Snapshots. [—chilchuck Tims]

Parts of a Whole

Ok I regret starting a new writing blog during what's probably one of the busiest periods of my life but yolo

Adashino x reader x Ginko (Platonic/romantic friendly)

For as close as you are to someone, sometimes there are some minor hiccups.

If someone were to ask you, you would say that Adashino was the day and Ginko was the night.

Someone less familiar with hem would look at their physical features and say otherwise, but you knew differently.

Adashino was the ever-reliable sun, a constant never wavering and never changing. His medicine may have felt too warm at times, but it burned off the sick. Ginko was the soothing balm of the moonlight’s hand caressing your cheek. Sometimes his medicine nipped at you with a biting cold, but it chased away the crawling maladies and kept them away.

Either way, you don’t think you would have been the same without them by your side. Conversely to the laws of nature, your world revolved around them, even though they might not know it. Kitsunes were known to be solitary Yokais, but to them, family was one of the most important things. That was a trait that you shared in both of your bloodlines, the trait that your parents imparted to you before their passing. And Adashino and Ginko were your family, even though you never told them so. And that put them on a pedestal far above anybody else.

(There wasn’t anybody else, but you were terrified to admit it, terrified of the implications of that.)

That’s why you let them get away with too much, sometimes.

Like smoking cigarettes that were mildly toxic to you. Mildly. Supposedly.

But based on the wracking coughs hitting you now, and the arrays of other symptoms, whatever the seller put into this new blend was a little more than mildly toxic.

“Ginko,” you managed through your growing headache, suppressing a dry heave. “Put that thing out right now or–hrk–you’re going to be cleaning up my sick from all over our sleeping spot.”

“Hm?” Ginko’s half-lidded gaze locked onto your sweaty face and his eyes widened, immediately leaning forward to stub out his smoke in the tray. “Oh.”

Adashino stepped into the room at that moment, arms full of bedding. He took a moment to sniff the air. “I know that smell anywhere. Why is it worse than usual??”

His voice sent a pulse of pain through your head and you wince, exhaling slowly as a wheeze rattled your chest.

Your white-haired friend silently draped a rag over the ashtray, stifling the smoldering embers despite the smoke already in the air. “I tried this new tobacco blend.”

“I-It’s bad.” You tried to get to your feet, only managing to get to your knees before the nausea stopped you.

Adashino gave a long-suffering sigh. “Oh for goodness’s sake, I thought I told you–Wait there.”

He stepped back out of sight for a few moments and then returned, arms empty of the bedding, presumably to keep the smoke from seeping into it. Raking a hand through his hair, he kneeled down to help you to your feet as you struggled to take a full breath. 

Ginko was as apologetic as you’ve ever seen him, hand reaching out to you before he caught himself and pulled back. Already, you could see him withdrawing from you, pulling away from everyone and preparing to flee.  “I didn’t realize how much more potent this new blend was. If I knew I wouldn’t have used it.”

No…

“I told you to stop testing them out inside and before bed,” Adashino grumbled, sharper than intended as he focused on trying to get you to your feet without throwing up dinner.

Please don’t fight…

“Stop it,” you mumbled. 

Adashino realized that the other man was closing himself up and quickly acted to amend things before he could physically run away. “Ginko stay there, I’ll be right back.”

With his help, you managed to hobble your way outside to the cool night air without making a mess all over Adashino’s wooden floors. The man gingerly sat you down on the engawa and–after a moment of double-checking–moved back inside. There was a dull mutter in the background as you focused on taking deep breaths, closing your eyes to try to ease the headache. Now in the open, the clear air did wonders for your symptoms, lungs able to work fully without the smoke wrapping around them. The sliding door was left open but thankfully you were settled far enough to be unaffected as the room aired out. 

It was no sooner that your symptoms subsded when Adashino reappeared. He offered an arm that you eagerly latched onto, still a bit shaky. His presence brought back the warmth into your body that you didn’t realize had seeped out of you body.

“Futon’s ready,” he said airily. “I forced Ginko to beat the smoke out of the sheets, change his clothes, and get new sheets. The room’s been aired too.”

