#GUYS BUGGY IS SO SQUISHY

[siren-serenity]

when he loves you

characters: buggy, gn!reader warnings: fluff, angst, slightly overpowered buggy??? a/n: - in this household, we live, laugh, love buggy the clown <3 - feedback is appreciated!

part one (shanks) // part two (ace) // part three (buggy)

when buggy loves you, he's a fool in love. utterly besotted, completely head over heels for you. there is no doubting it, and honestly, who would? it's a nice change for the pirates on the 'big top'; seeing their fearsome leader stumbling over himself to impress you never fails to put a smile on their faces. but sometimes...they just pray you would accept his advances because they’re so sickeningly sweet.

"captain's at it again," cabaji laughs, handing mohji a box of circus equipment. "still don't know how y/n doesn't notice." mohji lets out a hearty chuckle and then spies the mentioned duo. buggy's cheeks are as red as his beloved lipstick and his eyes were wide with boyish love. he waves his hands widely as he speaks and even from faraway, cabaji and mohji can hear the little cracks in his voice whenever you respond or compliment him. "i think y/n notices though," mohji hums, pointing out the way your lips twitched upwards. "perhaps they like the attention?" cabaji snorts. "captain buggy's got plenty to give; they don't need to worry about that." "AND THEN! and then we set sail, far away, sailing far away from the island with ten- no, hundreds of marine ships following us!" "so heroic!" "AHFALDSKLADSJFLA" cabaji and mohji exchange a laugh as they continue with their duties.

when buggy loves you, you start to understand that although he isn't very good with words, he loves physical affection. he can't stand going a few meters apart from you unless his chopped off hand is laced with your own. he just wants to feel your warmth, to remind him that he is worthy and loved in somebody's eyes. you start to learn (and love) how touchy he is with you, and that you’re the only one he dares to be with like this. vulnerable, open, and unguarded.

"buggy," you laugh, playfully pushing his head away. he pouted as he continued to nuzzle his face into the crook of your collarbone. your back was pressed into his chest and buggy didn't want to let you go. at all. "cabaji's calling for me!" "he can do that later," buggy grumbled, huffing as a lock of hair fell into his face. "i'm the captain." you kissed his cheek before standing up. or well, attempted. buggy just flexed his arms and you fell back into his embrace again. a little smile crawls onto his face when he realizes that he had succeeded in making you stay, just for a while longer.

when buggy loves you, he starts to open up and let down his guard. at first, it was to test you…whether you would stay or leave him just like everyone else in his life (captain roger, shanks, the list just keeps going). but…to his immense surprise, you took his precious glass heart and cradled it close. you didn’t smash it to smithereens nor did you laugh at the various cracks in the glass. you simply held it like his heart was a precious treasure and his soul practically sung.

the silence was deafening. buggy’s throat was hoarse after he ended his storytelling of his own life. the grim parts, the bittersweet ones, the soul-destroying parts — buggy spilled everything to you. he fiddled with his fingers and looked at his lap. he didn’t dare face you; a part of him was so afraid. “buggy?” your voice was soft. your hand gently caressed his makeup-covered cheeks, brushing softly. “look at me, love.” buggy gulped and looked up, only to flinch at the overflowing love in your eyes. they were for him, and only him. the knowledge of it almost made him break out into sobs and throw himself into your arms. “y-yeah?” “thank you for telling me your story,” you pulled him into a hug and he instinctively nuzzled himself into the crook of your collarbone. his round nose rubbed at your shoulders soothingly. “I love you, cracks and all. thank you for trusting me.” he couldn’t hold back anymore, breaking out into loud, embarrassing, theatrical sobs. “thank you!” for the first time, buggy believed he finally found someone who would stay with him through thick and thin.

when buggy loves you, the world learns to fear him. the marines used to think that buggy is just a simple villain of the east blue…but if anything happened to you, they remember whose crew he grew up with (the roger pirates…perhaps the greatest of the pirate era.) they learn to fear the day buggy unleashes his full power on the world government, all in the name of love.

because at heart, buggy is a pirate in love. he’s fallen for you so hard that he would stop at nothing to keep you safe.

