#dress rosa arc

[aucupariaart]

We just ignore that Trebol should be here. In this AU, he isn't. And sorry it took so long. There was a lot of other stuff going on. The next part could also take some time since I have to prepare something for Corazon's birthday.

Part 9

Part 10 (you are here)

Part 11

[spooptythegnome]

I'm in the middle of the Dress Rosa arc where Robin and Ussop got captured by the little fairy/dwarf fellas on Green Bit and Robin is like "where's my den den mushi?" and they say "We freed it!" 😄 and it's just got all the mechanical parts stripped off and it looks so happy... honestly did not expect one of the most compelling aspects of this series to be the moral implications of psionically-linked snail-based telecommunications technology.

[mp3playerheadphones]

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

I drew Delli with pink hair just for fun, and it suits him huh

[mintglacier]

One piece is so fucking good actually 😭😭😭

[diminuel]

I'm mostly through the Dress Rosa arc in the Anime and I cope by defying canon. Get revived, idiot ♥

[annymation]

Kingdom of Wishes- A "Wish" Rewrite AUs

AUs are Alternate Universes, new ways to look at how a story could've gone if a few things were slightly different, it's a fun writing exercise to take your story and change it up a bit to see how the characters would react to these changes.

So I did that with my wish rewrite, and I came up with some pretty fun scenarios.

(Warning: that’s a lie, some scenarios here are not fun at all)

So let's begin:

Asha the Star & Aster the Human

That's exactly what it sounds like, Asha and Aster switch places!

In this scenario, Aster is an orphan whose mother was a musician, that's right, musician, not an artist

His grandfather used to say his mother could sing so beautifully and write songs so engaging that people could see whole stories form in their heads, she inspired people to imagine whole new worlds

That was Aster's dream, to write beautiful melodies, sing a song that could inspire people, see beyond reality

So same things that happened with Asha happen to him, he defies the royals (Who also change in this AU, we have Amaya as a queen regnant, so she's above in power than Magnifico, she being the one who has blue blood while he got married in, and their personalities switch. To me that's the funniest thing, like can you imagine Amaya as the drama queen that get's the whole spotlight and has anger outbursts sometimes like the Red Queen and Maleficent? While Mag is in the background just being calm, mysterious and I guess having a fatherly persona? What a twisted vision)

Anyway so they take Aster's wish, change it up yada yada yada Aster goes to make a wish upon a star and we get Star Asha babeeeyyy

Now design wise, Aster as a human would have brown hair, while Asha, as all wishing stars, would have blonde hair, with this hair style

Loooooong blonde braids that flow in the air constantly like Princess Celestia hair from MLP, and speaking of princess, yeah, she dresses like one too.

Imagine being human Aster here, you wish upon a star and suddenly a beautiful magical princess with gorgeous flowing hair shows up to help you, I would've died

So anyway, Asha has a very energetic and optimistic personality, and much like Aster was in Kow, she's fascinated by earth

When they come up with a plan to inspire the people of Rosas, Asha's idea is to make people draw, express how they feel, make them reflect if they're really happy with this system

Aster of course thinks that's not a good idea at first but she convinces him, so the whole arc of them being found out at the plaza happens yada yada yada let's cut to the good stuff

Instead of giving Aster a magic pencil, Asha enchants his's grandfather's mandolin, so Aster can play beautiful songs that can magically bring anything he imagines to life

So then we get their "At All Cost"... But I actually think Star Asha would sing a different song, she'd sing something like this:

This song just gives me major Kow! Asha vibes, and I'd love if Asha was played by Denee Benton cause I'm a huge fan.

And then the story proceeds as usual and we get to the climax, where instead of singing This Wish Reprise he'd sing something more like this:

Once again, I'm here to say I love Jordan Fisher and I can't imagine anyone better than him to voice Aster.

So yeah he'd have a very dramatic song where instead of using his guitar (That the queen broke) he uses only his voice and the last bit of Asha's magic to defeat the royals, along with everyone's hopes on his side.

Sooo yeah Asha later turns into a human thanks to true love's kiss, her hair turns dark brown, the end!

I like exploring this one because it shows how Asha and Aster are different with her being an artist and him being a musician, human Aster would be very different than the Aster we know though, being absolutely focused on the task at hand of saving his people, so Asha would help him loosen up a bit and have hope things would be better.

