graphic depictions of violence and sexual assault. please proceed with caution.
YOU'LL HAVE written these beginnings in one of many journals, hatching away at abused paper, ripping out pages, writing then rewriting, tongue to bittersweet ink, all in some attempt to immortalize the Straw Hats properly— and it will start with the day you met them. You tried to start from the very beginning once, tossed aside one of many drafts to refresh your recounting of events. But you hadn't been a part of the "very beginning". So, with a notepad in hand, you prodded around in the brains of your crewmates in hopes that you could get the true beginnings.
Your captain had been on his 17th plate of meat when you asked him, to which he had simply stated that it wasn't important. You pressed a kiss to the cheek of your dear swordsman, but he had been in too deep a sleep to answer. Your navigator, in all her cunning, tried to charge a fee for her help, on top of your insane debt to her that she did not fail to remind you of. Your sharpshooter, with his quick thinking, came up with grandiose stories you knew you wouldn't be able to back up (or believe). Not even your beloved pervert cook could manage to tell you much as he held you close and choked on waterfalls of nose blood.
Although the rest of the crew all joined after you, you turned to your doctor, hoping he could use bits and pieces of old medical records to construct parts of the past, to no avail. You figured your next best shot was your archaeologist— but she admitted that all her attention had been devoted to the poneglyphs. When you attempted to ask your shipwright, you decided that the number of 'SUPER's you would have to omit was far too many. And, sadly, your musician, who knew better than to ask about your panties, was sliced and kicked into the infirmary. By the time you got to your helmsman and diplomat, you figured that asking the two members who had joined the crew the latest likely did not know much beyond what they had experienced.
In the end, you'll start this story here, despite your authorial mind's protests. You'll start five crew members into your captain's story, a few days before you are made the sixth. You'll start when the king of the pirates frees you from unseen shackles. You'll start just before you are pushed toward dreams you once struggled to create from the ridges of your heavy tongue. You'll start as your hands become the ink that pour your heart onto these pages, even the pages that will never see the light of day, hidden beside the One Piece.
——————————
It was some objectionably plain day in January, and you had been sitting on the northernmost edge of Abalone Island, staring out at the faint hints of the Conomi Islands on the horizon between bouts of writing like you always did. Your writing came to you in bursts; quick strokes of unbroken consciousness made faster than the ink could dry, leaving you with black-blue smudges against your skin. With every break in the frantic, nearly illegible version of your handwriting came the call of the pink-purple skies for you to look up, even if for just a moment.
You stopped with a poignant period, breath shaky as you let your cramping hand go limp against the aging pages of your millionth journal. As usual, you wrote about your day— there was something about writing everything that went down in your day that helped you distance yourself from your reality. If you wrote it down, you could pretend it wasn't happening to you. If you wrote it down, you could forget about it once you burned whatever edition of this journal this was. There were only a good handful of blank pages left anyway.
You looked out across the dark purple ocean, glimmering with yellow in the west as far as you could see. Your eyes dipped back down to the journal on your knees, and you sighed, letting your left leg extend out to where Abalone Island ended. You could hear the patter of pebbles and sand as they scattered down the steep bluffs and into the relentless waves at the bottom. One day, the bluff would collapse and take you with it into the sea. You and your words could sink to the bottom, where nothing could hurt you anymore. No one would be able to hurt you. Your right leg joined your left as you looked back out across the ocean, watching the sun continue to dip down below the edge of the sky.
It'll get dark soon, you thought to yourself. You knew you'd have to leave before you worried anyone back at the base (Not that anyone would... Really, who were you kidding?), but your legs felt too heavy to move. Your head thudded against the scratchy bark of the oak tree behind you, and you let your eyes flutter closed. With your vision reduced to the static behind your eyelids, you let the sound of the forest overtake your senses. You could hear the chittering of squirrels and the slowing chirps of birds muffled by the rustling of the leaves with every breath of the breeze. But somewhere, sticking out from Nature's hum were four distinct voices with five sets of varied footsteps.
"How can you call yourself a pirate when you don't know your east from your damn north?! It's like one of the first things you need to know before you go out to sea!"
"Well, maybe you should give better directions."
"Hey! Don't insult Nami's navigational skills!"
"Ack— Guys! Don't fight! What if the Marines hear us?!"
Your eyes shot open, and you shuffled your legs back toward yourself. Placing your journal and pen to the side, you made sure to eliminate your presence as best you could. Silence was all you were while you slowly slid up the length of the tree trunk, precise in every movement, even when your coat snagged on the loose shards of bark. The boleadoras wrapped around your hips lay heavy, ready to go at any given moment, while the voices and footsteps grew closer.
"Then we can blame Zoro! He got us into this mess!"
"Look, I never said I wanted to be a pirate."
"Don't worry, Nami sweet! If the Marines find us, I'll make sure to protect you!"
"Sanji, what about me?"
"... Nami comes first, Usopp. You should know that by now."
Zoro— the name was familiar, though from where exactly, you weren't quite sure. But these were pirates, which meant that you had to have seen his bounty poster at some point or another. As for the other names, you had completely drawn a blank. Still, there were five sets of footsteps, and you had yet to hear a fifth voice. Your hand lingered over your hip, settling on the familiar shape of the boleadoras against the palm of your hand. The voices were even louder, and you were fairly certain that they were on the other side of the oak you had been standing behind.
"Ugh, whatever! Look, if we head east instead of north, we should be able to get to Auger Village. We can get some supplies and stay there for the night since Merry won't get unstuck until the tide comes back in the morning."
