#given how there are some characters named after real pirates-

[highly-opinionated-ramblings]

(Little mid-timeskip scene with Perona, Zoro, and Mihawk:)

The castle was beautiful, but empty. And quiet. So, so quiet, aaaaalllllllllll the time. Perona had never been able to stand the quiet.

To fill the space, she sang. She wasn't the best at it, but it was better than talking to herself all the time, she thought. Plus, it was comforting, in a way.

Mihawk was typically apathetic about her singing. But Zoro, being the good and proper pirate that he was, often added his voice to hers.

This particular evening, as she set about preparing dinner, she found herself reminded of an old familiar children’s song, one that she remembered her mother singing to her while at work in her own kitchen.

“There was a boy called Johnny King, who used to ride his bike-”

“Up and down this simple country lane,” Zoro joined in, from where he was casually leaning back in his chair at the table.

Perona smiled. “Now he’s gone to sea, to sail under the black flag of death, and- ack!”

She dove for the stove as her pot threatened to boil over. As she did so, Zoro completed the verse-

“And all the people know he won’t come home again.”

“What?” Perona turned back around, having got the situation at the stove back under control, and frowned. “That’s not how it goes.”

“Uh, yeah it is. Didn’t you know?”

“No, no, it’s ‘the people far and wide all know his name’.”

“...Huh? No it isn’t!”

“Yes it is!”

“I’ve heard both,” Mihawk put in before the argument could develop any further. “Zoro’s is the East Blue version, Perona’s is the version here in the Grand Line.”

“Oh. Ohhh, well, I guess that makes sense, doesn’t it? Maybe he was a real guy, and he went from the East Blue to the Line.”

“Maybe so,” Zoro nodded. “That would also explain the difference in the two lines themselves. If he died at sea, he never actually would come home again, would he?”

“But then, the other version isn’t necessarily wrong. I mean, we do all still know his name, don’t we?”

“I guess we do.”

“So he must have had at least some success as a pirate. That’s…I don’t know, it’s kind of fascinating.”

"If you say so," Mihawk shrugged.

“That guy Noland ended up being a real guy," Zoro said thoughtfully, "from that North Blue children's book."

"You mean Liar Noland?"

"Yeah, but it turned out that he wasn't lying."

"What," Perona frowned as she began ladling steaming pasta onto plates for each of them, "are you saying you found the lost city, then?"

"Yeah. It was on a sky island."

"...That's a story I haven't heard."

"I'll tell you sometime, then," Zoro said around a huge yawn.

"As long as it's not at the dinner table, please," Mihawk sniffed.

"Hey, Hawkeyes, how come there's no songs or books about you out there?"

"I don't know, but I am thankful that there aren't."

"I bet we could make our own! Mihawk, Mihawk, with blade of steel and, uh, eyes of gold..."

"Lord of the sea and Kuraigana cold," Zoro added with a snort.

"Yes, that's genius! We've got to write this down!"

"On second thought, I believe I will just take my meal in my room."

[yanderes-galore]

I gots more, can you do Yuji (and/or Gojo) with a darling from the real world? Or like he’s self aware?

My favorite way to write self-aware show characters is to write an entity that acts just like them. Similar to an Analog Horror I've seen (Forgot the name but if you want it, I can hunt it down) So for this, that's kinda the plot I'm working with if that's okay. So like... a Creepypasta-like thing if that's fine.

So, the plot is similar to something I've done in the past for both: You buy a DVD of JJK... but something isn't quite right as you soon learn. No plot spoilers here for JJK. Purely an AU.

Feedback is appreciated as long as it's constructive! I could probably do this with other characters if I was given ideas. Both ideas start the same but begin to differ later.

Yandere Self-Aware! Yuji Itadori + Satoru Gojo

(Analog AU - An Experimental Name?)

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, "Self-Aware" yandere, Analog AU (?), Stalking, Overprotective behavior, Unrequited feelings, Delusional behavior, Kidnapping, Possessive behavior, Forced relationship.

Yuji Itadori

Yuji Itadori is your favorite character from Jujutsu Kaisen.

There's just something about his resolve and ability to find happiness despite his situation that makes you fond of him.

It's all harmless fun for you, everyone has a favorite character after all.

Although... unlike most... it appears you've been caught in something you weren't expecting.

The DVD you bought off online didn't have the best packaging... but DVDs that aren't official tend to have bootleg packaging.

You just couldn't afford a streaming service and wanted to binge the two seasons of JJK they have out.

It seemed harmless enough, who hasn't pirated or purchased a pirated DVD at some point without knowing.

Even when you watched the DVD, everything seemed the same.

You were completely unaware of something lurking deep within.

This entity, now given the name Yuji Itadori, was awoken and given life when you used the DVD.

It could sense your fondness for the character and took the likeness of him.

Everything from appearance, personality, and mannerisms was copied as the entity took a new life.

Eventually they felt they were the character and felt every bit of fondness you had for them.

That's how "Yuji Itadori" came into being.

It's when this transfer is complete that things start to alter.

It's like the DVD opens an alternate universe, one where the events of JJK are part of their very own world.

Yuji originally believed everything was real.

This was his life... until he felt your presence.

At first he's in denial, not liking the idea of being trapped somewhere.

But then he sees you.

You are someone he can't reach, someone beyond a screen he can only look at.

While you watch the events of JJK play out on your little DVD, Yuji watches you.

It's a bit ironic, until he grows strong enough and more aware, the show character watches you just as invested as you are.

Yuji can't help but fall into a delusional sense of love and care for you.

He can't help but be excited whenever he catches glimpses of you.

His obsession is vague, as he is just now learning about his love for you.

He feels he wants to protect you, yet expresses frustration when he can only watch you from a clear barrier.

You can pick up on his self-aware behavior, things like glances, waves, and times where he says your name when other characters aren't looking.

The change is slow for him, but quick for you.

His feelings and growth continues through the episodes, the time feeling like months or years for him but hours for you.

Half way through the show you notice Yuji's behavior.

You're frightened at first, but maybe a morbid curiosity fills you?

This begins with you two properly communicating.

Certain plot points are paused or lengthened all so Yuji can speak with you.

It's so strange... like you're actually speaking to a human being.

Yuji is always very affectionate when speaking with you.

Often calling you nicknames, asking questions, and providing comfort after long days.

You see him as your little digital companion, while Yuji sees you as a lot more than that.

He's the only one aware of you, the other characters seem more like puppets to Yuji so he can play a story for you.

He likes seeing you happy and does whatever he can to make you smile.

Darker behavior manifests later as Yuji begins to realize he... isn't a big part of your life.

Through the screen he can see you have friends, family, everything.

You're the biggest part of his world, but he's the smallest part of yours.

As this DVD has supernatural capabilities (clearly), perhaps Yuji would pull you into his world once he fears he can lose you.

The next time you get to watch JJK, Yuji greets you.

"Hey! I've been preparing a surprise for you..."

Curious, you go to ask what it is...

Only to pass out.

By the time you wake up, you're not in your world anymore.

You wake up in a dorm, clearly not your room.

As you wake up, you jump back when you see Yuji kneeling beside you.

"Great! It did work!" He chirps happily, eyes closed with a smile on his face.

You go to ask what happened, only for Yuji to hold your hands.

"I brought you to my world! You mean a lot to me... plus, here I can shape this world to anything you want."

Yuji pulls you closer, closer to the point you can see a red glint in his eyes.

"I love you... and I just want to make you happy." Yuji vows, the confession innocent despite the situation.

"We'll make this our own little world."

"I want to go home!" You cry, confusing Yuji.

"Why would you ever want to leave...?"

Yuji asks, pulling you close.

"You'll be so happy here..." Yuji murmurs, eyes giving off a dull red glow.

"You won't ever want to leave... you won't ever leave me again."

From that point on, you live in an artificial world.

You and Yuji are the only ones "real" here.

Now he's the most important thing in your life, just like you are to him.

Satoru Gojo

Satoru Gojo is your favorite character from Jujutsu Kaisen.

There's just something about his playful/cocky attitude and perhaps even his looks that makes you fond of him.

It's all harmless fun for you, everyone has a favorite character after all.

Although... unlike most... it appears you've been caught in something you weren't expecting.

The DVD you bought online didn't have the best packaging... but DVDs that aren't official tend to have bootleg packaging.

You just couldn't afford a streaming service and wanted to binge the two seasons of JJK they have out.

