Over 21 | Ravenclaw 🦅 | Mothered 3 kids | I prefer Flexible Gender Identity (but if you must, I'm AFAB) | I will ship any character with whoever I wish this week and perhaps someone else the next
Head Towards the Sun (My Broken Corazón) Master Post
Description:
When they were children, their father took Doflamingo, Rosinante, and their mother from Heaven to live among the humans. Their father naively thought that life would be simple and easy. It was not. After their mother’s death and living through two years of suffering in Hell, the oldest child took fate into his own hands. Doflamingo hid his baby brother and went back to heaven with their father’s severed head as an offering to be accepted back into Heaven.
Like his father before him, the eldest child’s plans slipped through his fingers. Not only were he and his brother denied entrance, but upon his return to Hell, he learned Rosinante had vanished, leaving behind nothing but a ransacked barn and a pool of blood.
After sixteen years, the brothers reunited. One is a pirate captain set on bringing the world to its knees, while the other is happy to be back at his brother’s side, alive and free. It is bliss for a while, happiness and blooming feelings that brothers usually never have for a family of shared blood. But both brothers have secrets they keep from each other. Secrets that will either bring them closer together or push them further apart.
Despite all the months that have passed since that fishman raided the Holy Land, it was still rather quiet. It was both wonderful and heartbreaking. The world was much better when it was quiet, but it always made Aureliano think of his Papa. He was happy his Papa was free, but he missed him terribly.
He was glad Father was dead, though. He was always mean to Aureliano and the lady slaves.
Mother tried finding more slaves, but so did almost everyone else, and all she could find was an old man (whom she put in charge of taking care of him), a lady with purple hair (tasked to clean the big house), and a man with four elbows (who now worked in the kitchen making their meals). The only families left unaffected were those furthest from the gates, who all laughed when Mother and the others demanded the Navy bring them replacement slaves. Lady Payton, a girl who said she was Aureliano's friend because she wanted a boy to 'pretend marry' when she played 'pretend wedding' with her friends, was one of the family's unaffected. That night had been her birthday, and to celebrate, her father had invited all her friends to spend the weekend with her, Aureliano included (unfortunately).
He had hoped he could stay home because he was a boy, and Father said boys don't stay overnight with girls, but Mother had insisted. They argued for so long and so loudly that Papa put up a silent room so he could sleep when night fell. In the end, Mother got what she wanted, so Aureliano had to pack a bag and spend a weekend with a bunch of girls who weren't half as fun as Hotaru (who Mother insisted he call Dolly, even though she is alive and not made of cloth and stuffing like other dolls he's seen).
Now Papa and his caretaker, a pretty lady who smelled like flowers, were gone. He never got to say goodbye to them. He misses them. (All the other slaves they owned were gone too, but he doesn't miss them as much, even if some were fun or nice or snuck him treats from the kitchens.)
The house felt empty now. With only five people, the big rooms and tall hallways seemed so pointless. Mother wanted more slaves, but the Elders said if she wanted more, she needed to get them herself. Aureliano had secretly hoped the Navy would bring more, so he could see the admiral with the big, poofy hair again. He didn't get to see the man often, but he had a nice smile, told great stories, and always had rice crackers to share.
"I understand that you are bitter and angry that your sister did not give you her heart when you gave her yours, but you do not get to demand that the Donquixotes accept Aureliano as a Heart when you did not have the decency to give your heart to your own nephew!"
Aureliano paused at the sound of Cousin Mjosgard's voice echoing through the halls. It was by far the angriest he had ever heard his cousin. He was usually quiet, his voice kind and gentle. Mother's voice wasn't too far behind.
"Who cares about 'hearts' when he shares your blood! Half human or not, he is a Donquixote! Why will your father not add him to the Donquixote family tree?!"
Aureliano began walking faster, heading towards the sounds of their voices. If Mjosgard is here, then that must mean he had a gift for him! It was early; his birthday wasn't until tomorrow, but that just meant it was an extra special gift!
"Because you never married Rosinante! He was never even a concubinus! All he ever was to you was a pet! A way to get back at a dead man for marrying your sister and making his family humans! Father would never add the child of a pet to the Family Tree!"
He had to pull up the edges of his robes so as not to trip; they were heavy, and there were far too many layers. Still, the faster he was, the sooner he could see his favorite cousin and learn what his gift was (even if there was yelling, and part of him was a little worried and scared, he decided not to focus on the words exchanged; he learned a long time ago that he could not get hurt if he never listened in on the adults' "discussions").
"So he will never be added to the Tree? Do the Donquixotes still hold such ridiculous traditions even after leaving Dressrosa?"
"All celestial families hold true to the traditions of our ancestors. Especially the Donquixotes."
"Cousin!" Aureliano shouted when he rounded the corner, spotting the man with green hair easily. The smile he received was almost as bright as Papa's as he dove into the man's arms. "My most favorite nephew! How joyous I am to see you this day!" he cried out, spinning them in a single circle before setting Aureliano on his feet.
"Do you have a gift for me? Is that why you are here so early?" he asked, continuing to hug the man tightly. Mother did not give hugs, nor did Father or any of his grandparents. Any affection he received had always come from Papa, his caretaker, and as of two years ago, cousin Mjosgard. With only his cousin left, he would gladly take every ounce of it he could get.
"Perceptive, aren't you?" the man said, smiling as he pulled away. Aureliano reluctantly stepped back, though his smile never wavered. With a glance towards Mother, Mjosgard continued, "I came to ask your mother if she would allow you to join me on my trip to Marine Ford. I remember you once saying you found them much more interesting than the soldiers here in Mariejois, and I thought we could visit their headquarters for a few days. Get a tour and meet with the admirals."
Aureliano was jumping in place, quickly turning to his mother. "Oh, Mother, please say yes! It would be the best gift!" When her face began to twist in disgust, he was quick to add, "And, since I am unable to watch the Gods' Knights during their training, I could ask the marines to show me how they train, that way I can get a head start over everyone else! That would surely impress the Elders enough to make me a Knight, don't you think?!"
It was not hard to get a yes out of her after that (she always did like to tell the other adults that he had the best chance at becoming one of the Gods' Knights), and soon he was packing his bags to leave with his cousin for their three-day stay at Navy Headquarters: Marine Ford.
Sengoku had always been happy to see young Saint Aureliano. The boy smiled brightly, his joy contagious. So when word came that Saint Mjosgard was bringing his nephew Aureliano to celebrate his 8th birthday, he immediately volunteered to be their guide. The first in centuries to volunteer, the Fleet Admiral had told him, as no one typically wanted to be near the Celestial Dragons. He understood why not, as most were rather unpleasant to be around, but he had been unable to see the boy since Fisher Tigers attacked the Holy Land, and he had a surprise for the young Saint. Sengoku had saved a copy of his birth father's wanted poster that he thought the boy might like. It might not be the best drawing of the man, seeing as a mop of hair covered his eyes, but surely it was better than having nothing at all.
