#and he was just. yeah this is realistically how this would go

[not-a-space-alien]

Tinytopia Chapter 9: Bloodthirst (Part 1)

Story Masterpost

On AO3

Thanks to my beta/sensitivity reader @appelsiinilight and my bonus beta reader for the next two chapters, @whumpsday!

In this chapter: Thistle indulges in getting cozy, but finds the house disturbed by yet another new arrival.

With respect to @whumpsday, the og of hungry vampire sadbois, and @entomolog-t, the og of tiny vampires.

***

There were now enough pixies for a pixie pile.

Thistle was ecstatic.  He’d grown up sleeping in a pixie pile, and he’d missed it, longed for it, ached for it ever since his separation from his family.

Sleeping on top of Moon was nice enough, but he wasn’t a pixie.  And with Marigold here, there were two pixies.  Not enough for a pile.

But Jax had a pixie incarnation now.  There were three pixies, which met the minimum number needed to be a proper pile.

Moon would be included, of course, even if he wasn’t a pixie.  The pile would simply go on top of him.

Thistle made sure everyone had a nice, soft pair of pajamas.  Enough thick, fuzzy socks.  Enough blankets and soft pads to sleep on.  Hot, sweet drinks to sip in the evening before falling asleep.

Oh, yeah.  This was going to be perfect.

Thistle cleared enough space in his wooden castle–for once, he was worried he might not have enough room in there for something.  He arranged everything just right, plumping pillows and layering blankets and smoothing out sheets.  He wove small animals out of plant fiber–such toys weren’t out of place in pixie nests, quite similar to humans’ stuffed animals.  They didn’t usually make them bears or cats or dogs, though–pixies had a completely different array of animals that were culturally important.  

Thistle remembered his Mother’s Mother’s hive having a nest of ants in the bottom of the structure, tended to like a herd–he couldn’t remember if they’d done anything besides occasionally eating the larvae.  It’d been such a long time ago that all he remembered was that they tasted quite good.  Before Thistle had left, Mother had been in the process of trying to make space in their tree for clusters of honeydew-producing aphids.  She’d also told Thistle that some hives knew how to rear moths or spiders for their silk, which Thistle had always longed to see, but she’d said moths were more complicated than aphids and spiders had a safety risk.

There had been that one time his older brother Oak had brought home a disfigured moth which would have died without help–its wing had gotten caught in its cocoon while trying to emerge, and now it was wrinkly, tiny, and useless for flying.  Mother let Oak keep the moth as a pet, even though it had no practical use.  It was fuzzy, nice to hold, and pretty to look at.  Oak had named it Cattail.

He lovingly traced the memories as he wove, imagining himself making a toy for Dewdrop.  Aunt Winter’s new baby, Dewdrop.  He wanted to meet Dewdrop so badly.  Thistle was really the only one in the hive good enough with his hands to make toys without using magic.  He would have been making all the toys for Dewdrop.  Had someone else been making them?  Was Dewdrop wanting for toys?

He suddenly realized he’d begun crying when a tear dripped down onto the moth doll he’d been making.  He slowly wiped his eyes on the back of his hand, then sniffled and straightened himself up.

There was no need to be sad.  He was going to have a pixie pile again.  Dewdrop was fine, and so was he.

He arranged a moth doll and an aphid doll so they were nicely on top of the covers, then stood back to examine his work.  I should sell those on Etsy, too.  Everyone would go wild for them.  He started writing the listing title mentally.  Miniature insect bug arthropod crochet doll lifelike fidget toy Micro realistic choose SET or INDIVIDUAL made to order.  He could sell one for $20 or a set of three for $50.  Yeah.  That would be good.

He walked out and pushed Marigold’s wheelchair to the entrance of his wooden house.  “Are you ready for bed, Marigold?”

He nodded.

Pixie-Jax flitted on the roof of the house, jumping down onto the ground.  “I am too!”

“Shh,” Thistle said.  “Speak quietly.  We’re supposed to be calming down now.”

Jax nodded, looking very serious in his oversized pajamas that swallowed his hands.

Moon arrived five minutes after the agreed upon time, as always.  He had an eye mask on his forehead and an extra pillow under his arm.  “I stayed up late so that I could be tired precisely for this slumber gathering,” Moon declared.  “Let us commence.”

“Okay,” Thistle said, trying not to get excited.  He was supposed to be calming down.  “Moon, you go in first, and then we’ll all get on top of you.”

Moon ducked to go into Thistle’s house.  “Good Heavens!  It’s a proper cornucopia of comfort in here.”

Thistle poked his head in and watched as Moon arranged himself, pulling the covers back.  Moon held his arms up.  “I’m ready for dogpiling, boys.  Have at me.”

“Okay, Jax next.”

Jax dashed into the wooden structure and snuggled up under Moon’s arm.  “Like this?”

“Yes, perfect.  Okay, now Marigold.”

Thistle lent Marigold a hand to stand up out of the wheelchair.  He supported him by the elbow to help him inside.  Marigold’s face twinged with pain as he went down into a kneeling position.

“You all right?”

“Yes–just a moment.”

He shifted to a position that apparently lessened his pain, then gingerly lay down under Moon’s other arm, head on the crook of his elbow.

That just left Thistle.  He crouched down and situated himself on top of Moon, so Moon’s chest fluff was his pillow.  “Everybody comfy?”

There was a round of assenting sounds.

Thistle reached down and pulled the blanket up, swathing them all, and turned off the light.  “Good night, everybody.”

“Thistle my boy, would you pull down my eye mask?  My hands are quite full.”

Thistle reached up and pulled the mask over Moon’s eyes.

“Perfect, thank you.”

“Good night.”

“Good night, Thistle.”

“Good night, Jax.”

“Good night, Thistle.”

“Good night, Marigold.”

No response.

“Marigold?”

“Good night, Thistle.”

“Good night, Marigold.”

“Good night, Jax.”

“Good night, Moon.”

“Is this really quite necessary?”

“You’re supposed to say good night.”

“...Good night, Jax.”

“Marigold?”

No response.

“Marigold, you didn’t say good night to anyone.”

“Good night Thistle, Jax, and Moon.  There.”

“Good night, Marigold.”

“Good night, Marigold.”

“Moon?  You didn’t say good night back to Marigold.”

“Good night, Marigold.  Are you quite satisfied now?  Have we somehow missed a possible permutation here?”

