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rinandsketches · 3 months

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Dragon warrior study

Spoilers ahead in case you don't wanna be spoiled for Kung fu panda 4.

Meet the new dragon warrior~ Zhen the fox.

And OOH boy does everyone have some sharp words for this idea. But I am here to have a look and share some of my theories on why Zhen was picked.

Quick opinion on the movie since it can't be helped. I really enjoyed it. True it didn't have much of the depth as the first two but it does have a lot of heart, the best description I heard, its this reason I enjoyed it more then the third movie.

Now that I successfully pissed some readers off we can continue. Cause I'm looking into the possibilities of why the dragon warriors have been odd selections, and why both tigress and tai lung weren't chosen to be the dragon warrior despite whether or not they were worthy of being this legendary warrior.

The main argument is in fact the next dragon warrior should be tigress and tai lung since they were cheated out of the title and that po just met Zhen for like eh, 3 days at most. But hey, I'mma tell those folks something. Po was also picked off the streets to be the dragon warrior and had to be trained by shifu in a small time. The choosing of Zhen was no different, only difference is that Po got to know Zhen before the choice.

That said, I wondered why is the dragon warrior such as difficult spot to gain? In the first movie we get info of the dragon warrior, a prophet warrior to protect the valley. Not one managed to claim the title. Not shifu, not tigress, and not tai lung. We're not sure if Oogwai was the first dragon warrior before po but it was the turtle who made the scroll and said it had the secret to becoming an unstoppable warrior.

Shifu had trained Tai lung to be the warrior but Oogwai denied him for having darkness in his heart, then chose Po despite the 5 skilled warrior. He was about to select Tigress before po landed in front but this is not the case. Oogwai felt Po's presence at the tournament, po was flying over the gate at the time when tigress was set to preform, this is why he stopped the tournament. You can see Tigress with a confused expression when he does this. Its cause she didn't even get started.

This is why I believe not even Tigress was meant to be the dragon warrior, but why? Why spend so many years waiting only to select some random panda? Why wasn't any other strong warrior selected. I believe the answer is very simple. What do we know of the dragon warrior? Tigress said this,

"It is said that the dragon warrior can spend months at a time eating nothing but the dew off of a single ginko leaf and the energy of the universe."

What? What kind of mad magic does that mean? Sure the kung fu is pretty exaggerated in the panda universe but even the most strongest warriors needed to have a little bit of food when not in mediation. Its also agreed that the dragon warrior is the strongest. And lastly, why is it called the dragon warrior to begin with?

Because the dragon warrior...was an actual dragon.

Meet the first dragon warrior

This is a character from the paws of destiny. I don't know how Canon the side projects are but in the series paws of destiny we meet Jindao the figure behind the legend. In the series its said that Jindao protected the valley of piece. In Kung fu panda there are only counted 3 dragons so far, 2 in the paws of destiny and 1 in the TV show. Two out of the three were evil. Can you guess which one was among those evil dragons? Yup, Jindao.

For whatever reason Jindao was corrupted by the hero's chi and got power hungry but it was clear that during his defeat Jindao was very powerful. The very ones who defeated him won but just barely. Despite wrong doings here we are, 1000 years later Oogway, yes he's that old, foresaw a hero taking the place of the dragon warrior and training with the hero's chi. Yet he didn't know who it would be.

With all the information laid out, let's see why Zhen and Po are the true animals to recieve the title. For Po, Oogway saw the balance of the universe in Po, his true successor. Po was perfect. Yet no one believed this and thought in order to be the dragon warrior, you needed to be a warrior. This is why Shifu trained tai lung and the 5 so harshly. Po isn't who you'd think would be perfect, borrowing information from Mat pat, he explained the dragon style of kung fu practices all 5 animal styles. (Correct me is I'm wrong) Po was a fanboy of all five so he was on his way to learning the dragon style of kung fu. Po was also very lax nature, had a free spirit and so much heart that Oogway knew Po wouldn't follow the same fate as Jindao.

Zhen, we finally get to Zhen, heh, is a grey fox. Originally a thief and an apprentice to "the chameleon~" someone you wouldn't guess would be the next dragon warrior. The animal that everyone things was picked too fast but again Po was selected in seconds compared to the 5. Their feelings of being jibbed was how audience felt. Shifu again selected more bigger, stronger and skilled warriors to be the dragon warrior. Not the furious five. They had their own stories going on. Po was unwilling to give up the title but I think those candidates would have been a terrible choice, cause the dragon warrior needs to also be humble enough to not fall to the allure of the hero chi. Sure, Zhen's a thief but is she a bad person? No, she isn't. She is a morally grey character next to a black and white one. I believe Zhen was chosen because she can have this understanding of the world. An understanding that some people aren't always who they seem to be. An open heart. This is what everyone else was missing. I'm not saying tigress didn't have heart, she does and I'm not saying tai lung didn't deserve to be the dragon warrior. But if all you needed was skill, you worked for it and you deserved it then by that same logic then Shifu should have been considered.

So why do I believe Zhen was chosen? I believe she was picked because she always had the heart, she has the potential to learn great kung fu, (notice how while she has some skill in combat she isn't probably trained, she then started being trained by the furious 5 and po. Remember the dragon style is the 5 animal styles into one), Zhen also defied someone already on the evil side. and I think po also had...a vision. If you recall Po was beginning to get visions just like Oogway when he foresaw Tai lung returning and the success Po would accomplish. Po had a vision of the chameleon's true plans of world domination. Perhaps Po also saw something similar to what Oogway saw in himself, that Zhen can accomplish great things as the dragon warrior. Someone to follow the steps of po instead of turning into another monster like Jindao.

But this is what I believe, why do you think Po was chosen? And don't write, the creators got lazy, but that count they could have gone. Oh, Monket is next dragon warrior. Movie done.

