#im on medication so im a bit drowsy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the-real-treasure · 9 days

Text

Treasure Treasure!

An OPLA Sanji x Reader

Master List Here

Previous Chapter: Straw Hats and Treasure Maps

Chapter Three: Whispered Wishes and Demanded Dishes

Summary: A safe gets kidnapped, memories revisited and a new dream emerges.

Trigger Warnings: Yelling, blood, threats and descriptions of violence, past child abuse, past medical experimentation, past medical abuse, drowning Word Count: 10,749 Auhor's note: Here it is, did a bit of editing, but let me know if I missed any triggers/misspellings/etc. Hope you enjoy!

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

You watch over Nami as the clicking of the safe lock echoes across the mist that swirled across the ocean as you drifted. The night had been spent with your new companions slumping into unconsciousness around you as you sailed. Truthfully, your brain was to rattled to sleep, restful slumber often evading you without Sanji at your side, leaving your nights travelling wide awake and steering towards your next call in a desperate attempt to return home faster. So while Luffy, Nami and Zoro slept, you directed the small weird smelling scoop towards the drowsy Ibiki Islands.

You grumbled as the ginger girl glared up at you. She was unhappy that your shared heading had changed, but when you asked for somewhere else to head, she only grumbled and snarled before allowing you to continue as she turned her attention to the safe. The Ibiki Islands were home to Dye Village, which would soon become Dye Town. Zeff had received a letter from the delivery coo demanding addressed from the Governor of the newly titled town, requesting the celebration to be catered by the best restaurant on the East Blue, and as always, you had been sent to hash out the details.

"You're smart enough to not be shmoozed by 'im." Zeff tells you over a pot of steaming fried rice, the most popular dinner aboard for the chefs aboard as it made a lot and took little effort. "He's one of those smarmy gits, that talks big and fancy, but he ain't worth much. He'll want the works, we'll give him what he deserves and not a grain more. You understand me Nakayoshi?"

"Of course they do, you old shitbag!" Your blonde companion hollers down the stairs, bounding down two at a time and garbed in a bright Hawaiian shirt with an ugly bold print. On anyone else it would look terrible, but Sanji could pull off anything. As he piled your bowl high with food, your face went dreamy and Patty and Carne beside you roll their eyes. "Y/n's been doing this for years, they aren't going to suddenly forget everything for no reason-"

"Eggplant, don't you start, and you-" you pull back your head quickly, the wooden spoon he had swiped at you barely grazing your nose, "-don't be letting your guard down. He's chummy with top brass in the Marines and I don't want your temper getting any of us in trouble. You understand?"

"Obviously." Two heads turn to look at you, and you realise a moment too late that that was out loud.

"What," Zoro's voice is monotone, but his eyes are as sharp as his blades, "is obvious exactly?" You flounder for a moment before your eyes catch on something on the horizon, something that wasn't the landscape of Ibiki.

"That that Marine ship is coming straight towards us..." Nami and Zoro's heads whip round in an instant, sights locking on to the Marine frigate slicing through the waves towards you at frighteningly high speeds.

"They already caught up to us?" Nami scrambles to her feet as Luffy emerges from the cabin directly behind you, hand clasped down on his hat as wind whips the loop around his neck. He props his chin on your shoulder and follows your gaze. "It's not even been a day!"

"Maybe they're after somebody else?" Luffy's hopeful suggestion was met with three pairs of disbelieving eyes. "Okay, fine, we can't let them take the map, we need that. Nami, did you get it open?"

The ginger woman's lip curls at him and he leans back, ducking behind your shoulder. "Obviously not, or it wouldn't be lying, still locked, in the middle of the deck would it?!" She gestures to her feet at the still very closed safe.

"Right... well, then we gotta move it!"

"Yeah, it's probably not a good plan to leave it laying on the middle of the deck." Your eyes shift to the swordsman beside you. "Hey Zoro-"

"No." Your eyebrows scrunch at him.

"I didn't even-"

"I don't care. No." The hissing snarl that leaves your gritting teeth makes him narrow his eyes at you and Luffy pats his hands on to your shoulders before muscling you to the side.

"I think, our crewmate may have the right idea!"

"Not a crew." "We're not with you." "I'm trying to do my job here." He ignores the three of you.

"Zoro, can you move the safe into the cabin thing? Then we could through a sheet or something over, like it's a box yeah?"

The man huffs at him, but crouches to grab the safe, heaving it up with a grunt and shuffling with it into the cabin as the frigate slows down to pull alongside your boat. The little scoop you were in was dwarfed by the size of the Marine ship, the bow wave, sending water cascading across the deck.

"Foreign vessel, state your identity, destination and intent." Nami and Zoro's eyes flash to each other as you move to the bow of the ship facing the Marine ship to address the speaker.

"My name is Y/n Nakayoshi. From Baratie? Zeff sent me, we're headed for Dye Village. We were asked to cater for the celebration the Governor is holding and I'm here to confirm the date, location and menu. For the planning." You can see the faint outline of figures above you peering over the railings at your little boat. "He was sent a coo to expect me, I was held up a few days ago, so I'm a bit behind schedule unfortunately."

"We were told to keep a lookout for a fish shaped boat. That doesn't look very fishy to me, I'm afraid." You grind your teeth together and feel Nami wince behind you. You blow a breath out through your nose and address the man again.

"Yes, I'm aware. That was the cause of the hold up I'm afraid, my ship the Guppy ran into a bit of rough weather and suffered some damages. It's docked in Shells Town still, you can contact the harbour master, he knows me well. I was lucky enough to meet up with my colleagues here," you gesture behind you to the other three, "who had been travelling to meet me in Dye Town but," you laugh awkwardly as you pat Luffy, "as fate would have it, they were able to bring me with them! What luck!" Your gin was strained as you squinted up at the Marine ship, the sunlight blocking out details of those aboard were shrouded in darkness, the direct beams making your eyes water as you watched the shapes of people shuffle aboard.

”Do you think they’re buying it?” Luffy’s whisper directly in your ear made you jump and glare at him.

”Shh!”

"One moment please." You drop your gaze from him and turn back to your 'colleagues' as the figures above you disperse, Nami's eyes wide and Zoro squinting at you suspiciously.

"Wow!!" Luffy beamed at you. "That was great!"

"Yeah." Nami agreed, "How'd you come up with that?" Your eyebrows furrow.

"Come up with what?"

"That whole," she waves her arm towards the ship pulled up alongside you, "catering job tale. You didn't strike me as the type to lie so well." A small smile grew on her face as confusion grew on yours. "Maybe I judged you too soon, Nakayoshi." Zoro stared at you tiredly.

"There's no way that was a lie." You nod to him as Nami's cheer drains away.

"Yeah, no, that's my job. Why'd you think I was coming here? Who wants to come to the Ibiki Islands?"

"You're kidding."

"No. I really have to go talk to the Governor about this party. I work at a restaurant-"

"-As a dishwasher." Zoro grinds. You roll your eyes at him.

"Partially. I'm also the one they send out for stock orders orrr," you gesture in the direction of Dye Town, "when we get asked to cater for something, I'm the one that goes to confirm menu choices and numbers and location and all that."

Nami and Zoro stare at you, faces completely blank, while Luffy's smile hasn't dropped once.

"That's great!" He speaks cheerily, "Hey, if we go to the restaurant, can we eat for free?" He points to you excitedly. Your mind flashes to the usual clientele of Baratie, and wince at the thought of Zeff's reaction.

"Pro-," your eyes catch Luffy's excited face and you switch direction of your answer, "-maybe! We'll see if I can get you a table first and go from there." You smile awkwardly, your mouth closed and lips caught in your teeth.

"Nakayoshi!" Your eyes nearly roll back in thankfulness as your name is hollered over the edge of the Marine ship. "We have confirmed with the Governor of your attendance, and he has encouraged us to invite you aboard to speed up your arrival." Sweat beads your forehead as your eyes skitter to the safe, stashed haphazardly in the cabin.

"Umm, extend my thanks to the Governor, but unfortunately, I have private and confidential documents aboard that I am loathe to part with." You laugh nervously as you stare at the shapes lining the railing. "Lead the way please and we'll be along swiftly. This little boat sure can move when it needs to, believe me!"

Nami and Zoro stare at each other as silence drags out between you. A sigh rattles the air.

"Very well, but you will be explaining your late arrival to the Governor yourself."

"Gladly!" You hollered back to them and you watch as the figure turns one-hundred-eighty degrees and starts barking out orders for departure as you turn back to the others.

"Yeah, no we need to leave now." Zoro grounds out and Nami spins to him.

"Are you joking? You think they don't know which direction the town they came from is? We can't outrun that ship in this little scoop!" Luffy's smiles shortens but doesn't fall.

"Guess we're going to Dye Village then."

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

*The One Piece title card crosses the screen. The letters are glowing aqua blue and the I in Piece is made of silver chainlinks. The skull has glowing aqua and gold eyes and sharp teeth. A gold headband covers the top of it, tied in a short knot that poked out behind it on either side. Two clawed hands hover behind and over the skull.*

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

Dye Village was stretched across two islands, colourful houses and shops scattered across the up and down landscape of hills coated in layers of warm golden grass. Long bright red bridges criss-cross the large channel that separates the two islands, bells and windchimes in vivid colours speckled them, and their ringing and chiming echoing across the harbour as you and Nami pulled the scoop into dock. The scent of natural dyes and wet ink whips through the air on the wind as it rushes past the four of you.

The large house to the left of town stuck out like a sore thumb. The huge dark stone building towered over the small multicolour buildings below it. It matched and mirrored the Marine building that was perched at the other end of the village, the two buildings stationery twins, a pair of foreboding guardians bookending this colourful little area.

The frigate had pulled up into the private harbour alongside it, and already it must have been empty given the approaching Marines as the four of you clambered on to the dock. The two leads plus four Marine cadets scoot around a group of kids fussing with ropes at one of the ship mooring points.

"Which one of you is Nakayoshi?" The man at the head of the squadron calls as he eyes your ragtag crew. Luffy nearly fell into the water, only righting himself when Zoro hauled him upright by the shoulder and you waved to him before stepping forward.

"That would be me. Sorry again for the hold up-"

"Yes, well you can explain that to Governor Ganryō yourself." You shuffled your feet together as his yellow iridescent eyes, with pupils wavy like a cuttlefish, swept over you. They lingered, eyes boring into your own until his second coughed loudly, before he shook his head to throw back his navy blue hair. "I'm Lieutenant Yano, and this is my second Kyoko, we'll be accompanying you to the Governor's home, though we were only expecting one of you..." Once again his eyes drift to the rest, which Luffy took as his opportunity to introduce himself.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy. I'm-"

"My quality assurance officer." You chime in, ducking your head in front of his with a smile that more resembled a grimace. "We're trying out some new events planning partners, and Zeff believed this would be the perfect time to test out the full range of our capabilities in planning, catering and hosting events. Luffy will be assisting in insuring only the finest ingredients and materials will be used while we're here. And Nami is-"

"The Lead Design Co-ordinator. I also fancy myself quite the accountant." She bluffed happily, "I'm here to make sure this event looks fantastic and stays in budget for our client."

"Exactly." You nod along cheerily and watch as Yano eyes the pair of you before they drift to the green-haired swordsman behind you all, lingering heavily on the trio of blades hanging at his hip. "And Zoro is our talent agency contact. He's a sword dancer himself, very elegant." You can feel Zoro's eyes burning into the back of your skull, but you ignore it in favour of upping the wattage of your smile to the Lieutenant from casual conversation to I Am Working In Customer Service And Am Very Uncomfortable So We All Will Be. His eyes flicker up and down your figure again before they roll and he turns, the figures following separating out to allow him through.

"Fine. Well, as I'm sure you know, Ibiki Islands has been enforcing a toll system on the area to help fund the building of Marine bases due to the increase of pirate activity. We function with a 200 Berry per adult system, with exceptions of course. Given your," his eyes drift across your and Nami's disbelieving faces and the boys regalia, "colourful crew, your trip will total you all of 800 Berry." You and Nami glance at each other, before you turn back to him.

"I, uh, I wasn't made aware of this? Was it only implemented recently, sir?"

"In the last eight months." So the Governor would have known and choose not to tell us. Lovely, Zeff'll be pleased by that.

"Well, this is incredibly awkward, but we don't have enough to cover it..." Nami smiles apologetically, and Luffy nods along, finger in his ear.

"Yeah, I don't have any money!" Yano eyes him, before turning back to you two.

"How do four people travelling not have 800 Berry between them?" You grimace at the judgement in his reproachful tone, "Graciously for you lot, our Governor is very kind. He has requested we accept items and documents of worth in place of money if it isn't available." He flicks his hand and two cadets are moving past you before you can even blink. "Search the boat, you know what to look for. Now, if you'll follow me, we'll get moving." You and Nami gape at the now rummaging Marines.

"Hey!" she yelled out, "You can't do that! If we can't pay, we can't pay, don't start stealing stuff from us!" Zoro snorted, but your elbow into his side shut it off before the Marines noticed.

"Ma'am, please keep a hold of yourself, if you come to our islands, you have to follow the law of the lands, do you not?" He asked smugly at her harsh glare.

"Sir, please, we don't have anything of valu-"

"There's a safe here, sir!" You screw your eyes and mouth shut at the shout from behind you, and Nami sucks in a deep breath.

"Don't have anything of value, aye?" He smirks as the safe is dropped heavily on to the metal of the dock. "This certainly looks like something to me." He eyes it. "This detailing looks very familiar, don't you think Kyoko?"

