#I've been calling them 'The Pirate's Curse'

[landgraabbed]

sometimes you gotta take in the lil details

[saphiccarma]

- Sweet Thing

Relationships - Agatha Harkness x Rio Vidal x Reader

Summary - Sirens weren't all that bad, instead hunted for their tails that had glimmering scales worth a high amount of value. Agatha and Rio intended to sell your tail, but soon became rather attatched

Warnings: Kidnapping (fishnapping?), spear wound, non consensual kissing (Kind of? Reader doesn't know human customs so it's a bit iffy)

A/N: Uhm- I fell in love with this prompt and this is my fav thing I've written for aaa week so far.

Sirens were creatures of the sea, brilliant ones that were meant to swim free and wild. Unlike most tales, you did not sing sailors to their death, only a few sirens chose to do that. The sun bore down on the vast ocean, not able to reach the depths where you lived, so you swam near the surface. It was a dangerous move to do so. Pirates still roamed the seas, even as far out as you were, and sirens' tails sold for a high price.

Typically, you lived in the depths where humans couldn't reach, swirling in between coral and rocks while following colorful fish. Flat areas were used as farming grounds for food. It was a perfect life, yet part of you still longed for the human world. You had never gone close to shore before, always living too far out. Not only that but your father had prevented you from contact with humans.

As you grew older, so did your defiance for your father and you had been wandering closer to the surface, going further away from home and closer to the shore. Once you had gotten close enough to hear voices. People danced along the shore in the night, sticks with a bright thing glowing off of them. From what you had heard they were torches. Humans swung their arms and feet, joyful laughter echoing as odd garments attached to them swayed with their movements.

You wished so desperately to join them.

Sirens were rumored to be able to transform into humans, tails shifting to legs, gills and fins disappearing into your skin. The odd tint of your skin would disperse, and you would look like a normal person. You never had the confidence to try it out. Humans wore these odd things, clothes, your grandma called them. Sirens didn't have clothes. You figured you would stand out too much and that was the last thing you wanted if you were trying to explore the human world.

Seagulls cawed above you as you leisurely floated near the surface, the tip of your tail peeking out. There was only a split second you had after you saw them. A large ship, its sides climbing up and up, wooden panels lined up neatly to prevent water from getting in. Large metal nozzles peaked out the side. Silver flashed through the air and then there was a piercing pain in your tail.

Yelping, you paled when you bled into the water, a sharp spear sticking out of your tail. Panic overcame you as you reached to pull it out, wincing at the sting. It had gone all the way through your tail. Scales came out with it, leaving bare skin and a large hole in your tail. Shock kept you stuck in place, staring at the gaping gap in your tail that leaked a bright red.

"Dammit Billy!" You heard a voice curse from the ship and your head snapped up, eyes widening with fear, "You weren't supposed to hit the tail."

Once again you hardly had time to react before a net was hurling at you. With your tail damaged and pain pulsing through you, you weren't able to get away as the net dropped down on you and closed all around you. A scream bubbled in your throat. There was a harsh tug and then you were dangling in the air, your blood dripping into the water and you could see shark fins circling below.

You winced as your body slammed into the ship, wood digging into your sensitive skin. Thrashing as you were dragged across the wood, you tried to break free. But your tail flapped uselessly, and your arms did nothing against the ropes. A taunting chuckle echoed behind you, and you were no longer being dragged across the wood. You stopped in your struggles for a moment, meeting eyes with a woman.

Her piercing eyes were an icy blue, framed by brown hair that fell around her face and highlighted her sharp cheekbones. Her tongue dragged over her pink lips as she crouched, one hand on her knee, and studied you.

There was nothing you could do to stop the fear that tore through your system. It overran any common sense you otherwise would've had and numbed the pain in your tail. Blood leaked onto the deck, seeping into the wood and staining it an even darker color.

Another woman stood behind the blue eyed one. This one had big brown eyes, one that was often associated with childlike innocence, but she looked anything but innocent. Her lips, a pale pink, were pulled into a smirk that made her eyes twinkle with dark joy. A knife twirled between her fingers and when your gaze caught on it your breath hitched. Sun light bounced off it, highlighting the sharp edge.

She met your eye, pausing in her fidgety movements, and held the knife up for you to see. You flinched back, trying to get away. Your eyes flickered around for an escape, searching for somewhere to go.

It was then that you noticed how many people were here, watching in silence. There were four others on board. A woman who had a pink shirt, one with red in her hair, and older woman who looked weird, and a young boy - the youngest out of all of them. His eyes were wide, and face flushed as he looked away from you, keeping his gaze

Inhaling shakily, you forced a question past your lips, "What do you want with me?" Your words were unsteady, hesitance and fear dripping from them.

"Well, we wanted your tail," the blue-eyed woman drawled, "But then Billy hit it, so you have no more use, hon."

"You’re pirates," you breathed softly. If you thought you were scared before, it was worse now. Your heart beat frantically in your chest. Humans may have portrayed sirens as these horrible creatures, luring sailors to their death for fun, but that was only some of you. Sirens told tales of pirates who murdered their friends in cold blood, laughing as the blood tainted the water and dolphins pocked at their bodies sadly. Pirates were the most brutal type of humans.

"Well, I thought that was obvious," She glanced around dramatically, her long fingers flaring around. Your tail twitched.

"She needs medical care Agatha," the boy, Billy you think, said. He made a pointed glance towards your tail which was leaking out onto the deck, a steady stream of blood. Your head was lightheaded as you propped yourself on your elbows.

"Put me back in the water and I'll be fine," you mumbled. Your father will find you. Or the fish would tell him. It didn't matter but you would rather die in the ocean then on this ship.

Agatha scoffed, her head tipping back slightly, "That's funny." She leaned closer for a brief moment, eyes slowly dragging from your face down to the gaping wound in your tail. "Billy go get some cloth and a needle with string. And what are the rest of you doing? Get back to work!" Everyone but the brown eyed brunette left, Billy scurrying away to get whatever she ordered.

With a small nod from Agatha, the other woman stepped forward, her smirk widening as she twirled her knife around. You flinched when she bent down, prepared for more pain. Except she only cut through the rope and let it fall to the floor.

"She's skittish," She said, glancing at Agatha with some sort of emotion gleaming in her eyes, "I like it."

Billy came back a moment later, carrying a bundle of cloth in his hand with a needle and string in the other. He averted his eyes towards the ground as he got closer. The shiny metal caught your eyes, and they widened in more fear. You tried to scramble back, no longer tangled by the rope, but it did little use when Agatha grabbed the tip of your tail and yanked you back. A yelp escaped your lips as she held you firmly in place, despite your frantic squirming.

"Hold still," she snapped. Her hands were surprisingly tender as they pressed the cloth onto your wound, the white material becoming red quickly. The other woman knelt by your head, her hands held out placatingly before she pressed down on your shoulders, forcing you to lay down. Her eyes lingered on your chest for a moment, something dark in her eyes.

"How does your healing work?" Her words were soft, not matching the mischievous glint in her eyes.

You gasped when Agatha pressed down on the wound, your tail flicking up, "Uhm- like normal?"

You watched as Agatha raised an unimpressed eyebrow as she wiped the blood on your tail, the cloth occasionally catching on your scales. They shimmered under the sunlight, and you were suddenly aware of how hot it was up here. It was like you were being held above a heat vent, the water bubbling and searing your skin. Your skin and scales were drying out.

Baring your teeth, you hissed when Agatha swiped through the wound, her towel collecting blood and giving you a clearer view. A hand cupped your chin, tilting your head up and forcing your mouth open. An offended sound left your throat as the brown eyed woman examined your mouth. She squeezed your cheeks and leant closer.

Their hands were all over you, on your tail, your face - it was too much. You shoved at the woman holding your face, although that did nothing but make her tighten her grip and grin wildly. Her eyes were ablaze with delight as she tugged your face close.

"Don't do that," her voice was light, almost like a song, "Be nice."

Agatha scoffed from her spot at your tail, glancing up with a small smile. You would snarl at her if you could, but the other woman still held you tightly. Her grip was bruising against your face and her nails dug into your skin. She hummed as she twisted you, giving her different angles of your fangs that protruded like spikes from your gums.

It was a defense mechanism that ran in your specific genes, but it did nothing to help you now. Finally, she let you go, her fingers uncurling from your cheeks, but her eyes never left your face.

"Can you have stitches?" Agatha was threading the string through the needle as she asked the question, sitting back on her shins.

You blinked, wide eyed and confused, "Those are?"

"I'll take that as a no," she sighed, chewing on her lower lip, "How do you heal?"

"I've never-" you shrugged. Pain throbbed from your tail, worse than anything you had ever felt. You had gotten small nicks and cuts before. "Nothing has been this bad."

Agatha threw the needle onto the ground, "Well that's helpful." She glared at you as if it was your fault that you had been speared through your tail. You returned her harsh look.

"Water," you croaked, your throat suddenly dry. The two women exchanged a glance before the unknown one stood, her boots clicking on the floor. Biting pain coursed through your veins, and you wished it would stop. The harsh sun beating down didn't help as you lacked the familiar comfort of the sea. A moment later the other woman returned, a bucket in her hands before she splashed it all over your tail. It wasn't graceful or much but soothed the ache of the puncture.

Agatha leaned past your tail, cupping your chin in her face with a sick grin, "I think I'll keep you."

^____________^

A few day cycles in you figured out how to turn into your human form, your tails becoming legs and gills vanishing. The only thing that remained was your sharp teeth. It was awkward at first, stumbling around as you tried to figure out how to walk. They made it look so easy and Agatha and Rio laughed as you fell flat on your face.

The two had dressed you in their clothes. It felt restricting to be confined by such human things and you hated it, but apparently that was what was expected by humans. You were stuck in their room, stuck to stare longingly out into the sea as you watched the waves crash up against the side of the boat, but they never let you out. If you were let out, you were bolt in an instant and jump into the sea.

Billy brought you food on a tray with a sympathetic smile and a soothing voice. He offered empathy, a listening ear, which you turned down at first. Then days turned into more and you were still stuck in the room. You took up Billy's offer to talk when the days began to become longer and longer, drawing out as if they would never end.

Agatha and Rio would return at night, snuggling up in their bed as you slept on one parallel to theirs. Once you had woken up to the bed creaking and obscene moans being drawn out. You had flipped over, the blanket pulled up to your shoulder, as you sat still as a rock in bed. After casually mentioning it to Billy when he came to see you, he turned bright red and spluttered before explaining it was the way humans reproduced. You decided not to question it more after that.

Snapping you out of your thoughts, the door creaked open, Agatha walking in. Rio trailed behind with her hands shoved casually in her pockets. Per usual, you scrambled back as far as possible on your bed, hissing. Agatha rolled her eyes. She sat on the edge of the bed, eyes scanning over you in a way you would never understand. It was as if she was trying to see inside of you. She scooched closer and you bared your teeth.

Lips curling in annoyance, Agatha's hand shot forward, grabbing your chin. There was a split second before she had a tool in her hand, pliers if you remembered correctly, and they were latched tight onto your teeth.

She leaned in close, her eyes narrowed, "I told you to stop that," her voice was low, a warning, "I will give you one more chance before I yank your teeth out, understand?"

Rio was smirking behind her when you glanced back, your cheeks flushed a dark red. Agatha raised a brow.

"Understood?"

You huffed but nodded the best you could with her firm grip on you. Her nails dug into your skin one more time before she let go with a satisfied smirk. Closing your mouth, you licked your lips and sat back, face red as the tomatoes Billy showed you how to juggle with once. Agatha twirled the pliers in her fingers before shoving them into her pocket.

"How would you like to leave this room?" Agatha's words sent a jolt of joy through you, and you perked up, pointed ears alert and ready to hear what she had to say. She smiled at your excitement, "Hang on pretty girl, there's a couple things first. If you try to run, I will lock you back up in this room again. You are to stay by my side. Do not make me tie you up like a dog."

You tilted your head, blinking at her. What was a dog? Although being tied up did not sound like fun, after a moment you reluctantly nodded. There was hardly a moment before Rio's hand was latched onto your forearm and she was dragging you out. You stumbled over your own two feet, still not used to without a fin, and let Rio drag you along. Not that you had a choice.

You glanced back at Agatha for help, but the woman was just watching in amusement, eyes twinkling brightly.

"Alright," Rio said softly, shoving a door open, "Here's the sun."

Blinking, you took in the sunlight, hand coming up to shield your eyes. It shone down brightly, a harsh heat compared to the cool of the bedroom. While the coolness reminded you of the depths of the ocean, it was nice to see the sun again. You tilted your face up, closing your eyes and letting the heat seep into your skin. You hardly noticed Rio's grip on your arm, or the way it loosened, and she stood watching you with a soft smile.

"Y/N!" Billy's loud voice interrupted your peace, and your eyes snapped open. He was running towards you, shirt untucked and flapping in the slight wind like his fluffy black hair.

You forced a smile onto your lips after a nervous glance at Rio, "Hey Billy."

He grabbed your hand, tearing you away from Rio. You were partially glad for the distance from the woman, but a part of you wanted to be near her. Billy dragged you up the stairs, once again tripping over your own two feet. It was a miracle that they managed to stay on them for the whole day.

The sea splashed against the side of the boat, a consistent and steady sound that made you long for the sea even more. That deep yearning inside of you arose again, even stronger than before. Your eyes latched onto the waves, imagining yourself in them. You would no longer have legs - you would have a fin and gills again and the wet feeling of the water on your skin.

The fish circling around you, the water cool and comforting. A little bit of sun shining through the blue surface when you came up. Your family's faces were slowly fading from your mind, but you still longed to be with them again.

You didn't realize that since you stopped so did Billy, his hand still in yours as he stared at you.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "You don't deserve this."

You shrugged. Maybe you did deserve it. Even after hundreds of lectures from your father, you still chose to push your luck. The thrill of adrenaline you got made it all worth it. If you had just listened, then this never would have happened.

"Billy," Agatha's voice cut through the air, "I'll take her from here."

Billy smiled sheepishly, directing one to you with a deeper meaning, before he scurried off. Agatha gave him an affectionate glance before she turned her eyes to you, an unamused look in them.

"Don't let Billy drag you around." She muttered it like it was a piece of advice, but it sounded more like a command. You rolled your eyes at her and curled your lips in defiance. Agatha narrowed her eyes and grabbed you by the arm. "Watch the attitude."

And once again you were tempted to respond with some sort of snark but refrained in exchange for walking away and further up the deck. The wind blew your hair in your face and whipped against your skin. It wasn't so different from the underwater currents and made you miss home even more. Agatha trailed behind you, although you could hear a second set of footsteps that told you Rio was there too.

You wandered up the front of the ship and stared down into the water. It would be so easy to jump.

A hand clamped down your shoulder and hot breath hovered by your ear, "You gonna jump?" Rio lips brushed against your cheekbone as she leaned even closer, and you could feel her chest press up against your back. A part of you wanted to pull away from her touch, leap into the water and enjoy the comforting embrace, but something held you there. It wasn't Rio's hand, nor Agatha's piercing gaze.

Even as you tried to pick your feet up off the wooden deck, you failed. It was as if you were stuck in place. Frustration boiled in your stomach as time passed on and your brows furrowed.

The waves crashed against the ship, seemingly more aggressive in tune to your emotions. Tears of resentment pooled in your eyes and your fists clenched.

"Why?" you croaked, "Why not just let me go?"

Rio's lip teased the column of your throat, and you shrugged her off while your heart pounded in your chest.  You could practically feel her smirk even though you couldn't see her. The movement of her lips felt personal although you didn't know why, it felt as if it meant more, but you didn't know why. Her arms slowly circled around your waist, tugging you even closer and trapping you.

"Because you're too sweet to let go," she whispered against your skin. Your lip wobbled as she squeezed you tight and kept her palms flat against your stomach. Dolphins surfaced, their fins peeking through the top of the water as they leapt and dived happily. It irked you that you couldn't be there with them. You used to swim with dolphins every chance you got, swerving through you their pods like an obstacle course.

The thought only made your eyes burn further and your heart tighten.

"I want to go home."

You hated how broken your voice sounded, how cracked it was. Desperation leaked through as you felt a tear fall. Another human weakness. It trailed down your cheek and you felt Agatha's hands cup your face, turning you towards her. Blue eyes, shimmering with desire, met yours. Except hers weren’t filled with tears. Agatha’s hands were so gentle on your face, kinder than she should be.

Her thumb wiped away the fallen tear with a soft smile, one that almost hid the sharp look in her eyes, "This is your home."

[fanaticsnail]

Snail, mad props, I love all your writting but your Hey Doc series hits me in all the right spots! So fun and cute!

I've been thinking, Doc's in a pirate crew.. Does Doc know how to fight? Because here's a fun scenario that has been on my mind...

Doc is buying/gathering ingredients and gets attacked by thugs or other crew. Doc puts up one HELL of a fight but gets beaten up pretty badly 😩

Upon returning to the ship, Doc tries to hide away and lick the wounds, acting like nothing happen.

So who do you think would come barging in Doc's office yelling "Who the fuck this that to you?" Daddy Killer? Or the Captain himself?

If you feel like writing a little drabble to go with this I would die! 🫶🏻🫣🥹

Love! ❤️

Hello my darling. I hope you enjoy this interpretation of your request. This is how I saw it playing out in my head. Thank you so much for your beautiful contribution to the story!

What do I do, Doc?

Hey Doc Masterlist

Word count: 2,900

Synopsis: Dressing as a civilian on the usual supply run with Wire does not go according to plan. Your past finally catches up to you, and your crew scrambles to come up with a way to treat you from your injury.

Themes: kid pirates x gn!reader, platonic kisses, hurt, injury, graphic pain, impaling (reader receiving), Wire/Heat/Killer/Kid x reader, partial Bubblegum x reader, angst, fluff, delirious Doc, poison. You are "Doc", the doctor of the Kid Pirates. Pet names used: hon, honey, sweetheart, baby for Doc.

Notes: I have been feeling some sort of way for a while, and this request was singing me their siren song. I also wanted this in a fic pretty bad, and I wanted to make it sadder.

“Hey Doc,” the soft growl in Wire’s tone had an edge to it, a warning felt in his dangerous aura, “You gotta stay awake. We're nearly there, hon. Stay with me.”

The grogginess you felt masked the pain from the spear protruding from your thigh. Your life escence pooled from the wound, the stain dripping down your leg and onto Wire’s stomach as he cradled you into his chest. Each slow blink grew heavier and heavier, the frequency between them coming closer as unconsciousness called to you.

“Doc! Hey, Doc!” Wire jolted you in his arms, forcing your eyes open in shock to his ferocity, “Doc, I need you. Stay awake, damn it!” You offer him a fluttery smile, your lashes batting up at him as his expression contorted in fear.

“Keep-... Keep the pressure on it,” you managed to stutter, your teeth chattering through each syllable as you spoke. “Don't take it-... Don't take it out. Leave it in u-until the bleeding stop-...” Eyes rolling back into your skull, you never finished your instructions to the larger commander. He cursed beneath his breath, sprinting towards the Victoria Punk where the remainder of the crew were waiting for you.

This was not your fault, nor was it Wire’s. You both thought yourselves to be safe: both dressed in loose civilian attire away from your usual garb. Compliments were given to both you and your older commander, praise that would make even the most hardened pirate blush.

You were both seeming to be the least conspicuous and recognisable of the amassment of crew. Your reputations and bounties were both high, but away from your regular clothes, your vacant and stripped-back appearance was the perfect disguise.

Unfortunately, this base had someone you thought had long since forgotten your face. A person from a past you attempted to keep hidden, trapped beneath lock and key in the chest kept in your mind's eye. The spear came out of nowhere, impaling you against the floor and successfully rendering you immobile.

While pinned stationary, the only warning you gave was a choked gasp, Wire turned and immediately sprung into action. Trident aimed back in arms, his motions struck true: claiming the life of the attacker immediately. Usually one to extend the pain, Wire’s instinct to protect came before anything else.

“Doc,” his whisper hissed through his teeth, “Honey, what was that? Who was that?” You were struck in shock, looking down to the spear leaving a welt in the ground; a familiar engraving on the wood having your eyes scrunch tightly shut.

“Wire, just-,” you started, halting when Wire dropped to his knees and hovered his hands over the spear.

“-Doc, you know how to fight. What the fuck is this?” he pointed to the spear, the pain of the sting leaving you and dulling the longer you remained stationary. “Explain, now.”

You sigh, lip beginning to tremble as his eyes finally gaze up to join with yours. Noticing the quiver in your lip, the pooling in your eyes, his demeanor immediately changed.

“Oh, honey,” he gasped, rising to a soft crouch and cradling your cheeks in his palms. A small tear managed to spill from your waterline and trickle down your cheek. “Talk me through what to do. Tell me how to help you.” Closing your eyes, you lean into his touch and take a moment to calm yourself within his palms.

“Break the spearhead at the neck,” you informed him, “And keep the fucking thing in until I get back to the sh-...” You fell forward, your forhead brushing with the commander in front of you as your eyelids drooped.

“...Fucking coward,” you huffed out a soft laugh, floating your eyes to the injury. Gazing down at the spear, you nod against Wire's head with a sarcastic smile on your face.

“Poisoned. They used the poisoned one.”

Finally reaching the ship, your mission long since forgotten, Wire used his great height to his advantage in propelling himself along the top deck. Several crew members attempted to stop him, Bubblegum immediately shrieking and running before Wire to open every door towards your office.

The captain and the lingering two commanders trailed behind Wire, Killer halting as he bore his eyes down at the ground. A trail of bright red spattered over the deck, his piercing blue orbs glaring at it as his lips curled back. Clicking his fingers, he gestured to the nearest crewmember and gestured to the closest mop and bucket before trailing behind Heat and Captain Kid.

Once below deck, Wire set you down on your medical bay and immediately began readying gauze to replace the linen satchel you used to make a basic pressure aid. You mentioned about not making a tourniquet, nothing to aggravate the complications of the wound. Heat was immediately through the doors next, the Fire-Breather gazing through hollowed eyes at the injury first before running immediately to your desk.

“What,” a rumbling growl barked, “the fuck,” your captain ducked beneath the threshold of your office door, “happened?” Wire couldn't speak, his own manic state prohibiting him from thinking anything other than cutting away your pants with your scissors and placing the scraps in a damp pile beside you. Nothing was to pull him away from his task, keeping pressure on the wound while he cleaned you up best hr could.

