DAY 8: Nightmares Don't Sleep
DAY 8: Nightmares Don't Sleep
Zoro can't sleep, ghosts come to keep him company.
And here it is, it had to happen, first time (but not last time) that I'm late. I lasted a week so I'm happy. My mid-terms are starting so writing will take a back seat for me but I'm still going to try to finish Whumptober, even if it's not on time. I'll probably spend a few days to focus on stories that interest me more but I'll complete all the prompts. But for now, it's Zoro's time to suffer. This story will be in several parts (because I, too, need sleep and have yet to discover a way to write more than 10,000 words in two hours after class) and I promise, promise, promise there's comfort and fluff at the end. Not everyone will be so lucky this month. Fandom: One Piece Character(s) : Roronoa Zoro Relationship(s) : Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates & Roronoa Zoro Trigger Warnings: - Multiple Electrocutions - Non-Consensual Body Modification (The Navy installs a chip in Zoro's neck while he's unconscious.) - Blood and Injuries No. 8: SLEEP DEPRIVATION Isolation Chamber | Forced to Stay Awake | "Leave the lights on." (Coldplay, Midnight)
HOUR 1
Zoro opened his eyes, the fog in his mind clearing as a brief but sharp pain spread through his ribs. Instinctively, his hand went to his haramaki but was met with air instead of steel.
Zoro sat up abruptly, the room spinning around him mercilessly. His mouth was pasty and he could no longer feel his tongue but the metallic taste of blood was not one he could forget. The screech of chains on the stone floor as he moved hurt his ears but he couldn't have covered them if he wanted to.
Zoro tested the chains that restrained him to the wall, the awkward position of his arms preventing him from going too far without dislocating his shoulder. His head felt heavy and he struggled to keep it straight, his eyes begging him to close for just a moment.
Still, Zoro found the strength—or the spite—to look down on the asshole marine who had just kicked him. It took a lot of skill to maintain such an arrogant attitude while being forced onto his knees, but Zoro was very good at what he did.
"Too afraid to hit me when I'm not tied up and unarmed?" Zoro smirked.
"Laugh while you still can," the marine ignored him — Bob, he looked like a Bob with his stupid mustache — and continued his villain monologue. "The unit in charge of escorting you to Impel will arrive in three days and I doubt you'll have time to laugh there."
Zoro didn't have time to come up with a sarcastic response (whatever drugs they'd injected him with to subdue him, cowards , were still in his system, so excuse him for being a little slow) as Bob leaned over to whisper in Zoro's ear.
"I'm sure you can ask your captain when he joins you in your cell."
The electric shock that ran through his body, leaving him spasming and drooling, was well worth Bob's cry of pain and horror as Zoro spat his torn ear onto the ground, red covering his teeth as he grinned victoriously. Bob slapped his hand where his ear had been seconds before, a thick trickle of blood running down his arm.
"You're a fool to think I won’t be gone by then. Pray your ear gets infected and you die before I get free,” Zoro threatened, his fingers still twitching uncontrollably.
Zoro had trained relentlessly for two years to become stronger, to never fail his captain again. It wasn't someone like Bob who was going to get in his way. He was just going to take a little nap and wait for the world to stop spinning before heading off to find his crew. They had probably gotten lost without him.
Zoro closed his tired eyes and the headache that was splitting his skull dulled for a moment. He just needed to sleep .
A second electric current went through him and Zoro could feel every single blood vessel bursting in shock. He convulsed violently, the rusty steel of his handcuffs digging into his skin, drawing blood. It took him longer to recover, resting his body weight against his chains, straining his shoulders almost to their limits, while he caught his breath.
(Zoro was used to the crackle of electricity in the air and the sound of thunder. But it lacked the smell of earth after rain and tangerines, the clink of gold bracelets and coins.)
When he raised his head (he only bowed his head to one man), Bob was grinning viciously. The blood on his jaw could have made him look menacing, but it only made him look like a child playing in the paint.
"I didn't think the chip would activate so soon," Bob sneered. "But let me introduce you to the new marvel of the Navy's science department. Whenever you're about to fall asleep, the chip in your neck will send an electric current through your body to keep you awake.”
Zoro twisted his neck, realizing that the dull bite in his neck wasn’t from the needle they’d used to drug him, but from a small silver metal chip.
Bob placed a finger against his cheek, pretending to think.
