#if anyone read this through the end

[tawnysoup]

Finally now that the comic is fully public on comicfury, I get to share it with all of you here, too <3

If you enjoyed, please consider supporting by buying a PDF of the comic on itch.io: https://tawnysoup.itch.io/home-in-the-woods

[quixoticprince]

*In the voice of someone who's only media experience is jjba*: Wow, getting a lot of jjba vibes from tf2

Amidst the chaos and disappointments that encompassed my last two months, I had a fun connection about two of my favorite brain rot comics - you got an immortal(ish) with a harsh backstory who spirals into obsessive hatred that ends in the stealing of their obsession's bodies and subsequently haunt those family lines and those adjacent to them for generations - and I liken the Zeppelis, who shares the Joestar's generational curse by Dio/immortal creatures in general, to the Conaghers who I also see as helpers to the Mann line Its a really cool angle to look at Engie in, who since I was 14 was my least favorite character lol, this really elevated him for me

And so if the Manns are like the Joestars, that means like, Olivia Man is the equivalent of Joseph lol which is very funny to me

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Parallel Lines and Brothers.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[brofightiscancelled]

request from @hanaybuns to translate these pages from i believe "Matsuno Family Dependents Gallery"? sorry i didnt know how to approach the typesetting for this lol

all the quotes the boys are saying are from s1 episodes (right -> left):

oso 1 2 3

karamatsu 1 2 3

choromatsu 1 2 3

ichimatsu 1 2 3 (warning: ichimatsu incident)

jyushimatsu 1 2 3

todomatsu 1 2 3

[seiwas]

sellllllll it's meeeeee. hehehehehehehehehhehe

so for ur writing exercises.... deku + light? please? pretty please?

:3c

heheh heheh hehe niku. this will be the death of me. me writing izuku for the first time 🥲 i will only do this for you </3

contains: established relationship, spoilers for the end of the manga, aged up deku but sometime in between the final outcome (he doesn't get the h*** s*** from bakugo yet), mentions of sex and scars

deku + light

izuku only sleeps with the lights off.

it isn't uncommon; many people you know can't sleep with even just a sliver of light turned on somewhere in the room. but the difference with izuku, you learn, is not that he's unable to stand the light―it's that he refuses to.

you quickly pick up on it the first few times he sleeps over.

he fidgets in bed, pretty badly, actually. the nightlight you sleep with glows a warm yellow, illuminating the side of your face and coating him in its afterglow. you chalk it up to nerves, how he pulls at his sleeves and adjusts his position constantly; he is, after all, one of the most anxious people you know.

and this relationship―it's new. heck, even you feel a little jittery with his arm wrapped around you.

the rhythmic tapping on your hip only increases pace. you don't think he realizes it, so your hand gently reaches for his, intertwining your fingers as you turn around in his arms.

he's close, nearly touching you nose-to-nose; the proximity leaves you fuzzy, a little ticklish, so you giggle, a soft "oops," as the freckles dusting his face almost glisten under the warm light.

"hi," you whisper, meeting his eyes; they stare back at you wide in surprise, "can't sleep?"

he looks almost guilty at your question, as if you’ve caught him with the one thing he's been trying to keep from you.

"just—" his voice comes out louder than intended, prompting him to chuckle nervously as he readjusts his volume, "just winding down, sorry."

you inch closer, nuzzling his nose lightly, "it's okay."

"did i wake you?" he asks, cheeks flushing pink as his eyebrows furrow in immediate concern. his expression is something caught between stifling a grin and feeling sorry.

you shake your head against the pillow you share, strands of your hair tangling with his. "just winding down," you tease, watching as his gaze turns softer, eyelids drooping heavier.

sometimes, you think, izuku holds the world in his eyes―a deep, dark green, the color of life. most times, they look at you with wonderment, bright and alive; photos from inko tell you they're the eyes of his inner child.

on nights like this one, however, they hide a depth in them weighted by what you can only assume is time, and all that has happened to him in such a short span of it.

you try your best to understand what lies beneath them, knowing full well he'll never tell you outright what truly bothers him.

"is it the light?" you bring up, some time after laying in silence.

"hm?" he clarifies.

"do you have a hard time sleeping with the nightlight?"

his eyes widen briefly once more, as if shocked that you've caught him again. these split second reactions are ones you've learned to be attentive to when it comes to izuku.

"no," he tries to lie, but you know better as you turn to your nightstand and reach for its switch, "you don't–"

"it was hurting my eyes," you quickly make up an excuse, tucking yourself closer under his chin as you cut off his attempt to deny it again.

finding out that the light was the problem was the easy part—

you'd begun to notice much earlier on that izuku was barely rested on the nights he'd spend at your place. it was only when your old nightlight broke that you began to notice him waking up much later than you did, groggily rousing from a deep sleep.

—what was hard, was figuring out why.

at first, you suspected it was his scars.

"s-sorry, it's not—" he'd warned you, right as your hands gripped the hem of his shirt the first time you were about to have sex, "—it's not nice."

you didn't care though; you still don't care, and you've made that abundantly clear to him since. you love izuku and all his parts―all the nicks and jaggedy pieces of skin that make up who he is.

when you eventually ask him about it, with a request that he be honest with you for once, he tells you that it is and it isn't―the reason why he exclusively sleeps with the lights off, that is.

it's an odd, comforting relationship he has with his body—that he is simultaneously grateful and sorry for how its become a canvas, both painted and marred to symbolize japan’s historic last stand.

you find out the real reason when you catch him staring at his hands.

he does it often, when he thinks you aren't looking—his fists bunched up in the same way he used to watch the power of one for all course through his fingertips; the same way he used to prepare them in battle.

there’s a faraway look in his eyes that lingers, you notice—a little wistful if anything.

“do you miss it?” you finally ask. he gives you the same shocked look he does every time, as if he’s been caught with a secret he’s been trying to hide.

he’s learned a fair bit about you now, too, though—lying to you is futile when you’ve perfected reading his truth. he stares at his fists again as you take a seat beside him, moving to give you space. you rest your head on his shoulder gently, waiting.

“sometimes,” he admits, but you know it’s an understatement.

“i think about the vestiges a lot. i miss them the most, i think,” he continues, clenching his fists tightly, “i always try to reach out to them, but i guess it doesn’t work that way.”

“i… i try to replicate the right conditions every night, but…” then he lets go, stretching his fingers out wide. the scars on the surface ripple through his skin, telling its own story.

you hum, acknowledging what he means. silence sits with the two of you as you take his hand in yours, slowly unfurling his fingers until his palm reveals itself to you. it’s rough to the touch, seasoned with hard work and all that he’s been through.

