#one piece 698

[ashedddaisy]

:((((((((

something in me breaks when I get the reminder that luffy is their lil bro

Sabo is so cool ;-;

Why is he so hot (now literally)

and he's cute now too

[camellcat]

you guys I'm losing my MIND

I have NEVER seen this sort of thing in any other fandom I've been in and I LOVE IT

[beaulesbian]

the end of punk hazard arc was rlly so good and interesting,

beside the obvious- law being slowly included in the strawhat's shenanigans,

and zoro and the rest of the crew finally learning about their new alliance and future plans,

but

then the whole two last chapters- with doflamingo reaching the punk hazard island once the strawhats were gone and going after smoker and the navy guys,

and Aokiji (!!) suddenly showing up at last second to stop doffy from killing smoker, bc "he's an old friend"

which then they have a short fight about it, until doffy realizes it wasn't a fight they should be having at that moment

and then once again a conversation in one piece brings up the topic of people meeting at the right time because of fate or destiny! (insane about it)

(also smoker, minutes after his near-death: already smoking again. it's always so funny.)

"why are you here?" "to see you."

sure, a completely normal thing to say.

"how did you know i'd be here?"

"I'm just me... smoker."

okayy what's the history there? 👀

[psy-ay-ay]

doffy is so gaslight gatekeep girlboss

[algumaideia]

Smoker died??

Law kkkkkkkkk

Second person to say Luffy and Law idea of alliance is different

Ice guy???

They only make artificial Zoan types?

[drluvsick]

𝟑𝐚𝐦 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐬 — 𝐦𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐨

you and muichiro chat at 3am, leading to him making sure you know that you deserve him. for context, you both are hashiras who sleep in the same estate but in different rooms. established dating.

word count : 698

you waited for the herbal tea boiling on the stove as you took part in listening to the pour of the rain outside. it was comforting to say the least as it was chilly, bringing you to take the spare blanket you kept to drape it over your shoulders.

small footsteps echoed through the halls, immediately averting your attention to the sounds. you must’ve woken up muichiro. sure enough, as he stumbled into the kitchen, his sleepy face greeted you as he made his way over.

“sorry, muichiro. didn’t mean to cause such a ruckus,” you apologized with a tired tone, “go back to bed, alright? i’ll try to be there soon.”

he had his blanket draped around his shoulders as well. his voice, equally as drained as yours, spoke as he wrapped his arms around you. “i can’t sleep. can we cuddle?”

you loved this side of him, the side that awakened once having first tried hugging you. even after he’d regained his memories, there were still some emotions that he held away from others but opened up to you, such as his clinginess.

you reciprocated muichiro’s actions, moving your arms under his blanket to feel closer to him. you slid the cover off, throwing it onto the nearby chair as well as yours.

you made a noise of approval before ruffling his hair a bit. you both listened to the pitter-patters of the rain as it felt as if you two were the only ones in the world awake at that moment.

“…i made some tea, by the way. i’ll get two cups for us.” you reluctantly separated from him, much to his dismay. as if on cue, once you got the two said cups, the tea kettle whistled for you to fetch the contents inside.

having both your drinks in hand, you and muichiro sat down at the table.

blowing the steam rising from the tea away, muichiro shimmied his chair closer to yours. small talk was a thing you’d both enjoyed on early mornings like this, so he asked, “how was your last mission?”

“went well, nothing too exciting,” you shrugged, taking a sip from your tea. “you?”

“same here. but that demon pissed me off,” his brows furrowed ever so slightly.

“oh, the infamously stoic muichiro tokito being angry? how so?” you lightly teased.

“apparently he knew about us. he cursed you out. so i slashed him to pieces after slitting his mouth.” he said, perfectly serious before his mouth curved upwards a bit sinisterly at the memory.

you giggled and said you appreciated the gesture. he rested his head on your shoulder, carefully drinking his share of the tea. “oh, muichiro, i don’t deserve you…” you murmured mostly to yourself after a pause, hoping the rain would cover what you’d said.

he lifted his head up to look at you with a questioning gaze. “what makes you say that?”

“well…”—you looked up, away from his staring—“…you just…i guess…” you stumbled over your words, figuring out how to word this.

“if anything, i don’t deserve you.” he boldly said, making you snap your head to look at him in surprise. the usually calm, “air headed” hashira saying this? even if you two had been dating for quite a while, it still took you by surprise.

he continued. “remember when we first met? and the few times after when i’d forgotten who you were and you kept having to remind me?”

