#acclimating

Acclimating by Shards-of-Divinity - Chapter Four

Eddie finds his entire hand intertwined with Venom, and it almost feels like a hand with fingers sinking through his own but better. This also calms you and your mind brightens. 

“Tasty brain chemicals for you, and this,”--Eddie waves his Venom-enveloped hand back and forth a bit-- “for me, huh?”

Yes. 

Eddie’s phone vibrates and Venom pulls it out of his pocket. He’s missed a text from Dan and then another from Anne asking if he wants to go to the new bar that opened up in the west side of town. 

Come on, Eddie. We should be more social. 

“Who are you and what have you done with my Symbiote,” Eddie laughs, clicking out a quick reply. “You can be more antisocial than me and that is pretty damn bad, V.”

You just said you wished for more companionship and your friends are offering what you want right now. Don’t be dumb , Eddie.

Featuring Law interacting with all the Strawhats, negotiation of boundaries, and Law being one (1) grumpy fucker.

Complete, 31.4K on AO3

____________________________________________

So Acclimating hit 1,000 kudos and I thought I’d link it again and give a small update on the series it’s part of (though Acclimating works as a complete story on its own). The sequel, Antipyretic, is much longer — over 75K so far and likely to hit 100K — and focuses on Law needing to repair his relationship with his crew after leaving them. It also features sign language, autistic Zoro, lots Law and Robin being morbid together and having long talks, and generally tons of interaction with both the Heart Pirates and the Strawhats aboard the Polar Tang. It also contains (no-cheating) Law/Zoro (if that is or isn’t your thing) as they work out their individual relationships with Luffy — with Luffy in absentia. The third part of the trilogy, Anodyne, will feature all three of Law, Luffy, and Zoro while respecting their individual identities and priorities.

And yes, all the titles are medical terms that start with ‘A’, and the series is titled Achromatic/A-Chromatic because (1) it features asexual and aromantic identities, both of which start with ‘A’ and have desaturated (achromatic) pride flags, as well as (2) autism, which I also have and which also starts with ‘A’, but (3) there is still a wide range of identities and experiences within all three of those — a chromatic rainbow of ‘A’ identities. So it’s both Achromatic and A-Chromatic =p

Anyway, yay for 1K kudos, thank you all SO much, thanks for all the amazing comments, and hoping to see you again soon!

____________________________________________

Excerpt from Chapter 2

Law shouldn't be surprised when Luffy deposits himself beside Law, limbs loose, looking up at the cloudy night sky.

"Hey Torao. If you have someone else's heart in your chest and you die, will they die too?"

Law frowns. "Yes."

"Good. Okay." Luffy turns to stare at him. "Take mine."

Law's head ticks back. "What."

looks big and long enough to eat the owner of the snook

Nope, def not big enough for that.

But big enough to cause serious injury, so needs to be treated with respect.

I guess you can equate what I’m doing with Sunny to “manning” a hawk. She was very skittish when she first came to live with us, and was huffing and pushing with her coils whenever I’d touch her.

Now she’s comfortable with me being there, and even touching her head and face.

After I give her the meds, I let her explore the quarantine room for 30-60 minutes. I sit or lie on the floor, so that she gets to encounter me on her eye level, and not towering over her, all scary like. She comes up to me, investigates a bit, then moves on.

Aside from medicating and bathing her, I don’t make her do anything against her will, so she’s beginning to learn that she’s got nothing to worry about from me.

That’s also why the pictures and videos of her are fairly repetitive. She’s a snake, and as such, she doesn’t do much beyond slithering about and investigating things. Well, and looking gorgeous of course.

“The brownies are ready!” Venom calls and Eddie yelps as he’s moved fluidly into a standing position in under five seconds, making them stroll across the small living area to the oven.

“Lemme, get an oven mitt on first, ya goof!” Eddie says, and Venom slides eagerly over his shoulders and forms a head with wide eyes as Eddie sets the pan onto the cutting board. “They are fresh from the oven, and I don’t want a burned tongue. Even if you can instantly heal it, V.”

If it’s possible for a symbiote to pout Eddie is pretty sure he just witnessed it, Venom deflating and wrapping around his shoulders with a drawn out sigh. Eddie relents a bit and cuts a couple squares, and sets them on the board next to the pan. 

“Be careful, and I did try to warn you--”

The first brownie disappears in a second, but Venom pauses and becomes perfectly still in the air. A few seconds pass and Eddie almost starts to worry Venom did burn themselves but then they go back in and eat the second brownie with more care, seeming to savor it before gulping it down. 

Tendrils erupt from Eddie and wrap around him in a tight hug, Eddie gasping as Venom moves in close to bump their head under his chin.

You are the best human. 

Eric WoodyardJul 31, 2025, 06:00 AM ET Shut Eric Woodyard covers the Detroit Lions for ESPN. He joined ESPN in September 2019 as an NBA reporter devoted to the Midwest area earlier than switching to his present function in April 2021. The Flint, Mich. native is a graduate of Western Michigan College and has authored/co-authored three books: “Wasted,” “Ethan’s Expertise Search” and “All In: The…