#like it's surprising how careful the crew is about making sure the samurai have THEIR MOMENT and then he sees her arm and is like nvm

[cosmicrhetoric]

zoro and kiku's whole thing was so fun and endearing :) like never underestimate the besties potential of a Hater and a 12 ft tall swordswoman that he keeps bullying into breaking her cover. but when he saw her severed arm flop down 100 feet from the roof in onigashima and just went fuuuuuuuuck. kiku. can someone toss me up there i think my girl just got maimed

[gildedmuse]

ZoLaw AUs Nobody Asked For Presents....

Fairy Tale Twist

Part One: Abduction!

[This was inspired by watching the first episode of the anime Heaven Official Blessing with @jhaernyl. However, for the purpose of this ficlette all you need to know is the whole thing is your typical fanfic set up: a bunch of young women are disappearing, so in order to solve the mystery our main male character is forced to go undercover as a shy, virginal bride-to-be in hopes that the sexy bad boy will notice him and carry him off to his liar.]

[You know. The only sensible solution to a rash of kidnappings.]

"Please," the old lady begs, tears running down her face as she falls to her knees in front of the trio. "Even if there is no hope for my Liula, this village can't bear to lose another one of our daughters!"

Zoro scratches behind his ear, apparently unmoved by the old ladies tears, as well as the wet faces of the town folks who have gathered all around. It isn't that he doesn't care - he's sure it's hard to misplace a daughter or whatever, though it does seem to him as if it's at least a little the villager's own fault. Why do they keep sending the girls through the forest is they keep disappearing?

"So they're always taken in the forest?" Saga - Zoro's second best friend and training partner - always knows exactly the right questions to ask. He's just good at that kind of detective thing, the way Marines pretend to be. As a crew of bounty hunters, they may not be the most well known or most feared (they certainly aren't their richest) but between him, Kuina, and Saga, Zoro figures they have all the right talents to work their way up to the top, wherever that might be.

For Saga, Zoro is sure that eventually means becoming a marine or, as his overly dramatic friend would put it, "becoming a sword for justice!" Or that's what he says it if you get enough sake in him, though honestly it doesn't even take one drink to notice the look he gets in his eyes whenever a bunch of men in their clean white uniforms go marching pass. Not even Kuina's mocking their stupid insignia ("why do you want a shirt with a pair of boobs drawn on. I've got the real thing and they're nothing but annoying!" / "For the last time, the insignia is the mighy gull! Not a pair of blue boobies!" / "As someone who has seen plenty of both, trust me, no seagull looks like that..not unless it's had some major work done.") or Zoro pointing out he's never seen a single marine carrying a shuangshou jian, which he thinks is the far better argument. After all, Saga wouldn't want to have to get rid of his beloved sword, would be? It's the one thing he has from his parents....

If there is one person who would understand how important a sword can be, it would be Kuina, but he thought Saga would be next.

"Sounds like instead of worrying about your bridal traditions, you should have worked to make sure these girls could protect themselves," Kuina says, her voice low and steady, but there is an undercurrent of anger there. One Zoro finds adults often miss, due to Kuina's former, almost old fashioned, language and proper samurai etiquette.

Her father always said there was more to being a Kenshi than just holding a sword. Unfortunately, one of the things he believes makes for a Kenshi is....

Kuina stands up, bowing politely to the very same adults she'd just been so angry at. "We will find this pirate who is taking your lost daughters and ensure this does not happen again," she promises, and Kuina promises something it's like you can see the threads binding her, holding her to her word. It makes Zoro sit up straighter, happy to be her rival. "If what these girls want is to be married, they deserve to make that choice without some creep ruining it for them."

Kuina's small, and because of that, most everyone underestimates her. Only to be surprised when the girl they had just been laughing at is suddenly behind them, the sharp white blade of Wado Ichimonji pressed against their kidney, with Tenno Megumi clashing against their own steel, stopping them from being able to make a move. She's a fast, technical fighter and a slow, methodical thinker. She probably knows more about Zoro and Saga then the two boys know about themselves and, honestly, Zoro is alright with that. He doesn't even know where he'd keep all that knowledge, but Kuina seems to do a good

They had only come to this island to pick up some Nobody, Kuro of 1000 Cats or something stupid like that, but they had barely dragged him and his crew of losers to the local Marine base when an older woman, face wrinkled and worn from sadness, had grabbed a hold of Zoro's arm.

These people were desperate, and the small four man marine outpost they have seemed unable ("or unwilling," Kuina had muttered only once Saga was distracted - they didn't need to have that fight again) to help against what seemed to be some knd of curse.

"Qell it's not a curse," Saga decided immediately, the three of them gathering just outside of the town hall were the citizen had plead their case. And as much as Zoro hates being distracted from his goal, his one true dream, he has to admit their pleas were.... heartfelt.

"Hmm," Kuina puts her hand to her chin, her foot digging into her dirt as she stares down, her brain trying to ferment a plan of some kind. At the very least a place to begin. "It seems he only comes out when there is a bridal procession. What should we do?"

There is silence as they all contemplate this impossible task.

"I know!" It's Saga who gets a these first, slapping his fist in his hand, and with his eyes burning so bright, Kuina and Zoro are immediately doubtful. This is going to be one of those ridiculous plans like in all his marine centered manga. As far as Zoro has seen, Marines never actually do any sort of undercover work or whatever. They just stupidly fire bullets at things and hope one hits. But that's not how Saga sees them, not at all.

Saga gives a sharp, proud smile, his support of his own plan entirely unwavering. Zoro assumed they would just stare at him until sanity sunk back in but suddenly, he notices Kuina going all stiff, as if a realization had just hit.

"Not it!"

Zoro stumbles some, not used to the usually calm depth that is his number one rival and best friend moving with such a reckless, her arm flying up as of theyre back at the dojo answering questions. "Hey!" He pushes his shoulder back against her. "What are you-"

"Good point!" Saga says, his intensity still bur ing as usual. "I am also not it."

Zoro looks between his two friends. His two companions. His twisted sworn brother and sister. And the evil grins that were creeping up along their faces.

"I am NOT-"

Kuina leans in so hard, Zoro ends up squashed up against Saga. "Your mouth says no," the older girl teases, sluttering her eyelashes in a way that Zoro didn't understan. Was that supposed to make him do something? "But your eyes - and my blades," she adds that bit with a pat at the swords at her side. "Say yes."

At his other side, Saga gives him an unnaturally bright smile despite the narrowed eyes glare Zoro is giving both kenshi. "You really should try and look happier. It's your wedding day after all!" He teased, nd Zoro can only grumble.

He did call not it last, damnit.

"We will just have to set up a convincing bridal procession then!" Saga pulls back, striking what Zoro feels is an all too excited pose considering the fate they've just sealed for him. "Kuina and I will act as guards, while Zoro gakes place of the bride to be. We'll put the whole thing together and make it look just like a real bridal procession! That's how we will draw this scoundrel out!"

The two npeople only seem mildly confused by the bounty hunter's plan. Zoro isn't sure what the confusion is aboit. He's hardly looking forward to this mess, but he does think Saga and Kuina did an excellent job at setting the trap and as for his part, well, he can only hide one of his three swords under the bridal gown, but with the other two concealed in the carriage in easy reach, he doesn't imagine he'll habe any difficulty grabbing for them in time. The whole plan is actually one of their better thought out schemes, so he isn't sure why the villagers take moment to get on board, but eventually they do. They even lend them materials to help make the ruse undetectable.

"I've got this!" Kuina declares in reference to the dress. She isn't much for fu-fu clothes herself - it's all so much fabric for so little practical coverage, and it always has at least one part that hangs in the weirdest way. However, she's had years of practice learning to make men's clothes for her properly so they aren't baggy and in her way and also wouldn't.... disrespect her father (Zoro knows she would never wish to voice this, but he has also seen her on holy days with his image. Holding it as tight as if he were a long honored ancestor. Looking to the stars as if they would grant her his approval.) Plus, she definitely knew what looked good on girls. Just because she doesn't wear fancy kimono and jewelry and other useless pretty things doesn't mean Kuina can't APPRECIATE what other women look like in such elaborate get ups.

It's the make up where they run into something of an issue.

"Katatsumuri," Saga asks, holding out their den den mushi. Him and the snail wince together as Kuina gets angry enough to break the brush shed be using to try and apply Zoro's lipstick, yelling that it was a subpar tool unworthy of its title and a shame to whoever forged its.... it's.... it's stupid hairs or whatever! Grr!

"Can you play a make up tutorial," Saga requests, sitting cross legged in front of Zoro. Luckily, he is very good at copying moves even from videos. Maybe this is why he appreciates marine uniforms so much, Zor thinks, cause they're all neat and orderly and it feels like you have to keep your make up neat and orderly as well.

So with Zoro looking appropriately alluring ("You're a vision," Saga promises, his breathing just a little too rushed considering they haven't even started on the hard part of the quest just yet. "You almost look decent," Kuina laughs, making sure Katatsumuri takes a picture for future reference) they gather everything else they will need for their little nightie deceit. The procession, the carriage, the spooky nighttime forest that the temple lies in the middle of for some reason no one could adequately explained.

"just sit tight," Kuina whispers from the side of her mouth as they walk deeper and deeper into the darkness. "I'm sure this willl-"

"Kuina!?" Zoro knows he is supposed to be sitting there straight and well behaved, just the way he's practiced with that overly nice girl - the one who kept getting a little bit touchy, like Zoro couldn't figure out how to hold his hands just by LOOKING at her; there is no reason to touch - but at his friend's sudden silence he couldn't help but peak out of the carriage window.

Nothing but wind and leaves and darkness.

"Zoro," Saga growls from the other wise..Zoro turns to try and ask him to go check on Kuina. That's what he should do, rather than break character. Good call. "Keep on guar-"

Silence.

Suddenly there is nothing.. No horses. No Marines pretending to be maid in waiting. No guards. No friends. Just darkness, and a low, soft whisper of the wind. Something dark, something.... stirring.

Zoro licks his lips, that awful taste of the lipstick coming off with it. He reaches for the trap door where his two other swords are stored when -

Click.

The door opens a light storm: the fall of rain, wind sweeping through the trees, dark hair, striking eyes, and such long and slender fingers reaching out for him, not grabbing, but making an offering. Holding his hand out for the supposedly young and virginal bride.

And suddenly Zoro can feel it in his chest. This lightness. This heat.

He fumbles, trying to find the damn torch. Where were his matches? Why is he going for the stupid candle and not his swords? What is wrong with him?

"I can't help but notice," the strange is silhouettes in the darkness, out the moonlight behind him offering any glimpse. But that voice. So dark, like a shadow. Like the way a smooth sake feels sliding down your throat. "You seemed to be in trouble, my little lamb. I hope those ruffians didn't cause you any harm."

As if you didn't send those ruffians, only Zoro's voice is entirely gone. The boy's golden eyes pierce through him like an arrow. Where is his voice? It seems the only part of him that can speak is his heart, and that is beating so loud it filled the entirety of the carriage

It only gets louder when the stranger's lips quirk upward, the water running down his hair, his pale skin, sliding around his lips. Making them shimmer and shine in the low candle light. "What a remarkable beauty. How could anyone wish to hurt such an angel?" His hand is still hanging there, half way between them. Zoro licks his lip subconsciously, the water clinging to the stranger's lower lip making him want....

No! He's meant to focus! He is here on a mission, not some silly game.

Yet the way the stranger smiles does leave his stomach feeling all sorts of silly. Are those his finger tips shaking as he reaches out, gently entrusting his hand to the stranger.

Immediately he is being pulled forward, so close it Zoro can't keep the gasp escaping his lips. He's not used to these shoes, there's far too much of them for starters, and the heels catches on the fabric of his dress and-

As he falls foward, the stranger moves in close and through the low light of the moon and a single candle, those gorgeous golden eyes stare right into Zoro's soul, soft and yet certain as he reaches out, easily pulling Zoro into his arms.

Pressed against the man's chest, Zoro understands why so many of those manga he finds Saga hiding away have girls pressed up to marines just like this. The way his heart beats in Zoro's ear, the protective warmth of his arms....

"Where did-"

"You men seem to have run off," The stranger says, holding him close. The hold is gentle and yet formal, as of purposefully being polite and careful with him. "I believe they were trying to lure the attackers away."

He knows that hadn't been the plan, but he can only stare up at the stranger, his cheeks so warm he thinks of lifting the veil, just to get some fresh air. But surely if he saw him that would give them game away.

"Your physical beauty must only be surpassed by that of your heart, to have such a loyal and fearless guard. I would hate to see their bravery go to waste. I don't have much, certainly not lodging worthy of such a precious gem, but there is a small temple nearby that will offer us shealter. I can keep you safe until your entourage regroups. That is, if you will allow it."

His golden eyes are staring down at our hero, soft and intense all at once, and they leave his tongue feeling equally confused: heavy and light at the same time.

"You have my permission to do with me as you please." Zoro hadn't practiced any sort of script, the plan had been to attack and words had seemed unnecessary. He still isn't sure where such a sentiment even came from! What a silly thing to say! He must look like a gu-

Wait, that isn't the what Zoro is supposed to be concerned about. Why does he even care if he looks like a fool!?

Even as he tries to hide himself against the stranger's chest, he catches a glimpse of that smirk. That horribly cocky, confident turn of his lips that leaves the poor kenshi melting, all the heat not coloring in his face pooling much, much lower.

"I shall take you with me then, beauty-ya, and act as your guide until we can reunite you with your proper assembly."

"Mmm," Zoro mutters, voice high and breathless. Perhaps to ensure the act is believable? "Take me with you, unite with me, yes..."

Just an act, that's all. Right, that's why he's doing this. To go along with the plan.

That's why he puts up no struggle as he suddenly finds himself lifted up into the strangers arms. The man's hat keeps his face mostly hidden, but Zoro is sure to memorize the edges of his cheeks, his lips and chin where rivlets of water drip from his dark skin. The beautiful dark ink that covers the strong arms that have Zoro safely held against his chest.

All for the sake of the mission, Zoro reminds himself, leaning his cheek against the stranger's wet shirt, tucking in closer to his warmth as a blue light suddenly involves the both of them.

"Shambles."

And then the forest is quiet, nothing but an abandoned carriage left behind.

[dearestspirit]

haikus

-> kazuha x gn!reader

-> fluff

-> wc: 1767

-> note: kazuha my beloved <3 set around when kazuha first boards the alcor and becomes part of the crux

it was a rowdy night on the alcor, a new crewmate being welcomed to the crux. despite the crew's overall ruckus, the man has yet to say a single word to anyone on board. so far, he gestured only using his hands. beidou had taken him in as a refugee, citing the situation in inazuma as the cause. news of the sakoku decree had spread faintly outside of the region, as did the vision hunt decree. it wasn't a surprise the newcomer hadn't said a word, for one could only guess what he had been through. whispers circulated quickly throughout the ship upon his arrival, rumoring where he possibly could have come from. questions were asked that likely wouldn't be answered any time soon. even with his silence, he was incredibly helpful around the ship. he cleaned, took care of storage, taking on whatever duty he could. still, not a peep from him. no matter what you questioned him about, there was nothing. he just continued to work until it was time to eat and sleep, retiring to his quarters. until juza simply… asks.

"inazuma boy. what are we supposed to call you if we don't know your name?"

"my name is kaedehara kazuha. as i'm in your debt for taking me in on your ship, you may call me kazuha." his voice is gentle, breathtaking even.

from there, he slowly blossoms into a real shipmate of yours. he tells tales of his travels, opening up about how he had been a wandering samurai, not liking to stay in one place for too long. he tells of his sword, the great mark of pride he always wears. how he sees poetry in all nature– the sixth sense he had been gifted. the signs of storms and earthquakes all nestled into his mind at even just a whisper of the wind. it was beautiful, the way he weaves his stories and haikus effortlessly (despite him claiming to not have much talent at it). to him, even a simple leaf could be used to create. he shows this, whistling into a stray leaf, the tune of music soft and delightful.

he's mesmerizing. it makes you wonder, if he can hear all the secrets of the earth, surely he must hear the way your heart beats at his anecdotes? with kazuha comes a great sense of longing, one that you hadn't known until he came. he gestures with his hands as he tells about true freedom. how without the burden of wealth he could traverse across the whole of inazuma, settling on warm rocks in the sunlight. even more, he spins a story about the playful tricks of bake-danuki he had come across, light shining in his eyes as he recalls them.

more nights pass, and you find yourself awake, staring at the ceiling of your quarters. the ship rocks gently, the sound of waves lapping at wood bringing a sense of peace. regardless, you find yourself restless, stepping out of bed. perhaps the stars could keep you company for the night, you thought. you make your way up to the deck, looking up to see xu liushi up in the crow's nest. shaking your head, you make not to tell beidou of his refusal to sleep– though, she'd likely wonder why you were awake to notice in the first place– and head over to the side of the ship, leaning over the railing. the breeze blows through the air, the scent of seawater tickling your nose. in the sky, the stars shine exceptionally bright, a pleasure to see.

"you're awake quite late, aren't you?" a voice comes from behind you, startling you. "may i inquire why?"

"oh, it's you, kazuha," you feel the panic start to slip away. "i was just having a bit of trouble sleeping. no cause for concern, surely."

"i see," his bandaged hand comes to rest on his chin, seemingly lost in thought. "i must confess that the same has happened to me. shall we keep each other company?"

"i'd really like that." you smile, remembering back when kazuha had trouble opening up to the rest of the crew. he had come a far way from that.

"you know, i don't know too much about you… (name), was it?" he asks.

you nod at the name he calls you. "anything you’d like to know? i'll answer."

"where are you from? you're not from inazuma, yet you don't treat liyue like home whenever we are docked there." he's quite observant, you notice.

"i'm actually from (region)," you look over at him. "however, if i'm being honest, i never quite liked it there too much. i figured the kind of life i wanted was something more like this! on a ship, where i can really see the world and what it has to offer. i got what i needed from (region) and left as soon as i could."

"so you prefer the sense of freedom rather than the sense of home?" kazuha ponders. "is that a correct assumption to make?"

"i suppose so," you shrug. "i never noticed how much i desired independence until you showed up, telling us all your fanciful stories of your travels."

"then it must be fate that i arrived on this ship, no?" he jests, a smile on his face as he bumps his side into yours playfully.

"you joke, kazuha, but i think you're right in a way. you've helped me make some realizations about my life that i hadn't before. one day, when i retire from my work here, i want to see more of the world." you stare up at the stars, feeling a sense of yearning for those days. "you haven't talked much of inazuma. why's that?"

he sighs, hand coming up to hold the rail. "inazuma… makes me feel lonely to think about. i have lost many things to that place, and i wish to maintain my sense of self. i've thought about returning, but for now… this is enough for me." one of his hands goes up to his chest, clutching at the cloth of his haori.

you nod along solemnly. "i'm sorry to hear that," you tentatively place a hand on his shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze. "though, it's interesting to hear your perspective. i feel similarly. while we may have our pasts to work through, we have the present to bask in as well, don't we? the future is ours to mold into what we desire, not what our countries desire. whatever you may have lost, you have just as much to gain. maybe it won't be long before we find what fate's leading us towards."

"how poetic," he shakes his head, the sober look on his face fading into a pleasant calm. "have you ever written haikus?"

"not any good ones, i'm sure." you laugh, hand falling off his shoulder and back to your side.

"hm," he hums, trying to figure out how to word his next sentence. "would you be interested in going back to my quarters to write some?"

