#it's juicy. i'm into it~

[gamebunny-advance]

I didn't get a chance to vote on the poll, but also noticed what would have been my answer wasn't there so I'm writing it in now- I personally see it as he's their CREATOR first, manager second. They don't call him manager in a lot of materials, and they also don't call him father, they call him "Captain" or "sir," (this being pulled from largely the additional voice actor's portrayals at least, which I think are worth at least considering in a wider scope of interpretation)

That feels like the title or nickname he'd prefer they use, hence programming them TO use it for him- and that betrays neither fatherly intent nor producer intent, but pre-existing intent he didn't change (lifting from prior coding) or that he preferred. Beyond that he definitely refers to them as troops- it is their aesthetic, but it's more impersonal

the items you get for the lore on 1010 are toys, and while it's not stated, I've always thought there was an implication that he had made them- His relationship then isn't one of a father to sons, but of a creator about his creations, which IS different. It's why he's as willing to literally throw them at you in combat and, simultaneously, seemingly instinctively, puts a hand out in front of himself to protect them when the final attack is coming- even if they are tools to some degree, he MADE them what they are and he's PROUD of that- He doesn't want to see his work destroyed

Obviously this gets increasingly more complicated if you believe that 1010 gain sapience of some degree, but I still think the relationship isn't quite what I'd call fatherhood. He is simultaneously all the family they have and deeply, inherently unlike them- yet there is undeniably pieces of him and influences from him present in them, because every creation will reflect its creator in some way, in ways they can't even predict

Then, y'know, yeah, it's being a manager time. Ultimately he's gotta organize them and tell them what to do- how he feels about that could be a variety of ways, but he is doing it nonetheless, so something about it matters to him as well- likely the vow to serve the city thing, if leading a boyband is the way to ensure the lights stay on, then he's going to do it 'till his heart gives out.

To start, I do think you're getting a little caught up in the semantics of the poll, but since you're making the case that "creator" is different from "father," I'll hear you out.

And tbh, I really like that interpretation. It's a little more nuanced from what I'm used to seeing, and it is giving me something to sink my teeth into.

I do differ in that I don't think Neon J. personally made the toys or the base 1010: I felt like the implication of the MKI - MKIII standee was that 1010 has actually been around since the wartime era, since MKI 1010 are build more similarly to the recycled battlebots in the Metro Division. Parallel to that, I think it's implied that Neon J. is a cyborg due to suffering injuries in the war. Since they appeared to exist at the same time, it seemed more likely to me that 1010 and NJ's body originated from the same source, but not that NJ was necessarily the direct creator of either them or the toys. (Though, I will admit that knowing that the toy company is called "J-1" does imply that he has something to do with it. But to rectify that, I'm gonna say that he just bought out the company/factory, but he didn't start them.)

But that's just an argument of history. Both interpretations can still lead to the "creator" theory in the sense that NJ still views 1010 impersonally, but still fondly. Even if he didn't make the base, he still turned them into what they are today, which is still a lot of hard work and dedication to the craft.

It's not making him out to be this overly sentimental guy (which is ultimately what I dislike about most "father first" interpretations), but he's also not heartless, and I like that. It's retaining what many interpretations (including mine, sadly) sometimes miss out on, and that's that he's an artist, just like all the other stars. He values his craft, and 1010 are the result of that, for better or worse.

[zosanbrainrot]

I'm not just cooking, i'm baking a whole ass CAKE

not 100% happy with the design but I wanted to get it out of my system, I went for darker and more muted colors for Zoro while still utilizing the usual elemnts of his outfit like the sash and the haramaki. also the color palette for the full outfit turned out very tasty, like it makes me think of chocolate and sweets. not sure about the use of haramaki though, I feel like it makes the proportions a bit awkward when everything else is dark, but it does make the shirt fold nicely so I may keep it in the end

now that I'm further into WCI I think I should add a suit version as well for the wedding bit hmmm

My idea for this is after coming to Big Mom's territory and fighting her commanders they get to the Germa carriage just like in canon. Zoro watches Sanji fight Luffy, restraining himself from interfering. He respects Luffy's decision to not fight Sanji back, but the moment Luffy gets knocked down it's Zoro's turn to try and bring the cook around and he's not gonna hold back

a very tense fight ensues

[moongothic]

Crocodad AU where immidiately after having left Dragon and his baby boy Crocodile finds an 11 year old Robin. And while he's 100% only recruiting her so they can make a beeline for the Poneglyph and Pluton in Alabasta by the two of them... Crocodile accidentally sorta kinda adopts Robin.