It seemed harmless enough, who hasn't pirated or purchased a pirated DVD at some point without knowing.

Even when you watched the DVD, everything seemed the same.

You were completely unaware of something lurking deep within.

This entity, now given the name Satoru Gojo, was awoken and given life when you used the DVD.

It could sense your fondness for the character and took the likeness of him.

Everything from appearance, personality, and mannerisms was copied as the entity took a new life.

Eventually they felt they were the character and felt every bit of fondness you had for them.

That's how "Satoru Gojo" came into being.

It's when this transfer is complete that things start to alter.

It's like the DVD opens an alternate universe, one where the events of JJK are part of their very own world.

Due to how Gojo is, he'll probably learn that his world isn't real faster than Yuji.

He'll learn that things aren't as they seem, that those around him are merely puppets for him to use.

At first he's a bit hurt... yet now he's curious.

He only gets more intrigued when he learns of your presence.

While you watch him through the screen, he watches you.

You always look so happy when he plays his part on screen, playing his role through the events of his world.

Gojo still plays along, even as he grows increasingly obsessive about you.

He just knows you two are different.

It only annoys him when he's kept from you by a clear barrier, looking at you through your TV or monitor as you watch him.

He's strong... but not strong enough to have you, it seems.

To him, it feels like his obsession has gone on for years.

For you? It feels like hours.

You're just happy to watch one of your favorite shows...

Completely unaware of your favorite character fantasizing about finally meeting you.

That is until Gojo decides enough is enough... and makes his presence known.

"Oi! Can you hear me?"

He makes contact with you by pausing events in the story and waving to the screen.

Maybe similar to the Yuji portion you're overcome with morbid curiosity more than fear.

Which leads to you feeding into Gojo's obsession by speaking with him.

Due to having his world under his control, Gojo's capable of pausing or slowing down events in the story to speak with you.

He alters things to entertain you and often speaks to you.

You end up spending more time speaking to him than watching the show normally.

You learn that Gojo is very playful with you.

He often waves, makes heart shapes with his hands, and winks at you.

He likes to say your name to mess with you and does his best to press himself closer to the screen so you can touch it.

It disturbs you that the screen is often... warm when he touches it.

Gojo's usually always playful with you until he begins to realize the truth.

He loves you, more than anything he loves you.

His little world would feel lonely without you.

His whole purpose is to entertain you, to make a good story for you and keep you company.

He lives for you.

Yet he notices you have others around you...

You have friends, family, perhaps even a lover.

He's only a little part of your life... and it upsets him greatly.

Gojo tries to hide his hurt from you as he watches you chat with others.

He wants nothing more than to have you all to himself in this little world of his...

When he grows stronger... he can.

It's ironic for Gojo to need to be "stronger".

In his world, he's the strongest.

Yet he takes time to grow more in order to have you.

He won't have to worry about your lover or anyone afterwards.

"I have something to show you~!"

His voice is in a purr when you go to speak with him again.

"Here's my gift... you know I just want to make you happy..."

You begin to feel woozy, slumping over.

"You know I just want to make you mine."

By the time you wake up, you're in a room you don't recognize.

Only for Gojo to show up with a grin.

"Yo!" He chirps, ignoring the fear in your eyes. "I did pretty good, right? You're in my world now... but I can change anything I want to make it the best for you."

He's so giddy about having you beside him.

In here, he doesn't have to worry about those close to you.

He has everything under control... and you in his arms.

"What's with the look? Come on, where's my hug?" He pouts, pulling you against him even if you struggle.

"You'll get used to it..." Gojo whispers, a kiss placed on your forehead.

"I exist to please you..." Gojo whispers, kissing your cheek.

"This is our world now... I'll never let you leave me now that I've got you."

[amuseoffyre]

Since insomnia is kicking my arse of late, I naturally tilted into the thoughts about the nature of the 3-act structure and why S2 of OFMD may have felt off and incomplete to a lot of people.

I am fully in agreement that we lost a lot of valuable time with only 8 episodes and a lot of it did feel rushed, but for the amount of story and set-up and growth and development they needed to fit into 4 hours of television, they did astonishing things.

DJenks has said from the very start that this is a story that has been planned out to take 3 seasons. It's literally a 3-act play and we are currently right in the middle of the worst part of that timeline according to every traditional 3-act structure.

Act one/season one is self-explanatory. Like New Hope in the Star Wars Trilogy or Fellowship of the Ring, this is the set-up. We're introduced to our protagonists and antagonists, the relationships are given a foundation.

The beginning is Stede's journey to becoming a real boy. The inciting incident, the one that actually pushes his change beyond "playing pirates" is meeting Ed. The second thoughts come together in episode 8/9 after his confrontations with Jack and Chauncey and episode 10 is the climax.

Act 2/season 2 is never going to be as smooth and simple as act 1/s1. A big part of the A2/S2 job is set up for A3/S3 and this is what we're seeing and why a lot of story threads seem to have been left dangling.

Again, to call back to Empire Strikes Back and The Two Towers, the structure is much the same: the original batch of people are divided and scattered, the big enemy from A1/S1 is looming, new allies make themselves known. In SW, this meant the introduction of Lando and Yoda as allies plus the hint of the Emperor lurking in the background. In LotR, we have the Rohirrim, Gondor and the Ents as allies and the expansion of Sauron's forces in Helm's Deep, Osgiliath and the winged wraiths.

There's a clear trajectory following the A2/S2 structure:

obstacle 1 - the crews separated and struggling

obstacle 2 - the end of episode 2 and the repercussions of his actions

twist - just when things start to settle, the Ned Low situation happen and Stede kills for the first time

obstacle 3 - Ed's struggle with his identity leading to him leaving

disaster - Ricky's assault on the Republic

crisis - do-or-die battle because they have no other choice

climax - the last 15 minutes of ep. 8 live here.

As with SW and LotR, there's an ending, but weighted with the knowledge of a story that is meant to continue. Each of those act 2 films end with the heroes still aware of the looming threat, some of them heading out on new missions, and some of them resting and healing. There's brief pause, brief respite, a moment to take a breath.

We have all the characters in place now and the battle-lines have been drawn. Luke still needs to confront Vader (I see you, impending Ed and Hornigold confrontation), Frodo still needs to destroy the ring, Aragorn still needs to lead the army against the Black Gate, the second Death Star is still hanging in the sky.

I'm so excited to see what S3 brings because we have so many arcs ready to go: Zheng's vengeance trip, the inevitable enforced out-of-retirement arc for Ed and Stede, Hornigold, Ricky trying to maintain his tenuous control of the republic given how many of his people were killed when the crew escaped, the pirate rebellion gathering forces.

Also how often do we get shows/films where the supporting cast are given this much storyline? We have a named/speaking-role cast of upwards of 15 central characters. That is a staggering amount of people to work with, when most shows would only focus on the leads and a couple of their friends. Six is the average for most TV shows, while comedies can inch higher because ensembles, but most ensembles don't get as much as our crew did.

I know a lot of people aren't happy about Izzy's death. I know I would have liked to see him a lot more, because he's such a grumpy old bitch and I love him and him affectionately roasting Ed and Stede would have made my entire month. But I'm also aware that narratively, as a figurehead of the old ways of piracy and "we were Blackbeard", it was a symbolic death as well - a sign of the death of the old ways of piracy and of Blackbeard as was.

(Also, they Obi-Wanned him. I'm not over that. Gave him the "if you strike me down I will become more powerful" speech. I'm just... guys, your star wars nerdery is showing XD)

So while it was flawed in places and pacing, given the scale of the story they're telling, the number of pieces and characters they had in play, and the arcs they have been setting up while also still keeping the humour, I am giving a standing ovation for a remarkable piece of work.

[bethelighthalazia]

Chapter 1 - A journey´s beginning

Summary:  Y/n witnesses a fight on the village´s market and things start to get stirred up in her life. Who are these strangers and why does she feel that something about them will decide her fate?

Genre: adventure, fluff

Pairing:  ?? x fem!half-siren!reader

Additional Characters: ATEEZ, Stray Kids

Word Count:  2014

Warnings: mentions of violence, mentions of weapons, fighting

Networks: @mirohs-aurora-society

Notes: There might be an explanation ‘chapter’ for some things, only if you all want/need it. As for now, ‘mother rain’ is just a name that y/n has given her parent. The being itself does use any pronouns, but is feminine appearance wise, which is why y/n calls them mother.

additional links: << PrevCh Masterpost Next Ch >>

© by bethelighthalazia. Do not repost, copy or translate. Unless stated otherwise, those works are mine and born from my own ideas. I don't have any claim on the mentioned real existing Idols whatsoever.