“you dared,” his voice haunted the nightmares of the marines. their ship floated brokenly in the seas; various wooden planks dotted the ocean blue surface. sharks rose up to gobble loose limbs. “you dared to mess with my crew?” his eyes flashed bright blue. “not only that, you dare hurt my beloved?!” something monstrous was brewing. the marines could smell it in the air, taste it on their tongue. it was the scent of power and it was overflowing from the “simple villain of the east blue”. buggy’s lips curved into a cruel smirk, highlighted with lipstick as red as blood. he raised his hands. armament haki painted the tips of his fingers black. observation haki made his eyes appear striking. his soul sung of the colors of the supreme king. “why don’t i just kill all of you flashily?!?!”

[thewillofdeez]

Shanks - NSFW Alphabet

Minors DNI. Reader can mostly be read as G/N, though there are some female-specific references. Shanks is bi/pan.

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Shanks is super giggly and talkative after sex. He gets that oxytocin high and his brain goes into overdrive and he’ll want to cuddle and ask you the most obscure opinion questions you’ve ever heard. Ever had someone ask you if you’d rather fight a hundred duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck? That’s the kind of thing that comes out of Shanks’s mouth after sex. It’s silly, but you’ll both be laughing the whole time, and that’s kind of the point. He sees after sex as a good time to get to know his partner. 

B = Body part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

If asked, Shanks would say it was his left arm. But he’s mostly joking. He likes his hair, as it’s his trademark. He knows he has a winning smile, and for someone who loves to laugh and have a good time, he values any time he can smile. He’s also fond of his feet, they’re practical and kind of cute if he does say so himself. On a female partner, he’s a boobs guy. Soft, squishy, fun. On any partner, he likes hair too - short, long, 1a, 4c, doesn’t matter, he wants to stick his face in it. If you have really short buzzed hair, don’t worry, our guy’s got you too - he’ll have the best time running his hand over it and giggling at how it feels.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

If you’re adequately protected, he desperately wants to cum in you. But he’s also not a picky guy. Wherever you want it, he’ll put it. If he’s going at it from behind, he’ll go all over your ass and back. From the front, chest, stomach, neck, wherever. He’d prefer to avoid your face and hair, but the man does live to please, you just gotta be clear in what you want.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

There’s no secret that Shanks considers dirty. Like, at all. He feels comfortable being open about sex, the good parts and the bad, kinks, sexualities (including being pan himself), all of it. This is partially because he never had people to be open about the realities of it with him when he was in his teens and early 20’s. Like, yeah, Roger and Rayleigh told him and Buggy the basics when they reached that age, but they left so many questions he had to find answers to himself, both through books and through experience. He takes it upon himself to try and break down that stigma for other pirates who might be in a similar situation, while also acknowledging that not everyone is as comfortable with the topic as he is and handling it with tact when necessary. As part of the Red Hair Pirates orientation, he and Hongo give all new recruits the safe sex talk.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Shanks is nothing if not a slave to his physical desires, whatever they may be. He’s never really been a one-partner kind of guy (or at least never thought he would be) both by his nature and by circumstance. He sees meeting people all over the world, finding a partner, and eventually bedding them like going into a candy store and wanting to try some of everything. Some things he knows he likes and can’t get enough of, some things he doesn’t like and knows to avoid in the future, and some things take him by surprise one way or another.

F = Favorite Position (This goes without saying.)

Shanks likes his partner on top. This is partially because some positions have become more difficult since losing his arm, but also because he just loves watching his partner’s body move. To his credit, though, he hasn’t let the lack of an arm slow him down, he’s just had to get a little more creative in how he does things.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

In general, Shanks sees sex as a source of joy, and so he wants to be able to laugh with his partner. It’s really only with someone he really, truly cares about that you’ll see the serious side of him in bed. That’s when sex goes from an act of mutual pleasure to an act of love.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Shanks loves his red hair, both upstairs and down. Downstairs it’s a fair bit darker than what’s on his head, with more of a brunette tint. He might give it a trim every once in a while, but he’ll mostly let it go, and he’s never had any complaints.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Shanks lives for intimacy, but he also knows that what one person considers intimate might be different from another person. He’s pretty communicative, and wants to know exactly what his partner expects - he’s almost certainly down for whatever that might be. If they’re a dim lighting and music kind of person, he’ll have a blast making that happen. If they’re a storage room on the Red Force for a quickie kind of person? He’ll make that happen too. He considers his adaptability and ability to read others well a big attribute in providing for his partner.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

