Mekachu04 - Crafts And Stories

17. Sacrifice

Kidd - 18 | Killer - 22 | Heat - 23

Tags specifically for this chapter:

Food Issues coming up again

yeah, all these assholes had some kind of eating disorder at one point

vague references to starvation, overeating, and eating rotten food

Killer struggles to throw rotten food out

Kidd does too but actually manages to go through with it

Read at A03 linked above or here below cut

Drabbles from Pocket Jack's KiKi-tober Prompt list

Kidd had slept though breakfast - which was not unusual for him - and had wandered down to the galley to pilfer a snack as Pomp & UK cleaned up after the meal. And if Killer was not to busy prepping for lunch, to get the man to make him something personally.

And he planned it perfectly it seemed, because Killer was indeed standing causally at the kitchen counter. He had his notebook out; Killer had his own means of how his thought a kitchen should be run, but so far there's been no real complaints and everyone been well fed. Killer's seasoning work was hit or miss, seeing as he wanted to try every mix or herb or spice with very little experience to back it up.

But it had flavour, and the flavour wasn't penicillin.

At the moment, Killer was repeatedly tapping the pen against the counter in his right, studying something in his left.

"What's up?"

"Its gone bad..."

Kidd paused, looking at his first mate in confusion. He thought Killer was doing meal planning, or inventory or something. That 'gone bad' was a problem, but Killer's voice was distant and almost a little lost.

"How bad?"

Killer's head turned slightly, and he lifted his hand up enough for Kidd to see he was holding a jar of something. He was unreadable behind the mask for most, but Kidd could tell it was worse then the normal stoicism he like to pretend he had once it was on... This was a different quiet - like he was stuck.

Kidd came over to peer into the jar, Killer tilted it to him to see. It was a jar of fruit preserves, still about a third full. The jam itself looked fine, but the sides had begun to grow over with soft wispy mold.

"Do we have more?"

"Different fruit, but yeah."

"The other one still good?"

"Still sealed, so it should be fine."

Kidd made an executive decision then, and took the jar and table knife from Killer.

Killer handed both other with no hesitation.

Kidd left the galley.

Every part of him was trying to get him to turn back around - they could spoon out the bottom still, that was at least four more sandwiches at the bottom. Six if they were for some of the smaller members of the crew. And they had a big crew right now - nearly thirty strong and almost all of them having run with at least one of the four commanders back on the island.

Thirty mouths, at least three times a day. Figuring in the night squad, Killer was feeding a platoon of people four times a day, a meal of some kind on the table every 6 hours. UK had been stepping up and assisting him so the man didn't burn out, familiar enough with Killer to navigate his idiosyncrasies without stepping on any toes. And House, Mosh, Pomp, and Disc J had stepped up from the other gangs to form the Punks' mess hall squad. But it was still thirty people.

It didn't matter how well stocked they were, there was always that fear that the next time they turned around, the pantry would be empty. They'd all grown up with it, all of them living through days of not being sure where the next meal was coming from. Years of getting their hands on just enough food to make it to the next day but never enough to stop feeling hungry.

Kidd contemplated the jar again once he stepped out on deck, an uncertain shadow named Killer trailing behind him. They'd all made themselves to sick in those early days, dropping obscene amounts of money at taverns in those first few ports. They had no idea what shit was worth once off the island, nor had they cared, eating themselves well past the point of sick. It had taken them all the way to Reverse Mountain to finally start to get a handle on things and Heat had worked with Killer, the two making remarkable progress getting everyone on responsible eating habitats.

Still didn't mean there wasn't severe hang ups lurking under the surface.

Heat had been making his way the crow's nest for his shift, and paused to watch the two of them. Watched the jittery way Killer followed. Watched the jar in Captain's hand.

Kidd stood at the railing, touching the 'good' jam at the bottom with the table knife. Six people! his head was screaming, and he was surprised how hard to was to finally stir it up, loosening the jam and mold both, mixing them. Inseparable. Before he could think about it, he upended the glass, shaking it until the jam fell loose and into the sea.

He could feel Killer tensing up even without looking at him. He did met Heat's gaze though, the man doing his best to look nonchalant to hid his interest.

