD building and rushed towards it but stopped when she saw three men standing outside of it on the top floor. She looked up and shook her head. 

Thomas, Newt, and Minho. 

“Y/N?” She heard someone shout, she turned and saw a man dressed as a guard rushing towards her. She raised the gun and closed her eyes. She felt the gun ripped from her hands. She opened her eyes and saw Gally, he took of the mask. 

Pure anger. 

“Why the hell are you here!?” She didn’t answer, she turned back to Minho, Newt, and Thomas. Gally noticed. “What are those Shanks doing?” 

His question was quickly answered when the three boys jumped, Y/N placed her hands over her eyes, but opened them when she heard splashing. Gally pulled her roughly by the arm, towards the water fountain. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That was pretty crazy Greenie.” Gally told Thomas while helping him out of the fountain. Y/N grabbed onto Newt’s hand and helped him out. She could tell the effects of the scratch was starting to takes it’s toll even worse now. He was pale, his eyes were a dark color, and he had veins all over his hands, face, and neck. 

“Why are you here?” Newt asked. 

“I asked the same thing.” Gally added. 

“Minho!” Y/N once again ignored the question and hugged her friend. He glady returned the hug. 

“We need to get Newt back.” Thomas said, they all agreed. 

“I know the way to the bus.” Y/N spoke. As they nodded their heads a group of guards rushed out from the building, their guns aiming straight at them. 

“Let’s go!” Gally shouted. Minho and Thomas both helped Newt as they rushed to find cover. The gun shots were close. 

Gally grabbed onto Y/N and pulled her down as they hid behind a flipped car. 

They got separated from the others. 

“Why aren’t you with the bus?” He asked her. She leaned against the car and closed her eyes. She has been trying to find the right answer since she left the bus honestly. 

“I d...don’t know...I h...had this feeling.” She told him. 

“And that feeling told you to run straight into this mess?” He was still angry. 

“Yes! Alright! I have been with you guys since the beginning and if anything...” She stopped and looked down, tears forming. “If any of you left me and I wasn’t there-” 

“Like when you left me back at the maze.” He spat. She looked at him, hurt by his comment. 

“I wanted you to come with us...and when you killed Chuck...and seeing Minho kill you...I couldn’t get that imagine out of my head for the longest time.” She looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since reuniting. He was older, his features matured. 

“I didn’t want to kill Chuck.” He told her. 

“I know...I know you were infected. I trusted you more than anyone Gally...I still do.” She admitted. 

“I thought you hated me.” He told her, she shook her head. 

“I was scared to talk to you...it took everything in me not to run to you when we first saw you.” He looked down and chuckled. Just as he was about to say something, more gun shots went off. He took her by the hand and the two peaked over the car. 

“We have to get to the bus.” Gally told her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They ran. Gally still holding onto her hand. 

The city was on it’s last limb and they needed to get out. Y/N was so distracted by everything around her that she didn’t know Gally had stopped running till she had bumped straight into him. She looked up at him, noticing he was looking down an alley that lead to a large open bridge. She went to look but he stopped her. 

“Hey, why don’t you go ahead and get to the bus?” He asked her. She knew something was wrong. Who was on the bridge. 

“I don’t want to go without you...w...what’s wrong?” She tried to look again but he blocked her way. “Gally s...stop.” She managed to get by him and saw Thomas and Minho. 

Newt was laying on the ground. 

Without hesitation she ran towards them, tears blurring her vision. 

“Y/N.” Thomas stopped her and hugged her close, not letting her see him. “You don’t want to see him...not like this, this is now what you want to remember.” He was hurting, she could feel it. 

“I have to get back and get Teresa.” Thomas said aloud. 

“We will get to the bus.” Gally spoke. Y/N pulled away from Thomas and looked up at him. 

“How we will meet up?” She asked Thomas, he looked down at her, still holding her. 

“Don’t worry about that...I have this. You guys can keep in touch.” He told her. He handed Minho a walkie talkie. 

“Make sure you and Teresa both get back...please.” She warned him. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. 

“I will.” He told her. She back away and went walked over to Minho, forcing everything she has in her not to look back at Newt. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the bus Y/N was greeted by Brenda with a huge hug. Minho went straight to Frypan to tell him about Newt, Y/N pulled away form Brenda and sat down for a moment. Gally sat beside her. 

“You know if there was a way to save Newt Thomas would have.” Gally told her. She thought about Newt and only felt tears form. 

“I know...Newt would have done the same thing...he just...it shouldn’t have been him.” She told him. “Newt has done so much for us and now he is gone.” She felt him wrap his arm around her shoulders, she leaned into him and closed her eyes. She was tired. 

“Thomas went back into the building...I don’t think that building will last any longer.” Minho said. 

“How would we get to him if he can’t make it out?” Brenda asked. Gally looked at Lawrence. 

“I have a way.” Lawrence told them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why can’t I stay with you?” Y/N asked Gally. “We all work better when we are together.” 

“Knowing you are safe on the ground and away from this city will be better. Make your way to safe haven with these Shanks.” He told her referring to Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge. 

“You promise you will be there?” She asked. He had no words. Was that a promise he could keep? Instead he cupped her face and pressed his lips against hers. She was taken back but didn’t hesitate to return the kiss. 

“We gotta’ go!” Lawrence shouted. Gally kissed quickly one more time before running off with Minho and Lawrence. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Safe Haven was everything Y/N thought it would. It was a gust of fresh air. She felt like she could relax without the constant fear. 

“Guys...guys they are here!” She heard Frypan shout. Y/N rushed to her friend and saw Minho, Gally, and Thomas. Thomas wasn’t awake. They all looked rough and beaten. 

“Thomas needs medical.” Minho told them, a group of people helped to take Thomas away. She looked around and her heart sank. 

Teresa wasn’t with them. 

“Y/N...” Gally spoke approaching her. She engulfed him in a light hug, afraid he was hurt, and she was right. She walked him to medical and sat him down. 

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” He told her with a faint smile. 

“You look exhausted.” She told him. He laid back on the soft cot and closed his eyes. She sat beside him and gently stroked his hair. He began to snore softly which made her smile. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m sorry.” Thomas told Y/N as they sat around the fire with a bunch of others that she has yet to officially meet. 

“You did what you could. She knew what she was doing.” She told him. She knew his feeling towards Teresa. She knew how much he loved her, despite her being apart of WCKD. 

“Y/N...Greenie!” They both looked up and saw Gally, Frypan, and Minho standing by a large rock. The two walked over and joined them. 

“Here.” Gally handed Y/N a sharp stone, on the large rock was all the names of their friends that they had lost. She carefully carved in Newt’s name while Thomas carved Teresa’s. Gally took Y/N’s hand and led her back to the fire. 

“It’s a new start.” He told her, she looked at him and smiled. He was right. 

[onepdumpsterfire]

Disclaimer: These stories are based ‘loosely’ on the game Obey me shall we date. The major stuff will be the same, but here and there the story will be changed or embellished. It is just an AU and I do not own the game the characters, from both One Piece or Obey Me, nor do I own One Piece in general. It would be cool though…

Warning: The characters will mostly be ooc and for the most part will not have the same background as in the anime/manga. The reader’s age will be above consent; the exact number is up to you.

Nola

Devildom!AU

(pt6/?)

Various Characters X Reader

Shanks heard about the fight the brothers had. He’d heard about how you got hurt. At first, he was angry at Sabo for doing what he did. If anything happened to the exchange student this whole thing would be a waste. He punished Sabo for what he did. Beating him bloody. Shanks decided he couldn’t take his eyes off him until he was sure he wouldn’t rage out again. So he proposed a three-day retreat. He could keep an eye on Sabo, and make all three realms get along. He needed to see results in his plan, if this was the only way to do it then it’ll have to do.

As courteous as he was, he made it known that this request was no entreaty. You all would show and be in your best behavior. No protests. No complaints. No objections. And so, that is how you found yourself taking a tour of his palace. Benn, One of Shank’s loyal servants, was explaining the more historic artifacts that decorated the halls. It was interesting to hear the different stories each piece held. One, in particular, held more than the rest. It was a painting of a woman she dressed in clothing from what seemed like the mid-1800s. She wore a high waisted baby-blue gown with a white lacy bonnet and shawl. This seemed to be from the human world. Her out of time style clothing wasn’t the only thing that drew attention to her. She seemed to be moving…

“Sanji!” came her scream. The painting can speak? Sanji looked puzzled. Had he done something to the painting to make them mad? “Oh, I know you! Violet, from when I visited Spain in the human world.” So he had. “You hornswoggler, pigeon-livered, ratbag!” 

“Now, now, sweetheart. No need to get nasty.” Sanji barely seemed to consider her as anything. What wrong had he done to make her say such strange…insults? “What brings you down here? Was the power you gained from me not enough?”

“Power?! From you?! Yeah right! You left me for dead!” Her shrieks shook the frame she was imprisoned in. “the coven betrayed me and trapped me in here! I’ve been passed around and showcased like one of those wagtail wenches! This is all your fault! If only you had st-”

“If only I had what? Stayed and helped? If I recall correctly all you asked for was ‘unimaginable power’ to bring those meaters of the coven to their knees” Sanji approached the painting, “If you didn’t know how to properly use them and was outwitted by those Vazey, Mumbling coves, it was on you.” His tone was dark and airy. Like he was trying to threaten her without letting the others know, but by how the room seemed to resonate around him, it wasn’t that convincing. “You Flapdoodle! I’ll make you pay!” You what…. Flapdoodle, really? You didn’t get much of a chance to wonder what that word implied. She let out bright light, oils swirling inside the painting. They turned into a vortex sucking everything near inside. First, it was Sanji then Nami and Ace. the last ones it took were you and Kid who grabbed on to law for support, but they were both dragged in anyway. 

The lights where you appeared were dim. Beside you was Kid and Law, separated from the rest. “We need to find the others,” was the first thing said in the eerie quietness of the corridor you were in. “What we need to do is find out where we are.” An interjection from the other male. “Not the time to fight, both of you.”

“We’ll look around, figure out where we are and find the others at the same time.” Both men looked at each other, surprised by your sudden leadership. “Yes, ma’am,” Law mocked you but listened to your orders nonetheless. Not like he had much of a choice. After the pact, every order you gave no matter how small, was followed. You didn’t like making them do things, giving them orders, but when the hands were down… You needed them to focus right now. 

The path twisted and turned in many directions. There were dead ends and traps, like a maze. For the leader of this makeshift gang, you had to take the back seat in most dangers that befell you. They were too grand to fight off yourself. If one thing came out of this, you learned the extent of both your companion’s capabilities and an invaluable piece of information. While you held a pact with them their demon forms wouldn’t hurt you. The power that they release, that is.

Their presence felt otherworldly, like Sabo’s. Their combined power would have pulverized you. It was just as great and magnificent as the first time you were able to see it. When Sabo threw you against the tomb’s wall. This time you could hold your own against this gripping force that radiated out of them. Your sight was clear and your head didn’t hurt. Your body didn’t weaken at the proximity. It was probably because of the pact you made with them.

Their forms changed as Sabo’s had. Law grew tusk-like horns that protruded from the back of his head, wrapping around to the front. They were pearl-white and sharp. Under his coat there was a tail, thin with a tuft of black hair at the end. Kid Had also grown one of his own, a golden tail that faded into pitch black. His own set of horns came out from the top of his head, twisting into their sharp endings. His teeth ground into fangs. They looked savaged like they’d maul anything that crosses his path. 

They both ferociously protected you from any trap that was set up in the labyrinth. Tearing into anything that moved and ripping you away from any danger that befell you. Eventually, you did come across the others, having a hammering headache as your guide. The two demons had to go ahead in front of you to tell Ace and Sanji to turn back from their demon forms so you could step closer. Nami, on the other hand, wasn’t affected by it. Her magic gives her protection from their power. “Oh my sweet, Y/n. it’s okay to come closer now.” Sanji called out for you. “R-right,” you turned the corner to meet them.

“Now we need to find an exit.”

“Darling, how I love it when you take charge.” Sanji was a flirtatious fool, no wonder that woman, Violet, was mad at him. However, she should have known better than to cross a whole coven. Pushing you in front, the two brothers you made a pact with ‘protected’ you from their brother. Not wanting you close the lascivious demon.

There was more walking, the labyrinth seemed endless. Yes labyrinth, Ace had filled you all in about it when you caught up. It was below the castle, and nearly inescapable, to those who didn’t know the way. But a powerful mage could figure it out with a spell or two, she just wanted to find the others first. With you guys here there was nothing stopping Nami. She started her spell, but there was this rustling coming from the chambers. It was a persistent sound, like sliding on the floor. Nami stopped her spell to hear it better, “what is that?” All present stopped to listen to the low creeping sound that was… getting closer. 

A wall down the path to your left was moving, you could swear that it didn’t lead to a dead-end before. “Guys, what is that?” You pointed at the scaly impasse that seemed to be moving to block all exit points. “Oh, fuck,” Law whispered under his breath, “That’s my pet Mindsnare Naga, Nola.” Kid punched his arm, “a mindsnare, really Law, really.” They were nasty creatures who seek power above all else. They’re immortal beasts that needn’t worry about time, creating convoluted plans to get to their goal. The highest-ranking person in the location they decide to nest in. They live to control and dominate their victims into submission. They suck them out of life with their venom then fill them with false memories and a built personality to help them reach their goal. If it was deep in the bowels of the castle had it already started it’s schemes? Does the ruler of Devildom know what resides underneath his very feet? You could worry about the troubles of the palace after you manage to escape its clutches.

