#isn't it great how pirates can be so free with each other in their good friendships

[beanghostprincess]

Not to keep beating a dead horse so to speak, but circling back to how the anime handles the Shuggy breakup it is personally the first time I've fully understood people who say the manga is way better & the "true" story because on the whole I think the anime is a really good adaption....except for this omg. I haven't read the manga fully either yet so now I'm wondering what else got a totally different vibe than intended & how that colors the perception of the story & characters. For instance, I'm already seeing anime onlys completely misinterpret Buggy's feelings in the shuggy breakup probably because of how brief it was.

I've had arguments in comments sections about people who do not think Buggy wanted to be Pirate King himself & his anger with Shanks isn't tied to him secretly sacrificing his OWN dream to follow him. To me the manga made it very clear that Buggy was making a great personal sacrifice in order to stay with his friend & how that all ties into his own insecurities, but a ton of anime onlys only saw it as Buggy being a whiny baby & not realizing how deep of a conflict Shanks refusing to look for the One Piece was for them 😭 and it's so frustrating! They just think Buggy is being "ungrateful" for everything Shanks did for him. I'm tired of the Shuggy dynamic being viewed so one sidedly in Shanks's favor & Buggy's detriment because they both narratively hold equal amounts of significance to each other. We just haven't been allowed to explore Shanks's side of it...yet. Oda kept Shanks's face obscured for a reason I'm sure.

And since the anime didn't frame it correctly Buggy's speech to Cross Guild about reigniting your dreams & setting sail for Laugh Tale loses all seriousness & comes off as just another gag instead & it breaks my heart because in the Manga while there is humor in it Buggy's tears are REAL & you can literally feel the spirit of One Piece flow through his speech. That speech shows us Buggy is a TRUE pirate! He ALSO inhereted Roger's will! I could literally feel the "I'm gunna become king of the pirates" OST from the anime play as I read it, but the anime framed it like another one of Buggy's "upward fialures" 💔 and it breaks my heart anime onlys don't get that. Imagine if Luffy gave up on his dream & finally after 30 years decided to believe in himself again? Imagine If Usopp really did give up in Water 7 & we didn't see him find the will to believe in himself until 39 years later? Buggy is an example of forgotten dreams & a lesson on it never being too late to go after them.

So I completely agree with you that it doesn't matter how little panel time a moment gets because if Oda can convey all of THAT in like 3 panels then the anime can do so and then some in a minute or 2. I also can't help but think this will confuse viewers later on because I'm certain Buggy is going to get to do some really cool & meaningful stuff in the last arc & a lot of them will feel blindsided because the set up was executed weirdly.

Sorry for sending such a long post & feel free to ignore If ur tired of discussing this I just wanted to give you some validation &let you know you're not the only one who thinks this way. Adaptation has a lot more going into it than just copying manga panels & the a good anime should definitely know when to expand on brief scenes & how to set the correct mood for them.

Oh, please, if it's not a negative ask you can keep sending me stuff about the episode and the breakup all you want!!! I'm just tired of having to defend my opinion. As if it wasn't just that, an opinion. But I'm sooo open to talk about it!!

And you're right!!! It bothers me so much to just think about how Anime Onlys are going to perceive this episode... If Buggy is already misunderstood within the fandom, I can't imagine what's gonna happen now that HIS episode has gotten this awful pacing and explanation (I complain but I've watched the episode so many times already lmao)

People misunderstand their relationship so much and in such levels... I don't get it because it's literally right there. You can't miss it. They're canonically crucial for each other no matter how you see it. It IS mutual whatever they have going on. I know we don't have much of Shanks' POV but you don't even have to read between the lines to see it.

And Buggy being seen as whiny because he has... Feelings... And is emotional... After his whole life crumbles down... Idk about you but if I lived in my best friend's shadow for years and gave up on my dream to trust in his instead, and suddenly when our captain dies he says he won't follow it... I'd be pretty fucking emotional too tbh. I could defend Buggy all day long and explain his character, but I believe I've done that already... So many times... (I love it it's my favorite thing ever)

I love your comparisons to other characters giving up on their dreams because it's so real. Buggy is the representation of people who once gave up on their dream and now are getting the courage back to follow it again. His speech is so emotional I think I know it by heart at this point with how many times I've read this chapter. I always cry-- Every time-- And I'm sooo angry Toei made the episode for laughs basically. It frustrates me in unimaginable ways.

Buggy is gonna do something incredible and people will complain and say it was out of nowhere because his speech in the Anime seems for jokes and like one of his schemes to get away from his problems. But this man was literally having a breakdown in the middle of a torture session and made an impulsive, emotional decision that came from the depths of his heart, because he had been holding onto it for his whole life. That's what bothers me about the animation. The pacing is bad and the way they treat him is even worse...

Don't apologize!!!!! I loved reading this. You expressed yourself sooo well and in such a polite way!!! Basically, you wrote everything I thought about the episode and I'm so glad to finally talk to someone with my same views 😭💖💖

[georg-prime]

On Agatha All Along eps 8-9

I'm feel about the same as @p-taryn-dactyl's answer and @ennn in this post.

But yeah I'm really disappointed that we didn't have a full Agatha backstory. Nothing about why her mother was so bent on thinking she was evil from birth, nor anything about her and Rio's beginnings. I do appreciate they took the time to show us her life with her son, to really show how desperate she was to keep him alive and how she just embraced the killings right after her double heartbreak (losing her son that way, Rio taking him while she was asleep etc). But then it took time from other things. So I hope there's still a possibility we learn more things about her while a chatty ghost but we'll, this was supposed to be her show first, next time we see her it probably won't be centered on her.

Also not really happy about is how they really went there with Billy having created the Road. Not only I fear the fighting between fans now (I sure as hell wish one day I could be in a fandom were people wouldn't be aweful to each other or to actors/crew members etc, like wishing death on people wth!!? or even on beloved characters that's just mean), but also it means that they used this opportunity of introducing him by already kind of giving him the guilt and trauma from the Mother arc in Young Avengers 2. So that means they did this, taking it away from being a YA story, and either never having him do that again and so not really exploring the full "reality bending powers so huge they can alter the world and he isn't controlling them yet but his friends and love are here with him and he is the Demiurge" story, or they would make him do that again in some other story and I think that would be worse... Nobody would need such a plot a third time after this and Wandavision. I understand, "parallels" and all, but no 3rd.

Not much infos about Death too, I was hoping for at least some answers to my questions here. There will be other occasions (but I don't have much hope on this front, I fear other writers would more likely just make her a joke character, to just be there looking sexy and weird, flirting with some dude, without much depth 🤔).

Then Alice.

I can appreciate the bitter sweet realization that she did indeed fulfill her purpose at least once. But ugh, a white woman who already lived very very long, and it was a very long psychopathic life, got saved then while the Asian quite young for a witch and very kind person, who barely got her chance at a good life freed from her curse, dies protecting her? Not a good look for this show. I do enjoy seeing Agatha being the equivalent of a pirate, just enjoying life doing crimes, free in a patriarchal world, but not at this kind of cost and without real consequences (she'll get a chance at life back surely).

I'm just glad that at least Jen got a second chance. After having suffered for a whole century as a Black woman, so not exactly having much rights for a big part of it (they didn't think this through when they cast her I bet, it should have been at least mentioned), alone and with nothing to her name, because of said white woman - I was worried they also go there and it would be part of the 'haha it was Agatha all along " thing, but hoped they won't... anyway that also sting man.

I guess I'm also disappointed about the lack of answer to Billy's question if he is Billy or William, and no apparently recovering much memories, but I'm guessing they might tell that story an other time. Maybe.

Basically I did like this show, it had a lot of good things, awesome visuals and costumes, good directing & cinematography, great cast, interesting characters. But it is super disturbing to me how writers don't seem to understand they can't just kill a bunch of characters they made the viewers love, so easily/quickly/kind of cheaply. The only death here who is really acceptable imo was Lilia's, it was indeed the choice of a long lived person who saved several people in doing so and will have several long lasting effects (getting Agatha rid of the Salem Seven, giving advice and his book to Billy, having Jen trust and care for other witches again). Sharon being played for laughs is now in fact a serious guilty memory to Billy, even though it's an accident in this situation in his part and very much Agatha's fault (she brought the 'civilian' there, what was she going to do to her anyway after killing the other 3 like she was originally planning, just let her go? I somehow doubt it 😅), and while he already feels guilty about how he and Tommy are still alive, plus the whole Alice's case, that's kind of cruel frankly.