Your mouth grew bitter in hearing your village get mentioned. You had grown up there, known just about everyone by the time you had reached your position as Lieutenant Commander. Even if they sounded harmless, Tempest wasn't. You grit your teeth— you'd have to take them down before they reached the village. Five people wouldn't be too hard to take down, but if you could just find out who they were, you'd be able to figure out who you were dealing with. So, you pressed your back harder into the bark, as if it would help you hear them any better.
"B-But what about the Marines—"
"As long as there's booze, it sounds good to me."
"Whatever you say, my dear Nami!
You cringed— what a crew. If how these people carried themselves was anything to go by, the only trouble would be that Zoro guy, and that was only if you were right about him having a bounty. But bounties weren't everything. And there was still that silent fifth person. The mystery crew member's feet dragged much more slowly than the others, as evidenced by their whining and grumbling.
"Guys?! The Marines?! Hello?! Did we forget we're on a marine-run island?!"
"That hasn't stopped us before..."
"Regardless of whether the Marines run this place or not, we'll need food to get us to the Grand Line, far more than what we have now thanks to a certain someone."
"Great point, Sanji! Speaking of which... Luffy! You've been awfully quiet. Have anything to say about all of this?"
"I'm huuuuuungry..."
Your heart came to a complete stop. Luffy? As in Straw Hat Luffy? You had only just received word that morning that his bounty was to be updated following his defeat of Arlong and the rest of the Arlong Pirates. To defeat one of the Seven Warlords as a newcomer— your hand tightened around the knot holding up one set of your boleadoras. Tempest would be livid if he found out Straw Hat was here. And if Straw Hat's crew were to make it to Auger Village... You blanched.
Auger Village would be decimated.
"Luffy! This is not the time to be thinking about meat, you idiot!"
"Don't you get it, Luffy?! The Marines will kill us if they find us here!"
Your heart thundered in your ears as you pulled out the knot in the chain of your boleadoras, letting the thin, rope-like metal between each sea-prism stone ball slacken between your nimble fingers. You weren't quite sure what Straw Hat Luffy was capable of, but if he had any Devil Fruit powers, he'd have to be taken down first. You shut your eyes tight, visualizing each person's location as best you could from their voice. They were all to your left, in general, with 'Nami' and 'Usopp' being the furthest away. From there came 'Sanji', Zoro, and Straw Hat Luffy, with Straw Hat being the closest to you.
"Sanjiii! I'm tired! I need meat! As your captain, I demand meat! Meat!"
"Great going, Cook. Now Luffy will eat us alive."
"Shut it, Moss."
Your mind raced for a way to get Straw Hat's attention. Considering you didn't have any meat on you, you'd have to improvise, especially since you still weren't quite sure what the Straw Hat crew was capable of. Of course, besides taking out a warlord. Your eyes scanned your surroundings and hesitated on the journal at your feet. As Straw Hat's crew bickered, you shut your eyes tight, sucking air into your cheeks as your fingers clenched around the chains of your boleadoras. With a tinge of embarrassment, you kicked your journal to the side, where it slid to a stop beside some rocks.
"Huh? What's that?"
You bit back a grin as you heard Straw Hat walk over, all while his crew argued to all hell. If you were lucky, they wouldn't notice if their captain was gone. As your enemy came into view, you readied your boleadora, sliding the junction between the main chain and the two split ends between your thumb and forefinger. His hand reached for your journal, but even as you whipped your boleadoras in circles beside you, your body stopped you from throwing them. Maybe there was something about seeing someone pick up your writing that made you hesitate. Maybe there was a part of you that knew Luffy was special then. But when he turned to face you, with your part of your life's writing in hand, you launched your boleadora at him anyway.
Luffy let out a startled shout as your boleadoras wrapped around him, tying him and your journal beneath the sea-prism stone chain. He went limp, but his hand was tight around your journal, even as you swung the end of the boleadora toward the bluff, letting go of the ball on the end of the main chain to wrap around the rest of him. You didn't bother to watch him as he fell down the harsh sand and rock. You didn't want to listen to him splash against the water either, so you turned and faced the rest of Straw Hat's crew, who looked horrified at your presence and their captain's lack thereof.
"Shit! Luffy!
"Oh God, the Marines got him! I told you guys the Marines were gonna get us!"
"Usopp, shut up!"
You watched dead-eyed as the remaining four crew members stepped away from you, the orange-haired girl (Nami, you thought) and the long-nosed guy (Usopp, you assumed) of which stumbled over each other with pushes and shoves. Zoro stepped out in front of them, pulling a black bandana off his bicep to tie around his head with gritted teeth. As for the blond, he had barely moved beyond the one step he had taken back when you met his gaze. In fact, he was shaking while you stared him down, reminding you that he was the flirty one: Sanji. You took another step, properly squaring yourself in front of them with a clenched jaw.
"Sorry, but this is as far as I can let you guys go," you stated, pushing up the sleeves of the coat that did not belong to you as you lazily tilted your head to the side, "nothing personal." Nami and Usopp screeched, running off past Sanji, who couldn't keep his eyes off you. Not that it mattered once Zoro scoffed while finishing off the knot in his bandana.
"Yeah? Well, I'm going to make it personal," Zoro retorted, rushing toward you as you stepped your right leg back and raised your arms to narrowly frame your face. He unsheathed his sword before you could hardly register that he did, swinging it down at you with a darkened gaze.
Your left arm snapped to the side, hitting the flat of his blade. His eyes widened as you pushed it away and then hit his sternum with your right fist— you poked out your middle knuckle to strike him a little harder. He stumbled back with a loud wheeze that quickly descended into a coughing fit.
