#[ ch. VIOLA / VIOLET ]
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opwomcn · 1 year ago
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Marry for all of the Sanji's that posted that one meme. <3
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jadedrrose · 1 year ago
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The Silent Reaver - Ch. Two
You spend the next day preparing for your mission, thinking about the endless possibilities for when you reunite with Law.
Other Chapters Can Be Found Here
Warnings: mentions of weapons, also spoilers for Punk Hazard/Dressrosa, if you’re not there yet. I hope there are no mistakes hahalol
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Two days wasn’t much time to prepare for an entire mission that required you leaving Dressrosa for the next foreseeable future.
You spent most of your first day pondering over how you’d deal with things. You had to go over every possibility, thinking things through from the start and accounting for anything that could go wrong. How would you make your entrance? Silently sneak inside the supposedly abandoned laboratory, not alerting anybody to your presence until you felt ready? Or would you need to announce to at least- what was his name? Something C… reminded me of salad? Oh! -Caesar Clown that you’d arrived? Or just make it known to everybody on the island that you were now there too? 
That sounded foolish. The best option in your mind was to quietly get inside, get a look at things before talking to Caesar. Then you had to consider that Law was there, most likely also sneaking around, searching for whatever he was looking for. Something about a substance called S-A-D? Regardless, if you wanted to try avoiding him at the beginning, you would have to be very careful; knowing what the pirate was capable of.
Your guilty pleasure for the last couple years had been keeping intel on him. Almost nobody knew about this secret, Baby 5 and Violet being the only two people to have knowledge about it. Violet was always kind toward you and you had no doubt that your secret would always be safe with her. Baby 5, on the other hand, you had to do a little bribing to keep her silent after she’d caught you sneaking off with a wanted poster last year. She was easily convinced though, always wanting to please everyone around her.
You’d always felt so shameful about it though. Even if you excuse your actions by telling yourself that this was simple research should he ever plan something against your family, deep down you knew that the childish feelings you still felt toward him all these years later was the real reason. His two most recent wanted posters were kept on your desk, along with any newspapers that mentioned him. The one announcing his Warlord status, the Rocky Port Incident paper, anything you could find. Everything that served as a reminder that the boy you’d loved thirteen years ago was still alive and thriving as a man now.
Knowing your feelings would rise through the barrier within your mind as soon as you saw him again was bothering you, truthfully. It would make your task incredibly difficult. Especially if I have to kill him…
That thought alone brought tears to your eyes. You’d watched as he struggled with knowing he’d be dead within two years. Watched as Corazon whisked him away from Doflamingo’s cruel hands and saved his life. Even if you were younger then, you still realized how significant that was to Law. And for you to be the one to take all of that away from him?
You hadn’t realized you’d started crying, feeling your knees growing weak and body heavy, you gracefully fell to the cold stone floor, letting your hands cover your face as you cried into them. You didn’t want to kill Law. You couldn’t.
A sharp knock on the door ripped you away from the terror on your mind. You rose to your feet, wiping away the tears and taking in a deep breath as you cracked it open, getting a glimpse at who was on the other side.
All you could see was slivers of a white dress and dark curly hair, but you knew right away that it was Violet- no, Viola. She’d recently requested that you specifically could call her by her true name, as she was one of the few who knew your’s.
“Y/n, are you alright? I heard crying, and became worried…”
You opened the door up more, enough so that she’d be able to slip inside. As soon as she was, you shut the door quickly and felt her arms wrap around you, being pulled into a warm and comforting embrace.
“I’m sorry… was I being that loud?” You started to apologize, “I shouldn’t have been, I must’ve scared-”
“Shh, don’t worry about it. I heard about your mission and figured it would be difficult for you, so I came down this way. I suppose I was correct about it being difficult, though.”
You nodded, pulling away from the hug. “I’m just worried about meeting him again…”
Viola gave you a warm smile, taking your hand to sit you down on your bed. She took a spot next to you, and allowed her hand to rest on top of yours, her thumb rubbing sweet circles into your skin. “Well, I never met him so there isn’t much I can say about him. But based on what you’ve told me, I think he’d be understanding of your situation… should you decide to switch sides.”
You gasped, looking at the woman beside you with wide eyes. “Viola! Don’t even joke about that, you know I can’t leave this family.”
She let out a light-hearted chuckle, shaking her head and closing her eyes for a very brief moment, all before looking back at you. “Y/n. I know how you feel about him, and you know that I know that you and I aren’t happy with our situation. Not only would I not judge you, I’d keep you covered so that the young master doesn’t find out.”
“You mean that?” you wondered, folding your hands in your lap and looking down. “You’d be okay if I… left?” 
She nodded, a smile spreading across her toned skin. “Of course.”
You hummed, before shrugging. “Well, I can’t say for certain that I want to… but it’s nice knowing you’d have my back.”
“Sure thing. So… what are you most worried about?” she asked, crossing her legs and leaning back on her arms.
“I dunno,” you answered honestly. “I’m scared of meeting him, since I don’t know how he’ll react… let alone how I will.”
“Hmm, let’s think it through, then? Let’s say he’s shocked, but happy.”
You scoffed, a light laugh escaping your lips, “I don’t think I’d be able to tell if he were happy. Law didn’t ever look happy.”
Viola rolled her eyes, “Okay… then how about all signs point to him being happy. What would you do then?”
You really didn’t know what to say to that. What would you do? What if he didn’t even recognize you? Or if any mutual feelings were gone, so you would then be stuck in a weird one-sided love? Or going down an entirely different route, what if he hated you?
“I g-guess… I’d just try talking to him… normally?”
Viola nodded, crossing her arms and sitting up now, “And maybe he’s upset?”
“If he were upset, then I’d probably just cry,” you huffed, moving to lean your head on your arms. “Because it would mean I’d have to kill him.”
“Not necessarily,” Viola disagreed, “You could just… not complete the mission?”
“And then what? Never return? We both know Monet is already there supervising things for the SMILEs. She’d call someone to get me.”
“I think, based on the information I know, that Law would understand your situation and help you. He’d be more upset with Doflamingo than with you.”
“I don’t know that for sure, so how can you? You’ve never met him.”
Viola just laughed, though, giving you a charming grin. “Y/n… You’re overthinking things.”
And overthink things you did, indeed. After that conversation, your mind just continued to spiral down all possible scenarios. Evening came and went, and soon, you realized you only had a few hours to pack and then sleep before departing for Punk Hazard.
There wasn’t room to bring much with you. You packed a couple outfits, non-perishable snacks and other necessities. You were thankful that all of your artillery could be worn so that you wouldn’t have to compromise space in your bag for them. 
Looking over your room, you scanned each and every object for anything that you might need, or perhaps want while away. 
Your eyes ended up landing on a particular drawer of your desk, one that you rarely ever opened. Memories flooded back into your mind as you thought of what resided in the drawer, and with a deep breath, you gathered your strength to open it.
Two items lay against the wood of the drawer’s interior. Two pieces of jewelry, both having significant meaning to you. A locket necklace, and a hand-crafted one made from junk. 
The locket had been from your mother before she died. Inside of it was a tiny photograph of your family, huddled up beneath a tree on a nice summer evening. It was the one item you had when you were adopted into your current family.
The other piece, the necklace made from junk, held a different meaning. With delicate hands, you picked it up and held it in your palm, looking it over as a small smile broke out on your lips. You fondly remembered the day it was given to you.
It had been a few days before Law disappeared along with Corazon. You’d been sitting by yourself, mindlessly playing with a pistol. Considering much of Spider Miles consisted of scraps and other junk, nobody ever cared that you’d been using things as your targets for practicing your aim. 
You loaded the gun before putting your hands in position, taking aim at a large pipe that you’d stuck a piece of paper to. On the paper was a poorly drawn face, meant to be your ‘victim’ for practice. You shot once, missing the eyes that hardly resemble real ones by a couple inches. Swearing, you mentally scold yourself for not hitting between the eyes. You get ready to shoot again, but were quickly stopped by someone approaching from behind.
