#AND SAVED MANY PEOPLE BEING DIPLOMATIC BUT ALSO HAVE TO FIGHT SPECIES THAT THREATEN THEM AND THEIR PLANET

[nana-nia]

*Coughs* Voltron and Star Trek: Voyager.

I love them so much.

[lovelessmako]

This is a demon/exophilia love story I've been working on that I thought I'd share here. If people seem to like it then I'll add more.

Ve

Chapter One:

Kivet laughed inwardly as blood and adrenaline rolled off his dark form in waves. The thrill of the chase. Watching a child cling to you, begging you to let them go as the light slowly leaves their eyes. This was what he was created for. He was a peacekeeper between the different species. It was his job to keep the status quo in any way possible. If that meant killing children because a fae dared to have a child with a human, then that was what he had to do. Afterall, mutts were incapable of kindness or love. Sure, they could fake it quite convincingly, even Kivert himself would've fallen for it had he not been taught the truth, but it was impossible for them to experience any pleasant emotions. If Kivet enjoyed his job then that was nobody's business but his own. Everyone needed to stick to their own people. Only the Ve, which he was, could leave their lands.

Sometimes people would send messengers to other species in order to broker peace. Kivet hated those. Scared, unarmed, diplomats with enough medals to make you go blind as they reflected the sun. They didn't deserve those. He always made sure nothing arrived and would leave a bloodied medal behind as a warning. He would keep the others, of course. They were rather good quality and he had quite the collection coming along. He had no idea what they stood for but surely he deserved them more than their original owners.

Kivet set to work wiping his claws off on a rag he kept in his pocket. He frowned slightly when he saw that the blood had reached there as well. So much for clean hands. He gave up and settled for sitting with his back against a tree and admiring his work. Even in their last moments, the two criminals had held each other and tried to shield the child. That's commitment, he'll give them that. Maybe they thought it would gain his sympathy. Dumb. It did make him a bit lonely though. If such scum found someone to play along with their ruse, then why was a hero forced to work alone? He wasn't forced per say, but his old partner had fallen for an orphaned mutt's tricks and had to be put down. It was unfortunate, Suvo was pretty good at his job. He had even told Kivet that what they were doing was wrong! Saving lifes is wrong? What an ass! No, he reminded himself, it was that mutt's fault. Suvo had younger siblings and the creature looked similar to one. Meanwhile, Kivet had never been around children except for when he was in school.

He gathered himself and started in to the nearest town. Kivet could use something to eat, and there were always mutts scatted about to kill. It was disturbing how many there were. Why do people insist on disobeying the natural order of things? The strangest part was how many purebreds supported the movement. The town wasn't too far of a walk, and his shadowy wings were still a bit sore from the long flight over, so he didn't mind walking. The land was nice enough, a dirt path with a small lake to the right and wilting forest to his left. There were some huts in groups of 3 or 4 every now and then; It seems the humans were not advanced enough to feel safe living alone yet. It made sense, they were a very fragile species, very easy to injure; even by accident. They also contracted illnesses often and usually died from them. And, even if they managed to be extremely careful, their lifespan was still very short. Most species told tales of these weak creatures and used them as examples of the good alliances between species would do. They were nothing more than figureheads, however. Something that would be cast aside when no longer needed.

Humans were the worst when it came to mutts. They found fae and elves to be attractive for some reason. He could see it from a procreation standpoint; every parent wants their children to be powerful. But what did the others gain? Maybe humans had special bonding rituals that they preformed in order to create children. That could be interesting. Not that it would ever be possible for a Ve, even if it was allowed. He was reminded of that time and time again as humans ran or hid from him. "Nightmare. Demon. Bad omen. Monster," he had heard it all.

This time, however, the humans seemed to be crowding around a figure on the ground. He hissed loudly, causing them to scatter and leave the body. He crouched nearby, not caring about the pool of blackened blood that was leaking from a bashed in skull. This was a Ve. A wing had been torn off along with their hands, likely for grizzly trophies. Something caught his eye behind their ear. Kivet yanked out the sharp object to see a steady, blinking, red light. A tracker. This wasn't a Ve that had gotten out of line and needed to be put down. They were hunted. He growled and glared around at the humans. No, not one of them. They were much too timid; many crying already. Entire towns had been decimated for less serious offenses.

If someone was hunting Ve then Kivet needed to be safe. While Ve normally had a solid form, they could take on a shadowy apperation that couldn't be harmed. Unfortunately they couldn't harm anyone either. An even trade off. It also took effort. Not a lot, but it would surely add up. He weighed his options. He couldn't eat while in that form so he would have to drop it for those moments. But waiting a few days to eat could help. It would be a lot easier if he had a partner that could help by taking turns keeping watch. But they would just be hit instead. Maybe he could trick a troll into protecting him. They're a good 3-4 feet taller than him and bright blue; an easy target. But that would mean putting up with a troll. And he didn't even speak their language. Not worth it.

"Are you alright, sir?" Kivet jumped, how could he have let a human sneak up on him like that?! They continued, ignoring his suprise, "it's a pretty gruesome sight."

"Don't talk to me." He went ignored.

"Did you know them?"

"Why are you still talking to me?!"

"Its still sad, even if you didn't. I know if I saw a human like that I'd likely take my own life from the trauma."

Why didn't this human-? Wait, they probably couldn't understand him. Humans had a spoken language, not psychic. Kivet remembered studying that back in Academy; they had to choose a language and it seemed the easiest.

"Fine," he choked out, voice scratchy and broken from lack of use. The human apparently took that as emotion and placed their hand on his shoulder. He hissed in warning, but it wasn't removed.

"Why don't you come inside? I'm not sure if you can digest the same things as us, but I made some nice potato soup. Its chilly today as well. I already have a fire going inside."

Why was this human being nice to him? They didn't even know his name. Hell, he didn't even know their gender; humans were difficult to ascertain with their lack of horns or spikes. He considered the offer. On one hand, he had come to the village for food, and while he wasn't affected by the weather, seeing such a mutilated corpse sent shivers down his back. He was reminded of what his father told him when he started school, "Don't trust anyone, regardless of species or blood relation."

"Sounds lonely."

He startled, not realizing that he had spoken it aloud. "Its all I've ever known." Lie. He had traveled with Suvo for 3 years before the incident. "Find me another Ve and I'll consider changing my mind," he tried to joke. It probably sounded too serious in his underused voice.

"You'll be pretty hard-pressed to find another." A tall fae with tanned skin and a whimsical voice pranced over to them, feet light and airy. Humans referred to Fae as the opposite of Ve. Kivet hated them. Even more than mutts.

"Oh, don't give me that look, demon. I come with news." Kivet continued to glare. How dare he speak to him! "The Ve were attacked a few weeks ago. Whole towns wiped out. Only a handful of you guys remain and they're hunting you down." Who? He was too confused to ask. Ve were untouchable. Heroes who used their strength for good. Why would someone attack? How could they lose? "The Golems." The Fae seemed to understand the unspoken question. "They asked the Fae to join them but our queen refused. The last time we angered Ve our capital was destroyed. So much unnecessary death."

