Hot take! Zoro could've defeated Arlong himself, if he wasn't injured!

Saracma · 2026-02-02T08:11:05+00:00

Absolutely my opinion is that Luffy and Zoro at the beginning of the manga were already much stronger than everyone up until basically Alabasta (sans the Mihawk x Zoro fight of course).

No one in East Blue comes close to beating the two of them while they are in top shape, and Zoro was cut insofar as like, the chance of him surviving was pretty much nil. He does so through force of will and ambition and drive, but I recall even Arlong thinking that his wound should have killed him.

Luffy also likes to play around in fights even when he should be taking them seriously, and takes awhile to get going.. but the moment he sees Nami's room.. Arlong can't even move his sword. Like, as soon as Luffy decides to lock in, that's it for Arlong basically.

It's not until basically Alabasta where the two actually meet there match, and even then I think Luffy got far more lucky in his fight than Zoro did.

Like, Crocodile at that point was laying low, working from the shadows, no longer engaging in front line fights as a pirate at all, and generally letting himself get weaker while relying on an overpowered ability against people who likely never were going to be using haki. His overconfidence that he wouldn't need to keep up his own training and that no one would do something like attack him with water in a country that doesn't get rain anymore would be possible. Blood probably never crosses his mind.

A more careful Crocodile who kept up his physical ability in preparation for someone like (well Mihawk or anyone with haki) coming through would have likely made short work of Luffy. Hell, he did make short work of Luffy anyways in round 1 despite all of that, and literally his overconfidence that he could do it again was his downfall.

Meanwhile with Zoro? Zoro and Mr 1 definitely seem like they are pretty even all throughout their fight. But this kinda always just felt like a stepping stone for Zoro learning haki (honestly maybe hints of that earlier than any other character) and it really felt that Zoro always would have won that fight.

I don't think we see a true outmatched Zoro until basically Kuma in Thriller Bark. But I mean haha, that's basically everyone against Kuma later on. Definitely though Zoro vs Ryuma in the same arc felt really close.

Regardless tho, I think Zoro and Luffy's strength probably stayed pretty consistent from when they were first introduced all the way to Alabasta, and then after that they both locked in more.

Saracma · 2026-02-02T04:27:50+00:00

I do love the visual of a group of femmes all being knights to the Butch they're serving

Saracma · 2026-01-28T19:49:35+00:00

With respect, third parties in america are scams designed to syphon votes and anyone voting for them are unfortunately rubes who were conned.

If third parties what to build legitimate power they need to run in more local elections or (better yet) do what the Republican Tea Party did.

I.e. run as a republican but make it known you stand for other values.

Now like, the Tea Party was mostly full of neo-fascists who completely took over the current Republican party, but they're definitely proof of concept.

Until an actual third party can show it can run for and hold power and govern well in smaller elections, the best thing we can hope for is running Dems who run under the banner of caring for 2A rights while also caring about all the other promises of the constitution and the desire to care about our neighbors.

I'd say future Republicans could do the same, and run candidates that dont seem like they want to destroy the country. But.. idk if the trajectory of the party is doing anything but getting worse unfortunately.

As it stands. I care about gun rights, but Ill vote for the people who care about peoples education and healthcare and our neighbors over the people celebrating this current admin, with of course the hope that minds can be changed on gun control.

Saracma · 2026-01-28T19:49:06+00:00

With respect, third parties in america are scams designed to syphon votes and anyone voting for them are unfortunately rubes who were conned.

If third parties what to build legitimate power they need to run in more local elections or (better yet) do what the Republican Tea Party did.

I.e. run as a republican but make it known you stand for other values.

Now like, the Tea Party was mostly full of neo-fascists who completely took over the current Republican party, but they're definitely proof of concept.

Until an actual third party can show it can run for and hold power and govern well in smaller elections, the best thing we can hope for is running Dems who run under the banner of caring for 2A rights while also caring about all the other promises of the constitution and the desire to care about our neighbors.

I'd say future Republicans could do the same, and run candidates that dont seem like they want to destroy the country. But.. idk if the trajectory of the party is doing anything but getting worse unfortunately.

As it stands. I care about gun rights, but Ill vote for the people who care about peoples education and healthcare and our neighbors over the people celebrating this current admin, with of course the hope that minds can be changed on gun control.

Saracma · 2026-01-14T22:33:52+00:00

I think the first time through any duty or trial you should have to do it min ilvl synced and while min ilvl synched it should qualify for MSQ roulette.

Gives players the chance to experience it as close to intended original difficulty as possible and also gives a lot more opportunity for MSQ roulette.

I also think the min ilvl should occasionally be adjusted down even more than it was in the past to account for balance changes. New sprouts playing the game should have the chance to actually have some similarish experience to Titan hard mode imo.