“is that why you prefer the dark?” you ask softly, after some time.

it's not often that you stay up later than izuku does. when you do though, you catch him shifting in bed, moving from side-to-side. you pretend you aren't awake, but you hear him mumble their names, dwindling in volume as he dozes off to sleep.

he stares at his palm for a moment before he admits quietly, "yeah." his brows furrow as if contemplating whether to say more, but he shakes his head, dark green strands swaying to the beat of his embarrassed chuckle, "nevermind, it's silly."

"it's not."

you intertwine your fingers, sandwiching his hand between yours. a slight sheen glosses over his eyes as he tilts his head up to look at you. he draws in a breath, before it spills over.

"it's..." he finds the words, and you squeeze his hand in comfort, "it's easier to believe it was all real when the lights are out, and that maybe it can happen again."

[meowmeow1meow]

sigh…isnt she so dreamy?

[bixels]

I'm not getting into The Giving Tree discourse...

[goldkirk]

I don’t know how to explain any more clearly that it doesn’t MATTER if it seems legitimate to you. You have got to fact check every single headline and post and claim on the left just like you need to do on the right.

The left is NOT immune to misinformation and rushed reporting. And the more emotionally polarizing or shocking the talking points, sound bytes, and headlines are, the worse it is and more frequently it happens.

Learn to verify through multiple independent sources. If you can’t do that, you can’t trust it.

If you have to wait extra hours for the real information to come through vetted channels—NOT just one individual somewhere everyone links to, and not just one single media source either, EVEN if it’s a major news network—thats just how it has to be. What news outside of genuine local disasters near you TRULY needs your outrage and post-sharing in the next hour specifically?

Misinformation works best by not seeming like misinformation and by fitting in with the rest of what you already expect to see. It doesn’t help anyone to not be able to recognize and avoid the stuff.

[lyricsandpapers]

NEW WEEK MORE POSTS! Let’s talk about Home for Joke!

Joke has never had a Home; he lived in his parents house as an unwanted guest (his father quite literally says he thinks Joke isn’t his son because he isn’t smart enough). Then he lived in jail, where we know he was constantly harassed. He now has that small apartment next to Tattoo, that from what we’ve seen has like one futon and a chair in it.

However, from the jump we see how at home Joke feels at Jack’s place. He falls asleep in Jacks bed, helps tidy up. Constantly staying as long as possible. When Jack invites Joke back over after forgiving him he is ELATED to be allowed back. So when Grandma asks when Joke is going home….

Not only is it a reminder that his parents probably don’t want to see him.

But it also probably feels like a rejection, that they don’t see this as Joke’s home. That he DOESN’T have a home here. He’s a guest, he doesn’t belong there. He knows both of their kindness too, so I imagine he might be wondering if he’s ACTUALLY wanted there. Luckily Grandma and Jack catch on pretty fast

It’s the first time it’s really laid out WHY a rich boy has spent all his time there. Hoy brought up suspicion to Tattoo before (which i loved) but this is it spelled out to others. Grandma offering a place there, in such a calm collected way, and Jack backing it up must have been SO overwhelming. The feeling of being given a soft place to land for an indefinite time?

Yeah it would easily bring me to tears. Joke is clearly in his 20’s and this is the first time that not only he HAS a Home, but one was offered because he was WANTED there.

And I think the realization has occurred to Jack too

[i-like-forcefem]

Hey so uh I wanted to ask about that candy bar you gave me at the Halloween party last night, I ate it before bed (it tasted really good) but when I woke up I started to notice some things. My voice sounds kinda softer and higher pitched than before, my body feels tingly and kinda soft, my hair looks a lot longer and fuller than I remember it being, and every time I look in the mirror I think I look thinner than before...my clothes feel uncomfortable...people have been saying I look and sound cute and every time they compliment me I start blushing...n-not that I'm in any pain, don't worry, it's just...uh...w-where did you get that candy bar from again?

Awwww, well cutie the bars are ones I make by with plenty of love, specially for Halloween and a secret recipe I can’t just share with anyone

But since you seem to enjoy them so much let’s make a little deal!

I’ll let you Trick or Treat everyday! Just come here with a new fun outfit everyday and you’ll never run out of candy bars!

That said the bars work the best if you eat them everyday (and they can have quite some withdrawal symptoms) and I only have you the first bar because your costume was so so adorable and cute and feminine, and just so you know you’ve set the standard now cutie!

If you want more candy bars you better come back in an even cuter outfit, and also make sure to walk here in broad daylight where everyone can see! No cars allowed, most of the fun from Halloween is that anyone can see your costume, so you do need the show off phase

Got it cutie? Good Girl! Now take one more bar as a free-bee and I expect you here in much more appropriate clothing tomorrow, if you want another bar of course

[lynn-tged-posting]

tged webtoon ep 171 spoilers and thoughts but i'm mostly just going "YAY I LIKED THIS MOMENT" and more below the cut

.

.

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DEMON KING LLOYD HELLO. HELLO?? WHAT. WHY?? BUT WOW. HOLY SHIT. I REALLY REALLY LIKE THIS

I LOVE WHEN CHARACTERS GAIN WINGS AND HORNS AND . GHGHHGHGHHG AAAHHH ITS MY FAVORITE THING if you didn't already know dragon lloyd was like one of my favorite all-time panels so this is VERY AWESOME FOR ME YAYYY YAAAAYYY HAHAHA

LIKE SERIOUSLY LOOK HE GOT FANGS N SHIT AND. OH MY GODD THE SMOKE SLIPPING PAST HIS LIPS IM SO??? THAT'S SO COOL. I LOVE WHEN THEY DO THAT WITH SMOKE AND MONSTROUS FORMS OF CHARACTERS

genuinely i need to draw this asap. pacing issues aside i am obsessed with how sick this is. i love this a LOT

ok ok back to the top bc theres some stuff i wanna touch on from before demon king lloyd got revealed! because...

"master lloyd taught us". "master lloyd taught us". "master lloyd taught us". "master lloyd taught us".

EXCUSE ME WHAT

YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT OFF SCREEN, LLOYD TOOK TIME OUT OF HIS BUSY ASS DAY. TO TEACH THE KIDS HOW TO PLAY SOCCER. AND THEY HAVE PLAYED ENOUGH TO BE FAMILIAR ENOUGH TO PLAY ON THEIR OWN. WHICH MEANS THAT LLOYD . PLAYED SOCCER WITH THEM . AND WE FIND THIS OUT. NOW?? I. GGHH. THATS SO. CUTE. IM GOING TO BITE HIM. THE FUCKER. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

the fact that they go up to ask him im going to EXPLODE?!?!?

he looks so nonchalant abt it here im cryinf

AND LOOK AT THEM GO THIS IS SO SO SWEET IM VERY GLAD LYRA GOT TO PLAY WITH THEM I LIKE THIS A LOT

this scene, and the beginning scene where the adults were just so casual with her and treating her as a living person with feelings and someone that they can talk to was so so heartwarming i oooghhh my heart

AND THEN THERE HE IS. SMILING IN THE BACK. YOU ASS.

