❝ i don't like most people, but you're an exception. ❞ for Mari pls!! (could even make it Midlaw, if you're feeling it, but anyone will do!)
ngl when I saw this I had the vision of the most devastating Mari moment during the timeskip - ‘twas a struggle to not write it out bc it’s a Character Development for her and therefore spoilers (and also bc I haven’t fleshed it out completely oop-). but here’s another place (not Midlaw tho 😔) I think this prompt would work
set sometime after Arlong Park, live-action friendly so psst opla girlies @auxiliarydetective, @starcrossedjedis, @xoteajays, @daughter-of-melpomene, I humbly present this offering to you (can you tell I'm sleep deprived asdjasldakj
A groan escaped Kenji as he sat down. Even after months of training, he was still nowhere near beating Zoro. The guy could at least pretend to struggle when Kenji tried to hit him, but no, he just had to yawn lazily and slam his knee into Kenji’s stomach. Now, he wasn’t one for holding grudges, but Sanji was right to have one against the swordsman, Kenji should help him hide all the booze on the ship. And some of the meat, since Luffy just kept laughing while his poor body got pummeled by Zoro, some captain he was.
“You alright?”
“Gah!” His hand felt for the handle of his revolver, drawing it out to face – “Mari?”
She answered with a thump of something landing in his lap. Something lumpy and smelling vaguely of the herbs the Marines used to ease their muscles after training.
Kenji waited for his crewmate to elaborate on the package. Mari was silent. But it’s possible she just left after tossing the stuff at him, she’s quieter than Nami and even less chatty than their navigator when she’s trying to read a new map. Plus, Luffy didn’t even have the decency to get someone else to keep watch in place of him, so Mari probably just came to grab something or another and brought that along for him.
Come to think of it, she does do stuff for him a lot – not that she doesn’t do stuff for the other members of the crew, but Mari definitely looks out for him more. If it were Usopp wincing from injuries, Mari wouldn’t bring a weird-smelling pack of whatever’s-in-this to help him; plus, she helps him get out of chores all the time. This could only mean one thing.
“Do you want help?”
Oh, She’s still here.
“With this?” Kenji asked. Then remembered that she couldn’t see what he was referring to and added, “The stuff you gave me.”
“Yes.”
Yeah, Mari would never offer to help Usopp apply medicine. Nor would she for anyone else, probably. Maybe Nami if she asked for help, but they seemed to be awkward around each other, so perhaps not.
So, who was he to turn down an offer possibly only he could get?
His crewmate was efficient in her day-to-day work; several weeks of being on the same boat taught Kenji that, but Mari was also pretty good at dealing with wounds. Apparently, Zoro’s injuries from Mihawk didn’t tear up halfway to Arlong Park because of her interventions, and after the fight there, she dealt with all the scrapes the crew acquired from kicking fishman butt and the ones the people of Coco Village, too. Kenji didn’t get to witness her abilities after that fight – thankfully – but feeling her hands applying a salve to his bruised knuckles, he had to admit, Mari was pretty good at avoiding more hurt when she pressed down to rub the ointment into his skin.
Which was good enough for him, he didn’t want to know if she could be gentle when she was cleaning cuts or snapping joints back in their places. He’d prefer it if bruises and burns and sprains were the only reason he had to ask Mari for medical assistance, thank you very much.
His non-bruised hand closed around a small bottle of something, “Apply a thin layer to anywhere you’ve been bruised, wraps are for the nasty ones.” Mari’s voice elaborated at his sound of confusion.
“What’s a nasty one?” Kenji chose to focus on that part instead of Mari leaving him to fend for himself, he could lament that later.
“Depends on you.”
That was not an answer, and Kenji told her so. Mari didn’t reply, so he counted that as a win for him.
“The ones swollen,” she said just as Kenji thought she left, “don’t wrap it too tight.”
“So the one on my stomach.”
Mari was silent, then said, “Sure.”
No help, absolutely none. Kenji was starting to doubt her proficiency in medicine.
“Is that everything?” He asked after a minute of silence.
Mari’s voice was a tad further away this time, “Any other injuries?”
“Yeah,” He began, wondering for a moment if it was smart to – “Can I ask you something, though?”
A beat.
“Sure.” That word was clearer, her face lit by a lantern as she stood with her arms crossed.
He didn’t get a lamp, or a candle, or anything when he settled down to keep watch.
“Where did you get that?” He couldn’t help himself as he pointed to the light in her hand.
She gestured at a wooden beam behind her. Kenji wasn’t sure if that meant the thing was there and she simply grabbed and lit it or something else. Come to think of it, when did she get it?
“Is that it?”
“Is what it?” Kenji repeated without thinking, then shook his head, “Nah, I’ve got another one.”
Mari’s head dipped slightly.
Bidding a goodbye to his preferential treatment, Kenji continued, “Why are you nicer to me?”
Mari’s head tilted to the side.
“Not that I don’t like it or anything, it’s just –” How could he say this without sounding like he was full of himself? “You’re definitely nicer to me than to Usopp or Nami or Luffy, is it because you like me or something?”
A line formed between her eyebrows, and Kenji was no master at reading faces, but was that… disgust on her face?
“No,” She shook her head, “Absolutely not.”
“I meant like in a friendly way…?” Kenji added, but it just sounded like a bad attempt at covering up, even to his ears.
At that, Mari’s face stopped looking like she was about to vomit at the thought of her liking him – seriously? He wasn’t that bad of a catch – and grew back into her normal expression. Which meant he had no idea what was going on in her mind, as usual.
“Maybe,” Came Mari’s answer after a while, during which Kenji contemplated whether he could hurl himself into the sea from his seat to avoid interacting with her ever again, “I don’t like most people, though.”