Anyway, I'm still going to hope that Secret Wars will bring us Alice from an alternate reality, that they don't screw up the Young Avengers too much, and that the lessons about optimizing a show/movie's budget with good practical effects and art and time, will be learned.Next generation of writers please be less homicidal with the characters. Keep the open mindedness of this generation when it comes to queer stories and the concept of intricate plots of the 2000-2010's dark area, add the low stakes fun adventures of the previous generations, and let's try and be more mindful of the racism, I see this gen is trying but they don't get it yet clearly.We'll get there 🤞

[aceofwhump]

Hey!! How do I get into making gifs? Any tips for a beginner? I literally know nothing about it just that the I'd like to start. Also is not having photoshop a big obstacle?

Hi there! Yeah I can give you some tips to get started! Keep in mind I use windows to make my gifs and not a mac.

So to get into gifmaking you don't need to have photoshop. If you find that you enjoy making gifs I do recommend you look into getting photoshop (and there are ways of getting it without paying *raises pirate flag*) but to start there are several online programs you can use.

Here's a few that i've used before I learned how to do it in photoshop:

photopea

ezgif

giphy

imgflip

makeagif

This is an excellent tutorial to using photopea to make gifs

Each one of those will allow you make a basic gif. For complex coloring, sharpening, layouts, typography, blending, etc you'll want to upgrade to using photoshop because the quality is just way better and you can do so much more but when you're just wanting to get start all of these websites are great places to learn.

I also recommend learning how to take screencaps because I find it's a lot easier to make gifsets using screencaps than it is to try and screen record, cut, and upload videos.

My recommendation for screencapping is KMPlayer. It's a video player that you download to your computer and has a very easy way to save screencaps. Then you can just upload the jpgs into whatever program you're using to make gifs.

I made a basic gif making tutorial using photoshop and kmplayer here if you want to take a look at it.

Basic gifmaking steps:

Get your video. You can download it through pirating sites or use dvds or screen record. I download from sites like soap2day.to.

Take screen caps of the specific scene you want to gif OR cut your video to just the scene you want

Upload either clip or jpgs into the chosen program

Set the speed

Do any trimming of the scene and/or cropping the sides you want to do

If your program allows you (some don't) you can sharpen it, brighten the colors, add text

Then just save it as a .gif

Some other things:

The higher quality video, the better quality gif. 1080 is better than 720. Try to get a nice quality video if you can

Some websites will have a watermark on it that can't be removed so keep that in mind. Another reason why I prefer using photoshop.

Try to keep the gif either the same speed as the episode or just a little slower. Too fast isn't good.

That's all I got for now! If you have any other questions please feel free ask! I'd be happy to help with anything!

[melonteee]

I've seen a ton of people on the internet praise the One Piece live action adaptation to high heavens and back and it's just confusing to me. I've even seen people claim that the anime adaptation "CURSE" is broken. Which like, for me, yes and no. Does it look good? For the most part yes but appearances does not make it an automatically good adaptation.

I've recently discovered your content last year and I thoroughly enjoy what you make and agree with your opinions on a lot of things. So when I found your responses to a few asks regarding what your opinions are with the adaptation my enthusiasm did take a bit of a nose dive. But I did want to watch it for myself so I can make my own opinions and see if I agree with yours or not.

20 minutes in and, oh boy, is it something. I can absolutely see what you mean when you say that this show is struggling with being faithful to the source material and trying to be its own thing. One moment they're trying to do their own original content and the next they're trying to shove things about one piece into your face and make you say "oh look it's One Piece!"

And the characters! The interactions between Koby and Luffy felt off. Some moments it feels like I'm watching Luffy and the next he's doing and saying things that Luffy wouldn't do. And that entire time he's shoving down Koby's throat that "you should be free" "Alvida shouldn't be telling you what to do" "If I was a pirate and I did that I wouldn't have left my Island". It's true that he does embody the sense of freedom but he doesn't blatantly tell someone it. He does it completely subtle and unknowingly. It felt like he was trying to shove the theme of freedom down my throat.

And not only does Koby not even tell us what his dream is, but he doesn't even earn inspiration to be braver or stand up to Alvida. Luffy does. And he does it in such a snarky way that it feels purposeful rather than Luffy just saying that without thinking and it happens to be mean.

Don't even get me started on Luffy's backstory and Zoro's introduction.

I know I've only seen the FIRST 20 minutes of the FIRST episode but if this is how it's going to end up being for the rest of the season I'm not going to feel too eager to watch it. There are some things I like but they're far in between each other.

Yeah there's a real issue within the first episode regarding that, when Luffy is being an ORIGINAL Netflix Luffy, he works great! It's a fun and charming version! But then they have him say lines straight from the manga, and they have him trying to replicate manga Luffy, but at this point - Netflix Luffy and manga Luffy are two different characters. So they got Netflix Luffy being aware, and then they shove in manga Luffy being an impulsive, goofy idiot. And suddenly you're stuck with this blaringly obvious contrast of character, and it feels like you're seeing two different people.

It literally works fine as a show, but their struggle in knowing what to keep and what to change has just left them with this weird Frankenstein Luffy that is and isn't himself, and same can be said for Zoro and Nami. It felt like a push and pull and I felt weird about it lmao

From the first episode alone, I would honestly say that this series fails as a One Piece adaptation, but works fine as a One Piece inspiration. I'd hesitate to call this "the live action version" when it feels less like an adaptation and more like an interpretation.

[viktorclawthorne]

Why I think the Garp, Koby, and Helmeppo side plot in opla is great - a silly little essay

This includes One Piece Live Action spoilers as well as a bit of Marineford

B4 we start: this is all just my opinion and thoughts I had while watching the live action.

I might've gotten some stuff wrong, or you may disagree with me. Also, English isn't my first language

I'm not expecting anyone to actually see this, I just need to write it down

Firstly, I find the choice of including Koby and Garp more early on very interesting, they did a great job showcasing the corruption within the Marines and also how toxic and even abusive Garp is (Helmeppo literally says so).

Koby is the first character we see be friends with Luffy, making us like and empathize with him. They go separate ways and after that, they parallel each other in many ways; Koby has a very strong sense of justice, just like Luffy, He wants to protect people, which Luffy is shown to do a lot. Other than Koby however, Luffy prioritizes his freedom, while Koby joins the Marines because he believes he can protect people that way.

They tell each other to “Be a good Pirate” and “Be a good Marine”, With their similarities Koby serves as a great tool to show throughout the season how corrupt the marines are, especially compared to the freedom of pirates like Luffy.

We meet Mihawk in the context of him getting a call from Garp, immediately showing the connection between Marines and Pirates. When this gets explained to Koby - and therefore also the viewer - he first realizes how corrupt the system of the Marines is. Helmeppo explains: “Warlords exist, so the marines don't have to do the dirty work”.

In Shells Town we’re led to believe that Helmeppo is “stupid and bad” and Koby is “smart and good” but later on we learn that Helmeppo was aware of how the marines work from the start and therefore wasn't enthusiastic about joining, his rank, or his duties like Koby was. When Koby finally learns the truth, he considers quitting, showing how far from his ideal of protecting citizens the navy is.

Garp literally says himself that as a marine, you operate in a cruel and unfair system and have to compromise your morals and ideals (which is why all marines are inherently immoral). He also states he could have been fleet admiral (aka highest-ranking marine) but turned it down bc he would “have to do it their way” and it would “take away his freedom” which shows his similarities to Luffy and Dragon. It is also bullshit bc he HAS to mostly do it their way, all Marines serve the world government / celestial dragons and not the people, which therefore means you cannot be free within the Marines.