Hearing that the young man had escaped had been such a relief, and even if the wanted posters had him worried, the rumors coming in from the North Blue gave him hope that he would stay well out of that woman's reach. The words she had said that day still made his stomach roll and haunted his dreams even after all these years. To speak of a child in such a vulgar way…
Pulling open the drawer to his left, he stared at the drawing of the wanted poster. It was proof that the young man was free and out of her reach. If the rumors were true, he had joined the Donquixote Pirates. Doflamingo was a dangerous man: a pirate who killed indiscriminately and indulged in the sins of the black market, but he also protected the crew he called family. Any harm done to them was met with blood, fire, and death. It may not be the life he would have wanted for the young man, but it was better than the one he had escaped from.
The door to his office opened, and a young marine officer with a slice of half-eaten toast stuck to his cheek stepped into the room. "Sengoku, sir, the Celestial Dragons' ship will be docking shortly."
With a nod, he rose from his chair, closing the drawer as he did. "Thank you. I will head there now." The marine saluted, stepping aside as Sengoku approached. "Ensign Vergo, you have leftover breakfast on your face. Make sure you have it removed before the Saints see it."
"Of course, sir."
Sengoku made his way towards the marina, certain that the marine would likely have something new on his face the next time he saw the man, be it either food or cutlery.
The rest of the admiral's day was to be spent showing the Celestial Dragons around Marine Ford. Saint Mjosgard had been uncomfortable the entire time, though that could have been because of the clothes his nephew forced him to wear. "We must be incognito, cousin!" Aureliano had whispered loudly when the man protested. "They will get nervous and jumpy otherwise!"
In truth, Fleet Admiral Kong had given an announcement earlier that morning about the Saints' impending arrival that day, demanding that everyone be on their best behavior for the next three days under threat of being court-martialed (to which Garp had immediately set sail for Fusha Village, saying he had grandkids to check on). So, their plan to be unrecognizable was moot. Though the moment he saw Saint Aureliano step out of the restroom in the standard Chore Boys uniform, Sengoku decided against telling them that headquarters was already aware of who they were and why they were there.
Maybe in another life, the boy's father could have been a Marine and would have been the one to show him around Headquarters, instead of some admiral he sees only once a year.
Doflamingo woke to an empty bed.
It was not unusual; Rosinante often rose before the sun to help the men around the ship, but one glance at the clock showed it was a quarter past midnight. Far too early, even for his brother. Slowly, he sat up, looking around until he spotted his brother sitting on the floor beneath the porthole on the other side of the room, a small candle lit beside him.
"Rosi?" Doffy called out, gaining the man's attention. "What are you doing?"
Rosinante opened his mouth, as if to speak, but Doflamingo refused to get his hopes up. Lately, his brother has been making more noise outside their room. He would occasionally open his mouth as if to speak, but then get a pained look on his face before writing out what he wanted to say, much like he was now; his face twisting before he closed his mouth, moving quickly to grab the notebook and pen he used to communicate.
He will hear his brother's voice again. He only needs to be patient.
By the time he moved from the bed to the floor, bringing a few throw pillows for them to sit on as he did, Rosi had turned the page towards him to read. It was a single sentence, though, with how many times he had crossed out his misspellings; it was rather broken and hard to read. "Is it someone's birthday?" he asked. At Rosinante's nod, he continued. "Could this not have waited until later? We could have celebrated with the rest of the Family."
A flush crept up his brother's face as he turned to look at the candle, lifting a shoulder as if to shrug. He looked delectable, but Doffy pushed the feelings aside for now as he studied him for a moment. "This is how you usually celebrate this person's date of birth," he said, voice soft in understanding. It was vastly different from what Doflamingo had done to celebrate both Rosis' and their mothers' birthdays, but he could understand the importance of such a small… tradition.
His brother nods slowly, moving to write in his notebook again.
'She took him away. Say I was no longer needed.'
Doflamingo narrowed his eyes at the words. He had a feeling he knew who 'She' was, but seeing as he was not supposed to know of the conversation Rosi and Hotaru had that day in the barn, he could say nothing of her. The need to demand answers of just who the bitch took away from his brother burned within him, but knowing it would only serve to hurt Rosi made him swallow his words like a bitter pill. Instead, as calmly as he could, he said, "I know there are things you still hide from me, mi corazón, but if you want me to understand, you will need to explain further who these people are."
It is not his brother's corazóncito that she stole; it simply could not be.
He watched his brother struggle to write a word, crossing it out multiple times before giving up with a huff and writing something different. The words took a moment to register, their meaning explaining why his brother had such trouble spelling the true word properly, as it was something they both had learned long ago, but Rosinante had been far too young to learn to write it before being cast into Hell. Something deep within Doflamingo broke shattered burned when he realized someone had indeed stolen his brother's corazóncito simply because she had decided he was no longer needed, as if Rosi were something to be cast aside when she got what she wanted. Killing this woman and mounting her head above his mantle would not be enough. She deserved to suffer in agony for the rest of her days.
'My Little Heart. He is 8 today. I have not been able to care for him for long time. His mother take him away.'
He must not be hiding his anger very well, as Rosi rushes to add more before turning it around once more with a smile.
'I did not leave easy. I kill her love when he say ill of my Little Heart.'
A nasty smile spread across Doflamingo's lips. "Made her a widow, did you mi corazón?" He laughed, wrapping an arm around his brother's waist and pulling him against his side as he placed a kiss on the blonde curls adorning his head.
Doffy held Rosi close, watching the candle flame flicker away as he worked to calm the anger he still felt simmering beneath his skin. This day, this new and magnificent day, will not be ruined by some bitch who desired more than she deserved. The husband is gone; that should be enough for now. In time, he will find this woman, and as Rosinante runs back to their Family with his corazóncito in tow, Doflamingo will bring upon her his divine wrath. She will pay for what she did to his Heart.
But for now, on this day and in this moment, he will sit with his brother and watch the candle burn.
"Tell me about your corazóncito," he whispered. Over his shoulder, he read as his brother wrote, painting a picture of a boy with golden hair and Doflamingo's eyes who loved soldiers and horses. A boy who danced with Hotaru and dreamed of seeing more than just what his island had to offer, and smiled like the sun.
I love the way you draw Corazon, thank you for blessing my eye's
Thank you! I piled up on sketches that I thought I'd finish, but they ended up feeling more like chores and I dropped them. Now that I'm experimenting more, here's some new stuff I tried to see if I still have the sauce, lol.
I see I was added to Franky's name. It's because of that ask I sent you, isn't it?
*continues reading*
Wait a minute...
... why is Imu there? Did I miss an ask or did I just shove it so far back that I forced myself to forget about it?
Maybe I thought it was someone else's ask, because there's another person I follow that has brought Imu into complicated situations, like having a relationship with a fem!Rocks. That must be it...