At this point Robin's been running for her life from the Government for three years so her deep trust issues and fear of betrayal are starting to take root in her little heart. Like perhaps they haven't taken fully over yet, and being still a child I'm sure Robin might've still had that genuine hope that she could find a safe place to stay in. But I'm sure the though of "what'll he'll do with me once he gets what he wants?" would be nagging at her at the back of her mind. Meanwhile Crocodile's struggling between the pain and hurt he's already gone through and given him his trademark trust issues, as well as the aftermath of The Dragodile Divorce. But he also has his Fresh Paternal Instincts and probably misses his baby. So when given a small, scared child who is running for her life, being chased by the very same Government that'll want his son dead if they ever find out about him... Yeah that might fuck with your brain a little

You know this post was supposed to be just that first paragraph and just a few footnotes from the following two paragraphs. And then I kept on Having Thoughts. And I kept on writing them down. And oh no what happened when did this post get so long (Look I was going to either kept on writing my Additional Thoughts in the tags or I just put them in the actual fucking post)

Like considder this: based on this one SBS, we can kinda tell that if Crocodile was given a chance to raise a child, that child would be a spoiled little shit, right

So in this scenario, where Crocodile's looking after lil Robin, would he be kind of torn? Unsure how to feel about her?

Because on one hand, this strange child would have the potential to not only ruin his plans, strip him of his Shichibukai Privileges by outing him and his plans to the World Government, but also put his son in grave danger by extension (if she found out about him having been involved with the Revolutionaries and/or having a child). But on the other hand, his paternal instincts could make him want to spoil this poor little girl rotten. But only because he needs to (perhaps literally) buy her trust so she'll behave. No other reason, he doesn't feel sorry for her one bit, no sirree. (But maybe he did feel sorry for her, since his son could very well end up exactly like her. Poor little thing) (Which is why he needs to nuke Marijoa out of orbit as soon as possible, no matter the cost, and this child can't get in the way of Crocodile protecting his son) (But also this is a child. Like how bad could she be. Besides all he really needs to do to win her trust is be nice and make her feel safe, right?)

Of course, while I'm suggesting Crocodile could have some parental instincts, realistically, he hasn't actually spent any time being, you know, a father to a child (looking after his newborn for an unknown though short amount of time aside), so it's possible he wouldn't even know how to parent Robin even if he wanted to, would he? (Like taking care of a newborn and an 11 year old kid aren't the same either) So if he was kind of just emotionally flipflopping between No Trusting Ever and It's Just A Kid for God's Sake, Crocodile trying to be nice to Robin to make her feel safe and then telling himself to stop being so soft and vunerable... Yeah that would make for an absolute mess of a relationship. (Not to mention, let's be real, dude's a scary motherfucker too, and a bloody giant compared to itty bitty baby Robin. He could keep on accidentally scaring the shit out of Robin (who would be On Fucking Edge To Begin With) by just Being Himself. Like for example, can you fucking imagine if he caught Robin trying to cheer herself up with a little "dereshishishi" only to tell her to stop because "it was stupid"? 'Cause I can imagine him doing that, and boy howdy would that make Robin feel bad)

Or who knows, maybe Crocodile was just Born To Be A Dad, maybe he just Fucking Gets It. Like Crocodile is canonically pretty good at manipulating people to do what he wants them to do (see: how he played Vivi like a fiddle), so knowing Robin's position and understanding how she feels, maybe he COULD completely nail how she needed to be treated. Not being too familiar but still making her feel safe and happy, knowing exactly when to be stern and when to spoil her, etc. Dude just goes off and wins the Dad of the Year Award while being a deadbeat dad himself. The only thing Crocodile would have to worry about then would be making sure HE doesn't get too fond of her. And certainly that could never happen, he's so in-touch with his own feelings and so grounded, he's not a softie, get outta here. Or maybe he does but never realizes until it's too late and good luck backpedalling on those emotions now dumbass

Alright so, the reason I went on that whole rmble is just that like. I'm so interested in the relationship Robin and Crocodile already have in canon. I'm so facinated and curious about how the two feel about each other, considdering they did spend 4 whole years of their lives together as criminal business partners, though neither ever trusted the other. A partnership that was only ended because Robin betrayed Crocodile, out of her own trauma. (God, I want to see these two "reunite" so bad, I want to know how they feel about each other now after the timeskip and Robin joining the idiot in flipflops who foiled Croc's plans)