“Did you two make up?” You asked hoarsely.

The man paused, taking off his monocle to wipe it down. “Yeah. I didn’t mean to be so harsh with him. We talked it out though. Safe to say there will be no more smoking inside the house. And all the sheets were changed.”

True to Adashino’s earlier words, three new futons were rolled out in the middle of the floor, pushed closer to the doors than where they usually were. Thanks to the fact that the three of you were spreading out over the large front room of him adobe, there was plenty of space to go around instead of the bedrooms. You gratefully plopped into the nearest one and pulled the blanket up into your lap while Adashino went to move the lit lantern away.

(You don’t know when it started being a regular thing, the three of your piling together in Adashino’s large greeting room, waking up in the morning to find one person or another sprawled all over the place. But what you did know that you slept easier with them by your side when you were here.)

As Ginko stepped back into the room in a pair of Adashino’s sleep clothes instead of his, the fringes of his bangs weightened down by water and dripping onto the clothes. He paused upon seeing you and Adashino, remaining right by the doorway.

Adashino was the first to speak. “Ginko you’re back–why is your hair wet?”

“I washed myself.”

You frowned. “But I thought we used up all the heated water?”

“We did. I just used our regular water.”

You could hear Adashino’s patience getting ready to snap. “I-It’s cold! You might get sick!”

“If I have to end up taking care of the both of you for being ill, I will break out the most bitter blend I have to treat you,” the doctor grumbled, putting out the lantern and walking over to drag Ginko to the futons by the collar of the man’s borrowed shirt.

You yawned placidly and shuffled over as Ginko settled into the futon next to yours. “Are you feeling better now?” The man murmured.

“Yep,” you replied, easing back on your back as your friend was too. “Thankfully, my symptoms cleared up pretty quickly after the smoke got cleared out.”

Adashino pulled the sliding doors closed, shutting out the moonlight. In the darkness, your sharp eyes saw him gingerly picking his way over to the last futon on your other side. You closed your eyes, fox ears flicking as you heard him get into bed and lie down.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Ginko murmured.

“I know,” you replied. “You didn’t hurt me.”

“I won’t smoke inside again.”

“I know,” Adashino said. “There are no hard feelings. Go to sleep you two,”

You burrowed deeper into your sheets, banked on either side by the safety of the two you knew best. A final yawn left you as sleepiness finally seeped back in to your body.

“Good night you two,” you mumbled.

“Good night.”

“Night.”

A sleepy smile stretched over your lips and it remained there as rest finally claimed you. Yes, Adashino was your day and Ginko your night, and life wouldn’t be whole without them by your side.

“i don’t know if my blorbo could ever love me-” HE IS UNABLE TO SLEEP AT NIGHT FROM HOW LOVESICK HE IS BECAUSE OF YOU, THE EYE BAGS ARE HORRENDOUS AND HE LOOKS LIKE A DRIED UP BEANSTALK

HELP HIM

Your evil mother was killed by a demonic entity that took her form. It planned to torture you by revealing itself when you grew up, and feast on your terror and fear. When the day came, however, you felt no fear or despair. Instead, you thanked the demon for being the best mother ever.

2k words done so far

Move over Marco it’s whitebeard pirates christmas one shot time

My friend went on vacation and bought this for me so i finally have some natsume merch ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

Killer: Is he alright?

Wire: Yeah.

Killer: *walks in to see Kid freshly bandaged and missing his left arm* YOU SAID HE WAS ALRIGHT!

Wire: He is! ALL RIGHT! He lost his left arm.

Heat: WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?

Killer:

you cannot fix that blond man please step away and let the professionals take over

Japes and Jubilations, Pt 3

The Sanctity of Sacred Spaces Masterlist

The various antics of the crews and the various ways you’re involved in it.

(Part 1) | (Part 2) | YOU ARE HERE | (Part 4)

Part 3: Haunted

The senior members (Penguin) decide to pull some pranks on the newcomers. Of course you're pulled along.

The Polar Tang’s halls could be scary, if you weren’t used to her.

