#the scale is something my crewmates and i made up

[angsty-prompt-hole]

I wanna see more sci-fi and fantasy content focused on like wildlife biologists and stuff, like can you IMAGINE how feral those people would be

And not just normal biologists or whatever I'm talking field biologists and grad students and wildlife technicians who actively work with animals out in the wild for animal research. Habitat managers too, like what sort of insane kind of habitat management things do you have to do for magical creatures?

And, most important of all, where would people who work with magical creatures or aliens fall on the weirdness scale for wildlife professionals

[lilacargent]

As im currently dealing with the loss of a loved one, this is my way of coping.

Grief

Grief is an interstellar concept. Almost every species in the galaxy has its own traditions and practices. Humans are no exception, like with most of their emotions their grief is all encompassing. Traditions vary from one culture to another, even people deal with it in different ways.

Kilare as part of a flocking species wonders about the human crewmates when one is lost in a battle. She knew the passed human Ellie very well. Turns out they grieve like a flock, huddled together weeping, almost giving into the urge to join she turns away, expecting this to last for a long time she leaves them be. When she checks next the little unit is drinking and laughing, she can hardly believe it, carefully stepping into the room “i am sorry, may i ask something?” The humans look up some still blotchy from crying, the human she knows as liz nods “you were all weeping just now, but you seem happy? Im confused…” fluffing her feathers Kilare backpedals “not to be insensitive, im just trying to understand your process.” Evan gets up and walks to her “that is okay, you knew Ellie well right? We are talking about her and how we miss her, laughing comes with the tears.” Motioning for the taller feathered woman to join the little group Moira makes eye contact and starts explaining “i know you are from a species that grieves as a group, if i remember correctly mostly weeping and spread ashes on the wind to join in every flight” impressed by the womans knowledge she nods Moira goes on “humans have many different traditions, but every one grieves their own way and time. Mostly in five stages, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. No two people go through it the same or even through all of them. There is times we grieve as a collective, sometimes you need time and process as an individual. We are now reminiscing Ellie, but i already know im gonna have a cry later and ill never forget her.” Kamare could understand and respect that so she joined in. It soothed her soul.

It was years before she saw human grief again so up close.

When the Ri’ktil attacked they committed what humans called warcrimes without batting any of their eighteen eyes. The horror of the people quickly turned to fear. It was when they blew up a human colony Kimare saw the unified grief. Human governments trying to bargain with the Ri’ktil, families travelling to the floating remnants of the colony trying to find survivors, denying that what had happened killed everyone man, woman and child. A month passed and humanity had grown silent and passive, the Ri’ktal took this as victory and broad cast it to the rest of the species in the galactic counsel. A warning that they would stop at nothing and break them like they broke the humans. Kimare remembered her conversation all those years ago and realised that anger was still coming, she could almost seeing it brewing under the surface.

A month was what it took. A month for humans to start walking upright again. Not only humans on their planets but everyone, on every world and every ship seemed to have shared in the depression. So when the fog cleared the whispering began, then came the talking, when it turned to yelling the Ri’ktil took notice. It was too late for them though. Because humanity started screaming, unified rage became a spearhead of humans all over the galaxy, noone even considered not helping. The tsunami of humans that could not wait to tear their enemy apart surprised them, no matter their way too many eyes, this they did not see coming.

The counsel joined the humans in their fight, and quick as the Ri’ktil had invaded were they beat back aswell. The defeat of their enemies did not dismiss their grief. But instead of on a specie scale individuals began their own process. Four years later Kimare noticed a change, they had made a monument out of the destroyed colony, it seemed to signify an end point. Humans went there to process and make peace, they had accepted what had happened moved past it. But never forgotten.

Humans didn’t forget when they grieved, they remember and accept.

~~~~~~

Tadah

[marlynnofmany]

Digital Billboards and Bumper Stickers

I handed another can of food to Eggskin, thinking idle thoughts about skin and scale color. Neither of us were what I considered kindergarten-crayon colors, though I was somewhere in the white-brown-pink area while they were a yellow-green-white. Someday I’d ask them if they knew their scales were the color of human boogers (no I wouldn’t).

Really I was thinking about that to avoid reading the labels of the food, since most of them had my alien crewmates in mind, and looked profoundly unappealing to me. This stack was mostly bug paste. Some cans were shelled, and some unshelled. Flavored with the highest quality algae. Bluh.

“That’s the last of these,” I said happily, handing it over.

Eggskin placed it on the shelf and looked thoughtfully down at the counter still strewn with shelf-stable food. “Let’s do the seed paste next. Leave the herb stalks out; I’ll want to use them sooner than the rest.”

Following their pointing claw, I located the jars of peanut-butter-adjacent food, and the narrow boxes that I’d thought were spaghetti. “Got it.” I shoved the boxes aside and started passing the jars to Eggskin for placement. Reorganizing the shelves was a lot of work. I could see why they’d asked for assistance. At the very least, it would have gotten boring after a while.

Eggskin asked, “So what was the captain grumbling about just now?”

I thought back to when Eggskin had recruited my help from outside the cockpit. I’d only been there to bring Wio the water bottle she’d left in the lounge, but it had been long enough to pick up the gist of the conversation. “All the ships in this area have extra information on their ID’s, and they keep popping up as images overlaying the map, making it hard to see where everything is.”

Eggskin turned with the speed of a striking snake. “What area? Where are we going? I knew I should have checked the schedule.”

“I didn’t catch the name,” I said, but Eggskin was already racing for the door.

“Put away the jars, please; I’ll get the rest later!”

I paused for a moment, then hurried to put all the seed paste jars next to the cans of bug paste, labels forward and in neat rows. Then I ran after Eggskin.

When I arrived at the cockpit, I found our ship’s cook/medic with a hand on Wio’s chair, pointing something out to the captain.

Captain Sunlight sat in the copilot’s seat, frowning at the screen. Many colors reflected off her bright yellow scales, glowing from the mishmash of light that was normally a dark starfield. “If we make that much of a detour, we won’t be able to make the delivery on time. We’ll just have to go dark on communications until we get there.”

Eggskin made a concerned noise as Wio tapped several buttons with her tentacles. The room was suddenly darker as all the company logos and custom images blinked out of sight. The screen now held the usual blackness of space, speckled with stars — one close enough to be called a sun — and a variety of ships mostly heading to or from a distant space station shaped like a tube. There were also far more asteroids hanging around than I was entirely comfortable with.

But before I could ask about that, the music started.

I think it was music. “What is that?” I asked at the jumble of sound. It sounded like several radio stations at once, some playing recognizable instruments, some talking, and others making what sounded like rude noises.

In a tone of defeat, Eggskin said, “The ads and taunts can detect visual sensors. Some ships target outsiders in exactly our position: no time or money to buy a blocker.”

Wio made a rude sound of her own and turned the volume down.

Captain Sunlight was still frowning. “I don’t want to speak ill of anyone else’s way of life, but this is terrible.”

Eggskin gripped both chairs, eyes trained on the screen. “It’s one of many reasons why I left. You’ll want to keep that big ship between us and the station for as long as you can.” They pointed briefly. “Or else we’ll have a Core on our tail wanting to fine us for flying blind.”

“Terrible,” the captain repeated. But she instructed Wio to do as they said, while aiming for one specific asteroid that hadn’t come onscreen yet.

This seemed like a good time to ask. “Why are there so many asteroids this close to the station?”

Captain Sunlight flicked a glance at me, possibly only now noticing I was there in the doorway.

Eggskin answered without turning. “It was meant to be a tourist attraction, but the company got bought out and the project abandoned. Now half of the gravity engines are failing, and reputable businesses are leaving the area.”

Wio said, “It still looks awfully busy.”

“That would be the disreputable sorts. If you see a triangle where the stars disappear for a moment, fly at max speed in the other direction, never mind the delivery time.”

Captain Sunlight turned her frown on Eggskin. “It’s that extreme of a danger?”

The hands on both chairs tightened. “Yes.”

I studied the screen for any sign of disappearing stars. Black ships in the blackness of space were uncommon back in familiar territory, for the simple reason that they risked having someone crash into them and atomize both ships. But it sounded like someone here considered that a risk worth taking so they could sneak up on others. I didn’t ask what they did when they succeeded.

We spent a tense few minutes flying in silence, with no sign of invisible ships and only a few pop-ups. Apparently even flying blind couldn’t block all of them out. At least these were mostly informational things on the asteroids themselves, defunct notifications about events and attractions that had never been finalized.

One ship that looked cobbled together from spare parts had a blank panel above the thrusters that drew my eyes with how bright white it was. Eggskin stared at it intently. “This could be nothing,” they said, “But it could be important. Use a tight-beam scan for that panel.”

Wio did. As if the ship was just waiting for someone to look, it accelerated away and produced an image that glowed on our screen after it was long gone. The stylized pair of shapes were vaguely familiar.

While Eggskin made a disappointed grumble, I asked, “What is that? I’ve seen that symbol on the back of a racing ship.”

“I believe,” said Captain Sunlight, “It is an insult. A view of the bottoms of the pilot’s feet as they swim or fly away from you.”

“Oh,” I said. “Huh. I guess it’s like mooning someone. Or an ‘Eat my dust’ bumper sticker.”

Before anyone could ask what human nonsense I was talking about, Wio spotted the meeting location. “This one, right?” she asked the captain. “The mid-sized flat one?”

Captain Sunlight consulted a smaller screen. “That is where they said to meet. But they also said they would be here before us, ready to rush off as soon as they got our delivery.”

Wio and Captain Sunlight inspected the surrounding area for other ships, which all seemed to have left. I kept watching the stars, sparing a glance for Eggskin, who looked more intense than ever.

“Scan the landing area,” they said suddenly.

The message that popped up this time was a simple text one, in a language I didn’t recognize.

But Eggskin did. “Thought so. Send a tight-beam message back to open the drop box. This message.” They rattled off a string of numbers that Wio dutifully copied down and sent. I saw the captain also copy it onto her notepad with an expression that suggested she had some questions for Eggskin later.

Lo and behold, the flat part of the asteroid rolled back into an empty space that could have fit a ship larger than ours. The light of the distant sun showed it to be empty.

Captain Sunlight sat back, exasperated. “Where did they go?”

Wio said, “There’s a ship over there. Is that them?” She turned our view to show a speedy little junker careening between the asteroids toward us.

“I don’t think so,” the captain said. “Unless they had to use a different ship.”

A patch of stars behind it winked out. I pointed. “Invisible ship!”

Before Wio could hit the thrusters, Eggskin commanded, “Get in the drop box!”

Wio threw a glance at Captain Sunlight, who nodded. Wio sent our little courier ship diving into the secret hidey-hole, folding the solar sails and transmitting the other message Eggskin gave her to close the hatch.

It was very dark inside that drop box. I thought briefly about the rest of the crew, who had no idea how much danger they were in. I didn’t even know how much danger we were in. But I suspected it was a lot.

Eggskin said, “We should be safe after a few minutes. Given their trajectory, they were chasing that other ship. Even if they saw us, they’ll be busy.”

Wio asked, “These aren’t the people who will fine us, are they?”

“No,” Eggskin said firmly. “The Core will fine you, because they’re what passes for a police force out here. Spherical ships, like a planet’s core. That,” they said, pointing emphatically, “Was a Lancer. They will dismantle your ship, sell it for scrap, and sell you to a work camp. No, the Core won’t stop them. Yes, it’s terrible.”

The captain nodded. “One of the many reasons why you left.”

“Yes.”

“Well, we very much appreciate your expertise today!”

“I’m just glad I realized where we are,” Eggskin said. “I’ll make a point of checking the schedule more regularly.”

“And I will make a point of not accepting deliveries for this part of space, no matter how much they pay,” the captain said wryly.

We sat there a little while longer, until Eggskin said it was safe to open the hatch. All the stars were in place as we ventured out. Nothing moved, not even any drifting bits of dismantled ship. Good news.

But also bad news, since we still didn’t know where our client was.

“I will be extremely disappointed if all this risk was for nothing,” Captain Sunlight said. “Eggskin, are there likely to be other drop boxes nearby that they could have hidden in?”

Eggskin let out a breath. “If there are, I won’t know the codes for them.”

The captain made another note to herself, and told Wio to search the area for other likely asteroids. I did my part by continuing to watch the stars, just in case.

Wio said, “Most of these have a flat enough area to land on.”

Eggskin put in, “By design.”

“Should I turn the communications back on, to look for markers?” Wio asked. “There are no other ships over here to jam our screen.”

Eggskin muttered, “Optimistic.”

Captain Sunlight said, “Do it.”

The drifting space rocks were suddenly festooned with logos. It wasn’t as bad as before, but it wasn’t great. They were all old and glitchy.

Wio turned the volume up slightly, just enough to hear that any audio messages had dissolved into static. “If anybody spots something promising, sing out.”

We all watched the screen as Wio slowly toured the area. A couple of asteroids had newer pop-ups, but these were clearly graffiti: messages about how somebody was the envy of this half of the galaxy, or how whoever was reading the message should go stick their tail in a thruster.

“What species made most of this?” Wio asked.

“The original owners were Frillians,” said Eggskin. “Though that graffiti clearly wasn’t.”

“And what species is our client?” Wio asked the captain. “Or is it a mixed ship?”

Captain Sunlight glanced down at her notes, then up at me. “Human.”

Oh. No pressure. “I haven’t seen anything yet that looks particularly human-ish,” I said. “But I’ll look.” I gave up on the stars for now, and stared at the asteroids. “Are those two just extra flat, or do they have panels like that one ship did?”

Wio dutifully moved closer and scanned the two that I pointed out. One was a political slogan about something Waterwill-related from several years ago.

The other one was music. The volume was still quiet, but I recognized it. As Wio turned up the sound of synthetic drumbeats, I grinned at the old Earth anthem.

This asteroid was equipped with a rickroll.

“That’s a human thing,” I said. “Check that one.”

Wio took us closer, then she sent a short-range communication ping, the equivalent of knocking on the door.

And lo and behold, something pinged back and the door opened. A ship floated out that was sleek and aerodynamic, and painted in a camouflage pattern that did absolutely nothing to disguise it against the rock. I burst out laughing as Captain Sunlight hailed them to confirm that they were indeed the people we’d come to meet. I tried to laugh quietly.

With the drop box closed again, there was space for both small ships to land side by side. Theirs even had an extendable airlock that matched up with ours, saving everyone the inconvenience of getting into exo suits and doing the handoff in whatever atmosphere still clung in the artificial gravity.

I got to do the honors, with Captain Sunlight at hand close behind. I suspect she would have preferred to do it herself, but her little lizardy arms weren’t up to carrying a box this size, and there wasn’t space in the airlock for a hover sled. Simpler to just let the tall human do it.

The airlock opened to show a guy who looked malnourished, stressed, and very relieved to see me. “So glad you found us,” he said in an unfamiliar accent, grabbing the payment tablet before I could offer it. “It’s just one thing after another these days.”

“I bet,” I said. “Have you considered leaving? I have it on good authority that life is terrible around here.”

He handed the tablet back. “Thought about it. Dunno what we’d do for a living.”

I gave him the box, which according to the manifest included fresh chicken eggs, kosher salt, and a selection of media from Earth. “Have you considered a career as a courier?”

He smiled. “I’ll mention it to the crew.”

As he stepped back onto his own ship, I called, “Feel free to follow us out! We probably won’t get caught by anybody horrible on the way!”

I heard a chuckle as the door closed.

Once the airlocks were sorted away and everybody was back in position, Wio took us up from the asteroid, and back toward civilized space. I watched from the doorway while Eggskin kept an eye out for dangers. We made it out of the asteroid zone safely.

And so did the other ship, following close behind us.

~~~

Thanks to everybody who joined in the discussion of spaceship bumper stickers and related things, particularly @lillyjen and @voodootortoise!

These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.

Shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.

The sequel novel is in progress (and will include characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).

[the-real-treasure]

Treasure Treasure!

An OPLA Sanji x Reader

Master List Here

Previous Chapter: Treasure Troves in Orange Groves

Chapter Ten: Poisson d'Arlong

Summary: The Strawhat Crew fight to protect their navigator and to avenge her dream against a scaled tyrant. After that evil is defeated, another emerges to teach them the true dangers of what they've set out to do.

Trigger Warnings: Tattoos, needles, childhood trauma, overstimulation, blood, sort of cannabilism? Reader imagines torturing and eating Arlong so take that as you will, fire, violence, threats and descriptions of violence, murder, Reader's Devil Fruit power is overwhelming and overstimulating, being dowsed in sea water is akin to being drugged Word Count: 9,330 **Edited: 20/09/24**

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The way Nami describes getting her tattoo makes your skin crawl and you curl your hands with the desire to peel the flesh away from your bones to ease the discomfort. She was only little, the baby-faced tangerine head you saw from her memories, bound up in that dark dank room day after day to draw maps for a man who held nothing but vitriol in his heart for any human in the world. You don’t remember gaining your tattoos, their origins now even shakier in your mind then they had been growing up with the involvement of Roku.

Nami talked quietly, very unlike the snarky snappishness you were used to from your only female crewmate and the affect Arlong had on her when he wasn’t even present made your stomach roll and the energy in your chest quiver and roil as the rage built in you. You want to descale and broil him in butter, cream some potatoes and serve him on a bed of steam veggies. Or ask Sanji to do it so you don’t burn everything to a crispy husk. She was still wearing Luffy’s hat as you all made it to the remnants of the village, her shoulder wrapped to protect the torn skin of where she had driven the blade into it.

The buildings were wholly gutted by the flames the fishman pirates had set, shells of the foundations and support beams left empty and barren. The ground was black with ash and soot and the air stank of wet cinders from the villagers’ desperate attempts to douse the flames. Despite their best effort, the village was still reduced to nothing but ashen ruins.

“Arlong did this?” Sanji is staring around aghast as the rest of you at the destruction. “Why?” Nami’s throat bobs as she looks around her.

“To punish the villagers. And to punish me.” You run your knuckles gently up and down the length of her injured arm. You don’t know if it does anything, but you hope the small comfort offers her some relief as the villagers, led by Nojiko and Genzo, come to meet you all. “What’s going on?” Her hand grabs a hold of your wrists and squeezes it tightly, nails digging in more desperately than they did in Buggy’s big top.

“Nojiko told us about your sacrifice. We didn’t know. Can you ever forgive us?” Her hand grips tighter.

“There’s nothing to forgive. Coco Village is my home.”

“Then it’s our turn to sacrifice. We’re done living in fear. We’re gonna march on Arlong Park. If those fishmen want a fight-” Nami interrupts, voice desperate.

“That’s not a fight, that’s a massacre. You will all be killed.”

“And I’m sure that’s exactly what Arlong wants.” Your voice is a low mutter, but Nami gestures at you in agreement.

“If there’s no hope for us to buy our freedom, then I say we die trying to fight for it!” The villagers cheer and raise their weapons as Nami watches them all hopelessly.

“No, everyone please! No, I-I won’t let you do that.” The cheering cuts of abruptly as they all look at her, “This is my fight.”

“No.” Luffy’s voice is sharp and serious from beside Nami. “This is our fight. Right guys?”

“Finally I get to cut something.” Zoro’s voice is monotone as always while Usopp worries beside him.

“But how are we gonna beat Arlong? We saw what he did at Baratie.”

“Grilling would probably work. Or boiling.” You answer simply and Sanji looks down at you with a confused smile, “What? It’s, like, the easiest way to prepare fish?”

“Every creature has a weakness.” Zoro sort of agrees with you, “Maybe Nakayoshi has a point.”

“You can just call me Y/n.”

“No. It’s a matter of principal now.” Usopp cuts through your glare.

“Even bulletproof ones?”

“I’ll know it when I see it.” Luffy’s voice has lost the harshness, but he is no less confident as he speaks, “And when I do… I won’t hesitate.”

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The fishmen are busy carting about crates and boxes before the explosions go off. Large puffs of thick white smoke begin to pour through the air of Arlong Park. Luffy kicks open the barred gate with no issue, leading the other six of you in to the fray as the smoke begins to clear.

“Fishmen!” One you remember from Baratie yells out to the rest of the park, “Stand by to repel boarders!”

You all ready yourselves for the fight. Luffy cracks his knuckles as Zoro unsheathes the Wado Ichimonji, Sanji pulls back one leg and Usopp draws his slingshot. You drop your chains from their homes in your arms, the weight clunking at your feet.

“Where’s Arlong?”

“He’s probably in the map room.” Nami is the only one not to pull a weapon and Luffy looks back at her.

“Then that’s where we’re going.” They take off for the map room and Usopp darts for the rocks to your left for a higher vantage point, leaving you in between Sanji and Zoro in front of the wooden gates as the fishmen charge.

Sanji and Zoro leap into action, swinging and kicking at the fishmen as they advance. You wind back, long lengths of chain clinking against each other as you crack them across scaley backs, heads and shoulders, leaving stinging red burns on their skin.

You crack your chain whips through the rock bridge Luffy and Nami had crossed, barely missing Zoro as he ducks away continuing to fight, and the collision knocks substantial chunks from the yellow stone, leaving them to tumble messily into the water.

Your chains wind around the legs of one fishman as he leaps across to the stone platform Zoro is standing on. You land on his shoulders and dig your nails in, tearing out chunks of scaley skin and fishy flesh as he screams and topples. You hop off at the very last moment, the saltiness in the air enough of a warning for you to avoid the water, and you land beside the boys again as the liquid turns a murky red, your hands now dripping in blood. Zoro is already turning on Sanji, who had apparently stolen a kill from him.

“I had that one.”

“If you had him, I wouldn’t have got him.”

“Boys, you’re both very pretty, can we stay focused on the matter at hand please?” Sanji smirks cheekily at you.

“Oh you think I’m pretty.”

“They only said that to save you dignity, don’t get a big head.” Zoro snarks and then points the tip of his katana to your nose, “You, don’t give him a big head.”

“Stop calling me Nakayoshi.”

“No.”

“Then no. Sanji you look beautiful in this lighting!”

The blonde man cackles as more fishmen begin to spill out from deeper in the park, roaring and yelling as they come. Several dive into the water around you, and each of the three of you take off in a different direction, Sanji to your left, Zoro to your right and you move back across the inlaid boulders towards the main gates.

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You can hear the boys across the pond bantering as two fishmen leap out of the water at you, darting in and out so much you have to spin to keep up. They bob in and out, swiping and clawing at your skin, the salt water seeping into the wounds making you groggy and filling your head with sawdust and cotton.

“You look tired!” Sanji spins and knocks two fishmen down with his outstretched leg, and you have to refocus your brain as he flips his hair dramatically. “Maybe you should take a break.” Zoro stands from his kneeling position and easily incapacitates a fishman sneaking behind. One of your two manages to land a full faceful of salt water right at you, leaving you dripping and even more dazed than before.

“Maybe you oughta get back in the kitchen.”

“Quit screwing around! Luffy needs us!” Sanji and Zoro slice down the fishmen around them as the two you were fighting duck back below the water, your form swaying and off-balance.

“You just got here, you don’t know what Luffy needs.”

“I know he needs my cooking.”

“You mean putting two slices of bread together?” A cackle resounds from the bag as they both turn to glare at it.

“Uh-oh someone’s feeling threatened!”

“Shut up!” The roar is instantaneous from both of them, hatred for the clown swelling.

“Then get me back to my body! We’re close. I can feel my toes! Trust me. I can help you guys win this thing!”

Their attention diverts, though, as you scream angrily, both fishmen once again popping up and away again, now even further into the small lagoon pool. With a roar, you swing both your chains up and over your head, before slamming down full force across the surface of the water. The force sends waves lapping to the tiles sides, but neither chain sinks.

Instead, the water around them begins to bubble and froth ferociously, your own anger overheating as the fishmen still in the pool watch the surface as it foams and rages. With a roar you, lift them again, slamming the chains into the water again and again, steam beginning to rise from it and fishmen begin to pinken and let out gurgling screams as the surface, in a moment of sheer lack of ability, ignites in a roaring azure inferno, sending several of the fishmen who weren’t as deep, shooting out of the scalding water, sides dripping with molten liquid as their skin bubbles and peels with blisters.

Both men from your crew back away from the inferno, and watch, slightly terrified as your figure emerges from the flames, eyes boiling and chains ablaze, the metal white-hot. Heat washes over them from the fire as it splutters boiling hot water across the tile around them.

The bag around Sanji’s neck continues to shake and plea to be reunited with his body and you join the other two in glaring at it.

