#this viola design.. shes so good…..

[viola-verse]

Tea Time With Viola: Episode 01: Kwon Cousin Dance Battle? (SVT Hoshi)

Warnings: None, just Hoshi and Viola proving why they're everyone's favourite cousins. Slight mention of Hoshi's pending enlistment. Viola almost mentions Yoongi's name.

Wordcount: 1,759

Send a request or a suggestion to who should be on TT with Vi

Let me know if I should add a comments part.

Tea Time with Viola | Official Youtube Masterlist | Main Masterlist

“Hello and welcome, my name is Viola and I’m the host of Tea-Time with Viola,” the soloist smiles and makes a cute gesture. She blushes as her staff, the crew and her first guest of the show clap and cheer for her. “My first guest you should know quite well. He is the leader of the performance team, one third of BSS and one thirteenth of SEVENTEEN, he’s also the greatest cousin of all ti-” she pauses to look at the crew, “Did he make you say that?” she asks, causing Hoshi to chuckle as the crew shake their heads. She sighs, rolling her eyes, pretending to be annoyed before putting on a cheerful smile again to let everyone know she’s kidding. “It’s SEVENTEEN’s Hoshi,” she finishes, clapping and bowing as her cousin makes his way on to the set specially designed to look like a high tea setting. As Hoshi reaches her, they share a quick hug before he hands her the large gift bag he’s holding. 

“You didn’t have to bring me anything,” she tells him as they take a seat at the table set up with teacups, a large teapot and a tier of sweet and savoury treats made by one of the ladies on her staff.  

“It’s actually for your eomma,” he teases as she digs into the bag and finds a hand-crafted Korean teacup set with cherry blossoms painted on them. “I know she loves collecting teacups.” 

“She does, she has so many of them in her little cabinet thing,” she smiles, admiring the intricate details on the cups. “I’m sure she’ll make room for this one.” 

“Tell her it’s from her favourite nephew,” he smiles.  

“I’ll make sure to do that,” she says placing it back in the bag and putting it to the side. “Help yourself to the food,” she tells him as she picks up the tea pot and pours them both a drink. “Don’t worry we won’t be getting you drunk here,” she teases him as he watches her pouring the tea, reminding him of the time he went on Suchwita with Yoongi and Young Ji’s No Prepare show.  

“Noona, did you bake these,” he asks, pretending to be curious about the sweet treats on the tiered plates, knowing full well that she didn’t. She’s pretty good when it comes to cooking but baking is a whole other story. After almost burning the kitchen down multiple times trying to bake something, she made peace with the fact that she can’t bake and swore off it completely. 

She laughs, shaking her head, "No, Soonyoung, one of the lovely ladies on my staff made them. She’s an incredible baker."  

Hoshi then pretends to be relieved picking up one of the cookies, and taking a bite, nodding his approval. "These are amazing," he says between bites.  

"They really are the best,” Viola beams, glancing towards her, giving her a thumbs up before turning her attention back to Hoshi. "I’ve been listening to Teleparty a lot since it came out. It’s so good and it's so you three. I remember when Fighting came out, I couldn't get it out of my head. It's the same with Jeans,” she tells him, picks up the teacup, taking sip before putting it down gently. Her eyes sparkle with pride for her cousin and all his achievements he's made. She remembers the day he called her, telling her all about how he was asked to audition for Pledis and the whole ice cream story. “I’m so proud of you. And Seokmin and Seungkwan also.”  

Hoshi's smile widens, his cheeks flushing red, as he leans back in his chair. Ever since they were kids, he’s always looked up to and admired her, both having a love for dance, so her compliments mean a lot to him. "Thanks, noona. We worked hard on it, so it means a lot to hear that," he says, his sincerity evident. 

“And you’re going back on tour again soon,” she smiles excitedly. “I got to go to the Goyang Stadium shows, both nights. It was so much fun, and you were all amazing as always.” 

“I’m excited to get back out there. It’s going to be a little bittersweet though,” he says, his mind clearly going to his pending military enlistment.  

After seeing many of her friends, colleagues, and her husband go through the enlistment process over the last few years, Viola nods understandingly, her expression softening. "Carats and I will be cheering you on," she smiles, warmly. "Fighting," she adds lifting her fist in a 'you can do it' manner.

Hoshi nods, his eyes reflecting a mix of gratitude and determination. "Thanks, noona.” 

It doesn’t take long for the conversation to turn light again as they begin to talk about their careers and achievements more, mostly focusing on Hoshi’s since he is her guest.  

As they chatted, Hoshi shared insights about his latest album with BSS, the creative process, and the fun moments he had with the other members. Viola listened intently, occasionally interjecting with her own anecdotes and questions that kept the conversation lively and engaging.  

Their conversation then turned to reminiscing about their childhood and how those early days shaped their passion for dancing and performing. Theirs eyes sparkle with nostalgia they recounted those fond memories.  

“Remember that dance battle you challenged me to,” Viola asks with a chuckle. “It wouldn’t end so we had to get your eomma to pick a winner.” 

“But she couldn’t because she didn’t want to hurt our feelings, so it ended in a tie,” he smiles, remembering back to 8-year-old Soonyoung and his determination to out-dance an 11-year-old Viola who had a few more years' experience than him. It had not been long after Viola and her family moved to South Korea permanently. “I think we should have another dance battle,” he suggests with mischievous look on his face. “Let's do it for the Carats and the Violette’s. I’m sure they’ll love it.” 

Viola expectantly looks towards her manager sitting with her staff and the crew, while Hoshi looks at his. Neither of the managers say anything as they shrug their shoulders.   

“Come on, lets end a decades long battle,” Viola says, her eyes gleaming with excitement at the idea. The more she thinks about it the more she realizes it will be a great opportunity to the two to go back to their roots. 

“We can’t make any promises,” Viola’s manager is heard saying from behind the camera. Viola and Hoshi high-five already knowing they’ll eventually make it happen. 

The two cousins quickly move on, as they begin talking about their trainee and debut days. Le Fleurs debuted 2 years before SEVENTEEN and Hoshi made sure that everyone he knew, know that his cousin is part of the group. He played their songs often when they didn’t have practice, proud that Viola was living her dream and becoming everything she aspired to be. It was the same for Viola when Hoshi debuted. She made sure that everyone knew how talented and hardworking he is and how proud she is of him.  

“Did you miss it,” Hoshi asks, turning it back onto her, after mentioning her time training trainees and being a part time choreographer on top of that. 

“Honestly, I did,” she admits. “But I never thought I would re-debut as a soloist.” 

“What’s it been? Almost two years?” he asks, taking a bite of another pastry. 

“February 3rd it’ll be two years,” she replies, thinking back to that day. “I thought I had been forgotten about. It had been so long. But I’m grateful and thankful for the ones who pushed me to do it,” she smiles, remembering Hoshi had been the second person she talked to after her fiancée at the time. It took her back to when Hoshi called her after he got his audition. “And for all the support I’ve received from the Violette's. I wouldn’t be here without them, and Yoo-” she continues almost saying her husband's name but quickly corrects herself, “You and our family and friends. I’m so grateful.” 

“I understand. I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for all the support and love from the rest of the guys and Carats,” he smiles, fondly, thinking about his fellow members the countless fan interactions he’s had over the years. “Can I say something before I go?”  

“Are you ready to leave already?” Viola jokes, even though their filming time is almost up. 

“You know we could do this for a few more hours if they let us,” Hoshi says and it’s true. When the two cousins get together, they could spend hours upon hours hanging out and talking anything and everything. 

Viola laughs softly, knowing the truth in his words. "I’m sure we could. But go ahead, what is it you wanted to say?" she asks, curiosity piqued.  

Hoshi takes a moment, choosing his words carefully. "I just want you to know how much I admire you, noona. You coming back as a soloist and seeing you succeed makes me so proud to call you my cousin," he confesses, his voice filled with genuine admiration. Viola's eyes glisten with unshed tears.  

"Thank you, Soonyoung. That means the world to me," she says, standing up. He stands up also and the two hug each other tightly. “I’m so proud of you too,” she tells him before they let each other go. 

With that, the episode comes to an end. 

Coming Next Week... 

“Unnie!” Viola says, her eyes going wide, but she can’t help but laugh at the story Jun-ha was telling from their trainee days. 

Jun-ha laughs as she continues to tease her former member, “It was cute. You were cute.”  

- 

“After we disbanded, we all pretty much went our own way, four of us switched companies, one is now in a group that’s doing quite well, one’s an actress, you and I are soloist,” Jun-ha smiles. “I think disbanding benefited all of us. It was sad but there was a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes. It was only a matter of time,” she continues as Viola nods agreeing with her. 

- 

“And then she was like...” Viola chuckles as she mimics Jun-ha when she made a mistake in the choreography on one of the showcases that they did. It became a meme and is still well known in the Le Fleurs fandom.  

“You looked at me as if you were ready to bury me under the stage,” Jun-ha laughs along with her. 

©️2025 @viola-verse & @dancinglikebutterflywings - Do not copy. modify and/or repost anywhere.

@forever-atiny - @carattinymoa - @rainyday-daydreamer

Leave a comment or send an ask if you want to join the tag list, more info on masterlist if you're unsure.

[niko-sasaki-dbd]

Queue Interview with the Dead Boy Detectives Cast 👻🔎

This is going to be a long post! (These are my favourite parts from the interview!)

George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne

Acting Inspiration

Oh, gosh. Well there are so many. Meryl Streep, obviously. Viola Davis, obviously. More recently, I was blown away by Enzo Vogrincic in Society of the Snow. And Eden Dambrine in Close.

Cast Camaraderie

I loved working with all my co-stars. I’m practically related to Jayden [Revri] and Kassius [Nelson] at this point. Yuyu [Kitamura] is a dream. Jenn [Lyon] is mother hen. Bri[ana Cuoco] is the cool older sister. Josh[ua Colley] is the cheeky cousin. Ruth [Connell] is the godmother who gives you a card and £20 for your birthday. It really is one big happy dysfunctional family. I’m grateful for all of them, on and off camera.

Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland

Dressing The Part

These heads of departments, and Monique and Kelli, [they’re] unbelievable. They were so collaborative. We went through different hairstyles and different things we could do with the makeup. We added a bit of eyeliner for [Charles] just to make it feel more 80s. And then Kelli, I mean, it was like she did her research on me. She added badges to the jacket which kind of represented me as Jayden, before I even got there. It wasn’t until I got the haircut, put the makeup on, put the costume on, and I was like, Okay, this is Charles.

Cast Camaraderie.

The vibe was just incredible. Me and George, we really wanted to set the tone for the series and make sure that everyone’s having fun and it’s an environment where we could all talk about how we’re feeling. We were just such a big support blanket for each other. If there was ever a time that somebody needed space, or they wanted to prep themselves for a certain scene they were going to film, we all respected that and we were each other’s cheerleaders the whole entire time. And it’s still the same to this day now. I think it really shows when you watch the series that we all knew what we were making and we wanted to make something that we would want to watch, which we’ve all done. I cannot shout out my castmates enough. Forever grateful.

Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace

Acting Inspiration

I watched a lot of animation. I used to watch the Addams Family, the black-and-white one, because I didn’t have Disney Channel or anything. Monk, Murder She Wrote, I was watching those things, so maybe I was actually destined to play a detective, now that I’m thinking about it. I watched a lot of cartoons and animations. I just liked the idea that I could be engrossed in another world. And I always wanted to know what happened next, or when the film finished, I would be like, “Okay, but then what? What happens after that?” And now I get to be part of that question or that answer (...).

Dressing the Part

We have a fantastic costume designer, Kelli Dunsmore. I always say that she literally wove the story into the fabric of the clothes, because there are things that she foreshadowed in the clothing that happened episodes later. Or, if characters start to get in some sort of relationship with each other, that will be reflected in the clothes that they wear or the colors that they have. Or, if they’re feeling any type of emotion, (...)l. Crystal wears these massive platform boots that must be about four or five inches. They’re huge, very heavy, but it’s funny because they change the way that you walk. (...) She’s not very light, which makes sense with the things that she’s going through and the experiences that she’s having. Practically, it helped, because Jayden and George are like six-foot-something. So, if I film a scene and I’m at the bottom of the lens and they’re up there, that helped. I’ve got a good couple inches on my feet.

Yuyu Kitamura as Niko Sasaki

Acting Inspiration

Sandra Oh is a woman that I will forever be indebted to because who she was on Grey’s Anatomy was so formative for me. The most interesting thing about her character was not that she was Asian, but that she was such a fully fleshed person with flaws and amazing qualities. And her work ever since I think has been iconic, so she’s a woman that I deeply look up to.

Landing the role in Dead Boy Detectives

I auditioned from Hong Kong and my dad was my reader because all of my acting friends were in New York. My dad was able to carve out time and be an amazing reader. And in that audition side, it’s the scene where Niko gets to see the “Dead Boys” for the first time, and there’s a line in there that was something along the lines of me talking to Edwin and asking, “Do you two make out with each other?” And my dad stopped the tape and he was like, “What are you reading for?” And I was like, “Don’t give me notes, it’s fine!” And so that was the audition process! I think within a month I found out I got the part and it’s been an absolute dream ever since.

Dressing the Part

(...) I think on paper Niko can seem like a certain type of character, but even in the choice of every costume we did, every color that she wears, every meticulous little piece about everything from her nails to her room, it’s so well curated and thought out. Through her journey, we also find that she’s a woman that wears what she feels. On the surface, she might seem like the most joyful, young, optimistic girl, but it’s the inner confidence and bravery where we find that she’s layered, and she is very much a young woman coming of age.

SOURCE: MEET THE REAL DEAD BOY DETECTIVES (AND FRIENDS)

[congratufuckyoulations]

OH WHO IS U, DRESSROSA? Pt.3

!!!FULL DRESSROSA SPOLIERS!!!

Masterlist

part 1, part 2

A/N- Idk yet mostly right now theres some Viola x reader. Mostly platonic or like idk very friendly. A little sussy lowkey bcs I think Viola is an angel, but that's most girls in one piece. Anyways I really enjoy her honestly and i wanted the reader or Y/N to interact with her. I love girl friendships so much its my fav. Probably because im one. I just enjoy girl friendships with my whole heart

Straw hat reader, One piece x reader, Luffy x readed?, Zoro x reader, and maybe even some Law x reader. i just dont want to disappoint the Law fans fr bcs I know about his character but not much yet

Devil fruit power- Plant related. Imagine any other person with plant powers I guess? You can grow walls made from plants. Use plants to attack. I wanna say you could even grow plants used for medicines or sum idk.

The sword below is as random design I got off Pinterest so credit is far gone sorry😔. I don't know if you will use it this chapter, but it's a good reference to have for the future.