She pushes her long red hair back over her shoulder and squats down beside it.

"Yes sir, it does."

"It's an old Marine safe," you ground out, ignoring the panic in Nami's eyes as you speak, "Zeff got it from an old acquaintance second hand, and I use it for confidential client documents." Yano's eyes narrow at you.

"Aah, yes. The ones you were so loathe to part with earlier. I suppose they'll do, I'm sure if he really needs them, your Zeff can pay as handsomely as is necessary to get them back, don't you think?" A slimy grin leaks across his face like oil sludge in a river. "Open it then."

"No."

"Excuse me? I said, open-"

"I heard you, sir." You reply flatly. "I'm telling you, I won't be doing that. They are confidential, private documents regarding other people and subjects that you don't have any business knowing. So no, I won't open it." His eyes flicker about your person in amusement again, before he shrugs and turns away.

"Well, I suppose that will be another thing for you to explain to the Governor. Bring it along, we'll see how this goes." And with that he takes off, four of the cadets being left to lug the heavy safe behind you.

You follow along quickly not wanting to draw ire from the Marines, or from your understandably annoyed crewmates, Nami and Zoro hanging back and eyeing the remainder of the group as they set up formation around you all, barricading the four of you in the centre. They shuffle up, forcing you into a tight group at the centre as begin marching you through the winding streets of the village, watching as patrols pass by you, scattering shouting civilians out of the way as they stomp through the bustling streets, market stalls and shop fronts spilling out across the pathways. Everywhere you look your party is met with angered sneers from the people around you, and you glance at Luffy as you walk past a group of snarling residents.

"This seems like an awful lot of Marine presence for one little party." Zoro drawls, gait lazy but eyes flickering around you all. Yano's second chuckles from ahead of you. She lolls her head back to speak over her shoulder.

"This isn't for the celebration I'm afraid, though I'm sure Governor Ganryō would adore to have this amount of security for his little party." Yano hummed in agreement, "No, we've been having trouble with pirates in the area, some nearby islands have been attacked and vandalised. Some Burnie's Bond or something. A few have landed in the area before so we're pre-empting the trouble with upped patrols."

"You haven't offered help to the other islands?" Nami's words are pointed and sharp like knives flying past you. Her eyes are hard with judgement as Kyoko flashes her a small smile.

"There wasn't anyone to help, ma'am." Nami grinds to a halt, forcing one of the cadets to a stop as he hovers behind her.

"What?" Her voice is quiet.

"They were completely abandoned. There was no one there." Your eyes and hers meet and you see a flash of something in them. Your power throbs through your chest and your throat tightens.

(A little windmill made of an orange peel spins in the breeze)

"Sadly," you're forced back to reality as Kyoko continues, "the people living here don't take to kindly to us. It was the Governor's decision to invite us here, and it doesn't seem to have been a popular one."

A shout behind you drags your eyes away from the woman, and you spin to see the little kids scattered across the path. One of the boys had been knocked to the ground and was glaring up at the cadet that had done so. He snarls as he scrambles to his feet as your group passes him and he glares the Marines as you pass. A grip drags your attention around and you meet the burning blue gaze as Nami pulls you tight to her.

"What the hell did you get us roped into?" She hissed as you continued walking, "We just got that safe and now we're going to have to go and steal it again."

"It's not like I planned this, Nami. There was no mention of any toll or anything in the letter he sent, they were looking to trip us up." She looks at you bemused and you catch yourself, "Me up. Same difference. It'll be fine, don't worry about. We'll sort this when we get to the house."

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

The house was more imposing when standing at the gates outside. Dark, nearly black brick that absorbed the light that hit it towered over the ramshackle saturated colours of the village surrounding the house, the only thing separating the colourful homes from the domineering tenebrious building was a tall concrete wall broken only by the black metal gates in front of you.

The air around this place felt dull. Devoid of life like it was of colour.

It reminded you of more of a prison then a house, memories of dimly lit dungeons under tall grey towers rattling in your mind as the gates creak open, slipping into the wall itself and disappearing from view.

Yano guides you all into the grounds thoughtlessly, motioning away the four cadets as they struggled with the weight of the safe.

"Do you guys need a hand?" Zoro's voice is bored beyond belief as he stares after them. Yano waved the idea away, even as the four sweating men looked back hopefully.

"There's no need, they'll sort it." Zoro ignores him, walking towards them and taking a grip on one side.

"Nah." He lifts, easily righting the nearly toppled safe so he supported most of the weight, the four cadets muttering between them as he lead them further into the grounds.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes after the green haired swordsman. "We'll be parting with you here anyway." Yano sounded bored as he checked a gold pocket watch before tucking it away. You walked in to the uniform gardens of the Governor's house, Luffy and Nami following closely. "The Governor said he would greet you and give you a full tour." The gates screeched as they re-emerged, sliding back closed behind you all, and Nami immediately rushed to them, the hard steel sliding to fully shut just as she reached them.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL?"

"Don't worry. These gates open twice a day so I suppose you'll be perusing the grounds and house for the celebration until then. Unlike the lot of you, we have actual work to be getting on with." The lieutenant smiled at you, his mouth curved smugly and you glowered at his face as he turned away. "Ta!"

As their figures disappeared into the throng of people she turned back to where you and Luffy were standing, face stormy with anger.

"Okayyy..." You raised your hands to signal pacifistically as she moved to join you again, "I wasn't aware that any of that would happen. I was told to come and get information about this party, I didn't know there would be so many Marines about."

"Well, between that, and now being stuck in this house until the gates reopen," you all look at the high wall surrounding you and the gate sealing you in, "whenever, that is, I guess we're gonna have to be party planners, won't we?" Nami crossed her arms with contempt at you and Luffy shrugged.

"I could just pull us up and over. GUM GUM-"

"NO!!" You and Nami lunge at him, grabbing him around the waist and shoulders as his stretchy arms reel back. "If we want to get out of here without a fight and with the map, we need to keep a low profile." Nami hisses at him. "The best way to do that is to follow the idiot that is Y/n around and pretend to do whatever job they're here for." You glare at her across Luffy's chest.

"Well, I actually do have a job to do so let's go." Pulling the pirate back from the wall, you march your way up the path to the foreboding buildings doors, rapping out shave-and-a-haircut on the dark wood before rocking back on your heels. You glance over your shoulder at the others, Nami glaring at you as Luffy's grin returns full force. "Just let me do most of the talking. This is just a consultation, so he'll show us around, talk a big game and then get annoyed when I tell him what we'll actually be doing for him. But seeing as he's paying for it, if he's he smart he won't argue." You purse your lips at the still closed door and slam your fist into it again. "If he's smart."

"I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!" A voice not far from the door rings out, and the immense doors creaked open, revealing Governor Ganryō. He was not a tall man, his nose was level to your belly button, and his face was red and damp from sweat. He was leaning heavily against both the door and an ornate cane, the handle sleek and golden depicting a bighorn sheep, and the richly coloured wood carved with intricate designs of swirly vines. He puffed out angry gasping breaths as he tugs open the door further. "Are you the one from the restaurant. You're late, what is the meaning of this? Who are they?" His beady eyes surveyed the trio behind you and he squawked up at you as you forced a pleasant smile on to your face.

"Good-" you glance briefly at the sky for the position of the sun, unsure of what time of day it was, "-morning Governor. Yes, I'm Y/n Nakayoshi. Zeff sent me for a consultation meeting regarding the celebration for the transition to town from village, congratulations by the-"

"Yes, yes, we know all of this, it was in my letter. I asked you who are they?" He glares reproachfully at you before his eyes swivel back to observing the ones behind you. You grind your teeth into each and bite the sharp tips of them into your lip to stop from screeching at him.

"Behave Y/n-Tomo." The doctor's voice is low and dangerous from behind the glass wall. "You won't like what happens if you don't"

Pulling your lips tightly together, you tilt the edges up into a pinched smile.

"Of course Governor. My apologies for not introducing them first. Zeff has decided we would be working alongside some other companies and people to ensure we can host the most top notch events. These," you gesture to them, "are my colleagues, here to trial some of their high class services to see if it can help improve our catered events." The lie feels awkward in your mouth, especially given that of the three, only Nami look at all professional. She was wearing a pink shirt dress with knee high pink boots and a matching jacket, which stood out in stark contrast to Luffy, dressed identically to how he was in Shells Town, only his hat had been left to hang between his shoulders. At least two of you looked presentable, the blood having washed off your coat for the most part, only leaving some staining around the cuffs. Your dirty dark shirt and dark work trousers had been swapped for a loose white top tucked into black high waisted trousers with a wide fabric belt wrapped about them, and your long h/c hair was pulled back in a plait with a gold length of fabric looped around your head as a headband.

"I'm Nami," she put her hand to her chest and smiled demurely, "I'm the Head Design Co-ordinator, I'm gonna make sure this place looks incredible."

"And Luffy is our quality assurance officer. Our talent agency contact is helping some Marines carry our toll...somewhere." You watched as his eyes flickers over him, narrowed in suspicion. "Obviously this wasn't noted as part of your package, but it's something we're starting to try and roll out with catering requests you see..."

He puffed a breath from his nose but waved you all in. "As long as it doesn't increase the price of anything, I don't care who these ruffians are." You bite your teeth together in a desperate attempt to keep a smile on your face, sharp teeth once again sinking into the skin of your lips.

"No increase from us sir, I can assure you, though add-ons curtesy of their services may include additional fees outside of Baratie's control." He rolled his beady eyes at and strutted further into the grand entry hall, the walls dark but lined with lush velvet curtains and humongous floor length tapestries bestrewn with intricate bead work and gleaming metallic thread. Three giant crystal chandeliers hung over your heads as you walked.

A smack to the leading leg dragged you back to reality with a hiss and you snarled down at the man as he sauntered away from you all, leading you around the edge of a immense carpet, rich in colour and design.

"Don't step on the carpet with those filthy things, I shall be charging you the cost of cleaning if you do." He spoke primly over his shoulder, gesturing for you to follow him as you glare.

A smack stings your back as Creata reels back with his walking stick again. You often wondered if he actually needed it to walk or if was just there to stop you all from misbehaving. As Hikaru lunges at you again to pummel you, you assume that musn't be the case.

As the cadets direct them through the grounds, Zoro's grip on the safe remains steadfast. He didn't care for the thief girl, or the idiot dish-washer that got them into this mess, but Luffy seemed an alright kid. May as well give him a hand while he takes a small break between bounties.

Although, the thought crosses his mind, with everything they had done in Shells Town, and what he's about to do here, it might be a while before it's safe for him to cash one in again.

He shakes his head of the thoughts, as the cadets lead him to a large shed-like building in the corner of the grounds. Opening the doors, they reveal piles and piles of papers, gold, jewellery and luscious fabric heaped across every inch of space in the room. He release his hold on the safe, the weight nearly crushing a few feet, but he ignores that as they struggle it into the mass of stuff, letting them get a few feet on him before he quietly slides the door closed behind them.

Better not to risk an audience.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

The lieutenant and his squadron patrol the area of the harbour, and his eyes once again fall onto the stripey sailed scoop the Baratie ones had arrived on. He didn't like the look of it, but had no reason to care. The restaurant hadn't made any mention of anyone other then Nakayoshi coming. Not immediately suspicious but still.

"Get in contact with the harbour master in Shells Town. I want to confirm with him about Nakayoshi's ship, that it's there and being fixed for damage."

"Aye sir!" A few cadets saluted and scampered to do as he asked, and Kyoko side-eyed him.

"That all?"

"Hmm. I'm not sure," his eyes drifted across the horizon before he leaned over the edge of the scoop, noseying at what boxes and crates lay about the deck, looking for anything that looked off. "Even without their boat here, something about this smells fishy."

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

The size of the building was immense. A large 'O' shape, a perfectly manicured karesansui was sheltered from the world outside in its centre, a large drooping keyaki tree casting shadows across the sand swirls and ornamental koi pond, and each door opened up into another cavernous room, ornately and gaudily decorated with expense fabrics in bold clashing colours and pieces of sculptured art to fill the echoing emptiness that permeated the halls otherwise.

Ganryō waddled through them, describing the nuance of his terrible interior design choices while leading you all toward his office, at the very back of the building, the ceilings lower than the rest of the rooms. In fact, everything about this room sat low to the floor. Unlike the fancifully done dining room and multiple sitting rooms, all well stocked with normal chairs and couches and setees and ottomans and benches, they were instead replaced by cushions strewn across the rugged floor, a chabudai table set up at the centre with a zaisu chair pushed in tight to the desk.

You and Luffy plonk yourselves down opposite him.

"I think," Nami's voice was gentle and lilting, and she smiled bashfully when the governor's eyes met hers, "That I should probably go ahead and take some measurements. Make sure we can implement a good decor plan, and ensure this isn't a party to be forgotten. And make sure our Zoro hasn't gotten lost!" She batted her lashes at the shorter man, and his face flushed red.

"Of course, young lady, but please don't wander off the grounds. Not that the wall will let you get to far," he blustered with a breathless laugh, "we have have been having issues with pirates causing skirmishes around these parts."

"Of course," she beamed and scooted back out of the room, pulling the door shut quietly and sealing all of you inside.

"I will say, Governor Ganryō," your eyes slid along the shelves shoved in wall to wall, "I don't know why you need our services if you have all this at your disposal sir." He sniggered as he lowered down into the chair gracelessly.

"Ah, Nakayoshi, you have to understand. When it comes to the likes of power in politics, some of us, well, we have more important things to do then planning a little get-together. You wouldn't understand, don't worry yourself about it."

