#vivi rambles about

[vivianquill]

Okay. so. basic breakdown of the dragonfrost au goes as such.

You have Tango, a young adult dragon (young in dragon years, not mortal years) who lives in the deepfrost citadel-- or more specifically, below it. his hoard is below the burning dark, in a room that takes puzzles to get to. (think the control room puzzle).

He likes people, but has that dragon lifespan and semi-alien morals due to being. well. a heckkin dragon. He's lawful good, and while he doesn't seek out 'bad' people to do vengeance, he will test and judge and 'play' with anyone he comes across. He believes that adventurers are primarily greedy and selfish and will do anything for their own gain. proven time and time again by people trying to steal his hoard. No one has succeeded. ever.

The he visits the village at the bottom of the mountain a lot, and sees it as part of his 'domain' and under his protection. Mostly cause the people there are nice to him and just people trying to live and be good people, yah know? They have the Tango stamp of approval. The people there know 'Tango' as a odd wanderer who is the only one to survive going up to the Citadel, for some reason. They know there's something up there, and while some people suspect it's a dragon, but other people think it's other things, and what do they gain by angering whatever it is? Tango knows more than he lets on, surely. He's gotta be like, a spokesperson for the dragon or something.

Anyway. Jimmy is a canary Avian, and the little scraplet i wrote is more of a prologue-ish bit. Jimmy has a slight magic that lets him sense immediate danger, but the troupe he adventures with always underestimated him and never trusted his danger-sense. He was traveling with them because his family ended up in debt to some powerful people. He was the one who took it upon himself to work off as much of the family debt as he could manage, and as such-- adventurer. He sorta acts like 'the party npc' a lil bit. Jimmy isn't really a fighter, and is instead more useful for his connections and survival knowledge.

Jimmy caught Tango's eye because of his golden feathers and his danger sense magic and his high perception and insight. he also, after getting to know Jimmy more, despite his mistrust, and ends up convinced that the rest of the troupe is standard adventurer fair-- not worth much more than food for his dungeon. But he let them get all the way to the hoard as a test for Jimmy, and Jimmy passed. Tango murdered all the rest of the troupe, and took Jimmy as part of his hoard.

Because of this, Jimmy is now 'warlock', and Tango is his patron. It took a long while for Jimmy to sorta-- get over the murder thing. but that's fine! Tango's dragon magic, when forged through a warlock-patron connection, lets him slow Jimmy's aging, as well as give him other magic powers too. It wouldn't do to lose the only good adventurer he's ever met, after all.

After Jimmy finally comes around to being Tango's-- something. Friend? Ward? Treasure? Something. Whatever it is. Jimmy takes on a similar role to Tango. They take care of the town, and the citadel, and if any adventurers come by, Jimmy takes on the guise of being their guide. He whistles to Tango each night, telling songs of how he's being treated. If they don't treat Jimmy right, they get to be dungeon food. If they keep Jimmy safe and listen to his instructions all the way through the dungeon to the hoard, and only take what they truly need of the treasure, for good reasons, they get the chance to leave alive. But they have to get out on their own. Most people never do. But some do.

It brings stories of glory and treasure, attracting more adventurers, more players for the game. More business for the village. Tango changes the games and puzzles, keeping it forever new and challenging, but he never collects any more warlocks. he offers it, to a select few he's deemed as good as Jimmy, but none of them take it. Yet. Most of them have family to get back to, people they need to save. (like Jimmy did, once.) (They're surely all dead by now.) (He's lived for so, so long. Tango is the only one who knows him anymore. (The least he can do is soften Tango's edges for everyone else.) (Jimmy might be a canary in a cage but he can sing to protect the miners, right?)

It's fine. The village is thriving, and the adventurers get a chance, at least.

[pooks]

part 7 of straw hat!ichiji and without further ado, we'll dive into the next one; Drum Island arc

Nami is sick

as Nami falls sick in a seemingly serious illness, Sanji is taking it harder because of trauma; he has seen Ichiji become seriously ill when they starved on the rock island with Zeff and he had thought he was gonna die.