As much as he prefers a warm body in bed next to him, sometimes he’s at sea for long periods of time, and sometimes the lines he’s casting just don’t pull anything in. It happens to everyone. If he’s gotta handle himself, there’s no shame in that.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Shanks is into the idea of sharing his partner with someone else. Yeah, he’s had threesomes with casual partners, and it’s certainly fun, but that’s not what thrills him. If you’re lucky enough to achieve relationship status with Shanks, it means he trusts you to the ends of the earth, and part of what he likes about that trust is that he can share you with someone else and know you’ll always come back to him. He wants to watch you be pleasured by another, or watch you pleasure them, or have both of you pleasure him, or— anyway. He thinks you’re the hottest thing he’s ever seen, and he loves the idea of sharing that with someone else. (Yes, we all have the same thought for this kink. The person he has in mind is Beckman. Whether it’s purely the two of them pleasuring you or if they’re comfortable having fun together, he doesn’t really care. But he sees the way his vice captain looks at you sometimes, and he thinks with some talking he can convince his friend to join the two of you in his quarters.)

L = Location (Favorite places to do the do)

I mean, for Shanks nothing can beat a good old fashioned bed, but he’s adventurous. If you’ve got a new place to try, he’s likely willing to give it a chance as long as there’s little to no chance of being seen by non-consenting parties. He’s big on consent and doesn’t believe his being horny and wanting to fuck you supercedes someone else’s right to not be involved.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

For a fling, generally just existing and looking good is enough. But if you’re in a relationship? It’s the little things. He thinks watching you work on the ship is sexy, the way you pull the ropes and climb up the nets to furl the sails, or maybe you work with the rest of the crew to help make repairs. The Red Force is basically his baby and he loves watching you care for it. And if in the process you get a little sweaty, maybe the hem of your shirt rides up a little…well, maybe your captain suddenly requires your immediate assistance below deck.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Shanks is down for some light dirty talk, but he doesn’t like going too far into degradation territory. As mentioned above, as much as he enjoys experimenting with different locations, he has to know that ultimately wherever you end up doing it is private and the risk of being walked in on is slim to none.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

This guy gives like every day is Christmas. Nothing in the world makes him happier than seeing his partner squirm and moan while his mouth works its magic. He knows he has an exceptionally skilled tongue and his fingers always know just the right spots to hit. If you have a need, barring extreme circumstances, all you need to do is say the word and he’s there. He also loves receiving, but are we really surprised at this? He likes challenging himself to keep his eyes open when you go down on him because he loves watching you so much. If you can catch onto this, you'll have a great time trying to make him throw his head back.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

While he strongly believes there’s a time and a place for both, in a relationship, he wants to savor the feeling of you. That’s not to say he won’t rail you sometimes, but he likes to take his time with you when he’s able. If you’re on top, though, you can set the pace, he’s just happy to enjoy the view.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Sometimes the man just cannot keep his hand off of you. It can be stressful being a captain, and a good ten minutes of fun might be just what he needs to make it through. He also finds it really sexy when you come up to him all needy and begging for a few minutes with him. He’s usually more than happy to oblige.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Shanks is down to take risks in general, but it requires communication with his partner. He had a few rough experiences in his younger days where he jumped into something risky headfirst without a proper plan or communication, and it wasn’t great, so now he believes in taking the time to talk it out beforehand. As not-fun as that sometimes is, he always believes it’s worth it.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Shanks can go for several rounds in a night and lasts a long (but not too long) time, but he does require some time to chill in between. At his age, he knows his limitations, but as a younger man he’d basically fuck himself into dehydration. Now he knows it’s not a competition, and if one round is all you go for, that’s okay. 

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Shanks is happy to bring toys into the bedroom if his partner wants, but he himself doesn’t maintain a collection.

