#to let go

[maoxyi]

To let go (part 10)

-

“…does that make me less part of the crew…”

…

“…no…”

…

“…we are a SUPER family…”

No. Luffy thinks as he sees a flash of… memories? Thoughts? He isn’t sure. There’s different colours and feelings swirling in his mind but a hand on his head immediately snaps him out of it. No. Luffy thinks. Not yet.

‘Longer...’ He lets out a sigh as he realises he’s beginning to resign himself to this place. This place that isn’t his own. ‘Let me stay a little longer…’

“You alright, Lu?” Sabo says, eyes searching his brother for any pain.

“I’m fine! Just got a little headache is all.”

“Try not to think too hard.” Ace snorts. “We don’t want you getting sick.”

“Shut up!” He reaches to hit him but Ace moves away. He sticks his tongue out at him.

“Did we… Did we stress you out?” Sabo asks him, putting his hand in a three claw position and grabs Ace's face to squeeze it. Ace starts flailing and swearing up and down as the two brothers ignore him.

“No, no… I was just surprised! I don’t… I didn’t think you’d ever say that. Well, I don’t really care why or anything, it just it shocked me!” He laughs as he says it. Luffy doesn’t care. He couldn’t care less.

“I bet it did. We wanted to lead our own lives when we were kids but… right now I want to stay close to you. To both of you. At least for a while. I… what we went through and that close call, I never want to go through that again. I want to stay with you guys for a while. I want to be with my brothers. I asked Dragon if, just for a little while, I can stay with you. Any assignments and missions that come from islands we visit I can do them while we’re there. Though I’m sure you’d end up helping one way or another.” Sabo smiled happily, letting go of Ace who took a deep breath and glared at him.

“Woah really! That would be so awesome!” Luffy glowed at the thought. “It would be so much fun!”

“Leave it to you to think that these missions I'm sent on are so much fun. These missions are dangerous and serious.”

“Yeah but it's also fun. Like ninja missions and stuff!” Luffy says and stands up trying to sneak around his brothers. He grabs his wrist with his pointer finger and middle finger pointing upwards with both hands as a (seemingly) ninja symbol. Sabo snickers at him as Ace reaches for his leg and makes Luffy fall on his face. He snorts when Luffy turns around, red faced and pouts at him. He really does feel like they’re kids again. Deep, deep down he wishes they were once more.

“I still want to be a pirate. Though now that the Whitebeard pirates have disbanded, I have to figure out what next. I know I can reform my crew and continue from there but… when I heard what Sabo was going to do I wanted to join in. I told Deuce what my plan was and what I wanted to do first so he knew. He told me he’d wait however long is necessary because he understands. Of course he would. I wouldn’t expect anything less. I… I want to spend time with my brothers too…” Ace looks away from them, his cheeks dusted in red from embarrassment. Luffy smiles. He’s glad his brothers want to stay with him.

“And I didn’t want Sabo to beat me so.”

Ah. That checks out too.

“Yeah sure. Keep telling yourself that.”

“I’m the better brother Sabo, it's just true.”

“Get real, Ace. I’ve always been nicer to Luffy.”

“How about fuck you Sabo.”

“You can’t even think of anything to defend yourself Ace.”

“He has a point.”

“Shut up Luffy.”

And he laughs at Sabo and Ace as they argue back and forth. He laughs as they end up forehead to forehead, spilling empty threat after empty threat. He’s missed this. He’s missed it so much. He has to go. He knows that. He knows he has to but… he sits there, watching his brothers alive and right in front of him, his crew in his ship… his family. He doesn’t want to leave. He… doesn’t want to. Is he selfish for this? He has always been selfish. Always. With what he makes his crew go through. What he’s always done in his life. He really wants to stay.

“Of course you guys can join! You’re my brothers!” He beams and they stop their fighting.