That wasn’t an exaggeration, but an undisputable fact. Every single crew member whom you’ve talked to about it, admitted that they were initially put off at being in the Tang’s hall when they first joined the crew.

(Save for Ikkaku and Law, but the former was a whole different beast in her own category and the latter never let slip a single peep when you asked.)

Hell, even Bepo admitted that he and the Swallow Island duo were terrified the first few weeks they took ownership of the submarine, though Penguin and Shachi would deny it to the best of their abilities.

Though Law was no-nonsense with stuff like this, he wasn’t always around to curb the rumors the senior members liked to tell the newer recruits.

Penguin leaned closer to one of the new recruits, tanned and his brown-hair in soft spikes. “You know, you’ve had quite a few night shifts already. How do you feel?”

“It’s kind of eerie at night,” Boost admitted. “Not that I’m complaining! It’s just very… different from what I’m used to…”

“You don’t have to lie to make us feel better,” the other man said. “Everyone knows it’s scary in the halls at night. Especially down the area where the Tailor’s workshop is.”

Clione joined in, ever the shit stirrer. “Yeah! If you’re by yourself there, sometimes you can feel a presence following behind you!”

You sighed as expectant gazes turned to you, raising your hands up. “I don’t know, don’t look at me. I’m usually not in the halls late. I’m either in my bunk early or I stay in my workshop the whole night.”

Another voice scoffed, and you scooted over to let the lanky figure of the other recruit sit down next to you on the bench. “Yeah, right! What’s gonna be with us? Ghosts? Spirits? What are you five?”

“Hey!” Penguin yelled. “It’s true!”

Slick chuckled, glancing at the senior members over his meal. “Sure, sure.”

 ***

Much later on that day, as the hours were turning into night, you were visited by two men who really had too much time on their hands despite being first mates.

“Tailorrrrr!” Penguin whined dramatically. The couch creaked as he draped himself over it, partially laying in Shachi’s lap, who sat on one end. “The new recruits don’t believe us! They think we’re idiots!”

“Probably because you’re acting like it,” you responded dryly, adjusting the measurements on your template as you calculated the changes you’d have to make for the new boiler suits.

“Well, how am I supposed to earn their respect as their superior if they treat me like that?”

“Act like the full-grown man you are,” you suggested.

“Orrrr you can scare them,” Shachi suggested, shark-like smirk on his face. “Make them eat their words.”

You shot the redhead a scathing look that warned him not to go any further. But all too late, as the damage was already done, and the seed planted as the moping man was revitalized.

“We should totally use your workshop to scare the newbies,” Penguin said, a fit of determination making him jerk up and nearly nailing Shachi in the gut.

“No, the fuck we’re not,” you said immediately.

Shachi didn’t say anything, only grinning wider when you looked at him for help. He opened his mouth, and you immediately knew that nothing good would come out of it. “You know, we should spook them first. Mess around with them a little bit.”

“Yeah! And we won’t mess with anything! We’ll just need a space to hide at most.”

You sighed in exasperation, not even bothering to ask for an elaboration at the two’s jumps in conversations, as they would eventually tell you. You had higher expectations for Penguin, as he was usually the more responsible one who reigned in Shachi and the more mischievous members of the crew when Law was not around, but when it was him who got an idea, there was no hope of deterring him as he had Shachi to egg him on.

“I have some old scare masks from the festivals on my old island if you want to use it,” you grumbled, giving in far too easily. As much as you tried to deny it, you did have a soft spot and a tendency for chaos that led you to lend your services too often to them.

Penguin perked up. “Really?!? Are you sure?”

“If you can find it and put everything back the way it was after, then go ahead. But,” You stopped and raised the pencil in your hand threateningly at them like a blade, “if you guys leave my shelves messy, I’ll kill you.”

He sweated nervously. “Got it.”

 ***

It started off normally, for the most part. The days passing by without you noticing anything much. Though that could have been because you were holed up in your workshop when not out doing your assigned duties. But you did notice that out of the pair of newbies, Boost looked increasingly nervous as the time passed. Once or twice, passing by the sleeping quarters’ hall, you did spy Penguin skulking around, sometimes by himself, sometimes with either Clione or Shachi or any other person he managed to rope into. You always made sure to look straight ahead and walk a little faster to pass it.

