#[ matter at all bc roger loves and adores rayleigh no matter what

[pirateborn-a]

so incredibly normal about Rayleigh and Roger,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[beanghostprincess]

Heeeeeyyyyyyy boooooooooo~

Have you read anything by Stereden? I am OBSESSED and INSPIRED okay it is AMAZING I love

So yeah.

Those works I spired me into making my own lil AU - Haki is a matter of will. It's an innate thing in all living beings, everyone has Haki, but you have to train to be able to control or sharpen it, and some are born with a special ability to IMPOSE IT ON OTHERS. Roger was among those.

Haki could be boiled down to soul energy.

((Shamelessly dropping another special interest with my one piece ideas mwahahah so evil))

Some of the theories regarding ghosts or repetitive cycles of hauntings is due to the amount of emotional energy affixed to a person or place, OR by the will of the person remaining. If one who died had a strong enough Will to Continue Existing, then it's theorized that they could either remain or pass between the veil.

Roger had v strong Conquerors Haki. He had the Voice of All Things, too.

He was sick and dying and so he chose what he thought was best to act as the end of his time. But I do NOT doubt for a single second that when he was up there on that platform that he could tell Shanks and Buggy were exhausted, scared, hurt, grief stricken and alone.

Where was the rest of his crew? Why wasn't Rayleigh with them? Why hadn't Crocus treated those wounds on theirs? Why was Buggy so worn thin, like a live wire, and why did his little Red feel so hollow and empty? What in the seven Seas happened to his kids?!

He's too weak to break out. The best he can do with misdirect attention from them as best he can. The best he can do is send his haki out to wrap around them, a blanket, armor, whatever they needed bc he'd do it, he'd do it all for them, thise are his kids and he loves them and he pours ever single bit of that love into it.

Roger dies on that platform, but he's still there.

He bears witness to the way the crew meets back up not even an hour after his head hit the cobblestone ground, and he is seething as he watches Rayleigh officially disband the crew. He is frothing when Buggy, voice shaking and thin and pale and everything Roger refused to let the child be ever again, asks through tears, "what do we do now?"

And Rayleigh, face blank, just responds with, "go back to what you were doing, kid. You survived this long."

And Roger is furious, is livid, is terrified and angry and hurt and-

One of the nearby lanterns explodes.

The crew shoots looks that direction, and Roger thinks they might just see him, but nobody reacts beyond his kids blinking hard a few times before looking away. And Oh. Oh, That Is Odd.

Roger is a pirate, a Captain, is deadDeadDeadDeadOhFuckHeIsDead- but he's a selfish man at his core. He has made peace with that.

He watches over Shanks and Buggy, sometimes goes to check on Rouge and her growing little bump. He winds up baring witness to the events of Baterilla, and he is furious beyond reason by the Marines. But he is there to see Rouge's last breath and Ace's first, and hebwatches Garp take his child, just as requested, and he holds his wife in his arms as she joins him in this odd limbo.

They both bare witness, hand in hand, as Shanks and Buggy fight tears, panic attacks, and unfiltered rage as they help dig graves and mourn the losses of innocent lives, and Roger aches when they keep a meticulous count. Rouge cries with every friend and family member she sees lowered into the earth, but she is still trying, futile as it is, to wipe away Buggy's and Shanks' tears, hands gently on their backs and heads and cheeks. She has never met them, not personally, but Roger had told her so much, and these boys are hers as well, hers to love and protect and adore.

The pirate king and his wife, his queen, keep watch over their children, trying to give comfort where they could, protection in any way they can manage.

Roger aches with Ace's hatred. He understands, he'd never blame him for it, but it hurts and he may hate Garp's choices a little more with each glimpse into the situation.

For a long while, things are fine, are normal, make a routine. Three years in, there is a change.

A pulse ripples along the world, jarring and sudden, like a cacophonous drum beat. As quickly as it comes, it goes. Roger and Rouge exchange glances. None of the living have reacted.

They meet Luffy not long after.

His tiny body thrums with energy, heart an odd but not harmful pace and Roger Knows.

He never thought he'd get to see this.

Luffy is still so small, so tiny, but he is loved, so much so.

And, the couple learns, he is the epicenter of so much by way of Fate.

He goes on to become so much to so many, a friend/son to Shanks, a person of interest to Buggy, a brother to Ace, and Roger is cackling over having five whole sons as soon as the cups clink together, much to Rouge's amusement.

Just. Roger ((and Rouge)) watching over their children.

Occasionally even being VISIBLE to others in times of high energy.

Alvida seeing Roger sitting on the edge of Buggy's bed when he spikes dangerous fevers.

Benn seeing Rouge brush Shanks' hair back when he gets blackout drunk after a particularly hard time.

Dadan seeing both parents soothe a sobbing little baby when she was still so new to this parenting thing, and never breathing a word of it.

Chopper occassionally getting glimpses of a giant of a man and a powerful looking woman whe Luffy is badly injured, both gently offering him comfort or standing guard.

Koala occasionally sees strangers in the base when Sabo is sick or hurt or has nightmares.