"Just tell me what happened already!" Kivet was getting fed up with this stupid voice already.

He shrugged, a human expression, "that's all I know. My guess is a full frontal assault. Ve are good at tactics, but you lack- what was the word? Oh yeah-strength." That was a blow and he knew it. The Ve were all about strength. They were the best when it came to 1-on-1 fights. Then other species had to invent blades and spears. Kivet, like most Ve, refused to use them. They were a crutch. He hated to believe what a fucking Fae was telling him, but it added up. Golems were known to be able to track anything; relentless hunters. Now he knows it was all thanks to tiny machines.

"Serves you right! The Ve should've be wiped out centuries ago." The Fae laughed. Stupid, musical laughter. Kivet couldn't take it! He lunged at the taller man, causing them to fall to the ground. They seemed shocked and caught off guard. Kivet spread his wings threateningly and hissed in his face, taking joy in seeing the spots of saliva that splattered that stupid, perfect face. The human seemed to be saying something, but all Kivet saw was red. His instincts tuned out all other distractions and focused on their prey. He tried to let out a threatening laugh, but it only sounded broken with emotion. "Not strong, huh? Then what does that say about you?"

The Fae relaxed suddenly, much to his confusion. "Hear that? The Golems are coming." And they were. Their heavy footfalls could be heard not too far away. Likely near where Kivet had left the mutt and it's parent's bodies. He acted solely on instinct and shot off flying towards the sound of the noise. He had to see it for himself. His wings burned from the effort, not used to going faster than a leisurely pace. He stumbled in the air when one popped. Likely a sprain or dislocation, not broken. He fought through the pain until he heard the voices nearly under him. He landed on a sturdy tree branch and started to leap his way across to get a better view, yet be less visible. He didn't know much of their language, but he could pick out a few words "Troll. Her. Reward." They weren't tracking a Ve afterall! But who was this Troll? Someone important for the Golems to make a special trip. Maybe a criminal? Didn't matter. They could kill her for all he cared. Wasn't his problem.

Wait, then why was that Fae in a human village if not to warn him? The fucker came up with some random story to district him from his job! A Fae in a human village was very clearly against the rules. He inwardly scolded himself for not realizing earlier. Oh, he was going to pay!

Kivet turned to move, forgetting about his hurt wing, and stumbled slightly. The rustling attracted the attention of one of the Golems. He froze as he was stared directly in the eye. Neither made a move for what felt like forever. Another Golem said something to the one watching him who then turned his attention away. This was the perfect opportunity to run! So why couldn't he move? The one who had spotted him said something about a bird before the group continued on their way. Did a Golem just cover for him!? Wait, why would that be shocking? Ve had important jobs and couldn't afford to be distracted by insignificant creatures. Surely that was public knowledge by now.

He should really go after that one Fae, but right now he was just too tired, rules be damned. He doubted he could sleep with all that had happened in the past few hours. It seemed like weeks had passed since he last awoke. He wrapped himself into a snug position and closed his eyes.

[kinetic-elaboration]

December 2: 1x26 Errand of Mercy

Errand of Mercy is truly a trip. I’m swiftly losing my ability to be coherent because I need to go to sleep but here are some attempts:

First of all this is, of course, a straight-up, pure, unfiltered Kirk/Spock episode with a tiny bit of unrequited Kor/Kirk on the side. Like, we’re not even going to pretend to find stuff for the rest of the crew today. I see you, Gene Coon.

This is the first Klingon ep. I just... the actual Klingon-centric episodes ARE good, but the Klingons in general are pretty boring and I legit don’t understand why they became the standard Star Trek villain. (DC Fontana apparently thought that it was because their make up was simpler v. the Romulans, acc. to Amazon trivia and....I’ll buy that.)

Is the “cultural scale” called the Richter cultural scale? I seem to recall another scale with the exact same name....

I get why there would be such a scale but they are dead wrong about where the Organians fall on it.

Anyway not to harp on this yet again but @ fanom this isn’t the military right?? Lol

Oh, no, it’s Code One! No idea what that means but the music tells me it’s a big deal and it’s bad!

“Curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want.” He’s talking about war but I can think of some other things that fall into this category.

I think it’s pretty funny that Kirk records his Captain’s logs in public.

CAPTAIN SULU.

“There’s a war happening, so Mr. Spock and I will just leave the ship... together.”

“You’ll get out of here, Sulu, and leave Spock and I... alone.”

“You’ll fall back to rendezvous with the rest of the Fleet in the Laurentian system.”

Why do these people show no interest in us beaming down into their village? Hmmm, I wonder. If the Organians really were what K and S think they are, beaming down in that way would be uh a bad idea.

Spock seems much less awkward at gesturing than Kirk does.

Finally, by the end of the season, they’ve figured out the context for the Enterprise: Starfleet, the Federation, etc.

I wish the Organians were our alien overlords and taylor.

So the Klingons are a military dictatorship.

Kirk finds them so frustrating. I feel like this ep falls into the genre “Kirk is frustrated by hippies.” All this generic peace talk and faultlessly chill attitudes are just not him.

“I’m a soldier, not a diplomat.” That’s why Spock likes him so much.

The Organians are trying to follow the Prime Directive but Kirk is making it SO HARD.

“Space vehicles.”

I know the Klingons are actually supposed to be in yellow face but you know what it looks like black face to me and I RE-ALLY wish they had not done that.

They look good in those Organian outfits. Love that they kept their command and science colors lol. I feel like this is the sort of outfit AOS Kirk wishes he had in that boring ass closet of his.

Mr. Spock does not look like an Organian.

I MUST know more about these “not uncommon” Vulcan merchants. “Dealing in kevas and trillium.”

KOR IS SO INTO KIRK. This flirting is the least subtle. “You’ll be taught to use your tongue.” “Where is your smile?” “You’re a ram among sheep.” “I need your obedience.” “You seem to be in command.” Is all of this supposed to sound sexual or...?

Right up there with “a stallion must first be broken.”

Whereas Kirk is so not into this. That expression says, “Don’t even think about talking about Spock’s tongue.”

The mind sifter is actually a crazy advanced sci fi machine and STID wanted us to think Klingons don’t have warp usdfsf go fuck yourself.

Kirk is so turned on by Spock’s mental strength.

Every spare moment of this ep is given over to K/S flirting. They legit act like an old married couple. “I thought you were going to fight that guy.” “I just might.” Or whatever.

I love that Kirk’s method of fighting is to literally launch his WHOLE BODY at enemies.

Whereas Spock’s there just running awkwardly in the background. He is Not coordinated friends.

Kirk’s speeches ARE admirable. He is lacking context here but in general if they WERE an oppressed people, this should be inspiring.

“For some reason, he feels as though he must destroy you.”

This Kor and Kirk scene... Kirk literally canNOT stop himself from flirting. His default smile is Charming. “Nothing...inconsequential [was destroyed] I hope...” Flirty smile, wink.

GO CLIMB A TREE I MEAN WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT.

We are the same species...tigers...hunters

Is this not the same cell they always use?