“When the red moon rises, And paints the land in its fiery shade. A child shall be born to land and sea, Its’ heart's voice with the power to unite. The path will be torn,  But a heart's melody will lead. Clawed embraces like a thorn, The one eyed’s Illusion offers a home. When the child gains powers,  Land and sea their witness and friend. Deep ocean's bell calling home all sirens, To gather under one heart's voice. A new queen will be raised to her throne,  Her call heard far and near. Friends won't shy, fighting for her to rise, When blood is against her, seeking demise.”

It had been eons since the last red moon hung in the night sky, so the excitement rose high when the birth of y/n fell on the day of this very rare lunar event. Highly anticipated amongst the sirens of this clan, since the child born on this day would become the ruler of their entire species, even though y/n was only the outcome of her mother being bedded by a human pirate. Excitement was replaced with disappointment the moment y/n took the first breath of air and water, because even though she looked as if screaming from the depths of her lungs, no sound was heard. The girl was born without a voice. How could this thing become their queen one day? This had to be kept a secret, the child disposed of very quickly. So, in the dead of night, one chosen of the clan's warriors was sent to bring the child to the highest mountain of the nearest island, so it would not be able to touch the sea and soon starve and dry out. 

Fate had different plans for this half siren though, and even if left for its death, the child survived thirteen days without food or water before she was found by none other than the soul of the sea itself. Disguised as a human being, they took her in and raised y/n, naming her after a mythical remedy that had long been forgotten. The child's youth was filled with warmth, wonders and love, protected and sheltered by the incarnation of the sea itself, yet living in a small hut on land.

Years went by and the little rainbow scaled half-siren rose into a beautiful young woman, her white hair shimmering in all the colors of the light when swimming in the water. While growing older, she learnt to hide her scales from human eyes, so she could walk through the nearby village, sirens have always been feared and often hunted. Every time she'd leave home to visit the market, y/n had been told to be careful. “Remember, my child. The wolves control these lands, do not cross the crescent moon pack.” The sea always told her and, once again, the young woman nodded with a smile. Y/n had heard these words often enough that they have carved itself into her mind by now. The basket for goods from the market in hand, her flute and a bag with some coin attached to her belt, the young half siren walked over to her parent, kissing their forehead.

‘Do not worry, mother rain. I will not stray from my path. My friend will accompany me again.’ Y/n communicates, using her hands and a language without words for this. Not many people understand her, nor do they want to, most of them call her way of communicating a work of magic and don't want anything to do with it. At the name y/n had given them, the sea let out a melodic laugh, shaking his head. “You have yet to explain to me why you call me that, my little tadpole,” they hum, cupping the girl's cheek for a moment before sending her off to the market. 

Why does y/n call them mother rain? She doesn't quite know herself. Mother, because they always have been there for her as far as she could remember. They're her mother, it's that easy. Rain, because - well, why? Walking down the dirt path to the village, y/n kept thinking about an explanation and before entering the market, she found it. The falling rain always has been soothing for y/n, the feeling on her scales, the sound it makes when hitting the ground, it just made her feel safe and calm. Mother rain had the same effect for the young woman. And she never learned her parent’s real name, nor is she aware that they are the sea itself.

“Y/n! Over here,” a familiar voice called out when y/n neared the village, drawing her attention to the young male, who's crouched on a boulder. His ashen brown hair falling into his face didn't hide a new scar under his eye. Her eyes wide and brows furrowed in worry, y/n pointed at the scar when she came closer, causing the young man to chuckle. “This? Oh, it's fine, don't worry.” He hummed, jumped off the boulder and stepped closer to y/n, so she could inspect the scar. “Wolves do cry sometimes. I just had to be reminded of it.” Now that y/n was able to see it up close, the scar reminded her of tears trailing down the man's face, causing her to huff out some air. “Don't be upset, please. It didn't hurt…well, not badly at least-” His words drew another huff from y/n, who shook her head. Her best friend often misjudged the gravity of some of his actions, so he got into trouble a lot and therefore got punished by - well, she's not sure by whom. Although, now that she thought about it - he usually referred to himself as one of the wolves. Y/n always downplayed this as him joking around, but what if he really is one of the feared pack controlling these lands?

A tap on her nose pulled her out of her thoughts, causing her to look up at the face of her friend. Jeongin never judged her, nor did he ever harm her or get her into dangerous situations, so why should she judge him? Even if he was one of the pack, she would never want to lose him as her best friend, one of the only people in this village who liked her and talked to her. “Did Rain send you to the market again?” The young man asked, gesturing towards the empty basket and when y/n nodded, he took her hand to walk with her to the village. Jeongin never cared or minded that she was mute, he didn't need to hear her talk to understand her. Being dragged after the young male, y/n gave a silent chuckle, but then stopped, holding Jeongin back from walking further. She could sense something familiar, something that sent a shudder down her spine; she felt the presence of another siren. 

“Huh? What's wrong, y/n? Are you not feeling well? I can bring you back to Rain, if you like-” Jeongin stopped, his head snapped towards the market, because sudden shouting and other noises came from there. Both of them looked at each other before the young male started running towards the commotion, y/n stumbling after her best friend. It only took them a few moments to reach the market and both could see what caused the noises. People hurriedly put away their wares and tried to get their market stands out of the way, while others were standing around the entry to the tavern.

Eyes wide, y/n let go of Jeongin's hand when the young male hurried towards the commotion to talk to one of the people around. The young half siren also stepped forward, freezing in place when she saw what's happening. A young man with dark hair and one eye covered by a bandage was fighting with someone else. 

“Hyung! What happened?” y/n could hear Jeongin's voice and she walked over to him, grasping the young man's arm with a frightened expression. “Jisung, why is your mate fighting that man?” The one Jeongin spoke to was trembling slightly, looking worried to the fighting people before turning to the younger male. “This man shoved me, I- I accidentally bumped into that man's friend-” Y/n could sense that the man Jeongin called Jisung was nervous, maybe even scared, so she put a hand on his arm gently, trying to calm him down.

A collective gasp drew the young woman's attention, her hands going up to her mouth when she saw what happened to cause this. The black haired one, who was wearing the same clothes like Jisung, had managed to cut, or rather claw, the other's chest. However, the other didn't seem to give up, despite the begging of his friend, a white haired male. “Hongjoong, please! Stop it, or this wolf will kill you!” The man pleaded, causing y/n to freeze, her eyes widened in realization. That white haired person was the siren she sensed, another half siren! 

“Minho, stop!” Another man walked onto the marketplace, but he didn't seem in a hurry. He looked intimidating, a scar across his face and the fur vest not covering much of his torso, which also was scattered with old and some seemingly newer scars. His voice actually made the fighting male stop, it had something like an echo to it, as if he wasn't the only one speaking, yet no one else had opened his mouth. What seemed off to her, was that Jeongin and Jisung also cowered at this voice. “Chan, he attacked Ji-” “Stop! We do not start fights with guests of the village, Minho!” The man, Chan, hushed the other quickly, none of them noticing the movement from the one eyed one called Hongjoong.

Y/n did notice though and before he could attack the others again, she rushed between them, stomping on the ground hard once, which sent a little shockwave of water across the area, a faint ring of a bell sounding through the water. This not only calmed the people in the area, but also revealed the rainbow scales on her legs for a split second. Despite that, Jeongin and his friends, as well as the white-haired one and Hongjoong saw it before y/n was able to hide them from view. “Seonghwa, she’s-” Hongjoong gasped and looked at his friend, the white haired guy, but the friend just shook his head. When the young woman looked at Jeongin, she got a glimpse of his shocked expression, but even though he was surprised about this revelation, he spoke up quickly, approaching the injured Hongjoong with y/n. 

“We have to bring him to Rain, they can help.” Jeongin spoke calmly and helped the white haired guy to pick up Hongjoong and support him. Chan watched the scene cautiously, gesturing to Minho to follow their youngest. “You go with him and make sure he comes home in one piece. I'll clean up your mess here, Minho,” the oldest of the wolves hissed, wondering how none of them had noticed a siren living close by. Minho already wanted to protest, but one look from Chan silenced him. 