“Y/n.”
You felt yourself freeze, a strange warmth overtaking your body as you lowered the gun. Slowly, you turned to greet the person who’d interrupted your training. 
“Law?” Your heart beat faster as you said his name, and you felt as though you were going to puke. What an odd feeling it was.
“I… have something for you,” the boy meekly informed you, holding out something wrapped in an old piece of paper. 
You approached him, taking the supposed gift out of his hands with the one that wasn’t holding your gun. Realizing you needed both hands, you quickly set the gun down on a crate nearby. Unwrapping it, a necklace made out of scraps was revealed to you. For someone who had virtually no necklace-making skills, it looked nice. There were two chains connected together, one silver and one gold. You figured he hadn’t been able to find just one that was long enough. On the end of it were some gemstone pieces clearly taken from smashed items, all strung together with some wire.
“A necklace?” You breathed, shyly looking up at Law.
He nodded, scratching the back of his neck as he started explaining. “The other day when you told me about your locket… I decided to make it. Since you like necklaces, I guess…”
You smiled, appreciating his effort to make you something. “Thank you… I love it,” you expressed your gratitude, putting it around your neck. “How’s it look?”
The way Law looked at you had your strange feelings intensifying, your stomach feeling like it was doing backflips within you. His ears were tinted red now, the only thing giving away what he really felt. “It’s nice… you look pr- it looks… pretty.”
You giggled, taking a step forward to hug your companion. 
A thought came to you, allowing you to zone back in as the memory faded out. If Law cared for you enough to make you a necklace back then, did you really have any reason to doubt that he’d welcome reuniting with you? Looking back on it as an adult, it was quite obvious the little crushes you’d both had for each other was a mutual thing. Perhaps now he wouldn’t feel that way, but there was no reason for him to have ill intentions toward you. That gave your mind some ease, at the very least.
Deciding that you wanted to take it with you, you put the necklace around your neck while your locket went inside your bag, as you were afraid of it being damaged from wear. 
In the small vanity mirror on your desk, you looked it over and your smile couldn’t help but grow a bit. Yes, it did kind of look like shit, but that’s what made it so special. It was made from garbage into something beautiful for you, and could you really expect a twelve year-old boy to be capable of gathering expensive materials to make you something fancy-looking?
Your eyes then trailed away from your reflection in the mirror down to the wanted poster still laid out on your desk. A part of you couldn’t believe that the boy you’d had a crush on as a preteen had grown to be the man in the photo; that he was the same person who’d liked you enough to make you a necklace, just because he’d felt like it.
What would you do when meeting him again? It was a thought that plagued your mind repeatedly all day long, to a point that you were certain you’d be dreaming about it tonight. That was, if you were even able to sleep, feeling so nervous that you couldn’t be sure if sleeping was doable at the moment.
But your body said otherwise, as you let out a yawn, feeling tired despite your mind that ran wild with thought, awake as ever. You stretched and looked over your belongings one more time, before deciding you had everything you needed. With another yawn, you fell backwards into your bed, curling up underneath the warm covers and, to your surprise, fell asleep with ease.
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tabswrites · 10 months ago
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Notice Me, Reader!
Tagged by: @the-down-upside-finch
Gently tagging: @writernopal @sam-glade @clairelsonao3 @mysticstarlightduck @writingamongther0ses
Rules: Share 3 (or more!) small details from your WIP that you feel have gone/will go unnoticed. (You can choose whether or not to share why the detail is significant!)
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Okay okay so I hide little sneaky bits in my writing all the time. Here are some from Tomb of Light:
When Mara is first introduced, she notes that the sky is pink and orange. Hettie, her future LI, has a pink and orange Aura.
One of the chapter titles spoils part of the ending. I’m not telling you which one, but it’s very obvious if you think about it.
In Chapter 10, Mara tries to speak to Oliver while he is lost in thought and he says, “Sorry, I was tucked away for a moment.” This is a reference to The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Viola’s name is also a reference to The Lady in the Lake from Bly Manor.
And because I love Mike Flanagan and tragic romance, the willow imagery in Ch. 5 and 14 is also a reference to “O Willow Waly”, the song used in…Bly Manor.
Flowers!! Adrin associates his deceased sister with meadow violets. Violets represent love and innocence, but can also represent mystical awareness. Just a little sneaky foreshadowing.
When Hettie is introduced she is trying to revive a dying fire. This is also foreshadowing.
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luckyshotwrites · 2 years ago
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Ch. 49 // I’ll Help Set Up, Regrettably // Day 40
Contents (Warnings): Lynette debates whether this was a good idea or not (vore mentions, slight teasing, mouth "play", and as always character/monster info).
Wordcount: 4,722 (Sorry it took a while to come out and if the quality suffered some. I had to retype it all and my right eye has been acting up so it's hard for me to focus fully when I'm typing without breaks. HOPE YOU ENJOY, THANK YOU! AND THERE WAS A 2 WEEK SKIP)
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(Added for Day 30)
At the end of our shift, before we got to leave.
Edgar brought Alexander and me back into his office.
He sat at the edge of his new desk. Alexander and I weren't required to take a seat, so we stood back respectively. 
His red-violet hue did a deep once over like he took notes. 
"Glad you both went through your punishments with grace." He held his hands together, satisfied. 
We both soughed. Alexander was as relieved as I. 
"You may resume your normal schedules starting Thursday." He continued removing his hat and undoing his bun. It let his long hair go. "And please, keep to the rules I set next time-" 
Even though Edgar said it to both of us, he steadily hovered over Alexander more. 
Did he do something? I asked in my head.
"You're dismissed, Alexander." Edgar said to him and glanced at me, "Lynette, I need you a moment more."
I stiffened up. Alexander didn't question it and left. I felt the antsiness return. Why am I staying behind? Should I be worried? Would Edgar do anything? We didn't talk much; he was usually busy in the back, so I knew little about him. 
Edgar focused on me, a slight furrow to his brow, then held up a hand as he leaned off the table. "You're fine, Lynette. You're not in trouble." 
He took a breath and brushed back his hair. Not a strand remained on his face, the opposite of Drake, who enjoyed having most of his hidden. "I should have had this talk with you before, but better now than not at all."
He tapped his finger on his desk, "I did not expect you to stay, let alone put in the effort to keep up your promise when you were hired." 
He lifted his finger, "I certainly will not stop you if you continue working here. I'd invite it as many others here need more positive interactions with humans." 
I felt the intense narrow, almost like he put pressure on my chest. "And if they break any of the rules I have in place. TELL ME. Because if Sandra, Tristan, or I do not catch something for some reason, you could be in danger." He held his hand to clarify, "they are in place for a reason, not that I have doubts about those I hired. This is a warning, in case."
He really cares, doesn't he? At least he sounds like he does. 
I nodded. "I will."
The pressure Edgar had on me released, "good. Or you'll have more to worry about in the future, which you don't need for your goal." He held up a hand to me. "And thank you for continuing to work with us, Lynette. If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask."
...
(Oct. 31st, Monday)
We had Halloween off as a Holiday.
Drake: Hey, if any of you going to the party can come a bit earlier, around 9:00p.m., to set up, that'd be cool. 1:30 p.m.
Alexander: Sure. 1:30 p.m.
Zilla: I'd have to escape Zane first. 1:31 p.m.
Viola: After I help the triplets. 1:33 p.m.
Lev: I have a date around then, but I'll be there if it ends a little earlier than expected. 1:34 p.m.
June: 😿I want to help, but I also got to help Elliot. 1:36 p.m.
Tila: What happened to Elliot? 1:36 p.m.
Tila: And Drake, I am on a hunt today for a rare spindle Lim, and I refuse to give up until I find the darn creature. It's bound to give me more answers about the Arachne. 1:37 p.m.