“A human being can go what… seventy-two hours without sleep? Pray that the Impel Down unit arrives before your hallucinations start talking to you. Or don’t. It’s your choice where you die.”
Zoro tugged fiercely at his chains and Bob looked frightened for a moment as pieces of the wall crumbled. But the wall and the chains stayed in place. Bob sighed in relief (bad idea, never show a predator that you’re afraid) and even allowed himself a small, strangled laugh.
“Enjoy your stay here, Roronoa. It’ll be your last.”
Zoro spat on Bob's freshly polished boots. "Run while you still can. You'll regret not killing me when you had the chance."
Face contorted with anger, Bob kicked him in the chin, his teeth clashing violently. He grabbed Zoro by the hair, forcing him to look up at a small remote control.
"I forgot, but luckily you seem very eager to get electrocuted, the chip can also be controlled remotely. If I were you, I'd start thinking about my attitude," Bob whispered, out of Zoro's range. He had learned his lesson at least. "You can start by apologizing."
"I'm sorry," Zoro began slowly, "that your mother abandoned you at birth. But I understand her, I wouldn't have stayed either."
The reaction was immediate, and damn if it didn't hurt a little—his vision went white and he practically choked on his tongue—but Zoro laughed as Bob walked out of the cell, still shaking with spasms.
Worth it.
For now, Zoro isn't suffering too much (from his point of view) and is more of a general nuisance than anything else but that will change as the sleepless hours progress. And speaking of which, go to sleep or take a nap, it'll do you good!
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What do you mean I have to study instead of writing silly little stories ?
DAY 2 : Again.
Luffy relives the worst day of his life, over and over again.
I wasn't inspired by today's prompts so I chose one of the alternatives: Time Loop. Since I didn't have time to write everything, I'll post loop by loop as I go along, instead of all at once. This story is quite hard to read (and write), so pay attention to the warnings and take care of yourself above all <3 Trigger Warnings: - Graphic Description of Violence - Blood and Injuries - Burns - Major Character Death Fandom : One Piece (Anime & Manga) Character(s) : Monkey D. Luffy Relationship(s) : Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace Words Count : 1,548 No. 2: ALTERNATIVE Time Loop
First Loop
Luffy struggled to retrieve Ace's Vivre Card that was slipping from his fingers. It was in front of him, just inches away, and yet unreachable. He didn't really know why, but he had to retrieve that Vivre Card. It was important, it was a part of Ace. He couldn't lose it. Nothing else mattered. The outside world faded into the background around him — the screams of agony, the smell of blood and smoke, the corpses he was stepping on to escape — leaving only the small burning piece of paper in his field of vision.
(Ace had been burned by Akainu. His big brother, the one who always walked two steps ahead of him, unreachable and strong , the living embodiment of fire, had been burned . Sabo had died in the flames of an explosion. Luffy had forgotten it, but big brothers could burn too.)
Luffy's hand finally closed around Ace's Vivre Card and the panic that clouded his mind subdued. He had succeeded, Ace wouldn't leave him.
He had promised.
“You won't leave here alive!”
Luffy looked up and met Ace's desperate gaze. Why was Ace looking at him like that? He should be happy, Luffy had his Vivre Card back.
“Luffy!”
The flaming fist of Absolute Justice charged at him, invading his field of vision until all he could see was flames — stories whispered by a campfire, the burn of the Grey Terminal fire on his skin, Ace's arm around his shoulders in the middle of winter — and bloody red.
Oh.
Luffy wanted to move, should have moved, but he couldn't. The world was so fast when he was so slow, exhaustion slowing all his movements to the very core of his bones.
(If his crew was there, he could have rested for five minutes before going back into battle, but Luffy was alone .)
Suddenly, without Luffy understanding what was happening — he was so tired — Ace was in front of him, smiling sadly. Luffy's eyes widened in horror as he noticed the fist through Ace's body. The smell of burning flesh hit him in the face and Ace vomited blood, a retch shaking his entire body.
Akainu stepped back, removing his fist from Ace's body carelessly, Ace's guts falling to the ground, bloody and steaming. There was a hole in Ace's torso, where his lungs should have been. The skin around the wound was burned raw, sizzling with blisters and peeling away to the bone. And amidst the mess of ruined and damaged flesh, hidden behind his broken ribs, his brother's still beating heart.
Thud, thud, thud.
Luffy focused on Ace's fading heartbeat, clinging to his brother's last breath of life. Ace wasn't dead yet! Luffy could still save him. Luffy remembered yelling at Akainu who was raising his fist once more to finish Ace off, but he didn't remember Jinbei and Ace's friends intervening.
