#fending off giant animals

[moongothic]

You think Crocodile's gonna blow his stack when he finds out how shitty Luffy's upbringing was? His baby boy repeatedly got tossed into the jungle to fend for himself against wild animals, as well as off cliffs and left to float into the fucking air on balloons all courtesy of Garp. He got left alone for long periods of time possibly as early as infancy, also cuz of Garp. And oh yeah, he was tortured by pirates, almost burned to death in a giant garbage fire, and went through the trauma of losing a brother.

Like, no matter how stern or distant of a parent Crocodile may be, I don't think he would be content to stand by and let any of that happen to baby Luffy. Also also, Crocodile witnessed firsthand Garp impeding Luffy's attempts to rescue Ace. The Cross Guild wants Garp for his bounty. Crocodile wants Garp for REVENGE.

With Garp I feel like it could go either way because like, let's be real for a second

This is 100% played for laughs.

Like if we're being serious then yes, in the Very Real World this is absolutely child neglect and abuse, Garp's parenting would NEVER fly (🥁) in our Very Real World. But just like Nami can physically abuse Luffy and co for laughts and get away with it, Garp's "training" is very much the same tonally, a Cartoon Slapstick Gag (made even more obvious when Toei animated Baby Luffy flying off into the sky going "UGYAAAAA" (that clip lives in my head rent free it's so funny??)) and a reflection of how this ridiculous old man (who might've been through even more ridiculous training in his childhood) views how a small child can be trained.

And so like. I could imagine Crocodile being like "who the fuck does that to a small child, are you insane" at Garp if he found out how Garp had been raising Luffy, but I think whatever reaction Crocodile might have would be played just as much for laughs as Garp's original comments were

Like IDK if Crocodile and Garp did have a relationship I think it would end up being similar to how Zoro and Sanji interact. Like Crocodile would to some degree be indebted to Garp because Garp did look after his son when he couldn't, and Garp wouldn't have a precious grandson (whom Garp sincerely does love, deeply) without Crocodile, so like. I think there could be like this mutual respect and gratitude for the other. But also it'd be kind of a begrudging gratitude and they would also hate each others guts and what they stand for and probably bicker. Lots. But in a funny way. (Like Zoro and Sanji)

Also I feel like even if Crocodile personally hated Garp's guts I don't think Crocodile would ever try anything to harm Garp. Like he saw how Luffy absolutely shattered after losing Ace, so even if Luffy and Garp's relationship wasn't the strongest, if Luffy loves his grandpappy then I don't think Crocodile would want to take his son's only grandfather, his family, away. Crocodile isn't in any kind of position to "take revenge" on the man who did look after his son for him (even if his methods were questionable at times) (Same for Dadan and the bandits too arguably)

The convenient thing of me letting this ask sit in my ask box for 20 days before actually responding is that I managed to post this thing the other day, and I want to continue an observation from that post; While I do agree Crocodile would probably be horrified to find out about all shit Luffy went through as a child... In the end, what's happened has happened, and I think Crocodile might believe that if he had wanted to ensure his son wouldn't have to go through things like that, then he should've raised the child himself. That Luffy's childhood not being all sunshine and rainbows is kind of his fault.

[fave-fight]

ROUND 2, MATCH 11

NO MAGIC, POWERS, WEAPONS, OR ADDITIONAL HELP FROM OTHERS

The Knight:

“They are a tiny little bug creature but they have also beaten up several gods and creatures many times their size and would probably do it again with their bare hands if no nail was available. They also kind of become a god in one of the endings maybe. Also I'm not 100% sure they can actually die? They just kind of revive and then beat up their ghost. They are also very very good at dodging. And schmoovement in general. I think they could do it. I think they could win. They don't know when to quit. I'm not sure they know how to quit. If nothing else they have an edge in the mental game because they have all the facial expressiveness of a chunk of marble. Unsettling little skrunkly. I think they deserve to have some fun. A lower-stakes fight for a change. I think the Knight could do it, and I think "it" applies to anything they set their mind to. They are the unstoppable force. They are the immovable wall. They are blasting you in the face with SOUL-powered void magic. They could do it. The Knight could win.”

“this little guy has killed a god”

Sakurai Haruka:

“Has canonically killed at least one person with his bare hands. He has pathetic cringe fail poor little meow meow energy”

“that boy is placed fourth in the canon strength chart, RIGHT BELOW the person who bashed someones head in with a baseball bat and managed to fend off the person in second place during a fight. he has enough strength to beat people with a giant rock. he has the power of autism”

“i think haruka should WIN because if he loses that would be really sad i dont want to see him beat up. but also hes canonically the fourth strongest character and he beat a dog to death with a really big and heavy rock and he strangled a girl only a year or two younger than him and he is a serial animal killer. all at the age of 17! i think he is very strong. yes”

[turtletaubwrites]

Rumble ~ Part 26

This is part 26 of the poly series 'We've All Got Needs,' linked below:

Pairings: Zoro x Fem!Reader, Sanji x Fem!Reader x Robin

Word Count: 3917

We've All Got Needs Masterlist

Ao3 Link (Ch. 16 of We've All Got Needs cont.)

!!SPOILER WARNING!! Spoilers for the anime for the Water 7/Enies Lobby arc (through episode 297).

Summary: The battle rages on as the Straw Hat crew fight CP9 agents for keys to the sea prism stone handcuffs. You fight alongside Chopper, but when all looks lost, Chopper makes a dangerous choice.

Rating/Warnings: AFAB!Reader, She/Her Pronouns for Reader, Reader-Insert, Polyamory, Canon Typical Violence, Blood, Injuries, (Including Reader), Pet Names, Cigarettes (they're gross, don't smoke), Swearing, Angst, Fear, Heights, Nausea, Being Bound (but not in a kinky way), Reader really goes through the wringer in this one

A/N: We're almost through this arc, y'all! I have been having such a wonderful time incorporating the reader into this part of the story. I hope you enjoy this update!

| masterlist | about me | rules | ao3 | ko-fi |

Chopper grunted, the agent’s staff slamming into his stomach. 

“Daydream Thorns! Blackout Thorns!”

You hadn’t tested what would happen if you dosed someone with the knockout and hallucination poisons at the same time, but you called the tiny blades, hoping something would stick. 

It didn’t.

That pink hair seemed to read your every move, even as he faced off against Chopper. You ended up having to block, focusing completely on defense as tendrils reached for you. The man’s loud whines grated your fucking nerves as he complained that Chopper had gotten in his way. 

At this point, you were just hoping to be enough of a distraction for Chopper to break through, but the man hardly seemed to notice you. He just let his hair fend you off instead. 

An opening!

The agent lifted his staff high, preparing to bring it down on Chopper, who seemed to be losing speed. 

How much longer does he have on his rumble ball?

Pushing that thought away, you attacked, slamming both tonfa down toward his chest beneath his outstretched arms.

Pain.

For a moment, you were not a person. Not a Straw Hat. Just pain. 

That pink hair had wrapped around your waist, flinging you across the hallway into a wall.

You had a split second of instinct, and Zoro’s mocking voice from all those days of training took over.

‘Protect your head, Needy.’

Your metal tonfa fell from your grasp as you curled in as much as you could, covering your head with your arms. 

It didn’t stop the impact though.

Warm metal was building in your mouth, and you opened your eyes to watch yourself spit blood onto the stone floor. 

“Ch-Chopper…”

The spinning had slowed enough for you to look around, seeing your tonfa scattered between you and the fight.

Fuck, he threw me all the way over here?

Spitting red one more time before gritting your teeth, you stood with your hands on your aching knees while you gathered your bearings. 

Moving gave you a chance to notice what was hurt. You were relieved that the blood in your mouth seemed to be from the inside of your cheek, as if you’d bitten into the flesh when he’d tossed you. 

Your body had never taken this kind of abuse before, and you winced as you picked up your weapons, willing yourself to ignore the pain. Nothing seemed broken. You would be okay.

I’ll probably look like one giant bruise when this is over. 

The fact that you almost giggled at that thought made you concerned that you might not have protected your head well enough. 

Picking up speed, you readied your weapons, just in time to watch the agent kick Chopper through the wall, dust filling the air as you called his name. 

Fuck your pain. You ran. 

That pink haired man had moved through the hole in the wall, and you heard heard his screechy voice before you caught up.

“Yo yoy! You will now disappear from this world!”