“Wire,” Captain Kid roared, a jolt felt deep within his chest as he fell away from his transfixed attention. Turning to Kid, Wire managed to bark back at the captain.

“We were recognised,” he called over his shoulder, “Someone knew Doc.” He peeled away the final fabric, your doll-like state limply moving with each push and pull from the taller man.

Eyelids fluttering, slipping between consciousness and slumber, you peeled your eyes open enough to gaze at Killer as he entered the room. Offering him a weak smile, you attempted to move your lips to speak. Killer raised his hand to hush you, wordlessly telling you to save your strength for something more intentional than a greeting.

“The fuck recognised Doc?” Kid growled, “Doc's been with us for ages, changed their look and everything from that stuffy shit they wore before.” Kid bullied his way to Wire's side, shoving his hands away from the spear and assuring his one good hand be weighty enough to force the wound shut.

“I know as much about it as you, Cap,” Wire stuttered, his panic tangible in his shaken hands. “One of the first things Doc said about it was they were cowards for using poison.”

“Fuck,” Heat finally added, carding through his lengthy pale hair as he searched through the medical and personal journals in your desk for any information. Finally stumbling across a filagree design on one of the pages, he shook his head and clapped the book shut. “There's nothing in here. I don't know what to do. Doc just writes about weaponry in the journal, but nothing about poison.”

“What do I have to do about the spear? What does it say, Heat?” Wire yelled at the scarred commander, his Glasgow smile grimacing at the tone. Looking back to the desk at the open pages, Heat shakes his head and looks back at Kid.

“Doc needs a surgeon,” he uttered darkly, placing the journal back on the desk beside him, “Closest one is the marine base, next up is Trafalgar. Make a choice.”

The captain never tore his eyes away from your thigh, his deep frown growing in size the longer he lingered on the thought. The marines wouldn't help, they'd likely kill you and anyone else that entered on behalf of you. Trafalgar was days away, and there was no way wyou could make it. He didn't know how to treat this injury himself, that's what he had you for.

Considering there was poison in your leg, likely spreading to your blood at this point, he clamped his eyes shut and finally looked up to your face. Eyes open and glazed, you offered him a soft smile.

“What do I do, Doc?” he drew his metal hand up to caress your cheek, “What do I do?” You dart your eyes between his while slowly blinking in your daze.

“Under my bed,” you whispered, your vocal fry straining as the pain lingered, “Antidote.”

Killer was already out the door as soon as you stated ‘under your bed,’ refusing to daudle as you lay there bleeding out. Kid nodded to you, the cool of the metal palm soothing your scorching flesh. Beads of sweat flooded your skin, your hair sticking to your forehead as you bit back the ache.

“And the fucking spear?” Kid laughed down at you, “What you wanna do about that?” You snickered weakly, trying to best phrase how to proceed next.

Ideally, you would want to: remove the object, clean and sterilize the area, remove any necrotic flesh, provide antiseptic, antiinflamitries and suture it back up. Unfortunately, none of the crew were you; and you were in no position to do it yourself. Before you even had a moment to speak, Heat was at your side, pushing past Wire and glaring up at your captain.

You lazily lolled your eyes to the side of the desk, noticing the page Heat opened and let out a preemptive whimper in preparation. Heat looked down at you, watching your brows raise in a triangular peak in the center of your forehead as you nod to him.

“Antidote,” you hissed out, gulping while closing your eyes tightly shut, “And rum.” Heat nodded, immediately walking to your desk and almost instinctively pulling the leaver to reveal your secret stash of rum. Kid gasped out a laugh, smiling playfully down at you.

“Little shit,” he affectionately chastised you, “Where the fuck was that when I asked for it last week?” You choked through a soft laugh in response while biting back the pain.

“In my fuckin’ desk, hiding from you.” He laughed at you before his lips curled into a soft pout. Leaning forward, he kept the pressure against your wound as he pressed his forehead against your own. Clamping his eyes shut and grinding his teeth, he shared your breath with you in a bid to draw you closer.

“When you live through this, Doc,” Kid hissed before nuzzling his head against yours, “I'll-.”

“-Kill me?” you chirp playfully up at him, prompting him to open his eyes and glare down at you. The pain was in every follicle of your face, even in the radiance of that grin you wore so much.

“No, Sunshine,” he whispered, no humour in his tone aside from his melancholy smile, “No.” He learnt up, pressing his painted lips against your forehead while inhaling a sharp breath through his pointed nose. “I'll give you that raise you've been asking for. I swear to you, Sunshine.”

Pulling away from your face, he gazed down at you with hardened resolve and absolute unwavering compassion. Darting your eyes between his two, you lazily draw back your lips to a lazy smile.

“You know, Cap,” you utter whimsically, “From a distance, your eyes look almost orange.” Reaching up your hand, you gently take his cheek in your palm. Your weak grasp feels foreign on his hands, your usual steely demeanor slipping away, “But up close?” you whisper intimately, his breath catching in his throat, “You've got a band of gold in the middle.”

Kid attempted to keep his composure, staying strong in front of his commanders, and you, as you speak in nonsense. Your eyes held this foreign affection that he had yet to truly witness. Every part of your usual abrasive attitude diminished, your soul raw in your expression as you stared up at your captain.

“D-Doc-...” he gasped, Wire watching the interaction between the two of you and choking on his breath. Heat's eyes never left your face, waiting for the exact moment you give him that nod of approval to inact your unspoken agreement.

Stampeding through the threshold of the door tumbled Killer, each movement intentional and deliberate while weighty and desperate. Shoulders arched and chest puffed, he slid to your side and uncorked a vial of viscous liquid.

“Here you go, baby,” he leaned forward, taking your neck beneath his hands and cradling you up to steady you, “Easy does it now.” The vial ridge was placed at your lip, your eyes not leaving your captain's as you swallowed the contents of the vial. Barely tasting the liquid, the vial was replaced by the lip of a rum bottle to numb the pain and drown the pain you were about to endure.

As soon as the amber liquid hit your chest and trickled down your throat, Heat removed the spear from your thigh with his larger hands. A spurt of liquid pooled in your Captain's palm the moment he did as such, the scream you let up caught in the rum bottle. Killer leaned forward, placing his helmet covered lips against your temple and holding you against him. In your panicked state, you barely registed the next phase to Heat's agreement.

Slapping the captain's wrist away from your thigh, Heat placed his lips over your wound. Engulfing the area completely, Heat ignited his gullet and immediately seared the wound shut with the intensity of his flaming breath.

The sizzle of flesh lingered in the air, the scent of caurterizing skin and burnt hair tainting the burn of liquor in your throat. Your screams were stifled in your mouth as you grit your teeth, the widening of your eyes and glaring at that golden band within your captain's eyes.

He had no choice but to look down at you as Heat scorched your flesh. Heat's lips pressed a heart-shaped mark into your skin, the guilt of marking you with his ability ate at him from the moment he read the passage on cleaning and sealing wounds. Manuevering your thigh with ease, he released the topside of your skin and immediately pressed his lips to the underside of your leg.

Another roar of flickered flame ignited in his chest, this time your back arched and head lulled in Killer’s arms. Your vision went white, the lingering ache of pain and swell of poison leaving you as you fell into unconciousness. Four voices painted the air with their plea, your ears ringing with their unique cadence.

“Doc, I know it hurts. Forgive me, please.”

“I should've protected you, Honey.”

“Baby, hold on. Just hold on a minute longer.”

“...Don't. Don't, Sunshine. Stay with me now.”

Hours slipped into days before you managed to rise from your slumber. That first taste of air expanded your lungs felt fresher, cleaner, than what you felt in years. The weight of your past had managed to catch up with you, the cost being higher than the one you were ready to pay with such hastiness.

As you looked to your bedside, the signature purple jagged locks of your sensitive crewmate lay unravelled beside you. Bubblegum’s face burried itself against the plush duvet, both his hands lay cradling your own as you roused with a sucked gasp.

Where were the commanders? Where was the captain? Why are these bedsheets so comfortable? Questions you would not be plagued with for much longer.

Door sliding open, the towering figure of Wire entered your chambers and slipped to your side. His eyes met with yours just as his breath caught in his throat. His great strides close the distance between you as he kneels by your head. Forehead first brushing with your mattress, he slowly and silently raises his gaze up at you through his eyelashes. Rounded eyes: wide, guilty, and pleading at you.

Before he had a chance to utter his confession and explain his emotion verbally, you silenced him with a look.

“I'm so sorry, Wire,” you whisper beneath your breath in an attempt to not wake Bubblegum. “I hesitated. I should've reacted faster-.”

“No, honey. No,” he whispered, shaking his head and rising to stoop over your bed. “You don't owe me anything you're not willing to give. It's not my place to reveal you, just as it's not yours to interrogate me.” You sigh out, a flood of emotion washing your heart in waves. Each passing wave has Wire lean forward, his lips casting over your forehead and holding you firmly beneath his kiss.

“We love you, Doc,” he whispered softly, “Doesn't matter who you were, only who you are now.” You scrunch your eyes shut as you bite-back your emotion. The wound, the familiar unfriendly face, the sting of poison still flooding through your veins, everything spilled over the rim of your emotions. Each moment replayed in echoes, Wires arms and desperation reminding you of his compassion.

“I'm ready,” you whisper, feeling him peel away his lips from your head. He searches your eyes for meaning, your own orbs darting between his.

“But first,” you added, your smile returning to your lips as you teased him with it, “Send me Heat. He's likely to be feeling like absolute horse shit about the whole thing. I can't bare to have him beat himself up about it.”

“As you wish,” he smiled at you, releasing you from his grip and pulling himself away, “I'll bring you your Fire-Breather, honey.” Giving you one more playful wink, the larger man exited your bedside and sauntered down the hall to do as you asked. Bringing you the man who used his abilities to cleanse you from your ailment as he lay in the mess hall with the captain, finding reprive from their guilt at the bottom of their rum bottles.

Tag list: @mfreedomstuff @daydreamer-in-training @since-im-already-here @gingernut1314 @writingmysanity @sordidmusings @i-am-vita @indydonuts @feral-artistry @the-light-of-star @empirenowmp3 @racfoam @sunflowersatori @nerium-lil @sinning-23 @carrotsunshine @skullfacedlady @a-killer-obsession

[madkiska]

watching the entirety of jrwi: riptide again. here's some important things from the first few episodes that I feel we forgot (<110 mentions too though)

Jay

Had night terrors similar to those of Kubakinta's curse in episode 5, and they eventually start returning even after Loffinlot's curse is lifted ○ All of them were about her family and/or the navy ○ I simply think people leave her out of the nightmare stuff and she deserves it. Hurt her more, please (he said, lovingly)

was actually very upset at having to use her medal to get a Loffinlot rebellion to shut up ○ This could be because she didn't want them to guess she was a spy, but I choose to believe it's because she felt guilty

"If you're gonna be sailing with someone, you should have a good relationship with them. [nervous chuckle]." She says, while asking him for information about the Black Rose Pirates (ep. 10)

Said "thank god they didn't find me" after a nightmare about the navy attacking. Even when she was supposedly a spy, who one day would have to return to the navy ○ Very unclear if she was scared of her dad, or if it's because she was a secret spy so the navy would've just killed her

Rewatching, she was suspiciously into the plundering and gold and stuff. Like that was real sus. It doesn't fit her current character much

The only one among them who's gambled before

Chip

The entire thing literally starts off with Bizly holding a lit match

Called Gillion "Gill" and Jay "Sureshot" from an early stage

Was SO much more of a bastard. Lied to Gill constantly, didn't care about anything but the money, etc.

Had aggressive hand tremors alongside Jay's night terrors ○ Gill cures it with lay on hands

When he gets drunk married, they talk extensively about how he'd be released when he's dead. Welp.

They did actually break up and it was fine and they were still friends. They parted on good terms

Is really fucking good at chess ○ Beat Earl twice and Jay once. Jay had a point of exhaustion after a nightmare but Earl had no excuse ○ Lost to Gillion though, but only cause of prophetic screwup ○ This kid is smarter than he lets on, y'all

Was the first one to have a backstory dump while Jay is asking him about the Black Rose Pirates, yet still we know jack shit about his life before them other than "orphan"

Gill

Charlie has referred to Gillion with 'they' many times. I can pull receipts.

When describing Gill, Charlie said: "He's more.. elven, if you had to make a comparison. 'Cause I don't wanna be a fish guy". Oh, honey.

Smote a bald person by using his hair as a whip (ep. 4)

Was given anxiety and self-doubt alongside jay's night terrors and chip's tremors ○ "What do you want?" "I want the feeling of satisfaction I've been chasing my whole life." ○ This was episode FIVE.

First mention of the prophecy and how Gillion wasn't their ideal student is ep. 7, after he divine smites + prophetic screwups and deals like 60 damage to some beetles ○ Chip spends the next 30 seconds in gay awe

He refers to the crescent moon Niklaus tattoo as "my zodiac" (probably a bit) ○ It's not a lil basic white girl moon this thing is the entire size of his forearm

Gill had never heard about the Black Sea - it's unclear if the Undersea just don't know, or if that's just how sheltered he was (ep. 10)

Biz: "What would Gillion do. If he just had no goal - was just sitting there." "Gillion always has a goal." "Would his goal ever be to just.. Sit there?" "Absolutely not." ○ Later, Chip expresses that he doesn't know what Gillion likes. What he would want out of winning a bet. Gillion doesn't have an answer

Other

Apple, in a couple of early battles, acted like Gill's familiar (see: ep. 7)

They also pecked at his Niklaus tramp stamp and looked all confused at the idea of eating seeds

The specific crescent of the moon in the Niklaus tattoo is known as a symbol of "corruption" (ep. 9) and its antonym is the sun, for "life", similar to the yin and yang ○ Interesting to consider after what the tree said in 110 <_<

Pretzel has a masters degree in couple's therapy (ep. 10)

The Albatross/Millennium Chipper was described as the colour of rosewood or mahogany

Captain Lizzie's first introduction was a wanted poster, and Chip wanted to turn her in for the prize, then decided to try learn from her instead

Chip/Bizly called Old Man Earl "Erol" for a loooong time ○ Maybe it's an accent thing but I have an uncle called Erol and so this stands out to me

[haveihitanerve]

I've Got You

Steph just wanted one day. One day. To feel shitty about herself. To sit alone at home in silence and wallow. Watch crappy pirated movies from her phone because she can’t afford a TV and eat junk food that's probably months old because she doesn't really have time to get a real job right now.

She had, preferably, wanted a relaxing day. Being sick wasn't optimal for staying home, but at least it gave her a decent excuse.

So there she was, hunched underneath the covers of her crappy twin bed, on her phone, old bags of chips and tissues littering the floor and bed.

The window slides open and Steph's hand is under her pillow in a second, gripping the small dagger Tim had gifted her.

“I’m fine Tim. Go away.” She calls out in direction of the window as a shadow slips into the room. The shadow straightens to its full height and she curses, quickly dropping her phone.

“I’m not Tim.” Batman rumbles, and Steph drops the knife, twisting her body slightly to face him.

“I see that.” She shoves her phone away, just so that he doesn’t see her pirated movie selections. The last thing she needs is to deal with the fucking Bat. But of course, the Gods hate her.

“You missed patrol.” Steph’s cheeks heat up. She didn’t think it was that noticeable that she’d missed today. Much less that he’d notice.

“Yeah I uh… day off.” She chuckles awkwardly, hand rubbing the back of her neck. “Even my crappy manager Dave at Batburger gave me them from time to time. No point in being your own manage if it doesn't have benefits right?” To punctate the brilliance of her sentence she throws some finger guns his way.

Batman is unamused, white lenses unmoving. “Tim told me you jumped in Gotham harbor yesterday. To save a boy.” he murmurs instead, eyes scanning her apartment, taking in the empty cabinets, mold, and littering of stuff.

“Yeah.” Steph sniffs, grabbing another tissue to blow her nose. “Uh, is he okay?” She hasn’t had a chance to check, and she curses innerly at the lack of care it shows.

But Bruce doesn't comment, maybe because its what he expected, or because… something else, and just nods. “Yes. He’s fine. Minor cold, nothing too terrible. He wasn’t in the harbor for too long, thanks to you.”

Steph frowns at little at that, because it almost sounds like a compliment. Pride. “Uh, yeah well.” She shrugs, unsure of how to play this. “It’s just what we do right?”

Bruce hums his affirmative, eyes now scanning her. “But you..” Steph stiffens at that, and his eyes track the movement, no outward shift visible, but Steph can almost feel him flinch innerly at it.

Its for that reason alone that she forces her body to relax. “You were in it for longer.” He continues, pretending like nothing happened, like he's not bothered. Steph frowns, unsure of the direction he's taking.

“Yeah, I mean, I had to go in, find him, push him out, make sure he was out, and then patrol.” She shrugs. “No biggie.” Bruce frowns, and Steph squints at him, uncertain of what caused the reaction.

“You patrolled afterwards? Without changing?” Steph jerks one shoulder.

“I mean… yeah?” His eyes scan more intently now, taking in the littering of tissues, the large, thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders in the middle of summer, the redness of her nose.

“You’re sick.” The words are flat. Emotionless.

Steph rolls her eyes. “Great work Sherlock. Yes. I’m sick.” She sparkles her hands around herself in a bad display of joy. “Day off work. Sick day.”

Bruce frowns again, and before she knows it, he's crossed the room to her side. Steph stiffens again without meaning to, but he’s so close and he hasn't been this close since she was Robin and-

He kneels, tugging off his gloves as he presses a hand to her forehead, frown deepening. “You're burning up.” He mumbles, hands now moving faster, checking against her throat and moving to her sides and back, prodding and pushing with a firmness that is both professional and gentle and Steph doesn't know how to feel about it.

She wonders, idly, as his fingers settle on either side of her ribs, just resting there gently, how often he’s done this to Tim. To Dick. And Jason. And Damian and Cass. She wonders if even Duke has already gotten this treatment. If she's the last one. The one he hoped he’d never do it to, after he fired her from Robin.

“I’m taking you home.” Bruce announces without much fanfare, fingers finally slipping away from her sides as he stands, and Steph cant help but feel like she's lost something as he puts distance between them.

She glances around her apartment. “I am-”

“The Manor.” He corrects, and if Steph didn't know better she would swear his throat bobs, cheeks red. “You need medicine and food and- I don't know what else but you wont get it here. I’m calling Leslie.”

Steph frowns up at him. “But- I- okay…” She uncurls her legs from underneath her, moving to stand. But she must have moved too fast because suddenly the ground is moving closer and her legs have given out-

But Bruce is there, strong and gentle as he swings her into his arms like she weighs nothing, tucking her head against his chest like he does it daily, cradling her close.

“I can walk.” She mumbles as he moves to the window. “I can do it.”

Bruce hums his agreement, grappling away from her tiny, musty apartment. “I don't doubt it.” His breath ruffles her hair, warm against her ear. “But you don’t have to. I’m here. I’ve got you.”

Steph's hand contracts on his suit, bunching the fabric, and if a tear slips out of her eye, well... its just the wind. 

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

☠️ Something Dread, Something Red: Chapter Twenty

Something Dread, Something Red: Stuck in a proposal to a Marine Commodore, you escape minutes before your wedding in one last ditch effort to avoid getting married to a tyrant. Barely making it to the port of your town, you stumble across a ship just starting to leave and beg for passage off the island. You fail to notice that the people you beg for help, are pirates.

Warnings: None.

To Note: “Red Haired” Shanks x FemReader

Word Count: ~2.4k

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You lean over the rail of the ship, the salty breeze whipping your hair around your face. The sea stretches endlessly, but you can already see the faint outline of Satō Island on the fading horizon. You'll arrive tomorrow. Your heart races with excitement.

"I've heard so much about Satō Island," you say, more to yourself than anyone else.

Gab saunters over, a grin plastered on his face. "Wait until you see the hummingbirds. They're unlike anything you've ever seen."

Your eyes light up. "Really? Tell me more."

He chuckles, leaning against the rail beside you. "They're about the size of a parrot, ya know, the one's the nobles like to keep as pets? They're coloring is amazing. They love the sugar sap from the palm trees. You'll see them darting around everywhere, sipping from flowers and trees."

Your mind races with images of vibrant birds flitting through lush greenery. "I can't wait to see them." While your mind lingers on the beautiful pictures of Satō Island hummingbirds you had seen, your mind begins to wander.

The tension between you and Shanks has palpable, almost intense. It's been weeks since that night, and every shared glance, every accidental touch (which may or may not have intentional), feels charged with electricity and yearning. You can't stop the pull between you, nor the heat that simmers just beneath the surface.

It certainly doesn't help that you sleep next to him every night.

Yet a heaviness now hangs between you. You were living your life in utter bliss on board, while Shanks keeps bringing up the idea that you were limiting your life by staying with him. He loves you but at the same time was pushing you away. You had taken to staying busy during your waking hours, away from him. You couldn't argue about your future if he wasn't there to argue with.

The savory scent of Lucky Roux's cooking wafts through the air, drawing you away from the rail. Your stomach growls, reminding you that breakfast was a long time ago. You follow your nose to the galley, hoping to distract your mind from the persistent thoughts of Shanks.

Lucky Roux stands at the stove, a large rack of meat sizzling in a pan. He hums a cheerful tune, his round face lit up with a smile that never seems to fade. Despite his imposing figure, there's something comforting about him, like a giant teddy bear.

"Need any help?" you ask, stepping into the warm, fragrant space.

Roux looks up, goggles glinting in the light. "Aria! Perfect timing. Grab that bowl of potatoes and start peeling. We're having a feast tonight! Gonna need that strength for the island tomorrow!"

You nod eagerly, grateful for something to keep your hands and mind busy. You take the bowl and sit at the small table in the corner, peeling potatoes with practiced ease. The repetitive motion soothes your racing thoughts.

"Your hand is getting better," Roux comments, glancing over his shoulder.

"I've been practicing, Gab and Limejuice are teaching me knife tricks" you reply with a small smile.

Roux chuckles, turning back to his pan. "Does Shanks know that?"

"What he doesn't know, won't hurt him… but I think he suspects." You reply, flicking a potato peel off your wrist. "He is still salty over the teachings of words."