..... I can skip that one right? Unless it's tragic like with Roger and Gaban. I'll read it if it's sad. But if it's happy or similar to Luccis, then I think I might just stare at it for a minute before closing Tumblr. It's not that I don't like Imu (or hate him. But theres only one OP man that I hate with a passion and so far theyre the o ly one), but when all I know about them is that they're a shadowy figure and their "shadow shape" has been compared to that of an overripe banana by another Tumblr user, I won't be able to a CJ with them seriously unless it's sad and has a high possibility of making me cry.
XD Imu's is going to be so good! And probably pretty freaky!
T'WAS I! (and someone else too asked for Imu I think)
(cackles in Chapter 1180)
Oh, whirly. Dear sweet summer child. You have NO idea.
WEAREFUUUUCKEEED
HEY! I liked Imu when they were an overripe banana, mind you! I actually exactly wanted a CJ of Imu exactly bcs they were a black shadow and yet so fckn FRIGHTENING! I would have read their CJ even if they were a black shadow the entire time exactly bcs of the horror eldritch nightmare vibes Imu gives off!
I mean come on they're fckn TERRIFYING.
"Where did you come from?" and their eyes narrowing like a hawk's.
HOW TF DID SABO SURVIVE I WOULD HAVE DIED ON THE SPOT.
On. The. Spot.
Heart attack. Right there.
Honestly it shows how frightening Imu is cus poor Sabo was SWEATING buckets there even before he got stabbed.
I just know Gav is giggling evilly plotting Imu's CJ now with the... ehem... Current manga chapters.
Yea, with the recent reveal... 😩 I know I'm cooked.
What you mean, he's hot?! It's like that SpongeBob episode where Squidward thinks 'Just imagine him in his underwear' only it's 'just think of the overripe banana' but now that's ruined for me because I can still see that face and ugh 😩
*crys in a corner* Why must you do this to me, Oda? Stop drawing hot evil men. Even Crest Moon Garlic was hot, and his hair irritates me so much... 😭 I'll never forgive you for this, Oda
I wonder if there is a small part of him that's hella pissed with his dad at that moment. I know I would be.
Like, Doffy has learned the worlds sea level is very likely gonna start rising more. That hundreds, if not thousands of islands, will disappear in the years to come, and his dads greatest idea all those years ago was to leave the Red Line to live on those same islands that will disappear in the years to come.
"Yeah, thanks a lot, Father. 'Let's live amungst the humans,' he said. 'It'll be great,' he said. Now I'm stuck in this underwater sea prison, and the world is gonna flood. None of this would be a problem for me if you didn't make us leave Mariejois 😒"
After such a successful mission, Doflamingo gave the green light for Rosinante to begin training with Diamante, Pica, and Trebol to become the next Corazón, which turned out to be Doffy's title for an Executive rather than just a term of endearment. It was strange, hearing the others call him a name he had only ever known his family to use for those they had loved above all others.
Though he supposed the crew was technically family now, even if a small, selfish part of himself desperately wished only his brother would call him corazón while everyone else stuck with his given name.
Baby 5 had given him a nickname at least, calling him Cora, which Buffalo had begun to use the moment he heard it as well. He loved the nickname and couldn't express his gratitude towards Baby enough. Hotaru, of course, stuck with calling him Rosi, while Law continued to stubbornly call him Rosinante — the kid seemed to abhor nicknames for some reason. He loved the kids even more for that, though it was hard to explain to them, let alone anyone else, why he only wanted Doflamingo calling him corazón.
About a month after Rosinante's promotion and the crew's departure from Squaw Archipelago, Doflamingo arranged a meeting between him and the first Corazón, Vergo, via a transponder snail. It had been rather enlightening to learn what it meant to be Doffy's Heart Executive. But seeing his brother's easy smile as he spoke to Vergo, who was kind enough to give Rosi advice on becoming an Executive, left him feeling suffocated, realizing how close the two must be.
His face had hurt for hours afterwards from how long he had forced a smile during the meeting, when all he really wanted was to slam the speaker against the desk to make it ring in Vergos' ear, and demand to know whether Vergo was just an Executive or if he held his brother's heart like he was beginning to fear.
Not that it meant anything if he did hold Doffy's heart, he tried telling himself. The heart Rosi had held when they were children would eventually be passed to someone else; he knew this, but it did not make it any easier.
In an effort not to think about Vergo and Doffy and all of the things that caused him pain, Rosinante retreated to the kitchen, where Rino was always busy making something. It was calming to watch the man with ginger hair move around, making a variety of meals and snacks for the family to enjoy throughout the day. The man seemed much happier here than he ever did at Ilton Manor, and that never failed to relax the blonde, knowing he was part of the reason the man was at peace.
"You know, I've realized the only time I've heard you make a sound was when we first met," Rino said, pulling Rosinante from his thoughts. The man was chopping vegetables so quickly that Rosi feared he would chop off a finger. "It's rather frightening, seeing you cough when we share a smoke, but not hearing anything. Or when you laugh, and nothing comes out," he continued, shifting things around to cut the vegetables into cubes rather than leaving them in slices. "I don't understand why you don't want to be super silent, but I don't think the people on this ship will care if you sneeze a little too loudly."
The diced vegetables were added to a frying pan with everything else, Rino looking up as he stirred everything to see Rosinante's response.
'Silence safe. No one mad.'
Rino frowned in response, and nothing was said for a time; only the sounds of food cooking and a few other kitchen staff working various chores could be heard. When the chef finally spoke, he was portioning the food onto four plates: one with a portion large enough for two grown men, two with average kid-sized portions, and the last with a portion small enough for a toddler. They must be for the kids, then. "I haven't been here long, but from what I understand, you and your brother see the world a little differently. Where he will do or say what he needs to to make the world bow at his feet, you will break yourself apart to keep the people around you pleased."
Two of the kitchen staff came over, picked up the plated meals, and left. Rosi watched them, looking to see how they felt about Rino's words, but their faces were devoid of emotion.
"I don't know where you were before you joined up with your brother, and I don't plan on ever asking, but whoever made you believe that absolute silence was what kept people happy was wrong." Rino put his tools into the sink full of soapy water before turning to face Rosi. Brown eyes stared right into his soul, his very being, and it reminded Rosinante of a kind, tiger shark Fishman with similar eyes. "It makes the captain sad, not hearing the smallest things from you, same as the kids. I'm not saying you need to go around and speak to everyone, but maybe drop the magic shield. Let everyone hear when you cough, sneeze, or stub your toe, and know that no one cares how loud you are. Who knows, maybe in time you'll grow comfortable enough to speak."
The idea was terrifying. For over a decade, Rosi had remained silent. It was safer, less painful, not to make any noise whatsoever, no matter how mundane. It was 'irritating' or 'annoying'; it was distracting for those around him, keeping them from focusing on what mattered. However, his silence hadn't always been constant, now that he thinks about it. There was only one he ever dared make noise around, dared to ever whisper soft words to. His silence was always broken for one person, the only one who needed to hear Rosinante to be calm and happy. Who smiled anytime the blonde broke his silence to ask how his day was.
