#tsuru replies

[diminuel]

No worries sengoku and tsuru can babysit they probably had to babysit dragon many times (mihawk as well against his will)

Ah, now I thought about little Dragon wandering some Marine base all on his own because Garp ran off and forgot about him.

(I assume you meant babysit Rosinante and Doflamingo but I went to grab my art tablet once I read "babysit Dragon" *lol*)

[genoskissors]

My favorite Genocide Jack joke is one that was short lived and also lost in translation.

In Chapter 5, everyone decides to break down the door to the headmaster’s room and Byakuya tells Toko to get a pickaxe. When Genocide Jack returns, he asks her where the pickaxe is and she replies “I was supposed to pick an axe…?”. I feel like this loses it’s original humor.

The Japanese word for pickaxe is “tsuruhashi”. The funny thing about this word is it sounds like a surname. Tsuru can act as the prefix of the name, like Tsuruta, Tsurumi, or Tsurukawa. Hashi can act as the suffix of a name, it’s even the suffix to one of the most common Japanese surnames, Takahashi.

So, when Byakuya asks where [tsuruhashi] is, Genocider says “Tsuruhashi… who?” because it sounds like someone’s name.

[nehswritesstuffs]

a good son, a better person

4969 words; for @gendervapor14, for whom I wanted to write this for their birthday, but it’s hella late, so Happy Belated Birthday and Merry Early Christmas; I often wonder about the psychology behind people like Sengoku bc it’s just so interesting how they compartmentalize things; I would recommend reading the original story this is derived from, as this is supposed to be a companion piece (the gist of it is it’s an AU where Corazón and Bell-mère live and then raise their canon foundlings (plus Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo) in Cocoyasi); might get a bit more edited further on but don’t expect much

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Sengoku glanced over at the little boy sleeping soundly on his office couch, the lad completely tuckered out from the day he’d had. He had found him outside Mary Geoise, sobbing his eyes out and hungry, and he felt as though he’d had no choice but to take him in or else he would starve. The child had eaten two adults’ worth of food before falling asleep, completely ignoring the adults in the room.

“This is going to backfire,” Tsuru said calmly. She and Garp were there in their old friend’s office, having came immediately once they heard the news about the foundling. While she seemed to be there in empathy, all Garp was doing was eating rice crackers in glee.

“Brat’s a Fallen Dragon,” Garp scoffed. “The big bosses are gonna be pissed.”

“He’s just a boy,” Sengoku frowned. “He didn’t ask for this.”

“Whether he asked for it or not is not part of the equation and you know it,” Tsuru reminded him. She seemed so calm, despite the fact it was clear the boy wrapped up in the Admiral’s coat was putting her on-edge; both her comrades knew her long enough to be aware of that. “What happens when they decide they want him dead?”

“They wouldn’t want that… they don’t even want to look at him…”

“…and they might solve that risk by wanting him out of the equation for good.” Tsuru sighed and shook her head. “One of your worst enemies is not a Celestial Dragon, but their memory, not to mention their mercurial whims.”

“They’re so self-absorbed they can’t remember if they shat yesterday or not,” Garp guffawed through a cracker.

“Some of them,” Tsuru agreed, “but it’s the ones who do remember that are the problems.” She exhaled heavily and looked at the child. “You sure you want to raise him? Dragons are very particular, Fallen Dragons especially. There will be plenty of challenges.”

“I will raise him to be a great Marine; might even have more potential than Garp’s Dragon…”

“Ah; you’re just jealous I got a kid through the Academy and you didn’t,” Garp smirked. “My Dragon’s a stubborn shit though… might end up being more a wild card than me.”

“I can hardly wait,” Sengoku deadpanned. Another wild card out of the same gene pool that brought forth Garp was honestly one of the last things he wanted to experience, even if said genes were only working at half-power. He glanced over at the boy to see that he was curled up and shivering—a bad dream. With a sigh, he went to the boy’s side, sitting down so he could rest a hand against him, calming the lad instantly. Seas, he was tiny…

“What’s his name?” Tsuru asked. Sengoku blinked at that—huh, he hadn’t said it yet?

“Donquixote Rosinante,” he replied. He turned back to the boy and smoothed his mop of blond curls. “Don’t worry, Rosi. You’ll be safe with me.”

‘I’ve got your boy, Saint Homing; you’re going to be proud.’

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

As it turned out, the Celestials did tolerate a Fallen Dragon being raised within a stone’s throw of their home. In fact, some of them even relished in the idea, the boy’s circumstances amusing them beyond what Sengoku could have imagined. He raised the boy to be a fine Marine, to be an advocate for Justice, to work hard and possibly even succeed himself in the place of Admiral. The boy even had friends within the system, just as Sengoku did, the lot of them pushing one another towards greatness.

There was one friend in particular, however, that Sengoku wasn’t entirely fond of. A year older despite being in the same class, she was from an Eastern backwater that never saw high or low of anything. She was trouble and he knew that from the start. It wasn’t until her that his boy started getting caught smoking, or was found with his uniform rumpled and out-of-place, or his mind started to drift elsewhere during lessons. Sengoku knew where—he too was only a man—but it worried him that this punk with a pair of sideshaves was causing a loss of focus… a lack of direction… and it brought worry that the Fallen Dragon was liable to slip further into something that he could not be lifted out from.

Then, one day, not long before his graduation ceremony, Sengoku’s boy took him by surprise.

Donquixote Rosinante wanted to take his brother down.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Before you go dark, there’s something I wanted to ask you, son.”

Sengoku watched as Rosinante stopped sorting his papers and contemplated turning to face him. The boy was too young and stubborn to be making such decisions, but since when did the young take their elders’ advice? Eventually, he went back to sorting.

“What is it?”

“That girl you were seeing while you were both cadets…”

“Bell-mère.”

“Yes. She was the one who took those orphans from Oykot and retired, correct?”

Rosinante’s hands began to tremble and he looked at Sengoku. “Why…?”

“I was thinking… and… do you think you can convince her to come back?”

“She’s not going to let the naval daycare raise those girls, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Rosinante replied. He went back to his personal papers in an attempt to seem too busy to talk. “Besides, she’s out of this game.”

“What if… she didn’t have to rely on the naval daycare?” Sengoku asked. The question hung heavily on the air, settling between them like a thick haze. “You know I’m old enough to retire.”

“You didn’t do anything for them before, so why start now?”

Sengoku knew the lad’s words were meant to sting, yet he didn’t feel anything. He was used to such accusations, after all. “As a member of the military, my hands are tied. However, as a retiree…” He trailed off, his eyes moving towards a messy stack of papers on his son’s bed. “I know how much she means to you.”

“You never seemed to care before this.”

“I was never sending my son into a demon’s den.”

Rosinante stopped going through papers, his hands shaky. “I’m going to come back, Dad, but before that I have to stop Doffy.”

“…and I don’t want that to take so long that they miss the opportunities they would have had if you were around… if I could help…”

“I already tried—she doesn’t want the girls raised on a base.”

“Then we can live off-base. Rosinante…”

“I’ll think about it,” the younger man said, tone almost a bit too sharp. “You know… they told me I had to go somewhere before heading over to Doffy to help cover my tracks. Maybe I’ll go there.”

“You will keep me informed, will you?”

His son didn’t answer and maybe… maybe it was for the best.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

To offer up one’s heart is a terrible thing.

They don’t know how precious it is, how precious they are, and can treat it casually and accidentally chip it.

Except, sometimes they know precisely how they should handle it, and that is by letting it slip from their fingers and shatter on the cold, hard ground. How could they possibly be in the wrong, when the one to blame is clearly you?

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Did you talk to her?” Sengoku asked. The snail on his desk frowned.

“You shouldn’t know that,” it replied in Rosinante’s voice.

“I am the Fleet Admiral; not a lot gets past me.”

Silence—the snail seemed to muse sourly.

“I did what I went there to do.”

“Then, what did she say?”

“It… never came up.”

“How could it never come up? I thought you were there for a few days.”

“It just… didn’t.” The snail looked almost melancholy. “Gonna go dark for a bit. Catch you in about six months for my check-in.”

“Rosinante?” The snail lifted an eyebrow. “Be careful.”

