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jeeaark · 1 month

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final showdown pt2.

This was one of those battles where I survived it without a single reload. So. This entire scene? Accurate. Embarrassingly Accurate. (except the healy dealy. that's Greygold flair)

Wanted to get to the crown as fast as possible, but had to fly by Emps. Literally stopped next to bud to personally yell/reassure the fool I was gonna save their ass and then risked the opportunity attack.

(which. I forgot to bring my dex 18 gloves and discovered illithidism had shit dex, so....IS FINE. GG IS ALL FOR STARTING A NEW COLLECTION OF FRIENDSHIP SCARS)

BUT SQUID BUDDY MISSED. so. I like to think Enthralled Emps had put some effort into jumping through some rather large logic hoops to miss. Unlike Greygold who put JACK effort into dodging.

I originally intended to leave Emps completely alone, risk the attacks. But. Brain tentacle surprise happened. Right next to the squid. Emps rolled high in initiative.... But not as high as Lae'zel. Game-wise, ✨I panicked✨. Story-wise? I don't think this could have been any more in-character. Albeit, I found myself quadruple checking to make sure knockout mode was ABSOLUTELY on

#bg3 spoilers #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #the emperor bg3 #lae'zel #illithid tav #greygold #squid greygold #Man there's so many past comic refs I don't feel like linking hope you all are keeping up hUAR #If GG had known emps would be there they would not have worn that guardian armor but they are too stubborn to admit they whoopsied #I don't remember jack in the other timeline final battle (sadly) but this fight? forever burned into my soul. good drama yo.#I will never get over how Greygold use to have the AC of an Ancient Red Dragon and now they're AC is Squid Chum SQUID CHUM #GREYGOLD'S AIM IS SQUID CHUM TOO AUGH #As much as I keep ragging on Emps I love Lae'zel to death as well. knocked that squid out in one go to protect her squid-Joy ehuehuehueh #I can only imagine that she never thought she'd have to resist killing not one but -two- mindflayers for the sake of love....Love you babe~#CHARACTER GROWTH INDEED

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a-dauntless-daffodil · 7 days

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*grabs the Vanguard Vaggie idea and scuttles back under her goblin rug*

OKAY BUT

Imagine, like after they retreat back to heaven, the other exorcists...start talking. They start talking *behind Lute's back*.

At first it's pain and bitterness and betrayal at Vaggie fighting them. 'How could she do this? How could she hurt us?!'

Then, maybe during some hit and run nonsense that Lute has them doing, the conversation shifts. They start noticing that Vaggie doesnt go for the kill unless she has to. Doesn't maim. She always gives them the chance to run, to go home... And they start talking. They talk about those better times with the Vanguard. They wonder aloud why she fights for hell. And maybe, just maybe, they talk about how they miss her. They miss Vaggie. They miss having that feeling of her looking out for them.

I wonder how long it might take for one of them to linger. To lower their weapon. To take off their mask.

Even then, it takes a long time for the first exorcist to *stay* after they should have retreated. For them to ask for a place to stay. But as more and more start to come to Vaggie, to the *Vanguard*, and ask for a home...charlie cant help but be grinning as she holds Vaggie's hand.

ayyyyeeeeeee!!!!

what if there was that slooooow realization that when Vaggie was around, their vanguard, they all felt more like a team together. she liked things done Right and done Well- wasn't bothered with competing- took training and exterminations Seriously- kept them all sharp sure but also turned something that was just Adam's shits and giggles, just a GAME, into a purpose and a duty again. something to be proud of and do their BEST at (while still having fun)

so yeah when Adam and Lute come back with her halo saying she's sided with hell, betrayed them all, damned herself and gets to rot there with them- there's that anger. oh they HATE her for doing that-

because they miss her

and things were better, they all felt better, when she'd been around, and that's gone now and it's her fault

or adam and lute say so anyway

can you IMAGINE in this au, the shift when Lute 1v1s Vaggie... and doesn't come back to heaven with her head?? DOESN't beat her? and Adam's DEAD?

and so are so many of them actually- dead exorcists that vaggie helped kill, that vaggie helped fight off

why?