Law had forbidden you all from harming his ‘poor Nola’. The others protested though he left them no choice, threatening that he’d destroy everything they loved if they were to harm a scale on the serpent. He gave them no choice but to oblige. Crossing the avatar of envy was one of the last things anyone wanted to do. He knew how to ruin any person until they gave up on themselves. He’s sent many into an endless cycle of loathing and suffering. “You’re its master, command it!” Kid yelled at law. “I can’t, she escaped when she was still young. I didn’t have time to train her.” How useless! How were you all supposed to defend yourselves now? You can’t hurt it, much less fight it. “I should have known she’d head to the palace. Her kind charm leaders of lands to do their bidding. Shanks must have found her and trapped her down here. My poor baby.” Not the time to hand out sympathy to something that wants to kill you. “Then what are we gonna do,” Ace piped in, the first time he talked since you’ve all gotten together. “We can’t fight it-”

“Her.”

“Not the time, Law.” If anyone was pissed at the scenario you seemed to be stuck in, it was wrath himself. “Don’t those things grow a second head if you kill it?” Law rolled his eyes at his brother’s ineptitude. “No, that’s a Hydra of Lerna. And they only regrow TWO heads from one that was chopped off, not if you kill it.” Thanks for sharing the knowledge, not helping though. “A mindsnare naga charms its enemies to kill them. Which is what she should be doing now….so we better think of something. Fast.” Law said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Why not try to be a little less smug and a little more helpful? “I know what we can do.” It was Nami this time who spoke up. “If I use my pact with Sanji I can boost his own power and mesmerize the snake.”

“Not a snake.”

“No one cares.” Nami turned to Sanji. “Are you ready?” He gave her a seducing smile. “For you? Always.” Nami raised her hand, a ball of glowing light sitting in her palm. Power flowed from her and Sanji seemed to be transmitting her energy. “Praebueris tua poteste quod tibi commodare mea. Nos hanc novam transmittat; coniuncta cum virtute non moveretur a te transiret ponam inimicos.” Her incantations forced an unyielding power to surge out of Sanji. “Don’t worry, Y/n. with my power I’ll protect you, so you won’t pass out.”

Sanji’s demon form is an incubus. Leathery wings bent to make a heart around his head then they straightened into a fine point. Short curved horns came out of each side of his head, and a long thick tail with an arrowhead tip at the end. He radiated an aura that was seen flowing out of him. The boost Nami gave him made his already grand power even more so. Sanji flew through the space between the ceiling and the top of the snake. Following it till he reached the head. Nola had wrapped herself around every way out. She was now coming in through the last passageway with Sanji in tow. He had charmed her on his way over, the serpent didn’t hold any more malice. “Get on! Nola is gonna show us the way out.” Law grabbed you by the waist and jumped on, the others in right behind you. “If she knows the way out then why is she still in here?” Sanji chuckled at Law’s question. “She’s not imprisoned. Shanks found her when she was young and let her stay down here. She gets fed every day and can go out if she pleases.” Law looked sad. His serpent had chosen a different master. As much as he loved her, there wasn’t anything he could do. She was just another of the nine monsters in this realm that guarded the nine circles now. 

After you finally got out of the labyrinth you all had dinner prepared by the demons. Shanks announced that the next day you will be doing a scavenger hunt in the palace. Hence the tour of the place. The lower demons had continued the tour after you vanished, so most of what the ones left standing saw was a mystery to you. The scavenger hunt tomorrow was gonna be hard. All of them knew this and demonstrated it with a groan that passed from one to another. After supper, Shanks separated you into groups. You were with Sanji and Ace. Kid was with Law and Robin. Nami was with Luffy and Usopp. Lastly was Sabo and Shanks.

Kid had protested, yelling that you had a pact with him and should be placed with him, but Sabo told him to zip it and follow orders. You all split up into separate bedrooms for the night. Nami staying back to have a word with you. She lent you some of her power for the rest of the retreat. She said you deserve to have some form of protection for the rest of the trip, not to mention she wanted you to have a good time with the rest. You were a bit confused by her sudden willfulness to share power, something you didn’t even know could be done, but Nami was very front face about everything. She wouldn’t have lied about her intentions. Feeling a tad closer everyone you made your way to your shared room with the rest. Today was a long day, though it was filled with many fun and exciting things.

1800’s slang-

* Hornswoggler- a fraud or a cheat

* Flapdoodle- sexually incompetent man

* Meater/Pigeon-Livered- coward

* Mumbling cove- a shabby person

* Ratbag- a general term of abuse

* Vazey- stupid

* Wagtail- promiscuous woman/ dissolute man

[g-on-ef]

Happy Friday the 13th !!! 💀👻🕸🕷🦇🌕💀👻🕸🕷🦇🌕

Battle for the Ocean’s Hearts

A/N: Okay my lovelies to celebrate this beautiful day I wanna update chapter 2 of Battle for the Ocean’s hearts as well as explain to you guys why I haven’t been updating.

Okay here goes, somewhere along the line between my birthday and now I lost my love and passion for writing. I literally would rush and force myself to write something anything and I would hate what I had out and didn’t want to tell you guys because I am not use to sharing my feelings and I thought it was better to tell you guys I am almost done with the stories or that I will have them out soon etc. and that was wrong of me to do so and I am sorry.

However, after taking some time off social meida and watching One Piece, My Hero Academia, and Demon Slayer as well as finding a new job and realizing my worth I began to slowly find my passion for writing again, and on this special day I got back my love for writing of course I had to rewrite all my work because like I said I rushed everything and was not happy with it now I am back and I am going to keep my word on the days that I will update my stories ^^ welp that enough of my babbling on with the show ^^ and once again thank you all so much for sticking by me and hope you continue to do so ^^

💀👻🕸🕷🦇🌕💀👻🕸🕷🦇🌕 💀👻🕸🕷🦇🌕💀👻🕸🕷🦇🌕 💀👻🕸🕷

Chapter 2: A mother’s concerns

Ace, Sabo, and Luffy looked at their bags, making sure they had everything they needed, Dadan watched her boys pack their things with gloomy expressions, she didn’t want her boys to leave, more importantly she didn’t want them to give up their dreams of being pirates.

She understood where Garp was coming from, wanting to protect the boys, but still…didn’t he realized that by bringing them to the Marines he was basically leading the lambs to the slaughter?

Sure they promised him to not hurt the boys so long as they followed orders and stayed on the side of the Marines, but Luffy, Sabo, and Ace were meant for the sea. They were meant to rebel against society and to cause as much chaos and mischief as they could.

Garp probably did understand that and maybe that’s why he was sending them to Marinford so that they are somewhat protected and aren’t hunted down because of their blood.

While in the beginning she hated them, she slowly began to love them as a mother would. These boys lost everything and only had each other and her.

She realized how close she came to losing them when Sabo almost died, when she saw he was alive and well she thanked Shanks and begged for forgiveness from Ace, she slowly realized that Ace felt lonely because of his blood and her distain for him didn’t help.

After Ace forgave her the four became close, and when Shanks offered to take them she was reluctant but agreed, they were no longer safe here with Sabo’s parents trying to find him the next time could be worse.

Of course, that’s when Garp showed up and told her he was taken the boys with him.

“Dadan,” the bandit turned to see Garp looking at her, she couldn’t help but feel that Garp was hiding something from them. Something that he didn’t want anyone to know especially the boys. Of course, she was probably reaching, and it might be her motherly instincts trying to protect her boys and their dreams but still she couldn’t help but feel that there where holes in his stories.

Like how exactly did the Marines find out about Ace and his parentage? Also, the timing seemed off, them finding out about Ace being Gol D. Roger’s son around the same time Luffy found out about Shanks being his father as well as Shanks informing both her and Makino that he will be taking the boys with them.

It just seemed weird to her that once Shanks announced that he will be taking the boys away Garp comes out of the blue and telling them and the boys that the Marines found out the truth about Ace and that they would be spared if Ace joined them?

Something just didn’t seem right and while Dadan did want to question him she knew that if she did he would probably call her crazy or worse he’ll probably give her a fist of love and tell her to mind her own business.

Which now that she thinks about it when it comes to the safety of her boys…it is her business! Still she had to make sure that her boys were safe and that this wasn’t another ploy of Garp’s to get the boys to become Marines.

“What?”

“I want to thank you for all that you’ve done, and just know that whatever you need I would be happy to pay you back for everything you’ve done,”

She looked at him before she took a deep calming breath.

“Garp…I want to ask one thing and one thing only,”

“What’s that?”

“Will the boys be safe with you?”

Garp stared at his life long friend…the woman he bribed to take care of Ace and Luffy, she raised Ace and took care of Luffy and while Sabo wasn’t part of the deal she still took him and risked her life to save him all because he meant something to Ace and Luffy.

Taking a deep breath he looked at her, he knew she cared for them even if she acted like she didn’t, still he knew that if he told her the truth Dadan would take the boys and contact Shanks the minute she could.

She cared for them, hell she even supported their dreams of being pirates so he had to make sure that whatever he said next did not give her a hint that he was not only lying to the boys but to her as well.

“Yes, they will be safe. So long as they stay Marines and follow protocol then nothing bad will happen to them,”

The look that she was giving him made him feel a little unnerved, it was like she knew he was lying to her but she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt if it meant ignoring everything inside her that was telling her to take the boys away and run as fast as she can.

Garp…owed her a lot…and holding out information from her was another thing he will have to owe her.

Dadan took a deep breath before she walked over to the boys and grabbed each of them by the scruff of their necks.

“You brats better behave got it?”

The three boys looked at the woman who took them in, fed them, and risked her life to save Sabo and them.

They owed her a lot…and if doing this little favor for her then they would do it.

“We will,” Sabo said.

“Whatever,” Ace grumbled.

“Okay,” Luffy said.

Dadan tried not to cry at seeing the boys’ disappointed expressions, she knew how badly they wanted to be pirates, sadly they had to give up their dreams.

Well Ace did, but she knew deep in her heart and soul that neither Sabo nor Luffy would be able to live with themselves if they had to fight Ace and harm him that doesn’t involve training.

She also knew that Ace would rather die then arrest his brothers or bring them any harm so if giving up their dreams meant protecting each other and saving one another from the heartache of bringing harm to one another they would gladly do it.

The bandit turned them around and wrapped them in her arms and held them as tight as she could.

“Watch over one another, protect each other,”

The boys didn’t say anything, they just held onto the woman who took care of them…the woman who became a mother to them.

“We will,” they said together.

Dadan then looked to Garp.

“Take care of them or else,”

Garp nodded his head and stepped outside letting the small family enjoy their moment.

After their good-byes the boys and Garp boarded his ship and set sail.

He turned to look at the boys who were torn between looking excited at being in the open sea or disappointed that they were at sea and headed towards becoming Marines and not following their dreams.

Garp decided that this was the perfect time to turn those frowns upside down by telling them some stories about his time as a Marine and maybe just maybe this will bring them some joy into becoming Marines.

“Okay brats gather around, I wanna tell you guys about my time as a Marine,”

“Aren’t you still one old man?”

Garp shook his head,

“I mean, when I was young,”

The three looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders not really caring if they were being honest.

Garp took it as a yes abd began to tell them tales of when he was younger and the dangers he faced.

If they were being honest Ace and Sabo were a tiny bit interested, okay maybe a lot but only because they like the idea of kicking someone’s ass, other than that they didn’t care about Marine life.

Luffy on the other hand,

“Sounds boring,”

Garp looked at his biological grandson.

“What? What do you mean boring? The life a Marine is much better than that of a pirate’s,”

“You always follow the rules, my dad said being a pirate means about being free and getting to do whatever you want,”

Garp took a deep breath and silently cursed Shanks for wanting to become a pirate.

“Luffy, being a law-abiding person is better than being a criminal,”

“What’s wrong with wanting to be free?”

Garp glared at his grandson.

“Being free is just a fancy term for people who want to do whatever they want and hurt whoever they want,”

“That’s not what my dad told me,”

“Did your dad also told you he’s one of the most dangerous pirates to sail the sea? And a celestial Dragon? Or that he used to be in Roger’s crew?”

Garp knew that if he brought up Roger that would set Ace off and mentioning that he was a celestial dragon would piss Sabo off since he hated nobles and celestial dragons.

Luffy loved his brothers and he would listen to them without hesitation at least he hoped that was true since Dadan mentioned how ever since Ace, Luffy, and Sabo met the three have balanced each other out in different ways.

And sure, enough he was right, Ace looked at Garp with eyes full of curiosity and anger.

“Shanks…was in Roger’s crew?”

“Shanks is a celestial dragon” Sabo asked.

“Yes, he’s dangerous and not someone to be taken lightly,”

Looking at Luffy he saw that his grandson was close to tears.

“No…my daddy isn’t a dangerous man…he’s just a pirate who wants to be free…”

“He’s killed innocent lives Luffy, that’s what pirates do, they kill and take and destroy lives, why do you think that your other father never send you to him? He didn’t trust him and was scared that you would get hurt with him,”

Another lie, Dragon didn’t tell Shanks about Luffy because Dragon didn’t want Shanks to know as well as give up his life of being a pirate, hell Dragon even admitted to Garp that if Garp didn’t take Luffy in then he would find Shanks and hand the brat over to him knowing full well that he would not hesitate to take him in and do whatever he can to protect Luffy.

Garp could see in Luffy’s eyes that he was trying to cling onto the image of Shanks that he had in his head, that he didn’t want to believe what his grandfather’s words and that Shanks wasn’t a celestial dragon, the very same people that tried to take Sabo away from him or that he killed innocent people but Luffy wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, and so long as he didn’t question nor asked why Shanks left the Celestial Dragons then Garp should be fine.

As for Ace and Sabo…mentioning that Shanks was once in Roger’s crew would surly piss off Ace and stop him from defending Shanks since the man saved Luffy from a sea king and if Ace was angry then Sabo’s protective side over Ace would take over, stopping him from asking the right questions.