"There's really no reason for you to do that," you stated while Zoro tried to hold back his coughs between gritted teeth. You sort of felt bad— with him heaving in front of you, you could finally take a good look at him. His tanchest was covered in ragged bandages that looked just about ready to get changed, stained with dried dark red and brown. Your eyes lingered a little longer than you had hoped, and when you looked back up to meet his gaze, he was smirking.
"Done staring at me?"
You frowned.
"Don't flatter yourself."
You bolted forward, and Zoro steadied his stance, bringing his sword to the side to slash at you once you reached him. But you didn't. Instead, you spun on your heel at the last minute and dashed in the same direction Nami and Usopp had gone. Sanji finally seemed to snap out of it, stepping in front of you as you sprinted straight ahead.
"Woah there, beautiful, where—"
"Move."
The ball of your foot dug into the ground as you leaned down to the left and whipped your leg above you and down into Sanji's shoulder, taking silent pride in how he crumbled to the ground.
"Fuck!"
You spun straight back up and, with a slight hop-step, you maneuvered around him and back in the direction his crew had gone, ignoring his pained (or pleasured) groans.
"Dammit, Cook!"
You ignored the arguing behind you and focused on finding the two easy pickings: Nami and Usopp. Considering you knew the forest like the back of your damn hand, finding them, or at least sneaking up on them, wouldn't be too hard. You continued running, weaving back and forth between densely packed trees. Now and then, you'd look behind you, hoping Zoro wasn't there. But he wasn't, and after the third look back, you focused on finding Nami and Usopp.
The more you headed east, the slower you became, watching your step as twigs and broken branches snapped under your feet. You sighed and maneuvered around smaller, fallen trees, trying your hardest not to fall in the deepening darkness. If you didn't find them quickly, you'd have to see to it that your platoon came out to help. It would be a pain to explain later, but as long as you could avoid bringing Tempest out to your hiding spot, it would be fine.
After stepping over a particularly large log, you heard the telltale screeches of Nami and Usopp. For pirates on the run, they were horrible at keeping quiet. You quietly slinked into the shadows around you and kept an eye on the two, slowly making your way toward them. They stood in the middle of a clearing, one of the few ones littered throughout these woods from the occasional storm you'd get each year. How your tree had remained upright, unrelenting in the face of the harsh winds and horrid thunder, was beyond you.
"Why'd we run so far away?! Now Sanji and Zoro will never find us! How are we gonna get back to the Merry?!" Usopp cried, his voice echoing through the clearing.
"One, I don't know why you would trust Zoro of all people to find us when he got us lost in the first place!" Nami began, voice low as she held out one finger, then two, "Two, I don't know why you're worrying about getting back to the Merry when I'm the damn navigator!"
"Oh. Right," Usopp chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck before Nami slapped the back of his head, making him yelp. Watching these two was almost comical. Not that it would be that way for much longer. After taking a few more steps, you pulled at the singular ball end of your boleadora until the knot it was in undid itself, pulling the two twisted boleadoras on the other end fall from your hip. With a near-silent spin, you stepped out into the clearing and let go of your weapon, all the while Nami and Usopp's eyes widened.
They fell to the ground with a thump, squirming within the chains of the boleadoras futilely. You made your way up to them as they thrashed, eyes wide and mouths wider. Seriously, they would not shut up.
"Please don't kill me, Marine lady! I have so much to live for!"
"If you're gonna kill anyone, kill him first!"
You sighed as you came to a stop in front of the two.
"Wha— Nami! What the hell?!"
"As if you weren't planning on letting me die!"
You grimaced as the two bickered, squirming beneath the chains while they argued over something that you didn't plan on doing. As for what Tempest could do, though... well, it wasn't like you were going to do much good by warning them. Regardless, with three of the Straw Hats under your control, one already critically injured, and one too busy drooling to fight you, it wouldn't take much longer for you to get all of this under wraps. While Nami and Usopp continued fighting, you reached into your pocket, pulled out a baby transponder snail, and placed it snugly in your ear.
"Murex Base, Murex Base, Murex Base. This is Lieutenant Commander (y/n) (l/n) requesting assistance. Over."
Static, then a buzz.
"Lieutenant Commander (y/n), this is Murex Base. Over."
You sighed.
"I am located at Wentletrap, slightly southeast of the northernmost point of Abalone. I have three of the five Straw Hat crew members in my possession. Requesting backup by First Platoon. Over."
There was silence. There wasn't even the telltale buzzing that told you the signal was going through. You frowned, looked down at Nami and Usopp, who looked terrified, then looked away. Were you too far away from the base? You knew that your tree marked the spot where the baby transponder snail stopped working— you'd checked it yourself. You ran a hand across your face. If you didn't get a response in two minutes, you'd have to hail the base again. As for the Straw Hats, either they'd come looking for you (as hard as it was to navigate an unknown forest) or they'd run off. You couldn't afford either.
"No answer, Lieutenant Commander- uh, lady? That's because of me! The Great Captain Usopp! See, what you don't know is—"
"It's (y/n)."
The snail buzzed in your ear, crackling irritatingly, but you smiled anyway.
"Lieutenant Commander (y/n), this is Murex Base. You said you have three Straw Hat crew members in your possession? Over."
"That is correct. Over."
The snail screeched in your ear, and you winced hard before you could stop yourself.
"You mean to tell me you haven't gotten all five under your control, (y/n)?"
You felt your entire body go on end; every hair, every part of your flesh, every nerve, everything in your entire being. Your mouth opened and shut, unable to speak with Tempest's heavy breathing in your ear. You wanted to rip the snail out of your ear and throw it off into the forest, where his voice would speak into nothingness. Still, you willed yourself to speak, almost biting your tongue in the process.