Sanji has unresolved trauma when it comes to serious illnesses and Ichiji doesn't know how to fix the problem since he cares very little about his own wellbeing.

with Nami out of commission, Ichiji takes over the nagivating role temporarily. he proves to be very decent on it and uses Zeff's old logbook as his guide through the Grand Line. he notices that since the weather is becoming steadingly colder, they must be nearing a winter island.

everyone has different responses to Nami's illness; Luffy, Usopp and Sanji nearly panics while Vivi becomes worried and anxious. Zoro and Ichiji mostly takes the role as the rational ones.

Ichiji is starting to feel under the weather as well and he wonders if his physical body had a delayed reaction due to his modified genetics. he doesn't fall instantly ill like Nami did, but he becomes more fatigued, irritated and loses his appetite (although he forces himself to eat something).

to distract himself from Nami's sickness and his brother's bad moods, Sanji dotes on Nyansha, their new ship cat who can shift size at will. he likes how friendly and cuddly Nyansha is and thinks back at the Baratie. he remembers how he and Ichiji used to nag at Zeff to have a pet and were always refused because the Baratie was a sea-faring restaurant and he didn't want any animals fall into the water and drown.

Zoro notices that Ichiji isn't doing well and keep scratching his neck, so he asks if he's really fine. Ichiji waves off his concerns and just says "don't worry about it".

meeting Wapol and entering Drum Island

Vivi decides to set course for any island nearby in hopes to find a doctor for the sick Nami, instead of heading towards Alabasta. Ichiji has a brief conversation with her and informs her that while she's already burdened with the serious state of her land, she chose to save another's life and it's not something to scoff at. Vivi remarks that Ichiji seems to understand her better than anyone and wonders if he knows a lot about monarchy and diplomacy (given his prior knowledge of Alabasta and displaying dormant skills of leadership).

Ichiji goes still after that and answers "well, we all have skeletons in the closet, don't we? and no, i don't want to talk about it."

as he tends to do sometimes, Ichiji looks over the ocean and thinks about the brothers he left behind in Germa in favor for Sanji. he always regrets leaving them behind and being unable to bring all his little brothers with himself and he hopes that they're faring well, despite Germa being...Germa.

the peace isn't for long, as an unfamiliar pirate ship approaches the Merry and attacks them. through irritated, Ichiji fights along with Zoro, Luffy and Sanji, using the gun Zeff had given him and Sanji (the very one Sanji aimed at Miss All Sunday). they encounter Wapol, a Devil Fruit user and has eaten the Munch Munch fruit and eats exactly anything.

after attempting to eat the ship, Luffy fights him and sends him flying across the ocean. the pirates retreats, however.

Luffy attempts to cheer up Nami, but fails. it's a very hard day on the crew since no one has apparently been sick before (Sanji denies this, but Ichiji mutters a "lies" but disguises it into a cough). the next day, they're reaching a winter island, Drum Island, and drops their anchor there. but they're suddenly ambushed by its' hostile inhabitants.

Ichiji decides to try to reason with them along with Vivi, telling them that they have a sick person onboard and she needs aid. a villager, however, shoots at Vivi when Sanji was about to defend himself from the same shooting villager.

Luffy resolves the situation, after being briefly angered by the violence against his nakama (and being urged by Vivi to not chose violence as counter measure) and Dalton, the leader, and the villagers decides to help them.

Luffy, Sanji, Vivi, Usopp heads down to the village with Nami and leaves Zoro, Ichiji and Karoo onboard the Merry. before they leave, Sanji notices that his older brother has flushed cheeks, but Ichiji says it's because of the cold.

Sanji trails after Luffy, Usopp, Vivi and Nami, but not before looking behind himself at Ichiji.

Zoro is lost and Ichiji falls

after staying in the village for a while and finding out the nearest doctor, one Dr. Kureha, also known as "the witch", resides on a castle on top of a tall rock-like mountain, Luffy and Sanji heads there with Nami to cure her while Vivi & Usopp remains in the village with Dalton. Ichiji and Zoro standing guard on the ship, in case more enemies turned up.

Ichiji kept himself inside the galley when Zoro decided to train in the cold, since he felt less tolerant to the cold than usual and he wasn't in mood to deal with Zoro "unreasonable training montage". but he got suspicious when he heard a lack of "swordman noises" and when he went to check, he found both Zoro and Karoo missing.