The snail went to sleep and that was that.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Missing.

Tsuru assured Sengoku that her troops had scoured the island—Rosinante was nowhere to be found on Minion Island, let alone any of the other neighboring islands. There was evidence of Birdcage survivors in one of the houses, but the cooking fire was out cold and there were bear tracks outside—there wasn’t much hope for whomever had lived there, let alone anyone who might have taken shelter there in the meantime.

Sure, he had sent a letter of resignation, but without the ability to confirm the date, what did he have except a sense of hope that felt more false than anything?

There was no funeral, though there was a mourning period. Most people kept their distance from the Fleet Admiral whether they knew why he was testy or not. The only ones who really came around were Garp (annoyingly), Tsuru (at least she was supportive), and a teen who had been picked up on Minion… whose father had dragged him along when defecting from the military. It was an interesting choice, for Tsuru to bring the lad to Sengoku, and yet having the youngster around… it felt more right than it deserved to be.

To hell with Diez Barrels; if he wasn’t going to raise his boy to be the Marine he was destined to be, then Sengoku sure as hell would.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Time passed.

No word from any of the intelligence agencies about Rosinante. They must have looked through all the North Blue without uncovering a trace.

Drake grew into a fine Marine.

A child with a familiar name started gaining a name for himself in the North Blue via petty trouble.

Sengoku still felt lonely.

All anyone could do was carry on.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was a lull in an otherwise stormy day when Sengoku got the mysterious letter, completely out of the blue. He stared at the envelope curiously. There was no return address, no identifying marks to inform him what was in his hands. It didn’t seem dangerous… and if it truly was, the sniffer snails would have caught it before it reached his inbox…

Carefully, he slid his finger under the envelope flap and broke the seal. Once opened, it yielded a folded-up piece of paper and a smaller envelope that was only folded shut. He opened the paper and began to read the letter, the author’s handwriting young and unfamiliar.

‘Fleet Admiral Sengoku,’ it read. ‘My name is Nojiko and I live on an island in a Cardinal Blue with my parents and little sister Nami. I have four brothers who you know about too, but I haven’t seen them in a long time.’

Huh…? Why was this girl writing him? How did he know her brothers? Who gave her access to his private office…?

‘Mom and Dad would be livid if they knew I wrote you. It’s not that we’re not allowed to contact you, but they don’t want to be found. I don’t think it’s about you specifically, but the people you are around. They don’t trust Navy Headquarters. To be honest? I can’t blame them.

‘Enclosed is a peace offering. Keep it safe. Consider this the only time we’ll talk unless my parents say otherwise or it’s an emergency.

‘With love,

‘Donquixote Nojiko’

Sengoku sucked in a breath—Donquixote?! He trembled as he picked up the other envelope and nearly cut his finger on the paper flap as he freed it and its contents.

There, clear as day, was a pair of photographs. The topmost one was not just anyone in the snail-captured image, but his son Rosinante all clean-faced and awkward limbs. He was wearing a nice suit that matched the other adult, someone that he had not seen in ages… the same one who his son had been involved with all those years ago. A pair of young teenaged girls were also there, throwing flower petals in the air. They were all smiles and laughter—it was a joyful day.

Sengoku missed his elder son’s wedding.

“Nojiko…” he whispered, looking at the photo. She must have been the teen with the darker skin and blueish hair—the kid with the ginger hair and pale skin looked like the younger of the two. Yes… these were the babies that the Cocoyasi woman left the military to raise… the ones she refused to bring on base longer than it took to be told there was little that could be done for them… his granddaughters.

Sengoku was missing seeing his granddaughters grow up.

Suddenly, a knock at the door shook him from his own thoughts. He looked towards the door and saw Drake, the younger man’s expression incredibly sheepish.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” he asked. Sengoku blinked as he tried to remember why he summoned him—the shock of the letter had made him completely forget.

“Take a look at this,” he said, holding out the photo. Drake took it and stared, brow knitting in concentration. “That is Rosinante. Recently, I might add.”

“Where’d you get this?”

“The girl on the left sent it through the private channel.” Sengoku watched Drake as he studied the image.

“These… are my nieces, aren’t they?” the younger man asked softly. He seemed nearly in awe at the idea.

“If Rosinante had come home, they would have been, yes,” Sengoku confirmed. “My guess is that he wants some time away from Headquarters before returning. I wouldn’t blame him if that was the case.” At least, that was what he told himself.

“Their names…?” Drake seemed hesitant; could Sengoku blame him?

“Nojiko and Nami.”

“Then let’s hope Nojiko and Nami are smarter than their brothers.”

“With that mother of theirs? Not a chance in hell.” Drake passed back the photo, a pensive look on his face. “Then you really think those hoodlums in the North are the ones?”

“Without a doubt,” Sengoku confirmed. He looked at the other photograph now in his hand, one of the sisters with four young men who he knew were making a splash around the North Blue. Not enough to need bounties yet, but they were putting their marks on things nonetheless. Bepo, Penguin, Shachi, and Law, now joined by Nojiko and Nami; none of them looked like his eldest son, and frankly they were mostly of a better age to be Rosi’s younger siblings, yet he knew they were all the best chances he had at grandchildren. “That wasn’t why I called you here.”

Drake raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t?”

Sengoku shook his head. “I need to talk to you about SWORD.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“They did what?!” Sengoku went pale as Garp cackled on the couch and Tsuru stared him down. “You can’t be serious!”

“Deadly,” Tsuru replied. She laid a stack of reports down on his desk. “These are my findings after going on my usual rounds of the North. Seems like your grandsons are into the concept of freeing slaves.”

“Those boys have moral backbone—you should be proud, Senny,” Garp guffawed through his tea. “Wonder if they came that way or if Rosi had anything to do with it.”

“Damned if I know,” Sengoku said. He was going paler and paler with each line of text, going over the lads’ exploits. They were now gaining members to their crew and some of them may or may not have been former slaves. “They’re going to be the death of me.”

“No, just the death of the color in your hair,” Garp snarked. Sengoku resisted the urge to physically throw Garp out—the last thing he needed was to tussle with the man who regularly threw hands with the Pirate King and do so in his office. “How long do you think before Brannew catches on?”

“When I’m good and dead, with any luck.” Sengoku scowled. “Maybe if I threaten the Bounties Division, I might be able to pull something.”

“Pull what?” Garp snorted. “They’re a bunch of goddamned criminals no matter how you spin it.”

“Are you thinking ‘Alive Only’?” Tsuru wondered. Sengoku’s silence on the matter was rather telling. “You better have a damn good excuse for it before you go, or else you’re going to have more than just Brannew to answer to.”

“The son I found had a hand in raising these kids—I want to meet them first before it gets decided what goes on their bounties,” Sengoku rationalized. “I don’t care if the powers higher than me get their feathers ruffled. As Fleet Admiral, I need to know.”

“As a grandparent, you mean,” Garp teased. “They’re good boys; you should be proud.”

“What happened to them being ‘goddamned criminals’?” Tsuru deadpanned. Garp shrugged, barely able to contain his laughter.

Asshole.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

As it turned out, Brannew didn’t ask for an excuse as to why issue the lads’ bounties as Alive Only. No one in Bounties even blinked at the suggestion. It was almost as though it was… expected…? Sengoku took it as a minor miracle and went back to his office as though nothing at all happened. All he did was ask Tsuru to keep him in the loop when it came to the rag-tag quartet out of the North and if he needed to get more involved. She did not respond, though within a month there was a dossier on his desk following a certain crew’s movements.

If this was as close as he could get, then so be it.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Stay away from my children, do you hear me?”

“I’m the only thing keeping those kids from being hunted down like animals.”

“Wouldn’t that get in the way of Justice? You always did wear your guilt a little differently.”

The door slammed, Rosinante leaving in an instant.

Sengoku woke up with a gasp, nearly falling off the couch as he came to in his new (and still box-filled) office. Someone was knocking at the door; that explained that. His elder son’s words from the week prior rattled about in his brain as he lethargically got up to answer whomever disturbed his nap.

“You know, I always felt sorry for Garp growing up. I guess it’s his son and surviving grandson I should pity.”

