#Fire Writes :D

[firefly464]

Scott | Pearl | Martyn | Cleo | Scar | Grian (You are here!)

Word Count: 5,408

Fandom: 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Charles | Grian & Ryan | GoodTimesWithScar, Charles | Grian & Pearl | PearlescentMoon, Charles | Grian & Scott Major | Smajor1995

Characters: Charles | Grian, Pearl | PearlescentMoon, Ryan | GoodTimesWithScar, Scott Major | Smajor1995

Additional Tags: POV Second Person, Character Study, Only Winners Remember the 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series, Post-3rd Life SMP, Post-Last Life SMP, Post-Double Life SMP, Post-Secret Life SMP, Post-Wild Life SMP, oh boy this one goes through them all :DDD, Memory Alteration, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series-Typical Character Death, Charles | Grian-centric, Avian Charles | Grian, Canon-Typical Violence, Minor Charles | Grian/Ryan | GoodTimesWithScar, kinda. again its more implied than anything, so! read as either /r or /p either way works :D, Implied/Referenced Suicide, its the end of third life. but he DOES in fact do it. and it IS talked about, Grian and his relationship with memory, Hurt/Comfort, GUYS THERES ACTUAL COMFORT IN THIS ONE I PROMISE

Series: Part 6 of Life after Life (again and again and again)

Summary:

You’re back. You’re back home and you’re safe and you’re alive.

You’re not in the desert and you’re not in your little panic bunker and you’re in your hobbit hole and you’re alive.

Your body doesn’t feel right. The skin is too loose. Your muscles feel too weak. It’s like someone ripped your soul from your body and couldn’t quite figure out how to put it back.

You numbly stare at your hands.

~~~

Or, an exploration of Grian and the memories that he is forced to carry.

~~~

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62846907

Or read it under the cut :D

~~~

There is no celebration when you win. There’s no applause as you hold your partner's broken body. No cheers as you push yourself up. 

There is no one to reach out and scream your name as you step off the towering cliff. 

There is only the ground rushing up to meet you. 

And then there is only darkness. 

~~~

You’re back. You’re back home and you’re safe and you’re alive.

You’re not in the desert and you’re not in your little panic bunker and you’re in your hobbit hole and you’re alive.

Your body doesn’t feel right. The skin is too loose. Your muscles feel too weak. 

It’s like someone ripped your soul from your body and couldn’t quite figure out how to put it back. 

You numbly stare at your hands.

Your hands.

Something’s wrong with your hands. You have no idea what it is but you know that something’s not right. 

They’re still your hands obviously, but you can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right as you stare at them. 

…

Your scars are gone. They’re gone.

You raise a hand to your face, feel the skin along your cheek. Nothing.

Every scar and mark and piece of evidence that you survived the past two months are just… gone. 

You may not have liked them, but they were yours.

It feels wrong. Your body feels wrong, it’s broken, it’s completely disconnected from you and your breathing is speeding up and you know that you need to calm down but you can’t because it was always Scar that would help you calm down from a panic attack but Scar isn’t here right now because—

Scar. Scar.

The name cuts through your panic like a knife. 

You’re back on Hermitcraft. Which means that Scar might be here. 

Which means— 

You need to find him. 

~~~

Your flight to Scars base is far from graceful. Your landing even less so. 

You can’t bring yourself to care. Not when Scar could be alive. Not when he could be so close. 

“Scar!!!” You pound your fist against the door. “Scar open the door!!!” 

No response. Shit.

This is taking too long. What if he isn’t here? Or what if he’s injured and he isn’t able to get to the door and he needs help and—

The door creaks open. 

Scar is standing in front of you. He’s in front of you and he’s alive and his skin is warm and his eyes are green and he looks like he just woke up but he’s alive and you can’t stop the sob that bubbles up from your throat as you launch yourself at him and hug him tightly. 

Later, you will look back and chide yourself for being so blind. For not noticing how wrong everything feels.

But that is later. And now is now. And right now all you care about is the fact that he’s here with you.

He stumbles back slightly, but he hugs you back regardless. “Whoa! Whoa… hey, it’s ok, you’re ok…”

It’s the same tone he used whenever you woke up screaming. It’s warm. It’s kind.

You pull back from the hug and grab his face so you can see it better. 

He looks so different. His face is fuller, his hair is clean, most of the scars that you had spent so many weeks mapping out are gone, but it’s still so clearly him.

God. He looks so much better than he ever had back in the desert. 

And his eyes… they’re green. Not blood red or sickly yellow or even the violent green of someone who has never lost a life. They’re simply… dark green. 

You think you might start crying again. 

“Uhhh, G? Not that I’m not flattered or anything but… are you ok?”

It’s such a ridiculous question, you want to laugh. He’s really asking if you’re ok. As if he’s not the one that was just beaten to death by the person who had stayed by his side through everything.

“Your eyes are green…” is what you say instead, as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Yes…?” He looks confused. “Are they not supposed to be…?”

You don’t bother to hide the small huff of amusement. “No… no, green is good. Green is very good.”

“Good! That’s good! Um… remind me why it’s good?”

Something dark starts to form in the back of your mind. You grip his face slightly tighter. “B-because it means they’re not red.”

“Right, right, of course.” No recognition. “Uh, why would they be red?”

It’s like a bucket of ice water has been dumped on your head. You stumble backwards. You force yourself to look at him, to really look at him. 

Oh. Oh god. 

You’re so stupid.

The way he holds himself— it’s all wrong. It’s too relaxed, too gentle. There’s none of the harsh corners that had been carved out in the desert. None of the cruelty that had once lurked behind his gaze. 

This isn’t your Scar. He doesn’t remember. He doesn’t remember.

He doesn’t remember the desert and he doesn’t remember what you’ve been through together and the world is crashing down around you and Scar is reaching out to grab you and your wings are unfurling out behind you as your face contorts into a snarl and Scar looks horrified and confused and you—

You don’t dare look back as you fly away. 

~~~ 

You’re the only one who remembers. You’re the only one who remembers the hell that you went through. 

Everyone that you mention it to asks you if you’re feeling ok. If you’ve been sleeping enough. They ask you if you’ve been having nightmares, or perhaps you’re feeling stressed? Have you considered taking some time off? Maybe you should take a vacation before everyone migrates to the new season, it might do you some good!

It doesn’t take long for you to stop asking. 

Maybe they’re right. Maybe you really did make the whole thing up and it was nothing more than a dream. It’s not like you have any proof. Even your skin contradicts your story. 

All you have left are your own memories. 

You really hope everyone else is right. 

~~~ 

The hope doesn’t make the nightmares go away. It doesn’t stop you from waking up screaming or flying over to Scar’s base in the middle of the night just so you can make sure that his skin isn’t grey and his eyes are green and that he’s safe.

It doesn’t change the fact that it takes weeks for you to be able to talk to anyone without a hand on your sword. Or the fact that it takes even longer for you to be able to talk to Ren without feeling sick. Or the fact that you constantly have to remind yourself that you have wings that work, that they aren’t just dead weight attached to your back.

But you hold onto the hope regardless. You’re not sure what you would do without it. 

~~~

Season seven ends and season eight begins. You’re almost able to forget the entire thing ever happened. 

Almost. 

~~~~~

And then you’re pulled back in.

You’re not sure if you want to laugh or cry. On one hand, this means that it was real. It was real. The two golden hearts on your arm are proof of that. Proof that you weren’t losing your mind. 

But on the other… you’re back. You’re back.

You reach out and grasp the memory of home. You find it and you hold it tight. 

You don’t want to lose it again. 

~~~

It doesn’t hurt as much when you wake up in Boatem this time. There’s no crushing guilt, no desperate need to find someone and check that they’re ok. 

There is only the phantom ache in your gut of a respawn gone wrong. 

Your injuries have been erased again. It feels just as strange and uncomfortable as it did the first time. Your skin doesn’t feel like your own anymore. 

It’s going to take you a while to get used to it again.  

You have no way of knowing who won. You were killed long before a victor was crowned. 

You try not to think about it too much. 

~~~

You find Pearl a few days later, sitting on the edge of the Boatem hole. Her feet dangle over the edge, over the gaping maw of certain death. 

You have to stop yourself from reaching forward and pulling her back. 

She’s fine, you tell yourself. Death is nothing more than an inconvenience here. You all sit there all the time. She’s fine.

She doesn’t react when you come sit next to her. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be on empires?” That’s what the Boatem group calendar had said at least. 

Her face scrunches up. “Decided to come back early. Scott was acting weird.”

“What?”

“Not like— mean, weird, just… weird. I don’t see him normally, but he keeps coming over and visiting. I heard someone say that he’s doing the same thing to Jimmy.”

You have a sinking feeling that you might know where this is going. “And?”

“He keeps looking at me like I’m already dead.”

~~~

<Grian> are you ok?

<Smajor1995> yeah, what’s up?

<Grian> Pearl said you’re being clingy

<Smajor1995> oh

<Smajor1995> yeah, I’m fine. Had a pretty bad nightmare a few days ago. Guess it freaked me out more than I realized. 

The excuse would make you laugh if the circumstances were any different. It’s the same one that you’ve used over and over again. Normally, it’s enough to make people back off and stop asking questions. 

Not this time. 

<Grian> that’s fair. I did the same thing last time

<Grian> I wouldn’t let Scar out of my sight for a solid week after I woke up

You decide not to mention the way that you had panicked every time your communicator had buzzed with another death message. Or the way that you had rushed to his base so you could be there when he respawned. Or the crushing fear that he would wake up and his eyes would gleam red. 

Scott doesn’t respond for several minutes. You don’t blame him. 

<Smajor1995> why does no one else remember?

<Grian> I don’t know 

~~~

The two of you plan to meet up on a separate server. There’s so much to talk about, so much to piece through. Far too much to try and talk about through messages. 

And then season eight falls apart, and you’re never given the chance.

~~~~~ 

Soulmates. Soulmates. Who in their right mind thought that soulmates was a good idea. It’s ridiculous! 

And the fact that you’re partnered up with Scar, of all people? Really?!

Not that you don’t enjoy being around him. Quite the opposite, actually. 

That’s the part that scares you. 

Because you know yourself. You know that if you don’t shut him out completely you’ll latch on tight and never let go. 

Just like the desert. 

You can’t go through that again. You can’t.

He’s going to think that you hate him. 

That’s fine. It’s not like he’ll remember it.

~~~

You’re not surprised when Scott shows up at your door. You’re really not. The two of you still had to talk after all. 

There had been an unspoken agreement between you that you wouldn’t bring it up around the others. No use in inviting unwanted questions.   

What you are surprised by is the fact that he catches you as you’re sneaking out in the middle of the night. 

He tries to ask you what you’re doing. You make up something about needing some fresh air. 

It’s obvious that he doesn’t believe you. That’s fine. You don’t really need him to. 

You talk about nothing for a bit, both of you dancing around the subject. As if that’ll make it any easier to handle. 

In the end, he’s the one to bring it up first. 

“I sort of expected you to be a bit happier about all this.”

You furrow your brow in confusion. Happier? Why on earth would you be happy about this?

“Yknow, being paired up with Scar, considering…” he waves his hand vaguely. “Yknow.”

Oh. That’s what this is about. You can hear the light teasing in his voice, but you’re not exactly in the mood. 

“Right. Considering how I got to kill him with my own two hands, I’m absolutely thrilled.”

“… oh. Is that… is that what happened?”

“Yeah.” You don’t brother keeping the bitterness out of your voice. 

“Were you the last two left?”

You glare at him. He seems to realize how stupid of a question it is. 

“Right. Right, sorry. Um… have you tried talking to him about it?”

A startled laugh bursts free. “Talk to him? Really? Like how you’ve talked to Jimmy? Or Pearl?”

Scott flinches like he’s been hit. You try to bring yourself to care. 

But then you think of Pearl, abandoned and alone in her tower, and it doesn’t quite work. 

“I— that’s not—”

He’s stepping away. You’ve backed him into a corner. 

Good.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to take my walk now.”

He doesn’t try to stop you from walking away

~~~

Your ears are still ringing when you wake up. God. You hate wardens. You hate them so much. They’re big and loud and they smell.

You’re such an idiot. Bringing a warden to the surface? Really? That was your grand plan? In what world was that going to end well?

You’re glad that Scar isn’t going to remember what happened. He’d never let you live it down. 

Your communicator buzzes, drawing your attention. It’s a simple message, but reading it is enough to make your blood freeze in your veins. 

<Smajor1995> Pearl won

You’re out the door in an instant. 

Flying is never easy right after you wake up. It always takes you time to get re-accustomed to having working wings.

Last time, you had given yourself a few days to recover before you tried to fly, and even then you had made sure to practice on your own. 

You can’t afford to give yourself that same luxury this time. 

Because Pearl won and you had seen the way that she had unraveled in her tower on her own and oh god she’s going to remember that for the rest of time. 

Your landing isn’t particularly graceful. You can’t bring yourself to care. Not when Pearl remembers everything she went through. 

“Pearl? Pearl!!!” You bang your fist against the door. “Pearl if you don’t open the door in the next 10 seconds I’m coming in!!”

A few moments of silence. You hit the door again.  

Then she calls out—

“You really wanna take that risk?” 

“What?”

“That’s a closed door that opens inwards. You have no way of knowing what’s on the other side. You wanna take that risk?”

You desperately want to say that yes, of course you’ll take that risk. Of course you’ll walk through a shut door just so that you can make sure that she’s ok. 

The words die in your throat. 

She’s bluffing. You know that she’s bluffing. There’s no way that she would have had time to rig a trap. 

But that doesn’t change the fact that your hand freezes on the doorknob. 

Because what if she isn't lying? What if she’s telling the truth and there really is some horrific trap that’ll kill you the second you open the door?

Scar would never let you live it down if you get the both of you killed because you walked into a trap that you knew was there.

Except— no. Scar isn’t here. You’re not tied to him anymore. There’s no marks on your arm telling you how many lives you have left. 

You’re fine.

You push open the door.

There’s no explosion. No potion or lava dropping from the sky, not even a weapon swinging down at your head. 

There’s only Pearl. Clutching an axe and staring you down. She’s trembling.

Her eyes are narrowed in an expression that you’ve grown far too used to over the past few weeks. You have no doubt that she’ll cut you down with that axe the second that you so much as breathe in the wrong direction. 

You can’t bring yourself to care. Because her eyes are blue again and the frostbite that had covered her fingers and legs is gone and the bright red jacket that she had shielded herself with is gone and she’s ok. You don’t think before you launch yourself at her, enveloping her in a hug. 

