#for reference i was imagining one of those cages that like flattens all the way down | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

pine-lark · 4 years ago

Note

Ooh trap him somewhere either very hot or very cold?? :D

Oh.

This is a perfect excuse to write an old daydream from my childhood. Well, there's two-- Arion on a grill and Arion in a box. I chose the box for this one but I may be tempted to write the grill at some point. I haven't written The Box before now because it doesn't exactly... fit with the plot of the actual story, but I mean...

Alternate Rescue AU, coming right up, Anon. (Also sorry I'm like, infinitely late haha. School threw me into a hell pit and I've been recovering. I'm back now ((though I'm not sure for how long, things might change in a week or two... we'll see.)) For now, I'm working on a lot of Arion stuff that will hopefully pop up within a few days! Cheers!)

CW: Tiny whumpee, some blood, cold/hypothermia symptoms (duh), cages/referenced captivity, briefly implied forced nudity from said captivity, brief reference to a past fever and resulting vomiting, referenced/implied physical abuse, water/rain/storms/being submerged in/splashed with water, thoughts of dying (of the "I might die" and "Am I dead?" and wishing to be put out of misery type), crying, (thinking about) needles, short (kind of) graphic description of a bird being run over, brief religion references

His legs still ache from running.

Arion sits in the cardboard box he found on the side of the road, huddled in the corner, shivering in the dark. Although he tries to clamp his jaw shut and stop it, his teeth chatter and his shoulders quiver. It feels like the frozen autumn air has grasped him entirely in icy claws that shake him violently in an inescapable grip. It reminds him of being trapped in Heston’s hand, shaken, body tossed in every direction until his head pounded and his eyes watered.

It’s colder outside than it used to be in the garage. But it’s better out here. No one can hurt him here.

As long as they don’t find him.

He rubs his hands over the goosebumps on his arms, hoping to warm them up and calm down the wild pain buried deep in his skin. As he does so, blood smears along the path he touches. It’s still gently creeping out of the series of cuts etched into his forearms. With it, the image of Heston’s glinting eyes surfaces in Arion’s memory. He buries his head in his shaking knees with a wet sniff. But he’s done it, he reminds himself. He’s escaped. Finally. Chewed through rope, slipped through an unlocked door. Heston's gone. For now.

Please, please don’t come looking for me.

A dog barks somewhere in the distance. He jumps. It sets off an echo of shivers all the way down his spine as his hair stands on end.

A raindrop falls on the cardboard roof. Then another, and another. Thunder claps harshly overhead.

Arion shuts his eyes tight, bites back the frustrated tears welling up at the corners of his eyes. He curls up tighter, hugging himself, doing all he can to keep any scrap of heat he has close to his body. A storm might just do it. Might just kill him. A storm means wind. Freezing wind. And freezing rain. The last thing he needs right now is rain. It can’t rain. He presses his body closer to the cardboard wall, knowing it might not be standing there much longer if it rains.

And it does. It pours.

He sees the rain splash into the road before him. The storm swiftly grows. It’s ferocious and feral and cruel. The temperature around Arion drops. His tiny body shakes uncontrollably, as if it weren’t his own. It reminds him of the terrifying fever he had, long ago, in the confines of his red cage just weeks after being taken from his home. He’d been throwing up and twitching and having the most horrible, vivid dreams (on the occasions that both Heston and the illness let him sleep). The fits of shivering drove him mad, the endless teeth-chattering and flashes of uncomfortable warmth and sticky sweat made him feel even worse. It's like that, he thinks. Except, now, as he shivers, he’s unbearably cold.

An involuntary whine fights its way out of him. When he swallows, his throat feels stiff and achy. Snot runs profusely down his lips and no amount of wiping it away with his bleeding arms is helping it slow. Water has thoroughly and entirely drenched the cardboard, at this point. Has crept through the floor and the walls, and, gradually and persistently, has started to drip through the sagging ceiling. For a moment, Arion remembers he has toes, and that they’ve been numb for awhile now. Actually, now that he’s thinking about it, his feet haven’t felt like anything either, and when he tries to move his fingers, they only twitch. They feel heavy and prickly. He feels prickly all over. Like Heston had shoved a thousand frozen needles into a thousand different places all over his body. It hurts to breathe. There’s no way to get warmer. Nothing to hide under, not even something as decent as clothing. No way to escape, nowhere to run to, even if he had the energy left to try. He lets out a miserable sob.

And then the ceiling falls through, in a blur of collapsing cardboard and splashing waves of water that crash over his head and the rest of his body.

Arion tumbles out of the box, drenched. He coughs up water through jittery movements. For a second, he chokes on a mouthful, and he briefly he thinks he'll never breathe again, before his chest jerks and with another cough, the water falls out of his mouth. He tries to get his arms and legs under him, to stand or even crawl, but his limbs fail him and he crumbles face-first back to the harsh surface below him. The rocks mixed in the road’s tar are sharp. They cut deeply through his nose and cheek and the shoulder that followed his face in the fall. Arion winces against the fresh, sharp pain and the beads of blood that begin to form where he’s been hurt. His breaths come in ragged heaves.

He sniffs. Tears drip from his eyes. He lays helpless in the middle of the little road, in his mind begging to no one that a car doesn’t come along and crush him. Under any other circumstance, he’d love to be put out of his misery. But he’s seen a bird been run over before. Under a truck’s tire. And the memory makes his stomach churn. Flattened face, open stomach, popped like a bubble in a stream.

Briefly, Arion thinks of himself in place of the bird. He thinks of the smear of red underneath his empty, open eyes. He thinks of the way the headlights might look as they would suddenly appear right in front of him. The horrid, mind-numbing honk of a horn. The image he creates in his mind of those headlights, his last moments, is vivid. It’s so vivid that he thinks it might be real, or maybe hypothermia is setting in and beginning to ruin his mind.

It’s just his imagination, he thinks.

And then he smells exhaust from a car.

And the screech of brakes.

And for a second, whilst his body is numb and bright white light is all he can see, he thinks he might be dead.