Thistle snuggled closer to Moon, and Jax copied his motion.  “No,” Thistle said contentedly.  “I think that’s everyone.  Thanks.  Good night.  I love you all.”

“I love you, Thistle.”

“I love you, Moon-”

“We are not doing all that again.  I would like to go to sleep sometime in the next twenty-four hours.”

Thistle tugged on the sleeve of Moon's silken pajamas.  “Just once?  Just one, Moon?  Please?”

Moon sighed.  “I love you, Thistle.”

Thistle happily flicked his ears and settled in.  It seemed like Marigold had already fallen asleep.

They dozed like that.  Thistle could hardly get sleepy with how happy he was.  It was so warm and fuzzy, and a soft glow of magic welled up inside him.  He just lay there enjoying it.

It was a while later, after he’d finally managed to fall asleep, that he woke up.  He wasn’t sure why.  But-

Oh.

Oooh.

Marcy’s necklace.

It was sitting on the table–Marcy had left it there today.  It was glowing.  It’d been soft white all night–but now it was bright yellow.

Yellow.  Yellow.  What had yellow meant?

Thistle disentangled himself from the pile and snuck over to the door, peeking his head out.  He didn’t see anybody.

“Hello?” he whispered.  “Is somebody there?”

There came a sound, then–a sort of tittering, accompanied by light flapping.  He turned his attention upwards and saw some small fuzzy creature way, way high up near the ceiling.  It frantically dashed into the room and smacked into the wall, then tumbled down.  When it finally stopped its erratic movements, Thistle saw it was a bat with tawny red fur.

No, not a bat–the real creature emerged from the form of the bat as soon as it touched the ground.  It was a fuzzy humanoid with protruding fangs and triangular ears.

The fish tank flipped open.  “Yo, Thistle!” Jewel shouted.  “Are you gonna wake anyone else up and tell them there’s a fucking vampire in the house or do I need to do it?”

“A vampire?” Thistle squeaked.  

“Gotta be.  I mean, just look at him.  Right?”

The new arrival flipped himself upright from where he’d fallen on the ground, still on all fours, ears pinned back against his head nervously.

“Thistle?” said Moon’s sleepy voice, and his head appeared out the door, eyes still half-closed.  “What are you shouting about?”  His eyes widened as he saw something was up.  “Oh?”

“It’s a vampire,” Thistle said.  He looked over.  “Right?’

“Well yes but, I’m not–I don’t want to hurt you,” the creature said.  His ears were still flat and his voice trembled, as though not entirely sure he would be believed.

Oh, he was speaking Pixish.  The language a predator would typically speak if their primary prey was Pixies.

“I’ll go get Marcy,” Thistle said.  He looked behind him and saw Marigold stirring in the bed, with Jax not far behind.  “...I’ll stay here with Marigold.  Moon, you go get Marcy?”

“Am I your messenger?”

“...Yes?”

“...All right.”  Moon drew himself out of the house and spread his wings, then took off upstairs.

The new arrival watched him with wide eyes.  Clearly he’d never seen one of Moon’s kind before.

“Thistle, who’s that?” Jax whispered.

“Just stay inside.  I’ll handle this.”  He gave a nervous wave to the creature.  “Hi.  I’m Thistle.”

“I’m Auburn,” he said.  Pixish actually had more words to describe colors than English, with Pixie’s sensitive eyes able to see more with minute differences. He wasn't sure if vampires could see the same way, but the word he gave as his name, Kasabrua, the closest translation of which was Auburn, actually referred to the very specific shade of red in the coat of a fox’s fur.  That was exactly the color his fur was, so it was fitting–it was basically the equivalent of calling him “Foxy” or “Vixen,” although Thistle knew those two words had…. connotations in English that they wouldn’t have in Pixish.

“Hi, Auburn.  It’s nice to meet you.  My friend Marcy is coming downstairs.  She’s a human.  Is that okay?”

Auburn hugged the wall, like he was afraid Thistle was going to attack him.  “Yes.  Yes, please, I’d like to meet her.”

Thistle and Auburn kept tense eye contact with each other as Moon came back down, followed by Marcy, still in her pajamas.  “Oh my gosh, hi!” she said with restrained enthusiasm.  She knelt down beside Thistle, who fluttered onto her lap.

Auburn kept his eyes on Marcy, body tense.  He was clearly terrified, but he made no motion to leave.

“He speaks Pixish,” Thistle said. 

“Hi,” Marcy said gently.  “I’m Marcy.”

“I’m Auburn.  You’re really big.”  He swallowed.  “Sorry, um… I'm not supposed to be seen, and I’ve never met a human before.  So, so it’s a little scary.”

“She is pretty big,” Thistle said.  “But she’s nice.  Do you want to tell us a little bit about yourself?

“Well, um…  I heard that all kinds of creatures live here together in peace, even predators.  So, so I’m interested in.  That.”  He flattened himself against the ground, as though to disappear.  “If that’s okay.”

“Of course that’s okay,” Marcy said.  “Where did you hear it?  Who?”

“A, um.  A tree creature told me.  A dryad.”

Marcy and Thistle looked at each other.

“Could it be the same dryad that told Jax?”  Thistle poked his head into the house.  “Jax?”

Jax crawled forward, just peeking out.  “The dryad that told me was a big tree.”

Auburn shook his head.  “The dryad that told me was a holly bush.”

Okay, they were definitely going to have to coerce Trilloras to come out and answer questions.  They’d already tried every combination of begging, coaxing, and threatening they could think of to get her to come out, yet her sapling remained totally inert.  They were starting to think that maybe she was asleep or unconscious and couldn’t hear them.

“It sounds like they’re different dryads,” Marcy said.  “But that’s okay.  We don’t have to talk about them.  Let’s talk about you.”

Auburn nodded nervously.  “Right, right.  Um.  I just want to live in peace.  So, so if this is a place where I can do that.  Then I want to stay here.  If that’s okay.”

“Sure!” Thistle said brightly, absolutely delighted.  “Sure, we’ll figure out a way you can live here.”

Auburn drew forward slightly.  “Real, really?  Um, mostly I was worried about…where I would hunt.  Um, since–if–it seems like everyone here–”

“We can figure that out,” Thistle said.  “We have a trick.”

“Can we talk about it in the morning?” Moon said.  “I’m not ready to be awake yet.”

“Right!” Auburn squeaked.  “Sorry, sorry for interrupting.  Um, you can, you can go back to sleep.”

