24 ; star ; any pronouns ; dni: basic criteria, dragodile, crocomom/crocodad, kujadile ; 18+
࿓｡𖦹°‧⭑.ᐟ thriller bark’s gothic treat!
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you will see self-insert, reblogged art, analyses, and writing content here! my creations come mostly in the form of writing, gifs, and photoshopping. not spoiler free! i don't ship everything i rb ; i just love the art!
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i got a hate comment on here and i was confused as to what i did then i realized some smoke fetish account had no idea i was talking about the CHARACTER smoker and my post clogged up their tag 😭😭😭im crying yo my bad
Once, when you thought you had a good understanding of how he worked, you were certain Shanks was best enjoyed in pieces.
Drinks shared and nights spent with his hand at your hip and his mouth against your neck before dawn. But always in fleeting moments. Never for more than that. It was easier that way. If you stayed longer than a night, it became more difficult.
And Shanks had never been the type for anything more than easy.
You had assumed, at least.
The first time he made the offer was in a room already hot with the lingering aftermath of the evening. Rough sheets twisted around your legs, sticking to sweat-slick skin while the open window did little to chase away the summer air. Bruises were already beginning to bloom along your throat from the lazy path of his mouth before he slipped between your legs and pressed a kiss to the inside of your knee, softer than anything he'd given you before.
“Come with me tomorrow,” he said, offering another further up your thigh. “Sail with us.”
You lifted your head, curious at the gentleness of his words and his touch. “Join you?” you asked. “Do you not have a full crew already?”
“We do,” he said, his smile lazy as ever. “But I’ll make space for you.”
You laughed quietly to yourself, brushing some of his hair away from his face so you could appreciate him better. Too handsome for his own good. He knew he could get away with anything if he looked at you like that.
“I see a problem with your offer,” you said and he kissed further along your thigh.
“What is it?”
“It’ll make you lose interest too quickly.”
Shanks paused, leaning his cheek against your skin. “Lose interest?”
You moved your leg from his shoulder and leaned down to drag him higher up your body, fingers tangled in his hair and lips locked in a messy kiss. He still tasted of the drinks he’d downed earlier and that explained enough about his impulsive offer.
“It won’t be fun if I’m already on board your ship,” you teased.
“Nonsense. If I had you on my ship, I'd never get anything done. Becks would have to start captaining properly.”
“Don’t you do that when I’m around anyway?” you asked.
He hummed and kissed you again as though to distract you. “Maybe.”
You chuckled softly, unwilling to admit to him how much his offer tempted you. He was far too addictive to turn down. Especially when his tongue was in your mouth and his hand was dragging your leg back up his hip. If you didn’t focus, you could almost believe he wanted you to stay with him. But pretty words alone couldn’t sway you.
You still left the next morning and he didn’t stop you, just pressed a kiss to your shoulder as you slipped from the bed.
“We’ll see each other soon,” he said and he sounded far too confident.
You smiled. “I suppose it depends on if the sea favours us.”
“The sea’s a big friend of mine,” he reassured you. “I’m sure she’ll bring you back to me.”
He wasn’t wrong. No matter how far you sailed, the ocean didn’t give you long before it reunited you with the Red Hair Pirates. You stopped shying away from them after the third encounter, growing bolder with each offer Shanks tossed your way.
Now when you saw the Red Force docked in harbour, her flag snapping high above the masts, you'd wander the island until you found the right tavern. It was never difficult. Somewhere there would be a building with music spilling from the windows, laughter loud enough to shake the walls and patrons pretending not to stare at the cluster of infamous pirates occupying half the room. The Red Hair Pirates had a talent for making themselves at home wherever they landed.
They were a friendly crew. A mostly peaceful one, even. But they were the crew of an emperor and people respected that deeply.
You walked in most times, walked out with your hands in Shanks’ hair every time, and it was never a problem.
Not until the one evening when you waltzed in and half of his crew nudged their captain as though he hadn’t already raised his head to look at you. You smiled at him and made your way to the bar, not bothering him and the woman currently pressed to his arm.
But he never wasted time in approaching you, even if he was busy. He slipped up behind you as you ordered your drink and nodded to the bartender.
"Whatever she's having is on me."
You hummed. “You’re going to run your ship dry if you pay for the drinks of every girl that smiles at you.”