June: (sent a picture of a room full of pillows). 1:37 p.m.
Drake: Good luck, Tila and Pillows? 1:38 p.m.
June: He wants me to help get rid of some, and I think he's here somewhere in them. 1:40 p.m.
I glanced back at the empty spot for the flat screen and consoles. Wicks didn't tell me how he broke them, but it wasn't there when I got home last night. He ordered new ones, and they'd be in by tomorrow. I can't play games tonight. Wicks told me he would be busy all night and into Tuesday, so I'd be alone with no candy to give. Not that I wasn't grateful for a chance to relax, given what's been going on since I won the dart game.
I groaned aloud and fell back on the couch, my phone arm covering my eyes. Lev took it like a challenge, and now all of his games consist of things HE KNOWS I won't be good at, and Alexander either gets so competitive with mine that he ends up somehow beating me at it. OR he picks ones that, much like Lev, knows I wouldn't be good at. 
When I cried out, my apartment took the voice into its empty void. 
Drake's the only one that picks fair games. It made me pull up my phone again. I had it hovering over my face, and I reread the replies and the new messages. 
If I go, I have to deal with all of them...they can't do anything to me. This is my chance to get more information on them. I thought back to the festival. They talked "normal" when we were there. 
I then scrolled back up to Drake's original message. Do I want to be there with the main problem, Alexander? I didn't feel much difference between us; I still didn't understand anything about him. Not that I know Lev, either. Or Zilla, or Drake, or-
Claudia was gone again for the next two weeks due to "family" reasons. It's the reason I hadn't been a tiny yet. I let my chest heave and expel all my breath. Drake was one of the nicest night crew people. I want to preserve that...
Lynette: I can help set up if you can send me your address. 1:51 p.m.
June: YAY! NOW I REALLY WANT TO GO! I GOTTA SEE MY BUDDY! 🤗 1:52 p.m.
Drake: Address - **** 1:53 p.m.
Lev: Oh, Lynette~ Going to a monster party is odd for someone who doesn't like being a snack. 1:53 p.m.
Alexander: ^ 1:53 p.m.
I sat up, "wait. It's not just everyone from work? How many are going to be there?!" I squeaked out. "Ah-why did I-" 
"Why am I so DUMB!" I put my hands in my hair and frizzed it up. WHY DON'T I THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS. I let my hair furrow up. I'M SUPPOSED TO THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS!
I dropped my phone on the cushion. I can't just say, never mind. My head fell forward. It allowed the giant puff ball of hair I created to fall over my face. I reached out for one of our white throw pillows and screamed into it for thirty seconds. I let it fall from my hands and bounce onto the floor. 
I looked at Wicks's door and chuckled, "Wicks, did you know monsters exist, and I'm working with them? I decided it'd be a good idea to stay involved with them when they care little about me-" I tipped forward and rested my chin on the back end of the couch, still looking at his closed door. He wasn't even home.
It was almost two months. It felt like I had been there longer with the chaos I'd experienced. I jokingly shook my fist and shouted, "CURSE YOU EDGAR, WHY DID YOU OFFER ME SO MUCH MONEY!" 
My tone came out defeated. "I still want to believe I'm going to make it through the year." 
Any of the cute costumes were sultry, too much for my taste. I didn't like the vulnerable feeling brought upon me by them. Even wearing a bathing suit at the beach felt too much.
And the other ones, those that were scary, didn't cut it for me either. I feared I'd look in a mirror and frighten myself with them.
After concluding shopping for a costume on Halloween was a bust, I called Wicks. I knew we had our costumes from last year packed away. I figured he hid them in his room, and I respected his privacy too much to invade without his permission. I texted him when he didn't answer the two times I called. 
He finally messaged back near eight o'clock to say he was safe and loved me very much. I guess that's a no. 
I dressed in my best Halloween throw-over, a spooky dark violet-purple one, then picked my cute golden trim, baby blue skirt, and thigh-high black pumpkin socks with some rainboots since they were almost orange. Yellow's close enough, right? 
I tapped in my boots and checked over my room. I had time to clean it today, so everything was nice and neat for me to crash into later. I even had my lamb Pj's from my mom sitting on top. I left the apartment after and went to my car.
 Drake said I didn't need to pick up anything. It'll be a straight shot there. I got my GPS ready and started my drive over. We lived near the edge of the small city while Drake lived out of it. It became more apparent as I started to see the lines of trees. There isn't much around, is there?��My anxiety burrowed deeper inside me. It'll be fine. They won't do anything. The little reminder pinged in my head. My coworkers are just some of the ones attending. There would be other people...monsters too. My fingers tightened around the wheel as I could see the gates in the distance. 
Wicks won't even know. I couldn't give him Drake's address out of fear that he'd leave work early and want to head over. I slowed down my bug and turned inside as the gate was wide open. I drove up the stretch of road to the beautiful building. Its architecture reminded me of those old victorian homes, gargoyles, and everything. Though, it looked restored as none of the paint was chipped, and there weren't vines hanging from it as they would in vampire movies. Once I pulled up to the huge double doors, I realized no other cars were around. Not even Xander's. I brought out my phone and took a breath. Sorry, I wanted to drive away now and say I didn't know anyone was home. For some dumb reason, my own obligations wouldn't let me.
I called Drake. 
“Hey, Lynette, what’s up?”
“Uh-I’m here…where should I park?"
"Right!" Drake said. He sounded rushed. "If you're at the front door, keep heading straight and turn into the garage when you arrive. I'll have it open. Sorry, I didn't realize the time."
"You're okay, thank you." I hung up. 
I did as he said and saw the familiar garage with its door open. It had a few cars inside, including Drakes, Alexanders, and two others I didn't recognize. I parked in the closest empty space. When I got out and locked my car, I saw they could fit at least five more cars inside. 
"Hey, Lynette," Drake's voice echoed around us. It looked like an empty luxury storefront with excellent tile and lights above. I could barely take it in, let alone when I was tiny. You really live like this, and YOU work at a pizzeria?! 
I bowed my head, "you look cool." I finally noticed his black and red samurai outfit, which looked like natural silk. Though, what perplexed me the most was his ponytail. Drake's hair wasn't long enough, especially with his bangs still over his face. It would have been funny if you had that red and black cape and fake teeth.
His fangs weren't that noticeable if I didn't pay attention. The only time I really saw them was when he yawned. He didn't expose as he rarely showed more than concern or confusion on his face.
"Thanks..." He pointed down to my boots, then back up, "and you are a-"
"I couldn't buy a costume! They didn't have any good ones left!" I exclaimed. I expected him or Alexander to make a sly comment about it. He brought me a slight ease.
He turned around and ushered me to follow him to the entrance into the house from the garage. "Well, it fits the theme."
I followed him up the few stairs and looked over the hanging decorations. Most of them seemed hung, cobwebs, giant spiders, a bunch of kabuki masks? And a plethora of lights as well as the walls, looked smeared with glow paint in different ghost and pumpkin shapes. The few statues and paintings were moved out of the room and replaced with tables and chairs leading up to the ballroom at the center, halfway up the stairs. 
"It looks like you already got a lot done," I commented. 
He scratched the back of his head, "Wenna told me she'd take forever helping Viola out yesterday with the triplets, but Viola sent her off after she got a better handle on them." Drake walked me near a few tables off to the side. They had a bubble like films over them. What's that? I popped one as we passed, and it wobbled but didn't pop. It felt warm. 
Drake continued, "so there isn't much left to get done. I should have texted you, but Alexander and I started talking about the new crying kingdom game. 
We went off to the side near a hall on the left side, under the stairs. He pressed open the giant silver double doors, "the only thing we need help with now is-" He lifted his hand and put it in front of me. I stopped walking as the giant leg swung in front of me. 
"Careful," Alexander's voice came from above.
I peered up only to stumble back, seeing his stomach. He ate someone. 
I let my eyes wander around the room instead of on Alexander even after he moved behind the giant countertop. I heard him clank down a few trays. 