In the Liveaction we see Garp let Luffy go, which is his idea of “doing things his way”, he seems to think by declining to be fleet admiral he keeps at least some degree of his autonomy; however, I personally think he is being ignorant, wanting to ignore how functioning in a corrupt system can never be moral, and you inherently lose your freedom.

Garp still believes the marines are necessary “to protect order” so he can't completely disagree with the system, clearly setting him apart from pirates like Luffy or Roger and the revolutionary army (who of course exist in contrast to the marines, showing and, well, rebelling against their cruelty).

Zeff points out the similarities between Luffy and Roger to Garp, who then mentions how Roger died, implying he’s just trying to protect Luffy. Garp seems to have a twisted view on protection; since he believes it is wrong as well as dangerous to be a pirate he physically abused Luffy from a young age, trying to stomp out his dream and make him follow in Garp's footsteps (same goes for Ace and somewhat Sabo of course).

This is also shown by how he acts in Marineford where he first tries to stop Luffy but then lets him through, isn't able to kill Ace, and has to be held back in order to not attack Akainu. Deep down, he seems to really care for those whom he considers Family, which clashes with his belief that Pirates are inherently immoral / bad.

I do believe his pursuit of Luffy throughout OPLA wasn't just him testing Luffy, as he states at the end. Garp gets really mad when he finds out Luffy has become a pirate, and still really wants to make him into a marine. The scene with Zeff would've also not been necessary, I think Garp really intends to protect Luffy (like Ace).

When he sees Luffy’s determination, however, he accepts that he can’t change him, showing that Luffy's strong will is more important to Garp than protecting him. This is also supported by the events in Marineford when Garp lets Luffy pass after seeing his resolve.

The moment Koby decides to stay in the Marines, he accepts that he’ll have to compromise his dream and agree to give up his original morals to some degree.

However, he’s still very similar to Luffy, and at this point also mirrors the “good” sides of Garp. He questions if they should really go after Luffy and stands up for his own beliefs when he gets the order to arrest the strawhats.

This way Koby (as well as Helmeppo, who does the same) showcases the corruption and unfairness of the marines because not like him the other marines present follow the irrational orders of their superior blindly.

Garp states at the end of OPLA that following orders doesn't make you a good marine, following your code does. He congratulates Koby and Helmeppo for standing up for what they believe is right, even when their orders said the contrary.

Concluding it’s safe to say that Garp, Koby, and even Helmeppo all show similarities to Luffy, they have strong beliefs, disagree with the way the marines are run and even go against their orders because of this. Showing these three as the side plot in OPLA drives the point Home how corrupt, immoral, and unfair the Marines are, and with the context of the world government and Celestial dragons, this gets even more weight.

[redshiftsinger]

yeah I felt like this was pretty clear pretty early on, that at no point do they genuinely like him as a person.

Some of that is absolutely direct racism. Ed was always going to be othered in that room unless somehow no one noticed that he's not caucasian. They literally introduce the first characters among the partygoers by having them declare that they're "huge fans" of phrenology, which is just a big bunch of pseudoscience put together to justify racism. That's not accidental and ignoring it would be a big failure of media literacy.

But also, they're not the kind of people who are trying to form any genuine social connections. They're just like Jack says about pirates: all in various stages of fucking each other over. Even if Ed were white, they'd never be looking at him as a potential new friend, not really. They were always going to have their sights on what they think they can gain for themselves.

Which isn't really a counterpoint to the racism at all. Aggressive, toxic self-interest drives a lot of racist bullshit (feel like I need to note that like masculinity, not all self-interest is inherently toxic. Healthy self-interest includes things like setting and upholding good personal boundaries). But the racism aspect isn't the one I feel most qualified to explore, plus you've already done a great job with it, so I'm gonna focus more on the aspect of the social dynamic they had established for themselves before Ed even entered the picture.

They start out trying to flatter "Godfrey Thornrose" and inspire the envy of the other guests by monopolizing the attention of someone they believe is famous. It's the same kind of treatment that Frenchie and Oluwande are getting, because the guy Frenchie picked out for their first mark believes that Oluwande is royalty, and while the racism in that guy is still very clear, he's trying to kiss ass because he thinks that by sucking up to royalty, he may stand to personally benefit. Even if that prince is a black man. Class status still has power -- this isn't a nuance-free portrayal of racism. There's intersectionality in play.

Conversely, they believe that "Jeff" is merely an accountant. Ed hasn't set himself up with a perceived status that overrides the biases they have against him because of his race. When Frenchie says "you know you can pick anything right" he's not saying "accounting is lame" he's saying "you're not shooting high enough, friend".

Of course it's not Ed's fault that he doesn't understand all this. He's never had the opportunity to learn it before. Stede was ill-equipped to explain the issues of racism in that environment, Stede has plenty of blind spots due to his own privilege. And presumably Frenchie assumed he'd already know what he's doing well enough to be doing it on purpose -- I mean, if I was going to idk an academic conference or something with Beyonce in disguise so that people won't realize she's Beyonce, I'd generally assume that she's reasonably aware of the nuances of the situation and is making conscious choices with that knowledge in mind, until/unless something happened to make it clear that she's not (I picked an academic conference for example here because it would be completely absurd to suggest that actual real-life Beyonce might not know how to navigate a crowd of superficial ass-kissers and at least low-key racists, but it's a lot more plausible that she might be out of her depth in a room full of professors since that's not directly an aspect of her career. And also because my dad was actually a professor so like Stede grew up around posh knobs, I grew up around academics, and they definitely have their own set of ingroup/outgroup signifiers. No insult whatsoever is intended to the intelligence of Queen Bey with this hypothetical).

So Ed's out of his depth, unaware of the ways in which he's set up to fail before he even starts. And initially it's fine, they mostly ignore him in favor of "Godfrey Thornrose" -- the person they think is more important, and therefore more likely to benefit them to gain the favor of. When Stede fumbles the "phrenology reading" thing, they start to lose interest in him as they realize he's not actually as skilled (either at actual phrenology, or at putting on a good show of faking it -- not sure they really care about the distinction there so much as they care about the perception of proximity to power and fame) as they thought. Meanwhile, Ed draws attention to himself and to the fact that he doesn't really fit in with them, by making a comment that's clearly not the sort of comment one "in the know" about the rules of engagement at these kinds of events would make. He plays it off as a joke when he realizes he's misstepped, and there's that moment of tension where it's not clear if the partygoers will buy it. And then Antoinette laughs, and cues everyone else to laugh by declaring him "absolutely hilarious".

I'd suggest that that's the moment they turned on Ed. Before that, he was mostly being ignored -- they didn't think he was important, therefore they didn't think he was worth paying attention to. But then they realized that they weren't going to get anything out of brownnosing "Godfrey", probably assuming that he's just as much of a fake as they all are, so whatever, just ignore that guy now. Maybe make fun of him a little, because in their circle status is gained by tearing others down, but otherwise he's unimportant. Sure, they realized he was an impostor. They just thought he was the same kind of impostor they all are, just another rich jackass pretending to be more interesting than he really is while jockeying for status, rather than realizing he's actually completely lied about his identity. But now, well, they don't have a famous guy to kiss up to, so they might as well just mess with someone for entertainment. Play up the idea that they're fawning over him, so they can tear him down later and laugh about how he really believed that they thought he was interesting.

Sometimes I see some excellent discussion around s1e5, which is just such a meaty episode, and a fun little game to play on rewatches is trying to spot the moment Ed's "fans" at the party stop laughing with him and start laughing at him.

And honestly? I kinda think it adds to the episode if you understand it as them laughing at him all along, with him just being too caught up in thinking it's possible for him to "win this interaction" to notice.

There's definitely a shift, there's a turning point at the dinner table when the angles go all unsettling as Ed realizes what's been happening, when Antoinette reaches for the bows in his beard in a very on-the-nose mirror of the experience pretty much every poc has ever had of someone feeling entitled to touch our hair, when a cork pops in the background and Ed flinches and they just keep laughing at him, but Ed is so unused to the passive-aggressive style of racism he experienced that I truly think they've been laughing at him all along and he just wasn't forced to acknowledge it until that moment.

