#bubble penguin post

[bubbleteapenguin]

BUBBLE TEA PENGUIN ONLINE SHOP NOW OPEN

On the front page I have new items/updated items on the rainbow charm listings.

Most of everything else on page two and beyond are all on discount/sale. Or check out the clearance page and the new years sale page.

This should stay open for quite sometime until I have a big convention coming up but as of now this will be open to all!

ENTER SHOP

[phantomrose96]

If anyone wants to know why every tech company in the world right now is clamoring for AI like drowned rats scrabbling to board a ship, I decided to make a post to explain what's happening.

(Disclaimer to start: I'm a software engineer who's been employed full time since 2018. I am not a historian nor an overconfident Youtube essayist, so this post is my working knowledge of what I see around me and the logical bridges between pieces.)

Okay anyway. The explanation starts further back than what's going on now. I'm gonna start with the year 2000. The Dot Com Bubble just spectacularly burst. The model of "we get the users first, we learn how to profit off them later" went out in a no-money-having bang (remember this, it will be relevant later). A lot of money was lost. A lot of people ended up out of a job. A lot of startup companies went under. Investors left with a sour taste in their mouth and, in general, investment in the internet stayed pretty cooled for that decade. This was, in my opinion, very good for the internet as it was an era not suffocating under the grip of mega-corporation oligarchs and was, instead, filled with Club Penguin and I Can Haz Cheezburger websites.

Then around the 2010-2012 years, a few things happened. Interest rates got low, and then lower. Facebook got huge. The iPhone took off. And suddenly there was a huge new potential market of internet users and phone-havers, and the cheap money was available to start backing new tech startup companies trying to hop on this opportunity. Companies like Uber, Netflix, and Amazon either started in this time, or hit their ramp-up in these years by shifting focus to the internet and apps.

Now, every start-up tech company dreaming of being the next big thing has one thing in common: they need to start off by getting themselves massively in debt. Because before you can turn a profit you need to first spend money on employees and spend money on equipment and spend money on data centers and spend money on advertising and spend money on scale and and and

But also, everyone wants to be on the ship for The Next Big Thing that takes off to the moon.

So there is a mutual interest between new tech companies, and venture capitalists who are willing to invest $$$ into said new tech companies. Because if the venture capitalists can identify a prize pig and get in early, that money could come back to them 100-fold or 1,000-fold. In fact it hardly matters if they invest in 10 or 20 total bust projects along the way to find that unicorn.

But also, becoming profitable takes time. And that might mean being in debt for a long long time before that rocket ship takes off to make everyone onboard a gazzilionaire.

But luckily, for tech startup bros and venture capitalists, being in debt in the 2010's was cheap, and it only got cheaper between 2010 and 2020. If people could secure loans for ~3% or 4% annual interest, well then a $100,000 loan only really costs $3,000 of interest a year to keep afloat. And if inflation is higher than that or at least similar, you're still beating the system.

So from 2010 through early 2022, times were good for tech companies. Startups could take off with massive growth, showing massive potential for something, and venture capitalists would throw infinite money at them in the hopes of pegging just one winner who will take off. And supporting the struggling investments or the long-haulers remained pretty cheap to keep funding.

You hear constantly about "Such and such app has 10-bazillion users gained over the last 10 years and has never once been profitable", yet the thing keeps chugging along because the investors backing it aren't stressed about the immediate future, and are still banking on that "eventually" when it learns how to really monetize its users and turn that profit.

The pandemic in 2020 took a magnifying-glass-in-the-sun effect to this, as EVERYTHING was forcibly turned online which pumped a ton of money and workers into tech investment. Simultaneously, money got really REALLY cheap, bottoming out with historic lows for interest rates.

Then the tide changed with the massive inflation that struck late 2021. Because this all-gas no-brakes state of things was also contributing to off-the-rails inflation (along with your standard-fare greedflation and price gouging, given the extremely convenient excuses of pandemic hardships and supply chain issues). The federal reserve whipped out interest rate hikes to try to curb this huge inflation, which is like a fire extinguisher dousing and suffocating your really-cool, actively-on-fire party where everyone else is burning but you're in the pool. And then they did this more, and then more. And the financial climate followed suit. And suddenly money was not cheap anymore, and new loans became expensive, because loans that used to compound at 2% a year are now compounding at 7 or 8% which, in the language of compounding, is a HUGE difference. A $100,000 loan at a 2% interest rate, if not repaid a single cent in 10 years, accrues to $121,899. A $100,000 loan at an 8% interest rate, if not repaid a single cent in 10 years, more than doubles to $215,892.

Now it is scary and risky to throw money at "could eventually be profitable" tech companies. Now investors are watching companies burn through their current funding and, when the companies come back asking for more, investors are tightening their coin purses instead. The bill is coming due. The free money is drying up and companies are under compounding pressure to produce a profit for their waiting investors who are now done waiting.

You get enshittification. You get quality going down and price going up. You get "now that you're a captive audience here, we're forcing ads or we're forcing subscriptions on you." Don't get me wrong, the plan was ALWAYS to monetize the users. It's just that it's come earlier than expected, with way more feet-to-the-fire than these companies were expecting. ESPECIALLY with Wall Street as the other factor in funding (public) companies, where Wall Street exhibits roughly the same temperament as a baby screaming crying upset that it's soiled its own diaper (maybe that's too mean a comparison to babies), and now companies are being put through the wringer for anything LESS than infinite growth that Wall Street demands of them.

Internal to the tech industry, you get MASSIVE wide-spread layoffs. You get an industry that used to be easy to land multiple job offers shriveling up and leaving recent graduates in a desperately awful situation where no company is hiring and the market is flooded with laid-off workers trying to get back on their feet.

Because those coin-purse-clutching investors DO love virtue-signaling efforts from companies that say "See! We're not being frivolous with your money! We only spend on the essentials." And this is true even for MASSIVE, PROFITABLE companies, because those companies' value is based on the Rich Person Feeling Graph (their stock) rather than the literal profit money. A company making a genuine gazillion dollars a year still tears through layoffs and freezes hiring and removes the free batteries from the printer room (totally not speaking from experience, surely) because the investors LOVE when you cut costs and take away employee perks. The "beer on tap, ping pong table in the common area" era of tech is drying up. And we're still unionless.

Never mind that last part.

And then in early 2023, AI (more specifically, Chat-GPT which is OpenAI's Large Language Model creation) tears its way into the tech scene with a meteor's amount of momentum. Here's Microsoft's prize pig, which it invested heavily in and is galivanting around the pig-show with, to the desperate jealousy and rapture of every other tech company and investor wishing it had that pig. And for the first time since the interest rate hikes, investors have dollar signs in their eyes, both venture capital and Wall Street alike. They're willing to restart the hose of money (even with the new risk) because this feels big enough for them to take the risk.

Now all these companies, who were in varying stages of sweating as their bill came due, or wringing their hands as their stock prices tanked, see a single glorious gold-plated rocket up out of here, the likes of which haven't been seen since the free money days. It's their ticket to buy time, and buy investors, and say "see THIS is what will wring money forth, finally, we promise, just let us show you."

To be clear, AI is NOT profitable yet. It's a money-sink. Perhaps a money-black-hole. But everyone in the space is so wowed by it that there is a wide-spread and powerful conviction that it will become profitable and earn its keep. (Let's be real, half of that profit "potential" is the promise of automating away jobs of pesky employees who peskily cost money.) It's a tech-space industrial revolution that will automate away skilled jobs, and getting in on the ground floor is the absolute best thing you can do to get your pie slice's worth.

It's the thing that will win investors back. It's the thing that will get the investment money coming in again (or, get it second-hand if the company can be the PROVIDER of something needed for AI, which other companies with venture-back will pay handsomely for). It's the thing companies are terrified of missing out on, lest it leave them utterly irrelevant in a future where not having AI-integration is like not having a mobile phone app for your company or not having a website.

So I guess to reiterate on my earlier point:

Drowned rats. Swimming to the one ship in sight.

[zosan-secondchances]

The Pirate King of the North: Part 5

Main Themes: Villain Sanji, Alternate Universe, Zosan Ship

Warning: Long post ahead with One Piece spoilers. Contains strong language and explicit content.

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

Bepo

Captain! Captain!

Bepo, Penguin and Shachi tail Law as he stomps through the deck of the ship in a rush.

Bepo

CAPTAIN!!! Is the Pirate King seriously sailing with us?!

Penguin

I don’t think it’s a good idea. Did you see the townsquare? Have you not heard the stories?!

Law

Yes, yes and no. So everyone, stay out of his way. If there’s trouble, don’t deal with it by yourselves. Tell me or the swordsman.

Shachi

But which–

Law

The other, swordsman. Bepo, call everyone in for a briefing in five.

At that, Law vanishes inside the ship, leaving the trio to stand by idly at the doorway.

The three Heart Pirates hear a couple of thuds on the wooden deck. Nervously, they turn in unison to see who it was.

Zoro and Sanji stood by the edge, having just boarded the submarine. The swordsman had his arms crossed, looking at the distant water with his calm demeanor while the blonde waves at the trio with a cheerful smile across his face as a greeting.

The Heart Pirates’ cheeks flush pink. They give Sanji a shy wave in return. The Pirate King's smile clearly has infected them.

Shachi

He doesn't look that bad….

Penguin

Y–yeah…I don't know what the captain was talking about. He's not scary at all.

—

Bepo, Penguin and Shachi are in tears having just learned a small list of Sanji's most recent crimes from Law. The entire Heart Pirates crew sat on the round table in the ship’s galley with their two guests to discuss the mission ahead, but the doctor felt that introductions were in order first.

In truth, Law just wants his people to be extremely cautious of the most dangerous cargo that they’ve ever had on board. He wants to emphasize how serious the situation is so he nabbed Sanji’s file from the Marine base to share its contents to the entire crew.

Sanji sipped his tea calmly, quietly enjoying the conversation about himself, basking in all the attention and reactions that the Heart Pirates are giving him. He soaks it in, feeling smug about having his achievements read out to everyone. 

Zoro sat next to him, finally able to enjoy a bottle of sake for himself. None of the information being relayed by Law is news to him, having been involved in more than half of Sanji’s escapades on the receiving end. He’d been trying to kill the man for more than a couple of decades after all.

Law

Did…did you guys already forget that he just slaughtered all those Marines?

Zoro

You're one to talk, Traffy. You did the same thing when he said he'd help you.

Law

Shut up….

Sanji turns his head towards the doctor. 

Sanji

Did you really? That's a bit funny.

Bepo

But…but Captain, shouldn't he be detained then?

Sanji gives the polar bear an icy glare.

Bepo’s full body of fur stands on end. Penguin, Shachi and himself hug each other tighter, yelling out cries for help.

Law

There's no point. Detaining him is how we lose our ship. The Marines tried to cuff him and now their entrails are all over the place as a consequence. Just keep an eye on him and do what I told you earlier. Report anything suspicious, is that clear?

Heart Pirates

Yes, Captain!