"Cooking," Drake finished. It pulled my attention to him and away from the giant half of the kitchen. "You're not hiding it, Alexander?"
"It's not like everyone here doesn't know what I eat." He said. 
I flinched when he said that. 
Drake exhaled, "well, this is the last thing we need help with, Lynette." Drake gestured up to the counter. It was bigger than us both. The counter perfect for our height was empty. 
I glanced up as Drake walked me closer. I could see Alexander's eyes glowing past his glasses and the irritation nestled between his brows. 
I refused to look over more than his face and hair but noticed he had a similar samurai outfit as Drake except for white and gold. And I was confident they were both wearing fake ponytails because Alexander had one too, and his hair was too short. 
"Are you done making all of them?"
Alexander groaned, nodding, "all I have is the energy transfer left."
Drake's head turned to me, "maybe Lynette can help-"
"DRAKE!!~" A familiar female's voice broke into the kitchen. I saw the black-haired girl with a youthful appearance. She gave a flashy toothy grin from beyond the silver door she clung to. "LYNETTE! Nice to see you again, and you're normal height too!!" She gave a cheer like a mother at a soccer game.
I gave a small wave, "hi, Wenna."
She popped her attention back to Drake, "and-hey, do you mind calling my phone? I have no idea where I left it, and I need to be sure Angela has the right address!" 
Drake pulled out his phone, "I'll help you call it." He said as he looked back at both of us, responsibly, and said, "be nice, and have her help you if she can."
I wanted to follow Drake, but he left in a rush. My whole body felt tense, and I stared at the double door. I would love to go on a phone hunt. It might be high up if she was putting up those decorations. I saw something move out of the corner of my eye and threw myself to face it. I couldn't back up fast enough. He got my arm and yanked me closer before encompassing my waist in his hand.
"XANDer!" I squeaked out. I was forced to look over his body as he put me on the counter in front of him near one of the massive baking trays. The counter was more than waist height to him, so at least I didn't have to look at his abdomen directly. 
"Stop it. You might fall." He growled. He sat me to the side of him.
"You grabbed me out of nowhere. What am I supposed to do!" I argued quietly. 
He came closer, "just roll up your sleeve and give me your arm." He held his giant hand out. 
"W-why?" I kept both of them fastened to my chest. 
"I need to touch you physically to take your energy like this." He grumbled.
I did as he asked and gave him my arm. His hand overtook it and nearly part of my elbow. He was smaller than the others, yet he was still a giant to me. 
His eyes stared at their fluorescent glow again, and he held his other hand over the treats. They were pumpkin-shaped cakes that flickered with the energy he pumped into them, or at least I saw one of them do that. 
"What are you even supposed to be?" 
"Don't you start too," I felt more at ease with his question. "I'm not wearing a costume."
He watched over the treats and didn't look at me, "you really can't dress yourself, can you?"
And you can't be pleasant. I said in my head. I wouldn't dare say that to his face, especially like this. 
After another minute and one more pumpkin out of the 300 on the counter sparked, he groaned. 
"What?" I asked.
"This is going to take forever." He tilted his head away in thought. He then faced me, "you want me to make this faster?"
"If you can do that, yes...?" I muttered. The less time I spend near you right now, the better. He tugged my arm, which caught my attention; it was gentle but sudden. I steered my head toward his parted lips that moved in on my arm. "That's not-"
He trapped my hand between them faster than I could close my fist. His teeth lightly kept my wrist in place while his lips hid it. I cried out when his tongue cradled my hand.
"STOP!" I twisted my arm to no avail, though he did release my hand from his maw. 
"I'm not going to eat you, doofus." He said and followed it up, almost mockingly, with a swallow. 
I didn't even want to close my dripping hand. I couldn't pull it back either, as Alexander kept my forearm secure. 
"Then what were you doing!?"
"If I have direct contact, I can take your energy faster."
I pointed at the arm he held, "you're already touching me!"
"Direct contact in my body." He motioned to himself, "I already told you before. I'm not a full magus. I'm slow at taking energy like this." He moved the hand that held my arm more before he rested his other hand on his stomach. "And my current meal doesn't have the same output as you." 
Current meal? That's a person. I pressed at his fingers that held my arm. "I don't want any part of me near you. This arm holding is more than enough."
"Fine, we'll stay here for the hour." 
He didn't clean my hand. 
"You're overexaggerating." 
"I'm not." Alexander uttered, "I don't see what the big deal is. I'm not eating you." 
"What do you mean?! You wouldn't want anyone putting your hand in their mouth, would you?"
He rolled his eyes, "hell no."
"Then why would I!"
Alexander's gaze fell back onto my hand like he didn't take in a single word I said. 
"Xander!"
"I heard you," he groaned. He started up the process again.
I don't want to sit here for an hour, listen to you, or look- "Is there really no other way you can do this faster?"
"If there was, I'd do it," Alexander said. 
I glanced back at the baking pans on the giant counter. I already saw more of them out there. So has Alexander been doing this the whole time?... I regret coming early. I didn't think I'd help in this way. I wanted to get it done. That's not a good idea, Lynette. I know what will happen.
I muttered under my breath, "how long would it take?"
He perked up, "about two minutes. Are you considering it?!" He sounded like a kid at Christmas. 
YOU'RE SO WEIRD. I kept that in my head. "You're lying to me; how is it that much of a time difference?"
"I wouldn't lie about something that stupid," Alexander replied, offended. 
He sounds serious, but will I let him do that? He awaited my answer. I don't want to. What if he decides to eat me? What if he takes more of my arm? What if he holds me there longer, he knows I can't fight him. I didn't want to trust him with any part of me, let alone in his mouth. I knew what he did. I also don't want to be up here. The faster I'm on the ground and moving around, the better. I subtly shifted on the marble countertop and enjoyed the small freedom my legs had dangling over it. 
I spoke with my head still turned away, "A minute, that's it, then I want to be put down."
He didn't respond with words. Again, he got my hand in his mouth, and I felt his body shutter. Though, what immediately caught my attention was the push of his soft tongue and the sound. He had to be close because of our height difference, so I clearly heard the gulp of him swallowing the excess flavored drool back. 
"Don't do that!" I pleaded as he got to work again with his free hand. It didn't seem like he was listening, and I regretted not getting out my phone right away to time it.
Alexander
He knew eating a human before coming here was a good idea. He might have tried to eat Lynette the second he picked her up if he didn’t. 
And his body relaxed as he got her hand inside his mouth a second time. He felt her squirm, and her fingers unintentionally stroke his tongue. I want more. He swallowed and heard her yelp further. Why do you taste like this?! 
His body urged him to eat her even though he already had another meal inside him. I could put cloaks on both of them and put her inside too. He liked the idea, but another thought popped into his head too. Work. He exhaled through his nose and did his best to transfer the energy she gave him. 
Her constant movement distracted him. It reminded him that he had never done this before. He always ate someone if he got them anywhere near his mouth. 
It was nice to taste her, but he hated doing this. It was a teasing torture for him to have her and not satisfy his craving. 
It slowly became too much. Alexander’s stomach clenched, and it begged for more. 
“CHASE!”
It knocked him out of thought. He let Lynette's arm go and opened his lips enough for her hand to slip through his teeth.
She studied it and whined. “Why are you like this?!”
“Could say the same about you.” He grumbled and cleaned it off with his magic. “And it’s fine, Drake, the pastries are done.” He looked at them with surprise. How did I overcharge them that mu- His hand came up immediately as she tipped forward. He caught her and leaned forward, so she rested on his bicep.
He scanned over her, not realizing how fast he had drained from her.
She pushed lightly and croaked, “why a-are you-”
“Shut up,” Alexander told her. She’s dazed. 
Drake came to his side with his sister, "put her down here."
He complied, “she let me. You can't be mad." Alexander slowly lowered her down, and he handed her over to Wenna. 