Ichiji braves the cold surroundings of Drum Island, dressed warmly and yet, still freezing as if he had no outerwear. trying to locate the missing Zoro is like searching for a needle in a pile of hay, but Ichiji keeps trying.

his illness starts to process more aggressively, putting Ichiji's wellbeing at risk; his fever sky-rockets, he becomes weak and delirious, and soon, he's gotten himself lost as well. fortunately for him, a sled nears him and nearly runs him over; it's Dr. Kureha along with Chopper (in walk point).

Ichiji doesn't call her anything, but he asks her if she's seen "a green-haired, half-naked fool" somewhere. Kureha doesn't answer the question and instead, inquires about his own health since he looks like he's about to keel over. Ichiji decides to be honest and says that he isn't well, but it's the least of his problems since he needs to find his friend.

Ichiji doesn't get to say more before his strength is drained and he collapses in the snow, completely overtaken by his fever.

(Kureha and Chopper decides to bring him with them, as Ichiji will surely die from his fever or the cold if he stays outside)

reunited at the castle, an unbreakable bond of brothers

by the time Luffy, Sanji and Nami are safely inside the castle, they're in a horrible state; Luffy, exhausted from climbing the drum rock with his bare hands and carrying on his two crew mates, is suffering hypothermia. Nami is seriously ill, hovering between life and death and Sanji is critically injured with a broken spine and internal bleeding from the avalanche.

Chopper and Kureha treats them as the group is in a critical condition. Nami is the first one who comes around and the cause of her illness is revealed; Kestia, a poisonous tick from Little Garden causes a "five day sickness" that ends in death.

she also finds out that she isn't alone in the room she's staying in, she sees Ichiji in another bed and panics. it turns out that Ichiji was also bitten by a Kestia tick (flashback to the post-battle in Little Garden, when he slapped his neck from a "mosquito bite"). Kureha has discovered that Ichiji has a different metabolism than an ordinary human which is why his illness progressed slower than Nami. however, his intolerance to the cold and stress made his body enough weak for the Kestia bacteria to advance faster and more aggressively.

Chopper then runs into the room, being chased by Luffy and Sanji who mistook him for food source. however, Sanji stops when he sees his older brother seriously ill and becomes shocked, getting vivid flashback to his past.

we get a narrated flashback from Sanji's POV. he remembers the rock island they were stuck on, starving for 80+ days. during the five last days on the rock, Ichiji fell seriously ill due to eating lesser than Sanji, exhausting himself by collecting morning dew for his brother, enduring night watches and exposure from the sun. after they got saved by a passing ship, Ichiji was put under quarantine due to his illness being so serious along with starvation. he was ill for two months while Sanji and Zeff recovered. Sanji remembers watching his brother suffer from fever, chills, nausea, etc. he had never seen Ichiji weak ever in his life and the thought of Ichiji dying for his sake gave him nightmares and Sanji cried for every day, believing that his brother would surely die.

Sanji tears away from his narrated flashback, seeing Ichiji suffering in the same state and gets a trauma-induced panic attack. he breaks down crying, terrified that his brother is dying once again, blames himself for not seeing the signs and begs the unconscious Ichiji to not leave him alone.

before Kureha is about to hit Sanji's head for whining so much, Ichiji speaks up, revealing he's been awake the whole time

"Geez, you're still such a crybaby, Sanji..."

Sanji screams of grief and anger, hugging Ichiji and saying...something, but no one is able to understand what he's saying since he's crying and sobbing at the same time.

(foreshadowing to Sanji's "△✕~◑※◇♨*~✖✹" in water 7)

Ichiji is still running a fever and seemigly drifts off, but not before he managed to reassure his little brother and his captain (because let's face it, Luffy is freaking out at the thought of his nakama dying) that he'll be fine soon.

everyone thinks he's asleep because of his closed eyes, but he's conscious enough to hear Chopper's story when Kureha tells Sanji and Nami (while Luffy is off chasing the poor reindeer again to make him join his crew).

Wapol returns and the siege of Drum Castle

their luck runs short when Wapol makes a return to the castle, intending to "rule" Drum Island again (which would lead to more of the people's suffering). once again, Luffy fights Wapol but this time, it becomes personal when Wapol shoots at the jolly roger of the long passed Dr. Hiriluk, Chopper's mentor and adoptive father.