With that, Law proceeds to brief everyone in the room about the plan to follow Corazon’s trail to Skypiea, and that the Pirate King will be assisting them during their journey and the next until they find Corazon or whoever’s behind the letters. The doctor announces that they will have to stop by Sabaody Archipelago first which is the closest place where they can get a decent portable bubble ship, unless they find an alternative way to safely transport people up in the sky that could withstand the terrifying knock up streams that lead up to it. He makes a point to thank Zoro for his insight as to what’s to be expected given that he’d been to the sky island already.

Zoro

Our former navigator should have a decent map drawn of the country already. At least the places where we've been to anyway, which was most of it. If you think that will help, I'll need a long-distant transponder snail to ask her for a copy. And potentially half a million Beri. She doesn't give away stuff for free, even to her own nakama.

Law

What the hell? I don't have that kind of money. Can’t you get a discount if you’re nakama?

Zoro

N–no…if I use that as an excuse she’ll probably just charge me more. Hey Curls, aren’t you king or something? You’d have the dough and some.

Sanji

Do you see large amounts of gold on me? I don’t carry that much treasure around, stupid. Unless you want me to be traced, I’d rather not withdraw Beri from a bank.

Law

We’ll have to do some fundraising in Sabaody then. Penguin, please show Zoro-ya our communications room after this briefing.

Penguin

Yes, Captain.

Law proceeds to lay out the plan, covering the less exciting details like the estimated duration of the voyage, food stock and potential jobs that they can do on the side for Beri. It will inevitably cost them more time than the doctor had anticipated, but they may not have any choice in the matter. He prays that they miraculously run into any one of Sanji’s contacts who just so happen to be carrying his gold around.

Sanji leans slightly towards Zoro and softly speaks so only he can hear him.

Sanji

Your navigator sounds like a smart lady, by the way. And the price is reasonable, given its rarity and how difficult it is to get to the island. The more I learn about your old crew, the more I wish I got to meet them.

Zoro gives a light-hearted chuckle then speaks just as quietly.

Zoro

Well, if you weren't such a murderous bastard, you might have actually gotten along with them.

Sanji

You think so? Do you think that I can meet them one day?

Zoro

Over my dead body.

After the briefing, the Heart Pirates return to their respective duties except for Penguin who waits for Zoro and Sanji at the door as ordered to take them to the communications room so the swordsman can contact his navigator friend.

On their way out, Sanji makes very brief eye contact with a large man that they call Jean Bart, who slightly nods his way, almost to a bow, before walking off in the opposite direction. Zoro makes a mental note of their interaction.

—

The trip to Sabaody Archipelago is going as smoothly as they had hoped, having only done a couple of stops here and there to stock up and stretch their legs. Zoro and Sanji quickly realise that it is absolutely necessary to go on long walks and exercise whenever they can given how often they get stuck indoors so the sub can dive deep in the water to avoid unwanted attention. Then there’s the matter of their sleeping arrangements.

The Polar Tang’s bunk rooms aren’t anything special. They’re small and cramped where the mattresses are contained in boxes similar to that of the Thousand Sunny Go except that it’s welded firmly against the wall instead of being suspended by ropes. Zoro and Sanji shared a room so the swordsman could keep an eye on him. He also insisted that he gets to keep the bottom bunk in case he finds a reason to skewer the curly brows above him for any reason.

Much to Zoro’s surprise, Sanji keeps to himself while in their shared room, only ever tearing his eyes away from the book that he’s reading to ask if he feels like doing an activity together, or to tell him where he wants to go so the swordsman can follow along. He’d even wake him up to make sure he knows where he’s going if he wants to wander around. Aside from that, Zoro notices that Sanji had taken a lot of liking to just quietly watch the view from their round window, especially when they go underwater.

The crew were extremely tense during the first three days of having Sanji on board but by the fifth day, they had invited him over for a game night on one of their few and precious days off. Zoro assumed that the Pirate King had somehow captured their hearts while he’s not looking.

None of the Heart Pirates had any real money in their name so Sanji proposed that they bargain with chores, volunteering to even take a few from each one to make himself useful in the ship while they’re travelling and to even the odds of the play.

Zoro sat at the furthest table in the mess hall, quietly enjoying a tankard of beer to himself while watching their game unfold into a messy havoc of drunken fun. He watches big smiles across everyone’s faces as the Pirate King tosses in another straight flush–his sixth in a row. The victim this time is the poor Clione who apparently has to fold clothes for two weeks.

After seeing the man melt into despair, Sanji opens the palms of his hands, revealing four extra cards that had been hiding in his sleeves. Everyone laughed at Clione, then at Sanji for confessing that he had been swapping cards around to his advantage. This means that the blonde has to take the laundry chore from Clione, and with a longer duration of four weeks for cheating. They joke about keeping the king as a chore boy, even after the mission is finished.

Sanji and the Heart Pirates were like that through the rest of night. It was as though the blonde’s just an ordinary human being who’s trying to have a good time with his friends. Zoro couldn’t help but smile to himself after seeing a particularly hearty grin from Sanji's face. He wonders what about the man that makes his smile so contagious.

Again, to Zoro’s surprise, the Pirate King stays true to his word and begins to spend most of his mornings folding laundry in their shared room. The Heart Pirates have taken to knocking on their door less formally, or just flat out shouting from the other side to ask if their clothes are ready for collection. Penguin had occasionally shown up just after showering, fully naked and exposed, desperately begging for a pair of his underpants because he'd forgotten to take one and a towel earlier. Sanji fusses over him like a mother hen, nagging him to be more organised next time, but proceeds to help the man anyway.

By the seventh day since setting sail, Zoro finds himself helping Sanji do laundry. They fall into a comfortable silence, which he didn’t realise was possible at all. Though sometimes they share a small banter, throw harmless snide comments, or offer to fetch each other stuff from the kitchen. There was no mention of their old life and how for two decades they had tried to relentlessly kill each other. Both are content enough to just focus on the now. It was peaceful and Zoro isn't about to question why and how this was the case.

During the afternoons, Sanji either visits the galley to catch up with whoever Heart Pirates are on break, or wanders to the library to borrow or read more books. The Polar Tang’s library is more of a shared study space but nevertheless, it’s the coziest part of the ship, given how almost every corner of the sub smells metallic or sterilisation chemicals. Most of the time, Zoro and Sanji are the only ones there given how busy everyone else is, except for Bepo who occassionally uses the nearby drafting table to chart their maps. As long as he keeps himself clean and his bottles checked, Zoro is allowed to drink in the room, away from delicate books, while Sanji delves into a variety of different topics like navigation, geography, Devil Fruits, marine life and a particularly cheap looking cooking-for-dummies book.

One lazy day, there was a knock on one of the bookshelves. Zoro and Sanji lift their heads to find Law and Bepo standing by.

Law

Zoro-ya, a word?

Zoro nods then gets up from the couch to approach the man. He notices that Bepo walks up to sit in his place happily. Him and the Pirate King share a book about deep sea fishes together. The swordsman assumes that the mink had been assigned to keep an eye on the blonde while he’s momentarily away.

Law leads him to his office, where he takes a seat then beckons the swordsman to sit at the other side of his desk. Zoro follows.

Law

I don’t think this changes anything with our mission, but I noticed something odd with the mad king’s file that you might find…interesting.

Law places the thick folder that he had stolen from the Marine base on the table–Sanji’s criminal record. Zoro takes it in his hand then flicks through the papers. He’d seen them all already. He’s a slaver who raids his competitors to steal their “stock” instead of acquiring them himself. He specialises in trading, particularly dangerous criminals–pirates and bandits alike–to sell them to bigger, badder, wealthier criminals to do their dirty work. Most of his clients and partners are corrupt politicians or individuals with private armies like Doflamingo who are in constant demand for troops. On top of that, Sanji has an endless list of serious offenses: arson, murder, stealing, a few kidnappings, warfare–the whole lot.

There’s also a simplified version of Zoro’s reports from when he actively sought out the Pirate King–it lists out where their fights had taken place, any surrounding casualties, and the conclusion of their encounter. The swordsman doesn’t particularly remember them to detail at the top of his head, but scanning through the papers relives old headache-inducing memories of their game of cat and mouse. So far they’ve been pretty even with who’s won and who didn’t.

Zoro makes a point to not kill his enemies. So every time he wins their fight, he hands Sanji over to the Marines to lock him out for life. And every time they try to transport him, he breaks out of his chains and leaves evidence of his carnage just like how he did on the island where they picked him up. Some time in the past, he’d somehow survived and killed his way out of Enies Lobby by himself before they could drag him inside the gates, making him the third person to ever break out of initial confinement after Nico Robin and Franky when his old Straw Hat crew went in to rescue them.

Zoro throws the folder back on the table. He shrugs his shoulders.

Zoro

Tell me something I don’t know.

Law leans over, then re-opens the folder, navigating to the part where the Marines have compiled copies of slave buyers’ proof of purchases and ownership records. He taps on the detailed breakdown list.

Law

He only sells other criminals.

Zoro

So? He’s still a slaver.

Law

They’re not worth a lot because they’re trouble.

Zoro

But they're plentiful. Plus he’s sold ones with Devil Fruit abilities.

Law

Which still isn’t as much as a fishman, a mermaid or a child by a long shot. They’re worth hundreds of thousands, depending who you talk to.

Zoro

So what’s your point?

Law pulls a small stack of papers from under the pile–a worryingly long list of individuals that were owned by other rival slavers. It’s a rundown of the people that they have on their inventory, referring to them as a sequence of numbers instead of their actual names. It has details of their age, race and gender.

Law

He’s acquired them, but not sold them. They just vanish when he gets a hold of them.

Zoro can feel his temper rising.

Zoro

You think he set them free? What, that he’s one of those doing-the-bad-thing-for-a-good-reason kind of person?

Law

I’m just saying…

Zoro

We don’t know what he does with them. For all we know, he saves the “best” ones for himself. Or he’s killed them.

Law

I suppose…. 

Zoro leans back on his seat, crossing his arms.

Zoro

He got to you too, didn’t he? Now you’re in love with him just like the rest of your crew and we’re barely at our first stop. He must have put the idea in your head somehow that he’s somewhat a decent man.

Law

I’m not saying he is, but I–

Zoro

He’s not. You don’t know him as well as I do. He’s probably just playing nice so he can make friends with you lot then control you somehow.

Law sighs in defeat, then takes a moment to find the right words.

Law

Zoro-ya, there’s usually more a person than meets the eye. You can’t ignore the fact that the World Government likes to hide things and embellish on some to make themselves look like gods. They’ve burnt down libraries and destroyed valuable parts of our history to make that happen. If I were you, I wouldn’t trust everything that the Celestial Dragons says.

And I think, deep inside, you know what I’m talking about. I’ve seen the way you look at him.

Zoro gives Law a deathly glare, as if warning him to choose his next words carefully.

Law stands.

Law

You might want to consider your stance with him by the time we find Corazon.

But just…at least think about what I said about the Celestial Dragons, alright? I really don’t have to care about you. But as the first mate of the Straw Hat pirates, you need to consider what’s best for your crew. He may not do things the conventional way, but I think the Pirate King of the North might be one of the best allies Luffy could have right now. Especially because you wouldn't want him fighting for the other side when the time comes.

