#I already made a post about him and Iceburg

[assiraphales]

on one hand franky is a goofy little freak of a guy in hawaiian shirt and a speedo. on the other he was abandoned by his parents and taken in by a ragtag group who he kept expecting to throw him away too. he is a creator whose creations would ultimately tear his family apart and hurt everyone he’s ever loved. who tried trading his life for tom��s, who fully expected to die, but was forced to live on and fix his mangled body (tom told him a builder must always love/be proud of what he builds. so he fixed himself with metal and calls himself a battle franky). who loves his brother and stays in waters 7 to protect him even if they’re forced together wrapped in barb wire. who collects his own misfits and becomes the face of underworld of the city to his brothers mayor. who dismantles ships instead of building them. who survives out of guilt and burden waiting for the government to come for iceburg, and offer himself in his place. who instead meets the strawhats and finds his freedom

[kikokus]

Lucci and Kaku: An Analysis

I haven’t done long analysis/meta/essay-style posts in a while, but after seeing a comment that amounted to “every time Lucci’s shown an interest in something that doesn’t have to do with killing, Kaku’s involved” it made me think about whether or not that's true and, more specifically, whether or not there’s been sufficient build-up to justify what happens in Chapter 1111.

So let’s explore, shall we?

First of all, basic disclaimer that I’ve been heavily into One Piece since 2008 and Water 7 has been my favorite arc since the first time I read it that summer. Kaku, in turn, has always been one of my top characters in the entire series for various reasons…but this isn’t about him (at least, not entirely), so all of that is just to say that I’ve thought about these characters a lot over the years.

And I think what always struck me about them is that not only are they so fundamentally different, but that realistically Lucci should not tolerate Kaku at all. He’s pretty much everything Lucci’s not, and they’re more-or-less a perfect example of the ‘someone will die…of fun!’ meme in a lot of ways (and honestly it’s what I think of every time I see this card, but I digress):

At the same time, what happened in the latest chapter didn’t surprise me, because there’s been hints all along, and I’ve personally been waiting years for it to pay off…even though part of me thought it never would, or at least not in the way it did!

Still, how did we get here?

But First, A Bit About 相棒

So. Why is the fact that Lucci calls Kaku his “相棒” (aibou) so significant? Mostly because of the…individualistic meaning of the word. It literally translates to ‘partner’, but not in a romantic/life-partner way (not to say that it has never been used like that, but it’s not the inherent meaning of the word).

Unlike words such as 友人 (yuujin), 友達 (tomodachi), and of course, with Luffy, 仲間 (nakama), aibou generally only refers to one person. You can have many friends, teammates, crew members…but only one aibou. So by calling Kaku that, Lucci’s already placing him on a different level to anyone else in CP9 or CP0 and acknowledging openly that Kaku’s important enough to him to have earned that distinction.

Which is why a lot of us were very excited about it, since this is not a common occurrence where Lucci’s concerned.

That aside, let’s get to the actual canon content.

Water 7

Obviously at the beginning we find out they both work at the shipyard, but that in and of itself isn’t entirely significant…until you consider that, since Kalifa is pretty much with Iceburg all the time and Blueno’s running the bar, the two of them are working in much closer proximity to each other than to the other CP9 members in the city. 

The first real indication we get regarding their comfort level with each other comes in chapter 327 when Kaku gets back from examining the Merry and goes to sit down to explain what he’s discovered. Paulie’s the closest to him, but he actually ends up stepping past both him and Lucci in order to sit directly beside Lucci on the same level.

It’s quite a while before we see the two of them alone again, and it doesn’t happen until chapter 339 when they’re speaking with Robin. Of course at the time we’re not supposed to know it’s them, but there’s really nobody else it can be since this is happening at the exact same time that Blueno’s talking with Franky and Kokoro at the bar. So, as will become fairly common, the two of them are again acting as a unit of their own within the larger group.

And then, of course, we get the infiltration of the mansion prior to The Big Reveal (which I’ve spoken about before because for me it’s still the single greatest reveal in the entire manga because of how carefully crafted it is, right down to Kaku’s limited dialogue in this section being completely devoid of his usual speech quirks in the original Japanese text). Once again, Blueno and Kalifa are doing their own things while these two are working together.

This panel has always been interesting to me because immediately prior to this Lucci says he can’t let Paulie live, and then he decides to just restrain him instead. In Luffy’s case it makes sense because they gave their word to Robin not to harm the Strawhats, but he has absolutely no reason to spare Paulie, and the little lines of shock/surprise beside Kaku imply that he hadn’t expected Lucci to do that, either. The ‘why’ is still unclear, but it’s interesting nonetheless, and it’s also…noteworthy that it’s the only thing Lucci asks Kaku to do. All of the actual damage Paulie takes comes from Lucci and he never asks for or expects Kaku to harm him.

I never connected these two panels before but it’s obviously very deliberate to have Lucci telling Iceburg that feeling emotions is a sign of humanity followed immediately by Kaku…demonstrating exactly that and thanking Iceburg. It’s important to establish that part of Kaku’s character, but keep in mind Lucci’s lack of a reaction here because it’ll come back later.

Again, very tiny moment, but there’s a lot of examples of Lucci deferring to Kaku or letting him take the lead without any hesitation, and I like this because Kaku’s noticed something that Lucci hasn’t and Lucci just goes with it immediately.

I’d forgotten about this but Kaku’s also the one that decides to take Usopp with them, first by recognizing him as one of the Strawhats and then going through with it even after finding out he doesn’t consider himself a part of them anymore. And Lucci just…stands back and lets him give out orders to the others while doing so.

Okay so this is what I was referencing earlier. Kaku shows actual emotions with Iceburg and Lucci’s silent, but the moment Kalifa gets even slightly happy about completing the mission he’s berating her instantly. Kaku’s expression here is interesting too because he looks absolutely haunted and it’s very telling.

And also another visual representation of Lucci and Kaku being equal to/on the same level as each other.

I didn’t include the panel but Kaku was ‘sleeping’ when Corgi was giving them all of the information about Nero while Lucci was (seemingly) wide awake, and yet Lucci has no idea who he is and relies on Kaku to have all the information. Which he does.

Kaku being the one to take charge again and direct the others even though Lucci’s standing right there. They do this more than I’d realized at first, especially since Lucci always seems to be looked at as the unofficial ‘leader’ of CP9.

Enies Lobby

We’ve made it to Enies Lobby, which is the first glimpse we get of these two interacting with the full CP9 group outside of any sort of ‘mission’ environment.

Mostly it entails Lucci being more combative (especially with Jabra) and Kaku being more annoyed, but again I can’t really imagine anyone else taking this tone with Lucci and getting away with it while Kaku does it fairly often and Lucci never retorts or gets angry with him.

And while Kaku’s not immune to taking Jabra’s bait in the right circumstances, his typical tendency is to de-escalate situations if he can and here he’s refusing to engage despite being deliberately called out…and Lucci, without being asked, immediately takes his side and defends his choice.

This is practically the next panel and while both Lucci and Jabra are kind of equally at fault for this little display, Kaku only berates Jabra for it while Kalifa’s directing her comments at both of them.

Now that I’m actually looking for these sorts of things it’s becoming more obvious, but again we have Lucci and Kaku in an equal position to each other at the front of CP9.

This isn’t just to Kaku since Kalifa’s there as well, but Lucci’s still encouraging them to eat the fruits and I have to believe it’s coming from a place of good faith because he’d know whether or not being able to swim is that big an issue in their profession. I also want to note that Kaku echoes Lucci’s ‘it’ll be fun’ line when he actually does eat his fruit, so obviously that resonated with him.

I’ve put these two together because they both highlight the same thing, that being in both of these sequences we get almost all of CP9 giving out their individual thoughts/comments on what’s happening but Kaku’s statement both times is a direct reply to what Lucci says, so again the two of them are paired off in a way that doesn’t include anyone else there. 

The only other thing of note in this section is that while Robin’s talking about what happened during the Buster Call on Ohara, Kaku and Lucci are the only CP9 members to kind of…break formation and actually look at her while she’s speaking, which is interesting.

And for the rest of Enies Lobby they aren’t together so there’s not too much more to say here other than Kaku of course being the one to have the actual key to Robin’s cuffs, but it’s never made explicit who came up with that plan or handed out the keys so…if I ever actually do the thing and write a full analysis of Kaku’s character we can talk about it then Lark you’ve been saying you’ll do this for years IF I EVER--

Interlude - CP9’s Independent Report

Besides the fact that this is still one of my favorite cover stories, there’s a couple of noteworthy things here, the first of which is that Kaku again is taking the lead. Even though he’s the only other CP9 member other than Lucci to be injured badly enough that he can’t walk on his own, he’s still the one directing them where to go.

Other than that, I love seeing all of them just…interacting like friends and being very relaxed and casual, and pretty much every panel where Kaku and Lucci are together they’re directly beside each other so I’ve included a bunch of those here.

Dressrosa & Egghead

The next time we see Lucci and Kaku is at the end of Dressrosa, where they’ve been promoted to CP0 Oda can we please get some explanation of how this happened and let me tell you, I remember this vividly because the spoilers at the time just said that Lucci was talking to ‘someone’ and when the raws came out you can bet I went right to the dialogue to see if it was Kaku because his way of speaking is so telling.

But even in this little scene, we can see they’re having an equal conversation and there’s a major difference between how Lucci’s speaking with Kaku and how he addresses Spandam mere seconds later.

After this we have the Reverie/Levely/what-even-is-this-thing-called arc where they get all of a single panel together and while it’s the first time we actually ‘see’ Kaku after the time-skip, nothing really interesting regarding their relationship happens, so let’s move on to…

The end of the colored manga! And Egghead.

We start with a very familiar situation: Lucci asking Kaku what’s going on, and while Kaku this entire arc seems more outwardly annoyed with Lucci than he ever was in the past (which is never really explained but then again, Lucci spends a lot of the arc doing things he’s specifically been told not to do, so maybe it’s understandable…), he still has all the information and relays it.

Though Kaku’s also much more comfortable letting his real personality show despite them being on a mission while before he was always completely serious after the Water 7 reveal, especially around Lucci. It came through with Zoro and Jabra but during the cover story he’s smiling and laughing a lot with Lucci right there so it makes sense he’d be more willing to let his guard down even ‘on the job’ by now.

So here’s the first real instance of Lucci showing concern for Kaku, something which escalates pretty quickly throughout the arc. It’s subtle, and though he’s framing it as a suggestion to Stussy, if he didn’t care at all he wouldn’t have said anything. 

At this point it’s fairly obvious that Lucci and Kaku don’t really have any authority difference between them and Kaku spends a lot of time in this chapter especially telling Lucci to Not Do The Thing. Anyone that’s ever lived with a cat knows how well this works.

I’ve always found this bit of dialogue particularly interesting because Kaku’s very openly…praising Sentomaru for choosing his loyalty to Vegapunk over assisting the government, and there’s no way Lucci doesn’t hear him say this but he doesn’t say anything in return. There’s no real evidence that Lucci knows about Kaku willingly giving up the key to Zoro or how conflicted he was about Paulie and everyone else, but this seems to imply that at the very least, even if he doesn’t share those sentiments, he wouldn’t think less of Kaku because of it.

Putting these two together since they’re in the same scene but at this point it’s not even subtle concern anymore, Lucci’s genuinely worried for Kaku and you can tell this caught him off-guard.

Kaku’s the first one to suggest working together but Lucci immediately backs him up and goes with the idea. It’s logical in the sense that it’ll give them the biggest chance to survive, but willingly working with pirates isn’t exactly the sort of thing that Lucci, especially in the past, would have so easily done regardless of the situation.

So at this point it’s becoming clear that this whole 4-v-2 section is supposed to be the most…light-hearted thing going on right now and a lot of it is played to be comedic, including Lucci’s inability to lie, but yet again there’s almost nobody else that could get away with scolding him the way Kaku’s doing here.

…And then we skip ahead a day and things happen that I really hope get explained at some point because they seem important, but while Lucci’s never going to have impeccable bedside manner, he’s very concerned with getting Kaku to rest and while Kaku’s trying to justify what happened Lucci really doesn’t seem to care about that. It’s a big departure from him being willing to write off anyone he deems ‘too weak’ and it’s a nice character moment.

I’d mentioned on my liveblog that some of the things Lucci was doing after this point were confusing, but if you look at them through the lens of him wanting to protect Kaku, it makes a lot more sense. Yes, he’s deliberately keeping him out of the loop, but Lucci I think has decided that he’s going to throw caution to the wind and act alone since if Kaku can’t prove he knew about the plan, he’s probably safer being left with the Strawhats, and if the Marines show up he should be safe anyway or so Lucci thinks…

When this chapter came out, I’d said something about Lucci being a hypocrite considering what the rest of CP9 did for him when they could have easily just left him at Enies Lobby, but given what happens almost directly after and likely what he’s trying to do with this entire fight, these words feel even less genuine…

And that brings us to this. The moment that I’ve been thinking about for almost an entire week now. The moment that, looking back at…oh, wow…almost 3000 words of analysis maybe shouldn’t be as surprising as it was for most of us, but it does feel like the payoff for a long, long buildup that’s taken nearly twenty years to reach. Because really, there’s no other way to describe them other than ‘partners’, and probably hasn’t been for a long time…and I’m so glad that Lucci acknowledged it.

To summarize, I think what surprised me most about re-visiting all of this is how much the manga has framed them as equals since the beginning even though it was never explicitly stated between the characters themselves. Lucci’s always been far more lenient with Kaku than with anyone else, and Kaku in turn has never had any fear of Lucci even if he wasn’t really expressing his true self with him for a long time.

The cover story being the turning point makes perfect sense, and the progression throughout Egghead of Lucci being more outwardly willing to show his concern and Kaku not hiding his emotions at all seems like a natural progression of their relationship and their level of comfort around each other.

And the fact that Oda is never really…hitting us over the head with any of it until that final moment when Lucci says everything so plainly because Kaku’s life is the most important thing to him even when faced with a literal monster… It’s so effective. 

I don’t know where we go from here. To be honest, I’m kind of scared of where we go from here. But regardless of the outcome, I hope this little essay has been at the very least interesting and perhaps allowed you to look at these two in a different light.

Thanks for reading.

[theclearblue]

Is it bad that I feel personally victimised by WCI or am I just being dramatic?

I don't think so anon, I think the themes of family in WCI are some of the most personal and nuanced Oda has ever done and while tragic in so many ways, I think results in the best way of conveying how powerful found family is but also how someone can have complicated feelings towards their blood family.

Throughout all of One Piece, you can see this through line of found family and how blood relations isn't what matters in who you consider family (The ASL brothers, Bellemere and Nojiko for Nami, Kuina for Zoro, Zeff for Sanji, Saul for Robin, Tom and Iceburg for Franky, and while not a strawhat, Corazon and Law deeply affected me as well). This is obviously a trope Oda has liked writing for a long time and one he does well, but (with somewhat the exception of Marineford/Post-War arc with Whitebeard and Ace), WCI is the first time he really dives into these themes of what family is, and what I really appreciated, how messy it can be.

(I uhhh wrote a lot after the cut so be prepared for that)

And it's not just Sanji in this arc (I'll get to him though don't worry), from Germa, from the Big Mom Pirates, and the Firetank Pirates, so many characters are acting as narrative foils to Sanji and dealing with family related trauma, and responding to it differently. The ones that really got me were Pudding and Katakuri though, and they're pretty similar to each other as well. I've talked a little bit about Pudding already here so I'll talk a bit more about Katakuri instead, but it hit me really hard when he made a temple for himself, and he lets the rumors fly about "his back has never touched the ground, he's praying to a god of war, no one has seen him eat" and it's just. Him laying on his back, eating donuts happily. And the scene is kind of silly and funny right, but I kid you not my New Year's resolution this year was to just, try to be more comfortable in my living room/kitchen without thinking everyone is going to judge me for, what? Eating? Watching a show I like? Completely normal things, but if you've ever grown up in a house where just, EVERYTHING you do is picked apart and criticized by family, it's easier to just shut yourself away in a room and hide it. And isn't that tragic? Katakuri projecting this image of strength that his family asks of him so much that he feels he has to hide completely normal things like lying down and eating? I could go even deeper into this character but this is just one example of a character's complicated relationship with his family, where he hides so much of himself for them, but also it stemming from a place of love after what happened to Brulee when they were kids.

And now to talk about Sanji. Ohhhh where do I even start with this guy. As kind of a sidenote, if you've seen any of my posts from Thriller Bark through Punk Hazard, I was really struggling to like Sanji as a character and I didn't make that a secret. Which was upsetting to me because, from Baratie-Enies Lobby (and really good moments at the end of Thriller Bark and Saoboady) he was a favorite of mine! And at times I thought his character was done pretty dirty where he was stripped down to a singular gag and Oda leaned into it way way way too hard. But it's immensely satisfying to me to see all the little seeds Oda planted for so many years come to fruition in Zou and WCI, to the point I think he's turned from being the most one note strawhat to the most nuanced and layered in the span of a singular saga. And that was incredible to see.

I think what really captivated me about Sanji from the beginning were how strong and rigid his convictions are, and that even though he's kind of a rude brat (I say that with love lol), he's so undeniably kind, even to a fault. And with his first backstory we see how a lot of his rigid rules he's made for himself come from, it's from Zeff. He doesn't hit women, he'll feed anyone who's hungry no matter what, and he learns to fight to protect people he cares about, but he isn't really a fighter in the same way Luffy and Zoro are, and that's made clear in his desire to protect his hands in a fight so that he can do what he really loves, and that's to cook. A lot of what makes Sanji who he is today is shown here, but Oda was smart in showing aspects of Sanji that clearly don't stem from Zeff without telling the audience why for the longest time.

He shares the dream of the All Blue with Zeff, but where did it come from? Zeff is kind of similar where he has this hard exterior but underneath is kind as well, but it's taken to another level with Sanji where it becomes self sacrificial. Throwing himself down the mountain on Drum Island, taking the lightning bolts from Enel for Nami and Usopp on Skypeia, boarding the water train alone to try and get to Robin, and most prominently, at least for me, him trying to take Luffy's pain at the end of Thriller Bark instead of Zoro, where he very clearly places more value on Zoro's dream and life than his own. That was the moment to me that made me really realize he does not see value in himself, unless he's providing something he deems useful. And if the situation calls for it, he'll throw his life and dream away if that makes him "useful" not realizing that the crew don't see him as this dispensable thing like he sees himself.

And all of Sanji's strengths and flaws as a character just come to make this perfect storm and mess that is Whole Cake Island. And the kindness that is Sanji's most definitive trait is so clearly not in this family, at least not seen at first. His brothers are made to have no zero empathy and beat down on him constantly, verbally and physically, and Judge just watches and doesn't care, eventually just hides Sanji in a cell and pretends he's dead. Because he was physically weaker and human. And yet he continues to cook because he loves doing it, he remembers his mother's kindness, and his dream of the all blue is formed in a small dark room and just. This got to me big time. Not to get too personal but the set of expectations put onto Sanji by his family, ones he can never live up to and finding passion in something his family finds to be worthless and a waste of time. Finding an escape in books and finding his dream there even though everything around him is hell. Slowly realizing the extent of cruelty that his father will go to as he grows up. Very unfortunately for me this might be the most relatable character I have ever come across in regards to my own experiences. I'm someone to voice my thoughts on things even if nobody else cares (hence why I've been liveblogging on here since Drum Island I think lmao) but while watching Sanji's backstory it affected me like nothing else ever has. It's not even something that made me cry really, I was just in shock after watching it for awhile. And Reiju saying to Sanji, "There are people out there who will accept you for who you are, you need to get out of here" which is so similar to what Saul said to Robin and even similar to what one of my sisters said to me growing up. Yeah. I also felt personally victimized by Whole Cake Island lmao.

But the end result of Sanji's arc is so beautiful and amazing. Sanji putting on this act of looking down on Luffy, and once again trying to sacrifice himself to protect those that he cares about, but Luffy just cuts through the bullshit because he knows that isn't really Sanji talking in that fight. Luffy's speech as Sanji is being driven away where he says that he can't become the pirate king without him by his side. This isn't an original thought but Sanji and Zoro both kind of represent different aspects of Luffy's dreams. Zoro with a seemingly impossible ideal and putting 100% of yourself into it. "I will become the greatest swordsman." "I will become the pirate king." But Sanji's dream of finding the All Blue reflects Luffy's dream of finding the One Piece. They both don't know if either of those things are even real (the audience at this point knows the one piece is real, but to my knowledge and where I'm at, Luffy doesn't). Yet there's this childlike wonder they both have about these dreams, because, what if it is real? Luffy knows that Sanji is irreplaceable because of the ideals that they share, not because of what Sanji can provide or be "useful" as.

It takes so much for Sanji to go running back to Luffy, and even when he does, he obviously gets insecure again and starts listing off reasons why he isn't worthy enough to go back to the Sunny and to the crew. And God is it satisfying to see Luffy absolutely rock his shit for saying that and asking him to just SAY what he really wants. And Sanji breaking down and saying how much he misses the Sunny and the crew and also airing out how he feels backed into a corner and doesn't know the way out, that he wants to help his family even though he doesn't consider them family and he KNOWS it doesn't make sense, he is being kind to a fault again. But Luffy smiling at him and saying "Well, that's just how you are. Let's go crash the wedding." That's when I started sobbing lmao, because there is such unconditional love and kindness in that statement that Sanji has so desperately needed ever since his mother died. Someone who just accepts him and all his faults wholeheartedly, and is that not the most beautiful representation of family??? His relationship with his blood family is so messy and complicated and full of mixed feelings(and that's very common), but his feelings about Zeff and Luffy and the rest of the strawhats are so clearly full of adoration and unconditional love for them, and they feel that same love for him as well! How lucky all of them are where they found their people, and how everyone else in this world has that opportunity to find the space and people they truly belong to, not tied down by blood. Whole Cake Island's themes on family were so well done and also fundamentally changed me as a person I think.

[avctcr]

{ Ye Ol' Switcheroo AU }

AU that branches into different variations where the main cause of chaos is Avatar Funzen and Avatar Anng switching places.

In this AU, the switch takes place when Funzen ( & his gang ) sneaks into TaoTais Lair, and messes with prototypes while snooping around after splitting up.

He ends up fiddling with an odd time machine that ends up flinging him back 300 years , and Aang, who was three avatars before funzen in the cycle, forward 300 years.

In all variations, because I love Aang and I think he dESERVES A VACATION--- he is found by Funzens team Avatar. And because he's only 12, they take him for vegan ice cream and convenience store snacks while they ( the adults) try to figure out what to do about the switch, and also, TaoTai. Yes they ' baby sit ' him and keep him safe, yo, let Aang have this.

Funzen, however....

There's a few split AUs, here;

1) Funzen switches places with Aang while Aang is still in the iceburg. This is for the purpose of any Sokka or Katara muses to interact. Though he is wearing a fire nation uniform so it is safe to assume they are hostile at first or run away. Regardless, Funzen isn't about to hurt no kids or teens. Mans is in his mid 20's here. This is also for any Zukos or uncle Irohs to interact early on with an easier plot already set up.