Luffy engages in full battle, enraged over how "fake pirates" like Wapol just shoots a jolly roger without a single respect.

inspired by Luffy, Chopper shows that he doesn't have just medical skills, but battle skills as well and joins the battle. Sanji attempted to join as well, but his back injury flares up, rendering him out of commission with Kureha guarding him.

while his two henchmen, fused into one, fights Chopper and Luffy gets distracted, Wapol sneaks into the castle. he stumbles onto Nami, who's already well enough to walk around thanks to Chopper and Kureha's wonder medicine.

the only difference here from canon is that Ichiji arrives in time, still feverish, and jumps at Wapol, pulling at his hair as the ex-king attacks her (which also gives Nami the perfect moment to steal the key from Wapol).

Nami manages to escape, but Wapol is now chasing Ichiji. the antibiotic remedy against his illness is progressing, but Ichiji is already exhausted and Wapol corners him, intending to kill him. Luffy finds them just in time and engages in one final battle before he emerges victorious, having punched Wapol across the next island with a Gum Gum Bazooka.

Dr. Hiriluks cherry blossom snow, Chopper joins the straw hats

with the antibiotic treatment finally taking effect for Ichiji (due to his fast metabolism) and Sanji is getting his back (painfully) fixed again, Luffy tries again and again to recruit Chopper to his crew

Nami attempts to negotiate with Kureha; she hands over the key if Kureha discharges her, Sanji and Ichiji. Ichiji, however, doesn't want Nami to do that since he wants she and Sanji to recover first (once again, he neglects to include himself) before heading to Alabasta. Kureha takes the key, but says they must stay in the castle...but also that there's a coat in the room and the guards aren't present. Nami takes it as a sign that they're free to go.

when Sanji's treatment is complete, Nami and Ichiji brings him as they go outside. Ichiji is nearly fully recovered at this point and is carrying Sanji on his back, who's still out of it from his treatment. Ichiji takes a moment to reflect on old memories and muses that he hasn't done this since they were kids.

barely some moments later, Chopper is joining them but Kureha is chasing after him with weapons, so the Straw Hats panics and decides to pack it to leave. Ichiji wastes no time getting into a sled, still carrying Sanji on his back. however, they get to witness something wonderous.

using Hiriluk's "cure for the country's cold heart", the straw hats and everyone else witnesses cherry blossoms falling onto the snowy island. Ichiji, with a now conscious Sanji leaning on his shoulder, remarks that he has never seen something so beautiful in his life and it's enough to almost bring tears.

with the perfect send-off to Chopper and having a ship doctor onboard, the straw hats sets sail for Alabasta

[vivi-the-goblin]

I would like to remind you of some traditional internet wisdom: Don't feed the trolls. TERF flooding your inbox? Block/delete and move on. You aren't going to win a debate, because their goal was getting under your skin. You replying at all proves they got to you, and thier mission is accomplished. Your insults are music to thier ears.

Asshole seem to have a vendetta against you? Nothing you can say is more scathing than silence. Thier words don't matter, even to them, they're only a tool to piss you off. Don't give them the satisfaction. Someone wildly giving the worst possible take? If you like you can take a moment to sus out if they're genuine, but when in doubt say nothing and move on.

Someone seems genuinely frustrated by you or something you like and will not let it go? Make the decision they refuse to and block them. They have no control over you unless you give it to them. If they keep coming back to something they hate that's their problem, don't let it be yours.

Essentially, don't make the mistake of thinking everyone wants the same thing out of conversation. Some just want to know they've made a change in the world, and making it worse is the easiest way for the cheap satisfaction. You can't control them, but you can control what they see and what you see. Curate your own internet with all the tools at your disposal, and blocking trolls is just as vital as blacklisting tags you dislike or following what you do.

[redriotinggg]

Forever pissed that desert princess Nefertari Vivi is as white as printer paper

[thistaleisabloodyone]

Today I learned '天然' apparently means natural literally, but can be an abbreviation for 天然ボケ, which is "a natural airhead, a person prone to making silly mistakes".

