#brainrotting a pirate au

[playername-player-of-games]

The brig is quiet and cold and wetter than she remembers. Lizzie sits with her knees hugged to her chest, face hidden, holding tight to Jimmy’s hand through the bars of his cell. Her little brother. The one she didn’t know she had. She hasn’t stopped crying since they found him days ago.

Cleo won’t let him up top yet. Says he can’t be trusted, as if Lizzie herself is anything more than a beautiful stranger. Lizzie has free roam of the deck- why can’t Jimmy have the same?

Her little brother. The one she didn’t know she had.

His thumb gently glides back and forth against her hand. She squeezes his hand and turns her head to finally meet his eyes.

She sniffles. “I understand now.”

“Yeah?” Jimmy encourages, his thumb still gliding, gentle, soothing, “what do you understand?”

“The water thing,” she answers, showing him the spot that her tears made wet and turned that little spot of skin blue, “they told me I was allergic to water so I’d stay away from it.”

Jimmy breathes a laugh, eyes flicking down to their joined hands, “yeah well, they were lying about that one.”

Lizzie sniffles, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her borrowed coat. Surely Cleo won’t mind if it comes back ruined. (Lizzie didn’t even ask for it in the first place.)

“They lied about you, too,” she says. Jimmy does not meet her eyes. “They told me I was an only child my entire life.”

He nods, though it’s only slight and a little sheepish, “they told me I had an older sister, and that she lived with humans. I thought I’d never meet her.”

His eyes flick up again- colored a mottled gold like sunken treasure- and they crinkle warmly when he smiles.

“I’m glad I got to meet you though,” he squeezes her hand. “Older sisters are wonderful people to have in your life.”

[bigchumpus]

Sky duo au doodles :'D

[otaku553]

I am making an AU that is Sooooo self indulgent

ASL x Nine Sols crossover :)

Don’t ask me for context because I have none!! Usually I enjoy crossovers but I think Nine Sols is an amazing standalone piece of media that is very difficult to fit other characters into reasonably given the setting and circumstances. I feel like trying to add characters from other media to it would take away from the narrative strengths of the game— the way everything is centric on the Tao and fighting by deflecting and inaction and how death is such a key part of Yi’s journey and character development and the path for all solarians in general.

In short, I just wanted to see ASL as little cat people and that is why this exists :) I like when they’re just Here and There with no reason and people are like “what. How did you even get here”

I am at present also working on hanfu designs for the three of them so this is a little teaser :))) I’m especially proud of some of the little details— on Sabo’s sleeves are the characters 革命 for 革命軍, the revolutionary army, and the dragon on his robe also has three horns to match the revolutionary flag. Then on Ace’s glasses on his hat, the characters are 笑 and 哭 in place of his usual smiley and sad face. I had some ideas for Luffy but in the interest of keeping his design simple his design is a lot more plain.

I imagine it as a side quest for Yi to go around New Kunlun and help the brothers find each other. I have no clue how they would have gotten into New Kunlun in the first place, or how they would survive for so long without Vital Sanctums and soulscapes. Maybe they just have their own spaceship and happened upon New Kunlun and managed to get on before all Dusk Guardians disappeared, and then got separated while on the ship and individually hid around different places to avoid both the Tianhuo and the mutants?

I feel like Ace would chill around the factory area since he’s most at home with fire. Maybe he would venture out to the agricultural area once in a while to grab food. Sabo would camp out near the Empyrean District passages. He’s not suicidal enough to go around the Empyrean District itself, especially after finding out that the weird monsters there don’t die. I think he would have some grudge against the Tiandao Council for being composed mostly of the rich and powerful. The Fengs are especially high up on his shit list, which is why he hangs out in the empyrean district in the first place. And Luffy,,, somehow would just be in the four seasons pavilion, I think. He finds a way to sneak in, probably pretty easily while Yi is in hiding because the security is down without Abacus activated.

[scifur]

a bunch of things

[1chaerry]

in your eyes

summary: for as long as Ace knew Saram, she always held a strange gaze in her eyes whenever she saw him. even now, as they are adults, everything about them changed, but that look in her eyes stayed the same

c.w: angst, dimension, au, open ending, Marineford, ace lives, trauma, imposter syndrome, romance (?)

w.c: 1.6k

Reader is called 'Saram' meaning 'Human/Person'

"Ace?"

"Yeah?"

"I won't let you die."

Ace frowned at Saram's words before laughing. She always said the strangest things. Since the day Dadan introduced her to the ASL trio, she had always been an enigma. Her words, her behaviour, her gaze - it all felt as if she was never fully present, her mind always somewhere else, always running. After Sabo's death, Ace and Luffy became even closer, brothers, that they were.

"What stupid crap are you saying now?" Ace laughed, ruffling Sarah's hair. She simply smiled, that damn smile. He looked into her eyes, that damn look was always present. In that gaze, Ace always felt like Saram could see through him, like she knew him more than he knew himself.

And Portgas D. Ace was afraid of that.

Dismissing her words, Ace simply shook his head and headed back to the house with her. Lately, Ace had been feeling restless. He wanted to go on his journey already. He wanted to set sail already but something kept him from going. He didn't understand what it was. Ace never felt so restless. Glancing down at the woman beside him, he wondered, why was Saram always so steady? So calm.

Saram, to Ace, always felt far away. Like her mind was always running, her thoughts never stopping. His eyes always tried to avoid her gaze because it felt as if she could see through him. And there was always this strange emotion in her gaze that he could not decipher. Something deep and dark. Something solemn.

Ace never could find out what it was.