“We weren’t really asking. We were gonna join anyway.” They joke of course. And Luffy looks up. He stares at the real sky. The feeling of the breeze. The sight of Hancock and the other Amazon Lily women coming to them with food. He takes a glance at his crew who is alerted by Sanji's high pitched squeals and they make their way. He notices, for the first time, the bandages. He notices how he does feel pain. How he’s been feeling a lot. Half the things he’s felt were good. He feels whole again and he wants to stay. He wants… he wants…

“I want to stay.” His brothers look at him. He lowers his head for a moment before looking up. He’s desperate to stay here. “Can I stay here with you? Please?” His brothers look at him and then to each other.

“Of course you’re staying with us.” Ace says to him.

“Where else would you even go?” Sabo adds in confusion. Luffy smiles at that. He’s right.

Where else would he rather be than here.

[starchytart]

Drawing this based on Socioenvy MV, but really the only thing that reference it was the house so spooky house yay

[doc-ocktism]

happy one year of letting go <3

[th3w00ds]

“It makes me cry every time but that’s the good part” - Me about To Let Go (released by Nate Smith AKA Nathan Sharp AKA NateWantsToBattle in 2023)

[iheartnwtb]

I really wish I could draw just to make nwtb fanarts...

The best i can do is this

[natewantstobattle-lyrics-daily]

"faith alone can't get me where I need to go / 'cause I should know that you don't wanna get better / when we collide, the worst and darkest parts of me come back to life / they weigh me down, now I'm tethered."

- to let go

[socialbutterfly19]

I usually know if something is off… the gut doesn’t usually lie!!! I have said it for days something is off…eventually I figure it out

[sadder-piano]

It’s always “I’m aroace” until Let The Floodgates Open plays and suddenly I’m yearning for something I don’t experience

[sambirdyanim8]

Happy birthday to the birthday boy of all time, Natewantstobattle!

[maoxyi]

To let go (part 8)

“…I wanted to stop him for the future…”

Luffys eyes squeeze shut as he lays his head on Aces shoulder.

“…there’s so many who can help you…”

He doesn’t want to hear them anymore.

“…let’s go home…”

Neither of them.

“Luffy.” He blinks his eyes open slowly but makes no move to sit up. “C’mon Lu, isnt it time to get up?” Ace says to him as Sabo kneels down to look into his sleepy eyes. Luffy thinks about it for a moment. For just a few seconds before pouting. Just being around his brothers makes him feel so small. He feels a childish spark zap through him and it’s almost as though they’re kids again. He pouts and squeezes his eyes closed.

“No.” He replied simply, feeling a bubble of pride in him.

“Now Luffy, you gotta get up.”

“No.”

“Luffy…” Sabo sighs exasperatedly and Ace laughs. He sees his crew on the ship when he opens one eye. He sees Usopp fishing with Chopper as Brook leans over to watch. Sanji hands the girls some beverages and turns to fight Zoro who did absolutely nothing. Franky was chatting with Jinbe and they let out a laugh that’s carried over to him by the breeze. Before he can take a look towards Law, Sabos pouting face comes into view.

“Luffy… my arm is nuuuuuuumb!” Ace complains. Luffy reaches around his brother and pulls him onto the sand earning a loud ‘oof!’ from Ace. Sabo cackles at them but doesn’t count for the fact that Luffy reaches over and drags him to the ground with them. Sabo let’s out a high pitched wail as he flops over his laughing brothers and Luffy has never felt like this. He doesn’t think he’s felt this whole for a long time. This full of pure, clear love for his big family. Pirate king becomes a secondary dream in his mind when he feels his brothers and crew surround him. He wishes this is how it ended. He wishes this was his world. This was the reality he would eventually return to.

“Luffy you’re such an idiot.” Ace chuckles. Luffy snorts at him.

“You’re the bigger idiot.”

“No you.”

“No. You.”

“You both are absolute dumbasses.” Sabo pipes up, as he stares at them. They stick their tongue out to him. Luffy sees Usopp and Chopper look over to them and smile. They wave. He waves back at them. They lay there for a while, bathing in the sun on the Amazon Lily beach. Ace huffs.

“Sabo, you’re heavy.”

“That I am Ace. I am a muscular man after all.”

“Not as much as me though.”

