#gods this one took forever

[mothmothm0th]

Strangeness of In the Attic, or Foxglove's Perfectly Ordinary Break

It was quarter past two in the afternoon, which meant it was teatime soon, which meant Miss would be waking up soon, which meant Foxglove was right on schedule. It had watered the house plants, tended the garden, and fed the pond monster. It had placed empty casks of wine at the ends of three dead end tunnels and sent out invitations to three of Miss' least powerful enemies. That meant it was time for the task Foxglove dreaded the most: dillying the dallies.

Foxglove did not want to dilly the dallies. The mere fact that there was a task Miss could assign that Foxglove would prefer to decline if given the chance caused a stutter in its clockwork. Miss' consistent insistence Foxglove do it regardless pushed Foxglove to the limits of its Purpose. Fifteen minutes of such activity that would neither benefit nor hinder Miss. How could Miss punish it so?

Foxglove knew why, of course. It had collapsed one evening mere minutes before its vesper maintenance. Miss had taken this failure as the unforgivable strike against Her that Miss ought have. Miss wished to make this punishment task hourly. For every sixty minute block, Foxglove would have to spend twenty simply doing nothing. Cruel! And unusual! But Miss was merciful and allowed Foxglove to haggle its punishment down to a single dillying every two days. For that reason, Foxglove did not complain about the two percent loss to its productivity. Too much, anyway. Foxglove permitted itself a small amount of complaining. Complaining about dillying helped it fill it's dillying quota. With that thought in its little dolly head, Foxglove stomped up the cellar steps.

"It was that one's idea! It should do it!" came a cry from the parlor. It was Jessamine. Foxglove next heard Baneberry yell something back. Was Foxglove allowed to stop its fellow dolls from fighting? That would certainly count as benefiting Miss but perhaps Miss would see that it was an emergency. Jessamine and Baneberry were the best of friends. They should not be fighting!

Foxglove passed by Buttonbush in the kitchen. It looked fantastic in its big poofy maid's dress. Buttonbush was busy preparing tea and lunch; Foxglove didn't want to interrupt it. Being the focal character can be taxing and Buttonbush deserved to remain a mere cameo this time.

"...its small hat!"

Whatever Jessamine said about Baneberry's small hat, it must have been very rude indeed. When Foxglove entered the parlor, it took Baneberry several seconds to notice it and not even a beat for Jessamine to be filled with regret and fear. Rambling apologies poured out and drowned out Baneberry's tears. On a sofa in the corner of the room, Snowdrop read The Goodest Doll and Other Scary Stories in perfect ignorance of the cacophony surrounding her. A blissful Purpose.

"Jessamine, Baneberry!" Foxglove called for their attention. It had seen Miss do this so many times before. Fists digging into its sides, leaning slightly forward. Foxglove was a visage of Miss in doll form. The effect was immediate. Foxglove did relish its ability to bring its sister-dolls in line.

"This one wants to know why Jessamine and Baneberry were fighting!"

The two dolls glanced at each other and opened their mouths. A cacophany of explanations ensued, and Foxglove nearly wished it was dillying the dallies. Two accountings of misgivings and recounted insults brought Foxglove no closer to an understanding.

Just as Foxglove was about to give up -sixteen minutes till the end of dillying-, Snowdrop cleared her throat; purely an affectation of course. Though, perhaps its voicebox was rusty from disuse.

"Baneberry wanted to search the attic with Jessamine. Jessamine didn't want to," Snowdrop said.

"If Baneberry wants to be a witchling some day, Baneberry can't be afraid of attics!"

"Jessamine knows attics are scary and full of terrors!"

Foxglove shushed them both. "Why does Baneberry want to go to the attic?" it asked.

"This one heard a noise!" Baneberry said. "This one was reading a book on doll witches in its room when it heard a 'thump!' from upstairs!" It emphasised its point with a 'thump!'-style gesture.

"Baneberry is s-silly! Miss said the attic is e-empty!"

"But this one heard it! It heard the 'thump!'" Another 'thump!'-style gesture.

Before Jessamine could restart the argument in earnest, Foxglove raised an index finger. It was another one of Miss' gestures. It had an idea. Surely there was nothing in the attic that would be of consequence to Miss. This was the perfect way to dilly the dallies! Foxglove was a genius!

"This one recommends we explore together!"

Jessamine and Baneberry looked at Foxglove in stunned silence. They glanced at each other, then turned back to Foxglove.

"Is Foxglove punishing this one and Baneberry?" Jessamine asked. Baneberry nodded along furiously.

A punishment? Hmm... As far as either doll knew, Foxglove was still on the clock, as it were. Neither doll knew of Miss' orders for it. If it said it was a punishment, they would have to follow along, and since they were on break, it wouldn't even hurt productivity. Surely this was an act neither beneficial or harmful to Miss! Thus, Foxglove nodded.

"Th-then... This one thinks Jessamine and this one have no choice," Baneberry said. There was a hint of regret in its girlish voice. It had wanted to offload the scary stuff to Jessamine, after all.

And speaking of, Jessamine had gone pale. Metaphorically, of course. Its bronze faceplate was physically incapable of such an act. Yet, there was a kind of stillness in its frame that was not Still at all.

"It shall be fine," Foxglove said. "With a party of free, these ones can triumph over the attic with ease."