“I swear, if I keep stopping my car for every mouse that sits in front of it, I’m never going to get anywhere.”

That voice drifts from the car stopped in front of him.

Not dead, then.

Almost, he thinks.

“Can’t help it though. What else am I supposed to do, run them over? Just vet instincts, I guess. Huh, Jasper.” There’s a meow in response. Arion’s breath hitches. The voice says, “Me-ow. I know, I know. I’ll be right back.” A car door shuts. Then there’s heavy wet footsteps. Boots clopping over puddles and asphalt. Panic floods Arion’s chest as a shadow cuts through the blinding white light from the vehicle. The outline of a human lowers, kneels in front of him. His breath stops. His mind goes blank.

“What…”

A moment passes. Something touches him. He flinches hard, but trying to run isn’t an option. His body is completely, entirely, wholly exhausted and far too numb to move more than flailing back a couple inches.

“Oh, geez, that’s-- not a mouse. Okay.” Her head turns in a way that Arion can see her face. A young woman with red hair, watching him with a warm but frantic gaze. “Okay. Okay okay. Oh, God, you’re injured pretty bad, little buddy. Your arms are all… cut up. That’s not good. Um.”

Arion stares blankly ahead. Suddenly, freezing to death isn’t something he feels like putting too much effort into avoiding.

“Okay. Here’s what we’ll do,” the girl continues. “I’m gonna bring you into my car where I can see you better, alright? Then I can help you. It’s gonna be okay. Here. I’m picking you up now, ‘kay?”

The feeling of a warm hand washes over his body. It’s both terrifying and incredibly welcome. The sting of cold seems to seep out of his skin, albeit very slowly. Quickly, though, burning prickles replace whatever comfort the touch brought him.

“Oh, you’re freezing, little guy. You must have been out here for a long time. That can be really dangerous… I’m glad I found you. I’ll get you all warmed up in the car.”

Arion whimpers against the hands that carry him to somewhere warmer, where he hears the faint, deep sound of a large beating heart. For a second, he wonders if this is God. And then the car door opens and creaks, and the girl curses under her breath, and Arion remembers he’s an atheist.

Still, as the stinging in his warming skin subsides, the warmth of her hands starts to feel… nice. If his mind were still intact (instead of shattered into vague, useless fragments as it is now), Arion would have done anything and everything to get away from any human or other predatory beast in sight. But with his head swimming, he leans into her touch, and compliantly accepts the soft feeling of some kind of cloth being wrapped all around him.

Words are spoken to him, but he can’t listen. To him they sound broken up and blurry as the insistence of sleep becomes more desperate in the back of his mind. As he gets warmer, his muscles relax, and his eyes get droopy. His vision darkens, and the girl’s voice hushes.

Just before he drifts off into a far overdue, deep and restful sleep, he thinks to himself, vaguely, that he hopes this human is different. He hopes that when he wakes back up, it won’t be in another cage.

Tag list because this ended up being a full drabble:

(Also, let me know if you'd like to be removed from the tag list. No hurt feelings! I know it's been a long time and if you've lost interest that is A-Okay, friend)

(Also, if you'd like to be added or if your username's changed, let me know!)

@whumping-every-day, @deluxewhump, @sola-whumping, @haro-whumps, @inaridriscoll, @whatwasmyprevioususername, @kiretto-laorentze, @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi, @ahorriblebimess, @whump-me-all-night-long

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kbstories · 5 years ago

Text

Etymology

et·y·mol·o·gy (n.)

The study of a word's origin.

For Sanji, coming home is easier said than done.

(Or: Let’s talk about the Vinsmoke fiasco, shall we?)

Tags: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Nakamaship, Childhood Trauma, Miscommunication (!!!), Found Family, PTSD, Angst With A Happy Ending

Read Chapter 1 here. Content warning for panic attack(s) and unintentional self-harm. Special thanks to @ppitte for helping me wrangle the chaos that is Zoro and Sanji interacting!!

***

Wide, endless blue. The sun-warmed touch of wood under his palm. A breeze carrying the scent of tangerines and ocean salt.

Those are the things Sanji had dreamed of in hell. Not the two years he likes to refer as such – the Drag Queens , too, have aspirations like everyone else – but the one he didn’t think possible, crossing into reality via a bridge not burned thoroughly enough. A hell made of stone walls high enough to swallow the sea and the sky and the stars.

If, Sanji had thought, gaze fixed on the lonely moon above, if I make it out of here alive, I will let them know.

That every time he closes his eyes and dares to imagine a future, they are with him. That happiness is a smile under a straw hat, and love a home-cooked meal, and freedom a black flag in the wind, flying, flying.

Sanji lets out a long breath and watches smoke dissipate into nothingness. Turns out there is no such thing as second chances, not for someone like him.

He feels him coming long before soft, measured steps reach his ears.

“Cook.”

The Sunny stands still for the night; the anchor was dropped not too long ago, the lion’s claw resting peacefully on a shallow reef. Arms crossed on the railing, Sanji’s chin rests on the back of his hands and he watches as its colorful inhabitants swim up close to the ship and nip at polished Adam wood, their bioluminescence making the waves glint like silver.

“Fuck off. I’m not in the mood.”

A wasted effort, Sanji knows: The heavy presence behind him doesn’t shift, doesn’t go anywhere, persisting as it always has. The skin on Sanji’s back crawls with the need to turn around and make him.

“Mosshead”, Sanji says, a hiss and a warning in one.

“Hm?”

Unbothered, like Sanji didn’t speak at all.

The evening is mild, infused with residual heat from a sunny day just past. Sanji grinds his teeth hard enough the other will be able to hear it, a mere handful of paces away. “I mean it. Leave.”

Zoro scoffs, “Nah.” His boots creak as he takes another step, closer, and–

A streak of blurred motion and embers spark against the sleek black of Haki. Sanji gives him a grin that’s a joyless show of teeth and not much else; illuminated by fierce red, Zoro’s lips flatten into a tense line.

“I said”, Sanji growls, lets himself fall on his hands and twists, gains speed. “Fuck. Off.”