His chest aches at the absence of a small boy with dark shades and golden hair who loved playing with horses and toy soldiers.
If he could speak for Aureliano, his corazóncito, then surely he could try to do the same for Doffy and the family he built. Right?
Blinking, another part of what Rino said registered, and he looked at the ginger as he signed, 'Magic?'
The man smiled. "Yeah. Magic. You got magic shields of silence, your brother has got magic strings, and that Trebol guy has magic snot. Kinda gross, but I guess magic is magic, and who is really gonna complain about the specifics?"
'No magic. Devil Fruit power,' Rosi signed.
Rino shrugged. "Sounds like magic to me."
What a strange man.
Law sat as still as possible on a moss-covered log as he explained to Hotaru why Rosinante's promotion to Corazón was such a big deal, and not the captain giving his brother a nickname for the crew to call him. It took a lot longer than he thought it would, but it gave them more time to gather frogs for Rino as he explained the ins and outs of the crew that he originally thought she had already learned about from Diamante.
"That explains quite a few things," Hotaru muttered when Law finished speaking. "Like that time I heard Pica call Diamante 'Kirameki Harris' like some disappointed mother who just caught her child sneaking cookies," she added as she looked around the forest floor for frogs. Being sent out to search for something he was already used to searching for wasn't a big deal for Law, and as Hotaru often followed him around, he dragged her into helping him with the task the kitchen staff had assigned him.
Wait, Diamante's name is Kirameki Harris? Lame.
"So, wait a minute. Does that mean our training has to be approved by Doflamingo first?" Hotaru asks as she spots a toad and chases it.
"He is the captain," Law told the redhead from his spot on a log. "A captain is similar to a manager or supervisor at a workplace." He watched her struggle for a bit, her shoes slipping on mud and damp moss as she overstepped and missed the toad as it hopped in different directions. "And that is a toad. I said we were looking for frogs."
He watched her continue to chase the toad, choosing to ignore him. When she slipped in a way that forced her into the slits, she spoke. "Well, same thing. Besides, ain't these guys bigger? The bigger the hopper, the bigger the organs."
"They are actually just bulkier with shorter legs."
Hotaru finally caught the toad by throwing her upper body forward, hands wrapping around the toad as it crossed her path. In an attempt to break free, it let out a scream. By this point, the redhead was used to similar responses from all the other times they had caught frogs and toads together, so it didn't startle her like it had the first few times. As she sat up, she asked, "What does bulkier mean?"
"Think Buffalo compared to Diamante."
"Oh."
"And these frogs aren't for me this time, remember? Dellinger ate all the frogs in the kitchen, so the staff wants to replace them before Doflamingo finds out about it and the kid gets in trouble for eating inventory again."
The redhead frowned, glaring at the toad in her hands like it had been the one to tell her that her chase had been for nothing. "What's one toad in a sea of frogs. Whose gonna notice?"
Law kept silent, staring at her as she continued to frown at the terrified toad. Crickets chirped, surrounding amphibians croaked, and birds sang their songs in the silence that stretched until finally Hotaru groaned, lowering her upper body back down into the mud with her arms stretched out in front of her, getting mud on her chin in the process. She stared at the amphibian for a moment before finally releasing it. "How are you so loud when you don't even say anything?"
She turned her head slightly to look at him, most likely noticing the smirk on his face. "What am I missing?" she asked weakly, voice sounding defeated.
"For one, the chefs would notice. Second, toads are poisonous. On the off chance a chef did not notice the difference, Doflamingo would notice the moment someone reacted negatively after eating, or even during dinner. Then we would have to find new chefs after he killed them all for trying to kill his Family. And that's if it is someone other than his brother who was poisoned." Law paused when he noticed Hotaru flinch, looking away from him towards where the toad had disappeared. "I see," she whispered, voice low. "We don't want that."
Law hesitated for a moment, feeling as if he was missing something, before nodding slowly. "We do not. Especially since Rosinante went to the trouble of finding such a cool chef, so, to keep everyone alive and not risk poisoning, we catch only the frogs the kitchen staff asked for."
From beside him, a frog croaked. He turned his head slowly, taking note of its coloring and position before reaching out and grabbing it. It cried out, trying to wriggle free as he opened the cage at his feet and dropped it in with the others that looked almost exactly like it. After closing the opening, Law looked back at the redhead. She was still lying in the mud, but now she was pouting.
"It's almost annoying how good you are at this, you know."
"If you would listen to me, perhaps you'd have caught a frog or two by now."
She stuck her tongue out at him and immediately flinched back the moment her tongue made contact with the sludge she lay in. "Ah, gross!" Law laughed as she spit it out, unable to do anything else as the rest of her was caked in mud as well. He noticed her go quiet for a few seconds before laughing with him.
It was not until later, when they were heading back to the ship, that Law realized that was the first time he had laughed, really laughed, since Flevance. He had temporarily forgotten the minor aches and pains he constantly felt from the Amber Lead poisoning, not feeling fatigued after walking for so long, or how his skin itched at the edges of the lead patches that refused to stretch like the unaffected areas around them. He has not felt this relaxed, this at peace, since Lammi fell sick. Maybe his good mood was the reason he agreed to teach Hotaru first aid when she asked.
Doflamingo was glad it was a peaceful night as he watched his brother sleep. The nightmares were not often, for either of them, having lessened since being reunited, but Rosi had a much harder time telling apart dreams from reality than Doffy ever did. It was agonizing horrifying difficult to watch his brother wake from a nightmare. Any sound that left him was cut off almost as soon as it left him when he touched a hand to his throat, silencing himself with his Devil Fruit. He always looked around the room they shared, searching for something — someone — that only he could see.
There were times when his little brother would look at Doflamingo, but see someone else entirely. His brother would never look at him with such terror. Those were the ones Rosi refused to talk about, no matter how many times he begged asked him to.
But tonight, there were no nightmares. Rosinante was sleeping peacefully; no sweat was collecting along his brow as his face twisted in discomfort; only quiet snores and faint smiles were present tonight.
Perhaps one day, his corazón will tell him everything. And with his own voice.
Slowly, so as not to disturb his brother's peace, he holds Rosi's cheek in his hand, stroking the skin there.
Doflamingo was proud of his brother and the progress he was making. He was getting stronger, smarter, and deadlier in his silence. When training with the others, his clumsy little brother was gone, and in his place was a graceful, dangerous man who avoided attacks as easily as breathing. It was amazing how he was getting better faster than Doffy thought he would, and how Rosi took to training easily, as if he were a natural at fighting, dodging, and hitting targets, as though it were as easy as breathing. When it was time to face the enemy, it was beautiful to watch them fall by Rosinante's hands, confusion or shock permanently etched onto their faces because they never heard him coming, never saw him until it was too late. There were a few times when he was covered in their blood, and it never failed to get Doflamingo's own blood pumping.