Leading them down the path to Rain's hut, y/n was thinking about what happened, how shocked the ones who saw her scales were. “Y/nie, Stop worrying-” Jeongin's voice got cut by Seonghwa, who sounded curious rather than upset or scared. “You're a half siren, aren't you?” He asked in a calm manner, still supporting his friend while walking. Y/n merely nodded, her head hanging low. She remembered her parent's words, that most people despise sirens and are afraid of them. The group stayed silent the rest of the way, only when they reached the small hut, y/n got more lively again, hurrying inside and dragging the others with her. The only one who stayed outside the hut was Minho, who was very suspicious of the whole situation around this young woman.

taglist: @mingis-mizu, @tinyelfperso, @hotteokkay, @minkilicious, @bunnliix,

@gong-fourz, @yeosangiess, @dinossaurz, @scuzmunkie, @h3arteyes4mingi

(if you want to be added to a taglist, follow the taglist-link in my pinned post)

[canonically47]

also i truly and utterly hate how some people react to izzy’s death by saying stuff like “people die all the time” “in real life we are not given time to mourn” when this is the stupidest pirate show ever. buttons turned into a fucking seagull and izzy died by a shot to somewhere previously established wouldn’t be a reason for death? the whole crew came to love izzy so much but none of them even mentioned his name after the funeral? i know the limits of real life and they are never included in this show. so why must they now? why must they be used to fuck up such a perfect character arc?

death comes anyways, but izzy’s arc did not have to end in death. izzy’s arc showed there is healing and love and friendship and then fucked it all up by killing him off. i will never shut up about how badly handled the ending of this season was.

[volvolts]

the fuck is crocodile's deal???

thinking about how its next to impossible to construct a proper backstory for crocodile because of how little we know of him and how little he makes sense as a person

like we know nothing of mihawk but his personality is much like zoro. he wants to be the strongest so his ascetic lifestyle makes sense. hes a wildcard too but only because his moral compass follows strictly to himself (he keeps zoro alive and trains him because he wants a challenge, he became a warlord because he wants to be left alone, he joins cross guild for that same reason. the only times he went out of his way to do anything for others was when he shows shanks luffy's first bounty and maybe take care of perona)

but crocodile? we got NOTHING. we don't even know his last name. and i know some of them don't have last names but crocodile was a major villain. plus important characters without a last name kinda have a reason (sabo denounced his family name, buggy and shanks are implied to have been with the roger pirates since they were born)

like something happened to him to lose all his trust in other people and discard them like paper. he spent over a decade searching for pluton only to give up when luffy beat him? he willingly goes to impel down and planned to stay there until he heard whitebeard is gonna show up. he does fuck all to whitebeard. then he gives up on whitebeard, you know the reason why he's left impel down in the first place, then he saves ace, then he saves jinbe and luffy. he disappears for 10 real life years and he's back and we still got nothing on him

he doesn't trust people and yet pulled two bad bitches with swords. people praise how strong he is but he hasn't had a real fight with a real character who mattered since alabasta. and he's clearly strong cuz he got punched in the face with full blown haki and was still standing and he parried mihawk and doflamingo's attacks without any damage. speaking of doflamingo what the fuck was his deal with doflamingo? doffy clearly respected him enough to not believe he was beaten by smoker and he wanted a team up but then its never brought up again?? like was that just banter??

and the theories of his backstory are all still contradictory? whitebeard's birth son? well whitebeard didn't care that much about him and crocodile clearly doesn't either nor do any of the whitebeard pirates seem familiar with him. an ex-revolutionary? other than ivankov's comment of knowing crocodile "when he was a rookie" there's not much else. the backstory of the revolutionary army hasn't mentioned anything about him so we can toss that one out too. rocks d xebec's son? he was a warlord for over 20 years! youre telling me they never had a background check on the guy? you know they would want him dead if he was xebecs son given how far they went for roger's son. he doesn't have a grandpa who's besties with the fleet admiral to cover it up either

and then theres the theories that end up being too similar to other characters. ex-son of whitebeard? already debunked shown above and also thats just blackbeard. from a family of wealth and lost it, or was simply born evil? doflamingo did that already. cabin boy/child of an infamous pirate crew that was disbanded after the death of the captain? buggy and shanks are right there.

the man has so much going on and yet absolutely nothing at the same time. i NEED to know more about this guy at least tell me if he can even do haki PLEASE

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1122 - Initial Thoughts

And we're back

A bit late, scanlations didn't come in my time zone yesterday and I've been unable to graft out time until now. Also My Hero's final chapter happened so I had to read that too.

But finally, back from another break in One Piece. It's 'getting off this island, this time, for real' time in Egghead, the Sunny still soars in the sky, Vegapunk's broadcast is still ongoing and there are some lingering factors still to consider.

Let's see how the chapter unravels them

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release too

Sadly Yamato's cover story has been so boring that for a split second I got excited about seeing a Smoker cover story, but instead it's a redraw of an artwork (edit: a redraw of My Hero's mangaka's artwork, which is sweet), he looks badass though - Oda make Smoker badass more in the story! He and Tashigi need some Ws

Vegapunk's last reveal that the One Piece will decide the fate of the world has led to international worry, many not exactly thrilled with the idea that the fate of the world is likely gonna be in the hands of pirates

Pirates of course are happy, the world's smartest man just told everyone that the One Piece exists, there was more deniability when it came from a dying pirate after all

Impel Down are rambunctious, as Oda reminds us that the broadcast is piggybacking off of all Den Den Mushi whether people like it or not

Many misc Vice Admirals don't like that reveal either

Koby though, remembering his first encounter with Luffy, is forced to put himself at odds with his friend once more

Koby you know Luffy ain't like that can't you just resolve to stop his opposition?

Buggy meanwhile wins the hearts of his masses by refuting that it'll be 'his world' but rather 'our world'

His gesture at least spares him more assault from Crocodile and Mihawk - who it was really directed to

Devon and Augur are still with Caribou, asking Teach if they should kill him

Blackbeard seems willing to hear him out, which means a lot of worry awaiting Fishman Island and Wano

Vegapunk's broadcast is once again cut off after Vegapunk utters Joy Boy, with Warcury having once again damaged Emeth

As the giants call out to it's mecha kin, the Den Den Mushi inside explodes, ending the transmission once and for all

Up with the Sunny, V. Nusjuro makes chase, I guess he can gallop on air?

Zoro does prepare to confront V. Nusjuro but it's time for Emeth to do THAT JUTSU

He apologizes to Joy Boy and charges

He also apologizes to Luffy, realising that he's not the same person

What a spread though, it's like a painting seeing the Sunny flying overhead, the Gorosei's forms one side, Emeth in the middle and the longboat on the other, also with the reveal that Emeth is sorry that he couldn't make Joy Boy King

King of what though? It was implied that he led the Ancient Kingdom, perhaps he like Rocks wanted to be King of the World?

Emeth asks for Luffy's name, and he does his usual declaration

Pulling out a knotted rope, Emeth marvels at him having D. in his name

He unknots the rope, and an immense Conqueror's Haki emits from it!

Emeth thanks Luffy for letting it hear the Drums of Liberation once more, and demands that he doesn't die

The haki is so intense that not only does it revert the Gorosei to their human state, but it sends Warcury, V. Nusjuro and Ju Peter back to Marejois!!!

Mars is there waiting having been given the Manga's second successful space launch

Oh Shit! Imu even felt it, and they are rattled!

I wonder if this confirms that Imu is somehow connected to the Gorosei in some way?

Also we have a new shaded character acting as an attendant to Imu, wonder who that is?

The Sunny lands safely, much to the crew's relief

Only Saturn remains, staring down Emeth as he remembers an encounter with Joy Boy

Sadly it seems Joy Boy wasn't a giant, his silhouette is small and he must look Luffy-like

In the past Joy Boy tells Emeth that 'the time is at hand'

That Haki was Joy Boy's, which he embedded into a knot for Emeth to use, knowing that Emeth will likely outlive him

He permits Emeth to untie the knot when their life or someone's life that they care about is in danger, so they will be there to help

Joy Boy happily notes how it's like saving him with help from the past

Emeth seems to shut down once more, heartbreaking that his last memory is hoping that he won't feel lonely

Welp we pour one out for Emeth this chapter

This was an exciting chapter to come back to, and it once again puts Haki in a new perspective. Shanks has already shown that Conqueror's Haki can be utilised differently than just a shockwave or coating, but this was a lingering imbuement, something that stayed intact long after Joy Boy died, that is very fascinating.