From the start, they exoticize Ed, playing up his outlandish stories and making him the center of attention, and rewatching is so unsettling because you know they don't see Ed as a person, they see him as a novelty. Stede, unused to both the apparently positive attention Ed is getting and not equipped to notice the racist undertones, can't expect what's going to happen, and Ed's certainly more used to the kind of racism where people just call him a donkey to his face, so he tries so fucking hard to win these people over, to get them to laugh with him, unaware that they're already sharing a joke at his expense.

And I think it's honestly hard to get the whole point of the episode if you don't approach it with this reading! From the minute Ed walks in there, the only brown guest in the room, he's "lost" the game he wanted to play. It's a confirmation for him of his mother's warning that some people aren't meant for that life and never will be, and it's the reason why, when Stede tells him he thought Ed was actually quite sophisticated, letting him know that he'd done nothing fucking wrong, Ed falls for that man like a pile of bricks.

[knightbloomings]

Cap gets into Sonic

I miss liveblogging/keeping a record of my interests as they develop, so I'm gonna list which Sonic stuff I've seen so far and what stuff I'd still like to see.

Stuff I've seen:

IDW Sonic:

Very good! Seeing Scrapnik Island at work was what made me interested in Sonic in the first place, and I'm super glad I decided to read the comics! The artwork is gorgeous and the storylines are so fun! I really like the running theme of owning up to your decisions and sticking to your principles for Sonic, and my fave arcs are probably the Metal Virus arc and Surge's arc. Super excited to see what happens next!

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006):

First saw this game from the snapcube dub (which I still love) then watched brutalmoose play the full game on stream. It's objectively a stinker of a game, but I can see a lot of what they were going for and I like a lot the concepts. I think Sonic and Elise's relationship could've worked more if she were a child (or, a younger child), but at its core I love the idea of Sonic encouraging Elise to feel free. I also love Team Dark's loyalty and friendship to each other in this game, wish I got to see it more in others.

Sonic and the Black Knight:

One of my top faves! I loved every bit of stylization and story telling this game had, and Sonic's characterization was peak! The combination of Sonic characters and medieval armor is also so fucking good too. Overall a really simple but solid narrative with great characters and cool as hell aesthetics.

Sonic Unleashed:

I'm surprised how much this game sticks in my mind, I think it's also in my top faves (tho watching penny play it is probably a bit why). There's something about it that has so much heart that just seems so Sonic, despite the lackluster visual novel-esque segments. The Werehog is such a fun concept and a fun role reversal for Sonic, and a lot of the little moments of humor were really good, like Sonic taking pics for Chip while Eggman monologued.

And this def isn't unique to this Sonic game alone, but the music Slaps. Most of my fave music comes from this game, including the werehog's boss battle theme. I play that shit on loop sometimes at work.

Sonic Riders & Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity:

I prefer the fandub's spin on some of the story elements (and the Babylon Rogues's relationships, and just Storm in general), but I still enjoyed this game, especially the ideas behind the Babylon Rogues! I'm still not super clear on their lore (these two games felt like they lacked a lot of explanations for who/what/where) but I like the idea that these three are technically heirs to this long lost civilization and technically have this responsibility to it but they're super into being pirates instead. It's charming! Makes me wish I saw more of them in a serious capacity in IDW.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog:

Played this game on my own and I loved how fun and bright it was! The art was absolutely gorgeous and the music was fun too! I super adore seeing characters "outside" their roles in a more relaxed setting, where we get to see more of their personalities, and I felt like I got to know all the characters a bit more in this game. My only gripe is that the "Think!" sections had some god awful color choices for the tiled runway, it made everything blur together really badly. But otherwise, another top fave!

Stuff I still need to see:

Sonic Adventure 2

Sonic Heroes

Shadow the Hedgehog

Sonic and the Secret Rings

Sonic Forces

Sonic Frontiers

Sonic Prime

Will probably reblog this post with additional thoughts as I finish watching other stuff!

[throwing-roses-into-the-abyss]

I think a lot about all the “hahaha how did stede not realize he’s gay” posts, because as a 32YO who didn’t realize that 1) I’m actually solely into girls and 2) I’m not entirely cis, until roughly the ages of 1) 29 and 2) 31, I have a lot of thoughts on this.

Because Stede grew up in an environment with probably no other queer people, or if there were, they would be used as an example of what not to be in Respected Society. There would be no queer characters in his books, nothing to compare his feelings to, especially not on an island like Barbados, where he’d probably have to ship his books in from further away and they’d go through a lot of hands of people who know him, personally, before they reach him.

On top of that, there’s of course his peers and his parents, bullying all other-ness right out of him and making him try so, so hard to conform to what’s expected of him.

As someone who grew up in a small, very religious town in a rural area with a very limited library, limited access to internet, and no openly queer peers, I kind of know the feeling. (In fact, if someone as much as hinted at possibly not being straight the entire school would know and not shut up about it for weeks - and not in a positive way. I am unfortunately speaking from personal experience here.)

I’m not at all surprised he might confuse romantic feelings for friendship, might not fully realize what’s going on until Ed kisses him, might not allow himself to feel what he’s feeling (and revel in it).

Even if Stede did figure out what his feelings are, even if he did understand that at least half of his crew is queer as fuck, with all the bullying and the conditioning he’s gone through for all that time and those intense feelings of unworthiness and low self esteem, he could very well be pushing it all away, because not only is someone as amazing as Ed liking him back near impossible to fathom, actually acting on any of these feelings is a whole different matter too.

[yumi-tamura-fan]

My top 3 90's shojo manga reccomendations (I'll try to keep them spoiler free as possible)

1.Basara by Yumi Tamura (27 volumes)

Synopsis from Viz: Basara is a post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure series and one of the most popular shôjo manga of the 90s in Japan. It is the story of how a young girl becomes "the child of destiny" and finds the strength to free her people and seek revenge for the death of her brother.

Basara is a story that can't be classified into just one genre. It's a romance of course, but it could fit also fit into other genres such as fantasy or adventure, as well as tragedy. There's bloody battles throughout the manga, as well as political corruption and even pirate fights! It might sound like a shonen manga but we also get romance, forbidden romance at that. Think Romeo and Juliet. We get to see star crossed lovers fight for what they think is right all the while not knowing each others identities. Everyone in the series is fleshed out, with motivations, wants and needs. By the time you reach the end of the series, even the smallest characters will have you feeling for them.

The only criticism I can give is the art at the beginning of the series is subpar, but the quality of it picks up quickly and by the end of the series the author's art is undeniably gorgeous. My all time favorite shojo manga and whether you can hunt down all the out of print series like me (it took forever) or read the scans online, I think almost anyone would be drawn in to this series.

Red River by Chie Shinohara (28 volumes)

Synopsis from Viz: Yuri, a pretty Japanese girl, is ecstatic after passing her college entrance exam and having her first kiss with her childhood friend-turned boyfriend. However, her luck soon changes. She starts to notice that water becomes agitated whenever she goes near it. One night, hands appear out of a puddle on the street and drag her into the water! Transported to an ancient village in the Middle East, she is then captured by armed troops and taken to the Queen's palace for a human sacrifice. Adventure and good-looking boys fill this great first volume!

I've always been fascinated by Ancient Egypt so this manga was right up my ally. It has beautiful art, an intriguing story, and unique side characters. I also didn't hate the fact that the author dropped details and facts about history into the manga.

Overall it's an amazing historal manga, with just enough action as there is romance. I would encourage anyone who enjoys history to check out this title (most likely through online scans as it is out of print).

Angel Sanctuary by Kaori Yuki (20 volumes)

Synopsis from Viz: Why is Setsuna so mixed up? Despite his attempts to be noble, he'll fight anyone anytime; he ignores all authority; and he harbors feelings for his sister that can only be described as "incestuous." Why is he such a mess? The reason may be found with two demons from the underworld and their enemy, an insane angel who is distributing an insidious computer game called Angel Sanctuary.