2) Funzen switches with Aang around the time Aang finds Toph. Would be pretty funny for her to be in the middle of training him then poof. He's gone and a fire nation Avatar is in Aangs place. Would probably also be pretty funny for the gaang to freak out over that. Interesting start up.

3) Funzen and Aang switch places at any random time during Aangs story. Ask about plotting this.

4) They switch places when the gaang isn't around, most open starters will be this version. The other versions are for plotting purposes.

This post is made so that I can post starters for ATLA at any given time, and link this so y'all know what the jig is before interacting with my open starters!

.

{ Character interaction wishlist for this AU:

Roku / Kyoshi / other Avatars before Aang - Korra totally janked up the cycle. So Funzen never actually met any of these versions. Nor have they met him.

Ozai - It would be very interesting to see how Ozai would react to a fully realized fire nation Avatar in place of Aang.

Iroh - just because he's my favorite.

Zuko - for obvious reasons. This switch would directly effect him as he no longer would be hunting down a stressed and traumatized 12 year old, but rather , a fully realized 25-27 year old fire nation Avatar. Zuko being 17 canonically ( If I'm not mistaken ) would make him far younger than the Avatar.

Katara / Sokka / Toph : explained earlier in this post. For humor purposes.

General Zhao: am I spelling that right? He used to be my fav so just for the purpose of an interesting interaction !

[treason-and-plot]

REPLIES TO THE KISS

@streetlightaurora

CURSE YOU TUMBLR FOR NOT GIVING ME NOTIFICATIONS FOR THIS! I'M DANCING! DANCING! 😍😭

@simcatcher​

Oh my god! this is IT! you know that special moment when something like that happens and you're deliciously stuck between two seconds and you wish you could stop the world forever and remain in that moment! This is so beautifully written! Oh, Mia ❤ I'm sure you'll remember. Even if the mind forgets, the body doesn't ;b

Oh my gosh, that was a very beautiful description as well! And yes, I’m sure Mia’s lips will retain the muscle memory ;=)

@braxensims​

I second @simcatcher who expressed their thoughts better than I could. But I feel the same. 😍

I know, @simcatcher​ is such a talented writer! Especially when it comes to describing matters of the heart.❤️ 

@whyhellosims​

Man, she is so far gone there is no coming back! Gorgeous writing! Just exceptionally beautiful! 🧡🧡🧡

Oh wow, thank you so much! I laboured over this post for days because this scene has been in the works for literally years and I had to get it right. So your comment is so gratifying and makes me SOOOO happy. 

@muses-circle​

🤯😱

@ktarsims​

Well... I think she’s just been ruined for anyone else. 😋

@wannabecatwriter​​

Ah, she is hopelessly into him.

@shhhushhh​

I... did not expect that!! 😀 You've tricked me Pru Pru!!

Really???? I think people were expecting him to take the initiative...but Mia has been waiting YEARS for this moment!

@phyresimblr​

I’ve been watching this night unfold from the shadows but now I gotta speak up, because I can’t say I am happy with the way it’s headed! My worst fear :P If you hurt Mia in any way, Ray, I will climb into my computer and come find you.... So this better really be a distraction and nothing more!! I love Mia way too much for her to get caught up with someone like Ray any more than she already has.

Mia has always had a crush on Raj...and Raj has always acted with Mia’s best interests at heart. That said, Raj had to be drunk for the kiss to happen, because chivalry and common sense would have prevented him otherwise!  

@stellatorontosims​

0_0 It was inevitable. The past couple of years Mai has been a fast moving object drawn helplessly toward the Titanic size iceburg which is Raj. Be still my heart ..... this is going to end in tears.

@kscriba​

PRU NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO forget MIA'S heart, MINE is going to be broken!!!! i can't believe this made me smile and giggle, i'm ashamed of myself. I don't approve at all but I like it tremendously

Your comment made ME smile and giggle, Nat!!! 

@simsloveaffairreblogs​ 

Listening to the song as I read this was the perfect touch. Well written scene and amazing song choice!

You listened to the song??? Oh my God, I’m so touched and happy! You made my decade. And I think that song would have meant a lot to Raj when he was incarcerated...the lyrics are so powerful and full of hope and redemption.

@sweetnovember77​

They say the truth comes out when you're drunk.

@buckleysims​

I sincerely have not enjoyed a romance storyline this much in aaaages. I know I'm a fool for getting so attached to these two, but I am living for it. Beautiful writing. I think I've reread this post, like, twenty times already. ♥

Awwww thank you for your lovely words, Colleen!! I must admit to feeling a wee bit guilty because I was rereading our messages the other day and I told you back in MARCH 2018 that the Miraj ship would soon be sailing, lololol!! OMG, talk about moving at a glacial pace!!! Anyway, I am a fool for them as well, ever since the kiss I’ve been giggling like a schoolgirl! 

@nocturnalazure​

This is like the pinnacle of everything. The life, the universe,... everything.

@alittledaylight​

Finally! 😁 I've been waiting for this! 🤞🥰

[lunarhold]

─ pairing: iceburg/reader ─ au: witch ─ warnings: smut, angst ─ words: 12.9k

❣ summary: an island appears off the coast of water 7 and if he’s not careful, iceburg might find more than he bargained for

↔ a/n: this character isn’t very popular so i don’t expect a lot of attention, but i love him and wanted to post it anyway

“Iceburg, Iceburg!” The shouting of his name was accompanied by frantic banging on his office door. Iceburg looked up from the massive stack of paperwork on his desk towards the ruckus. He had been avoiding it for the better part of a week, much to Kalifa’s annoyance. Things had finally grown to the point where it couldn’t be ignored anymore, so he had been forced to buckle down on it.

Now, though, he had a new distraction.

“This sounds terribly important, Kalifa,” he said, and before she could open her mouth to argue, he had called them in.

The door flew open and two men-- from Dock 6, if he recalled correctly-- tumbled in. “Iceburg, you have to come quick. An island appeared.”

Well, that wasn’t what he expected to hear.

“An island, you say? Well, you had better show me,” he said, standing up from his chair. It had now become more than wanting to get out of work. How does an island just appear out of thin air? He didn’t doubt what his workers were saying, but he certainly had to see it for himself.

Along the way, the Dock 1 foremen joined up with them, wearing their usual scowls. The Dock 6 men must have passed along the message in order to get up to see him more quickly, and the foremen had taken it upon themselves to accompany him. They were no doubt the best option for the job anyway.

A crowd of citizens had gathered at Dock 6, all clamoring for a glimpse of this mysterious island. As Iceburg and the foremen approached, though, attention diverted to them. They were pelted with the usual praise, and questions about the island they couldn’t possibly know the answers to.

The crowd parted for them, until Iceburg stood at the gate and turned back to face them.

“My foremen and I intend to fully investigate this mysterious phenomenon, and will return with news shortly. Until then, I would ask you all to remain here where it’s safe while we determine the danger this island poses,” he called out, hoping to settle them down. While it was odd to speculate that the island itself could be a danger, it stood to reason that there was something wrong with it, and it wouldn’t do them any good to have a bunch of curious people wandering around while they were trying to scout. There was general acceptance, and calls of good luck, and he turned back to the massive gates of Dock 6, his thoughts already miles away.

You knew, from the moment your island had settled into the other plane, that this time was going to be different. In your usual custom, you had gone to the top of the highest tree, having long ago built your own sort of crow’s nest, to see if you had appeared near any type of civilization. It was much quicker than hiking to the nearest shore, to be sure. 

This time, though, you had appeared just a few miles off the coast of a stunning city. A sense of melancholy filled you as you watched the shimmering waterfalls pouring down from a massive fountain at the top. You enjoyed your solitude and had no interest in the throngs of noisy, pushing people that no doubt inhabited the island, but you couldn’t help longing to see it. But you supposed someone from the island would come investigate, and maybe they could be of some help.

As if you had summoned them, there was a ripple across the island as a group of people crossed the magical barrier surrounding the island. Your heart leaped into your throat as you scurried to the ground and half ran towards the beach they had landed on.

Optimism was tempered by caution; there was no guarantee they would be friendly. It wouldn’t be the first time you had had to defend yourself from dangerous people.

Still, it had been so long since you had seen any other people, you were more than willing to take the risk.

The beach came into view. From the tree cover, you could see a group of seven-- six men and a woman.

It took only a second for someone to look your way, a handsome man with long, curly hair. Even though you swore he couldn’t see you, it still seemed like he pinned you with a blank stare. The hairs rose on the back of your neck as a blond man also turned to look in your direction, though you never saw the handsome man’s mouth move.

In the blink of an eye, ropes were wrapped around you, binding your arms and legs and dragging you from your cover. Panic flared, your magic reacting in an instant. Blue flames leaped from your skin, licking up the length of the rope.

You were free in seconds and gone in less.

Iceburg turned to watch the debacle, sighing as you ran off.

“Paulie, that wasn’t necessary,” he said, walking towards where you had been hiding. There was absolutely nothing there to indicate you had been there in the first place, let alone where you had gone. The foliage was pristine, the grass not even crushed underfoot, like you were a ghost.

“Did you see that though?” Paulie asked, coming up next to him. Iceburg could see the sweat beaded on his brow, and the fear in his voice told him it wasn’t just the heat getting to him. “She lit on fire, her whole body. That ain’t normal.” He held up his ropes, showing the singed, frayed ends off. “She’s not human, a witch or something.”

“Well, it’s too late now,” Iceburg said, turning back to face the larger group. “Let’s carry on.”

Hours passed by, and they had encountered nothing but animals. Most of them were harmless, but they had run into several extremely aggressive predators. All so far had been far larger than normal and, while they were no problem for them, the citizens would stand no chance.

“Well,” Iceburg said, surveying the large tiger they had just dispatched, “I think it would be best to put the island under quarantine until we get a handle on these predators. Also, that woman…” He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about you. You would likely be the best bet to finding out about the island.

“Yeah, she probably has something to do with this, and these animals attacking. We should go find her,” Paulie said, snapping a length of rope in his hands. He scoured the trees around him, eyes lingering on every leaf and blade of grass that twitched in the wind.

Somehow, Iceburg didn’t agree with that assessment. If you really posed a threat, you would likely have made more effort to harm them. But they had seen nothing more strange than the animals.

“I think we should head back,” Kaku said, gripping Paulie’s shoulder. Iceburg could see in the way he looked at Paulie that he disagreed with the other foreman’s assessment, but knew it would be fruitless to argue. Once he set his mind, there was no changing it. “It’ll be dark soon, and we aren’t equipped to deal with things in the dark. 

There were more voices of agreement, and Iceburg nodded as well. “We’ll figure out what to do when we get back to headquarters. Right now, it would be pointless to continue.”

The trek back was quicker than it had been forward, making them feel as if they had made no progress. The sun was still high enough in the sky, but the island had begun to feel cold, like they were suddenly unwelcome.

Wondering if you had something to do with it, Iceburg looked around one last time. The treeline stopped some twenty feet up the beach. There was no gentle transition from sand to woods, it was just one and then suddenly it was the other. He hoped that maybe you would come back and try one last time to greet them, but there was nothing more than the gentle swaying of trees in the wind.

Unbeknownst to him, from the safety of your home, you watched the group in the glass surface of a mirror as they hacked a path through the island and back. You could feel the island was on edge, but you were fighting its compulsion to hurt them for harming it. You understood its want, but you still hoped to meet someone properly. Allowing harm to come to this group could result in something far worse. The island wasn’t indestructible.

One man in particular, the leader, it looked like, kept looking around as if he were waiting for something.

When they arrived back at the beach, his gaze kept returning to the spot you had been hidden. Taking a good look at him, you couldn’t help but wonder…

Was he wearing lipstick?

                                                          _____

Hours later, after the sun had completely disappeared and you knew the darkness would hide you, you moved your house to the beach, where you had the best view of the other island. It wasn’t the same one the men had landed on before, in case they returned in the night and caught you unawares. You didn’t know the name of the other island, but it was just as stunning in the dark as it was in the light. The whole island was lit up, casting beautiful shadows over the water, and the fountain was lit up like a beacon, the beams refracting off of it and creating the most amazing light show.

You were too far from the island to hear, but you could imagine the chatter of the crowded streets, the throngs of happy people greeting each other as they met for dinner or drinks. For the first time, you actually considered what it would be like to be in the midst of something like that. The thought didn’t stick around for long though, your natural aversion to anything social rising up to remind you of just why you were on this island in the first place.

Out of the blue, a ripple traveled over the island. Someone had landed-- just one. You hesitated, rubbing your wrists where the rope had bound you.

But there was only one, and you could disappear as easily as smoke if they proved dangerous. In fact, if you so desired, you could hide yourself the entire time that your island was in this plane. People could peer through your living room window and they would never know.

With that in mind, you cautiously made your way towards the beach where the group had landed earlier. To you, this indicated it was someone from that group, and you had a guess about who it was.

“...Hello?” a voice called, just within earshot of you. “Please come out. I want to apologize for earlier.”

You stopped at the treeline, poking your head around the trunk of a tree to assess the situation.

It was exactly who you had guess, the blue-haired leader. A small boat sat partially in the water behind him, too small to hide anyone to spring a trap. His hands were held out, palms up to show they were empty.

Biting your lip, you cautiously revealed yourself to him, watching for anything suspicious. You could feel the island pulling its own magic up, creating a shroud around you. It recognized the man from earlier too-- as a threat.

As you stepped into the light, Iceburg’s eyes widened, his hands falling to his sides. He took a step forward, and you took one back in response, so he paused, allowing you to approach at your own pace. He could see you were on edge, watching him with sharp eyes. He wanted to call out, to tell you he was unarmed and not going to hurt you, but he knew you had no reason to believe him. He had made the decision shortly after landing back at Water 7 to return, alone, to see if he could find you. He had no doubts that you would remain hidden if he returned with the others, especially Paulie, and felt he was in no danger from you.

At long last, you stood in front of him, shoulders tense, but you didn’t attack him, which he took as a good sign. 

“My name is Iceburg. I’m the mayor of Water 7,” he said, gesturing towards the city behind him. “I’m sorry my foreman attacked you earlier. Paulie can get a little overzealous.”

His eyes roved over your face, drinking in your sharp eyes and frown. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, hoping you would accept his apology. There was so much he wanted to ask you.

You didn’t respond for several long moments, and he could feel his hope fading away. Then you relaxed, your lips curling up at the corners ever so slightly. Your head cocked to the side, your hair falling from your shoulders, and his heart skipped a beat as he realized you were rather beautiful.

“_____,” you said, holding your hand out for him to shake. When he took it, he nearly swallowed it in his. His skin was rough against yours, and you could feel numerous calluses on his fingers. You wondered what kind of work a mayor did to have hands like that. The contact was drawn out as you stared at each other, each lost in your own thoughts, until you realized it had become awkward. You pulled away, looking out across the water towards the lights to cover it up, saying, “You called it Water 7. What’s it like?”

Iceburg started, pulled from his haze and followed your gaze to the city. It was a wonder, he knew, and it wasn’t often that he got to view it from a distance, let alone at night. “It’s a city built atop a city. We build some of the greatest ships in the world here.”

You could hear the pride reflected in his voice and smiled, glancing at him from the corner of your eye. He was smiling, the lights reflecting in his eyes as he watched his city.

“Well, I have so many questions,” he said, turning his whole attention to you. He was sure you had many of your own, but his curiosity was burning far too hot to be patient.

You chuckled, pressing your hand to your mouth to stifle the noise. “I bet. Can I guess what you want to ask first?” you asked, sitting down in the sand. The warm sea water came up just high enough to wash over your feet before receding. It had been a solid year since you had felt that sensation.

Iceburg followed suit, sitting as close as he could to you without touching, although you got the feeling he did that more out of consideration for you than for him. His gaze was just about burning holes in you, and you could already read more than curiosity in them. 

Instead of teasing him, you said, “Right. I would guess your first question is…’How did this island just appear here?’” 

“Correct,” he said, smiling at you. It widened when you pretended to cheer, then drew a tally in the sand. “So, what’s the answer then?”

“It’s a bit complicated,” you said, scooting away from him to create space before turning to him. You began to draw a crude picture in the sand, two circles, one large and one small, overlapping each other like a venn diagram. In the smaller one on the right, you drew an odd, squigly shape. “That one is my island. It’s in its own pocket dimension, if you can call it that, most of the time. Once every year, it jumps…” At this, you erased the shape and drew a new one in the bigger circle. “...to this one. Where it appears is entirely random.”

Iceburg studied it for a minute, pondering things he had heard from others. “I’ve heard legends, mostly from the older sailors, about islands that come and go. Could they all actually be your island?” he asked, staring at the diagram. His brain was working overtime trying to remember everything he had heard over the years. Even Tom had told stories of it. He had believed them, saying that stranger things have happened in the Grand Line, but Iceburg had always written them off as fairy tales.

“Most likely. My island doesn’t usually land near other islands. I get lucky...maybe once a decade. Sometimes, ships happen upon it in the middle of the sea. Their...log...poses?-- I think that’s what you call them-- don’t point to my island, though, so it spooks them. Most avoid landing,” you said, doodling absentmindedly in the sand. The water had washed away most of your drawing, leaving only a vague impression that anything had been there at all. It was sad, really. Even ships passing by were rare, and watching them flee was enough to make you feel more lonely than if you were to see no one at all.

“That would explain why no one can say how often it appears, and why there are ‘multiple islands’,” he said, pieces beginning to fall into place. “Now that I think about it, very few of the stories mention a witch living alone on the island, as the sole inhabitant.”

You nodded and smiled, then snapped your fingers, causing blue sparks to fly. “That’s me. There are so few with me in it because not many people know I’m there. I can count on less than ten fingers how many people I’ve met in the last decade.” You held your hands up to prove it. “You make seven.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “So few. You must be lonely. Why do you stay?” He watched your smile morph, not quite happy, but not sad. It was...content, maybe?

“I can’t leave the island. My magic binds me, trapping me here.”

“Oh,” he said, and reached out to touch your shoulder. “I’m sorry. Can you leave at all?”

The warmth of his hand radiated out, soothing you. It was doused immediately when he pulled away. You wanted to feel it again, but pushed it away. No doubt he would find it strange if you reached out to him and leave, and you most definitely wanted him to stay.

“I can,” you said, rubbing the spot his hand had been. The action was unconscious, and didn’t go unnoticed. “But the distance is small.”

Iceburg looked from you, to the island, then back to you. “Do you think…”

But you were already shaking your head, looking forlorn as you stared ahead of you. “I already know it’s too far. I think it’s on purpose, but the island has never once fallen within a distance I could leave.”

Iceburg could practically feel the disappointment radiating off you, and reached out again, grazing your hand. You jumped, but allowed him to take it, relishing the warmth.

“How long before you leave?” He asked it as if you were just on vacation.

“6 days. Always 6 days,” you said, suppressing the urge to lace your fingers through his.

He stood up, using his hold to tug you up as well. “Alright, well, since I can’t bring you to the island, I’ll bring some of the island to you. How does that sound?” he asked, leading you further down towards his boat.

He watched your face light up, and felt his heart pick up its pace again. No one had ever looked at him like that, and it made him want to see more. “I’ll be back tomorrow night, since I do have to work. Will you meet me here?”

You nodded enthusiastically, but he could see the happiness change to something darker. He covered the hand he already held with his other one, rubbing your knuckles with his thumb. “Don’t. I’ll be back before you know it.”

He found it harder than it should have been to release your hand, and as you grew smaller on the shore, he had to fight not to turn the boat around and return to you. He couldn’t imagine how lonely you must have been on the island all those years, but he couldn’t forego his responsibilities. Still, he would give you what he could while you were here.

                                                        _____

The announcement that the island was off limits went over about as well as Iceburg expected. The citizens were outraged, but Iceburg was firm. He hadn’t discussed with you at all about it, and wasn’t sure how you would feel having your island overrun with nosy strangers. Couple that with the oversized predators roaming the island, and it wasn’t safe. The foremen could handle it, but couldn’t be taken from their jobs to play babysitter. It would force the whole of the city to essentially shut down, which would be fiscally catastrophic for the island.

No, it was better that he make the island off limits, at least until he talked to you. He could make plans later, if you were okay with it.

He retired to his office amid boos, which was a first in all his time as mayor, but he would take it, and they would get over it. He was exhausted today, and laid down on his couch to nap. Even Kalifa, who had been nagging him to get his paperwork done all week, left him alone.

His eyes drifted shut, his mind racing with thoughts of you.

                                                          _____

You watched the city begin to light up as it got darker. Instead of leaving your house hidden, and therefore having to sit in the sand again for hours, you settled it down on the beach to wait for Iceburg. You had no doubt that he would show up. He seemed as interested in you as you were in him.

Not too long after sundown, when the lights had finally stopped turning on, you made out a shape approaching the island.

Iceburg chuckled when he saw you waving from the front porch of a house. 

Wait, a house? There hadn’t been a house there last night.

Tonight, he had brought his own personal yagara, since he knew now that it was safe to leave him floating in the water. But it snorted and began to slow the closer they got to shore, trying to resist Iceburg’s directions. That was strange for his normally docile bull, and he was just wondering if something was wrong when it suddenly surged forward, in a rush to reach the beach.

He looked up and saw you standing in the water, up over your knees, your hands turned up as if encouraging him. His suspicions were confirmed just seconds later when the bull pulled up right in front of you and headbutted you gently.

“Animals can sense the island isn’t normal. They take some coaxing,” you said, rubbing its head gently. “What is this, anyway?”

“This is a yagara bull. They’re used to move through the city,” Iceburg answered, watching you. The bull was eating up the attention, and you seemed equally as smitten.

“Why do you need to use them?” you asked, looking up at him. You couldn’t see why an island would need a water animal as the main mode of transportation. Iceburg determined that the yagara could go no further, and got out to stand in the warm water. It rose only to his shins, and he was glad he had kicked his shoes off in the boat. There were a few bags in the back seat, and when he hoisted them up in his arms, your eyes lit up with curious excitement.

Giving the yagara one last pat, you waded after him towards shore, almost bouncing in anticipation. As you ushered him towards the house, he remembered that he wanted to ask you about that.

“How is there a house here now? There wasn’t last night.” 

Your hand on his elbow stopped him, and you said, “Watch.” 

Of course he expected the answer to involve magic somehow, but more in the realm of ‘teleportation’, and not ‘bird legs underneath the foundation’. 

As quick as it rose, it settled again, looking once more like a nondescript log cabin beach house.

Iceburg was at a loss for words as he searched for any sign of the massive legs. Of course he had known you were magical, as was the island itself, but this was the first direct display of true magic he had seen so far, and the most unsettling. He did his best to hide his unease but, judging by the vaguely hurt look on your face, he hadn’t done a very good job.