My question here is just that... if they had met 13 years earlier, would things have been different? Especially if Crocodad Real? Because as I mentioned in the begining, Robin would've been on the run for only 3 years by this point, as opposed to 16 years before running into Crocodile. Simultaneously, this would be before Crocodile went onto spend an entire decade all alone, slowly losing his marbles in his emotional solitude. They'd both be emotionally traumatized, yes, but would it have been as bad in this scenario? Like I did start this post kind of joking about Crocodile adopting Robin, and for clarity's sake I don't think they'd have like a father-daughter relationship nececarily. But it would be a strange relationship still, because we'd have two broken people, both struggling to trust anyone. One who had lost her mother and her only friends, leaving her all alone and afraid while running for her life. The other a father who had just given up his son whom he probably missed dearly. Both having these holes in their hearts from loss of family, holes that could not be filled with replacements. But could they find comfort in each other anyway, because they still as people occupy similar roles to their respective loved ones? If they both could just get over those trust issues?

Okay I've been going off on the Emotional Side Of Things for this AU Concept, THERE'S PLOT TOO

So if Crocodile did pick Robin up like 19 years ago, that should be before he set up base in Alabasta, long before he had built is homebase and financial empire etc.

Now the thing is, while we don't know when, where and how Crocodile learned about the Ancient Weapons, Pluton specifically and how the lead on it would be in Alabasta... Considdering Crocodile did once upon a time aim to become Pirate King, it would make perfect sense if he had learned about Poneglyphs during his past adventures, as he would have needed to get the Road Poneglyphs to find One Piece. And while the World Government did bury the truth about why Ohara had been burned down and why Robin had been given her bounty (remember, the WG claimed it was because she had sunken a fleet of battleships, which she had not, it was because she could read the Poneglyphs), considdering this is a Crocodad AU specifically, you could totally make an argument Crocodile could've learned about what actually happened to Ohara from Dragon and co. So, just to make this AU work, you could just assume Crocodile learned about the concept of the Ancient Weapons from Dragon. And who knows, maybe he overheard the truth about why Robin had been given her bounty from Dragon too (maybe Dragon was able to get intel from Garp in secret) or while going to Marijoa himself to attend a Shichibukai meeting or something IDK.

Maybe he learned about Pluton being in Alabasta before finding Robin by accident, and maybe they made a beeline for Alabasta the second Croc recruited Robin. Travelling takes time and the guy would've most likely had to find an Eternal Pose to Alabasta just to get there (also canonically Robin didn't enter the Grand Line until her 20s so they should've met in West Blue probably, since that's where Ohara was) Or maybe Crocodile had to haul Robin around for a few months while looking for That Missing Piece of Information that would lead him to Alabasta. (Imagine the two travelling from like island to island, library to library, Crocodile trying to find that leads while Robin's just so excited about ALL THESE BOOKS (she's helping too with the research) (but to her, research is playtime, so she's just having the time of her life) (Also, notice how Crocodile's Theoretical Child is a fucking loser ass nerd? Yeah Crocodile would encourage Robin reading and studying, surely. And that would be fucking cute))

But like, once they set sail to Alabasta...

Sure, Crocodile could try to do it The Slow Way that we know he tried in canon, building trust and creating his little empire etc. But also, in canon, Crocodile couldn't have jumped into action head first because without Robin, even if he had found the Poneglyph he couldn't have read it and found the location of Pluton. Crocodile choosing to do it the slow way may have been partially because he didn't have much of a choise and it could've felt like the smarter move long-term.

But in this scenario, he already has Robin. Yes, he could do it the slow, secure way.

But what'd be there stopping him from infiltrating Cobra's palace and kidnapping him (in the night, when nobody suspects a thing), demanding Cobra to spill the beans lest Crocodile kills him and/or his pregnant wife* (*Vivi was born 10 months after Luffy so depending on how long it's been between Crocodad leaving Luffy behind and this scenario... Yeah either the wife is there, still pregnant, or there's a newborn Baby Vivi)

Like it'd be a risky move but depending on how ballsy Croc's feeling and how confident he feels in being able to kidnap the king without being noticed... Yeah he could probably do it. And I'm sure he'd have no problem killing Cobra either, if anything it'd be required if he didn't want the Government to find out he was out to find Pluton, and god knows Cobra would tell on Crocodile if left alive. I could see Crocodad being maybe a little iffy about killing Baby Vivi though (it's not like the newborn baby could report him to the WG anyways), but if nothing else, he just needs to be able to pull off the bluff of his life to convince Cobra to do as he's told. And we all know Crocodile's good at convincing people.

The only question is, how would Robin take that?

