“𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴.”
298 posts
Latest Posts by theumbrellawoman - Page 9
so my life is once again in danger
I'm a venezuelan refugee in Spain since 2019. My focus was entirely on escaping and staying in a safe country. When I got here, I got the help of an accountant/manager to work legally. I'm an artist who makes fantasy creatures in polymer clay.
He committed fraud in my name without telling me and refused to take responsibility. I was penalized to pay €8600 for his mistake.
I'll add the whole explanation after the read more because you need context to understand what he did.
And now if I can't pay this thing, my residence will be taken away.
I've tried so hard to raise this money. More work, more marketing, preorders, asking for a loan, but nothing has worked.
I have until next month to pay it so I can renew my residence.
All I wanted was to do things properly. I thought seeking a professional to handle the legal aspects of my single person business was the right thing to do. I thought I could finally breathe after being treated like a criminal for years in Venezuela, when all I want is to make my silly little figurines and be queer in peace.
I need to take care of my babies (cats) and my parents who are still stuck in Venezuela. I only make enough to live + take care of them, and it's become clear that I can't raise this money by work alone.
So please, any help is appreciated. Reblogs too. I also do drawing commissions. I'm so incredibly embarrassed to make this post, but I'm desperate. I don't want to be deported. I don't want to be an illegal alien. I don't want to live in constant fear again.
thank you for reading!
this is my commission info
and my Ko-Fi:
Extra information needed to understand what happened exactly:
In Spain, you need to pay a monthly fee of €300 in order to run a business. This goes to the Social Security.
The fee is mandatory, but the government realized it was unfair to charge it from the beginning to a freelancer that's only starting. So they established a reduction of €240 for new entrepreneurs, for 1 year. After that, they'd slowly raise it.
They also gave benefits to people living in certain areas, especially small towns. The fee reduction extended for 6 extra months with this, but only applied as long as you continued to live there for 4 years.
I lived in a small town for 1 year. Then I moved to the closest small city.
But this accountant guy asked for this 6 month extension in my name without my consent.
So then the government demanded I pay the whole €240 for each month ever since I started working. I went through all the legal processes to ask them to review this decision but it was impossible. They ignored everything. It didn't matter that I only received the benefit for the 1 year that I would've been given anyway for being a new freelancer. It didn't matter that I would never be able to afford to pay this in the 15 days they gave me.
If that wasn't enough, I got sick with covid twice, and missed 4 months of work in total, months I got 0 income because they also won't ensure me until I pay the thing. So those fees were also added to the debt + late fees that continue to grow.
Summary: Basically he promised the government I'd live in a small town for 4 years, and when I moved before then (because I had no idea he had done this) they demanded I pay back ALL the benefits they had granted me in the past year.
/ Orv novel main story + epilogue spoilers
!! Please do NOT reupload my comics / works anywhere !!
"Did you know, Dokja-ssi?" - A Jung Heewon comic about platonic love
!! Please do NOT reupload my comics / works anywhere !!
(cont below)
![Next, Heewon is shown looking with shocked, shiny eyes at system messages popping up beside her as she stands with scales above her and her sword drawn. She says, "Oh, you-- you--" The message is shown: "[Constellation, 'Demon King of Salvation', is agreeing with the judgement.]" She narrates, "You didn't know how else to save people. Did you?"](https://64.media.tumblr.com/7ed71aa3d69c726be6238c69fd67b2e4/2bc5049150d20e62-ce/s500x750/11352eb4c2020b8dc52e8c8a467f2f409df8dce6.jpg)
![Dokja is shown smiling and reading on his phone while sitting on a scale. "I hate myself for not being strong enough for you." The view moves out to show Heewon sitting before that small scale, her mouth upset. The scale weighs the Earth on one side, but Dokja's side is weighted much more heavily. "I hate myself for being so dependent on you." These panels are meant to reflect the iconic line she says in the novel, [That man is the world I wish to save.]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/a2ec85680e3ff70c9178b091687a5ad3/2bc5049150d20e62-59/s500x750/aecb6e76066df52f5d69297092d75f48a7b9e002.jpg)
Thank you @princess-of-purple-prose for the ID (available in ALT text). ID was rephrased here and there according to what the panels are meant to show
STOP. DON'T SCROLL. READ THIS TO SAVE LIVES IN GAZA. Below are some VETTED campaigns to support Gazans. These people have been experiencing an active genocide for almost a full year. Donate and share widely.
(may 27th)
Save a displaced Gazan Family (@ranibra) - Rania is married with five children, her husband needs medical care. She is now responsible to save her children. Help them evacuate.
Support Fahmi and his family (@fahmiakkila) - Fahmi's life has been turned completely upside down, and he now finds himself responsible to save his parents, sisters, & brothers - 7 members.
Save the Maliha family (@dinamaliha) - Dina wants to save her mother, two sisters, and three brothers. The family lost contact with their father when the genocide started. They desperately need to get to Egypt.
Save Firas' family (@firassalemnewacccount @prosolitudeeee) - Firas is a father of two children, a 10-month-old boy and a two-year-old girl, who are in need of safe haven in Egypt.
Help Husam and his family (@husamthaher) - Husam desperately needs to save himself, his wife, and 3 young children.
Help Nader's family to evacuate from Gaza (@nadershoshaa) - Nader and his family, consisting of six members, are currently displaced in the south; help them evacuate and survive.
The Shamaly family wants to survive (@daee571989) - Help save 15 kids and their family, who are living a horrifying active genocide.