(Supplying them with a few items didn’t mean that you wanted to participate—and, more importantly, be caught up when Law came through and cracked down upon the antics.)

(You did not want to spend another day finding bits of your body scattered around the Tang by Law’s fruit, thank you very much. You were perfectly content to sit back and watch the chaos that was your nakama unfold around you.)

Tonight’s night shift included the daily navigation lookout duties, and additional maintenance things in the engines that you couldn’t get to while the Tang’s machinery was hot and active during the day. It was you, Uni, and Penguin, alongside the pair of newbies. One senior officer to a junior to show them the ropes, plus an extra pair of eyes on the ocean. Penguin was there to fetch you from your workshop, and the little smirk on his face was the only warning you got to prepare yourself for a night of mess as you met up with Slick and Boost

You were glad, though, that even though the first mate was mischievous, he still took his duties seriously. The first half of the time spent in the engines room passed by dutifully, with the two younger members learning what they needed to manage any emergency issues that might pop up. If they got assigned to a specific role, then they’d have more in-depth training later. But tonight was just a quick rundown for them to prepare for night shifts.

(You pretended not to notice the way Boost had a queasy look on his face and that Slick’s shoulders twitched every time something creaked or clanked. Law should give you an award for the best actor on the crew.)

“Now that you two’ve got the hang of it,” Penguin announced with a grin on his face. “Tailor’ll will watch over for a little bit. I’ve gotta go to the shitter!” 

You groaned, sending him a nasty look. “You’re filthy, Peng.”

He stuck his thumb on his nose and waggled his fingers at you before turning and leaving.

“Feel free to ask me anything if you need,” you said before wandering over to your area and opening the borrowed maintenance kit and extracted a screwdriver. “Remember, don’t overtighten anything, or you might crack the casing. Check for rust or leaks or any missing screws. This area tends to rattle a lot.”

“Got it!”

While Boost and Slick settled down in their quadrant. You unscrewed the panel of one of the deactivated filter tubes and stuck your head in, checking for clogs or debris. Not many others liked doing this particular task, especially after that one time Uni found a whole horde of spiders that stowed away from a previous docking, and the next month was spent battling eight-legged terrors. It took you hours to dust out and clear your workshop once you surfaced.

You shuddered and pulled yourself out, replacing the panels and making sure they were screwed on tight. There was a clank and a curse from the corner the newbies were working.

“You alright?”

“Where did my wrench go?!” Slick stuck his head out from behind the pipes, an aggravated look on his face. “Tailor, do you have an extra?”

“Let me see…” You rummaged through the mechanic's toolbox by your leg, grimacing as you pulled out an old, rusty one that Ikkaku swore up and down to have thrown away already. “Ugh… This is the only one…”

“It’s fine, I’ll take it.” Slick accepted it with a valiant grimace on his face and returned to his work.

Your attention was piqued after that, half-focused on the newbies in case anything else happened, and the other half keeping an eye out for the missing wrench. The lights flickered, and you frowned, casting a look overhead. You were halfway through putting a mental pin into notifying Ikkaku of the malfunction when the room plunged into darkness. There was a split second of surprise before your instincts kicked in, as you stilled, listening to the noises of the Tang around you. Electricity still hummed through the floors, and there was the very distant thrum of gears in action. That meant that the lights weren’t broken. Someone turned it off.

Steady footsteps approached you and through a weak trace of your Observation Haki you identified the familiar presence before you socked them.

Penguin tapped the back of your hand teasingly as he brushed by, aimed towards where the cursing newbies were, before his steps fell silent. Wise enough to expect the upcoming trouble, all the tools were packed up before they could become a tripping hazard in the dark.

Then it began. 

Due to its nature, sound tended to echo in the Tang, the metal walls and features bouncing and warping noises until it was night incomprehensible. Within the confines of the mechanical rooms, that fact doubled tenfold as a veritable din rang in your ears.