“but everyone did tha—”

“and how you kept being nice to me; even if you sometimes scolded me on my arrogance, which was rightfully done, after i’d brushed you off multiple times? i think i even called you ‘annoying’ and ‘a waste of breath’.” muichiro had put his cup down on the table, holding your arm. “i take those insults back, by the way.”

“you…remember that?” you were even more in awe of him.

“…i can remember a lot about you.” he finished with a slight smile.

you smiled back and ran your fingers through his hair. “i love you.”

“i love you, too.” he shut his eyes, the two of you in a comforting space in time listening to the continuous rain.

overluvsick | please do not repost, translate, and/or claim my works as yours !!

[narutouzumakiarchive]

Moments in a manga don't exist in a vacuum — they operate within the larger context of the text.

In 698, Sasuke experiences pain that causes his sharingan to weaken. Literally 9 pages later, in the same exact chapter, Naruto and Sasuke acheive the beginnings of resolution are sparked by Naruto indicating that he feels pain when he sees Sasuke suffering. Naruto's admittance leads to Sasuke also acknowledging that he felt pain when he saw Naruto suffering, and Naruto is singled out visually and textually singled out in Sasuke's monolgue because Sasuke STILL feels pain when he sees Naruto suffering, as he was never able to completely sever ties with him.

In 699, one chapter after Sasuke experiences that pain, he affirms that he and Naruto are able to share eachother's pain.

Once you see the scenes in the full context it becomes even more obvious that the pain Sasuke experienced was mental and that his actions were the final piece of foreshadowing before him and Naruto settle their feelings. You know, meant to set up the emotional expectations of Sasuke's behavior that is again, explained literally 9 pages later.

But in order to be a Naruto het shipper, you have to thrive on decontextualized scenes to make sense of pairings that are thoroughly lacking, and that decontextualized analysis extends to pairings besides their own — especially Narusasu. Because let's face it, Sasuke and Naruto are infinitely more romantic than any of the other pairings combined so they to discredit it by any means necessary, even if means claiming that in the same chapter Naruto and Sasuke affirm that they both experienced mental pain for eachother, the pain Sasuke experienced while looking into Naruto's inescapable gaze was a random physical phenomenon that was wholly unconnected to Naruto. Even the antis know it's a classic romantic moment.

[orimuraa]

₊˚⊹⋆🍁⋆⊹ Day 16: Wait for your love - Sung Hanbin

(synopsis) 🍂 it was a painful process of waiting, but after years, you finally were able to be his one and only ₊⊹

sung hanbin x fem!reader 🍂 f2l 🍂 hanbin is a bit blind, crying, a kiss, angst but happy ending, 🍂 wc 698

masterlist

you two were inseparable. everyone knew of "y/n and hanbin" because you were always together. you were each other's ride of dies.

but unfortunately, you started to catch feelings for your best friend, but it hurt so bad knowing he would never like you back.

it started in your first year of college where you had started to feel differently around the boy.

you noticed the butterflies in your stomach whenever he would look you in the eyes, or the blush that would creep onto your face when he would playfully flirt with you. but nothing was more noticeable than the jealousy you felt every time a girl would get a little too close to hanbin.

hanbin was looking for love. it was safe to say that hanbin has been through plenty of relationships, always ending them because he didn't feel that spark he was looking for.

and each and every new girlfriend he introduced you to was like a stab to the heart.

your feelings grew more and more for hanbin as he grew more into his features and became less immature and more kind and sweet.

but that also meant that more and more people came flocking over just to get eye contact with the now popular boy.

~~

"hey y/n! i want you to meet mira! she's my new girlfriend!" hanbin smiled brightly with a girl standing awfully close to him.

oh great, another one...

"oh hi..nice to meet you," you mumbled, plastering on a fake smile. you had to get out of here. "sorry bin, but i gotta go..finish some stuff." and without waiting for an answer, you sped walked away, holding your heart.

hanbin looked shocked at your sudden departure, realizing slowly the reasons for your identical reactions for each new girlfriend he brought by.

you loved him.

~~

as the seasons changed and fall came, you had been slowly distancing yourself from hanbin, always saying you had homework to do or after school activities.

hanbin knew you were lying and he's been trying to find the right time that he realized that you were the one he had been looking for.

"hey y/n? can we please talk? i really need to tell you something," a voice pleaded from behind you. turning around, you saw hanbin. he looked...different since the last time you saw him. but to be fair, that was a month ago.

his hair was now a sandy color and he had darker circles under his eyes like something had been bothering him lately.

"oh, yeah i guess so," you mumbled, already expecting to hear the name of his new girlfriend.