Saram knew immediately that the world she had fallen into was of One Piece. Way before the beginning of the series. Way before everything began. Before Ace's death. Saram saw herself in Ace. Difference was that Saram could never find the family Ace found within the Whitebeard Pirates and his brothers. People loved Ace. Saram wondered why he couldn't understand? (But then again, Saram also never understood that people loved her too.)

Ace was so close yet so far from her reach.

Whenever she saw him, his smile and his death would flash by her eyes. She would remember the way she cried when she saw his death and how much it had affected her. For Saram, Portgas D. Ace was everything she wished for and everything she could never be. For her, he was what she wanted to protect against the world.

"What stupid crap are you saying now?" Ace laughed, ruffling her hair. She simply watched him. Watched him smile. Watched him laugh. Watched him spar. Watched him grow up. Watched him get ready to leave.

Saram watched like she always did.

Ace was out of her reach.

Like he always was.

"In your eyes, Ace, what do I look like?"

Saram asked Ace, he was in the process of getting ready to leave the island - Luffy had gone back to get the last of Ace's things. He paused in his administrations, he turned towards Saram, his eyes meeting her own - that damn look was present like always.

"You have always approached everything terrible trustfully. You have always wanted to let everyone monster. Saram, you are someone who befriends monsters, not trying to tame them, but to understand them."

As he spoke, Saram wondered, was he talking of her or of himself - Ace was the one who talked to her despite how much of a bad person she was - he didn't turn away from her when he saw her fight. (He didn't look away when she killed someone who tried to harm him and Luffy.)

Ace wondered if she knew that he was talking of her. Of how she didn't condemn him to be doomed like the world did since his birth. How she looked at him like he was worth something to be looked at it. Like someone who was not completely doomed to failure. Like someone who was still human. (Her eyes never faltered upon him, even when he killed that man who tried to kidnap her.)

"Saram."

Ace wondered if she could see the way his voice trembled when he called her name. Ace never was good with his feelings - even as a child and now as an adult - he found them tantalising, terrifying.

"Ace."

Her gaze was locked onto his. Ace loved her eyes but that look she carried scared him yet intrigued him. He found himself lost in her, her very essence seemed to always dismantle his walls.

"Will I ever see you again?"

Ace couldn't help but ask. He felt that if he left today, if he left her behind today - he would not see her again. And Saram smiled. That damn smile that always made him weak. Made him feel human. She ought to be a devil. How else could she be so quiet yet so loud? How else could her gaze make him feel so bare?

"Even if I see you again, I will never see you again."

And Ace knew exactly what she meant.

Saram watched his boat sail away. Watched him leave.

Eventually, Saram, too, disappeared from the island a few days later. A simple letter to Luffy and a simple goodbye to Dadan - the bandit may have been harsh on them growing up, but she knew that the woman loved them like her own - Saram was gone.

When Luffy met Ace in Arabasta, neither expected that Saram was missing. Ace, on the hunt for Teach, wondered would he ever see her again? Wondered if he would never know what her parting words to him meant. Saram's disappearance was strange. No one knew where she was, who she was. Luffy's crew and Ace's crew could only hear her stories and wonder, if Saram was as important as they held her, why could they never say anything about her that was not of their memory with them?

It was as if, Saram, had no life except be in their own.

That was the tragedy of it all.

"I won't let you die, Ace."

Those words echoed in his ears as he and Luffy were pushed to the side. It felt like static in their surroundings. Her eyes met his and time stopped. She was smiling. She was smiling at Ace while Akainu's fist had impaled her.

"Saram!"

Luffy and Ace screamed as they held her, her crimson blood dripping non-stop. They never knew blood could be so warm, so red, so dense. They never wanted to know.

"Listen, Ace, Luffy."

Her voice was calm. Why was she so calm? Why was she not blaming them for not being able to save her?

"Don't die. Please, don't die. You guys still have to live. Please."

And as Ace held her gaze, he finally realised what that look in her eyes was.

Since the day they met, when they ate together, sparred together, sailed together, fought together, smiled together, laughed together, cried together, looked at each other - Saram only ever had that one look. That look Ace never understood. Yet now he did. Now, when it was too late, he knew what it meant.

Love.

Saram loved him.

She loved him since their roads intertwined. Since, Dadan introduced her to him. Loved him when he went on that Stupid date with the bartender. When he was drunk. When he fell asleep on the table. When he cried. When he was a wreck. Saram loved him, even when he left her behind on that island for a life of adventure. (Stupid, stupid, Ace - who would never know that Saram loved him before he even knew of her existence.)

And Portgas D. Ace loved her, too.

"In your eyes, S-Saram, what do I look like?" Ace asked, crying.

"You look like Ace. The sun and moon met and their love created you. You did not abandon me, even when I abandoned myself. You're the blood in veins, the air in my lungs, Ace."

Ace wondered if he could ever love someone so deeply, so unadulterated, so raw.

Three people entered Marineford that day.

Three people came out.

Two people escaped.

One person lost it all.

And that was the tragedy of it all.

[cookedupinthelabm8]

Been thinking about her... @kaistrashbin, it took me a long ahh time to finally do it, but here, have the bauta and tricorne :D

CAPTAIN, PLEASE—

[thoughtsfromlayla]

A Pirate Quest For Me - Chapter One

Moodboard created by: @dragon-kazansky

Summary: Despite the "Kraken incident" you're back on your feet for a new adventure and rare treasure. The inconspicuous map calls for three items: a mermaid's tear, a bottle of lightning, and a dream crystal.

Notes: ~4.5k words, not edited/beta-read *squints as I read the script* Why am I in this story? Wait is this play about us???