Kids AU

Okay so this one is more of a joke, but like... Kingdom of Wishes... But it's Ponyo, only genderbent

Basically I asked myself "What if Asha wished upon Aster when she was a kid?" well, when she was a kid, so was Aster.

So we'd have a story of a little 6 year old becoming friends with her wishing star. While her grandpa Sabino, still alive and very old, tries to hide this star and protect his spunky granddaughter from the king and queen that are after Aster

Of course the royals would have a harder time finding out who could've wished upon a star since they don't know who Asha is as a kid

But on the other hand, Asha and Aster would be a lot more naive and reckless, Aster would tell Asha "Hey! The king and queen are really mean! They change the wishes, wanna defeat them together" and Asha would be like "YEAH!" and off they go put themselves in danger

Don't think Magnifico would go easy on Aster just because he's a toddler, oh no, he'd drain all this child's power as soon as he caught his hands on them, which is why Sabino would be having a panic attack trying to keep them safe.

But what's really cute about this scenario is just imagining kid Aster interacting with the world, using his magic to play with Asha, and of course Sabino being a protective grandpa.

Bad Ending AUs

You guys know me, of course I have a whole section for not one but TWO bad endings lmao I'm so evil.

What If Asha's Cursed Wish Was Granted?

Yup, remember Asha's cursed wish? That would turn her into a obedient princess that would follow Magnifico and Amaya without question? Remember that wish? Yeah what if THAT happened hahah

Anyway, I thinks it's best if I just show you how that'd play out (Warning, the angst is STRONG in this one):

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"That's right, now hold still my dear, this will feel just like waking up from a pleasant dream." The king said as he lifted up her "wish" to grant it.

Asha felt herself frozen in fear, she wanted to speak up, but the fear of what could happen to her if she did outweighed her her strength to fight back.

She could only watch as the bubble popped and became a swirl of green magic enveloping all around her. Asha felt herself change, and not only because her clothes began to magically morph into a beautiful dress... She felt herself change from the inside out, starting with her mind.

Her desire to run away was muffled by a new desire to stay still as the king asked her to. But Asha knew she had to fight back because- Why did she have to fight back? This is what she wanted, to fit in and make people happy, now she finally could, thanks to Magnifico- Asha heard a voice that sounded like her's fill up her mind, popping any idea of resistance like bubbles- Why resist at all? It's easier to give up- She couldn't give up, she couldn't lose herself- But she doesn't even know who she is, and everyone tells her she's like a princess anyway, don't they? Her saba used to say so, her friends, even Aster said she's beautiful like a princess-... Why isn't he here?

She felt her eyes welling up with tears, realizing how helpless and alone she was. Asha knew she couldn't hold on to her consciousness for much longer, as the king's magic promised to make all her pain go away, leaving only bliss, her own freewill was fading away. But even then, a little bit of her is still fighting, tightly clinging onto the last semblance of thought she has left... Before it suddenly slips, and everything is gone… She is gone.

... She did feel like she woke up from a dream, the king was right, as he always is.

The magic that was surrounding her disappears, fully absorbed into Asha's very being. She's now fully transformed, wearing a princess gown, her hair braided and pulled up into a bun that resembled a rose.

... A single tear ran down her left eye, but the cheering crowd couldn't see it. All they saw was her smile, a blissful, carefree smile plastered on her face.

...

Aster ran back to the plaza as fast as he could. But once the star arrived there... Asha was gone, and so were the royals. The people were walking around commenting about what just happened... He heard people mumbling about how kind the king and queen were for adopting an orphan girl to be their princess...

All it took was one moment, one moment of distraction, one moment that Aster turned away from her... And he lost her... But they wouldn't give up, never, as long as he's on this earth, he will grant her wish, her true wish, no matter the cost.

The star didn't even think twice, revealing his true form in front of everyone, and flying off to the castle to look for Asha.

He looked through all the windows, all the many rooms of the castle, until he stumbles upon a room on the west wing tower, and in there, sleeping peacefully on a comfortable bed, he saw-

"ASHA!" The star screamed, using his magic to unlock the window, he got in and quickly shook her to wake her up "Come on! We gotta get you outta here!"

The princess rose up from the bed, gracefully stretching her arms as she did so, blinking her now unfocused eyes, that if you look closely you could see a small and faint green light sparkling in the center of her pupils.