He had spoken those words with a venom that Sengoku had never known from him—what had happened to his boy there in the East? Why was it so easy for him to walk away? He opened the door and saw the absolute last person he wanted to look at that current moment, his very presence the beginnings of a monster headache.

“What do you want, Garp?” His colleague had the biggest shit-eating grin he had seen on the man in a long time, which he was honestly too tired to be more concerned over. “Have Kuzan and Sakazuki worked out who’s replacing me yet?”

“Nah; I hear that’s probably gonna come to a duel. I’m here because of this.” Garp held up a newspaper that had been opened to the seventh page, a blurry photograph accompanying a rather concerning headline.

EX-NAVAL OFFICERS JOIN REVOLUTIONARY ARMY – INTELLIGENCE LEAKED?

“Seas below,” Sengoku cursed. He took the paper and looked at the article closer. “What the fuck does your boy have on mine that made them do that?!”

“I just got done running this through Intelligence—they’re there of their own accord,” Garp replied. “Them’s the breaks, Senny. You can try to raise them into good Marines, but can’t win ‘em all.”

“Garp…”

“Sometimes you lose ‘em to discontent and radicalization, and sometimes they’re smart and join SWORD. You learn to live with it…”

“Garp, do you realize what this means?!” Sengoku smacked the paper with the hand not holding it. “My son and his wife are working against us! Are you even able to conceive of the implications, or did your brain use all its ability to conjure up discontent and radicalization?!”

“Now that’s just mean.”

“I hope for both of our sake that Kuzan gets the Fleet Admiral spot,” Sengoku deadpanned. Garp simply shrugged.

“Got your kettle and rice crackers unpacked yet?”

A beat.

“They’re in the cupboard.”

Garp then made it his mission to push past his old friend and start putting together tea while chattering away, the empty words flowing over Sengoku as he instead looked again at the newspaper, the blurry—yet undeniable—photograph of Rosinante and Bell-mère underneath a Revolutionary Army flag almost too much for him to bear. He hated it, he hated how it made him feel, and he hated wondering what he could have done differently to prevent it. Eventually, Garp shoved some tea in his hands and started blathering on about something. Anything. Whatever it was that would keep his own thoughts at bay.

Was he truly no better than Garp? Was this how he felt? He sipped the tea and nibbled on rice crackers, hoping that the feeling would soon go away.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Sengoku’s hair was beginning to gray when he got his next letter, the fact there was two at the same time nearly knocking him out of his chair. They were both slid into a pile of paperwork that one of Tsuru’s subordinates had delivered to him—there was no way it wasn’t at least partially her doing. They looked very similar, as though the senders had been taught the same way in school.

‘Inspector General Sengoku,’ the first one read. The handwriting was familiar—Nojiko.

‘I’ve been following in the papers what’s been going on with your work situation these past few months. It seems like you might now have some free time to possibly visit? Mom and Dad left me in charge of the farm and, although I have help and I get letters from some of them, it’s… difficult. I can do the work, don’t get be wrong, but I’m used to having at least one sibling and parent wandering around and now it’s just me.

‘What did you say to Dad and Mom that made them not come back home? One of their old work friends sent me a message saying that they were going to see you, and now… you know. Is it related to why we never really saw you growing up? Is it related to work? What’s going on?

‘Donquixote Nojiko’

Sengoku’s stomach twisted in a knot. What was he to tell this young woman? He placed the open letter down on the desktop and opened the other, hoping that it would at least be better news. The handwriting was unfamiliar; it wasn’t even the specific lettering he taught Rosinante and Drake to help conceal their communications. He opened the envelope carefully, unsure as to what he would find.

‘Grandfather,’ Sengoku’s heart skipped a beat, ‘Should we call you that? I dunno. Seems a little weird, but our family kind of is in general.

‘We’re going to visit our uncle’s for a while. Not the one who works with you, but the other one, who grew up with Dad and has the big house. We’ll check in with our normal uncle on the way. This might take a bit, because we don’t want Dad’s brother to know what’s going on. We wanted to tell you that in case… well… because our parents don’t know, and neither do our younger siblings. They’d all make too big of a fuss. You’re kind of a neutral party, you know?

‘Wish us luck! Our uncle can be pretty weird, but you know that.’

Sengoku let the paper fall out of his hand and onto the desktop, covering the one from Nojiko. It wasn’t signed, but he knew it was from one of the lads Drake had gotten on the snail. They were headed for Dressrosa…?! Why?! There was no way they were going to join him—either that or they had been extremely talented liars—and what hope did they have of opposing him?! How many good and loyal soldiers had they sent Dressrosa’s way, only for them to become swept up in his antics? There was only so much he could take…

A nudge at his arm and his pet goat bleated in a plea for a snack, glittering black eyes trained on the letters. Sengoku petted its head instead, drawing out a soft protest.

“No, not these ones,” he said. “Not until I know they’re safe.”

…because, really, what other choice did he have?

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Sometimes, love is rough. It’s distant and feels absent. Life tests it due to one reason or another and picking up the pieces can be as difficult as watching it shatter in the first place.

Did you do enough? Of course you didn’t. Was this how it was supposed to go? Never. Who was the one who allowed the veneer to crack and hairline fractures build and build before it began to truly hurt?

Except, you already know the answer, don’t you? Deep down in your bones, in your soul, and it aches something fierce on those silent nights where it doesn’t take the imagination much to conjure another possibility… a room full of noisy, happy people providing the exact thing that instead claws and festers in their absence.

It hurts sometimes, to love a family, and not entirely know if they love you back.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

When Tsuru told him she was headed to Dressrosa to pick up Doflamingo and his cronies, it was all Sengoku could do to not immediately jump up from his desk and force his way on her ship. She knew she was inviting him—there would be no other reason why she was making mention of it now. With Garp off torturing the youngesters or whatever it was he did these days, it was good for the two of them to get work done without his antics… yeah… that was the excuse.

“You’re tense,” she claimed, watching as he kept his eyes on the horizon.

“Who’s tense?” he scoffed. “Dressrosa is nothing but beautiful women and wonderful food; nothing to worry about.”

Tsuru simply made a noise and left him to his devices, making it clear she didn’t believe him. How could she, when she knew it was not just Doflamingo on the island, but also the ones he had wanted to see for so long… to share a meal with… the ones who he could have had like she Kujaku… she pitied him, in a way, knowing that there was so much to contend with despite his desire to wipe the slate clean.

That was why he bowed, in fact. A sorry old man filled with regret on his hands and knees; he was a sight to behold in the one-room house, weeping openly as his grandchildren hugged him. First it was the bear and the young woman, then the pair who had gone undercover, and finally the now-former Warlord, having needed cajoling by the others to join in. It felt bittersweet, knowing he could have watched them grow from teens, from children, from babies, and now these adults—not much younger than his sons—had lost so much that he could never repay.

“C’mon! Youse guys gotta hurry!” The green-haired idiot who had come in to warn them about Tsuru began to usher everyone out, shivering at the sight of him. Eventually, it was only Sengoku, Rosinante, and Bell-mère in the house, the former never having felt so tired.

“Rosi…” he said softly. “Can you ever forgive me?”

“I don’t know,” Rosinante replied. “It’s… complicated.”

“Will you at least quit the Revolutionary Army?”

“Pshh… no way,” Bell-mère smirked. “We’re finally doing something useful for a change; Dragon’s got the right idea. She nudged Rosinante with a twinkle in her eye; her sense of mischief from her cadet days had not waned. “I’ll see what the kids are up to; can’t let them have all the fun.” She left the house, leaving only father and son.

“Is she…?”

“Yeah; she’s telling the truth. We won’t be coming back.” Rosinante shuffled his feet slightly, looking down at the floor. “Listen… I…”

Sengoku didn’t let him finish before he was hugging him, the action taking the younger man by surprise. Rosinante didn’t know what to do with his arms, hunching slightly until he could cautiously hug back, knowing that it had been a very, very, very long time.

“I’m proud of you,” Sengoku said, voice threatening to break. “Follow this sense of Justice and be a better man than I ever was… better than Homing, even.”

“So you won’t hunt me down? Swear you’ll lock me up like Garp does to Dragon?”

