#they are all ace one way or another

[stars-n-spice]

Happy Pride month to my favorite fellow aspec people:

(Headcanon/Canon)

I love you all

[naomiknight-17]

Any time someone refers to a member of the queer community as 'exempt' from some kind of bigotry or 'straight passing' or whatever it really rubs me the wrong way.

I'm not a trans woman, so I'm 'exempt'' from trans misogyny. But am I really? What about all the cis, gnc, and intersex women who are mistaken for trans women and targeted as such?

What about the fact that one of my parents is an intersex trans woman? You think the bullshit they face doesn't affect me? Affect my whole family??

I'm exempt from lesbophobia, because I am not a lesbian. But I was still verbally assaulted on a bus for being a 'filthy pussy licker' for no reason I could discern other than I have an undercut.

My partner and I may 'pass' as a straight couple, but do you really think it's a privilege to be mistaken for something I'm not? To get dirty looks when I'm buying/wearing pride stuff with my husband beside me?

Why do we have to split it up into microlabels of who gets subjected to what kind of bigotry?

I am not saying not to talk about your own unique experience, of course not. And of course some of the terms and labels for certain kinds of discrimination are useful for expressing what you're facing. But dismissing everyone else's experience because 'oh well they're exempt/immune to the exact kind of bigotry I face'?

I dunno. Just seems shitty to me

[canadianlucifer]

Sometimes I get a fictional little guy in my head and I have to draw them to release them

[onepiece-polls]

One Piece Crack Ship War - Round 1 Side A

KingSan edit made by @fivedayslater

Propaganda under the cut.

CorAce: Two dead men who set themselves on fire (though in different ways), maybe its boring in afterlife.

King x Sanji: I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who ships this but also I'm right. Both part of escaped science experiments with weird ass genes club.

[pippin-pippout]

I just watched MelonTeee's video on Ace and Worth and man the internal debate I have with myself on whether I agree with the choice or not...

Her video explains the fandom's love for the character so well, as well as why the tragedy hit so hard. For me personally I have not been that affected by a character death in a LONG time.

And I understand it from a certain narrative perspective – mainly how Ace's past continues to feature in the story a decade later, and Whitebeard's line that someone would carry Ace's flame, because that clearly describing Luffy. He goes after the mera mera no mi and finishes what Ace started in Wano.

But there are two major narrative reasons given for Ace's death that I disagree with. And are largely why I think it shouldn't have happened, and also why the death has hit me so hard.

This is going to get long, but I would really love to hear everyone's thoughts on it if you choose to read!

To give Luffy the push he needed to be stronger: I am pretty confident this is Oda's stated reason (in addition to Oda wanting to prove he could kill characters which I guess he said at one point and which is bleh given the level of injury a character sustains seems to have nothing to do with whether they die or not lol it's just what the author wants to happen). Anyway. That push already happened on Sabaody when Luffy lost everyone to Duma. He was HELPLESS. More helpless than he was through most of marineford. And when Rayleigh convinces Luffy to do the 2 years training, Rayleigh only brings up their epic defeat on Sabaody. He does not bring up marineford or Ace's death as a reason Luffy needs to get stronger. Because Luffy did not need that reason. The only argument I can think of is that maybe once he landed on Amazon Lily, and he realized the strawhats were likely alive, the terror he felt on Sabaody abated slightly. And therefore maybe he needed a reminder of what "loss" truly is to re-motivate him. However, I don't think that is really fitting with his character or the story.

Ace's dream was fulfilled: Oda has talked about the reason he doesn't kill villains is because not having your dream fulfilled is a worse fate than death. I think part of the tragedy of Ace's death was that his dream wasn't fulfilled. Even for those who accept his last words - that he had only one regret which was not seeing Luffy accomplish his dream - the amount of time he got to live with that dream was literally the last moments of his life. But I don't think just because you die with no regrets, does not mean your dream is fulfilled. Especially when Ace never truly internalized what his dream was. His final choice to turn around showed HOW MUCH he still was that lonely, scared little kid he was at 10 despite his warm smile and his growing family. The most heartbreaking part of the flashback was not Sabo's death. It was watching Ace asking the question "do I deserve to exist?" and giving all his devotion to those who said yes. It was him making the exact same decision he would make 10 years later, to refuse to run, because he felt like if he ran he would lose everything and Luffy was standing behind him. Ace's final words do more than state he has no regrets. He also gives the answer to the question he'd asked Garp, and that Garp had said only his actions could decide. Ace died thanking Luffy and his family for loving him despite the "worthless" or "good for nothing" person he was. Ace was moved to tears to hear his family emphatically saying "YES. You do deserve to live! We want you to live!" But Ace never actually believed it. His last words were a reflection of gratitude for the love he was given that he didn't feel he deserved. And thus his final answer to the question "Do I deserve to exist?" was no.