However, very recently, Rosi froze in the middle of a fight and was wounded. Doffy was the one covered in their blood that time, and he was thrilled with the look his brother sent his way.
Blessedly, Law was there to tend to the wound right away, and Baby 5 was present to comfort his corazón. She seemed to understand why he froze when he did.
Doflamingo moved from Rosi's cheek to his chin, his thumb tracing the velvet curve of his mouth, wanting to memorize the feel of them before pausing at the corner to feel the faint pulse of his breath as he continued to sleep.
Doffy wanted more, so much more, and it was oh so tempting to take what he wanted.
But this was Rosinante, his precious baby brother; his heart, his everything. Taking anything from him when he was so broken already felt different compared to taking it from some stranger he would not see the following morning. So instead, he will do this differently. Do it right. What did mother say all those years ago? Woo his intended with flowers and letters of love and his devotion?
Rosinante was late, and the only one who did not seem concerned was Hotaru.
Law gripped the railing of Numancia so tightly that his knuckles were white as he stared out at the town for any sign of a tall man wearing an ugly pink hat and a black feather coat. It had been almost half an hour since the others returned without the clumsy man, and not knowing what had happened or what was keeping Rosinante so long was driving Law up the wall. He told himself that he was worried for Doflamingo. If someone recognized the man and turned him in, the captain would be distraught and likely go on a rampage to retrieve his brother. If the man were injured in any way, Law would have to be the one to put him back together. He told himself that this feeling of fear was because if the man died on his operating table, then he would be killed for it, and not because he had grown attached to the clutz.
"Think he got lost?" Diamante asked from beside Law. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Executive, his arms crossed over his chest, tapping his foot impatiently. Hotaru laughed from somewhere behind them. "Rosi, lost? Never," she said. There was a crash, followed by a curse, probably from the redhead trying to take off her heels.
For the very first time, she had worn the clothes Doflamingo had bought her.
She had asked Law for help, stating that she wanted to look the part for her mission. Having used what he learned from his mother's favorite novel series, he helped her pick an outfit that made her look somewhat intimidating. It was almost like when Lammi asked him to play dress up with her. He regrets having studied so much and now, more than ever, wishes he had put his books away and spent more time with his little sister.
When the captain had seen her off with the others, the smile he gave her had made her frown. "Don't get excited," she told him, "This is a one-time thing." Doflamingo's smile had widened. He seemed highly amused, though of what he did not know. "Of course," the captain replied, but Law knew that the man was already planning to send her out on more missions if it meant she would wear more of the clothes in her wardrobe. It was what he had done with Law.
"You so sure about that, Twig?" Diamante asked, turning to look at the redhead.
"Of course," the redhead replied. Law could hear the smile in her voice. "Rosi always finds his way, sensei. In fact, he's heading this way right now." Law narrowed his eyes as he looked over the crowd, not recognizing anyone. Even the people in the far distance looked nothing like the clumsy blonde. What was she on about?
The captain laughed somewhere behind him. "Well, well! It seems Rosinante's little sister has an understanding of Basic Observation."
Law looked over his shoulder at Doflamingo, at first confused, then surprised.
Before Rosinante had left, he had kissed his brother's cheek, leaving behind a red imprint of his lips, a mark the captain apparently had not bothered to wipe away. It was odd to see it, especially since Law had seen many people kiss the man, leaving smears in a variety of colors, all of which were wiped away almost immediately after the person left his sight. Yet the imprint left by his brother remained untouched, the dark color standing out against his fair skin.
Law had always wiped off Lammis' lipstick kisses; not even his mothers stayed longer than a few seconds on the rare occasion she wore makeup. Seeing Doflamingo wear his brother's like it's a badge of honor makes him regret ever doing so.
"Tell me, how far away is Rosi?" he asked, leaning towards Hotaru, who was sitting on the deck trying to undo the laces on one of her heels. The redhead paused what she was doing and tilted her head, eyes turning towards the gangplank before saying, "He should be rounding the corner soon. The one near the shop with the red and white striped pole outside the door."
Law immediately looked back towards the crowd, spotting the mentioned pole outside the barber shop, and after a tense moment, Rosinante rounded the corner with two large trash bags. He was still a long way away, but relief flooded Law when he couldn't see any injuries. He itched to run towards the man and hug him check him for any bumps or bruises, but he planted his feet and gripped the railing tighter.
He was a ruthless pirate determined to kill as many people as he could before his time was up. He did not run to people like a child.
"What's he carrying trash for?" Diamante asked. No one answered, though the captain did laugh.
Once aboard the ship, Rosinante set the trash bags down before Doflamingo, grinning widely, and quickly opened one to reveal a large pile of money. Everyone stared for a moment before the Executives began to laugh.
Law pulled on the brim of his hat to hide his smile. He was glad the clutz was safe.
In Doflamingo's office, Colton hooked up the baby transponder to the printer while Rosinante wrote on his notepad to answer his brother's questions.
He quickly explained why he brought the money (it was Doffy's anyway), where he had found it, how his mission had gone, and then gave his brother a brief rundown of what he had found when he was handed the pictures. The more his brother learned, the angrier he became. It was interesting to see how, even when mad, Doffy still smiled. It was different; a smile so wide you could see the gums, his teeth grinding together as the veins on his forehead became prominent. A cold shiver ran up Rosi's spine — a frisson of emotion he couldn't suppress — as his body grew hot. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and rather than wanting to run away, as he had every other time he had been afraid, he wanted to run towards the danger.
It was Doffy; there was no reason to be afraid of him. He never has been, not even when he shot their father. Perhaps he was afraid for others? But even if he was, this felt different compared to anything else he had ever experienced.
"Well done, Rosi," his brother said, pulling him from his thoughts. "This is so much more than I ever expected." When he looked at Doffy, he saw the smile shift slightly. He was still mad, but it wasn't directed at him. He was captivating, and Rosi never wanted to look away.
"You said there was something you wanted to ask me?"
With shaking hands, he wrote on his notepad, 'Do you need a chef?' before pulling out the picture of Rino and holding them both out for his brother to see. His heart pounded in his ears, and he wondered if Doffy could hear it, too.
His brother laughed, "Look at you! Not only did you find where that rat was spending my money, you even brought it back along with a possible new chef for the Family!" Doflamingo stood up from his chair, walked around his desk, and pulled Rosi into his arms. Suddenly, his face burned as Doflamingo leaned close to whisper in his ear, "Mi Corazón, after what you accomplished today, I will give you anything you want." Rosinante shivered, then bit his lip, clenching his fists around the items in his hands to keep them from writing or signing anything as he leaned into his brother's hold, pushing down his desire for more of whatever this was. These feelings were new and exciting, but also terrifying, because he was not supposed to want more of anything.
