stars on his skin (on indefinite hiatus)

theoceanslibrarian ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer][send a symbol meme][thanks for sending! <3]✕ writing a fairytale [ace and aya][look at me dodging the bullet]✕ [queue]

✉ : What would they say in a love letter to your muse. - Ace/Aya

♠ @theoceanslibrarian

Ace chewed on his pencil as he struggled to find the words… But what words was he rummaging through his brain for? The right ones or the pretty ones? Maybe the right words had to sound pretty and maybe pretty words were the right ones after all… Yet, coming to this conclusion did nothing to enlighten Ace. And it was the poor pencil who paid for it with a particularly nasty bite.

‘Dear Aya’ he scribbled, for that’s how any informal letter should go. But what then?

Should he talk of how special she was? An odd, funny thing, was it not? That, of all people in the world, all kinds of interesting people from all walks of life, who had seen and done many incredible things, it should be a librarian who’d catch Ace’s eye. Aya might as well say the same - a pirate. Of all people!

What was so special about Aya, though, he could not tell, unless her particular biology of… How did it go again? One part human, three parts mermaid? Three parts mermaid and one human? Well, it was not exactly a 50/50 thing, if Ace recalled it correctly and he was sure such a perfect ratio would show on Aya’s skin in a way it did not. Other than that, she was a rather common girl with a love for books and a longing for remote adventures and romance.

While Ace could not say most women were like this, he reckoned most non-pirate women should follow similar lines, dreaming of the great landscapes out there while keeping it cosy in their small worlds. By no means did he think any less of them.

Maybe being ordinary was what made Aya so exceptional.

He could not say it, though, immediately understanding how sad anything classified as ‘ordinary’ sounded, as though the word meant the lack of worth rather than distinction. A member of the merfolk could not be talked about as ‘ordinary’ when part of a minority and by no means did Ace want Aya to misinterpret his words as though he did not find her special. He did.

The pencil considerably shorter now, and after striking a dozen of lines, each representing an unsuccessful attempt of what to say after ‘Dear Aya’, Ace put it down and stared at the words… The words…

Why should ‘dear Aya’ be read as casual, as part of the rules of correspondence? Did they not convey how one felt about the letter’s recipient? They were just like the librarian, Ace understood, ordinary but special, simple but sweet.

Tearing that disaster of a letter, he saved the piece of paper where ‘Dear Aya’ could be read and pocketed it. A man looked up from his book to stare at him with an expression of horror behind rectangular spectacles, thinking Ace had just defiled a book.

That’s right - Ace had all but forgotten he was in the Lily’s library! Aya had to be around, pushing carts loaded with books which could be too heavy for a feeble woman to carry, if most resembled those thick tomes that had brought him such dismay first time looking upon them.

She could use a hand… and maybe Ace would succeed in putting the piece of paper inside the pocket of her dress.

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[i didn't want to have them always alone on deck!]tray-d-sheila ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer][send a symbol meme][thanks for sending! <3]✕ [queue]

Anonymous
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★ : What their favorite thing is about your muse. - tray-d-sheila

♠ @tray-d-sheila

His favourite thing about Sheila? What, wasn’t it obvious? Perhaps not and she had good reason to ask (or at least every right to) when Ace’s favourite thing about his sister under Pops was nothing visible or palpable, and though he had no issue affirming it whenever the need or will struck, Ace knew, in his tired heart, he did not express how proud he was of her enough times.

“What I love the most about you is your resilience” he answered after hitting his tankard of ale against the table surface.

Who would guess the two of them, Fire Fist and the woman with the flaming hair, were making casual talk of an important topic at the dinner table, while Whitebeard’s multiple children filled the air with their munching and crunching, chugging, laughing and roaring? But, things being looked at from a different way, what better place to have a private conversation than amongst a chaotic public?

“You know, Pops has seen it all, done it all… You’re not short on things you’ve seen yourself and have always survived…”

He smiled. Were Sheila a man, Ace would have slapped her shoulder in a brotherly fashion but it did not feel right to put his hand against a woman in a brutish way, even if to display camaraderie. In lieu of it, he lifted his tankard and hit it against hers for a toast - cheers to resilience! - before setting it down again and let his mind wander…

“That’s the thing about us, isn’t it? Survival…”

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pilawforhire ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer][send a symbol meme]long post for ts [thanks for sending! <3]✕ you drained my heart and made a spade [ace and law]

pilawforhire-archived
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☼ : What kind of outfit they think your muse should wear. ♚ : What my muse thinks your muse is good at.

