![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inbox ▣ saltburnt
WELCOME TO THE SALTBURNT NETWORK
USERNAME:
SHANKS
text ❖ audio ❖ video
WELCOME TO THE SALTBURNT NETWORK
USERNAME:
SHANKS
text ❖ audio ❖ video
( oh, he Noticed. but he'll let jace be, especially considering he knows exactly where he went. )
I imagine we can only hope it doesn't go worse.
There are still many things outside of our control, including those new to our ranks.
( which is not entirely reassuring, so: )
Are you alright?
I imagine we can only hope it doesn't go worse.
There are still many things outside of our control, including those new to our ranks.
( which is not entirely reassuring, so: )
Are you alright?
Hey there, handsome. How're you holding up?
You and your friends - you were a pretty hefty input last time. Any plans on breaking ranks from the card game charades and forming an alliance elsewhere?
I've got a few people I'm working with cross-suit. I'd like you to be one of 'em.
You and your friends - you were a pretty hefty input last time. Any plans on breaking ranks from the card game charades and forming an alliance elsewhere?
I've got a few people I'm working with cross-suit. I'd like you to be one of 'em.
It's nothing I can't handle.
( read: it feels awfully similar to the village all over again, and he's just as powerless here as he was there. the way he senses the world is completely unreachable, and this time even his most innate power is seemingly a empty void. but he's not going to say all of that. )
What did you have in mind?
( read: it feels awfully similar to the village all over again, and he's just as powerless here as he was there. the way he senses the world is completely unreachable, and this time even his most innate power is seemingly a empty void. but he's not going to say all of that. )
What did you have in mind?
[ truthfully, kai has never been particularly fond of people.
they aren't trustworthy or pleasant, or even all that interesting (if he's going to be honest for a second). but if it's between dealing with some boring asshole or being alone, then that's no contest for him. he may not be particularly fond of people, but he absolutely hates being alone.
it's quite the juxtaposition, isn't it?
buuuuut even if he does dislike most everyone he meets, he has found a few in the commune who aren't too bad. take shanksy, for example. he isn't the most interesting fella around, but he makes for decent company when in a pinch. plus, he doesn't seem to mind it when he talks too much.
that's always a bonus. ]
Hey, my Anointed One. [ +1 kai falling in steps next to the too tall redhead; -1 quiet and peaceful walk. ] I thought you would be back to your nap by now.
they aren't trustworthy or pleasant, or even all that interesting (if he's going to be honest for a second). but if it's between dealing with some boring asshole or being alone, then that's no contest for him. he may not be particularly fond of people, but he absolutely hates being alone.
it's quite the juxtaposition, isn't it?
buuuuut even if he does dislike most everyone he meets, he has found a few in the commune who aren't too bad. take shanksy, for example. he isn't the most interesting fella around, but he makes for decent company when in a pinch. plus, he doesn't seem to mind it when he talks too much.
that's always a bonus. ]
Hey, my Anointed One. [ +1 kai falling in steps next to the too tall redhead; -1 quiet and peaceful walk. ] I thought you would be back to your nap by now.
( shanks, usually accompanied by his crew, is rarely ever alone anymore. even here, there are people he keeps close; people he rewards with his company, people whose company he revels in. to be alone — with no one to turn to, no one to reach for, no one to call — is, frankly, a fate worse than death. he wasn't even born alone, after all.
until roger's death, he'd never been alone. roger held him, raised him and rayleigh disciplined him and gaban took him into town and toki danced with him and momo played with him and buggy — buggy was always at his side.
until the crew disbanded, until rayleigh left the apprentices in loguetown, until buggy ran away. (until shanks let him go.) until everyone he loved was gone. and he was by himself. on his own, for the first time in his life. completely alone.
in the flock, they had all been one. until they hadn't. but even without that connection, that community, his own sense of presence, shanks feels at ease knowing where his family is, where his friends are. knowing that they're one phone call away. one road away. he doesn't need to be accompanied everywhere, though he wouldn't ever turn it down.
so when kai falls into step next to him, shanks doesn't even blink. he simply casts his glance sideways and laughs softly, shaking his head. )
Heading back there now, actually. ( joking, but also kind of not. after saber-scouting, he could use a nap. or at least a drink. maybe both. ) You're welcome to join me.