He continued to hold Heat's gaze as he handed the empty jar back to Killer. "We don't do that no more. As long as I'm Captain, we will never go back to that."

He looked at Killer then, "If in doubt, throw it out. You don't serve rotten food to my crew," His voice softened, "and you don't eat anything that's gone off ever again. You hear me?"

"Aye Captain." Killer murmured, taking the jar, shoulder's slumping as he lost tension; The responsibility of the choice taken from him.

Last page in the sketch book from kikitober. It was a very good sketch book. It will be missed.

24. Evening

picture will *not* be included on tumblr.

It IS on the A03 linked above. While not sexual nor graphic it is probably NSFW so be aware if you go to A03 to read.

Kidd - 10 | Killer - 14! | Victoria - 15

Tags specifically for this chapter:

boys bathing

Kidd gets Victoria to help him give Killer a good birthday

Read at A03 linked above or here below cut

Drabbles from Pocket Jack's KiKi-tober Prompt list

…. 2400 words and i still didn't get to the original idea i had for this part!

this was supposed to go a different direction completely - Victoria gifts Killer with new clothes - like actually new, never worn clothes, that fit him correctly! - and takes them to dinner at her favorite Curry joint. But then Kidd just… stole all of it.

Kidd's just like.. nope. I know I'm homeless and 10, but I have to get my best friend - who is 14 now and also homeless - the perfect birthday present for his first birthday ever. I own nothing, we have no where to put anything, and i can't waste too much of our food money on things. what do i do? I arrange a shower for my partner

<><><>

He wasn't expecting Kidd to have remembered - he barely remembered; he'd been so tired and would have said likely anything just to get  to go back to sleep.

Honestly, he picked the day at random, the first set of numbers that popped into his head.

Well... that wasn't quite true. It wasn't a random day. It was the last day of the winter quarter, which lasted 83 days. 43 days after the winter solace. 32 days after the new year. 28 days until the spring equinox. 23 days after Kidd's birthday. The first day he'd vocally claimed Kidd as his.

Getting Kidd up in the mornings was usually an ordeal and a half - especially on chilly mornings like today - so he should of been suspicious when there was absolutely no fighting him, and Kidd crawled out of their nest of blankets to get dressed with no fuss.

Instead, Killer carefully counted out their coins - they had enough to actually buy something warm this morning if they shared it - and still have enough for a smaller dinner if they couldn't scrap up much during the day. Winter was hard for lifting coins of passerbyers - few things got kept in outside pockets, everyone too bundled up trying to stay warm. But Killer had planned for that, and could usually keep them at least something once a day for about a week out.

It was a little bit of a walk from where they lived right now, but there was a vender who sold morning burritos that would over stuff Kidd's and charged them far less then they should, and it was worth the biting chill that the sun never quite chased away on days like this.

Kidd was bottomless these days, and if Killer didn't keep on top of that, he'd be up all night listening to the boy's stomach bitching. Kidd was at least old enough now that he didn't often complain vocally about being hungry, and Killer was grateful for that; should Kidd say but a word, Killer would go get him food, day or night, and had done so often when they'd been smaller. It had been stressful and exhausting, and neither one of them had liked the person it was turning Killer into. But Killer would do it again if he needed, no regrets.

He'd would do, and had done, many a things for Kidd with no regrets. He would never regret Kidd. Kidd, who still held his hand when they ventured into the city. Who brought him cool looking bugs. Who made him a little metal butterfly when they'd had to move before the cocoon outside the house they'd been caught squatting in had opened. Who would give up an afternoon of prime panhandling to sit outside a backstreet club - with an owner who would let them loiter outside no matter how bad it was for business - all because Killer had stopped once when they'd passed by, transfixed by the heavy beat music played inside.

Who apparently had made plans with Victoria - as she was waiting for them at their usual morning spot.

"I had an outstanding favour that needed to be cashed in, so I thought I'd hang with you two losers instead." The thing is, with Victoria, loser never sounded like a jab, or worse - pity. She didn't say it like she thought she was better than them. It was just a matter of fact with a little fondness thrown in. She wouldn't help in the thieving part, but she was always game to be a distraction, or just keeping watch for both their backs.