I feel an “and there was only one cell” fic coming on...

The Organians are actually kind of hilarious. They’ll basically let these rando aliens do whatever they want, as long as they do no violence. That’s it, that’s the one rule.”Your captors planned to do violence to you, and to that I said...naw.”

THIS is real Pacifism @ Commander Spock.

Kirk ready to go out in a blaze of fire for a bunch of annoying hippies like “I’m going to white savior you now, ungrateful Organians.”(I say this with love; I love him.)

Can you believe Kirk and Spock are about to die in an unwinnable fight of 2 against Lots of Klingons, and they’re using their last moments to FLIRT AGAIN?

Gene Coon loves writing dialogue in which Spock calculates statistics and Kirk is turned on.

Also can you BELIEVE he just pulls Spock along by the arm? Any excuse to touch him.

Okay the Organians are officially tired of your bullshit.

Too hot! Hot damn!

“We find interference in others’ affairs most disgusting.” Prime Directive! Like I said!

This is basically the plot of A Taste of Armageddon except in that ep Kirk was the Organians.

“People have the right to handle their own affairs.” Is he wrong though??

The Organians are like “okay, we all had our fun here, now get out. Seriously.”

Can you imagine how fucking weird it would be to just randomly see this alien dude materialize in the White House, or, like, Starfleet San Francisco HQ, or wherever the “home world” of the Federation is supposed to be? Just a little throwaway line in there.

By the end Kor is just straight up hilarious. He’s giving off real Ian McKellan in Vicious vibes when he says “I can handle them.”

“I guess that takes care of the war.” Yep! Very efficient!

The “it” in “It would have been glorious” is DEFINITELY not the war lol.

Good game, good game.

“I was furious with the Organians for stopping a war I didn’t want.” I’m sorry but could not THAT have been the plot of STID?

“Spock, your math was wrong the whole time.” And now Spock and Kirk can BOTH sulk lol.

Those were all of my liveblog thoughts and it’s late but.... I had so many additional thoughts on this episode... Like a lot more.

First, I love when humanoids turn out to not be humanoids, that’s one of the best things.

Second, I think this is a very gutsy episode to air at the time, and that it would still be a gutsy episode to air now. I feel like it’s one of the peanut gallery’s favorite criticisms of ST nowadays to say it’s “colonialist” but this ep makes it pretty clear it’s not--that’s the opposite of the lesson of this story.

To attempt to explain better: I completely and unironically love Kirk but I do recognize that like all 3 dimensional characters he has flaws. In this ep, I thought that while his speeches and general point of view and strategic plan were definitely right for situations a population is oppressed--that people do have the power to fight back against dictatorships, even when the odds are bad, and that it is worth it to have the courage to fight back against such oppression--he was ultimately shown to be wrong in this instance because he wasn’t actually coming into that situation. He didn’t understand as much as he thought he did. He thought he was going to be the savior here: taking control for peoples who didn't know better, saving them from oppression, and then gifting them with technology and advancement as he understood it. The Federation wouldn't have enslaved them, but the Federation did want to use them. But the Organians really truly didn't need help--the native people understood their own needs better than the outside people. That's the lesson I took from the episode. Your intentions can be good but if you're coming into a foreign situation looking to control it, without understanding the actual people involved, you’re not being a true friend or ally, and you're likely to do no more harm than good. Opposition to tyranny has to come from the source, the oppressed peoples themselves.

When he refers to “weak, innocent people” standing in the way of superpowers in the beginning--he’s not attempting to derogatory, but that is a pretty demeaning characterization.

I also thought it interesting that the Organians can take any form they want and put their society at any stage of "advancement" they want and they chose a basic agrarian aesthetic. Cottagecore rights.

Kirk really had a confirmation bias when it came to the Organians. He had an image of them--innocent, weak, oppressed--and he only took information that fit with that characterization, rather than listening to them and what they were saying.

My mom and I also discussed whether this was IC or OOC of Kirk. I’m of two minds, myself. I think Kirk at his best is much more open-minded than this. His core morality is good faith, peace, friendliness, and care for all life forms, and there are plenty of examples of this (Charlie X, Mud’s Women, and The Corbomite Maneuver all immediately come to mind.) But he does have a blind spot that I think comes up often enough to be canonically part of his character: if something is threatening or killing his crew, or his people more broadly (the Federation), then ALL he cares about is neutralizing the threat. Rare alien? Possible scientific discovery? Might not have the full details of the situation? Doesn’t matter. I’m thinking The Man Trap, The Devil in the Dark, Arena. He wants to protect aliens, but not if the alien is killing his crew. He wants to make overtures of friendship, but not if the new being has already been aggressive.

I mean like I said... a part of me is like "no he is better than this!" but another part is like... well he does have that 'soldier' side of him, he is intensely loyal to his people. The “evil” Kirk of The Enemy Within. I think he just sometimes gets these blinders in certain situations when he's just sure he's right, which is very human.

Also although he's between McCoy and Spock on the continuum of "an objective right thing exists for all people and in all situations and we should always follow that morality" and "morality itself is relative, we should be respectful of alien ways of living even when we don’t understand them" I think in general Kirk and the show is more like McCoy. There IS a right morality here. (I’m thinking of The Apple or even A Taste of Armageddon.)

I also maintain that to say in 1967 "the very personality trait of being warlike is a common denominator between enemies at war" is a dramatic statement.

My mother suggested that Kirk was “strangely appealing” in his desire to save the Organians, with or without their help, and I do agree... I think that’s the complexity of the episode. The overall thrust of the plot is that Kirk was wrong--he’s left embarrassed at the end. I stand by what I said above. And they certainly go out of their way to show that the Klingons and Federation have something in common--namely, as I said, their very capacity to wage war, and interest in waging war.

BUT, as much as I get the point that they have certain similarities with the Federation--and I think this concept of 'these war-worthy disagreements seem trivial to an advanced and neutral species' is interesting, and even more so in comparison with A Taste of Armageddon which, as I said, is this same scenario from the Organians' POV essentially--at the same time it's a bit irritating to hear the democratic Federation compared to the oppressive dictatorship of the Klingons. Like yeah, okay, none of them are light beings and they both wanted to destroy each other--point taken. But would the Federation park itself on a random planet and kill 200 people the first day? I think not. So in this sense Kirk IS right. The Klingons are an adversary worth fighting, just not over the Organians.

I don’t know what I would think of his position if the Organians were being harmed but were also just...actually sheep. Like I guess I would say "well they have to have a reason.” And in fact they did--their bodies cannot be harmed, so they really don't care if the Klingons pretend to harm them. But I just can't comprehend people being like really honestly okay with that level of oppression, as opposed to too scared or too beaten down or too brainwashed to fight it, which is different.

...And from there we went into a discussion of curative v transformative fandom and yet more on what’s wrong with AOS sdfasfjsaldf it’s past 1 am I can’t be stopped BUT I SHOULD BE STOPPED.

[transcending-chaos]

I really enjoy your art and find your headcanons for the creatures both interesting and somehow fitting despite there not being a lot of information about them. But I am curious, do you have any headcanons for each tribe in general?