Zoro’s brows shoot up.

Zoro

Luffy? What about Luffy needing allies?

Law

Has he not spoken to you?

Zoro

No…I threw all my transponder snails away, remember?

Law sighs.

Law

Luffy plans to take on Kaido.

—

The Polar Tang finally arrives at Sabaody Archipelago. As soon as they dock the submarine in the safest and quietest grove they could find, The Heart Pirates, Zoro and Sanji practically pass out on the green grass on the giant mangroves.

Sanji

Well, fuck my ass and call me Susan. That sun is immaculate and this grass is so soft.

Shachi

I haven't heard of that one before.

Bepo 

Hey! Do you guys hear that?

Everyone listens intently. Bepo's ears twitch as he looks around, changing the angle of his head so he could determine the direction it's coming from.

Bepo

It sounds like a concert!! Or…a game show? Maybe a festival? Do you think we can check it out? I hope Uta is playing!

Penguin

I’d kill to see Soul King live.

Law finally catches up to them. He stands in the middle of the field where everyone sun bathed.

Law

You have a day. By tomorrow I want everyone focused on looking around for jobs and sourcing out a bubble ship that can fit at least ten people. I'll keep watch this round.

Everyone rejoiced at the news. They begin to stand to make most of the day.

Law

Except for you, Pirate King. You have to stay behind. Everyone knows your face, and they have giant snails here that can transmit videos.

Sanji

Hmm….

Zoro

Why did you have to tell him what to do? Now he's going to do the opposite.

Law rolls his eyes then begins to walk away.

Law

It's your job to keep an eye on him. Good luck. Call me on your den-den mushi if you need me. Don't throw it away this time.

Zoro audibly groans. He rolls onto his elbows then pushes himself up.

Zoro

Hey Curls, I’ve been meaning to ask, do you… want… to–?

Zoro looks up and finds that he's by himself in the field. He frantically searches around and sees Sanji and the rest of the Heart Pirates already running as fast as they can towards the city where the distant sounds of loud music blared loudly. Some split into groups and some wander off on their own. 

Zoro

Son of a–WAIT!!!

—

In Sabao Dome, Sanji and a few of the Heart Pirates managed to sneak into the stadium, finding themselves right in the thick of a massive crowd close to the main stage. They’re all feeling young, giddy and especially adventurous after having consumed their fifth drink too quickly. Sanji was able to acquire himself a long hood to cover himself so he could continue his day out without any interruptions from the local Marines.

Sanji

Bepo, hold my beer.

Penguin

YES!!

Shachi 

Do it, do it, do it!

Bepo

I don't know about this…Captain's going to kill us.

Bepo takes Sanji's cup regardless.

—

It took Zoro about two hours to track down the runaway Heart Pirates that had Sanji in tow. He held onto his own hood, trying his best to hide his identity while fighting through the crowd in the stadium as he approached them.

During his struggle, he learns from people’s discussions that the show is an annual event that is currently being recorded and broadcasted live. It's an open auction where any member of the public has a chance to bid and win a date with an eligible bachelor or bachelorette. All their proceeds would go towards charity so it’s always for a good cause. This year, they plan to expand the local school, improve facilities of the public hospital and if they’re lucky, rebuild some of the more run down areas in groves that have abandoned neighbourhoods.

The show presents the last stretch of eligible bachelorettes. The made up women walk through the runway to present themselves and the crowd roars in reaction. Paddles of different colours and numbers flash up in the air as the bidding begins for the first participant. An auctioneer in a fine tuxedo introduces them and begins taking bids, one bachelorette at a time.

By the time they're almost done with the last woman, Zoro finally joins the rest of the crew. They all yelp out in surprise.

Zoro

Oi!!!

Shachi

Ah, shit!

Zoro

Why the hell did you run from me?! And with him!!

Don't you DARE run now!

Bepo stops in his tracks, then turns to bow down apologetically to Zoro.

Bepo

…I'm so sorry…

Penguin and Shachi

SO WEAK!!!

Zoro

So?! Where the hell is he?

Penguin

Uh…

Shachi

He err…

Bepo

Well…

Zoro looked furiously at the other Heart Pirates. They shudder under his eye and hide behind the large polar bear.

The auctioneer slams the hammer several times against the lectern, congratulating a noble located on the second floor for winning the last date available for the show. Suddenly, he starts moving back through the curtains, looking like he was called urgently by someone from backstage.

Bepo

I really hope that means he's changed his mind.

Shachi

But…I kinda really wanted to see him.

Penguin

Me too.

Zoro

What are you on about?

The auctioneer returns to the stage with a wide smile on his face. He declares that he brings exciting news and tells everyone to not leave the stadium no matter what.

The lights go dim, and with a well built anticipation, he reveals the last minute surprise for the people of Sabao Dome, and for everyone watching live.

A spotlight focuses in the middle of the stage.

At the far end of the runway, in the darkness, everyone could see a mysterious figure step out of the curtains. The silhouette moved with grace and confidence, trailing behind a waterfall skirt that complemented the shape’s fluid movements. It walks towards the spotlight, then slows down as it nears the center stage. One agonisingly suspenseful step at a time, long slender legs appear under the light, revealing a lean figure in a long sparkling dress and matching coloured high heels. The figure takes another step, and everyone can see the person’s flat chest that links up to defined shoulder blades and slim but muscular arms. The swordsman can’t help but start to recognise the individual by the visible scars on their skin. The figure puts a hand on a hip, and with the other, flicks one side of their skirt before taking one final step to reveal their identity.

Zoro thinks that he’ll die right there and then–from the sight and from the whole idea of it. His jaw drops involuntarily, and the same goes to the rest of the Heart Pirates standing behind him. 

Sanji opens his eyes behind gold-glittered lids. He runs his tongue across the top of his reddened lips, and slowly trails a splayed hand from his thigh, teasing the crowd with a sight of his skin near his center through slit of his dress, drags his hand to follow his curve up to his chest, then finally he lifts his hair to reveal his long inviting neck to the crowd. He leans slightly on the side where his hand is on his hip, and gives the broadcasting transmission snail a seductive kiss in the air and one of his classic winks. The video footage feeds through all available screens in the area and beyond.

To Zoro’s horror and excitement, the auctioneer announces.

Auctioneer

We proudly present…our final bachelor…THE PIRATE KING OF THE NORTH!!!

The crowd goes nuts. The screaming is so deafening that the swordsman hears ringing behind his ears. Poor Bepo had to push his sensitive ears down to put up with the uproar. They get stuck watching the events unfold in front of them, unable to move like sardines in a can. They feel the crowd push in further from outside as people try to squeeze themselves closer to the stage as the bidding war begins.

Zoro and the Heart Pirates had to risk losing their voices just to hear each other.

Zoro

THE MONEY’S NOT EVEN FOR US! DOES HE KNOW THIS?!

Penguin

HE DOES!! HE SAID HE’LL FISH OUT THE WEALTHIEST PERSON IN SABAODY, GO ON A DATE, THEN STEAL FROM THEM WHEN THEY BRING HIM HOME!

Shachi

BUT NO DATES UNTIL HE SEES THEM PAY THE CHARITY FIRST! THAT WAS THE PLAN!

Bepo

WHAT DID YOU SAY, ZORO?! DO YOU KNOW THAT THAT’S THE KING?! HOW DOES HE WALK LIKE THAT WITH THOSE HEELS, RIGHT?!

Zoro lets out a pained groan and attempts to fight the crowd to get to Sanji quickly. It’s too dangerous for him to use haki, or to simply jump up in the air as he’s afraid of knocking people out given how grossly clustered the dome had become. He barely makes any progress at all. He’d never seen this many people freak out over one man. And of course it had to be him.

Penguin

HEY SHACHI! LOOK I’M BIDDING BUT I DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY! HAH!

Penguin awkwardly waves his coloured paddle up above his head.

Shachi

FOR CHORE BOY? HAH!

Bepo

Captain is going to kill us for real…. I’m sure this time.

The auctioneer starts taking bids, starting at a ridiculously high price of 100,000 Beri. This immediately cuts off half of the public but it doesn’t stop the wealthier citizens raising their paddles, all desperate to have but a few moments of their time with the Pirate King.

Zoro thought he’d hated the man before. Now he wants to personally strangle him in front of everyone. He continues to struggle through the crowd, effectively separating himself from the Heart Pirates.

Penguin

Swordsman! It’s not a good idea to split the party with a crowd this big!!

Zoro ignores the man and trudges on. He needs to drag Sanji’s ass out of there now.

The auctioneer continues to take bids.

300,000…

850,000…

1,100,000…

4,500,000…

The crowd goes quiet. It was an eerie feeling of having gone from extreme loudness down to nothing. Another spotlight shone on the crowd, focusing on a pompous-looking woman who is fanning herself with the bidding paddle, looking mighty proud that no one can top her high bid.

Suddenly, there was a sound of heavy doors opening, followed by a booming voice that filled the air.

Voice

ONE. BILLION. BERRI.

Everyone’s gaze collectively turns towards the source of sound. The spotlight travelled from the pompous woman towards the farthest back area of the stadium.

The crowd parts for a man in a white boiler suit and resin bubble over his head. He approaches the stage slowly–not on his feet, but by using a larger man underneath him as a mount. He gives the slave an agonising snap of his whip to make him go forward, pulling the chain that’s secured around his neck painfully.

Zoro

Shit. Shit. Shit. Fuck. Shit.

Zoro tries to squeeze through faster, but the crowd refuses to budge completely with most of them trying to bow down to the new arrival.

A Celestial Dragon is approaching, and Sanji can’t help but smile.

----------

This Sanji likes to look and feel fantastic.

Also, Bepo is love.

[hg-aneh]

Hi! I absolutely love all of your art and I’ve been fallowing you for awhile! There’s been some rumors that you ship Muriel x crowley?? Which I guess is an odd paring but nothing terrible wrong with, I was just curious if you do ship them.

Thank you for all your wonderful art <3

okay, i want to preface this by saying that I've already been harassed over this to the point of being called a lowkey pedophile and having every little move of mine scrutinized and misconstrued to sickening extents (this harassment spilled over to my partner too, and it was horrible)

so all anyone would do by doing this again would be repeating history, among other things that have to do with fucking up my already frail mental state

now.

onto the meat

yes, I ship it

no, I do not see Muriel as a child, kid, teenager, or anything of the sort and I find it personally distasteful to think of doing so because infantilizing autistic traits rubs me the wrong way (p e r s o n a l l y)

you can do it if you want to, I have worse things to worry about than a random person on the internet thinking something of a fictional character, just don't try to push your headcanon onto me just because you perceive it that way or because it's a popular dynamic that you find fun

adding onto this, i want to add that i will never and i mean fucking NEVER post anything related to that ship outside of the very specific private Xitter account i created for it

(and my personal facebook, on a friends only setting)

any Muriel & Crowley content outside of that account is all platonic and bla bla you get the gist. I can separate things, what a talent.