"Y/n-Tomo, get away from that." You flinch back from the large clear tubes, the words dragging you back like a leash from the yellow liquid bubbling inside and several long winding cables plugged into the square base they attached to. You stumbled back into line with your brothers, the five of you standing in a perfect row, each with a tank and a tall tube of coloured liquid before you.

Pink, red, blue, yellow, green.

"What is it?" You peer back into the glowing liquid once more, stood safely back behind the yellow tape stuck to the floor, eyes swirling at the shade that so closely matched your pupils.

"Don't worry about that." Your eyes don't leave the rising bubbles as Creata-sensei's shadow looms over you. You screech out as the stinging prick of a needle sinks into the skin of your back. "You won't understand it, so why bother teaching you?"

"A-alright." You clear your throat and sit up straighter, eyes lingering on the shadow you cast across the table. "With Nami doing her thing, the only thing we really have to go over is the menu-"

"I saw a review recently," he interrupts, and you purse your lips and narrow your eyes, "by the Sea-Crossing Tongue, on a Tomahawk Lobster dish prepared by the sous chef that was to die for." This makes your ears prick up and you preen slightly at the compliment to your Sanji. "Of course, if the sous chef's version was so good, I'm sure the head chef's is even better, so if, let's say three of those could be arranged, along with two of Zeff's famous salted wild mushroom boars, I think that would be splendid. Of course there will be no issue of payment." He simpered and your face went blank, imagining the screaming match that would occur if this plan was agreed to.

"With all due respect, sir, before we decide on a menu, we will need an idea on the number of attendees? And where you'll be putting them? Your dining rooms are..." you struggle for the word for a second, only for Luffy to chime in.

"Ugly!" He remarked cheerfully, and you laugh hysterically, eyes wide and panicked, before slapping the captain's shoulder and pulling him back away from the governor's incredulous look.

"What a kidder, excuse us one moment!" You lunged back and tug him with you into crouching in the corner, arms wound around his neck. "I swear," you hiss at them, teeth bared, "if you ruin this because of your fat mouth, you can kiss that wish of yours' goodbye. Because you'll have a hard time fulfilling it when I chop you into pieces and chuck you into the East Blue! You," You grab on to his chin, starting to squeeze, and he gulps, "shut your hole before I put one through you, understand?" Luffy's eyes flash at you.

"I still think," he whisper yells nearly in your face, "that you'd be a really cool member of my crew!"

"No."

You release him, back straight and turn back to the sweating governor.

"So sorry about that! Still got a few growing pains in regards to this little team, new starts, high expectations, you know the drill I'm sure!" You settle back on to the cushions on the floor, returning to the charade and Luffy flops down next to you once more. "Now, since Nami's taking measurements we'll be able to use them for estimates on spacing for attendants."

"Oh." He seems confused for a moment. "Is that, really necessary, do you think?"

"Well, yes." Your eye's flicker about the room again. "Your home is-" you kick Luffy as he opens his mouth. "-very impressive, but if you're planning to host the celebration for the town's folk, of whom there are many if the number of houses isn't deceiving, I'm not sure you'll have the room."

"Ah." His eyes and attention drifts away for a moment before reappearing before you. "I see, there seems to have been a miscommunication. Well, you can call you're little friends back then. We won't have the villagers attending so I doubt space will be an issue, the ballroom will suffice for the Marine officers I'm sure." Your eyebrows scrunch together as Luffy tilts his head at the man.

"What? What do you mean?" Ganryō flapped his hand dismissively at you.

"Well, they've been so dower about the whole ordeal that I shouldn't want to invite them. I'm planning to invite some very high ranking officials within the Marines, I can't expect them to rub shoulders with ungrateful common folk who don't even want them here, can I?"

"Sorry," you bit back a frustrated laugh and Luffy shuffles back a step, "I must be confused. This is a celebration for the town. For the people living here, because, like you said, business has been so good that you've outgrown the village title. And you aren't even going to let them in?"

"Why would I?" He snorted and pulled himself up further in his seat, in an attempt to look taller. It doesn't work, the already low-to-the-ground desk not doing him any favours. "They made such a hassle about the Marines coming here, building the Outpost and setting up patrols of the area. They complain so much because the Lieutenant has been helping enforce the newer tax collection system and the tolls, and I've been receiving support from the Marines in the upkeep of security. It's for the people's benefit but woe betide anyone who say so much as say thank you for the extra protection from those awful miscreant pirates." He rubbed his sweaty red forehead with a handkerchief before tucking it back in his pocket. "Besides, with the way the funds are looking from them at the moment, I'm hardly about to bring them all in here and feed them as well, ha."

"Sorry, your funds?" You narrow your eyes at him, "I thought there would be no issue of payment, you said so."

"Yes, yes I know I said so. I haven't asked the Marines to collect yet, and I won't be taking it out of the toll collection, so I gave out an extension seeing as the increase was on such short notice." You and Luffy blink at each other and back to him in confusion. He starts sweating again. "Well, I could have enforced the higher taxes immediately if I knew you would demand the money so upfront like this."

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

Two rooms away, Nami searches through drawers and cupboards, picking up anything not nailed down to weigh in her hands. And she tried everything. Weirdly, there were several things actually nailed down, or in some other way secured to the tables or floors they sat on. Everything she lifted however was immediately dumped back in place with a scoff of annoyance.

Candles sticks were light, only weighted at the base. Elaborate metal ash trays that bent when they were lifted. Frames and bowls with ornate gilding that rubbed away in flaky peeling gold leaf. Even the glittering jewel paperweights were, although beautiful, no more than coloured glass.

The things made with real skill, things that held real worth, were completely unmovable. The immense beaded tapestries, the baroque curtains with glimmering metal detailing and the expansive carpets woven with rich bold colours, gleaming yellow golds and beaming silver embedded with rubies and sapphires and emeralds, stones throwing the light across the room when they caught it, they were all bolted and stuck in place, and with a scoff she reasoned,

"Probably taken in place of tax money if the safe is anything to go by." Her hand tightened around the pillow case she had taken to carry her loot, and the weak metal of a small bronze statuette, which crumpled in her hand like paper.

She tossed it back on to the table, instead choosing to glare out the window, eyes drawn instinctively to the towering ramshackle houses in bright brilliant colours built up and over and up and over each other, again and again and again. The entire place was a giddy collection of shapes and colours perched together and barely holding in place, and her mind drifts to a town islands away, houses torn up and set back wrong because of one person's thirst for power. Movement inside the walls caught her attention, and she stared bemused.

"You've got to be kidding me." She watched once again as Zoro carted the large metal safe, this time through the pristine gardens, in the wrong direction.

With a snort, she dropped the case and turned from the window. She was getting back to that safe, and it wouldn't be leaving her sight again.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

"Taxes?" The colour of your eyes swirl and your voice is quiet and dangerous as you speak. Zoro straightens against the wall behind you, his hand falling to his sword hilt. "You're using the village's taxes to fund this party, and you aren't even allowing them to attend?" The sweat dribbles down his forehead, and he shuffles with the papers scattered across his desk as you stand.

"We-well, you see-"

"No. Thank you, Governor Ganryō but I've heard enough from you." You blow an angry breath out through your nose before speaking again, "Un-fort-u-nately," your voice dips into an icy snarl as you drag out the word, and he desperately fusses with his pocket for the sweaty handkerchief, "I don't think we're the right match in regards to catering for this event-"

"But I already sent through the consultation fee-"

"AND THAT'S ALL THIS WAS-" you bite your tongue to hold back the rest of your angry roar, "-sir." Your voice dips and rumbles in a growl through grit teeth at the end as your steely gaze met his and he huffed as you stood from your chair, Luffy following.

"This is disgraceful," he puffed out angrily as you turned your back to walk out, "what sort of business-"

"The sort, sir, that knows what they're doing, unlike the likes of you." He shoots upright, fancy chair toppling over in his outrage, but you meet and beat it, slamming your foot down on to the richly coloured wood desk and shattering it down the middle, "GET BACK IN YOUR SEAT, WEE MAN!!" You roar, "Your ego doesn't make up enough for you to be worth anything!" He scrambles back over the chair at your yell and stares at you aghast as you sink your clawed nails into the crisp veneer of the mutilated desk as you breathe in a shaking breath, counting to five before blowing it out again. "Listen, I-I am an extremely easy person to piss off. I know that. I have a temper, I'm working on it." You chuckle nastily before your face falls back into a snarl, "It isn't going well, but I am. Blame being raised by chefs on that." You give him a wicked sharp grin, your fanged teeth glinting in the fading afternoon light. He gulps. "But trust me when I say this. Nothing you say, nothing you do, will ever, ever, get Baratie to work with the nasty likes of you. Trust me, we are happy to correct bad behaviours. You come in and act like a jackass? You'll be treated like one. You want to order a drink and think you know what you're talking about? You don't, we do, you're getting something else. Don't assume that just because we're a service, it means you get to demand things like you're owed them. I was told to come here, and I was told to 'give him what he deserves and not a grain more.' And trust me, you don't even deserve the grain. So," you stand with a shrug and shoot him a bitter smile, "we'll be leaving. You won't get your consultation fee back, because despite your obvious protests, this was a consultation, and I've consulted with you to confirm that, in fact, we will not be catering this event. So you can go ahead and cancel, and we'll make our own way out. Since you won't be needing our services."

You turn to meet Nami's eyes through the crack in the door. Her face is blank but the sea-blue expanse sparkles with mirth. You grin at her and strut towards it, leaving a gaping governor and a smiling straw hat behind you.

Bursting back into the corridor, you whirl around to Luffy toppling after you and shut the door, sniggering and rolling your eyes at the others chuckles.

"Good to know how you feel about people like that," Nami smirks and your eye catches the hunching man behind you all.

"Yeah, and I see you guys were successful." She rolled her eyes and knocks your shoulder.

"Yeah, idiot kept going the wrong way. Think he might need a leash. Plus," She shrugged and gestured around you all, "There's not much was worth taking. Nothing I could've carried anyway, everything was either cheap as all heck or fastened down. I think this guy spends as quickly as he gets." She casually halts Zoro in his tracks before turning him, and began leading the way through the winding corridors to the door.

"Yeah, and it seems like this Governor lives off of the village below him rather than himself." You mutter bitterly. Luffy hums beside you.

"I don't like guys like that. Hey," He punches your shoulder, "Destroying that table though? That was cool! I'm telling you, you would be great on my crew!" You shake your head at him.

"I told you already Luffy, I have important people to get back to." He hums at you again.

"You said you wanna help people achieve their dreams, right? None of them have dreams that you could help with while we go?" You slow to a stop, staring after him as he walks ahead, crystal clear waters full of swirling fish and vivid seaweed filling your vision as he goes. Maybe. The traitorous voice whispers in the back of your mind, Maybe, if you could convince him to go now... "Hey." Luffy's voice startles you out of your swimming daydream and you see all three are standing waiting on you at the door. "You coming?"

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

"Lieutenant." Yano eyes lift from the transfer paperwork in front of him to meet Kyoko's eyes. "We received a transmission from Shells Town.

"Ah. Good, finally." He shuffles the papers on his desk and moves them into the 'Out' pile. "Confirmation from the harbour master regarding Nakayoshi's boat?"

"No sir." She gently shuffles the Transponder Snail -a grey one with matching eyes and hair to the Lieutenant- out of the way and perches on the desk, handing him a slip of paper to investigate. "Apparently, some fools broke into the base there, and made off with Captain Morgan's safe."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Four of them apparently. A thief in disguise with orange hair, a green-haired bounty hunter arrested for fighting Marines, a boy with a straw hat..." Yano's eyes flicker across the paper, a blurry black and white image consisting of the three already disguised, as well as, "and a complete maniac with glowing eyes, sharp teeth and claws and an aqua coat." His gaze rises to look at Kyoko and for a moment silence sits still around them. "Sir, no matter how pretty they may be," His eyes flash dangerously but she smirks, ignoring him and continues, "they're all pirates."

"Pirates," he sighed, "that we just let walk into the house of the richest man on the island." The picture in his hand crumples. "They must have the safe aboard that bloody boat of theirs. I knew something was off." He grit his teeth, "Secure the harbour. No one gets in, no one gets out." She salutes him.

"Aye sir." She moves to leave but he calls out again.

"And Kyoko!" She spins to look at him, "I want them alive."

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

You slide to a halt on the road leading to the harbour, eyeing the amount of Marines that had appeared. There were certainly more on the run here, but you had managed to dodge them after Luffy launched you into the centre of town, away from the Governor's house. Zoro and Nami stop alongside you, peering around the corner of the tall cerulean building in front of you to watch them move.

"They've surrounded every way into the harbour." Zoro mutters, letting the safe fall to his feet as softly as possible, eyes following the marching Marines. He was right, every dock had at least two cadets stationed in front of it, gazes hunting the crowded area as people scuttled past, eyes down to avoid them.

"We have to think of something to get them out of the way of the ship." Nami grumbled. You glanced at them in your peripherals, but snap your head to look when you realise you're missing one. Whipping your head around, about and above you hiss out,

"Where's Luffy?"

The pair join you in confusion, peering around for the straw hatted boy, though answer came suddenly as something crashes into your back, sending you tumbling out of the alley straight into a passing squad of Marines, where Luffy landed on your back on with a

Slam!

Your fist meets the glass in front of you, and your eyes fill with tears as you look at Dr Creata.