I SEE YOU BEING KIND AND EMPATHETIC AND SELFLESS LLOYD. YOU LOST THE NONCHALANT WAR. YOU CAN'T ESCAPE

christ. i fucking HATE him /j /aff

it is also VERY silly that they're so casual abt. destruction like that HELPPP they got it from someone sob sob, though i imagine since most of the estate consists of people who have done construction it probably isnt that big of a deal when things get destroyed every now n then

and lyra looks so damn happy,,, god im so glad she had a good experience, she really needed one :')

also i completely LOST it when the kid got mad at lyra for not responding with a yes or no HELPPP JESUS CHRIST

again they,,, got it from someone HAHA though honestly i think it tracks. kids can be straightforwardly brutal in their language, especially when they don't really have biases or cares for who they are speaking to. as crazy as this instance looks (LMFAO) i think this fits well with the context of the straightforwardness of children and considering the person who they look up to at the estate. i think it was good for lyra to meet a human child her age who can speak straightforwardly and not skirt past things, if that makes sense? i hope it does!

AND THE DEMON KING TRANSFORMATION i already talked abt it above but i wanna point out this blue system box here

a power outside of the system?!?? what does this mean for the protagonist of the new prequel bk_moon is writing?? is the weather forecasting included in this???

my first assumption right now is that the demon king power is just an in-world power system while everything else (ie the weather forecasting) is external, blue-textbox system. maybe? so lloyd got the demon king power which comes with skills separate from the ones that the system can provide? that would explain why there's no indication of lloyd trying to use the weather forecasting, he probably can't use it,,,? except i dont know why artanis can use it in that case. most likely i am overthinking it LMFAO

semi-related, i am a little confused as to why artanis did this? i guess she really, really trusted him w this power? or maybe her weather forecasting noted that this would be something good to do i have no idea,,, it Does feel a bit sudden i won't lie, i'm not sure how earned this is

also javier and everyone else not reacting that much to the demon king status. SENT ME HAHA "... nothing's changed." LOL

deadpan humor never fails to make me giggle ily javier

also loved the moment where the two of them were bein serious for a sec,,, they've got a job to do they've got people to protect. lloyd will stop fate and javier will be right besides him...

i think showing them at emily's wedding really cements how much they really, REALLY need to fight fate now. the novel events happening is very very bad, but it feels like now that so many people, emily especially, have found THIS much happiness in their lives,,, failing to stop fate will hit even harder. i really like the analogy of a taut bow that the dragon king used when he first described it, bc it's really REALLY showing how much the repercussions will hit if they fail. im praying they succeed,,, please,,, i need a happy ending or i will curl up and turn into an actual shrimp irl.

and now the demons have to build the pantara railroad,,, artanis's expression omfg

she really didn't,,, know,,, she trusted him that much,,,, girl,,,

but it's ok. it'll be a net positive trust! that's how lloyd does things!!! and then soon we'll get the happy ending where we can get the eye of summer and beat up fate and then silly fun times YAYY <- probably copium

some other thoughts of note that i had with a dear mutual (hi sprout :3) about this ep:

we were talking about how the plot seems to be paced right now, and honestly i'm of the opinion that while yes its Technically moving, the way they're ending each ep in this current arc makes it feel like it's going both very slow and very fast, that is to say it feels like it's not moving at all

bc they're like "okay NOW we're gonna do the build project" and it's been like that for several episodes now. pieces are moving but we're going past the point of it all too fast (especially the whole demon king thing. mentioned this before but while cool, doesn't feel as earned simply bc we're both tackling each point and yet blowing past all the points, so it's a lot less satisfying than it should be (despite how awesome it is,,, oh lloyd you give me so much internal conflict </3))

it does make me a lil worried that they're gonna timeskip the hell out of the pantara railroad build. however this episode, although it still has a weird pacing/movement issue, does feel a little bit better than the last two imo, so i have hope that it'll turn out okay, that it'll start heading up! i'm actually really excited to see where they go with this and i'm sure that even if the pacing is still goofy i'll have some kind of fun with it (seriously the panels this ep were wonderful HAHA)

anyway that's all for this week! extremely excited for the next ep,,, ill see yall then,,, lets go pantara railroad arc!!!

[haveyouthoughtaboutcomicstoday]

I don’t have time to write up something properly on this topic this week, but here’s an incoherent ramble.

It’s so important to me how it was as an end point for Guy’s new52 character to be him as a Blue Lantern. The blue ring is about healing and faith (in yourself, the people around you, in things bigger than you), and is rooted in belief that things can always get better. That Guy gets to spend his future going around healing people in a universe where he didn’t get the opportunity to pursue that as a career initially is so rewarding.

His role as community leader/teacher/public servant is so integral to how he was first introduced. And through the ups and downs of his story arc in the years following, his ability to forgive people for anything, even to offer that forgiveness first, is what makes him such a good person. We see this most often in his relationship with his family and with Hal, but it’s definitely not limited to them.

There’s also something about Guy opting away from any of the rings that give him strength to do violence in favour of one that is powerful in taking down enemies in other ways. He still carries them with him, and knows sometimes he might need to use them to save people, but thats not his first instinct anymore.

Social worker Guy, psychology student Guy, the version of Guy that is gentle and timid and doesn’t like violence at all (that we only ever saw as a joke in JLI) would all be so proud of him for getting here in the end.

[chloecherrysip]

"I hope you told your brother how much you loved him, because you're probably never gonna see him again."

"..."

"Was that too dark?"

"YES!"

"Sorry."

[kanonavi]

2024 XVX Fic Recs!

Hi everyone, I hope you're having a lovely and restful holiday season! Last year around this time, I posted 10* xvx recommendations, and since I haven't gotten tired of this lovely ship, or meticulously tracking all of the fics I read in a year, I'm back for year 2!

As with any rec list, please keep an eye on the ratings and tags of any given fic. My tastes might not be to your tastes, and that's okay, just make sure to take care of yourselves first and foremost. This especially applies now because there will be a couple of explicit fics that I shout out this year. Now, here's 10** fics that I read this year that I think other fans of xvx would enjoy!

*Plus a few extras ;)

**With the return of a few extras, since I like y'all so much ;))

~

Lighthouse, by HuaFeiHua (@hua-fei-hua) [Ongoing, Teen, 20.3k, 5/15 chapters]

When one of Xiao’s endless battles against the remnants of old gods leads to the slaughter of an innocent child, the guilty adeptus knows he must pay penance for his crimes. However, upon meeting with his Lord, ready and willing to be executed, Rex Lapis refuses to terminate their contract before its due time. Instead, he sends the yaksha to the Land of Dreams, where he is to spend a human lifetime hunting nightmares to atone. Xiao expects it to be lonesome work, but then: enter Venti, a bard from Mondstadt whose dreams of a castle with a lighthouse by the sea somehow draw Xiao back to him time and time again. And while Xiao means only to spend the century executing his duty, Venti somehow manages to make their time spent together into something almost like a sweet dream. Now if only Xiao would let him.