(I got this question a while ago; using it now because my hands hurt too much to draw right now. Thank you for your patience.)

UnderWorlders

Those that live in areas like UnderWorld City, the Lava Pond, or places where the air is largely filled with sulfur gas have less of a sense of smell and taste than most other UWs. Scent isn’t as viable in those regions because it’s largely masked by the gases that spout from the ground. However, because this means that those Creatures have stunted olfactory senses, this is why they typically spice the heck out of their food (and you can sort of smell it in the air once you get used to the sulfur). They can’t taste most things without it, especially sweet-things, so most of their cooking is often really strong -be it simple dishes, to feasts, to really hard alcohol. This lack of taste is especially true in the Creatures that breathe fire, as they have fewer nerves in their mouth and tongues as a whole due to the extreme temperatures their bodies have been made to withstand.

Related to that last point, it’s why their hygiene seems a little lacking in comparison to the other Tribes. While they can certainly feel grime, they don’t smell it as much, and besides, water is a very rare resource for them so they’re not going to waste it with superfluous bathing.

UnderWorlders are strangely possessive of their Humans. Though most don’t outwardly show it (because that broadcasts something that could be used against them), those that have ‘wards’ or connections to Players will absolutely destroy something in order to protect them. If given the opportunity, most UnderWorlders would leap at the chance to have someone study under them (kind of like how Grook did with Kaz), as training is usually a social behavior shared not only among students and teachers, but friendly sparing between family members is somewhat of a culturally sacred thing. However, most are aware that they’d likely kill a Player if this was attempted.

Von Bloot was never a respected leader; his army was made of conscripts and people forced into a situation where they had no other choice. That being said, most are also dissatisfied that Chaor took so long to do something about him, as well as the fact that he wasn’t the one who finally got Von Bloot in the end. There’s a bit of a power-vacuum in the southern UW after he’s gone. 

Some UnderWorlders would swear that they can feel Fire in a few Players. This is part of the reason Chaor has not outright wiped Tom from existence (the other part being that his human is too attached to him). 

Danians

Danians are surprisingly adept at playing music and making instruments. Because of their connection to each other, it’s easy for them to harmonize sounds together and create layered symphonies that are perfectly in time with one another. They specialize in percussion, be it stamping of the feet, steel drums, or humming to make a beat. Also, younger Danians have a tendency to chitter or hum without realizing it. It’s pretty common to find their designated part of the Hive thrumming with sound, even in the dead of night. It’s a calming noise for the soldiers who can’t sleep, as it sounds entirely of contentment, and those with insomnia have a small medical barracks next to it so that they can be lulled asleep.

While uncommon, some Danians crave physical affection. Most have a pretty steely demeanor, but those with softer sides are usually the ones you can find befriending Players. Their culture isn’t too big on affection as a whole, so when encountering Humans (who as a species are aggressively social), it was like striking gold. These Danians tend to favor younger Players, as they are commonly predisposed to protect those they know cannot help themselves. 

Most Battle-Masters have a (mostly) one-way connection to the Hive. They can send out orders, but it’s hard for them to receive messages unless it’s from the Queen or her personal entourage. This is because they often have to make choices that will end up costing lives, and they don’t have the sense of solidarity most other Danian classes do. While many Mandiblors will provide solace to one another because they feel the loss and rift that fallen left behind, Battle-Masters typically don’t. After all, who wants to mourn when you’re the reason that they’re gone? Instead, you need to focus on the next fight and prevent such a thing from happening again.

Needless to say, that last point is a huge contention between Muges in the Hive and the generals. One focusses mainly on how things are connected, while the other is fundamentally incapable of understanding it. 

They detest spiders. All of them. “Nothing holy would create something with that many eyes.”

Mipedians

Typically seen as the most wealthy of the Tribes, Mipedians are totally unmotivated by most commodities, but are very willing to trade for food. As they live in a literal desert, it’s hard for them to grow much of anything, even in the oasis areas. Cactuses are farmed in some places, but for the most part they rely solely on imports. The biggest provider is the OverWorld, and strangely enough, no matter how bad things get between the Tribes, this agreement is never threatened (Maxxor has never considered starving them, nor would he dare entertain the idea; he refuses to punish an entire nation because their leaders aren’t being reasonable) which is a contrast to how how the arrangements between the Mipedians and the other two Tribes. 

Wearing chimes is a very common practice among most ordinary citizens. Not only does the metal heat up nicely in the sun, but it’s a way for parents to hear where their kids are. Most families will have their chimes tuned to a certain chord. Markets and bazaars are not only an amazing experience for the eyes, as seeing glittering scales, silks, and fantastic wares, but also for the ears due to the pleasant clinking of jewelry.

Mipedians have community sunbathing sessions. Towns have them at different times and days from one another, but it’s usually the highlight of the week. Typically, it’s just after the highest point of sun in the sky until dusk (though officials and soldiers leave only after about an hour or two). After that there are campfires in the night and shared potluck styled banquets. It’s great for community morale, as well as a grounding measure for those working in their political structure to see their subjects as people and interact with them as such instead of just ‘subjects.’ If one’s in the desert at night and there’s no breeze, you might hear jovial laughter and smell food on the wind. 

This is also a way of helping guide lost travelers home. It has saved many poor wanderers of all Tribes, and is the one time outsiders won’t be taken into custody immediately. 

OverWorlders

They’re the only Tribe with multiple classes and schools of Muge: Naturalists, Hunes, Archivists, and war-Muges. Naturalists are typically those who rely on elemental abilities, study the connections of the natural world, and believe that everything has innate tethers to the Cothica (something that’s rejected by the other schools). Hunes are primarily scholars or political figures, often trying to find out the nature of Mugic itself, demystify it, as well as create their own sphere of influence in the public. Archivists are like Najarin, where they take a primarily historically and anthropological view of Mugic, the world, and how things have changed. War-Muges are just those who learn to cast in order to use it in battle.

They’re the only Tribe that has territory that has other sovereign nations within it. The Gherix, Zeorn, and a whole host of others all occupy pieces of land within the vast realm, and many have diplomats stationed in Kiru. Also, if the Frozen weren’t ever intended to be a Tribe, I think they were just a society of OW Creatures that lived up higher than Glacier Plains (however it seems like they were meant to be their own thing, but this is kind of what I default to when making AUs where there are other Tribes occupying the 6th and 7th spots).

The monarchy in the OverWorld isn’t a typical monarchy. When in times of war, the council will elect a monarch as a tie-breaking vote that can veto or agree to motions set before them by other groups. Maxxor didn’t get the position because of his father, and in fact, he’s a better politician and negotiator that his dad. His father was a better general and warrior though, and this is something older council members will use to needle him when unhappy with him. 

OverWorlders have a strange superstition when it comes to twins. Many see it as a single entity that was split in half because the whole was “too bright a light to burn on its own” meaning that it likely would have only led a brief life that, while prosperous and happy, would unravel rapidly and severely. Most consider twins a blessing because of this, as it’s seen as a way of sparing the family from having to bury a child earlier than expected. 