Whatever Doffy was willing to give him was more than he deserved.
Lips pressed against his temple, warm and soft as they moved towards his ear. A slow, burning heat spread down his spine, leaving him breathless when he felt Doffy's smile against his skin. "If it is a chef you want, be it for the Family or us, then let us go retrieve him, mi corazón."
Feeling lightheaded, Rosi could do nothing but nod.
If he gave Doffy everything, would he be given everything in return?
Two days later, Trebol returned to the ship with a duffel bag full of money, carrying three new members, one of whom was a gourmet chef—the very same chef he was meant to return with. All he could do was laugh as Doffy introduced the chef to him rather than the other way around, shake in barely contained rage as he was forced to listen as his beloved captain speak so highly of the slave who discovered how far Ilton Hamid's treachery went, and grind his teeth together as Diamante (Diamante, of all people) spoke nothing but praise for the captain's brother, who was to begin training with all the executives to take his 'rightful' place as the next Corazon.
No wonder his contact didn't show up at the rendezvous point; Ilton was idiotic enough to get found out by a lowly slave who could not walk a straight line without falling on his ass!
Trebol watched as the chef spoke with the children, seeming to understand the slave's hand language that the stupid fish used and teaching it to the children so they could 'better understand the executive-in-training'. He would burn all four of them if it would not bring Doflamingo's wrath upon him. Though he himself did not understand it, the captain did care for the Family children, and to harm them outside of training without due cause was an unspoken death sentence. Not to mention taking away a talented chef that Doffy had been wanting for years would be a cruelty the man did not deserve.
Turning away, he saw Doflamingo holding Rosinante close. An arm around the man's waist, their sides pressed together as Doffy whispered something that made the younger man turn bright red. The captain had, oddly enough, been showing signs of interest in his blood relative, yet he had not made any move to conquer the fool and toss him aside, as he had all the rest. Perhaps it was a Celestial Dragon tradition; some strange courting method they did with other Dragons. But, as the only Dragons banished from Heaven and with no way to court other non-related Dragons, perhaps Doffy felt they were the only ones worthy of each other's devotion.
If Trebol did not know for a fact that Rosinante had been reduced to being the slave of another Celestial Dragon, perhaps he would be as open to the idea of the brothers getting together as the others were.
He was gone for a week at best, and yet somehow the world as he knew it had tilted sideways. The slave, who had already proved his worthlessness at the tender age of eight, was proving to be a problem in a way he had not expected. Children of weak will do not suddenly grow spines. Children who cry so easily do not become warriors. So why was Rosinante all of these things? You were either one or the other; you could not be both. It had been an easy lesson to teach Doflamingo, as he had already despised the weak, so why was he bending the rules for his brother? Surely blood could not mean that much to him if it showed such weakness? Their father had been weak, and when that weakness led to the boys' fall from greatness, Doffy stepped up.
Framing Rosinante as a traitor would take time, as painful as that proved to be, but perhaps during that time, he could study the brothers from afar. Learn what made Doflamingo value such a weak sibling enough that we was willing to bed them.
I got this result. . . which, fair. I usually pretend very well that I was socialized, though I see the quiz saw right through me. I don't bite, promise.
Idk but I've always loved a toxic, yandere Doffy in an x Reader stories but now I'm thinking...
What if it's Rosi?
Like... he can be a great stalker creep, possibly even having yandere complexes, and nobody would actually realized it nor would they believe the allegation! The perk of having an image of 'the better brother' 😌
I kept thinking about maybe a college AU where he's into photography and always had a camera within reach. He'd volunteer to be the photohgrapher when there's an event especially when Reader is, perhaps, the committee
He would have 2 cameras. One is for the event, and one is for 'back up' but is actually for stealing Reader's picture. His pictures of Reader varies from the pretty candid ones to creepy candid ones 😇
He also has an altar of Reader's picture (and possibly more of Reader's 'belonging') in his room, inside a wardrobe that nobody in the house aware of. He would probably jack off to Reader's pict too 👁👁
He's a kind, polite, handsome guy who's a little clumsy and shy, nobody would believe if someone said he's an obsessive, creepy stalker!!
Oh also, I'm thinking of Doffy being Reader's current partner because imagine Rosi's jealousy 😳
How far he would go to ruin his brother's life and get Reader solely for himself...
I imagine this could have started from a young age, but revolving around people in general before narrowing in on reader once they meet.
Like, imagine a young Rosi having a wall in his room dedicated to people he found interesting, like Lilos 'wall of tourists'. Rosi runs home yelling "My cameras full, Doffy!" And when his brother comes in his room later, he leads him over to the wall of pictures, which is just random ass people, whispering in awe, "Aren't they beautiful?"
Doflamingo doesn't discourage his brother's strange obsession, but instead buys everything his baby brother needs so he can continue it.
Years pass by, the pictures go from random people doing random everyday things, to couples he caught doing it through a window, from obese men with tan lines to a woman eyeing her ass through a passing window.
Then Rosinante mets the reader and suddenly she's the most interesting person he's ever met. All those pictures of strangers end up in the trash, the wall now covered in pictures of the reader at a coffee shop, at the bookstore, in class. After finding out where she lives, there are pictures of her sleeping, cooking in her kitchen, and in various states of undress.
It makes me laugh, the thought of it. Because he killed his dad for believing he ruined his life, right? So if that's a worry Doffy has, then he would believe he had ruined his child's life, and so much so that he is deserving of death.
But what if that was a nightmare he had? Where, one night, safely tucked in his high thread count sheets inside the castle of Dressrosa, Doflamingo has that nightmare. His plans failed, he is once again treated as less than the scum of the earth, and worst of all he dragged his family down with him. His beloved dies from illness, his found family either leaves or is killed, and his son hates him for ruining his life.
The dream ends with his son taking his life; a bullet to the head and a declaration to hand over his head to the World Government for a chance at a better life.
Doflamingo wakes up in a cold sweat, slowly realizing it wasn't real. His wife is alive, his family is whole minus Rosi, and his son is living the life he deserves.
He turns and pulls his wife close, letting the sound of her beating heart calm him until he falls back asleep.
I’m sorry I know this is normally just an art and rambling blog you didn’t honestly expect me to pass up reblogging The Spanish Inquisition did you?
Because nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.
Working as a chef for Ilton Hamid was nothing worth bragging about. He got to create a variety of dishes, sure, but he was forced to follow the directions to the letter or risk expulsion. There was no creativity, no heart, or passion, and it ate at him. The love he had for cooking, the one thing in his life that never betrayed him nor abandoned him, was slowly wilting away the longer he stayed.
So, any chance he could, he left the kitchen to smoke.
It was always a relief to take a drag off a cigarette; the smoke filled his lungs, then he held it there until it burned. When he finally released a long, slow exhale, his shoulders would drop, the rigid tension leaving his back as he leaned against the building, and it all faded away. It was temporary — it wouldn't be long before he would have to do this again — but by the Seas, it was nothing but bliss in these moments.