And I went and checked. The article where Likiya says he's "sexy and a little nature", Likiya is most likely saying "he's sexy and a ditz" 😂

[bnhababe]

At what point do you split the chapter or just decide to post a GIANT update? I probably will end up with this being 11k but that feels like an overwhelming update when my chapters are usually 6-8k long. BUT the place this ends is the perfect place for this chapter to end. But also a 10-11k chapter feels too much idk

[esp3onsol]

Hey y’all I promise I’m gonna start writing again soon! I’ve just been falling victim to the ao3 writers curse multiple times over the past 2 weeks 🙃

[thewindandthestars]

Hmm...

[kappatater]

Early college me: *makes a race of people made of blended souls of long-lost people that are referred to as Puppets*

Me this morning thinking about it: "... aw fuck that's black mages ff9"

[vivifriend]

9 Aesthetic Albums

Was tagged by @thequeenofthewinter. Thank you. ^^ it was an interesting way to procrastinate this morning. And following your example, I'll also note my favorite songs, though not necessarily from the listed album. ^_^

Rules: Display my 9 favorite album covers for art reasons not content.

I'll tag @rainpebble3, @sixylicious and @raine-kai cause I'm curious but also Zero pressure. 💖 (if anyone else sees it, feel free to contribute).

Without further ado:

1 - SJ Tucker -Mischief. First album of hers I ever bought and looking at it still makes me smile. She has other album covers that are pretty but I adore the whimsy here. (If you're unfamiliar with her music, I highly recommend: Playing D&D and Cheshire Kitten)

2- Amaranthe -Manifest. I like most of Amaranthe's cover designs. They always include a futuristic/fantasy feeling but I really like the contrasting colors in this one. (If you haven't listened to Amaranthe, I recommend Crystalline or Amaranthine).

3- Lyriel -Leverage. Pretty Steampunk vibes here. What's not to like? ^^ (The named song from this album is a good intro to their music. But Paranoid Circus is one of my favorites (and their most popular from what I've seen. For good reason, it's enthralling)).

4- Within Temptation -The Silent Force. There are a few Within Temptation album covers I love but there's something about the contrast of the blue and black on this one that always draws me in. It's just very aesthetically pleasing. XD (If you don't know Within Temptation: Bittersweet is one of my favorite songs though it can be hard to track down. But you can't go wrong with Memories or Stand My Ground).

5- Panic! At the Disco -Pray for the Wicked. I really like the paint blending contrasted with the harsher lines of the buildings. (If you somehow haven't heard any of their songs, you can't really go wrong with High Hopes. But I gotta say... I do quite enjoy their version of Into the Unknown from Frozen 2 (still haven't seen that movie).

6- Trans-Siberian Orchestra -Night Castle. It's a castle. Can't really go wrong there. ^_^ (If you're only familiar with their holiday music I recommend: The Safest Way Into tomorrow or Night Castle).

7- Kansas -Point of Know Return. If it's not obvious by now, I enjoy whimsy. And Peter Lloyd's work here is lovely. (I'd be surprised if you don't know Kansas. But on the outside chance; Carry on Wayward Son and Dust in the Wind are well known, and fantastic. ^_^ )

8- Blind Guardian -A Twist of Myth. Now my favorite song by Blind Guardian is The Bard's Song but that's not on this album and this album cover has a Dragon, so obviously it's the better cover, lol. (Blind Guardian is well worth a listen imo. Skalds and Shadows, and the aforementioned Bard's Song are my favorites and a good intro to their style).

9- Kamelot -Silverthorn. The cover art is so pretty! The icicles, the Corvids, the dress! Just love it. (If you don't know Kamelot, I'd think that you should listen to three songs: Under Grey Skies, Silverthorn (Instrumental version) and Nothing Ever Dies to get an idea of the range their music can span).

[nerves-nebula]

how my catholic priest looked before telling us we don't gotta listen to everything the pope says and we're never doing gay marriage in the church

[vivianquill]

i so desperately want to write something for the end of season 9 and the world download and how bittersweet it feels to be picking over the leftovers of all the hermits, in a way.

They've moved on to bigger and better and newer things-- and yet the scraps remain. the ruins, perfectly preserved and mummified, able to be accessed by anyone and everyone, and yet so empty and desolate.

There's diamonds in the shops, and chest monsters abandoned at every build, and the museums. the redstone spaghetti and the backstage areas. the hollows under the terrain, creeper holes that were never filled, marking blocks that were never built over, the strip mines and the dark spots--

Everything we've seen onscreen and even more we've never seen. All there for us to explore and pick over and borrow, for a time.