Warnings/Tags: Merman! Dream, chaotic bisexual disaster pirate reader, Dream's terrible at communicating (nothing's new), some angst, *squints as I read the script further* I did what?

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist

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The thick jungles of the Caribbean make it hard for you to read your map. You turn the old parchment one way and then the other as you try to make heads and tails of it all. Pulling out your compass you watch the needle point north, but is this north on the map? You scratch at your head, your head is still captain-hat-less after the whole Kraken debacle last month. 

Ugh, why didn’t you bring your cartographer with you? Probably because she’d rather die than set foot in a jungle. And you respect that, at this point, you’re debating running for the high seas and never setting foot back in here again as well. 

There are rarely any stinging bugs on a ship after all. 

But the enticement of rare treasure is too much to ignore. The map was found in some empty barrel in Tortuga and promised the finder of treasure adventures for a lifetime. And, well, how can you pass up that?

The map calls for three items: a mermaid’s tear, a bottle of lightning, and a dream crystal. You have no idea which items you are currently hunting, but you follow the map loyally anyway. 

Your long knife cuts through the brushes easily as you determinedly continue on your journey. The sweat you’ve accumulated is slick on the back of your neck. Eventually, you find yourself standing on the shores of a lagoon. You release a sigh of relief and plunge your hands into the waters, cooling yourself as you splash it against your face and neck. 

A strong gust of wind blows your map into the water and you sigh. Why must nothing ever go to plan? You slowly wade into the waters, watching the fish dart away from your boots. Your map keeps drifting away as you make your way towards it.

When you finally get your hands on it, frowning at the smudging ink, a sound that’s not natural to the lagoon life around it catches your attention. The sound was definitely human: a soft humming of a lullaby came from somewhere in the lagoon. You looked around but there was nothing but blue waters and high mountains. 

You wade your way back out of the lagoon, following onshore towards the sound of the humming. Eventually, you make it to a secluded place with a small waterfall, and after pushing aside a few long leaves, your breath stills as you look at the creature before you. 

Her hair and tail were as blue as the lagoon, washing her hair in the cold waterfall that fed into the lagoon. Her ear fins shimmer in the low sun and twitch whenever water enters them. Her tail swings back and forth to the beat of her lullaby as she perches on the stone. The effervescent scales on her arms and torso give her a soft look as they reflect the fleeting sunlight. 

You take a step forward and accidentally step on a twig. The sound is enough for the mermaid to turn her head towards you with a surprised look. She finds you easily behind the tree and her humming stops. She stops as fear takes over her body and stays still in shock. 

“Hi, my name is Captain Fortune. I don’t want to harm you…” You start and slowly make your way towards her. Your hands are raised with the promise of peace. 

Her eyes dart around your body and after landing on the pistol that was secured to your hip, she hisses at you and dives back into the waters. You see her blue tail splash the water into your face as she swims deeper into the cave connected to the lagoon. A few fish friends followed her in her actions. 

You sigh and berate yourself for scaring her off. The sun dips behind the horizon and light leaves in the wake of night. You get to work, finding dry twigs to make a small campfire. It’s a miracle you were able to find a mermaid so soon, but it would be hard to get a tear from her no less. 

Under moonlight and crackling flames, you entertain yourself by slowly singing some shanties to yourself. A small fish you managed to catch was roasting slowly over the flame, the scales chars against the heat. You’ve shed down to your shirt and pants, even decided to take off your boots and discard them off to the side with the rest of your objects. 

“You… sing pretty,” A voice stops you. 

You squint as you look towards the voice, and surprise takes over your face as you see the mermaid listening to you at the edge of the lagoon. 

“Thank you,” You respond quietly in case she swims away again. “I’m sorry I scared you earlier.”

“It’s okay, I just don’t like… weapons.” She looks at you questioningly, eyes roaming your body for anything that may hurt her. “I am Layla,” She introduces herself to you as she rests her head over crossed arms. 

“Can you sing some more, Captain?” Layla asks as she swims closer to you, beaching herself across from your campfire. 

“My mother told me, someday I will buy…” You begin to sing as you examine her features. This was the first time you’ve ever seen a mermaid. “Galley with good oars, sail to distant shores.”

Her ear fins twitch as you continue to sing and she begins to harmonize with your song. Her arms had fins, and her fingers were webbed with sharp nails. It was hard to see in the low light, but you’re sure you made out gills across her ribs and on the sides of her neck. 

“Where are your sisters?” You ask the mermaid when you are done with your song. Mermaids always traveled in groups, it's what made them so dangerous. 

A forlorn look washes over Layla’s face. “I have left my sisters.”

You wait slowly for her to continue her story. She gathers herself with a deep breath, the gills opening and closing as she does so. 

“We were being pursued by hunters. They had these… things, made of something colder than stone, harsher than the afternoon sun, one hit and I see my sisters die before me.” She recalls her memory. “A man, dressed in black, granted me a wish, to be safe from the hunters, but I didn’t realize he would bring me here, swept up in a storm and dropped off.” 

A man dressed in black, she says. A certain Endless pops into your mind and it would not be something out of his power to do something like this.

You look around at the flickering shadows that dance due to the fire. You’re looking for a silhouette you’re all too familiar with. Is he fucking with you right now? You glare at a particular shadow that seems almost human but brush it off. “The man in black, what did he look like?”

“I’m not sure. He is pale, has black hair, and wears black clothes. The stars seem to be trapped in his eyes. I think I’ve seen him before, he is familiar, but each time I think of him the thoughts leave me like a dream.”