Chopper was slumped on the ground in what looked like an oversized kitchen. You brain didn’t have time to process the size of everything, as the agent was spinning his staff in the air, preparing to slam it down on Chopper’s head.

“Blackout Dart!”

You didn’t think, just moved.  The dart flew through the air, piercing below the man’s armpit before he brought his staff down. 

He stumbled to the side, looking toward you, while Chopper crawled out of the way. 

You aimed again, but watched the man continue to wobble toward your friend. 

Chopper grunted, pulling open the door to what looked like a giant fridge. He let that huge man stumble in, then slammed the door, twisting a lock into place.

“Kumadori!”

You spun, regretting the movement, and saw the owner of that other grating voice. The agent with the zippered mouth was pushing himself off the ground as he called for his pink haired ally.

His face was bloodied, and then it was blocked by Franky’s body as he started to yell.

“Hold on a second, I’ve got some business with that fridge, gorilla man.”

Groaning a bit, you moved between them, trying to calm Chopper down as he yelled back at the blue haired man. 

“Ah! It’s CP9, and that jerk!”

“I’m on your side, remember!”

“I haven’t forgiven you for what you did to us. We lost a member of our crew.”

You reached up to rub Chopper’s arm as tears welled in his eyes.

“It’s all your fault, give us our Usopp back!”

“Chopper, calm down okay, we can’t turn away help right n–”

Franky kept grumbling while you got Chopper to meet your eyes.

“We’ve gotta get Robin back. No matter what, right?”

“Robin,” he cried, so many tears streaming down that you wondered if the rumble balls affected his mood. 

“If you wanna get Nico Robin back, then climb into that fridge and get me three bottles of cola! That’ll get me back to full power so I can pound these jerks into the ground.”

What the fuck?

“What kind of an idiot gets stronger from cola,” Chopper asked, mirroring your thoughts.

“Don’t judge me, just do it!”

“Stopping to have a little comedy act in the middle of a fight isn’t just stupid, it’s rude!”

The zippered man squared off against Franky, and you froze as you watched him start to shift, to blur, seeming to split into different versions of himself. Those copies surrounded Franky, attacking from all sides.

You clawed at the lock to that fridge as Chopper climbed inside.

“Be careful, Chopper! I don’t think my knockout dart was strong enough for someone as big as him,” you warned, recalling how the man had stumbled multiple times, but hadn't slumped as quickly as most people of average size would have. 

“Got it,” Chopper yelled, handing various bottles out through the cracked door. 

What did he need? Cola?

“Here,” you called, tossing three dark glass bottles Franky’s way. 

You gawked as he turned, the bottles out of sight as steam pumped out of his ears. 

Franky went in for an attack, but his demeanor changed, suddenly relaxed and polite to his enemy.

That enemy did not hold back, and after Franky pushed himself to his feet he yelled, fuming.

“That wasn’t cola! Only cola!”

“I wonder how other drinks affect him,” Chopper mused as he peeked his head out of the door.

“Chopper!”

“Sorry,” he called, diving back in. He started handing you bottle after bottle, and you sorted, tossing the useless drinks aside, until Chopper found a third bottle. 

“Franky!”

He caught each bottle as you threw them, holding them against his stomach as he turned away. 

But the zippered man landed a heavy hit, fear filling your gut as your ally lay still on the stone floor.

Chopper had locked the fridge again, his eyes wide in panic as you waited for Franky to just move.

Goosebumps covered your skin as an almost electric pulse seemed to flow through the room. You turned to the agent, but he was still insulting Franky, his focus hadn’t shifted to you yet.

“Oh, come on,” the agent laughed as Franky got to his feet, walking slowly toward him. “It’s not like anything’s gonna change just because you drank some cola.”

You would have agreed. But there was something in Franky’s gait, almost a light behind those pitch black sunglasses, that made you hold your breath.

The agent kept laughing, allowing Franky to move in, not fearing any hit the blue haired man could give. 

“Strong Hammer!”

Franky’s strangely wide fist and forearm crashed into the zippered man, and you couldn’t help but gasp at the sheer force of the hit. 

A wave of air rocked from where they had stood, and the agent flew across the room, smashing through the brick wall. 

Multiple brick walls.

All the way out to the balcony.

While Chopper was still cheering for Franky and his awesome strength, you filled your ally in on the need to find the key for Zoro and Usopp’s handcuffs, as well as Robin’s.

“How stupid can this get,” he grumbled, before flipping around to that annoying fucking laughter.

The zippered man was up again, taunting Franky as he ran away down the balcony. 

Franky chased after him, his shoulders stretching up to reveal fucking cannons.

Before you could run after him, the giant fridge door flew off its hinges, just missing you as you lunged away.

“Oh, thank you,” the pink haired man, Kumadori, yelled as he stumbled out into the room, cool air rolling over you from the broken fridge. “I needed a snack!”

There was no time to draw your weapons now. You were caught.

Thick ropes of hair coiled around your limbs as the man laughed, as Chopper screamed your name.

“Run, Chopper,” you cried out, before hair wrapped around your throat.

Your legs were bound together, your arms trapped against your body as he flung you around. Every struggling movement you made brought that pink hair tighter around your flesh. Just a fly caught in a web. 

As his hair waved around erratically, you saw flashes of fire and smoke. As much as you wanted to watch, to see your friend fight or flee, the manic whipping of his hair sent your head spinning. Nausea threatened to compound your humiliation, and you clenched your jaw to fight it. 

Please, get out of here, Chopper.

You still tried to reach for your tonfa, but your fingers could barely move, let alone anything else.

All you could do now was focus on your breathing, the hair around your neck not tight enough to stop that yet. 

There was nothing but whiplash, Kumadori’s screeching voice, and the growing scent of smoke. 

Your mind couldn’t pick up any words through it all. Until one word echoed.

“Rumble.”

No. No.

Chopper wasn’t supposed to take that many rumble balls in one day. 

You willed your eyes to stay open now, even as you were flung and whipped through the air. You tried to call his name, to tell him to run.

But you were useless.

Weak.

Putting your crewmate in danger. 

Chopper.

His voice broke through, that pink hair starting to slow its swaying movements as Kumadori stood still.

“I’m here to save my friends, and I’m not gonna let anybody get in my way!”

Your captors' taunts almost drowned out the sounds of Chopper’s cries, his attacks ending with grunts, and crashes, and what couldn’t be the spray of blood.

Salty tears already staining your face, desperate sobs wracked through you, as restrained as they were.

After far too long of the sounds of Chopper’s pain, Kumadori’s hair stretched, capturing your friend in the same trap. You’d been flipped around to see his bloody form, a silent scream fighting to be free from your pathetic lips.

Chopper shrunk then, shifting to his normal form before his tiny body crashed to the ground. 

No, Chopper. He can’t be…

The fear of Chopper’s death had you fighting at your binds again to reach your sweet little friend. As if to taunt you, Kumadori let you go. 

You winced as your bruised body slammed to the stone. The dizziness his torture left you with had you wobbling on your hands and knees, barely able to crawl forward without your head swimming.

He laughed at you.

He didn’t stop you. He didn’t hurt you. He knew that you were weak. That you could do nothing. 

So he laughed.

Finally, the agonizing crawl to that too still body was over. You curled around behind him, settling his head in your lap while you whispered his name, your tears mixing with the blood on his face. 

The sight of his arm moving gave you more joy and relief than you’d ever felt. 

Kumadori tried to reach him. But you were both too late to stop him.

Chopper ate another rumble ball. 

“Chopper? Chopper!”

You had still been clinging to his little body, so afraid that you’d lost him.

Now you clung to him as he started to shake, as a deep growl echoed from his lips, getting deeper with each second.

He was growing. Fast.

What the fuck?

You made the choice to keep clinging to him, and soon you were lifted off the ground. Chopper stood, growing impossibly large, and you screamed as you wrapped your limbs around one of his antlers. 

It was like hanging onto a warm tree trunk, and you scrambled to wrap your legs around it. Your fingers struggled to gain purchase in the velvety fur that covered the massive bone.

The high ceilings came way too close, and the rising smoke from the fires Kumadori had caused was burning in your lungs.

You managed to pull the neck of your shirt over your nose, screaming for Chopper to listen, to get away.

It didn’t seem like your friend was in there. 

This monstrous form reared its head back with a terrifying roar, and you couldn't cover your ears for fear of falling to your death.