Whitebeard nearly chokes when he sees Roger sitting next to his son on his deck, smiling fondly at the newly snoring young man and patting his head gently.

Nobody breathes a word of any of this, not for a good long while because stranger things have happened. And besides...

It's good to know the kids are being looked out for.

Oh damn. Okay. I've never really been into ghost stuff and things like this, but this is so cool??? Honestly, turning it into soul energy makes it so interesting. They're there to look out for them and keep an eye on them and it's such a beautiful concept!!! <3

[pirateborn-a]

[ TUG ]:          sender grabs the receiver’s hair and pulls at it. (the 'stache bc he's little but also a brat)

THINGS DONE WITH HAIR

✧.    “ Ow— ow, ow, ow, ow— ”    he winced at the boy's —  a baby  — actions. How could something so small have so much strength ?  Technically, it didn't really hurt. Nothing compared to, say, being stabbed. But his only slightly exaggerated actions seemed to be amusing the child, and so he kept them up.

     Seemed to. He was laughing, so that was a good thing, right ?  Roger could never tell for sure. Although no matter what the rest of the crew thought —  from the way they hoovered whenever he held the baby  ( the current role of watcher falling upon Rayleigh )  — he did have some knowledge on how to handle a baby. Even if, admittedly, his last experience was mostly just watching Rayleigh take care of a few after he'd nearly dropped the two he was carrying into a nearby canal. But still !

“ I think he likes me, ”   he chirped cheerfully, tilting his back towards his first mate with a bright grin as he adjusted his hold on Shanks —  it'd said his name was Shanks  — to hold him in his arms more steadily as he'd been shown; his own head dragged along with the movement as the grip on his mustache never flattered.

     He couldn't help his expression from softening just a touch as he looked down as much as he could, bringing a hand up to gently brush some stray strands of what little red hair the child had out of his face. Mother of seas, he was so small. It took the boy's entire hand to grab just one side of his mustache. How could anything possibly be so small ?  It made a part of him wish to tuck Shanks safely into his pocket where Roger could forever watch over him, as odd as the thought was.

“  ...I don't want him to let go, Rayleigh, ”   he muttered, a quiet confession as his smile dimmed with realization,   “ Our ship is no place to keep a child, I know, I know. And yet... I don't want him to let go. ” 

     He repeated it more surely, with sinking heart. He didn't want to let go, his arms curling ever-so-slightly more around Shanks without even noticing. They weren't fit to care for a child; the Sea, especially those of the Grandline, were unforgiving at best. That wasn’t even mentioning their countless enemies—

     Yet, he couldn't help but feel slight panic rise at the idea of letting the child go.

“ It was fate, wasn't it ?  We claimed the treasure. We claimed the treasure he was in for ourselves, Rayleigh, ”   the words falling out more hurriedly,   “ He's our treasure. He's my treasure. My crew. What kind of captain would I be if I abandoned one of my own ?  Or what if someone finds out where he's from ?  I don't give a damn, but we both know the Government's run by bastards. Sure, Garp knows, but—  Garp's Garp, ”   he thought he heard Rayleigh say something, but he couldn't quite tell. All he could focus on was how small the boy was. So small and fragile. They could watch over him, couldn’t they ?  Or would that make things worse ?  Did it matter ?

“ Worse yet, what if he's lonely out there ? ”    the mere idea brought a shiver down his spine and cold pit in his stomach, bringing the boy closer to his chest,    “ I can't do that to someone. Being lonely is a fate worse than death. No, it wouldn't happen, people would love him— i mean, look at him !  He's adorable, how could anyone say no to this pudgy face ?  But Rayleigh, what if he is— ”

     Another sharp tug at his face broke him out of his ramblings. To his horror, Shanks looked as though he were a breath away from crying. Immediately, Roger brought back the smile to his face, quietly hushing the child and clumsily rocking him in his arms the way he'd seen some others do on the streets before. He wasn't... really sure what purpose it served, but a sigh of relief fell past grinning lips as it seemed to work. Perhaps it was akin to how the waves rocked their beds each night. A child of the sea, just like any other one of them.

     Either way, he'd be sure to be more careful in front of Shanks from then on.

“ We'll decide his fate together come morning, ”   he declared resolutely, keeping his face down at the boy because he already knew what he'd see written on Rayleigh's expression if he looked.

“ Shanks, ”    he tried the name on his tongue, wondering if held any meaning he didn’t know of,   “ Did you know your name is Shanks, lad ? ”   did he ?  He didn't know if babies even knew their own names, just that they needed others. Shanks couldn't survive on his own. He needed protection, so why couldn't it be Roger the one to protect him ?  He had to have found Shanks for a reason if fate made it so their paths crossed. It was fate, and who were any of them to deny that ?

“ No matter what happens, ”   his voice a murmur, steady and resolute as he gingerly traced his thumb on the boy’s head, his smile warm like sunlight,   “ You're going to be alright, Captain Roger's going to make sure of it. That’s a promise, okay ? ”