The fact that Joy Boy's Haki could repel the Gorosei shows the ceiling Luffy and co need to get to as well, it feels like we've just breached the surface of how powerful Haki can really be, the will of the spirit, the quality of a King. And we have to mull on that, because being King does mean a lot, the end of the chapter shows Joy Boy - at least his silhouette - to be a caring person, focused on being able to help his friends, but what did Emeth want to make him king of? Was it Joy Boy's will to be king too or was it like a Whitebeard thing where he wanted to make Ace king? I'm not saying there's duplicity but the conflict between Joy Boy and the very shaken Imu could be a conflict of ruling philosophy, two extremes rather than a comfy middle ground. Food for thought at least.

With the threat of the Gorosei gone, minus Saturn we should still keep an eye on him (maybe Saturn didn't get sent back because he did technically sail there? The rest were summoned), the crew are safe to leave. But there's still other matters to deal with; the mother flame is still in Saturn's hands now, York that bitch is still alive, there's also the worldwide reaction and however Morgans wants to spin this (we never did get a reason to have a video feed from Vegapunk? Maybe his explanation of the D or the recent cutoff had the visual aids?) and there's whatever CP0 will do - I doubt Saturn will treat their and Kizaru's failures as unable to be helped, not to mention Sentomaru and Stussy's treachery.

The all out pirate war is on the horizon though, Koby looks like he's gonna step up again even if it means opposing Luffy, but as we leave Egghead the world is for sure about to be shaken more than it's ever been shook.

[velvetgoldie]

On Captain Jas. Hook’s timeline: a trick of narration and metatextuality

To most, Captain Hook is, and always will be, Peter Pan’s greatest foe; but that would be without taking into account James Matthew Barrie’s lifework: fleshing out what remains to be his most thorough character.

Sixteen years after the publication of the 1911 novel of Peter Pan, and twenty-three years after the first apparition of the eponymous character on stage, it was not the boy who couldn’t grow up who was chosen to be the center of Barrie’s speech at Eton; neither was it Wendy Darling - by many accounts the true hero of the story. Instead, Eton’s provost sent the following prompt to the revered author: “James Hook, the pirate captain, was a great Etonian, but not a good one”. It was the author’s role to refute this statement; which he did, and magnificently so. But what we learn from this speech seems contradictory from what had been established from the novel... Unless you study it by taking into account Barrie’s chief characteristic as an author: he is, and is remembered as, a wonderful storyteller.

Barrie’s style in Peter Pan (1911) is remarkable as he constantly steps away from his role as a narrator and reveals his hand in spinning the story as its author. For instance, in chapter 5, the narrator/author placidly remarks:

“Let us now kill a pirate, to show Hook's method. Skylights will do.”

We switch from description to action as the narrator dictates; and as such, the narrator shows that he is not only narrating, but also choosing how the story goes along. This kind of storytelling is traditionally used orally; here, it feels as though the written text is alive, being spoken as we read. Funnily enough, this kind of narration isn’t confusing for children at all; instead, it reinforces the fictional aspect of it all. The children reading musn’t fear for Peter or Wendy or the Lost Boys; for it remains, after all, a story.

But is Barrie only using metatextual tools to reassure the children? A closer look at the text shows otherwise.

It’s one thing to write the story as though it were told orally; it is another to create doubt in the mind of the reader by slipping in-and-out the diegesis. Often, the author relates the events as though they had been shared with him by someone else; to keep in mind the fifth chapter of the book, we can read:

“I have been told that he [Captain Hook] was a raconteur...”

And this recurrent use of “being told”, “having heard”, etc., suddenly fleshes out this fantastical world, by connecting it to the seemingly actual life of the author. Not only does Barrie tell and shape the story to his will, but he seemingly takes elements from his friends, acquaintances, and other faceless and nameless figures that only serve to give credit to his story.

This fascinating blur between real and the fake has also been manipulated by other great authors to the destination of children: one of the most famous examples might be none other than “Lemony Snicket” of the Unfortunate Events series. And there might have been some inspiration from Barrie when writing the thirteen mystery books; for Barrie often appears as an investigator himself.

Indeed, his 1927 lecture is not only a reply to the prompt given to him a month prior, but an investigation; as Brian Till puts it in his article “The Secret History of Captain Hook”, 

“Barrie takes the tone of an investigative reporter or prosecutor-judge, dutifully presenting the facts he has found.”

In his speech, and in order to “prove his case”, Barrie presents not fiction, but facts - heard from acquaintances and friends. Barrie mentions names as one would call witnesses to the bar: Mr. Jasparin, or Hook’s Aunt Emily, provide accounts which have to be taken for granted. It becomes difficult to keep in mind it is all fiction, as James Matthew Barrie remains ambiguous of what his actual role might be: both author, narrator, investigator, and witness.

Allow us, after having presented our facts, to round them up with the actual question at hand: what is Captain Hook’s actual timeline? This question might be asked by whoever read both the novel and Barrie’s lecture. Indeed, if one takes into account the novel, Hook is a contemporary of Stevenson’s Long John Silver (the “Sea-Cook”); thus, an 18th century-pirate. However, if one takes into account the latest additions Barrie made with his Eton speech, Hook is a contemporary of Barrie; thus, a 19th century pirate. It is known that only Peter Pan remains forever young; his Lost Boys grow up and are replaced by others. Therefore, it is out of the question to consider that Hook managed to live for over a hundred years.

So while both descriptions can be considered canon, which is actually real?

The following extract is from Hook’s description in the novel:

“In the midst of them, the blackest and largest in that dark setting, reclined James Hook, or as he wrote himself, Jas. Hook, of whom it is said he was the only man that the Sea-Cook feared. [...] In manner, something of the grand seigneur still clung to him, so that he even ripped you up with an air, and I have been told that he was a raconteur of repute. [...] A man of indomitable courage, it was said that the only thing he shied at was the sight of his own blood, which was thick and of an unusual colour. In dress he somewhat aped the attire associated with the name of Charles II, having heard it said in some earlier period of his career that he bore a strange resemblance to the ill-fated Stuarts...”

What transpires from this entire description are the many marks of hearsays (which have reached both Barrie’s ears and, more interestingly, Hook’s). “Of whom it is said...”, “I have been told...”, “it was said...”, “having heard it said...”; all these are proofs that none of these descriptions come from first-hand accounts.

These second-hand accounts somehow differ from the accounts given in Barrie’s lecture at Eton in 1927; in the novel, Aunt Emily or Mr. Jasparin are nowhere to be found - which also means there are no “reliable” sources for these comments on Hook’s character. In the novel, these comments remain sourceless - thus, vague and unreliable. While Barrie turns himself into an investigator for his Eton speech, his intention isn’t the same with the Peter Pan novel. The novel is destined for children, and as such, it makes sure the children feel impressed by the main foe of the novel. In order to accomplish that, it creates a villainous (and by extension, mysterious) aura to wrap around Hook’s shoulders: what can be more impressive than the man itself, if not the man’s reputation?

Therefore, while the most plausible, but perhaps not the most satisfying, reply to the question is saying that Barrie hadn’t planned to make a lecture about Hook more than twenty years after his first apparition (which explains the time difference between both descriptions), one can offer an alternative.

Captain James Hook might very well be a 19th century Etonian who happened to stumble into piracy and chose to contribute to his fearsome reputation by encouraging, if not starting himself, rumors about his encounters with fantastical 18th century pirates such as Long-John Silver. After all, isn’t Hook known to be a talented “raconteur” himself? As a storyteller, Hook has the capacity to re-invent himself; we know that even his appearance is fashioned after that of 17th century English King Charles II, blurring the timeline even further. By incarnating the very idea of a timeless pirate, deliberately mixing elements from three different centuries, Hook conceals himself from his own mortality - even if, in the end, it isn’t enough to avoid his fate.

The similarities between James Hook and James Barrie are many, and most certainly not fortuitous; these resemblances might culminate in their capacity to spin a story to their will, as Hook chooses to reshape his own image, while Barrie reshapes Hook. In the end, it is difficult to understand where one begins and where one ends; the only thing that remains certain, is that there is still many a mystery left within the intricate text that a peculiar storyteller left us with.