Now, I'm being overly paranoid and explaining myself to exhaustion over this for a very good reason and it's because last time someone found out about it ((yes we're going full circle to the beginning of this little bible)) they treated it as some sort of GOTCHA moment about me being a pedo ((and if you didn't know this already: I fucking despise children with my whole being, I'd rather be forcefed alligator shit for my whole life than be with one of those creatures for a single day))

It got to the point of that person making extremely hurtful videos about me and their little friend group comprised of goober eating toddlers joining in on the "Hater" train or whatever the hell that new cultural trend is called, as well

It was hell, that whole experience fucked me up BAD and i feel silly for saying this but it was genuinely traumatic! So- I apologize if I'm sounding confrontational here, anon, but like, this is the type of thing you have to do to keep yourself safe now, it's gone to that point and I'm in hysterics now because what the fuck

Lastly, I'd like to say this one other thing

Muriel is played by an adult actress, they are canonically the same age as Aziraphale and Crowley and are also an eldritch creature just like them

The fact that they're nice and bubbly and happen to have autistic traits doesn't suddenly make them a fetus. I have friends with the same personality type as them and I feel like it'd be dumb to treat them like zygotes knowing they're adults with body hair and debt

Again, if you see them as one, I'm literally no one to judge, I'm 1.49, you're better off taking judgement from a stupid lone penguin in the saharan desert.

But don't fuck with others for thinking otherwise, it's not a moral issue to disagree with a headcanon, please. 🥲

[l-in-the-light]

The most embarrassing series of posts about Lawlu you will ever read: edition Dressrosa (part 7)

The soap opera in sunny Dressrosa continues! Let's take a look at Luffy's turn to act overprotective!

Luffy protecting both Torao and Moocy never really gets old. Also look at the last image to the right, Luffy is doing his gatling, and I think it's the first time Law sees it. His eyes are hidden and I get the vibe he's actually impressed. I mean, who wouldn't be, gatling is one of Luffy's coolest attacks :D Luffy's is unaware of course, too focused on his task.

The moment Law speaks up, no matter the chaos and screaming around, Luffy's attention is instantly directed fully towards him (the "Hmm?" bubble). That's how much he's interested in whatever Torao is going to say.

"I've braced myself for this" says Law, and Luffy is so confused by that statement. He doesn't realize yet that Law needs time to adjust or get ready mentally, especially since he's so stubborn. And sometimes he just needs a push. I think Luffy will remember this and use it later, never maliciously though, but to help Law open up to new friendships heh.

It took Law a really long time to actually reach his resolve to beat up Doflamingo as well. Luffy is listening closely. If you read my analysis of Luffy and Law's friendship, you know this is the moment when Luffy might be thinking "I already knew you wanted to punch him up as well".

Law is actually opening up here, it's only like two sentences but I bet it took him a lot to say it, that's how much he actually trusts Luffy. He just told him something he never really shared with people (with exception of Bepo, Penguin and Shachi). And Luffy's mesmerized face says it all. He didn't expect it, he's full of feelings, probably thanks to the trust Law shows here. Luffy never wants to hear about people's past, not even of his own crewmates, because he doesn't have to know anything to want to help them (though he occassionaly listens to his friends like Rebecca), but here it's different. He wants to know, he's interested in Law and his life, probably even his previous adventures.

And again, the very moment Law speaks up, Luffy turns to him to listen. Never ignoring him. Why would he, if Law returns the favour every single time as well? Those two never ignore each other.

Also this moment is funny when put into context, because it happens soon after the enemies were shooting at them, and I guess this is the moment Trafalgar Law finally declared "Nopes, I won't tolerate it any longer, uncuff me finally". Took him long enough.

Luffy here is like "You worry too much, this is an adventure, remember?", because Luffy said something similar back on Sunny when Law worried and it worked that time, so he did basically the same here. He doesn't like Law to worry so much. Sadly, that did not work this time around, I wonder why hm. Luffy clearly smiles here for Law, to cheer him up, he wasn't really smiling before, instead he was constantly in his serious mode.

Law meanwhile worries his ass off again, realizing this can't go on forever like this (he is kinda right about it). This might be also the moment Luffy realized that Law likes to overworry, but Luffy doesn't mind. Law might be way too serious, worry all the time and complain, but for Luffy he will still be the coolest person in the world. He accepts him just the way he is and likes him for that. It's the same for all Luffy's crewmates as well, so it's not that outstanding or exceptional here, but still heartwarming.

They're totally on same page here. One mind.

There's something special about Luffy picking up the snail that belongs to Torao and introducing himself as future king of the pirates <3

Luffy: I told you not to worry!

Law: How could I have not?!

Luffy even makes sure to ask Robin how they will reach them and he does it just so Law won't worry too much anymore. Normally Luffy wouldn't even bother asking something like that.

Law is probably relieved here. Still, he scolds Luffy for his carefree attitude.

Luffy caring more for Moocy and Law than himself here. Supports Law with his hand. No wonder, he carried him all the way through Dressrosa, he's probably very aware how weak Law is here so he's trying to help and support him as well.

Law's worry just went overdrive, because he realized Luffy is gonna put himself in a very dangerous spot. I guess he knows by now how much Luffy cares about people and animal companions.

Luffy looks like he's kinda supporting Law there with the hand on his arm, which probably reflects the title of this chapter "palm" (one of the two possible meanings, the other is the heart key in Doflamingo's palm). He's literally holding Law here in his "battle" with Mingo.

Even Doflamingo thinks Law became "softhearted". He mocks him for sticking with Luffy, but Law's not having any of that. He's sticking with his choice to the very end, even when Mingo tries to kill him right here and now, blaming Law for being weak and dying miserably like that. Law has no way of defending himself besides his words, but he already made his choice. If anything, I think the only regret he would have would be if Luffy died here together with him.

Luffy's also alright with this, he wouldn't do anything differently, because Luffy doesn't want to live with regrets anyway. If it means he's dying here with Law, then so be it.

They realized Mingo actually did save them just to mock them. They both feel extremely humiliated about it. Luffy doesn't even have to feel this way just for Law, but I think in large part he does. He didn't feel humiliated when he learned Kuma send Strawhats away to save them. He didn't feel that way either when Robin saved him in Alabasta, in fact he instead tried to thank her. But as long as Law has a grudge against Mingo, Luffy is not gonna say "thanks" to him no matter what. Sorry Mingo, you should have been nicer to Law.

Yeah, poor Law, can't even complain outloud (after all he did tell Luffy to leave Moocy behind so complaining about it now would be unfair) and it feels like he's too close to other people. This can't be comfortable knowing what we know about him.

Before Kyros hopped in, Cavendish was in front and Luffy in the back, and Law in the middle. When they rode Moocy it was the same, with Luffy in front, and Zoro in the back. They keep positioning Law in the middle to protect him.

Remember when Law was taken aback by Luffy's silly competitiveness and stubborness? Law's not even out of the cuffs yet but he's ready to compete in this field. To be fair, it's also because he wants again to keep Luffy out of trouble, but he's also just silly here with "Mingo is mine and mine alone to beat".

And the silly competitiveness continues on. Bargaining who has bigger grudge is very mature indeed. It's honestly funny how Law wants to protect Luffy but also doesn't want to look uncool or allow him to take all the credit. Those two are hopeless. This is even funnier because Law usually *doesn't* take credit. Luffy jumps on the bandwagon ofc just because he can (or he's still overprotective towards Law, isn't he?). He's probably secretly enjoying the fact he can actually compete with Law, no matter what it's about.

Luffy's concerned face here is also quite extraordinary. He worries because he feels responsible for protecting Law. Usually extra trouble doesn't even faze him. Now it does, but not because of himself, but for Law again. Those two really compete in overworrying about each other, don't they? Both afraid as much to lose the other.

Look, Luffy is directly in front of Law, protecting him with his body. Meanwhile Law has enough again, because he knows he could deal with that danger easily if not for the cuffs. He also wants to protect Luffy back after all. It shouldn't be strange he goes straight to business when Robin arrives, this is constantly on his mind: get rid of the cuffs so he can get rid of the enemies here. Law sometimes proves he also has a one-track mind, suspiciously often when it involves Luffy.

Again, they're on same page, matching each other's pace.

Luffy is with Rebecca exactly the same way Law was wtih Robin few moments ago. One-tracked mind again. Law probably reminded Luffy he can easily get rid of the enemies and Luffy is ready to bet on that.

Mirroring each other's tiredness with those huffs here. Luffy still looks pretty worried. Law meanwhile is putting up a confident front, maybe for Luffy to stop worrying over him. He would totally do something like that. Besides, he's just a show-off.

Same mind, again. No more fights over who will save the other! The determination is still there, tho.

Law tells Luffy to get moving and charges ahead first. But when Luffy stalls back to reassure Rebecca, Law isn't walking so fast anymore, he also changed the way he's carrying his sword. Most likely he stopped and waited for Luffy or walked slower, so that Luffy can easily catch up. If that's not a proof of him being actually a considerate person, then I don't know what this is. They agreed to do it together, so Law is just not leaving without Luffy. Luffy meanwhile runs to catch up to not make Law wait any longer.

"You never listen and toss yourself into trouble, Mugiwara-ya". I could swear he says it in his mind. Luffy's a bit confused, having flashback to Ace and I'm not sure if that's sweet or heartbreaking. After all Ace was the only person in Luffy's life who cared about him like that, worrying and covering up for him. Luffy's face is saying "this is oddly familiar", but he probably didn't realize yet that he just gained another person in his life who will treat him the same way from now on (or even has been already for quite a bit).

Luffy is so impressed with Law's powers. After all this is the very first time Law used it on Luffy.

Can I also just say that Law using his powers should be extremely intimidating: everything in his "room" is at his mercy and he can operate on objects and people in every possible way, but instead it's used here to show trust. Law wouldn't use his powers to harm Luffy, but he easily could have. He actually never uses his powers to hurt his allies and anyone asking him to shamble them shows trust in that. Of course Luffy wouldn't be concerned about this, because he knows and deeply believes Law to be a good person.

Law meanwhile completely refuses Luffy's compliment and instead throws it back at him "good thing you carried me so far away, I could save up my strength". Those two are insufferable like that, lol.

Luffy is so concerned when he hears Law making a painful noise <3 he's like "who hurt you?! Let me punch them!!" or "I hope you're not painful because of me!"

Plotting together their strategy against Mingo. Luffy is actually listening and trying to argue back, but not very effectively, judging from his expression. Law's resolve here can't be broken. Even Luffy can be taken aback by that. Besides, he again is in his "I don't want to disappoint Law" phase.

Both lowered their guard when a child approached them, ffs. And people would still doubt that Law never intended to hurt kids. He cares, it's just that sometimes he will discard that if someone else's life on the line Luffy's. But here? He's fully in his goody-goody self.

And here we go, facing Mingo together. What do you mean fighting side by side isn't a love confession??

Now it's time to go all crazy for the end of this post, all brakes are off! Let's talk about Law's coat here.