You were calm in the chaos as their footsteps and screaming approached you, chased along by ominous clanking and the frankly ridiculously scary laughter Penguin could produce. Hands grabbed onto either side of your shoulders, jostling you a bit, but you didn’t move even as the noises got nearer. Just when it sounded like it was right in front of you, everything cut off. The three of you were left in silence for a few moments, fingers digging into your shoulders and two forms that were too tall trying to huddle behind you. When the lights turned back on, you had two oversized males clinging to your back and a pair of wrenches sitting innocuously in front of your boots.

“I’m gonna piss my pants,” Slick muttered. He shook your shoulders a little bit. “H-Hey you didn't say that the sub’s got electrical problems at night. Isn’t that dangerous?”

“I’ll let the head mechanic know,” you drawled, nudging the wrenches with a boot. Raising your hands, you patted the hands on your shoulders conformtingly. “Anyway, your wrench’s back, Slick. Get back to work, you two. The faster we finish, the more time we can spend with Uni in navs. Don’t you worry, I’ll kick the ass of any other ghosts here.”

It was a blessing that you finished up the mechanical work easily, so that you could let Slick and Boost run back to the navigation room to huddle with Uni. Though, as punishment for letting you shoulder most of the work, you forced Penguin to stay back and double check everything.

 ***

“How do I look?” Penguin asked, turning to you, the borrowed mask secured on his face. It looked a little silly with his hat poking up behind it, but you were more focused on your work table.

You gave a long-suffering sigh as you rubbed the bridge of your nose, eyes not straying to him as you doubled checked the two boiler suits for any last-minute errors. “You asked me that already.”

“But you didn’t answer before!”

And you didn’t bother to answer this time, either. Huffing, you folded up the suits neatly, making crisp lines even though you knew that they would be unfolded soon. With that ready for Slick and Boost, you turned to drag out an old bedsheet from the infirmary that laid in your reuse bin.

“They’ll be here soon to pick up their boiler suits,” you informed the first-mate in a tired tone, handing him the fabric. 

“Thanks!” Penguin chirped, grabbing it. The dark cloth finally covered his hat when he threw it on, concealing his identity completely with the mask. The man then shuffled behind your couch, tucking himself behind there just in time as knocking announced the arrival of your guests.

Making sure that there wasn’t an errant corner of the sheet showing, you went to open the door to let the two newest members in.

“No ghosts outside!” Slick announced, chest puffed up. “So you don’t have to worry! If you’re still scared, I can walk you at night.”

After the night shift where you bore witness to them getting scared, Slick seemed to try and double down on his previous statement denouncing his fears, hiding his increasing nervousness behind false bravado.

“Right,” you said simply, a small smile on your face as you stepped aside to reveal the new uniforms on your desk. “Well, if you want to stop talking about ghosts and start looking at your boiler suits, they’re ready.”

Both males eagerly went for their uniforms.

“Damn, you made these?!?” Slick marvelled, picking up the suit and unfolded it.

“W-Wow it’s perfect,” Boost said.

You grinned at the pair’s awe, pride puffing out your chest a little. “I’m responsible for the crew’s uniforms. Or anything clothes related. If you need something, come to me.”

Caught up in the ego of praise, your spirits were high enough that you only smirked as you saw Clione and Uni peeking into the open doorway of your workshop, the former with a smirk and a wrench in his hands and the latter reaching for the lights. Your workshop was plunged into darkness at the same time that Clione slammed his wrench into something, creating a reverberating crash in the small space that elicited shrieks from the two in front of you. It got even more chaotic as your couch screeched, moving from its spot as Penguin crawled over the back of it. In the dimness, the mask and sheet truly did look ghastly, like an eerie apparition. Coupled with the shrieking noise you had no idea he could produce, you had to say that it was quite a good act.

Slick and Boost ran screaming out the door. Penguin turned around to give you a jaunty little salute before shooting out after them. “See ya!”

Sticking your head out the door, you yelled after them, “You better bring that back clean!”