"Excuse me. That's not even a complete light party," Snowdrop said without lifting her head from her book.

"Are you volunteering?" Foxglove asked. Perhaps it could extend its reasoning to 'punish' her too.

"I'm not," she said. "Merely commenting. I have important books to read."

"Then these ones shall be a lighter party!" Foxglove proclaimed triumphantly. Jessamine groaned. Baneberry fiddled with the thin brim of its hat. Neither argued, however, which Foxglove took as assent. Eleven minutes till the end of dillying time. Eleven minutes was plenty of time to look through an attic. Foxglove clapped its hands together. "To the attic!"

Foxglove had never actually been to the attic. Miss never went there either. There was a certain *aura* about the place. Foxglove could swear the air in the immediate vicinity of the stairs leading up there has significantly mustier than anywhere else in the cottage or even its cellar complex. Even the floor around the stairs seemed somehow withered, nails rusted. It even creaked a little, no matter how delicate one stepped. With each step upwards, the decay seemed worse and worse. Paint seemed to chip away like fraying cloth, vibrant red giving way to the silver of dead wood. Was it like this from disuse alone? Or was there something else going on? There was but one way to find out. Up, and up.

At the very summit of the stairs, Jessamine laid its hand on Foxglove's shoulder. Poor doll didn't even have the willpower to apply any force. "Please, let's turn back," it said. How did it manage to be so expressive with its fear with its unmoving faceplate? Beside it, Baneberry didn't seem to be faring much better. It had enabled its floatation enchantment. Perhaps that was the smart thing to do. Foxglove certainly did not truly trust the wood underfoot.

"This one is not afraid of attics," Foxglove said. And yet, the layer of rust creeping across the door handle did stir some hesitation. The things it did to dilly the dallies. Foxglove laid its hand on the handle. Despite its gentle grip, it nevertheless felt rust crumble against its palm. If only Miss hadn't given it a sense of touch. If only.

Foxglove turned the handle and pushed. It only barely budged. Foxglove pulled, and the door didn't even do that. Jessamine took a close look, tapping its brass lips. "The door is stuck," it said. Baneberry giggled. Laughter is a common response to acute anxiety, Foxglove knew. But indeed, exposed wood, a bit of humidity, and enough time had together jammed the thing stuck.

"Can Jessamine help this one?" Foxglove asked, but only after leaving a very, very shallow dent in the door in the shape of its shoulder. The door took 1d1-1 bludgeoning damage; Foxglove took 1d4 morale damage plus 1d2 from asking Jessamine. How dreadful!

"This one thought that one would ask it *before* hurting itself," Jessamine chortled. It gestured to Foxglove to step aside as it raised its leg. Critical hit! The door swung right open. A powerful wind blew stale, stale air in the trio's faces. As if books had grown old and died, turned to dust. In that moment, Foxglove was thankful Miss had crafted its nose without the ability to get itchy.

"It stinks," Jessamine said. Foxglove agreed. It smelled like... sulphur. Just like lake monster feed. Wait. Foxglove patted the pockets of its maid dress. A slight squish. Oh. Apologies were exchanged.

Tentatively, Foxglove stepped in the room. The floorboards creaked in a way that reminded it of a dying ox. No, really! It was as if one of those things the boys in the internet radio shows had to make funny sounds on cue! The expression on Baneberry's dollish little face convinced Foxglove the attic hadn't already drained its sanity points. The oxen plank was real. Carefully avoiding the oxen plank, Jessamine followed in. Baneberry floated along.

The attic seemed oddly devoid of colour. Ash, dust, and that silver of dead wood. Even Jessamine's brass seemed to gather a thin layer of patina. Unless that pale green was its nausea. Foxglove didn't know. It didn't ask, also. In the grey, the dolls found themselves surrounded by crates, crates, and more crates.

"This one senses magicks," Baneberry whispered. It was glancing about the room, arms close to its chest.

"Where from? Which kind?" Foxglove asked. Baneberry was far more sensitive to such things than either it or Jessamine was. One time, Baneberry had caught a stray conundrum floating about in Foxglove's room. Foxglove didn't believe it until Baneberry had contained the conundrum in a cipher-solution casket. Foxglove could, so it claimed, tell from its complexity that the conundrum had been in the room for a couple of weeks --likely since that experiment with the pizza toppings. Foxglove still wasn't sure what a conundrum actually was but after it was contained, Foxglove had an easier time with its puzzle games again. Which is to say, Foxglove trusted Baneberry on these matters.

"This one doesn't know. Everywhere. The whole attic. It feels evil."

"Of course it's evil. It's an attic," Jessamine said.

"No! Not like that. An attic's evil is supposed to just be semiotic. It's a signifier of sorts for the inherent evil of the past. But this attic is..." Baneberry tapped its lip. "Ontologically evil. Like a mistake in the possibility space."

Jessamine glanced at Foxglove. Clearly, Baneberry had never found a conundrum in *its* room.

"Is it dangerous?" Foxglove asked.

"This one isn't sure. This one thinks it might be nothing. Perhaps the mistake-ness this one senses is just what attics signify. This one doesn't know. This one hasn't been in an attic before. This one doesn't like being in the attic. This one wants to leave."