His arm slipped naturally around your waist, resting on your hip as though it belonged there. “Not every girl with a great smile,” he corrected. “Just the ones who need a bit more convincing to dance with me.”
The music in this tavern wasn’t quite suited for dancing. It was softer and almost impossible to hear over the shouts of his crew.
“I might need more convincing than a drink,” you commented.
“Name your price.”
Shanks was far too good at making your heart flutter, no matter how often you were exposed to his seemingly endless charm. He already knew he’d get what he wanted that night and you knew it too but sometimes, making him work for it was part of the fun.
“You’ve been trying to guess at my price for a while now,” you said. “You haven’t gotten any closer.”
“I’ll figure it out with enough time.”
You turned to face him fully, draping your arms loosely over his shoulders. “I’m lucky I managed to find you without any other pretty women around, hm? Ones with more reasonable demands?”
He chuckled and leaned in to press his lips against the side of your throat. “There are plenty. Funny thing is, I keep ending up back here.”
You tilted your head to the side. “As easy to lead back to your bed?”
The expression he gave you was off – a smile that didn’t quite get to his eyes. “Such little faith in me. You’re lucky I don’t get hurt easily.”
“It’s not a lack of faith,” you corrected. “But I know you enjoy the chase more than the reward.”
“I enjoy both as long as you’re there.”
You smiled. “I think you’d miss it too much.”
“Miss what? Waking up alone? Sounds awful.” He pulled you closer. “Can’t say I’d mind having you there instead.”
“The pining,” you corrected. “The wondering when you’ll see me again. Trying to convince me every time. If I was already there, it wouldn’t be nearly as fun.”
Something unreadable flickered over his face. “You think I’m trying to convince you for fun?”
“You wouldn’t do it if it was unpleasant.”
“Or if it wasn’t worth it.”
You couldn’t help being flattered by him, always so smooth. You loved the way he spoke sometimes – the way he made you feel as though you were the only important person in the world.
“I’m surprised your crew isn’t filled with women thanks to those pretty words of yours,” you said. “Even I struggle to tell you no.”
Shanks laughed, a short sound. “Wouldn’t have guessed you struggle with it.”
You leaned in, your mouth hot against his. He kissed you lazily as though you had nowhere else to be, allowing you to lead him through it.
“I’ll get us a room upstairs,” you said with a hum.
For a second, he smiled. Then he leaned in to press a swift peck to the corner of your mouth and said, “No.”
It was as though even the music itself paused as you blinked at him. “No?”
“As much as I love chasing you,” he said, stepping away and leaving the space in front of you feeling very empty. “I’m starting to think you enjoy being chased more than you want me. We set sail in the morning. The offer still stands.”
You watched him walk away in mild confusion, still a little lost before his words caught up to you.
Was he serious?
The bartender placed your drink down next to you but you barely heard it. The music carried on around you as though nothing had changed. A few members of the Red Hair Pirates were starting up a song. The woman he’d been talking to earlier grinned when he returned but he took a seat aside Yasopp instead.
You looked around the party and shrugged, taking your drink and a seat at the bar. If he didn’t leave, you had no reason to either.
Maybe he was trying to prove a point? You thought he might look for another woman whose words didn’t sting as bad as yours did, but he drank and laughed with only his crew and you pretended not to see the way he looked at you. As though he was waiting for something.
You finished your drink and swung off the stool, sliding the beri across to the bartender.
“Isn’t – ”
“I can pay for myself.”
The cold night air was refreshing against your face but the familiar curl of cigarette smoke drew your attention to a very unaffected Beckman. You paused when you saw him, not sure if he had something to say. He looked like he did.
“Running away again?”
“No idea what you mean,” you retorted.
He tilted his head toward the swinging door of the tavern; each time it moved, the raucous din bled through into the night. Beckman wasn’t even really what you would consider an acquaintance but he’d dragged Shanks out your bed more times than you could count.
“It’s early for you to be leaving alone,” he noted.
You didn’t have any reason to explain the break in routine to his first mate. And yet…
“Change of pace tonight,” you said. “I think I offended him.”
Beckman nodded. “You did.”
“I didn’t even know that was possible.”
He shrugged and offered you a cigarette. “I didn’t think it was until recently. Not many people can get under his skin.”
