#and also how he wants to be better for the crew

[zorostitties]

Intertwined; 2

⤕ Luffy and you were like two sides of the same coin: opposites in every way, but similar in what mattered the most. Tied by a vow made with the purity of a child's heart, life keeps trying to tear you apart - but the vow that intertwined your destinies would not be broken so easily. Or, Luffy promised to marry you someday when you were kids. This is how he keeps his promise.

pairing: monkey d. luffy x (f) reader

genre: childhood friends to lovers, slow burn, arranged marriage, fluff, angst, eventual smut

warnings: violence/blood, explicit language, toxic family relationships, death/grief, when i say slow burn i mean it

rating: 18+

word count: 7k

A/N: HELLO YALL 💋 I can't stress enough how excited I am about this fic - and it's only beginning. Thank everyone that left comments on the first chapter!! I still have to make a proper playlist for this fic BUT a little song rec - I listened to Stay With Me from Miki Matsubara while writing this chapter!! kinda cliche but it makes me feel nostalgic and those are the correct vibes for this one. 🤓 Enjoy <3

⤕  Masterlist  ⤕ Also on AO3 ⤕ Taglist open!

➛ 9

One year, zero failures.

Twenty five commissions. Millions of berries in profit to the Scarpia safes.

And finally – five days of freedom.

In the Scarpia family, you couldn’t ask for things. You negotiated. Everything was transactional; that was the soul of the business. To get something, you must give something in return. Different things had different prices.

The cost of your little unsupervised vacation was absolute and obedient hard work. No more running away, no more slacking off, no complaining… instead, improving in every area that mattered to be a better assassin. You took commissions, excelled in training and tests, attended Landon’s classes without fail.

All so you could get what you wanted on your birthday.

It wasn’t an expensive request, but you knew that it costed much more than anything your brothers ever asked for – much more than Urso’s cannon that was exclusive to Marine warships, Saqr’s golden armor armor or Crowley’s actual warship with a full crew. Five days of being away, not being followed by anyone from the family, no questions asked? That was a lot. And so, the price to pay for that was high.

But you payed anyway. Payed splendidly. So your father had to honor the deal.

And finally, after a year, there you were climbing Mt. Colubo again.

You were excitedly making your way up the hill – running, to be honest. It wasn’t hard to remember the specific hill you agreed to meet; you had an awfully good memory for some reason. Your heart beat faster with each step in both excitement and worry. What if he forgot about you? What if he missed the date? You didn’t know where Luffy lived, so you wouldn’t know where to meet him – and it’d take days to scoop the area after him.

What if he simply didn’t care?

The thought made you nauseous.

Well, if he didn’t show up, you still had a mountain to explore and money to rent a room in the city–

The wind brought an unknown voice to your ears.

Your instincts jumped, took control of your body. You immediately hid behind a bush, crouching down, and waited.

“...tired of this!” A young male voice. A boy’s voice. “We’ve been waiting since morning! I swear, if you’re trying to prank me, I’ll kick you off that cliff...”

Then, another boy’s voice – and your eyes immediately widened. You knew that high pitched whine.

“It’s not a prank, Ace! I said I’d be waiting right here, I can’t leave!”

“Yeah, right. Waiting for your imaginary friend.”

“I’m not imagining anything!” An uneasy groan. “Though maybe I missed the date… has it really been a year? She is taking too long…”

“Tsk. I’m sick of this. I’m heading back…”

“No! Wait!”

You got up and sprinted up the hill.

“Luffy!” Your voice cracked a bit while screaming his name… still not used to screaming. One hand kept gripping the strap of the backpack while the other waved excitedly.

And there he was.

The stretchy boy hadn’t changed a thing. Same hair, same height, same scar under his left eye, a bandaid on a different place this time – his forehead –, same battered up straw hat that was still too big for his head, jeans shorts and a blue tank top…

And same grin, big big grin, that appeared as soon as he spotted you… except he was missing his front tooth now.

“Wolfie!” He yelled. Who the hell–? Oh, right. That’s the name I made up. “You came!”

You had almost reached them when Luffy decided to engulf you in a hug.

...You were also not used to hugs and sudden proximity. The part of you that had been sharpened like a blade had the instinct to crush his trachea with the side of your hand. No no no, these are my five days of vacation. No business thinking! You made the conscious effort to push that part away, to lock it in a dark vault inside of your brain, a vault with a very complicated password. No bloodthirst. No kill intent.

So you just hugged him back instead and giggled excitedly.

Luffy then stepped away and grinned mischievously at that other boy.

He stepped behind you and put both hands over your shoulders as if presenting you like an item. “See? You seeing this? Is this imaginary? Call me a liar again, come on! C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, I dare you!”

You scanned each other in silence.

This guy was definitely a few years older than Luffy and you. His black wavy hair fell over his forehead, his tanned skin was peppered with freckles. Like Luffy, his brown eyes were so dark that they almost looked black. He wore shorts, an orange tank top, elbow pads, and held a steel pipe… what was that for?

He was much, much more judgmental than Luffy.

And apparently smarter, too.

Luffy walked to your side.

“This one’s my big brother Ace!” He presented.

You were immediately taken aback. Of course, you remembered how Luffy kept talking about someone called Ace. But you didn’t expect him to be a brother.

Just because your brothers are awful, doesn’t mean everybody’s are, too.

You managed to open a tight smile.

“My name’s Wolfie. Nice to meet you.”

Ace crossed his arms and measured you from head to toe – and you had to fight the urge to immediately despise him, because that look was familiar. Stop that. You don’t even know him yet. It’s your vacation! Time to have fun!

Luffy tapped your shoulder with the back of his hand. “Ace here kept saying I made you up, can you believe that?”

Ace side eyed Luffy with a frown. “You can’t blame me. The whole story sounded suspicious.” He focused on you again and tilted his head to the side. “The hell are you from?”

He carefully analyzed your outfit and backpack. Your clothes weren’t exactly fancy: you wore the standard Scarpia children “uniform”, which was basically a white button shirt, a black pleated skirt and the black blazer with the red scorpion on it (you had quickly gotten rid of that family crest from your clothes, however). You brothers, much obviously, wore pants instead of the skirt, but other than that, it was all the same.

You would have picked something different if you weren’t in such a hurry to get to the Dawn Island as fast as possible. Luckily, the last commission was already at some insignificant island of the East Blue – you picked it on purpose -, but the travel still took a days time. You still had to wait until the clock hit midnight to hop on a ship and head to the island (you couldn’t risk making your way with Landon nearby).

But anyway – your whole appearance was very obviously of a foreigner. A well lived foreigner. You couldn’t lie to two locals that you were from High Town, and you had already told Luffy you lived far.

Luckily, you had everything planned.

“Loguetown,” you announced. Ace seemed a bit surprised for some reason.

Big fat lie, obviously.

You’d been to Loguetown once or twice. It wasn’t that interesting of a place despite the mystique around it. Regardless, it was still a pretty big city and an acceptable answer: far, but not too far. Not too suspicious.

Ace quirked one eyebrow up. “...That’s far. What brings you to Mt. Colubo of all places?”

You shrugged. “My father visits the Goa Kingdom once a year because of his business and I like to come along.”

“You like to climb a mountain on your own.”

“I like animals and insects. I catalog them.”

“She draws pretty well. I mean, not better than me, but–“

“The mountain with the giant dangerous animals.” Ace cut Luffy off without taking his eyes off you.

“Yeah, that’s why this place is interesting.” You narrowed your eyes at him. “What’s the problem with that?”

“The problem is that this doesn’t make any sense.”

“What? You think a girl can’t take care of herself?”

“That’s not what I mean–“

“How are you alive? Luffy ate a Devil Fruit, so I get it, but how about you?”

Luffy looked between you and Ace like a ping pong ball coming and going.

And Ace looked very offended.

“What–?! I’m a hundred times stronger than Luffy!”

“Hey!”

“Don’t change the subject!” Ace once again ignored Luffy and pointed his finger at you. “I don’t know how a rich brat like you is even alive in here!”

You let an annoyed groan past your lips and tightened your fists. What an insufferable guy!

But then, you narrowed your eyes and refrained from arguing more. I didn’t come here to argue with anyone. I came here to play with Luffy.

A smug smirk grew on your lips. You held both straps of the backpack and took a small step back.

Then – you sprinted.

It made the wind howl, the trees sway. You had time to hear a satisfying gasp from both of them, but especially from the oh-so-annoying Ace.

In the blink of an eye, you were standing on the lower branch of a tree nearby.

“This is how.” You announced to a shocked Ace while smiling.

Luffy laughed.

He hopped excitedly and shook his arms. “I told you, see?! I told you, I told you!” The straw hat boy then looked at you with a defiant grin and fire in his eyes. “I said I’d be even faster this time!”

“Then prove it!” Now you were the one hopping excitedly. “You’re it!”

Luffy laughed and launched his weird stretched arm in your direction. You deflected him and jumped to another tree.

Ace stood there, still a bit shocked, and watched as you and Luffy chased each other through the trees. Both of you were noisy. Both of you disturbed the small animals like birds and squirrels, made branches shake violently, making a rain of leaves fall over his head. He heard a succession of tag! You’re it! before you said it one last time.

And then he spotted Luffy smiling devilishly at him like a gremlin.

“Are you just gonna stand there?!”

Ace took a step back and sent him a warning glare.

“Luffy, don’t you dare–”

Smack.

“You’re it!”

“I’m gonna kill you!”

Straw hat boy just laughed.

There were three kids disturbing the small fauna now.

“Have you ever eaten crocodile meat?” Luffy asked.

You shook your head. “Not that I remember.”

He smiled. “It’s soooo good. You’re gonna love it. Uh, now I’m hungry…”

“When are you not hungry, Luffy?” Ace side eyed you. “I’m surprised you didn’t want to hunt with us… since you’re soooooo good at everything.”

You shrugged.

Yes. It’s true that you decided to just stand near the river and watch them hunt the crocodile. Not because you couldn’t help them, but because it felt… wrong.

The crocodile was huge. Two times bigger than a cow, maybe. It was now wrapped in ropes as the two boys carried it above their heads towards their home. You’d never seen a crocodile this big, and that’s why you hesitated. Were there even that many crocodiles around?

“I feel bad for it.” You admitted quietly.

The two boys looked at you like you were insane.

“What? You don’t eat meat?!” Luffy seemed flabbergasted.

“I bet you don’t feel bad about cows or chickens,” Ace was much more defensive.

You just sighed and crossed your arms. “That’s not what I mean… whatever. Yes, I do eat meat.” You looked up at the huge animal for a few seconds. “Can I at least sketch it before you cook it?”

“Why would you wanna do that?”

“I already said that I catalog animals.”

“Weirdo.”

You wanted to punch Ace.

“Hey, hey, Wolfie, what’s your favorite food?” Luffy asked.

You held your chin and looked up. “Hmm… crab legs. I think.” Luffy hummed in response. “Or spicy noodles.” He hummed again. “Anything spicy, to be honest.”

It wasn’t without a reason. Your mother was a poison specialist. She made you and your brothers take small dosages of different types of poison not only to be able to recognize it, but to resist it. Turns out one of her poisons burned your taste buds and food became tasteless for months – until you ate a very very spicy pepper from Dressrosa and went oh, I can actually feel the taste of this. Your taste buds had healed, but your liking for spicy food stayed.

You weren’t going to tell them that, though.

“Never seen a girl that likes pepper,” Ace quirked his eyebrow up, clearly questioning you.