Somewhere, in the back of your mind, you know full well how bad of an idea this is. You know full well just how easily she could cut open your stomach. 

The rest of you couldn’t care less. All that you care about is the fact that her cheeks are streaked with tears and you don’t want her to go through this alone. 

The axe falls to the ground. She wraps her arms around you. Her shoulders are trembling. 

Later, she will tell you the full story of how she won. She will tell you about how Scott had looked her in the eye and decided her fate for her. You will watch as her face will contort with rage as she realizes the extent of the curse Scott has placed upon her. 

You will watch as she storms out of the room, determined to find him and give him a piece of his mind.  

But that is later. And now is now. And right now the only thing that’s important is that you wrap her in your wings and hold her tight.

~~~~~ 

You try to take a different approach during the next game. You allow yourself to go along with the lighthearted jokes that Jimmy and Joel come up with.

It helps for a while. You manage to forget that you’re all going to kill each other eventually. You forget about the heavy weight of time pressing against your neck.

But all good things must come to an end. And all the laughter in the world isn’t quite enough to drown out Jimmy’s scream as he falls to his death.

It’s not quite enough to make you forget the way that Joel begs for just a few more minutes.

You don’t even get to see him die.

You wonder how long they’ll haunt your nightmares.

~~~

<Smajor1995> martyn won

<Smajor1995> ill talk to him

At least it’s not you this time.

~~~ 

The next time you see Martyn, you can see the weight of his victory upon his skin. His smile is sharper than it was before, his eyes are more cruel. 

You’re not surprised. It’s a change that you have seen before, and it’s a change you will see again. 

You try not to think about it too hard. 

~~~~~  

This sucks. This really sucks. You can’t remember the last time you felt so alone during one of these games. 

Well. You’re not technically alone, you have Etho and Cleo, but it feels… wrong. It’s like there’s a pane of glass between you and them. 

You suppose that’s what you get for joining so late. 

You should probably be grateful. It could always be worse. Scar is living proof of that. 

You can’t help but feel bad for him. 

It’s fine, you remind yourself, it’s fine.

It’s not like he’s going to remember. 

~~~

Thirty minutes. That’s how long you’re given to recover from the game. Thirty minutes.

Maybe even less. You don’t really know. 

But now your communicator is open and you can’t tear your eyes away from the message on it. 

<PearlescentMoon> scar won’t wake up

You can’t move. The world has frozen around you. Or perhaps nothing has changed. You don’t know. 

Your communicator buzzes again. 

<PearlescentMoon> hello?

<PearlescentMoon> please don’t tell me you’re also still asleep

<PearlescentMoon> I don’t think I can handle that right now 

<Grian> I’m awake

<Grian> on my way

~~~

You’ve never thought about what happens to you during the games. All you know is that you spend nearly two months killing all of your friends, and then you wake back up in your bed with no one else even aware that you were missing. 

Now, as you stare at Scar’s sleeping form, you really wish it had stayed that way. 

Pearl had explained what happened when you arrived. She had explained how Scar had won.

It’s a miracle you didn’t start crying. 

You don’t know where she is now. With Gem and Impulse maybe? They were the ones that had been looking for her. She had wanted to stay by Scars side, but you had encouraged her to go. You’d said something about how spending time with people who didn’t remember would be good for her.

You both ignore how obvious the lie is. 

She must have realized that you needed time to yourself. You can't help but be grateful she knows you so well.

You had broken down the moment she had left the room.

The games were bad. They were always bad. But the bad was supposed to be contained. It wasn’t supposed to affect things out here, you were supposed to be able to move on.

You’re not supposed to be sitting by your friend's side, unsure if he’s going to wake up. 

No. No he’s going to wake up. He has to wake up. 

You don’t know what you’ll do if he doesn’t. 

~~~

Pearl’s back. She looks a little better now. 

That makes one of you at least.

~~~

“He’s going to hate me when he wakes up…” The admission cuts through the silence with ease. 

“What do you mean?”

You open your mouth. Close it again. Try to figure out how on earth you’re going to explain this. 

“I… How much have I told you about third life?”

And for the first time in nearly three years, you tell someone about the desert. 

Pearl, to her credit, is a wonderful audience. She gives you her full attention, reacts in all the right places. She even teases you when your face turns red. 

It’s nice. Almost enough to make you pretend that you aren’t describing one of the worst things that happened to you. 

And then you reach the end. You tell her about the cactus ring. You tell her about the cliff.

“I didn’t think I was going to wake up…” you whisper. The realization sits heavy upon your heart. 

The games always did that. They made you believe that each final death was permanent, that each time you took a red life, you were ensuring that your friend would never open their eyes again. It didn’t matter how many times you had woken up on Hermitcraft afterwards or how much of the old games that you remembered. The guilt was always there. Always.

You don’t think any of the winners had expected to wake up after all was said and done.

But the difference between them and you is that their deaths were all caused by an outside force. Yours? Yours had been a choice.

You can see the moment that Pearl comes to that same realization. She looks like she’s going to cry. 

You keep talking. 

“But then I did and no one else remembered.” You force yourself to take a deep breath. “I had to look him in the eye and realize that I was the only one who remembered what we had been through.”

You can see the moment that the pieces click together in her head. 

“Oh…” She says softly, “That’s why, in double life, you…”

You think you might be crying too. “It was easier than losing him again.”

“He thought you were ashamed of him.”

“I know.” 

“He thought you hated him…” 

“I know…” 

There’s nothing else you can say.

~~~

Mumbo is looking for you. You don’t want to leave Scar. 

Pearl throws all your own arguments back in your face. She reminds you that you haven’t spoken to anyone since you woke up yesterday. You haven’t even gone outside.

Besides, you had agreed to not get anyone who hadn’t won involved. It was something you had agreed to when Pearl had first won. The last thing you wanted was for your friends to find out that they had killed each other over and over again. 

It seemed more important than ever to stick to it. 

If you ignore him he’ll probably come looking and you know that this will be one of the first places he checks and then you’ll have to explain why Scar is passed out and why you and Pearl have clearly been down here for the past day and… 

Ok fine. Maybe Pearl is right and going with him is definitely the right call. That doesn’t mean you have to be happy about it.

~~~

You don’t remember much from your time with Mumbo. You just remember checking your com every few minutes, trying to see if Pearl had messages you. 

He had threatened to take it from you if you kept checking it. You’re still not sure if he was joking or not. 

Not that it mattered. 

Scar is still asleep when you get back. 

~~~

Another day passes. He still hasn’t woken up. 

Pearl is the one who finally says what you’ve both been thinking. 

“We need to tell X.” 

You know. Logically, you know. One of the Hermits is in danger. He needs to know. He’d probably be able to actually do something, and then you wouldn’t just be sitting here doing nothing and being completely useless.

You really don’t want to. 

Because telling X means telling him about the games. Telling X means that Scar is actually in danger. Telling X means admitting that something is actually wrong. 

“One more day,” you say, “Give him one more day.” 

~~~

Pearl isn’t there when it happens. She isn’t there when Scar opens his eyes with a gasp. And she most certainly isn’t there to see you jump five feet in the air and have to bite your tongue to keep yourself from screaming. 

You want to launch yourself at him, to hold him tightly and make sure that he’s ok, but you force yourself to wait. You don’t know if it would make things worse. 

He’s staring up at the ceiling. You’re not sure if he’s even realized that you’re there. 

“Scar…?” You whisper gently.

Something is wrong. Something is deeply wrong. 

Winning the games was a curse. It left a mark on you. A piece of canvas torn away. 

You can always attempt to fix it, you can replace the fabric, attempt to remember what was over there, do your best to match the colors that once existed. 

With time, you might get close. You might even reach a point where an outside viewer would never be able to tell that a chunk had been violently ripped out. But the damage will always be there. It will forever be changed. 

You’re unsure if yours will ever come close to what it once was. You sometimes wonder if the people around you miss what it used to look like. 

When Scar turns his head towards you, you feel your breath freeze in your lungs.

There’s no damage in his painting. No canvas missing, no smeared colors, nothing. 

There’s nothing. It’s gone.

His gaze returns to the ceiling. He looks so tired.

“Now that’s just cruel…” 

Words get caught in your throat. How are you supposed to respond to that?

He takes a deep breath, pushes himself to a sitting position. 

He’s staring at you. You feel like you’re being studied. 

You force yourself not to squirm. 

“Scar?” 

“Hold on.” He holds up a hand. “I’m trying to decide if you’re real or not.”

“If I’m— what?”

“If you’re real. It’s gotten very hard to tell. Come here.”

He reaches out. You stumble forward. 

He grips your hand tightly. A finger presses against your pulse point.

He drops it. Pulls you down so that he can hold your face. Tears are starting to well up in his eyes. 

You don’t dare move away. 

His thumb presses into your cheek, right below your eye. 

“Your scar is gone…” 

You know which one he’s talking about. You had tripped over your own two feet while carrying supplies and hadn’t been able to catch yourself before slamming face first into the side of the mountain. Your cheek had been sliced by the exposed sandstone. 

Scar had still been yellow at the time. 

The wound itself had healed just fine, but it had scarred pretty badly. 

He used to trace it with his thumb and say you were a matching set. That the desert had claimed you as her own. 

“Yeah.” You lift your hand and gently place it on top of his. “It disappeared after 3rd life…”

It was the one scar you were truly upset about losing. 

“Oh…” he doesn’t move his hand. “I’m so used to seeing you with it.”

You… you really don’t want to think about the implications of that. 

“Is this real? Are you real?”

You can only nod in response. 

“You promise? I’m not going to wake back up in Trader Scars?”

“I promise.”

“Ok.” He takes a deep breath. “Ok…”

Later, after Pearl arrives and tears are exchanged, she will be the one to ask the question that you’ve been dreading. She will be the one to ask him how long it’s been. 

He will think about it for far too long before shrugging and saying something about how the sunflowers had started to wilt again, and your heart will plummet.

A year. What had been three days for you had been a year for him. 

And you had done nothing to get him back. 

~~~ 

Season nine comes to an end. You can’t help but feel a bit relieved when it does. 

There’s too many bad memories here. Too many memories of sleepless nights with Pearl and Scar as you all tried desperately to forget the hell that you’ve been cursed to remember. Too many memories of finding Pearl clutching a bucket of snow in her hands, of walking in on Scar talking to the open air. 

Season ten will be a breath of fresh air. A new start. 

~~~ 

Time passes. You get settled in the new world. Things get better for all three of you. According to the message that you’ve been getting from Martyn and Scott, things are getting better for them as well.

There comes a moment when you realize that you can’t remember the last time you had a nightmare. It’s a wonderful realization to have. 

You wonder if it’s over. If you’re finally free. It’s a kind thought. It feels warm. 

And then you’re pulled back in. 

~~~~~

Something is different this time. You can feel it from the second you wake up in that damned circle. 

The Universe must have grown tired of you. That’s the only explanation you can think of for why it’s decided to interfere so directly this time. 

You think you might hate it.

~~~

You manage to find Scar after things settle down a bit. He looks different. 

His posture is more relaxed, his shoulders less tense. He seems more comfortable here than he has in the past year on Hermitcraft. 

The realization makes you feel sick. 

You can’t let it happen again. 

You won’t let it happen again. 

~~~

You reach the end. One of the last two. 

There’s no ceremony this time. No fair fight, no pausing to burn the last few reminds of those you had killed. 

There is only you and Joel. 

And then you fall.

And only Joel is left.

~~~

He tells you that there was no celebration when he won. That there was no one there to cheer his name as he had knocked you off the tree. No one to join him in his victory lap. 

He stares at you, demanding to know where all the other winners are. They all remember, right? Why on earth aren’t they here to congratulate him?

You shrug and attempt to explain that winning has never been something to celebrate. That it’s always been a more solemn achievement.

He tells you that you’re being stupid. That acting miserable about it only makes you feel worse. You won, didn’t you? You might as well act like it. 

And for the first time, the thought of winning the games doesn’t weigh quite as heavy on your soul.

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

01/01

NEW ACE BIRTHDAY ART FINALLY DROPPED! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KING

[nina-ya]

Synopsis: You can't help but tease Ace and rile up this hothead. Pairing: Ace x afab reader CW: SMUT MINORS DNI, Ace is a little shit, fingering • ficmas masterlist • ko-fi • discord server •

You didn’t think much about putting on the sweater. It wasn’t supposed to be provocative- not at first. It was a simple, oversized thing of his that you slipped on after your shower. But the way it draped over your bare thighs, paired with your panties peeking out just beneath the hem if you bent the right way, had Ace’s attention locked onto you the moment you walked into the room. 

You could feel his gaze, heavy and burning, tracing your legs as you reached up to adjust the star on the tree that had fallen lopsided. The motion caused the sweater to ride up just enough to see the plush of your ass and the barely-there fabric hugging them.

“You’re gonna kill me wearing that,” he said, voice rough around the edges, a telltale rasp slipping through that betrayed how tightly wound up he was. 

You glanced over your shoulder, feigning innocence as you tugged the sweater down with a small shrug. “What, this? I just picked out something comfortable.”

You walked toward him slowly, drawing him in like a moth to a flame with each sway of your hips. When you reached the couch, you placed one knee beside his thigh, leaning in just enough to hover over him. His breath hitched, and his jet-black eyes narrowed with desire. 

His hands inched up, aching to grab you as you kept him on edge. Your lips hovered over his, so, so close that he could almost taste you, and just as he leaned forward to close the gap, you shifted. Reaching past him, you grabbed the remote sitting on the cushion beside him. 

“Oh here it is,” you said, leaning back with a triumphant smile. 

Ace blinked in an almost comical way, dumbfounded by the last second, before realizing what you had done. An incredulous laugh escaped him, but the glint in his eyes turned sharper, hungrier. 

“You think that’s funny?”  he asked, tone dangerous in the best of ways. 

You barely got your footing on the ground before his hands shot out, gripping your waist and pulling you down onto his lap. You let out a half gasp half laugh as you straddled him, your knees pressed into the couch on either side of him. His grip was firm, fingers digging into your skin with enough pressure to remind you exactly who was in charge now.

“If you keep doing that,” he murmured, lips brushing against your ear, “you’re going to make me end up on the naughty list tonight.”

The words sent a shiver down your spine, heat pooling low in your belly as his cocky smirk spread even wider. His hands roamed, sliding to grip the curve of your hips and guide you more flush against him. 