Yeah… that’s him alright. You think, sighing as a plan begins to form in your head. You lean back, resting your back on a smooth protruding rock. 

“How long have you been stuck here?” You ask, slowly inching your way closer to the mermaid. 

Layla looks towards the moon and thinks. “I have seen too many new moons to remember. Perhaps… 17?” Layla holds up all 10 of her webbed fingers and you raise a quizzical eyebrow. 

“I don’t think you know how to count,” You think to yourself. “Can I ask something of you?” 

Layla hums, a light, whimsical sound, and you continue. “Has anyone asked you for your tears before?” You ask slowly, unsure of how to proceed. You’ve only just met the mermaid a few hours ago, after all. 

“Do you need a tear?” She asks. 

You nod in response.

“Thank you for telling me the truth. I can give you my tears but it is difficult to procure one unless I feel like it. In which case, I am sorry to disappoint you. I have shed my tears long ago when I was imprisoned in this lagoon.” Layla gives you a shy smile and a shrug.

When she is met with your silence, she sighs and flops back into the water, her tail splashing water onto your fire. The water hisses as it comes in contact with the heat and adds steam to your face. 

You wait for a few hours, hoping that Layla would resurface but steadily the moon rises higher and higher in the sky and you start to lose hope. 

With one last look towards the lagoon cave, you redress yourself and extinguish the flames with sand. You retrace your steps back towards your ship, and dawn breaks when you see the beauty beached by the sea. 

“‘Mornin’, Captain,” Your first mate greets you when you scale back up the ship. 

“Good morning indeed. Wake up some of the crew and tell them to meet me on shore. We’ve got a mermaid to save,” You wave off your command as you make your way to the captain’s quarters.

“A mermaid?” The young sailor questions excitedly.

“Dear Theo, when I recruited you for my ship did I not guarantee you an adventure of a lifetime?” You look back at him with a smile. 

“Yes, Captain Fortune, you did.” 

“Then, by all means, get me the hands, and let’s save this mermaid!” You turn back around as you hear Theo’s skittering footsteps.

In your captain’s quarters you look around for something large enough to transport said mermaid. Your eyes land on a large glass display that has a miniature wooden model of your first ship, the one Dream’s Kraken so cheerfully destroyed. Carefully, you remove the model and place it gently on your desk instead. 

If you tie a few sticks to extend the frame then you and your crew can hammock her back to open waters. 

A small voice in the back of your head taps you on your shoulder. Should you be doing this? You know that Layla was sent to the lagoon by Dream and going against his doing is like sending yourself to the gallows with the noose already around your neck. 

You hesitate for a moment. Just a singular moment.

Ah, well, what’s the worst that could happen? He kills you? Boooring, he’s tried that already and failed‒several times. 

The sun is beating down on you and your selected crew when you return to land. You lead the way as they carry the sloshing glass crate full of seawater. You smack another bug away from your face with a huff of annoyance. 

Soon enough, the lagoon comes into view and you look around with a hand over your eyes for the familiar blue you’ve come to recognize. Your crew sets down the heavy cradle with a groan and stands in the shade as they watch you waddle into the lagoon water. 

“Layla?” You call out. Nothing. “Lady Layla of the Lagoon?” You sing out this time. The water ripples beneath you and you catch a glimpse of her tail. You follow it with your eyes until she pops up again. 

“I like the new title,” She smiles at you and her ear fins twitch with giddy. “Who are they?” She asks as soon as she sees your entourage behind you, her smile dropping. Layla was tense, ready to dive back into the waters. 

You stand between her and your crew, blocking her sight from them. “They’re with me, we didn’t bring weapons,” You say quickly. 

She visibly relaxes at your words but leans her body to the side to take another look at them. “Then why are they here?”

“We’re here to take you home,” You say with a low voice, in case any non-human entities were listening in on your conversation. You turn to your crew once more and motion to them to come closer with the glass cradle. “It’s seawater, can I put you in it?” You ask Layla as you explain the simple plan to her. 

She looks between you and the glass container, then back at you and nods. Words fail her as she reaches her arms towards you. She was heavier than you expected, the weight of her tail and the water that clung to her was not a part of your calculations. 

Layla wraps her arms around your neck as you hoist her out of the waters. Her squirming made it harder to carry her, but the smile she had on her face made it all worth it. Her tail was, well, slimy wouldn’t be the right word to use. It was certainly slippery, but it ran smoothly against your bare forearms like silk from the ports of China. 

When you get close enough to the glass tub, she leaps from your arms and settles in. Layla is still smiling and looks around with curiosity as the group begins to march towards the sea. Every now and then you would turn around and check on Layla. Her emotions were understandable, if you had to be landlocked for 17 months, you would go crazy as well. How you did so before your time as a pirate is still a mystery to you. 

Your thoughts briefly go to where you used to call home, in a large mansion far away from the port. It was full of stuffy dresses and strict manners. What you could say, or couldn’t say, how you should treat others based on their rank, and how they would affect your family. 

You think of your older brother who died serving the navy and how his death caused you to be the sole reason why your father ordered an arranged marriage for you. If not only to maintain your status as a noble lady of the state but also to secure you a future when he was no longer around. 

What would he think of you now? Plundering the seven seas, being chased by a deity older than the sea goddess herself? 

“What will you do first when you return to sea?” You ask Layla as a distraction. 

“Find my sisters, of course,” She says. “Or find what remains of them. Either way, I will be home, and severely have I missed it.” Layla tilts her head to the sky and takes in a deep breath. “Can you smell the sea? That salty brine?” She squeals, flicking her tail excitedly, ignoring how the water splashes out of the tub. 