"i don't really know how to say this so i'll just cut to the chase. i like you y/l/n y/n. i was so stupid and didn't realize that i was looking for someone who was right in front of me. i was never able to find the right one because they weren't you. and i'm so sorry that i've made you wait for my love for so long, i was just too blind and foolish to notice that the one for me was always standing next to me," he rambled, never breaking eye contact with you.

"wow.." was all you could manage to say. after all the years of an unrequited crush, he finally realized that he did in fact like you back.

"binnie, i like you too. i have for so long but i always wanted you to be happiest, even if it meant that i couldn't be the one making you happy," you said, tears welling in your eyes.

hanbin gently brought his hand up to wipe away your tears, smiling sympathetically at you.

"can i kiss you?" he asks, his voice barely over a whisper. you just nod, closing your eyes and leaning in slowly.

his soft lips met yours and connected like puzzle pieces. it was like they were a perfect fit and after all these years, your life felt complete.

pulling away, you lean your forehead against his and smile.

"i guess it was worth it to wait for your love," you giggle, leaning in for another kiss.

indeed it was.

my bias is ricky but lately, hanbin has been bias wrecking me so hard and i thought this would be a cute idea for him ^^ enjoy!

𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: @k-films

⚘. Perm taglist: @vmpivory, @yuvany, @seozii, @pinknjm, @greentulip, @jongbean

[pokeberry5]

your tim is soooooooo beautiful i can’t stop looking at him 😍

do you have any good tim whump fic recs? like the classic comm cuts out when he’s in trouble or really anything

(thank you!! im glad u like my tim art)

(in reference to this, where i mentioned liking whump fics where tim ends up on the ropes alone and his comm cuts out)

i was digging through my reading history to try to find some recs and it seems??? i may have extrapolated fics based on what i wanted to read rip

i did still put some fic recs together! but these are slightly to the left of your original requests. i'm gonna put them in order of relevancy. broad warning to please read the tags on all of these

Little Pig, Little Pig, Let Me In by nierembergia

tim's on the line with damian when suddenly a harmless-seeming interaction at a gala turns sinister (wip)

buy the ticket, take the ride

wherein tim is attempting to deal with things on his own after finding himself alone in vegas, at some point calls jason to "consult" him about blood spatters, and then has to hang up on him because he's getting shot at

the days of theft (no more) by SilverSkiesAtMidnight

gen omegaverse, jason takes tim and in the process snaps the bond between bruce and tim. including this one because the pack bond snapping between bruce and tim has, to me, the same emotional impact of a comm getting caught (wip)

Into the Brighter Night by shoalsea

the set up of this fic is tim manipulating the bats into following a plan he misrepresented and then purposefully going dark, although the majority of the fic deals with the interpersonal fallout of tim's actions (complete)

children of the stars by Scarlet_Ribbons

jason takes tim in because jack drake's a piece of shit and ends up doing his own growing in the process. not sure how to explain why i'm including this without spoiling it, but there is a Big Moment later in the fic that to me is equivalent to tim purposely cutting his comms off to deal with a situation himself (wip)

Call to a Lonely Earth by Drag0nst0rm

in the midst of brucequest, tim ends up on an earth where there are no longer any children and bruce has lost both his sons. i'm mostly including this one because i like it a lot, but—mild spoiler—tim does make a call explaining what he presents as a hopeless situation that he can't be saved from and then hangs up! (first fic is complete but sequel isn't)

also, while it doesn't quite have the same emotional force of what i was looking for, detective comics (1940) #698-99 is where i originally got the idea from and it does feature protective dick and alvin draper!

[m-musings]

HELLO, can I request Mihawk, Buggy, and Shanks dating or married to an elderly fem reader (late 40s or early 60s) hc's? Basically, the reader is genuinely so sweet and protective and rocking like she is in her early 20s. Despite her kind nature, the reader is also surprisingly strong-willed. And is also insecure about being too old and tries to convince them to move on and find someone else who is the same age as them. (also she ate a devil fruit that gave her teleportation powers and is a teacher and teaches fencing to young children).

Headcanons: The One Piece Old Men with an Older Fem! S/O

A/N: I fr had no ideas for this so I'm really sorry if it's not exactly what you wanted sdfghjkl

Word Count:698 Warnings: nada, all fluff here

Buggy:

• K so, the first time Buggy meets you is when he happens upon your fencing class during an exploration of your island.

• When you see him approach, you instantly teleport in front you students to try and protect them from whatever he may do.

• Once he realizes that you're also a Devil Fruit user, he's almost instantly enamored with you.