"oh, i shouldn't take up more of your time than i already have," you mumble, eyes wide and face warm. "we should both sleep, shouldn't we?"

"well, that is true that we should sleep…" he looks at me with a mischievous glance. "it doesn't mean we must."

"alright, i'll join you." it doesn't take much to convince you, interested in spending more time with him.

"even mountain's path, bleak and rocky to the eyes, has the heaven's clouds." he speaks out as you count syllables on your fingers. when you confirm, he dips his feather quill in ink and pens it down on paper. "your turn."

"um…" you mutter. "the kiss of maple, breeze on the lips of your love, sticks sweet in your heart?" your shoulders rise, feeling a hint of embarrassment.

he smiles, admiring you as he rests an elbow on the desk, chin in palm. "romantic," he says, once more dipping his quill in ink and writing your haiku down next to his. "i enjoyed it. you did well."

you go back and forth, creating pages upon pages of haikus. you barely notice the time passing, caught up in each other's company. eventually, you lay your head on the desk during a moment of silence, trying to come up with more words to use in your haikus. without realizing, you fall asleep, head in your arms.

the next morning, you awake to beidou hollering. kazuha, red faced next to her, stands unusually slouched and shy.

beidou's laughs roar throughout the ship, pointing at you. "oh man, (name) is in kazuha's quarters," it's as if a riot breaks out, loud footsteps hammering in your ears as the rest of the crew barrels in, still barely awake. "in his bed, even!"

she throws an arm around kazuha's shoulders, pulling him into her side and giving him a noogie on the top of his head. he flounders, trying to push himself out of her grasp. when he successfully does so, he manages to escort everyone else out of the room, walking back to you. groggily, you sit up, rubbing at your eyes as the sleepiness leaves you.

"i apologize deeply for that," he mutters, taking your hands in his. "i didn't mean for them to disturb you. you fell asleep earlier at my desk, and it would've been rude for me to disrupt your rest. so i brought you to my bed and then i happened to fall asleep at my desk… then beidou came barging in, as you're aware."

you laugh, not too worried about things. "that's just how the crew are, kazu," you see him flush a little at the nickname. "we're all a big family here, and that includes teasing each other. besides… it's not like i mind." you bring one of his hands up to your lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it.

he's shocked, glance lingering on the spot where you kissed his hand. "ah," he mumbles. "we… we must get to our duties," he gets up quickly, going to his desk and aimlessly shuffling around some papers, trying to make himself look busy. "i shall see you later tonight. i enjoyed your company last night, and…"

he hesitates for a moment, steps stuttering as he makes his way back over to you. he cradles your face in his palms, eyes briefly meeting yours as if to ask, 'is this okay?' when you nod, he gently plants a kiss onto your forehead.

"there," he smiles, chuckling a bit. "the kiss of maple, just like your haiku."

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Wano (Part Two)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

okay so the wano flashback is possibly my favorite in the whole series for a whole bunch of different reasons, and oden as a character is a big part of why. honestly, i think he’s great. he’s wildly entertaining and ridiculously likable, just like a folk hero should be.

i care about oden and the akazaya nine a lot. they have one of my favorite found family dynamics in the whole series, up there with the strawhats themselves- a bunch of thugs and castoffs who wound up gathering around this one wildly charismatic moron and deciding to be stronger and better for him. 

i think they really feel like a family, in these little moments we get of them just interacting and messing around, and it only makes later events- oden’s death, the twenty-year separation, kanjurou’s betrayal- hurt all the worse.

on god it is the funniest thing on earth to me that this is how oden and izou wound up on whitebeard’s ship. 

the roger pirates!! i really really like the roger pirates!! i love that there’s this entire predecessor crew who are both absolutely fucking fascinating from a lore perspective and who are just all individually really good characters with really fun relationships. the dynamics we get to see just in this brief part of the flashback are absolutely delightful. i think the fact that i would read a whole series just about the roger pirates is a testament to oda’s character writing. 

there’s a specific sort of tragedy to the roger pirates, and i think it really hits home in their last few pages in this flashback. by all appearances, they were a crew just as close-knit as the strawhats are. they cared about each other a lot- that ship was their home.

and then their captain died, and they just- fell apart. 

awhile back, in my sabaody post, i talked about how we get to know roger first as a story and then as a character by getting to meet characters who knew him personally. to the rest of the world, roger is a story, a name to curse or a height to aspire to. but for shanks and rayleigh and crocus and buggy and all the rest of the roger pirates, he was their captain. 

the whole wano flashback, possibly more than any of the others in the series, really feels to me like a story being told, a folk tale being passed down, which makes sense, since it’s canonically framed as oden’s diary entries. and i think that framing device just adds so much to the atmosphere of this entire section of story, the feeling of myth and legend to it. 

i honestly really like how oden’s death is handled. i have trouble articulating it, but it’s so much, so over the top, so heavily set up and foreshadowed- a legendary death for a legendary man, if that makes sense.

toki’s prophecy is one of my favorite motifs in this whole arc. wano is all about a country that’s been trapped and dying for years and years, holding out desperate hope for salvation. toki is the one who gave them that hope. she doesn’t try to tell them that everything will be okay, she says it will be dark and the darkness will be long, but the dawn will come, and even though she gave her life to do that, she did it smiling. 

without toki, the wano arc never would have happened, because there would be no future to fight for. 

this panel is the header on my favorite op discord server and sometimes i just scroll up and stare at it. it’s so good. 

this entire sequence, starting from luffy law and kidd’s entrance, is probably my favorite in wano arc. it’s the turning of the sides, the daybreak after the darkest hour- these three show up, and then jinbe, and denjirou reveals his true colors and it’s revealed all the rest of the samurai left before orochi blew the bridges, and it turns out they haven’t lost a single step to kanjurou’s treachery. it just feels so good to read, after the prior hopelessness of the akazaya and the tragedy of the flashback.

i really like how the akazaya nine are absolutely ready to roast each other at any and all times. that’s how you know they’re best friends. 

i think i mentioned it back in fishman island, but one of my favorite things is the strawhats just being absolutely cheerfully, chaotically destructive. every time we get to see them wreck havoc while nonchalantly bickering with each other it puts a huge smile on my face.

i think ulti and page one are very very funny and i like their dynamic a lot, it’s a laugh riot. i also like that oda lets luffy seriously fight a woman here!! i’m serious, we don’t see enough no-holds-barred fights between men and women (conventionally attractive women, specifically) in this series, so i’m pleasantly surprised when it does happen. 

i do appreciate wano’s ability to continuously raise the “holy shit!” quotient without it ever really feeling like a twist just for the sake of the audience. like, i don’t know that anybody saw kaidou killing orochi coming, but at the same time, it feels like it does make sense, given what we know about kaidou, for him to do this.

my heart goes out to momo, honestly. he’s only eight, and in that time he’s lost his home and family and his whole world when he was thrown twenty years into the future, and he has the weight of his whole country resting on his shoulders. he’s borne up admirably under that stress, starting from zou and building up to this point.

i LOVE kin’emon’s speech to kaidou about luffy SO much. kin’emon’s come a long way from being a mostly comedy relief character in punk hazard to here, where he’s shouting down an emperor. i really like this progression- kin’emon doesn’t change, exactly, but the side of his character that is revealed in wano is very likable and admirable. it goes back to something i’ve mentioned before, about how one piece’s characters are very rarely one-dimensional.

kaidou’s dragon form is extremely cool, and so are most of the panels where it appears- it’s extremely striking, especially in panels like this, where he’s silhouetted against the moon.

i love... the ripple effects of luffy just being himself that spread throughout the world of one piece, and i think this is one of the best examples. luffy befriended coby all the way back in chapter two, mostly by accident, and now, nine hundred and some chapters later, that’s what leads to drake joining the strawhats’ side. because drake is friends with coby who says luffy is trustworthy, so when drake is stuck with nobody else to turn to, he turns to luffy. 

moments like this really reinforce just how much the world and story of one piece is built on relationships between people, and i really like that. i like that instead of necessarily being built around abstract ideals or morals, characters’ actions are, more often than not, motivated by either specific personal goals or by their relationships with other characters. it feels much more true to life.

i like the loss of kiku’s arm, because it showcases exactly how serious the fight is on both sides. it both shows that kaidou is fighting to maim and kill and do whatever it takes to win, and that the akazaya are fully prepared to take whatever he throws at them. kiku gets back up smiling after losing her arm. neither side in this fight is even close to backing down, now or ever. 

i genuinely can’t believe how long it took me to talk about yamato, so let me just say: i love him so much. part of this, i’m sure, is my personal bias towards any and all kickass queer characters, but part of it is just- he’s so cool. he’s ten feet tall and carries a club about as big as he is and tanks explosions like they’re nothing while also bickering with luffy and falling out of ceilings and generally being like... stupidly lovable. 

i just like yamato a lot. 

a thousand chapters in, and every strawhat but robin has had a moment where they declare luffy is going to be the king of the pirates, but honestly, i think nami’s might be my favorite yet. nami has always been a person who acts at a distance, not one inclined to direct confrontation and putting herself in danger-

and yet, when it comes down to it, when faced with a choice between death and disavowing her captain’s dream, even when assured by usopp that she would be fully justified in lying for her life, nami chooses luffy. even in the most dire of circumstances, all of the strawhats know luffy is going to be the king of the pirates, and none of them would ever deny it.

i kind of alluded to this back in my dressrosa post, but i really like the development of law’s new dream being discovering the meaning of the will of d. it just feels like a very good and natural progression for his character, given he’s the only holder of the will of d who we’ve been shown is consciously aware of it and what it might mean. and in general, i like seeing him having something else to work towards after doflamingo’s defeat.

i’ll end this by just saying i am so desperately curious to know what is in that book, and what yamato knows about the will of d, about the dawn of the world, about laugh tale. 

guess we’ll find out, huh?

thanks for reading through to the end!! i had a lot of fun putting these posts together, and writing them up was a really cool way to be able to compile my thoughts headed into chapter 1000 and beyond. i can’t wait to see where oda takes us next. 

[ramp-it-up]

Fresh Squeeze, Pt. 6

Pairing: Daveed Diggs x OFC Linden Marshall

Set in 2023, post-pandemic

Warnings: Cursing, Wild Thoughts™️, Angst, Yearning, 18+, Walmart shopping, Anime discussion, Anthony Ramos. Lots of Plot

Word Count: 2.8 K

Plot: Linden Marshall just finished law school at Columbia University in NYC. Daveed Diggs is still creating magic with his platonic life partner Rafael Casal in the form of their Blindspotting musical, Bay Boys. Linden’s boyfriend WAS Mark Monaco, star of the superhero movie series Invincible.  They were together for years, and her trauma and his addictions were toxic. She knows now that wasn’t love. 

A/N: Keep in mind that this the same AU as Arrivals, with Holly Woods, but is BEFORE Rafa and Holly get together. 

Read the previous chapter.

==================

Isabela, Puerto Rico, May 2023

“We are about 30 minutes from our destination. Please stay seated with your seatbelts fastened. The pilot will let you know when it is safe to do otherwise. Enjoy the rest of the flight.”

The flight attendant’s announcement woke up Daveed. He felt warm and happy. And he had you in his arms.

Daveed moved his head down into your curls, and kissed the top of your head., checking to see if anyone was watching. Everyone was knocked the fuck out. 

You had fallen asleep on his shoulder about 45 minutes into the flight after passing around champagne bottles. You were so cute, but he could tell that your neck was gonna be wrecked when you awoke.

Daveed had carefully maneuvered you so that he could pull up the armrest without waking you. You were dead to the world, so you waking up wasn’t a problem. 

Then, he pulled you to his chest, situating the blanket around you two and leaning back.  If he wanted anything from you right now, at the top of the list would be to be able to hold you like this and to show love.

He questioned that word in his mind. Love, really? He did love you, even if it was only as a good friend. But could it be more? Were you ready for that? Was he?

Daveed looked around to see Craig watching him and giving a thumbs up.  No one else noticed, Rafa was on his laptop and he could have sworn that Anthony and Jasmine were doing something nasty under their blanket behind you.  

He settled back into this feeling of being with you and fell asleep too, happy and content.

You woke up to a strange rhythm under your ear. It was a blue covered heartbeat, you recognized as you opened one eye, and it was insistent and hard, yet warm and safe. You shifted, held Daveed’s torso tighter and tried to drift back off. His arms tightened around you in response.

 Then your eyes popped open.

“Oh shit!”  You realized what was going on. You sat up slowly and squinted at Daveed’s smile and his damn low sexy voice. 

“Hey sleepyhead.”

“Hey.”  

You blushed and wiped your mouth. 

“Shit, I’m sorry…” you wiped at his onesie. “I think I drooled all over  your…” 

You didn’t finish the sentence when you glanced at Daveed and caught his eye. 

What you said that night came back to both of you. D’s eyes darkened and he licked his lips. For a minute, you were trapped by the static energy of your attraction. Daveed could do a lot with those lips right now if you’d let him. 

But of course you fought it.

You took a deep breath and sat up, separating from Daveed more fully. You had to get it together. You reached for your phone and checked your face, making sure you weren’t too crusty.

“Practically perfect in every way.” Daveed was watching you.

“That’s your first mistake.” You clicked your camera off. “ Anything that’s perfect isn’t real. Or alive.”  You had learned a lot in therapy.

“Truth.” Daveed looked at you appraisingly. “Such wisdom from a young one.” He leaned close to you.  “That’s why I said, ‘practically.’”  He was staring at your lips, not wanting to give up on meeting them again.

“I’m not a ‘young one.’ I’m thirty in two days.” 

You lifted your chin as a child would do, Daveed noted.  It was appropriate, because you were being stubborn as fuck right now.

He chuckled and stayed close, not letting you off the hook.  

“And I’m 40. I could be your…”  

The timbre of his voice was causing your pussy to vibrate. Holy fuck.

“...Daddy,” you said, huskily.  

You opened your mouth to breathe, as Daveed grunted quietly in his throat. God, you wanted to fuck him. You remembered that you knew how big he was. Your eyes widened and you watched his mouth.

Daveed would teach you about Daddy. He wanted to rail you until your pussy curved to his dick.  Got damn.

Daveed wanted you and you wanted him. It was crystal clear. He began to reach for you under the blanket when the flight attendant’s voice intruded on your vibe.

“We are beginning our descent into Rafael Hernández Airport, please stay seated with your seatbelts fastened and bring your tray tables and seats to an upright and locked position. The temperature is 75 degrees and the current time is 12:47 am.  We should be at our gate shortly. Thank you.”

That’s it. The moment was gone. You reached for your water bottle and took a drink to cool down. You were grateful.

Daveed was frustrated, as he sat back, brought his seat up, but held the blanket on his lap for a little while longer. It wasn’t fair, he almost had you. He closed his eyes. Now he felt like a child.

---------

The crew finally arrived in town around 2 am, after the two hour flight and renting a couple of cars to get to Isabela, a village on the seaside.

Loud music was playing to avoid falling asleep, Rafael driving one car and Ant the other.

Arriving in town, the two cars headed straight to the Walmart to get some food and things. It was almost 2 am, but everyone was re-energized and playing around, glad to be free for the time being on the island.

Daveed had to concentrate to read the titles in the video section.  His mind kept going back to the moment on the airplane.  But he vowed not to chase you up and down this island. He didn’t want to crowd you.  It had to be your decision.

You had to come to him. And  the thought of you made him want to cum. He’d have you to think about in the shower tonight, or today, whatever.

He needed to stop thinking about it.

Daveed was looking for Black Dynamite to watch in the condo in case it rained. He knew better than to think that Walmart had it, but he tried anyway.

He did see Afro Samurai tho… He picked it up as Rafa approached him with a toy xylophone and a big grin.

==================

Puerto Rico did something to all of you. It was like some weird no inhibitions pollen or something. When you stepped off the plane you decided to not overthink shit. You were just going to respond naturally, fuck the consequences.

This was your weekend, after all.

You walked into the entertainment section and heard some vaguely familiar music. As you got closer, you realized what it was.

Daveed was in the book section rapping “Rubber Duckie” as Rafa played a toy xylophone.

I got my rubber duckie

I'm in the tub with bubblies

He isn't very fuzzy

I know my duckie loves me

Call up my homie Ernie,

You know the orange one, ya heard me

D was going in, being silly and laughing with his bestie. He was fucking adorable.  You grinned at them and turned down the dvd aisle.

“I can’t believe they don’t have Cowboy Bebop.”  

You shook your head as Daveed and Rafa walked up and flanked you at the display, a shopping cart by Daveed’s side.

“It’s a classic.  Children will be referencing the War on Titan and it's after effects a hundred years from now."

Rafa just nodded and stroked his chin, having enough sense to be quiet.

“Wait, Attack on Titan is right here Lindy…” Daveed reached for a dvd and held it up in front of you.

Rafa shook his head and covered it with his hand.

"Spike Spiegel wasn't in Attack on Titan.  That's an entirely different anime series, my dude." 

The sardonic wit in your voice. Daveed just nodded, face on the floor, and put the blu ray down.

You squinted at what D had in his hand. 

"Afro Samurai is 20 years old as well.  You know that and not Cowboy Bebop? You put shame on your house. Old Man.”

You gave him a sexy grin and sauntered away shaking your head.

Rafa had been watching the scene, head on a swivel. All he had to say after you left was, “Boom. Roasted.” 

Daveed just chuckled, surprised and exhilarated at the same time. It seemed that you were up to letting loose a little bit.

He looked at Rafa who just watched Daveed falling. He couldn’t catch him this time.

"Man. Tonight looks like the beginning of an EPIC weekend,” Rafa said as he pushed some more dvds into Daveed’s cart.

Then he pulled a pack of Magnum XLs off the shelf that he had been hiding under his arm from you.

Daveed looked at him. Rafa stared back.

“What?  All these beautiful women on this island. I’m not gonna be unprepared or take any chances.”

Daveed shook his head, grimaced and looked around to see where you went, but you were nowhere to be found.

----

You were busy eating some Hot Cheetos that you’d grabbed on the chip aisle and were turning down the candy aisle when you saw Grumpy Care Bear standing there with a basket full of food, dvds and shit, looking at some sour patch kids.

"Oh hell,"  you said as you turned right back around.

"Ay, yo.  Lindy. You can get your candy. I'm not going to assault you with my inferior anime knowledge."

He laughed that sexy laugh and held up his hands. He sort of regretted calling you back because you walking away...Damn. Even in the Pikachu onesie.

Daveed continued to hold up his hands to show he didn't intend any harm, a smile on the lips that were your weakness earlier.  Fuck me, you thought.

You smiled back at him and went for the Jelly Bellys. You crunched loudly on your Cheetos as you clocked him out on the low. You felt bad. A little. 

"Look, I'm sorry about that in the dvds.  I'm just passionate about what I like."

Daveed wondered if you liked him. Like liked him liked him. He allowed himself to go there. 

You sucked the Cheeto dust off your fingers and it was making D feel some kinda way as he watched your fingers go in and out of your mouth. His eyes began to slide down your body.

He needed to stop. Daveed cleared his throat and looked at your face.

"No problem. I get it. It's all good." 

Diggs unconsciously licked his lips and grinned, causing you to stare for a second at his casual hotness. This couldn't continue. You frowned.

Daveed sensed the change in mood, grabbed his Sour Patch kids and backed away.

“I’ll leave you to it.”