“I swear, clown, if you screw us over…”

“We have a currently on-fire pool of saltwater I don’t think any of us will mind using to give you a dip.” As Sanji upends the bag on to the ground at his feet, Buggy’s head spends no time in zipping right back to himself and making himself whole again in the shooting gallery.

“Yes!” He unattaches his hands and hops down from the prize board giddily. “YES! Oh, it’s so much better than I even remembered.” As he spots the three of you glaring at him, he stops clutching at himself and, after a moment of staring in shock at the burning pool, instead chooses to shoot you all the double bird. “Hey, so um, I’m gonna get outta here.”

“Into the pool, I think.”

“Hey!” Your suggestion was ignored as Zoro barks after him.

“Sorry kiddos! I’d love to make things right, but it’s time to exit stage left.” AS he prances up the stairs away from you all you call out behind him.

“JUST BECAUSE THAT WAS FUNNY DOESN’T MEAN WE’RE NOT RIGHTFULLY PISSED!” You screamed after his retreating figure who shoots you a thumbs up at the compliment. “NEXT TIME I SEE YOU, I WILL KILL YOU! THAT’S A PROMISE!”

“Fucking clown.” Zoro swears behind you.

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“How dare you strike down my brothers?” You all peer through the flame as another two fishmen you recognise from Baratie storm in through the wide open gates. “You won’t be so lucky against the might of my fishman karate." The bluer one raises his hand, curling it into a fist as he levels it at the three of you.

"And my fishman judo." The orange and brown one spoke as well, long barbed tail whipping behind him as he dropped into a half squat. Sanji snarls at them, and with a yell they leap into the still flaming pool, scalding hot water pinkening their skin as they torpedo towards you three, and as the blue one leaps from the scalding water, its spouts out with him, showering you all in boiling water as he lunges at Sanji, who he lands on with a wet slam, sending them back several feet, the scalding water already cooling.

The brown-orange one lands upright by you, and you can make out fully now he resembles some kind of ray or skate, face flat and mouth snarling at you. With a yell, you swing your chains at his head. He catches them, and using your momentum and a raised leg, sends you plummeting face first in the still salty wet tiles around you. The other one straddles the blonde man in a choke, Zoro attacks his back, though he easily catches the katana and pushes him away, sending Zoro careening backwards.

You right yourself and dodge around Zoro and the fishman as they trade blows, scampering over to Sanji, who is still laid out prone on the ground. Helping him off the ground, you turn as Zoro is kicked away from the fight and whip your chains out to strike the advancing ray fishman. He catches them on his forearm and the wind around and around it, leaving raised, scorching burns on his already pinkish skin, leaving blisters all in their wake. He roars at you, tugging on the chains to send you flying across the burning pool and into the rock formations past it. Sanji jumps into the fight after shouting your name, kicking and spinning to try and knock the brute off his feet, as his eyes searched the thick steam to catch sight of you, just barely doing so before being sent flying himself.

All three of you grunt as you try to stand, Zoro and Sanji much closer to your joint opponent as you had been thrown on a harsher curve, leaving your chains to trail in the water.

"You're no match for me. My kicks can break a ship's keel." You scoff at the fishman as you hear Sanji reply as he attempts to stand.

"That's nothing." His voice is incredibly strained. "You should have seen Zeff's kicks when he found an eggshell in the crème brûlée."

"Or when I got the wrong wine delivered that shithead in Shells Town when he first let me do the stock orders by myself." Zoro groaned at the pair of you.

"I get it. Zeff was mean to you. Boo-hoo." With a grunt, the blue fishman runs at the now standing Sanji, kicking him square in the chest and sending him flipping head over heels on to the ground again. 

Zoro is sent spinning into the wall beside you two, you propped up against it as the salt water steam clatters about in your lungs, making you woozy once again. The fishmen stand side-by-side, glaring down at you all.

"Nami is a fool to have her faith in such weak compatriots." Your mind feels like its floating in soup but a grimace still curls on your lips as you stand straight.

"Don't you ever," you snarl, "bad mouth my friends." Sanji joins you, shucking off his jacket and standing beside you.

"And don't think I'm gonna let you get away with hurting my fut-" the words catch in his throat and he awkwardly reshapes them as they fall from his mouth "-favourite person." Zoro stares at him dolefully at the pathetic save, but you hardly notice the mocking glare he throws the blonde as you square up to the fishmen before you.

"Now you've done it." You both leap forward, striking your respective fishmen.

"Côtelette!" Sanji yells as he kicks the blue fishman's side harshly, and you match him with a schring-ing swipe of your chains and a shout of "Cófra!" The shouts and hits continue to match in tandem with each other, the pair of you moving in sync as you had for years.

"Collier!" A strike to the collar bone as you hit with a spinning whack across the stomach "Boilg!"

"Épaule!" A spinning kick from the ground connects with his shoulder as you scream out "Cosa!" and sweep the legs and tail from underneath your foe.

"Poitrine!" Pushing himself up and into the fishman, Sanji sends him back with a full kick to the chest as you roll out your chains and lash your chains across his face and neck "Ceann !"

Both fishman get pushed back with a snarl, but you weren't about to let them start the fight again after getting their breaths back. Looking to Sanji, he gives you a nod and you both launch forward in your finishing moves.

"Mouton Shot!"

"Slabhra Stór!"

With a well placed kick, Sanji launches the fishman back over the bar counter, knocking him into and through the wood. You join him, slamming your chains down in an X shape onto the other, sending him flying through the now cascading debris. Zoro comes up behind you as you both right yourselves, and you find yourself still wobbly from the sea water steam still lingering in the air around you.

"Mouton Shot? Slabhra Stór?"

"I told you before," You reply drearily, and Sanji finishes for you, hand resting on your back and pulling your lolling head to his shoulder.

"All great fighters call out their finishing moves."

"Yeah, you're gonna fit in just fine." A manic screaming echoes through the front gates as Usopp rounds them, slingshot armed and at the ready.

"NEVER FEAR, THE GREAT CAPtain Usopp is..." he looks around at the dozens of fishmen bodies scattered across the ground by your trio, completely missing the fire pool still burning away. "...is... Oh. You guys did pretty good in here. Good job guys."

"Thanks Usopp." You shoot him a drowsy thumbs up and he points to you.

"What's with them?"

"Must be the salt water." Sanji replies, still holding you close to him as he fans the air around you to rid it of excess steam. Zoro and Usopp exchange smirks at the position, "It's sort of like getting drunk, except you just go weak and sleepy everytime." 

You blink back to full consciousness as the tinkling sounds echo out from the tall main building behind the park. Sanji lets you stand yourself as he spreads his arms out happily at the sight of the running red head approaching. You barely catch his cheer of "NAMI!" as she barrels past him, looping you, Usopp and Zoro into a tight hug.

"You're all okay!" You snigger slightly as Sanji's face sours and his arms drop back to his sides. "What happened, why-" she stops and registers the mass of flames surrounding you all. Usopp finally registers it too and peers at you confused.

“Why is the water on fire?” the pair are now staring worriedly at the flickering flames, the water level having diminished with the rising steam, but the flames no less brilliant. You don't look behind you, so you don't see as Sanji pulls his hand across his neck to signal for them to stop asking.

“Look, we all know I can’t cook, but that doesn’t mean I can’t boil a few fish when needed.” You chirp smugly. You look back just as he stops, smiling innocently down at you. Nami and Usopp give you shaky smiles when you turn back to them with a large proud smile. "We have already established, I possess an extreme lack of skill in the kitchen, so I will graciously allow Sanji to continue in the role of head chef of the Straw Hats." You wave graciously to the blonde as he swipes at you with his foot, catching the back of your ankle and nearly knocking you off balance. "Hey!"

"Where's Luffy?" You all look to the slowly crumbling building.

"Still inside, fighting Arlong."

"He's gonna be alright." As Usopp opens his mouth, the entire building begins to shudder and groan, the bells on each corner ringing with each wobble. "Right?"

You all watch with horror as the building begins to implode and collapse, dust sweeping over you as rubble crumbles down the sides. Nami lets out a terrified scream of "LUFFY!" as each level collapses down on to the one below, the building completely destroyed in seconds.

There are several moments of silence as the dust settles and debris falls further, scattering across the ground as it falls down the uneven ledges left from the collapse.

Your crew holds their breath as one for a moment.

And then two.

In the third, a rumble shakes the main mound of dirt and dust, and Luffy's fist shoots from the rubble, pushing pieces clear before the boy leaps out, hair, clothes and skin beige with plaster dust but looking unharmed.

"NAMI!" He yells down to your frame stills and tears burn your eyes, "You are our friend!" Again, you push your knuckles into the skin of her arm and there's no hesitation as she snatches hold of it, clinging for dear life. "We are your crew!" You all begin to laugh around her as she stares up at your captain in a daze.

You wiggle your joined hands and she looks at your beaming face, tears rolling down hers. Her smile matches yours.

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You stand by Sanji behind the large serving bowl, handing him fresh clean bowls as people come up for their meals. You smile as children run past with sparklers, giggling clear through the chatter of the festival atmosphere. "Bon appétit." You both smiled as the young lady as she walked away with her portion, next bowl at the ready as you scooped in some of the waiting diced and sliced fruits and vegetables in front of you. You snigger as you go to tap the large pan, only for Sanji to swat your hand away. "Oi, I'm not looking to serve burnt food to these people," He ignored your grumbling as Nojiko returns to the line again. "Oh hey!" You grin at her as she stands looking at your chef sassily.

"I'm gonna need this recipes too." Sanji chuckles as he scoops more into the bowl for her, "You should really write a cookbook, you know?"

"Weeeell, you know, a true artist never reveals his secrets."

"Especially when he's the best cook in the entire world." You praise easily, poking through the veggies to top her dish, as Nojiko smirks at the red crawling up Sanji's neck and cheeks.

"Kitchen running too hot for you chef?" You look up at her a moment, before spinning on Sanji, eyeing his red face and leaning up to investigate as he leans away.

"You better not be getting sick-"

"-I'm fine, you cheeky, get off, I have people to serve-"

"-we don't have a doctor yet Sanji, you can't be sick!" Nojiko and then next woman you serve, still fussing at Sanji, giggle to each other at your well meaning care that is only flustering the chef more as Zoro approaches again.

"Oooh! Back for seconds, must have liked it!"

"Yeah, it was okay," he replies with a shrug.

"That plate says different."

"Yeah, d'ya lick it clean Roronoa?" His eyes turn to you as you smirk up at him.

"What."

"If you're only gonna call me Nakayoshi then I'm only gonna call you Roronoa." You nod with a finality that makes Sanji chuckle as he ladles more into Zoro's dish, the deadpan man staring down at you.

"Fine. I won't call you Nakayoshi-"

"-thank you!"

"Log Pose." You still completely, hands frozen as they reach for the tongs in the veggie bowl. A 'snrrk' leaves Sanji before he can stop it and you whirl on him with fury in your eyes.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't laugh! I don't wanna be called Log Pose! I already had to deal with Magic Compass from the clown! Zoro no come on!" He ignores you, snatching the plate from Sanji's hand as he tries to hide a grin.

"Hm, good portion. It's the least you can do, considering I saved your ass from those fishmen."

"What? I saved your arse." You roll your eyes as your own complaints over the nickname are quickly forgotten in place of bitching at each other again. It's not banter anymore, you decide, it's catty bitching.

"You didn't even get your hands dirty."

"At least I don't need three swords to prove I'm a man." Zoro doesn't react or respond, instead turning and walking off as Sanji smirks at his 'win'.

You mutter to yourself as he walks away and Sanji chuckles gently at you.

"Cannot believe him." You mumble, scooping out the last of the veggies available into the last few bowls and hand them up to Sanji. "Calling me Log Pose. Of all the things." He scraps the last out of his own large pan, the ever present rule of not wasting food running through your action as you perform them mindlessly. "Why couldn't he just use my name, like I asked? Stupid annoying, mossball of a man." Trays in front of you clear and stacked for washing, you turn to Sanji only to find him already looking at you. His gaze is painfully soft, a familiar warmth you just want to melt into as his blue eyes capture your swirling aqua and gold. His hand rests on your shoulder, warmth spreading through your body like he was made of molten chocolate. "What's up, hm?" He blinks, slow and lazy, eyes full of his heart, "Where are you then? Where's my Sanji got to?"

You don't know it, but hearing those words make his inside vibrate with warmth, he loves you he loves you he loves you. As you stare up at him, face and hair lit with the golden warmth of the fire light as it flickers over the groves and features he has long since memorised, he sees again, as if for the first time, how enthralling you are. All pure happy beauty, not marred by the dark past that follows you both, but moulded with it, carved and reshaped into the divine sight before him. His hand slides down your arm, following the groves set by the chains of tattoos, or tattoos of chains. He can wrap his whole hand around your upper arm, and for a moment a well-known shot of worry laces through him. You were always a bit too small for comfort, something he had confided in to Zeff. The older chef had assured him that weight and health would come with time, as it was the ultimate healer. But here you were, almost a decade off that rock, and you still hadn't quite made up for the weight you had lost, a small tummy perhaps, but not quite the gusto for eating he had hoped to inspire even with your ravings about his skill to others, still always waiting to eat after he does, making sure he got some bites in before trying any for yourself. It was not a battle to fight today, or a war he would win without you working with him, so he said nothing and allowed his hand to slide further until it landed at your wrist, red and inflamed from the chains hanging from them. His eyes never wavered and a small smile quirked your lips even as your brows furrowed in confusion.

"Thank you." That was not what you had expected from him. You weren't sure��what you were expecting, but not that.

"What for?" Your eyebrows furrowed lower and a smile grew on his face at your confusion. "I didn't do anything. Was just cleaning up some plates and stuff."

"No!" He starts with a laugh, the sound enveloping you and you squeeze the sound into your heart, which was already crammed full of him, but you could always make room. "I meant for, you know," he gestured over to where the rest of the crew had gathered as Usopp wowed the locals with the fictitious events of today. "Them. Bringing them. Meeting Luffy and him having such an impact and still wanting me to come." His eyes don't leave the others, but yours never stray from his face. "I probably could have spent my life at Baratie and wouldn't even have noticed if not for you throwing me head first into the thick of this. And I know they don't know me yet, or anything and I'm sure I have to play catchup with" his eyes roll slightly, "most of them." You snigger at his exasperation, but it smoothes out at the sound and his eyes find yours again, as always. "But you didn't have to bring me, you could have left me to my dissolving dream and gone out and sailed across the whole world and you didn't. You came back for me, and you took my hand and pulled me along too." Your smile crinkles your eyes.

"As always." He breaths a laugh out of his nose.

"Yeah." His face mellows out once more and he takes a deep breath, "Mon Cœur, I just wanted to say-"

"MARINES!" The shout rings out above the cheering that had started behind you and you both swivel around to watch as tens of Marines marched into the yard. "Form lines." Sanji's hand tightens and you pull him with you as you move towards the crowd where the rest of your crew stood. You push through the throng of people, ending up behind Luffy, with Sanji by your side. It was complete silence except for rhythmic marching of feet on dirt as they fell into formation, the leaders, the ones from the ship, Luffy's grandpa and his subordinates, stare at your group of six. Zoro puts his hand on the Wado Ichimonji, but the second in command in the fedora warned him off.

"I'd rethink that if I were you."

"So these are the Straw Hat Pirates. Huh. Marines, arrest them."

"Sir," a small voice, belonging to Koby, spoke beside him, "the Straw Hats didn't destroy Coco Village. It was Arlong." Garp peered at him a moment before turning back to you all.

"You have your orders, cadet." The pinkette, normally shy and retreating, stood firm and stepped out in front of his commander.

"No."

"What did you say?"

"I said no, sir."

"You do realise there are severe punishments for disobeying direct orders?"

"I disagree with those orders, sir." A smile grows on your face and peering over at Luffy he has an expression to match. What you weren't expecting was for Haircut Helmeppo, notorious nepo-baby of the 153rd Branch, to step forward and join him.

"Me too." Garp lets out a heaved sigh and chuckles.

"Anyone else like to follow their lead? Or do you all wanna follow orders instead?" A group of Marine cadets, armed with their standard rifles, move around Garp, Bogard, Koby and Helmeppo and aim for your crew. "Any of them move, make sure it's their last." Garp steps up and begins to approach your captain. "Come 'ere boy." You watch them as they step away from the group, and your body moves without your say so, that power in your chest now frantic and writhing, as you step along behind Luffy but still at a small distance. You miss the click of the rifles aimed at you, and Sanji's hand slipping from your grasp, but you also miss the way Bogard waves the cadets attention back to the others, instead matching your unconscious movement as your captain and the Vice-Admiral square off to each other. "I gave you every opportunity to follow my path, to become a respected Marine. But instead, you chose to become a pirate." A small smile tugs on Luffy's face.

"No, Grandpa. I've always been a pirate."

"No more running boy. Last chance. Give it up."

"That's not really my thing." Garp grips the shoulder of his overcoat and sends it flying over his shoulder, where it, with the heavy regalia and medals, pummels a poor cadet in the face, nearly knocking him over.

"Then show me what you've got."

With a yell, Luffy launches at him, but Garp with surprising speed ducks out of the way and throws a heavy punch into Luffy's stomach, sending him backwards.

As Luffy is thrown headlong in your direction, the world around you freezes and you think for a moment.

On one hand, you could move out of the way. Luffy's not that big or tall, so dodging him wouldn't be too difficult, you're used to getting away from people much bigger.

On the other however, you know this would lead to your captain landing away from the huge crowd of Marines and civilians, alone. This boy, who had stood by you all, who had encouraged you all to follow your dreams and join him in his, being left to fight by himself, even if he happily would, it didn't sit right with you.

You don't move.

As your captain bowls into you, you're hit with immediate regret. He isn't big, but he is dense, the feeling of him striking you in the chest is like being struck with half of Kaya's mansion worth of bricks, and you are both sent smashing through the remnants of someone's home or business, the seared wood crumbling under your combined weight. It reminds you, momentarily, of your first meeting in that pub. The same ache in your chest is present now as it was then.

Where Luffy stands with more ease, you're hit with a wave of mangled thoughts and feelings and dreams and wishes that haven't quite sorted themselves after being solidly simple for so long. A tidal wave of all the people around you slams down into your head and leaves you completely breathless for a moment.

Reprieve comes, however, in the form of a warm hand grabbing yours that was listlessly hanging in the air. An aura of certainty surrounds you as you gaze up at your captain. It's like staring straight at the sun after a lifetime of darkness.

As a child you were told eating the Treasure Treasure fruit was the stupidest decision you could have ever made. It was pointless, offering no additional skills to assist or support the Supreme Commander's family or scientific endeavours. As useless as the overly emotional boy you were assigned to follow and serve, branded with the number 3 with a line scored through it, and the marking of your country, a clear '66' etched into your skin forever.

But, as you lie in this courtyard, surrounded by marines vying for your capture and execution, and stare up at the grinning boy in a scruffy straw hat, you realise that no.

There were much much stupider decisions to be made.

You face cracks, a grin of equal excitement breaking out on you as he pulls you upright and you stare at him with a manic glee you're sure would be frightening to anyone else.

"You can go back to the others, ya know?" He mumbles, face stretched over that grin of his. "This isn't your fight." His eyes weave over to Garp for a moment before settling back on you, hand still clasped in his.

"You're my captain." Your grin matching his in ferocity, "Of course it is."

To this boy, this boy who resembles flashes of a memory from a blue-haired clown, of a face moustached and grinning in every worn and ragged wanted poster you had seen with the highest bounty known to man, to this boy, you're an equal. And as you turn as a pair, eyes blazing into the pair of Marines staring down at you, Garp and his grandson locking eyes and yours snap to the second in command, Bogard, who has his katana drawn and ready.

Neither manic smile leaves your faces, even as his brows furrow and his teeth disappear behind his lips.

"This is what you wanted right?" Garp calls, the Marine pair advancing towards you, "To be a pirate. Well, I'll show you what Marines do to pirates." As he walks along behind his vice-Admiral, Bogard unsheathes his katana, eyes laser focused on you.

"I don't want to fight you, Grandpa." You drop one of your chains from its snug spot in your arm to your side.

"You've been fighting me your entire life." As Garp swings down at him with all his might, Luffy pushes you to the side and dives out the way. Garp easily crumbles another section of flame-rotted wood, and you have to lurch your head back to avoid being beheaded as Bogard swings at you. Luffy swings out at Garp, who dodges, leaving the punch to hit random debris behind him. "When are you gonna learn that you can't win?!" With another punch, Luffy is sent flying through another ruined building, and though you go to follow like Garp does, the 'shing'-ing of a blade behind you halts that plan.

Grabbing hold of the other end of your chain, shorter than you would normally have it, you lift it above your head just as Bogard slashes at you. You continue to parry and push off the attacks of the second, but he's fast and doesn't seem to be tiring.

"God, they must work you lot to the bone." You grunt, catching on your chain as his katana strikes at you, and wrapping it up, blade caught up in the links. "If the 153rd had been trained half as well, I don't think we would've even made it out of Shells Town."

"We're seeing to that, don't you worry." He rips his blade free, and he swings at you over and over, catching the metal of the chain and sending sparks of hot white liquid metal cascading to the ground with every strike.

"I thought I'd trained you better than this!" You can hear Garp taunting Luffy, but you don't look away from your own adversary, as he removes his own coat from his shoulders, dropping it to the ground to be stained with soot and ash. As he did, you snap your chain out at his face, barely missing as he darts back, instead smacking the grey fedora off his head, and his attention follows you slap the metal on to his extended wrist, coiling it around before pulling taut. He holds out, keeping a firm stance and feet solidly placed as you hear your captains voice ring out.

"You did!" You watch as Bogard's eyes flicker to Garp and feel the resistance in his arms give as, instead of yanking back on the chain, he lets you pull him to you. A grin cracked your face. You can almost hear Roku's snarling laugh as you pull the same move he did, yanking Bogard off his feet and letting him fly towards you. As the metal of the katana blade zooms at your face, you dodge your head to the side, lift and twist your body, leg out to catch the man's momentum. Luffy's voice echoes through the air as Bogard lifts off the ground, his eyes wide with rage as you send him sailing past you.

"GUM GUM ROCKET!" With a yell, Luffy crashes into his grandpa's arm, clothes-lining himself as Bogard slams into the dirt, sent skipping across the ground like a stone on a pond, only sliding to a stop at Garp's feet. His katana lies at your feet, and you grab it quickly as he rolls painfully on to his front, the wind thumped out of him as he wheezes a cough. Garp ignores you both as he turns to Luffy's prone form.

"You don't know how dangerous the world is-DON'T YOU MOVE AGAIN!" His finger shoots out in your direction as you go to rush to your captain, and you freeze, staring down his arm to meet his smouldering eyes. "STAY." It's like being barked at by a dog, a dog that just smashed your (very strong) captain through two buildings. You listen, and he turns back to Luffy. "The Grand Line isn't some child's game." Marching to Luffy's spot, he lifts him by the lapels, dangling him in the air with a grunt. "I told you, you aren't ready."

"You can hit me all day long..." Luffy's voice is husky, "but I'm never giving up on my dream."

"Is that so?"

"I'm going to the Grand Line. And I will find the One Piece." A smile grows across his face and he laughs shakily, "And I will be King of the Pirates." His laughter grows stronger as he looks down at Garp, who just.

Drops him.

Before turning back, only to start laughing himself. You all stare at him, very confused as he chortles away, leaning on his knees. Bogard staggers to his feet and your eyes meet in a flash of glares as Garp rights himself.

"Have it your way. Lower your weapons. Bogard." He gestures his head to draw Bogard back to his side, and the man does so after lifting his coat. Spotting his katana in your hands, he scowls slightly but makes no effort to claim it back. "What are you all standing around for? Arlong's pirates are still on the loose. Hunt them down and arrest them." As the rows of cadets march away with Bogard at their tail, you pull Luffy to standing again and walk behind Garp, still eyeing him warily as the mouse captain approaches.

"What about these Straw Hats?" Garp shrugs.

"What about them?"

"Arrest them too! They are the real criminals." His sentence is barely finished before Nami knocks him out with a swift whack from her bo staff. Garp raises his eyebrows but says nothing before turning back to where Luffy is standing. You stay back a few steps, eyes not leaving the Vice Admiral.

"I knew I'd never change your mind. You're stubborn. Just like me. But I know who you are, boy. I just needed to make sure you knew it too." You sigh, rolling your head back at the stupidity of this family.