Yes, I did a picture case study, why do you ask?

Anyway, let's start from the left. We usually think that this symbol on Law's coat stands just for mockery of Doflamingo's jolly roger, right? But there are some things that don't truly fit. Why didn't Law just make it yellow? His own jolly roger is yellow, Doffy's jolly roger is yellow, yet the mocking symbol Law came up with is suddenly white? And why is yellow instead used only for the border of the circle? Doffy's jolly roger doesn't have an extra border like that. If Law wanted to just make it stand out more by using two different colors, then they should be reversed, right? The jolly roger yellow, the border white. And yet it's not. So it makes me think "yellow border" is an important detail.

And then I noticed that Bartolomeo also has a similar symbol on his back to Law's (on the right of the picture). An X with (his own, I presume) head over it. It kinda looks like a person doing a X pose. And Bartolomeo indeed does the X pose when he's excited over something, just look at him there. It could even refer to his setting up the barrier gesture, when he crosses his hands.

And yeah, that made me think... what if Law's symbol could be seen the same way? It's a person doing an X pose... with a strange yellow circle on his back. What could that be?

Yeah, I really wonder.

There is an image with Luffy doing an X pose with his strawhat off in previous picture for comparison. You can decide for yourself if this fits or not. It's basically a person doing a X pose with the strawhat dangling on the back. Now let's put it back on:

This is basically it lol. And "corazon" means heart, so yeah. Cheesy af.

Now let me quote you Oda from SBS to fill up any remaining blanks:

D: Question. On Law-san's coat, there is a logo that reads "corazan". Is this talking about the Cora-san that Law loves? Is Law's coat specially custom made?                                              

Oda: Yes. So, to be specific, the coat reads "Corazon (corazón)" rather than "Cora-san". In Spanish, this word means "heart". While this is in fact straight up Cora-san's code name, it can be said that there isn't really a problem with the captain of the "Heart Pirates" wearing this coat either. Even speaking ability-wise, Law is a "death surgeon" known with his unique skill of cutting people's' "hearts" out. While to society, it may seem like a symbol of fear and power, I'm quite positive that Law himself had "Cora-san" in mind. It's definitely custom made.

Few things to note here:

Law's clothes are custom made. I think that means he makes them himself. That's why they can have feathers and his jolly roger plastered all over them.

For Law it's important that his clothes refer to his own crew and that his jolly roger is always present on his clothes. It's his pride as the captain! So the "Corazon" stands also for "heart" as in "heart pirates". Seems he cares a lot about that, just look how Oda phrased it: "there's no problem with a Heart Pirates captain wearing a coat with Corazon word spelled out" because heart=corazon. Meanwhile it would be problematic if the captain wore a logo that doesn't belong with his crew, right? For Law that would be no good, he has a reputation to uphold!

Since he has his captain's pride to uphold, he can't make a direct reference to Luffy on his clothes. He hides it instead and makes stupid references that can be understood in more ways than one, but probably he's the only one who gets it.

That's why his coat actually serves three purposes: 1. His dedication to his own crew as their captain 2. mockery to Doflamingo, hoping it could work to provoke him 3. homage to Luffy, because someone is smitten beyond human comprehension, but will hide it in plain sight.

And let's cover the last track left: Law didn't yet have his coat on when they arrived at Dressrosa. Luffy already made his excited X pose when they stepped out and Law is there to witness it (two pictures above). Law's group is also the last to leave (Luffy is deep in his fight in collosseum before Law's group with Robin and Usopp are ready to go, and the meetup was somewhere around noon or later in Green Bit. Remember, it was 8 hours after their early morning ransom call!). In other words, Law had plenty of time to prepare his clothes. He either used thread and needle (a surgeon is probaly quite good with needle work, right?) or painted it, doesn't matter. Point stands. It is freaking possible.

And now I'm satisfied because I found a reason why the circle had to be yellow. Ahahaha. Hope you enjoyed my craziness, but please tell me it doesn't fit. It does, doesn't it?

[jojo-schmo]

I’m looking into making my own Kirbysona. I was wondering if you have any tips??

you don’t have to answer! Also I love your art and your AU is awesome :)

Hello! Thank you so much for the kind words! <3 I'd be happy to share some of my thought process behind creating my bubble-blowing baby, Ripple Fairy Kirbysona! I will always cheer on the existence of more Kirbysonas! :D

I had a Kirbysona in childhood that was just a little puffball, like Kirby- and she looked like this :D I loved the Star Rod, the Beam Kirby hat was my favorite, I just finished playing Kirby 64 so I added some Crystal Shards to the hat, and I slapped on my favorite colors. Bam! I'd draw her in the margins of my notebooks, interacting with other Kirby characters in little stories I'd write... Great fun!

But now as an adult posting my work online, I wanted something that felt more like "me," as opposed to an OC that felt like someone else. A direct extension of myself to interact with the characters I love, as well as characters and sonas of other creators in our Kirby corner over here! Like a gaming avatar! But in a series with so many different species and characters, where to start?!

Step 1: THERE ARE NO RULES. BE CRINGE AND BE FREE!!

The important thing is to have fun! You can choose to confine yourself to the rules of the Kirby universe, or just make something up! The important part is that a sona represents you!

These are the thoughts that went through my head, but it's not the only way to make a sona! If you follow what your heart is saying and not what you think others want to see, you'll find a design that feels like you!

Step 2: Ask some basic questions to establish a design direction.

These are the questions I asked myself during the creation process, but your questions can be different! This is just how I set up my rough plan of creation.

Sonas don't need to look like you or be named after you irl if you don't want! But in order to feel like "me," I decided on something that shared a lot of my actual physical traits. For me personally, if the sona didn't look a lot like me, I would always have a disconnect with it. I also settled on the name "Jojo" quickly because that's my actual nickname, part of my username, and I respond quickly to it.

From there, answering the other design questions I had came quickly after that!

Step 3: Settle on a species.

I went with a Ripple Star Fairy in the end because 1) They're adorable and I love their cute wings, hair ribbons/accessories, 2) They're shown as adults, which is perfect because I am one lol, 3) Look human enough for me to relate to while still having a lot of freedom to make up powers, lore, and design traits, and 4) Ripple Fairies deserve some love hahaha

Side note: if you can't decide on a species, throw the rules out the window! Be a shapeshifter. Or have multiple forms for no reason. Be a combination penguin/puffball knight/human/waddle dee born from the cosmos!! Refer to step 1, there are no rules! Hit your sona with a Waddle Dee beam whenever you want!!

Step 4: Design yourself, superstar!!

I brainstormed with a page of sketches and tried a bunch of different variations of a Ripple Fairy with different hairstyles and outfits, (I need to find that sketch page) but I eventually settled on these concepts!

I wear braids almost every day, so I added that. Ripple Fairies in canon all have cute hair accessories, so I made sure to tie off the braid with a little ribbon!

Also my hair in real life does this "devil horn thing" that is one of my favorite things about myself. Like I have these baby hairs on the sides of my head that love to curl upwards on their own, so I kept the "devil horn" silhouette with the braid's bangs :D

ALSO, I LOVE BOW TIES. SO MUCH. I love shirts, dresses, anything with a bow on the collar. So I added that.

I have this black coat with a sailor-like collar IRL that I love. I feel SUPER DUPER AWESOME when I wear it, so I added the collar with the bow tie.

I added buttons, a stripe along the bottom of the dress and sleeves, and gauntlets because a lot of canon Ripple Fairies have them. My college marching band uniform also had big gauntlets that I felt really cool wearing, so I shaped mine like that! And clothes with scalloped hems are my favorites, so I added one as a unique twist to my dress!

Now for the fun magic stuff. I wanted my powers to be connected to bubbles because I just think bubbles are neat!!! Simple as that haha.

So how am I going to blow bubbles, then? I'll need a bubble wand! How about a weapon that can change forms to be pocket-sized and functional, AND a super cool staff? Because I think staffs are SICK. I'd carry one around all the time if I could.

I got a little sentimental with my design too, borrowing some elements from my childhood Kirbysona like the Star Rod, stripes, ribbons, and diamond shapes. It's one of my favorite details because I like paying homage to the baby Jojo I once was as often as I can.

I added a little bit of red to the IRL brown color that my hair and eyes are (added more red to my eyes because I always felt like my brown eyes were boring lol). I finished off the theme with my favorite color blue, a little bit of yellow to complement, and BAM! There I am, Gary! There I am!!

Jojo The Schmo was born! She is me, and I am her, haha. Everything about the design has aspects that mean something special to me. I wanted to keep things unique and fun, but simple enough to draw over and over, while still representing me. And that's why I love my sona so so much!!

Hope this could provide some helpful insight! Go forth and create your unique and wonderful sonas!! When you're done we should all have a picnic together in Dreamland. <3

[asher-agere]

PJSK Sanrio

So. I was looking at all the two stars from the Sanrio collab. And I got really sad cause like. No one ever gives them attention :( So! I made mood boards around some of my favorite two stars! I can do others (And they would get priority) but I just chose some favorites-

I actually struggled with Luka’s because usually My Sweet Piano is pretty coquette? But in the card it felt more cottage-core. So- Yeah there was struggle- I also at one point had like 30 images for Mizuki because Bonbonribbon is in like my top 5 favorite Sanrio characters

On a side note this has been in my drafts for days- I haven’t had much time to post here and I’ve been lacking a bit of motivation, but I’m still here! I still try to interact as much as possible! Hopefully doing this, something just for me, will help restart my brain hehe

[First Image ID: 9 images, left to right top row. An apple pie, a fall themed pacifier, Marroncream themed treats, a red blanket with white spots, Honami holding Marroncream, a Marroncream tea set, Marroncream, a Marroncream comb, brown and white macarons]

[Second Image ID: 9 images, left to right top row. Tuxedo Sam, a penguin pacifier, three blue glow sticks, a Tuxedo Sam plushy, Haruka holding Tuxedo Sam, Tuxedo Sam slippers next to a plushy with a nightcap, Tuxedo Sam stationary, a penguin teether, a blue frilly dress]

[Third Image ID: 9 images, left to right top row. Badtz slippers, pancakes covered in syrup and chocolate chips, a bat pacifier with a fidget chain attached, a Badtz CD player, Badtz on Akito’s back, Badtz on a skateboard, a black blanket, a star shaped Badtz keychain, a Badtz plushy with a pacifier]

[Fourth Image ID: 9 images, left to right top row. A star shaped Keroppi keychain, a Keroppi pacifier saying “Froggie”, Keroppi listening to headphones, a Keroppi water bottle, Tsukasa holding Keroppi, a Keroppi keychain, Keroppi headphones and speakers, a Keroppi plushy, a Keroppi bracelet]

[Fifth Image ID: 9 images, left to right top row. A Cinnamoroll and Usahana pacifier saying “Lil Bun”, Usahana hair clips, pastel star beads, an Usahana water bottle, Usahana on Nene, fruit loops, Usahana bandaids, Usahana, an Usahana plushy]