That was a close call you thought as you felt some weird pang of disappointment at him leaving. But it was what it was.

Soon enough, you all left the store.  Rafa stole some of your Jelly Belly’s. You just handed over the pack to him and pulled out some more. You were prepared.

==================

When the crew finally got to the house, you dropped your bags and ran to the beach, celebrating four days of freedom from work, acting, fame, fortune, and expectations.

After a few minutes of staring at the waves, y’all made your way back up to the house.

When you walked in before Jazzy turned the lights on, you recognized a large dark expanse which seemed to be the back wall. As your eyes got adjusted, you noticed the white rolls of the waves on the shore. 

The back wall was floor to ceiling glass.  When the lights came up, it turned into a mirror and 6 characters in onesies stared back at you.

You were at the back of an open concept space with a huge u-shaped sectional sofa and a beautiful, big kitchen with a bar.

Daaaammmmmmnnn! This place is gorgeous!  Craig’s mouth was hanging open. You reached over and closed it.

“Welcome to our home away from home!” Anthony was bleary eyed and smiling wide. 

He pointed to the right of the house.

“Me and Jazzy’s room is over there,” he then pointed to the right of the house. 

“The birthday girl’s room is opposite over there, a mirror of the master,” then he pointed to the back of the house behind you and to the right,  “and the other four bedrooms are here.” 

Ant started pulling their luggage toward their room, talking over his shoulder. 

“Everybody gets their own room, even me, when I fuck up.” 

All of you cracked up laughing whole Jasmine nodded her head.

It was almost 4 am, so you all were tired.  You gladly pulled your suitcase to your room, feeling grateful and warm for being the guest of honor of your friends.  Your room was the bomb.

You walked into a spacious room with bamboo wood floors,and exposed wooden beam ceilings and several floor to ceiling windows.  There was a huge fluffy white rug under a comfortable king sized bed in the middle of the room. 

Two uniquely designed bamboo lounge chairs and white pillow ottomans faced a window where you could look through and see the pool and beach.

It was a luxury get away and right now, all you wanted was a shower and the bed.

You put your suitcase on the floor and got down and opened it.  You shook your head at what you saw.

“HOLY FUCK GOT DAMN SHIT!!!!”

Daveed, Craig and Jasmine came running at your screams.  Rafa and Ant were behind.

“What happened.”

You were embarrassed. But so irritated.

“Craig. You got the wrong suitcase.  This is Mark’s shit that he never came to get.  None of my clothes are here.  I have nothing to wear.”  You felt like crying.

“I’m sorry Lindy, you said that your summer clothes and bathing suits were in the rolling soft Louis bag…”

I mean the large one. This is the medium one. It’s okay, Craig.

“You have nothing to wear hunh?”

Daveed was smirking at you and you ignored it, crossing your arms and tapping your foot.

“But it’s perfect!”  You looked at Jasmine and her chipper British accent.

“We can go shopping for your birthday tomorrow. Treat yourself!”

You couldn’t help but smile at Jazzy’s happiness. She was right. Rafa and Ant went away and left y’all to that talk. Daveed was glued to his spot.

“OOooooh. Good Idea.” Craig was in. 

“Ok.I’m tired as fuck. I just wanna shower and sleep now. I’ll not need anything tonight.

Daveed couldn’t get the image of you in the shower and naked in bed out of his head now. He cleared his throat.

“I can give you something to wear shopping tomorrow, Lindy.”

His voice was soft.  You smiled at him and he was a goner.

“Man, you are like three times bigger than she is?”  Jasmine didn’t understand.

“Hold up. Are you willing to sacrifice, D?  Can we cut up one of your t-shirts and jeans?”

Daveed felt pain. The only t-shirts he had were Oaklandish.  

“Let’s compromise. You can cut my jeans all you want, but not the shirt.”

Craig smiled wide.  “Deal, if you throw in a belt.”

“Damn, Diggs…” was all that Jasmine said, smiling and shaking her head.

“Thank you Daveed. I appreciate it.” You were blown away.

Daveed played it off. “No problem…” And then he just turned around and walked out of your room.

“Girlllllllll!!!!”  Craig and Jasmine squealed at you and it took you a minute to get them out of your room.

You walked into the en suite bathroom and marveled at its beauty. It was large, with a huge tub and a walk in glass encased shower with an overhead waterfall  shower head. 

You turned on the shower to get it hot, stripped off your onesie and your underwear, wrapped yourself in a towel and went back into the bedroom.

You stopped short, because there was Daveed standing in your room, clothes in hand.

He had immediately gone to find his least favorite jeans and the Oakland shirt that would suit you the best.  He decided that you would look beautiful in blue.

You just in a towel was a sight to behold. He was sure that underneath that towel was paradise.

You stared at each other for a minute, Your eyes were glued to his.  

“Th-thank you again Daveed.”  He couldn’t discern if your hesitant, sexy voice was for him or from embarrassment.

“Sorry, I…. didn’t think you’d be… sorry.” He put his hands up and backed out of the room.

“Daveed.” You called, softly. “Stop.”

You approached him with a smile on your face. Daveed’s eyes were wide, not knowing what was going to happen.

“Thank you. I mean it.”

You stood on your tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, your lips lingering. Daveed closed his eyes and fought the urge to grab you and hold you close to him.

“You’re welcome.” His smile wrinkled his eyes as he smiled down at you. 

“Goodnight, Linden. Have sweet dreams for me.”

You just stared at him as he turned and left the room.

Daveed was just outside your door when he heard your reply.

“Yes, Sir.”

==================

Read the Next Chapter.

Thank you for liking, replying, and reblogging! 

Tagging: @einfachniemand @sillyteecup @commandersmiley @ohsoverykeri @theselilwonders @theatrenerd86 @sebastianabucknettastan @imatyoursurrvicesurr @riiyy @ivycomet @lonelydance @curtainremote @biafbunny @id-do-it-for-free-babe

[chenziee]

Six: The Celebration

Day 6: BBQ/Movie night for @opnamizine​‘s Tangerine Summer :D Barely grazed the prompts this time but in my defence, making up a video dial and coming up with some way for them to find one that made sense would be too complicated so you get an alternative xD

Heads up for minor LawLu again because I have no self-control.

[Read on AO3 | Read from day 1]

----------

“Here you go, Nami-san.”

The navigator smiled as she accepted the plate that was handed to her. “Thank you, Sanji,” she said, admiring the smell of perfectly cooked meat.

Honestly, Sanji had them all so spoiled, like dining at a 5 star restaurant three times a day plus snacks. And yet, he always outdid himself. Apparently, even something as simple as a barbecue could be made into a work of art, even when making it for all the people who had survived their raid of Onigashima—and not just their crew, Torao’s crew, the samurai, and the minks. No, it was for everyone they had picked up along the way as well. Including the Kid pirates, the rebels, the prisoners and the yakuza, and even some of the Beast pirates that were now somehow Tama’s pets, it was hundreds, thousands of people.

Even with help of many other cooks, Sanji still had more than enough work on his hands but… he looked like he was enjoying himself immensely and Nami was glad. When she remembered how sad, cold and unhappy he was when they had finally found him on Whole Cake Island, it was like he was a different person. Like he was alive.  

“You don’t forget to eat, too,” Nami teased, chuckling when Sanji froze and blinked at her owlishly, eyes wide with shock.

“I— Thank you, Nami-san,” he said after a moment, looking away, and Nami was pretty sure that was a blush on his face.

It was cute how he always got caught off guard when someone looked out for him for a change. If this was a few weeks ago, Nami could just hear the ‘Aww, Nami-swan, you’re so beautiful when you’re kind!’ and see his dramatic, love-struck flailing. He always did that when trying to deflect and brush off things that might affect him but at last, it looked like he was putting in an effort to get used to it; slowly learning to accept the care and love his friends were giving him.

Nami smiled, a genuine, happy smile, as she nodded and turned away. They would teach Sanji to be kind to himself yet. After all, the Straw Hats were nothing if not stubborn.

That was a problem for later, however.

Tonight, they were celebrating.

The trip back towards the stage was short but given how the Komurasaki was one of the performing geishas and dancers, it was no surprise that the area beneath was packed. And with a plate overflowing with food, it was almost a miracle that she managed to make her way through the crowd and back to her friends without any incident.

When she finally sat down on the ground in between Robin and Luffy, she let out a relieved sigh. “Here, Sanji’s special barbecue,” she announced.

Immediately, everyone cheered quietly as to not interrupt the music and dancing too much before grabbing for the plate, in a hurry to steal some for themselves before Luffy could get to it.

But then… Luffy didn’t.

Exchanging a worried glance with the rest of the crew, Nami went to ask what was wrong but before she could so much as open her mouth, Tama spoke up instead. “Mm this is so tasty!” she said, the happiness in her voice almost tangible.

“I know, right?” Luffy grinned proudly. “Sanji’s cooking is amazing.”

“Aren’t you going to eat, big bro?” she asked then, her cheeks puffed up with all the food in her mouth.

Luffy shook his head, petting Tama’s head where she sat in between his legs and looked back at him questioningly. With a soft smile, Luffy finally replied, “Nope, I’m stuffed. You can have my portion if you want.”

Tama’s face split up in a blinding smile, nodding enthusiastically before she turned her focus back on the pile of meat in front of her. Luffy simply watched her, that soft expression still on her face and Nami… felt like the whole world turned upside down. Luffy letting someone else have all his food. Luffy. Unbelievable.

Blinking a few times, Nami noticed everyone else was staring at the scene with an open mouth, obviously just as shocked as she felt. It was only a long while later that slowly, she turned to her other side to exchange a look with Robin. The other woman was covering her mouth to hide a smile—or likely muffle her laughter, judging by the way her eyes danced with joy—and, guessing easily that they were thinking the same thing, Nami, too, had to laugh.

Shaking her head, she followed Robin’s example to look at Torao, who was sitting on Luffy’s other side. “I think your boyfriend just adopted your first child. Congratulations,” she told him sincerely, biting at her bottom lip to try and keep her expression at least remotely straight at the face Law made.

"I did not consent to this," Torao replied, frowning deeply as he glared at Luffy, then Tama, then Luffy again.

"I honestly don't think anyone ever consented to anything with Luffy," Usopp noted helpfully.

A large pout appeared on Luffy's face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "But you're fine with it!"

"Again, Straw Hat-ya. That's not the point." Law let go of a long-suffering sigh, looking so incredibly tired. Nami wondered how many years of his life this poor man had lost over the last two, maybe three months since they had run into him.

But well, that was just a part of the course with Luffy—or their crew as a whole, really. And even if everyone complained about it, no one could deny the post-victory celebrations were well worth all the stress and… adjusted plans.

Nami, for one, certainly couldn't.

Ignoring the bickering couple and laughing friends, Nami turned her attention to the entertainment. She had to admit, it was pretty obvious why Hiyori became the oiran; she was beautiful up there, even without full make up or her hair styled the elaborate way she used to wear before. It was as if she was born for the stage. And the happiness radiating off of her, the relief from Wano's hard-fought, finally achieved freedom, was only making her more mesmerizing. Just looking at her move gracefully as she played on her shamisen, full of energy and not fighting her wide smile, it made Nami so incredibly happy as well.

Ever since she had set sail with Luffy, Nami had witnessed several times the pure joy of a country being rid of their tyrants, thanks to Luffy. She had been one of the people he had saved this way. But seeing it, hearing it, being at the centre of it… it never got old.

And if the celebration came with amazing food and plenty of booze, friends and laughter, and gifts of golden dragon statues from the shogun's castle, who was she to turn away?

[physicalturian]

Why don’t you listen to me? Law x GN! Reader - Part 5

Spoilers for : Punk Hazard and Dressrosa arcs [No gender used for the reader, no physical description, everyone is +18] Words : 4547 Archive of our own Blood, exhaustion, fighting, violence, despair If you feel like I should put more warnings, send me a DM or an ask!

… Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Considering I was responsible for Luffy, when I saw him take off with everyone else after the plan was detailed on the shore, I had to take off with him too. I had to use my power more than I thought I would with how fast he was, but managed to keep up. When we reached a restaurant, I stayed out of the way even more so when they annoyed the man I knew was from the Marine, they did not seem aware of who they had angered but I was not going to stress them out and ignored it.

 However, when Zoro started running after some stolen good, I couldn’t stay out of it and had to catch up before he got lost. He was one of the strongest of the team and would do great damage in time but I did not know what to do. Stay by Luffy and make sure he’d follow the plan or follow Zoro?

By the time I made my decision and turned towards where Luffy was, he was nowhere to be found. “Fuck. Ten seconds of inattention and I’ve already lost him.” I looked around, desperately trying to see where they had gone. I did not even have a map of the place, the only one I had seen was Bepo’s badly done one that Law showed us on the ship. Even if the map was ‘good’ in theory, my memory wasn’t. Sighing, I walked out of the restaurant, making sure to pay for what had be consumed by the loud pirates and samurais. “There better be gold at the end of this stupid suicidal-mission because they cost more than they’re worth.” I mumbled to myself as I walked down the streets, dolls, puppets, and plushies were walking the same street I was.

 Those usually inanimate objects made a huge part of the population, it was a strange sight but there was probably something grimmer behind all of this. Their eyes looked almost… human. A shudder ran down my spine, I had to pride my eyes away from them to avoid being suspicious. “It looks like a huge amusement park, there should be a map somewhere, right?” I stopped by some sort of souvenir shop and asked if they had maps, the seller stared at me in awe, then back at something under the counter. When he looked back at me, he smiled and nodded, handing me the map.

 I was going to take it when his wooden hand gripped mine and brought me down closer to him, “It’s you! The King- I heard that the King wants to see you but…” He trailed off, his eyes gazing around in panic.

“Who’s the King? How does he know who I am?” I asked, snatching the map from his hand.

“King Joker, but it’s only a rumor… he says whoever finds you has to bring you to him, there’s bounty on your head,” then out of nowhere a knife was pulled from under the counter and planted in my arm, I grabbed the man/doll by the arm and threw him across the room before running out of the shop, the knife hit the ground and I scrambled to get it as I made my escape.

 I made a short detour to run by a stand outside and grabbed a black drape to cover my head better than the cap Robin had given me. I thought I was the only one of the whole crew who wasn’t known, but for some reason Joker wanted something with me. But I was not going to let him catch me. For a second I thought, maybe Law was right and I should have stayed on the ship, then I got back to my senses and ignored that thought.

 I was teleporting from places to places, to get off those streets and was now on the rooftop of a high building. “Right, maybe I overreacted. Maybe I could have just walked out of the shop, and play it off…” I pondered out loud, “But I didn’t, it’s alright though, I’ve got the map, I have-“ I looked at my right arm and saw the blood trickling down the stab wound that turned partially into a cut as I had pulled back from the puppet.

 “And I have a stab wound, nice. I’ll just,” using the drape, I cut a part of it with the knife and wrapped it tightly around the wound. I was no doctor, maybe it was a bad thing to do but I did not care. At least blood wasn’t dripping on the ground anymore, which means they couldn’t follow me.

 The building was not a high enough vantage point, so I opened the map and looked at it; Green Bits was across a long bridge that I could see from where I was, but it was very far away. Tucking the map away, I sighed and started making my way to the bridge. I had to pause every time to recharge, I was expecting to use my power a lot more than I used to but not for such things. I thought I’d be helping people out not running around like an idiot, but things never went as expected. I couldn’t begin to imagine Law’s face when I’d tell him I lost Luffy. He’d probably beat my ass then beat his, but, all in due time.

 I had this strange feeling in my guts at each of my jump. The closer I was getting to the bridge, the heavier the air seemed to be. The fact of the matter was that if anything was happening there, I couldn’t be of much help considering the lack of items around me. I had not taken any weapon with me, except the knife the seller had used one me. It wasn’t the sharpest but it would do the damage. The plan was to trade off Caesar to the Marines at Green Bits but anything could wrong from there one. If I knew something from experience it was to never trust Marines nor pirates, all were crooked and while one of them claimed to be working for the government, the latter was corrupted to the core. I had yet to come across a truthful Marine.

 Except that one guy that helped Law when he was younger, but once again… he was a spy among the pirates and I don’t know how I felt about that. I don’t know how I’d feel if one of my crewmates was actually a Marine. Maybe thinking the Marine would enroll a spy was giving our crew too much credits, we weren’t war criminals or anything… I think…

 I was brought back to reality when I heard a loud crash. Looking ahead of me, I saw the bars on each side of the bridge get cut off, then four big animals jump of the water to loom over the two miniscule forms on the ground.

 I hurried, recognizing Law’s fighting, he wasn’t meant to turn it into a fight just yet. He wasn’t meant to fight with Joker just yet, the plan wasn’t going as expected and I could see it from the desperate attempt to keep the Warlord at bay. Once I was close enough, I managed to get out of the large cut the blonde made, the fishes were cut in pieces and fell into the water with a loud plop. I looked from afar, needing the gauge if I could help, if help was even needed.

 Law was running head on onto the man in front of him, he wasn’t thinking straight, he wasn’t running he was rushing. The grin on the Warlord’s face did not put me at ease, and soon enough he blocked Law’s attack. A huge explosion ensued, I was left speechless, staring at where my Captain used to be. For second my stomach did a flip at the thought of him dead, then I saw him running away from the rubble and sighed in relief. He must have seen me since his eyes widened and he screamed my name, telling me to get out of here. I yelled back, telling him I’d teleport him but he told me to go, now.

 “What’s the matter Law, I thought you wanted to kill me?” Said the Joker. It made Law pause, and so did I, I watched. I observed how it’d end up, although I believed in Law, I could still very much notice he was at the limit of his capacity. He was out of breath, exhausted and clearly unable to continue. And yet he did, he tried to attack the blonde with the metal debris, only for him to slash them in pieces. I was going to sneakily grab him and get him away when he desperately went for another strike, I could see the bubble around him grow as he summoned his power.

 I was just as surprised as the Warlord, I did not know how he could continue to go past his limits over and over again, but I could easily tell it wasn’t good.  He exchanged places of Joker with a huge piece of metal and struck down with his sword, but once again he was blocked by the strings.

 Grinning, the tall blonde man sneered, noticing that Law’s power was at its limit. I was surprised to hear he had faced a lot in the little time we were apart, a meteorite from one of the marine, rescued Sanji when they fought the first time? What was going here, how long had he been fighting? I couldn’t think more, they kept exchanging hits, only in vain. Law’s attacks were all blocked, and when he was catching his breath, the maniac shot him down with string bullets which sounded ridiculous but that thought only lasted half a second before I saw my Captain on the ground.

 “Law! Let me-“ I cried out, but he raised his fist.

“Get out! Leave, it’s not safe!” My heart clenched at his attempt of fighting back once again, he tried to summon Room but it didn’t work, I looked away, fearing the worst but a phone rang. I turned around and look as Joker picked up his den den mushi and talked casually on the phone. There was another attempt from Law but he got taken down just as easily as before. When the call was done, he strutted towards Law, his walk more threatening than his outfit.

 He started explained how annoyed he was with this little plan of ours and mentioned that if he didn’t trust the Straw Hat, perhaps as friends even but that was left unsaid, then he couldn’t have planned something this big. When he mentioned me, I was startled and looked at him in shock, he was staring right back at me but Law ignored it and said he trusted the will of D. That was the words too many, Joker turned into a full berserk mode and raised his fist and was about to strike down Law.

