#it’s a problem bc all logic goes out the window and i will read for 8-10+ hrs idgaf i need to know what happens

[ihopeucomehomesoon]

do i binge read 10 chapters of my fav manga and experience instant but short-lived happiness or do i savor it and wait for more volumes to be released

[atlabeth]

hold onto me (im a little unsteady) - sokka x reader

i was listening to the song when i came up w this so feel free to listen to that if you want

summary: a late night with sokka reminds you that even on the worst days, you always have someone in your corner.

a/n: lmao this is 100% self indulgent i have no excuses. my parents are getting divorced and almost every time they're together they argue and so this is just a comfort fic after it happened again tonight bc GD i wish i had a sokka. this one goes out to all my divorce babies or people with parents that never stop arguing. you are very loved<3

wc: 1.7k, this got away from me lol

warning(s): mentions of parents arguing n shit, like the tiniest mentions of implying sex and problems with consent (in general, not with them), but this is all fluff

hey. i know you’re probably asleep right now but could you come over?

It was far too late at night when you sent the text. A question asked on a whim, an offer that would most likely go ignored due to the boy on the other end being asleep.

But goddammit, you really didn’t care. Even if he didn’t respond, just hitting ‘send’ made you feel slightly better. You had already taken refuge in one of the sweatshirts he had left at your house (read: one that you had stolen and refused to give back) and as your eyes fell on the glow of the digital clock on your bedside table, you were once again reminded of how stupid this was.

But you heard the telltale buzz of a notification and all but lunged for your phone, an uncontrollable smile tugging on your lips. You didn’t know why you ever doubted him.

sokka💙: you know i never sleep babe

sokka💙: a curse of my genius

sokka💙: im omw

you’re the best thank you love<3

A pair of fuzzy socks and a refilled water bottle later, you heard the sound of something hitting your window. Though you tensed up at first, a roll of your eyes was all it took before you remembered just who you had invited over. Another smile took over as you pushed yourself off of your bed, pushing the curtains aside in time to see another pebble hit the pane.

A physical effort took place to stifle the laugh as you pushed your window up, and you leaned against the sill on your elbows to get a better look at your ridiculous boyfriend.

“Throwing rocks at my window? I think I’m stuck in a bad romcom.”

He grinned and let the remaining pebbles fall to the ground. “It’s what’s to be expected from your Prince Charming, right? Besides, I’m assuming that your parents wouldn’t just let me walk through the front door at this hour.”

You felt the heat rise to your cheeks. Just the sight of Sokka was always enough to make you feel better, and tonight was no exception. The vice on your heart was already starting to loosen. “Right as usual. Think you’ll catch me if I jump?”

He laughed and made a show of looking up and down the distance and then at his arms. “I’d like to say so, but I think we’d have better luck if I climb up.”

“You sure you can do that, big guy?” you asked with a teasing grin. He rolled his eyes with the same sentiment.

“Of course I can. I just thank nature that there’s a tree so close to your window. It’s saved me from a lot of embarrassing falls.”

You chuckled and backed away from the window, the slight chill from the night air beginning to get to you. “I’ll leave you to it while I get things ready.”

Truth be told, your room was a total mess at the moment. You knew Sokka wouldn’t care, especially not now, but it put you slightly more at ease to have something in your life that you could control. You were in the middle of shoving some previously strewn-about clothes into your closet when you heard the click of your window closing. When you turned around, you were met with your boyfriend’s smiling face.

“You’re so pretty,” you murmured as you walked over to him. He wrapped his arms around your waist as you kissed him lightly on the lips, unable to stop the blossoming smile nor the warmth that the action gave you. “Thank you for being here.”

“Of course.” The softness of his words were in stark contrast to the joking bravado from only minutes earlier, and as you stepped away from his embrace and pushed yourself onto your bed, he joined you on the other side. “And not that I’m not happy to be here, but I just wanna know. What’s going on?”

You sighed, letting one leg hang off the bed as you tucked the other in. It was a testament to Sokka’s power how quickly he had gotten you to forget about the new mess of the night. “The usual showing of fuckall and fuckup. I’m more impressed by how they never run out of things to scream at each other about.”

Your bad joke didn’t get a laugh out of him, which you were secretly glad for. Instead, he snaked an arm around your back and tugged you closer, a contented sigh falling from your lips as you nestled your head into the space between his shoulder and his head. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “You know it’s not your fault, right?”

The phrase had gone in one ear and out the other more times than you could count from your parents, but each time Sokka said it, the words held a different weight. You knew it wasn’t your fault in the first place, but guilt didn’t care all that much for logic. You knew he meant it though, and once more the vice loosened.

“I know. But it still helps to hear it.” You glanced up at him, reaching a hand up to twist a loose strand of his hair around your finger. “You should wear your hair down more often,” you mused. “It makes you look like a prince.”

He chuckled, amusement glinting through his ocean eyes. “I did say I was your Prince Charming, didn’t I?”

You smiled, slowly uncurling his hair from your finger. “Yeah.”

“That means I’ll always be there for you. Especially to save my royal from their evil stepparents.”

Another laugh bubbled in your chest at that, and you leaned closer into him. “Thank you. The more I visit your place, the more I want your family to be mine. Hakoda is like, the nicest man I’ve ever met, and your mom? She actually makes me want to cry with how sweet she is. I think I know where you get it from.”

He grinned and bumped your leg with his own. “You know you’re welcome over there any time. But maybe you shouldn’t — I think my mom might actually adopt you with how much she loves you. That… that would be really weird.”

His joy was infectious as you planted another kiss on his cheek, something that earned you a, as you liked to call it, dazzling Signature Sokka Smile. “I’ll make sure she holds off on the adoption papers for now.”

“I’d like that.”

And though the happiness you felt at the moment was almost overwhelming, that was just what caused that tiny sliver of doubt to come in. When people invited their partners over at three in the morning, it usually wasn’t to sit on the bed and talk about their problems. It was… it was for more, and you didn’t want that right now. And because you were an expert at it, you decided to put your foot in your mouth and start talking.

“I— I’m sorry that I called you over here so late, for no reason. I know you probably expected something else than me ranting, but…” you sighed, drawing your knees closer to your chest as you brought your other hand to Sokka’s resting on your shoulder. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea.”

He sighed at that, but you knew it wasn’t one of disappointment. “You know I’m here for you. I don’t care if you just want to sit in silence for the next five hours while we stare at the wall, or if you want to watch sappy rom coms until your eyes bleed. I’m more than okay with staying like this. I didn’t come over here because I expected anything from you — I came over here because you needed me, and so I’m here.” Sokka smiled, an image you didn’t think would ever stop making you melt, and intertwined your hand with his. “This is perfect. You’re perfect.”

You were so stunned at the brazen declaration that your voice got stuck in your throat for a moment, holding back tears. (Happy tears. They were never anything other than happy tears with Sokka.) It hit you then that you didn’t really know what it was like having someone get close to you without an ulterior motive.

“Thank you,” you murmured after a moment of comfortable silence. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” You knew he was smiling, even without having to look up at him. You could hear it in his voice, feel it in the kiss he pressed to your hairline.

A comfortable silence hung in the air for a long time until you broke it. “You know… my dad kinda ran off to a motel for the night after this whole thing, and my mom leaves early in the morning. If you were serious about those rom coms…” You allowed the unsaid question of staying the night to fester so Sokka knew he could say no if he wanted to, but he didn’t even hesitate.

“Of course I was serious. I mean, I’ve gotta get the ideas for our future wedding from somewhere.”

You laughed, a sentiment that had occurred more times in the ten minutes he had been here than the past week, and picked the remote for your little box TV off of your bedside table. You clicked through various movies until you found one Sokka liked, and then you cuddled deeper into his side to prepare for the ride you had ahead of you.

Thirty minutes into 27 Dresses, he had fallen asleep, arm still around you and one of his legs slightly intertwined with one of your own. But it’s not like you minded — the familiar weight of Sokka in your bed had caused all your worries to melt away, if only for the night.

You didn’t expect him to last past the first movie, but you were sure you would at least get through until Katherine Heigl got the man. But there was an overwhelming feeling of safety permeating the air with Sokka’s arms around you, and you ended up knocked out before she could even get through all twenty seven dresses.

It wasn’t lost on you how fortunate you were — he didn’t expect anything like that from you, he just wanted you to be safe. He was there for you. You would never understand how you had gotten so lucky with your boyfriend, but you would never stop being grateful for him.

-

this is the most self indulgent thing ive ever written and i am NOT sorry

perm tags: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77

atla tags: @marianne1806 @brown-eyed-thang @akiris

[ufonaut]

also THANK you bc youre one of the few ppl ive ever seen/interacted w online thats a comic fan that addresses the problem of people only consuming comics through out of context panels n like theme blogs/accs and just pretty art. like omg i feel a lot of solidarity w u even tho i dont actually know u personally bc i used to feel like i was being “cynical” for my opinions but its literally just critically engaging w media n its genuinely disheartening to see ppl taking critical engagement and actually reading comics as being cynical and not letting people enjoy things. ur a BLESSING and it makes me happy to see your posts! i think people dont understand you can like… respectfully disagree and just move on w your day </3 you probably already know, but youre not alone in this! you have at least one random anon in your corner!! i hope you enjoy the rest of your night :))

EXACTLY!! EXACTLY!!!!!!!!! this is so tremendously well put, it's exactly everything i've been saying & believe in and i can't thank you enough for reaching out, it's genuinely extremely reassuring to know there's someone out there who shares this point of view

the thing is no one would call themselves a fan of a movie they saw a poster/gif of & never actually watched or a fan of a musician they've seen a couple pictures of & never actually listened to but suddenly all logic goes out the window when faced with comic books! the reason i advocate so much for really actually engaging with comics as a legitimate medium is specifically because i want people to enjoy things, i'd love for them to find a book or a series or a character that's everything they've ever dreamed of in canon as i have. no fandom interpretation necessary, no ignoring the parts you don't like, just genuinely engaging with the text & finding something that feels like it's meant for you and you alone -- a possibility that exists solely & precisely because there are so many comics out there in the world. it's a wonderful thing to have as a hobby!

i personally consider comics one of the most accessible forms of media in the world -- readcomiconline is a godsend & it only requires an adblock to be absolutely perfectly safe on both desktop and mobile, not to mention it's got everything from the literal golden age of comics (stuff from the 1930s-40s that's not been collected anywhere or you'd have to spend $100000 to even breathe in the same room as!) to weekly releases.

and, speaking as someone who's completely broke as we speak & generally grew up poor, it's an astoundingly cheap hobby to have. free methods aside, if you happen to have a local comic shop or a convention or anything remotely similar then you're bound to find a whole bunch of comics for absolutely insane prices. i go to the london comic mart, which is a free entry event, every two months & come back with 30-50 individual issues for £10! hell, i do even make an effort to support what dc's putting out right now and generally stick with 2-3 monthly series from creators i sincerely love and a couple specials, which still comes to max £10-15/month. i can't think of any other hobby that's genuinely this affordable and this fun, i consider getting into comics to be one of the best thing that's ever happened to me

but all the same, i don't even believe people need to own any of this at all, they've just gotta read it to call themselves fans. it's the simplest thing in the world.

SERIOUSLY ANON THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!! YOUVE GOT ALL MY LOVE

[thepromisedbride]

HELLO JESS. BBC GHOSTS ARTHURIAN AU GO (by which I mean the arthurian characters in the premise of BBC ghosts, not the other way around)

REY oh my god i love you for this here we go

So in Ghosts the alive characters are a married couple, right?? Wrong!! Well, not wrong, because yes that’s exactly what Mike and Alison are. But wrong for this version because though I seriously considered having one of the couples as the main characters I then thought “hey what’s more fun than a family!!” and luckily for us (me) we have a ready made family in the form of (drumroll please) The Orkneys!!

The rest is under a read more because I got what some might call “carried away” and others might call “obsessed”

What happens is this: as the Orkney brothers grow up, they rather naturally become separated, until at last Gareth is the last one, at seventeen, living with their mother. Their father (or at least, their supposed father: they all know that Mordred looked too dissimilar to Lot to really be his son, though they never said it) died a while ago, and Morgause could not find it in her to really focus on her children over her job.

The five of them seem to unspokenly care about each other, but in a way where it was clear that they were all waiting to be contacted first.

Nonetheless, when Morgause does die, with Gareth having just turned eighteen and seriously wondering why he had taken a gap year from university, they all show up, and find that they had jointly been bequeathed the old family house in the country.

Gawain has been recently promoted and is now working from home. This meant more time than he usually spent inside his flat, and he had been getting rather claustrophobic. So, after an admittedly short heart to heart with Gareth, who was looking quite nervously towards a future without parents and with no idea what to do, he packs up his brothers in a typically Gawain-like fashion and moves them all out to the manor.

Mordred has been able to see ghosts since an incident in his youth involving a large body of water, an ill-timed trip and a sudden storm. He hasn’t been in water since, but the near-death experience left his with the ability to see those spirits left when their bodies had departed. This is especially unfortunate for him, because half the time he doesn’t particularly want to be able to see living people, let alone ghosts who do not leave when he throws things at them. But he puts up with it enough: there is, beyond all logic, a particular cup he took from Morgause’s house when he left which somehow has three ghosts attached to it, and they happily provide a deterrent for any others.

(It does create a somewhat awkward car journey: he’s being driven by Agravaine, and between the boxes in the back and the only two seats in the front, there’s not much room even for a ghost. Aggs keeps looking at him weirdly when he fidgets, but it’s not his fault that the only free place left is his lap or that Galahad decided that he simply had to see the journey to the house rather than simply confining himself to the cup like Bors and Percival did.)

Anyway, this means that he arrives at the house and immediately sees a crowd of variously costumed figures and tries turning around and leaving. Unfortunately Agravaine anticipates some “young adult hormones” and quickly steers him straight inside.

It takes him a while to finally be alone with the ghosts, who seem to quickly realise he can see them. There are eleven of them in total, though a couple seem to spend most of their time in the little gatekeeper house rather than the main building. He immediately makes a note to avoid Dinadan, who looks at Mordred once and immediately makes fun of his choice in band t-shirts (and like, he’s a ghost, what does he know about bands, it’s like trying to talk to Gaheris—) and Lamorak is instantly relegated to Mordred’s extensive “least liked people” list, which is different to his “disliked people” list. Kay seems kind of mean, which is funny, and Bedivere is responsible enough to try and control the others, but they are clearly “not dating” which honestly Mordred has no time for.

He gets on best with Clarissant, probably, as she’s smart and not too grating but still sweet enough that she likes sitting with him when he wants to be quiet but doesn’t want to be alone. Owain, likewise, has shown him several spaces in the garden for birdwatching or other wildlife (which Mordred doesn’t particularly have used for, but he does appreciate the effort).

Owain is “not dating” a different ghost, Laudine, but in a different way than Kay and Bedivere are “not dating”, in a way that doesn’t get on Mordred’s nerves and lets him acknowledge that Laudine is kind of funny. Elaine doesn’t really talk to him: there’s a river and lake by the house and she seems to prefer it there, or else by the old tower. But she has great stories, and never minds when he really needs a vent, usually about his brothers.

It’s Palamedes and Brangaine who live (in the loosest sense of the word) in the gatekeeper’s cottage. This is very useful, because it means he can set up a little bedroom inside, though it’s mostly for storage now, and sleep there when he wants to pretend he has his own space. He has a strange nervousness that they might see him as a sort of pet, but he’s pretty sure that’s not the case.

Relatively sure.

Not that it matters. They have a clearly delicate history together, one Mordred is not about to ask after for fear that one or both will start crying, but they manage in a sort of sweet domesticity. He’s left the goblet in there for now, because Palamedes seems to enjoy Galahad, Bors and Percival’s company.

And it’s—

Nice.

And then, of course, there is Lancelot. He seems far too well meaning for Mordred to carry on any kind of maliciousness for long, except that for some godforsaken reason he has also decided that Gawain is an ideal muse. He spends way too much time following Gawain around, thinking up sappy poetry about Gawain, or else sighing blissfully out of a window (presumably over Gawain). Mordred thinks that if Lancelot were to ever be able to actually talk to Gawain (physically, he means. Or figuratively? Because even if Lancelot wasn’t a ghost he does not seem to have any cognitive abilities around Gawain anyway) then this image would be shattered. Gawain looks pretty, but so does this waterfall Mordred once read about that falls down into nothingness and despair, or the river stretch that looks like a lovely refreshing swim but actually is an fierce riptide with a 100% mortality rate. Something like that. But the point is that it’s difficult enough with Gawain constantly around without having his admirer hanging round all the time too. Gawain is insufferable already without Gaheris and Gaheris getting to add to their board of “Is Gawain Secretly (Or Not-So-Secretly) a Changeling” with ‘every time he puts something down it always seems to move just within reach when he goes to pick it up’

(If you’re wondering why there isn’t an Arthur, that is a subplot that I just suddenly decided on just now. I was going to have Arthur as a Captain-like ghost but then I was thinking and long story short there’s a tangent here—

It was Arthur’s house. He’s still Mordred’s dad, though here I guess he isn’t their uncle as well, and he left Morgause the house in his will. He heard she was pregnant, and there was a little but if him which knew he could never acknowledge his child but he still wanted to provide in some way. Arthur doesn’t have to be a bad parent.

Incidentally this also solves why the brothers didn’t really know about the house before rather than “Morgause wasn’t a big fan of the country”.)

(OH MY GOD also so Guin isn’t a ghost either bc I wanted her alive. So now she’s an important plot point. She moved into the outskirts of the nearby village because she liked the area but didn’t want to contest for a massive empty house. Anyway she’s smart and despite the problems her and her late husband went through, she does respect him for this. So eventually the Orkneys will have to go for a discovery on the house’s secrets aka there are ghosts and so they will find Guin and discover the Truth. It’s all coming together now lads)

They invite their neighbours over for dinner one night: the house needs some pretty desperate renovating, but it’s now moderately liveable at least and, according to Gawain, this requires a party.

So invite them over he does. The ones to the left, a couple named Tristan and Isolde, though Gaheris swears that when they were introduced in the village Isolde looked completely different, and the ones to the right, Morgan and Vivian. They pass a very pleasant evening, despite the fact that a fox manages to get on the roof.

No one is sure how.

Gaheris and Agravaine are charged with rescuing it, which is by far the stupidest decision Gawain has ever made. However, despite them all living together, the brothers are really not in a brilliant harmony yet, and so Gawain sends those two off whilst he entertains their guests.

The two of them are staring out the window at the fox for a while before Gaheris dares Agravaine to climb up. He doesn’t want to, but Gaheris is his little brother, and if he passes over a dare from him he’ll never hear the end of it. So he climbs out.

It’s a dry night. But it was not a dry day. And the leaves packed on all the footholds are wet and slippery, and Agravaine—

Falls—

And hits the ground, several stories below.

They’re all terrified, of course, regretting every moment they spent apart or arguing. Agravaine is declared legally dead for fourteen minutes, and it is the worst fourteen minutes of any of their lives. But finally— finally— the doctors emerge to tell them that their brother is resting, but is expected to make a full recovery.

Which he does! There are several more doctor’s appointments and physiotherapists scheduled, but eventually he can return to house. (Unsurprisingly, the arguing starts again quickly.)

There is, however, one major difference.

Agravaine can now also see the ghosts.

Mordred, having been able to see them all his life, had not considered this possibility, and thus does not prepare.

Agravaine discovers these new abilities when he walks into a room to find Mordred, pretending to be on a phone call, chatting away with Clarissant whilst Lamorak inexplicably floats nearby. He stares, screams, and blacks out.

When he comes to after a moment he is faced with a lengthy, surprisingly bored conversation with Mordred, and seriously considers blacking out again. Lamorak has not left the room despite his presence being an inevitable disaster, and Agravaine perhaps unsurprisingly decides that He is to be the newest mortal enemy in Agravaine’s list.

(Lamorak is silently gratified that he is on lists for both alive people who can see him, and chooses to ignore the reasoning behind the lists.)

Mordred has been dealing with ghosts for most of his life.

Agravaine has Not.

This means that, pretty quickly, Gawain, Gaheris and Gareth realise something is even more wrong with those two than normal.

And of course they have to come clean.

Gaheris is half convinced that the two have found his conspiracy journal and that this is an elaborate ruse to trick him into confessing love for Nessie or something. Gareth is mostly concerned about the logistics and privacy, though Mordred’s narrated conversations between him and Owain seem to make him much more comfortable with the whole thing. Gawain is genuinely tempted to jump out a window to see if he can join to newly discovered exclusive club of ghost watchers, but eventually decides that it’s too much a risk to his beautiful face.

(Lancelot silently agrees, though it has not escaped his attention that it would be nice if Gawain could actually see him.)

[natsunoomoi]

So sometimes I check wikis to like look things up about a show or series that I don’t have time to read or watch the whole thing fully cuz that’s a time investment I just don’t have but I have questions I just want a quick answer to.

The problem is, wikis are of course, made by like regular people with varying levels of biases and also sometimes selective memory of events. As can be seen in my more recent posts with SVSSS and MXTX’s works I’ve been on those wikis, but sometimes the explanations of plot points and a bunch of other stuff are really confusing and circular. SVSSS’s is being more cleaned up recently, but it still has some things that it says happened, that I couldn’t find at all when reading the book and I’m just like, where did they find that info to put on the wiki?

Like one of my earlier posts when I started reading SVSSS at the beginning, I mentioned how I read that original Luo Binghe got killed by his harem eventually and I thought that made sense cuz ultimately no one in that original plotline made choices that made them genuinely happy. But when I read the book, I didn’t see any mention of that anywhere...? I think last time I went to go look at BC Novels they had one chapter left to translate. Is it in there?

Then at other times, I wonder if there’s an inconsistency because there’s a limitation between the translation I read and like something in the original Chinese text like there’s a typo, which obviously there’s a mistake then. But then other times, I’m wondering if people read a different thing, but most of the people with a different interpretation don’t seem to be able to read Chinese and are reading the same translation as me, but I’m confused where they got certain details from?

Like for instance, there’s another part on the wiki where it says Airplane originally planned for PIDW to be a BL from the beginning, but I’ve literally been trying to find where that was stated because I don’t remember that and I don’t see that anywhere and the chapter citation that is listed on the wiki goes to a chapter that doesn’t talk about that at all. Airplane/Qinghua does say that he made changes to Qingqiu’s character that were originally more complex to make him a trash human and he did that to make a living, but I can’t find where it says he originally wanted it to be a BL theme to begin with. In the chapter they cite it says that Qinghua had designed Binghe to have an appearance in a way that appealed more to a female audience and be more of a pretty boy. That doesn’t mean that he meant his entire book to be a BL it just means you make your main character look a certain way partly for internal logic because that look is really popular with women so the in-story women would probably find him attractive and in a meta sense any females who happen to also read a stallion novel like some women read shounen manga would find him hot in real life. A successful story does things like that to reach people outside of its target audience and that’s kind of a lot of the reason why a lot of Shounen Jump manga are really popular with women too even though a lot of the stories have the male perspective in mind. The chapter it cites only talks about the actual physical appearance design choice he made for Binghe vs Mobei-Jun. He just says that Mobei-Jun was made for the kind of male character he prefers to think about, but Binghe was just designed with the idea of what would make him more popular and also could kind of be like a self-insert-ish for his desire to beat on people for funsies. It doesn’t talk at all about what the genre he planned for the book to be and interpreting the text to that much is really stretching the context to wishful thinking levels. I don’t even actually care either way what kind of novel PIDW was because it’s not actually that important to enjoying the story of SVSSS, but I don’t know if it’s the Ravenclaw in me or what, but it just bugs me when there’s something that seems *wrong* printed on a thing that is supposed to inform other people. I’m literally reading chapters at the same time as trying to write this post to find where I think maybe it was said, but it sure as hell wasn’t the chapter the wiki cites.

The other day I re-read the chapter when Qinghua taunts SY with Qingqiu’s real memories, and he doesn’t even say it then. ATM, I’m trying to look through the last chapter because there’s that one part when Qinghua shows up right at the end and talks with SY at the celebration, but even at the start at the chapter, SY talks about how Qingqiu was super straight to him. SY is an unreliable narrator, but given the context of Qingqiu’s life events that makes sense. His personal trauma because of Qiu Jianluo also pushed him away from any amount of closeness he could have with other men other than ones he already trusted to some degree. He had a lot of problems forming new relationships of any kind with other men because of deep-seated trust issues. Not that he didn’t have any, but meaningful ones were pretty absent. One only because of a very sad misunderstanding and lack of communication and explanation, but the others just tough.