( by which he means both on the way and in napping. because he's never slept well alone, either. )
until roger's death, he'd never been alone. roger held him, raised him and rayleigh disciplined him and gaban took him into town and toki danced with him and momo played with him and buggy — buggy was always at his side.
until the crew disbanded, until rayleigh left the apprentices in loguetown, until buggy ran away. (until shanks let him go.) until everyone he loved was gone. and he was by himself. on his own, for the first time in his life. completely alone.
in the flock, they had all been one. until they hadn't. but even without that connection, that community, his own sense of presence, shanks feels at ease knowing where his family is, where his friends are. knowing that they're one phone call away. one road away. he doesn't need to be accompanied everywhere, though he wouldn't ever turn it down.
so when kai falls into step next to him, shanks doesn't even blink. he simply casts his glance sideways and laughs softly, shaking his head. )
Heading back there now, actually. ( joking, but also kind of not. after saber-scouting, he could use a nap. or at least a drink. maybe both. ) You're welcome to join me.
( by which he means both on the way and in napping. because he's never slept well alone, either. )
Koby told me to get his notes if anything happened to him. But after that, I dont
I don't know what to do. Tell me what to do.
I don't know what to do. Tell me what to do.
( Shanks approves. )
I see why he likes you.
Will you help me see to his body once the investigations are complete?
I can't leave him ... like that.
( the display is offensive enough as it is, and while shanks can't confirm if osiris has any power over death here, it would be unconscionable to leave set's soul defenseless. shanks promised to protect him. this is the most he can do, for now. )
I see why he likes you.
Will you help me see to his body once the investigations are complete?
I can't leave him ... like that.
( the display is offensive enough as it is, and while shanks can't confirm if osiris has any power over death here, it would be unconscionable to leave set's soul defenseless. shanks promised to protect him. this is the most he can do, for now. )
Whatever you need - consider it done. I'm ready to go scorched earth on this.
I can only imagine the agony you suffer, and so I shall not waste words on condolences. Your sorrows the like that cannot be distilled, in any case.
I believe I know one with motive to harm your Set, but I think it best to investigate in the first instance. He trusted me enough to bequeath me his notes, in the event he did not see tomorrow. Would you include me in your search for answers?
I believe I know one with motive to harm your Set, but I think it best to investigate in the first instance. He trusted me enough to bequeath me his notes, in the event he did not see tomorrow. Would you include me in your search for answers?
Mr. Shanks,
Firstly, my most sincere condolences.
I think you must already know that if I am contacting you, it is not for social pleasantries. I come to you chiefly to ask you about this 'haki' Koby had spoken to me about. Namely, what it can or cannot do.
Thank you.
- Harry Goodsir
Firstly, my most sincere condolences.
I think you must already know that if I am contacting you, it is not for social pleasantries. I come to you chiefly to ask you about this 'haki' Koby had spoken to me about. Namely, what it can or cannot do.
Thank you.
- Harry Goodsir
Please, it's just Shanks.
( it's a good thing this line of questioning comes after shanks has calmed the fuck down or he probably would have been far less helpful. )
What Koby can do is only a fraction of his potential, eclipsed almost entirely by my own.
You are asking what I'm capable of, are you not?
I had wondered when someone might cast suspicion my way.
( it's a good thing this line of questioning comes after shanks has calmed the fuck down or he probably would have been far less helpful. )
What Koby can do is only a fraction of his potential, eclipsed almost entirely by my own.
You are asking what I'm capable of, are you not?
I had wondered when someone might cast suspicion my way.
[ — he awakens, stiff and cold and with the lingering, ghostly sensations of death lingering upon his hazy memory, his skin itself trying to shed the pain before it drives him to madness once more. It feels like it happened to someone else ( like a thousand, million other tormented endings attributed to the silent curse that settles like a black weight around his wrist ). He blinks, breathes, and slowly rolls over onto his side. The scent of death and preservation lingers in the air, and he coughs with the acidity, the overbearing strength of someone's efforts to ensure rot does not set in.
The world is black with shadow, and where distant firelight flickers, he focuses his attention on the movement of black shadow, trying to pick out fuzzy shapes from one another to discern where he is. Who is with him. Hoping it is someone familiar, that it is — ]
Shanks?
[ He croaks, squeezing one eye shut against the rapidly building pain in his head. His nails scratch against the flooring, and he reaches out blindly with a stiff, sweeping gesture to try and find purchase on something around him. ]
The world is black with shadow, and where distant firelight flickers, he focuses his attention on the movement of black shadow, trying to pick out fuzzy shapes from one another to discern where he is. Who is with him. Hoping it is someone familiar, that it is — ]
Shanks?