“You don’t know that many girls, do you?”

Ace blushed for some reason, but still looked annoyed. “Listen here, you brat–!”

He was interrupted by a growl.

You thought it was a savage animal nearby at first, but the sound was coming from too close…

It was Luffy’s rumbling belly.

“Ugh… I want to eat…” He tilted his head to the side as if he was suffering. “Crab legs… noodles… pepper…”

“You can’t take spicy food, Luffy,” Ace murmured.

“Yes, I can!”

They started arguing and you just watched in silence.

It was… interesting.

They bantered a lot. They punched each other and argued over silly things. Ace usually won most of the fights and arguments. However… you didn’t see genuine anger in his eyes not even once. You didn’t hear genuine insults meant to hurt. It was all silly, superficial – and they always got over it two minutes after it happened.

You wondered if that’s how siblings usually acted.

No. Don’t think of Urso or Crowley or Saqr… that’s not what you came here for.

So you looked ahead and spotted something, which caused you to stop on your tracks.

“Oh!” That caught their attention. “You guys have a tree house?”

It was well hidden in between the branches, but there was definitely a tree house some meters away at the top of an especially tall tree. The wooden structure looked a bit precarious and perhaps even abandoned, yet it immediately picked your interest.

“Did you guys build it?”

Luffy blinked and looked uneasy for some reason. “Huh…”

“It looks pretty cool!” An excited smile appeared on your lips. You gripped the straps of the backpack, ready to run. “I want to see it!”

“Wait, Wolfie–“ Luffy tried to warn you. Which was weird, because Luffy never tried to warn you about anything, so at that moment, you didn’t pay attention to him.

You were running towards the tree.

That’s when Ace yelled “No!”

The ground shook when he dropped the heavy crocodile. In the blink of an eye, Ace was towering in front of you, both of his arms extended to block your passage.

You froze on your tracks.

He… he looked angry.

“You’re not allowed to go there!”

His stance and his voice would’ve triggered normal you’s aggression. But that part of you was locked inside the vault – so all you did was widen your eyes at him.

“But it’s just a tree house,” you tried. That made him angrier for some reason.

“Do not get anywhere near that place!”

Luffy stepped closer, frowning. “Hey, Ace, you don’t need to get so angry–“

Ace turned his attention to him. “If you take her there, I will never talk to you again! Got it?!”

Luffy himself was surprised.

The oldest boy sent a last menacing gaze towards you before taking the crocodile on his own and marching ahead.

You just stood there, too shocked to say anything, for long seconds. Luffy sent you an apologetic look; it seems he didn’t know what to do, either.

...All older brothers are assholes, I guess.

Meeting Luffy’s “family” made you understand him (and Ace) much more.

Their house was deep inside the forest, in the middle of a large clearing. It was a big one-story house with a lookout, though it looked precarious. Many voices came from inside it.

The two boys announced that they had brought dinner. A couple of men wearing white turbans came from inside the house to check it. None of them seemed impressed that the kids killed a monster crocodile, which could only mean that wasn’t unusual. You stood there awkwardly for a while. No one seemed bothered by your presence.

That is, until a big ginger woman came out of the house.

Her hair was long and curly. She wore a white blouse, checkered green pants, a necklace made of red round beads and boots. She had two cigarettes (?) between her lips and the ferocious eyes that could only belong to a leader.

The woman immediately started scolding Luffy and Ace with why’d you take so long?! or which of you used all the sugar?! and your clothes are stinky, you better wash it before tomorrow! and you have to clean all the mess you made! and don’t you dare talk back like that, brat! and I will kick your ass if you don’t watch that tone! and then she finally laid her eyes on you.

She blinked.

You blinked.

“Hi.” You sent her a small wave. “My name is–

“LUFFY AND ACE KIDNAPPED A CITY GIRL!!”

It was like everyone finally noticed your presence at that moment.

The men gasped and gathered around you. The ginger woman fumed like a chimney – and suddenly everything became noisy noisy noisy, with everyone showing different levels of outrage.

“What a horrible thing to do-nii!” Said a short guy wearing a pink polka dotted overall who seemed to be already panicking.

“You guys really crossed the line this time!” Said another tall guy with a brown mustache and a weird wattle on the top of his head, looking at Ace and Luffy disapprovingly.

The woman grabbed the two buys by their collars and lifted them from the ground like they weighed nothing.

“You little psychopaths! This girl’s from High Town, ain’t she?! Why’d you bring her here?! You wanna get us all killed?!”

“What are you–“ Ace grunted, grabbing her wrist. “Talking about, crazy old woman?!”

“We didn’t kidnap anyone!” Luffy screamed. “She’s Wolfie and she’s my friend!”

“Friend?! Don’t make me laugh! Why would a little girl get into the woods like that–“

“Miss.”

She finally stopped to look down when you touched her arm softly.

“They’re not lying. I’m on vacation and came to visit Luffy.”

Silence.

She quirked her eyebrow at you with distrust.

“Where’re your parents?”

“In the city.”

“Where will you stay? It’s almost sundown, there’s not enough time to reach the city before night comes.”

You slipped the backpack to only one shoulder and shoved your hand inside the small pocket.

“I was wondering if I could stay here for two or three days…” You finally showed her what you were looking for – and earned a collective gasp. “...If you don’t mind, of course.”

A wad of cash.

She put the two boys down slowly.

The woman took it from your much smaller hand and removed the rubber band, counting the berries rapidly.

She then looked at you again – and for a moment, it looked like it’d take some more convincing–

But she grinned.

“Of course, darling!” She crouched down to come closer to your eye level – and all of sudden, the aggressiveness and distrust and even the wrinkle between her eyebrows were gone. She was all smiles and blushes and it was like flowers were floating around her head. Even her voice became sweet like honey. “Of course, why wouldn’t we take such a cutie in?! My name’s Dadan. We’ll take care of whatever you need!”

And then all the other grown men were smiling sweetly and blushing too, and the flowers multiplied. You heard I’ll prepare you a bedroom! and I’ll cook you a great dinner! and I can make you cute dresses– wait, why do you know how to make dresses?!

Such a drastic change.

Well. One thing you knew from the world of the adults is that there were just a few things money couldn’t buy.

Ace side eyed you with a frown. Luffy didn’t seem to mind and didn’t seem upset at Dadan despite what she just did.

“Hey, hey, Wolfie–“ He tapped your arm many times. “There are a loooot of beetles around here! And scorpions too! And–“

“Didn’t you said you wanted to draw the crocodile or whatever?” Ace interrupted with somewhat of a pout. “You better do it now before we skin it. I don’t wanna have dinner late because of you.” The older boy walked away with his hands inside the front pockets of his shorts.

“Right.” You nodded. Luffy’s shoulders dropped.

“You’re gonna sit down and draw now? That’s boring! I wanna play!”

“It won’t take that long this time,” you explained while searching for the sketchbook inside of your backpack. Luffy pouted.

You sat down on the grass and quickly started sketching the crocodile’s head from the side. You’d have to check on your Reptile Encyclopedia if this species was already cataloged… you hadn’t brought that book with you – it was way too heavy – and that’s why taking as many details as possible was necessary, so you could compare the drawing with the book images back home.

Meanwhile, everything was noisy behind you.

Luffy, Ace, Dadan, the other guys… they all made a lot of noise. A lot of insults and arguments… but a lot of laughter, too. All that noise wasn’t bothersome. In fact, it was much more comfortable than the mortifying silence that always hovered inside the Scarpia mansion.

You finished the sketch quickly and left everything aside to play with Luffy – and from there, time seemed to run. You played catch and played with a ball and played with a white dog that lived there. You rolled on the grass and jumped rope and played on a tire swing until it made Luffy feel nauseous. You raced too many times to keep count and taught Luffy each different species of bugs you saw inside the forest (though he didn’t remember anything a second after you finished speaking). And then suddenly your clothes were dirty and you were tired but you didn’t mind at all, because that tiredness didn’t hurt.

Finally it was time to have dinner – and the amount of food they cooked was a bit absurd, but everything smelled great. Everyone gathered to eat after bathing and changing clothes. Luffy was quite literally drooling.

“Let the guest eat first, brat!” Dadan reprimanded Luffy with a punch in his head when he tried to grab a piece of meat. You quickly filled your plate with rice, meat and a bit of salad before someone else could complain.

“That’s not fair,” Ace whined with a frown. “Why don’t we get this type of treatment? You never make this many side dishes.”

Dadan glared at him with fire in her eyes. “Because you’re not full of mone– I-I mean, because you’re not a cute, polite girl! Work on your manners first before you get special treatment!”

They started arguing.

You ate from your plate in peace. Luffy filled plate after plate after plate and for a moment you wondered if that giant crocodile was enough to satisfy him. There was a lot of noise, still. They talked loud. Yet, in your silence, you could still see that same thing from before. They argued and cussed at each other, but you couldn’t hear genuine anger or contempt or the will to hurt. Even Dadan who seemed the harshest of them all had that underlying care in her gaze, though you doubted Luffy or Ace could see it too.

Everything made your heart feel surprisingly at ease.

And made you feel something else too – but it was small and irritating, so you decided to brush it off.

“Hey, Ace, you’re losing to Luffy on something, huh?” That guy with a mustache – was his name Magura? – said at some point. He had a suspicious smile and light blush over his cheeks.

Both boys stopped eating for a second and went Huh?

Magura blinked prettily.

“Your younger brother got a girlfriend first than you. You better work on that!”

A room full of grown men giggled. Ace blushed furiously and started cussing.

You and Luffy looked at each other at the same time.

He blinked.

You blinked.

You both scowled like you’d eaten a very sour lemon.

“EEEW!!”

“Where are we going now?” You asked as soon as you stepped out of the house.

The morning smelled like dew, sap and damp soil. There were no clouds to cover the bluest sky you’d ever seen. Multiple birds chirped their melody, and you felt tempted to try to recognize the different species, but you wouldn’t have time.

Luffy had invited you to go somewhere.

“You said it was a party?”

The straw hat boy grinned. “Yeah! A birthday party for the Mayor! Makino throws a party for him every year. She bakes cake and a bunch of sweets!”

You followed him shortly, starting to feel a little excited. That was when you spotted Ace leaning on a tree nearby with his arms crossed. He looked… upset.

Luffy seemed to hesitate for a second.

“I’m going down to Foosha now, Ace!” He announced.

The other boy just shrugged in response.

That was… weird.

Luffy started to run, so you quickened your pace to catch up to him. His hat flew from his head and swayed with the wind while trapped by that thin rope around his neck. Soon, the house and the clearing were left behind.

“We can get to Foosha Village quicker using this trail,” Luffy explained. You nodded and kept silent for some moments while he yapped about cake flavors.

But your curiosity got the best of you.

“Luffy.”

“Hm?”

“Why isn’t Ace coming with us?” Luffy visibly stiffened. “Is he that angry at me?”

The straw hat boy coughed as if he had choked on something.

“He… huh… h-he’s not angry at you!”

“Why isn’t he coming, then?”

“Huh… hmmm…”

You watched very closely as sweat dripped down his forehead, his cheeks got flushed, his eyes very consciously averted from yours, a pout formed on his lips.

He almost looked constipated.

“H-He… he said he’s not a kid anymore to attend birthday parties!” Luffy looked extremely proud of himself for coming up with this answer. “Boring guy, isn’t he? Anyway, I bet you can’t get to that tree faster than me! Three-two-one-go!!”