HuaFeiHua is our first returning author from last year’s list, but now that they’ve not only emerged from the Anonymous collection but also started posting their love letter to xiaoven, I couldn’t not include it here. If there’s any fic that knows how to do atmosphere, it’s this one. The liminal unreality of dreams is captured immaculately in this fic, and it makes the perfect setting for Venti and Xiao to dance around their emotions and each other like the avoidant disasters that they are. It manages to read exactly like the fairy tales that it was inspired by while also feeling right at home in the centuries that exist before Genshin canon, and for someone like me who loves canon setting fics, that’s more than I could have ever asked for.

Now, I was going to make a joke about nepotism but then Hua told me that the correct term is– *checks smudged writing on my palm* “cronyism”, so actually I give up.

~

Extra Rec: While Hua has many fantastic fics that you can now find easily in one place after their liberation from the Anonymous collection, I want to specifically shout out the absolute full course meal of a smut fic that they posted for their de-anoning debut. Do mind the Explicit Rating, though.

~

Catching Air, by Sub_Reality (Twitter: @/sub_reality__) [Ongoing, Teen, 164k, 13/21 chapters]

“Your assignment,” Ningguang said, “Is to assist the Ordo Favonius of Mondstadt in dismantling a newly-surfaced criminal organisation that goes by the name of the ‘Abyssi Familia’.” Exactly one week into their new positions, the 115th generation of the Liyue Qixing’s secret elite forces are given their first assignment; to take down a major criminal syndicate that is surfacing in their neighbouring nation of Mondstadt. Consisting of 5 of the most dangerous personnel across databases continent-wide, their assignment will conclude when all five of their targets are arrested, subdued, or dead. However, of the five is an enigmatic mercenary by the name of Arsenic - holding claim to the highest current kill count, and without a single failed hit. They are notorious for their weaponization of toxins, their mysterious escapes from assassinations, and for their distinguishing feature of not having a single shred of information or data regarding them. Something which, the Ordo Favonius emphasises, is highly concerning. With the arcane nature of Arsenic and the Abyssi Familia, one could say the Yakshas have quite the unpredictable mission ahead of them.

If you’ve ever wanted to be blown away by worldbuilding in a fic, this is one to read. With an incredible eye for detail, the author has reconstructed Teyvat in a far-off cyberpunk future that offers just as much fast-paced secret agent action as it does cultural details of the futuristic Mondstadt that the story inhabits. In terms of xiaoven, the burn is slow with this one, but Xiao and his fellow Yakshas (reimagined with their own mortal identities and personalities) have more than managed to carry the story so far. The mystery just hit a big reveal in recent chapters, so if there’s any time to start reading this one, it would be now!

~

the memory department, by twomooncorner (@earlgreyhui) [General Audiences, 3k, One-Shot, Archive-Locked]

The site of the memory debris takes a bus ride and a half to get to, past a billboard with flapping holes torn through, an abandoned gas station, and a sign for an old water park standing on only two rusted legs. The mountains reach halfway around, and the lakebed which might have started as a meteorite crater and then filled with water and then went back to being a crater again is shiny and hard. Venti hops off the bus and opens a can of soda with his teeth. Let’s get to work, he says.

I told myself I was only going to include one of the fics from Moonlight Melody, but I just couldn’t resist this one. I love the concept of the afterlife as a deeply dull bureaucracy, so seeing Venti and Xiao working as reapers at the very bottom of the ladder was incredibly interesting. But then that premise was executed with some absolutely stunning prose that stole my breath away. This fic has an alluring quality that draws you in until you’re lost in the moment it encompasses just as deeply as the characters are. I’d linger for thousands of words more if I could.

~

If Any Lesser, I, by twodimensionaltrash (Bluesky: @/novelelitist.bsky.social) [General Audiences, 3k, One-Shot]

'A mighty paw swipes at him. He twists his upper body to evade and stumbles back. The demon’s leg passes through the spear like it’s nothing. Like he’s nothing. He hates it. Claws and fists. Teeth and nails. They push and pull, hunter and prey, switching roles on instinct. Andrius puts Xiao on his back foot. Xiao chases Andrius to the edge of cliffs. The laughter of children echoes in Xiao’s head, accompanied by the songs of a bard. Beneath the lowest notes there’s the roar of flames, the flicker of a candle before life burns out, and in the center of it, him. In the midst of a nightmare, Xiao is pulled into Venti's dreams.

The first thing that drew me to this fic was the characterization, which was both intimate and irreverent in a way that felt super refreshing to my thoroughly xiaoven-enchanted brain. Then it follows up with a super interesting discussion of karmic debt and erosion that puts a spin on the game’s portrayals of the phenomena and yet feels right at home in the setting all the same. This was my favorite fic from the Moonlight Melody anthology, and I’m just glad it got crossposted so I can sing its praises in this list!

~

collateral damage, by connections [Teen, 1.8k, One-Shot]

Another bite. Almonds carry only the smallest hint of bitterness with them that reminds him all the same of who he is, and of what he has done, and of how much it hurts. Another bite. He’s pretty sure he deserves this. Violence is the only language he has ever known.

This fic is more a Xiao character study with a dash of xiaoven for flavor, but I still wanted to include it as an example of finely-aged xiaoven vintage. Xiao’s desperation to be loved by Venti but also by Morax is palpable, an ever-tragic contrast against the weight of his karmic debts and the blood on his hands. It was a pleasant surprise to see the gentleness that this author gave to Xiao, especially with all the edge that the game characterized him with at the time. That gentleness has been important to me ever since I fell down the xiaoven rabbit hole, so there’s something nice about seeing it in a fic posted before I would have even known his name.

~

now i see (holding you close), by esperra [Explicit, 5.8k, One-Shot]

“Did that feel good?” Venti asks gently. He cups Xiao’s cheek; Xiao leans into the touch almost on instinct. “I don’t… I’ve never done this before,” Xiao says. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” “Whatever feels good, my love. That’s all that matters.”

As I’ve noted a couple times in the past in tag games and the like, xiaoven is actually pretty different from my previous shipping pedigree, and nothing reminds me of that more than the fact that a lot of xiaoven smut just isn’t to my personal tastes. This fic, however, managed to break that streak! If you’re looking for something steamy, this fic probably won’t do it for you, but if you enjoy the way that the relationships between characters can be explored through sexual intimacy, this is definitely one to read. I just think it’s sweet when two characters who love each other have sex that’s very deeply Okay and only love each other more for it.