That he was too "good" This is kind of the most upsetting one I've heard (thankfully not a lot) and also the one easiest to dismiss. Ace, being the actual son of the pirate king, being super powerful, growing in strength and reputation faster than Luffy (debatable), put him narratively in competition with Luffy. What I mean by that is it positions him as too much the golden character, the mary sue, the typical protagonist, when One Piece is about Luffy's story, not Ace's. I disagree with the premise of seeing Ace's character that way. But also even he was "that" character, it's pretty clear Ace's dream would have taken him to becoming Whitebeard's heir - whose dream it was to build a family - while Luffy is Gol D Roger's heir. So Ace's journey would have supported the main story of One Piece and also be narratively satisfying.

---

What Was Ace's Dream?

The dreams Ace stated out loud were more reflections of his actual, deeper dream. "I want to be the king of the pirates" - because he wanted to prove his existence and his worth to the world. Which switched to "I want to make whitebeard the king of the pirates" - because Whitebeard loved him despite his blood, and so even if that wasn't what Whitebeard wanted, it was how Ace understood he could repay Whitebeard.

Both of those stated dreams get back to this question he'd been asking his whole life - that of worth. Worth and Love, which, for Ace's character, are inseparable.

For Ace's dream to truly be fulfilled, it's not enough for him to accept he was loved – which he did on the scaffolds, crying from happiness – he had to believe he was worth that love. He had to love himself.

Ace died with that dream tragically unfulfilled.

---

The Purpose of One Piece

Of course the decision to kill Ace makes the story more realistic and of course it is heartbreaking, tragic, moving, and obviously inspires deeper discussion.

However, what rankled me from when I first learned about his death, which was way before I was even introduced to the character in Alabasta, was that he is the only character of the younger generation (outside of flashbacks) to die.

Honestly when I first heard Ace was one of the only characters to die, I was just worried it would make him seem weaker or stupider than every other character, which is a personal pet peeve of mine. Luckily for most fans, it didn't do that.

Instead, what wound up upsetting me was how it seemed to contradict the purpose of the story that is One Piece (at least what I think the purpose is). In doing so, it opposes the meaning that many fans find in this absurd, ridiculous, inspiring, heartfelt, heroic tale about a boy made of rubber.

One Piece is an escapist story about a boy named Luffy who inspires every good guy he meets to pursue and achieve their dream. It's also about Luffy beating up every bad guy who punishments are that they cannot fulfill their morally reprehensible dreams.

Because of Ace's premature death, he is the only good guy character in the main timeline who does not get to pursue his dream. And what's extra tragic is that he is also one of the most deserving of seeing his dream fulfilled.

[cupheadocscasino]

trick or treat!

Okay, so I know this is almost three whole weeks late, due to ridiculously high ambitions on a short time limit, but if you're still in a spooky enough mood for a Halloween Party...

THE HAUNTED HOUSE by New Mayfair Dance Orchestra

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

oh yeah i hate this btw. lmao:

[dandelion-roots]

had some (extensive) feelings about maya and mia so I made an animatic about it!

[hybbat]

I do think a good chunk of the 'cringey atheist' stereotype did come from the fact that, especially americans, regardless of their actual religious status are just casually christian and refer to things through a religious filter and that isn't seen for how overwhelming/obnoxious/frustrating it is. Its absense, such as when writing a story and things like "oh god" or other casual references are remove or replaced, is seen as notable the same way people find the cast being all women or queer being 'abnormal'.

And I think more people, especially here on tumblr, should take a moment from ragging on some kid being "cringey" saying god doesn't exist or making atheist jump around like dancing monkeys to establish they're one of the good respectful ones before they ever even begin to talk about their own thoughts, and examine why so much content just inserts god into a conversation that had nothing to do with religion like it's the expected norm, the same way they examine the invasiveness of casual heteronormativity.