"Three? Only three? What did I train you for then?"
Nami and Usopp were staring— No, two of the Straw Hat Pirates were staring at you, confusion washing over their features. You hated the way they looked at you, with some pathetic form of pity. Not that they could even pity you when they were wrapped up in your boleadoras, ready to get handed over to the Marines. You grit your teeth and shut your eyes tight, turning away from the two strangers to try and respond. Your words nearly failed you.
"I... Tempest..."
"Captain Tempest."
Tempest's breathing was even louder in your ear, sending numbing chills down your spine. You felt your chest rise and fall faster, but there was still no air in your lungs. You had to say something, anything. Something to pretend like you were a good soldier. If Captain Tunki were still here, she'd be disappointed in how easy the thought of lying came to you. But she wasn't anymore, and Tempest was waiting for a proper response. He spoke before you could give him one.
"You'd better have your shit together by the time I get there. Over."
"Y-Yes, sir. Over."
When your snail clicked off, you ripped it out of your ear and stuffed it back into your coat pocket so you wouldn't have to hear it ring when it inevitably would.
"...Hey, uh, are you... Are you okay?"
You whipped around to face Nami and Usopp, who squealed at the sight of your face. You looked angry, you could only assume.
"Worry about yourselves," you grumbled, turning away from them both as you pinched the skin between your eyebrows. Sooner or later, you'd have to look for Sanji and Zoro and make sure they were taken down before... before Tempest got here. If luck were on your side, they'd get to you within twenty minutes or so. If it were on Tempest's side, which it always was, he and his whole damn company would get to you in ten.
And since luck loved being against you too, you didn't see a glint of metal until you were brought down to one knee.
"Zoro!"
"Don't forget about me, Nami sweet!"
"... right. Hi, Sanji."
You slapped a hand over the cut as you whipped your head over your shoulder to look at the bloodied and beaten Zoro and Sanji. Zoro glared at you, this time without the bandana darkening his eyes. Sanji, on the other hand, was too busy looking between you and Nami with big, heart eyes.
"How'd you even manage not to get lost, Zoro?" Usopp asked as Zoro walked over and stood in front of him, Nami, and Sanji.
"Why don't you worry about getting free?"
You scoffed under your breath as you got to your feet shakily, peeling away your palm from your wound, blanching slightly at the blood.
"Where's Luffy?" asked Nami as Sanji bent down to try to undo the boleadoras wrapped around her and Usopp. Not that he would succeed— the chain, although it was made to be rope-like, was a pain in the ass to untangle, let alone get them undone around someone. It was the only con of the weapons you used.
"He's fine. A little too close to the water than we'd like, but at least he's not in it," Sanji replied, making your stomach churn. I never heard him hit the water; you cringed. You bit down on your lip and stumbled back, ignoring the sharp pain that crawled up your hip. Taking the Straw Hats down would be a little harder now.
"Hey. Over here," Zoro called, pointing his sword at you, "Your fight's with me now."
"Fine," you grimaced as you stepped back with your right foot, ignoring how your left leg refused to move, "If that's what you want."
It was going to have to move soon.
You dashed forward, watching how Zoro flicked his blade's position. He swung before you could reach him, so you pushed off your right foot to jump over it, aiming your knee straight for his chest.
"Nice try." Zoro managed to bring his sword back to block against your hit, bone to flat metal. Still, as you fell, you spun your elbow behind you to hit his face.
"Shut up."
Again, Zoro blocked it with the flat of his sword.
"Close," Zoro quipped, giving you a smirk that made your head spin.
"I said, shut up," you grumbled. But as you landed back on your feet, your left leg failed you, making you stumble, leaving an opening for Zoro to swing down at you.
"Shit," you sputtered, taking a sharp breath. You rolled to the right, ignoring the sting of another cut Zoro managed to land on your left leg. You bit back any sound you could have made and lurched back up on your feet, barely regaining your stance.
"Careful, lady," Zoro rushed toward you, bringing his sword to his right side, "I don't wanna cut you up too bad."
You gritted your teeth and forced a smile.
"I wouldn't say that so early on into our fight, swordsman."
You jabbed your fist forward, hitting Zoro in the side before he could swing, catching him off guard. He made a strange choking sound, and you swore a bit of blood dribbled from his lip.
"Woops," you muttered, spinning on your left heel (as much as the leg attached to it protested) to launch your right leg at his head.
"Moss! Duck!"
Your right leg only felt the air before it was caught in someone's grasp, tight around your ankle. You sucked air in through your teeth when you locked eyes with Zoro, who grinned while you panicked.
"You really—" Zoro pushed your leg up against your chest and as he spoke, let his grin drop, "woah, you're actually pretty flexible—"
"Ugh!" Your arm snapped forward, slapping Zoro's face with your whole arm. He let go of your leg as he staggered back, and you took the opportunity you had been waiting for.
"Creep!" you shouted as you struck Zoro's stomach, ignoring the groan he let out while he doubled over, sword still clenched tight in his grasp. You reached for his head and pushed it further down to throw your left leg over his shoulder, stepping down hard on the junction of his hip and leg.
"Hey, hey, hey, Zoro, what the hell are you doing?!"
"Mind your... business, Cook—"
Zoro couldn't say another word as your right leg reeled backward to hook his head between your thigh and calf. Zoro choked on spit (or blood, you guessed) as you pulled at his free arm, forcing him to stand back up.
"This isn't fair!"
"Stop staring and help us!"
"Sorry, Nami dear!"
Zoro staggered with your added weight, and you swung your left leg back, effectively choking him out between your thighs.
"No! I can't ignore this any longer! That should be me! Not him!"