The sun begins to dip by the time you’ve reached the beach, painting the water gold. You watch as the waves crash into each other, creating ripples and sparkles in the sea. The ocean looked like the surface of the rarest gem. 

“Ready?” You ask Layla, resting your arms on the edge of the glass tub. 

She nods once more and reaches out for you. You transport her into your arms once again, this time more prepared for the weight shift. Your footsteps grow heavy into the soft sand as you match towards the sea. 

Layla’s ear fins shimmy against your cheek, tickling you as the two of you get closer to the sea. You wade into the water, the salty spray of the ocean sticking to your clothes and hair the deeper you went. When you were chest deep you lowered the mermaid into the waters. 

Layla leaves your arms gracefully and sighs, taking a deep breath underwater as the salt filters through her gills. She does a few experimental circles around your feet, her colors grow into a deeper, more vibrant blue in her natural habitat. Layla resurfaces with a blue conch shell that was the same color as her fins. Her smile has yet to falter and only grows bigger by the minute. 

“Have this,” She says as she hands you the iridescent shell. “Blow into it when you need my help. Even in your most perilous circumstances, I will hear it no matter where I am.” Her words begin to tremble on her lips.

Cautiously she reaches for your waist, grabbing at the small glass vile you had hanging on your leather belt. She brings the vile to the edge of her eyes and when she blinks, a tear falls slowly into the vile. It shines in the dusk light before she re-corks it, keeping it safe.

“This is the happiest day of my life, so really I must thank you for what you have done, Captain Fortune,” She whispers slowly as she carefully turns the vile in her webbed fingers.

She watches as her tear rolls around in the long tube before she hands it back to you. Your fingers linger over hers when she gives it back and you pull yourself closer to her. 

“Thank you, Layla.” You bring your lips to her cheek and kiss her goodbye, tasting the salt on her skin. Layla hums at the warmth before she pulls away first. 

She stays quiet for a moment, the two of you enjoying the small moment of peace. "What are your thoughts, Layla?" You probe.

“Whatever you may use my tear for, do so without guilt. It was given lovingly. I will never forget you.” She doesn’t wait for a response before she dives deeper into the sea. It’s not long before you see her jump out of the water, her hair and tail flying in the wind with a spray of water as a final goodbye. 

The map changes a month after Layla’s departure, its scribbles and instructions mix and realign themselves for the next item. Though, you wished it didn’t considering the new instructions were nothing more than vague words and instructions. 

“When the storm brews and the heavens roar, prepare your vessel of wood and of glass, forged in the heart of a dying star will you find the sizzle of light.” You reread the instructions with a frown. Your eyes scan the words over and over until you think you’ve forgotten how to read. You close the map with a sigh and stick it back in your pants pocket. 

Despite the unforgiving temperature of the tropics, the tear never evaporates in your vile. Occasionally, like today, you would stare at the tear, watching it glimmer in the rising sun when the rest of the ship was asleep. Her lullaby haunts the back of your mind, the humming seeming to echo across the vastness of the calm ocean. The Dream King has yet to come for you for what you have done, something that you took as a good sign. 

A rumble in the distance shakes you from your thoughts. You refasten the vile to your belt, next to where Layla’s conch shell rested. The wind picks up and whips your hair around like crazy tentacles. Approaching fast on the horizon were gray and angry storm clouds. Thunder booms and lightning cracks across the dark blanket of doom. 

Your ship was ahead of it, for now. The smell of ozone and petrichor is strong in your nose as you turn and start ringing the bell to wake up your group of misfit miscreants. 

“Lower the sails, let’s outrun this storm, Mr. Theo,” You told your first mate as you took to the wheel. 

Theo repeats your orders to the awaiting crew below you and they begin to scramble about. The sails lower, their dark blue colors turning black in the absence of light. Doors were being shut and cannons tied to the ship. 

The storm grows fast, and even with the help of the northern wind full in your sails, rainwater begins to belt down on you. Your blouse did little to protect your skin from the harsh raindrops. Still, you steered with shielded eyes. A few of your crew decided to go below deck, only you, Theo, and a few more daring pirates decided to stay above and help maintain the ship.

A large wave crashes into your ship, jolting the vessel relentlessly. For a moment, your fingers slip from the prongs along the wheel, but you’re quick to regain your feet and hands. The winds and waves leave you at the whims of Mother Nature. Each time you try to recourse your ship, the wheel resists you. 

The storm was right above you now, ripping large gashes into your sails. It would be too dangerous to pull them up by now, you can only hope for the best. Lightning briefly cracks across the sky and gives light to your next issue. 

Your ship starts to circle in the open sea and you realize with a dry throat that you were stuck in a whirlpool. No matter how much you try to shift course, the will of the sea did not listen to your commands. 

“Shit! Fuck! Goddamn it!” You cuss all known cuss words under the sun and then some more. 

Your cussing grows louder as the wheel splits off its pole and the last bit of your resistance is lost. Screams were heard around you as the wooden vessel flung straight into the vortex. Each person on your crew flashes behind your eyes as your body slams into the ship's walls. You’re trying to regain your breath, instead inhaling rainwater and you’re met with a coughing fit. 

The prongs of Layla’s shell presses deeply into your back and a brief moment of clarity washes over you. Trying to keep your balance on waterlogged boots, you reach the rails of your ship. You pull off the blue shell and press it to your lips.

You blow, hard and long, feeling the low hum vibrating across the shell. You blow again, the thought of blue fins and a mother’s lullaby on your mind. You wish for the safe passage of you and your crew back into calm seas. You wish for Layla.