~

carry my fears as the heavens set fire, by yanrans (Twitter: @/yanrans) [Teen, 25.6k, One-Shot]

“Dear Yaksha, do you remember me?” The boy wraps his hands around Xiao’s; even through his gloves, he can feel heat, thick and heady, sink deep into his skin. The fire licks his bones, clawing secrets in the cracks in its surface. Xiao knows better than to let himself burn, knows that Liyue is worth more than his scorched ashes, but this is a dream. This is a dream, so there are no battles to fight, no duties to follow. The boy can strike a match on Xiao’s skin, and Xiao can watch as all his armor dissolves in smoke. The boy tugs, and Xiao comes unmoored. In which Xiao and Venti meet in a series of dreams. Sort of.

There’s something quintessentially xiaoven about this fic that I could taste only a few thousand words in. This fic has it all, from Xiao’s desire to do good battling with his fear of hurting everything he touches, to Venti’s gentle insistence on working his way into Xiao’s good graces with his indomitable charm, all with a splash of corruption angst for a bit of extra spice. If you’re looking for canonverse fics, this definitely deserves to go on your list.

~

to be unbroken and brave again, by magicites (Bluesky: @/ellsyx.bsky.social) [Complete, Teen, 36.4k, 3/3 chapters]

“What could I possibly have to forgive you for?” Venti asks. What could Xiao say? There are so many answers. For trying to grant him freedom and only giving him the same power that’s doomed to tear him apart. For hearing that Morax died so long after he did. For starving for his touch so selfishly. For letting him be lonely. There’s so much; they tangle in his throat. “For making you wait,” he settles on. “Ehe, I'll forgive you, but only if you play a duet with me tomorrow." He has work to do, but— “Yes.” - How the duty-chained Anemo Archon and the Trickster Yaksha found freedom.

When it comes to a prompt as classic as a roleswap, it’s the details that really make a story, and this fic absolutely has it made. As the second returning author from last year, I’ve made it clear that I adore magicites’ work, but the way that she broke down Xiao and Venti’s characters and reconstructed them as a plausible Anemo Archon and Yaksha blew my mind as I was reading this fic. It’s the friction that arises from their roles that makes xiaoven a compelling ship: Venti as the Anemo Archon went out of his way to free not only his people but also himself from the chains of rulership that constrained them before, while Xiao as a Yaksha is bound to Liyue by his contract despite the freedom that he craves. For those roles to then be switched while having the conflicts that bind the characters remain is a truly impressive feat that makes this story totally worth the read.

~

A Surefire Guide to Wingmanning, by corviidae (@corviidaees) [Complete, Teen, 19.1k, 2/2 chapters]

Illuminated by the glow of gold-scorched parchment, the harsh lines of Xiao’s face smoothen into confusion, then resignation. He takes a steadying breath. “You aren’t leaving.” “I’m bound to you until I find you love,” Venti corrects. “Yeah, so you aren’t leaving.” “Wrong! I have a hot streak of success.” Venti claps his hands, the contract scrolling back up into non-existence. “Now that you understand, shall we start over? My name’s Venti, and I’m your assigned Cupid. Your wingman, if you will.” “... Xiao.” Or: Xiao is, maybe, a little in love with his Cupid. Venti does not catch on.

I first read this fic back in 2021 and had one particular line from it permanently branded into my memory (that you’re gonna have to read it to hear!), so I was delighted to find that it still holds up beautifully. This fic lives up to its “Sitcom” tag, because it managed to pull smiles and laughs out of me left and right as Venti tries (emphasis on tries) to find Xiao the perfect partner. It’s an incredibly sweet, comfy read, and I think that’s what we all need in our lives sometimes.

~

if these wings could fly, by MaximillianDelirium (@delirious-dove) [Complete, Teen, 145.7k, 35/35 chapters]

To Xiao, Barbatos was the embodiment of everything he was not: happy, free, fully confident in who he was. His music made the shadows in Xiao’s head retreat. They were all about living life to the fullest, having hope when the world was turned against you, and having fun (something that was almost entirely foreign to Xiao). And now he was going to have to give away all his albums, delete Barbatos’ songs off his phone, and never listen to his music again. Just looking at the albums lined up on the shelf made Xiao cringe. He’d thought that if he ever did get a chance to meet his idol, it would be in a controlled space. He would have said something normal, like, Your music means a lot to me. Then he would’ve shaken Barbatos’ hand, gotten an autograph, and lived out the rest of his life in peace. Xiao’s idol had watched him punch a guy in the stomach. Since Zhongli's early retirement, Xiao's life has been aimless. But a chance encounter sets him on a new and uncharted path.

It only took another year, but in the end I managed to complete the trifecta of xiaoven idol aus. This is one of those fics where you can blink and suddenly five chapters have gone by, because it’s just that engrossing. It has all of the drama and intrigue that one would expect from a celebrity au while still maintaining the typical, down-to-earth chemistry that draws Xiao and Venti together. You know a story is good when it has me pulling out the popcorn for miscommunication plotlines instead of closing the tab, and it’s not only xiaoven, but the entirety of the well-loved ensemble cast that come together to make this the enthralling story that it is.

~

Extra Recs: Not only does this fic have a beautiful epilogue where xiaoven get the happily ever after that they deserve, but there’s also an entire series that features several of the side pairings from this fic’s universe, which are also worth checking out!

~

That's a wrap on another year! If you got this far, thank you so much, and I hope I've given you some new fics for your to-read list! This year, I feel like I did a lot more reading back compared to the year before. Some of these fics I only read because they were recommended to me by fellow fans, which I appreciate so much, but it could also mean that there are fewer hidden gems this year than the last, so I hope you can forgive me.

I'm looking forward to what next year will bring, and hopefully I'll be back with even more fics to share! Happy holidays to all, and much love <3

[picklesthenonbeanary]

Everyone on here has such cool click clack ideas! like omg!!! I think it’s time that I share the one that I’ve made for an au idea I have, had them for about a week and I love them but I’m still trying to get details down for the au and all, still in the planning stage and like this is my first time really actually doing this.

Anyways, click clack design be upon you!

I turned him into a plushie guys and I love him!

More info/rant undercut

This au is gonna be on the more body horror side and I would love to info dump about it once my brain gives me more ideas to write down but honestly I think his design for the au turned out good, their modeled after a teddy bear and I tried to make the face and eyes similar to one as much as I could for just concept sketches

Anyways lemme know if anyone wants an info dump on the au,

been trying to get as much down as I can for it but obviously having your attention split while brain storming isn’t the best. Probably gonna make an info dump either way just the get the brain juices pumping but how much I share in an actual post is gonna depend on how willing I think people are to hear about it tbh. I don’t wanna talk about something nobodies gonna care much about

Um anyways new au idea underways, gonna try and write a story about it but I currently only have a beginning and vague concept of how I want it to end and nothing in between so far so we will see. Would love to trouble shoot with someone but I currently don’t have anyone to do that with so… feel free to reach out if you wanna try helping tho, i've got like litterally no friends in/into the comunitiy so it would be kinda nice

Probably gonna turn out sloppy but so is the ways of life, better to make sthat is bad then nothing at all

[crowdusk]

One Piece Chapter 1132: Adventure in Elbaph (thoughts & predictions for the arc)

Part 2 here.

