#shipping meta

[the-bar-sinister]

I'm going to be brutally, bluntly honest and vulnerable for a moment.

I don't have any positive familial connections. I don't have any mothers or fathers, or sisters or brothers or aunts or uncles or cousins who were supportive, or caring, or loving, open or gently teasing to me.

That's why I don't understand at all what people are feeling when they say "I can't ship them, they're like siblings!" or "he's like a father to her" etc.

I can't look at a relationship between two characters-- who are not blood related-- who are supportive, caring, loving, dependable, open or gently teasing and see a relationship that somehow feels romantically taboo.

I look at a relationship that is caring, loving, open, teasing, comfortable, etc and I see romance.

I genuinely don't have a yardstick to evaluate what people are seeing when they see a relationship like that and it makes them uncomfortable to ship because it reminds them of their family. I don't know what that feels like.

And that's why I ship so many things that people call "sibling coded" or "found family" etc. Because I don't look at them and see family.

I look at them and I see the people who saved me from my family.

#shipping #fandom wank #fandom meta #shipping meta #character dynamics #character tropes #sibling dynamics #sibling coded #found family #abuse survivor

[underwaterbanshee]

I’m just saying, after all the sexual tension being cut with a true metal blade, Deli deserves and should solve both his sklad and virginity problems as he gets slammed down big style by both Colin and Karna.

It doesn’t need to be a triangle. Deli’s already a sandwich. He’s got two hands.

#the ravening war #the ravening war spoilers #just me being silly #and having fun #shipping meta

[fatedtime]

I need to infect everyone with my current rarepair hyperfixation brainrot so strap in, here’s why Asclepius and Florence Nightingale FGO should kiss.

Okay so Nightingale and Asclepius are two people that have been stated in multiple places to get along really well and generally work really well together. He described her as a perfect assistant and she’s just thrilled to be around him, and you’ve got moments like here where he admires her as a necessary and valuable part of the medical field that is critical to him being able to exist, but is outside of the field of what he does.

On a surface level they’re great coworkers who care a lot about similar things — Asclepius the advancement of medicine to eventually beat death, and Nightingale the elimination of disease. They’d spend a lot of time working together and not minding that the other is intensely single-minded in their focus. It doesn’t matter that Asclepius is a socially awkward mess of a man whose interest in disease means he’s terrifyingly blasé about the emotional well-being and safety of those around him, because Nightingale is so Berserker-addled that she would beat a man to death with a chair if she thought that meant curing him. He would completely accept that she’s a menace and a monstrosity because he doesn’t even think she IS a menace — her methods are different, sure, but intriguing, and he takes her seriously no matter what.

On a much deeper level, Nightingale is a fucked up person who exists in constant agony and her character arc is MISERABLY sad. Her interludes end with her giving up her sanity to be a better servant for her master because it is impossible for her to maintain her reason and also her functionality as a Servant. Her third ascension shows her bandaged and beaten to represent how strengthening her, ascending her, making her a better servant is actually unhealthy for her — it makes the core contradiction in her character worse and further throws her into the nightmare she’s trapped in. Nightingale is traumatized by Crimea — she saw a filthy war, where mites infested all the medical supplies and disease ran rampant among those she cared for. She saw people dying that shouldn’t have had to die but perished purely because of the stubbornness of those in charge and a pervasive apathy towards their subordinates quality of care. War is hell and soldiers die in agony, and no one FUCKING RESPECTED HER because she was a woman so she could allow herself no softness or tenderness in fighting that hell as a soldier against disease.

…now in Chaldea she is a soldier again and she has been forced into a role where she must fight once more. Her class container means she must fight; as much as people like kissing servants their role is fundamentally to wage war and kill things so it is impossible for Nightingale, a nurse obsessed with preserving life, to happily exist in her class container without it destroying her sense of self.

So she does. With her own hands she kills her humanity.

Except…

God fucking damn would Asclepius hate that.

Because destroying one’s humanity is what a god would do and Asclepius fucking hates that so much.

So picture Asclepius, a man who has said that Nightingale is essentially his bedrock — that she is necessary to create a bastion of care — having to confront the idea that this woman he works so flawlessly with, who he communicates so well with completely wordlessly (something I am sure he highly prizes) is about to become something he hates. He’d have to confront her suffering, her agony, and… beyond even just ‘I care about her’, it would be a matter of ‘I need to treat her disease’. So he’d beg her not to do it and further beg her to be his patient.

