#the time loop one. holy shit. u know im obsessed with time loop and jksbdhsgbdad oooouughogughu it's So Good i had to read it like 3 times

[ipatrichor]

I FULLY FORGOT ABOUT THIS ty for the reminder skjbhf :') i'll put the snippets under a cut bc they get long and i also include elaboration & discussion for each au ^^

fae au: ace and sabo's first meeting. they are like cats sniffing each other through a door except instead of a door it's the hallway between the cells they're locked in

There is someone in Sabo’s cell. Normally that wouldn’t be weird, because there is often someone in the cell when he gets in trouble, except that someone has always been him. The weird part is that it’s someone else in Sabo’s cell. He squints at them from the cell he’s been put in (a different one! They never put him in a different cell!), and they glare back at him defiantly. “You’re in my cell.” He says, and maybe it should seem a little silly a thing to get worked up over which cell he’s put in, but- he doesn’t like change. Change means his calculations could be thrown off, that things might happen he can’t plan for, and that’s not safe. Not the fun kind of unsafe, the kind where he manages to escape for an afternoon and run wild through the streets- getting closer to the forest, and to freedom, every time. Change is the kind of unsafe that means cold eyes and tight grips digging into his arm, hungry nights and the dread of waiting for the other shoe to drop. The kid in his (his!) cell is staring at him like he’s an idiot now, which Sabo does not appreciate. “That’s your cell,” He says rudely, gesturing to the one Sabo is currently in. “Are you stupid?” “No!” Sabo scowls, yanking on the handcuff where it chains one of his hands to the wall. They’d learned quite quickly that more restraints than just bars were needed to keep him in. “Normally they throw me in that one, so it’s mine. How come you’re in my cell?” The kid looks like he understands something, almost as if he knows what it’s like to have nothing and cling desperately to what’s yours, even the bad stuff (especially the bad stuff) and Sabo bristles at the assumption. “Got grabbed.” He looks Sabo up and down, still wary but slightly less hostile. “You look noble. How come you’re locked up?” “Don’t call me that!” Sabo snaps, practically snarling at the insult. He may have been born noble, but he hates it, hates them and their stupid rules and their cruelty and the way they don’t care about anyone, not even really each other. “They can’t keep me here forever, no matter how many times they lock me up!” The kid looks at him, really looks, and Sabo glares back under the scrutiny. There’s something he doesn’t understand, some weight to the air and the way the kid looks at him, like the way it feels when his parents are making some kind of decision in their heads without telling him. He hates it, and makes his feelings clear with the worst, nastiest look he learned from scuffling with other kids during his previous escapes. “Whatever.” The kid says eventually, and the feeling goes away like it was never there. “You’re still stupid. Who gets mad about which cell they get put in? Weirdo.” Sabo hisses and spits and yells, but there’s less of an edge to their arguing for the rest of the night. Weirdo is leagues better than noble, and part of Sabo has already decided that the next time he breaks out, the weird kid in the basement cellar is coming with him.

after this it goes something like

sabo: [angry at the world bc parent-related trauma] ace: he's just like me fr.... sabo: [shows a reasonable amount of concern over ace having a minor injury] ace: oh shit. is this what being cared about is like. fuck. what the fuck am i supposed to do with that. do i adopt him into my family and dedicate my life to him?? it worked out fine with luffy so that's probably the reasonable and proportionate response???? luffy, after catching up with them after they bust out: ace :( i like this guy and he's leaving :( can we keep him please :( ace, pretending he hadn't been planning exactly that: uh. i mean. i guess if you want. luffy: :D :D

and then the rest is history lol

ghost, hallucination, what's the difference?: this one's the scene koala finds out about the situation and sabo has his first proper conversation with ace