Marcy looked from Auburn to Thistle, then sat on the couch.  “I’ll stay down here.”

“Okay,” Auburn said bashfully.  “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.  It’s just to watch things.  You’re probably not tired because it’s night, huh?”

“I’m… tired.  I could sleep.”  He sounded dejected.

“Okay.  Um.  How do you sleep?”

“On the ceiling.”  He looked morosely up at the ceiling.  “But there aren’t any footholds.”

Marcy tapped her chin.  “Oh!  Hold on, I know.”  She went into the next room and retrieved Colin’s pullup bar, mounting it in the doorway.  “There, like that?”

Auburn clung to the wall with his creepy little hands, shimmying up it until he was far enough to push off and jump into the air.  His arms transformed into wings as he flapped them, and he propelled himself up to take hold of the bar.

He hooked his feet around it and hung upside-down, ensconcing himself in his wings like a blanket.  “This, this is wonderful.  Thank you.  I can stay up here?”

“Yeah,” Thistle said.  “That’s okay.”

“Thank you.”

Auburn seemed peaceful enough, but Thistle was still glad that Marcy was nearby.

Despite being too tired to function, he wasn’t sure if he would sleep much with a vampire hanging over the room.

***

The pixie pile did manage to get a decent amount of rest in the end.  Thistle woke up feeling recharged and energetic–ready for a day full of art.  Because that would be step one to welcome a new resident: it was his responsibility to befriend Auburn so he wouldn’t have to hunt.  Now that he’d already done it with Severa and knew it was possible, it didn’t seem so daunting.  If anything, it was exciting.

True, Auburn was scary.  He was almost as tall as Moon.  His fangs poked out of his mouth.  He clearly was a lot stronger than Thistle.  He slept overhead, hanging menacingly.  And he drank blood–probably, they hadn’t seen that yet.  He’d probably attacked and maybe even killed people.  But he was already here peacefully and seemed willing to do what they asked.  This couldn’t be harder than Severa, surely.

Auburn was still in the same place hanging from the pullup bar in the morning–true to his word, he was fast asleep and looked exhausted when everyone else was stirring.  Teddy and Colin came down, and more introductions were had.  Teddy very valiantly hid her disquiet at seeing Auburn, while Colin was concerned about rabies.  Marcy reassured them it was safe and that she would handle it, although privately she was also a little bit worried about rabies.

Thistle made the rounds to gather a group for a painting session.  Marigold, Jax, and Severa were on board without needing any cajoling.  Moon declared he was going to try it, since he was warming up to Thistle’s silly projects.  Jewel said he didn’t want to do anything involving paint, since it got all over his skin and felt bad in the water, even if it was nontoxic.  Violet couldn’t be coerced to come out even though Petunia definitely would have enjoyed it, but whatever.

“Art is a great way to bond,” Thistle said, laying out his paints.  He had Marcy lay out some canvases for them to paint.  “It’s a great activity to do together, and you can talk while you do it.  This will be a great way to get to know each other.”

“I admit I thought it quite useless at first,” Severa admitted.  “But I am starting to enjoy it more.”

“It’s growing on me, too,” Moon said.

Auburn knelt next to the paints, touching one of the tubes.  “Great!  Um, so, what, what do I do?”

“You, um…”  At this point Thistle noticed that Auburn’s hand was shaking.  “Hey, are you okay?”

Auburn drew his hand back, then gave a pained smile.  “Oh, sorry.  Um, I haven’t, um, I’m pretty hungry, that’s all.”

Thistle felt like he’d been smacked in the face.  That was why Auburn was tired enough to go to sleep last night?  He simply hadn’t eaten and therefore had no energy?  He’d been sitting there hungry enough to start trembling and didn’t say anything?

“Hey, we can’t have fun and bond on an empty stomach,” Thistle said gently.  “Come on, let’s take care of that first.”

“I don’t want to be a burden,” Auburn said quickly.  “I’m sorry.  You don’t have to worry about me.”

“We want to, though.  We wouldn’t tell you to stay here and then make you starve.”  Oh whoops, Thistle had said that and then remembered that Auburn would presumably have to drink someone’s blood.  Thistle certainly wasn’t eager to volunteer himself for that.

Fortunately, Severa spoke first.  “I will help you.  You drink blood, yes?  I have plenty of blood, and my magic is strong.”

Auburn practically wilted with relief.  “Thank you.  Thank you so much.”

Severa reached down and pried one of the scales on her abdomen back, exposing vulnerable, soft flesh.  Auburn crept near.  “It’s really okay?”

“Yes.”

Auburn leaned over, shaking, and gently made a soft cut with his fangs, then clamped his mouth over the wound, taking small sips.

Severa put her hand on his head.  A tear leaked from his eye.

After a moment, he drew back, wiping his face.  “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”  Severa pushed the scale back down, wincing but not complaining.

“There,” Thistle said.  “Everyone is okay and feels good.  Right?”

Severa and Auburn both nodded.

“Good.  Now let’s get painting.”

Thistle guided Auburn, Severa, Moon, Marigold, and Jax through laying out their canvas and starting to apply the paint to it.  Marcy participated too, sitting on the floor with a proportional paper.

“So,” Thistle said conversationally as they worked.  “Auburn, can you tell us a bit more about yourself?  What made you decide to seek us out?  Why did the dryad tell you to come here?  If you know.”

“Oh, um.”  Auburn had red paint all over his hands and was putting paw prints all over his canvas.  “Well, my family kicked me out of my colony.  So, so I didn’t really have anywhere else to go.”

“That’s horrible!” Jax cried.  “I can’t imagine if Thistle kicked me out!  Why would they?”

Auburn’s ears drooped, and the motions of his hands became slow and unenthusiastic.

“Jax, he might be sensitive about it,”  Thistle chided.  “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, Auburn.”

“No, it’s okay.”  He dipped his hands in yellow and started making yellow pawprints.  “Well, I’m, um, I’m a Worthless, so when things got tight, I was the first to go.”

The exact word he used was Struntajo, which meant roughly worthless, but he said it like it was supposed to mean something more.  Thistle had never heard anyone use it that way.

“What’s that mean?” Jax said, once again failing to understand what a sensitive topic is.

“We can talk about it later if you want,” Thistle offered, wincing.