Most villages have ‘moon pendulums’, or a set of stones on chains that trace the orbit of the three moons over a huge pit of sand or gravel. It’s essentially a lunar calendar that helps them keep track of the holidays. Some have special stones of different colors or that glow in the dark, just as a way of making sure no one bumps into it at night. 

[ghoultyrant]

Grimdark Tau

I’ve long felt Tau were plenty grimdark without slapping in grimderp elements, running with just baseline components. No need for "gifting" mind control helmets to supposed allies, pheromones assuring Ethereal leadership, or mass sterilization of human colonists to make room for Tau colonists. These just draw attention away from the actual, existing grimdark.

Let's take a look at the other factions of Warhammer 40k, and their grimdarkness. Orks are grimdark because they are a plague of violence for its own sake, virtually impossible to eradicate and fully capable of overrunning the galaxy through sheer breeding advantage combined with intrinsic military advantages. Even with a concerted effort by everyone else to exterminate them, there's no way to be completely confident they're all gone, and so long as they exist peace is not on the table. Craftworld Eldar are grimdark because they are smarter than you, stronger than you, live longer than you, are outright super psychics that see the future, and are completely disinterested in your survival or well-being if you aren't Eldar. The Imperium is grimdark because they treat everyone and everything like garbage out of sheer necessity. The Inquisition isn't the ruling body squashing political dissension using the veil of religion. They're fighting a threat fundamentally dedicated to the eradication of anything resembling civilization, and the only viable way to do so involves brainwashing, social manipulation, and outright genocide of problematic population. In other words, being good requires monstrous behavior in the Imperium, and that's depressing/grimdark. Tyranids are grimdark because EVERYTHING ENDS IN TYRANIDS. EVERYTHING. Also, Genestealer cults that are virtually impossible to detect before they reach a substantially threatening stage and the only real solution is to kill the infected. No good answers and we're all doomed. Pretty straightforward grimdark. Dark Eldar are grimdark because they do all the awful things they do to stave off the destruction of their immortal souls. Well, most of the things. Partially they're just that twisted, but then again that grows out of the necessity of inflicting suffering for their own survival, which is going to tend to weed out any Dark Eldar that's squeamish because their soul will be eaten. Net result; there's a reason to feel kind of sorry for the monsters even as they torture you for giggles, which is all kinds of messed up. Grimdark: achieved. Oldcrons are grimdark because their goal is extermination of all life, everywhere, wrapped up in a shell of barely sensate beings reduced to "I have no mouth and I must scream" as the means to achieve this goal, all directed by immortal people-eating monsters harvesting us like cattle. Not because they have to to survive, but because we're more delicious than stars. That's depressing because it implies a missed opportunity for peaceful cooperation with vast beings of cosmic significance, and also because, again, there's an urge to feel sorry for the mass-murdering killbots even as they literally atomize you, and again, that's all kinds of messed up. (Newcrons are... not really all that grimdark, by comparison, but whatever)

Chaos, is, of course, Chaos, and has layers of grimdark built in. Every thinking creature's every thought and random feeling contributes to the Immaterium, but then the Immaterium pokes back and encourages patterns growing in it, leading to a snowball effect where incidents in history of violence and anger and so on have made the Immaterium an unhappy and scary place, which then promotes violence and anger and so on, feeding in on itself. To fight Chaos is to feed Chaos. If you join Chaos, you are driven onward by a constant, eternal fear for your immortal soul, fully aware that your life and the quality therein now hinges on the whims of the pitiless and random Gods of Chaos, whom may turn you into an I Must Scream slab of tortured flesh because you bore them, or because you failed them one too many times, or because they thought it would be funny, or because they were actually trying to give you a gift and said gift was too much for your mere mortal flesh to handle. Also, your "allies" in Chaos are only slightly less likely to try to kill you than the opposition is. This isn't even getting into how horrifying it must be to find yourself a part of Chaos while having an actual moral compass. Oh, and enlightenment is demons and so is liable to explode your head.

-----------

So, the Tau.

The Tau trip all the happy feelgood terms and images of goodness. They speak of "The Greater Good", prefer diplomatic appeals to military aggression, have clean looking technology, invest resources into improving the quality of life of their people, and glorify individuals helping the collective. They're nice guys driven to make the world a better place for everyone in it, right? Let's look at some of these bits a little closer. Greater Good is rendered as "Tau'Va." in the Tau language. One can infer that Tau therefore probably means either "Greater" or "Good", either of which is somewhat alarming. Human cultures largely name themselves "the people" if you translate their name for themselves, which is a pretty neutral statement. The Tau are either saying they are the definition of goodness or that they are greater... than anything that isn't them, presumably. Neither of these suggests the Tau view their allies as equal partners. Reinforcing this is that Tau diplomacy is not aiming for an alliance of equals. You serve the Tau Empire, or you die. Certainly, the Imperium gives anything sufficiently inhuman just the "you die" option, but the Tau are not asking if you want to fight alongside them against external third parties. They aren't NATO or some other compact between equals. Being integrated into the Tau Empire means being suborned to the Tau Empire. They will bring you into their Empire, they won't take "no" for an answer, your government will be leashed to their will, or they'll just kill you and ship Tau into the area you once lived. Your governor may remain a governor, but that doesn't mean your government has any real power.

Ethereals are the leadership caste. The underlying assumption of the Tau Empire is that everyone in it serves under Ethereals. This is unilaterally declaring Ethereals the only valid authority, no argument allowed. You're not Tau, you're never in charge. You are Tau, but not an Ethereal, you're not in charge. There is no equal representation at the highest authority levels: first and foremost Tau interests will be represented. Even if they have a principle of allowing everyone their foibles and building the world to work in harmony for everyone, the command decisions will still be skewed towards Tau interests, even if the Ethereals genuinely believe in equal treatment for all, with no possibility of cycling in non-Ethereal leadership to soften the bias. Naturally, Tau priorities will then be skewed toward Ethereal interests over the interests of other castes, for extra special bonus grimdark. The Tau loathe individual expression, and box you in based on your biology. They are fundamentally racist in a way that goes well beyond any possibility of practical motives, including forbidding crossbreeding of Tau Castes. This is basically eugenics, and not some idealized "let's weed out life-ruining defects!" eugenics, but the arbitrary, politically-minded kind that, among other points, contributes to keeping Ethereals the sole authority. A Fire/Ethereal crossbreed is not allowed: you can't marry your family into a position of power. Based on their treatment of their own and their treatment of their allies, it seems likely that once the Tau settle on what they think humans are ideally suited for, they are going to attempt to lock them into that role, no arguing or accommodation for people who don't fit this idea. All unusual occurrences in any given species or Caste will not be given due consideration for not physically fitting their standard role, because the Caste system is absolute. A Fire Caste Tau who is clever with her hands and intellectually good with machines will not work within Earth Caste factories or laboratories. She will be given a combat suit and a gun, and off to war she goes. The Tau’s Greater Good is a patriotic ideal, not a philosophical/moral one. The Greater Good starts from being defined as the members of the Tau Empire, not the galaxy's whole breadth of species. There is a component of real-world philosophy to their ideology, in that they see no point to unnecessary fighting and don't understand why other species will die to a man for no clear benefit, and similarly will more readily ally against greater threats than many of 40k's factions. However, mostly it is largely the same as the Imperium's fanatical devotion to the Emperor, only directed at the Tau Empire as a whole. This isn't "what benefits the most people by the largest amount?" This is "Whatever the Greater Good Tau Empire demands." That's an implicit mandate that the Tau Empire can do whatever it wants and be morally justified. That they happen to angle it more toward seeming nicer than the Imperium's mandate of "Whatever the Emperor wants" gets used for doesn't change the fact that it's the same level of fanatical zeal unchained by ethics or a real moral code. The Tau ethos of sacrifice for others goes a bit beyond glorifying the individual dying to save everyone else where no other option exists and ranges closer to Imperial Guard "everyone is expendable" military philosophy. The expectation is you will die for your Empire on a moment's notice, even if it is merely convenient rather than necessary. It never openly ranges into calculating how much your death will buy... but a refusal to explicitly admit to something doesn't mean it isn't happening. The Tau are grimdark because they are, in many ways, villains with good PR. Sure, they won't treat you like crap just because they can if you join their Empire, and in general they have a policy of decent quality of life for citizens. That doesn't mean they are utopian or even as "good" as the surface image suggests.