“Please, Chopper…”

The monster sank to its knees to smash the agent into the stone, and all you could do was hang on for dear life as Chopper kept slamming down on what now looked to be a tiny pink haired man.

You didn’t think there was a way that the man could still be alive, but you saw his pink hair swaying in the monster's hand before he used his other fist to smash through the wall. 

The smoke in your lungs was replaced with waves of dust. When the air cleared you saw the wide expanse of that dangerous sea, and Franky’s small form on the balcony below.

“Chopper, we’re safe! Okay? Please, change back now.”

The only reaction the monster had to your voice was to swing Kumadori in its hand before tossing him lazily, launching him like a fucking cannon toward the middle of the island.

Your blood ran ice cold. 

Chopper would never do that. Not even to an enemy. 

“Hey, you,” Franky called up, “you’re not that deer gorilla, right?”

Chopper growled, the vibrations almost making your teeth chatter.

“Franky, it is! There’s something wrong with him, he’s not thinking straight!”

“Damn, you alright up there, girlie?”

“Obviously not,” you screamed as Chopper turned his head a little too fast, making you clench your teeth. “Please help hi–”

Chopper slammed his fist down, shattering the stone where Franky had just stood.

Then you were screaming as the monster dug its fingers into the stone bricks of the tower, bringing you impossibly higher into the air as he climbed. 

You didn’t think that you’d had a fear of heights before this, but you’d never think that again. 

Every little breath, every tiny movement your body made as you clung to his antler seemed to spell your death. The slide of that silky fur under your grasp brought stinging tears to your eyes. You started to panic, breath speeding with your pulse, but those quick breaths only made you feel more unstable.

Instead, you held your breath.  Whimpers left your throat as his rough movements caused your body to slide, bringing all of your focus to just hanging on. 

After a few idiotic looks down, you kept your eyes firmly shut.

You thought you’d gotten used to the sound of crumbling stone, and the smell of that thick dust, but this time it came with Chopper slamming his head into the stone wall, your body rushing forward with the force of his movement. 

So close to the shattering of stone, you begged, pleaded with his hands to stay gripped onto the building, to keep holding you both too fucking high in the air.

You coughed, tears streaming out of the dust as you heard a woman’s voice.

“I see, so you have Zoan type powers, do you?”

“Are you dense? I told you that’s not me! But, those antlers…”

“Nami,” you tried to scream, the dust coating your throat turning it hoarse.

“Y/N? Chopper! What’s going on?”

“There’s something wrong,” you coughed, still hanging on as Chopper leaned his upper body into the large room, crawling inside.

“It’s like he can’t control himself, he’s danger– Watch out!”

Chopper brought a palm down, slapping the floor where Nami had just barely rolled away from.

“Don’t just ignore me,” Kalifa yelled, the other voice in the room.

“Chopper, it’s me,” Nami screamed, trying, and failing to reach him.

The monster had fully crawled into the tower now, and you tried to convince yourself to let go.

But he kept thrashing, destroying, roaring so deep it hurt your bones.

His fingers clawed into the floor, tearing at it until he ripped a huge bathtub free, tossing the water and stone down to the stairway room, falling straight to the ground floor.

“Sanji,” you and Nami cried, and you hated yourself for leaving him there, helpless in the rubble.

No. This can’t be happening. It’s not happening.

You sobbed as you beat your head against his antler, pleading with Chopper to stop. Just stop.

But he didn’t, and he was still moving too wildly for you to let go, smashing through yet another wall. 

“Nami!”

“I’m okay, just hang on! Maybe one of the boys can stop him!”

“Gods fucking damn it,” you cursed through gritted teeth as the monster used the staircases like a ladder to climb down through the center of the huge tower.

Even though you’d learned your lesson about looking down, you couldn’t help trying to spot Sanji in the rubble.

Your vision twisted in on itself from the height, and you had to shut your eyes again to keep from throwing up.

Please, Sanji. Please be okay.

Chopper chose another wall to break through, your mouth and eyes closing on instinct now.

“Chopper?”

The sound of two voices yelling his name made you open your eyes, finding yourself in that huge room that you were meant to return to when you had their key.

Zoro and Usopp were still bound together, mouths gaping at Chopper. The wolf and giraffe men were on the far side of the room, and even their mouths were wide with shock at the sight of the monster.

“Needy!”

Zoro lunged toward you, his force causing Usopp to trip. Zoro didn’t stop, just dragged Usopp across the ground as he called for you. 

“Run, please! Run!”

You couldn’t scream anymore, but they heard your strained voice just in time. Chopper charged at them, aiming for another one of your lovers, another one of your friends.

“What the fuck is going on,” Zoro yelled, turning to keep his enemies in sight.

“He took too many rumble balls. He’s not himself. He’s–”

“He looks sick,” Usopp called out, his voice shaking. “He looks like he’s about to keel over!”

You couldn’t see Chopper’s face, or anything really besides his shoulder and arm. But he was feeling unsteady, at least compared to when this started.

You heard the CP9 agents talking, and watched Zoro send a blast toward them, slicing his sword through the air.

“Step aside, you guys.”

Franky leapt into the room with his fists held together in front of his chest, aiming straight toward Chopper.

“What do you think you’re doing,” Zoro barked, “The deer monster is our friend.”

“This is the only way to deal with him. All devil fruit users have the same weakness.”

“Don’t you fucking shoot yet,” Zoro threatened as he carried Usopp with one hand, running toward you.

“No, stay back,” you pleaded, desperate not to see Chopper slam his fist down again.

“Jump, now! Needy!”

Zoro dropped his sword. 

He dropped his sword for you.

That alone is what got you to let go. You trusted him with your life. 

There was the sensation of falling that you’d been fighting to prevent, the rush of air on your skin, the moment of terror.

Zoro caught you.

He caught you with one arm, holding you against him, and you gasped from the pain of his strength around your battered body.

He set you down to grab his sword, movements rushed as Chopper came staggering forward.

But you had no control of your limbs, everything numb and tingling from clinging for so long.

“Fuck. Can you hold my sword, Needy?”

You nodded, clinging again as he tossed you over his shoulder, carrying the two of you away as Chopper reached down to smash you to pieces. 

“Sorry, pal,” Franky said, tilting his head as he focused on his target. “This is for your own good.”

His forearms expanded, releasing a blast straight at the monster that was your friend.

That huge form was sent flying through the wall, out over the cliff toward the sea.

Usopp screamed at Franky, but you were still trying to breathe as Zoro set you gently on the ground.

Franky ran after Chopper, leaping over the edge of the cliff.

“It’s okay, guys,” Nami’s voice came through like a blessing, and you whipped around to see her, making yourself dizzy again. “We came up with this plan together.

The wolf and the giraffe looked out of the gaping hole in the building while Nami rushed in. She unlocked their cuffs, finally freeing the sniper and the swordsman.

A wave of relief hit you’d as at least something seemed to be going right.

“Finally managed to free yourselves, huh,” the monstrous giraffe taunted.

“You’d better stop laughing, and start running,” Zoro growled, moving into his stance. “You blew your only chance to kill me, and you’re not getting another.”

Still unable to stand, you watched helplessly as your lover threatened both CP9 agents on his own. The metallic ring of swords being drawn raised the hairs on the back of your neck.

You believed in him. You always would. 

“I’m gonna take you all down,” he vowed, pointing his sword at his enemies. “The entire world government!”

Zoro.

He was fierce. Terrifying. Shockwaves and shattered stone flew through the air as you fought to keep your cowardly eyes from closing.

But with every moment, your lungs felt pressure, squeezed under the worry over all three of your lovers. 

Please.

The two foes at once were wearing Zoro down, making it impossible for him to land a solid hit as they staggered their attacks. 

Nami pulled at you, helping you to stand with your arm over her shoulders. You could still barely move, but you didn’t want to. You needed to see if your swordsman would be okay.

“Come on,” she coaxed, grunting as you resisted.

“Usopp!”

It was so fast. Usopp was right next to you, about to help Nami keep you standing.

The wolf's claws wrapped around his throat as his already injured body was slammed into the stone. Blood shot from his lips, and you went limp again as Nami cried out his name.

Both of your heads jerked to the side as another portion of the stone wall collapsed. The battle paused for a moment as they all waited to see what would be there when the dust cleared. 

The spark of a small flame stole your breath. 

That blonde hair was muted under blood and dust, but…

“Sanji!”

Your voice was still shot, but he caught your eyes. He sent you a wink that made you want to either kiss, or throttle him. 