He sprinted down the trail before you could get ready, making a cloud of dust on his way. You narrowed your eyes slowly.

That morning, you learned that Luffy was a terrible liar.

Foosha Village was about what you already expected – small with not much interesting going on. Not many houses, not many establishments, not that many people. The village port was small with only a few ships docked. The sea that surrounded Dawn Island was of a gorgeous blue, so calm that it could be mistaken by the waters of the Calm Belt.

Partys Bar faced this beautiful scenery.

Luffy stormed in unceremoniously and ran to the arms of a young woman of dark green hair – was that the Makino he talked about?

“Luffy!” She said sweetly while embracing him. “You came early!”

“The earlier we get, the more food we eat!” He giggled before leaning away.

Her eyes quickly found you. “And who is this little princess right here?”

Your cheeks got warm.

What did she just call me?!

“A friend of mine!” Luffy presented. “I brought her to eat cake!”

Makino chuckled. “Well, you two will have to wait, then. The cake’s still baking and I haven’t finished the decorations yet. Care to help me with this?”

You certainly didn’t care.

Makino brought an old box with decorations: ribbons, balloons, confetti and more. You sat on the bar stool and busied yourself with filling the balloons while her and Luffy glued the colorful tapes and little flags around the bar walls. His Devil Fruit ability came in handy in situations like this.

It was weird, this feeling you had. Unusual. The sound of the waves crashing not far from there. Trees swaying with the oceanic breeze. Chatter coming from the street. Luffy’s laughter and Makino’s sweet voice.

It was peaceful.

So peaceful that you felt your shoulders relaxing. For the first time, the “sonar” within you that kept constantly looking for potential danger was down. Yes, you knew that was wrong; it was against everything you’d ever learned. Never let your guard down.

But Landon wasn’t there. Nor your father or your mother. Crowley wasn’t hiding somewhere with a knife waiting for an opportunity to stab you. Saqr and his hound dogs weren’t anywhere near. Urso wouldn’t try to squeeze you to death… and you weren’t completing a commission, either.

You never thought you’d like to keep that part of you inside the vault, but turns out your life became pretty quiet when it happened.

Some kids entered the bar at some point. You couldn’t tell if Luffy already knew them, but they talked excitedly. Soon, they were outside on the street, playing.

You wondered for a second if you should join them, but Makino approached.

“That’s enough balloons, thank you.” She smiled softly. “Care to help me with something else?”

She guided you behind the counter into the kitchen. The place was filled with a delicious sweet smell of the cake baking inside the oven. Other than that, there were plenty of other snacks over the table at the center: some of them were obviously sweets, some looked deep fried.

“I couldn’t finish rolling the brigadeiros. The Mayor always asks for them,” she explained while walking towards the counter where a pan rested. “If I asked Luffy to come, he’d eat everything instead of helping.”

“He would.” You nodded and frowned slightly. “But… what’s a brigadeiro?”

Makino quirked an eyebrow. “You’re not from here, are you? If you don’t know what a brigadeiro is.”

Well. You couldn’t tell if you didn’t know what that was because you weren’t from the area of because you’d never been to a birthday party before – a normal one, at least. Maybe people ate this brigadeiro thing on the Grand Line, too. Who knows?

You repeated your lie, but decided to leave the Loguetown name behind. Perhaps Makino knew that it was also a common snack at that city, which would raise more questions.

After washing your hands, she proceeded to explain what to do.

“First, you have to coat your palms with butter so it slides easily… then, you take a bit of the chocolate dough from the pan with the spoon. It doesn’t need to be much. And then… you just roll it with your hands… until it becomes a little ball. This size is okay. See? Now you just dip it in the chocolate sprinkles and it’s done.”

It wasn’t a difficult task – and Makino was kind enough to let you eat some. After you picked up the pace, she let you do it on your own and went to take care of something else in the kitchen.

You couldn’t help but take glances at her from time to time.

Makino was delicate. The scarf wrapped around her hair matched with her long skirt; the thin pearl necklace also matched with her pearl earrings. She was agile in everything she did and sweet with her words. And that was also unusual.

Your mother – the only female reference you had – was the complete opposite of Makino. She was older, of course, but the differences didn’t stop there. Your mother was beautiful, too, and extremely elegant. But she was also cold. Distant. Black instead of colorful. Reprimands instead of compliments. Makino smelled of candy; Scilla Scarpia smelled of poison.

That made you feel a bit sad for some reason.

“What?” She asked at some point, and you realized you had been staring for some time. You stiffened.

“...Your earrings are very pretty, miss.”

Makino opened a wide smile and approached. “Do you want them?”

“W-What?”

“I have many earrings… these would look cute on you.” She narrowed her eyes and leaned closer. “Oh! How come you don’t have your ears pierced?”

You didn’t. You also weren’t used to wearing necklaces or bracelets or hair clips… nothing flashy or colorful. Your face was almost always hidden behind a white wolf mask anyway, so why worry about your appearance?

“I can pierce your ears later,” Makino offered. “But it hurts a little bit. Do you want it?”

At the same time… why not worry about your appearance?

A sudden smile and unexpected excitement bubbled within your chest. “Yes!”

The bar was packed a few hours later.

There were mostly kids. Conversation and laughter filled the air. Your ears stung a little bit, but you didn’t mind; you were too busy playing. Makino decided that it was time to congratulate the Mayor, so everyone gathered around a table to celebrate.

The Mayor himself – a short guy wearing a bucket hat, glasses and a colorful shirt – came to stand in front of the cake. After lighting the candles, they all clapped and sang happy birthday to you.

You looked around while everyone was too focused on the birthday man.

So many smiles. So much excitement and care. Little flags on the ceiling, colorful ribbons, balloons, a big Happy Birthday sign on the wall behind the Mayor. Everybody in that room knew him, all of them took their time to come to the bar and celebrate. Was he feeling appreciated? Was he happy and grateful?

His smile told you that he was.

Yesterday was your birthday, you remembered.

No one in the bar knew. Not even Luffy. You wouldn’t try to tell him and steal the moment. So, while you clapped and sang along, you silently pretended that it was all for you. It was silly and inappropriate, but you did it anyway. You pretended for a little over a minute that your birthday was filled with sweets and cakes and kids around your age to play with and music and laughter.

When the Mayor blew the candles, you silently wished it would be you in that place someday.

The moment was over soon. Slices of cake were distributed. Chocolate cake with strawberries. It tasted amazing. Makino had to stand near the cake to prevent Luffy from eating everything by himself.

The kids went out to play again. You followed, leaving this small moment of sorrow behind.

“Hurry up, you two. I don’t want to see you climbing up that mountain in the dark.” There were still a few hours left until sunset, but Makino was right. You had eaten more than what your stomach could take and tired your legs from running around so much.

Makino handed you a picnic basket: it had slices of cake, brigadeiros, coxinhas (which was something else you had never eaten before – a crispy fried snack in a teardrop shape filled with shredded chicken) and sandwiches. “These are for Ace and the others. I’m glad you’re here to carry it, because Luffy would end up eating everything on the way if I gave it to him.”

“Hey!”

She giggled and leaned down to hug Luffy. When Makino leaned away, she lowered her voice, but you could still hear very well when she said: “Tell Ace I’ll go see him tomorrow, okay?”

She then approached and hugged you. “Don’t forget to clean your ears with alcohol everyday.” Makino touched the pearl earrings softly and smiled. “You do look very cute with them!”

Your cheeks felt hot again. For whatever reason.

After waving your goodbyes, there you were making your way into the forest.

Luffy didn’t feel like running, which was a bit of a miracle. Even him could get tired… and you were thankful, because like that, he couldn’t run away from you.

You waited until you were out of the village to start.

“Luffy.”

“Huh?”

“Why didn’t Ace come?”

He stiffened again.

“Y-You already asked that, didn’t you? And I already answered.”

“I don’t buy it. There must be another reason.” You approached him until your shoulders bumped. “Come ooooon. I won’t tell anyone.”

Luffy made that weird constipated face again and crossed his arms. “I… huh… I don’t know! I have no idea! Hah!”

“I’m great at keeping secrets! You can trust me!”

“Seriously, I don’t know anything!” But he was sweating again and avoiding your gaze so much that his eyeballs were almost rolling inside his skull, so it meant it was time to play dirty.

You shoved your hand inside the basket and put a coxinha in front of his face.

His eyes widened.

“I’ll give it to you if you tell me.”

Luffy gasped.

He froze, his fingers trembled, his mouth drooled. It looked like he was facing the biggest challenge of his life. The coxinha smelled amazing. It was still warm and shining golden in its crispy fried glory.

For a second, it looked like he was raising his hands to grab it – and you were ready to sing victory.

But Luffy tapped his foot on the ground and whipped his head to the side aggressively.

“No!”

It was your turn to gasp.

Was it so serious that Luffy couldn’t even be bribed with food to tell the truth? That was surprising.

Admitting defeat, you put the snack inside the basket again and went back to walking. “Okay, then.”

You heard Luffy whine behind you and the tap tap of his sandals fast approaching again. “But we could eat one of them, right? They would never know.”

“You can’t eat just one. You’ll want the whole thing.”

“Nooo, I’m serious!” He brought both hands close to his face in a praying position and looked at you with round, begging eyes. “Just one? Please? Please? Please?”

You hesitated before admitting defeat for the second time that day.

“Just one.” Luffy giggled excitedly. “Eat slowly ‘cause it’s really gonna be the only one!”

He took one. You took one.

You chewed in silence.

This coxinha was another secret you’d have to keep. Another lie.

Luffy was a terrible liar. It looked like he couldn’t lie to save his life. Meanwhile, lying to you was easy… it was part of the job – sometimes you’d have to go undercover, and to get info on a target, you’d have to lie your way in. You were also used to lying to avoid punishments. It wasn’t hard to come up with something on the spot. Believable lies, sometimes only twisting the truth a bit to get what you wanted.

You lied to everybody here. All of these kind people that had been nothing but honest to you. All of these people calling you by a name that wasn’t truly yours. Wolfie this, Wolfie that… but Wolfie didn’t exist.

No one should see your face. No one should know your name.

But would you ever be able to make a real friend behind this mask of lies?

You wanted Luffy to be a real friend.

So you swallowed and gathered some courage.

“Luffy.”

“Hmm?” His mouth was full.

“I have a secret to tell you.” He seemed mildly interested. “‘Wolfie’ is not my name.”

You gave him your real name quietly – almost as if there was a possibility of someone else hearing it nearby. You decided to leave your last name behind. That would be too risky.

Luffy repeated your name. You nodded. He quirked an eyebrow. “So what?”

“I’m not from Loguetown. I’m not even from the East Blue.”

Luffy narrowed his eyes slowly, finally fully interested. “And why’d you lie?”

You pressed your lips and debated for a second if this was the right thing to do… but Landon wasn’t here, or anyone from your family, and the only thing with ears nearby was a squirrel and a couple of birds.

So you continued.

“I’m an assassin.”

You held your breath and waited for Luffy’s reaction.

He could laugh at your face and say you were lying. He could scowl and run away in fear. He could push you down the hill and tell you to never get near his family again.

But Luffy did what you least expected.

...He didn’t react.

At all.

He just kept chewing the coxinha as if you told him what you’re having for dinner.

“Why are you an assassin?” He asked.

“It’s the family business.”

“So your parents are, too?”

“Yeah.”

“And why do they do that?”

“For the money.” You shrugged.

“Hmmm.” He finished eating and rested both hands behind his head. “That’s why you’re rich.”