• Initially, it's just because he sees you being useful to him in some way but as he gets to know you more, he grows to genuinely love and respect you.

• After getting together, Buggy revels in the affection you show to him and his crew. He can't recall the last time anyone saw them all as actual people, let alone get to know them like you do.

• He also respects the fact that you don't hesitate to call him out on his bullshit or straight up kick his ass when he needs it.

• And while he might give you crap about teaching sometimes, he still gives you the all the regard you deserve for doing a rather tough job like that.

• When you get insecure about being older, he makes sure to remind you that he is also kind of an "old geezer" and that he'll still love you when you're both as old as the sea itself.

Shanks:

• You met Shanks when he and his crew pulled into port where you were staying, them needing to restock supplies and rest for a while before going off on another adventure.

• He meets you in a small bar where he sees you chatting and laughing merrily with some of the staff as you sip on a fruity drink of some kind.

• With an intrigued smile, he struts over and introduces himself with all the usual charm.

• As you two idly chat for about 15 minutes, you stop mid-sentence when the girl you mentor hurriedly runs into the bar asking for help with something quick.

• You excuse yourself with an apologetic smile before suddenly vanishing from sight, surprising Shanks as he confusedly looks around the room for you.

• A minute or two later, you pop back to your original position and continue on the conversation like nothing happened.

• Impressed at the discovery of your powers, he begins to ask all sorts of questions about it, which eventually leads to a friendship and later, a relationship!

• He loves being with you! Seeing how kind and helpful you are with most anyone you come in contact with is so refreshing for him to see in a world where other people seem to not care about anything but themselves.

• Shanks also admires the friendship you have with the girl you mentor, it reminds him of his relationship with Luffy.

• And when it comes to your age, he couldn't care less! As long as you're a truly good person, he'll love you with all his heart no matter how you perceive yourself.

Mihawk:

• You meet Dracule when he arrives to an island near yours while on a bounty search for the Marines.

• Having been hired alongside him due to your powers and skills with a saber, he is a little hesitant to be around you due to him preferring to work alone.

• But once the job is done and he's spent more time with you, he actually finds himself enjoying your company a lot!

• He likes how headstrong you are and how you aren't afraid to let someone know exactly how you feel.

• And that combined with the fact that you teach a very useful fighting style to the next generation, he's sold on the idea of the two of you being something more than friends rather soon.

• Mihawk also adores just how sweet you can be with those you care about. Whether that's with your students or with him, he's absolutely smitten when you're being your typical, cuddly self.

• There are for sure times when you convince yourself that your age is a problem and that he'd be better off with someone more youthful.

• When you have those doubts, he's right there to assure you that he doesn't mind at all. He's glad to be around you because you're you, older than him or not.

[mysumeow]

Hi! I'm new to this but may I request (and this might be a bit specific) Lyney x male/gn reader(whichever you prefer) who has regenerative powers similarly to Ajin (in which they are basically immortal and fully regenerate once they die) and is pretty reckless because of it, I just imagine Lyney not being able to take their eyes of reader due to them getting into lethal trouble most of the time while adventuring. (Love your work :D, Feel free to ignore if not interested)

──Lyney with a reader who's reckless wherever they go and whatever they do.

WARNINGS ❪ Reader death mentioned, reader gets repeatedly injured (very mild descriptions of it). GN pronouns and body. SUMMARY ❪ Reader has the special ability to regenerate whenever they die. Reader has fun with this power, but it's not as fun for the magician they befriended. WORD COUNT ❪ 698 (bullet point list format) A/N ❪ HI ANON IM SORRY FOR TAKING TOO LONG FOR THIS AAAAAAAAA tbh, i dont know this character :c so i based this drabble (?) only on what you described. I hope the reader was reckless enough alhdsfsalkjfhjkldskjaf

BLANK BLOGS DNI

₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ 🌷 . . MASTERLIST

⸝⸝⸝

The poor magician is constantly on edge because of your recklessness. And you nearly sent him into cardiac arrest the first time he found out about it.

You were Lyney's stagehand, in charge of rope work and inspecting that the props were firmly attached and in place.

Let’s just say you didn’t check that your safety equipment was correctly secured.

Given that your place of focus was up there, at least 20 meters (65.6 feet) away from the wooden floor, when you fell... It was a rather distressing sight.

Lyney felt beyond guilty about what happened, even if it wasn’t his fault. He was both relieved and bewildered when he found out you were fine?

A fall from that height would render anyone with broken bones beyond repair, and you left the hospital on your own? Without needing a wheelchair or anything?! You walked out of there as if nothing had happened.