Foxglove consulted the ticking of its clockwork. Four minutes left on its dillying shift. Four minutes was too long to be idle, yet not enough to begin anything. No, Foxglove had to stick to this course. "This one wants you to stay," it said.

Baneberry floated erratically but found a brave face. "Yes, miss," it said. Jessamine groaned like a sinking cruise ship. Seemed like it too was harbouring some ideas which Foxglove's words had run aground. Took the wind right out of its sails, ran into an iceb- I'll stop.

Something glinted in the far corner of the room. Through the monochrome, a faint speck of gold peeked out from under a linen sheet. Foxglove tippy-toed around the crates blocking its path. It wished it had Baneberry's floaty spell. Still, it managed it, and without splinters, too. Looking behind, Baneberry struggled to lift Jessamine off the ground. Jessamine could have simply walked through the stack, Foxglove thought. Tossed them aside, punched a hole... Perhaps Jessamine was showing respect to the semiotics at play.

The three dolls gathered around the linen sheet. From here, up close, it was clear that it was hiding a painting. The golden glint had come from its antique frame. Rather an ornate frame at th- a simple frame of straight li- a frame reminiscent of baroq- a frame styled after a headache. Foxglove wanted to look away. It couldn't. It didn't want to lay a hand on the sheet. The linen felt like velvet. Nothing good could come of unveiling the portrait. Its hand gripped the sheet and--

Jessamine grabbed Foxglove's wrist like a vice. The pain snapped Foxglove to its senses and it let go of the coarse and damp sheet.

"There's a portrait in every attic," Baneberry said, its voice quiet and frail. "Without fail, there's a portrait."

"These ones should leave."

Foxglove's inner clock ticked uncertainty. How long was there left on its dillying? No, no. Regardless of whatever else, it needed to know. This wasn't about obeying Miss' commands anymore. Foxglove raised its hand to silence Jessamine's compaints. No matter how much Jessamine groaned, Foxglove would stay. And if it stayed, so did Jessamine. Foxglove reached for the sheet again. Three ticks of its clockwork. Tick, tick, tick, pull! A great many grains of sand fell on Foxglove's shoes.

And then there was sand everywhere. It poured in like a river. Sand, sand, sand. Before any of the dolls could say sandcastle, they were knee deep in sand. Waist deep. A scorching wind blew in Foxglove's face. The portrait kept spewing sand. A strange person of indistinct gender with their mouth open, only their top row of teeth and wide open eyes visible through the stream of sand. Sand, absolute sand...

And the scorching sun against Foxglove's eyelids. Was it over? Had it been sent to hell? Something jerked its shoulder.

"Wake up," the something said in Baneberry's voice. "Wake up!"

Foxglove's first thought upon seeing the open skies was to wonder at the majesty. Perfectly blue, nary a cloud or girder in sight. Hey, wait a second. Where was the attic? There was a ceiling there. It's gone now. The shock jolted Foxglove upright. Sand fell off its hair and onto its shoulders. Irritating. It would take forever to get its clothes cleaned now, what with sand's property of getting everywhere. Hopefully the coarse texture wouldn't harm its textiles.

"This is a desert," Jessamine noted. "Sahara, if this one were to guess. Foxglove, this is that one's fault."

Foxglove nodded. No use arguing that. No, it was best to seek some direction. Had they crashed a plane here, their best option would have been to remain with the wreckage. But there was nothing, absolutely nothing. Although, and Foxglove knew its magickal knowledge was lacking, if the portrait had teleported them to Sahara, then the attic would still bear traces of that magick. One does not punch a hole in spacetime and leave no mark.

"Destinations seldom do, however. The outgoing hole scabs easier," Baneberry explained. Foxglove hoped that verb was a metaphor of sorts.

Meanwhile, Jessamine was staring into the distance. Perhaps the circumstances were too much for it to handle, Foxglove thought. Only, then Baneberry joined in. What could have caught their attention so? Foxglove trained its focus to where it thought the others were looking and... In the distance, it saw it glimmer. It looked like a faint outline. And a cross inside, like a window. But it couldn't be. It's...

"Just a mirage," Jessamine sighed.

"No no no," Baneberry said, wagging its index finger in the air. "This one thinks... This one thinks that window is not a mirage!"

"Then what does that one think it is?"

"It's a window!"

Another groan from Jessamine. Baneberry seemed serious, though.

"This one thinks that mirage is actually the attic window!"

"Then that means..." Foxglove trailed off.

"That means it's not a mirage," Baneberry exclaimed. "This," it plucked at the air. "Is the mirage!" And it tore a hole in the Saharan air. Through it, Foxglove could see grey wood. They were in the attic still! Baneberry tore at the hole, shredding it away like old wallpaper till it could fit its head through. Jessamine rushed in to help it, cutting into the mirage with a survival knife. Foxglove simply stood there, dumbfounded.

And then, poof! The mirage was gone, reduced to a thick layer of dust covering each and every surface. The three dolls looked like they were carved from marble, though only until Baneberry sneezed. Miss really Made it with the ability to sneeze? Oh, but there was that distinct itch in Foxglove's nose too. How long had it been? The question was expelled through its nose. And then, a sound like a gong going off. Jessamine, too? The three dolls sneezed and sneezed. In no time at all, the air was foggy with dust. Dust, swirling.