“Who’s this guy,” the wolf man asked, crossing his arms as he stood over Usopp’s still form.

Sanji took a long drag of his cigarette, staring down the agent with a calm fire burning in his eyes.

“I’m the hunter.”

Likes and reblogs bring me much ✨dopamine✨ thank you so much!

a/n: I made myself dizzy

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Part 27

| masterlist | about me | rules | ao3 | ko-fi |

[werepuppy-steve]

wayne takes him hunting one season and while eddie doesn’t particularly enjoy waking up before the sun and bundling himself in camouflage and traffic cone orange on a saturday, he does enjoy a good homecooked meal made with meat you hunted yourself. makes him feel good about what’s going into his body (though you’ll never hear him pass up burger king, especially if someone else is paying.)

eddie’s got himself a hefty prize pile going in the sled they brought, made up of smaller game.

(he’s only a little disappointed it isn’t deer season.)

wayne’s grumpy about it and says eddie’s got an advantage because of his age and his eyesight being better. normally, they’d be in the woods from sunup to sundown, but wayne’s gotta work the next day, a rare day shift, so they call it quits around three pm. wayne gets his last shot in and he goes to pick the animal up, lamenting the lack of a retriever dog as his knees crack and pop, when he hears a rustling in a nearby tree trunk.

ah shit.

a tiny, furry grey head pops up and wayne doesn’t figure it’s old enough to fend for itself yet. he motions for eddie with a flick of his fingers and puts them to his lips. he drops the body in the sled as eddie scruffs the raccoon kit and lifts it from the tree so it doesn’t put up a fight and scratch or bite him. they’re strapped for cash enough as it is and rabies shots are expensive.

“what do we do with it?” he asks, holding the thing up to eye level. it can’t be more than a couple months old, still completely dependent on its mother for survival.

wayne sighs and starts packing their gear. “got a buddy who works at the rehab center. we’ll take it there and see if they can do anything.”

the drive there, eddie keeps the little thing tucked into his coat. the middle of january still brings cold snaps and snow and the animal is shaking despite its thick winter fur. eddie thinks it’s kind of cute.

they were right about the raccoon’s age; around three months, wayne’s buddy estimates from her weight. she’s a female, which delights eddie for a reason he can’t explain. after she’s got her shots, he tells them that, legally, they need a permit to keep her, but since he and wayne go back a ways, he can let a few things slide.

so they go home and dig out an old cage to keep her in until she stops growling and hissing at them when they get close to her. she lives off a diet of eggs mixed in milk and has to be bottle fed. it’s eddie’s favorite part of the day because he gets to hold her and he thinks she’s getting used to it because she stops trying to squirm out of his arms and doesn’t bite him as often. (there's a photo on the fridge of eddie covered in ban-aids and holding her in one arm, giving the camera a thumbs up with the other, a giant grin on his face. 'progress!' is written on the bottom.)

he calls in a favor to nancy and asks if her mom has any of holly’s baby clothes and she is rightfully curious.

“it’s for a raccoon.”

“….right.”

he dresses her up and thankfully, nancy brings diapers (he doesn’t ask how awkward that particular shopping trip was) because the baby has started treating the trailer like her bathroom and wayne’s already threatened to throw her back out into the woods if he has to clean up another mess. so she walks around the place in her little onesie and diaper like the little trailer park princess she is and everyone knows who she belongs to. max has already claimed the spot for cool aunt.

eddie has to stop himself from buying a secondhand stroller.

unfortunately, he's spent the last couple weeks so caught up in the thrill of being a single parent, he forgets that he’s not actually single at all.

steve pulls into the trailer park on a cold, cloudy day and before he can even get a foot out the car, he’s greeted by a raccoon wearing a pastel pink onesie with white lace frills that’s clearly meant for a human baby. he blinks down at it, visibly confused, and looks around to see where it came from.

the trailer door suddenly opens and his boyfriend is yelling with all the energy of an exasperated parent, hands on his hips and a dish rag thrown over one shoulder, a baby bottle in one hand,

“jezebel munson, you get your furry lil hind end back inside this trailer right now!”

as if the raccoon understood, it toddles toward the porch steps and eddie moves aside to let it pass, pointing inside. “straight to the couch, little missy!”

steve slowly follows behind her and stops at the last step, watching as the animal climbs a jerry-rigged set of steps next to the couch.

“eddie. what the hell.”

eddie turns to grin down at him, hands still on his hips. "we're parents now, stevie! meet your daughter, jezebel.”

steve can only sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose before accepting his fate and going inside for father daughter bonding time.

🥐☕💕 buy me a coffee

[silkwhim]

another (partially) domesticated animal

the tycir are a grazing herd animal that share a common ancestor with ensthirs, despite all differences. they fill a niche similar to camels, able to withstand high temperatures, low water supply and can walk for hours without needing many breaks. their low center of gravity also allows them to traverse uneven terrain.

the blue horns of the tycir are repurposed mandibles that have become fixed into place, which can be used either to fend off predators or to fight for a mate. both males and females possess horns, but a males will be larger and brighter.

tycirs appear giant next to an ensthir, and if ensthirs were human sized would be larger than African elephants, but in reality they are similar in size to a shire horse.

physical features in common with the ensthir include their stripes, but for a good part of their history they never had stripes. it appears they are a recent convergent evolution.

[insane-control-room]

catalyst

Transformation can be a wonderful thing. It can be a terrible thing. There must, however, be a basis.

ink demonth - exhibit

Base Game - during chapter 4 Rated: T Warnings: Non-consensual body modification, non consensual surgery AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58527871 Length: 1500

To be transformed is, generally, a mixed bag. Some individuals yearn for change, for shifting into something new, to match who they are within their soul. Others fear such a shift, a holistic destroying of what was before, never to rise again. And then, there are those who seek to enhance others, to cause that anatomical rebirth, forging something anew from the old.

There is an innate bond between the creator and the creation.

A vulnerability, the whispering knowledge that there is one that will forever know you better than yourself. The animator knew that well, the discomfort of his craft assuaged by the fact, or what should have been the fact, that their creation would never live in a way to be aware of its miniscule place in the world; of its sheer pointlessness - a cartoon.

No, it would never be aware, sentient of the futility to carve out for itself a new meaning.

That was how it was supposed to be, at least.

However, regardless if the creature was truly a doodle come to life, there were... other people irreversibly changed in this gaping abyss. The obsession with change and perfection made Henry uncomfortable, certainly, though as long as he was left alone, he was content. As content as a man in a personal Hell could be.

The prophet - seeking to change himself for the Demon, for his Lord. Eviscerated by his own ambition, comprehending his own desires too late.

The angel - seeking to change herself for herself, to become Perfection and thus destroy everything. Already thrice dead from her relentless pursuit of her own reincarnation, she continued with tools of iron and bleeding ink.

And the park maker...

The architect...

The octopus....

There was an unnerving, disquieting aspect to that silent ride as Henry entered the room.

Silent and overbearing.

The obvious trap was almost humorous what with how transparent it was, like a thin sheet of paper illuminated by a light table. Yet there was no way but forward, onward into oblivion. With a soft breath, a whispering wind in and out, Henry approached the slumbering giant. His hand reached for the audio player on the table (such a clear, unmistakable snare) and waited.

No, he felt no serious desire to actually touch it. On second thought, why bother? There was no need - he had his ax, the blade honed and sharpened to cut through metal. With ease, he could simply break through the door sealing him in this tomb. Resolved, Henry turned his back to the still sleeping hulk of metal and made his way towards the exit.

A nigh silent creak behind him had Henry gradually turn back toward the ride. There was not a single sign of any motion, however, not even a puff of dust. Apprehensive, Henry continued to edge his way to the door.

Faster than a viper, a leg of the mechanism shot forwards, whipping Henry in the back. It was sheer luck alone which kept him from slicing off his own hand. Breathless, and knocked to the floor, the old man was incapacitated swiftly, ax flung out of his grip. It embedded itself in a cart across the room, and Henry grimaced as he prepared to retrieve it. Now that the fight was inevitable, he had to defend himself or die.

Ended up being a pipe dream- or even, a dream for a pipe with which to fend off the arms that assailed him. Instantaneously, he was swarmed, an uncomfortable grip that lifted him clear off the ground. Eventually, he found himself tumbling into one of the seats, nauseated and off kilter. The brass bar kept him in place as he was dizzyingly pitched forward to the front of the ride.