“Ohhh, right. I forgot to mention that. For some reason, I can’t die.”

You were immortal, and you were confessing that ability like you were talking about the weather.

“But… But I saw you covered in blood and...” He couldn’t finish his sentence; the mere memory caused chilling goosebumps.

He always keeps an eye on you when you’re about to climb the scaffolding.

“You’re going to get yourself into a mess again,” He worried, rushing to your side once he noticed the hook that goes into your gear seemed flimsy. “This needs a replacement,”

“But your show is tomorrow,” You objected. “Besides, if something happens, I’ll regenerate. No biggie,”

“Your ability is unmatched, but it must still hurt a lot when you get into that trouble,” He insisted, removing the swivel snap hook from the gear before you could further object. “The forge sells these items. It won’t take more than a couple of minutes to buy one,”

Unfortunately for a troublemaker like you, sooner rather than later, the magician picked up on your habit of running into situations.

Once, you came back after lunch with concerning burns on your arms.

“Look, I picked up some bulle fruit. They’re fresh. Want some?”

“What happened? Dear archons, those look like second-degree burns?!”

“I ran into some trouble with some dumb gardemeks. I gave them a good beating,” You boasted. “They did sneak behind me and hurt me, but still,”

“If you want to go after them, go ahead with it,” Lynette said, noticing her brother’s anxious face.

You wielded both a vision and a weapon, so he knew you were more than capable of defending yourself, and yet he couldn’t stop going after you to make sure you were alright.

“Lyney!” You greeted him as you were about to go back to the theater. “What’re you doing here? Ah—don't tell me I took too long to return!”

“None of that. Geez, it’s a miracle I found you in one piece,” He sighed and rubbed his temple. “You’re a magnet for trouble wherever you go,”

“C’mon, I can’t be that bad.” You laughed.

He also remembered that time you were adventuring. You know, being cooped in the city could be boring sometimes.

The sibling’s schedules were free for that couple of days and thought it would be a fun experience.

The moment they finished setting up the tents, they noticed you had run off somewhere without them knowing.

“Do you guys think these berries are edible?”

Spoiler: they weren’t…

Often, it’s Lyney bandaging you up.

It was customary for Lyney and Lynette to carry bandages and band-aids with them when they rehearsed their show. It’s not uncommon for blisters to appear on any part of their body after an intense rehearsal or to sprain an ankle occasionally.

Now, having you around, there was even more reason to store them.

Before you could scurry away from him, Lyney called you with a stern voice.

The usual flirty and teasing side of the magician disappears when he catches you trying to hide a cut or a scrape.

“’Tis but a small cut,” You assured, laughing nervously. “O-Ow—!”

The disinfectant stung as he applied it to your jaw. “How did you even—forget it. Knowing you, you were probably careless,” He undid the band-aid's wrap and grabbed your face, preventing you from moving away.

“There you go,” He smiled, pleased with himself, the band-aid in place. “You can go back to work,”

[ashedddaisy]

I find him quite hilarious ngl.

and I find him quite hot.

And Oh he's traumatized.

[ms--lobotomy]

@avg-afterdark ORDER UP! Here's your sick cat. Also tagging @wolf-tail since you had the idea. Teehee.

Summary: Konrad Curze is down with the sickness. Lol. Lmao. (GN reader)

Word Count: 698 (sorry it's so short waah)

Content Warnings: Probably a bit of medical malpractice? (I'm a [REDACTED] major not a premed student) also it may be a little incoherent but I have experience in being ill so.

Image Credit: @squishyowl

"You again?" he rumbled as you entered the room, rolling in a cart of basic hygiene supplies. You slightly turned the lights up and shut the door. No matter how gently you tried to close it, it would always make a loud snap. Not many got to enter the quarters of the Night Haunter, but here you were. His quarters were in disarray, and you had to step around pieces of discarded armor that were built for someone maybe twice your size. Even if the lights were turned up all the way, it would have been a nightmare to navigate.

"How did you know it was me?" you asked before the idea of ignoring him crossed your mind.

"Revealed to me in a dream," he sighed, rolling over in bed to face away from you. He grabbed a pillow and brought it to his chest. His scarred back was exposed, somehow paler than it had been depicted. His hair was thick and unwashed, but that's where you come in. You pulled out a bottle of dry shampoo and sighed.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be," you said, approaching him. You squirted a little bit onto your hand, and he curled up in his bed as you hopped up to get close to him. Whatever he had, you were told that it wasn't contagious anymore.

"Fine," he relented. "Do what you must."