 Seeing his state, I didn’t think, I reacted out of instinct and teleported closer to finally reach the blonde’s man back and try to hold his arm. He laughed manically and made cuts on my skin, making me let go of his arm but I was still holding tight onto him. It hurt a lot, but the adrenaline made me ignore it for now as I gripped his other shoulder tight.

 “Let him go! You fucking psychopath, you’re not fit for a King, you’re not fit for a Leader- You’re barely a man as it is!!” I rambled as I grabbed the knife from my back and was about to shove it in his throat when he laughed some more in response and took if away from my hand forcefully. I say forcefully but it scared me, the ease with which he used his power to open my hand.

“You talk too much, I should finish you just like I’m about to finish him.” He raised his arm once more, but this time made sure I couldn’t move mine.

 He did not hesitate a second more and started hitting Law over and over again, blood spurting around, grunts of pain following each strike. I wanted to throw up from the sight but did not let go of the Warlord. I couldn’t teleport away; I was gripping him tightly but if I let go there was no chance to find Law again. “You’re insistent, can’t you see he’s already dead?” Joker spat as he kicked Law into the air and followed the strings to get closer and closer, kicking my Captain further away at each kick.

 “Fuck off, I don’t care if I have to strangle you myself-“ His laugh interrupted me, but it quickly turned into the deadliest expression. I couldn’t see it full well from my place on his back but he wasn’t smiling anymore.

“Guess I’ll kill you both, the traitor’s bastard and you.” He scoffed and gripped one of my wounded arms, lifting me off his back with ease before slamming me into the ground. I let out a painful groan and swore the best I could, this was not ending here.

The air got knocked out of my lungs, I had a hard time breathing but I tried hard to roll onto my stomach to look at the still ongoing fight.

 The Warlord was stepping closer to Law’s body that was lying on the ground, motionless. The ground under him was crushed, I couldn’t imagine the pain he must be in. Slowly, Joker raised a gun and aimed it at Law.

A screech ripped out of my throat, I tried to teleport closer to him but I couldn’t. For some reason I couldn’t, I was fucking helpless. “Don’t! He’s-“ I coughed some dryness, maybe even blood, and placed my hands on the ground to steady myself. The Marine was there, I couldn’t stay here, but I couldn’t leave him there either. The so called ‘King’ ignored my attempt and cocked the gun. I could hear Luffy’s voice somewhere, he did not know what was happening but he tried hard to get any sort of information.

 “You’ve pushed it too far, kid.” Joker said as he aimed the gun well, before shooting one bullet. My breath hitched inside my throat, then I cried out Law’s name in utter horror. He couldn’t be dead, right? One bullet was alright, the King doesn’t look like he’s a good shot- but two other gunshots rang. I looked at the scene in horror before collapsing on the floor, my arms too weak to carry my weight anymore. I covered my mouth to muffled the sound of my sobbing but couldn’t tear away from the scene displaying in front of me. “Law…” I gasped, pushing myself up to go up to him. “Don’t … die” my voice was weak; I could barely hear it.

 He couldn’t hear it either, people were talking, arguing. A Marine stepped up in front of Doflamingo and was about to strike down Law when Zoro stopped it with his sword. I was silently thanking him with all my heart. After managing to stand up, I tried to take a step but fell to my knees. How hard have I been slammed into the ground? I’ve taken worse beatings, now is not the moment to be fragile. I scolded myself, pushing way over my limits and getting up once more. This time I was able to take a few steps but had to hold onto a nearby wall when the Admiral used his power and the pressure was back. I looked around; I couldn’t see Law on the floor anymore.

 My heart was already beating fast in my chest, I felt it hammer against my ribs, I was exhausted from so little and scared, scared for Law’s life and mine too. Perhaps Law’s more than mine. I heard Doflamingo’s voice in the air and saw him floating, thanks to his strings, along the Admiral. The King was carrying Law like a grocery bag, I wanted to get up there and beat him up but I had no energy. I felt pure hatred towards the man, and except for being the worst kind of scum all he did was beat up my Captain... for now. I hated being so emotional and tried to force myself to calm down, but my hands were shaking.

 I think the blonde said something that must have angered the Marines or maybe were they working together? Whichever it was, they started shooting at Zoro and Kin’emon; I was going to sneak away and hide when one of the civilians grabbed me by the arms and lifted me off the ground, “It’s the one!! It’s exactly like the picture- The king said we should-“ I mustered all my strength and got rid of them before teleporting myself to the roof on top of them, I barely made it through and was hanging on the edge. I had to bring myself up and doing so made it hurt everywhere. My throat was sore, my breath shallow and my arms wounded all over. But I made it and was now sitting securely on the rooftop.

 “Fuck this, I knew it’d end bad…” I huffed, rolling up my sleeves to look at the multiples cuts on both my arms. It was more sore than painful, kind of like a cat’s scratches but when I touched it hurt a lot more. Hitting my head against the chimney I was resting against, I groaned. “I fucking knew it’d end up bad, but I promised everyone I’d look over him…” I’m a failure, I scoffed dryly, my hands gripping my thighs tight. I was trying so hard to keep the tears in but I was alone, I was horrified, I didn’t know what to do. “Always making stupid promises… if you can’t even keep them, what’s the point?” I wondered rhetorically, feeling the tears roll down my cheeks silently.

 Hearing footsteps echo nearby I stood up quickly and jumped on another roof. I have to stay on the move, I can’t relax, I need to find the others. Wiping the tears away, I tried to hype myself up, even though I did not believe the words that left my mouth, I kept repeating them over and over again, “Maybe he’s still alive, maybe I can still save him, maybe he’s still alive…” But what if he’s dead? If he’s dead, I get over it. I’ll have to, the fighting is not over. Should I finish what he started? I’m not strong enough for that… I could become strong enough, I could come back later and finish Doflamingo. The thought made me giggle nervously, who was I kidding? If I came out of this alive, I wouldn’t come back here, I would never ask the Heart Pirates to follow me.

 I cared too much about them to force them to join me- Stop thinking that like that, Law is alive, get to him in time and he’ll be fine! He won’t be fine though he’s on the verge of dying- but that’s okay, he’ll come through he went through worse right? I let out a frustrated groan at the mix of thoughts in my mind, I did not know if I should be realistic or optimistic so I kept moving towards the castle. I had seen both the Admiral and Joker make their way towards that building, chances were that Law should be there too.

 After a while, the castle was finally in my reach. I was weary, drained and bloodied up, I no longer had the drape around my knife wound. When Doflamingo use his strings on me, he made sure to cut that too and now I had and open wound and tons of cuts all over my arms. Still, it seemed to be taking care of itself enough since no blood was dripping which was the bare minimum I was hoping for.

 Stopping at one spot in the shadow, I looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone. It reminded me of Punk Hazard which immediately threw me off, I was very bad at sneaking around on Punk Hazard, maybe I was just as bad here. Out of the blue, I remembered something, Law’s vivre card. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I tried to find it amongst other things in it, soon enough I found it and looked at it, it was halfway gone but very slowly gaining back some of its life. A nervous breath of relief escaped my lips as I stared at the blank paper in front of me.

 I felt relieved but couldn’t waste more time, tucking it away, I kept my back against the wall and peeked inside the room through the window. I could see someone sitting on the ground by the door as the man from earlier, the Admiral, stepped in and seemed to be talking calmly to Joker. They weren’t paying attention to anything else, but the blond had a victorious grin on his face. But perhaps was his face always adorned with such expression? Since I couldn’t hear them, I looked around some more and realized that someone was sitting on one of the four seats in the middle of the room, at the heart-shaped one… it was Law.

 He was handcuffed to the seat, his head hanging low, beaten, bleeding, knocked out. I hated that a part of me thought he was still handsome like that, but the most logical part was anxious, how long could he stay alive in that state? I’m sure those handcuffs weren’t simple one either, they were made for fruit user. I was startled when Doflamingo tried to kick the Admiral, and moved to rest against the wall once more, I would rather not get caught.

 After a moment, I looked back and there were more people inside the room. Law seemed to be awake and from what gathered, they were interrogating him. When he didn’t answer, the girl in the maid dress slapped in head, I felt my fingers tingle at the thought someone laying a hand on him when he was in that state, but gripped the wall tighter. I saw something move the back and realized Luffy was there with two other people, one of them being a doll soldier. Relief coursed through my body at the thought of not being alone if I was discovered, not that I was aiming to be.

 My legs were starting to get weak from staying on the tip of my toes, on the edge of the wall. It wasn’t made to be walked on, but I was trying my best to stay balanced. I was careful not to look down, I was very high above the ground; One wrong move and I could fall down, which almost happened when Doflamingo slammed opened the window to overlook the city. He was mad, he was angry, he was more than infuriated. And I love it. I don’t know what had happened to make him mad like that but I was living for it, perhaps the plan was still ongoing and things weren’t as bad as I thought they were.

 Things kept happening, one after another, I had no opportunity to get off my spot until a large man with a missing leg jumped out of nowhere and ‘heroically’ cut Doflamingo’s head off. But it was useless, it wasn’t the real him, and yet I took that opportunity and leaped back inside, the thumping of my feet on the ground made Law turn his face towards me. When our eyes met, I felt all the frustration that had built up since then melt away and I stood there, holding onto the edge of the window. “You’re alive-“ I was interrupted when Luffy came crashing in with a woman in his arms, “Torao!! You’re alive!!” he screamed.

 That was supposed to be my line, but yeah sure go off, I guess. Luckily, they had the key to the handcuffs but the adrenaline and their over enthusiasm made it hard for it to fit the keyhole. And they said so, I was going to suggest I’d do it but Doflamingo’s double came back and everything went to shit. I heard him mention a birdcage, a grin spreading on his face, which was a huge contrast to the horrified look that painted Law’s face. The soldier raised his sword once more, but the Warlord was faster and was quick to get behind him and raise his foot, ready to kill.

 I threw myself over Law’s seat and pushed it to the ground as Luffy threw himself on the man, I heard his name being screamed by the Straw-Hat Captain and learned it was Kyros. While Luffy was fighting with the blonde maniac, I scrambled to my senses a tried to find the key to Law’s cuffs. Stress was getting the best of me as my hands were shaking, it didn’t stop me from patting the ground to see if it was around. I stopped when I heard Law say my name, his voice gruffy and filled with worry.

“I’m trying, I’ll find it, I swear I’m trying-“ Why was my voice so uneven? Why was I getting so emotional, it was just a key, I had to take a breath and calm down… But it was mixed with elation from knowing Law was alive too, and I had a hard time getting myself under control.

He said my name again, but even though I heard it, I didn’t really hear it. I overheard it, I was too focused on the blood pumping in my ears and my hands on the moving ground.

 “Look at me!” He said a bit louder this time, I looked up and met his gaze with panic. “You have to go, you can’t stay here, Joker he-“ Law bit back his words and gulped, it almost looked like he was getting emotional but I think it was his exhaustion that was getting the best of him.

“The birdcage, I know what it does. You have to go back to the Sunny-“

“I’m not leaving you behind,” I grabbed his hands, avoiding the cuffs knowing full well its effects. “I promised Bepo, I don’t care if I’m not part of the crew. I just…” His eyes were fixed on my arms, horror in his eyes. I pulled my hands from his and kept searching around the room, continuing in a lower tone, “I need you alive, that’s all.”

 Before I could find the key, the ground started moving once more. It was guiding us towards the open part of the castle, towards the edge, towards a big fall. “Fuck-“ I tried to reach out for something, anything to grab to avoid falling, in vain. We were all free falling, Violet was screaming, Luffy was falling head first, Kyros and Riku were scared shitless too, but Law could not see what was under him. As much as he tried to keep his composure, there was terror in his eyes and I couldn’t help him. I was useless.

[Part 6]

[thewildomega]

Star in the Sand Ch.22

Waking up you groaned and moved your hand to rub your throbbing head. Pushing yourself to sit up on the cold floor you cracked your eyes open and looked around the room to see metal walls, metal floors and a heavy duty metal door. Trying to recall what you had been doing earlier you blinked. You remembered training with Zoro, it hadn't been easy to convince the swordsman to teach you some spearman ship but after explaining that you were determined to be able to protect your child he had agreed to help you. 

It had been about a week since the ship had left Fishman Island and while you were excited to see Crocodile again you decided to take this opportunity to better get to know the crew. Teaching Sanji recipes from your world which Luffy enjoyed taste testing. You told Chopper stories you knew as well as exchanging jokes with Brook. Drawing sketches of different machines and explaining them to Franky while Usopp took a chance to help show you different plants he had learned about. At night Nami would explain the different weather patterns and how to better understand the signs of a oncoming storm. Before bed you talked with Robin about your world.

During that time your belly had slowly started getting a bit larger as well, your bones no longer protruding to the point that you could rival Brook. Nami and Robin had even had some lotions and oils to help with your dry skin and hair. You still looked different than you had before going into Impale down but hopefully now you might not scare Crocodile away. Sleeping in an actual bed had also helped with the deep shadows around your eyes even if you were constantly plagued with nightmares. Now that you thought about it that was the last thing you remembered doing. After sparing with Zoro a bit you had drank the vitamin infused smoothie Sanji had made you and then followed Bon's advice to go lay down and rest. 

This however was not Nami and Robin's room. You weren't chained or tied so that was a good thing. However you were only dressed in a pair of jeans and a black tank top. You didn't even have any shoes on, the sandals that Nami had gotten from Pappag. Now that you were coming to some more you realized it was actually cold, not as cold as level five but still chilly. Then it hit you. Punk Hazzard. "Oh Fuck." How the hell had you slept through the arrival, you must have really been out of it. If you were in here then that meant that Luffy, Zoro, Robin and Usopp were already on the hot side and you and the others were here. Only thing was though that you looked to be locked away in a separate room. Why was that? No matter the reason you had to find a way out of here. Standing up  you looked around the room and saw it completely bare. Trying the door just for the hell of it you weren't surprised to find it locked up tightly. Go figure. There had to be a way out, think! The walls were metal as well as the floor, looking up you saw the ceiling made of the same metal but... there was also a vent. You could work with that. 

.............................

Looking around the frozen wasteland, his hair blowing in the harsh wind. They had been walking around for a while now, bypassing the group of marines. Splitting his crew in thirds to go search in a different locations while Daz, Hex and himself went towards the mountains he stopped when he heard explosions. Narrowing his eyes he sensed the presents of others and started that way. When they got close enough that they could see smoke he heard yelling and turned his head to someone he wasn't expecting. 

"GATOR! Hey Crocodile!"

"Straw-hat." he spoke around his cigar. Of course, that's how she got here. 

"Over here!"

Sighing he wasted no time in turning to sand and quickly flying towards the yelling idiot. 

"You're here, that means you got Y/n's letter, she's going to be so happy!" Luff spoke with a smile as Crocodile reformed.

"AHHH NOW CROCODIE IS HERE TOO?!" Both Usopp and Chopper yelled. 

"She's with you then? She's safe?" he asked, not being able to keep the emotion out of his voice. Quickly looking around the place that seemed to be in ruins he noted a few of the Straw-hat crew, Nico Robin included along with another face, Law. However he didn't see Y/n anywhere. 

"Well no not exactly..." tilting his head and rubbing the back of his head. 

Seeing Crocodile's brow twitch Robin stepped forward some. "What he means is that she is not with us right now."

"Then where is she?"

"I duno?" Luffy shrugged. 

Gritting his teeth down on his cigar he heard as Robin offered to explain their current situation. Sighing he moved over to speak with her, hearing the Straw-hat crew go back to they previous conversations. For the next few minutes Robin explained to him how Y/n had temporarily joined them along with Bon Clay. "Bentham?"

"Yes he apparently helped her escape Impale Down. I am guessing that since she knew about us from her world, she knew where to find us in Sabaody, knew that Luffy would have no problem helping her." 

Humming he puffed on his cigar as Robin told him about everything that had happened since they had gotten here. They had apparently separated but even once they were all reunited Y/n was not with them. "How is she? How has she been?" 

Taking a deep breath Robin blinked and looked to her old boss. It was strange seeing him care about someone's wellbeing but she wouldn't comment on it. "Well I did not know her before hand but as for her health... it has improved slightly since she first arrived. I am sure our Doctor, Chopper, can tell you more at a better time." 

"Hey how about changing us back now, I can't do anything in this body." Franky yelled.

Turning his attention back to the rest of the group he watched as Trafalger Law used his Devil fruit powers to change some of the Straw-hat members back to their original bodies. After that he stood back with his arms crossed over his chest as Law explained how this Caesar Clown who used to work with Vegapunk had taken over the island and how he was experimenting on children. His main goal to change them into giants so the military could use them in war. 

"...this woman you are looking for, the one known as Firelocks Y/n, she's in the main Lab. Caesar is keeping her locked up in a separate location from where the rest of you were taken." Law explained. 

"But why? What would he want with her?" Nami asked. 

"Think about it. Caesar has been experimenting on kids for a while now and while he has had some results he hasn't gotten the ones he wants. Vegapunk himself determined the sooner a specimen started getting the drug the better the results."

"But that would mean?! NO! No he can't!" Chopper yelled. 

"What I'm not getting it." Luffy said in confusion. 

"Caesar is keeping y/n because he wants to experiment on her... because she is pregnant!"

His breath caught in his throat. Pregnant, she was still carrying their child? This whole time? Through Impale Down? Blinking and then gritting his teeth when he registered what he had just heard the cigar soon broke in half between his teeth. This Caesar was threatening his soulmate, his child. 

"This guy is a sick son of a bitch ain't e'?" Hex spoke in a growl. 

"Yes. I'm not leaving this island until Y/n and the children are all safe." Nami spoke. 

"If I leave here with Luffy are you going to stay here alone?" Law asked. 

"Wait I'm not going anywhere. If this is important to Nami and Chopper than I'll stay too. Plus Y/n is my friend and that Caesar guy has her, I'm not just going to leave her there. I mean I told her I'd help her get back with Gator. Then Sanji wants to put that Samurai back together. Look if you are going to work with us then get used to helping people." Luffy told Law as he turned towards him some.  

Seeing Law's look Usopp sighed. "Here's the thing. See most of the time when you're forming an alliance you get a couple of groups with a common goal and you negotiate the best way to get it done, does that sound right?"

"Obviously."

"So you'd think but in Luffy's world that logic get's thrown out the window completely."

"Just means I'm friends with you." Luffy butted in with a smile. "Like me and Crocodile, we're friends, right Gator?"

Blinking slowly he stayed silent, his arms crossed over his chest. 

"That's a yes." Luffy grinned. 

"You can forget about having any say in what we do. It's all up to him." 

"All up to me." Luffy beamed. 

"As soon as this guy makes up his mind about something that's it. You're along for the ride wither you like it or not. If selfness was a power he'd take out that emperor on the spot." 

"What Emperor?" Daz asked. 

"After this we're gonna go take down Kaido." Luffy grinned. 

"Fine but we have to hurry up, there's no time. Putting the Samurai back together can be your groups problem. I guess I can go investigate the drug that was given to the children. If they have already started giving it to the woman then maybe I can come up with an antidote. Now who's the ship's doctor again? You come with me, we'll do research behind Caesar's back. Crocodile, one of your men can come as well, maybe he can search around the lab for Firelocks but if they get caught it's on them."

Looking to Hex he tilted his head and saw him nod and start walking away with Law and the furball. 

"Daz perhaps you can stay here and help Nami and Usopp protect the children. Their withdrawals have been making them lash out and they coudl use the help." Robin suggested. 

Nodding once Daz looked to him he heard Straw-hat say that he was with them. 

