#they literally call it “alien”

[maykrisms]

It's an experience that he far too familiar with, to be entirely honest. The process of dying, only to wake up reincarnated yet again.

❮ It was a complicated procedure, as most of my brain was unsalvageable. The transfer was jarring, and it took far too long to adjust to my new faculties. But I would say it was more than worth it. ❯

❮ I greatly prefer this form, as it's entirely of my own design. ❯ A light chuckle escapes his speakers. ❮ I assume the same would apply to your own upgrades? ❯

❛ now that is fascinating. how was that experience? being reborn, so to speak? i've considered attempting a sort of ... consciousness upload elsewhere, but i do worry it might be more risky than is obvious. ❜

he did wonder what that previous body might have looked like.

❛ do you prefer the new to the old, even outside of use? aesthetically speaking? ❜

[moongothic]

Crocodad AU where immidiately after having left Dragon and his baby boy Crocodile finds an 11 year old Robin. And while he's 100% only recruiting her so they can make a beeline for the Poneglyph and Pluton in Alabasta by the two of them... Crocodile accidentally sorta kinda adopts Robin.

At this point Robin's been running for her life from the Government for three years so her deep trust issues and fear of betrayal are starting to take root in her little heart. Like perhaps they haven't taken fully over yet, and being still a child I'm sure Robin might've still had that genuine hope that she could find a safe place to stay in. But I'm sure the though of "what'll he'll do with me once he gets what he wants?" would be nagging at her at the back of her mind. Meanwhile Crocodile's struggling between the pain and hurt he's already gone through and given him his trademark trust issues, as well as the aftermath of The Dragodile Divorce. But he also has his Fresh Paternal Instincts and probably misses his baby. So when given a small, scared child who is running for her life, being chased by the very same Government that'll want his son dead if they ever find out about him... Yeah that might fuck with your brain a little

You know this post was supposed to be just that first paragraph and just a few footnotes from the following two paragraphs. And then I kept on Having Thoughts. And I kept on writing them down. And oh no what happened when did this post get so long (Look I was going to either kept on writing my Additional Thoughts in the tags or I just put them in the actual fucking post)

Like considder this: based on this one SBS, we can kinda tell that if Crocodile was given a chance to raise a child, that child would be a spoiled little shit, right

So in this scenario, where Crocodile's looking after lil Robin, would he be kind of torn? Unsure how to feel about her?

Because on one hand, this strange child would have the potential to not only ruin his plans, strip him of his Shichibukai Privileges by outing him and his plans to the World Government, but also put his son in grave danger by extension (if she found out about him having been involved with the Revolutionaries and/or having a child). But on the other hand, his paternal instincts could make him want to spoil this poor little girl rotten. But only because he needs to (perhaps literally) buy her trust so she'll behave. No other reason, he doesn't feel sorry for her one bit, no sirree. (But maybe he did feel sorry for her, since his son could very well end up exactly like her. Poor little thing) (Which is why he needs to nuke Marijoa out of orbit as soon as possible, no matter the cost, and this child can't get in the way of Crocodile protecting his son) (But also this is a child. Like how bad could she be. Besides all he really needs to do to win her trust is be nice and make her feel safe, right?)

Of course, while I'm suggesting Crocodile could have some parental instincts, realistically, he hasn't actually spent any time being, you know, a father to a child (looking after his newborn for an unknown though short amount of time aside), so it's possible he wouldn't even know how to parent Robin even if he wanted to, would he? (Like taking care of a newborn and an 11 year old kid aren't the same either) So if he was kind of just emotionally flipflopping between No Trusting Ever and It's Just A Kid for God's Sake, Crocodile trying to be nice to Robin to make her feel safe and then telling himself to stop being so soft and vunerable... Yeah that would make for an absolute mess of a relationship. (Not to mention, let's be real, dude's a scary motherfucker too, and a bloody giant compared to itty bitty baby Robin. He could keep on accidentally scaring the shit out of Robin (who would be On Fucking Edge To Begin With) by just Being Himself. Like for example, can you fucking imagine if he caught Robin trying to cheer herself up with a little "dereshishishi" only to tell her to stop because "it was stupid"? 'Cause I can imagine him doing that, and boy howdy would that make Robin feel bad)

Or who knows, maybe Crocodile was just Born To Be A Dad, maybe he just Fucking Gets It. Like Crocodile is canonically pretty good at manipulating people to do what he wants them to do (see: how he played Vivi like a fiddle), so knowing Robin's position and understanding how she feels, maybe he COULD completely nail how she needed to be treated. Not being too familiar but still making her feel safe and happy, knowing exactly when to be stern and when to spoil her, etc. Dude just goes off and wins the Dad of the Year Award while being a deadbeat dad himself. The only thing Crocodile would have to worry about then would be making sure HE doesn't get too fond of her. And certainly that could never happen, he's so in-touch with his own feelings and so grounded, he's not a softie, get outta here. Or maybe he does but never realizes until it's too late and good luck backpedalling on those emotions now dumbass