three years her being in hell and she'd never fought any of them or hurt any of her sisters when they came flying down- (and she COULD have) (used to be one of the BEST after all) it's only when they're sent after her HOME that she fights, almost as if-

as if killing isn't what she wants to do anymore, if she can help it

thats. not the same as turning against them. not the same as her siding with hell- even so lute and adam still wanted her dead, and even then, she'd let lute LIVE...

is that weakness and betrayal?

but she's not weak, if lute couldn't kill her. and she never killed any of them until they came after her. is that still betrayal?

or is it something else

is there anything kind of betrayal here. are they on the wrong side of it...

im not sure, if any of them would take off a mask willingly- risk hell-

i KNOW that even ONE moment of hesitation would get lute turning on them, just like she did with vaggie- worse maybe, now very aware of the danger of letting fallen angels live- HER mistake, not killing vaggie when she had the chance all those years ago

and if a wounded and abandoned exorcist staggered to the gate's of the hazbin hotel? if some of her other sisters went looking for her- KNOWING this time what the supposed 'betrayal' and 'sin' had been?

(a moment of hesitation)

(before one of them drops her weapon to knock on the hotel door)

yeah. they'd find charlie running to help them inside. probably already pulling out bandages- a demon with first aid gear in her pockets, always carried just in case, nothing like they were expecting-

they'd find their Vangaurd waiting there too, having gone ahead and made things safe for them to follow, just like always

that'd be pretty sweet

#hazbin hotel #vaggie #exorcist angels hazbin hotel #vangaurd vaggie au idea thingy #.#my eyes are crossing im half asleep and thiss has hurt #thank uuuuuu #yeeeee #wouldn't it be funny #if he exorcists turned into the GUARDIANS of hell #not #not because they like hell #but vaggie made them feel like they were doing ssomething important- keeping heaven safe- protecting angels-#not just #having fun serving up torment and death to sinners #and #if a sinner can become an angel #then #where does an exorcist owe their loyalty ?#the ones tellign them to kill souls that could be under their protection someday-#or the one who wants it to stop #who wants heaven to be what it was supposed to be #and wont fight for it otherwise #hmmm #heh #if sera tries getting ride of them all as a PR move #sends them to hell and doesn't open up a way back- get lute away- the last shameful reminder of her deal with adam gone #where would the exorcists go?#now that hell KNOWS they can be killed- where could they go to find safety?#hmmmmmmm

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aingeal98 · 2 months

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Daisy: You know after having spent 25 years alone and unloved I really thought searching for my birth parents would be the only way I could find a family but you know what this team is kind of-

Daisy: OK so at least one of my team is a traitor and my birth parents are alive they're just evil monsters. Cool cool cool I am once again not feeling very safe and secure

Daisy: Oh actually wait my bio parents love me? They want me? I can make a home here mayb-

Daisy: Oh never mind my mom just tried to murder me. And my dad is still a monster but he's agreed to have his memory wiped. At least he's still breathing I guess?

Daisy: Good news is I still have my found family parents so at least-

Daisy: Aaaaand found family dad is dead. You know what this is fine as long as I just have-

Daisy:

Daisy: Universe. Universe listen to me very closely. You bring back my found family mom right fucking now. If I have all four of my parents die on me I will destroy this world just like you all said I would

Daisy: OK good. We found a nice compromise. I get to keep one parent and don't have to watch four of them die. Oh hey it's my bio mom from another timeline where she didn't get tortured into insanity and could actually love-

Daisy: Are you fucking KIDDING me.

#aos #aos spoilers #aos rambles #daisy johnson #thinking about the universe's favourite chewtoy of tragedy tonight #The narrative said losing your parents twice isn't enough we're going to have all four of them die at least once.#Your bio mom dies twice as compensation for keeping may and robot coulson #No but for real if I was her I would be convinced fate had it out for me. I would fist fight it in a parking lot #and not just for the parents deaths for the little things #the first time a parental figure tries to tell her she loves her Daisy is 27. Her mom gets knocked out before she can actually say it #it takes two more years for her to get that first i love you from coulson #the amount of tragedy and grief this one character has survived is so crazy I want to sit in on just one therapy session #just to see how deeply out of his depth the therapist is #marvel

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fisheito · 3 months

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wait. puss in boots rei? unfulfilled dream? as.. as in. kinda like. a last wish.? like. the last puss in boots movie.? perrito garu?????

