Day 10 - Grief

Eccc15 pictures will have to wait. The road trip home was fine, but the day we got back….. There were some fire issues.

No homes were lost, no people or pets hurt, but lots and lots of damage to the houses and the wetlands

Front pages are printed, gonna let the pages cool and probably finishing print the back of the pages tomorrow.

Then its trouble shooting time because my color printer keeps messing up the margins so I got a dozen or so pages to print.

Then this weekend will be folding and searching for the perfect end pages. I'm running out of shops that I know locally and still haven't found the right patterns....

Day 28 : New places

Alt Title: Reunion

Arriving to Elbaph at last.

Sorry i'm a little late XD

Original Prompt list by gratefulcheeses

oh undoubtedly. No hair, no mask, injured so he's essentially one handed right now? The only reason he's not in full meltdown mode is because Kidd's there and Captain already looks like he's not handling it well, and they BOTH can't be weak, not at the same time.

i got a couple ideas on the missing length myself. If his arm was injured by Big Mom's people, then his hair was included in that, and caught fire/melted. Granted, that story plays out a bit different and it's not an exact match for this drawing.

Other ideas are a bit more.. uh.. not likely in canon... but I am not opposed to it having been cut earlier, right after Kidd's injury as part of a very messed up favour exchange with Traflagar.

His cutting it himself for fighting hadn't occurred to me, but I could see that. heartbreaking, regardless.

Day 6 - Feast

Sharing a meal.

this was my third attempt for this prompt. I was trying to draw something cute!!! I promise! But the cropped hair just stirred something in my soul and I had to go a different direction with it.

Personally, I'm torn on when Killer's arm actually got messed up. Part of me headcanon's it from back when the four were all still rivals - and Heat messed his arm up (and he messed Heat's face up). The other part things it happened during the Kidd Pirates confrontation with Big Mom's Sweet Generals.

For this image, we're going with the latter.

Original Prompt list by @gratefulcheeses

18. Trust

Kidd - 12 | Killer - 16

Tags specifically for this chapter:

Children in danger

Killer lives up to his name

Kidd makes Killer's dating life complicated

Kidd devils fruit

he's getting better with it

but it draws unwanted attention

Read at A03 linked above or here below cut

Drabbles from Pocket Jack's KiKi-tober Prompt list

Kidd was getting better at the smaller things, easily convincing the deadbolt to open for him in the grey afternoon, clouds overhead repeating another day of cold autumn rain. 'Talking to locks' as Killer called it, and there was no way Kidd was going to tell him it was more like singing.

His devil fruit was absurdly loud, all of the time, and everything demanding his attention like ostentatious exotic birds; their songs fighting for his attention at all hours. Most of the time his usage of his abilities was just going, 'Okay sure,' and just -attracting- or -repelling- everything in mass. Which was a great offense/defense kind of move, but didn't work for shit if Killer was standing next to him; his poor friend caught in friendly fire more than hurt by their pursuers these days.

It made Killer extremely paranoid when ever he did, and Kidd's not so sure it has anything to do with any sense of self preservation in the teenager. If Kidd uses his ability, Killer does not leave witnesses.

There had been a boy recently, one that had been nice to them, and while Kidd hasn't really felt any which way about him, he knew Killer liked him. A lot. Caught them making out once after Killer thought he'd gone to sleep.

...

Caught Killer crying over him when a group of thugs hadn't liked them squatting in their turf, and a fight broke out. Kidd had ended up killing a few of them by -repelling- an entire dumpster at them; and it was pretty obvious he'd done it, because he'd yelled it when he'd done so.

It had made it so much easier, calling it out like that. The exhale of sound and breath, and then the metal had moved like an afterthought, no convincing required.

Any joy in him figuring out such a trick was lost though when he turned to his two companions.

Killer looked at him heartbroken.