They worked though the closest thing a lunch rush had when it was cold, and Killer fingered the coins in his pocket, counting them without looking. It was not great, but it could be worse. He tried not to let it show, but Kidd & Victoria shared a look so he knew he'd not hid it well enough.

"So -" she said, clapping cold hands together, "I have a surprise, if the two of you are up for some B&E?"

A 'Do Not Enter' sign was an open invitation as far as Kidd was concerned - and Killer could not fault him for that. Do Not Enter usually meant something worth stealing - just as much as it meant something worth defending, so be on guard - and it must be good if Victoria had picked a place.

A place that ended up being the factories Victoria lived and worked out, much to Killer's puzzlement. Sure - every time him or Kidd snuck in, that was technically Breaking & Entering, but she'd never dressed it up like that. And he was beginning to think she'd done so solely for his benefit, as Kidd was grinning like he already knew.

"What's... going on?"

Victoria lead them around to one of the rarely used back entrances - one that had been carefully propped open, "So - and I mean this the kindest way possible - the both of you reek to high hell. I think at this point, Kidd would probably smell better if he rolled around in a dead skunk carcass."

Kidd just shrugged, it was what it was after all, even if Killer felt himself dying of mortification inside. If she as bring it up, it must be bad.

"So - I have made some arrangements to get you two assholes a spa day."

"Wait - what?" The secretive little smile was gone from Kidd's face, "Both of us?"

"Oh absolutely. I'm not going though all this for you to just sit and twiddle your thumbs. You getten' a bath, sunshine."

"Hey! Only Killer gets to call me that!"

She blinked, "Call you what?"

"Nothing." He said, far too quickly. Killer just subtly shook his head 'no' at her when she recalled her last statement, and she let it go.

<><><>

Banaltram had been the head nurse here for a few decades now, and was well aware of the rules and in nearly all ways was a strict enforcer of them. But, she was also a soft heart and she also liked to think she was a good judge of character. And for better or worse, she trusted Shiruton and her boys to behave themselves if she turned a blind eye to their friendship from time to time.

She could explain to them how to stitch someone up and how to wrap injuries, but they could never stay, they had to leave before curfew, no matter the wound. She also could provide no more meds - she'd done so only once and nearly lost her position when she'd not been able to provide an adequate explanation for them being missing next audit.

Still, she didn't regret all the worrying and stress that had come of it, seeing Shiruton with real friends. She was never really sure if the older one remembered her, but she knew Kidd did by the shy smile he'd give her as a greeting, before his face would scrunch up into what was likely it's natural state - that boyish disdain for the world in general.

Her infirmary was empty today, and she'd planned to be across the hall catching up on paperwork for the afternoon. A pot of tea was brewing, matching set of cup and saucers at the ready should one of her lovely young ladies decide she was not interested in watching two boys shower, and would like to visit with her instead.

Shiruton and Kidd exchanged some more conspiratorial whispers at the hall door, and Banaltram handed the young man the box that had been locked away in her office for safe keeping in the mean time. Kidd then used the box to playfully push Killer toward the privacy room off to the side where they where going to do their best to run this place out of hot water for the day.

"Tea?" she offered Shiruton.

<><><>

Kidd would not show Killer what was in the box - at least not all at once. There was a paper bag on the top that Killer would get to see now, although Kidd held back as Killer grinned stupidly at him as the hot water started streaming up the little room.

"You gonna shower in your clothes, or?"  Kidd trailed off. While they'd seen each other in various states of undress over the years, it was still a bit strange to be completely naked. Most 'baths' they got were dunks in the bay, fully clothed, usually an accident on Kidd's part and rescuing him on Killer's part. The thing was, it wasn't usually safe enough to be fully naked, not for very long anyway. Kidd would not blame his friend at all if Killer stayed dressed to some extent.

Killer didn't see to give it much thought at first, just a casual shrug. He'd stepped under the spray, and Kidd watched Killer's face go from nonchalant to soft awe. Then he was scrambling to get his wet clothes off, bare under the shower, turned up into the warm water like a zealot in prayer.

Being able to count the number of hot showers he'd had in his life on one hand, Kidd turned to give Killer a moment. He rummaged through the bag, growing fragile in the humid air, and pulled out a bar of soap and rag, before stripping his own clothes off. Unlike Killer though, he left them folded up next to the box to stay somewhat dry.