”Let me out! Please Dr Creata, please!!” Your scream was gaspy as you bashed your fists against the glass again and again, your brothers silent in their own tanks, already full and bubbling away obediently.

Everyone and everything around you stilled. The squad you had landed in had scattered, running to reform elsewhere as a paid of shiny black boats march to a stop in front of your face. As you scramble up, your eyes follow the legs the shoes were in, up the Marine vest torso to meet Yano's yellow eyes once more.

"Y/n Nakayoshi. Under order of the Marine's-"

"No." Luffy barks out a laugh as the Lieutenant's eye twitches, and you stand up straight, eye to eye with him now.

"Excuse me?"

"I think I'm through, taking orders. From Marines. From bullies and rich idiots who think they know everything about how the world works. From jerks who aren't gonna listen!" You flick your hand up between the pair of you, one finger raised, "One bad Marine is an accident," Helmeppo's stupid smug face flashes through your head, a second finger flicks up to join the first, "Two bad Marines is a coincidence," The noise of clanging metal echoes in your mind as the memory of Captain Morgan rises with it, along with the third finger, "but three bad Marines, Yano?" Your slight smirk turns to a snarl, "Three means, I need to start rethinking whether you lot are worth your salt." He sighs hollowly at your words, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"Honestly Nakayoshi, that's still no good reason for you to be throwing your lot in with pirates. When we're through with these fools, you can just go back to that restaurant of yours and forget this ever happened, hm? No need to get you into trouble over a misunderstanding. So just-"

”Stand still Y/n-Tomo.” You freeze in place, except for the tears streaming down your face as Dr Creata fusses with the controls below you. “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times. If you can’t follow simple commands without your title, how are we supposed to trust you with Sanji?” With a slam, he forces down a lever and a gush of freezing yellow liquid slams into your head. You don’t move, you can’t. He had told you to stand still, so you were.

Except for your shaking hands and teary eyes that were now stinging from the corrosive liquid pouring over your head in a torrent.

"-and keep out of the way." Your face darkens as Marine cadets surround the pair of you, Zoro and Nami staying hidden in the alley. "This doesn't concern you." Your eyes burn and swirl at him.

"Actually it does." He snorted.

"How could it possible affect you?"

"Because," you clicked your neck and raise your hands, readying yourself to lunge forward, "You're trying to take away..."

”…his dream…”

Creata’s head snaps up to look at you as you shudder under the force of the liquid, the tank now over half full with the speed of it.

”What did you say?!” With great difficulty, like it weighed a million pounds, you crane your head up to meet his eyes.

”If he's supposed to trust me, what about trusting me with his dream…” he scoffs at you and crosses his arms. The solution was lapping at your shoulders now.

”Again and again you fail me, Y/n. But again and again, you impress me too. What is it about that useless boy and his ‘dream’ that has you so determined to neglect your instructions I wonder?”

The area around you exploded with noise as you and Luffy launched into fighting the Marines surrounding you both, Nami and Luffy jolting out of the safety of the alley to join in.

Your head swings back, just barely dodging Yano's fist, bedecked in fingerless gloves and several sparkly rings. The din of activity around you makes your ears ring as you duck and weave under his arms, driving your nails into his side leaving a long bloody scrape along the white of his vest.

"WHY ARE YOU SO DEDICATED TO THAT BOY?" He snarls after when with a push, you tumble backward from him. "If that report was right, you've known him what? A DAY?! WHAT IS IT ABOUT HIM THAT MATTERS SO MUCH?" He lurches for you, fist raised again as you swipe away his gab.

"He deserves a chance to fulfil his dream!" You snap at him, teeth barely missing his fingers as they pull away in an instant. "I want to help everyone that I can achieve their dreams, no matter what it takes! I want them to find their treasure in life, and if I can help them, I will!"

"One pathetic little boy with wishes beyond his station in life isn't worth throwing your life away for!"

You can’t answer, the liquid scrapping at your skin and sizzling across you, had completely engulfed you.

”Is it him?” Creata mused and turned away. “Sanji himself that inspires such, loyalty? Or are you so desperate to prove your worth to him you’ll do something as stupid as to commit yourself to something impossible and pointless?” No answer. “No matter. One of these days, child, it will occur to you that, in fact, dreams are a fool’s hopes realised in the most selfish way. After all, what is a man but a useless pile of hopes and secrets that’s only worth what he can provid-“

Slam! He stops. Turning back, he eyes the glass before shaking his head. Slam! He spins, marching back up to the glass staring at where he was sure the impact had happened. Slam! Slam! Slam! A smirk begins to form on his face as he takes a few steps back. Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! A crack begins to form… Slam! Slam!

Slam!

Your arm shot forward and caught him directly in the face, launching him back with a crack. Blood splattered across your knuckles and he stared up at you in shock, your hands shaking and nails clawing into the bandages on your palms.

”You can’t just decide that…”

”What the hell, you freak?!”

The tank explodes, the yellow liquid sizzling against the stainless steel as it pours from the cracked glass and you stagger to your feet. The grin on Creata’s face grows manically as your burning eyes meet his, the aqua of the irises melting into a raging scarlet. A wave of willpower ripples off you, and your glare fiercens.

Creata cackles at the feeling, disregarding the shrinking of his pupils or sweat beginning to dot his forehead.

“Just because you don’t like someone’s background or the way they live now, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the chance to fulfil their dream!” You roar at him, swiping again and again as inches closer to the wood of the dock, irises beginning to bleed red.

”Dreams? Dreams?! You’re helping this maniac because he wants to follow his dream? My god Nakayoshi, you really are a slow one. The only thing pirates deserve, is a sudden drop and a swift stop! No more, and certainly no less! What use are dreams if the people who have them are useless?!”

You launch forward with a raging shriek, clawing and slashing at the giant of a man, ripping at the coat and driving your knuckles into his abdomen over and over and over.

Yano roars up at you from the ground as you land atop him, the force of you slamming him down so great, the wood below you both cracks. You pound your fists into his chest and face, screaming in a wild rage, claws ripping at his face from his hairline down down down, over his eyebrow and past the eye, leaving four gaping wounds across his face as blood pours down his face.

“It’s not FAIR! IT’S NOT FAIR ON HIM!! HES GOOD! HE SHOULD BE HAPPY, WHY IS IT BAD THAT HE WANTS?? THAT HE WISHES??”

”THAT SOMETHING MATTERS TO HIM ENOUGH TO CHASE IT!!”

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” You’re being dragged off him.

”Let him dream!!!” With a harsh kick, Yano sends you tumbling backwards, and you roll to your feet, hands and nails bloody, as your (now scarlet) eyes blaze at the Marine scrambling to his feet while several of his men surround him.

“He is one little useless excuse for a pirate. His dreams-“

“-are worthless.”

His glare echoes through your memory of one hidden behind bottle thick glasses, the blood on his face and clothes mirror the temporary colour in your eyes, and that decides it for you.

"Monkey D. Luffy!" You shout and he spins to look at you, arms raised to fight, "Ask me again!"

"Huh?" Your eyes gleam as they meet his.

"ASK ME AGAIN!" Your grin is manic and blinding as you claw away a cadet who runs at you. A smile grows on his face to match.

"Y/n Nakayoshi, join my crew!" Your grin shifts into a mischievous smirk and tilt your head back, eyes never leaving his. "Sail with me, to help me find the One Piece! Help me achieve my dream!" You snort, but your growing grin betrays you.

"Only if you'll need a cook too! My friend and I are a package deal!" You thrust your thumb into your chest smugly as he whoops in excitement, lunging straight for you and wrapping you up over and over and over, the screaming and pounding in your chest echoing as his dream rings through you.

(The ocean spreads out in front of you, sun beams reflecting into your eyes, matching the grin of the boy in a straw hat)

(The silhouette of a pirate with red hair stands out against the glare)

When Luffy releases you, you drop to the ground and eye the Marines around you, numbers depleted and their Lietuenant, now leaning heavily against Kyoko as blood dribbled down his face and side. The others join you in a line, Zoro to Luffy's side and Nami to yours and you ready yourselves to continue the fight. Yano glares bitterly at the four of you, but raises a hand and gestures back into the town.

"Fall back, we'll get the reinforcements out here and get them sorted in no time." In unison the remaining cadets salute and stagger back away from you in formation, back into the throng of the town, people having stopped to stare at the wild fight near the harbour slowly milling back into motion.

Yano was the last to leave, still supported by Kyoko, who tried hurriedly to pull him away as he glared back at you, keeping eye contact until the last possible moment as he was dragged away, only breaking when he disappeared into the crush of the town. You all stand quietly for a moment as the line of people break and they return to their working and wandering.

"We should get out of here before reinforcements show up."

"Yeah." Nami agrees quickly, "So long as they haven't touched the scoop, we be able to get out of here no problem. I can get the safe open away from here so we don't have the Marines breathing down our necks."

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

The scoop lurches away from the dock, poor thing nearly over balanced when Zoro had dropped the safe back on board, but you were making headway now and were desperate for some quiet.

The light of the evening sun glittered across the gentle waves around you as Nami took her position next to the safe to finally have a go at cracking it open. Zoro was perched at the stern, back to the water and glaring at the lot of you. Or he had been before falling asleep in place.

Luffy had joined you in staring back at the shrinking image of Dye Town, both of you sitting on the cabin quietly as the sun set and the stars began littering the darkening sky.

"So we have me, the Captain, you..." he listed off, beginning to count on his fingers, hesitating when he couldn't come up with a place for you, "...helping! Nami's the navigator, and Zoro is our sword guy! Plus your cook friend makes five!"

"Still not on your crew," you hear Nami call from behind you and you chuckle.

"Yeah. You're making a good start, captain." His smile grows to beaming, a spotlight shining so directly in your face you consider shielding it for a moment. Instead you stretch out your back, arms above your head and let yourself flop back onto the roof. "And when Nami gets that map out, I'm sure it'll all be smooth sailing from here."

Next Chapter: Big Big Top Trouble and the Risks of Show Business

12 notes · View notes

encephalitis-on-sundays · 1 year

Text

Avatar fanfic

The way of war chapter 4

( Okay so I had someone else write korra's part in this one but I will be taking over the character so it might be a slight change in personality. This one is sad for Jake and sad/plot moving for Spider. Next chapter it gets a bit of excitement. Writing this started off wanting to roleplay it and now im writing the entire movie 🙃)

Her light ocean blue and light purple lavender eyes adjust quickly to the increasingly lightened atmosphere and finally open wide, but what she sees is uncomprehendable to her still drowsy mind. At least that is the silent thought that passes through her consciousness, 'I must be dreaming still.' Before her is a very primitive hut but almost a crude hospital-like space. The coldness of the white health machine too stark and foreign in these wild surroundings. Her keen ears almost immediately pick up on the rhythmic beepings of her monitored heart. She feels them prick up as the sound registers through her mind,

'...wait...no that's not right...my ears don't move when they take in sound.' Simultaneously she feels the cold medical nodes stuck to the sides of her head and around her chest. The cords cascading around and over her make her feel worried for her health and mental state.

She questions her mental state even more by the blueish figures surrounding her bed. The larger of the two, pure blue, had left before she could fully take him in...but this striped blue green other one was hovering so close.

'What a strange color to be', is the thought that swims quickly through her addled brain before her spike of fear of the formidable creature as he suddenly advances. But he is holding and offering life-giving water and she purses her lips together feeling the cracks as he puts the familiar plastic bottle to her lips. She understands this thing as his masculine alien voice speaks and asks her calmly to drink...but then just as quickly speaks absolute gibberish with a grin. She wrinkles her nose in bewilderment and is immediately transported to Wonderland with thoughts of this strange cheshire cat's grin.

Recalling the ever popular Alice quote that rises through her subconscious, 'If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later.'

When she finally snapped from the daze she was caught hovering in, The girl let out a terrified scream.

Warr ak was taken aback by the girls unsettling reaction of fear and confusion, he could only offer comfort and safety in words.

*be calm, be calm* he ushered out the words in na'vi before realising she was not able to understand him, and his curiosity peaked.

"It's okay- We found you in the water, but your okay now, it's going to be alright" he spoke slowly and leaned back to give her space, his tail twitching from the intensity of her screams.

'Sully, where the hell did you go?' He thought frantically as the waves crashed around them in the far back ground.

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

Jake took to the skies as his way of scanning the island for abnormalities and in this instance, a kid. Focused eyes overlooked every inch of the grounds below while he grew close to the place that he knew Spider would have filled the jug. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something small and wooden bobbing up and down in the settled water of a puddle. He landed instantly and jumped to the ground to investigate, his heart falling deep into his core as he put two and two together now as he reached to pick up the jug he had sent the boy with.

"Damn it! " He yelled out in frustration and anger before filling the jug halfway and strapping it to him as he quickly returned to the skies. He knew his children would never forgive him if he didn't try to get Spider back this time, but what could he do?

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

She screamed her alienesque scream and watched her fairytale companion's shocked features melting back into worry. She hears his absolute gibberish again trying to rise above her screeching and involuntarily her nose scrunches at the strange sounds. But then an entire English sentence...as he leans away from her. The space gives her the moment she needs to compose and cease her wail as she finds herself staring at his erratically twitching tail. The tail slows as her piercing screams minimize and she finds herself using its slowing to help slow her uncontrolled heaving breaths in time to its rhythmic swish. Calming, her heartbeat stops beating out of her chest, but leaves her in absolute bewilderment at his words. She scrambles further backwards, up toward the head of her raised pallet bed, and curls her new strange body to her as she wraps her weird striped arms about her even weirder striped legs protectively. She buries her face into her arms and terrifyingly wonders if her mind is completely broken and is breaking the english language into that utter madness... She raises her gaze back up to find him still intensely staring at her...'or is this thing switching back and forth instead', she questions herself with her rising sight. She stares back at him, into him, her eyes hyper focusing on his deep dark blues. Instantly drowning. There is something so familiar and calming about his eyes...so alluring she can't seem to look away.