The doors hiding that waterlogged face swung forward to greet him, Henry lurching back as it felt as though they were eager to crack open his skull.

"If it isn't Henry!" the hulking mass cried, the bloated head staring at him unblinkingly. "I'm so very glad to see you, old friend. Dear me, you look worse for wear!"

Henry did not reply, only stared silently back at Bertrum. The bodiless man's smile, that of an electrocuted man, did not fade.

"It's been some time since I've worked on an upgrade," the rideman mused, bringing Henry closer for inspection. "I doubt that I've gotten rusty, though. Let's give it a shot, eh?"

The arm holding Henry spun around rapidly, then twisted to the side- all the way upside down. It deposited him atop Bertrum's tape player as he tumbled out, knocking the device to the ground as he tried to scramble away and escape. To prevent that, the bars on two carts cinched tight over his wrists, nearly cutting off the circulation. A quiet grunt of pain escaped him, converted into a huff of air as he was slammed back onto the table. A screeching, creaking groan followed the table being dragged across the room towards Bertrum. The man smiled down at him, with that empty, blown-eyed gaze.

"My, time has been kind to you, hasn't it?" Bertrum murmured, a sort of delighted lilt to his tone. Henry kicked and tried to use his legs as leverage to escape, but the bars pressed tighter, pain lancing up the center of his wrist, skyrocketing up his arm to the nerves in his elbow. A half-choked whimper of pain, and he went limp (yet uncomfortable) in the pinching grip. "Your muscle structure appears to be in remarkable shape, and your stamina is rather unyielding from what I've seen. Yes, you would make a fine basis for a roboticized specimen."

Henry decided that he very much did not like what Bertrum was suggesting.

With a renewed effort, he attempted to break free vigorously, only to gasp with the sharp pain of one of his wrists fracturing under the pressure of metal winches. Horrified, his head swiveled to face the limb, seeing red oozing into his flesh- the burst vein seeping through his body. The nausea from before resurfaced violently, swallowing down the need to retch. 

“It’s been quite some time since I’ve done this,” Bertrum hummed, raising another limb- and to Henry’s rapidly increasing horror, he saw the ax tucked between two carts. Without thinking, Henry desperately tried to escape once more. A cart pressed on his chest, pushing him back down, gradually winding him as it crushed his lungs. He gasped, feeling his ribs creaking under the force of pressure. “If you would stop squirming, Henry, it would be much easier for the both of us, you know.” 

He tried to reply, but the cart pressed down once more and winded him. Then, he held his breath unwittingly as the ax pressed to his sternum, directly above his solar plexus. Oh, hell no. If there was one thing worse than a non consensual surgery without anesthetics, it was non consensual surgery without anesthetics by a man turned octopus ride with an extremely limited range of motion and practically no precision at all. 

The ax cut surprisingly straight for those facts, tearing through fabric, skin, bone, and flesh with ease- just as Henry knew it could. Blood welled up in the cavity, spilling out over his side. It was both hot and cold at the same instant, the chills of blood loss shock hitting him- especially with his broken hand; and the lava-like warmth of his ichor. Henry ceased any and all attempts at escaping, understanding now that it was futile. 

Bertrum used a corner of one of the carts to spread open the wound left, the bulky mass pressing now directly on Henry’s lung. It was electrified ice along his exposed veins. 

A giant hydraulic made itself visible, gripped to the point of cracking between another pair of carts. Henry stared at it, unable to even muster any horror as the cloudy shock took over. The hydraulic was carefully placed at the space made in Henry’s chest, not quite a cavity- yet. The pressure of the metal entering his body was unbearable, forcing a space for a huge, heavy cylinder that did not belong in his flesh. 

Bertrum, losing patience, slammed the cart onto the hydraulic. Henry’s vision went black as it jammed fully within his corpus. The ringing in his ears only slightly faded as the ax pressed against his arm. Henry was far too delirious in pain to fight as Bertrum slowly tore into each of his limbs, replacing the bones with those massive hydraulics. Blood splattered along the ground, pooling around the table. Henry could only hear the crack of his bones, the dripping of blood, his own heartbeat in his ears, his groans of pain, and Bertrum’s quiet humming. 

Cut, open, hydraulic. Cut, open, hydraulic. 

Eventually, each and every bone in Henry’s body was replaced. Against his will, he stood. 

“Behold!” Bertrum announced to the void. “The animating automaton!”

The husk of Henry stood, without paper nor pen to draw with, a silent and unmoving exhibit forevermore.

[disneyfemslashcomics]

Ship Meme: Merida/Mulan

To be clear this is a crossover between the two animated characters, and while the OUAT characters are very similar, they are not quite the same. I will also be ignoring the events of Mulan 2, and saying that the emperor sent Mulan out on a diplomatic mission to Europe for military support instead of marrying off his daughters.

How differently do they think of each other now compared to when they first met?

Merida and Mulan met at a joust and Merida was instantly smitten when Mulan kicked her butt in the sword competition.

Mulan was slower to develop feelings but faster to recognize them as the passions of the cut sleeve, while Merida has no cultural context for understanding her feelings as romantic.

What do their friends/family think of their relationship?

Initially, Merida being a foreigner is pretty strong mark against her for Fa Zhou and Fa Li, who are very traditional and vice versa for Elinor. Fergus for his part loves Mulan immediately with Gusto. In defense of the Fa parents, a big part of the lack of support also comes from getting one letter saying that there is a crazy short girl with giant red hair and eyes like a demon to her being in love in the next letter that got home to them.

Elinor for her part changes her mind about Mulan, in part because the lack of support in her parent's letter is so devastating to her and she realizes that her lack of support hurts Merida in similar ways.

Mulan's parents change their mind when Mulan takes Merida home to meet her family, and Grandmother Fa is instantly supportive and tells her son off, mentioning some youthful dalliances that she'd had.

How do their personalities/skills complement or contrast with each other?

Obviously, Merida and Mulan are both fighters and very strong determined people. Less obviously, their differences are actually what make them work. Merida does not think things through, and as the future leader of the clans, desperately needs the sort of thoughtful advice that Mulan, who is good at thinking creatively on her feet can offer.

Mulan also needs Merida. Mulan loves her family, friends, and her country. That is a beautiful thing, but it can quickly become very ugly when she is unwilling to consider her own needs over the expectations of her kin. Merida is someone who demands what she wants and as much as it irks Mulan, particularly early on, it's a balance that she needs.

What is their favorite aspect of each other?

They both are initially attracted to each other's strength, and over time find that they're not just strong physically but also emotionally.

Do either of them have pet peeves about each other?

Merida is very much so a punch first, ask questions later sort of person, and Mulan does not always appreciate being forced to ad lib her way through situations. Merida is very defensive when she's called out despite it being reasonable to be asked to not just react emotionally.

How would each reconcile with each other after a fight?

They go walking and hiking and train together. It's the easiest way to get Merida to talk through her problems, because when her body is kept busy she can get energy out and can't let things spiral inside her as much.

What would be their ideal vacation getaway together?

Sailing together on a junk. They both love exploring and learning new things but neither of them gets much of a chance to be away from their duties.

Think of a new way (AU, different situation, etc.) they could have met for the first time.

I think Merida and Mulan would be really well suited to a zombie apocalypse AU. Merida has been struggling fending for herself after separating from her family and Mulan has to rescue the Scot from a trap that she'd set up for zombies that Merida walked into, before she catches herself on fire. Mulan ends up helping Merida to find out what happened to her family and they fall in love over the course of the adventure.

[witchofthesouls]

what do you think would happen if Miko became fluent in bumblebee

Miko is a chaotic agent of a little shit.

You know those YouTube videos about Bumblebee's binary translations? Yeah, she would do that in a way that's soooo misleading. Think of her as a naughty Google.

She just really likes how his door-wings would flare and how screechy his "voice" can get.

Jack would just roll his eyes and ask for a better translation from Raf. And then smacks his face when Raf gets impish enough to be "Oh, she isn't wrong."

"Told you! I'm fluent in three languages now!"

Miko would send screenshots of Bumblebee's "twin" in popular media. Like Wall-E.

Of course, he gives it just as good with screenshots of her anime "twin," so it leads them into having a thing of watching shows and having marathons and binging sessions.

Bumblebee also drives Miko and Raf up the walls since he would tease them whenever they watch fantasy or sci-fi with a "Oh, that reminds of planet so-and-so" or "Wow, the creators got almost everything right."