#OK BUT ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN THE LAST PUSSBOOTS MOVIE. YOU CAN SEE IT RIGHT??#THE REI WHO HAS LOST ALMOST ALL 9 OF HIS LIVES AND A GOOD BOY GARU TO KEEP HIM GROUNDED??#garu who has been thru the horrors but still maintains his loving upbeat demeanour #who would throw him away. 😢 no. we take the gkaru and we cherish them #seriously my folktale knowledge is so lacking. there has to be an actual story rei is based on yes?#mumbles while reading the wiki article... helps his commoner master marry a princess? awhua???#does that sound like something rei would want? hm. curious #i'll sit in my delusional world where rei puss in boots is the one with perrito and scawwy cool death wolf #my mind briefly entertained the idea of eiden as kitty softpaws but i couldn't imagine him fighting alongside rei at equal swordsmanship #....does REI have good swordsmanship? is he even a fighter? or is he more the type to throw flaming potions from afar #anyway yes eiden can be a street-smart smart alecky cat but can he fence? no? then no kitty softpaws for now #garu helping rei come down from a panic attack 🥺#rei has no feather on his cap. it is JUST Father. he looks like a feather until he unfurls his true form and becomes the orb atop the cap #rei #garu

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fandom-drake · 1 month

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Jason Todd isn't using guns just because he wants to piss off Bruce. It's part of it yes, but not the only reason. It's not just to stick it to batman.

He started using guns partly due to the influence of the league and due to his own decisions about the no kill rules.

He doesn't believe in Batmans version of justice, where they lock up bad guys and they just keep coming back, where the abuser cannot be stopped by conventional means. Their first fight on the no kill rules was about Felipe a rapist with diplomatic immunity who pushed his victim to suicide if I remember correctly. This was before the Jason's own death, one of the reasons he ran away and while Jason may or may not have killed the guy, he did not regret the death.

That's what the fight is about!!! He believes that rapists like Felipe and mass murderers like Joker have to be dealt with permanently.

The current iteration of Red Hood keeps by the no kill rules due to his own attemps to make amends with the family and due to DC trying to make him a hero again. But his reason for killing is still there.

#Personally i dont believe that people with no oversight like super heroes should have the right to decide who lives and who dies #but the joker should have been atleast sent far far away from gotham and earth itself #or tried somewhere he would be given the death sentence #to just keep him in Arkham is so fucking stupid no wonder jason was mad #this is just rambles pls dont pick a fight with me based on it #Jason Todd #Red hood #dc #batman #og

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sadlynotthevoid · 4 months

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I was feeling like a bit of slightly-angsty isolation this thursday, so...

AU where, instead of a double transmigration happening, RokSoo transmigrated to ogCale's body, but ogCale was put into a newly made double of his body and confined into a dimension pocket.

And just, no one knows about it and he can't get out until certain conditions are reached. For example: that someone finally gets rid of WS.

Luckily for him, RokSoo and company are rather fast to kill the white star. It only took them two years, way better than in his previous timeline.

Although, those are still two years in which og!Cale, the 40-year-old war soldier turned an 18-year-old time-traveler, had to spend trapped in that place. Completely alone except for the occasional god checking on him, and a few animals a god had the kindness to let for him. (It was Loki, but no one is going to call him out).

Og!Cale is a person who loves easily and deeply but, contrary to his true nature, someone who lived through decades without deep boundaries to gave him feedback. Whether it was during the war that took everyone he knew from him, or before that, with the family he choose to stay at distance and love them from the side-lines. He lived so long without feeling genuine care, making any emotional bond that isn't one-sided, that he's hungry for them.

Being in the past, where everyone he loves hadn't died yet, where they will live, and being so close— just a dimensional door away, really— but not being able to see them, hear them, nor even talk to them... It hurts.

He's happy and so, so glad. They're alive. They can laugh and eat and breath again— and, someday, he will see them again. Even if they don't know how to act with him and is uncomfortable. Even if, most probably, they don't know he's not there and don't miss him, he will see them again.

So, yeah, he's fine with this situation. He accepted this.