But like also there’s like that SJ slept in the Warm Red Pavilion and he went there just for comfort rather than more lascivious reasons. Yeah, it’s true that he didn’t go there for those intentions, but like it’s still in the environment so it’s not like he’s unaware of what happens there. I mentioned it in the previous post about his search for means to grow his cultivation, but only to say he’s probably not that innocent and there may be some truth to him wanting to do something to Ning Yingying out of desperation to make up for his low cultivation foundation. Like he’s aware of those kinds of things and he probably came across something that said that was a way he could grow his cultivation. Desperation and this motivation I think is probably the only reason why he would be so tempted to cross that line with Yingying because he otherwise treats women rather well. She is his favorite too, so if a person who usually treats females well for some reason wants to do something that would be hurtful to their favorite person, there has to be a much deeper motivation behind that. The only thing that is a canonically greater obsession I think would have to be his cultivation level. He has a number of self-esteem issues and such a well, but his greatest pride and greatest concern is his cultivation. He is proud of his abilities, but also he laments and regrets the version of him he couldn’t become so much I can foresee that if there was a suggestion that he could overcome his late start in some way by using someone female, I think he’d at least think about it and also consider who he knows could be a viable candidate should he want to act on it and that is how that part of PIDW happened. Pain and desperation make people do things that are uncharacteristic, so it has to be something that really bothers him more than in a moment of weakness that idea is there.

Which is another point I have an issue with on the wiki because it says his low cultivation is “logically” because he started late and spent so much time with a fake master. It’s not logically. It’s factually. It’s mentioned several times especially in the extras chapters from Shen Jiu’s point of view where he talks about how he is specifically behind because of wasting time with Qiu Jianluo and Wu Yanzi and also that he was the last to form a golden core. If it was coming out of SY or someone else’s mouth as an explanation, maybe you can say “logically”, but if it’s coming from SJ’s point of view chapter it sure as hell is not. That *IS* his motivation. He states it himself.

Also, I think some people don’t understand what it means to have a low cultivation foundation. Cultivation from what I gather according to the rules of this world is like a lot of talents we have in our world where you need to start young to be good at it. There’s a few skills that you can learn that if you don’t start at a specific time you lose the optimal window to develop your talent for it because of the way the brain functions and basically purges off skillsets you’re not using in your environment. 

Learning a language is one such skill. When a baby is born, it has the capability to learn how to speak every language in the world, but as it gets older its brain purges out the sounds that it doesn’t hear from its environment and this keeps going into older childhood as well. The taxi driver I talked to the other day about this said you have to start before you’re 10, which sounds about right. The phoneme purging in your brain starts quite early though so that’s why my company has classes for Moms and their 1 or 2 year old so that they can speak to them in English to try to keep English sounds in their environment so that they can have perfect pronunciation when they grow up. If you try to learn a new language when you’re older that’s how you have accents. You don’t have the phonemes to speak the language perfectly so your brain is imitating the sounds with the ones you do have. Plus it’s a constant use skill. I used to be able to speak Cantonese with no accent up until my teens, but I haven’t spoken it in so long that slowly I started to have an accent and now I can’t say the words properly anymore. I don’t know that much Cantonese to begin with that aren’t baby words, but I used to be able to say them properly.

Music is another one and that one has an even more narrow window. Kids with parents hoping that they will be music prodigies usually start them on music VERY young like 3 or 4. It’s not that it’s impossible for someone to pick up an instrument later in life, but there’s a type of sense to music and hearing the scale and developing that skill that if you don’t start kids on it at that time, their musical ear will not be as good.

And it’s that “not as good” thing that Qingqiu is chasing. He is exceptionally powerful and talented which is why despite starting late he became favored. He is very capable and good at what he does, but he is not as good as what he could have been. Even though he is so good, he is only haunted by how much better he would have been if he had started on time and had proper instruction. A musician who maybe wants to be a concert violinist but took up the instrument late may struggle to get a good seat in an orchestra because despite any talent they have, their ear is not as developed as someone else. Such a musician would be vexed and lament that they hadn’t discovered their love for the instrument sooner just as Qingqiu is vexed and laments that he didn’t start proper cultivation development earlier.

And I’m griping about SVSSS more because I read that book so I have more points of reference to go on. But like the wikis for MDZS and TGCF aren’t much better. MDZS is maybe a little more coherent and easier to follow, but TGCF confused the hell out of me and it took me awhile to understand what was going on. I really needed it though cuz I was watching the donghua and like I think the way they present some of the scenes is like slightly out of order for like foreshadowing and other like film reasons, so I checked the wiki while watching to try to get more context cuz I don’t have much time right now to pick up another book at the moment. I was so confused though cuz like...it seems like the logic in the entries is so circular and I’m trying to keep track of all the characters and what’s happening. I hope it’s better now but at the time I was watching it I was so confused and struggling to make sense of what’s happening.

And like maybe you’re wondering why if I read the book, would I bother checking a wiki. Mostly out of laziness because I’m thinking of something and I don’t want to go find the exact chapter to help me flesh out my thought and reference point. I end up getting more frustrated sometimes depending on what I’m looking up because of the above things.

Plus again I’m like a bit mystified as to why Qingqiu’s look seems to appeal to me. It’s not just him though and like other characters with a similar style in some of the games I play. I think there’s some imprint from some very old childhood memory that I only vaguely remember. Like it’s a look that seems familiar, but I can’t put my finger on where it’s from and I can’t figure it out, so I keep just going to check images to see if it will make me remember. I think it’s a movie I saw with my Dad as a young child, but I can’t remember it at all. I remember there was one Jet Li movie I watched with my Dad once and I ended up watching all the time cuz I thought Jet Li was really cute in that movie (I was also 3 so I don’t know why I’m thinking that way, but whatever), but like Jet Li was bald in that movie because it was about a Shaolin Temple. I think at the time my Dad showed me that movie I already showed an interest in movies from my own heritage, so that’s why he showed me that. But like I can’t remember anything else. I suppose it could have been something my grandpa watched because sometimes he’d watch a Chinese movie when I was playing in the living room and I’d stop to watch too and then he’d fast-forward through the intimacy scenes, but because I’d just look over at something he was already watching I have no idea what any of those were.

[tfw-no-tennis]

mtmte liveblog issue 30

30 issues wow...forget the fact that I skipped like 5 issues of crossover event nonsense

another big ole swerve recap omg

this trial is so messsyyyyyyyyy lmao 

hvbajdfbahsjkfdbhjs starscream listening to meagtrons speech looking like ‘hmmmmmmm I may have miscalculated’ 

prowl looks pissed af meanwhile optimus just looks dead inside lmao

I mean. megatron kinda does have a point. this is like, the most biased, conflict of interests lookin trial of all time, in that all the major participants have some sort of long, complicated history with each other. what a mess

optimus, listening to megatron’s speech: wow this is worse than divorce court was

oh shit I totally forgot that those decepticons attacked the trial 

MAGNUS HAMMER AYYYYYY

a guy saying ‘objection!’ as optimus prime punches half his face off...that pretty much sums up idw op lmao 

op: oh thank god, I can punch shit now. I'm not cut out for this bureaucracy nonsense

megatron: thanks, random decepticon, for the attempted rescue, but I'm super old and I just want to nap so no thanks

random decepticon: wtf- [gets murdered by optimus prime]

I love op’s big ass antennae 

meanwhile, brainstorm goes to a bar and instead of buying anything, pulls out his own drink. I feel like that isn't allowed in most bars, or is at least frowned up vbsjdhfbhjdkfn. ily brainstorm 

also? big ass mood I was so broke last time I was on a barhopping vacation w/friends that I brought a cheap giantass bottle of mixed drink in my backpack and just drank that at all the bars lmao

WHIRLLLL I love his humansona sm. and also I love that whirl is into artsy french movies or w/e omg

brainstorm, drinking thru a wrist funnel: sorry I cant take my mask off rn it isn’t plot relevant yet

‘earthlets’ lmao

I love that rung is like, too pretentious to care that much about movies and would rather read earth books lol

and then bluestreak is like ‘yeah they have books...comic books’ can this man not read

I still cannot fuckign believe that the argument that got megatron out of a for-sure death sentence or w/e was ‘its not a war crime if we’re on the moon’ liiiiike what the actual hell lmao

also I love that, once again, we see magnus’s strict adherence to the law, technicalities and all

magnus: you cant really stop a trial and move it somewhere else where the laws are better suited to the outcome you desire

prowl: what are you, a cop? fuck off

also op being like ‘ok whatever all that doesn't matter...what DOES matter is that it would look bad for us to move the trial to cybertron in an obvious attempt to circumvent the rules, and public perception is what’s most important, fuck all that ‘morality’ bullshit’

meanwhile, rodimus is dead! and ambulon is also dead, which makes first aid sad, which makes ME sad

ayyy, rodimus is still alive! well, one rodimus is alive, at least 

rodimus and megatron really have the vibes of ‘stepfather and stepson forced to work together on a family road trip gone wrong after dad decided to sit this one out’ lmao

ah yes, ‘malaise’ the medical diagnostic term for ‘I don't feel so hot and idk why’ that practitioners like to throw under the ‘diagnostic notes’ section of lab orders to explain why they're ordering every blood test under the sun for a patient 

I love medical terminology. ANYWAYS

BE NICE TO MY BOY MEGATRON. 

rodimus: listen I have to come to terms with the fact that there's another version of me right here, and he’s DEAD, which means we can’t fuck, which is super lame 

I firmly believe that rodimus would be team ‘hell yeah id have sex with my AU self’ tbh 

I find it interesting that megatron is often casting blame for his actions onto others - here, he says that rodimus made him realize he doesn’t want to stop doing stuff w/his life, and then says that starscream forced his hand w/the whole ‘luna 2 law’ thing, and previously he’s said how whirl beating him up in jail is what led to him abandoning pacifism - take responsibility for your actions and decisions dude!

though he goes on to say here that he resorted to violence because he realized that the system that was in place could withstand everything else he would have tried to use to change it, which is super interesting 

megatron: okay, yes, I MIGHT have murdered billions, but I could help find us a new planet, which would be baller, sooooo...how about you co-opt your lame son’s frat boy ship and put me in charge? 

op: sounds fair to me. now how about we do some more Big Speeches before I make you somebody else’s problem

vbhdjskfbhaskdjf the ‘team rodimus’ lineup setup reminds me so much of the ‘together we make the ______’ meme with the different members being like, ‘the power’ ‘the gay’ ‘the awesome’ ‘the guy with no ears’ hbvhjdkfbs

chromedome: if I do this I could die

rodimus: that sounds like a you problem bro

‘this one time’ YEA RIGHT c'mon cd honor your dead husband’s wishes

omfg I forgot abt brainstorms ‘early early warning system’ lmao

I love nautica soooo much oh man

ooooof drift :( :( oh no

dead future rodimus!! uh oh is right

rodimus, known himbo: I'm sure I can defeat the inevitability of future events! all I have to do is cut my own arm off!

tailgateeeee he’s so cute...I love that he can tell stories of his daring escapades, just like at the beginning of mtmte, but this time its actually TRUE

OH SHITTTT GETAWAY

he looks so fucking sinister there lmao how are we NOT supposed to realize he has bad intentions from the get-go

‘you’ll make a prime one day’ well, getaway, you’re right about that at least...

cyclonus in the bg like 🤨🤔 at getaway

seriously I cant get over how getaway has such a slimy kinda vibe to him, like specifically in his interactions w/tailgate - this is before things even really take off but I'm still like TG GET AWAY (lol) FROM THIS GUY

cyclonus: somebody flirting with my crush? better go stare out a window instead of communicating absolutely anything to said crush about my feelings!

honestly I feel like, while megatron renouncing the decepticons and becoming an autobot is certainly interesting, it would be equally interesting for him to remain a decepticon but try to change the philosophy of the movement 

like, I get why op had him give that speech - to prevent the cons from trying to free megs again/thinking that he was being coerced into things (ironic considered he WAS coerced into giving that speech) - but it’s kinda the easy way our for megatron - being able to completely abandon the decepticon cause and not deal with it at all, and start over anew as an autobot

it would've been a lot harder to remain a con and try to reform what he has broken in the decepticon movement - but I think that would've been really interesting

though from a writing logistics standpoint, I get why jro didn't go for that bc we don't get a lot of other decepticons in the cast for that to work, and also megatron still definitely DOES have to face down all his mistakes w/the decepticons w/the djd and overlord and whatnot

anyways. I cant believe that all megatron had to do to join the lost light was make ONE speech denouncing the decepticons. like, they should've at least had him do a tiktok dance too or something, just to make it a really tough deal

I love the rodpod vbhjfsdkfbjaskjndfj

ok but I still don't really get the logic of making megs CAPTAIN like ouch. poor rodimus 

I feel like making megs a bartender at swerves or st would've been WAY more useful in showing him humility or w/e. OR it would've made him evil again, which, fair, 

ratchet: don't worry, we’ll medically poison him, it’ll be fine

ok but rodimus is right, this is SO messy, op wants to prove his ex husband isn't 100% evil so he’s like ‘ill let my rebellious son deal with him’ lmao god. I love this setup so much, its so wild

ratchet is also right, rodimus’s fuckup definitely pales in comparison to megatrons All That 

OH BRUTALLLLLLLL when ratchet says the list is fake ‘because my name’s not on it’ FUCKING OUCHHHHH

‘only bad guys say ‘unhand me” rodimus ily

omfg ‘we’ve practiced this’ of course they've done evacuation drills...magnus ily

lmao it’s the panel where it looks like rodimus and megatron are doing karaoke or having some sort of rap battle

and the lost light is GONE! oh shit!!!!

and there closes issue 30! once again we’ve gotten a lot of setup and exposition - which, while definitely necessary, means I don't have too much to say

I will say, throwing megatron onto the lost light has definitely mixed things up, and it’s interesting to see new dynamics already forming

so, until next time!

[badbookreviewclub]

Empress Theresa, Chapters 3 & 4

If you haven’t read Chapter 2, here is the the link. I recommend reading through this and Chapter 1 first before continuing on for the sake of continuity. These WILL contain spoilers, so if you’re not cool with that, don’t read it.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 by far has to be one of the most boring chapters I’ve come across in this book. It took me forever to work through this chapter alone simply because of how boring I found the writing and the general story line of the chapter. Its sole purpose is to introduce a couple things, one being Theresa’s love interest, Steve, and how ‘interesting’ she is.  Summary and Analysis: Theresa has finally moved on from her high school baseball career to attend Boston College, which Boutin, the author, constantly abbreviates to BC throughout this chapter. This abbreviation grows annoying rather quickly, considering that I don’t think the name of the college needs to be mentioned as often as it is. Aside from annoying abbreviations, this chapter is absolutely littered with a poor attempt to follow the story line Boutin seems to have loosely laid out throughout the book as well as piss poor logic. In chapter 3 we learn that Theresa is a whiny little bitch who thinks the amount of homework given to her is absurd despite the fact that there are plenty of college students out there who are handling it just fine. “The assignments I got in my classes seemed endless. Could anybody do all that work in a semester? (Pg 40)” This is Theresa’s first day of classes and she’s already getting upset over the amount of work she has to do. I don’t know about anybody else, but even with my higher level courses the amount of homework ramps up over the semester before the assignments become more manageable when finals start to draw near.  Aside from complaining about her homework, we never even see Theresa do it once throughout the chapter. After her classes, rather than starting to work on this ‘endless’ amount of homework she has, Theresa relaxes in her room before a group of girls (I assume her roommates and not just random strangers - It’s never explicitly stated which one.) invite her down to the cafeteria. In the cafeteria, out of a “”long habit” Theresa started to look around the room. She notices pretty quickly that a group of ‘kids’ are staring at her. I tend to take issue with the fact that Boutin constantly refers to these college-aged adults as ‘kids’ simply because it throws you out of the story. Theresa wouldn’t refer to people the same age as her as ‘kids’ and the book is supposed to be written like an autobiography. Nonetheless, these ‘kids’ are staring at her and Theresa automatically picks two out to comment on in the book. “Mr. Intense,” who was looking at her intently, hence the name, and “Mr. Fast Move.” I have a slight problem with the name “Mr. Fast Move” simply because Theresa gave him this name before he even got up to introduce himself. Theresa somehow being omniscient is a problem through everything I’ve read up until this point and I’ve found it to be more and more annoying as I keep reading.  Boutin also tends to have a really big problem with making Theresa assume the emotions and thoughts of other people. “One boy [Mr. Intense] was intently looking at me.... he was around six feet which was a good match for my five feet four inches. I liked taller guys and apparently he liked smaller girls (pg 40).” ‘Mr. Intense’ hasn’t even gotten up to talk with Theresa, nor will he for the next little while as far as I can tell. Yet, somehow, Theresa already knows his likes and dislikes and what he looks for in a potential partner. It doesn’t end there though, Theresa also goes on to continue and assume just what he is doing and thinking. “He wasn’t gawking at a pretty girl, or lusting for her body. He looked interested. And that’s ok. A girl gets used to being looked at (pg 40).” Aside from assuming what he’s thinking, there’s a lot of problems with this quote, enough so that I’m not sure where to being. Starting simple, I absolutely hate when authors write out ‘ok’ rather than ‘okay.’ It comes off as lazy to me. It only takes two more strokes of the key to add the ‘ay’ to the first two letters. Moving on to the next problem, Boutin never takes issue with the fact that someone may be looking at Theresa like an object, and Theresa never objects to that idea. She seems to be fine with the idea that someone is looking at her like an object or like a potential partner. Boutin never out right states that someone is looking at Theresa like an object as far as I’m aware, but it tends to be heavily implied throughout the book that Theresa is fine with that.  Moving on from Theresa’s assumptions about ‘Mr. Intense’ for now though, ‘Mr. Fast Move’ obviously makes the first move. As stated early, Theresa gave him this name before he even got up to make the first move. She also keeps calling him this after he gives her his name, Jack Koster. To keep it short and sweet so you all don’t have to suffer as much, Theresa knows pretty soon into her and Jack dating that the two of them are not a good match and that their relationship won’t last. Yet, she continues to keep dating him and dragging him along. One day, when she goes down to his dorm because they have a movie at eight. Turns out, Jack has another girlfriend named Ginny from before college. Despite the fact that she knew her and Jack wouldn’t work out and was just dragging him along, Theresa still gets angry at him and wants to make him jealous. Jack says that he’ll talk to Theresa upstairs so she goes upstairs to wait for him. Before I go further, I just want to point out that Boutin wrote that there were six guys in Jack’s dorm waiting on him as well as Ginny. That’s a lot of people for a college dorm. Still chugging along, Theresa decides she wants to make Jack so jealous he’ll “throw Ginny out a window (pg 45).” Theresa says that there’s no chance that her and Jack will get back together, so I’m not quite sure what her logic is on this one. But she dresses in a  “backless dress made of flimsy, cling material (pg 45).” The dress falls six inches above the knee, which “wasn’t a big deal these days, but to make it more interesting I folded back the hemline three more inches inside the skirt and taped it (pg 45).” I may just have short legs, but I measured how short this dress would be on myself, and this wasn’t even covering the bottom of my ass cheeks.  Anyways, Theresa watches a movie which Boutin goes into way too much detail to describe and it’s just overly boring and pointless. Jack never shows up but surprise surprise, ‘Mr. Intense,’ better known as Steve at this point, does. At this point the dress has ridden up Theresa’s hips at this point and despite Steve’s clear discomfort with the whole dress situation, she makes no move to try and make it better even though he’s there to offer her comfort. We do get this banger of an exchange though (Pg 49): “You’re quite, Steve. Something on your mind?” “Yeah. I’m trying not to think about what I might see.”  “I’m wearing a thong. You won’t see anything but my hip.”  “And a nice hip it is, I’m sure.”  Steve has had a total of maybe 5 words spoken up until this point but he’s already my favorite character solely from the line “And a nice hip it is, I’m sure.”  Steve and Theresa’s relationship develops absurdly quickly from there and it’s almost at a worrying pace. After only about a month of dating, the two of them decide to get married. Father Donoughty, or as I lovingly refer to him, Father Dick Doughnut, convinces Theresa’s parents to let her marry Steve at the tender age of 18 and after only a month of dating because he is more than certain that their marriage won’t fail. Eventually her parents give in because “Discouraging it [the relationship] could do more harm than good (pg 54).” Theresa and Steve apparently have an absolutely amazing wedding and we get a lovely detailed description of what Theresa wore that I’m more than happy to share with all of you because it’s not in the slightest drawn out or excessive; “I was gorgeous as a recently turned eighteen year old. For the church service I wore a two piece wedding gown. A floor length wide skirt with spaghetti shoulder straps made from matte duchess stain. Over this I had a jacket made of peekaboo cotton Venice lace that more or less covered my shoulders and the top half of my upper arms so as not to scandalize the congregation. At the reception the jacket and train came off and my shoulders and cleavage charmed the crowd (pg 54).” This description just reminds me of the excessively long description of what Ebony was wearing in the all-time classic My Immortal. Nobody gives two shits just what Theresa was wearing and the comments about what she is wearing don’t even make sense. I don’t recall a congregation ever being ‘scandalized’ by a young woman having their shoulders exposed. I also don’t recall a crowd ever being ‘charmed’ by someones breasts and shoulders, or you know, I just live in a boring world where people don’t get dazzled by my boobs and my offensively sexy shoulders.  As for the poor attempt for Boutin to continue the plot throughout chapter 3, in-between Theresa meeting Jake and then finding out about him cheating, Theresa is called into the campus police office because her ‘watchers’ were caught following her. Nothing really comes of this other than that we learn the Pope is paying for her tuition and finds her a ‘highly interesting’ case. The president also talks on the phone to the head of the campus police and tells them to pass along the message that they didn’t see anything happen, that they shouldn’t tell this to anybody, and that they should just forget about it. It’s a boring scene with boring dialogue and its rather pointless as well. If anything, it only serves to create more plot holes throughout the entire story.  Chapter 4 So we got through the boring hell that was chapter 3, but what about chapter 4? It’s not better. Arguably it is so much worse. I can sum it up fairly simply for you. Theresa gets kidnapped by government men, she assumes they’re ‘Navy SEALS’ but calls them goons through the entire book. She’s then put on a plane with an atom bomb on it because I guess the president finally decided that he wanted her dead and yet nobody objected to this happening despite there being no evidence for her deserving this fate. Also her watchers just disappear in this chapter so I guess their presence in her life was just completely pointless. This may come as a surprise, but Theresa manages to get out with the stupidest solution ever and doesn’t die. This is the part where I should be celebrating her survival but all I can do is mourn the fact that she could have died but didn’t. If she did, the book would be over.  Summary and Analysis: God, I really don’t want to summarize this chapter and point out things I hated in it but I will. This chapter was so overwhelmingly painful to read and mark down that I gave up towards the end and just started scribbling ‘No’ and ‘Why’ into the margins.  Okay, rant over. Starting off, Theresa is on her way to go to the grocery store when a bunch of cars in front of her essentially make a barricade so she can’t get through. The people in the cars get out with their weapons drawn as a van pulls up behind her. Once more, Theresa’s omniscient knowledge kicks in and before the door to the van opens she already knows what the interior looks like. She gets into the van anyways without much of a fight and just willingly lets herself be kidnapped. They take her to a helicopter and fly for a long ass time. Eventually Theresa asks where they’re taking her and rather than telling her that it is classified information like they should, they basically tell Theresa that they’re taking her to an aircraft and that she’ll be killed. Rather than getting upset about this, the tears just well up in her eyes but she doesn’t break down into hysterics. As Theresa so eloquently puts it, “But I didn’t cry. I wasn’t a phony movie actress using hysterics to milk all the drama she could out of every moment. I was a real person and I didn’t give a damn what these kidnappers thought (pgs 57-58).” Theresa once more assumes emotions, and states that she must have impressed her kidnappers and won their admiration by not breaking down into hysterics. This is where she also guesses that they’re Navy SEAL despite having absolutely no proof of them being in that part of the army as of yet.  Blah blah blah, Theresa decides to ‘wax poetic’ though she’s not being poetic at all and it’s just Boutin trying to fill in space so he can make his book longer. Somehow this chapter is even more boring and annoying than chapter 3 and shit is supposed to be happening here. I suppose Boutin is trying to make it intense, but it comes off as long winded and any sense of action of anxiety that may have been there is gone.  In-between the long and boring moments of Theresa just observing things, she asks how she’s going to die and they tell her that she’s going to be loaded onto a plane with an atomic bomb. This is a problem for a lot of reasons, actually, and I’ll put them in a list for you:  1. This is a stupidly expensive way to kill someone 2. Theresa never stood trial for this and its not as thought it could have flown under the radar either. There is a shit ton of money being funneled into an atomic bomb and a plane that wouldn’t go unnoticed in the records.  3. Theresa’s watchers never showed up once despite having watched her grow up and seeing that she would never harm a fly. Yet here she has been declared a danger to national security.  4. All of the men who are escorting her to her death have no proof that she has done anything to be a threat to national security. As far as they’re aware, she’s an innocent eighteen year old girl. 5. The way that they’re going to kill her is cruel, inhumane, and excessive. Never in my life could I see anyone letting a president get away with ordering a death sentence like this.  6. Theresa never fucking stood trial for this shit. This wouldn’t just fly under the radar with congress. Believe it or not, but the President of the United States doesn’t have enough power to just order someone dead because they believe them to be a threat. Theresa would have to go through a trial first.  I could see a coup happening in the United States before anyone ever let anything like this happen. These tend to be my problems with a majority of the chapter. To get into more specifics, Theresa says that she needs to think of a way to get out of this, but we never see her elaborate on a plan nor do we ever become clued in that she has come up with an idea. Instead, we, the reader, see her do some nonsensical bullshit. When they take her to an empty cafeteria to have her last meal, Theresa takes an empty garbage bag and fills it with exactly 11 coke bottles that at the time confused the living shit out of me. As it turns out, she’s going to empty out these coke bottles and shove them into her jumpsuit so she’ll be buoyant when she jumps from the plane before it can blow her up. This is some kind of bullshit five-minute crafts solution. It’s a stupid one and never in a million years could I ever see this working.  Theresa also decides to reflect on her life and comes to the conclusion that her life as not significant and was incredibly boring. How wonderful for that the reader has to reader that when we could have come to that conclusion ourselves. We also learn that Theresa has had ‘no illnesses’ which seems like utter bullshit to me, but alright, go off Boutin. She also had a ‘mean’ dog growl at her once and suddenly she now has absolutely no love for dogs. I’ll let you interpret that one however you want. The night before she’s going to be executed, Theresa decides to reflect on her life thus far with Steve. This could have been a bittersweet moment where we truly get something emotion filled and with fond memories that we didn’t see. It’s not a bad idea to have her reflect on her loved one during what should be a very emotional time, yet all we do is get a recap of his experience with her last chapter. It’s boring and inspires no emotion from the reader. We could have learned something about Steve and how Theresa sees him and yet we don’t learn anything.  What we do learn however, is that Theresa somehow has shit tons of knowledge about aircraft despite this never being mentioned before in the book. I don’t think she actually is supposed to be an aircraft nerd, I think that Boutin just forgot about that and started to write far too much that he learned about planes so he could share the information with everyone. It’s more confusing than not in the actual text though and draws away from the story, not that there was much to begin with.  Also, somehow, refueling in flight will snap your neck if you don’t brace right according to Boutin. I did some light research and no, no it will not. Despite this, Boutin goes on for about two pages about how Theresa has to brace so it doesn’t snap her neck when they refuel mid-flight on their way to take her another boat so she can get on the plane with the bomb on it.  Jesus christ the next few pages are just absolute hell. Theresa lands on boat. Captain of boat brought women onto top of boat. Thought the one being executed would be man and deserved to see women before he died. Strongly implies women are objects for men to look at again. One woman takes out her phone. She asks Theresa if she has anything she’d like to say. Dis bitch.  Dis.  fuckin.  bitch.  “I once read a famous quote by the Shawnee Indian Chief Tecumseh about singing a death song and going out like a hero. I had rewritten it for a more universal use, never dreaming that I’d use it myself so soon. ‘If people grieve your passing rejoice in the good you did and die like a hero going home. I feel good about who I was.’ (pg 68)”  Not only is pulling your phone out to record someone who is about to be executed highly against probably all policies, but also, just... fuckin... if this situation were to ever happen in real life, this would be an absolute shit show of a situation. People are breaking rules left and right, nobody is obeying any sort of code of ethics or any kind of rules that were laid out for them. It’s just stupid. All of this chapter is just plain stupid and the logic is terrible. One of the people gives Theresa thermals because it’s going to be cold when she’s flying up and they insist that she gets oxygen and wears a mask. They do all of this for her despite the fact that in the end she’s going to get blown up and none of it matters. Nothing fucking matters in this book. After this though Theresa fucking jumps from the plane once it has taken off and is at an altitude of 54,140. The impact on the water alone would have been enough to kill her and yet it doesn’t. She just passes out when she hits in and then wakes back up. Now is when she starts to get cold and she passes out again.  The entire time that the plane is climbing into the air and she’s falling before she hits the water is supposed to be an intense and action-packed scene. I get that’s what Boutin is trying to do in this last part of the chapter, but it doesn’t come across that way. It’s dragged out. It’s wordy and Theresa thinks way too much about other things for it to feel like it is supposed to be as intense as I think Boutin wanted it to be. It’s poorly written to put it simply, which really sucks because it’s the climax of the entire chapter and the most intense moment out of anything leading up to this point.  End Alright that is the end of chapter 3 and 4. I don’t know when 5 to whatever chapter I decide is worth it will come out, but hopefully sooner rather than later so I can finish with this book. Chances are I’ll post a review for a different book in-between this one and the next so look out for that. I’ve got a few absolutely terrible books on their way that I’ll be receiving over the next month. The first one out of the batch I plan to review is someone’s fan fiction that they decided to publish called Insanity: Jeff the Killer simply because it’s 77 pages and after flipping through it, it’s already better than some of the shit I’ve read lately.  Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and please feel free to follow and look out for more reviews of books. I hope I’m actually getting better at this review thing! Please feel free to leave any feedback and things you would like!