“But you knew that already, didn’t you?” he added, tilting his head to meet your gaze. Ace’s grip on your hips tightened as he shifted beneath you, his voice low and teasing, but his actions were anything but playful. He flipped you over with ease and you yelped as the world tilted and the cushions of the couch suddenly cradled your back, Ace’s body now hovering over yours like a predator who has finally caught his prey. 

His calloused fingers danced teasingly slow over the hem of your sweater, skimming your thighs before slipping underneath it. The sweater bunched higher as his hands roamed, skimming over every curve and dip, each touch unhurried as he savored the way your body reacted to him. The cool air kissed your skin as he pushed the fabric up further, his gaze dripping with desire as the last remnants of your modesty slipped away. 

“You’re stunning like this,” he said, the growl in his voice making your pulse quicken. His thumb traced the edge of your panties, teasing but never quite giving in, absolutely tormenting you with each passing second. 

His fingers traced the lace for a moment longer before you bucked your hips upward, guiding his hand to where you needed him most. He glanced at you with a smirk, chuckling as he muttered something about how needy you were, but he was not one to leave you hanging for too long. The first touch was electrifying, sending a sharp gasp tumbling from your lips. His thumb circled your clit lazily, testing the waters, while his other hand gripped your thigh and grounded you beneath him.

The pace of his thumb on you was maddening, each movement meant to draw out every pretty noise and expression you had to offer. He watched you with a hunger that made your cheeks burn, his gaze drinking in the rise and fall of your chest, the way your lips parted with each moan, the way your hips moved of their own accord, chasing the high you so desperately needed.

He paused just for the briefest of seconds to slip a finger inside, following right after with another, pulling a mewl from your lips. He slowly pumped his fingers, resuming the circling of your clit until he had your breath hitching and your vision hazy with pleasure. Every sound you made spurred him on, his dark eyes burning with an intensity that almost felt like it could swallow you whole. 

“Look at you,” he murmured, his voice barely reaching you through the haze of pleasure clouding your mind. “So beautiful. So… perfect for me.”

The utter awe in his voice seemed to have your hips bucking against his hand, desperate for more. “I can feel the way you just squeeze around my fingers more when I do… that,” he punctuated his words with a particularly well-aimed thrust that had you crying out. 

He trailed off, continuing to angle his wrist so his fingers would continue to hammer against that perfect spot inside of you. Your body arched into his touch as the pleasure crescendoed rapidly. 

Ace leaned forward and pressed his lips against your sweat-dampened jaw, leaving a trail of kisses as he murmured just how good you were doing for him. A broken moan escaped you, your hands grasping at the cushions, his arms, anything, as your body tensed, right at the precipice of bliss. Ace knew your body all too well, and you could feel his smirk against you, the confidence just radiating off of him as he pushed you just a little more until you--!

The coil in your belly snapped, the pleasure busting through your veins, consuming each and every cell of your body. Your hole clenched rapidly around his fingers and your thighs tightened around his waist as tremors rippled through you head to toe. He didn’t stop, even after you wailed out his name along with a string of profanities that you didn’t know was in your vocabulary. He just guided you through every pulse of your high, his fingers never faltering as he milked every ounce of pleasure from your trembling form. 

When you finally came down, your breaths were ragged, your body pliant beneath his hands. Ace eased his fingers out slowly, a string of your essence still connecting you to him before it snapped.

Ace didn’t give you a chance to recover before his hands were already sliding under your thighs, hiking you up so now your core was a breath away from his mouth. A teasing smirk pulled at his lips as he leaned in and kissed right where you had just soaked the fabric of your panties. His tongue traced your swollen clit, drawing a high-pitched whimper from you. He pulled back slightly, chuckling as you squirmed, your hands flying up to push him away from your over-sensitive core.

“Calm down, that’s not what this is for,” he chided. “Just need to get these out of the way.” 

His teeth grazed the edge of your panties, and he bit down gently, catching the fabric between his teeth before pulling back, the fabric slipping down your legs. He tossed the undergarment aside as he guided your hips back down to his lap. Though, now there was something warm and very hard lying against your thigh. You didn’t even need to glance down to realize that he had freed himself from his pants while your hips were busy hiked up in the air just a moment ago.

Your eyes darted down just in time to witness him grabbing the base of his cock and tapping it against your thigh, his smirk smug as ever as he made eye contact with you. “There,” he said, settling into a more comfortable position between your legs. “Now that you’ve been taken care of, it’s only fair you return the favor, don’t you think?”

[lady-of-moths]

PDA Headcanons - Ace

Word count: 655

Suggestive (N/SFW)

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Ace’s initials are not “PDA” for nothing. He’s not ashamed of showing the world how just hopelessly in love the two of you are.

He loves to touch you - whether it’s holding hands, a hug, a hand on your waist, caressing your hair, a sweet kiss on the top of your head, or a passionate kiss on your lips, he loves to feel you near.

He will often have an arm around your waist or shoulders, or a warm hand resting on the small of your back. His ego will swell to the heavens and beyond if you grab onto his arm while strolling around on some island - it makes him feel loved, wanted, and needed.

When holding hands, he’ll often give it a random squeeze to make you look at him for no reason in particular, other than just wanting to see your smile.

Ace loves to feel your fingers trailing through his hair, especially when he lays down for a nap. A sunny day and a nap on Moby Dick’s deck would be incomplete without his head resting in your lap, and your fingers slowly combing through his dark, shaggy mane. Ace hasn’t known much mildness in his life, not even as a child, and especially not now that he is all grown up and an infamous hot shot. This is why your gentleness towards him makes you and your moments together that much more extraordinary.

Ace loves to show you off. He’s damn proud of himself for scoring someone like you. Anyone with eyes can see how hot you are, but to Ace, what’s inside is worth so much more. Not only are you a treat to look at, but you’re also one of the kindest people he’s ever met. And as the object of your affections, Ace is thoroughly convinced he must be the luckiest guy on Earth.

He often lets you wear his hat, especially when he’s not around. You love carrying a little piece of him with you when the real deal is unavailable, and he loves seeing you wear his things, cus that’s what couples do, right? He doesn’t really have a shirt for you to steal, so then his hat it is. He thinks it’s both cute and funny how you keep insisting on wearing it, despite it clearly being too big for you.

His kisses are passionate. Just like his devil fruit, just like his temper, and his taste in food, Ace brings hotness all around. He’ll capture your lips and kiss you with reckless abandon. And if someone’s watching? Then who gives a fuck? Let them see how much you love each other. You’ll usually be the one to break the kiss - the intensity of which makes you feel a bit awkward in public. Ace will just laugh it off.

When you guys are alone, and he can really let loose, no one can match his passion. His kisses are hot, messy, and sloppy. His tongue will invade your mouth at the slightest chance. It’s not uncommon for him to bite your lip or pinch you so he can slip his tongue into your mouth the moment you gasp.

Ace’s lips are not the only ones to express his passion. His hands will be all over you if given the chance - rubbing, stroking, squeezing, kneading, and pinching.

Ace does not shy away from biting or nipping - whether it’s your lips, earlobes, neck, shoulders, or nipples.

In the same trend, he loves to leave love-bites on your skin - a reminder of your fun times, and a heads-up to any other interested parties that you’re his, and his alone. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he gets a bit of a kick from marking you, especially when others notice and joke about it.

Conversely, however, he’s not big on getting hickeys himself but will proudly show off the red marks your nails dug in his back. 

[aanxiousangel]

I'm always dying for more asl bros content pretty please *sparkly dog eyes*

ᴊᴇᴀʟᴏᴜꜱʏ, ᴊᴇᴀʟᴏᴜꜱʏ~

anˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ANONNNNN YOU READ MY MIND AND STOLE MY HEART goshhhhh i love asl bros I COULD CRY <3 its a little unedited tho fml :') ((and if its not obvious ace is my BABYYYY)) wcˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 2965 total cwˏˋ°•*⁀➷ jealousy, y/n smacks tf out of ace, y/n is kinda fuckin drunk..., cheesy shit

Portgas D Ace

Fire Fist Ace. Loved by many, loved even more by women on the islands. You decided to join him in sailing, tired of being stuck on that island. Sure, you saw Ace as a brother for a long, long time. But…it was inevitable. You hit puberty and suddenly, it wasn’t some sibling bond. It was nothing but blood, sweat, and tears to fight off the emotions.

I mean… Come on. He was tall and fucking hot. Literally. You lost count of how many times he almost burned you when he was still learning how to control his devil fruit powers. In turn, you poured ice cold water on him as some sort of punishment. He wasn’t happy in the slightest.

Eventually, you two grew into some fine young adults. And I mean fine as hell. Pirates swooned over you left and right until they saw Ace constantly by your side. Despite them catching somewhat of a memo, the fangirls did not.

Women flocked to the ebony-haired beauty with ease, practically dogpiling upon seeing him to get to him. Often enough, it earned him a free round of drinks and food in an attempt to catch his attention. It made your skin crawl constantly.

And while he definitely seemed like a flirt, he couldn’t care less. He did enjoy the food and liquor though. He was just so oblivious to you glaring daggers from the bar.

Little to your knowledge, Ace purposely scared men off by your side, throwing evil glares or quite literally spitting fireballs at them. Like your own personal guard dog.

One night, you’d had one too many and you couldn’t help but get irritated. You paid your tab, not giving Ace and his groupies a second glance as you stormed out. It took the drunken sailor a moment, not thinking it was you storming out at first. But the second he caught a whiff of your sweetened scent, he jumped the table, darting out after you.

Hell, you were already halfway to the ship when he spotted you. Have you ever seen a man run so fast in heavy ass boots?! Fuck no. But his impending steps scared the shit out of you. You drew your katana, spinning around to meet Ace’s neck with the blade.

He could see the fear in your eyes until your brain registered it was him. There was a moment where your gaze softened, but quickly turned sour. It made his heart ache. You never gave him that look.

“Why did you leave? The party wasn’t over!” Ace rasped, still catching his breath as you sheathed the sharp blade.

“Go back, Ace,” you snapped, a slight slur between your words.

“C’mon, Y/N, come back with me,” he pouted, knowing it made you weak. His damned puppy-pleading eyes and lip quiver always had you giving in.

“No,” you snapped, turning on your heel to continue going home.

“What the fuck?” Ace fell into step alongside you, staring in disbelief. “You actually just… Y/N! What did I do?”

“Nothing, Ace! Go party with your fanclub,” you huffed out, running a hand through your grimey hair. Gods, you were beginning to sweat just from anger.

“Wait, fanclub? Those chicks? Is that why you’re so pissy?” His voice had risen, as if he had a right to be upset with you. You just wanted to get out of there.

“Pissy?!” You half-laughed half-scoffed, stopping dead in your tracks.

“Yeah! Pissy! You’re bein’ childish!” He mocked your exasperated tone.

“Oh, because you can talk!” A sarcastic laugh escaped you as you pinched the bridge of your nose.

Ace sucked his teeth, “Don’t be a bitch, Y/N.”

Before you could think about your actions, your palm was stinging and his jaw was slack with shock. Neither of you were exactly coordinated at the moment so it was his jawbone catching most of the impact. His hand carefully cupped the stinging sensation, his jaw moving side to side.

“Fuck,” you whispered, staring at him all doe-eyed. “A-Ace, I’m so sorry. I-I…”

“You really pack a fuckin’ punch,” he chuckled, not meeting your eyes.

“I swear it won’t happen…again…” You watched as he took a deep breath, looking up at the sky.

“Stop bottlin’ shit up. That’s exactly what happens. You fucking blow up,” Ace’s voice held no anger, no malice, nothing. He sounded almost like a parent scolding their child.

“I’m going back to the ship.” You whispered, stepping back.

Ace’s fingers wrapped around your wrist, yanking you into him. Nausea hit as you stumbled into his chest. You couldn’t even warn him before it spewed from your mouth, eyes watering as you choked.

“Ew! Y/N!” Ace whined, quickly jumping back.

“You throw a drunk person–” Another wave hit you, forcing you to vomit on the stone road, “And you expect them not to vomit?”

“You stink,” Ace shuddered, stepping back.

“Obviously,” you sobered up, standing up carefully. There was a bit of vomit in your hair making you cringe. “I need a shower.”

“Shit, now I do too,” he whined again, freaking out that a drop of vomit splattered on his leg.

You rolled your eyes, “Could have one of your maidens clean you up.”

Ace frowned at you, “Come on! I thought ya dropped this whole chick thing!”

“Whatever, Ace,” you walked up the gangway, leaving him on the edge of the docks.

You didn’t hear his heavy boots following behind anymore. It twisted your stomach into knots as you walked through the empty ship, finding your way to the bathroom. Your hands weakly worked the nozzles to turn the water warm, eyes still unfocused from the amount of sake you downed to forget the image of him. Specifically the women flanking his sides, shoving alcohol and food down his throat. Somehow, not their tongues.

Steam fogged the bathroom as you undressed, a little wobbly on your feet. Puking was definitely your least favorite thing to do after a party. The door swung open as you worked the buttons on your shorts, a sharp scream escaping you.

“Tell me what the hell I did,” Ace shut the door behind him, hands on his hips like a sassy woman.

“Ace! Get out!” You covered your breasts immediately.

“Tell me what’s got a stick up your ass!” He wasn’t even focused on your tits. Just the fact that he couldn’t understand why you were genuinely angry at him.

“I’m naked, asshole!” You felt dizzy, heavily embarrassed by his intrusion.

“I have boobs too!” Ace motioned to his muscles, clearly not giving a shit how you were freaking out.

“Those are pecs!? Are you dumb?!” You tried shoving him towards the door, but he wasn’t budging.

“Same shit. Now talk,” his boot tapped impatiently as he pouted.

“Oh, my god! Turn around!” You whined, needing to get in the water while it was still hot.

Ace rolled his eyes, turning around. You shoved the rest of your clothes off, almost eating shit as you hid behind the shower curtain, soaked with water. He glanced back, seeing your shadow against the opaque drape.

“Start explainin’.” He moved to sit on the countertop, leaning back against the wall.

“It’s not a big fuckin’ deal, Ace.” You thoroughly washed your hair, the massage making your eyes roll back. Fuck, how long had it been since you felt this clean?

“It is to me, Y/N. That should mean somethin’ to you.” He muttered. Maybe you were hearing things, but he sounded hurt.

“It just gets on my nerves to see women obsess over you.” You stated, closing your eyes as the water drained the bubbles from your locks.