She needs rest.” Alexander said as he handed her off to Wenna.
She got Lynette in her arms, "let's get ya to bed, okay?" 
After they left, Drake glared at Alexander. 
The glasses-clad male started to put the treats in their own bowls. “The shrimp offered.”
“AND you took it knowing-” Drake pursed his lips. I know. I thought it would be fine. I ate... He felt a lot better now that she wasn't in the room. His hand slipped to his filled abdomen. 
 Drake sighed, "glad there done. After you finish that, help me make seals over our bedroom doors, please.” 
“Yeah.”
...
Lynette
My mind took in nothing on the way up to her room. It took me a minute to realize she even put me on her bed. 
"Alexander really drained you, didn't he?" She had a really soft, sweet voice. It reminded me of Viola. 
"I think I was too panicked to notice at first," I said. I didn't feel on edge near Wenna, even if she was a vampire or vampire beast. 
I saw her look back and study me. She looked over my clothes, at least I assumed, and then jumped up from the normal-sized king mattress. "Drake told me you couldn't get a costume, so what better time to offer you one than now." She stood over me and grabbed my arms. 
I flinched as she pulled me into a sitting position. I wobbled and kept myself steady when she let go of my wrists. 
"We look about the same body-wise, so you'll fit into anything I have. Let me get you some to choose from." She slightly squealed, "you'll be super cute!"
"You don't-" She ran to the walk-in closet across from her bed. It was the size of another room. I saw her disappear to a farther section and sighed. I kept my hands on the soft fabric of her cherry red comforter. Around her room were a lot of trophies and trinkets, a bookshelf, giant vanity, and nothing else too out of the ordinary. 
I felt better after shutting my eyes for a few minutes. Wenna's tweet tickled my ears. 
"Brought you a few of my favorites." 
She laid them out on the bed beside me. Each one was as revealing as the next. A nurse, a cat, a lot of the classics. The only one that looked good out of all of them was a cheerleader outfit that looked like it was from sucker chainsaw, yet it was still WAY too showy. 
"Oh-uh-" The happy look on her face kept me from telling her. Wenna, I'm sorry. I can't wear any of these. 
Her violet-red softened, "you don't like any of them, do you?"
I shook my head, "it's not that I don't like them. I-they're not my style...do you have anything..." I felt bad for asking. "Any costumes that don't show too much skin?"
I hoped I didn't offend her. She put a hand up to her chin and hummed. "Hmm. Well-" She gave a soft laugh. "It is silly and a little old, but it should fit you. Hold on!"
She got all of them in her hands again and ran back to her closet, holding the clothes. 
She came out with the costume. "It'll make it easy to spot ya." She said as she brought the shimmering suit to me. It looked like it would fit regardless of its smaller size. It's orange and cute... I thought to myself. I didn't want to wear it either. 
"This is the only one like this that you have?"
"Mhm." She placed it down in my lap. It was long. 
The giant googly eyes rested and looked up at me. I pet my hand along the scales and sighed.
"Okay, thank you, Wenna...I guess I'll be a giant fish."
...
Thank you for reading! :D Have a gouda day! (Nonnegotiable, if you're lactose intolerant, you're about to be in a lot of pain, sorry, not sorry. Lol).
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What I’d do for a Livable Income (Synopsis/Chapter - List)
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emptystove · 9 months ago
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The Long Con - Ch 12
One Piece Fanfic (Romance/Drama/Suspense)
Pairing: Nami x Law
Rating: EXPLICIT, 18+ ONLY
CW: Mentions of violence/torture
Chapter Summary: Nami meets someone unexpected.
Posted to AO3, FanFiction, and Wattpad under HortyCord.
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Chapter 12 - Cat and Mouse
Nami sat quietly in the push armchair. She idly checked her nails, putting on a face of casual disinterest, determined not to be the first one to speak.
"I'm so pleased you decided to drop by, Kitten."
"You asked me to come here," she corrected shortly.
Doflamingo peered at her from behind the large desk in his private office. His large smile only grew with the small hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Violet tells me you're settling in well. How do you like your new quarters?"
Nami was not expecting to be called to report to the king so soon after their last meeting. She hoped this would be about a new mission or assignment and not about him wanting her to join the family again. Either way, she was never one for small talk, especially when she was eager to know what business he actually had with her.
"Listen, if you want an answer about whether or not I'll join your family-"
"Of course not." He waved his hand to dismiss her before she could finish. "You'll come to me when you're ready to accept my offer. No, today..." He let out a sigh. "Today, I was simply hoping we could have another chat."
She eyed him suspiciously, still not entirely sure what his motives were behind their last chat. Unable to find Law at a time that he wasn't annoyingly close to Monet, Nami still had not gotten a chance to speak with him about Doflamingo's offer. That and all the other burning questions about him that she couldn't seem to get out of her head.
"Can I be honest with you?" He slightly raised a brow with the question.
Ok, now she was really suspicious.
"Don't be so skittish, Kitten." He rolled his eyes at her clear distrust of his suggestion. "I'm simply... curious. I find you interesting."
She remained guarded, but she made no attempt to stop him or leave, hoping he would get to the point sooner if she was willing to listen.
He rounded the large desk and leaned against it, slipping his hands in his pockets casually and crossing his legs at his ankles.
"I have a problem, and I want your opinion on it."
"What kind of problem?" she asked cautiously. There were so many thoughts running through her head. She struggled to tamp down her anxiety at all of the possible ways she could be the cause of his problem, realizing just how many secrets from this man she had - from her relationship with Law to her secret with Viola and even to her task to gather information on him for Arlong.
"The night you returned from your mission in Germa, Diamante and Violet returned from a mission of their own. They brought me exactly what I asked for, but I still can't seem to get what I want - what I need from him." Doflamingo was looking out into the empty parts of the room, one fist clenched tightly in the air, seeming talking to himself as he spoke aloud.
"Him?" she questioned softly.
He looked down at Nami before replying, a slight frown tugged at his lips. "What do you do when you can't get information out of someone?"
Nami returned his frown. This was all news to her. She remembered Vergo mentioning another successful mission, but she had honestly forgotten about it with everything else that was going on. And she certainly wasn't aware that they brought someone back with them.
Her frown turned thoughtful as she sought to honestly answer the question. Now that she knew the subject of his agitation was not her own deception, she could relax enough to be intrigued by the situation.
"First of all, I never can't get information out of someone." He snorted at her response. "But if you're hitting a wall, just change your approach."
"You think we haven't tried that already?"
"If you haven't gotten him to talk, then you haven't tried enough. What all have you done so far?"
"Threats, pain, various methods of torture. We've done everything that has always seemed to work in the past, but he hasn't said a word. He won't so much as speak his own name."
"Interrogation tactics aren't exactly my specialty," she conceded.
"That's why I'm asking you, pet," he stated lowly. "Vergo thinks it's a lost cause, that I'm wasting my time at this point."
"I'm not surprised," she scoffed.
"So tell me, if you were in my position, how would you get what you wanted?"
She paused in thought. The conversation wasn't what she expected, but she couldn't deny that she enjoyed the strategy involved in his request and the excitement from devising a way to steal something others thought of as unobtainable. This was, in fact, her specialty.
"Well, hypothetically speaking," she began. "I wouldn't have started with torture. I mean, if you had thrown in a little good cop with your bad cop from the beginning, it may have worked, but it sounds like you've gone from zero to sixty in terms of punishment without reprieve since you brought him here. If that's the case and he hasn't cracked already, there's little to no chance he'll give in to anyone of your people, let alone trust them."
He nodded slightly, agreeing that her assumption of their prisoner's treatment had been correct.
"Ok then, again, hypothetically, I would dig up as much as I could about this person. Does he have weaknesses to exploit? Any treasured or strained relationships? What does he like or dislike? Anything I can use to make myself seem more sympathetic or relatable in his eyes."
"I thought you said no one else approaching him would be able to win his trust?"