"You were testing me? Couldn't you have gone a little bit easier?" Garp shrugs with a grin.

"Where's the fun in that?" He places his hands on Luffy's shoulders with a surprising gentleness. "You're on your own now." He turns and walks away as Luffy watches him.

"No. I'm not. I have my friends." Garp's eyes flash to you, still standing behind Luffy, and then to the rest of your crew, and with a slightly baffled nod, leaves the village square.

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You and Luffy are lounging on the stoop of Nojiko's home, you were doing your job of 'distracting' the captain for the others, as you tossed segments of tangerine to each other in the citrus perfumed heat of the afternoon. You barely raise your head from your position draped across the floor boards as you hear footsteps approaching, only peering up when Luffy exclaims a happy

"Koby! Come to see us off?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." You push yourself into sitting as the pink haired boy walks up to the house, two rolls of paper grasped in his hand. You grin smugly at him.

"You aren't trying to arrest us again, are you? It won't go as well as last time." He chuckled gently at your teasing as he comes to a stop.

"I'm not here as a Marine. I'm here as your friend. I wanted to show you guys something." You stand and join your captain as Koby hands him one of the rolls, handing the other one off to you. You watch over Luffy's shoulder as he unfurls it, peering at the printed image and large clear writing. "You did it. Finally got your face on a wanted poster. Nezumi's last act of revenge." You quickly unroll your own, realising what it must be. "He also upped your bounty, Y/n. I'm sorry I couldn't stop him." You stare at the poster, the image of yourself clean and crisp.

It was taken a few days ago, probably around when you were all in Arlong Park, the rocky formation behind you similar to what the place was surrounded with. Your eyes are vividly clear, aqua irises and gold pupils swirly and bright, snarling mouth showing your sharp canines and your arm pulled back, chain hanging in the air, frozen by the image. Your bounty, once twelve million, had been more than doubled, still lower than Luffy's thirty million, now sitting at twenty-seven million and five hundred thousand Berry.

"YEAH! YES!" You don't quite match Luffy's enthusiasm, sniggering in a mix of shock and horror at the fact people now view you so dangerously. "WHo-whoa! That's a lot of Berry! Let me-" he snatches your wanted poster out of your hands studying it quickly, "you've a high bounty too! Good job!" The punch he hits your shoulder with nearly topples you over, but he grabs and rights you without missing a beat. Koby stares at you both bemused.

"They're the two highest bounties in the East Blue." Luffy's grins up at him cheesily, "You're a wanted man now." Luffy's grin shrinks to gentle smile.

"That's exactly what I wanted." Without a second thought, he tugs the pair of you into a tight hug, squeezing you both excitedly. As he pulls back, he looks back at the pair of wanted posters happily.

"I guess this is goodbye then." Koby's eyes flicker across you both as you smile at him.

"How're you thinking Koby?" He ducks his head away from your gaze for a second. It doesn't last long as he shakes himself back, standing straighter and smiling at you.

"For myself." He speaks with confidence and you're happy for him, "They're doing a good job teaching us, but I know what I want, so I'm not letting them change my mind." Luffy watches you both, eyes warm and happy.

"Good!" You beam at him and red flushes his face, smile not wavering. "I will miss seeing you about..." your smile pulls into a pout, hiding the shakiness of your lips. You were so sick of crying.

"Goodbye Koby." Luffy steps in close, leaning in to his space and says, "Be a good Marine." Koby nods easily and answers

"Be a good pirate." Nodding once more before turning back and heading down the trail.

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Luffy cackles to himself as he hops up over the gunnel, tugging you up behind him and still clutching the wanted posters. He marches into the galley happily, and you follow close behind into the well lit room.

"Guys! Check it out." As he unrolls the two posters side-by-side on the counter, you move back into Sanji's side, sneaking a chunk of carrot into your mouth before he can smack your hand away. The others get up and join you, staring down at your faces looking up at them from the pictures, bounties plastered clearly beneath.

"Hey, look! I'm famous!" You and Luffy peer at Usopp confused.

"What are you on about? That's Luffy's wanted poster." Sanji speaks from beside you, wiping down his knife as he does.

"Not just Luffy." He taps the paper, pointing out a small part of the image depicting the back of his head. You roll your eyes and smack your head into Sanji's shoulder, who chuckles at you. Usopp laughs as well, "Sorry guys, maybe if you work a little harder, you'll get a bounty too." Nami is eyeballing the Berry amounts under both your names as the argument around you strikes up.

"That doesn't count."

"It's okay to be jealous. Feel what you need to feel."

"I- mmm..." Sanji sighs out of his nose and Usopp and Nami look at each other, grinning.

"Maybe next time, you'll be in your partner's wanted poster, have you considered that?" Sanji's face flushes instantly at Usopp's words and your head pops upright as well.

"My who-?!" "His what-?!"

The others, aside from Luffy snigger away at the pair of you as Sanji awkwardly bats away questions from you, "You have a-"

"-No!"

"-what are they talking abo-"

"There's nothing to know, don't worry about it." He glares at Usopp who sniggers and raises his hands,

"Sorry, sorry, I must have misunderstood, you know, that whole dynamic." You squint at the sharpshooter as he continues to snigger, Zoro and Nami joining in as Sanji glares at them all.

"This is stupid."

"These," Zoro taps the paper with two fingers, "are gonna makes things much harder. With that amount for your heads, every bounty hunter in the East Blue will be gunning for you."

"Not just Y/n and Luffy, they'll be gunning for all of us." Nami agreed.

"Then it's a good thing we're not staying in the East Blue. We're going to the Grand Line." A smirk grows on your face as your captain smiles triumphantly, ignoring everyone else's concerned expressions.

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Back at the docks in Dye Town, Yano leans over his desk, shuffling through transfer requests and patrol reports. Kyoko pushes through the door, hands laden with documents that she dumps on the corner of his desk. As he glares at the new mass of work, the Den Den Mushi Transferer on his desk starts to rumble and print off a new set of papers.

Kyoko plucks them from the printer delicately and eyes them, mouth pulling into a grimace as she looks them over.

"New bounty posters from Nezumi in Coco Village, sir." She hands them over, already moving to the door to avoid the fall out. He snarls at Luffy's, balling it up and chucking it into the waste paper bin as hard as he can as he stands from his desk.

Moving over to the chest at his wall, he crouches in front of it, eyes never leaving your own, the fierce image of your eyes glaring back at him from the new bounty poster. He flips open the chest mindlessly, the bulk of it full of a mess of papers, stolen reports from across islands in the East Blue regarding these new Straw Hat Pirates, especially the ones focusing on the weird one with glowing eyes. His attention, however, focuses on to the papers pasted to the lid. Your older bounty poster, outdated in a matter of days, and several older newspaper clippings that he had scavenged regarding the Baratie, especially the owner and the kids of the floating restaurant. 

Gently, almost reverently, he smoothes out the new poster on to the lid with all the other images of you, and leans wistfully on the edge, staring longingly at your depiction across them. The centre of his iridescent yellow eyes, his blue-black pupil, wobbles into a heart shape.

"Don't worry Nakayoshi," he sighs dreamily, "I'll see you again soon."

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Across the ocean, Zeff walks through the kitchen holding the two wanted posters. He pins Luffy's on to the employee of the month board. As the other chefs crowd around to look, he flattens the other on the wall below a cut out news clipping depicting the opening of the restaurant. A cheer sounds from the entire staff at your face plastered on the paper, hoots and hollers sounding as Zeff pins it to the wall, making sure it's straight before stepping back.

Patty stands beside him as the other chefs cheering reduces to chuckles and calmer laughs as they return to dinner prep, and the blue-haired chef leans more into his boss.

"Not bad for a second bounty, eh?"

"No," Zeff agrees, face stern but eyes proud, "Not bad at all."

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"So what do you think?" Having departed from Coco Village, the Going Merry was now on course to the Grand Line. You and your crew stand behind Luffy, all watching as Nami looks over the trio of tangerine trees that had been brought on board and placed at the stern. "It's a little piece of home to take with you on our journey."

"And I can whip up tangerine tarts anytime you want." Nami smiles gently as she caresses the familiar fruit before she turns to look at you all.

"It's perfect." You all grin at each other. "We actually have something for you too." Luffy continues grinning at her, confused. As you all turn to overlook the main deck, she calls, "Usopp, set the main!"

"Setting the main!" He shouts back jubilantly. The large main sail drops, the white canvas unfurling to display a redone skull and crossbones, resplendent in a straw hat with a red band. Luffy's hands reach out to grab Nami and Zoro's arms, his eyes gleaming at the sight in front of him. You were all smiling at him as he stared open mouthed before running across to the fore castle to gaze up at the sail.

"WHOO-HOO! WHOA!"

He continues cheering for ages, having clambered up on to the Going Merry's figurehead, still laughing and yelling and waving his hat and arms around.

You stand with Nami as she looks over the map to the Grand Line with a magnifying glass, ready to use your power to correct course if needed.

"The entrance to the Grand Line isn't too far off, but I think there's a mistake on the map."

"What do you mean?" Luffy calls down and begins to clamber off the sheep head as you join her at the barrel, looking over her shoulder at where she focused the magnifying glass.

"Well, it looks like a river or a canal or something, but it doesn't make any sense." You grin at Luffy as he stumbles down beside you, "These elevations show a mountain. I mean, how can a river go up a mountain?" Luffy shrugs.

"You're our navigator. We have a magic compass." He elbows you and you snort and roll your eyes. "You'll figure it out." He lands a slap to her shoulder with the back of his hand as Sanji calls up.

"Hey Luffy!" You all look round as he reaches the top of the stairs, grinning at you. "Come here, I've got an idea." You all watch him as he pulls a barrel to the middle of the deck. Luffy grins back at you and Nami before yelling to the others.

"Straw Hats! All hands on deck for a cast-off ceremony!" You all join Sanji as he props his leg up on the barrel lid.

"I'm gonna find the All Blue." Your eyes flash, an image of Sanji and Zeff in the kitchen of the Orbit swirling through your mind.

"I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" A young Luffy grins, scar fresh on his cheek and t-shirt stained with blood.

"I'm gonna be the world's greatest swordsman." Zoro stands in the forest of his youth, face assured.

"I'm gonna draw a map of the world." Nami beams, flipping to the next page of the stolen atlas of her childhood.

"I..." Usopp sits on the edge of his mother's bed, watching her still face, "am gonna become a brave warrior of the sea!"

All eyes turn to you and you slowly raise your foot, placing it on the barrel and looking into the eyes of each of your crew mates.

"I'm gonna prove that my powers, and I, have worth! I will help you all achieve your dreams, or I'll die trying!!" Luffy and Usopp snigger at your dramatic words, the others keep watching you. "I will stand by your sides as your loyal crewmate!" Nami and Zoro look away, smiles growing on their faces as they begin to laugh to, Sanji's eyes the only ones still on you. "And as your friend." His face melts in a pure and happy smile and you both join in the laughter. Luffy grins at all of you.

"This is it, crew. The Grand Line. Nothing's gonna stand in our way!! YEAHHHH!!" You all roar and cheer and laugh along with him as you set off.

In pursuit of your true treasures!

Final Author's Notes: Reader as Irish/based on Irish nationality ala Oda's suggestions for what nationality the strawhats would be. So Readers attacks were all the areas they attacked (chest, stomach, legs and head) and their finishing move "Slabhra Stór" (Treasured Chain, I couldn't think of anything more original that didn't end up being like, six words long lol) in Irish I hope you all enjoy the final chapter of Treasure Treasure! (For now at least) and thank you so much for reading! I will hopefully be back soon with some original content of Sanji and Reader when they were younger in Baratie while I plan out the anime/manga adaptation a bit more. Please feel free to check out the poll and the rest of my Tumblr! Thank you again for reading and have a great day :)

[novemberhope]

Summary: The Strawhats are on their way to Fishman Island but are attacked by the Kraken. Zoro also gets attacked by a fishman. When Neri shows up unexpectedly, Zoro gets a glimpse of her improved fighting skills after not seeing her for two years. Notes: It's been ages since I read Fishman Island so this might not 100% align with canon. Also, I hate writing fights. Word Count: 1272

Zoro stood firmly on the deck, his eyes narrowed in determination. Around him, chaos had spread like wildfire. Luffy, as always, was laughing, as the giant kraken approached them, slamming it’s tentacles into the ship's sides.

"Let’s take this beast down - or keep it as a pet!" Luffy shouted.

“Are you crazy, we’re not keeping that as a pet!!” Usopp exclaimed in horror.

“Don’t let it break the coating of the ship or we’ll all drown!” Franky warned.

Zoro knew they could only fend it off for so long. They had to take the fight away from the Thousand Sunny.

“Luffy!” he called. “I’m going in!”

He put his bandana on and glanced at his crewmates one last time before diving into the dark and cold waters, thankful for the protective bubble around him that allowed him to move under water without drowning.

Immersed in the chilly depths, Zoro still felt the pressure of the ocean around him. Or maybe that was just him coping with the strange feeling of moving around deep down in the ocean with only a protective bubble around him. As he descended towards the kraken, he could see Luffy and Sanji not too far off, also within protective bubbles, joining him in the fight.

The kraken’s tentacles thrashed all around him, a few times coming dangerously close to actually smashing his bubble. Zoro clasped his swords tightly. He aimed his blade and made his move, slicing with speed and precision as he slashed at the beast's tentacles. Suddenly, something dark darted through the water, catching his attention. A figure appeared, a fishman it seemed, with gleaming eyes and teeth that looked like razor blades, and muscles rippling under his skin. With a swift motion, the fishman lashed out, blocking Zoro's path and launching a strike aimed straight at him, clearly trying to slice through the bubble.

“So, the great Pirate Hunter decided to swim into dangerous waters?” the fishman sneered, a twisted grin on his face. “You shouldn’t have come here, human.”

Zoro narrowed his eyes. “Whoever you are, I don’t have time for you. Get out of my way.”

The fight began. Zoro parried the fishman’s attacks with astounding skill, but the fishman was relentless and powerful. Each blow drove him closer within the reach of the kraken’s tentacles. The beast continued its rampage, and in the distance, he could still hear Luffy and Sanji fighting, but they were too far away.

A tentacle came at him with full force and he had to use two swords to block it. At the same time, the fishman came from behind, also full force, while another tentacle came in from the side - something that wouldn’t have fazed him that much up on the surface but down here, fighting within the protective bubble, it was a different story in an entirely new environment. He not only could not let the attacks touch him, he had to make sure the entire bubble stayed intact.

Just as he was ready to attack three-sword-style and simply hope to get both the tentacles and the fishman at the same time, he sensed a sudden shift in the water. There was something coming in at full speed, something that forced the tentacles away and blocked the fishman’s attack.

And then something huge burst onto the scene — the shimmering silhouette of a beautiful betta fish mermaid with seemingly translucent shining pale blue scales, shining rather brightly in the dark ocean, with a cloud of shiny dark brown hair billowing behind her.

It was Neri.

The last time Zoro had laid eyes on her was two years ago during the chaos in Sabaody when Bartholomew Kuma had used his powers to teleport each of them to a different location. Last thing he had heard was that he had teleported her to Fishman Island where she had undergone some training. And when he had returned to Sabaody, Rayleigh had told him that since Neri already was at Fishman Island, she would await the Strawhats there. Which… made sense but still, it had been a bit disappointing since he kind of had been looking forward to seeing her again.

The mermaid’s long, dark brown hair flowed around her, and her brown eyes shone with a determination he didn’t know she had. Gone was the timid, everything but confident girl he remembered from two years ago. Right now, she exuded confidence and strength as she used her hands to form the water in front of her into a magnificent trident.

Their eyes met. Her whole face lit up and she smiled, clearly very happy to see him again. And he who rarely ever smiled couldn’t help but smile back.

“Zoro!! It’s so good to see you!” she cried.

“Neri!” he shouted back. “I thought you were waiting for us on Fishman Island!”

“I was!” she said, still smiling. “But I couldn’t wait to see you all again so I thought I’d meet you half way! But Zoro - what happened to your eye?”

Unfortunately both the kraken and the fishman cut the reunion short and stopped Zoro from answering any further questions. They attacked again but were both hit by powerful waves coming from the water trident. The kraken tentacles came again and this time, were blocked by Zoro’s swords. The fishman turned towards Neri, showing her his ugly grin.

“You think you can defeat me? You’re nothing but a mere mermaid!” he hissed at her.

With elegance and strength that she did not have two years ago, Neri moved around the fishman, parrying his strikes with her trident. Each dodge, each thrust made it very clear to him that she indeed has used the last two years to work on her fighting skills. Being this deep under water, bending it to her will had become second nature to her. Gone was the timid and careful girl who often had been unsure if she would be able to do something.

“Do not underestimate me,” Neri said to her opponent.

The trident vanished. Instead, Neri held out her hands, forming underwater currents and using them to push the fishman off balance and right in striking distance of Zoro. His swords glinted in the dark. He struck fiercely, again and again and again, while also holding the tentacles at bay that were still coming his way.

“Let’s try it together,” Neri suggested, one more forming the water into a trident.

“On my mark!” Zoro yelled, and he and Neri coordinated their moves. Neri spun the trident, flinging the fishman’s defenses aside, allowing Zoro a clear path. He slashed out with his swords both at the tentacles and the fishman.

In a moment that felt like eternity, Zoro’s blades carved through the water and met their mark, the fishman pirate collapsing into a heap, defeated, and immediately started to sink deeper into the ocean. At the same time, Luffy and Sanji had driven the kraken further back so that it became more difficult for it to attack Zoro.

Breathing heavily, Zoro stared at Neri, who smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling with joy.

“You’ve improved,” he admitted gruffly, the corners of his mouth hinting at a smirk.

“A little,” Neri replied, blushing.

Just then, the kraken’s roar echoed through the water. Luffy and Sanji were yelling while fighting it. Apparently Luffy had yet to give up his plan to keep the beast as a pet.

“Let’s go join them!” Zoro suggested.

The swordsman and the mermaid swam towards the kraken. The Strawhat’s journey to Fishman Island had only just begun - and now that the crew was complete again, nothing would stand in their way!

[ego-osbourne]

Another oneshot! Been a while :] Pirate time

Calamity belongs to @metallic-scaled-scarf , Lorelei belongs to @liches-covered-in-lich , Kynreeve belongs to @the-troll-of-the-bridge , and Heracles belongs to @mellowscrolls !

Look Alive

Word Count: 3500

Status: Complete Oneshot

CW: Oogling, Brief Mentions of Alcohol

Summary: Rakell is hot. Velehk is down bad and in denial.