That doesn't mean that the waiting doesn't suck. He, a freedom loving person, trapped in the godly version of a safehouse. Most of the days it's only he, his thoughts and the ridiculous massive library Athena managed to fit in here. And his friends, the animals, of course.

Inside of that lonely place, of course, Cale gets attached to the animals that are by his side everyday. He was already an animal lover, to begin with. The little guys who just go through their lives being absolutely adorable and are more loyal than most people around... How can he not love them?

Besides, Athanasia, the griffin, gives the best cuddles he has ever had.

He gets used, eventually. It's not like he never had lived in a big house where the only beings around wouldn't speak more than three words to him. (Well, at least the animals try to talk with him. He just needed to learn what they mean.)

And Cale can do whatever he wants here. If he wants to play the violin or paint, do acrobatics or keep his training, he can just do it. There's no need to hide. No need to restrain himself.

There's no one here to get sad at her memories. No one to spread rumors about 'skills' or 'talents'. No one to turn his interests into weapons against his own family by comparing Bassen to him.

Eventually, it feels like a different kind of freedom here.

—And then he gets out.

#so he has to stay there until the things with ws finish #he's so bored and trying not to have bad thoughts #so he keeps himself bussy with anything he can think of #the library? he read it thrice already #he plays with every single of the animals there #he teaches the parrot to sing and give sassy remarks #he plays catch the ball with the griffin #and fake fights with the fenrir #he also talks with them all the time as if he could understand them and the gods don't know if he's joking or not #except loki. he knows the truth #he tried every single hobby that he could think of at least once #kept some of them but he's never doing pottery ever again #too much mud under his fingers. his brain and og!cale himself didn't like it #krs!cale is gonna be jealous that someone else got the chance to live his slacker life #while he was running around dealing with terrorists #but og!cale had had enough isolation for a life time (hah)#the god of death is going to be in some deep shit once they find out #og!cale probably would try to explain that #no. it was not kidnapping. i accepted this #“i mean. being trapped in a dimensional pocket where you can lose track of the time easily is not that fun #but it wasn't that bad either. I had animals with me"#and accidentally make it worst #though they get distracted when og!cale presents his pets to the children and mary #og!cale henituse #og cale #og cale henituse #og!cale #athanasia the griffin #she's baby and could kill a man with a single paw #but she most likely won't

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spineless-lobster · 2 months

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Okay so idk how old the chthonic gods officially start their jobs but considering Than is death incarnate he had to start his gig pretty early right? (Even if charon or hermes acted as psychopomps before him)

So like imagine you’re just some guy, right? You die peacefully in your bed or whatever and you expect to see a tall, grim, apathetic god to appear and guide you to the underworld. You hear an ominous bell toll and the world around you turns a deathly green, this is it.

*poof*

“Deaf a’ppoches.”

In front of you hovers a child, no more than around five years hold, struggling to hold a comically large scythe. In his arms he clutches a soft toy mouse.

Like the idea of death himself being a small child is so funny to me like what do you mean this little twerp is gonna send me to hell?

#I don’t know the timeline of hades all to well or how any of this works but the idea is so amusing to me I keep thinking about it #I had to fight to not make this post a little mini fic lmao it was so tempting #hope y’all enjoyed my attempt at a child’s lisp #anyways if I died and death was a little lad I would laugh myself back to life #hades game #thanatos hades

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ladystoneboobs · 4 months

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A memory prodded at Theon. In one of his rare curt letters, Lord Balon had written of his youngest brother going down in a storm, and turning holy when he washed up safe on shore. -Theon I, aCoK

this little glimpse of balon/theon's strained long-distance relationship kinda fascinates me now. can't believe i'm going to defend balon as a father to theon in any way, however small, but i feel like hindsight has kinda blinded fandom into thinking balon gave up theon for dead and gone the moment he gave him away as hostage. this also carries the underlying assumption that balon was always going to rebel again making theon's life already forfeit to him.