Tw- smoking, mature content??, some what graphic description not really tho

Sorry for any grammar errors

Your feet hit the ground beneath you jogging alongside Luffy and Kin'emon. Glancing over at your captain who you couldn't see in the fish costume he wore, you decided to speak up

"You think Zoro will be okay, Luffy?" you question wondering what the captain thought about your lost crewmate

"yeah, he always finds us sooner or later!" Luffy replies in his usual tone continuing to jog forward

"Luffy! Y/N!" a voice calls from behind

" Spoke too soon" you mutter under your breath as Zoro's footsteps get louder. The man in the cat costume now matches the group's pace. Luffy turned his head to look at the vice-captain

"Oh, hey, there you are! We were just talkin' about you!" Luffy says in a cheerful voice

"All good things I hope" Zoro grumbles his voice low most likely due to running around. You chuckle at his tone

"Far from it...I see you found our little friend!" You joke leaning around Luffy's body to get a look at Zoro in the cat disguise. Spotting the small blue-haired woman tucked between the fake fur

"I'm pleased to see you unharmed, Sir Zoro." Kin'emon chimes in

"HA, HA! You're right Y/N! It is a little person!" Luffy gushes as he turns to look at you. The captain practically radiated with how bright his smile was. The boy giggled at the sight

"Follow my directions, and I'll get you to the palace," Wicka says sticking out from Zoro's disguise

"Where did you find her?" Luffy questions, his tone filled with curiosity as a smile paints his face. The captain leans in closer to Zoro to get a better look at the tiny woman

"Is she a friend of yours, Sir Zoro and Miss Y/N" Kin'emon questions

"Eh, I don't know if that's the word I'd use" Zoro says in displeasure at the events that lead to meeting Wicka

"She is our friend now Zoro!" You quickly cut off the swordsman as you carry on "Just because she took your sword doesn't allow you to forget who helped us around this stupid kingdom" You justify as you defend the smaller woman. Though she did give you a run for your money. But it all worked out in the end so you let the grudge drift away. Smiling down at the girl, through the mouth opening of the fish disguise you wore

"I'm a member of the King Riku Army's Scouting unit. The names Wicka. Anyway, we need to step on it!" Wicka's small voice orders as she points for us to keep on forward "The operation is already starting without us!" she commands

"Yes ma'am!" You politely agree with the older woman from the mouth of your fish disguise. It was safe to say you had a soft spot for any other woman. They could do no harm in your eyes. The tiny woman lets out a small laugh

"Y/N? You sure look silly in that costume!" Wicka's small hand covers her mouth as she tries to hide her smile. Quickly dropping your head in defeat. There was no need for her to stab you in your ego now

"SEE TOLD YOU!" Zoro shouts at Kin'emon. The swordsman still holding a grudge against the Samurai who dressed him up in a cat costume

Reaching the foot of the King's Plateau in the middle of Dressrosa after running for some time. You run up many flights of stair in your disguises. Your heels in hand not wanting to wear them inside the disguise. Assuming that they would be impossible to walk in if worn inside a costume where you couldn't balance correctly

"There's gonna be a lift just up ahead!" Wicka informs now standing on Zoro's paw-covered hand "Okay, listen carefully! The palace where Doflamingo is lurking, the Toy House, and the trade port where the SMILE factory is located are all connected." Wicka explained the layout of the structure to the team

"In other words, infiltrating the palace allows us to ingress the other locations?" Kin'emon questions

"That's right! To get access to the factory, you have to either pass through the palace or through the Toy House. The most direct root for us to take is through the palace!" She exclaims with her small fist clenched

"Very well. Understood! Although, I am still in a state of disbelief over such wee folk, in spite of one standing before my very eyes." The samurai says whilst examining Wicka closer

"Yeah, these guys are great, huh? She's like a toy!" Luffy beams with joy

"There were hundreds more of em' too, right Y/N" Zoro calls over pulling you into the conversation. Luffy's head snapped over to look at you

"Oh, man, really?!" Luffy bubbles with stars in his eyes

"Yup! They had a whole army ready to fight too!" You join in. Leaning closer to Luffy. Allowing his excitement to influence you. Feeling light as you and the boy share a happy moment like two kids

"I can't wait to see that!" Luffy raves on

"We don't show ourselves often. We're told that we shouldn't. We're only supposed to allow the Big People of the Royal family to see us. But you guys, the Straw Hat Usolanders are the exception to that rule!" Wicka cuts in

"Uso... landers?" Kin'emon asked confused

"It's a long story..." You trail off hoping to dismiss the made-up names. Thankfully Wicka chimes in

"There's no time to explain all the details now! Operation SOP is already underway! Okay! You can see it there!" Wicka points up ahead. Looking forward at the elevator that lines the tall wall. With what seems to be Doflamingos Jolly Roger on the front doors. Catching sight of guards in uniforms by the entrance. Knowing that this was gonna be a problem "That's the lift entrance to the palace I was telling you about." She explains

"Oh, wow! We can ride it all the way to the top, huh?" Luffy says as his hand blocks the sun from his eyes. His head tilted to look up at the tower structure in front of you

“Won't those guards be a problem?" You point out your concern as the group jogs closer

"Yup! And we would have to show them a pass" She exclaimed addressing the guard situation. Your captain already suggesting his own solution to the problem

"Let's just kick his butt!" Luffy says with a fist raised. The tiny woman leaped over from Zoro's hands to the captains. The boy brings the tiny woman closer to his face

"No! If you make a huge scene, it'll just bring unnecessary attention!"

"What's so bad about that?" Luffy's innocent voice replies seeing no wrong in his plan

"You big bubblehead! I'm having my doubts about trusting you people! I'm stuck with a blockhead who gets lost and simpleton who wants to solve everything with his fists!" She complains grabbing her head in distress at the two men in the group

"What did you call me, you runt?" Zoro yells, fist raised at the fairy

"Calm down Wicka, this simpleton will figure out a way for us! Trust me, it will work out in the end just trust us" You reassure the older woman putting on your best smile. The smaller woman glancing at you from Luffy's palm

"At least I can count on you, Y/N! Kinda" muttering the last part under her breath

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" You shout, the small girl ignoring you as she turns to face away. Getting distracted from the small insult as you hear hoofs clack against the pathway. Your shoulders drop as you relax. A horse enters your sight with a figure on top

"Somebody's there," Luffy says. Wicka gasped as she looked at the clothed figure. A red coat covers the person's whole body. The hood falling over the face of the unknown person

"They already know we're here!" She cries jumping back to Zoro's disguises to hide in the fur of the disguise

Slowing down your pace as the group approaches the horse. Glancing in between your group and the figure you see Luffy's mouth open

"You want something?" Luffy's voice rings out

"Are you Straw Hat Luffy?" A girl's voice is heard from the figure. The girl sounded familiar, but you couldn't quite remember where you knew her from

"Yeah. What's up?" he replies

"Don't tell her!" You scold the immature guy with Zoro and Kin'emon backing you up. Luffy sure had trouble staying out of any danger the crew came across. Over every adventure, you figured that if he was your captain. You would have to accept the chaos with it

"Come with me. I'm here to help guide you into the palace." She answers pulling down the hood of her cloak. The group lets out a shocked gasp. It was the performer you watched earlier, Violet. The one that took Sanji back to the ship. You let out a small sigh of relief seeing it was somebody you could somewhat trust

"Come on, hurry!" Violet ushers us into a more hidden part of the town. Getting away from the gazes of the guards

"It's great ya wanna help us and all, but I doubt you can do anything," Zoro says as we hide on the side of a random town building

"We've caught wind that one needs a sort of pass to enter the lift" Kin'emon mentions

"Don't worry. I have the pass you mentioned" She says while peaking out to the main streets of the kingdom

"But you should take another route instead," Violet advised looking back at us

"What? Why do you advise that?" The samurai questions

"Think about it. We can't walk right through the front entrance. They are bound to catch us like that. Then this whole plan is over" You explain why the elevator wouldn't be the best option as of now to the dense men

"Back to plan A then! Let's kick ass and bust in!" Luffy pumps his fist into the air. Trying to encourage his original plan amongst the rest of us

"Not happening, Luffy!" You say while moving his hand down back to his side. Your captain only flashed a gummy smile in your direction. More like a guilty smile as Zoro also scolds the boy

"Yeah! That won't work! They'll just keep sending out more guards for us to fend off!" Zoro agrees from behind you. Backing you with his ridiculous mindset. At least he was making this more simple for Luffy. The two of you looked ridiculous in your disguises getting mad at the boy's crazy ideas

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Right." Luffy replies his voice dripping with boredom now that his plan was dismissed fully. Violet speaks up with her eyes closed as you all stare at her in silence

"And more importantly" She starts off

"Please proceed." kin'emon encourages

"You look suspicious," Violet says, as you let out a laugh at her random insult

"Madam, I'm offended!" The samurai replies upset at the insults he's received about the disguise's practicability in the past moments

"Hey, come to think of it, aren't you the one who lured our idiot cook away earlier?" Zoro questions

"Sanji?" luffy puts in

"Yes, and he hurried off to protect your ship," she responds. The guys continue to question the woman as she answers each question. The group wondered how she got information on the attack on the Sunny. Thinking hard about how she even got her hands on a map of the factory

"I was one of Doflamingo's subordinates." She explains to your crew

"That explains how you had so much information" You reply. Now understanding why the girl knew so much and how she was in "danger" as Sanji said. She "was" a subordinate but due to her recent actions. She seems to be rebelling against the warlord suddenly

"Huh, what?!"

"It's true! But she was only pretending to be a bad guy!" Wicka backs up the woman as Zoro lifts the tiny woman in his palm for Violet to get a better look at her

"Wicka, it's you!" Violet exclaims, wicka gasp at the acknowledgment

"Wow! You actually remember me?!" Wicka replies in shock. The two quickly catch up. Violet reveals some of her devil fruit power as she explains how she's been watching over the Tonatta tribe. The brown-haired woman praises the smaller one. Big tears start streaming down Wicka's face suddenly

"Princess Viola" Wicka cries out. Princess? I guess you weren't wrong for thinking that she and Sanji looked straight out of a fairy tale. It all made perfect sense

"Huh? So, wait? You're a princess? Ow!" Luffy shouts getting a smack on the head from Zoro

"Could you turn it down a little?" He hissed at the captain

"Then does that imply that you're a Dressrosa royalty" Kin'emon questions blankly

"Are we all listening to the same conversation?" You side-eye the men you're unfortunately paired up with. You may be with the two strongest on your crew and a respectable Samurai. But having to babysit the three was a chore. You could feel your social battery drain as the day passed dealing with idiots for crewmates

Viola's back was turned to you as you watched her hand trace along the wall in front of her as she replies

"I used to be." she answers Kin'emon

"Huh? If Rebecca's the king's granddaughter, that makes you what now?" Luffy interrogates. Staying quiet as you wait for her to respond, curious at how the bloodline is connected as well

"Rebecca is my niece." She answers. Viola's hand finds a concealed button on the stone wall. As it clicked into place a wall dropped nearby revealing a hidden passage

"She's the daughter of my late older sister, Scarlet." She continues. Looking back at the group to see our reactions to the new path

"A hidden door! Are you a ninja?" The samurai boasted at the sight

"Now I've seen everything," Zoro says

"A princess and a ninja! Remarkable!" Kin'emon praises

"Indeed!" You agree with the samurai, as Viola begins to talk

"By taking this route, you can avoid being spotted at the main entrance. Now follow me" She says walking down the stairs of the darkroom

As the group all stand by the entrance weary of what's inside. Luffy lets out a gasp. Leaning in slightly you see flights of stairs spiraling upward. You saw chains hanging in the middle of the room connected to some sort of platform

"This is a secret escape passage of the Riku Family. Not even Doflamingo knows that it's here." Viola explains from the bottom of the stairs. Following behind the men as they proceed down the stone steps. Kin'emon coughing at the dust in the forgotten passage

"What is this comically large basket's purpose?" Kin'emon asked Viola

"It's a pully for lifting cargo. Look up." She replies. Glancing upward you see chains leading upwards as Zoro and Kin'emon talk to her about the stairs sprailing up. You could practically feel your feet hurting at the sight of the flights of stairs. Even without heels, this was gonna be a pain

"Oh boy" You utter to yourself at the sight

"Uh... Luffy! How about you make this easy on everyone and grab this boulder here and shoot yourself up?" Zoro speaks up, walking over to place his hand on a random stone in the room

"Oh, quite a novel solution" Kin'emon cut in

"Yeah! I like the way you're using that head of yours!" You encourage, getting a glare from Zoro. The two of you had always bumped heads. It was a lot like him with Sanji, but the two of you found ways to be civil while on the same crew

"That sounds like madness," Viola says in disagreement at the plan

Watching Luffy already wrapping an arm around the boulder. Then stretching the other upward to grab ahold of the chain. Turning away you see Zoro and Kin'emon enter the basket

" 'Kay! Here goes!" Luffy's voice echoes through the empty tunnel. Your captain running up the stone walls earning a gasp from the girl beside you. Looking at the girl beside you, you speak up

"It's okay, Viola. come on let's join them!" You comfort the woman as you climb into the basket. Sitting down next to the men as you reach your free hand out to her. Encouraging her to take it. With a small smile and a curt nod, her hand finds yours. Smiling at the lady in front of you as you guide her into the basket

"Thank you, Miss Y/N" Viola thanks you quietly as she focuses on climbing into the basket without any trouble

"Of course, princess" You reply. Letting your inner charm flow out at the beautiful woman. What? Sanji wasn't the only one allowed to throw around nicknames at pretty girls

"Make it snappy, Luffy!" Zoro shouts from behind you

As the group is lifted to the top thanks to Luffy. Zoro and Kin'emon step out of the basket first walking towards the concealed exit. The two push the wall forward peaking out to scope out the area

"It would seem that no one is present," Kin'emon informs as the door is dropped fully to the ground now that they know it is clear. Following behind Zoro and Kin'emon as they land on the grass of the palace

"Nice. Let's go!" Luffy says jumping off the stone door on the floor

"Hold on a second," Viola says from behind you and Luffy, causing you to look back at her with concern. "Close the door first," She says to Luffy as obeys lifts up the stone door with no problem

As you approach Zoro and Kin'emon peeking around one of the towers of the castle, Luffys heads also peeks around the corner. The four of you glancing at a large door

"Is that how you get inside the palace?" Luffy says while you examine the door

"Shh...The palace is above us. That's the Rampart Tower" Viola explains

"Oh" Luffys voice dull at the information

"There's actually quite a bit of climbing left to do before we reach Doflamingo. And it's well-guarded, too." Viola carries on explaining the layout of the castle

"That's just great" You grumble in response, pulling yourself off the wall to face the princess

"I follow your reluctance Miss Y/N. Thankfully, the Rampart Tower has a secret entrance. Let's go, but take care not to let the guards notice you" Viola informs the group. The end being more directed towards the three men you two were stuck with.