Angel Sanctuary is about a female angel who rebelled against God, and in turn had her soul separated from her body, and sent to earth to endure tragic human lives until the end of time. The female angel currently inhabits the body of a teenage boy who is troubled by the love he has for his sister. Like Flowers in the Attic, incest is a common theme throughout it, however, it is never fetishized nor glamorized, and we don't see that much of the physical side of it (just go with it and it will all make sense in the end). The sinful love isn't the only focus, as there are also demons, sword battles, even angels with guns, as well as plenty of interesting side characters that add to the story.

I will say that the first few volumes are slightly mediocre, but Kaori Yuki quickly picks up in the later volumes, and by the time I finished the series, I could say it was one of the best ones I've ever read. I've never read a 20 volume manga series as fast as I have this one.

I wouldn't recommend Angel Sanctuary to everyone, since it has a warped view on religion, as well as incest, drugs, murder and genocide. But all in all, it's a excellent series for those with an open mind who enjoy beautifully drawn series with a complicated plot.

[dragoneyes618]

Do you have a favourite headcanon about the Hook siblings?

Well, I have several headcanons. I'm not sure which is my favorite, though.

Of the three of them, Harriet is most like their father in image and least in temperament.

Harry looks like a combination of both his parents. He and Harriet have both inherited their father's "periwinkle-blue" eyes.

CJ, on the other hand, doesn't look a thing like Captain Hook. She, blonde-haired, brown-eyed, is almost the exact image of their mother (whoever she was).

This is part of the reason why CJ makes a point of acting so wild and chaotic. She's insecure, because she doesn't look like a Hook. So she makes a point of acting like a Hook.

As the eldest, Harriet took on a lot of responsibility at an early age. Either Harry or CJ alone are quite enough to handle, as Uma can tell you. Imagine both of them. Together. Since infancy. Full-time.

So Harriet is very strict and stressed out.

She makes a point of not losing her temper, though. Sure, she'll shout. But she won't really lose her temper. She's taught herself all sorts of strategies-she'll hold her breath, she'll count to one hundred, she'll bite her lip so hard it bleeds-but she won't lose her temper.

It's the one thing Hooks are famous for, and Harriet doesn't want to be like her father in that respect.

When Harriet gets all cold and composed and icily calm - that's how you know when she's really angry.

The one time Harriet truly lost her temper was when Harry informed her that he was joining Uma's crew. Harriet saw it as a betrayal. They were the Hooks. They were family. They were crew. They were supposed to stick together. They were supposed to have their own pirate crew, with Harriet as the captain and Harry as the first mate and CJ as the second mate, and now Harry is ditching her in favor of being someone else's second mate - not even a chance at the captaincy, she could understand that. But no, he gave himself to be in thrall to a sea witch. Abandoning his sisters.

They all eventually made up, though. Turns out it's useful, having a brother in another major, well-respected crew. As the first mate, no less. It means you're almost automatically allies, and Uma is a good ally. She's also Harriet and CJ's future sister-in-law, which both of them can see coming from a mile away. Harry and Uma do not. They're just really devoted to each other! Above all other things! They'll do anything for each other! Because she's the captain and he's the first mate!

"Uh huh," CJ says. "When's your wedding?"

CJ takes great pleasure in asking if it's official yet just about every time she sees either of them.

CJ isn't part of a pirate crew either. Not Harriet's, not even Uma's. She has free reign on both of them-she basically lives on Harriet's ship-but she's not actually part of a crew.

When CJ and Freddie disappeared without a trace, everyone assumed the worst. Freddie eventually sent her family a letter from Auradon, telling them what had happened and where she was, but CJ didn't send her siblings one (through Freddie) until like a month later.

True, at the time there was no way to quickly leave a message - Genie taking us to Auradon! Will be in touch! She couldn't have wasted the opportunity to go to Auradon by hesitating or running out for a minute. No one would have.

But once in Auradon? It took her ages to finally get around to letting her siblings know. After all, she can manage very well by herself.

The thing with CJ is that she genuinely has a hard time thinking of others. She recognizes this weakness in herself, and that is why she never joined any crew. In a crew, everyone is responsible for each other. But CJ wasn't like that, and she refused to be a liability. So she didn't join anyone.

Harry knows how to swim because he and CJ used to push each other off the deck of the Jolly Roger.

CJ doesn't know how to swim because she and Harry used to push each other off the deck of the Jolly Roger.

The three of them will fight over just about anything, using any excuse under the sun. But insult one of them, and you get all three as enemies.

The Gaston twins once roughed up CJ a bit and stole all her money. CJ came home with a bloody nose and a black eye. Their house burned down the next day. The only reason Harry didn't gruesomely murder them with his hook is because they're Gil's older brothers. As it was, he had to content himself with feigning several strikes and imagining them connecting to rip them apart and the few small explosives he'd thrown into the window.

As for Harriet, she stabbed each of them in the shoulder, once, and very quietly informed them that if they ever harmed her sister, or for that matter anyone in her crew, again, they could expect much worse, because she would cut off their fingers and toes one by one and feed the two of them bit by it to Tick Tock, who had never quite lost the taste for human flesh. Her eyes glimmered red, and however much she looked like her father, she looked like him now even more.

"I can take care of myself," CJ complained, her nose still swollen. It was a lot easier to complain when you were in between your older brother and sister and you weren't alone getting punched in the middle of the night.

"Sure ye can, Calista," Harry said, clapping a hand on her shoulder.

Harriet and Harry are the only ones who can ever get away with calling CJ Calista.

[artobotsrollout]

Transformers: Harbingers

The Pirate Scream AU

Before I talk about it you guys are the best thank you for indulging me and my AU from this post xjdjd. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

@badlydrawntransformers @cosmic0de @warrioroffandoms @measlyfurball13 And a bonus thank you to those encouraging me in the tags as well ❤️

I plan to do art for it as well as accompanying written bits and maybe even an animatic but till then have some general info under the cut.

Also there is transformers: Prime spoilers below so open at your own risk.

TRANSFORMERS: HARBINGERS

So this AU comes from the same place many AUs heavily involving TfP Starscream come from: the unfulfilled potential in our boy Scream. Now deeper discussion of that is not gonna be in this post. It'd be a whole essay.

It also comes from just how salty I was that the Team's kindness never really benefitted them much and they kept getting slapped for it. And OP really wanted to win over a con and Starscream kept wanting a partner. ALSO ALSO Optimus was portrayed as keeping his emotions in check and then never really gets a message that it's okay to be emotional so... I'm doing that here.

And the Starscream Pirate AU was born...

Aka Transformers: Harbingers (maybe idk if it's catchy enough djjsw)

Why Harbingers? ''It's just a SHIP Starscream chills in for awhile in the show' ' I hear you say. WELL HANG ON!! I got two very good reasons!! .

First off: Starscream, with the help of some Cybertronians who he wins over one way or another (Ill get to that), help him essentially use the remains of the Harbinger to put together their own functional ship. It's smaller than the Nemesis and will take some pirate ship inspiration. While it is a hardy beast it's a bit jury rigged.

Second of all:

Imagine being a fictional character living in a ship with a name that basically means 'Foreshadowed bringer of change' and then going back to Megatron and his bullshit. I'm gonna grab this and run all the way with it. Highway to Hell just came on my Spotify so... That may be an omen.

---------

NOW LISTEN

I feel like Starscream and Optimus could really have had such an interesting dynamic but we never really got to see that in TfP and I feel cheated. Also both could have mutually benefitted a great deal.

So what do I do? I shove them together to be sorta begrudging Co-Captains. As a result there's a lot of shenanigans to be had!

How this happens OP has some run ins with cons and, through a way I'm still deciding, has the opportunity to extend a hand to Starscream. Starscream, being kindness starved, doesn't entirely know what to do about Optimus being nice to him one whole time with no sarcasm or ulterior motive and sorta starts trying to get his attention.

Starscream and his crew are a bit of their own team at this point. MEANING sort of new LOGOS!

I'm yoinking the crossed out Decepticon logo from the Dark Energon Starscream and Dark Energon Knockout toys cause I mean... It's right there and also kinda like a skull and crossbones. It fits too well guys.

Starscream essentially manages to win over the autobots enough so they can sorta make a mutually beneficial, if strained, alliance to aid their aligned goal: killing Megatron and revitalizing cyberton. This is aided by some slight changes to the plot of course. It's also a benefit, much to Ratchet's delight, since they finally get some cybertronian tech to work with.