“I’m not wrong though,” you defended yourself.
“No,” he agreed. “You weren’t at one point. I’ve long since lost track of how many women I’ve had to drop off at port in the mornings but none of them were recent. Since he met you, there’s been no others.”
You didn’t want to admit to the way that made your heart flutter just slightly. “It’s the challenge. He tries to get me to join your merry little crew, I do, and then he gets bored in a month.”
“It’s possible.”
You didn’t know why it annoyed you so much that he agreed with you but you felt the glare before you could stop it. True or not, he could have said it in a better way.
“Why does it bother you so much then?” Beckman asked. “If you’re so sure that it’s the truth?”
“It’s still not nice to hear.”
“Because you’ve fallen in love with him?”
You shot him a sharp look. If you didn’t know quite how dangerous this man was, you may have snapped a little more venomously. How you hated him for saying the quiet parts of your worst thoughts out loud.
“I don’t fall in love that easily,” you huffed. “I just don’t particularly feel like joining a pirate crew to be a pretty face on the sidelines.”
“He says you have good enough aim that you won’t be wholly useless. And I’m sure he’ll teach you more if you ask.”
You had no other defence. On a different crew, you may have believed him but you’d heard the legends of the Red Hair Pirates and their skills. You would not sail with an emperor just for the sake that he found you attractive. That was a ridiculous decision. Even without the risk that he lost interest once you gave him what he wanted.
“You can see where we’re docked?” Beckman asked.
“Hard to miss.”
“Then you may as well prove your point.” He blew a puff of smoke into the sky. “You can be useless, let him lose interest and I’ll concede that you’re right.”
“And if I would rather things remain as they are?”
“They won’t. You’ve already ruined that part.”
You almost didn’t board. The Red Force came to life while you stood on the dock, shrouded in shadows and watched the sun rise over the horizon the next morning. The crew woke with complaints of headaches and aches as they got to work.
They were about to weigh anchor by the time you finally found the courage to walk forward, catching Hongo with a look right before he raised the ladder.
He stared for a second and then gestured you to board.
It was a strange feeling to step onto the Red Force. The gangplank creaked softly beneath your boots and the ship rose and fell beneath you with the easy rhythm of the sea. For years she had existed as something distant, spoken about in stories and rumours across countless ports. Yet the deck felt solid beneath your feet. The tarred ropes smelled no different from those of any other vessel. No monsters waited beyond the railings. Just a few curious glances and shouted greetings as the wind swelled her sails.
“He’s downstairs,” Hongo said. “Drank more than usual so he’s still nursing a hangover if you want to see him.”
You looked toward the ship’s doctors. “With how much you lot drink, I’m honestly surprised you don’t have a cure already.”
He smiled. “Maybe I do but I simply enjoy the peace in the mornings. Do you want a tour?”
It wasn’t as though you had anything better to do although it did catch you off guard just how unsurprised the Red Hair Pirates seemed to be about your arrival. Not one of them even mentioned your arrival as the wind caught her sails.
Not even Beckman who gave you a simple nod.
The Red Force was kept in beautiful condition. She was evidently loved and no room felt neglected as you followed Hongo through her passages.
Hongo walked you through the galley, the infirmary, the stores, and everywhere else you might need aboard. You memorised the route as best you could, making note of scuffed boards and chips in the wood rather than considering the ship as anything more. It was easier to focus on that, you realised.
Hongo stopped at a door at the end of a passage that led through the quarters and he pushed it open with casual ease.
“This one’s yours.”
You frowned at the way he said it before stepping inside.
A warm, clean room waited beyond the doorway. Sunlight spilled through the small window, stirring the pale curtains where the sea breeze caught them. A narrow bed sat against one wall with blankets folded neatly across the end while an empty chest waited beside a small desk untouched by clutter. Nothing looked lived in. Nothing looked abandoned either. The room carried the strange feeling of something prepared and patiently waiting.
Guest quarters maybe? Though that hardly made sense and this didn’t look like a spare room, briefly swept out when you stepped aboard. They wouldn’t have had time for that.
There was an explanation that made sense though not one you fully grappled with.
“How long has this been here?” you asked.
“Couple months now. Captain wanted it ready if you ever changed your mind.”