“We can just stay out here, if you’d rather. I know it takes some getting used to,” you said, rocking on the balls of your feet. You couldn’t fault him; it had taken you a while to get over the shock as well.

“Well, no,” he said, shifting the bags in his hands. “It’s just different. I’d like to see it.”

The smile you gave him blew his discomfort out of the water, and he suddenly couldn’t remember why he had been bothered in the first place as he followed you up the stairs like a puppy. Inside was somehow larger than it looked like it should be but still proportional to the outside of the house, like the room was constantly in flux. He wouldn’t be surprised to find out that was the case.

Surveying the living room as he crossed it revealed a lot about you, and the way you lived. There was a large portion of one wall dedicated to a bookshelf, which was overflowing to the point that a lot of the shelves were crammed full and haphazardly double-stacked. He would have to browse through and see what you liked, and if you wanted anything from the island. He wasn’t sure how often you managed to get new reading material. The rest of that wall was dedicated to potions and ingredients. Plants, both in pots and overflowing to grow up the rafters, decorated the ceiling. An empty bird perch stood next to an open window on another wall, beside a cold fireplace. There were three other closed doors, but he wasn’t rude enough to ask where they led.

The kitchen itself was rather modern, more so than he would have expected, but the counters were cluttered with an assortment of strange objects and ingredients that he had never seen before. A large plant sitting on the end counter caught his eye, its long tendrils wrapping around your arm as you passed.

You caught him staring and picked it up, moving it out of the way as you said, “It’s harmless, but does like to steal things. The leaves are tough, and can be made into twine and rope, among other things. You can set those down here.”

He did as told and placed them where the plant had previously been and began to pull things out of bags, arranging them in the limited space you had given him. He felt your arm curl around his side, your body pressing against him before you peered around him at what he was doing, an excited smile on your face. With plenty of space to either side of him for you to watch from, he could have called you out, but held his tongue. Heat still crept up his neck, though, because he found he didn’t really mind.

In his haste to collect things up and get to you, he had ordered everything on the menu at the water water stand, followed by some of the normal foods at other stands. A stop at Blueno’s bar had raised questions about whether he was throwing a party, but he brushed it off with a laugh.

The last bag was particularly special. It had been on a whim that he bought it, passing by the shop after the rest of his shopping had been done.

You felt the air shift, tension coming into his shoulders as he removed a box from the last bag. You moved around to stand beside him, eyeing it suspiciously while you waited for him to explain.

“There’s an island not too far from here that holds festivals everyday,” he said, opening the top box to reveal a stunning porcelain mask. He lifted it up and cradled it gingerly in his hands, allowing you to view it. The nose was long, the tip angled down, with intricate purple and black lacing painted from the corners of the eyes down to the chin. The lips were painted a vibrant green.

“It’s gorgeous,” you said, running a finger delicately over the paintwork. “This has something to do with the festivals?”

“Oh, well, yes. They wear masks like these, among other costumes. We have a shop that hand makes them. I wanted you to have one,” he said, smiling down at you gently. It was one of the few things special-made on the island that he could actually bring to you. A ship was just out of the question.

You took the mask from him, examining it with a softened grin for a moment, before tucking it back into the box. Then you turned back to him and, to his immense satisfaction, threw yourself into his arms. He cradled you gently to his chest, practically glowing that his gift was so well received.

“Thank you, Iceburg. I love it,” you said, trying not to cry on his shirt too much. It was the first time you could recall receiving a gift since you were human, and the nicest gift you could recall ever receiving, period.

“I’m glad you like it so much,” he said, caressing your hair.

Neither of you moved for several moments, but eventually you pulled apart. It was a mutual decision, with neither of you really wanting to.

With your face much warmer than was comfortable, you focused on the enticing smell coming from the remaining bags. “What is all this?”

“Well, I figured you probably haven't had...er…” He had almost said proper food, but felt that would be too rude. He glanced up to find you smirking, as if you knew exactly what he was thinking. Clearing his throat, he continued with, “Modern food in a while. So I brought you plenty to try.”

You laughed, patting his arm in appreciation before going for plates. The two of you settled on the couch, covering the coffee table with the numerous boxes so you wouldn’t have to get up for more. Between everything, you didn't even eat half of what he brought, but tasted everything at least once. It all tasted spectacular to you, especially the water water dishes. When you told him so, he seemed especially pleased.

“That’s a Water 7 specialty,” he said, sliding his plate onto the table. Normally, he wouldn’t be so rude, but he was so full that he couldn’t move. Judging by the satisfied expression on your face, neither could you.

“That was fantastic, Iceburg,” yo said, smiling at him. “Thank you so much.”

To your surprise, he reached out and took your hand, giving it a solid squeeze. “I told you, you’ve only got a week, so I’m going to bring Water 7 to you.”

Tears pricked your eyes again, but not solely because of Iceburg’s kindness. His words were like cold water, reminding you that, soon, you would return to the solitude of your dimension. After that, it was unlikely you would ever see him again.

Which was all the more painful to think about, because you were pretty sure you were falling in love with him. 

Which was absolutely ridiculous because you had only known him for two days. Still, he had shown you more kindness than you had known in decades, even when you resided in this dimension, so maybe it wasn’t. To top it off, you had seen so few people since you took the island, that it shouldn’t have been surprising that your emotions flared up like gasoline on a fire.

Iceburg realized that he had said the wrong thing when you didn’t answer and your smile fell into a frown. You seemed to see through him, fixing an empty stare at a blank spot on the wall behind him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, moving closer to you and taking your other hand in his. “Is there no way to break the island's hold on you?” He didn’t have much in the way of hope, but maybe there was something he could do that you couldn't.

You were taken by surprise at his question, then realized that he had mistaken your sadness over never seeing him again as sadness over being stuck on the island. It was sweet, how upset he seemed to be on your behalf, and you felt only a little bad that you allowed him to continue to think so. The truth would be so much harder to explain.

“I wish,” you said, leaning to rest your head on his shoulder. It was comforting, knowing he was willing to help you, even if it was under false pretenses. “‘Only by passing the contract on to another will you be unbound from this island’,” you said, repeating the words the witch had spoken to you before she left, leaving you alone on the island. It had been the best deal you had ever made.

Iceburg hummed, then you both fell into an uneasy silence. His brilliant mind couldn’t see anyway to get you out of it, and he already knew you would reject to submitting anyone else to this. Besides, even bringing it up would be selfish. Still, he would be a liar if he said it wasn't tempting. At least you would be free, able to stay with him. He wanted to get to know you more, show you around Water 7, and...and…

...And that was a dangerous line of thinking. Did he really want to get tangled up with someone he had so little chance of seeing again?

Once more, he had the strange feeling you could read his mind as you sat up and pinned him with an unreadable look.

Instead of giving into the screaming temptation to cup your face and claim your lips with his, he gave your hand a gentle squeeze and stood up. He caught the fleeting look of disappointment on your face before it was replaced with an understanding smile. You stood as well, and together put away the leftovers before he headed towards the door.

His yagara was waiting exactly where he had left it, and he waded out into the water.

“Thank you, Iceburg. For the mask, and the food, and...everything,” you said from behind him.

He turned to find you had stopped at the waterline, the waves barely lapping your toes. You were still wearing that sad smile, and sounded like you were saying goodbye.

But that wasn’t what this was. He wasn’t going to just leave you alone for your remaining time here, just because he was unsure of how to proceed. There was no doubt that you felt the same, but he had yet to decide what he wanted.

“You’re welcome, _____. I’ll be back tomorrow. I’ve had an idea I think you’ll enjoy,” he said as he patted his bull on the head. He winked at you before climbing into the boat on its back.

You watched him disappear in the dark with a pounding heart.

                                                         _____

All the next day, you were an anxious mix of excitement and trepidation. 

Whereas yesterday you were certain he would come back, today you were almost positive he wouldn’t. You wouldn’t really blame him, if he didn’t. If you were him, you wouldn’t think twice about getting involved with someone in your position, at least not so quickly. In fact, you were on the fence about it yourself. Was it really such a good idea to kindle something that would be snuffed out in a matter of days? It was slim that you would ever see him again. Would you regret it if you let it slip by?

Hundreds of variations of those thoughts plagued you all day, only adding to the tremendous stress on your nerves.

When night finally fell, your nerves were so fried that you were tempted to pick up and leave to the other side of the island and hide out until you shifted back to your plane. But you didn’t, like you knew you wouldn’t, because that was childish and unfair, so you sat out on the porch to wait.

The lights put on their usual show, dozens blinking on at a time until the island cast a shadow on the water.

From the darkness came a shadow, and you felt like you might cry as you watched Iceburg come closer. When he got close enough that you could see him properly, you found he looked as happy to see you as you felt seeing him.

Instead of getting out of the boat, however, he gestured for you to come to him. You slowly made your way out to him, feeling the sand slip beneath your feet with the ebb and flow of the current. The water was up above your knees by the time you reached him, dangerously close to the edge of your shorts.

He held his hand out to you while trying to keep the yagara from floating too far away. “I know you said you can’t go far, but I hope you’ll allow me to get you as close as I can. I really would like for you to see it.”

You frowned, looking from him to the city, your outstretched hand suspended in midair as you deliberated. The first and last time you had attempted to leave, you had almost drowned when your new found magic had tried to strangle you, resulting in you falling into the water. It wasn’t even like you were trying to actually go anywhere, you had simply been testing the boundaries.

“If not, that’s alright too.” He had thought it was a good idea, but maybe there was something else you had neglected to tell him. “No, I want to,” you said, slipping your hand into his at last. You trusted him well enough to risk it. “Just...I have to be careful. The magic is aggressive if it thinks I’m trying to leave.”

That put Iceburg on guard. The last thing he wanted was for you to get hurt. He helped you into the boat, feeling it rock ominously beneath his feet as you climbed over the side. You clung to him as the yagara turned back to the city. Just as quickly, you let go and focused on the approaching city, watching the lights grow steadily brighter, thus missing Iceburg’s frown.

But as he watched the wonder fill your face, he wasn’t too upset. Even if you grew angry at him, or left without anything more happening between you, he would never regret that he got to be the one to show you this, to see you so happy.

You turned to him, smiling and ready to say something, but then froze. Your hand came up, clutching at your chest, eyes growing wide and seeming to plead with him for help. Instead of going to you as you fell to your knees, beginning to hyperventilate from the pain, he yanked the reins on the bull, urging it to turn back to the island. He didn’t go very far; as soon as he heard your breathing ease, he stilled the yagara.

He was by your side in an instant, the small boat rocking as he knelt down beside you. One hand held yours, the other at the small of your back, rubbing gentle circles as you breathed deeply.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, taking in your pale, scared face. It had sounded like you were choking, and it had happened in an instant. He saw now why you were so hesitant. “We’ll go back. This was a terrible idea, I’--”

He was cut off when you reached up and cupped his cheek, your skin soft against his as you pressed your thumb gently to his lips. You gave him a weak smile, but he could see that, somehow, you were happy.

“It’s not your fault. The magic has a mind of its own. This happened the last time too.” The warning the magic gave you was small, right before it slammed into effect. “I knew it would happen. And it was a wonderful idea. I didn’t think I would get anywhere near, but you did it.”

Iceburg helped you to your feet, keeping one hand around your waist in case you collapsed. You were still shaking, could still feel the flare of magic in your chest, lying in wait in case you strayed too far again.

He was relieved that you weren’t badly hurt, couldn’t imagine how he would feel if it was because of him. His arm tightened around you and, before he realized he was doing it, he pulled you close, tucking you into his side. To his relief, you didn’t pull away. He looked down, watching your fist curl into his shirt and realized that, regardless of how much he fought, he had lost the first time you smiled at him.

Keeping his hold on you, he used his free hand to steer his yagara around to face the city, then led you to sit.

Your pulse thundered in your ears, unable to contain yourself as he curled his other arm around you, effectively caging you to his chest. More than ever, you could recognize just how strong he was, what he could do if he so desired and yet he cradled you so gently. Protective, not possessive, he was warm and comforting.

You knew it was a lost cause to fight it in that moment. No matter how you thought you would feel when it came time for you to leave, it would pale in comparison to the regret of having let it pass by.

“You know, I never did ask you. I think I was too preoccupied with knowing about the island, but how did you come to be chained to it?” he asked. The yagara floated gently in the water, and he kept a watchful eye to make sure it stayed within a safe range of your island.

You laughed a little, realizing that to answer his question you would have to reveal that you had lied, even if it was only by omission. Still, you didn’t think he would be too upset, if he even saw it that way. So you told him your story.

“I was raised in a large, poor family in a small village on an island in the West Blue. I suppose I was pretty enough that a wealthy man wanted to marry me, even though I was still so young. I don’t think that my parents wanted to, exactly. But he offered a large sum of money to my parents, in exchange for me and...they agreed.” When you had first found out, you had been livid and hurt, thinking your parents had betrayed you. Which, technically they had. But as you grew older, you began to realize that they had done it only out of necessity, with several other children and themselves to take care of. It didn’t negate the hurt, and you couldn’t be sure that that was how they felt, but it helped take some of the sting out to believe it. “I ran away and sailed for a few years. It wasn’t long before I finally realized that everywhere was like my village, either poor and in need of help or overrun with powerful people who think they can do whatever they want to others.”

That was enough to make Iceburg’s skin crawl. The idea that your parents essentially sold you to another person was nothing short of slavery, and as he looked down at you, he couldn’t blame you for running away. His hold on you tightened, which you didn’t miss. It wasn’t hard to figure out what was upsetting him when you looked up and saw the black anger in his eyes. But it softened when he locked eyes with you, one hand coming up to brush the hair behind you ear. “So how did you end up on this island then?”

“Oh, yeah,” you said, trying and failing to fight the blush creeping over your cheeks. In the moment, you had forgotten you were telling a story. “Well, one day when I was sailing through to a new island— I never left the West Blue, unfortunately— I happened upon this island. The witch at the time was telling me about how much she wanted to leave, but couldn’t because of the magic. It sounded like a pretty good bargain to me, since I was tired of traveling and of people. Having the magic to keep people away as well as protect myself sounded like a dream. Of course, she didn’t tell me about the whole ‘island shift’, so that was an experience.” You shifted so that you were settled between his legs, your back pressed to his chest, and his arms fell to your waist. “The weather there is terrible, but it’s nice and quiet.”

It was strange, how much you talked about disliking people, and yet here you were curled up with him and talking like you hadn’t had a decent conversation in years. Which probably wasn’t far off, based on what you had said before. He wondered if that made him special, and he chuckled at the thought.

All of that raised another, pressing question which had never actually crossed his mind until now. At a glance, you appeared to be young, 20s, by his guess. But you hadn’t said how long you were traveling before you found the island, and you said it had been a decade since you had seen anyone. “How...old are you?”

You laughed and he immediately realized how that must sound. He definitely hadn’t meant it in a bad way, but he couldn't think of any way to ask politely. 

It was a valid question, you decided, but it made you wonder the same. “I’ll tell you if you tell me how old you are,” you said, eyeing him playfully.

“Well that’s easy. I’m 36.”

“Ah. Well, when I signed the contract, I was 25. That was 73 years ago,” you said. The smile grew a little more rigid as you waited to see his reaction. You knew the answer off the top of your head, because you kept strict track of when you came to this plane. You had no way of knowing for sure, because you hadn’t asked the witch before she left, but it always shifted the day you had signed, and you wondered if that happened to her as well. She had been older than you, with streaks of grey in her hair and a deep frown. She had seemed almost sad when you began to sign, like she regretted that you were doing it, but hadn’t stopped you. You supposed she had thought you would be unhappy, but it was fortunate that it was more than you could have hoped for. “Since then, I haven’t aged. I suppose it’s the island’s way of making sure there’s always a witch.”

“You talk about the island as if it’s a sentient thing,” he said, rubbing his chin. He hadn’t quite wrapped his head around the fact that you were almost a hundred years old, but that didn’t stop his curiosity.

“It is, or the magic is, at least. I know it doesn’t make sense, but the magic owns me, not the other way around. I can see it and control it to some extent, but it isn’t mine. I don’t even know why the contract exists, or who made it, or anything. All I do know is that the witch before me was bound for 230 years, the one before her for 150, and so on.” The house, you had found, passed ownership with the contract, and the possessions of the others remained inside. At least until the next owner cleaned it out. You had found documents and journals going back nearly 1000 years, but there was nothing on how the island came to be what it was. It made you wonder just how old it was, that that information was lost. “I’m pretty sure the witch was tricking me into signing, but based on the way they talk, they don’t want to trick people the way I was, but the loneliness becomes too much, never seeing other people for more than a week at a time, if they see anyone at all that year.” You wondered if you would ever get to that point. Sure, sometimes it got to where you wanted someone around, but it was always fleeting. You wondered if something was wrong with you.

As if he could read your mind, pulled you close, laying his head on top of yours. He too wondered how you managed to last so long with no contact, but it wasn’t his place to ask. If you were happy, he couldn’t see how you were wrong. “Well, if you’re happy, that’s all that matters, right? It’s wrong that they’re tricking people, but, well, after so long, I don’t think I could resist either. We’ll make the most of the time we’ve got left, hm?”

You grinned, burying your face in his neck to hide the furious rush of embarrassment. He had said ‘we’, and even the knowledge that there wouldn’t be a ‘we’ after this week wasn’t enough to douse the warmth of happiness. You had someone, even just for a little while, and it was enough.

“I suppose since you know so much about me now, it’s only fair you talk about yourself. How did you become mayor?” you asked, looking out towards the city again. The yagara had floated a decent ways sideways, closer to the massive door of Dock 6, but remained well within the boundaries your magic had placed.

“Ah,” he said, looking up at the door with a fond smile. He started off explaining to you about Galley-La’s history, which led farther back to Tom and Tom’s Workers. He began to grow sad as he explained what had befallen his mentor, and his friend Cutty Flam, and you laced your fingers with his in silent sympathy. After that, you fell silent, content to rest your head on his chest and listen to the beating of his heart.

He didn’t have much to say after that either, caught up in reminiscing about old memories he had never talked to anyone about. Even Kokoro, who was intimately involved in the whole ordeal, didn’t talk about it with him. And there was no way Franky would, he still felt the sting of guilt for causing it.

After a while, the gentle sway of the boat, accompanied by the warmth Iceburg provided, became too much. Your eyes closed, and you fell asleep.

It took him a little while to realize it, but he chuckled when he did. You looked peaceful, not unlike the content look you wore whenever you looked at him, or talked about your life. But it was nice in a different way, and he wondered if you always looked like that when you slept, or if it was just him. 

He turned the yagara back towards shore, guiding it as close as he could. You looped your arms around his shoulders when he lifted you into his arms, snuggling closer to him as he waded through the water. As he stepped through the front door, he realized he had no idea which of the other three doors led to your bedroom. He hesitated, but then you pointed, and the door straight ahead opened.

He chuckled at that, thanking you quietly as he entered. Your bedroom was markedly less cluttered than your living room, with a bed, a wardrobe, and another bookshelf the only furniture in the room.

And you had moved that clingy plant in, as well.

He gently laid you down on your bed. You let go easily enough, but before he could pull back, you had sat up, looking tired but determined. Your face filled his vision, and then he felt your lips on the corner of his mouth.

“Thank you, Iceburg. I don’t have the words to describe how happy you’ve made me,” you whispered when you pulled back.

Your eyes were closed, and you were still close enough that he could feel your lips move against his. There was no thought as he cupped the back of your head with one hand, tangling his fingers in your hair as he captured your lips properly with his. He could feel your soft hand at his neck, the other curled around his arm, using that to pull yourself closer. Sooner than he would have liked, you pulled away, gazing up at him with a tired smile. His thumb stroked over your lower lip as he fought against the temptation to kiss you again. He still had to sleep and work in the morning.

“I should go,” he murmured, but made no move to leave.

Only when you nodded, giving him a playful push did he step back towards the door, which closed behind him when he was through.

Before you fell asleep, you couldn’t help but laugh. Turns out, it wasn’t lipstick.

                                                          _____

Iceburg was exhausted the next day.

It was the early hours of the morning by the time he got back, and that combined with the previous late nights had finally caught up with him. He was flipping mindlessly through paperwork, signing whatever Kalifa placed in front of him without reading it.

At long last, he was done. Looking at the time, he decided there was enough for him to get in a few hours sleep before he returned to you.

In the meantime, you had been tending your garden. Though you tended to roam the island most of the time, there was a special spot in the center of the island that was clearly the house’s “nest”. It was a literal nest, made of massive amounts of grass and foliage. It was also where the previous witch had kept her own garden, and you were sure that it had been in use for centuries, making it the richest soil on the island. 

The plane you spent most of your time in was shrouded in fog, and you had never seen the sun there, so the plants were specially cultivated to live with little to none. That meant that, when you felt the shift begin, you covered them with a tarp to protect them from the harmful sun. 

Still, they needed water, and the few minutes they would be exposed wouldn’t hurt them. Most of them were ready for harvest, which you would do when you got back. That thought made you wilt a little, but you pushed it down as best you could. You didn’t want to spend any more time moping. It was almost funny how in a few short days Iceburg had weaseled his way into your heart so much that you would forego your solitude for him.

You had started tending later in the day, when the suns rays were weaker so, by the time you were done, the shadows of the trees were starting to blend in with the darkness of the approaching night.

Rising to your knees, you covered the plants back up with the tarp and looked at your hands, deciding to shower on the way back to the beach.

It was past the time he usually arrived by the time you arrived at the beach, but not by much, so when he wasn’t there, you wondered if he had been so impatient that he didn’t wait at all. 

But that didn’t sound like him. No, something must have come up.

You decided to wait, allowing the house to settle down on the sand. Hours passed and there was still no sign of him. Trying to stem the tide of disappointment in your chest, you finally gave in and went to bed.

                                                          _____

Iceburg awoke to the first rays of sunlight hitting his eyes. When he realized that, he jerked up from his prone position, wincing at the pain in his back. That couch wasn’t good enough for a short nap, let alone a good night’s sleep.

There was a knock at the door, and Kalifa entered, looking not at all surprised to find him there.

“You’ve been running yourself ragged, Iceburg,” she said, setting a steaming mug on his desk. She turned to look at him, a knowing glint in her eye. “It’s going to catch up with you.”

He hugged out a tired laugh, even though guilt was eating him alive inside.

“Well, that won’t be a problem for much longer,” he said, standing up. Tomorrow, he reminded himself, it won’t be a problem anymore. He picked up the cup she had just set down and blew on it before taking a sip. The taste of strong black coffee made him wince. It wasn’t the way he normally took it, but today wasn’t a normal day. “Thank you, Kalifa.”

She nodded and made her way out with one last knowing glance.

Finishing his coffee, he made his way to the bathroom. Although it wasn’t something he made a habit of, there were enough occasions where he had spent the night in the office to warrant keeping a spare set of clothes handy.

As he glanced at himself in the mirror, he couldn’t deny that he had needed the sleep. Still, he could only imagine how you must be feeling. He supposed he could only hope you would understand.