[Sixth Image ID: 9 images, left to right top row. Cup of Noodles, turquoise pacifier with teddy bears saying “Ni Ni”, Marumofubiyori, Marumofubiyori socks, Kanade holding Marumofubiyori, floor puzzle pieces with stars, a Marumofubiyori lamp, a Marumofubiyori blanket with a hood, Marumofubiyori slippers and a plushy]

[Seventh Image ID: 9 images, left to right top row. A pink and white bunny pacifier, a thick pink petticoat, pink and white heart bars, a Bonbonribbon plushy in front of a pink water bottle, Mizuki holding Bonbonribbon, a Bonbonribbon themed toy makeup set, various Bonbonribbon themed objects, Bonbonribbon themed plates and cutlery, Bonbonribbon with a strawberry]

[Eighth Image ID: 9 images, left to right top row. Pastel plushies, a pastel cake themed pacifier saying “Sprinkles”, bubbles, a pink Little Twin Stars bag, Lala next to Rin, Little Twin Stars nails, pastel moons stars and angel wings, a Lala plushy, Lala sticking her tongue out]

[Ninth Image ID: 9 images, left to right top row. Kiki, a blue moon pacifier saying “Bedtime”, a blue drink with whipped cream and start toppings, a Little Twin Stars moon shaped pillow, Kiki next to Len, star lollipop hair clips, a pink Little Twin Stars star shaped pillow, a Kiki plushy, a Little Twin Stars candle]

[Tenth Image ID: 9 images, left to right top row. Pink books shells and a candle, a My Sweet Piano pacifier saying “Lil Lamb”, a pink cottage, a My Sweet Piano plushy, Luka holding My Sweet Piano, My Sweet Piano, a pink princess bed, a pink piano, gingerbread plushies with pink bows]

[DNI ID: A box with a red border, a red bow in the top left corner, Sanrio characters to the right. Red text reads “DNI if your blog isn’t child safe. NSFW accounts will be blocked”]

[urautismdiagnosis]

Ships hehe

BOATS (ships)

OK SO I won't tolerate anyone trashing aro ace people or queer platonic relationships or invalidating them, THAT OUT OF THE WAY TIME FOR HEADCANONSSS

barnacles and kwazii 🐻‍❄️💛🐱: I originally shipped them when I was like 12 lol

To me they're going to become a QPR and they mean the world to me.

I need to start actually posting my stories to showcase what's gonna happen BUT CMON GUYS THEY HAD AN ENTIRE EPISODE ABOUT THEM BEING A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP?!

Like I'm gonna be so real they were octopod POD mates. (Their rooms in the same bubble lol)

Kwazii is his ✨first mate✨

They're a married couple that doesn't realize it yet!I'm going to trauma bond them and no one can stop me. Cuz I've already done it 😎👍✨

They deeply trust eachother! I'm going to make barnacles hold what he thinks is kwazii dead in his arms! Barnacles loves this silly cat man! Kwazii loves to be appreciated and make barnacles proud! They emotionally support eachother! Kwazii is going to have nightmares about the captain dying in a horrific way that totally doesn't relate to the intens epsychological trauma I've given him! Barnacles wants to be useful and have someone to love but also someone to tell him its ok and that he doesn't have to be perfect or brave all the time! Kwazii wants to not be alone and prove himself to someone who truly sees the worth in him while being able to trust that they'd always stay loyal together! They have so many inside jokes and shared moments of near death experiences! Accordian music and shanties!

anyways onto SHELLINGTON AND DASHI AY AY AY AYYYY

Uhhh so I haven't posted their designs and my headcanons but yes Shellington is autistic to me (totally not me projecting but yall see the username. Ill get into why I think he's autistic on my character design post for him) and yes I think yk what? Maybe he was a little lonely and weird as a kid and yk what also? Maybe he does have some chronic pain too I dont make the rules (yes I do)

Anyways like shellington, I'm giving my baby issues and fears relating to not being like part of the group lol. Subconsciously anyways. And yk he found his people, the octonauts who value him and his interests and dont blame him for messing up lol and he likes himself as a person

(BTW he wouls totally try to adopt a cryptid like creature (new species!) abomination and name it Steve I already have an entire plot)

Do yall remember when they were sent to spend several weeks alone together in the midnight zone cuz I do

Regardless i think dashi just casually asked him ayyo wanna date and then he bluescreened LOL

As for dashi well, I'll get into her headcanons when I post her character design as well, but regardless she needs someone who understands and supports her passions without judgement yk?

She is so incredible,like photography, computer specialist, apparently technically a scientist, a surfer, able to pilot deep marine vehicles, got swallowed by a whale, did a flip from the manta ray while diving FRKM SEVERAL METWRS IN THE AIR INTO WAYER THAT WAS ABOUT TO HAVE LAVA POUR INTO IT???, and is a whole pilot now apaprently???

Like holy-

Anyways yeah dashi thinks shellington is an amazing single father with so much kindness and emotional intelligence and many many charming qualities 🥰

Shellington thinks dashi is Like actually a really really awesome person??? Like they both like organizing things!! Shes funny and smart!! They can both talk about eachothers interests and he likes to make her happy!! She's really cool and kind and helps him with stuff and she's super intelligent and charming! He just thinks she's oh so very cool. She's so confident and has kind eyes 🥰

Anyways yes

Btw just wanna say that tweak is like if u were aro ace to the max lolll shes just content with her life and friends lol

now for the penguin(s) in the room

ok so shes gonna be a plot relevant character in a story I've got in the works (The Oil RIg) it'll be a fun ride dw, but we love medic x depressed woman its great and yes I do think peso could pull any gal just by existing like straight up fight me on this fight me fIGHT ME-

ok not fight I'm not like that but I will stand on this hill till I die

but fr tho it was a whole telenovellahow they met omg- I'm talking the drama- thelore- thesoftmoments and the heartbreaking goodbyes- not to worry tho they do meet again and are like long distance(with tons of visiting) lol they have a very healthy relationship tho considering that shes like idk, ig fresh out of a like, very unhealthy environment

i ain't gonna spoil anything rn tho lol but she Gon save his life and he gon save hers and its gonna be beautiful<3 <3 <#

[mostlysignssomeportents]

A year in illustration (2024), Part four

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/12/07/great-kepplers-ghost/art-adjacent

Part one

Part two

Part three

The US Copyright Office frees the McFlurry

Figuring out how to illustrate the problems of DRM in McFlurry machines took some doing, but I'm super happy with how the HAL 9000-eyed poop emoji inside a spattered McFlurry cup (fair use of a McDonald's promo image) worked out.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/28/mcbroken/#my-milkshake-brings-all-the-lawyers-to-the-yard

(Image: Cryteria, CC BY 3.0, modified)

Keeping a suspense file gives you superpowers

Another Keppler classic: originally, this was FDR being offered a helping hand to cut through his paperwork. I added in one of the elephant heads I'd cropped out for election illustrations, and used it to represent "not forgetting."

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/26/one-weird-trick/#todo

The housing crisis considered as an income crisis

The underlying image is another Keppler, showing death flamboyantly dicing with a millionaire. I added in an official (hence public domain) Reagan portrait, some monopoly houses, and a vintage aerial photo of Levittown, halftoned to disguise scaling artifacts.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/24/i-dream-of-gini/#mean-ole-mr-median

Retiring the US debt would retire the US dollar

More of Keppler's outstanding Uncle Sams! Add in a super-rezzed-up US $100 (all that intanglio looks great at high mag) and you've got an instantly arresting image.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/21/we-can-have-nice-things/#public-funds-not-taxpayer-dollars

Penguin Random House, AI, and writers' rights

The impatient guy makes another appearance in this WPA image of an adult literacy class; he's joined by another "business man" type, this one from a midcentury ad for a multi-level marketing scheme selling…business suits! The pupils' heads are all HAL 9000 eyes, natch, but don't miss all the little Easter Eggs, like the reeve and peasants in the frames on the walls.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/19/gander-sauce/#just-because-youre-on-their-side-it-doesnt-mean-theyre-on-your-side

(Image: Cryteria, CC BY 3.0, modified)

You should be using an RSS reader

The guerrilla fighter is back, this time standing atop some mainframe equipment ganked from a Univac ad. The halftoned RSS logo in the background really works, especially with a partially blended GIMP "supernova" effect behind the rebel.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/16/keep-it-really-simple-stupid/#read-receipts-are-you-kidding-me-seriously-fuck-that-noise

Dirty words are politically potent

I spent a bunch of time experimenting with different ways of making emphatic speech bubbles and it paid off here; that poop emoji's gawlix is in a good home. Halftoning the foreground element (the poop) works surprising well here. I should do more of that.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/14/pearl-clutching/#this-toilet-has-no-central-nervous-system

Lina Khan's future is the future of the Democratic Party – and America

Keppler's Uncle Sam Cop is back, along with another Keppler – a carpetbagger flying through the air after getting a kick in the pants. I got good use out of one of my Democratic Party donkeys here. The background is a half-tones WPA travel poster for Montana.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/11/democracys-antitrust-paradox/#there-will-be-an-out-and-out-brawl

Cars bricked by bankrupt EV company will stay bricked

I actually made this brick by hand: first I rescaled a box image until it had the right proportions, then I found a public domain texture that was the right kind of brick and used the perspective tool to put it over each face of the box. I told you public domain bricks are hard to find.

It was very satisfying overlaying all the elements of the Fisker car I cropped out onto the brick.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/10/software-based-car/#based

Prime's enshittified advertising

Nothing exceeds like excess! The flayed face with eyeballs comes from a 19th century book of French anatomical drawings. The calipers' handles just didn't look right (I referred to stills from Clockwork Orange to try and get 'em to work), but then I hit on the idea of using the "As Seen on TV" logo, which worked perfectly. The halftoned K-Tel ad-card background doesn't quite work, I think.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/03/mother-may-i/#minmax

"That Makes Me Smart"

This is actually two Kepplers; the original guy in the leg-hold trap is some lost-to-history politician embroiled in a lost-to-history scandal. But once I added (yet another!) of Keppler's Uncle Sam heads to his body (recoloring his coat and converting his trousers to red stripes), it became a perfect visual representation of America, trapped. The halftoned US flag is my favorite background yet.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/12/04/its-not-a-lie/#its-a-premature-truth

The far right grows through "disaster fantasies"

When it came to finding heavily armored and armed weirdos, I was spoilt for choice; same goes for grainy photos of vintage malls that look good after halftoning. Add in the goofy, grinning newsie's head and overlay his hat in camou, and it's perfect.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/24/mall-ninja-prophecy/#mano-a-mano

Boss politics antitrust

Finally, I got a chance to use Keppler's "Capital Controls the Senate!" I agonized over which corporate logos to use. Boss Tweed is back, with a Trump wig and MAGA hat.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/12/the-enemy-of-your-enemy/#is-your-enemy

Antiusurpation and the road to disenshittification

A diptych! Both sides' backgrounds come from Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights" – hell on the left, heaven on the right. The happy gas-jockey's old-fashioned ethyl pump divides the scene. The head-devouring dragon (with HAL 9000's eye) is a delightfully gory detail from Goltzius's 1183 painting of a couple guys having a hard time indeed.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/07/usurpers-helpmeets/#disreintermediation

(Image: Cryteria, CC BY 3.0, modified)

Bluesky and enshittification

I know, canonically the sirens who tempted Ulysses were merfolk, not half-woman/half-birds, but all the merwoman versions have a ton of naked breasts in them, and frankly, Waterhouses's 1891 "Ulysses and the Sirens" just rips. It took a lot of fiddling with the perspective tool and the clone brush to swap their bodies for the Bluesky butterfly wings, but it still looked weird until I mapped in a kind of scaly, butterfly wing texture.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/02/ulysses-pact/#tie-yourself-to-a-federated-mast

Shifting $677m from the banks to the people, every year, forever

I replaced Moses parting the Red Sea with Keppler's Uncle Sam Cop, but something still wasn't right. Then I figured out how to turn the Red Sea into a giant, aquatic US $100 bill (loooove that intaglio!) and it was awesome.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/01/bankshot/#personal-financial-data-rights

[notbleachtea]

Your First Christmas Part 1

Okay, I want to at least get this first part posted before the Holidays, and I'm gonna try my best to write the second part before Christmas as well. It's in two parts because I'm hyper critical and I just need to get something out there

All angst in this piece, part 2 will hopefully be more fluff and nsfw

WC: 2.1k

______________________________________________________________

Done with chores for the day, you meet up with Ikkaku to unwind in the main room. 