“No.” He held his boy at arm’s length, simply glad to be looking at him again. “There’s a farm in the East I’ve been meaning to visit. I hear they grow some of the best mikan in the Cardinal Blues.”

“Something tells me you’re right.” Rosinante stepped backwards out of his grasp, letting Sengoku’s hands slip away. “I guess this is goodbye.”

“For now.”

“Depends on what’s waiting outside that door.”

At that, Rosinante turned and ran, hitting his head on the lintel before stumbling outside. Sengoku watched as the younger man floundered around until Bell-mère stopped him from falling over, catching her husband in a grasp that easily allowed her to pull him into a kiss that made all their present children visibly uncomfortable.

It was almost normal, the bonds they had out there under the sun. While Sengoku was proud, he was also envious. Despite working outside the law, they were all so good, while he honestly did not know what he stood for anymore. He watched as they vanished into the distance, waiting until they were out of sight before sitting on the bench outside the small house with his gaze towards the harbor. Everything was peaceful until the rubble from the town began to rise up and start flying around.

Issho did not have a chance.

[kacievvbbbb]

Idk why I find the fact Mihawk writes Y/N Reader inserts so funny but so true and I have reader inserts blocked on here like I hate them but oh my god so in character for him.

And he does not give a shit. Absolutely go king and getting fantasy dicked down by all the hot guys in one piece world I support! Also him being a sengoku shipper iconic. I was say maybe he thinks about Kuzan but I think he’s out off by his general laziness and apathy and not in a fun apathetic way like Barsolino in a depression way. ( he’s looking in a mirror and does not like it.) but if he learns Dragon used to be a marine and friends with Akainu he’s making the most toxic relationship of them friends to enemies to nemesis type shit.

He’ll write a new book and it will be a sensation and no matter the fact he changed the names everyone with a brain cell will be able to figure out who it’s about.

Sorry this took so long to reply! but

YES YES YES!!! I don't really like self insert stuff either but it's so in-character for him I'm so obsessed.

And yeah it really is just the adventures of reader as they travel across the grand line getting dicked down is definitely one of his most beloved and acclaimed series. Shanks goes hot and cold on that series a lot because while the idea of watching mihawk getting dicked down by another man is very hot Shanks is also a jealous man and he is very jealous of these "fictional" men. He tries to find out if mihawk has ever fucked any of them in real life and maybe 👀.

Also yeah I just threw in the marine thing because I thought it was funny but I'm glad it stuck out! 😂. I don't think he self ships with any of the marines (maybe in his GILF era sengoku or fujitoro) I think because none of the really strong marines appeal to him but he would fuck smoker if he was stronger. and just because I remembered dude and I think it would be so funny imagine if his only self x marine ship is with Ryokugyu (the tree admiral) I think he'd hate him in life but he's not blind. I think this realllllly pisses shanks off because he does not like him and honestly its a bit of a snake eating his own tail because a lot of the reason he doesn't like him is because of Mihawk's fanfiction of him.

I think Mihawk's natural reaction (mostly because it's mine) is to ship Sengoku with Garp but he hates Garp and even the thought of picturing him in that way is enough to make him want to pour his ears to bleach his brain. I think it be funny if during one of his lackadaisical checking out marine headquarters rooms (because realistically who is going to stop him) he stumbles upon and old picture of Garp Sengoku and Tsuru when they were young and he is very intrigued by thetwo hot young men then he notices that one of them is Garp and he almost throws up, the thought wont leave him alone tho.

Also yes i don't think Mihawk actually knows dragon but he has definitely heard of him and being Garps son is enough cause for pettitness in his eyes. Dragon's identity is a little harder to parse out I the books but Akainu's is so fucking obvious. And it is a loved and well-cherished series. Anytime that Mihawk attends a warlord meeting or just genuinely has an unpleasant interaction with akainu (which is every interaction) he puts pen to paper. It'd be funny if this was the most "tame" series though more focused on the fictional romace which confuses dragon and pisses akainu off even more because what? do they think he can't take it? and mihawk is very pleased with himself. he drops a new edition right before he goes to any warlord meeting so he can watch akainu seethe in real time as the new talk of the town takes root (this series specifically is very popular in marine towns)

as for the real life identities. I think he definitely makes it a bit hard not to protect anyone. Still, because he thinks it's fun to make people guess and adds to the mystery so there is definitely a fan club (which Shanks leads) dedicated to putting the clues together on just who all the different men are (shanks needs this for....research purposes 👀) some of them are obvious if you're in the know like the Benn ones or Crocodile while others are just plain obvious because the Red Haired Emperor is definitely shanks like if you know shanks you know its him there is only two people with hair that red. It's not kidd( it does give both kidd and shanks a bit of a reputation of some islands because his book counterpart is infinitely more dashing and "masculine" that shanks' bum and kid's manica energies) and I think he makes the Akianu ones very obvious to anybody that literally even if you've just ever heard of him you know its him just to fuck with him.

[acescorazon]

Changes

Chapter: 3/?

word count: 2514

Rating: M

Warnings: Crocodile , Explicit language, minor violence (slightly less than last chapter's lol.)

Chapter excerpt:

Crocodile glances around the room before looking back down at his papers, “It turns out with Buggy’s new status…” He pauses, grimacing slightly, “With the Clown’s new status, the marines won’t just come attacking us out of the blue, but these bounties will definitely be seen as a threat, possibly even a declaration of war, and we have to be prepared for when they do decide to come after us or the event of a buster call.”

A buster call?!

“W-Woah, woah, woah!” Buggy stammers, feeling the familiar sensation of dread rising in the pit of his stomach. “They…They wouldn’t do something crazy like blow up the entire island…right?” He asks, voice starting to crack a little as he speaks, “R-right?”

Mihawk speaks up, in a calm, flat tone, seemingly unworried about the possibility that the island could be wiped off the surface of the planet, “Of course they would,” he replies bluntly, “It’s only a matter of time before they try to annihilate us.”

[Previous part]

Buggy manages to avoid both Crocodile and Mihawk for about a week after the official public debut of Cross Guild, only catching brief glimpses of his ‘underlings’ out of the corner of his eye here and there around the island, before his luck comes to a rather abrupt end one morning. Crocodile calls for their first official meeting, after ordering Buggy beforehand to clear out a space for a makeshift meeting room, and even now Buggy has no idea why they even need a meeting room or to hold a meeting…

The quickest ‘meeting room’ Buggy can come up with is a storage closet filled partly with weapons that he cleared out a little and then put a table, a whiteboard, and three chairs in, and as soon as Crocodile steps foot inside the makeshift room, he sticks his nose high up in the air and sighs, “Whatever, let’s just get started,” He says, tossing an overstuffed manila folder onto the table in the middle of the room and having a seat first. Crocodile is impossible to please, and Buggy questions whether he’s an actual pirate or some kind of corrupted CEO with overly high standards.

“As briefly discussed before, our first step will be putting bounties on the Marines’ heads.” Crocodile opens up his folder, pulling out a couple of neatly stacked papers, “I’ve compiled a list of over one hundred marines, categorizing and ranking them all from highest to lowest bounties already to make things go a little faster,” He hands his papers over to Buggy, who looks at him, stunned and slightly horrified, “You make the bounty posters for them and have them distributed, but do come and see me before you distribute them, I don’t want a repeat of last weeks incident.”  

Yeah…Neither does Buggy.

Buggy looks down at the papers Crocodile just gave him, scanning over the list in utter disbelief… There are so many names here…where did he get all these from?! Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp… Vice Admiral Tsuru….  Vice Admiral Smoker….He reads, and the list continues to grow from there. Crocodile has everyone from Vice Admirals to Captains, to lieutenants and even lowly ranking officers on his hit list, he has people Buggy didn’t even know existed on the list, and for once he’s glad he’s on Crocodile’s side and not one of his enemies.  

“Of course, I don’t expect anyone to be able to take on any admirals, or even Akainu, but you never know what’ll happen,” Crocodile states, handing over what has to be the scariest list of names Buggy’s seen so far. “Moving on, We’ll also need ships, weapons, medical supplies, and most importantly, men and land.”