thing is, while balon undoubtedly called his banners before theon came home, that also coincided with robert and ned both being recently dead, making that 2nd war seem really opportunistic. as if the only thing balon learned from his first rebellion was that king robert was strong enough to defeat him, the only man capable of defeating the great balon. so when that enemy dies, balon's crown is all but won in his mind, and with the death of ned too he could use his next war to take revenge on the (dead) man who took his son from him. maybe with robert's lifestyle he could have hoped to outlive him despite being older than robert, but robert and ned together? that must have seemed like a miraculous chance straight from the drowned god himself, a chance to rise up and take revenge that it was his duty to take for his people, even if it meant risking the life of his youngest child who'd been gone for 10 years anyway.

but before all that, even if robert being still alive was the real deterrant keeping him from warring again, he was, in effect, not only keeping theon safe by paying the hostage-ransom of keeping the peace, he was also keeping up a bare minimum connection with theon through rare and curt correspondence updating him on family events like aeron getting born again (and i'm assuming that's also how theon knew what asha's ship was named). idt we should so easily ignore that this is a society which views kinslaying as a grave offense regardless of circumstances or personal feelings, and one which greatly values male heirs over female heirs. i doubt balon was so much a feminist girldad that he just switched 12yo asha into the son slot right away as soon as all her brothers were lost. imo it was more likely a gradual process done not so consciously as asha proved herself worthy growing up and theon's time in the north stretched on and on. all until such point as asha had achieved son status and only son status at that, (maybe also coinciding with alannys leaving him so he had even less reason to keep up with her baby boy?), and then theon could be written off as belonging to the enemy, no longer ironborn or a son of balon, so sanctity of greyjoy life no longer applied to him. (real ironborn greyjoy son already killed by darth greenlander theon, from a certain point of view.) only then could balon be a not-father to theon, not welcoming him back home or even giving him a chance to prove his loyalty by providing intelligence on the northerners and the lands they were about to invade. (which could have made balon's war plans a touch less stupid. see, it all comes back to criticizing him in the end.)

in fact, come to think of it, i wonder if one thing ned and balon had in common is just not thinking of the danger of theon being executed as a hostage, not taking ownership of that possibility bc it hadn't happened yet. and hey, if it ever did come to that they could each tell themselves it would be the other guy's fault really, i was just doing my duty to my king/as a king to all my proud people. and that meant their actions didn't have to be obviously at odds with ned's view of himself as a good man opposed to killing children or balon's view of himself as great greyjoy patriarch and victim of the greenlanders (who could ofc prevail against them all if given the right chance).

#valyrianscrolls #asoiaf meta #asoiaf #theon greyjoy #balon greyjoy #unclear to me if balon would rebel if ned had survived robert's death #like hed obvsly still be stewing in resentment hankering for that great victory in his head #but ned and robert both dead w the north seemingly undefended was the impetus in canon and not a chance anyone could anticipate #and balon didnt even fight in that 2nd rebellion #so maybe not actually so bold anymore or eager to put his fantasies into practice if it meant fighting ned again actually in the north #taking kids hostage is fucked up and inherently abusive imo #but from a self-preservation standpoint why keep taking hostages if enough distance obvsly made them worthless?#ie the majority of people would still value heirs for the sake of inheritance and family honor if not love #thats a reasonable thing for people to assume including theon #(c)lsb

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poorly-drawn-mdzs · 10 months

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Peeped the horrors

[First] Prev <–-> Next

#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #a-qing #xue yang #A-qing went 'there are horrors he is committing and I am going to peep them' and then faced horrors that she could not fathom #The fact she sees the evidence first hand but it genuinely is too much to handle is a lovely tragedy that betrays her youth #It is interesting that she clearly does have more knowledge than the lay person about cultivators and night hunts (possibly from xxc?)#she does mentally call out xue yang for using the right terminology (betraying his 'no one important' façade)#but corpse poisoning is...well....probably not something she could have known about #so instead she has to encounter this horrible and suspicious event and justify it to keep herself sane #Ah....that's not going into the really interesting ambiguity of xue yangs targets #the people he kills specifically slandered *all three of them*#Was it just for himself? Was there a sense of protectiveness over his two blind companions?#I don't want an answer. I love that it is ambiguous #And oh man. having the noble XXC do the killing is so deviously evil. What a loaded chekov's gun.#you know xxc is gonna have a breakdown over it *when* he finds out. Its all a matter of timing #ok ok funny tag time #I think little apple and xy should meet up so they can swap arson tips. Truly the power team nobody wants. Not even them.#they would fight to the death and little apple would *win*#EDIT: HAPPY BIRTHDAY XUE YANG

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beanghostprincess · 4 months

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The emotional turmoil and torture Sanji and Luffy made Nami go through in WCI is something so fucked up. She's better than me because I would've punched these two idiots so damn hard they wouldn't have been able to go to any fucking wedding.