Lucky Roux giggles in remembrance. While you certainly didn't curse like a sailor, the crew had been subtly coaching you on not sounding like a stuck up noble nitwit born with a silver spoon in her mouth. You called it the teachings of words, a gentler way of describing them teaching you how to curse in vulgarity.

"What's next after these potatoes?" you ask, wanting to keep the conversation light.

"Carrots," Roux answers without missing a beat. "And then onions. Lots of onions."

You laugh, shaking your head as you finish peeling the last potato. "You're going to make me cry."

He winks at you. "All part of the job." A job you decidedly hate. You putter around the galley, gathering the needed onions from the storage barrel. You remain silent for the next few minutes, fingers on autopilot. "Seems like someone's got their mind elsewhere," Lucky Roux comments, not missing a beat as he slices through a carrot.

You hum in response, focusing on peeling onions. "Just thinking about Satō Island."

Roux chuckles, shaking his head. "Sure, sure. It's not a certain red-haired captain occupying your thoughts?"

Before you can respond, Shanks strides into the galley. His presence commands attention without effort. Like you could ever keep your eyes off him when he was around. He pauses when he sees you, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"Aria," he says warmly, his voice sending shivers down your spine.

You nod in acknowledgment, your heart racing. "Shanks."

He leans against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest. "How's dinner coming along?"

"Almost ready," Roux replies, giving Shanks a wink. "Aria's been a big help as usual. Best sous chef I ever had."

"You've never had a sous chef on board," You comment dryly, lifting your eyes. Shanks' gaze locks onto yours, and for a moment, it's as if no one else exists in the room.

"I'm sure she has." Shanks drawls out. The air grows thick with unspoken words and lingering glances. You can't help but wonder what he's thinking—if he's as consumed by these feelings as you are. He is.

Roux clears his throat, breaking the spell and tension that blooms every time you and Shanks are in a room together. "Well, I'll leave you two to it then. Don't let the pot boil over." He exits the galley with a sly grin, leaving you alone with Shanks.

Shanks steps closer, his eyes never leaving yours. "You've been avoiding me, treasure.”

You swallow hard, trying to find your voice. "I've been busy, I wouldn't say avoiding you. The upcoming island is—" Shanks cuts your diverting mumbles off with a touch against your lips.

His fingers move to brush a strand of hair from your face. His touch is gentle but makes your body tremble in delight. "It's okay," he murmurs. "I get it."

Your breath hitches as his hand lingers on your cheek. "Shanks, it is far more complicated than 'I get it' and you know that." When you aren't wrapped up in his arms at night, you have fallen into keeping him at arms length, avoiding the building pressure that is your relationship. He wants you to be free, you want him.

He leans in closer until your lips are just finger widths apart. "I've missed you," he confesses softly. Your heart pounds in your chest as you meet his gaze. The longing in his eyes mirrors your own feelings—feelings you've tried to bury but can't ignore any longer. Need.

"I've missed you too," you admit finally, your shoulders drooping.

A slow smile spreads across his face before he closes the distance between you—his lips capturing yours in a searing kiss that leaves no room for doubt or hesitation of his affections.

"When we arrive on Satō Island, you and I are going to spend some quality time together, okay?" He proposes, stroking your cheek.

You nod, feeling the heat rise to your cheeks. Shanks' smile grows, and he presses a soft kiss to your forehead before stepping back. The air feels lighter, the tension melting away as you turn to check the simmering pot on the stove.

"I need to get back to chopping," You softly comment. "Lucky's weird sofrito won't fix itself and he needs more to finish dinner."

Shanks pulls away, his hand lingering on your cheek for a moment longer before he steps back. "I'll leave you to it," he says, his voice a low rumble that sends shivers down your spine. "Don't burn dinner, okay?"

"Who do you think you talking to," You say managing a small smile and nodding as he turns and strides out of the galley. The door swings shut behind him, leaving you alone with the simmering pot and your racing thoughts.

The Red Force glides smoothly into the harbor of Satō Island as the sun begins to rise. You stand at the bow, your heart fluttering with anticipation. The island looks like a paradise—lush greenery, sparkling blue waters, and the unmistakable hum of oversized hummingbirds flitting through the air.

You feel a presence beside you and turn to see Shanks, his eyes fixed on the island with a soft smile. "Ready the day?" he asks, his voice full of warmth.

You nod eagerly. "Very much so." You hadn't slept well the night prior, your mind consumed by the trivial matters of your relationship, but it hasn't impacted your excitement. You are dressed in your hiking attire and your matching boots are securely tied.

Benn and Yasopp deploy the gang plank with practiced ease, their movements synchronized like a well-rehearsed dance. You can’t help but admire their efficiency as the Red Hair Pirates begin to spill onto the sandy beach of Satō Island. No time is wasted setting up a makeshift camp. Blankets are spread out, crates are unloaded, and laughter fills the air as everyone prepares for a day of relaxation.

Shanks stands beside you, his hand resting gently on the small of your back. "Ready to go, treasure?” he asks, his voice warm but eyes still echoing what you and he had spoken the prior night. You needed to talk. At least you would have time to enjoy yourself first. His eyes crinkle at the corner and he strokes your back with his thumb. "Let's just have a relaxing day, forget everything that's been bothering you. okay?"

"Okay," you agreed, liking the sound of his words. With a charming smile, you begin to walk in a random direction, your eyes everywhere and nowhere.

The soft crunch of sand under your boots blends with the distant hum of oversized hummingbirds. Shanks walks beside you, his presence comforting. The two of you veer away from the bustling activity of the crew, stepping into the dense foliage of Satō Island.

"Let's see what we can find," Shanks says, his eyes scanning the surrounding foliage. This would surely take some of the stress off your face. He pushes a low-hanging branch out of your way, and you duck under it, stepping into a world that feels untouched by time.

The forest is alive with the buzz and chatter of creatures hidden among the trees. You hear the hum before you see them—the hummingbirds. Their vibrant colors blur together as they dart from flower to flower, their wings beating so fast they’re almost invisible.

You giggle as one hovers near your face, its tiny eyes meeting yours for a brief moment before it flits away. "They're amazing," you breathe, turning to Shanks with wide eyes and a glowing smile.

He grins, his eyes twinkling. "Told you, you'd love it."

You walk deeper into the forest, marveling at the rich tapestry of life around you. Shanks stays close, his hand occasionally brushing against yours and fingers reaching for yours. Each touch is a reminder of his presence, of his love. He loves you, and that has not changed.

You reach a clearing where sunlight filters through the canopy, casting dappled patterns on the ground. There's a group of rocks you decide to sit on and take in the nature around you.

As you settle down, a hummingbird lands on a nearby branch, its iridescent feathers shimmering in the sunlight. It cocks its head at you and trills in interest.

"Knowing you, it probably wants to perch on your arm for a closer look," Shanks murmurs in your ear. He's taken a seat next to and his fingers now brush against your inner arm.

"Are you sure it isn't just trying to figure out if I will leak sugar sap?" you tease, glancing at him with a playful smile.

"Sweet enough to attract a hummingbird, huh?" Shanks murmurs, his voice dropping an octave, laden with suggestion. "I can think of other ways to test that theory."

You roll your eyes but can't help the small smile tugging at your lips. "Oh, really? Like what?"

He leans in closer, his breath warm against your ear. "I have a few ideas," he whispers, the teasing lilt in his voice unmistakable.

You laugh softly, pushing him away playfully. "Behave yourself, Captain."

Shanks grins, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Can't make any promises there. Not when you are with me."

With a sigh of exasperation that's more affectionate than annoyed, you turn your attention back to the hummingbird still perched on the nearby branch. "Let's see if your theory holds up," you say, extending your arm slowly.

Shanks slides his fingers up your extended arm, pressing against your back as his longer arm enables his fingers reach yours. His touch is gentle but firm, a comforting presence that steadies your nerves.

The hummingbird watches you curiously, its head cocked to one side. It flits its wings briefly before lifting off the branch and hovering in mid-air. You hold your breath, feeling Shanks' fingers tighten within yours.

After what feels like an eternity but is only a few seconds, the hummingbird finally lands on your wrist. Its tiny feet are surprisingly light against your skin, and you can feel the rapid flutter of its heartbeat.

You glance over your shoulder at Shanks, your eyes wide with wonder. "It worked," you whisper, barely daring to move.

Shanks' smile is soft and genuine as he looks at you and the hummingbird. "Told you," he says quietly, his words brushing over your lips from the proximity of his face. You can't help but laugh at the triumphant look in his eyes.

"So you have," you reply. The hummingbird flits its wings again, a blur of iridescent color, and you can feel its delicate movements against your wrist. The tiny creature's presence fills you with a sense of wonder and connection to the natural world. Where else would you get to experience this if not out in the world?

Shanks watches you with an expression of pure adoration, his eyes reflecting the light of the sun filtering through the trees. "You're amazing, you know that?" he says softly, his voice filled with emotion.

You smile, feeling a warmth spread through your chest at his words. "I think you might be a little biased," you tease, your eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Maybe," Shanks concedes, his grin widening. "But it's true."

Date Published: 6/21/24

Last Edit: 7/29/24

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[dragon-kazansky]

Spirit of the sea

Izzy Hands x Reader (GN)

You were a member of Blackbeard's crew long ago. Then you became a ghost story. Izzy Hands only sees you in his dreams these days, until he sees you for real when investigating Stede Bonnet. This sets him on a rollercoaster of emotions between you and what his captain is doing.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Warnings: Slight angst. Probably more swearing, this is Izzy here. Longer chapter than the last.

Chapter Three - Can you see me now?

♡♡♡

Izzy had entered his captain's quarters in a slight daze. He was focused on his mission, sure, but the sound of your voice was taking over his mind. It almost felt real.

The way you said his name made his heart skip. Not that he would ever say that out loud. God forbid anyone thought Izzy Hands had gone soft.

He almost believed you had been on that bar.

"Izzy?"

He snaps out of his thoughts at the sound of Blackbeard's voice.

"He's not interested in meeting. I explicitly told him... Blackbeard desired his company."

"But does he know who I am?"

"Seemed to, yeah."

"And still he said no?"

"You can "go suck eggs in hell" was his response, I believe."

"Fascinating."

Once Izzy was dismissed, he walked up onto the deck and looked out to sea. Back on open water where he liked to be. He finds himself pressing his palm against his chest, where the ring sits under his clothes. It feels heavier than normal for some reason.

♡♡♡

Turns out it was the Spanish waiting. Not a private vessel like Stede had thought. You had cursed under your breath as the dingy approached the ship.

It was a set up.

Along with the crew and the Englishman, you were pulled into a line where Stede could see you all being held at sword point.

This was becoming the last straw for you.

"I think there's been a mistake," Stede mutters. He is then promptly stabbed as his crew gasp in shock. Blood soaks his clothes as the sword is pulled out of him. "Did you mean to do that?"

You stand by quietly and watch as Jim is revealed to be a woman in disguise. Apparently Spanish Jackie knew them and wanted their head... or at least nose.

As night draws in the Spanish prepare to hang Stede Bonnet. You look up at him as he stands on the barrel, noose around his neck. You stand there with the notion that you'll never see Blackbeard and Izzy again. This time you'll really be a ghost story to them.

A pain settles in your chest at the thought.

"I'm sorry, guys." Stede says to his crew. "Any last words?"

"Yeah," Jim speaks up. "You are the worst fucking pirate captain in history."

"I deserve that."

The Spanish captain mocks Stede for his last words. As he begins to laugh, he is swiftly swiped off the ship. All hell breaks loose.

Cannon fire. Smoke. Pirates boarding the ship. Yelling. Swords clashing. Several things happen all at once.

In Stede's panic, he knocks the barrel over, hanging from the rope around his neck.

You begin to laugh, tears welling up in your eyes. You know these guys! This crew!

You're cut free from the rope binding your hands and you watch the Spanish die one by one on front of you.

Whether it was fate or luck, you thank your lucky stars. 6 years away from the ship you called home, only to reunite with them on this very night. Your eyes dart from one person to another, looking for the man you missed the most.

As the fog rolls in thicker, Stede is cut down from his hanging, falling limp on the ground. He's looking worse for wear.

You turn at the sound of heavy footsteps. You smile at the sight of your captain.

Blackbeard stands over Stede.

"The Gentlemen Pirate, I presume."

"You've heard of me?"

"Oh yeah, I've heard of you. I've heard all about you."

♡♡♡

"Blackbeard."

He looks up from Stede and sees you standing there in front of his eyes. "No way," he mutters under his breath.

"It's me."

He looks you up and down, taking you in. He has thought Izzy had been a little odd these past few weeks. Now he was connecting the dots.

"No fucking way!"

You smile at him. Blackbeard orders his men to carry Bonnet back onto his ship as he walks toward you and pulls you in close. You finds yourself a little taken off guard, not knowing Blackbeard to be particularly a hugger.

"This is fucking unreal. You're alive?"

"Yeah. Have been all this fucking time!"

He sounds super excited as he holds your by the shoulders and looks you over again.

"Izzy is never going to fucking believe this."

You fall quiet as you look up at your captain.

"How is he?"

"He's, well, ya know, Izzy."

"Captain..."

"I'm sure he will be happy to see you again. We thought you were dead..."

"Almost was," you whisper.

♡♡♡

You climb aboard the Revenge. You had hoped to never set foot on this ship again, hoping you could simply go back to the one you used to call home, but it turns out Blackbeard has a genuine interest in this Gentlemen Pirate.

You go along with him for the sake of returning to your old crew.

"So, I'm allowed back, just like that?"

"You always had a place on my crew. "Dying" isn't going to change that. Just, I need ya to talk to Izzy first. I think that's important. I'm gonna go check in with the Bonnet guy."

"Right..."

Blackbeard leaves your side to go below deck. As you turn around, you see him. Izzy Hands. Just as you remember, though perhaps a few more grey hairs on his head.

He is frozen in place. Eyes set on you, the corner of his lips pulled down, his brows are knitted together. One of his hands rests on his sword at his hip, the other is balled up into a tight fist beside him.

"Izzy," you say his name softly.

You can see his jaw clench, perhaps even his eyes watering. You realise in that moment he doesn't believe what he's seeing. You take a step forward and he takes a step back.

"Izzy..."

"You're not real," he says plainly, trying so hard.

"I am real, Izzy. It's me."

"No. It can't... it can't be you," he nearly loses his composure. "You died. That ship burnt down to nothing and you died."

You take another step closer.

"I jumped off the ship, but got swept up in the ocean. The weather turned bad, do you remember?" He doesn't respond. "I couldn't get back to the ship, and before I knew it you were all gone. You have every right to believe I was dead and that I'm just a figment of your imagination, but I'm here..."

Izzy stares at you for a few moments longer because inhaling sharply and walking off.

You stand there and feel all the shuddering breath escape you. Yeah, he had every right to walk away.

♡♡♡

After sitting with Stede for a while as he recovers, Blackbeard stands up on deck looking out at the horizon. Izzy joins him, his mind busy with thoughts. He has to be going crazy.

"Been lookin' for you everywhere. We need to move quickly before the Spanish realise we massacred all their men."

"Oh, the Spanish. They die quite dramatically, don't they, the Spaniards? Lots of blubbering for their God."

"Yeah, agreed. Now, we really should discuss..."

"Izzy, Izzy, Izzy, Izzy! Did you see them yet?" Blackbeard looks over his shoulder at his first mate. "Our spirit isn't a ghost after all!"

"So I wasn't going mad?" Izzy whispers to himself.

"What's that?"

"Nothin'." Izzy looks out across the sea. His chest feels heavy. So you are real. You really were back from the dead. Where the fuck had you been all this time? Why hadn't you reached out in some way?

"Aren't you glad?" Blackbeard asked.

"Fucking ecstatic."

"Cheer up, Izzy. We're a team again!"

Izzy says nothing as he stares out at the sea. He doesn't know what to feel right now. For the last 6 years he believed you to be dead. You haunted his dreams, his thoughts during the day. He saw you in places he shouldn't. Izzy genuinely thought he was losing his mind at this point.

"Look out there. Those clouds." Blackbeard points out at the sky, trying to change the subject. He could tell the conversation was starting to bother his first mate. "Do they look like frankfurters to you?"

"They look like clouds," Izzy sighs.

"Yes, yes, they look like clouds because they are indeed clouds, but if you just put some fucking imagination into it, man!"

Izzy looks back out at the clouds, completely done with this moment, but humouring his boss nonetheless. "I suppose they do look like sausages."

"Frankfurters, yes! Exactly. It's like pulling teeth with you sometimes, man."

The two of them turn to face the crew of the ship. Most of the crew are milling about, but you're standing against the railing with your arms crossed and bead bowed down. Izzy's gaze is on you for a moment before glancing at the crew.

"What've we got?" Blackbeard asks.

"Well, the ship sustained some damage in the crossfire, and the crew's completely useless, bottom of the barrel."

"Mm, and what about them?" Blackbeard nods over to where you stand.

Izzy bites the inside of his cheek. "Prisoner of Bonnet or something... has been trapped on his ship for weeks according to the others."

"What's the plan?"

"The uszh - make 'em repair the ship, execute 'em." Izzy says this as he avoids looking at you. He is still trying grasp onto the fact you're not dead.

"Right, the uszh."

♡♡♡

Pete looks up from what he is doing to see Blackbeard and Izzy talking quietly to one another. "I bet he's saying something genius. He's history's most brilliant tactician. I wonder if he'll recognise me."

You look up at him. "Recognise you?"

"Yeah. I was on his crew once."

You narrow your eyes at him. "I don't remember you."

"Why would you remember me? Unless you were someone we crossed, but we very rarely left anyone alive."

You push yourself away from the railing and stand in front of him. "You weren't on his crew."

"Oh yeah? How would you know?" He stands up to you.

"Because I was on his crew. Until about 6 years ago I sailed under Blackbeard. I don't ever remember you."

Pete backs down. "You sailed with... him?"

"Yeah. You see those two over there?" You nod toward Blackbeard and Izzy. Pete nods. "They were my friends. My colleagues. My family, if you like. I killed for Blackbeard. Stole for him. Tortured for him."

Pete swallows nervously. Lucius steps between you both. "I thought he would be taller."

You sigh and step back.

Fang and Ivan come over and slap Pete across the head. "Back to work!"

Blackbeard turns back around to see what was happening. "Boys, boys, boys, hey. Let's not brutalise our guests like that."

Blackbeard swings down the steps, even though it was only 4 steps to walk down. The crew applaud him for that anyway.

"Hello everyone. I'm Blackbeard." He greets them.

Izzy comes down the steps you notice him avoiding your gaze. You know you've hurt him by suddenly reappearing in his life.

Blackbeard makes the rounds of the crew. They're fans of him. He seems pretty stoked by the reactions he's getting from them. He turns to find Buttons standing beside you with a seagull on his head.

It dawns on you how little you knew of this crew due to being locked in the brig for weeks. You realise how weird this all is.

"Sorry, sir, Blackbeard, sir, I was just wonderin' if we're going to be able to live or die..." Franchie says.

"Right, come on!" Izzy cuts him off. "Blackbeard has business to attend to! Fang!"

Fang hisses and orders them all to go back to work. You remain standing as Blackbeard and Izzy pass by you. Blackbeard smiled at you, but Izzy pretends not to see you as he steps last you.

You sigh and walk in the other direction.

♡♡♡

"This place is amazing. Izzy, look, look at this shit." Blackbeard gets all excited as he opens a cabinet to find a model of the ship they're on. He's never seen anything like this before.

Izzy sighs as he watches his boss. He was annoyed by the fact that Blackbeard wasn't taking things seriously right now, and it didn't help to know you were basically haunting him even though you were no longer a ghost. He supposed in a sense you still were, to him anyway, a ghost.

Blackbeard holds up the model of the ship. "It's a teeny-tiny version of this ship."

"It appears so, yeah." Izzy takes it from Blackbeard when he hands it over. "So, Edward..."

"He's got all sorts of knick knacks and trinkets."

"Edward?"

"This guy's fucking fascinating!"

"Edward, focus. We need a plan."

"I AM focusing. I'm focusing on all of this brilliant stuff."

"Edward, we really need a plan." Izzy insists.

"Crazy little trinkets."

"Come on, a plan."

"Yes! We always need a fuckin' plan, all right?! And then what? Then we fuckin' execute the plan, then we get another plan, then what do we do? We execute that, and so on and so on, and again, and again, and again, and again! It's all so fucking boring!" Edward shouts.

"Why aren't you focusing on them? Huh? Our friend who came back from the dead and crossed our paths again! Who we thought was dead, but really they were out there all this time probably doing some way more fucking interesting than the same thing over and over again!"

Izzy bites his tongue at that.

"I'm bored outta my skull man. Is this all there is?" Ed asks Izzy, turning to face him. "I shouldn't be bored. I'm fucking Blackbeard."

Izzy stares at his captain.

"Well, as board as you might be, if you don't make a decision soon, we're going to fuckin' die."

Blackbeard looks at his first mate.

"You're doing it again."

"Doin' what?"

"Avoiding talking about them. All you wanna do is talk about what I plan to do. You won't even say their name."

"Edward-"

"Do you hate them, Izzy?"

"Ed-"

"No, Izzy. Do you hate them? Do you despise them for dying?"

"They're not dead though, are they? Never were. They just made us believe they were."

Edward stares at Izzy.

"Huh..."

"What?"

"Now, there's an idea. I haven't done that yet." Edward says curiously. "I haven't died yet, have I? Maybe we should try that." He says, standing right in front of Izzy with a look of excitement in his eyes. He then walks past his first mate to go back outside.

Izzy stands there with the ship model in his hands. "Yeah, cos that make sense."

He puts the model back in the cabinet.

♡♡♡

You sit on the deck with your head leaning back against the railing. The crew are still fixing the ship, but you're lost in your thoughts about Izzy.

Israel Hands was always a hard man. From the moment you net him, he was tough, direct, took shit from no one. He took pride in being Blackbeard's first mate. Being first mate was no joke, it was a huge responsibility to the ship and to the captain. Izzy Hands was perfect for Edward's right hand man.

He was always the same, but it took months of sticking to his side to make him soften up, if only a little bit. Izzy would find himself drawing closer to you. He would always come to stand beside you. Always found himself sharing thoughts and ideas with you. Sometimes he just liked to sit in silence with you.

You became a safe space for him.