U = Unfair (How much they like to tease)

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Shanks loves to tease. He can sometimes get a little carried away, so unless you’ve previously discussed expectations around edging, you’ll have to let him know very clearly when you’ve had enough.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

Shanks loves hearing his partners make noise, and he enjoys letting them know how good they make him feel. But the man for a long time was absolutely unabashed. It eventually got to the point where his senior officers, whose quarters are closest to his, threatened to mutiny if he didn’t keep it the fuck down. In hindsight, he’s kind of embarrassed by how annoying he was, putting his own pleasure over his crewmates’ comfort. But they worked it out, and Shanks is much more careful nowadays if he brings someone on board, or he’d prefer to go to their place if possible.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

For a man who likes to party, Shanks actually doesn’t really enjoy drunk sex. He enjoys when both he and his partner are fully present (though he’s been known to throw weed into the mix at times). If he’s on the prowl, he’ll cut himself off after a few drinks. If he’s not, he’ll allow himself to get drunk.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants)

Shanks is actually quite average in length, around 5-6 inches, but a bit on the girthy side. He believes it’s not what you have, it’s what you do with it that matters, and he has never had a single complaint.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Shanks has a reputation for being a horndog. Ideally, he would have sex almost every day, but he knows that’s not realistic for a lot of people, and frankly, for himself. If you’re his long-term partner, he’ll want to do something with you at least a few times a week, whether it’s full-on sex, or just oral, or whatever.

Z = ZZZ (How quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Shanks is happy to go multiple rounds if you want to, but he’s also kind of like a machine. Insert coin (touching, kissing, or just your words) for more sex, otherwise the machine will shut down and he’ll be out like a light.

Previous: Mihawk SFW Alphabet

Up Next: Shanks SFW Alphabet

[pokemonshelterstories]

Hello, fellow Pokemon care account! First of all, love your work - keep sharing pictures of all the squishy babies!! Second, any opinions on/favorite bug types? I know lots of people are scared of them, but I'm a softie for them <3

i like the buggies! they're actually really popular with kids a lot of the time haha. my niece has a couple bug types of her own, and they can make such great starter mons for a kid.

tarountula is my favorite bug-type. they're such curious little guys and tend not to be super aggressive, so i love hanging out in our tarountula room in the shelter. plus their silk is so fascinating to study!

[fekst-fucker]

Would you mind writing for toby w a gf who is on the autistic spectrum, stims by jerking and twitching and squishing slime and stuff like that. Maybe toby doesnt know she is on the spectrum and thinks she’s making fun of his tics until she tells him whats up thank you honey ❤️❤️

Aw yes ofc 🥺🥺❤️❤️

- Toby is really just so excited to have someone who’s just as restless as he is

- He’d never heard the term ‘stimming’ before he met you, he was always just told ‘stop fidgeting!! Sit still!’ so when he finally has a name for what he does he’s so excited

- He starts peppering it into his everyday speech someone will be like “can you stop moving for a sec” and he’s like “no I’m stimming!! (Y/n) taught me what it means!!”

- As soon as you told him he went on like a shopping spree and just bought a whole bunch of stuff. Squish toys, slime, fidget cubes, those funky block things with the ribbon

- Nothing would make him happier than to just sit with you and switch between stim toys, he treats it like a little date

- If he sees you starting to get nervous or moving your fingers a lot he’ll silently pull out a little bottle of slime or a squishy toy and give it to you

- When you did tell him you were on the spectrum, he was a little bit confused as to what it meant, so you explained it more in depth and he was just fascinated

- I think he’s also on the spectrum if not ADD/ADHD, so he feels so validated? He’s been told all his life that he was being annoying, or over-excited, or fidgeting too much

- So he feels so, so grounded by you and your experiences

- He never even considered that you might be twitching to make fun of him! In fact when you brought it up and apologized he went through a brief moment of realization

- Like “oh. Other people don’t normally twitch. I forgot about that”

- So your tics are 100% natural to him, but he secretly always feels really awesome when he sees you twitch a little bit. Like “that’s my baby :,)” kinda thing

- He feels silly for thinking it but he can’t help it! He loves you so much!

- Is 100% now on standby to lecture anybody that might point out your fidgeting. He’s gone through enough teasing and he’s NOT gonna let his s/o sit through the same thing 😤😤

[startistdoodles]

Gmax shiny charizard nonny here!!

I do feel kinda guilty because i originally had a centiskorch on my team but the moment i got that charizard, he definitely replaced him. I still like to use the two of them in double battles especially just to see the two of these fire lads causing destruction! I do the championship cup battles a lot (it's easy money, ESPECIALLY if you have an amulet coin on one of your starting mons and you invite hop or leon. Those guys are fucking LOADED thankfully so i never worry about running out of money for long lol

I've been shiny breeding (without a shiny charm, why does the dex completion gotta be so hard ugh) for a goomy, i love that boy and he's a comfort 'mon of mine, but unfortunately so far, no luck.