It was as though time itself halted and the dangers around we're swept away with the tide, his dark orbs absorbing the light from her own. Mesmerized by the sudden feeling of deja vu, Warr ak cleared his throat nervous to speak again, was he scaring her? She was acting as though she had not a clue of her now being Na'vi, and or even has ever seen one.

"Hey there.. " He reached slowly towards her arms, but hesitated only inches away from touching her decorated skin. "I am not going to hurt you, im friendly, friendly alien" He explained, the last bit more pronounciated and as though he were speaking to a small child.

Shaking his head he restarted trying to find the right words for her perked ears to hear. "Your human right? I am too.. I mean not right now, but I was" He said, holding out a hand to show how human like it's appearance was.

Jake flipped back the curtain in haste as he watched the action jump scare the two huddled near the small pallet they had made her.

"They took spider" He addressed with a tone unmatched. "I shouldn't of let him go alone, what was I thinking" He angrily and frantically spoke feeling guilty for not being aware.

"Quaritchs dead, but they won't cease until every Na'vi has been-" He stopped his onward spiral and lifted his gaze to the two.

"I am Ajake, You are welcome to stay with my family until you gather yourself, " his eyes moved to warr ak, "Take her to the forest, don't let my family return until I deem it safe" He commanded softly and with hope.

The pull she felt towards him was magnetic insanity...almost as if they had always known each other. She felt so lost but could feel a guiding light staring into his dark deep orbs. He recovered first, trying to cover his awkwardness and the spell was broken. Part of her longed for that almost forgotten feeling...but another felt relief that she was back and more in control of herself...'But...who is myself here', she wonders as she listens to his calming reassurances of being a friendly alien. 'At least he is self aware of this strangeness', she thinks trying and failing to keep eye contact. She looks up, and uncurls coming to sit on her knees, as he admits to being human, 'Yes! That! Why am I not that...and why must he speak to me like I am incapable of understanding english?' Then it dawns on her...she has yet to speak aloud...'Oh...no wonder he thinks I don't have a thought in my head you ditz.' She internally berates herself and as he shows her his hand she seizes it between her own. 'His creature hands are much less feral than mine', she thinks before finally opening her mouth and guiding his offered hand to her cheek...

a move of dreamlike familiarity...on pure instinct and softly, "I hear you...I... understand you." She is taken aback at the feral alien tone to her voice but presses quickly on, "I mean...I don't understand this...but I understand what you are saying." She pauses with a small smile and her nose scrunches, "Well...most of the time." She swallows painfully after waking her vocal muscles from unuse, "Is...the water still on offer? I do wish I hadn't screamed...that was a ditz move on my part...but you are quite...ummmm..." She pauses in her quick ramble not wanting to say the word 'monstrous' but stumbling through her mind for a less hurtful term, "formidable...in this form." She drops his hand having just realized she had been squeezing it to her this whole time and embarrassedly wonders if these creatures blush...because she surely would be after that stunt. She bites her aching lip and looks down away from his piercing stare. She absently twirls a few strands of her hair...musing at the familiar comforting action of her purple and brunette strands...and admits softly, "I suppose I am too though." She finds herself involuntarily glancing back up at him and her body jumps back and squeels in startlement as the larger blue creature bursts into the space with a furious energy. Her bright eyes wide, as she watches and listens to his erratic display. Her ears prick up at the mention of someone's death and she sees the fear that he hides so well beneath his stern exterior. She sees him address her, appreciates the hospitality, but worries now for all their safety and muses aloud, "...Is your missing spider monstrous and venomous...if that's the case maybe it's best it stays missing...Oh how do I awaken from this crazy dream? Cause this rabbit hole is quite the doozy."

Warr ak was taken by surprise now hearing her voice for the first time since first seeing her awake, and he was happy she spoke English. He gave a small gasp as his hand was grabbed and pulled close to her face, cupping her soft cheek. It had brought his entire being closer to the other in a swift unexpected move. He dare not move or let his gaze drop as a small bead of sweat fell from his chin. 'who are you?' He thought, still trapped in a daze. The magic seemed to vanish the moment Ajake announced his concerns, and Warr ak leaned back with a chuckle when the girl misunderstood whom the missing one was.

"He's one of *My* Kids" Ajake stated in reply, in a way he was the younger boy's caretaker, and in a way he was a father as well.

"He's human too- sorta" Warr ak added, hoping that the girl was following along and understanding the two men's answers.

"You two should get ready to depart soon, I need to talk with Tonawari, but regardless it isn't safe here anymore, they will use the kid to get what they want" Ajake explained, pointing up to the sky towards the direction where the sky people used to be.

Warr ak nodded towards the man giving orders, and reached to take the water bottle that sat beside him. He carefully lifted it to her lips and smiled soft as he nodded for her to drink.

"first we need to get you hydrated enough for the ride" he spoke.

As the girl watched the laughter of this close one course through him at her words, she inherently knew she must of misspoke, but seeing him chuckle was fascinating. Her strange ears pricked up as the larger one addressed her and she was surprised how difficult it truly was to divert her attention. But this was a serious matter and she listened to the grave news and orders more somber out of respect for the missing child. 'Another human... non human...what was going on in this dream world, where it seemed as though nothing was as it should be?' She pondered the questions swimming through her mind and her gaze fell upon the water bottle sitting beside her pallet companion...just out of reach. She pursed her parched lips and as if he had magically read her mind, watched with elation as he easily reached and secured the bottle. She couldn't help but smile at that bit of dream magic. The older creature finished giving his orders out and fell silent. She felt obligated to try to amend her mistake from moments before, "I am so very sorry that you are missing a child. That is a very grievous thing to be missing."

She pauses seeing her condolences well received and can't help but add too quietly for the worried parent to hear, "At least it is not a giant alien dream spider though." Filled with a moment of worry she mentally ponders and glances up at her closer alien, 'I hope he didn't hear that either...how good is their hearing...our hearing...mind reading...can he read my mind?' She watches the progression of the bottle up to her lips and with it his progression in closing the gap between them. He smiles that cute smile and nods, and she leans in closer to meet the bottle as it kisses her lips. This time she slides her hand up to help steady the bottle and finally drinks deeply. The cooling water flooding her tongue with wet euphoria makes her wiggle in joy. She happily takes multiple sips and runs her tongue over her lips providing the much needed moisture as she listens to him speak. Her eyes widen at his words, "Ummmm what kind of ride are we talking about? A horse? Do y'all have horses? We are too big for horses. An extra large carousel horse maybe...Everything is so topsy turvy in this dream." She giggles and boops his quite close nose with her playful feral claw.

Ajake felt his heart sink low into the pit of his stomach, her words reminded him of his late son, Netayem. He hears Warr ak laughing at her next statement and shifts to crouch low as he grabs his gun from under a small wooden table. "That would be bad, yes" He agrees to her next words whilst hiding the sorrow he felt from losing one son, and now spider.

Warr ak chuckled still at her loopy talk while hoping Ajake refrained from being too authoritative in this tender moment. She hadn't a clue of what had happened to Netayem, and it was not her fault to bring up such memories.

"Horses? I almost forgot about those" He says and swallows hard, slightly embarrassed. "No, uh, we will be taking a Mountain Banshee, actually... Kind of like a horse... If it flew" He rambled on and reached to scratch behind his head awkwardly.

When his nose was booped by the girls unique hands, Warr ak felt his eyes widen as a quick memory escaped into his minds eye. 'This had happened before' When he was much younger at the bus stop, a girl had given him her scarf and booped him on the nose in the same playful way.

"What's your name?" Both warr ak and Ajake asked in unison.

Her giggle ceases as she looks away from her strange one's nose and up to the other, "Oh...of course! I'm..." Her easy smile falters a moment but she rallies quickly and tries again, "So silly of me. Sorry. My name is..." She looks down and wrinkles her nose in confusion willing the memory to return to her as she begins to flood with embarrassment, "Well I'm... I...Ummm..." She falters as she struggles with her broken mind and looks worriedly up to see him staring so intensely at her...awaiting her answer...an answer she is unable to gift him. She bites her lip anxiously and her gaze swings to the leader's as she asks with a slight plea, "Who am I?" She shakes her head 'no' slowly as if to rattle the thoughts and memories and shake them back into place. The memory does not come and she sighs in resignation accepting her fate. She puts on a fake smile and tries for a brave face to keep the threatening tears and devestation at bay, "I suppose...it doesn't matter really here...and given the other more pressing concerns...it's not that important...but ummmm a banshee is nothing like a horse...nor do I particularly wish to take a ride on one of the wailing demons." She suddenly finds herself absently twirling several strands of her hair anxiously between her fingers.

Watching her struggle in attempts of remembering her name made both men glance to another in complete perplexion.

"Right we'll that is not a top priority at the moment, name or no name, we need you safe" Ajake directed his voice at the light-eyed girl before them. "Leave in five" He declares now addressing Warr ak as he moved to open the curtain with one hand. "I'll follow behind after I check the skies one more time"

Warr ak turned back to face Jake now with a nod of agreement he tilted his head and returned his gaze to the girl. "They aren't scary, it's fun actually, to fly like in your dreams" He explains in a way he hopes would spark her interest enough to get her on one willingly.

He stood and offered her his hand to help her up to her feet, biting his lower lip before giving a "hmm.." as he looked her over.

"What should we call you...? " He asked as he helped her up, and their bodies now we're closer than before. "err- sorry about that" he said as he quickly moved back to give her space.

"I think Korra fits you most, at least until we find out who you are..." He spoke through a small laugh trying to ease the seriousness of the situation, but he had to act fast before it became too late.

"Come, I'll show you a banshee" He moved to open the curtains for her to pass beneath.

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

Once departed with Spider in front of the older, crouched low and holding on to the creature's neck with ease. He yipped as they always would do when they dove down close to the ground, earning a roll of eyes from the Colonel.

"You do this often?!" The Colonel asked over the sounds of the wind hitting their faces.

"Only Lo ak and Neteyem can ride, unless it's with them or Mr. Sully" the boy replied, feeling sickly as he was reminded of Netayems's passing. "Why do you hurt people?" He found himself inquiring now that the tension had passed mostly.

"Because, if you don't... They will walk all over you, people hurt people every day, kid" He explained as openly as he could spare to show. "No matter what side your on, sacrifices are made for the greater good of your- of -our- people... " He hoped his son would see the world from his point of view and not that as Na'vi.

Spider hated the way the fabric of his pants rubbed up against his thighs and ankles as the wind hit them with immense force. He did listen to Quaritch if only to draw out more time for him to plan, but now the other awaited a reply.

" why do you need me? Ajake won't come for me, so what is it?" The younger asked momentarily changing the subject.

Quaritch furrowed his brow and scanned the skies around them for any activity. "Who said we needed you?" His tone was slightly more cold than their previous conversations.

"We need what you have stored up in your noggin, you just so happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, kiddo" He chuckled, "Easy snipin" he adds as a joke and takes them higher up into the sky.

"What are you going to do with me?" Spider felt uncomfortable about asking the forboding question lingering in the back if his mind, 'when will this be over?'

Hands gripping the reigns tighter and pulling on the left side to turn the banshees direction, Quaritch debated telling the kid the truth.

"Well, that's the thing, we haven't decided yet... Send your ass back to earth I reckon" He said nonchalantly and with an affirmative nod as the kid jerked his head to glare at him.

"I'm not going there! You've gotta let me go! Here, here is my home. You need to see the na'vi as I do, but you won't!" He spat back loudly as the Colonel aggressively forced the kid to turn back around as he navigated them down closer to the tree tops.

"I get it, your emotional, but it's not a good look, kid, makes you look weak" The Colonel replied coolly and with patience. He knew Miles would fight tooth and nail not to enter a cryo destined for Earth, and so he expected the Tantrum to come at some point, now just hadn't been the time.

Spider did not fight the other's force as he was forced to look ahead once more, and with it his anger turned to fear. His greatest nightmare is that of him stranded on a distant planet full of the Tawtute, away from his true family.

"No. You'll have to kill me" He states with a wavering tone, yet death is not what kept him so unsettled in this flight. He heard the other snicker and give a long dramatic sigh.

"Spider.. You know you really are just like your mother" Quaritch admitted to his son. "Spittin image too"

"Stop. I don't want to hear this, not from you" Spider replied and used a hand to cover his ear closest to hearing the words. He only retrieved his hand when he was sure the other was not going to continue. They ended up staying quiet for the rest of the ride, Spider hopping down from the creatures back and looking up at Quaritch with a blank stare as he waited on the man to join him on the ships docking platform.

#avatar #kiri avatar #avatar fanfiction #avatar james cameron #avatar loak #avatar spider #avatar the way of water

4 notes · View notes

taelovesjohnny · 1 year

Text

Muted ( The Outsiders) chapter 20 Never Better, Well almost.

Millie's PoV

I talked which is great. What isn't great, is that everybody wants me to talk now, I mean, I guess i like talking, but im not comfortable yet. We were sitting in the living room, Darry, Sodapop, pony, and me. we were watching some horror movie. Darry was in his chair, Pony was laying on his stomache on the floor, and Soda and me were sitting on the couch. Soda had me in his lap, ever since i came home, he almost never let me out of his site, don't know exactly why, but he's my brother so, i dont really mind it. Every night, I would sleep in Soda's room, because he told me to or else. I would always sigh, and do what he told me.