Izzy Hands is human, despite what some might think of him. You know deep down he has thoughts and feelings too, he just does a good job of keeping them hidden. You've seen the way he looks at Blackbeard, like he's the most important man in the world. Izzy would do anything Blackbeard asked him. Even bend the fucking knee if he had to.

You liked Izzy. As much of a bastard as he was. There was a connection there, it might be hard to see, but you knew it was there. It was the things Izzy did that proved it's existence.

Now he hated you.

You should have made more of an effort to contact hi somehow, but even then you don't know how you would have managed that.

"Shit..." You sigh.

In the corner of your eye you see Izzy comes outside. You keeps your eyes away from him. If he was going to ignore you, you would ignore him too.

Izzy joins Buttons where they see ships approaching on the Horizon.

"These wee black dots look a bit Spanish to me. What do you think?" Buttons says.

Izzy looks through his telescope. "Fuck!" He hurries down the steps muttering to himself as he goes to find Edward.

You watch him go, immediately breaking your ignoring him attempt.

♡♡♡

Izzy can't find Ed. He's not on deck by looks of it, and he wasn't in the captain's quarters when he went in to check. Izzy is losing his patience right now. He sighs and heads back outside to make sure the crew are still working, and to see if Edward has appeared in the time he was gone.

Instead Izzy just finds himself staring at you. You've been sitting in the same position for the last hour. He would yell at you for being lazy, but that would mean talking to you, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

However, as your eyes rise from the wooden deck to meet his, Izzy finds himself frozen once again. Those are the same eyes he used to look into back then. You're right there in front of him.

In his state of being thrown back to the past, he had failed to notice the crew of this lousy ship had gone from deck. He blinks and realises how quiet it is. He takes note of you looking at him. You open your mouth to say something, but he walks away immediately.

He won't talk to you.

♡♡♡

The crew are below deck eating and arguing over Jim. They seem to believe Jim is a mermaid, but they stands up and yell at the crew, stating they are not, in fact, a mermaid. Neither are they bad luck.

Izzy is not impressed.

"You don't get food when you're being invaded." He states to them, unhappy with how things are going. "You live at my pleasure! Back to work! Useless fuckin' fuckers!"

He storms off again.

When he returns to deck be finds you fixing the ship. You've picked up where they have left off. You haven't noticed him standing there silently watching you as you work away.

Izzy hates the way he feels right now, seeing you there in front of him. You're behaving like you haven't been gone for 6 fucking years of his life.

"You don't have to do that," he says, trying to remain neutral.

You don't look up from what you're doing, continuing to hammer the nail.

"As I gather, you were their prisoner. They ain't your crew."

You shrug. "Ed said I always had a place on his crew, but right now I don't feel like I belong on either. This weirdos, well, I don't know much about them. I know they're not very good pirates, that's for sure. As far Blackbeard... it's been 6 years. A lot has changed. I've probably changed."

Izzy watches you. You refuse to look at him.

"You haven't changed... much."

You stop hammering the nail, but you keep your eyes focused on the deck as you tilt your head in his direction slightly.

"Thought you were dead."

"Yeah..." You say softly. "Figured as much. Heard the stories. Ya know, pirates believe I'm some ghost who died on that ship that day, seeking revenge on anyone who gets close to the wreck. I apparently haunt the water waiting for the day Blackbeard returns so I can rest in peace. I mean, who the fuck made that story up?"

Izzy doesn't laugh, but he is mildly amused by the tale. "Some arsehole, probably."

You chuckle. "Probably."

At last you bring your eyes to meet his as you stand. You look at him with a sigh. "I'm sorry you thought I was dead. But I had no way to contact you or let you know I got off that ship that day."

Izzy says nothing.

"I thought about you every day," you confess. "You and the guys. I wondered if you ever looked for me."

"Uh..." Izzy drops his gaze.

"I get it... you thought I was dead. No point in looking for a dead person at sea."

Izzy looks back up at you. "Did you ever once look for us?" He asks.

"Every fucking day. For the record, Blackbeard isn't easy to find."

Izzy almost smiles, but the sound of the door opening behind him has him frowning again and turning around. The crew of the Revenge are coming back to finish their work.

Izzy doesn't look at you again as he watches them, making sure they don't slack off again. You decide to finish the job you started.

Izzy only glances your way when he knows you've stopped looking.

♡♡♡

You knew what you were seeing, but you weren't sure what to make of it. Right in front of everyone was Blackbeard in a white frilly shirt, sleeves covering his hands. He was waving his arms about in some strange dancing motion. His expression was very serious though.

You thought perhaps you had hit your head and were imagining things, but when Stede Bonnet comes out wearing Blackbeard's iconic leather outfit, you decided you must have been drugged instead.

Izzy has to walk off and you don't blame him. The man has put up with a lot from Blackbeard over the years, and this had to be taking the cake.

While the crew play along with this strange charade, minus you who wanted nothing to do with any of this weird cosplaying thing, Izzy pulled Ed to the side to have a word with him.

You see them standing in the door. Izzy is obviously irritated with Ed. When you see Izzy giving Ed two middle fingers, you know that he has reached his tether.

Izzy marches out and grabs Stede by the collar. He drags Stede down below deck. No longer able to stand by, you follow him.

"How quickly can we move this vessel?" Izzy asks Stede.

"I'm not sure. That's really the crew's thing."

"How are you stocked for munitions?" Izzy asks him, grabbing him by the jacket again.

As you and Ed enter, Stede looks up. "Ed! Do you know this guy? He's a complete asshole!"

"Ivan! Fang! Prepare the guns. Execute anyone who won't fight." Izzy orders.

"Well, Blackbeard... what do you think?" Ed asks Stede, getting closer. You dare to move closer to where Izzy stands.

"Do you concur?"

"Me?" Stede asks him.

Realisation sinks in for you.

"You wanted to be Blackbeard. This is what it's like." Ed tells him.

"We could just talk to them."

"OK, yes, and do you speak Spanish?" Ed asks.

"No."

You sigh softly. Stede was about to learn what it meant to be an actual pirate.

Lucius comes in counting down from 20. You looked at him in slight confusion, but the look he gives Ed means this is something they understand. It dawns you he was counting down the time before the Spanish grew closer.

"Time is almost up. What are you going to do?"

"What?" Stede panics.

"They're on us now. Time for a new idea, Stede. The crew's going to die."

"I don't have an idea!"

"Hurry, you're going to lose all your men. It's all going to be your fault. All of the men who trusted you..."

"I don't know!"

"Their blood's going to be on your hands. It's going to be your fault!"

"I don't know!" Stede says again.

All you can do is stand there and hope someone has a fucking plan. You did not plan on actually dying today. You glance at Izzy, but he's just watching this back and forth interaction between the two men.

You'd never get to apologise properly to him.

"Time's up!" Lucius screams.

"I don't know what to do!" Stede yells.

"Death it is," Blackbeard says. "But wait..."

"You're a genius, Blackbeard!" Pete comes in grinning.

You let out the breath you were holding. You should have known there was a plan all along. You feel your muscles relax. You don't see the way Izzy looks over at you discreetly from where he stands.

Upon returning to deck you see the ship is surrounded by heavy fog. You could hardly see a thing outside the deck.

"I don't believe it," Izzy says.

"No one will see us in this," Fang speaks up.

"This is why you do not doubt Captain Blackbeard!" Ivan calls out.

"You knew this would happen?" Stede asks. "How?"

Ed takes a seat. "Quite simple, really. The colour of this morning's sky coupled with the brisk westerly wind made me think we'd be safe. And then the shape of the clouds confirmed it."

"Frankfurters," Izzy mutters. "Fuck me."

"Izzy, I figured the fog would set in once the sea cooled around dusk."

"'Cept we're right in their path. They'll run snack into us," Buttons says.

"Correct! On any other day, for it's September 2nd and tonight's a full moon. So life anchor, and let the ocean current drift us into the warm embrace of safety."

You can't deny that was clever thinking, but the way Izzy glances you makes you realise something is wrong. You ask him with a silent tilt of your head what the matter is, bit he just looks back up at Edward.

"Ed, Ed, it's September 1st, boss."

"What's that, mate?"

"It's September 1st."

"Dickfuck, no, it's not."

"He's right. It's the first," Lucius conform. "The full moon's tomorrow."

"It's a leap year." Ed sighs.

"Does that change things much?" Stede asks.

"Yeah. We're goners. Those of you who can swim would be wise to do it now."

The crew start asking questions, worried.

"Where are you going?" Stede asks.

"The Captain goes down with the ship. I'm going to get pissed."

Stede goes to follow Edward.

All you can do is look at Izzy. He's not looking at you, once again. You want to say something to him, but he walks away before you can utter a word. You sigh.

Fang comes over to you. "He missed you, ya know."

You look up at him. "Izzy?"

"Yeah. He probably won't appreciate me tellin' ya this, but I'm sure I'd heard him crying in his cabin most nights after the incident..."

You turn to look at where Izzy stands, staring out into the foggy sea.

"I can never make it up to him for making him believe I was dead..."

Fang places a hand on your shoudler. "Sure, you can."

Fang leaves you alone with your thoughts. You keep your eyes on Izzy and take a shake breath. That bastard will never understand how much you missed him.

♡♡♡

@grippleback-galaxy - @askmarinaandothers - @godlikegallagher - @for-fuck-sake-im-alive - @whiskeyswriting - @lxsm2 - @bloody-bunni666 -

[zorlovinghue]

Novel/Manhwa Recommendations

..... which you might not know exist, already know and read but got no other creature to talk about it, in shambles cuz there's little exposure, know but haven't read yet, don't know and might be interested, and etcetera etcetera.

==============================

Is It Bad That the Main Character's a Roleplayer

You see it right. From the cover and title alone, we know the MC is a chuunibyo with concerning level of emo. He is Demon Knight. Yes, that's what he called, I haven't read far so I'm not sure if the name will be revealed later on.

MC's characterization is, if you know Lee Hoyeol from [The Player Hides His Past], that's exactly him, except he had to do it himself, so the secondhand embarrassment is........ strong—

The setting and world building is great, the fighting scenes is clearly detailed and I especially love that every arc is elaborate. You can see the author put effort in their research and there's plenty of staggering inspiration on how close-combat scenes in specific background could be proceed–if you're an author looking for that exact thing, you can give it a shot and if you're a reader, this is magnificent and brilliantly done!

(The arc in the sea is quite long, there's pirate and stuff too if you're interested *ominous whisper*)

Poor guy wants to come back but have to be hero first. This give a new perspective on how transmigration story with MC who got normal (yes) background and family he cherished will become, the emotional tones is particularly deep for this one but the action did a wonderful job in balancing things out.

I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor (adapted to manhwa)

You may be aware that I've been into this lately... And yeah I'm gonna babbling about this more.

MC's name is Kang Woojin. His parents still alive, he got a younger sister and three best buddies. All alive! Wow, no one's dead. This is not a transmigration, regression or reincarnation story either. I'm pleasantly surprised, which is ironic in and of itself.

He got a power that allowed him to enter the world of the script and live as the character he chooses to act on, both a blessing and a curse. Since most of them are dead in the end so he died multiple times too. His power gives proper carrot and whips, meaning although it was dizzying he was able to take a rest too, no fainting accident even if he's overworked to death.... So far! I'm nearing 300ish chapter and the novel had finished with 480 chapter, highly likely won't be any fainting accident.

What I love about this story is that the pacing is fast yet precise. Date, month, year... Name of the day and time, contrary to my initial fear of having this tedious, it's actually really helpful to have a fxcking crystal clear timeline! In Korean novel at that!

This is misunderstanding-based story, like the author directly and straight up telling the reader that

Is the main focus.

This story have more comedy, so although the story itself have emotional tones sometimes, it is less pronounced when it comes to the MC himself (the characters he acted on got better treatment bruh)– which can be either good or bad depending on your tastes, but if you prefer action more like me then this is actually a good thing. And, this is a novel where I can perfectly say that it utilizes sensory perceptions more than 'poetic' description, incredible for that!

Another thing, a sensitive one and I braced myself for this, is that the novel actually friendly. Vietnam, Japan, Hollywood... And French later on (i haven't reach that point yet). MC going abroad like he was taking casual stroll is everything. The 'passion' and 'competitive' spirit is the tamest and calmest I have ever found. You can clearly, clearly see the author did it as minimally as possible and overtime cleverly utilize the flow so the relationship between the countries is now welcoming, not just tolerated. The amount of scarcity for this is enough to warrant acknowledgement.

The Player Hides His Past (adapted to manhwa)

Lee Hoyeol here...! Been a while since I read the novel so I apologize in advance.

This is game-turn-reality story, you might already know from the title so I just want to say that one more time.

His character's name is Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo, which he created on his early teens, another chuunibyo here. The story's world-building is great, the exploration of each arc is immersive and I love the emotional tones was clearly conveyed when it's due. It did a good job in adding depth and actually fleshed out the characters' existence excellently.

The fighting scenes, the strategies, and the executions are all great! It was amazing that even though the world building was quite complex it turned out brilliantly, so the dissonance is little to nothing and you can vividly portrayed the world of the characters.

Oh and, he is another MC with complete family. Goodness gracious, he's the youngest out of four siblings and have a niece too! It's the adorable part that I absolutely adore.

==============================

[heavysighing-dreamyeyes]

hehe idrk how many paintings i should put but

unequal marriage

isabella and the pot of basil

meeting on the turret

Ahh, nonnie, all gorgeous paintings! I'm literally thinking so hard about the pirate au and how they fit. I think a lot of it depends on how much the public knows about Red Hood?

Everyone believes Jason Todd died, but no one knows exactly how. Then, suddenly, a pirate lord crashes a party to steal a young widow, and starts calling them his partner.

I really see that in Unequal Marriage, since the average person doesn't know what Red Hood looks like, they can sympathize with a pretty young thing who's been taken by a pirate from everything they know. On top of that, Red Hood is seen as the worst of the worst, so they can only imagine what the reader is going through.

Looking at Isabella and the Pot of Basil, the nobles of Gotham kind of see the reader as obsessive and mad over their husband's death, constantly asking for updates that never come. They really, genuinely are were in love with their husband, and were never really the same after he died.

A Meeting on a Turret, my beloved. Ugh, I've been thinking about this one for hours.

I think my favorite interpretation would be that it's Jason and his partner. The reader looking away because they can't bear to see him leave on another ship again. Him holding them and promising to come back with richer and finer things, though we all know he won't.

Or it could be the pirate lord and his new partner. The reader is still in mourning for their husband lost at sea, and Red Hood is smitten over a spouse that may never love him the way he loves them.

People honestly suspect Jason was one of Red Hood's first victims. Maybe Jason spun tales of the readers' beauty, their loyalty, and love and kindness (hello Princess Bride reference), and maybe Red Hood wanted all of that for himself.

Or maybe it's all just a passing game for a cursed pirate to play.

Ah, I don't know. I love art, and it was really fun to try to apply these to the Pirate AU!Thanks for sharing, nonnie!!

[madebysoupy]

100 years later I finally drew all of my AU Links

Say hello to my lads! They're going to be in a comic I've been scripting and planning for about a year now I think? I'm calling it Link and the Links, latl for short!

More info under the cut :]

(this is the old post, consider checking out the new version!)

(please don't tag as LU/Linked Universe!!)

The Plot

The Links find themselves in a mysterious forest that seems somewhat familiar to all of them yet none of them know where they are. Now they have to work together to find their way home. On the way they'll discover a thing or two about each other and grow closer!

The Cast

I could talk about these guys for hours, but to keep it digestible I'll make it short

A bit of info before I get into it - all of them are taken from different points in time after the end of their adventure(s)!

Birdie (Skyward Sword)

18

Roughly 6 hours after defeating Demise

The start of it all. Unbeknownst to himself and the others, the space they find themselves in was created out of his desire to meet the heroes after him. He feels terribly guilty about the curse and very much blames himself for the possible suffering of future heroes. His main goal is to check up on everyone and help where he can!

Grasshopper (Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask)

10

4 days after leaving Termina

Somewhat disoriented after his journey still, he tags along simply because he thinks Birdie is an idiot who would get lost without him. He doesn't talk a whole lot but he likes listening to other people's stories

Seagull (Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass)

13

6 months after leaving the domain for the ocean King

He's a real genuine pirate, yarr!! Or so he'd like you to believe. He talks a great deal about his strength and bravery, but really is just afraid and terribly homesick most of the time. He wants to fit in with Tetra's and her crew's toughness so much he might go a little overboard on the act in a way that may or may not end up biting him in the butt.

Choo (Spirit Tracks)

14

6 months after peace returned to new Hyrule

He wouldn't call himself a hero, in fact he'd say it's a miracle he made it out alive. Self-esteem and confidence really aren't his strong suits, he often finds himself dragged along and unable to say no. He is very friendly however, and if you just give him a little space he might even open up to you.

Wolfie (Twilight Princess)

21

4 years after defeating Ganondorf

Left Ordon after intrusive thoughts convinced him he was a danger to his village, now works at Telma's bar as a waiter in exchange for a room. He's responsible well liked, though he's not too fond of himself. He has some complicated feelings about the whole turning into a wolf thing

Apple (A Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages/Seasons and Link's Awakening)

20

Just a few seconds after Koholint disappeared

From one dream right into the next (sorta?) he's understandably disoriented at first. He pushes that aside pretty much immediately though, much more interested in getting to know everyone. He's a kind and soft spoken, weirdly wise sort of guy and near instantly becomes the heart of the team

Wallflower (A Link Between Worlds)

19

4 years after wishing upon the triforce with Zelda

Bitter doesn't even begin to describe this uh.. Pleasant fella. After being bossed around for the better part of his life he doesn't take orders from anybody and is this close to quitting his job as a blacksmith. He hates being stuck here, he hates these strange people, really there's not much he doesn't hate. But that can't be all there is to him...

Puzzle (The Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link)

18

1,5 years after waking Zelda II

Confused, disoriented, but still happy to help and ready for adventure. Though some of the others don't really like him around he's still just as friendly to everyone. Since he struggles to communicate he tends to stay quiet. He appears to be simple minded on first glance, but he'll prove to be a valuable member of the team.

Sprout (Minish Cap)

23

13 years after defeating Vaati

After his grandfather died he retreated into his house and dedicated himself to improving his blacksmithing skills to live up to his grandfather's name, he was quickly forgotten by his community and faded into obscurity. Now he may be the best blacksmith in Hyrule, so good that even the royal guard hires him, but among the general castletown population he's nothing more than a forest cryptid. He only leaves the house when he has to, carefully avoiding people. Not because they disgust him, he just has a major case of social anxiety!

Squire (Breath of the Wild)

14

3 years pre calamity

This absolute rascal couldn't be happier about his current circumstances. These unknown woods are his playground and all of these weirdos are his friends now! Though everyone's pretty sure he's a knight trainee, he insists that he's just a stable hand for the guard. His chaotic and carefree nature surprisingly doesn't get in the way of things as he's eager to help out wherever he can, seeing the whole journey as an impromptu camping trip.

Some funfacts :]

Most of them are neurodivergent in some way!

Birdie and Seagull have ADHD, Grasshopper and Choo are autistic, Squire gets the combo platter AuDHD and Wolfie has OCD

Additionally, Birdie has auditory processing disorder and dyscalculia, and Squire has dyslexia

A few of them also have speech disorders

Choo stutters and Puzzle has cluttering speech disorder

Apple has a weak voice, so after a while his voice gets tired and gets hoarse

Choo enjoys drawings and cartography, two skills that will be very important!

One of Seagull's hobbies is photography! He takes his pictobox everywhere

Wolfie also does entertainment at the bar from time to time! He sings or does card tricks

Sprout knows HSL (hylian sign language) because his grandfather was deaf

Seagull's piratey way of talking is 100% for show and painfully inconsistent

Wolfie speaks in a thick southern (in universe ordonian) accent but he's trying hard to mask it since he moved to castletown

Wallflower absolutely hates Puzzle

Squire's special interest is horses

Birdie is a bit of a doormat so he has the ideas but Wolfie is the one to actually get them through

A number of them are blood related (has nothing to do with the colours of their names in this post, I had to reuse some because there weren't enough orz)

That's all I have for you today! Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! :]

If any of you have any questions about my Links or AU you'd like answered, my inbox is open!

Have a lovely day everyone!

[leiawritesstories]

swords and sea breezes, 2

a continuation of swords and sea breezes, owed in large part to @renxzs for encouraging the whole mess <3

word count: 1.9k

warnings: none....i think...

enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aelin blinked in surprised confusion and crossed her arms across her chest. "I have absolutely no idea what on earth you're talking about."

The pirate--Rowan--dropped down into the leather-covered armchair beside the desk, lazily propped one booted foot on the opposite knee, and raised his eyebrows. "It'll go better for you if you tell me the truth, my lady."

"Since you're apparently deaf," she retorted, "I'll have to repeat myself. I don't know what the hell you mean, 'that island my fiancé is hiding.' Besides, His Highness and I are not particularly well acquainted. You'd likely have better luck tracking down this mythical fantasy island of yours if you captured someone who actually knows him."

"There's the woman who tried to jump out a porthole." A delighted grin broke across Rowan's face. "Well then, I should inform you that my men and I have already had some friendly little chats with Prince Dorian's soldiers."

"Why do I doubt there was anything friendly about those chats?" Aelin's question was dry enough to suck water out of the ocean.

Rowan shrugged, the pirate incarnate. "The soldiers are still alive, and I'd call that friendly enough." He leaned forward and propped his chin on his fists. "Only one of them knew something useful--there is an island, and the Havilliards are hiding it, and you, my lady, either know about it and are choosing to make this difficult or you are truly unaware that it exists, in which case I'll simply exchange the prince one beautiful, unharmed bride for the location of his little paradise."

The casual, conversational nature of the pirate's voice chilled her to her core. "Why are you so adamant that you get to this supposed island, pirate? Don't you have enough wealth already?"

"I've given you my name, my lady," Rowan smirked. "The least you can do is use it." He paused, his gaze turning sharp and calculating. "The island isn't about wealth or riches, though I wouldn't be opposed to a few more crates of gold. It's about what the place hides, my lady."

"Aelin," she said. "Don't pretend you have any manners, Rowan."

"I think you'll find me and my crew a good deal more well-mannered than any of your parents' fancy court, Aelin," he returned.

That barb lodged itself into a sensitive little corner of her heart, but she refused to let it show on her face. "That remains to be seen."