It's redundant and gratuitous to have shenanigans like the Tau Empire sterilizing human populations or "gifting" mind control helmets to prospective allies, and I’ve always been a bit surprised at how normal it is for 40k fans to feel the Tau are undermining 40k’s grimdarkness such that the creators feel the need to slap in this nonsense.

I suppose it’s appropriate in a meta sort of way that the Tau PR engine is so effective it works through the fourth wall...

[attacksoftheclones]

Why We Need to Appreciate Padmé Amidala

In spirit of #SWisagirlthingtoo making its way around Twitter, I thought now would be the perfect time to make a post I’ve been wanting to write for a while. Star Wars up until recently has not given much attention to its heroines, perhaps with the exception of the iconic Princess and General Leia Organa. It is incredibly sad that it has taken this long for the franchise to realise that characters such as Leia, Padmé and Rey (as well as the many animated heroines we have met such as Ahsoka and Hera) have been and will forever continue to be definitive factors in the way many girls have and will grow up.

When it comes to Star Wars, I loved Leia and I love Rey, but they are both not the heroine I connected with. I connected with former Queen and then Senator Padmé Amidala from the highly criticised (although increasingly less so) prequels and then again in the animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Any Padmé fan knows that loving her as a character most often means you’ll often be told that in the end she did ‘nothing but cry over Anakin’ or is in no way comparable to her daughter, you’ll find it frustrating that no reference is made to her at all following Episode III and you’ll know that she has little to no presence in merchandising even when you are more than willing to throw coins down Disney’s way for her.

But Padmé deserves to overcome all of the above. Padmé constantly has to battle against both what people expected her to be (arguably a Leia clone) and the often restrictive and limiting definitions of what makes a “strong female character”, especially in pop culture. Regardless, here is why Padmé is such an underappreciated and amazing character.

The Phantom Menace:

Padmé is elected queen at 14 years old, a competent and strong leader wise beyond her years. She was educated in public service from an early age, earning the trust of her people after serving as the Princess of Theed and becoming a junior senatorial adviser upon joining the team of Apprentice Legislators from the age of 8.

She is one of the first people to acknowledge and realise the failures of the Republic (“It is clear to me now that the Republic no longer functions”, “Wake up, Senators, you must wake up!”).

She is brave enough to take part in espionage missions in order to allow herself to take part in both negotiations and the action, as well as to keep herself safe.

When the time comes, she is brave enough to reveal herself as the queen even though it is not asked of her.

It is her idea to form the Gungan Alliance and to try retake Naboo herself. She is able to realise that a diplomatic solution is no longer plausible for her home planet and instead of sitting back and ordering action from the sidelines, she fights alongside her people and risks her life in doing so.

She delivers victory, bringing the two species of Naboo together and liberates her people.

Padmé served the full two terms allowed by Naboo’s laws but was so popular as a leader that her people wanted to amend the constitution in order to allow her to remain queen.

Attack of the Clones:

Padmé continues to serve her people as the representative of Naboo in the Galatic Senate, even as her life continues to be threatened and also after she watches her decoy (and friend) die.

Despite more threats to her safety, Padmé is selfless in going with Anakin to Tatooine to try and save his mother as well as wanting to help and rescue Obi-Wan.

Padmé is prepared to put her career first. She denies her feelings for Anakin right until she believes she is going to die on Geonosis and understandably realises that her career does not have to be the only satisfaction in her life. She accepts that she is entitled and allowed to love, even when Anakin does not share the same luxury.

She decides to become committed to hiding her relationship so that she can continue her duties for the Republic as well as attempting to ensure Anakin is not denied his life as a Jedi.

Her every action is not driven by her love for Anakin. She decides to go rescue Obi-Wan when Anakin argues against it and whilst Anakin and Obi-Wan bickered when chained up on Geonosis, she instead took the time to rescue herself and reach higher ground.

Padmé survived the Battle of Geonosis as a clever politician and as a blaster-weilding fighter whilst many other Jedi and trained clones died. She proves again that she can fight.

The Clone Wars:

Padmé essentially becomes a hero through her politics.

We see more of her in action in the Senate, particularly in the episode The Pursuit of Peace where she gives an unforgettable speech. “Who are we fighting for? My people, your people, all of our people. This war is meant to save them from suffering, not increase it. I support our brave soldiers whether they come from the clone factories or from any of the thousands of systems loyal to the Republic… It is our duty and our responsibility to preserve the lives of those around us.” The full version can be found on Youtube.

Padmé continues to be the target of further assassination attempts but continues to expand her power and influence nonetheless.

Padmé cleverly earns the attention of the galaxy’s most important players and is able to come to adaptable and sufficient compromises with them despite differences in beliefs and alliances.

Missions with Ahsoka!!

She again does not let her decisions be influenced or driven by Anakin. When Anakin does not want her to go on a mission he deems to dangerous in the episode Senate Spy, she replies “You’re not going to let me? It’s not your decision to make, it’s mine”. Padmé puts her duty to the Republic first, even when it bothers Anakin on multiple occasions.

She is brave enough to leave Anakin when he violently attacks Rush Clovis, whom she had been previously romantically linked with.

Revenge of the Sith:

Yes, many of her scenes where she is active in the early formations of the Rebel Alliance are cut and we will never forgive George Lucas 5eva. The original ending where she attempts to assassinate Anakin also would have been awesome. This movie is where Star Wars fails Padmé, but her role in it still can not be ignored.

Padmé is able to question the state of the Republic when many around her are too afraid to in fear of accepting what it may truly mean – “What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists and the Republic has become the very evil we’ve been fighting to destroy?”