Alright so, the reason I went on that whole rmble is just that like. I'm so interested in the relationship Robin and Crocodile already have in canon. I'm so facinated and curious about how the two feel about each other, considdering they did spend 4 whole years of their lives together as criminal business partners, though neither ever trusted the other. A partnership that was only ended because Robin betrayed Crocodile, out of her own trauma. (God, I want to see these two "reunite" so bad, I want to know how they feel about each other now after the timeskip and Robin joining the idiot in flipflops who foiled Croc's plans)

My question here is just that... if they had met 13 years earlier, would things have been different? Especially if Crocodad Real? Because as I mentioned in the begining, Robin would've been on the run for only 3 years by this point, as opposed to 16 years before running into Crocodile. Simultaneously, this would be before Crocodile went onto spend an entire decade all alone, slowly losing his marbles in his emotional solitude. They'd both be emotionally traumatized, yes, but would it have been as bad in this scenario? Like I did start this post kind of joking about Crocodile adopting Robin, and for clarity's sake I don't think they'd have like a father-daughter relationship nececarily. But it would be a strange relationship still, because we'd have two broken people, both struggling to trust anyone. One who had lost her mother and her only friends, leaving her all alone and afraid while running for her life. The other a father who had just given up his son whom he probably missed dearly. Both having these holes in their hearts from loss of family, holes that could not be filled with replacements. But could they find comfort in each other anyway, because they still as people occupy similar roles to their respective loved ones? If they both could just get over those trust issues?

Okay I've been going off on the Emotional Side Of Things for this AU Concept, THERE'S PLOT TOO

So if Crocodile did pick Robin up like 19 years ago, that should be before he set up base in Alabasta, long before he had built is homebase and financial empire etc.

Now the thing is, while we don't know when, where and how Crocodile learned about the Ancient Weapons, Pluton specifically and how the lead on it would be in Alabasta... Considdering Crocodile did once upon a time aim to become Pirate King, it would make perfect sense if he had learned about Poneglyphs during his past adventures, as he would have needed to get the Road Poneglyphs to find One Piece. And while the World Government did bury the truth about why Ohara had been burned down and why Robin had been given her bounty (remember, the WG claimed it was because she had sunken a fleet of battleships, which she had not, it was because she could read the Poneglyphs), considdering this is a Crocodad AU specifically, you could totally make an argument Crocodile could've learned about what actually happened to Ohara from Dragon and co. So, just to make this AU work, you could just assume Crocodile learned about the concept of the Ancient Weapons from Dragon. And who knows, maybe he overheard the truth about why Robin had been given her bounty from Dragon too (maybe Dragon was able to get intel from Garp in secret) or while going to Marijoa himself to attend a Shichibukai meeting or something IDK.

Maybe he learned about Pluton being in Alabasta before finding Robin by accident, and maybe they made a beeline for Alabasta the second Croc recruited Robin. Travelling takes time and the guy would've most likely had to find an Eternal Pose to Alabasta just to get there (also canonically Robin didn't enter the Grand Line until her 20s so they should've met in West Blue probably, since that's where Ohara was) Or maybe Crocodile had to haul Robin around for a few months while looking for That Missing Piece of Information that would lead him to Alabasta. (Imagine the two travelling from like island to island, library to library, Crocodile trying to find that leads while Robin's just so excited about ALL THESE BOOKS (she's helping too with the research) (but to her, research is playtime, so she's just having the time of her life) (Also, notice how Crocodile's Theoretical Child is a fucking loser ass nerd? Yeah Crocodile would encourage Robin reading and studying, surely. And that would be fucking cute))

But like, once they set sail to Alabasta...

Sure, Crocodile could try to do it The Slow Way that we know he tried in canon, building trust and creating his little empire etc. But also, in canon, Crocodile couldn't have jumped into action head first because without Robin, even if he had found the Poneglyph he couldn't have read it and found the location of Pluton. Crocodile choosing to do it the slow way may have been partially because he didn't have much of a choise and it could've felt like the smarter move long-term.

But in this scenario, he already has Robin. Yes, he could do it the slow, secure way.