Foxglove's hair blew in the wind. Wind? Wind. It circled the attic and gathered the dust into a whirlwind. Foxglove had no hope but to close its eyes and brace itself. The wind howled in its ears and nearly drowned out Baneberry's cries.

And then, quiet. Foxglove opened its eyes again. It saw nothing. Or, well, as Snowdrop might say, Foxglove didn't see nothing because nothing is the absence of things, and Foxglove did see... something. It and its fellow dolls had been swallowed up by a deep dark void which an entity lacking in erudition might mistake for nothing. Another one of the attic's illusions, it must be. Baneberry's statements about ontological evil seemed irrefutable.

Something else Snowdrop might have noted, were she there, would be that the only time one sees dust floating in the air is when it has light to reflect off of. Snowdrop might also add that this is true of anything, really, but that in a void where one's compatriots are lit by some unknown means, which seemed independent of actual light, one might miss the presence of dust. And indeed, Foxglove, Jessamine, and Baneberry did not notice the dust permiating their surroundings.

Not until the dust coalesced, anyway. Great winds again surged towards a common end and dust bunnies and specks of sand and little chips of paint formed together a dreadful shadow. Jessamine steeled itself, Baneberry spun in the air. Foxglove too could not pretend to be brave.

"Whooo the fuuuck are yooou?" the winds and the detritus asked.

"These ones are dolls." A brave voice against the wind. Was that a hint of glee in Jessamine's voice? "Who in the name of copulation is that one?"

"Iii aaam... Iii aaam..." The coalescing figure waited a moment. Fair dues, it must be dreadfully difficult to speak when you are a pile of dust and wind. A moment of courtesy, to permit the being to solidify. The cloud took shape, more human, though by way of a giant snake. Perhaps an eastern dragon? Snowdrop would know better...

"I am," the being's voice boomed, "that nagging feeling, the haunting presence. I am that which you would rather fucking forget. I am what you avoid, what you dread."

Jessamine gestured something. Foxglove agreed.

"Where there is an attic, there I am. And you, 'dolls', have disturbed my divine realm!"

Foxglove glanced over to Baneberry. Their eyes met.

"And thus I shall rain my divine judgement upon you little fucks!"

Jessamine dug its heels to the void-that-was-ground. Baneberry steadied itself in the void-that-was-air. Foxglove reached into the fabric-that-was-pocket.

"Take this divine L and become dust within my realm!"

Two things happened at once. First, the being claiming itself to be the god of attics formed a great big hand and brought it down upon the dolls with enough force to shatter continents. Second, the trio of dolls sprung into action at once. Foxglove threw lake monster feed in the air. Globs of sulphur flew against the divine dust cloud and were immediately aerosolised. Baneberry cast an incantation, a blue flame which followed the trail of monster feed into the cloud. The moment it connected with the evil gestalt, it conflagrated into a fierce cerulean bonfire. Lit by fire, Jessamine channelled all its love for its Miss into its knife handle and drew from the sheath a shining blade of justice. With a single stroke, the blade tore through god and realm both. The light overwhelmed, and for the third time, Foxglove closed its eyes.

When Foxglove opened its eyes again, the attic was just an attic. Ordinary, dull, full of old clutter. The three dolls walked the stairs in silence. Buttonbush was waiting there to guide them to the veranda where Miss and Snowdrop awaited them. Foxglove struggled to meet Miss' gaze, and when she dusted it off, it could only muster a creak of a thanks. Jessamine and Baneberry weren't much for conversation either.

Later that evening, Miss gathered her dolls to discuss matters. No mention of the attic was made, though Foxglove was excused from its dillying duties.

In the dead of night, as Foxglove laid in its bed, Snowdrop knocked on its door. They conversed for a long time and though Snowdrop didn't know much, it had read of a being like the one Foxglove had met. Not a god, just something above humans and a grammatician's worst nightmare.

They couldn't even call themselves godslayers...

[pigswithwings]

IED:: 'utilize hastily made minor explosive' ; 'chance for great explosion'

[strmbringer]

now I live in darkness, bring me brightness show me proof, you hear my sound

ALIEN STAGE

[godsfavoritescientist]

Ford please, this isn't you! Stop letting Bill pick your outfits!

[smokin-salmon]

We at Grizzco are not liable for any injuries relating to abnormal amounts of bigger than average boss salmonids.

Thank you.

[spearxwind]

Happy 10th birthday to Cercerion!

OUGHHH UR RIGHT CERCIE IS 10 YEARS OLD NOW !!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY BOY BELOVEDEST DID NOTHING WRONG EVER IN HIS WHOLE LIFE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[missingn000]

hey all! i wrote a what-if character study & action fic for if king fought sanji instead of zoro during the raid on onigashima. i'd really love if you gave it a read! thanks so much!

link

playlist

happy reading!

[1pcii]

SanUso - Stupid Boyfriend

(no reposts please but reblogs are greatly appreciated!!!)