She smiled at the star as if they were paying her a visit "Greetings Aster, so wonderful to see you-"

Aster grabbed her by the shoulders and just shook her back and forth "SNAP OUT OF IT! This isn't you! You're stronger than his magic, I know you are! You can fight it! Come on, Asha, look at me!" Aster gently places a hand under her chin to make her look at him in the eyes, he can't see her spark anymore... But he still reaches out to her "You wished upon me because you wanted to SAVE Rosas from them, remember? That's the whole reason I'm here, to help you." they give her a bittersweet smile, even though he's filled with sadness.

The girl giggled, in any other context it would be an adorable sound... But it just filled Aster with dread, seeing how his words weren't getting through to her at all. But nothing could've prepared Aster to what she said next "... Then where were you when I needed?"

... Those words pierced through him like a dagger, the star was speechless, now just staring at her, filled with sorow

"Indeed, where were you?"

Aster froze upon hearing the king's voice coming from the other side of the room. He turned around to see both Magnifico and Amaya sitting on comfortable chair next to a table with tea, if Aster could smell he would've probably felt the sent earlier.

"You took so long we were starting to wonder if you just flew back to the sky" Amaya said before sipping on her tea cup

Aster tried to escape through the window, but before he could reach it, he was trapped by the king's magic.

Magnifico and Amaya laughed as the star struggled with all his might to free himself from the king's magic, to which the king just jeered "I suppose a princess was of use to us after all, serving as bait to catch you, little prince"

And just like that, Aster is all alone at the villains mercy.

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I tricked yall with a false sense of security starting with two wholesome AUs only to then drop the most heart crushing stuff I've written in a WHILE.

Also thank you @gracebeth3604 for inspiring me to write that scene of Asha losing her conscience as the spell took hold of her, when you helped me write that nightmare sequence in chapter 8... So yall can blame Grace for this /j

Aster Turns Himself Into A Blackhole

What a title huh? Anyway, I've said plenty of times how Aster is very inspired by Rapunzel, so I wondered, what if that "Wither and decay" song from the Tangled series affected Aster the same way that it affected Rapunzel?

I didn't quite explore much Aster's frustration with the fact he couldn't hurt the king and queen the same way they hurt Asha, that's kind of a more internal frustration he doesn't show much, but it proves how human Aster is, to the point that he feels human emotions such as vengeance

But as we say here in Brazil: "Revenge is never complete, it kills the soul and poisons it."

So... Let's see if Aster choose a darker path, after he thought that he lost Asha for good in the climax.

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Aster was chained to the floor, all he could do was watch in horror the king drop Asha and all their friends off the tower.

... She was gone...

Just like that, Aster couldn't keep her safe, like he promised he would.

Without her, Aster felt his world growing dark, his own light was fading away. There was no hope for him, no hope for Rosas, no hope of granting her wish... So... Aster had nothing... So he had nothing left to lose.

... The star remembered once listening to a song, a song that stars sing when they're at the very end of their long, LOOOOONG lives. After all, everything must come to an end. The lyrics of this song were actually an incantation, a spell of death that allowed a star to snuff their own light away, turning themselves into... Something else... Something a lot more destructive.

The stars always warned him to NEVER sing that melody. And fly away as fast as he could if he ever heard some other star singing it... Aster never knew fully why, all they said was that the song would make him dangerous...

Well then... That was just what Aster wanted to be right now.

Suddenly, Aster felt the touch of the queen's hand, snapping them out of their thoughts. She lifted his scowling face, to give him a snark comment before they began to drain away his power "What's with the grimace, my dear? Is there something you wish to say?"

And so... The star began to sing.

"🎶... Wither and decay...🎶" Aster's voice was haunting, not at all as warm and lively as it always was when he sang... This was different.

Magnifico was previously looking down on his people, but the sound of those lyrics made the king turn around in cold sweat... He knew that spell.

"🎶...End this destiny...🎶" Aster continued to sing, his eyes were closed, and his face began to contort with discomfort. The star felt himself... Change.

The queen just raised an eyebrow and mocked "What's this? Trying to put us to sleep with a lullaby? hahaha *cough cough* haha" She didn't seem to pay much mind to her own coughing

The king minded it a lot though. He could see the roses on Amaya's hair begin to wither rapidly.

Magnifico's voice was trembling as he ran to his wife "A- Amaya-"

"🎶...Break these earthly chains...🎶" Aster opened his eyes... They were completely dark.