Everything vanished when Ace fell to his knees in Luffy's arms. Luffy caught him, his hand red, red, red when he looked at it after touching Ace's back. Luffy placed his hand on the wound, trying to stop the endless bleeding. Ace slid into Luffy's arms, his head falling onto his shoulder, and Luffy tightened his grip around Ace, refusing to let him go.
"I'm sorry, Luffy," Ace struggled to say, choking. "I'm so sorry, I stopped you from saving me properly. Forgive me.”
Ace was breathing heavily, just talking, draining him of his meager strength. Blood was dripping down Luffy's shoulder in large drops.
"What are you talking about? Stop talking nonsense!"
Ace wasn't dying, Luffy could still feel his heart beating between his fingers. Ace wasn't dying. He couldn't die. He had promised. He couldn't die.
"Someone!" Luffy begged, screaming until his vocal cords broke, feeling the heat leave Ace's body. “Heal his wounds! Save Ace!”
Luffy didn't like the cold. Cold meant being alone in the night, cold meant an empty place in the treehouse. Cold meant Death.
"Luffy stop," Ace said weakly. "My time has come. He burned me from the inside out, I won't make it this time.”
And Ace was never weak. He was bold and brash and mean at times, a raging fire. Never weak, always strong. Ace was the reason Luffy survived Sabo's death. Because Ace was strong where Luffy wasn't, learning to be kind and caring for Luffy.
Ace was strong .
Luffy wasn't.
“No! You promised”! Luffy refused, understanding what his big brother meant. “You told me Ace, right? You said you wouldn't die!”
Because Ace was strong but he was also stupid. He forgot obvious things sometimes and Luffy had to remind him. Like the fact that Luffy loved him. But if Luffy reminded him of his promise, then maybe Ace wouldn't die.
“You promised,” Luffy stopped himself from sobbing. Ace didn't like whiners.
“You know, if it wasn't for Sabo, if I didn't have a little brother like you to watch over. I wouldn't have wanted to live.” Luffy's heart clenched painfully in his chest. “No one wanted me after all. So it's completely normal.”
Ace clung to Luffy like a lifeline, as if Luffy was the only thing keeping him alive. Luffy was terrified that he wouldn’t be enough to keep Ace alive for a little longer.
“Oh right, if you ever run into Dadan again, could you say goodbye for me?” Ace laughed softly, his laughter cut off by a coughing fit. “It’s strange, now that I’m about to die, I feel like I miss her.”
Ace’s breath was labored, his voice hoarse. And Luffy didn’t dare look — because if he did, he’d have to face his big brother’s dying face — but he was pretty sure Ace was crying, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
“I only have one regret, and that’s not seeing your dream come true. But I know you, you’ll get there, that’s for sure.” Ace and Sabo had been among the first to hear his dream, among the first to believe in him. “You're my brother after all.”
Luffy had two brothers. One had been dead for over ten years, the other was dying in his arms. Who was going to believe in his dreams now?
And yet Luffy couldn't do anything. He was frozen, afraid that the slightest movement would make things worse. The only thing he could do was hold his brother in his arms as he died, hoping that Ace would feel all the love Luffy had for him.
Ace was loved. He had to know that, right ?
"As we promised each other back then, I have no regrets about the life I led."
This time, Luffy couldn't help but protest. This wasn't how it was going to end. It couldn't be.
(Ace's heartbeat was getting slower and slower, more and more rare.)
"No, you're lying!"
"No, it's true!" Ace insisted, his fingers digging painfully into Luffy's shoulder with a surprising strength for a dead man. “It seems that what I always wanted in the end wasn't fame or glory. But just the answer to my question. Why did I come into this world? "
Ace had always been haunted by his past, by the past of those who had come before him, that of his parents. But Luffy didn't live in the past, he didn't care who Ace's father was. What mattered was the present, what mattered was that Ace was Luffy 's brother.
Ace was Ace and that was all that mattered. Ace had always been enough.
"Luffy, I want you to listen to what I have to say and tell the others afterwards," Luffy knew at that moment that his brother's words would be his last. He wasn't ready for that. “Even though I've been a good-for-nothing my whole life, even though I carry the blood of a demon.”
The fighting raged around them and yet it had never been interrupted. Ace's family fought to give them one last moment, one last hug.