It was this hope that allowed him to get through the day, absentmindedly filling out the remaining paperwork as he watched the hands on the clock circle around.

When the bell chimed to signal the day was over, instead of immediately rushing out to you, he decided to go home and shower, changing into something more comfortable. While he was near desperate to get to you, he also needed to feel a little more human after sleeping in the office.

At long last, he was properly ready to face you. As if he sensed his master’s urgency, Iceburg’s yagara took off, weaving through the streets as fast as he could without being a danger.

The island came into view, and his heart leapt into his throat. Relief collided with apprehension when he saw your house sitting where it had every other night. He had thought he would have to go searching for you, that you would be too angry to see him.

But he saw you on the porch swing, watched you perk up as you caught sight of him and step off the porch as he splashed down in the water.

You hesitated at the shoreline, waiting until he stood in front of you. Before you could even open your mouth, he was grabbing your hands and apologizing.

“I fell asleep yesterday and didn’t wake up until this morning. For what it’s worth, I woke up terribly sore. I’ve been waiting all day to come see you. I’m so sorry, _____.”

You let him ramble without interrupting, and when he finally opened his eyes, he found you looking up at him with the softest smile.

“I was upset last night, don’t get me wrong. But...after I slept on it, I realized you must have had a good reason.” Realized wasn’t exactly the right word. Really, you had placed all your hope on it. The gamble had paid off either way, because he now stood in front of you. “I should apologize as well. I didn’t consider how hard it must have been on you, working and then spending most of the night with me,” you said, placing your hand over his heart. The steady rhythm drummed under your palm, a little faster than normal.

He returned your gentle smile, eyes closing halfway as his hands cupped your cheeks. His lips were soft against yours, slanting over them and claiming them in the gentlest way he could manage.

Your hands settled on his stomach, content to lean into him and let him lead. His tongue ghosted over your lips and you willingly parted them. You were met with the fresh taste of mint as his tongue swept over yours.

His hands left your face, sliding down over your shoulders, all the way to your thighs. Before he could try and lift you up, you pulled away, taking his hand in yours and leading him up to the porch. You would be damned before you got caught out on the beach, even if you were never going to be seen again. At the door, he got impatient and pinned you against the wood, skimming his nose down your cheek as he peppered kisses to your neck. His hands massaged your hips, your shirt beginning to hike higher up your sides. You laughed and gently pushed him back, reaching down to skim your fingers over the prevalent hard on in his pants. His hips twitched, and he glared at you as you slipped from his arms, disappearing into the house. 

Somehow, you were nowhere to be seen, but your shirt lay on the floor just inside. He caught sight of your shorts flung over the back of the couch. As he approached your closed bedroom door, he saw your bra hung off the handle.

He couldn’t hold back a laugh as he picked it up, heat rising up his neck to engulf his face. Sweat beaded at the back of his neck as he picked it up and examined it before opening the door. It swung inwards without a sound, and if he wasn’t hard before, he was when he found you laying back on the bed, wearing only your panties. You were propped up on your elbows, watching him stand in the doorway, his eyes taking in everything before him.

Carelessly, he tossed the bra to the floor, making a beeline for the bed. You scooted higher up as he came to hover over you, one knee pinned between yours, trapping you beneath his immense frame.

“Took you long enough,” you said, ending on a chuckle. You reached up, threading your fingers through his hair, destroying his hard work, but he couldn’t be bothered to mind.

Instead, he leaned down, gathering your bottom lip between his teeth and tugging. “You’re a witch, you know that?”

At that you actually tipped your head back and laughed. “Yes, yes I do.” 

You pulled him back down and forced his lips to yours, allowing your fingers to skim down until they found the buttons of his shirt. By feel rather than sight, you made short work of it and pushed it off his shoulders. You groaned against his mouth as you ran your hands over his shoulders and down his sides, feeling the skin and hard muscles flex under your touch. He certainly had the body of a shipwright, strong and lean and tanned from working on ships day in and day out.

You heard the sound of a zipper followed by the rustle of clothing hitting the floor and moved your head to the side for breath, and so you could take him in. He was just as gorgeous as you had expected him to be under all that clothing, standing up straight and proud as he stood completely naked before you. His cheeks were tinted red, and only deepened the longer you stared, until he couldn’t take it anymore and knelt back down on the bed, settling his hands on your knees. Long, delicate fingers slid up your thighs, squeezing here and there, trailed closely by his lips. Your breathing deepened, butterflies fluttering in your stomach in anticipation, until his hands parted your thighs properly, pushing your legs out and over his shoulders. His nose skimmed your outer lips, his tongue licking from the bottom of your quivering slit up to your clit, drawing it into his warm mouth. He sighed, feeling your juices drip down his chin and brought his hand up, slipping just the tip of one finger inside you.

Your hips jerked, one hand fisting the sheets, the other reaching down to gently card your fingers through his hair, breathing out how good it felt. That one finger finally filled you, brushing over a particularly sensitive spot instantly. On the next stroke in, it was joined by a second, and you couldn’t help the moan that followed it’s entrance.

“Iceburg,” you moaned, tugging gently at his hair. His tongue flicked out, lapping at your clit as he set a slow, steady rhythm, seeking that spot he had touched earlier. 

It took him a few tries, but he found it, judging by the stutter or your hips and the breathy gasp you took. He curled his fingers up, massaging gently, until you fluttered around him. 

“Oh, oh,” you cried, back bowing off the bed as the coil in your belly snapped. He was so gentle as he eased you through it, drawing it out until you begged him to stop.

He came up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and climbed back over you. You gave him a wavering smile, your eyelids fluttering. Your pussy was still throbbing, but you still wanted more, and jerked your hips up, rubbing along the length of his cock. He groaned, rolling his hips down to nestle between your soaked lips, grinding against your clit in the process. A jolt of pleasure zipped through you, tempered by your being still sensitive, but you didn’t care. You wanted him inside you, and you moaned, asking with your hips for it.

“Are you sure?” he asked, even as he braced himself on his elbows over you. The height difference between the two of you had never been more obvious as he towered above you; you had to tilt your head back in order to make eye contact with him, but you nodded, begging him with your eyes.

He angled his hips down, catching the tip of his cock in the opening of your pussy, his entrance eased by your dripping walls. You had just came, but were already so wet for him again, his hips stuttering as you clenched around him. He was only halfway inside you, but was already panting, his head drooping down to rest on his forearm. Your hands were wrapped around his wrists, nails digging into his skin as you held yourself still for him. You couldn’t stop yourself from squeezing around him, your body aching for him to seat fully inside you.

Finally, his hips met yours, cock throbbing inside of you as he was fully engulfed in the warm heat of your body. His breathing deepened as he pulled out and rolled his hips back down, driving deep inside you again. With every meeting of your hips, he was grazing your still sensitive clit, but you were past caring at this point, lifting your hips to meet his desperate thrusts every time. You were already speeding towards your second orgasm, somehow, your ankles locking around his back and limiting how far he could pull out of you.

He made up for it by driving harder down into you, grinding deep into you and trapping your clit between his body and yours. You jerked, crying out as you careened over the edge, unable to help yourself as you rolled your hips up into him, begging him not to stop. You were so lost in it that you almost missed the low call of your name, his arms shaking as he worked to hold himself up over him even as you milked him dry. His head came down to rest on the bed, his chest heaving then flexing as you ghosted your fingers down it.

He laughed at the tickle and rolled off of you, flopping down onto the bed with an arm behind his head. The room was silent for several minutes as you both calmed down and steadied your breathing, then you scooted closer to him, laying your head in the dip of his shoulder.

Your eyes fluttered shut, and you were on the verge of falling asleep when he moved, wrapping his arm around your shoulder. His other hand came up to cradle your chin, tilting your head up enough that he could claim your lips. Even though you were exhausted, you knew you only had this one night and didn’t want to waste it by sleeping. You pushed closer, slipping your tongue out to graze his lips, and felt them turn up into a smile against yours.

“I feel the same, but I need a moment. I’m not as young as you,” he said, pushing the hair stuck to your forehead back.

You laughed, hitting him playfully in the chest at his joke. “98 years young and still pushing better than you.”

He chuckled, wrapping his arms around your back and gently pulling you until you sat up and straddled him. He was only half-hard, but viewing you as you sat atop him was doing wonders for that.

It wasn’t long before he took you again, just as gentle as the first time, then again, and again. The last time was almost desperate, all grabbing hands and passionate kisses, like you knew it was going to be the last time. He held you close as you sat in his lap, riding him until the wave broke again, and even after, you didn’t move for a long time, not wanting to admit that it was over.

At last neither of you could deny it and he pulled his soft cock out of you and laid down, settling you on his chest, legs wrapped together, his fingers tangled in your hair. Sleep came quicker than you wanted, but you were content.

                                                        _____

You awoke the next morning sore and still tired. As you tried to roll over, something pulled you back into the warmth of the sheets. For just a moment, you laid back down to snuggle up, then reality hit.

Your gasp startled a still groggy Iceburg, who looked at you in confusion. You rolled over in a panic, hovering over him as you shook him.

“Iceburg, you have to go. Once the island begins the shift, you’ll be trapped,” you said, pushing on his chest.

That got his attention, and he sat up, immediately scouring the room for his clothes. It wasn’t until you were both fully dressed and hurrying across the porch that he paused to look at you. Warmth filled his chest, tempered by a terrible sadness, when he realized that, even though you no doubt wanted him to stay, you were willing to let him go because you knew he couldn’t.

He wanted to, so badly he could almost taste it, he would trade his soul for it; it was so tempting to throw caution to the wind and remain with you.

But he couldn’t and he wouldn’t. Too many people relied on him, and his conscience wouldn’t allow him to abandon them.

Still, he could only imagine how you must be feeling, and he reached out to grab your hand, pulling you to a stop.

“Iceburg, what are you--? You have to go,” you said, trying to tug free. He needed to leave, and quickly, if he wanted to escape. You knew, by the way he talked about Water 7 and it’s citizens, that he could never be happy leaving the city he loved, and you would never ask him to choose between it and you.

“I know,” he said, but still pulled you around and into his arms. Before you could say anything more, he covered your lips with his, feeling you go limp as you gave in. He put his all into the kiss, conveying every unspoken emotion through it, because he knew he might never have another chance.

You allowed yourself this last moment with him, your arms wrapping around his neck to hold yourself to him. You had known it would be hard, had prepared yourself as best you could, but no amount of preparation could compare to the actual stinging pain of separation. Still, you couldn’t regret it. It was the first time in a long time you could say you would be unhappy going back. Even if all you had were memories, you would treasure them.

There was a growing sense of urgency as you felt the push and pull of magic. The shift wasn’t instant, but once it began it would be too late. You sloshed through the water, unheeding of the way it soaked your shorts. His bull was neighing, sensing the powerful change in the air. You stopped and turned his hand palm up, pressing a small object into his hand. “This will guide you to me; it’s imbued with the island’s magic. Just set it on the bow of your ship, and it will point my way. Now go, you’re out of time.”

You pushed him towards the boat, but he turned around one last time and kissed you.

He climbed over the side, his restless yagara already turning towards the grey city walls, and turned to look at you, drinking in your face in the hopes it would sear into his memory, like you had into his heart. 

“I’ll see you again. Maybe years from now, but I’ll find you,” he said as tears began to cascade down your cheeks.

His heart wrenched as you smiled through the sadness and nodded. “I’ll hold you to it. Goodbye, Iceburg.”

Even as you said that, you found yourself moving out, following him until you could almost no longer touch the bottom, watching him grow smaller and smaller until he was just a speck.

He couldn’t remember the ride back, only that he continuously turned around to watch you grow smaller, standing alone in the water. He couldn’t remember getting to work, only the concern his workers expressed at his having been late, but he waved them off. Locking himself in his office, he let only Paulie and Kalifa in, alternating between busying himself with paperwork and watching the island.

He could see now what you meant by a gradual shift, and why it was so important he leave. He supposed being on the island, it wouldn’t ever appear as such, but from his office the island appeared opaque, and seemed to be smoking. It grew more pronounced as the day carried on, until it was more smoke than island. The shadows of evening had long since swallowed the beach up, but you had moved your house hours before, and he thought he could understand why. Watching from his window grew to be too painful at times, at which point he would draw the curtains, obscuring his view. 

Inevitably, though, he would open them again, scouring for a glimpse of you.

It was almost a relief when it grew too dark to see the island anymore, but it also brought with it pain, because he knew it would be gone in the morning.

As if it had bit him, he was reminded of the object you had forced into his hand. At the time, he had deemed it infinitely less important than the final moments he had to hold you in his arms, and so had stowed it in his pocket.

He now pulled it out, finding it to be a battered log pose. Examining it more closely, he determined that it was broken, the needle snapped off at the stem. Yet, as he moved around the office, it always pointed in the direction of the island. He clenched it in his fist, being forcibly reminded of you as he felt the magic roll off of it in waves. Maybe it was because the island was saturated in it, but he had never felt the pull quite so intensely as he did with that log pose in his hand. 

He made a mental note that he would need to get a sturdy container to protect it until he needed it next. A calendar sat on his desk, and he picked up a pen, marking the days that he had spent with you. Not that he could forget them, but he wanted a physical reminder, something tangible he could hold onto.

He sat back, his chair creaking underneath him with the motion, and smiled. He would find you again, he knew it, even if he had to wait a hundred years.

[whirlybirdwhat]

Tapetum Lucidum Part Two

You thought I was done? Well think again because the amazing @minchen0897 has inspired me to pick up a pen and write some cp9 with glow eyes. (I will post the asks after this fghjdska) 

Anyway, assume this is in an alternate universe where Kaku and Kalifa ate their devil fruits prior to the Water 7 mission.

Enjoy!!! Ao3

--

Iceburg stared at the man in front of him, wondering what beyond the obvious was off-putting about him.

There was the pigeon on his shoulder of course, and his penchant for only speaking through that pigeon, but Iceburg had weirder than that on his team of master shipbuilders. His goatee was in a strange design and his silent stare put him off but…

There was remarkable skill in the boat that Lucci had made.

“You’re hired. I’ll get a team to show you around.” Iceburg turned and picked his nose, wondering belatedly if this man could be the World Government’s new watchful eye.

Nah.

Too obvious – a pigeon, really?

“Thank you!” The pigeon – or, Lucci rather, speaks, the man’s face himself remaining entirely impassive.

“Hmm. Well, Yes, yes… Paulie! Show Lucci here around!” He gestures with his hand absentmindedly. “Mm. I need to get a secretary.”

“Sure, Boss – Say Lucci, right? You got any cash to spare?”

Lucci nods to Iceburg on his way out, not saying anything, but he is unsettling non-the-less. Iceburg is sure he can get used to it however.

A light flashes in the corner from the sun, reflecting off the metal and shining directly at Lucci as he exits the door.

Ah. That’s what it was, Iceburg discovers as he realizes what put him off so about the man. Devil Fruit Powers.

You can’t mistake the shine in those eyes after all.

-

“I’m here to be your secretary sir.”

“What.”

The woman before Iceburg pushes up her glasses again, with an almost imperious manner. “I said, I am here to be your secretary sir.”

“I-“

“I heard you needed a secretary, so I stepped up to the plate. My name is Kalifa sir, it’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance.”

Well, its not like he didn’t need one.

“I guess… We can discuss payment inside?” He gestures to his office, albeit confusedly.

“No need sir.” The woman, Kalifa he supposes, says again with that imperious manner.  “I have it already written down, and you have to get to a press meeting in twenty minutes. The Yagaba is waiting.”

Okay then.

(Is it just him, or is there something off about this woman as well? Could she be the World Governments eyes on him?

She’s certainly upsetting enough.)

-

Two weeks later, and Iceburg’s walking to get a midnight snack when someone passes through the doorway in front of him. He’s been weary ever since Kalifa came, and stiffens with the thought that this could be an attempt on the blue prints.

He peers into the kitchen, and is met by the sight of two, shining orbs, standing ominously in the middle of the kitchen.

“Wha-“

Theres a familiar gesture in the shadows, of someone pushes their glass up, and the orbs are no more.

He turns on the light.

“Kalifa?”

“Apologies for startling you sir, your schedule had a midnight snack in it, I’d thought I’d be ready.” She puts down the plate of cookies in her hand, steaming hot from being freshly Reheated.

“Ah. Thank you.”

Another devil fruit user. He should stop being surprised at this rate – this is the Grand Line after all.

Anything can happen.

“You’re welcome sir.”

-

Blueno the barman is a devil fruit user, this Iceburg notes immediately as he walks into the bar. His eyes flash unsubtly in the dim light of the bar, and every swish of the head attracts Iceburg’s eyes to him.

Granny Kokoro, next to him and with a message from Franky, sees it to.

“Another one aye? I was told one of your foremen had eyes like flashlights.”

“Mm,” He responds, taking a sip of his drink, “That would be Lucci. My secretary is the same. I don’t know what fruits however, and it would be rude to pry.”

Kokoro slaps Iceburg on the back. “Ha! Since when has that stopped you?”

Blueno is watching him closely, though Iceburg is sure, devil fruits barred, that he can’t hear them from the cacophony Franky’s thugs are making in the corner, in order to hush out the information Kokoro has.

Still.

(A spy? No, there were too many missed opportunities at this point.)

“I don’t suppose it has.” He answers her, looking to move the conversation on.  “Now what were you saying about. Franky’s message?”

“Ah!” She chugs back her drink. “He says that if you keep on building on the south side he’s going to raid your mansion.”

Iceburg snorts, and all is well.

“He can dream, the idiot.”

-

“My dream is to be a shipwright, whippersnapper! So hire me please! I’m a ship mechanic!”

Iceburg blinks and blinks again at the man who quite literally jumped into his office. At least this one for sure can’t be a spy, because what kind of spy jumps across an entire city for a job interview?

“Sure.” He says, not really caring, Kalifa would have stopped him by now if he was a bad choice for a hire.

“You won’t regret this!” The man – had he even introduced himself yet? – shakes his hand rapidly.

“Of course,” he says in turn, and that’s the end of it.

-

The next week comes with a flurry of rumors about lights that flash in the sky, around the same time of Kaku’s rooftop runs.

Orbs that glance down and glimmer in the low lights, that hover ominously before free falling down abandoned building sides, and the odd elongated proportions that appear with it.

Iceburg, when the rumors reach his own ears, puts his head down and sighs.

He should have known.

-

Five years later, he should have ignored their devil fruit powers and gone with the instinct that the World Government has some godawful spies that bullshitted their way into (almost) succeeding.

He sighs in a manner oddly similar to a sigh five years ago.

At least there will be no more lights in the sky.

“BOSS!” Paulie slams open the door, familiar pirate in tow. “LOOK WHAT THE STRAW KID’S EYES CAN DO!”

Iceburg retracts his former statement.

Oh well. This is the Grand Line after all.

[m00nslippers]

Jason is a clever bitch and I love him, in RHATO Issue #32

Okay now we’re finally moving Jason closer to the Winick version that I think is most people’s favorite Red hood--it’s not there yet, but we’re seeing the hints. The cleverness, the charm, the unrepentant sass. Oh yes, we are going places, I like what I see.

Let’s dive in here.

Whoever made that post about Jason not even needing a cover story about being dead to revive his identity was kind of prophetic because here his cover is basically, “So I wasn’t actually dead. no more details, that’s it.” Which is pretty dang close.

And I’m not sure how he managed any of this without Bruce or Alfred finding out but that is damn impressive. We know they didn’t know because we see Alfred’s reaction shot to seeing him on TV. If we don’t see him interact with a few of the other Gotham vigilantes, (or at least see a reaction shot of them all like, “What!? Jason?! The guy we had to physically blackmail to attend galas is running a casino with parties every night? That Jason?!) at some point I’m going to be pretty disappointed, to be honest.

Also, as we already knew from the solicitations and previews, Jason is taking over the Iceburg lounge and looking fancy while he does it. I love it. Jason can put on an act with the best of the batboys. Look at this well dressed man! And his hair! He has hair again, praise the Lord, hallelujah!

Completely unrelated note, that reporter has some really fancy cuff earrings or something and I’m jealous.

I’m validated for noticing Suzie Su was behind Jason in the previews. She and her sisters are part of his crew basically. It’s actually nice to see villains/characters return, too often they are just one-shot or one-note baddies but Suzie has been there since New 52 RHATO and she got a bit of humanization in the Annual when we meet her sisters. She’s not just some creepy fat lady that creeps on Jason, she’s a big sister who is trying to do her best for her family and I like that Jason acknowledges that and brings her and her family in on his scheme and even gets them out of the crime business sort-of by giving them mostly legit employment.

The way he has a bunch of ladies following him around kind of reminds me of Dick with the girls from St. Hadrian's a little bit. But they were all super into Dick and these girls don’t seem interested in Jason at all except as like a boss, which I like.

Jason, this is the kind of thing you should ask about! Ugggghh ~

Wingman looked older in the last page of the previous issue for some reason, maybe he’s died his hair or something. So we still don’t know what’s going on with him. I was hoping we’d get something, a hint but we’ve literally got nothing to go on here. I honestly think he has some kind of direct relation to Jason. Either he’s his dad’s mind in a different inmates body, or maybe a lost cousin or brother or something, or has something to do with the future like he came from there. It’s got to be one of those things, nothing else makes sense that I can think of.

LOOK AT MY BEAUTIFUL BOY! JUST LOOK AT HIM. LOOK AT THOSE EYELASHES AND BLUE EYES AND THAT SMILE.

Anyone would be charmed. I think Jason is too much of an introvert to like this kind of public job exactly, but I also think he’d be good at it. Dick might be better, because he’s just a natural extrovert, but Jason is still up there. He’s a good actor, and he really cares about people so he’d take care of those he’s in charge of. Jason would be a good boss.

“Started from the bottom now we’re here,” that’s a Drake lyric.

Could these guys be bigger dorks?

Notice that Jason didn’t kill the guys that were causing trouble, he had Miggs (his nickname for Miguel) roll them off to the docks in a ball made with his powers and those dorks were totally right, the room he made was pretty gucci. You got taste, Miguel.These weren’t necessarily real bad guys, they were just punks, and Jason might be killing again but he doesn’t just kill any idiot that gets in his way or causes trouble.

Also, technically they might have been right about Night cheating, we don’t actually know how ‘legit’ the Su sisters are playing things.

I’m sort of torn on the way the colorist is depicting Miguel’s powers, like I miss the glowiness a little bit from New 52 Teen Titans. These look a little too much like normal bricks? But technically that might be better for Miguel, they can pass as normal bricks instead of a power when they have to. They looked clear or white before when the guys walked in there so maybe he can control their color/transparency and glowiness? I still would like to see them look glowy though.

A few things about Miguel: I think these panels illustrated pretty well what their dynamic is supposed to be. I know Jason called Bizarro his ‘friend’ but let’s be honest here, Bizarro isn’t Jason’s friend--he’s his little brother.