"No one associated with his captors." She shrugged. "In this scenario, I'm not torturing him first off anyway. But let's say that I did. At the end of the day, he's still only human, and a part of him is probably desperate to believe he isn't alone. So, I'd give him that. For starters anyway. The torture is really an annoying setback, if I'm being honest." She muttered the last sentence just under her breath, somewhat surprised that the king she assumed to be exceedingly cunning would have taken a solely violent approach to begin with.
Doflamingo's lips curled up at the edges, amused at both her candor and reasoning. "So, you'd have me give him a little friend?"
She tilted her head slightly as she nodded toward him, signaling a silent yes to his question. "The only type of person I can see him opening up to now is another prisoner. Of course, his friend would actually be your friend. Oh, and I'm assuming you know this already, but you wouldn't be able to completely stop torturing him while this is happening. Halting your obvious attempts at extracting information will make him more likely to question his new cellmate. I mean, you can change it up, even make it less violent. Don't escalate it though. We don't want him shutting down altogether if he's fully traumatized, or worse, dying before he talks."
His toothy grin was pulled wide across his face at this point, and he looked down at her with a mixture of amusement and what almost seemed like pride.
"Who knew you were so cold blooded?"
"I would say I'm practical. You are the one who introduced the torture, not me. I'm just offering a way to work with the situation you created."
Doflamingo threw his head back with a loud laugh. "I suppose you don't become an officer for fishmen without having a... practical side," he mused. "Well, this turned out to be more interesting than I imagined. A fantastic plan indeed, Kitten. Well done."
Nami did her best to remain unfazed, keeping on an air of professionalism. Detachment was a skill she learned a long time ago. She was hardly a killer, but she was far from innocent. The crimes she committed were the price she agreed to pay when she made a deal with the devil for her sister's freedom. Still, there was some sick part of her deep down that, only for the briefest of moments, warmed at his honest praise.
"How soon can you start?" he asked.
"I thought we were talking hypothetically."
"We were. Now, we are talking practically. What do you need to start tonight?"
She let out a short chuckle. She couldn't even pretend she wasn't interested. Besides the fact that this was obviously something she would excel at, it would give her access to a part of the castle she hadn't been to and a chance for more info gathering for Arlong.
She began counting off requirements on her fingers. "A change of clothes - or whatever you make your prisoners wear. Reassurance that I will be taken out of the cell after a certain period of time. This one could take a while, and if you want me at my best I'll at least need to be able to sleep in my own bed and get a decent meal every once in a while." And attempt to track down Law, she added only in her mind.
"Consider it done."
"Oh, and of course, I'll need a quick run down on the prisoner."
He raised a brow only at her final request.
"You know, who is he, where he's from? I mean, at the very least, what am I trying to get out of him?" she asked as if it was an obvious requirement.
Doflamingo studied her briefly before denying her. "No."
She scoffed in disbelief. "How am I supposed to know what I need to get out of him if you won't tell me what you want?"
"Quite frankly, I want everything." His tone was serious now. "He hasn't spoken a word to anyone yet, so whatever you can get from him will be an improvement. That's all you need to worry about for now. Just get him talking, and I'm sure he'll give you everything I require eventually." His lips curled slightly, his serious tone now sprinkled with a hint of mischief. "Don't worry, Kitten. I'm quite certain you'll be more prepared than you realize once you begin."
She hesitated. With the cryptic teasing of his last words, she was much less excited for this scenario. There was no way she was going to back out of this opportunity, but she had enough pause to ask for one final condition.
"I can accept that, but I need to be kept in a separate cell." She raised her hand to stop him before he could protest. "I don't care if he's chained to the wall and unconscious. I want iron bars separating us. If I'm going in blind, you can at least grant me some semblance of protection."
He was more than pleased. He was almost giddy as he agreed to her final demand before ushering her to the exit.
She glanced over her shoulder at him as she left, watching him retreat back behind his desk. The satisfied look on his face made her wonder if their conversation had been 'more interesting than he imagined,' or if it had actually gone exactly how he planned.
*****
"It's almost showtime. You ready?" Diamante's ever-present smile seemed even larger than Doflamingo's.
She was as ready as she could be with the little information she had. They had no prisoner's uniform, so she opted for a simple white t-shirt and worn jean shorts. She traded out her sandals for a pair of boots. They definitely weren't as cute as she preferred, but they allowed her to easily sneak in the few items she refused to be voluntarily locked up without: three lockpicks, a small knife, and a box of matches. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail where the fourth and final lockpick was secured. She completed the look by mussing up her hair and clothing a bit. She couldn't look like she was treated too well, even if this was the first time she was supposedly being locked up beneath the castle.
He led her across several winding corridors, managing to carry the conversation between them fully. She imagined he was the type of person who enjoyed hearing himself speak, but she was glad for it. They finally came to a stop in front of an elevator. He patted her gently on the head and chuckled softly.
"Hey, you're a pretty good listener. I can see why he likes you so much."
Her eyes widened slightly, and she realized she was only half listening to whatever he said before. "Who?"
He laughed at her again. "The young master, of course. Who did you think I was talking about?"
The elevator doors opened, and her voice caught in her throat as her eyes met with Law. He stood casually next to his mint-haired companion. His features were unreadable, but she knew him enough to notice that he stopped breathing for a moment the second he saw her. She shifted to the side to allow them room to exit the elevator. She couldn't help but look away uncomfortably, wondering what he was thinking of her disheveled appearance. This was not the way she intended on seeing him again.
She kept her eyes to the floor also they passed but couldn't help a small wince when she heard Monet mutter a suggestive comment about Nami getting comfortable with more of the family.
They entered the now empty elevator, and she watched him depart without turning back as the doors closed.
"Don't let them get under your skin, Red. They might be family, but they're both huge assholes."
She gave Diamante a small smile. He led her out of the elevator and down the hallway through the dungeons. After a short walk, they stopped in front of two adjacent doors.
He explained that he was going to be behind the door on the left the entire time should anything go wrong. He delicately placed her wrists in handcuffs as he assured her that he would be watching and listening the whole time through a hidden surveillance snail in one of the vents.
"Ready?" he asked one final time.
She nodded confidently. She definitely wouldn't call Diamante a friend, but she did appreciate certain things about him. He was clearly invested in the success of this plan. It was likely that he didn't want whatever he went through to track down and capture this person to be a waste. Despite his intimidating stature, he didn't give Nami any indication that he was a threat to her. His eyes and hands never wandered where they shouldn't, and although he had a flair for the dramatic, he kept himself professional and on task. Of everyone she had met in the family so far, she found herself slightly comforted by knowing this was the person who had her back in their current situation.
"Let's put on a good show." He whispered, shooting her a quick wink before grabbing her roughly by her restraints.
Her body tensed on instinct as he kicked open the door to the right and dragged her inside.
She kept her head down as she was tossed unceremoniously into one of the empty cells. The cell door slammed shut as she caught herself on the cold floor by her bound hands. She stayed knelt on the floor as she lifted her head and squinted, her eyes adjusting to the horribly bright lights just enough to see Diamante exit. The only sound was the locking of the door once he was gone. Part of her wished Diamante had at least given her an idea of what the room would be like, but she also knew that her disoriented reaction to the new space would only help sell her as a realistic prisoner.
The sudden shifting of chains caused her to whip her head to the cell next to her.
A quick glance to the other cells confirmed that he was the only other person there. Doflamingo's prisoner. He remained seated, leaning against the back wall of his cell while he shifted to get a better look at her.
She blinked a few more times, finally beginning to adjust to the brightness of the room. His wrists were bound in the same style chains as she was, although his ankles were also chained together. His pale skin contrasted harshly with the deep coloring of fresh bruises peeking out from his torn clothing. He let his matted blond locks fall across his face, and if the lights weren't quite so bright, she might have missed his telltale brow.
No.