These next few days Garp would have to play his cards very, very carefully if he wants the boys to give up their dreams of being pirates and become law abiding citizens.

He looked at Luffy who was trying hard not to cry but was losing the battle, Garp took him in his arms and allowed the boy to cry. He looked at Sabo and Ace who did not hesitate in joining the hug. Garp wrapped his arms around all three of them, silently asking for forgiveness for all the lies he was feeding them.

“Its to protect them, I need to do whatever I can to protect them…”

Somehow that was slowly getting harder to believe.

[canonsuponheadsonepiece]

Sex Ed à la Grandline!

Description: Luffy asks Shanks and his crew where children come from. Genre: Humor —————-

It all began so innocent. A quiet day- as quiet as a day with a loudly drunken pirate crew can be- a few destroyed chairs, four, maybe five shattered bottles, just one fight and some harmless screaming… it rarely is that peaceful. Shanks played with his half empty bottle on the counter, eyeing the wet, roundish marks it left. He admitted, that he almost bored himself. “AND IF I TELL YOU, I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES! WITH MY OWN EYES, I SWEAR-“ “NEVER” “NO WAY” “I NEVER HEARD SO MUCH SHIT OUT OF SOMEONES MOUTH-“ “SHIT??! I’LL SHOW YOU WHAT’LL COME OUT OF YA MOUTH ONCE I’M FINISHED, YOU DIRTY LIL-“ “YES??! GO ON!” Shanks moved a bit to the side, dodging the flying beer bottle and for a short moment he contemplated if he should climb onto the next table and do his job as a captain to keep them calm. But not because the noise annoyed him (they weren’t even at their best yet) but simply because he finally had something to do. But he decided, while another bootle flew over his head, he felt way too lazy to move- and climbing into a table was undoubtedly something that required a minimum of movement- something he didn’t felt like doing. “HEH?! HEH?! WHAT DO YOU SAY NOW, YOU LITTLE DIRTY-“ “BE HAPPY I DIDNT STUFF YOUR FACE YOU MOTHERF-“ Behind him shattered some wood. Apparently there was a beautiful fight forming and he is too lazy to turn around. It can’t stay like that! “Benn.” He moved his head a few inches, just enough to see his vice who sat a few meters away in a corner. The usual unmoved expression and a cigarette in the corner of his mouth. Raising his eyebrows- letting his emotionless expression change to an almost questioning one. What? “Where’s the little boy?” For a moment it seemed like Benn didn’t knew who was meant but everyone who spent years with him knew, that was never the case. Benn always knew. Shanks thought for a second, that his vice just thought about all the possibilities to answer him without actually opening his mouth. “Outside.” Shanks giggled. He probably couldn’t think of a way. “Where outside?” “Outside.” “Ah.” “Just across the street, if you want to know exactly.” “Ah.” “...” “And what’s he doing there?” “Captain, i don’t want to be rude but...how about you’d just turn around? You’ll see him perfectly through the window.” Shanks just moved his hand, which could have meant everything and nothing at the same time. “Don’t want to.” Benn rolled his eyes. Shanks would’ve seen it as extremely rude but for Benn Beckman, it was a clear sign of him being perfectly amused. “Aye, Capt’n.” “So?” “I don’t know, he… is sitting there and starring at the sky…” It bothered Shanks. “And why in God’s name is he doing that?” Nonchalantly shrugging. “Ask him?” “Ungh…” Asking that brat meant he had to stand up and leave the bar and even walk to the other side of the street. Again. Anyways, why’s that child not here? On the barstool next to him, loud and annoying, with a thousand questions and a thousand self made answers, a glass of juice and three times more self esteem than what’s considered healthy for someone his size- so why wasn’t he here, where he’s supposed to be? “Get him.” Benn frowned. “What?” “Get him here.” Shanks emptied his bottle in one go and pointed to the barstool next to him. “There.” He clarified. He only got a loud huff for an answer, not sure if it sounded annoyed or amused. “Hey, you!” Benn sat up straight and Shanks assumed one of the fighting pirates reacted to his command. “Go and tell our little boy that our captains wants to see him.” He didn’t even ask who was our “little boy”. Everybody knew Luffy. Everybody loved Luffy. Everybody did in their own crude, drunken but honest way. The loud bang of the bars’ door drowned in the chants of intoxicated pirates and wrongly sung Binks Sake. Someone softly took the bottle out of his hand and gave him a new one. He raised his head. “Hm?” Makino smiled quietly. “Hm.” He started opening the bottle in an all too familiar motion. The bar stool next to him rattled and a black haired boy let himself fall onto the seat. Shanks happily turned away from Makino and eyed the boy on his right. “Morning, little brat.” “I’m not little!” “How about you also say hello?” “Maybe I don’t want to anymore!” “Just maybe?” “I don’t want to say hello to you!” “Ah.” Awkward silence. “You know… pirates also need to be polite. If you want to join my crew, a nice “good morning Captain!” Has to come…” Someone behind him fell hysterically laughing onto the floor. A glass shattered again. “Ouuu...shit!” Shanks stifled his laughter at the reaction and stayed serious. Them and polite, a good joke! Luffy still fell for it. “Gooood moooorning captain”, sang the boy with the most innocent face he could muster. “Way better.” Shanks gave him a tired grin and Luffys face lit up. “Are you drunk?” The question came with way more enthusiasm than expected for a child his age. “Remember, boy. He’s always drunk.” Yasopp crossed his legs, now sitting on a table, feeling like he needs to join the conversation. “And proud of it!” Shanks raised his beer in one swift motion- the first really active thing he did today- And clinked his bottle with a passing guy. His bottle being almost empty didn’t interested him the slightest once he put it on his lips. “Hello Luffy.” The angle from the other side of the counter appeared. “What would you like to drink?” His face became deadly serious:”Rum” Making smiled. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. You get some orange juice, okay?” “I’d get it anyways, wouldn’t I?” She winked at him:”I think so.” “Okay…” he crossed his arms and pouted:” Mrs Makimoto got really fat. I saw her today.” That’s typical for the boy. He couldn’t and wouldn’t insult Makino for not giving him what he wanted, but someone had to face his wrath. “Fat women?”, Lucky Roux yelled from the back,” you should forget fat women, they’re no good, little man!” Everybody nodded their head in agreement “There on men: AMEN!” “You can’t say it loud enough!” “True!” Makino smiles at their charmless reaction. “Listen Luffy…” she put the juice in front of him,”Mrs Makimoto hasn’t gotten fat, and anyways, it’s really rude to say such a thing, she is just pregnant.” The boy frowned:”pregnant?” “Pregnant.”, Shanks confirmed. His deep voice overflowing with conviction, even though he didn’t even knew who Mrs Makimoto was. “Pregnant…” repeated Luffy and after a short pause, “Can...can you eat that?” The whole crew broke into laughter. “Try it, boy.”, Yasopp grinned like no other,” Just try it!” “Luffy.”,Makino looked at the boy,” pregnant means, that Mrs Makimoto gets a baby.” “She…”, the boys face contoured in a strange way of pure concentration,” That means...ahhhh. I know!” “That’s what I want to hear!”, Shanks slapped his shoulder comradely, “finally understood everything?” “OF COURSE!”, Luffy proudly grabbed his chest, “I’m not stupid.” Shanks grinned and moved the bottle back to his lips. It is only his fifth after waking up, he’s far behind his normal dose! “Say...Shanks...?” “Mmh?”, he blubbered with beer filling his mouth. “...do I have to become fat too once I’m pregnant?” At that moment Shanks suddenly felt like choking. “Ugh…” He probably choked a whole two minutes to get the alcohol out of his lungs, before being able to breath again. “You won’t get pregnant, Luffy.”, explained Yasopp calmly while Lucky Roux is still trying to prevent their captain from choking, even though he already stopped… “No need to panic.” “Oh…”, the boy reached for his juice,”sure?” “A 100% boy, I’ll bet my life on it.” “Uhhh…”, he took a sip,” and why won’t I ?” Nobody answered. Luffy looked at Yasopp, who suddenly seemed to be interested in the floor, before starring at Lou who was still hitting Shanks back. “Why not?” Silence. “Shanks?” “Ehm…”, Shanks scratched his neck, “Well...little boy…” He looked around, stopping at Makinos amused face. “Could you help me?” “I?”, she raised her hands,” why me? This sounds like a talk under real men. Am I Right, Luffy?” He nods enthusiastically-even though he didn’t even know what everything was about. She smiled oh so innocently at Shanks, Schadenfreude evident on her face,” Then start, my beloved pirates- please tell Luffy why he won’t be pregnant anytime soon.” Shanks started at her for a few seconds, before his brain even understood what she just said. “Fuck it…”, he mumbled while emptying his bottle. Not even five minutes ago his biggest problem was, if he even managed to lift himself from the stool back to his ship, and now? Now he’s sitting here, with a vice who didn’t had that much fun in a while and two giggling commanders. How was he supposed to tell a little brat like Luffy with big innocent eyes about the birds and bees? It doesn’t happen often but at this moment he hated himself for not having given into his laziness and spent the day sleeping. Yasopps smile grew to an almost scary size:” so... captain...show us what you can do…” “Okay…”, Shanks took a deep breath and waited until Luffy concentrated on him, “now listen… a priest goes into a pub and he sees a blonde, a brunette and a black haired-“ ~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~ “What’s with the rum?”, Shanks opened the door to the bar a bit and raised his voice. “Makino?” “I’m on my way!” He felt way too sober for this. Makino has put him and Luffy together with Benn, Yasopp and Lou into the now empty storage room, after listening to the end of his- to be honest not really family friendly- joke with a growing frown. According to her, they had to stay in there until Luffy knew, that not storks and neither mermaids brought babies. The boy seemed to have the time of his life though. He crouched on one of the shelves-at about the height of Shanks shoulders, who sat on the floor leaning against a wall- letting his legs dangle looking at the men with big eyes, like they’re about to tell him the biggest secret in the world. Yasopp sat in front of them, Lou shared the corner with glasses filled with pickles and Benn leaned with crossed arms against the door (as nonchalant as always). “Okay…”, said Shanks, stressing each syllable, “Gentlemen? Does someone want to start?” He only faced silence. What an ungrateful crew he had, they don’t even know when to help their captain! “Why are we sitting here?” Starts Luffy,” Why’s Makino making such a fuss?” “Well, little boy”, Yasopp sat up,” we’re here because of something really important. Something that’ll change your life forever.” The eyes of the boys lit up,” something secret?” “Something top secret.”, Lou smirked,”secret for all little brats like you. But you’re lucky, because we’ll tell you. But only because you said such a polite “good morning” to our captain!” “Cool!” Again, silence. “So.”, Luffy pleated, “ What is it?” “Look.”, said Shanks, who somehow felt obligated to direct the conversation into a not so bizarre direction,” You know...that little children don’t fall from the sky, right?” Luffy started at him visibly shocked:” of course I know!” “Okay, well...then-“ “Because little children are just grown up babies- that’s how it is!” So far, so bad. Lou almost choked and mumbled something about “him not being wrong” into his nonexisting beard. “Ehm...right. But do you also know that babies don’t fall from the sky?” Luffy tilted his head. “They don’t?”, he asked innocently. “They don’t.”, Benn said with his monotonous voice and deep down, Shanks felt grateful for his interjection-even if it wasn’t all too helpful. “Exactly.”, began Shanks again,” and that’s why… ahem… Mrs Makimoto is pregnant, do you understand?” The boy frowned. “So you want to say..”, he sounded like he didn’t believe anything, ”...that this dumb cow is carrying a baby in her fat belly? A BABY?!” “Yeah.” His brain started rattling. Shanks already expected he would just proclaim that he didn’t believe a word, but Shanks seemed to be wrong. “That’s dope!”, Luffys expression changed between “fascinated” and “unbelievable”. “That means she won’t stay fat?” “No.”, explained Benn patiently,” after some time the child doesn’t want to stay there and wants to go outside.” The eyes of the boy lighted up:” and then they cut her open.”, added Luffy eagerly. “What?!”, Shanks stared at him perplexed, “Why in the whole world would they do that?!” “But how’s the baby supposed to get out, Captain-Know-it-all? Mmh?!” “Stupid question.”, blurted Shanks before thinking about what he’s about to say,” it gets born, that’s obvious! Cutting open the mom, for God’s sake…!” He only realized his tactical mistake once six eyes tried to burn holes into him. “What does that mean, “Being Born”?” Suddenly Shanks knew what he just maneuvered into. “That, ehm...means, that a child come into our world.” “Of course.”, Ruffy started at him in disbelief,” and how does it do it?” “Yeah, Captain”, Yasopp sounded way too amused for his tastes,” how is it supposed to come out?” “It’s easy…”, he played with his hands while searching for the right words,” the...ehm, the mother...knows when the child wants to come out...ehm…” He threw an irritated look at the group, They could at least try to help him. But nobody felt the need to say something. “And the mother lets the baby outside?”, Luffy really tried to learn from Shanks mumbling. Lou sounded like he tries not to choke, while Benn stayed as calm as always:”Exactly.” His eyebrows furrowed:”she can do that?” “Yes.”, hurried Shanks, “yes she can do it. Period.” “Oh, this one just came to my mind.”, interrupted Yasopp, “goes a pregnant women on a bike to the doctor and-“ “Not now.”, growled Shanks- because on one hand he already knows the joke by heart and on the other hand because he wanted to end this conversation, before venturing into dangerous waters. “Okay, Okay.”, Yasopp raises his hands:” how ‘bout this one: four nuns go to heaven and Petrus asks them-“ “Yeah, Yeah.”, Shanks interrupts him,”haha, funny. Everybody laughed. I-“ “Shanks?” Luffy again. “What now?” “So, Mrs Makimoto has the baby in her belly-“ “Exactly.” “But… how-how did it get in there?” “Arghh…!” It happened. It happened and he wanted to throw this topic under the carpet. “Yess Captain… how did the baby get in there?” Suddenly Shanks felt like he needed to choke Yasopp with his bare hands. But instead he looked back at the boy. “It grew in there!” “Just like that?” “Yes. Just like that.” That’s his chance for an easy escape. “But it’s a bit more complicated though. I don’t even want to know when your last time was, Captain, if you don’t even remember the details.” Threw Lou into the conversation, earning an angry stare. “What details?”, Luffy exclaimed with his interest peaking, “Shanks, What kind of details?” Shanks glared at his two commanders with a starte that’s left his enemies shaking. These drunken, useless, ungrateful…! “So Luffy, Listen: in order for a women to get a baby she needs a bit of...ehm...help beforehand.” “Help?”, the boy tilted his head,”help from whom?” Lou raised himself to his full size despite the pickles blocking his way:”help from a man.” Benn smirked and leaned his head against the wood. “And there was light.” “Heeeehhh?”, Luffy visibly confused,” From a man? Why? What does a man has to do with it?” ~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~ “NO!”, explained Shanks for for the fifth time,”the man does not stuff the baby in there!” You could hear a quiet cough from Yasopp. “But...to be honest… somehow, he does.” “Shut up.”, hissed Shanks. He could explode. He thought of himself as a relaxed man. As far as he’s concerned, he even annoyed the whole world with it- for example when he stayed calm in moments where a bit more concern had its advantages. But at the moment he didn’t feel even the slightest bit of calmness, and what was even worse, he wasn’t even the slightest bit drunk- as if the rum came in no time! The unusual soberness probably fueled his bad mood- “How’s it supposed to work then?” -either that or it’s the fault of this little black haired gnome, who still tries to argue about 8000 years of evolution. “Please god!”, he ripped the straw hat from his head and ran through his hair. “In the name of the seven seas, please help me!” With no immediate reaction he threatened,” this wasn’t a plea.” Yasopp threw a doubting look at him. “Okay…”, he began, hesitating,”well...the thing is…” Lou interrupted him,” I have a comparison for you, boy.” He grinned facing his triumph. “Imagine it as a cooking pot.” A despising huff came from the door. “Ehm…”, Shanks didn’t sounded all too intelligent, “Ehm...what?” “Shhhh.”, hissed Luffy annoyed,” shut up Shanks!” He seemed to be really interested,” What is with the cooking pot?” Lou opened his arms-“imagine.” Throwing in a pause for drama,”...you want to cook something.” “I can’t cook.” Admitted Luffy, irritating Lou for a moment. “Ehm… well, okay, your problem. Still imagine it, okay?” “Aye, aye.” “Good boy… so, when you want to cook something, then everything is supposed to taste good in the end, right?” Luffy nodded eagerly:” I like meat.” Lou waved him off,”whatever… anyways, it’s the same with babies. You need... ehm… certain ingredients to get something good, you understand? Metaphorically speaking… you take a bit of water, a bit of garlic-which you get from the women- and a bit of milk- which you get from the man and then you need a pinch of salt… stir everything, heat it- et voilà! The soup is finished!” He looked at the group searching for recognition, “almost like it is with humans. Remember boy- everything’s like cooking. Only that you’ll burn your fingers more easily…” ~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~ It remained silent for a few seconds. “You…”, observes Benn objectively,” You...just compared human intercourse with cooking garlic soup.” “Yes, and? My comparison fits!” “You…”, repeated Shanks and moved his head back to its place,” You just said fucking is like cooking soup.” “Ehm…”, said Lou hesitating a bit,” again, yes. Yes i did.” Silence fillend the little pantry. Suddenly Shanks started rolling on the floor, filling the room with his hearty laugh. Yasopp jerked upwards, startled by Luffy joining into Shanks laughter. He may not know what’s so funny, but if Shanks thinks it’s funny enough to laugh, it was reason enough- not to mention his problem with staying serious once someone laughs. Outside Makino stopped at the door suprised, before quietly grinning and throwing another shattered glass into the bin. ~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~ It took a whole 10 minutes for Shanks and Luffy to chatch their breaths again. At the same time the seating changed. Yasopp is now sitting on the shelf, Lou’s sitting on the only wooden box he could find, Benn moved down the door and Shanks is now laying across the room- Luffy sitting cross-legged on his broad chest. “So”, summarized he,” Babies grow in the belly of women and they only get there if a men helps them beforehand, right?” Shanks laughed again,” perfect, Luffy!” Yasopp rubbed his hands together,” wonderful! That’s it, I guess we can leave now.” “Shanks?” “What now?” “This whole...soup-story with the baby only works when a men helps a women?” “Yes.” “Does it also work the other way around?” “I doubt it, Luffy.” “Ahh…” “But.”, mumbled Benn absentmindedly, “actually… everyone can try to make a baby. It won’t work, but you can try…” Shanks shifted onto his elbows, trying not to shove Luffy off of him. “How...everyone?” Benn looked up and seemed to have waken up from his deep thoughts. “Well… everyone can.” “Also two men? For example?” A cough from the corner with the pickles filled the room for a second. Every human would’ve turned red with three pairs of eyes starring at them, saying: What the…? But Benn just looked at the wooden floor beneath him, before clearing his throat and giving an almost-smile to Luffy. “I said everyone, little boy… and that’s exactly what I meant.” “Hm.” Luffy seemed to be completely content with the world now- something Shanks and the others didn’t necessarily share. “Tell us, Benn…”, started Lou,” There… isn’t something you want to tell us, right?” Now it’s Benn who’s looking perplexed. “What?” He jumped up to his feet, searching for words, “WHAT?! You...damn! Y’all lost your minds! I-“, he noticed the amused faces. “That were just theories! All theoretically possible answers! Theoretically, understand?” The urge to beat their stupid smirks out of their faces rose. “The child has the right to be informed and anyways-“ “Of course.”, Shanks grinned, “we understand, theoretically.”, he winked at his vice. “Come on Benn, nobody will judge you! You can always-“, he bit his lip suppressing a smile,”... you can tell us everything. You can tell me everything, ol’ buddy- no secrets anymore, how ‘bout that? You don’t even have to-“ “Argh, shut up, you drunk idiots!”. Benn reached for the door nob,”this is like a kindergarten!” “I’m sober, so please watch your mouth!” Yelled Shanks after him, before he shut the door. ~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~ Makino polishes the counter, dodging flying glasses from time to time, before they’d hit the wall. Benn was sitting in his corner again, cigarette hanging from his lips, Yasopp and Lou followed his way. She carefully poured some rum into Shanks glass and there he was- the door of the storage room opened and Shanks marched out of it. Deeply bending under the doorway, so Luffy wouldn’t hit his head sitting on his shoulder. “So.” He announced loudly and in a matter of seconds the whole bar fell quiet. “NOW WHERE’S MY RUM?” She smiled and pointed at the counter. Loud shouts filled the background again, Shanks fell back onto his barstool and Luffy climbed back into ‘his’. The orange juice still untouched. The boy drank like he didn’t drink anything for week, Shanks doing the same next to him, making Makino smile. “So?”, she asked Luffy curiously,” how did it go? Did you learn anything?” The boy nodded, his mouth filled with juice. The glass now empty. She grinned,”tell me.” He gulped down the rest and answered:” women can let their child out of their belly and Benn wants to cook garlic soup with another man.” And this was the second time Shanks terribly choked. End ————- A/N: I just couldn’t stop me from translating this masterpiece. It’s way funnier in german but I tried my best haha… I just had difficulties translating the whole “Kindergarten” stuff and the infamous “na?”-“na.” But I think it could’ve been worse. If you know german please check out the original author, she has even more stories that deserve some recognition!