And that’s something that Nightingale has never had.

Nightingale is the definition of ‘caring for others at the expense of the self’. The lady with the lamp sits at the bedside of others, she isn’t gently cared for herself… and she can’t be, because if she’s seen as Someone to be Cared For, she is then in danger of becoming someone To Be Disrespected because she’d be _weak_ and she can’t have THAT she’s fought so HARD to be taken seriously in a world that’s always dismissed her because she doesn’t have a goddamn dick. But Asclepius has never been like that, has he? Her gender has never been part of the equation for him and, furthermore, there’s never been a moment where Asclepius doesn’t take Nightingale 100% seriously. In fact, he admires how efficiently she can knock a man out and gag him. Also, Asclepius loves his mom and Atalante would have killed him if he didn’t drink respect women juice, so if she’s his patient it’s fine, that won’t do anything to jeopardize her position.

So Asclepius, who’s bad with loss, is caring for Nightingale who has never been cared for before, and I’ll admit that it’d probably verge into the territory of Intimate Healing as he tries to find a way to lessen the pain in her spirit origin and keep her sane. And like, it’d work — Nightingale would have been given another role to fulfill, something else to be other than a Servant and a Solider, which would give her… clarity. And Asclepius and Nightingale wouldn’t be able to talk about the emotional ramifications of him seeing her eyes clear and her not being in pain for once, because they’re both stupid idiots, but emotionally it’d be there. He’d be successfully caring for this woman who is the bedrock of all of his ambitions and everything that he finds important, and she’d be cared for by someone who understands the weight of what she’s trying to do and has never once invalidated it.

Embracing him is fine, it’s alright, because Asclepius is so incredibly clean. There’d never be a bug on him. He’d never be the least bit filthy.

And like, moments of sanity would do things to Nightingale. It’d make her easier to reason with but it’d also give her the space to maybe try to find a way to occupy her class container that doesn’t bring her Constant, Unending Suffering. She might not have the words for her love for Asclepius, and she might be an unromantic idiot who forgets Valentine’s Day and probably has no conception of going on a date, but it’s there and she doesn’t want to become what he hates, so she tries to be a little more like a fully rounded person than a murder nurse. And… she wants better for him too. She wants people to like him and see how wonderfully kind and sweet he is, which she might accomplish by threatening people into being nice to him, but it’d also manifest in her trying to get people to understand him and wanting him to maybe talk to other people about more than just new medical techniques.

In return, Asclepius would look at Nightingale and see a human being, not an Angel or a Devil. A beautiful, wonderful, strong human being whose loss would ruin him on so many levels.

and I wish there was more art of them kissing, dammit.

#fgo #fate grand order #shipping meta #Florence nightingale #Asclepius #long post #asclepigale

[hollowwhisperings]

'Axel, part of 2 trios' wait whats the other trio axels a part of. him namine and riku? or him isa and subject x?

Axel's arguably in THREE trios, if we forget that Ventus only knew Lea & Isa for one(1) day.

when it comes to Trad KH Trios, Axel has the Seasalt Trio (Axel, Xion & Roxas) and another with Isa & a mysterious 'Subject X'.

while we don't know much of anything about 'Subject X' she's very helpful to the overall themes of KH: her inclusion with Isa & Lea allows them to become a more Blatant Parallel of Riku & Sora (something that DOES require more handholding to lead audiences to, sadly)...

...and how clinging to the same friendship dynamics of childhood can do more harm than good as you grow up.

where Xehanort & Eraqus showed us "what if Riku & Sora actually bought into some of the false dichotomies they've been presented with, what if they hadn't had the support of their friends & were entirely alone", Saïx & Axel served as a "okay, even IF Sora &/or Riku isolated themselves from outside support & shut down communication... you can still fix misunderstandings, mend rifts, reconnect again as tje different people you have now become".

i was kind of Relieved to see that KH3's ending montage showed all the different "trios" intermingling, forging new connections independently of each other. it's a sign of growth & trust, expanding your social circle & learning that having more friends doesn't lessen the friendships you already have. the KH fandom and, in a way, the Seasalt Trio & Kairi (in regard to the Destiny Trio) are/were VERY fixated on having these Friendship Trios, often making the natural jump of making them Romantic OT3s (before the whole "Axel, Terra & Aqua are canonically considered to be young Adults: Ventus, Roxas & Xion are considered children/tweens" revelation).