Well anyway, we were sitting there, I was drifting off to sleep when soda decided it was the best time for talking to me.

" Hey mill?" He asks, softly

" hmm?"

" you ok?? I mean, you dont seem like yourself lately. well actually ever since you came back."

that was the truth, it wasn't really my attitude, it was my habbits. They changed. I wasn't eating like i normally did, usually I would eat like the boys, now i only ate a little bit, or not at all. And my sleep had been disturbed every night since the day i got back. Truth was that New york had scarred me something aweful. JD's and Hoods would come and jump you in the night, you couldn't sleep, and if you did you usually didn't wake up, if you know what i mean. One thing about my apperance that changed, well actually two. But I got this scar on my cheek, from getting jump my first night. I had made the stupid decision of sleeping in an alley way, they found me and jumped me, and left me with a scar to always remember them, was their words. And I got really really skinny, all the boys told me i looked unhealthy, and i probably was.

" I-I'm ok" I told him. knowing that he probably saw through my lie.

" Alright, well your sleeping on the bed tonight, with me." soda commanded.

" fine."

Just then the door burst open, and there stood Johnny.

Johnny, brusied, and bloodied.

Dammit, his parents were at it again.

" come on Johnny, I'll get you fixed up" I said to johnny in a quiet voice. I lead him to the bathroom, and told him to sit on the counter. He did as i got out the medical kit.

" This might sting a little, ok?" I asked, He nodded back to me. He had a cut on his head, and a lot of scratches on his arms, and bruises everywhere.

" ow" johnny whimpered as i put the achoahol on his cuts.

" Johnny, you know that you can always, always stay at our house whenever you want right??"

" yeah, i-i know, it's just that i dont like bothering you guys in the middle of the night."

" your not bothering anybody Johnny, gosh your so stubborn, your like Dally."

we laughed at that. We both knew that Johnny was nothing like Dallas. Johnny cared about everybody, except the socs, while as Dallas hardly cared about anything. maybe Johnny, and maybe his booze, but that's about it.

" we're going to the Dingo tomarrow night, you should come with us. All 9 of us our going!!" I say. Tomarrow was a friday, and at the Dingo friday nights they played music from the jukebox from 4 all the way to 4 the next morning. Nearly all the greasers that had a realationship went. We, the gang, went because it was a fun way to enjoy the time together, and we all made fools of ourselves and the boys always went home drunk, and usually with a short term girl friend.

" Alright, I will" He smiled at me. That night i practicually forced johnny to sleep on the couch, while sodapop practually forced me to go sleep in the bed. Jeez, that boy is strong.

I woke up late in the night, shaking and shivering.

" Your worthless, you stupid pile of shit. YOu deserve everything bad that comes your way."

That nighmare always woke me up, when i got jumped in New York. His words rang in my ears constantly, threw night and day.

" Millie, Are you ok?" Soda's drowsy voice replaced the voice of the hood.

" y-yeah" I told him

" oh, come here, and stop lying." he told me.

I felt him wrap his arms around me, hugging me. I didn't have any more nightmares that night.

2 notes · View notes

mickmundy · 1 year

Note

Hi!! Can I get 3, 14 and 38?

Thanks!!!

EEEEE OMG IM SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO ANSWER THESE MY FRIEND ;__; I HOPE THEYRE THE RIGHT ONES!! ;^; <333

3. How do they put themselves to bed each night (reading, singing, thinking, etc)?

Sniper has a pretty consistent routine (because he Thrives on routine)! Feed/play with hoots if he's not too tired to unwind, sit outside and have a beer or two (not every night; sometimes this is alternated with a smoke or just a snack of some kind)... goes into his van for the night and brushes his teeth, takes off his clothes, makes sure he has everything he needs for tomorrow (battle, errands, whatever) and crawls into bed... does some reading via a battery-powered camping lantern until he feels nice and drowsy... curls up with his childhood stuffed animal (that he'd deny having if you asked him!) and falls asleep...

Medic... doesn't put himself to bed! he's up all hours of the day and night and abides by no such schedule! when he and sniper start dating, that's the most sleep he's probably ever gotten in his life! if he doesn't pass out from exhaustion, it's likely he's still puttering around in the lab or his room, indulging in hobbies or freaky science! sniper often has to come and fish him out of his lab, but if medic wants to spend time with sniper, he'll ditch his dens of comfort in favor of sniper's... and sleep tightly with sniper curled around him!

14. What animal do they fear the most?

Sniper fears no man or beast! but he knows his way around self-defense when it comes to duking it out with animals, and is confident in his ability to keep himself safe from just about anything! of course there are definitely things he'd prefer to avoid tangling with, but all in all, he's not really afraid of anything in nature! he'd rather skinnydip with a man-o-war than have an emotionally-intimate conversation, though!

Medic also has no fear, but not because he has the hunting skills that sniper does, but because he's simply too curious and excited to be in the presence of terrifying animals to even be afraid in the first place! he's sticking his head into the open mouths of crocodiles or tossing food to bears and giggling and going hoo! oh my! look at this! and sniper has to hastily scoop him up out of the way and medic's like "hoo! ^v^ are you scared, spatzchen? (<- sniper's scared For Him, not of the beast!)" and sniper huffs and lets out a relieved sigh that medic's okay... HEHE

38. What memory do they revisit most often?

Sniper actively tries not to revisit any memories LOL. i think he definitely has fond ones but for him, fondness can quickly become bittersweet... to perhaps a bit sad... he prefers to keep himself in the present and think about what's to come!

Medic has absolutely no care for his past! he's similar to sniper in that way, but unlike sniper, he also doesn't think too far ahead either; living in the moment is what ludwig does best! he loves improvising, thinking on his feet and constantly mentally stimulating himself, so why worry about the future when the present is so much more fun?! hoo!

#dutchiehcs #asks #medsnip #HEHEHEHEEEE TYSM MY FRIEND ;___;#eclipseflint

6 notes · View notes

aria-ashryver · 1 year

Note

Chemo day 2 thoughts? 💪

im a lil bit out of it, but the tl;dr is CHEMO KICKS ASS IM SO HAPPY WE'VE STARTED ✨✨✨ WOO

Re. your question from earlier - the actual bags themselves take anything from 30mins to 90mins each once you're hooked up to the IV, but its all the stuff either side of that that makes it take so long (ie. any additional pre-medications, the saline flushes between drug treatments, taking vitals, observation periods, etc).

I only did one bag yesterday, but that appointment still took like 3 and a half hours (in large part bc I had a minor allergic reaction to the chemo drug itself and had to pause mid way through and get an infusion of steroids and antihistamines, then sit through an observation period before we could continue.)

It wasn't a major, but I still feel like im half sedated rn from the antihistamines - they basically gave me a straight jolt of the stuff that's in night time cough syrups that makes you super drowsy via IV, it was like an IMMEDIATE feeling of being sedated 😅. Got home and had a 2 hour nap, then my fiance made me dinner and i just went right back to sleep again haha

And no, the actual transfusions aren't all that uncomfortable 💗

The first day was especially fine, as two of the drugs I am getting are targeted HER2 receptor antibody treatments (i.e. they very much attack directly where they need to, so the wider effects like nausea and fatigue and stuff aren't as noticeable).

The third drug bag (the one I had on Day 2, yesterday) was the actual chemotherapy drug itself. Because its the more widespread, "lets just start a fire under this whole thing and get stuff happening" drug, yeah, that one was a little more noticeable, both while I was hooked up and after the fact, bc it hits everything, and it hits HARD (but overall, really not too bad!)

I'm still healthy at the moment, and have a decent immune system to fight back against things, so as that wears down over the next few months, yes chemo is going to get harder and i'll feel the effects more. But as of right now, all I have a little bit of muscle/joint pain, my teeth hurt for a while, weirdly, and food tastes kinda weird rn.

But, you know what?

That just means this shit is working 💪💪💪

That is SO damn exciting. What an absolute privilege to notice tangible effects already. God I wish this level of medical care was available to everyone who needed it, bc holy shit... I have never been in doubt that im going to beat this thing, but all the people I have behind me are helping me to believe that a thousand times over.

And it's only the beginning baybeeeee 💅💖

#aria pincushion tally: 40 #caesar: currently shaking in his red leather senatorial boots

5 notes · View notes

cutieselfship · 11 months

Text

thinking about my me starting to have a psychosis episode (like a bad one) and getting really anxious / scared and not wanting to be alone and so wilbur drops everything and drives over to my apartment and picks up shitty take out on the way (he gets all my comfort foods and even gets dessert because hes sweet) and he gets to the door and knocks and yells that its him, and i text him "whats the password?" and he yells something dumb and silly like GAY SEX and i open the door and fall into his arms, and im a mess and in my pjs and comfort hoodies and my hair is disheveled but he wraps me up and kisses me anyways (trying not to drop the food) and!!! hed check the whole house for me and turn on all of the lights and open the doors and lock the front and back door and the windows, and then we would go up to my room (with all the lights on still) and watch cartoons and cuddle and eat dinner--and hed hold me so tight and everytime i hallucinated something hed be so silly and reassuring about it, so understanding--he experiences the same thing afterall, he knows how it feels. and hed kiss my forehead and crack little jokes or reassure me im safe, and eventually i would manage to fall asleep curled under his arm because he got me to take my medication--and hed just cuddle me and keep the cartoons playing and let me sleep....

AAUUGHH hed be so sweet and silly and crack soft little jokes about it or if it was serious or really scary hed squeeze my shoulder and pull me into him and kiss my forehead and calmly say reassurances... hed take out his phone and hold up the camera at the corner to show me its not real... hed squeeze me tight and when i started stimming hed give me a bit of space but still hold me close... AUAGH

because hed understand--and id do the same thing for him, bussing down to his apartment with a bag so i can stay the night or a few--id pull him into his room and put his gloves on him and hold his hands and tell him everythings okay, that im here and im solid and real and im not going anywhere--and hed cling to me and be shaking but he would be so relived i was there and just be taking big deep breaths and clinging onto me... and id rub his back and kiss his neck and ask in a silly way if he wants to order takeout, and hed laugh and say we always order takeout. and id say whats the point of a sleepover if you dont get takeout!!! and hed laugh and relax a bit into me, slowly relaxing over time as we pick out and order our food and cuddle under the covers. he wouldnt want to watch cartoons like me--hed lay with his face buried in my neck, and i would pet his hair and softly sing him songs until he was drowsy and nearly passing out... and hed whine and try to pull me back into bed when i had to get the takeout, and id laugh and kiss him and promise ill be right back, sweetheart. and then wed cuddle all night and eat his favourite foods and id let him fall asleep on my chest, finally relaxed and breathing deep--and hes a light sleeper compared to me, so id put my earbuds in to watch videos on my phone so he could sleep

#selfship #fo tag: wilbur #🎸: you'll sing me to sleep (wilbur)#switching my tags to fun aesthetic ones hehe #cutie rambles

0 notes

always-a-slut-4-ghouls · 1 year

Text

Going to bite someone because I thought my sleep medicine would be here by now, thus not taking the zquill with me when I left my parent’s house. IT HAS NOT BEEN DELIVERED YET!!! All the fucking medical system being so complicated to the point where I only just got it refilled Friday BUT I HAVEN’T GOTTEN IT IN THE MAIL! Zquill was supposed to be a temporary solution for the weekend and I don’t prefer taking it to taking my prescription medication. The prescription makes me drowsy and sleepy while making a dent in my anxiety that is handled by a different medication during the day (one that doesn’t make me sleepy) and I was taking zquill as a last resort. Ugh, I hate how I always feel drowsy all day after taking it before bed. My prescription doesn’t do that, AND it shuts up the scared voices a bit and lets me keep my heart rate normal to go to sleep. I’m so fucking tired and drowsy. I need to clean but I can barely make myself move. I know therapy takes a lot of my energy but I’m so tired and I NEED to clean today and tomorrow. I have more stuff going on this weekend and I can’t miss it. Biting the medical system. Biting it biting it biting it! And I still have a nurse visit today. Maybe if I napped afterwards I could check the mail again and clean things up a bit. Im not actually sure when the mail gets delivered 🤔

#emma posts #none of my doctors are bad but all these hoops to jump through when refilling the prescriptions #ugh #the doctor that prescribed my sleep medicine wasn’t able to be reached by the pharmacy #and the prescription was expired so I need another one #so they asked my normal doctor if she could prescribe it #I don’t know what exactly happened from there but there was jumping around between two doctors one nurse and the pharmacy #I’m actually feeling bad for my pharmacy now #even though the mail never seems to be delivered on time #I should clean the dishes and the bathroom and wash some stuff #dust more #tell the apartment about the burnt out lightbulbs #why is just managing my mental and neurological issues so hard and exhausting?#some people are out there having full time jobs with these things and I don’t even work every week #I need money and insurance from the state and while I know it’s nothing to be ashamed of #it doesn’t change the fact that people have talked about people. abusing the system’#and ‘freeloading off the government and their tax dollars’#and they don’t even directly address me. yet their words dig in there #I don’t feel. ‘disabled enough’ and I have the voices of those people at the back of my head #yet I don’t think that when I’m around OTHER people who use these services #I’m like yeah. it’s fucking hard to live like this in our society #but it’s so much harder to stop thinking that about myself when I KNOW people think I’m okay enough to handle myself #logically I know I’ve only made it this far because I had assistance and I’m lucky to get what I do #but it’s still there aimed at myself because I feel like I’m somehow too functional for these services #I’ve seen what happens if I don’t get them. I crash and fall apart. but the words won’t go AWAY from my thoughts about myself #I’m way off track now. oops #after the nurse I am definitely trying a nap so I can maybe handle more of the stuff I need to do #I want disability services to be more accessible and available. I know what it’s like without them and I know people who have a harder time #than I do. and some who function a bit easier. but they all should get the help they need!!#so why can’t I think that about myself?