And then.

And then.

We move on just like everyone else. we cozy up to watch the new season unfold and new faces to meet and new stories to dream up and new art to make, more fun to be had, more ways to improve and grow.

So, Hermits and Hermitcraft fans like:

Here's to glory of season 9, and the potential of season 10 <3

[riot-control-camp]

writing sanji/nami canon divergence where luffy doesn't assemble the crew until they're at their timeskip ages and nami got her money stolen by arlong multiple times and reiju never helped sanji escape from germa so he's still there at 19, reiju just helped his cells become more accommodating and shit.

and nami, who's taken to trying to get all 100 million berri in one go so arlong can't take it from her, is trying to steal from monarchs/warlords that no one will be upset by (because maritime warlords are basically the same as pirates, right?? right????) is planning on stealing from germa and infiltrates the fleet via the prisons, meets sanji, and hahaha no she definitely doesn't relate to feeling trapped because of circumstances outside of her control and odds that will never be in her favor at all

and then she ends up befriending sanji on various thieving trips, and when judge tries to set a trap for her using sanji, she takes him as a hostage, not realizing that judge won't give a fuck and won't give her any money even if she did return his son

so now sanji and nami are sailing and she tries to find an island to dump him on with a little of her private stash, but before she does, he cooks her a meal and holy fuck okay nevermind she's keeping him

and sanji, who has never heard of the baratie, uses nami's ship as the basis for a traveling food-truck-style business where he distracts people by cooking them the best food they've had in their life while nami robs all the island's nobility blind. and eventually, they fall for each other.

(listen. we've all seen how sanji is when he's calm around women and i think, without zeff, while he would really value treating women well because of his mom and reiju, i highly doubt it would manifest with the same desperation and spectacle that it does in canon)

nami is trying to ignore the fact that her progress towards her goal has slowed down noticeably, even with their partner act, all because she can't get her fucking priorities straight. after mutual pining with an added layer of "oh god this isn't safe i can't afford to feel like this what the fuck do i do i'm getting attached" sanji tries to confess.

nami tells him to get the hell off her ship. he does so, but not before giving her the key to a trunk of his in his room; inside is the profits from his side of the business. he's been saving it to try and combine with her own efforts so she can buy back cocoyashi.

after she discovers it, she runs back on deck to try and find sanji, but he's already left in her boat's dinghy. hence she's trying to chase him from island to island so they can makeup and he can come with her to free cocoyashi, but sanji has made a beeline for the baratie and demanded a job there, since he's more than qualified due to...basically running a miniature version of the baratie all on his own. zeff's found it funny that there's basically a mini-him running around the east blue doing the same damn thing he's been doing, and lets him join up as a line cook.

while nami's been looking for sanji, she meets luffy and zoro, who have joined forces like in canon. she agrees to let them use her ship until they find sanji--after that, they'll part ways. freeing cocoyashi has always been her dream and her dream alone. sanji's the only other person she really feels comfortable letting see it.

this plan lasts all of 1 island before they go to the baratie, nami and sanji make up, and luffy meets sanji and now LUFFY wants to keep SANJI

and sanji's like "well, i'm afraid i'm already spoken for as the cook on someone else's ship. if she'll have me?"

and nami is like "oh my god you stupid bastard i'm going to fucking kill you you can't just say shit like that. also i didn't clear out your room yet so i guess there's space, that's the only reason i'm letting you back onboard."

and luffy's like "that's not true! nami's been going to islands trying to find you. that's why we teamed up!"

and zoro's like. "yeah, it was mushy. don't care for it but the witch doesn't get to lie about it and play cool"

nami promptly punches them both and somehow in the chaos of sanji quitting the baratie after only being there for two weeks, nami and sanji don't notice their stowaway (luffy) and then zoro tries to fight mihawk and it's not like nami can just leave him there to bleed out, maybe nojiko can help patch him up or something after she hands arlong the cash.

the rest of the arlong arc ends up similar to canon with some allowances for the changes in nami and sanji's relationship--while i'd love for sanji to kick arlong's ass, i genuinely luffy needs that moment to solidify his and nami's relationship. however, i do think sanji is there when nami delivers the cash to arlong, who tries to spin it like nami had to earn all of it herself and if it was a collaborative effort, then the funds collected are rendered moot. sanji holds off arlong long enough for luffy and zoro to arrive from town with usopp in tow, managing to destroy nami's map room before bringing the fight back to the terrace and passing it off to luffy and engaging with arlong's henchmen back-to-back with nami instead.

anyway, in the aftermath of the arlong arc, sanji and nami both decide to join up with the strawhats, and canon moves on from there.