Jason compares Miguel to Bizarro and I think that’s key, he sees Miguel as like a little brother that he wants to help. He’s got powers that he doesn’t understand and people keep coming after him for them. I think with Miguel and Tim it was closer to a friendship of equals at least as far as Miguel saw. He admired and respected Tim as a leader and how he always seemed to know what to do, but in the end Miguel was older than Tim, he didn’t feel like he could completely lean on him. It looks like Miguel may have latched on to Jason in that way, since he has the bat-authority too and actually is older than him and a genuinely caring guy. And look at my boy Jason! He comforts and accepts him immediately, it’s so sweat.

Goddamn it, Jason is a good older brother! He’s the best freaking older brother, damn Bruce and the whole family’s bat-morals, man! You’re all missing this! He could have this with Tim and Damian and Duke and even Steph and Cass! He would love that! He would be so good at that! It’s a goddamn tragedy, is what it is.

Also it’s interesting how Miguel acknowledges the reboots, so are his powers related to reality-warping or something so he can sense it? Or it could just be more of this suggestion that a lot of people in the DC universe right now have memories from the previous continuity, so like it all kind of happened even if it technically didn’t type of thing. I kind of thought Miguel’s powers were energy projections made with his mind, like psionically, but maybe they are literally creating matter or something? I don’t know. I really need to read more New 52 Teen Titans to understand him and his powers.

And that line, “A loaded weapon in the hands of a confused teenager. What could go wrong?”

Wow, Jason, you really went there. Referenced you’re own crazy head-state when you went after Bruce in Under the Hood.

Jason is so self-deprecating, you guys.

“When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer. “ This is apparently a quote from Die Hard, because of course it is. Jason is literally Jake Peralta from Brooklyn 99 confirmed.

Ugh, Lobdell’s version of Bruce is just such an asshole!

First of all, Jason hasn’t ‘betrayed him’ not even once, he was emotionally compromised and broke their agreement because he was acting on those feelings. He made a mistake. And Bruce cared more about his rules than Jason’s intentions or feelings or any of the good will they’d fostered in the last year or two. He acts like Jason sold him out or lied to him, when he never did any of those things.

Also, I don’t think saying, “stay out of Gotham and never come back or I’ll throw down and toss you in Arkham” is another chance, okay? It’s not like Jason got anything out of that deal, it was just Bruce not wanting to go through the trouble of hunting him down outside of Gotham because he straight-up knew that he wouldn’t be able to!

That Pretty Woman reference...

The funny thing is, Jason is more like the character who says that line than Bruce is. Bruce, kicking Jason out of the bat-family, is the one who is making the mistake. He could have had an ally, had say in what Jason did, had some limited control over him if he’d just forgiven him or talked to him at all, but because of his pride now he has none of that.

Now this, this is my shit right here. JASON HAS BRUCE BY THE BALLS. By going public with his identity he’s effectively made himself untouchable by Bruce. He’s got the identity of every Gotham vigilante in his hands, and honestly I really doubt Jason would ever give them up, even out of spite or hatred, he never did before when he could have, (he didn’t tell Hush Bruce’s identity, he just didn’t deny it when Hush figured it out, and we’re not sure if that’s even canon anymore anyway.) but it’s partly Bruce’s own doubt in Jason that is keeping his hands tied! That and the fact that if even one of his kids is outted as a vigilante it really puts the suspicion on him.

But seriously guys. Smart Jason is what Iive for.

God, Jason calling him dad, but only because he’s ‘playing up the act’ of civilian Jason Todd, has got to hurt Bruce. Assuming Lobdell’s version of Bruce has any actual feelings of affection for Jason, otherwise it probably just grates.

Lol, okay, so the situation seems to be that Jason dropped in to the Iceburg lounge to pay Penguin a visit. Cobblepot went, “Oh no! That damned Red Hood is here, hide me!” Ran into his panic room and locked it and Jason was just like, “Well, isn’t this convenient,” and made it so he couldn’t get back out.

And then presumably gangster-rules applied and Jason just got all his businesses because he said they were his and no one wanted to argue? I guess? Lobdell doesn’t give satisfying explanations, you guys. This is a testament to that.

I’m not going to lie though, this is pretty satisfying.

Alright, so I’m really excited for more you guys. This is not a perfect issue, a lot of things are hand waved, Bruce is acting even more out of character than usual, and we still have no dang clue what’s going on with Wingman, but there are definitely things here I like, and i’m looking forward to more.

[guilty-lights]

Straw-Hat Pirates Death Headcanons

So someone on one my fics took up on my enthusiastic invitation in my end-author notes to ask me about my death headcanons for the Straw-Hat Pirates. (Shoutout to Jeanne-Crab on ao3 for that comment!) I was typing out my answer to that question and realised that I had Way More To Say About It Than I Thought, so I thought i might as well put it up as a post on my tumblr! 

I’ll split this into two parts; my headcanons for SHP’s deaths as I think it could happen in canon, and then specifically in how it would happen in the universe as set in my fic, like the seas, you live on (in me). (Shameless plug here: If you like zosan, and also appreciate angst and hurt/comfort, read my fic? It’s zosan-but-kind-of-not-but-also-kinda-is, it’s complicated, but it’s 30k and I worked Super Hard on it and I personally think it’s pretty good so if please give it a shot! Do Read The Tags Before Reading It, Though, because I would never want to cause people unnecessarily extreme distress. And read my other fics too if you want WHOOP)  Anyway, without ado, here’s my headcanons for Straw-Hat Pirates’ deaths. This is a very very Very Long post, so buckle up: 

AS PER CANON

First off: Everybody, by the time of their death, has achieved their life’s dreams, because of course they have. (I won’t hear of anything otherwise, go away!!) 

Luffy: Luffy dies in the war on Raftel, or wherever the final battle for being Pirate King happens. He definitely becomes Pirate King, don't get me wrong, but he dies very soon after because of his injuries and because of the amount of his lifespan he has traded in using his Gears. This is the one headcanon I think (FEAR) will happen - Oda's constant allusion to Luffy's lifespan in his use of Gears and things like that just feels so suspect to me in this regard...

Luffy is buried near where Ace is, because that's what he would've wanted and so that's what the Straw-Hat Pirates did. Not right next to Ace (because that would mean Luffy’s also buried right next to Whitebeard and that doesn't feel right to me for some reason), but somewhere close by, either on the other side of the same island or on an island very, very close by. His emblematic pirate flag is erected on his grave, and its symbol flaps ceaselessly in the wind, always in the direction of where the sea is closest to. (And next to a village called Foosha, however, deep in the heart of a mountain called Mt. Colubo, a monument to a boy is erected posthumously by the mountain bandits and villagers who live there, at the base of a tree where a dilapidated treehouse still stands despite all the years.)

Luffy is the only one to die so young; the rest don't die until years later. By that time, though, they've long stopped sailing together as the Straw-Hat Pirates. Think of it like how Gol D. Roger's pirates split themselves off after the death of their captain; they're still friends for sure, and they hold each other as very precious, but there is no point or need to sail together as pirates anymore after the death of their captain, whom they have rallied themselves with.

For the rest, I'm not sure who will die first, because within the One Piece canon literally So Many Things can happen, but here’s their burial arrangements:  

Brook: Brook was interesting to figure out, because he's technically already died once before. I was trying to work out what the implications of his devil fruit is (is he immortal? But given the reverence given to Law's Immortality Surgery, that doesn't seem likely), and I decided that users of Brook's devil fruit will go once they decide it's time to just...go. So that's what Brook did. He lived until Laboon finally passes on, to make sure Laboon is never left behind again, and then he gathers the rest of the Straw-Hat Pirates in one place, says his goodbyes, and simply...leaves. His bones collapse on the ground with no spirit to hold them up, and per his request his bones are scattered over West Blue. His violin and sword cane are erected as part of a monument next to Luffy’s grave. 

Robin: I’m not precisely sure HOW Robin would die, but probably for her she would die quite peacefully, of old age. Frankly speaking, after all she’s been put through from childhood to adulthood, she deserves a little peace at least at the end of her life. Robin’s monument next to Luffy’s grave is a simple pair of crossed arms made of pale marble (one of the hands holds a book). Her body isn’t buried there, however; in the West Blue, on a barren stretch of scorched land that people say used to be called Ohara, a singular grave can be found in the centre of it.

Franky: His monument next to Luffy’s grave is of his blue metal forearms (one of which is holding a little hammer). Franky's grave of his human parts, however, are buried on Water 7, at the spot where him and Iceburg and Tom used to work on trains together. A mini replica of Sunny shaped out of metal is on top of it, to tell everyone that the shipwright that built the second pirate ship that ever sailed to Raftel lies here. 

Usopp: Unlike everybody else, Usopp asks to have his burial place split into two places. To make this easier, he’s cremated. One half of his ashes is buried in Syrup Village, next to his mother’s grave, and the other half of him is buried under a monument next to Luffy’s. On his monument are the words, “The Bravest Warrior of the Sea, Sniper Usopp, A Giant Among Men” (or words to that effect). His crewmates chose those words for him. His Sogeking mask is hung on his monument. His grave in Syrup Village, however, is much simpler; his original green slingshot is fastened to it (and will slowly wear down, over the years, to an unrecognisable sun-bleached stump), and on it are the words “The greatest liar of Syrup Village that has ever lived”. 

Nami: Nami also gets a monument next to Luffy’s grave. (Okay right at this point just assume that every Straw-Hat Pirate has a monument next to Luffy’s grave!!) However, like Robin and Franky, her monument doesn’t have her body. Nami is buried at Cocoyashi, at the cliff overlooking the sea where her mother Belle-mere was (and where her sister is/was buried too, depending whether Nami dies before or after Nojiko does). With her in the grave is the original copy of the world map she has made, her greatest triumph.

Zoro: Zoro probably dies the most second most violent death after Luffy, what with being the world’s greatest swordsman and all. Probably he is killed/ mortally wounded by someone who comes to take his title, as he probably did to Mihawk before him. He’s cremated, and his ashes are buried next to Luffy’s as Luffy’s first mate and right-hand man (Zoro is first mate even if it was never officially stated!!!). His swords, however, are a different story; Wado Ichimonji I believe Zoro requests to be brought back to Shimotsuki, and put next to Kuina’s grave. As for the other two swords, I don’t know HOW precisely it will happen but it’s left out in the wide world for whoever is worthy to wield them again, because I think Zoro wouldn’t believe in keeping the blades for himself post-mortem. 

Sanji: He also gets a monument next to Luffy. His body, however, is not there; when Sanji dies he is cremated and his ashes are scattered throughout All-Blue, where a floating restaurant called the Baratie now stays; the most famous restaurant there is in the entire world, and it’s unique in that no matter who you are, if you are hungry and come through the door, you get to eat. 

Chopper: He’s probably the last one to die, I think. Not only because he’s the youngest but also because he’s a doctor, I’m sure he knows how to heal himself up whenever he gets sick. His body is buried next to Luffy’s grave, but on Drum Island, there is a monument with a distinctive hat design erected underneath the base of a sakura tree; the tree, despite the wintry climate of the island, blooms pink and full all year round. (Chopper worked with Usopp on genetically developing a sakura horticulture that could do that, before their deaths). 

Jinbe: Jinbe buried underneath the sea, but close to where sunlight will always shine bright because that has always been the fishmen’s dream. His underwater grave bears his past as a Sun Pirate and all the contributions and sacrifices he has made for his people, but his monument on land, he is noted (like all the others), as a most dearly and beloved member of the Straw-Hat Pirates, one whose loyalty never wavered, up until the end. 

Monuments of Going Merry and Thousand Sunny are erected, because ships are crewmates too.  

AS PER MY FIC’S UNIVERSE

In terms of burial arrangements, everything I said about all the Straw-Hats above are applicable here (unless stated otherwise below), PLUS what I will say here below: 

Robin and Franky: I think in my fic, Robin and Franky would be the first to die, because they're the oldest (save for Brook). In my fic’s universe it is Never Mentioned but Franky and Robin are as good as married, and had spent their whole lives together (I'm sorry but Frobin is Real to me and you can pry it out of my cold dead hands). Their monuments are side-by-side next to Luffy's. On top of their monuments holding their respective items, their monuments' hands hold each other's. 

Chopper: Chopper has yet to die at the time of my fic, but when he does, whatever I described above will apply. At the point of the fic he has already worked out the horticulture of the ever-blooming sakura tree and it has already been planted in Drum Island, and has been growing steadily for years. 

Zoro and Sanji: Zoro and Sanji have yet to die at the time of my fic. Their burial arrangements would be the same, however. As for HOW they might die, I recommend you read my fic to find out! (I can’t give away all my cards, obviously.)

That’s all! This has become an awfully long post, and I commend you if you managed to reach this far to the end. Let me know what you think of this: do you agree? Disagree? I would love to discuss this with people, it would be very fascinating, no matter how thoroughly sad. In the meantime, if you’d like to read any one piece fanfiction, feel free to check out my ao3 :)

[20cop]

1940s, Part 1

Sorry about all the unfinished sections in this post! I never got around to writing them :( 

October, 1940

The Bronx, New York

By the time Brook was twelve, Sam had found a job at last. He worked as a store janitor nearly all day, six days a week. It didn’t pay much, but it helped with the bills and food. Crocus, meanwhile, had kept steady work as a hospital nurse from early morning to early afternoon every day for many years. 

The sun was sinking on the horizon, dying the eastern sky out the window dull orange. Brook was next to Crocus on the couch, kneeling on the cushion and propping his head up on his elbows as he stared outside. The color of the sky reminded him of Over the Rainbow. He’d always thought it was funny—despite its name, the song was a mix of pale greens and oranges, not rainbow at all. 

“Mr. Crocus?” 

Crocus looked up from his embroidery. “Hm?” 

“Why do you think they called Over the Rainbow what they did?” 

“Well,” Crocus muttered, looking back to his work, “I s’ppose . . . some tales say rainbows’re magical, that they lead to anoth’r world. Th’ girl wants t’ get away from her life, n’ she thinks there might be a bett’r place b’yond th’ rainbow.” 

Brook nodded, pretending to understand, and turned around to sit properly on the couch. 

Crocus glanced down at Brook’s hands, which were yet again drumming across his knees. “Speakin’ o’ songs . . . y’ever think ’bout bein’ a musician?”

“A musician?”

Crocus nodded. “Those fingers o’ yours’re always tappin’, an’ you’re always hummin’ that song . . . you ever touch a piano?”

Brook shook his head.

Crocus grinned. “Maybe we should get y’on a piano one day, see if y’r hands aren’ too small. Come t’ think of it . . .” He stood and stumped over to the bedroom, returning a moment later with an old case.

“Try this on f’r size,” he said, lifting out a beautiful old violin. “Can’ speak f’r th’ sound. Nev’r learned how t’ play.”

“Wow,” Brook said in awe. Imitating the pictures he’d seen, he placed the violin under his chin and on his shoulder and put the bow on the strings.

A second later, he and Crocus were wincing.

“Well . . . firs’ time’s never good,” Crocus muttered. “Go on, give it anoth’r try.”

Brook slowly put the bow back on the strings, more hesitant this time. He drew it across and managed to produce something like a note.

“Oh,” he exclaimed, smiling. 

He began testing out the different strings, playing slow, colored notes one after the other. Crocus picked up his embroidery again.

By the time he finished his stitching (“Home Sweet Home”), Brook was playing an all-too-familiar song. The old violin could use some tuning, but the violinist was something of a prodigy.

“Binks’ Brew, huh . . . ?” Crocus murmured. “Brings back mem’ries.”

Sam came home around dinnertime to find Brook still playing with the violin.

“Pop, look!” Brook exclaimed, holding up the violin. “Mr. Crocus let me use this, and I can play songs now!”

“Really,” Sam said, smiling. “Good golly, you sure do take after your mother. She was always whistling and singing.”

“Pop—listen! I can play Binks’ Brew!” 

~ 

April 3, 1941

The Bronx, New York 

Despite that Sam had work, it had been a pleasant day for Brook. Crocus had surprised him with a small coconut cake, and though he found the texture odd, he enjoyed the taste immensely. Crocus had sung him an off-key happy birthday, the normally smooth mauve song turning pale and jagged, before retiring to his sewing to let Brook practice his violin. 

Sam returned home with a weary face but all smiles as he greeted Brook, sharing knowing looks with Crocus over his head. 

“Say, Brook,” Sam said, sitting next to him on the couch, “you like music, don’t you?” 

“O’course!” Brook exclaimed. Crocus turned down the radio expectantly. 

“I was thinking—” Sam glanced to Crocus. “Well, Crocus and I were thinking—we could go to the pictures today, seeing as we have a little bit saved up, and it’s your birthday and all. There’s a film out from Walt Disney called Fantasia, and according to the reviews, it’s essentially an animated musical.” 

Brook’s eyes shone. He had only seen pictures of Snow White and Pinocchio. “Really? Could we go, please?” 

“We’ll have t’leave now,” Crocus announced, standing. “Gotta take th’taxi to the theater.” 

“Today?” Brook asked, looking between the two. 

“Yes, come on now,” Sam said, standing. “We’ll have a late supper.” 

Brook grinned and jumped to his feet, not much taller than he was sitting. 

[Unfinished section] 

~ 

November 30, 1941

A certain part of Oahu, Hawaii

“Why can’t I come and work with you, Tom?!” Franky demanded. 

Iceburg—a Hawaiian boy a bit taller than Franky with shoulder-length dark hair and dark lips—stuck out his tongue. “Well, Dumb-anky! You’re only nine!”

“You’re only a year older than me, Stupid-burg!”

“Boys, boys, settle down,” Kokoro said, laughing as she brought sandwiches to the table. She was a kind middle-aged woman, her dyed blond hair tied back into pigtails, showing her sandy face. 

Tom let out a booming laugh. “Franky, you’ll stay and work right here until you’re thirteen! Then you can come and work with me!”

Franky scowled. “I’m old enough!”

“Certainly not!” Tom exclaimed. “Kid, it’ll be a miracle if the Navy even lets you work on one of those ships at thirteen! We’re banking on a streak of hope!”

Franky slumped in his seat and angrily bit into his sandwich.

Kokoro grinned. “Chew slowly or you’ll get a stomachache!”

. . .

“Well . . . I get to work there before you,” Iceburg mumbled.

This set off a fist-fight, eventually broken up by Tom holding the boys at arm’s length, laughing uproariously all the while.

~ 

December 7, 1941 

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 

Franky rose before the crack of dawn. Making sure Iceburg was asleep, he crept out of the room. He threw on his aloha shirt, ran his fingers through his hair, and snuck out through the front door.

“Too young to work with the Navy?” he grumbled to himself as he strode down the front path in sandals. “I bet they’ll be happy to have me. That’ll show ’em . . . Stupid-burg and Tom and Kokoro . . .”

By the time he reached the harbor, the sun was peeking over the horizon, casting buttery light over the land. Franky looked around until he spotted the ship Tom always worked maintenance for—the USS California. 

He quickly boarded the ship, sneaking in the ramp among the men carrying boxes to and fro.

“Hey, mister!” he said to a passing sailor. “Can you tell me where Tom does his work?”

“Tom?” the sailor said, staring at Franky. He rubbed his chin. “Maintenance? Big Black fella?”

“That’s him,” Franky said. “I, um—he told me to come in and work instead of him today.”

The sailor knelt so he was at Franky’s level. “And what’s your name, son?”

“Franky!”

The sailor smirked. “Tom didn’t tell us about any Franky coming in.”

Franky looked off to the side. “It was an emergency.”

“Let me guess, he didn’t have any time to tell you where he usually works on the ship?”

Franky gritted his teeth.

“And it was such an emergency that he decided to send you in near two hours before his shift starts?”

“Okay!” Franky burst out. “I came here by myself!” He looked up desperately. “Come on, mister! Tom never lets me come here! I wanna help!”

The sailor sighed. “Gee . . . son, look, the Navy doesn’t take anyone under eighteen. You can stay in the cabin until Tom comes.”

Franky folded his arms and scowled.

“You’re already here,” the sailor pointed out, straightening up. “Might as well stay here for a wink.” 

~ 

Franky sat against the wall of the cabin, sticking out his tongue at the sailors who shot him odd or amused looks. 

“Stupid Navy,” he grumbled to himself. “Stupid-burg, stupid Tom . . . I am so old enough . . .”

A roaring in the distance got his attention. He looked around.

“Oh,” he mumbled. “Probably the air unit practicing . . .”

The roaring grew louder. Franky frowned.

BOOM

A sudden explosion from outside rocked the boat. Shouts filled the ship and Franky stood, only to fall back down again with the shaking.

BOOM

More shouts. Franky ran awkwardly out of the cabin and onto the deck.

BOOM

He was met with hell. One of the larger battleships was on fire. The ships surrounding it were rocking something fierce as shouts and smoke filled the air. The roar of engines sounded above, and Franky, clutching the railing for support, looked up to see several airplanes flying overhead. He made out some kind of large red dot on each of them. 

“What’s happening?!” he yelled as sailors ran past him, shouting things he could not make out.

“Kid, what are you doing here?!” demanded one with a milk-white face, stopping briefly. “We’re under attack! The damn—” 

A banshee-like wailing filled the air, drowning the shouts of sailors and civilians alike. 

AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR—THIS IS NOT A DRILL 

AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR—THIS IS NOT A DRILL 

The loudest explosion yet sent staggering pain through Franky’s body, obscuring his vision in a burning, blinding flash of white. 

~ 

AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR—THIS IS NOT A DRILL

AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR—THIS IS NOT A DRILL

“KOKORO! ICEBURG! FRANKY!” 

Tom’s voice roared through the cottage. Iceburg and Kokoro came running down the stairs, their faces pale with fright.

“What’s happening?” Iceburg cried, his young face filled with fear. “Who’s attacking?”

“Must be the J***,” Tom yelled, looking around. “There’s no way Hitler would come all the way out here—where the hell is that kid?!”

“Well—Franky wasn’t in our room,” Iceburg yelled, his eyes wide. “I thought he was out here!”

“Don’t tell me he’s outside!” Tom exclaimed, throwing a look out the window. “What the hell does he think he’s doing?!”

He marched outside and looked around desperately. The explosions at the harbor filled the air with smoke and fire while airplane engines roared above. 

Tom swore loudly. He turned heel and headed back inside. 

“We’d best stay in here,” he said, his voice shaking. “It’s hell out there . . . nothing we can do.” 

“Franky wasn’t out there?” Kokoro demanded, her face drained of color. 

Tom shook his head. “That damned kid! Where is he at a time like this?!” 

Another explosion rocked the cottage. Iceburg ran to the front and then hurried back. 

“His sandals are missing!” he yelled. 

Tom’s face turned ashen. “He didn’t,” he exclaimed. “Don’t tell me he went to the harbor!” 

Iceburg turned on his heel and ran for the front. 

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Kokoro yelled, seizing his arm before he could leave the room. 

“Well, I’m gonna look for Franky!” Iceburg snapped, tugging at her grip. “Let go!” 