Maybe that was why when some tall, clumsy blonde in a suit tripped over a pebble, he smiled and asked if he was alright. He should have questioned the man's presence and wondered why he was lurking behind the manor among the trash, especially since he had never seen him before. But the man nodded, smiling nervously, and while it was the most creepy-looking smile Rino had ever seen, he couldn't help but laugh as he helped the man to his feet.
The man was far taller than him, nearly double in height, but after dusting himself off, the blonde seemed to fold his lanky frame in half; his shoulders rolled forward and down, his knees and waist bent slightly to bring himself lower to the ground. Rino lightly bumped his shoulder against the man's side. "Don't make yourself small on my account," he told him, flicking the dog-end of his cigarette to send the ashes falling. "The world is full of beings of a variety of sizes; you and I happen to be two examples of that."
The blonde looked uncomfortable but nodded as he slowly unfolded, keeping his knees bent and his shoulders low. Must be used to making himself appear small. He could relate to that.
Rino pulled more smoke into his lungs before handing the cig out to the blonde. "Want a hit?" He smiled when the man looked at it funny, slowly grabbing it and taking the deepest inhale, followed by a harsh cough. Huffing a laugh, he patted the poor sods' backs as he grew pale, a frightened look taking over his features.
First timer, then.
"It's okay if you don't like it," he told him, taking the cigarette back from the man's grip in case he dropped it. "No one smokes because they like it. Not at first, anyway." When the blonde could breathe normally again, he looked at Rino, his head tilted in question. So he answered.
"Some people start because they think it makes them look cool. Occasionally, you meet someone who started smoking because they just wanted to show people, mostly their parents, that they're all grown up, even though they haven't finished growing yet. Then you have the ones who can't say no, and give in to peer pressure, and then inevitably fall down the rabbit hole of nicotine addiction. Then you got people like me, who start because it's the one thing in their life that they can control."
Rino took another drag off his cigarette, blowing the smoke up into the air above him. "My life has been one shit show after another. Some of it might be my fault, sure. I could have stayed out of sight as a kid, as my mother asked, or maybe had given my girlfriend the kind of attention she needed instead of working so much, but sometimes it felt like all I had done was step on a twig that somehow caused an avalanche." He stared up at the sky, eyes distant as he relived his past. A small part of him wondered why he was sharing all this with a stranger. Then he blinked, waving the memories and questions away, and then continued. "So I started smoking. It helped me relax, in a way. Made me take a breath and let all those problems temporarily burn away for those 5 to 10 minutes I took for myself.
"Sure, smoking is bad for you, causing cancer and putting tar in your lungs, but you know what? It's a problem I know is certainly my own doing. I caused these problems, and the beauty of it is that I'm the only one who has to pay for it. I could quit any time I like, could even lessen the amount I smoke if I wish, but I chose not to. I alone control how many cigarettes I smoke in a day, and I alone pay the price for it. Beautiful, isn't it?" He asked, looking back at the blonde, who smiled slightly, nodding slowly.
He chuckled, then remembered he had never introduced himself. "I'm Rino, by the way. Occhio Rino."
As he watched the blonde use his hands to sign the name 'Holden,' he found himself glad he knew the hand language of Fishman Island from his time as a sailor. "Nice to meet you, Holden." He took one more hit before grinding out the lit end, feeling slightly mournful that his smoke break was over. "Come on then," he said, waving the blonde along so they could walk side by side. "Best get inside before the guests arrive. You're a Butler, yes?" Receiving a nod in answer, he asked, "Wait a bit in the kitchen, will you? That way, you can bring Hamid and the Donquixotes their tea and biscuits."
Holden gave him another creepy smile, so he took that as confirmation.
Ilton Manor was a maze of rooms and hallways, but Rosinante had always been able to find Hotaru no matter where she was or how far apart they were. This maze of a home was no different. Lately, he has been able to find other crew members just as easily, though he hasn't given it much thought; they are not the ones he usually looks for, save for his brother.
After giving the host and his crew their tea and biscuits, Rosinante quickly began his search for Hamid's office, which took up a large chunk of his already limited time. When he did find it — at the other end of the manor, close to the man's bedroom, he quickly got to work. Doffy was counting on him to find out where all of his money was going, and he would not fail his brother.
The office was spacious: wood flooring, a large window that looked out over the town, a dark-toned desk set before it, and a high-back chair pushed in. Floor-to-ceiling shelves lined the right wall, full of books categorized first by genre, then alphabetical order. Along the left wall were plaques, framed educational degrees Hamid had achieved, a cabinet full of aged liquors, and a painting of an older woman with greying hair dressed to the nines.
Finding files and bank statements on and in the desk was easy enough; it seemed the man was using Doffy's money to gamble and pay for young 'escorts' (most of the receipts showed pictures of the escorts who were all blonde and rather busty). Still, a few notes and letters from colleagues or acquaintances made things confusing. There were coded messages about meetings and money exchanges on specific dates, but the statements showed no money withdrawals on those dates or in the time leading up to them. So, Rosi looked for a hidden compartment in the desk.
Saint Camael had one in his desk, where he hid papers he never wanted her to see.
Unfortunately, there were no lines in the desk suggesting hidden compartments, nor were there any inlaid buttons, so he took pictures of what he found before combing through everywhere else. If he truly found nothing more than suspicious letters, then he could brush them off as ignored inquiries or something similar.
There was no rug in the office, so there was nothing to look under to find hidden compartments in the floor. Even so, he still looked around, but there were no smudges or engravings that indicated a loose board had been repeatedly lifted or pried open. The books were the next thing he checked. There were no false books, and every book was easily pulled from the shelf; so far, none revealed a secret passage or hidden room like the comics Law and Gladius enjoyed. Rosinante grew increasingly disappointed with each book he checked.
During his search, however, he found a book that was out of place. A thick book containing volumes 066 through 076 of Sora: Warrior of the Sea had placed between Think and Grow Rich by Hill Napoleon and The Psychology of Money by Housel Morgan. Funny, he didn't know they sold the comics in such large volumes, and he wondered if the kids knew. Removing the book caused no reaction, but it was significantly lighter than it should have been. Curious, he opened it to find the center hollowed out — Law would be horrified, and Gladius would likely make heads roll. Rather than filled with comic panels, Sora's story instead held lots of documents, letters, and pictures of people and weapons that Rosi was pretty sure were made by Doffy's men.
He picked up one of the photos that held a rifle and flipped it over. Nothing.
He did the same for one of the photos of individual people; this one was a young boy. On the back held the boy's age, weight, height, and what he supposed was considered the kids 'skills', which turned out to be gardening and other yard work. He looked at the backs of others, finding the same thing: their age, weight, height, and skills. Some of them looked like members of staff he ran into, but that seemed like a weird thing to keep track of only select people. A few had berry signs in the corner as well, like the ones on the back of Rino's picture, though his had three rather than the usual one. It looked like Rino was really good at making 'high-end cuisines'. Maybe that was why he had three instead of one.
