Hi! I really love a lot of your Fucked Up One Piece stuff! Romance that is Actually Horror is so fun! I was wondering if you had any snippets of Loving Parenting that is Actually Horror- specifically anything with Luffy in the undead/shadow Lili AU or the Ginny lives AU (with Bonney maybe(?!)) Ideally for me it’s if the characters are old enough/aware enough to realise how Weird Imu is, but Dragon’s POV of the same would also be so fun! Or Imu’s PoV! Or Ginnys in the Ginny lives AU! Or… okay I don’t think PoV is going to stop me finding it great no matter what 😂
Sometimes, Luffy has weird dreams.
He didn't know the dreams were weird, until he and Ace and Sabo were talking about dreams and he brought up his and Ace went "What the fuck" and Sabo went "Why are your dreams like that?!" Because they've never ever had any dreams like Luffy's.
The dreams are full of dark, night dark. Sometimes there's almost words, sometimes there isn't. Sometimes there's snake hissing, sometimes there's bird chirping instead.
What's always the same is the pressure. Like when he's punching his way out of an alligator that's swallowed him, or that one time when some trash fell on top of him at Gray Terminal. Pushing down on his chest, making it hard to breath.
Until he wakes up, swallowing up gulps of air until he burps loud and hard from it.
He's had the dreams forever and they're probably gonna stay forever. That's just how it is. Ace and Sabo had asked him before, what caused them, hands on their pipes, eyes all serious. All he could do was shrug and say "I don't know." Because he doesn't.
But he has the dreams and they don't go away and he wakes up sucking in air. Ace and Sabo are there, so he doesn't wake up alone anymore and that's good.
Until the day Sabo is gone.
Then Luffy wakes up with the same gasping, but instead there are dreams are full of fire and smoke and gunfire and it's all the same feeling except when it isn't.
And Luffy thinks, oh.
Those are nightmares.
But there's nothing he can do, nothing he knows. Until another terrible day, where everything goes wrong wrong wrong.
-
"Love, welcome mu's dear son," the shadow person says.
Luffy's heart feels all funny, wobbly inside, as another shadow thing peels itself out the darkness and stares at him with red spots for eyes.
"Child, this is Lili, your aunt. Greet her politely."
The shadow moves closer and it's like a snake except when it's not, all crawly like a centipede with too many legs that he can't see but know are there!
Behind, he can hear Ace inhaling. "What the hell is that?"
And a tail reaches out from behind the shadow person, the shadow person that say they're Luffy's parent, and it lashes out. Knocking Ace over on the ground.
"What a ill-mannered pet you are."
Luffy puffs up the best he can, with the wibbly wobbly cuffs on him. "Leave him alone!"
"He doesn't know better, my heart." The shadow thing talks and it's hissing and chirping in his brain and almost familiar. It twists and shapes a little head-knob that it nods at Luffy with.
"Hello nephew of mine."
His heart jerks again in his chest. Ouchie. Feels bad.
"Hello ghost lady."
A rattling laugh. "Yes, that's me, ghost lady. Welcome to the Heart of the World. I hope you enjoy your stay."
Luffy glares. "I won't." Because this isn't home, not Dawn Island, and his hat is gone and Ace is on the floor, hurt.
"Fair."
The shadow person sighs. "Lili."
Ghost lady jerks, a flinch. "Very well." Then she crawls back, a centipede again, to the shadow of the shadow person. Making it darker.
Shadow person's clawed hands fold together. "Now. Where were we?"
-
That night, under the bed with Ace, Luffy feels cold. He opens his eyes and there's red eyes and darkness and something moving closer.
He kicks at it. It doesn't go away. Only snarls and draw closer.
Ace stirs. "Wait, is that a snake-"
Like a snake, Ghost Lady strikes! Sinks dark fang things into Luffy's arm and Luffy yells and punches back but his punches are not as strong as pistols with the weird cuffs on.
And no, there's the bed being turned over, with the shadow person looming over them all, with Ghost Lady screaming and struggling in their hands. Ghost Lady who looks more like a lady now than a snake, a lady with dark blue hair and skin who's still cursing.