You tried not to let it show just how much that made your stomach twist. He’d prepared a room on his ship in case you joined?
Still, you tried to ignore the topic for a little longer by returning to the deck after leaving your bag. You found an opportunity to lean against one of the cannons, talking to Yasopp about nothing of importance while you watched the island fade behind you.
The door onto deck opened and Shanks stepped out, dishevelled and hiding his eyes from the sun.
Naturally his crew all shouted at once in response to his obvious headache and he winced visually, which only made the others laugh harder. You couldn’t help but smile, chuckling softly at their torment.
He spun at the sound, grin disappearing at once.
Your heart lodged in your throat as you stared, not certain what you should say.
“You’re here?”
Well, he didn’t have to sound so surprised.
“Have been for the whole morning,” you said, your voice quieter than you meant for it to be. “But I thought I should let you get your beauty sleep.”
He chuckled as he walked over, smile gentler than you’d ever seen it before. His eyes glinted with barely concealed excitement as he approached. “Did somebody show you around? To your room?”
“You set that up a while ago,” you said. “Very confident.”
“Hopeful,” he clarified. “How long are you staying for?”
You hesitated before you answered. If you really wanted to, you could disappear the next time you found yourself at an island. But something about that room sitting and waiting for you made leaving feel far less appealing than it ever had before.
“I haven’t decided yet,” you settled on saying.
“That’s fine. When you do leave, just tell me before you go.”
“I will,” you promised.
How many years had passed since you made that promise now? You thought back on it, trying to remember while you swirled the drink in your hand, Shanks’ hand still resting on your hip where it belonged.
“Lost in thought?” he asked.
“Lost in memories,” you corrected with a small smile.
“Oh?” He leaned in close and pressed a kiss right behind your ear in the way that always made you laugh. “Which ones?”
“Ancient ones. I realised that I’m still waiting for you to get bored of me so I can run away.” You took a sip of your drink and tilted your head toward him. “You getting there yet?”
He laughed proudly. “Nowhere close. I should probably be more careful though. Think you’d sooner shoot me than run away now.”
You chuckled in agreement and leaned in to kiss him, slow and lazy as ever. “Maybe. I’m no longer much of a runner.”
re: selfshipping x2. the wars between yaoi enthusiasts and selfshippers is crazy. ive seen artists complain about only getting yumeships comms and they hate it because people dont comm their biased ships and its like okay? so dont accept the comm if youre going to be that mean about it? and if youre that much of a prude about it then stop drawing your biased ship for free? theres another level to this where its coping from people in both parties because you cant handle your biased ship being seen as anything other than gay, and also misogynistic if youre fine with drawing the character with another man instead.
another thought: how do non-sharers retweet yaoi of their f/o but block other people who ship with the character? if we are applying real-life relationship rules the way selfshippers do, then that's kind of like having a boyfriend that says you can't sleep with other men but you can kiss girls because it doesn't count, but really it's just homophobia repackaged. you see how dumb that logic is right lmao this is all just so silly i dont know why we cant have fun with each other. why is everything competitive. always over a man too. everyone contradicts themselves always. stay safe cuz im free
on the topic of selfshipping, i reposted my smoker husband list to twitter and the bookmarks went crazy. it got a good amount of likes too for something so long. i think everyone in the replies kind of was telling me i was insane in a really nice way by saying, "the effort you put into this is incredible" in different ways, but i let it slide past me. all of this to say, someone read the whole list, told me i had good points, then said "still a cop though."
HE IS A FICTIONAL CHARACTER. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SELFSHIP WITH CELESTIAL DRAGONS AND IMPEL DOWN GUARDS AND FUCKING SOMMERS AND TREBOL. WE HAVE BIGGER FISH TO FRY 😭
im not sure how large the selfshipping/yumeshipping community is on tumblr but ive had some thoughts for a while. i got a question on my strawpage (no doubt from a twitter user lurking my ‘sharing’ status on there since its not immediately on my profile, and thats on purpose) and i just wanted to kind of word vomit about this somewhere...
Q: What is mirror sharing?