You ran a hand through his hair, lathering in the dry shampoo. You could swear that there were other serfs called in to take care of him in this state, but he didn't look taken care of. You had the self-preservation to not ask, at least. You massaged his scalp gently, but hard enough to clean him up a little bit. And you could swear that you felt him lean into it a little bit.

"Feeling better, my liege?" you asked.

He grunted into the pillow he held. Your hand retreated as you put your materials back. You hesitated before you curiously reached out to one of the jagged scars on his back. You barely got to trace it before he turned over, released the pillow, and grabbed your wrist. So much for self-preservation.

"Lord--" you sputtered out, your heart skipping a beat in your chest.

"Don't go," he said, his fingers threatening to tear into your wrist. His eyes were more sunken than they normally were, and his grip never got any looser.

You looked away from him, feeling your cheeks go warm. "But what will my boss think if I don't come back?" you asked as he pulled you in closer.

"I will let them know you were attending to some... business," he said. Before you knew it, you relented, laying down in the massive bed with him. He drew the covers over you and put a hand to your cheek, absolutely engulfing it. You felt your heart drum in your chest again. He could so easily turn on you--on anyone around him. But here he was, almost in need of a companion.

"Why me?" you squeaked after a few moments.

"Do you think any of the other serfs were so gentle? Do you think any of them treated me like a... person, instead of a...?" he trailed off, a clouded expression crossing his face. You wanted to ask what he was talking about, but being this close to him, this was probably a bad idea.

"I don't know," you finally relented. You felt him pull you close to him, and you closed your eyes. It felt... nice. Much nicer than you'd felt in a while. He was cold, but you hadn't felt someone rise and fall against you in so long. Any reservations you may have had were long gone now, melting along with you. He put one hand at the back of your head and the other at your waist, pulling you in further. He breathed a sigh of contentment.

You knew that even though the higher-ups said it wasn't contagious, it was a Primarch that had fallen ill. This couldn't be a normal disease. You knew that what you were doing wasn't safe, but how could you say no?

[frankencanon]

One Piece Theory Regarding the Vinsmokes' Genetic Modifications — Specifically Their Eyebrows

(Hopefully this hasn't been done already...)

Hypothesis:

Vinsmoke Judge's research into Human Modification involved Devil Fruits. Specifically, he was trying to give his children Devil Fruit abilities without drawbacks such as a weakness to water and Seastone/Kairōseki.

Evidence:

Please take note of the image above. Notice any common denominators...? That's right, you guessed it — swirls! Every single fruit has swirls on it, whether on the body of the fruit itself or on the stem. And you know what else has swirls? The Vinsmoke siblings' eyebrows. In fact, if you look at certain fruits (such as the Gomu, Hana, Awa, Mochi, Bijo, and Ope fruits) you will notice that the stems look literally identical to the siblings' eyebrows. Coincidence? I think not!

Most of the siblings seem to each possess a unique ability that their fellow siblings do not share, almost as if they'd each eaten different Devil Fruits; Reiju has "Poison Pink" (poison fruit?), Ichiji has "Sparking Red" (spark fruit?), and Yonji has "Winch Green" (winch fruit???).

Thanks to Caesar Clown and his SMILE fruits, we know that it's canonically possible for a person to artificially replicate the effects of a Devil Fruit.

Caesar's faulty fruits lacked the distinct swirls present on actual Devil Fruits; Thus, there is likely a connection between the lack of swirls, and the fact that the SMILE fruits are faulty.

[Spoiler Alert for Chapters 698 and 840] Both Judge and Caesar based their scientific experiments on the "Lineage Factor" (referred to as the "blueprint of life itself, present in all living organisms") that was discovered by both Vegapunk and Judge working together — without it, neither the Vinsmokes' genetic modifications nor Caesar's SMILEs would have been possible. In other words, their experiments are intrinsically linked with one another.

[Spoiler Alert for Chapters 1077-1078] Vinsmoke Judge and Caesar Clown, both previously members of MADS — an illegal scientific research institute headed by Vegapunk himself — have recently joined forces to create their own organization which they have dubbed NEO MADS. Why is this relevant? Because if you consider the previous points of evidence... Caesar Clown has succeeded in creating faulty, mock Devil Fruits that are lacking the swirls characteristic of real Devil Fruits. Vinsmoke Judge has succeeded in creating genetically modified humans with superhuman abilities who possess swirly eyebrows reminiscent of Devil Fruits. Caesar has the fruits, Judge has the swirls... Combine them, and you just might get a fully functional artificial Devil Fruit.

...Okay, that got a bit away from there.