Watching Crocodile go into Full Murder Mode, hearing him say he'd kill a pregnant woman/a newborn baby if he didn't get what he wanted? Like yeah, I'm sure 11 year old Robin would be fine with that, that wouldn't make any alarm bells go off in her head at all, it'd be fiiiine. IT WOULD NOT BE FINE, SHE'D BE SCARED SHITLESS. That fear of "what will he do with me when he gets what he wants"? Well, Robin may not have found the answer to that question in particular, but she certainly found the answer to the opposite question, and it's not good

So say Cobra, kidnapped (perhaps with Baby Vivi) by Crocodile in the night, guides the two to the Poneglyph under the tombs. Crocodile puts Cobra out of his misery because he's not needed anymore. And he asks Robin to read the Poneglyph for him.

Robin, who has spent the last little while, be it weeks or months with Crocodile, him having become her "guardian", the thing keeping her safe. Crocodile, who has now shown how cold blooded and cruel he can be. Robin, who might be scared out of her mind. Of him.

And the Poneglyph says Pluton, the thing Crocodile wants, isn't there. It's in Wano.

What's she going to do?

EDIT: I wrote a sequel post, enjoy

[revvethasmythh]

On the topic of FCG potentially being reincarnated--it makes sense as an option the party might organically consider attempting, but, as we saw with Laudna's death (and even Percy's way back when), input from the player is a really operative aspect of whether a character will be resurrected. Marisha clearly did not want to let Laudna go, so they pursued a long road to bring her back. Alternatively, Taliesin was totally willing to let Percy go if he thought the ritual offerings wouldn't be enough (shoutout to Vex's nat 20 persuasion check for this one).

And Sam? Well, Sam, as a player, loves to fail. Because failing is interesting, usually far more interesting than succeeding. We're talking about a guy who openly derides luck points and fervently refused to use the halfling luck feature except in the ONE instance where succeeding the roll would have had a worse outcome than failing. Regardless of how I or anyone else feels about losing FCG and/or wanting them back, Sam does not strike me as the kind of player who would want to bring FCG back after going out like this, available reincarnation or not. I would both suspect and anticipate that this will be FCG's final showing, just based on what I know of Sam as a player

[the-butch-of-blaviken]

I'd forgotten how exceptional the first episode of Black Sails and the introduction of Captain Flint are. In one (1) episode they point to this soggy, angry little man and go: this is the most dangerous pirate of the seven seas. he wouldn't even win a swordfight. he beat someone to death with his bare fists and is ready to do it again. he probably cries himself to sleep at night. he's the most collected, composed man you've ever seen. he throws furniture around in a fit when he's angry. he talks about the importance of trust and honesty. he doesn't believe any of it. he can completely change someone's mind when he talks to them. the people closest to him know not to trust a single word that comes out of his mouth. he's in control of the narrative. he's trapped in a web of lies of his own making. he's made himself into a legend. everything he's built is just one second away from falling apart. he inspired a whole nation. he's the number one public enemy. he's a hero. he's a monster. he's just one man. he's starting a war against the whole world.

[shesbackagain]

I think it's bedtime 🌚

[thepetesimp]

Apparently we got the plot of 4 Minutes at a convention in Hong Kong and I am losing my mind over it, thank you.

[pstelwitchcraft]

I'm still so, so fascinated by Laudna. Like, how deep does the denial go? When Imogen asks her "you're not lying to me again, are you?" And she takes over a minute to answer pretty defensively that No, she's not, is she unsure because she knows she's lying? Is she unsure because she knows that she's definitely feeding delilah and that the stronger she gets, the least control Laudna has? Is she unsure because she knows delilah was gone for good, completely, and Laudna allowing her to come back is what flooded the gates again? Does Laudna herself understand that she's lying to Imogen and how? Marisha has straight up not given any definitive answers whenever she's asked about their relationship and I am just so curious.

When she says "No. I'm not feeding her, she's feeding me too. It's symbiotic", is she lying through her teeth because she thinks that will make Imogen worry less or does she genuinely believe that? I cannot understand if she truly believes she needs Delilah, if she knows, deep down, that she doesn't and Delilah is actually feeding off of her but there's a dependent relationship there that she can't let go or if this is all some sort of self depreciative sabotage where she knows that she's likely going to lose herself to this but she believes it to be worth it if it helps her friends in any way.

It's probably a mix of all three but I genuinely cannot stop thinking about it.

[glitches-and-bugs]

I'm told there are... Ships. Tell me about those, dear viewers.