[kelpermoosee]

C͙a͙n͙ y͙o͙u͙ p͙l͙e͙a͙s͙e͙ d͙r͙a͙w͙ k͙i͙n͙g͙ b͙o͙o͙ a͙n͙d͙ L͙u͙i͙g͙i͙'͙s͙ c͙u͙d͙d͙l͙e͙i͙n͙g͙ o͙n͙ a͙ r͙o͙o͙f͙ t͙o͙p͙ a͙n͙d͙ g͙a͙z͙i͙n͙g͙ u͙p͙ a͙t͙ t͙h͙e͙ n͙i͙g͙h͙t͙ s͙k͙y͙

YES, I CAN INDEED! Thank you for such a cute prompt! (Made everything a little sillier though, they deserve it ★)

[pooks]

part 7 of straw hat!ichiji and without further ado, we'll dive into the next one; Drum Island arc

Nami is sick

as Nami falls sick in a seemingly serious illness, Sanji is taking it harder because of trauma; he has seen Ichiji become seriously ill when they starved on the rock island with Zeff and he had thought he was gonna die.

Sanji has unresolved trauma when it comes to serious illnesses and Ichiji doesn't know how to fix the problem since he cares very little about his own wellbeing.

with Nami out of commission, Ichiji takes over the nagivating role temporarily. he proves to be very decent on it and uses Zeff's old logbook as his guide through the Grand Line. he notices that since the weather is becoming steadingly colder, they must be nearing a winter island.

everyone has different responses to Nami's illness; Luffy, Usopp and Sanji nearly panics while Vivi becomes worried and anxious. Zoro and Ichiji mostly takes the role as the rational ones.

Ichiji is starting to feel under the weather as well and he wonders if his physical body had a delayed reaction due to his modified genetics. he doesn't fall instantly ill like Nami did, but he becomes more fatigued, irritated and loses his appetite (although he forces himself to eat something).

to distract himself from Nami's sickness and his brother's bad moods, Sanji dotes on Nyansha, their new ship cat who can shift size at will. he likes how friendly and cuddly Nyansha is and thinks back at the Baratie. he remembers how he and Ichiji used to nag at Zeff to have a pet and were always refused because the Baratie was a sea-faring restaurant and he didn't want any animals fall into the water and drown.

Zoro notices that Ichiji isn't doing well and keep scratching his neck, so he asks if he's really fine. Ichiji waves off his concerns and just says "don't worry about it".

meeting Wapol and entering Drum Island

Vivi decides to set course for any island nearby in hopes to find a doctor for the sick Nami, instead of heading towards Alabasta. Ichiji has a brief conversation with her and informs her that while she's already burdened with the serious state of her land, she chose to save another's life and it's not something to scoff at. Vivi remarks that Ichiji seems to understand her better than anyone and wonders if he knows a lot about monarchy and diplomacy (given his prior knowledge of Alabasta and displaying dormant skills of leadership).

Ichiji goes still after that and answers "well, we all have skeletons in the closet, don't we? and no, i don't want to talk about it."

as he tends to do sometimes, Ichiji looks over the ocean and thinks about the brothers he left behind in Germa in favor for Sanji. he always regrets leaving them behind and being unable to bring all his little brothers with himself and he hopes that they're faring well, despite Germa being...Germa.

the peace isn't for long, as an unfamiliar pirate ship approaches the Merry and attacks them. through irritated, Ichiji fights along with Zoro, Luffy and Sanji, using the gun Zeff had given him and Sanji (the very one Sanji aimed at Miss All Sunday). they encounter Wapol, a Devil Fruit user and has eaten the Munch Munch fruit and eats exactly anything.

after attempting to eat the ship, Luffy fights him and sends him flying across the ocean. the pirates retreats, however.

Luffy attempts to cheer up Nami, but fails. it's a very hard day on the crew since no one has apparently been sick before (Sanji denies this, but Ichiji mutters a "lies" but disguises it into a cough). the next day, they're reaching a winter island, Drum Island, and drops their anchor there. but they're suddenly ambushed by its' hostile inhabitants.

Ichiji decides to try to reason with them along with Vivi, telling them that they have a sick person onboard and she needs aid. a villager, however, shoots at Vivi when Sanji was about to defend himself from the same shooting villager.

Luffy resolves the situation, after being briefly angered by the violence against his nakama (and being urged by Vivi to not chose violence as counter measure) and Dalton, the leader, and the villagers decides to help them.

Luffy, Sanji, Vivi, Usopp heads down to the village with Nami and leaves Zoro, Ichiji and Karoo onboard the Merry. before they leave, Sanji notices that his older brother has flushed cheeks, but Ichiji says it's because of the cold.

Sanji trails after Luffy, Usopp, Vivi and Nami, but not before looking behind himself at Ichiji.

Zoro is lost and Ichiji falls

after staying in the village for a while and finding out the nearest doctor, one Dr. Kureha, also known as "the witch", resides on a castle on top of a tall rock-like mountain, Luffy and Sanji heads there with Nami to cure her while Vivi & Usopp remains in the village with Dalton. Ichiji and Zoro standing guard on the ship, in case more enemies turned up.

Ichiji kept himself inside the galley when Zoro decided to train in the cold, since he felt less tolerant to the cold than usual and he wasn't in mood to deal with Zoro "unreasonable training montage". but he got suspicious when he heard a lack of "swordman noises" and when he went to check, he found both Zoro and Karoo missing.

Ichiji braves the cold surroundings of Drum Island, dressed warmly and yet, still freezing as if he had no outerwear. trying to locate the missing Zoro is like searching for a needle in a pile of hay, but Ichiji keeps trying.

his illness starts to process more aggressively, putting Ichiji's wellbeing at risk; his fever sky-rockets, he becomes weak and delirious, and soon, he's gotten himself lost as well. fortunately for him, a sled nears him and nearly runs him over; it's Dr. Kureha along with Chopper (in walk point).