The hit connects, the force of a volcanic eruption meeting immovable steel and Sanji is close enough to see the fire’s glow reflect in the fathomless depth of Zoro’s eye, growing darker still–

Sanji makes to draw back but can’t, realizes in the split-second between shifting his weight on his palms and a sudden ache around his leg that it’s not a scabbard but Zoro’s hand that met the blow, fingers clawed, gripping, not letting go.

“I’m not fighting you.”

Of course. Because why would anything in Sanji’s fucked up life start making sense now?

The breath in Sanji’s lungs leaves his mouth a pissed off tch and he lets the flames flare, watches with righteous anger in his chest how Zoro inhales sharply and hesitates – to release him or be burned, and Sanji’s leg tugs free a moment later.

“Bastard. Going soft on me, are you?”

There’s no hesitation in his movements as Sanji turns on the tips of his fingers and strikes, again and again, snarling against the stoicism on Zoro’s face as the man’s hands don’t reach for his swords once. “That’s not it”, Zoro tells him like he’s stating the obvious, and it’s the simple kind of statement that pierces Sanji’s defenses and aims straight at his core.

The next kick draws blood, a neat scrape-and-burn across the scar on Zoro’s cheek, and Sanji’s gasp is louder than the low grunt that comes from Zoro.

Sanji’s feet hit the ground with dull, unbalanced thuds and he stares, wide-eyed, at the stray drops of crimson that pool and run down tan skin, near-black in the oncoming moonlight. The instinctive question – Are you alright? – remains unsaid, acidic where it sticks to Sanji’s tongue and his chest feels tight, tight.

“You done?”

There’s an air of indifference to Zoro’s voice but Sanji knows Zoro, can see the demon coiled within the man, straining to bite back. Zoro rolls his neck, hands flexing against the bruises smudging his skin as his Haki fades.

Sanji is lost, mouth slack and breath panting like it’s an army he just fought and not his friend. For a moment, he’s back on a field of endless green under cotton candy clouds, painting it red in uneven splatters as he kicks, and kicks, and kicks without resistance–

“Why?”, he rasps, voice trembling, utterly outside of his control. Sanji blinks and clenches his jaw, struggles to retain some of the anger in there somewhere. “Stop fucking around and fight back.”

“No.”

Zoro crosses his arms, wide open now, and his gaze is analytical as it tracks the way Sanji tenses and stays exactly where he is. That singular eye narrows, a bloodhound that caught a scent.

“I left you guys. I had a choice and I left.”

“You had your reasons”, Zoro says, calmly. He takes a step forward and Sanji takes one back, heart rattling wildly against the cage of his chest.

“I– I went after him, Zoro. I attacked my captain. I didn’t hold anything back.”

That makes Zoro’s lips twitch into a frown, displeased but not surprised and– Luffy talked, Sanji thinks and something inside him breaks just that little bit more.

“I know.” Yet Zoro’s swords stay sheathed. Another step closer. “Luffy’s wounds… There’s only one style I know that causes those and it’s yours.”

The railing presses against the small of Sanji’s back and he’s trapped, has no space to move and nowhere else to look but at Zoro and the cut that continues to bleed, dripping lazily onto Zoro’s shirt–

And Sanji can’t get enough air in his lungs, fingers tingling with numbness and spots dancing in front of his eyes and he’s aware, numbly, that he might pass out.

“Sanji.”

There are hands on his shoulders then, Zoro’s palms a solid-warm weight, squeezing, keeping him on his feet. “Hey”, he murmurs, low enough that Sanji knows it’s meant for him, just for him. “I need you to listen to me.”

Thoughts swirl and collide in Sanji’s head and nothing makes sense. He nods even though Zoro isn’t exactly asking – a jerky, helpless motion – and something in Zoro’s eye softens.

“Breathe, okay? Nothing’s going on. Nothing’s changed.”

He shakes Sanji, obviously trying to make a point. Even now it’s ridiculously gentle, coming from Zoro, and Sanji tries for him, he really does.

“At least not for us? You got your hackles all the way up these days, and it’s making everyone nervous as hell. Like–”

A quiet struggle with words ends in a huff, quick and gruff.

“I think Luffy is about a day away from melting down if you don’t start calling him a shitty rubber captain again – that sorta thing. And I don’t know what exactly happened on that island between you and him but he insists it’s done and over with. So, is it?”

Sanji is pinned by that gaze again, sharp and searching and trying to understand. He breathes and finds he can, chest heaving with it–

“I don’t know”, Sanji tells Zoro and it’s the truth, the words brittle like old bones. Sanji’s wrists burn and he scratches at them. “I thought I’d left all that Vinsmoke shit behind me but it keeps coming back. I don’t know if they’ll ever let me be.”

Zoro sighs, deeply. A breath Sanji feels against his skin and it occurs to him they’ve never been this close, not without being at each other’s throats at the same time.

“You fool. That’s not what I mean and you know it.”

“Listen to me, shithead”, Sanji snaps; he scratches, scratches. “It’s no joke. They know things about me, about all of us, and I wouldn’t have left if– This shit’s serious. Got it?”

“More serious than what, the Emperors? The fucking World Government? Fine. Let them come. I don’t care who those Vin-whatever people think they are, and you know Captain doesn’t either– Stop that.”

Faster than Sanji can anticipate, Zoro grabs his hand, snatches it away from his wrist and– Oh, it’s bleeding, Sanji realizes with a slow blink. His hand is bleeding.

“What are you, stupid or something?”

The rest of what Zoro mutters under his breath is lost to Sanji; before he can even think to pull away, Zoro is tugging at the bandana tied around his bicep. Fingers calloused and rough, he folds the fabric over the criss-crossing, bloody lines and ignores Sanji’s hiss of pain, grasp tightening further.

Making Sanji feel his frustration and weirdly, it’s that that makes the ground under Sanji’s legs feel solid again.

“Get out of your head already”, Zoro is saying, eye focused on the knot he’s tying against Sanji’s palm. Sanji… lets him. “Did you apologize to him or not?”