“I’m just saying! It’s concerning.” Koala stresses with a scowl, and Sabo barely manages to restrain a sigh. He knows she worries, and he truly is grateful. He wouldn’t have made it this far without her and Hack, and all three of them know it. However, normally Koala’s classic angry concern is leveled at him because he’s done something, usually something stupid, not because- Well. I like her, Sabo’s very dead brother offers from where he’s lounging at Sabo’s desk. She looks like she could kick your ass. Pointedly ignoring that remark (he has kicked Koala’s ass almost as many times as she’s kicked his, thanks very much), Sabo meets his friend’s eyes and tries to dredge up what sincerity he has the energy for. “I understand that, but the situation is under control.” And then softer, when she looks like she’s still going to argue- “I know it’s not real, Koala.” Rude, the hallucination mutters in a voice Sabo has only heard in a recording of events that he really doesn’t need to think about right now, and right he should really be focusing on Koala if he intends to assure her that he’s managing this whole situation fine. His friend scrutinizes his face, no doubt noting the bags under his eyes and ten other signs of his condition that he’s not even aware of, but she knows just as well as he does that if acknowledging it’s not real doesn’t make it go away there’s not much either of them can do about it. “Just- take it easy,” She eventually relents, scowling in a way that he knows from experience means ‘I’m worried about you and it’s not productive, so get your shit together or I’ll make you’. After a moment’s hesitation, she continues more carefully. “And just... remember that you can talk to us, okay? Don’t lock yourself up with the dead.” Sabo lets his smile turn crooked and real. “I know. Thank you, Koala.” She punches him on the arm and ducks out, and Sabo turns back to inspect the paperwork he’s finally done putting off. Unfortunately, his view is blocked by Ace sitting at his desk, leaning on the top and looking at him with undisguised curiosity. So, this is what you’ve been up to? The hallucination asks. Filling out forms and getting punched? C’mon, don’t tell me you work for the government or something. Sabo can’t help the grimace that crosses his face at that particular thought, and it snickers. “Hardly. Quite the opposite, in fact.” He crosses the room to stand in front of the desk. The hallucination looks like the pictures Sabo has been able to find, freckles and dark hair hanging around its chin and the same stupid smirk Ace always had when he thought he was winning at something. You’re not a pirate, either. But it sounds less sure now, watching him with interest. “No.” Sabo lets himself grin, because he’s doing good work with the Revolutionary Army and he’s proud of what they’ve accomplished. “I’m a revolutionary.” Seriously? The hallucination squawks, but the surprise fades fast and something Sabo would almost call pride if he didn’t know better fills its face. I should’a guessed. It suits you! Is that why you never told us you were alive, cause it’s all top-secret? Sabo’s smile drops. He forgot, for a bit there, but how kind of his brain to remind him that his brother died never knowing he survived. The same way he’ll never know who Ace grew into, what his mannerisms were like, if he ever found what he was looking for- Ace will never know the same things about him. His brother is dead, and Sabo is hallucinating whatever this situation is- out of guilt, maybe? His mind trying to spare him grief by pretending Ace is there to speak to? Whatever it is, he’s entertained this for long enough. He has work to do. “No.” Pushing down the now-familiar burn that he pretends is fire sparking behind his eyes, he picks up the first pile of reports to go through. “And hallucinations don’t get opinions, they move or they get sat on.” Rude, it grumbles again, less cheerful this time, but obligingly vanishes. Sabo sits in his chair, and pretends he doesn’t wish it were still around.

fun fact! this scene, a nighttime conversation, and the emotional climax of visiting ace's grave are all specifically ace's ghost. there's a couple other scenes that i've decided are specifically a hallucination, and the rest are all left up to interpretation (even to me! outside of those few, fuck if i know which aces are real or not. not my problem tbh)

patricide au: i'm planning a fair amount of establishment of sabo's current situation as well as a few chance asl encounters prior to this scene, but this one is when ace finds out that sabo has been lying to them whenever they run into each other