It’s actually mostly just character interaction practice

~~~

Rakell shielded his eyes from the blinding sunrays that struck his face upon exiting the crew’s quarters. With a few tired blinks his eyes adjusted, but not before bumping into a crewmate or two. Everyone was in a rush, having heard the order to leave port and set sail. A bell’s sharp chime had woken Rakell’s uncomfortable rest, far later than the others, and he was still affected by the aftermath of a sweaty sleep.

Rakell chuckled to himself, knowing the heat should not have affected him so terribly. He supposed he’d grown too used to the cold of Skyrim, his dresswear reflecting that sentiment; his trousers and boots were alright, but his top was lined in fur. No matter where he was, either on the main deck in noon’s sweltering heat, or turning uncomfortably in his bed in the wee hours of the morning in the stuffy crew’s cabin, his clothes stuck to him in a grossly annoying fashion. It all accumulated to him groggily making his way onto the main deck, only half-aware of what was going on.

…Before he was given lip. “March, kyn!” was Calamity’s sharp call to him from the side of the deck as she rearranged sail ropes. “Everyone else is moving, and I know you’re quick!”

Rakell blinked before finding himself in an automatic jog. It had been a long while since he’d been in any position that required orders, and even longer since he’d been the one to receive those orders. Suddenly alert and focused, he found that the capstan of the anchor was in need of assistance and made his way to it, inviting himself in and pushing on one of the bars. The others around him were humming and chanting a shanty that he didn’t recognize, but he was able to keep in-time with its rhythm, just like the others. It helped him focus on something other than the cruel sun… for a moment.

The anchor was raising slowly, and every push made new sweat, and the sweat made him feel like he was baking alive. He cursed the fur-lined top that he wore, making every genuine attempt to push forward without fault, but there was a point when too much was simply too much. With a heave of breath, he took his hands off of the bar and walked in line with the turning axis, taking a brief moment to peel his shirt from his back. With a quick shake to free his horns, he pulled the garment through his belt and went back to work. Already, things were feeling much more free.

A couple mocking coos sounded from behind him, and one of the crewmates sniped, “Who’s you tryna impress, Daedra?”

“It’s hot as shit,” Rakell responded.

A different voice, “Ain’t you’s from the Deadlands?”

“It’s a dry heat there. This wet fuckery is a new misery.”

“Welcome to our sorry state,” the crewmate laughed.

A few more hands joined the original group in raising the anchor, quickening the process where the work would come to an eventual close. Just as Rakell stepped away from his bar, paying no mind to the commotion around him, he heard Ego’s familiar chime as they called for him. “Hey! Take my spot, over, uh,” they gestured toward the rest of the deck, Rakell raising a brow at their vagueness. “…at the middle pole,” they finished with uncertainty.

Rakell chuckled at their poor vocabulary, knowing they meant the mainmast. “Will do,” he said, already starting his jog over. A quick glance back toward Ego showed them hopping up to the quarterdeck, having been beckoned by Lorelei to man the wheel. Why she was letting him direct the ship was beyond Rakell, but it wasn’t his focus anyway. Upon closing in, a few members called him over to help pull a stubborn rope, to which he was a welcome addition to the endeavor.

With a few extra jobs done, the Mahree began on her way, tipping into a turn as the ship left port. Things on deck calmed significantly after the fact, and Rakell finally felt that he could drop his focus. He tilted his head up to the glorious blue sky as wind made its slow arrival onto the deck, sighing into the salty air and bringing a hand to his forehead to dry it. As much as he internally complained about the heat, he could appreciate moments like this.

Rakell took a quick glance around to make sure there was nothing else that might have called for immediate attention. He found others touching up some areas and ensuring everything was steady, but his lack of expertise around the ship only made him good for labor work, of which there appeared to be nothing that needed done. He pulled his shirt from the strap of his belt, only to find an elbow lightly nudging his arm. “There’s the new sailor,” Kynreeve moved just ahead of him and leaned against the railing of the ship. “You overheatin`?”

Rakell gave a light chuckle. “It’s a bit different than Skyrim.”

“Oh, just a smidge,” Kynreeve smirked, gesturing with his hand in a pinching motion. “Gotta remind ye, though, when ye hear that bell, ye have t’be moving fast.”

“I realized,” Rakell folded his arms with a grin, “I guess you saw me dragging my feet, too?” Kynreeve gave a nod. “It’s just been a while since I was in any sort of service. Forgot in the moment. Won’t happen again.”

“Aye, well, keep that in mind. A short holler from Calamity leaves ye far better off than what the captain might’ve done had he been on deck to catch ye.” Kynreeve’s gaze shifted to the side, his smile becoming a bit more forced. “Speaking of which… Don’t look now, but the captain’s got eyes on ye.”

Rakell didn’t know if it was the wind or Kynreeve’s words that sent a small chill up his back. He was suddenly stiff, only assuming that Velehk must have been mere steps away, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Finding where Kynreeve’s eyes were, though, had him realize that Velehk was out of earshot and farther than Rakell had initially feared. He calmed only slightly, asking, “Eyes on me in a bad way?”

Kynreeve lowered his brow. “Hard to tell. He’s awful focused, though.”

Rakell didn’t dare look over his shoulder, his nerves excited in a way that was hard to pinpoint. Some part of him was glad that Velehk was giving him any amount of recognition, but the majority of his head spun with feelings of worry that he’d pissed the captain off. He gave a small snicker to soften the edge, asking, “Well, what? Do I disappear?”

“No, no,” Kynreeve pushed off the railing, giving a short wave to Velehk, who stood on the quarterdeck. “Let’s have ye workin` on somethin`. I’ve got a job for ye, let’s go.”

Rakell followed Kynreeve along, tempting regret as he gave into his curiosity and glanced over his shoulder. He was already pulling back before he had even registered anything, but realized shortly after that Velehk had shifted his gaze away from him. A mix of relief and disappointment washed over him.

Or so he’d thought Velehk had taken his eyes off of him. In reality, the captain had only faked not to be looking when he saw Rakell begin to turn, then cautiously glanced back from under the shadow of his hat once Rakell walked off. Still in sight, Velehk kept a close eye on him, shifting uncomfortably against the railing that he leaned over.

Velehk couldn’t lie to himself, he’d taken quite a liking to Rakell’s appearance. Whether he be shimmering in his gorgeously detailed armor, or shimmering against the sun with his skin exposed, he was an eyeful everytime. Kynreeve had dragged him away to shuffle things about the deck, clearing out spots to be cleaned and reorganized. Velehk gazed with a careful eye, studying his movements from a distance. He silently wished he could be closer, that way Velehk would be able to easier see the muscles in his back move with every cargo box lifted, the tightness in his hands as he gripped wood and rope, hear every exhale and grunt as he fought against the weight of the crates. Velehk would make conversation, no doubt, and be able to hear his voice roll over words in that deep accent of his—

“It’s none of my business—”

Velehk jumped in his stance, anger flaring up in his face as he shot daggers at the person standing beside him. It was Ego, having taken a spot just to his right, somehow going unseen despite being so close. Velehk ignored the possibility that he was so lost in thought that he hadn’t even noticed them, instead hissing, “Why ain’t ye at the wheel?”

Ego gestured lazily across Velehk. “Lor’s got it,” they said, with no hint of care in their expression. “Now, look, look, I came over here for a reason, I’m not just slacking,” they grinned, pausing before adding, “Captain,” with unnecessary accentuation. They tapped their fingers along the wood of the railing they leaned on, continuing, “But you should probably try to hide your… oh, what do we call it? Your look of delight?”

Velehk’s markings pulsed a smidge brighter for just a moment, a dremora’s equivalent of a flushed face. He quickly masked the fear in his eyes as he gazed down, gesturing for Ego to meet him on his other side. They complied, realizing that it would be so Velehk could hide his face from the rest of the ship with the wide brim of his hat since the other side was buttoned up. Consequently, he was also able to get a better read on Ego’s expression with the in-tact half of their head facing him now. With a low, anxious tone, he asked, “Was it that noticeable?”

“Oh, buddy-captain of mine,” they went to pat his shoulder, but recoiled when his bird suddenly landed on said spot, intercepting Ego’s hand. Scuttle shook his head as he folded his spectral wings against his body, getting an automatic pet on his chest from Velehk. Ego instead took their hand back to their hair, pulling strands away from their face. “If there are any other perceptive romantics on this ship, they’d spot that look clear from Elsweyr.”

“Romantics?” Velehk echoed, his face twisting into a blend of angry disbelief and horror. “I wasn’t—”

“I never accused you of anything,” Ego put their hands up. “But uh… that doesn’t mean someone else won’t.” They tried to wink, but the singular eye only presented an awkward blink.

Velehk’s frown straightened as he took in their words, turning away from them again and gazing back down at Rakell. He made sure to deliberately lower his brow to stave off any aforementioned accusations… but still found his mind wandering into a world of hopeful fantasy. He hummed as his eyes were drawn to Rakell’s lower half, watching his heavy steps tread carefully across the swaying boat, gaze crawling up to—

He groaned aloud, quiet and quick, and averted his gaze once more. “He’s awful cute, but that’s all I’ll give him.”

“Knew it,” Ego snickered.

Velehk pointed at them. “Ye don’t know shit.”

“Look, look,” they turned against the railing, putting their back to the posts and visually counting with their fingers as they went down the list. “I don’t read. I’m bad at math. Worldly knowledge is still lost on me. I don’t know your vocabulary, or your songs, or your drinks. My social skills are oblivious on a good day.” Every tap of their fingers against each other made a new tink sound. “But if I don’t know ‘shit’ about your starry-eyed expression, then you don’t know shit about being a captain,” they grinned the whole way through, adding one last, “Captain,” to the end of their speech.

Velehk’s icy glare was matched by his bird, who hopped down onto the railing and waddled closer to Ego. He pecked the muscle of their arm with a hefty jab and pinch of the beak, making Ego jump with a yelp. They rubbed their new bruise as Velehk chuckled, “Good bird.”

“I’m not trying to insult you, Captain!” Ego laughed.

“Tryin` don’t mean succeedin`.”

Ego attempt to reclaim their spot on the railing, but Scuttle’s hollow glare kept them at bay, so instead they danced around Velehk to try to get close enough to speak comfortably, but stay far enough not to bother him. “All I’m saying is…” they snuck back to the other side of him, wary as Scuttle began his catwalk over. “Maybe you should talk to him,” they whispered.

Velehk intercepted Scuttle’s reign of terror across the railing, taking him onto his arm and beckoning him further up to his shoulder. “Yer insane, y’know that? I don’t have a clue why I’m surprised either; there’s stories of ye dancing with Sheogorath.” He gave Scuttle’s cheek a scritch. “Maybe I’m the fool for inviting this git onto my ship.” Ego inhaled to protest, but Velehk continued with a smirk, “No, no, that can’t be right… I’m never the fool.”

Ego’s smile straightened as they tried to wedge themself back into the conversation. “I could even help. I know Rakell, he’s a…” they stopped themself short of saying ‘good man,’ swaying their head side to side as they came up with a new assortment of words, “…loyal man.”

“I’ve got plenty of loyalty on board already.”

Ego raised their metal brow, glanced at Lorelei across the deck, but ultimately decided it would be best to say nothing. “I’m not telling you to reenact a fairytale, but…” Velehk gave them a glare beneath the shadow of his hat, and Ego thought twice about their next string of words. “Maybe you could just… have a chat with him? He’s always wanted to meet the Pirate King Velehk Sain,” they grinned wide.

Velehk’s eyes narrowed.

Ego caught themself, “Captain Velehk Sain.”

Velehk nodded with acceptance, forgiving the slip-up, but ultimately continuing to ignore Ego. They sighed, widely gesturing out to the deck where Rakell worked. “Just try to meet him. Privately! Not in front of a crowd acting all boisterous with the higher-than-thee attitude—”

“Thou, anchor, higher-than-thou. If yer goin` t’quote yer landlubbin` literature, then at least know what yer sayin`.”

Ego stopped, raised a claw in recognition, and pointed out, “I told you I didn’t read much.”

“That much is obvious.”

“But still, you—”

“And none of my attitude is an act, either, git,” he stopped them again. “I’m the same man on and off deck.”

Ego’s voice wavered as they went to jump in and correct him, but they stopped just short of insult. Velehk’s eyes went wide and angry all at once, knowing exactly what they were bound to reference. He made a heavy step toward them, to which they fell back, but he continued his pursuit. “Somethin` on yer mind?” he hissed as Ego backpedaled to the side of the ship. “Anchor?”

They gave their telltale nervous chuckle, shrugging innocently. “No, no, all empty up here.” They side-stepped toward the stairs in an effort to escape, but Velehk was quick to draw his sword and strike the wood just to their right, stopping them in their tracks. They jolted, and their nervous grin turned cocky. They met eyes with Velehk, having a sudden look of fake realization. “Though… there is one thing.”

Velehk straightened himself.

Ego kept their voice quiet. “If I remember our time together,” the grip on the sword stiffened, “you never once had that look in your eyes with me.”

“That doesn’t mean shit,” Velehk whispered back.

“Does it not?” Ego let themself relax. “I saw you make a lot of revelations that night,” they tapped the blade of his sword, “But never once was I convinced you had a crush.”

With one quick movement, the tip of the sword threatened the bottom of Ego’s chin. “Keep talkin`,” Velehk furiously encouraged.

Ego shook their head. “Talking? Sorry, Captain, my head went empty again. Lost my thought.”

Velehk bit his tongue, heat burning in his chest from offense. He pulled the sword away, stepping right into Ego’s space and fisting the collar of their robe, threatening to push them over. “Ah ah!” Ego interjected, making him pause as they reached for their hip, retrieving a dragon priest mask that was fastened to their belt. “Just… entertain the thought. A drink or two with him wouldn’t kill you. I think you’d like his stories, too.”

“I don’t owe ye anythin.`”

“I wouldn’t be benefiting from anything,” they pointed out, slipping Volsung over their head. After a pause, they relaxed fully. “You can flip me, now.”

Velehk sighed through his nose, shoving their chest and lifting their leg in a split second, letting them topple over the side of the ship. He swore they laughed as they went down and crashed into the water.

A couple entertained whistles and celebratory claps rang across the ship as Velehk regained his composure. He turned back, calling, “We’ve got at least two minutes of peace, enjoy it!”

Rakell couldn’t stop the dopey smile that spread across his face — it was the first time he’d seen Velehk flip someone, and the joy was multiplied upon seeing that the victim was Ego.

“That’s the fourth fucking time.” He heard someone curse as they approached. Rakell turned to find a short Imperial meeting Kynreeve, asking with annoyance, “Spare wax, Kyn? Gotta fix that railing.”

“Yessir,” the quartermaster complied with a smile.

“Fourth?” Rakell echoed, tailing the two of them as they walked to the stairs leading below deck.

“And they just keep coming back. Dragon-fucker boat-ramming blond bastard,” the Imperial groaned, turning to Rakell. “Heracles. Hera. Either or,” he introduced himself.

“Rakell,” he responded, holding out a hand too late as Hera had already turned away, unintentionally missing the pleasantry. “Have ye sparred with the Captain yet?”

Rakell lowered his hand. “Sorry?” he blinked, pausing just before the stairs.

“Ye plan on stayin` with us?” Hera paused too, glancing back as Kyn walked ahead.

“If I can.”

“Then you’ll be sparrin` the captain soon,” he repeated. “It’ll probably happen before we land in the next port. Hope yer not sore by then.”

“What’d you mean ‘spar’?”

“It ain’t tonal magic, Oblivion-walker,” Hera raised a brow, “The captain tests yer strength to see if yer worthy of bein` on board.” He turned to the stairs, leaving Rakell behind. “But if yer as slow as ye were today, it’d take a miracle for ye to stay!” Kyn was at the bottom of the stairs waiting on Hera, and he rolled his eyes with a joking smile. He called back up to Rakell, “You’ll be fine, kynsman. But be ready!”

Before Rakell could respond, the both of them were gone, and he was beckoned to move out of the way of the doorframe by another crew member passing. He was left somewhat speechless, his head racing with thoughts. Sparring Velehk Sain? He didn’t realize that was part of the quota for joining. He turned his gaze towards the quarterdeck, finding Velehk pushing through the doors of his quarters and disappearing behind dark wood. A fleeting feeling rose in his chest, gone in an instant, but its echoes left tremors in his body. He palmed his sternum to ease his heart, feeling hair and skin, and suddenly becoming very self-aware of the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt while Velehk was watching.

He hadn’t felt so… nervous for two centuries.

Thankfully, Ego’s return was able to distract him from his thoughts. They arrived while adorned in glorious colors, horns, and wings — Dragon Aspect, something Rakell had seen before, and realized that much of the crew had probably also seen if this was their fourth return. Rakell made his way to the soggy Dragonborn to ask about the other three times.

In the captain’s quarters, Velehk was rubbing his face in terrible despair. Scuttle fluttered from his shoulder to the dresser, giving little cooes of reassurance as Velehk paced around the table in the middle of the room, tapping each chair as he lost himself in thought. He silently cursed Ego’s name, then his own, and thought of that twice damned Dagon dremora…

Velehk sighed aloud and shook his head. “Scuttle,” he spoke, “Maybe I am the fool.” The bird fluttered down onto the table, stationing himself close to Velehk’s hand as he leaned against the furnishing. He grinned down at Scuttle, hardly able to believe that he was playing right into Ego’s words.

He went to his desk, searching through one of the drawers and pulling out a coin purse. He fished out a handful of septims, already planning what type of drinks he’d buy for Rakell when they hit port. “Nah. Not maybe,” he murmured to himself, continuing his earlier sentiment. “I definitely am.”

[moscnios]

BROKEN FiN+ / ☻

☻  /  pairing . . . nami x half fishman!male!reader.

☻  /  type of love . . . romantic.

☻  /  synopsis . . . ( y/n ) was petrified at the idea of nami learning of truly what he was. however, he had no choice. he would have to tell her the truth at some point, right?

☻  /  content warnings . . . mentions of discrimination.

☻  /  commentary . . . been awhile since i wrote something just because. had this idea in the back of my head for a while, just now getting the chance to write it !! could be better, but i like it.

“Nami...”

The orange-haired woman did not even spare him a glance. Her brown eyes focused on the sight of the deep blue sea in front of her. The breeze had blown her hair over her shoulder, almost seeming like that was her answer.

A deep sigh left his lips. He deserved to be ignored and he knew that. But it didn’t make it hurt any less. He took a spot next to her. As she turned to leave, he grabbed her hand, “Nami, please give me a chance to explain.”

“Explain how you deliberately hid that from me?”

“I was scared!”

“Scared?! Scared of what?!”

“Scared that you would see me like them!” He screamed. She had finally looked at him, she could see his pained expression. His eyes told a dark tale, one he had never told anyone before, one he never wanted to speak of again.

( y/n ) was a man of many secrets and mysteries. When he joined the Straw Hats he spent most of his time alone. Over time he slowly began to open up to his new rowdy crew, especially Nami.

The orange-haired woman, who he had no intentions of becoming close with but ended up falling for. Even having established a relationship with her, much to the dismay of Sanji and Brook. But even as his girlfriend, there was still plenty he hid from her for her own safety. But most importantly, so he wouldn’t lose her.

Nami knew who he was referring to.

The ones who had made her life a living hell.

Arlong.

He continued, “I was scared that...you would see me like them if you knew the truth. I made that selfish decision because I wanted you to get to know who I really was without being swayed by what I am.”

( y/n ) was a hybrid, half-human half-fishman. Not many people had known, as he presented human for the most part and hid his fishman features behind fabrics and bandages.

He was ashamed of what he was. And normal humans had only worsened his self-esteem. He grew up a life never being enough of one thing, neither side was pleased with him. Humans had despised him for his other half. The fishmen he surrounded himself with had despised him for presenting to human and wanting to please them.

He tried to live his life as neither, and for quite a while it did work.

At least it did, until earlier that day when the Straw Hats clashed with a powerful fishman enemy who began to overpower Luffy, dragging him deep into the water too fast.

He had no other choice. To save his captain, he had to reveal his true self. He exposed his gills, scales, and fin, leaving his crewmates in shock. He tried to ignore their gazes, confusing their confused expressions for ones of terror.

After saving Luffy, the rowdy captain, as well as Chopper, looked at him with looks of admiration, asking him tons of questions about his fishman background. But he could see Nami walk away from him.

Leading into this moment hours later.

He wanted to give her space. She deserved it. He couldn’t imagine how she felt.

“It doesn’t matter what you are, ( y/n ). I have no ill-will toward any other fishmen. I know that you would never hurt me the way Arlong had, I know your heart.”

She pinched his nose, making him hiss, “Though I’m annoyed you deliberately hid it from me. You think I’m that spiteful?”

“Of course not! I just...sorry...”

“I’m just messing with you,” She teased, pressing a short peck to the bridge of his nose before taking his face into her palms gently, “But I’m also not. Don’t hide things like that again. Promise?”

“You have my word!”

© MANGEKYUOU. / ☻

[human-do-a-worm]

Ramblings of an Old Soldier Part 3/3

Sorry about the wait. The second dose of COVID vaccine drains you a lot more than the first dose. Anyways here’s part 3, part 1 and part 2 can be found here.

Admiral Sturm sat on the park bench as he always did. Sipping on his coffee and reading the latest news from his datapad. Once again, the Unkall boy approached him and sat beside him on the bench. He noticed that the aging Terran was wearing a strange uniform, with the image of a furred beast embroidered on the chest and upper right arm.

“Good afternoon Mr. Sturm.” “Ah, hello there son. Back for story time again?” “Yes sir. I was wondering what happened after the summit. Almost all traces of you vanished from records 8 cycles ago, and the only mentions of you after that were how the Terran Navy wanted you back.”

“Well, as I said the other day, I became a merc. My crew and I were the best. We took contracts from the Segmentum Norrus, all the way down to the Serectan Void. We didn’t work like most mercenary groups. We sought out our clients, and saw a lot of business. Everything from running escort duty on supply runs to desperate worlds, to taking down entire groups of bandits and pirates. Wherever we went, outlaws and tyrants alike feared the sight of The Wolf’s Den.”

“The Wolf’s Den? I think we heard about a group of people using that ship last cycle in our Galactic History class. Something about taking part in the Gingral war, only a few cycles ago.” “Ah yes, the Gingral war. Some of the bloodiest fighting I’ve ever seen. That was the last contract my crew and I took. We started off in a small role; mostly just escorting supply freighters to the border colonies since most of the supply lines had been cut and the colonists were starving. Our last supply run had been going well, until 6 light cruisers decloaked and opened fire. We did the best we could, but the supply freighter carrying food and civilians was destroyed in only a few minutes.”

“We could have escaped after that. Made a jump to the nearest Unkall station and gotten reinforcements, but My crew and I all knew what had to be done. We knew that the Gingral had to pay. They may have outnumbered us 6 to 1, and they may have had us outgunned, but they didn’t account for us having a mark 7 jump core. We warped around behind them and took down 2 of the light cruisers rather easily, but then we took a hit. The jump core cut out, and we were relying only on engine power.”

“But The Wolf’s Den must have survived somehow. The history logs said that it served through the entirety of the Gingral War.”

“That’s almost right. We knew that we wouldn’t be able to keep her together much longer, so we did what all Terrans do in situations like this. We became unpredictable. We gave all power to weapons and blasted the furthest ship from us, then mustered to the airlocks. We put on EVA gear and as soon as we were close enough to the next ship, we boarded.” “Wasn’t ship boarding added to the prohibited activities of War after the Terran war?” “It was, but targeting civilians has always been among the prohibited activities of War, so we were still committing a lesser infraction. We blasted open the port hangar with a plasma charge, and cleared the first room. Then we cleared the rest of the ship up to the bridge and took out the last remaining light cruiser. Changed the comms channels to the ones we had on The Wolf’s Den, then modified the IFF tag accordingly. When we arrived at the Unkall station we had just left, they demanded an explanation, so we told them what happened.” “And you weren't reprimanded?”

“Oh, we were. There was even a small tribunal held to determine if we could still fight. That’s when the call came in. Rakthis had been attacked, with only a handful of survivors. I immediately got up and started heading to my ship. The Unkall admiral demanded to know where I was going. After calmly telling him that there was now a full scale war, we had work to do. I went to the hangar and got the light cruiser repaired and ready for combat, but not before renaming it. The Wolf’s Den was never destroyed, it just became another ship.”

“What happened next?” the Unkall boy asked. “Weren’t the forces around Rakthis said to be uncounted?”

“They were, that’s why we didn’t go to Rakthis. We went to Waalon instead. Then to Rek’lon, and finally to Scrurros. Everywhere we went, we pushed back the Gingral horde. My first mate, Sarah Callingham, had family on the outer colonies back in the Vrumoid war. Saw most of them killed in front of her when their shuttle was shot down leaving atmosphere on Vrall VII. Scrurros was a tough nut to crack, and she had more crafty ideas than I did. We landed The Wolf’s Den on the uninhabited side of the planet, then bought a grav truck from one of the farmers. It was hard to weld the armor plates on it at the right angle, but mounting the lasguns and mortar was rather simple. I stood in the back, manning two of the lasguns and the mortar while she and two other soldiers were up front in the cab. We got almost to the planetary capital before we faced any resistance.”

“But the history logs said that Scrurros didn’t fall until the later end of the war.” “That’s right. We couldn’t take the planet as easily as we’d taken the others. When the first mortar hit the shield on the planetary governance center, we knew we were in for a fight. We got the truck away with only a few shots on the armor, but we were pursued by the planetary militia. One of the armored gun trucks fired their heavy las gun and took out the rear grav drive. With the back end of the truck along the ground, our speed tanked to a crawl. I was able to keep the militia back for a while by pinning them down with the lasguns, but then another shot hit us, dead center mass.”

“How bad was it? Were you alright?”

“I made it out with only a few scratches, scrapes, and bruises, but Sarah and the others up front weren't so lucky. The shot penetrated the cab and blew up at the steering linkage. Only Sarah, myself, and the one crewman in the back with me made it out of that. We ducked into a nearby building for cover, only to find that it was a school. Not wanting to put the civilians in danger, we lightly dressed Sarah’s wounds and went on into the forest surrounding the city. We came to a cave at the foot of a mountain, and made camp inside.” “Who was the other crewman that was with you? I notice that you haven’t said his name yet.”