Or not. Indignation burns in Sanji’s gut at that and he knocks Zoro’s hands away, ignoring how soothing the bandana feels against the rawness of his skin.

“What the–! Of course I did. D’you think I’d even take a fucking step on Sunny if I hadn’t?!”

And Sanji sees the tension bleed right out of Zoro and in that moment he hates him a little. The swordsman rests one arm on Wado’s grip and scratches his stupidly green hair with the other, mildly annoyed now.

“Well, then. Snap out of it.”

Like it’s the one and only conclusion there is. Like an apology could ever make up any of the things Sanji did, what he put Luffy through, that he made Nami cry and scream for him to stop–

“It’s not that easy”, Sanji hisses, getting back in his face and Zoro meets him in the middle this time, growling:

“Good. It shouldn’t be. Suck it up and stop making everyone miserable.”

“Then stop keeping secrets from me!”

The shout is loud, shattering any pretense of privacy on a ship that’s been suspiciously quiet this entire time – especially by their standards – and Sanji doesn’t care. He’s done being blamed for something that can’t be entirely his fault, not when everyone was there when he got kicked out of his own damn galley. Not when he felt them all put their heads together the moment he was out of sight, like he wouldn’t notice, like Observation Haki isn’t a thing that exists.

And as much as he’s thought about it (and he has, for hours and hours and hours), Sanji doesn’t know why. Yes, he left and he hurt Luffy and he deserves it but why this? Why now?

Sanji is a Strawhat Pirate, he’s used to all things whimsical and idiotic and those have always made sense to him, before.

This just… It doesn’t, isn’t even anywhere near it. A location marked X beyond the borders of a map, where mythical creatures reside among nebulous lines – there’s simply no way for Sanji to get there, not without Luffy to guide him and Nami to make sure they stay on course and all the other things he’s taken for granted before all this happened.

“Or– Let me do my job, at least. Please.”

So this is Sanji, giving in. This is Sanji, standing chest to chest with Zoro and witnessing, up close and personal, how a look of sheer bewilderment blooms on his face. All it does is twist him further up inside until he feels like he’s going to throw up or maybe cry.

Sanji is far beyond tears, now.

“Let me cook”, he begs instead, with a desperation he won’t hide anymore because if there’s one thing Sanji needs Zoro to understand it’s this. “I know I’m a fuck-up but I’m a good chef. Let me have that.”

“Sanji–”

A hand is raised and Sanji doesn’t flinch as much as he holds his breath, the instinct to brace himself as inescapable as the blood that runs through his veins. Zoro stops and stares at him. Looking genuinely shaken as he inhales and opts to cross his arms in front of his chest.

“Look, just– Help me understand, ‘cause you lost me somewhere. Where is all of this coming from?”

Sanji just groans, “You’re lost? You were there”, runs a hand through his hair and forces himself to go back to square one, again.

“Earlier. Luffy, Nami, Robin, you. You were talking about something. Then you all looked at me. Then Luffy said–”

“Okay, stop. That, right there. That’s what this is about?!”

“I… Yes.”

It takes a few second for Zoro to stop gaping at Sanji and then he laughs, and Sanji’s gut drops in the same moment that blood rushes to his face. He thinks: Oh, I’m going to kill him.

“What. The hell. Mosshead.”

Zoro waves his hands, palm-up, gesturing for Sanji to wait and for some fucking reason he actually does, cheeks burning and knees weak with shame as he watches Zoro trying his damnedest not to crack up again.

“Sorry. No, I mean it, I really shouldn’t– But fuck, you should’ve just said so. Cook, it’s your birthday.”

What?

“What?”, Sanji voices the thought out loud, tone flat; Zoro tempers his grin to a close-lipped smile and says:

“Your birthday. It passed two days ago and we didn’t, uh. Well, we didn’t know ‘cause you never told us, actually. Robin figured it out somehow. March 2nd, right?”

“…What.”

“Yeah. That’s the big secret, you idiot.”

The insult is undeniably fond and Zoro sounds so relieved, like that one revelation will solve all of the world’s mysteries at once and it… kind of does? Or it will, once Sanji’s mind stops spinning because it’s his birthday.

That’s what they were whispering about. His birthday. The birthday of his brothers. The day Sanji has hated all of his life and hasn’t celebrated, not even once, since he left the Vinsmoke name behind.

Sanji swallows. His fingers itch for a smoke but Zoro’s bandana is still wrapped around his wrist and the guy hates the smell of his cigarettes.

“And Luffy…?”

Zoro just gives him a look, brow raised, eye glinting. “What do you think? Birthdays are important to him, you know that. Oh, which reminds me: It’s supposed to be a surprise. Don’t ruin it for them.”

It’s then that Sanji lets the railing take some of his weight because– “There’s a surprise.”

Amusement turns to frowned concern on Zoro’s face. “Why is all of this news to you? Robin’s was just last month. Franky’s is coming up. There’s always a surprise.”

“Shut up”, Sanji tells him but it’s weak and he knows it. “It just never applied to me before.” Another thing occurs to him, then:

“Wait. Did Luffy put you up to this?”

By this point, Zoro is looking at him with the same pitying disdain Trafalgar Law tends to wield against all of them and it’s rich, coming from someone who opens a book maybe once a decade.

“He told me to keep you busy, not give you a therapy session but same difference, I guess.”

Sanji huffs, “As if I’d ever take advice from a meat-headed idiot of all people”, and reaches for his pocket because Zoro deserves some cigarette smell after all.

Zoro eyes the newly-lit cig in his hand for a moment before joining him against the railing, close enough to brush shoulders. Sanji blows the smoke away from him and pretends not to notice.

“So. How long are we giving them, then?”

“Mh. Ten minutes?”

“Fine”, Sanji sighs. “What are they even making?”

“Do you even know what a surprise is?”

“Ha ha.�� A bout of silence. Sanji smokes. “Luffy better not burn down my kitchen. Again.”

Zoro hums, giving the cook a side-long glance.