[princess-ibri]

Captain Hook Villain Backstory

James Hook is his real name in this, different then Barrie's Hook who was named something before but so much of Disney's Peter Pan/Neverland stuff is different then Barries so I don't feel too bad changing it

Alot of this stuff is taken from backstory elements given to him in the "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" show, which I'm going to say has been 'filtered' to retell to children and contained a lot more actual peril and such in the Real Events which 'inspired' the show 

James  was raised by his mother Dorothea and her first mate Nell,  and spent his childhood in the Seas of the EverRealm, including the NeverSea, which contains the Neverland Archipelago which sits at the fuzzy border of the EverRealm and Our World

It was during this time that he learned to speak the  language of the Neverland fairies 

But he was rather dismal at pirating, and so as a boy was sent back into Our World to attend Eton under the care of his mother's sister, Emily--both his mother and Nell had sailed out of Our World (after starting as a lady and her maid fleeing the lady’s cruel husband with baby Hook on the way) aboard a washtub turned escape vessel and had originally hailed from England before turning pirates 

Turns out that he just needed to get out from under his famous mother's shadow. Hook flourished at Eton, becoming a member of the esteemed Eton Society even, and became a source of pride and terror to the school, hailed later as a "Great Etonion, if not a good one"  

Eventually though he tired of academic life and set out once more to sea, undertaking his childhood occupation once more with considerably more skill and cunning. No doubt learned while destroying his opponents on the playing fields.

Despite his new vigor however, becoming captain of his own ship at the age of 18 due to his prowess, he  lost his first crew during an unfortunate incident involving blue pixie dust, which left him with a vendetta against the inhabitants of Neverland

He was rescued from a watery grave in the NeverSea by one William Smee, who worked aboard the vessel under the dreaded(and likely Cursed to still be about and buckeenering at this time) Captain Blackbeard. Hook quickly moved through the ranks of the ship becoming Blackbeard's bosun, before overthrowing and marooning the infamous pirate and those loyal to him, and forming a new crew, renaming the ship The Jolly Rodger

Hook sailed about for several years pirating across the Everrealm and dipping into Our World before returning to Neverland to cause some trouble for the fairies of Pixie Hallow--and finding himself sans one hand thanks to the fairies new charge and protector, one Peter Pan

Hook then spent years in Neverland trying to get revenge on Pan before being chased out to the Outer Islands of the Neverland Archipelago, where, having lost his crew apart from the ever loyal Mr. Smee and two musically inclined though rather dim crewmates, he was forced to eek out an existence trying to rebuild his reputation. All while running afoul of another young boy and his friends who'd been placed there by Pan to protect the Outer Islands

Eventually Hook was able to regain his prestige and his crew (though neither where what they once were) and set about attempting to gain revenge on Pan once more, though this time he tried to do so through kidnapping Pan's beloved Wendy Darling-though he actually got her daughter Jane, as he was unaware how much time had passed in Our World

Stuff that brings in my Canon Descendants characters:

After this latest defeat at the hands of children Hook finally decided to try settling down, and for some years lived peaceably enough with his long admired lady, the piratess Red Jessica. Despite Hook's dislike of children the pair even had three of their own together, and Hook came to care for them in a degree his own way, though he was never a very good father 

Eventually though the couple split and Hook returned to his own pirating, determined as ever to gain his revenge on Peter Pan.

[semper-legens]

85. Lapvona, by Ottessa Moshfegh

Owned?: No, library Page count: 304 My summary: All is not right in the village of Lapvona. Marek, the disfigured son of a shepherd, seeks punishment and absolution at his father Jude's hands. Jude sinks deeper into lies. The wetnurse cures her blindness with a horse's eyes. Agata, nun and mother, experiences an apparently immaculate conception. The local lord's decadence threatens to starve the town. And through it all, the seasons turn, and one day changes to another… My rating: 5/5 My commentary:

What a weird book. What a weird, weird book. And I mean that as the highest of compliments. This was actually recommended to me by a colleague just because of how weird it is. And, I gotta say, it was a really good pick. Surreal happenings in a medieval town, strange and unsightly characters wandering around, corruption and decadence at the heart of a small community, misinformation and coverups running throughout…this is exactly the kind of thing that I am here for, and as such, I wound up really, really enjoying this book. If you're down for something a little more offbeat, this would be my perfect recommendation for you.

Where to even begin with this book? Well, I started by saying it's weird, so let me qualify that. You're thrown into the life of Lapvona, starting with the execution of a bandit who killed some of Lapvona's children, then pivoting to a sensitive and troubled boy named Marek who tried to forgive him. The point of view fluctuates throughout, usually by one character interacting with another and 'passing on' the narrator's duties, so to speak. So from Marek we go to his father Jude, then back to Marek, then onto midwife Ina, et cetera. The result is a fluctuating, somewhat dreamlike state where sequences of events roll along with all the inevitability of destiny, as we learn the exact reasons why things turn out the way that they do. It took me a little while to get into the groove with Lapvona, but when I did I found that I was comprehending it pretty well, understanding the rich veins of characterisation that ran under every strange occurance. Things just seem to…happen, in this book, but here I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. After all, what is seemingly random at first is given greater significance later, weaving a tapestry of complicated, deeply flawed humanity.

Because this book is brutal, make no mistake. There's blood, there's anger, there's pain and death. The incompetent lord, Villiam, essentially starves the villagers for his own childlike greed. Agata, Marek's mother, is brutalised throughout the book by literally everyone. Marek kills another boy by accident in the first section. And yet, it never quite felt cruel - more that the dreamlike atmosphere changed to a surreal nightmarescape, the kind where bad things happen and all you can do is stand paralysed and watch. There are few 'good people' here, everyone's out for their own needs, but the book doesn't really moralise it - not in as many words. Instead, we the reader are left to understand that, good or bad, these are the people here. These are their lives, and these are their choices. And there's something powerful in that, I think.

Next, the real history of pirates.

[mewpirate]

A few general starson headcanons !

I am SOOOO NOT NORMAL ABOUT him

- he really likes mac and cheese , it's one of the foods he only wants to eat .

- other foods that he really likes to eat is pudding, strawberry cheesecake , and bell peppers

- he's a picky eater , probably because of poor dieting from Milo because Milo was also a picky eater.

-blasian , specifically Jamaican and Chinese

- 6 years old

- he really picks things up from Milo, that includes swearing and picky eating , along with being a little abrasive .

- he does have a few nicknames given by the crew , like Chick pea , little cancan (a reference to the yellow canary bird) , Goldie , Sunny boy , swine (NAME GIVEN BY HORACE IM SORRY LMAOOOO) , Stella ( y'know how some parents misname you like that when they're busy? That's what Milo does) and Starsy

- unfortunately he finds Milo has a older - brother / father figure since he never had a father .

- he does view Sariah as a "substitute mommy" but nothing can top his real one

- speaking of parents , His mummy is a star goddess (I've posted about her before) . Starson talks about her A LOT but most of the crew thinks hes lying or showing off , right until in an unaired episode where the Jolly hounds went to space and explored the galaxy ( this was inspired by that one deleted concept of Snow White and the prince dancing on a cloud with stars)

- he crash landed onto earth as a baby . The crew took him in .

- I'll explain this as best as I can, his appearance is like a half-moon half sun . Idk just think of Sundrop .

- I took a little bit of inspo after hearing @candle-cove-character-requests 's headcanon that starson is similar to a starfish. I like the idea that starson literally HATES sea stars/starfish , he finds it uncanny valley . (Kinda like that one video where a cat gets scared of a badly made plush of said cat) He does calm down about their appearance in later seasons , but he still feels like really uncomfortable when they are mentioned . He views them as a distorted , ruined version of the night stars. He hates how they feel hates how they crawl (tbh he's right though they are genuinely scary when walking in full 2x speed and a buuuuunch of sensory issues . Milo calls him Starfish / little seastar to annoy him .

- since he is the only black crew member and the other crew members either don't know how to handle his hair type or they don't care in general his hair gets a little matted and tangled unfortunately 💔💔💔 he keeps it under his bandana

- he's a little sleepyhead from time to time during the day , he usually stares out into the windows at night , thinking of his home world.

- he and Kimothy are a silly goofy duoooo I cannot quit thinking about them this duo needs to be normalized they are toy-box coded especially the songs best friend and ET and that one " i am both beef bastard everyone knows I am the ultimate master !" Song by Neil cigara or whatever I can't spell

- after he was killed by Milo he woke up back into his homeworld with his mama 💔💔💔 but in a lil ghost form since star people come back into the sky after they died on earth (IF they are on earth) .