Ahmd needs urgent evacuation (@ahmd-iyd) - Ahmd has lost his livelihood to this genocide, and needs funds to help his family evacuate and rebuild their life.
Help evacuate Hani's family (@skatehani) - A dear friend, and a Palestinian skater trying to evacuate 10 members of his family; he has lost his father to injustice.
Help Iman’s family find safety (@imaneyad) - Iman has a family of 7 who need to find safety.
Help save Youssef's family (@bba3lo @mahmoud7878) - Ahmed Baalousha wants to save his wife, his two sons, his daughter, as well as his parents and siblings.
Support Ruba and Amal's family's urgent evacuation (@rubashaban @amalshabn) - Ruba and Amal's family are lacking the basic necessities of life; they have an elderly father who desperately needs to be evacuated for medical care.
Save little Yusuf and his family (@ahmednabubake) - Yusuf is in an intensive care unit fighting for his life in Gaza; he needs urgent evacuation alongside his family.
Help Omar evacuate (@omarsobhi) - Omar is a 20 year old Palestinian student who wants to save himself and his family from this genocide.
Help Belal and his family to evacuate from Gaza (@alaajshaat) - Belal has lost too much to this war and needs to support himself and his family.
Do not scroll past this list without contributing. This list makes it easy for you to find a fundraiser to support. Choose at least one. Your contribution will save lives. If you cannot donate, share these campaigns.
FIND MORE CAMPAIGNS HERE
涂鸦
if you are struggling with choosing which fundraisers to support, please consider donating to the following places providing medical aid, food, and other supplies to palestine at this time:
donate to doctors without borders here
donate to careforgaza here, providing food, medicine and clothing
donate an e-sim to gaza today
donate feminine hygiene kits for women in gaza
donate to the palestinian civilian relief fund
donate to the palestine children's relief fund
donate to the world food programme
donate medical aid for palestinians
donate to the united nations relief for palestine refugees
donate to healpalestine
if you are looking for individual fundraisers to donate to but are struggling to choose, gazafunds gives a spotlight to fundraisers that are not close to their goal.
instead of watching and supporting eurovision tonight, please instead boost this post & donate if you can. keep your eyes on rafah.
As a rule of thumb, don't reblog donation posts or people asking for donations unless they've been vetted and reblogged by Palestinian bloggers. We usually go to lengths to verify this shit because we know scammers have been faking to get people to send them money, using the urgency of our genocide as bait.
It's disgusting this is what we're dealing with, but people are losing money because of some truly evil people out there.
Accounts don't just randomly spring up on tumblr without gofundmes while asking for someone to help them create a campaign. Fuck out of here with that shit.
“This is your daily, friendly reminder to use commas instead of periods during the dialogue of your story,” she said with a smile.
I am consumed by fear that my mother might die in Gaza while I am far away, unable to help her. The thought of her suffering alone in such a dangerous place breaks my heart. I feel so helpless and terrified, knowing I can't be there to protect her or bring her to safety. Every day is filled with anxiety and dread, as I hope and pray for her survival amidst the chaos.
totally normal and not deranged thing to say
Undo the Damage of Sitting
Do you have any one piece fic recs? Mainly stuff that doesn’t really deal with romance. That sweet sweet platonic shit is calling my name
yeah, i got a ......couple!!
Luffy was raised as a marine and makes it everyone's problem (Series, spoilers for all arcs they're in sections so read up to where you are)
Luffy was raised as a marine, but now has more childhood trauma (Series, first fic is a full fledged fic, again spoilers for all arcs)
Somewhere to Belong (childhood ASL, garp strikes a deal for whitebeard to watch them for 6 months)
The Fire and the Sun (A what-if marineford fic, luffy gets hit)
I’ll keep the king (I’ll keep him safe) (a whump fic centered around luffy's injuries and his crew taking care of him, nakamaship)
sweets and chains can't keep away the king's straw hat (AU where luffy is Big Mom's son and Dragon keeps breaking in checking up on him)
There is no such thing as freedom in a cage of your own making (AU where it's found out much earlier that luffy is Dragon's son and the marines are sent after him on Dawn, Garp calls Ace to go get him first)
Dammit Garp (stop kidnapping your grandson) (Garp finds out Ace is on whitebeard's ship and throws luffy over there too)
the sky is falling (but you’re with me so there’s nowhere i’d rather be) (ok i know you said no ship, but i'm obsessed over this fic for being one of the BEST gear 5 fics out there because of how much LORE it has, Gods AU, ch 1044+ spoilers)
Treasures for a Treasure (pearls pale in your eyes) (Gods AU, luffy is the son of the sea)
Who We Were Meant To Be (Marine!Luffy AU)
Undo, Rewrite, Again (Luffy gets blasted to Baltigo instead of the Isle of women)
Smile Again (Modern AU nakamaship, the crew help luffy recover from ace's death after a crash)
Adopted By Default (Luffy gets blasted to the whitebeards instead of the isle of women)
Beginning the Next Dream (Luffy gets reincarnated as his own uncle and raises the ASL brothers lol, only gets to ace though but the fic is worth it for the luffy, dragon, and garp interactions as well as roger and shanks)
The feel of family (ASL brothers but law and corazon are there too somehow)
Boy With a Scar (luffy went missing for 4 years as a fighting ring slave, fic begins after he's been freed and returned to Dawn)
The time the ASL Brothers ran away from home because they didn't want to deal with Garp (ASL brothers become pirates instead of building their treehouse)
How it Should have Healed (Another nakamaship fic about luffy's wounds throughout their adventures)
The Past and Future King (two pirate kings accidentally meet on a weird island)
one bleached from lying in a sunny place (someone comes up to Usopp and asks to join the strawhats)
Twin Flames (Ace calls Sabo his twin when talking to jinbe in impel down, this has consequences)
across ocean tides and snow-covered hills (ace and luffy meet up on Dawn right before luffy's 2 year time limit)
What if (ace is born a few days early and Rayleigh takes him in instead, making the ASL brothers estranged)
In That Bottle, Is an Ocean Of Memories (AU where luffy is big mom's son)
The World Goes Around In Circles ("How come you're called the pirate hunter, when you're a pirate yourself?")