The queen's blood ran cold "wh-what ON EARTH-" she feels herself being pulled away from the star by her husband.

"ENOUGH! I ORDER YOU TO STOP!" The king commands, using his magic to cover Aster's mouth with glowing vines similar to the ones holding him down... But the star... Or rather, whatever Aster is becoming, is not weak to forbidden magic.

Aster breaks free from Magnifico's magic, leaving the two royals mortified.

"🎶…And set the spirit free…🎶" Aster didn't even react to the fact he was free, in fact, they didn't seem to notice the world around him at all, lost in their despair, all they could do was sing, floating above the ground. Tears kept running down his now inky black eyes.

Their hair changes from a yellow and lively flame to a dark and slowly shifting shadow. The star dust flowing out of their cape disappears, now his cape hides only dark nothingness under it. The light coming from the brooch bellow his neck now resembles a vortex... A blackhole.

"Magnus... I thought you said this thing was harmless" The queen is clinging to her king, she begins to feel... Strangely lightheaded, like she’s about to pass out.

"I- I didn't think the star would do this- *cough!*" The king feels a pain in his chest, his legs growing weaker. He stumbles forward "We- we must leave NOW"

But Aster had other plans for them, the former star finally moved. In the blink of an eye the king and him were face to face. With one swift motion Aster took the king's staff and threw it away from the edge of the tower.

The royals were shaking in fear, the entity was towering over them, dark inky tears still flooding his expressionless face.

As a last resort, Magnus desperately tries to reason with them "He-hehe now now Aster, let's talk about this, alright? You wouldn't actually want to-"

"🎶Take what has been hurt🎶" The haunting melody continues.

The king and queen kneeled down. They felt weaker by the second, the queen was whimpering and the king was gasping for air. It was becoming hard to breathe, hard to move, hard to think. They were both holding on to each other, even though they could barely hold on to their own lives.

"🎶Grant them no mercy🎶" Aster was looming over the two mortals, staring at them as they withered away. Aster felt himself grow stronger, for he was slowly but surely absorbing their very life essence... The corners of his mouth started to lift up slightly.

The two villains collapsed on the ground, shaking and wincing in pain.

"🎶Bend and break the reigns🎶" He was previously emotionless, but now, seeing them like this, Aster is consumed by a feeling he never thought he could feel before... It was ruthlessness. He was enjoying seeing the life drain away from them, the same way they wanted to drain his life away before... In a way, Aster understands them now.

The power to take was really different from the power to give... But if felt just as good, if not better.

"🎶And set the spirit free... The spirit free~...🎶" Aster finishes the lyrics, looking at the two lifeless bodies below him with twisted glee.

... Asha arrived at the top of the tower, as she never actually died, she managed to save herself and her friends with her magic pencil, and with it, she made her way back to Aster, hopeful that she could save him in an nick of time

"Aster! I'm here! Are you o-" She felt her heart stop, her whole body frozen in place when she saw the corpses of the two royals laying down... Beneath a floating figure that looks like Aster... But she knows that's not him "What... What have you done?" Asha takes a few steps back

He doesn't seem at all surprised to see her alive and well, simply tilting his head to the side as he floats towards her "What I had to. I mean, that's what you wished for, right? To defeat them." The creature spoke calmly, but with a twisted smile spread across their features.

"No-not like THIS!" She was trembling, seeing her own reflection on the dark pools that he now has for eyes "A-Aster please, this isn't funny, turn back to normal, NOW"

"Hmmmmm I don't think I can" They shrug, while drying the tears that were previously falling from his eyes "And even if I could, why should I? When like this, I can actually keep you safe"

"... Keep me safe from what?" She felt tears welling up on the corner of her eyes, Aster couldn't really be gone, right?

He embraced her, but it wasn't the same warm and secure embrace Asha fell in love with... He was holding her tightly, not letting her run away.

"From anyone who tries to keep us apart, of course." The blackhole whispered lovingly, but that gave Asha no comfort, it only cemented her fear, sending chills down her spine "And as long as your wish doesn't come true... As long as aaaaall those people down there aren't free... I'll be able to stay here... Loving you... Forever." They sound more and more deranged with every word.

Asha felt trapped, in the arms of the one she once loved.

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I bet ya'll weren't expecting evil Aster... Welp! Evil Aster is a thing now.

