@beastenraged so eventually there will be happy endings in the My Love series, and the vision of this one smacked me in the face yesterday:
A quick glance over her shoulder confirms Brook has taken the helm; Jinbei slowly paces towards the front deck, making himself visible the whole way. Some of the commotion in the settlement eases. The panic slows, or at least grows quiet, though Nami is still able to pick out worried expressions peering out of windows and from between homes.
Luffy has stayed silent the whole way, perched on Sunny’s figurehead.
They aren’t going to fight, not in a place clearly meant to be a hidden refuge, where one small unknown pirate ship is enough to cause this much of a stir. It would be nice to at least be allowed to restock their supplies, and find out how long it’ll take the log pose to reset, but Nami for one doesn’t want to inflict more fear on these people than necessary. Some of those scared faces watching them belong to children.
So. She carefully moves to stand beside Jinbei, ready to help negotiate with the gathering defenders, already tallying up how much they can afford to spend on a docking fee if that will help ease tensions-
Someone laughs.
Startled twitches roll through her crew and the crowd alike. Heads turn; people step aside. Nami squints, catching a flicker of white, a waving hand, and then flat out stares at a woman who comes rushing down the path that opens for her. Pale hair, and a weathered face, but she’s got a bright, eager smile, and a striking tattoo that curls around her left eye, most of a circle with yellow and white streaks striking outwards, like sunbeams.
“Huh,” Nami hears Luffy say. And then, “Oh- OH! HEY! HI! You made it out!” She glances up, startled, and sees her captain look ecstatic as he waves back, before abruptly bringing his hands down to cup them together, and slowly peel them apart.
The woman below them laughs again. A bunch of the people around her look stunned.
And before Nami or Jinbei can catch him, Luffy bounds down and leaps off the Sunny’s deck, and just before he wraps the woman up in a hug she makes a gesture of her own-
Nami’s breath catches in her throat.
Ace’s expression grew sly, as he curled his fingers around thin air, like he was holding something, and then pantomimed griping a slender object in his other hand and running it over the first. Two sweeps, at which point Luffy shrieked in outrage and launched himself at his brother, hollering “I am NOT a baby!”
“But you were~”
“Shut UP-!”
“Fat little potato b- ouch!” The teasing stopped in favor of Ace wrestling Luffy to the Merry’s deck, and by the time the two of them came up again they’d already moved on to bickering about something else. But frequently, during their days in Alabasta, all Ace needed to do was hold his hands in that particular way, of peeling a potato, to send his brother into a fit.
It was funny, and baffling, and Nami never did get an explanation. But here and now, this woman makes the same gestures, two swipes of a paring knife, and then follows it by folding her arms together as if- as if cradling a baby. And Luffy just laughs, before he sweeps her up into a spinning hug, uncaring of all the people staring in pure shock.
“Oyster?”
This time it’s a man who comes through the crowd, more anxious than outright alarmed. The woman pats at Luffy’s shoulder, and he sets her down, still giggling, so she can start making more gestures with her hands- speaking with her hands, Nami realizes. The potato-baby signs again, followed by a quick succession of others, including a gesture at the sunburst on her face, and slowly the crowd relaxes. Including the man who called out, looking relieved as he signs back and comes closer.
Nami takes that as her cue that it's safe to disembark. In short order, she and Jinbei alone of the crew descend to the dock, and secure Sunny’s mooring lines before they approach Luffy and the pair of locals.
“Hey, guys!” Their captain beams. “This is-” His hands do the same thing, cupped together and opening, which Nami now interprets as an oyster opening, “She knew me when I was a baby!”
Oh?
...oh.
“Potato baby,” Nami says, which gets a snicker from both Luffy and the woman alike. “Huh. Well, hello! It’s nice to meet you!”
“You as well,” the man replies, glancing at Oyster’s hands as they move. “From the both of us. Not many visit, it’s good to get a known face. Ah- I’m Pann, by the way. Oyster’s husband. And this-” Pann reaches behind his back, tugging a cloth sling into view, and with it, a chubby infant who can’t be more than six months old. “-is Seed.”
Luffy’s eyes are so wide they’re practically about to fall out of his head.
Oyster’s smile turns proud, as she takes the baby from her husband. One of her hands makes a new gesture: pinching something, and then all her fingers twisting and blooming outward. Luffy copies it, perfectly, on the first try, before leaning in close towards that tiny face. “Hi, Seed,” he whispers, only half as loud as usual. Little cheeks and nose scrunch up, at least until the baby burbles, and reaches to grab Luffy’s nose.
Both he and Oyster have matching, delighted grins.