“Don’t be stupid!” Tom roared. “What the hell d’you intend to do if Franky’s at the harbor?!” 

Iceburg bit his lip. “Well, I—!” 

“If he’s there, it might be too late!” Tom yelled. “At any rate, it’s too dangerous out there! You wanna get yourself killed, you dimwit?! We gotta wait until it’s all over!” 

“I can’t just sit here!” Iceburg yelled, tears forming in his eyes. 

“Iceburg, please,” Kokoro exclaimed, “stay here! Tom’s right, there’s no sense in going out there until it’s safe!” 

Iceburg began to sob. “But—what if Franky’s—?” 

“Then there’s nothing we can do!” Tom yelled, his face still ashen with fear and worry. 

~ 

December 8, 1941

The Bronx, New York

Crocus, Sam, and Brook sat around the radio as the disembodied voice of the President delivered a solemn message. It hadn’t been long since Sam had been laid off from his job. 

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States—was sudd—berately attacked by naval and air forces—Japan.

“The United States was at peace with that nation—still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the—the Pacific.”

Crocus leaned over and adjusted the dials on the old radio, giving it a whack for good measure. The voice came back static-free. 

“—panese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And, while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

“It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. . . .” 

~ 

December 21, 1941

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Franky groggily opened his eyes and was hit with a wave of pain in his skull. 

“Nn,” he groaned. His vision was fuzzy and he struggled to focus. Everything seemed white all around. As details came into fuzzy focus, he gradually became aware that he was lying on some kind of bed, his right arm was heavy, and there was something in his left arm. Something felt odd about his face, but in his sleepy state, he couldn’t figure out what it was. 

Someone dressed in white passed by his bed and stopped. “Hello,” he said, approaching the bed. “I see you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“Wh . . .” Franky mumbled. He blinked hard and the doctor came into vague focus.

“How are you feeling?” the doctor repeated. 

“Not . . . super,” Franky mumbled. 

The doctor wrote something down. He tested Franky’s vision with his finger moving back and forth and shone a light into his eyes, making him squint in irritation. 

“Can you feel this?” 

Franky lifted his head slightly as he sensed pressure in his left leg. “Feel . . . ? Somethin’ on my leg?” 

The doctor did something else. “Does that hurt?” 

“Huh . . . ? No,” Franky mumbled. 

The pressure lifted and the doctor wrote something else down. “We’ll run some tests later,” he said, standing. “Your family will be notified.” 

Franky barely heard this last part as he sank back into the pillow and fell asleep. 

~ 

When he next awoke, he was more alert, and the fuzziness in his vision cleared away much faster. He blinked hard and looked around to see Iceburg, Tom, and Kokoro sitting around his bed. 

“Yo,” he said hoarsely. 

“Franky,” Iceburg said, putting a hand on Franky’s shoulder. “Well . . . thank goodness you’re okay . . .” 

“I’m invincible,” Franky said in a show of bravado. “’Lo, Tom . . . Kokoro.” 

“You damn kid,” Tom muttered, looking down. Kokoro was smiling with relief, eyes bright with tears. “You damn kid. Why did you go to the harbor?”

Franky blinked slowly. “Why did I . . . ?”

“The harbor,” Tom said. “D’you remember?”

Franky bit his lip. “I . . . oh,” he murmured, staring up at the ceiling. “Geez . . . Tom, I’m sorry . . . I just wanted to help . . .”

“What’s done is done,” Tom muttered. He looked up and gave Franky a big grin. “Glad to see you’re okay.”

Franky offered him and the others a weak smile.

“It was the Japanese,” Tom continued. “No warning, nothing . . . they just attacked us outta the blue. As soon as you’re fit to be up and walking around, we’re going to move.” 

“Move . . . ?” 

“The ships I worked on are gone,” Tom explained, his voice shaking. “It’s dangerous here. Not that I don’t have faith in our boys, o’ course, but there’s always the chance of another attack. We’re moving.” 

Franky stared at him. “Where . . . ?” 

“New York,” Tom said. He gently placed a massive hand on Franky’s shoulder. “You rest up and get better, and we’ll see that spunk back in the Super Franky in no time.” 

Franky smiled. “Yeah.” 

Tom and Kokoro rose and left. Iceburg watched them go, and then turned to Franky and said, “Well, you were real lucky, Dumb-anky. Most of the men didn’t make it.” 

“. . . Oh,” was all Franky could say. He stared up at the ceiling, thinking of the sailor who had let him stay on the ship, the men who had glanced at him while he waited in the cabin . . . the sailor with the white face who had tried to tell him what was happening, the screams of countless others in the midst of the explosions . . . he would no longer be able to think of them without wondering if they were among the casualties. 

“Oh,” he said again. 

Iceburg sighed. “Well, you don’t have any sense . . .” He trailed off and smiled faintly. “Don’t have any ‘scents,’ get it?” 

Franky stared at him. “What’re you talkin’ ’bout?” 

“Well, see—‘sense,’ like common sense, and ‘scents,’ like smelling.” Iceburg looked at him expectantly. 

Franky frowned. “I don’t get it.” 

Iceburg’s smirk faded. “Haven’t you realized . . . ?” 

“Realized . . . ?” 

Iceburg slowly tapped his nose and pointed to Franky. Franky lifted his left arm (stuck with an I.V.) and reached for his nose, wincing, but jerked his hand back suddenly when it didn’t stop where it should have. 

He slowly moved his hand back to the center of his face. This time, he continued going until he covered his face from cheek-to-cheek with his hand. He lifted his hand and traced a line down the center of his face to his odd double-cleft chin. 

His finger moved along his forehead and started down the top of the bridge of his nose, but abruptly dipped and glided along flat, coarse bandages wrapped around his head. 

“My . . . nose is . . . ?” 

“Well . . . gone,” Iceburg said. “You were a right mess when they brought you in . . . you’re real lucky,” he repeated. “Real lucky.” 

~ 

February, 1942

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Franky was finally released from the hospital, deemed fit to go home with support from his family. The sun shone down on them in the late afternoon sky as he took step after agonizing step on hot pavement, relying heavily on his walking stick. The bandages on his face had been removed, revealing the scarred, sunken nostril holes. The bandages covering the wounds on his back were due to be removed soon, and the fracture in his right arm had healed nicely. 

“You let us know if you want help,” Tom said. He walked behind Franky while Iceburg and Kokoro walked on either side. 

“I’m . . . fine,” Franky hissed, each step sending a shiver through his body. 

“You didn’t forget your exercises, did you?” Kokoro said, adopting the motherly scolding tone she often used with the boys. “You won’t get better if you don’t do them.” 

“I did them . . . earlier,” Franky mumbled. They were slowly approaching a hill. “I just . . . need . . . practice . . . !” 

But before they could even reach the bottom of the hill, Franky’s legs gave out and he fell. Tom seized him around the middle, hoisting him away from the ground as Kokoro picked up his walking stick. 

“Le’ go,” Franky protested weakly, struggling to escape from Tom’s grasp and failing miserably. 

Tom adjusted his grip on Franky, bouncing him upwards and holding him like an infant. “You listen here, mister, I won’t have you pushing yourself. Get some rest and try again later.” 

Franky struggled for a moment, but quickly gave up and settled in Tom’s large arms. By the time they reached the cottage, he had fallen asleep. 

~ 

March, 1942 

The Bronx, New York 

“Crocus, Brook,” Sam said as he came into the apartment one evening after another long day. They looked up. 

“Somethin’ good happen?” Crocus asked, snuffing out his cigar into the ashtray.

“Did you find a job, Pop?” Brook asked hopefully, looking up from his book. Crocus had taught him to read over the past few months, and he was enjoying it immensely. His voice was high still, but the clothes from three years ago, it seemed, were starting to shrink. 

Sam’s face was bright with delight as he quickly hung up his coat and hat. “I’ve got good news.” 

“Out with it, then,” Crocus said. 

“I’ve signed up for the army,” Sam said. 

Crocus stared at him, his eyes wide. “Sorry, must’ve misheard somethin’. Did y’ just say y’ signed up f’r th’ army?” 

Sam nodded. “—But don’t you see? It’ll bring in money, see? And with our boys joinin’ up, the war will be over in just a year!” 

“You’re a twit,” Crocus said abruptly. “I ain’t sayin’ we ain’t gonna win, Sam, but it’ll take more th’n a year to beat the Nazis.” 

“Well,” Sam said, “then we gotta do all we can to end this as fast as possible, aye? If not a year, two years—the Great War ended just a year after our boys joined!” 

“Diff’rent war, diff’rent circumstances,” Crocus argued. “But y’know they say hist’ry repeats itself—if y’ make it back . . . ever hear th’ war stories from th’ Great War? Those men didn’ come back th’ same.” 

“I’ll be fine,” Sam said firmly. “It’ll bring in money—plenty to support us all until I can afford a place for Brook and me. Your job’s only on weekends, it’s hardly enough to support us all much longer, and with the rations—” 

“Fine,” Crocus snapped. “Fine. Go get y’rself killed.” 

The atmosphere remained chilly throughout the evening. 

~ 

March, 1942 

Oahu, Hawaii 

“Franky?” 

Iceburg and Kokoro turned back to see Tom staring at Franky , who had frozen at the foot of the boarding ramp. They’d been headed to the ship which would take them to California, along with a couple dozen other passengers in the same mindset. 

“Boy? What is it?” Tom said. He headed back down. “’Scuse me, miss—hey, you two, don’t block the way, get down here—” 

Iceburg and Kokoro quickly followed him. Tom knelt in front of Franky. 

“What’s up?” Tom said, looking Franky over. He was leaning on his walking stick and trembling. “Can’t walk right now? I’m gonna carry you.” 

“Don’ wanna,” Franky mumbled, staring at the ship with wide eyes and a taut mouth. “I—” he looked away. “’m . . . scared.” 

“Well . . . oh, geez—” Iceburg said. “’Cause o’ the attacks, huh?” 

Franky made a noise which might have been a confirmation. His knees suddenly buckled and his legs ceased functioning. 

“Damn it all, it’s shell-shock . . . I should’ve realized,” Tom muttered. He tapped Franky’s head gently. “Listen, boy, we gotta get on that boat, you understand? Shut your eyes the whole way if you want, hold someone’s hand if you gotta, but we’re getting on that boat and we’re going to the mainland.” He held out his arms. “C’mere if you can’t walk.” 

Franky looked like he might cry, but bravely held it in and reached out, latching onto Tom’s neck. His legs dangled and Tom grabbed his walking stick in one hand, holding onto Franky with the other. Franky clung to Tom as tightly as he could and kept his eyes squeezed shut as they boarded. 

~ 

April, 1942

The Bronx, New York

“Behave yourself, won’t you?” Sam said gently to Brook. 

“I will,” Brook whispered. He and his father shared a tender hug before Sam stood and faced Crocus.

“Well—I’ll see you,” Sam said after a moment.

Crocus grunted in response. Sam stepped forward and wrapped his best friend in a tight hug.

“Take care of Brook,” he said, his voice breaking. “If anything happens to me—”

Crocus’s face softened and he hugged Sam in return. “Y’know I will,” he said gruffly. “You take care o’ y’rself, y’ hear?” 

“I will,” Sam said. He stepped away, gave them both an encouraging smile, and left.

Brook began to cry.

“C’mon, Brook,” Crocus murmured, putting a hand on his head. “Men don’t cry.”

Brook fiercely rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. “I—I can’t help it—”

Crocus knelt next to him and put his arm around his shoulder. “I know,” he said. “I know.” 

~ 

April, 1942 

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean 

“Hey,” Iceburg said. He and Franky were in a cabin on the ship. Franky had constantly jumped at small noises and often stayed close to Tom or Kokoro, even sleeping with one at night for comfort. 

Franky looked up at Iceburg. “What?” he said. At that time, Iceburg was his only company. 

“Is it . . . well . . .” Iceburg shifted where he sat. “Is it really that bad?” 

Franky looked down. 

“Well, hey, is it really that bad?” 

“Shut your face.” 

“Geez, okay,” Iceburg muttered. 

Franky brought his knees to his chest. “I just . . .” he made a face. “It feels like . . . it could happen . . . all over again, any time . . .” 

He hid his face in his knees. “I know I’m being dumb.” 

“Well, you are Dumb-anky,” Iceburg said, grinning. 

Franky looked up. “Look who’s talkin’, Stupid-burg,” he snapped. 

The boys fell into their usual banter, and once this quieted, Franky had calmed down a bit. 

~ 

May, 1942

The Bronx, New York

“How you feelin’, champ?” Tom asked as the group headed down the tall and noisy street in New York. 

Franky scowled. “I’m fine,” he mumbled. He’d recovered from the sea travel shortly before they’d [redacted] 

The group got some odd and even frightened looks from passerby—their group, made of all different shapes and sizes and colors, certainly drew attention. 

“So?” Kokoro said. “Where’s our new home?” 

“Hold your horses, now, we’ll be taking a taxi,” Tom said. “Should be one passing by any minute . . . I hear there’s a bunch of ’em here.” 

Sure enough, a bright yellow cab soon came rushing down the street. Tom quickly stuck out an arm, trying to hail it down, and Kokoro and Iceburg imitated him while Franky leaned on his walking stick. 

But the car just passed right by. 

“That was rude,” Franky exclaimed. “What’s that about?” 

Another cab bypassed them, despite their clear signals. 

Tom sighed. “Kokoro, what do you think?” 

“I’ll take care of this,” Kokoro said firmly. “You boys stand back there, go on.” 

The other three backed up about ten feet while Kokoro waited. As another cab turned the corner, she stuck out her arm, and it rolled to a stop. 

“Where to, lady?” the driver asked, rolling down the window. 

Kokoro smiled. “My family and I have some luggage to put in the back first,” she said sweetly. “Boys!” 

The driver squinted suspiciously at Tom as he and Iceburg carried the suitcases to the trunk. A moment passed before the door was popped open and the luggage was loaded in. 

“Thank you ever so much, sir,” Kokoro said. She got into the stained backseat with the others, helping Franky in. 

“If it’s not too much trouble,” Tom said politely, and he gave the driver the address. “We’ll tip extra for the luggage.” 

The cabbie gave him a short nod and stepped on the gas. 

“Tom,” Franky said loudly, “I don’t get it, why didn’t the other two guys stop?” 

Kokoro and Tom shushed him. 

“But—” 

“Franky, keep your voice down, we’re in a car,” Tom hissed. 

Franky sulked into the seat. 

They soon reached the apartment building. Kokoro and Iceburg got the things out of the trunk while Tom paid the cabbie. 

“Thanks for your time,” he said cheerfully. The cabbie merely grunted and waited until Kokoro and Iceburg were finished to drive away. 

They turned to the building, an old place with the smell of cigars on the outside. Tom, Kokoro, and Iceburg hauled the luggage inside, Franky close behind. 

Inside, Tom hesitated. “Lessee now, what room again . . . ?” 

He reached into his left pocket and dug out a key with a tag. Iceburg and Franky leaned over to see. 

“1C?” Iceburg said. “Well, what’s that mean?”

Before Tom could answer, the entrance to the apartment building swung open and two people entered, a man and a boy holding empty bags. The man’s pockets bulged with change. 

“. . . Yeah, we c’n do th’s again, Brook,” the man was saying as he shut the door. “We jus’ gotta wait till we have more scrap.” 

He looked up and froze when he saw the group standing in front of the entrance to the first-floor apartments. Brook looked at them curiously. 

“Hello, neighbor,” Tom said genially, offering the man a big grin. He stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you! The name’s Tom!” 

“Crocus,” Crocus said, sticking out his hand to accept the boisterous handshake, eyeing Tom suspiciously. “You folks livin’ here now?” 

“We sure are,” Tom said, dropping his hand. “This here’s Kokoro, Iceburg, and Franky.” He pointed to each of them in turn. 

“This’s Brook,” Crocus said, placing a hand on Brook’s shoulder. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Tom, Ms. Kokoro,” Brook said, smiling at them in turn. “Mr. Iceburg, Mr. Franky.” 

His manner of speaking brought raised eyebrows from Iceburg and Franky, though neither commented. Brook’s eyes travelled over Franky’s lack of nose and the walking stick he was relying on. Franky glared at Brook and he quickly looked away. 

“Well,” Crocus said abruptly. “We’ve gotta go. Nice meetin’ you.” 

He gave the group a nod and went up the stairs. Brook followed, waving goodbye. 

“What nice folk,” Tom commented, smiling. 

“That kid was weird,” Iceburg muttered. 

Tom smacked his head. “Don’t be rude! Anyway, we’re on this floor, letter B . . .” 

They found their apartment and entered. Quick scouting showed them that the living room was straight ahead along with a small area for dining, the kitchen was small and to the left, and the single bedroom was accessible through a closet, just after a bathroom. 

The living room already held a couch and coffee table. Franky slowly limped over and gratefully collapsed with a sigh of relief. 

“You sure you’re not tired?” Iceburg teased, sitting next to him. 

“Shut up,” Franky mumbled, massaging his legs and wincing. 

“Tom, when are you going back to work?” Kokoro asked. 

Tom stretched his arms up as he walked around the apartment, looking it up and down. “I got a new contract with someone named . . .” he scratched his head. “Spanda . . . or something? Anyway, I’ll work on commission from now on—repairing ships that come in and such.” 

“Well, anything we can do to help?” Iceburg asked hopefully, sitting up. 

Tom laughed. “Not with my job, you can’t! But I’m sure no one would mind if you two came down to the shipyard and observed the work, so long as you behave.” 

Iceburg and Franky brightened. 

~ 

July 4, 1942 

The Bronx, New York 

The sun had barely sunk below the skyline when the first firework went off, accompanied by cheering. 

“Boys, would you like to go get some ice cream?” Kokoro asked, heading into the living room. “Places’ll be closing soon, but we’ve got time.” 

[Unfinished] 

~ 

December 25, 1943 

The Bronx, New York 

“Merr’ Christm’s, Brook,” Crocus said gruffly. Handmade paper streamers decked out the small apartment. A miniature pine tree sat in the corner, needles falling off onto the two presents underneath. The First Noel played softly on the radio for what seemed like the hundredth time that week. 

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Crocus,” Brook said, grinning. His frame was lankier than it had been last spring; he was growing quickly, and the ankle of his old pants went halfway up his shin. “D’you think Pop’s gonna come home soon?” 

Crocus shook his head. “No clue, boy. Sure seems like we’re winn’ng th’ war, though.” 

“Yeah,” Brook said with a nod, having no grasp of politics. “Can I open my presents now—?” His voice cracked on the last word and he coughed. 

Crocus sighed and lit up a cigar. “Go ’head,” he muttered around it. “Don’ get your hopes up.” 

But before Brook could even rise, there was a crisp, professional knock at the door. Brook looked up with a hopeful light in his eyes. Crocus frowned, stubbed out his cigar, stood, and strode to the door. He opened it to find a delivery boy standing just outside. 

“What is it?” he muttered. 

The boy adjusted his cap. “Telegram.” 

~ 

February, 1944 

The Bronx, New York 

Tom, Iceburg, and Franky began walking back to the apartment, the oldest keeping a slow pace for Franky’s sake. Tom had just finished work for the day. As had become routine, the boys had gone with him, walking all the way to where he worked in the shipyard near the docks. Franky didn’t seem to have a problem watching the ships, though he jumped at small noises near the area. 

“You can lean on me if you need to,” Tom offered, grinning. 

Franky scowled. In an effort to prove his strength, he had chosen not to bring his walking stick along. 

“I’m fine,” he muttered, catching himself as he stumbled. “Tom, your boss is really stupid.” 

Tom rapped Franky’s head with his knuckles. “Don’t be rude, boy!” 

“Well, gee whiz, Franky, tone it down,” Iceburg muttered. “But . . . I don’t like him either, Tom. He’s such a jerk to you!” 

Tom hit him as well. Iceburg rubbed his head. 

“Both of you stop that,” Tom scolded. “We should be grateful that I’m able to work at all!” 

“Yeah, but Spanda ain’t fair!” Franky protested, his legs wobbling as he walked. “You work harder than anyone there and he treats you like dirt!” 

“Well, you deserve to be treated way better,” Iceburg pressed. 

“Boys,” Tom said seriously. “Listen good. I was lucky to get this job, real lucky, and if Spanda catches wind of any complaining or muttering on how I’m treated, I’ll find myself out of work faster n’ you can say ‘shipwright.’ I know it ain’t fair, but we gotta grin and bear it if we wanna keep food on the table. Capisce?” 

“Fine,” Iceburg muttered. “But I don’t like it.” 

“Don’t worry yourselves on my account,” Tom said, grinning. “I’ll just have to put up with it and do my work resolutely.” 

Franky’s legs gave out and he collapsed. 

“And you shouldn’t try to push yourself,” Tom added. 

“I’m fine,” Franky growled. He tried to stand up, but his legs were like jelly. 

“Like heck you are,” Iceburg muttered. 

“Stupid-burg,” Franky said, sticking out his tongue. 

“Dumb-anky,” Iceburg said in retaliation as Tom picked up Franky. 

“Come on, you two, let’s get back and put some food in our bellies,” Tom said, striding forward. Iceburg ran after him while Franky sulked. 

~ 

July, 1944 

The Bronx, New York 

Crocus was out at work and Brook was in high spirits for the first time in months. Just the other day, the press had announced the beginning of what promised to be a stunning turnaround for the Allies. The rest of the paper was filled with the funnies and run-of-the-mill articles on the market, sporting events, and Don Newgate’s ever-present gang. 

Brook went to the side of the couch, bent over, and grabbed his violin case. He set it down after adjusting his pants—though they’d been a gift only from Christmastime, he had quickly outgrown them, the ankles now riding his calves. He never complained, for he knew Crocus didn’t have the money to spare to buy him new clothes more than twice a year. 

Brook carefully removed the old thing from its case, lifted it to his shoulder, and rested his chin upon it as he drew the bow across the strings. Binks’ Brew filled the room, bright and cheery and splashing blue and gold everywhere. He grinned and moved all around the room, spinning slowly and closing his eyes. 

He was only halfway through the song when there was a loud knock at the door. He abruptly stopped playing, set down the instrument, and hurried to the front. 

Brook cautiously opened the door. To his surprise, there stood his downstairs neighbor Franky, whom he had hardly seen since the move-in. Franky was leaning heavily on his walking stick and, despite being nearly two heads shorter, glowered up at Brook. 

“Hello, Mr. Franky,” Brook said with a polite smile. “Do you need something? Mr. Crocus is out right now.” 

“Yeah, I need you to stop playing that dumb violin,” Franky snapped. Unlike Brook’s, his voice still carried a boyish pitch. “I was tryna sleep.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Brook said in surprise. “I’ve done it before, so I didn’t think—” 

“I ain’t usually here this time of day,” Franky muttered. “But Tom said I couldn’t come today on account of pushing myself too much.” 

“Oh.” 

They stood there. Brook shifted his weight. 

“Er—do you want to come in?” he blurted out. He grinned. “For a little bit? No one else is here, and I won’t play if it bothers you.” 