"Now I'm gonna go kick this Caesar's ass." Luffy smiled. 

......................................

Crawling through the vent for sometime you grumbled to yourself as your knees started to ache. So far you hadn't been able to find a suitable room to drop down into and you were starting to wonder if you ever would. Continuing to crawl you stopped when you heard voices. Quietly moving over to look down into the vent you saw none other than Law and Monet. They seemed to be walking down what looked to be a hallway of sorts. You couldn't make out much but when you heard Law say something about leaving you knew what events were about to unfold. Shit. As they passed out of your view you heard another voice, a deep voice. As the three talk about 'Joker' you heard a pained gasp and wince, this had to be the part where Vergo shows up. That was one guy you really didn't want to be found by.

Staying as still and as quiet as a statue you watched as not too long later Monet and Vergo walked by, Vergo dragging a now unconscious Law behind him. With the poisonous gas soon to be flooding the place you didn't want to keep trying your luck with the vents. Glancing down to the floor you saw it not too terribly far down and sighed. Slowly opening the vent you peeked out to make sure the coast was clear. Easing out you hung from the vent as you tried to lower yourself down as best as you could. Taking a deep breath you let go and managed to land on your feet before falling back on your ass. Better than you stomach. Placing a hand over your baby bump you took a moment to get your barring's. Now you just had to make it to the center part of the lab so the gas wouldn't turn you to stone. Wrapping your arms around yourself you grit your teeth, cold why did it always have to be the cold? Hearing your stomach let out a growl you sighed. "I know." patting your belly gently you walked down another hall but stopped dead in your tracks when you saw two of Caeser's men standing there. 

"Hey! What are you doing out of your room?" 

"Get her!" 

Throwing your fist through the air and kicking at the other you grabbed his gun when he dropped it. Slamming the but of it into the man's gut you heard him groan. Swinging it around into the other's face you knocked him to the ground and didn't see him get up. As the other went to get up you quickly went around him, putting the barrel of the gun against his throat and pulling back. Whimpering out as he elbowed your ribs hard enough to make the breath leave you, pulling it as hard as you could you were thrashed around until he finally fell unconscious. Pulling the gun out you swung the strap over your arm and hurried on before more showed up. Passing by a door you saw words written on it out of the corner of your eye you glanced up and rose a brow. 

....................................

"It brings back memories to see you two in the same cell." Robin spoke. 

"Oh yea Smoky and I got caught by you and Gator in Alabasta. Kinda funny now that you both are in here with us isn't it?" Luffy laughed. 

"Forgive me if I fail to see the humor." He said with a slight roll of his eyes. 

"Shut up you damn fools!" Smoker growled. 

It shouldn't have surprised him that that feathered idiot was behind this whole operation. He wasn't even surprised to see he had managed to work a spy into the navy itself. When Caesar came into the room he grit his teeth. To think someone like him was able to defeat all of them, even when it seemed like Straw-hat had him. Hearing him tell the 'Vergo' man to start the video he saw him turn to them again and begin taunting Law. Seeing them have not only Law's heart but Smoker's as well made him raise his brow. Watching the screen he knit his brows at the giant piece of candy being laid out. Listening to Caesar go about explaining this 'smiley' creature he watched the screen as it showed the purple gas start infecting the island. When the footage showed others out on the snow running away from it he blinked when he realized it was some of his own crew along with the straw-hats and Bentham. 

"Hey that's Zoro, they're all running from the smoke." 

"Would you look at those fools, what are they doing out there and what the hell kind of run is that?" 

"Oh look the Samurai got his body back." Robin grinned.

"Yeah you're right, guess that means he isn't going to give me his legs." Luffy grumbled. "Hey wait that's not important right now Robin." Leaning up some he looked to the video "Run faster guys, that smoke will freeze ya dead! You gotta ru..ahn..ahh." Falling to the ground on his face he groaned. "Aw man I don't have the strength to yell. Damnit, dumb sea prism stone." 

"I take it those are your friends Straw-hat Luffy?" Caesar asked before laughing. 

"Yea they are my friends and they are going to be make it just like Y/n once I find out where you're keeping her. You better not have given her any of those drugged candies." Luffy growled. 

Hearing his soulmate's name get brought up he snapped his eyes over to the man, his body tensing slightly.

"Who?" 

"I believe he is talking about the woman Joker wants." Vergo spoke in his calm voice. 

"Oh her?! I wouldn't dream of drugging her, well not if I want to keep my life. Don't get me wrong I would have loved to test the effects of my drug on her and the unborn child but Joker made it perfectly clear she was not to be touched."

"Why what the hell would he want with her?" Law asked. 

"He doesn't want anything with her, he's simply the delivery man." 

"For who? Who want's y/n?"

"Big Mom maybe, Y/n told me, Robin and Nami that she wanted to kill her." Franky added. 

"Try the other side of her family line." 

"Yes one wouldn't be able to tell she comes from such a strong bloodline just by looking at her." Caesar grinned with a small chuckle. 

"Kaido. She is Kaido and Big Mom's granddaughter." Law spoke once it clicked in his head. 

"So Two of the emperors had a baby?!"

"What can I say, they're must have been some lonely nights on Rock's ship." Vergo huffed.

Shocked by the news he felt his heart hammer in his chest. She was in even more danger than he first thought. If that were true then that would mean...

"So what the hell does Kaido want with her?!" Luffy yelled. 

"Kaido wants a strong army, she's his blood..." Law told him. 

It wasn't difficult to put together what Law was saying and once he did he felt the vein in his forehead and neck stick out, his fist clenching at his side and his teeth gritting together. Over his dead fucking body. 

"I can see this troubles you Crocodile." Vergo spoke, addressing the ex-warlord for the first time. "Knowing that the two of you were affiliated before her time in Impale Down I am going to go out on a limb and say the child growing in her womb is possibly yours. If it's any consolation Kaido may allow her to keep the child once it is born... if she behaves. If not then it will join you in the afterlife." 

"Bastard." he growled so deep it almost sounded inhuman. 

Laughing at the whole situation Caesar gave a smile. "I'll give you this one last chance to see her." Waving his hand towards the workers he saw them pull up the footage of her room, "Now say goodbye to your ahhhh where did she go?!" 

Seeing the room empty he felt hope fill him. She had made her way out. 

"Shishishi, Y/n escaped Impale Down, did you really think you would be able to hold her in there?" Luffy giggled.

"I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you." Robin chuckled

"Grahh. No matter, she will be found soon enough but I'm sorry to say that by then you all will be dead." Nodding his head he watched as the crane picked up the cage and started moving it. "Time for me to show the world that my weapon is tougher than any high bounty pirate, Marine vice admiral or Warlord of the Sea." Caesar laughed.

Getting freed by Law he stood straight and brushed off his clothes. Getting into the lab he watched as the rest of the Straw-hats, marines and his own crew hurry into the lab. 

"Alright looks like everyone's here." Luffy smiles.

As soon as he heard Law tell them they needed to get to the door with R building 66 on it he looked down to his men. "Go help the Straw-hats with the kids then get to that door."

"Oh Mr. Zero there you are. Wait where is Y/n?" Bon asked, quickly looking around for his friend. 

"I'm going to find her." he replied gruffly. Turning around he waited for no reply, refusing to be separated from his soulmate any longer. 

...................................

Running through the lab you held on tightly to the sword you had gotten off the most recent group of Caesar's men. After hearing one of them yell 'There she is..." you were fairly certain they knew you were missing now, which meant Caesar did as well. Assholes had made you drop your jar of peanut butter you had swiped from the kitchen as well. You heard an explosion go off earlier so you guessed the others had made it inside by now. Knowing from the manga that the gas would be spreading quickly now you pushed on to make it to building R. Wincing when your leg ached you moved your hand down to hold it over the bleeding gunshot wound there. As another round of gunfire rang out around you, you heard one yell that you were not to be seriously injured. Running behind the corner and onto the stairway you tried to outrun them but were forced to stop when more yellow dressed men showed up in front of you. 

"Now come on lady, just come with us and we won't be forced to hurt you anymore." 

Gritting your teeth you looked back and forth, you were surrounded and while you may have been able to take on five or six of them there looked to be at least a dozen. Backing into the railing you snapped your eyes behind you to see the floor far below. There was no way you would survive the fall... but there was another option. Looking back to the group you saw them inching there way closer. It was now or never. Turning around quickly you climbed the railing and jumped. 

"NO!" 

Grabbing hold of the chain you gasped as it started falling, you were not expecting a pully. Seeing the ground coming up fast you grabbed hold of the other one and let out a muffled scream when it tore away the skin on the palm of your hand. Pushing through the pain you slowed yourself down enough to not die when you hit the ground but you didn't stick the landing and were left a little dazed when your head smacked against the hard floor.  Blinking slowly as the world seemed to spin you held your belly with one hand and turned your head to the side to see the yellow suited men running down the stairs. There muffled yelling rung in your ears and you whimpered as you pushed your body to sit up. Seeing the fallen sword on the ground not to far away you crawled over to grab it and pushed yourself to your unsteady feet. 

Raising your head as the heavy footsteps grew closer you just did swing your sword in time when one of them took the chance to grab you. The man was quickly replaced with another and all too soon you found yourself in another fight but this time it wasn't looking too good. Crying out when one of them sliced at your shoulder you backed away, the grip on the sword loosening to the point you almost dropped it. Bringing your knee up and then kicking you refused to give up but you were quickly growing exhausted. Tring to swing the now heavy sword again it was blocked and smacked from your hand. Feeling a hand yank on your hair you winced and hit against the man as he stood above you. Seeing him hold out a can of what you guessed was that sleeping gas you held your breath and tried yanking out of his hold. 

"This would have been much easier for you if you would have just did as we sa... ah!" 

"AHHH!"

Feeling the hand on your locks loosen you went to fall to the floor but something held you up. Seeing nothing but black you let your eyes slip close, a heavenly smell filling your nose. Then there was a voice, a deep voice, one you had only heard in your dreams for what seemed like a lifetime. Pulling back some you looked up and saw him. After so long you weren't sure he was real. "C..croc?"

Taking care of all the filth that dared hurt his darling he looked down when he heard her trembling voice. Seeing those sea blue eyes looking up at him and hearing her say his name he couldn't help but grin. As soon as he did he felt her arms wrap around his waist, her face burring into his abdomen. 

Shaking with sobs you held onto him so tightly you only knew his clothes would be wrinkled. It was him, it was really him. 

Prying her arms from him only long enough for him to lift her up he felt her arms wrap around his neck. Holding her with his left forearm and hook he wrapped his right arm around her to return her embrace. His eyes closed momentarily, relishing the knowledge that she was in his arms once again after six months apart. 

There were so many emotions overtaking your body but none more prominent than happiness. Tears poured from your eyes, soaking into his coat and shirt but he didn't seem to mind. "I'm ssssorrryyy." you sobbed. 

Hearing her heart wrenching apology he licked his lips, swallowing the lump growing in his throat. "Why on earth are you apologizing to me? You have no reason to be sorry..." Clenching his teeth he gently rubbed the back of her head and hair. "I on the other hand don't deserve your forgiveness, everything that happened to you, all of this, it's my fault." 

Shaking your head you nuzzled your nose into his neck. "No it's no..."

"It is." he said through gritted teeth. "I failed you again... I didn't..."

Leaning up you pushed your lips to his. Holding his face in your hands you refused to let him break away. After a few moments he sighed, his lips softening to kiss you back and you knew you had won. Tears continued dripping from your eyes and no doubt onto his face. Pulling away only to peck his cheeks and lay your forehead on his you closed your eyes. You didn't know wither it was from finally being reunited with your lost love again after so much or all the injuries but you felt very tired. 

Feeling her body slacken against his he opened his eyes slightly and looked down to her. Seeing the blood on her forehead he recalled where they were and what was happening. Moving her over to the steps he sat her down and kneeled in front of her while his eyes scanned over her body. He could see blood soaking her pants leg, a gash across her shoulder and blood coming from her head. There was so much more he wanted to observe but now wasn't the time. Removing his belt he put it around her upper thigh and pulled it tight to stop the bleeding until it coudl be treated. There wasn't much he could do about her other injuries unfortunately. As his eyes fell to the small bump under the thin tank top she was wearing he felt his heart beat harder in his chest. Reaching out he ever so gently placed his hand over the majority of her stomach. Blinking he stroked her belly with his thumb, "You truly are an amazing woman." 

Grinning bashfully you looked down to his hand and placed yours overtop for a moment. That quiet moment was soon interrupted as a loud explosion shook the lab. "We have to go, now." 

Nodding he stood and removed his coat wrapping it around her slightly trembling body he lifted her up into his arms again. He would get them out of this place and then he would never have her out of his sight again. 

[cienie-isengardu]

The development of Law’s relationship with Zoro - Part 5: Zou, The Kindred Spirits (Traveling together)

<<Part I: Before Meeting>> <<Part II: Sabaody Archipelago, The First Meeting>> <<Part III: Punk Hazard, The Alliance (A)>> <<Part III: Punk Hazard, The Alliance (B)>>  <<Part IV: Dressrosa, The Breaking Point (The Plan Failed)__ (Saving Law)__(Protecting Law)__ (Birdcage, Pica and Doflamingo)__ (Aftermath)>> <<Part V: Zou, The Kindred Spirits (Traveling Together)__(Searching for Nakama)__ (Reunion)__ (Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance)__(The Last Moments before War)>>

Dressrosa was the breaking point in the relationship between Zoro and Law. The previously visible distance (and maybe, distrust too) now is gone, and those two - despite Law’s unhappy face -  drank together during the victory party. Through the voyage to Zou and later, during the arc, both men were more often seen around each other, usually in quite close range. Starting with chapter 802, when dangerous hail was failing on Bartolomeo’s ship. As it turned out, Bartolomeo and his crew did not have a navigator (to give proper orders to steersman, to sail avoiding danger) and all their “wisdom” came from talking over Den Den Mushi with grandma… who in during such crisis was telling them how to remove sticked to floor gum. As crazy Straw Hats are when it comes to challenging the world, they aren’t that insane to sail unprepared on the deadly sea of the New World. Even Luffy panicked, crying for Nami to save them. Zoro and Law on the other hand, seemed more irritated by Bartolomeo’s crew incompetence. Zoro guessed they will have to handle the situation themselves (did he say that to Law in specific, or general, to people around him?) while Law wondered if these guys were for real.

Law and Zoro already had their weapons ready for action, while were standing side by side. Their reaction to the crisis was visually similar, contrasting with panicked Luffy & Usopp and the laughing Robin.

Zoro showed his pragmatic side, by telling Bartolomeo to use his devil fruit power to put an indestructible barrier to protect the ship and everyone on it. Only to hear that he couldn’t do that because of grandma's superstition. With that, Roronoa’s patience for idiocy ran out and he too wondered how that crew survived for so long.

Zoro and Law were on the same page: Bartolomeo and his men were absurd.

The journey was full of dangers.

Judging by the splash of blood on the monster's head that resembles the effect of flying slash, Zoro (or maybe Law) in fact needed to take care of the situation by themselves. According to the narrator box, the journey took a week. Which means Zoro and Law were forced to deal with other people’s idiocy for a long time. Maybe that was another factor to bond over, because both don’t like to put up with the morons (at least, unless it wasn’t their own crews).

On the journey, Law showed his… playful is not the right word, more like deadpan trolling (a trait he will show from on more often). Like calling Usopp the “god”, using the title given to him by Doffy during the Battle of Dressrosa and later used by Marines on his bounty poster. Only to shut down Usopp’s happiness by reminding him in an emotionless way that now all Admirals will look out for him. What of course terrified the sniper.

Trafalgar did not pay to that any mind, explaining Luffy they must be already close to Zou. None Straw Hats (beside Usopp?)  seemed to be bothered by Law’s dark sense of humor, so either they were already used to this or simply didn’t care. Though I suspect if Law picked at Chopper, Robin and Zoro reaction could be much different. 

Both Zoro and Law had their own way to deal with Bartolomeo and his men. Zoro usually got irritated and told them to shut up, once they were fanboying over something too much. Like seeing Thousand Sunny (chapter 803):

Law, who wasn’t part of Straw Hats thus was treated less nicely, simply changed his request from “give something to us” to “give it to Straw Hats” which worked just fine (chapter 802).

Pirate alliance reached Zou and learned no one was on Thousand Sunny moored next to it. Usopp wanted to stay on the ship while others would search for missing crew members, but Zoro wouldn’t let him. Law was standing close to Usopp and Roronoa, instead of isolating himself like he used to do previously.

↪ Clearly, all Straw Hats, the two samurais and Law had their backpacks fully packed, ready for the next journey. Law provided as much information as he could, but he has never been on Zou himself. Since the group was heading into the unknown, it makes sense they took everything that could be useful during the trip, including spare (warm?) clothes, I guess. But since Law was a guest on Thousand Sunny and we didn’t see him taking much with himself from Punk Hazard (unless it was stored on the ship before the party, but then would Zoro be so surprised by Law joining them?) nor during escaping Dressrosa, I assume Straw Hats equipped him appropriately for the journey. On one hand, there was Kinemon who could easily provide Law clothes thanks to his devil fruit. On another, no one could know what awaited them on Zou and the group could be easily separated and once clothes made by Kinemon were taken down, they disappeared for good, so couldn’t be re-used. Which is why I wonder, if Straw Hats borrowed Law some of their own clothes. Since Zoro and Sanji were the closest to Law’s build, Law could get something from their wardrobe, just in case. 

↪ Thinking more about it, what about the one week trip to Zou? The alliance ran away from Dressrosa in hurry taking no baggage with them.Of course, former colosseum fighters turned into Straw Hat Grand Fleet had time to organize everything needed on journey for their heroes and once again, Kinemon’s useful powers were at hand. But Bartolomeo made it clear, he didn’t care at all about Law, so did anyone think to bring spare clothes for him? And if yes, was that something acceptable for Law to wear?

↪ Visually interesting detail, how Zoro and Law have alternating colors. As in, Zoro’s black pants and backpack to Law’s white and white shirt to his black. This will be soon even more noticeable once they get on Zou.

To climb on a gigantic elephant's leg, with his devil fruit powers Kanjuro animated the (poorly drawn) dragon. Manga panel did not show in a clear way who and where was standing (chapter 803) yet judging by what looks like the silhouette of swords, Law and Zoro were standing far away from others but not that far from each other.

Later, Zoro’s position changed, which most likely means some time passed before Kanjuro finished his drawing. Law’s position wasn’t shown, it is hard to tell where he actually went.

The anime (episode 752) put Law much closer to Zoro (and later both around Franky) for the whole waiting to samurai finish his art:

Once the dragon was alive, the alliance rode on it to the Zou’s top, sitting  in the following order: Luffy - Zoro - Usopp - Robin - Law - Franky - Kinemon - Kanjuro:

Of course, Luffy had to be the first - Zoro most likely sat after his captain to make sure the idiot will not do something stupid, like… failing asleep. Law sat in the middle between Robin and Franky. In all fairness, he and Zoro had similar posture - the crossed arms.

↪ There is in fact an actual divergence between frames, because at one Law was actually shown between Usopp (who most likely sat close to Zoro in hopes the swordsman will protect him and keep from failing) and Robin. And who knows, maybe Law intended to sit closer to the other Supernovas but Usopp & Robin claimed the seat before him?