That the "Seasalt Trio" is now sometimes called the "Seasalt Seven" (Hayner, Olette, Pence, Roxas, Xion, Axel & Isa) is something I find quite heartwarming.

(and, never forget that Jiminy has Been The 4th member of Sora's adventure party The Whole Time! the sets of 3 are just a jumping point, not some strict ultimatum!)

#kh meta #kh spoilers-ish #shipping meta #axel meta #seasalt trio #seasalt seven #destiny trio #disney trinity #the three musketeers actually has four #remember jiminy #jiminy was there the whole time #wayfinder trio #the wayfinders arguably have the healthiest dynamic of the KH original characters #probs because the implied ship is het and the age difference is confirmed within their game #aqua and terra get teased as being ven's parents at least twice and the eng translation stole that from us #deconstructing fandom tropes

[superbeeny]

IDK the way so many Bakudeku fans are now getting very hyped for the prospect of the ship being made canon just makes me want to hold the ship, its fandom, and the series as a whole emotionally at arm’s reach.  The meta writers who seem especially confident just make me think “I’m too old for this.”  Because MHA is a mega-popular property internationally, and making the lead male character bisexual and in a canon ship with a man would be considered a huge risk even if they made it super subtle. (even though I don’t feel I know enough about Japanese culture to make informed commentary about how Japanese viewers could receive it). To be frank, I refuse to give brownie points for Endgame Bakudeku until I actually see it. To quote Missouri: show me.  

#mha #my hero academia #bnha #boku no hero academia #bakugou katsuki #izuku midoriya #bakudeku #dekubaku #decchan #deku #kacchan #kohei horikoshi #manga #anime #shipping meta #ship meta #bnha meta #mha meta #fandom commentary #fandom critical

[balanceoflightanddark]

sighs

I wish I didn't have to make this post, but concerning recent events on my blog, I feel I need to address it before things get too out of hand.

I would like to reiterate: I do not ship Zucest.

I merely stated in my original post that I understood why people shipped it, and that I wanted Azula and Zuko to have a better relationship than in canon and in the comics.

Here is my original words from the post that started this whole mess:

Zucest…I…I’m not an active shipper of Zucest.

Now mind you, I certainly see the appeal of Zucest. And I will agree, I do desire for Azula and Zuko to have a somewhat…cordial relationship. So if that involves them getting intimate, then I could see it work out.

Again, not an active shipper though. I’m not really into incest shipping, but I’m not gonna crap on it too much.

At least it’s a lot more healthier than what we got in the comics.

I never said I shipped it. I just said I wasn't going to go out of my way to crap on it and I respect those who do ship it. I feel there's a big difference between not supporting a ship and actively attacking those who do by sending kys notes. And I feel there's a big difference between incest shipping and supporting it in real life.

You are not wrong to dislike Zucest. Nobody's forcing it on you. Just understand that attacking it isn't the way.

#zucest #zucest meta #shipping meta #my intention is not to start a fight #i just want to prevent things from getting out of hand

[descendant-of-truth]

Shipping is fun and all but I swear every single time someone makes a comment, whether as a joke or in a legitimate analysis, about there being "no other explanation" for a pair's interactions, I lose just a bit more of my sanity

Like, no, you guys don't get it. Romance is not about the Amount of devotion, it's about the COLOR. the FLAVOR of it all. a character can be just as devoted to their platonic friend as they are to their romantic partner, and they don't love either of them more, just differently.

But because the majority of people still have it stuck in their minds that romance exists on the highest tier of love, I'm stuck seeing endless takes that boil down to "these two care about each other too much for it to NOT be romantic" as if that's the core determining factor to how literally any of this works

In conclusion: stop telling me that I don't understand the story if I don't interpret the leads as romantic, I am TIRED

#analysis #meta #miscellaneous #fandom #shipping #media discussion #amatonormativity #lgbtq #I feel like tagging any of the fandoms I was thinking of when writing this would be a little mean-spirited potentially #Disclaimer: no one has actually been telling me personally that I don't understand any story in particular #It's just that the way people tend to phrase their analyses feels unnecessarily targeted at the reader and that's just. not great #even if I agree with every other point they make

[emerald-truth]

I think the reason I tend to prefer non canon gay ships to canon straight ships is, in addition to because I'm gay, because I'm aromantic. In the end I don't think it really as all that much to do with whether the ships are gay or straight, it's just that same sex relationships are less likely to be canonically romantic. Even when a man and a woman are in a non romantic relationship in fiction a lot of times there's a subtext of "oooo but what if they were romantic?" which is really annoying. I only really find romantic relationships compelling in fiction when there's something else going on there. Canon romantic relationships often are formed primarily on romantic attraction, something I don't understand. However, if a deep non romantic relationship is established, I can imagine how that might evolve into including many aspects of traditional romantic relationships. This is why I love slow burns, even if they're eventually canon straight relationships, time is taken to establish a motivation for that relationship that is not just romantic.