You rolled your eyes and squeezed a little tighter around Zoro's head, pulling at his arm until he finally let go of the sword in his other hand. His arm spasmed within your grasp while the sword dully thumped against the ground.
"Sanji!"
"Nami... I can't undo these chains while Zoro is in the grasp of a beautiful maiden."
"Oh, come on!"
Zoro barely had the chance to pull you off of him before you leaned forward and rolled down his body to slam him down to the dirt. His voice betrayed him as he let out a pained groan, while you hopped to your feet and kicked his sword away from him and off into the shrubbery.
"Do me a favor and stay down," you scowled, scrutinizing Zoro as he struggled to even look at you. Mildly satisfied but still on edge, you turned to look at the remaining Straw Hat crew. You knew before long, Tempest would be getting here, so the last thing you needed to do was knock out Sanji and then take care of Straw Hat Luffy, which wouldn't be too hard as long as he was still wrapped up in sea prism stone.
"Wah! Sanji! Do something! She's gonna get us next!"
"A gentleman never hits a woman, Usopp."
"Then get us loose, dammit!"
You tilted your head to the side.
"Sanji, was it?" You cringed internally when the blond stiffened up and gave you the cheesiest look you'd ever seen. You weren't even quite sure what to say.
"Y-Yes! That is my name! May I have the honor to learn the name of my beautiful mistress?" Sanji beamed with a sparkling gaze. You took a step back as you tried to swallow the nausea that came over you. What was his deal? You sighed— you didn't have time for this.
"You're a real weird guy, you know that?" you stated, half-expecting him to quit it with that look, but his grin only grew. He placed one hand on his heart, then extended the other arm outwards.
"Only a gorgeous lady like yourself could make me act this way!" Sanji swooned, too busy making heart-eyes at you to notice the sudden step you made forward. You grabbed his arm before he could pull it away and watched as his eyes went wide. He'd hardly made another sound before you twisted his arm over your head and under your armpit, reaching for his shoulder with your other hand. You pulled him close, so close you were both breathing each other's air. His face went red, and for a moment, you almost found it cute. Then you launched yourself up and over his opposite shoulder, locking an arm around his throat before pulling you both down to the ground with a harsh thump.
"Hrrk—"
"Sanji!"
You stuck your arm under Sanji's armpit, then clasped hands with the arm you kept tight against his throat, keeping him glued to you. You'd half-expected him to try and squirm out of your grasp, but he made no effort to do so. After a beat of silence, and no struggle in your grasp, you careened your neck to look at the side of his face. There, dripping from his nose and into his smile was the smallest rivulet of blood.
"What the hell—"
"Dammit, let go of the cook!"
You looked up to see Zoro, rushing straight at you with his blade at the ready, looking even more worse for wear than you had left him. You grimaced, then pushed Sanji off and away from you so that he would land at Zoro's feet. This stopped him in his tracks just long enough for you to jump to your feet and ready yourself for the next attack. But before Zoro could make his next strike against your aching body, you heard the splintering crack of thunder. Zoro faltered in his attack, looking up at the clear skies with a furrowed brow. The sound shocked you down to your very core, making your every muscle tense. Tempest was nearby, which meant this entire showdown had to end now.
"What's the matter, sword boy?" you teased with a shaky smirk, "Afraid of a little thunder?"Zoro grit his teeth, taking the bait just as expected.
"The hell you call me?" Zoro spat, eyes solely locked on your trembling form. Not that he could tell anyway. You brought your hands up, taunting him with a wave of your fist as if you were beckoning him forward. He huffed, then brought his sword to rest in front of him, holding it with the blade pointing at you.
"Suit yourself," Zoro grumbled under the crackle of another thunderstrike and the flash of lightning, "One sword style... Lion's Paw." You were expecting him to rush at you with the blade, to make some sort of indication as to where he'd strike. Yet when he moved, his sword moved to the sheath at his hip, and before you could even react, he was behind you, sword completely sheathed. It was only as you went to look back at him that you felt a sharp pain in your abdomen. Then came the bitter taste of bile in your mouth and the crushing blow that sent you straight to the ground.
"You..." You couldn't even muster up more than that as your world spun into a wild blur, preventing you from doing much else than curling in on yourself. Any words that you were trying to say came out as a groan, and you clawed at your torso, willing for the pain to go away. The thunder was getting louder now, and as the voices of the Straw Hat crew meshed into one another, you felt the creeping, itching feeling of panic overtake your entire being. Tempest would be here soon, and if he saw you like this... You curled in on yourself a bit more, trying not to think about what would happen to you. What you needed to do was get up and take down these damn pirates.
The thunder was louder, the flashes bright in your vision. The sun was almost completely gone now, receding to the horizon, replaced by the slow darkening night. You willed yourself to get up. Pirate Hunter Zoro had made a mistake by not taking you out completely. It felt like pity, and pity was the last thing you needed. Tempest was close; you could feel him all around you. He was in the air, in every minuscule particle of water and oxygen around you. In the state you'd left them in, the Straw Hat Pirates could easily be taken down as long as you got up instead of lying there.
"Cook. Free Nami and Usopp. I'll go grab Luffy. Meet us at the Merry."
"Where do you get off hurting a lady and then telling me what to do?"
"Sanji, just listen to Zoro. There's a storm coming, and I don't think we want to stick around for it."
"Yeah! Free us, Sanji! I think my arms are going numb!"