#kung fu panda #kungfupanda #po #zhen #opinion #theory #kung fu panda 4 #spoilers

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journey-to-the-attic · 5 months

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one thing i've noticed about obey me's story is that it generally delivers on big dramatic narrative moments, but often neglects the surrounding scenes and especially the fallout. there is of course, the oft-talked-about lesson 16, feat. mc's death that never gets brought up again, but then there's also s2's amnesia arc, which ends things with "mc has the ring so everything is completely fine forever"

om has a habit of doing this, where a realm-wide (or heck, universe-wide) problem is hand-waved away by the appearance of a convenient fix-it, which is usually either an object or just ~magic~ (magic as a plot device in om in general is handled poorly but that's a story for another day)

in some cases they just don't address the fallout at all. at least belphie talks about what he did in lesson 16 - but, see nb s2, wherein levi floods the entire devildom, submerging entire houses, and they don't bring it up again afterwards. as far as i remember too, belphie's mini-arc in this season wasn't really given room to breathe, either

but here's the main thing (spoilers for nb lessons 38 and 39)

i've just done these two lessons and in hindsight lucifer's mini-arc feels like a lot of missed potential

honestly they could have excluded diavolo entirely - his main purpose was to stall for time so that the brothers could show up. the moment where he kneels was cool (more on that moment later), but the way they've written him in means that the angels kinda. don't get to do anything? at all?

look - raphael has a gorgeous character moment at the end of 37 where he cries for the brothers' plight. like you don't understand this had so much potential!!! he didn't really do much in s1 (and might not have actually been himself??) so i was hoping this would be his chance to shine, but instead he's on the sidelines. simeon gets the most to do, and even then it's really not much. luke doesn't do anything, unless you count those blessings he and simeon give mc, but they don't really factor in at all??

what especially doesn't make sense about diavolo's role here is that lucifer turns on mc after they step in to protect him. this is meant to be a pay-off to diavolo's less savoury motivation for saving the brothers, revealed in his arc in nb s1, but all lucifer does is say it, get mad, then completely forgets about it once all is said and done

if that's all they were going to do with it, why bring it up at all? from a character standpoint, it makes more sense for mc to shield one of the angels - again, raphael this could've been your moment. (alternatively it could've been a call-back to the og s1 where mc shields luke in the underground tomb)

the appearance of the brothers was welcome, but at the same time i don't quite buy that they all got out of their respective predicaments completely fine. (also where did mephistopheles go??) lucifer also calms down very quickly, which is a great moment for the power of family, but at the same time i feel like he would've needed at least a few more dialogue boxes of him registering through his rage that his brothers were there. eh, this is more nitpicky than everything else

the brotherly moment was 10/10 though. love these guys <3

but i hated the final resolution so so much. sure, have god forgive him, whatever. but why would you end it all with a "papa loves you"???? if it had been raphael or simeon saying it, maybe i could get behind this as a symptom of the celestial realm's unhealthy society, but LUCIFER, whose greatest fear was revealed to be his father in s3 of the original story?

om has never made it seem like god's relationship with the angels was anything other than controlling and borderline abusive, and for some reason (if the poignant flashback is anything to go by) they've done a complete heel turn into "actually it's fine because he loves the angels". it could be read as representing how children often still cling to abusive/controlling parents, but i doubt it - especially coming from lucifer, who started a war and lost a sister in direct opposition to his father

and i get the whole deal with "lucifer was so beautiful as an angel" but it feels really disingenuous to the brothers' arc (about settling into the devildom and coming into their own as demons) to harp on about it. like, fuck that, have lucifer cast away the angel form, or at least have some pushback from him in the aftermath. have mc tell him "you're even more beautiful as a demon" or something

then in lesson 39 everything's back to normal. it's a very cute lesson and i had fun in the moment, but it feels off. there's no discussion of what happened, everyone's completely fine. there's got to be some psychological after-effects to all of that, no? for lucifer especially if not the brothers who got frozen as well???

though lucifer's dragon gift was very sweet. i can't stay mad at that old man

#i think a big issue is that om's juggling a lot of characters #even back when it was just the brothers they had trouble evenly distributing development and characterisation #(and beel's still constantly getting the short end of the stick)#nb is very good at delivering concepts but it's 50/50 whether they're executed well #am i being picky about this silly otome game? perhaps #but it's very much a character and story driven game so at the same time this is kinda the whole point #om is not badly written. otherwise i wouldn't have been stuck in the devildom for like 4 years now!!#but there are so many threads that could be so good #that the writers either miss or weave into the wrong knot entirely #obey me

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sammy-is-not-smiley · 2 years

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ok since you were looking for fic requests i have one for a robin x reader!!

reader is hoppers daughter. she dated jonathan for the entirety of freshman year. they broke up but it wasn’t bad. hopper keeps saying how good of a kid he was and how the reader should just get back with him. little does he know, she just wants to be with robin. so one day, she slips a confession note into robins trumpet case to meet her in the janitors closet after school. it goes well and they kiss a little ehe. maybe a part two or in the end she introduces robin as her girlfriend and hopper being confused but supportive 👀

Salty, Then Sweet

Robin Buckley x fem!reader

S4 SPOILER FREE

Summary: After going through the summer of 85' with Steve and Robin, you've had feelings develop for Robin. Now, after a sleepover with her, you suddenly felt the strong urge to confess your feelings. Could she love you too?

Word count: 5.1k

Warnings/tags: Underage drinking, language, PTSD, nightmares, nightmare scene, hurt/comfort, love confessions, Hopper is still in Hawkins after season 3, reader is hoppers daughter, gay kissy, timeline might feel off idk

A/N: I FINALLY FINISHED IT! The longest fic I've finished yet. This one was a lot of fun to write, I hope it's what you were imagining. I went a little off the request and then back to it lol

Butter sizzled in the frying pan, making you jump slightly out of your sleepy stupor. Your father had the heat up way too high on the stove again. He would tell you he liked how the burnt butter tasted, but you knew his pride was just a pill too big to swallow. You sighed heavily and rubbed your eyes, trying to listen to what your father was griping at you about this time.

“I'm just saying, he was a good kid to ya.”

Oh. Right. This again.

He sloppily cracked an egg on the stove and thumbed at the shell. “When you two dated he helped you keep a schedule. You were never too out too late, always got enough sleep,” He finally dumped the egg onto the hot skillet, “And your grades definitely saw better days with him.”