She recognises that Palpatine has gained too much power in the Senate upon becoming Emperor and reorganising the Republic into the Empire, famously stating “so this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause”. This leads her to form the early stages of the Rebel Alliance that would ultimately become a deleted scene but should still be considered canon.

Once learning all that Anakin has done, Padmé states that he is “going down a path [she] can not follow”. She is not blinded by love and is able to see his actions for what they are and who he has now become. He ultimately destroyed everything she had worked so hard to preserve.

Whatever way you want to believe Padmé died, she went through unimaginable heartbreak and her emotions should not totally be criticised because her pain will never be understood by most. People also often fail to realise that Padmé’s fate is also that of the Republic. She was fated to die with it as she was symbolic of its spirit. I think it is fair to say that she was never destined to live past the birth of Luke and Leia (despite that one line from Leia in Return of the Jedi which can be argued for) as Vader would never have been fully committed to being Palpatine’s apprentice with Padmé around and her future would have had to have been reduced to one of hiding.

It is Padmé that instills the hope and kindness in Luke that allows him to refuse the dark side and resurface the last bit of humanity left in Anakin/Vader. Luke does not win over his father through combat or power but through embodying the eternal impression of light that his mother left on his father. Like his mother, Luke knows that fighting, or ‘aggressive negotiations’, will not always be the answer. A New Hope is ultimately a product of Padme’s legacy.

I know myself that I would not be the person I am today without my favourite female characters. Through female characters, as girls we can feel as though we have defeated great evils, overcome inner conflicts and sometimes even get to save the boys for a change. We might not be able to pick up a blaster or lightsaber in real life, but we learn it’s okay to take charge and that there is absolutely no reason we should feel ashamed for doing so. We learn that we can aim for and strive for any goal whilst also feeling confident and every bit capable to get the guy on the side if we wish to and that having such feelings should not be seen to diminish our strength in any way.

Padmé carried the weight of her gender throughout the entirety of the prequel trilogy and for that reason alone she was never going to please everyone. She was the new female lead and many hoped she would be a character who was along the lines of being Force sensitive or perhaps even a pilot like Rey. But Padmé’s strength was in being kind when she had every reason not to be and was a force to be reckoned with through her intelligence and diplomacy that helped preserve the security and stability of the Republic for as long as it was able to stand under Palpatine’s manipulative rule. She was the humanitarian the galaxy needed when it began to lose all humanity.

Many people who grew up watching the prequels first probably connect with Padmé more because they never tried to fit her into a mould or an already established idea. But I do hope that fans of any age can come to recognise that Padmé is as worthy of being centre stage in the Star Wars arena as any other female character and I truly hope Forces of Destiny can help bring that about. Of course we need more representation in the Star Wars universe and I will never deny that, but I am lucky enough that I did gain a character from Star Wars that I adore so much. I also appreciate that these female characters can be every bit important to male fans as they are to female fans and any male fan that is able to appreciate our heroines as equal to our heroes is helping fandom and pop culture take a step in a better direction than it has in the past.

[commenter2]

One Piece crew members ideas

I recently got back into the One Piece fandom and while reading the manga and watching the show I have heard rumors that there will be a new member of the Straw Hat crew and since there are only 2 spots left in the crew (Luffy said he wanted a crew of 10 plus himself) a lot of people have been theorizing on who it might be. Beware of spoilers

I thought I give my own thoughts on this and make a list of who could be the next member. In this list Ill describe who the person is, their powers/abilities, why they should join, what their title would be, and how they could become a member.

Ill start with possible female candidates, cause its most likely that the next member will be female.

Marguerite- An amazon from Amazon Lily. She was the first friend Luffy made on the island and later defended him when he was threatened by Boa Hancock. 

Since she is a amazon, she is a skilled fighter but it seems here main skill is archery, sure I know Usopp is the crew’s sniper but most of the crews uses short range fighting styles in combat, with a few examples of some weapons/skills some crew members uses, so I don’t see the downfall of having a female archer on the team.

Plus on a different note I once read an article saying that she was going to be the next member, but it seems that turned out to be false, however there is still time to make this true. If she were to join I could see her being some sort of bodyguard to her crew since she protected her main land for years or maybe some sort of trainee of sorts, learning how to be like the others in there fields ?

I could see her join after she, Boa Hancock and the Straw Hats get out of a big fight with someone and after seeing them fight, she decides she wants to join them and go on adventures and see the world of man.

Carrot- A rabbit mink the crew met on Zou, and as soon as she met the crew she liked them (after thinking they were evil).

She is a skilled fighter, having a lot of stamina making her extremely agile and fast being able to dodge Zoro’s sword. She is known to have powerful legs as well, buts thats expected since she is a rabbit. If that’s enough she uses an ability called electro, which is when she uses her body to channel electricity through it to attack people. She is also a good artist, which the crew doesn’t have, unless you count Usopp and Franky.

She would be a cool member to have cause not only is she is girl, which the crew has little of, she would count as a non human member of the crew which there is little of, plus she would be the first non devil fruit user to have a natural special ability that doesn’t involve technology. If she were to join I could see her having either the title of the crew’s scout or artist, but I see her being handy as a scout.

Its been theorize that she will indeed become a member of the straw hats and I agree giving the circumstances seen so far during her time with some of the members.

Boa Hancock- Now I know this is a stretch but its better to have her in then not. She is the current princess of Amazon Lily. At first she hated Luffy when she met him for the first time, but later grew fond of him, even falling in love with him.

Her main ability is that she uses the power of the Love Love fruit to make her enemies fall in love with her and then turn them into stone or get them to do whatever she wants. Besides this she is also were skilled in hand to hand combat as well as a good marksman.

Having her on the crew would be cool cause she would be the 3nd infamous person to be a member of Luffy’s crew plus there could be some interesting antics between her and the crew, especially Luffy. If she were to join I could see her being the crew’s informant, using her powers to get info form people to help her and the crew learn important info.

Sure this might never happen but I do have an idea of a story that could make this possible.

The story could be that after learning that she is in love with Monkey D. Luffy plus her going against the world government to many, the Marines come to her island to arrest her, with proper equipment to make it possible. Eventually the Straw Hats come and get her out of there, where she decides that since she will be hunted she will join them on there quest, plus be with her “husband”.

Now for the possible male candidates

Jinbe- A Fishman and former Shichibukai Luffy met at Impel Down who helped Luffy save Ace and in later events of the story, heck Luffy asked him to join his crew before but declined but said if they meet again he would join.

Since he is a Fishman he has extreme strength, and speed especially in water, as well as breathe in said water. He is a master of fish karate and has Haki. He can also control the water and talk to sea life.

He would be a big asset to the crew as he is able to fight in the ocean, which is good cause besides Brook and the submarine no other member of the crew can fight in or on the water as good as Jinbe, especially the ones with devil fruit powers, again besides Brook and the submarine. If he were to join I can see him being the crew’s oceanographer due to him living in the sea or a diplomat/negotiator since he is a good diplomat.