This is probably the darkest thing I’ve ever wrote for real, don’t let me do this again yall

@uva124 actually sneaked a little drawing of this Aster in one of her sketches here

So yeah! These were the alternate AUs! Two wholesome ones, and two very heavy with no comfort ones, perfectly balanced as all things should be.

Hope you guys forgive me after this hahaha see you guys next time! Bye!

Thank you for reading!

[dreamtigress]

Intrigue Thursday!

Now published in full, with 10 chapters of glimpses into the lives of some of the Dregs and Inej's crew, plus a visit from a crooked Merchant Council member.

Schurken Gemaskerd: This spin off story from Kanej Wensen ties together a slew of little plot lines and character arcs. We get ten different character POV’s surrounding the Rogues Gallery expansion opening gala. Zurye has a surprise meeting. Ryo gets a surprise assignment. Jesper is in a tizzy with all of his planning duties. Rook is in a tizzy because Jeter’s all dressed up. Kaz leads his Dregs in a Barrel parade to the Rogues Gallery. Mesa has a chat with Tajed while she’s trying to work. Inej finds out some intel from Rosa Ortega, leader of the Liddies. Wylan has a run-in with another member of the Merchant Council. Jeter is Kaz’s assistant for the night, and brings the news of an incident. Oxana gets to witness a private debriefing of the Crows.

See also: OC POVs, Blasts from the past, Soundproofing for all the rooms in the Slat?, Knowing where the levers are, ADHD Jesper Fahey, Life’s hard when you have a crush, The Dregs know how to throw a PARTY, Masquerade time, Inej gets protective, Serves you right, He said WHAT?, Oh no he didn’t go there, You can blow up his mansion later, What goes around comes around.

[tifa1991]

Hello everyone.

Thank you for reading my little fanfictionstory Trafalgar Law and Reader.

I don't read the One Piece manga but i am watching the Anime and i am following most of the Story, spoiling myself 🙈.

Right now i'm watching Dress rosa Arc and i have some questions about Law for my fanfiction. Maybe you can help me out.

I don't want to be to much out of character with Law but, two years ago before Punk Hazard he seemed more like a little hot, sadistic bi...man.

Like he enjoyed fighting with the marines and turning them into living canonballs.

Now he seems more serious and everything has to be done as fast as possible. I mean, i get it, it is a important Mission and all but would it be okay to write him a little more sadistic against enemies and jerking (does this word make sense?) around at least sometimes with the reader at this point of my Story or would it be to much out of character?

And i can't remember or just don't get what exactly Trafalgar did the two (?) months on Punk Hazard beside planing to destroy SAD and get Caesar because of the smilefabric and doofy, Kaido thing. What did he do for Caesar?

And did he know about the kids and what Caesar did to them?

Thanks in advance.

Tifa1991.

[nettlewildfairy]

i like the dress rosa arc of one piece mostly because the villain I hate the most gets punched in it. like i skipped past hundreds of episodes to see that guy get punched as soon as possible the first time I watched it, and now i can take my time and savor it.

[thatonegaybastard]

Simon playlist!

Hello remember the Reiki playlist? This is the Simon playlist. It's not quite done but here's it so far

Warning for lik. Depressing themes and maybe suicidal themes and potentially overstimulating music also flashing lights and bright and rapidly shifting colors!!!!! And some suggestive and religious themes (more religious themes then sexual) and likem violence and blood

Also one of the dongs might have spoilers for a game called Cell of Empirio I'm not 100% sure so if you're wary of spoilers for that then beware

Songs and my silly commentary on them under the cut

White Happy by Maretu (English cover by Milkychan) - Literally the most Simon song ever also I live this song so much. Idk why I put an English cover of this song but not the other songs in other languages on this playlis. I really like this cover tho so I'll allow it

Chiri Chiro Juso (Dust Dust Curse) by Kikuo - Depressing song about death. I could see this being like from Simons point of view of himself and during his death

HURT by 1800 PAIN (I think) - They do wanna see you hurt. Idk how I feel about this song in general tbh

Montreal by Penelope Scott - Ok this song just makes me depressed about life and not even like in the good way it's a good song but like. Cries.Anyways this fots Simon a lot he won't make it to Montreal guys same

Sweet Hibiscus Tea by Penelope Scott - like most songs here it just fits him pretty well idk I might remove this so g I do t even have much to say