It eventually leads to Raf and Jack hooking up a projector and painting a wall, so everyone on the base could enjoy watching without crouching over a tiny screen since the call of Ghibli films, Disney classics, and Cartoon Network/Boomerang is too strong.

The kids are honestly surprised just how much the Autobots watch As the Kitchen Sinks.

Miko is willing to bet her favorite lotion that Ratchet has the entire collection downloaded inside himself. It's been running for three decades and still on-going, so it becomes a common sight to see a couple 'bots lounging together on a random episode. Raf has no idea how to feel that even giant, metal space aliens could get as emotional as his own mom with the same show.

Jack can quote word-to-word whatever scene is playing and has to fend off Miko hounding him over America's questionable fashion choices in the 70s and 80s and slang.

Jack, how could you!? becomes a running gag between Miko and Raf since the show-Jack seems to be ground zero for the series' trouble. Their Jack keeps score on the most dramatic and emotionally-wrenching reenactments.

Bumblebee has the greatest score since he done it in the rain and mud with the perfect timing of the ground-bridge opening up.

[yes-i-write-fanfiction]

Do you have any Miniformers headcanons?

Short Miniformers AU explanation; basically everything is the same except cybertronians are roughly the size of action figures. That's right, humans are the giants in this AU. Now onto the HCs!

-Cybertronians are still pretty darn strong, especially considering their size. That being said, any regular human can now easily punt them across the room though you will probably hurt your foot from doing so, considering they are still made out metal after all.

-Their weapons still do real damage, though most of them are nonlethal to humans simply because of the energy source being much smaller. Megatron's fusion cannon is an exception though, that thing will still turn you into swiss cheese.

-Combiners still exist and when they combine they become as tall as an older child or a below average height adult.

-Minibots can pretty much fit into the palm of your hand.

-Ravage is the size of a kitten, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are the size of cardinals and Ratbat the size of a smaller bat.

-Since they are smaller, cybertronians require less resources. Just one regluar sized cube of energon is more than enough to fuel a whole team.

-The Ark and the Nemesis are the size of jumbo jets.

-Cybertronians sometimes have to fight and fend off attacks of animals, mainly dogs and cats. While none of these animals can kill them, it's still highly unpleasant to be covered in dog drool and batted around by a cat.

-It has also happened on multiple occasions that some poor bot gets abducted by a bird of prey.

[hooter-n-company]

I actually came up with the idea for this guy over two years ago and never found a chance to properly introduce him. But just a few days ago, my bud @twistedtummies2 finished a multi-part story for me as part of an art trade (you can read it here, here, here, and finally here), which serves as an official introduction for this crabby lad. I highly recommend you check it out, not only did TT2 do a phenomenal job, but it perfectly captures this fella's personality and backstory for those interested. Plus there's vore, which is a plus. XD

Meet Taoka! He's a T/wisted W/onderland OC of mine (that one mobile game with the Disney villains re-imagined as pretty anime bois), based on a certain giant coconut crab who sings a song about shiny stuff.

A flamboyant, shameless kleptomaniac obsessed with things that shine and sparkle, he comes from a poor background and had to fend for himself from very early on. He’s incredibly materialistic and loves showing off the treasures he's acquired (mostly pick-pocketed) over the years, but he’s constantly plagued by a deep insecurity that he has no worth beyond the trinkets he stole.

Besides stuff that glitters, Taoka has a passion for singing, guitar playing, and outrageous glam rock style fashion (he is a student of P/omefiore and even they think he looks a bit garish XD). He dreams about being a famous musician one day, but thanks to an incident in his past that changed his life forever, chasing that dream has been a serious uphill struggle...

Taoka’s Unique Magic is called “Time To Shine,” where he can create incredibly bright displays of bioluminescence, which he can use to blind enemies to make a quick getaway or create a distraction (usually to steal someone's belongings). He can also use light to attract others to him like an angler fish’s lure, filling enemies (or prey) with a strong urge to approach the “shiny things”. However, this doesn't work like actual mind control or hypnosis, so it is possible to resist the allure, although greedy individuals would have a MUCH harder time doing so.

Also, this dude loves to eat. He has a bad habit of stealing people’s food, especially if it has seafood or coconut in it, but he's not picky in the slightest. And yes, since this is MY character, he has eaten people before. Made easier by the fact that, despite his appearance here, he's not quite as human as he looks...

[wheels-of-despair]

Joseph Quinn Characters' Favorite Disney Movies

(according to wheels, who definitely spent a normal amount of time on this)

EDDIE MUNSON The Sword in the Stone. He's probably a Peter Pan enthusiast too, but the one where the gangly orphan is found by a bad-ass wizard who takes him on adventures and teaches him magic, and he eventually becomes king? That's the stuff fantasies are made of. Eddie Munson's fantasies, to be exact. Bet he totally had an owl obsession at some point because of Archimedes. Deep Cut: Not that I think Eddie has a thing for knights or anything, but Unidentified Flying Oddball. Obscure movie about a nerd in a spaceship accidentally landing in Camelot? Time travel, fair maidens, and weird humor? Eddie would eat it up.

Billy, Ralph, Tom, Leonard and Enjolras below the cut!

BILLY KNIGHT Dumbo. He calls it his comfort movie, but the poor boy cries during "Baby Mine" every single time. And when Mrs. Jumbo gets locked up. (She was just trying to protect her baby!) And the ending, but those are different kinds of tears. Will also cry if anyone considers killing a mouse instead of doing a catch-and-release. Think of Timothy! Deep Cut: Follow Me, Boys! It's a feel-good found-family movie about a musician who falls in love with a small town that learns to love him back. Minimal trauma, son of a drunk gets a loving family and an ideal father figure, happy endings for everyone!

RALPH PENBURY Mary Poppins. It's fun, it's magical, Ralph wishes he had a nanny that cool. He loves the mixture of live-action and animation, and never stops wondering how they did it. "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" is one of his favorite words, and he WILL try to work it into everyday conversation. And you know what? He can kind of pull it off. Deep Cut: Babes in Toyland. It's dramatic, it's romantic, it has epic musical numbers, and it ends with a fabulous wedding. It's everything Ralph wants in a picture!

TOM GRANT The Lion King. It's a classic story told with awesome animals and unforgettable songs. Tom's love of this movie has nothing to do with the fact that Simba reunites with his childhood sweetheart and gets to keep her and rule the kingdom and whatnot. No projection here. Just a good guy enjoying a good movie. Shut up. Deep Cut: Swiss Family Robinson. A family on a deserted island fends for themselves against tigers and pirates and the elements, oh my! And that treehouse? He's definitely spent a bit of time fantasizing about building one of those for himself.

LEONARD BAST The Great Mouse Detective. I know this feels like a Literary Nerd Cop-Out, but this movie is so clever and full of adventure. Offers a new perspective on a great many subjects - not just the giant toys that aren't freaky at all. Len has no comment on the mouse hookers. Deep Cut: Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Those effects? In the 1950s? CINEMA!

ENJOLRAS Robin Hood. Vigilante steals from The Man to give to The People? C'mon. Deep Cut: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. A vicar in a scarecrow mask leads a gang of smugglers on nighttime missions to evade taxes and the king's goons, thwarting tyranny with street smarts and help from the community at every turn.

[villainanders]

Was making fun of Mina because the backstory DAI automatically gives elven warriors is “dalish hunter” but running at a prey animal with a giant sword is an absolutely terrible way to hunt them even in game. But now I’m having so much fun switching to Sera to one shot rams long distance while Mina and Blackwall fend off bears and Viv freezes them solid and thinking thoughts about Dalish hunting parties

[fave-fight]

ROUND 1, MATCH 43

NO MAGIC, POWERS, WEAPONS, OR ADDITIONAL HELP FROM OTHERS

Sakurai Haruka:

“Has canonically killed at least one person with his bare hands. He has pathetic cringe fail poor little meow meow energy”

“that boy is placed fourth in the canon strength chart, RIGHT BELOW the person who bashed someones head in with a baseball bat and managed to fend off the person in second place during a fight. he has enough strength to beat people with a giant rock. he has the power of autism”

“i think haruka should WIN because if he loses that would be really sad i dont want to see him beat up. but also hes canonically the fourth strongest character and he beat a dog to death with a really big and heavy rock and he strangled a girl only a year or two younger than him and he is a serial animal killer. all at the age of 17! i think he is very strong. yes”

@socks-wizard-money-gang:

“This character just wants to be in the fight and needs one more vote. ”

“Because he's an epic dude with the transmasc swag and he should win and he's the silliest guy ever - definitely not socks”

“They're my friend and so so silly :D I want to put them in my fridge ”

“Seems cool enough. Got memes”

[karniss-bg3]

Going to use November as my month for writing, not novels, but anything at all (getting out of a creative funk via bg3). Kar'niss/Halsin got me eyezoom cause I do love that sweet hunk of an elf and the bug. Maybe you don't feel confident writin' origins, but perhaps, you could indulge us, in some bullet-point prompts of your own! Ideas! How might they meet, how might they seek each others company (tav not available hes the next calmest thing to karniss? KARNISS DUCK TAXI? Neither of them want to go into the city and stuck together at camp). I'LL WRITE IT. I am overconfident in my ability to slip into characters like a poltergeist. But situations maker, I am not.