Woah, woah…Buggy’s still not even over this whole marine thing, are they really just going to skip over the fact that Crocodile was able to compile a list of hundreds of marines within a week? Where did he get this kind of information? “For the time being I want anyone we can get, making these bounties and offering protection to any brave individual who’s willing to take on the marines and or make a criminal out of themselves is the quickest way to get more people on our side because as it stands we only have about two hundred and thirty-five men, and there’s no way we could withstand a possible attack from the government.”

Crocodile glances around the room before looking back down at his papers, “It turns out with Buggy’s new status…” He pauses, grimacing slightly, “With the Clown’s new status, the marines won’t just come attacking us out of the blue, but these bounties will definitely be seen as a threat, possibly even a declaration of war, and we have to be prepared for when they do decide to come after us or the event of a buster call.”

A buster call?!

“W-Woah, woah, woah!” Buggy stammers, feeling the familiar sensation of dread rising in the pit of his stomach. “They…They wouldn’t do something crazy like blow up the entire island…right?” He asks, voice starting to crack a little as he speaks, “R-right?”

Mihawk speaks up, in a calm, flat tone, seemingly unworried about the possibility that the island could be wiped off the surface of the planet, “Of course they would,” he replies bluntly, “It’s only a matter of time before they try to annihilate us.”

Crocodile, who seems equally as unbothered by the idea of a buster call, simply nods, “Exactly, which is why we need more men and land. These bounties will give us men, power, and higher status, but obviously, it’ll come with consequences. There will be a lot of injuries, deaths, and overall destruction by doing this.”

“So why are we doing it?!” Buggy exclaims, “This seems…”

“We can’t live in the world government’s world, can we?” Crocodile asks, still acting a little too nonchalant for Buggy’s liking, “So we’re going to create our own utopia.”

What the fuck does that even mean…?  

Oh, god. They’re going to die. They’re going to be blown to pieces and if they aren’t, they’re going to be executed in front of millions just like…

God, Buggy can’t do this. He can’t handle the idea of his home being blown up, or having to go back to Impel down, or, or being publicly executed. He-

He can’t just leave Cross Guild, Mihawk and Crocodile will kill him. But…remaining in Cross Guild will also get him killed. He’s really going to die. Any path Buggy chooses in life seems like it’ll lead to certain death, and he’s exhausted, he feels like he’s the one with a hit on his head. Buggy thinks back to when he was just a small-time pirate and finds himself missing those days where no one knew who he was or about his past. Back then he could run around freely without worrying about his men or his home being destroyed, but now even if he tried to run away from all his problems, there’s nowhere for him to hide.

God, he’s actually going to die.

There are tears in Buggy’s eyes as Crocodile rises from his seat, pulling out a photo before pinning it to the whiteboard in the room, “We can discuss ancient weapons in the next meeting, but for now let’s move on to land. In the event of a buster call, we’ll immediately have to get off the island and relocate. Now, I’ve picked a few islands out, but this one right here is the most interesting and closest, boys.” He points to the picture on the board, “This is Prickly Pear island, a spacious desert kingdom with a tyrannical king who’s starving his people and hoarding most of the country's wealth and resources. It’s easy pickings, we don’t even have to turn the people against their king, we just show up and ‘save’ all the citizens, and take over.” He grins.   

God, Buggy doesn’t want Emptee Bluffs Island to be blown up and he doesn’t want to live in the desert with Crocodile where he’s practically invincible, he just wants this nightmare to end...He just wishes he were still a warlord, no.. no, he wishes he were just a lowly pirate in Orange Town.  

God, he hates his life so much.

…

Their meeting lasts a lot longer than Buggy would have hoped it would, and he could hardly keep up with all Crocodile’s plans because, you know, there’s that new silly possibility of the world government blowing them to kingdom come… ahaha, so silly. Anyways once the meeting is over, he quickly gets the hell away from Crocodile and Mihawk as fast as possible and looks for men who can make the bounties for the marines because Buggy sure as shit isn’t going to do it himself, though he doesn’t know if they should really be doing this in the first place...

Whatever. Whatever, it’s too late.

Buggy counted one hundred and seventy-five different marines on Crocodile’s list, and the worst part: Crocodile says he’s actively trying to find out more names, and they’re…They’re fucking doomed. At this point, Buggy just has to pick which way he wants to die, and to be honest… He’d rather die by the Marines' hands than Crocodile’s.  

He finds himself anxiously roaming around and just… taking in the view of his island and all the men at work. Even with Mihawk and Crocodile around, Emptee Bluffs Island is bustling and filled with life, and to think that all that could be taken away in a moment's notice just because of Crocodile’s stupid pla--

“Hey, Clown.” God, what now?  Buggy thinks to himself, hating the way that Crocodile can’t be bothered to use his actual name most of the time. “I forgot to tell you that I want a main ship built right away.”

Buggy sighs, turning around to face his tormentor, ”But my men are already busy trying to fix the ships the marines didn’t completely destroy.”

“And? Find someone to build me a flagship, and make it quick.”

So bossy and annoying… Buggy closes his eyes and sucks in a deep breath, trying to remain calm. If he lets his pride and his ego get the best of him right now, he’s going to lose his life. For once in his life, he should just shut up… But the urge to tell Crocodile to go to hell is so strong…Crocodile’s so demanding, and Buggy… just wants to…

“Yes.” He replies a moment later, not wanting to get on Crocodile’s bad side again, he’s had enough of that for a lifetime. “Sure. I’ll get right on that.” He tries to end the conversation there and walk away, but Crocodile stops him, “One last thing, clown, about your appearance…”

After Crocodile has threatened to sell him into slavery, beat him senseless, took over his island, and gave him the world’s most unreasonable requests and expected him to fulfill everything in such a short amount of time, why was the straw that broke the camel's back Crocodile criticizing his appearance? “I don’t want Cross Guild to be seen as a joke. Get rid of the onesie and the annoying red nose.”

Get rid of the annoying red nose…

He told him to…He told him to…. Buggy stares at Crocodile, speechless, he feels like saying something he might regret, but it’ll get him killed. He wants to live… this whole time he’s been fighting for his life…and to throw it away so carelessly… “Understand?” Crocodile asks with a displeased look now on his face, not that Buggy knows why he’s looking at him like that.

Get rid of the annoying red nose.

This altercation marks the first (and last) time Buggy tells Crocodile to, “Eat shit and die.” and things go as well as one would expect them to as soon as the insult leaves his mouth. He really should have kept his big mouth shut, but he didn’t, and instantly ends up regretting his actions, like always.

Crocodile chases Buggy all around the island, face red and filled with rage as he screams every cuss word imaginable at Buggy, and Buggy runs away like he owes Crocodile money, which, coincidentally, he does. “I’msosorry,” He babbles out, and the phrase ‘I’m sorry’ has to be his favorite phrase considering how often he uses it these days, “I didn’t mean to…” Oh, who is he kidding? He met everything he said, but he doesn’t think he should get murdered for his words alone.

Buggy runs past a few of his beloved crew members: Cabaji, Mohji and Richie, and finally, Alvida, but no one seems interested in helping him out. They all watch as he runs by, looking confused, then horrified, then once realization finally sets in, they simply look the other way. Cowards! All of em are cowards, and they have absolutely no loyalty!  

Crocodile does end up capturing Buggy though, he’s incredibly stubborn and that is yet another thing that Buggy has come to find out about his new business partner. He also really hates being insulted, go figure, and ends up punching the shit out of Buggy’s poor face, again, leaving welts all over him as he so graciously reminds Buggy that he can gut him like a fish at any moment if he wanted to and that he’s lucky to be alive.

Buggy begs for mercy the entire time, but that only seems to anger Crocodile more and he calls him…What was it…? Oh, that’s right, he calls him ‘A worthless coward who should have never been made an emperor’, and then proceeds to tell him how much he hates him.