“No, it’s okay.  I didn’t realize you’d have no way to know what that is, I guess.”  He clasped his paint-laden hands together.  “Um, when prey is plentiful, vampires will sometimes have an extra pup in their litters that’s small and weak.  If there’s enough to go around, the runt gets enough food to grow up strong.  But, but if there isn’t, then the runt is there to take the hit when they have to make sacrifices if things get worse.”

“Sacrifices?” Severa said.

Auburn shuffled his feet.  “Leave it to die, usually.”

“That’s horrible,” Severa said, utterly horrified.  “They have an extra baby on purpose for the sake of having something to sacrifice if their gamble doesn’t pay off?”

“I mean, it makes sense if you think about it.  At least, I mean.  My siblings all contributed more to the colony than I did.  So, so when resources started getting scarce, it’s better that they could cut me off rather than someone who actually helped.  You know?  As soon as I became an adult they made it clear I had to leave if I didn’t contribute more. It wasn't a surprise or anything.”

Severa clenched the paintbrush she was using so hard that it snapped in half.  “That is a horrible way to think about it.  I could never dream of even considering sending someone I’d raised from a little baby out to die just because they weren’t useful enough.”

Auburn shrunk away from the anger in her voice.  “Er, well, if there isn’t enough to go around…”

“Then you get more, or you yourself go hungry.  That’s what being a mother means, not this- this perversion where children are seen as an investment you expect returns on in the future.”

Auburn rubbed the back of his neck.  “Well, well I’m not a parent, so I guess I wouldn’t know.”

“You’re right,” Severa snipped.  “You wouldn’t know.”

“I’m sorry,” Thistle said, trying to rein the conversation back in.  “That sounds very difficult.  So that’s why you were looking for somewhere else to go?”

Auburn nodded.  “I’m bad at hunting.  I’m small, weak, not a strong flier, and not good at magic.  My family got tired of helping me, so I haven’t been back to the colony.…  I’ve been.”  Tears welled up in his eyes again.  “I’ve been just barely hanging on.  You’re the first ones who have been nice to me.”

“I’m sorry,” Marigold said.  “I’m surprised to find myself sympathizing with a predator at all, but I truly can’t imagine what I would do if my family were like that.”

Thistle was intimidated to think about Auburn being a runt, considering how very large he still was.  Thistle very bravely stood near him.  “Do you want a hug?”

Auburn nodded miserably.

Thistle wrapped his arms around Auburn’s midsection, and Auburn’s arms came around him gently.

“Ooh, you’re soft,” Thistle said into his fur.

Auburn chuckled.  “Glad there’s something good about me, at least.”

“I am not jealous,” Moon announced mechanically.  “I am also soft, and it’s fine that there are multiple soft people in the house that Thistle likes to touch.  It does not reflect on my worth as an individual.”

Thistle sighed and looked over his shoulder.  “Good job, Moon.”

Moon gave him a thumbs up.

***

@static-stars

@cloudwatchingtoday   @theepiccreatorofmagic-blog-blog  @waitisthatgt @itssmoltime 

@ratcatcher0325  @crazytinygirl @bittykimmy13  @whumpsday @theroyaleemily 

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#g/t #gt #gianttiny #fairy #giant/tiny #size difference

[nick-close]

This is an Anthony Burch appreciation post. Thank u that’s all.

#just listened to him on goosebuds #and also thinking of how like #when players ‘ruin’ his plans #he does a very good job with it #and he’s honest with it #like lark and sparrow. the lord of chaos reveal #he technically didn’t need to ruin his plans #they could’ve still fought #but the pcs picked up on a detail and played to it #and he was just. yeah this is realistically how this would go #and I do love this moment #I should relisten to that #dndads #dungeons and daddies #Anthony Burch

[designernishiki]

just a thought but like. if akiyama, who’s established as being a bizarrely talented investigator in y5, suspected kiryu’s death to have been faked (or at least “fishy” in his own words) basically on the fucking Spot, i feel like it just makes sense that majima would’ve been just as quick, if not quicker to see where shit wasn’t adding up and become skeptical that the whole thing was a coverup. reason being, in y5 he put shit together and figured out the grand scheme going on so damn early most people didn’t even suspect yet that there was any scheme going on. he then faked his own death well enough to get it in the papers and had masterminded himself all the way to the final boss (with some help of course) before things backfired on him. so he’s got some crazy good skills when it comes to reading people, figuring out their intentions, putting puzzle pieces together, etc– way better than he wants people knowing, generally– and he knows the hallmark signs of a faked death because he’s literally done it before. all that on top of knowing kiryu like the back of his hand and knowing damn well how hard this man is to kill, and how prone to running away from shit for the sake of the safety of people he cares about (for better or for worse) he is. he could absolutely put together that, if given the opportunity by some faction or powerful individual, kiryu would sacrifice his identity and status as a legit living person for the assured safety of others, or for yakuza tensions to diminish, or maybe even as an act of self-flagellation.

tldr: I think the reasons majima didn’t go rogue/apeshit after kiryu’s alleged death are that A) for once he has saejima around to reign him in and make it feel less like Everything has been lost, B) I think he’s legitimately known pretty much all along that kiryu didn’t die that day; nor would he believe it unless he saw it with his own eye.

#however. I also think it would clash with his tendency to be way more cynical and nihilistic than his persona makes him seem #like I do think he’d be pretty fucking sure in his gut And with his logic that kiryu wasn’t dead #but there’d be a pesky depressive part of him that’d scold him for being too idealistic or hopeful in a world that’s so fond of #torturing him. he doesn’t think himself Lucky to say the least. but if he held out hope for saejima while he was on death row for literally #years and saejima did make it back to him in one piece eventually– he’d have some ammo to reason with himself if that makes sense #that + I feel like saejima upon hearing him spiral into supposedly ‘realistic’ nihilism would Strongly reassure him #via reminding him that HE made it back to majima in the end. and that saejima himself knows from experience what a faked death feels like #and how holding onto hope Can in fact be fruitful in the end. overall a bad time for majima after kiryu’s fake death obviously but #he’d be surprisingly stable with all that going for him. makes me think he and saejima would really be the ones keeping daigo from falling #apart. considering he doesn’t have basis for the kind of hope they’re capable of having. almost everyone important to daigo dies eventually #his dad. mine right in front of him. now kiryu. boy must have abandonment issues off the damn charts. #I also like to think he hung around shinada a bit after that incident to just have Something good and pure in his life occasionally. but #he’d be cautious and occasional about it out of fear that he’d ruin shinada’s life or cause him trouble #anyway. many thoughts about all this. they didn’t dive nearly enough into the old guard characters’ reactions to kiryu’s ‘death’ so. yeah #rambling #y6 #majima #kazumaji

