#no this is not shippy

[cebwrites]

[check tags!]

Just thinking about the chokehold Doflamingo probably had on Crocodile in the thick of their relationship, when they actually were 'in love' Like the longer he stays with him the more Crocodile notices just how fucking incompatible they are Doffy's never had to want for anything after Trebol took him in, he just takes whatever he wants when he wants to, so Crocodile wouldn't be able to shower him in gifts as a substitute for actual affection, worse still is Doffy's reactions to his attempts at that He'd acknowledge Croc's gifts and think they're nice but only in a patronizing "oh, that's cute that you think I'd need this" way and toss them on the mountains of other material things he has in his castle and think nothing else of it without addressing Crocodile's underlying emotions that he struggles to express because Doffy just doesn't care to

There's a lot of emotional undermining going on and if Crocodile ever seems upset about anything Doffy thinks just the 'luxury' of being in his presence and a hollow apology should be enough All he wants is to for Crocodile to shut up and play his part as his partner without any fuss and any time Crocodile desperately tries to stand his ground with clear boundaries Doffy's strings just tighten around him with further manipulation Doesn't take long until Crocodile takes off the rose tinted glasses and fleeting whirlwind affections that got them married under a month quickly turns to resentment as he painstakingly has to navigate his way out of the maze he's found himself in after starting the strikingly slow process of removing Doflamingo from his life And not in the 'oh but I still love him, he could change' way, Crocodile is fully aware and full of hatred the entire way through but Doffy just refuses to let him go because he sees Croc as one of 'his', someone that belongs to him, and therefore something he's entitled to

That absolutely bleeds into his work and the way he carries himself long after throwing Doffy's wedding ring into his face Crocodile's always kept to himself but being around Doffy in such close proximity even for a short while made him a smidge paranoid, and it's not like Doflamingo hasn't been hellbent on exerting his influence further on him either When he starts fooling around with Baroque agents because he's an allosexual man with needs to and they're the people that get the closest thing Crocodile can manage to trust, he's cagey around them too and keeps everyone at arm's length Plus, sleeping with someone just to axe them after is tactless even for him Crocodile does a lot to show off his power and what could happen if they so much as think of betrayal though, still, but to the ones that gain his favor, they're rewarded handsomely All the treasures and gold that Kirin had to leave behind when he fled Baroque because it'd weigh him down more than help, and presumedly Robin did too

He's deliberately emotionally unavailable and whatever harm comes to his partners he expects them to be strong enough to handle it on their own as Baroque Works agents, he doesn't derive pleasure from their pain though, and he's had more than enough experience to know when to stop Crocodile isn't good with any of that mushy shit but he makes sure they're compensated Years later Crocodile's still pulling cobwebs off himself from being under Doffy's thumb, there's reminders of him everywhere, Doffy hasn't given up the prospect of ownership either, shown by him asking Croc to join him after his 'little stint' in Arabasta, basically Crocodile's life's work, "didn't work out", more undermining his accomplishments

I'm not sure if they ever clashed in cannon but in Kirin's verse Doflamingo goes directly for Daz after taking Kirin's leg off and leaving him there to writhe, only a little disappointed when Kirin didn't give him the wail he wanted because it'd draw attention to him He's got Daz by the throat with severe organ damage from his fruit, monologuing about how pathetic Croc's 'number 1' really is if this is all the fight he can put up, before Crocodile flies at him in a barely concealed rage Kirin manages to roll over and ask if Daz check still breathing before making the call to Law on Sabaody that he needs a ride out of there He doesn't have the full picture because Kirin only started working for him five years ago but through context clues and piecing things together over the years the picture he's painted of the exes is a pretty grim one No matter how hard he tries to get away Doffy's just always one step behind him Watching Crocodile fight Doflamingo madder than he's ever seen him is definitely something for Kirin, it's of course no excuse to how he treated them all in Baroque but at that point he just feels sorry for him, Daz says something along the lines of worry for his 'boss' and Kirin's feelings are solidified

[pouletpourri]

damnit caine

[neo--queen--serenity]

Marcille is actually one of the biggest reasons it took so long to pinpoint which Chilchuck was the imposter in today’s episode.

The Senshi and Marcille imposters had their own reasons for being hard to decipher, but that was a joint effort on the party’s part. Chilchuck was the only example where a single member’s bias actually swayed the others so strongly that it made them all doubt themselves.