Angel Eyes and Basketball by Foot Ox - Good song I wish it was longer tbh it scartches my brain. We get it Simon is depressed /j

Cradles by Sub Urban - um

The Chattering Lack of Common Sense by GHOST - This song reminds meminds me of Simon and Beau specifically this is just the duo where one is probably murderous song to me. Also this omg is just so good I love it so much <3333 Simon would be the guy in the hoodie with bandages over his eyes his name is arc

IN MY MOUTH by Black Dresses - Why'd idd I add this song. I dobt know.it just fits kind of trust me (I kinda forgot I added this song to the playlist)

there I am, there I am again by RP_A (I think??????? I'm not sure) - This song isn't super specific to Simon actually it mostly just fits the Lore™ its more of a Rosa song tbh

SCAPEG∞AT by GHOST - okay one good so g obviously but also this song is mostly just on the playlist because of the chorus it fits Simon so fucking much like what the fuck- also the ending parts- also unrelated but these guys have deity oc vibes tbh

Dr Gaster by Shadrow - Teehee :) (lore)

I'm Difficult by Talkshow Boy - Making you guys listen to talkshow boy not sorry /j /nf

Abnornality Dancing Girl by Guchiry - Okay this song doesn't exactly for him because of what it's probably about but the chorus fits him alot and so does the ending part. Also I'm making some art of him base don this sign it'll probably be a while until i finish because it's not super high priority but yeah :)

Fry Me In a Pan by Talkshow Boy - You will listen to my favorite Talkshow Bky songs. Might remove this one too tbh

Orthodoxia by Gunchiry - Okay doesn't necessarily fit Simon specifically if anything he'd be one of the religious followers but like. (Then again he also lives off the misfortunes of others) The lore was literally inspired from this sign and also it fuckign slaps I can't NOT include it wtf

Kitchen Fork by Gustavuo Rubio (I think) - Also one of the most Simon songs ever. Something is very wrong with this man

Also I ahvent added this yet but I think it's be funny if I added the happy song that's like "I am really special cuz there sonly one of me look at my smile I'm so damn happy all the people are jealous of me" yknow the ond

[aucupariaart]

I'm not entirely satisfied with all the dialogue, but it gets the job done.

Part 11

Part 12 (you are here)

Part 13

[spooptythegnome]

There was that one episode back on Fishman Island it was explained that children from human and fishman/mermaid parents are typically pure human or pure mermaid/fishman and not an amalgamation of the two species. And now it's like here's Dellinger the half-fishman: *human twink with a sharkfin*

[arainmorn-art]

OBJECTION!! Nami does pay for Zoro but she always says that makes him indebted to her, or tells him to do stuff to lower his debt! That means , she is making him pay for her!!! /jk have a great day

Ahaha, true, true! I forgot, sorry! 🤣

Omigosh, I watched One Piece long ago, when I was 13-14 to Enies Lobby arc, then in 16-18 watched further to time-skip, then in 20-something rewatched couple of arcs (Water 7/Enies Lobby is my favourite), went further to Punk Hazard and stopped at the beginning of Dress Rosa. Soooo it means I stopped watching somewhere at 630-640-ish episodes. Oh gee.

But to this day I'm advocating people to watch it, especially when they are turning up their noses on OP's artstyle 😜 Of course the amount of episodes is intimidating for new watchers, but this is the greatest animated adventure. The amount of feelings you get while watching is incredible: joy, excitement, happiness, dread, tears of sadness, tears of laughter, lots of emotional investment. But the period of adjustment might still take at least 30 episodes, maybe even to push through x) Watching One Piece is like going to gym: at first it's hard and may seem boring, why people are praising it so much, but when you get used to it, you can feel how wonderful it is in the long run.

[blogdemocratesjr]

Sarah Snook as Joan of Arc in George Bernard’s ‘Saint Joan’ by Sydney Theatre Company

JOAN'S MANLINESS AND MILITARISM

Joan's other abnormality, too common among uncommon things to be properly called a peculiarity, was her craze for soldiering and the masculine life. Her father tried to frighten her out of it by threatening to drown her if she ran away with the soldiers, and ordering her brothers to drown her if he were not on the spot. This extravagance was clearly not serious: it must have been addressed to a child young enough to imagine that he was in earnest. Joan must therefore as a child have wanted to run away and be a soldier. The awful prospect of being thrown into the Meuse and drowned by a terrible father and her big brothers kept her quiet until the father had lost his terrors and the brothers yielded to her natural leadership; and by that time she had sense enough to know that the masculine and military life was not a mere matter of running away from home. But the taste for it never left her, and was fundamental in determining her career.