[roobylavender]

had talia not been character assassinated do you think she and bruce should have gotten back together?

no. i hate to use the word "phase" bc that would seem to diminish the importance of what's between them, which is something that will always persist esp as their continued dedication to the same causes and their respect for each other remains. but i do think realistically bruce should be a phase in talia's life. at least in terms of consummated romances specifically. i do love the idea of them remaining allies, close friends, and co-parents, but i think allowing talia to walk away from ra's and bruce in the first place has to stand for something in the long term. before talia went her own way i think it was easier to imagine a potential future where she ended up with bruce bc it felt like the desirable option. she was in this very debilitating position where she had little to no freedom to act on her own desires and goals, the embodiment of which was none other than bruce. so when you frame her situation pre-tower of babel, obv wanting to be with bruce was appealing. he was as much the love of her life as he was a means of escape and freedom and talia having the scope to then act on her own desires. i think that's what subsequently makes dc #750 (or is it #570. i never get the numbers straight and i'm too lazy to check) a really clever issue, actually, bc it acknowledges that and the fact that bruce once again setting her free bc of his love for her actually gives her the courage to step out on her own where she never has before. the fact that she has the option to go back to gotham with bruce and presumably have everything she's ever wanted with him, but she leaves it anyway, is a really huge deal. it's a statement. she loves him, but not more than she loves herself. and sure, what talia puts herself through during lex corp era certainly begs the question of whether her version of loving herself is really viable or in any way healthy, and i would love to see bruce help her recognize that she's not alone and that she doesn't have to do it alone to prove that she's capable. all of this i agree with. but i don't think that really means she and bruce have to fall back on their once-imagined dream of playing house. even if talia did find methods of going about her work that were mentally healthier i don't really know what'd be in it for her to play house with bruce in gotham. bc that is what it would have to be, for their relationship to work in any way. bruce will never leave gotham and son of the demon didn't need to explore that issue bc it was never going to get there but trust that corny as the line about naming the baby thomas or martha was it was reflective of a reality: gotham is bruce's entire life. no matter where he goes, no matter what he does, no matter who he works with, in the end he will always belong to gotham. and i simply do not think that would ever work for talia bc there is so much more she is capable of. while her vision is aligned with bruce's her scope of access and ability is entirely distinct of his own and there is so much more that she can do aside from relegate herself to gotham (hence why lex corp as an arc makes so much sense, bc it capitalizes on that scope). and yeah every superhero couple is kinda crazy and they have teleportation and shit but idk i don't think it's really a relationship for each party to go on long missions with ill-defined parameters that give them the worst sleep schedules known to man and occasionally they share a bed. it really isn't. and that's something that bruce and talia have to live with. their duty is always going to come first even though they both have a passion for civilian life. for talia to be in a relationship again she would have to stop having the liberty of being able to go wherever the work carries her and for bruce to be in a relationship again he would have to have the equivalent of a robin-wife. neither of these things is ever going to happen. so

#outbox #i realize this sounds somewhat hypocritical bc then it's like. but what about damian! wouldn't the same apply to him! #and idk i don't think it would. your kid is different from your lover #obv i imagine talia would try to be around for damian as much as possible #but as i've discussed a lot of times even that i think would be tricky for her. she was willing to say she lost her baby #bc she thought if she didn't the world would lose batman #she's like. craaaaazy dedicated to her work so yeah i do think she'd try to coparent with whatever capacity she could #and her love would be genuine and overflowing etc etc #but at the end of the day she's not going to settle in gotham solely for the purpose of raising him #or for the purpose of appeasing bruce's notions of pathetic puppy dog romance #her liberty is too impt to her #ironically enough this is funny to talk about in context of that batman & robin panel from yesterday bc like #had they not character assassinated her that's really how it might've gone. at least imo #like it's a shame they had to resort to all of these racist and orientalist tropes about her being an abusive mother #to somehow justify why bruce should be the resident parent instead #when you literally could've just followed the thread of talia valuing her independence #versus bruce being desperate for any remaining semblance of normal civilian life like it's an oxygen tank and he's losing air #not only would that have been realistic it would also have carried nuance and allowed insight into bruce and talia's psyches #and more than anything. it would have been funny #but i DIGRESS. tldr yes talia would coparent but even that would be with certain limitations #i think she's the kind of person / mom who like. leaves her love everywhere but can't necessarily stand where she leaves it. yknow #like i could even bring jason into this #i really do think she'd do everything in her power to try to get jason to break from the red hood persona and heal etc #and she'd have immense affection for him #but she's not going to sit and play house and babysit him once she's free and once she knows he's free too #she's very big on personal accountability #so she'd check up on him and the love would be there but like. the bigger picture would always interfere #anywayyyy. thank you for the question i love to ramble about this stuff LOL

[aphsillyos]

silly lil designs for pf ez and aphelios blending into piltover :]

#me arts tag #i was going to draw smth a bit more substantial but i need a nap :'D #the monocle and glasses are just their visors disguised somehow #and the weird half vest? design for ezreal.. i imagine half of it tears off/opens (like buttons or smth) #to accommodate his arm cannon transforming. actually i imagine both their outfits kinda work like that #tearaway clothes for their pulsefire equipment somehow #although im imagining the pulsefire tech might be able to make some illusion/disguise clothes.. transforming tech? who knows #realistically im sure aphelios would cover up the glowing marks on his face but it also looked odd w/o his face markings so i just left em #ezreal monocle doesnt look as silly as i thought... maybe he should wear one normally #im meh on aphelios's coat design but maybe ill rerereredesign into oblivion... LOL #wanted to give him more of like a pilot jacket originally but idk what his vibe is. goofy lil guy. what fashion even suits you #OH.... I GUESS. HE NEEDS HIS SCARF.... ill fix it at some point probably maybe sure #i think it'd be a bit funny if ezreal is unintentionally a fashion/style person #just bc of how much blending in with timelines and worlds and stuff hes done #he just ended up absorbing so much fashion knowledge #aphelios or ekko points it out at some point and hes like. huh. im not into fashion #(said while reading a hefty book on fashion history for whatever location theyre at) #yeah im sure PEARL probably has built in search engine stuff #but ezreal just strikes me as the type of guy to research and memorize/learn stuff #''just in case i lose access to PEARL's database again'' or whatever #im sure thats probably happened like 100 times #so random but i feel like aphelios has the vibe of a guy you wanna dress up in various outfits #but also hes like :) (just happy to be included/present) so he doesnt mind #you put a goofy souvenir shop floppy hat on him and hes like. :) #my aphelios hcs are nonsense im so sorry. i want him to be happy #pulsefire ezreal #pulsefire aphelios #pulsefire #aphelios #ezreal