Another sharp jolt and your wet fingers drop the shell. You cuss again over the raging winds as you bend over to pick it up. One more blow into the shell wouldn’t hurt. Before your fingers could wrap around the shell, the ship tips and you fall into the open sea. 

“Theo!” You scream as your arms flail around you, trying to grab at anything and everything that could help you. 

Your fingers wrap around a stray rope, the twine burning through your skin as you continue to fall. The rain leaves you gripless and even your desperate cry isn’t enough to hold on. 

Falling into rough seas is as good as falling onto wooden floors. When you hit the waters, the air is knocked out of you once more. You’re barely grasping at the concept of consciousness as you’re submitted to the commands of the tides. 

A familiar flash of serene blue crosses your vision and hands grab at your arms. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” Layla sobs out near your ear.

She takes a look over her shoulder, but in your losing war with consciousness, you don’t pay much attention. Her powerful tail swims you towards the surface where air fills your lungs immediately. 

Layla swims back underwater before you can thank her. You look around in the storm for your ship or a piece of it to cling onto but all you’re met with is another crashing wave. Sea water enters your nose, the sharpness hits you in the back of the head and you gasp at the intrusion. Water then enters your mouth and you accidentally gulp it down in a growing desperation to breathe. The relentless sea gives you no time to do so as another wave crashes into your body and back underwater you go. 

You brave your eyes open, feeling your body being tugged by the whirlpool. You search for her, for your mermaid, and only find her trying to swim along the currents of the ongoing storm. Something black streaks across your vision and you watch it as it catches up to to Layla. The two swim in circles, the whirlpool growing stronger as the two mercreatures chase each other. 

You squint in the low visibility of the water and a familiar pale body and slicked-back black hair meets you. He pauses his chase for a moment, sensing your stare at him and he looks back. Dream’s eyes are gone, and in its place a void of black. He frowns when he sees you, his tail flicking in annoyance at your interruption. 

Dream closes his eyes and you see his gills take in a deep breath before he returns to chasing after Layla. You watch helplessly as his arms ensnare around her waist. She fights back with the last of her strength, but having used most of it helping you and swimming away from your aforementioned “lover”, she loses the battle quickly. 

Dream keeps her in his arms as he dives deeper into the ocean, his black tail disappearing into the depths. The only indication was the small lights that decorated the fins, much like the bioluminescent light you would find on caught anglerfish. You stay for a second longer, your lungs screaming at you for air, but a part of you hopes that you may see the familiar blue come to you again. 

The whirlpool calms and with defeat you swim towards the surface. You’re about to break the surface when hands wrap themselves around you. You briefly feel the silkiness of scales against your skin before you’re launched into the air. The force behind the tail gives you enough air for the two of you to land on your ship.

You cough, water sloughing off your figure like raindrops. The sky had cleared and the sea was calm again, as if nothing just happened. 

“Layla?” You call out, coughing out the last remnants of seawater from your lungs.

“No.” Came your simple answer. 

You turn quickly and meet Dream’s eyes. He’s still in his merman form, sitting on the railing of your ship. Realizing comes to you too quickly and you pathetically search his face for any form of remorse for what he had done. 

“Where is she?” You ask. You feel rage starting to bubble to the surface. Your crew was nowhere to be seen, either hiding under deck or lost to the storm.

“Gone,” Dream answers simply. 

Dream watches as you look around the ship for something. In an attempt to prove his point, he moves his tail, revealing to you what you need to see. Not what you wanted, he knew what you wanted, but you needed to understand the truth, now. 

You’re searching for blue and when Dream moves his tail over, the bioluminescent lights along his fins dim in the sun. His tail was beautiful and a part of you would’ve loved to have admired it, but that familiar blue catches your eyes. 

There was so much blue, shattered and broken into pieces.

You fall to your knees as you scoop up the shattered pieces of Layla’s shell. Your hand curls into fists as you bring it closer to your chest. The pieces cut into your skin and blue mixes with bright red. 

Staring at the mosaic of colors, you're reluctant to let go. To let go of the shell is to let go of her. To let go of the pain is to accept the grief that is to come with her death.

“She’s gone.” It wasn’t a question, it was realization. 

You look at Dream with slightly teary eyes and he doesn’t bother with a response. He gives you one last look before falling backward, diving back into the depths of the ocean. 

♡ Goodbye, Layla

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[ashipiko]

🫶 herro to my v small percent of a3! followers nowadays and my even smaller percent of fellow skypaul enjoyers. i got back into my btab sky pirates skypaul au

there is a whole 7k google doc about this AU. the beauty and the beast soundtrack changed me 😔

EXTRA PAUL REFERENCE BELOW <3

[imactuallyreallycool]

Hey, can you do byler if they were pirates? Idk I just thought of that and I thought it would be cute in your art style lol 💞

My Pirate Byler idea

(Definitely going to do some more designs) they probably be more cute :)

Little story points behind the image lol (some this is dark ig so read with caution ig (I don’t go into any details)) (if you want to make a fan fic based on this you have full permission to use anything :) ) (also I haven’t read any pirate au fanfics so sorry if I stole ideas without knowing)

- William was kidnapped (sold by Lonnie 😭😭😭 idk) by/to Henry at the age of 12 and 7 years later (so he’s 19 now) he was finally able to escape

- He found a ship to get on to and was in the middle of cutting his hair when Michael found him

- Michael Wheeler or Michael the Disheartened (I just wanted to use the word heart somehow in his name lol) is the Pirate Captain of this ship with a crew of 5 (Lucas, Jane, Erica, Max and Dustin)