“His name was Richard Grumman. He was the newest addition to The Wolfpack, joining us less than a cycle ago. We hadn’t had much time to get to know each other. The Militia found us in the first week, and he was shot to death on the night they raided the cave. Sarah and I managed to get away, but we were far from being safe. The next night we got a transmission from The Wolf’s Den; They had been found, and were wondering what to do. Sarah and I were at least four days away from the ship, so I made the call and told them to leave while they had the chance, to keep fighting and never forget about us.” “So you willingly stranded yourself and an injured crewmate on a hostile planet just to save your crewmates? The stories about the Terrans must be true.” “You’ll learn that those stories don’t even tell half the story if you stick on a Terran ship for even half a cycle. Anyways, there we were, just me and Sarah on Scrurros. I treated her wounds the best I could, but she wasn’t getting much better. Eventually she died, less than half a cycle into our time on that world. I retired with her body to the farmer who sold us the truck, and paid him to let me bury Sarah on his property. Much like with the freighter, the Gingral would pay. I took stock of what I had. Two lasguns, three fragmentation grenades, an energy grenade, and a plasma charge. Not nearly enough to take on the forces of the planet, but maybe enough to make it possible.”

“So what did you do? The Gingral don’t just let prisoners get away. Especially not in the middle of a war.” “Well, I couldn't just storm the Planetary Governance Center. That would accomplish nothing but my own death. Instead I went for something better. Three grids away from the Governance Center was the Defense Center. The plan was simple. Get inside, break as much stuff as I could, and hope that was enough to take down their defenses. It took me ten days to reach the capital again, and another three to figure out how to get inside. Turns out the Gringal didn’t make their roof as secure as they should have. I opened up the ventilation system and got inside. From there it was a short trip to the bunker exterior.”

“Aren’t Gingral bunkers some of the hardest to break open in the entire galaxy? How did you get inside?” “Simple; I didn’t break in; I snuck in. I kicked out the vent and got inside the bunker, then closed and locked the door behind me and smashed the controls. There were only technicians and a few soldiers inside, who were easy enough to dispatch. The harder part was accessing the communications room. Aside from the door of the bunker itself, the communications room was the most secure place in the facility. The door was half a meter thick, and barred at six points. That would prove to be a great challenge, so I left it for later. I quickly found the controls to the weapons system, and took it down. The planet was now mostly defenseless against ships in orbit and low atmosphere.”

“So you took down the guns, but how did you get in?”

“The door was too hard to get through, so I made my own instead. I went above the room and opened up the three fragmentation grenades. Terrna frag grenades use a pressure sensitive explosive to detonate, so I poured it out above the room, then placed the plasma charge on top of it. I ducked out of the room and waited for the explosion. When that charge went off, it was as if the whole planet shook. When I went in to check on the hole, the charge had only just broken through the floor. It took hours for me to get the hole wide enough for me to wriggle inside, but it was worth it. I contacted the Unkall fleet, and they were there within the week. The planet fell and I was pulled from the bunker before the food and water stores were even dented.”

“So that’s why taking Scrurros was so easy for the fleet. There wasn’t as much resistance as the planet originally had. And you were the one to take it down?”

“That’s right. After the war, I was broken. My knees were all but useless for fighting, and I could barely stand without swaying. The Unkall empire never forgot what my crew and I did. We were paid many times more than what was written in our contract, and they even got me a home right here on Unkall Prime. Now I sit here, enjoying retirement in my old age. Though the Terran lifespan is almost 50 cycles, we’re usually out of our working years after only 30 cycles. Our bodies are too old and weak to do most of the hard tasks that we normally would.”

“So what do you do now? Surely after a life like yours you want to do something just as exciting after you’re done working.”

“I mostly just read now. When you spend your life as a soldier, you miss out on so much. I never settled down and had kids, and my time for that is even drawing to a close. I did take up a few hobbies here and there, but nothing really stuck. I still work part time for the Unkall empire, training their soldiers in virtual reality simulations is about all I can do, but I’ve given the Unkall the strength to protect their planets, and given their generals and admirals the knowledge not to go on any missions they will regret. I’m happy with the contributions I’ve made in my life, and if I had the chance, I’d do it all over again. By the way, I never did catch your name.”

“My name is Ruthal Nerzak, and I’m slotted to be a soldier in the Unkall Defense Force.”

“Well Ruthal, I hope we will meet again someday.”

With that, Ruthal stopped recording and went home, finishing his final report.

A few days later, Ukall prime came under attack. A colonial independence group made numerous strikes around the city, and Ruthal had been caught outside on his way home from class. He tried to run away, but was chased by one of the insurgents down an alleyway, when suddenly two lasgun shots rang out. Ruthal though he was dead, but he slowly opened his four eyes and saw that the terrorist was dead on the ground in front of him. Looking up, he was me with a familiar face

“Thank you Mr. Sturm, I thought I was surely dead.”

“Don’t thank me yet, we’re seven grids away from the nearest shelter, and there’s enemies all around us. You said you wanted to be a soldier, well your training just started early.”

Sturm handed Ruthal the lasgun from the dead insurgent, and after showing him how to fire and teaching him how to make sure it doesn’t overheat, he led the Unkall boy out of the alley and down the street. Two blocks later, Sturm pulled the Unkall boy into an alley.

“Alright son, listen up. There’s about fifty armed and angry people between us and shelter. Our espace routes have been mostly cut off, so I need you to listen to me and listen well. When I tell you to run, you run as fast as you can. We should be able to get past most of them by taking the alleys across the street. I picked up some kit off one of these guys. The flashbang should buy us enough time to cross the street, but I’ll have to think of something after we get to our next crossing.”

Sturm threw the flashbang far into the crowd of terrorists, blinding a dozen of them and allowing them to cross the street. After seeing how many insurgents were at their crossing point, Sturm and Ruthal entered a tall residence building across from a big shootout between the insurgent and Unkall forces.

“Alright, we don’t stand a chance of crossing that. Here’s the plan. We’ll get up high, and then open fire on them. If nothing else, we’ll draw their attention away from the defense forces and allow them to break through.”

“I can’t. They’re people, just like us.” “Look around you kid. There’s men, women, and children all gunned down by these guys. I’m not sure what that makes them in Unkall society, but to us Terrans, they’re no longer people; they’re monsters. As a soldier, our job is to get rid of the monsters, so that everyone can sleep soundly at night knowing they’re safe. Taking a life isn’t something one does lightly, but it’s still something that has to be done. It’s better that we take them out, because if we don’t, who knows how many more people they’ll kill. We don’t do this because we like killing, we do this because we love the people we protect, and we’d give anything to keep them safe.”

“But I don’t want to hurt them.”

“I understand. I’m not sure if the Unkall have a saying like this, but Terrans sure do. You have a big heart. You want to keep people safe, not put them in the ground. But sometimes the best way to keep people safe is to put bad people in the ground. We’re between a rock and a hard place. If we sit here and do nothing, they will continue to hold this street, but if we can take them down, even just one or two of them, we can make them fight on two sides, which is the easiest way to break through an enemy line. I recognize a few of the soldiers I can see from up here. I trained them myself. They’ll realize what’s going on and they’ll do the heavy lifting; we just need to give them a helping hand. So, are you ready?”

The young Unkall nodded, then Sturm and Ruthal braced their lasguns on the windowsill, and opened fire on the street below. As Sturm said, the insurgents shifted their position, attempting to defend against incoming fire from two directions. As the Unkall defense forces broke the lines, a single shot came from the street and hit Sturm in the neck

Bleeding badly, Sturm stumbled back, Ruthall catching him in his arms. As he was losing his grasp on consciousness, Sturm held Ruthalls hand

“Never forget what happened here. Never forget the atrocities you saw with your own eyes, and never be afraid to rise up against the monsters who make things like this happen.”

With that, Sturm closed his eyes. Unkall security forces soon burst into the room, seeing the state of the old Terran, they gave him the best aid they could, and sent him off to the hospital, with Ruthall at his side.

After a lengthy surgery and two pints of blood, Sturm woke up in his hospital room, Ruthall asleep on his lap. Colonel Rengar, a soldier in the Unkall defense forces entered the room.

“So Admiral, I see your retirement is going well.”

“Can the crap Colonel. How many did we lose?”

“Casualties are still being counted, but even one is too many.”

“And what about the boy, Ruthall. Why is he still here?"

"His family were among those killed in the attack. We haven’t told him yet, just that we’re still looking for them.”

“So what will happen to him?”

“We don’t know. He doesn’t have any living family, and in our culture friend’s do not step in for situations like these. He will likely be left to become an adoptee for some family here, but after this, I’m not sure who would adopt him.”

“I will.”

“What? You can’t be serious. The looks he would get, especially here in the capital. I’m not sure if he can take it.”

“He knows my story. He knows that I take care of the ones I call family. He didn’t hesitate to pick up a rifle and follow me through the streets today, and he only barely hesitated to fight beside me. He’ll make a fine soldier, and he’ll make a damn good son. Get me the documents dammit.”

“Very well.”

Ruthall woke up, and was told about what happened. He didn’t take his family dying too well, but was glad that he would not be alone. The next day that school was in session, Admiral Sturm put on his old Terran uniform, and walked his son into class. It was not easy adjusting to caring for a young Unkall child, but it was a change that Sturm was happy to make. He had known what it was like to be alone, and now he could keep Ruthall from knowing that pain.

The End

Let me know if you guys want a follow up series about Sturm and Ruthall on Unkall Prime, and how they live their lives together.

[delimeful]

let my mind reset (2)

happy holidays, i brought everyone's favorite gift: high tension plot & tragic backstories!

warnings: imprisonment, mentions of death/mass murder/genocide, involuntary drug use, antagonist original character, panic attack, flashbacks, mild injury, taser

-

Roman wasn’t sure how long he’d been stuck in the holding cell.

His first idea had been to mark the cycles on one wall, to gather his bearings by the sky’s map, but there were no window ports, no view of the universe outside at all. Not even the greatest Crav’n navigator could’ve worked without a single star to go off.

He knew he was on a vessel, at least. Unlike his crewmates, Roman was more than familiar with the difference between artigrav and genuine gravity. They didn’t really understand it when he attempted to describe the sensation, but then, they didn’t seem to get headaches from low-quality antigrav systems, either.

Gods above, his crew. He hoped they were safe, hoped that at least that Human was good for something and would keep them from venturing onto the same moon that Roman had been so underhandedly abducted from.

No, with any luck, they wouldn’t be able to get involved. The way he’d been abducted-- drugged and dragged off-- it reeked of black market smuggling. Whatever they’d nabbed him for, it was probably his species they cared about, not his crew. He tried not to think too hard about what that meant for him, but...

There wasn’t much to do but think, in a cell like this. He had enough space to take three strides, from one wall of bars to the next, and no more. Nutrient gel packs were dropped through the slot of the back wall with alarming irregularity. The neighboring cells were empty, and everything was alway eerily, lifelessly silent.

Roman wasn’t sure how long he’d been stuck in the holding cell, but it was long enough that by the time he heard a distant cacophony, he was instantly alert, scales prickling in anticipation.

The noises grew closer and closer, and a piercing, glowing alarm lit the connecting corridor moments before the door to the cell block was being slammed into. Roman backed up, trying to figure out what sort of internal invasion he’d gotten caught up in.

On the third blow, the door crumpled inward like cheap plating, and an undeniably Human figure stood in the empty frame, panting. Familiar eyes immediately locked onto his cell.

“Virgil?” Roman squawked in alarm. He took a daring step toward the bars, barely believing what his own mind was perceiving. Was this another dream?

“Roman! You’re alive.” Virgil’s shoulders slumped dismissively, as though he wasn’t the one who had apparently boarded an enemy ship to find him. Despite all the questions he had, Roman felt immediately and irrevocably offended.

“No need to look so disappointed,” he growled, making the Human’s face scrunch up unpleasantly.

“What? No-- Never mind. We can chat when you’re out of there.” Virgil hurried down the hall to his cell, gripping the lockbox as though he could pull it apart. “Where’s the key?”

“How am I supposed to know?” Roman hissed, attempting to glance over his shoulder to the open hall the Human had come from. It was empty, for the moment. “I haven’t even seen another person in this place, let alone the vital instrument to my escape!”

Virgil pulled back, freakish eyes strangely wide. “Seriously? You’ve been alone this whole time?”

There was something oddly strained about his voice, but Roman didn’t exactly have the luxury of attempting to interpret whatever the Human was implying at the moment. He felt his tail thumping the floor anxiously. “Can we please focus?”

“Right.” Virgil shook his head sharply, releasing his deathgrip on the lockbox. “Right, uh, maybe I can li-- ghk.”

Abruptly, the deathworlder seemed to freeze up, jaw clenched, limbs rigid, chest still. To Roman’s horror, he spotted a trickle of red spill from the corner of his lips. “Virgil!”

As though the spell had been broken, the Human staggered, and then fell forward, knocking clumsily into the bars and gripping them for support as his breathing started up again, twice as ragged as before. The overhead alarm went utterly quiet.

Now that Virgil had half-collapsed, Roman could see past him, to the door frame.

There was another Human standing there at the threshold.

They were tall, with pallid skin and rust-colored hair cropped shorter than Virgil’s, wearing well-fitted clothes, and with a finger on the trigger of a black, boxy weapon that Roman couldn’t identify. Thin, barely-visible wires connected it to Virgil. Virgil, who had taken four paralyzers at once and managed to keep fighting, but was barely stirring after one hit from this.

He opened his mouth to speak, not knowing what would come out, and his eyes caught on the emblem sewn onto the Human’s outfit.

He knew it.

It felt like his every scale was on end, unfiltered terror coursing through him.

“Found it,” the Human said, completely composed. Their free hand was raised up to an ear, pressing against the communicator there. “Ended up at the Crowned’s block instead of an exit. Should I take it to the reinforced cells?”

There was a pause as whoever was on the other end replied, and the Human glanced to Roman with nothing but ice in their gaze. “And the Crowned? … Of course. Right away.”

Clicking the comm off, they stepped forwards and yanked the wires free, ignoring the way Roman flinched. They poked at Virgil’s leg with the tip of their shoe, and then easily hauled their fellow Human to his feet. Virgil’s eyes went wide at the sight of them, but only for a moment. He immediately bared his teeth, gripped the other right back and dug his fingers in. “Let go.”

“Vicious, are we?” They muttered, unconcerned. “You can’t win, so don’t even try. I’ll be nice and warn you in advance: anything you do to me, I’ll double back onto your Crowned friend over there.”

At the gesture to Roman, Virgil went still, his hold loosening. There was something off about  that, Roman thought, but his mind seemed to be working through a thick fog, everything hazy and slow. The unfamiliar Human only nodded, as though they’d confirmed something, and pulled open the cell next to Roman’s before half-shoving Virgil towards it. “In.”

Still unsteady, Virgil stumbled heavily as the door was swiftly shut and locked behind him. The Human turned away, hand already returned to their communicator.

“I need two reinforced cells prepared for our lady. Clean up whatever’s left in them.”

They stepped past the shattered door, out of the room, and were gone. Roman felt his frozen posture thaw slightly, but there was no sense of relief. His pulse continued to race.

A cell over, Virgil leaned heavily against the bars, a sheen of sweat across his skin.

“That rescue attempt,” he said, voice rough, “went less than good.”

Ire rose in Roman hot and fast, like boiling water. It was as good a distraction as any. He turned to Virgil sharply, arms spread aggressively. “What were you thinking?”

“What?” Virgil asked, going still with surprise.

“You shouldn’t have come here. We’re both trapped here now.” He grabbed his own arm tightly, claws digging in. “This isn’t some low-grade smuggling ring you can slaughter your way out of!”

“Roman, I--,” Hurt, and then frustration flashed across Virgil’s face. “Come on, I came to help you--!”

“Oh, what a joke.” Roman snarled, his breath coming faster. “Help me? All you’ve done is gotten us both stuck in an even tighter trap.”

“I wasn’t trying to--”

“Oh, yes, I’ll believe that, coming from a Human,” Roman scoffed, ears flattening back aggressively. His head pounded in rhythm with the painful buzz of the artigrav.

Virgil stood up a little stiffer, eyebrows drawing in. Roman felt an odd vindication. The Human had certainly never made this harsh expression around Patton. “Me being Human doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

Roman’s laugh caught oddly in his throat, coming out bitter and shattered. “It has everything to do with this. You think it’s a coincidence that this is the first Human that we’ve run into since you? That they abducted me for no reason?”

Virgil stared at him, glancing at the open doorway the other Human had vanished through. “You know this place.” It wasn’t a question.

“I know these Humans,” Roman corrected sharply, trying to keep the chill from his bones as reality set in. It was harder, now that the heat of his anger was fading out.

“How?” Virgil asked, apparently doing his best to stoke those dying embers. He glanced at the door to his cell, assessing. “If you know something that could help--”

“Nothing can help us!” Roman snapped, breaths harsh and gasping. The walls were drawing closer, pressing down on him. “These Humans took everything from me! Everyone I ever knew, gone in a single night! I’m the only one left!”

There was no sudden ringing silence, no perceptible shift in the universe now that he’d admitted the truth. There was just him, and the Human, still in cells, still doomed.

“I’ve lived-- all this time for-- for them, and Humans,” his lungs were beginning to ache, “Humans can’t even-- won’t let me do that right.”

Virgil moved closer to the bars, slow and uncertain. “Hey. Roman, hey, easy. Roman, you have to breathe. Breathe, okay?”

His voice was lower, softer. Coaxing, like he was luring a small animal out of hiding. It was like watching a Human pretending to be an ally, like watching a Human using the voices of other victims, like watching a Human turn and slaughter his tribe-- his friends-- his family.

The past and present seemed to overlap, an insignia burnt into the Human’s clothes where it hadn’t been before. Roman snarled at him, but the noise came out choked and small, like he was a kit again.

Virgil-- his mother’s murderer-- the Human was still talking, the words echoing and rolling over each other until the noise was indecipherable. There was an undertone of urgency to its voice as Roman backed further away-- pushed himself deeper into the hidden crevice-- hid away like a coward.

When he finally blacked out, it was almost a blessing.

---

When he woke, his cell was different.

It was narrower, and composed entirely of thick, interlacing bars, no solid back wall to lean on. No food slot, either. The space was lit from above, and in the cell next to his, he could see Virgil pacing like a caged animal. The rest of the room was too dark to make out.

The moment he shifted to sit up, the Human’s eyes were on him. “Roman!”

Roman steeled himself, but Virgil was oddly muted, and he stayed firmly on the side of his cell furthest away. Even that meager distance wasn’t far enough to keep Roman’s pulse steady-- or enough to hide the bruised swelling on one side of Virgil’s face. “What happened to you?” he asked, pressing a palm to his own headache. The non-Human one.

Virgil’s hand drifted up to the injury absently. “Made some trouble when they were moving us.”

Roman stared at the injury for a moment longer. If this was how brutal these Humans were to one of their own, he didn’t even want to think about how they’d treat him.

“I called their bluff,” Virgil continued, as though Logan had connected their minds. “Whoever they answer to explicitly instructed them not to let you get hurt.”

“Not yet, at least,” Roman replied darkly.

Virgil just nodded, face tight with stress. “Not yet. That gives us time.” He paused, working his jaw for a moment. “If... if they’ve been keeping you here for this long, maybe we could find other survivors—“

“They’re dead, Virgil,” Roman cut him off, voice flat and toneless. His anger had burned out. “The bodies— I was the only one left to perform the wake afterwards.”

Virgil went quiet. Roman felt his mind slipping back to thick smoke and burnt flesh, and shook himself harshly, one loud rattle of his scales to try and ground himself. “How long was I out?”

“Not long,” Virgil replied, and then paused before Roman could demand a less vague answer. He pressed a finger to his mouth. “Hang on. Footsteps.”

There were a few beats of silence, and then a door slid open with a pneumatic hiss. For a moment, the hallway beyond was enough to cast a dim light over the rest of the room. Roman could make out rows of these narrow, empty cells, enough to hold more Humans than he ever wanted to see again.

It was the same Human from before, and Roman was surprised to find that their lip was split, though perhaps he shouldn’t have been. It was vindicating to see that Virgil had given as good as he’d gotten.

Any semblance of calm fled Roman’s body as the Human walked into the circle of light shining down over their cells, right up to the meager barrier between them. Human limbs were thin enough to reach through the bars, and the thought was enough to make him shift back, flaring up aggressively with every threat display he had.

“Don’t worry, your highness,” the Human said, their eyes rolling strangely in their skull. “I’m not here for you, not this time.”

Almost against his will, Roman’s gaze flickered to Virgil, who was standing stock-still in the middle of his cell, chest rising and falling only fractionally. The Human popped open the cell casually, and then waved when Virgil didn’t move.

“Come on, come on,” they chided, “you have a doctor's appointment to keep.”

Like the words were an igniting spark, Virgil took two running steps forward and launched himself at them.

It was barely a fight. The Human didn’t even hesitate, smoothly catching Virgil by the upper arms and twisting until he went down with a cry of pain Roman had never heard from him before. Even half-pinned to the floor, he continued to writhe and twist, a guttural hiss escaping him.

“Relax,” they ordered impatiently, shaking him once, “they know how to properly sedate here. Anesthetic and everything. You won’t feel a thing.”

Contrary to their attempt, Virgil’s struggles doubled in intensity, thrashing with a strength that seemed to surpass anything he’d displayed in front of Roman or the others before. “No! No!”

The Human swore offhandedly, grabbing something from a pocket. “Damn. Thought that would work, with reports on how you came in.”

In one simple movement, they wrapped their hand around Virgil’s neck, and waited as his struggles became heavy and leaden.

They were killing him, a tiny, panicked voice in Roman’s mind screamed.

He didn’t realize he had crossed the short length of his cell until he was already gripping the bars, rattling against them. “Stop! Let him go!”

The Human glanced up, eyebrows raising slightly. When they lifted their hand, the distinctive white square of a tranq patch was left behind, pressed firmly into the skin.

Not dead. Roman felt a shocking amount of relief, his scales drooping with the force of it. He just… didn’t want to see another person murdered by a Human, that was all.

The Human slung Virgil over a shoulder, recapturing his attention.

Right. Not dead. Just drugged into unconsciousness, about to be dragged off to who-knew-what.

“Wait!” Roman reached out, barely able to fit his wrist past the bars. There was white noise rising in his ears. “Look, it’s me you want, right? To-- To finish what you started, tie up the loose ends. That Human doesn’t have anything to do with this. So don’t do anything-- he’s not involved.”

“Oh, now that’s funny.” The Human laughed, the sound caustic, and leaned in. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, your highness. It doesn’t matter if he’s involved or not. Out here, the only thing a rogue Human needs to do to be targeted is exist.” They paused, mock-thoughtful. “Kind of like you, actually.”

Roman felt his entire being prickle with white-hot fury, a low growl rumbling in his chest. To say that his people deserved to be slaughtered for just existing… Human cruelty really knew no bounds.

“Speaking of,” the Human continued languidly, “I'll be back soon to show you to your own appointment.”

Roman felt his insides turn to ice.

“The boss has finally called for you.”

[queenaeducan]

💬 💬 💬 !

quotes from my writing i'm proud of! @apeacebone

Something from Prayers of the Father, the Mass Effect fic I wrote for an exchange!

Thane watched Miranda suck a breath in around her teeth, a moment’s weakness, quickly quashed. When she drew her gaze from the engine, she was poised, precise. She did not come here on a matter of business, but neither for idle conversation. “But she’s safe, for now. Thanks to Shepard, and to you.” He blinked. What he expected when she entered he couldn’t know, especially now, but he could safely say he did not expect this. “It was my duty as an assassin in Shepard’s service. I made a vow.” “To stop the Collectors, not solve my family’s problems.” “It was a… worthy diversion.” “And that’s why I’m thanking you.” He sensed she would chase the subject until he relented, and so he did. His head bowed in resignation, and acknowledgment. “You are welcome.” But Miranda lingered, arms folded over her chest as though waiting for him to say more. The distance between them tipped like a scale, and he got the impression that she wasn’t used to feeling indebted to anyone. With Shepard he imagined she could operate safely with the knowledge that she’d brought the Commander back from the dead, but with him she had no such leverage. He was a stranger who had bled for her sister’s freedom and she was grateful, but she was resentful. It comforted him to consider such duality could exist in her, as well. (x)

It'd been years since I wrote in the Mass Effect universe and it was the first time I wrote Thane and Miranda. I liked the idea of Miranda and Thane bonding over their broken families and acknowledgment of his presence at the mission. As much as I love ME2 it would actually be the most perfect game of all time if it actually had interactions between crewmates in the way the DA games do. I think the thing I'm most fond of is descriptions of Miranda's movements, I tried to match the descriptions that Thane gives during his memories, which were always vivid in describing people and their expressions/voices. It was also fun to convey the respect he has for her through the flattering description of her b/c Miranda deserves it.

Now something from my Take Me to Thedas series:

Red fissures in the ground divide the earth into wedges, cutting up the quarry into pieces of the world’s worst pie. Sera scrunches her nose, poking at the tip of one particular violent outcropping of lyrium with the tip of her arrow. The stone chips, the sound it makes as it falls through the air whistles in her ears like it’s beckoning for her attention. Where it falls, the snow melts, bringing about an eerie spring that sets her hairs on end. “How do we know breakin’ it into bits will help anything?” she asks. The toes of her boots grind into the top layer of snow as she kneels, still prodding at the pebble with an arrowhead. “It still seems… alive-y.” “We don’t.” Thora’s admission is as cold as the air. She drags the head of her hammer across the ground, the ice splintering under its weight. “But this will keep it from growing.” She swings the hammer forward, grunting from the effort, and lands it dead in the centre of a bloom of lyrium. Sera feels the impact in her teeth. It shatters like a mirror, raining in a hundred tiny pieces, whistling in a hundred tiny voices. She remembers Lady Emmald warning her that mirrors are bad luck. Lies to keep her swinging fists at her sides, but it’d worked, just like every lie she’d told her had. Only there was no lie in this bad luck. If it were up to her she’d bust a hundred mirrors before she ever lay eyes on red lyrium again. (x)