[dollsuguru]

writing fluff is so hard esp for a character you haven’t written for before + other characters in the fic 😭

#satoru i’m abt to get real acquainted w you in this fic #so far it just all sounds v corny and not at all like how satoru sounds so i need to rework everything #also it’s so hard to segue into another part of the fic or just another paragraph for me so i need to practice FLOW #and NOT make it choppy/clunky #and i also have to find voices for tsumiki & megumi 😭 miki’s is pretty easy she’s sweet & playfully teasing #wanna make megs adorable yet slightly grumpy bc i know he’s mature but i still want a childish vibe for him hmmmm #i’m actually… SURPRISNGLY. having a LOT of trouble w the ‘reader’ themselves #i just can’t seem to find their dynamic w each character yet… hmmmmmm #y’know what i may have to do… keep the beginning part but scrap everything else and start fresh #sighhhhhhhh. #i’m willing to do that though bc this story so far isn’t hitting the way i want it to #and i love the Premise of the fic a lot and want to do it TOTAL justice #like it’s serious business to me 😭 i don’t play around when it comes to this omfg like i HAVE FUN but i want it to be decently written too #gonna need to insert more personality to each character + their DIALOGUE TOO omg dialogue is so fucking hard & speech tags are so blegh #i actually might dream on it tonight and imagine how it would realistically play out in my head and then go back to fic writing #yeah i’ll do that it’s 9:30 pm rn basically so i’ll just dream on it 😭 #personal

[steppesliver]

the realest aspect of the show was marty shooting at someone on point after seeing what they did to kids and cohle going 'i advise you kill yourself' during charmaine's interrogation

#i also love how cohle did not even question during that scene marty's actions lol #“yeah he just blew someone's brain in front of me. bet he had his reasons” #ok realistically he would not fucking think that #cause his flight or fight response in this scene is to just cover everything up and it fits so well #but the 1st time i watched i was like wait wait wait wait <- processing how cohle just immediately “trusted” marty's call there #but goddamn is that interrogation the greatest scene all show. ough #who ALLOWED me to watch i am going to jump #true detective

[whumpy-wyrms]

If your ocs were in a TOH coven(s)/specialized magic track(s) which would they pick? I feel like as fucked as Anton’s methods are, he would be in Potions and Healing :3

-@vidawhump

alright i haven’t watched TOH since it ended and i’m gonna be honest i thought all the hexside stuff was boring and i didn’t pay much attention to the coven stuff. oops

BUT!!!! i think Anton would be like Eda and just say fuck it to all the specialized magic tracks and just use wild magic. he’d probably like making abominations and beastkeeping, cuz he’d like interacting with all the magic creatures and palismen and stuff. he’d also like potions and healing too :) and he’d be best friends with King because of course he would

Dew would like illusions maybe? or healing? tbh i’m not sure. maybe he’d like beastkeeping too (honestly everyone from tllr would like beastkeeping they all love animals). you know what? he’d be like Luz. the main character and undecided on what magic to use. maybe he’d be a human and use glyphs

Layla would like plant magic, Hayden would also like beastkeeping and maybe illusions, Sawyer would be into potions or healing. the three of them would be friends at hexside, Layla and Hayden would have a similar role as Willow and Gus, and Sawyer would be similar to Amity. Aspen would be a wild magic guy, he doesn’t follow the rules either. Silas wouldn’t even be a witch he’d just be an evil monster they’d have to kill

Pierce would straight up be Belos in this scenario. fuck that guy

and that’d make Anton hunter in That scenario and now i’m thinking of a whole au that i’ll most likely do nothing with

OHHHHHH MY GOD i know who the mystery character would be. but i shan’t say. take a wild guess :)

#ask #tllr ask #also like an au with Anton with Eda’s role and Dew with Luz’s role would be cool as hell #but the Pierce and Anton as Belos and Hunter would make wayyyy more sense #but omg i love the idea of Anton being a wild witch teaching magic to Dew and also King is there because Anton’s best friends with King. #Anton’s palisman would be Basil and hooty would be Sasha cuz they’re Long #OOOOH im obsessed with this #it’s so perfect and yet so weird cuz it’s a scenario where Dew and Anton would actually be friends #OH MY GOD Anton is just like Eda he’d be soooo interested in human stuff (also like how Gus is) and AND AND #he’d be in the human realm looking for cool stuff to collect and see Dew and. mine now. SHIT this is suddenly not as wholesome #or Dew just found his way through the portal like Luz. there’s like a million different ways this could go #but the most realistic au would be the Pierce one. he’d be Belos and Anton would be Hunter cuz that makes so much sense and fits so well. #for reasons i can’t say. guess who the mystery character is i dare you. #i’ve got no clue where Dew would fit in this au but. yeah. maybe he wouldn’t. #currently losing my mind someone ask me about a tma au next if you wanna see me go even more insane #this post is so fucking unorganized LOLLL i dont care wow #this is FUNNN #dew oc #anton oc #pierce oc #layla oc #hayden oc #sawyer oc #aspen oc #silas oc #basil oc #sasha oc #tllr toh au

[lloydfrontera]

i know it's the logical conclusion and realistically it makes sense to point out that people can only like you so much. but. i really want lloyd to be proven wrong. i really want him to realize there's no limit to how much someone can love you. i want his parents and javier and julien's approval rating to keep going up even when lloyd thinks there's nothing more he can do to earn their love for him. i want him to be able to learn that sometimes love can keep growing every day for no other reason than because the other person is choosing to love you over and over again. i just want him to feel loved just for being him and not for what he does is that too much to ask for?!?