“Someone’s jealous.” His smirk was evident in his voice.

You stayed silent. It wasn’t easy to lie to him. Nor did you want to confirm his suspicions.

“Y/N?”

Nope. Not doing it.

“Y/N.”

You were planning on staying silent but he yanked open the curtain, half worried that you’d magically died in the shower. He let out a sigh of relief when you shrieked, smacking his hand away to pull the curtain back into place.

“Pervert!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“I thought you dropped dead, idiot!”

“Are you dense?!”

Ace pursed his lips, staring at your eyes. What did he do wrong? Obviously, opening the shower might’ve been was wrong. But the anger. You were so angry with him… It actually hurt his feelings. Poor baby.

“Ace, why are you so stuck on this?”

“I don’t want you to be mad at me.”

And there goes your heart. It ached at his words. If you weren’t soaking wet and bare, you would’ve hugged him. So, you did the next best thing you could think of. You told him the truth.

“You’re an idiot.” You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. A habit when you were giving in to whatever he wanted.

“Ouch. Hurtful,” Ace crossed his arms.

“No, not because of that. You’re so fucking blind, Ace. I’m…fuck. I like you! So, yes, I get upset when women are touching you, getting all of your attention. You flirt with them in front of my face. It hurts. You always do that shit.”

Ace’s poor face. His jaw slacked, staring at you. He was stuck on those three words. Was he seriously that drunk..? Was he starting to hallucinate? Had to be. Not…not you, right? How could he be so blind? He was a god at reading women, so, why not you? Right up until this point, he assumed you still saw him as your older brother.

“Earth to Ace?” Your hand waved in front of his face.

“You like me…” He exhaled, not realizing he stopped breathing for a few seconds.

“Yeah, kinda just said that.” You yanked the shower curtain closed to finish up.

“You like me!” Ace yanked it back open.

“Stop that!” You tried fighting his strength without ripping the thin plastic.

“Hell no!” Ace jumped into the shower, almost falling over as he cupped your face. “You fucking like me?! Since when?”

“Sh-ince–” He squished your face too much, making it hard for you to speak clearly. “Ace!”

“Sorry.” He retracted his hands, resting them on his hat.

“Since we were kids, dumbass,” you rubbed your cheeks softly.

“I’m so stupid,” Ace breathed.

“You are,” you went to turn back to your shower, but he was quicker.

The tiles were ice cold against your back. The warmth of his lips made up for it though. He pulled back, looking down at you.

“You taste like vomit.”

“Ace!”

Flame Emperor Sabo

The stars twinkled against the midnight sky. You poor thing, drinking away your feelings. It almost became a monthly ritual. You’d sneak off in the dark with a heavy bottle of sake and sit on the shore’s edge. Water rippled around your toes, leaving icy kisses against your skin.

It wasn’t that you enjoyed being drunk out of your mind. It just took the edge off most times. You actually kind of hated the burn. The flavor wasn’t too great. Flavor… Huh, your mind lingered on wondering what Sabo tasted like. Just one little kiss. Wouldn’t that be something…

This was the first night you finished a whole bottle so you weren’t coherent whatsoever. You didn’t catch the footsteps walking up behind you or his voice softly calling your name. Not until his hand rested on your shoulder did you look over and see him.

His blond curls and black attire made you smile lopsidedly. You thought that you were just starting to see things from your inebriated state. Fuck, how strong was that liquor?

“You look like Sabo,” a giggle escaped you followed by a hiccup.

“I would think so,” he chuckled softly, sitting next to you. “Why are you out here?”

“I don’t know,” you turn your gaze back up to the stars.

“Are you sure about that?” Sabo hummed, gazing up at the sky.

“It’s dumb,” you snort, rubbing your heavy eyes.

“Tell me. I’m a great listener, you know,” he chuckled.

“I just really like him. No…I love him.” You sigh, your eyes growing heavy. You desperately try to fight it off, but it’s getting harder by the second. “But he doesn’t feel the same. So, I drink to force it all out. Or push it down. However it works. It’s a thing now. My thing. I don’t know how you found me.”

“Who?” His voice cracked, his eyes moving to glance at you subtly.

“Sabo.” Now it’s your own voice’s turn to crack. “He’s so sweet, so passionate. He doesn’t have time for a relationship though…”

He stays silent. Did he hear you right? Were you even sure? He could see the bottle was empty. There was no way you were all the way there. You must’ve been drunk out of your mind.

“See? ‘S dumb,” you mumble tiredly. “Just…don’t tell him I told you.”

“I won’t.” He watched your eyes slowly close, your body letting the waves lull you asleep. “I promise.”

Sabo scooped you up, bringing you back to the ship. He made a B-line for his quarters, tucking you into his bed. Out of respect, he wasn’t going to sleep with you. He couldn’t. But…your hand latched onto him tightly, brows furrowed in your sleep. Sabo tried to tug your hand from his coat but fuck, were you strong.

Sabo sighed and slid in beside you, holding you close. “I love you, too, Y/N.”

“I know,” you mumbled drunkenly against his chest, feeling his body tense up against you.

Monkey D Luffy

Oh, sweet Luffy. Such innocence in this strong fighter. It was laughable really. You could absolutely do anything and he wouldn’t bat an eye. Wouldn’t dare second-guess that you were just being you. After all, you two grew up together. Well, you four. But you followed Luffy on his adventure, some sort of instinct to protect this naive kid.

You were really into him. The whole crew could see it from miles away. Nami and Franky always teased you about it. Hell, even Sanji teased you. He tried giving you love advice, but you’d give him a pointed look and he would roll his eyes.

“You don’t have to look at me like that.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“Alright! Alright! Tch. I know.”

You’d bring Luffy snacks while he was busy doing things around the ship–if he wasn’t already scavenging the fridge. Or force his stinky self to bathe. He’d scream halfway across the ship, telling the crew you were kidnapping him. Robin would tease that you were like his mother which you’d shiver in disgust.

“So, you enjoy being a parent?”

“What?”

“You’re like his mom.”

“Ew… That feels so wrong.”

One Sunday evening, Luffy came creeping into your room. He watched you carefully, extremely confused. You looked up from your book, raising your eyebrow as he flinched.

“What’s wrong, Luffy?”

“Bath.”

“Is it broken?” You get up, leaving your book on the bed.

“No. You didn’t make me take one.”

You stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Um, no, I didn’t.”

“Why?” He tilted his head and it made you smile.

“I’m not your mom,” you shrug softly, rubbing your arm awkwardly.

“So?” Luffy, still confused, went over and started tugging you along. “I know you’re not.”

“Where we goin’?” You raised your eyebrow.

“Bath.” He made it sound so obvious.

“You want a bath?” Your hand flew up to your mouth to stop your laughter.

Luffy stepped into the bathroom, pointing at the tub. “No… Yes… I don’t know.”

You started the water, plugging up the drain. He watched you, pouting. Why’d you stop fighting him? Was he being too annoying? His chest felt funny as he stared at you.

“Why aren’t you making me take one?” He asked again, poking your side.

“I figured you didn’t want it.”

You weren’t just going to up and tell him Robin’s comment made you feel strange and distant. You didn’t want him seeing you as his mother. Not when you had feelings for him.

“You’re lying. Your nose moved.”

“What?”

“Your nose. It did that thing when you lied.”

Your face went red, looking away from him. You shut the water off and nodded at it.

“Get in.” You glanced at him.

“No. Why are you lying? We don’t lie to each other.”

Luffy was right. You two didn’t lie to each other. It was just something that stuck all throughout the years. You sighed softly, dropping your head between your hands.

“I know and I’m sorry. But I can’t tell you.”

“That’s the same thing as lying.”

“Luffy, get in the damn tub.”

“Hey! Don’t be mean!” Luffy whined.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m sorry,” you rubbed your face, looking up at him. Dammit. He was adorable. Cute. Really fucking attractive. Especially when he wore his shirt open… Crap. “Luffy, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Luffy tilted his head again. “What’s wrong?”

“No, like, I love love you.” You mumbled.

“What do you mean?” He sat in front of you, forcing you to look at him.

“Like… I have a crush on you, dummy. I love you. In love,” You bit your inner cheek, nervously tapping your heel on the floor.

“And…you didn’t want to make me take a bath because you love love me?” Luffy got up, taking his clothes off.

You looked away until you could hear the water splashing, “It’s not going to make sense.”

“Oh, well,” Luffy laid in the water. Before the effects could fully weaken him, he yanked you into the tub with him. “I think I love love you too.”

“Asshole!” You sputtered, looking up at him now drenched.

Luffy grinned, puckering his lips. Maybe he wasn’t so naive.

[fire-bugged]

🎶it would be so awesome…it would be so cool…🎶 if you could write headcannons with sniper and scout and a reader that likes to collect rocks, feathers and animal bones? I’m big into that (creature energy strikes again), whenever I go on walks I always find something new, and then treat bones with hydrogen peroxide to clean them and turn them white again when I get home. Totally cool if you’re not cool with it, but thank you a bunch if you do consider it! (Also if possible, a male reader would be awesome, but I’m totally ok with gn)

Scout and Sniper with a Boyfriend Who Collects Rocks, Feathers, and Bones

Scout

- He doesn’t really get it at first. I mean, why would you want a bunch of rocks? You can find those anywhere. The feathers he kinda understands, but he gets a little squeamish about the bones. That’s a dead thing, he ain’t touching that.

- But regardless, he supports his boyfriend and his weird hobbies.

- Then when you start showing him more of your collection, he does start to respect it a lot more. He takes a closer look at all the crystals and stones, large shed feathers, and cleaned bones, and he starts to see just how beautiful each of your pieces. As he listens to you tell him the stories behind some of your finds, he starts to admire it rather than question it.

- Starts keeping an eye out for any neat rocks and feathers he could give you. Still won’t touch any bones though.

Sniper

- Just like you, he has his own collections of rocks, feathers, and bones. The moment he found out about your collecting hobby, he became incredibly eager to show you some of his own finds.

- He especially loves making necklaces from animal teeth, and will likely gift you a necklace made from the teeth he collects from his hunts.

- Plus, he loves seeing his boyfriend wearing something he made for him. He likes making you happy, but he also likes that you have something on you that very clearly shows that you’re “his”.

- Also sometimes gives you things he finds out in the wild, especially if it’s something he knows you’re going to be particularly fond of. He absolutely adores seeing the look on your handsome face when he gives you a feather from your favorite bird or a pristine skull.

[anmechokola]

Fire, Flame and Inhereted Will

(Spoilers for up to chapter 1138)

In chapter 506, when Rayleigh is talking about Roger's execution, he says:

In Japanese, the words he used were

僅かに灯った "命の火"を - barely burning "fire of life"

and

燃え広がる"業火" - spread "hellfire"

What he meant was that Roger used what little life he had left to change the lives of people all over the world. So fire here has an association with not only change, but also life. Roger (and Ace) is also associated specifically here with 火 (fire) and not 炎 (flame), but I'll get to that.

Now we, as readers, can think what we want about Ace's death, but from the perspective of the World Government, he was easily the most dangerous man alive. He was the biological son of Gol D. Roger, the natural inheritor of his Will. He was in fact the son of two people of the D. clan. He was literally made of fire. Ace had everything to be the Pirate Prince come to burn their world to the ground.

And yet, he wasn't. He didn't. It was never his dream. He never wanted to be a part of Roger's legacy and didn't inherit his Will. His execution mirrored Roger's (deliberately, probably) and yet his fire wasn't the one to bring hellfire to the world. While Roger gave a speech and, more importantly, chose to be there, Ace didn't choose any part of what happened to him. He was just a pawn in a larger war, a warning the Marines could give to the world and an excuse to bring an Emperor down. He was the catalyst, but it wasn't his Will that got him there, he wasn't the one who spread the flames.

(chapters 1 and 569)

In contrast to Ace, look at Sabo. Ace is Firefist (火拳) but Sabo is Flame Emperor (炎帝), and I think that distinction is important. As far as I could find out (better speakers can correct me), 火 is used for fire in a more general sense, while 炎 is used for the actual image of a burning fire, or a more intense fire. Sabo, Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, is a much more concrete and pressing danger than Ace ever was.

As a side note, the move Sabo uses in Dressrosa in chapter 743 is called Dragon's Breath (竜の息吹). 息吹 means breath, but also a sign (of something new and fresh), or a breath (of spring, fresh air, etc).

In the end, Sabo is the one who is bringing a "breath" of change into the world. He is the one who inherited Ace's fruit and Dragon's Will and fanned the flames of Revolution. Sabo may not be a D., but he carries two of their Wills. He is the one who is turning the smoldering sparks of rebellion into an inferno, he's the one who is actually threatening the World Government.

(chapter 1054)

(Also, seeing Ace die was the trigger for Sabo to recover his memories and eventually go after the Mera Mera Fruit. So, in a sense, it's an interesting bit of cosmic karma that the World Government ended up lighting the flames of their own hellfire.)

Fire links all three brothers, actually. Their lives were all changed by the fire at the Gray Terminal that ultimately drove Sabo to run away, lose his memories and join the Revolutionary Army. That loss caused Ace and Luffy to honor Sabo's apparent death and promise to live with no regrets and caused Ace to promise Luffy that he would never die.

Luffy ended up being the one to inherit Roger's Will along with Ace's. Whitebeard even explicitly tells Teach that Teach isn't the one Roger was waiting for, then cuts to an image of Luffy:

(chapter 576)

You can sever Gol D. Roger's bloodline, but not the flames of their Wills. What he says in Japanese is

炎が消える事はね - flame isn't/won't be extinguished

It's worth noting that the kanji for Vegapunk's Mother Flame (chapter 1116) is

消えない炎 - undying flame

消えない is the negative form of the verb 消える, which means to disappear/vanish, but also to go out (of a fire or light), to fade (of a feeling), to be lost or die out. So the Mother Flame is "undying" in the sense that it will not disappear, but also in the sense that it will not fade from memory or be lost to the world

The phrasing is different, but both the name of the Mother Flame and what Whitebeard said use the same words and mean the same thing.

Likewise, Roger's and Ace's Wills are undying, they will not disappear or fade away.

Luffy and Sabo will carry the flames that continue spreading change (hellfire, to the ones in power) to the world.