“He did promise to be careful, y’know.”

Sanji can’t help it: He smiles, just a little.

“Yeah, I know.”

Light spills from underneath the door onto deck and with it, the muffled sound of laughter and multiple voices talking all over each other. Sanji reaches for the handle and doesn’t let himself hesitate, not anymore.

It swings open on well-oiled hinges and reveals the galley in all its glory: Sanji lets his gaze roam from the bowls stacked precariously in the sink to the colorful sprinkles tossed all across the floor all the way to the group of people freezing in the middle of what could be reasonably described as a food fight.

Or, as Sanji knows, his crewmates’ valiant attempt to bake something without him.

The smell of sugar and raw cake batter is almost overpowering in this kitchen made small by way too many cooks. In the center of it all is the rubber idiot that is his captain, half of his face almost artistically covered in different kinds of frosting. The chef in Sanji can’t help but calculate just how many resources must’ve gone into keeping those sticky fingers he knows so well away from the multi-layered cake that manages to tower over them all (minus perhaps Franky).

“Sanji!”

It’s Luffy who calls out to him, all joyful and not at all bothered by the fact none of it is done as he yells, “Surprise!”, and the rest of the crew cheers with him. Even Nami, and Sanji catches her eyes across the room and her beautiful smile stays exactly where it is.

And it’s not quite forgiveness but an offer nonetheless: One Sanji would be a fool not to accept.

There is that look of hope on Luffy’s face again, the one that’s a question as much as it’s trying to be an answer as well. Behind Sanji, Zoro sighs a fond little breath now that his mission is accomplished and he steps past him to join their crew, glancing over his shoulder as if to ask, you coming?

Sanji takes it all in and his heart melts, dripping between his ribs to gather warmly in his stomach. “You assholes had me worried”, he tells them without any sort of bite, and Luffy smiles.

“But Sanji. Birthday meals are made by friends. It's the rules!”

It turns out to be the best damn cake Sanji has ever had.

#one piece #roronoa zoro #vinsmoke sanji #monkey d. luffy #zosan #one piece fanfiction #choo choo all aboard the sanji angst train #hey vinsmoke judge turn on your location zoro just wants to talk #my stuff #this fic is also on AO3!

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nvcl347 · 6 years ago

Text

NANOPULUS Diagnosis (Original G/T Species)

(Updated as of 2/5/19)

PASSAGE 1 : ORIGIN

May 27 was the day people all around the world suddenly vanished without a trace. Families messaged loved ones, schools and businesses were closed, and people shut themselves from society. Everyone was on edge on who may be next. Some people believed that perhaps this was Judgement Day, and chaos nearly flamed everywhere. The next day, suddenly everything went quiet. No missing person reports, no anything. Turning on your local news station would only be discussing what had happened the day before with the only minor, cut-short stories here and there. Search parties went out across countries, while the overall world government kept quiet. For conspiracists, it was a miner’s dreamed hit goldmine.

The people who went missing that day never came back. Not until decades later, when by then, the incident had been forgotten by the world. Only a select few could recollect it clearly, but they had no power in their hands to challenge the authorities in court, and their days were already numbered.

PASSAGE 2 : RECOVERED CASE FILES

DECEMBER 1996

ENGAGED HENRY C. LILIAM AND JESSIE I. LILIAM REPORT SMALL PRESENTS STOLEN OVERNIGHT

NO SIGNS OF FORCED BREAK-IN DISCOVERED

SLIM WRAPPING PAPER TEARS SCATTERED ACROSS FLOOR

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***CASE CLOSED AS OF JANUARY 1997***

FEBRUARY 1998

SCHOOL BUILDING HAVING CONSISTENT POWER OUTAGES

REASON: UNKNOWN

PLAYGROUND AREA GENERATOR REPAIRED MARCH 1998

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***CASE CLOSED AS OF APRIL 1998***

OCTOBER 2003

CHILD REPORT OF LIVE MINIATURE DOLL SNAGGING FOOD FROM LEFTOVER CANDY

CANDY WRAPPER GNAWING MARKS MATCH NO DISCOVERED ANATOMY OF CREATURE IN PRESENT-DAY RECORDS

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***CASE CLOSED AS OF NOVEMBER 2003***

JUNE 2004

ANIMAL CARETAKER EMPLOYEE SARAH J. MALLS REPORT OF TINY UNKNOWN CREATURE TAMPERING WITH RODENT CAGES

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***CASE CLOSED AS OF JUNE 2004***

APRIL 2007

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT DAVID A. HAN PERSONAL BELONGINGS REPEATEDLY DISAPPEAR

ALL STUDENTS CLAIMED THEMSELVES INNOCENT

PLAYBACK QUALITY MODERATE

NO STUDENTS CAPTURED TAMPERING WITH LOCKER #34

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***CASE CLOSED AS OF JUNE 2007***

SEPTEMBER 2009

FAST FOOD STORE MONITOR #3 CAPTURES “AGILE SMALL PERSON” RUMMAGING THROUGH STORAGE CONTAINERS

PLAYBACK QUALITY DAMAGED

AUTHORITY CONCLUSION: “IT’S MERELY A MOUSE PASSING THROUGH”

***CASE CLOSED AS OF DECEMBER 2009***

JULY 2010

48% OF U.S. CHILDREN SUDDENLY REPORT “REAL” FAIRIES OCCASIONALLY ROAMING BACKYARDS

NO FURTHER EVIDENCE COVERED

***TREND IS RISING***

PASSAGE 3 : THE RELEASE

In November of 2013, the records of these incidents were released, alongside what had caused them. These creatures were sent across the world by an organization of unknown origins nor title and placed these creatures into the black market, other experimental agencies, or just out into the wild for a study of its survival in certain environments. As hypothesized, this species thrives best in forest-like environments, however, the species at the same time has no capabilities of reproduction, and cannot survive as a whole due to its weak state in natural selection. But, due to major injections of unknown chemicals, the species’ life expectancy (if healthy), is just about the same as a human’s is. Some hypothesize this may be an enhanced version of what may be the experiments causing longer mice life expectancy, which are open to the public.

