sorry for speaking my truth it will happen again. i think my main issue with valax’s redemption arc is literally just that there’s never a moment where the mc gets to actually talk to her about what she did—there’s not really a cathartic conversation, so valax and mc moving past what she did to them feels less like forgiveness and redemption and more like an agreement to ignore the elephant in the room
like sure we got to talk about our trauma (in chapter 17 of 20. lol. lmao, even) to the party, but valax wasn’t present for that?? and like, sure, she says once that she is sorry “for the pain she caused [them]”, but there’s a difference Tew Me between “sorry for hurting you ig ✌️😗” and actually being like “yeah, i abducted you and forced you into a magically induced coma and stole your blood and robbed you of a full year of your life and repeatedly tried to murder you, to say nothing of the grief i caused your loved ones. i did all that shit and i’m sorry for it and deeply regret it, and i acknowledge that you don’t owe me forgiveness, but i will spend the rest of my life working to build a better world for my people instead of being my mother’s pawn”, and a difference between “my mother is unhappy with me for saving you :(” and actually like, giving the mc space to talk about the impact of her actions towards them. like girl you are not getting out of this shit with one sentence’s worth of apology and a sex scene lmfao!!!
during the first half or so of the book the focus for mc is not falling the fuck apart bc they have a friend group to tentatively piece together and they’re averse to showing fear in front of valax, so they’re repressing all their trauma—and by the time valax joins the party, the narrative has gone full Valax Cool And Good mode, and fully allows you to flirt with her and tease her and generally stops taking her seriously as an antagonist. which would be all fine and good if we had actually at any point gotten to be like, “hey, you abducting me and keeping me in a magically induced coma and stealing my blood and trying to kill me has actually caused me a lot of lasting fear and pain,” followed by some set of choices wrt forgiving or not forgiving her for all that in light of the revelation that she did all that shit bc her mom tortured and brainwashed her
like why are my friends more pissed off about the time this bitch abducted me and did evil little experiments on me than i am. free valax she did all that shit bc of her mommy issues but i should’ve gotten to call her a cunt just once. pb stop making all your mcs generals in the idgaf war challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)
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Questions 1 through 15 from the relationship asks for Yara and Ace, maybe? 💚
Aaaahhh tysm Dolly!! This genuinely made me feel so much better to type out!
1)How did they meet and what were their first impressions of each other?
They technically met on the Whitebeard Pirates— Yara had joined Whitebeard’s crew about two-and-a-half years or so before Ace did and had worked her way up from apprentice to full crewmember by the time that Ace and the Spade Pirates got into their initial clash with Whitebeard. Speaking of which… It’s so funny to look back on it but Yara HATED Ace at first because of his repeated attempts to kill Whitebeard, her captain/surrogate father. A lot of the Whitebeard Pirates weren’t bothered by Ace, knowing that he wasn’t nearly strong enough to hurt Whitebeard, but Yara was. She treated him as if he had the plague and wouldn’t go near him or talk to him. That started to change once Thatch roped her in to helping train Ace’s observation haki and she started to spend a little more time with him, at the same time that he was starting to come out of his initial angry, angsty phase following his initial defeat at Whitebeard’s hands and his battles with Whitebeard transformed from assassination attempts into genuine combat based on mutual respect. Ace on the other hand never had any ill will towards Yara at any point, even when he was shunning the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates’ attempts to reach him. He just thought she was super pretty and cool tbh… also she just gave off Sad Lonely Vibes that reminded him a lot of himself when he was younger, before he had Luffy to take care of.
2) What kind of dynamic do they have with each other?
They have the most black cat/golden retriever energy lmao Ace can be goofy and fun-loving and super affectionate, whereas Yara tends to be a lot more reserved (she’s basically Mihawk Jr, let’s be real lol) but she loves the attention he gives her and she does give him a lot of love in return, in her own way. Mostly through reassurances when he starts to struggle with his self-worth. (I don’t wanna give too much away about Ace’s past but so much of it is genuinely heartbreaking, my poor boy)
3) What do others think of them?