Kidd thought the other boy might be uneasy, scared... but no. No one had ever looked at Kidd like that before. Hungry. Greedy. And then with a blink his face was casual, forced jovial before nothing at all as Killer stabbed him in the back, once, twice, three times, aiming up under his ribs for the lungs.

Half a life time ago, Killer had told him not to let anyone know he'd eaten a devil fruit. At 12, Kidd is haunted by The Boy's face - and he's just The Boy, Kidd refuses to remember the name of anyone who looked at him like that - and vows that one day, he'd get to so powerful with his abilities that people look at him in fear instead. No one will even look at Eustass Kidd like he's an easy payday. And he's going to be strong enough that Killer doesn't have to kill his boyfriends to protect Kidd.

If the dead bolt is in place, then Killer is already home. While the other boy is crafty enough to jimmy open most locks given time, he's certainly not skilled or patient enough to try and get them locked back up when he leaves. Kidd does because it's easy enough for him, and lowers the chances of an opportunist slipping in and running off with their stuff.

It's not a lot of stuff; and never anything worth much. Killer thinks its bad luck to keep that nearby, like it's inviting danger, and Kidd likes to joke Killer was a pirate in a past life, the way he buries his treasures all over the place.

"Jokes on you then," Killer would tease back, "because I don't leave maps with 'x's' on them for you to find."

A very long time ago, faces Kidd can't remember used to sing songs about Roger and Pirates and he has vague memories of someone trying to explain log posts to him. "The pirate king uses a log post, not maps," Kidd had teased Killer back, and he'd let the island sing to him until he'd lead Killer right to one of his hidden caches.

And then to another one

And another one

"Good thing i trust you not to rob me blind," Killer had joked, but his voice was coloured in a kind of awed pride in Kidd.

Killer doesn't trust many people these days; he certainly hasn't brought another boy around Kidd since. He won't even show Victoria where they live right now; Killer rarely brought girls over to start with - most girls don't want to hang out with the two of them in whatever place they've shacked up in at any given time. But Victoria was at least judgemental in away that feels teasing instead of cruel. Not of the ruthless criticisms that barbed other girls' tongues.

Kidd adores Victoria, he loves hanging out with her, but even he's afraid now that he might slip up and show her. He's terrified one day she'll look at him they way that boy had, ready to turn on him for a coin.

...

He's afraid one day, Killer will have to choose between Victoria or Kidd.

And he's afraid of what either answer would mean.

November and beyond

firstly - thank you all for sticking with me through KiKi'tober. this was the first time I'd ever finished a monthly daily challenge for October and i could not have done it without y'alls support.

that said- oh my. i am.. i am stunned that i pulled it off and also my brain is melting a little. i haven't drawn seriously since like 2009 and to finish two sketch books between july and today is mind boggling. and i still very much plan to keep writing and doodling for y'all - things are gonna likely slow down a bit ^^;

World Anvil is hosting it's first Novel'Ember this year, in light of.. other sites, and I'm going to try and use this to actually get some of R.Rebellions finished and up and then maybe get some of the other WIP's concluded.

I also have some crosstitch projects that have been on hiatus all summer and one of them is so close to being done that i really need to see to that XD

There is more Kidd & Killer content coming, just don't expect it every day anymore!

Once NovelEmber gets going, i think i'm going to go ahead and post a link to the WIPs so if you have an account and want to be nosy, you can go poking around at whats in the works for the future

WIP. (at WIP) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ2mkCdlN8P/?igshid=p1mkeolo4n02

9. Loyalty

Kidd - 15 | Killer -19 (only talked about - not actually present for this one)

Tags specifically for this chapter:

Kidd's named himself Boss of the Heaps

Teenagers in danger

Kidd gets himself shot

future crew cameos

Names

Read at A03 linked above or here below cut

Drabbles from Pocket Jack's KiKi-tober Prompt list

Somehow in the last year - Kidd's gotten himself an entourage.