[vivi-the-goblin]

Campaign idea I've LONG had but would require a fair bit of setup: time loop adventure. The party is having dinner at the tavern, when a rumbling rocks the foundations of the earth. Everything explodes in a wave color, sound, and immense pressure, but it parts around them the crest of a wave to a ship's bow. That bow being a small imp-like creature, screeching with the effort to maintain whatever shield is keeping the wave at bay. As quickly as it began, it ends, the world outside the bubble going greyscale. "Noble heroes," the creature pants, slowly turning. "The world hangs a second from death, I'm afraid I have to break my oath and call upon you once...Who the fuck are you!?" It collapses to its knees as it sees its intended targets, one table over. Epic heroes with legendary kit. Despite trying to maintain a low profile the party might even recognize them, or at least the gear spilling out of their robes. Most seem to be shrinking into their armor, though the gnome's just turning green. The whole bar is doing the same, come to think of it. "HOW. HOW DID I MISS. I- ok, ok. I can work with this. That's fine. they used to be chumps too, we just had more time to work back then. Hi. Welcome to the end of the world. If you want to roll it back, we can talk." The paladin's all for it. The rest of the party is conflicted, but they eventually decide they've got nothing else to do. First thing though, who is this? "Got a lot of names, been around for a while. Maintain time, maybe you've seen my work? Yeah, not gonna have it undone by a punk with a wish. One that wished for more wish granting items, and again with with all of those, until eventually they had enough for thier whole tribe of hundreds. and the tribe had one wish, a wish with enough power to bind even the gods." "They wished for 'Goblin'. And with neither the world or the goblins themselves having any idea what that's supposed to mean, creation answered with 'Yes.' There's not a thing under the sun that's not becoming goblin. Or over the sun. The sun's not outta the question eith- look, it's everything, ok? I don't know the reach, I don't want to either, I just know we can't stop that blast." The party grumbles. how do they save things if the gods themselves are bound? "I can chuck you back in time. Only about a day, I had to snap most of myself off when the corruption started. We can do this for a while, but we have to do this. Find out where they are. Figure out how to get to them. and somehow stop them. Can't be that hard, right? they're just goblins, right?" One way to find out. Basically this would start out consequence free. The world is set up, and full of FAR stronger creatures...at first. If they die they lose thier gear, but NOT thier info, the day just resets. Milestone experience, the players will slowly level up as they discover things. Discover how to get what they need more efficiently, skip parts, etc. I said 'at first.' Once they've gotten far enough, gotten their bearings, etc...they notice something's slightly different. Someone's slightly greener and nobody notices. A butterfly is a little goblin with goblin-patterned wings. something slightly changes in thier loop. next loop the little time gremlin's got a green ear. maybe they notice the bubble's slightly smaller. You've learned how things work, now execute. Whether you progress toward a failstate by amount of deaths/loops, or just give the illusion by going off progress, the pressure ramps up. The dragon they have to convince? goblin dragon. The city? slowly becoming goblins. Wild magic starts effecting party members, as even the concepts of reality start becoming goblin, under a sun that's starting to tint green. The bright side is you could do a bunch of the prep right at the start, and have far less to do as things progress. That's also the downside however, and the reason I haven't done it yet.

[vivilove-jonsa]

When you find a new book series you love so much you would write fanfic for it (even if you’re the only one writing it) but don’t have the time…

When you realize someone on TikTok is making fancast posts of those characters…

[spell-of-the-rain]

it’s 12:30 AM, my flight has already been delayed 90 mins, it’s absolutely pissing down rain, and it seems like there may or may not have been some system glitch that has messed up all our bookings and nobody knows what’s happening. and I have a doctor’s appointment three hours after I was originally scheduled to land. fml