Author: S_ACD on Animexx

[dracophile]

Wreck it Ralph 2

Thoughts, spoilers and some ideas below cut

So, I saw Wreck it Ralph 2 recently and I’ve had a little time to think and process it. And...I liked it. I liked it, but I don’t love it as much as I did the first.

The first one was top tier Disney/Pixar to me. It had fantastic characters, great story and world building, probably the best use of their villain twist and a fantastic climax.

This one...It had a lot of interesting concepts, but it felt like it was trying to use them all without giving them real development. Again, the characters were GREAT! I love Yess and Shank, and Spamly was really funny. But they divided so much of their attention between them and what was going on with Ralph and Vanellope, it didn’t feel like either Shank or Yess--mainly Shank--were as developed as they could’ve been. Having some questions at the end of the movie is fine but feeling like major characters are strangers not so much. As much as I loved the cameos by the princesses, I almost feel like they detracted from time that could’ve been spent on the story.

I also felt like the climax was not that satisfying, especially compared to the first movie. It’s fair to compare them since this is the sequel. Compared to King Candy/Turbo’s villainous arch and reveal, and his buggy final form, and Ralph willing to sacrifice himself to blow up the bugs and save the game; compare that to just...a bunch of mindless Ralph’s? And talking it out? I mean, the message is a good one, but the unlike the inspiring reiteration of the first, this one just kind of shoved the message in your face. There was no gravitas either. What was at stake when the ralphs were rampaging? Oh, people’s internet went down, someone lost their shopping cart at Amazon--big whoop? The last one had bugs taking over everything and Turbo wanting to erase Ralph and Vanellope and sugar rush basically.

I also feel like like Vanellope staying in Slaughter Race at the end is...confusing. Like I get it, she feels Slaughter Race is an upgrade, but she is the MAIN CHARACTER of Sugar Rush. No one is going to wonder where she went? (That’s something that did bother me before too, like did no one wonder where “King Candy” went after that day? Or people who had played the game other places wondering who the hell he was and where Vanellope was?) What if they think the game is broken again? And what do people playing Slaughter Race think she is, some kind of Gremlin? She sticks out like a sore thumb! The developers are probably confused as fuck too, what if they take her out of the game? It feels like the ending was forced based on the message, rather than actually focusing on a resolution. (part of this I could’ve forgiven if they’d enclosed her car and made her out to be a mysterious racer like the Stig from top Gear, but it still would’ve raised a lot of questions.)

All in all I think it had interesting concepts but it didn’t really meet my expectations. I realize the first one set the bar high imo, but this one just didn’t feel like it tried to reach it. Also, not enough Calhoun and Felix. You dare rob me of Jane Lynch, even when she is acting straight? How dare?!

What would I have preferred? Well, mainly, something different as far as a villain. Ralph being his own worse enemy is poetic, but it wasn’t pushed hard enough. At the very least, rather than making a bunch of copies of Ralph, what if the virus was the sort that actually infected something? First you could have an infected Vanellope, Ralph freaking out and having to get her to that gate thing (which, build up, no pay off on that front) and his confession then. But then the virus gets him and it just turns him into the kind of villain people expect. He just leeches power from other sources, getting bigger and and bigger and more volitile. Maybe the Yess and the Slaughter Racers all come out to try and distract him while figuring out how to get the virus out of him. He causes a lot more trouble for the netizens, maybe even trying to destroy sites/servers including Slaughter Race. Finally Vanellope gets through to him and Ralph actually has a battle with himself (physically and mentally) to split and stop the virus from wrecking the internet.

What I’d like even more is something to do with Slaughter Race. Maybe mirroring the first movie, there’s a “ghost” in the game--a former character that was taken out before release. Making it timely for the time, he’s your typical white male lead--let’s call him Scrapper.

Lets say in initial development, Slaughter Race was a much different game, much more generic. More clean lines, flashy cars, but no real substance or story. It was an “open world” like Slaughter race, but there was nothing to do outside of just driving against other players and Scrapper’s team. Scrapper was initially named something generic like Stephen or Charles (Arthur?) and was the initial leader or what would later be Shank’s crew in this game, and he liked it as it was because he was the center of attention. The game was made for him he felt rather than having to fit into the game. Cocky, self-congratulating, wants to win at any cost—and pretty much that way in character and out unlike Shank. Shank in this stage was also more boringly named, second in command. She wanted to focus on making the game interesting to play for the players, and was usually the voice of reason for Scrapper. They were good friends.

However, in the in first round of play testing, the game wasn’t testing well. Players found nothing really interesting about the game’s design or world, and they found Scrapper difficult to beat, but also annoying and redundant. He had his fans of course, but most felt there was nothing new or exciting about him or the game. They liked his car though. Many of the open beta players actually gravitated more towards Shank, finding her mysterious and much more interesting, wanting her to be a bigger part of the game. They also wanted more story, and a more interesting setting than the sleek, modern city, with stuff to actually do other than just going around a race track on a set pattern. They wanted something darker and grittier. It got to the point where the developers reworked the script and setting from scratch to make Slaughter Race. Scrapper wasn’t keen on the chaos, the craziness, compared to his modern utopia but it was much more well received. Shank was down with the changes, enjoying the freedom and the creativity it allowed, and tried to convince Scrapper this was good. But “Scrapper” was still not well liked. So a further rework was done before a full release to make Shank the leader, and Scrapper her second in command. To do this, they copied Scrapper’s racing abilities over to Shank, and nerfed him down.

Scrapper was not happy to say the least. Shank didn’t want him upset, still considering him a friend, but at the same time she embraced the changes and was flourishing. She was also a great leader and the gang was doing much better too. She’s happy, she just wishes it wasn’t at his expense. Scrapper starts belittling Shank, making her insecure about herself. There are those who are really mean about it online too--which is how Shank met Yess. Yess saw a video of her and came to meet her, wanting to feature her. She really helps bolster Shank’s confidence and they become good friends. Scrapper isn’t happy but they try to do their jobs. He gets more and more bitter until he starts lashing out in game, trying to mess things up for Shank. The players and developers think it’s some sort of bug and try to figure it out. Scrapper fans think it’s hilarious and encourage him, so to speak. Shank and Scrapper fight a lot until finally, it gets so bad he crashes the game one day. The developers decide he’s too buggy and write Scrapper out of the game. But he’s still there, lurking behind the scenes…but not very powerful now.