[ He croaks, squeezing one eye shut against the rapidly building pain in his head. His nails scratch against the flooring, and he reaches out blindly with a stiff, sweeping gesture to try and find purchase on something around him. ]
Edited 2025-10-18 20:28 (UTC)
( when set finally stirs, shanks remembers how to breathe, relief washing over him like a summer wave. quietly, he embraces the witch — no, roza — who revived his previously late wife, softly whispering thank you, i'll take it from here.
it's earlier than shanks would ever be up on a normal day, the sun still only a golden shadow beneath the horizon. but nothing about these past few days has been normal. the kitchen table has been shoved to the other side of the room, leaving the floor in front of the hearth open, with remnants of a ritual scattered about, the fire staving off some of the early morning chill that has settled into the house.
shanks is on his knees before set can even say his name, but there's — something wrong. can he not see shanks right in front of him? )
Set. ( tinged with anxiety, nearly a question. he catches set's hand with his own and squeezes — ) It's me. ( — drawing set's cold palm to his warm cheek. ) I'm here.
it's earlier than shanks would ever be up on a normal day, the sun still only a golden shadow beneath the horizon. but nothing about these past few days has been normal. the kitchen table has been shoved to the other side of the room, leaving the floor in front of the hearth open, with remnants of a ritual scattered about, the fire staving off some of the early morning chill that has settled into the house.
shanks is on his knees before set can even say his name, but there's — something wrong. can he not see shanks right in front of him? )
Set. ( tinged with anxiety, nearly a question. he catches set's hand with his own and squeezes — ) It's me. ( — drawing set's cold palm to his warm cheek. ) I'm here.
( the notification pings and shanks hears it, groans softly, ignores it — only rolls over when set leans over his shoulder to tell him the message is from koby. blearily, shanks types out a reply: )
Alright.
( and promptly crashes again. for minutes or hours, he can't be sure, except that the thought of why churns in his head like a whirlpool, keeping him from any real rest. he's been more distant than usual, after everything that happened in the commune. hasn't wanted to push koby toward any particular feeling, only made known that he's here. that he's always here. that his choice doesn't change anything.
when he eventually wakes again, he sends koby a more coherent follow-up message: )
You've retrieved your stone?
I can't have you losing yourself on me again.
( again, like the weight of weeks of snow. again, like the sting of a blade across his palm, a promise to keep that humanity safely moored in his harbor. again, like the uptick of his pulse, like the wild grunts of a boy more animal than not. )
Alright.
( and promptly crashes again. for minutes or hours, he can't be sure, except that the thought of why churns in his head like a whirlpool, keeping him from any real rest. he's been more distant than usual, after everything that happened in the commune. hasn't wanted to push koby toward any particular feeling, only made known that he's here. that he's always here. that his choice doesn't change anything.
when he eventually wakes again, he sends koby a more coherent follow-up message: )
You've retrieved your stone?
I can't have you losing yourself on me again.
( again, like the weight of weeks of snow. again, like the sting of a blade across his palm, a promise to keep that humanity safely moored in his harbor. again, like the uptick of his pulse, like the wild grunts of a boy more animal than not. )
WE HAVE EVERYTHING FOR ALL YOUR WORKOUT NEEDS: PUSH, PUMP AND PLAY 💦💥 YOUR WAY THROUGH OUR RACY REPS 😈🍑, FEATURING A HOST OF HOTTIES 😍 WITH BODIES YOU'LL BE DESPERATE TO MATCH WITH 💃🔥.
▶︎ WE HAVE UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL TRAINERS 🏋️♂️👀
▶︎ THE HOT SPOT: A SAUNA TO SWEAT IT 💦🔥 AND RESET IT 😌
▶︎ THE SWOLE MATES PROGRAM 💞💋💞: MATCHING YOU WITH THE FITNESS PARTNER OF YOUR DREAMS 💭
AND THEMED STATIONS SUCH AS:
▶︎ PLANK YOU VERY MUCH 🙏💦: WHERE YOU BEST SHOW GRATITUDE 🙇 FOR YOUR SOLID CORE 💥💪
▶︎ THE SPANK TANK ✋⚡: A CARDIO ROOM WITH ATTITUDE 🫀🔥
▶︎ HUMP, JUMP & PUMP 🍑💃: PLYOMETRICS WITH PIZZAZZ ✨💦
▶︎ LEGS WIDE STUDIO 🦵😈: STAY FLEXY WITH SPLITS AND STRETCHES 🤸♂️
▶︎ THE PLEASURE PRESS 💦💪: AN UBER UPPER BODY WORKOUT 😏💥
AFTER YOUR WORKOUT AT SLAY YA LATER 💪🔥, WE TAKE YOUR KNOTS 😌💆♂️, KNEAD YOUR DOUGH 🍞🙌, TAME YOUR TENSIONS 💥😩 AND SQUEEZE TO PLEASE 😘👐 AT THE HANDS OF OUR ON-SCENE MASSEUSE 💆♀️💜.