“Yeah.”

Luffy then frowned as if remembering something.

“Wait. Why’d you feel bad for the crocodile, then?”

That was an interesting question. “...I like animals. They’re irrational. And cute.”

“You think a monster crocodile is cute?”

“Uh-Huh.”

“Weirdo.” He was pretty much imitating what Ace said earlier, but you didn’t mind. “So. Do you like to kill people?”

That was another interesting question. No one had ever asked you that. You hummed and held your chin.

“I don’t like it. But I don’t mind it either. It’s just... work.”

“Sounds pretty boring.”

Your shoulders dropped. “It is boring.”

“So that’s why you’re here?”

He caught things pretty quickly. You nodded, an annoyed knot appearing between your eyebrows. “They don’t let me play. They don’t let me do anything! It’s just work work work, it’s just you have to honor the family or whatever.” Your voice sounded more whiny and bitter at each word. “They never even asked me if I wanted to be part of the business. Not that they have ever asked my opinion on anything.”

Luffy hummed again – but there was something a bit strange about his voice now.

His hat had dropped a bit, casting a shadow over his eyes.

“...You’re like Sabo.” Luffy’s voice was… strangely quiet. You’d never seen him speaking quietly before.

You tilted your head.

“Who’s Sabo?”

“My brother.”

“Really?” Luffy had another brother? You didn’t hear anyone mention that name. “Where is he?”

Luffy dropped his arms from behind his head.

“He… he died.”

That took you by surprise.

“Oh.”

Silence.

You’re like Sabo, Luffy said.

For some reason, you remembered Ace’s aggressiveness towards you… how he didn’t want to let you in that old tree house...

And something clicked.

Did you remind Ace of this dead brother? Was he somehow jealous of your presence… as if you could perhaps assume that empty spot?

You scratched your head and frowned. That didn’t make any sense since, well, you had enough brothers and you hated all of them. Why’d you want to have any more brothers? That’s not what you came here for. Ace was a few years older than you, but if your suspicions were right, then he was nothing but delusional and childish.

Luffy made a strange noise, which brought your attention to him again.

You leaned to see his face under the hat.

“...You crying?”

“I’m not!”

But his face was wet with tears and his cheeks were flushed and he had the biggest pout and he rushed to clean his nose with the collar of his shirt. Oh no, he’s actually crying, even though he was clearly trying to hold it in. What do I do?!

You weren’t one to cry. You didn’t even remember the last time you did. Wait, have you ever cried at all? Have you ever seen anyone in the family cry? Huh… no, I don’t think so. Never felt anything deserving of shedding tears, I guess.

“Stop staring at me!”

“Sorry!” You leaned away and crossed your arms. “It’s just that this is, huh, unusual.”

Luffy sniffed and frowned. “What do you mean unusual?”

You scratched your own cheek awkwardly. “Well. If any of my brothers died, I’d throw a party to celebrate.”

Luffy stiffened for a second – and you worried that you had worsened the situation.

But then he laughed.

He sniffed again and cleaned his face with his forearm. The tears stopped! Great! “You really are a weirdo. Is your family that bad?”

You scowled instinctively. “I don’t even wanna talk about them.”

“I don’t wanna talk about them, either. They sound boring.” Luffy sniffed again and side eyed you with a small pout. “Don’t tell Ace you saw me crying. He’ll smack me.”

“Okay.” It was your turn to point at him. “Don’t tell Ace my secret or I’ll smack you.”

“Right. Wolfie.” He used a funny tone to say that name while grinning, and it immediately made you smile too. Luffy was kind of slow, but he got the message. That name was forbidden, even though you decided to share it with him anyway.

Luffy knew the real you now – and he didn’t care.

“Can I get another one–?”

“No!” You took the basket out of his reach before he could sneakily stretch his arm to grab it. “I was serious! Just one!”

“But–“

“No!”

You brought the basket close to your chest and sprinted up the trail without looking back. Luffy’s laugh and the tap tap tap of his sandals quickly followed.

At that moment, while running from Luffy and getting deeper into the forest, while feeling the delicious smell of the food inside the basket and sap and damp soil, while listening to his giggles and the ones that erupted from your own chest, you got to a conclusion.

One year, zero failures – twenty five successful commissions, uncountable classes, uncountable boring hours of painful training… it was a fair price to pay for the happiness you could experience at that mountain, at that island, at this god forsaken corner of the world. No golden armor or cannon or warship could compare to that.

No money could buy that.

You were willing to do whatever it took to always keep this small island of peace intact.

[hannahbarberra162]

Emperor's Prize, Part 7 (Yan Alpha Shanks x Omega Reader)

18+ MDNI | on Ao3

The other parts

This is the next chapter in the main plot line - thank you for your patience as I dabbled in various AUs.

Thank you to @tryingandfailingtowrite for your invaluable editing and beta-ing and thank you to @sordidmusings for your comments, editing, and generally hyping me up way more than I deserve.

Anyway, enjoy!!

Your POV

Something had shifted between you and the Apex Alpha ever since the disastrous conversation Shanks forced out of you. For one, Shanks was now drinking every night as the Red Force sailed the seas of the New World. He would begin drinking at lunch and wouldn’t stop until he stumbled into the cabin you shared, tumbling into the bed with his hands searching for you. He didn’t pursue anything more than holding you tightly in his arms or sniffing at your scent glands as he ran his hands up and down your flanks. Whereas before he’d sprawled out on the bed, now it seemed like he had to keep at least one body part touching you at all times, even during the night. 

It wasn’t like Shanks was celebrating either. He’d drink near his crewmates or by himself while staring off into the sea. It didn’t seem to matter to him what was happening around him. His crew didn’t seem to notice or mind the change, long used to their heavy drinking Captain. Benn sometimes threw you sympathetic glances as Shanks pulled you onto his lap, but other than that, they ignored you. Shanks’s constant need for physical contact was driving you crazy. You could only hope the ship would be docking soon so you’d get some kind of reprieve. 

For as close as Shanks was keeping you physically, he was emotionally distant and kept his own counsel. His hands would roam your arms and sides, he didn’t speak to you in the same light-hearted tone as before. He wasn’t mean or cruel; he would still bring you food or drinks, but his previously warm pleasantries to you were spoken in a detached manner. In the mornings, he’d bring you a warm cup of herbal tea and wait with you until you finished it, taking the porcelain cup back with him to the kitchens. Even so, his smile wasn’t as present either with you or with the crew. Shanks was off in his own world, and you couldn’t bring him out of it.

After several days of giving Shanks space, your instincts had you running ragged any time you saw the Captain. The drastic change in Shanks’s nature was setting off your internal alarms - the Omega in you demanded you placate him. Your body was telling you that you’d upset him and that you needed to fix what was wrong. You knew the change stemmed from the conversation that he’d pried out of you, but even so you couldn’t resist the call to console and soothe. 

Your mind also railed against you - you’d upset one of the four Emperors. Sure, he’d been nice to you up until that point, but what if he got tired of your attitude like Kid had? The worst moments of your life had been when Kid was upset, using you as an emotional and physical punching bag to work through his anger. And Kid had been decimated by Shanks while only using a fraction of his power - you couldn’t imagine how much worse your predicament would be under an angry Shanks. You didn’t want to find out.

Between your anxiety, biological drive, and Shanks’s distant mood, you weren’t comfortable or able to relax on the ship. You listened to every sigh for a break in Shanks’s nearly palpable tension.

One day, after Shanks silently watched you drink your morning tea, you couldn’t bear it anymore. The ship had been sailing for about ten days with no islands in sight on the horizon, and Shanks still hadn’t broken out of his stupor. You’d even gone to Benn to ask for advice, though being near another Alpha while Shanks was upset caused your anxiety to spiral. It was still the better option to get advice rather than let Shanks’s bad mood continue. You’d approached Benn while he was smoking and reading the newspaper in the early morning sun, while Shanks still slept.

“Mr. B-Beckman, I -”

“Just Benn,” he replied, his eyes still trained on the paper.

“Benn, I…I um, don’t know, is Shanks…is he, um-” you stammered and fidgeted as Benn continued to read, feeling like a child about to be reprimanded by an adult.

“He’s fine. He’ll perk up eventually.” Benn said in a bland tone, putting out his cigarette in the glass ashtray. His movements were unhurried as he folded up his paper and left to go below deck. You chewed on your lower lip, tasting blood after a few moments. Was he mad at what you’d told Shanks too? Did he know what you’d said? Or did he just have nothing else to say to you? Was the whole crew mad at you? Your gut churned as you continued to overthink the interaction. Every possibility only twisted your tangled emotions further into knots as you returned to the cabin. 

Shanks was stirring, so you quickly got back into the bed before he noticed you weren’t next to him. You typically woke before he did but one morning, he hadn’t found you next to him upon waking and was even stormier in thought and action throughout the day. Now you made sure to be in bed when he woke to try and mitigate the day’s brooding.

“Good morning, Omega,” he said formally, pushing his red bangs off his face with the back of a hand before he pulled you closer. His hair was longer than you’d ever seen it; maybe he should have taken that haircut on the island in your stead.

“Good morning, Shanks,” you said quietly, aware that he wasn’t looking for conversation. He tucked you into his side and ran his fingers down your spine as his eyes took on a faraway look. Your nose wrinkled in displeasure when the scent of last night’s booze hit you. He remained silent as he continued stroking your skin, and you pressed your lips together as a means to focus. Your mind took on a frenzied state, your instincts screaming for you to lick his neck or kiss him or talk or do anything to make him feel better. Your fingers twitched and you almost reached for him but stopped short. The image of Kuro’s blood dripping down Shanks’s throat had you balling your fists to combat your instinctive need to soothe him. You didn’t want to do anything without permission, you were frightened that any unwanted action would threaten the tenuous balance that Shanks was riding right now.

“I’m sure you’ve been up for a while. I’ll go get your tea,” he said in a monotone and pressed a kiss to your forehead before letting you go.. You were practically in tears as he stood up and straightened his spine, so different from the easy shuffle he’d had when you first met. He almost looked like a different person, now stiff and formal, when he’d been so carefree in the past. His dead eyes roved over you, finding nothing worth lingering on before he left the cabin. 

You sat up in the bed and quickly went rifling through his worn shirts, sniffing for the one with the strongest scent. Throwing off your clothes, you donned the extra large shirt and brought the collar to your nose. You took a deep inhale of the Alpha’s scent to calm you down, though you found it slightly soured by the stench of alcohol. Still, you inhaled the rich scent slowly, as if you were savoring it like a fine brandy. You took a few more breaths before the cabin door opened again, revealing the Emperor with your porcelain tea cup.

His eyes flicked over you before giving you a tight smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Outfit change?” he asked, extending the teacup. 

“Thank you, Shanks,” you said as you nodded and took it with shaking fingers. Shanks reached out to steady the cup, seemingly concerned about the tea inside. 

“Whoa, steady. Don’t get it on the bed,” he said, making sure it was cradled in your hands. Once Shanks was satisfied that you had the tea secure, he sat next to you on the bed and loosely wound his arm around your shoulders. “Drink it while it's still warm,” he said tonelessly, his fingers tilting the cup upwards as you sipped the beverage. It seemed like the flavor intensified every day, but you didn’t mind. The tea had a strong woodsy flavor, not something that you’d pick for yourself, but it wasn’t bad either. 