The static in the air was growing stronger, the thunder was deafening, and your mind was spinning. You had to get up. You tried to move, but you could just barely get a hand under yourself. God, if you had actually been able to finish Zoro off instead of leaving him be, you might have been able to deliver Tempest the entire Straw Hat Crew. You should have done the same for Straw Hat himself. But you didn't, and now you were watching as Zoro headed off into the forest. The wrong way, might you add, but off, away from the clearing you had dispatched your earlier message from. Still, the wind was starting to pick up, a telltale sign that your Captain would be upon you all soon. You needed to get up. Now.
"Just give up, Straw Hats," you mumbled, forcing your body to move, despite its protests. You pulled your knees under your body, then somehow managed to stand up. You felt part of you was standing at an odd angle as your arm cradled your torso. There was a piercing pain when you tried to inhale, and you could only assume you'd fractured a rib at the very least. Sanji whipped his head over his shoulder, fingers caught in the knots of your boleadora rope. Nami and Usopp stiffened when they met your gaze before squirming to try to get out of the chains faster. It would take a lot more than squirming and an untrained eye to get them out of it.
"M-Miss Marine! Are you okay, my love?" Sanji chirped, eyes glimmering despite the protests of his crewmates. You took a few shaky steps forward, letting the arm at your torso drop before you hurried forward and grabbed him by the collar, ignoring the screeches of Nami and Usopp. The wind was shrieking all around you, like a last-ditch siren that you were trying to drown out. Sanji let himself slink under your grasp, smile curling into pathetic swirls. You didn't answer, just reeled back your arm to strike him and finally knock him out. And just as your arm surged forward, it was caught by an all-too-familiar hand.
"Lieutenant. Don't you know it's bad practice to beat up your captives?"
Sanji was looking straight at you, face encapsulated by shadow. You stared at the blonde hair that covered his eye, avoiding the look of the visible one. You must have been shaking because your vision wasn't steady in the slightest. Tempest's hold on your arm made the whole thing go numb, as though your body was rejecting the idea that he was touching you. Your vision continued swimming, and you could barely utter a word, even though your mouth was open. Between Sanji's hard stare and the presence of Captain Tempest behind you, you couldn't think at all. You couldn't even do a thing when your tears fell onto Sanji's face.
"Did you hear me, Lieutenant? You know I don't like it when you're quiet like this," Tempest said, punctuated by a chuckle that spelled out your impending doom. You couldn't move, you couldn't do a thing. The wind was still whipping around you, making your oversized white coat whip under the force. You wanted to speak, but could only let out a pathetic whimper. At that moment, time froze, then jumped into overdrive. You finally met Sanji's eyes—it was odd that they had such a cold, steely look to them. Then, you felt your breath get caught in your throat as you were ripped away from that gaze and slammed against a nearby tree. You let out a short cry as you hit the ground after, struggling to breathe with the force of the throw alone.
"Asshole—"
Sanji was cut short when Tempest grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground. Nami let out a shriek as Usopp babbled incoherently, both struggling within their chains. Your vision was littered with little dark spots as you tried to inhale as much oxygen as you possibly could. His swirling gray-blue hair looked darker under the dimming sky, his hulking body blocking your view of the remaining crew members.
"Quiet, runt," Tempest said as Sanji went limp under the grip of his massive hand, "I was talking to my Lieutenant." You could make out Nami and Usopp calling for their crewmate, but he made little to no sound. You knew Tempest wouldn't kill them, not yet, at least. At most, he'd knocked the cook out. You watched as Tempest pulled out a pair of cuffs, quickly locking them over Sanji's wrists and to the chains that held Nami and Usopp together. Tempest then got to his feet and turned to you, a smile on his face as your body shook uncontrollably. Nami and Usopp tried to wake up Sanji, whose head hung low while his body leaned against theirs.
"Ah, dear, dear (y/n)," Tempest began while your eyes welled up with tears, "are you okay, sweetheart?" You managed to mutter out a meek 'yessir' before he reached out a hand to offer you. You knew better than to not take it, so you placed a trembling hand in his. You had barely registered the hard yank on your arm or getting to your feet before you were slammed into the tree again. This time, his fingers were curled against your throat, pressing hard against your windpipe.
"Well, doesn't that make no sense? See, because if you're okay, then you should have been able to take down the entire Straw Hat Crew," Tempest said as you clawed at his hand, which pulled you up off the ground, "and I'm only seeing one, two, three scummy pirates here. And none of them are Pirate Hunter or Straw Hat!" Your vision was fading in and out, the pressure of his palm unbearable. You couldn't even defend yourself, just make pathetic choking sounds. But even with your fading sight, you could see the sick grin twist onto his features. You knew what was coming next.
"Oh, Lieutenant. Tsk, tsk! Making those dirty noises for me when there are pirates nearby," Tempest brought his face closer to yours, letting the pressure ease up on your throat just enough for your vision to clear up, "If you wanted to apologize to me, you could have done so in the privacy of my quarters. But I didn't know you were such a lewd girl." You wanted to run. You wanted to die. You didn't want to think anymore, just die, die, die, die. Yet, life wasn't kind to you, and as you felt Tempest's tongue run across your cheek, he used his thumb to turn your head to the side.
You wished he hadn't. There, awake and alert, was Sanji. Beside him were Nami and Usopp, who had seemingly watched the entire exchange. The suddenness of the change in tone. The violence and the vitriol and the violation. They couldn't take their eyes off of you, wide and horrified as your Captain pressed his other hand against your breast and squeezed like he was ready to tear it from your body next. Your entire body went numb. This had already long been your reality, but for Tempest to do this in front of a bunch of strangers? He must have already planned their deaths, just like how he did with anyone who knew of his depravity. For a moment, you felt bad for them, even if they were pirates. It wasn't like they could do anything for you anyway—
"Get your hands off of her!"