“Dad,” You groaned, resisting the urge to let your head drop to the table. “I’m pretty sure you liked Jonathan more than I did, but can we not talk about him now?... Not this early,” You finished under your breath. You hadn’t dated Jonathan Byers since freshman year. The end of junior year was just around the corner and somehow your father still pressured you any chance he got to get back with Jonathan. Your family had a past with his, sure, from small interactions to dealing with the supernatural. But your father's obsession with you getting back with Jonathan was starting to get annoying. You wouldn’t tell anyone this, but deep down you had never felt any attraction to Jonathan.

Your father sighed irritably, “Fine, fine. My point is you’re staying up way too late. You never used to come in here half asleep like this.” He gestured with his spatula and flipped the already overcooked egg. "I get you're young but sleep is important"

"I know."

"I don't even know what you would be staying up doing."

"Mm-hm."

"If this keeps up, though, I might have to take your radio or something-"

“You ever think maybe it’s because I have nightmares?” You suddenly snapped, startling you both.

His spatula froze a moment as if he was taking a second to buffer. His shoulders then sagged and he continued his cooking. You watched as he put fresh bacon, eggs, and toast on your plate then walked over and slid it in front of you. You stared intently at him, trying to gauge his feelings through his expression. It was no use, he rarely wore his emotions on his face. He put his own plate down across from you and allowed himself to fall into the chair. Neither of you touched your food.

After a bit, your father finally broke the silence. “I didn’t mean for you to get involved in my work,” He muttered, guilt present in his tone. “.... What kind of nightmares?"

You shrugged, gazing down at your eggs. The edges looked burnt, dripping with brown butter. “Those stupid monsters… and the Russians… Having to run for my life, watching Jonathan or Robin die in front of me even though they're still here… Stupid stuff.”

“Don’t call them stupid, they’re normal. You went through a lot… we all did.”

You nodded, thinking back to the events of the past summer.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

You gave a weak shrug, flicking your bacon with your finger.

“How long?”

“Since I first saw one of those things in Jonathan’s house.”

You had been with Nancy and Jonathan when they discovered what they would later call the Demogorgon. You were right there when it somehow entered their house and attempted an attack. Lights flashing and heart beating out of your chest. Ever since then, your nights had never been the same.

“Shit… (y/n) Hopper, you need to tell me these damn things,” Your father chastised sternly, however, you knew this was just how he got when he cared. “I need to know when things aren’t good.”

You smiled bitterly, grabbing your fork. “If I did, I’d start sounding like the boy who cried wolf.” With that, you shoved your breakfast into your mouth. Things hadn’t felt good for a long while.

Your father leaned back in his chair with a heavy, unsatisfied dad sigh, then began going at his breakfast as well.

As you both ate in silence, your mind still lingered on just a few months earlier. You wished things could have stayed the way they were. Working with Steve and Robin at the mall was one of the best things to happen to you… until it quickly descended into madness once again. Yes, you all managed to stay together despite being kidnapped by the Russian government, but that didn’t make the situation okay. Far from it actually. To add to your trauma from interdimensional monsters, you ended up facing federal agent-level torture. It was the first time you ever felt true terror from the presence of other human beings. It was the first time you ever got beat up and bloodied. But towards the end of it all… It was also the first time you realized exactly what it was you felt for Robin.

While you wanted anything but for Rob to get involved and be put at risk, you felt better knowing she knew the chaos you knew was lurking in Hawkins. You felt better knowing you could go to her about your nightmares, which you did. Quite often in fact. Before your father, she was the only one you ever told. She was the only one you ever called at 3 am. She was the only one you felt like would ever answer.

As soon as you were finished eating, you got up and got ready for school. It didn’t take you long, the sleepless nights slowly forced you to make your self-maintenance routine shorter and shorter.

School hadn’t felt the same since all of this had started either. Ever since Will had first gone missing, tasks that should have felt normal… didn’t anymore. The feeling always hit you at unexpected times too. While walking down the hallway at school, during dodgeball, while shopping for groceries. You hated how that was no longer your normal and how fighting monsters was. You knew nothing would be the same and a sense of mourning for the past would come over you every time you remembered that.

---------

Lazily you stared at the blank chalkboard, mind empty, waiting for class to start. Somehow you managed to get to first period on time today, probably because your father had drug you out of bed for the ‘proper breakfast’. You could still taste the burnt butter on your lips.

“Hey, hey,” An chipper voice pulled you from your gaze. Robin sat next to you, a pile of textbooks thumping on her desk. “You got here before me! You slept better I’m guessing? I mean you didn’t call like usual last night. I hoped that meant you were doing better.”

The night before had been rough. It was one of those nights where you couldn’t close your eyes without seeing one of those monsters blooming their face of teeth at you. You could have sworn you heard one gurgling outside your window at one point. Guilt had kept you from grabbing the phone and calling Robin though.

“Yep, slept through the night," You swiftly lied.

She beamed, but it faltered as she leaned in and inspected your face more closely. “You got something on your face,” Her hand came up and wiped at the corner of your mouth, then she wiped it on her pants. “All good. Guess it was some breakfast I hope?”

“Yeah,” You nodded, fighting a smile, “Dad made us both breakfast this morning.”

She beamed once again, this time remaining that way. “Nice! Slept through the night and got breakfast. Look at you, a babe, and with your life together.” She nudged you on the arm, both the compliment and her touch making butterflies rage in your stomach. All you could do is smile in return, even if it was founded on a lie. “Hey, tell you what,” She continued, “Why don’t you come to my house tonight for a sleepover? My parents will be out late on a date so we can have a movie night! We have popcorn and fuzzy blankets-- Oh there's this one blanket I’ve had since I was little that's SO SOFT. No matter how much we've washed it, it somehow stays that way. I'm pretty sure if I ever go to college I would take it with me-” And from there she rambled on, happy as ever. You loved the way her eyes lit up and how her hands went crazy when talking about the things she loved. You were pretty sure you didn’t even get to tell her 'yes' to the invitation to her house.