[ialreadyreadthatfanfic]

Charles Xavier Is A Huge Dick: The Movie

or,

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Hey, if you haven’t seen the movie yet and don’t want to be spoiled, you probably should stop reading!

*

I watched the new X-Men movie. Not only I’m that annoying cinema-goer that sits behind you and mocks the movie audibly during the seance, oh no, I’m also that annoying cinema-goer that comes back home and makes a bitchy tumblr post about the movie.

But, guys, that was so bad.

First off: I’m convinced that upon reading the script, James MacAvoy and Sophie Turner instantly lost the will to act, because we’ve all certainly seen far better performances from both of them.

My other theory is that the director simply told them not to bother, because this was, as far as I can tell, a deliberate franchise-killer.

The scene-by-scene description of the train-wreck under the cut for the curious.

PROLOGUE

We open the movie with the scene where young Jean Grey and her parents are in car crash, because Jean Cannot Control Her Powers. The kid survives; the parents aren’t so lucky. This scene is generally inoffensive, if predictable.

From now on, young Jean Grey behaves like a kid-shaped robot. Someone please write her better dialogue.

Charles Xavier arrives at the hospital, confirms her parents are dead, somewhat unenthusiastically delivers some well-worn platitudes and whisks her away to his school.

Hey, mutant powers are like pens. Especially the ones you can’t control, because sometimes pens go on a rampage and stab people in the eyes, you know, unintentionally.

(No, seriously, they went with that metaphor.)

TITLES - BACK TO THE FUTURE - or 1992, I guess, one cheer for 90s nostalgia

In effort to remind us humans that as a species we did some cool things on our way to ruining the planet, we watch the launch of a space shuttle.

Suddenly Houston, we have a problem. A sentient solar flare or something is attacking the brave astronauts! Oh no! Who’re we gonna call?!

Charles Xavier!

Like literally, the Mr. President of US of A calls Charles Xavier, like Chuck, are you watching the TV rn?, and Xavier’s like, already giddy with anticipation, Why yes, Mr. President, I see you are in a spot of trouble, and Mr. President’s like, Sooo, Chuck, I literally HATE TO ASK, BUT... and Xavier’s like, practically bouncing with glee, BUT OF COURSE, X-MEN TO THE RESCUE!!!

So Chuck sends off his chicks. Nominally, the team is under Mystique’s command. There also Hank, and baby-faced Storm, and even more baby-faced Kurt Wagner, oh yeah JEAN, she’s there too bc PLOT, and Scott was along too. Did I forget anyone?

I forgot someone, didnt I?

OH YEAH, the Quicksilver was there too. Considering how cool he was in earlier movie(s?), it’s kinda sad that he’s largely inconsequential here and I forgot about his existence about halfway through.

Charles calls Houston on the Cerebro like a huge showoff he is, and the X-Men proceed to rescue the astronauts from weird-looking space cloud (which is of course the Phoenix Force, or whatever comics call it). There’s some cool looking scenes here where X-Men use their powers, but they’re just window dressing for the main plot:

Charles Xavier is being a huge dick, backseat driving this mission through Cerebro and not trusting Mystique’s judgement.

BTW, Mystique might be the only character in the movie who behaves like a sensible person, which is why she’s not there for very long.

Anyway the scene goes like this:

Mystique: we saved ALL BUT ONE astronaut! Coming back for that one guy is super risky and probably will only lead to more deaths! I’m cutting my loses like sensible field leader!

Prof X: OH NO YOU WON’T get back for that one guy or the whole mission is a failure!!!

Mystique: WTF??!! That’s crazy, we will get killed!

Prof X: But it’s better to throw away our lives than have less than 100% record on rescue mission, because if we give humans even slightest pretext, they will instantly revert back to hating us, see? The President will stop taking my calls, people will want to arrest us for property damage, and neutralize our powers and stick us in prison for mutants.

Mystique: ...seriously, why am I on your side again?!

Prof X: Just have Kurt take Jean to the shuttle and she’ll hold it intact while he looks for the guy! Raven, I want to remind you I can bitch at you telepathically anytime, anywhere, for the rest of your life!

Mystique: DAMN YOU FINE

So they do it. Kurt manages to rescue the guy, but not Jean. The shuttle blows to bits around her. We are supposed to be sad for 2 seconds there, but then the Phoenix Flare swallows her, she survives, X-Men return to Earth with the astronauts and are showered with praise from adoring masses who stand there with cutesy sings to welcome them upon landing. Whatever.

Jean has a conversation with Scott where they mack on each other and she reassures him She’s Never Been Better, Really, I Feel Great After That Traumatic Experience, and Scott is like, IDK but okay?? I guess??

And Hank checks her out too, and her power is OVER NINE THOUSAAAAND, but Jean’s like, chill, I feel greeeeeat, so Hank’s like, the only problem with this situation is that I need to design a better power-meter!! Ha ha!

Meanwhile, back to plot A, where Charles Xavier continues to be a huge dick. Mystique calls him out about his control freak thing, Charles responds by being a sanctimonious asshole because it’s not like he ever learns or grows as a person in these movies, you know, and Mystique basically throws her arms up and storms out, which is a good representation for audience reaction at that point. Her parting shot is one of like two good lines in the whole movie:

Mystique: And anyway, as far as I can see, the women saved the day again! Maybe you should think about renaming us X-Women!

The movie will shortly repay her for that, don’t worry.

Some other things happen. Creepy aliens looking for Phoenix Booster covertly invade Earth. Mystique goes to Hank and says, hey so Charles is being a huge dick and a total control freak. I’m kinda fed up with him, maybe it’s time to move out and start living our own life? To which Hank is like, IDK Raven do even have a life outside X-Men, and I don’t want to move out of my lab, and Mystique is like, ugh okay I’ll stay.

Jean gets upset at the party and pushes some people over in midst of Phoenix breakdown, which makes everyone panic. Charles notices that her power is now OVER 9000 and he can’t just go and fuck around in her mind anymore, so the logical solution is to use Cerebro to do that anyway.

It turns out that Phoenix thing not only amplified Jean’s power, it also dissolved mental blocks Charles put in her mind to hide a terrible truth from her: her father survived the car crash. In fact, with her powers, she can find her father right now! Jean, in midst of her generic emotional crisis, blows out of the school to do exactly that, because she feels alone and misunderstood and betrayed, man.

It turns out he willingly gave her up and I guess hates her because she caused the accident by putting her mother to sleep while driving. Jean is pretty upset and about to smite the whole neighbourhood, when the X-Men arrive.

This is how X-Men discreetly take care of their business: They suit up in their official uniforms and take their official super-advanced jet and land it on the street, so everyone around will know what’s up. The only thing they were missing while confronting Jean was the transparent with the word INTERVENTION.

Jean freaks out, X-Men try to fight her, they all cause maximum collateral damage possible, there’s police, Mystique tries to talk Jean down, Jean semi-accidentally kills Mystique by pushing her over and impaling her on some wooden debris.

It’s all very badly written and feels utterly cheap and is a total waste of character. Frankly, the scene made me angry and not much else. But since the whole movie revolves on the fact that everyone is an idiot, Mystique didn’t go there anyway, I guess.

Anyway, it furthers three things:

Plot A, Charles is reaching new heights of being a huge dick wherein he goes to sprout platitudes at Hank, who predictably doesn’t want to listen to him and lashes out, to which Charles reacts very maturely by being OFFENDED, because Raven was HIS sister, OBVIOUSLY he’s the MOST injured party here! (No, seriously, he pretty much says that).

Plot B, Hank needs to be a bigger idiot, to which we will come back in a moment.

Plot C, Jean Grey is now Public Enemy Number One and all people are back to hating humans! The President literally stopped taking Xavier’s calls, people want to arrest X-Men for property damage, neutralize their powers and stick them in prison for mutants.

Oh, and aliens are tracking Jean to get the Phoenix Power or whatever.

Jeans next move is to go visit Erik Lehnsherr, who is living like a hobo in Genosha with a handful of like-minded mutants. She wants to ask him for life advice, I guess, because when Charles Xavier is being a huge dick and hiding your memories of your childhood trauma from you without your consent, Magneto is the only alternative.

Too bad she wants advice on Not Killing People With My Powers When I’m Kinda Upset With Them. It’s unsurprising that Erik Lehnsherr, who spend his whole life Deliberately Killing People With His Powers Because He Was Very Upset With Them, can’t really relate.

This upsets Jean further, and she demonstrates that by attacking US soldiers who came to Genosha to arrest them and doing her best to kill them. Then she flies off to drink in a bar, where an alien picks her up, because it wants to show her the whole wide world or something.

Let’s come back to plot B for a moment, which is Hank being an idiot. Hank is very distraught and wants to kill Jean. So Hank goes to Magneto.

Hank: I want to kill Jean and I need your help with that.

Erik: Wait, what? Why?

Hank: She killed Mystique!

Erik, already frothing at the mouth: ...let me grab my I’m Being A Huge Idiot Helmet, Hank, and we can commence the business of killing.

So the aliens are pitching their “Let’s Re-Create The Earth In Your Image” campaign to Jean, which can be done only in a New York townhouse, specifically in a very special bedroom (...oh hey, I didn’t pick up on that creepy vibe until now!).

Jean is largely convinced, because in this movie characters just go back and forth as the plot demans.

So both Charles and Erik with their lackeys track down Jean, and have a huge fight in front of the above-mentioned townhouse, with lots and lots of collateral damage while they debate who is right. Before that, Erik has the second good line in the movie, which is used to rightfully call out Charles:

Erik: You’re always sorry and there’s always a speech. But no one wants to listen anymore.

Anyway, X-Men and the mutants beat up each other, Erik gets into the house and fails to kill Jean, then Charles gets in the house and tries to talk down Jean, which is followed by perhaps the most genuinely disquieting scene in the movie, in which Jean uses her telekinesis to destroy the wheelchair and force Charles to walk up the stairs.

They have an exchange that is supposed to be hopeful and heartwarming and so on, but by this point I’m fed up with this world movie.

Jean rejects the aliens’ campaign, so the alien head honcho attempts to suck out the Phoenix Dust out of her, and partially succeeds, but is interrupted midway and knocked out. All the mutants are arrested, put into special shackles restricting their powers and put on a train which is going straight to special prison for mutants.

Don’t worry, we’re in the last stretch.

Aliens need the rest of Phoenix Macguffin, so they ambush the train. There’s a big action scene, everyone is fighting the aliens, there are a few cool shots but beyond that I’m blanking. In the end Jean awakens, wipes the floor with the aliens, and when the alien head honcho tries to emotionally blackmail her into not eviscerating its hide, she grabs it, flies up into the sky and explodes them both.

Much sad. Very sacrifice. Such tears etc etc etc.

AN EPILOGUE, FINALLY

The situation returns to the status quo, except some people are dead.

The humans were about to lock up mutants in a prison like five minutes earlier, but nobody mentions that. Guess everyone forgot about that.

As far as I can tell, nobody except X-Men noticed that Earth was about to be invaded by aliens.

The school is renamed after Jean Grey.

Hank is the new headmaster. On his desk, a cheesy nostalgic photo of Mystique.

Charles, despite seemingly getting a pass on his dickishness on every turn in this narrative, is Worn Down By His Losses and retires. He occupies his time by brooding morosely at a cafe in unspecified European-looking country.

Erik finds him there. He is disproportionately cheery, like a man who after decades of pining finally is in a place where he can bully his longtime crush into a reluctant chess date, which he proceeds to do.

Camera pans up, to the sky. The sky gives us Phoenix Force-shaped wink.

THE END

[howlsmovinglibrary]

So i noticed you reblogged a lot of got. I followed you bc of your book reviews. I wonder if you read ASOIAF? It'd be cool for you to review it. And also it'd provide me see your stand towards the writing of the last season, & your perspective towards Arya as retconned Night King slayer, the dull (and abusive) romance bw jnerys, jon's character assassination and the lack of his POV, and the show being Dany's show (at the expense of other chars).

Oh wow anon, it’s very rare that I get asked to go off, but I’m more than happy to take you up on the invitation to rant!

In answer to your first question, I have read the first book of ASOIAF, but unfortunately I personally feel George R.R. Martin’s strength is his plotting, and now that the show has kind of unmasked the plot of those first books I find it difficult to slog through his writing style, just because it’s not suited to me. I got to 100 pages from the end where Ned Stark is wondering whether or not he’s gonna die and was like…I kind of know how this ends.

As for my manifold problems with the writing of this last season, I have them, although they don’t seem to be lined up with yours exactly. I have placed this under the keep reading tag, because Long Post. And Spoilers.

Arya

Ok, so as for the Arya plotline, I actually didn’t mind this. I realise it goes against a lot of the material of the books (which I haven’t read), but I think that however much of a retcon it is it makes a lot of logical consistency within Arya’s storyline itself. I was personally getting to the point, with Arya going around Winterfell and not really doing much, of wondering “why did she go to assassin school again?” I think that her getting to kill the Night King validates a lot of her plot arc, whereas before her training was slowly becoming useless and irrelevant to the current situation the writers had put her in - of course this goes out of the window come the last war.

I would actually argue that this decision, bar its illogical and rushed execution, had elements of why I loved GoT’s more established plot twists. You had a strong fantasy genre trope, the Chosen One, in Jon, and then reality intervenes and breaks it. Jon is trying to fight a fucking huge dragon, and is therefore, logically, preoccupied. So someone else gets the kill. I liked that. I mean, it seems like prophecy has just been UTTERLY DISREGARDED in this entire season rather than twisted or subverted, so I guess if we’re feeling particularly generous (which no one is) it might even be “making a point”.

 And yes, we haven’t seen any of her assassin powers over the course of this season (because the writers are retconning her into a nicer ‘antihero’ and not outright eviscerating psychopath), which makes me wonder why she even has them. But I’m actually ok with her getting the Night King kill.

And I’ll dream of the alternate universe where Arya kills Cersei wearing Jaime’s face, actually utilising her skills, getting her ‘green eyed’ kill, and fulfilling Cersei’s prophecy.

Danaerys

So, I hate Danaerys, but I don’t really agree with your viewpoint of her. I don’t really feel like this became ‘her’ season at all. In fact, I feel like this season was just a lesson in how to gaslight a woman into madness and relegate her entirely from her own fucking story.

I will outright state that, I wanted Danaerys to go Mad Queen. I think her character has had problematic elements from very close to the beginning: regarding her sense of entitlement which is not underpinned by an actual competency in regards to ruling, her idealism, and her tendency as a white character to weaponise the brown people she essentially colonises for her own goals. These are not the reasons D&D give to justify her ‘madness’. In fact, they say she’s always been mad for punishing abusers. It just shows now…because of a bad break up.

Danaerys’ “descent into madness” was so badly written that I get mad just thinking about it. It essentially comprises all the men around her having conversations with each other saying “I think she might go mad”, and then her doing a Bad Thing for no discernable reason. This is 1. BAD WRITING, because SHOW NOT TELL. Also, NARRATIVE CONSISTENCY. If you have to have Tyrion outright narrate what you are retconning as her evil past, which is what he did in the final episode, you have not written a consistent plot. Viewers are not stupid. And 2. It’s just awful in terms of gender. Literally, Dany is a woman who becomes isolated and the men around her pathologise her as mad rather than communicating with her and allowing her the agency to authorise her own existence. It’s like The Yellow Wallpaper. There’s so much gaslighting! Everyone says she’s mad for thinking people will betray her as they betray her in the same breath! Jon says he loves her and then punishes her for desiring him! It’s just absurd. I wanted this to happen and they still fucked it up.

Once her sexual desire is just for her and no longer consumable by the male viewer, because its incestuous, and her ambitions outstrip the men around her, suddenly she’s evil. 

And do not get me started on all the awful racial connotations of her story a) being fuelled by the pointless fridging of the only named black woman and b) being utterly endorsed by all the people of colour within the show unquestioningly while all the ‘good’ white men suddenly have their doubts. The way Dothraki war cries were basically used as background music to signify evil savagery made me sick. They literally weaponised race as a way of connoting fear and evil. The fact that her “evil speech” was basically a straw feminist recycling of her liberation rhetoric in a way to condemn all her thoroughly understandable and initially intentions from the very beginning was just a way to validate every Incel’s fear about SJW discourse. Instead of, I don’t know, CRITICISING HER AS A COLONISER. Maybe unveiling her hypocrisy? Nope! All black people are evil and will never question orders because they have been consistently stripped of their humanity! They are a faceless army of non-whites! And oh yes, all women are evil for wanting to enact violence on those who want to abuse them!

Honestly, I think this season of the show has been as much at the expense of her character as anyone else’s. Because it’s not been written well, or believably, and it feels like a complete reduction of the very real potential she had as a critique of imperialism. She’s just a mad woman. 

Jon

I can’t really talk that much about Jon. I kind of cover it above. I’m not sure if you think Jonaerys is abusive to Dany or to him, I would argue the former because of the gaslighting. 

But I will say, he must’ve taken his refresher course in Stark Honourable Stupidity after actually being competent in Season 7. According to D&D’s logic, if he had simply slept with Dany, a woman he loves, she wouldn’t have gone mad. It’s only in GoT that I can justify incest, but he should’ve taken one for the team. 

And maybe kept secrets better.

Just…the show in general

Really, I’m just so disappointed with the show in general. The plot, like Jaime’s characterisation, is so profoundly circular.

We still have an iron throne. We still have an utterly corrupt council elected through nepotism (although I guess we’re supposed to like them now?) Fuck, we still even have a wall even though ALL THE WHITEWALKERS ARE GONE.

Everything was so rushed and irreverent to the point of incompetency - I mean, everyone has seen the coffee cup. Prophecy and foreshadowing was utterly disregarded (I’ve spared you my Jaime Lannister rant because you didn’t ask), nuance was completely lost. I cannot believe that Cersei’s death was an anticlimax, that she didn’t do anything in that final battle but shed a manly tear, had barely any lines of dialogue despite the fact that she is one of the strongest characters of the entire series. And yet EURON GREYJOY got a triumphant death. It is so disingenuous. I really don’t think the fanbase would’ve been that hard to please but it seems like everything was denied us in the name of ‘subverting expectations’.

And however well shot the battle scenes were, I found it profoundly boring because there was no real motivation to drive the action. It was just screaming, and death, and oh yes some gratuitous rape because that’s what every viewer is here for, right?! I watch Game of Thrones for the character intrigue, not the violence or the blatant misunderstanding of what “authentic medievalism” entails. The fact that I watched the finale of my favourite show and did not cry once - me, who cried four times in a single Critical Role episode - is just a testament to how hollow and heartless the writing became.

[zoroism]

The Strawhat’s Deja Vu

This is my entry for the @opbigbang 2019! This is actually my first long fanfic (or fanfic in general) and I hope you all would like it! I had so much fun writing this and I hope you’ll have fun reading it too!