#shipping meta #aromantic

[sighed-the-snake]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. This line hits differently after S2.

You two?

The Antichrist KNOWS ALL ABOUT THEM?

What did he do for them that he told them so confidently not to worry about their future? What did he change while he was in God Mode editing reality? WHAT DID ADAM DO?

#the antichrist knows the angel and demon are in love #Adam Young ships AziraCrow #so what if I'm writing too many fics at once THERE IS ROOM FOR ONE MORE #good omens #good omens meta #good omens fandom #good omens analysis #ineffable husbands #ineffable partners #aziraphale #crowley #adam young #aziracrow

[ansburg]

Now, perhaps we might try a more — intimate style.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 spoilers #bg3 #bg3 astarion #bg3 wyll #wyll ravengard #astarion ancunin #bg3edit #wyllstarion #peak bi x pan solidarity btw #idk what their ship name is but. making this set converted me #(im still a wyll x karlach truther but i have a meta in my brain abt these two Right Now)

[the-bar-sinister]

It would be really funny if I took the time to point out all the ways that Miles and Phoenix can just as easily be described as having a "sibling dynamic" as Phoenix and Maya or Athena and Simon.

I probably won't bother. But it would be pretty funny.

#🔍⚔️ #ace attorney #ace attorney meta #shipping #shipping meta

[anakinftpadme]

just remembered that chani was forced to revive her lover from the dead… like she hated this prophecy her entire life and then she was compelled to make it happen against her will. she lost the paul she loved because he died in that moment, and what came back she now feels personally responsible for even if it wasn’t really her fault. the guilt? over both the fact she ressurected him and the secret relief she has (that she hates) that he’s back. like she probably has guilt that any part of her loves him still, enough to be relieved he’s alive despite the horrific consequences

#this ship is insane #paulchani #paul x chani #chani kynes #paul atreides #dune #dune part two #dune: part two #dune part 2 #dune two #my metas #t

[emmafrostyyy]

y'all sleeping on Astarion/Lae'zel bc this moment is so...the way the flippant demeanor drops and he doesn't hesitate to call her out for sticking with her version of Cazador like their relationship is so underrated fr...

sitting down writing this bullshit like let me peel it like an onion a bit and elaborate why this pairing is fascinating to me

It's really interesting how during the most cathartic, life-altering moment in Astarion's questline, the reactions of the other companions are more about the moral wrongness/guilt of sacrificing innocent lives. Lae'zel doesn't do that and instead relates to his hurt.

She knows what's he's feeling, the lack of control, the unfairness of being powerless for too long. This is a woman who just found out her entire life purpose was built on lies, discarded and hunted by her own people after outliving her usefulness, and groomed to basically die for an insane power-hungry lich queen. She knows all too well that power isn't always real freedom. Her first instinct is to empathize with Astarion to steer him away from his hate and resentment.

Astarion/Lae'zel is so interesting to me because they're such a classic "can we make each other worse or make a better person out of the other?".

They both have genuine appreciation for violence and respect each other's ruthlessness. Astarion was used as a weapon of seduction while Lae'zel was of warfare. Sex with people is meaningless and not real intimacy for them, and while both have little understanding/experience of interpersonal relationships beyond the physical, they still feel and love very deeply. They have no frame of reference for things like friendship and warmth, but they badly want all of that and more, even if they don't know it yet.

In-game they can sleep with each other, which is basically the foundation of the normal Tav/Astarion romance. Lae'zel saw him during combat and got horny, who knows. Astarion who's used to luring people with his charms, takes up Lae'zel's blunt offer because she's a strong hardened warrior that can provide protection and be a worthy ally, and he doesn't know how to say no. Navigating the complications between one who wants to be seen beyond as a sex object, and one who comes from a totally alien culture with no concept of love/family/connections and only sex is honestly really compelling to me. It's a transactional, mutually beneficial thing with no emotional expectations. Once you get past the skeevy rockiness of their early relationship, I really like the idea of them slowly seeing something past the exterior and realizing they may have harshly misjudged the other, an unspoken friendship blooms, and in comes the realization that they are essentially loners longing for kindness and a comforting touch in the most desperate of situations.