I'm proud of a lot of these snippets because I got to focus on descriptions, something which while roleplaying I got out of practise but I think I've made progress on in the last year. Also I tried to use characters who for the most part I hadn't written before, or don't write as often. It was good practise for voice and establishing setting/character quickly. This one with Sera is my favourite because she has such a unique voice that I can't imagine doesn't carry over to her narration, and idk I think I did a good job here.

Ok and finally a snippet from my contribution to the @/solamancyzine!

“In the Fade I bore witness to an elf, a mage, fleeing Chantry forces. With Templars hot on his trail and the walls of Amaranthine too high to scale without notice, he had little recourse but to find refuge in a farmer’s wagon and hope to pass for the first autumn harvest. The light of his phylactery glowed like a star in his pursuer’s hand; it was only a matter of time ‘til he would be found— had a woman not stopped them.” “Her voice high with fear, she pointed to the outer walls, claiming she’d seen a man cavorting with spirits in an alleyway. Cursing their trinket, the knights hurried in the direction of her finger, chainmail clattering with every stride. As the commotion cleared, the woman’s lips turned up in a devilish grin, a cheerful tune on her lips as she went on with her day as though nothing had happened. The apostate was on the next ship north, safely nestled amongst the harvest. He kept the woman in his prayers, even if he never learned her name.” Beside him, Varric’s shoulders shook with grief, sobs soft enough that they do not overpower the story’s end. “Hawke was a hero long before anyone, even you, thought to tell her story. Mourn her, share your grief as you shared your lives, but know her tale does not end at Adamant just as Andraste’s did not end in Minrathous. Take pride in the moments she chose to share with you; they will bring you comfort in the days to come, even if remembering moves you to tears.” “Thanks, Solas.” He swipes his sleeve under his nose, and Solas pretends he does not see the gleam of tears in his eyes as they meet. “Say, have I ever told you about the time we broke into Château Haine?” “I don’t believe so,” he muses, “but if it begins to sound familiar, I will remind you that any tale worth telling is worth telling twice.” (x)

I've said before I'm proud of this because I worked on it with the intent to publish it for a zine people paid for, but also! I'm proud of it because I think it's a good look into how these two storytellers mourn. How Varric will often deflect stories that are too personal, like with Bartrand, and what set him on the path to eventually write about Hawke after their death (as we see in Trespasser). A lot of people die in the games and oftentimes the resources aren't there to depict the depth of grief on the screen that we feel as people who love the characters, but I like the implicit room left for us to imagine what those moments look like, such as the time between Solas leaving and returning during his personal quest or Varric writing to Hawke's love interest.

[marlynnofmany]

Small-Scale Comedy

A lot of the time when our little courier ship makes deliveries to alien planets, the captain will send someone of the customer’s species for the hand-off. It puts them at ease to see a familiar face and all that. Usually. Other times, the customer is of a notoriously egotistical species, likely to feel affronted if the delivery person has a shinier exoskeleton than they do.

Guess which today was.

“Good greetings,” Mur said, looking up at the insectlike bundle of limbs that loomed over him. Our customer for today was colored in white and the palest pinks, edging into more vivid red at the ends of her legs, and the blades of her pincher arms. She looked like a murderous flower.

And while we had two perfectly eligible Mesmers back on the ship, one of whom I’d accompanied on similar deliveries before, Captain Sunlight had decided to send in two of the squishiest crewmates instead.

Mur lifted the package with half of his tentacles, using the rest to hold himself up at a respectable height. I stood behind him with the payment tablet. I tried to stand very still.

Instead of grabbing the box or offering to pay, the customer called imperiously for someone to come open it for her. We were indoors, in what I’d thought was an empty room aside from all the tables molded from the same brown clay as the walls, and the copious amounts of junk on them. (Buildings here were made of the classiest mud I’d seen in a while, with burnished tabletops and patterned walls. But the mess of scientific equipment and photography supplies was much less classy.)

One of the locals scurried out from one of the many holes in the wall that I’d honestly thought were decoration, but now that I thought about it, there had been a balcony at about that height outside. No need for elaborate doorways when you’re shaped like a centipede.

Yeah, our customer was a large bug person spending time among smaller bug people. This was a comparison that was probably only amusing to me, so I kept it to myself. I’m getting good at that.

The centiperson — no idea what they’re actually called — scuttled over and took the box from Mur. This looked like a risky operation to me, and I had my hands out to catch it just in case the leg-sized whatever toppled over backward, but everything went fine. Their many top legs clung to the box while that long body curled into an S, and their bottom legs skittered over to set the box on a table. Then the centiperson manipulated the combination lock with some very skilled little leggies, and opened the box.

The Mesmer swooped in to pull out a sheet of what looked like tiny stickers, muttering and inspecting it for flaws. When I was starting to wonder if Mur or I should remind her that she still needed to pay for the delivery, she handed it off to the centiperson, whose many legs handled it with more dexterity than her little wrist fingers could. Mesmer pincher arms are excellent at doing damage, but not great for detail work.

“Right, yes, money,” she said, turning back toward us. “Put those on the three in the test chamber!” That part was for her assistant, who was already climbing up onto a table full of terarriums and lightboxes. “Tell me they’re doing better!”

I held out the payment tablet. She grabbed it with a pincher and typed in her information, making me glad for the thick rubber casing on the edges. We could have used a metal case for it, but Zhee had demonstrated how easy those were to dent by crushing one with his own pinchers. It had turned out like a work of art.

“They are healthy,” reported the small voice of the centiperson. “I have applied the cameras.”

“And?” demanded the Mesmer, striding over without giving the tablet back. “Show me!” She peered down into a white-sided box that currently had a lot of lights aimed at it.

Before I could ask, something happened in the box to make the Mesmer exclaim in frustration and lift the tablet skyward. Mur made a noise, worried just like I was that she was about to smash it.

But instead she just stalked back over and thrust it into my hands. “Here. Either of you know much about animals?”

I, with my veterinarian training, had to answer, “Yes.” Mur was pointing at me with multiple tentacles.

“Good. Tell me what is wrong with these animals.”

I found myself ushered over none too gently, while the centiperson moved aside and the Mesmer spoke at length about the videography work she had come here to do.

“The final thing I need is a point-of-view recording from one of these, and I have acquired the absolute smallest of camera tabs, and I am starting to worry that the local population is diseased.”

“Why?” I asked uneasily. The white box held three tiny whatevers, each smaller than my last finger joint, as brown as the walls. They had froglike hopping legs, though none seemed interested in going anywhere. Their faces were pointed like bird beaks, and an itty-bitty camera tab sat on each head like a tiny hat.

“Their jumping is impaired,” the Mesmer said from above me. I made a mental note not to turn around quickly. “And I know that it’s not the cameras throwing them off; those have the molecular weight of smoke. I’m more concerned that something is wrong with all of the creatures here. None of the ones we’ve caught can land on their feet.”

To demonstrate, she stuck a pincher blade into the box, which made the three not-frogs scatter.

Wow, she’s not kidding, I thought as they landed on everything but their feet. They scrambled upright quickly enough, but that was some spectacular tiny pratfalls.

From right next to me, Mur asked, “Is there a disease that causes that?” He’d climbed onto the table himself, and was watching with interest.

“It’s possible,” I said. The centiperson was observing in silence, and I asked, “Are they always like this?”

“Yes.” The answer came quickly, in a flat voice that suggested this conversation had happened before.

The Mesmer waved a pincher arm, folded this time. “The entire population may be suffering from something, either a creeping illness or a low-level poison.”

“It could be,” I said slowly, watching the centiperson turn their head toward the ceiling in what looked an awful lot like exasperation. “Or these animals could be built like a small animal on my planet, with a similar problem.”

I had all their attention now.

“What problem?” demanded the Mesmer.

“Their inner ear is too small to work properly,” I said, gesturing toward the side of my own head. “The part that senses which direction gravity is pulling. It has fluid that needs to slosh around, but the channel isn’t big enough to do it.”

There was silence for a heartbeat, then Mur said “Wow,” and the Mesmer said, “WHAT?”

The centiperson just said, “That makes sense.”

“An entire species can be like that??” exclaimed the Mesmer, stepping back to where she could gesture without hitting anything.

“We did tell you,” said the centiperson.

“I thought it was toxins!”

The centiperson looked at me. “The common name for them is ‘headhoppers.’”

“I thought they had a habit of jumping onto people’s heads!”

Not replying to that, the centiperson produced a little hand net from the far side of the table, and deftly scooped up the tiny not-frogs. They really were about the size of Pumpkin Toadlets, just not bright orange, or fully frog-shaped. Once these had their tiny camera-hats removed, they tumbled willingly into a terrarium full of plants.

“Well,” Mur said, “That’s interesting.” He hopped to the floor with a splat.

The Mesmer was complaining to the world at large that fate was cruel and she’d never get the recording she wanted.

I looked to the local. “Are there any similar animals that are a little bigger?”

“YES.”

“Did you already tell her that?”

“Also yes.”

The Mesmer whined, “They’re nocturnal.”

“Flashlights exist.”

I stepped away from the table, careful to bring the tablet with me. “I’m pretty sure you can come up with a workaround. You should listen to your local expert here; sounds like there’s a wealth of information ready and waiting.”

The centiperson spread many legs and looked skyward, which looked grateful to me. The Mesmer grumbled but didn’t say no.

Already halfway out the door, Mur said, “Good luck with everything!”

I echoed the sentiment and followed him with a wave. The centiperson waved back: a rolling motion along one side that looked especially jaunty. The Mesmer’s arm motion was more of an “Ah, whatever,” but I’d take it.

“So tell me more,” Mur said as we walked back to the ship. “The tiny animals on your planet land on their faces every time? How are they still alive?”

“Well, they’re too small to really get hurt by it,” I said with a shrug. “And I’ve heard it said that any predator is probably laughing too hard to eat them.”

“Yup, that’s definitely it. Your planet sounds hilarious. I’d love to visit someday.”

“You should!” I said. “It’s a great place. Though you know what other animal jumps like that? Fleas.”

“What’s fleas?”

“Oh, let me tell you about fleas.”

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come! And I am currently drafting a sequel!

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Alabasta (Part One)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

(this is a repost, i deleted the first version of it by accident cause im Idiot)

the entry into the grand line is such a great sequence. it feels like such an ending- a triumph after they’ve spent pretty much all of east blue struggling to make it here, and at the same time the beginning of a new adventure, the biggest yet, one that has yet to end a solid two decades later. they all look so happy to have made it here- it makes me smile.

whiskey peak is one of my very favorite short arcs, and i think of the whole first half of the baroque works saga its the one that hits and maintains a tone best (almost certainly because its so short, admittedly, but still). i love the repeated shots of the moon, the reveal that the cactuses are actually covered in graves, the way everything seems far too good to be true at the start and the sense of suspense that creates.

zoro’s extended fight scene in whiskey peak is so great- it’s so creative and so dynamic and the odds are stacked so high against him and yet he’s clearly having so much fun. i do miss this sort of scrappy, improvised fight, cause its largely absent from later one piece but its SO much fun to read- zoro cutting holes in rooftops for people to fall through or shoving ladders to the ground as bounty hunters try to climb them.

i’m a huge fan of fight scenes that use the environment to their fullest, and this is such a perfect example of it. it makes the fight feel a lot more real and exciting, in my opinion.

i’ve never liked zoro and luffy fighting at whiskey peak, its always struck me as frustrating and contrived and kind of out of character for both of them, but i will say that i do like how on the same page they are even when they’re trying to kill each other.

the entire first half of the baroque works saga basically serves to introduce and endear us to vivi so we’ll be invested in the alabasta conflict, and that starts here in whiskey peak, when we get our first glimpse of her actual personality rather than the act she was putting on as miss wednesday, when she bites her lip hard enough to bleed in order not to break down at igaram’s apparent death.

watching robin’s actions with the added context of later one piece is one of the great joys of rereading alabasta. she does a fantastic job of appearing to be crocodile’s most dedicated and capable and dangerous employee while quietly but consistently sabotaging his efforts; saving luffy, sparing pell, sparing igaram, not telling crocodile anything about the strawhats despite meeting them here at the very start of the saga.

little garden has some really cool and striking panels that really put the scale of things on the island, the dinosaurs and giants alike, into perspective, and i love it.

i’m a huge fan of the depth of in-universe lore one piece has. just having little details like this, quotes from books written in-universe, go so far towards making the world feel like a real and wondrous place with mysteries to be solved and details to be uncovered.

i still think sanji is firmly at his best when he’s being a sneaky bastard, and i will never cease to be delighted by how thoroughly he manages to fuck crocodile over with nothing but a phone and some quick thinking not once but twice.

i really like dorry and brogy! for minor characters who’ve only appeared in one relatively minor and inconsequential arc so far, they’re not only very fun and memorable but also leave a hell of an impact on the story, not only in usopp’s new dream of eventually visiting elbaf but also in how they and their crew just keep coming up, first in enies lobby and then even further down the line in dressrosa and whole cake island.

i’m really excited for when we eventually get to reach elbaf, because this plot thread has been so thoroughly and subtly built up over such a long time that i can’t wait to see how it ends.

this is one of my favorite little moments to really drive home how much the strawhats care about each other. they all fell asleep on the floor rather than leave nami alone.

the whole introductory scene to drum is a really good summary of who vivi is as a person and how she contrasts with luffy, and it’s something i’ve written extensively about in a past meta. here ill just settle for saying, vivi is chronically selfless, and always the sort of person to sacrifice herself for others, and these traits which save the strawhats here are the exact same ones that bring her and luffy to blows later on in alabasta.

a good thing to remember when writing characters is that traits aren’t really inherently good or bad, they’re just traits and can have positive or negative consequences depending on the situation, and i think oda is really good at this. vivi’s selflessness, usually a positive thing, becomes reckless self-sacrifice when she’s pushed to her breaking point.

‘kindness begets kindness’ is a pretty consistent theme throughout one piece, though luffy is most often on the other side of it. someone (rebecca, law, tama, etc.) does something for him without really expecting anything in return, and gets paid back a hundred times over. this is a case of the opposite- luffy helps someone offhandedly, and is later saved by their gratitude.

i think luffy wearing his fingers bloody as he climbs the drum rockies is the only time one piece has ever made me cringe back from the page. this sequence is absolutely brutal, and it’s so well-done.

the way luffy decides chopper should be his crewmate is precious, and also reminds me a little of his recruitment of sanji (ironically, given he’s talking to sanji about chopper here). in both cases he sees someone do something good without even really knowing the full extent of their abilities and makes a snap decision that they are awesome and are gonna be part of his crew, no matter what they have to say about it.

i really, really enjoy the way the drum island flashback is set up, with the cutaway right as luffy is about to punch wapol’s lights out. the cut back to that punch finally hitting when the flashback ends is by that point infinitely more satisfying, since you’ve just read chopper’s backstory and therefore have a deep and abiding desire to see wapol eat shit.

hiriluk’s final speech is definitely one of the best and most memorable quotes from one piece, and effectively the crux of one of its biggest themes. one piece is all about inherited will. all of our main cast and a solid percentage of the supporting cast bear the legacy of at least one forebear on their shoulders, from kuina to corazon to otohime. the entire setting of the story is defined by roger’s legacy.

all those people are dead, but they’re sure as hell not forgotten- how can they be, when their legacies are actively shaping the world as a direct result of their lives and influences?

i really, really like the use of flags in one piece. flags are how you declare loyalty or war in equal measure, and flying a pirate flag is a declaration that you’re choosing freedom, come what may, over the laws of the world government. it’s just a really excellent running motif, and a great symbol of what one piece’s definition of piracy means.

this scene is also one of the ones that gets even more extra weight behind it when you know luffy’s full backstory with sabo, which i love.

chopper’s recruitment scene sums up one of the reasons luffy is really great. he just doesn’t care about a lot of things other people would normally take notice of. occasionally that gets him in trouble, but other times it leads to him responding to a situation exactly right, like here. chopper is listing off all his insecurities and reasons he can’t go with the strawhats, and luffy just flat doesn’t care. he wants chopper on his crew and he knows chopper wants to be on his crew, so as far as he’s concerned, there’s no issue at all.

it really is wild that the will of D is named this far back in the story, and has consistently been referenced and built up ever since in very slight ways, through comments by characters like robin and corazon, and yet we still know basically nothing about it.

and a toast to a new crewmate!!

continued in the next post, which covers alabasta arc proper.

[dreaminpetals]

I love how you write Andrew, could I have a little mermaid au where his s/o is a mermaid and it follows the events of the disney movie?? Or it can be a normal mermaid fic if you're not familiar with it, no pressure. Keep up the great work <3

🌊 the little mermaid // andrew kreiss

you had always been fascinated with human culture, particularly the people that lived above your aquatic kingdom. the castle you lived in was located directly under what your friend bonbon called a railway. everyday a train would zoom past, full of humans with different lives and destinations. you longed to grow legs and ride a train yourself. alas, you were stuck under the sea with seahorse drawn carriages as your main mode of transportation.

bonbon had been teaching you about conductors, the brave humans who controlled the trains, before you realized you were almost late to see your favourite train fly by. it was going to arrive any minute now and you needed to see it.

unfortunately, when you swam as fast as your little tail could take you to the railway, embers and rubble were scattered throughout the terrain as far as the eye could see. the train had... crashed?

your first instinct was to search for survivors of the wreckage. after digging through heaps of metal and ash, you found a man struggling to stay afloat. "i've got you!" you yelped, battling the debris with your tail and bringing him to the surface to rest atop a loose seat from the train.

when you got a good look at the human you saved, it was as if cupid struck you with one of his arrows. he was a man with skin so pale it was almost grey, and beautiful white hair despite looking so young. it was unlike anything you've ever seen before, did all humans look like this? his eyes fluttered open and met yours. they were a coral hue and absolutely breathtaking. looking up, you recognized his hat from the stories bonbon rehearsed to you... he was the train conductor! oh, you were so glad that he was safe.

merfolk were meant to be kept a secret from the humans lest they be hunted for their scales, so once a spotlight flashed over the man you returned home, giggling all the way back. you got to touch a human and it was a handsome one too! you couldn't wait to tell your sisters about it.

arriving at the castle, you were instantly greeted by two of your sisters, emily and vera. they both wondered why you were covered in soot.

oh yeah.

you were a bit dirty from rescuing that train conductor.

they washed you up with some soap while you gushed to them about the boy you saw, but none of them were very impressed with your actions.

"humans are the reason we lost our father, he was killed by pirates, do you not remember?" vera scolded you as she massaged soap into your scalp, "there are plenty of mermen for you to choose from so please, please stay away from the surface. i don't want to lose a sister," if she wanted to nail guilt into your head then it certainly worked, you felt awful. was saving him really that heinous of a crime? you couldn't simply ignore someone if they were about to die, human or not.

emily scrubbed at your tail and tut-tutted you, "humans are dangerous creatures and only wish to hunt us down, i'd advise seeking mental help if you find yourself attached to one... please y/n, we only want the best for you."

halfway through her speech you suddenly became dizzy. you heard the sound of a young girl cackling in your ear, and you swore you saw a flash of purple swimming away, right outside your window...

*

the sea witch, yidhra, let out a boisterous laugh when she learned of your current situation. a mermaid has fallen in love with a human? oh, this was too good!

yidhra specialized in making deals with unsuspecting merfolk, she collected their souls like an oyster would collect pearls. young lovestruck girls were the most vulnerable of targets, she could see herself winning big off of you. the daughter of miss nightingale, ruler of the seas? you being a princess in love meant you could hand over the key to the kingdom if you could spend just a day with your beloved. dangerous schemes swam through her head, this was going to be the deal of a lifetime.

meanwhile, above the surface, the train conductor who nearly tasted death was going nuts thinking about you. hushed whispers of townsfolk taught him that mermaids were ravenous creatures who only sought to lure sailors from their ships to consume their souls, but a mermaid had saved him. nobody believed andrew; they insisted he had been pulled from the wreckage by one of his crewmates and merely hallucinated a mermaid. a mermaid would never save him, they would only drag him down further.

their words ate away at andrew. were mermaids as misunderstood as he was? his entire life, andrew had been cast away as a monster. rumours circled around that his lack of pigment was caused by sucking out the souls of his train passengers for nutrients. the mystery girl he saw wouldn't leave his mind, every waking moment he heard her voice, a melodic chirp that promised to save him... if only he recorded her appearance, he couldn't remember what she looked like if he did try to find her. only her voice. he longed to meet her. he longed to repay her, nobody deserves to endanger themselves to save andrew kreiss of all people.

*

when you stirred, all of your sisters were gathered around your clamshell bed. frantic whispers filled the room as you sat up and placed a heat compress on your head. it felt like someone hexed you.

"she has a slight fever, but i trust that y/n will make a full recovery with some rest," emily explained to tracy, your youngest sister who was beside herself with worry. "she likely went into shock from seeing a human up close. fret not, demi is preparing some medicine as we speak."

soon enough, their voices fizzled out and were replaced by a ghoulish group of whispers in your ear. it sounded like several children and an old woman speaking all at once. "come to yidhra's domain, sweet princess. you will meet your human love if you follow my instructions." your human love? your ears perked up the moment you heard her mention the train conductor you had fallen for. suddenly gaining a burst of energy, you told your sisters you were going to take a breather in the castle garden and swam off. they were left dumbfounded.

before you raced to yidhra's domain, you told your feathered friend bonbon what you were up to, just in case something happened. you had no idea how much this would pay off later on.

yidhra's domain intimidated you the moment it came into view. it was a serpent shaped cave made of bones surrounded by gardens of disembodied, broken souls. they moaned and weeped as you swam past them. miss nightingale warned you about yidhra, insisting that you never make a deal with the sea witch. however... she wanted to reunite you with the train conductor, she wanted to help you! none of your sisters understood how you felt, but yidhra did.

"is yidhra here?" you called out to an empty room lined with bookshelves and potions, a cauldron brewing in the centre. then, a pale blue woman with a serpent's tail emerged from the dark.

"sweet princess, have you come to make a deal with me?" she purred, tilting your chin up with a bony finger. you nodded. "you'd go against mommy's wishes for a human boy?" this time her tone was more condescending, but you nodded anyways.

"he's a train conductor, a brave man... oh yidhra, he's perfect, you'd know if you met him!"

yidhra snickered, slithering back to her bookshelves and carefully removing a contract with a floating pen. "what if i told you that you could see him again, dearie?" she used magic to teleport the contract into your hands, along with the pen. "if you sign this contract, you will become a human for three days. if the boy gives you true love's kiss by sunset of the third day, you'll stay as a human forever and fall in love, yadda yadda,"

you nodded, it sounded like a perfect deal. who knew yidhra could be so generous?

she gave a deafening clap of her hands. "hush. i'm not done." then a devilish grin corrupted her features, "if he doesn't kiss you, then you can kiss you and your kingdom goodbye. i will replace miss nightingale as ruler of the seas and you'll be the prettiest soul in my patch. deal?"

silence enveloped both of you as you thought this through. three days was plenty of time, all you had to do was kiss. he was your true love, your soulmate, it was a naive thought but you had never felt so much for another person before.

"silly me, i forgot to mention," yidhra stifled a cackle, "you won't have a voice, sweetie. you'll be a mute. will this conductor still fall for you when you can't chit chat with him?"

damn her, of course there had to be a catch.

you gave a shaky nod, mumbling that it was a deal. the laugh she let out was unlike anything you've ever heard, what was so funny? she couldn't stop howling as she dropped various potions into her cauldron, steam and green flames overriding your senses. "sing! sing for me, you foolish girl!"

singing a lullaby you grew up with, you signed the contract and felt your voice fade away along with your consciousness.

*

when you rose, you were on the shores of a freezing cold sea, the conductor staring down at you in disbelief. thank god for the seaweed covering your shivering form.

andrew blinked at you, visibly concerned. "i ah... i... i noticed you," he reached out a trembling hand which you gladly took to hoist yourself up. your feet buckled under you. wait. feet? looking down you noticed that you were a human, you had legs and feet! you could hardly contain your excitement, yidhra was helping you! your attention shifted back to the man in front of you, pulling you close to his chest so you wouldn't fall. "you washed up on the... shore. are you okay?" he was fumbling over his words and seemed so uncomfortable around you, like he wasn't used to the skin to skin contact.