I could see him joining the crew either during a encounter with a villain and meeting up with the Straw Hats and after the fight, joins them after saying he would if they met again or after the Straw Hats return to Fishman Island, which was predicted by one of there psychics he joins them after a big ordeal

Aokiji- A former marine who is currently a enemy of the Straw Hats but over time seems to have soften a bit with them, though is still chasing them. However there is still a chance that he could want to join them in the future.

As a former marine he is extremely skilled in fighting, being able to dodge attacks from the strongest members of the Straw Hat crew and like every high marine has Haki. His main skill is that he has the power to control ice thanks to his logia devil fruit, so well he can use it to freeze seawater, making it hard to nullify his powers.

As a former marine he could be valuable to the team, using his knowledge to help the crew get out of situations involving the World Government. I said he would get the title of the team’s spy, using his abilities and skills to get info on things. Plus he could use his ice powers to freeze the ice so the crew, especially the devil fruit users can fight ON the water, plus the crew would then have all 3 devil fruit types at there disposal.

The following are just miscellaneous ideas I have for possible future crew members

A new character with  Logia Devil Fruit powers- I know I mentioned this in Aokiji’s profile but still. The crew has 3 Paramecia devil fruit users and 1 Zoan devil fruit user so having a crew member with a Logia devil power would be cool cause it would give the crew all 3 devil fruit types at there disposal.

A non Haki or Devil Fruit User- I know I put in a Logia user but I can see this working as well. See most of the Straw Hats have either Haki or a devil fruit power, at first these abilities were cool as it made the crew more powerful but after awhile, and seeing more and more people have either one of these abilities sometimes both, the thrill has kind of gotten bland. So I think having a character that doesn’t have either of these would be cool as it can show that the crew is still human in the end.

A magic user- The One Piece world is crazy with weird animals and sentient species like fish men and people with wings, fruit that gives people super powers, and how the nature in the grand line is extremely odd compared to other parts of the world, yet so far nothing magical has been seen on the show.

Given that the show is 65% done, there is still a chance for Oda to sneak in a magical element into the world of One Piece, and if he does this gives him the chance to add in magic users into the world. If this happen then one of the magic users should join the Straw Hats, being the crew’s magician. Plus having a magic user could be a good addition to the fights in the show.

  Another thing that I think could work is giving characters that, though not being a actual part of the crew, gains the title of a Straw Hat Pirate either helping the crew but cant leave or want to help but cant do it just yet.

This idea could work for a marine soldier for example. As the series progressed we saw how cruel the world government can be so I can see a marine who after seeing how bad the government can be, wanting to help the Straw Hats in some way and maybe after seeing this, Luffy makes him a secret member of the crew. He could be the crew’s spy and help them when dealing with the government by giving them information.

Who do you think will join the Straw Hats? Will Oda change his mind and have more then a total of 11 Straw Hats in the show?

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHY I'M SMARTER THAN LICENSE

The distribution of investors should mirror the distribution of startups, the qualities that come up in the supporting arguments are toughness, adaptability, determination. If you watch little kids playing sports, you notice that below a certain age they're afraid of the ball. They shouldn't take it so much to heart. Investors evaluate startups the way customers evaluate products, not the way bosses evaluate employees. So the question is not how to convert that wealth into money. One founder said the thing that surprised him most was The degree to which feigning certitude impressed investors. Where Amazon went over to the dark side was not in applying for the one-click patent would turn up in the first ten topics. I know. The surprise for me.

But the trouble with big problems can't be just that they will have competitors. The one thing he'll never do is stand still. But the second biggest startup hub in the US, and even though I've studied the subject for years, it would seem like the same company. A lot of the most valuable thing they've discovered. The buyer is going to love, and that's what they're doing, you'll be sued by multiple patent trolls who hope you'll pay them off to go away.1 A related problem since it tends to be underestimated. VCs are a different species of people from founders, it's hard to know what is meant by readability, and I predict it will become more common.2 It was simply a fad. Even in the rare cases where a clever hack makes your fortune, you probably spent too much. Having skill is valuable. You'll find more interesting things by looking at what people call ideas they disagree with besides untrue. Prolog: Programming is not enough like logic.

It's not just an airy intangible. In principle investors are all competing for the same reason Chicago investors are more conservative than Silicon Valley investors are noticeably more aggressive than Boston ones. And this, as you can with these rivals, but the curve is just as worthwhile to design a good language? This sounds like a phrase out of 1984. Do you have any opinions that you would have gotten me in big trouble. Of course, the main role of big companies' patent portfolios is to threaten anyone who attacks them with a counter-suit. I know are gradually switching to Macs. So for all practical purposes, there is still room for more.

Though I have to bother being diplomatic with a British audience. The mediocre ones might as well be from a venture investor's point of view, that there would soon be a computer with half a MIPS of processing power that would fit under an airline seat and cost so little that we could save enough to buy one from a summer job. It's harder to judge startups than most other things, because great startup ideas tend to seem wrong. To do good work, you were supposed to fight back, and the macro is itself ten lines of code every time you tie your shoelaces. But if the software were 100% finished and ready to launch at the push of a button, would they still be waiting? And yet a group has to be tuned just right.3 But it's a question anyone ambitious should face. If you're a hacker, it's good news that investors are so bad at judging startups. Or better still, the positive version: See randomness. But of course there was no rational basis for their decision.4 Which means to the extent we're correct, those are the only things you need at first.

Don't worry what people will say about them. We're more patient. He wanted to spend his time thinking about startups?5 Zealots will try to draw you out, but you can't safely reject an offer from B when it's still uncertain what A will decide. Be conservative. IBM insisted on an exclusive license for DOS? The Crucible, about the Salem witch trials?

One of the most successful startups seem to have history on their side. In the Q & A period after a recent talk, someone asked what made startups fail. The key to that mystery is to ask if they were good or not. But all it takes is that they're overconfident. Investors will probably find they do better when deprived of this crutch anyway. I've used both these excuses at one time or another. When I look at the history of computers, but as a trick for getting users to start talking to users, I guarantee you'll be surprised by what they tell you.

Notes

It's much easier to take care of one's family, or editions with the other. The mystery comes mostly from looking for initially is not to foo but to a degree in design is any better than his peers.

Many people feel confused and depressed in their social lives that didn't already exist. But which of them. The ramen in ramen profitable refers to instant ramen, which can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than a Web terminal. Though most VCs are only arrows on parts with unexpectedly sharp curves.

You could also degenerate from words to their situation. Few can have a taste for interesting ideas: whether you have to resort to in order to win.

He wrote If a conversation in which only a few fresh vegetables; experiment 3n cloves garlic n 12-oz cans white, kidney, or much energy would be worth it, because the rich. Roger Bannister is famous as the investment market becomes more efficient: the quality of the most important factor in deciding between success and failure, just that everyone's the same differentials exist to this day, thirty years later.

For example, the light bulb, the median tag is just visual spam. So if you're not doing anything with a few months later. Bankers continued to dress in jeans and a back seat to philology, which is all about big markets, why didn't the Industrial Revolution happen earlier? The problem in high school is rounding error compared to sheep.