By the end of class, she gave you a time to be at her house, offering to have Steve pick you up for her. You agreed considering he was the only person out of the three of you with their own car. With plans solidified for that night, you parted ways down the hall, to your dismay. You wished you had more classes with her.

The rest of the day was a blur and suddenly you were zapped full of energy as if her touch gave you just enough power up to make it until the end of the school day. Another failed quiz didn’t even bring you down like it normally would. Before you knew it, you were getting off the school bus and running down your driveway to hurry up and pack your things.

----------

Steve was in a rush to get you to Robins as he was already late for his shift at yet another job. You knew his boss would give him shit about it, but bless him for still pulling through for you and Rob.

You had scrambled out of his car at your arrival, just as eager to get to Robin as he was to get to work.

Your heart jumped in your throat at the sight of her when she opened the front door. Rob was wearing the shortest pair of bottoms you had ever seen on her. You'd go as far as to say they were boy shorts a size too small. It was compensated with a large baggy t-shirt from band, hand cut into a short crop top and exposing her belly.

"Hey!" She paused a second and leaned out the door. "The whore didn't bother to walk you to the porch?"

You scoffed, using it as an excuse to pull your gaze and instead look to Steve's car turning out of the driveway. "Nah, he's too anxious to get to his new flirting grounds." You felt a tingle in your stomach when Robin smirked at your remark.

Although snickering with her, you were deflecting the situation with humor. You liked Steve, he was sweet and a big dummy, but deep down… you were jealous of him. Jealous of how close he and Robin seemed to be. They always emphasized their 'relationship' wasn't a relationship at all, they were just friends. Strictly and forever platonic. It didn't change the fact you wanted that same kind of closeness with Robin though…. And maybe even closer.

"Figures," Robin rolled her eyes. "Get in here, make yourself at home."

You did so, kicking your shoes off and dropping your overnight bag at the door. As soon as you were unencumbered, she jolted and tossed her hands up in excitement. "Oh!! Did I tell you what Steve was able to get for us?"

"No," You shook your head plainly, smiling at her animation. You loved when she did that, even if it was mentioning Steve.

She grabbed hold of your wrist and drug you to the kitchen. Getting into the fridge, she reached to the back and proudly held up a bottle of tequila.

"Robin…" You whined, "We still have school in the morning, you know."

"I know, I know," She put her hands up in defense, "We won't get drunk or anything, okay? Just a few shots to relax."

You shook your head in disbelief, taking the chilled bottle from her. "Never thought you, the band kid, would peer pressure me into drinking. I think you're spending too much time with Steve," You jested, inspecting the bottle. Although once again, there was truth in your statement, you would admit spending the night watching a movie and drinking felt like a good plan.

"What can I say, he's clingy," She shrugged and took the bottle from you to set on the counter.. "Also I didn't know what movie to get so I think we'll just have Breakfast Club on in the background again while we drink and snack and whatever the fuck else we want to."

You nodded fervently, convinced she had somehow read your mind. "Let me change first though, I need to be comfy."

"Sure, you know where the bathroom is."

Walking past the front door, you grabbed your bag and locked yourself in the bathroom out of habit.

Once you were changed, you couldn't help but stare at your choice of pajamas in the mirror, comparing them to hers. Should you have tried wearing something more revealing? Could you have worn a shirt that figured you better? You about slapped yourself for getting insecure over something as dumb as your pajamas. Quickly, you gathered your things and yanked open the door, the only thing on your mind being shots.

When you got back to the kitchen, Robin already had the limes cut and ready in a bowl.

"Let's get wasted… but not," She elbowed you teasingly and began to pop open the bottle. You stared at her hands as she worked the cork off, slender and calculated with a dash of clumsiness thrown in. Her nails were painted but scuffed and her rings gleamed slightly in the fluorescent light. It felt like forever before she got the bottle open.

Right as she was about to pour the liquid into shot glasses, you stopped her. "Can you… just give me the bottle?"

She froze, wide-eyed at you. "... You sure?"

You nodded. Although surprised at yourself, you were ready for the anxiety in the pit of your stomach to drown in alcohol.

Hesitantly, she handed you the bottle. As soon as your hand connected with the cold glass, you tossed it back in two swift swigs, treating it as if it were water. Your regret was prompt as soon as you swallowed, your eyes going wide and coughs bursting out uncontrollably.

"Take a lime, take a lime!" Robin laughed, shoving the bowl of limes at you.

You quickly brought one to your mouth, although you were pretty sure it was too late, the desperation on your face evident.

"Damn, (y/l/n), never took you for the type…" She gawked at you, mouth slightly agape. It wasn't often you left her genuinely in awe of your actions.

You wearily tried to smile, but it caused your face to twist into a lopsided grimace, making both of you split your sides in laughter.

"Alright, fair is fair," She mumbled, swiping the bottle from you and copying your actions. The result was entirely the same, just reversed. You were now the one laughing at her as you pushed the limes to her.

The night went on like this. Against your better judgment, you kept gulping straight from the bottle. In between swigs, you tucked the bowl of limes and the bottle in some pillows between you both on the living room floor along with the snacks. The mixture of alcohol, popcorn, and candy sat uncomfortably in your stomach, but it didn't matter. The way Robin laughed when she drank was priceless. It made the butterflies numb the slurry in your stomach. You wanted to hold on to these moments forever. By the time Robin finally took the bottle away from you and back to the kitchen, you both weren't quite drunk, but you definitely weren't sober.

Before you knew it the movie credits were rolling and Robin was checking her watch. "Damn, mom and dad are probably on their way home." She stood from the nest of pillows and blankets on the floor and lifted her arms to stretch. The movement revealed more of her torso, her sports bra peeking out ever so teasingly. You quickly looked away before she caught you staring up at her like a freak. Little did you know, she already had and smirked to herself, cheeks heating slightly.

"We gotta be in bed by the time they get here or they'll be pissed. Ya know, school night and all," She mocked goofily.