[These are the feverish autism-fuelled thoughts I wrote out after reading chapter 1132 because I was overtaken by the urge to connect some dots (I did edit a bit to hopefully be more coherent). I didn't engage with any other reviews or theories on Elbaph apart from quite general ones before reading this, so it'll be cool to see if other people have similar ones. Wasn't sure whether to post this but I wanted to put it somewhere before chapter 1133 came out and next week's break so it doesn't just sit on my laptop for me to forget about, and more importantly so I can refer back to it and see if anything I said was even vaguely correct. It's a monster and I don't have time to do a proper editing process so please kindly look away from any mistakes and poor structuring. One of the really fun aspects of serialised storytelling for me is theorising and analysis, even if it makes a fool of me more often than not. I'm not expecting to be right but it's fun when that happens!]

This also ended up being, uh, Very Long. There is a chapter review part with some thoughts on the arc, and then there are thematic sections where I got more into detail about what I think Elbaph will explore. This whole thing will be split into multiple posts because of Tumblr's limit, but there will be links to the different sections/posts. Ok, end of intro.

Overall thoughts on the chapter

Firstly, this chapter was so fun. It had all the familiar thrill and excitement of a new island and adventure, with some wonderful panels (rainbow-sailing, Bonney and Robin, the Elbaph village). We had ‘Adventure in the Land of Mystery’, and the suspense was interesting, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one extremely confused (especially because of the mistakes). From what I saw the whole fandom was essentially the when ur whole crew doesn’t know a damn thing meme. But I’m glad Oda had his fun with the fake introduction to Elbaph, which also helped set up Luffy meeting Loki and the delay in receiving Vivi’s message amongst other things. 

1132 really feels like quintessential early One Piece where we’re off to a running start now that we’re finally sure we’re where we want to be. Love to see the Strawhats get somewhere, play around, and immediately cause chaos. It’s somehow packed with new information and fast-paced, while feeling like we get a bit of a breather from plot-intensity after Egghead. 

I’m also, of course, incredibly happy we’re finally getting to see Elbaph in all its much-anticipated glory. The natural features of the island – especially the landscape, the scale, elements like the rainbows and the giant tree as a living support–  make it feel extra fantastical and wondrous beyond what I, at least, had imagined. Hats off to Oda and especially his assistants for the gorgeous Rivendell-Zelda-Skyrim vibes in the village introduction spread. I love a fantasy-style nature-based environment, and I don’t think we’ve had that in a while. Wano and Egghead had some incredible settings too, of course, but the story felt a lot more people-centric once they got to the islands. Here, the landscape really becomes a character of its own in the same way it did in say, Zou (quite literally). In fact, Yggdrasil is both alive and ancient, just like Zunesha. I’m looking forward to seeing how that feeds into the story. 

I'm also very glad that Oda is leaning into that and giving us those wide-angle shots. He doesn’t always get perspective and scale exactly right, but I personally don’t mind – the man knows how to draw an impactful double-spread. I can’t un-know the fact that the Sunny is supposed to be more than twice the height of Goldberg, who’s carrying it, but it doesn’t ruin anything for me. I’m used to Oda just doing shit like that because he wants/needs the Sunny to be carried around like a toy. It would be such a shame if we got to Elbaph and we only got smaller views or workarounds in order to avoid the challenges of scale and perspective. 

On top of that, one of my favourite parts of the One Piece experience is finally having puzzle pieces and references fall into place after arcs and years – like the architecture and landscape we recognise from Big Mom’s flashback. We've been waiting for this for over 20 years! More than 1000 chapters! I love this manga. I love it here. The sequence of the rainbow bridge leading into finally getting to see the village was lovely, and as a huge Skypiea lover, I am having a great time. Seeing our experience reflected in Luffy and especially Usopp’s reactions was also beautifully moving. I’m glad they were highlighted and we had the flashback to Little Garden to really drive it home.  

On the plot side,  we’re slowly building a picture of the variation in how different giants feel about humans. We have Gerd and Rodo, who both have strong feelings in completely opposing ways. Where Gerd infantilises humans in her fascination with them, Loki and Rodo clearly seem to think they are inferior. It remains to be seen what other perspectives exist in Elbaph. Is there real resentment or hatred from those like Loki and Rodo, or do they generally just think giants are superior due to their strength and size? Regardless, it feels like Oda is slowly setting us up to understand that there are different groups of giants with different beliefs even within Elbaph (we already know Saul is not from there and considers them ‘barbarians’). Just as in any society there are surely faultlines and disagreements, and their relationship to humans – and maybe even the world at large – might very well be a point of tension within the kingdom. 

Speaking of points of tension, it’s obviously very ominous that Luffy has made a promise to Loki, particularly since we don’t know the specifics of it. Oda has cleverly given us only a glimpse of the very end of that conversation in relation to Luffy’s famous difficulty with lying and we’ll see how long he decides to tease us with it. He could definitely give us that information in dribs and drabs to keep us guessing, but I also think most of us are probably right in guessing that Luffy promised to free Loki, even if we don’t know if he wanted anything in return. Honestly, the first time we even saw Loki in chains I thought oh Luffy’s 100% going to free that man, and I know I’m not the only one. 

Regardless of exactly how and when we see that conversation, I imagine we'll see Luffy’s actions start to confirm and clarify our suspicions. For example, if he did agree to free Loki and needs to retrieve the key, then he might well start making moves to do that soon (although after the feast, of course – nothing comes before a metric ton of meat). I also think it will be very interesting – and comical – to see Luffy try and execute a stealth operation, because as we’ve seen time and time again, that is the opposite of his forte. He’s bad at lying, he’s bad at keeping secrets, and he’s bad at doing things with subtlety. So I’m looking forward to seeing how Luffy deals with that – whether he manages to keep it a secret from everyone or if, as I suspect, he ropes in at least one of the other Strawhats, even if by accident. Take your guesses! There’s a whole range of options ranging from experts (Nami, Robin, Brook) to the sneak mission equivalent of throwing a grenade onto a presidential lawn (...Zoro).

My more specific pet theory when it comes to Luffy’s meeting with Loki is that I would not be surprised if in one of the upcoming chapters up we get a sort of split screen set up with Hajrudin or an equivalent giant on one side, explaining more about Loki’s deeds and why they imprisoned him, and the flashback to Luffy’s conversation with him on the other. We know from DorryBrogy (yes I’m using that now) that Hajrudin wanted to come and retrieve the Strawhats from Egghead himself, but ultimately couldn’t because of “some (Loki-related) trouble back on Elbaph”. It would make sense to me if Hajrudin explains in more detail what happened that prevented him from sailing to Egghead, and tells us more about Loki himself. At the same time that Hajrudin is talking about the terrible things Loki has done, we get the penny-drop of Luffy flashing back to his agreement to free said evil man. 