[eisthenameofme]

love when it gets to the point of The Discourse where i feel the need to key word search otherwise chill people's blogs for rampant bigotry before following them. Like this isn't exactly what happened with 'ace discourse'

[the-physicality]

i don't think there is anything as overdiscussed on the reddit as team names and logos

[jessamine-rose]

So I finally found the time to read Chapter 5 + the Hades event of What in Hell is Bad? and AAHHH LEVIATHAN?!! God, his character is so interesting and I can’t wait to see more of him.

Idk I just find his personality and cold attitude towards MC quite refreshing. Not to mention that he has such a lovely voice and beautiful appearance…….aaahhh he’s so intriguing <3

AND LEVIATHAN’S H SCENE?? Let’s just say that my inner sadist was very happy with how it turned out. Honestly, we need more characters who are masochist + power bottom ψ(｀∇´)ψ

[queerstudiesnatural]

i think my brain should be studied i'm being fr

[cursedthing]

Happy belated Valentine's day! Woe my aro 'n ace headcanons be upon ye!

[suffarustuffaru]

ok but reinhard x julius would simultaneously be the most hilarious yet tragic pairing of all time. reinhard thinks they met when he was fourteen and julius was sixteen and like yes they did, but julius vividly remembers being ten years old and learning about reinhard and julius was like METAPHORICALLY FROTHING AT THE MOUTH BC REINHARD?? MOST POWERFUL MAN ALIVE?? ILL NEVER MEASURE UP TO HIS LEVEL.... meanwhile reinhards like hahah julius is such a good friend of mine, im so lucky to have him haha we met when we became knights when i was fourteen haha. reinhard sees him as an equal while julius is vividly aware of the Distance between them while joshua is VIVIDLY AWARE OF THE DISTANCE BETWEEN HIM AND JULIUS AND LOATHES JULIUS FOR IT. joshua loathes reinhard too so its like this big giant envy triangle from joshua to julius to reinhard and julius doesnt know about joshua and reinhard doesnt know about julius OR joshua and reinhards so head empty hes like haha julius and joshua are so nice haha. meanwhile joshuas CLENCHING HIS FISTS AND FIGHTING BACK INTENSE RAGE BY GASLIGHTING HIMSELF. hes like haha i love my brother i love my brother i love him so much haha EVEN IF HE HAS HIS HIMBO OVERPOWERED PERFECT BOYFRIEND WHO CAN KILL ANY OF US WITH JUST ONE TOUCH WHILE ALSO PERFECTLY COOKING ANY MEAL IN EXISTENCE....

meanwhile heinkel takes a five extra shots every day on top of the usual bc reinhard and julius clock in at work every day and make lovey dovey eyes at each other EVERYWHERE. joshua and heinkel are going INSANE while julius has a bad case of ace gay person who doesnt know if they wanna Be their crush or if they wanna Be With their crush and Am I Even Having Romantic Feelings? and then theres the crisis of. oh god im not allowed to have this anyway. i have to marry a girl and have kids like a good noble knight. meanwhile reinhard has no idea about any of this, partly bc hes dead inside partly bc of Too Many Powers partly bc of neurodivergence partly bc of also probably being ace partly bc of having to continue the sword saint line.

until one day he has skin to skin contact with julius and is like haha oh whats all these emotions haha? are you okay julius? :,DD and julius promptly decides to NEVER HAVE SKIN TO SKIN CONTACT WITH REINHARD AGAIN. meanwhile felix is pulling his hair out watching all of this unfold. heinkel and joshua have joined forces and are HATING EVERY INCH OF THIS DEVELOPMENT bc they WILL be homophobic only bc its REINHARD AND JULIUS. subaru gets involved in the family drama and julius personally thanks him for clowning on julius’s crush’s dad, who is also julius’s boss. and then reinhard forgets julius even though reinhard was like the MOST LIKELY PERSON to remember julius. and then reinhard’s great great great x100 grandfather vibe checks julius into oblivion. 

and thats the end of reinhard x julius a tragicomedy in several, several parts. 

[raett97]

I need to find a local LQBTQ+ group and force myself to be social for a bit as a 'touch grass' kind of thing. Figure out my identity and how I feel irl rather than just among all 4 people in my immediate circle that I talk to. But. Social Hard and I don't know how to find such a group 😅