The overall species according to the organizational records is titled NANOPULUS, as to which the general public has dubbed the species, “The Nano Creatures.”

PASSAGE 4 : APPEARANCE

Most reports find the species mythical or “unrealistic” due to the sheer size of these creatures. All Nanos have been recorded in the average height range of 1-3 inches tall. This has managed to give Nanos numerous places for them to sneak and hide, along with the pressure of gravity giving them no struggle to run nimble and quick from their small amount of weight. The heaviest Nano on record weighed around 12.5 grams (.44 oz), equivalent to holding a stack of around five pennies in your hand. According to the files, the experimentalists had predicted (or perhaps hoped for) a height range of 4-5 inches at average, but apparently, a certain overdose of an undefined chemical caused an overreaction to the shrinkage expectancies.

The facial features of a Nano aren’t much of a difference to a human appearance, that is until you really look at them. Their ears are sharp- much like what you’d imagine from an elf- but not very pointy at their ends, and more rounded like ours instead. Their ears will slightly shift and twitch to help pick up any signals of noise or movement.

The next thing you may notice if you look close enough at a Nano is their eyes. Their eye color is unnatural and seems to shift through every hue of the rainbow. Looking closer, unlike our round pupils, Nanos have more round oval-shaped pupils. The first thing you may think of at this is perhaps a slit cat-like eye, but it’s not exactly like that, however. The oval pupil of a Nano is wider than a cat’s and is not pointed at the top and bottom like a cat’s either. Rather, it is rounded, mirroring the sharp-but-rounded ears they have as well. It is also worth noting that when the pupil of a Nano dilates, although having a similar shape to a cat’s, it does not flatten itself into one slick line. Instead, the pupil just shrinks, like a normal round pupil as would like humans. The smaller the pupil, the more intently the Nano is concentrating.

The Nanos also heir mutated traits of sharper teeth and fingers (not to be confused with nails) for defense. Their fingers are only slightly pointed and barely can cause a bleeding scratch. This goes the same for the toes of their feet as well. They could cause a small, nagging scrape, though. As for the teeth, now they can cause some bleeding. Nothing fatal, of course, but definitely a scratch that of a paper cut for sure if they were really desperate. The teeth are only slightly pointed and are wide, too. They are also smoothly rounded, similar to how their fingers and toes are formed.

Every Nano has one thing in reference to their past: their branding. Not a burned-in branding, but a stitched branding- like a tattoo- but it’s not exactly the same thing; it’s permanent, even when damaged… it can be regenerated just like normal skin. Each symbol was made to represent the Nano’s personality, and it is made up of one single line, like cursive letters. They can depict harshness or intellect, based on the design. Wavy lines represented a calm persona, while jagged meant the opposite. The single line never overlaps with itself. Many Nanos’ brandings show depictions of animals, such as ocelots for speed, but wavy to show they were collected as well. Another branding occurrence may be a jagged alligator, representing a vicious and brash Nano. No single pair of Nanos have the same exact branding; every single one of them is different, like fingerprints. That doesn’t mean they can’t have the same meaning, though; they just don’t have the same visible imagery.

PASSAGE 5 : EYE COLOR DEFINING

The following image illustrates the colors as to which a Nano’s iris can shift between, alongside what the color represents/what the Nano at that current state is feeling/what a Nano senses somebody else is feeling. If a Nano has “mixed feelings,” the defined colors of those feelings in the irises will mix together.

PASSAGE 6 : ABILITIES

Studies show that their ears have a high sensibility to noise, capable of easily alerting them off as much as the dropping of a pen just rooms away from their position. This has assisted them in the warning of when oncoming threats are nearby way ahead of time, giving them a good amount of time to find a place to securely conceal themselves. Even if the threat was running as fast as they could, they’d be lucky to get a sly glimpse of these tiny human creatures with their swift movement.

Their nose is much similar to dogs’ as well. Not in shape, of course, but in sensibility. They are incredibly strong and can smell out a piece of pepperoni from rooms away.

Nanos, much like mice, can actually survive great falls in height as opposing to the common belief that they couldn’t even survive the fall from a countertop. A nano at the size of one inch could actually survive a fall as high as an eleven story window and get up with little-to-no damage at all. Answer? Terminal velocity. Due to their small weight and frail bone structure, they can survive great falls with minimal damage, much like mice and rats.

What if a Nano is deaf? What if they are nose blind? “Sense of Danger,” they call it. That swelling feeling in your gut that something isn’t right, is exactly what Nano’s feel when legitimate danger is nearby. Sometimes for humans, it’s an overreaction, but Nano’s instincts are incredibly accurate in this case scenario. The only downside is, this Sense of Danger is purely based off of movement. If a dangerous object is inanimate, a Nano wouldn’t be aware of it.

Nanos heir a venom in their teeth, which can be injected by bite if they feel threatened. This venom, dubbed “Nurnostium,” causes a numbing sensation upon the surrounding area of the bite, causing it to fall asleep for a short period of time (recorded 5-10 minute average lasting effect). There are no fatal effects to this bite, but in order to escape capture, it is highly effective. It takes about a full minute for the effect to fully kick in. The venom in itself is incredibly strong and could cause an entire human to fall unconscious with just a quarter of a cup's injection of it. Because the Nano is so small in size, let alone its bite, the tiny portion of venom cannot affect the threat at its entirety.

PASSAGE 7 : WEAKNESSES

One of a Nano’s biggest weaknesses, of course, would be their size. So incredibly small, they have little-to-no chance in physical combat, making them quite queasy and fearful creatures. This is why they are so distant from interaction of many other creatures besides themselves… and humans- which is where we lean into our next weakness.

Curiosity kills the cat. With no recollection of almost anything of their past, they have an IQ intelligence of as much as a newborn child. Some will learn naturally, others will need introduction of “good and bad,” if their Sense of Danger doesn’t do the trick for them. All in all, Nanos are quite stupid for their age, and need a little help.