During the climb, the samurais explained a bit their situation, mentioning their missing friend who actually happened to be ninja. All Straw Hat boys and Law immediately showed their delight (in case of Law, nerdy side that will show up from time to time from on):

Even though the word “ninja” sparked their interest, the faces of Zoro and Law showed similar expression - a frown. Visually, the Straw Hat & Heart pirates looked funny, with so contrasting mimicries. Open jaw (Luffy) - Frown (Zoro) - Open jaw (Usopp) - Frown (Law).

Out of nowhere, some animal (Mink) fell down and accidentally threw the samurais off the dragon (chapter 804). Thankfully, somehow the men did not die. All Straw Hats were happy to hear that. Law’s face was hard to read anything, but he too looked down after fallen comrades. Because samurais were friends in need of saving, Zoro ordered the dragon to start climbing down, clearly with rescue in the mind. Law didn’t protest.

Despite pain (tiresomess?), the dragon wanted to finish his mission. Seeing how the creature suffered already and with the reassurance from the samurai that they were fine, Straw Hats decided to head ahead.

After a long journey, the alliance finally got to the top. Luffy and Usopp were delighted, Franky cried, Robin and Zoro smiled. Sadly, Law’s face was not presented, but most likely his reaction, the same as Roronoa and Nico was of a “quiet” kind.

Then, the Straw Hats joy died, once the painted dragon - after so much suffering - changed back into picture. The moment was very heartbreaking for everyone… except for Zoro and Law.

That scene once again showed how similar they were to each other. As in: emotionally unaffected and harsh in their judgment. The dragon was in their opinion “just a crappy drawing” and “joke”. Even Usopp’s angry screaming how heartless they were didn’t change their opinion. 

Also, nice thing to note: the minimal (or even a lack of) personal space between those two, despite not walking together a moment ago. 

While everyone was crying after the brave dragon, Zoro and Law went ahead. To Usopp’s angry rebuke, the Pirate Hunter said: 

“We’re in a strange, unfamiliar land. Don’t turn back. Always concentrate on what’s ahead of you.”

With what Law apparently agreed, because none of them stopped for a moment from examining the new place. They shared their observations about gate and watchtower - how dangerously unguarded the place was. What is a nice contrast to Dressrosa, where Law did not add any of his input to the Roronoa’s conclusions about Pica.

Usopp(?) even called them out “all business, no heart”, which highlights how clinically they approached the situation. No emotions, just coolness. 

In contrast, Luffy climbed at the watchtower and was totally excited about the whole place. To the point of simply jumping ahead, without worrying about his friends. Usopp (who accompanied Luffy) notified Zoro about the captain's disappearance. 

Zoro didn’t show worry nor surprise about their captain’s antics - instead asked if Usopp could see Sanji. Robin wondered shouldn’t they wait for the missing samurai, to which Zoro decided they would go ahead.

Now, without Luffy around, Zoro became the leader of Straw Hats. No one questioned his judgment of the situation. Nor nakama, nor Law.

Next part: Searching for Nakama

[doomedandstoned]

SOLAR SONS Show Their True Colors on ‘Chameleon’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Album Art by Keir Murdoch

One of the most played songs on our new compilation 'Doomed & Stoned in Scotland' (2021) is "Jormungandr" by SOLAR SONS, and when you give it a listen you'll understand immediately why. The Dundee band, formed in 2014, has a peculiar style that blends spirited progressive metal with heavy metal bombast, virtuosic guitar solos, and the occasional stylings of regional folk music, making this a solid contender for the Scottish Rock exhibit.

However you describe them, Solar Sons are anything but predictable. Formed in 2014 by Rory Lee (bass, lead vox), Danny Lee (guitar, backing vox), and Pete Garrow (drums, backing vox), the band got serious right away and built a home studio that doubles as a rehearsal space. I bet that would be a fun place to be a fly on the wall when jamming is in session.

DIY to the core, it's not surprising to find them also producing their own records, with each album being self-released. Hell, even their music videos are a personal labor of love.

Like many of us who sat in our houses shellshocked at the beginning of The Great Lockdown, fear gave way to boredom and boredom to creativity.

Solar Sons became separated, as so many other people were during the pandemic. The extra time was put to use and the band began working on new material. Passing each other song ideas and jams, this kicked off an intense period of creating the music from the new album. One song spurring on the next, until late-April/early-May 2020, nine to ten brand new tracks had taken serious formation.

Once things eased up a bit in July, Solar Sons set to work developing the lyrical and vocal parts of the songs, having quite a bit of fun learning to play the songs as a full band.

The album is called 'Chameleon' (2021), and I didn't know until I'd given it a good, thorough listen, how appropriate that title is to the album content. A chameleon is an Old World Lizard renowned for its ability to change color.The album before us is the band's fourth and showcases the diverse command of Solar Sons has over a plethora of rock and metal styles.

Each song is a concept of its own. We gallop gallantly out of the gate with "No Idle Blade," a breathlessly-paced song which references the classic Hiroshi Inagaki film Samurai Saga (1959). It's as much a sweeping love story as it is a heroic clash of swords.

Live by the code, honour to the warriors oath Morality means less to me than duty to the sword Make savage the hand and strong of the mind Must blood be spilled in the fields tonight Many before and many ahead Those who where terrified just turned and fled Swords slashing down, we race to the end

This romping NWOBHM number is an adrenaline rush, full of thematic urgency as played out by the Solar Son's expert sword 'n skins crews who are simply electric in their heroic execution of the rhythm and riffs. Pair this on a playlist, immediately following High on Fire's "Bastard Samurai."

"Timelord" is another heavy hitter, but transports us into another world -- the realm of Doctor Who, to be precise. It continues the frenetic pace of its predecessor, with skilled drum and bass work creating a kind of vortex transporting the evil timelord 'cross the constellations to wreak havoc on the good Doctor (which in my mind will always be my first childhood connection with the word "cool," the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker).

The evil timelord he has come for us all Brought back from the past to walk among us Set forth his reckoning and spread fear among us We dare not stand alone, it is nearly upon us The hour is here, the time is now

This song races to the finish with a jazzy swirl of psychedelic picking, slowly fading away. And...scene.

As the album progresses from this point forward, the rhapsodic progression through different styles becomes all the more apparent. It's hard to believe we're even listening to the same band in the funky, "Back Again" until the Solar Sons chime in unison the chant: "Visions in my mind / The pieces fall apart."

"Molten Mountain" is a wonderful prog interlude with beautiful guitar and bass tone. I refer to it in my notes as "The Continuing Adventures of Whale & Wasp" (Alice in Chains devotees will get the reference). It's worth noting that frontman Rory Lee moonlights as bassist with King Witch, another favorite band of mine from out of Scotland.

Every well-rounded album needs contrasts. Light and dark, fast and slow, exciting and chill. Enter: "Reflections," which the band characterises as a kind of contemplative ballad.

"Captive" continues in a similar mood. As it begins, it stirs up memories of the melancholic "Soma" by The Smashing Pumpkins. Don't be lulled into a depressive sleep, though, this too has the stirring fight and might of Solar Sons written inside and out (the band calls it "the anti-ballad").

With "Revenant" the band has decided to show off what it can do as a purely instrumental outfit. Lovers of progressive rock will relish in the effortless psychedelic and math-driven passages. This is why you practice your scales and runs, guitar students. So you can one day aspire to play with the effortless style, grace, and beauty of Danny Lee. I'd love to see these guys jam with my Northwest pals Zirakzigil sometime! What a blast it would be to have the two of those bands on the same bill, maybe opening for Earthless

"Test of our Times" awakens me from my daydreaming, probably because the singing is so out of character from what we've heard up to now. The band call it a "seventies rock shuffle." It's freewheeling spirit might deceive you into thinking this is a carefree song, were not the lyrics handy.

Feeling alone as the days they slowly pass Too much time on my hands I should not complain for I know it will not last And it's easy for me A prayer to the souls who are fighting for their lives And the ones who gone And those who give care you are heroes of our time And we will not forget

Starts to surround can you feel it closing in Pressure it builds now the time is near Fork in the road with a choice unclear how Can we maintain so much doubt and fear Break in the clouds see it light it by the sun Can't go so far for this all to be undone Gathering now we breach into the night Test of our times will unite us in the fight

We're at a point in the album where the Chameleon is shifting into all kinds of far out color. Next up, "The Wolf'' returns us to the savage tone that opened the album, though this is a notch sludgier than we've encountered so far. And no wonder: it's about The Wolf of Badenoch, whom Solar Sons characterise as "a nasty bastard in Scottish history and folklore." This will likely end up a favorite of many of our listeners, with the gruff chanting of pawns. will. fall. for. Badenoch. juxtaposed with exciting guitar filigree.

"Beyond the Stars" really endeared itself to me on my second listen through the album. We're told it's about alien abduction -- "the good kind." Certainly, there's something transcendent about it. I'm reminded of similar climactic epilogues in Mastodon's 'Crack The Skye' (2009), Yob's 'Clearing The Path To Ascend' (2014) and 'They Come from the Future' (2009) by Biblical Proof of UFOs. And what a sublime ending! Breathtaking.

Fans of Mastodon, Spirit Adrift, Haunt, Age of Taurus, and Zirakzigil will dig it, for damn sure. And now, one day before the release of Chameleon by Solar Sons, Doomed & Stoned is bringing you the full album stream so you can get well acquainted. If you dig it, show the band some love.

Give ear...

Solar Sons - Chameleon (2021)

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

[kbstories]

Axiomatic

ax·i·om·at·ic (adj.)

Self-evident; unquestionable.

The best part of battle is the afterparty.

(Or: Remember that banquet Luffy promised? This is it.)

Tags: Established Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Partying

Set in Wano. Spoilers for all of Wano. Read Chapter 2 here.

***

“What do you think?”

Lipstick glides over thin lips, the wax malleable and smooth as it leaves a coat of rusty red in its wake. Killer makes sure it’s perfectly even before he glances elsewhere. In the mirror, Kidd’s face is all scowled impatience.

One last run-down – eyeliner, mascara, lipstick: done, done and done – then Killer grabs the mask waiting for him. “Alright, let me see.”

Their eyes meet and Killer sighs. Metal over skin-and-bone, Kidd’s arms are crossed; his shaved brows push together further. As if Killer doesn’t indulge his every whim by the regular.

“I’m looking. Show me again.”

Kidd grumbles, “Watch.” He opens his arms, reveals an unbuttoned shirt tucked into his favorite patterned pants, glinting gold over black under a double-belted cinch at the waist. So far, so very Kidd.

No, the point of discussion is the frankly massive coat slung across his neck: Nice soft-looking suede on the outside and glossy-grey fur on the inside, it hugs Kidd’s shoulders in all the right places to then cascade down his back in a display of near-ridiculous opulence.

Extravagant, over-the-top, flashy. It’s hard to tell which type of animal had to die for this. There must be a lot less of ‘em now, with this monstrosity in the world.

Kidd is swiveling it back and forth with critical glances to the mirror, the coat wooshing with the motions. Killer takes in the fluid glide of fur over Kidd’s exposed chest, the contrast of impeccable couture against jagged scars. Loses himself for a moment or two imagining how it would feel like to run his hands over both.

An appreciative hum. In Killer’s educated opinion, Kidd looks damn near sinful.

“Yeah?”, Kidd asks and Killer nods. “Yeah. Heh, told ya the detour’s worth it.”

Perhaps it was, although sifting through Onigashima’s treasury whilst bleeding all over heaps of shiny expensive everything might’ve been a case of skewed priorities. There’s no need to talk about what-could-have-beens, though – they’re here, they’re rich and they’re long overdue at Strawhat’s banquet.

Killer’s practically done, tight jeans under a shirt that’s done up to the third button and left to flare open otherwise. It’s not his old favorite (that one stopped fitting him a good year ago) but similar enough, patterned in geometric black-and-white shapes. Definitely one of his fancier ones, not that anyone will care one way or the other where they’re going.

It’s… been a while since it’s been anyone other than them and their crew. Pirates are pirates, allied or no; Killer eyes the scythes neatly stored next to the bed.

Kidd is touching up his lips one last time, the same shade as Killer’s. “Bring ‘em. That Roronoa guy keeps throwing you weird looks and I’m not allowed to kill him.”

Yet goes implied. Killer isn’t wearing his mask and so he doesn’t roll his eyes. “He’s got every reason to”, he reminds his captain, focusing on the heavy clasps of his weapons to keep the memories at bay. The red mark on his chest stings, stuck in the limbo between a healing wound and a fresh scar for a few days still.

A testament to his failure that Killer won’t hide. If Zoro hadn’t stopped him that day his hands would be stained with blood that cannot be washed off, not entirely.

Kidd’s eyes are on him, dark. “I don’t care.”

Resentful as always. Killer reaches for him, digs his fingers into the fluffy lining of that coat and oh, the fur is as soft as it looks. “I do, though.” A firm tug, one Kidd follows until Killer can kiss him, careful not to smudge anything.

“No killing of allies today, ‘kay? We just came back from a war. The crew’s tired. I’m tired.”

“Mh” is all Kidd has to say to that, a grumpy huff against Killer’s lips more than anything. Kidd does give him a proper kiss, however, and Killer knows he won this one.

All he can ask of Kidd is to try, anyways – with two equally hot-headed captains and a whole host of morons around to rile him up, there’s bound to be blood eventually. The trick is to make sure everyone’s drunk enough not to take it too personally.

A pinch to his ass tells Killer he was caught scheming. Kidd smirks, tells him, “We’re getting wasted tonight”, all triumphant like it’s the best idea he’s had all week, and Killer doesn’t miss the emphasis on we.

“Two Emperors down! Strawhat better bring the good stuff tonight or this alliance is over.”

Killer groans, “Kidd”, but he’s smiling, too. Before he can be called out on it, Killer shoves his mask into Kidd’s hands, metal clanking against metal. “Make yourself useful. We’re late.”

Kidd’s laugh is more of a cackle than anything else – “Yes, darling”, said in that sarcastic lilt Killer knows all too well – yet Kidd complies. His hands, organic or otherwise, handle the mask they’ve built with care and precision. Soon, Killer’s vision is narrowed down to dots, the audio filter of his helmet kicking in soon after.

Killer rolls his neck and hums, satisfied. “Ready?”

Kidd throws a final look at himself in the mirror, grinning into the collar of his new coat.

“Hell yeah. Let’s go.”

*

The banquet is a sprawling, messy affair that swallows the entirety of the ramshackle village the Strawhats picked as their home in Wano Country.

From the moment the Kidd Pirates get there they are surrounded. Wherever Killer's eyes roam there are knots of people drinking, eating, laughing and crying, sometimes simultaneously – there, at the heart of it all where the crowd is thickest, burns the largest bonfire Killer has seen in a while, perhaps ever. Smiling faces all around and for once, it doesn’t make Killer’s stomach drop because they’re genuine.

Survivors of SMILE just like him, caught in the rush of real emotions for the first time in who knows how long. Killer has a pretty good idea how that feels like.

Next to him, Kidd is so tense he’s stalking, gaze intense, oozing Haki to keep people away; Wire’s hand is clenched to bloodlessness around his trident while Heat exhales a bit of smoke with every breath and yeah, Killer gets it. Can’t help it himself, either, scythes kept close to his sides to make sure they’re there.

The thing is: They don’t do these kinds of things. Parties, yes, many and often but not like this. Killer can count on one hand the amounts of times the population of any island was actually happy to see them, much less willing to send them off with one big feast.

Actually, he wouldn’t need to count at all because it’s simply never happened. Even filtered by his mask it’s… a lot to take in at once.

The entire damn country is here, it seems, all breathing a collective sigh of relief so monumental the air itself carries their joy. For all that the Kidd Pirates were in this for revenge and glory, Killer can’t deny it’s rewarding to see a nation so ravaged by an Emperor’s greed do whatever they want for the first time in decades.

Finally, a few familiar faces start popping up. Some of the samurai greet them with nods of their heads, overly formal like the people from Wano tend to be; here and there they spot the distinctly branded yukata the members of Trafalgar’s crew are wearing and, rarer but all the more noticeable, those animal people Strawhat dragged along from somewhere.

Minks? Or something? Killer is inclined to say it doesn’t matter if they didn’t have the habit to jump on them out of fucking nowhere. Looking for bone-crushing hugs and wet-nosed kisses, of all things, and– Oh no, he did not sign up for this.

Much less for whatever that group of cat minks are gearing up to, staring at the holes in his mask with eyes nearly swallowed by black, round pupils. Killer is absolutely, solidly convinced he doesn’t even want to know what that’s all about.

“Captain.”

And yeah, his tone is a little more alarmed than he truly means it to be. It gets Kidd’s attention, though – himself having fought off a dog mink enamored with his metal arm not too long ago – and he barks a laugh even when he ramps up his presence to an almost stifling degree.

“C’mon, I feel Strawhat up ahead.”

To nobody’s surprise, they find him smack dab in the middle of everything. Strawhat and his crew are lounging around the bonfire, there’s no other way to describe it: All broad smiles and flushed faces amidst the chaos, completely in their element, and it’s hard to tell if it’s the closeness to the bonfire or the vaguely impressive amounts of empty bottles lying around already. They’re certainly boisterous enough for it to be the latter, even Jinbei.

And no, Killer hasn’t quite processed that turn of events yet. The strangeness of seeing someone of that caliber wheeze into his mug with laughter as his (new?) captain takes a disturbingly big bite out of an even bigger chunk of meat is… not helping things, in that regard.

What a bunch of weirdos. In the safety of his mask, Killer allows himself a small smile.

From here the flames seem to reach for the sky, tinged in warm pinks and oranges by the sinking sun and there, very faintly, Killer can make out the first stars. He can’t remember ever seeing them, not with the factories running over night as well.

“Spikey!!”

Ah. Killer’s head turns with Kidd’s and it’s a good thing, too, because there’s a stretched arm coming for his captain – Kidd bites out, “Nope, no, Strawhat”, red eyes going wide – and Killer manages to side-step it in the last possible second. One, twice it wraps around Kidd, fancy coat and all, and then the rubber recoils.

“Killer!”

Oh my, Killer thinks mildly as he watches him go. Behind him, half their crew is flabbergasted and the other half is in stitches. “Captain’s gonna be in such a mood”, Heat says to Wire, and it just sends them into another fit of chuckles.

For Killer, finding a drink becomes his top priority. So much for keeping things peaceful.

>>Chapter 2.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Higurashi New 2 | Wandering Witch 2 | Moriarty 1 | Taiso Samurai 1 | Kamisama 1 | Munou na Nana 2 | Golden Kamuy 3 1 (25) | Yashahime 2

I’m trying a seasonal challenge this time...so that means I have to leave some Crunchyroll anime to the side. That’s why I’m putting in the tags now.

Higurashi New 2

Apparently, now this Higurashi is called “Gou”…I dunno what that means in the context of this series, but *Saitama face* OK.

Is this girl…Rika? Or this Hanyuu girl I heard of on ANN? Update: Wait a bit from that point. You’ll get your answer.

Do they ever examine why the girls in Higurashi are what they are? Rika seems to have something supernatural going on, but Rena…is just a psycho girl right now, so it’s hard to care.

LOL, I was wondering where this “nipah” Rika meme came from, but it is present in the dialogue.

I predicted that Gilligan cu-er, transition far too easily…

Why is that kid’s face so tanned (?) in comparison to the rest of him???

How did these girls get up the building so fast??? (LOL?)

Wow, the cicada noise was pretty loud there, so…props to the sound guys for making that sound stifling.