Nodding your head in agreement, Viola turns away. The red coat she wore sways as she leads the group. Slightly turning her head back so we could hear her soft voice. Her lovely accent complimented her well

"They'll call the Executives if we make a scene. That won't be good. Especially if we have to battle with Pica. Then any hope of success would be lost." Viola clarifies

"I understand," You say walking beside to girl. The three guys followed the two girls. Only taking a few steps when you hear Kin'emon speak up

"Hm, where is Sir Luffy?" he questions.

Viola gasps as you both whip your bodies around to look back. The redfish disguise was missing from the group

"Already?! Where could he have gone?!" You hiss out, eyes scanning the area trying to find the lost guy

"Uh-oh. Right there!" Wicka says pointing towards the large door you and your group were supposed to be avoiding. A large dust cloud forms in the air. Hearing the sound of Luffys rapid footsteps fade further away. Your captain doing his classic battle cry as he charges straight at the guards

"WHOA! WHAT'S UP WITH THAT CARP!" One yells. Luffys louder voice follows behind

"NOW GUM-GUM... GIANT PISTOL!" Luffys voice echoes as his arms stretches back. The boy's fist and arm grow in size as he powers up his attack

Doflamingos guards scramble with terrified screams coming from their mouths. The crash of Luffy's punch right into the door was loud itself. Watching in shock as your captain busts the door down. Scraps of wood flying in different directions from the impact

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?!" Zoro and Kine'mon shout

"I guess this makes it easier...?" you say trying to justify the total mess Luffy just made. Guards lay passed out on the floor around Luffy. The head of his disguises looks back towards the group

"It's open!" Luffy shouts innocently. A gummy smile on display

"THAT'S NOT THE ISSUE HERE!" Zoro scolds

"This is not good," Viola says

"Ah! You big blockhead!" Wicka insults. Viola grunts next to you before continuing forward

"Well, new plan. We're going in! If we hurry, we might get lucky!" She announces heading through the huge hole in the wall where the door used to be

"See you get used to it!" You gush, as you jog to catch up to her. Slowing down your pace to match the girl when you get near. The two of you enter the massive doorway to the palace

"You were right Miss Y/N!" She smiles softly as you both continue towards the large staircase up ahead

"No need for the formalities anymore. We are friends now, right?" You pout jokingly towards the girl. Viola nodded her head back in understanding. A soft smile on her lips as her eyes scrunch with joy

"Can I take this thing off now?" Luffys voice booms through the lobby-like room

"Not like I could stop you!" Viola responds. You can't help but slightly smile at the girl's serious tone. Viola's eyebrows furrowing together in displeasure at your captain

Reaching the top of the stairs more guards rush toward the group

"This disguise was in the way, sorry Kin'emon" You apologize while pulling off your fish disguise like the captain.

"It's okay, Miss Y/N!" Kin'emon supports

Grabbing onto Luffy's arm you stabilize yourself. Leaning over to put your heels on one by one. While holding onto the captain you felt your cheeks flush at the feeling of his muscular arm through his shirt. Allowing yourself to let go as you finished.

"Thanks, Captain!" You say softly, earning a wide grin from Luffy

"Let's go kick some ass!" Luffy replies. Grinning back at the guy in front of you. Using your devil fruit power to grow your sword once more

You work at taking down any guard that comes close to you. Slashing away the guards who kept charging toward the group

"Viola, stay close!" You order while blocking off two subordinates. Your sharp blade clashes with the dull ones they are provided with. While taking one of them down, the others grab at your wrist. The pressure makes you drop your sword. A wince falls from your mouth at the tight grip

"Y/N!" Viola shouts, turning over you see a guy running at her

Hurriedly looking back at the guard holding onto your wrist. In a swift motion, you pull your arm back and allow your fist to make contact with his face. The guard's head flies to the side as he falls to the ground

Turning to Viola you flick two fingers upward (like law hehe I need him fr). Two vines shoot up from the ground in front of the man rapidly gaining on Viola as she runs towards you for protection. The plants rammed straight up into the guy's jaw knocking him out on his back

"Thank you, Y/N!" Viola says. Opening your mouth to speak, only for your captain to cut you off

"I'M COMIN' FOR YOU, MINGO!" Luffy shouts punching his way through the guards ahead. Shaking your head slightly, a breathy laugh falls past your lips in disbelief at his energy

"Don't worry about it, come on!" You state grabbing onto the girl's hand as you lead her further down the hallway. Giving Viola your full assistance with any trouble in her way

As the group runs down the hall more guards can be heard ahead

"WHERE ARE YOU, MINGO?!" Luffys voice travels through the empty halls as he punches down the waves of guards. More guards following behind just like Zoro said they would

Everybody in your group charging forward fighting their own battles. No fight lasted long as the team overpowered the subordinates. After taking care of the guards, you all stand in the hall panting. Taking a quick break from the speed of things. The group glanced around at the unconscious bodies on the floor. A job well done

And well Kin'emon on the floor as well. Due to jumping to catch Wicka from hitting the floor after flying out of Zoro shirt. The man talking to the girl in the palms of his hand as Zoro speaks up

"Kin'emon. Take care of her, okay?" he instructs

"Uh. But Sir Zoro, I must find my friend Kanjuro. To that end, I will leave here and go to the Toy House." Kin'emon rebuttals

"That's where Operation SOP is happening with the other Tontatta. So I need to go there as well!" Wicka expresses

"I see! Then go we shall!" Kin'emon declares before looking up at you and Zoro "Sir Zoro, Miss Y/N, my path is clear. We will be taking our leave now." he finished

"Fine by me," Zoro mutters, his tone calm as always

"I see no problem. Just keep safe you two," You reply. Your voice laced with concern for their safety

"Certainly Miss Y/N!" Kin'emon acknowledges your concern. Greeting your worried eyes with a reassuring grin. The man turns to talk to Wicka about the location of the factory. Afterwards shoving the small woman into his outfit like Zoro. The samurai only glances back as he bids his farewells

"Sir Luffy, I shall go. Farewell. Sir Zoro, Miss Y/N, and Madam Ninja. Stay strong" Kin'emon announces before he jogs towards the spiral of stairs leading down to lower levels

"Which way?" Luffy calls out for directions

"The left!" Viola answers

Turning down the hall proceeding your advances into Doflamingos palace. Silence filled the hallway with zero signs of guards

"I'm comin' Mingo, the coast is clear!" Luffy calls out

"Guess security can't keep up." Zoro adds

"I don't know. Shouldn't this be harder?" You point out. Thinking about it, the most you have fought. Since you've gotten into the palace there have only been guards. Your mind couldn't remember the names of the Doflamingos executives that Wicka had listed before. But you were sure you hadn't fought them yet.

As the words exit your mouth, the candles lighting up the halls burn out suddenly. A soft smoke filled the air. The ground and walls begin to shake as you all come to pause at the movement

"Couldn't just keep your mouth shut!" Zoro shouts at you

"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THIS WOULD HAPPEN!" You argued, face to face with the brute of a man

"Uh, that's weird" Luffy interrupted the argument, catching the attention of you and Zoro. The group stood still trying to figure out what was going on in the palace. The rumbling quiets down and the walls all go still for a moment

Suddenly, a round shape pushes through the wall. The wall smoothes over the shape easily. As if it wasn't made from stone itself

"What's with the wall?" Luffy says confused

The wall only expanded the more the palace shook

"Walls do not do THAT!" You say stunned at the sight of the stone walls growing into what seemed to be a man's figure. The height on the stone man was a wild sight. You stare in shock as his head now almost touches the high ceilings of the hall. The stone guy towering above you

The ground trembles below as the walls do their best to not crumble apart

"IT'S HUGE!"

"A WALL MONSTER?"

"NOT QUITE! IT'S PICA" Viola clarifies

"HUH?! YOU MEAN THAT'S AN EXECUTIVE!" You gasp, taking a couple of steps back. Slowly trying to back up from the large man that was forming in front of you. Even if this was a guy, he sure didn't look like it here

"THAT'S A DUDE? WHAT'S HIS DEAL?"

"HE'S IS A TOP EXECUTIVE Y/N! A STONE ASSIMILATION MAN." Viola replies

"Great, and we get to deal with him." Zoro retorts

"He's a power holder. He ate the Stone Stone Fruit. You see?" Viola explains

"So he controls the walls?"

"He just looks like a bunch of bricks, if you ask me. Hey, buddy, you really a person or what?" Luffy interrogates the stone man. The giant head turned towards the group. Viola and you hug onto to each other as you both let out a gasp

"He's out of his mind!" Viola says

"How is this my life" You whine into the girl's clothed shoulder

"Well, answer the question! And stop staring! You can talk, can't you?"

A large stone fist rises high before falling straight towards the group. Unraveling yourself from Viola you both split apart as you dodge the punch

"We're dead if that guy hits us. How d'you even fight back?" Zoro complains. A stone foot lifts heading straight for us again, only to be dodged once more by the group

"We gotta try somethin'! He's blockin' our path!" Luffy barks before hitting his fist against the ground, switching into gear 2 "I don't care what kinda fancy titles you've got! I'm gonna kick Mingo's ass, no matter what! Get outta my way!" he shouts while launching himself in the air towards the stone giant

Luffy used his jet Gatling punch to break apart the man as he crumbled into a stone chunk pile

"Heh. There! Easy! C'mon!" Luffy exclaims as we all run past the scrapes on the floor

"That didn't take much" Zoro says.

The swordsman's words were followed by loud rumbling again. As you all run slightly further and glance back. A large stone hand forms from the pile. The arms quickly connected itself to a fully regrown stone man

"Back for more, huh?" Luffy calls out

"The top executives are in a class of their own. This is why I tried to avoid a confrontation." Viola says in distress. A hand grasping at the coat around her neck for comfort

"I knew I should've stayed quiet" You groaned at the endless chasing already from this Pica dude. He wasn't making this easy that's for sure

"So he's not just a guy made of bricks" Zoro's face concentrated as he stared at the devil fruit user

"He can merge with stone itself and control it. Then it becomes his own body. Which means the palace itself has become our enemy!" Viola spouted information out. You stare in disbelief at the stone man connecting his arms to the walls

As the walls crumble apart with cracks forming through them. Looking above you, seeing the walls on either side of you falling inward. Aiming right for you and your group

"THE WALLS!" Luffy points out. Pulling a gasp from the rest of you. The walls crashed down towards the group. Feeling Zoro's strong arms wrap around your waist hurriedly. The swordsman pulls you back into his chest, as your hands reach for Viola.

Your arms wrap around the girl as she falls towards you. The walls crash down quickly. Luffy inflating himself stopping the walls from completely crushing the three of you. Your chest drops as you finally let out your held-in breath

"Y-You guys still okay down there?" Your captain's voice rings through your ears

Jagged pieces of stone pile around the group. Luffy crushed between the stone walls towards the top. Hearing Zoro groan from behind you as you lean back on him. Your hand reaches to grab ahold of your throbbing head

"I think a rock got me" You wince into your hands. The rock had hit you right where Doflamingo's strings had cut you on your head. As you do your best to sit up between Zoro legs. Not having much space due to Viola sitting between your legs as well. The woman leans into your torso for protection. Your hand finds her back patting it lightly

"You okay, Viola?" You ask softly

"Yes, thanks to you! I can't thank you enough Miss Y/N!" Viola praises as she sits up on her knees in front of you. Her hands clasping around yours as a sign of her gratitude

"It's really no trouble" You grab her hands putting them back to her side. Smiling at the girl still calling you by the formalities you had told her to dismiss

The woman that sat in front of you was truly cute as she said her praises. The smile she wore was genuine, you were quickly starting to understand why Sanji was quick to get distracted and fall for the lovely lady

Suddenly feeling Zoro's hands push against your lower back moving you closer to the girl. The swordsman redirected your position, so you wouldn't be in the way of his blade

"You three brace yourselves. Got an idea." Zoro grunts through gritted teeth

Zoro swords dig into a crack of a random stone surrounding the group. Zoro growls as his body tenses up with concentration. A loud slash was heard and you felt yourself being scooped up again. Stone rubble falling around you

Feeling thankful for Zoro in the moment as he carries you under one arm. Viola under the other. The green-haired man dodges through the dust and falling stone pieces. Keeping the two of you untouched the entire time. Hearing Luffy fight as you are carried a little further

"GUM-GUM... STORM" Luffy shouts

Zoro places you down further away from the two fighting. Allowing you and Viola to stand on your own as he takes off towards the commotion

"Thanks, Zoro!" You shout as he runs towards the battle

"No worries, right?!" He replies charging at Pica. Smirk drawn on his face. Only one of his swords was drawn. The stone guy does the unexpected as he lifts the stone floor easily. Pica lifted his arms up and down in a smooth motion. Causing ripples to flow through the stone toward the group

The stone ripples through as it begins to tower up high. Zoro stabs his sword into the stone to hold himself up. As now the stone floor was now vertical like a wall, due to Pica devil fruit

"WHAT'S HE DOING NOW" Luffy shouts, as we all watch from below as Zoro gets taken high in the air with the stone

"I DON'T WANNA FIND OUT! BE SAFE ZORO!" You shout watching the wall tower over you. Zoros's body hanging onto his sword high up. The stone almost takes the shape of a huge wave, ready to come crashing down with Zoro at the top

Seeing Zoro's arms pull back. All his swords in hand now. Powering his charge before slashing forward. The stone wall now crumbling apart easily. Another wall rises only to be punched down by Luffy

"I don't think hitting him like that's gonna work," Zoro says after he lands beside the group. The stone walls just keep reappearing. The palace rumbles around you as Pica moves throughout the walls

The man's stone fist flew towards the group once more. Luffy's fist meets his halfway causing the stone to crack from the strength. A slice was heard in the air as Zoro cut the stone arm into pieces. Picas stone body falling to the floor in defeat

"Go! Run for it!" Luffy shouts as we run past the stone rubble

Running down the hall you hear rumbling behind you. Avoiding looking back knowing the man was probably getting ready to fight. You look straight ahead as you run. Luffys voice rings out

"Man, he doesn't give up!"

A wall shoots up in front of the group. Coming to a halt at the stone now blocking your path. Everybody let out a soft gasp

"We're trapped!" Viola shouts

With a quick reaction, you see Zoro jump into the air as he swiftly cuts down the blocking wall. You forgot how easy fighting becomes when you have two overpowered crewmembers like these two to carry you all to victory

"Luffy, take them and go on ahead." he says after landing "Leave this stone bastard to me. You go kick Doflamingo's ass extra hard for me, okay?"