The two of you sat in silence side by side as you sipped, the ship rolling through the currently calm waters. Even though a part of you was calmed by completing a task Shanks asked of you, the lack of emotional connection still drove your immense anxiety. You tried to drink the tea as quickly as you could without burning yourself, eager to show your compliance. Once he saw you had finished the beverage, he held out his hand for you to return the cup. You placed it gently in his palm and Shanks moved to rise from his spot next to you on the bed. Your mind was screaming at you that now was the moment to act; when he was calm and sober, you needed to fix everything . 

“W-wait, please...pl-if you want,” you stammered, sure you were making a fool of yourself. You scanned his impassive face as his eyebrow quirked up.

“Is something wrong?” he asked in a neutral tone, moving the cup to a bedside table. “Did something happen?”

“No, I just…I -” You wrung your hands together as you spoke, unsure what words would both convey your meaning as well as not anger him further. His face softened a little as he raised his hand towards your face. You consciously avoided flinching back as he stroked your cheek with one finger. The tension was so high and you didn’t know how to fix it; you could no longer hold back and your eyes filled with tears. 

“What’s wrong, little Omega? What’s making you upset?” he said gently, his brown eyes finally focusing on you as he turned completely to face you. You felt like you were moving automatically as you finally moved in an attempt to mollify the Emperor. Your emotions fueled your decisions as you moved yourself to straddle his lap and wrapped your arms around his neck. You pulled yourself closer to his own potent scent glands, his rich scent calling to you like a siren, and buried your face in his neck. 

“Mm? This is new,” he said with mild interest, his arm running down your back. You choked back a sob as you felt his fingers roving over the shirt and pushed your face further into his warm, salty skin. You didn’t know what to say or do, usually Shanks led and you followed, but he wasn’t leading. There was nothing for you to follow, he was upset with you, with what you said, what you didn’t say, what you did wasn’t working, nothing was working, he was upset, everyone was upset. Everything was unbalanced and unwell and not right and ruined….

So you did the only thing you could think of at that moment. You put your mouth over his scent glands and bit down. Hard.

Shanks pushed your head back from the crook of his neck gently but firmly, his brows knit together in confusion. You’d heard that when Alphas’ scent glands were bitten, they felt intense pleasure, but Shanks hadn’t made any noise or even movement. He didn’t like it, he was rejecting you, he didn’t want you anymore, he was too upset to keep you, he was going to sell you-

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asked quietly, his hand reaching to cradle the back of your head.

Shanks POV

It had taken all of Shanks’s considerable self control not to moan when the Omega had bitten his scent glands. Even now, he wanted to push your head back into place to where you’d been buried in his neck and have you sink your teeth into him again. It was his dream come true, his fantasy, to have you claim him like he so desperately wanted to claim you.

Hongo had unearthed a rare book about Omegas at the previous island and Shanks had finished it over the course of one night. In the past, Omegas had often marked their mates with a bite of their own, which Alphas wore proudly as a mark of distinction. A mating bite by an Omega didn’t have many biological implications beyond strengthening the bond already created by an Alpha, but it showed a love connection between partners. It had been a way to flaunt that partners weren’t only together by fate or designation, that they’d chosen one another. Obviously, things had changed once the availability of Omegas was disrupted by the Celestial Dragons but the idea held appeal. Shanks had told you he wouldn’t mark you until your next heat, and he’d hold himself to that promise. You , however, were free to mark him.

He’d been thinking deeply over the events of his life, drowning himself in whatever alcohol he could find. Ironically, it was the same method used by one of the men consuming many of his thoughts - Silvers Rayleigh. But it wasn’t just Ray that Shanks was reminiscing over - it was Buggy, Mihawk, Roger, Marco, Luffy, Makino, Crocus, Gabban, Shamrock. So many who’d chosen to cast him aside and abandon him when he needed them most. He’d come a long way, he’d had to, but the cost was high. No one had wanted him for who he truly was when he was just Shanks. They wanted the fool, the charmer, the Captain, the Emperor, the swordsman, the father, the brother, the son… but no one wanted him for just Shanks . 

Benn was the closest he’d come to having a true connection, and though it was grounding, it wasn’t enough. Something in Shanks needed someone to consume him whole, to take him as he was and leave nothing unturned and untouched. He ruminated about your near statements, about events in the past, friends lost, enemies gained - Shanks had been down this road many times seeking his answers at the bottom of a bottle of booze.

Despite his drinking, Shanks noticed your easily disturbed sleep and the bags under your eyes, so he put in extra effort to console you. Shanks reached for you constantly, trying to show you that he wasn’t going to harm you like he had Kuro on the island. That you would be safe even in his darkest moments. He’d been in deep funks before, he knew Benn and the crew would come to his aid if he buried himself too deep in his cups. 

Perhaps some of your desire to soothe him was driven by your biological needs, Shanks thought. He’d read that before the Celestial Dragons had disrupted the natural order, Omegas had generally been peacekeepers, able to ease tensions between the different designations. The book had made reference to other powers that Omegas had, but nothing specific was mentioned. Shanks was going to ask Hongo to follow up and find out further information on other islands - after he answered your mating call.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asked, trying his best to keep his tone of voice even. The rising need within him was nearly choking his words but the Omega didn’t seem perturbed. You nodded with averted eyes while licking your lips, a perfect picture of submission. Shanks wanted to roar and claw at his skin, but gentled himself so as not to scare you. “We can always stop, I’ll never force you to do anything you don’t wish to do,” he whispered, pushing your hair out of your face. You tilted your head up to look at him, your pupils blown wide.

“I’m sure.”

 Shanks pulled your head towards his own as you wound your arms around his neck. You resumed your former position against his neck, this time kissing and sucking at his scent glands. Shanks did allow himself to groan as your hips started gently rocking against his own, his hand now gripping your outer thigh. Shanks’s cock was rock hard, ready to be buried deep within you as you marked his neck. 

Even as Shanks wanted to flip you onto your back and take control, he found your awkward movements on top of him to be rather sweet. You weren’t quite sure what to do with your hands - they kept flitting from his shoulders to his chest to his back - or with your hips. Shanks wasn’t sure you realized you were moaning as well, light little husks that had pre-come dripping from his cock. He smelled your arousal flowering in the air but wanted to give you the chance to take control. You could have discarded him like so many others had, but you’d come back to him even when he wasn’t at his best. Shanks wanted to show you that you did have choices and that with those choices, you had picked him. 

Your POV

You weren’t sure how to transition from sitting on Shanks’s lap to full blown sex. Shanks was more in the present than he had been since the island, and your instincts were telling you to continue to appease him. Even so, you didn’t quite know what to do and you hoped he couldn’t tell, or that if he did, it wouldn’t displease him. You’d finally been able to change his mood and you didn’t want to spoil it by doing something wrong. 

Before you’d been kidnapped by Kid, you were a virgin since you were always afraid of being with anyone in case your designation was somehow uncovered. With both Kid and Shanks, you’d never been allowed to take the lead - you weren’t even sure what that would look like.  There wasn’t a time you’d had sex with Shanks when you weren’t in heat and you didn’t remember most of the times when you did. You leaned back from Shanks’s neck and took the hem of his shirt with shaking fingers. As you started to raise it over your head, Shanks’s hand caught your forearm softly. 

“We don’t have to rush. There’s nowhere to go, nothing we need to do. We can take our time,” he said into your ear, his beard scratching your cheek. Shanks had stopped shaving a few days prior, the red stubble now an attractive short beard. Your breath hitched as you bit your lip - maybe he didn’t like what you were doing? You’d heard a moan a little while ago - should you bite him again, or maybe kiss him, or-

“Have you ever been on top?” Shanks asked, biting your earlobe gently after he finished speaking. 

“No,” you whispered back, flushing furiously at your lack of experience. You’d done a poor job of initiating, and now he was going to take over, you thought as you braced yourself to be pushed backwards onto the bed. 

“You can be, if you want. I’ll be good for you,” Shanks said teasingly with a genuine smile into the skin of your neck.  He practically purred when he continued and his body relaxed into a more familiar posture, “would you like that?”.

To your surprise, instead of flipping you back, Shanks lay down on the bed with you still on his lap. Now your hands landed on his chest as you leaned over him, your calves on either side of his hips. Shanks’s hand pressed on the middle of your back, bringing your face closer to his.

“What do you think?” he asked, a genuine smile lighting his features. You reflected his smile with your own, the sun finally peeking out from behind the clouds after a lengthy storm. 

“I’m not, um, good at this. I don’t know if you’ll like-”

“Don’t worry about what I like,” he hummed as he settled you more comfortably on top of him. “We’ll learn together,” he said as his fingers ran under the hem of his long shirt on your thighs. “Kiss me,” he husked, his hand reaching up to cup your face. Leaning over him, you planted your hands on either side of his head and took in his handsome features. You bent over and lightly kissed the top of the scar on his face, something you’d always wanted to do but had been too fearful to attempt. 

You worked your way down his face, Shanks allowing you to take your time in exploration. When you finally reached his mouth, he parted his lips but didn’t pull you towards him as you expected. You brushed your lips against his own as Shanks thrust up into you lightly, his heels digging into the bed. He whined as you kissed him again, this time allowing his tongue to sweep into your mouth. Shanks pulled you closer but only to kiss you deeper as he fought his own urge to take control. 

Breaking the kiss, you leaned even closer and began to nibble down his jaw. Shanks pressed himself into you, his hand returning to your thigh to increase the pressure on his aching cock.

“Please,” Shanks groaned as you worked your way down his neck. For the first time, it almost felt like you held power in your hands - one of the strongest men on the planet was whining beneath you, begging for you. It wasn’t real power in the same way as Kid or Shanks or anyone who could fight, but it was something for an Omega like yourself, you supposed. 

You lifted yourself onto your knees and pushed Shanks’s shirt up towards your waist to reveal your now glistening core. Shanks’s hand immediately found its way to its familiar resting place on your ass. After a quick squeeze, you heard the sound of Shanks unbuckling his belt as you leaned down to kiss him again. Shanks shuffled slightly, removing his pants without dislodging you with considerable skill. You felt the tip of his cock prodding at your backside so you reached behind you to feel for it. Your hand couldn’t wrap around its girth as you stroked him lazily. Shanks hissed as your hand continued to work him, your eyelids drooping as you watched Shanks close his eyes and pant wantonly.

“Can I touch you?” he asked, his hand gripping your thigh so tightly you knew there would be bruises the coming day. You placed your hand over his own to move his hand from your thigh to your core. Shanks immediately started running his long fingers through your folds, your wetness coating them liberally. He started to rub at your entrance but quickly moved to your clit, unable to decide where to touch you first. The rough pads of his fingertips started rubbing you, and you clenched in anticipation. You removed his hand from beneath you, wanting to concentrate on your actions. Shanks put his fingers in his mouth, sucking your essence from them as if it were nectar of the gods.

“I need you,” Shanks growled, taking his fingers and putting them near your own mouth.

 As much as he was letting you take the lead, Shanks was still an Apex Alpha who was allowing this exercise to continue. You nodded and sidled backwards, positioning him at your entrance. Using your fingers you spread your folds to get the head of his cock poised to enter you. You lowered yourself down on his cock slowly, savoring the stretch as you sank down until your thighs met his own. You bit down on your lip as you closed your eyes, the pleasure intensifying with every inch he was further inside you. 

“Don’t hide from me,” Shanks said softly, his hand returning to rub at your clit. You opened your eyes as you continued biting your lips. This wasn’t like your heat, where everyone was off the ship. You knew for a fact there were crew milling about the ship, working and relaxing nearby. “Please, Love, let me hear you,” Shanks begged with a soft smile. You nodded and opened your mouth, but no sounds came out other than your panting.