The other Whitebeard Pirates were relieved when they FINALLY figured it out and got together. Marco and Thatch were pretty relentless with the teasing. Whitebeard was happy that two of his “children” managed to find love in spite of everything that had gone wrong in their lives. Luffy adored Yara the moment she offered him a snack (package of dried meat) that she happened to have in her bag and immediately accepted her as his sister (in law)— though he would’ve done so anyways, meat or no meat, as long as Ace is happy.
4) Do they have the same love language as each other?
They don’t, but they know each others’ love languages really well, so it doesn’t ever become an issue. (I think I had it as: Ace— giving: gift-giving, receiving: words of affirmation; Yara— giving: acts of service, receiving: physical touch).
5) Is their joint future bright or bleak?
Well, I can’t say too much without dropping some MAJOR One Piece spoilers, but I like writing them with a bright future where they end up very happy together for the rest of their days.
6) How close are they physically?
Ace is very physically affectionate, which Yara really loves since she’s very touch-starved. He initiates the vast majority of it, but she absolutely soaks it up when he does. She loves playing with his hair and tracing the freckles on his cheeks (she has a major thing for Ace’s freckles. He’s just too adorable).
7) Do they have a desire to protect each other?
Oh, yeah. The New World (the second half of the Grand Line, where the Four Emperors live) is full of danger and they’re constantly getting into tough battles and having to watch the other’s back. Ace is probably more protective than Yara is because of his Big Brother Instincts, but he knows that stepping on Yara’s toes in battle would not bode well for him afterwards.
8) Do they prefer being alone, together, or with others?
Their favourite thing is being alone together! Ace is the life of the party so he’s always happy to be around whoever and Yara prefers being by herself most of the time, so they kind of meet in the middle there lol
9) Do they laugh at each other?
Good-naturedly, yes. Ace does silly things constantly. Yara tries not to laugh, but she can’t help it. He’s just such a goofball and a sweetheart. Even if she’s laughing at him rather than with him, he considers it a major win just to hear her laugh. He thinks it’s the sweetest sound in the world.
10) Who would win in a fight?
Physically? Ahhh I hate to say it, but Ace. He’s ridiculously strong, considering he’s got a Logia-type Devil Fruit and all three forms of haki, including the rare conqueror’s haki. There’s been quite a bit of debate amongst the fandom about just how strong Ace is, but considering he was once asked to join the Seven Warlords at the ripe age of 17 and fought on equal terms with one of them (Jinbe) for five days straight, the general consensus is that he’s pretty OP. Unfortunately for Yara, I’m not sure if she could match that if they ever were to fight seriously.
Verbally? Yara. Every single time. She’s petty and stubborn and won’t hold back from going for the jugular if need be. Ace can also be very stubborn, but when it comes to Yara being angry with him, he folds like a cheap deck of cards lmao
11) Who is a better liar?
Yara. She has a pretty good poker face and if anyone dares accuse her of lying, she turns on the Dracule Death Glare lol
12) Who is a better caregiver?
Yara, because she has a cooler head than Ace does. Whenever she’s hurt/sick, he’ll be zooming around low-key panicking and just wanting her to get better ASAP. If the situation is reversed, Yara is a lot better at calmly assessing just what he needs and delivering it to him efficiently.
13) Who is a better dancer?
Probably Yara, given that she has probably had to pay a lot more attention to stuff like timing and footwork due to her training as a swordswoman.
14) Who is a better cook?
Neither of them really cook but I think Yara would be more responsible in the kitchen. Ace would probably get impatient and try to heat something up with his Devil Fruit powers and end up incinerating it in the process.
15) Who has better fashion sense?
Yara. She’s a Dracule. It runs in the family.
ask game here!
One Piece nakama: @auxiliarydetective @oneirataxia-girl @xoteajays
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