A big thank you to my partner @babblebuzz! for the amazing animation they made for the fic! And for being so understanding bc my work schedule is crazy xD Check out their artblog @junonboi! (You’ll see amazing art please go and check them out)

The day was perfect. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing through his grass hair and there were no signs of rain coming anytime soon. A very good day for a road trip indeed. They say Roronoa Zoro was king of the road trips. Why you ask? Since he absolutely didn't know where he was going most of the time. Though he knows where he needed to go he just doesn't know how to get there even with the best GPS apps. He just keeps on getting lost and the man is very sure that he was not the problem. It was those stupid apps. So when you want a short adventure just tell Zoro to maybe go to the nearest McDonald's and you'll most certainly be on a highway going to the next city.

"Zoro, I'm hungry." A teenager with curly brown hair and freckles running across his cheeks groaned. He was sitting in the passenger seat with his phone on his hand checking the map if they were going in the right direction every minute.  

"Sorry Chopper, we'll get there soon," Zoro answered with an apologetic expression. He saw the discomfort on Chopper's face that tells him that the boy was indeed very hungry. Zoro couldn't blame him, after all, they were driving the Red Line Highway for eight hours now and their snacks were all out.

   The two of them were headed to Marie Jois City. They were moving there since Chopper got a scholarship to Marie Jois University for a degree in Medicine. Zoro was still in shock that the boy was going to college at an early age but he did know that Chopper was a genius. The boy was already doing adult stuff like paying the bills, budgeting their money and cleaning the house while Zoro was at his job. He was very responsible for the age of fifteen.

   Zoro and Chopper were orphans. They met at the orphanage where they both grew up. The place took care of them very well but potential parents that interviewed them didn't want them. Maybe because Zoro dyed his hair green and maybe because he looked like a delinquent that no one wanted him and thought that he was too "rough" for them since parents did want a more "cuter" and "nicer" kid. For Chopper's case, he was always around Zoro. So when someone tries to talk to him Zoro gives them a deep stare. He was just checking out if they were nice people, it wasn't his intention to scare them away. Maybe. He just wanted to make sure Chopper was adopted to a nice family.

   So when Zoro turned eighteen, he left the orphanage with Chopper by his side. Of course, the orphanage didn't allow this at first since they needed to make sure that Zoro had the means to pay for the bills. He first got multiple jobs to show that he was capable and Chopper showed the people in the orphanage that he was responsible enough that he might be the one taking care of Zoro instead even if he was just twelve years old. In the end, they were both allowed to live together as brothers with the help of some convincing that Zoro did. That was three years ago. And of course, during those three years, they had a hard time adjusting to their new lives as independent people but they were moving to a brighter future now.

"We don't have to do this now you know." Chopper whispered barely audible for Zoro to hear. "I can get some job first then work my way up."

"Don't think about the bills or anything related to that. Just go and live your dream." Zoro answered with his eye looking directly at the road. He had to leave his job back at Shimotsuki City and he knows that Marie Jois is an expensive city since people call it the "City of Dreams" where rich ass people live. Though he knows Chopper got a scholarship at the university, there were still some school expenses they needed to pay plus their rent and food money.  

"We got this okay? Things will work out. I'm the adult here let me handle the money matters, I want you to focus on what you want." The man said again shaking those thoughts out of his head, he knew things would work out in the end. He wanted to do this for his brother.

"Well at least let me drive. You're getting lost again!" The teenager exclaimed while pointing at the map on his phone.

"Like hell you'll drive! You're underage!" The green haired man exclaimed.

"Wow! Coming from a man who certainly follows the "street rules"" Chopper did quotation marks with his hands to emphasize his point. "You know I know what your true job is!"

"Are you seriously bringing that up now?" The man question with a pained expression. Zoro knew working at retail won't pay the bills. He knew it wasn't enough for both of them so he had to do something else and that way was the only way he could earn some quick cash.

"Did you seriously think I'm that dumb to not know? How could I not notice the car you're driving?! It's a new car! You even bought me the newest Samsung phone, the best laptop AND we're moving to Marie Jois. Given that we still don't have enough right now BUT NOT JUST ANYONE CAN MOVE THERE!" Chopper was technically yelling at the last part because he still thought it was amazing how Zoro's job could pay all these and of course he was very thankful for Zoro's hard work. Well, he was especially amazed at how Zoro could do that job given that the man was directionally damaged, he actually really wanted to know how Zoro could do it. "Plus I know what really happened to your left eye you know. You got in an accident during a race didn't you?"

   Zoro glanced at Chopper to see his sad expression. Zoro felt bad for worrying the boy that night. It was two years ago during the Summer season. Zoro got the chance to race with a man known to be the best at Shimotsuki City, Dracule Mihawk. They decided to race from the top of the mountain to the bottom. During the first part of the race, Mihawk was in the lead. In a sharp turn, Zoro tried to overtake Mihawk but he actually got lost during his drift. Zoro was able to be in the lead when he got out from his little "detour" and jumped out from a small road and landed in front of Mihawk. Nearing the end of their race, there was another curve and his opponent saw this opportunity and bumped him at the back of his car. It caused his car to spin but Zoro still got his grip on the wheel, he thought about Chopper and he knew he couldn't die there. He directed his car to hit the mountain wall which caused rocks to break his window side and the glass hit his left eye which was the reason why he couldn't open his eye and how he got a big scar on the left side of his face. He was still able to calm his car down and finish the race. Mihawk was impressed with his skill and luck and told Zoro that he would await him until he was ready to fight him again. It was then Zoro swore to himself that he would beat Mihawk one day.

"Being a street racer has its perks you know." Zoro grinned and shuffled Chopper's hair with his right hand. The boy smiled and said, "One of the reasons why I wanted to be a Doctor.".

"But how can you be directionally challenged but still be a street racer at night?" Chopper genuinely asked putting his index finger and thumb on his chin with a thinking look on his face.

"Stop that you look like that stupid thinking emoji. Just don't ask, things work out in the end." Zoro himself didn't know how he wins his races besides knowing he had the skills and a stroke of excellent luck on his side.

"I will stop questioning this logic. It pains my head." Chopper agreed. When he glanced at his window, Chopper's eyes grew big and he immediately shouted "ZORO YOU MISSED THE EXIT! OUR EXIT WAS 10 EXITS AGO!".    

When the boys finally got to the right road to Marie Jois city they were amazed by the big castle they see in the distance. It was literally a big medieval castle surrounded by tall buildings that had the same style as the castle. The road they were traveling through was a straight road where you can see if you squint your eyes enough, that it goes until the entrance of the castle. You would think there was a border around the city since before you get there the only thing you'll see is grasslands, farm animals, and crops but it was open for anyone to enter.

"I was not expecting a castle to set the bars of how rich the people at this city are." Chopper said with his mouth open ready for that fries he has on his hands. They went to a drive-thru before they continued their road trip to the city. It was nice timing since they felt like they were about to puke even though they didn't have anything in their stomachs. They were driving half a day now since Zoro missed their exit.

"That's probably the city's government office or something." Zoro answered before sipping his coke.

"Probably. Since this road leads straight to there. Maybe they want us to pay before we find our new house?" Chopper turned his head to face his window. His eyes were greeted by trees that lined up perfectly beside the road. It goes on until they got to the castle where it is placed at the center of a big roundabout with three exits that were simply named, North, East, West, and judging from the names he concluded that they came from the South road. Chopper was in awe about how big the city center was. Besides the big castle, there was a small park with mini stalls surrounding it where he saw people walk and talk with each other. There was a big fountain where kids were playing with the water, teenagers had water guns that they were shooting others with and some people were even bathing in it?!  

"You're not thinking of joining them are you?" Zoro teased the boy. Though he knew Chopper was a genius, the boy was a teenager after all. He still wanted the kid to experience what normal kids do, he wanted him to have fun and enjoy being a kid. Just not the dark side of those "fun" things though.

"O-of course not!" Chopper answered trying to hide a blush creeping up his cheeks. "It's not like it looks fun or anything!" The boy was trying to hide the fact that he indeed, wanted to play with those kids but Zoro knew him well enough to know what he truly wanted. He might push Chopper to go to the center after they finish unpacking their stuff.

"Well, it looks fun. Find some friends and go have fun. I'm not gonna stop you unless you're hurting yourself. Not that I needed to remind you. I know you." The man said with a soft smile. "You should go and meet kids your age. Don't get cooped up in the house and do all those housework again. You're not a maid. We're in this together."

"I know that." Chopper became quiet and gazed at the scenery outside, he was starting to drown in his own thoughts. It wasn't like Zoro was forcing him to do those things, he just wanted to do it since he saw how Zoro was working so hard for him. He was the best big brother anybody could ask for. And he was constantly worried at night if Zoro will come home again with blood all over him like how he did when he raced with Mihawk.

"Well, now we need to find the East exit." Zoro said disturbing Chopper's racing mind. Chopper looked at the window and slapped his forehead.  

"Zoro, We've been circling this roundabout five times now." He respected his big brother so much but just, damn his directionally challenged brain.

"Well, this road keeps on moving!"

"Exit the next one! This roundabout has just four exits and we came through one! How can you get lost?!" Chopper exclaimed and sighed when the man was turning to the right exit. When they turned to enter East Road they were greeted by a long straight street with three-story buildings that also looked medieval but had high-class stalls that looked new at the first story. It was almost dark so they could really appreciate the lights the whole street emitted. Not to mention the road wasn't asphalt or cement, it was pebbles which was a nice complement to the medieval theme of the city.

"This is a beautiful city." Chopper said with excitement in his eyes. He was truly in awe about how beautiful and lively the city is. The boy loved Shimotsuki City but the city was small and dark compared to Marie Jois. The city just breathed new opportunities everywhere.

"This is a city that never sleeps. I expected it to be like this." Zoro answered while he was trying to fiddle his phone with his right hand. Chopper took the phone from his hand and looked at the address on the screen.

"Give me that! I know you're an awesome street racer but it's still not safe to use your phone while driving. Plus we don't know what the rules here are yet!" The boy read the directions they got from their new landlord. "It says here that we should turn right on the third street then we'll see a red brick building there."

Zoro followed Chopper's instructions and they got to their new house safely. He parked on the street just beside a small three-story building that had red brick walls. Each floor, besides the bottom one, had a balcony in the middle that aligned on top of the big antique brown door with wood carvings that looked like the waves on the first floor. There was a small parking lot just on the right side of the building but Zoro figured it was best to knock and great the landlord first.

"Wow, Zoro this looks really nice!" Zoro saw the sparkle on Chopper's eyes. He was happy that his little brother liked the new place he got for them.

"This is the cheapest one here you know."

"This is the cheapest one?! This actually looks like one of the most expensive apartments in Shimotsuki City!" Chopper was waving his hands in the air as if he was emphasizing how impressed he was with the difference between their old home and the new one.

"Well let's go check it out." Zoro grinned and shuffled Chopper's curly hair.

The boys rang the doorbell and waited for a few minutes. They heard footsteps and the door opened. They were greeted by a beautiful black haired lady with blue eyes that smiled at them with delight.

"Are you Zoro?" She asked in a sweet voice.

"Yeah, I'm here for the apartment?" The green-haired man nodded. Chopper hid behind Zoro's back as he was very shy with other people. He was very open to Zoro but when it comes to other people or at least strangers, he was very quiet.

"Come on in, I'm the landlady. My name's Nico Robin." Robin opened the door widely and gestured for the brothers to enter their new house. When they entered the apartment they were greeted with a hallway full of bookcases and statues that look like it was from the ancient times. There were two doors on the right side of the hallway, one was open that showed the staircase and the other was closed and the brothers assumed it was the landlady's apartment.  

Chopper observed the bookcase near the main door and his eyes lit up with delight. "Zoro! These books are old medicine books! There are different techniques that I could learn from here! Maybe I could combine them and develop a better technique?!"

"Woah there buddy those aren't hours." Zoro patted Chopper's back and pointed at Robin to let his little brother know that they were hers.

"Are you interested in my books?" Robin chuckled and looked at Chopper.

"Y-yes..." Chopper was startled with the question and hid behind Zoro's back. There was a blush creeping up his cheeks.

"He's really shy but he's a sweet boy. This is Chopper, my brother. He got a scholarship at the Medicine course in Marie Jois University." Zoro said with a proud tone on his voice.

"How wonderful! You can borrow my books anytime you want. You can knock on my door and I'll show you my whole library." The lady smiled and there was an aura she was emitting that made Chopper feel safe and at home and he felt like he immediately warmed up to the lady. He moved from Zoro's back to directly talk to Robin.

"Can I really?" He asked with his big cute eyes.

"Of course, You're a cute doctor after all." She answered with a sweet smile.  

"It's not like your compliment made me happy!" Chopper smiled and started to clap his hands and buried his face on his palms hiding how red his face turned. Robin chuckled at Chopper's reaction and appreciated how cute the teenage boy was.  

"I should show you your apartment. You'll be living on the third floor." Robin gestured for the three of them to climb up the stairs. Robin went first while Zoro and Chopper followed. "The only apartment mates you'll have here are me, I live on the first floor, as you guessed and Usopp who lives here on the second floor." Robin gestured at the door they were facing when they climbed up the first set of stairs.  

There was a loud explosion that surprised Zoro and Chopper. Zoro immediately pushed Chopper behind his back out of instinct while Robin just chuckled in amusement.  

"Don't worry, Usopp's a mechanic you'll get used to it." Suddenly they heard running and shouting from the inside of the apartment. "Oh I think he's burning himself alive," The landlady said with a smile on her face.

This surprised both Zoro and Chopper, they couldn't hide the horror on their faces. The door swung open and they were greeted by a comical face that had both his eyes and tongue out in a spiral manner.  

"ROBIIIN!" Chopper shouted in surprise and Zoro instinctly grabbed the face and to his surprise, a mask was in his hand and he gazed at it for a few seconds before looking at the man standing at the door.

The man with curly black hair tied in a bun and long nose laughed. "That was an amazing greeting, wasn't it? That was how we used to greet worthy people who didn't need to go thru a trial to live with us." The guy pointed himself with his thumb and he looked very proud of his obvious fake story.

"Really?!" But Chopper didn't know it was a lie. He was impressed with the man because even though he nearly scared Chopper to death it was still a unique way of greeting new neighbors.

"Yeah! I got a whole bunch of tools inside from my adventures, Do you wanna see?" Before Chopper could say anything, Zoro stopped him because he knew Chopper would say yes. His whole face lit up with excitement when he heard the word "adventure" come out from Usopp's mouth. "Okay buddy, let's unpack first."  

"I'm Usopp by the way! Just come back later if you want!" Usopp grinned and waved goodbye to Chopper. Robin, Chopper and Zoro climbed the stairs once again and when they got to the top they were greeted by a blue door.

"Now this is your apartment. It's a two bedroom apartment which also includes a balcony." Robin keyed the lock and opened the door. She gave a key to Zoro and smiled. "We can talk about the payment some other time. Just settle here first. I can see you both look like you need some sleep. You can park your car anywhere in the parking lot on the right side of the building"

"Thanks, We'll knock once we're done with the unpacking."  

"The moving truck already arrived here first so your things should probably be already inside. Well then, I'll go down now. Just knock on my door when you need something" Robin once again smiled and winked at Chopper before she climbed down the stairs.

"Let's get inside then." Zoro and Chopper slowly entered the door. When they entered their new apartment they were first greeted by the shoe rack and a door for the closet. If they look at their left side, they saw a hallway that leads to a small bedroom. The boys decided to check what was behind the wall of the closet first. The apartment had an "open concept" type of feel to it since the walls were white and the living room area was connected to the kitchen and dining area in an L manner. Their furniture was placed on the corner and was covered by a large white cloth to protect it from the dust. There was a glass door that gives the place a natural light, though it was getting darker since the sun was setting. When they walked towards the tail of the L part of the apartment, they saw their kitchen lined up at the left side of the wall. It was the usual kitchen with a refrigerator, cabinets at the bottom and a sink, it was all white and black though. What wowed them the most was the oven and dishwasher, they didn't have one of those back at their old place. They went back to the hallway and they were greeted by two doors on the right side. They opened the first door and saw a washing machine and dryer inside.

"Zoro! We don't have to go outside to do laundry anymore! I'll take that off the budget now." Chopper exclaimed and made a mental note. He surely was loving the new apartment.

They got to the next door and it was the bathroom. They got to the end of the mini hallway and was greeted by the first bedroom. It was a small bedroom with a window in the opposite wall of the door. The moving guys placed Chopper's bed, study table, and bookshelf on the corner under a white cloth. There were about five boxes beside it too.  

"You like it?" Zoro asked with a smile on his face. He already knows the answer. It was all over Chopper's face.

"I do!" Chopper ran inside and started opening the boxes beside his bed to start unpacking and start decorating his room.

"Remember to wipe the dust first okay? I packed cleaning supplies on one of the boxes in the living room." Zoro reminded his little brother since he saw light dust on the walls.  

"I know!"

Zoro chuckled and continued to his room. It was the door at the end of the hallway. It didn't really look that much different from Chopper's except he didn't have a whole wall of closet, just a small one, and his window was at the side of their apartment balcony. Zoro looked at the scenery outside his window and saw that the sky was already dark.

"Chopper let's check the balcony first." Zoro knocked on Chopper's door where he saw him sorting out his clothes in his closet.  

The boys went outside and were mesmerized by the view. Living on the third floor, of course, had its perks and this was definitely one of them. They could see the city lights that were like stars that were twinkling in the sky. It was very different from their old city where at this time people were already turning off their lights to sleep, here in this city people were still outside getting to where they needed to go.

"I'm starting to love this place." Chopper said while gazing at the beautiful view in front of him.  

"So do I."

Zoro was awakened by the light coming from the window. He slowly opened his eyes and the first thought he had was where the fuck am I? He sat up and looked around his room and finally realized where he was at, oh right we moved. He slowly stood up, stretched his body, did some "light exercise" of a thousand push-ups to warm up and left his room. The smell of bacon filled his nose and he immediately knew Chopper already cooked breakfast for them.

"You should've just relaxed today." The man said as he entered the kitchen and saw Chopper cooking pancakes which were a great partner for the bacon.

"I'm just cooking breakfast Zoro, and it's already pass nine and I'm very hungry." Chopper answered as he flipped the pancake. "You do remember that I'm supposed to go to the university today right?"

"Oh shit, was that today?" Zoro couldn't hide the oh shit expression he had on his face. Of all the days he would forget it was the day they would visit Chopper's new campus for the first time. Chopper placed the last pancake on a plate and Zoro picked it up to place on their table.

"Yes, it's today at 1 pm" The boy took a bite from his food and picked up his phone from the side of his plate. He scrolled through his emails and showed Zoro the message he received from his new school.

"So you've got admission things you need to do." Zoro read the email and saw that Chopper needed a guardian since even though he was a college student, he was still underage.  

The boy nodded and they silently finished their breakfast. Zoro told Chopper to get ready while he washed the dishes. After finishing the dishes, Zoro sat at their sofa and was in deep thought. Now that they were at Marie Jois city, he needed to find a job to support their finances. He still had backup money that could maybe last for a couple of months but after that, they would be broke. That money was what he won from his races the past few months, he started racing like crazy before they moved since he knew they needed money. He could apply for part-time jobs around the city to cover up for their bills but he knew he still wanted to race. There was a certain euphoria he felt every time he was on the wheel and he certainly liked that winning feeling he had whenever he comes first place. It wasn't an official racing match like the world cup but it was so rewarding to win a race. If he wanted to race around this city he needed to see what type of racers this city had. He knew that Marie Jois City was known to be a racer's den at night, racers from around the world come to the city and race to be the best. Despite its government to be very strict with their road rules, the roads here were definitely a good place to train himself and tune his car up to be able to beat Mihawk. To introduce himself to the racing community, he needed someone to show him where the race usually takes place and fill him in about who was the best.

The knock on their door interrupted Zoro's thoughts. Zoro stood up and opened their front door and the first thing he saw was a long nose.

"Hey there! I know you're new here and you don't even know where the bus stops are. I've got some free time today. Do you want the Great Usopp to tour you around?" Usopp wiggled his eyebrows. Zoro was unsure of what he should answer. He was very cautious of whom he interacts with since he didn't know if the guy was a bad guy that could be a bother to their lives.

"Usopp! Maybe you could show us where Marie Jois University is?" Zoro nearly facepalmed himself when Chopper easily accepted the man's invitation. Chopper just got out from the shower and he had a towel over his curly hair. Not that he was judging so badly since when Zoro double looked the man he didn't have any bad aura coming off of him.  

"Oh right, Robin told me you were accepted for their scholarship! That's amazing but not as amazing as me!" Usopp said with a grin. "I can take you there. What time do you need to be there?"

"Did you just call me amazing?! I'm not that amazing! " Chopper tried to hide his face with the towel he had on top of his head. The boy just couldn't take compliments.

"We need to be there at 1." Zoro answered and accepted Usopp's invitation. There's nothing he could really do here since Chopper seems to like the guy and maybe even Usopp knows how the street works.

The three of them were finally ready for their errand of the day and their first trip together as a group. They said goodbye to Robin and headed outside to the parking lot and stopped in front of two cars that were under a brown and violet cloth.

"We take our cars here very seriously, they're our babies. That's Robin's car under the violet one." Usopp grinned, a very proud one at that. It was like he was preparing for this moment his entire life. He was just going to show them his car.  

The cloth revealed a dark red car, the same color as the Doritos nacho cheese flavor. The car's hood was long and big that even without opening the hood you could already determine that the car's engine was a different class from normal cars. The headlights looked like they were the eyes of a robot and the brake lights had three of those faces that scared Chopper and Zoro yesterday. The mirrors were shaped like wings. The hubcaps of the wheels were colored gold and were shaped like a star. The top of the trunk also had a small spoiler attached to it. Finally, there were only two doors on the side of the car that makes it look like a two-seater car but when you take peek on the inside there was a seat that could fit two people on the back.

"Isn't this a Toyota Supra?" Zoro said with awe as he eyed the car from the hood to the trunk. "Weren't they faced out during the early 20's?"

"Yeah, the base is a Toyota Supra but I changed the inside completely. I also added some touches on the appearance as you can see." Usopp winked. "This baby..." He slapped his car roof to emphasize his next phrase. "Can run faster than a jaguar."

"Wow! That's amazing Usopp! Are you a street racer?!" Chopper asked with sparkles on his eyes, clearly amazed by Usopp's car and Usopp himself.

"Hmmmm... Am I?" The long-nosed man placed his thumb and pointer finger on his chin, as if he was thinking of something deep. "I know you're amazed by me and have a lot of questions but we should get going. You guys might get late."

Usopp unlocked his car and opened the driver seat. He bends the seat to let Chopper enter the seat at the back. Chopper happily entered his car and was amazed by how comfy his seats were. The ride to Marie Jois University was filled with funny stories Usopp told that were not lies. He told them of a time he was driving his car so fast that he was able to climb the mountain walls by driving upwards.  

"You're a street racer aren't you?" Zoro asked randomly since his curiosity was eating his brain. Besides the obvious fact that his car was pumped up, there were multiple buttons beside the wheels and the shift had an additional gear.  

"I'm the best one out there!" Usopp answered proudly. Zoro rolled his eyes, he knew he was lying but Chopper believed him. "I do race, but I don't always do it. I enjoy racing but I enjoy building cars for racing more." There was silence between the three of them as Usopp made a turn and entered a gate that had a sign above that read "Marie Jois University". They were met by an intersection that had signs which directed to the buildings of the different majors that the school offered. Usopp made a right turn to lead them to the Medicine Building. Along the way, Chopper saw students walking at the sidewalk with a pile of books in their arms and he never felt this excited to learn new knowledge about medicine.

"If you're interested I can upgrade your Civic but you have to meet my crew first." Usopp said barely audible but Zoro understood what he said. The car was slowing down indicating that they were at their destination.  

"I don't deal with crews." Zoro sternly answered. He prefers to work alone. He was a lone wolf and thought that crews were troublesome to deal with since those type of groups usually got into fights more often and he wasn't in the position for those since Chopper might get into the mess.

"At least just meet them first, they're not that bad." The long-nosed man said with a grin. "You have my number now right? Just text me after you're done with the admission process and we can meet up."

"Thanks for the lift Usopp!" The small curly-haired boy exclaimed with an excited expression on his face. He was basically beaming. Zoro got down first and bent his seat down to let Chopper out of the car. He waved goodbye to Usopp as the man drove away.