You fell to the ground suddenly, body still numb, lungs aching for reprieve. You couldn't even stop the vomit from spilling out of your mouth, leaving your mouth burning with the foul taste of acid. Still, when you looked to see who had been the culprit, you found it had been the last person you were expecting. There, fighting against the chains, was Nami, wild and thrashing. She seemed genuinely desperate, for what you weren't entirely sure. You stared at her blankly from your spot on the forest floor, then watched as Tempest made his way over to her, Sanji, and Usopp.
"You piece of shit! How dare you!" Nami screeched, "I swear to god, Luffy will rip you apart! He'll kill you! We'll all kill you!" You couldn't make sense of this. Why was a pirate doing this? Why was a pirate trying to help you? There was simply no way a pirate of all people would save you, let alone kill for you. Straw Hat Luffy, especially. Not after you nearly killed him and took down members of his crew. Tempest was towering over them now, and you watched as Nami spit at him, leaving a glob of spit on his once-pristine shoe. Your hand twitched. She was going to get hurt.
"A feisty one, aren't you?" Tempest laughed, "and a looker too! Much better looking than my lieutenant, that's for sure." You watched as Sanji and Usopp tried to get out of their chains and cuffs, already cursing out your captain. He didn't seem too amused, then stepped back. It was only then that you heard the faint footsteps and shouts of soldiers tucked away in the brush of the forest. Tempest mussed with his tie, making sure it was straight before making his way over to you.
"Consider yourself lucky, you scum. I like my pirates to be in pristine condition before they're sent to the gallows," Tempest said simply as the first of many soldiers appeared in the clearing. Your eyesight was already darkening again, even as you were hoisted to your feet. Your feet could hardly support your own weight as Tempest hauled you into his arms, his features twisting into those of feigned concern.
"Soldiers! Take them away! I'll take Lieutenant (y/n) back to Murex. Let the base know our commander is in critical condition," Tempest said with a faux frown. The remaining Straw Hats made a cry of protest as a few soldiers let out a 'yessir.' You hardly blinked before you were soaring through the air, supported by arms you wished would stop touching you. You blinked back tears as the wind whipped you cruelly, its sound barely covering up Tempest's cruel chuckles. From up in the sky, you could see the outline of Murex base, lit with cold, bright lights and dotted with little figures dressed in white. In the distance, Auger Village was illuminated by warm light. While your consciousness faded into nothingness, you found yourself asking one thing:
COULD STRAW HAT LUFFY SAVE YOU?
hiii! welcome to get lost and then get found (or swallowed in the sea) or as you guys on wattpad will know it, just swallowed in the sea! as I stated in the preface, this will be a sort of collection of stories throughout the arcs of one piece! it's my sort of dedication to oda because I love him for making one piece and I think I would die without it :3
also, just as a warning there will be some mild spoilers as we go and I do ask that you ignore any future continuation errors bc I am only on dressrosa I fear... anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, even though this is a little rough toward the end, and I hope you guys will stick with me on this little journey, haha!
been locking in hard for this one lolol; snippet is under the cut!
“Dammit,” you grumbled, leaning against the impromptu fence that kept people off the racetrack, “there goes my reserves.” Robert had laughed from beside you, mussing with the cowboy hat he’d picked up from a shop nearby and was now wearing. Somewhere in the crowd were the rest of your older brothers, probably off flirting with girls their age. Papa had stayed back home to watch Scott, Seth, and George, which had come as some surprise to you. You had a feeling Robert had something to do with it.
“Least you didn’t bet usin’ money,” Robert said, patting you on the shoulder. You looked up at him, seeing a face that resembled your own a little too much. His face had started looking a little different then, likely from the long hours out in the fields. You looked back down at your dirt-scuffed boots and blew out a puff of air.
“Yeah, well, them sweets are like gold nowadays,” you mumbled, knowing Robert would be able to hear you through the excited cheers of the spectators around you both. You’d been lucky to snag such a great spot considering how many people had shown up. You hadn’t expected this many people, but you supposed most didn’t have much else to do around the valley. Well, besides farming, and that wasn’t much fun to begin with.
“Fool’s gold,” Robert clarified as you gave him a cold glare, “how about you worry ‘bout Tom again. What’s happened to that?” It was during times like these that having a twin was more of a nuisance than anything.
“Tom, he… He’s been doin’ just fine,” you said, crossing your arms over your chest as you put more of your weight against the fence, “Just ‘cause he lost this one don’t mean nothin’. Maybe he overslept. He’s been in lotsa races lately. He’s pro’bly exhausted.”
“You got a point,” Robert replicated your stance, crossing his arms over his chest, “Don’t think I ain’t notice your hesitatin’ though.” You scoffed, then hit him hard on the shoulder, leaving him rubbing at the muscle with an over-pronounced pout. You turned around to look at the horses and their riders, which whizzed on by into multi-colored blurs.
“Stop readin’ into me, Rob. Keep your twin sense to yourself and watch the race,” you said with a sigh. But you knew Robert was right. Even with your attempt to try and relax, you couldn’t. All you could do was worry. You grit your teeth and try to make out the number of the passing racers. Surely you’d see Tom’s soon. You’d see him smiling wide on Lone Survivor, even despite his loss. That was just the kind of guy Tom was. Under the heat of the blistering August sun, you tried to ignore the gnawing tugs at your heart, pointing somewhere off to the northwest of where you stood.
once i finish the rewrite for palomino, ill probably make it into a separate post thread than the old one so people can go back and look at the “og” (aka the third iteration of this fic but the most long-standing).
let’s just say, a LOT is getting retconned bc i cant stand the scenes wrote. and the consistency is so bad it made cringe when skimming through. that and my johnny and gyro bias is prevalent…
anyway, get ready for more miscellaneous blog posts here about palomino. itll get me hyped to write. hopefully.
how have you been? I hope you've been doing okay :>
hehe i am 😛 university has been crazy, especially since im taking grad courses as an undergrad, but ive been surviving. still hoping to eliminate my writer’s block but i write so much for school and work its hard to write creatively anymore 🥲 thank you so much for asking though ❤️ i hope you are doing well yourself!!