sea king prayers (Gods Au, series)
it's all been done before (timetravel Au but told in ace's perspective who has no idea time travel is a thing that's going on)
on brotherhood (ageswap, luffy is the older brother)
gods apparent. (gear 5 fic)
Claimed by the Sea (pirate king luffy gets kidnapped by a cult, zoro and the crew searches)
light up, light up (Ace goes missing after the fire, leaving Sabo and Luffy alone. Outlook wants Sabo back and sabo agrees only if luffy can come with him)
as the world goes on its wicked way (Luffy gets turned into a kid for a day, big brother usopp moments)
trouble is a friend of mine (Sanji gets captured)
literally anything written by taizi
the weight of you (Platonic strawhats cuddling :D)
over the course of a day (An AU in which Usopp is forced to hitchhike and meets a few concerning characters)
Like Cats and Dogs (Daemon Au)
stared at the sun and the sun smiled back and called itself pirate king (or: loyalty, on the high seas) (Crew loyalty series)
Little Monsters ( Post-Wano, some lucky (or not-so-lucky) Marines capture the still-injured Sanji and Usopp)
no gods (Gods Au/gear 5, days after the Flevance massacre but with an extra guest)
DreadLetting (gear 5 & time travel, luffy ends up back on that day ace sets sail)
All Hail The Sun God (Gods Au, Zoro offers himself as a human sacrifice so the god of the valley will return)
sky blues (little luffy and vivi meet)
to have and to hold on (Spade pirates are worried about ace and tries to recruit luffy into helping them, Deuce pov)
Pain Scale (Nakamaship, luffy gets hurt)
You Still Have Me (Ace and luffy ageswap, marineford)
It was cold without you by my side (Sabo remembers a few days sooner, just in time to break into impel down)
teacup lizards (luffy is born as dragon’s twin)
reach up to me (if you even can) (Ace reacts to gear third’s “side effect”)
Same Difference (Sabo remembers years sooner, revisits Dawn island)
You Can't Teach a Monkey to Read (Nakamaship, the crew teaches luffy how to read after the timeskip)
The Will of D Carries On (Klabautermann au)
Of pirates and touches (Nami & luffy friendship)
Seven Deadly Sins (Modern Au, Law’s new apartment is haunted)
We Set Our Wishes Upon Her Waters (Gods Au, the 4 Blues are seen as gods and these gods have their own chosen)
Captains' Flowers (a kinda soulmate/mark fic, platonic nakamaship)
Sibling Sympathies (ace’s arabasta visit, nami pov)
interviewing the Future Pirate King (REAL! NOT CLICKBAIT!) (does this one even need an explanation?)
Diving Into The Sea AND Diamond Stratosphere (Au where some people with the D name have wings, series but the fics isn’t under one for some reason?)
Overboard (A typhoon hits the Going Merry's crew harder than any of them could anticipate or accept)
Know Me Like Waves Know Shores ( When Dragon and Luffy meet face to face for the first time, Luffy doesn't recognize his father.)
of scissors and combs (usopp gives luffy a haircut)
burning rubber (Chopper worries over luffy, post marineford & timeskip)
hey, let's get lost (along the way) (Ace, Luffy, Vivi, and Nami accidentally get lost in Alabasta)
etch the ocean into my soul like a guiding light (platonic soulmates Au, zolu)
Si c'est une âme (Platonic soulmates, nakamaship)
The Experiment (The crew make a game out of Zoro’s sleeping habits)
A Chance Encounter ( After Ace get's defeated by Blackbeard, he's held at a temporary prison for a little while, and there he meets a quirky, young marine that surprisingly is related to Ace!)
the voice of all things (The ocean's all the same to everyone―but no one else can hear it quite like he can.)
Many Kisses (Nakamaship & kisses)
Bearing the heat (Modern Au, ASL, slice of life)
tumbling overboard, faces full of fear (luffy falls overboard during a storm, franky dives in after him)
a place that burns (It is then, that moment, strikingly clear, that Luffy realizes he doesn’t have a home.)
Sleep is a Beast, Polar and Bear (post marineford, luffy has trouble sleeping, zoro does what he can to help)
you gotta go the long way 'round (Robin teaches luffy how to read, timeskip)
Swimming Lessons (Thanks to Law’s bodyswap ability, Usopp teaches luffy how to swim for the first time)
take a step in mine (marineford au)
Cool! Two Zoros! (the crew somehow ends up in the past. in the east blue. zoro is there)
wish by spirit and if by yes (Sabo tracks down the whitebeard pirates)
don't bury me with gold (Wolrd noble!Sabo Au)
whatever you can still betray (Haruta is convinced Ace is a spy)
Captains Don’t Get Sick (luffy & nami nakamaship)
where the rims have ridges (Outsider POV, a girl happens to meet both roger and luffy during her life, the strawhat is what she notices)
Code of Misconduct (The crew sets down some ground rules)
I Can't Be Selfless (Pre-canon, Aokiji meets luffy in fooshia)
worn to the bones (that scene where luffy, zoro, and sanji are traveling to fishman island and get separated from the crew in bubbles)
sing songs of the sea (Luffy drowned once, series)
God's emperor (Gods Au, shanks meets luffy)
i'll fly away (Au where everyone is born with wings)
a sailor by any other name (Zoro pov, luffy is forced to join the marines at a young age)
Chasing the Remnants (Sabo goes with dragon to lougetown)
Almost Giving up Before We've Even Started (Luffy and dragon meet up, it’s awkward for them both)
Being together we are stronger than ever (ASL bodyswap)
Here There Be Dragons (Dragons Au)
Don’t forget you daily click!