Go go gadget prompt generator!

-Halsin is in need of rare bark/seeds/nuts/leaves from rather tall trees. He can’t reach and while he could wildshape to get to what he is after, he instead asks for Kar’niss’ aid to retrieve what he needs.

-Kar’niss runs into trouble while spinning a web in the forest. A gang of squirrels chitter in anger at him and while he tries to run them off they won’t leave him alone. Halsin offers to mediate the dispute using the speak with animals spell.

-Kar’niss is unable to find rest one night. The voices in his mind refuse to go silent and he’s close to having a panic attack. Halsin intervenes and offers something to aid his tormented mental state. This could be meditation, burning a certain collection of herbs and breathing in the smoke, an elixir made from special plants, or even offering him physical contact to help soothe his fear.

-They wander into town and the villagers give Kar’niss a hard time. They either heckle him, throw things, or give him the stink eye. Halsin wildshapes into a giant spider in solidarity, or he steps in to talk sense into the townsfolk in an effort to protect Kar’niss.

-Assassins from the Underdark come to collect Kar’niss’ head in the name of Lolth. It is up to Halsin, Tav, and others at camp to fend them off and keep the drider safe. Add or remove characters at your leisure.

-Kar’niss injures himself in some way. Perhaps one of his legs is broken in a fight. Halsin stays by his side and tends to his wounds dutifully, offering him comfort and kind words through the healing process. He may even have to hunt animals for Kar’niss to eat during this time.

-Halsin falls ill while the pair are traveling. Kar’niss pulls Halsin over his back and carries him to the nearest town to seek aid. He runs into push back from the townspeople but insists on someone helping Halsin, finding his voice in so doing.

These are a few good ones to start with. Enjoy and have fun writing!

[justatalkingface]

The worst part about the dark Deku arc in my opinion is the completely mixed messages. By attacking Izuku and criticizing what he did, they said the lives of all the people he saved weren't worth it. That he was stupid for leaving and should have stayed in his ivory tower with them. It wasn't like this guy was just fighting AFO and left school because these fodder children weren't enough. He saved MANY lives and took down numerous, murderous people who would have been left completely unchecked because Japan apparently does not have a military and the police aren't interested in protecting the citizens. Heroes are all that stands between total anarchy it seems, and most of them retired despite a crisis being the best possible time to earn fame and accolades. The civilians are left to fend for themselves with black market support gear they're so incompetent at using that they take themselves out with it and also wreck their own neighborhoods. Yo Shindo would be dead if Izuku stayed at UA. That's a point the narrative ignores. Muscular could have killed hundreds of people, thousands if he felt like it, and who could have stopped him? The man can withstand 100% OFA punches. That giant animal lady? She'd have been brutalized in a hate crime for no good reason. The fodder kids spit on all these actions. This man is out there actually helping people and saving lives, and their answer is to drag him back to their little safe zone where they keep all the civilians. Sure, let's put all our eggs in one basket and create a single point of failure! Why can't they all just join him in hero work? All 20 of them could be kicking ass and taking names. At least then we'd see the hero kids actually helping people for once. Yes, Izuku's lack of self care and mentality was self destructive, but the end result is that people were better off because he did it. He was being stupid for neglecting his own self care, not for leaving. If Izuku behaved the way they wanted him to, Nagant, Dictator, Muscular, and many others would still be in AFO's pocket and ready for deployment. Also, Aoyama was still the traitor and he 100% would have led Izuku into a trap if ordered to. Staying at UA would have created a worse outcome but the story doesn't acknowledge this at all. And it also didn't address Izuku's concerns, like you said. Bakugo dies, and Jiro loses an ear. We know these injuries will of course be reversed because the heroes have access to Eri who is like a senzu bean basically. But they didn't get massive power ups or anything. They just attacked a guy who didn't want to fight them and wouldn't beat them all into the dirt with Black Whip, like he totally and easily could have.

The funniest thing to me is AFO's complete inability to kill anyone. His confirmed kills are previous OFA holders, and this clown show is out here unable to kill literal children. The "Symbol Of Evil", everyone. What's funnier is that he treated Endeavor like an ant back at Kamino. The guy was completely beneath him. But then Endeavor gets buffed to be one of the strongest people in the world inexplicably and is capable of inflicting fatal wounds on AFO. All the training and upgrades in MHA happen off screen. It's the strangest thing how we've got a school setting, but it's the kids themselves doing all the training and inventing of new attacks and breakthroughs. They've got loads of pro hero mentors and a super genius principal who could theoretically give them the most efficient training plans possible and maximize their use of their quirks, but Mina trains with Bakugo and Shoto to perfect her acid. Well, I guess she's right. They're the ones at the forefront of fighting a war for their country, while many other heroes with more training and experience decided to just stay home. Which again, is the oddest thing. Are they hoping Shigaraki won't decay them when he wins? That AFO won't do a hero purge? We don't see them all fleeing Japan on planes or boats or anything. A lot of these people would have a decent amount of money and could leave with all their assets. Just straight up abandon ship. But we hear about them quitting because they don't like being criticized but not what they plan to do after. The cracks show a lot in MHA. It relies on so many contrivances to function. It's not a story that runs on cause and effect. As you said, everything has to go perfectly for things to work right. You mentioned Machia in another post, and it perfectly illustrates things. Imagine if the guy didn't suddenly decide to attack his master and instead he just crushed all these heroes. They have no one capable of defeating him and Momo's stuck at UA acting as a battery (lol) so they don't have a convenient drug to take him out this time. But of course they had the idea to use Gigantomachia against his allies, and of course when he was broken out of Shinso's brainwashing, he actually secretly hated AFO and wanted to fight him. Because the alternative is this being a suicidal, stupid plan and getting everyone killed when AFO frees his friend! The heroes always get to benefit from these unearned victories. They didn't flip Machia. They didn't earn his trust, or speak to him about his trauma and learn his past. They didn't have a heart to heart with him about his motivations and convince him he's more than a tool to be used by a megalomaniac. They didn't show him photos of all the people he crushed and ask him to make amends for what he did and help end the war he was used to start. No, he just gets a new personality with no build up to help stall a guy who can't manage mass fatalities we know he should be capable of, considering he destroyed Kamino VERY quickly. It's just like how Dabi has been shown to be able to turn people into charcoal in seconds with his flames, and also melt metal, but when he burns Hawks, he manages to barely damage his quirk a bit. And then the guy gets support gear so it's functionally like it never happened. The villains are always jokes in this series. Every victory they have is pyrrhic and there's a contrivance that lets the heroes still manage to get one over. This is the first narrative I've seen that's so openly biased for the main characters and doesn't try to hide it.

So the thing is with the Dark Deku arc? In many ways, it's the culmination of everything Hori's set up and left to rot. It's all these threads about heroic society Hori left blowing in the wind.

In other words? It's complicated. It's so so complicated, it's an arc that is all about complicated things, difficult subjects, and problems that don't have easy answers, and Hori treated it like it was a simple topic... but he couldn't even keep that up. It's such a mess, it's not even funny.

Because the thing is? You're right, Izuku did do good things while he wasn't in school. He saved people, many people, and that's something the story didn't acknowledge... at all. Meanwhile, his classmates, for all that they are trained to be heroes, trained to go and fight and protect, are sitting safe at home.

The thing is, though, that they are still children, all of them. Children shouldn't have to risk their lives for other people. They should live their lives, enjoy their youths. This is the moral question.