[loganwritesprobably]

First Meetings with.. (One Piece Edition)

Part two with Zoro, Robin and Luffy Part three with Crocodile, Mihawk and Buggy Part four with Benn, Shanks and Smoker

A tumblr exclusive collection of little reader insert drabbles - these won't be going on my AO3, these are just for the feral people of this wonderful hellscape

Requests are open for x reader things! I will write basically ANY kind of reader - male, female, non-binary, gender neutral, trans, disabled, black, white, latino, asian, neurodivergent, etc

I'll probably do more over time but here's three to start with - Ace, Law and Sanji. Readers are all gender neutral, but for Sanji reader is fem presenting (so he would be nice)

"Well hey there gorgeous." A voice said behind you, startling you to the point of hitting your hand against the counter in front of you. You were just minding your business, attempting to buy some food for the week, when some random guy had appeared behind you. You had half a mind to turn around and give him a piece of your mind, when the shopkeeper's eyes widened, and whispered his name. Fire Fist Ace. The pirate. "Who do you think you are?" You asked, turning to face him with a scowl. You wouldn't attack him outright, but you were not happy with the look on his face (now that you could see it) and wouldn't let it go. "Your future boyfriend, hopefully." Ace replied, and you scoffed. You turned back to the shopkeeper and bought your groceries, before making to leave the store. Ace followed behind you closely, making no secret of the fact that he was there.

"Are you lost?" You snarked, rolling your eyes at Ace. He was persistent, you'd give him that. "Oh no, just hoping you'll look at me like that again. You're perfect." "You're disgusting." You grumbled, although you'd certainly never been called perfect before, and in another circumstance you wouldn't be mad about it. "Hey, now that's harsh." Ace replied, but he was laughing as he said it, clearly unphased by your displeasure being directed at him. You took off walking again, not walking toward your place since you didn't exactly want to lead him straight to it.

Ace, to his credit, continued to follow you and eventually began to just talk. He seemed to be able to talk forever, uncaring whether or not you were listening - though you were. He was a pirate, pretty high bounty, almost a warlord, he had a little brother who he was stupid proud of, and an even bigger family waiting for him back on his main ship. "While this is all very nice, are you going to leave me be any time soon?" You asked eventually, back on the main street of the town once again. "Are you going to tell me your name?" That was all? You told him your name, utterly exasperate it. "Well, gorgeous, you'll be seeing more of me soon." With that, he took off in the opposite direction of your home, with a swagger in his step, happy he'd gotten what he wanted. You kind of hoped that you would be seeing him again soon - you liked him, reluctantly.

You weren't even hurt that badly. The guys were gone, and you were managing to stumble home just fine. You had a first aid kit in the kitchen that would be able to patch you up, and then you could go to the doctor when you had the time and had gotten some sleep. It was too late to go see her now.

As you stumbled down the dark street, clutching walls for stability, a man began to approach you. "Fuck off! Not in the mood." You snarled, clutching the broken shard of glass you'd gotten in the fight, a strip of your shirt wrapped around it to protect your hand. "You're injured." The guy stated flatly, and then you'd hit a stalemate. "Duh?" You said, still brandishing the shard in your hand. "I can fix it. I'm a doctor. Don't have to drop the glass, but I'd prefer if you didn't stab me." The supposed doctor drawled. He seemed.. familiar. Something about him just sparked recognition in the back of your mind, and that put you a little on edge. "You're familiar - why?" You questioned, shuffling backward to get a little further away from him while you waited on his answer. "I'm Trafalgar Law. My bounty poster is on the wall you're clutching." The pirate doctor pointed out, nodding toward it. Well, that made sense. Surgeon of death you'd heard him called - so at least that meant he was a doctor right? "Alright. But one wrong move and you'll be needing your own medical care." You threatened, and Law just half nodded. He knelt down in front of you to look at your wound, then pulled some bandages from a pocket in his coat. He wrapped your leg, doing so in complete silence and without hesitation. When he was done, he stood again and grunted as he nodded.

"Should be fine now. It'll hurt to walk still, but less risk of infection." He summarised, stepping around you to continue in the direction he'd been going. "Wait! Why did you do that?" You asked, spinning quickly on your good leg. "You're cute." He said simply, a small smirk on his face. He lifted his hand, said a word you didn't hear, and then in a flash of blue light he was gone.

You'd bumped into him entirely by chance, and gotten talking. He was a nice guy, he was sweet if a little much when it came to women he saw. You didn't mind - you could see that his intentions were good, for the most part. He offered to pay for a drink for you, since you'd narrowly avoided colliding with him outside of a bar, and you'd accepted. He let you order what you wanted, and he paid, not even blinking. It was second nature to him. He was kind, and offered endless compliments that you withstood with a smile on your face - you weren't quite used to such a bombardment of affection.

He disappeared after an hour or so, but returned the next day. You'd tried to ask where he went, but he danced around the question and asked you on an official date. You'd had a nice enough time the day before, and so you agreed.

He took you to a restaurant, it was classier than you usually allowed yourself to go to with a modest amount of money, but it didn't seem to be any object for him. He told you that he wouldn't compromise on good food, and allowed you to order anything you'd like, with no concerns about how many beri it would set him back. It felt nice not to worry about it for once. You ordered starters, then mains, with drinks flowing easily between you, and then a dessert to share to end the experience. You'd been there for hours, but with the money that you'd spent, no waiter could argue.

The conversation between you was easy and light, he was enraptured by your every word, he couldn't help it. He looked at you as if you'd hung the very stars in the sky. "All I've done is talk. I know almost nothing about you." You said to him, and Sanji laughed awkwardly. "I suppose so. But I'm afraid there's not much to tell." He said, and just as you'd been about to argue, a woman with orange hair came bursting into the restaurant calling his name. You looked at him with wide eyes and stood quickly. "No! She's not-" Sanji said hurriedly. "How much of my money was spent on this date?" Nami demanded, fire in her eyes. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realise you were-" You attempted to say to the woman, hoping she wouldn't direct her frightening anger at you. "Oh you're gorgeous. Well played cook, didn't think you had it in you." She praised, and then bewildered confusion fell over you. "Oh Nami, your praise is a balm on my heart." You rolled your eyes and folded your arms, raising an expectant eyebrow as you stared at Sanji, waiting for an explanation. "I'm a pirate. She's our navigator, and.. treasurer I suppose." He explained, and you sighed. "So you're not staying." "I can't." Sanji agreed, with a sad smile and nod. "But we're not leaving for another few days. So have fun while you can." Nami said, giving you a wink and Sanji a firm punch before turning to leave the restaurant.

Fun. You could do that.

[mikoyamisheadcanonblog]

Hey 😃 Long time no talk! I hope you’ve been doing awesome!

May I please request headcanons for Ace, Shanks, and Robin reacting to their female S/O saying “I love you” for the first time?

OMG this one seems so much fun, I will so do this one I hope you enjoy it. This was so fun I might right scenarios for it Scenarios

🔥Ace🔥

🔥Ace is flustered at first, he stops what he is doing and ends up tripping or spilling something on himself, when she does confess.

🔥He is caught off guard unsure how to answer as he feels he was always destined not to be loved

🔥He is a lot of inner turmoil and self-hatred within himself and can not phantom how anyone could like him.

🔥He has had a crush on her for a while himself but was too scared to confess not wanting to ruin the close friendship and bound he created with her.

🔥He will be quiet at first for a long time before slowly pulling her in his arms and confessing his love too

🍶Shanks🍶

🍶Shanks is surprised at first, he puts down his drink and stares at the woman intrigued with she said

🍶He pretends not to hear the first time wanting her to repeat it as he loves hearing her confess her love.

🍶He felt the same way for the longest time as well but could never find the right moment to confess

🍶The fact she confessed first the feelings he had been dying to say for a long time only has him laughing

🍶He wraps his arms around her waist pushing her closer and confesses his feeling as well

🪻Robin🪻

🪻Robin is more reserved when it comes to the confession

🪻She is probably reading somewhere when she sees the woman coming to her and she shut her book.

🪻If she is surprised she doesn’t show it instead she shows a soft smile on her face as if expecting such a confession

🪻She closes her book and pets the spot beside her before confessing her crush on such a woman.

🪻She just smiles and chuckles a bit before she leans forward and kisses her S/O on the cheek. Loving how flustered they get.

[riza-jes]

Luffy’s Parental figure — ACE!

Who raised Luffy and co-parented him with Sabo.

He's the guy who actually did the teenage boom and baby Luffy. Who was really the only one to be an adult to his brother for seven years. Who raised this little bugger and was there for him through hard training and after hard illnesses as well.

Ace who's an explosive head in his own right, but still cool-headed in the most precise moments of danger.

Who knows how to make chicken soup and other kinds of soups from nutritious foods because Luffy couldn't chew and swallow like normal when he was sick.

Who in the field knows how to pick out what's edible, what's poison and what's medicine, because you learn that quickly in the jungle.

Who really with bare hands will be able to build a place for a night's lodging, to make food or water and to make a trap for safety or for fresh game.

He's a man who smiles at his little bro when he's in sight and who really shows a lot of affection and attitude through touch, because Luffy always needed physical affirmation of love and gosh that kid was very touchy-feely baby.

His life centered around his little brother, who needed to be raised, preserved, and made strong.

Teenage angst and mood swings had passed him by(so nothing unusual), because Ace was already an emotional wreck, but having Luffy around was actually a good catalyzer.

Also life amidst the trash and scum had taught him very well what to avoid, i.e. roughhousing, rapes, murders, overdose deaths, the horrors that slums can hold, especially the nooks and crannies where Ace and Sabo used to sneak around.

According to one particular scene that Luffy had somehow stumbled upon (and he had witnessed the brutality and the corpses privately, but he had never seen the bodies of dead children and girls before )

Luffy had hysteria so intense that he passed out.

After that accident Ace and Sabo decided only to walk in the more lighted and more open area if necessity would lead them to the slums.

In general, Ace isn't used to violence and direct threats, although in some cases Ace remains painfully innocent and naive, especially when it comes to himself. ( unless it involves Roger, the Pirate King )

Because of the fact that Thatch almost cut to pieces a lost in life and specifically in that bar amigo who ran into Portgas and began, in Thatch's opinion, to spread his hands.

And if Ace at first reacted friendly enough on approaching of the future corpse by thinking that maybe it was one of his brothers or inhabitants of the protected area, but when the man had crossed the line with a couple of words, he was carefully folded in unconsciousness by the bar wall.

Honestly, I just want more and more of Ace's side as the man who raised a hyperactive ball of joy. And specifically the aspect of home life, which most often of course manifested itself during meals.

For example, some dishes that for example made pirates complain due to scarcity or flavor (e.g. tomato soup/onion soup, any other specific fruit/vegetable) or the beverage (compote/juice/tea of unfamiliar pickings, etc.) of specific fruits or vegetables to be consumed based on shipboard life.

So imagine the surprise of the Marco when most of the pirates booed about the nastiness of the same grated drink with greens (or search for what foods should be consumed when living on the sea and when living in the jungle) and Ace was the most calm and even nostalgic.

Because he'd made a similar thing for his little brother himself.

Part 1

Part 2

[firefly464]

Scott (you are here!) | Pearl | Martyn | Cleo | Scar | Grian

Word Count: 1,001

Fandom: 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Scott Major | Smajor1995 & Pearl | PearlescentMoon, GeminiTay & Scott Major | Smajor1995

Characters: Scott Major | Smajor1995, Pearl | PearlescentMoon, GeminiTay (Video Blogging RPF)

Additional Tags: Character Study, POV Second Person, guys i adore writing character studies in second person, its so much fun, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Temporary Character Death, Self-Sacrifice, Scott Smajor and his relationship with sacrificing himself for his friends over and over again

Series: Part 1 of Life after Life (again and again and again

Summary:

The first time that you give your life for your friend, it’s as easy as breathing. There’s no thought behind it. No second guesses. Only the knowledge that you refuse to let Pearl die.

~~~

Or, an exploration of each time Scott gives his life for one of his friends

~~~

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62088148

Or just read it under the cut :D

~~~

The first time that you give your life for your friend, it’s as easy as breathing. There’s no thought behind it. No second guesses. Only the knowledge that you refuse to let Pearl die.

There’s only the sickening thud of an axe embedding itself into your side. Only the agonizing pain as it was ripped out. Only the smattering of red covering Pearl's hoodie.

She yells at you after. Tells you that you were an idiot, that you should have let her take the fall. She has the lives to spare, you don’t.

You shrug it off with a laugh, reminding her that she would have done the same.

…

You hope she’s never given the chance.

~~~

The second time you give her your life, it’s by your own hand.

It’s not nearly as spontaneous this time. That doesn’t change much. Despite the anger radiating from her, despite the fact that your fingers are still covered in frostbite scars, despite the blood that soaks her hoodie, it isn’t much of a choice.

Maybe it’s selfish. You don’t think you care. You want her to remember. You want your friend back.

Is that so bad?

She screams as the explosion tears through you. You can’t tell if it’s from shock or pain.

You aren’t around long enough to find out.

She finds you after. You’re not sure how. You decide not to ask.

She screams at you until her voice gives out. She tells you how stupid you are, that you had no right killing yourself like that. Tells you that you should have talked to her, that you could have figured something out. She tells you that you owe her for everything you put her through.

You don’t apologize.

~~~

You lose count in limited life. You watch as your blood spills out into the water around you, feel your bones snap as you hit the ground, hear the thud of an axe into your gut.

Over and over and over again.

It’s a transaction. Time exchanged for loyalty.

It’s better like this. No one yells at you when you return. Instead, they grab your hands and thank you. Thank you for giving them just a few more minutes.

You smile at them. You’re not sure if they would do the same for you. You find it hard to bring yourself to care.

~~~

Gem is staring at you. Her sword looks heavy in her hands. She’s having trouble lifting it.

You lift her sword and place it against your throat, not caring about the way the blade bites into your hand.

She stares at the blood dripping into the grass. Her eyes are brimming with tears.

You try to reassure her. Tell her that it’s just like before, when you and Impulse had given your lives to her without a second thought.

She tells you that it’s different this time. Impulse is already gone. You’re all that she has left.

It doesn’t matter. You’re dead either way. At least this way your death can help her.

Besides, once she wins she can come yell at you all she wants. You make sure she knows where to go. You don’t want to make her search like Pearl did.

She sobs, promising that she’ll find you, that she’ll make you regret leaving her alone.

You tell her that you’ll be waiting for her.

You try to smile as she slits your throat. You’re glad she didn’t stab you. You don’t want your blood to stain her overalls.

…

She doesn’t come find you.

The next time you see her, it’s during mcc. She gives you a smile. There’s nothing in it beyond surface level politeness. Nothing to indicate that she remembers.