But what I was trying to say is that I believe the swirly eyebrows to be related to Devil Fruits since (1) they both have similar swirls, and (2) because I know that Judge and Caesar have recently teamed up, and the only thing that was missing from Caesar's SMILEs (visually, at least) was the swirls.

Creator of Non-Swirly Fruit + Creator of Swirly Eyebrows = Creation of Swirly Fruit. Yes?

Yes.

Also relevant: [Spoiler Alert for Chapter 1007] Apparently Dr. Vegapunk was able to create a mostly-but-not-totally-successful replica of a Devil Fruit — the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu — that was unintentionally eaten by Momonosuke.

He was only able to do this thanks to his knowledge of the Lineage Factor, and access to Kaidou's own.

In other words!

TL;DR:

The creation of artificial Devil Fruits and the genetic modification of the Vinsmoke siblings are intrinsically linked via the Lineage Factor.

Because of this, I believe that Judge's genetic modifications and experiments on his children involved Devil Fruits in some way, shape, or form — and that is why their eyebrows swirl like the stems of Devil Fruits.

[maggiecheungs]

poems in episode one of the story of kunning palace

in episode 1 of kunning palace, xuening grabs a book of poems in order to trick her maids into thinking she keeps a ledger. my knowledge of classical chinese isn't particularly high level, but it's good enough to at least identify which poems are on the page that she opens to, and i'm certain they were deliberately chosen because of their relevance to the characters and themes of the show 👀 so i thought i'd do a post about them :)

this page contains three poems by the tang dynasty poet wang changling (698–756): 芙蓉樓送辛漸 (farewell to xin jian at lotus tower); 閨怨 (boudoir lament); and 春宮曲 (spring palace song). detailed analyses under the cut:

1 - 芙蓉樓送辛漸 (farewell to xin jian at lotus tower):

my translation

poem summary: the poet's friend came to wu on a night when cold rain was pouring into the river, and departs again at dawn. the poet accompanies him on his journey as far as the chu mountains [but cannot carry on journeying with him because he must stay at his official post in wu]. as he bids goodbye, he asks his friend to tell his family back in luoyang that his heart is still pure and resolute.

key themes: loneliness and solitude; duty; having a pure heart and noble character

analysis: this one is a fairly famous poem about parting before setting off on a long journey. it's particularly notable for its final line, 一片冰心在玉壺, which roughly translates to "my heart is as pure as a piece of ice within a vessel of jade"... which could easily have been written as a summary of zhang zhe's character.

however! while there's a definite emphasis on having a pure and guiltless heart, when you combine with the previous line, the couplet as a whole also gives a sense that the speaker wishes to be remembered by those they love as someone pure and righteous ("tell my family back in luoyang that my heart is still pure etc"). this seems to be a theme of xuening's second life: wanting to correct her past wrongs and treat the people she cares for better, and to prove to zhang zhe that she can be a good person in future

in particular, this poem makes me think of xuening's last moments in her first life. the poet's final request before he bids farewell to his friend? for his companion to tell his family that he is still noble at heart. xuening's final request before she dies? for xie wei to take her life in exchange for that of zhang zhe, as her way of repenting for being dishonourable and ruining his life... 🤔🤔🤔

2 - 閨怨 (boudoir lament):

poem summary: the young wife in her boudoir knows nothing of sorrow, but as she completes her toilette and ascends the emerald tower, she suddenly sees the hue of poplars and willows on the roadside and regrets letting her husband leave home to pursue official position and power.

key themes: love and marriage; abandonment; ambition (and the effect that ambition has on love)

analysis: it's essentially about how the husband's ambition causes him to abandon his wife to grief and loneliness, which seems like a clear parallel with xuening's willingness to abandon her faithful lovers for the sake of her ambition; there's also the implication that political status is ultimately less meaningful than a loving marriage.

i think it's worth noting that the character 怨 (yuan) in the title is fairly hard to translate, as it implies a mixture of grief and anger/resentment, or even hatred. it's fairly common in boudoir poems about women left behind by their husbands, and in that context it's often translated as 'lament' or 'grief', but i think the ambivalence of the term is fairly important, particularly if you apply it to kunning palace and the mix of grief and anger that xuening inspires in her old lovers in her first life.