#IMAGINE NOT BEING ABLE TO DO ANYTHING I WOULD'VE DIED #girl watched the most important people in her life fighting to death and sanji was literally slipping through their fingers #and he acted like such a jerk to them (understandable. been there. me too. not judging) nami was literally in pieces what the hell #no but seriously like #the helplessness ??? god #poor girl i would not let sanji go after that #i'm just sure she's been keeping an eye on him because i swear she was so worried #one piece #black leg sanji #monkey d. luffy #cat burglar nami #nami #whole cake island

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problemswithbooks · 7 months

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So, watched live action One Piece and now I'm watching/reading the OG stuff. No where close to done but my brain decided to fixate on Arlong so I can't help but talk about him a bit.

Something that I find kind of interesting about Arlong is that if you read his backstory then go back to the main Arc he was in you actually realize he's way more mellow then he was in the past. Now, he's still awful but given what we're shown of him in Jinbe's flashbacks I think it kind of shows that he did, in a weird way (and not in the way Fisher Tiger would have wanted) changed due to Fisher Tiger's words on not killing humans.

In the past Arlong was constantly advocating for killing humans and terrorizing them so they'd learn their place. He never warms up to Koala despite the rest of the crew--including his own friends coming to like her. Everyone is sad to see her go even Kurobi who is later one of the worst in Arlong's crew.

After Fisher Tiger's Death it's clear Arlong was going to kill everyone in Koala's village (and no doubt would have killed Koala). He was stopped and put in Impel Down--a notoriously hellish prison (run by humans). It's not clear how long he was there, but probably at least a few months, which is a long time in a place like that.

After his pardon he leaves Jinbe and the Grand Line. Presumably he started taking over villages pretty soon after.

Now, what I find interesting is that this is by far the most justified Arlong is in his hate of humans, yet it's also the nicest we ever see him being to them. Before Fisher Tiger's death and reveal of being a slave, or his time in Impel Down Arlong hated humans because of things that although affected him were not things he himself suffered.

Arlong was never a slave, and at least Hachi, Chew and Kurobi were also never slaves. They were all orphans and this might have been the fault of human pirates who attacked Fish-Men Island, but we don't know that for sure, and it's never brought up as a grievance of theirs. They know Fish-men and mermaids are taken as slaves and they surely get racist treatment from the visiting humans, but they don't have first hand experience with human cruelty--like slavery or murder.

Not until Fisher Tiger is killed for helping a human girl go home after being a slave do they experience real loss due to humans. From there, Arlong is captured and imprisoned in Impel Down where he was surely treated terrible by humans during his time there (given they treat everyone bad there). Yet, despite saying he's the anger of the fish-men he does not actually kill nearly as many humans as you'd think, given how he acts in the past.

In fact in a lot of ways he seems to try not to kill humans if he can get away with other methods of control instead.

This is when he takes over Nami's village. This is not long after Fisher Tiger's death which Arlong wanted to kill an entire village for. Yet, now, despite a huge uprising happening, with nearly the entire village of humans trying to attack them, he's not going for the kill.

This is him probably less then a year before the panel above. He's furious and saying he embodies the rage of all Fish-Men. Yet he arrives to the village and tells his crew not to kill anyone despite their open hostility.

Yes, he wants money because he (supposedly) wants to take over the East Blue(world?) but he's already got his money and killing a few villagers should be no big deal--he plans on taking over more anyway.

In the end though, he does only kill Bell-mere due to her lack of money. She makes a good example, of course, but he was more then willing to let her live, despite her shoving a gun in his mouth before she used the money for Nami and her sister.

This is a huge change in a short amount of time.

This is another time he and his crew don't kill for zero reason. They have been attacked all day by members of Luffy's crew. Zoro absolutely beat the shit out of his guys earlier that day. He was furious when Usopp dared to fire on him (to the point of flipping a damn house) but now they just leave two strangers (so not cash cows) alive? Usopp--was worth Arlong's anger, but suddenly two other random humans doing the same thing aren't worth killing?