Lying the content down on the desk to take pictures of for his brother, Rosi soon learned that the images of people were those Hamid considered potential slaves; ones he planned to either sell off to slavers or high-paying nobles in one of the Blues. The guns, which were in fact made by the Donquixote crew, were gifts from Doffy to Hamid and his men, though it looked like he was 'donating' them to mobs in the West Blue, along with large sums of money to 'fund their efforts'. Turns out Hamid was not only betting in the local casinos, but he was also a part of a large 'nobles' betting pool', one full of those who enjoyed watching the West Blue mobs tear each other apart and collecting money when their 'champions' won.
It reminded Rosinante of the Celestial Dragons. He did not like this man at all, and he hoped Doffy would do something about him. At the very least, he could warn the staff that Hamid had pictures of that they were in danger. Maybe Rino could join the crew. Did Doffy have a chef? One who liked to make fancy foods in small portions? He grabbed the fountain pen sitting on the desk and wrote on the back of Rino's picture, 'Crew?' before storing it in his pocket.
Surely Doffy would save Rino and protect him from the fate worse than death if Rosi asked.
Once all the pictures he needed were taken, Rosi began packing everything away, setting the room back to the way it was before he entered. He's likely gone over his time limit. But while trying to focus on Hotarus' location to see if she was still in the manor, he tripped. In an effort not to fall on his face, he tried grabbing onto whatever he could, which turned out to be the painting of the older woman. Rather unfortunate, as there was no way it could hold its own weight as well as his.
Though it turned out it was a rather sturdy little thing, as instead of tearing from the wall or falling to the floor with him, it instead swung forward with him, slipping from his grasp as he lowered to the ground while it stayed upright.
Rosinante lay there for a moment in confusion before flipping onto his back. From his position on the floor, he saw that the painting had swung open like a door, revealing a safe set into the wall behind the frame. He never would have thought to look behind it. He will have to look behind more frames in the future. He climbed to his feet and began to swing the frame back and forth, smiling at the squeak the hinges gave before studying the lock. It was a rather large safe with a keypad set into the door underneath the handle. Pressing a few random numbers on the keypad, he noted that it accepted a 4-digit code before emitting a high-pitched beep.
A quick look over the painting showed no hidden numbers.
He tried 1-2-3-4. It didn't work.
0-0-0-0. Nope.
Maybe the Sora book.
He tried the numbers 6-6-7-6, which resulted in a different beep, this one longer than the others, and the sound of multiple bolts sliding back across metal. With a pull of the handle, the safe opened, revealing stacks upon stacks of cash. Rosinante smiled.
Surely, Doffy could not be upset with Rosi for showing up late if the reason for his tardiness was a few trash bags full of his brother's stolen money?
For everything we do here, please be sure to be careful with what you edit, and restart your computer to lock things in.
If you don't have access to the Group editor, (likely to happen if you're on base windows) you can do this as well by opening your Registry Editor app, then inputting this after your 'computer' or whatever the initial segment is. (Mine is computer. If I just try and paste the below string it gets SO mad at me)
Navigating to your "turnoffwindowscopilot", hit modify, and set the value data to 1.
If done correctly, it'll look like this.
While we're at it, you can also get rid of the integrated search, (or that thing where it searches the web when you search anything, whether or not you want it to) and such through regedit as well.
Navigate to your "DisableSearchBoxSuggestions" bit, if you don't see it, you can make it by right clicking and creating a new registry D-Word key of that exact name. Edit the key, set it to 1. It'll look like this if you do it right!
To get rid of Windows Spotlight, (The thing where it pulls up ten billion pages on windows start page, shoving ads in your face and cluttering everything) we go to
And set "Enabled State" To 0. If you do it right, it'll look like this!
Disabling edge on startup will also help a fair deal with processing speed and the like. This you can do in all sorts of ways, the easiest being turning it off entirely on startup through settings in the like.
If you want to kill it *entirely*, though? :)
In regedit, run along to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft
Navigate to your MicrosoftEdge key subcategory. If you don't see it, you can make one! Note, this is a KEY, not a d-word. *inside* that subcategory, we want to either make or find the D-Word key of PreventLaunchEdge and set that to 1 in the same way as all the others.
It'll look like this.
Aaaand while we're here, I'd HIGHLY recommend shanking Killer Networking Services. It's just bloatware. (Ostensibly it's supposed to monitor your network bandwidth and even things out, but that really means it's constantly monitoring and pinging things, which eats up the bandwidth you DO get, and also chunks your computer's processing power.) Getting rid of it entirely is borderline impossible, since it's set to redownload on regular updates and intel is very pushy with its updates.
This you can do by opening your Services.msc, which basically shows you all the background stuff that Windows does. Find Anything with Killer in the name, right click it, go to properties, and disable startup. It should look like this, if done successfully. It will probably reenable itself in time/in later updates for windows, but it's a quick fix. I'd also check your TaskScheduler app to make sure that nothing's scheduled to open up there, either.
If you CAN completely kill Killer services through uninstalling and the like, I would warn that at very least for my computer, the only ethernet/lan support applications that are available ARE Killer's. When you download updates, you really do have to do it manually and ONLY download the ethernet services, or just be cool with not having Lan functionality.
One last thing, not a shit application but is a shit service. If your computer's constantly overheating or just warm, you likely have Turboboost enabled. (Default setting that you can't change) If you want to be able to turn it off and drop your temps by like 40 degrees, in Regedit go to
(Note- This isn't the string copy paste from the reddit thread, this is mine that does the same thing. If my string doesn't work for you, check the reddit thread string. If that doesn't work either, you can follow the path and find it pretty easily. Probably has like, one letter of difference somewhere. The bits all start the same, though, so it's easy to find.)
and go to "attributes". Set the value from 1 to 2, and now in your advanced Power Plan settings in control panel, you'll be able to *see* turbo boost and turn it off.
It'll look like this, and in power options, a successful disabling of boost should look like this.
Turning off quick startup's also a good call, since that basically stops your restarts from actually shutting things down properly.
GOOD LUCK OUT THERE YALL. MAKE SURE TO CLEAN YOUR PC!
I would like to once again recommend to you all Winero Tweaker, a free program that lets you adjust a bunch of windows settings with a single click instead of digging through 30 different setting screens and registry entries.
There's well over a hundred settings, here's just a few of them:
(sorry the classic taskbar option no longer works with current windows 11 version)
Fair warning: This is a powerful tool which means it can also do some damage if you don't know what you're doing, but every setting comes with an extensive explanation, as you can see in the Ads and unwanted apps screenshot.
This tool will even turn windows 11 from a bloated mess into a (more or less, this tool isn't magic) usable operating system.