He makes Buggy feel so good about himself…haha…

They never come to an agreement, Crocodile just grows tired of kicking Buggy’s ass and leaves, and Buggy winds up filled with more hatred than before for Crocodile, picking himself and his teeth up off the ground after his beating, skull still throbbing from Crocodile’s wrath. Okay, maybe he deserved that ass-kicking, but he still thinks Crocodile went a little too far… Nevertheless, Buggy continues on with his day, now instructing some of his crew who are shipwrights to build Crocodile his stupid ship for stupid Cross Guild, hoping that for once his crew will do something half-assed and that the ship will end up sinking or capsizing when Crocodile (and hopefully only Crocodile.) is onboard.

((A/N: Redeeming this fucker (Crocodile) is going to be a BITCH. Trust in me and the process, we'll get to where we need to go though. Thanks for reading, i love you pookies~! ALSO P.S ...Think the next few chapters might have depressed Buggy sooo.. BUT TRUST IN THE PROCESS BABIES.))

[ohnomyhooves]

Thoughts on the headcannons that doffy is colorblind and that’s part of why his fashion sense is Like That and that corazon is so unbalanced bcos he suffered a traumatic brain injury in the same event where doffy got an arrow in his eye and cora was only normal kid levels of klutzy before that and got much worse after

Firstly I'm so sorry if it took me ages to reply, I didn't get notified of this in my inbox at all!🥹

Also, I do like both of those theories– in my opinion there is definitely something about his eyes that Doffy is deliberately hiding, whether a natural 'flaw' or an injury.

On Doffy's eyes;

I think the arrow to the eye was quite clear, it's hard to imagine he could get away from something like that completely unscathed. The only question though if this is the case is why he was wearing glasses before any of that happened. My guess is either:

- he had some kind of eye defect from birth, something that he possibly saw as this huge flaw for a high and mighty Celestial Dragon. Perhaps colour blindness from birth, or heterochromia, or partial blindness etc.

- this is self-indulgent and unnecessarily cute (sue me!) but I also like to think that maybe he was just attached to the glasses themselves as an item, the way small kids get overly attached to things and just don't let them go for a long phase I.e a favourite piece of clothing they insist on wearing everywhere or an impractical accessory.

In either case, I can see that after his injury he started wearing glasses all the time for a totally different reason; to hide an injury that was now a bigger flaw than anything else because it was definite proof of weakness. Whatever he's hiding behind those glasses I refuse to believe he's not touchy and secretive about it. I think the HC that Doflamingo actually has perfectly normal eyes under there and is just an Extra Bitch is hilarious!! BUT considering that he got to keep them even at Impel Down, and I believe the wiki says that Tsuru got him a new pair before he was tossed in jail, they must be pretty important to him/ the Marines who arrested him for that little while his eyes were bare probably saw something that they knew Doflamingo would get Touchy and Dangerous about so they wanted to cover it right back up and pretend they hadn't seen anything.

BUT I'M GOING ON A TANGENT! To answer your actual question, I've never considered that his sense of fashion is so atrocious because he could be colourblind. Like, I just thought it was atrocious because his personality involves being the centre of attention all the time– sitting on the fcking table at warlord meetings, crowning himself King of Dressrosa and throwing massive celebrations in his honour, his behaviour at Marineford– but now that you mention it I like that possibility! I would have to look up how people with colourblindness perceive colours, I think, to get deeper into it; for example, if he doesn't perceive his horrid feather coat as being pink the way other people see it, what colour does it look like to him, what aesthetic exactly is he going for? Doflamingo would 100% not care if other people's visual senses were assaulted in his quest to look good to himself so that's fascinating.

On Cora's clumsiness;

I totally REFUSE to believe he was exaggerating this or playing it up for the sake of his cover. His accidents are too inconveniently timed for that to be the case, like when it got him in trouble when he was stealing the Op Op Fruit...(ouch😭)

He says he's always been clumsy since birth but his klutzness is simply next level, so it really makes sense that it's the result of some traumatic injury. If it was simply a childhood trait I think it would get better with time, not significantly worse; AND, I know we didn't see much of him as a child, but there wasn't any time child Rosi was depicted as being that clumsy. I believe the only time he ever showed clumsiness was when he tripped and fell into a treasure chest one time(?) in one of the very first scenes of their family before they moved out of Marie Jois, but that's like. On a totally believable level for a child. His clumsiness is such an integral element of his character as an adult that I think they would've highlighted it in his younger self.

So! Yes, I agree with that headcanon ;-; poor Rosi...

Thank you for submitting such a fun ask! I do enjoy yapping about them XD

[morporkian-cryptid]

Hello, and welcome to

🇯🇵✨️Elliott's Japan Trivia Corner ✨️🇯🇵

It's been a while! Today we'll be talking about

🧮 COUNTING GRAMMAR 🧮

If you've been hanging out in weeb and otaku circles, you may have come across examples of Japanese counting, and wondered why "a thousand cherry blossoms" is "senBON sakura" but "a thousand origami cranes" is "senBA tsuru".

The reason is that Japanese doesn't like generality. It likes to get specific.

So if you like Japan, linguistics, or just plain old weird stuff, take my hand and let us embark together on a journey of grammar and hair-pulling frustration.

(Let it be known that this kind of ranting is done out of love and fondness about topics that bring me joy. Japanese language, I love you. You are so fucking bizarre, please never change.)

We all know what counting suffixes are, even if we don't know the name: they're the little thingies you add after a number to signal that you're counting something. In English, we have "-st", "-rd" and "-th" (as in "first", "third", "tenth"), for indicating a rank or order. And that's pretty much it. If we're counting anything else, we just use the bare number: one person, two houses, three apples.

Japanese? Japanese looks at our puny rank counter, and laughs.

Japanese has upward of 500 different counting suffixes.

Counting suffix for people? Check. Small animals? Check. Big animals? Check. Long, thin objects like rivers, roads, train tracks, or pencils? Check. Thin, flat objects like sheets of paper, photographs, plates? Check. Clothes that are worn on your feet, like shoes or socks? Check. Seconds, minutes, days? Check. Nights of a stay? Check. TATAMI MATS? Check.

They've got different counters for leaves, flowers, and fallen petals, for God's sake.

(Want to have some fun? Check out Wikipedia's list of Japanese counters. Go ahead, do it, I dare you.)

Right, okay, so you know how to count (ichi, ni, san, shi, go, and so on), and you've found the specific suffix for the thing you're counting. You're good to go, right?

Let's try it.

The basic counter is つ (-tsu), it's the default counter for when you don't know what counter to use. We'll just tack it on at the end, shall we?

So, ichitsu, nitsu, shitsu, and so on?

WRONG!

Because in Japanese, you ALSO change the radical of the number!! Now it goes hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu, and so on.

Oh, but I hear you say, it's no big deal! We do that in English too! "One" becomes "first", "two" becomes "second", "three" becomes "third". And I would reply yes, but we stop the madness at three and after that it's simple and at least somewhat logical.

But Japanese ate "simple" for breakfast. Here's how you count using "-tsu":

Ichi > hitotsu

Ni > futatsu

San > mittsu

Shi > yottsu

Go > itsutsu (itsutsu!!)

Roku > muttsu

Shichi > nanatsu

Hachi > yattsu

Kyu > kokonotsu (kokonotsu!! KOKONOTSU!!! How the hell do you get from kyu to fucking KOKONOTSU?????)

Okay. Weird, but doable. All you gotta do is learn the alternative radicals, the one you use when you're counting, and add the correct suffix! Let's try again, shall we?

This time we're counting people. The suffix is the kanji for "human", 人. Generally, this kanji is pronounced "hito" on its own, or "nin" in a multi-kanji compound.

Emphasis on "generally".

We can't pronounce "one person" "hitohito" because that would be silly. I'll just give it to you right now, it's not "hitonin" either, it's actually "hitori". Why? Don't ask why, just do what I say.

Alright, so: hitori, futari, mitt... mittori? mittari?

WRONG! SANNIN!!!!

THREE PEOPLE IS PRONOUNCED FUCKING SANNIN!

At this point I seriously think that the Japanese language is a tactical weapon to weed out the gaijins.

If you want to learn more about the chaos that is Japanese counting, and also where it came from, I strongly recommend reading Tofugu's excellent articles on the subject (Counting in Japanese and List of Counters). It has to do with how Japan adopted Chinese's ideogram system and tried to adapt it to their own language. As for me, I'll go back to glaring at my Anki flashcards and swearing in every language I know. またね!