I will say, i have an entire box full of shinies in my ultra moon game! Shiny rates are WACK in those wormholes lol

I'm also shiny hunting for legendaries in my ultra sun game (which i completed in less than a day lol) because i specifically wanna get a shiny giratina! Giratina is definitely my favourite pokemon of all time. :]

(I'm going to be a new nonny here, mind if i sign off with 🦀?)

You had me at Centiskorch, I ADORE that lil buggy friend!! I have one on my team named Bacon and I love her :)

But I absolutely see why you'd replace it with a shiny gmax Charizard, how can you not want to use that beast!!

Shiny breeding is...honestly SO tedious lol. Goomy is a good choice though, its whole line has great shinies!!! I hope you will find your special squishy boy someday!

I haven't shiny hunted in the wormholes yet but I'm super excited too because I've heard the shiny rates are RIDICULOUS and I'd love to get my hands on some shiny legendaries :>

I got a shiny Giratina from a BW event wayyyy back in...I wanna say 2013? As well as the other two legendaries ^^ It would be fun to try an hunt for them though, it's a lot more exciting to get to find and catch em yourself!

Also absolutely!! Welcome to the club, lil crab anon ^^ 🦀

[element-zero]

I’m about 15 hours into Mass Effect Andromeda

(Captain’s logs)

I forgot to mention this last time--I also like the more expansive dialogue wheel. I feel like my Ryder has a bit more personality controlled by me than Shepard did? Because it’s not just limited to paragon or renegade.

My squad keeps shaming my driving skills. Lay off, would you?

Voeld more like Void... I see they took inspiration from DA:I with the big map that takes forever to get to anywhere.

Even still, I like the place more than Eos. Just personally I would much rather have a smaller map that doesn’t make you drive for ten minutes to get to one thing from another than a big map with nothingness.

I’ve discovered Director Tann is in fact named Tann and not Tam. Hey BioWare, you wanna know what could have helped avoid this? A BETTER FONT FACE AND SIZE.

I also found out that it was indeed my controller that made running so buggy. Using our other controller works fine. So that’s good.

Fuck the glyph puzzles they’re like mini sudokus and I hate them.

I know I mentioned this like twice already but I really love Jaal and all the angarans tbh! So far Jaal is my fave character.

One of the things I like about the angarans most is how they don’t just have one universal culture, like what’s been suggested for pretty much all the other races in the universe, despite how unrealistic that’d be? 

Also I can’t wait to meet more of the Australian ones because their VAs are pleasant to listen to lol.

Super damn interested to find out what Peebee’s secret project is...

Gil wants to play poker with me and I am 100% certain that I am going to lose, considering that is pretty much the only thing anyone talks about regarding him.

Except for the fights he and Kallo keep getting into. What do I do about that please stop fighting you are both great...

I built a set of armour for Liam and then walked in on him and Jaal doing something that I’m still not 100% sure what but I’mg lad they’re getting along now.

Also I assumed those squid-like squishy looking things on the side of Jaal’s face were just kind of free-hanging? But nope and it’s still strange.

Is Liam just permanently shirtless now? He hasn’t gotten dressed again...

I called Ezra or whatever his name was--the grouchy angaran guy. At first I thought there was something I did wrong that he still didn’t like me, but my viability on Void is 100% and so now I’m thinking he’s just grumpy no matter what.

Although I do totally understand why he’d be mad about that AI I found... I really wasn’t sure what to do with that. It wanted to die, but I didn’t kill it because I wanted to give it to the angarans, except then it didn’t want to go... and I felt bad because I mean, it is a sentient creature... so I accepted its request to be with SAM figuring then it could give the angarans information freely? But I if it turns out I can’t actually share any information with them about their own damn history I’m gonna be pissed. 

WHAT the FUCK was up with that architect creature?! It took me three tries to defeat it.

How important is that scan for minerals fetch quest? Because those are annoying and I don’t actually feel like doing them...

Finally, I’ve done a BUNCH of crafting for better armour (the purple suit) and also a few upgrades for the Nomad; I’m mostly excited for the increased resistance to harsh environments because ugh is that ever annoying.

Heading back to the Nexus now to play poker, find out what Peebee’s surprise is, and a bunch of other side missions that I totally did not forget about nope.