When they turned around to face the school they saw a large white building that looked like a coliseum. Large words were printed on top of the door that said "Marie Jois Medicine Department". There was a fountain in the middle that has a statue of two snakes winding around a winged staff, a symbol of medicine, in its core. Students were walking around with multiple books on their hands and their eyes were as black as a panda. Everyone and everything looked different from high school and Chopper suddenly felt overwhelmed by everything.

"Zoro, I think everyone here is on a different level." Chopper said with an intimidated expression on his face.  

"And you're a level above them." A simple sentence like that was enough for Chopper's worry to fade. His brother always knew what to say when he felt lost and he knew that Zoro was always there for him and it made him feel like he could do anything. Zoro slapped Chopper's back to slam the boy with confidence again. "You've got this."

"I've got pain in my back." The boy joked as he rubbed the place where Zoro slapped him. Zoro was a tall and muscular man so a simple slap on his back was enough for Chopper's lungs to come out.

The two brothers entered the school building and the inside was just as amazing as the outside. Though the outside had an old but elegant feel to it, the inside had a modern design.  The entrance hall had a huge staircase that leads to a second floor where they saw students were reading books and lounging around. There were four huge doors that lead to different departments on the first floor. The first thought Chopper had was that he needed to hold his big brother's hand or he wouldn't find the guy for a week.  

"Where do we go?" Chopper said his thought out loud, he was worried that he would be late for his appointment, it wasn't a good image to start with after all.  The building had different hallways and rooms and it might take ages for them to find the admissions center. The only way they could get there on time is to ask how to get there.

"You're blocking the way." The boys turned around to see a black haired man with a very deep and black eyebags who had tattooed letters on his fingers that when put together spelled "DEATH".  

"You can just walk past us, there are no people around!" Zoro raised his eyebrows and looked around him to check if there were other people in the large entrance of the building. There were none, and the man could have just avoided them and went on his day.

"Zoro...  We are blocking the way..." Chopper said in a low voice. He didn't want trouble before he could even start going to classes.

"Oi Law, don't scare them." A man wearing a white lab coat came up to them. He was wearing eyeglasses and he had blonde hair on top of his head but the sides were completely bald. Somehow, he reminded them of a pineapple. "I'm guessing you're looking for the admissions?" He questioned with a smile.

"Yes." Chopper answered the man. The boy glanced at Zoro, who was having a staring contest with Law.

"I'll take you there. I'm Marco, a professor at this university and this..." Marco placed his hand on Law's shoulder and gave it one light slap. "is Law. Despite him looking like a criminal, this guy is a graduating student and the top one at that." Chopper looked at Law in a different light. At first, he thought the guy was a delinquent but now he sees him as a star student. He thought the guy must be very grumpy because he was staying up all night to study and do school work, he can see it in the guy's eye bags.

"Go to your class, Law. You'll be late." Marco looked at Law and shooed him away. Law gave the brothers one final look before he turned his back and walked to his class.  

"Don't worry, he's a pretty nice guy if you get to meet him better. He's not in a great mood this morning because of school work. Now then, shall we?" The professor smiled and gestured that they climb the stairs. He escorted them all the way to the admission area where he told them to sit down at the reception and wait for a while. Marco gave Zoro a clipboard to fill up Chopper's personal information while they were waiting.

"This is it Zoro." Chopper whispered while watching Zoro filling up the form. Zoro grunted to acknowledge what Chopper said. They knew they would move to Marie Jois City but it felt like a dream that when they wake up it would go away but now that they're here with their fancy new apartment and Chopper's new amazing school everything finally felt real for the both of them and they're proud of how far they come. They both waited patiently on their seats and after thirty minutes Marco came back and asked for the clipboard.

"Sorry, the dean got busy with work so he asked me to process your admission instead uhhh..." He looked at the clipboard to see the name of his client. "Mr. Chopper?" Marco questioningly looked at Zoro because he thought the name didn't quite fit the guy. Zoro made the no motion with his head and pointed at the actual Chopper beside him. The professor made a questionable expression with his face at first but then he immediately lit up like he remembered something.

"Oh! You're that genius kid the faculty's talking about!" Marco exclaimed with a huge grin on his face. "Everyone's excited to meet you!"

"Don't call me a genius! It doesn't make me happy!" Chopper hid his blushing face in his hands. He couldn't take the compliment that the whole faculty knows about him and recognizes his talent. The thought gave him a confidence boost. Marco looked at Zoro to ask if Chopper was okay and the green-haired man nodded his head in response. The pineapple-haired man chuckled.

"We'll just do a short orientation." Marco leads the two boys to an office where they talked about the requirements for Chopper's scholarship. The man explained that the boy needed to maintain an above average GPA to maintain his scholarship and that it only covers the whole tuition for his years at the university. So the money to buy for books and medical equipment needed to come out from their pockets. If the school also needed a student volunteer they'd need Chopper to be there to help them.  Marco showed them the school curriculum and available subjects they had for the semester. He suggested that Chopper shouldn't rush since they still had a month before the semester starts but he also told him to pass the schedule he wanted two weeks before. Marco made Zoro sign a contract about the conditions for Chopper's scholarship. The school knew Chopper was still underage so they made his guardian sign for him and included him to the orientation just to be sure that they know what the boy was about to go through. After a short two hour talk with Marco, they finished the first step of the admission process and told them to come back with the schedule.  

"I'll see you in class then, Chopper." Marco said while shaking the boy's hand. After their exchange, the brothers left the room and walked to the exit of the school building where they texted Usopp to come and pick them up.

"Well, that went well huh?" Zoro ruffled Chopper's hair as if telling him that he did a good job and that he was very proud of him. Before Chopper could answer there was a loud grumble from his stomach.

"Hungry?" The man asked and Chopper nodded in agreement.

"I've got packed lunch in my bag, we could eat it while waiting for Usopp." Chopper opened his backpack and took out the lunchboxes he made, he figured that they might get hungry while waiting and that a homemade lunch would cost cheaper than eating outside. The two brothers found a tree near the road where they sat down and ate their lunch. It was a nice spot where Usopp can easily spot them. Usopp replied that he might be late because he visited a friend on the campus and that he was still with them which was fine for the boys because they didn't have anything else to do that day and a short picnic was nice. They ate their lunch while talking about how the university will be for Chopper and after they had their fill Zoro fell asleep laying on the grass while Chopper read the curriculum and available subjects Marco gave him.

It was silent until a loud screeching sound of tires and explosive sounds of engine disturbed their peace. Chopper looked around to see where the noise was coming from but all he saw were students, who were also chilling on the school grounds, shook their heads and facepalmed and just had this expression of "not again" in their faces.

When Chopper faced the road, he saw a small white car speeding. The bottom half of the car, as well as the hood and side mirrors, were colored black. It was too far away to see most of the details but he saw that the windows weren't tinted so you could see a silhouette of a person with a strawhat sitting on the driver's seat. There was a red Ferrari behind him trying to catch up but the white car suddenly burst speed as flames from the back of the car erupted. The car suddenly stopped on the nearest tree to where Chopper and Zoro were sitting under. There were tire marks on the road and Chopper could hear laughing from the white car. The Ferrari stopped beside the white car and rolled down the window in the passenger's seat and started shouting. It was amazing how Zoro was still asleep during the whole act.

"REMEMBER THIS STRAWHAT." A man with blue hair and a big red nose stuck his head out for a second to look at the white car's driver and stared at him to try and intimidate him. But Chopper could hear a loud laugh from the white car, the clown man looked irritated and just drove away in defeat.

"I'll beat you as many times as you like Buggy!" A boy with a stawhat stuck his upper body outside as he shouted and waved goodbye to Buggy. Now that the white car was closer, Chopper saw the plate on the back of the car that said "KING" and taillights that had three X on each side. There were three exhaust pipes on the back and the hubcap was also shaped like an X. Chopper stood up and walked to see the details on the front side of the car. He saw that the headlights were slanted on each side and that the hood was wider than most cars but the thing that interested him most was the word "TRUENO" in the middle part of the bumper.  Overall, the car looked old but the thing still beat a Ferrari at full speed.

"You wanna race me?" Chopper didn't notice but the boy at the driver's seat got out of his car and was watching the boy while he was examining his car. The freckled boy noticed that the driver had black hair and a scar on his left eye. A huge X scar was also visible on his chest under his white thin shirt. Chopper was curious about the scar since he looked too young to have such big injuries but he was a racecar driver after all.

"Ah! I'm not a racer so..." The boy looked disappointed with Chopper's answer but before he could say anything a loud grumble could be heard and Chopper looked at the boy.

"I'm hungry, do you have any food? I'm Luffy by the way!" The sudden change of topic surprised Chopper but the expression of hunger from Luffy's face was something he couldn't resist. Chopper scanned the place where Zoro was sleeping, looking at the lunchboxes that were spread near the man and remembered that he still had some fried eggs left, it was food for dinner but it seemed like Luffy needed it more. "I think we've still got some food left."  

Luffy clapped with joy and followed Chopper to their picnic place. Chopper handed him the eggs and he looked at the food with sparkles in his eyes. It was like he saw fried eggs for the very first time. He positioned himself to sit on the grass not noticing a certain green-head sleeping right below him. Before Chopper could warn him, Luffy sat on Zoro's face and like right on cue Luffy felt some air he needed to release and right there and then he did.  

Zoro immediately woke up and pushed Luffy away coughing for some fresh air. Luffy not only laughed at the sight in front of him, which happened because of what he did but also because he didn't know a man can blend so well with the grass. Zoro layed on the grass again taking deep breathes to rejuvenate his nose that took a huge bomb from some asshole. He was about to kick someone's ass for that.

"I like you both! You should join my crew!"  

Zoro stood up and walked towards Luffy. He grabbed Luffy by the collar and looked directly in his eyes with a menacing look but Luffy kept on laughing. Chopper knew where this was going and he was scared for Luffy. Most of the time Zoro was calm but when he gets angry, he really gets angry that he can beat up a person until they can't walk anymore. To avoid the worst to happen, the boy tried to calm his brother by pulling his shirt. It was a small gesture but it was something.

"Oi, Luffy!" As if an angel came down from heaven, Usopp came just right on time to stop the fight that was about to spark. The long-nosed man closed his door on the driver's side and walked towards the group. "You like them? They're the two brothers I was texting to you about!"

"They're funny! This guy..." Zoro released Luffy from his grip and the strawhat boy patted his hair to emphasize his next statement. "looks like the grass! And that little guy there gave me food!"

"So you do like them?" Usopp asks again not really getting the answer he wanted from Luffy.

"I do! And I want them to join the crew." Zoro swatted Luffy's hand out of his head.

"We're not going to join your crew! What crew do you even have?! A pirate crew?!"

"As I said before that I AM the captain of my own crew, Luffy here is the captain of another crew that I am in, I took pity on them because they need my greatness!" Usopp answers while pointing himself with his thumb. Zoro knew he was lying but Chopper still believed him and even Luffy did too! Now that he thought about it, Zoro confirmed that Usopp was a streetcar racer and if this boy was their captain then he must be the best one in their crew. It would be a good idea to race Luffy to warm up to the racers of Marie Jois City.  

"Whatever, I don't care about your crew. Let's just race to see who's the best one here."

"I won't take no as an answer. Whatever you might think, you and that small guy there are in our crew now." Luffy answered confidently. It was like he didn't understand what Zoro was saying and just kept on making the decision for them.

"You don't have to join the crew if you don't want to, Luffy’s just a bit stubborn" Luffy looked at Usopp with a scrunched face, obviously disagreeing with what he said. "What do you mean they don't have too? They're already in the crew!" Usopp looked at Luffy again in disbelief but sighed in defeat and facepalmed to try to slap the headache away. "Forgive him, he's just like this."

“Are you sure he’s just a bit stubborn?” Zoro mocked Usopp’s statement earlier. They looked at Luffy who was picking his nose reaching far for a treasure inside his nose. He was really a stubborn man.

“He’s a pain in the ass but he’s a good captain, not like me though, but anyway! You guys should meet our crew!”

"I want to meet them they seem fun!" Chopper said in a nearly inaudible voice. The boy was quiet for a while that Zoro almost forgot he was there. The look in his eyes tells Zoro that he seems excited to meet these people, it was new since Chopper was a very shy boy and he doesn’t open up to just anyone. Maybe this crew was a good thing for Chopper’s development. Although they still won’t join Luffy but maybe they might hang out with them sometimes.  

“That’s it! They’ll like you little guy!” Luffy agreed giving him a wide grin and a thumbs up.

"Let’s go then." Everyone was looking at Zoro and waiting for his approval. It was really hard to say no at this situation especially when Chopper asks for something, he rarely asks for anything after all. When they all heard his approval, they all cheered like little kids who got candies.  

Zoro didn’t agree to ride with Luffy since this was the first time they met and he really wasn’t sure if he was a safe driver not for him but for Chopper. So, the two brothers were sitting in Usopp’s car while Luffy was right in front of them to lead the way to their crew hideout. During the car ride Usopp was telling them stories about their crew. They were called the "Strawhat Crew" and they were well-known within the city and they were gaining popularity outside. He told them that one day Luffy was visiting his city, Syrup City, and he beat some street racing punks that were causing trouble within the city. The punks then left the city alone after Luffy confronted them. A funny thing was that Syrup City wasn't really fond of street racers so they didn’t see him as a hero but acknowledged the deed he did. Luffy then asked Usopp to join him and he decided to come with him to Marie Jois City to start a new life and live his dream of building fast race cars and that was the reason why he was living at the best city in the world.  

The two brothers were amazed by his story. It didn’t seem like it was a made-up story like what Usopp usually tells all the time the details seemed too real. Whatever the case was, what Zoro got from the story was that Luffy wasn’t that bad of a guy. He seems like a great guy to be Chopper’s friend.  

Their ride ended when they got to the far end of Marie Jois City where the road meets the sand and the sea. Usopp’s car stopped in front of a huge building, the top part had a big lion head with rays that were supposed to be the fur surrounding the face in a circle. For a hideout, that large thing pretty much gave them away. There was a huge garage door that automatically opened and following Luffy, Usopp entered and parked his car inside. When the two brothers got out of Usopp’s car they saw multiple cars parked inside a huge gray garage and the cars were hidden under a cloth like the mechanics didn’t want anyone to see what they were making.

"Our builder likes to keep his projects hidden so you'll see a lot of those here." Usopp pointed to a row of cars under clothes and each cloth had different colors. It was like the cars were coded for a specific person. He gestured the two brothers to follow him towards a door. They opened the door to find a huge room with wooden walls that makes them feel like they were inside a ship. It really felt like the crew hideout was a legitimate pirate crew from the seas. There was a long bar with different alcohol drinks displayed, a huge U shape red sofa in the center of the room with a large flat screen TV in front of the seat. A large aquarium on the wall where a variety of fish can be seen got Chopper’s curiosity. The feel of the room was homey and Chopper and Zoro felt comfortable and hungry because there was a delicious aroma of food coming out of the door on the other side of the room.

"SANJIIII! ARE YOU COOKING? I'M HUNGRY!" Luffy burst from the door behind them surprising the two brothers. "Sanji makes good food." Luffy told Chopper with saliva falling down from his lips. With a statement and expression like that and with an amazing aroma within the room, how can Chopper not believe him. The boy followed a hungry Luffy to the kitchen door where they disappeared.

"Don't worry about them. The only thing you should be worried about is Chopper getting too fat from good food." Usopp chuckled thinking about a cute little chubby Chopper. He walked towards the sofa and sat down and gestured for Zoro to come sit with him. Zoro took Usopp's word and felt less worried about where and what Chopper was doing at the moment. The boy knows what to do if something comes up anyway. Besides for Chopper to make friends, he also had another agenda why he came with them. He needed to meet these people and see if he can get any information about the different crews and who needed to beat to be the best in this city.  

"Oh, hey Brook! Where's Franky?" Zoro didn’t see the old man sitting on the couch, not until Usopp talked to him at least. He was very thin that he almost looks like a skeleton, he had a big afro black hair, and he wore a nice suit. Overall, he looked very fancy.  

"Ah! Usopp! He's with Nami. They went to get some gears for Nami's car." Brook looked at Zoro and gave him a warm welcoming smile. "Who might this be?" He questioned as he acknowledged Zoro’s presence.

"This is one of the guys who moved in the apartment above me. This is Zoro." Usopp patted the green-haired man’s shoulder who only grunted in response, he wasn’t really feeling chatty that day.  

"Are they the guys Luffy texted Franky about?" Brook stood up and walked towards the corner of the room to get a violin case. He removed the instrument from its case and started checking if the tune of the violin was in perfect shape.

"Yeah! They are." Usopp answered.

"Well then, I should play a song for our new friends." The old man started playing his violin and a soft song can be heard inside the room, it was relaxing and Zoro felt peace after a long crazy day but the short moment of relaxation was interrupted when they heard a scream coming out of the kitchen.

"LUFFY! YOU'RE EATING ALL THE FOOD BEFORE I EVEN GET TO SERVE IT." A man's voice echoed throughout the whole house. Luffy was then thrown out across the room with a huge steak on his mouth and another two on both of his hands. "I jufst whantedf toof tasfte ift." He said while chewing his food, they really couldn’t understand him because of the food on his mouth but they knew he was just trying to defend himself.

A man with blonde hair covering his right eye, which Zoro thought was really ridiculous, came out from the kitchen with plates on both of his hands. Chopper was right behind him with a single plate too. They went to the bar and placed the food on top of the counter.

"Thanks Chopper, you're a good boy." Sanji said with a smile. The man got a fork, knife and plate from the counter drawers and gave Chopper a slice of the steak. Chopper was shy to receive the plate of food at first but Sanji looked persistent and the boy gladly accepted it. The first bite of the steak brought Chopper’s taste buds to heaven because the meat was so soft and the juices were oozing out of the meat that gave it additional taste that he couldn’t resist.  

"I take it that you like it." The blonde man chuckled and lighted a cigarette that he placed on his mouth. Chopper’s expression gave it away, he couldn’t talk because of how good the food tasted like. This was the first time he tasted anything so good.

"This is really delicious!" Chopper said while he was slicing the steak into pieces. He couldn’t wait for another bite. "I never tasted something this good in my life before!"  

"Right? Right? Sanji makes the best food in the world!" Luffy spread his arms out to give emphasis to his statement. Sanji kicked him in the head because he knew the reason why he spread his arms like that was to get food from the plate again.

"So, are you going to introduce these two new friends to us Luffy?" Sanji looked at Luffy expecting him to act like a captain at this moment. Although he respects his captain’s decisions, he still needs to be wary of the two new recruits.  Though Chopper looked too pure to be a bad addition, he was actually happy that Luffy asked him to join.

"I never asked their names yet." Luffy answered with a laugh.  

"Why do you do this." Sanji facepalmed not really knowing what he expected because Luffy was their captain after all.

"I'll introduce them to you!" Usopp stood up from his seat and pointed at Zoro. "This is Zoro." He then pointed at Chopper. "And that, I guess you already know, but that is Chopper! He got a scholarship at the Medicine Department at Marie Jois University! And he’s only fifteen years old!"  

"So, you're a genius boy." Sanji ruffled Chopper's hair who was still enjoying his piece of steak. Chopper choked and looked at Sanji with a blush on his face. He still didn’t know what to do when someone compliments him.

"Don't say that! I'm not that smart!" Chopper said while he hid his blushing face on his hands.

"He can't take compliments," Usopp answered Sanji’s confused look and the blonde man nodded, understanding a part of Chopper’s personality.

"Oh what! You're a doctor?" Luffy looked at Chopper with sparkles in his eyes, clearly impressed with what he said. "That's so great! Now we have a doctor in our crew!"

Chopper dropped his knife and fork to bend down on his knees, hide his face and kept saying. "I'm not that good!" Everyone except Zoro were laughing at Chopper’s cute reaction. The phrase “joining the crew” were words Zoro didn’t want to hear from anyone in the room since they really weren’t going to join. It was a dangerous world and he didn’t want Chopper to get caught up in something that might ruin his life.

"We're not joining your crew." Zoro interrupted the fun and had a stern look on his face. Luffy looked at him and studied his expression for a while then he grinned, the next thing he said surprised everyone inside the room. "Want to race then? If I win you'll join us. If you win, I'll let you go." There was silence in the air as it got heavier and intense.

"Zoro, they're not bad people." Chopper stood up from his crouching position and looked at his brother. He was trying to coax him to join the crew without any race or fight. It didn’t really seem like they needed persuading because he himself, wanted t to join the crew.

"Things might get dangerous and you still got a huge future ahead of you." Zoro was trying to be a responsible brother for Chopper at the moment. This was a decision he had to make for themselves. "I'll race you tomorrow for it. But Chopper's out of that bet. You got it?"

"I better be out of that bet because I'm joining this crew! I believe I’m matured enough to make my own decisions now." Chopper looked at him and Zoro saw how upset his brother was getting. This was the first time he answered him like this. It wasn’t like he didn’t trust Chopper to make his own decisions, Chopper was the one making the household decisions after all. But he knew the world of street car racing more than him.

“You can’t race you’re too young!” The green-haired man shouted making the air in the room heavier since this was a fight between family.

“I’m only saying that you both should join the crew, not race with the crew. Everyone here has their own thing that helps the crew move forward to be the number one.” Luffy spoke like how a captain would respond to the situation. Everyone looked at him in shock because of how responsible Luffy sounded, he wasn’t all food and games after all.

"Fine. Do your own thing." Zoro said as he was looking at Chopper who was sending a thumbs up sign to Luffy. This was his defeat, Luffy and Chopper had their points and he knew that whatever happens he will be there at Chopper’s side.

"Let's race tomorrow night then." Luffy grinned returning to the challenge at hand. The strawhat boy had a look on his face that said that Luffy was so sure that he was going to win the race. It fired up Zoro's determination to win and beat Luffy’s grinning ass so bad. If he was going to join this crew, even if he didn’t want to but the opponent won fair and square, the captain needed to earn his respect anyway and the only way he could do that is if he beat him in a race.

"If you want me in your crew, you need to earn my respect." Zoro stated his condition and looked at Luffy in the eyes to try and intimidate him but the boy laughed, he looked amused by the whole situation.

"I really want you in my crew now."

The door suddenly opened and revealed a man with blue hair who was wearing speedos and a woman with long orange hair wearing jeans and a plain black shirt. They stopped and looked at each of them with a confused expression. Both of them could feel the tension in the air.

"What's with the heavy atmosphere?" The blue-haired man said removing his sunglasses and putting the box he was holding on one hand on the floor.

"NAMIII!" Sanji bent his knee in front of Nami and held a rose he grabbed somewhere in the room. "You still look beautiful as ever." Nami rolled her eyes not interested in Sanji’s rose but she looked at Luffy who was still grinning from ear to ear. She followed her gaze and found a man staring at Luffy and a boy who seems scared. "I'm guessing those two are the "two new friends" you found this morning."

"Yeah! Chopper's joining us and he's a doctor." Luffy dragged Chopper in front of Nami. The teenage boy gave Nami a small wave too shy to say something but Nami gave him a warm smile, welcoming him to his new home. "Zoro wants to race with me first before he joins." He said again pointing at Zoro. He was still so sure that he's going to win and Zoro didn’t like that one bit.

"Are you the boy Robin's talking about?!" Nami clasped his hands and pinched Chopper's cheeks. "You are so cute!"

Chopper slapped Nami's hand away and hid his blushing face in his hands "I'm not that cute!"

"Wait, you know Robin?" Zoro asked Nami curiously.

"Yeah, she's in the crew too." Nami answered. Zoro looked at her in disbelief he never thought Robin was a type of person that raced. He turned to face Usopp with a confused face to get some explaining he wanted to hear.

"I told you we take our cars seriously. I thought you'd get the hint." Usopp said shrugging his shoulders.

"I didn't think you were so dense, Zoro"  Zoro heard Robin’s voice and a chuckle after her sentence. She entered the main door and looked at him with amusement.

"Alright! We're all here!" Luffy raised his hands and ran to the counter aiming for the food but Sanji kicked his face away before he could devour everything again.

"At least Introduce us properly to the guests..." Sanji danced over to Robin and took her hand and placed a sweet kiss. She doesn’t seem to mind his actions. Robin just looks at him and chuckles. "Right ROBINNNN" He said with those heart eyes again, so does he do this to every woman he meets? Zoro thought how stupid that blonde guy was.