[slydiddledeedee]

"“It’s a good thing I came instead of Sengoku,” she says simply.

“Sengoku never visits me,” Doflamingo replies.  He means to sound teasing, overdramatically petulant, but his voice comes out flat.  “I’m starting to think he doesn’t like me very much.”

“Shut up, Doflamingo.”

“Doffy.”

“Shut up, Doflamingo.”  Tsuru shakes her head.  “You deserve every bit of this.”

“Rosi said the same thing.  You Navy scum are all alike.”

Tsuru continues to look at him, expression blank.  Finally, she says, “Your brother was a good man.”

“My brother was a traitor.”

“Your brother was a good man,” Tsuru repeats.  “And an idiot for not killing you when he had the chance.”

Doflamingo laughs at that.  It hurts his chest.  “I’ll tell him you said that.  I think he’ll agree.”

Tsuru gives him another look, this one more withering.  “He’s dead, Doflamingo.”

“Doffy.”

“He’s been dead for ten years.”

“Of course he’s dead.”  He can feel a vein throb in his head.  “I shot him.”

“I know,” Tsuru says.  “Bullets, not strings.  The boring choice.”"

please and THANK you I'm sooooo stupid obsessed with this fic it is crack cocaine to my brain !

OKAY ALRIGHT SOOOOOO i wanted to tackle a lot of things especially with the Doflamingo chapter exploring his (perhaps not entirely conscious) love for his brother combined with his (gestures) Doflamingo-ness. I felt like Tsuru was a great contrast bc she both knows his history and doesn’t take any of his shit. She’s also removed enough to not be too emotionally distressed (unlike sengoku who, see above, never visits). Bullets not strings was meant to highlight Doflamingo’s subconscious decision to not make rosinante suffer when he killed him, which in my opinion is antithetical to Doflamingo as a character! He delights in drawing out suffering! And yet rosinante was killed quickly—in some ways, an act of mercy.

I think by the same stroke, there is a part of Doflamingo that really regrets killing rosi and misses his brother just so so much, to the point he had to remind himself that he killed him and that it was (in his mind) the smart choice to make. That’s also why it’s critical that Tsuru points out that Rosinante was a good man, indirectly saying that his love for Doflamingo saved doffy’s life.

Doflamingo makes me want to chew glass thank you SO MUCH FOR THE ASK ELVY MWAHHHHH

[abysscronica]

Hi! It’s the weird anon, yea it was the headcannons for birdie’s desertion and execution. I know it’s still rlly weird ahaha thanks again and happy new year :)

Hi! It's so nice to know you are still around and interested, thank you. ❣️

Headcanons for birdie's desertion and execution

once captured, birdie will know whether there is no chance for escaping or being rescued

she will accept her faith with sadness, but also a certain peacefulness, because she was able to eventually live the life she chose

she was so happy for a time. she always knew what she was doing and the possible consequences, and she was ready for it

birdie won't be talkative or even present until her imprisonment in Marine HQ, busy to relive all her best moments with the Kid Pirates (and the kids as well if this happens in the Emperors timeline)

once she's in prison, some of her former friends will go visit her: Koby, Helmeppo, Hibari, Grus, Tashigi, Smoker, maybe even Sengoku and Tsuru

she'll be kind but stern with them, replying to their questions about her choices honestly, making it clear that she doesn't regret anything

she'll entrust Koby with a message for Kid, the Kid Pirates (and her children in the Emperor timeline)

"tell them that I have no regrets. That I was happy. That they were always my family, even when I didn't know that"

"and tell Kid that he was always the King of the Pirates for me"

birdie will ask only one favor to her former friends: hurry her execution so the Kid Pirates won't make it in time to intervene

she'll want to avoid another Marineford scenario

they'll grant this wish and organize a quick execution

on the gallows platform, birdie won't be afraid. she won't look at the Marines in front of her, but ahead towards the sea

"what an adventurous life I had"

For more details on the reactions of Kid Pirates, Marines and children to her execution, please check out the related SBS here.

[onepiecereactions]

Marine Academy Chapter 21

Note: Chapter 21 on 28. Akainu X OC. OC is called Murphy.

This chapter is SFW.

Let's get some Aokiji x Reader back fufufuuf

Marine Academy Part 3 Chapter 21

"This is the first time in decades that it happened." Vice Admiral Tsuru explained as she picked at some petits fours on the coffee table, a glass in her hand.

Murphy rarely met the Vice Admiral, who was very busy with her work but also with her two tireless colleagues. But she appreciated every moment spent together and never missed an opportunity to spend time in her company. She was a strong woman, very cultured and wise, capable of establishing great military strategies in a few hours.

Female soldiers were rare, the doctor respected each of them because she knew full well that she would never have had the strength to do this job.

"And what's that tie like?" the future admiral asked the two women sitting on the couch enjoying toast.

"Perfect." The woman of a certain age simply replied, apparently not very interested in the soldier in front of her.

"With all due respect, Vice Admiral... You're still a bit... that's... well..., Murphy, what do you think?" The man seemed to get lost in his speech, as usual.

But the blonde could detect a certain anxiety on his face, a rare occurrence when you knew this man who didn't seem to be shaken by anything.

"Put on the dark blue one, Kuzan." The doctor advised him, handing him another tie. The Vice Admiral took it from him without asking any questions and struggled for a few moments to remove the old tie and put the new one.

"This is the first time we've had two Admiral induction ceremonies in the same year. By the way, where's Admiral Akainu?" The Vice Admiral Tsuru asked, looking for him.

"The Admiral-in-Chief asked him to join him in his office a quarter of an hour ago." Murphy replied simply as she opened a new bottle of wine.

Kuzan grumbled to himself, trying to adjust his tie properly. He wasn't a big fan of formal ceremonies either, and he didn't like being the center of attention at all. But as he often said, he "wanted to look classy in front of everyone" so seemed to lose his composure a little a few minutes before the ceremony began.

Vice Admiral Tsuru left the room to join the meeting of the two high-ranking officers.

"Kuzan, if you wear this tie you also have to change your jacket, otherwise it won't go together." The blonde explained, a thin smile on her lips.

He was charming when he lost his composure, when he was no longer "Vice Admiral Kuzan future Admiral Aokiji" but simply "Kuzan".

He threw his jacket on the ground, his annoyance increasing little by little, while he still couldn't tie this damn tie properly.

As she felt that the soldier was ready to freeze the entire base so as not to have to attend this damn ceremony in the end, she put down her glass and approached him discreetly.

She grabbed a navy blue jacket, put it in his hands and began to delicately remove the old chick yellow tie. She opened his shirt several centimeters so she could adjust the collar properly and closed the shirt.

As her fingers wandered over the future admiral's neck, she felt a shiver invade her. Different from the one she felt every time Sakazuki delicately caressed her, that his natural warmth enveloped her skin.

There, the natural cold of Kuzan's skin made her shiver. She quickly closed the shirt and slid the new tie around the man's neck who remained silent. A heavy, abnormal silence. She knotted it skillfully, used to help her husband get ready. Neither of them seemed to know how to tie a tie properly. She took the jacket from his hands and made it fall on his shoulders so that he could put it on. Finally, she grabbed his new admiral's stripes and tied them with precision on his shoulders.

She turned instantly to stand next to him and observe her reflection in the mirror. "There you are, you are perfect Kuzan!" As she was about to help him put on his long white Justice coat, she felt the future admiral's hands creep into the back of her neck and under her jaw. In an instant, she felt the man's lips on hers. It was a simple kiss, not passionate, more of a question than a statement. She had remained frozen in place, not expecting this. Kuzan then pulled back slowly, regaining his lost idiot look.

"Ah, excuse me Murphy, I don't know why..." The man couldn't finish his sentence before he received a monumental slap from the doctor, making him regain his seriousness in a fraction of a second.

"I don't know what you're playing at Kuzan, but stop it immediately."

Ordered the blonde, her face painted with anger. She quickly turned her back on him and stormed out of the room, leaving the silent future admiral behind her.

In her fury, she didn't even notice that another person had entered the room at the very moment she left it.