Franky eyed him. 

“Sure,” he mumbled at last. 

Brook stepped aside, allowing Franky to enter. Franky hobbled in slowly and Brook walked behind him until he reached the living room, where he collapsed onto the armchair, rubbing his legs. 

“Golly, did you come all the way up those stairs by yourself?” Brook asked in awe. 

Rather than respond, Franky covered the scarred center of his face with his hands, wincing. “Gee whiz, it stinks in here,” he mumbled, blinking hard. 

“Oh, that would be the cigars,” Brook remarked, glancing to the ashtray. “I never take notice of it, myself.” 

“My no—my sense of smell is kinda sensitive, I guess,” Franky muttered, lowering his hands. “I’ll get used t—” 

His face scrunched up and he sneezed. 

“God bless you,” Brook said automatically. Franky grunted in response, rubbing his face. 

“I suppose no one in your family smokes, then?” Brook added, sitting on the couch. 

Franky shook his head, propping his walking stick against the chair. “Tom has a cigarette at work sometimes, and Kokoro says she quit smoking years ago.” 

Brook grinned. “Mr. Crocus let me try a cigar not long ago,” he admitted. “It made me ill, so I don’t think I’d fancy another anytime soon!” 

Franky glanced around. “There ain’t a lot of photos here, huh?” 

Brook shook his head. “Mr. Crocus says over and over he’ll buy more film soon, but he never does.” 

He smiled when he saw the wisps of sky-blue upon Franky’s words. He couldn’t help but notice this, for it so rarely happened with typical speech rather than a proper song. His own voice, to him, never carried colors, and so he assumed it must be the same for everyone else. 

“I’m gonna ask you something kinda rude,” Franky said. 

Brook grinned. “Thank you for your honesty! Go right ahead.” 

“Where’s your mom and pop?” 

Brook’s smile vanished and he looked down. “I’m told my mom died when I was young,” he said. “And Pop is . . .” He clasped his hands together. “Pop joined the army over a year ago. Last Christmas, Mr. Crocus and I got a telegram. He’s in Heaven with mom now.” 

“Oh,” Franky said dumbly. “Gee, that’s rough. I’m real sorry.” 

“I’m sure they’re happy together,” Brook added as an afterthought. He forced a smile back onto his face. “Mr. Franky, if you don’t mind me asking—” 

“You can ask whatever you want, after that.” 

Brook nodded. “Where did you move here from? You look like you lived somewhere warm.” 

Franky shifted where he sat. “Hawaii.” 

“Golly, that’s nearly halfway around the world,” Brook exclaimed, remembering a map he’d seen. “Isn’t that where the Japanese army attacked a few years ago?” 

Franky flinched. “Y—Yeah.” 

“Mr. Franky, are you well?” 

“Shut up!” 

Brook fell silent at the harsh tone. Franky’s hands rested on his knees, his head bowed low and his legs trembling faintly. 

“Do you need anything?” Brook asked at last, rather tentative. 

Franky shook his head. Brook clasped his hands under his chin for a moment before reaching for his violin again. He tapped the oak table gently with the bow, and gestured with the violin when Franky looked up. Franky gave him a small nod, and Brook stood, his hair bouncing, and began to play a soft, slow song, made up of lovely blues and violets. 

By the time the song came to an end, Franky was sitting up again, staring off into space. Brook set down his violin with a faint clatter and Franky looked back. 

“That was nice,” he mumbled. 

Brook grinned. “Thank you,” he replied, sitting back down. “I thought you’d like that one—the blues were darker than you, but I suppose that doesn’t matter.” 

Franky frowned. “Blues?” 

“Oh, yes,” Brook said. “I suppose no one ever told you? Light blue is your color.” 

“I dunno what the heck you’re talking about.” Franky looked up in thought. “Y’know something? I do like light blue. I just realized.” 

“It’s only natural,” Brook said with a shrug. 

“You’re weird,” Franky said bluntly. “I like you.” 

Brook grinned broadly. “I like you, too! Oh, my goodness, I’m sorry—do you want anything to drink or eat?” 

Franky shook his head. 

“Is there anything you like to do?” Brook pressed, hoping he wasn’t being a bad host. 

Franky folded his arms and glanced to the side. “I like dancing, but I can’t now ’cause my legs are stupid.” 

Brook hesitated, but he didn’t want to be rude, so he looked away from the scars decorating Franky’s limbs. “Will they get stronger with time?” 

Franky nodded. “Oh, they’d better,” he said, clapping his hands together. “I could barely walk at all at first, but I bet if I rest for awhile, I could even run!” 

“I’ll race you when you can,” Brook offered, smiling. 

“No way! You’re way taller, not even counting your hair!” Franky stuck out his tongue. “Maybe when we’re the same height.” 

“If you insist.” 

“Your hair’s pretty super,” Franky said, staring. “How come yours stays up like that, and mine doesn’t?” 

“I believe it’s because of its shape,” Brook said, feeling his hair. “Straight hair falls down unless you put something in it, doesn’t it? Curls like this tend to stick out and up.” 

“Tom has hair like that,” Franky said. “And his doesn’t stay up. Then again, he is going bald, and his hair’s shorter. I wish I had hair like yours.” 

“I’m sorry,” Brook said, unsure of what else he could say. 

[Unfinished] 

[starf]

StarF’s Top Ten Albums of 2018

Ah yes, it’s time for the one time a year that I use Tumblr these days. We’re already roaring well into 2019 but it’s about that time that I let you know my top ten picks for the previous year! For anyone new here, if you’re screaming “BUT IT’S MID-FEBRUARY!” you can cool your jets, because I always wait a month or so to let any late-year straggler releases really set in, and give everything time to breathe. I wouldn’t want to include an album just because it was recent in memory, or exclude anything by jumping the gun!

As I type this I want you to know that I haven’t at this moment solidified my top ten. I have a rough idea, but it’s tough this year, let me tell you. 2018 had SO MANY great releases, and so many consistent releases, that it’s painful for me to only choose ten. But alas, that’s the system that I’ve chosen, and so ten must emerge. Here they are:

10. The Grammar Club - Live Slow. Die Whenever.

2018 marked the return of The Grammar Club in a big way. They had previously resurrected the project through the use of Patreon, but this was the official release of a bunch of the songs that came out of that (and I believe a handful of songs that weren’t released on Patreon? I’m not entirely sure). In any case, Live Slow. Die Whenever. is a goddamn hit factory. Eclectic topic material, catchy hooks, and powerful delivery have made this album a mainstay in my rotation all year.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

9. MC Frontalot - Net Split or, The Fathomless Heartbreak of Online Itself

Speaking of the return of notable nerdcore artists, MC Frontalot finally released his new album! Previously teased simply as The Internet Sucks it took on what is quite the mouthful of a title and an absolutely amazing cover. Net Split is an interesting album for me personally because it is actually very similar to a concept that I wanted to do years ago, which is to make an album examining how the internet has affected and changed culture through a sociological lens. Net Split isn’t quite as analytical as that description would make it sound, but it is essentially the same idea: a collection of songs examining and criticizing the internet. They are well written, bitingly relevant, and incredibly catchy. The once-eponymous Internet Sucks has gotten stuck in my head probably once every couple days since I first heard it.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

8. Cursive - Vitriola

This album came as a complete shock to me in the greatest of ways. One day I was browsing my local record shop and saw on the “New Release” board that Cursive had released a new album. I bought it immediately, and didn’t regret a thing. Where Net Split takes a hard look at the internet and what it’s done to us, but in a light and fun way, Vitriola takes a look at society with a sneer and a scowl. This album is dark, moody, and will suck you into its world immediately and not let you go.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

7. EURINGER - EURINGER

If you’re sad that Mindless Self Indulgence hasn’t released an album since 2013 then rejoice, because EURINGER is gonna be your fix. A new project from Jimmy Urine, this album surely feels like the next logical step from MSI while also breathing some new life of its own. A journey through a warped mind, this album takes its turns being completely in your face and completely wrapped up in its own world. Built like some sort of psychotic 80′s pop fantasy for the modern day, this album surely won’t be for everyone, but it’s a slice of heaven for those it is for.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

6. Marc With A C - Obscurity

Would it be a StarF top ten list if it didn’t include a Marc With A C album? It would, but it wouldn’t be a very good one! Obscurity is the latest and best album to date from Marc With A C, and there’s good reason for that. To put it short this is the album Marc has wanted to make for quite some time, and now that it’s here it’s clear to see that there was a reason that this was the one. The content walks the line perfectly between light hearted and deadly serious. It’s funny, it’s touching, it’s got something to say, and it’s going to do all of these things in songs that you’re going to be singing by your second spin of the record.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

5. Supercommuter - Trash World

2018 truly was the year of comebacks, wasn’t it? After seven long years of waiting the third Supercommuter album finally came out and I’m happy to report that the wait was worth it! Trash World takes everything Supercommuter has been doing with the first two albums and continues to expand and elevate the universe they live in. Wheelie Cyberman is sharp as ever both in performance and storytelling aptitude, and the vibe of this album is incredibly cohesive. I am also a huge fan of this cover art, I feel compelled to add in.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

4. Mother Mother - Dance And Cry

There’s always one album that’s gotta be difficult for me to link to, and this year it’s Mother Mother. How are you gonna have only one of your albums available on Bandcamp and it’s not the most recent one? I digress though, because Dance And Cry is absolutely incredible. It’s weirdly hard to put into words why I love this album so much, but it just makes me feel a way, you know? The title is a perfect summation of what this album has to offer you: upbeat, danceable pop songs that are somewhere between crying because life is hard and because life is beautiful. This album will move you physically and emotionally.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

3. Wordburglar - Rhyme Your Business

If Mother Mother is going to have you crying while dancing, Wordburglar is here to get you smiling. Also look at that, two Canadian artists in a row, wow! It’s no secret that I love Wordburglar, and to be honest over the last few years he’s become one of my all time favorite rappers. He’s incredibly talented as a lyricist and rapper with an immediately identifiable style. I really cannot say enough good things about him and this album. It’s fun, it’s upbeat, it’s inspiring, and it’s just the tip of the iceburg... if you’ll pardon the pun.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

2. Antarctigo Vespucci - Love In The Time Of E-Mail

Let me plead my case before I even start talking about this album, because some of you might think I automatically throw anything Jeff Rosenstock or Chris Farren related onto my list and that’s why this is here. You’re wrong! Case in point: Antarctigo Vespucci’s previous record, Leavin’ La Vida Loca didn’t even appear on my list for the year that it came out! Not that I didn’t enjoy that record, but it didn’t really “grab” me immediately, so to speak.

...That was not the case for Love In The Time Of E-Mail, which grabbed me immediately and refused to let go. This album is 43 minutes of power pop madness that will drive its tunes straight into your brain’s core and leave them there to repeat over and over and over again. I can’t stop returning to this album because sure enough each day I wake up with one of the 15 songs in my head. It’s also weird to see that a real trend of 2018, at least on my top ten, is albums that are specifically focused on the internet and what it’s doing to us.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

1. Jeff Rosenstock - POST-

...oh come on, is anyone even surprised? Listen, it’s the same case as I said above, I wouldn’t include this on my list at all if I didn’t truly feel it belonged here. But here’s the deal: POST- dropped as a surprise on January 1st of 2018. The FIRST day of the year, and over a year later I am still listening to it regularly and finding new reasons to fall in love with this album. I love it for many of the same reasons I love the AV album (big surprise there), but while it shares the same catchy qualities of Love In The Time Of E-Mail, it also does so with a reckless fervor. POST- is an emotional explosion and reaction to our times, and while it may not be my favorite Rosenstock record, it is the perfect record for the time it exists within.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

[assiraphales]

You've reached water 7 yaay! Would love to hear your thoughts about all the galley la crew! Their dynamic is so interesting and i love their introduction at the start of the arc

I know this ask was about galley la but here's a collection of a few of my thoughts on water 7 in general!

-starting off with galley la. UMMM!!!! I will say that is one of the twists that genuinely shocked me so far in the series. the fact that half the town gathered to watch them work n fangirl over how strong they all are was so funny, and they seemed like such a tight knit group. I can't imagine working with them for five years as close friends and then finding out they were evil government workers

-lucci was a lot more fun when he was a ventriloquist who made his pet pigeon talk for him lmaooo

-the aesthetics of the water 7 amazes me! I love the design so much! i'm optimistically hoping there will be enough live action seasons that they make it here, and i've been thinking about how they'll put it off especially considering practical effects are so important to them. i'm thinking they'll build small parts of town like the shipyard, franky's house, and a main drag. and perhaps a model like they did in lotr for shots of the city ?

-usopp honey boo boo...................I get where his insecurities come from, and why the merry is so important of him (a piece of his home town) but he really brought the drama huh

-sanji is always more tolerable when he didn't have as much time to fawn over women. he did what he did best -- looking Cool smoking cigs and kicking ass. he's always so much cooler when he's on his solo missions and as soon as he's back with the crew the Dumbass gene takes over. I also DID think it was funny when he left the love note for nami in paint on the wall

-luffy getting stuck in a wall TWICE!!!!!!!! and being so in sync with zoro. naps at the same time. breaking into places at the same time. their little tag team move on the train.

-i've already talked about them in another post but franky n iceburg have one of the most interesting dynamics i've seen in the series. they make me ill. shipbuilder and ship demolitioner. mayor and criminal. they can never be friends but they'll always be brothers. etc

-franky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was on the fence for like 2 seconds but the blue haired hawaiian shirt wearing freak of nature won me over. he's so silly. he has a cola cooler in his stomach. he runs around in a speedo causing mischief. I love him. new little bug i'm shaking in a jar

-the two train station workers are two of my fave minor characters. they're eavesdroppers who live for gossip. they're making up love triangles and shipping strangers. good for them. good for them.

-nami literally cares for her crew so much. begging luffy to talk to usopp. crying / collapsing with joy when she found out robin didn't hate them. running into the path of a tsunami for luffy.

-luffy always gets this little :o face when he sees someone cry or hears their story. and he uses them as a power up. like yah he was angry but now he's REALLY!!! angry

-sanji's relationship w usopp. this arc revealed sanji ARGUABLY knows him the best

-oh tom :/

-the people of water 7 are v kind and live as a giant community which I think may have come from their struggles before the sea train came to town. the man who gave usopp the lumber and food. franky and co protecting the city. the shipbuilders / paulie helping nami luffy zoro n chopper. the townspeople rallyiing around iceburg and willing to risk their lives for him.

-the going merry :( I knew i'd eventually have to say goodbye to her but when I heard galley la say she was damaged beyond repair I was like no!!!!! NO!!! it's too soon!!!!!!!

-the found family of it all

[bearxclaws-archive-blog]

Arc Headcanons // PRE-SKIP PT.2

Flings more random thoughts and headcanons onto the dash! Heading into Water 7~ And again, there may will be hints of Sanji x Anita ‘cause I’m still as trashy as last time. Long af. Congrats if you get through any of it.

WATER 7 / ENIES LOBBY

— Arc Outfit

— Anita immediately takes to how odd Chimney is, showing off her incredibly soft side for children. Likely pays no attention to what Kokoro and the rest of the crew are saying because she’s too busy showing off for Chimney and Gonbe.

— Back on the ship           Anita: ................. Wait where are we going?           Nami: You listen about as well as Luffy does.           Anita: Thank you.

— She hasn’t been with Merry for very long, but she is the first ship Anita’s any time on. There is an attachment there despite only being with the crew for a few months. Almost wishes Gus ( the half-giant back home ) was with them. He wasn’t a great carpenter, but he was pretty damn good considering he had to fix most of the broken equipment on his own.

— Anita leaves the ship at the same time as Robin and Chopper but doesn’t go with them. As much as she liked spending time with them all, she kind of wants to find where she can get those cool masks she finds some of the people wearing. Ends up buying one that looks like a bear. Adds it to her keepsake box later.

— Runs into Sanji while wearing it, attempts to amuse him but sees he’s a little perturbed. Since she isn’t super close to Robin, she doesn’t share his unease once they find Chopper alone. She assumed Robin’s just off doing her own thing. At this point, she only sees Robin as an aloof mother figure. She’s, at least, a smidgen better than her own mother. Doesn’t dislike her, but doesn’t feel particularly close to her.

— She messes around with Usopp enough that she too is worried about what his reaction might be to hearing Merry is beyond repair. She’s heard plenty of his stories about home and Kaya and continues to ask to hear about them, so a small part of her feels worry settle in her stomach.

— Doesn’t help to find him, however. She stays on the ship with Nami to protect the remainder of their money.

— The argument between Luffy and Usopp does rattle her quite a bit because she thought she was the only one that felt useless. She would have never guessed that Usopp did too. Recalling how determined Luffy had been to get his friends back on Anita’s home island, it’s worrying for her to see him getting physical with a member of his crew. She hasn’t witnesses any sort of discord between them before now, save for maybe Sanji and Zoro but even then she’s quickly realized that they just behave that way. Seeing their cook actually kick Luffy doesn’t make it better, and — in a rare display of fear — she’ll shrink into a corner and watch.

— After her ringleader died and someone she thought was a friend betrayed them, the thought of abandonment terrifies her. Watching Usopp leave hurts. She’s one of the ones begging him to come back.

— It’s a habit of hers to shut down when she’s upset. She does and says nothing. Just sits on deck with her legs between Merry’s railing and looking out in the direction Usopp walked off in. She doesn’t know why this is having such an effect on her. People have come and gone from the circus more than a handful of times, and it’s never had her this upset. Doesn’t realize she’s becoming extremely attached to the crew.

— Losing Merry and Usopp is the first time she cries in years, if it can be counted as crying. There’s no sobbing or rolling tears, but she’s distressed to the point that she’s got a heavy knot in her throat and her eyes are wet.

— Even though she seems to be reluctant to do much, Sanji asks her if she’ll come along with him and Chopper after Zoro refuses. She doesn’t really want to, but he makes a valid argument that a reindeer and bear nose together are better than his.

— Anita isn’t the type to be subtle, so she intends to march right up to Usopp and tell him about Aqua Laguna because they seems like the smartest isea, but Sanji and Chopper insist they have to be sneaky about it. Shouting ‘off-handedly’ about it while being near Merry is totally sneaky.  .  .

— Anita’s still numb from witnessing Usopp’s resignation from the crew and, somehow, isn’t surprised to find out that Robin plans on leaving too. She doesn’t shout and attempt to get to her like Chopper and Usopp too, but her ears are back and she’s shaking while in her bear form.

— When Sanji tells her and Chopper to find Luffy, Chopper’s the first to go. Anita hesitates and presses her gigantic bear head against his chest. Lets out little huffs and makes him promise he’ll be alright. Losing three crew mates is hard enough, and she openly worries for the first time that he’ll end up lost too if he goes off on his own. All she needs it a few scratches behind the ear and an honest promise, and she’ll go.

— Zoro using the back of his blades is like Anita swatting at people with the back of her paws. Still hurts like hell despite their intentions.

— Compared to other zoan users, Anita feels inferior because he hasn’t made an attempt at her hybrid form. She has her human form and her full-beast form, and that’s it. She’s capable of it, but lacks the confidence and knowledge. So knowing Chopper can take on multiple forms and seeing how strong Lucci is as a zoan is a huge blow to her confidence.

— Iceburg’s manor being on fire causes panic in Anita and it’s harder for her to escape. It might take Chopper headbutting some sense into her before she ends up outside.

— Despite not being close to Robin, Anita is relieved that she didn’t leave them because she dislike them.

— She doesn’t go to save either Luffy or Zoro knowing Nami and Chopper have it handled, but laughs plenty knowing they were stuck. 

— Anita is already aware of Impel Down. Whether or not he had the actual authority to, Ashikaga often threatened to send people to Impel Down for obstruction of justice if they tried to help targeted pirates or stop the Marines from capturing them.

— Nami makes sure to get extra meat so Anita has something to eat alongside Luffy’s portion and Zoro’s sake. Gets her plenty of fruit too. Anita’s kind of surprised Nami remembered that she liked fruit so much.

— Second Outfit ( after they change on train ) Anita’s stubbornness with clothes is different in this verse than it is her main one because Nami is there to help her lighten up a bit and wear slightly more colorful / feminine things without making her feel overly girlie. Still has a tomboy look. Doesn’t think she looks cute, but she does.

— Anita is lowkey relieved to hear Sanji is alright. Shh. His scent from when she nudged her head against him still lingers and it’s giving her dokis. GDI.

— Dumb as she can be, she knows Sogeking is Usopp. Might ask for an autograph too just to be a smart-ass. If she gets one, it’s going right into her keepsake box.

— All I can see after Rocket Man crashes and Sanji and Zoro beat some of the Marines is Anita literally chewing on one of the Marines they defeated like they’re a toy.

— She hates Enies Lobby. Too many Marines, too involved with the Government. Her bias is showing and she sort of hates that Zoro, Luffy and Sanji are so strong. She wants to fight some of them herself purely because she’s loathes them.

— The situations are completely different, but there is one common theme between Anita and Robin; Marines ruined their home. If she ever finds any of this out, she’ll feel significantly closer to Robin and at least attempt not to avoid her. I mean, over time she’ll start to feel closer to her anyway, but knowing that would be like a short-cut to feeling more comfortable around her.

— The first time Anita sees fire destroy something in a beneficial way is when Luffy tells Usopp to burn the government flag. Still terrifies her, but she’s seen what she fears do something good.

— Everyone fighting to get Robin back learned something new with their combat abilities during this arc. I’m not entirely sure what Anita’s thing should be. All she does is fight in her bear mode, unless ( like Nami’s Clima-tact ) Usopp helped craft her those dial-gauntlets that she wears in her full-beast form. This might be her first chance to use them if she gets into more of a fight. Probably hurts like hell to use them, but they won’t hurt as much to a bear as they would a human. Helps knock people further / do a little more damage while being a tank.

I don’t want her to have a hybrid form because Chopper is already a hybrid for the most part. And most people don’t seem to use their full-beast form often. Not that I can remember, anyway. She’ll want to feel like she HAS to be like Lucci, Jabra and Kaku to be powerful like them, but she doesn’t. She’s plenty supportive and powerful in fights as she is. Plus, she gets stronger post-skip.

— Anita’s whole role in the fights with the keys is very minimal. I can’t have her take away any of the learning the Straw Hats do, so she might as well be trying to help Chopper calm down while not knowing just how much of a rampage he’s in. Or, to be grossly shippy, she could stay with Sanji when he’s bubbled up. At least until he was drenched and well enough to fight. She’s as confused by his code as Nami is and doesn’t reprimand her when she whacked him. She thinks it’s silly, but she doesn’t think he’s change who he is.

— If she manages to catch glimpses of Sanji’s new fighting style, a part of her will be slightly afraid of him. She knows for a fact that she would never use it on her because of who he is, but she won’t be able to fight near him. She will worry that her fur might catch fire if he’s too close. Doesn’t mean she’s always avoid him, but getting them to do any sort of combo together might be impossible if he intends to use Diable Jambe.