Ichiji doesn't call her anything, but he asks her if she's seen "a green-haired, half-naked fool" somewhere. Kureha doesn't answer the question and instead, inquires about his own health since he looks like he's about to keel over. Ichiji decides to be honest and says that he isn't well, but it's the least of his problems since he needs to find his friend.

Ichiji doesn't get to say more before his strength is drained and he collapses in the snow, completely overtaken by his fever.

(Kureha and Chopper decides to bring him with them, as Ichiji will surely die from his fever or the cold if he stays outside)

reunited at the castle, an unbreakable bond of brothers

by the time Luffy, Sanji and Nami are safely inside the castle, they're in a horrible state; Luffy, exhausted from climbing the drum rock with his bare hands and carrying on his two crew mates, is suffering hypothermia. Nami is seriously ill, hovering between life and death and Sanji is critically injured with a broken spine and internal bleeding from the avalanche.

Chopper and Kureha treats them as the group is in a critical condition. Nami is the first one who comes around and the cause of her illness is revealed; Kestia, a poisonous tick from Little Garden causes a "five day sickness" that ends in death.

she also finds out that she isn't alone in the room she's staying in, she sees Ichiji in another bed and panics. it turns out that Ichiji was also bitten by a Kestia tick (flashback to the post-battle in Little Garden, when he slapped his neck from a "mosquito bite"). Kureha has discovered that Ichiji has a different metabolism than an ordinary human which is why his illness progressed slower than Nami. however, his intolerance to the cold and stress made his body enough weak for the Kestia bacteria to advance faster and more aggressively.

Chopper then runs into the room, being chased by Luffy and Sanji who mistook him for food source. however, Sanji stops when he sees his older brother seriously ill and becomes shocked, getting vivid flashback to his past.

we get a narrated flashback from Sanji's POV. he remembers the rock island they were stuck on, starving for 80+ days. during the five last days on the rock, Ichiji fell seriously ill due to eating lesser than Sanji, exhausting himself by collecting morning dew for his brother, enduring night watches and exposure from the sun. after they got saved by a passing ship, Ichiji was put under quarantine due to his illness being so serious along with starvation. he was ill for two months while Sanji and Zeff recovered. Sanji remembers watching his brother suffer from fever, chills, nausea, etc. he had never seen Ichiji weak ever in his life and the thought of Ichiji dying for his sake gave him nightmares and Sanji cried for every day, believing that his brother would surely die.

Sanji tears away from his narrated flashback, seeing Ichiji suffering in the same state and gets a trauma-induced panic attack. he breaks down crying, terrified that his brother is dying once again, blames himself for not seeing the signs and begs the unconscious Ichiji to not leave him alone.

before Kureha is about to hit Sanji's head for whining so much, Ichiji speaks up, revealing he's been awake the whole time

"Geez, you're still such a crybaby, Sanji..."

Sanji screams of grief and anger, hugging Ichiji and saying...something, but no one is able to understand what he's saying since he's crying and sobbing at the same time.

(foreshadowing to Sanji's "△✕~◑※◇♨*~✖✹" in water 7)

Ichiji is still running a fever and seemigly drifts off, but not before he managed to reassure his little brother and his captain (because let's face it, Luffy is freaking out at the thought of his nakama dying) that he'll be fine soon.

everyone thinks he's asleep because of his closed eyes, but he's conscious enough to hear Chopper's story when Kureha tells Sanji and Nami (while Luffy is off chasing the poor reindeer again to make him join his crew).

Wapol returns and the siege of Drum Castle

their luck runs short when Wapol makes a return to the castle, intending to "rule" Drum Island again (which would lead to more of the people's suffering). once again, Luffy fights Wapol but this time, it becomes personal when Wapol shoots at the jolly roger of the long passed Dr. Hiriluk, Chopper's mentor and adoptive father.

Luffy engages in full battle, enraged over how "fake pirates" like Wapol just shoots a jolly roger without a single respect.

inspired by Luffy, Chopper shows that he doesn't have just medical skills, but battle skills as well and joins the battle. Sanji attempted to join as well, but his back injury flares up, rendering him out of commission with Kureha guarding him.

while his two henchmen, fused into one, fights Chopper and Luffy gets distracted, Wapol sneaks into the castle. he stumbles onto Nami, who's already well enough to walk around thanks to Chopper and Kureha's wonder medicine.

the only difference here from canon is that Ichiji arrives in time, still feverish, and jumps at Wapol, pulling at his hair as the ex-king attacks her (which also gives Nami the perfect moment to steal the key from Wapol).

Nami manages to escape, but Wapol is now chasing Ichiji. the antibiotic remedy against his illness is progressing, but Ichiji is already exhausted and Wapol corners him, intending to kill him. Luffy finds them just in time and engages in one final battle before he emerges victorious, having punched Wapol across the next island with a Gum Gum Bazooka.