you tried to answer but your words were caught in your throat. she wasn't messing around when she took your voice, you couldn't produce any type of sound whatsoever.

"ah, you're... you're scared of me, aren't you?" andrew tried to hide the hurt in his voice, "so scared you can't walk or talk. well, run off to your family now. go tell them you saw andrew the train conductor, that he tried to eat you... i know you're thinking it," andrew. your love's name was andrew!

he tried to drop you and turn on his heel to leave, but the moment you hit the grass he had to turn back around to check if you were alright again. he couldn't leave you.

you pointed to your throat as you stood up, knees wobbly. you made an 'x' shape with your arms and shook your head. andrew had an unreadable expression, but slowly began to nod in understanding. "oh, you can't speak? i'm... sorry for assuming, the people around here are... they're... not the kindest. they're wolves."

his eyes flicked to your body and saw the seaweed barely clinging to you. did you fall overboard or something? he wanted to respect your privacy so he stared at the water beside you as he set his coat over your shoulders, still averting his gaze. it was cozy and smelled like mint. the fur lining on the inside warmed you right up. "you would have froze in that. i'm not sure where you're... from, but... ah, just follow me," you gave him a grin and he walked you back to his home which wasn't far. it was right beside the grand railway you loved observing. it felt like a dream to visit it while andrew had his arms around you, even if he didn't know who you were.

he saw your jaw drop at the sight of the railway and the parked train. "that's my family's train, folks here aren't too... nice to me, but... they appreciate all our hard work," from what you could gather, he seemed to be an outcast. you related to that.

once you arrived at his house, he dashed upstairs to what you presumed to be his mother's room, because he returned with a stunning, sequinned dress. it was the same colour as your mermaid's tail!

after you were dried off and dressed, he sat down at the dinner table with you. for dinner you two ate some beef stew, one of his favourites. it was so amusing to him how you tried to brush your hair with a fork before the meal. he wanted to make small talk with you, but what would we say? it wasn't just the fact you were mute, but he's never eaten dinner with anyone other than his mother before. she passed years ago and he was left to fend for himself in their shared house, he's been entirely alone since you turned up. what could he say..?

"may i guess your name, miss?" andrew asked after swallowing some carrots, his voice as shaky as usual.

you gave him a playful thumbs up.

"great... hm, you strike me as a galatea."

thumbs down.

"violetta, then?"

thumbs down.

"ahh, okay... strike three, you remind me of a y/n."

thumbs up, and a bright smile on your face!

"n-no way, y/n? well, y/n... i'm sure you don't want to live with a monster for the rest of your days, so... i'll contact rescue... you'll be home by tomorrow morning,"

that made you flinch. tomorrow morning? you had to kiss him within three days! you vigorously shook your head and he tried to decipher what you meant.

"do you have a home? memory loss?"

you shook your head to both.

"ah, so you... saw your home get destroyed when you washed up. i'm sorry y/n." he stirred his beverage to break the silence, but the look he gave you was nothing short of heartbroken. how would you ever tell him you were a mermaid? "a similar thing happened yesterday... a train i was on crashed, and... a uh, mermaid saved me. nobody believes me though, but i felt her tail, heard her voice..."

his words made you freeze.

"you're the only person i can say this to, but... i think i love her."

you fainted.

*

after tucking you into his mother's bed, andrew headed outside for some fresh air. the salty smell of the sea would always help steel his nerves. running his calloused fingers through his hair, he reflected on the chaotic past two days he was being dragged through.

a mute girl who lived on a ship crashed and landed right in front of his home. he could barely handle the pressure of caring for you. you were adorable, charming, and the kindest person he had met, but he wanted to find the mermaid who saved him. he wasn't sure if what he felt for you was love or not, all he could think about was the mysterious mermaid.

then, as if fate hadn't been unpredictable enough, he heard her voice coming from a few feet away. an ethereal woman emerged from the sea, silky black hair matching her pitch black dress. she looked so mysterious, but her voice was all too familiar to andrew.

"oh, my sweet conductor, i became human out of love for you... please, let us marry as soon as possible!" the woman spoke in that relaxing, life saving voice. he could listen to it all day. he didn't know that she was hijacking his mind with a powerful love spell, he would become infatuated with more than her voice very soon.

"m-my name is andrew kreiss, miss... miss...?"

"tomie yidhra. but oh, how i yearn to be tomie kreiss! i don't view you as a monster in the slightest, i only wish to nurture you and love you for the rest of my days... you're the strongest and bravest man i know, please marry me! marry me andrew!"

how could he say no to those words, dripping out of the air like honey? no, really. he couldn't say no.

"i would love to."

"the day after tomorrow, at sunset... let us be wed, andrew."

*

the next day, you woke up to the sight of andrew looming over you again. you saw him give a silent fist bump when you sat up, he must have been ill with worry all night.

"oh! you're awake, that's good, miss. miss y/n, i have something unbelievable to tell you..."

you tilted your head to a curious angle, silently urging for him to continue.

"do you recall my story of a mermaid who saved me? she grew legs last night and visited me... tomie yidhra, we'll be marrying tomorrow... i would ah, love for you to come,"

you tried to scream but it was silent.

that bitch.

that wicked, evil bitch.

she took advantage of the fact andrew only recognized your voice and impersonated you. you needed to give him true love's kiss before their wedding. he was planning to marry yidhra. yidhra would kill him!

fueled by the fear of losing him, you bravely draped your arms around andrew's neck and gave him the deepest, most desperate kiss you could possibly give. he immediately pried his lips off yours and rubbed the back of his neck in humiliation.

"y-y/n! you're... you're great and all, but... i love tomie. please don't be hurt..." it was so strange and tragic, every time he spoke yidhra's human name it looked like he was under some kind of hypnosis, he wasn't his usual self. why would closed off andrew suddenly decide to marry her? tears brimmed at your eyes thinking of how foolish you were. "i have to leave now. work. i hope i didn't... ruin anything." he hurried out the door, giving you one last sad look before leaving you alone.

silent wails and shrieks of agony were caught in your throat, glass burrowing itself inside every inch of your body. your sisters were right. bonbon was right. miss nightingale was right. you should have left andrew alone, he wouldn't be tricked into marrying a sea witch this way. you ran outside, back to the shore you washed up on, and tried to swim back home, in case it gave you a tail. it didn't. you were still a human. you wanted nothing more than to reach yidhra's domain and strangle her yourself.

*

as you writhed in despair, bonbon flew overheard and recognized you. he saw the wedding boat being prepared and assumed your dreams were coming true, was andrew already engaged? he hoped not, and headed to the wedding boat to investigate.

there, he saw a woman with raven hair taking her makeup off and preparing for bed. except her reflection... her reflection showed the wicked sea witch, yidhra. then, in your voice, bonbon heard her shout for room service. this woman andrew was marrying... it was that vile witch, disguised as the woman who selflessly saved his life.

he flung some of his fecal matter through the window out of spite, and yidhra shrieked in your voice. yup, there was no doubting it, he has to interfere.

*

the next day, wedding bells rang and all you wanted was to drop dead. none of the guests even liked andrew and of course nobody knew who yidhra was, they were only attending his wedding out of curiosity. they were curious what ill woman would marry a demon.

you dabbed away the tears with your handkerchief and noticed that andrew was looking anywhere but you as he hooked arms with the bride. they were giving their vows, seconds away from kissing, until a starfish shot out of the water and hit yidhra square in the face.

then a dolphin flopped on deck.

then several octopi stuck to the crowd.

just what was going on here?

you began to recognize some of the creatures that made their way on the ship, and if you weren't mistaken, you could hear bonbon's voice in the distance... he was shouting 'attack'?

finally, you saw your sisters emerge from the sea.

"don't marry tomie, andrew! she's a witch! y/n was the mermaid who turned into a hu-"

before martha could finish, you felt a dull pain in your legs. oh no. casting a horrified glance to the horizon, the sun was setting.

"stupid girl!" yidhra transformed back into her serpent form, and spoke in her usual vile voice. "you may have found me out, but you didn't get your true love's kiss! andrew chose ME!" she gave her usual boisterous laugh, and with a stomp of her tail, the ship flipped overboard.

"andrew!" you called out, searching for him once again. your voice was back, you couldn't believe it. he was floating on a seat, just like when you saved him for the first time. "andrew, it's me, i'm sorry... i was so stupid," a gloved hand wiped the tears from your eyes, and he gave a content smile when he heard your voice. it fit you much better than that raggedy witch.

"it's okay, y/n... so, it was you all along...?" he gave a sad laugh when you nodded. you leaned in to kiss him and he gladly reciprocated, he was actually leaning into the kiss this time and it felt magical. the moment was quickly killed when you saw yidhra holding miss nightingale, ripping off her mask and placing it on her own face. this was terrible news. that mask helped her maintain balance between all the creatures of the sea, it was her main source of strength and wisdom. if it fell into the wrong hands, the results would be catastrophic.

and it just did.

yidhra grew ten times her usual size and towered above everyone scrambling for land. storms brewed in the sky and the aura of the evening changed, everyone was in grave danger.

"idiot girl, handing off her kingdom for a boy... why don't you kiss one last time before you sleep with the fishes!" yidhra bellowed and you couldn't take it anymore. you scooped up andrew and swam to a docked sailboat with a large wooden spike at the front. andrew wasn't a violent person in the slightest, but he was the only one who could kill yidhra right now and save the sea.

he began steering, a bit rusty, and reached yidhra's blindspot. he could sense the worry in her voice as she called out her followers. they were the ones who sent you those messages, they were working under her...! andrew steered straight into them and you had to look away. what you saw horrified you even more. miss nightingale was slowly being transformed into one of those soulless creatures from yidhra's garden, and judging by the sudden jolt of pain in your tail, the same would be happening to you very soon. "andrew, please hurry!" you cried out to him.

in the blink of an eye, causing a whole lot of trauma for andrew, he crashed the ship into yidhra's snake body. she howled in pain before andrew dealt the final blow with his shovel. yidhra disintegrated into what looked like confetti, hideous scaly confetti. the sky returned to normal and from it fell miss nightingale's mask. the soul stealing process ended quickly for you and miss nightingale. she retrieved her mask and freed all of the other soulless merfolk in the garden, as well as moving andrew to the shore where he could rest. he appeared to have passed out.

hours passed and all you could do was sit on a rock across from andrew's sleeping form, watching him intently. you had one chance with him and you blew it, you were a mermaid again. he looked so serene when he slept, but the scars littering his body told you that he's fought battles you couldn't even imagine. nothing has ever been so close to you but so far.

andrew finally opened his eyes and saw you. his face lit up when his gaze met yours, but quickly returned to a frown when your tail flicked towards him. you wouldn't have legs ever again.

as you two stared in disbelief, your family rose from the water. "y/n," your mother hummed as she placed a hand on her mask, "you've grown so much."

in a flash, your tail began to sparkle and shift, but it wasn't painful like how yidhra treated you. your mother's powers came from loving you, not tricking you. your tail slowly split into two, into...

two legs.

no words could describe how you felt, your head snapped around to your girls who were wiping their eyes in awe. "go on, sweetheart. be with him." electricity filled your veins.

they finally realized how wrong they were about humans.

taking a tentative step onto the shallow ocean floor, you felt the sand squish between your toes and collapse under your heel. in a bout of pure glee, you sprinted towards andrew. he caught you in his arms and twirled you around, staring lovingly into your eyes. neither of you could believe this was happening.

"let's go home," you cooed.

"yeah. let's."

this time, when andrew walked back home with you, his butterflies were caused by complete adoration for you, not because he feared for your safety. he felt so free now that yidhra wasn't controlling either of you. he was looking forward to the life he'd be spending with you, his little mermaid.

[chaseatinydream]

pirate king (81) || atz

“Let us off the ship, or she dies.”

The gun crew freezes from where they’d been about to move forward with their swords lifted. Iron digs into your skin hard enough for you to feel a bruise forming at your temple, and you wonder if it’s broken skin. He has a musket to your head.

“One squeeze of the trigger and her pretty head will be in pieces. I don’t think you want that to happen.” The man holding you says, yanking you against his chest roughly by the neck. He’s strong, far too strong for you to physically overpower, and for a second, you’re terrified for your life.

“Chin Hae!” The crewmate who’d talked to you earlier tries to take a step forward, but the man taps the musket against your head and he stops dead in his tracks, teeth gritted. You can see the fear in his eyes, clashing in conflict with the want to save you and have to bite back tears.

“Bring your captain here, and tell him to cease the fighting. If another of my men falls, you’ll pay for it with her life.” The enemy pirate demands, voice as cold as the arctic seas. You know in that instant he would have no qualms at all putting a bullet through your head. The man hesitates, and the pirate points his musket at your other hand instead. “I might not kill her yet, but she has three limbs more I can take off before I end her suffering. I think you’ll find that I’m not a man of much patience.”

His eyes send you a clear message, please, hold out until I get captain here, and dashes off into the midst of the fighting. Swallowing, you mutter out lowly. “Do you really believe that the Royal Navy will let you go if you turn me in? They might simply-”

“Don’t bother reasoning with me, little lady.” The musket edges its way up to under your throat, and you shiver as the metal brushes the skin there. You can taste gunpowder in the back of your throat. “I’m afraid you’ll find it harder to change my mind than stop me from blowing your brains out.”

“Everyone, cease your fighting.”

Your captain steps out through the midst of all the fighting, and like the eye of a hurricane, both sides lower their weapons, seemingly unable to refuse the sheer command that rolls off Kim Hongjoong. His one green eye burns silently, fixing on you before it lands on the man holding you captive. The crewmate trails behind him. “Speak.”

“I’m the captain of the Great White, and I think that I’ve made my terms perfectly clear.” The pirate states calmly, unflinching as he meets your captain’s vicious gaze. Hongjoong looks like he’s seconds from drawing his own cutlass and cutting down the man in fury. “Let us stop fighting, and I will not kill this woman right now. It will save both sides many lives.”

“You’re intending on handing her over to the Royal Navy.” Hongjoong hisses out through a snarl. “You dare to ask me to accept such a thing?”

“If you don’t, we’ll continue fighting, and even more of your men will lose their lives in the battle.” The pirate replies, bringing his musket back to your head again. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Wooyoung scaling the mainmast with a musket slung over his back. “Are you saying that the life of one woman is worth more than that of the rest of your crew?”

Hongjoong stills for a moment, a moment of raw uncertainty flashing in his eye as it meets yours. Seeing his moment of vulnerability, the pirate presses on, voice more harsh. “Can you really call yourself a captain if you’re playing favorites that way? Shame on you.” The crew of the Treasure look like they’re about to surge into an uproar, but Hongjoong raises his hand, and they fall silent at once. “I once used to respect you as a captain who would do anything to protect his crew and ship, Pirate King,” the man’s voice darkens. “But it seems as if you’ve grown soft in the time that you vanished from the Royal Navy’s sights.”

When you look back at your captain face, it’s pale, as if it’s been drained of blood. “The matters of my crew aren’t your concerns in the least.” His voice has a hard edge to it.

The pirate captain shrugs, voice unwavering. “I don’t really give two damns about your crew. But I hope you make up your mind fast.” His eyes darken, and you can feel a chill slipping down your spine. “I can feel my finger slipping, and then we’ll all be dead when the Royal Navy catches up with us.”

Hongjoong bites his lower lip sharply. To your horror, he looks like he’s really struggling, torn between his feelings for you and his duty as the captain to his crew.

It’s the first time you’ve seen him so uncertain, so unsure of his decision. There’s too much hinging on his choice, and while you know that choosing to send you off with them would be the best choice for your crew, you cannot help but tremble at the thought of what the Royal Navy will do once they get their hands on you.

The image of the man you’d met in the dark alleyways of Tortuga only scares you further. You don’t know his intentions yet, but from the sheer intensity of his obsession with you, you know that you never want to stand in his presence again.

“Apprentice!”

Forcing his way to the front of the crowd, you spot your master, face twisted with horror, hands still clutching his medical satchel and stained with blood. In realisation, you look down at your own hands to find them caked with drying blood as well, before it hits you - you were supposed to be saving someone.

“Master, there’s a man whose leg I had to amputate, please treat him!” You shout across the deck, and San’s eyes widen. “He might bleed out soon!”

San’s face looks painfully conflicted, torn between the need to stay with you and do his job as a healer on board. You shout again, to slap his out of his daze. “Master! You’re the only other one who can save him! Go!”

Your master’s look almost shiny with tears, before he turns around and dashes to the casualty you had been with, putting his hands over the gaping wound on the man’s body as he looks over it. And you see the sinking expression on his face, and know what it means: he alone will not be enough to save him.

But your master still puts his hands over the man’s leg, eyes fluttering shut. He’s still going to try it anyway, and you’re not going to be there to stop him.

You can’t let that happen to San.

“Let me go! I need to treat someone!” You start struggling in his grasp. You remember the way the man’s life pulse had been so weak and thready, like it had been about to snap at any moment. “He’ll die without me!”

“Not my crew, not my concern.” The pirate replies, voice measured and cold. “As a captain, you watch out for your men. I don’t have the mercy to spare for another’s.”

He makes sense, you know in the back of your mind, as you continue to thrash about. All your efforts to free yourself prove futile, however, as the captain sighs upon the sight of this. “Your captain can’t make a decision, but we’re running out of time.”

Suddenly, all you see is the arm holding the musket shifting, the silver of the firearm pointing somewhere else other than you. Although relief fills you for a second, it is immediately replaced by deathly cold dread when you see what he’s lining up the gun with.

“No-” You gasp, but the second the sound pulls itself from your throat, there’s the sound of a musket shot, far too loud in your ears.

The man’s body jerks as the musket shot enters him, and you feel your scream more in your throat than you hear it, ears ringing painfully loud. Hongjoong draws his cutlass, lips pulled back in a furious snarl. “What do you think you’re-”

San kneels next to the man, frozen in shock. There’s blood splattered across his cheek, his mouth. His pupils are trembling.

He looks like he’s going to be sick.

“Let us go, or her head is going to be next.” The pirate captain announces. There isn’t a single waver in his voice. “I’ll have you make your choice right now.”

The members of the gun crew that had been so willing to protect you earlier on rush to their friend, crying out his name in voices cracking in grief. You feel like you’re frozen in time, watching the world through a lens.

Someone is screaming incoherently, limbs boneless and mind empty. Someone is desperate to do something, blood staining their hands. But all that isn’t happening to just someone. That someone is you.

You had been doing everything you could to save that life of your crewmate. And this man had just snuffed it out like an insignificant candle with a single breath.

The most primal emotion burst out in you: raw, unparalleled fury.

You see red.

You grab the captain holding you with a single hand, and throw.

It’s almost effortless, the action, and the man goes flying bodily across the deck to slam into the hardwood of the mainmast. There are screams of terror coming from somewhere, disembodied and drifting about in the air, but you don’t register them. All you see is the man who had pulled that trigger.

You step towards him, barely keeping your body together. You’re so furious that you feel like you might explode if you don’t remove that man from the surface of this earth.

Go on, do it. You know you have the strength to do it.

“Protect Captain!” The enemy crew rush to defend their captain against you, but their near puny effort is so ridiculous to you that you can’t help but laugh. You surge forward like a storm wave, unstoppable, and simply push them out of the way with your bare hands.

Nothing can stand in your way.

You approach the captain, keeled over on the ground. There’s blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth, but his eyes burn with the same fury that matches yours. He struggles to pull himself to his feet. “What have you done to my crew-”

It was all their fault. They deserve what they’re getting.

You punch him in the face, and he goes hurtling back once more, body crashing to the ground. Blood splatters on the ground in front of you.

“You dare?” Your voice is something you don’t recognise, chillingly cold, immeasurable fury beneath the surface like the depths of an ocean. Your remaining hand draws back for another punch, and this time, you’re going to end this man for good. “You insignificant speck, dare to cross me? You, a mere mortal?”

The captain’s face is half covered in blood, although whether it’s from your hands or the gash across his forehead, you don’t know. It could be either, or both. His eyes are wide with terror as he looks up at you, and he trembles before you, like he should.

“Chin Hae, stop!”

All of a sudden, a pair of warm, trembling hands are holding your face, before a pair of green eyes meet yours. You can’t seem to remember who it is. Who is it that looks at you with such a gentle, pained gaze?

“Chin Hae, snap out of it!” The voice is shaking now, spilling over with tears. The enemy captain is quivering visibly, like a leaf in the wind.

“M...monster!”

The word echoes emptily in your mind.

Monster.

"Chin Hae, please, this isn’t you!” The voice begs again, dry sobs and a desperate cry in the white noise filling your mind. Chin Hae? Who is that? “All of us, we’re alright, San is healing the man right now, he said the bullet didn’t hit any vitals. So please stop this, Chin Hae, I’m begging you!”

You answer to no one.

His hand wraps around yours, and you feel your arm suddenly going limp. What were you doing? What’s going on? His hand is warm. Yours feel as cold as the darkest depths of the ocean.

“Wooyoung.” Your mouth forms the word, as if on instinct. His hands are shaking.

“Chin Hae.” He repeats your name breathlessly, stroking a thumb over your knuckles. He lifts your hand tentatively, as if afraid you might fly apart in his hold, and places it in his pocket.

The familiarity of it is enough for you to look up into those green eyes again.

“Wooyoung.” You can’t seem to form words, mind a complete blank. “What... what happened...”

Something warm spills from your mouth, falls to the deck. Wooyoung’s face twists in horror, as if in slow motion, lips parting to scream your name.

You look down at the deck, blinking. What is it that?

Blood, crimson and merlot, splatters across the wood. Did all that come from you?

Ahh, Seonghwa is going to have a hard time cleaning all that up.

That’s the last thing you think before your vision turns black.

[fluffypeachwriting]

hiyaaa~~

its me, the hitoya and reader getting transported to some unknown place! im rlly happy that u had fun writing it and i enjoyed reading it too! ٩(*•͈ ꇴ •͈*)و ̑̑❀

hehe u mentioned that u would be more than happy to write a sequel and oh my gosh id like to take up on that offer!! huhuu~ im already invested on what would happen to hitoya and the reader, and what theyre gonna do!!

thank you for writing my request and ill be waiting on for the sequel of it! good luck and im wishing you good health now and in the future! (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)

I’m sorry that you had to wait so long for this, but it’s finally finished! This sequel turned out to be around 3700 words, so I hope you don’t mind that! I had so much fun with this concept, and so I hope you like reading it! Maybe I’ll do more isekai concepts in the future - I’m so happy that you requested this!  (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Let’s get back to what Hitoya and Reader are up to! Maybe they’re alone on the boat, but are they alone in the water?

When you had stopped crying, you and Hitoya tried to investigate this strange boat. The unease of being thrown into a new world slowly morphed into a strong curiosity. It took about an hour for you to find your sea legs. It was surprisingly easy to get used to the swaying. The occasional movements you had to make to counteract that swaying came naturally to you.

An unexpected calm washed over the boat, and it became easier to think. Only for you though, Hitoya hadn’t said much in a while. In a strange change of heart, Hitoya had warmed up to life on a boat, in his own way. Either that or he was bored of complaining about it. There was a rugged-looking crewmate’s jacket folded over one of the seats inside the ship, which he took a liking too right away. It fit him perfectly, and while the pirate-y look wasn’t his usual deal, it certainly did him favours.  

You had also found something – a pocket watch that had been dropped on the top deck. You were keeping an eye on it, checking on it constantly until an hour had passed. At least, the hour hand had moved from six to seven – that was the only change. The sun hadn’t moved, the air was still brisk, and the sea still looked like red wine.

You sighed and put the watch back. Hitoya was looking over into the sea, thought you couldn’t tell if he was searching for something or simply contemplating things. Usually you wouldn’t hesitate to ask him what was wrong, and usually he would smile and pat your head, saying that everything was alright. But things were not like how they usually were. You thought it was best to leave him alone and stay close by.

In your other hand you were still holding that unusual hat, and until now you hadn’t paid it much mind. There wasn’t any need to, until a harsh gust of wind caught you off guard and knocked it out of your hand.

“No!” You instinctively yelled out, reaching to grab the hat.

Inches from sliding into Hitoya’s legs, you fell flat on your stomach and caught the hat.

“That was close,” You said, standing up and putting on the hat without thinking. Then the unease in your stomach vanished. The salty air felt natural to breathe in, like it was cleansing you from the inside out. A sense of purpose filled you, and the boat felt like home.

“Nice hat you got there, captain.” Hitoya said endearingly, though with a hint of sarcasm. “Where’d you find that?”

“I didn’t find it anywhere, it’s just mine,” You said without thinking. That was surely wrong, since you didn’t have a captain’s hat on you at all this morning. Wait, a captain’s hat? You patted it, and sure enough, it was just like a captain’s hat you’d see in a cartoon.

“Makes you look the part.” Hitoya smiled fondly, making the last shred of unease float away. If he had your back, then everything really would be alright, even in this crazy situation.

With the unease gone, your mind was clear enough to realise how exhausted you were. It was only just this morning when you woke up early to buy Hitoya a cake. That cake sounded really good right now. You were hungry too.