"The ceremony begins. You are expected Kuzan." Said Vice-Admiral Tsuru in a deep voice. The authoritative tone of the high-ranking officer helped him regain his senses. He quickly put on his Justice coat and went out following the old woman.

"I don't know what you're up to, Kuzan, but you're playing a very dangerous game. And you're likely to get burned if you keep doing this." The vice admiral finished in a serious voice as the soldier walked through the large door, his face closed.

The crowd shouted his name as they saw the new admiral Aokiji enter the stage to begin his introduction ceremony.

He scanned the crowd. Of course, she wasn't there. She wouldn't be attending his ceremony. She must have been with the red dog.

[snowwhitecrane]

@melancholicblossom replied to your post “I have no idea if I have ever mentioned this on...”:

boobs? in this economy, tsuru??

"There's absolutely noting wrong with loving breasts. What are you trying to say?"

[lightblume]

NAME / ALIAS: sey! AGE / AGE GROUP: 26 years old PRONOUNS: she/her TIMEZONE: pst CHARACTERS IN THE GROUP: so many...but if I must list them all for convenience's sake-- aerith gainsborough, joshua rosfield, prompto argentum, tsuru here, kokomi sangonomiya, nahida, navia, eula lawrence, frieren, sampo koski A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF: i'm sey! you may or may not know that i'm also mod mimosa. i've been in the group since it was created and you may see me around some other places. i work a boring office job that gives me way too much overtime but i'm somehow still managing. i like pizza and i buy way too many video games when i have absolutely no time to play them! my main interests are final fantasy (all of the games) and pokemon, both of which I know way too much about. seriously, it's ridiculous.

i'm a pretty chill person and i'm almost always open to threading even if I'm a bit slow! i can only really do replies on the weekend and i like to queue them for later to post! feel free to send me an IM or an inbox message, but i may take a bit to respond as i don't check them every day! you can find me on my writing twitter or in the group discord! nice to meet you!

[gendervapor14]

Blanket and Warmth, please and thank you!

ooh thank you for the ask!! LET'S DIVE ON IN

🧡 Blanket: share a snippet where a character feels safe and loved.

how about an excerpt of cora and law from corazón de oro?

“Do you think anyone will ever love me? Now that I don’t have Lami anymore?”

His heart burned like it was lit with firecrackers. How long had this kid been wandering around, thinking he existed without being loved? Thinking he never would be loved? Although, it was a change in pace. He was asking about his future. Law knew he had a future. Law trusted Cora with his life.

“Of course, Law.” Cora replied, playfully knocking the brim of Law’s hat over his face, “Man, you were right, that was a stupid question.”

The boy snickered, fixed his hat and hair, but the laugh died out quickly. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because this world exists for love.” Cora enthused, tugging on the heart-shaped tails of his hat. “There are people all over the planet Law, friends to be made everywhere you go. Even in the most unlikely conditions. It’s not always instantaneous, sure. Might even take decades before you find your people, but…you’ll be loved. Just have to stay strong and love them in return. Catch them when they fall.”

“…right.” Law muted a yawn as he sniffed and leaned against his guardian again. “You say I’m smart but, you’re pretty smart too, Cora. Pretty stupid, most of the time, but sometimes you say stuff that makes a lot of sense.”

“Thanks, kid.” Cora shook his head as he furled himself into his coat with a dry sigh, “I do my best.”

The silence that came thereafter was comfortable. It was warm too, and as Rosinante adjusted himself to get more cozy, he realized Law was deadweight there beside him. Fast asleep. Arms wrapped around his waist. He kept a hand on the kid’s shoulder and let his head tip back against the tree trunk. Let the evening breeze carry him into a gentle slumber himself.

In his dream, he was falling. A nasty, reoccurring dream. Sometimes he fell forever and woke feeling dizzy. Sometimes he crashed somewhere harsh, unforgiving, and woke with a start.

This time, when he landed, there was someone there to catch him. Someone with gloomy eyes and a spotted hat. He didn’t wake in a cold sweat. He stayed in that warm embrace, and held on as dearly as he could, treasuring every last heartbeat.

🧡 Warmth: share a snippet that gives you the warm fuzzies.

this one is so hard i feel like none of my oneshots give me the warm fuzzies hhhh they just aren't long enough to impact me. i wanted to avoid using 01746 since it has an oc and such a sad ending but. there's this conversation between rosinante and sora in chapter 42 that still hits me in the gut every time i reread it.

He ran his thumb along the rounded edge of the receiver. “You think you’d deny a promotion if it was offered?”

“I…it depends. I think the highest I would accept is vice admiral. Like Tsuru. Admirals…they have to respond to the nobles directly. I wouldn’t feel comfortable in that position.”

Rosinante knew that. Yet, somehow, hearing it spoken out loud brought a sharper sense of realization through him. “…yeah. I don’t really want to be an admiral, either.”

“I’d be happy as a commodore for the rest of my life.”

“I’d be happy as a commander for the rest of my life.” He mirrored, “I’d…I’d be happy as anything, really. As long as I could still reach out to Sengoku sometimes. Live with you.”

Sora laughed at the little addendum, “Live with me, huh? Audacious, Rosinante.”

“Pardon me for thinking of peaceful things when resisting the urge to blow up this pirate hellhole.”

“You’re pardoned. You were a chore boy, after all, you’d be great at folding laundry.”

“Can’t believe I almost forgot about your chore boy obsession.” He snickered, rising up to his feet, “But…seriously, I…well, I guess this is a conversation for another day. We can figure out what to do with our lives after I lock Doffy up.”

A hopeful sigh. “Yeah. I’d love to have that conversation. I think you’ve been working for…a long, long time. And I think you at the least deserve a vacation, if not…something more permanent, when this is sorted. You’ve done so much for us, Rosinante. I’m not Sengoku, but I have a feeling he would agree with me when I say, if you did retire after this…you’ve already put in a whole life’s worth of duty. There would be no hard feelings whatsoever.”

The weight that lifted from him felt near euphoric. Although, there was a pull there, a lingering thread tugging at his heart. “But…didn’t you want to squash pirates? Bring me around with you, as the clumsiest hero of all time?”

A little laugh. “Well, if you want. But…we don’t have to be marines to be heroes, right? We can figure it out later, okay, Rosi? Don’t stress about this. Focus on Corazón, on Doflamingo. I’ll be here when you get back. For whatever life hands us next.”

this ask was from this ask list here! thanks again!! ♥

[starcall]

sankureddo replied: please dont marry tsuru i understand she has rizz and is a cool lizard on a rock but i have midlander swag

??????? why would tsuru wish to marry me??????

[axebreaker]

@coffin-bird

#JOYCEEE#who are THESE#awooga!!!!!#art#i am also homogay can i kiss them

THANK YOU THEY ARE MY SCRUNGLIES!!!!! I HAND THEM TO U ON A PLATE

@tsuru-yo​

#art#joyce art so fucking true

HOLDS YOU IN MY LITTLE PAWS 

@hiemiola

#friend art#this is so fuckgutb delicious i love your art so much#putting them ib my mouth right NOW nyao nyao#i love the mirrored compositions so much#ill go wherever they go too just to get a glimpse of what stars could be when they intertwine#i fuckgign lobe the enhkamisl

I LOVE U THANK YOU SO MCUH ENHKAMIL THE FUCKING WORLD

[himitsusentaiblog]

So Tsuru-chan and Asahi, best friendship or best friendship?

It’s a very interesting friendship to say the least.  I mean, when they first met that was pretty awkward and Tsuru-chan came across as just creepy and weird.

But Asahi’s inherent ray of sunshine, cinnamon roll-ness somehow gets through to the weird alien girl and gets her to open up a little.  Heck, I love that even in the middle of her “evil” scheme, Tsuru-chan comes to talk to Asahi when Asahi calls her at a time of need.  Then, even when she says “no” she still ends up going to Aizen Wonderland, sharing ice cream and talking about her problems.

She may be the new big bad but there’s something about Saki a.k.a. Tsuru-chan that I really like.  She also seems to know more about Asahi then she is saying right now.  I want to see where this friendship goes in the future but I am glad to see Asahi getting a bigger role in Ultraman R/B