And so they gotta work together to take Megatron out and there's much bonding moments esp later when the autobot base is destroyed. Starscream extends his hand to them and offers them a more permanent position onboard. (rubbing in how unfortunate their situation is and how this is such a big favour but he's paying Optimus back.)

And insert team dynamic stuff!! Like cons teaming up with Bots, Starscream and Optimus trying to stick with it leading their own teams but keep accidently backseat-leadering one another. I will write some other ex-con and bot dynamics cause there's a lot of chaos to be had.

Optimus doesn't open up to his crew for morale sake and masks his emotions well, and Starscream is... well Starscream is Starscream so he masks what he truly feels a lot and doesn't share a lot of personal stuff besides complaints with his team either. So there's a lot of tension.... That is until Starscream has had it at just how good a poker face Prime has.

Because he's absolutely paranoid got a harmless curiosity about Optimus's ulterior motives and wants potential dirty secrets he can use as blackmail to have power over the Prime, he essentially puts cybertronian booze (but kid friendly version of course fbejek) in Optimus's energon heavily expecting him to spill the beans when heavily drunk. What he doesn't expect is that Optimus is just... LIKE THAT to his core. He's smart but very sad and guilty. And maybe a bit weepy and exhausted cause this man has not shown an emotion for eons now. /s. Starscream doesn't know wtf to do but swayed by how earnest Optimus is he sorta softens up and does open up. Might have helped that he took a swig of the tainted energon to get on his level though. But it also helps that neither is the others subordinate so they don't need to maintain their image as badly with the Co-captain as they do their team.

The ex cons sorta accidently absorb some of the autobot's morals over time. The cons help the autobots have some fun. There's a lot of stuff learned both ways. Also the cons realize how cool humans can be and after a lot of argument and forced time spent with the kids, they want to protect earth too.

Starscream, helps Optimus open up a bit more and allow himself to be emotional. He also shows him how to be a little selfish. Optimus in turn helps him with self confidence and making friends. Both help each other with the shit Megatron put em both through and overall boost one another up. (This also does change the start of the war a bit but I'll get to that in another post.)

Miko tries to fight all of the cons at first but quickly changes her tune cause "BOOYAH PIRATE CONS!!"

Other bits about this AU:

Starscream will eventually get a slight design change. It'll be less scrappy and look more confident and put together. It'll be minor

Because they are on a flying ship but have less energon than the Nemesis, everyone gets equipped with mods for flight. There is a jetpack upgrade one can get or Knockout can straight up help change their alt mode surgically.

I'm working up a list of who gets what flight mod but... Ya'll should know that Wheeljack dares Knockout to make him into a flying car. Largely cause I just got the image of Wheeljack flying above vehicons and just turning into a car and dropping on them. That and driving up the side of the Nemesis and confusing the fuck out of Megatron. Out of all the characters you know that would be a Wheeljack thing.

Arcee and Knockout grieve together.

Knockout loves bugging the hell out of Ratchet. It's extra fun for him cause Ratchet often can't do shit about it since they both need the room and tools.

Knockout and Wheeljack become an insufferable duo with the nicknames they have for everyone.

Wheeljack won't leave Starscream alone and keeps coming up with worse and worse nicknames like he did with Ratchet.

Starscream and Ratchet become complaining buddies.

STARSCREAM'S SEEKER SQUAD REJOINS. Well some of them. Skywarp, Thundercracker and maybe other peeps.

Miko manages to befriend Skywarp and Bulkhead now has to watch both Miko AND Skywarp. Wheeljack refuses to help Bulkhead round them up.

Raf hits it off with Thundercracker.

Knockout: "FINALLY a team with fragging MANNERS!"

Instead of Beeftimus Prime from the forge, Optimus actually gets access to a third alt mode and.. Idk something else primely. So he actually gets wings.

Starscream and the other fliers are greatly amused because Optimus, as great as he is at his poker face most of the time, hasn't yet figured out how to not emote with the pair of wings he gets from the forge. Thundercracker is the one who eventually informs him while the rest of the crew are booing loudly in the background.

I actually do have designs of TFP Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Ironhide in the works.

Fowler and Starscream have insult battles. Oddly both grow a weird almost fondness for these verbal sparring sessions

They frequently raid the Nemesis

Miko keeps talking in a pirate voice. Smokescreen has joined her.

AND A LOT OF OTHER STUFF I'LL GET INTO WITH MORE DETAIL AND ART. I'll also talk more in depth about some of these things that isn't a ramble like this post is. xnwjskw.

Feel free to ask about anything you're curious about.

[1taliart]

Lily LaRose

Reserved, clever, intimidating (click for better quality)

---Basic information---

Snowshoe cat.

Very few cats know her actual age. If you ask her, all she will say is "I'm older than you'd think". They speculate she's in her late 30s or early 40s.

She's not very tall, but she's very muscled.

She works as the barmaid at the "Old Bull&Bush", a pub near the Thames owned by Mr Clark. There are other waitresses and barmaids/barmans, but she's the "main one".

Maybe Mr Clark is the official owner, but in practice she runs the pub as much as him. Lily's has a great hand with business and organisation, so they consider each other coworkers.

Lily's not married nor has a mate. Many pirates have tried proposing to her while they're drunk, but she has yet to show any kind of interest towards anyone.

---Backstory---

She was born in France, with the name Liliane LaRose. She prefers to be called Lily, though.

Lily was the oldest kitten of a family of tailors. She helped with the business, both sewing and managing the profits, ever since she was young.

Nonetheless, as the eldest, she knew she had to marry someone as soon as she grew. But Lily had always considered herself to be independent and, most importantly, she wanted to see the world.

That's why, when she became of age, she took all the money she had earned in secret and left her hometown.

During years she traveled around the country, but fortune never met her.

Many cats tried to take advantage of her because she was a single, young queen. Even though she had to steal or trick others to get by sometimes, she worked by herself until she got the money to get to a boat to England.

For the first months after she arrived, she had to continue doing what she did before with the added difficulty of the language barrier.

Thankfully, she met Mr Clark, who had just inherited his family pub: the old "Bull and Bush".

He helped her learn the language and gave her the job as a barmaid, but never asked anything in return.

In a similar way, she was the one who found Billy McCaw and brought it to the bar. Nowadays, the three of them consider each other family.

---Personality---

Most of the time she comes across as cold and quiet because when you have to deal with drunk pirates every night you aren't in the mood to be sweet.

Nonetheless, she wants cats to have a good time so, if she sees you in a bad mood, she will do anything in her hand to make your day better.

She's very intelligent and dextrous, which is something you can easily see when she remembers the orders of 20 different clients, manages the money and organises the bar counter all at the same time.

She despises confrontations, specially in the pub. Not only does it disturb the other clients, but it can ruin the furniture. If people start fighting, she isn't scared of getting in the way and using her own fists to stop impolite cats. Currently she doesn't need to even punch someone; her bare existence and the word of mouth is enough to intimidate people into staying quiet.

So you can say she has earned the respect of most cats.

She's a self proclaimed "Protector of the newcomers". Every time she sees a young cat looking scared or confused or a female being uncomfortable in the pub (is a mostly (male) pirates pubs after all) she will go full "old sister" mode.

As a matter of fact, when she first saw the elegant Griddlebone entering the pub next to the dirty and harsh Growltiger, she made sure to warn her about how pirates can be like and to be careful.

She has a soft spot for the Raffish Crew, and she will often give them free drinks.

On the other hand, she doesn't like Growltiger that much though Growltiger does like her (if the number of time he has tried to flirt with her is anything to go by)

---Miscellaneous info---

To this day she still enjoys sewing and creating clothing as a hobby.

Lily becomes the official bar owner when Mr Clark retires.

She keeps being friends with Griddlebone and the Raffish Crew when Growltiger dies.

On this note, she got back in touch with her family. Surprisingly, they were very happy with the life she made for herself and they even try to visit eachother when they can.

[bunny9girl]

Shanks/Usopp/Ace x abusive reader.s/o

Warning: Kissing, abuse, Nyctophobia, claustrophobia, sexual abuse, little nsfw!