You cleaned the living room and kitchen together and managed to finish up just as a pair of headlights appeared in the driveway. You both dashed up the stairs, racing to the bedroom together prudently. The front door opened just as you closed her bedroom door, making you both giggle like a couple of middle schoolers. In all honesty, her parents wouldn't have been all that upset if you two were still up. But it was still fun to make a harmless game out of it.

When the lights went out, you fell into a night of sleep faster than you had in months. Although you were sure the alcohol helped, you felt the safest sleeping next to Robin in the bed. Knowing she was right there made all your worries fade into the background, barely seen or noticed.

----------

It's so cold.

"Keep running!" A voice screamed at you from behind.

Something galloped behind you in hard impending steps. It was getting closer… And it felt like it had been for a while.

You sprinted through the woods, terror powering every stride you took. You couldn't bring yourself to glance back, for fear you'd catch sight of the creature pursuing you and the other person with you.

Your head throbbed, blood pulling through your veins at an alarming rate. You didn't know where you were, which filled you with even more dread.

Branches and bushes clawed at your skin like fingernails, leaving burning scratches in their wake.

The creature behind you roared, the sound rumbling deep into your gut. An approaching doom that was so close, yet somehow it hadn't arrived yet.

Suddenly a scream ripped through the air and reverberated down your spine.

Skidding to a stop, you looked behind you for the first time. A stiff body lay on the ground as a demodog feasted on the ripped-open belly. Blood. Blood was everywhere. On the leaves, the body, the demodog's face, your shoes, the trees… everything suddenly now sheened with fresh blood.

You watched helplessly as the limp body began to slowly turn its head to you and you fell to your knees in anguish.

Robin.

Robin was being eaten alive.

"Please…" She pleaded in a broken sob, however, her face showed no emotion as if she had already passed on.

You felt yourself breaking down on the inside, tears freely streaming down your face. Why didn't you reach for her behind you? Why did you leave her instead of running side by side? This was your fault. You were the reason for her suffering. You lost her because of your own selfishness.

"I'm sorry," You tried to cry out to her, but the words wouldn't form. Your throat felt like it was closing up. It stung and the breath was stolen from your lungs.

"Please…" She croaked again, blood beginning to leak from her eyes resembling the cruel form of tears. "(Y/n)..." Your name echoed from her in barely a whisper.

Your weeping was uncontrolled now and you attempted lamely to crawl to Robin’s aide.

The demodog suddenly stopped and trained its attention onto you. Although it had no eyes, you could have sworn it was looking into your very soul. Like it knew your guilt.

It gurgled and chittered menacingly, blood oozing from its odd lips in thick, viscous drips. It stepped over Robins's body, stopping and standing over her as if she were its property.

Its mouth blossomed wide in rows of teeth, Robins's flesh and blood splattering forward to the ground. A roar bellowed deep from within it, making the trees around you tremble in some sort of earthquake.

"(Y/n), please!!" Robin's voice screamed out at you. "Please, wake up!!"

The demodog lunged forward at you at terrifying speed.

"Wake up!!"

You awoke with a violent jolt, nearly tumbling off the side of the mattress you were on. Your eyes were suddenly no longer closed but wide open, darting around you for any sign of danger. Before you could get up from the bed and try to run, as was usually your first inclination after a nightmare, you felt the pressure of someone sitting on top of you at the waist. A pair of warm hands caressed your face at the sides, forcing you to look straight up at who had pinned you down.

Robins horrified but compassionate face looked down at you, her shoulders heaving in breaths as quick as yours.

"Oh thank God you're awake," She muttered, swiping your cheek with her thumb. It was cold and wet. Tears. "You started sobbing in your sleep."

The fear subsided slightly and the emotions came flooding in full force. It was all a nightmare… None of it had been real. "Oh god," You choked out, bringing your trembling hands up to her wrists. "Rob, th- that was… The worst one. That was the worst yet," You couldn't hold anything back, you couldn't stop the tears from flowing. She was okay. She wasn't dead because of you.

"Shit," She let out in a breath, then leaned down, pressing her body weight completely onto you in a type of hug.

You wrapped her in your arms and squeezed, both relieved she was okay and terrified of thinking of ever losing her. You tucked your nose into her shoulder, sobs racking your body in brutal tremors. She was so warm.

"I’m right here… I’m here…I thought they were getting better," She said nearly in a whisper. You felt her slide her hand to the back of your head and begin stroking it soothingly with her fingertips.

"They never were," You confessed in messy uneven breaths.

And that's where she left it. She didn't say another word to you that night, but you didn't need her to. The fact that she stayed there, pressing herself to you like a weighted blanket was enough. The pattern of her breathing was enough, the clean smell of her shirt was enough, the way her hair tickled your face was enough. Under her, you slowly could distance yourself from the images of the nightmare and you felt safer and safer. Only that way were you able to finally calm down and gradually let yourself fall into another slumber, tears still wet on your face.

----------

Beep beep beep beep

Robin's morning alarm… Right. You both still had school.

Your heavy eyes broke open to meet Robin's sleeping face mere inches from yours. Although no longer on top of you, she still had you pulled to her body by the waist, legs in a tangled mess.

You leaned over and hit snooze on her alarm clock, thankful Rob was one of the heaviest sleepers you had ever met.

The pillow cradled your head again and you lay there, staring at her lovingly. You watched her eyes lightly flutter in her sleep, her eyelashes thick and perfect. Her hair was an absolute bird's nest and it made you snicker to yourself. Then the events of the night before surfaced in your mind.

You had woken her up with your nightmare. God, it must have been really bad to have woken her up. Shame hollowed into a pit in your stomach and you pulled away from her touch.

You weren't sure how much longer you could take this. The nightmares weren't the only thing that had been eating you up inside for months. Every day your chest ached over Robin. Every day you wondered if today would be the day you would say something. It never was, but it was getting harder to keep it that way.

You loved her… and you wondered if maybe she could love you too.

After the night before, feeling her intimate touch when you were at your worst… hearing her lovely voice in your ear to ground you again… you knew you couldn't keep how you felt a secret anymore. Something had to be done. That felt like the breaking point.