Her heart suddenly felt like it was going to beat out of her chest, and her hands instinctively moved in front of her neck. She was utterly unable to hide the combination of recognition and fear on her face as she locked into his pale blue eyes.
"Vinsmoke," she whispered.
His eyes shut tightly at the sound of the name. His head hung low as a fierce grimace twisted his features, as if her fear of him and of that name was as painful as whatever physical torture he had received.
He swallowed hard in an effort to compose himself. His head lifted again slowly, eyes falling over her terrified form once more.
He moved toward the bars separating them, and she immediately scrabbled back, keeping the distance they had as she was forced against the opposite side of the cell.
He stilled himself, raising his hands in front of his chest in a sign of surrender. He opened his mouth but found himself struggling to form sounds. It took a few attempts at clearing his throat before he finally spoke.
"I'm not a Vinsmoke," he rasped.
She narrowed her eyes as her anger started to eclipse her fear. "Show me your arm," she demanded.
His eyes widened. "Listen, I don't know what they did to you, but I'm not-"
"Show. Me. Your. Arm."
He slouched back in defeat, letting his gaze fall to the floor. He knew what she was asking for. He raised a hand to his sleeve, hesitating briefly before brushing it aside to reveal a large number three inked into his skin. It wasn't adorned with the elaborate tribal borders that his brothers' tattoos had, but they both understood what it meant.
She sent a murderous glare toward the large air vent in the wall outside the cells. Doflamingo knew exactly who he had locked up in this cell when he sent her here. She needed to get her emotions under control. She could deal with the king later - and she definitely would. But for now, she needed to get it together before she blew her cover.
"My name is Sanji," he rasped softly. "I don't know what my family did to you, but I am truly sorry."
She took a deep breath, finally willing her body to relax from it's fight or flight state. Her hands fell to her lap, and she found herself slightly embarrassed that the incident in Germa was still affecting her as much as it was. She kept her place against the far side of the cell and let several moments pass before she decided to speak again.
"You're supposed to be dead."
He let out a joyless laugh. "Yeah, being alive is just one of the many ways I'm a disappointment to my father."
She looked away again, endlessly frustrated at how unprepared she had been for this situation. She willed herself to remember everything she could from what Law told her about this missing brother. He was presumed dead. He had been presumed dead from a young age. The enhancements didn't work on him. Was that really all she had to work with?
"Have they fed you?" His unsteady voice, still rough from lack of use, pulled her from her thoughts.
"Uh, no," she admitted, realizing she actually had missed dinner with her preparations for this task.
"I saved the bread from the last meal they gave me if you need it." He gestured to a metal tray near the cell door.
"I'm not hungry." She wasn't sure why she was being so obstinate in her attitude toward him, although her genuine reluctance seemed to make him even more eager to change her mind.
"I'll save it in case you get hungry later. They haven't been very consistent in how or when they offer food."
"Why are you doing this?" she asked without thinking.
"Doing what?"
"Being... I don't know, kind to me? You don't even know who I am."
"I told you." He let out a small sigh and rested his head against the bars of her cell. "I'm not a Vinsmoke."
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idreamofasriel-blog · 7 years ago
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Metal Slug Past Life Ch 13
“In the beginning, we died to be born.” “In mankind's world, we lead simple lives and co-exist with the human race. We were their faithful pets, hard farm workers, providers of food, and we herald the arrival of death at their front doors. We at the time didn't speak their foreign languages, grasp their understanding of time, or seek out quest for knowledge to expand our lives for they already done it for us. They lead complicated lives while we lead simpler ones. We live and we die and we complete the cycle of life and death.” “But one day, The Universe has a different idea for us and we began our new life with a different purpose and mankind knew so little of it. For The Universe developed a need to preserved the past to become the tools of a better future for mankind and all living things. But The Universe knew man can lie, manipulate, and alter the past for its own personal gains and leave the future beyond repair. So it turned to us to be their loyal servants to archive the past and lead us all to a better future.” “ Our lives began in the Age of Early Christianity, mankind valued their lives over ours and against our past selves' will, they buried us alive in the name of protecting their churches from Sinners and Grave Robbers. With our last breath, we are born as what man calls us, The Church Grims, or Grims for short.” “But what mankind didn't know, we did more than protecting sacred grounds. The Universe gift us the ability to control time and space, see into the future and share to those who seek it, control one's dreams at will, summon runkavles to perform time spells in a pinch, change into our human appearances, and last, The Universe gave us another gift, The Gift of Knowledge to the world's secrets.” “When our race became more aware in the world of man, they came to us for our gift to see into the future, for this is where we created the long forgotten ritual, Arsgang or as most would call it, Year Walk. We witnessed man's joy, anger, and fear for the future and begged us to help them change it. But The Universe refused to let us help them but only teach them to do it on their own and we'll only intervene when The Universe allowed us. This went on for a decade till mankind lost their belief in it and it quietly faded away into non-existent and we continued our true purpose that The Universe created us for; to archive the past of The Human Race to help create a better future for us all.” “We wrote till our hands are sore, we built bigger buildings to make room for more records of the past, we won't rest till our mission from The Universe is complete, and we take pride in our work to create a better future for mankind and Grim. We have high hopes for a brighter future, man is doing great under our watchful eyes, the balance in The Universe is in perfect harmony, and we hold our heads up to praise for a better life on Earth.” “Then one day, The Tuaha De Dunan came and all was lost. Forever.” Marco let go of the pages and let them lightly fall back on the notepad and set it on the table that Kartu is sitting at. The Young Man completed most of the translation for now after his pencils' leads either broke or wore down to a useless nub to keep going and Kartu told Marco that by his guesses on the rest of the books is going to be The Grim's history of hatred toward his race. “Walk with me, Kartu. I want to know more about who these Grims are.” It was nice to get out of Marco's Computer lab and to be free to roam, even if he was ordered to follow Marco where ever he went and Poor Kartu can feel the eyes of everyone in Head Quarters staring at him and whispering behind his back. Marco walked up to the double doors and swung them both open with his hands and took Kartu into a wide opened courtyard. Kartu was amazed to see a well-kept garden right here in the center of a base built out of cold steel. It was a fresh breath of air for him to have a new scenery to look at for once rather than seeing nothing but computer monitors everywhere and Artificial Life he couldn't touch. He smells the aroma of Lilacs in bloom, “Ah, I see you planted some Syringa vulgaris, The Common Lilac. Part of the Olive family and known to grow in rocky hills.” Outside of researchers, scientists, and educators. Marco barely met many people who can say the Scientific Names of Plants and Animals so easily. But they're here to talk in privacy and Marco wanted to get some fresh air after sitting so long and reading the transcripts. “I'm impressed that you know your plants, Kartu.” Marco smiled a bit and kneel down to pick a small purple flower. “ Thanks, Mr. Rossi. Growing up, I was taught the name of all the plants and animals by their Scientific names and their common ones. I love nature a lot and spent my free time reading and learning about them.” he said, taking the flower from Marco's hand and identifying it as Viola Tricolor, or just a violet.  