Can we really trust what Mion is saying about Tomitake…?

I thought we were going to see Watanagashi in ep 3, but…okay.

Satoko speaks rather formally. She says kochira de gozaimasuyo! instead of kocchi! or kochiradesuyo!.

Who’s that blonde lady? Someone from Umineko?

The bright colours really help to sell the ominous nature of this ED and anime. I don’t think I understand everything that’s happening in said ED, though…

Gonna pause it here because I heard you need to watch the OG and Rei to understand this, now that the new Higurashi is operating under its “proper” name.

Wandering Witch 2

…Elaina’s a bit full of herself still…

…what the heck was that instrument playing over the titlecard? Bagpipes…?

LOL, it’s the Attack on Titan world!

Did Elaina lose her hat when she fell? That must be a very stable hat indeed.

Ooh, particle effects! However…there’s CGI here, although it’s only kinda noticeable.

Have you never heard of money…?

Wait, witches get discounts???

It seems Saya comes from Japan.

LOL, this is basically Quidditch without a snitch!

I like mushrooms, so I don’t get why people kick up such a fuss about them.

Saya seems to act like this is yuri bait…*sigh*

Saya’s crying like her sister died…c’mon, it’s not that bad!

I’m hitting pause. If this is actually how the series is, then it’s primed for a drop, but I can’t help but keep it on for the spectacular visuals and the fact it’s basically anime Harry Potter.

Taiso Samurai 1

I keep swearing I’ll finish my old simulcasts…but then new ones pop up like daisies…(I guess it’s better than having no anime to finish, right?)

I just realised how pretty Jotaro’s eyes are…! The fact he just sort of splats and then doesn’t get up shows how weary he is, unlike Sakura from Moon Land, who would’ve probably gotten up and never tried doing gymnastics again if he were in the same position.

Just by glancing over the results when I google for this Montreal gold, it seems it was done by a Kouhei Uchimura, but I might be wrong on that front…oh wait, there are 3 golds, so it’s not necessarily just that one…

You can tell this is 2002 because of that flip phone.

Intai Zamurai…it’s constructed the same way as the anime’s title. Two characters and then “samurai”.

BB (Big Bird) on the side there is so goofy, he’s…kind of distracting. <- Note the official website refers to Big Bird as BB, hence my use of it.

I was wondering if Rei was the daughter or the wife…so it’s the former.

Kinugawa Ropeway…it rings a bell, somehow. Maybe the Boueibu crew went there as DVD/BD extras.

…does everyone know that a ryokan is like a mini hotel with a traditional set-up?

*snorts* LOL, Keanu (Reeves, obviously).

That montage was a bit worrying…maybe the CGI took out part of the budget? I was a bit worried when I could tell there was CGI in that one starting segment.

…LOL, wut. Agent Smith (from the Matrix)?

Yamakasi seems to be a parkour thing which has its own movie.

…I’m sort of wondering: was that ninja a woman? If Jotaro gets another wife…I dunno if I’ll like the anime as much. Things could become far too dramatic if he did. Update: You do find out later in this episode.

I think – from lip reading – the ninja used -de gozaimasu. I remember getting it drilled into me that people don’t use that these days, but in the time of ninja and samurai, they did.

…another anime set in Ikebukuro. I knew from the station, but…’bukuro must be a nice place if people are reppin’ it all of a sudden.

Was Tomoyo an actress…?

“Kinugawa, as in the river where ogres get mad?” – See, that’s the pun I made about Boueibu’s Atsushi years ago…

This Takizawa guy’s so expressive, LOL.

Gotta love a man in a suit, yes…

…they keep building up to this retirement, only for him to not retire??? Which is it?! (LOL) That declaration works better in Japanese because the -shimasen goes at the end of the sentence so the weird sentence structure in the English translation actually makes Jotaro look like he really messed up due to nervousness speaking in front of crowds. Update: He just sounds like he stopped in the middle of a sentence in Japanese, which he obviously did.

There’s no time travel for sure, but there are ninjas! Plus dudes in jumpsuits!...plus, of course, gymnastics! It could still work, but I keep swearing there’s something supernatural coming around the corner for this…Also, this “gymnast trying to retire” thing seems to be drawing me in because of my whole current lack of direction in basically everything, much like Rikuo of Sing Yesterday for Me.

Kamisama 1

Hmm…Kamisama ni Natta Hi…it doesn’t say the subject stating this became a god, so the pronoun could be “she” or “you” rather than “I”, which seems to be the current standard for it. Update: It says on the title card “I”, so it should have an I then…I guess(?)

There’s a fish on the logo.

…this girl, I already know her name is Hina. That’s the 2nd Odin this season (the first is in Sigdrifa…or however it’s spelt)…she’s gonna be annoying, isn’t she…?

What’s this about a date…?

There are two Izanamis this season, too. The second is Hifumi from HypMic.

Looks like there was an accident, according to one of the signs.

…This feels exactly like a visual novel. I’m surprised it’s an original.

I was wondering why “Key Ramen” (Kagi Ramen) sounded weird…then it hit me. Key! You motherf**kers!!! *shakes fist* You were hiding right under my nose all along!

Hey, Potato-kun! (I know his name is Youta, but…eh, aside from having a possible girlfriend candidate and being a Nice Guy, he’s still a Potato-kun.) Stop staring in disbelief and do something!

…Why Potato-kun, anyway? Is it because his name means “become god”???

…This Izanami is so emotionless…it’s hard to imagine her cheering, Youta was right on that front.

…that style in Hina’s background…I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it for Sailor Moon Crystal, but I’ve forgotten what the artist’s name is (the one that inspired that artstyle)…

I almost expected Hina to interrupt the confession, like Leo from Taiso Samurai.

I kinda just shrugged near the end of the episode and finished it just to see if the confession would be interrupted, so…big fat drop there. I must not like much Key beyond Angel Beats (and even then, it’s only okay because it’s the relic of a time gone by).

Moriarty 1

I’ve been picking up Sherlock-related things left and right ever since I was a fan of Detective Conan…not Sherlock, Elementary or that Robert Downey Jr. movie, but the stuff Conan Doyle had his hands in. (I’d also like to keep an eye out for that Miyazaki movie, but I don’t know if I can/should go out of my way for it.) Therefore, I was a pretty easy mark for a bishonen Moriarty.

Who’s this “El” guy anyway?

…That OP is basically Black Butler all over again. I admit I went, “Oh, stuff this” for a second when I saw Rasmus Faber’s name on credits – when I went to entire series for him, they always ended badly for me – but I couldn’t stop watching the episode (since I skipped forward to the actual episode due to background noise), so this might be the anime to change everything.

I’ll be real with you – aside from Japan, America and China (the former two of which I’ve gone to and the latter I’ve technically gone to Hong Kong, which I have stronger ties to anyway), I honestly don’t have anywhere on my bucket list. That said, anime (obviously, the London arc from DC was a big factor) and this one movie called What a Girl Wants have been pretty instrumental in making Great Britain…almost make the list of places I want to go to. Key word: almost.

…I want a dub. With accents like Princess Principal.

Also, I forgot Soma Saito was our Moriarty…LOL.

“…for Man of Standing” (sic).

Turn the other cheek, Mr. Tailor.

The eyes really tell you everything about a person in this anime.

Ooh, this has absolutely no holes in its logic. It’s a strong contender!

Yashahime 2

Holy s***, is that Kagome’s brother?(!) He kinda reminds me of Takagi from Detective Conan for some reason…

Come to think of it…writers like Takahashi don’t normally have androgynous leads like Towa, do they?

That was…not the best fight scene, man.

Ooh, naginata. I’ve read a bit about them, but I’ve never really seen one used in an anime before…not to my memory. Not even the naginata in Touken Ranbu (plural) can help with that.

…this Rainbow Pearl business reminds me of Sailor Moon’s…uh, whatever they’re called…Rainbow Crystals, that’s right.

There’s something oddly comfy about predicting the “it won’t be my crying face, it’s yours you’ll get!” line, as bad as that sign may be for predictability on the whole.

I’ve felt in the years leading up to now, the progressive nations are slowly causing the entire gender binary to unravel. The more I think about my own relationship with my concept of gender – I accept gender-neutral third-person pronouns because initially I wanted to be anonymous on the internet, but now I’m just generally fine with it, for instance – the more I can agree and yet also disagree because of the progress the LGBTIQ+ community has made in recent years.

Munou na Nana 2

Ah-hah! People were calling it that the enemies of humanity were actually the superpowered kids and this proves it.

Ah, I think this Shibusawa is Masuda. I was here for him, so here he is.

Nana just says konnichiwa, which is the most basic of Japanese greetings. I don’t think it was phrased as a question, so…why did the subbers go with that?

Nana keeps breaking her chopsticks by leaving a bit at the end.

Lemme guess…Shibusawa’s talent is actually reversing time, not stopping it.

Is…that Shibusawa Nana’s giving flowers to…?

Golden Kamuy 3 1 (25)

If this is episode 25, was this always planned as a split-cour with season 2? I wonder…

Lingonberries! Oh, lingonberries! They’re those berries Ikea puts into their jam, right? (I’ve never tasted a lingonberry, but…yeah. That’s how I know of them.)

The sign says “Hurep Honpo” (backwards, as some older Japanese/Chinese things do), so it really just says “hurep” (since “honpo” = main shop). Update: Hurep actually means “lingonberry” and not the berry wine like I thought it did here, so it says “hurep wine” after all.

Thank goodness for 2D bears! (LOL)

Ratel?...uh, honey badger! That’s what they’re called in English!

…uh, and then it turns out to be a wolverine. I don’t know my Mustelidae, it seems.

There’s nothing like someone throwing a wolverine to know this is Golden Kamuy…(as weird as that sounds.)

…what was that random line about boobs about…? (Maybe it was just said to be random…?)

…ohhhhhhhh. These yellow eyes work much better than the standard red eyes you see in Munou na Nana or Moriarty. They’re so sinister.

Why did it suddenly change to an interview style…? Weren’t we waiting for a fight? Update: Seems the answer is “padding”. Not that I mind, I think it was interesting actually. Do more of that if you can.

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff's Best of 2019

WARNING: Just wanted to say cheers to you for making it through another year. I send you best wishes for next year to be fruitful. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy. (Best of 2017) (Best of 2018)

Dedicated to Russi Taylor, John Witherspoon, Rip Torn, Tartar Sauce, Caroll Spinney, Peter Matthews, and the many of KyoAni lost in the arson incident. You all did wonderful; rest in peace.

Welp, I figured the last year of this decade would be the most chaotic one by far, then again everything peak after 2012. As for now, I am counting down the best cartoons/animations/comics I’ve seen and loved this year in no particular order other than #1. Same rules apply: No sneak previews of future projects, no repeats, and this time anything goes.

Runner Ups: Superman Smashes the Klan, Marvel’s Aero, Infinity Train, Enter the Florpus, Amphibia, Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart, Helluva Boss, Meta Runner, Lego Movie 2, Forky Asks a Question

Anyways, Badda boom bang whiz, let’s do this shizz...

10. Super Mario Bros GT

Nostalgia can be quite a mystery, especially one that can come out of nowhere. Super Mario Bros Z kicked so much ass as a kid that now, it still frustrates me to this that it got a cease & desist from Nintendo, even the reboot from the same person couldn’t last long. But the gods have offered a slight miracle in the form of this new spiritual successor that has heart and soul put into every pixelated frame. There is much to celebrate with Youtube animation, where many say it’s dying due to the algorithm and all of the site’s corporate bullshit, but it’s stuff like this which helps me understand why we should celebrate. Against all odds, channels like Smasher Block willfully put their works out their for the people and continues to because on top of getting a little dough, it’s what they want to do.

9. DC SUPER HERO GIRLS (2019)

Awwwwww yeah, this is She-Ra and the Princesses of Power done right. Diverse female squad, each given a quality screen time to truly shine (Beecher especially) on their which makes the episodes where they’re all together feel earned and joyous to watch. Certainly reminds me of Friendship is Magic, which is coincidental since they were created by the same woman. I’d like to think this and MLP G4 were the answers to Faust’s cancelled project Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls where multiple personalities collide to one extraordinary superhero team of girls capable great feats that are lifted from their insecurities or drawbacks. And on top of this being a fun series to kick back to all around, it’s a comforting, somewhat aspiring thought to consider.

8. JOKER

I am somebody that rarely goes to the theaters to watch a film; you have to hook my tight just for me to even think of buying a ticket, no less plan to. But honestly, Joker was worth the hype, the ticket, and the fact that it wasn’t the incel uprising that buttfuck normies tried to make it out as. It’s lower on the list because in thought, there definitely could’ve been some tweaks to the dialogue and a couple scenes that I felt didn’t work in the long run. But really, this movie to me worked because of the escalation that leads to a cathartic climax and ending that left me in actual tears. I don’t give a shit if it “doesn’t fit”, having Frank Sinatra sing the film's credits put me in shambles. Joaquin Phoenix was phenomenal as Arthur, and this movie felt authentic in its many details. This is definitely up there with my favorite comic book films of all time. Good thing, too, Spider-Man was taking up most of that shelf.

7. TUCA & BERTIE

This series being what I can’t help but say is a spin-off to Bojack Horseman, a show I respect, was enough to pull me into watching it. But it being like Bojack where it’s tight-roping between a bouncy comedy and a grounded drama was what kept me around for more. It is a damn shame this was cancelled after one season (while 13 Reasons Why gets FOUR seasons like what the fuck), because while this did feel enough like a complete series, I was certainly interested for more because I really enjoyed it all. I have my issue with a couple choices in the show, but I am sure this series would’ve addressed them later down the line. I can see why some women would find this personally endearing, it felt like the personal stories of actual people, and it deserved better. Either way, I enjoyed this series and I recommend it just as much as Bojack.

6. PRIMAL

Genndy Tartakovsky is that kind of cartoon creator where you feel he’ll go beyond if you give him the right amount of space. He’s not a perfectionist like John “Dirty Diddler” Kricfalusi, but with things like Hotel Transylvania and Samurai Jack, he certainly has proven to have the range in animation where you know how he plays. Primal showcasing his noted skill in dialogue-less storytelling and dynamic action scenes, able to convey everything clear with its ruthless yet careful protagonist and his dinosaur friend, all on top of the most luscious backgrounds. This is a series that definitely feels like Genndy’s taken what he’s used from his previous works and putting it together for a brutal yet passionate look at the prehistoric life. He truly brought us an adult series to enjoy and to look forward to more in the coming year.

5. SPINEL

Bet you didn’t expect a character to be on this list, eh? Spinel is the best thing to come out of Steven Universe in general; makes me wish she was in a better movie. The crew certainly did their darndest to make her not only an enjoyable and connectable character through and through, but a very versatile character that the fandom could take in any which way. Call it corny, but Spinel perfectly represents SU as a whole: a lovable goof that can certainly mean business but deep down is deserved of a hug because of what she’s gone through. Wish she had a more satisfying resolution in her respective debut, but really it’s the balance between those three elements mentioned that makes Spinel almost eternally wonderful.

4. MOB PSYCHO 100 II

As someone that doesn’t like reading, I’m a firm believer that the best animations or visual medias elevate the writing to a memorable degree; the visuals hook to the point where you want to think about what you saw and how it was conveyed. Mob Psycho 100, for two seasons now, does this in spades where Studio Bones throw them bones in animating one of the most dynamic animes of the modern era, providing the writing and characters a proper chance to flex its muscles. The characters are especially what makes this and MP100 as a whole work so well, the story being about a boy learning to be more sociable as well as emotionally stronger all while helping others understand maturity and empathy. For more on this, I recommend Hiding in Public’s video(s) on Mob. But with the animation, Bones was able to provide a sense of impact and immersion to the moments that matter, not making it an overstimulating mess, and putting some respect on ONE’s webcomic art style. 

3. KLAUS

Hands down, this is a great Christmas movie. Take away the animation and you have a charming, wanna say ground and authentic, story about the makings of Santa Claus. With memorable and likable characters, a nice escalation in terms of the plot, and moments that are/can be so satisfying, they can bring you to tears. A couple overdone tropes in the road that doesn’t make this the most perfected story, but those sincerely minor compared to everything else that makes this story the best. Now. Add in the animation, and you have a gold, nay a platinum animated story of the year where the visuals definitely enhance the story to a degree where they’re undoubtedly inseparable. The visuals alone is enough to check this movie out and it’s eye-opening when you learn of how it’s all done. Klaus is a film that did it’s job and then some, and I hope this will be well remembered as a classic holiday film for it deserves that status.

2. BEASTARS

I’ll be fair, I’m mostly referring to the manga and not the anime but since the anime premiered this fall, it counts. Because be it the anime or the series overall, Beastars has such well intricate world building all while offering a little something for everyone (violence, romance, slice of life). The story is well paced and even when we aren’t focusing on the main characters momentarily, Itagaki is surprisingly able to make every supporting/side character we come across memorable in their own way; like I said before, the city is much a character in this story. Oh yeah, and the mangaka is the daughter of Keisuke “Grappler Baki” Itagaki, that in itself is a treasuring bit of trivia for this. Everything about Beastars is enticing and Studio Orange certainly helped in giving this series more of a following.

1. GREEN EGGS & HAM

Well, well, well. Guess Netflix is three for three in terms of bringing its best foot forward among its few steps back each year. The best term to describe this series is surprising. Surprising that this is a Dr. Seuss story that got expanded a 13 episode series, that has fleshed out characters, fun hijinks, an easy story, lovely emotional, more quieter moments... on top of being 2D hand drawn animated. I mean, what else is there to say? Green Eggs and Ham is to Dr. Seuss what Seven was for Final Fantasy, what Friendship is Magic was for MLP, what watermelon was before a nice menthol cigarette. This definitely took the top spot because to me, it was able to bring many good elements from the previous entries and knot it all together into a well kept bow that I never knew I wanted until now. I’m genuinely glad this show got to exist the way it is and I am hoping, praying, that the second season keeps that momentum up.

That leads us to the actual number one which is

1. STEVEN UNIVERSE FUT-

Total Dramarama is now the two time World Heavyweight Champion, babey. Will 2020 give us a quality contender? Will the streak last another year?

Stay tuned, and always seek out the Good Stuff.

[silyabeeodess]

More FusionFall headcanons, because why not? This time, covering the villains and their position in the war with Fuse. Might update this over time:

Father: The last thing he ever would’ve wanted was to align himself with the KND–or any children for that matter… Still, desperate times call for desperate measures.  For his own safety, he moved to the Cul-de-sac and he vehemently denies any notion of the contrary.  Helping financially back the war effort and often as a head of strategy, he has a no-nonsense approach to every action he takes and every person that crosses his path. Despite this though, he’ll sometimes make choices or pick fights that are really just useless distractions–like his rivalry with Stickybeard. Most of the Fusion Fighters in Peach Creek tend to avoid him except when they need to receive new orders/information, especially the younger recruits. Still, if you watch him carefully, you might see a nervous edge to all of that anger. Could be the war itself.  Could be the daily irritations he deals with. Could be the Delightful Children out there fighting in the field. 

Stickybeard: Out of all the baddies that joined the fight against Fuse not only was the candy pirate captain one of the first to turn around, he was one of the easiest for people to adjust to–so much that a few fighters even signed-up for his crew when he began to reestablish it after some of its former members split apart to form their own. Some of his reasons for joining the fight are entirely selfish–like the loss of his ship–and he’s not very helpful in many of the tougher battles. However, his dauntless, high-energy nature resonates with the people around him and he’s loyal and kind to those he stands beside.  If the worst anyone has to worry about with him are his often “sticky-fingers”–particularly in regards to candy–then most are willing to overlook it.   