"I’m gonna go first! I'm Franky, The engineer of the crew. Just tell me what you want and I can make the modifications to make your car extra SUPER!" Franky said as he placed his two arms together above his head completing his star tattoo. Chopper’s eyes sparkled because of how cool Franky looked in front of him. He wanted to get to know him more since he looked like a chill guy he could hang out with and maybe he could learn a thing or two about cars.

"I'm Nami, I'm a cartographer. I can make it easier for you to win a race with secret roads but you'll need to pay me." She said while doing an okay sign but obviously it meant money. Zoro could benefit a map from Nami he thought how it would make memorizing the roads at his new city easier for him. Maybe he could talk to her later about the price.

"I'm Brook, I'm a musician. Luffy said he wanted to have a musician in the group! I understand him because music makes everything fun!" The old man laughed as he played a brief piece on his violin. Luffy was nodding in agreement to what Brook said. Zoro guessed no one understood why Luffy wanted a musician in a street car racer crew since all they could hear during races were their engines.

"Sanji. I'm a chef." Sanji didn’t seem that interested in his introduction but he did give Chopper a smile since he was getting too fond of the boy.

"I know you know me but I'll tell you my role here. I'm a mechanic. I help Franky with the modifications!" Usopp said while pointing at himself with his thumb.

"I'm a historian and I just find this crew very interesting." Robin chuckled as she got confused looks from Zoro and Chopper. But it gave Zoro an idea how and why she joined the crew, maybe she was one of those who stood on the sidelines to get information.  

"I'm Luffy! Captain of this crew and the future king of the roads." Luffy said with a grin on his face.

"Everyone's so great! I'm Chopper and I'm going to start studying as a Doctor and that's my brother Zoro, he's a street racer." Chopper pointed at his brother who just stood there silently. Though they were introduced a million times they still needed to introduce themselves, it was different and seemed appropriate.

"Luffy, I think you'd be happy to know that Zoro's one of the 11 rookies that popped up two years ago with you" Robin said with delight on her face. Zoro was surprised to know that the woman knew about him. But it wouldn’t be that surprising since she was a historian, they get information everywhere and maybe she uses her connections to get information of racers outside their city.

"What?! I didn't know you were that good!" Zoro was his brother but he didn't know that his big brother was one of the best. Chopper knew why though, he knew Zoro wanted him to live in the sidelines. But there wouldn’t be no harm in knowing your directionally challenged brother was a top racer in the whole wide world!

"If you're aiming for the top then it'll be troublesome if you're in my crew." Luffy had a serious expression on his face for the first time after they met. He looked like a lion who was defending his title in his pride.

"I don't plan on being the king. I just need to beat the guy who gave me this scar." Zoro briefly showed the whole crew the wide long scar he had on his chest. Luffy looked at him curiously that prompted Zoro to go on with his story. Why Zoro was explaining these things to someone he just met he doesn't know himself either. He wasn't planning on joining the crew but he was opening a private part of his life. "Mihawk's known to be the best driving a Civic and I want that title. I challenged him two years ago but he beat me and told me he finds potential in me and that I should come back and challenge him when I'm prepared."

Luffy once again became silent and looked at Zoro for a little while and grinned ear to ear, he was impressed with the man's determination. "Is that so? Then you're in my crew again." He said with his hands on his waist while he laughed a giddy laugh. "Enough with this and let's have a party for our two new members!" Luffy grabbed Zoro and Chopper in a tight hug. Chopper was laughing with his new friend but Zoro had a pained look on his face.

"I said I'm not joining!"

The party started with beers in their hands, besides Chopper, of course, he had apple juice. Brook played his violin while Luffy, Usopp, and Franky danced and sang with him. Chopper wanted to join the fun of course but he was cornered by the two women who were interested in dressing him up that they were already planning when they were going shopping with the boy. They also asked questions about his interests and how he got into medicine. Chopper told them that when he and Zoro were still in the orphanage he met two doctors who came to their place for a random check-up. They told stories of what doctors do and he got fascinated by their tales. Since then, Chopper started reading medicine books and made it his goal to treat every disease in the world.

"So, are you and Zoro not blood-related?" Nami asked curiously.

"Nope, but we're brothers." Chopper said with a grin and Nami lightly ruffled Chopper's curly hair. He was right, being brothers weren’t only about being blood related but about how they treated and respected each other. "If you'd let us, this crew can be your family too."

"Why did you join the crew?" Chopper asked while sipping his apple juice, it was to hide the huge blush creeping up from his face and tears that were forming in his eyes. He really liked the crew and thinking that the crew can be his family made him feel warm and safe.

"Luffy invited us and like how he's doing with your brother, he doesn't take no as an answer." The orange haired woman sighed while Robin chuckled beside Chopper. "But Luffy helped us..." Nami played with her glass of wine with a happy expression on her face. "Just know that even though Luffy’s an idiot, he’s the best idiot captain. We've got different stories about him but we’ll tell you about it another time. Let's just enjoy the night." She grinned and dragged Chopper to where the boys were dancing and they joined the fun.

Zoro was happy that Chopper was having a nice time with his new friends and maybe, possibly, his new friends too. Even if he didn’t join the crew, they can still be his friends, just with different ideals. He was silently drinking his beer while sitting on the couch, chilling, watching the whole crew having the time of their lives. His peaceful time by himself is going to be ruined soon because Sanji sat down beside him.

"Luffy will beat your ass so just accept his offer already." The blonde man said as he was giving his cigarette a huff. He was pretty chill for saying such an offending statement to Zoro.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Zoro looked at Sanji and he was ready to punch the person in front of him because no one in his entire life disrespected him like that and got away with it

"I'm not saying you're a weak little shit, which probably you are," Sanji smirked earning him a murderous glare from Zoro. "But Luffy seems to like you and he won't stop until you just give up and say yes."  

"Well, he better gives up unless he wins tomorrow." The green-haired man answered. He was considering if he should beat the man up but for Chopper he won’t. This was a night of fun for his brother and he doesn’t want to ruin it for him so he decided to change the subject by asking a question that was bothering him ever since they got to the place. "How did you guys find this hideout?"

"This is a garage my friend used to have." Usopp slid down the couch and joined in their conversation. He drank a few gulps from his beer and wiped sweat out of his face. The man probably got tired of dancing and needed downtime. "Her name's Kaya. She gave this to us because she wanted to support the crew. I let Franky live here because he basically lives here anyway since he works on the cars day and night. It’s better for the building too because someone will take care of it."

"The hideout's location is far away from the city center so no one randomly knocks on the door. I can work in peace here." Franky sat down beside Usopp and chilled with the men sitting on the couch. The dancing stopped since Luffy and Chopper went to the bar to get some food to energize themselves while Brook chatted with the ladies probably about how nice the new additions to their crew were.  

"I can add modifications to your Civic if you'd like." Franky wiggled his eyebrows like it was a physical way of telling Zoro to accept his offer. Zoro was actually considering it because if he wants to beat Mihawk, he needed to upgrade his car and skills. Franky looked like he knew what he needed to do and with the addition of Usopp’s ideas, the car would have awesome enhancements that would exceed any civic model.

"These two are the best mechanics in the world! So, you really should let them upgrade your car!" Luffy jumped behind Usopp and Franky and pulled them into a hug. It was like he was showing how proud he was of his crew members.

"Sounds promising," Zoro agreed to what Luffy said.  

"Great! We'll start doing the blueprints after your race tomorrow." Usopp did a thumbs up with his hands. It was a done deal and Zoro couldn’t be more excited to see what upgrades they would do to his car. Luffy then dragged Usopp and Franky back to the dance floor and continued to party. Sanji left the couch to join Brook and the ladies and he had those heart eyes while he was talking to the girls. He looked really stupid to Zoro. When he saw his big brother alone again, Chopper went and joined him on the couch.

"Sorry if I'm being a hard-headed kid today." Chopper said in an almost faint voice. Zoro didn’t know what Chopper was being sorry for, the kid was having fun with new people he met. He was growing and spreading his wings and bit by bit tearing down that wall he made to keep strangers away. It was a proud moment for Zoro.

"I don’t know what you’re sorry for but whatever it is just forget about it. I do see that this crew seems different from the other crew I interacted with, they’re nice people and a good environment for you." Chopper's face lit up since it was rare for Zoro to warm up to people. "But I still need to see how capable their captain is."

"Whatever, do your thing. I know myself that I’ll feel at home here because I can feel that they’ll treat me, us like family”

Maybe. Just maybe, Zoro thought the same too.  

Zoro started his day with a quick workout in their living room. If he wanted to win that race, he needed to be in his top shape today. He even did a minimum of 1000 pound weight for an hour. After he did his morning routine, he cooked breakfast for him and Chopper. The boy was still sleeping because they partied until 3 AM and that was past his usual bedtime so Zoro let him sleep until noon today. His race with Luffy was set at 7 PM near Merry so he still had time to tune up his car.

"G'mornin" Chopper said with a yawn as he entered the kitchen with messy hair and puffy eyes from his sleep. The boy sat down and Zoro put his plate in front of him but the boy's head was still nodding off.

"If you're still sleepy you should've just stayed in bed." Zoro grunted not really understanding why Chopper ate his breakfast while his head was still in dreamworld.

"I wanted to do my schedule today." Chopper sleepily lifted his fork and started picking up his eggs.

"You've still got a month to do those." The man had a confused face.

"Yeah, but I wanted to check if I can get classes with Dr. Hiluluk and Dr. Kureha. You know they're one of the reasons why I applied to Marie Jois University." How could Zoro forget about those two names, Chopper didn't stop talking about them since that check-up they had like seven years ago. He kept up to date about their achievements and even decided to go to the school where they taught at to see them again.

"Do what you gotta do, I'll just be downstairs tuning up my car." Zoro quickly finished his meal and politely asked Chopper to wash the dishes which the boy happily obliged to do. The man spent his entire afternoon checking if his engine was in top shape and if his car still had gas and if his tires were still good. Three hours before his race, Zoro went up to take a bath and meditate in his room. Now that his car was in top shape and that he physically felt that he was in his best form, the next thing he needed to do was mentally prepare himself. He needed to stop thinking about anything else and clear his mind. He can't race with a troubled mind after all.

"Zoro, we need to leave now." Chopper knocked on his door and slowly opened it to peek inside. He saw Zoro half naked sitting on the floor cross-legged and meditating. The man opened his eyes and looked at his baby brother. It was finally time for his first race in Marie Jois City. “Usopp said he’ll show us the way to the race track.”

On the way to their meeting place, Zoro rode alone in his car following Usopp who was in front of him. Chopper was with Usopp because he didn’t want to bother his big brother that much and he wanted to hear more stories from Usopp. The boy did warn Usopp that Zoro was directionally challenged and this surprised the long-nosed man since Zoro was a street car racer, how does he win races if he didn’t know where we he was going? As they were talking about Zoro, Usopp glanced at his mirror to check if Zoro was still behind him but not much to his surprise he didn’t see Zoro’s car. They looked for Zoro and herded him to the right path. That cycle went on for about three times before they got to the place.  

They passed by the hideout and kept following the road until they got to the end part of the beach where they saw a mountain beside it. The whole strawhat crew were already there and they were all looking at the cars that stopped in front of them since they were already late for about an hour. Chopper, Usopp and Zoro got out from their cars and joined the group.

“Before anything, I just want to say that this guy is unbelievable.” Usopp was the first one to speak, he pointed at Zoro to emphasize how bewildered he was about the guy. He was the first one from Marie Jois City to experience Zoro’s unusual talent.

“Whatever! Let’s just start the race!” Luffy looked so impatient from waiting too long.  

“Let’s start the race first before we talk about what happened.” Nami agreed with Luffy because she wanted the race to finish quickly.  

“How do we do this?” Zoro asked Nami since she looked like she was the one officiating the race.

“Since this is an unofficial race, we won’t need any judges though a contract has been set. If Luffy wins you join the crew if Zoro wins Luffy leaves him alone.” The girl looked at both the racers and they nodded in agreement with the “prizes” the race had.

“Unofficial race?” Chopper didn’t know that street racing had rules they had to follow. He looked so confused that Usopp explain everything to him.

“There are two types of racing in street racing, the official and unofficial races. Unofficial races are usually the fun racing where they won’t bet anything big that might destroy their reputation so these races don’t need judges. Official matches are the ones where crew fights happen and this is where “contracts” happen. Contracts are what each side place as bet, most of the time captains bet their cars, money or their hideouts. Though there are times where they fight for a title that brings them closer to challenging the yonko or the top four racers where when you beat them you become the king of the roads. Judges come in the official races to make everything fair, to make sure no one cheats.” Usopp finishes his explanation and now Chopper understood the world of street racing better.

“The race type will be a sprint, the first one to come down the mountain wins.” Nami points to the top then to the makeshift finish line they did. “Both of you should get into positions.”

Zoro and Luffy started to drive towards the top of the mountain. The night was silent except for the noise from their car engines. The road was dark but the street lights gave enough light to see what was in front of them. It built up their excitement for the race. When they got to the top, Zoro was in awe when he saw the view. Marie Jois City was indeed a city that never sleeps because he could see the city lights from the top and the starry sky added a little sparkle that made the whole scene in front of him more beautiful.

"It's beautiful huh?" Zoro heard Luffy shout from his car. He looked at the boy from the driver’s seat and saw his goofy smile. "We'll have a picnic here with the whole crew next week!"

"As if I'm going!" Zoro quickly answered. It’s not like he has all the time in the world to relax, he needed to find a job to pay the bills after all. Luffy grinned ignoring what Zoro said and closed his car window.  

"You two get into your position!" Nami's voice startled Zoro. He looked around to see if she was there but the only thing he saw was a drone that was above their cars. Luffy reversed his car and got into his position while Zoro did the same.

"Ready?" The two boys showed a thumbs up sign in the rear-view mirror so the drone can capture their signal to let Nami know that they were ready for the race.

"START YOUR ENGINES!" Nami’s shout echoed throughout the empty road. They could hear the cheers from the crew as they both geared up their cars. This was Zoro's first race in this city even if this wasn't an official race where money or reputation was involved, he would still take this seriously. This was a good warm up for him.

"IN 3..." He cleared his mind and stared at the road in front of him. This was really it. It was really happening.

"2..." Zoro clutched his steering wheel tightly and he could feel his palms sweating from excitement.

"1..." He could hear his heartbeat not from fear but from the thrill to be on the road again.

"GO!"  

Zoro and Luffy dashed from the starting line at the same time. Their cars darted from the starting point to the curve ahead of them in seconds. The incline of the mountain road added a little more speed to their cars. For normal drivers it was dangerous and they needed to slow down to be careful but for racers the incline was a natural boost. Zoro could feel his palms sweating from his tight grip on his steering wheel.  

The two racers got near to the first curve of the road. This was a part where he could gain the first spot easily by drifting ahead. As they approach the curve, Luffy grinned and pressed a button beside his steering wheel that gave him a speed boost. Zoro could swear he saw rockets come out from the side of Luffy's car. With the speed boost, Luffy easily took over the race and passed the curve in just a few seconds and he was in front of Zoro.  

As Zoro passed the curve Zoro saw the two rockets from the side of Luffy's car fold and go deep inside somewhere within the vehicle. Zoro grinned, this was a thing that Marie Jois city racers had, rockets and power-ups and he was excited to beat this challenge without any of those powerups. He shifted his gear and pressed his pedal at full and his car was blasting the road away like how Luffy's car did, though he was still behind the strawhat boy. He could see another curve coming up from the road. The man couldn't remove the grin from his face, this was his chance.

As Luffy drifted at the curve Zoro saw an opening and shifted his gears, pressed the break and swerved right in front of Luffy. As he looked at his side mirror, he couldn't see Luffy and he smirked knowing that he was going to win the race. As Zoro continued driving he got confused because he couldn't see the city view from his right side like he used too. All he could see was trees and darkness and he swore this wasn't the road they passed by when they drove up the mountain. Maybe the road changed? or maybe he accidentally took a shortcut?

He kept driving and driving which felt like it took him hours until he saw the whole crew's back. Zoro could hear shouting from the distance and some loud engines that was nearly drowning the voice of the shouting person. Were they in trouble?

He parked his car behind them and got out of the vehicle and slammed his door shut. It was loud enough for the crew to know that he was there because he saw Chopper running towards him.

"What's happening? Are you hurt? I told you joining a crew was a bad thing! Just stay behind my back." Zoro instantly turned into big brother mode. The shouting and engines made him worry for the boy. It wasn’t like he wanted to diss crews so much but he was doing it for Chopper’s sake.

"I'm not hurt Zoro, I was more worried for you because Luffy got here first and said he didn’t see your headlights behind him. He told us when you drifted around the second curve you disappeared." Chopper answered calmly and crossed his arms. There was amusement in his face. How can he not be amused?  "So, you got lost. How do you even win races?"

"Oh, just shut up, I'm not used to the roads here yet." Zoro answered and an old red truck passed by their side followed by two other cars that seemed like they were in pursuit. Zoro got worried and pulled Chopper to his side but the boy seemed unbothered. Chopper pulled Zoro’s shirt and pointed towards the crew, he nodded and they walked to join the small crowd.

"BUGGY! JUST GET OFF THE CAR ALREADY."  A mysterious voice shouted from one of the three cars in pursuit.

"Shouldn't you all be worried about this?" Zoro asked Nami as he stood beside her, she had this unimpressed look on her face and as Zoro observed the others they all had the same bored expression.

"Well, we should be, but they're all idiots so I don't bother," Nami answered and looked at Zoro. Her bored face change to a delightful look as she saw something that interested her. "So how are you a racer if you get lost mid-race?" You can see the amusement in her eyes. Zoro rolled his eyes to ignore her enjoyment in his situation. He watched the cars again to understand what was going on.

"Who are they anyway?" He asked.

"That old red truck is Ace's car, one of Luffy's older brothers. Buggy stole it, he's the one driving it right now." Nami pointed at the red truck going circles around beach. "Those two behind him are Sabo, Luffy's other older brother and Marco, a very good friend of Ace, they're on the same crew called the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Whitebeard Pirates? That's one of the most popular crews! Isn’t their captain one of the Yonko?" Zoro was surprised to know about Luffy’s ties with a member from a well-known crew. Not that it intimidated him but more like it didn’t look like Luffy was someone who had connections. "And didn't Luffy beat Buggy in a race a few days ago?"

"Yes, and Ace and Marco are one of the top members in that crew." The man from Chopper’s school, who he almost had a fight with, stood beside Zoro and casually joined their conversation. Zoro was confused to see Law at the beach with them. "Buggy probably wanted to take revenge on Luffy. I was with Marco and Sabo when Buggy stole the car, I came with them here but I’m not stupid enough to mindlessly follow Buggy in circles. Does that answer your question?” Before Zoro could say anything snarky they were interrupted by Luffy’s loud voice.

"Oi Zoro! Where did you go? But you lost anyway so you're in my crew now!" Technically Luffy did win the race and Zoro was officially in the crew. He had to accept that fact since he did agree on the bet so he had nothing else to do Zoro wouldn’t back down on his words but he still didn’t consider Luffy as his captain, the boy needed to do something to earn his respect.

Luffy jumped and wrapped his arms on Zoro and Law's neck. "Zoro meet Torao! Our crews are good buddies!" The two men in Luffy’s grip were struggling to get out from his hold but he was strong for a thin boy.  

"OI STRAWHAT!  RACE ME!" Luffy released the two men when Buggy stopped the truck in front of them. He rolled his windows down and glared at Luffy.  

"Sure!" Because they knew Luffy so well, it didn’t surprise the whole crew to see him accepting any challenges their captain gets from his enemies. Luffy gave Buggy a thumbs up to physically show that he was up to the challenge.

"Luffy?! Are you just gonna ignore the fact that he stole Ace's truck?!" The two cars that was follow Buggy pulled up in a corner and the drivers got out to join the commotion. Sabo gave his little brother a light slap on the head to wake up some senses in him.

"Ace is strong, why should I be worried?" Luffy looked at Sabo with a confused expression. They both know that their brother was strong and that he was capable of beating Buggy into a pulp himself so why Sabo was so worried Luffy didn’t understand.  

"He's only strong because of the power-ups of this car" Buggy said with a sly grin on his face. Luffy's mood shifted from happy to angry in just a few seconds and everyone became silent.  They all knew that when someone talks badly about the people that’s important to Luffy he gets ballistic. It was very sweet of him to protect his loved ones even if they weren’t there. Luffy looked furious when he returned his attention to Buggy, it might have scared the blue-haired man for a bit but he kept on going in his act.

"What did you just say?"  

"You know you heard me."

"Even if he isn't using that car Ace could still beat your ass." Luffy slowly walked closer to the truck to get nearer to Buggy. He was itching to punch some senses to the clown’s head.

"I doubt it" Buggy laughed at his own joke but his cheerful moment was stopped when Luffy punched the side of Ace's truck to get his attention. That punch might have made some dents to the truck but Luffy really didn’t mind though a silent Franky was already planning on how to deal with the small damage his captain has done to Ace’s car.

"Let's race Buggy, I'll show you even with all those power-ups you can't beat me or Ace. It's not just about the boosts it's pure skill and Ace has that, you don't." Luffy challenged Buggy and the clown was up to the challenge, this was his revenge plan after all. He wanted to rile up Luffy and beat him in his most serious mode to show the world how weak he was. Buggy knew he wouldn’t beat the boy if he used his own car so he stole Ace’s car to add chances to him winning and to rile up Luffy. It was a win win situation.

"I thought you'd never ask."

The match was set at the road between the strawhat’s hideout and the mountain where Zoro and Luffy raced. The Strawhat crew placed a finish line sign at the end point of the decided meters of the race and Luffy and Buggy's car were already at the starting point. The whole crew knew that this race was different from the 'casual races' Luffy usually does so Franky double checked Luffy's engine and tires if they were in top shape. He was almost done with his 'last minute enhancements' for the car while Buggy was fiddling with the controls of Ace's car when Sabo called the two racers.

"Buggy, Luffy, come here." Luffy and Buggy walked towards Sabo and faced each other not once backing down from the intense eye contact they had. "Shall we make this an official race?"

"Yes." They both answered simultaneously.  

"Then with Me, Marco and Law being neutral we will become the judges of the race. What will you place as your bet?" Sabo nervously looked at Luffy, although he was considered a 'neutral' person at this event because he wasn't in Luffy nor Buggy's crew, he was still Luffy's brother and he knew exactly what Luffy will place as a bet for the race. And he really wasn't sure if that was a good idea.

"Ace's car." Luffy smirked and everyone around him sighed. Sabo facepalmed himself, this was his brother after all. He knew what was in Luffy’s mind at this point.

"It isn't your car but you place it as a bet?" The clown was laughing his ass out. He couldn’t believe the unusual contract he was making with one of the craziest racers in Marie Joise city. "I bet this car too but if I win, I also want your car."

"Sure."  

"WHAT, LUFFY?!" Usopp shouted and you could hear the dismay in his voice. Both he and Frank had done so much work on that car that they’ll trade their own cars for it. "WE WORKED SO HARD FOR THAT CAR?!"

"Like I'm gonna lose." Zoro was impressed with Luffy's confidence in his skills. If the boy showed a bit more of his respectable aspects Zoro might just consider him his captain and pledge his loyalty to him. The fact that Luffy fought someone because they dissed his brother was already commendable. Zoro fully understood what Luffy felt.

"With the contract done, get inside your cars!" The racers had one last look at each other then slowly walked to their cars. They got inside and made themselves comfortable in the driver’s seat when Sabo walked towards the center of the starting line with a flag in his hands.

"Start your engines!" Luffy keyed his car and riled up his engine. He needed to be serious this time, though he was always serious during a race.

"3!" Luffy breathed in trying to calm himself down and to prepare himself for his competition.

"2!"  

"1!" Though the racer themselves weren’t nervous the audience outside felt the excitement.

"GO!" Sabo waved the flag and both the cars passed by so quickly that he felt his hair got messy, which it actually did.

The race started with Buggy and Luffy neither in the lead. They were in equal standing but the quick sprint would end soon and both needed to make their move immediately if they wanted to win. The clown felt his sweat dripping from his forehead to his face, he glanced at the wheel and saw the different buttons that had different commands. He knew that those were his key to winning the race but he didn't know which one he should press.  

Buggy gave a quick glance at his left side and he saw Luffy grinning from ear to ear like he knew he was going to win the race. He bit his lip; he knew he had the best car in this race why was Luffy still catching up to him? A mere lemon can't compare its engines to a powered-up truck! Luffy’s crew did say that they did upgrades to his car but Ace's car also had upgrades that were greater than his and with the most advanced technologies the mechanics could touch.