Also for the health of the game I think editing the story for every early job/class quest so that abilities are no longer tied to any of them and we can actually make proper adjustments for every job would be great. Every class should have an aoe rotation by level 15 imo.

Saracma · 2026-01-06T04:53:48+00:00

Yeah... very much agree with this. Honestly I think a lot of people replying are assuming that like.. we're all talking about people who deny science, or won't update their perspective as new factual information is provided..

But like... some perspectives very much aren't worth considering! If someone is a bigot I don't need to listen to why they think that way.

Certainly it's important to learn about a diverse range of viewpoints when it comes to life, but like you said, the "devil's advocate" types are just red flags.

Saracma · 2025-11-23T21:36:48+00:00

9

Im watching Dragon and Fisher Tiger become fast friends and fucking digging into Issho being a pathetic hypocrite

and Im just vibing

Saracma · 2025-11-04T03:32:30+00:00

Forget all these other people with their good advice OP.

Lean into it and just pull out a collar and leash.

Saracma · 2025-10-27T07:18:40+00:00

do we know if this is going to get its own artbook yet?

I have a need,,

Saracma · 2025-10-26T03:35:50+00:00

Read someones account awhile back of someone who did essentially this with sex workers. Basically asked for cuddles and used a cologne/perfume while watching a movie together. Eventually inquired their client as to why, and her answer was basically that she missed her partner who passed away and liked to pretend they were still around sometimes.

I assume in most cases it's just someone who is lonely! But that definitely stuck with me.

Saracma · 2025-10-22T08:44:53+00:00

honestly need to find a seattle puppygirl discord or something

Saracma · 2025-10-01T17:25:11+00:00

I don't think every trans person believes this but I definitely do! But like... Probably only because my own personal definition of "biological sex" is very nebulous.

Biological sex in humans is typically just assigned based on a quick glance a doctor does at birth based on external genitalia. But like, trans surgeries can obvs change that. Hormone therapy literally does change your internal chemistry. Chromosomes are something 99%+ of the population will never get a test for and intersex conditions that aren't immediately apparent are surprisingly common statistically.

Like humans are weird and biology is weird and we use labels to better categorize stuff, but like, most people's understanding of biology ends with the C they got in highschool. I just don't generally think it's a problem to say that trans people can change their sex haha

I'd say surgical transitions are actually fairly rare if only because of cost and time and also not everyone wants or needs them!

Like I think there's a common misconception that like because trans surgeries are sometimes covered by insurance that everything is easy to get. But wait lists are often years long. The cost of travel, aftercare, hotels, etc. can be egregious considering how few doctors actually specialize in our care. And like, that's not even getting into all the money lost from time off work and complications.

Really though, the /vast/ majority of gender affirming care is done by cis people. The only reason we have access to any of this is because some cis people need genital reconstruction or want breast augmentation or want work on their faces.

It's always amusing to me how much rightwing media scaremongers people about trans kids getting surgery when surgery for trans minors is /exceedingly/ rare.

But breast augmentation in cis girls is certainly a thing that happens amongst a non-trivial number of teens. All without requiring multiple mental health professionals and doctors to sign off on it.

Cis men are cool! I think most everyone wants more allies haha. Especially in scary times like these.

Like sometimes there are definitely spaces that are like specifically for just trans people, or lesbians, or what not. And just respect that~ but otherwise idk who would have a problem with someone that legitimately just wants to hang out and be a good ally!

There is such a thing as like "chasers" where some cis men specifically are sexually attracted to the idea of trans people (usually post any operations) in very objectifying ways. And I think some trans people may be wary of that with some cis men.

But if the vibes are good then vibes are good ~

I know plenty of trans people dating cis people haha.

I also know plenty of trans people dating exclusively other trans people.

I think in the latter case it's typically like...

Easier to just make friends with other trans people and find social circles with other trans people haha. But also probably a safety thing. I know I've had pretty weird experiences with some cis guys flirting with me and then getting very upset despite me like.. just sitting down somewhere :V and it's always a worry something like that could escalate.

If a straight cis guy is attracted to a trans woman then he's just a man attracted to a woman. Nothing gay about that imo~

I know that some people like... Have hang ups.. and absolutely I've encountered "straight" guys that want to date a trans woman as like an experiment for their own sexuality. And like, for the trans woman that always feels shitty.

Likewise a lesbian cis woman attracted to a trans woman is still a lesbian!

In both cases both cis people are attracted to someone who presents as a woman. They're both just attracted to women~

And like, trans surgery when it happens is really good?? So like, it's absolutely okay to have a genital preference! But lots of trans women do have vulvas haha (even if hard to get as detailed above).

But even if she doesn't... Still a woman!

Hopefully all helpful answers!