“Start to rock on me, find what feels good for you,” he suggested in a low voice, his fingers continuing to tease. You shifted forwards and backwards as you continued to adjust to his size. It was difficult to believe that you’d taken him so many times during your heat, crying and calling out for him numerous times a day, even multiple times an hour. 

“Try moving your hips in a circle hah t-that’s it,” he crooned as you gyrated on him. Shanks’s heels dug into the bed once again as he resisted the urge to bounce you on his cock. “J-ust like that, s-so perfect,” he stuttered out, holding you in place for a moment to grind into you before returning his hand unerringly to your clit. You felt stuffed full as the band in your lower stomach wound tighter and tighter. 

It wasn’t as easy being on top as you thought. You wanted to please Shanks but couldn’t bounce yourself as quickly as he could thrust into you. You tried a rhythm that worked for you as you leaned forward to shift your weight onto your hands, lowering and raising yourself rapidly. You whined as your quads burned with the effort to continue your pace, but you didn’t want to stop. It felt like you couldn’t move fast enough for what you needed, though riding Shanks did feel pleasurable. You shifted to lean back and put your hands on his shins.

“I can’t c-come like this…c-can you…,” you trailed off, hoping that Shanks would understand the unasked request. Shanks laughed without malice and pulled you to lean over him again.

“We can practice again later, you did so well for your first time,” he said with a bright smile. You squeaked as he shifted and quickly rolled you both over so that you were now on your back, your legs still wrapped around him. “But you need something else, yeah?” he said with a grin as he shifted one of your legs over his shoulder. You did the same with the other, caught in a wicked mating press as Shanks settled his weight over you. It felt like he was melding his essence with your own as he began moving, thrusting deep within you.

Every movement he made hit your g-spot as Shanks also started licking your scent gland. He would whisper compliments to you in between nibbles and bites, which only drove your desire further.

“Such a good little Omega, so p-pretty, did such a nnh good job riding me…you need me, hm? Need this from me, just like I need y-you. Such a sweet hneh Omega…” Shanks continued a steady babble of soft praise as he pounded into you, his pace ever increasing. You tried not to hold back your sounds and close your eyes like he’d asked, but it was difficult to stay in the present as pleasure threatened to overwhelm you. Tears pricked your eyes at the mounting sensations, the coil in your gut winding increasingly tighter.

“Sh-aaanks!” you cried as you came around his length, your vision fading to white. You reared back your head and impulsively bit his own glands which were tantalizingly close to your mouth. He didn’t let up for a moment, fucking you without abandon as he roared his own orgasm, his hot come spurting inside you. 

As you came back down, you heard someone moaning and whimpering, only to realize it was coming from your own mouth. You hadn’t actually marked Shanks by penetrating his skin but if he had fucked you any harder, you weren’t sure you’d ever walk right again. Shanks was still stroking your clit so you whined and pushed his hand away. 

“C’n you give me one more?” he asked, his beard scratching at your neck. You shook your head weakly, unsure if you’d survive another round. “Aw, c’mon, Love. Just one more,” he said with a smile. You let out a light humph and removed your legs from around him, letting them splay to either side. Shanks laughed again and shifted the two of you to let you lie on his chest. “S’ok, you can rest,” he said, kissing the top of your head as you yawned. 

You laid down on top of the Alpha, content to let him take control from here on out. You’d finally coaxed him out of his bad mood and helped him regulate his emotions, which in turn was helping your own. You weren’t sure if you acted from self preservation or your base Omega instincts, but either way you felt content as you listened to the steady heartbeat of the Alpha beneath you.

Shanks POV

Shanks rubbed the back of the sleeping of the Omega in his bed, pulling the covers up higher on your body as you napped. Shanks was awake after the love making session, though you’d worn yourself out. He was pleased for you to have some true rest after the days of anxiety had worn you down. You finally trusted him enough to relax again in his presence, secure in the safety he provided for you.

The bite on his neck stung a little but it was the sweetest pain he’d ever felt. He tried to use his haki to determine if there was any headway into making a connection with the Omega but couldn’t detect anything different. Though a touch disappointing, he wouldn’t be concerned until after he marked you during your upcoming heat. Based on the medication he’d been giving you in the tea, you’d be in heat in about a week. Just as the Red Force was able to dock at another island. 

Shanks rubbed the bite gingerly, wishing that none of your shallow tooth marks would fade from his skin. It was funny - he had lost his left arm saving Luffy, gotten a facial scar on his left hand side from Teach, and now had an Omega’s bite on the left side of his neck. Significant events in his life were written in flesh and blood on his body, available for all to see. Well visible for a little while, until you made it permanent.

As Shanks watched over you sleeping, you let out a little sigh and nuzzled further into his chest, seeking his protection and warmth. Shanks let out a satisfied hum of his own - he’d finally won you over, you’d chosen him for protection, for connection, for love. All that was left was to seal it. 

Taglist: @v1ennie @staarflowerr @treelogirl @rebeccawinters @nocturnalrorobin @mochiclouds @cursedforlife666 @epochal-oracle @whore-of-many-hot-men @one-piecelover @anemonyee @joana7654-blog @mfreedomstuff @littlelovebug98 @hannya-writes @babi-lamb @sanjisleggy @princessuta061108 @twismare @iamrgo @littlelovebug98 @anonymousmuffinbear

[illuminetic]

Some thoughts about Mel King, Kingdon, autism, and sexuality under the cut.

So I can't help but get a little peeved by this because it's personal for me — as an autistic woman who loves sex yet often gets infantilized by people who know me in real life because I'm supposedly so 'cute' and 'pure' — but GOD. I cannot stand when I see comments from people about Mel King being so 'sibling coded' with Langdon. And the thing is, I understand not everyone will ship them, and that's not a problem at all. I have a life outside of the internet so I don't really care in that deep a way lol. And I don't even entirely blame people who say they're like siblings, because Patrick Ball DID said he felt that way about Taylor and that was how he kind of conceptualized the Mel/Langdon relationship to begin with. But at the same time, I just feel like a lot of the 'omg they're so siblings!' chat is based in the belief that Mel can't be sexually desirable to a man who is traditionally handsome in the way Frank Langdon is. Or people are uncomfortable imagining Mel might have sexual desires or a sexual life at all, with Langdon involved or otherwise.

And then also there's this fine line too of some people saying they head-canon Mel as asexual and/or aromantic — and it's like. I'm not necessarily pissed at that or think it's a problem, because we all want representation and project our own traits onto characters to better understand ourselves or draw comfort. And again — I've heard that apparently Taylor Deardon said that's a valid interpretation of the character. And it is! But it's also like. Oh. So we're completely de-sexualizing the autistic girl. Cool. That makes sense — she's a little socially awkward and nerdy so of course she's not interested in sex! And even if she was interested in all that icky stuff her handsome coworker would never be into sex with her omg that would be so weird they're so siblings coded!!

Idk. This is nuanced — because again, if you're asexual I would never want to say it's wrong to conceive of Mel that way. We're all just playing barbies in our heads with our blorbos, I get it. I'm literally projecting my own sexuality onto Mel because I relate to her, so I guess I've actually just entirely talked myself out of being angry at all lol. So to any and all asexuals who headcanon Mel that way, keep doing you.

It's just a personal annoyance for me more than anything to see comments that imply Mel is a non-sexual being, as someone who sees myself in her a lot and also happens to really like sex. I feel like, because of the social cues I miss sometimes, and the way I am at work and in my personal life with friends and stuff — I am constantly fighting against the belief that I'm somehow 'innocent' or 'naive' when it's like. bud. I've literally had the kinkiest sex. I go to a sex club fairly regularly where I have sex with and/or in front of strangers. In fact, I'd argue part of the reason I like sex so much — and particularly kinky sex — is BECAUSE of the autism. I've noticed, from my time being in the community, that the kink world is filled with people on the spectrum lol. Makes sense — kink is all about rules and structure, controlled and safe (yet intense!) physical sensation. All things that attracted me to the lifestyle because I'm autistic, and the straightforwardness and clarity of communication about sex in the kink community felt like such a god-damned relief to me after struggling to have a sex-life out there in the neurotypical world.

Anyway. Long story short I'm just saying it's absolutely Frank who is the vanilla one in the Kingdon relationship. He's been married for years to someone I assume was probably his college girlfriend. 'Kinky' for him is breaking out the fuzzy hand-cuffs for anniversary sex or something, maybe some light spanking thrown in idk.

To end — I need someone to write a fic where the Pitt-crew plays never-have-I-ever during a night out, and Mel gets shit-faced and has to put down all her fingers before anyone else because there's so little she hasn't done. People keep throwing out more and more outrageous things, eyes going saucer-wide, and Mel's ears are burning but also she just keeps putting fingers down, throwing back shots, and raising a scornful eyebrow at anyone who dares to doubt her or make some comment like 'but Mel you don't seem like that type at all!!'

And Frank is. Sitting there quietly vibrating. Horny as hell. Having some thoughts and feelings about the fact that he knows Mel owns a strap now.

[fleeting-infatuation]

hanging out with the karasuno crows!!

karasuno crew hcs—established friendship w/ them all

basically hcs with reader and just really anything that comes to mind with them. there’s not a lot because im too fucking stupid to make those up. oh, and yeah, I haven’t finished haikyuu so some of my analyses might be shallow cause I haven’t watched it all. sorry!

❥・・ ┈┈┈┈┈‪༚༅༚˳ . ୨୧ . ˳༚༅༚┈┈┈┈ ・・❥

ೀ kageyama is suga’s favorite underclassmen. i mean, he likes them all, but he honestly sees himself in tobio. he just shows that by bugging him whenever he’s bored.

ೀ you, tsuki, and yamaguchi all bully the others. but please, can we be real for a second? yamaguchi is not a fucking softie or whatever cringey uwu boy you make him out to be. yall saw him laughing and doing nothing when tsuki was being the cunt ass bitch he is. he’s like the biggest idgafer, imo.

ೀ you three also desperately make fun of nishinoya for being short. yamaguchi is actually surprisingly tall. tsukishima be the type of person to tell noya he was short cause his parents had a quickie.

ೀ daichi is the only one who actually knows how to drive. i know they prolly don’t need it, seeing as they live in the countryside and everything is in like walking distance, but i just think he’d know how. curb his biggest opp tho.

ೀthey all did a hear me out cake. asahi was put on it at least four times, understandably. you guys can guess who put him on there. both tanaka and nishinoya put ennoshita too.

ೀ ukai and takeda have hooked up when they got drunk once. they fucked in bar’s bathroom. that’s the headcanon.

ೀ suga is shit at remembering names. i don’t know if it’s actually canon, cause the messages near the outros suga said he called asahi ‘ashley’ for the first six months knowing him because he couldn’t remember his name. I just think that would apply to him trying to remember everyone else’s names. well, during his first year at karasuno. it got better as time went on.

ೀ i also wanted to mention how similar ennoshita and tsuki are. we both see them washing their face after matches, the shiratorizawa for tsuki and wakuwan for ennoshita. they both think they aren’t good enough, that they’re inferior. and while tsukishima strived for perfection in his blocking, ennoshita was a substitute for daichi, but in the end, couldn’t compensate for what was lost, even if they won the match. both the shiratorizawa and wakuwan matches were won, but tsukishima failed to meet his words fully and ennoshita never met up to daichi’s level, never met up to a true substitute that had the teams back. ennoshita looks up to nishinoya and daichi after the wakuwan match because they were the backbone of their defense. those matches were turning points for them.