The man's stance was firm. Ready to attack at a given notice

"Great! Counting on you!" Luffy relies on the swordsman to do his part on the crew. Teamwork as a straw hat was interesting in itself. But it made perfect sense in the end. Everybody works hard at what they do. Doing your absolute best and trusting that your crewmembers do the same. In your case, you had one of the outstanding crews

(Thank you zoro for the monolouge he gave chopper back in alabasta about teamwork. Amazing king)

"You got this Zoro!" You call out as you proceed down the hall. Not hearing the swordsman whisper under his breathe about how he "knows he gots this"

Running with the two leaving Zoro behind to handle his part. Stumbling slightly as you run due to Pica making the stone beneath you lumpy. You kept moving forward through all the ups and downs of the stone obstacles

Suddenly two long pillars begin to try blocking your exit. Luffy kicks straight at the stone pillars swiftly breaking them into pieces as you all continue running toward the end of the hall

"This rock guy doesn't wanna let us go anywhere!" Luffys voice filled with displeasure as he lead the way for you and Viola. The woman next to you replies

"Like I told you. Pica controls the entire palace! We're lucky he hasn't crushed us yet!" Viola glances back for a moment before looking forward "Hey, you're sure your friend will be okay?" she finished glancing between you and Luffy’s running forms

"Zoro? You kidding? He'll do great. Don't worry." Luffy replies glancing back at the woman

"He's right. Zoro is one of the last people we have to worry about when it comes to fighting" You assure the princess. Another pillar shoots from the wall in an attempt to hold the group back. Luffy doesn't hesitate as he charges right for it with his fist ready

Viola and you run through the debris flying around due to the impact of Luffy's fist. Your captain grunts as he proceeds forward

"No matter what happens, Zoro will pull through!" Luffy advocated for his vice-captain

"He better" You mutter under your breath. This seemed to be more of a crazy day than you ever thought it could be. You couldn't believe that so much had happened in a couple of hours. Nobody planned for this day to be so stressful. Especially now that we are on the way to "Kick Doflamingos ass". You were gonna have to leave the ass-kicking to your captain. Knowing you didn't bear the power to fight against the Warlord himself

"LUFFY WAIT UP!" You shout at your captain running up the staircases leading to the first floor of the palace. Viola and you got left in the stairwell as Luffy took off ahead.

"We can only hope he went to the right floor," You say to the girl climbing the stairs with you

"The first floor isn't too far away I'm sure he made it" Viola encourages as you see a door only a couple steps away

"Seems you were right!" You say as the two of you pick up the pace. Approaching the doorway you see Luffy in a more open space. The toy soldier from earlier, upside in his grasp

Viola peeks out the doorway and gasps before exiting into the long hallway. Taking a step out as well you glance to your right seeing a man in a black outfit with gold embellishments. The guy looked pretty silly with a smooth head almost like a helmet

"There's no time! You can talk later, Straw Hat!" Viola announces causing you to look back to her and Luffy

"Who's that?" You question, pointing your thumb at the man down the hall

"Violet!" The man shouts causing the woman to gasp at her name being called. Seems to you that Viola knew this guy. You kid yourself obviously, she knows him he also works for Doflamingo

"Gladius!" Viola shouts make you zone back into your current situation

"You little traitor. You'll pay for turning your back on the young master." The guy spits out. Veins popped from his forehead as his hands were clenched into tight fists

"Oh, you wanna fight?" Luffy says causing you to snap your head at him. Seeing your idiot of a captain with a fist up. The other arm holding the toy soldier over his shoulder

"Not right now, Luffy!" You gasp grabbing the boys arm pushing his fist down. Viola hurries over and grabs Luffy to guide him down the hall.

"What did I just say?" Viola scolds

"Let's go!" Luffy shouts, hand wrapping around yours and dragging you down the hall. Struggling to find your balance at first due to the unexpected tug

"Careful Luffy!" You warn, said boy drops your hand as you find your footing, you run between Viola and him.

"We have to run! Trust me. He's strong. We'd be trapped here. We have to end this! Just head for the Suit Chamber!" She orders

The toy soldier speaks up about Viola's change of heart. The two converse quickly before you hear Gladius speak up

"Your treachery won't go unpunished, Violet. You're dead!" he says

You see Viola glance back as she shouts

"I've never been on your side! You give yourself too much credit! For ten whole years, I've been waiting for this opportunity!" She shouts. Eventually, you glance back seeing that helmet head expanded into a massive circle. Whatever this was it was ready to pop for sure

"Helmet pop!" you hear from the man. Quickly growing your vines walls once more as a sort of defense. A bright light flashes as a loud pop is heard. You hear Viola gasp next to you and see her falling forward. Thinking quickly you scoop her up under your arm. Your left arm wraps around her waist holding her as you run

"Lady Viola!" the toy soldier shouts

"Sorry about that Viola! I thought I blocked all of those flying pieces. You aren't hurt too badly, right?" You say glancing down at the girl in your arms. Looking back up to focus on the hallway

"I will be okay, just keep headin' up!" Viola says as we turn into a room with some red carpets. It was nicer than the hallways that's for sure. Following Luffy you see him running towards a window

"It doesn't matter how we get there, right?" Luffy shouts

"Luffy, what are you thinking?!" You cry out as your captain jumps right through the glass

"Hurry, Y/N!" Luffy says on the other side of the window waving a hand and motioning you to follow. Jumping through the window wasn't so bad knowing we were just on the first floor. You almost forget this was barely the first floor of the palace

Now standing beside Luffy outside in the courtyard, you see the boy glance up.

"That should work." He says. Following his eyeline to a window cut out to the second floor

"How would we even get up the-" You start only getting cut off by Luffys arm wrapping around your waist and stretching his foot backward to hook on the edge of the window. Once his foot found a hold you all fling toward the window

You wrap your arms securely around Viola as you are flung suddenly. Getting through the window you place Viola down on the floor of the new room

"Well, that certainly was effective, wasn't it" The toy soldier says

"I prefer a warning next time" You scold Luffy as he crouches down placing the toy soldier against the wall. Soon standing up back to his full height

"Yeah, but we made it didn't we" Luffy sasses as his hand finds his hips. Earning a slap across the back of his head

"HEYYYYY!" He shouts

"Quiet Luffy! Somebody will hear us" You hush the boy. Your hand cupping over his mouth. Slowly dropping your hand as you near a window in the hallway. Luffy follows to stand beside you. Both peering through the window of the Suit Chamber where Doflamingo resides. Seeing Law chained to a chair

"It's not time yet. You both have to wait!" Viola lectures dragging you and Luffy to hide below the window out of sight

"First we have to hurry and now we have to wait? Mingo is right there" Luffy questions

"Shhh" Viola hushes with a finger over her lips

"Huh?"

"Just calm down!"

"Violas right Luffy. The Tontatta Tribe still has to complete their part of the plan" You tell Luffy

"What plan?" Luffys asked confused

"You know about operation S.O.P, Y/N?" the princess asks

"I don't know much, but I did overhear the tiny people discussing something dealing with toys turning back into humans. I just knew there was something off about this place!" You answer, shaking your head in disgust at the cruel reality of Dressrosa

"The details aren't important. The point is, we can't fight Doflamingo yet," she explains, earning a soft grunt of disagreement from Luffy. Though he didn't argue back as we sat under the window

Nudging your shoulder into your captain sitting next to you. You send him a soft smile

"Be patient. I know you'll get to kick Doflamingo's ass real soon" You reassure.

"You're right, Y/N! His smile was wide, eyes beaming at the thought.

As time passes you all peer in here and there watching Doflamingo converse with the tied-up pirate.

"They sure are talking a lot" You speak up, getting bored sitting on the floor with nothing to do

"Yeah! How long are these guys gonna take?" Luffy agrees from beside you. Both of you glance down to Viola for an answer to see the woman with her eyes closed shut. Sweat dripped down the sides of her face. Something was troubling the woman. Viola's eyes shoot open as she lets out a startled gasp

"What's wrong Viola?" Your tone is filled with worry as a hand finds her shoulder. Trying to comfort the woman as best as you could

"The Tontatta ran into Trebol. All of them have been defeated. Nothing but destruction everywhere." she utters out

Everybody lets out an audible reaction as Luffy begins to talk

"One of my crewmates should be with them right now," he says

"Yes, he has a huge nose" Viola replies

"Usoland" The toy soldier says

"But it's not good" She continued, head dropping as she looked down with furrowed brows. Face painted with worry at the sight she saw in her head

"Don't worry. He'll take care of things. I promise. If Usopp's there, everything'll be all right" Luffy comforts in the only way he knew how. Which was just being himself and believing in his crew

"It will all be okay, Usopp always comes around in the end!" You assure, lightly squeezing the girl's shoulder as she glances toward the two of you smiling

"I trust you, Straw Hats," Viola confides in the two of you. Luffy's soft giggles ring through your ears. Feeling your shoulders relax at the sound, you turn to look at your captain's joyful smile. Staring at the boy as he continues to talk to Viola on the other side of you. You were stuck between the two, but you didn't mind

"Good! Because we are gonna kick Mingo's ass real good!" Luffy's voice flourishes with eagerness

Some time passes as you all sit outside the window. Viola's gasp makes you snap your head. The girl was teary-eyed as she looked past you. Turning back you glance to see a tall muscular man. His features are sharp. With his left leg missing. Exactly like the toy soldier from before. A sword now held in his hand

"I guess operation S.O.P worked," You say in disbelief at the sight

Luffy's head turns to the man as we all gasp at the sight. The man pushes the window open and jumps into the larger room. Hoping on his only leg, making his way towards Doflamingo

"Who's the cape guy?" Luffy says

"Kyros, it's you!" Viola says to herself

"Huh?"

"Even I lost my memories of him." She whimpers

"I don't get it. What d'you mean?" your captain questions

"Maybe she knows him," you say, trying to make sense of what was going on

"Uh? Hey! Where's the toy soldier" Luffy asks while looking to the side. Searching around the hall for the toy

"That man is him" Viola answers

"The toys were originally humans, but they were erased from our memories! Since the girl who did this, Sugar, passed out now, so our memories all came flooding back! He's the former commander of the King Riku Army - Kyros! The strongest gladiator in the history of the Colosseum!" She cries, collecting herself once more to continue on

"Wait, the guy they have the statue of?" Luffy asks

"Yes, but more than that, he's my brother-in-law, Rebecca's father!" Viola tells Luffy. You didn't understand much besides the fact that Rebecca was related to Viola. And the toy soldier seemed to have a pretty big role in this whole fiasco. You didn't know the whole story, but the toys being humans all along explained the creepy vibe

"But she said she didn't know that guy!"

"Once our memories are lost, they can't be regained till Sugar is stopped. Even so, he's watched over his daughter for the past ten years. Even though he was only a toy soldier to her, he's stayed by her side every day protecting her the best he could" Viola reveals the harsh trust she and her family have been living

Your heart broke at the tears streaming down the girl's face. The thought of forgetting somebody so close to you scared you as it is. Living it must have been hell for the man.

"I'm very sorry to hear that, Viola. We will work hard at bringing that pink idiot down" You quickly console the watching Kyros charge at Doflamingo full speed. His sword dashed through the air as it cut right through Doflamingos neck. The blonde head fell to the ground. It all felt like slow motion seeing it fall

It all happened quickly as you, Luffy, and Viola gasped. You could hear Doflamingos subordinates shouting and screaming at the sight of their leader being struck down

"YOUR BROTHER-IN-LAW IS CRAZY!" You whisper shout at the girl next to you

"Mingo just died! Well, that sucks! I was gonna be the one to kick his ass!" Luffy grumbles to himself. Not being able to reply as some guards appear down the hall, shouting at the three of you

"There they are!" "I see 'em!"

You turn your head to the approaching footsteps

"They found us!" Viola says

"Shoot!" One of the guards orders, as they all take their aim preparing to fire

Luffy thinks quickly as he wraps an arm around your waist. The other around Viola carrying you both like footballs. You yelp at the grip on you suddenly. Luffy jumps through the window. Heading straight towards the action

"We gotta go save Traffy!" He yells flying forward. Jumping through the window

You can see Kyros beginning to fight with a man in a yellow jumpsuit with big buck teeth. A jolly roger painted on the surface of the teeth. An interesting place to put anything if you ask me. The buck tooth man getting sent flying out the window. Screaming in defeat as Kyros started sparing against the girl in a maid-like outfit. Soon knocking her onto the ground

"TRAFFY! I'M HERE TO SAVE YOU" Luffy shouts as he rushes towards the scene. Law’s head lifting to face your direction. You couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the position you were in. You didn't know much about Law, but any girl would be nervous around the guy. Let's be honest he was fairly attractive

"Luffy could you put me down" You grumble, lifting your hand to cover your face in shame. Getting ignored by your captain as he yelled to the allied pirate

"OH, GOOD! YOU DIDN'T DIE!" He shouts. Removing your hands from your face, you now see Law's shocked expression.

"I thought we agreed you'd destroy the factory, Straw Hat. Did you? Or not?" Law interrogates as we approach closer

"Plans got mixed around" You reply, knowing Luffy wasn't gonna even try providing an explanation

"What is that supposed to mean, Y/N?" Law says

"It means no, obviously" you reply from under Luffy's arm

"Here's the key to his handcuffs," Viola announces showing the key to you and Luffy

"Wow! You're ready for anything, aren't ya?" Luffy teases. The two ignoring you and Law completely

Luffy approaches the throne Law was handcuffed too. His grip loosens, allowing you and Viola to stand back up on your own.