While everyone is going crazy over booping one another- Here is your reminder to spend some time booping these buttons to help the people of Palestine.
It takes little to no time and makes a very real difference to people who are currently going through a literal gen0cide. I even make a game out of it to see how fast I can get all of them (to help with my ADHD brain).
Your daily click reminder.
So, I recently learned about the “say their names to save their lives” campaign on social media that has helped Iranians sentenced to die by the regime in the past.
I am now asking you guys for help with that again.
There is an Iranian Jew named Arvin Netanel ben Siona, whose execution date is set for this Saturday. The Iranian Jewish community have tried endlessly to pursue his release, but to no avail.
Please spread his name.
they don't make this kind of thing anymore 😔
Y’ever read something and have understanding that has eluded you interminably suddenly stop, curl up, and snuggle neatly into a fold in your brain because a new way way opened to it?
🇵🇸don’t forget to do your daily clicks!🇵🇸
Please do your daily click!
This is a great way for people without any funds or no ways to contact their representatives can help out!! 🍉🍉🍉 (link below)
Free Palestine
here. take it. it doesn't take more than two seconds to help.
Ref Recs for Whump Writers
Violence: A Writer’s Guide: This is not about writing technique. It is an introduction to the world of violence. To the parts that people don’t understand. The parts that books and movies get wrong. Not just the mechanics, but how people who live in a violent world think and feel about what they do and what they see done.
Hurting Your Characters: HURTING YOUR CHARACTERS discusses the immediate effect of trauma on the body, its physiologic response, including the types of nerve fibers and the sensations they convey, and how injuries feel to the character. This book also presents a simplified overview of the expected recovery times for the injuries discussed in young, otherwise healthy individuals.
Body Trauma: A writer’s guide to wounds and injuries. Body Trauma explains what happens to body organs and bones maimed by accident or intent and the small window of opportunity for emergency treatment. Research what happens in a hospital operating room and the personnel who initiate treatment. Use these facts to bring added realism to your stories and novels.
10 B.S. Medical Tropes that Need to Die TODAY…and What to Do Instead: Written by a paramedic and writer with a decade of experience, 10 BS Medical Tropes covers exactly that: clichéd and inaccurate tropes that not only ruin books, they have the potential to hurt real people in the real world.
Maim Your Characters: How Injuries Work in Fiction: Increase Realism. Raise the Stakes. Tell Better Stories. Maim Your Characters is the definitive guide to using wounds and injuries to their greatest effect in your story. Learn not only the six critical parts of an injury plot, but more importantly, how to make sure that the injury you’re inflicting matters.
Blood on the Page: This handy resource is a must-have guide for writers whose characters live on the edge of danger. If you like easy-to-follow tools, expert opinions from someone with firsthand knowledge, and you don’t mind a bit of fictional bodily harm, then you’ll love Samantha Keel’s invaluable handbook
"I cant draw" then do it bad who gives a fuck.....
Found this on facebook but reposting to SAVE A LIFE.
Or at least some of y’all’s GPAs.
You’re welcome.
Ughghghgh i dont want to make a new post but i got fucking bronchitis and got us broke going to the doctor about it ughhgh
emergency commissions!
I have to open a comms, cause atm I have no money at all so I can’t even afford a ride to university and soon need to go to another city qwq
W/o bg:
Headshot — 10$
Halfbody — 20$
Fulbody — 30$*
*you can ask for sketched bg!
With background, fullbody, all rendered— 60$
For additional character — +50%
Payment via paypal, no strict deadline unless asked. Usually it takes me around 2 months to finish fully rendered picrure but atm I think I might stretch deadline to 3-4 months cause of exams and trip :(
Dm me or comment under this post if interested!
I know this isn’t my normal content, but I’m in a really tough spot right now. Any help is appreciated
I cried in the middle of my exam reading this that was absolutely gut-wrenching and beautiful thank you for making this bro
Sol i need headcanons for the brothers, please im begging you
BRUH I GOT YOU
I’m currently working on some little fics for them BUT I CAN GIVE YOU SOME DETAILS BECAUSE I’M DYING TO SHARE
(Warning, gets a little dark towards the middle, but overall fine. Sorry for the long read. I went for a DEEP dive on the Age Gap Au)
Ace was put into foster care 4 hours after his birth. His father died before he was born and his mother died during childbirth. Ace had nothing to his name but physical traits of the dead (Like his father's sharp eyes and his mother’s freckles) He grew up with a need to prove himself and to gain something that truly belonged to him all on his own.
Sabo was placed in foster care when he was 5 because of an altercation with his abusive and possesive parents, involving him having broken ribs and running away.
Ace and Sabo met in a halfway home for troubled youths when they were 6. (They both had issues with authority and past placements in foster homes, so they quickly bonded over that, and decided to stick together ever since)
Their bond was so strong that ‘honorary’ brothers didn’t really fit them. They were brothers. And they stuck together and stood up for one another like it was them against the world (which sometimes it was)
They would often run away from the halfway home they were at, trying to earn a living on their own on the streets, and often commit petty thefts in order to survive.