[angry-healers]

i swear tanks just blindly follow the pull big meta and don’t know why it’s possible.

last night for my expert roulette i got Temple of Fist because that’s all expert roulette ever gives me. paladin does the first pull up to moss wall and he’s squishy, but that isn’t a particularly big pull so it’s fine more or less.

when we get to the stairs with the little globs that heavy you if you walk over them he pulls everything up to the next wall. usually that’s no buggy but he’s just… not using cooldowns at all. no rampart, no sentinel, no bulwark nothing. Shit son when I do that pull I open with hallowed ground, I don’t even get the luxury of this tank panic using it when it is /super/clear he’s about to die. so we wipe, because he’s in like a mix of 300 and 310 gear and with no cooldowns, the tried and true largesse + synastry + hots + benefic ii spam can’t keep him propped up.

“okayyy we’ll go slower”

normally that sentence mixed with no defensive cooldowns tilts me off the face of the fucking earth but honestly I was on the phone with my partner at the time and just could not be arsed to type up “nah you just need to use your fucking cooldowns instead of turning me into a pocket sized benefic bot while you get your asshole kicked in through your teeth by a bunch of goddamn cats and moss balls” so instead all I said was “cooldowns”

so now we’re moving at a snails pace because this passive aggressive soggy paper bag thinks my i323 fortune teller ass can’t handle even a double pull. and he’s still not using cooldowns and I’m silently getting progressively more pissed. all I’m giving this tank is boles to supplement the mitigation he’s still not using. The only things I ever saw on his bar was motherfucking fight or flight on cooldown and Sheltron once.

And to top it all off the minion (that I did not know existed) dropped and I rolled a ten on it.

So now I’m like “shit boi I gotta farm this dungeon” cause I have zero impulse control when it comes to mounts and minions. Get another paladin and I swear to god this one was a dream. Pulled big, excellent cooldown-ing, mitigated so well I actually didn’t know he was stance dancing until I saw sword oath on his bar, divine seal for group wide damage.

He literally lived just on hots, essential dignities and ladies of crowns. Shout out to second pally.

Still no minion though :/

(submitted by dovahheim)

============================

It’s dungeons like that I still end up blaming myself and leaving because I have no self esteem after years of getting abused by tanks. I commend you for sticking it out even though that guy was clearly trash.

-- Mod Mhi

[cyb-by-lang]

OSF AU - “On The World Stage” (The Straw Hat Kids)

Note: In this version of the lead-up to Impel Down, Isobu forgot to mention a certain important fact to Shukaku while the Straw Hats were on Sabaody. And then Gaara and Fū got hit by Kuma first. Whoops.

Gaara liked flying, on the whole, but Fū was not helping. Even after crash-landing on an island that apparently hated life and shifted weather every time either of them blinked, the two of them had mostly argued over their next move. Gaara had a seal with which to track Keisuke down, and Fū wanted absolutely nothing to do with the older woman, to the point that Gaara wondered what she knew that he didn’t.

Or what Gaara knew that Fū didn’t, and was too afraid to learn.

Fū sat in Chōmei’s other shoulder divot, snug against the blue armor as the wind whipped past them. Gaara used his sand shield as an impervious windscreen, aware but not caring too much as individual grains of sand were blasted off the whole. As soon as they could hit land again--and Gaara trusted that Keisuke would have found some, or at least found a spur large enough that Shukaku could rebuild himself--then they could start regrouping. Find their way back to the crew and the ship and home.

Shukaku cackled abruptly, startling Gaara enough that he temporarily forgot to keep his sand shield going. His automatic defense caught the chunk of sand before the wind could blow it back into his face.

What is it?

Oh, that is rich, Shukaku said, but he clearly only listened with half an ear to anything Gaara was saying. The Marines were planning something all along!

Shukaku, Gaara interrupted. Please, tell me what’s happening.

The Marines are planning to execute your captain’s brother, Shukaku replied, and I am going to get Isobu for forgetting to tell me if it’s the last thing I do.

Across Chōmei’s shoulder, Gaara heard Fū scream, “WHAT?!”

It’s not a bad plan, but not one that can stand up to the might of the great Shukaku! In his mental word, Gaara heard Shukaku laugh again. Follow that seal and we’ll see the others again. And then we'll shake that island in two!