JOIN NOW 🚀🔥💃!
What do you think, do you like it? I thought we could use some fun, flirty advertisement!
( left behind the bar of dead men tell no tales is a scroll of fine parchment, sealed closed with a bit of orange-dyed twine and a charms. the scroll, should he unfurl it, is a realistic portrait of himself as nami sees him — dead asleep with a hat covering half of his face, expression oddly soft, as if dreaming sweet dreams. there's no card, but the portrait is initialed NS. )
( a few days after shanks discovers the portrait, he sends a photo of where he's displayed it in his room on top of a dresser in an orange frame, the twine and charm draped over one edge. #prouddad )
:-)
:-)
[ The giving of gifts is not a strength among gods; Set knows the spoils of war, or the promise of companionship, or the receipt of worship in the form of prayer, song, physical items associated with his divine domains. Discerning what to give someone when he doesn't have a list of what they like is difficult, and since he's already helped throw an entire weekend-long celebration of his union with Shanks — figuring out what more to get him is an exercise in painfully colliding with his limitations. ]
Shanks.
[ As usual, it's the wee hours of the morning — long before his husband likes to wake — when he runs his fingers through the man's red hair to rouse him slowly. Kisses his temple and his rough cheek and the strong line of his shoulder and the ridges of his knuckles. Set's voice, soft and deep and somber, calls his name; bright eyes peer at him in their dim room, glowing faintly in the darkness.
Rather than strangle on his anxieties, he presses his feelings into the space between them for Shanks's powerful haki to readily read; the sentiment that had been radiant in his eyes and aglow in the proud, trembling smile on his face after he'd dueled his own spouse and won in the name of the one he represented. That shivering, lip-bitten feeling that had been worn upon his face and throat — pink as a ripe peach — as he'd held a blade to Shanks's throat and stood over him. Flustering, yearning, powerful. ( An obvious sentiment, a raw feeling that anyone who actually bothers to get to know Set beyond his bluster and false faces would know him for. ) ]
Shanks.
[ As usual, it's the wee hours of the morning — long before his husband likes to wake — when he runs his fingers through the man's red hair to rouse him slowly. Kisses his temple and his rough cheek and the strong line of his shoulder and the ridges of his knuckles. Set's voice, soft and deep and somber, calls his name; bright eyes peer at him in their dim room, glowing faintly in the darkness.
Rather than strangle on his anxieties, he presses his feelings into the space between them for Shanks's powerful haki to readily read; the sentiment that had been radiant in his eyes and aglow in the proud, trembling smile on his face after he'd dueled his own spouse and won in the name of the one he represented. That shivering, lip-bitten feeling that had been worn upon his face and throat — pink as a ripe peach — as he'd held a blade to Shanks's throat and stood over him. Flustering, yearning, powerful. ( An obvious sentiment, a raw feeling that anyone who actually bothers to get to know Set beyond his bluster and false faces would know him for. ) ]
( shanks has never asked for much in his life, was raised to share and divide equally and never steal from ordinary people. even as a child, what more could he want than what he was already given? the captain's treasured hat, the adoration of the crew that took him in, a friend he could have spent his whole life with. (he thought, naively, that it would have been him and buggy against the world, carrying on roger's legacy together. but that's not how the world works with the burden of fate on your shoulders.) the matter of what he wanted, personally, had never really been a question.
not until here. until saltburnt. until koby and set. until marriage and matelotage forced his hand, compelled him to consider what it is that he really wants. that he's allowed to want anything at all, that he's allowed to reach beyond the cards that have been dealt to him. and that is a gift in and of itself: to want and be wanted in return. to exchange vows and promises and hold them close to your heart. it's enough, for shanks. he wouldn't possibly dream of anything more. he doesn't need more, to be satisfied. material gifts carry little weight when action and emotion speak much louder.