"Just a sec. I'm gonna get you outta here, 'kay?" Luffy says to law. The pirate groans before he speaks

"Thanks, but I'll pass. Our alliance from here on out is terminated. So get lost!" Law spits out, looking up at Luffy from the chair

"Huh? You're so selfish! I wanna keep working with you, so deal with it!" Luffy declares

“You also aren't the only one in this? We just went off plan once! You can’t just end an alliance like this" You argue

"Now you are both being selfish? I can leave when I want" Law remarks glaring up at the two of you

"Hurry! Use the key!" Viola cuts in

"Oh, right" Luffy says, taking the key from her hand

His hand shakes as he nears the Sea Prism Stone handcuffs. Nervous that he will accidentally touch it. Law's voice breaks the silence. Causing you to look up at him as he talks

"You do realize with the alliance called off, we're enemies? If you set me free, I'll kill both of you Straw Hats." Law taunts

"Luffy already made up his mind Traffy" You remind him, as you watch from behind Luffy

"That's it! This is hard enough to unlock with this dumb Sea Prism Stone, so stop squirming" Luffy shouts at the chained-up man

"Steady!" Viola says

"You two aren't even paying attention, are you?" Law shouts, his mouth open as he scolds the two in front of you. Viola crouches down next to your captain. Luffy struggling with the lock. His fingers constantly shaking, missing the lock every time. Stopping Luffy begins to whine

"This sucks! I quit! Why don't you do it?" He tries passing the key over to Viola. Her hand came up halting the boy

"I can't touch it either! I ate a Devil Fruit, same as you!" Viola announces. Both turning their heads to you at the same time. Questioning eyes prying up at you

“What about you, Y/N?” Luffy whines looking up at you

"OH DON'T ACT LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW!" You smack Luffy across the head for asking such a stupid question. Your captain deciding to play dumb at the worst time possible

Doflamingos' laughter grows loud as you all turn away from Law to where it's coming from. The sound emitting from the head lying on the floor in front of Doflamingos still standing body. Your eyes widen at the head on the floor with a wide grin, laughing

Pt.4

I THINK IMMA END IT HERE THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO WRITEE FOR NO REASON. I WAS NOT FEELING MOTIVATED BUT I WROTE ENOUGH TO FEEL DECENT. I wonder if yall would like this chapter or part? Idk I hope yall did I know it isnt much but im so excited for the next chapters mostly because its a lot of Luffy and Lawwwww. Kindaaa hehehe so yay

[soulofamy]

a while ago i tried my hand at giving amy what i thought would be a good design for her soulcalibur 7 appearance. she ended soulcalibur 6 about to embark on a journey to go and find raphael, i think it would make the most sense to give her an outfit that conveyed that she was traveling. i gave her a few leather components because i feel like those make her a little bit more battle ready, and it would be a good contrast from the very aristocratic dresses she normally wears. im a huge sucker for the musketeer aesthetic so i added a shoulder cape, a waist sash, and a feather hat. i tried to keep the roses and skulls motif going as well by incorporating them into her hat and her shoulder cape. the patterns featured were used in her soulcalibur 6 design. i also decided to let her hair down as a reference to viola. i made this a few years ago so i might try my hand and recreating this but we shall see

[the-uninformed-zennial]

sooo bound band au when

Who said it was gonna be an au

Honestly though, most of the bound characters are giving me orchestra energy, so I feel like a Band AU would be like… a band kid AU if yk what I mean. Like, everyone would be in high school with braces and hormones and trying to find a course to fill their art requirement that wouldn’t absolutely bore them. Yk?

So that being said, here’s the instruments I’d think each Bound character would play and why;

Armor - Vocals <redacted>

Ashril - Funky Roadrunner guy is giving me either some random instrument no one has ever heard of before or keyboard and there is no in between for me personally.

Avalon - Drums. I know I always give the stabby people percussion instruments, but they’re just really good for helping to work out negative emotions okay??

Cosie - flute

Elwood - Canon Elwood would not learn an instrument unless Mojave somehow gaslit him into thinking it would be useful. So fanon Elwood would know piano, cause it’s a classical instrument so it fits the vibes and it’s also one of the most versatile so I think we wouldn’t have to bend Elwood’s character too much to make it fit.

Erin - Erin gives me cello vibes. I feel like the Avicane in general ooze kinda classical instruments, and Erin feels like someone who would want something like a bass but a little lighter and more based on melody. So Cello.

Gaverin - Singer. That bird gives me lead singer vibes so hard. If she isn’t in the front of the stage strutting his newest designs and singing their little heart out like a bird version of Chappel Roan, what exactly are they doing?

Marcel - Viola. It’s just- mmmm. Slightly deeper violin that fits the human range really well… it just screams Marcel to me idk.

Mojave - lead singer/rhythm guitar/songwriter. This is just canon lol

Pietro - Percussion. Not drums like Ava, but specifically like orchestral percussion. I’m talking everything from the huge bass drums to the triangle. I think while Virgil was learning violin Pietro signed up for orchestra too and the director was just like, “here kid, hit this” and Pietro went wild. They’re probably the best percussionist anyone’s seen in a really long time, but she doesn’t really talk about it/show off that much cause they want Virgil to be able to shine. (Guys I’m normal about the birdthers I swear)

Rune - I feel like Rune’s a guitar guy. Like, their vibes are chill and laid back enough to fit it, plus I feel like they’d have a really fun time inventing like pedals and stuff to make the guitar sound different depending on the song and stuff.

Sylph - Triangle. And Kazoo. And singing (badly) /lh

Taliesin - Okay, okay, my thought for Taliesin is that whenever someone asks if they play an instrument they always say something that like no one knows how to play, like Basoon or the Oboe. And then if someone ever asks her to, he’s just like “oh no, sorry, the stars aren’t in the right alignment you see”. And it’s cause they don’t actually know how to play any instruments cause they’re a lyin’ cheatin’ little— anyway (/j we love Tal in this house and they probably play something that’s totally against their aesthetic but easy to learn like Uke or smth)

Vast - Vast plays Clarinet. It’s classic, it’s breathy, it’s something the symphony I mean Avicane would teach. It just feels and sounds right for him. Bonus idea: his sister played the flute and he picked up Clarinet cause he wanted to be in the same section as her

Virgil - Violin. Again, this is just canon. But I feel like Virgil wouldn’t be like the best violinist ngl. In my head he’s like 3rd chair but Pietro always comes up to him after concerts and is like “THATS MY BROTHER!!” And like glares at people until they applaud for him. Virgil knows this. And is incredibly embarrassed by the whole thing, but it’s still kinda endearing.

So yeah, those are my instrument/Band AU thoughts. Do with them what you will

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Kung Fu Panda 4 Review

Ok, I saw the movie yesterday and I have some thoughts. I think the film is good, but no where near the level of the first two. It's more like the third tonally. But tbf, nothing can top the second film in my opinion. KFP 2 really stepped up in its depth both in terms of its villain and message. The fourth film is very much the opposite. It's also very predictable and you can easily figure out what was gonna happen pretty early on.

What I liked: the animation is still gorgeous. Seriously, there were some very visually pleasing shots. The character models all looked great and I thought it was cool how the villain still has scales when she transforms. The music is also really nice and fun to listen to. The voice acting was also good and I thought Awkafina did a good job (major step up from Scuttle).

Po's dads were also really fun when on screen. It's nice to see them bond over Po and they do work well off of each other. They were the best part of the film, animation aside. The villain is also pretty cool with her abilities. We will talk about her more in a bit. And I did like Zhen and I'm looking forward to see what they do with her in the future. She's energetic and I did like her design.

What I didn't like: too. much. comedy. Ok look, I know this is an animated film for kids, but what made the first three films (particularly the second one) so good is that the balanced the jokes with depth. This film does have some messages, but it's intercut with so many jokes during dialogue that it takes away from it. They really needed to let this film breathe and have more serious moments to just talk and let things sink in. The villain brought back the old villains and stole their abilities (this was in trailer so not really spoiler). Why don't they do more with that? There is so much untapped potential here.

And that's my other big issue with the film: so much potential. Some of the ideas in this film are really, really good, but they only scratch the surface with it. I wanted to know more about the villain. I wanted to see our fave villains interact more. I wanted to see the villain use her powers more. But we don't get that; we only get the bare minimum. In simpler terms, there's no big "wow!" moment that the other films had.

Spoilers below (tread carefully)

Why did they bring the villains back if they were going to do almost nothing with them? The climax of the film was the Chameleon stealing the villains' abilities and fighting Po but we pretty much saw that in the trailer. Tai Lung gets to do some stuff, but I wanted more. Half of his lines were jokes anyway and I didn't vibe with it. Why did they bring him back if he was just gonna comment on things? I don't remember our favorite snow leopard being this comical. He did quip, but there was still a hardened edge to him. Idk. Maybe he got therapy in the spirit realm. Shen and Kai get crumbs, but again, they could've done so much more. And wasn't Kai destroyed completely?

With Shen and Tai Lung, I would've wanted to see more. I'm glad Tai Lung did finally come to respect Po and it does make sense. But Shen? The last time we saw him he rejected Po's help. Unless he too got the same spirit realm therapy Tai Lung did, him bowing to Po does feel very OOC. Nitpicking further, why was Shen brought back anyway? The Chameleon presumably doesn't know who Po is and Shen isn't a kung fu master. With the exception of the fanservice route, this choice only makes sense if the Chameleon was aware of Shen's actions in Gongmen and thought his level of evil would fit her vibe.

Nitpicking aside, there was so much opportunity for Po to confront his villains again and have a deep, serious moment with them. Whether either side likes it or not, they're reunited for a short amount of time. Why not capitalize on this great opportunity?

Speaking of the villain, so much untapped potential. Her design is great, her abilities are really cool, and Viola Davis does a good job voicing her. So why doesn't she get to do more? Imagine a really cool fight sequence where Po confronts her, but she shifts so much that it begins to mess with his head. Or she transforms into the older villains and Po is caught off guard? Instead, we get half the climax spoiled for us in the trailer. What was really cool about the other three was that we got multiple fight scenes with them to showcase their abilities. Thus, the final battle dialed it up to an 11 and we got a truly epic finale. Here, it feels like there should've been more, but there wasn't. Even her backstory feels lacking. It's there... but only surface level. Even Shen, arguably the cruelest of them all, had nuance and depth.

Also, why couldn't we get more of the Furious Five outside of a glorified cameo? Tigress and Po friendship is truly amazing.

As much as the jokes miss, there are some good bits. Shifu trying to deal with Po's shenanigans always crack me up. I also like the bit where Po tries to meditate and his thoughts get in the way. Because hey guess what, that's what my head is like and it's really freaking hard to quiet it down. So, there's that. I just wish the writers didn't feel like they had to insert jokes in almost every line of dialogue, you know? Li and Ping dad adventures are great except half the lines are jokes about how worried they are for Po or how not tough they are. Why not have a deeper conversation? I think it would make everything feel more natural.

I also wish Po himself was a tad more mature. I'm not expecting Shifu or Tigress levels of seriousness, but I felt that he kinda was a bit too childish. Po is one of those characters who loves to have fun, but knows when he has to be serious. However, he also likes to lighten things up with comedy. In this movie, it felt like he only really leaned into the comedy side of things. He had his moments, but I'll be honest, I really missed the "the only thing that matters is what you choose to be now" levels of dialogue. The proverb joke got old real fast, ok?

Grace Randolph from Beyond the Trailer described this movie as episodic and I can see it. The story bits are very segmented between the villain, heroes, and Po's dads. The flow and pacing of this film really needed to be upgraded.

Ok, that's all I got for now. I'm sure I'll think of something else to say (aside from encouraging everyone to rewatch KFP 2 because I'll never get enough of that film).

[writerblue275]

What to get each Heartsteel member for the holidays

Aphelios: 1. Stuff to decorate his studio with. 2. Moon-themed things. 3. Why do I feel like he’s similar to me and collects SOMETHING. For me it’s owl things (I fucking love owls.) and cool enamel pins! I could see Phel collecting really cool enamel pins or some sort of trinket. 4. To go with #3. A place to put said trinkets (for example a cork board/pin banner to hang pins on). [I should take a photo of my cork board that has all my pins and stuff on it so you can see what I mean!]

Ezreal: 1. Book discussing an ancient civilization he’s been interested in. 2. A book going over works of an artist/artistic period/movement he really likes. (I did that for my dad this year about an artist he likes and he almost started crying he was so excited. It was so fucking cute. I’ve been waiting to give him that book since JULY. 🥹)

Kayn: 1. Accessories for a guitar (like a custom embroidered guitar strap or picks). 2. I feel like he’d primarily play electric, but I definitely think he’d play/have an acoustic guitar. You can find some really cool wood-burned acoustic guitars for (relatively) cheap. (A good instrument is expensive (I know this from playing viola) but compared to electric guitars, acoustics are definitely more affordable.) 3. I have a fun embroidery hoop hanging on my wall and it’s all fancy and shit and it says “DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO” and I think something like that fits Kayn so perfectly. (I need to take a photo and post it for y’all. It’s one of my favorite things lmao.)

K’Sante: 1. A really fancy set of colored pencils and a really nice sketch pad that he can use for sketching out his designs. 2. A new sewing machine/sewing kit. 3. FABRIC. Get this man nice fabric so he can bring his designs to life! Especially if he’s shown you a design he really loves, or that you really love, get fabric for that specific design.

Sett: 1. Brand new fancy sewing kit he’s been talking about. (I absolutely love that he’s canonically a sewing expert. I fucking love it so much). 2. If not a full kit then a really nice seam ripper or specific tool he maybe needs an upgrade on. Could be customized to him. I think he’d love that! 3. Really nice set of pots/pans/kitchen utensils. (I’m thinking like the hex clad pans I keep hearing about.)

Sett Extra: You better get something for his mama!!! As someone who has a mother who is a knitting machine, I know exactly what to get. 1. Some really really lovely and fancy yarn. 2. Knitting pattern books that she doesn’t have. 3. A yarn bowl (it’s literally a bowl that the yarn sits in, and there’s a little hole or design that allows the end to come out so you don’t have to keep unwinding the yarn or anything. And it’s easy to keep your space neat while knitting. My mother LOVES HERS. My dad accidentally broke her first one and she was devastated! [A new/nicer one was her Christmas present from my dad last year.])

Yone: 1. Some god damn peace and quiet and sleep. This man needs a break lmao. 2. But actually, stuff to decorate his studio with (for example a funny little do not disturb sign that he can put on the door, some posters or something. 3. Maybe some small framed photos of the two of you that he can put on his desk. You’re his muse after all (and you help him not go insane during late nights.)

EXTRA-

Alune: She deserves some gifts toooooooo!! 1. This woman deserves a damn spa day. Do I even have to explain myself? Like she deserves some serious pampering. 2. Another one who I could see collecting something fun. Probably moon related lol.

[sengardet]

Terra's Target #5 The Scientist

Never put your heart in the way of a merciless assassin's goals.

Terra, the Nigerian assassin, navigated the dimly lit corridors of the high-tech lab, her footsteps echoing against the sterile walls. The infiltration crew followed closely behind her, their weapons ready, alert for any signs of resistance.

As they approached the entrance to the underground office, Terra signaled for the crew to take up defensive positions. With a swift and silent motion, Terra reached for the door handle, her other hand gripping her pistol. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the confrontation that lay ahead.

In a blur of movement, Terra flung open the door and charged into the office, but there were no shots to be heard, no guards to be seen. Terra's eyes scanned the space, taking in the array of advanced computer systems and scientific equipment that lined the walls. And there, at the far end of the room, sat Viola, the scientist they had come to confront. The young dark-skinned woman looked up from her work, her expression a mix of surprise and defiance.

Terra approached her, her steps measured and deliberate. She holstered her gun and met Viola with a steely gaze. "Dr. Viola," she said with a grin. "Want to help us out?"

Viola met Terra's eyes; her own gaze unwavering. "I suppose you're here for research," she said, her tone oddly calm given the circumstances.

Terra nodded, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "You're a smart woman, Doctor. Let's make this easy for both of us."

Terra stood before Viola, her eyes narrowed and her hand resting on her gun's grip. Behind her, the infiltration crew kept a watchful eye on the surroundings, their weapons ready.