It’s a perfect storytelling device in this medium, especially when it comes to revealing important (and in this case stomach-dropping) information to us as omniscient readers. We saw something slightly similar most recently during Vegapunk’s speech, which Oda used to clearly signpoint us to characters and their links to mentions of important information in the speech, (e.g. showing Shirahoshi, Vivi and Momo when talking about the ancient weapons). Of course that was very different in tone and intention compared to what the Loki reveal I’m hypothesising would be like, but I’m mainly just trying to highlight the use of the manga medium and how it lends itself to this kind of layering. I’m sure Oda’s done something much closer to what I’m thinking of before, but in all honesty I can’t recall an example right now. Regardless, I could be completely off the mark (I am just a little jester honestly), but we know Oda loves his dramatic reveals and drumbeats so I’m willing to put this out there. 

I am also particularly interested to see how Luffy will react to the information about Loki. Will he dislike Loki but still go through with it? Will he disagree with Hajrudin and the other giants? Will it change nothing for him? I think Luffy won’t go back on his promise no matter what information is revealed, but knowing Luffy, he also might just not really pay attention or care what Loki’s done. It will mainly be for us as readers, and the rest of the Strawhats, to decide how we feel about it. We know that Elbaph has very strong values and rules, especially surrounding their warrior culture – ones like honour, strength, and probably truth/honesty. I’m waiting to see whether what Loki’s done is considered bad specifically within Elbaph culture, or whether they’re just terrible in general. This is why in my opinion Loki won’t be A Classic Villain, because I don’t think the central conflict in Elbaph will be as simple as just Loki vs the rest of the giants and Strawhats. There’s too much ambiguity present.

Plus, we haven’t seen Luffy’s instinct about people go wrong yet. The first time he met Blackbeard they immediately started fighting, even if it was about something as stupid as food preferences. He hated Doflamingo the minute he met him. Even Buggy couldn’t actually betray him, despite wanting to. If Luffy generally trusts someone, we know that means they’re trustworthy or at least even if not at the beginning, he wins them over or is able to deal with the untrustworthiness in a way that makes it irrelevant. 

Of course, Loki could prove the exception to the rule, but we know that part of Luffy’s strength is understanding and seeing through people. It would take a lot for Loki to fully trick or betray him, since Luffy just does what he wants and deals with the consequences as they arise. He’ll be more than happy to fight Loki if he threatens something/someone he cares about. To be clear, I’m not saying Loki is a threat at all – I do think his desire to “destroy the world” means mass violence, but Luffy doesn’t tend to care about larger villainous plans until they directly affect his loved ones. He’s also the first ‘evil’ character so far who’s been shown to have very obvious parallels and similarities with Luffy, so even if he is an antagonist, I expect it to be in a way we haven’t seen before (more on that later). 

Another possibility is that Loki and certain other giants have a strong dislike of humans, and therefore want them off the island as quickly as possible. This would also align with Louis Arnot’s warning about not overstaying your welcome. I imagine not everyone on Elbaph is inclined to be friendly to humans, and there might even be other people (other kinds of giants, or non-giants) living on the island. It feels like Oda has strongly emphasised that Warland is only a kingdom on the island of Elbaph, implying that there might be other groups of people – or even countries – sharing the land mass (perhaps on the Astral level?). To me, it feels like Elbaph is holding some kind of secret that makes it particularly dangerous. Maybe, like in Skypiea, there is a forbidden area in Elbaph that is off-limits to people (prime candidate being the Astral/Celestial realm) whether to maintain that secret or perhaps for spiritual reasons. Trespassing could incur serious danger or punishment, and we can probably predict exactly what will happen if a certain captain hears about it. 

And there are other ways I think Elbaph will parallel Skypiea. The Strawhats first connected with the Skypieans (Conis and her father) and were quickly thrown into conflict with both Enel and his forces (including the White Berets) as well as the Shandians who weren’t too happy about outsiders. They had to work with the different groups against Enel, and as part of that, prove to the Shandians that they were trustworthy. The Shandians, who had the crucial connection to the Ancient Kingdom and the poneglyph. We might see a similar situation in Elbaph where the Strawhats have to prove to a group of people (maybe outsiders to Elbaph’s society, maybe those who distrust humans) that they are trustworthy so that they can all unite to fight against a bigger foe like the World Government. It remains to be seen who that might be, but this would also be an opportunity for Oda to give the Strawhats even more people, groups and allies who believe in Luffy’s power. 

Additionally, both Skypiea and Alabasta were countries in the midst of internal conflict – specifically over natural resources – when the Strawhats arrived, and in both of those cases the actions of the crew helped end the wars. Elbaph might be similar. In both of those arcs the conflicts had roots in the secrets of the Void Century, be it because the Shandians were protecting their ancestral lands and the poneglyph after being persecuted by the World Government, or Crocodile’s desire to gain control of Pluton. The giants of Elbaph seem to be one of the only groups of people who have maintained a consistent sun god worship, probably not for lack of the World Government trying to wipe it out (their strength will certainly have served them in that regard). On top of that, I’m sure there’s other crucial information, not just from the Ohara library, that the giants have managed to protect regarding ancient history. If we think about their lifespans, the Void Century was only a few generations back for them, so there may be important oral histories that have been passed down from elders. It’s clear that this is a culture with strong links to the secrets of the past, like the Shandians and the royal family of Alabasta. Though the wars in those countries were exacerbated by many other factors, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see something similar in Elbaph – some tension that relates to events further back in history, and maybe even the Void Century.

Loki, Luffy, and the power of myth

My current theory on Loki is that he believes he is the new Joyboy, and/or an incarnation of Nika/the sun god from Elbaph’s myths (in the same way that King believed Kaido to be Joyboy). We don’t know yet whether Elbaph is polytheistic – Nika/the sun god might just be one of their deities – but if we use Rodo’s weird RPG cage world as a reference, he did create a bunch of different minor ‘gods’. Elbaph itself might have a similar system, with the Sun God being the most important deity. Regardless, we know that Nika is important in their culture, given Dorry and Brogy’s immediate recognition of Luffy in Gear 5 and the celebration of the Winter Solstice as the return of the sun in Big Mom’s flashback. We’ve also seen the painters being called sunstones, which is reminiscent of Vegapunk’s pursuit of solar technology and the Motherflame, and the giants live on the Sun level of Yggdrasil. On top of that, the Underworld – where people are sent for punishment – is specifically noted to lack sunlight. We already know that the sun in One Piece’s world is associated with Nika (liberation, joy), but in terms of general symbolism the sun is also linked to clarity, truth and perception. 

This is why I think questions of faith, belief and truth will be so important to answering what makes Elbaph’s giants such mighty warriors, what kind of devotion do they have, and how do their beliefs and worship link to collective liberation in the One Piece world, both historically and in the present? 