It’s so much worse than getting yelled at.

Pearl tells you later. She says that Scar won.

You do your best to swallow the bitter taste that crawls up your throat.

~~~

The final time you give your life for your friends, it’s as easy as breathing.

You pretend to turn the decision over in your mind, considering each pro and con, but it’s nothing more than theatrics. You would do this in a heartbeat even if you didn’t owe her.

You can tell that she knows this to be true.

Neither of you point it out.

You can feel your muscles seizing as the pufferfish toxin seeps into your system. Your knees buckle underneath you. Water seeps into your clothes. Impulse looks away.

You have to force your breathing to remain calm. Panic will only spread the toxins faster.

You wonder if that would make it easier. If a faster death would be more bearable.

Your heart stops before you can think too hard about it.

When you wake up, you find Pearl staring down at you. Her eye is gold. The grin stretched across her face is slightly less manic. There’s no new stains on her jacket.

Good. You never really enjoyed the sight of your own blood.

You brace yourself for the incoming lecture. It never comes. She just reaches down and pulls you up without a word. The group keeps moving.

…

It isn’t until later— when the bots have vanished and you’re given a brief moment of peace— that she comes looking.

She finds you sitting on the tower, looking out over the vast forest. She could push you off, if she wanted to. You don’t know if you would stop her.

“Thanks,” she says, “for earlier, I mean. I appreciate it.”

You shrug. You had the lives to spare, she’s your ally, your friend. You’d give your life to her over and over again if she asked.

You’re not sure if she would do the same for you.

You try not to think about the gaping hole hiding below the grass, about your friend lying through her teeth, saying that she had no clue that there was an ambush waiting for you.

It doesn’t matter, you decide. You’d do it for her either way. You’d do it for any of them.

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

Real Talk: Ace Didn't Need to Ask For Help, It's On Garp

i always hate when i see comments about how ace was an idiot or ace should have just asked garp for help because, no? like dawg wtf do you mean?

the one thing we have been told repeatedly across the manga and anime is that ace could have lived his entire life being perfect and he still would have ended up on that podium

he could have become a marine, a police officer, a teacher, a chef and all of that would have been reduced to nothing the moment his parentage was discovered

yes, ace became a pirate of his own volition, but sengoku never mentioned his piracy

he never mentioned all the criminal activity ace did as the captain of the spade pirates or even later as the second division leader of the whitebeard pirates

you know what sengoku did bring up though the moment he got on that damn podium? ace's parentage

he mentions nothing that gained ace his bounty to begin with when he gets that den den mushi in his hand. why?

because it doesn't matter that ace is a pirate. what matters is that they are eradicating the last gol d roger's bloodline

bear in mind that they were killing pregnant women and young children who could have even had the slightest possibility of being roger's lover or kin

akainu deadass says that he doesn't care if every other pirate at marineford escapes as long as ace and luffy died and he would ensure their deaths personally. and for what? not their piracy. none of their crimes. not even for ensuring that the truth that certain countries and lands that were actually saved by pirates instead of the marines never got out

but because their fathers were gol d roger and monkey d dragon respectively

solely because of that, he deemed neither of them deserved to live

and as far as garp goes - i love garp as much as the next person but garp has never done anything for ace to trust him enough to ask for help even if he felt he deserved to ask

garp's negligent parenting coupled with the abusive words ace grew up hearing led ace to believe he didn't even deserve to be born. when he even asks garp if his being born was a good thing, garp can't even tell him 'yes'. he just says 'time will tell'. my brother in the blue seas, that is an elementary schooler questioning his right to exist

ace is defeated by blackbeard in episode 325 (chapters 434-441), luffy hears about his execution being set in episode 416 (chapter 522) and then finally ace is killed in episode 483 (chapter 574). that is 158 episodes and 140 chapters total and in that time what ace receives from garp are conversations that boil down to

"you did this to yourself"

"i just wanted you to become a fine marine"

"i don't have sympathy for criminals but i do have sympathy for family"

and garp actively preventing those who wish to save ace from reaching him. yes after akainu strikes ace, garp does react viscerally with instinct to protect his grandson, but that's too little too damn late at that point

garp having his moral dilemmas mean nothing when, however long ace spent in impel down, he isn't trying to help him

garp having his 'wishing things had been different' thoughts mean nothing when garp is preventing people from saving his grandson

there's a reason garp lets dadan beat and berate him when they reunite in windmill village and it's because he knows she's right

over the course of 20 years, garp has consistently chosen work over ace and luffy. as much as i love dadan and co, bandits are not a good choice to have raise your grandkids and then be the surprised pikachu meme when neither of them wish to become marines

garp's inability to see past the system he disdains yet clings onto actively shoots him in the foot

prevents him from seeing that ace is right when he says he never could have become a marine

luffy could have never become a marine. i do hear arguments saying that luffy might have had a fair chance considering garp is biologically his grandfather but i say that's truly up in the air considering how, even with that knowledge, akainu still wants to put luffy on a poster

but that's all to say, asking why ace never asked garp for help is ridiculous

the fuck would ace look like asking the man who has done nothing but

unintentionally fostered ace's resentment towards luffy in their early childhood

told ace it was his own fault he landed where he did

falcon punched marco halfway across marineford

for help?

and that's not even mentioning the fact that up until that point, ace didn't believe he deserved to live. he didn't think he had the right to exist. the only thing that kept him going up until that point was hoping he'd find an answer that justified his being born and his love for luffy and sabo. ace tells luffy in his dying breaths if it weren't for the two of them, he would have gave up on living a long time ago

yes, garp loves ace and luffy

he loves them both dearly but he is also incapable of putting them before work, before his ideals of justice. these two truths can coexist at the same time. garp's stubborn to a fault and his moral dilemma resulted in both inaction and the prevention of ace's escape

so to say that marineford would have gone differently if ace had asked is seriously undermining the character work. because in reality, it's up in the air on whether or not that would have done anything. ace asking garp for help could have gone either way and that's the beauty of the gray area regarding garp's actions during the summit war

and yes, i can get why it's frustrating that ace turned around to fight akainu when he could have just left and got it back in a blood a different time

but aside from ace having a temper about specific topics, we do get an answer as to why he couldn't bring himself to runaway when we finally are able to dive into his past with luffy and sabo:

he doesn't want to run away from any situation because ace is deathly afraid of losing something if running away ends up being the bad call

and in that moment, luffy was behind him

even if akainu hadn't talked down whitebeard, ace would have inevitably turned back around because he wouldn't have been able to shake his fear of losing something or someone he cared about

as long as there is something precious for him to potentially lose, ace will never run

he was doomed from the start

his being the son of gol d roger doomed him from the start

and that's what makes ace so tragic

[nina-ya]

Synopsis: You sought Ace out for warmth but his wandering hands and needy pleads end with a quickie against the railing of the Moby Dick. Pairing: Ace x AFABreader CW: NSFW MINORS DNI, Hints of temperature play, P in V sex, Ace is needy, creampie, Ace is a little shit, his freckles light up while fucking you. • ficmas masterlist • ko-fi • discord server •

The night air was so sharp and brittle that it seemed to bite at your skin with every breath. The Moby Dick creaked and groaned as the chill of the ocean worked its way through every seam. No matter how tightly you bundled yourself in your blankets, the cold persisted, creeping into your bones like an uninvited guest. Sleep was distant and taunting you. 

With a shiver that rattled your teeth, you finally had enough and decided to look for the next best source of warmth. Ace was on lookout duty, a job he never seemed to mind especially since his fiery warmth makes him the perfect candidate for tasks on frigid nights like this one. 

You made your way out to the deck, your hands wrapped tightly around yourself. The cold hit you full force as you emerged and you hissed softly, your steps faltering against the icy deck. Ace stood at the ship’s railing, his back to you, hat tipped low as he leaned over the edge. His shoulders were relaxed, though his eyes scanned the ocean for any and all threats. 

“Ace,” you called out, your voice carrying over the whisper of the waves. He turned, dark eyes glinting with the faintest hint of surprise before softening at the sight of your shivering form.

“Can’t sleep?” he guessed, tone warm despite the cold. He straightened and beckoned you closer, a smile tugging at his lips. “Let me guess-- too cold?”

You nodded, your chattering teeth making a verbal response unnecessary. Ace chuckled softly, his laughter like the crackle of firewood. Without even thinking, he opened his arms, motioning you forward. 

“C’mere,” he said simply. You obliged immediately, walking right into his open arms and pressing yourself flush against his chest. The heat of him immediately radiated throughout your body, as though you had stepped right into the heart of a flame. You exhaled shakily, the relief so sudden it felt like your body might melt into his. 

Ace turned toward the railing, positioning you between him and the edge. His arms wrapped around you in a loose hold, his hands instinctively tracing warm patterns wherever his fingertips met your body. The heat seeped into you, warming your frozen fingers and thawing the ache in your chest. You sighed in contentment, leaning your head back to rest against him. 

The wind tore through the air, stinging your face and pricking at any exposed skin with merciless precision. Despite Ace’s warmth, the gusts crept into the gaps, chilling you to the bone all over again. You burrowed closer into his chest, chasing his heat. His hands, though initially resting innocently enough on your sides, had begun a wandering exploration. 

Maybe it had to do with the fact that this was the most alone time you had gotten all week, or perhaps he was just an easy man to rile up, but his touches had grown to suggest a deeper hunger simmering beneath the surface. His fingers lingered longer than necessary, tightening slightly when they reached the plush of your ass, and his breath, warm against your temple, came heavier, hotter. 

When you muttered through shivering lips, “I’m so cold,” Ace leaned in, brushing his lips against the shell of your ear as he murmured, “I can find a way to keep you warm,” in a tone rough and full of implication. His fingers curled against your sides, pressing you tighter against him. 

“Ace,” you giggled, trying to get him to maintain his composure. “You’ve got a job to do.”

“And I’m doing it,” he quipped, his voice dripping with mischief as his hands slid to rest on the curve of your hips. “I’m just doing a little something called multitasking.”

Your reply died on your tongue when he tilted his head and pressed his lips to your neck. The kiss was searing against the chill of your skin, and it sent shivers through you for an entirely different reason. His mouth moved, planting slow, deliberate kisses along the line of your throat, each one lingering just long enough to make you yearn for the heat that came with each press of his lips.

Ace’s hands were never idle. One snaked up your torso, sliding beneath your layers. Burning fingertips grazed your stomach, then trailed higher, cupping your breast and pulling a gasp from you. The heat from his palm seeped through you, chasing away the cold, and when his thumb brushed over your cold-hardened nipple, the mewl that spilled from your lips only spurred him on. 

“Still cold?” he teased, voice thick with need as he nipped at your neck. The heat emanating from him only seemed to intensify, flashes of hot radiating from his hands and mouth like he was stoking  a flame specifically for you. 

“Ace,” you whined, trying to keep your voice steady, though it came out much shakier than intended. “We’re on the deck.”

“And no one’s around,” he countered, a grin audible in his words as his other hand gripped your hip, pressing you firmly against his growing erection. “Just you, me, and the stars.”

He continued his sensual assault on your neck, mouth alternating between kisses and teasing bites. The sharp contrast between his heat and the icy wind was dizzying, leaving your head spinning and your body responding to every flicker of warmth he offered. 

Ace’s hands roamed lower, teasing as they skated over the waistband of your pants, then back up to squeeze your hips. The cool night air licked at your exposed skin, but every inch of you seemed to burn hotter. He adjusted his stance, grinding his hips into you with a neediness that made your breath hitch. 

“Please,” he groaned, his voice breaking as he buried his face into the curve of your neck. The desperation in his tone was unguarded, raw. “Can I? Please? I promise I’ll be quick.”

The railing pressed into your stomach and you turned your head to glance at him, his freckled face bathed in moonlight, dark eyes heavy-lidded with longing. You shakily sighed, your resolve crumbling under the weight of his touch. 

He nipped at the shell of your ear before dragging his tongue along the curve of your neck. His hand slipped lower, tugging at your pants slowly. Your pants and underwear pooled around your knees and the sensation of his heated palms gripping your thighs, erasing any other thoughts. 

His hands spread you open, the rough pads of his fingers exploring every inch of you as though committing it to memory. You gasped as his fingers pressed against your slick core, impatiently circling your clit and thrusting a finger or two inside to make sure you’re at least somewhat prepared to take the needy man that’s making you gasp and tremble. 

You heard the unmistakable zrrt of his zipper sliding down, the sound cutting through sharp and foreboding. He was too close, and yet not close enough. His body was a furnace, burning hotter with every passing second, making you feel like you were on the verge of being consumed by flame. 

He leaned back to get a better view of your core as he aligned himself with you, the tip of him rubbing against your slick entrance to lubricate himself. And with a sigh, he pushed forward, entering you with one slow, deliberate thrust. You gasped at the sensation, his hot, throbbing cock filling you in ways that made your body burn just as hot as his. It was almost too much - the overwhelming heat of his body, the fire in his touch, and the harsh, desperate way he was moving. His hips snapped and met yours, pulling a yelp from you as you shifted against the railing. 

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, the words barely audible as his hips began to move, each thrust harder than the last. The rhythm he set was relentless, each thrust faster and more desperate than the last. One of his hands gripped your hips, bouncing you on his cock while the other wrapped around your torso, his hand landing on your breast and kneading the soft flesh while simultaneously making sure you don’t fall over the railing. The warmth from his body intensified, his bare chest searing against your clothed skin, his palms rouch and seething with his powers, and the contrast with the biting cold outside made you feel like you were in the eye of a storm. 

The molten lava of his touch moved beneath your skin, the heat utterly intoxicating. Each thrust had you whimpering and whining as the head of his cock bullied your insides over and over again. 

You tossed your head back and looked up at the man inside of you, eyes now fixated on the faint glow around his face. Ace leaned in and captured your lips in a searing kiss, slowing down his movements to taste and feel you. He rolled his hips slower, deeper into you while his tongue explored your mouth, and when he pulled back, a string of saliva connected your lips momentarily before it snapped. 