0 notes

florelia12 · 3 years

Note

Why do you think flora holds back her powers when fighting. Also do you think that if flora got too mad during a battle she could destroy the magic universe.

Well, the reason’s never explicitly mentioned in canon but I do have a few theories

In the earlier seasons, especially season 1, you don’t really see her hold back her powers so whatever the reason might be, I think it developed during the series

In the later seasons, they do try and show it as her lack of confidence that stops her from being very ‘aggressive

Personally, from what I remember, I think the change from her being somewhat passive in her attacks to her really pulling her punches happened in season 4

In season 1, you have her almost killing Tecna and not even understanding why everyone was mad about it. Even from the episode that she is introduced, you see her standing up for a girl she barely knows and willingly getting into a fight with a bunch of witches on the first day of school. So, Flora is not really a pacifist. In my opinion. And, she’s more than willing to throw hands if necessary.

Okay a bit off-topic but Pacifist literally means someone who thinks war and violence is unjustifiable and refuses to participate or support in a war. So, I don’t think anyone of the winx & specialists (helia to be exact) are pacifists because…then i don’t think they’d even be involved in all the trouble they find themselves in.

Anyways, in season 2, you do get Flora being anxious and doubting herself when she has to heal the flower at pixie village. Which I think is not exactly an unjustifiable thing to be anxious about. All her friends had gotten her charmix, and she was the only one left so I think anyone in her position would have doubted themselves. Also, i think her shyness came into play with that scene because she is shown to be quite friendly and open, except when she started crushing on Helia. That boy clearly made her nervous and she was able to save the flower once he supported her.

Later when they are fighing darkar and while Musa and her are holding up shields to protect the rest from his attacks, she gets shot down first. Again, i don’t think its because she’s just a weak fairy in general but because like Stella, she also relies on sunlight. The situations just aren’t in her favour most of the time but I think she still does pretty good despite them.

And, in season 3, she’s still pretty strong. She gets her enchantix, she holds back guards chasing them through Solaria and Eraklyon. There is even one scene where the girls are practicing and they fight against Bloom to see if they can figure out a way to defeat Valtor. And, Flora apologises but still doesn’t hesitate to go against her friend. So, again, she doesn’t hold back.

Now, in season 4. I know a lot people stopped watching and dont really like this season but I really did. The only part that bothered me was how there were so many new transformations that seemed unnecessary. But, other than I liked their life post-alfea. Anyways, You have Flora being sassy with Anagan and also the first episode where she stands up against the wizards. and one thing I hope doesn't come off as hate is that the voice actress for season 4...did not do justice to her character. it made her sound whiny and I really really miss how soft and breathy flora's voice used to be in the earlier seasons.

also, Im not just saying this because I wrote a fic about it, but I am pretty sure Flora was affected by earth's pollution. Like, come on. The planet sucks and we've destroyed it beyond help at this point. and I doubt the fairy of nature would actually enjoy it. Then we have that episode with Diana where she is so weak she can barely fight.

I will forever be salty that Flora did not get the spotlight in those episodes.

you have that scene where Helia encourages her to fight against Diana's vines and she fails. miserably. That is bound to have made her feel embarrassed. Helia even did that before when she had tied up Anagan. I'm sure Flora's ego must have taken a hit from all the failed attempts.

and then you have Nabu's death. I read this amazing fic, but I forgot the name but I'm sure you can find it on yet-it's account. it was basically how Flora and bloom being the healers of the group reflect on how and why they didn't help Nabu.

So taking ALL of this into context, and then the oil spill on earth in season 5 where Flora tries to help but makes it worse and the tube literally explodes and all the oil spills into the ocean. She basically indirectly caused the events of season 5.

And that's when Flora starts to get more and more doubtful of herself. Going against my own fic, the Krystal-helia-flora love triangle was not actually about flora thinking Helia liked Krystal. I think it had to do with her self-doubts.

Flora is actually powerful, she just gets bad writing and little screen time. This is the girl who punched Darcy in the face for cursing the Black Willow waterfall and blew Icy off with a bunch of petals (bad writing but kinda cool).

I think that Miele or Helia being killed off would definitely result in her committing murder. I do think all the winx have the potential to destroy the universe. Especially flora because of how nature is basically...everything. She could tear apart planets, she could make eco systems attack people, and she has a pretty big motive to take revenge to for people's actions against nature both on earth and in the magic dimension.

I would love to see Flora go berserk. I've been waiting for it my whole life and I hope it happens soon haha

#i #rambled #im sorry #its so long #i hope it makes sense #im on medication so im a bit drowsy #but yes #i wish flora got so much more characterisation

16 notes · View notes

rachaelswrites · 3 years

Text

Broken Arm

Chris Evans x Daughter!reader

Word Count: 423

Requested By: Anonymous

Hey! What about Chris evans x daughter!Reader where reader brakes her arm? Like how, and how would she is react and take care of her?

Lover ur work!<3

A/N: Thank you for being patient while I work on this! Hope you like it!

Warnings: Mentions of hospitals, medication

Of all the things your school could have called Chris about, he was not expecting it to be because you broke your arm in P.E. He didn’t get a lot of details over the phone but when he got to the school, you had no problem telling him about it.

“I’m going to kill Jace. This is all his fault,” you said, getting into the passenger seat of the car. Chris was holding the door open for you, your backpack slung over his shoulder. You insisted you were fine and could hold your own bag but your dad wasn’t going to let you lift a finger until you got a cast on your arm at least.

“I think you have more things to worry about Y/n,” he said, closing the door and going to the driver’s side, “Your arm is broken.”

“Yeah thanks to him,” you mumbled.

As Chris started the car, he looked over to you, “How did you break your arm playing dodgeball?”

You shrugged, “Well, you know how competitive I get. You have that, plus a highly competitive game and me with a dumbass best friend. Someone is bound to get hurt,” you explained, looking at him.

Chris sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hand, “I can’t believe you Y/n. I’ve never known anyone to get seriously hurt in dodgeball.”