If anyone doubts this, let him ask himself why a maid charged with a special mission from heaven to the Dauphin (this was how Joan saw her very able plan for retrieving the desperate situation of the uncrowned king) should not have simply gone to the court as a maid, in woman's dress, and urged her counsel upon him in a woman's way, as other women with similar missions had come to his mad father and his wise grandfather. Why did she insist on having a soldier's dress and arms and sword and horse and equipment, and on treating her escort of soldiers as comrades, sleeping side by side with them on the floor at night as if there were no difference of sex between them? It may be answered that this was the safest way of travelling through a country infested with hostile troops and bands of marauding deserters from both sides. Such an answer has no weight because it applies to all the women who travelled in France at that time, and who never dreamt of travelling otherwise than as women. But even if we accept it, how does it account for the fact that when the danger was over, and she could present herself at court in feminine attire with perfect safety and obviously with greater propriety, she presented herself in her man's dress, and instead of urging Charles, like Queen Victoria urging the War Office to send Roberts to the Transvaal, to send D'Alençon, De Rais, La Hire and the rest to the relief of Dunois at Orleans, insisted that she must go herself and lead the assault in person? Why did she give exhibitions of her dexterity in handling a lance, and of her seat as a rider? Why did she accept presents of armor and chargers and masculine surcoats, and in every action repudiate the conventional character of a woman? The simple answer to all these questions is that she was the sort of woman that wants to lead a man's life. They are to be found wherever there are armies on foot or navies on the seas, serving in male disguise, eluding detection for astonishingly long periods, and sometimes, no doubt, escaping it entirely. When they are in a position to defy public opinion they throw off all concealment. You have your Rosa Bonheur painting in male blouse and trousers, and George Sand living a man's life and almost compelling her Chopins and De Mussets to live women's lives to amuse her. Had Joan not been one of those 'unwomanly women', she might have been canonized much sooner.

But it is not necessary to wear trousers and smoke big cigars to live a man's life any more than it is necessary to wear petticoats to live a woman's. There are plenty of gowned and bodiced women in ordinary civil life who manage their own affairs and other people's, including those of their menfolk, and are entirely masculine in their tastes and pursuits. There always were such women, even in the Victorian days when women had fewer legal rights than men, and our modern women magistrates, mayors, and members of Parliament were unknown. In reactionary Russia in our own century a woman soldier organized an effective regiment of amazons, which disappeared only because it was Aldershottian enough to be against the Revolution. The exemption of women from military service is founded, not on any natural inaptitude that men do not share, but on the fact that communities cannot reproduce themselves without plenty of women. Men are more largely dispensable, and are sacrificed accordingly.

—George Bernard Shaw, Saint Joan

[diminuel]

I love your Dragon/Crocodile stuff! It’s so heart warming and positive. Which makes me wonder, since Doflamingo knows Crocodile so well and so badly wanted to form a partnership with him. Do you think he would be jealous of Dragon because he’s the only one Crocodile has eyes for?

Thank you!! ♥♥♥

Only if Doflamingo actually knows Crocodile well enough to find it out and I don't think he knows what kind of backstory they have, otherwise Doflamingo might have tried to move against Dragon/ make his life harder just on principle (which he might have and we don't.) But I don't think Crocodile would trust Doflamingo of all people, with his secret. And I don't think Doflamingo wouldn't use it against him if he did.

Though he might find out later on while in Impel Down, where he has too much time on his hands before he's inevitably freed (at least I assume he will be. He's a dick, but in this odd way that makes me still like him* which is why I want him out and trying to get into Crocodile's pants. I think Doflamingo needs some enrichment, and trying to be a homewrecker might distract him for a while *lol*)

*subject to change. I'm starting to watch the Dress Rosa arc now X'D I've already read it but so quickly I probably missed a lot.

[whereistheonepiece]

Whos ur favorite flashback character in one piece besides dress rosa arc

I like how you specify besides Dressrosa because probably everyone's answer would be Cora-san.

Well, besides him it has to be Saul. Saul left the Marines when he saw what they were doing, and he was there for Robin even before he learned of her connection to Olvia.