Behind you, the drawl of your captain brought heat to your ears and cheeks. “Tailor-ya. Quite lively here.”

Stepping aside, you let Law into your workshop as you turned on the lights.

“Captain,” you greeted him. “Here to tell me off? Or Penguin to stop?”

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with your work, I don’t care what you do,” he drawled. “And isn’t this ‘good for raising team morale’?”

“The only thing it’s raising is my blood pressure,” you sighed.

“Sounds serious,” he deadpanned. “You know that too much salt in your diet tends to lead to hypertension.”

Your expression flattened as a distant scream echoed down the hall.

Though it was all in jest, none of you realized how close to home the story of a roaming spirit hit. In the corner of the ceiling, above the din and noise of all your antics, a transparent, ephemeral apparition looked on, the Polar Tang quietly rejoicing as her nakama expanding in numbers.

It’s while you’re playing with dinosaurs on the floor that something comes crashing into your grand fight seen. You boggle a moment, caught off guard by the sleek white train that’s now knocked onto its side thanks to your mighty Tyrantrum. But you pick it up, and glance around the room to see who lost their toy.

All the other children are playing on their own. You can see a gaggle playing house, the father loudly scolding the “dog” for peeing in the house, thus sending the rest of the “family” into heaps of giggles. There are a few reading, buried in blankets and pillows as they smile at their picture books. And then there’s a lone boy, stood over by the corner, away from most everyone.

He stares at you, eyes flickering between your face and the train you hold. His smile is tight and looks painful.

You stand, and stride over to him. The boy jumps, head ducking away from your returned stare, only to jolt once more when you offer him the train back.

“Here!” You chirp, happy to have helped. “Your cool train ran into my Tyrantrum and had a big crash! But I’m super cool and smart, so I was able to fix it!”

Shaky hands take the train from you, and your grin wavers at the sight of the boy slowly turning a deep pink. You grow a little nervous, especially with his silence.

“Um, okay!” You say, false cheeriness lacing your words. “Bye!”

You race back to your own toys, shouting at Kevin when he tries to steal your Aerodactyl.

You don’t talk with the boy again, but whenever you glance his way, you can see him staring at you still. Weird! But you try not to mind it.

▽

You’re outside today, which is always super fun. You get to dig your hands into the dirt, piling it up into castles and towers that your imagination can fill with wizards and royalty to have drama amongst themselves. You’re so lost in your little dirt world that you almost don’t notice the shadow that falls over you.

You do notice, though, and glance up to see that same boy. His smile is still tight, but he’s holding something behind his back, the toe of his foot tracing shapes in the dirt.

“Hi!” You greet. “Whatcha got there?”

The boy flushes, but shows you what he’s holding. A small Venipede squirms around in his grip, barely bigger than his hands, so that means-!

“A baby!” You squeal, shocking the boy as you immediately begin to coo at the bug. “Hello! Hello! You’re so cute!”

The boy wobbles on his feet, but eventually sets the Venipede down for you to pet. The bug chitters and whines, leaning into your dirty palms. It makes you squirm with happiness, and you look up to thank the boy for showing you his find, only to see he’s gone.

“Oh.” You say, a little disappointed. But you don’t stay that way for long, as the boy soon runs up, skidding to a stop before you with his hands behind his back once more. “Oh! Yay! You’re back!”

The boy gives a jerking nod, then shoves his hands forward. You tumble back some, surprised to see the small white flower he clutches. It smells sweet, despite being so small.

“For me?” You ask breathily. The boy nods again, so pink you’re worried he’s given himself a fever. But you take the flower from him, smiling as he curls in on himself, fiddling with his own fingers. “Thank you!”

You plant a kiss to his cheek.

“Now we’re married!” You chirp.

The boy faints.

“Oh no!”

▽

You eye the man in the kitchen, chattering away with his brother as they fight over what’s for dinner. Sometimes you miss how cute and shy he used to be, but at the same time, it’s nice to see him grow into someone confident and happy.

Sighing, you close the book on the Venipede entry, safely encasing the tiny white flower pressed between the pages to be looked at another time.