#lloyd frontera #tged #the greatest estate developer #i know it's probably not what the novel is going for but!! i can dream!! #like yeah it's realistic that at one point he won't be able to make people's approval of him keep going up #because there's only so much he can do to make them like him #but like!! love doesn't work like that!! your actions do matter when it comes to whether someone loves you or not #but at one point it also comes to the other person deciding to keep loving you! to choose to keep building upon that foundation!! #and i want lloyd to experience that!! #i want him to realize that yes there is a point where he won't be able to do more to earn more approval from them. but that it doesn't #matter because they love him and everyday they spent with him is one where they love him more #im sorry im a sucker for characters finding out how loved they are by their family and friends do you still think im hot #one thing i do have to say is that tged has always been very clear that actions do matter when it comes to people liking or loving you #like it starts with lloyd taking over the body of someone who by his own actions had made it so everyone hated him #and so he had to earn back the trust and approval of everyone around him #but that's an extreme case! it wasn't even something he had done! but it definitely influenced how he approached everyone around him #because instead of having to just start from 0 and naturally build relationships like it's normally done #he had to work twice as hard to repair what og lloyd had broken #idk i just think it's fascinating and i would love if the novel acknowledged how unfair and actually a little fucked up it was to give him #a system where he had to earn points from his relationships with others and always be aware of how much they either liked or disliked him #(something that would fuck with the self esteem of anyone) #while also putting him in the body of someone who had already done so much to burn bridges with everyone and his damn best to be disliked #but i know it's probably too much to ask for 😅 #i talk a lot <3

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

TOP 5 SONGS DAVID OGDEN STIERS COULD HAVE WON A TONY AWARD FOR IN THE GOOD TIMELINE WHERE HE BECAME A BIG SUPERSTAR BROADWAY ACTOR AND SINGER LIKE HE DESERVED

 Music of the Night from Phantom. Obviously.

 Stars from Les Mis. Sadly he never got the chance to play Javert in a stage production and was forced to play him on a sitcom for six years instead. Think of what we could have had!

 Not The Boy Next Door from The Boy From Oz / I Am What I Am from La Cage aux Folles. Sorry I couldn’t choose a single gay anthem song so he gets to perform both. As a treat. On an unrelated note I am crying now 

 Edelweiss from The Sound of Music. Many casting directors don’t know this but it’s actually animal abuse not to allow a DOS to inhabit his proper ecological niche (repressed sexual tension filled ballroom dancing while wearing a fancy little outfit).

 Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In from Hair. You! Gay hippie! Aren’t you tired of being typecast as a wealthy conservative stuffed shirt asshole. Don’t you just want to go ape shit.

 In The Dark Of The Night from Anastasia. Also belongs to a separate list entitled Top 10 Animated Movies They Should Have Given Him A Role In Instead Of P*cah*ntas. The way he would have killed this………. Would’ve had a little accent all ready to go………. Wailing lamenting mourning etc.

 OH! WELL I NEVER! WAS THERE EVER! A CAT SO CLEVER AS MAGICAL! MISTER! MISTOFFELEES! HIS MANNER IS VAGUE AND ALOOF! YOU WOULD THINK THERE WAS NOBODY SHYER! BUT HIS VOICE HAS BEEN HEARD ON THE ROOF! WHEN HE WAS CURLED UP BY THE FIIIIIIIRE—

#''but OP Mr. Mistoffelees isn't even the one singing the song'' u know in the movie how they all just sang about themselves super awkwardly #well HE could have pulled that off. he could have pulled off Anything. #I want to hear everyone else's DOS performance wishlists now. Going to go ahead and assume this is a topic we all think about constantly. #Also yeah this can be the last post I make in 2022. I think it's worth that distinction. This is a very important subject after all. #Starky's Original Posts #David Ogden Stiers #mashblr: hmm wonder what would be a good realistic take on what happens to Charles post-canon...... #me who listened to Javert's Suicide multiple times a day for the entirety of 2013: Well :) I have :) an idea :) #Starky's text posts #ok ok that's not good energy to take into the new year #so let's just say it'll either be Javert's Suicide or Not The Boy Next Door #those are the two routes he can go down #or maybe it's the same route just two different stops #you never know where life will take you #happy new year 1953 everybody

[milo-is-rambling]

Now why the hell do I have such intensely realistic dreams I had to wake up and stare at the ceiling for like ten minutes to make sure I was alive.

#me 🤝 having dreams where everyone is mad at me and also I'm having a near death experience and everyone is still mad at me #literally had a dream that I was riding a bike and got hit by a car and woke up in the hospital then felt like shit but was okay enough and #then in my dream I was like hmm I wanna go to a gas station to get snacks bc that's why I was biking in the first place and so I drove to a #random gas station and came back to my car after getting snacks and there was a fucking mountain lion inside my car that immediately pounced #on me and started trying to bite my face and no one would fucking help me at all #it was terrifying and I literally like argued with my mom in the dream and she said all this personal horrible shit and didn't care at all #that I was hit by a car and then I went to the gas station and millie was there and she was mad at me for not going on some trip with her #and her family even tho I was like nah dude I was like JUST hit by a car this morning bro I don't wanna go to Connecticut with u and ur fam #and even the gas station clerk was mad at me for some reason and he tried to charge me a hundred dollars for a pack of icebreakers and a #box of strawberries like dude what the fuck is wrong with my brain but I remember every fucking detail of it like why is my brain so evil #my brain will be like hmm time to dream... let's think about exactly how it would feel to almost die once and then be mauled by a big cat #like why in my dreams do I feel everything that happens to me. why did I feel my broken nose and he blood dripping down my face and the road #burn across my body why are my dreams like yeah u can smell the mountain lions breath as you're trying to hit it with ur purse and it's like #drooling on ur face cause it's trying to wrap it's jaws around your entire head #like bruh. hey brain. did I really need that today? did I really need two near death experiences in one dream? and also everyone hates me? #was that really necessary brain? my brain also had the audacity to set the dream in New Hampshire during winter. why would I be riding a #bike in the middle of winter and then be slammed into the road and then be attacked by a lion what message is that trying to tell me exactly #when I woke up I literally touched my nose to make sure it wasn't broken thats how fucking real my dreams are I hate it #anyways I'm mad at my brain for having hyper realistic dreams where I'm in pain physically and emotionally

[bisaster-energy]

bitches will hate the later seasons of spn but um...have you considered..no jack? no special sunshine baby you crave ?? sorry but I'd suffer through another 10 seasons of that show if it meant I got to see jack grow and their dads grow with them