"As does your knowledge of the island." He grinned at her scoff of frustration. "You're quite good at misdirection, Aelin, but I've been in this game for far longer than you have."

"And you still seem unable to comprehend my words at their face value. I. Don't. Know. I don't know anything about this fairy story you've made up, nor do I know why out of all the ships on this ocean, you chose to attack mine." Sparks kindled behind her eyes, the heat of her frayed temper creeping up her throat, but she tamped down on that anger, forced it back into its locked iron box.

Rowan stood up, and she silently cursed her eyes for tracking the lazy, predatory grace of his movements. "Then I suppose we're done with this conversation for now. Enjoy your time on the Queen's Cadre, my lady. The ship is open to you." He strolled out, leaving the door flung wide.

"Damned pirates," Aelin grumbled. She swung her stiff legs out of the bed, grateful that whoever had dumped her there had left her in her skirt and blouse but removed her boots, which had been carefully placed on a low shelf next to the bed. There was a cabinet built into the wall beside the shelf, and to her surprise, its shelves contained clean, crisply folded ladies' clothes.

She hadn't had a full minute to wonder about the presence of that kind of clothing on a pirate ship before a sudden, cheerful voice made her jerk around with a gasp. "You're awake!"

Aelin pressed her hands to her throat as if she could push her heart back down from where it had leapt. "I...yes?"

"Well, that's reassuring." The dark-haired woman in Aelin's room closed the door behind herself and sized Aelin up. "Whitethorn is in an unusually good mood today, so thank you for that."

"I sincerely hope I had nothing to do with that," Aelin said dryly. "Who are you, and what the hell kind of ship is this?"

The petite woman threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, I like you!" She tossed her thick braid over one shoulder and extended her hand. "Elide Lochan, best sharpshooter on the Cadre and proud wife to the biggest grouch on board. I'm sure you already know we're pirates."

"Hmmm, yes. The cannons and the massive black flag did give me a hint," Aelin drawled. "Please don't tell me I kicked you out of your room, Elide."

"Oh, not at all!" Elide gestured to the cabinet of clothing. "I've picked up quite the collection of clothes over the years, but many of them aren't tailored for women of my height. You're welcome to anything you want, but I recommend trousers." She winked. "They're easier to get around in, and easier to hide a knife in."

"My kind of clothes," Aelin joked. "Thank you."

Elide grinned. "Anything for a noble lady of the Galathynius house."

Aelin groaned. "Could we not bring my entire lineage into this? It seems that everyone here knows of me." She reached into the cabinet and pulled out a soft cotton blouse and a pair of dark brown pants, running her fingers over the material.

"Well, you are quite recognizable." Elide touched Aelin's ruined braid, the messy waves that tumbled down her back. "Here, though, nobility and rankings don't matter--well, unless you're my husband or the captain, because the two of them are always having an authority pissing contest."

Aelin snickered. "From what I know of Rowan after one conversation, that sounds exactly like him."

"Absolutely insufferable." Elide turned around so Aelin could change, and she went over to the desk and came back with a hairbrush. "Here."

"Thank you." Aelin unraveled the few remaining strands of her braid, and a small cloth packet fell into her hand. She glanced at the crumbled powder inside the little pouch, and a grin unfolded across her face as an idea rapidly took shape in her mind. "Elide?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you have scissors?"

~

"What the fuck, Whitethorn?" Lorcan barged into Rowan's office, his usual scowl etched across his face.

Rowan set down the compass he'd been using to plot lines across the maps spread out on his desk and fixed his right-hand man with a long-suffering look. "What the fuck what, Lorcan Lochan?" He never could resist ribbing Lorcan about his married name.

"You tell me." Lorcan glared at Rowan. "What the fuck is the Galathynius heir doing on our ship, and why the fuck has my wife become such close friends with her in half a day?"

"Aelin Ashryver Galathynius is how we get to the Havilliard island, and as for what she and Elide are doing, maybe your wife is just happy to have another woman aboard." Dismissively, Rowan turned his attention back to his maps.

"Bullshit," Lorcan grunted. "But fine. Maybe Li is just happy that there's another woman. Though I think the fucking knives they've been throwing at our fucking dart board have more to do with that."

"Fucking gods--" Rowan dropped his compass and pen with a clatter and stormed out of his office and up to the deck, shoving his way past the handful of his crewmen who were gathered around the--

Fuck. Him.

Aelin wore fitted pants that clung to the lines of her lean legs and a simple blouse that was belted at the waist. With a clean flick of her wrist, she sent a small, slim knife whistling through the air, and the blade lodged itself just beneath a longer one near the center of the dart board. Elide whooped, and Aelin brushed a strand of wine-red hair...

Her hair was red. Not red, fucking wine colored, a deep, rich, almost burgundy hue that soaked up the sunlight. And the loose, wavy strands barely brushed her shoulders, when Rowan could swear that her messy golden-blonde braid had almost reached her hips when he carried her down to her cabin the night before.

He was going to punch the next crewman who looked at Aelin's legs in both eyes, right after he made that man regret even thinking about Aelin's legs. And now he was thinking about Aelin's legs. Preferably wrapped around his shoulders with her head arched back while she yelled his name to the gods.

Fucking hell.

"I see you've made yourself at home, my lady," he drawled.

Aelin whirled around, knife raised in one fist while the other curved slightly behind her hips in an oddly familiar gesture that prickled at a corner of Rowan's brain. In the afternoon sun, her hair picked up a brighter red tint, almost like flames around her head. "Elide kindly agreed to help me with my throwing form," she replied as her tense, defensive posture relaxed. "Though I'm sure that you're going to impose some arbitrary restriction against me throwing knives now that you've discovered it."

A corned of his lips tugged upwards. "And deny both me and my crew the delight of your obvious skill? Hell no." He turned to address his crew. "Gents, and Elide, this here is Aelin, and she's going to get us to that island we've been seeking."

Lorcan made an unimpressed sound. "She's going to get us to Doranelle?"

Rowan narrowed his eyes at the taller man. "Yep."

Aelin coughed softly, drawing his attention back to her. "Well, as entertaining as this was, I get the sense that I should go." Before he could stop her, she ducked down the hatch and slipped out of sight.

~

She'd lodged the desk chair beneath the door handle before she went to bed, but Aelin still startled each time a set of booted feet thudded past her door. Stars blinked into view as night's darkness settled over the ocean, and she gazed out the small porthole window up into the sky, tracing the paths of the constellations.

Unlike most others, she had never needed maps when she had the stars.

Aelin wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and leaned against the cool wood of the cabin wall, allowing the soothing lap of the waves rushing past the ship's hull to calm her mind. It had been a close brush with danger up there on the deck, those brief seconds when Rowan had interrupted her and Elide's throwing session and she'd almost launched that knife into his throat.

It had been an even closer brush with danger when Elide's husband Lorcan--the tall, dark-haired, scowling man next to Rowan, who Elide had pointed out--had let the name of the island slip. Rowan had glared at his right-hand man, probably because he had wanted to name the island the next time he came to press Aelin for information she wouldn't give him, and she was able to hide the flash of shock that had jolted her at hearing the word.

Doranelle.

She hadn't set foot on that tiny, beautiful, cleverly isolated island in far too long. And with the stars lighting the sky above, she wouldn't need a map to finally reach it again. Nor did she need Dorian Havilliard, despite his benevolent intentions, to protect Doranelle's secrets. As her betrothed, and as a distantly related descendant of the Galathynius family line, Dorian had been entrusted with keeping the near-mythical island behind its veils.

Aelin's whole being yearned to see the island again.

