W A N D E R

- ̗̀  @ruadhs liked for a starter (open!)  ̖́-

                    he    looks    at    the    man    with    his    lips    slightly    pursed.    ace    wishes    he’d    get    to    see    him    in    other    circumstances    ( such    a    great    party    they    had    back    then ! ),    but    what’s    done    is    done.    it’s    good    it    isn’t    the    first    time    they    meet    each    other    &&    ace    got    that    idea    to    meet    shanks    once    he    goes    out    to    sea.    there’s    a    pause,    he    puts    his    hand    on    the    hat    on    his    head    before    he    gives    the    man    a    bow.    “ seems    like    I    hafta    thank    you    once    again.    for    the…    funeral    and    stuff…    also    heard    you    were    the    one    who    ended    the    war. ”

A moment of split hesitation before his hand rests on the boy’s shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. “ There’s no need to give thanks.” The kid had lost much in this war. “ I’m glad you’re alive, Ace.” He withdraws his hand to turn his gaze up to the grand stone stood beside them, a memorial.

A hearty laugh resonated from the queen of the sea. Her crimson gaze smiling at the red haired male on her lap as her fingers gently brushed his hair from his face. It was a normal domesticity of things that she had deeply missed and seeing her eldest son like this brought back memories of relatively simpler times when they were all young, naive and the world wasn’t so cruel.

Smiling fondly at him, she reassured the Yonko “Oh my darling, I think they’re underestimating you. I think you can go two weeks without drinking and you can prove me right by doing so” That was probably not what her adopted son wanted to hear from his mother figure but who said the Pirate King didn’t know how to have fun?

Her words nearly sends him to the floor, a betrayed gasp escaping him as he lifts his head to stare at the woman. Comical is his expression, eyes wide in surprise. 

      ❝ What’s it like, mama? ❞ Words repeated like a mantra, between one and another childish giggle. Karin jumped and ran around her blindfolded mother, promising not to peek when asked where the girl was. She got it right every time! No matter how careful she was, moving quietly, shifting quickly, walking next to strangers in an attempt to cheat — her location was always given precisely. Like a magic trick. ❝ How did you know? ❞ A frustrated pouting. ❝ I can find you among a thousand people. Family is different. ❞ Stubbornness and curiosity shine in her crimson eyes. ❝ And what’s is like? ❞ The woman’s hands were fast enough to grab the little body and pull towards her, a sudden tickle attack making the girl’s laughter fills the air. A child would understand a gesture better than a lot of words, and although Karin insisted for a long time she secretly liked things that way after all.

                                                                                                     (…)

    It’s funny how you suddenly begin to understand your parents after you grow up. If a younger version of herself came up and asked the same question Karin wouldn’t have an answer either. Words were missing — no, there were so many of them that to put order in this chaos was impossible. Different sensations reaching her at the same time, interpreting themselves intuitively, extracting a sense of all that disorder — people are disorders. Small private universes unfolding before her without warning or permission, offering untold stories, urging her to dig deeper, opening every door. Following this path she found the answer to the old question in a place she was not expecting. The red hair was a stupid clue, the joy of his voice wasn’t exactly attractive, but it was there. Like home.

    Thoughts still prowled her mind as she approached, purposely light steps to surprise him. Silence was rarely a good thing, a signal that some project was taking shape and Karin expected something she wouldn’t like or agree to — just to be teasing as usual. The only difference was that in this case she put an extra dose of respect, albeit disguised as sassy indulgence. ❝ A coin for your thoughts? ❞ Popping up beside him, leaning in for a closer look, the hint of a smile bloomed on her lips. Feeling was good, but listening was better. Each person has a way of conveying their own ideas and she liked Shank’s, because he was still able to be reasonable in his own particular way. Maybe not every damn time, but he made an effort.

@ruadhs

HOME. What was a home? A house that stood strong over you? Laughter and love that saturated a room? Maybe it was the patter of feet against hardwood as games were played. Whatever it was, Shanks had never had one. Not in the physical, roof over your head, warm meals before bed, sense of a home nor a person to call home sort of way. 

In truth, he had given up the thought of it. Buried the longing for a family, the need to be wanted, beneath anger and smiles and loudness. 

And then she came along and everything changed.

(...) 

A bright laugh, a shake of the head and then he’s nudging her away.