“Ha! y/n…. What are you wearing?” Ikkaku burst out trying to hold back a laugh.

“Aw quit it, you can admit it if you're jealous you know? I’m just in the holiday spirit is all.” You quip back smiling. “Everyone loves an ugly Christmas sweater.”

“I wouldn't be too sure about that y/n. Not to burst your holiday bubble, but your new lover boy doesn’t really celebrate Christmas. Sure he gives us the day off, but he stays in his office the whole time studying.”

You sit there with a slightly sad face. Christmas was your favorite holiday. You loved getting gifts for all your friends to show them how much you loved them. You hadn’t been on the crew very long, but the chemistry between you and Law was undeniable. You hit it off quick earlier this year. This was going to be your first Christmas together. You never really thought to ask Law if he celebrated or not, assuming everyone likes Christmas to some extent.

“You know, now that you mention it, I don’t think Law and I ever talked about Christmas before.”

“Yeah, the last time someone tried to ask him to join our small party he gave them bathroom duty for a month.” Turning around you see Penguin walking your way, Shachi not too far behind him. “But no fear y/n, we love your sweater!” He says for the both of them.

“Yeah, who cares what Law thinks.” Shachi says, finally able to chime in.”

“Think about what?” Like clockwork, Law comes quietly from around the corner.

Faces turning red and averting their captains gaze, he looks right at you, unamused and mildly annoyed.

“Y/n, take that off”

Penguin and Shachi burst out laughing. “Captain, you dog!”

“Shut up before I remove your hearts.”

All three of them gulp in unison, realizing they’ve overstayed their welcome in this conversation, they get up and scramble out of the room.

“Law, what’s got you so bothered? You don't like my sweater?”

“No, clearly I don't, and I thought I told you to call me Captain.”

“I don’t want to talk about that right now,” you say as you roll your eyes and cross your arms, “what’s up with you and Chrsitmas?”

“None of your business. Besides, it's a waste of time. No different than any other day of the year. Now go change out of that sweater, and I don't want to see it again either.”

“But-”

“Go.”

Staring daggers into his eyes, tears peeking out the corner of yours, “yes, Captain,” you retort with a hint of spite..

You walk off out of the room and go down towards the hall, heading to your shared room. As you enter your room you rip off your favorite sweater and throw it on the floor in your path to the bed, tossing yourself on it as your tears refuse to dry.

What the hell is his deal? He didn't have to be so rude about it. 

Not long after, Law follows along, joining you in your room, the sweater on the floor not going unnoticed.

“Y/n, stop this already? This would be a lot easier if you got over it already.”

Only silence is heard from your direction.

“Cmon y/n. Say something at least.”

“What was with that reaction?”

He takes in a short breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, right in between his eyes.

“Y/n, I'm saying this once, and I don't want to talk about it again. I hate the holidays. I don't want to celebrate it, and I don't want to see it either. I need you to understand this for me”

“That's not fair!” you shouted. “You haven't even given me the chance to say what I feel.”

“Y/n, I said I'm not talking about it anymore.”

Your head returns down to the damp pillow in front of it. Law looking at you with seemingly no emotion.

“Y/n?”

“Can’t hear you, we're not talking anymore, remember?” you spit out at him, clearly not over it.

He takes that as his sign to leave you alone for a little bit.

A few hours go by, and everyone is making their way to get dinner. Beop starts to look worried, noticing that you haven't shown up yet to get your plate. He frantically runs over to Law to inform him.

“Captain!” he squeaks, “I haven't seen y/n yet! Is everything okay? Have you seen her??”

“Relax, Beop. She's fine, she's just feeling a little tired lately.”

Penguin, Shachi, and Ikkaku all look at each other at this response, knowing that can't be the full story, Law clearly not wanting to share what's going on between you two. He takes off with some food and heads towards his office. Bepo takes his food and heads over to the others.

Sighh. “I hope y/n’s okay, I haven’t seen her all day!”

“It’s okay Bepo, don’t worry,” Ikkaku says, patting his back. “We all saw her earlier today, just looks like her and Captain are going through something right now. She wasn't exactly aware of the Christmas rule around here.”

“Oh poor y/n! I should have told her!” “Relax man, I’m sure they’ll figure it out, besides, it's not our story to tell. You know Captain would kill us if we told her why he hates it so much.”

Per usual, Law was locked away in his office until the early hours of the morning. Realizing what time it was, he figured he should probably head back to your shared room to try and get some sleep, and also to check in on how you were doing.

It was clear you were still upset. You were rolled all the way on the furthest side of the bed, practically falling off the edge.

Law gets in the bed without a word, successfully going undetected leaving you to sleep.

You wake up the next morning, Law already gone and getting started with his day. You have nothing to say to Law still. Honestly you were hoping he would have at least given you an attempt at an apology. You've never carried arguments over into the next day before. It wasn’t hard to figure out there was something deeper going on, there was just no way to figure out what it was with him refusing to talk to you about it.

He’s the one who did this. All I was doing was just minding my own business before he came up to me and was rude. I’m not giving in, he can come up to me and apologize first.

You pep yourself up and prepare to go about your day like nothing happened. You’ve got a lot of chores to get done today, best get them out of the way, at least they'll keep your mind busy.

Everytime Law comes around to make his rounds you don't even look in his direction. He wasn't even willing to hear you out, if he wants to fix this, he can do a little more than just stand in the same room.

Dinner rolls around again, this time you do show up, Bepo excited to finally see you again.

“Y/n! I missed you!”

“Aw thanks, I missed you too Bepo.”

As you are sitting down with the gang, Law walks in to grab some food and takes it back to his office again. The table looks at you, each person raising an eyebrow out of confusion, looking for an answer from you. You quickly make a move to change the subject, not wanting to get into it.

“Cheer up y/n, Captain’s just a little dramatic sometimes. Hes not the best when it comes to other people's feelings.”

You didn't need Penguin to tell you that one, but you appreciate him clearly trying to cheer you up a bit.

This same cycle continues on for two more days, making that four days now since you had your original argument. Why is he being this stubborn about it? Does he just not care about me or us anymore?

You start to wonder to yourself. You ignored him out of spite at first, not that he was making much of an effort, but now this is just genuinely starting to hurt. But going on like there’s no conversation to be had is not a viable solution either

You push forward with your day like normal, in the middle of your task, taking inventory in the med bay. Suddenly feeling hot tears running down your cheeks, you stop to touch them, confused on their origins. 

You're so stressed out and hurt over this, your body is forcing it out of you in tears right now. Bepo walks into the room in the midst of your breakdown, immediately dropping everything in his hands to run to check on you. He holds you in a hug, asking you what's wrong. You only respond with muffled sobs, still not done letting it all out.

“I I-,” you continue to sniffle, “I just miss my Law.” you cry.  Unable to hold it in anymore. “I haven't talked to him in 4 days and I just miss him okay. He won’t tell me why he hates Christmas, and he won’t even hear me out when I want to explain that it's my favorite time of the year, or even why.”

“Don't cry y/n, if you cry, then I'm gonna cry!”

You stand there silently, trying to pull yourself back together, not realizing Law has now entered the room, and was out in the hall seconds prior, hearing everything.

“Bepo, please leave us alone for a while,” Law commands.

You both freeze and stiffen up at this comment, feeling embarrassed Law is seeing you like this. Bepo follows his Captain’s orders and quickly flees out of the room, leaving you two behind.

“Y/n… talk to me. Please. It's been 4 days and I don't want to keep doing this. Clearly I'm hurting you.”

He was hurting you, and that's the reason why you were not wanting to talk to him, but he's right, it's been too long. You just want him to hold you, but you also want him to tell you what his problem is.

You wipe the remaining tears in your eyes with the back of your hand, gaining the composure to speak. You look at Law with big glassy eyes.

“Please, can you please tell me what has made you so worked up, and what’s so wrong with Christmas?”

He takes a deep sigh, and you can tell he's annoyed and wanting to avoid the conversation, but he knows it needs to be had and understands he needs to give in. 

“Y/n… it’s hard for me to share parts of my past with anyone. Christmas just isn't a good time for me okay.”

You look at him, still with hurt in your eyes. Desperately needing to know more. He swallows a gulp and goes on.

“Christmas used to be a big deal where I came from. My family-” He pauses, the past weighing heavy on his heart, “I don't have many memories from that part of my life, but Christmas is part of the little I have. It was also my little sister’s favorite holiday.”

You knew he had a little sister, but that was about it, and you had only heard of it in passing from the others, and knew better than to push Law for information about his past when he wasn't ready.

“I loved her so much, but Christmas was also the time we found out she was starting to get sick.”

You stand there silent, grabbing his hands to let him know you are here for him.

“There was no cure for it. Despite that, she didn’t let her spirit falter. I wasn’t able to save her. It wasn’t until I ate my own devil fruit that I could have. The World Government knew we were getting sick too, but they didn’t tell us. This could have been prevented, and I’m so angry about it.”

Without another word, you put your arms around Law and just hold him. You can feel a massive weight leave his shoulders from your touch.

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

Another moment of silence passes.

“No y/n. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you when you didn’t even know why. It wasn’t fair of me.”

You just squeeze him tighter, not wanting to let him go.