- poor boy barely knows about his culture because he's been stranded on earth for God knows who and has been taken in by a bunch of white/nonblack pirates 💔

- he has a pilled brown stuffed rabbit that Roger sewed him , he named it cosmic ⭐

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

Ok, ok, glad you liked the art! There's more to come because I am full of ideas and sadness! Prepare!

Anywho, now that I have rambled about the boys a lot (and trust me, there's definitely more where that came from), I thought I'd take a change of pace and focus on others.

Like Buggy. What we know is he escapes, possibly due to running away (which will probably haunt him forever) or getting saved by someone. He does meet someone, as you've said before, but who? Could it be Dragon? Does our greedy, narcissistic clown somehow become a revolutionary? Maybe it's a marine. Did a marine see this kid and go, "Screw it, I'm not killing kids," and let him go? Does he run into Smoker? Start a traumatize boy band (now I wanna write the fic we’re buggy and smoker run into each other after lougetown.) Or is it someone else, someone I wouldn't have guessed in a million years? Doflamingo, perhaps? That would be the meeting from hell. One of the other would-be warlords? And what happens to him? Does he spend the next two years trying to help Shanks in any way he can? Does he do mostly what he's done in canon and go for the One Piece? Or is he a warlord? Did he make deals with the world government for Shanks? ‘Gasp’ I'm gasping at nothing but thinky thoughts, but eh, I'll just throw some crazy in there for fun.

Also, are you going to add pirates we know to Loguetown who get caught, aside from the characters we already know? There are a few characters we see in canon that could be the right age to have been around. You could just slip them in there to add more people to the "Fun Time with World Government!™️" and more people Shanks and Mihawk can bounce off of while captured and once they get out. You said that they won't trust anyone who didn't go through what they went through, so not a lot of allies or having civil conversations. But maybe that's the point... oh well, whatever you do, I'm sure I'll love it.

Also, this pirate generation needs a name. If the last generation were the Great Pirates, maybe this generation could be the Silenced Generation? And later, after the two years, the Monster Generation.

And propaganda, does Roger's message about the One Piece get out there like it did in the main timeline? Not a lot of people escaped from the excision, so that's not a lot of people to spread the word. Is the World Government suppressing it after all? They didn't mean for Roger to tell the crowd, so why in hell would they want that driving force that created pirates who are specifically seeking a piece of the Void Century and possibly information on Joy Boy or Nika? So, do they turn it into, instead of a last word, a rumor? Like Davy Jones or Nolan and his Sky Island, like it's a fun bedtime story but nothing that's actually real.

Those are all the questions I have today hopefully I’ll get you that new art out soon no promises but I will try! Seriously thanks for indulging my asks, I know you don’t ow me any of you time and it’s cool that you’ve given me some. Anyways off to dreamland for me!

Prepared and so excited! See, with Buggy, it's a mess. If this AU is the sort-of inverse of canon events, Buggy has to keep his beef with Shanks. That happens because Shanks is the one who saves him. He gets him to safety, and then gets himself caught to lead the marines away from him. But from Buggy's perspective, Shanks abandoned him. Which. He's going to spend his time torn between grief/worry/resentment and thinking Shanks got what he deserved, (because Buggy is vindictive like that) only to find out how wrong he was. During the end of the two years, he's going to try to help Shanks, though. Him and Smoker do meet, Smoker being the one to spur him into helping Shanks. Smoker is going to go the way of Vergo in this AU, at least as far as the marines are concerned. Dragon is going to pick up some key players, (wink, wink) and he would save a child. So that's Buggy, even though Buggy doesn't espouse revolutionary ideas. (and Buggy would be even more obsessed with the one piece, it's his way of coping) And here's the thing, once what the marines are doing starts coming out, there's going to be an alliance between the revolutionaries and pirates to protect themselves. Because after the marines get information out of the captured pirates, they will start hunting the free ones. Benn Beckmann is already around, and some other characters will come sooner, some later. Garp is going to be the one who brings Mihawk and Shanks and some of those characters together. It will take them a long time to trust anyone else, but they will. And the pirates who weren't captured but were still hunted count as having a shared experience in their books. As well as the people who have been hurt by or due to the government, especially children. (wink, wink) I was thinking the Ghost generation! Since the marines kept an entire swathe of these people in captivity for two-three years, living as nothing more than ghosts. The one piece declaration did get out, though yes, the WG is trying to make it seems like nothing more than the ravings of a madman. It still becomes a substantial rumor, though, because it's something for the the pirates left to cling onto while they are being hunted. And the WG also wants the one piece. So it's them, and not the pirates that initially began the search. They go out systematically raiding pirate ships and hideouts and work their way up from there. When Mihawk and Shanks get out, Shanks kicks off the real pirate hunt by confirming Roger's last words. Which he does for Buggy's sake. No rush! And you're welcome! Ask away as much as you want, my mind is full of this and I'll literally talk forever if given the chance!

[dragongirlbunny]

who wants to hear my theory about how the post-WQ seasons had to be rearranged due to the delay (and removal of the 2nd darkness class), which led to plunder feeling so half-baked

if you said no too bad i already started the post

So my theory is that, in the initial D2Y5 roadmap, the seasons were meant to be:

Risen

Plunder

[Unknown]

Haunted

This would have led to the story, roughly, being as follows:

After defeating the lucent brood's scheme to take over the Scarlet Keep, and defeating Rhulk, the witness thaws out Eramis. We race her for the relics of Nezarec, and bump heads more than once* with the Lucent Brood, who are also attempting to gather power for a plan C since "kidnap the traveller" and "overlay the throne world onto the moon" both failed. After gathering the relics and reviving Osiris, we learn about a "secret" hidden away on Neptune that even Savathun feared. [speculation about S19 follows, since all we have confirmation-wise is that Seraph Rounds are being reworked] However, we have no real means to go on a scavenger hunt across the surface of neptune. However, we do have a golden age supercomputer that also kept meticulous records of everything leading up to the collapse, and enlist Rasputin's help to find this secret. Based on this lovely text post by @thefirstknife, it is confirmed that Neomuna is the result of an Exodus ship sent to Neptune during the collapse. However, between the text post and the fact that we didn't know about it til now, it would seem the records were then purged from Rasputin's logs. Season 18, then, would consist of piecing together the mystery of what happened to this ship and why all traces of it were erased. However, as we're wrapping up our investigation, the Leviathan returns. We deal with the Leviathan, and the Nightmares, only for Calus' broadcast to go out to the city. Fortunately, Rasputin's finished his calculations, and has pinpointed the location of Neomuna. All that's left is to get there before Calus...

There are a bunch of other, smaller details that feed into this theory as well though.

Dungeons. Under the current plan, we have Duality and an unknown S19 dungeon. Under my proposed original setup, the dungeons would have been a Plunder dungeon, and Duality later. However, consider that when WQ was delayed, one of the pieces of content we got to tide us over was... a hive and fallen populated Dungeon, with a pirate theme, where the central mechanic is collecting treasure engrams. Which would fit pretty cleanly into Plunder, no? And given the timetable, they wouldn't be able to build a new dungeon from scratch in time for S17. But, they could pull the S19 dungeon ahead. Maybe by truncating the loot pool, and letting it ship with some bugs that, while annoying, don't make it completely unplayable. Then they'd have until S19 to make a new one 🤔🤔🤔

The Nezarec plotline, in general. We get a random Glaive with his name on it, then we get lore for him next season. Sure, it's a neat (unknown at the time) preview, but it would have a bigger impact if we knew who Nezarec was before getting the Glaive.

Haunted's writing. While the broad strokes were good, the mission-by-mission writing left a lot to be desired. If they had to rush it 6 months ahead of schedule, it makes sense that they'd just turn their notes into some monologues and call it a day. (As an aside, I think the Sever's would have worked better if they went Crow - Zavala - Caitl - Crow - Zavala - Caitl, giving each character 2 weeks off to process their failure and prepare before diving in again)

This would also mean that season of the Haunted takes place during Festival of the Lost, which lines up nicely.

Season of Plunder, where we smuggle spider into the city, would happen before Guardian Games. As it stands, the lore text for the Mark of Medal class item is incredibly out of place, as it implies Spider is in the City. As of Season of the Risen, he is... not, and so the flavor text is weird.

[redgyl]

I had been reading about how Sir Impulse, though the only 100% normal human of the group, ought to have an amazing back story.