[canisalbus]

sorry im emotonal and going off of the other asks sent about machete and just i need to stress how beautiful it is to me that machete sees himself so undeserving of love and affection and feeling as if vasco's too good for him but despite all that he is so incredibly devoted to vasco and loving towards him (in his own way) but is so incredibly clear to anyone with eyes that just how in love he is with vasco. like it's not done out of a "oh god please never realize that you're too good for me here here let me overdo it with the affection" its done with the "i love you, and will always love you, no matter what happens to us or separates us, and i will give it to you as long as i am able, and if you ever leave, i won't be okay, but will still love you, and want you happy". like he doesn't use his own feelings of being undeserving taint his love or the way he loves for vasco, and it's so, so beautiful

.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

There is an opportunity that I want to see taken in more OFMD modern AUs: Ed might, as an adult, be able to look at pictures of himself from when he was a child.

Ed sees the moment when he, a child, had to do something terrible in order to protect himself and his mother as the defining moment of his life. He has, in a very real way, always been stuck there, believing himself defined by the capacity for violence he demonstrated in that moment and made monstrous because of it. He does not believe 14-year-old Ed is any more deserving of forgiveness or compassion than 48-year-old Ed.

But in a modern AU, his mama might have photographs of little teenage Ed. And one day, Ed and Stede might be visiting Ed's mama, and when Ed is going to go do some little chore for her, she might say something about how she's going to pull out the photo albums to show Stede. Stede'll ask if Ed's comfortable with that, and Ed will be like "yeah sure whatever (sick with love because Stede respects him enough to ask)" and he probably won't think much of it while he goes and fixes that creaky door hinge upstairs.

But when he comes back down, his mama and Stede will have moved through the recent photos and have just picked up an older album, and he'll hear Stede cooing "awww, look at baby Ed!" and maybe Stede will call back to him "hey, love, do you wanna look? You were so little!"

And it'll be a picture of Ed at, like, fourteen-ish. And Ed will be suddenly forced to realize: holy shit. Stede is right. The Ed in that picture is a fucking baby.

It'll be a huge shock. Ed will look at his chubby teenager cheeks and his big childlike eyes and the way he hadn't grown into his limbs yet, and he'll have to confront it. How could anyone have hurt him? He was a baby. How can he continue to look back and hate himself, knowing he's hating that scared little boy?

And, eventually, I think it will be so, so healing for him. It'll make him angry, yeah, knowing that people treated that child like shit, but it'll be like letting a weight go, too, because Ed did not suddenly go from a child to a monster overnight. He was a baby and something terrible happened to him and he survived. It won't be too difficult to forgive that little boy, and it'll bring him one step closer to forgiving grown-up Ed, too.

[portraitoftheoddity]

I wanna mention by the way, while I'm on a 'Lena posts about how fucking much she loves hiking' kick, that I am *not* an athletic person.

I am pudgy.

I get winded easily.

My knees make weird noises.

The worst grade on my entire high school transcript back in ye olden days was in fucking Gym.

You do NOT need to be one of those ultrafit girlies in gym spandex on instagram or tiktok or whatever to go hiking.

You can be a 30-something red-faced huffing and puffing desk jockey with shitty knees. And still say fuck it, I'm gonna go touch grass.

Because nature is good for the soul and hiking can bring a sense of accomplishment, however often you need to stop for breaks and air and water, whatever your limitations are that you're facing and meeting. Hell, even if you just begin with walking through the local park -- that's awesome!!!

Don't think you need some ultra high level of fitness to get started if hiking is something that appeals to you -- just do your research on trail difficulty and hiking safety, then start where you feel comfortable at your present level of ability, with kindness and understanding for yourself. You'll find your 'comfortable' zone starts growing.

[phantasmathegreat]

To the first 10 subs on Onlyfans, I'll give them a nice treat 😈😌

[vanilkaplays]

[More than a romp. It was fantastic.]

[completeoveranalysis]

Did you know that there are two alternate deleted endings to the Celes/Seresu arc? Fai gets killed at the end of the arc in the first one and the 2nd one, he is left forever waiting for Kurogane to come back to save him from the magical bubble that he was trapped in as the world was closing. Kurogane tries his whole life to find a way to save him but doesn't succeed. (Clamp mentioned it on Twitter and an old interview.)

That's the exact kind of heart wrenching tragedy I would expect from the older Clamp narratives! The drama of it all!

I for one am very glad they considered those endings but ultimately broke their own pattern and went with a narrative that is all the stronger for it. They've done tragedy enough that breaking the trend is even more impactful, especially in a story like this, and how it adds to the overall theme they've built so far.

But VERY delicious to consider all the same.

[utilitycaster]

me: *Sees Liliana, screaming, shoot from the top of an exploding building*

me: oh my god is Gaz Tomo ok