ೀ please more representation of my favorite benchwarmer trio—baldy 2.0, daichi but masochistic (ennoshita, i remember that panel), and another one of the blonde boyz. yall sleep on them so much it pmo.

ೀ narita was the first guy to shave his head. i always thought he had some luscious, long hair straight from a pantene commercial before he turned into mr.clean. tanaka was the next one to. the both of them have a pact to shave their heads the same day every year. they also tried to act as each other as a prank. yeah,, it did not work cause they were shit at acting.

ೀ also, another narita hc that nobody talks about. he was put in the same place during the shiratorizawa match that ennoshita was in for the wakuwan match. and yet, in the anime, there’s no sense that narita has been put under both mental and physical pressure. he isn’t tsukishima in the slightest. he can’t readblock, he can’t stop spikes completely, he can’t replace presence that tsukishima had on the team, both shiratorizawa and karasuno, the wall that was always there. the very least we get on this is when narita is subbed back out for tsukishima and the few words that were with ukai. instead of focusing on something similar to ennoshita’s feelings, they used that pressure and applied to the team. of course, that was true. but that just undermined narita’s character. he was most literally a chip to recognize what the others were going through. there was so much potential in building up narita’s character, even if he’s just background filler. there could’ve been a connection between him and ennoshita with just a few words spoken between them. there could’ve been a real spark that made their silly little interactions in the back worth so much more. because they were both given shoes that were too big that they had to fill out, but were overshadowed by the big return of daichi and tsukishima back on the court.

ೀ kinoshita knows how to play guitar. whenever he’s bored or zoning out, he finds himself in the habit of pretending to place his fingers on the strings of like an imaginary guitar to practice notes. it’s like the equivalent of someone tapping their fingers on the table to imagine themself pressing the keys of a piano. does that make sense or do I sound insane? if you’ve watched alien stage, it’s the thing that till does in the flashbacks prolly during weige or his ep.

ೀ tsukishima has some hearing loss. he’s has his headphones literally stuck to his head, and i know damn well that music is fucking blasting, resounding in his eardrums. the world could end, and his only reaction would be lifting up his headphones and saying ‘what?’ with a blank fucking face.

ೀ hinata is almost as a nervous wreck as yachi and asahi. on the court, he doesn’t get that embarrassed. it leaves as fast it comes. but off it? he has those moments engraved in his mind. whenever he remembers then, all he can do is yell ‘FUCK’ very loudly in sheer mortification at the thought.

ೀ asahi likes bitter coffee. i always assumed he wasn’t a morning person, and he downs a cup of coffee without anything, no creamer, not milk, just straight to wake himself up. it was an acquired taste for him until he found out was tea was.

ೀ noya and tanaka crush up smarties and snorts them. from my own experience, i actually saw one of my friends eat smarties then somehow breathe out the dust like it was smoke. that type of shit would happen to them ngl.

ೀ actually canon, but ukai literally gets flirted with all the time?? well, kinda. but we’re not gonna ignore that the first ep of s4 was literally that the ilumni giving donations to the vbc were actively trying to set ukai up w/ somebody. like hellurrr? they’re so reall for that tho. i would try to get a piece of him too.

ೀ art is yachi’s love language. she first fell in love with it when she saw her mom write a little doodle on a note meant for her coworker. she was pretty young, and she did know her mother was a graphic designer. but she didn’t know why. it was what mom did, so she would do the same. seeing that though, made her realize how much there was to convey—dedication, passion, love. it’s not that she’s can’t put out her emotions, she’s gotten so used to put it on paper. anyway, i ship yachi’s mom with her coworker. i thought he was yachi’s dad at first before i read the wiki…

❥・・ ┈┈┈┈┈‪༚༅༚˳ . ୨୧ . ˳༚༅༚┈┈┈┈ ・・❥

i didn’t proofread it so,, here’s it will be a ten can of ass that is indecipherable. i know i missed a few characters but im not busting my poosaay tryna write more. uhhh, lemme know if yall want actual hcs with reader.

bye. ┈─★

[gwenie-clorrisan]

Prime Problem (and fixing it)

One thing that makes me kind of upset is that Sonic Prime is, in fact, cannon. There's nothing wrong with it, per say... don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it. But one fact alone is enough to irk me... The fact that Rouge is apparently closer to Sonic than she is to Shadow now.

For a while now, Sega has had an urge to make the main cast a group of five. It's happened for both Boom and Prime now, with the fifth character being exchangeable (either Stix or Rouge). Stix I was fine with; she fit the narrative, had great chemistry with the cast, and was just an enjoyable character to watch. Rouge on the other hand I've never been a big fan of in the first place. I know people do love her, but most of her charm from the very beginning was based on her chemistry with dark characters. Case in point, Team Dark (Sonic Heroes), where she's definitely closer to Shadow than she is to anyone on Team Sonic (including even Knuckles). While she was great in Prime and I loved all of her variants, I think there's definitely a better candidate for the fifth character. A much better one, who needed more time in the spotlight, desperately more. I'm talking about Cream the Rabbit.

No, this isn't only about the fact Cream will forever be my favorite character. It seems that Sega (along with most fans) have forgotten that Cream was designed to be the fifth main character of the cast. She was around for SO MANY GAMES, until she abruptly vanished after Heroes. She wasn't seen for years until reemerging in obscure places (like the olympics as a judge), or Generations (where everyone was). I hear excuses like "Oh, she's only six, they can't have her in something like Forces, that's a literal war." Dude. Charmy was there. He's six. And what, did Sega retcon the ages of every character EXCEPT for Cream? She's literally only two years younger than Tails, people! And if Big can be in Prime, why couldn't they just complete Team Rose? I WANT TEAM ROSE DYNAMICS!!!!!

Anyway, with that out of the way, let's address the real issue: How Prime would have affected Cream. (I'm mainly going to put her in places replacing Rouge, but I can also see her and Rouge being side-by-side in the shatter verse as well, take your pick) She'd get quite a bit of character development, like how the rest of the characters did, with her own special twist (yes, Cheese would also be here... for most things)

First up, No Place. This is the easiest one. Have her as part of the crew, not too much happens. She can have a small job and be a bit of the peacemaker among the group of pirates. When it comes down to it, she and Cheese can both throw a pretty good punch. (I wanna see Cheese in an eyepatch)

Next is Boscage Maze. This ones a bit more tricky, because it's a bit harder to replace Rouge. She could definitely be the voice of reason of the tree dwellers, helping them steal whatever food they can from the forest... or, she could be something of a mediator between them and Thorn Rose, since she could have some sort of closer relationship to the Amy variant. I think that if she does live strictly with the tree dwellers, that would be because something happened to Cheese when the Thorn turned on them, and she couldn't really forgive her. They would probably be reunited in the end.

Finally, New Yoke. There are two possible ways this one could play out. One, Cream plays the role as "little leader", an unexpected leader in a rebellion against the Chaos Council, with an army of chao behind her that she's raised in hopes of a better future. Or two, she discovered Nine a while back, and is determined to follow him everywhere (he possibly accidentally saved her from some sort of bullying, and she just attached herself to him). For the first option, she'd have a lot more cheery, positive attitude, yet would be able to snap at people who get out of line. For two, she'd be quiet and apathetic, and probably even more distrusting of Sonic than Nine was. If we go the second option, we'd see her standing by Nine even as he goes insane, and she could possibly turn on him for his own good. (I personally like the second option better) For either one, Cheese is no where in sight, probably because of some disaster that befell him.

Anyway, this has gotten really long, but it was fun to come up with possibilities! Which ones do you like, you guys? If there's ever a continuation, I hope they include my girl <3

[makiruz]

Something my brain does sometimes when I'm trying to write is start sending the stories in multiple directions, and very often they're all good.

So, I got my long ass Wicked fic based on Elphaba getting pregnant from As Long as You're Mine; in that story Glinda knows Elphaba is pregnant and they're both under the impression Fiyero is dead because he couldn't get her a message, but then I thought, But what if Fiyero did manage to send Elphaba the note?

So Glinda and Elphaba are in Kiamo Ko plotting Elphaba's fake death when Chistery hands Elphaba a Note. Elphaba looks at the note and freezes, "What it is Elphie?" "Fiyero is alive" she says "he sent a note" and hands the note to Glinda

"What does he mean he had to pay a 'great price'?"

"I guess you can't defy death without giving something back"

"..... Elphie, do you, do you realize this changes things, right? You're not alone anymore"

Because the plan was for Elphaba to fake her death, have her baby in secret and let Glinda take care of it since she couldn't; but Fiyero is alive and on his way, what do you do now? Well, they still have 9 months to figure it out, and the answer will probably be "take the baby into exile"

Anyway, the witches are still planning Elphaba's death, but now waiting for Fiyero to show up to get him into the plan; and then the Scarecrow shows up. It's like, he's suddenly there, how did he got here? Unnoticed, and he's uncertain, his painted eyes going from one witch to the other and looking at Glinda as if he didn't expect her to be there.

Um..... actually I don't know what Fiyero says that clues in girls on who he is; but Elphaba demands the Scarecrow tell her how he got there, and he doesn't tell her who he is because Glinda is in the room, but he does say something that sounds incredibly familiar to both women, and Elphaba gets hit first "I had to pay a great price" Glinda gasp softly getting it too and goes to the Scarecrow who backs up from her a little,

"You seem afraid of me" Glinda says "Is it because you're feeling guilty over pointing a gun at me?" (that came out harsher than she'd intended but Glinda's been having a bad week)

Fiyero deflates at that and is like "I'm so sorry, about everything"

"You should be; but I forgive you... for the sake of the baby"

"What, what? What Baby?????"

"I'm pregnant" Elphaba says

And now we have a scene of the trio getting up to date with each other, and letting Fiyero catch up with the freaking out over the unplanned pregnancy. So, what was that plan you mentioned in your note? Fake Elphaba's death and flee Oz, What do you know, we were planning the same thing.

So now we're back to the plot of the musical, but with Glinda in it too. We do the death faking, Dorothy and Lion get slightly traumatized, Boq realizes killing his college friend isn't making him feel better, Fiyero takes the Crew back to the Wizard to announces the death of the Wicked Witch, and Elphaba goes to Glinda's lake house. And because Fuck the Wizard, we do that scene of Glinda staging a coup, arresting Morrible and exiling the Wizard; she also finds out the Wizard is Elphaba's biological father, but that's a discussion for another day; for now Dorothy leaves, everyone ends their arcs, and Fiyero and Glinda sneak out to the Lake House.

There's not much after this (there's a reason I followed the other thread); Elphaba spends the next 9 months getting reacquainted with Fiyero's new form, and then she has a baby, he's a normal human color, and he looks like Fiyero, they name him "Liir" and follow the escape paths to Ev, where they will live happily ever after until the Nome King stuff happens.

But I do want to take a moment to talk about the birth, because it's only these three, and Feldspar; and Glinda and Fiyero are the absolute less qualified people to deliver a baby, and that was BEFORE Fiyero turned into straw, the only one who has any idea what to do is Feldspar, but he's got no hands so he's not much help. Somehow they deliver a healthy human baby, but it's mess, with a lot of screaming, from everyone except the woman giving birth. Also Fiyero is afraid of holding the baby because his coordination is practically non-existent and he's afraid of dropping him, but this is solved by sitting him on a rocking chair into a solid position before placing little Liir into his arms, this child is the most beautiful creature Fiyero Tigelaar has ever seen

[kaivenom]

yandere kid pirates with a reader who has venom/symbiote? pretty please

Yandere!Kid Pirates with a venom!reader HCS

Warnings: a little gore (lets remember that venom eats people and this is yandere), maybe some hints that can be seen as sexual.