This is how he responds to Zoro being what I would assume is racist given what Arlong says. He does not know who this guy is--Zoro was found tied to a boat and just brought to him and his first words are racist. Yet, Arlong lets it 'slide once'. Again this is the guy who hit a child for no reason except she was human way before he lost Fisher Tiger or went to the human torture prison. Yet now he's putting up with a stranger calling him racist names?

Going back to Usopp, this is how furious Arlong was when he was attacked:

He's so furious that for a moment he's willing to destroy one of his money making villages, right after losing one not to long ago, just to kill one human guy who didn't actually hurt him, nor are they a rebelling villager.

Yet this is how he acts once Usopp gets caught.

This is after he comes back to Arlong Park to find most of his crew beaten to a pulp by Zoro. He flipped a house he was so pissed off at Usopp, ready to destroy an entire village that he gets good money from (and which he needs to keep Nami around) but suddenly after his crew is hurt he's not in the mood for killing Usopp ASAP?!

Also, he was only in Nami's village because he saw Genzo had a weapon. He thought the village was going to rebel like the last one and he wanted to nip it in the bud and kill Genzo before it got to far. That was the only reason he was there and yet, after Usopp makes him absolutely furious he and Kurobi leave Genzo alive.

Flashback Arlong, who was barely held back by Fisher Tiger would never have left any of these humans alive. They were in his eyes disrespectful, not fearing him like he wants, and most did not give him money--the only benefit he sees to keeping humans around. Yet, he lets all of them live--maybe he has plans to kill them later, but again, past Arlong would kill them ASAP.

I know that the most likely reason for this is because Oda didn't have everything with Arlong and Jinbe's past in his brain at this point (there's ten years or more between these parts in the story). Not only that he can't have important people like Usopp and Zoro being killed off. He also seemed less willing to kill characters off in the start of the manga, which is why Genzo and Zoro's friends lived (killing Genzo would also have been way to mean to Nami).

But from an in character perspective you could see this as Arlong being affected by Fisher Tiger's words of not killing humans. No, he can't fully follow that rule, let alone Fisher Tiger's orders to not treat humans badly. Arlong has hated humans for far to long, and he was barely managing to restrain himself for Fisher Tiger despite respecting/caring for the man with his whole heart.

He can't not kill humans or treat them like crap--but he can come up with excuses that limit how many he kills. A 'well, if they pay me, they can live', or a 'they're to weak to kill so I won't', or 'I'll give this guy a warning for insulting me before I kill him'.

He lets his crew drag him away from Nami's village because he doesn't really want to destroy it (for monetary gain not kindness obviously). Kurobi doesn't kill Genzo because he wasn't told to so he lets him off, despite that being the only reason they came in the first place (despite defiantly knowing killing him wouldn't get him in trouble and is Arlong's intention). That gives Arlong time to calm down and by the time Usopp is caught he's more willing to take the time to ask him what he's doing there and then let Nami deal with him.

Part of it might also be Arlong knowing Jinbe will come kick his ass as soon as he finds out he's been killing/terrifying humans. He can bribe the Marines, but only to a point. If he was slaughtering every human that looked at him wrong or said something racist he'd be to much of a threat for higher-up the Marines to ignore. Eventually they'd tell Jinbe to deal with him and Jinbe would. Arlong would know that and given he was beaten easily by Jinbe he also knows he'd lose immediately (and either be killed or sent back to Impel Down).

Either way, he's showing some restraint even though he doesn't have someone like Fisher Tiger, or Jinbe directly telling him to. For whatever reason Arlong is way more willing to keep humans alive if he can come up with an excuse for it. Which I find kind of fascinating and adds some depth to his character that I don't think was necessarily intentional, but is the strength of the writing that Oda was able to add something years down the line that somehow didn't conflict with what's already established.