But what'd be there stopping him from infiltrating Cobra's palace and kidnapping him (in the night, when nobody suspects a thing), demanding Cobra to spill the beans lest Crocodile kills him and/or his pregnant wife* (*Vivi was born 10 months after Luffy so depending on how long it's been between Crocodad leaving Luffy behind and this scenario... Yeah either the wife is there, still pregnant, or there's a newborn Baby Vivi)

Like it'd be a risky move but depending on how ballsy Croc's feeling and how confident he feels in being able to kidnap the king without being noticed... Yeah he could probably do it. And I'm sure he'd have no problem killing Cobra either, if anything it'd be required if he didn't want the Government to find out he was out to find Pluton, and god knows Cobra would tell on Crocodile if left alive. I could see Crocodad being maybe a little iffy about killing Baby Vivi though (it's not like the newborn baby could report him to the WG anyways), but if nothing else, he just needs to be able to pull off the bluff of his life to convince Cobra to do as he's told. And we all know Crocodile's good at convincing people.

The only question is, how would Robin take that?

Watching Crocodile go into Full Murder Mode, hearing him say he'd kill a pregnant woman/a newborn baby if he didn't get what he wanted? Like yeah, I'm sure 11 year old Robin would be fine with that, that wouldn't make any alarm bells go off in her head at all, it'd be fiiiine. IT WOULD NOT BE FINE, SHE'D BE SCARED SHITLESS. That fear of "what will he do with me when he gets what he wants"? Well, Robin may not have found the answer to that question in particular, but she certainly found the answer to the opposite question, and it's not good

So say Cobra, kidnapped (perhaps with Baby Vivi) by Crocodile in the night, guides the two to the Poneglyph under the tombs. Crocodile puts Cobra out of his misery because he's not needed anymore. And he asks Robin to read the Poneglyph for him.

Robin, who has spent the last little while, be it weeks or months with Crocodile, him having become her "guardian", the thing keeping her safe. Crocodile, who has now shown how cold blooded and cruel he can be. Robin, who might be scared out of her mind. Of him.

And the Poneglyph says Pluton, the thing Crocodile wants, isn't there. It's in Wano.

What's she going to do?

EDIT: I wrote a sequel post, enjoy

[magic-glasses]

Me desperately wanting andy x readers after watching alien: romulus but knowing he’s autistic + black, tumblr will favor the neurotypical white main character and treat andy like a 5 year old

[ro5ani]

Some thoughts I've been having since round 6 but it's mostly me ranting about Ivan

So first of all, this whole thing where Till goes looking for Mizi's flower crown and they get attacked by the alien, it was all staged by Ivan. He was waiting for Till outside of the entrance and followed him as he went there

He didn't do anything to help them get away he was just watching how things played out, his goal was to get Till locked up so he could free him when no one was watching and they could escape (it would also show him as a savior thus making Till like him more)

You can see marks in the wall while he watches, my boy was stressed (maybe even worried that something would go terribly wrong). And before this scene, he is shown hugging the alien and there's an official art of him inside the aliens mouth (not sure what that means maybe that was the way of convincing it, it's known Ivan always does whatever the aliens want so he can use that later to his favor) ANYWAYS there are no scenes where he intervenes, so I'm pretty sure he planned the whole thing.

WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT IS, the meteor shower scene when they escaped.

If Ivan staged the whole thing he must've picked a specific day and time, so them escaping while there was a meteor shower is not a coincidence. Ivan did everything he could to convince Till, in the best way he could come up with.

Just like Till, Ivan suffered a lot of abuse even though it's not shown as much. At the beginning of round 3 we can see an alien threatening to throw him from the top of a building. He was scared and crying yet he saw, what probably was the most beautiful thing in his whole life, a meteor shower.

There's a lot of focus on Ivan's eyes throughout the series, he's very observant and it's also a way to emphasize how he is always looking at Till. But before he actually met Till, the meteor shower was the thing that caught his attention, and you can tell by the way his eyes fill with meteors when he looks at Till. Till to him is as shiny and sparkling as a meteor shower.

Ivan might be smart and very observant and mature for his age, but he's still a kid! He not only tried to save Till he also tried to impress him so they could get closer. So what did he do, like a kid showing off his toys to make an impression, he showed Till the most beautiful and impressive thing he knew.

And Till was impressed! But it was not enough, so it happened what happened.

The point of this whole thing is that I've seen a lot of people say Ivan's only way of catching Till's attention is by bothering/being mean to him, and while he did that a lot, he also risked his life and staged this whole thing so Till could be happy.

And even after that didn't work out, he kept looking out for Till in the only way he knew or was able to.

So my boy Ivan is not just a bully give him some credit😭 He could've been a little more honest but u don't expect the aliens to teach them proper communication.

SO THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO GET OUT OF MY SYSTEM

If u read all of this thank you 😭 and feel free to share thoughts too!

And excuse any weird wording, i literally never write long stuff

[chessb0r3d]

i cracked the code.

[ivanttakethis]

So like………………. what was the point of Round 6?? 🤨

[rcmclachlan]

Trademark: Top-tier Bucktommy writer + generally Cool + getting Buck pregnant

Thank you + thank you + thank you!