"I can't give what you seek, even if I wanted to." Viola said sternly.

"Dr. Viola," Terra began, her voice low and menacing, "you have two options. Either you give us the passcode the easy way, or we do this the fun way."

Viola, despite the palpable danger, remained composed. She met Terra's gaze, a flicker of defiance in her eyes. "I'm afraid your threats are futile, stranger. The access to these computers is not something that can be obtained through force or coercion."

Terra was admittedly a little surprise surprised by Viola's confidence. "Is that so? And why is that?"

Viola smiled, a hint of triumph on her lips. "Because the security system is linked to my vital signs. There's a device implanted in my chest, constantly monitoring my heartbeat and blood pressure. The computers will only grant me access when I'm calm and working."

Terra took a step closer, forming a sadistic grin. "Well, I guess we have to do things the fun way."

Viola shook her head. "It's not about death, It's about my emotional state. If I'm under duress, if my heart rate spikes or my blood pressure rises, the system will lock me out. It's a failsafe, designed to prevent anyone from forcing me to divulge information."

Terra motioned to the guards, who quickly moved to restrain Viola. They grabbed her arms, holding her firmly in place despite her struggles. Viola's eyes widened with fear as Terra approached her. "What are you doing?! you'll get nothing by killing or hurting me!"

Terra's lips brushed against Viola's ear, making the scientist shiver involuntarily. "I've been told these ladies are good at hacking computers..." the assassin purred, her melodic Nigerian accent conveying a sensual and ominous tone.

Terra's fingers traced along Viola's collarbone. The assassin's touch was feather-light. Soon, meaning would come to her words...

"But see, I'm a different kind of hacker," she murmured, flicking open her switchblade and dragging the flat of it gently down Viola's sternum, between her breasts. "And right now, what's in our way involves my kind of hacking."

Viola's heart pounded against her ribcage as the cool steel kissed her heated skin through the thin fabric of her blouse.

"You can't be serious!" Viola whimpered; her eyes wide with fear as Terra's blade pressed against her heaving chest. The steel felt like ice against her flushed skin. The four women stared down impassively as they held her limbs to the floor like pink stone fixtures leaving Terra and her alone in the room.  

Terra's dark eyes remained cold and impassive as she studied the trembling scientist, looking beyond her flesh at the bones beneath. She flicked open the top button of Viola's blouse. The fabric parted, revealing a sliver of dark brown flesh.

Viola's heart hammered wildly, threatening to burst from her chest. She couldn't catch her breath. Terra's blade traced lower, slicing through the next button with surgical precision. Then another.

"Please," Viola gasped, her voice breaking. "Don't do this... there's nothing for you to gain!" But her plea fell on deaf ears.

Viola squirmed and shuddered, yet Terra's expression never changed. A bead of sweat rolled down the valley between the scientist's breasts. Terra followed its path with her eyes, then with the tip of her blade, slicing through the final button. The tattered remains of Viola's blouse fell open, exposing the lacy cups of her bra. Terra cocked her head, admiring her handiwork for a moment. Then in one swift motion, she flicked her blade upward, severing the delicate fabric covering Viola's breasts.

As the bra fell away, Viola squeezed her eyes shut, consumed by terror as her chest fluttered with ragged breaths. Her deep brown nipples hardened in the cool air as goosebumps raced across her exposed skin.

Terra slid the blade below Viola's sternum, making her yelp and whimper. Blood welled around the blade. "I’ll do anything you want! We can think of something" she said weakly to her deranged assailant.

Terra's cold brown eyes flicked to Viola's sweat-streaked face as she lifted the bone and exposed the cavern of glistening yellow and twitching pink muscles. “I already know what I’m doing. That’s not needed, sweetie.” The scientist squirmed and sobbed but was held fast by Terra's apprentices on either side, one winking to Terra and covering her mouth. Ignoring Viola's choked pleas, the assassin began meticulously cutting through the coastal cartilage, freeing the breastbone.

"Now’s a good time to tell me about some easier way, doc." Terra said calmly over the wet slicing of her separating bone and cartilage, the blonde letting her speak.

"Go to hell..." Viola gasped out through gritted teeth, unable to find reason in Terra’s actions.

Terra shook her head slightly. With a sharp tug, she peeled the sternum up and away, snapping through the remaining connective tissue.

Viola let out a shriek at the violation, back arching. Terra studied the glistening pericardium now laid bare, a thin membrane shielding the frenetically pounding heart beneath. The key to the encrypted data was quite literally bound to Viola's life force. An elegant security measures. But not one that would stop Terra from completing her mission.

She allowed herself a moment of anticipation, fingertips grazing over the exposed pericardial sac. Slicing it open to grasp the very epicenter of the woman's being and the key to her mission.

Terra peered into Viola's open chest cavity, her eyes drawn to the delicate silver and glass ring wrapped around the pulsing aorta. Wireless signals controlling access to Viola's precious research data.

Viola's eyes fluttered open, disoriented, as she registered the searing pain in her chest and the assassin looming over her. "Wh-what... are you doing... to me?" she croaked weakly.

Terra ignored her, reaching a hand into Viola's chest. She wrapped her fingers around the scientist's exposed heart and began to squeeze it rhythmically, feeling the muscle contract and relax in her palm. Viola let out a strangled cry, her body arching against the women holding her.

"Sarah, you checking the terminal?" Terra said, ignoring this woman whose life she manipulated.   “Yes ma’am” the woman replied.

Never taking her eyes off her work, her hand contracted around the delicate organ. She applied more pressure, quickening the tempo, and felt a thrill as Viola's heart immediately matched the cadence she set.

Viola could only writhe helplessly as the horrible realization of what was happening crashed over her. Terra was hijacking control of her heart, overriding its natural rhythm, bending it to her will with cruel efficiency.

Terra's touch was deceptively gentle, almost tender, a stark contrast to the ruthless way she opened viola’s chest. Each squeeze sent waves of agony radiating through Viola's body, yet the woman kept her conscious. she was powerless to resist as the assassin methodically massaged the heart's quivering ventricles between her fingers, making their frantic pulsing slowly subside.

"P-please..." Viola whimpered. "You're...killing me..."

"Shhh, not yet," Terra said ominously.

Viola let out a strangled gasp as the light skinned woman above breathed into her, then covered her mouth again done with her words.

Terra tightened her grip, stilling the organ before releasing it and stirring it with a gentle shake. Viola’s heart responded with hard and confused beating, yet it was slower than before. Viola could only sob breathlessly, knowing her body was nothing more than a key for some vile henchwoman.

Terra ignored her pitiful expression, focused solely on her task. She needed to regulate Viola's heartbeat, to slow it down to the precise cadence required to trick the biometric security. The assassin continued rhythmically compressing the delicate organ, subduing its natural impulses to unlock the sensors.

Each squeeze was measured and precise, applying just the right pressure to override its natural cadence without causing damage to the precious access key that was Viola’s life. The cardiac muscle was surprisingly dense and meaty in her grasp. She sensed its primal urge to keep frantically pumping, but her technique was working - the spasms were spacing out, growing fainter.

"Shhhh, that's it," Terra whispered soothingly, as if the heart could hear her. "Nice and easy does it."

Viola's head lolled to the side, barely conscious. She was utterly in Terra's thrall, her life itself yoked to the assassin's whims. There - the heart had stabilized into docility, its wild fluctuations tamed. Terra slowly released her rhythmic compressions. She watched hawkishly for any signs of relapse, but the muscle obediently maintained its new pacified pattern.

Terra allowed herself a relieved smile. The biometrics were tricked.

The woman at Viola’s desk began typing and clicking, the sound letting both of them know that the mission was successful. The doctor could only whimper in defeat, despite the adrenaline still surging through her veins, her heart remained well controlled.

Even in this state, a disappointment filled her vacant eyes as the woman yelled “Success” with a cutesy jump.

Terra rose, her task complete, leaving Viola's chest cavity gaping open and vulnerable. She gestured to the pale woman pinning Viola down. "She's all yours now."

The four women took their fill. Cold, eager fingers plunged into Viola's exposed chest with a perverse curiosity. They seized her defenseless heart, fondling and squeezing the slick, throbbing muscle. Viola felt their cruel hands violating her very core, probing her most intimate depths.

The woman periodically breathed into Viola's mouth, forcing stale air into her lungs to maintain a flicker of consciousness, prolonging the obscene torment. Viola's mind reeled, silently screaming, as they continued to grope and molest her beating heart which they allowed to serve her only so much.

After waiting impatiently, the lead hacker knelt beside Viola. With a few sharp slaps, she pummeled Viola's straining heart, pounding it into submission until the abused organ shuddered and stilled under her ruthless battery. As darkness consumed her, Viola's last sensation was the woman's satisfied smirk burning into her fading vision.

[pro-depresanti]

I tried to draw them, I realized I don't know how to draw children, so:

The fankids for the ships I like

affectionately dubbed "Hell's Greatest Kids Gang"

Venera (variation of Venus, goddess of love, beauty and war; venus flytrap), daughter of Alastor and Valentino:

deer ears, neck fluff, Val's skin color, four arms, wavy dark red hair

acidic saliva that dissolves anything organic after long exposure, has Alastor's magic

wears lots of dresses with huge skirts and a ton of colorful hairpins, some made by Viola

besties with Velvette, aunt-niece relationship, Velvette does her hair and teaches her fashion design

biggest attitude an 8 years old can have, will bite and kick with little provocation, doesn't take anyone's opinion or advice, her dads are very proud she's building character from early on

on the introverted side, if she decides she doesn't like someone that's final

Valentino spoils her rotten, Alastor is the only one able to tell her no

every single worker is told to not let her anywhere near Val's workplace on the penalty of slow and painful death (applies to all kids(the V-Tower is the designated hangout spot))

enjoys every sort of craft she can get her hands on – embroidery, taxidermy, miniatures, knitting (takes a week tops to get bored and move on to the next thing)

best friends with Bella, pretends to be annoyed at her but they both know it's not serious

Viola (variation of Violet (the flower)), daughter of Vox and Alastor:

TV antennas, blueish skin, Vox's eyes, deer tail and hooves, curly dark blue hair that's usually in pigtails or an elaborated braided style made by Velvette or Rosie

can hypnotize people for short period of time, can breathe underwater (loves swimming with Vox's sharks, one tried to eat her once and she bit it instead, since then they respect her)

cottagecore style with a mix of steampunk, doesn't take off her goggles, makes her own jewelry and accessories of junk laying around (and they look damn good), has an apron that's always stained

bookworm, quiet, shy, 99% of the time she's doing her own thing and prefers being alone

massive appetite, snacks constantly, loves tea

very interested in medieval torture methods, designs and constructs her own torture devices and her dads are happy to bring in test subjects for her

very good at chess, can beat pretty much anyone that isn't very into it, plays a lot with Kai

Rosie is her designated grand aunt, teaches her to be a proper lady, aka table manners and how to skin a body without getting blood all over her clothes

the other kids try to recruit her for mischief, if she actually agrees to participate it will get ugly and messy

rarely gets angry, but when she does it's game over, even her dads are a tiny bit scared of her

Vortex (whirling mass of air), son of Vox and Valentino:

tv head, 4 arms, gray purpleish skin, shark tail

can teleport through tech, him and Vox play tag and hide and seek any chance they get

wears denim overalls that never stay clean for more than 10 seconds, Viola makes him junk jewelry and he ADORES them because they jingle when he runs

I AM SPEED

hyperactive, do NOT give him sugar, always talking, always running around, always looking to destroy something, practically bounces off the walls

Ipad kid, needs to be entertained constantly

his dads keep him away from their work, but he's still interested in movie production and editing, Vox and Val make mock raw footage appropriate for his age so he can edit it, is VERY good at it

if a mischief plan is complex enough, he'll hack into the camera and audio feat to hide the evidence

pesters Matteo a lot because he listens to his endless ramblings

besties with Oberon because they're both always up for chaos

Bella (Latin origin, beautiful), daughter of Angel and Valentino:

moth wings, spider eyes, antennas, 6 arms, light pink skin, white hair

really flexible, joints practically can do 360

always happy, always smiling, basically a younger version of Charlie, very polite, a bit introverted, doesn't cause trouble, gives hugs likes there's no tomorrow

mismatching style, anything from flowy skirts to tshirts and jeans, usually pink or any pastel colors

loves to make mud pies and potions, steals Angel's makeup and is good at doing it for her age

Husk treats her as his own child

Angel teaches her to dance, they choreograph whole shows for Husk and Charlie, sometimes Niffty watches the shows too

Charlie ADORES her, styles her hair every chance she gets

Angel tries to hide her existence from Valentino, Val 'kidnaps' her when she is 3 (as soon as he finds out about her), Angel and the Hotel crew (Alastor included) barge into V-Tower, only to find Val, Velvette, Bella, Viola and Venera having a tea party (Alastor obviously knew lol, didn't say shit), Bella is attached at this point, regular visits are negotiated, Valentino is flabbergasted they would think he would harm a child and ends up toning down his act a bit from then on (cue to Alastor vouching for Val and the shock that follows)

has a lot of conflicting feelings about Valentino since Angel hates him so much, which leads to a lot of daddy issues

hangs out a lot with Venera, they put on fashion shows for the other kids and their parents (Velvette hates kids but would adopt them both)

Matteo (Italian, gift of god) son of Husk and Angel

carbon copy of Husk but with 6 arms and Angel's eyes

always bored, constantly pesters KeyKey and Fat Nuggets, will adopt any street animal in a 5 mile radius

is forbidden from going anywhere near the hotel bar simply because he'll break everything, loves shiny things

likes leather jackets since he could pick his own clothes

Angel teaches him to shoot guns, Husk teaches him how to fight

has an immaculate poker face and learns card games and tricks fast, Husk is very very proud

very extroverted when he likes the person, quick learner, natural leader, will probably grow up to be an Overlord, him and Kai are the voice of reason for the other kids

steals knickknacks for the sake of it, has a whole collection (unrelated, Viola is always confused where her creations go)

been warned about Alastor a million times, but Alastor likes him quite a lot, Matteo doesn't understand why Husk wants him to stay away

very good listener, always up to hear what Vortex is up to

Kai (protector), son of Vaggie and Charlie:

glowing feathery wings that aren't retractable, blond hair, purplish light gray skin, Vaggie's eyes

can sing like an angel (literally) and can hypnotize people with it

wears simple and muted colored clothes, lots of sweaters and loose pants

always grumpy, always annoyed, hates the world, holds grudges for life

Charlie babies him a lot and he despises it, Vaggie tries to play the middleman between them

Lucifer adores him, can't put him down because what do you mean he's a grandpa now?!?!?

prefers to read and draw, rarely left in peace to do so

refuses to sing for any reason, hates sticking out so much since he's basically 3/4 angel and 1/4 human and sticks out in Hell, very introverted

doesn't like hanging out with the other kids, but always does to make sure they're okay

Charlie is constantly worried for him

can fight, Vaggie made sure of it

whenever he hangs out with the kids in the V-Tower (those 7 are basically the only kids in Pride and are around the same age, there aren't many options), Valentino gives him art lessons, Kai has asked many times jokingly for Val to adopt him, Val is basically his designated cool uncle

Oberon (from the ballet The Dream), son of Carmilla and Zestial:

dark skin, looks like a scarecrow, VERY tall

loves attention but doesn't get it from his parents, a never ending "it's not a phase" phase

insanely quick reflexes

sees his father once in a blue moon, has a ton of daddy issues, hates how Carmilla, Odette and Clara treat him like a child (he IS a child)

very sheltered (it backfired badly), sneaks out a lot, instigator for bad ideas, practically lives in the V-Tower

started pestering Velvette out of spite because his mother hates her, Velvette makes him clothes out of spite because she hates his mother, they get along nicely

him and Vortex are attached at the hip

master of all weaponry, designs guns that he and Viola end up assembling and give to Matteo to distribute (Carmilla has no idea who the fuck else is making and selling angelic weapons because those are NOT hers)

[lorethebookworm]

One of the many things that make me insane about the chaos walking books are the parallels between the characters. I could talk about them for DAYS. Viola and Mistress Coyle. Todd and Mayor Prentiss. Mayor Prentiss and Mistress Coyle. Davy and Todd. The return and Todd. Ben and Mayor Prentiss. The Sky and the Return. The Sky and the Return and the Mayor and Todd and so on and so forth until you combust.