These little runaway trips wouldn’t last long though, because they were always caught by Officer Garp, a police officer that happened to have a knack for catching little runaways.
However tough Garp acted though, he had an incredibly big soft spot for these two little brats that were only trying to make their lives better. These two kids, barely 8 years old, who had so much hatred for the world because of adults in their lives that failed them. Adults that hurt them, giving them scars and bruises on their hearts just as easily as the scars and bruises on the little frames.
After a particular runaway incident, Ace breaks down and confesses about all the horrible placements he and Sabo had been in before. How social services always judge Ace’s sharp eyes and label in a problem child, how Sabo’s quick wit always get him in trouble with the adults, how they both have scars and bruises from past foster homes they were placed in, and that's why Ace and Sabo runaway. They’re tired of getting placed in bad homes. They’re tired of having adults try to separate them. Ace is all Sabo has and vice versa because that's the only person in the whole world who they trust to not hurt them. And Garp thinks that’s the last fucking straw.
Garp, much to Ace and Sabo’s but nobody else’s surprise, adopts both the boys, and takes them into his own home. Because dammit, if they’re just gonna runaway, they might as well stay with someone who will at least love them enough to always look for them and bring them back to a good home when they do.
And it’s weird at first, because Garp is the rough and loud and nosey officer that used to grab them by the scruffs of their shirts and drag them back to that awful halfway home kicking and screaming. But then it gets better. Because he still yells at them, but it’s with a tempered and fiercely protective love it when he does. He still grabs them, but it’s just to pull them into a rough bear hug that they fervently pretend they don’t like. And every dinner is spent with tears of laughter in their eyes and cheeks warm with delight at the stories he tells them. (They call him old man with affection and he’s their father figure even though they treat him like their grandpa.)
Sabo joins his school’s baseball team! Which is so freaking cool! He’s a really strong batter, can weild a bat like it’s an extension of his own arm, and Ace and Garp are always the loudest cheers on the bleachers every home run hit Sabo makes.
Garp makes Ace take up boxing, because the kid’s got a lot of pent-up rage and aggression, and he figures it’s a good constructive sort of therapy for the rowdy brat.
The two still get up to mischief every now and again, though. Nothing illegal, but Garp is still having to wrangle up his two little idiots before they do something stupid. (They get into a lot of fights with local gangs because they have smart mouths and are still a little reckless)
Garp has a biological son that Ace and Sabo never met due to Garp’s and Dragon’s strained relationship. Garp had always bad-mouthed him whenever his son was brought up, but it was always with words that had no heat behind them, and Sabo and Ace could tell there was a sadness behind his eyes whenever he looked at the picture of his son in his wallet.
The boys were 10 when they got the news of Dragon’s death a week after it happened. Garp had gotten the phone call when he and the boys were watching some late-night trash tv on the weekend, and he had all but strangled the phone in a grip that turned his knuckles white. He didn’t say what had killed his son, (he never did), but he had told the boys he needed to take care of something, told them to pack up some of their things, dropped them off at his friend Newgate’s house, and got the quickest flight out that night.
He came back 3 days later, and when he did, he had a tiny little baby with him.
Ace and Sabo were no strangers to babies. There was always some snot-nosed kid that would get dropped off at the halfway home (and then adopted that week, because everybody loved babies), and they were pretty sure this baby wasn’t gonna be any different. Because babies were loud and gross and never stopped crying, and Ace and Sabo were prepared for the absolute worse.
But then they stood over the baby’s crib to get a good look at him, and the baby looked back.
And smiled the biggest and happiest smile Ace and Sabo had ever seen.
And Garp had said “His name is Luffy,” and Ace and Sabo had been hooked around his little finger ever since.
Luffy was barely 6 months old, and was a bundle of chubby cheeks and contagious giggles. With big brown chocolate colored eyes that melted all the sharp corners and edges of Ace’s and Sabo’s hearts.
Because Sabo and Ace were the same age, and neither one of them felt like the older or younger brother. They were equals in every way. But it was different with Luffy. Because Luffy was tiny, and soft and could barely wrap all 5 of his little fingers around one of theirs, and it hit Sabo and Ace like a bullet train because oh.
Oh this is what it was like to be an older brother. This was what it was like to have a little brother. And Sabo and Ace have always looked out for each other, of course. But Luffy was something they had to protect fully and with their entire being. His smile, his laughter, his heart. All of it. Sabo and Ace knew all the horrible things in the world, knew all the hatred and fear and heartbreak the world could throw at you and it was like a silent promise to each other they never verbalized, that Luffy should and would never have to go through the things they went through. He would never feel unloved. He would never feel unwanted. He would never feel like he had to prove his worth or reason for existing. (He was worth more than any price anyone could give anyway)
Sabo and Ace stopped getting into trouble. They got good grades, excelled in their respective clubs, and didn’t give Garp any reason to chase them down in his old cop car and bring them home. (They were always at home anyway, giving Luffy piggyback rides and teaching him how to ride a bike and do one-handed handstands and cartwheels, and basking in the warmth that was Luffy’s endless love) And they lived in peace like that for 5 years.
Then the fire happened.
Garp was a good police officer and an even better Deputy Chief, and for almost 40 years, he served on the Foosha County Police Department. He had put away a lot of bad guys and saved a lot of people in the process and was an honored and highly respected man. However, this also made him a big target and earned him quite a few enemies. He was 3 weeks away from retirement and spending most of those weeks staying at home, playing with Luffy, and ingnoring the last of his paperwork left on his office desk.