- Michael’s eye was taken away from him as punishment for his ✨homosexual thoughts✨ or his “wandering eye” if you will :/ and therefore banished from his home at the age of 16 (he still keeps in contact with Nancy and Holly in secret)

- William’s hand was also a punishment/warning for him. Henry thought he was painting too much and not studying enough (idkkkkk)

- Brenner and Henry are bitter rivals (both kidnapping kids for experiments ig)

- Jane has magic :) and so does Henry :/ (maybe will does too idk)

- Jane was kidnapped as a baby (by Brenner) because she showed signs of having magic

- William wants to find his family while Michael wants to take down the evil government (the some government that took his eye ig)

-Henry’s Curse (basically birthday gate), nobody can remember William from before the day that he got kidnapped and William’s memory is a bit foggy too but remembers his mother, his brother and maybe there was a boy… his best friend?

- Michael swears their was a boy he was friends with when he was younger, he thinks they meet at a swing that hung on a tree… he just can’t remember his name.

- So the image above is their second first meeting lol

- Michael warms up to this stranger, strangely fast for some reason, it usually takes him months or years to start trusting someone 🤔🤔🤔

-William becomes a part of his crew obviously

Anyway those were just a few ideas that I was thinking about, I have some ideas for the origins for the other characters (mainly the crew (the party))

Sorry if this was hard to read/understand lol

Couple of close ups

Mike’s face is probably my favourite part :)

[fruit-salad-ship]

trying to share some bits while im kind of stagnating, got an art funk. so have some Pirate AU scribble.

[lilliancdoodles]

Today was rough. Have some FitPac Mermaid/Pirate AU.

[playername-player-of-games]

hey hey hey shadowrot pirate au? i am intrigued :0

YEEEEEAAAAAAH THANK YOU !!! warning for pirate typical violence yippee (killing, some blood, loss of limbs, kidnapping)

SO there's a pirate island and stuff and crews can do jobs for each other as well as for important people on the island. pirate captain Cleo takes a job to kidnap some noble's daughter for a hefty sum of gold (like 10,000-20,000, it's nothing to sneeze at) it'll take a few weeks to get to the girl and then another couple days to get to the dropoff location so she snatches it before anyone else can get it

Lizzie is easy enough to capture. she's a dainty little thing and Cleo is built like a mountain. they plunder and slaughter most of the folks in the manor and manage to get Lizzie out with only a few minor injuries

"Oh, there you are, love." The pirate grasps her arm, yanking her out from under the table. She yelps as she's brought face to face with the mountainous woman, suddenly very close to a wicked smile and the orange curls cascading down her shoulders. "My my, aren't you a dainty thing?" she purrs, the glint in her eye reminiscent to a hawk eyeing a mouse. "Deepest apologies, trinket, but you're worth an awful lot of gold."

they tie her up and gag her or just straight up knock her out and once they're back on the ship she gets the best cell in the brig. there's minimal bonding between lizzie and whoever is tasked to guard her, and she doesn't see cleo again until the last day

Lizzie wakes to someone tying her hands together. "Wh- hey!" she tries to kick, but Grian has her ankles, "what is the meaning of this!" Scar's smile is sheepish and apologetic as he swiftly secures her wrists together. Lizzie growls and attempts to shake him off- "Good morning, trinket." Lizzie's head whips around to the staircase. The mountainous woman is there, with her cascading curls and a tricorn hat. She's smirking, the glint in her eye amused as she pushes off the wall and slowly strides towards the cell. Scar steps away to make room. Grian does not release Lizzie's ankles. "Now, here's how this is going to work," says the woman, squatting down to Lizzie's level here on the floor, "you may walk all by yourself-" "Finally," Lizzie hisses. "If," remarks the woman, "and only if you promise to behave." Lizzie frowns. "Do you promise, trinket?" "My name is Lizzie." "Do you promise?" Lizzie glares. The woman's smile might as well be painted. She spits, "I promise." "Wonderful," the woman stands, then gestures for her to get up, "come on then, they're waiting for us."

They bring her onto the island and then to the handoff location. Lizzie and Cleo are allowed in (and maybe one more). the location is inside this little cave that's mostly hidden by waterfall and vines and upon entering they find. idk, criminal-looking guys and a man who looks like he's half cod, and suddenly Cleo shifts gears

she refuses to hand lizzie off until they explain what's going on. at first they're difficult to work with, but after cleo manages to nearly slice off somebody's hand and kill someone else, they confess, at swordpoint, that lizzie is the heir to the ocean throne and they plan to take both her and the half cod man back to the ocean empire's oversea meeting place (idk) and try to trade them both for some kind of riches. maybe the ocean's blessing so they can have control over the sea. or something (that's probably what im going to go with)

cleo is like. naaaah you're not doing that and gives a signal and her crew comes busting in and they manage to get out with both lizzie and the cod man, but now they're on the run from some powerful pirates who want them dead

after that it's a little bit just. heeey pirates are cool here's some cool piratey things! Lizzie has to deal with the fact that she's half fish and oh look that cod boy is named jimmy and he's her brother

Cleo:

is the captain, yes, but im also playing with the idea that she's somehow immortal/can't die? (to tie in the whole zombie thing! - i have an idea for a scene where lizzie tries to escape by stabbing cleo clean through the chest and cleo kinda breathes weird but takes the sword out no problem and the wound closes instantly- that's how lizzie realizes she can't just walk out of here, unfortunately)

they're huuuuge. at least a head and a half taller than lizzie methinks. huge and buff and covered in scars.