Oda is also going to get meta in this arc, I believe (even more obviously than he already does). I'll get into this more later, but the Lego kidnapping introduction already served to set up important questions. What is reality, and what is fantasy/illusion? Whose world are we in? Who are the storytellers and what are the different ways stories are lived and told? What is their nature, function and importance? There are going to be many layers in this arc and it's narration, encompassing past present and future, and I think Oda will play with form to achieve this (off the top of my head - the adventurer's log voice of Louis Arnot, to flashbacks, to legends told by the giants, to reading the texts of Ohara...). Contradictory stories, multiple perspectives on one narrative, and different but coexisting truths might well all come into play as important.

Speaking of one type of story, myths and legends are the vessels of belief, and it’s likely the Elbaph culture includes and centres many related to Nika and Joyboy. In fact, this was already mentioned by DorryBrogy (“they tell tales about this god in Elbaph”). I don’t think we’ve had direct confirmation yet, but I’m sure the giants had a connection to the Ancient Kingdom and may very well have preserved information from the Void Century by virtue of their fighting strength, passing stories down across generations, despite the World Government’s best efforts. I also think those stories handed down from the Void Century (maybe even from the first Joyboy, or Roger) may have included some kind of prophecy that Joyboy/the Sun God will destroy the world when he returns (similar to Madam Shyarly’s prophecy about Luffy destroying Fishman Island). If that’s the case, Loki could very well think he’s the chosen one to do so. 

Of course, we know that the final war will likely involve some form of physical destruction (Fishman Island amongst other things) – and there are many theories around that – but to me, the idea is most importantly metaphorical. The world as it is needs to drastically, fundamentally change (including materially), which requires the destruction of things as they are so that the dawn can arrive. Loki’s interpretation, in contrast, could very well be a literal and narrower one involving setting everything on fire Ragnarok-style, hence the other giants imprisoning him to stop him. The way they’ve referred to him as having “a few screws loose” also suggests they think he’s mad or maybe delusional, which makes sense if he’s claiming to be an incarnation of their sun god. His belief may in fact be so pure that it is extreme. As Oda is making clear over and over, you cannot choose to be a god – myths and gods are made by people’s collective belief. I don’t think we’ll ever see Luffy declaring himself to be Nika or even Joyboy for that very reason. 

Luffy is god-like sometimes, but he isn’t one (“Luffy’s not a god, he’s just an idiot!”) nor would he want to be treated as one. Luffy doesn’t even know he’s the new Joyboy, or who Nika is, and what his Gear 5 powers are. If the giants try to project any kind of divine responsibility or title onto him, Luffy will absolutely not care – he refuses to be anything other than himself in all his freedom. However, he does have a great amount of care for friends and is willing to go to any lengths to help them, so we’ll have to see which characters act as those anchors for his desire to fight during this arc. 

I think we’ll see a lot of complex and interweaving traits with Luffy and Loki, as characters who have many similarities but also fundamental differences. Luffy pretty much can't lie, whereas I'm guessing Loki is pretty good at it. Luffy is selfish in his words but his actions help the collective, whereas I could see Loki causing widespread harm but claiming selflessness and doing collective good (e.g. cleansing the world via Ragnarok). Loki claims his godhood fully, demanding respect and imposing obedience, believing fully that he is fit to command others. Luffy doesn’t demand faith, he inspires it.

Indeed, Oda has clearly set up Loki to parallel Luffy in the past few chapters. They had very similar childhoods where they spent a lot of time alone in the wilderness and befriended beasts – in Loki’s case, in the frozen outcast space of Elbaph. This is particularly interesting given he’s a prince – we have to wonder why. Like Luffy, he seems to have humorous and silly traits like getting people’s names wrong, which is an exact copy of what Luffy does. He also has an older brother in Hajrudin, like Luffy with Ace and Sabo, although we don’t know the nature of his relationship with Hajrudin. Were they close growing up and then there was conflict later because of Loki’s actions? Were they always at odds? I wouldn’t be surprised if Loki’s strength wasn’t in his physicality but more so in his cunning and intelligence, which might not have been celebrated or seen favourably as what was expected of an Elbaph prince, in contrast to Hajrudin better fitting the mold. This theory is mostly based on Norse mythology, where both the god Loki and the jötnar Utgarda-Loki are associated with trickery and illusions. It would also mean Loki flaunts the rules of Elbaph warrior culture, making use of strategy, intelligence, language and mischief to win his battles. If Loki was seen as strange or not quite fitting into society and expectations, he may have just chosen to isolate himself and spend time in the Underworld with his animal friends. Alternatively, maybe he was sent down there by his father to get stronger, in the same way Garp threw Luffy into the jungle. 

With all that said, I’m particularly interested to see what his devil fruit is – initially I thought it could be a mythological zoan, which I believe is still very possible, but I could also see it being related to these themes of magic and illusion. The one thing I’m unsure of in this regard is Loki referring to himself as the strongest in Elbaph. Is it because of his devil fruit? Does he mean something different to strength in combat? Was he just lying? That remains to be seen. 

We also don't know what Loki did yet, but I think a lot of the themes of this arc are going to be about the values of Elbaph and how different people come up against them. I’m particularly interested in our dear captain Luffy, of course, and how he relates to those rules, because Luffy’s whole character is about pure freedom regardless of what’s happening around him. The only form of bond that Luffy accepts is those of love, friendship and connection with people (often conveyed through food, as we know). Of course, it could be that Luffy doesn’t particularly come up against Elbaph’s rules (we didn’t really see him in tension with the samurai code in Wano) but I have a feeling that the challenges of this arc will be a complex set of tensions – buried information, the overarching evil of the World Government, the consequences of history, the values of a war-based society, and how those have shaped the people of the island they’re on. 

Even Luffy’s embodiment of something Nika-like in Gear 5 goes against stereotypical expectations of a ‘warrior’. He is a warrior, but the epithet isn’t complete without the liberation aspect. He doesn’t follow any rules but his own when he fights – in his freest form he can literally bend the rules of space and material (maybe even time). He is so strong not just because he can smash things, but because he is completely unpredictable, silly and joyful – only limited by his own imagination. I also think it will be really interesting to see what Elbaph’s version of Nika is like, because people and societies shape gods, and they can evolve over time. It would be fascinating if Elbaph’s version of Nika is more of a stereotypical kind of war(rior) god. We’ve had mentions of their warrior god before, with the belief that the winner of a duel is the one chosen by that deity, so fighting itself – and the glory of victory – is clearly sacred to them. It may well be that their warrior god is a separate being to Nika, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out to be a version of Nika that has been shaped by their society’s dominant values. And maybe that is also the version that Loki thinks he is or has warped to fit his desire for violence and destruction.

Part 2 here (ft. strength???, summoning a princess, gay technology and shadow the hedgehog)