In his moment of self-doubt, he didn't notice Luffy was going faster than him. He panicked and pressed a random button on the wheel. The car then had four rockets come out of its side and gave him the extra boost he needed. Buggy started laughing and thanked his great luck.

Luffy grinned as Buggy was passing him quickly. He pressed on his clutch and changed his gears to gear third and slammed his right foot to the accelerator to give him a boost to catch up. The strawhat boy was just warming up after all. The boy then flipped a switched on his stick and different gears were added to his arsenal. On the side of the fourth gear came out "Boundman", "Tankman" and "Snakeman".

It was the middle of the race and Buggy was still on the lead but Luffy was at his tail. Luffy once again changed from the third to the fourth gear and he was faster than before. He could distinctly hear Buggy laughing. The pace both racers had was consistent until they were near the finish line. When Buggy saw the finish line he changed his gears and pressed another button that gave him a nitro boost and he aligned his car in front of Luffy so he couldn't speed his way up. Luffy grinned at the challenge.

At the finish line, Chopper was waiting with half of the crew members since the other half was at the starting point but they were in a car behind the racers so they had the full view of the race themselves. They were watching the race from afar and they were feeling nervous about the outcome of the race since they saw Buggy was on the lead.

"Luffy would win, right?" Chopper asked Nami who had a blank expression on her face but her eyes were glued to the two cars.

"He will." She answered. Nami was quiet but she knew her captain would win.

Luffy looked directly at Buggy's car with a smirk on his face, he knew Buggy was looking at him at his rearview mirror. When both of them were just seconds away from the finish line, Luffy moved his stick from the fourth gear to the "Snakeman" below it. It gave his car an immense speed boost and he swerved to the right and quickly passed Buggy. He pulled his handbrake to drift in front of the clown to cross the finish line first. Everything was a blur for a moment and Buggy's jaw just dropped in surprise.

"The winner of the match is Monkey D. Luffy!" Sabo got out from his and announced the winner loud and clear. Everyone cheered and ran to Luffy to congratulate him. As everyone cheered Buggy quietly slipped away. Law saw him and told Luffy.

"The clown is running away Mugiwara-ya." He pointed at Buggy's running form.  

"Buggy! Thanks for the great race! Let's race again someday!" Luffy shouted loud enough for Buggy to hear. It wasn’t the reaction they were expecting, Law thought that Luffy would run after him but he guessed that beating Buggy in a race was enough for Luffy.

As everyone was talking to Luffy, Zoro contemplated for a second, he was impressed by Luffy's way of racing. Luffy had the skills that could beat anyone and the boy was someone Zoro could actually follow and swear to him until he was the king of the roads. He cared for his crew and family too. His crew wasn't all that bad either, they were like family and Chopper and him would enjoy that type of companionship. The green-haired man had finally decided.

He walked towards Luffy and everyone became silent. Zoro held his hand in front of Luffy for a handshake. "Nice race, Captain." Luffy grinned and returned his handshake. It was a simple sentence from Zoro but the whole crew knew that he was officially a member not only because he was forced to but also because he saw how capable Luffy was.

“So, we’ve got a new family?” Chopper stood beside Zoro as they were looking at their new crew in front of them.

“Yes, we do.” Zoro ruffled Chopper’s curly hair.  

This was only the beginning of their new life at Marie Joise City.

[paradoxicalpatton]

Fanders Secret Santa!

@starswingsandthings @secretsanders

Hello there! I’m Patton, your Secret Santa! I read through your wishlist, and unfortunately I’m a terrible artist. I am however, a pretty decent fic writer! So I thought I’d write a cute Prinxiety fic as your present! I didn’t really have anything to go off, so I googled some Christmas prompts and found one that I thought was perfect. I hope you like your present, Happy Holidays!

Prompt: To impress them, they learn all of the words to their favorite Christmas carol. And they doesn’t even like carols. Or Christmas. Or singing.

Pairing: Prinxiety

Au: Human! Au - Virgil is waiting at home for his housemate Roman, who goes to visit his parents for Christmas. However this Christmas, Virgil realises his true feelings for his best friend.

Word Count: +1.5k

You can click here to listen to the song Virgil sings!

The sound of the crackling wood from the fireplace filled the apartment, the warm light touching every object in the small living room, shadows resembling Christmas stockings covered the walls. Sitting on the sofa was Virgil, his favourite constellation quilt that Roman had made over his lap. On the small side table he’d moved next to him was a cup of camomile tea, his phone, and Roman's gingerbread candle. In his hands was ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ by Agatha Christie, a book his brother Logan had recommended to him. Looking up at the wall, Virgil noticed that the clock read 9:00. “Roman should’ve finished dinner by now.” he thought to himself. Placing the bookmark in his book, Virgil closed what he’d been reading, and replaced the book in his hands with his phone, sending Roman a message.

Emo Nightmare: sup ro, how's dinner with the fam?

Prince of your dreams: Why hello my dark and stormy night! I believe to be having a wonderful time, but I wish you were here with me.

Emo Nightmare: so do i, i could video call if you want? maybe i could give you your christmas present bc you won't be here on the day

Prince of your dreams: Oh Virgil that sounds splendid! Let me grab my laptop!!

Emo Nightmare: cool, ill grab mine too i guess

Virgil put his phone down gently on the book, and bent over to pick up his laptop off the floor next to him. He quickly opened it and put his password in before opening the video chat app. Roman's account switched to 'online’ and Virgil hit the call button, Roman answering quickly.

“Virgil! How is my chemically imbalanced romance?” Roman waved excitedly, his hair bouncing lightly. Virgil laughed quietly, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Hey princey, I'm good. Pretty alone though.” Virgil looked up at the screen, lifting the hood of his jumper over his head. He let himself smile at the sound of Roman's laugh.

“I'll be home in a week Virge, did you open the present I left for you?” Roman adjusted himself so he was lying down on his stomach, reaching out of frame to grab his hot chocolate.

“Yeah, I did. Thanks Ro, it means a lot.” Virgil grabbed his own mug, taking another sip of his tea, Roman clapping excitedly in the background.

He'd had trouble figuring out a good present for Virgil, they may have known each other door a few years now but his purple haired friend was still a mystery. Eventually Roman bought him a new quilt set, most of it purple with black cats on it, the perfect thing to match the rest of his room. Virgil, on the other hand, had an even harder time than Roman. What could he have possibly gotten him that his creative friend didn't already have? After months (yes, months. Virgil spent months thinking of something) of planning, Virgil finally thought of it.

“Actually, I have something for you as well. It isn't the best gift ever, but I put a lot of effort into it.” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at his lap sheepishly.

“I'm sure I'll love it no matter what! After all, a gift is a gift.” Virgil glanced up and smiled, Roman's deep emerald coloured eyes reassuring him. He slipped in some earphones and pressed play on a song in his phone.

“The fire is burning, the room's all aglow. Outside the December wind blows.”

He remembered when they first met, at Logan's Christmas party. The fireplace was lit, a warm light covering the room.

“Away in the distance, the carollers sing in the snow.”

The next Christmas they went out as a group to go ice skating. A group of people walked by singing carols, Roman joining in from afar.

“Everybody's laughing, the world is celebrating, and everyone's so happy, except for me tonight.”

They'd spent every Christmas together since they met. But this year Roman went to visit his family, leaving Virgil alone. On Christmas.

“Because I miss you, most at Christmas time. And I can't get you, get you off my mind.”

Virgil spent everyday of December leading up to Christmas wondering why he couldn't stop thinking off the royal pain in his ass that he called his housemate.

“Every other season comes along and I'm alright. But then I miss you, most at Christmas time.”

He asked Logan what it could be, but to no avail. His logical friend smiling sweetly as he told Virgil to ask Patton instead.

“I gaze out the window, this cold winter's night. At all of the twinkling lights.”

Soon enough Virgil asked Patton about his situation, his usually emotional friend smiling sadly. He knew exactly what it was, and he knew Virgil wouldn't like it.

“Alone in the darkness, remembering when you were mine.”

No. Virgil refused to believe it. This was just Patton playing a trick on him. He could never. Not in a million years.

“Everybody's smiling, the whole world is rejoicing. And everyone's embracing, except for you and I baby.”

Maybe he did. Virgil spent countless nights awake, pacing his room. Thinking about Roman's green eyes, his light honey coloured hair, the freckles that came in pairs, and his heavenly smile. Maybe Virgil did lov- um, maybe Virgil did like Roman.

“I miss you, most at Christmas time. And I can't get you, no no no no, get you off my mind.”

Virgil felt awful. He'd spent so long thinking about his own problems that he'd forgotten to get Roman something for Christmas. He stayed up all night that night, eventually deciding that he should listen to his heart. His heart named Patton. Who was yelling at him the next morning for staying up.

“Every other season comes along and I'm alright. But then I miss you, most at Christmas time.”

Virgil agreed with both Logan and Patton, and started searching for a song that would convey exactly how he felt about Roman. But even Virgil didn't know how he truly felt.

“In the springtime, those memories start to fade with the April rain. Through the summer days, till autumn's leave are gone.”

Roman only ever left Virgil around December. But he would always be home on Christmas day. Virgil could handle it any other time of the year. So why was it so bad now?

“I get by without you, till the snow begins to fall and then I miss you, most at Christmas time. And I can't get you, no no no no, get you off my mind.”

Virgil was in love with Roman. He was madly, deeply in love with his annoying, ignorant, somewhat handsome best friend. And he hated everything about it. The feeling of course, not the guy he fell for.

“Every other season comes along and I'm alright.”

Virgil loved Roman.

“But then I miss you, most at Christmas time.”

Virgil took out his earphones and looked up at the screen to a sight he thought he'd never see. Roman had moved and was sitting up again, he had tears running down his cheeks, his hands covering his mouth. Virgil was convinced he'd done something wrong. He probably had. He knew singing to him was a bad idea. As he went to apologise, Roman cut in, silencing the younger man.

“Virgil… I don't know where to begin,” Roman wiped his tears away and smiled at the camera. “That was beautiful. How have I never heard you sing? Although that isn't what's important, why did you sing that song?”

Virgil looked away and figited with the blanket in his lap, afraid to answer.

“Virgil? You can tell me, I won't judge you.” Virgil took a deep breath and closed his eyes tight.

“Because I love you Roman!” He let out a sigh and laughed, brushing a hand through his hair, thinking to himself ‘Well that wasn't that bad’. But when Roman didn't answer him he began to worry again. Virgil slowly looked up at a completely black screen.

His laptop went flat. His laptop, went flat.

Virgil slammed it shut, blew out the candle next to him, put out the fire in the fireplace and turned his phone off before running to his room and locking the door. He can't believe that actually happened. Although he's lucky he did, Roman would never feel the same.

A week passed and Virgil hadn't moved from his bed. He hadn't eaten or showered, and only left to use the bathroom. He'd been thinking about packing some of his things and leaving. Maybe he could find a small apartment in Antarctica, far, far, away from Roman. Unfortunately his plans were cut short with a loud banging on his door.

“Virgil! Virgil! Are you in there?” Patton, he hadn't heard Patton's voice in weeks.

“Virgil? If you're in there please let us know you're ok.” Logan, he sound panicked? Why?

Before he could answer his own question he heard the lock on the door rattling, the sound of a butter knife hitting it? That could only be one person.

“Virgil? Oh god Virgil, you're alright!” Roman opened the door and dropped the knife, rushing over toward him, pulling Virgil into a tight embrace.

Patton and Logan quietly closed the door to give Roman and Virgil some privacy. They obviously had a lot to talk about. Virgil explained to Roman that his laptop died and that if he heard anything he didn't really mean it. Which lead to Roman confessing his own romantic feelings to his edgy crush. The two sat there on Virgil's bed, laughing over the misunderstanding. Slowly the held hands and left the room, going out to find Logan and Patton.

“Hey Padre? Do you and Logan wanna come on a double date with myself and my emo prince?”

[kairoth]

Could you do all of the questions?

heyhey! yea! done on my laptop :>

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?♥ usually more milk but then i try to fix the ratio and it ends up being more cereal asfh

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?♥ eehhh sometimes

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?♥ mostly just pieces of paper lol

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?♥ with LOTS of sugar

5: are you self-conscious of your smile?♥ yes. it's gross

6: do you keep plants?♥ yea!

7: do you name your plants?♥ ofc i do

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?♥ music mainly. like you'll know my mood by knowing what song i listen to

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?♥ ye ~

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?♥ my side usually but i move a lot in my sleep

11: what’s an inner joke you have with your friends?♥ bongwater,,

12: what’s your favorite planet?♥ saturn! and pluto,,, and jupiter ahh

13: what’s something that made you smile today?♥ thinking about puppies !!!!!!

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?♥ idk? messy

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!♥ apparently you get taller in space

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish?♥ this is boring of me but i like plain ol' pasta with butter and salt the most

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?♥ white with purple ombre !

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.♥ HHH when i was 6 months old i ate a spider and anyone who knows about it never lets me live it down

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?♥ i try to keep em and write in em but i often forget

20: what’s your favorite eye color?♥ mmm i can't choose, they're all great !

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.♥ oof my batman backpack that i gave to my dad. that thing went through A LOT. my new one is really good too tho. it's just red and black but it's served me well.

22: are you a morning person?♥ depends on if i've gotten a good night's sleep and if i'm particularly excited for the day!

23: what’s your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?♥ sleep, listen to music, read

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?♥ yea. we don't talk anymore tho. i miss him

25: what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into?♥ nowhere? i've never broken in before

26: what are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit?♥ i always wear my vans til they fall apart. my current pair are space themed bc ofc

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor?♥ juicyfruit ig?

28: sunrise or sunset?♥ sunset

29: what’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?♥ ASFH UHM idk?? them just being themselves is enough for me to smile over them

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared?♥ yes

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.♥ i wear mismatched socks all the time but like they do match each other somewhat. like. i have a bunch of stitch socks and i don't wear their match but i'll wear another stitch sock with it.

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.♥ uhh me and two friends played never have i ever over kik once and long story short we learned a lot abt each other. some things we never wanted to know

33: what’s your fave pastry?♥ idk! i like danish pastries pretty well tho

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?♥ teddy!! i got him when i was 5 from my cousin for like a nickel. he's just a standard lil brown teddy bear. and ofc i still have him asdgh can't sleep without him. i even bring him to sleepovers

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?♥ yea! i use them when i can

36: which band’s sound would fit your mood right now?♥ EDEN. and crywank generally fits me too

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean?♥ i like it to be clean but often it just gets cluttered and i don't have the motivation to clean it

38: tell us about your pet peeves!♥ uhhh i hate rude, arrogant, judgemental people, disloyalty, uhm, the sound that weird plastic makes, uhhh idk

39: what color do you wear the most?♥ mostly black and white

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what’s it’s story? does it have any meaning to you?♥ my solar system bracelet! i saw the post for it on tumblr and sent it to my mum, and she ended up getting it for me for christmas!

41: what’s the last book you remember really, really loving?♥ we were liars by e. lockhart. if i had to choose a fave it'd be that one. i sobbed for days after reading it. i think it kinda did smthn to my soul

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it!♥ i do not sadly :

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with?♥ my mum, i think ?

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?♥ oof, when harley was still here. it was a nice day, the sun was shining through my window, birds singing, EDEN playing softly, and harley was all cuddled up on my chest with his head tucked under my chin, purring away.

45: do you trust your instincts a lot?♥ depends. i try to evenly listen to my instincts and to logic

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of.♥ my friend used to make a lot of bone puns bc of undertale and sans and one of my faves is "wasn't that HUMERUS"

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe?♥ SEAFOOD it's grrrrrrrrrrroooooooosssss

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today?♥ death. and yes.

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?♥ haven't bought many of those, i mostly listen to spotify :0 i did get the vinyl of black parade that mcr was giving out for the anniversary !

50: what’s an odd thing you collect?♥ crystals ig? pokemon cards, pens, books. uhh. i have a lot of paper and notebooks lmao

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them?♥ mm. good times by all time low.

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far?♥ uhh idk i like all of em

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them?♥ heathers is epic and i love christian slater but also his voice is hilarious, beetlejuice was good and amazingly weird, and i've no seen the other two yet.

54: who’s the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?♥ HHH. the other day my mum's friend was talking abt how she's having problems with renters and she looked like she was gonna cry but it was more frustration than anything so idk?

55: what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point?♥ man idk it's prob somethin big but i don't remember

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?♥ ? idk. it depends ig?? like for my one friend i love that he loves animals, for my other i love that she loves music. for one i love her kindness and outward innocence and i find it hilarious when she actually shows her angry or sassy side.

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?♥ god i love bohemian rhapsody. so good. so catchy. the best. me and my former bff used to sing it all the time

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?♥ mmmm idk :0

59: what’s your favorite myth?♥ i love myths abt creatures! my faves are about the fae folk.

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?♥ idk :0

61: what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received?♥ uhh just a basic gift card ig. and uhm idk?

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?♥ mm if i have juice i'll drink it!

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?♥ i try to keep them organized

64: what color is the sky where you are right now?♥ it's getting late and it's kinda cloudy and grey

65: is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with?♥ yeaa.

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?♥ mmm idk! maybe lots of purple and light blues? :0

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?♥ bad. i've always been nervous with storms and whatnot and those kinda days just make me jittery.

68: what’s winter like where you live?♥ well for a while it actually is winter and gets cold. but it's florida so ofc it goes back to being hot af.

69: what are your favorite board games?♥ i've always been fond of sorry sliders and candy land

70: have you ever used a ouija board?♥ NO AND I NEVER WILL. my mum and aunts did once and HHHHHHHH they ended up with a possessed barney doll

71: what’s your favorite kind of tea?♥ earl grey ! i really wanna try lavender tea tho

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it?♥ yea but i don't often actually do it

73: what are some of your worst habits?♥ i sleep and procrastinate too much but i'm trying, i pick at threads a lot hhh,

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.♥ ok uhh. they remind me of a canary bird. i associate them with yellow and pink. they're super sweet. always helpful. sad and i wish i could help them more. all in all a v good friend and v good person.

75: tell us about your pets!♥ OOF OK GET READY. syd: sydney, my man. the big orange floof. meathead. he likes to stand up and hold onto your shirt or pants and it's cute but also CLAWS. v smart, knows that if he annoys me enough i'll open my door for him. maggie: pretty pretty princess. also the grossest princess. beaut white, brown capped fur and green gold eyes and cutest lil meows. bean: has two thumbs, one is teensy tiny. meows are like inaudible. usually grumpy and will run if you pet her. only accepts affection when she's sleepy. sebastian: the real grumpy cat. russian blue boy. has a hard time jumping correctly now cos he's old. always talking and complaining. likes pets. will fight you. ash: scaredy boi. dark as night. murrs instead of meows bc he wasn't raised by other cats. rarely purrs but you know he loves you. likes head bumps. will scratch you if you're not paying attention to him. can be a bully. arrow: FAT. has scabs bc he keeps scratching himself,, why boi why (we think he's allergic to smthn). meows LOUDLY. eats everyone's food. likes to go outside. once got stuck in the same tree twice. shelby: old girl. jack russel. super hyper but also LAZY. only sleeps under blankets. gets jealous. will force her way onto your lap. the smelliest dog in existence i swear. emmy: chihuahua. grumpyyyy old lady. always telling people to shut up (mostly shelby). cute tho. has seizures sometimes. will purposefully use the bathroom on the floor where you'll step or on something of yours if you upset her. moriarty: my snek! good boy. likes to be under his paper towels. smol. has a cute face. percy: GRUMPY leopard gecko. she's a blizzard morph and she looks purple. so grumpy aaaaaaaaah. red: my betta girl. the other girls with her (blue and esme) died. she comes up to the glass to say hi to you. oscar the grouch: hedgehog. SO GRUMP. he literally turned his entire house around so you can't see him. rude. lillith, yuki, and star: ferrets. inseperable. good little catsnakes who i love. yuki has a thing for feet and shoes. star messes with the dogs/cats by nipping them. lillith is good but bites a bit hard. the chickens: we named them after the avengers. cap can die. literally she hates me and my mum she tries to fight us. RUDE.

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t?♥ yes. schoolwork

77: pink or yellow lemonade?♥ i like both !

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?♥ uhh hate club ig? idrk?????

79: what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?♥ mmmMM my former bff used to be very supportive of my clinginess and she would be talking and i could just like hold my hands out to her or hug her and she'd be totally ok with it and not even pause talking. the best thing ever tbh

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?♥ two walls are light grey and the other two are a slightly darker grey! i chose it :> i wanted a good neutral color besides beige or white.

81: describe one of your friend’s eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of.♥ mmm. like the sun shining through the branches of the trees.

82: are/were you good in school?♥ i mean?? ig? i get ok grades (mostly Bs) but i always procrastinate assignments cos i'm lazy and unmotivated

83: what’s some of your favorite album art?♥ ooohh my fave is from life starts now by three days grace. i actually made it my theme once on chrome

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?♥ yea! i wanna get a lot of space related ones! and maybe the chip number of my boy harley

85: do you read comics? what are your faves?♥ mm. i read webcomics! a fave of mine is stutterhug by samantha davies on taptastic :>

86: do you like concept albums? which ones?♥ uhhhhhhh i don't know any off the top of my head and i looked it up and it says american idiot by green day is one and i love them so? yeah

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?♥ THE CROW. and the last unicorn!! both so good

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy?♥ i've always been fond of symbolism

89: are you close to your parents?♥ i'm close to my mum! not so much my dad

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities.♥ woodsboro, maryland! that's where my aunts and cousins live. i love going up there!

91: where do you plan on traveling this year?♥ idk! my mum did bring up going somewhere this year tho

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?♥ barely even a pinch. unless it's spaghetti and that powdery parmesan cheese

93: what’s the hairstyle you wear the most?♥ wellll we shaved the sides and back so it's just long at the top and flipped sideways

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday?♥ ? it was my mum's boss's birthday a few days ago :0 we all had lunch together and she asked me what name she should call me by. i love her tbh

95: what are your plans for this weekend?♥ hopefully i can go see the puppies !!!

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot?♥ procrastinate

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?♥ infp, leo but i relate more to my scorpio chart, and hufflepuff!

98: when’s the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?♥ i've never actually been hiking!! and tbh i enjoy pretty much anything long as i'm with someone i like!

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.♥ jupiter by EDEN, leech boy by crywank, lost//found by EDEN, boats & birds by gregory and the hawk, and saturn by sleeping at last. a lot of others too ahh

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?♥ five years in the past. i could fix a lot of things that happened.

