#me going on another tangent

[eddith]

How it pains my heart when people talk about the Straw Hats disbanding and "settling down" after achieving their own personal dreams and finding the One Piece.

Like, what do yall mean?? Are we watching/reading the same story??

The strawhats are together because this is their family.

The Thousand Sunny is their Home!

Robin has spent most of her life alone why would she “settle down” away from her family??

This sea is so vast, if im not mistaken, the one piece earth is 6x times bigger than ours, just the strech of land of the grand line is enormous and people keep talking about the crew “settling down” when we have SO MUCH to explore yet? like, don’t piss me off.

There is so much land, so many cultures and stories to explore in this vast world.

When we see other crews like the Roger pirates, the ONLY reason they disbanded was because Roger was fucking sick.

And it’s the SAME thing that happened with the Whitbeard pirates, they literally grew older together, traveling, exploring for their WHOLE lives ultil their captain was killed.

Like, are we not seeing the pattern here?

(And fair enough, if you think Luffy is going to die at the end of the story, you might as well think about the crew being separated.

But ever since Gear 5, it feels like Oda has created this character in Luffy where he can do absolutely whatever he wants, so I think it would be appropriate for Luffy to just decide he's not going to die, lol.)

But it genuinely pisses me off when people talk about Robin and Nami going away when like…

Sure Nami has her family, Robin has the revolutionary army, even Chopper has the sakura country, Sanji has the baratie and Franky has his family

Yes, they do indeed all have family ties outside of the crew.

But that doesnt mean that the crew is less of a family to them, they chose this, to be each other “Nakama” to be in this journey together.

One piece doesnt feel like the type of story that just “ends” after we accomplishes our dreams, with everyone separating and living “normal lives”.

It's not just about Sanji finding the all blue, he has to explore new fish, cook for his family, like, it's the start of something bigger, you know? And i can say that for any Straw Hat.

To me the end of one piece feels like “What will life be like after we accomplish our dreams?”

Pirate king is not a tittle that you gain and then that’s it, you know?

You need to LIVE as the freest man in the World.

Roger lived a life of piracy, and at the end of his journey he was named King of the Pirates.

But for fucks sake, Luffy has the power of the Sun God.

(Is it really that crazy to think that because of this ancient power he awakened, he might not be affected by all the times he shortened his life expectancy to protect people?)

It just doesn't feel like a story where the hero gives up his life to save others at the end.

It feels like the kind of story where you always fight with every ounce of strength in your being to live as hard as you can.

[a-very-sparkly-nerd]

I want to say that Callum undoubtedly thinks Rayla is so freaking cool, but that isn't all. He makes it clear that he thinks she's awesome without disregarding any of her other traits. Not once when she puts herself down has he said "But you're ___" (at least that I remember, with the exception of Midnight Desert, which I could argue fits the rule if I wanted to) and that is EXACTLY what Rayla needs because she's never been the cool kid- she's a prodigy, but not cool (the girl Naruto runs and prefers being alone and/or training to hanging out with other kids, for gods' sake). But she's also never been cared for the way Callum does. He also (probably) knows that only results were cared about for Moonshadow elves, never merely efforts, and he always makes sure to compliment her on not only those, but everything because he doesn't just want to make her feel good, he likes making her smile and reminding her that she's so important. He surpasses needs she didn't know she had.

And Callum would expectedly be told he's awesome at stuff, being a prince and people wanting to gain favor (Soren is the exception. Shoutout to my baby boy), but Rayla has never lied to him about what she thinks of him. She's down to earth and she doesn't build him up to be things he's not, instead making him feel as amazing as he deserves about the things he is good at. And her desire to care for him and protect him doesn't come from a sense of duty the way it does from, say, the Crownguard, but from love that Callum never really got because he was always the one protecting Ezran, was distant with Harrow, and doesn't really remember Sarai. Rayla doesn't care about what he lacks, which is what everyone else seemed to care about. Everything she does for him is fueled by love, never duty.