“But- you were supposed to be free,” Ace stutters, and in any other situation Sabo might laugh at how wrong-footed he seems. “Your letter said you’d set sail already!” “I lied.” Sabo doesn’t say it unkindly, but he knows it's maybe the cruelest response he could've given. In his experience, the truth often is. Ace makes a noise like the strangled gasp of an animal choking on its own blood, and Sabo wants nothing more than to wipe the gutted expression from his brother's face but finds himself frozen to the spot, unable to bring himself to move. “Why?” Because I didn't want to stand in the way of you chasing our dreams, he doesn't say. Because I would give up everything for you and Luffy, would stay forever in the place I hate most just to watch your backs until you can finally escape. He doesn't say any of it, but he thinks maybe Ace still has that uncanny ability to understand what he’s thinking because the longer the silence stretches the closer he looks to either punching the nearest wall or tackling Sabo. Or both. Knowing him, it's probably both, in that order. “No.” Ace says, in the tone of somehow who’s made an important decision. Sabo raises his eyebrows. “No?” “No.” Ace nods as though this clarifies anything at all. “I’m kidnapping you.” Ah. How very Ace-like, to come up with a plan that would work just fine, for anyone else in any other situation. Unfortunately for them both, they are who they are. More specifically, Sabo is who he is, and just like when he walked away from everything he had ever wanted as a child, he will never hesitate to put his brothers before himself. It wasn’t so hard, the second time. Giving up his dream was easier than turning away from Luffy’s sobs, than trying to ignore Ace screaming for him to forget them and run. It got easier every day he made the choice, to stay and choke on his hatred and build it into a wall to trap everything bitter and evil and cruel in with him so that it would never come anywhere near his real family. He knew they wouldn’t see it the same way. Luffy has never understood why people have to do things they don’t want to, and Ace has never agreed with other people making sacrifices on his behalf, the hypocrite. It’s why he lied in the first place, and why he would have kept lying to them for as long as he needed to. The problem with lying to people, unfortunately, is that when they find out- and they do, especially when it’s imperative that they don’t- they tend to be unhappy about it. Case in point, Ace in front of him, trying (and failing) to look more angry than hurt. Still, Sabo’s job is to protect them. That includes from their own poor choices, or at least the ones directly involving him. Even if he wants nothing more than to give in and get swept away, carried off to where salty air and freedom and family await... he can’t.

in the funny timeline, this scene unsurprisingly ends with sabo getting kidnapped. ace thinks all the reasons he gives for it being a bad idea are stupid (sabo disagrees, but after the stunt he pulled his opinion privileges have been revoked). in the less funny timeline, the scene ends sadly and sabo goes back to goa alone to feel terrible for like two weeks before ace and luffy bust down his door to kidnap him. i haven't decided which scenario to go with yet, but either way he ends up getting yoinked bc his brothers are Not about to let his self-sacrificing bullshit go unchallenged

asl problemsolving, patricide au edition: luffy: i'll hit the problem with my fists until it fixes itself! ace: i'll set the problem on fire until it fixes itself! sabo: i am going to take over the local government.

also, a bit that will likely end up cut but was too funny not to include somewhere

ace: i'm gonna tell luffy sabo: you wouldn't. it would make him sad, and you'd never do that on purpose ace: you're right, i won't tell luffy. i will, however, snitch to dadan. she's going to yell and cry. you know she will. and then she'll tell makino, who'll be so sad and disappointed sabo, gritting his teeth: you bitch

cd assassination au: this scene is pretty self-explanatory. i don't like writing fight scenes despite having learned some martial arts and several weapons, because i'm not really a visual person so i have trouble with choreography in my head lol, and adrenaline does crazy things so i have an excuse. ANYWAY warnings for gun violence, regular violence, mild gore (mostly just blood), implied injury, background enemies getting fucked up, and also whatever the hell is going on with sabo mentally