which is also where shanks has the advantage, of course, in being able to feel the things people are often too afraid to say — or don't know how to say. even in sleep, some part of his consciousness is aware of his surroundings: set's touch, those sweet kisses, rain down upon him in his dreams, though not through set's visage, his skin flushed and flame-kissed — the heat radiating from the fire making him dizzy and parched, the winter snow beneath him melting and scorched by a sudden, wild blaze until the ground gives way to sand and the warm embrace of a red sun.
he mumbles something unintelligible at the sound of his name, blinking blearily as he shifts closer to his wife, wave after wave of emotion lapping at him like the soothing ebb and flow of the shoreline on the beach. it isn't always easy to parse set's chaotic emotions, but these he can feel clearly: pride, admiration, desire; a sense of safety and belonging buried deep below the surface; and something further below that with an unspoken name, a surprisingly gentle, unrestrained fondness that burrows into his chest and lives there. )
Mm. ( he reaches for set's face, drawing them closer half-lidded and half-awake, though just as eager to lick into set's mouth. when he finally opens his eyes, his lips quirk into a sleep-soft smile, his voice rough but no less fond: ) I know.
not until here. until saltburnt. until koby and set. until marriage and matelotage forced his hand, compelled him to consider what it is that he really wants. that he's allowed to want anything at all, that he's allowed to reach beyond the cards that have been dealt to him. and that is a gift in and of itself: to want and be wanted in return. to exchange vows and promises and hold them close to your heart. it's enough, for shanks. he wouldn't possibly dream of anything more. he doesn't need more, to be satisfied. material gifts carry little weight when action and emotion speak much louder.
which is also where shanks has the advantage, of course, in being able to feel the things people are often too afraid to say — or don't know how to say. even in sleep, some part of his consciousness is aware of his surroundings: set's touch, those sweet kisses, rain down upon him in his dreams, though not through set's visage, his skin flushed and flame-kissed — the heat radiating from the fire making him dizzy and parched, the winter snow beneath him melting and scorched by a sudden, wild blaze until the ground gives way to sand and the warm embrace of a red sun.
he mumbles something unintelligible at the sound of his name, blinking blearily as he shifts closer to his wife, wave after wave of emotion lapping at him like the soothing ebb and flow of the shoreline on the beach. it isn't always easy to parse set's chaotic emotions, but these he can feel clearly: pride, admiration, desire; a sense of safety and belonging buried deep below the surface; and something further below that with an unspoken name, a surprisingly gentle, unrestrained fondness that burrows into his chest and lives there. )
Mm. ( he reaches for set's face, drawing them closer half-lidded and half-awake, though just as eager to lick into set's mouth. when he finally opens his eyes, his lips quirk into a sleep-soft smile, his voice rough but no less fond: ) I know.
( it isn't the text notification that wakes him, but the aching echo of near-panic in his chest — the tremble of a presence he knows more intimately than anyone but set, like a wilting carnation in the harshness of winter. without thinking, he reaches for that presence, a beam of sunlight breaking through the clouds, an enveloping warmth that says i'm here.
only, there's something missing. blue sky over calm seas gone gray, empty — and it's then that shanks understands, through the fog of drowsiness, what exactly has happened. he drags his hand over his face, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, fumbles for his phone on the nightstand. )
I'm sorry, Koby.
( he doesn't need to say he's gone. koby already knows. he's felt it, just as shanks has. and that feeling never lies. but rather than let koby wallow in that grief a room away, with no one, shanks crosses through their shared en suite to the bedroom koby now occupies alone — and before koby can say anything, shanks pulls him close to his chest, pressing a soothing kiss to his head. )
Let it all out, cadet. I've got you. I'm right here.
only, there's something missing. blue sky over calm seas gone gray, empty — and it's then that shanks understands, through the fog of drowsiness, what exactly has happened. he drags his hand over his face, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, fumbles for his phone on the nightstand. )
I'm sorry, Koby.
( he doesn't need to say he's gone. koby already knows. he's felt it, just as shanks has. and that feeling never lies. but rather than let koby wallow in that grief a room away, with no one, shanks crosses through their shared en suite to the bedroom koby now occupies alone — and before koby can say anything, shanks pulls him close to his chest, pressing a soothing kiss to his head. )
Let it all out, cadet. I've got you. I'm right here.
Page 2 of 2