Tagging along with curiosity, explains their interest of sociality between themselves and humans. This urge won’t exactly occur to them until Nanos get a good look at what their physical appearance looks like. This isn’t necessarily a “good look” type of thing where they stare at themselves in the mirror, but a good look where they care to inspect themselves in their own point of view and make comparisons. ‘Arms? Hands? The big creatures have them. Legs? Feet? They have those, and I do too.’ Because humans are so similar in physical appearance compared to Nanos (who socialize with each other very well), it drives their interest and mental questionnaire as to ‘why they’re so much bigger compared to us,’ and want to socialize with them as they would each other. However, then their fear-factor comes in as to how absolutely massive humans are, which is why Nanos abstain themselves from view despite their urge to interact with us… like a war is going inside themselves. Go with willful curiosity? Or go with natural instinct?

Why is this considered a weakness? Well, if a Nano does fuss up to interact with a human (intentionally or accidental), there of course will be humans that are kind, maybe confused, and gentle. Others, as we know, will just be assholes. You know exactly what I’m talking about, which is why this is considered a weakness, and needs no further explanation.

Next weakness, is manipulation. Because of their feeble minds, Nanos are incredibly vulnerable to misdirectory, as when someone gains a Nano’s trust, they gain their trust. Nanos when they allow someone/something into their comfort zone, signals strong loyalty and affection. But, as easily as it can be achieved is as easily as it can be lost.

Their final weakness, which really isn’t too severe in any way, is their vocals: so small in size, Nanos can only vocalize to one another like mice. Air pressure on their lungs causes their pitch to rise incredibly to inaudible, squeaky-grunty chipmunk babble. Gradually, as they do learn language, however, they can minimally speak basic words like “yes,” “no,” or other such words/names. But, their grammar isn’t the best, and will talk much like cavemen, and the factor of their high-pitched voice still stands.

On the topic of vocals: unnaturally, and without any logical explanation on record, Nanos never pronounce proper names correctly, and they never entirely learn how to pronounce them either. The only ones they ever seem to get right are their own and others’ in the Nano species. Sometimes, they’ll never even attempt to pronounce someone by their real name, and refer to them as a single adjective or descriptions along the lines of “bad man,” “big man,” “strong,” “loud,” etc. Once someone/something is given a name, it keeps that name throughout the Nano species.

Feel free to use in writing/illustration. Do not steal or repost. Be sure to tag me so I can see your work!

Tags if interested - @anqshusxx @pizsospa @depressed-owl-in-narnia @cloud-addict @gianttol @mini-macaroon @tiny-artist-ace @gt-confessions @gt-handhelds @a-sweet-pea @lord-of-the-pastries @so-very-small @sawyergt @sadtinyissad @territorial-utopia

#nanopulus #nano species diagnosis #nano #nano species #nano creature #writing #species #g/t #g/t community #giant/tiny

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thesportssoundoff · 7 years ago

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“Hey Pittsburgh, we uh...we got a thing for ya” Fight Night: Rockhold vs Branch preview

So for the majority of you/us, Gennady Golovkin vs Canelo Alvarez is THE fight of the year in boxing and maybe even in MMA if we never get McGregor vs the winner of Ferg/Lee. For the slimmest of you, aka me and other hardcore UFC fans who have compulsion problems, we will be watching the UFC's Fight Night LIVE from Pittsburgh. I almost thought about heading out to this show but the ride would've been too much for a main event involving David Branch. I'll just wait for an inevitable return to Philly I suppose. Sometime before 2025 please? Anyways this show is...it's weird. There's been far worse free TV offerings from the UFC but it's also not great. What's more, it's not great on a night where great programming abounds everywhere (Louisville/Clemson, LSU/Mississippi State, Texas/USC on free TV, GGG vs Canelo) and the entire MMA and boxing community are recovering from the Mayweather/McGregor show. In the end, we're left with a fine show pitting some fine fighters against one another in some fine contests. The headliner is what a boxing trainer I knew would refer to as "mandatory non-destination programming." In other words, it's an important fight that's hard to care for. Beyond that the show has a nice mix of fighters who COULD be major players in the division vs established veteran challengers and intriguing on paper fights which would be hard pressed to not at least be amusing. All in all, this is just a card on a Saturday designed to fill out a predetermined schedule. Proceed accordingly.

Fights: 11

Debuts: 2 (Azunna Anwanyu and Alex Reyes)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 2 (Thiago Alves OUT, Alex Reyes IN vs Mike Perry/ Dimitriy Sosnovski OUT, Azunna Anwanyu IN vs Justin Ledet)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 4 (Luke Rockhold, Hector Lombard, Sergio Moraes and Anthony Hamilton)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 2 (Hector Lombard, Felipe Arantes)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 8 (Sergio Moraes, Kamaru Usman, Gregor Gillespie, Anthony Smith, Justin Ledet, Tony Martin, Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Uriah Hall)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 25-23)- Zu Anwanyu, Alex Reyes

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 17-25)- Zu Anwanyu, Alex Reyes

Second Fight (Current number: 22-27)- Daniel Spitz

Cage Corrosion (14-7)- Luke Rockhold

Twelve Precarious Ponderings:

1- I wonder if I didn't give this main card enough credit on paper for being decent enough to get by. It's not going to wow anybody BUT that's neither her nor there; it's just not an awful showcase. The main event is a dull fight on paper BUT Rockhold vs Branch has some serious divisional relevance and you can absolutely appreciate on paper what the point is behind said fight. Mike Perry vs Thiago Alves on paper was a great test for both guys but Alves fell out. It would be easy to just call this a scrub fight BUT Mike Perry himself was like a week notice replacement for somebody once. The same could be said for Justin Ledet vs competent regional HW Zu Anwanyu on short notice. I have little interest in Anthony Smith vs Hector Lombard on paper but Smith is on a finishing roll in the UFC and Hector Lombard COULD be fighting for his job. Gregor Gillespie is coming off a really impressive mowing down of Andrew Holbrook and could be a player at 155 lbs. Lastly you have an intriguing fight between Kamaru Usman and Sergio Moraes primarily because Moraes is the first guy who stylistically people would say has a shot at stifling Usman (a bigger stronger grappler type). It's not as bad as I imagined.