"Thank you for loving me!"
Crying, Ace formed a smile on his lips for the last time. Ace collapsed in Luffy's arms, his hand falling from Luffy's neck where Ace had clung to during his final moments, leaving a trail of blood along Luffy's cheek.
Ace fell to the ground, alive one moment, dead the next, and Luffy screamed out all his pain and sorrow, inaudible amidst the horrors of war. Ace was dead.
Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.
Ace was dead.
Ace.
Was.
Dead.
Ace was dead.
Years of memories flashed through Luffy's mind in a split second - all ending with the same tragic phrase "thank you for loving me", all ending with Ace's death - shattering his psyche to the last piece.
They were always meant to end up here - Ace, dead and Luffy, helpless - there was nothing Luffy could have done to change things.
“ACE!!!”
In the end, when the darkness reached out to him, Luffy welcomed it willingly. Luffy fell into nothingness, hoping to never come out. Not if it meant living in a world alone.
Click. Again .
Okay, so I really thought about it (and couldn't help but add a tiny little bit of angst) and I like the idea of Athena calling Odysseus Little Warrior when he was young and she was feeling extra affectionate towards him (not that she realized that just yet).
But now she doesn't dare call him that anymore because she doesn't want him to think he's just a warrior and a tool to her, especially after My Goodbye.
Ody kinda misses it though because it reminds him of his happier times with her when he was young.
With Athena calling Telemachus little wolf these days, what nickname might she settle on for Odysseus? (assuming she does end up using one ofc)
I think I'll update the post with the suggestions so we'll have a masterlist hehe, every suggestion wins, no matter if I vibe with it.
Prince of the Pirates
I only have three modes during my finals: a raccoon that crawled out of a trash can and just learned to read, crying on public benches and the bravest girl in the world.
Everyone, look at the amazing art of baby Ace that my little sister made for the chapter 7 of my story Children of the Sea. Know that I suffered to get this drawing (I had to accompany her on a ride that I hate at the amusement park) but it was worth it. I want to squeeze his cheeks, he's adorable.
“So Ace? What hat do you want to go out?” Rouge asked, holding a hat in each hand in front of Ace. Ace grabbed the frog hat with his little hands and started drooling all over it. “Excellent choice,” Rouge congratulated him, gently placing the hat on his head. Rouge added some sunglasses for good measure before strapping Ace into the baby carrier. As usual, Ace, who had decided that the baby carrier was his number one enemy from day one, began to stir. After successfully wrangling up Ace, Rouge matched her sunglasses with Ace's and left to join the rest of her family.
So I wrote a little something for Zoro's birthday but there was a part that didn't fit what i wanted for the story. It's not really finished but i didn't want to leave it in my unfinished projects graveyard so it's yours now. Enjoy! And if you want you can always read the real story on AO3. I'll post it in a few days when I'm done.
Walking Home
When Zoro walked down the stairs of the school after his last class of the day, he didn’t expect his friends to be waiting for him at their usual picnic table in the courtyard. It was the perfect table, shaded by a large tree in the summer and far enough away to not be disturbed by the stream of students.
(Luffy had bitten a kid who sat there once, no one else had dared after that.)
Everyone usually dispersed on Monday nights, Usopp to join the art club, Nami to make out with Vivi by the river, and Sanji to help his father at the restaurant. Luffy was more of a wild card, as likely to sneak into the zoo to fight crocodiles or stay behind at school to chat with Principal Jinbei.
Zoro himself took advantage of this evening to go train at the dojo with Kuina but she had a medical appointment tonight and training wasn't nearly as fun without her.
But tonight, they were all here—waiting for him. Vivi was the first to notice him, her gold bracelets clicking against each other on her wrist, catching the sun’s rays as she gave him a big wave. Zoro’s smile widened slightly as he walked over to his friends, the sound of Luffy sipping loudly from his juice box audible from across the courtyard.
“How’s the birthday boy?” Usopp asked as Zoro set his gym bag down at his feet.
“Still the same as I was at noon,” Zoro replied amused. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We just thought we could walk home together tonight,” Vivi smiled. “Take a detour downtown to get a waffle. My treat.”
“Sweet,” Zoro agreed.
He had nothing to do tonight and didn't particularly want to return to his empty apartment anytime soon. The loneliness didn't bother him that much, not when he spent more time at Luffy's and his brothers' or with his friends than at home, but something about his birthday made the atmosphere feel strange.