But until she knew that Rowan Whitethorn and his crew of pirates would honor what the island protected, she could not let him go there with her.

~~~

tags:

@live-the-fangirl-life

@superspiritfestival

@thegreyj

@wordsafterhours

@elentiyawhitethorn

@morganofthewildfire

@mariaofdoranelle

@rowanaelinn

@house-of-galathynius

@tomtenadia

@julemmaes

@swankii-art-teacher

@charlizeed

@booknerdproblems

@earthtolinds

@goddess-aelin

@sweet-but-stormy

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@darling-im-the-queen-of-hell

@llyncooljones

@silentquartz

@aelinschild

@renxzs

[flammingnachos]

𝑶𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅(Zoro x fem!reader)

𝘚𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴; Zoro can’t seem to get his fixation off a certain crew member that recently joined the pirates so what else can he do rather than confront her about the damage she’s doing to his heart.

𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨; clueless!reader

During my days of being apart of the straw hat pirates it was pretty hectic and exhausting but entirely fun

Their Captain Monkey D. Luffy had recruited me off another one of the islands that they had rescued initially, I wasn't planning on becoming a pirate but after Luffy had begged and pleaded so had some of the crew members pleaded for me to join since they needed a strategist and after seeing me give them a brilliant idea to take down the larger group of pirates that were trying to take over the island.

The captain himself had pleaded and pleaded and begged up I at least until I took up on that offer, I couldn’t say no to those big wide eyes of his they were just too irresistible

So here I am now, leaning over the railing of the ‘going merry’ as they called it and watched as the sun set and the salty sea air blow in my face pushing back my hair a bit out of my face

“My beautiful Vicky, would you care for one of my homemade drinks for someone as beautiful as you”Sanji I think that’s his name, fluttered out practically flying with his toes toward me with his hands extending with the drink he made

Aw how sweet

“Thanks, Sanji” I complimented flashing him one of my signature smiles, after that he basically fainted on the floor. Evaporating right in front of my face

“Anything for my beautiful Vicky..” he just kept muttering incoherent words to himself, the lit cigarette that was in his mouth dropped to the ground right next to him. His eyes turning into hearts

“Sanji..”I called out unsure of what to do at this moment

No response

He continued mumbling out words while pooling on the floor that was until I heard luffys voice yelling in the distance of the ship

“Sanji, I'm hungry!” he called out making his way over to where we both were at, at this Sanji angrily got up picking up his cigarette in the process and walked away muttering curse words to himself

“You’ll have to wait!” he responded in a much harsher tone

Luffy shrugged this off and continued his way towards me

“Hey Vicky” he greeted with that big ole gummy smile of his stuck on his face

“Hi Luffy” I greeted back taking a tiny sip from the drink Sanji got me, Luffy saw this and intensely eyed my drink with that stupid smile of his still on his face

“Something wrong Captain” I asked out confused

He shaked his head in response

“Nope” he popped out the ‘P’

then silence came back as he continued eyeing the drink in my hands

he wants the drink

I pushed out the drink towards Luffy’s face as he greedily snatched it and poured it down his mouth in one go

“Thank you Vicky!” He jumped up happily right then we heard some more yelling in the distance Once again

“Luffy’s you jackass, where's my juice” Nami ran out of her office with an empty glass container in her hand and speed walked toward us

“Gotta go” he giggled out speed walking the opposite direction

Nami saw this and ran towards him as she chased him down the other side of the ship

Strange Crew indeed

I shrugged this off and turned my attention back to the sunset that was now gone and nightfall had fallen upon the ship now

The breeze continued to blow in my face as I focused more on how my life has been going so far, the adventures I've been having and the new friends I've made

“Have anyone seen zoro” chopper asked roaming around the ship high and low looking for Zoro

Zorro..

This man was the finest thing on the grand line itself, it's a shame he's so ignorant and anti-social I would have tried to make a move on the guy but he was just so closed off I didn't know how he would react if I just go up to him and started a conversation

I've always had my eyes on the swordsman since the beginning from when I joined the ship, he was the only one who wasn't begging and pleading for me to join and just shrugged it off when Luffy informed him of a new crewmate

From the start, til now we haven't had a decent conversation with each other but just glances here and there, I'm too shy to just walk up to him and start talking and he's…I guess too closed off. I would occasionally pass by him here and there Working out and stuff but that's it, even during dinner we wouldn't speak to each other

Nami noticed this and always pestered me about why out of all the crew mates I hadn't spoken to Zoro yet at all, I would simply tell her to have patience and that I was waiting for him to feel comfortable enough to have an conversation with me

“Don’t let that cold facade fool you Vicky, he's nice..”

“When he wants to be” Robin chimed in one time when Nami was on her daily rants again about my relationship with Zoro

Naomi snickered at this in which I just blushed and walked off before she started all over again

𝒁𝑶𝑹𝑶

there she goes again..

Making my adrenaline rush to my ass and my heart beat ten times my normal heart rate, I don't know how to explain the way I feel about Vicky

The first time I laid eyes on her was when that Captain of ours fluffy announced that she had officially agreed to join the crew as the ships strategist

Personally, I didn't think we needed someone to make great plans for us we could have just go in and fight and go right back out and were done but boy seeing her in action really changed my mind, The Way how she just gave orders while still softly speaking it out just gave me weird things inside my stomach

Ever since she joined I've never personally spoken to her before rather than glimpses I would give to her here and there

I haven't mustered the courage to ever personally walk up to her and start a conversation but all I could do was watch that stupid cook flirt with her everyday practically drooling and having another one of his perverted seizures whenever she'd thank him or even just started a conversation with him

‘how does he do it’ I wondered

I wouldn't ever admit but Sanji had a way with the ladies that I was always secretly envious off, even when I wouldn't show it I hated the way he could just effortlessly flirt with her without getting a heartache and stammering halfway in the conversation, he would just simply let it flow through

I hated that

No matter how hard I tried and avoided her, frequently working out more than usual just to get this chick out of my mind but it simply wouldn't work and that's what pissed me off, my life was going so good before her and now that's she's here I can't seem to eat, sleep, breath, move, or even think straight without this chick crossing my mind and making me frozen

This had gone far long enough

Tonight I'm gonna confront her about this spell she's cast upon me to make me so weak in the knees, I would seriously need to tell Luffy that we might have invited a witch on board

𝑽𝑰𝑪𝑲𝒀

I yawned a bit, looking around and seeing that everyone must have gone to bed already while I was the only one up, I looked back at the ocean some more before pushing myself off the railings and heading downstairs

While doing so someone bumped into me when they were turning the corner form the gym room and basically toppled me down on the floor,

“My apologies” I looked up and it was Zoro sweating still carrying those dam three swords that nearly killed me just now

I nodded taking his hands that he had extended to help me to my feet and thanked him, turning my heel to walk back to the room when he halted my movement by holding onto my shoulders

“Can I ask you a question” he paused out

I turned my head slightly to look at him

“Yeah..”

He sucked in a deep breath of air before speaking

“Are you a witch”

This time I fully turned around and look at him in bewilderment

“You serious right now”

“You prance around here innocent and vulnerable but you think I haven't uncovered your secret yet. I have” he said

I just stared at him up and down in shock

An I dreaming now

“Zoro..” I whispered out

“You think I don’t know about your witch act!”

“you’ve put me under one of yours spells and I can’t get out, GET it the hell off me woman” He shouted

I looked over at him flabbergasted

“what spell” I mumbled out

He sighed at this

“you think I don’t know..that you put a love spell on me to force me to be in love with you!” He screamed moving up and down

“I’m not ready to be In love and it feels shitty because of all these damn insects in my stomach that won’t stop moving” He confessed in one breath

I started laughing at this cause ‘what the hell’, he quirked up his eyebrows

“What’s so funny”

“Zoro I think you like me”

The atmosphere froze

“I think your attracted to me to the point where you think I’m a witch because you’ve never felt this way about anyone before..” I explained

“by the way not a witch”

The atmosphere went quiet

“right..”He only mumbled

We didn’t say anything to each other as he scratched the back of his head while I nearly suffocated myself to not laugh my ass off in his face

“how about we go out to the deck and just talk” I breathed out walking past him as he followed behind

“ye.”

[fanaticsnail]

You Kissed the Clown? Part 8

Part 8 you guys! Here as promised, and only at just after midnight this time!

I've also uploaded everything to my Ao3, just in case you prefer that platform over the formatting here.

Word Count: 6,528

If you like my work, please leave a comment. I love hearing your thoughts about this series! ❤️

Part 7 back here.

You were cursed.

That was the only logical explanation that was presented before your mind as you sat beside the incapacitated swordsman who was now donning a gaping wound in his chest. You cradled one of his hands within your own as he slipped somewhere flittering between life and death.

You assumed you would’ve been nursing back Usopp to the land of the living, holding his hair back as he regurgitated in the bathroom due to his intoxication from last night’s over-consumption of alcohol. Staying well out of the way of the administrations of the head chef of Baratie as he placed fish skin over the weeping wound after performing a well-practiced stitch routine, you allowed soft tears to spill slightly from the corners of your eyes.

You paid no attention to the others in the room, focussing only on the steady rise and fall of the swordsman’s breath to note any inconsistencies or irregularities in their movements.

“He’s got one foot in each world right now, caught between life and death,” you finally brought your ears to focus in on the conversations taking place in your surrounds. Your orbs snapping to meet the eyes of the retired pirate Captain as he continued. His eyes softened slightly, still baring and air of authority.

“You have to find a way to keep him tethered to our world,” he continued, causing you to hang on his every word. “Talk to him, tell him stories, sing him sea shanties for all I care,” he added with a tone of authority, “he may not reply but he will know his crew are still with him.”

You all moved him into Nami’s quarters, the most well organised and least dangerous of the rooms; noting the many sharp objects in Zoro’s room and the volatile chemicals you use for maintaining and polishing antiquities.

“I’ll take first watch,” you notified the crew, “you all get some rest.”

There was no protestation with your crew, exhaustion overcoming them as the many drinks, sleepless night, manual labour – in Luffy’s case – and anxiety from the anticipation of the fight.

“Nami,” you added, “take my room. Less messy than Zoro’s and the majority of items in there already belong to you.”

She nodded, glancing one last time in sadness at the body of your fallen swordsman, before removing herself from the room. Once she closed the door behind her with a small click, you returned your gaze on Zoro as he lay unconscious atop the table.

“Mihawk,” you growled in a low tone, “you had to fight Mihawk?”

You walked around his body and snarled at him.

“Dracule fucking Mihawk,” you uttered again through clenched teeth. You reached for a chair and dragged it over to rest beside him, placing your hands on the vacant place beside his head.

“And here you are hanging shit on me for simply kissing a clown,” you angrily spat at him, “as you go so candidly up to pick a fight with one of the most fearsome warlords of the sea.”

You thumped your fist beside his head in anger as warm fresh tears threatened to spill again from your eyes.

“And you call me stupid,” you growled before allowing a soft whimper fall from your lips. You reached your arm down into the bag attached to your belt, finding a broad concealed flask and swiftly opened the tin lid. Taking a swig and feeling the burn to calm your nerves as you began your next tirade.

“You listen here, you stupid, stupid boy,” you threatened Zoro, “you are going to hear every word I am going to give to you, and you are going to hang on every syllable.”

You stared at the swordsman, focussing on his expressionless face as he began to steady in his unconsciousness.

“I am going to tell you everything,” you whispered into him, “and it is going to absolutely bore you so much, you will have no choice but to wake up just to get me to shut the fuck up.”

You slapped your back into the back of the chair, slumping down and taking another sip as you focussed on the events that just transpired, thinking if there would have been anything different you could’ve done to change this fate.

“Let’s start at the beginning,” you spat to him, making yourself comfortable as you began to relay your past, your present and your future to him while continuing to reflect of on the battle that occurred moments ago.

----------------------

You slept through the night relatively peacefully before being rudely shook awake by a heavily intoxicated Usopp as he spluttered over his words. You couldn’t comprehend anything he had to say as he continued actively shaking you. You caught a few words like, “fight,” “battle,” “warlord,” and “big ass sword,” before you managed to break yourself free of his grasp.

You shoved him off you, recoiling slightly at the smell of stale, day-old alcohol lingering on his breath. Sheets flung unceremoniously from your form, revealing your night-clothes to the crewman before you; you shoved his body through your door and slammed it in front of him. You rapidly peeled your clothes from your body, changing into a light dress and fastening your belt in place, you flung the door open to reveal Usopp attempting to stabilise himself against the wall before you.

“Get up, Usopp!” you barked at him, “fill me in, damn it. Annunciate your words!”

“Hawk-eye,” Usopp panted, clutching his chest, “Mi-hawk.”

Your eyes widened as you began to sprint past him towards the upper deck where you saw Zoro with his black bandana atop his brow, marching toward the make-shift dock of Baratie with Luffy behind him.

You widened your eyes as you clutched the rigging before hurdling your way towards your Captain and his First Mate, noticing the dark form of the swashbuckling warlord you knew to be Dracule Mihawk. You couldn’t make out what conversation they were engaging in, not quite understanding the entire situation Usopp neglected to relay to you. For all you currently understood, Zoro and Mihawk could simply be sharing tips on how to polish their blades more efficiently; but from their stance you assumed something more sinister was currently in play.

“Enough,” you heard Zoro utter, “let’s begin.”

Mihawk reached to the small clasp at the back of his neck and removed the chain from its place fixed at his scruff. He tossed the material to the side heeding it no mind as he unsheathed the smallest blade you had ever seen pass for a sword. The blade looked similar in style as one of your large scalpel tools you used to cut through leather in your antiquities.

“What the hell is that, I’m here for a sword fight,” Zoro uttered to him, insulted at the production of such a small weapon.

“I don’t hunt rabbits with a cannon,” Mihawk rebutted carelessly, unblinking in his hawk-like gaze.

“Dracule Mihawk,” you said with a small curtsey, bringing his intense eyes to rest on your form. You bowed your head in greeting with a sweet smile falling over your face.

“Ah,” he purred slightly, “the Artificer’s daughter,” he addressed you with a slight sinister smirk playing on the corners of his lips.

“It has been so very long since the last time I laid my sights on you, sweet thing,” he added.

A burning, fixed beam of sweltering fury bore into you at that moment; the source being from the green-haired swordsman at your side.

“You are fucking with me,” he uttered in a voice low enough for only you to hear with an upturned snarl. You chose to pay his words no mind as you took a step forward towards the warlord.

“It has been long indeed, my lord,” you addressed him, “and in absence, fondness blooms in its stead. Shall we to the bar and enjoy a glass or two of Sangiovese while we catch up on the years that has stolen away from us.”

He narrowed his eyes, not entertaining your words in the slightest.

“You flatter me, little mouse,” he quirked his brow at you, “your mother taught you well.”

Your sweet façade fell from your face at her mention before you collected it back again to your face. Mihawk studied your every movement like a hawk fixated on a helpless little hopping mouse caught in the clutches of a wolf-spider.

“I learnt only from the best, my lord,” you smiled, “what say we leave this place and take that drink now?”

“As tempted as I am, sweet thing,” he turned his gaze back to the green-haired swordsman as he watched this interaction with absolute disgust, “I am a little hung up with this rather insignificant rabbit at the present.”

“I’m no rabbit,” Zoro snarled darkly while unleashing two of his three swords.

“That remains to be seen,” Mihawk taunted.

You side stepped to remove yourself from the equation as the two sword wielders engaged in single combat. You could not bare to watch your friend in their inevitability to be cut down by Mihawk but stood strong yourself to hold firm your sights on the battle commencing.

----------------------

“-And that is how I came to be the oldest of fifteen children,” you concluded your incredibly drawn out tale. You snickered slightly, knowing the tale of how your parents fell in love and held onto it throughout the years would’ve bored Zoro so much he could cry.

“Now, shall we move onto something more juicy?” you snickered slightly, knowing he would absolutely not want you to continue your absolute mind-numbing experience of relaying insignificant events from your childhood.

“I have a confession,” you said, swigging from the brass flask once again, “and you’re going to kill me when you wake up.”

You leant in close to the tri-pierced ear of the unconscious swordsman, bringing your lips to the lobe as you closed your eyes and whispered without more than the breath it was required to speak the words.

“I am in love with Buggy the clown,” you spoke slowly, so he could catch on to every word that was relayed to him. You held your face close to his, focussing on the fact that this was the first time you had passed that information (willingly and knowingly) onto another person. The person in question being the first individual you had grown unwittingly closest to aboard the vessel. And the person likely to die in the next upcoming moments, to which’s limited time in the land of the living was spent pondering something as insignificant as a love confession from a crewman.

Pushing your body from the almost intimate proximity, you sat back in the chair again and almost pitied the swordman at his absolutely unwilling participation in hearing your confessional words. You reached for his limp right hand and laced your hand within his and gave it a small squeeze to comfort him.

“And if you continue to remain in this state,” you squeezed his hand again, this time more threatening and raising your voice to a regular speaking voice now, “I will actively do everything I can to seek him out, bring him into this room and desecrate your resting place with sounds so absolutely illicit, you would need to seek exorcism to rid your soul from the memories and images conjured to you every time you close your eyes.”

You laughed at your threatening words, knowing they were absolutely untrue in all shapes and sizes as the door began to swing wide. You looked over to your captain who had a forlorn expression adorning his face.

“Captain?” you asked him, semi-horrified that he may have caught the final words you uttered to the resting swordsman, “are you unable to sleep?”

“I just-,” he began, shrugging his shoulders forward slightly and avoiding eye contact, “I just wanted to-.”

He paused his words as they caught in his throat. You released Zoro’s right hand from your grasp and stood to walk over toward him. You maneuvered your head to retrieve his gaze from the floor, while placing your left hand on his shoulder.

“He will wake,” you said, finally catching his eyes, “I am sure of it.”

His eyes searched yours as his brows upturned, deepening his shaken and depressed expression.

“How can you be so sure?” he questioned you, his signature grin nowhere in sight.

“He has no choice, Captain,” you smiled broadly at him, patting his shoulder in comfort, “he has too much to achieve in this life to welcome the next so suddenly.

Luffy attempted to relieve you from watching over Zoro; but you absolutely disregarded those notions and was adamant in your refusal.

“Captain, with all due respect; each time I find myself away from you all, something far more sinister occurs. I refuse to be apart from Zoro in his recovery. I will not miss this,” you said firmly with a ferocity that had not graced your face for the entire time you had ventured.

Luffy sighed through his nose with a frown on his face. You watched as his jaw softened, indicating he had relented this battle with you.

“Go and get some rest, Captain,” you said again, “I will be here when he wakes up.”

And you were. You remained in these quarters, tinkering with the same piece Nami gave you to work on several days earlier. You endured your position while each member of the crew took turns in addressing Zoro; relaying information to him in stories from their individual travels. You listened as Nami read to him children’s stories before she went and picked a fight with your Captain.

You remained silent as Nami continued to lay insult into your Captain, flinching slightly at the disrespect she posed to him.

“I didn’t think he was going to lose,” Luffy said in absolute belief in his First Mate.

“you could’ve tried to change his mind-,” Nami began, only to be cut off by Luffy.

“I would never do that,” he said lowly.

“So you’d rather see him like this?” she gestured to his resting form, “he might die, Luffy.”

“And I’d do anything to save him. Anything,” he said with a small, tight-lipped smile coming to his face, “except stand in the way of his dream.”

You bit your lip at the words your captain disclosed, squeezing your eyes shut to make yourself as invisible as you could as your entire body seemingly quaked with emotion. Your Captain’s words sang to your soul; his innocence and absolute ignorance was a beautiful combination to your mind.

“We all have dreams, Luffy. But we outgrow them-,” Nami began, to be once again cut off by Luffy.

“Is that what you really think?” he asked her with a shrug, “don’t you have a dream?”

You finally opened your eyes to gaze on Nami before pulling your sights over to the rise and fall of Zoro’s breath.

“Yeah, for right now it’s to not have Zoro die in my bed,” she shouted, a small almost undetectable quiver slightly hidden in her voice.

“But isn’t there something that you want? Something more?” he said, his former grin returning to his face as his eyes beamed at her, “more than anything else in this world?”

Nami paused her words before quietly uttering: “not everyone gets to follow their dreams.”

She left the room without anymore words exchanged between the two of them, leaving the three of you alone once more in Nami’s bedroom.

Luffy turned to meet your eyes for a moment before resting on Zoro’s form, which continued to remain in their unmoving state.

“You have a dream, don’t you?” Luffy uttered quietly to you. You jumped slightly at the words, not thinking he was to engage with you so suddenly after the heated discussion with Nami. You paused before collecting yourself.

“I do,” you said in a low tone, standing again and making your way to stand at Zoro’s side.

“And what is that?” he prompted you, taking a small step towards you and halting to stand at your side, bringing your gaze to rest on Zoro.

“Call it an intermediate agenda,” you quirked your lip up slightly at the corner of your mouth, “several small plans to achieve a larger goal.”

Luffy laughed slightly at your response, nodding his head at your words; “care to disclose it with me?”

“My dream-,” you began, words halting slightly in your throat as you rifled your mind to seek the appropriate words, “is to be like my mother.”

“Oh?” he asked you in response, attempting to prompt you on.

You sighed with a warm fondness at her memory.

“She was kind,” you began, “and incredibly intelligent. She lead first with her heart, searching later for the appropriate means to achieve that end.”

You smiled, nodding while staring at the floor; “and she was loved by all who met her, most of all by my father.”

“And you wish to be like that?” he continued to prod, “to lead with your heart?”

“Not quite,” you smiled at him, bringing your eyes to meet with his, “she was also a tinkerer. She worked with harsh metals, precious gemstones and crafted some of the finest pieces known throughout all corners of the world. She was the one that crafted several pieces for-,”

Your words halted in your throat as you again gazed down to the fallen swordsman below, “-for Mihawk. I was more in my youth when I first met him. Young and stupid, as I like to call it.”

You chuckled slightly at the memory before shaking it from you to not lose your thoughts.

“That is my dream,” you held on tight to the words as they formed, “to become the greatest finery smith in the world; to create something worthy for the King of the Pirates.”

You nudged Luffy’s shoulder slightly with a warm smile before adding, “and I will make you the most beautiful piece, it will be the finest item in the entire collection. This I swear.”

Luffy grinned wide before placing his hand atop your shoulder.

You dwell in that moment together before he left you alone to be with the swordsman, watching over him as he slept.

You chose to not sleep through the night, willing yourself to remain awake at his side to not only be with him as he awoke; but to not miss any other stupid situation your crew dug themselves into. If you were being perfectly honest with yourself, you weren’t much better – smithing a weapon some nights ago that was intended to claim your life at its hand.

You witnessed the dawn rise, your crewmen coming in sporadically to check on Zoro. You noticed the blonde waiter was alongside them, who offered a mug of scorching hot coffee into your hands with a warm smile.

“You look as if you could need it, Miss,” he offered with a smirk playing at his lips.

“Are you saying I look a little worse for wear?” you toyed with him slightly, accepting the mug into your fingertips and cradling it slightly.

“Not at all,” he quickly added with a small widening of his eyes, now a slightly nervous smile adorning his face.

“I’m messing with you,” you reassured him with a small laugh before bringing the mug to your lips.

“That you are,” he confirmed with a slight nod, eyeline to the ground being caught off-guard by your confidence. His tongue darted out to dampen his lower lip, which you noticed his teeth began toying with a small silver-balled object between them. “A piercing? Interesting,” you thought to yourself.

He turned on his way, leaving you alone once more with the unconscious swordsman. You heard some commotion engaging above the deck, but your absolute stubborn reluctance to leave Zoro held to you like a tight leash to a firm, wooden post.

You remained behind; continuing to tinker with the circular, clock-compass item in your hands. You spent some time with it, placing it on the small space available to you next to Zoro’s unresponsive head as you turned several screws and aligned cogs upon its face. You resolved to not utilise the several desks near the window, as you were determined this time to not miss a single moment with your crew; especially at the side of the wounded swordsman who continuously found himself in dire situations, often engaging in battle.

You clicked a screw in a different direction, accidentally activating something within the face of the compass. It began ticking, something you did not account for; especially in its proximity to Zoro’s head. As a tinkerer; ticking usually meant one thing. That thing was a bomb.

You immediately sprung to your feet, cradling the small object in your hands and rushed over towards the window in an attempt to find an exit to cast the item into the sea. The ticking hastened its rhythm, prompting you to release several expletives from behind your lips as you attempted to shimmy the window open. The windows were thick, meaning you would need to return back to where Zoro was resting to retrieve your hammer to smash one open to throw it into the deep water ahead. As the ticking held a rapid beat, you flinched as you had no choice but to embrace your impending doom. However, it never occurred.

The object opened, revealing the most beautifully crafted creation you had yet seen in your life. Two figures holding one another in an embrace enchanted you as they danced in a circular motion with one-another. A metallic melody ignited a memory from within you as you sighed out a small laugh in surprise. You focussed your sights on the dancing figures, noticing how they were painted and allowing a single tear to escape from your eyes.

“Mother,” you whimpered slightly before laughing at the music box, “Zoro, this was my Mother’s. This was hers.”

You rushed over to his side and placed the now truly identified music box beside Zoro’s shoulder.

“This melody,” you said to him, “she use to sing this to me – to us – when we were children.”

You hummed along to the tune before you placed the words as you could best recall them to the melody. You swayed yourself to the music while half-laughing alongside the lyrics, your entire being fully overcome with a mixture of many emotions.

Your thoughts were brought back into the present as you heard several splashes in the water, assuming someone decided to go for a cool plunge to shake their form from over consumption of alcohol. You almost laughed at the thought, before sitting down at Zoro’s side once more.

“Now,” you began, “how do I turn this off?”

You knew exactly how to shut off the music, now knowing that it was not only a clock, a compass and a music box – the additional cogs made sense within your mind at how it truly fit together. You just wanted to get one final rise from Zoro to see if he would get angry enough to join you back in your reality.

After several minutes of Zoro enduring your humming along to the tune, you decided to finally shut off the music with a small flick of the switch to end his suffering.