A half dozen were older kids that he and Killer had kicked the asses of at some point over the years. There was the not!sisters that went everywhere together, and Kidd welcomed them with a heavy heart, feeling his own former partner's betrayal even time he saw the duo. Wasn't their fault though, and Kidd was getting better about not holding that against people as of late. Throw in a handful who were just sycophants that he'd fallen in with, and then one or two city folks that ran out of luck and had headed to the Heaps to hide.

They'd been under the impression the Heaps where no man's land - they didn't know the it was Kidd's now. He'd nearly turned them away, sent them back to the city, but they'd prostrated before him and he'd never seen anyone do that before. Curiously had kept them around, nothing more.

And then Boogie had brought him another outsider, a large monster of a woman that had nothing but disdain for Kidd and clearly wanted to be anywhere but the Heaps. She had, like the others from the city, had run afoul of one of the bosses. Unlike the others, she knew immediately who he was.

"Solider Boy talks about you."

Kidd froze in place, his people turning to look at him curiosity. "Sorry," Kidd decides finally, "Don't know any solider boys."

She shrugs.

"What did you think the name drop was going to get you?"

"One more night still breathing."

"Hmm... Fine. Granted."

***

Being a teen and the boss did mean people thought he was an easy target. Unfortunately, sometimes it was people he'd given a second chance to. There weren't a lot of guns on Kutsukku - smuggling weapons past the Marines out in open waters carried too high of a risk, and few on Kutsukku had the funds for the payment demanded for them.

But just because there were not a lot of something did not mean none were on the island. Kidd just learned the hard way what a bullet felt like, hot and sharp in his side. It had completely blindsided him, not even an option in his mind, and he had stood there dumbly as his brain attempted a reboot.

A second shot never came - not because Kidd or any of his crew reacted, but instead the woman, the one from the gang Killer ran with now, stood over his crumpling assailant, rusting pipe in hand. She looked about as shocked as he did, stepping back uneasy as he was rushed by his own people.

The bullet responded to his -pull- gracefully at least, and he held the small ball of metal in his palm as someone else saw to the blood pouring out of his gut. It -sang- harmlessly in his hand now, the treacherous little thing, and Kidd -rolled- it over and over, committing its weight and song to memory so as to not ever fall victim to it or its kind again.

His man named only Sunglasses watched the little bullet -dance- in his hand uneasily, before Kidd closed his fist around it, face daring the other to make a comment.

None came.

***

"What was your name again?"

She shrugged, rubbing at the bracelets on her thick wrist. Kidd could understand that.

"Why'd you save me?"

"I told you, Solider Boy talks about you."

"You mean Killer, don't you?"

"Boss Athair doesn't think he's earn a name like that yet, took it away."

"Fuck him." Kidd growled. She smirked. "How.... how is he?"

She looked contemplative, "Quiet. He follows order, doesn't complain, and personally, I think he's damn proven himself. Ceannard, Boss Athair's second, has taken a shine to him, thinks he's got promise. Honestly, I think more of us like the two of them than Boss Athair these days."

Kidd picked at his bandages. "That's why you're here. Because you picked Killer over your boss."

"Solider Boy convinced me to leave before I ended up.. well," she gestured to the man whose skull she'd bashed in, "not unlike him."

Kidd looked at the corpse.

"He had a gun."

She nodded. "City Boss - one of the big ones. He's got god money, and delusions of grandeur. Buys up all kinda of shit, all kinds of people. Kinda man you don't tell no too."

Kidd scowled. "Well, fuck him too. That trick won't work a second time."

"Hope not." She said, so quiet Kidd almost missed it.

"Well..." he hedged, "at least while your own boss has a stick up his ass, as long as you don't mind the smell and the toxic waste, you're welcome to run with us."

Day 20 : Undercover

nothing explicit, but probably nsfw XD

sorry we're a day late - not one i could work on when my boss keeps stopping by

Original Prompt list by @gratefulcheeses

Highly infectious illness keeping everyone isolated? Clearly what we need next is the area's largest earthquake in nearly thirty years.

It's been morning, folks