Just- GODS, they're so perfect for each other WHILE simultaneously learning and growing and giving each other grace and I LOVE THEM OKAY-

[lovesickeros]

lord its so dark in here the sahara desert of tsaritsa content you are like a shining oasis. your characterisation of her compels me & mihoyo would be hard pressed to top it imo.!! caaaaan i humbly request yr thoughts on her first meeting w a reader of any kind, or maybe even multiple kinds (sagau, sagau god au, isekai, etc) if you so desire...

it really is like a desert here. being the fan of a character we aren't getting until the last damn nation is driving me up a wall but i will persevere bc if nothing else i support morally bankrupt women in media. we r in a severe drought over here but i do my best. unfortunately nothing i say is ever coherent so pull out your translation notes its abt 2 be messy

also this got out of hand but thats bc first meetings w the tsaritsa are tricky to write + a LOT of her characterization lies in deeper exploration then just surface level yknow...NOT A DIG AT YOU this is just my excuse for rambling. gently pats the tsaritsa she can hold so much complexity i do not have the word count to delve into it completely :]

gonna talk cult au for a bit here though because that's 99% of my content. and honestly? she thrives in sub au's of the cult au like villain au + imposter au. it's basically made for her. i mean, early days, the imposter au had been going around for a little while but one of the first few ideas was the Fatui taking reader in so like. it kinda technically actually was. pretty sure cult au Tsaritsa popped up because of the imposter au. a lot of it's writers kinda left though which. man am i getting old or.

anyway.

there isn't much of a chance her first impression is all that positive. at best it's usually neutral, imo, but rarely if ever positive. specifically because i view the Tsaritsa as someone who isn't as fanatical as most of the acolytes typically are towards the creator. she's not exactly going to worship the ground you walk on unlike a certain geo lizard. which is partially why i think she thrives in the sub au's i mentioned.

imposter au, for example. she meets you at your lowest. there's no gaudy extravagance or pampering from the acolytes waiting for you because your own acolytes have turned on you. for all intents and purposes you aren't a "god" at all. which is why i don't think she meshes well with normal cult au reader. the Fatui are made up of outcasts, basically, and imposter au slots right in just perfectly. you're weak, at your lowest, when you meet the Fatui in the imposter au. and the Fatui can help you, too.

a mutual exchange, really. the Tsaritsa sees a tool she can use to one up the rest of the nations and especially Archons, and she has no qualms about you using her and the Fatui in turn. you both want something out of it, after all. whether you just want to be safe from the rest of the acolytes, or you want revenge, or whatever else..she'll give you the power to fulfill it, and she gains the strongest piece on the chessboard when all is said and done.

the best way i can describe the first meeting is "practical", i suppose. she sees an opportunity in you. the ultimate gamble. because if she "saves" you, and you dont trust anyone else because they tried to kill you, well..she holds all the cards, doesn't she?

but the Tsaritsa, imo, is just as capable of being just as fanatical towards you as anyone else. she just won't worship you as the creator. but as yourself? clawing your way back to your divine power and taking back what belongs to you? the Tsaritsa is, to me, a character who's character flourishes in long-term fics more because she changes a LOT between "just met reader" and after having been with reader for some time. she's practically apathetic at the beginning but a lot of her character, in my characterization, shines through LONG after the first meeting.

[phantomsies]

literacy, empathy and nuance are dead fucking arts and there really is no coming back from it.

[a-literal-toaster-wtf]

anyone ever think about how collectively the aces ultimate goal is to die because . boy do i

[muninnhuginn]

Writers tag game

Prompt: share some writing

Thanks for the tag, @miyamiwu!