When the fire broke out, Ace and Sabo had just turned the corner from the bus stop on their way home from school. They had seen the smoke, but didn’t know where it was coming from till they saw the towering blaze of fire that used to be their 2 story home and the group of neighbors surrounding the outside.
They managed to push their way to the front, hands shaking and eyes wide and absolutely breathless, because that was their house! That was their house that was one fire and where was gramps?! Where was Luffy?!
The only thing Ace heard Sabo whisper among the roar of the fire and the loud murmur of people around them was “Do you hear that? That... crying?” Before Sabo surged forward.
Ace didn’t have time to reach out and stop him, and by the time he could, Sabo had already disappeared into the open front door, which was covered in flames. He had screamed out, tried to race in and follow his brother into the flames, but the neighbors around him were quicker than he was and pulled him back.
Edward Newgate, one of their neighbors and close personal friend of Garp’s was in the crowd, and he was holding Ace to his chest with an arm like an iron bar, as he was on the phone with the local fire department. (Newgate was also the Foosha County fire chief, and was shouting at his lieutenants to “get your asses out here now!’) But Ace didn’t hear a word he was saying. All he could do was struggle to get out of the older man’s grip, reach out for his brother and best friend, and scream his lungs out.
What felt like hours went by, and Ace felt like his heart was shattering into a million piece, the glass shards falling around him, as he sobbed into Newgate's chest, thinking he had lost everything. His home. His family. His only purpose and reason for living.
And then some of the neighbors were shouting again, only this time in surprised alarm and Ace looked up with hazy eyes blurred by tears, to see something was coming out of the front door.
And it could only be Sabo. Ace knew it was him before he could even register it, and bolted out of Newgate's grips that had slacked at the surprise and towards his brother.
Ace met Sabo only a few feet from the door, Sabo collapsing into his arms, and Ace had to pull him the extra few feet away because the flames were still too much to bear even at that distance.
And Sabo’s skin was hot and red and covered in smoke and ash alike. There was a giant welting red burn against the side of Sabo’s face that looked like it would leave a scar forever, but Ace was having a hard time focusing on it because he was too bust focusing on the bundle of blankets that Sabo was desperately trying to push into Ace’s arms.
And Ace was already crying before, but he began crying even harder when he removed the fold of blankets to reveal a muffled Luffy, covered in ash but unharmed, crying his eyes out.
Sabo had a coughing fit that rocked his whole body, and burns that looked like they'd hurt forever, but he was smiling when Ace broke into a sob, clutching both Sabo and Luffy into his chest.
The firefighters and paramedics came a few minutes later, and they had to physically pull Sabo and Luffy from Ace’s arms to check and treat them. Luffy only ended up with a few mild burns and cuts on his arms and legs and some burning of his throat from inhaling so much smoke, but Sabo had to be taken to the hospital immediately for his burns, especially for the one on his face. Ace pleaded to let them all ride in the same ambulence on the way to the hosipital, and held on to Sabo’s shirt sleeve with a grip that would take the end of the world and then some for him to let go.
Sabo had to get some surgery and treatment to save his left eye, but he was all in all ok, and Ace and Luffy were allowed to visit his hospital room for as long as they needed.
When Ace finally confronted Sabo on why he had ran into the house in the first place, it was on the first night of their hospital stay. Sabo had a giant white gauze wrapping half of his head, and he looked at Ace with tired blue eyes that looked a little fuzy, still a little drugged from all the medication he was on to ease the pain.
And Ace felt bad about it, he really did, because Sabo didn’t derserve to be grilled on the matter. Not after he had sacrificed himself and saved Luffy. Their little brother. Their little brother who they wouldn’t even have anymore if it weren’t for Sabo.
But Ace had to know. He was so mad and heartbroken and scared out of his mind when Sabo had rushed in without word or warning. Because they had lost Garp. They had almost lost Luffy. And Ace could have almost lost Sabo too.
But Luffy was tucked underneath Sabo’s arm on the hospital bed, and Sabo just smiled at Ace with a patience that only Ace and Luffy could pull out of him, and patted the other side for Ace to join them. Ace climbed onto the bed beside him, and even with the two 15-year-olds and one little 5 year old, the bed didn’t feel too small at all.
Sabo explained that he could hear crying from the door and he just moved. Knowing it was Luffy before his mind could really think about the implications behind that. He confessed how the flames hurt at first. Hurt so bad, and it was so hot, and everything, from the floor to the ceiling, was on fire and he could barely see anything through the smoke. But he could hear Luffy’s little rough and horse scream, coming from one of the back rooms that used to be Garp's office, and suddenly all Sabo could afford to think about was Luffy’s crying.
Sabo would tell a watered-down version of this story to the cops in the morning, because they were Garp's friend and companions, and they only really needed the broad details for their report anyway.
He’ll tell a heroic version of this story, lacking any horrific graphics, to an older Luffy whenever the eternally curious kid wonders and asks about it.
But he only ever told the whole story right then on that night, one arm tight around his baby brother in a toothed and protective love, while the other one gripped his best friend's hands with shaking and bandaged fingers hard enough to leave bruising.
Garp was long dead when Sabo found him. The smell of his skin burning off is something that will haunt Sabo for the rest of his life. (Sometimes certain smells will set him off. Uncooked bacon is not allowed in the house anymore after one traumatic morning when Luffy is six. Campfires are viewed and enjoyed from a distance.)