[sturlsons]

gotham archives: batman’s writing process

Anon on CC asked: Hello! Your outlines are so pretty!! Can I ask how you plan them / your process, and do you have the outline for heretic? Thank you!!

hi anon! thank you for your compliment! the sacramental outline is pretty organised but most of my first outlines look more like the petersburg one, i start with a trusty pen and  then make more notes with different ink the more i think about things.

okay, so my beta, @fyolette​ plays an INTEGRAL, indispensable role in my planning process. incidentally heretic is the first piece she worked on unofficially with me (the first official one we worked on from start to finish was movers and shakers), i.e. i had a (MISERABLE) draft written and then she helped me put it together.

the process depends on what form i have the original idea in. i almost never get an idea in its entirety, a story doesn’t come into my head in a start-to-finish resolution form. my stories are dynamic and character-driven, i.e. i know that X and Y will have Z dramatic moment, at some point X is going to Cry On A Rooftop, and i want Y to learn W important lesson. what concrete, logical sequence of events leads to this? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (though to be fair i sometimes do have more of an idea than this.)

i also get a lot of thematic ideas — you’ll hear me saying shit like “okay so i want them to be petty criminals” or “i want them to be bakers” or “okay but get this, PHOTOGRAPHERS” (wow teesta that’s new and totally not something that you’ve written in 4 different variations already). most importantly, i link music and poetry to fics. i can’t write a significant story without an epigraph and a playlist, whether i include them in the final post or not.

what this means is i basically take a bunch of knicknacks to ksenya (which she calls sparkly buttons) which can consist of songs, moodboards, character profiles, key incidents, etcetera, and then we arrange those into a comprehensible plot. in the 1.5 years that we’ve been working together, i’ve gotten a little better at outlining, so now sometimes i can provide a complete list of scenes to her (arranged even! this isn’t sarcasm, it’s genuinely progress for me!) and then she helps me fill in plot holes and rearrange bumpy progressions.

since i’m not one to make changes to my draft unless there’s a dramatic problem, ksenya and i both favour outlining the story thoroughly. it cuts out 80% of the editing labour. and i’m a shitty, shitty plotter, but i’m a great writer; there’s not much to complain about in post-processing.

for me, the star of the story is emotional progress, for which the plot is a framework. (hence i always admire writers who have amazing, intelligent plots!) so i almost never know HOW a character got to a certain point, but i know where he started from and where he is now, and where he has to go. and (very important) The Friends He Made Along The Way.

there you have it anon! the outlining/plotting is actually the biggest and worst part of the writing process for me, after which it’s pretty much smooth sailing provided i have the time and energy to write. well except for this year where i have rushed headlong into a writer’s block, but u know. life just b like that sometimes.

i thought i’d say a word about the physical outlines themselves since you asked for the heretic one (linking that in the end!). so, i always start with a physical one because my brain doesn’t work unless i put a pen to paper, the physical act of writing helps me remember things. so my physical outlines are usually messy because i know i’ll be rewriting them or entering them into the laptop. so let’s say that my first outline looks like the petersburg one, and the physical rewrite looks like the sacramental one. like who are u. i’m u but neater.

but that was back in 2015, i’m With The Times now, i make spreadsheets if the plot is big enough! here is an example of the summer; blue spreadsheet, and another one for jaywalkers.

summer; blue (start of the process)

summer; blue (very end of the process)

jaywalkers

so this is basically what i do. the uh, fuck i forgot the term. um, data criterion? SKEJRGHSERG basically the columns i add depends on the plot. summer; blue had this undercurrent (lol) of taehyung’s illness so i added a column for that, another story i’m writing has so many simultaneous plots that i’ve actually just made a year-long calendar of it, what happens in jan/feb/march etc. it’s much easier to work with than a notebook where you can only add so many edits before it starts looking like utter shit. ON WHICH NOTE I PRESENT THE SHITTY OUTLINE OF HERETIC.

oh also, i occasionally use aeon timeline especially for simultaneous plotlines! i have one for that story i mentioned above, the one i made a calendar for. tbh idk why i didn’t just use aeon like i’m doing the same thing, rip. aeon timeline is super useful, it’s some 40 euros which is a little harsh on the wallet depending on ur budget but then you have it for life! u know what let me put down the apps that i use most frequently for writing though they’re super common and have been around in writing masterposts since 5000 BC.

so in order of usage in the process:

my trusty notebook,,

pinterest + my inspiration blog for moodboards (i used to use padlet but i…forgot about it)

spotify for playlists

skype because ksenya and i video call for sometimes 4 - 5 hours, plotting out something start to finish in the duration of one call itself while she drives down from one city to another, etc.

aeon timeline in combination with

google sheets, where i enter my plots; i share them with ksenya so she can see my progress

for the actual writing, it depends on my mood: i mostly sprint on mywriteclub, but i also have ommwriter, focuswriter, evernote, and what i call the Hell App— an app called writer’s block which doesn’t let you quit the window until you reach a time/word count goal.

my final draft goes into google docs so that ksenya can read over it

then i use the maps application on my phone to find the nearest bar in order to get shitfaced to celebrate the end of the hell fic.

all the links above are for mac, once u go mac u never go back etcetera. but i think they should have windows equivalents! everything apart from aeon timeline is free. apart from the booze. that’s not free. unless ur smart

so there you have it! i’m so sure i could’ve expressed and explained all of this in a more comprehensible manner but this has all the important points! if you want me to elaborate on something don’t hesitate to hit me up. i can fish up examples/screenshots for almost all of my published works, though i’ll keep my WIP shit under wraps for obvious reasons. but if someone would like me to thoroughly document the process of a new fic from start to finish when i get to it, i could possibly do that if there’s interest! again, just hit me up.

GO FORTH IN FAITH MY CHILDREN i don’t think any of this was particularly useful but at the very least now u know what goes down in the batcave.

[peachingboy]

Boku No Hero Academia Light Novel No.2 Translations

Commence Study Groups!

そろそろの勉強会: Chapter 1, Part 2 [click here for part 1] [Part 3]

(t/n: for some reason I found this quite hard to translate, but it was a quick short part before they switched back to yaomomo and gang, nonetheless enjoy the bakushima! p.s dont forget to read part 1!!! ^_^)

Around the same time, there was another study group beginning at the library.

“I’m counting on you Bakugou!”

“Shut it, you and your shitty hair!” The two voices of Kirishima Eijirou and Bakugou Katsuki could be heard, they were sat by a window in a well-lit room around them sat adults and children shooting them glares because they were making too much noise.

“I’m really sorry!” Kirishima becomes flustered by the people around him and apologises, but even so his voice was still really loud!

“Ohoho, you’re quite a lively young man aren’t you?” An old man gestured at Kirishima with a smile. Because today was a Sunday, it was more lively than usual at the library, families brought along their immature children, many students were looking for study materials and there were a bunch of old people too which was causing major congestion at the library.

Why did these two decide to form their own study group? They could have joined Yaoyorozu’s group you say? Well, after the curriculum results were posted, Yaoyorozu was in 1st place, and Bakugou was in 3rd place. Kirishima saw Kaminari and the others beg Yaoyorozu for help because between Bakugou and Yaoyorozu, Kirishima could see why.

“Oi, you bastard! Do you want to die?! I can also teach!” Henceforth, Kirishima decided to take him up on his offer. By the way Kirishima placed 15th.

“Listen, I don’t think my house is gonna be okay..” Kirishima can hear how loud his voice is, so he tries to suppress it.

“What? We can’t go to yours? How annoying” Bakugou replies in a monotonous tone, he doesn’t care where they go to be honest.

“What about yours?”

“hahhh? Mine? The old hag won’t be able to shut up… tch, you done with your chattering yet?!”

“oh.. ah.. sorry…” (t/n kiri u precious beb >.<)

Kirishima keeps taking his surrounding into consideration, not wanting to cause any more ruckus he becomes small. The library rules were strict about not making no noise, but along time ago this probably wouldn’t have been a big deal. However, he has to receive as much as possible now or he won’t be able to attend the lodge camp!

“Are you gradually giving up huh? You idiot, IDIOT!”

“I’m not an idiot…? I’m not an idiot! But I am.. more of an idiot than you so that’s why you gotta teach me!”

“tch, I’m just gonna explain it once so you better do it quick!”

“oh… ahhh!”

“Hurry up and show me the first problem!”

“ahhh okay, so first one is this…” Kirishima didn’t really bother with his surrounding anymore, he opens up the textbook he brought along and pointed at the first problem he was stuck on.. an application of quadratic formulas.

“ah, isn’t mathematics refreshing?!”

“That’s an easy problem…” Said Bakugou, who barely gave it a thought and nonchalantly wrote down the answer.

“BAM in one go..”

Kirishima’s eyes became dots (?) and he forces a bitter smile.

“Dude, not the answer, I want you to teach me the method on how to get the answer”

“I didn’t give you the answer, I followed the given calculations are you an idiot?”

“But if you do it like that, I won’t understand”

“hah? you can’t even do mathematics calculations?”

“no no, I mean I just want you to teach me the skills to do good calculations!”

“If you don’t do this, I’m going to actually hit you!”

“You don’t get me! That was too easily done!”

“So, maybe you should do something about it then…” Whatever he says, Bakugou seriously just mocks Kirishima. 

Kirishima grabs his own hair, while Bakugou’s hair is untouched, he just looks at the given outline and then everything becomes logical. In other words, there is no hardship to studying for this guy, but Kirishima will never understand not understanding hardship (t/n: this was kinda what they were going for in the l/n but it doesnt rly make sense right?)

“This is basic calculations ok, if you just apply it here, then you done” That was the best advice Bakugou could give to Kirishima who tries to fight back tears while giving a thumbs up.

“Can you teach me in a manly way?!”

“hahhhhhhhhhhhhh?”

Bakugou’s eyebrows drew together while he watched Kirishima’s behaviour as the area between his brows deepen. 

“Wait, Don’t tell me… you bastard! You better not ask me to teach you the times table!”

shhh, the people around them had their fingers pressed to their lips signalling for them to be quiet. Looks like Bakugou has become no.1 loudest today even if it was unintentional! Kirishima goes red with embarrassment however, Bakugou chuckles a bit he couldn’t help but find pleasantness in kirishima’s suffering. 

“tch, hand it over, You can say your times table right…”

Kirishima was still apologising to the numerous eyes around them, suddenly there was a little boy with a picture book in his arms approaching them. He had cute, round pupils and stopped right in front of Bakugou.

“hah? what you want kid?”

“huh, you lost kid?” Kirishima asked the kid worringly.

“no-no” the kid shakes his head and points his fingers towards Bakugou.

“You’re the nii-chan who won the yuuei festival and got tied up right?” (t/n: this was hard to translate bc it was written quite.. brokenly? bc a kid..)

“hahhhhhhhhh?”

“Why did they tie you up? Is it because you couldn’t shut up? They should tie you up at the library too then, don’t you think?” (t/n ohhhh snapppp kid!)

At the yuuei festival it was pretty extreme to bind up Bakugou hands, though he was the overall winner and on the victory platform they had to restrict his mouth to stop him from grinding his teeth! 

The kid was just innocently pointing out the real result that didn’t come out of the event because Todoroki purposely lost and fell out the arena, they should have terminated Bakugou’s victory. 

Bakugou at this point has lost all patience and explode.

“SHUT IT YOU SHITTY KID!!!!!!!!”

Kirishima tried to stop him as soon as possible before the library goes up in a huge explosion, Bakugou’s roared echoed throughout the building. For the kid, this was the first time in his life another person has shouted in front of him, you can see his eyes begin to shake, and his face distorts- and so, a storm like cry started reverberating in the library!

“SO SORRY, WE’RE REALLY SORRY!!!” Kirishima used to ruckus to escape, dragging Bakugou along with him, he worries about his participation in the lodge camp.

t/n short and sweet! but it goes back to Yaomomo’s group now, translation for that will have to wait a while ;n; sorry! but please remember, try to refrain from reposting or atleast credit!

[captusmomentum]

Excessively detailed asks: 1-19 odds only for Inan, 20-38 evens only for Tace plz :D

fuck me running this is a lot OKAY HERE WE GOOOOOO

INANALLAS

(heads up the pronouns are gonna jump around here bc inan uses they//them and she/her so hopefully doesn’t get too confusing rip)

1. What does their bedroom look like?

Surprisingly Clean. They’re exactly the type you’d expect to be super messy but thanks to living in such small spaces like aravals all their life they’re very good about keeping things in come kind of order. This stands even for modern verses, they’re very good about it. In verses they’re inquisitor they actually rearrange the room a lot, putting their bed on the balcony and making the main floor more of an office/living room as well as creating panels to help block out some of that sun bc HOLY SHIT WINDOWS, they also have a panel set to block the view of the bed which is really just wedged between it and the railing. The little bed alcove is very cozy and the main floor is much more functional and better for have friends up :D In modern aus, like say amd, they’re one of those people who’re like ‘ live in an apartment that’s only 90ft big :D’ and when they show you how it’s like part science miracle and part acrobatics bonanza. Like look at any tiny home or tiny apartment type show/place/thing and thats’ how they Roll. Mainly bc they’re fucking Broke AF, creative/innovative and well trained by dalish life for it. So bedrooms are usually like, lofts and shit like that which can mean it’s not much more than the essentials of Snoozing. 

3. Do they exercise, and if so, what do they do? How often?They do! Inan works out pm everyday in pm every verse. Their style of magic is very, very very physical so it requires a lot of working out and training even in verses where they’re not constantly murdering ppl like canon ones they gotta get diesel for magic. In most verses they primarily do a variety of martial arts (or just one elf/dalish one? depends on how deep into worldbuilding you wanna get here honestly) and then things like running, weight lifting general kinda fitness exercise things. I imagine in modern verses and such (maybe more canon ones too tf do i know) that places like Arlathvhen’s there’s like, a sort of pow wow/olympics type event that goes on and clans have people representing them and Lath was disqualified for cheating bc she’s Weak in the temptation of Victory so Inan is the Obligatory Contender in at least some of the mage events, usually like, dueling bc it’s ironically her specialty. So she really does have to stay sharp when in verses where there’s no fighting bc she’s gotta bring home gold for clan Lavellan. 

(if u wanna get a sense of how inan fights it’s a LOT like pm anyone from avatar the last airbender/Legend of Korra especially Korra and Katara(atla) )(apologies about the katara vid and that shit music there’s So Little out there sobs)5. Cleanliness habits (personal, workspace, etc.)

Inan isn’t the most organized or together person which is combined w/ their dalish upbringing is why they’re Hyper Organized. Things have places and they go there ALWAYS otherwise they’ll never be found again ever. Also lots of labels. Their own living spaces are more organized than their work spaces, generally bc other ppl touch things or put things on their desk. Every time someone touches their things they have a small heart attack bc it means that something CRITICAL might have been moved and will never be found again. Seriously they are held together only by the power of their aesthetically pleasing organization and labeling. So school is Really Fun in modern aus (read: i’ve considered having them be a high school dropout for Various Reasons).7. Favorite way to waste time and feelings surrounding wasting time

They Dream of wasting time. They Long to waste time. Everyday they pray they can waste time. Usually a lot of her time goes into things like Clan Stuff, Magic Stuff and Work Stuff so any chance they get to dick off they do. They fave method in modern verses is tv or youtube but in canon-y verses its Tavern w/ Bull or Tavern w/ Sera, the 2 people most likely 2 not call her out for Ditching Shit. Drinking w/ Dorian and/or Varric is very high on the list in all verses.9.Makeup?

Naaaahhhhhhhhhh. Generally too lazy for it and doesn’t like feeling of it on her face. Also it’s a real Bitch bc she’s always got tats on like 70-90% of her face and freckles (which she actually likes) so like foundation’s a Nah but you can’t do things like cover her dark circles w/o foundation otherwise the difference is Too Obvious like it’s just a Disaster. She can be convinced to wear it at special events and things but someone else has gotta do it. 

11. Intellectual pursuits?Some and very disorganized. Generally answering any Burning Mystical Questions they have regardless of worth or importance, debating (fighting) about topics involving analysis in books and things, Fade Stuff, Learning Elvhen. They don’t really actively pursue a lot of things bc they’re doing so much shit normally, they really only pursue it when the interest strikes. Also, proving that the occult is Real and Valid.13.Sexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general?hoooooooooo boy dksjlgjfdsgfk, pansexual demisexual/grey-asexual is probably the best description. they don’t know they just like people and they don’t think about it they don’t think about Sex Stuff or ppls orientations it’s all W/E IDK and while they’re not prudish or squeamish about it they will run screaming for the hills things get too raunchy. Sex –especially sex involving them– has them looking for the nearest exit, not necessarily bc they’re sex repulsed but they are Extremely Anxious and Scared of interpersonal interaction so kissing is yiKESSSSSSSSSSSSS15.Biggest and smallest short term goal?Hmmmmm that’s really hard. Biggest is usually like: Not Die. Smallest is something like: whatever is next on to do list. They live a life of unnecessary extremes. 17.Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dressGoth mori/strega fashion vibes. Lots of skirts and layers and looking very much like a peasant wizard. Usually they just dress for the weather and put on as many layers as they can to feel safe and protected (and snuggly). There’s a lot of similarities in their logic about it with Uthvir but with miles of soft fabrics instead of spikes. Usually darker colors with an emphasis on blues. There’s not too much in the way of ritual around it since they’ve tailored their wardrobe so they can grab things put them on, and look good w/o any real effort.

 here’s the for inan fashion stuff 

19.What do they think about before falling asleep at night?

Usually they go through a very specific ritual when going to sleep since they’re a dreamer to help keep that shit on lock which involves a lot of emptying of the mind and relaxing and preparing to deal with Fade Shit. If they don’t it’s just existential dread, anxiety and depression shit and panic. So they don’t not do the thing…….

TACE

20.Childhood illnesses? Any interesting stories behind them?Tace wasn’t really sick much more than the normal amount and kinds as a kid and was the kind who conks out the whole time and doesn’t say, try to get up and play. As he got older and his dreamer abilities started to kick in he reacted to it like someone who was very sick, fevers, hot and cold, sweating. slept too much or not enough. He began to have trouble keeping food down and lacking an appetite which he still has problems with to this day along with sleep trouble and exhaustion. 22.Given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and nothing to do, what would happen?either doodles of dicks and such or a rude, raunchy or somehow unacceptable letter to someone whether he knew them or not he wrote for a laugh with no intention of sending. He’s very mature24.Is there one subject of study that they excel at? Or do they even care about intellectual pursuits at all?He actually excels in a lot of things, he’s a pretty gifted mage. He just Hates the Circle and all that academia type shit so regardless of his skill in them he doesn’t want to do them. He thinks intellectual pursuits are on a whole a waste of time because they’re mainly just there to make people feel more important and fancy.26.Do they have any plans for the future? Any contingency plans if things don’t workout?NOPE. NONE. past maybe ‘consult with that statue of Eleni Zinovia back in Ferelden about what to do w/ my life’ and ‘get a boyfriend’. 28.Who do they see as their best friend? Their worst enemy?hoooooo that’s Rough. Probably Banal though he’s more a father figure. He wasn’t very close to his other mages and hated the templars. Later when he meets Keshet and Shalev I guess they become his best friends which is...... very gay and lame.

Worst Enemy is Cullen and Meredith but Meredith is dead so fuck youuuuuuuu Culllleeennnnnnnn.30.Reaction to sudden intrapersonal disaster (eg close family member suddenly dies)Boy This Sucks [Drinks like a monster even more than usual] 

he’s pretty desensitized to tragedy but also a shambling mess so it’s really just his usual self but like 1000000000000000% worse for a while

32.Thoughts on material possessions in general?

MORE PLEASE. he loves shit give him all the stuff he wants to lounge in a gaudy parlor on a opulent chaise. He never got to have much in the way of possessions in the circle so he lots shit now. also he’s just a material little shit.

34.Thoughts on privacy? (Are they a private person, or are they prone to ‘TMI’?)He doesn’t care about other people’s privacy pretty much at all and loves getting into people’s shit but he’s VERY intense about his own privacy. He’s deeply protective of himself and his things and privacy. So he’s a wildly hypocritical guy.36.What makes them feel guilty?Not fucking much. He occasionally feels bad about how he’s treated someone but it’s not often and he’d never say it out loud. just kinda adds it to the pile of fuel for self-loathing.38.Would they consider themselves a Type A or Type B personality?

He’d be a Type A if it weren’t how his life has gone so I guess he’s like, a burnout Type A. 

[heartsoftruth]

Hey ash. I think you have given up on Neymar staying. I haven't. In the past couple of weeks I read just about every article, rumor, analysis, opinion & editorial posted in any language ty google translate.Even the ridiculous ones.I got br app, Barca live app, one of my monitors at work is dedicated to ney stuff..Thought abt it a lot. Got mad at him often.But I haven't lost hope. I agree with most unbiased experts if he wants better sporting opportunities he'll stay. His fathers greedy, he's not

I hope he does anon. I really hope he does… 

1% chance right? ;) 

Anonymous said:How do the psg fans/board/players expect from neymar to win for them the ucl ? And even if neymar thinks that he might carry that team by himself he can be wrong, even messi when he created history with barca and won everything it’s not because of him alone, he had iniesta xavi… by his side to help him win, no team can depend on one player, plus psg is not that kind of team that u can improve urself in it, team with no personality, if they were a good team they wouldnt lose 6-1 after winnin 4Anonymous said:2(forgot to put 1 on the previous) Geri put it best you want more money or you want to win titles. Neymar is way too young to think solely abt money and piling it up for his eventual retirement. Money is tempting(more so to his father) but he wants titles and glory. We’ve been over the level of league and psg. I’m sure he knows it too. If he was 30, I’d believe wholeheartedly he’s gone to PSG. But he’s 25, his best years ahead, he won’t bury those in psg in league 1. Take heart, he won’t go

wowowowwww I like the positivity in you two anons!! I really like it.

I mean Leo became a natural leader over time and with the retirements of Xavi etc. Of course he wasn’t a leader when he first made his debut. I can understand Ney might wanna have a team around him and be the leader of one. I can 100% understand that he wants that and feels he might be ready for it and it would be good for his growth - like i previously said in an aks.  I feel he has the opportunity to be the leader of a team, full of talented star players, during the THE BIGGEST sports tournament in the world: the 2018 World Cup. 

However he gave up the captaincy of the NT, because of the insane amount of negative press he got during the Olympics. And while I agree that it was over the top: You are the leader so deal with it. In France L’Equipe is also brutal, but the pressure in France won’t even be remotely the same as in Spain. 

In France he will defiantly win some titles the Champions ship, the cup etc,.. But other than that…. I hope for him if he goes he succeeds (not when he plays against Barca) but I hope for him he succeeds. 

But I hope more that he stays here. At Barca. 

Anonymous said:(French anon) I’m watching PSG-ASM… BORINGGGGGGGGGGGG help!!!!Anonymous said:GO MONACO! lol

HAHHAHAHHA, Did you survive tho??? Tout bon? xD 

Anonymous said:this means he gonna stay yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas yahooooooo :D am madridista btw love you ash and ramos loves you ;)

What? xD 

Anonymous said:I dont even care. Wheter he leaves or stays. I just want him to say something.

Same… But I think we have to wait for a bit still… 

Anonymous said:But is not that means forcing the person that doesn’t want to stay to stay?! Barcelona should let Neymar go if he wants to go and buy other players with the money before the window closes. I want ney to stay but if doesn’t want to stay he should leave because forcing player that want to leave to stay will only create problems in the team.Anonymous said:This is not PSG who will buy the clause but Neymar, he’s going to buy his buyout clause by himself with the money he would get when he will go to Doha 😉, this is official by the way.Anonymous said:And Barça will not report PSG bc they buy the buyout clause but they will report them by the way they would buy it, that’s not the same thing thoAnonymous said:Argh, sorry it’s pay** not buy ahaAnonymous said:And to be honest this is pretty ridiculous from the club tho, I mean report PSG because they paid the clause? Smh 🙄

Neymar can leave if he wants (and if a club buys him out) but he signed a contract renewal in October so.. 

This isn’t  about P$G paying his release clause like any club can. This is about P$G probably violating the FFP rules for the second time meaning a bigger punishment. Again IF they violated these rules. 

Think this is a logical explanation. 

“Barcelona have decided to lodge a complaint against PSG if the French club sign Neymar. The Catalan club feel that if the player’s buyout clause is paid (222 million euros), UEFA must investigate where the money came from. In then numbers clubs present to UEFA each year, there are none able to pay more than 200 million euros for a player.  PSG have previously been punished and fined for breaking UEFA’s Fair Play rules. Therefore, a second punishment would not only lead to a fine, but also to sporting consequences, such as the possibility of suspension from the Champions League.”

And I liked what Tebas said the other day. If they do it with Barca now they do it to RMA or Atleti tomorrow. He also wants to take action wether they buy Ney or not… 

Anonymous said:It really hurt to see all this hate toward Neymar…

Yeah some of it I can understand. Some is way over the top. Like the hate from today because he went to the RMA locker room… 

Anonymous said:After messi’s goal didn’t ney celebrate with him??🙈😞

For a second you had me worried haha. But Ney was injured outside of the field. That’s why you didnt saw him celebrate. 

Anonymous said:i ship ash with Asensio

HAHAHHA, He’s a cutie pie, but he looks too young and probably is xD But we can have dinner and eat Dutch things hhaa. 

Anonymous said:Ney looked sad? Idk quiet not his usual charged self he even was sitting all by himself when taken off. The guy who normally comes running to celebrate with lio after the latter’s goal was the last to come& it was different. He looked like he is playing his last classico last game here

I dont know where he sat when he went off. I didnt think he looked sad. He looked happy and like I said above he was injured off the field so he couldnt run towards Leo. Have you seen how he celebrated with Ivan? And Geri??? 

Anonymous said:Least neymar can do even if he doesn’t want to talk is rebuff the ‘tired of staying in Messi’s shadow’ rumours. That’s sooooo unfair on Leo especially when he loves and has accommodated neymar so much.he could have easily done an insta post with Messi or something, laugh about it…if it was a brumar or Bruna rumour best believe he would have rebuffed it soo fast 🙄.if he just stops the Messi rumour he would gain at least a little respect back from Barca fans.

I’ve previously - a couple days ago - explained it could be true tho not as mean as it sounds. Just that he wants to be a leader too and knows here at Barca Leo is.