Some of these specifically keep me up at night. The Sky telling the Return "you have no father, I have no son , we should totally be a found family" and the mayor constantly telling Todd that he's proud of him , that they are connected, forcing this bond between them , forcing him into the role of his son while the Sky asks, the mayor creating this test where to become part of the men of Pressintown you have to kill someone while the Sky's test is not to kill, to be able to show mercy, let go of anger to join the Land. Either way both Todd and The Return find themselves unable to kill, they are both angry and broken and Todd does hate Aaron and seek vengence just like The Return hates Todd but in the end they can't kill. but then there's Todd killing a spackle with a knife and The Return unable to stab Ben but he kinda kills Todd with a rifle while Todd purposefully doesn't shoot any spackle with his rifle during the first fight of the war And and and both the mayor and the sky die but while the Sky's memory is treasured and the Return is proud to follow in his footsteps Todd will never become like the Mayor ( who is only remembered as a horror story I hope )

There's so many characters mirroring each other it's insaneeee like mistress coyle and the mayor who both believe they are so high and mighty and so different but when it comes down to it they are both deranged fucking people obsessed with control. They go about it in different ways , one a murderer and the other a terrorist, they make sides and they fight and he poisons people and she's a healer but when it comes down to it she almost blows viola up with a bomb while the mayor saves Todd's life countless times. They are so obsessed with power and control that when they see it getting permanently out of their reach they kill themselves. She , "the martyr", "the voice of the people", goes out with a bomb while him "the president of the world", "the general", tries to leave behind countless deaths in a war he designed to have no winners. THEY ARE FUCKING INSANE YOUR HONOR "(if she wins) you'd be swapping one tyrant for another" YEAH WE NOTICED and and and do you see how they're unstoppable forces ?? The only reason they are defeated is because they defeat themselves!! No one else in the whole new world could have stopped them otherwise!!! AND did you guys notice how they were such better people in the past?? Mistress Coyle helping the protagonists of The wide open sea and Todd's mom describing the Mayor as a good man at the beginning of her journal??? But then power got to them , the need for control made them such horrible people

hello??*reaches through the screen to shake you* CAN YOU HEAR ME ?? Am I onto nothing???

[asharkapologist]

I NEED Diego Del lobo headcannons, I beg of you, I need this man so badly I’m going to explode 🙏🙏

Of course! Tagging you as well @astra-galaxie because you also requested him!

I'll also tag you, @katrinahood because I know you really like Diego, just in case you wanted to see these too~

MAJOR spoilers for Mysteries of the Past, as well as a small TW for a brief mention of abuse.

Out of all of the lab analyses he did while in the Flying Squad, his favorite was handwriting analyses. He found it very rewarding and entertaining to dive in the mind of people based on their handwriting, and would sometimes collect handwriting samples from the evidence room in order to study the person who had written the sample.

Given the circumstances of him killing Charlie, he only served a short time in prison, but was definitely haunted by remorse, and what-ifs for decades afterwards.

He always thought it would be quite fun to start a business focused on men’s fashion if his career as an artist didn't pan out.

He served as a codebreaker during World War I, and was credited with saving the lives of many, many people.

He and Maddie never really spoke to each other again after the game ended. Both of them found it too painful to do so.

He doesn’t publicize this very much because he finds it slightly embarrassing, but he is VERY allergic to fur 😭he starts sneezing a lot if he’s near a cat or dog. This isn’t me throwing shade or anything lol, my family and I are allergic to cats.

He’s polylingual (able to speak multiple languages).

Before, after, and during his career in the Flying Squad, Diego forged documents for people trying to escape Concordia to leave abusive family, relationships, etc. they were trapped with/in.

He made quite a bit of money painting commissions for people, whether portraits of them, their family, pets, objects, landscapes, you name it. Definitely an artistic prodigy, even when he was young.

Extremely good at not just painting and drawing, but also sewing, mending, and coming up with clothing/costume ideas. He often helped Viola design, create, and fix costumes for her theatrical work. She was also one of his most frequent visitors when he was in prison.

Dr. Jones also made visits to various prisoners in addition to his work as an asylum doctor, and met Diego there. Diego was able to receive very much needed counseling and help thanks to Dr. Jones.

Sorry if these ended up being kinda angsty 😅😭thank you both for requesting him!

[mseirtaku]

Me watching travesty that was Kung Fu Panda 4.

Under 'read more', I have my full (unsolicited) thoughts on the fourth film - warning, I don't have much good to say about it 〔´∇｀〕;;

SPOILERS! + LONG ASS POST!

So... I'll start with the positives, because honestly, I do love aspects of this movie.

Any scenes featuring Li and Mr. Ping are the absolute highlights of this film. Love them, ship them, hilarious chemistry between them. I'd watch a whole film dedicated to just them.

Though not as funny as the previous films, it’s genuinely funny, like, some jokes are deadass hilarious. (See above for example lol)

Genuinely, the main villainess, the chameleon, has such a cool design and Viola Davis provides such a good voice for her. The animation whenever she transforms is so cool.

Jack Black as Po is just so charming, you can't help but find Po so likeable.

For what little we saw of Tai Lung, he was a treat to see.

Great animation, lovely scenery, love the little animation flairs during the action scenes

Alright, now time for the negatives... Which unfortunately there is a lot of. I’ll go step by step and build up to the bigger picture I’m trying to visualise here.

The Kung Fu Panda

Po’s character arc was pretty much complete at the end of KFP3, when he has his epiphany and finds that his true self lies in not restricting himself to one label, but by embracing everything that makes him Po. His identity by this point is very well realised. Unfortunately in KFP4, the tacked on conflict of him needing to retire the Dragon Warrior title and choose a successor just… Doesn’t make sense for his character at this point. Not to mention, the movie repeats a joke ad nauseam where no one knows who Po is, or of his adventures, jokingly chalking it down to a ‘regional’ tale. You’d think the literal saviour of China would be well known. The world-building feels so much smaller for it. Unfortunately, this movie is very determined to undermine the impact of the last three movies, all to prop up the wisecracking and super cool shitass Awkafina character. Sorry, not sorry, but Zhen is a terrible character just for that reason alone. If Kung Fu Panda wanted to pass the torch down, Tigress or even Tai Lung would have been a much more compelling option, seeing as both were telegraphed to be potential Dragon Warriors in the past. Speaking of…

Tai Lung

Man… The trailers got my hopes up that KFP4 would feature a long awaited redemption arc for the OG villain of the KFP films. Instead, he’s delegated to a cage for half his scenes, and received the barest minimum of character arcs in the finale. Granted, he was still entertaining to watch, but he was totally under-utilised.

To continue the topic of identity, the film missed the chance to ask this: “Who is Tai Lung without his kung fu?” All his life he’d been raised with huge aspirations to become the best kung fu master, and to eventually gain the dragon scroll (which he was denied.) In KFP4, the chameleon summons him from the spirit realm, and drains him of all his kung fu skill. Therein lies the missed opportunity for a compelling character arc, now that he’s been cast out as a supposedly useless body into the real world. And who better to help him figure out his identity other than Po himself?

I could go on forever about the various fanficy rewrites and plot ideas, but I don’t want to let this get any longer. So I’ll talk about one more topic.

The Chameleon

I love her design, I love her voice acting, but compared to Tai Lung, Lord Shen and even General Kai… She’s simply a weak villain. (Too small to learn kung fu… Really?? With characters like Mantis and Viper who deadass exist in the same franchise???)

‘I’m the Chameleon! I do nothing but change!’ holds such potential for a far more interesting backstory. Instead of being rejected for her size, suppose that it was seen by many king fu masters that she simply didn’t possess a true spirit of a kung fu warrior. As explained in this film, their abilities are harnessed in the spirit/soul, not just the physical body. Perhaps she didn’t want to work for those abilities properly. She wanted the easy way forwards. She didn’t want to put in the proper time and effort to become a master of the craft. Spurred on by what she sees as rejection, she learns sorcery to take on any number of identities of kung fu masters. So many identities she could use to fool herself into believing she was someone talented and gifted in the art of kung fu. But it’s only a lie she tells herself. And so, she takes the drastic action, and decides to start summoning these masters from the spirit realm. But even as she slowly grows in power through the course of this film, maybe a strong sense of imposter syndrome starts to set in. These powers aren’t truly hers - what value does a carbon copy of something original have? Nothing. She never properly worked for them and made them her own.

Anyways. I’m almost done writing.

Quick fire round of criticism;

Akwafina’s shitass character

Furious five just tossed aside except for a non speaking cameo. Tigress got done so dirty - if there are gonna be like three more films, they should have been about her

WHAT DID THEY DO TO LORD SHEN’S CHARACTER MODEL

The goofy-ass way he was attacked and then thrown into the cage, the disrespect lol

Li (the victim) and Lord Shen (the genocidal maniac who destroyed his village and killed his wife) somehow existed in the same space and did not get into a conflict.

Why does Kai still exist in the spirit realm? I thought he was literally skadooshed to be extra double dead lol. Like spirit literally eradicated

Akwafina’s shitass character

The villains bowing to Po feels super unearned given how under-utilised they were. I can see it working, just not in the plot we got in the end

Po’s character feels weirdly dumbed down, it’s hard to put my finger on it

Fart joke :(

The innocent and cute but secretly psycho baby bunnies are the definition of anti humour. They’re so fucking obnoxious and cringey

For some reason, the character designs of new characters feels super incongruous and out of place.

The Dragon Warrior isn’t an inherited title, it was given during a time where China needed a hero. Why does it need to be passed down?

Ȁ̸̺͚̮̘̔̌̇̋͛̀́́̒̉̅̐ķ̶̲͍̘̖͈̭̮̝̩͐̃̎̕w̴̙̖̫̿̿͜a̸̧̠͎̰̲̠̮͇̰̼̱͂̋̃̇̑̍̊̂̎̾̓͝f̶̛̼͓̱͖̖̭͓͍͚͋͛̍ḯ̶͕̈́͛̀̎̆͛n̶͖͓̻̉̆̎́͆̌͌͂̾̉̚a̷̡̻̟̟͍̳̙̰͔̬̜̐̏̾̍̊̎́͂͊͝’̷̢̢̭̬̹̪̟̰̣́̈́̌̈̑̄̔͗̓̃̄̐s̶̡̹̙̖̲̝͎̳͔̍͑́ ̷̢̤̈͊͛̚s̸͓̪̠̼̪̤͈̜̎ȟ̵͇̥͈̟͖͈̣̞͚̘̩͍̓̅̀͐͗͛̏̉̀̒͘͜i̸̛̦͕̖̙̲͔̗̙̘̥̣̰̖͖̭̓̄͂̋́̍̓̃͘t̴̯̯̔̑̈̽̇̋̈́͌͛á̴̡͍͓͎͍͈̖͖͎̼̀́̅̿͌̂̌̆͠s̷̢̳̙̦̯̥̮͕͍̃̃͑̂̎̑̍̀͒̊͘̚͝͠͠s̴̪͖̼͈͂̏̚ͅ ̶͕̺̟̙̲͓̘̟̠͇̩̖̠̦̫̄̅̋̓̈́̓̆͋͝͝c̴͕̤̮̎̿̎͐̀̐̊̆̓̍̾̈́͠h̵̛̝̑̋̎̃̈́̆͋͒̅͊́͑͠͝a̷̡̹͍̳̘̪̰̰̤̼̎̄̈́̚ͅŗ̷̝̲͚̻͚̮͕̳̙̭̻̄͆̇̐̄̐͂͘a̴̡̢̯̩͓͓͂̄͑͗́́͂͠͠c̸̨̺̖̪̙͖̯̟̠͙͐́͊̾̅̎̏͠͝t̸̛̗̣̳̠̯͎̫͔̣̱̞̂̅͑̀̈̄͋̈́̆͘͝e̸̢͎͙̻̩̦̹̜̩̦̖̫͍͂́̌ͅr̵̨̄̅͐̍̏̅̀̃́̇̇̅̕͝

That’s all I have really. Sorry for straying so much into fanfiction territory, but it’s an integral part of my criticisms. I could honestly write forever, but I mainly wanted to share this silly redraw of the Tai Lung meme using Lobster and I’s silly Kung Fu Panda Hetalia gijinka crossover AU nonsense lol

If you read this all the way to the end, congrats! And sorry - I never do long text posts like this lol

[wynought]

The Horror in Burrow's End

I have been having Thoughts (TM) about the horror aspect of Burrow's End for a while now, and I think I can put at least some of those Thoughts (TM) into words now. Spoilers for Burrow's End (up to, and including episode 8) and Neverafter below.

Many people have pointed out that Burrow's End has been more horrifying (or at least felt more horrifying) than Neverafter, Dimension 20's proclaimed Horror Season. There has been a lot of terrifying body horror and gruesome gore, and with the latest episode (episode 8, as of writing this) we've also seemingly risen to another level with the absolutely stunning Wenabocker tapes (kudos again to Carlos Luna, the acting and sound design were legitimately masterful).

But we've also had that with Neverafter; the opening scene with Rosamund waking up is a perfect example of body horror, the Stepmother is an advanced lesson in eldritch horror, there are powerful and unknowable antagonists all throughout the Neverafter. So why is it that so many (if not all of us) feel that Burrow's End is so much scarier than Neverafter? I think there's a multitude of factors at play here.