Him: Outside of the fact that he’s taken a personal insult from Fuse, no one really understands why Him joined the fight. Then again, more often than not, Him seems more interested in just watching from the sidelines, treating the war more like a game and asking the other Fusion Fighters to go on pointless errands if they want his help.  He doesn’t lead, doesn’t contribute in tactics, and rarely follows orders. When asked, he’ll insist that he wants Fuse gone just as much as anyone despite his lax behavior. To that, all anyone can say is that it’s probably better to have Him on their side than not. 

Princess: To put it simply, nobody cares. Fighting Fuse is a big enough mess on everyone’s hands that the last thing anyone is thinking about is the spoiled brat that is Princess. And to an extent, that now includes her own father as he strives to maintain his massive string of businesses as the war goes on. Even if Princess hadn’t been forced to stop her antics because of the war itself, the lack of her father’s financial backing due to the loss of his attention did. Because of this, she can often be found sulking in the mall with what allowance he father does still give her (which, by all means, is still a huge one). It’s a hard pill for her to take, but maybe a change in the right direction too.    

Ace: To everyone who isn’t a Townsville local, it can sometimes come as a surprise that Ace and the rest of the Gangreen Gang have turned around since “Belladonna” came along and they formed their band. Outside of small time, petty crimes, they actually tend to keep their noses clean. Still, they’re not a big help when it comes to the war–most of them wanting to stay out of it.  Ace will sometimes gather information on Fusions in the city area though, particularly thanks to Lil’ Arturo. As always, Ace is charismatic and has a way of winning people over. Still, there’s a chance that he and his group might be hiding more than they let on…   

Mojo Jojo: It goes without saying that Mojo has the most complicated relationship out of all the villains in regards to the Fusion Fighters.  From the beginning, he’s helped the most–contributing his monkey army for both travel and fighting power, offering his technology to the force, and joining the heat of battle himself–but at the same time he also wants to take Fuse’s own tech for his own evil purposes.  Maybe that fact is why he’s helped so much, but in that case his plan seems to have largely backfired. Commonly working side-by-side, his minions and the other fighters tend to share a mutual respect–whether Mojo wants them to or not. Who knows though: Maybe he’ll eventually warm up a bit too, again, whether he wants it or not.

Mandark: Although he can sometimes still be a thorn in the side–particularly for the people at Dexlabs–Mandark does actively try to help in the war effort and even is willing to work with Dexter at times if it means pushing back against Fuse’s army. Once you get used to him, he’s comes across as more arrogant or annoying than anything, so let him say his piece and then get back to work.  The biggest issue is that his rivalry with the other boy genius gets in the way as much as it pushes the both of them to do their best. So, if you decide to volunteer for either company’s experiments with tech and weaponry, a bit of advice: Choose your side wisely and on a case-by-case basis…

 Vilgax: Vilgax was the villain that no one wanted onboard. Many still don’t, as he barely even tries to hide the fact that he’ll stab the entire planet in the back as soon as it suits him.  If anything, he seems more interested in fighting Fuse as a rival rather than an enemy, with Earth as just another piece for either of them to conquer.  Nevertheless, with Vilgax’s greater knowledge on Fuse, his technology, and his tactics due to the both of them being intergalactic warlords, the Fusion Fighters had little choice but to agree to an alliance.  Even then, it took a lot of convincing from Grampa Max and some the other Plumbers. It’s by unanimous agreement that everyone keep an eye on him…

Fuzzy Lumpkins: Even with the entire world falling into ruin, there still isn’t one person on the planet that could talk any sense into Fuzzy. It’s almost like he doesn’t even know what’s happening–which wouldn’t surprise people, given how he stays in the forest and chases away anyone who shows up on his property. As a result, people tend to steer clear of his cabin with the idea that–as long as he’s taking aim at Fuse’s monsters too–he tends to be more useful left alone. If anyone is forced to contact him though, the best way to get through to him is through his stomach.

Toiletnator: He tries to be intimidating. He tries hard as the adult  ambassador in the hero’s alliance, a role he was given by Father that he takes with pride. The most respect he usually gets, however, is out of humor.  People can’t take him seriously, and he’s viewed as so useless that they stationed him at Camp Kidney just to keep him out of the way of any real action going on in the war. (That, and to have him maintain the outhouses since there isn’t much good plumbing there.) And the really sad thing is that a part of him knows it and also understands that it’s probably for the best. Please, just tell this guy that he’s doing a good job now and then. Bring him some lunch. Play a game of cards with him. He needs to be told that he’s still a part of the team. He’s actually a decent guy, good for a talk when everything else is falling apart.

Hex: Rather than volunteer, Hex was practically forced to help the war effort. With the loss of him charms leaving him significantly weaker against Fuse’s monsters, he didn’t have much of a choice but to seek refuge at the Devil’s Bluff base. There, he studies magic in his own time while using his abilities whenever he’s called on. He’s bitter about the whole situation and continuously seeks to find ways to increase his own power, both to strike out on his own and for revenge against the Tennysons.  As time wears on though, rumors among the Fusion Fighters stationed at the base show that everyone there isn’t really sure what to think of Hex due to him often taking a sadder visage when he thinks no one’s around–like he’s trying to force himself not to care. He tends to act softer toward anyone who shares his interest in magic.

Demongo: The demon is pretty antagonistic to the Fusion Fighters he’s stationed with–always watching them, making constant threats, and treating everyone around him as if they’re beneath him.  An all around “creepy dude,” nobody likes working with him. Most of the time, it seems like only the shaky alliance everyone’s forced into and Samurai Jack’s close presence are what keep him on a short leash. Very few doubt his remaining loyalty to Aku despite his master’s absence too. However, although he’d never admit it, Demongo does have a small soft spot for the warriors he fights alongside or gets to know.  An unhealthy, possessive soft spot, but it’s there nonetheless.  He’s more open to getting close to other beings than Aku from collecting souls–inevitably learning more about the warriors he captures.  Whether that’s good or bad for the people around him, well, it’s probably best not to think about it too much… He’s not used to people not following his orders, and he definitely can lack an understanding about certain aspects of humans. He needs to get used to the other Fusion Fighters as much as they have to get used to him. Either way, working with him can be its own dangerous game. 

[hakuoki-dreams]

Hello, how are you? I know you hear it a lot but your blog is fantastic, all the effort and love you put in each ask is impresive! Also, your writing it's so beautiful! Well, I saw you've a little bit of Hijikata, would you mind do hc for the Toshi falling for his s/o, please??

I would love to do this and will give it my best shot! Hijikata is a delicious and amazing man, and he deserves so much love. Something about him turns my writing a little angsty though…so I apologize in advance if that’s not the direction you were hoping for with this. (But don’t worry, no sad endings!)

                                   —————————————

Toshi really really won’t want to fall for you.

He tells himself he just doesn’t have time for love, for one–he’s got a crew to run, a commander to follow, a war to fight.

Deep down he feels a profound sense of unworthiness when it comes to romance. He often still sees himself as a small town kid playing samurai, or as a cold-hearted soldier whose only purpose is to fight and die and ask no more of life. It’s a role he’s made bitter peace with. It only makes the ache that much worse to realize you might just be giving him the opportunity to want more.

When you’ve already abandoned a dream as impossible, having the hope dangled in front of you again can be a painful thing.

So in the beginning he’ll deny his feelings for you, and absolutely yours for him. You must not know what kind of man he really is; how little he has to offer. It just goes to show how much more a person like you deserves in a partner, that you always seem to notice the good in him and overlook his flaws.

He tries his best to keep you at arm’s length. He treats you with curt civility, even becomes a little standoffish. The warmth of your smile reaches out across the distance.

It frustrates him that you won’t just give up and find someone better. He starts to let you see his ugly side a little and doesn’t hold back his anger and irritation. It’s never directed at you–he has plenty of other things around him to get pissed off about. But he figures if he can’t shake you off with indifference, surely open animosity will help you get the picture?

Inscrutable woman that you are, it only seems to draw you closer. You approach him with brows furrowed in concern and ask whether he’s taking care of himself? When was the last time he slept well, took a break?

You begin to linger a little after you’ve completed the work he gave you. The letters have been bound and dispatched, his notes faithfully copied in your delicate hand–yet you’re still here with him, sitting with that questioning look as though there might be something else you can do for him yet.

You start bringing him tea unasked. Fucking tea, for God’s sake. He finds you setting a hot cup on his desk at night; all he can do is stare up at you, hoping he’s scowling properly and not gazing with the open adoration he feels. It seems to work, because you keep away the next night, and he has to push aside the idiotic sensation of actually being disappointed.

Then he hears a soft noise outside his door; slides it open to find a tray left there so you wouldn’t disturb him. He’s at his wit’s end with you

There will eventually be a tipping point–one more addition on his long list of your admirable qualities, or a new small way in which you insist on taking care of him.

Toshi’s man enough to admit when the battle has been lost. After a certain extent, what’s the use of fighting against it anymore? He wants you, and you want him.

But he can’t help giving you one last chance to change your mind. If this is really going to happen, he’s not sure he’ll be able to let you go once it does.

You approach him with that look at the end of the night, a final wordless request for one last task to do before you turn in. You’re the same as ever.

He stands, and notices for the first time how tall you are for a woman. The top of your head reaches his eyes. It would be only too easy…before he knows what it’s done, his hand has found your chin to tilt your face up toward his slightly.

You should be put off, at the least surprised by his behavior. But your face is completely open to him. He looks down into your clear eyes and tries to find the right words–decide what exactly he’s about to do.

‘You should want someone better.’ It’s the truth. It’s the only thing he can think to say, really. Your lips part slightly, but you make no move to separate from his fingers or break from his gaze.

‘Don’t tell me what to want,’ you reply. There’s not a single false note in your voice. ‘I know what I want, Toshi.’

He never knew he could treasure the sound of his own name so much until he heard it from your lips. The distance to them is a short one, and it takes him only a second to close. 

He kisses you, and you kiss him back, your hands clasping around his neck with such surety it’s as if you’ve practiced the motion a hundred times. He feels your warm breath brush his cheek and finds his arms have drawn around your waist in order to pull you against him, leaving no open space between your bodies.

He’s the first to break away. Your face trails after his slightly, as if reluctant to let the moment end, before your eyes slowly come open again.

Neither of you knows quite what to say. Inside, the questions start to fill his mind. He wonders which to expect from you first. What was that? What does this mean? What happens now? Have you gone completely insane?

The laughter takes him by surprise. You lean your head onto his chest, and he feels the lovely sound echo through your still-connected bodies, shaking the slender arms still clasped behind his neck.

It makes the tense breath he didn’t realize he was holding flow out in a sigh. He just holds you, letting your satisfaction fully soak into him.

‘What’s the joke?’ He speaks into your soft hair, only half-teasing.

You’re still laughing a bit as you try to get the words out. ‘I was…I was starting to think I might have to do that first.’ You straighten away a little, looking happier than he’s ever seen you, and one of your hands reaches to smooth a long strand back from his face before settling against his cheek. His arms tighten around you at the feeling.

‘Maybe you will…’ He’s already leaning in for you again. ‘But not tonight.’

[edharrisdaily]

Ed Harris Has No Idea What’s Happening on Westworld Either

Ed Harris has enough iconic characters in his 40-year career to make other actors jealous — and that was before he added Westworld’s Man in Black to his repertoire. We’ve learned more about Harris’s character, the ultimate player of the game, in season two of HBO’s epic drama as he has progressed deeper into the park amid a robot uprising. In Sunday’s episode “Vanishing Point,” Westworld reveals the most traumatic moment of William’s life — the suicide of his wife, Juliet (Sela Ward) — and pushes him to the absolute edge of cruelty and sanity: After shooting his own daughter, Emily (Katja Herbers), he’s last seen slicing open his arm to see if he’s actually human. Ahead of the episode, Vulture spoke with Harris about “Vanishing Point,” why he’d never want to direct an episode of Westworld, what he thinks of the show’s fandom, and why he loves Atlanta.

Westworld is a famously secretive show. How much of William’s arc do you know in advance? And how does that affect the way you play the character?

The first season was different than the second season. The first season was full of surprises as to what was revealed to almost all of us every episode. We found out things in like episode five, six, and seven and were like, “Wow, that’s news.” The second year, I knew the path that my character was on and where I was headed.

How is this project different from others you’ve worked on?

I’ve never really done this kind of episodic series, so that’s different unto itself. And the length of the season is pretty long. The first year was ridiculous. We stopped and started again — six, seven, eight months. You work two, three days a week max, some weeks you don’t work at all. And this particular show is so complicated. There’s so much being shot. The end of the second year, they had three or four crews working on different episodes. I’m glad I’m not the person trying to keep track of it all.

When even the writers aren’t sure of the backstory, how does that change your approach?

Even when they are sure, they don’t tell you. [Laughs.] I would say, “Hey, look, I just did 125 performances of a play in London. I knew what was going to happen every night. And I was still very present and fresh. You can let me know whatever you want to.” What I didn’t know, I didn’t know. I was going episode by episode, particularly scenes, characters, who I was working with, and what was going on. I didn’t really fret about what I didn’t know because I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

More in the moment.

Very much so. For me, anyway. I took it a script at a time, scene at a time, line at a time. Be present and real and tell the truth.

What’s the most challenging part of this role?

In terms of where it’s going, I guess the difficult thing is just gauging that and trying to understand it. For instance, the episode Lisa [Joy] directed, episode four, she was great to work with because she knew more about [William’s] intent than I did. She was very helpful, in terms of “this is what’s going on inside of him now and this is where it will lead.” When you play a character, you try to get as deep in there as possible. When certain things are revealed to you, it’s very helpful.

How much of the buzz around the show do you pay attention to? The fandom is pretty vocal.

Absolutely none. My wife, who’s a news junkie, will say, “Ed, they’re writing about blah blah blah,” and I’ll say great. I’m very happy it’s a successful show and I love working with the directors and the cast, but I don’t really pay attention to all of the guesswork and what people are trying to figure out.

Is this true across your career? Do you read your reviews?

I really don’t. I remember things that were said to me when I was 28 doing theater in L.A. that I don’t need to have in my head, you know what I mean? If you’re doing a play today in New York, you can’t help but find out if it was positive or negative.

Did you discuss the character at all with Jimmi Simpson? Compare notes?

A little bit. We have a good relationship. I said, “Anything I can help you with, let me know.” He would email me some questions every once in a while, but I didn’t even know there was a younger me until I saw a guy walking around the trailers and said, “Who’s he?” “That’s you.” “Oh. Really? Thanks for telling me.” I think Jimmi does a great job establishing the whole history of this guy.

What did Sela Ward and Katja Herbers bring to “Vanishing Point” that made the episode different?

It’s nice to be out of the Man in Black suit and just be William, the family man, however poor he is at it. Sela was brand-new to the whole situation, so you just try to make somebody like that as comfortable as possible. Work with them. Have them welcome. Get rid of whatever nerves they have. Katja is great. She’s not afraid to ask me things, acting questions. I love talking about it. If she has something that’s bugging her or is stuck in something, we can discuss it.

The episode is about obsession, especially the kind that can blind us from what really matters. Have you ever been obsessed?

I was definitely obsessed with Pollock in the ‘90s, but it was a good obsession. I wasn’t blinded by anything. Let’s see. I like to get into things. I like to do things well. I can get pretty easily obsessed with something I care about, but not necessarily blindly.

Do you have any character or story input on Westworld?

Hmm, we probably had some discussions. Never any major points of disagreements. I did say in one public forum, “I don’t want to be in a samurai suit and I don’t want to be naked.” There are two things I suggested.

How do you pick parts at this point in your career? What’s important to you?

What’s important to me at the moment, which I will know in the next few days, is if I can get financing for this film I want to direct in August or September. It’s a Montana novel called The Ploughman — Robert Duvall, Garrett Hedlund, my wife Amy [Madigan], my daughter [Lily Dolores Harris]. I wrote the screenplay and I’ve been fighting to get the money I need. If I don’t, we won’t be able to make it for a while.

Why is that so important?

Well, I’ve only directed two movies and I haven’t directed in ten years. I really love doing it, and this is a novel that I think could make a really cool movie. I adapted it a couple years and I’ve been trying to do it for the last three years. I really, really, really want to do it.

It sounds like a big, challenging project. When you’ve accomplished so much, are you still looking for things that challenge you?

Yeah, definitely. I just did this play in New York, Good for Otto, the new David Rabe play with my wife Amy. And it was definitely a challenge. A 14-character play. Every night, you’re out there and you’re trying to make it work. I still really enjoy what I do. The acting part of it is more fulfilling in theater than in film work, in a certain way. One of the things I love about directing is you’re constantly focused. You’re constantly occupied. For instance, in Westworld, I’m on set two days a week, and then I may not work for two weeks. I may not know I’m not working for two weeks because they don’t know yet. You’re on set for 12 hours and on camera for ten minutes. It gets a little bit old after a while. You try to keep a good attitude.

Would you consider directing an episode of Westworld?

Jon [Nolan] and Lisa mentioned it to me a while back, but I don’t think I’d be a good director for Westworld because I have a hard time understanding it. [Laughs.] I’m as confused as anybody else watching this thing. I don’t always know what’s going on.

Do you watch your past work? If The Rock is on cable, do you watch it?

If I’m flipping and I happen to see it, I might watch it for a little while. Just for fun. I won’t hunt it out to see something that I did.

What’s your airport question? What do people recognize you for and what do they ask you when they do?

It’s a wide variety. Sometimes people come up and say something like, “Milk Money is my favorite movie.” “All right, I’m glad you enjoyed it.” [Laughs.] A lot of guys go “The Rock! The Rock!” Or I’ll hear, “I really liked you in The Hours.” “Pollock is my favorite movie.” Now Westworld. More people have probably seen that than all the films I’ve ever made. It’s a little bit strange, but it’s alright. You get used to it. I kind of skulk around. I don’t ask to be recognized. I’m always wearing a hat and glasses. I don’t mind if people are polite about it.

You’ve been acting for 40 years. How do you think film and television have changed?

You’ve got, what, 500 scripted shows? I was talking to Amy the other day, and we get all these Emmy screeners in the mail, how could anybody possibly watch all of this stuff? They should have categories. Emmys for HBO. Emmys for network. Emmys for Hulu. That’s the main thing that’s changed — the amount of stuff being put out there is amazing. And in film, it’s all tentpole business. You go to a ten-movie theater and eight of ‘em cost $200 million to make. It’s very different.

So, how do you find what’s good through all the clutter?

There are a lot of good things. I was watching Atlanta last night and I just think the originality of that show is beautiful. You never know what’s gonna happen week to week. It’s so quirky and fun. It’s cool. That’s one of the good things. There are a lot of really good things written, produced, and directed that would never be done in film.

Do you think TV is at a more creative point in its history than film?

You know, there are so many independent films being made that you don’t even know about, I can’t really say. I think there’s a lot of wonderful, creative work being done. I go out the Sundance Film Lab every June if I’m not working. They’re very creative. They’re wonderful.

What’s next? Hopefully the Montana film, right?

If it doesn’t happen, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ll keep working outside in my yard.

Is that what you like to do?

Yeah, I got some acreage. That’s what I like. Be outside. Close my mind.