“If that wont wake you, I’m afraid nearly nothing will,” you uttered sadly, gripping Zoro’s hand again and squeezing it, “he needs you, Zoro. Come back to us, but especially come back to him,” you said again in a voice just above a whisper.

You barely noticed as your Captain returned to you, this time an unreadable expression falling over his features. His hair was slightly dishevelled, as if he had a bath recently; prompting you to quirk your head to the side.

“Captain?” you asked him, “something the matter?”

He walked over to the hanging bed Zoro was laying on and hoisted himself up to sit at his legs. He ignored your questions, choosing to smile at you before fixing his attention on the unconscious swordsman.

“Hey, Zoro,” Luffy began, “you sure missed a big fight.”

Your eyes widened at the knowledge that you had also missed the aforementioned fight. You indeed, as you concluded earlier yesterday, were continuing to remain cursed in your misdirected absence. You elected to not speak up, hoping your Captain would disclose any further information to both you and the First Mate.

“Those fishmen guys were tough,” he said with a small smile, “you would’ve loved it.”

You stifled a gasp, hoping Luffy would continue to bare his soul to Zoro as so you could be privy to his innermost thoughts also.

“And we all had a pretty great dinner, all of us sitting around and listening to Usopp’s stories,” he turned to look at you for a moment, “with the exception of your guardian who protested to be removed from your side.”

You hung your head, knowing how you argued with Luffy earlier to remain with Zoro to again not miss out on anything. He chuckled at your reaction slightly before again returning his gaze to Zoro’s, his eyes hardening.

“Only I kind of messed it up,” he added, staring ahead at the vacant wall in front of him, “and now I lost Nami. I lost the Grand Line Map.”

He held a large pause before speaking once more; “And maybe I will lose you too.”

“I didn’t know what to say before,” he continued on, “but I know what to say now, and it’s so simple.”

You felt almost as if your presence in this moment was an invasion of a greater connection between two friends, but opted to remain in the room for a moment longer.

Luffy closed his eyes and furrowed his brows in passionate resolve, before strongly uttering: “I need you, Zoro.”

“I need you,” Luffy continued, “to wake up.”

You too closed your eyes as you willed those words into fruition, holding strong your own resolve.

“Are you going to keep talking or let me get some sleep?” you heard the swordsman utter from beside you. Your eyes flittered open to reveal the moment Luffy leapt onto the wounded torso of Zoro, wincing yourself in empathy as you thought of his large wounds.

“Zoro!” your Captain shouted in glee with a loud laughter, “Zoro, you’re not dead!”

He pressed his entire body against Zoro and gleefully held him in a friendly embrace. You grit your teeth as you watched Zoro writhe in pain at the pressure from the body above him.

“Right now, I’m wishing I was,” he groaned out in pain. Luffy leapt off him to sit at his lefthand side, prompting you to rise from your feet and sit to his right.

“I had the strangest dream that Nami left,” Zoro uttered with his eyes held closed.

“She did,” Luffy confirmed with him, “it’s my fault.”

Zoro opened his eyes and gazed at the roof, brows creased in thought.

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Zoro reassured him in a monotonous voice, “you acted like a Captain.”

“But our crew is falling apart,” Luffy said, shaking his head slightly

“No it’s not,” Zoro again added his reassurance to the Captain.

“I, Roronoa Zoro,” he began a vow in the presence of both you and your Captain, “vow to stand by your side.”

He turned his gaze to the best of his pained ability to meet the eyes of his Captain as he continued his vow.

“From now until the end,” he added, emotion displayed slightly on his face now, “until we find the One-Piece, or die trying.”

The faces of your Captain and his loyal knight joined together in smiling with determination.

“So bring on the Marines, or Pirates or Sea Beasts,” Zoro raised a closed fist and placed it against the heart of his Captain, “you’re my Captain, Luffy. And I’m your first mate.”

Luffy clasped his right arm over Zoro’s left enclosed fist against his heart and held it to seal their promise together. You smirked at their display of affection for one another, all the more determined to aid your Captain in his dream of acquiring the One-Piece.

“Zoro!” you heard Usopp’s voice call from the hallway as he hurried into the room, “I wasn’t worried for a second.”

“He’s,” Luffy thrust Zoro’s left hand into the air, “alive!”

Zoro groaned in pain as you held out your arms in defence, cringing at the pain Luffy inflicted upon his First-Mate.

Usopp began relaying moments you knew did not occur from your exposure to the variety of his tall-tales prior and chose to laugh at his fighting moves imitating the movements. Zoro also joined in laughter at Usopp’s boldness.

“So, what do we do now? Plot a course for the Grand Line?” Usopp suggested after halting his combat display of recollection.

“Nope,” Luffy shook his head, holding his lips in a firm line.

“But I thought we were going after the One-Piece?” Usopp added with a slightly puzzled tone.

“We are,” he began, looking to his three remaining members of the crew, “but we can’t do it without our whole crew.”

“First, we’re going after Nami,” Luffy said, placing his straw hat atop his head and adjusting the hanging toggles on the side for it to fit him comfortably.

You nodded your head to him, agreeing at chasing the orange-haired navigator and bringing her to join once more with your crew. Zoro turned his head to meet with your own.

“You really didn’t leave my side?” he uttered, furrowing his brows in confusion slightly.

“I didn’t want to miss anything,” you shrugged, “and it really turns out no matter what I do, I always seem to miss the action.”

“That’s a good thing, given the way you fight,” he laughed slightly, “going in mouth first and all.”

You groaned and flung your head back in agitation before joining him in his chuckling.

“Luffy,” you addressed your Captain, “do you think the chef you had in here earlier may be interested in preparing something for Zoro?”

Zoro looked as if you had just said he had achieved his dream of becoming the world’s greatest swordsman, a glimmer in his eyes at the mere mention of something to eat.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said, “I’m definitely keen on getting some more of the meat we had earlier.”

You laughed at the notion before moving yourself to grasp Zoro’s right arm. Usopp trailed behind him, excited at the thought of eating at Baratie again.

“Do you have strength enough to stand?” you asked Zoro. He looked down at his torso and tested himself against the weight of his body, wincing at the pain.

“Lean your entire weight on me,” you uttered in a low tone, “I may be smaller in size than you, but I can take it.”

You had a slight aura of mischievousness, prompting him to chuckle at your comment.

“Keep it up, tinkerer,” he almost playfully warned you while placing his arm around your shoulder to enable you to lift him, “we really need to have a chat about your words.”

“Oh?” you said, hoisting him up to rest against you. He sighed out a low rumbly chuckle.

“I,” he paused, “heard everything.”

You halted your lifting, pausing at what exactly he was telling you.

“I’m not embarrassed about anything that I’ve said to you over these past few days,” you shrugged, pulling him to his feet to stand, the yellow and gold blanket falling from his legs to pool at the foot of the bed.

“You should be,” he jested before adding, “again with the clown? It’s always the clown with you.”

You laughed at his comment before leading him out of the door, down the hallway to his bedroom.

You searched the room for some attire to place over his chest, shielding his wound from the air, settling on a light blue and navy collared shirt. You wordlessly maneuvered the material over his right arm and over his shoulder before inching it down to keep his other arm moving as little as required to be brought into the other side. You reached your hands behind his neck and pulled the material up to rest on his shoulders, smoothing your hands over the creases before adjusting the material to comfortably cover his back.

“Thank you,” he murmured slightly, keeping his eyes on the ground.

“For what, Zoro?” you asked him, a tight-lipped warm smile coming to your face.

“I dunno,” he said with a shrug, wincing slightly at the movement, “mothering me, for lack of a better word.”

You tilted your head at him before finding your place at his lefthand side and maneuvering his arm over your shoulders to hoist him up once more.

“Even the strongest of us need support sometimes,” you shrugged slightly, hoisting him up once more.

You brought him to the deck, as he leant on you for support in his movements. You sat him down close to the ship’s steps, just as Sanji made his way alongside Luffy to come aboard.

“Are you fine if I leave you here for a moment? I haven’t changed my clothes for the past few days and I’m in desperate need of doing so before we cast off,” you asked him.

“You do look a little worse for wear,” he jested, acknowledging the fact he was processing some of the words uttered around him in his unconsciousness.

You scrunched up your nose at him before dismissing yourself to your quarters.

Placing the newly discovered to be a music box atop your desk, you shed yourself of your clothes and began to ready yourself for a new voyage to collect Nami from what you assumed to be Fishman Island; a theme park commonly known as Arlong Park being the major port.

You rolled your shoulders, slight exhaustion overcoming your features; the toll of being awake for a multitude of days finally hitting you. You shook those thoughts away from yourself, knowing you were able to find sleep once you were cast off.

Searching your draws for some fresh clothes, you placed a light blouse on your upper body while you found a skirt to hoist over your hips to settle on your waist. You also found a pair of light under shorts and shimmied them up your body to settle below your skirt.

Once fastening your pouch of many mechanical tinkering tools on your waist, you made to search for your crew and seek instruction from your Captain as best to aid them as they set sail.

As you approached the deck, you noticed the ship had already embarked on their journey out to sea; leaving the beautiful restaurant-ship behind on the horizon as you embarked on your journey to collect Nami.

After looking around, you noticed none of the crew were above deck currently. Your brows were momentarily perplexed before you heard a flurry of raised agitated voices coming from the ships kitchen. You shrugged before making your way to the location of the elevated voices.

As you reached the kitchen, you almost clashed into the looming form of the injured swordsman as he exited the kitchen. He firmly clasped his left hand around your right wrist and spun you away from the door.

“You,” he grunted out, wincing slightly in pain as he maneuvered you away from the kitchen door, “are forbidden from entering that room until I otherwise command you, you hear me?”

Frowning in anger at his sudden orders, you whipped your wrist from his grasp and searched his aggravated expression for explanation.

You heard loud voices again from the kitchen, prompting you to turn your gaze from Zoro to the space the arguing voices were arising from.

“Don’t,” Zoro warned you, bringing your gaze back to his momentarily, “don’t go in there, I mean it.”

“You haven’t given me valid reason not to, swordsman,” you spat your rebuttal at him, still angry and confused by his sudden mood shift from earlier.

Zoro strung several expletives together, almost poetically as he again reached for your wrist and more gently clasped it this time.

“Control yourself this time,” he warned you in a low tone. Your anger shifted to puzzlement, your eyes flittering between his to find any hidden meaning behind them.

“Zoro,” you added before gently bringing your other hand to his and kindly unclasping his grip from your wrist this time, “I am always in control.”

He groaned slightly at your words before turning to follow the source of the noise.

Upon silently entering the kitchen, your eyes settled on the blonde chef who dutifully prepared you a coffee earlier in the day who alongside Usopp and Luffy seemed to be arguing with something loud atop the felt-lined hanging table attached to the rafters in the kitchen.

Something spherical: hues of blue, white and red seemed to be hopping slightly atop the table and hurl insults at the troop. You trailed your eyes over the form as it gruffly taunted your Captain with some kind of jest you couldn’t make out.

“You said you would cooperate,” Luffy warned the object as it halted its jumping and fixing it’s gaze on him.

“And I will, just as soon as I-,” he halted its speech as he turned again with a small jump, fixing his tourmaline eyes to rest on your form. All speech was removed from his thoughts as the very breath from within him was stolen away.

Your eyes met with his, your mouth became partially parted in shock at the sudden meeting of the current occupant of your fixation. His eyes flittered between your eyes and triangulating down to stop on your lips. You focussed on his gaze, noticing he seemed to be as bewitched by you as you had become by him somehow. You noticed a barely visible whimper hiss out shakily from his lips as he slowly blinked his eyes up to focus on your eyes once more.

Although initially incredibly frightened by the fact there was a severed head plopped unceremoniously atop the ships dining table, as soon as you noticed the figure the head belonged to, and the lack of gory blood and bits, you deduced this to be the detached head of the infamous clown captain, Buggy. You were entranced by the way he was looking over you with a combination of insatiable desire laced with desperate hunger, and the apprehension of a puppy being scolded for destroying a prized shoe while searching for forgiveness.

“Gee, if we knew all it took to shut him up was to bring her up here, we should’ve done it ages ago,” Usopp commented with a shrug. You snapped out of your moment, bringing your attention to focus on Usopp and shooting him with a slight disciplinary frown, scolding his words.

You brought your gaze back to focus on Buggy’s as he opened his mouth to speak again.

“I-,” he said in a serious tone for the first time, keeping his eyes locked on your own, “-will cooperate.”

Part 9

Tag List:

@thesadvampire @a-phan-of-youtube @multifandombtch @plan3t-plut0 @tiredemomama @tfamidoingwithmylife @bimboshaggy @plan3t-plut0 @vixnicknacks @tesha-i-guess

[matchadobo]

KIDD; kidd as a father

summary: kidd and name having a baby and how they got through it. tw: slight mentions of abortion(?), pregnancy, cursing, sfw, fluff, fem reader, long af, proofread it halfheartedly JSBDBSNSHHW IF GRAMMAR STINKY IM SORRY

wc: 2127

"what's so damn important that you have to drag me inside here?" he scowled, barging inside your shared quarters.

"this." you threw the pregnancy test at the bed as you sat across the room.

he felt cold when he saw the tiny, rectangle device settling on his velvet, raven sheets. "what the fuck is that?" he glared at it like it was gonna respond, recoiling from it like it was going to bite him.

"you know damn well what the hell that is, eustass." your voice grew a notch higher, starting to boil in anger. "you're not that fucking dumb, are you?!"

he met your fiery eyes before staring at the device for a while and picking it up with sweaty hands. as he thought. two red lines.

"how-"

"don't 'how' me, you bastard." you pointed at him. "who was the one begging to come inside, hah?!"

"just fuckin' calm down for a minute, will ya?" he walked closer, sitting at the edge of the bed, facing towards you. "look at me." he firmly declared.

there he saw how glassy your eyes were, how much horror your eyes mirrored, how much your lips trembled as you tried holding back your tears, how knitted your brows were from fretting. he felt his heart twinge in pain, seeing how distraught you were.

"hey, we'll work this out, ya hear me? don't cry, jesus." he tucked a hair behind your ear, wiping the corners of your eyes with his flesh thumb. "what do you want to do?"

it took you a moment to process his question. articulating your thoughts made your head hurt more.

"we're pirates, kidd. you know how much of a world of peril awaits this child." you started, voice shaking from anxiety. "i-i want to keep it, okay?! i-i'm just scared that the baby wouldn't be able to live comfo-"

"then we'll keep it." he concluded. you looked at him, dazed.

"a-are you sure?"

"if that's what you want then why the hell not." he replied, gaze unwavering.

lately, after you break the news to him, you notice how kidd was growing jumpier than usual when you call out to him. how clumsy he's getting, dropping things and tripping over his steps.

"the hell's up with captain?" heat whispered to you, it has been a week since you broke the news to your lover. yet the crew is still clueless about the situation. "he's been screwing up so frequent, it's uncharacteristic don't you think?"

you tried to come up with an excuse, fumbling over your drink yet killer stood beside you and saved you from the situation. "he just hasn't been shitting regularly." he blurted out. you snickered, trying to stifle your thunderous laughter.

heat snickered shaking his head, leaving you two alone.

"don't worry, i know. i'll let you two announce it to the crew." killer mumbled, subtly nudging you. "congratulations."

"thanks kil, did he tell you?"

he stifled his laughter, "he didn't have to. you know how shitty he is at keeping secrets."

you laughed to yourself thinking about how silly he must be.

"but you know," killer started. "i think the whole baby thing is sinking in to him slowly. look at him, he's gonna trip again." he pointed at kidd who was walking up the stairs and almost missing a step.

before anything could happen, you ran towards him and stopped him in his tracks. "stop! let's talk, okay?" he let you drag him to the an enclosed space.

"is it bothering you, love?"

"the fuck is?"

"this whole baby thing?"

"n-no!" he laughed, masking his anxiety.

"come on, i know you...! killer already knew 'cuz you're dumbass have no idea what subtlety is...!" you flicked his forehead playfully. "other crewmates are getting dubious, it's not like we have to tell them immediately but we have to one way or another."

"okay fuckin' fine, it's screaming in my head. this baby that we're gonna raise and look after is not something i've seen happening in the near future, okay?! being a fuckin' father wasn't in my goddamn bucket list, that's for fuckin' sure! so i can't wrap my goddamn head around the fact that we'll have a brat in nine fuckin' months! how the hell am i gonna raise that fuckin' kid properly?! i've never did anything properly in my motherfuckin' life! i don't even do you properly! so how is it gonna be possible to raise a child-"

"okay, okay, breathe eustass. calm down now." you rubbed his brawny arms comfortingly, massaging the back of his head with your other hand while holding his gaze. "we're doing this together, right? you're not raising this 'brat' on your own, right? don't keep all the responsibility to yourself, love. for better, or for worse remember?"

he let out a heavy sigh through his nose. "for better or for worse." he repeated it like a prayer, your voice singing to him like a lullaby, trying to calm himself down. he sat down the chair, holding your waist close and placing his head to the side, ear to your stomach. "thought your mama was the only one driving me crazy up until now, brat." he mumbled to your abdomen.

you chuckled in endearment, combing through his vibrant, crimson locks. you two stayed in that position for a while, taking solace in the silence and presence of one another.

once you two had composed yourself, you find the courage to open the door only to see the majority of the crew leaning by the it, listening to what was going on.

"the lot of ya are just askin' to get killed aren't ya?!" kidd glared at them as they shuddered in fear, that usual malevolent aura of him instantly reverted back to him from his vulnerable state when he chased his crew members down. at the end of the day during dinner, you two had formally announced it whilst kidd threw eye daggers at each face he saw earlier who was eavesdropping.

during your first trimester, whenever you feel the symptoms kicking in, kidd would ALWAYS go quite nuts at trying to respond to your whines. whenever you snap at him when he mindlessly steals the blanket, whenever you feel fatigued or hot; he nags his crew to get you damp towels and medicine or soups to soothe you, whenever you crave for bizarre food combinations, he'd judge you yet still get you whatever the hell you're asking, going extreme lengths just for you.

"LOVEEE! get me jackfruits dipped in hot sauce!"

"you're a fuckin' monster."

"get that shit or i'll kill you."

the same goes for your second trimester. your stomach started growing even more rounder and bigger, resulting in more pain at your lower extremities; you complained and whined even more. your mood got worse and kidd would do everything to calm it down despite being infuriated with the circumstances.

he'd take you out so 'you could scream at other people other than him' as he put it, he'd give you your favorite foods and listen to your nonsense whenever you'd eat, he'd sometimes go battle your screaming fits with his own acrimonious self and it would lead to difficult nights. yet with each night he'd always lay by your side, let you lay in his arms, encage you in his embrace, give you most of the blanket, and let you talk and talk until you want to because of the baby keeping you up. regardless the time, he'd be awake listening and replying to you.

and one time when the baby kicked, you two shared that knowing gaze. you've never seen so much unfeigned joy in his eyes ever since the time you said 'i do' to him.

he went and rested his ear at your stomach, "ya up at his hour, huh? keeping your mama and i up," he said, rubbing circles with his palms as he followed the movement of the baby. when it finally calmed down, he kissed your stomach goodnight before placing a kiss on your forehead and going to sleep.

kidd had to go to extreme lengths to let law ultrasound you during your third trimester. let's just say deals were placed and he'd have to pay his end of the bargain in the future in this case.

"it's a boy." law declared. you could see how kidd rejoiced, shotting up from his seat, a proud grin on his face.

he'd be stoic, but you see him buy parenting books, staying up late to read the hows of a househusband. you'd see him look at baby toys and decorations whenever the victoria dock on towns to resupply. or stay up even later to secretly work on his handcrafted toys and trinkets for his son at his workshop. you'd peek over his workshop, watching him and feel your heartstrings pull at the sight.

"not gonna sleep yet?"

he'd be startled and try to hide it clumsily, "w-what the hell, name?!"

"c'mon why try hiding it from me?" you chuckled, walking closer to him. looming behind him, you rubbed his stiff shoulders as he leaned into your touch. humming at your tender massages, looking up at you. "it's so adorable, love! when did you get all sappy, huh?"

you heart stuttered at the jewelry in front of you. it was necklace with a turtle pendant, settled at his desk. the pendant was tiny, it spans across the half of your thumb. its shells were made from torques of varying sizes, screws for its legs, stacked torques for its neck, and a mini metal ball for its head.

you held it up, admiring his creation. "you made this just for him?" you uttered, eyes glassy, chest fluttering, and voice full of warmth.

"n-newborns need somethin' to hold onto from their parents, right?" he sheepishly replied, cheeks pink while he fiddled with his tools. "it's somethin' he'd hold dear until he grows up."

melting at his remark, you replied. "really, love? where did you learn that?"

he pointed to the stack of parenting books set aside on his shelves. your heart bloomed in love at his gesture, the fact that he would exert so much of his time and effort just for the baby, for his son that'd be coming in a few weeks. "do you think he'll like it?" you brought your hand to his nape, relaxing him.

"he better do." he pointed at your stomach. when you two saw a kick after, you two chorused in laughter.

and now the labor day came. settled in the polar tang, kidd was giddily waiting outside the delivery room. you kicked him out since he was adding to your stress when he kept pacing back and forth the room.

"do i trust you with this child?" law raised a brow and jokingly keeping his son away.

"do you want me to fuckin' bury you alive? that's my son you're holdin'!"

when he finally had him in his arms, he held it like it was the most fragile treasure he ever laid his hands on. admiring his supple and round face, a tender smile tugged at his lips. as someone being so gruff, it was an unfamiliar sight to see him cradle and be enamored with the baby he's holding.

"you're finally here, brat." he whispered, with words so brash and a tone so sweet and joyous. seeing the baby giggle in joy at the arms of the fiery pirate like him mirrored angels singing at heaven.

followed the nights where the baby starts to violently cry at varied times of the day, more chaos ensued in the victoria punk. from rowdy crewmates to the ear-splitting cries of your son, bags under yours and kid's eyes grew darker.

in the span of seven months, kidd had managed to develop a skill of sleeping while feeding milk to the baby, you had managed to catch him each time and it was the most beautiful thing you had witnessed in your life. him clutching the baby with his metal hand and the flesh one patting his back or holding the bottle, lightly swaying in the rocking chair while snoring silently.

they were physically inseparable. not to exaggerate but, the only time you breastfeed may be the only time you have your alone time with your son. it's not like you're holding it against him, you adore the fact that kidd is so passionate about looking after him. it makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over again. seeing how someone who was so scared of the life of a father is now enjoying himself at the company of his son will be a core memory to you.

and you'd always wonder to yourself; who would've thought that someone so rough around the edges, someone who had so many walls built up, someone so ferocious, could manage to hold and care for his son so delicately?

did this all in one night and proofread it the next day cuz stuff had been hectic WBSYHSHSHS im blooming with ideas rn but theres so much to do for school huffffff

[nerd-goes-blogging]

how did I get here?

('bout how I became a dedicated Tintin fan)

You know, there’s a reason I call Tintin and Snowy my favourite.

I met them when I was 12 years old, in a dusty corner of my school library. An instant connection developed between us and since then we had never been apart. 

On his birthday, 9th January, my thoughts turned nostalgic about the young reporter who brightened and inspired my teenage years. Well, back then I wrote a journal entry dedicated to him and his glorious adventures. While creating this blog, the first content that came to my mind was this journal entry.

So, why not?

Here's to all those amazing memories I’ve made so far with this reporter and many more to come.

Back in middle school days, I remember searching for a book series to follow diligently. There were many of them. Mostly fantasies and fictions and dark romance. Some were menacing and awkward. As a whole, not an ideal read for me, I thought. I didn’t (and still don’t) want my head to be occupied with weird thoughts which yield nothing. But I knew my search would end one day. And it did.. 

One day, rummaging through the junior library at school, I noticed some illustrated books, which resembled the comics’s style but quite refined. With the librarian's permission I opened the locked up cabinet which seemed to have jammed due to rust.

That was my pirate treasure, a bounty which I was lucky enough to stumble upon.

The first book which I read from the series was ‘The Castafiore’s Emerald’. The only adventure completely based in the Marlinspike Hall, gives a cozy kind of feeling. Not only did I appreciate Tintin's wits, but I was also amused by Captain Haddock’s funny curses and alliteration which were insulting enough to trash anyone. I really felt that I was where I belonged. I decided to stick to it and started to gather more information and facts about the young protagonist and his brilliant creator, Hergé . The internet, of course, helped me to a great extent as all 24 volumes of the adventures were available there. Also, that was my first year learning french. When Madame came to know about my new hobby, she encouraged me to carry it further and suggested that I'd get the gist of both, the language and the stories, if I read them in french. So, I did that, and how! By the end of middle school, I had read all 24 volumes, some in french as well.

Since then, I’ve read the whole series many times. I've lost count of the number of times I've ...

cheered when Tintin fought Bobby Smiles in Chicago in the book ‘Tintin in America’, 

gasped at the revelation of Rastapopoulos as an antagonist in ‘The Blue Lotus’ (who continued on to become the prime villain in the series), 

chuckled to see (or hear) Bianca Castafiore’s god forsaken singing and Tintin’s reaction in ‘King Ottokar’s Sceptre’, 

been amused at the introduction of Captain Haddock into the series in ‘The Crab with Golden Claws’, 

got my funny bone tickled as Captain Haddock grouched on Professor Cuthbert Calculus’ “hard of hearing” trouble, 

got thrilled with the hero’s treasure hunt in ‘The Secret of the Unicorn’

got terrified at the vengeance of Inca Rascar Capac and Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock’s quest to release the professor from the captivity of the Incas in ‘The Seven Crystal Balls’ & ‘The Prisoners of the Sun’ (this story is hands down my most fav :)

greeted the Emir and his son Abdullah (devil’s incarnation) in ‘Land of Black Gold’, 

followed the friends to the moon and back (literally!) 

visited Borduria and Syldavia, 

cried my heart out (when I first read it, I was so touched) in the joyous reunion of Tintin and Tchang, 

rolled with laughter on seeing the magazine cover of Paris Flash in ‘The Castafiore Emerald’, 

encountered all sorts of people (even aliens! in ‘flight 714’) 

and went to an extent of a military coup for General Alcazar. 

Oh, and not to forget the cliffhanger of the unfinished ‘Tintin and the Alph-art’ (left for fans to complete it with our imagination, I like to believe!)

 

Phew! The list is much longer than this & the memories are limitless!!

You might wonder why I'm so into Tintin's adventures and what makes him different from other comic book heroes? 

More importantly, what made me stay? 

You can find this out and more in my next blog.

Until then, stay nerdy ✨👩‍🎓

The Nerdy Olive :)

[abbythewritor]

"Fairness" One Piece x Saitama reader twelve.

"Just a Normal girl looking for an everyday life. At least, if you call sailing across the seas with idiots with useless dreams a simple task, then you might wanna see a doctor. Seriously."

Warnings: Blood, gore, mentions of Luekimia, and heaps amount of blood and strength. It might be a little cursing, but not bad, and maybe some flirting in there, but it's mostly clean.

Other things:

-You didn't get bald due to your powers; you got bald to an extreme illness.

-You part of the straw hat crew, but others are interested in you and your power.

-Everyone that is a male is taller than you.

-Monsters from the OPM world will appear in One Piece, and I'll make some new monsters you will fight.