“Hungry… I hope the wind doesn’t pick up… don’t wanna eat when the ship is moving too much,” You said to yourself.

However, life wasn’t so kind, apparently. The sails of the ship started flapping quickly, almost enough to make you jump. A box came from nowhere and slid on the deck, lightly hitting your leg. “Geez…” You held onto your hat pre-emptively, expecting wind.

A moment passed, but no wind came.

“Kid, let’s put this back.” Hitoya knelt down to move the box, but stopped. “Hm.”

“What is it?” You bent down to see what he was curious about. It wasn’t a sight that stopped him, but a smell. It took no time to figure out what it was, in your hungry state, “Food!”

Pushing past Hitoya, you opened the box to find it full of yummy-looking snacks and treats, from sweet pastries to homemade bentos. They were all fresh, too.

“Where did this come from?” You asked into the air.

Hitoya didn’t reply. The ship did. You looked up to see the sails flapping again, and the crow’s nest twirling around. The ship was…

“Alive?!” You exclaimed, already munching on a croissant.

“Hey, are you sure that’s safe?”

“Mm!” It tasted like it was fresh out of the oven.

“Alright, I won’t stop you.” Hitoya threw up his hands and stood, not taking anything from the box.

So this was a magic ship with a magic food box. You thought about this, pacing around the ship while munching on more food, until a glimmer of something caught your eye.

Something shiny had been dropped onto the deck. You went to pick it up, and found that the water was also shiny. Flecks of water surrounding the shiny thing, which was sitting in a pool of glitter, though it didn’t look as artificial as plastic glitter. It was a ring, just a plain silver band, with lots of little scuffs and scratches around it. A voice in the back of your mind told you that it was safe to pick it up, so you did. The water was fine to touch, and the ring itself was normal.

Something was also caught on the inside of the ring, something small, thin, flat, and a little bit curved. It took you a moment to get it out without breaking it. Though, when you got it out, none of your questions were answered. It looked like a holographic fish scale. Tinges of blue and purple reflected off it, in such a way that you could have mistaken it for a precious gem. It felt too hard to be from a normal fish, but then again, you were in no normal land – or, water.

A ring and a fish scale. It seemed like the more time you spent here, the more questions needed to be answered. However, it was something to go off. Before you could form a coherent thought, it was all coming back to you, or at least you would be thinking that if you had been here before.

You quickly looked around to relay this exciting development to Hitoya but he was nowhere to be found. After a frantic search, you found him looking through a cabinet inside what was probably a kitchen.

“We have to look for the water that sparkles. That’s right, we’re here to look for something.” The weight of the captain’s hat got a little lighter.

“Huh?” Hitoya looked at you like you had lost your mind. He shut the cabinet (that seemed to have whisky bottles lined up inside) and faced you. “What’re you on about now?”

You held out the ring to him, “This is a clue. It hadn’t been dropped on the deck by someone on the ship – someone in the water threw it on.”

“There’s not gonna be anyone in that water alive. There’s no one for miles. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head or something?”

He wasn’t ready to humour you just yet.

“I’m sure! This ring is totally a clue, you have to believe me! We were sent here for a purpose!” In your other hand, you showed him the scale, “And this is our way out!”

“Haah, I hate to burst your bubble but, are you really sure you didn’t hit your head? What if we go the same way we came, with a candle. It’s crazy but it’s not out the blue like that – wait, let me see that ring.” Hitoya, with his brow suddenly furrowed in concentration, took the ring from you and examined it. “Tch. I hate to say it, but I think I recognise this ring. I dunno if I like what it implies though…”

“What is it what is it what is it?!” Hearing about this was very exciting. “Your captain orders you to tell me!”

“Heh. Don’t get used to that, kid. Well, this ring looks like it belongs to someone we know. I don’t think we’re the only ones out here.”

“Get to the point!”

“You really can be like my kid,” Hitoya mumbled, “Alright. This looks like Kuko’s ring.”

“What?!”

“It’s a shot in the dark but, yeah. It’d be nice to see those two again, rather than bein’ stuck here.” Hitoya rubbed the back of his neck.

“Aww. Maybe you miss them.”

“Hmph. I’m not saying any more on that.” He crossed his arms, then spoke with a little more energy in his voice, clearly wanting to shift the subject: “Any leads on your end, captain?”

“I’ve got no clue. I… I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t fall overboard. I’m not jumpin’ in after you.” Hitoya said, knowing that he actually would jump in.

“Gotcha.” You left, going out to the deck to look around.

The sun was high in the sky, raining down an intense heat – it was about midday. As you stepped out, a gentle breeze blew away the cobwebs. The afternoon air was nice, although it was not helpful. It had been midday for a few hours. But the last time you saw the sky it was still orange, and you were sure that the sun had been setting. None of this made sense.

“Sparkly water, what does that even mean?” You pondered, pacing around the deck.

The ring and the scale sat in your pocket. You closed your eyes and focused on the smooth surface of the scale, trying to figure out what it all meant. As captain, leading the ship to its destination was your job, and it was even more important to keep your crew in check. That was hard to do when you didn’t know what you were here for.

“And a ring was thrown onto the deck. Even if it’s not Kuko’s, that’s pretty weird.”

Waves gently crashed against the side of the ship, which had been smoothly sailing itself for a while. A soft wind pushed the sails forward. The ocean was endless, with no islands in sight. There weren’t even any other ships. The horizon was visible from all angles, and from all sides. All except near the back. There was an odd contraption laying there, and upon further inspection, you had idea what it was. It looked like an old washtub connected to a wooden crane. There were no levers or cranks for a human to work it by, so you left it alone. For now, you stood near the side facing the sun. Watching the sunlight catch the peaks of little waves was mesmerising. You found yourself watching it for a while, forgetting about this whole ordeal.

Among the waves, there was a small patch of bubbling water. You strained to look at it – there was a pair of binoculars inside, but you didn’t want to move in case this anomaly went out of sight.

At first you thought it could have been mist from a whale’s blowhole, but it was too calm for that. The more you considered it, the more you thought it just looked like someone blowing bubbles underwater. Either way, your heart swelled upon seeing it. It struck you that this whole time you were staring out at sea, you hadn’t seen any wildlife at all – whatever this was, it was something that needed to be checked out by the ship’s captain.

“Ship!” You stood up straight and called out.

The ship’s sails flapped excitedly, like they were responding to you calling out them.

“I want to look at that patch of bubbles from the side, can you sail slowly over there?” Going full speed ahead would certainly sound cool, but approaching this with caution was a smarter move.

The ship lurched forward, obeying everything you told it to do, apart from the ‘slowly.’

“What the hell was that?” Hitoya scrambled onto the deck. He looked like a cat that had just had its nap disturbed.

“I’ve found something! Stay alert, matey!” You kept your eyes peeled and focused. The patch of bubbles split into two smaller patches. One was moving fairly quickly away from the other, but the other soon caught up. The ship, somehow defying the weak breeze, matched its pace with the bubbles.

“Stop, ship!” You braced yourself against the edge of the ship as it stopped. Yes! The water here was ever so slightly sparkly. It looked warm and inviting – you had to hold yourself back from jumping in.

“This seems like the place. You got a good eye, kid. Hey, is that a voice? Is someone drowning?!”

Hitoya was right – from the two patches of bubbles, there came two voices. Though you weren’t too far from them, they were barely audible.

You lowered a rope ladder off the side of the ship and took a few steps down it, hanging on just above the water. “Hey, is someone there? Do you need help?” You called out.

The voices stopped, and everything was quiet. With bated breath, you and Hitoya waited for a reply. Even the ship’s sails were still.

You were about to call again, when a long, red mass swam quickly through the water, creating ripples that splashed on your legs. Another mass was following behind it, though it wasn’t as temperamental as the first.

“Captain, it’s just a weird fish. Come back on board before you fall in.” Hitoya said. “I don’t want you gettin’ eaten.

You stayed right where you were: “No, we’ve come this far! And fish don’t let out bubbles.”

“Fine. It’s a tiny whale.”

“No! We’re staying here.”

Hitoya huffed and leant over to look.

“Listen to your captain, Hitoya.” A voice from under you said.

Your head whipped round to meet the source – it was Kuko! Or at least, it was his head that was peeking out of the water.

“Kuko! Come on board – don’t drown!” You held out your hand to help him up, barely registering the ‘how’ or ‘why’ of him being there.

“Nah thanks, I can’t exactly get up.”

You were about to ask what he meant when another familiar face popped up from the water – it was Jyushi!

“Jyushi! Why are you two in the ocean? And why do you look different? Come on board before you drown!”

“Hey, I hear ya.” Kuko rose up to the surface, just past his shoulders, so that he could freely talk with his hands and he spoke. “Yeah, shit’s different about us – we got other things to worry about first.”

Jyushi, however, only let his head come above water. “Aha! I’m so happy to see both of you again, ehe. I can’t wait to get home!”

“Get home? We can’t even get on the boat,” Kuko snapped.

“Uuuu… I know, but still,” Jyushi whined, and dejectedly blew bubbles under the water.

“You two,” Hitoya butted in, “Don’t keep us out of the loop. What’re you hiding from us?”

“Alright alright. Check this out!” Kuko grinned before diving down into the water and holding himself there, showing off his blue and purple… fish tail. In a flash, he righted himself again. “How’d’ya like that, huh? We’re mermaids – me and Jyushi!”

With your free hand, you took out the scale from your pocket and held it up – it was a match. “So this is from you? And your ring… How did that even happen?”

“Haah? We can talk about all that later. Just help us go home. I wanna get back to takin’ a nap.” Kuko was getting more frustrated by the second.

“I thought you were training today?” You innocently asked.

“Whatever.” Kuko frowned and turned his head.

Instead of his grown out shave, Kuko had long flowing hair like he had been growing it out for years. That long mass of red you saw earlier must have been all that hair. Jyushi was the same; he had no mullet anymore, just a waterfall of black hair.

Kuko must have seen you staring, because he called out to you: “Listen, I dunno if mermaid hairdressers exist but I know they’d have a hard time cleanin’ up all the cut hair when they’re floatin’ all about.” Kuko wasn’t too happy about detracting from the real issue, though he mumbled just loud enough for you to hear: “Kinda like it. Maybe one day.”

“It looks good on you!” You said.

“H-hey! Listen, kiddo. There are things more important than this, like how’re we gonna get up there? Figure that out, captain.”

“I don’t know…”

There was no way you could pull them up by hand – neither you nor Hitoya – and they couldn’t climb the rope ladder only by their arms (maybe Kuko could, but definitely not Jyushi).

The ships sails rattled impatiently. The ship… they needed to get on the ship. If only there was something made just for getting mermaids on the ship. But there was, you realised, thinking back over the past few hours: The strange contraption on the ship was made just for this!

“Ship! Lower the… tub thing… into the water!” You commanded the ship, and it answered.

With a few creaks, the ship turned the gears of the crane and lowered the tub into the water. The managed to swim inside and get settled with minimum fuss. Jyushi was having fun splashing his tub-mate with water, and Kuko was holding back from throwing Jyushi over the side. Soon, the two boys were on board, and lounging in the tub as the ship sailed forth.

Or, you would be going forth, but you didn’t know where you were going.

“Oi, Captain,” Hitoya said, “Where are we headed? If you don’t mind, your first mate here is gonna hit the hay.”

You were starting to feel sleepy yourself. “I’ll join you. I’m tired after all that.”

A loud whine came from behind you, which ended as a yawn. Of course, it was Jyushi. “Uuu… don’t leave me out here with Kuko… He might…”

“What?” Kuko butted in, “Worried I’ll make ya train here? In this boat, as mermaids? Nah. I’m gonna take a nap.” He rested his arms on the rim of the tub and let his head lull back. In almost no time, he was snoring.

You looked to Jyushi, preparing to go and comfort him, only to find that he was fast asleep too. Hitoya had already gone to his quarters so you assumed that he was asleep too. The afternoon was warm, so you could understand why everyone dozed off so quickly. Sitting down on the deck with your back resting against a barrel, you soon fell asleep. You didn’t remember if you were there long, but the sounds of the waves and having everyone safe on board made it easy to rest.

Though you were the last to fall asleep, you were the last one to wake up.

The cabinet behind your head, and the carpet you were sitting on… it was familiar. You were in Hitoya’s office.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” Kuko was peering down at you.

“Huh?” You rubbed your eyes and fully woke up, “Was that all a dream? I don’t remember falling asleep.”

“It was real, kid.” Hitoya offered his hand and helped you stand up. “How, or why, did this even happen?”

“M… maybe it was all a freaky dream! That was all had at the same time!” Jyushi said, but his idea was quickly shut down.

“I dunno. I was takin’ a nap, then I fell into the water.” Kuko said, as nonchalantly as if he was telling you what he had for breakfast. “I don’t think worrying about the ‘how’ or ‘why’ will do us any good, guys.”

“Me too… I took a nap… I mean –! I was really tired after band practice and… and…!” Jyushi looked like he was about to make another ocean with his tears, “I wasn’t being lazy… oh… I hope Amanda isn’t lonely without me…”

Kuko clicked his tongue in annoyance as Jyushi whimpered, Hitoya sighing at both of them. Things were well and truly back to normal. Everyone was in their rightful place.

Out on that strange ocean, where time didn’t move in a regular fashion, it would have been so lonely if you were taken there by yourself. You were glad that you weren’t alone, even if the meaning of it all didn’t make sense. You were all back, so why did you have a feeling that you’d left something behind? Was everyone here?

Even without the help of the captain’s hat, you figured out what you left behind: “We never got to find out the ship’s name… It was kinda cute, like a big puppy! Ships all have names, don’t they? Maybe we could name it!”

“Be thankful we all got back in one piece. Don’t go worrying about a boat.” Hitoya sighed, again.

“Right. Um… happy father’s day…?” You weren’t sure if it was still that day.

In the real world, not much time had passed, so it was now around lunch time, despite it feeling like a whole day had passed.  

“Heh. Thanks. What do you all say we go out for food? I’m starving.” A chorus of “Yes!” went around, which made Hitoya crack a smile. “Great. You guys argue and pick something.”

“Hitoya, it’s your day, you pick!” You insisted. It was nice that he didn’t dismiss the whole father’s day thing after all.

“Still hung up over that, huh? Alright. I could go for anything right now. Apart from seafood… huh?” Hitoya apparently noticed something new on his desk. “What’s this? Did you get me this?”

“No, what is it?”

Hitoya picked it up and showed everyone. It was a snow globe, with a tiny model ship sitting in the middle. Around the base, ‘The Chiroptera’ was engraved. The ship was alone in its miniature ocean. When he shook it, little blue flecks flew around, with the occasional fleck of glitter.

And if you looked close enough, the sails were flapping.

[destinys-dragon]

A Pirate’s Catch

Characters: Janus, Roman, Remus, Logan, and Random crewmates Ships: Rociet main & a small bit of Intrulogical

For: @noodlesyo

Note: I do not own Cinderella ‘So This is Love’, Tangled ‘I See the Light,’ or ‘A Lovely Night,’ from La La Land. Those all belong to their respective artists I hold no ownership of them.

Word Count: 2,378

Merry Christmas noodlesyo! I was your secret Santa this year for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange and gifted you a fluff filled pirate au, featuring mer Roman! I hope you enjoy this sweet bit of fluffiness

"All those days chasing down a daydream," a melodic voice called from below the ship, making the captain groan. ".....All those times never truly seeing...." The voice continued, followed by a small splashing sound

"Oh for fucks sake!" He cried out, plugging his ears. He heard his crew laughing and chuckling at his misery. "Not this fish brain again!"

"Oh come on! Give him a chance, his breath is probably only somewhat fishy" His first mate, Remus, called out, sending the crew into a louder fit of laughter. Even Logan, the ever stoic man, let out a small snort.

Janus shook his head, trying to tune out the merman swimming beside his ship. "I want the ship moving faster!"

"We can't do that, Captain," Logan stated, raising his hand up. "The winds are practically dead and the sails are already fully opened in an attempt to catch as much wind as possible. We are, essentially, stuck."

"I'm where I'm meant to go, and at last I see the light," the voice continued, and Janus wanted to throw himself overboard, that would do nothing but put him next to said thing he wanted to hide from, so he resisted the urge.

"God dammit...is there anything we can do?" He asked Logan desperately, but Remus was the one to speak up.

"Yeah totally! Just go talk to him already. I mean you wouldn't be throwing this much of a stink about it."

"But he is super annoying and-"

"And if he was as annoying as you believe, you'd have sent men to capture and kill said annoyance, right?" Remus practically purred. He enjoyed watching how red Janus got, even the long scars on the side of his face seemed to glow a bright red.

"Well still he is being annoying and disturbing my break tim-"

"So this is love~" The mer swooned, causing the crew on board to fall silent. "So this is what makes life divine. I'm all aglow~ And now I know~"

Those few lines made the crew burst out into cackling laughter. Most of the crew had to find a support from the mast or a few barrels littered around. Remus was in absolute pieces, rolling around on the floor and shrieking with laughter. There was a soft splash and the mer left, startled by the demented howling that was Remus.

Janus couldn't even formulate a response, turning to head back into his cabin to sulk. He heard his crew outside cheering and joking about him and the mer, "Finally gonna get in bed together," as Remus put it. He felt his face flaming, causing him to bring a hand to his face, pressing it against his hot cheeks. He shook his head, tugging open a drawer and grabbing a quill and some paper.

He ignored his crew who were still talking about him and 'His mer', pretending they were talking about someone else. He put on a pair of reading glasses and flicked his lamp on, focusing his attention on some paperwork that needed to be done. Sure, a pirate's life was very free and they could go wherever, as long as they had wind and a working boat. That didn't mean they escaped paperwork and typical adult duties, and it was a good distraction from the singing outside.

Just before sunset, Janus snuck out wearing a yellow wool sweater and fuzzy black pants. He had to stay as warm as possible, especially with how cold it gets the closer it gets to dark. He made sure everyone else was in bed, before making his way towards the front of the boat, slowly looking over the side. When he saw no merman he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pearl. It was about as big as his palm, it's smooth milky surface practically glowing in the moonlight.

He held his hand over the edge of the ship, opening his hand and letting the pearl fall into the water with a small splash. Janus smiled to himself, sitting down with his back against the side of the ship, closing his eyes. He counted in his head, getting to seven before there was a loud splash and a plop when something landed on the front deck.

"Do you always have to sing love songs?" Janus couldn't help but ask, opening his eyes to see the merman, his merman, sitting in front of him. The pearl was held in his webbed fingers, and he looked rather smug.

"Why can't I? Have you caught feelings for me yet?" He asked, holding the pearl out to Janus.

Janus flushed, taking the pearl back. "I...well I don't know yet. Have you lost your feelings for me?"

The merman grinned, slowly reaching out to take Janus' hand. He held it, pressing a small kiss to the back of it, before looking up at the pirate once again. "Never."

One word. One simple five letter, two syllable word managed to light his heart on fire. He slowly pushed the mer away, hiding his face using his captain's hat. "Now come on, stop teasing me like that. I don't find it very funny, Roman."

"I'm not teasing," the merman, Roman, assured, sounding far more serious than his normal frivolous attitude. "I would never put my heart out on display for a joke. I mean every single word I speak to you, dear Captain. I have caught feelings for you, and I do not plan on releasing them anytime in the future."

"But why? I'm a human and your a merman. I'm also a pirate, and we capture and kill merpeople to add their scales or whatever to our trophy collections."

Roman let out a small snort, making Janus glare at him. "Sorry sorry, I don't mean to laugh. But we have been seeing each other for months. Surely if you wanted me dead you would of already done it, correct?"

"Well yes but-"

"Then I'm fine. I trust you." He slowly scooted closer to Janus, and Janus slowly, very slowly, moved closer till their lower halves were brushing against each other.

Tail to legs, it was rather nice, something that Janus wouldn't readily admit to anyone else. "So....what do we do tonight? I don't have much to share with you, as I only did paperwork today."

Roman was silent for a few moments, before a big grin broke out on his face. "Sing with me....please?"

"What?"

"I want to sing with you, a duet. Please? You have a lovely voice and I'm sure we could make glorious music together."

"I don't sing!" Janus squawked, shaking his head. "I don't....what would we even sing?"

A chuckle was pulled out of Roman's mouth and Janus felt rather embarrassed. "Pick from the heart, it's rather easy to do. Would you rather me?"

"Yes, oh yes. I don't...well I don't sing as I don't see a point and I can't think of a good song to sing at the moment."

"Alright alright...I'll start for you," Roman assured, winking. "But you'd better jump in. Don't worry about the words, this is my own melody. Just sing what comes from within, alright?"

"Fine," He grumbled, huffing. "But don't expect it to be any good, got it?"

Roman gave a small hum, thinking up a few words. His gaze went out, looking at the setting sun with a small grin. "The sun is nearly gone, the lights are turning on. A silver shine that stretches to the sea."

Janus had a brief moment where he wondered how he got lucky to have a merman falling all over themselves for him. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around

He looked up when Roman stopped singing, clearly waiting for him to continue. "We've stumbled on a view that's tailor-made for two. What a shame those two are you and me." Janus felt his heart break a bit when he noticed Roman's face, leaning closer to show he didn't honestly mean it. He did continue though, stealing the next few lines as he thought them up. "Some other girl and guy-"

"We're both men," Roman commented, whining when he got a hand placed on his mouth and a light glare from the captain.

"Would love this swirling sky. But there's only you and I and we've got no shot." He let out a small squeal when the mer licked his hand and he pulled away, looking disgusted.

Roman pouted at the last line, before grinning. "This could never be, You're not the type for me-"

"Bullshi-" Janus yelped when a scaled hand reached out and pinched his cheek.

"-And there's not a spark in sight. What a waste of a lovely night~"

Janus rolled his eyes, before grinning. He threw his leg over Roman's tail, sliding onto his lap so they were face to face. Roman looked caught off guard, and that's exactly what he wanted. "You say there's nothing here, well let's make something clear. I think I'll be the one to make that call."

"And though you look so cute, In your polyester suit-"

"It's wool," Janus broke in, smirking.

Roman huffed, pouting at the human and poking his chest. "You're right, I'd never fall for you at all~"

Janus rolled his eyes, until he felt hands resting on his waist, pulling him closer. His cheeks grew pink, but he wasn't going to back down and lose this little "battle."

"And maybe this appeals, to someone not in heels-"

"Do not mock my heeled boots," Janus grumbled, sticking his tongue out.

"Come now, they are adorable!" Roman assured, lightly bumping his forehead against Janus' before picking up right where he left off. "Or to any guy who feels, there's some chance, for romance~"

"But I'm frankly feeling nothing," Janus sang back, lowering his volume as he noticed Roman's face getting closer to him.

Roman was only a hair's breadth away from him. One of the hands on his waist left, sliding down his arm and lacing their fingers together. He brought Janus' hand up to his mouth, pressing his lips against his fingers. "Is that so?"

Janus let out a soft chuckle, feeling his mouth dry up when those ruby red eyes met his. They looked at him with such adoration that it made him almost melt into a puddle. "Or it could be less than nothing," he sang, barely getting the line out as he just about choked on the words.

"Good to know~" Roman purred, letting go of his hand and moving to cup the captain's cheek. "So you agree?"

"That's right," Janus assured, leaning in and closing his eyes.

"What a-" Roman began, only for Janus to join in at the last line.

"Waste of a lovely night~"

Janus couldn't help himself, he just wanted Roman. He didn't know how a silly song made him realize his longing for the mer, but it did the trick. Maybe it was how close they were, or maybe this was just the perfect moment to show the mer how much he desired him.

He slowly leaned in, pressing their lips together. He never believed in first kisses being anything special, but goodness this felt absolutely magical. Sparks were flying and he could feel the love and tenderness Roman poured into it. Janus' eyes fluttered shut as he felt Roman deepening the kiss, the hand on his waist pulling him closer till they were practically chest to chest. His arms looped around Roman's shoulders and he wished this could go on forever.

Eventually, they had to break apart for air, both of them panting with flushed cheeks and pupils blown wide. Janus' clothes were a bit rumbled and messed up, as was his hair. When the captain finally caught his breath he gave the still frazzled mer a smirk. "Well....was that enough to clarify my feelings for you? Or shall I have to show you more?"

"N-No," the mer stuttered, and Janus couldn't help but find it endearing. "I just....that was very forward and I'd....if your actions prove anything, I believe that you are attempting to court me."

Janus snorted, kissing Roman's cheek. "Yes I am...I want to court you and form a relationship. So....will you give me the chance?"

Roman paused, before he pulled Janus into another, much shorter, kiss. When they broke away, he laughed. "Good gods yes. Yes I want you to court me!"

"IT"S ABOUT FUCKING TIME!" Remus cried out, poking out from behind a pile of barrels. "Finally we've been waiting forever!"

"Remus!? What are you doing here?" Janus shrieked, moving to climb out of Roman's lap. He felt the arm on his waist tighten and he stayed put.

Remus scoffed, crossing his arms. "I am watching my best friend finally get together with his fishy crush! Logan came too!" He reached behind the second barrel, hauling Logan to his feet.

"Hey!" Logan squawked, looking at both of them. "Uh...good evening, Captain."

"God dammit," Janus huffed, slowly standing up. "Well...I suppose that since you caught us, you should be the first to know that yes, I am in fact courting this lovely mer.”

“Hell ya!” Remus cried out, turning and pulling Logan into a kiss as well. He pulled away with a loud pop, cheering and celebrating while Logan stood there, completely stunned. His cheeks were flushed and he struggled to process what just happened.

Janus couldn’t help but watch those two. Sure Remus was waking the entire crew, but it would be worth it for this. He had his new partner, and he could see Remus making a move on Logan. It was about time, those two have been pining for each other for longer than even he and Roman had been.

He looked at Roman, slowly lifting the fish into his arms. “I know this is sudden, but would you be willing to announce our new relationship to my crew? I know it’s new and everything but-” He was cut off by a finger on his lips.

“For you, I’d do anything,” Roman whispered, leaning against Janus’ chest. “I’ll meet them, as long as you’re by my side.

“Of course. I’ll always be right there,” He assured, and realized that there was no other place he’d rather be than right by Roman’s side.