He didn't often get to play the mommy or daddy in his friendship with Killer; Killer didn't need to play pretend to be both roles for Kidd and he was lousy at make-believe anyway. So there was an amused sort of novelty as Kidd lathered up the rag the way Victoria had taught him and threw it in Killer's silly upturned smile. "Wash your face, dumbass."

Killer sputtered, face blanching as he spit out some errant soap bubbles, and Kidd chortled at the bewildered look on his face as he processed what just happened. Killer wiped his face down, looked at the rag and then back at Kidd, who felt a chill run down his spin, before Killer threw it back at him, square in the face. Kidd squawked when the soap got in his eyes, but didn't hesitate to grab the rag and chuck it blindly back to where he could hear Killer trying not to giggle.

Kidd has no idea how much water they wasted that day, wresting with each other and the rag, a strange game of trying to forcibly wash the other one, with it devolving to the point of them both sitting back to back under the falling water laughing stupidly at the terrible job they'd both done.

Killer had a funny laugh - one the Kidd knew troubled him - and it led him to a weird stoic bravado that he was absolute rubbish at maintaining. But here in the privacy of the shower, just the two of them, Killer cackled with abandon - a stupid noise of pure delight that had Kidd grinning ear to ear propped up against him.

At some point, their combined laughter trickled off in the humid room, the need to breath outweighing the carefree mirth that had settled over them. Eventually Kidd got up, hand lingering on Killer's back, "Stay here a sec."

In the paper bag - ruined at this point - was a few more items. Kidd took one bottle out, and dropped the bag in Killer's lap as he turned the water off for a moment. Killer made to look in it, but Kidd 'ehh!'ed at him, "Just hold it for a sec. And uh... close your eyes"

It was a testament to their friendship that Killer did so before asking, "Why?"

Kidd turned the bottle over, dumping a good size gelatinous glob on the crown of Killer's head. "Because this shit stings way worse that the soap." He warned, before starting to scrub the shampoo into Killer's scalp. Kidd had only done this once himself, again under Victoria's guidance, but as awful as those days had been, it had felt nice. He remembered that much.

And Killer had been tempting fate recently, his hair the longest Kidd could ever remember it being, enough to actually be pulled back. Usually it had gotten caught on something or ripped out in a scuffle by this length, or matted to the point they had to cut around the knots. But Killer has been trying to comb out the knots at night with his hands instead of letting Kidd hack them out. "I'm turning the water back on for a sec, don't open your eyes yet."

Kidd kept Killer's head under the spray until the water stopped coming away dirty, before turning it off again. Even wet, Kidd was in awe of the colour change. "You're like... really blond."

Killer had opened his eyes by that point, head titled up to look at Kidd in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Nope - head back down," Kidd ordered, reaching into the bag Killer was still holding for the second bottle. "But this time you don't have to close your eyes anymore."

When Victoria had helped him hunt down the contents of the paper bag, she'd told him he'd probably end up using most of the conditioner the first time; to let it soak and then try to comb the knots out while it was still in. So that what Kidd did, working it in until Killer's hair kinda felt a little slimey, but in a soft way. "Gimme the comb from the bag."

There was some shuffling, and Killer handed the comb to him. Just how Victoria told him, Kidd started at the bottom by Killer's shoulder blades and slowly worked his way up. Killer didn't make a single sound of protest when the comb would snag on a tangle but the condition worked like a miracle and soon Kidd was able to run the comb from roots to ends.

Killer's hair was still soft even after he rinsed out the conditioner, like spun gold under Kidd's fingers. He had no idea; he legit had never seen Killer's hair clean, he realized.

Later, after they were both squeaky clean and as they toweled down, Kidd climbed up on the counter to wipe the condensation off the mirror, staring back at the red haired boy in the reflection. Killer avoided looking at himself, but he did pluck at Kidd's own vibrant red hair.

"Oh!" Kidd said, "You still have a gift from Victoria."

"Wait, what?"

Kidd retrieved the box, plopping it down in front of Killer. He waited eagerly for Killer to look over before opening the flaps in a flourish. "Happy Birthday!"

"Its not... oh..."