#like yeah the lighting in later seasons is terrible #we all love the sexy kripke horror feel #but be realistic. less seasons means EVEN less cas and jack etc #plus seeing those dudes become middle aged instead of kicking the bucket permanently at 30 like hunters do?? mwah #just because the show didn't acknowledge how they changed doesn't mean they... didn't #because there's a difference between where they were and how far they came!! they grew and learned and god they LOVED #they loved each other so much they're family #if it meant i got to see that I'd watch another 5 seasons and 2 reboots #because fuck it'd be worth it it'd be WORTH #FULLY seeing dean go from ''why would an angel rescue me from hell'' to ''i do deserve to be saved'' #to see sam go from desperately trying to be ''normal'' and good and accepting that he isn't just some evil thing #and he IS worthy he's not tainted and he deserves to be a total freak and love it #and cas ohhhh cas will be loved he'll be wanted and be ALLOWED to want and love in return he'd be soft. he'd be happy. #jack can grow up to be whatever the fuck they want. through him their dads will find their shortcomings and try to fix them for his sake #they'll get to experience emotions be a CHILD #get driven to school have movie nights with their family and feel like the luckiest god damn kid in the world #i deserved to see that family dont end in blood #wow this got long #supernatural

[astrxealis]

can't change haruka's voting result now but man m glad i voted innocent (it was mostly to lower the gap but also i am unsure still whether innocent/guilty is better so)

#⋯ ꒰ა starry thoughts ໒꒱ *·˚ #IT'S. pretty complex #there's cons and pros to either. and i'm unsure for sure bcs #muu is really important here honestly #and look guilty restrains prisoners mentally and physically right? so haruka would at least be. okay somewhat #it's interesting bcs. hmm #i wonder if muu was voted guilty first trial. how would that have changed things #bcs her vote was extremely close !! but the thing is i would have voted her guilty but #innocent vote reaaally makes sense for sure. so. hm #BUT YOU CAN'T CHANGE THAT ANYMORE YES #ultimately they arent best for each other but rn it might be healthiest for their... co-dependency to stay #but i get the whole separating thing as well. tbh humans are complex and the milgram characters #really (imo) act very realistically so it's. complex! how will things happen. what will change and all #and look we still dont know much abt a lot of characters #some seem straightforward but theres more abt them still. like fuuta mahiru yeah #and then theres thr ones that . kazui mikoto . not much to know just yet #i want to vote mikoto for various reasons esp bcs hey we dont know just WHY hes like that. and considerinf what he has comes from yk trauma #and stuff hmm. hmmm. we still don't have much to go on and it's confusinf but wtvr i know im excited for him super #so Yeah #mikoto guilty/innocent also is dependent on kotoko. everythinf is #EVERYTHIFN connects ah man milgram is really complex i loooove it

[musical-chick-13]

Now that I am, unfortunately, on CtrlZ-posting, I want to clarify that I don't hate Raúl because he's a horrible person. I hate him because he's a horrible person AND written in a very poorly-conceived way and devoid of any joy or charm or otherwise enjoyable qualities.

#he's like. mundanely horrible. horrible in a boring & annoying way. horrible in a way that doesn't make me either go 'yeah I kind of get it' #or 'I am having so much fun watching him' #like most of the people on this show are kind of horrible people but I DO see how at least SOME of them got from point a to point b #I hate raúl because the steps of that journey got lost or obscured somewhere along the way #he's just not interesting enough to narratively balance how horrible he is #(and obviously yes I am biased because I care about the protagonist-one of the few genuinely sweet AND canonically mentally ill #protagonists I can think of whose mental illness is shown to make life difficult for them in consistent and realistic ways-and I think this #boy is antithetical to her living a happy life. I'm not too proud to admit that's also a big part of it.) #(but I would hate him even if I didn't care about her at all)

[cinnamonghost]

wahhh Idk how i feel about the collector leaving q___q

#IDK ! he's just a guy #he can do whatever he wants but also .... no wait come back your family are major jerks #I actually DONT know why I feel alright with him going back I mean ... I'm thinking of it as #him trying to .... connect with the other people from the stars ???? idk how to word it ! #it feels like.... someone would realistically do ... though I guess that's from my own life experiences #he has people he trust and supports but also he's doing his own thing ! #hmm I don't know how to word it #uhrmmmm yeah they are genocidial weirdos but .... they did it for the lolz!!!! #UGH I DONT know what I am feeling #or how to word it #IT JUST FEELS ..... realistic I guess to me at least but I understand why people would feel upset #does it actually feeel right to me ???? I DONT KNOW ‼️‼️‼️‼️ #wait hold on from my own life experiences ? no it's not I don't know what I am talking about #ITHINK I mean I've seen it before #in real life #I HAVE NO IDEA ‼️‼️‼️ actually I hate it but also am okay with them leaving I DONT KNWO ITS SUPER CONFUSING ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

[moongothic]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The only question is, how would Robin take that?

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

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

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

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

What's she going to do?

EDIT: I wrote a sequel post, enjoy

#Moon posting #OP Meta #Sir Crocodile #Crocodad #Nico Robin #THIS POST WAS AN ACCIDENT. I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED. WHY DID I WRITE THIS. WHAT DEMON POSSESSED ME #I'm sure someone's written this already right #Right #Surely this fanfic already exists #Please tell me it exists #I dunno what to tell you I am not immune to a Juicy AU #Anyway on a more wholesome side of things: Robin accidentally calling Crocodile ''dad'' and he just inhales and swallows his whole cigar #Nearly chockes to death. Gets burns on his throat. #Robin feeling less alienated because of her DF ability because Croc has seen weirder AND is made of sand himself #If anything if they're literally by themselves then Robin being able to literally lend a hand to Croc at any time could be extremely useful #Like. In regular life situations. 'Cause Croc only has one hand. And Robin as many as she wants. Perfect duo. #(Also if they were travelling on like a small ship then it'd probably be built for a Tall Motherfucker like Croc right) #(Robin's ability would just make the ship more accessible to her and Croc would find that independence good) #Robin still gets a codename because Croc can't have anyone realize who she is. Maybe she even wears like a mask or summin' in public #If Crocodile's openly trans and the news of him transitioning recently broke out. Like. No avoiding that convo eh #Baby Robin's like ''...I read in a book once that some reptiles can change sex but I didn't know crocodiles could do it too'' #''💦.../Humans/ can't do that normally either'' #''Hmmmm. Weird. I don't think being a girl would suit you though'' // ''...I'll take that as a compliment'' #I just. I think they could have really cute interactions if they warmed up to each other after a little while #And I'm Extremely Normal about that