At the time though, on a logical level, each hero trained is, potentially, hundreds or thousands of people saved in the future; by allowing them to stay safe and grow up, far more people will be saved, theoretically, than if they were to be deployed in the field right now to save people. At the same time, though, Japan is in crisis, heroics as a whole is threatening to collapse under its own weight, and if they sit on their asses rather than help, there may not be a tomorrow for them. This is the logical question.

So morally, logically, which choice is right? Which is wrong? Is there even a right answer? What is the price someone should pay for others? What should a child give up for society? What are you willing to sacrifice to live how you want? What burden are you willing to bear for another's sake?

These are the kinds of questions this arc askes, and it's something you can't just avoid for as serious a topic as this. Personally, I'd say the answer is somewhere between these two points, but every story has its own moral and message it is ultimately saying is right or wrong, and that is eventually proved correct by the story itself. Sometimes it's that the day can be saved, if you just try hard enough, and that friendship is everything. Sometimes it's that the world is bitter and cold, and that only the strong and lucky survive.

Here's the problem MHA is suffering from, what this arc and Izuku ultimately exemplify: what is Hori saying is right? What is the moral or message that is correct here?

Yeah... Hori has no fucking idea. And, I've said this before, the fact he doesn't even seem to know what he wants beyond, 'ACTION! MORE ACTION! EXPLOSIONS! I CAST FIST!' is something that severely damages the overall story telling. It really feels like he doesn't know where things are even going, sometimes.

Ah, AFO. I really, honestly, feel sorry for him. He's just so... pathetic now. He suffers from being made too strong for the setting, and so Hori keeps having to nerf him just to explain why everyone is still alive. Like, really, honest truth? If I was AFO? I would have just, like, poisoned All Might years ago; none of this fair fight nonsense. The second All Might became a viable threat he should have started cheating like the criminal genius he apparently is, and taken advantage of all of the many, many advantages he has, between his Quirks, his resources, and his ruthlessness.

The spin off manga says AFO tried to steal Erasure back when Aizawa was still in training, which... yeah, that makes sense. Then he fails, and then... never tries again. Ever.

Am I the only one who sees the problem here?

I've seen people say that Aizawa, a man employed as a teacher in perhaps one of the most visible schools in existence, is too off the radar for him to find. When, apparently, AFO has his finger in the government, and criminal element, he is unable to... check his tax record to find out where he lives, or to have someone follow him home, or ambush him after he leaves the school he has to go to, or anything like that. Or, hell, just kill him, if Erasure is somehow too hard for him to get.

Oh well, I guess that's too much work for one of the most OP Quirks in the setting, one that can easily counter his All Might problem, or cripple him personally. Better to just ignore it entirely instead; what could go wrong with that?

Remember when AFO bitch slapped just about every top hero, minus All Might, causally? How in the fuck is Endeavour a threat to him now?

Yeah. The thing is, AFO is too strong, plain and simple. Even in a setting where All Might, who changes the weather while holding back exists, much less everyone without OFA. If he was allowed to have a fraction of the brains and fire power that we're told again and again that he has, the story never would have happened, because OFA would have been taken or destroyed generations before All Might even became a thing, before Izuku was even born. But the story is still happening, and people keep successfully beating him, and they need to keep beating, and will continue to until he is finally defeated. Does that make sense? No, but the show must go on.

On all the people not putting their part in... to be fair, we see a more personal version of Shigaraki than almost anyone else, in story. There's a real question of how many people even know what his goals are, much less who would believe it, since it's kind of nuts to say the least. Under that logic, I could see them not thinking it's worth the danger to themselves, though the fact they're willing to just sit there and do nothing when their ultimate fate is up to grabs, when they could actually make a difference, unlike so many other people, is... stupid. But people are often stupid, so to some extent, that is understandable, but you'd think the people who trained themselves to fight every day would be more willing to put their lives on the line... though, that goes back to the 'corrupt heroes' thing Hori keeps dropping.

Really, Machia's entire thing there is so mind numbingly dumb that, even though I made a post about how bad it is, I'm still surprised no one stopped to ask, 'And then what?' when Shinso proposed it. Brainwash is very powerful Quirk, don't get me wrong, but it is not a Quirk that is made for direct slug match like that... but Shinso is too cool to not include, so there we go, I guess! Hori does everything possible to justify him making a big, dramatic contribution to the fight when the smarter, yet absurdly obvious choice is Shinso just telling Machia to walk off to the other end of Japan, cover his ears, and wait there forever so that one of the most dangerous people in the story just doesn't participate in the final fight. But, you know, Post War is about the how COOL it is! For the cliffhangers! And Machia taking a nap, no matter how smart a choice, isn't a DRAMATIC CLIFFHANGER!

And that's the thing, really: so much of the worst choices in MHA (that aren't from long running overarcing problems that come from far earlier in the story, anyways) are about that, cheap drama. Every poor choice that everyone has criticized ultimately boils down to making every chapter DRAMATIC and EXCITING, by making every possible scene look cool, even if it needs to be promptly taken back in the very first panel of the next chapter that follows it, even if it conflicts with things he's said before, even if it makes everyone involved an idiot. Hori has taken the worship of cliffhangers above everything else in MHA, over story, or logic, or characters, or messages,; any and all of it will be sacrificed to the altar of 'does this make the fans want to read the next chapter?'.... which, ironically, makes the fans not want to read the next chapter anymore, because people didn't get into this story because of big hits and dramatic scenes.

And each cliffhanger has built off each other, until we've gotten here, to the point where the story doesn't even make sense anymore, where the most common comment I see reading each chapter is, 'I don't understand what is happening, I guess I'll have to wait for the anime to make it make sense', or, even more damning, 'I don't care anymore'.

The heroes win, and the villains lose, not because of of the choices they've made, or how strong they are, but because reality itself bends over to make it so. And nobody wants to read that.

[gradschoolcryptid]

ok I need the fallout/nintendogs character arcs explained because what

Lol so we wrapped our prior years long campaign by getting an error screen in the middle of the final boss battle, then getting spit out into the "real world" and learning that the "real" versions of our fantasy characters have been locked in a simulation for as of yet not fully revealed plot reasons. Cue the current game arc, where we've been pulled into post apocalyptic real world-adjacent West Virginia and tasked with delivering some sort of powerful object to Las Vegas. So far we're scared to touch it but we know from a separate game arc (the DM has so many games that he has/is running that are all part of the same connecting multiverse) that once there it will be used to create a magical surge that sends a couple displaced heros (including me from my other current game) back to their dimension. I, once a powerful dwarven barbarian, am now a short, anxious, should-not-be-allowed-near-people-because-i-will-pick-a-fight-i'll-lose guy named Gary.

Currently, we're on a train headed west, and one of the encounters we had was a giant pack of feral dogs that we had to fend off as we traveled through a valley. After thoroughly roasting the fact that our train somehow wasn't dog proof despite being, ya know, a moving train, we picked up the next game with the encounter.

As I stood guard to defend our conductor, one of the dogs, a clearly starved, feral greyhound, leaped on board.

I rolled to catch the dog. I succeeded.

The rest of the encounter was pretty much me struggling to hold onto the dog while everyone else actually did something useful. We leveled up after that, and I took a feat that functionally gives me an animal companion. The DM had to explain that this particular dog would not be able to follow the rules as written abilities the feat offers, he even had an NPC dog trainer in the next town offer to swap dogs with Gary, before I countered that I had no desire or expectation that this dog would ever obey, I just wanted a sliver of a chance at keeping him from escaping and/or eating us all in the middle of the night. Also at this point everyone in character hates/fears this untamed beast and is trying to convince me to get rid of it (ooc they're loving it almost as much as me). Thankfully Gary is a stubborn bastard who doesn't care what anyone else thinks and isn't about to start now and he's living his best star-of-a- horse-girl-movie life. I use our next stop to raid a pet store. I spend 3 days while the others upgrade the train chasing the damn dog through the woods bc I was convinced we had enough of a bond he wouldn't run away. Someone mentioned the definitely magic macguffin in our luggage and I realized I'd COMPLETELY forgotten the actual plot of the campaign.

Recently the dog went from "will bite your fingers off if you take his muzzle off" to "serene and revealing an intelligence far beyond what a dog should be capable of" literally overnight. Everyone else thinks it's weird but Gary is just convinced he was right about being a good dog trainer.

I've named him a mangled version of the name once used by simulation-Gary's best friend/almost love interest, who in this world is calling himself by a not-quite-remembered-right variation of the name of his beloved steed.