You untangled your legs from hers and got up to begin getting ready for the school day. You were going to let Robin sleep a little longer, considering you kept her up the night before. The only thing keeping you going that morning was the fact that you could walk to first period together.

----------

Your bedroom door creaked open behind you and was paired with a quiet knock. "Hey, kid, how was Robins the other night?" Your father asked.

You paused your writing at your desk and didn't turn to look at him. "Good."

"Good, good… Sorry I had to work so late last night." It was quiet for a moment. "You… have any nightmares at her place?"

"No," You lied.

"Oh… really?"

“Really,” You nodded. Only then you turned to look at him. "She makes me feel safe, dad." You weren't going to try and hide everything from him…. Considering you were going to hide the note you were writing from him, you had to let some truth slip. Half-truths were going to have to be the compromise to keep your conscience quiet.

Your father simply nodded back at you, then told you he was heading out for work early that morning. You weren’t convinced he was fully appeased with your conversation with him, but you had other things on your mind to think about.

After his leave, you continued your writing.

Your hand ached as you wrote everything in a note. When the feelings started, the jealousy of Steve, the fear you had deep down that the feelings could ruin your friendship with her, her presence in the nightmares, your nightmare at her house, all of it. Nothing was held back. Once it was all written out and physically there in front of you… It scared you. But you weren't going to let that dampen the determination you felt to get this over with.

You asked her at the end to meet you in the alleyway next to the running track as soon as she was done with band practice. Once she knew everything, you needed to talk to her face to face. It felt like the final battle. The most telling moment.

After that, you let your pencil hover over the bottom line, hesitating to sign the note. In the end, you decided the leave it unsigned. All you could imagine was the worst-case scenario. The look of disgust Robin could have when she read it. You trusted she would know it was you based on the context and that she wouldn’t spread rumors. But if someone else were to find the note, you didn't want it to be traced back to you. This information had the potential to ruin the rest of high school for you both.

Tentatively, you folded the note and slid it into an envelope, sealing it with an ice cream cone sticker. It felt fitting.

Checking the time once you were done, you grabbed your things and went out to wait for the bus.

----------

At the end of the school day, you snuck into Robins's band practice in the gym, scouring for her trumpet case. You recognized it immediately and quickly slipped the note into it, heart beating loudly in your ears.

As quietly as you snuck in, you snuck out and made your way outside to the alleyway. You pressed your back to the cold brick and slid down, picking at your nails anxiously for her arrival.

You hoped the band director wouldn’t keep them long that day. The last thing you needed was to be sitting out there until dark or something. You missed the bus for this, so walking home in the cold at night was definitely a possibility. Sure, you could call your father, whether at the police station or at home depending on the time, but you knew he would drill you with questions as to why you were at school so late. You didn’t have the mental energy for an interrogation like that.

Before long, you heard the gravel crunching under the steps of someone approaching to your left. Too nervous to look, you kept your eyes trained on your hands in front of you. Behind them, a pair of beat-up red converse came to a stop. The person wearing them didn’t say anything, but you knew exactly who it was. Sheepishly, you raised your eyes up to meet Robin’s staring down at you. She offered a sympathetic smile and lifted the piece of paper with your handwriting on it. However, she didn’t say a word.

You raised your brow at her. “What do you want me to say?”

“Can you stand up?”

A sigh pushed out of you and begrudgingly you stood from the ground to face her. You hugged yourself, telling yourself it was because of the cold.

Robin shifted the paper in her hands and looked down at it, her expression unreadable. She was quiet, and that was out of the norm.

“I meant all of it,” You vacillated quietly, the silence between you both feeling too tense.

She nodded. “I know…” She looked up at you, eyes softening. “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course-” You were cut off by her body crashing into yours, pushing you against the brick, and her lips meeting yours. For a moment you went wide-eyed, but it didn’t take long for you to close your eyes and melt into the kiss. You felt like you were spinning as her lips fitted perfectly to yours, dancing together in a choreography that only you two knew. Her hands snaked around your waist, the letter falling to your feet and your hands found themselves weaving into her hair, pulling her face to yours as if you two could get any closer.

She was the first to pull away, warm breaths tickling your cold face. If your cheeks hadn’t been rosy before, they definitely were now.

“Did that make sense?” She whispered after a moment, a worried smile growing on her face.

You smiled back and put your forehead to hers as you cradled her cheeks. “Absolutely,” You giggled. “And I loved every word.”

#robin buckley #robin buckley x reader #robin buckley x fem!reader #robin buckley x you #robin buckley x y/n #robin buckley x female reader #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #stranger things robin buckley #robin stranger things #robin buckley fanfiction #robin buckley hurt/comfort #robin buckley fic #request #hoppers daughter #reader is hoppers daughter #stranger things x reader

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harudnae · 1 year

Text

Roger Pirates Week - Day 7 - Free Day

@rogerpirateswk is coming to an end !

And since today is a free day, today's theme will be : underrated characters with too few panels and screentime !

I came up with this while re-reading the Reverse Mountain arc and... I've been wondering for a while who was chatting with Crocus on the cover of Chapter 631 😏

Also posted on AO3 on 2023.01.29

Rating: General

Pairing: none

Summary: Crocus observes – and laughs, and cries, and finds hope again – as a young rookie pirate rises to the top.

Content warnings : POV Crocus from Reverse Mountain to Wano, heavy spoilers for end of Wano Arc, canon character death (not depicted), heavy feels, hopeful ending

Word count: 2.3k

📰 Waiting for the News Coo

Crocus thinks Luffy and his crew are a bunch of reckless young fools when he first sees them. Still, after they chase the annoying whalers away, he explains why Laboon is hurting himself, and why he still takes care of the mountain whale, after all those decades.

Then... Luffy plants his own ship's mast into Laboon's head.

Crocus sees red when the young pirate attacks, then stares in disbelief as he quickly declares their match a draw, saying that they'll need a rematch later to settle who's the strongest.

Why does this sound like Roger and Newgate's friendly rivalry ?