Chōmei twisted his armored neck as far as it would go. “You heard him, Fū. We need to see the others before we can call this matter settled. And with all eyes on Marineford, our crew will be able to find us again!”

“Then…” Fū paused, looking down as something shot past Chōmei’s thorax. “Wait, what’s that ship doing there?”

“I would say…”  Chōmei began, before pausing. He tilted his horned head to one side, then flexed all his legs. “Oh, that is lucky! I can hear someone shouting ‘Coconut’ at us when the wind turns, and you know what that means!”

“Luffy!” Gaara and Fū said together, though Fū was louder.

As Chōmei descended from his favorite flight altitude to just above the sea, his six wings sending the water cascading over the Marine battleship, Gaara could hear Luffy’s high-pitched voice screaming, “COCONUUUUUUT, I MISSED YOUUUU!”

Fū leapt down from Chōmei’s shoulder as soon as she could safely make the jump. She hit the deck on one knee, bracing on a hand, but wasn’t able to get to her feet before Luffy instantly hugged her. His rubber arms looped around her three times and Fū still managed to lift Luffy into the air and spin because he was only holding her ribs.

“Fooooosh okaaaay!” Luffy wailed, his voice like a squeaky toy as Fū crushed him flat.

Luffy let Fū spin him around so much his legs nearly hit someone, and Gaara’s fall to the deck and his sand crash mat went briefly unnoticed. Given that, even aside from Luffy, almost everyone else on the deck was a stunned mess to end all emotional messes just from seeing Chōmei, Gaara had a few seconds to assess the group.

The battleship wasn’t the only thing that Gaara hadn’t expected to see when he and Fū reunited with any member of their crew. Though in hindsight it was silly for him to have wondered if Kuma had shoved their ship anywhere, the Thousand Sunny was home and Gaara missed it. This ship was a stranger, and one loaded with faces he either didn’t know or mostly disliked.

“Red Sand,” said Crocodile, tearing his eyes away from Chōmei as Fū’s best friend hovered next to the ship.

“Crocodile,” Gaara acknowledged, but only because he wasn’t afraid. Crocodile had been surprised, but not utterly overwhelmed, by Chōmei.

The last Gaara had seen, the former Warlord was supposed to be rotting in prison, not standing on the deck of a ship. Luffy probably had his reasons for apparently allying with the man who’d mangled Alabasta, but Gaara wasn’t sure. After all, Crocodile shared most of the same basic powers Gaara did. It was part of the reason the confrontation in Alabasta had led to a thorough defeat after Gaara popped a water storage seal over Crocodile’s head.

Looking around the rest of the deck, Gaara also recognized Buggy the Clown from Loguetown (though it had been a while), and Mr. 3 from Little Garden as well as the final confrontation with Crocodile, when Zoro had almost cut his own legs off because he hadn’t figured out how to cut steel yet. Mr. 1 was also hanging out, though Gaara had only observed him through his Sand Eye and not actually confronted the man in person. The purple afro mini-giant was new, as were most of the people wearing black and white stripes, but there was one other person who stood out. Gaara had never actually met a fishman, but this one wasn’t wearing the stripes and only looked curious about Chōmei. He had to be important, too.

“Gaara!” Luffy hugged Gaara as soon as he could disentangle himself from Fū’s crushing embrace. Luffy’s legs and waist remained stuck in Fū’s grip, and once he had encircled Gaara, all three of them were pulled into a serpent’s coil of limbs. Luffy, of course, was the one most to blame.

“Did you see any of the others?” Luffy asked, when he finally let Gaara up (while Fū was pointedly not letting Luffy do the same). “Or is it only you and Fū?”

“Just us, Chōmei, and Shukaku,” Gaara replied, even as sand started to stream out of the gourd on his back. “The rest of us could be anywhere. But we’ll help you rescue your brother if you want us.”

“Of course I want you!” Luffy declared, hugging Gaara again. “You’re my crew and I don’t ever wanna lose you again, to Kuma or anybody!”

“You got that right, Captain,” said Fū.

Gaara’s heart clenched painfully at the thought. They all needed each other so much…

“Speaking of the great Shukaku,” said the sand, just before Shukaku’s head emerged and formed a small body around itself. Shukaku’s avatar pointed a fist-sized paw at Crocodile’s nose. “I’m getting impatient here, especially the more of you I end up seeing! What is taking you squishy little beings so long to get to the big fight?”