Enter Ralph. Scrapper is able to narrow in on Ralph’s distrust/jealousy of Shank and gets him to where he can talk to Ralph alone. He plays on Ralph’s insecurity and his past with Vanellope when Ralph tells him. he weaves a sob story about Shank stealing his code and his spotlight and Ralph is more convinced Shank is just like Turbo and a danger to Vanellope. Scrapper convinces Ralph to help him out of the game and, with Spamley’s help, down to the dark web to find a way to get his body back.To do so requires a virus that lets him take over other codes. Ralph brings it back to him and Scrapper starts by taking the code of some of the other NPC’s, abosrbing them. Ralph is horrified, but now Scrapper is going on a binge, taking the codes and data from everyone and everything, altering them back to what he wants.

The altering game puts Vanellope and Shank in danger and they barely manage to get away in Shanks car outside of the game while Scrapper still is going wild. Ralph confesses, Vanllope is livid again that he would do this, and shank tells them the truth about Scrapper. (The lesson becomes more about getting rid of toxic people in your life as much as following your dreams and Vanellope is still mad at Ralph). Scrapper escapes the game and starts causing even more havoc outside of it, Yess comes and chews him out, showing him comments about how the majority hate this “new” look for Slaughter race. He goes ballistic. Ralph tries to fight him and gets abosrbed, and the two personalities are warring with each other through the net. Vanellope and Shank (and maybe the princesses if we wanted to include them still, because I would) manage to get him down and Spamely and the others bring something to extract Scrapper and Ralph. Scrapper fights back and for a moment it seems like Ralph might’ve been deleted. But he’s okay. Vanellope forgives him and Ralph makes a promise with her--rather than doing the same thing all the time, they’ll find new things to do to keep life interesting, and he’ll understand if sometimes she wants to go to Slaughter Race as a guest character--he’ll stay home and watch the highlights.

That’s my take on this, I’m mostly just getting it down so it will leave me alone in my head.

[fullmetalirin]

Fullmetal Alchemist: Episodes 50-51

Fullmetal Alchemist Episode 50: "Death"

As zeppelins rain bombs upon London during World War I, Edward and Hohenheim flee the city. As they watch the attack from a distance, Hohenheim explains that in this world, on the other side of the gate, the science of physics has developed instead of alchemy but, because Edward's soul was transferred over without his body, the Gate of Truth within himself can be used to return to Amestris. Meanwhile, with Hawkeye's help, Mustang has sneaked into the Führer's mansion to confront him and avenge Hughes. Gluttony, moping over Lust's death, is forced by Envy to begin gradually eating Alphonse's armored body to complete the Philosopher's Stone within him so Dante can use the stone to switch bodies with Rosé. Annoyed with Gluttony still mourning the loss of Lust, Dante alchemically destroys his mind so he can be nothing but an eating machine just as he begins gradually eating Alphonse. Wrath, still moping over Sloth's death, tries to intervene by using alchemy so he can use Alphonse to revive Sloth, but Dante has Edward's original limbs removed from Wrath's body so he can no longer perform alchemy in doing so. After repairing his relationship with Hohenheim, Edward returns to Amestris and tries to stop Dante's plans and set Alphonse and Rosé free, only to be distracted by Envy, who begins tormenting him in battle. When Edward angrily demands to see Envy's true form, Envy gleefully obliges, transforming into Hohenheim and Dante's deceased son, causing Edward to hesitate in sorrow. Dante reveals that Envy was the first ever homunculus, created when Hohenheim attempted human transmutation to revive his son who died of mercury poisoning. As Envy admits this is the reason why he hates Hohenheim for abandoning him to start a new family, the homunculus instantly transforms his arm into a blade and heartlessly kills Edward by piercing him through the heart while a horrified Alphonse, Rosé and Wrath watch.

Hm, I forgot he transferred to WWI London. I thought Amestris was equivalent to Nazi Germany.

Ed is impressed by zeppelins and airplanes. Hohenheim says their mechanical engineering is better than in their world, but Amestris has pretty sophisticated manufacturing too. Trains are apparently about a century old, which is about on par with our timeline. I guess you could presume that technology hit a plateau as people figured alchemy was better for more advanced applications.

Bradley keeps his remains in his house. He's read the Evil Overlord List! Selim saw the safe, so Bradley entrusts him with the key. That's pretty smart, since it's unlikely Mustang will think the kid is relevant.

Riza has dispatched Bradley's guards and is at his door. I presume this is a diversion, because we cut to Mustang sneaking in by… jumping over the wall? I'll presume that was alchemy-assisted.

Archer is still not dead.

We cut to Ed and Hohenheim and get my other favorite scene. Hohenheim explains conservation of energy, explicitly drawing a comparison to our very first example: Al fixing the broken radio. The souls of the dead from Earth pass into their world and provide the fuel for alchemy. This makes perfect sense: we already know the Philosopher's Stone, which amplifies alchemy, is powered by souls, so it's only logical that regular alchemy work the same.

Hohenheim explains he really did love Trisha, but left because he didn't want them to see the rot. I think this is a flawed but reasonable explanation. The rot represents more than just itself: it's a mark of his sin, a reminder that this body is not his own and that he's committed atrocities to obtain it. I see this more as him being unable to bear the answer to the inevitable question, "Why are you rotting, Dad?" It's horribly selfish and cowardly of him, but at the same time, it's understandable. Humanity is flawed.

Back in Amestris, Dante needs Gluttony to eat Al to complete the Philosopher's Stone. Apparently Dante designed him to refine red water. However, Gluttony is still BSODing over Lust, so Dante destroys his mind by removing his ouroboros tattoo.

Hohenheim confirms that Dante can't create a Philosopher's Stone on her own.

Hohenheim leaves us with the bright side of Dante's philosophy: you can gain something for nothing too. When a parent loves their child, he says, there need be no cost or reward.

But Ed still clings to equivalent exchange, admitting his only argument is that he doesn't want to believe a sacrifice could go unrewarded. He believes he just has to keep trying.

And then a zeppelin falls on him! He returns through the Gate just in time, but the poor boy he was inhabiting is still certainly dead.

Back in Central, Riza tells Bradley Mustang is after him… why? To get his family out of the way? Bradley goes into the wine cellar to fight Mustang, and the door is alchemically sealed behind him.

Bradley gives basically the same speech as Dante, saying really he's helping people by keeping the Philosopher's Stones from them.

Bradley explicitly says Mustang's fireballs will be less effective in an enclosed space. Thank you!

The Gate takes Wrath's arm and leg, but not the rest of him.

Ah. Ed realizes he used Earth!Ed's life to make the jump.

And now we get confirmation Gluttony killed Marcoh way back then.

Envy has a lot of fun running through forms to taunt Ed.

Alchemy can't be used because the activation of the Philosopher's Stone makes it too reactive. What does "activating" it really mean, though? We haven't seen alchemists need to do anything special to use it before.

Seeing Envy's true form stuns Ed, but… it doesn't look that recognizable? Ed says it looks like Hohenheim, but Hohenheim had a beard, and we just established he was willing to punch his mom's face. I remembered it as him looking like Ed, which would have made more sense. Still, it's a neat reveal. I've heard Brotherhood fans say it's a worse motivation than the one he has in Brotherhood, but, eh, his Brotherhood motivation was clever in theory but felt totally contrived and out of left field. Daddy issues might be cliché, but it's fitting for the more human homunculi, and it makes for a powerful parallel with Ed – further emphasized by them both being his children. I still think it'd have been stronger if we didn't learn it earlier, though.

Also, I do like that Envy violates talking-is-a-free-action to shank Ed while he's distracted.

Dante says Envy was the first homunculus ever created, so I guess Dante and Hohenheim were the first alchemists?

Rose appears to break out of her trance upon seeing Ed die.

Let's update our homunculi list real quick before the last episode:

Greed is wasted.

Lust defects, and is killed out of vengeance for a loved one.

Sloth is paralyzed.

Gluttony refuses to eat, and is made a slave to base desires.

This one is actual irony. He's spent the whole series only caring about eating things, but now, when he's actually ordered to, his human emotions get in the way. He's killed by an absence of gluttony, and becomes the embodiment of gluttony – a slave to base instincts. I find that a lot more clever than "Gluttony is eaten" – that is just so utterly trite and banal, you don't get points for that.

Fullmetal Alchemist Episode 51: "Laws and Promises"

Alphonse breaks free and attempts human transmutation as he sacrifices himself - using what's left of his Philosopher's Stone within him to revive his brother. Envy appears at the Gate of Truth, having failed to stop Alphonse, and encounters Edward's soul. Learning that Hohenheim is still alive on the other side, Envy gleefully decides to head through to kill him against Edward's advice, disappearing into the distance as a green, serpentine dragon. Edward reawakens to see his body fully healed as well as his right arm and left leg are now flesh and blood. However, Alphonse has been taken by the Gate of Truth as a consequence. After having Rosé take an injured Wrath with her and flee to Resembool, Edward attempts human transmutation, offering his own life, allowing Alphonse to return to his body, albeit his memory is recalled up to when the brothers tried to resurrect their mother. Meanwhile, Mustang successfully kills Führer Bradley with the help of his son Selim, who unintentionally weakens his adoptive father by bringing him the remains of the human from which the Führer was originally based. The Führer responsively strangles his son to death out of anger before Mustang takes his advantage. As he takes Selim's body and leaves the mansion, Mustang is confronted by Archer, who apparently shoots him in the left eye. Hawkeye arrives in time to save Mustang's life and kills Archer. Dante escapes into an elevator to find the Führer to help her exact vengeance, only to be devoured by Gluttony, who fails to recognize her. Alphonse is back in Amestris now and Edward is pulled through the Gate of Truth and is currently in Munich. The brothers both resolve to reunite again someday.

Dante snarks that maybe Ed just didn't pay enough to deserve survival – "We always come just a little short of the price."

We actually see Mustang drawing the transmutation circle with his blood. So much cooler than him doing it offscreen!

Al destroys Gluttony's jaw. Gruesome.

Mustang successfully destroys Pride. Since he didn’t use a sealing circle, I’m guessing he really did exhaust all of Pride’s lives. See, that’s acceptable to do once as a climactic cool moment. Notice also that we skipped straight to the end instead of watching him use fireballs for two minutes straight.

Riza saves Mustang by being the only person smart enough to shoot at Archer's human half.

Envy jumps into the Gate in pursuit of Hohenheim, and even manages to shake off the souls trying to eat him. Hardcore.

After the scene with Dante and Gluttony, we see the elevator open to an empty chamber. Creepy.

Ed's lost limbs are restored when he's resurrected, but it costs all of Al's Philosopher's Stone.

Sheska says Amestris is no longer a military dictatorship, but the current wars will still continue. However, they've become more tolerant towards Ishbalans.

Roy has an eyepatch. Just like Bradley! Riza said her outing him and then doubling back was part of the plan, but I'm not sure how or why.

How did Hohenheim get to Germany? The year is 1921, so he somehow survived 7 years even though his body looked to be at its limit.

Ed thinks Einstein's theories are bunk. Heh.

Ed says he planned to offer his life as the price for restoring Al. The fact that he didn't makes him wonder if he got something for nothing.

The ending spiel is a twist on the standard opening spiel: Al recognizes that equivalent exchange is not the law of the world, but he still hopes that hard work will pay off, and that one day they'll be reunited: a promise, not a law.

Conclusion

I think this is a good finale. The cutting around is a bit disorienting – it perhaps might have been better to resolve Mustang's side of things earlier? – but not uncalled for. I like how Mustang is actually challenged and injured in his fight scene instead of just effortlessly coasting his way to victory; he's cool without being overpowered. The final boss fight with Envy is a bit meh, but huge fight scenes were never what I was watching for in the first place (and Mustang vs. Pride kind of has us covered on that front). In terms of how this interacted with and resolved the story's major themes and questions, I think it was excellent. We learn what is behind the Gate, we learn the truth behind alchemy, we get discussion on the theme of equivalent exchange, and the protagonists' driving motive, the restoration of their bodies, is resolved. It's an open-ended finale, but not an unsatisfying one. The villains are defeated, the characters have learned important lessons, and they're going to keep on living.

Mustang's side is probably the weakest part here – Cyborg Archer is really weird and random and seemingly just there to add more tension and battles. His fight with Pride feels a bit truncated since we keep cutting away from it. I'm still not totally clear what his plan was or if it made sense, and it was very dumb of Ed not to tell him how to fight homunculi. I do like that Riza saves him in the end, though.

Ultimately, this is again the rare OG arc that I feel could have been better spread out over more episodes. Getting all the characters into position is rather rushed and relies on a bit of contrivance, and the finale itself feels like it's trying to say more things than it really has time for. But I'm still happy with what we got.

Now, this is more subjective, but I find the dual sacrifices way more emotionally meaningful here. I plan to do an ending comparison post where I will discuss this further, but for now, I think it's very powerful that Al finally has his moment of triumph. He's spent the whole story as a damsel in distress, even getting literally turned into a MacGuffin for this finale, only ever watching helplessly as people make horrific sacrifices for him while he can do nothing to save them. So here and now, he says screw it, for once he has the power and he's going to use it to save the person he loves more than anything in the world. It's so strong that it's an absolute mirror of what Ed did for him, and extremely meaningful that in a series that started with and revolved around the impossibility of resurrection we end with a true one.