[toasttt11]

hayden lee blake

summary: hayden blake the only child of maddison and harrison blake, drafted to the edmonton oilers in 2019.

thoughts

hayden blake

introducing hayden

hayden

hayden x matt

the blake’s

hayden’s friendships

instagram

favorites and facts

hayden’s style

edits

instagram posts

aesthetics

blurbs

it’s a girl

puck

word

her boys

fighting

new room

bracelet

proud

off centered

not here

ELC

resemblance

dog sitting

help

hard days

lake house

centered

new friends

pictures

jacket

apologies

tattoo

family skate

just friends

new puppy

video

fics

additions

casts

happy birthday?

broken family

pieces

funeral

senior year

pale

knows

draft

sad

first game

pizza

surprises

practicing

brownies

blood

helping

home

relieved

playoff bubble

reunions

morning swims

fresh starts

visits

hospital visits

movie nights

cursing

last draft

san diego

jealous

A

aunt

broken ankles

burgers

michigan -> detroit

new years

his jersey

penguins

boston

yawns

minnesota

knocked out

twenty one

peace and quiet

jasmine flower

media

two

worried

puppies

calm

short

adorable

snow on the beach

bronze and gold

first game

first goal

wisdom

ask/random

second master list

[bubbleteapenguin]

It was about time I did this but I finally made a newsletter!

If you would like better updates on my Sh♡p dates/drops, c♡mmis♡ns, patre♡n, and convention schedule this will be the best way to keep up.

https://tinyletter.com/bubbleteapenguin

[adventure-time-news]

Summary of all the upcoming Adventure Time junk we know about!

7th May 2024: Amazing and Awesome Coloring Book

This activity book will be published by Penguin Random House in a few weeks. Source.

===

3rd September 2024: Journey to Ooo

This is another Penguin Random House book. It will adapt two episodes: Dungeon and Fionna and Cake. It is part of PRH's Screen Comix line, which means it will just be screenshots from the two episodes with speech bubbles and stuff edited over the top. Source.

===

15th October 2024: Adventure Time Compendium Vol. 1

This will be the first piece of Adventure Time merch published by Oni Press, who have taken over from Boom Studios as the main publishers of the Adventure Time comics. The Compendium will collect issues 1 to 35 of the original 2012 Adventure Time run. It's not clear whether or not it will also contain the backup stories from those issues, or just the main stories. Presumably there will be a Vol. 2 at some point collecting issues 36 to 75, but that has not been announced yet. Source.

===

12th November 2024: The Fionna and Cake Compendium

Similar to the other compendium, this will not contain any new stories but will collect existing ones. It will include the original Fionna & Cake comic miniseries, the Fionna & Cake: Card Wars miniseries, and a selection of other comics from across the franchise. Source.

===

March 2025: Adventure Time: The Roleplaying Game

I made a post about this earlier today.

===

2025: Unannounced Oni Press comic series and graphic novels

We have no idea what these are going to be yet! Source.

===

Probably 2025: Fionna and Cake Season 2

We have no release date yet for the second season of this show. It's probably still a while off, as it didn't enter production until after the first season aired. Source.

===

That's everything for now, as far as I'm aware. Stay tuned!

[kroosluvr]

part II

i wrote all these notes in tags then realized i kinda want it in the main post JKASHJKDHASJK

also claude knows he cant outwait petra. not in this arctic snowscape where shes the most powerful

small note abt how petra doesnt have the lil misty breaths in front of her like how claude does. bc despite being human shes still a frost penguin

i imagine she has the power to basically 'feel' the landscape, finely tuned to every minute detail. especially since snow and ice is so silent. she just Knows.

claude knows he'll either freeze to death standing there or die in a watery grave if petra breaks the ice covering the lake so thats why he complies

petra's bitter projection at the end: "no one is coming to save you." because no one will come to save her.

in my head claude 2nd outfit is sorta a hitman/secret agent sort of deal..... kinda going off my last krisis comic , (EXTREMELY HEADCANON) after losing his friend claude diverges from his initial cleric path. something about the conflation of love and hate, healing and hurting, poison and medicine... the wires cross somewhere. Anyway idk why he's here in antarctica or whatever i just TEEHE I LIKE DRAWING MY OSHIS!!!!!! idk maybe pechora got too powerful and ~they~ had to send claude to eliminate her. capture her. or something. like the remnants of the research lab want to lock her down or something

petra uses the sword to break the ice (heh) btw. she can also like control icy weather to an extent. yea

also something cool and important abt no speech bubbles. in a cold icy land where the snow muffles everything... petra's voice carries through the frigid air. imagine it. WOAH... also claude having no lines also important in that way. guys idk how to analyze mym own decisions JUST KNOW I DID IT FOR A REASON. OF SORTS

i thought abt this comic at the gym yesterday andwhile i was wokring on these card edits so yea.

[prof-ramses]

Theorizing about the new TADC character teaser!

For those not in the know, Gooseworx posted the first of the above images on her socials yesterday. Obviously teasing future TADC characters.

The second image is an upside down edit, to help get a better gander at the reflections.

As none of these characters match any of the abstracted performers, the most likely option is that these four a NPC created for adventures, or possible, one shared adventure.

For the sake of clarity, the characters will henceforth be referred to as Blue, Pink, Green and Grey.

I'll discuss them individually before giving a theory about episode 2

Blue:

A lot of people have compared this character to the cast of the fighting game Ballz 3D, and predicting they're made of balloons, but upon closer inspection, I have uncovered some details no one else has pointed out.

In addition to making out what appears to be a simplistic face texture, seemingly hovering in front of Blue's face, but the shapes and contours of their limbs make them resemble coils, like a thick rubber version of Gangle's torso.

Pink:

Pink here has understandably been compared to Queenie by many fans, as well as many assuming them to be the leader of this odd group. Other's have drawn comparisons to Baroness Von Bon Bon, which are also understandable. But what else could a detailed look over reveal?

It would appear Pink has a heart pattern on their chest, as well as large puffy hair and an adorable little crown.

Her dress has 2 to 3 layers, depending on if the highlighted segment towards the bottom left is actually anything meaningful.

I also took the liberty of estimating her hand proportions.

Green:

The most "normal" looking of the four, at least in this teaser, kind of like Ragatha in the main cast reflection teaser. The ghostly element is obvious and the extra blur added by their glow affect compounded by the reflection complicates analysis a bit, but I like a challenge.

The first thing that stuck out to me was what I can best describe as a line of many small buttons, like an old fashioned woman's shirt. The change in thickness of one arm also gave the impression of sleeves.

Lastly (and most likely to be parandolia), I think I found the rough outline of a darker patch on the head, likely the actual head.

Grey:

I've seen the most disagreement over what this weirdo is. My first thought was a penguin, but I no longer hold that opinion. Rather, I agree with many others who sight this a a revisit of Frogni (an unused frog design for Pomni). So, let's dissect this thing.

So, Frogni is definitely here in spirit, especially with Grey being the most main cast-like new comer. The orange/bronze arm is what really stuck with me, especially as I haven't seen anyone point it out.

Conclusion:

I think these NPCs will be rivals to the performers (Gangle, Kinger, Ragatha and Pomni) in a "rival showdown" adventure. Jax and Zooble will either opt out or defeat their rivals so quickly that they weren't included (similar to Bubble in the main cast teaser)

[lottiecrabie]

choose your own smut adventure. end – matty healy

previous. start.

Matty winces. “Right,” he nods. He straightens up and slides out of you slowly; you gasp at the feeling, already sore from the barest movement. Your cunt throbs around nothing, trying to adjust to the lack of him, as though he’d rearranged something in you, left you changed. Made for him, or at the very least constructed.

Matty’s eyes are firmly fixed down and you frown, sitting up to see what he’s staring at. His cum is leaking out of you, falling on the desk. He’s transfixed, licking his lips. “Sorry,” he says, vaguely flushing, though still doesn’t look away. 

You laugh. “You’re such a boy.”

“It’s hot!” He defends, but a laugh bubbles out of him all the same. There’s a dazed, euphoric atmosphere to this dorm room. A slight giddiness. You feel like a teenager again. 

Matty grabs his shirt from the floor, using it to clean at the wet mess between your thighs. You hiss when he rubs at your clit, oversensitive, and he gives you an apologetic look, wiping gentler. You grab his shoulders once he’s done, pouting at him comically. “But now what will you wear when you leave tomorrow?” 

“I can fit in one of your shirts.” You snort. 

You smack a kiss on his lips, then jump off the desk. You’re weak on your legs, a newborn fawn, and you must grip him just to stand still. You sniff; your nose wrinkles. “God, we need a shower. We reek.” 

“I think we’ll need a full-on exorcism to get rid of the smell in this room.” You make a sound of agreement. 

It really is a carnage; clothes everywhere, pillows and covers thrown around, papers and pens fallen soldiers at your feet. The bed even managed to scoot away from the wall, laying tilted, the scarf still tied around the bed frame. It’ll take a few hours just to organize everything correctly, and you’re too post-orgasm drunk to care. 

“Shower first. Then we can draw the pentagram.” 

“Always on that schedule,” he tsks. 

He walks you to the bathroom with minimal laughing at your shaky, penguin legs, though not zero. You give him a few glares, holding back very pointed comments on how it’s all his fault, mostly because they would just climb directly to his head and permeate that ego of his. 

The bathroom is a square, little thing, and the shower is even tinier. You’re practically chest to chest trying to fit both of you in the small cubicle. The shower sprays mostly on your back; Matty valiantly left you the prime spot under the shower head. While burning water falls on your shoulders, relaxing those sore muscles, Matty clings to you just to try and catch a few droplets. 

“Let me do your hair,” Matty says once you’ve washed off the stench of sex coating your bodies. You acquiesce, pointing him to the lavender shampoo on his side of the shower. 

You turn your back to him. Behind you, Matty gathers some shampoo. His fingers bury in your hair, delicately unraveling all the knots he’s created. He digs into your scalp, massaging it. You moan. Your head falls back, loose and slack. He really does have magic hands. 

“We gotta wash it off,” he whispers in your ear. You turn around again, grinning at him. He’s beautiful, warm and flushed, with water droplets falling down his eyelashes onto his cheeks. You want to kiss him, so you do. 

Matty bends your head back under the shower head. The shampoo washes off, leaving a faint aroma of lavender behind. When he’s done, his hands fall around your waist, holding you close, trapping you in the heat of his cocoon.

His fingers graze your back. A delicate, gentle drawing, more subconscious than a fixed thought. You shiver under his fingertips; tough, callused. Matty kisses your shoulder. You giggle, pressing your head into his. He straightens out to kiss your forehead next. 

“Was I a good teacher?” 

You grin up at him, scrunching your nose. “The best.” You flutter your eyelashes at him. “Was I a good student?”

“You were okay.” You gasp, slapping his shoulder. He laughs good-naturedly. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” He grows serious, though still syrupy soft in the eyes. “You were the best.” Pride tingles up your limbs.

Your head falls on his shoulder. He draws circles on your spine, spinning around each bone, climbing up, then down. It’s all so right, so perfectly fitting; his fingers were meant to touch your skin. You know this deep in your bones. 

“Next time, I want to sit on your face,” you whisper, cheek squished on him. 

Matty laughs. He wraps around your waist, tightening. “Show me that list of yours. We’ll work through it.” 

You tilt your head up. “It’s long,” you trail meaningfully. “Might take us a few days.”

His grin drips on his face. “Perfect.” He leans in to kiss you, breathing, “It’s a date.”