“Shumai, why’re you so little?” Luffy asked, as Fū set him back on his feet. He automatically crouched down so he could meet Shukaku’s eyes, which were about level with Gaara’s shoulder.

“To spare your fragile little selves my full glory,” Shukaku said, his tail lashing. He crossed his forelegs in a manner similar to how Gaara preferred to fight, then added somewhat petulantly, “I want an island to break first. And I’m still waiting on my answer.”

Gaara pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose as he tried to stop a headache before it started.

“We are already approaching the Gate of Justice,” said the purple afro person. He’d recovered from the shock of seeing Chōmei, perhaps, but no one on the ship appeared completely okay with the Tailed Beasts except for Luffy. He was just better than most. “But without sufficient power, it will be difficult to budge. Then again, if we have the consent of your large bug friend… Perhaps we don’t have to. We could just go over it.”

“Why not both?” Chōmei asked, fanning his legs out. Even as he spoke, he was already changing position so he hovered directly over the ship, slamming the weaker shipborne humans flat to the deck with the downdraft alone. “If you don’t care about this ship’s structure, I could carry it, true, but…”

“It’d be a bigger, badder entrance if we blew the Gate of Justice to smithereens on the way in,” Fū finished, grinning. “Sounds perfect, Chōmei!”

“Then that’s what we’re gonna do.” Luffy nodded to himself, then smacked one fist into his other palm. “We’ll get there and save Ace and start bringing the crew back together, even if we have to look forever.”

The big purple afro guy gave the Gate a speculative look, even as Chōmei’s legs started to dig into the sides of the battleship’s hull. Wood creaked so loudly that Gaara almost didn’t hear what he said. With Shukaku’s help and a little Wind ninjutsu, it became, “I can’t believe your father wouldn’t show to save his sons, though. Maybe this will finally stir the big man into moving.”

“Oh, me and Ace don’t have the same dad,” Luffy said. “Ace’s dad is the Pirate King!”

There was a pause, except for the sound of Chōmei’s wings starting to pick up the pace.

“...Was that supposed to be a surprise?” Shukaku asked, just as a dozen human voices screamed, “WHAAAAAT?!”

You already knew? Gaara asked Shukaku, as the clamor continued. The clamor got even louder as Chōmei’s feet punched through the hull and he started to lift the entire ship out of the ocean. People were running and shouting and being ineffectual, so Gaara just grabbed a chunk of the railing and hung on while the shaking got worse.

Not until about four minutes ago, but Isobu was just talking about how angry his partner is, Shukaku said, clearly not caring. The Marines just made a big announcement, but all it’s gonna get them is a Tailed Beast Bomb in the face.

“Speaking of Tailed Beast Bombs,” Chōmei began, interrupting almost everyone just because of his sheer size and volume, “exactly how far is it from the Gate of Justice to the execution site?”

“…Not that far?” said Mr. 3.

“In that case, I will try to destroy just the gate.”

“Finally!” Shukaku cackled, then melted away into the plain sand of Gaara’s gourd again as his avatar collapsed.

With that, everyone scrambled to find a place to hang on. Luffy grabbed onto Fū and Gaara’s waists, attaching himself to the prow of the ship where a figurehead ought to have been. Chōmei’s pointed head and the two massive horns on his back all oriented toward the Gate of Justice as he charged his Tailed Beast Bomb. His front two legs detached from the ship long enough to help him focus his attack as it grew in front of everyone’s eyes, but his remaining four kept a careful grip on the vessel.

“Silk Spinner!” Fū shouted, before tethering the ship to Chōmei’s inner limbs. Then she spun around on her heel and explained, “This ship’s a goner with all the holes in it, so we might as well do our best to get to the end with this thing.”

A lot of people were about to talk, but Chōmei cut them all off with, “Tailed Beast Bomb.”

The ship-sized ball of chakra hit the Gate of Justice head-on before flattening. As it compressed, the outer layer collapsed and the inner one exploded, blasting a hole in the structure big enough to make almost everyone flinch. Chōmei’s bulk kept big bits of debris from hitting the ship and damaging it worse than before, while Gaara, Fū, the afro person, and Crocodile shoved the smaller stones away from the group with ranged attacks.

And then Chōmei carried them toward the fight of their lives.