You panted, tongue barely lolling out of your mouth as you looked closer at the glow of his face, the source of it being his freckles. The dots across his face transformed before your eyes into what looked like tiny embers scattered across his cheeks. It was like watching a wildfire take over, the heat from his body so intense that it turned him into something more than human, something untouchable, and yet here he was with you– inside you– pushing you to the brink of madness.

You could feel the tension in his body, the way it coiled with raw power, and you knew that he was close. His breaths came faster, deeper, the heat of his fire licking at your skin, stroking the flames of desire that blazed between you two. His face twisted with the effort, his lips parted as he groaned your name, and you could see that final spark of control slip from his grasp. 

With one last harsh thrust, he came undone. His cock pulsed deep inside you, his body stiffening as he released hot, sticky ropes of his essence inside of you. His freckled skin glowed with a fierce intensity as the embers across his face flared brightly, a last beautiful burst of fire before he collapsed against you, his breath ragged and unsteady.

But you weren’t done yet. You had your own needs. You rocked your hips against his pulsing cock, desperate for more even as he softened inside of you and whimpered with the bursts of overstimulation you were providing him. Ace was far too exhausted to move but unwilling to leave you fulfilled, so he let his hands wander, snaking between your legs to give attention to that sensitive bundle of nerves as he let you rock yourself against his half-hard cock. 

Even as his heat dissipated, the heat building in your core seemed to grow. Your body trembled as the pleasure grew and grew, hands gripping the railing until your knuckles turned white. Ace’s fingers circled your clit with a maddening precision, your body wracked with the tremors of your rising orgasm. 

“Come on, just a little more, you got this,” he urged, voice laced with exhaustion. And with that, you shattered. It was like the stars exploded inside of you, each breath a gasp as your body locked around him. 

“Ace!” you cried, your nails digging into the railing, your body quaking with the force of the pleasure. He didn’t stop, not for a second, pushing you further into the bliss of it all. And as the last wave of pleasure hit you, your body sagged against the railing, breathless and spent as your shaky arms held yourself up.

For a long moment, there was only the sound of your breathing as you calmed down from the intensity. Ace’s fingers gently traced patterns across your skin as the warmth in his body finally began to subside. 

You were the one to break the comfortable silence, asking- no, whining- “How am I supposed to get back to bed with… all this… down my thighs?”

Ace hummed in thought, and then you felt him bend down and suddenly, Ace lifted your pants, hiking them up to contain the mess. You blinked, baffled by his sudden practicality. “Really?!” you hissed, smacking his arm as you stood, the action sending a faint throb through your body. 

“Is it not a good idea?” he chuckled, amused by your reaction as he tucked himself back to his pants. 

You shot him a glare as you attempted to properly stand so you could scurry back to your room to change your clothes, only for your legs to give out beneath you, and Ace was quick to catch you. He chuckled again, holding you securely in his arms as you groaned in defeat. 

“I think I’m gonna stay here for a minute,” you muttered, resigned. 

Ace grinned at you, holding you a little tighter as the two of you lingered until the cold air finally started to settle in, but you knew he wouldn’t let you freeze tonight, and you sure as hell felt that silent promise as his powers flared up once again to keep you warm in his arms.

[lawslessons]

Heat Stroke - Ace x f!Reader

Rewatching One Piece again. I was inspired by a certain man. I had this crazy idea involving an ice cube. Hope you enjoy!

Synopsis: After a failed assassination attempt, I find myself stuck with the man I was supposed to kill. Now I'm dehydrated, exhausted, and very, very attracted to my captor.

Warnings: N$FW

It was a mirage, it had to be. There was no other explanation for what I was seeing and for why I was alive. Everything I knew about mirages involved water and palm trees, not tall men in orange hats, especially men who were my targets. All I could remember was wandering the desert for a day without water and hunting down my target. I looked at his bounty poster and saw that he matched the image perfectly. I walked towards him and with my knife, I remember lunging after him in the middle of the desert, he turned around and flashed me a smirk, and then my world went dark.

 My sweat dripped into my eyes as I tried to make out the shadowed figure in front of me. The light in the tent was dim, the candle in the corner seemed to struggle as it pitifully wiggled and gasped for air. The man in front of me was tall and shadowed well. The light illuminated the rough contours of his bare middle and muscular arms as he stared at me. As my eyes met his, I felt the temperature in the sweltering tent reach a near unbearable level.

Why am I here?

“I could ask you that same question,” a smooth voice teased. With my exhaustion, I hadn’t realized I had spoken aloud until I witnessed him smirk. He had dimples, I was in for a rough night. Why didn’t his poster show his dimples? The poster was incredibly misleading. While I knew that he was dangerous, I didn’t know just how dangerous he was. He was gorgeous - there was a hidden danger in those who were beautiful like him. I tried to push my thoughts to the side as I watched him approach me and crouch to be at my eye level. The candle flared behind him, it seemed to gasp as I gasped and fully saw his face. 

“You’re –”

“You already know who I am,” he teased as he sat down on the plush blanket which was laid out on the ground. I had a feeling it was him, but the sweat dripping into my eyes was making it difficult to see. I regained my wits and shook my head to get the sweat out of my eyes. Some of the sweat landed on him, but he didn’t even flinch. I scowled at him. This couldn’t be possible. My last memory was me stabbing my knife into his back. I could almost remember the feeling of my knife landing into air… or was it fire? As I tried to lunge towards him now, I heard the grating clinking of metal behind me. I glanced behind myself and cursed as I saw that my hands were chained to the wooden pole which seemed to support the tent’s fabric. I gave the chains a few experimental tugs and cursed again. The way I was now, there was no chance I would be able to escape.

“You’re a bounty hunter. You’ve been hunting me while I’ve been in Alabasta,” He pouted as he held up the bounty poster of himself which he had grabbed from my bag. The poster was well loved. I had folded it up in numerous ways as I carried it around with me and asked locals if his face was familiar. Seeing him in the flesh was jarring, his poster didn’t do him justice. I should be focusing on the fact that I had just gotten kidnapped, but instead I was fixated on his face; mainly his lips. No man should have the ability to look as good as he did while pouting, but I knew he was not just any man. “You’re not as slick as you think you are, you’re pretty sloppy,” he stated as he relaxed there and watched as I continued to struggle to break out of my chains. It was a fruitless effort on my part. I didn’t have any Devil Fruit powers. My main strength was the element of surprise and I blew it. 

“I’m not! You caught me at a bad time, that’s all,” I spat as I exerted myself more. My head spun and reminded me why I had been caught. “Water,” I pleaded. My tongue suddenly felt dry as I desperately tried to swallow some of my own spit to have some relief. 

“That reminds me! You just passed out in the sand. Seems like you were going in for an attack when you just… fell. How long had you been out there following me?” He asked with an infuriating smirk gracing his lips. I could only scowl. 

“Just give me water, Ace.” I couldn’t recognize my own voice. It was gravely and dry, any noise I made was followed by a painful dry cough. As I acknowledged who he was, he seemed to preen and smile even more at me. He seemed to enjoy the fact that I knew who he was, and it was infuriating. His excitement was almost childlike, it reminded me of another pirate whose bounty I was looking to obtain, but that would be for another time.

“Who sent you to find me?” Ace asked while wiggling the wanted poster in front of my face. The move itself wasn’t much in theory, but with the still air in the room, the small movement was priceless to me. The quick blast of air against my heated skin felt heavenly. I was tempted to tilt my head up and expose my neck for more relief, but I quickly gained control of myself again. I had to concentrate, I had to get out of here, I had to ignore my attraction to him. I had obsessively hunted him for weeks before our encounter in the desert, I couldn’t let my time be for nothing.

“Piss off,” I retorted. Ace only seemed to be more amused as he watched me helplessly lash out at him from the chains behind me. He stopped messing with the poster and placed it to the side. I groaned and felt my face grow hot again. After having a brief taste of relief with the air on my face, the lack of a breeze was suffocating. I was uncharacteristically weak and delirious from my dehydration. I was growing desperate. I felt like a caged animal which was being poked again and again. I was unable to snap at him. My arms were uselessly pinned behind me while my legs were numb under me from my uncomfortable kneeling position. 

“How long are you going to keep me here? Are you going to let me go? What do you even want from me?” I asked while examining his infuriatingly perfect face.

“I’m the one asking the questions here, sweetheart,” Ace cooed as he slowly traced my jaw with one of his fingers. The heat which emitted from him only made my throat drier. I broke out into another coughing fit and scowled at him as he stood up. When I refused to answer, his smirk broke into a full smile. The pathetic flame behind us seemed to flicker in excitement as he stepped back from me. 

“You’re thirsty, exhausted, and going crazy from what I can see, but you still have your brains with you,” Ace said as he paced the length of the tent while watching me. While his movements mimicked a predator stalking its prey, his expression was curious. I wasn’t scared that he would hurt me just yet, but I was more worried that I would let my guard down around him. His eyes burned into mine, and as his eye contact continued, I felt myself becoming delirious for completely different reasons. His eye contact was powerful. The onyx coloring of his eyes was beautifully shown through the candle light. I had never seen eyes like his. If I wasn’t careful, I knew I would fall for him.The sight of him was magnificent. Strong muscles, but he wasn’t too bulky, he was just right. Freckles on his cheeks, biteable dimples, and hands that had the power to burn everything in their path. My tongue suddenly didn’t feel as dry and I found myself salivating over the man in front of me. Perhaps I was too late. Maybe I had already fallen for him, maybe it was before I even woke up in this tent. There was a reason I gravitated towards this mission to hunt him down, perhaps my intentions were less honorable than I initially believed.

“That has me wondering just how desperate you are to leave. What would you do?” Ace asked as he stopped his pacing and fully turned to face me. He was assessing me. People didn’t give him as much credit as he deserved. He was smart, cunning, analytical when he needed to be too. The candle burned brighter and I felt myself become breathless the longer he stared at me. Those damned eyes would be the death of me. I felt my resolve weaken, and the longer he held eye contact with me, the more I broke. He wasn’t unkind, he was just curious about what my next move would be. I was curious too, I had never been in a situation like this one before. He was right here and so, so attractive… My throat was dry. I coughed again and wheezed. The burning in my throat was reaching an unbearable point, I didn’t think I could hold out much longer. 

“Anything,” I found myself admitting. The heat of the desert was fogging up my brain and drying my throat even more. 

“Anything?” Ace questioned. “Even answer my questions about who sent you here?”

I tensed and turned my face away from him. Even when I wasn’t facing him, his stare was so intense that I could feel it burning through my cheek. “Anything except that.” Even if I had failed my mission, I couldn’t reveal my organization.

“Then what are you useful for?” His question was so blunt that it had caught me off guard. I thought about my mission and how I had failed it by being captured. This was my chance to redeem myself, catching him was all I needed to do, but I failed. The grief of being captured was strange. It wasn’t debilitating, but it didn’t feel freeing either. No one would rescue me. I had failed, so now I was useless in the organization’s eyes. 

“Nothing, I guess,” I whispered. The realization was sudden on my part, and I didn’t miss the look of shock which quickly appeared and disappeared on Ace’s face. I found myself smiling through my internal turmoil, it felt good to catch someone like Ace off guard. It felt good to see the bewilderment on his face. I laughed, I had failed and I would be killed when I got back to my organization without Ace if I even made it out of this situation alive. I was thoroughly screwed.

“Ah, I thought you’d be more fun, but you’re giving up so quickly,” Ace frowned. The disappointment in his tone had me scowling again. I watched as he lifted his hand up and how the flame flickered more wildly behind him. His finger erupted into flame as he watched me. My heart sped up. I knew I was going to be killed. I had to decide what was more important; attempting to finish the mission, or my life? When I weighed both options, I watched as the flame on his finger became even more intense. I didn’t know what to choose, but I knew I needed to fight for myself. I couldn’t give up. Either I was killed by my organization, or I died by Ace’s hand. Or maybe I didn’t have to die. There had to be some other option out there.

“I’m not giving up. I have no choice here,” I pointed out to him. The flame on Ace’s finger fizzled out as he watched me. He was silent as if he was giving me permission to continue speaking. “If I give you the information, you’ll just take it and kill me. If I don’t give you the information, you’ll still kill me. Either way, I die. What would be in it for me if I said anything to you?” I was breathless again. Ace didn’t deny that killing me was out of the cards, that made my mouth dry. My throat constricted as I coughed and gasped for air. The air I inhaled was dry and burned my throat even more, but without water I was hopeless. Ace seemed to notice. His smile widened as he seemed to have an idea on what he could do. 

“Water,” He offered. Most captors offered their prisoners jewels or money when they needed information. This spoke to the depravity of my situation. He could have offered me anything else in the world and I would’ve scoffed, but water? I tried to crawl closer to him at his offer. Water was more tempting than my freedom.

“You’re mocking me,” I stated, but I still didn’t deny that I wanted what he was offering me. The longer he stayed silent, the more desperate I felt. 

“You don’t want it?” Ace asked. He walked over to a small chest in the corner of the tent and opened the small latch at the front. “It’s so hot outside, but I’m able to handle the heat. You? You could barely last a day out there before you fainted on top of me. I’m only offering what you want… unless you don’t want it?” Ace had grabbed an ice cube from the chest and turned to face me. My eyes were wide and focused on him as he dropped the ice cube into the crook of his neck. I watched as the ice cube quickly began to melt. The water began to pool near his collarbone before it dripped down his chest. I watched as the water trailed down his abdominal muscles like a river before the water disappeared behind the waistband of his cargo shorts. I didn’t see Ace step towards me. My eyes were still focused on the water disappearing behind his shorts when I felt his hand on my jaw and suddenly my eyes were meeting his eyes again. 

“Interesting.” His pupils were wide in fascination and arou— no, it couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be. My lips parted when I gasped as he crouched down and brought his face closer to mine. The fingers he had on my jaw quickly went into my mouth and he began to feel around there. “You’re wet,” he marveled as he pulled his spit covered fingers out of his mouth. His lewd allusion had me flustered. My face burned even more as he rubbed his wet fingers together and watched me squeeze my thighs together to relieve the throbbing discomfort between my thighs. He licked his lips and my eyes focused on that motion as I moved to copy him. I was surprised to feel how I was salivating while I watched him. The moment between us burned longer and longer as we watched each other breathe, pant, and figure out the next step.

Ace stood up and I almost groaned as he turned away from me and went back to the ice chest in the corner. He picked the chest up and brought it closer to me before he set it on the ground. A pitiful sound arose from my throat as I tried to lean forward to get a piece of the ice on my tounge. Ace smirked and pushed my head back so I couldn’t get close to the ice.