Thanks for the request Omega-ish

Hope you enjoy❤

Portgas D. Shanks 🍺

🍺The Four Emperors are the four most dangerous and powerful pirate captains in the world. 

🍺And yes Shanks is one of them, and on top of that his a alpha.

🍺His a strong, passionate and brave man.

🍺Just by looks others might get the wrong idea thinking his cocky high ego and rude

🍺And you'd think a man like that only bat an eye for the most high class omegas, only to get in their pants.

🍺Buttttt!!!! NO

🍺Shanks is none of that, his a free spirit loving childlike man, Shanks is an extremely laid-back, preferring to take his time he doesn't rush things

🍺The first time he met his s/o...

🍺You sorta snuck on board his ship, it didn't take long for one of the crew to surprisingly find you.

🍺At first you didn't talk to him nor look him in his eyes, for your own sake you were too scared.

🍺So he let you be

🍺But couldn't ignored the way you looked, torn clothes, dirty skin, bruised and heavily scarred skin, messy hair and life drained eyes.

🍺It made him sick to the core. Just by looking at you he knew you went through horrible things

🍺He doesn't dare speak up, he doesn't want to remind you of those horrible things.

🍺As time went on

🍺Multiple times a day he goes below deck giving you something to eat and drink, than chat your ears off.

🍺He'd tell you about his many adventures, all the islands he been too how he met each of his crew, he even dig out the most personal things like how he lost his arm and how he got the three scars over his eye. With many more stories.

🍺It made you happy hearing them all feeling free with this red hair man, he made you smile laugh talk and sead tears of happiness, since you met him

🍺He even gave you a name. A place to belong and protected you, he thought you how to defend yourself and be badass. You learned how to read, write, cooking much much more

🍺He became your Alpha and claimed you as his omega, forming a strong bond connecting your hearts and souls forever.

🍺It made you glad that you snuck aboard his ship.

🍺Dispense having a new life living it to the fullest. Your heart is still scarred.

🍺Your fear came to life again when The Red Force docked at the same island you escaped from the first time you snuck on Shanks ship.

🍺Your alpha is the first to know your distress.

🍺But you chose to lie and tell him your okay, even though he didn't believe you he still You made sure to stuck to his side 24/7.

🍺It made him happy that you seek comfort from him but also placed him on high alert.

🍺Yes Shanks knows why you don't wanna be here and he makes sure this is only a quick restock in and out.

🍺Not staying for a drink or party.

🍺It was hard for you too open up to him but he was sure to listen to every word that left your mouth.

🍺(Any person of your choice) they where horrible people, using omegas for slavery abusing them to the breaking point, once brought the omega can be used for anything of the owners choice.

🍺All the torture and pain you felt locked up in a cage days ends night ends.

🍺It made Shanks furious and angry, but he knows that he couldn't do anything what has been done can't be un done

🍺All he could do is comfort you, purr in your ear brushing away your tears.

🍺From then you knew he'd always be yours heart body and soul

🍺Give you anything.

🍺And everything.

🍺But the tables turned quickly when you and him ran into (Any person of your choice) the person who abused Shanks omega for years.

🍺In anger (Any person of your choice) tried to lure you back to them, while you quiver behind Shanks hiding in his cape, he could feel your smaller from trembling pressing your face in his thoracic spine and hands gripping his shirt.

🍺He could smell the change in your scent it wasn't sweet or loving anymore it was replaced with (Displeased smell of your choice), it made his inner alpha very protective of you.

🍺Now Shanks isn't the kind of man that would turn to violence and rudeness in this kind of situations.

🍺At was at this point the guy came near you two wanting to rip you off your alpha, but didn't go to well for him when Shanks Haoshoku Haki hit him, (Any person of your choice) drop to the ground knocked out.

🍺it was no surprise that Shanks s/o wasn't affected, they're strong but there are some fears that can leave a person trembling and hopeless

🍺But none less Shanks will protect his omega. Even if you cower in fear.

***

Usopp (Sniper King)🏹

🏹Personally you hate alphas, and because of that Luffy had a hard time getting you to join his crew, 90% of the crew is alpha's

🏹But you joined anyway

🏹When Usopp first met his s/o he like any other saw you pretty strong confidence and level headed, but being a great liar like himself he could see the fake smile

🏹He decided to just stay out of it. But he couldn't help but wanting to get closer to you, get to know you and enjoy time with you

🏹First of all you really like Usopp ever since you step foot on Marry, he was funny goofy and outspoken brave

🏹And you like him so much that you'd even back him up in a fight, he's a real cute beta

���Yes, you read that right... Usopp s/o thought that he was a beta, he doesn't necessarily act like an alpha he has no confidence high pride or cocky ego.

🏹Blindly with the idea of him being a beta, made you grew closer to him, forming a great friendship making everlasting memories and moments

🏹At a point you confessed your feelings and he accepted them making you the happiest omega alive.

🏹It made him happy too

🏹But you two haven't mated/marked each other yet. It doesn't mean you haven't created a unbreakable bond

🏹But you also haven't told him about your childhood and what happened, not ready to dig out all the pain and suffering

🏹That was until you two got separated from the others trying to get back to the Thousand Sunny and crew

🏹Somehow you guys docked at the wrong island, with a flesh eating gigantic snake living on it.

🏹And Yes... it was currently chasing Usopp and his s/o though the forest.

🏹"Run run run! Its going to eat us!" Usopp cried dragging his s/o along with him running for thier lives

🏹Well you see the both of you would've easily beaten the crab out of the thing.. if ya didn't leave your weapons on the Sunny.

🏹Luckily for you, Usopp spotted a old mine tunnel in your path of crisis without thinking he rushed you two in.

🏹Now here's the thing-

🏹When Usopp's s/o where a child they where sold off to a group of mountain bandits and they didn't treat their "item" with care, they locked you up in a cage and tortured you for days whipping you breaking you down mentally and physically and on special days they shut you in a box and shove you into darkness

🏹You develop claustrophobia and Nyctophobia, which wasn't good you have been able to avoid them for long

🏹But in this situation it brought up both.

🏹The tunnel was blocked with a death end and you two took too many turns you couldn't see the daylights anymore along with the place being small for two people.

🏹The little light Usopp managed to make wasn't working well for you.

🏹Your breath became heavier the walls felt like their closing in, your heart beat filled your ears beating faster and faster, your body paralyzed your vision somehow became blurry.

🏹You were having a panic attack before you knew it.

🏹"(Y/n) babe. What's wrong?" Usopp caught on real quick smelling the change in your scent and hearing soft whimpers leave your lips as tears stream down your face.

🏹It made the alpha in him click taking control, crouching down in front of you taking your hands into his

🏹His scent reaching you for the first time it was so strong and powerful the purr from him calmed your body and mind.

🏹His alpha reaching out for your omega the first time ever, you saw the thing you hate with passion and Usopp was one of them

🏹But different you knew him for a long time and shared so much with him, his nothing like them he genuinely loved care protect you without expecting anything in return.

🏹Calming you and scenting you the best of his ability.

🏹Not thinking at all you told him in a broken voice with tears about your phobias and the abuse you suffered as a child.

🏹Opening up your most venerable side.

🏹He truly felt connected to you finally broke your walls, without trying.

🏹He continue to comfort you telling you silly stories and making you giggle here and there.

🏹While you both waited for the others to find you, it didn't take long

🏹That night he made sure to claim you as his, marking you and all promise to protect you and help you overcome your fears

🏹He even accepted you as you are.

***

Portgas D. Ace🔥

🔥Ace met you when he joined Whitebeard, that's when he became attached to you.

🔥Wherever you go he goes, his always by your side, if he or you don't have a mission that is.

🔥Truthfully Ace doesn't know much about your pass and that doesn't bother him, but your still not a very open person.

🔥At least he knows little things about he was able to pick up on the way like how your strong and brave, but also quite and patient how you are less social and older than him but looks hella young.

🔥But what catch his attention is all your scars they must have been from great battles but the most painful one is the one on your nape it looked as if skin was torn off leaving a nasty mark.