Ryouko Kui did an excellent job of giving us a rich background on how different races interact, and how they may descriminate against each other. Each of the races in this series struggles with these prejudices. Our main characters are not exempt from this, and we see it clearly in the way the shapeshifter manifested as each party member, showing us how the others percieve them.

Marcille knows Chilchuck well, and cares deeply for him as a friend. But she’s not immune to assumptions and biases that come from her elven background. The Chilchuck imposter we are faced with, when it’s down to two of them left, is Marcille’s memory of Chilchuck, Marcille’s perception of how he behaves.

One of the first manifestations of this bias occurs when shapeshifter Chilchuck can’t get a jar open.

The real Chilchuck knows that this would never happen—at least not in this way. Chilchuck is proud, yes, but he asks for Laios’ help all the time. Laios is actually one of the party members he is the most likely to ask help from, given how long they’ve known each other, and how much mutual trust exists between them.

However, the whole scenario isn’t right. Chilchuck wouldn’t give up so easily on opening something; his whole job is opening and unlocking things. He would never quit an attempt like this within 5 seconds, then run to Laios so that “big strong adult tall-man” can open it for him.

Marcille is the one who asks, “Huh? Why do you say that?” because Marcille is partially right. Chilchuck does rely on Laios, and Marcille knows this to be true. But she fails to realize how he relies on Laios.

Chilchuck respects many of Laios’ talents, but the most important ones are his combat skills, his emotional fortitude, and his quick thinking when delegating tasks. He trusts Laios as someone he is comfortable following (he literally said to him and Shuro in the last episode: “Laios!! Tell us what do!! Give us orders!!” when chimera Falin was quickly overpowering them).

So while Marcille almost understands Chilchuck’s confidence in Laios, she tends to accidentally infantilize him in the process.

She immediately believes that Chilchuck B (the imposter, who is specifically using her own memory as its base for Chilchuck’s personality) is the real one, and says so, because she’s blinded by her perception of him as being childlike and adorable because of the very common racial prejudices that half-foots deal with all the time.

She dotes on the imposter, and is open with her affections, as usual (again, her care for him is clear), but doubles down on that bias, on her own assumptions of Chilchuck’s behavior shown through her own lens.

And ultimately, Laios was able to tell the difference, but only because he watched how the Chilchucks handled other minute tasks. Marcille’s stance on which Chilchuck was real truly did throw the others for a loop, at least until the threat passed. And honestly, that’s part of what makes the shapeshifter so terrifying. Its strategy almost worked.

[newttxt]

this is opla!zoro, to me 🙂

[velinxi]

Hana visits the ones she couldn't save

(The words say “the grave of Song Min-joon Number 1 StarCraft player” It’s a reference to Hana’s really obscure overwatch 1 voice line where she says she just can’t beat her dad at StarCraft)

[calocreek]

Desertduo fanon #3: "The Bed"

Absolutely CLASSIC trope lol! There really is 'only one bed' in every fandom, huh? Anyway this is how I think it would play out!

(my minecraft + mcyt tag)

[dulciechi]

First post for the new year! 🥳 Wish I could’ve posted this on the 1st, but this piece challenged every single scrap of art knowledge I have 🫠 pls tell me i did good or i’ll cry uwu

That pretty little ring holds a fraction of the Crown’s power, enough to let Narinder summon some strong curses. And if that’s not enough, it can also transform into a wickedly huge scythe (as seen in my prev art post) 😚 Can’t say the Lamb doesn’t know how to treat him right <3

read below to see the ingame shrine I based this on

i’m so fucking normal about him

[tubbytarchia]

I've been curating some of these things and I think it's time to let them loose into the world. My hope is that at least one of them is funny

[paddysol]

a vow of loyalty for those deemed worthy

[kittykalliarts]

Leviathan and Cerberus with their lil Husband

I do have like a more complex design for both of em but I got sick and I really wanna draw some cute sticker stuff for my computer hhhh

[poohsources]

🐝  *  ―  𝑺𝑯𝑰𝑷𝑷𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻.

send 🚢 or ( 'SHIP' ) if you ever considered shipping our characters romantically and want me to fill out the following form for our muses. bold all that definitely applies, italicize what could potentially apply. feel free to add more if you think certain options are missing or you just want to add more.