Lizzie:

Heir to the ocean kingdom

Part blue axolotl, gains siren powers when she goes into the water (gills, webbed hands and feet, a tail like an axolotl, webbed ears), and she can control people by singing

jimmy is her little brother that she had no idea she had. (same mother, different fathers. he's trans and also way taller than her)

possibly also immortal. now that she actually has the chance to live as a full siren her lifespan will lengthen and her aging will go kinda weird lol

other stuff:

i haven't decided if i want it to be a traffic life thing, or a hermit/empires crossover and i think it'll be a little of both where i just pick and choose what character stuff i want to include but it'll be more traffic guys cause i know their vibes better

im still puzzling out who i want on her crew, it'll probably be a mesh of hermits and life series folks. grian and scar are there, probably also X, Joe, Cub, Pearl, Gem and maaaaybe Scott?

BigB used to be on the crew but then he sabotaged the crew by burning the ship down and he joined a different crew (maybe skizz's crew idk) and after their crews sorta meshed he's finding his footing again and trying to be trusted who knows. maybe he's been slowly gaining trust and as they're fleeing from the trading cave cleo yells for him to light the enemies' ship on fire and that's how he knows she kinda sorta trusts him again? (i have to watch povs i dont actually think they like each other in character rip)

i want cleo and lizzie to dance at some point. cleo thinks fondly back to who she was before she was a pirate - also some kind of noble's child, trained in etiquette and dancing and all kinds of things. this might be the first time lizzie ever thinks of herself as a pirate- and it was by accident, comparing herself to cleo

lizzie is trusted to wander the deck pretty quickly after The Incident with the traders, but Jimmy is stuck in the brig for a while until Lizzie commands cleo to let him out. he's let out but not without supervision and slowly works his way into the crew

Lizzie is almost full human out of the water (save for her white eyes when she has the power of the ocean with her), but Jimmy is still half cod out of the water (it's how he was caught- it's obvious he's from the sea)

cleo and lizzie do kiss. i've actually written out that scene but i'm going to save it for later <3

lizzie asks to be trained in sword fighting - the crew teaches her how to fight and be a pirate. she swordfights and wields a gun and a crossbow and gets a new outfit and stuff and she's pretty good at it

Lizzie miiight get her hair cut off in a fight. Cleo might as well. idk i think they'd be pretty with short hair

should they get matching tattoos that would be cute of them

i dont know how much magic i want to have in the world, i have a REALLY hard time imagining grian without wings, but if i give him wings then why can't i make cleo a full on zombie? what about other hybrids? i think i want to go for it but we'll see

i think it would be fun to have soulmates be a thing. i think it'd be even funnier to have soulmates be a Cleo's ship exclusively thing. like her boat is cursed and as long as you're on it with your soulmate you both get hurt when one of you gets hurt. maybe when you get hurt flowers bloom on the other's skin. maybe grian and scar are both covered in flowers and scars and claim to despise each other but you can see the fondness in their eyes whenever they talk to each other. idk. it would be funny.

Cleo calls Lizzie "Trinket" because trinkets are small and fragile but also very pretty and can mean a lot to whoever is holding onto them

uuuuhhhh what else. eventually they'd probably go to the sea. i think that's all the ideas i have right now :D

[kyurochurro]

lackadaisy has inspired me... what if... they were kitties....

[d4jamso]

Meet the rest of the members of the crew!

(This is for my pirate au) Wills ship is the SS Cleric, his crew being El his First Mate, Dustin his Cheif engineer ans coordinator, Steve his watch leader, and Robin his medical purser. There are other citizens of their country who work for them on their ship:)

Mike's ship is The Cardiac(get it bc THE HEART his ship is THE HEART Mike's THE HEART), his crew being Lucas his firstmate and coordinator, Max his watch leader, Erica(I KNOW ERICA:D) his cheif engineer, and Eddie his medical purser. He also has many other people working for him on the ship.

[naviculariis]

So. Like. Modern AUs. . . Except it's a band AU. . . Are those still cringy??? Or have we circled back around to them being cool and fun again?????

[melancholitas]

The prompts for the (sadly) last day of @heart-pirates-week fed right into my Tengu-verse brainrotting. So have a peak at my ideas for Law in that scenario, tattoos and fantasy included!

Burning hearts

Being a Kitsune is dangerous. Not only is their fox fire some mighty, sought after weapon, no. A rumor started coursing about their hearts being mythical remedies, going as far as claiming it to grant eternal life. If one manages to not burn themselves while trying to obtain it, that is. Figuratively and literally. While a fox spirit may not hurt itself with their powers, their marks are able to wreck havoc when they are sparking up in flames. The mightier the spirit, the more lines are adorning their skin, akin to delicate tattoos.

Law spent his whole life on the run from people and youkai trying to use him as an asset. He blames it on him being a four-tailed beast, effectively twisting the devine lineage into a curse. Labeling him the fox of death.

But after years of suffering and being shackled by the evil clutches of a gone-mad Tengu, he found his solace. Ironically thanks to another Tengu, who also seems to be a danger magnet. Especially to himself.

Now, he gets to enjoy his life at the temple. Their territory being a safe haven for all kinds of creatures, land and sea alike. For someone not being fond of water, his closest pals consisting mostly of water beasts makes up for very peculiar situations. But he wouldn't trade his new life for the world. So while he may have a literal burning heart, it now burns figuratively again to his own disposure.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9

Afterword: This week went by in a flash, but I'm so glad to have managed to participate. It's been a blast, seeing all those different approaches and lovely works. The collective adoration for this crew highlighted every single day and I'm grateful for this experience!