♠ @pilawforhire

☼ : What kind of outfit they think your muse should wear

It was unclear whether Law was asking for fashion advice or coming up with a random conversational topic with the purpose of killing his boredom. If the question was legitimate, then he must be very desperate to seek advice from a man who lived most of his days baring freckly skin under the sunlight.

Ace did not care much for questions of fashion. In fact, he could not care any less what people wore, his reactions not going beyond the knitting of his eyebrows or the opening of his lips in circular shape whenever the ensemble in question was of a peculiar or extravagant nature. - Law’s taste in apparel quite fitted this expression, for Ace did not know of anyone who loved furry, fuzzy, fluffy clothes as much as grumpy old ‘Roo’ did.

First he blinked at the question. Then, he blinked again and after doing so twice, Ace answered Law with his own query.

“Why? I thought you liked the clothes you own. I mean, why would you wear them if you didn’t?” The latter part of this intervention was peppered with giggles because, apart from all the teasing component of this reply, Ace knew he was of no help when clothing was the matter du jour and, were it a question of life and death, depending on him, any asker’s scales would tilt to death’s side.

Real talk, though. “You should wear what you already wear. I can’t think of anything else that would suit you”

Those pelts and voluminous tops Law liked to much, normally branded with his Jolly Roger to boot, were such a big part of him Ace had trouble imagining Law wearing, say… blue shorts, an orange cowboy hat and a bare torso! Fuzzy hats and frilly collars were just part of the visuals that made Law ‘Roo’.

♚ : What my muse thinks your muse is good at

As for what Law was good at… The question was a tricky one, wasn’t it? Law was good at a handful of things and any of them would have provided Ace with a good answer were the things not so good themselves: he was good with profanity, great with sarcasm, phenomenal at disfiguring bread and send it flying to its death (a non-good deed on the account of it being wasteful), Law was also good at getting Ace frustrated, angry, afire and even embarrassed.

But none of that did Ace voice because he was not so bad at this thing of being humanly decent and did not wish to upset Law for no good reason. Law was a humanly decent fellow as well - it should not be hard to come up with something pleasant to his ears.

“You’re good at all that medical stuff” Sure, he had to be, but might as well say it. “You’re not so bad at fishing either”

It was one of Ace and Law’s big pastimes, as well as other outdoor activities. Having spent his childhood in environments of the kind, Ace could still release boyish chuckles at what could be regarded as playtime and make light of the more dangerous aspects of forests, woods and jungles. As for Law… Ace suspected it was the peaceful, lonely existence one could lead when in a bucolic landscape he liked - only he did not have to be truly lonely for it.

“Hey, that ain’t a bad idea! When’s your next free weekend? We should go camping”

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thatchtheawesomecook ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer][thanks for sending! <3][send a symbol meme][sparrow what would you change about thatch? jee idk maybe... his deceased status?][here have a comedic one]

chefs-on-the-moby-dick
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✘ : What one thing they would change about your muse.

@thatchtheawesomecook

Thatch’s question caught him by surprise. The cook was always so full of himself it was hard to believe - how impossibly hard it was! - he had asked something which implied the idea that he was not perfect. Well! Was Thatchy finally experiencing a moment of self-doubt like most mortals were used to on a recurrent basis or was he simply bored and deciding a bit of brotherly vox pop might be just the thing to get him entertained?

Ace batted his eyelashes in surprise but quickly let a cheeky smile take over his countenance, accompanied by a solitary index to the brim of his hat, lifting it up. There were so many choices for him to pick and tease Thatch about… and so much that could go wrong. Friendly and sunlit as he was, Thatch could be as proud as any other son of Whitebeard’s could, even in matters where Pops was left out.

Should Ace talk of his cooking skills? Answer that, if he could, he’d make Thatch actually learn how to fucking cook? Maybe Sanji could pull some strings and get Ace’s sea brother an internship at the Baratie… Oh that was a good one, to tease Thatch about not possessing the kitchen expertise he indeed did have would get Ace more than a reaction out of him… But was it worth it?

No. Nothing justified going to bed without supper, like a bad little boy.

Should Ace talk of Thatch’s hair? Now there was another thing the cook was very touchy about. He probably cared for his pompadour as though it were his own child, fruit of his loins… Here’s to hoping Thatch would never spritz hairspray or finger comb grease on a sweet, bald baby.