Of course, we have the difference in the cast - the Intrepid Heroes are a well-oiled machine of tight comedy at this point, they know each other, their strengths, their comedic timing, they know what they can get away with in terms of shenanigans. The Stupendous Stoats are all incredible performers and have obviously worked together before in various constellations. However, they don't have an Established Dynamic in the way the Intrepid Heroes do. It is also the first time that Aabria is DMing a full-on D&D game in the dome, with battlesets and minis, and everything that entails, and she has said herself that she usually does theatre of the mind - there's a good possibility she wasn't even aware herself, how exactly this would influence her own style and the atmosphere she would create. All of this contributes to a vastly different feel of Burrow's End compared to Neverafter.

Additionally, both players and their characters in Neverafter were genre savvy, as was the audience. Neverafter was marketed as a horror season. We knew the tone going in, the Intrepid Heroes knew it going in, their characters were conceived as being horror versions of commonly known fairy tale characters. The marketing for Burrow's End was different; sure, we all immediately made the connection to Watership Down and The Secret of NIMH, and those aren't exactly known for their easy and happy themes, but I don't think any of us from the audience, or even the players were expecting the bear. This also ties into the player characters themselves. The Intrepid Heroes' characters didn't know each other beforehand; they grow together and they have/develop familial vibes, but they aren't family with all the added baggage that entails. Rosamund and Gerard may be cousins, but they're 100 years apart in age and have never met before. Pib and Pinocchio are successfully running scams together and do care for each other, but they don't quite have that long-time sibling dynamic. Mother Goose and Ylfa are arguably the closest to each other before the events of Neverafter, with Goose taking on a parental role, but they are stuck in their own recent traumas and seem to have gravitated towards each other more out of the need to fill the respective holes in their lives than out of a genuine, pre-established bond. Destiny's Children do grow and go on to become important people in each others' lives, but there's a difference between bonds forged by danger and choice, and bonds forced by necessity. The Stupendous Stoats were conceived as a family. Viola is Ava's daughter, and also Tula's sister, and also Thorn's wife, and also the kids' aunt, and also the co-leader of a cult. She has so many roles to fulfill already that 'horror protagonist' isn't even on anybody's list, least of all her own - and that goes for all the player characters. Their established dynamics mean that, for a bit, they don't, no they can't even realise what kind of story they are in. Thorn is living in a story where he is the tragic hero destined to save his people, Tula lives in a story about grief and loss and acceptance, Viola lives in a story of political intrigue, the kids live in a YA adventure novel a la Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Ava lives in Encanto (but don't tell her, she'd hate that). Then they encounter the bear and there's a slight record scratch, but, after having dealt with that mess, they go right back to their established roles. They react to the horror in a very, for lack of a better word, human way, they treat it as incidental to the reality they live in. They feel like a real family, slowly finding out just how scary their world truly is. The horror's impact on their lives is very different from the way Neverafter impacted the protagonists. We get to see the stoats' realisation that they're horror protagonists, but Destiny's Children had already gotten that message by the time they come together.

Another huge factor is the season length. Neverafter ran for 20 episodes, while Burrow's End is half as long. A lot of horror hinges on the audience and the protagonists being unaware of how exactly the antagonist/monster/spooky thing works. The audience usually knows on some level that there have to be some rules the horror has to abide by, the protagonists may or may not; but especially in something like an actual play TTRPG show there have to be some rules because this is a game, after all, and it would be incredibly unfun for the players, the DM, and the audience to have a fully unsolvable mystery. The problem with this is that the actual terror goes away once the rules are solved - sure, you can still do gore and disturbing stuff, and you can scare the protagonists, but your audience will expect an action-based story now, instead of a reaction-based story (e.g. the protagonist figures out that a silver bullet can hurt the werewolf, so now the audience expects them to stop running and make/find silver bullets in order to protect themselves, and either succeed in killing the monster or die trying). The longer your story is, the harder it is to keep up this level of suspense. You will either start to tread ground and the story will begin to feel stale, or you will reveal too much too early and lose that sweet sweet terror of the unknown. I think Neverafter was too long for an effective horror season; I don't think it is bad how many episodes we got, I enjoyed every single one of them. But I do believe that much of the horror aspect was lost around the halfway point - one of the worst things to happen to a D&D party, the TPK, happened in episode 2 and was "solved" (in the sense I talked about above) in episode 3. The Lines Between and the Authors were introduced in episode 8. The world's rules were established by then, and the Intrepid Heroes could start acting on them. Of course, there were still scary elements (the fact that Death itself had been imprisoned and was being tortured, the undead Dwarven army, Rapunzel's trickery and unsettling personality, etc. etc.), but to me this felt more like a very dark fantasy story, instead of a tale of horror. Burrow's End is so much shorter than Neverafter, and I think this works to its advantage as a horror story. The protagonist stoats' limited perspective on what is going on in the Blue Forest, in Last Bast, with the Blue in general, their general lack of knowledge on all things human make for so many different vectors of horror, and the abundance of mysteries means that even after 8 episodes there are still aspects of the world we are unaware of.

This neatly brings me to my last point: There is a unique dynamic at play in Burrow's End that contributes a lot to the uncanniness of the story. Namely, that the protagonists are stoats with no/minimal knowledge of humanity, while the players and the audience know so much more than the protagonists. TTRPGs oftentimes make it hard not to metagame, not to let your prior knowledge influence your character's decisions, and Burrow's End takes this to an extreme level. There is a difference between the "my husband was killed by the thunder on a cloudless day" kind of horror, and the "this stoat was shot by a gun, but his body wasn't collected immediately, meaning that probably wasn't a hunter, so why are people shooting stoats?" kind of horror; a difference between "humans are faceless monsters with hairless, yellow, smooth skin" kind of horror, and the "that's a person in a hazmat suit, why are they wearing hazmat suits?" kind of horror. The beauty of this is that we as the audience (and also the players, because the fun thing about TTRPGs is that you can be both audience and protagonist at the same time) get to experience double the horror. We can feel for the protagonists and their struggles in this dangerous, deadly world, where everything seems out to get them, and we get to understand things that they don't or even can't grasp. We get to put the clues together, painting by numbers in the negative space left by the stoats' explanations, while still reeling from trying to understand why the world works the way it does. We can piece the kind of environmental disaster together that caused the Blue, while being surprised by a horde of carnivorous chipmunks piloting a dying bear. We get to feel twice as afraid of this world by virtue of hearing the words "loss of coolant accident in reactor charlie" spoken by a human, but understood by stoats, and understanding what those words imply.

All in all, I am very happy with Burrow's End. I have previously stated that as a horror fan I was disappointed by Neverafter; I did enjoy it a lot, but it just didn't scratch that itch (not trying to badmouth Neverafter here, just stating my personal experience). Burrow's End is more than making up for that, especially since I didn't expect it going in. I am extremely impressed by Aabria's ability to first create, and then hand us the tools to unravel a mystery on this scale where every new piece of information makes the whole picture seem more terrifying, and her nerves of steel to not reveal too much information, even this late in the game (reminds me a lot of how long it took to figure out everything about Kalina in Fantasy High Sophomore Year, to the point of only fully understanding her in the finale episodes, while she had been a mystery for almost all of the season). It takes a lot to not spill all your very cool lore as soon as you get the chance, and the organic way things have been revealed to the stoats and to us is really something else. I'm just really looking forward to episodes 9 and 10 of Burrow's End, and also all of Aabria's future projects with D20. Thank you @quiddie for this beautiful season, I'm enjoying myself so much!

[kp-ag]

Tonight is the Black Excellence Ball at the Elms Community Center, and the girls are here to celebrate! There was a photobooth as they walked in, and they each got a picture.

Olamide believes that fashion doesn't care about weather, and so even though it's 20 degrees out, she is rocking this bold dress that is technically better suited for summer.

Zahra is also pulling out a summer look, but is wisely pairing it with a shrug that will keep her warm all night long. It also suits her more modest approach. She doesn't arrive until after sunset, though, since she observes Shabbat.

Ariadne would really prefer not to come at all; it's loud and bright and a little overwhelming. But her mother pointed out that sometimes you need to practice your deduction skills under less-than-ideal circumstances, so here she is, with her trusty chatelaine.

Viola didn't have a good gown available, so she borrowed this dress from a friend. Next year she plans to have something a little more grand, but she still thinks she looks cute this year.

Carnes doesn't really like to dress up much, but she grudgingly pulled on this dress and paired it with a trusty pair of sneakers. She'll feel comfortable dancing all night long- and she's having a good pain day, so she plans to.

And Makena is here to steal the show in an outfit she designed, inspired by 1920s art and fashion. She represents the dawn of a new era and she feels proud to be at the Black Excellence Ball tonight.

[droughtofapathy]

I wasn't sure who to ask this question, but you seem like you'd know the answer:

Has any actor ever been nominated in 2 Tony categories in the same year? E.g. Best actress in a musical and a play. Seems unlikely because it would be very hard to do 2 shows in the same season unless they were very limited runs, but I was wondering if it's ever happened.

Oh, you came to the right person, anon. Yes, this has happened on a few occasions. Most notably with my beloved Jan Maxwell, who was nominated for both Lead and Featured Actress in a Play in 2010 for The Royal Family and Lend Me a Tenor, respectively. Both were limited run plays, the former being an MTC production in the fall, and the later a spring opening. And she lost both to famous people. I'm furious. (But I get Viola Davis winning for Fences).

This happened five other times. Most recently, Jeremy Pope was nominated for lead in a play (Choir Boy) and featured in a musical (Ain't Too Proud) in 2019. There was also another man who did this, Mark Rylance. Both were for plays, and I believe he won for leading actor in one of the Shakespeare revivals we've had in the last decade or so.

As for the other ladies, Amanda Plummer did it first in 1982. Both were plays, leading and featured, and she won for featured (Agnes of God). Incidentally, she is the only performer whose parents both won Tonys. She's the daughter of Christopher Plummer and Tammy Blanchard who each won twice. So. That's a good nepobaby right there. Kate Burton also had two nominations in one year in 2002. And Dana Ivey was the first actress to be nominated across play and musical categories in 1984, though she's famously never won any of her nominations. She (alongside Jan Maxwell, Estelle Parsons, Laura Linney, and some men) is the biggest Tony loser with five nominations and no wins.

There are creatives who are often nominated in the same year, and in the same category, though this is much more common. Last season had multiple such cases. Dede Ayite for Costume Design of a Play, David Zinn for Scenic Design, dots for Scenic Design. Possibly more, but that's just what I remember off the top of my head right now.

As of now, no performer has been nominated twice in the same category in the same year. If it ever happens, it will most likely be for plays.

Edit: David Zinn and Dede Ayite were actually nominated for three awards (across two categories) each last year. As was Justin Levine, but his work was all for creative development of The Outsiders while Zinn and Ayite worked on multiple projects.

[shirefantasies]

hiiii, just wanted to say i adore your blog, and i hope you're having a wonderful day! i don’t know if im late to requesting a matchup, but if you’re still doing them, im 5’9”, bi, ace and female. I’ve played the viola for almost a decade now, even though i hate performing due to stage fright, i LOVE to read, mostly fantasy and mystery, and am a massive art history and architecture nerd. i collect house plants and knit and crochet for fun. i’m pretty shy but once i get out of my shell i am extremely sarcastic yet cuddly lol.

-🪴

Nope, they’ve been opened up! Hope you like The Hobbit because I match you with…

Bofur!

Performing your viola in a tavern, you can’t help noticing the eyes of one particular patron stuck to you like glue. Puffing on his pipe thoughtfully, he maintains an intense, beckoning gaze your entire performance. When the keep tells you you’ve a drink from a guest, there’s not a single doubt in your mind it’s from the bloke in the hat. A spike of nerves runs through you- that had been one of your first performances with an audience, and having any sort of reception only heightens the self-awareness you're trying to avoid.

Accepting your drink, you nod a thanks at the hatted patron, who naturally heads your way. "Never seen you here before," he remarks. "And you may not much still," you shoot back, "I needed a spare bit of coin, but I did not visit this town to perform." "What did you visit it for?" "To study some of the neighboring towns and help repair them. What I have always really wanted to be is an architect." Whistling, the dwarf gives a big smile, one that tells you exactly how blown away he is. "By my beard, I didn't know I was in the presence of a genius. Well, here's hoping I'll see your designs one day!" "Oh, I have some with me, did you want to-" "Bust 'em out, lassie!"

Bofur, as it turns out his name is, ended up being quite the fun company. Perhaps, you consider, you will return to that tavern after all. As it is, your work carries you deeper into town, or rather you should say its ruins. Burnt as the buildings are, though, your scans and sketches give you a good sense for the overall style and structure of the place once called Dale. A team of dwarves awaits your sketches of one of the larger complexes, accepts them, and you move on. One structure stands out to you immediately, the cutest, coziest little place tucked away at the side of a dilapidated marketplace. "Whose is this?" You ask the dwarf builders. One sets aside one final stone on the cart he is loading to reply, "That would be one of ours, actually, lass. Three fellas from the Lonely Mountain bought that one. Plan on putting in a toy shop, they said." Your heart is beyond moved. "I want to design it." "What?" "I want to design it. Can I speak to them?" Nodding, the dwarf shrugs. "Why not? Not sure what they have in mind. I'll send for them."

What are the odds that they bring forth Bofur? Grinning and still in that hat, the dwarf introduces you to his cousin Bifur and his brother Bombur. No strong family resemblance, but the three of them are clearly thick as thieves. Bofur himself begins talking up your skills immediately, calling you a master architect and a viola virtuoso to boot and making you giggle. He shows you some of their little pull-alongs and wind-ups, bringing further smiles to your face and compliments to your lips. “See?” He says to the others, shooting you a wink. “She’s even got good taste.”

They all unanimously love your vision for the shop and even help out with rebuilding, so you get quite close to the entire plucky little trio. You almost refuse all the payment they offer, giving you money for your design efforts as well as a cut from the crocheted dolls you’d let them sell. Your shelves were getting full from your hobby, after all. Each dwarf gets a handmade gift as well: thick, warm gloves for Bombur’s mining trips, a bag for Bifur to carry his supplies in, and a new scarf for Bofur, who throws his arms around you and swears he’ll never take it off. You take it as a joke, but he always seems to have it slung around his neck from then on…

They often let you work quietly, take your time to recharge and just pull you into the occasional question or joke. Thus, you’re certainly not expecting Bofur to sit at your side one day while you work, hemming and hawing and wringing his gloved hands before he finally asks if you’ve ever put much thought into settling down. “Not that a toy shop is all that much excitement, but-” Grinning, you cut him off. “I thought you’d never ask.”

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***MATCHUPS ARE CLOSED***