2- Is Luke Rockhold the most hated UFC fighter ever? This Bisping-GSP fiasco is entirely on his shoulders because if he beats Bisping, we're not dealing with any of this mess.

3- It's believed that Branch is getting this fight because a) Anderson Silva said no, b) Romero would take it but only if it was three rounds and c) Jacare doesn't want to fight any time soon. So David Branch draws Luke Rockhold in the main event and lest we forgot, Branch is absolutely Mr. Ratings. Now what can David Branch necessarily do to Luke Rockhold? I mean....I 'unno. Branch has been training for five round fights since he essentially wound up at WSOF. Now counter to that, so has Luke Rockhold. Branch has been successful at LHW but I have little doubt Rockhold's future is at 205 lbs by the end of 2018 at the earliest. Branch is pretty strong in the clinch but Rockhold made Weidman look small in the clinch. Rockhold's grappling is world's better than Branch. The one key caveat is that Rockhold has, at times, looked chinny during his UFC run. Getting finished by Vitor is not the end of the world given Vitor's.....physique but there's simply no way to justify getting flattened by Bisping. No way no how.

4- Without looking it up, guess who is younger between Rockhold and Branch and also by how much.

5- How many finishes would Mike Perry have to get in a row before his detractors acknowledged that he brings excitement to events?

6- Of all the fighters on this main card, no one guy has the ability to challenge for the title and soon the way Kamaru Usman has. Usman's wrestling is above and beyond the call of duty and his striking seems to be improving as well. The downside is that beyond the best wrestler in the UFC is like a big glowing tag that reads BORING on it, even though Usman tends to be a hyperactive ground and pounder who just seems to lack the ability to get that ONE fight finishing shot. If he can finish Kamaru Usman, he might take that BIG step up the rankings that people seem to be waiting for him to take. Sergio Moraes has been successful across a collection of weight classes (185 on TUF, 170 in the actual UFC) and he's a crazy good grappler who AT LEAST has pop in his hands. It's a good test for Usman as the UFC tries to figure out if he's a nuisance or a star on the rise.

7- Is Anthony Hamilton vs Daniel Spitz potentially the worst sanctioned fight (MMA, boxing, kickboxing, shoot wrestling, pillow) in the history of the universe?

8- There are a lot of wrasslers on this card and grappler types matched up; one such fight is Olivier Aubin Mercier taking on Tony Martin. OAM is a grappler first and foremost with a knack for submissions (although getting there is a chore). Tony Martin is a grinder who has suddenly discovered that he can strike over his last few fights. Mercier is hard to hit but doesn't react well when he IS hit while Martin seems to struggle with his cardio and his angles. It's a well matched clash on paper.

9- Felipe Arantes vs Luke Sanders is a really intriguing fight and one of those sleeper bouts you get one of those FS1 cards during a block of FS1 cards where you go "Oh shit that's a freakin' great fight." Sanders is 1-1 in the UFC but he could be 2-0 had he not made a tactical error vs Iuri Alcantara. Felipe Arantes is one of those guys who dropped down in weight and seemed to find himself. After going 3-3-1 at 145 lbs, Arantes moved down in weight to 135 lbs and he's gone 2-1 and could be undefeated in the weight class depending on how you view his split decision loss to a one legged Erik Perez. Both guys are action oriented fighters although Sanders tends to keep things upright and batter dudes while Arantes has become more sub savvy at 135 lbs.

10- Okay so is Hector Lombard the biggest UFC bust ever? Also let's not forget that at 28, Anthony Smith would be among the younger top 15 guys.

11- Justin Ledet came into the UFC and boxed up Chase Sherman at high altitude for three rounds; a win that in hindsight looks a lot better. Then he went into Belfast and submitted Mark Godbeer in relatively easy fashion. Zu Anwanyu is a good veteran HW who hits hard, hits infrequently and is one of those guys who just does stuff just to do it.

12- We still in on this Uriah Hall buzz or nah?

Must Win

1- Luke Rockhold

There's simply no way to describe this; Luke Rockhold cannot lose to Michael Bisping and Davis Branch back to back. You cannot be a top 10 MW and do that. You just can't.

2- Hector Lombard

The argument could be made that Lombard is the biggest flop in UFC history. A win over Anthony Smith doesn't prevent that from being the case BUT a loss might as well solidify it. Aging Hendo to bloated Hendricks to Anthony Smith? Irreplacable.

3- Kamaru Usman

Usman may be the best prospect between 170 and 205 lbs----but he's lacking a really signature win or finish to cement that. As of right now, he's just a really talented wrestler with powerful g-n-p who fight fans do not care to see. A win over Sergio Moraes would absolutely challenge that thought process ESPECIALLY if he gets a finish.

Five Must See Fights

1- Gregor Gillispie vs Jason Gonzales

Simply put, Gregor Gillispie is a very unique talent in a division filled with them. Jason Gonzalez has the ability to challenge Gregor in a few areas but this should be a fun exciting showcase for a good fighter.

2- Mike Perry vs Alex Reyes

I know nothing of Alex Reyes but Mike Perry has finished 3 of his 4 UFC fights, all in relatively violent fashion. He's an all offense, no defense sort of fighter who relies on his chin. He's got some scary Leben-esque tendencies to his game.

3- Kamaru Usman vs Sergio Moraes

This is a total stylistic clash but one where the stylistic advantages of both fighters suggest whomever has improved the most outside of their strengths will dictate who wins. That makes it fun and compelling.

4- Luke Rockhold vs David Branch

The question re: Rockhold's chin make this a compelling fight on paper. Chances are once the bell rings, it'll be a whole lot less compelling.

5- Daniel Spitz vs Anthony Hamilton

This has "must be seen to be believed" written all over it.

#MMA #UFC #Fight Night #Rockhold #Branch #FS1 #Pittsburgh #Usman #Perry

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