After, he’ll only remember snapshots of the fight, blurred by adrenaline and something a little like fear and a lot like hate burning in his veins. Diving behind a corpse that doesn’t know it’s dead yet, hands closing around a standard-issue firearm. Gunfire. The sound a glass helmet makes at it shatters. The smug expression on a bloody face that doesn’t live long enough to understand that, for perhaps the first time in its life, it has lost. Something collides with his side but he barely feels it, discarding the information as soon as it arrives. The pull of haki turning his hands cold beneath his gloves. Something flashing by his face on the right, and a searing pain that fades from his attention too quickly for him to pay it any mind. Blood, staining the dirt everywhere he looks. Strained, gurgling final breaths as someone next to him chokes on their own blood. Ace’s flames straining beneath his skin, held in check only by the understanding that allowing the fire to protect him like it wants to will only make things worse. He stands alone, in a battlefield gone quiet. -- “SABO!” Someone hollers, and he near about jumps out of his skin before recognizing the voice. There’s the immediate rush of affection warring with terror, because no one who knows that name should be anywhere near him right now, not when this has left him a mess of jagged edges he doesn’t quite feel up to pulling back into a human shape just yet. Preferably, he’d have at least ten minutes to panic and ride out whatever has taken hold of him with twitching fingers and wheezing lungs- he could make do with less in a pinch, but he thinks he deserves the full span after killing a Celestial Dragon and nope he is not thinking about it! He turns his attention to the newcomers instead with a turn that hopefully looks energetic and pleasantly surprised instead of jerky and just to the left of panicked, and he can’t help the grin that rises to his face at the sight of Luffy. It’s been too long, and he’s missed his brother damn it, even if Luffy lingers on the edge of where all the blood is splattered. “Luffy!” Sabo shouts back, hoping that his cheer drowns out the very real panic taking over at the thought of his little brother within five hundred miles of what just happened and what could still come of it. “Hold on, I’ll come to you!” He picks his way through the bodies as carefully as he can, but thankfully fast enough that Luffy doesn’t get impatient and just jump in to tackle him. Still, pretty much the moment he’s clear there are arms wrapping around his chest and a warm body colliding with his, and he can’t help but laugh even as the contact shakes something deep within him, feeling like he’s about to jitter out of his skin. Still- it’s a Luffy hug, something he missed even when he didn’t know what he was missing, and definitely not something to ever be taken for granted. So he winds his arms around Luffy in return as tightly as he can manage, and holds his brother while disregarding the part of him that is a wounded animal, shuddering and snarling and eventually simmering in antagonistic silence just under his skin.

things get better after a little bit, because luffy makes everything better eventually and will stand for nothing else, but it's a bit of a stressful process getting there. however, there are (paraphrased) fun bits in the next conversation that go something like

luffy: so, whatcha doing? sabo, having just emerged from a field of bloodied corpses: oh, yknow. regular boring stuff. what about you?

chopper: i think you're going into shock, you need medical attention sabo: im not in shock?? this doesnt even make my top 10 list of murders ive done sabo: wait no, i take it back. a celestial dragon definitely makes top 5. im still not in shock tho chopper, eye twitching: that is not helping your case nearly as much as you think it is

sabo: *actively bleeding* idk, i don't think i need medical attention- luffy: :( ? sabo, who would do far worse than killing a bunch of people to make sure luffy never felt sad again: WELL i guess it couldn't hurt to get checked over just in case luffy, who knows his power full well and uses it to make sure his friends take care of themselves: :D

one piece (literally just asl bros lmao) fics im currently working on

- fae au: mostly outlined, partially written. fae luffy & ace, (mostly) human sabo. covers from the trio's first meeting up to their reunion/sabo recovering his memories (possibly longer for an alternate marineford? idk im trying not to make it too long but we'll see)

- ghost/hallucination: mostly outlined. sabo starts seeing ace after eating the fruit. it's left intentionally ambiguous whether these are hallucinations like he believes, or is actually ace's ghost visiting him

- patricide au: partially outlined. sabo doesn't find out about the fire until after it happens, and instead of trying to escape he instead decides that his brothers will only be safe if he essentially takes over the goa kingdom. he then proceeds to subtly do that by killing his dad to take over the company and installing stelly as a puppet king, and then uses his connections to aid the revolutionaries (mostly i wanted sabo and stelly to have a bitchy coworker dynamic, but asl comes into the picture later)

- sabo kills a celestial dragon au: mostly outlined. and listen, i know. im aware of the consequences. but hear me out: it would be really funny and also they ruined his life i think he should get to do a little a politically motivated assassination. as a treat