#one peice #arlong #Jinbe #i just find him neat #is this a meta?#i might also give my thoughts about why he liked Nami so much #yes he treats her like crap and he (supposedly) needs her maps #but he would not be seen with Koala at all #he is not in any of the panels of her bonding with the crew even in the background #yet he throws parties when Nami comes back?#after he outright says she's tried to off him multiple times #he even defends her loyalty to the crew--SHE TIRED TO KILL YOU MULTIPLE TIMES!#but he fucking trusts her?!#are you kidding me!#also he hates Koala pre-Tiger's death but accepts Nami and fights tooth and nail to keep her around #again maps are important but really? he can't find anyone else to make maps? can't have someone on the crew learn how to make maps?#also he has a shit ton--must have all of East Blue Mapped #which is kind of why I say he supposedly wanted to conquer East Blue (the world)#it's been 8 years and he only has 20 villages #sorry but dude isn't trying at all #plus he knows he can't beat Jinbe or the Grand Line Marines #so i think he's just saying shit to feel better #probably would have sit on his ass in Arlong Park until he died of old age #Ends up being a slightly more evil Walt Disney with his knock off amusement park for his 30+ year-old fish-men friends #fucking love this dude; he's pathetic

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arsenicflame · 6 months

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so, this ones technically not a fix it because its still major character death but this is how i would tweak the canon story to give Izzy's death meaning and weight.

First of all, Izzy doesn't get shot by Ricky. The crew of the revenge may still be absolute rookies by Izzy's standards but even they know to take all the weapons off a hostage and unload any guns. Ricky still escapes and alerts the Navy, and our crew are running through the woods, down to the beach and Izzy is still falling back. For all his new prosthetic has helped his mobility immensely, its no good for running. Its clunky and dragging behind him and Ed and Frenchie and Jim and everyone keeps slowing down to make sure he's keeping up with them, but in doing that the navy are quickly catching up to all of them, they're being swarmed.

They break through the trees onto the beach, with more and more men coming up behind them. Izzy's struggling even more across the beach than he was in the woods, the hoof sinking in and sand shifting as he tries to run, and he stumbles. All the while Navy men continue to appear from all directions- and it hits him. That this is it. There's no way they will all make it out alive.

But he's Izzy Fucking Hands and even if he cant run anymore, he can still fight. He can fight for this crew, this family, these people who have given him so much, who have opened their arms to him when he was at his lowest, who have allowed him to feel free. He can still fight. He can buy them time.

So he turns, and draws his sword.

There was never any way he could win, of course. Even when he truly was the best swordfighter in all the Caribbean, fighting dozens of navy men at once would have been beyond him- but he can distract them, hold them off long enough the revenge sets sail. Its a glorious sight, one man against dozens, bodies falling around him as he holds them back. Its impressive to watch, and maybe, for a second, the crew allows themselves to hope. But then, he takes a cut to his sword arm, and another to his side.

And then he goes down.

But he goes down fighting.

Izzy Hands, who spent his whole life fighting dies that way too, fighting for the safety he spent his whole life searching for.

#i wanted to have jim hold a dinghy for him waiting to see if he could escape until the last second but i think they knew #that he would never try to escape if it brought even a chance of risk to them #its just. the season spends so long talking about who izzy is- hes revered in their community; he has a reputation; hes one of the best.#+ also showing the building of his relationship with the crew; learning how to be loved by them and love in return #he spends the start of the episode talking about how it's all for the crew for fucks sake why could we not see him die in defence of that?#using his proficiency at sword fighting to keep his family safe one last time #nyxtalks #ofmd #ofmd s2 spoilers #our flag means death #izzy hands #israel hands #fix it #resurrecting my finale week drafts now im a bit less bitter #i wanted to put something in about the crew protesting; because obviously they would; but it fucked with the flow of the post.#and again. i think they knew anyway #this was his hill to die on #also- some thoughts on why he could fight but not run: a) its fiction #b) hes actively been practicing his fighting with his hoof; hes been learning to compensate for it on a rocking boat #he'll have a lot more instinct on how to balance when his footing isnt stable; from his history and from sheer dogged determination #the way hes practiced hes learnt to use the leg to his advantage; or at least work around its hinderance.#he uses his hoof as his balance; propelling himself with his good leg; and i think itd be pretty simple to translate this through to sand-#standing still and letting them come to you; only moving in ways you feel comfortable. this has been his way of life for so long;#hes probably fought with injuries before; if nothing else; he can always figure out how to fight. hes had to

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