“ My thoughts are worth far more than a coin! ” Pretend offense betrayed by the turn of his lips. He knew she was curious, but --- “ Haven’t you ever heard, curiosity killed the cat. ” His tongue stuck out childishly afterwards, waggling at her as he tugs down the lower lid of his eye in an attempts at a funny face. In an attempt to make her laugh.

Quiet follows this brief happiness, a gentle comfort that hugs them and wraps them in warmth beneath the bright sun. A moment to breathe. Then he’s flipping open a journal to the most recent page. Scrawled upon it are drawings, crudely done in childish wonder, of the sea and of ships and of dreams.

A longing in every line, a need to be free from the shackles of their island obvious in each drag across the page.

“ I - I dreamed we were sailing away.” It’s whispered, like a secret of the utmost importance. “ That we led our own lives and captained our own vessels.” He wants to go.

He wants to see all this beautiful, terrible world has to offer.

     AN  EMPEROR  ASTRAY  NEVER  BODE  WELL  —  where  they  went,  their  presence  reverberated  like  the  toll  of  bells,  a  final  lament  which  brought  change  for  better  or  worse.  It  set  the  kingdom  aflame  with  frantic  whispers  that  wondered,  questioned,  how  such  misfortune  could  befall  them  now,  when  their  home  lay  torn  asunder  and  its  guardians  scattered  to  the  wind.  He  stands  amidst  this  chaos  a  last  TOWER  OF  STRENGTH,  eyes  set  firm  towards  the  ocean’s  shore  in  spite  of  own  wounds  still  burning.   (  A  searing  crack  in  the  facade  meant  to  be  upheld.  )   What  weakness  to  wear  in  the  company  of  a  man  of  such  repute,  who  ascends  the  path  and  demands  respect  BY  NAME  ALONE.  Katakuri  yields  it  to  him  freely,  stance  vigilant  but  devoid  of  tension  :  this  was  not  yet  a  declaration  of  war,  and  he  would  not  tempt  it  into  one.

     ❝  You’re  an  unexpected visitor,  RED  HAIRED.  ❞      Concise  and  purposefully  vague,  what  implications   (  accusations  )   may  lay  hidden  within  his  words  remain  unspoken.  In  its  stead,  Shanks  finds  himself  beneath  an  appraising  gaze,  asking  the  same  question  which  echos  across  the  island.      ❝  Why  are  you  here?  ❞      He  voices  it,  brows  creasing  over  critical  eyes.      ❝  You  must  know  that  Mama  won’t  be  happy  about  this.  ❞

*   PLOTTED  STARTER  ﹠  |  @ruadhs

𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐞.He was not here for a fight, though the knowledge of Charlotte Linlin’s temper kept him at the ready anyways. SWIFT, gliding steps leading him with all the confidence of a man that belongs. A man with power and prestige. A title that meant something. Shanks carried it on his shoulders with all the grace he could gather in the presence of someone of such ranking.

No ill blood was held between him and this Charlotte. He had no intentions of spilling any either.

From X: NOT ACCEPTING

For each “⭐️” I get, I’ll write a headcanon about our muses.

Shanks’ first impression of Sanji wasn’t exactly the best - he actually found the blond to be a bit of a stick in the mud, an absolute downer, and it made him wonder what Luffy saw in the kid to bring him aboard. 

He’s a bit jealous of the kid’s cooking abilities. That’s because he can barely roast sea-king, and yet here is this kid 20 years his younger making miracles in a kitchen. JEALOUS.

From X: NOT ACCEPTING

For each “⭐️” I get, I’ll write a headcanon about our muses.

Alice, once she ‘joins’ the crew, helps Shanks with his excessive alcohol intake. She’ll sit and chat with him and tell him tall tales that keep him captured enough that whatever work he’s done on this drink or that slows to a near stop. It’s a very round-a-bout way to offer help without outright telling him he has a problem.

When they dock on islands, Shanks does attempt to spoil his nakama - he hasn’t quite placed what to get Alice though, so he always brings her these strange things that he thinks are cool. Surprise: They’re not.

During Parties on the deck, music loud and exciting, shanks can convince Alice to dance with the crew - from delightfully bad line dances to just helpless spinning and spinning, switching among partners until everyone is sick and dizzy and laughing.