do i ship our characters together?: yes | no | not yet but maybe soon

would i like to ship with you?: yes | maybe, i'm willing to try | no

type of relationship i could see: childhood or high school sweethearts | exes | engaged | married | long-term relationship | crushes | unrequited love | fling | long distance | online relationship | just dating | new relationship | toxic lovers | friends with benefits

tropes i'd enjoy writing for them: friends to lovers | enemies to lovers | exes to lovers | fake relationship / dating | forbidden love | grumpy and sunshine | star-crossed lovers | surprise pregnancy | second chance | soulmates | amnesia / mistaken identity | forced proximity | secret relationship | slow burn relationship

would i rather plot first or jump right in and see where it goes?: develop their relationship first | jump right in | something in between ( what specifically? )

what now?: let's plot something | send me shippy memes | i'll send you shippy memes | write me a random starter | i'll write you a random starter

anything else i want you to know about me / my character / my shipping habits: ( put whatever you want here )

[skrankku]

I was going to add dialogue to this, but it was honestly funnier without.

[treppi]

happy new earthspark everyone :] i drew this while rewatching season 1

^ little closeup. they are in a video call :]

[neo--queen--serenity]

This episode really highlighted how close Marcille, Laios, and Chilchuck actually are.

The viewer is used to seeing our main characters behave like coworkers up to this point—even friends—and they express normal, understandable levels of concern and fear when their other party members are in danger. But when the nightmare attacked Marcille, it brought out sides of Laios and Chilchuck that the viewer hadn’t seen before.

Laios immediately notices when something is wrong with Marcille, and he tells the others as soon as he’s sure of the problem. Chilchuck and Senshi then follow Laios’ lead as it becomes clear that he intends to make her get some rest.

We see Chilchuck’s hands lay out the bedroll and Senshi’s hands set up the pillow, working in almost perfect tandem as Laios physically wrangles Marcille into bed.

Senshi is in a similar perspective as the viewer, and mostly sits and watches the ordeal unfold. He doesn’t have a shared history, like these three do, so he helps in little ways, but mostly waits on standby for direction.

From here on out, it’s mostly Laios and Chilchuck who take over in planning how to help her.

It’s uncommon for Chilchuck to openly show such distress and worry for one of his party members. He’s used to Marcille being able to defend herself; he’s used to her being capable and strong. He immediately defers to Laios for instruction, (rightly) assuming he will know what to do.

This actually produces a reaction close to real fear from Chilchuck, who outright SMACKS her in a panic to wake her up before getting any further information.

Laios has to quickly stop him, explaining that he could truly hurt her if he interrupts the attack this way. He tells them how he’s going to wake her, and he doesn’t hesitate. He jumps straight in, explaining what he’s doing for the others so that they (Chilchuck) won’t be afraid.

Chilchuck doesn’t question him once. He just does what he can to hurry along the process. He tucks Laios in with his blanket as soon as he lays onto Marcille—an unnecessary action that betrays how much he cares for both of them.

And Laios succeeds in helping Marcille out of the nightmare’s grasp. While trapped in her mind, he reassures her, protects her, tells her how much she’s valued and appreciated. He isn’t embarrassed or sheepish about it, either; he openly declares these things like it’s the most normal and obvious thing in the world.

He gets her out, he saves her. He did the exact thing he set out to do, even though he’d never done it before, and only had Falin’s secondhand information to work with.

Once he wakes, Chilchuck immediately checks on him to see if he’s alright. Chilchuck is clearly still rattled, displeased with having to wait while both of his close friends were unconscious, fighting a battle neither he nor Senshi could see or help with.

Marcille wakes up shortly after Laios, but Chilchuck is still on edge, worrying that she’ll fall back asleep. Laios, too, has a moment of alarm when he makes sure she won’t close her eyes again.

Once he takes the subdued nightmares out of Marcille’s pillow, only then do Laios and Chilchuck relax.

Laios, for his part, remained calm and collected almost the entire time. He did not show panic or fear when it became clear that Marcille was being attacked, nor when he told the rest of the party what he’d be doing to help her. And once the nightmares had been collected from her bedroll, he gently explained what happened, to everyone else’s horror.

Seeing this, it’s not a huge surprise that the Touden party is so successful. We’ve seen Laios handle danger with a level head; we know he’s capable.

But it’s an entirely different kind of talent to face a threat that’s targeting one of your closest friends—which can make even the most competent fighter sloppy out of fear of losing them—one that requires a high-risk, specific rescue style that none of you have ever tried before. And then pull it off flawlessly. Like damn, these guys are lucky to have him.

[quelmdn]

🤲💚

[professorcalculusstanaccount]

Chang's Muse