He was lying on his stomach, clutching something to his chest. Sabo knew it was Luffy by the cries, bundled up in a few quilts and one of this office rugs, and Sabo knew he had to get them out of there before the smoke killed them off like it had a personal agenda against them.
The heat was unbearable, Sabo had confessed, but it was nothing compared to having to drag Luffy from underneath Garp’s grip. The old man was built like a brick house, sure, but even in death, his grip on Luffy, protecting Luffy, like he was daring the world to take anything away from him, was steadfast and almost unbbreakable.
It was the hardest thing Sabo had ever had to make himself do.
He didn’t look at Garp’s face. His body was burned black and bloody and raw, and Sabo couldn’t live with himself if his memory of Garp’s face was replaced by anything other than with the one of his scruffy beard and the shit-eating grin that he always wore.
When he pulled Luffy out, he didn’t look back, and raced out of the house as fast as he could. Something along the way fell and smacked him in the face, knocking him down at one point, but Sabo couldn’t pay it much mind. He got back up, and continued towards the door. He could barely see, barely breathe, with all the smoke and the ash, and the pain from the fire was almost numbing against his skin, but he didn’t stop.
All he could think about was Luffy, still struggling and crying against the blankets wrapped tightly around him. Next thing he knew, he was outside, and looking up at Ace’s snot-covered face.
Ace had never seen Sabo cry for the almost 10 years he knew him. He didn’t cry when he was 7, and the Anderson family had called him a freak and had sent him back after a failed foster home placement. He didn’t cry when he was 9, and broke his arm falling out of the tree in their backyard that Garp had told him not to climb, so of course he had to climb it. And he didn’t even cry earlier that day, at 15, when he was off medication and feeling the full extent of his painful burns.
So when tears started pooling out of Sabo’s pale blue eyes, falling down his cheeks and staining the cotton white blanket he was under as he told his story, Ace pretended not to notice, wrapped an arm around Sabo’s shoulders, and held him like it was the only lifeline in the world.
Garp’s funeral was held the following week. Closed casket. All the police departments in the county, and even some outside of it, showed up to give him a full send-off. Ace cried for both Sabo and himself. Sabo spoke a few words for the both of them. And Luffy stood between them, holding both their hands. They explained the night before that gramps was gone, but they don’t think the notion of death really got through to Luffy. He was crying, but only because Ace was crying, and when he asked ‘can gramps come out of the box to give me a hug before he goes away?’ everyone has to clench their teeth and hold their breaths to stop their hearts from breaking. Sabo kneeled down to wrap Luffy in a tight hug. Ace covered his face with his arm and cried harder
(They never bother asking Luffy about how the fire started, or what happened that day. Luffy doesn’t remember, and they don’t push it further. The truth isn’t as important as Luffy’s mentality is, but Garp’s old squad promises that they won’t rest until they get to the bottom of it. And as much as Ace and Sabo want justice and revenge, they have Luffy to think about, so they leave it up to the police)
Sabo and Ace are almost 16, and they suddenly have no parental figure, no home, no anything, and suddenly they’re faced with the horrible notion that even more can be taken from them when a blast from their past threatens to take Luffy away from them too.
They’re no stranger to the foster care system, so when social services show up at the motel they were renting with Garp’s savings, they feel their hearts drop to their stomach for fear of the very real possibility that Luffy will be placed in immediate foster care, and possibly, so would they.
Ace and Sabo jump into action then, because no way, no fucking way, were they gonna lose Luffy. They had lost everything else. They almost did lose Luffy. They weren’t gonna risk that chance again.
Ace was only a few weeks older than Sabo. Sabo hadn’t paused a second to jump into the fire, risking life and limb, to protect what little they had. It was Ace’s turn to be the heroic older brother. And on the day he turned 16, Ace petitioned legal guardianship and parental rights for Sabo and Luffy.
And it was hard, because of course the courts felt sorry for him, the grandson of one of the best police chiefs in the county’s history, begging the courts to let him keep what little family he had left together. The courts wanted to give it to him, wanted to help him. But Luffy was a child. And Ace and Sabo were practically still kids themselves. Asking kids to raise themselves was something no one should ask them to do.
But Ace and Sabo fought for it. Ace was 16, and Sabo would be 16 soon enough. They could get GED’s, no problem. They’d get jobs, get a little apartment near Luffy’s school, attend any parenting and child service meeting required of them. They’d buy all the necessities over again and they’d love Luffy where no other foster family could even compare. They’d do everything, everything and anything, to keep Luffy. To let them stay together.
With a couple of vouchers from Garp’s old police squad, including one from an overly enthusiastic Edward Newgate and one from the boy’s homeroom teacher, Makino, the courts ruled in Ace’s and Sabo’s favor, and Luffy was officially theirs until they proved that Luffy was better off somewhere else.
Ace and Sabo were never gonna let that happen.
They got a little 2 bedroom apartment a couple blocks from Luffy’s elementary. They quit school, and worked extra hard to earn their GED’s within the following months. (With the help of their old teachers and a few of their overly enthusiastic neighbors)
Ace got a job at the local fire department, as a rookie in training under Newgate.
Sabo got a job at the local news station, writing reports on top of his interning duties.
Ace eventually got a motorcycle that same year, which scared Sabo half to death and delighted Luffy to no end. It was cheaper than a car, and easier to travel to and from work on, and no matter how hard Sabo tried, he couldn’t come up with a valid reason why Ace shouldn’t use it to their advantage. So Sabo made Ace promise to always wear a helmet when riding it, and that Luffy wasn’t allowed to ride it until he was much older. (Which Luffy pouted about to no end)
And it’s hard at times, both of them working overtime just to make enough to support themselves and keep them afloat, but it’s good, and it’s theirs.