🔥But it was mostly covered by a shirt (or your hair if you have long hair).

🔥For you Ace is the sweetest and most honorable person you've met his cute and badass.

🔥But you love how he pouts when you treat him like a child, or baby him. It made you happy to care for him, feed him clean after him giving him much attention.

🔥It made your connection with the alpha much stronger without needing to say a word you two feel in love over the years

🔥Creating a very strong relationship and a loving one at that. You did hesitate to become his it gave you doubts and anxiety.

🔥But what you fear the most was mating with him you fear having to explain your scars near your private.

🔥Its all case of "him" that man what he did to you was no forgiving matter.

🔥That's till one night Ace and his s/o was in the perfect mood, bodies against one and other hands exploring your cloths covered flesh.

🔥He was about to unbuckle your pants which made you shot in defense pushing him away as he came crashing down the bed.

🔥At first he thought he did something wrong, seeing your face upset and pain expression.

🔥both sitting in silence, your scent increasing but with a smell to make sure Ace stayed away but his Alpha fought it wanting to be near you not leaving you in this state.

🔥He didn't made you say anything didn't ask anything just hugged you tightly to his chest rubbing your back.

🔥A long quite moment passed still in his arms you open your mouth begging him not to leave you. Tears sobbing hiccups and mumbling words left your lips

🔥"Calm down tell me what's wrong?" He kept his voice soft and purred more.

🔥"I-i use to b-be marr-married." Half a loath off your chest, it seemed Ace didn't care so what if you where married before your now here with him and your his that's all that mattered.

🔥But it all changed when you continued

🔥You were married once before. To a man you thought was truly your soul mate, you two where happy but it all shattered when you tried having children.

🔥You tried and tried and tried. But nothing.

🔥Slowly he started becoming less of the man you knew, he became rough and untenable during your "activities". He made you bleed and didn't stop when pleading for it he.

🔥He began using his alpha voice on you, scaring you. Breaking you down.

🔥Not long after he became a drunk, hitting cutting and sexually abusing you.

🔥You had enough tearing out his mark/bite, escaping his claws, but he chased after you, till you literally ran into Whitebeard, the pirate captain defended you, beat the living shit out of him, took you in treated you with respect and care.

🔥You became his daughter/son. You became one of the most strongest and feared pirate under Whitebeard. (And the old geezer is damn proud of you!)

🔥After hearing all that Ace accepted you even more, loving you with care as he continue to praise your body analyze ever curve, scar, soft squeezy place (Butt/Boobs😏) .

🔥Till he reached your private parts down below seeing the stretch marks and abusive places.

🔥He must've think its disgusting and not worth it anymore, just through you in the back. And be forgotten - That's what you thought.

🔥But instead he gave you a night you'd never forget, he was so gentle and considerate letting you take the lead. Along with marking you as his mate forever no regrets.

🔥lest just say, the following week you came on to some morning sickness, It was like destiny was telling you Ace is the only one no one else would work.

🔥Fire First Ace is your Alpha. And you his omega.

[whirlybirdwhat]

Heyo~ I just wanted to say that your fanfics have inspired me to write my owns, they're so good!!

But my writing isn't nearly as good, do you have any advices for this starting writer? <3

oh my gosh anon !!!!!! im ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ !! im so glad they inspire you, and I wish you all the best on your writing!!! you got this, and please link them if/when you post!!!! 👀👀👀

as for advice - i got a few things!

first off, your writing is yours, and - especially in fic - there isn't necessarily a type of 'good' writing, just different skill sets! for instance, i find that my weak point is dialogue, while im great at worldbuilding + emotions. another writer might be the opposite, but it doesn't mean my writing is 'bad' and theirs is 'good' or the reverse, simply that we have different strengths! as you grow as a writer, you will find your strengths and learn to grow them, and your weak points! there is truly no standard, so don't put yourself down!!

moving on to more advice however - (EDIT: theres a tldr at the bottom because sorry, i rambled a bit!!)

1. write. it doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter when, it doesn't matter how! I have written fics on sticky notes in the middle of class (whiskey peak chapter of esom) on discord in the span of a few hours (make a choice (turncoat hero)) and in my notes apps (the ace/yamato fic i posted)!! if you learn to write anywhere you please, this will keep ideas from leaving your mind, and allow you to get into the zone that there doesn't have to be a set time to write!

2. length never matters for a fic. If 100 words is all it takes to write what you want to write, then 100 words is all it takes! don't let the general adoration for long fics to scare you off from writing, and write what you're comfortable with. I know writers who only write chapter fics, and writers who will only write one shots (then there's me, who tries to do both at once lol.)

3. when i am lost with the plot of a fic, the first thing i do is draft an outline of what i want to happen next. this is just a simple bullet point outline, in the general fashion of, say

- luffy gets a different hat post pirate king

- monkey steals hat

- luffy calls for zoro

- zoro sleeping?? sanji kicks him then fight

- the monkey is revealed as the red haired pirates monkey

- shanks shows up "miss me anchor?" party time

brief, follows a simple set of actions, perhaps one or two lines that i thought of while writing, and gives me a skeleton to follow so that when i lose myself in a fic i know where i can go next. Some people find it useful to do this at the beginning with a super detailed plot, and others never write a outline at all! it depends again on how you grow as a writer, so don't be afraid to try different things out when you approach a fic

4. stuck on a part? writer block? can't focus? get up drink a glass of water, and get back to writing! i find this helps me get refocused on writing when i am stuck, a little body 'wake up' as you will.

5. never EVER delete a scene from a fic. never. NEVER. move that scene to another doc, put it in a 'scrapped writing' folder, idc, but never delete it entirely. it helps you grow as a writer, and you can always put the scene back/reword it, etc. i cannot count on my hands how many times i have reworked a previously scrapped portion of a fic and came out the better for it!

6. having multiple wips is okay!! celebrate it even!! i always have at least five docs for five separate fics up on my computer at all times so i can shuffle between them when writing and write what im inspire for in that moment. its okay if you never make headway on one of them, as long as the ideas keep flowing

7. want to get something out quick? word wars are your friend - set a timer for 15 minutes, and write as many words as you can. this is especially fun if you have someone doing it with you, so you can compare counts at the end and share your story!!

8. writing, like all art, takes time. and, generally, there is a chance you will write faster when you first set out to write then you will later, because later, you will be more conscious of your word choices and be more deliberate and careful in your plot, rather than just churning out works. It's okay if you don't churn out 5k a day - writing is not an obligation!

9. have. fun. im serious! write what you want to write, even if it seems no one will love it or like it or want to read it - write what brings you joy, what makes you smile, even if it's something that's been done a thousand times before!! this is what fic is, for your own personal enjoyment. Additionally, do not be discouraged if there's a low amount of reviews for something you put your heart and soul. it sucks ass, yes, (i have a couple fics i love which have only gotten like, a quarter of attention of some of my other fics) but ultimately, the idea you wrote down is one you want to see in the world!! it doesn't quite matter what anyone else likes.

10. grammarly, word counter, word, etc - anything with a spellcheck is your best friend, and will generally catch things you miss if you cant find someone to proofread for you. additionally, if you want to be more critical of your fic, look for friends tto give constructive critcism, but know that you absolutely do not have to accept it from any stranger online unless you asked specifically for it.

11. fanon is fanon and popular headcanons are popular headcanons and both are absolutely not canon. you do NOT have to follow it if you do not want to.

12. read!!! i read a lot of fic, a lot of published books, and each has something i really enjoy and apply to my own fics.

13. to reiterate again just... write. write and write and write. i have over 300k posted to ao3 rn, and more in my docs. you will not improve your writing to any standard that you set for yourself unless you write!! always practice!! learn from your mistakes!! grow!!! you will improve with time, i promise, just go out and write what makes you happy anon!!

tl;dr have fun, write a lot wherever and whenever, and write for yourself before anyone else. you will improve with time as a writer the more you practice, and it doesn't ever matter how long your work is.

if you want more specific advice on formatting fic/general rules/ your first time posting, feel free to send another ask!! but for now, i wish you the best of luck anon and a very 👀👀👀👀 at your future fics!!!