But Ed, stupid, stupid Ed, can't be content with what Al gave him and refuses to learn his lesson, so he puts them back where they started. I'm not sure how I feel about that – it makes him into a very stagnant and stubborn character who refuses to learn the narrative's lessons even when they've been so firmly pounded into his skull. The point of Dante's speech, to me, was that you cannot keep throwing good lives after bad – Ed has hurt himself and so many others on this journey, justifying it to himself with sunk cost fallacy. The correct option is to cut his losses and go home, to be happy with what he still has instead of throwing away even more. Even the very fact he planned to kill himself to bring Al back shows he's still ignoring him – Al has said over and over again he doesn't want Ed to do that. Are these brothers doomed to be trapped in an endless spiral of self-sacrifice for the other? But… I gotta say, Al staying dead would have been too much of a downer. They've been through so much that they do deserve a miracle. (There's that stories-as-just-worlds striking again!)

I actually have never seen the movie, so maybe it resolves some of these things! I shall see. But for now, let's complete our list…

Greed is wasted.

Lust defects, and is killed out of vengeance for a loved one.

Sloth is paralyzed.

Gluttony refuses to eat, and is made a slave to base desires.

Envy kills himself out of jealousy.

Pride is killed by his son.

Wrath outlives them all.

An ironic pride death is easy – hoist them by their own petard. This show takes it a step further, and has Pride undone by his namesake. I'm pretty sure it is said somewhere that Selim is his biological child in this continuity, and that the capacity to sire children was one of Pride's human traits. That makes it deeply ironic that the son is the reason he dies.

I never bought Wrath's Brotherhood death as "irony". Wrath being killed by wrath… I don't even know if that's poetic, it just kind of… is. We say those who live by the sword will die by the sword, and for good reason. Wrath dying to wrath isn't unexpected or at all clever. The volatile, self-destructive sin being the only one to live, though? That's irony.

And oh my god you guys Brotherhood!Envy kills himself out of PRIDE not jealousy, he could not have been more explicit about it! Know your sins if you're gonna be smug about what deep symbolism they are!! This one is still a bit of a reach – wrath is a closer fit – but there is a case to be made that he is doing this out of a desire for the connection and satisfaction that other children have yet was denied to him.

Lastly, I think you could make a case that Dante embodies all the sins and is undone by all of them simultaneously. She believes herself above humanity, yet she is easily frustrated, slothful in her attitude towards the homunculi, envious of others' bodies, and greedy, lustful, and gluttonous for life and power. Wiping Gluttony is an act of impatience, frustration, greed, and arrogance in the assumption she could still control him.

Even aside from that, though, this is such a fitting end for her. She's spent her whole life plotting in the shadows, never allowing herself into a position of personal harm, and just as she tries to slink away to do it again she's undone by her own tangled web. Work behind the scenes, die behind the scenes.

[an-unkindness-of-muses]

So I Updated Cassie’s Backstory

I mostly updated her backstory to match more of the current events of OP, I also made a massive change to what set her on her path. And before you complain I did the math and checked the timelines, so Doflamingo would’ve been a pirate when her family was killed. It made more sense in the longrun and since Shanks’ parents are never referenced, ever, I played with the idea that her father was a pirate with the Donquixote pirates that left the crew after realizing that Doflamingo was a monster. The rest is written below. 

Cassandra grew up in the West Blue with her parents and her older brother Shanks who was about nine when she was born. The two were thick as thieves as they grew up, always causing trouble together and being all around little terrors. As far as Cassandra knew their father was a fisherman who left on long trips for work, and their mother was a stay at home mother. Their father loved music too. He always taught Shanks and Cassandra the songs he’d learn from the other fishermen and such. Though Shanks didn’t show much interest, Cassandra went the extra step and even learned to play the instruments he had lying around. 

Unfortunately, by the time Cassandra was about 6, Shanks left to become a pirate, leaving her and her parents alone. She never forgave him for it, all she wanted was to know why he left her behind. For years she held that anger and grudge towards him, even going so far as to say he was no longer her brother. 

One day, after turning 14 though, Cassandra’s world was turned upside down. A pirate ship came into port, which wasn’t unusual but this one brought with it a foreboding. Cassandra pleaded with her parents to leave before whomever was on the ship showed themselves but her father simply told her over and over it was going to be okay. The man that had gotten off the ship was a tall man with a twisted grin that nearly split his face and a feathered pink coat that hung to his knees.  

There was a moment where her father went up and started talking to him before he laughed and yelled something to the crew. Everything happened so fast, gunshots rang out, swords clashed, it was almost like a terrible nightmare. Cassandra’s mother pleaded with her child to run as the man approached her and killed her with a flick of his wrists. Cassandra grew furious and took up  a sword one of the villagers had dropped, trying to run the man through despite the obvious height and size difference. When he made no move to defend himself, Cassandra dared hope she had gotten the upper hand until she felt the blade connect. Instead of blood, or even a connection of steel to flesh, Cassandra found herself frozen in place.  

Doflamingo cackled and instead of killing her, used her body against her to strike down the people in her village.  He made it a point to tell her she wouldn’t die, that he’d let her live as a reminder to anyone she met that they weren’t to cross Doflamingo ever. As a last momento to the girl, he waved his fingers and brought Cassandra to stand just behind her father who was mourning his dead wife. He let out a sickening cackle and flicked his wrist, causing Cassandra to burry the sword in his heart. After the villagers were slain, Doflamingo’s men set the village ablaze and left. Cassandra managed to escape on a small dingy that had escaped the pirate’s wrath. She was destroyed. Her mother was dead, and she had killed her father.

She ended up drifting at sea for days until she was found by some marines and taken to the nearest island. She was sent to a hospital where she was treated for her wounds, dehydration and exposure before they made plans to send her to an orphanage. Instead one of the nurses caring for her, an older woman, offered to take her in. Her husband and her never could have children, and they had means to take care of the girl. 

Cassandra lived with them till she was 19, helping as much as she could. Since she wasn’t very good at fishing or gardening, she made a little money here and there playing her father’s ocarina he’d given to her before he passed away. One day, a man told her he loved her music but couldn’t afford to pay her, so he gave her a strange looking fruit saying it was worth more than anything he could’ve given her. She took it as just some old man taking pity on her, but said nothing and simply thanked him. About halfway through the day, she realized she was really hungry and hadn’t taken a lunch with her. Remembering that the man had given her that fruit, Cassandra quickly ate it, ignoring the fact that it tasted gross. 

The old woman that had taken her in saw Cassandra eat the strange fruit as she had been out shopping, and was just a bit too late in stopping her. After rushing her home, the woman explained that Cassandra had just eaten a devil fruit and that she was now cursed. She’d never be able to swim again and would have stange powers for the rest of her life. After doing some experiments, Cassandra had given up trying to figure out her new power. One day, she had been carrying water to the house when she almost fell and out of nowhere a rope of water wrapped around her waist and kept her from falling. After doing even MORE research, she found out she had eaten the Splash Splash Fruit, granting her the power to manipulate water to a point. Per the older couples request, she didn’t use these powers very often though. 

After turning 19, Cassandra decided she was going to leave and find the man with the Devil’s Grin and make him pay for what he did. Only six months after she began her journey, disaster struck. The ship she had been traveling on was caught by some Marines who decided to sink the ship rather than take prisoners. Cassandra had managed to cling to some driftwood for a short period of time but because of the curse of the Devil Fruit, she soon began sinking into the murky depths.

Just when she’d given up all hope, she found herself being saved by a man wearing a white chef’s uniform with a giant brown pompadour. He introduced himself as Thatch, 4th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. At first, Cassandra was freaked out, after all, the Whitebeard Pirates were one of THE most notorious crews in the world. After he started tending to her wounds and making sure she was alright though, Cassandra didn’t feel as fearful of him. Thatch made sure she was alright before taking her to meet Whitebeard himself.

After meeting the famous man and telling him her story of how her brother left, her village was destroyed and she’d been looking for the man with the Devil's own smile, Whitebeard decided to make her a member of his crew. Though she was hesitant to the idea at first, after a few months aboard the Moby Dick, she found herself becoming pretty at home. She even became good friends with Marco, Ace and Thatch, especially Thatch since he was the one that saved her from her watery demise. 

Thatch even took her into the 4th Division to make sure he could keep an eye on her. During her years of service aboard the Moby, she made friends with everyone. Well, everyone except Marshal D. Teach. She could never figure out what it was, but something about the man terrified her to the core. Much to her dismay, her fears were soon realized. One night, she’d gone to give Thatch a hand in the kitchen when she saw it. 

Thatch was lying face down, a knife in his back, in a pool of his own blood. Upon confirming that Teach was the one who killed her commander, Cassie begged Whitebeard to let her join the hunt for the traitor with Ace. It took some convincing, but he finally agreed to let her go. Their travels took them all overand eventually they found Blackbeard on Banaro Island. WHile the fight didn't go as either of the Commander's planned, Ace bought enough time for Cassandra to escape. She ended up meeting up with her crew, emotionally destroyed and barely standing.

She recovered with her crew before they set sail for Marineford after the anouncment of Ace's execution. Just before they arrived, Whitebeard took Cassandra aside and spoke with her. He revealed that not only did he know her parents, he and her mother had been intimate after a fight she'd had with her husband. When Cassie was born, it didn't take much for her father to put two and two together about the time of conception as he was away on a voyage for three months at that point. Cassie was shocked at this news. In her shock and anger, she snapped and told him she couldn't deal with the news in that moment.

What she didn't realize was that she wouldn't get another chance. After the battle of Marineford, not only did she lose her brother, Cassandra watched as the man that had taken her brother in arms and his crew murdered Whitebeard as he stood there. After suffering the loss of their brother and father, Cassie saw Shanks appear to put an end to the war. She hated him for it, wanted to scream and curse his name but she could only bring herself to leave with her crewmates in tow.

After their burial, Cassandra remained with her crew, seeking out revenge on Teach and his crew whilst trying to keep the already broken family together.

[sunstone-wra]

Chaos at Skyhorn

((I’ve had this milling about in my head for a while but I can’t help myself and I’ve started to develop my Highmountain tauren. A precious cinnamon roll balance/resto druid moose girl. But don’t worry, Bear will keep her safe.

This takes places more so at the beginning of Legion. Where Bear, Tamatala and her son Maskamato head to Highmountain to help the natives there stop the demons.

Maskamato belongs to @flynneware))

Thunderous bellows echoed through the valley as vile green fell bolts rained from the sky. The fire balls slamming into the ground, causing craters to throw out debris and destroying huts. The highmountain tauren and their allies clashed hard with the demons that tried to over run their camp. Blood stained the snow and bodies started to liter the ground.

It was chaos and confusion that ran wide spread to those unfamiliar with combat. One young female highmountain did her best to help her Skyhorn tribe fight back, but she lacked experience. Her hooves scrambled into the ground as she threw her staff up to stop a felhound from biting her in the face. It’s teeth grinding on the wood as she tried to stave it off.

A bolt of fel hit the ground next to her, spraying her with rock and snow but also knocking over a huge eagle totem. The massive totem smashed the demon and missed the tauren by mere inches. She gasped as demon blood sprayed all over her fawn colored fur, blinking she looked up. “Thank you S-Skyfather.” She stammered as she got up. Her staff broken she grabbed a fallen brave’s spear and turned just in time to see a huge felguard crawling from the hole made by the fel ball of fire.

She was stunned in fear and awe as the behemoth gripped his massive axe and opened his maw to roar at her. Suddenly a screech touched her ears and her faithful small eagle flew in and slammed his talons into the felguards face. He was tiny compared to this foe but this never stopped the bird before. “Doli!” She cried as the demon flung his arm in shock and pain from having his face clawed, his arm and flat side of the axe hitting the young female.

The highmountain flew and bounced in the snow like a ragdoll, rolling and dropping her spear. Dazed she only heard a sharp screech then bones crunching followed by a roar. She looked up, dazed, to see the felguard barreling towards her and again she froze in fear.

Everything was in slow motion as dirt flew up from each step, his armor bouncing with each forceful stomp, then a golden hammer spinning through the air and slamming into the felguard’s chest. He staggered and bellowed again only to have a holy spear erupt from the ground and cut him up his stomach and chest.

The light was so brilliant that the girl shielded her eyes, then another roar came from beside her. At first she thought is was a bear but it was a huge armored tauren. Hooves slammed to a stop in front of the girl, red cape draping over the girls legs. He raised his massive sword to the sky and a shaft of sunlight hit it, the holy light from An’she’s gaze filling the tauren with an aura that flowed through his body and crackled to the ground.

Her wounds started to heal in the consecrated place but the demon bellowed in pain as he leaned down and slammed into her savior. But the bull stood strong, his hooves sliding in the dirt as he used his sword to shield himself. The girl yelped and covered her head but she couldn’t take her eyes off this bull. No! She was mistaken! This was no bull!

The female Sunwalker roared again and slung her sword into the demon, knocking him back. Wielding the massive red and gold steel sword with one hand. She whirled around and jumped as she slammed the sword deep into the demons shoulder, breaking the spaulders he wore.

He slammed his axe down on the woman but she blocked with her sword, then her hidden left arm shot out from her cape and another hammer flew from her fingertips, it’s holy light blinding as it hit the felguard in the chest again. Fel blood sizzling like acid as An’shes light burned it’s skin.

The tauren kicked the demon in the knee, knocking him down and she used her body to throw him on his back. With a swift move the plunged her sword into the demons neck, roaring as green fel blood sprayed all over her dark armor and nearly white face. With a twist she severed the head and the enemy fell limp.

But she spent no time in this victory as she wheeled around to see an Eredar rushing towards the fallen girl. “Behind you!” She said as her hidden arm shot out once more to throw another golden hammer at the foe. The girl looked and yelped as she flung her hands out, summoning roots to entangle the enemy. While ensnared she clambered to her feet, only to fall out of severe pain. When she looked up again her savior was clashing blades with the eredar.