Enjoy the twelfth chapter everyone!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Man, it's been a while.

Last time we left off, I accepted to join Luffy's crew, and for the past two years, as a captain, he ordered everyone to grow strong, for two years straight.

Including me.

Yep, that's right, he trained his Haki with Rayleigh, and I trained my haki and strength with the Marine hero, Garp.

It's been interesting, as he didn't go as hard as he did with Luffy when he was a kid, but I still worked just as hard.

Every single morning, I start with a prestige workout.

10-kilometer run.

Upper body strength.

Core strength.

Lower body strength.

weight training.

Inner peace activities, Yoga, Stretching, and Balancing.

Then Garp worked on my strategy mindset, along with different defense techniques, attacks, and mind movements with chess, and other Japanese-like games that I wasn't familiar with.

He also taught me different Haki tequniques from himself, and stuff he learned from fighting Roger, who was the last king of the pirates.

At first, I was confused on why he would train a person who would become a pirate, then I realised he knew how important I was to Luffy, and wanted to make me storng so when he comes across me again, he won't hold back his strength, which I wouldn't blame him.

But, things aside, Garp also worked on combat training with me against Koby, who I formed some sort of bond with over the past two years.

The blonde didn't like me because I was a pirate, but I grew on him once the two years were coming to an end.

But, all of the harsh training and sparing, making new friends with some Marines, and people, the two years will soon come to an end, when Tomorrow I meet up with Luffy, and meet my new crew members.

It was a start of a new journey, and Journey of fun, excitement and Adventure, which was something I've been longing for forever.

Oh, and your probably wondering, what about Crocodile, buggy, and the ones who helped me and Luffy at Marineford? Well, let's say I was writing them all letters, and knew that Ivankov was training one of my crewmembers I've yet to meet yet.

All of them are doing quite well, Mister Three Joined buggies crew, while Mister One was working beside Crocodile, as they are trying to rise the ranks, to become something differemt which makes me proud.

Jimbei hasn't written back at all, which is understandable as he is a busy fishman all the time, but it makes me curious on how he is doing.

Luffy has seemed to be doing well, as he wrote back to me all rayleigh has taught him, all the jokes and fun things the two did these past two years, which made me excited to see him more and more.

Ace, however, did some training of his own, which is understandable from the Marineford incident, but he never really told me who trained him.

Either way, I'm glad he's living a fair life right now, as Pop's death is put behind everyone who fought in that war two years ago.

He told me he was doing quite well, finding hobbies to keep him busy, as well as rebuilding the Whitebeard Pirates into something more, which makes me glad his life is taking a turn for the better.

With many thoughts running through my mind, the sunset of this day was showing onto the sea, myself sitting on a grassy hill as the trees and the flowers danced with the sea brease.

You look a little different as well, grown up, as you were still Y/B/T, (Your body type.) but you looked stronger, happier, and more intelegent.

Wigs, the ones you used to wear, you got everything that could cover your bald head out of your life, as you learned that being bald, doesn't mean anything different about a person. You learned hwo to embrace yourself, and your bald head, as it is a symbol of beauty, and it shows a symbol of piece to people, just like Saitama did with his bald head-well, kind of.

As i continued to watch the beauty of the sunset in front of me, I felt a familiar presence behind, as Koby sat in the spot next to me. "It's quite beautiful isn't it?" I nod. "Yeah, I'm sure going ot miss doing this everynight....these past two years have been...." He chuckled. "Hard?" I shook my head with a smile. "No-well, yes, but I've never had to much fun in my entire life....learning new skills, eating different kinds of food that's not from my world, even making new friends." I nudge Koby, as he chuckled. "Never expected this when I was first recruited. Training with a girl who will become apart of a pirate crew who's run by Garps Grandson. Especially a girl from a different world. I say, when a mad man tells me that, I'd think their crazy, but a girl like you, with powers like yours, explaining everything that had happened, how can I not belive it?" I smile more.

"Your lucky I didn't turn on you, 'Admrial.'" He snorted. "Future, Admiral, well, that's still the plan anyway. It just makes me think how far both of us came, and it makes me wonder more how far Luffy proceeded, and how strong he became, guess you'll find out tomorrow, huh?" Sighing, I looked back at the sunset. "Yeah..." Many thoughts ran through my head, as I was quite nervous with meeting his crew, as koby could sense my uneasyness, as his head tilted. "Are you alright, Y/n? You seem to be thinking a lot lately..." I let out another sigh. "Let me ask you a question, before you joined the marines, where you ever nervous?" Koby was silent from my question for a moment, before he ssmiled. "Of course I was, all my life I was scared, but, once Garp trained me, and i've became stronger and knew what being a marine was like overall, all my nerves went away. I knew what my purpose was, to achiev the Marine Admiral title, and I know I can let my nerves get away from my goals." His words struck you in the heart, as you smiled again, your eyes then looking to the ground.

"I see...well, I guess I shouldn't be nervous then huh?" Koby chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, it's ok to be nervous when your entering a new chapter in life, but, trust me when I tell you this, the straw-hat pirates will be the nicest people you ever meet, because I know them too." My eyes widened slightly. "Ah, that's right, you told me you've encountered them a few times." He nodded. "Yes I have, and they are strong too, but now that two years have gone by, I'm curious too see how thye have grown, and how they will think of your strength, I have faith Y/n you'll fit right in, because Luffy asked you to be apart of his crew for a reason." Sighing, Koby was right, as my smily grew a lot more. Luffy didn't just ask me because I was desperate, or on the verge of death, he saw potential in me, he saw my strength physically and mentally, and he sought of it as a perfect fit. Plus he saw my loyalty to him, which a captian needs a loyal crew member in order to survive these treturous seas. "The boys right." Both of us looked to Garp, who held his usual smile, as a cookie was in his hands. Koby's eyes widened with the sight, as he got up. "Sir, are you sure your supposed to be have that?! The doctor said-“

“Bah! Screw what the doctor says; I’m grown up and can have anything I want! Besides, I earned this for training you idiots!” Garp interrupted, laughing while taking a bite of his well-deserved cookie. “Sir, with all due respect, sweets are nice to have oonce in a while, but with how old you are, having too much sugar is not the greatest idea-“ Koby got bonked “I CAN EAT THIS COOKIE IF I WANT TO IS THAT CLEAR?!” “Y-Yer sir!” Giggling from the usual antics, Garp sighed and took the final bite of his cookie while looking at me. “Nerves can be a great obstacle when sailing the seas, but trust me on this: my grandson can take your nerves away in an instant; besides all the training we did, all the battle strategies and studies I’ve shown you both, I have full faith you both will make it in this pirate world. Just remember the important tactics in the future when I’ll be chasing you down, and pray that your God will help you throuth. HAHAHAHA!”

His words made my eyes rolled. "I can achieve anything through Christ who strengthens me, so don't be surprised when I don't hold back." My smirk made him laugh more as he patted my back. "That's the spirit kid! Even if you are a pirate or a marine, a strong will and heart will always be a good power when facing tough opponents; just remember not to gloat about the positive attributes since you always have your crew on your side to back you up. Who am I kidding? I'm a marine, not a pirate. HAHAHAH!" Koby sighed. "I think you had enough cookies.." he took to bag, and Garp paused before slumping, and I giggled more. "Thank you guys…I know I'm going to be ok. I've worked hard for this; now it's time to start a new chapter in my life… I will never be more blessed to be alive right now." Turning to the two, I gave them a huge smile. "Thank you both for the best two years of my life; when we meet again, we won't consider friends or family; we'll be rivals with benefits." Koby nodded, smiling at me. "Right!" Garp put a finger to his chin. "Rivals with Benefits huh? I've never heard that before, but consider me a family Rival. Y/n, keep Luffy in check because he will need much help to get through the seas. Especially now that Ace is saved, just don't do anything reckless, alright? Don't wanna drop you off tomorrow, and something went wrong."

I nodded this time. “Of course, Sir. I’ll do my best.” Garp crossed his arms. “Now, you must know a few things when we arrive tomorrow. One, I will give you a 5-minute head start before sending my marines after you. I will give you coordinates to where Luffy’s ship would be, as Rayleigh told me. Find the ship, don’t get caught, and meet your new crew mates, understand?” I nodded again as he continued. “There will be a high chance the Kuma army will be there two, but nothing you can’t handle. Think smartly, not rashly. Therefore, I have nothing else to teach you; now get some rest; we set sail for Sabaody at dawn.” Me and I nodded again. “Yes, sir!” With that, he left, and Koby looked at me. “Are you going to be ok?” Signing, I smiled, looking at him. “Yeah, actually..”

“I have a feeling I’m going to be more than ok…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright, listen up!” It was the next day, as the marine ship you were on was approaching the destination, as Garp was telling you the plan. I had everything ready, all packed, as my excitement grew more. “Here are the coordinates to Luffy ship; before I give you a five-minute head start, you will run into familiar people, new foes, and some idiot lowlife pirates that boast about themselves. Just focus on getting to the Sunny, with no distractions or errors, understand?” I nodded to Garp. “Yes, sir!” He grinned. “Good, now here is a month's supply of food; since I know how Luffy eats, all of this is needed-“ “DID YOU STEEL THE COOKIES FROM HERE?!” Koby snapped as Garp froze, whipping at the boy. “ONLY ONE LUFFY CAN SURVIVE!!” “YOU DID NOT TAKE ONE SIR YOU TOOK A WHOLE BOX!” “LIKE I SAID, LUFFY WILL SURVIVE NOW. SHUT UP!!” Koby got hit with Garp's fists before handing me the food bag, which I could carry easily. “Now, the coordinates should be easy for you to understand since I wrote the instruction for kindergarteners, so don’t screw up and get lost. Once we dock, immediately hop off the ship, no of that emotional goodbye stuff even though I will miss having a girl to train…” he started to get emotional and turned as Koby approached him. “DON’T CRY THEN!” He snapped as I smiled. “It’s okay; crying isn’t a sign of weakness. I’ll see you both again. The two years was just the beginning.”

Koby smiled at my words as he walked closer to me. "Of course, I'll put up a good fight next time." I smiled at his confidence as he held out a fist, but I ignored it and hugged him, and he froze. His face was red; he was shocked that I was doing this. I was getting emotional when I felt his arms wrap around me. "Be safe. Koby… don't get yourself killed.." I whispered as he hugged me tighter; I could feel his breath on my skin. "Same to you, Y/n.." Pulling away, I wiped my tears before looking to Garp, who was still crying while facing out, as I sighed. "Garp." I knelt to him and smiled. "Thank you for training me and helping me to grow stronger. The techniques you taught me will also come in handy for defense. But sometimes, when good people part ways, it's always good to cry occasionally. But don't worry, I won't think any less of your strength because you are crying. I'll be ok, and keep Luffy safe, I promise." His brows knitted together. "You better; I don't want another brat to worry for when I'm chasing me. Besides, you'll be one hell of a pirate, a strong one at that." I smile. "And it's all thanks to you. Well, I guess I should go, huh? Thank you two again. Be safe!" As my five minutes were starting, I grew excited. I bowed, grabbed my stuff, and hopped off the Marine ship, running straight ahead. As Garp and Koby watched, Bogard walked up to the two and just glanced at Garp. "You're giving her more time, aren't you.." Garp laughed. "Of course I am; she'd be considered lucky since this place is confusing; she should be just fine. EVERYONE GET READY TO PULL TO THE FRONT BAY! WE'LL CUT THEM OFF!!" A bunch of 'Yes sirs' rang through the deck as the ship went out of the dock while you, of course, were looking at the directions as you followed the numbers on the trees.

This place was unique, full of bubbles which is meant for a five year old.

Everything looked plastic, even though it wasn’t, as you took a chance to take in the scenery, grasped the food bag and stuff, and adjusted it on your back.

Many people were here, and it was pretty lively with different people. The more I got closer to town, the more excited I felt.

Continuing to run, I tried my best to avoid many people and not make a big scene, as marines were already around the area, but they were probably not under Garp's command.

Making sure not to be seen, I kept a low profile as my posture was normal, my head was down, and my excitement was high.

It was not just excitement running high through me; it was also nervous because I hadn't seen Luffy in two years, let alone met his whole crew, and I heard rumors that they were just as strong as him.

Garp informed me of their names, as they all sounded unique, and I couldn't wait to meet them.

Roronoa Zoro: The fearsome swordsman.

Nami: Cat Burglar or Navigator

Nico Robin: the famous archeologist.

Chopper: The doctor.

Vinsmoke Sanji: The Cook.

Franky: The Shipwright

Brook: The musician

Usopp: The fearless sniper.

All of their titles seemed unique and different, and it made me even more nervous to meet them, as I didn't know where my strength and title stood against them, but I hope I get along with everyone.

As I kept running and running, I arrived at a green-hilled pasture, as more bubbles from this island were formed, until...I saw him.

That's right. I saw Luffy's big backpack on his back as he was in front of Rayleigh, who had trained him for the past two years.

Behind him were two handsome men: a tall, muscular, green-haired guy with a slash on his left eye and the other male beside him, who was blonde, elegant, and had a black go-tee.

"Huh, those two men must be a part of his crew.." I stated as I continued running that way, but as I was heading to them, the Marines yelled to stop Luffy and the two men as they were about to attack.

My eyes widened, and my teeth gritted as I jumped before the three. When I got close enough, my cloak blew in the wind as my fist went back. "NORMAL SPREAD PUNCH!" I yelled, Slamming my fist on the floor as all the marines that were in front of the three suddenly scattered in a large explosion.

The ground rumbled, and the leftover marines' eyes widened as they couldn't believe how much power suddenly occurred.

Dust arose, the chaos in front of Luffy, and the two men widened their eyes as my Silhouette was shown, making Luffy's lips form a bright smile.

"You're an Idiot, Luffy....for not having your guard up all the time.." I stated, a smile curling on my lips as I was revealed.

The marine's eyes widened more when they saw me, as some of them backed away with fear.

"I-It's Y/n L/N's..! The powerful girl that saved Fire Fist Ace years ago!"

"W-Why is she here?! Rumors said she joined a pirate crew; wait, don't tell me.."

"Stop her from helping the Strawhats escape!!!"

Luffy couldn't stop smiling. "Y/n!!! Is that really you?! Wow!! You look so different! HAHA!" Luffy hugged me, and his laughter brought warmth into my ears as I laughed, too, hugging him back. The blonde Male had hearts in his eyes and was waving his arms. "Wah! A pretty lady!!!" I blushed, flattered by the blonde's comment, as the green-haired male stepped forward, grabbing onto his sword handle. "Luffy, you know this girl?"

Luffy smiled, letting go of me as he began to pat my back repeatedly. "It's Y/n! I forgot you all haven't met her yet! She is a part of our crew!" Both of the men froze, as I smiled nervously, and I waved. "H-Hi...I heard a lot about you both...Garp has told me a lot of information...your Zoro and Sanji right?"

The two's eyes widened as Sanji's eyes turned into hearts, his nose bleeding a little. "She knows my name!!" Zoro stepped forward, a little shocked. "Yeah, those are our names... you said Garp told you information about us..which means you were with the Marines?"

Laughing nervously, I scratched the back of my head. "Well, I wasn't a part of the Marines; I just gotta taste what it was like for the past two years. Garp trained me, actually." Sanji paused his simpering as his and Zoro's eyes widened. "Wait, really, Garp trained you?" Sanji asked. "I'm surprised," Zoro added, then continued. "Being the hero of the Marines, I would expect the least of him to train someone who's part of a pirate crew. Well..it's nice to meet you, Y/n gotta admit, you're strong, but are you worth enough to fight alongside Luffy..?" Zoro's calm question caught me by surprise, but I wasn't hesitant when I firmly nodded my head to him before speaking."Luffy has a strong heart and a great dream. People like him deserve Fairness and to achieve his goals and actions in life. Two years ago, I fought alongside him to Save Ace. I won't stop fighting with him until he becomes pirate King. For the world to know even the lowest of people who are pirates or Marines or even just regular people, all deserve Fairness and to live in a world where they won't be bored but have a sense of fun and adventure." My words struck Zoro somehow, as he could see the determination, loyalty, and Kindness in my eyes. He didn't know who I was or what Luffy had brought to the table, but he knew I was loyal to Luffy, making his lips curl into a small smile as I saw his hand go out to me. "Well then, that settles things...dI like you Y/n.....Welcome to the crew..." My heart fluttered as I looked up at him before smiling, as my hand firmly grasped in his. "Thank you both!"

"You kids better go; I'm sure more Marines will be coming this way." A familiar voice spoke, and we all turned to see Rayleigh as I smiled at him. "Rayleigh!" He smiled down at me calmly, his tall form towering over me. Even though his age had seen better days, his looks never failed him, as he was as handsome as ever. "Hello there, Y/n-san; I must say, Garp trained you well. Did you lose weight?" I smiled more at his question as I nodded. "I did! I've never felt better about myself, and I have your Grandpa to thank for that, Luffy." Luffy laughed, holding his stomach with a smile as Rayleigh chuckled.

"Well, I'm proud of you, Y/n; you look good... perfect. Be who you want to be...don't let anyone else tell you who you are, because if you let them..well.." His hand reached out, gently popping a bubble about to land on my nose as my cheeks rose in color, and his smile continued to show the more he looked at me. "Your life won't be as bright as it is now...you don't want that, do you, Y/n?" My heart continued to beat rapidly; I felt like I was going to explode as my head quickly shook, which made him smile more, his hand going onto my head. "Good girl...because bright people like you deserve fairness, just remember that. I want to keep seeing your Kindness when you rise with Luffy on the Grandline; just don't forget to Visit this Old Geezer occasionally, ok? Can you Promise me that?" Nodding from his question, my eyes met his again. "Of course, I'll visit you, Rayleigh; that is a definite promise, right Luffy?" Luffy nodded also. "Yes! That's right! You are not alone anymore, Rayleigh! Your family to us now!" When Luffy smiled, Rayleigh got emotional as he wiped his eyes. "Family huh? I quite like the sound of that...you all better be careful...the Grandline is even more dangerous than ever, so remember to always keep guard and protect each other...you four better head to the Sunny; I'll take care of the Marines here.." Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and I all nodded with Rayleigh's words, as we turned, and started running, heading to Luffy's ship.

Before the Marines could attack us more, Rayleigh fended them off, serving no match against him.

As the four of us ran, heading in the right direction, Luffy smiled brightly beside me. "We have so much to catch up on!" I nodded to his question. "Indeed we do. Luffy." As Luffy smiled brightly again from my agreement, a large shadow cast over the four of us as we paused to see a Giant bird, which widened my eyes.

But, before we could be hesitant, a familiar voice spoke, and we saw the familiar Doctor, known as Chopper, waving and Yelling to Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy.

"Chopper!" Luffy yelled, smiling more as the bird landed. My eyes sparkled when looking at the Reindeer, as he was so cute when he tackled Luffy into a hug, and Zoro and Sanji, the four of their laughter, warmed my heart.

As Chopper looked at Luffy, he looked at the bird. "Everyone is waiting for you, Luffy, at the Sunny!" Luffy's eyes widened. "Robin, Brook, Nami, Usopp, and Franky are there already?! Well, we can't keep them waiting! Zoro, Sanji, Y/n, let's get on the bird and hurry!"

The three of us nodded, soon getting on the bird, which took off, as Chopper directed it to the right path while it flew high in the sky.

I couldn't help but be in awe with the View of this island, as it was pretty beautiful. It was peaceful, flying so high in the sky as I closed my eyes, enjoying the calm wind hitting my skin. The bird continued to head to the Sunny until Luffy saw his ship in his eyes and smiled again. "There it is! OI! GUYS!! EVERYONE!!" He yelled as I looked down at him, and the other members of his crew smiled more, too, getting up from their spots and running to the edge of the boat, greeting him back with the same amount of kindness.

I noticed some of them crying, and it made my heart warm when the bird got closer.

But, then suddenly, a pool of blood came out of Sanji's nose as he flew off the ship, and my eyes widened with shock as the chopper yelled for him as he fell into the water.

Zoro wasn't bothered to get him, as it was customary for his nose to bleed like this; I was just concerned for Sanji as the bird was close enough to Sunny, allowing me, Luffy, chopper, and Zoro to hop on, as Chopper thanked the bird.

As the bird flew away, Usopp cried for Chopper to stop Sanji's nose from bleeding, as Zoro simply walked past, and I looked amongst the Chaos, not knowing what to do as Luffy was too busy admiring Franky's new form. "Excuse me." A voice spoke as I turned to Robin, who looked at me curiously as her tallness towered over me.

"Are you the new crewmember Rayleigh spoke of?" My posture was fixed as soon as she asked that, and I nodded. "Y-Yes, my name is Y/n; it's nice to meet you." My answer piqued Nami's interest. "Oh, so your Y/n! You helped Luffy save Ace!! I'm Nami! It's nice to meet you!" She offered me her hand, and I smiled and shook it. "It's nice to meet you, Nami. Luffy told me so much about you." My statement made her sigh. "I'm sorry if Luffy has caused you trouble. He's a good captain but can be a handful sometimes." I giggled at her statement. "Ah, not Luffy is fine, he's not a handful I promise-" I paused when a Skeleton, or Brook, approached me as he bowed like a gentleman.

"Hello there, beautiful Lady! My name is Brook! I do have one question, if you don't mind me asking." I smiled up at him. "Ok, sure, go ahead." He coughed in his handkerchief before he leaned down to me more. "May I see your panties?" My face fumed red before Nami suddenly bonked his head instantly. "STOP ASKING TO SEE WOMANS PANTIES! YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE HER UNCOMFORTABLE!" she snapped; I was shocked by the sudden outburst but then snorted when holding my mouth as this situation was quite funny. "Don't mind, Brook." I turned to look up at Franky, who had a smile on his face.

"He asks that question to every woman, so don't feel a bit embarrassed; the name's Franky and I gotta say, when I heard Luffy asked a girl like you to join our crew, I didn't believe you'd be this cute." His compliment made my face flush more as Nami's head whipped to him. "Don't add gas to the fire, Franky!" Franky shrugged. "What? It's the truth. Besides, I don't think she's too bothered by it, right?" His wink made me giggle as I nodded. "You're right about that. Say, Franky, I think you're pretty cool; I knew of a Cyborg once." His eyes widened. "Really? What was he like? Strong, tall, handsome?" Watching him smirk, I smile. "He was all three of that thing; sadly, he died when fighting a monster, but he still lives in my heart!" Franky's facial expression changed slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that; you have my respect, Y/n. He must have been a true good friend." I don't remember Genos, but he seemed to be a good friend of Saitama as I nodded with Frankie's command. "Yeah, he sure was.." I looked around before my eyes landed on Usopp and Chopper chatting with Luffy. "And you two must be Chopper and Usopp, correct?" The two pauses when turning to me, as Usopp nodded confidentially, his lips forming a grip. "That's right! I'm Usopp the Great, The most feared sniper of Luffy's crew!" My eyes sparkled with curiosity as I smiled. "That's so cool! So you shoot guns and stuff?!" He smiled nervously at my comment. "Well, not just guns; I can shoot lots of stuff and also make throwables to aid me in a fight, I know; hold your applause; it's awesome..." I smiled more, impressed with his Skill, as Nami glared at him. "We all know you are just being greedy now.." She growled as Usopp froze suddenly before laughing nervously. "I'm a pirate; what do you expect, Nami-"

"Oi, everyone heads up," Zoro spoke, as suddenly a Cannonball flew by Sunny, almost hitting it as it alerted everyone else.

Usopp and I ran over to the ship railing, looking more serious as we looked towards the Marine ships. "Oh no! When did they get here?!" Usopp asked as I glanced that way, as there were about three Navy ships. "It seems there are three Navy ships that way," I stated, as more Cannon balls barely missed the Sunny as I turned to Luffy. "Luffy, should we get rid of them?" But, before he could answer, more Cannonballs flew, heading straight for the ship this time, as the crew prepared to deflect them until pink-like arrows took them down, which alerted us to look at a familiar ship, Boa Hancock's ship.

Smiling, Robin walked up beside us; her face was blank. "That's Kuja's logo." Nami turned to her, confused. "Kuja?" "They're strong Amazonian pirates led by a pirate empress, Warlord." Robin's words shocked Usopp. "A Warlord?!!" Robin turned to him. "Her name is Boa Hancock. They say anyone who sees her will be attracted by her beauty." Brook stood on the other side of me, looking through the scope, as his face turned to shock, pink hinting at his bony facial structure. "Oh, too bright! She is dazzling!" He almost stumbled backward, as I giggled while Usopp caught the scope, looking as well as his mouth nearly dropped to the floor. "Wow! She must be a goddess!" His words widened Sanji's eyes as he hopped up from the floor, bolting to Usopp as he looked. "Goddess? Goddess! Let me see, let me see, where is she-" He paused when he saw her, turned into stone, and I Usopps eyes widened. "He turned into stone!" We both shouted with shock as Luffy came up behind us. "Oh, that's Hancock and the others!" He spoke as Usopp looked at him, as well as Brook and Sanji.

Boa turned her head to look at the sunny, as she saw me smiling which warmed her heart before she winked at me, which made my cheeks rise in color as Brook almost had a heart attack when he flung back.

"She helped us," Luffy spoke. "Let's set sail now!" he ordered, as Nami questioned if he knew her, as he nodded. "Yeah, I was sent to Maiden Island and I became friends with them. They helped Y/n too in keeping her in their country to recover her injuries." He stated as Usopp looked back at Boa's ship. " So that's the legendary female-only island, right? They definitely live up to their name." I nodded with his question before Sanji came up behind Luffy, a dark aura behind him. "Luffy..you were friends with the pirate empress?! HEY! WERE YOU REALLY TRAINING HARD?!" Sanji asked, tears of remorse coming from his eyes as Luffy smiled nervously at him. "Yes, Sanji, I really did train." Sanji slumped, going on all fours as he was crying more, I was then beside him, patting his back. "It's ok Sanji-kun, at least theirs other empresses out there in the sea..." He sobbed more, and my eyes widened as I felt like I made it worse as Zoro walked past, with a blank face. "Ignore his cries, he's grown more than an Idiot since two years ago." Sanji whipped to his feet. "SHUT UP MOSS HEAD!"

Nami sighed, as she spoke up before the two started fighting again. "Okay, let's get ready to set sail now!"

Everyone agreed, as no more marines were attacking us or stopping us from leaving, as a Marine ship was in my view, I saw Garp, Bogard, and Koby, and I smiled at them; waving. "GARP!! KOBY!!! BOGARD!!! THANK YOU FOR THE BEST TWO YEARS OF MY LIFE!!!" I yelled, catching the straw hat's attention, as Usopp and Chopper's eyes widened with fear when seeing Garp's ship.

But, Luffy told the crew not to attack, as everyone saw the tears brimming on Garp and Koby, while Bogard just smirked, as they stated their goodbyes, as it was an emotional moment.

Tears brimmed my eyes also, as the thousand Sunny continued to pull out of port, The three marines stayed until the Sunny's ship was out of sight. But, as the Sunny was sailing across the sea, a bubble roof was formed from the stuff coating the ship, as me, and everyone else's eyes widened as Nami spoke up again.

"Listen up everyone." She opened a paper. "A coated ship can reduce any kind of pressure. So once the floating bag at the ship's bottom which keeps it on the surface has been removed, it'll be less buoyant and start to sink."

"I see." Luffy, Zoro, and I spoke as Nami smiled. "Pretty easy to understand, right? Anyway, spread the sail now!"

Everyone nodded with the agreement as the straw hats, and I prepared to set sail.

Garp was right; Luffy and his crew weren't so bad, as from that day forward, I had a pretty good feeling about the future...as I will not stop fighting along side Luffy until.....

He becomes king of the pirates...

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Author: I AM SO SORRY, IT HAS BEEN A WHILE!!!

Author: You're probably wondering where I went, so I'll tell you! I have been away fixing myself and my mental health. Many things in my personal life have been going on, and I needed a break from activities to help aid myself and refresh my life.

Author: But now, after very long months and days, I'm finally back to writing. I am sorry if this chapter is a bit boring, but I promise there will be more exciting chapters in the future!

Author: Anyways, I am sorry again for being away so long. More chapters of this book will be published before Christmas, and the New Year, so I hope everyone is having a good last month of the year! Happy Holidays, and have a good day, everyone!

Bye lovelies!!!