“Now you do.”

~~~~~

Your arm was indeed broken, even though you tried to argue with the doctor that at most, it was a sprain. You got a cast and some pain meds and they sent you on your way home. Chris took the next few days off work to look after you and to make sure you wouldn’t do anything you weren’t supposed to.

The doctors had given you some pain meds and by the time you got home, they were starting to make you drowsy. Your dad had to help you walk into the house so you didn’t fall on the floor. Dodger greeted you at the door but Chris stopped him from jumping up on you.

“Not right now buddy. Our girl is broken,” Chris said, setting you down on the couch.

“M’not broken,” you said, laying back on the couch and grabbing a blanket. Dodger jumped up on the couch and curled up next to you.

“You keep her company Dodge,” Chris said, coming over to the couch. He crouched down next to you and placed a kiss to the top of your head, “I’ll check on you again in a little bit.”

Taglist

@ssebstann

@peachyprincessss

@emmy-writes-sometimes

@dudele

@prentisswrites

@laura-naruto-fan1998

@multifamdomfan12

@aquariuslavenderhoney

@jjmybeloved

@vxidsti1es

@waxingmoonwrites

@benbarnesbussy

@hallecarey1

@freds-slut

@ssa-uglywhore27

@czlypso (for some reason I can’t tag you)

@sweetpeterparker

@spiritualchange

@im-in-love-with-pizza-bites

@llpovi

@bunnyweasley23

@mrchiipchrome

@simpingbutch

Marvel

@burntoutandhigh @coffeeandbooksaddict @markhyucksmells

#x daughter!reader #x teen!reader #chris evans x daughter!reader #chris evans x teen #chris evans x daughter #chris evans x teen!reader #chris evans daughter #chris evans fic #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans #chris evans dodger

349 notes · View notes

actualbird · 3 years

Text

once in high school i was going through a Stressful Time so in my thermos, i dumped two sachets of instant coffee into water just meant for one sachet, thus making a very concentrated Potion Of Make Me Palpitate. and it did exactly that cuz i drank the whole thing in the morning before class started and by the third, i had gotten the Tremblies in my hands and also my organs. several, idk, thats rlly how it felt. at this Stressful Time, i was also (stupidly, so stupidly, dont do this) self medicating what i would later learn were symptoms of anxiety with paracetamol cuz it would make me a bit drowsy and thus calm me down. obviously, my terrible potion exacerbated the symptoms so much that i thought it would be a good idea (it wasnt) to just down 3 paracetamol all at once bc i rlly felt like my soul was in the pear wiggler thanks. i thought the paracetamol would cancel out the potion

it didnt. thus follows a terrible but very interesting school day where everything was so fast but also frozen at the same time. yknow when a thing is vibrating so fast that it looks static and still? yeah. thats a sensation that i felt for roughly 6 hours

anyway, never do this ever ever ever but also im now glad i went thru it because how it felt is seared into my mind and im SOOOOOO USING THAT FOR FANFIC WHERE LIKE, terrible poison or fucky drugs is involved

#rmr months ago when i talked about truth serum fic? revisiting that idea and im thinking of like #yknow aside from the Have To Tell The Truth bit. how does it /feel/ like?#truth serum could be a mix of pentothal (a downer. would cause the ''slowing'' bits and also causes the truth ramble) and #another drug maybe that causes the upper effect to ensure a constant and harried stream of information #i swear to god im not a murderer or a criminal. research and accuracy just means a LOT TO ME KJBGKJD #anyway //looks at nxx team. whos it gonna be?#dootdootdoot

41 notes · View notes

imtooscaredforthis · 3 years

Note

hello there :) i saw that requests are open, and i’ve had something on my mind so i thought i would ask! it’s okay if you have your plate full, dont worry about this at all its just teeny :]

what would you think about a survivor who was a ballet dancer before the entity’s realm? you can take this any way you want, though i’ll suggest a few things if you want framework (feel free to ignore them). bear with me im so bad at requests lol idk how to phrase them haha

if you want suggestions, could we maybe get headcanons for the survivor/reader with quentin, jake, frank, and/or danny? you can choose any of them if all is too many, or you can do whatever characters not listed that you want, i dont mind :D just kind of how they would interact, how the survivor does in trials, their habits, etc etc. whatever comes to mind.

thanks for just reading my request, i really appreciate it! your writing is lovely. have a great day <3

Of course! Thank you for such a sweet request <33

Ballet Dancer HCS w/Killers & Survivors

Quentin Smith

- Dancing was one of the few things you still remembered before being taken by the entity, it was a form of safety for you, something that reminded you of home.

- So every now and then, when you have a moment of peace, you go and dance

- It was during one of the brief resting periods between trials when Quentin found out

- Most of the survivors were gone, and he was growing bored and drowsy

- Not wanting to fall asleep, he decides to go take a walk

- And that’s when he finds you

- You’re just barley outside of the killer boundaries, just a step or two behind the tree line

- He’s awestruck and enchanted, watching you move in such an elegant manner, dancing to a silent melody

- He doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know what to do, just stands there for an extra moment or two, watching in amazement

- That is until he shifts slightly, accidentally stepping on a twig and making it crack loudly

- You’re quick to react, breaking from your routine, spinning around and preparing for whatever is out there, but then you see him

- “You’re uh- You’re um- a good dancer.” Is all that Quentin manages to say

- You let out a small sigh of relief, shaking your head at him, and making him promise not to tell anyone what he saw

Jake Park

- Jake is very observant, so he’s able to catch on quickly and see that there’s something different with you

- He knows all survivors have their strengths and weaknesses, Meg is fast and athletic, Claudette is kind and has her medical knowledge, Ace has his luck, etc.

- He can’t exactly tell what you have, though and it’s hard for him to figure out due to not knowing much about your background or where you’re from

- But there’s something about the way you move, how graceful and quiet, maybe you were street artist, like Nea

- He doubted it, though. There was still something else, something special, and he was dying to know

- It’s not until the entity gave you a pair of old, tattered ballet shoes that Jake pieces it all together

- It reminds him of the luxurious life he rejected and lived on without

- Jake doesn’t regret leaving it all behind, but he does find a bit of safety and reminisce in knowing this about you

- Eventually, when you’re out of trial, he will sit next to you at the campfire and ask about it

Frank Morrison

- Thanks to all those years of practicing and perfecting your ballet skills, you’ve been able to stay very agile and graceful on your feet, especially in trials

- And that annoys the shit out of Frank

- Why do you have to react so quickly? Why do you have to move so smoothly? Why can’t he trip you up like the others?

- It was really irritating, and it made him even more blood thirsty

- In a way, he thinks of it as some fucked up game you two play, and he’s very competitive

- Sometimes, if he was in a good mood and he caught you, you would hear him mumble the nickname he gave you “Twinkle Toes”

- “Nice try Twinkle Toes,” “Catch you later Twinkle Toes” is what you usually get as he puts you onto the sacrificial hook

- You’re usually the obsession when you go up against him, and he seems more fond and curious about you over most survivors

Danny Johnson

- Despite not being able to stalk the same way he used to, Danny knew everything about every single survivor. From likes to dislikes, to occupations, to their deepest darkest secrets, he knew it all, so of course, he finds out about you

- But it’s not in the way you think

- It was during a trial, in the chapel, when you thought you had some time to yourself

- So you decided to relax for a bit, and go through some of the routines you had learned, not even noticing that you had an audience

- Then you heard some slow claps, and you looked over to see an all too familiar ghost mask, and your heart sunk into your stomach

- He definitely snapped a few pictures and showed them to you, probably kept some to himself too

- Being the sadistic bastard he is, Danny would hang those photos over your head

- There would probably be a few times where he will raise his knife to your throat and tell you to dance for him

- “C’mon, babe. I could use a little show. Won’t you dance for me?”

- But despite taunting you, he’d secretly admire the pictures, and watching how eloquently you moved

218 notes · View notes

philipkindreddickhead · 4 years

Text

I often seen critiques of make up from an existential/philosophical perspective, but I rarely see criticism of cosmetics from a stand point of the very physical bodily harm it does. I think this is because the number of dangerous ingredients is so massive, and overlapping its an absolutely daunting task. So I've compiled the information I've found and bear with me its a lot. (This is from an American perspective. Sorry, thats what I know. However I would love it if people from other countries had things to add.)

First I want to get the "simple" stuff out of the way. I think almost everyone has heard about bacteria and fungi in makeup and that makeup causes acne from clogging pores. Makeup has a pretty strict shelf life, yet consumers are entirely supposed to self-police as Ive never seen a single expiration date on any cosmetic packaging. (I guess consumers are meant to pull this knowledge out of the ether or something. I only found out about it in a tumblr PSA. I did read that expirys are on products in Europe.) Beauty blenders are the worst offender because theyre almost always moist. When I was taught makeup I was told to wet my sponge so it would soak up less product. If you apply makeup daily your sponge is likely constantly damp. USA Today had an article which said that 96% of sponges had fungi and over 60% had E. Coli in them. But I think what people talk about less is the complication of problems from using other products in conjunction with dirty beauty blenders. USA Today warns its especially dangerous to use beauty blenders if you have damage to your skin like acne, cuts, or dry skin. However the most popular beauty products for washing your face contain walnut pieces for literally scrubbing your skin and creating microabrasions. If youre a frequent makeup user you probably know about the cyclical nature of applying foundation, breaking out, and then applying more foundation to cover the breakout. You may even be using scrubbing cleansers more frequently to combat the acne creating more tears. This can lead to "blood poisoning" and, though neither USA today or Forbes mentions this, blood poisoning (not a medical term btw. Its sepsis.) according to numerous medical sites has the potential to be extremely lethal. The symptoms are so similar to a regular flu its nearly impossible to self-diagnose.

The very first thing I was told when a friend handed me a jar of finishing powder- popular with many beauty gurus for the "baking" technique and considered a must have- was a joke about "clown lung." This was a reference to the main ingredient talc. Talc causes lung problems including cancer and respiratory illness. If anyone remembers the large Johnson and Johnson lawsuit from 2019 it was because theyd been putting talc into baby powder. Talc is dangerous because it's impossible to mine and seperate from ASBESTOS. Some high-end finishing powders will try to sell you on safe talc-free formulas but all the products I looked into contained mica instead which causes pneumoconiosis, colloquially known as "black lung disease." Like fucking coal miners get. Its not just present in finishing powder either. In my research it turned out that talc/asbestos are also present in many eyeshadows and other powder products. [Googleable, evidenced in J&J lawsuit]

Another industry to examine is nail salons. Toluene, Formaldehyde, Dibutyl Phthalate, and Methacrylate compounds are all dangerous ingredients and present in various salon products. These ingredients cause a range of problems from dizziness, drowsiness, birth defects, slow fetal growth, future intellectual disabilities in the fetus, eye skin and throat irritation, coughing, allergic reactions, asthma-like attacks, short-term memory loss, nausea, dermatitis, cancer, and misscarriage. Some nail products advertise that they are 3-free meaning that toluene, formaldehyde, and DP should be absent but often the labels are found to be completely inaccurate. It should be noted that the risk is mainly to salon workers and not patrons but ask yourself if it is right to place other people at serious risk for your aesthetic. OSHA does make an attempt to mitigate these risks however not once in my years of makeup queen did I see a salon following these directives which include constant air monitoring, half mask respirators with chemical cartridges, gloves, long sleeves, and safety glasses. (And Im not even going to touch issues of human trafficking/slave labour out of nail salons one case of which occured 5 days ago two hours away from me) It should also be noted that formaldehyde can also be found in hair relaxers and hair dyes. [Found articles in Scientific American and NYT]

I also found on the FDAs website that many cosmetics include heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, and lead. (Usually accompainied by a picture of lipstick so I assume that is the product most likely to contain it, however campaign for safe cosmetics lists foundation as containing heavy metals, and The Guardian has an article about skin lighteners from Asia and Africa containing mercury.) The website stated that the amount of these heavy metals in cosmetics is "safe" if used as intended. (and I'm going to come back to the concept of "intended use" later because thats a can of worms too) However, when searching for info on heavy metal safety I found this quote in regards to metals in food:

"Certain metals, such as arsenic, lead and mercury, have no established health benefit, and have been shown to lead to illness, impairment, and in high doses, death. Understanding the risk that harmful metals pose in our food supply is complicated by the fact that no single food source accounts for most people’s exposure to metals in foods. People’s exposure comes from many different foods containing these metals. Combining all of the foods we eat, even low levels of harmful metals from individual food sources, can sometimes add up to a level of concern"

So like, which is it? Is it a "safe amount" or is no amount of metal safe? I understand that in the case of certain foods like fish some amount of mercury poisoning is always expected but fish is also something you feed yourself and nourish your body with while cosmetics are completely unecessary to your survival. The mercury problem in fish is also mitigated by health warnings when mercury levels are particularly high but cosmetics have no such warning. Another warning on the site indicated that children should ingest NO amount of lead AT ALL because it is particularly harmful for kids yet theres no effort to stop children from using lead-containing cosmetics. I worked next to a Five Below where I was shocked to find they sold Jeffree Star and Anastasia eyeshadow dupes for five dollars which amounts to fucking pocket change for a lot of kids and kids do buy that stuff. I also think its ironic the FDA would have anything to say regarding cosmetics because in the very same article about heavy metals in cosmetics the FDA says that they DO NOT REGULATE cosmetics beyond the color additives.

Mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, and brow tint often contain carbon black. This is a color additive that is an incomplete combustion of carbon-based products. It can cause lung disease, cancer, and organ system toxicity, and eye, nose, throat irritation. The effects are mainly studied in rats and those at biggest risk are industrial workers but why do other workers have to endure lung problems for something so unecessary? [Easily googleable, NIH, CDC, WHO Europe]

This next bit I only want to mention briefly because I didnt find any particularly reputable sources about it, but its a claim that cropped up repeatedly and I think its an interesting one. Parabens, estrogen, phthalates (again), and pesticides in cosmetics are apparently linked to endocrine disorders and hormone dysregulation. Im not entirely sure what is meant by this accusation. Endocrine disorders include female diseases like PCOS and possibly endometriosis. None of these diseases is very well studied and the female endocrine system itself is not well studied either. Im not saying "cosmetics cause PCOS" because we dont know if PCOS or these other endocrine/hormonal disorders are genetic or environmental or both (it appears that PCOS is largely genetic and Endometriosis is likely autoimmune related) AND we dont appear to know for sure that cosmetic ingredients cause endocrine disorder. But I include anyway for a number of reasons:

If you happen to struggle with hormonal problems you may want to know cosmetics is a potential environment factor.

These conditions are incredibly painful. It will be a battle getting your doctor to even acknowledge that pain for diagnosis. PCOS is linked to diabetes, and heart disease. [Thanks @mother-of-pearl ] There is no cure and the treatments are often throwing hormonal birth control at it and hoping for the best.

I dont anticipate the link between cosmetics and endocrine disorders being studied any time soon or any endocrine disorders studied at all because the medical/scientific field is sexist. I dont want women to suffer in the mean time.

Now again, take this with a grain of salt because I couldnt find scientific or news sources for it. Dont fucking come for me. Im not gonna respond to you. [Most reputable source was a paper from the library of medicine at the national institutes of health but it was behind a paywall and I dont have 39 dollars to be right on tumblrdotcom]

Avoiding these ingredients is not as simple as scanning the label for them. As many beautubers and the community are no doubt aware considering multiple scandals over veganism. Products advertised as vegan or cruelty free but contain non-vegan carmine or are sold in China which legally requires the products to be animal tested. Cosmetic companies will hide ingredients claiming they are "trade secrets" or they will be placed under "fragrance." Many ingredients will be known by six or seven different names and asking consumers to be aware of seven different names for multiple ingredients requires consumers to be aware of innumerable different, often complicated ingredient names. I shouldnt have to point out that's a ridiculous burden to place on women. The EU banned 1,300 hazardous ingredients that the US did not. Cosmetic companies rely on women being unwilling/unable to bring in a list of 1,300 ingredients- with multiple names- every time they pop in to the drug store, sephora, or wherever. Buying "natural" products will not help you either. Theres no established criteria for natural/organic in costmetics, the FDA doesnt test these products, and "natural"=/= safe anyway. Plenty of plants and minerals are poisonous. One good example is traditional kohl products which advertise their natural status but also naturally contain lead and reiterating that natural powders contain mica. US courts are rarely on the side of consumers either. I found an interesting lawsuit against St. Ives for their apricot scrub taken to court for their "dermatologist tested" label despite it causing breakouts and cuts to the skin. The courts ruled that this label was fine because it only indicated that the product was TESTED not APPROVED by dermatologists. However I think any rational consumer would look at this label and assume the tests concluded it was safe for use or else why put the label on there?

[Googlable XMONDO drama, googlable laws wrt china and eu, already stated about FDA, FDA website about Kohl. Googled St. Ives lawsuit.]

I want to return to the idea of "intended use." This is sort of a fucky concept a lot of companies have ways of getting around. My "last straw" with makeup had to do with a run-in I had with Anastasia over their "Riviera" eyeshadow palette. In this pallette they had two colors that were the real feature of the palette, an electric neon purple and a radioactive pink I mean every photo, every promotion has these two colors swirled together around the eye. Because again, its an eyeshadow palette. When I buy the eyeshadow palette of course there's a little insert warning in the package that says these two shades are not intended on the eye area. In an eyeshadow palette. Contacting their customer service they told me that these two shades were meant to be used as a blush. neon purple blush. Not only that, but their website and instagram featured NO models wearing the shades as blush while EVERY model one or more of the shades as eyeshadow. When asked about this discrepancy ABH stopped responding. What I find egregious about this is the amount of people who dont know, and then more staggeringly; dont care. The sephora clerks didnt know, the in store abh representative didnt know, their customers didnt know, and when I told them they would respond with "oh, [brand] did the same thing with their [shade]." Sure enough, when I demanded that store clerks open the packaging to look for warnings nearly every product had an "eyeshadow" that was not intended for use on the eyes. Relegating dark, red-toned teal to "contour" and neon grean to "highlighter" US-based cosmetic junkies will say that these pigments have been approved for use by the EU however I found absolutely NO evidence of that. I googled it a thousand ways but all I ever found were blog posts, reddit comments, and one quote from an apparently nonEuropean layman in an Insider article. I even changed my location to France on ABH's website and the Norvina palette still contains the same warnings (not to harp on ABH in particular. I just know which shades in particular are the problem there). The Insider article noted that brands who were selling pressed pigments declined to comment. If the pressed pigments were EU friendly, I would think companies would be clamouring to say so. It also still makes their market as eyeshadow colors illegal in the US. (If any Europeans would like to chime in I'd love that.) Another problem I find with cosmetics companies and their reps is the claim that the worst thing that could happen is eye irritation for those with sensitive eyes and staining. How could they possibly know? The FDA doesnt test, or approve these cosmetics in the eye area, so ostensibly no one should be using it that way.

The next one is a bit of a "duh" but I'm going to talk about it anyway. Counterfeit cosmetics are a booming market full of untold dangers. Untold primarily because these products could contain literally anything. Ive read about glue, arsenic, lead, feces, staph, and horse urine to name a few. The labels and ingredient list on these products are fake. Legitimate brands often unintentionally play into the counterfeit market. They create artificial scarcity by making less of the product than is actually needed for consumer demand to create an even higher demand. If consumers miss out often their only chance at getting the product is to turn to counterfeits. I found examples of women who had their lips superglued, lips "turned to goo" and burned to blistering, throat closures, women with stys, contact dermatitis, eye infections. I think we as a society turn a blind eye to this problem because we think "hey, if youre buying counterfeits for a discount and you get hurt you deserve it." We imagine idiots buying products for 4 dollars from ebay or perusing Canal street for FEИTY beauty. But these counterfeits can be really convincing. I myself received a gift of a huda palette that I only recognized something was weird about it because I'd swatched it at sephora about five times earlier that month. The person who bought it for me actually paid MORE than the usual cost for the palette because it was advertised as a newer, better edition. The websites can be disturbingly similar. For instance Kylie Jenner's legitimate website is KylieCosmetics.com but you can find fakes at kyliecosmeticsshop.co.uk. These fakes can buy ad space and be one of the first sites that populate when you google the products instead of typing the legitimate site into the address bar. Counterfeits can also be bought and sold through third parties on websites like ebay, wish, and amazon. (My gift actually came from Amazon.)

[Netflix doc "Broken" ep "Makeup Mayhem" Corroborated by personal experience and google]

440 notes · View notes