Lae'zel is prideful, direct, has no sense of courtship talk, and doesn't hold back her thoughts the slightest--she's not sweet/agreeable and what you see is really what you get, which I imagine would be disarming for Astarion who's used to vacuous flattery and has difficulty trusting others. But she's also insanely protective, passionate, loyal, and an initiator-- every romance scene is triggered by her first and she's always showing effort towards her relationships, which would mesh well with Astarion who does need someone to nudge him.

She doesn't purposely suppress her feelings, she's just simply at loss at how to express them sometimes due to her wildly different upbringing. She stops the sparring match you agree to and an easy vulnerability slips instantly out of her: "I don't want to hurt you. I want to protect you, and for you to protect me." and "Thus far I've taunted you, devoured you, battled you. Now I want more than anything to soothe you." are romantic as fuck and Astarion of all people really needs to hear that tbh.

Astarion is also someone who struggles with reinforcing his boundaries, and a key theme in Lae'zel's romance is that she encourages and wants you to challenge her and learn to stand your ground. It's not gentlest method, but hey, relationships are about having to make an effort to learn each other's language.

I think he also would take pleasure "educating her on the matters of Fay-run" (I believe there's a whole banter with him teasing her and teaching her pet names) and would get a kick out of coaxing Lae'zel out of her shell with her shyness at showing public affection, and making her blush. Also it simply would be fucking funny to see Astarion who's used to easy seduction, trying to pass a persuasion check just to get a smooch and generally having to work to earn regular kisses from Lae'zel lmfaooo

Lae'zel also initially struggles to see her chains as chains. When she learns about Vlaakith's betrayal, she copes instantly through denial and shuts it down. Astarion is NOT having it and calls her out, he knows her well enough to recognize that she would value blunt honesty above all.

I imagine he also despises her lack of self-preservation, the way her entire identity is tied to duty and being in service of others, and doesn't understand her desire to still help/liberate the people that want her dead and are hunting her down. He wants to make this duty-bound soldier realize that looking out for herself, and putting herself first may not be the worst thing in the world.

They're so similar to each other but are also polar opposites in some ways that make a more equal, balanced romance I think. It's not a simple, one-sided, feel-good "she/he can fix her/him" fantasy because both of them have to earn each other's love, actually cut through the other's flaws, and actively motivate each other to be better versions of themselves.

They're not at all the other's ideal guiding hand. It's rough, jagged, and imperfect, but that's how healing goes. It's so far from being the healthiest relationship -- but even if their belief systems differ, their moral compass does often align. I imagine it's a slight relief for them to have a partner where there would be less shame and judgment when they expectedly, occasionally slip up and fall into their bad habits.

Also, man, the "You showed me the betweens and beyonds. Beyond war and peace, beyond passion and obsession, most importantly, you showed me freedom.", "First you were my wound, now you were my cure.", "But you saw something else in me - someone else I could be. Someone who could break the cycle of power and terror that started centuries ago.." lines really hit hard when applied to them.

Of course, they can also make each other worse, feed into the other's negative traits that will bring out the worst part of themselves. It's this duality of their pairing that is very interesting to explore, the way it can steer in either direction because it's an intense, fraught relationship at its core.

#when he gets called by omeluum “child of the dark” and her “child of the stars” like yeah..the squid man is being literal but he Gets It fr. #lae'zel #astarion #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 meta #astarion ancunin #astarion x lae'zel #lae'zel x astarion #the rarest of rarepairs they dont even got a ship name...this is so tragique we need to discuss the pathos and potential of this pairing #bg3 lae'zel #bg3 astarion #also im a sucker for stoic knight/court darling trope and whatever variations of it yeah #bloodbruise

[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

[deefighter2739]

The'll show you who's boss and then laugh at you 💙❤️

#king dedede #meta knight #my art #stupid smug bastards i hate themmm #they're my favorites #kings of the show #very proud at this one!! #kirby #tag as ship if you want

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#meta knight #king dedede #feel free to tag as ship if you'd like 👍 #kirby #kirby series #art tag