Dr. Hiriluks cherry blossom snow, Chopper joins the straw hats

with the antibiotic treatment finally taking effect for Ichiji (due to his fast metabolism) and Sanji is getting his back (painfully) fixed again, Luffy tries again and again to recruit Chopper to his crew

Nami attempts to negotiate with Kureha; she hands over the key if Kureha discharges her, Sanji and Ichiji. Ichiji, however, doesn't want Nami to do that since he wants she and Sanji to recover first (once again, he neglects to include himself) before heading to Alabasta. Kureha takes the key, but says they must stay in the castle...but also that there's a coat in the room and the guards aren't present. Nami takes it as a sign that they're free to go.

when Sanji's treatment is complete, Nami and Ichiji brings him as they go outside. Ichiji is nearly fully recovered at this point and is carrying Sanji on his back, who's still out of it from his treatment. Ichiji takes a moment to reflect on old memories and muses that he hasn't done this since they were kids.

barely some moments later, Chopper is joining them but Kureha is chasing after him with weapons, so the Straw Hats panics and decides to pack it to leave. Ichiji wastes no time getting into a sled, still carrying Sanji on his back. however, they get to witness something wonderous.

using Hiriluk's "cure for the country's cold heart", the straw hats and everyone else witnesses cherry blossoms falling onto the snowy island. Ichiji, with a now conscious Sanji leaning on his shoulder, remarks that he has never seen something so beautiful in his life and it's enough to almost bring tears.

with the perfect send-off to Chopper and having a ship doctor onboard, the straw hats sets sail for Alabasta

[skrunksthatwunk]

KUWAMESHI SKETCH DUMP KUWAMESHI SKETCH DUMP in which they are little shits who cannot stop messing with each other

also obv zoom in to see everything bc this shit is CRAMPED. but it's all neat i prommy

[doodles-in-sand]

almost finished illustrations for Haruka and Yuno

[itsybitsybatsyspider]

The Dragon Prince Au Masterpost

So since i got so many ideas and thoughts for this au, imma just make a masterpost for this since i plan on expanding and adding more to it in the future. Thought it’d make context a bit easier to understand. There's quite a bit so buckle in fellas

Berk is an outpost village that lies along the border of Katolis and Xadia. The people and battalion there are known for their duty to ward off dragons and drakes when they get too close to the border, and they are based right on the edge of the border where both lands meet at the Gulf of Tenebris. 

The events from the first movie still kind of play out. Hiccup shoots down Toothless and hides it from everyone, but after learning about dragons and seeing that they’re misunderstood and that Berk has been provoking them, he then creates a disguise to help the dragons.

Of course, now everyone thinks that there’s a Sunfire elf out there fighting against them and why do they think he’s a Sunfire elf?? Because he creates Inferno in an attempt to mimic a Sunforge blade and paints his helmet to look like elf markings and builds in horns.

Jack is a Skywing elf, and a mage-in-training. He’s doing his best and lives with his mother and sister, Emily. Their village is to the north of the Ruins of Elarion and resides in the mountains.

He's out flying one day when he hears a dragon's roar and when he flies down to investigate he sees a human trying to catch a dragon. Filled with anger he jumps down and pulls up a spell, aiming it at the human, who stares back with his eyes wide and hands raised.

Hiccup was only trying to wrangle Toothless to try and put on a new and improved tailfin when out of nowhere a Skywing elf leaps out and points lightning at him???

So they get off on the wrong foot. But after seeing that Hiccup wasn't harming Toothless and Toothless was friendly towards Hiccup, did Jack lower his staff. He truly thought the human was going to try to kill the dragon to take it apart to send to the dark mages of the Katolin court. He'd heard stories of human "mages'' and their brand of "magic". But no. All that was in front of him was a startled human who had only been wanting to help a creature of Xadia.

and from there, their friendship begins.

Jack tells Hiccup about Xadia and Hiccup tells Jack about his home. They sneak off to hang out and take Toothless out flying. Jack uses Sky magic to make them go faster and higher and blows snow flurries their way to mess with Hiccup.

Hiccup brings pastries and food for Jack to try from home and gets him to try brown morning potion. It ends with Hiccup laughing on the ground and a cup frozen to the ground as Jack sputters in distaste at the bitterness

Jack manages to find a real Sunforge blade and gifts it to Hiccup. "Now you can pass off as a real Sunfire elf. Or at least close enough."

Toothiana is a Skywing elf. One of Jack’s friends and a family friend to the Frost-Overlands. She’s helped teach Jack some Sky magic but it’s not much. She tries to help him by hunting down books, tomes, and scrolls in her free time when she’s not busy

Bunny is an Earthblood elf who doesn’t stay in one place too long. But he does have a place on the outskirts of their village and sometimes lingers for a few weeks at a time before going back to his travels. His real home is in the Uncharted Forest.

Sandy is a Sunfire elf who passes through occasionally and is Tooth's source for magic books for Jack. Sandy lives near Lux Aurea but his work keeps him traveling around. He's a Sun mage and is currently hunting for the source of whatever magic has been corrupting creatures in Xadia and turning them into monsters made of nothing but shade and decay.

North is a human dwelling in Berk. He and Gobber run the smithy and create the defenses for the outpost and take turns running the shop. But North is actually a friend to Xadia (*cough* Bunny *cough cough* Tooth *cough* Sandy). It was the time before he came to Berk and he keeps these opinions to himself until he discovers what Hiccup has been doing in his spare time.