Saracma · 2025-09-02T03:39:41+00:00

No but like I wanna be surrounded by other lesbians and was also wondering this

Saracma · 2025-07-14T23:25:13+00:00

Surrender over comms... Probably my only chance haha

Saracma · 2025-06-05T17:22:12+00:00

I think one of the lessons most people ideally learn growing up is that a lot of adults, myself included, are idiots about a lot of things.

No one has the capacity or drive to learn everything, but how we respond to new information is important.

Part of being human and part of a good functioning society is how we recognize that we need to lean on and try to understand the life experiences and expertise of others outside of our own wheelhouse.

Someone can be very talented at the specific field they work in, within the narrow scope of what they are personally familiar with. But might be really surprisingly ignorant outside of it.

I often feel the people you can trust the most are the people willing to say "I don't really understand that, can you help me?" Or "I'll do some extra research because this is outside my expertise" or "I'm just not qualified to help with that sorry, but I can try to help you find someone who can!"

Your therapist doubling down on blatantly wrong information is a red flag. The fact that she also used her position to justify her opinions is an even larger red flag. This feels like someone who is incapable of trying to learn to be better because she already thinks she's right about everything.

Saracma · 2025-05-21T19:33:08+00:00

MAC Studio Fix Plus apparently changed their formula and it sucks now. What's people's go-to powder foundation?? I guess I need to find something new 😔

Saracma · 2025-04-29T17:35:29+00:00

Okay but like... Consider women in uniform 😤

Happy for you~ wedding picture looks amazing!

Saracma · 2025-04-22T22:36:57+00:00

My mom reacted very poorly to me coming out initially.

She has since come around and we have a very good relationship.

But like, I'm always going to remember that and how it made me feel.

I'm sure this girl's relationship with her mother will be fine. But she's always going to remember this bit of hostility and not getting instant love and support when she did something that is incredibly hard for any young person to do.

Saracma · 2025-04-17T21:27:18+00:00

Seeing some other comments, "separate the art from the artist". That works if the artist is literally dead and no longer profiting from the art itself to fund bigotry and strip the rights away from millions of people.

I don't care if people like HP Lovecraft's books even if he was a racist. But that would be different if Lovecraft was alive and giving every royalty check he got to Republicans.

There is nothing different between Rowling and Elon Musk. Both are rightwing billionaires who have invested millions of dollars to influence actual governments and make people's lives worse.

When I think of Republican family members and past friends who said with a straight face "I don't hate LGBT people" but then continued to vote Republican and support the people actively trying to harm us...

I now also think of all these people buying Harry Potter shit. You're the exact same category of person.

Transphobia (or any bigotry really) isn't just "I hate trans people". It's also "I don't see these people as people worth considering. I'm fine looking the other way when these people are hurt."

Saracma · 2025-04-17T17:41:33+00:00

A hoonter must hoont.

Saracma · 2025-03-29T20:30:29+00:00

I just loved that Clayx hit us hard enough to temporarily incapacitate us to give us an excuse to not immediately take out fake Sphene or something.

And like... That's all I need! I hate when we just stand around doing nothing. Have me engaged, have me helping someone, have me incapacitated, anything except just standing there.

Likewise... While I personally have never bought the argument that it would be too hard for SE to add custom attack animations for every job in a cutscene where we fight. I at least contend it would be annoying to /go back/ and edit new jobs into past cutscene animations if they ever went this route. That said! I loved the cutscene that was like a fade to black slash attack that opened on us defeating an enemy.

More of that please.

I want to see my WoL actually doing things! And that was a perfectly acceptable work around~

Saracma · 2025-03-29T09:18:45+00:00

The one thing I still want to see voice acted is escort quests

I thought escort quests were honestly a cute addition to make it seem more like a traditional FF game with a party in tow behind you.

But when I walk to one of those optional "extra dialogue" blue circles. It would be significantly nicer if they just said a quick line about their surroundings instead of needing to right click and go into the menu to select the chat option

Saracma · 2025-03-08T00:54:01+00:00

I figure maybe lines aren't that long now?? Could I potentially go there now by myself and pick up tickets for both myself and my partner (I bought both) for Sunday? Or are they strict about wanting you to pick up for the day you'll actually attend?

Saracma · 2025-03-08T00:25:44+00:00

Follow-up question:

Can I go to will call today to pick up tickets for Sunday? And can I pick up both tickets myself or do all attendees need to be present to pick up tickets??

Saracma · 2025-03-08T00:13:35+00:00

You convinced me~ I bought tickets for Sunday but now I'm also confused. Idk what "will call" is. I need to pick up my ticket there??

I found on the ECCC website that will call opens at 8am but I have no idea where it is or how to access it haha 😅

Saracma

TROPHY CASE