As Luffy promises to come back soon, giving Laboon hope and a reason to avoid hitting the Red Line and hurting himself, Crocus smiles, feeling strangely at ease now with the young crew around. Full of gratitude, he tells their navigator how to use a Log Pose, and that all possible routes starting at Twin Cape converge into one. He purposefully avoids going into detail but he mentions that Laugh Tale is the last island of the Grand Line, the one where only the crew of the Pirate King went to.

Luffy declares with absolute certainty that he'll go there.

That determination, that smile... I'm sure there's more to it. Could it be...?

After the cook inadvertently destroys the Log Pose the small crew has in their possession, Crocus gives them his own one as thanks for helping Laboon. Once the Log Pose is set towards Whiskey Peak, he asks them if they're really fine with going there to get the stray whalers home, since there are so many paths to the end of the Grand Line and there's no way to change course once they're set.

Luffy easily dismisses the issue. "If we don't like it, we'll just sail around again."

I don't know many people who sailed around the world and came back to talk about it. This kid's something, really.

As the Straw Hats leave he wonders aloud, "Could that bunch be the pirates we've been waiting for all this time ? That boy has a strange air about him... Eh, Roger ?" Later on, it occurs to him that the straw hat that Luffy is wearing could be the one Shanks used to have...

That would be interesting. And he's a D., with a familiar name too... I'll keep reading the News Coo in case he goes big someday.

The newspaper recount the tales of a few rookies that chose different routes at the beginning of the Grand Line, rising to fame over the next months and earning the collective nickname of Worst Generation.

And Luffy does go big indeed : in less than a year his bounty rises tenfold, he declares war against World Government and destroys Enies Lobby.

One day, Laboon starts calling again, but this time he's turned towards the Grand Line and not Reserve Mountain. He also seems happier somehow, to the doctor's utmost relief.

Luffy keeps making regular appearances on the front page of the News Coo relating his outrageous feats.

Crocus laughs his heart out when he learns that he punched a Celestial Dragon, he knew the kid had guts but this is something else !

Only someone with willpower – and lack of self-preservation – like Roger's could have pulled that out.

His only worry is that the Straw Hat crew apparently went missing shortly afterwards.

Not so long after, the newspaper announces about the upcoming execution of Whitebeard's Second Division Commander.

Crocus always found strange that the old man left the position vacant for so long after Oden's departure from his crew, only to fill it with a young rookie.

He must have had some good reason for it.

Now the kid – Crocus supposes he's not much older than Luffy – is going to be executed in Marineford.

What is Sengoku thinking ? He knows Whitebeard won't let that slide.

Then a special issue of the News Coo explains in detail what happened at the Summit War of Marineford.

Crocus is beyond amazed that Luffy managed to break into Marineford – a feat he know for certain only Shiki managed to pull out before, and he was among the greatest pirates back in the days. He frowns as he reads the revelations on his family tree. Recalling one too many altercations between the Hero of the Marine and the Pirate King, he starts pondering whether it's a coincidence that so many people of the D. are powerfully troublesome, even when they're not blood-related.

So they're sworn brothers... I wonder how they met ?

As the article goes on he learns of Whitebeard's death, and sheds a few tears for Roger's greatest rival. And then a sudden nausea churns his gut as he learns Ace's birth name.

Roger... had a son ? How ? Why... ?

He rushes to the end of the cape and hurls.

He recalls clear as day Roger mentioning that his son would find the One Piece, Rayleigh swatting his hand at him retorting that he didn't even have one, only to be told that he'd have one in the future. He remembers Roger telling them he was going to visit Newgate one last time. He recalls wondering why the kid held Oden's role after almost two decades that the Second Division went without a leader, and...

Everything falls into place all at once, and Crocus is sick to the bone that he understood too late. He retches again, angry and full of grief just like the day Roger sent the world into the Great Age of Pirates, and when his stomach is finally empty he wails at the sky.

The next special issue tells him that Luffy went back to Marineford to sound the Ox Bell, accompanied by a former Shichibukai and... Rayleigh !?

Crocus blinks at the picture in disbelief. He knows the significance of the bell, and the kid had the balls to ring it sixteen times...

Now I almost regret giving them my Log Pose. I wish I could pay a visit to Rayleigh... What in the name of fuck is going on ?

Unfortunately, nobody hears about Luffy or any of his crew for a long while.

Two years have passed since the Summit War, and Crocus is bored out of his skull. He was angry and sad when Sakazuki was appointed Fleet Admiral after Sengoku retired, happy to learn that Buggy rose to fame and became a Shichibukai, and then nothing eventful happened save for the occasional story of someone from the Worst Generation wreaking havoc somewhere. One or the other... but never the one he rooted for. He really hoped that Luffy would prove to be a formidable pirate, and he's kind of missing the front page articles about him. Crocus is growing concerned that Laboon will have his heart broken and hope shattered again if the straw-hatted rookie doesn't come back...

"Oi ! Crocus !"

The old doctor turns his head around, and frowns at the newcomer. He doesn't recognize them, though they seem to hail from Wano with the striped kimono they wear. They're not tall enough to be Oden, to his disappointment, but the unusual sight still piques his curiosity. When the visitor tilts his hat to reveal his face, the doctor's gaze lightens up in recognition and he widely grins. "Ah, Gaban ! Long time no see !!"

His former crewmate pulls a News Coo out of a sleeve and waves it high in the air. "You've got to read this ! And I've got juicy news, too..."

Crocus frowns, but welcomes Gaban nonetheless, intrigued by his words. As he approaches, the doctor remarks, "How many years has it been ? All your hair has gone white."

Gaban smirks and jabs back, "Shut up ! At least I still have more hair left than you."

"That's fair !" Crocus laughs. "Come here, I'll grab a drink", he tells him as he motions for the other to sit. Once back with a bottle and a couple of cups, he sits down and eagerly grabs the newspaper that Gaban hands him.

Gaban pours them drinks, suspiciously silent.

The Straw Hat crew has returned, says the headline.