The two exchanged blows, the eredar cutting away from the roots and swinging her blade into the tauren’s with a loud clang. Although the tauren towered over her she was skilled enough to keep up with the fast blows. Both danced as each summoned fel and holy magic to wear the other down.

Something called to the girl as she sat on the ground and then she held her hands aloft. “Skyfather give me the strength to help her!” She said as she felt energy swell within her. Her hands glowed a white blue light and her fingers trembled as the power grew. Grew until she could not contain it. A beam of astral light boomed from the sky and slammed down into the eredar, making her yell in pain. The girl shot her hand out again and curled her fingers an another boom hit the enemy, this time burning them deeply.

This was enough to push the odds in the taurens favor and the savior body slammed the eredar and upper cut her sword, sending the female eredar’s head soaring. Tail aggressively swaying the holy warrior stepped back and looked around. But the battle was dying down, the cliffs littered with bodies of allies and demons alike. She turned to the young female and walked to her as she looked around to make sure if was safe.

She took a rag from her hip and wiped her face off, although this mostly just smeared the fel blood into her fur more. “Are you alright?” Her voice deep and soft although clearly feminine said. “Y-yes bu-but my leg…” She said finally looking at it. There was a deep gash and her blood pooled on the ground around her, staining her torn robes. She yelped and jolted in fear as the savior slammed her sword into the ground beside them. “Shhh easy now. Let me look.” Her hidden arm came out again to tenderly hold up her shank to eye the injury better. A holy golden white light pulsed from her hands as the bleeding stopped and the wound stopped aching so terribly. “I can do no more till I get you to a proper healer.” She said looking up, her lavender eyes looking to the girl.

Even in this darkness of cloudy skies surrounded by death and blood, the saviors hair was like golden wheat tussling in the wind and for a fleeting moment the girl thought of her mother. She smiled as the women scooped her up like a mother with a child. “Sorry about the gore.” She said and the girl smiled and shook her head. “It’s okay. My robes are ruin..ed… DOLI!” She shrieked.

There on the ground in a pool of blood, crushed like a pine cone under hoof was her beloved eagle. She cried his name again but the savior would not let her go. Sobbing the girl buried her head into the savior’s neck, the elder holding her like a mother with a child. Cooing softly. “It gave it’s life for you.” She said as the girl sobbed. But nothing the savior said would ease the pain the girl was feeling for her lost companion.

She was left in one of the only standing huts to be healed. Her wound mended, sewn together and wrapped. Sitting curled in a ball with hands wrapped around herself as tears still trickled down her face.

“My mother asked me to check on you…” A deep voice calmly said as she suddenly was aware of a shadow beside her. This time it really was a bull, his blue eyes looking into her green. His ebon pelt was also stained with fel but still had a shine to it. The white around his face make his eyes that much more striking. She’d never seen such a handsome bull and it made her freeze. Her cheeks turning red under her fawn colored fur as she just stared at him. An Awkward silence fell between them and he cleared his throat.

“Are you… alright now?” She blushed deeper and quickly nodded but said nothing as she looked at his one broken horn. “Why do you do this to all the ladies?” A teasing woman’s voice said beside him. The girl looked up to see another tauren, this one also black, but hers was painted with white warpaint. A wolf skin covering all but the smirk on her muzzle. She was leaned against a pole with her arms crossed. The male dead panned and turned to scowl at the other female. “Shut up, Tama.” He barked at her gruffly.

She smiled but the banter went no further as the savior walked in. The girl looked over and even in the dark tent it was as if there was a glow about her. “How is she?” She said. The one called Tama said nothing but neither did the young bull. He stammered, still feeling the awkward moment. “She hasn’t spoken.” Tama finally spoke up, a warning glare from the bull possibly telling her to say no more.

But she didn’t need to. The savior looked at the young bull and back at the girl, and her deep red cheeks. “Ah… I see.” She cooed and gave a loving motherly gaze at the boy. He rolled his eyes and stood up. “I’ll be outside…”

“Thank you, Maska.” The woman said as the two left the hut. She knelt by the girl and tenderly took her hands and placed a hand full of golden eagle feathers in them. The girl gripped them and tears streamed down her face as she held them to her heart. “They would be beautiful and keep his spirit with you if you braided them into your hair.” The girl nodded and sniffled.

“He was all I had left… since my parents passed... “ The savior deeply frowned and choked on her words as she looked at the young highmountain. Her antlers were still small though she braided the base with red leather and beads. To the girls surprise the woman curled next to her, wrapping her arm around her. Holding her as a mother would comfort a child. Her scent smelled of pine and fresh rain and gave her peace.

“My name is Skamato Sunstone. But most call me Bear. That was my son, Maskamato and his friend Tamatala.” The savior said. The girl nodded and wiped her tears. “Makkito Whitetalon.” Bear nodded. “Of the Skyhorn Tribe?” Makkito nodded. “Thank you… for saving me, Bear.”

Bear chuckled, something soft and gentle as she tussled the girls mane. “Of course. You stick with me, you’ll be alright.” Makkito smiled and laid her head on Bear’s shoulder.

[dahlthir-blog]

   ➜ Astorel Calenhad has been accepted!

Welcome to Dahlthir, Locky! Your application for Astorel Calenhad has been approved. Since we are in our soft opening we will not be posting roleplay blogs yet but you can send one in for us to keep safe and sound in our inbox!

The character portion of the application can be found under the cut. BackstoryBall Z is my favorite show! But, ah you really fleshed out her character background! You can see what she carried from her childhood all the way to the present. How she befriended her first bear and how she lost them was aaaa. WHAT A GOOD BEAR. SULDAL WAS GREAT. And though it pains me that Suldal is gone, I’m glad that we have Baranir. Their dynamic is one I already love!

Other Characters: N/A

Faceclaim(s) & Series: Marcille (Delicious in Dungeon)

Character Name: Astorel Calenhad (“Loyalty”, “Green place”, both in Sindarin)

Housing: Back room at her tavern, Amongro (“Bear’s Mount”)

Age: 120(-ish; elves don’t tend to bother after 100)

Appearance: An elven woman with near-untameable auburn curls, their only semblance of order being the braided half-ponytail at the back. They frame a rounded face forested with freckles that simply accentuate the vibrant shine in her emerald eyes.

She stands at 5’7”, and has a graceful physique with plenty of power hidden away in her slender limbs. After all, how else would she have managed to tame a bear? While she doesn’t have too many battle scars, her torso has a few long ones from her attempts to tame the bear, and her mount has a lot of arrow wounds and cuts that have long since healed.

She is commonly seen in a scarlet, off-the-shoulder, short-bell-sleeved, velvet dress that features gold ribbons around the neck and sleeves, embroidered with a simple pattern in red. A leather corset slims her figure, and a belt with a small pouch attached by string hangs loose at her waist. The dress reaches past her knees, and hides the upper half of her brown leather boots with block heels. Long gloves reach from her middle fingers to just beneath her shoulder, and she often wears tights in a matching material.

Are they a part of the Adventurer’s Guild? (Recruit or Full Member): No – she was a full member at one point, but left. Why? Find out next time on BackstoryBall Z.

—- How long have they been part of the Guild: -

Warnings (If there are any triggers in your character’s background please list them here!): Blood

Personality (Please list 3 positive and 3 negative traits. Can simply be bullet points or can be expanded!):

(+) Naturalist – Due to her race, she has high affinity with both flora and fauna. Animals find themselves calm more easily around her, which is what enabled her to eventually tame her mount, and she can ‘feel’ a plant’s life force to see what it needs to thrive. While she understands that some elves are vegans/vegetarians, she sees a natural order in the food chain, and so welcomes eating meat. However, if nature is being harmed unnecessarily, she will certainly find a problem with it (which is one of her main problems with humans – their need to constantly expand and destroy the natural world around them.)

(+) Knowledgeable – As she was once her party’s sole Mage, it often came down to her to have the highest intelligence. You’ve gotta store those spells somewhere, you know? Not only that, but her experience as an ex-adventurer means that she has plenty of tips and relations to give out to aspiring heroes, which makes her tavern a hot spot for parties looking for good information (though at a price.) She was a co-strategist for her party of sorts, meaning that she at least helped in making a number of unique (if somewhat crazy) tactics.

(+) Charismatic – Whether it’s because of her good looks, or charming mannerisms, nobody knows, but Astorel finds herself getting along with others easily. This is particularly useful when she’s gathering information, but it often gets her unwanted attention from drunken customers. Thankfully, she tends to have one entire bear on hand to help scare them back to soberness (or at least out of the shop.)

(-) Stingy – Though it’s not a necessarily good or bad trait, Astorel has become very good with handling and making money after setting up her tavern with the help of her old party. She knows her way around a deal, but this also makes her reluctant to spend money on something that’s not essential, and a little greedy in negotiations.

(-) Invasive – She has a bad habit of trying to listen in on conversations to pick up new information, or bothering people until they tell her something she wants to hear. She’s gotten a little better at spying, and is trying to find spells to aid her, but all attempts have at least earned her a funny look. It doesn’t particularly help that she’s not much of a liar when she’s put on the spot.

(-) Perfectionist – If she knows she can do better, she’ll stop at nothing to make it a reality! Her determination to do her absolute best is what gave her the drive to continue her taming attempts, despite multiple injuries, and she often approaches things in her own way to get the most comfortable method.

Background:

Astorel was born in the wood-elven town of Amofileg, a relatively small settlement in a forest south of Arkhwood. Her mother was proficient in using magic to strengthen the traditional practice of archery, while her father had no usage of mana as he had never bothered to train it. From him, instead, she learned how to barter for money by tagging along his visits to the market as a child, mastering haggling surprisingly early on. Once her mother realised what he was teaching her when she tried to bargain on getting a new spellbook, a firm grip was held on his long ear to make sure that he didn’t teach her anything else crooked.

(It didn’t particularly work, and in fact only encouraged them to practice their tactics in private, but the sentiment was there.)

While most would use this strategy training to become a thief, Astorel simply adapted it to whatever she needed her charms to work on. A lot of things tended to go her way, and if they didn’t, she would try again and again until either she succeeded or her target gave up and just gave her what she wanted so she’d stop bothering them. The good equipment that this earned her, along with the magic training from her mother, lead her down the path of becoming a Mage that specialised in trap-setting and enchantments. Because of this, she was recommended to go out and hunt to gain experience, and she was absolutely ecstatic about the idea!

Well, she was until she was attacked by a large pack of goblins, and in her panic, managed to drop her spellbook. Normally, this is where the story would end, if not for the beast that thundered in after them. As her breaths slowed, shallow as they were, she tried to assess the situation, only seeing a blur of action and devastation as her bellowing saviour ripped through the crowd.

She doesn’t like to admit it now, but she fainted soon after. Her first experience with battle had gone atrociously, but somehow, she wasn’t dead.

She later awoke, still in the forest, with surprisingly minor injuries and someone hunched over a campfire beside her. It had fallen dark, and she couldn’t help but feel slightly betrayed by the fact that nobody had come to check on her, but such thoughts were interrupted the moment the stranger spoke, making her jump so hard she nearly flung herself into the fire.

As they spoke, she learned that this person was a beast tamer, and the animal that had saved her was actually a bear that they had aimed to capture. Though they couldn’t explain, they distinctly remembered it turning suddenly and charging off on a moment’s notice as if it was protecting a cub that it had left behind. That, they said, was the sign of a bond that was born to happen.

She also learned that the name of what she was eating was two words that she had hoped never to see next to one another – Goblin Shank – which promptly ruined the mood, but didn’t dampen her spirit even a bit. Not even as she spat it out and searched desperately for a ‘purify’ spell.

The tamer lead her to where the beast was now resting after its battle, scarred and worn. Its ears turned even at the gentle footsteps of the elf, and a low rumble coated the clearing where it lay, trying not to bleed too heavily. She didn’t need to hear another word of the tamer’s advice – she wouldn’t let this noble beast that had saved her life die so unceremoniously; taking her spellbook in hand, she flipped to her healing spells, and softly recited the enchantments under her breath.

Then, recklessly, she stepped forward, and placed her mana-charged hand onto its wounds, not backing down until it batted her away. Pain coursed through her, but she knew it was nothing compared to what the beast felt. Again and again, she stepped forward, and again and again, its claws ripped at her, clear signs to keep back, until she looked as beaten as the bear did. As she pressed her hand against it, one last time, she braced for the attack that could easily have felled her, but never came.

Both she and the tamer let loose bated breaths as the bear finally leaned into her hand, having realised that she was the one to heal it, and forging a powerful bond in the process; the two had lost blood for each other, and would continue to fight for each other’s safety for years to come.

Years, until they finally had to say goodbye – not torn from each other in war, but peacefully, in the comfort of the forest near Dahlthir. The bear, having come to be affectionately known as Suldal for how often it had to speed into the fray to save her, had left but one gift – a child, born to become her next guardian.

Elves were supposed to be used to outliving their loved ones. Yet, as she stared into the eyes of Baranir, she could only see a cub, now lost and alone in this world. She couldn’t stop the tears from cascading over. Her breath was wrenched out of her, bursting into sobs as she drew the child near and wondered if trapping Suldal into a life of war was truly the best life for her.

Thus, she swore not to repeat her mistake again – she quit the guild, and with the help of her old party, set up an inn for those with more mettle than her to rest in, connected to a tavern to drink their troubles away. To this day, the brave fighters that joined her have free access to everything they need, as a way of repaying their help for her leaving the front lines.

Both her and Suldal’s armour lays worn and scarred in the back of the tavern, but are still maintained. Call her sentimental, but she feels that it helps to honour the memory of a lost ally.