Ever since the steel ball run anime got announced I gotten back to JJBA again and remembered your work.
It's still as amazing as I remembered and I'm still very convinced that the only reason why Gyro and Johnny treated Y/N differently is because they're actually gay and were very disappointed to find out that Speedwagon is a woman.🤗
on a more serious note though, you write very well and I love your work. Just know that there's no problem if you don't update frequently, and that we'll still be here even if it takes years👍
I hope you're well. Have a great day :D
thank you so much for your kind words 🥹🫶🏻 im hoping to finally get rid of my writers block so 🤞🏼🤞🏼
(ノ^∇^)ʰᵉʸʸ it's spice from wattpad! I don't mind you postin this tbh, even though I don't really have an anime-like style 😗🫶 (yes yes it was a bad day for hands)
I have a love hate relationship with how this turned out... Plus I didn't really know what to do for the disguise!! Anyways, have a good day! 😊
OMG I LOVE THIS WHATTTTTTT ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ i love seeing the ways yall draw mc!! shes so cutie 🥹🫶🏻
hello guys! thank you for all your patience with me! im still struggling through writer’s block but im slowly making progress with my 2nd rewrite. i know you guys would prefer a new chapter, but i have many plotholes that i want to fix and some plot points i need to retcon in order to prepare us for the diego and hot pants arc. since you guys have been really understanding, ill leave you with a few plot points i will be adding/changing with the rewrite. i would also ask that you guys reread once im done. thank you again and here yall go:
- mc and robert will now be twins (please imagine robert as just a male version of yourself looks wise!)
- mc will struggle more with her femininity
- more background on mc’s home life, family, and more on how she got her stand
- more time period accurate dialogue and scenes (+appropriate accents (southern johnny drawl HELLO))
- trauma and reactions that make more sense
- less cringe and more detail
please let me know if you guys have anything you would like to see in this story! also, if you would like to have access to the original palomino before this new rewrite please let me know as well :))
also also i will be making a cute website soon with some extra palomino content for yall to check out if yall are interested
Hi! Love your tumblr blog! I was wondering if you can do May 7th for the language of birthday. Thanks :)
Language Of Birthdays: May 7 - Taurus
[You can find the rest of the series here; or check out my masterlist]
The Day Of Devotion
May 7 people are usually of a devotional nature. They will give their last drop of blood to a cause they support, whether religious, spiritual, artistic or social. Although they are not overly concerned with money, they have a good feeling for material things and enjoy possessions that lend pleasure to their lives. Perhaps because they do not strive to amass riches, they often attract gifts, inheritances or solid rewards from their idealized pursuits. Less highly evolved people born on this day are satisfied with such possessions; more highly evolved May 7 people progress from the material to the spiritual plane, often winding up far from where they began life. Sometimes the goals of those born on this day are of a religious nature but even the most mental or atheistic of May 7 people will imbue their logic with an intense devotion.
A love of beauty, particularly of music, is evident on this day; venusian sensibilities are as likely to produce as appreciate a beautiful voice or sensuous body. Whatever materials May 7 individuals work with will be endowed with sensuality—whether shapes, colors, interior designs, sounds or words.Women born on this day can be overly self-eftacing and self-sacrificing. They often manifest frustrations and suppressed emotions in nervous conditions and anxiety. Because they are aware of this weakness, however, they are capable of perfecting themselves, and subsequently becoming calm, balanced and self-possessed. Men born on this day who have suppressed drives and desires usually manage to fulfill their needs, but may do so through great struggle rather than through evolving as people.
Outstanding May 7 personalities will move with easy grace and dignity, inspiring confidence in others. They are incisive and very much to the point, not liking to waste time or beat around the bush. They tend to be loners, enjoying limited social contact and preferring the comfort and security of their own home. As fathers and mothers, they will take the job of parenting seriously, giving their children what they need both emotionally and materially.
May 7 people are usually self-taught. They tend to teach, therefore, more by example than by precept, not hesitating to throw the book away if it doesn't work. In essence, those born on this day are very much traditionalists, and therefore typically conservative in their orientation; they study tradition, most often independently, in order to master their field and give a solid underpinning to what they do. Whether formal or informal in their approach to life, those born on this day are extremely sensitive people who specialize in guarding their emotions and, if successful, sublimating them in their life's work. The key for them is to harness this emotion without it becoming blocked or suppressed.
Strengths:
Dignified
Devoted
Aesthetic
Weaknesses:
Unrealistic
Troubled
Frustrated
Advice
Those born on May 7 must bring the poles of their nature—mental and emotional, the spiritual and physical—into balance early in life. Their struggle to do so may manifest in stress and a nervous system which can go out of kilter. Later in life, as those born on this day come to accept who they are, they will find peace. With advancing age, physical exercise remains of great importance, but meditation, a balanced diet and spiritual or religious pursuits also provide healthy influences on the body. May 7 people do have to guard against letting their bodies go as they get older, not out of abuse but rather neglect, as their concerns are with other matters. Music serves as a very effective therapy for those born on this day.
Accept yourself as you are
Focus less on the past and attend to the next phase
Don't get carried away by your beliefs
Take rests periodically: let up a bit in your demands