---
“Hey! Can I give Seed a-” Luffy signs something, swiping a hand down his forehead and flicking out his fingers, a gesture Nami could easily mistake for just wiping his brow and shaking away some sweat, except for how Oyster inhales sharply.
Their shadows shuffle; handing the baby over, probably, judging by how Luffy’s outline starts to gently sway back and forth.
“Hi, Seed,” he says, Nami concentrating with every fiber of her being to listen. “I’ve got a blessing for you, just like the one your mom gave me. Once you find your dream, as long as you chase it, no matter what, you’ll always be free. Got that?” Seed babbles. “Good.”
Oyster makes a low sound, like she might be about to cry.
Nami turns around and goes back to the party, not sure of what just happened, but certain she doesn’t need to know. What she does know, by the time the party winds down with more than enough laughter and cheer to make up for their arrival, is that her prediction once again proved right:
She doesn't tell the others at first. Which was super hard and she thinks she deserves some credit for that. But there's battle training... Then history lessons. And there is absolutely NO way she's letting Kestrel and the other minders know. And... She kind of likes keeping this little part of her to herself. Just for a little bit.
When she does tell the others Starflight is immediately a worrywart about it. Running around her with wide eyes. As if he could see her soul decay on her scales. She shoves him for this. But eventually she agrees not to use her powers... Yet. I mean it's not like they could even fly yet.
Time passes. And she kind of forgets. The dragonets learn how to fly but.. it just doesn't seem like the right time yet. And they don't want to use her magic unless it's a last resort. And they should probably save it to end the war anyway. This drives her CRAZY but... She does admit to herself the idea of losing her soul is pretty scary. So she doesn't. Even if she thinks Kestrel would make a good looking toad.
But then Morrowseer comes... And they escape. And then there's Queen Scarlet. And then the arena and... Oh why didn't she use her magic to cure that poor SeaWing...
Then they escape and she is a princess! And.. and she's not the only animus anymore. And she has a sister... At first she's jealous but then they talk and they just. She understands her. Now more than ever she wants to end the war. But what can she do here? Under her mother's watchful gaze... Should she tell Anemone? Would that be a good idea? But what about Blister? Urrrrrghhhh!!
Where is her friends when she needs them!? She doesn't know what to do. This power itches beneath her scales. Her talons twitch and sing with power... But how to use it?
~~~~~
Woo! This is a fun idea! Admittedly a Animus Tsunami is a little terrifying. But at the same time her first instinct would probably be to pounce first. Magic later. But still fun! I also had a ton of fun playing with the lighting in this picture. First time drawing Tsunami at all.
Love it that I've assembled the perfect size crew of One Piece OCs for Draw the Face memes:
1A Clefferd: when you're just trying to figure out where a small child you found alone in the forest came from, but every human you talk to assumes YOU'RE the one who stole her...
1B Eiko: how do I put this. Delicately.
1C Serra: the longer I listen, the worse my head hurts
2A Tert: ...ah.
2B Daitan: seas, give me just one ounce of patience, that's all I'm asking-
2C Danai: ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!
3A Aoki: lmao. lmfao, even.
3B Numachi: go ahead. keep talking. hole just keeps getting deeper.
Also, I've been talked into busting out the BIG 120 Colored Pencil Set, as opposed to my usual 24 pack, which. Certainly results in a cooler end result, but holy cow does it take longer to get there:
Look at this! Look at how many options I have to pick through and CHOOSE from!!
More Treehouse Pirates because I am on a Roll and Enjoying Myself
Cuddling and Snuggling You
Numachi: grew up immersed in near-constant family snuggles, will always be delighted to cuddle his sister or crewmates or future girlfriend
Tert: after years of traveling alone, it's quite nice to be able to sprawl on the deck and have two or three warm bodies abruptly appear
Danai: the only madlad willing to glomp his twin when she's in a grumpy mood purely to make it worse (and draw some of her frustration before it can lash out at an innocent target)
---
Destroying Your Furniture
Clefferd: "I'm just saying, it WAS poor quality..." follows this statement up by rebuilding whatever it was he took apart in more a sturdy/stylish manner
Aoki: "I'm decorating!" Also possibly probably wrecking structural integrity. But ah well, at least the kid's having fun
Daitan: leave this girl unsupervised for five minutes in a marine base and there will be All the Property Damage
---
Bringing you a dead mouse Bringing You a Stolen Wallet
Eiko: well, you needed a few more berri to buy that one thing, and besides, that guy she took it from was an asshole anyway
Rini: sleight of hand is a useful skill, especially when paired with her Devil Fruit power
Serra: "Do NOT give me that face-!" but it's funny to see how flustered Clefferd gets when she hands her guardian a wallet stolen two islands back, rich kids should pay better attention when they're being flirted with