“I think I’ll be nice today. I’ll give you some water and if you’re up for it later, we can talk. But before you get your water… I need to know that this is something you want.” Ace had grabbed another piece of ice from the chest and reached forward to sloppily smear the piece on my lips. I groaned from relief at having my heated lips balmed by the ice. I understood what he was alluding to and I found myself nodding. 

“That’s not good enough,” Ace chided as he pulled the ice cube away. “If you don’t consent to this, I’ll give you the water, knock you out, and take you back into town. But if you do, I promise I’ll make your torture perfect,” Ace promised as he used the ice cube to cool off my cheeks. In a perverse way, I found Ace to be quite a gentleman at that moment. I ignored the fact that he did kidnap me and instead focused on how he was right now. What he wanted - no, what we both wanted - was something he could’ve taken by force and I wouldn’t have been able to do much about it. Instead, he was offering something mutually beneficial… Besides, he wasn’t holding the water back if I didn’t want to have sex with him. I had power at this moment. I could easily take the water and go back to the town. I could lie and say I hadn’t found Ace yet and live to see another day, another mission. I knew I was kidding myself. The minute I left here without him, I was as good as dead. But what about myself? I was tired of making decisions for other people’s benefit. I never received anything good from what I had to do. Seeing Ace in that moment, seeing how he was looking at me like I was something to be prized, savored, and tortured. I wanted it all. I wanted him in any way he would give himself to me. I wanted to be destroyed by him. 

“I don’t do nice guys,” I smirked as I looked up at him. “Do your worst.” I was screwed anyway, I might as well have fun before I died.

Ace grinned again and I watched how my captor quickly - eagerly - grabbed onto another ice cube and held it in his hands. “You must be thirsty,” He murmured as he sat up some more so his chest and abdominal muscles were in front of me. “Drink,” he ordered as he dropped the ice cube onto his chest again. Like earlier, I watched as the ice quickly melted on his naturally hot skin and flowed down his chest to his middle. I was closer to him this time. Ace was watching me. I didn’t want to disappoint him. I wanted this. The temptation was too strong. I leaned into him and pressed my tongue against his middle. Ace’s eyes momentarily fluttered shut as my tongue began to work its way up his body. I followed the waterfall up his abs and up his chest until I reached the nearly melted ice cube and lapped at the small pool with my tongue. Now that I had a taste of the water, I knew that it would take more to quench my thirst. I was fooling myself by saying I was desperate for the water. Tasting his skin made me realize he was the drug I never knew I needed. Now that I had a taste, I was an addict that could never get her fix.

“More,” I pleaded as I watched Ace. Ace’s gaze was unfocused as he watched me. He seemed to be surprised by my boldness, but he didn’t deny my request. He grabbed another ice cube and held it in his hand which was out of my reach. As I tried to reach for it with my mouth, he pulled the ice cube further from me. My thirst was worse than ever. I let out another frustrated sound which only made Ace laugh. 

“You’re cute,” He teased as he used his free hand to feel at my jaw and my neck again. His fingers weren’t hot, but I still felt as if they were burning me. I groaned and tried for the ice cube again, but he pulled it out of my reach again. 

“Ace!” I snapped up at him. Ace laughed even harder and smirked as he let the ice cube drop from his hand and onto the top of his boot.

“Looks like I dropped it,” He hummed. I watched as the ice began to melt on the leather and I cursed myself. When he didn’t make any move to get the ice off his boot, I looked up at him. He smirked down at me and raised a brow expectantly. I knew what he wanted me to do. It wasn’t like that part of his boot touched the ground, it was clean, but humiliating. I was too far gone by that point. I scowled at Ace before I bent down even more and popped the ice cube into my mouth. The ice melted instantly on my tongue and I nearly burst into tears from how comforting the water felt running down my throat as I greedily lapped up the rest of the water that had landed on the leather boot. I groaned in relief when I finished with that ice cube and felt most of my thirst become quenched. When I glanced up, I noticed how Ace’s teasing smile turned into something more sinister and animalistic as I sat crouched at his boots. It was a demeaning position which only reminded me of my current predicament. I didn’t realize my thoughts brought me to tears until Ace reached for my cheek and wiped away one of my tears with his thumb. He brought his thumb to his mouth and licked it clean. His pupils were blown, he seemed to be as lost as I was. 

“Wait,” He said as he went to his bag and grabbed a key. He came back to me and crouched down again as he reached behind me to undo the cuffs on my arms. I felt the cuffs come off and my first instinct was to run, but I didn’t. Ace stayed in the same position he was in, he didn’t grab another ice cube, he just watched me. I knew the next move had to be from me. This was on my terms and I had to remember that. I wanted this, I wanted him. Without breaking eye contact with him, I reached for another ice cube and popped it between my lips. Ace’s gaze flickered down to my lips. When I didn’t make a move to kiss him, he raised a brow and I just smirked. He once again was a bit caught off guard, but he smiled as he reached his hand towards me and pulled me in close for a bruising kiss. 

I pushed the ice cube into his mouth when he deepened the kiss between the two of us. He pulled me on top of him as we both fought for the ice and for control. Ace’s hands wandered from my arms, to my sides, down to my hips where he squeezed to keep me close to him. He was maddening me with how good he was at kissing. I felt my brain grow foggy as he deepened the kiss even more and pulled at my bottoms. Just as I was gaining confidence in the kiss, Ace pulled away and watched me with his chest heaving from him catching his breath. My legs were shaking from the awkward position I was previously in as I stood up and looked down at Ace. Ace seemed to know what to do. He smirked up at me and grabbed at the waistband of my bottoms and pulled them down in one easy motion. 

“I wanted to burn these damn things off of you,” Ace said as he messed with my bottoms and made me lay down on the blanket that was there on the ground. I shivered as he grabbed the hem of my top and tossed that to the side of his tent as well. The candle behind Ace was flickering wildly, I was almost afraid that the flame was going to set the whole tent on fire. 

“Why didn’t you?” I asked while Ace unclasped my bra with one hand and ripped my panties off with the other. Ace didn’t seem to expect that question from me. He grinned and held my underwear up before he just set it on fire in his excitement. “Wait! I’m going to need those later!” I scowled. He laughed and pushed my legs apart before he grabbed another ice cube.

“You won’t need them if you’re with me,” He stated before he put the ice cube between his lips. I instinctively tried to shut my legs since I assumed he was going to use the ice on my clit, but he didn’t. He chuckled at my pathetic attempt of pushing him away before he pushed me down on the blanket again. He pressed the ice cube against my neck and I gasped. My back arched up as he circled the ice near my pulse point at my neck. When he was satisfied, he dragged the melting ice cube down to my breasts where he pressed it against my sternum. My nipples perked up when I shivered, but he seemed to ignore them with his mouth while he ventured further downward. His hands reached up and cupped my breasts while he brought the ice cube further down. I was panting and cursing his name. My skin wasn’t overheated from the outside heat anymore, but instead from the damned man who was about to go down on me.

By the time he reached my clit, the ice cube had practically melted. He slurped the rest of the water up before he looked up at me. His onyx eyes locked onto mine as he squeezed my thighs and pushed them further apart. He gently rubbed my entrance with his fingers and grinned as he pulled back and rubbed his slick fingers together. “You’re wet,” he murmured again as he watched me. I was breathless and shaking, I had never wanted something more than I wanted him at this moment. He settled between my legs and stared up at me. I was so lost in his intense gaze that when I finally felt his tongue, I cursed. He pressed his tongue against my throbbing clit, and I nearly came apart on the spot. 

“Fuck, Ace!” I cursed as I reached down and grabbed onto his hair. He ate me like a man starved. His tongue circled my clit while two of his fingers pressed against my entrance before he pushed into me. The stimulation from his tongue and his fingers had me melting like the ice in the chest next to us. He methodically pushed his fingers in and out of me. He curled his fingers a certain way which had me seeing stars. He was relentless with his fingers and his tongue. The sounds that came from my lips didn’t seem like they were from me. I babbled and cursed as I tried to meet his thrusts with my hips. Ace pulled his face away from my clit to look over at me again. Though I couldn’t see myself, Ace’s expression told me enough. I was debauched and he loved it.

“You need to cum?” he asked with a confident smirk on his face. He knew I was close, but he was just messing with me again. “Not gonna let ya unless you beg for it,” Ace said as he slowed down his thrusts. I throbbed around his fingers and tried to ignore the wet sound his fingers made when they would thrust inside of me.

I cursed again and shut my thighs around his hand to force him to stay there. “Damn you,” I hissed through my gritted teeth. It was taking everything in me not to finish. I thought that it was my pride that wasn’t letting me beg, but I was mortified to realize that I was enjoying him denying me my orgasm. Ace seemed to notice this as he pushed my thighs apart again. 

“You don’t want me to stop? Is that what I heard?” Ace asked as he slowly fucked me with his fingers. I could feel myself throbbing and clenching around his fingers. My body was begging for a release, but the torture of being denied by him was even sweeter. “I can’t hear you,” Ace smirked as he slowly pulled his fingers out of me. He inspected his fingers before he looked at my breathless state. He slowly licked his fingers clean and groaned as he slid his tongue between his fingers to thoroughly clean them.

I cursed loudly and felt myself clenching around nothing as I watched him. I could still feel the ghost of his fingers inside of me. I was near tears again. I reached down to alleviate some of my need, but Ace quickly pinned both of my hands above my head.

“You think I’d let you cum by your own hand? No chance for that,” he smirked. He let go of my hands but kept a close eye on me as he unbuttoned his shorts and pushed them down. “Seems like you didn’t want to finish from my hand either. Is there something else you want?” he asked as he hovered over me.

“You, all of you,” I breathed out as I glanced down and took in the sheer size of him. I shivered in anticipation and spread my legs some more as he got settled between them. 

“And what exactly would that be?” Ace grinned as he held my legs back and lined himself up. He rubbed his head against my clit and we both hissed at the same time from the mutual pleasure at the simple contact. I didn’t want him to hold back, I wanted to feel all of him inside of me. 

“Ace, I need you to fuck me, I need to feel you inside of me,” I begged as I reached down and lined him up against my entrance. I tried to pull him in closer to force the head inside of me. Ace cursed and pinned me against the blanket with his arms resting at my side like a cage. 

“I think I can manage that,” Ace smirked down at me before he pushed all the way into me. I loudly cursed and dug my fingers into his arms as I adjusted to his size. 

“You’re huge,” I gasped, I was in shock at how full he was making me feel. He was full and throbbing inside of me. The stretch of having him inside of me was exquisite. Ace grinned as I stroked his ego even more.

“Why thank you,” he smiled. For that moment, he was gentle and I found myself falling into his softness, but soon that moment was over. His soft expression was quickly replaced by that seductive smirk I was growing to crave as he started to thrust into me. Again and again, he was relentless in his pace and the force of his thrusts. My eyes were rolling back into my head from the white hot pleasure I was feeling. 

Though it was sweltering, I couldn’t seem to care. The only thing that was able to balm this fire I was feeling was more fire. Whenever I would turn away from Ace as he fucked me, he would use one of his hands to force me to look back at him. 

“I want to see you fall apart because of me. I want to hear every sound you make, I want to see your tears from how good you’re feeling, I want you to see me,” he emphasized his last few words with two particularly toe-curling thrusts. I cursed and nodded as I watched him. 

“Ace!” I breathlessly moaned as I was once again brought to the edge of my climax. Ace watched me and grinned as he relentlessly pounded into me and forced me to watch him. I could feel him throbbing inside of me, I could feel the desperation in his thrusts, I could tell he wanted me as much as I wanted him. He sped up as my sounds became more frantic and desperate. He had me coiled tight and only he was able to release me. He bent down close to my ear and held me close as he continued to fuck me into oblivion.

“Cum,” he ordered. I didn’t need to ask for permission. There were no strings attached here, he just wanted me. His words were enough to set me off. With an ear-spitting shout, I finished. I felt my fingers dig into his back and scratch against his tattoo. I felt him help me ride out my orgasm before he quickly pulled out and finished on my stomach with a satisfied groan. 

The minutes after were still. We both panted as we caught our breath together. Ace’s face was hiding in the crook of my neck. My hands were absently playing with his inky hair, it seemed that both of us were riding out this high. I didn’t feel hot anymore, I felt comfortable and very, very satisfied as I watched Ace pull back and stretch. His little laugh had my heart beating even faster.

“That was something,” He said as he grabbed a clean cloth to clean my middle up. I could only nod as I watched how tender he was being with me. He grabbed a canteen and handed it to me as he started to get dressed again. “Drink. I don’t want you passing out on me again,” he explained as he put his hat back on.

I looked at the canteen in confusion and looked at him. “This wasn’t part of the deal,” I teased as I greedily drank my fill. He watched me and rolled his eyes at my attempt at a joke.

“Not exactly, but I do have to knock you out to take you back to town. You do have a mission to do,” Ace reminded me. I instantly sobered and stopped drinking the water.

“What if I didn’t go back?” I asked. “I’m tired of doing what they want. What if I want to live for myself? What if I want freedom?” I asked. It seemed that what I had said pleased Ace. He smiled at me and grabbed my shoulders as I got dressed.

“You sound like you’d be a perfect pirate. What if you came back with me? I’m sure they’d all love to meet you. My captain would love to meet you too,” Ace babbled as he continued to talk to me about the dream of being a pirate.

I found myself smiling as he spoke. “A pirate, huh?” I asked as I got myself dressed… minus my underwear.

“Yes! Join me, we can go on adventures together!” Ace smiled as he reached his hand out to me to help me stand up. I took his hand and stood up and watched him smiling down at me.

“Why’re you being so good to me? I went after you to kill you,” I frowned as I grabbed my bag and put my arms through the straps. Ace went towards the candle and used his fingers to stub the light. The tent was now dark, but I could still make out his features with the moonlight filtering in through the front of the tent.

Ace just smiled even more at me. He never seemed to stop smiling, he was someone special for sure.

“Everyone deserves to live their dream,” he explained as he looked at me with his mesmerizing onyx eyes. It was so simple with him. He was trusting and believed in my dream. It made it hard for me to not believe in my own dream. All I wanted was freedom, I could have a real chance at that with him and his crew. I smiled at him, he was right. I took his hand again and stepped out of the tent into my future full of freedom with him.

[hellsbellssinclub]

Help a girl make a new rare pair hell.

I am on my bullshit again and having fun writing new fics. I accept challenges, prompts and random rants so hit me up!

I have already written a Monet x Dick fic if you are interested in that pairing and wanna read more! Check out my Ao3 it is under the same username (also you should be able to find the link on my blog too!)

[innocuously-ostentatious]

I’m not actually a One Piece fan and I have watched very little of it and read none of it but my sister really likes it so I drew this for her for Christmas.