“But I’m the exception?” Kenji prodded further, then regretted it when she fixed him with the stare, the one that felt like she was looking through his mind.
Mari didn’t give him an answer for the next few minutes, just stared into his soul. Probably because she enjoys making people regret their decisions, who needs that long to decide if they liked somebody or not?
“Yeah,” She agreed, “But you’re the exception.”
Huh.
Well, that proved it, Kenji was Mari’s favorite. He couldn’t wait to lord that over Sanji the next time the cook started to wax poetic over the two girls in their crew.
His new favorite crewmember strode forward, “I’ll do the rest of your watch,” Mari told him, lifting him to his feet with a flick of her wrist, “Go get some rest.”
And since he was only human, he obeyed easily and started to go towards his warm bed.
“Himura?”
Kenji turned around at the mention of his surname.
“Don’t tell Blondie.”
So he still could brag about that to Usopp, got it.
“Or Usopp, or Nami.”
Ugh, at least he could tell Luffy –
“And especially not Luffy.”
“But I can tell Zoro?” Kenji couldn’t help but ask.
Mari finished lighting another lantern, “Peabrain only cares about being the captain’s favorite.”
Kenji shrugged. It did sound like Zoro, after all.
give me a prompt + oc and I'll write a drabble!
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Do you have any art tips for beginner artists?
hi! i'll do my best to list the most useful ones for me from the top of my head! but if you're asking about something specific, lmk too!
always use references! this is 100% the fastest way to improve quickly! and don't forget if you're posting artworks using references, to always ask for permission if needed and to credit the reference! here's a very good post with links to various art tutorials and references :) try to do things out of your comfort zone!
i remember my sister drilling this into my head as a kid lmao: if you're going to draw people, make it a habit to draw the whole body, not just a face or bust. this way you can improve drawing the face and body at the same rate, rather than perfect the face and have like. a shoddy body HAHAHA (<- speaking from experience - my sister warned me but i still did not listen) here's an example from when i was 12 lol i went so hard on the eyes but my anatomy wasn't great so the drawing looks kind of goofy
if i'm being honest nothing has really changed even now HAHAHA you can still tell i spend too much time on the faces and neglect my anatomy studies a lot 🥲
3. don't worry too much about building a signature art style if you're a beginner! experiment and imitate art styles that you like, and it'll eventually develop into something you're comfortable with
4. speaking of art styles, Naoki Saito-sensei does very in-depth art videos for people looking to develop and improve their art, and he covers a variety of different topics! the link i provided is for his new YouTube account, since his first one was unrightfully terminated :( since it's new, there aren't a lot of videos up yet but he'll be re-uploading all his old ones soon
5. this video by tppo is also a useful tutorial/explanation for style breakdowns, using Mika Pikazo-sensei's artworks! also another good reference for building art and colouring styles
6. unless you're going for a specific art style, try not to use black colours for shading. Instead, try using a darker version of your base colour with the hue slightly adjusted. it's a little difficult to explain so i made a tiny diagram underneath:
it makes the colours pop a lot! Kurahana Chinatsu-sensei and Akiakane-sensei are really good at doing this 😭💖 that can also apply to lineart! but again, only if you're going for this kind of colourful art style :') do what feels right to you!
7. lastly try to enjoy drawing! if you do what you enjoy, learning and improving will come so much easier to you :) i can understand the urgency to improve (it's like my default state of mind 🥲) but if you keep focusing on that, drawing will eventually just start to overwhelm and frustrate you. try to combat it by doing something self-indulgent! i like to draw my ocs whenever i start getting burnt out :')
8. actually i lied this is the last one!! never give up!! it's so easy to feel bad or frustrated about your art no matter where you are in your art journey, so what i like to do to try and fight that is to look at my old art and compare the improvements! here's one of the earliest oc drawings i could find from my childhood vs my most recent oc drawing :pensive:
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♡ Intimate Moments | Bleu & Justin | GENEVA ISLAND
* Bleu wakes up early with the sunrise. She makes coffee and enjoys a book in the rec room. She gets ready upstairs before she approaches Justin in the kitchen*
Ju: Glad to see you’re up! I was just about to come find you, you’ve been missing all morning.
B: Yeah, sorry about that, but I was actually up earlier making coffee and relaxing. I decided yesterday that I am taking the reins of my own destiny and I am going to enjoy this amazing moment, this beautiful villa, in my own way. And I guess that meant more alone time than I realized… Is that bad?
Ju: Not at all!
B: Good, cause I am actually really glad that I did. I feel a lot better now.
Ju: That is awesome, I’m so glad that you found a way to turn things around. You don’t want to end up like Sean..
B: Oh my gosh, you did not just say that! [giggles] I really appreciate you being here for me and helping me to feel better.
Ju: It’s my pleasure. I am just glad to see you enjoying yourself finally.
B: I enjoy your company a lot Justin! I wanted you to know that too…
Ju: Same here Bleu, you are an amazing girl!
* Later, Bleu is sunbathing and back floating in the pool. Her and Jasmine start talking while Jasmine is making drinks*
B: Thanks for making this drink for me!
Jas: No problem! I need one myself I think..
B: I feel you, I’m loosening up tonight! I have a feeling it might be my last one anyways…
Jas: Don’t say that! You never know what could happen. Things in here change in a blink of an eye. You still have all evening to get with one of the boys!!
B: No, no, it’s actually okay. If I left tonight, I wouldn’t mind. There are a lot of lovely couples here, and even though at first I didn’t know if I would like it, I actually loved being here, and I don’t regret anything.
Jas: Well cheers to that!
* They cheers and drink *
The Start || Beginning of Episodes || Previous || Next
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