So, I'll be honest, I don't actually have any WIPs I'm intending to do anything with, but I have some oldish abandoned stuff I managed to relocate. It's back from 2021 so in my Untamed era and this bit was specifically set during Fatal Journey*:

Nie Huaisang woke blearily, cold seeping into his clothes from the floor. It was dark and it took several seconds to remember where he was. He could hear the muffled sounds of clanging and voices. As he lifted his head off the ground, they slowly resolved themselves into the clash of swords and yelling. [...] He didn't know what to do. What would his brother do? Xichen-ge? San-ge? He had his flute with him– he could try Cleansing. This was what it was for, right? Before he could doubt himself further, he started playing, pouring all the qi he could muster into the tune. He'd practised for hours the night before, long after San-ge had left, but despite that, he hadn't truly thought then that he'd need to play so soon. Was that so naïve of him? As he watched, Da-ge began to slow in his movements and Nie Huaisang felt himself start to relax. He kept his lips to the flute, trying not to let his relief fool him into making mistakes. Still, he knew he only had to play a little longer and then they could all escape. Him, his brother, his cousin. They could flee far away from the darkness that haunted these halls. And then Nie Zonghui's head hit the floor. He stopped playing.

And then I had this other bit:

He'd messed up. He must have played a wrong note. Maybe he'd misremembered the entire thing? And now Nie Zonghui was dead and his brother - what looked like his brother - was stood, Baxia dripping blood to the floor. [...] The sword was pointed at him. He tried to hold himself steady as he looked down the blade. Tried to blink away the tears that kept escaping without his permission. He could tell he was failing, unable to stop the trembling, but he forced himself to meet the eyes at the other end of the sword. He couldn't die here. He refused to die here. After all, he was the only family his brother had left.

*(it was meant to be part of a short time travel fic where post-canon characters went back not long before NMJ died. It would've had flashbacks to Fatal Journey interspersed with the "present" up until the point at which future NHS tipped off past NHS about the poisoned music. I actually got as far as figuring out where I wanted all the characters to be at the end of it, but I ran out of motivation pretty quickly so there's only this WIP stuff and the intro part written in the end.)

Ahh not sure who to tag when it comes to writing stuff. I know @roseofcards90 and @floofiestboy write some stuff? And anyone else who sees this who writes, feel free to consider yourself tagged ^^

[lesbiansanemi]

Officially deciding I shall not be going to work tomorrow because of the snowstorm so…. Yay? Extra day off?

[popponn]

i'm this close to opening discussion whether (is it possible that) kaiser is a playboy or not

[todayisafridaynight]

puffer party inspo'd by the fact i've had this fic rotating in my head for the past week

[squuote]

im a stanarrator liker. im a stanarrator hater. im best of both worlds while also your worst indecisive nightmare. those two got the queer tension but it sure ain’t palatable romance I’ll tell you that much.

[savage-rhi]

*insert pink color here*

[a-shakespearean-in-paris]

Listening to a romance novel right now that I do like, but everyone has been to therapy and speaks in therapy speak and that’s great but it made me realize my idea of wish fulfillment and escapism is big emotions and dramatics and people that make bold and sometimes unreasonable choices and melodrama and where IS IT

[poor-ciceros-voring-again]

I really need some gravity falls friends I think :(

[fayevalcntine]

I do find it interesting how Louis's reaction to Daniel's frankly benign joke about Lestat's letter was so different from his responses towards Daniel over the torn diary pages. Both times prior, he either becomes very angry, enough to make Daniel suddenly lose control of his body, or he becomes so overwhelmed he has to leave the room. But in neither of those times did Daniel ever go after Lestat or mock him for his love for Lestat. And the second he does, Louis not only bites back but even becomes gleeful at the thought of affecting Daniel this severely.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

what in the. see this is why it's a good thing that multiplayer videogames especially are about having fun & being yourself like what do you mean disguised spies automatically had the speed of the disguise's class & everyone's like yea if i wasn't always going for the scout disguise i'd kill myself right now. i'd be like haha can't catch Me out supposedly the extra slow or extra fast class >:) i am a harmless engineer

[alien-girl-21]

Can't wrap around my head that people use tumblr for fashion inspo, like today I must have reblogged at least 20 posts about stabbing a roman emperor wdym you're coming here and searching how to build an outfit?