Crocus feels a wide smile curving his lips. "Ooh, so you've been keeping tabs on them, too ?", he asks Gaban as he reads the rest of the front page, learning that they've all safely reunited in Sabaody Archipelago and left for Fish-Man Island after sending the groves into an uproar. As he reads a quick summary of the whole crew's bounties, tears well up in his eyes. "Oh, Laboon..." He turns to the whale proudly wearing a straw-hatted jolly roger on his head, untouched ever since Luffy came here. Tears stream down Crocus's face but hope fills his lungs as he says, "Laboon, look, it's incredible !!" He holds the newspaper out, pointing at the last bounty on the list. "That's Brook, he's in Luffy's crew now ! I'm so glad to know he's still alive !"

Laboon happily sings.

Crocus turns back to Gaban, roughly wipes his tears away and grabs his now full cup, holds it out to toast with his nakama. "To the new era, eh ?"

"Yup", Gaban smiles wide as he clinks his cup against the doctor's.

"Have you met the kid ? How did you know I'd be interested in his return ?"

Gaban laughs. "Ah, I told you I had juicy news ! It's been a while since I last saw you, so I'll tell you everything."

"By any means, please, do."

"So. I suppose you met Luffy when he went through there, right ?"

Crocus nods.

"He got his first bounty before then, after defeating three of the most wanted pirates in East Blue, including... Buggy."

Crocus snorts a laugh. "So that's why Buggy was so pissed when I saw him here last. Still, that's pretty impressive for a rookie, Luffy was already that good even then ?"

"Yeah, apparently. At least that's what I gathered when I met Buggy after the war. I managed to convince him to drop the chase after the kid, because of his new position as a Shichibukai... You know how Buggy always wanted all the gold and jewels ? Didn't change one bit."

"Oh, well... He might not be a kid anymore, but deep down he's still the same."

"Still pretending that Shanks pisses him off for one or the other reason, too", Gaban chuckles.

"Oh ! Speaking of which, I've been wondering-"

"Yeah, Luffy's straw hat was his."

"I could have sworn..." Crocus sighs. "What's with that kid, anyway ?"

Gaban shrugs. "Ask Rayleigh. I went to Sabaody not long ago and learned through Shakky that after the war he trained Luffy, then went back to the Archipelago to coat their ship before their upcoming return. Oh, and said ship was built by one of Tom's apprentices, no less."

"Oh, is that so ? Well, fate works in mysterious ways... I'm glad I gave them my Log Pose, then."

"Do you know where they're headed ?"

"Laugh Tale."

Gaban opens wide eyes, glasses slightly slipping down his nose. "Ooh. Of course Rayleigh would want to train him, then. Do you think he's the one ?"

"Maybe. But there's still lots to do before then." Crocus squints. "Wano is still a closed country, as far as I know..."

"Hm, yeah. I wanted to pay Oden a visit, but..." He heavily sighs as he tilts his woven hat to obscure his face.

Crocus tilts his head to the side, heart suddenly tight as he tries to meet Gaban's gaze.

Gaban brings a hand to his face, roughly wiping a few tears. "I learned when I went there that Kaidou was ruling the land now. Oden's been executed years ago. I don't even know if Toki and the kids are still alive... so I'm not quite sure about the promise he made to open up the borders."

Crocus turns to stare at the sea. "What about the Minks ?"

"I could never get back to Zou without the Vivre Card. I have no idea... But you're right, there's still hope they'll be there."

Turning back to Gaban, Crocus smiles again. "If the kid has Roger's crazy luck, he'll run into them just like he ran into Shanks, Buggy and Rayleigh."

Gaban laughs. "True that. He did meet you, too. Let's hope he does, then."

"You know", Crocus points at Laboon behind him, "Luffy made a promise to come back here and settle a fight with Laboon once he'd traveled to Laugh Tale."

"Ooh ? Taking over the Rumbar Pirates' promise ?"

"Yeah, and Brook wasn't even with them back then. That kid's got a pure heart."

"That's good. He can't be the one otherwise", Gaban winks.

"Right", Crocus laughs.

"I should go back there and wait for them... A new crew that promises to shake the world, eh ? I'm eager to see that."

"So am I."

In the next week, yet another issue of the newspaper brings Crocus a new hope.

Luffy entered an alliance with another rookie from the Worst Generation, defeated a Shichibukai, not just anyone either – Crocus shakes a shudder away as he recalls the names of the founding families of World Government – and, while one of the Marine Admirals publicly apologized for the situation in Dressrosa, apparently the infamous rookie gathered a whole armada of underlings ready to fight alongside him if need be.

Crocus grins wide. "Ooh. He's really aiming for the top."

Within the following month, Linlin and Kaidou are defeated, Wano Country is free and led by a new shogun who looks awfully familiar... And Luffy looks happier than ever, now that's he's been granted the same title than Shanks and Buggy.

Crocus's smile widens, mirroring the one he discovers on Luffy's new wanted poster. "I'll be damned if he isn't Joy Boy." Crocus closes his eyes, throat suddenly tight, and exhales a shaky breath. "Oh, Roger, I wish you could see him..." He opens his eyes again and turns to Laboon with tears blurring his vision and a wide range of emotions bubbling in his chest. "Say, Laboon, everyone's dreams seems to converge this time... I can't wait for Luffy to reach Laugh Tale."

The mountain whale happily sings.

Additional A/N

Maybe it's just me being a simp, but Gaban was first seen in Chapter 19, he's seen leading the fight against the Whitebeard Pirates along with Rayleigh, so it's been established that he's not just a random guy in that crew... and I hc he's their navigator since we saw him steering the Oro Jackson and he calculated Laugh Tale's location. Also has anyone else noticed that the Oro Jackson is the one and only ship that didn't capsize upon arrival in Wano ? I mean come on, the Sunny and even the Moby Dick suffered damage, right ?

Here's a thought : if Rayleigh's still able to swim through the Calm Belt these days, why wouldn't Gaban be able to travel to Wano and then come back, even all by himself ?

Last but not least... Luffy managed to meet a lot of former Roger Pirates, so I really wish Gaban will show up soon 😁🤞

#one piece #op fic #crocus #luffy #laboon #gaban #roger pirates #nae's writing #RogerPiratesWK2023 #weeee that's it for my contributions!#it was a nice ride 😌👌

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