"Yeah!" Luffy cheered brightly as he jumped up from the table, his flip-flops hitting the concrete heavily. "Let's go."
Luffy grabbed Zoro’s hand and dragged him out of the school, everyone following behind them. The wind stirred up fiery-colored leaves around them, ones that crackled with a satisfying sound underfoot. Usopp and Luffy stopped to jump into each pile of leaves and Nami pulled out her phone to take pictures. She called it blackmail material but Zoro had seen her creating a photo album on her old computer.
“How was your math class?” Sanji asked, walking beside him.
“A little boring,” Zoro admitted. “I’m not sure I understood everything.”
He wouldn’t admit it under any circumstances, even under torture, but he sometimes missed Sanji’s presence in class. They weren’t in the same class anymore since Zoro had repeated his first year and the cook hadn’t.
Even after spending the hour exchanging familiar squabbles and sarcastic (and often mean) comments about their classmates, Sanji somehow always understood the lesson and took the time to explain it to Zoro when he asked.
“I can help you,” Sanji offered, lighting a cigarette now that they were far away from the school.
“That’s suspicious, what do you want?” Zoro retorted, his brow furrowed.
“I’m just trying to help you, asshole. Do you really want to spend five years in high school?” Sanji replied with practiced ease.
“Sanji! Don't be mean to Zoro on his birthday,” Nami interjected.
"Yes, my sweetness," Sanji replied as Zoro's smug smile grew.
A smile that faded when Nami added. “Wait until tomorrow before reminding him of his academic failure.”
“I don't know why I'm friends with you!” Zoro shouted at the witch.
“You love us!” Usopp and Nami replied in unison, exchanging an amused look.
“Unfortunately,” Zoro mumbled, kicking a chestnut that ended up in the gutter.
Zoro shoved his hands in his pockets and continued straight ahead. At the last moment, Nami's arm intertwined with his, pulling him in a different direction.
"We turned," Nami pointed out in false exasperation, without letting go of his arm. "You really aren't paying attention to where you're going. We should put you on a leash."
"Look, I caught a pigeon!" Luffy shouted as he ran towards Usopp, Sanji and Vivi with a pigeon in his hands.
The poor animal flapped its wings in desperation, trying to fly away and escape, but Zoro knew it was useless. When Luffy had you, he didn’t let go. The commotion attracted the attention of passersby, and Nami hid her head in Zoro's shoulder.
"Luffy too," Nami groaned. "It's impossible to go out with you."
"You should consider putting your girlfriend on a leash too," Zoro pointed out, smirking. "But I bet she'd like that."
Cheeks flushing, Nami slapped Zoro on the shoulder. That didn't change the fact that Zoro was right, while Sanji was hiding behind Usopp, Vivi was petting the pigeon and talking to it in a low voice.
"I'm sure she's already adopting it," Zoro mocked. "I can see it from here, she's going to call it Carue and it’ll sleep with you every night."
"Luffy!" Nami called out in horror, realizing the truth in Zoro's words. "Let the pigeon go, these critters are full of diseases."
Luffy and Vivi turned to Nami, batting their eyelashes in a pleading manner. "Please, can we keep him? Please, please, please?"
"No," Nami replied firmly. "Luffy, what will your grandfather say if he comes home and there's a pigeon in your apartment?"
It was a low blow, but it was necessary. Ace and Sabo certainly weren't going to stop Luffy from bringing yet another stray animal to their apartment (yes, Zoro was included in those strays). It had taken Nami weeks to convince Luffy to bring the dugong back to the marine biologists.
(So far, no one knew how a dugong ended up so far from its natural habitat, but the local aquarium had paid for Luffy's plane ticket to bring his friend back to Australia.)
"Nami is no fun," Luffy pouted with his head down after releasing the pigeon. “Boo!”
"Boo!" Vivi added, sticking her tongue out.
"Don't forget to wash your hands before you eat," Nami ignored them as she walked past them.
Snippet Sunday !!
What do you mean I'm finally writing for Children of the Sea again? To celebrate, here is a little snippet from the next chapter, without the names obviously so as not to spoil anything.
Publication date is tentatively set for December 25th. A little Christmas present.
"The ties that bound them together were forged in the heat of battle, sharp and broken metal melding to create the most powerful weapon of all. A crew, a family. Through blood, sweat, and tears. To the ends of the ocean."
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oscillating between one piece and supernatural as my hyperfixation depending on the weather
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