Marco got up and brush the dirt off his pants,“Wow, I wonder if you can out knowledge Tarma on Nature, he's better at it than me. Spent his life camping while growing up.” Kartu nodded, “I guess we'll have to see if he's not busy in his garage.” Kartu replied. Marco sat down on a bench and watched Kartu explore their courtyard like a toddler discovering the outside world for the first time. He thought it would be best to let The Young Man have his fun before he began grilling him with a lot of questions about The Grims. He took a pack of cigarette out of his pocket and lit one. Deep in his thoughts like always, Marco mentally re-read the part about The Universe's gift it gave to The Grims and the one that stuck out to him like a sore thumb was their ability to control dreams. Could this be the final answer he was looking for and if so, why would The Grims pick him, of all people in this world to be showing him the outcome of the future? He rubbed his eyes with one hand and took a puff out of his cigarette. He gets one answer to a question and suddenly another one pops up before him. “Mr. Rossi?” Kartu nudged him enough to snapped The Major back into reality and Kartu stood in front of him, “I'm sorry for wasting your time and you must have a lot of questions for me to answer. I'll try as I can to answer them all.” “It's all right, Kartu. No pressure if you can't answer them all.” He took another drag from his cigarette and put it out in a nearby ashtray stand and slide over for Kartu to sit down with him. Kartu took his seat next to him, “So which question are you itching to ask me first?” Kartu asked him while Marco thinks them over and turned his attention toward him, “First of all, what does The Grims mean they were pets or farm workers?” Marco asked. “They use to be animals before your race began sacrificing them when new churches were built and in order for a Grim to be “Born”, an animal has to give up their life by being buried alive in a corner of a church. Five different animals are used for this morbid ritual: Horse, Raven, Rooster, a Black Dog that has to be pure black, and a Goat. “ said Kartu. “But how do Grims keep being born in this time and age? We don't do those inhumane things to animals these days when it comes to building churches.” Said Marco “ The Universe made sure that by creating more Grims through actual death of the animals. My friend told me about this when we were growing up and he has more knowledge about his race than I do.” said Kartu, Gently poking a ladybug to make it move. Now this got Marco curious and he has to ask Kartu with this new question that came to his mind, “Is your friend by any chance a Grim himself?” he asked and Kartu only shook his head yes. “We kept our friendship a secret from our grandfathers cause of our race hating each other. Even though The Grims have a strict rule about killing, they won't hesitate to rid of those who have Evil in their heart, mind, and soul. That's why The Grim made it their personal goal to rid of me and my race.” said Kartu. “No offense but they did try to kill my friend, Ralf and his team. Well, The Raven Woman was the one who tried to kill him with a throwing knife. Luckily they all walked away with injuries.” said Marco and he can see that this bothered Kartu. “I can understand the fighting since they're trying to tire or knock out your friends but killing. This is new to me. Why would they break that sacred rule?” Marco cleared his throat and looked up to the sky, he can see the faint light of the sunset and birds flying across the sky. “I got two more questions and I think that would be it for me unless I come up with more.” he said. “I'm listening.” Kartu giving him his full attention. “What is a Runkavle and how are they manipulating my dreams?” Marco asked him. Kartu sighed, trying to find the right words and looked at Marco from the corner of his eyes. “Do you got a paper and pen?” Marco reached into his pants pocket and handed them to him and he opened it on a clear page, “Okay. A Runkavle is when you combine different runes together to make one Runkavle.” He drew up a sample one. “Each Runkavle holds a different power for The Grim to use on themselves or on anyone of their picking.” He drew another sample. “This will also answer your next question, Mr. Rossi. A Grim put a Dream Runkavle mark on you when you were either sleeping or passed out, it's easier for them to mark you with it when your mind is at rest and your awareness is relaxing.” He handed the notepad back to him and Marco got a better look to understand these odd markings. “I think I got everything I need to know. You want to stay out here for a little longer? We have fireflies that come out here at night.” Kartu was delighted to be given this offer but before he could yes to it, Tyra slammed the doors wide open and birds who were sleeping in the trees took flight into the darken sky. “Sergeant Germi and her team are back, Major and they bring back terrible news.”
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sanjiafsincedayone · 8 years ago
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Masterpost - SanjiAFsincedayone
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All my Sanji and One Piece posts in one place.
Reviews/Thoughts:
One Piece 902 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 899 - Small review
One Piece 892 – Review/Thoughts
Semla~~~~!!! (OP ch 866)
One Piece 862 - Review/Thoughts         
One Piece 856 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 846 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 845 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 844 - Small review
One Piece 843 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 842 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 841 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 840 - Review/Thoughts
Chapter 840 and Sanji
One Piece 839 - Small review
One Piece 836 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 835 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 834 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 833 - Review/Thoughts …and Sanji!
This chapter… and Sanji’s past… (ch833)
One Piece 832 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 831 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 830 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 829 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 828 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 827 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 826 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 825 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 824 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 821 - Review/Thoughts
One Piece 820 - Review
One Piece 815 - Review/Thoughts
What to do with Sanji? (ch815+)
Sanji theory and ch 814 review
The year of Sanji is killing me! (Ch 813)
It’s here! Episode 755
One Piece Ep.739 - SANJI IS BACK!
One Piece GOLD (movie review)
Character analysis:
Sanji~ Please come back soon!
All the Sanji hate…
Sigh, why so much hate towards Sanji?
More on the Sanji hate
Sanji is far from useless!
Sanji and Violet/Viola
This chapter… and Sanji’s past…
Happy Birthday Sanji~!
Regarding Sanji and Purin
Oda’s development of Sanji! Part 1
Oda’s development of Sanji! Part 2
Sanji as a leader P.1 - The Chef
Sanji as a leader P.2 - Disciplining the crew
Luffy – A “Brief” look
Nami – A “Brief” look
Theories:
So many theories about Sanji.
Sanji’s future…
Crazy Sanji theory - Aliens
Sanji the Devil - Possible connections?
The Wholecake foreshadowing! Chapter 830
Chapter 672 - The tortoise and the hare - Sanji vs Zoro
Sanji x Nami:
My top 25 favorite SaNami moments – Part 1
My top 25 favorite SaNami moments – Part 2
Masterpost: Cover pages - Sanji x Nami
Cover pages - Sanji x Nami P.1
Cover pages - Sanji x Nami P.2
Cover pages - Sanji x Nami P.3
Cover pages - Sanji x Nami P.4
Cover pages - Sanji x Nami P.5
Cover pages - Sanji x Nami P.6
Cover pages - Sanji x Nami P.7
(Part 1) Sanji x Nami hints - 373
(Part 2) Sanji x Nami hints – Colors and symbols
(Part 3) Sanji x Nami hints - Thematic parallels
Sanji & Nami - When the rain stops
SanNami and Time
Crazy Sanji theory - Nami
My Crazy SaNami Thanks!
Hidden SaNami - Manga and filler
Sanji and Nami – Fights and danger
Top 10 weirdest choices if SaNa doesn’t happen.
SaNa is a good ship
Touch has a powerful romantic value - Part 1
Touch has a powerful romantic value - Part 2
Touch has a powerful romantic value - Part 3
Touch has a powerful romantic value - Part 4
Touch has a powerful romantic value - Part 5
Sanji x Nami Promo
My blog really ships SaNami
SaNami - Lucky nr 77
Sanji and Nami, hints or not?
SaNami + Numbers (again)
Nami thinks Sanji is stylish
Some possible SaNami clues? (Chapter 45 vs 845)
SaNami - In your arms collage
Happy Valentine’s Day
Cigarettes and Mikan
SanNami week Day 1 - Fashion
SanNami week Day 4 - Teamwork
SanNami week Day 6 - Sisters
Rants and other stuff:
Happy birthday Sanji-kun!
Happy Women’s Day
I need Sanji
One Piece character poll
Meme: 11 Questions
Sanji posts stolen.
All my love to Hiroaki Hirata
Pedro~~~!
I love Sanji so much!
I got these when I watched One Piece Gold
One Piece Tokyo Tower
One Piece Tokyo haul~
THANK YOU!!! 1000 followers~
Sanji has come so far!
Romance in One Piece
Thank you reply! (ch845 review)
Ask - What do you think binding kiss means?
Ask - From your point of view, how do Sanji and Nami think about each other?
ART and collections:
The year of Sanji is upon us 2016
Sanji sketch by my sister
Sanji and Bellemere parallells collage
Sanji pre-timeskip collage
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opwomcn · 2 years ago
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“Is it true you were going to be married?”. Yes, a little silly on her part because she decided to run Dressrosa instead of Rebecca and there was no time to actually talk about things like marriage but Viola couldn’t feel a little heartbroken by the news. This was the only man she trusted after all.
@bleuwalk​​ requested a starter. ( Viola / Violet ).
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