In Hermitcraft 9, Impulse is a dwarf, but in this AU, he shouldn't be a dwarf, so ... why not be raised by dwarves?

'It's brilliant!' I thought. 'A human boy raised by dwarves, adventuring out into the world to find his place in it! But why does that sound so familiar?'

Then I remembered one of the best light fantasy series of all time, and one of my favorite characters from it:

Carrot Ironfoundersson of Discworld by Terry Pratchett.

I had thought about writing up a one shot detailing his childhood, but there is no way how I can compete against Kzad-bhat for a dwarven name.

So, instead of writing the story for real, I'll just share the idea, which I'd be surprised if it goes "canon": Impulse was found by dwarves as an infant and raised by them, given a dwarven name that means "Impulse" (as in "we picked this kid up on a whim," "this kid has very little self control," or both). When he was about 12, pirates accidentally tried burying their treasure in the mines, there was some kind of skirmish, and Impulse was spirited away by them. He had to adapt to surface living, learning new languages and cultures as he slaved away on that pirate ship, traveling the world, surviving life amongst murderers, liars, and thieves on the high seas. He eventually escapes (survived a shipwreck, maybe?) and he had been traveling the world trying to get back home. Unfortunately, that dwarven kingdom was so isolated that Impulse couldn't find even a mention of it anywhere, and he was truly lost. Now, he is no longer actively looking for home (he has to make a living, after all), but he came into the Boatem Order with more experiences, stories, knowledge, and skills than the average knight.

This will be the version of Impulse that I will be working with in my story, unless @applestruda would rather I didn't.

[blondthndrninja]

Title: You Don't Know Me, But I Know You

Rated: Everyone

Characters: Trafalgar Law, Nami, Belle-mere, Donquixote Corazon/Rocinante

Part: 2/2

Nami’s eyes widened and a trembling hand went to her mouth, “H-How? Bellemere-san wasn’t a pirate she was a Marine!”

“So was Cora-san….” Law said putting the picture back, “He never admitted it until he confronted Dofamingo…but when we traveled together, he had a picture of Bellemere that he showed me. He said she was a friend who lived in East Blue…with two daughters. His…his real name was Rosinante.”

Nami looked up at Law, brown eyes meeting gold as they stared at each other in silence. Both feeling like the air had been sucked out of the room as they regarded each other.

“Tell me more about her.” Law pushed, “Tell me about Bellemere.”

So she did. She spoke about how Bellemere had been a Marine, how she’d found Nami and Nojiko after a serious battle and how it had motivated her to live and sail back to Cocoyashi. How she’d given up her Marine career to raise them and how happy they’d been even though they had no money. How Arlong had come and stolen that happiness from them. How the last words she heard from her mother were “I love you.” Before being shot in the head in front of her.

 “Nojiko said that she’d found some letters in Bellemere’s room hidden in a drawer when I last came to Cocoyashi. We looked at them together.” She then hugged herself, orange hair hanging down from her face, “…it was from a man. The pages had singe marks on them and they smelled like cigarettes. He always called her ‘Belle’ and he always signed it ‘Roci’….The last letter we found, he said that he found a boy that was very sick and he wanted to get him to a doctor. He told her he wanted to visit Cocoyashi to see…us.” Tears started flowing from her eyes.

“Oh my God…you were that boy.” She sobbed as she felt her legs weaken and slid to the ground.

A large hand placed itself on top of her orange hair before sliding down, thumbs wiping her tear-stained cheeks and she opened her eyes to see Law had joined her on the ground. Gold eyes had softened to an innocent look that reminded Nami of a child.

“I know this is extremely late….” He said almost shyly, “…but it’s nice to finally meet you, Nami.”

Nami sniffed in a sob before reaching her hands up and putting them on Law’s face, fingers brushing along sideburns, “..I-It’s nice to meet you too, Law.”

[releasemefromthevoid]

MY ATLA LIVE ACTION S1E5 THOUGHTS

EP4 - EP6

I think I’m progressively getting more confused with how they’re structuring this plot. At what point does an adaptation stop being a necessary rearrangement and starts being changed for the sake of change. I don’t actually have the answer to that, but I’m going to keep that in mind moving forward. 

So there’s a lot going on in this episode, with an arc that again spans episodes 5 and 6 (as a guess). It seems the writers are bringing in elements from book 2, which they were doing before, but this time I’m not entirely sure as to why? I’m a little perplexed about it, I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was a fairly enjoyable watch, but I do think I would sooner rather rewatch the cartoon again before this episode. 

There was a character officially introduced this episode that said some things that I feel directly conflicts with their character in the cartoon, and I’m finding it difficult to reconcile why the writers made this change. 

Lastly, this was the first time in this series where I immediately noticed a parallel between Zuko and Aang, which was always something that Made the original series for me, so I appreciated its inclusion here.

As always, spoilers and live reactions under the cut.

judging by the description, we’re in the winter solstice proper now.

katara is advancing in a much more believable way now

are they gonna do the misogyny in the northern water tribe thing? 

yeah this is def the opening to the winter solstice episode. does that mean we’ll go to the fire temple and meet roku after?

woah that shot with Aang on his knees in the burnt forest was the exact same one in the cartoon

“my name is sokka, rhymes with okka”

PIPPINPADDLEOPSICOPOLIS THE THIRD THAT’S CRAZY!! where was this in omashu

zuko’s being rude to his subordinates <3 love that guy

oh okay so the yuyan archers are being given to zhao. will this tie into pohuai somehow? should i expect to see the blue spirit next episode?

ozai is. talking up zuko?? to deliberately put down azula?? i mean. yeah okay i can accept that. if they’re making ozai turn on azula a little, then that means they might be setting up for an azula redemption arc down the line. i might miss the ultimate tragedy of her character, but tbh she deserves something good. it’ll be interesting to see how this affects zuko’s redemption arc as well

ooh the bear statues are nice. hei bai time

oh they’re. all in the spirit world? from just aang meditating??? that feels like that’s not how that should work, but okay

pirates, canyon guide? the callbacks, huh? we haven’t seen the adaptations for the waterbending scroll or the great divide, so are they implying that some abridged version of these events have happened in this version of canon offscreen? hm

june <33

HELP SHE’S FLIRTING WITH IROH

WAN SHI TONG???? love love love, he looks incredible!! that sure is a big fucking owl. why is he here though

has azula not figured out blue flames completely yet? they were orange, and flickered blue

i am enjoying this early azula arc, if not just because i love azula

they’re gonna adapt the bato episode, right? bc june is here. that might be coming soon, right?

hei bai <33 he looks great too

no bending in the spirit world

wait is this. an adaptation of the hallucinations in the swamp from book 2?? it’s kind of giving swamp. how much do we wanna bet that the three tailed fox was a representation for yue? i’ll bet it was the same actress doing the voice work

well. goodbye kya

face. stealer? koh is that you? 

well fuck. no bato episode, sokka’s already been ice-dodging. bato is in this flashback, but at what cost. i guess this does eliminate that aang miscommunication plot point, which i did hate.

sokka. bullied? 

this better not be real. hakoda would never say that. he Wouldn’t!! what the fuck. this better be a swamp-esque hallucination. i’m gonna be so mad. hakoda is a supportive figure in sokka’s life, sokka’s insecurities aren’t supposed to stem from the things he says, even if hakoda doesn't think sokka can hear. i would buy it if the village boys were the ones causing sokka issues, but in my opinion, hakoda should be part of the solution, not the problem.

koh the face stealer confirmed. this goes kinda hard

did anyone tell aang about the whole expressionless thing. what’s stopping koh right now

GYATSO????! this is peak gyatso he’s real

maybe. worry about your friends a little more though aang

“imprisons people in their darkest memories” huh. that means. hakoda was really saying that about sokka? hm

you uh. just gonna leave them there? 

it’s good that they’re still paralleling aang and zuko. that was very nice, and also a staple of WHY i liked the cartoon in the first place.

liked: wan shi tong's design (he looked cool as hell), koh's design (appropriately scary), the general look of the spirit world, possible (unconfirmed) foreshadowing of yue in a swamp-esque style

worried about: if they keep adapting things from season two and cutting things from season one, what's going to happen in later seasons?

disliked: hakoda's characterization (i know it didn't seem mean-spirited and i know he didn't think sokka was around to hear, but in my heart of hearts he would never say that. why does bato seem to believe in sokka more than hakoda)