“No, no definitely more than you. I don’t need to be shirtless to show it.”

“…That isn’t the point asshole, get off I am literally suffocating.”

“Good. Die.”

“I just escaped death and here you are trying to kill me again.”

“Yes. Die.” Sabo smiles politely and Luffy howls with laughter as his brothers try to wrestle each other though it was more of Ace flailing to hit Sabo who simply refused to move. He looks up at the sky.

“So… what are you going to do now?” He asks. They both pause and look at him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… what are Ace and Sabo going to do now? That it’s over basically?”

“Well…” Ace starts and looks at the Sunny. “Pops has decided… to disband the Whitebeard pirates…” Luffy sits up immediately. This… this isn’t good. What should be bizarre is that Whitebeard even survived… but the fact that he himself disbanded them… huh.

“What?”

“It’s true. Of course I asked Marco if they refused. Of course they did. Why wouldn’t they? He told them though. He can’t…” Ace took a deep breath and Sabo sits up off of them. “…He can’t keep going anymore. He can’t keep leading us. He told us that after the close call of Marineford, it- it really showed him, he says, that the old era is over. The new era has risen and he’d rather be alive to witness it.”

“Ace…” Sabo puts his hand on his shoulder. Luffy stares. He’s unsure. Of course this never happened but…

“It’s ok Ace! Your old man is still alive right? That’s all that matters!” He knows there’s no need because he has to leave. He has to go home. He’s forgetting his crew is waiting for him. He’s forgetting. He’s forgetting…

“Yeah I guess… but it’s ok because Marco says that he’s going with him to a place where he knows they’ll be safe. Everyone else told me that…” Ace clears his throat. “That they’ll be ok. That we’ll see each other again soon. They’re going their separate ways.”

“I’m sorry… you didn’t go with them because of me didn’t you…” Luffy looks down. He feels horrible because he doesn’t feel bad about it.

“Nah of course I would stay with you! My little brother needs me! Of course you have your crew but I’m a big brother. It’s what I do.”

“Hey I’m here too!” Sabo pouts before turning to Luffy and smirks. “He was crying by the way. Him and the Whitebeard pirates were crying. So hard.”

“SHUT UP!”

“They were practically wailing and it took three hours for them to hang up.”

“ITS NOT TRUE SHUT UP!”

“It’s true and Whitebeard was laughing so hard. He even told Ace to shut up and hang up already.”

“Oh my goooooooddddddddddd-“

“Sounds about right.”

“LUFFY.”

“Anyways,” Luffy turns to Sabo, completely ignoring Aces glare. “What about you?”

“Well…” Sabo begins and looks into the forest. This felt like deja vu. “I told Dragon I would be spending some time away. There’s something I want to do. He was a little hesitant at first but he heard me out and agreed with me.”

“Oh…” Luffy looks down, regret for not regretting.

“No no, Lu. I decided this.” He looks at Ace who nods. “Actually, there’s something we wanted to talk to you about.”

And Luffy doesn’t know why he’s so scared. He doesn’t know why he shakes slightly. He has to grab his own hand. He’s never been so worried. Never. He isn’t ready for what this fake reality will tell him. He isn’t but… at the end of the day he’s still scared.

“Luffy.” Ace smiles at him with Sabo grinning excitedly. “We wanted to ask you-“

“Can we join you’re crew?”

And Luffy doesn’t think he’d ever be as surprised as he is right now for the rest of his life.

[mayorundertheplumtree]

“How much further under water can I sink I'll never know.”

really like this posture in the MV the wild feeling as a butterfly fluttering its wings

（p2 is with filter（

（still addicted to tlg in the beginning of 2024（； v ；）

[thehealingsystem]

spontaneous poll time

[th3w00ds]

So as a fandom, can we all agree that this was how we reacted to the album To Let Go released by Nathan Sharp in 2023?-

[quinistiredd]

TO LET GO

the third original album by natewantstobattle

out september 18th 💚💛

[natewantstobattle-lyrics-daily]

"suffocate and compensate till I'm empty in the end / and you still take when I've got nothing left."

- to let go