A: hi! it means i have the same sharing status you do if we have the same f/o. think of it as me reflecting you. idk im not gatekeepy, so i picked this to best describe what i do since im a riako and selfship. i dont have an oc. if your status is nonsharing, im nonsharing back, and so on. selective sharing (+ having to even state a status) stresses me out, and I see a lot of hypocritical nonsharing Riakos/Yumes making exceptions for certain people anyway. i want to build an environment where im not picking any favorites. we erase competition in this house especially over a man. this isnt shade to anyone who is non-sharing btw. i dont want to exist in a bubble where its an echo chamber of my own thoughts + headcanons surrounded by yes-men. thats not fun for me. i actively enjoy having fun with people who love my characters as much as i do, even if its different!!
though this answer is pretty clear, i want to kind of elaborate more on my thoughts on this.
i think at first, when i entered the op/anime spaces and learned about yumeshipping, i assumed it to be the same thing as selfshipping because ive selfshipped with characters my whole life without the terminology for it. ive never had oc's. i was wrong; it's definitely not as simple. i kind of hate that ive had to learn current terminology that is far more restrictive and policing to how we have to define relationships with fictional characters and how most people do not seem to understand the concept that the love you give to your yumeship is love evidently given to yourself; it's self-love with extra steps. if you are easily jealous, insecure, and genuinely obsess over other selfshippers and people (or "doubles," which honestly feels like a derogatory term to me) and how they feel towards the same character, that's alarming to me. in the older internet days people would have called you a loser and told you to get over it because you dont own anyone. ive learned about things like fidelity towards other yumeshippers, sharing statuses, and so on because im here to have fun and discuss my favorite characters with other people who feel similarly, or at least understand them in a way i agree with. but that hasnt been so easy. im blocked by dozens of people because i selfship with shanks (which, 95% of his fanbase either insists hes gay bc of their biased yaoi ship or they are nonsharing). whats even harder about modern day selfshipping is that everyone wants their selfship to be canon but there is absolutely no content readily available for me to interact with or understand the ship with; no sites, no lore explanation, no deep dms that get into it; just artwork. realistically how am i supposed to engage with that? on top of that, when i try to explain to people who arent my close friends my sona's lore (parallel to my real life), they are disinterested in the context and i can tell. ive narrowed this down to it being a matter of competition and comparison, or if im looking on the bright side, shyness because ultimately all of this goes down to a matter of insecurity and the only form of socialization some of these people have.
so, as a strong attempt to combat the competitiveness of modern-day selfshippinh, especially since i am a feminine-presenting person and selfship with men, ive selected mirror-sharing as the closest label to what i do so i dont get so many questions about it. i dont want to be a non-sharer and only interact with people who will just agree with whatever i say because im the only selfshipper they know (highly unlikely), and selective sharing is too restrictive because people only allow their friends in and i dont like to pick favorites in this regard. im also not completely sharing, because i have noticed the way people interact with completely sharing people is inappropriate and crosses boundaries easily. im too old for that. mirror-sharing seems to be a great median where it also forces the person who wants to interact with me to think about themselves a little, their own jealousy and insecurity levels, and our relationship. its like a small barrier that protects my peace because most people will get nervous anyway.
it is just shocking to me how a lot of people in this community, at least on twitter, seem to be a little regressed in this regard. they're fictional characters. you shouldnt let anyone else's views on them affect how you feel about yourself or your personal relationship with a character, or most of all, your mental health. this is supposed to be a fun thing that lifts you up, not brings you pain or misery. maybe some people who are non-sharing just say that to block people and protect their peace, but i dont understand why you have to have any kind of restrictive sharing status to do that. i had someone i was on acquaintance-level terms with block me recently because they didnt like a fanfiction i wrote way back that characterized their favorite character they yumeship with in a way they didnt like, and i respected that way more than someone blocking me for a status, because that's what an adult would do. my experience with shanks yumeshippers left me disappointed in interacting with the fandom and sharing my selfship with them, so i post into the void; whoever comments with genuine interest, i engage with.
i also dont like that non-sharers are also usually are so self-absorbed within their worlds that any headcanon outside their own hurts their feelings or harms them mentally. i dont consider that to be healthy. i dont ever want to be out of touch, and honestly, other people's headcanons also encourage me to think outside of the box. sometimes its even changed how i view characters i enjoy and selfship with. outsiders' theories interest me. i didnt know this was a rarity, especially with someone like shanks.
long-winded way of saying we should all have fun together