“Only one thing, eh?” he asked as if he actually had a whole array of options when in reality there was nothing he’d change about Thatch. “Why must you make my life so difficult? Alright… I’d change your hair. Sometimes when you appear out of nowhere I think it’s the Moby Dick’s baby coming at me.”

So he did choose the hair after all… Though so sensitive a topic, it was less likely that Thatch would ground Ace and let him starve for a hair joke than for a cooking joke. Marco might be able to reason with him, if it came to that, or at least pity the younger male and sneak in some dinner leftovers…

“Then I remember she’s a ship…” He went on, the taunt stopping short at the sudden manic gleam in Thatch’s eyes that meant he was toast. “Oh, look, I think you left something in the oven…”

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rxvolutionarysabo [thanks for sending! <3][send a symbol meme]✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer][tbh i am not sure if the expression of a blackbird saying to the crow exists in english or if i'm translating a native idiom??][i mean saying 'says the dirty to the unclean' or 'says the one in pierced clothes to the naked' are more common but they][don't translate well which is why i am wondering?

Anonymous
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✘ : What one thing they would change about your muse. [rxvolutionarysabo]

@rxvolutionarysabo

Sabo was flawed and so was he. Everyone was, man or woman, only some were more than others. There were small flaws, little defects so trivial they could be easily excused even if they annoyed or upset one the moment they were performed; then there were the big ones which defined one’s character, arguably more than their traits did, the massive inadequacies that separated a decent fellow from a beast among men.

If Sabo was guilty of anything as per Ace’s book, it surely was of one of the former and never the latter. It was not because he was his brother that he was an impeccable guy - if anything, it was Sabo’s exemplary character that made him Ace’s brother, and saying that was not even entirely right.

There was not much about Sabo that Ace found unpleasant. Again, he’d sooner complain of his little brother than of his equal, for Luffy’s childhood penchant for being a cry-baby had always rubbed Ace the wrong way, and now that they were all grown up the three of them, it as Luffy’s everlasting taste for trouble that was cause of worry. Ace would not think twice before dubbing Luffy ‘reckless’, though it was a classic case of the blackbird saying to the crow…

Sabo, however, could not be accused of anything, if the matter of accusation was his character - and let it be said that is the only thing on Ace’s mind, far from taking his question as a matter of looks. His biggest crime - again, according to Ace’s records - was currently uncalled for.

His index finger stretched out moustache-like over his upper lip, Ace rubbed it back and forth on the skin as to scratch it and, that being done, pulled Sabo’s head closer by the neck and rubbed a fist against the blond curls so hard it might as well have lit a fire as though fist and curls were two stone tools properly fashioned for that end. Figuring he could not speak a word of his brother’s demeanour, and with his pantomime of death being not, indeed, a taboo, but something along the lines of it, there was only one thing for Ace to bicker over.

“One thing I’d change about you, you say? Your height. Who told you it was ok to be taller than me, eh?“

Now there was a perfectly excusable flaw to which some more messing of the hair was punishment enough.

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blackleg5932 [thanks for sending! <3]✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer][send a symbol meme][yes i still have a make out session to write thanks sorry]

blackleg5932
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❥ : Where would they kiss your muse if they had to kiss them right now.

@blackleg5932

To kiss Sanji… Now there was an idea so tempting it made it impossible to conceal the itch behind big white teeth and a good amount of freckles. As far as he could tell, Ace had never indeed hid how much Sanji pleased his dark eyes, at least not knowingly. If others could not see what lay underneath the starry countenance, it was not by Ace’s doing in trying to block the truth. He was perfectly at ease with everyone knowing the chef was himself a treat, as the relaxed cowboy he was.

…which did not mean he’d go for a public display of this partiality, especially not one out of the blue. Say, if they were playing a game - Luffy’s crew and older brother together - and he was dared to kiss Sanji, Ace would sooner ask for a replacement dare than subject the cook to a kiss he might have no desire or need to receive - just like he would not appreciate it to be part of a dare and have a pair of unwanted lips against his own. Now, if playing with Ace’s pride was part of the game’s strategy and he was accused of being a coward by refusing the kissing dare… That was an entirely different matter…. Even more if chicken noises followed the accusation, in mockery.

To word the challenge a bit differently… If Ace had to kiss Sanji in that very moment, while very aware that his friend was not averse to the idea, he would and, not only that, he knew exactly where. It would not hurt if Sanji’s long ear got to catch Ace’s answer to his cyborg shipmate.