A/N: i did Heat, Wire, Killer and Eustass Kid all together. It can be viewed as platonic or romantic in reality. I hope i did it well and that you like it

Masterlist

They would try to feed you all the chocolate you want, but let's be real, no one in the crew knows how to take care of another living being.

You sometimes feel like some of the withered plants on the ship, but they try they best to stock the ship.

When you confess to them that you also may need to eat living beings heads and that chocolate sometimes wasn't enough, they all agreeded to give you the the food you needed.

This can go two ways depending on how apprehensive you are towards the thing about eating.

Option one: they could get on the ship with a sack full of heads and leave them to you to eat, all with a big smile on their faces cause they did something good for you and eased all the process.

Option two: they kill al the people and Killer starts doing "special chocolate smoothies" for you that have the brains inside. You start to feel less hungry and better, and they are all happy cause you don't really know what you are eating.

Heat is always asking you things about how you are feeling or if venom is talking, not that he really cares but because he feels like it is an experiment.

On the other hand, Eustass orders you to tell him what venom is saying when he is angry at you, you both had an argument or you seem off. He can be a little rude asking about it but he really cares about how Venom sees him (he doesn't want the symbionte making you change your opinion of him).

Wire keeps calling you to the nursery and checking you, sometimes it is a little awkard cause he looks at your body intensely.

They all hate when you transform and end up being the same size as them, they only tolerate this when you are all in battle or your life is on danger. Otherwise they gould get really mad. They like you smaller than them, they see it as a cute thing.

If you try to escape from them, they have an ultrasound system which makes you instantly week, and also makes venom separate from you... so it's not a good idea to run away.

That ultrasound system is also their speakers for music, so sometimes you have to ask them to please lower a little the heavy metal, which they do if you accept doing something for them.

They ocasionally try to see were your symbionte limits are, they can get a little extreme with their tests, especially Eustass and Wire.

Killer is the one who takes care of you the most, but he is also the one who cuts you when you do something wrong, cause in the end you heal really fast so instead of slaping your hand, he cuts your arm.

The rest of them assume that since you have venom, they can man handle you rough and brutally.

On the emotional aspect, they don't try that much but... when they see you really sad, anxious or some negative emotion on big proportions they try to console you. They aren't good, mostly cause they think that their big and masculine figures are enough to make you feel better.

The only thing you could get in those moments is a hug, but you had to come get it.

One final point is that Heat likes to mess with you by making blasts of fire, which makes you extremely scared and anxious, he just laughs and loves how you jump around trying to hide.

They all laugh (especially when you did something that accidentally make someone angry) but when it is too much to handle, they argue with Heat and stop him.

The bonus: is that you are emotionally vulnerable so you would be searching for support in the one who stopped the torture.

[obsidianbit]

I know I joked about how there was no reason for Izzy to be shirtless in that scene (and I stand by that) but I think it is really interesting how he is bare-chested. His leathers are a part of his image and reputation. They are part of what marked him as Blackbeard's. But more than that, they represent armor - in taking off his leather armor, he is bearing his vulnerabilities, and more precisely, his heart.

When Izzy is training, he isn't in his room. He is in a communal part of the ship, where, presumably, any one of the crew could enter. When Stede enters, he doesn't become defensive at being found in a vulnerable state. Instead he says "I'm having to relearn the basics with one leg." He openly admits to his weakness. He is the best sword fighter, that is his reputation, how he defines his worth (in his use as an incredibly fighter), but he didn't lie about the struggle of having to adapt to one leg. He didn't even try to down-play it by saying he was adjusting or refining his sword fighting with one leg. He outright says he is relearning.

Then (the showoff) Izzy demonstrates what he has been practicing. Now, he has just said he is relearning it - we can assume that he was better at this before he lost his leg. He shows Stede (who, to be fair, Izzy would know would probably be impressed regardless) something he is still working on. Not something he has perfected.

Then he turns his back to Stede. Without his armor on, having just admitted to a weakness.

Even when he asks 'but what did he say about me specifically,' he is showing vulnerability. His heart (and great tits) are in the middle of the shot when he shows Stede that he cares what Blackbeard has to say about him.

The lack of Izzy's leather armor/vest, and showing his bare chest (is much appreciated) is symbolic of his trust in the crew and in Stede. He shows his vulnerabilities and his shortcomings, when previously he never would, for fear of the crew losing respect for him.

The crew has seen him at his lowest, and came together to support him, showing him that he was a part of the crew and that they cared for him, not just what he was useful for, which is something that Izzy has ever experienced before.

This is not a man who expected kindness at his lowest point.

This, however, is a man who has found purpose because his crew cares about him.

Izzy took off the all-black leather armor which defined him as Blackbeard's, and in doing so, he showed his heart and his trust to the crew.

[frostgnawdraws]

failure and futility

for day 2 of campfire fest! prompt: third eye (and i guess could also count for explosion, or a lack thereof lol) @outerwilds-events

[captaincrumbz]

Systar Party Crew EXCEPT they reunite with Vitruvius and actually care for his whereabouts

Its been about……..FIVE YEARS since they last seen him?!

Im gonna work on the drawing of Metalbeard and Vi some other time!

[bayetea]

yeah I didn't think the next thing I was gonna draw would be thalukethan either but I'm adhd and I have Thoughts about them

[feroluce]

“-and that's why I ain't allowed in Pier Point no more!” Boothill throws his head back and cackles, somehow completely comfortable on the bare floor of the archives. He's the very picture of ease, his arms behind his head, his legs bent and crossed.

Dan Heng barely looks up from his notebook, not much surprises him anymore after the first few tales of lawless exploits. “So they really have that many laws and restrictions there.” 

“And prob’ly a few more now that I've been through there! Heck, ya think they named any after me? I'm hopin’ so.” There's so much smug cockiness seeping through his voice Dan Heng could bottle it.

Silence settles in, stretches out. Dan Heng doodles pensive circles in the corner of his page.

He shouldn't ask. It's a private matter. It's none of his business. He of all people should know-

Something pokes his shoe, and when he looks up, Boothill has stretched one arm up to tap metallic fingertips against his foot. “Ain't like ya to hesitate.” With his head tipped back on the tiles and gazing at him upside down, Boothill's hair is out of his face and spooling out all over the floor, offering a rare view of his right side. His right eye is sealed over with a pitch-black patch, stark against his skin. Dan Heng wonders what he looks like behind it. “C'mon, then, out with it. Spill the beans, brother, just say it.”

“What does ‘Boothill’ mean?”

The man blinks at him, the crosshair in his cybernetic left eye flickering. Dan Heng shifts, smooths out his long coat. “I tried to look it up once. It's not in any database as a name...other than your wanted posters.” There's a thread beginning to fray near the hem, he should sew it up. “I couldn't find it anywhere.” 

He nearly takes it back, but- “Heh, ya that curious about me, darlin’?”

Dan Heng quickly levels his face into the most impassive, nonplussed expression he can muster, but Boothill has already turned away, head pillowed on his arms and face once again turned to the ceiling.

“But nah, ya wouldn't. Hah, like they'd allow any record of the language, fudgeheads.” One arm sweeps around blindly until it finds the edge of Boothill's hat, sets it back where it belongs on his head. Dan Heng shuffles around, scoots a little closer, but the brim is pulled too low to see his eyes anymore.

“It's ‘cause it's not a name. It's a noun.” All that's visible of his face is a sharp grin, pulled too tight at the edges.

“It's my people's word for a grave.”

Dan Heng's pencil stops.

“It's the kinda grave fer someone who died with their boots on. If ya catch my drift there.” Boothill's foot starts to bounce. “There was a war, and it got reeeeeal intense, yup. Folks started droppin’ like flies, ‘n’ there was bodies faster'n what we could bury ‘em.” A cooling fan kicks on somewhere. Dan Heng is pretty sure it's not any of the Express equipment.

“We lost some real good people there, real good. Mighty shame.” His hidden Vidyadhara ears detect a quiet metallic click, a whir, pressurized gas. Boothill's next words waft steam from his angry circuits into the air. “When I left, I decided to leave my name there, too. Didn't feel right otherwise. The life I lead now is a whole ‘nother existence.” And then Boothill turns his head, raises his hat, and Dan Heng suddenly feels pinned dead center, caught in that crosshair.

“Ya know what I mean, don'tcha?”

Dan Heng swallows.

Does Boothill know? Who he is and who came before him? There had been that moment in the Penacony Grand Theater, after he activated the Jade Abacus… Dan Heng had tried to shoo him out, keep him from seeing anything, but Boothill has the astounding ability to turn up exactly wherever people are trying to keep him away from.

If he did see, does he actually understand it? Does he know what a High Elder is? Does he know about the sedition of Imbibitor Lunae, the transmutation arcanum, everything Dan Feng had done and Dan Heng was punished for?

He doesn't want to explain it all. Not now. Possibly not ever, truth be told.

And it's not the same as Boothill leaving behind his old identity when whatever event happened that caused him to leave home. Not really. But…

But so far, Boothill has slid so easily into Dan Heng’s routine. His presence never feels like an intrusion. He's already figured out what he can push and when to back down. And even Dan Heng finds himself able to roll with whatever punches Boothill throws with baffling ease. They share too much in their methods and ideologies, and sometimes Dan Heng knows what Boothill will do seemingly before even Boothill himself knows.

“...Tell me about Talia and the Nailscrap Town.” Boothill must know he's avoiding the topic. He must. But the man just throws his head back and cackles, melting easily back into what they had been doing before, as he speaks fondly of a planet that Dan Heng has never visited.

Not today. But.

Dan Heng inches just a little closer, just enough to nudge his foot against a metal leg. Boothill doesn't pull away.

Maybe someday.

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

Obviously the structure of an episodic series often requires characters to go from 'complete strangers' to 'close friends/family' in an unusually short amount of time. I get it.

Writers need a 'new guy' in the group to ask questions about the setting that the audience can't, but still (especially in comedy shows) want the fun dynamics that come from all the main cast knowing each other super well. It's one of those functional tropes like L-Shaped Blankets where you're required to suspend your sense of disbelief.

Having said that, I love when writers choose to take this trope and retroactively justify it by later on revealing that the Seemingly Normal Everyman Character is actually as unhinged as the rest of the group— it's just that their weirdness manifests specifically as an ability to form found family dynamics with literally any group they join, almost immediately after joining.

Like, you assumed that they just fit in so well because your group has a special vibe, but then you accidentally left them in the supermarket for like five minutes and by the time you realised and went back they were already Blood Brothers with the cashier.

Characters who are like friendly dogs in that you can put them essentially anywhere, with anyone, and they will just be like “welp! Guess this is my New Family now” and just go along with it.

[starofhisheart]

ONE MORE SONG ONE MORE SONG ONE MORE-

[gasstationclown]

just finished watching stardust rhapsody 9-10 and i

(some spoilers under the cut)

[mariocki]

John Levene pops up as Gene Bradley's co-pilot on his private jet, called Tony, (John Levene's character, not the jet) in The Adventurer: I'll Get There Sometime (1.15, ITC, 1973)