"February Second - you said so. See, I remember things when it's important!" Kidd pulled out the soft plaid button up and brand new jeans Victoria had picked out for Killer, along with a package of clean underwear and socks that Banaltram had suggested when Kidd & Victoria had first approached the nurse about smuggling Killer in for a shower. There was also a pair of new shoes at the bottom, that Kidd had not known about.

Killer looked flabbergasted, frozen in awe. "Kidd.. I dont...."

"Did we do good? Were you surprised?"

Killer smiled, "Yeah. Yeah I was surprised."

Now with ART!

Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con

Summary:

"Your fruit lets you negate other devil fruit right?"

Blackbeard eyed the two supernovas with understandable suspicion.

"How long?"

"Excuse me?"

"How long can you negate someone's fruit?"

----

Kidd deals with the loss of his crew in an unhealthy way.

Bloody art version under cut. not a happy fic - be warned.

https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stitchfiddle.com%2Fen%2Fc%2Fsi98t4-5xvnke%2Fquickview&t=OTBlOGUwYzE0MWE5ZjIyYjI4MTJiMDk2MzRhN2I0MmFmM2RjZmFhNSw5ODdhMzJiODZjYTMzZGYxZDIwZTI3NmI1N2YxNDFkYWQ0MGFjOGJk

Google Docs

Copy_of_AZ_LG_on_22_-_Stitch_Fiddle.pdf

Illustration by @wargoddess9

The swirlies on azi's jacket are meant to be French knots. I dunno how to illustrate that in a pattern, sorry

Cross stitch pattern available as a pdf through Google drive or using the stitchfiddle site if you want to set your own print settings or can't print it at all

Untested pattern.

November 10, 2017 Utah grizzlies travis howe vs fort wayne Komets taylor crunk

Excuse the odd bending because i had to panorama it because my yard's too narrow to step back any farther. Left side is final height. Center pieces have been cut, but im pretty sure i got it spaced out so it *looks* like all sections are equal. Bottom layer still needs to be leveled, and it's supposed to be nice this weekend, so I'm hoping to finish that in the next couple days. Crossing fingers, i alsobhope to get the "aquifer" lined by weeks end.

Front pages are printed, gonna let the pages cool and probably finishing print the back of the pages tomorrow.

Then its trouble shooting time because my color printer keeps messing up the margins so I got a dozen or so pages to print.

Then this weekend will be folding and searching for the perfect end pages. I'm running out of shops that I know locally and still haven't found the right patterns....

Day 6 - Feast

Sharing a meal.

this was my third attempt for this prompt. I was trying to draw something cute!!! I promise! But the cropped hair just stirred something in my soul and I had to go a different direction with it.

Personally, I'm torn on when Killer's arm actually got messed up. Part of me headcanon's it from back when the four were all still rivals - and Heat messed his arm up (and he messed Heat's face up). The other part thinks it happened during the Kidd Pirates confrontation with Big Mom's Sweet Generals.

For this image, we're going with the latter.

Original Prompt list by @gratefulcheeses

J-card Insert - CHAPTER 2

Art: School photos

Snippit: Last days of Summer

Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Eustass Kidd & Killer, Eustass Kidd & Heat & Killer & Wire & Victoria, Eustass Kidd & Killer & Victoria, Heat & Wire, Heat/Wire (background), Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks & Buggy (background) Characters: Eustass Kidd, Killer (One Piece), Shiruton "Victoria" Doruyanaika, Heat (One Piece), Wire (One Piece), Eustass Kidd's mom - noncanon - side character Additional Tags: Vaguely Highschool AU, Alternative Universe - No Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit, USA Western Rural 90's AU, Victoria Punk is a Datsun 620 - aka 4 hooker lil'Hustler, Art, Prequel, secretly smart!Kidd, Kidd's not an angry boi yet, actually he's kinda a silly little guy, the four Emperors are basically Cattle barons, kidd's mom's a sweet lady trying her best, Rural|Farm|Ranch life, Aged Down Character(s), Aged Down!Kidd, Aged Down!Killer, Aged Down!Wire, Aged Down!Heat Series: Part of Reposed Rebellions Art work for Reposed Rebellions with small side stories that take place before the A Side

16 year old Victoria celebrates passing her driving test by rounding up her boys in the last few days of summer vacation