“I’d kiss him in the mouth, of course. Where else would I kiss him?”

However… For the sake of the public, it would be best if Ace was not forced into kissing the cook right now, seeing as his lips were coated in duck fat, which gave him a fairer shine than any lip balm in the world was capable of giving. Not that Ace wore lip balm or any other cosmetic.

Plus… Higher values presented themselves while at the dinner table.

“Pass me the sauce, will you?”

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blackleg5932 ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer][thanks for sending! <3][send a symbol meme]

blackleg5932
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☼ : What kind of outfit they think your muse should wear.

@blackleg5932

Pray tell, what to change about a man of style? That’s right: nothing.

Ace did not care much for whatever people wore. He did not care when old ladies dressed like their younger selves would or when rounder men left their shirts unbuttoned to reveal the rotundness underneath. He did not care if fashion accessories did not match one’s shoes and he couldn’t care less if kids bore socks of different colours. Hell, he’d grown up wearing a small collection of hand-me-downs. Who was he to speak of another’s sense of fashion? What’s more, it was not like a person’s attire revealed, in truth, that much about a person’s character.

Where Sanji was concerned, there was not much for Ace to complain about in visual terms even if he wanted to. The chef was impeccably dressed for most of the time, at least while in the presence of Luffy’s big brother, always clean and handsome in nicely tailored suits that paid good compliment to his long legs.

If anything, the roles should be inverted for the purpose of this question and it should be Sanji giving Ace some fashion advice - if only the latter cared! - which would undoubtedly start with the mention of a shirt, from there going, maybe, to replacing Ace’s shorts with trousers.

Now, if only his little brother or one of his crewmates showed Ace photographs of Sanji donning a certain pink cowboy outfit, he might have a thing or two to say about it. But seeing as Ace was ignorant of that ensemble existing…

“Why the hell are you asking me that, Sanji? You dress just fine!” He replied with a giggle and a lifted index, rather gun-like, a wink being Ace’s one shot.

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✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer]rxvolutionarysabo [thanks for sending! <3][send a symbol meme]

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♚ : What my muse thinks your muse is good at. [rxvolutionarysabo]

context: an adult perspective | @rxvolutionarysabo

As a kid, Sabo had been a boy of many talents. He was good with homework and work of letters, numbers and figures and, though young, he was already well-resolved and knew his calling, which is more than most kids can brag about, one day wishing to become doctors only to abandon the idea and replace the career with another such as teacher the very next day.

Those were traits any adult could appreciate about young Sabo, provided they were reasonable enough not to dismiss this calling - the sea’s calling - as mere infantile dreaming, inadequate to what they called the ‘real world’, which coincided with their bland, small, self-centered adult world.

As a kid the same age, there were other qualities Ace could appreciate about his brother, such as the way he mounted traps for game both big and small and how quickly he could come up to a solution when one of said traps didn’t work, whereas and while Ace lost his temper and cursed the stupid animal, forest or rusty spring.

An adult now, Ace knew Sabo’s main quality, the one thing he was truly good at like no one else in the world was, not even Pops, was his ability to pick up a fellow nonconformist from the ashes and give them a dream of their own. Sabo was a dream giver.

But Ace couldn’t simply tell his brother that, now could he? Sabo would make these words meet with a tongue sticking out in mockery or a gloved palm to Ace’s forehead and ask him if he was feeling unwell… He had to, if he was in the mood for ‘sappy stuff’.

Thinking a bit more, Ace didn’t have to think too hard to find Sabo his perfect answer.

“You’ve always been good with maps and navigating”

Really, what little Sabo was missing in teeth he compensated in knowledge. It had been him who had taught Ace how to read a map - an explanation which had allowed Ace to take one peek or a few at Dadan’s maps when she and the bandits were asleep and understand their whereabouts in the East Blue. The resources he had at his disposal also meant Sabo could benefit from learning navigation, cartography, astronomy and oceanography, all worthy subjects that firmly implanted the notion of Sabo becoming his navigator in Ace’s head, when they became grown-ups and formed their pirate crew.

A pout formed in Ace’s lips at remembering how neither Sabo or Luffy had accepted the idea of being his crewmen, coveting the title of ‘captain’ for themselves. He had to tease Sabo about it, just like Sabo had to know the accusation his brother’s next words implied did not correspond to reality.

“You could’ve been my navigator…”

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