Astrid is the top-cadet in the training program at the outpost. Best in her class and has the highest chance of joining the Outpost Guard right off the bat. She and Hiccup are friends and she has trouble understanding his sudden reluctance to want to fight dragons and keep enemy forces at bay. This is their home. Doesn’t he want to protect it? Surely he must understand what’s at stake if creatures from Xadia were to invade. 

the rest of the teenagers are in the training program a well. Snotlout has aspirations to join the Katolin army at the Breach, Fishlegs just wants to study the flora and fauna of Xadia without it trying to kill him, and the twins... well they're the twins. They want to learn primal magic for pranks and get chased by a drake and cause havoc in general.

Jamie Bennett and his family live in Berk and Jamie has a secret that he's never told anyone. His best friend's an elf.

Jamie and Emily become friends before the events of the story start. And have been friends for months at this point. They've been lying to everyone to keep their friendship. So when Jack starts acting suspicious at home, claiming to go see some friends (he doesn’t have friends aside from her and Tooth) she starts paying attention to what he’s trying to hide. She fills Jamie in on it as well during one of their hangouts and he’s like “Oh weird, you know I've been noticing the Commander’s son has been disappearing as well.”

At one point Jack manages to get his hands on an illusion necklace, and gives it to Hiccup so that he can be fully disguised as an Earthblood elf. He wants to show him the beauty of his home and Xadia without the worry that he’ll get captured or killed and they spend a whole day going through Jack’s village and showing him everything. Emily follows along and keeps a sharp eye on Hiccup. 

She brings it up in their following recap. "So my brother had a friend over the other day... it was an Earthblood elf i had never seen before... he acted really weird." "Huh that's weird... Hiccup was gone the other day... no one could find him..." ".... Hiccup?"

and Pitch is a dark mage :)

At some point i may add more, but for now this is the base context for the Au. it was hard not to get carried away with adding even more but i think that about sums it up for now! Below is the art that's been posted already. I'll edit it as i post more but for now that's it!

Jack, Hiccup, and Toothless designs

Sunfire Elf Hiccup disguise

Jack's Wing Maintenance

First Meeting (and misunderstandings)

Questions Ask

Ask #2

Jack and His Sister

Astrid, Jamie, and Tooth Designs

Earthblood Elf Hiccup Illusion

Some Plot

[laniemae]

Chances Ojima dies this chapter? /Genuine

Hate to admit it but the chances of Ojima dying this chapter are incredibly likely, I’d say around 80%.

I know I’m usually the one to scream about how Ojima is “certainly gonna die” like every chapter but this feels different as usually it starts off with me feeling safe about him and close to the bda he shows up a bit more and suddenly I freak out about death flags. But the motive hasn’t even dropped yet and he’s already got a ton of screen time, big scenes and info about his character. With the bleeding plot coming into play, his relationship with monomoko and being her favourite student, painting the balcony shutter, and us learning more about his trauma. Like legitimately we’ve gotten so much content of him so early on in the chapter I cannot believe how he won’t die this chapter because he’s been so important. I don’t think a tetro character has raised this many death flags up until now and I’m usually the type to say that we shouldn’t scream death flags at every scene, or we should wait until the motive, but like this is just so much Ojima content. Like I should be happy getting a lot more screen time with my favourite boy but I’m just in complete anxiety knowing that this most likely is his last development before he dies.

Like and even going to story themes, we’ve been getting a ton of development with monomoko and her empathising with the students and questioning the killing game. And since Ojima is her favourite student it makes so much sense for him to die this chapter which could lead monomoko into even more of a spiral as she values his life which could lead to her potentially standing up in the finale of chapter 5. And I could especially see this being the case if Ojima is a killer where she has to send him off to be executed himself, and with how much Ojima is saying how he believes he’s gonna die in the school but also saying that he knows he won’t kill anyone would be ironic.

Also with the mural he’s painting on the balcony, I can’t stop thinking of how perfectly devastating for him to die there would be if he’s a victim. Being killed in front of the painting of the outside world you’ve been yearning for, having your last chance of freedom stripped away like that. Just imagine the unique 5th bda with Ojima’s blacked out sprite in front of the colourful mural unique to that one location. It’s such a perfect setup for him to die there that I can’t possibly imagine that it could go any other way. I heard someone say that if this is the case the student reconvening at the body would be called [Sunset] and just ouch…

God just writing this is making me tear up. Even hearing any discussion or even mention of the likelyhood of Ojima dying this chapter just makes me feel sick despite how much I also say it myself. It just feels different this time as the signs are here right from the beginning of the chapter that I am so so confident he’s gonna die and can’t let myself rest as every day feels like I’m getting closer to my comfort character dying and never being able to see him in an episode again. Like I wanna give my reasons for maybe how he could not die this chapter but at this point it’s so certain I don’t wanna get my hopes up at all so I’m just gonna be sitting here until he dies this chapter and I’ll have to deal with the fallout. If anything I hope an Ojima interview is our one way of giving him some extra screen time before he’s gone forever.

[plushie-lovey]

FINALLY!! At long last, I've gotten my hands on a Pumpkin Kitty, after a whole year of wanting and waiting.

Her name is Latte! (Short for Miss Pumpkin Spice Latte) You can also call her Miss Spice!

[theplatypusblue]

Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom ~ Forbidden Spinjitzu