[dingodad]

i think there is some degree of "lord english is gentrifying homestuck" in the post-scratch earth timeline just because english corrupts everything he touches but more broadly it's simply that as his influence over the story becomes stronger and stronger and paradox space comes closer and closer to its inevitable black hole death the comic's themes start to spiral back in on themselves in masturbatory self-parody. because lord english's influence is regression itself

[crustyfloor]

You can literally see the life fading from his eyes. Good god.

[vulpinesaint]

the movie censored her. they wouldn't let her speak. they took away her origins and her agency... because they hate women...

[goyastardream]

Aw what a cute pair of brothers, hope nothing bad happens to them that'll tear them apart and embroil their species in 1000+ years of war

Oops

[claitea]

i love this guy

[styrofauxm]

(this was back on my dash and I have thoughts again, sorry)

"it's just shipping"

uh huh, that's why people lose their shit when you say Peridot (Steven Universe) is canonically aroace

and why people call for Yelena Belova's (Marvel) orientation to be switched to lesbian for the MCU. Despite rightfully being mad about the erasure of many other identities (queer or otherwise)

and why people complained until the end of the series that Nita and Kovit (Not Even Bones) were aspec and not dating

and why people practically celebrate the backtracking of the confirmation that Alastor (Hazbin Hotel) is aromantic

and why people with non-canon gay ships get really upset at non-canon aspec headcanons

and why there is a massive gap in the amount of people who ship gay/lesbian characters with women/men and the amount of people who ship aroace characters

It's not shipping, it's not discourse. It's aphobia.

[lord-squiggletits]

Actually I have a hot take that's been brewing on my mind a little in regards to Cybertronian society and physiology and stuff so like

I've said it's annoying when people impose human gender binaries on the genderless alien robots with no sexual dimorphism, but honestly I also find it annoying when people impose human standards of childhood vs adulthood on the non-organic robot aliens who are almost always born/built immediately having all of the faculties of what we would call an "adult," just lacking in actual worldly experience.

Obv there are exceptions like the recent Earthspark where the Terrans are explicitly children/child-coded

But it's honestly just so weird to me sometimes sjdkshfjd people will be like "awwww baby" to Bumblebee and ma'am that's literally a grown man. Also what functional difference is there b/t a robot that's 4 million years old vs 5 million years old when their race is technically near immortal. Like why are ppl calling Rodimus a child out there when dude is literally the same age as or just slightly younger than characters like Optimus

It's not nearly as annoying or offensive as when people put cisheteronormativity in a culture that wouldn't have it, but like. Am I the only one who finds it really boring to impose human ideas of age on alien robots ESPECIALLY when it comes to basically recreating "oh here's mommy and here's daddy and here's the baby" like sigh

[bumblingbabooshka]

I know it's just because he wasn't written to be a consistent character but it's hilarious to me how absent M'Benga is during episodes where Spock's hurt and Mccoy & Chapel are like "Is he going to be alright Doctor? / There's no way to tell with his crazy mixed up Vulcan internal organs..." like Hey. Hehehe you know who might be able to tell???

[ribbonpinky-art]

every now and again im su-pilled, here's my (revised) gemsona, Rose Quartz- uhhhh, erm, thats a loaded name!! lets say Rosy Quartz <33 or Pinxie as a nickname

despite created during the Rebellion War, she lacked the components needed for effective battle, and was thus hidden. easygoing, anxious, and naive, this gem seems to have a strong sense of individuality, regardless of physical intention to be in Rose/Pink Diamond's image. (The) Rose Quartz found herself very enamored with her, as did other gems. she was seen as a staple of valuing oneself, much like fusions. it was her sense of clothing style that also inspired (The) Rose Quartz to wear a dress ((there are implications that she is like this ONLY because The Rose Quartz made her, a gem who desired freedom of individuality above all else- however, this causes some deep-seated turmoil in Rosy Quartz/Pinxie later down the line))

After being unbubbled eons later, she visits the beach house to better understand her leaders' new friends and catch up with modern day, as time did not pass for her in her mind. the main cast are not immediately put off by her appearance being a Rose Quartz, and find her charming instead. However, she finds herself often being compared to her former leader: a kinder Pink Diamond, and a more mindful (the) Rose Quartz. in other words, despite being her own person, she was being perceived as an "ideal" version of both Pink and Rose.

this was deeply upsetting to the small rose quartz, as her new friends fail to see her for who she is: her own person, not an easily digestible clone or an upgraded version of someone else.

repercussions are had, but so are apologies. shes given a special nickname, Pinxie, and divorced from her initial impressions. like other Rose Quartz's, she finds human civilization fascinating, and wears lens-less glasses