— Once Kokoro saves them all from drowning, Anita is absolutely going to collapse with Chopper and give him bear snuggles. Anyone that ever gets hurt gets a bear blanket / pillow. Robin gets a bear hug too. She’s gotta. Anita’s too much of a softie deep down to not be happy that she’s alright.

— Too much of a softie to not to get choked up during Merry’s funeral.

— Anita will be infinitely glad that they took all of their stuff off of Merry and that the people that took their stuff returned it to them. Her keepsake box is safe! 

— She won’t be the least bit happy to learn that her captain’s grandfather is a Marine, but even she can’t be suspicious because it’s blindly obvious Luffy doesn’t want to be like him.

— She may have a devil fruit and can’t swim because of it, but she will take an inner tube and use it in the pool. You cannot stop her!! Swimsuit 

— Anita get a bounty. She can’t be mistaken for a pet as easily as Chopper can, so she has a legitimate bounty. I’m just not sure how much it should be. She couldn’t do any real, significant fighting during Enies Lobby, so it might be less than Nami’s? She’ll have the second lowest bounty, Chopper’s being abysmal. But, at the same time, she’d be as ‘out there’ as the monster trio because tank. So would she be noticed more and seen as a threat? I honestly don’t know what the government would think of her. Aaah, I don’t know! I’m torn between it being either B 14,000,000 or B 17,000,000. Might need opinions on that.

— Her poster is probably of her bear form looking like it’s swiping at the camera. Probably actually hit the guy taking the picture too. Whoops. Did she have to pay for breaking it? Absolutely. Did she actually pay? Hell no. Nami would kill her for spending MORE money after the part drained them.

— Sanji, she secretly loves you, but she’s going to laugh at your poster. I think she’s always going to laugh at other peoples misfortune, but she doesn’t mean anything by it. He’ll get a little pat and she might let slip that she thinks he looks way better than the poster. Oops. What? Shh. No, she didn’t say that.

— She has no part in the mess with Franky’s briefs. No, thank you. Covers her eyes too because she’s shy about that sort of thing. Not a prude. Just inexperienced and unfamiliar. Plus, it’s Franky. She doesn’t wanna see his junk.

— Anita is one of the ones begging Luffy to let Usopp come back. She doesn’t quite see it the same way as Zoro does. People would leave and come back to the circus, and they’d welcome them back with open arms. It feels wrong to leave Usopp behind.

— She has no idea what to name the new ship but agrees with any of the names Luffy comes up with that has ‘bear’ in it. She’s biased. Likes Thousand Sunny, though.

— I should probably point out that Anita can drink as well as Nami and Zoro can. She’s an affectionate and silly drunk once she gets beyond being buzzed. Likes to lean on people and hug on them. 

[agemintherough]

Revisiting Chapters Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, and Twenty-Four of Gems Without Measure; A Pirate’s Treasure

Man, it's been awhile since I have done one of these. I have a lot to talk about with this batch, so let's jump right into it:

2) The gold exchange conversation is practically lifted word for word from canon. It was just too perfect of a Nami moment to change at all. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.

3) Okay, this was one of the hardest things for me to write: Connie and Steven on a date. I have mentioned before that I do not care to write or attempt romance, but this was important for me to do: the last perfect moment before Steven's world goes to hell. Steven and Connie have the potential to be one of the best couples in modern animation right now, but they are twelve and fourteen. I personally do not believe that you cannot have a real relationship that young, but they are definitely more than friends. They are the best of friends...jam buds, if you will.

I wrote all of the Steven/ Connie material first and wrote everything else around it. As I was doing so, I kept sending CyanideOreo what I was working on for feedback, specifically making sure that this fit the characters without getting any form or real kid romance. I was assured that this read more as a "Disney Romance," which is a perfect fit. 

I did, however, draw on the early dates and special moments that I shared with my wife to make it somewhat accurate (in the same way that I used my thoughts about relationships in the previous chapter with Greg). Walking around through the nearby historic village has always been a wonderful time for us, especially when they have art fairs or other activities.

4) I am sure most of you have seen this great artwork based on this moment made by @cyanideoreo, but did you pick up the significance of what Steven and Connie were eating? Raspberry ice and cake was the order Mary Poppins placed at the Penguin Cafe in the sidewalk chalk drawing world (in addition to some tea) during the song "Jolly Holiday." This, of course, is subtle foreshadowing of where this date is going to go by the end of this chapter.

5) The only comment I am going to make about the newspaper article (which has been a small, rarely mentioned subplot since the end of the Davy Back Fight is that it is important and that there is a major clue about what is going to happen in the somewhat near future.

6) A coworker of mine had students create masks for a project of “The Masque of the Red Death.” They have been hanging up in her room all year. While there are quite a few interesting designs, my favorite was the mask that was a pack of cards, glued together and fanned out with eye holes cut into it. I put it in the story as one of the masks seen in the "mask game."

7) Kaku calling the Straw Hats "youngsters" was my way of getting the gag where he has an older voice than the characters expected without it being random. 

8) Eirney is a character that jmr46718 and I developed in our discussions about the story over a year ago. We thought that Kalifa could benefit from having a sister, especially since she doesn't do much in-universe except follow her job description...

However, Iceburg's reactions to having no idea who she was is supposed to lampshade that this is one of the only original characters in this story. 

9) Steven and Connie, of course, sing "Jolly Holiday" from Mary Poppins. The only thing worth mentioning is I changed one part of the lyrics. I removed "You'd never think of pressing your advantage. Forbearance is the hallmark of your creed" with "You always treat me right with proper kindness. You're goofy, funny, charming; yes, indeed." I did this because this date is too innocent for any kind of "advantage" that could be overtaken.

Also, I couldn't NOT make the AGITR connection.

10) As several people guessed, the events of “Steven Floats” happen earlier than expected! Of course, nobody expected it to be because of a tiny kiss! I honestly imagined this scene to be like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer's reindeer games sequence where Clarice kisses Rudolph and he flies while yelling "She thinks I'm cute!"

11) Steven is witnessing the scene from next chapter where the Gems and Nami come across a battered Usopp.

12) When I first posted this chapter, I messed it up and forgot that Steven's fall correlated to his negative emotions and went straight to him needing to stop by using his positive thoughts of the Gems (but not Rose).

13) Oh look! Two new characters! Nero is...well, there is a character in One Piece named Nero! I wonder if they are the same character? The other one, Apollo, is a mink, which was only introduced properly in One Piece two years ago. I am sure that they served their purpose after catching Steven. Boy, wasn't it nice that they pointed the kids in the right direction after seeing Steven's gem?

14) I wonder why Eirney is so interested in what a Gem is. Maybe she likes gemology? 

15) Remember that Amethyst is wearing a redesigned dress that I created for her back in AGITR. As such, she is better concealed than the canon outfit she would be wearing at this point. One of the first things that was decided was to have Paulie wish that the other characters would stop being so shameless and be more like Amethyst, who would pick up on that immediately and use it for laughs. This is the beginning of this gag.

16) Picking right up from Chapter Twenty-One, Peridot is leading the charge to figure out where Robin disappeared to. We are knee-deep in Peridot's story arc of figuring out who she is and where she belongs. Keep an eye on her throughout this section: she may yet have an important role to play.

17) Again, a lot of setup from this chapter is taken from canon. It is necessary to keep the emotional integrity from this section. However, the key new addition to this scenario is Amethyst. This is basically an extension of her character development that began in "Tiger Millionaire" and "Maximum Capacity" that did not conclude until "That Will Be All."  She is feeling a major lack of self-respect and now sees Usopp as a kindred spirit. It honestly wasn't something I had planned initially, but it made a lot of sense and tied into the plot in an organic way that builds upon what came before and what will happen moving forward. 

18) This is the first legitimate acknowledgement of the radically different levels of violence that both shows possess and I think it's important to acknowledge it. Obviously it makes people like Greg and Pearl uncomfortable, but that doesn't change the people. Luffy is an amazing guy, but he isn't afraid to beat the crap out of you if push comes to shove. Amethyst recognizes that and accepts it far easier than Pearl, who is still struggling with the radically different dimension (but not for lack of trying, as we all know change is HARD for Pearl).

19) Speaking of, I thought the point of giving Greg a Devil Fruit was to make him useful, not to just sit around and do nothing! What gives?

20) Since the first strike in the Franky House isn't necessarily considered a quintessential Luffy moment like, say, the storming of Arlong Park, and more of a Straw Hat moment, I felt comfortable with letting Pearl give the first strike. 

21) Peridot beating the guy (who was already down since she did not engage in combat at all) is deliberately my Batman Begins "SWEAR TO ME!" moment. I initially had her say just that, but it took me out and made it too blatant. That being said, Peridot trying to be as intimidating as Batman is hilarious.

22) I debated on having Chapter Twenty-Three end with Usopp's declaration for the duel, but I felt it made Chapter Twenty-Four stronger by leading us to that through the loss of Steven's innocence as his perfect day gets shattered at the last moment. This is why Steven does not appear outside of the small mention of him floating.

23) Dramatic Irony is such a great literary device. Literally every scene with Steven and Connie is deliberately the happiest thing in the world solely because it has to end in tragedy.

24) The masks were designed by CyanideOreo two chapters ago. That's what I call great collaboration! 

26) The beat that Connie and Steven are marching to is "Colonel Hathi's March" from The Jungle Book. 

27) I debated about Stevonnie appear in the first part of the date, but I decided that their appearance was the perfect final moment for the innocence of the kids to remain intact.

28) Peridot discussing objectivity is important as she truly believes in it, as shown in “Message Received.”

29) The whole emotional/ color power was first glimpsed back in Chapter Twelve when Steven found Noko. I wonder what that could be?

30) jmr46718 was the one to come up with the idea to have Steven have his own duel with the Gems which is the culmination of all of Pearl's attitude problems. Originally, Amethyst would have been involved too, but I decided to make her decidedly empathetic to Usopp, so I limited it to Garnet and Pearl.

31) Steven has quit the Crystal Gems! I wonder what the new status quo is going to be now? 

[senyoun]

[Delayed Affection] Ch.1: Witnesses of Time

Fandom: One Piece

Relationships: Roronoa Zoro / OC

Tags: ANGST!, Unhealthy Friendship, Unhealthy Relationship, Therapy sessions, OC´s, Toxic Relationship, Depressions, Anxiety, later on smut

Word Count: 2.298

I jump onto the Angst-train guys.  You can also find this fic here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17509382/chapters/41244938

"Scars are the witnesses of time. They will follow you all your life and make you remember your mistakes."

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"Tell me about your past friendship with Ms. Reynolds, Lienna."

Sitting in the comfortable but cold leather chair the young woman starred into her hands she folded and unfolded nervously. She eyed the woman seated across from her carefully and somehow pleading, maybe she would change her question to something more... comfortable. It was obvious that sooner or later Dr. Robin would address the difficult topics and Meg, or how the therapist called her, "Ms. Reynolds" was such a topic she would rather avoid talking about. By merely hearing that woman´s name lots of different and also opposing emotions started to boil up inside of her.

"Didn´t we already go through that? There is not much to talk about it anyway. We were best friends until I realised I was nothing more than a tool for her. She used me to make herself look better in front of others. She´s a slu-"

"Ah, ah, language, Lienna. We are civilized and won´t put ourselfs on the same level as the people who hurt us." Dr. Robin interfered and after murmuring a quiet ´Sorry´, Lienna continued: "She is... a woman who enjoyed snatching the things I wanted right under my nose. When I told her about a dress I thought of pretty, she bought it to herself 2 days later. When I wanted to get a new haircut, she got it first. And do you know what the worst is? She always surpassed me. The dress I liked, she was stunning in it. The haircut? She rocked it better than I ever could. All I aimed for, she was always first and better in it than me." Lienna didn´t know when she started to get mad or when she began to clench her fists into the leather seat. She hated herself for letting that get so close to her since she now knew what kind of person Meghan was.

Putting her pen on the lips the raven-haired therapist thoroughly observed her client. "You were saying "what the worst is". Do you still consider her as superior?"

Shooting her gaze to the therapist as if she was caught off guard, Lienna nearly gasped at that question. "Of course not!" She hesitated and bit her lip before going on, "But I can´t deny that she still has something, someone I wanted so much. She could´ve taken everything from me. All the clothes, all the things. But she decided to take him as well. And that is what will make her always superior to me. Also because he chose her since, again, Meghan was faster than me."

"You are talking about Zoro, right? I assume you are trying to avoid any thought of him, is that the reason why you refuse to use his name?" And after Lienna nodded sadly Robin added: "But what strikes me as odd: I learned a lot about Zoro´s character from your previous stories. You are still not ready to talk about him directly, but to me it doesn´t make sense how he could even fall for someone as Ms. Reynolds?"

Lowering her head, Lienna starred at her thighs. She lost a lot of weight in these past 5 years, hunger simply wasn´t present and in the first months all nutrition she took to herself was puked out some hours later. Instead her alcohol consumption increased a lot but thankfully she started to get slowly rid of this unhealthy habit. "Meghan has a really unique talent: She wraps everyone around her finger. She is very good at manipulating people, I mean, I am the prime example, right? Even headstrong and cautious people like him are an easy prey for her."

Satisfied with the answer, Dr. Robin started a different topic. "Tell me how you met Ms. Reynolds."

Taking a deep breath and collecting all the courage she had Lienna started to speak.

Now that she stood in front of the still closed classroom door, the young girl´s anxiety reached a new high and restlessly she plucked on the hem of her skirt. Today was Lienna´s first day at the East Blue Middle School and she would prefer to just sink into the ground than going into the -with lots of strangers filled- classroom. But she promised her mom to not cause any problems and she really didn´t want to upset her, so when the teacher opened the door and winked her in, Lienna held her breath and stepped in.

It was lunch break when she approached Lienna. The brown-haired girl was wearing twin-tails which fell over her shoulder and on the desk she was supporting herself with. She starred down at the blue-eyed girl with a big smile. "Hi, I´m Meghan but you can call me Meg. Welcome to Class 1-C! I hope we can be good friends in the future!"

"I swear to god maths is killing me. Who needs something as useless and overly complicated as Integrals? I mean where in daily life would you need that anyway?" Meghan was walking besides Lienna sighing painfully. She pushed out her big chest annoyed. The whitette giggled slightly. "You only have to know it for the exams, after that you can just forget about it." Upon hearing those words Meghan swayed with her hips. "I can´t wait to get out of school and into university." She turned to Lienna. "And I can´t wait for us to move into our own apartment, we´re gonna be the coolest commune on the campus! Also..." Meghan licked her lips seductively. "... I can´t wait to lay my eyes and fingers on the boys." Now it was Lienna´s turn to sigh. "As long as you don´t forget to keep studying." The Brunette grinned. "That´s what I have you for, Lia. You will help me out if I need you, right?" Her gaze was intense and after some moments Lia answered. "S-sure."

Dr. Robin listened carefully and occasionally wrote something in her notebook. "I see. Did the friendship start to crumble when Zoro came into your lives? Or did something happen before?" She shifted in her seat and eyed Lienna carefully waiting for a reaction.

The Doc was a tall and beautiful women with long, black hair and hazel eyes which gave off a friendly and warm feeling. She was someone you know you can trust and can talk to. When Lienna first came into her practice for her first session she immediately felt that she could even entrust her darkest secrets to this woman, hell, the Doc would most likely even join her for a murder. Sometimes, when topics became rather difficult for Lienna to talk about, Dr. Robin knew exactly what buttons to push to make the Whitette spill what she wanted to know. The sessions were rough with her but Lienna was thankful for the Doc´s direct attitude. Dr. Robin doesn´t talk things pretty, she states out even the most uncomfortable facts and it was not unusual that Lienna started to cry like a baby in some of the sessions.

"I honestly don´t know. I mean, when we went through puberty both of us changed, I guess. She became more and more confident since her body was pretty well developed and she has always been popular with the boys. And I... well I just became more..."

"... submissive? Obeying?" Dr. Robin ended her sentence.

Lienna stayed silent and played around with her hands again. She couldn´t deny the truth of it as much as it hurt and before she could think of anything to reply to the Doc, latter spoke again.

"Where you scared of her? Were you afraid of the things she eventually could´ve done to you if you disobeyed?"

Shrugging, the younger woman impatiently pulled at her fingers. She knew that the Doc studied her body language just as much as her verbal answers so there was no need to actually say something. Closing her eyes and smiling softly, Dr. Robin stood up. "I think we made good progress today." Walking over to Lienna who also raised from her chair, the black-haired woman placed a hand on her clients shoulder in a soothing way. "Let´s continue there next week, shall we?"

------------

While she was sitting in the tram on her way to the office Lienna thought about Dr. Robin´s last words.

´Where you scared of her?´

She was. After they moved into their shared apartment, Meghan started to finalise her authority over Lienna and she was at her mercy, not able to do anything. And when he became part of their lives it only got worse since Lienna didn´t want to give Meghan any area she could attack and in front of him she also wanted to leave a good impression. She wondered what he thought really of her, did he only see her as the friend of his girlfriend all this time? Did he consider her as friend of him? Geez, she hated the post-session hours. Her thoughts went completely on rampage and made her forget her principles, for example to waste as less thoughts as possible on him. It only hurt her in the end and caused her sleepless nights she spend with crying into her pillow.

When the robot-like voice announced the trams arrival at Blue Water Station, Lienna forced herself back into reality and made her way to the exit. From here on it would only be a good 10-minute walk to her workplace and some fresh air would help lifting her spirits, even if it was just for a bit. Though she had to admit, the work at the Galley-La Company really did help a lot coping with her anxieties and depressions.

The Galley-La Company became famous in the 17th century as one of the largest ship-building companies in the city. To adapt to the industrialization they changed their business model to architecture. And nowadays the company is responsible for most of the buildings which were built in the vast city. When Lienna finished University and passed her exams she took the chance to apply for the assistance job the company was offering. Not only was this a huge step in her career, it was also her long-awaited possibility to leave. She couldn´t believe it when the chef, Iceburg told her after her interview that she convinced him to be the right choice for it. Especially, since she was directly working under him.

It was also Iceburg that got her on top of Dr. Robins way too long waiting list. Despite trying her best to keep her depressions and anxiety out of her workplace and at home, Lienna one day bursted out in tears when she messed up the model of a new Health Care Center Iceburg was working on. But instead of scolding her, Iceburg helped her out of her panic attack and talked her through it. When some of her colleagues told her that Iceburg treats his employees like his family, there weren´t exaggerating.

Waving to the twin-receptionists Mozu and Kiwi, Lienna went to the elevators, which carried her to the floor where her office was. The elevator was entirely empty besides her and especially after sessions she was happy to just listen to the lame elevator music before the turmoil of daily life comes haunting her. Stepping out of the elevator she was greeted by a tall, blonde man who looked way too stressed for his own good. "Morning, Paulie, going for a smoke?" The addressed man sighed exhausted and scratched the back of his head. "Morning, Lienna. Don´t ask, it´s only 10 am and I´m already done with everything and everyone for the day. We have way too much work. Anyway, see you later at lunchtime." Poor man, being Iceburgs head-engineer surely was an exhausting job since that man could come up with some really crazy stuff which Paulie had to put into reality.

"Good Morning! How is Robin doing?" Someone approached her as soon as she stepped through the door of the main office. Iceburg was leaning against Kalifa´s desk and both looked up when they heard someone entering. Before answering, Lienna took off her coat and placed her handbag on her desk. "I think she´s doing good. She doesn´t really talk about herself, so her private life is more or less a mystery to me. But she seemed to be happy with the progress we made today, so..." The Whitette shrugged but Iceburgs eyes lightened up, he came over to her and placed both of his hands on her shoulders. "That sounds really good, I´m happy for you!" Kalifa who still sat on her desk adjusted her glasses and narrowed her eyes: "Direct body contact without getting permission of the employee, thats sexual harrassment." she stated bluntly and Iceburg shuddered upon her words. Lienna though waved it off. "It´s fine, Kalifa."

The following hours went by without any exciting events. She finished transfering some paper-plans to the computer and constructed the 3D-Model for it and during lunch time she tried to take part into some daily conversations her colleagues held. It was around 5 p.m. when she decided to call it a day and made her way home. Saying her goodbye´s to Iceburg and Kalifa who both tended to work until late in the evening -damn workaholics-, Lienna stepped out of the large building and instantly pulled her warm scarf deeper into the face. The late afternoons really started to get cold and if not for the city lights everything would´ve been engulfed in darkness.

Drawing a comparison, Lienna decided that it has been a good day. Sure, her early morning session with Dr. Robin has been exhausting, but her work and the constant but somehow cute bickering between Iceburg and Kalifa made up for it. She managed to eat most of her lunch and drank a lot of water and as soon as she came home she would take a nice relaxing bath and end the day with a good book. She smiled, her nose and cheeks slightly red from the cold she strolled out of the tram station which was closest to her apartment.

Lienna just turned around the corner when she saw him standing there. And the whole world seemed to freeze. With a pale face and wide eyes she starred at him, frozen at her spot, talking to two men which seemed to be his friends. There goes her good mood. She wanted to run away or hide but the sheer sight of him turned her legs into stone and she was unable to move. Her heart hammered in her chest and cold sweat made its way down her spine and set off a weird contrast to her bodyheat. She tried to calm her breathing as the Doc taught her, else she would run into the danger of hyperventilating and just as she closed her eyes to soothe herself and opened them again, their gazes met.

Over the range of approximately 15 meters blue eyes looked into grey ones which looked more surprised than shocked. She saw his, still so kissable, lips moving but the chattering and traffic noises of the environment made it impossible for her to hear his words. Not that she wanted to hear them. She wanted to get away, as far away as possible, somewhere where she doesn´t have to see him, even though, at the same time, there was nothing more she wanted. He gestured something to his friends and started to move towards her with fast steps. That´s when reality finally woke up her senses and her legs seemed to function again. She turned around and dived into the sea of people, desperately trying to escape his gaze and his entire being before he could even reach out to her.

Closing the door to her apartment behind her she sank down to her knees, trying to catch her breath. She practically ran all the way to her apartment, taking small detours to stay out of sight. Thank God that man had a way too bad sense of orientation.

Why is he here?

This question kept echoing in her head and only when she felt her face being wet, Lienna realised she had started to cry uncontrollably. With shaking deep breaths she tried again to calm herself and after a while she was able to stand up, take off her shoes and coat and pulling out her phone to dial Dr. Robins number with shivering fingers.

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"Oi, you have been searching now for nearly an hour, Zoro. She´s gone." The raven-haired man slapped him on the back, trying to compensate his friend. "Shit! I never expected her to be here out of all places. And damn, she´s fast. I need to find her, Luffy!" Zoro gasped between his heavy breaths and braced the hands on his knees. The man named ´Luffy´raised an eyebrow. "What´s your relation with her, anyway?" The Greenette erected himself and sternly looked into the distance where Lienna had run off to. "She is the one I should´ve choosen instead."