3 - 春宮曲 (spring palace song):

poem summary: the wind is mild, the flowers are in full bloom, the moon is full and bright. the emperor has fallen in love with one of his sister's singing serving women, and is showering her with imperial favour and bestowing brocade robes upon her to keep out the spring chill.

key themes: happiness, success, security. (however, with contextual knowledge, there's also the implication of future doom, and that nobody can stay on top of the world forever)

analysis: i didn't quite catch the full significance of this one until i googled it and realised it's a poem about a real historical figure: wei zifu, a song-and-dance girl serving the princess pingyang, who wins the favour of pingyang’s brother, emperor wu of the han dynasty, eventually becoming his second empress (the second-longest serving empress in chinese history!).

wei zifu's story is essentially about a young woman of humble origins who survives numerous palace intrigues and eventually manages to ascend to the position of empress, trusted by the emperor to the extent that she was allowed to rule in his absence. however, after maintaining her position for over three decades, she eventually fell afoul of a conspiracy against her and her son, and committed suicide rather than allowing herself to be deposed.

i mean… the way this links to jiang xuening's first life is so obvious i don't even feel the need to explain it.

[thebibutterflyao3]

Day 4 - Prompt: Future @wolfstarmicrofic

January Daily Series - 698 words

<<<Previous Part OR Start Here

Remus had never been so enthralled with a man while he shared every insignificant detail of his life. Then again, Remus had never met anyone like Sirius before. This brilliantly clever, fascinating bloke who was filled with endless surprises. With every deep inhale before he launched into the next facet of his life, Remus waited intently to hear what he’d say next.

He was fairly certain that he could listen to Sirius explain the minutiae of why a wet paper bag sticks to itself with breathless wonder. This was important though. Remus was hanging on every word, storing every tidbit of information that Sirius revealed like it was a life-changing revelation, each one was a present just for him. While he’d actually enjoy mindlessly staring at this beautiful bloke for the foreseeable future, this was vital intelligence and he couldn’t spare a solitary brain cell at the moment. All of them were attuned to Sirius’s every word.

“So then, James and I moved into our flat in Edinburgh. Padfoot came a little later. I found him at a shelter I was volunteering with and just had to bring him home,” Sirius continued, grinning as he reached out to scratch Padfoot’s back. “He was so cute, I couldn’t resist. I tell James all the time that the two of them are pieces of the same puzzle.”

“That’s lucky, isn’t it?” Sirius asked, turning that blinding grin on Remus. “Finding a dog with the same personality as your best mate?”

Remus nodded solemnly. “That’s fate.”

“Exactly! That’s what I told James too.” Sirius tilted his head to the side and sighed. “Even though I’ve always imagined James as a Golden Retriever rather than a Newfoundland, somehow it fits.”

The note-taking side of his brain was furiously recording everything: Sirius lives in Edinburgh. James is his flatmate and best friend. Padfoot is James’s dog equivalent. Sirius volunteered at an animal shelter. Of course he did, he’s so fucking perfect.

“I can see that.”

Remus’s comments were intentionally brief and encouraging. He wanted every scrap of Sirius that he could get his grubby hands on. If he could breathe him instead of air, he would. He’d let the molecules of Sirius’s essence settle in his bones and cling to that little piece of him reverently.

Obsessive barely scratched the surface, but every time he tried to rein it in, Sirius would magically appear and flash that god-tier grin. At the ice rink, his favourite pub, and now the winding walking path that trailed the rocky Welsh shoreline, there was Sirius. When he opened his mouth, Remus didn’t know whether to expect a dead-panned retort, a random “fun fact,” or a quote from Shakespeare himself. The fucking range with this man.

He was so gone. Pathetically, pitifully gone for this bloke who barely knew he existed.

“I’d enjoy being a dog, I think. To just laze about and bask in adoring attention. What animal would you be? If you could pick?” Sirius asked, searching his face intently.

Remus hummed thoughtfully as he tried to find just the right animal. He wasn’t about to shrug this off when Sirius looked so invested in his answer. Lily had equated him to a lone wolf before, but that didn’t feel quite like the right answer for Sirius.

“An alley cat,” he decided, nodding at Sirius’s startled laugh. “Free to roam and explore, but happy to curl up for a lip in the sun.”

“Oh, I love that,” Sirius breathed. His eyes widened and he bit down on his bottom lip.

Remus stared at that perfect row of white teeth carving into an equally perfect plump pink lip. He couldn’t help himself. Before he’d even thought about it, he’d smoothed his thumb over the raw spot to free it. Somehow, he managed to drop his hand casually, as if it meant nothing. As if his thumb didn’t tingle from the contact.

Ffyc. Oh, I’m so screwed.

This one was going to fucking hurt. He could already feel the razor’s edge of this loss cutting into him. When Sirius went home, Remus would feel compelled to follow him. Which he couldn’t, and shouldn’t, do.