Luffy makes a friend on his first day of first grade named Zoro Roronoa, another kid that lives just across the street from them, and when Ace and Sabo know they’re gonna be late in getting home, Luffy goes over there and hangs out until they can pick him up (Which is totally fine with Zoro’s father Koushirou, a kendo teacher and single father of 6-year-old Zoro and 9-year-old Kuina. Zoro has a bit of a personality problem and often has trouble making friends (because the child doesn’t see a need to) so when little bright-eyed and endlessly joyful Luffy pops into their life, Kushirou jumps at the chance to have him over as much as possible, because the two small children seem to bring out the best in each other, and are best friends attached at the hip) Sabo and Ace are eternally grateful to the kind man)
A few years go by, and Luffy is 8. Ace is still working at the fire station and is now legally allowed to join them on calls and emergencies. (Fire used to make Ace nervous, because he almost lost everything to it. Now he has a personal agenda with it, to make sure it doesn’t take anything from anyone else)
Sabo has moved up the ranks now, and when he turns 18, confronts Ace with a rare job opportunity he was offered.
“It’s a year-long internship for this really cool company that reports and delivers high-class diplomatic information around,” Sabo starts, rubbing the back of his head like he doesn’t know what to do with his hands. “I’d be working as like, a cool undercover spy with diplomatic immunity and a messenger bag. It’s not dangerous at all, and pays almost triple my paycheck now, which would really help us out. But it’s overseas, and I’d be gone for a whole year. You’d be raising Luffy all by yourself, birthdays and holidays and skinned knees, with just the two of you, so say the word, and I’ll totally turn this job down on the spot.”
And it’s scary to Ace. Because he hasn’t been alone since he was 6 years old, and he can’t possibly remember a time when Sabo hadn’t been by his side. His best friend and brother. It was always the two of them. Two little runaways that found a home, lost that home, and then built a new home all on their own despite it all. And neither of them had ever been away from Luffy for longer than a weekend, so Ace was sure it would kill Sabo to be away from them for so long.
But he also knew that Sabo was only playing this off like it wasn’t a big deal, when in fact it was the job opportunity of a lifetime for someone like Sabo, a kid who breathed adventure and freedom with every breath. And that when he talked about it, his eyes sparkled with a joy that Ace would hate himself forever for taking it away.
Sabo was giving Ace the choice, and Ace knew that Sabo would go along with whatever Ace decided without a second thought or complaint. But Ace knew that Sabo would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't go, so he slugged Sabo in the arm, gave him his best shit-eating, confident grin, (the kind he used to give him right before they were about to steal some food as kids, or about to get into a fight when they were teens) and said, “You let me have a motorcycle. The least I can do is let you go road tripping abroad.”
Because Ace and Luffy would be fine. They’d miss Sabo like crazy, and Ace was pretty sure Sabo was like, 90% of his impulse control, but they’d survive. Sabo had the burn marks to prove how far he was willing to go for their family, and Ace had never thanked him for that. Ace was never gonna live that down, and was going to spend the rest of his life making it up to both Sabo AND Luffy, and prove just how good of an older brother he could be. This was the least he could do for them.
Oh God 😀
Learning languages is SO FUN right up until you need to learn conjugation and then suddenly it turns sour real fucking fast
I know I don't shut up about this but frankly not enough people are angry about the 5-day/40 hour workweek (and I am AWARE a lot of people work even more than that). I feel like a lot more people should be absolutely furious that we only really have two days a week and some occasional hours in the evening to socialise, run errands, do chores, or relax.
It's no wonder so many people are profoundly lonely and disconnected from their communities when maintaining a social life in what little free time we have is incredibly difficult. If you have kids, a second job, a very long commute, or other responsibilities, it's nearly impossible.
We literally aren't meant to live like this and I'll never stop being shocked how many people just take it as the natural state of things and don't want to throw a brick through a billionaire's window every time they think of it.
depression tips™
shower. not a bath, a shower. use water as hot or cold as u like. u dont even need to wash. just get in under the water and let it run over you for a while. sit on the floor if you gotta.
moisturize everything. use whatever lotion u like. unscented? dollar store lotion? fancy ass 48 hour lotion that makes u smell like a field of wildflowers? use whatever you want, and use it all over.
put on clean, comfortable clothes.
put on ur favorite underwear. cute black lacy panties? those ridiculous boxers u bought last christmas with candy cane hearts on the butt? put em on.
drink cold water. use ice. if u want, add some mint or lemon for an extra boost.
clean something. doesn’t have to be anything big. organize one drawer of ur desk. wash five dirty dishes. do a load of laundry. scrub the bathroom sink.
blast music. listen to something upbeat and dancey and loud, something that’s got lots of energy. sing to it, dance to it, even if you suck at both.
make food. don’t just grab a granola bar to munch. take the time and make food. even if it’s ramen. add something special to it, like a hard boiled egg or some veggies. prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something.
make something. write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, anything artistic. even if you don’t think you’re good at it.
go outside. take a walk. sit in the grass. look at the clouds. smell flowers. put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin.
call someone. call a loved one, a friend, a family member, call a chat service if you have no one else to call. talk to a stranger on the street. have a conversation and listen to someone’s voice. if you can’t, text or email or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person. even if you don’t say much, listen to them.
cuddle your pets if you have them/can cuddle them. take pictures of them. talk to them. tell them how u feel, about your favorite movie, a new game coming out.