Level:

4 General Powers/Abilities/Unusual Traits Description:

She possesses most of the natural elven traits – heightened hearing, good night vision, and so on – but is also an accomplished Mage, having developed her skill as a reliable way to attack while mounted. While she once rode into battle, boasting her race’s high mana and blasting spells here and there, she now generally uses the smaller spells for more mundane uses.

Specific Powers/Abilities/Traits of Note:

As she was once the sole Mage of her party, she has learned spells of both Black and White Mages, ranging from elemental attacks like a Fireball or Earth Spikes to peaceful uses like healing, levitation, and a making a ball of light, although she much prefers using traps and enchantments to turn the tide in her favour whenever she can. Her attack spells are quite powerful, but she’s lost her touch for master-level spells like large explosions over time through lack of practice. They still remain in her spellbook, though are more likely to backfire and use much more mana than normal if used now compared to when they were recorded.

One of her current favourites is one she nicknames ‘Refill’, an alteration of a simple water spell made to help top up drinks from a distance (after being paid, of course). It also makes for a great party trick.

Extra:

Her bear’s name is Baranir (“fiery male”), and is the son of her original mount, Suldal (“wind-foot”). As much as she pretends she can understand him, she has no idea what he’s saying, and mostly does it to tease gullible adventurers. She’s learned basic songs on an acoustic guitar to help with entertainment in the tavern (and to skimp out on paying for an actual musician). It’s lucky she’s a decent singer.

[ecotone99]

[SF] The Disturbing History of the Brainchip

(Based on my comic stories)

A History Report from 2084

The practice of Brainchips is looked back on in the Western world as atrocious and dystopian. For a few decades, the rights of people were stripped, and privacy was non-existent. As unpopular as it was, the adoption of the Brainchip came to solve America's problems. The only country to still implement the practice today is China. The events that led to the Brainchip being illegal in the U.S. came to be one of the most famous stories in the world.

The 2040s in the United States of America was marred by violence, poverty, and corruption. A fourth of the population lived in poverty, partly due to the Boronavirus pandemic of 2039, while the wealthy grew ever richer. Crime rates were at an all-time high, with 1 out of every 600 people murdered. People sold and bought on the black market high-tech weapons that could destroy entire neighborhoods, such as laser cannons and gas bombs that could affect areas up to a 200-yard radius. The lower classes, fed up with the wealth gap, destroyed mansions of the elites with such weapons. Fertility rate dropped to its lowest point, due to people not wanting to bring children into such a cruel world. In such desperate times, the U.S. looked to China for example on how to solve this crisis. China had enforced Brainchips on citizens ages 12-65 starting in 2042, and consequently crime rates went down by 90%. As horrible as it was, China proved that it worked, and the U.S. government began to devise plans to impose the Brainchip on its citizens.

A Brainchip is a flat, 1-centimeter long device surgically implanted in the brain to detect criminal thoughts. First invented in China, citizens between the ages of twelve and sixty-five were forced en masse to get the procedure over two years. The government had wanted to start implanting the Brainchip as soon as people were born, but early experiments had shown that young children’s brains did not receive the chip well, with many having permanent brain damage. The Brainchip was specifically designed so that it can only be accessed once it’s “activated” -when it detects serious thoughts of committing a major crime. Then, a local police station would be alerted, and a police officer would be hooked to a simulator that would be connected to that Brainchip to assess the situation by reading the criminal’s thoughts. If the criminal was about to commit the crime right then, the Brainchip would be allowed to connect to their nervous system, letting police officer control the person’s movements. The criminal would be apprehended, although they would receive a lesser punishment than if they had actually committed the crime. It seemed like a good idea, but many countries condemned China. That is, until the United States became the second country to impose the program on its citizens and achieve similar results.

At first, millions emigrated the country and refused to get the Brainchip since it was voluntary. Conspiracy theorists believed that the government would use it to secretly listen to people’s thoughts or control people’s actions. But after seeing that many people who got the chip willingly had their lives undisrupted since they would not ever commit a crime, other people started accepting it too. Plus, it was revealed that the people who did not get the Brainchip had drone cameras that can barely be seen by the naked eye placed in their homes, and people preferred getting the chip to being watched. The program was a success; crime rates were drastically lowered. France, Britain, North Korea, Mexico, and Iran, after seeing the U.S.’s success, followed suit over the next decade. Of course, the famed incident known as the “Star City kidnappings” changed everything, from the support of Brainchips to our understanding of physics and human capabilities.

On the night of June 18, 2064, eleven children between the ages of twelve and sixteen disappeared in Star City. Star City has one of the highest crimes and chipless rates in the nation, so kidnappings weren't uncommon. What was so strange was that the next day ten of the children returned to their homes. When questioned, they refused to answer where they had been or why they ran away. Even when they drank truth serums, they gave the same answers. The kids did not seem to have any relations with each other, besides the fact that they were top students in their schools. The one who didn't return was a 14-year-old white girl named Lela Younip. A month passed without any progress as to what happened to the kids or where Lela was. Then, she was found late one night passed out on a sidewalk. She was brought to a hospital, where they found nothing wrong with her besides that she was extremely fatigued. Like the other kids, she did not give direct answers when the authorities asked her where she had been. She said that no one had harmed her even as she broke down in tears. The story interested many people in the city. Many suspected that someone had hacked the eleven children's Brainchips and was mind-controlling them, but there was no way to know for sure unless their chips were removed. A seemingly unrelated incident also happened that night. An abandoned hospital on the outskirts of Star City collapsed on a man, injuring him gravely. A girl, later revealed to be the 12th victim, called the emergency responders for him.

Another month passed. One day, a building in Star City was on fire. Lela was seen flying to the scene, blasting a window with her hands with a pale blue stream of light, and lifting the people inside the building down to the ground at a distance, as if an invisible force was moving them. The whole thing was captured on video, which went viral all over the world. "She was like a real-life Supergirl," said witness Karen, mother of 3. Reporters flocked around Lela, eagerly demanding to know how she got her powers. She answered that a "nice man" who would like to remain unnamed had given her them. She remained elusive to more questions. For the next few days, she continued helping the police, flying around the city looking for crime and helping to capture criminals using her laser hands and telekinetic powers. She became famous through worldwide media attention and multiple videos showing her using her powers. The world's excitement, however, could only be satisfied through answers. A week after she revealed her powers, the military arrived at Lela's house, wanting to take her away for testing and questions. She quickly quitted the house and flew far away. It was quite hard to catch a girl who could fly at 50 miles per hour and push helicopters away with a wave of an arm (there were no casualties), but eventually, after three days of arduous efforts, they managed to capture and sedate her. It was illegal to forcibly remove someone's Brainchip, but they were granted permission by the government to remove Lela's Brainchip since it was such a special case. Besides, it would reveal if Brainchips were faulty. This is the released transcript of the interrogation of Lela by Detective Cadmus:

Date: August 16, 2064 11:30am Cadmus: Good morning, Lela. My name is Tim Cadmus. How are you feeling? Lela: I've just been through an invasive surgery against my will, sure I’m fine. Can we please skip the pleasantries? Cadmus: Alright. Where were you on the night of June 18, 2064? Lela: I don't want to talk about it. Cadmus: You don't really have a choice. You have to tell us the whole truth, or you can be charged with obstruction of justice. Lela: Okay, chillax. I was walking around my neighborhood, listening to that old song Fireflies by Owl City with my Waterpods. Cadmus: You don't have to be that specific. Lela: Then a man kidnapped me. Cadmus: Name? Lela: Dr. Heisen. I don't know his first name. Cadmus: Where did he take you? Lela: Spring Grove Hospital. It's a very deserted place. That’s where the other kids were taken, too. [Cadmus slides onto the table a paper with photos of ten children.] Cadmus: These kids? Lela: Yep. You’re missing someone. There were 12 of us in total. Cadmus: Who else? We only know 10 other kids. Lela: His daughter, Annabeth, was also kidnapped. No one knew since there was no one to report her missing. What a pity. She's my friend. Cadmus: We will investigate that later. What happened at the hospital? Lela: All 12 of us woke up in a simulation, but we didn't know that, since it was set on unaware mode. Cadmus: What happened in the simulation? Lela: It's a long story so I’ll summarize it. We had to compete in a last-to-survive competition. We each woke up in our own glass cube in a large white room. There were four trials. When each trial started, the floor beneath us would disappear and we would drop down somewhere. If we completed the trial, we would faint and reappear in the glass cubes. The first trial was to find our way to the end of a hedge maze. The second trial we were paired with a partner to go through four rooms, in which we had to fight robots, answer riddles, and go through our fears. The third trial was in a hospital where we had to fight doctors trying to kill us, and we also had our heads transplanted with basketballs. In the fourth trial we dropped down into the outside. There were six people left. It was like the Hunger Games. We had to kill each other and be the last one standing. There were some weapons where we dropped, but Annabeth, Michael, Ferb, and I ran away together to a cave. We didn’t plan on killing each other. A few hours later that stupid shank Drake and someone other girl that he paired with found our cave. He yeeted a knife and he sank in Ferb’s head, killing him. Then Annabeth threw a large rock at the girl, smashing her head in and killing her. We ran as far as we could. We slept under some trees as night came. But Drake found us while we were sleeping and chopped off Annabeth’s head. Michael and I heard the sound and ran away until we were cornered at the edge of a cliff. Michael stood in front of me as Drake charged at us with the axe. He hit Michael’s stomach and they both fell over the cliff, but I held on to Michael’s hand and saw that Drake was holding on to Michael’s leg. Michael told me to let go, since he was dying anyway. So I did. They fell to the ground where pointy rocks impaled their bodies. It was finished. I was the only one left. My vision became blinded by whiteness again, and I woke up in a white room. This time I knew it was real. I was lying in one of those hospital recliner chairs. I took off my Sim helmet and tore off the wires connecting to my brain and body. The other kids were already walking out the door. I called for them to wait, but I stood there, unable to move. The other kids did not help me. They walked out without looking back, like they were being controlled, too. Cadmus: Hold up- was this because your Brainchips were hacked by Dr. Heisen? Lela: Yes. Cadmus: That's unnerving. I thought... Lela: It is. Brainchips were never a good idea. Let me continue. After the room was emptied, Dr. Heisen came in. I wanted to run, but I couldn't. He explained to me that he had hacked all our Brainchips from his computer and connected his to ours. He was able to listen to all our thoughts and control our movements if he wanted to. He said that he put us in the simulations because he wanted to test for someone who was mentally and physically capable of receiving superpowers: flight, telekinesis, and energy beam emission. Cadmus: Amazing. Did you agree to have these powers? Lela: Err, no. But that's because I was confused and scared. After I got powers, I was extremely grateful for them. Cadmus: How did you get your powers? Lela: It’s from a little device planted in my brain. After that, we went outside. He told me how to use my powers. I flew to the roof of the hospital, then over the woods that surrounded it. It was the greatest feeling. Then I extended my arms toward a large rock, raised my hand, to which the rock flew up, and blasted it to pieces with lasers. So you see, everything turned out fine. None of us were physically harmed. No further questions. Cadmus: Everything is not fine. Many of those kids have trauma from what they've experienced. Lela: Sucks for them. Cadmus: What happened during the month you were held captive? Lela: Gosh, you say that like I was chained or something. Unlike right now, not that these chains can hold me. It wasn't like that. I was mostly alone and had books to read. He was very nice. He was training me to be a superhero. Cadmus: You talk highly of a criminal. Lela: I don't like to see it that way. Everything he did was for the advancement of humanity. Cadmus: Lela, do you know what Stockholm syndrome is? Lela: No. I don't have any defects. Cadmus: Sometimes when a person is kidnapped, the hostage may begin to trust or sympathize with their captor. Lela: (pause) How does this apply to my situation? He wasn't keeping me there. I could have flown off if I wanted to. Cadmus: Why didn't you? Lela: There wasn't any reason to. I was happy. Cadmus: Really? Your parents say you have had panic attacks since then. [No reply.] Cadmus: You escaped eventually, didn't you? Lela: Yes. I missed my family. Cadmus: You destroyed the hospital with Dr. Heisen in it. Lela: That was an accident. I was angry. Cadmus: Why were you angry? (No answer) Why were you angry, Lela? Lela: (crying) He wouldn't let me go. Cadmus: You said you were free to leave. Were you lying before? Lela: I'm not lying. Cadmus: I think you are. You aren't telling the truth about what happened there. I'm going to tell Mr. Covid to get a vial of truth serum. Lela: No! Don’t make me relive it! Cadmus: You are not leaving until we know everything. Lela: (quietly) You should get out. Cadmus: What? Lela: I'm afraid I'll hurt you. (loud breaking sounds, audio cuts off)

Lela escaped the facility after that, causing minor damage, but the authorities had what they needed. The police were sent to Dr. Heisen's house (they knew who he was from the hospital collapse), but he was long gone by then. The Brainchips of the other 11 kids were removed for their safety. For a while, things returned to normal, but then Lela left home for months and was spotted in various places from Canada to Mexico. The world knew what she was doing. On October 29, 2064, Dr. Heisen was found dead in a forest in Georgia. People celebrated his death and were happy that justice was served. Lela then returned home and continued to help people in her city. She also led the popular StopTheBrain worldwide movement that advocated for the outlaw of the Brainchip since it was proven to be able to be hacked, but it was not to happen in her lifetime. When Lela was sixteen, she died from seizure caused by the chip in her brain. It was not compatible with her brain after all. This sparked outrage and grief across the world, and protests sprouted calling for the abolition of the practice to fulfill Lela’s wish. Most countries to implement it outlawed the practice so that children turning twelve wouldn't have to receive the chip, but people have to pay for the surgery if they want their Brainchip removed, and the system is still in use today. And thus is the story of how one girl’s death changed history.

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