Pacifista

One Piece: The Devil's Due (Always Accepting!)

Saturday comes again!

The new characters are rolling in! Pretty sweet, and I’m looking forward to seeing how their adventures begin. As far as posts go, @Restalaan has already mentioned that there’ll be a little wait, so no problems there. Hopefully @pkken can get Valery’s first post up around tomorrow. That’s also the date for @LostDestiny’s next post for Annabelle (though that one might need some collab with Hillan, so a wait would be understandable). She should also hopefully get Maxwell’s first post up around the 28th, which is also the expected date for my next Rico post. @Daxam has his posts for both Luna and Sol expected around the 24th, which is also when I hope to get Coriander’s next post up (if not earlier). @Yankee should hopefully get the next Suiten post up around the 26th, and @Hillan on the 27th for Morgan.

Also, we’re getting some arcs finished up, so when we have Suiten, Haku, and Luna’s first arcs done I’ll probably be doing my first Newspaper Post. These will be meant to evoke the ‘in between arc worldbuilding’ we see in the actual story of One Piece, connecting the concurrent stories of the RP through news articles and giving the other charatcers (who pay attention to that sort of thing) a window to what else has been going on in the world. I’ll intend to use those posts to build to GM arcs (kind of like how the first post introduces all of the major Blue sea antagonists), and otherwise show scenes from around the world, so look forward to that!

So, for the weekly OOC topic, let’s get a little more general. Do you remember your first original characters period? Fanfiction, RP, your own headspace: how far back to you remember?

I think my first OCs would have all been Yu-gi-oh related. The first I recall was ‘me but interested into the story of Yu-gi-oh’, and that evolved into a fanfic where that ‘me’ character using a deck modeled after mine was an antagonist in a fanfic I did that only lasted one chapter. For RP it starts to get a bit more concrete. The most memorable ones from my early days were a Red Magikoopa I used in a Paper Mario arena RP, and Dakr Blade, another Yu-gi-oh inspired thing in a Smash Bros multiverse thing. His name was taken from one card and his appearance was taken from the English edit of another that swapped the guns for swords. I also remember he had colored stones he attached to his sword to get power, which I definitely took from the tiny bit of Rave Master I saw once. Another player took that gimmick and the GM got mad and had a character swoop in to destroy the stones he found because he thought it was stupid. And then my brain remembered that this would have happened around 20 years ago and I withered away to hot white ashes.

One Piece: The Devil's Due (Always Accepting!)

@LostDestiny

Accepted! The core concept was already interesting enough, and though this version might be a little less fun in regards to potentials for humor (though perhaps I'll be shown to be wrong), I also think Maxwell is in a great position to explore this kind of pirate crew! I've been a little worried about dealing with the possibility of PC villain pirate crews, but having it from this perspective is a great way to handle it! Plus, it'll be exciting to delve into Pol Stictid through the lens of a connected player character. Put Maxwell in the character tab!

One Piece: The Devil's Due (Always Accepting!)

RICO

---

“Another one?” muttered Macklamalky as he scratched his black stubble, crate of apples at his doorway. “Damn, that was hopeful of me.” Lifting his cap, he wiped a bit of sweat as his wife Opal came up behind him.

“What were you thinking?” muttered the apron clad lady. “We make sweets, but this is way too much.”

“Well, the price wasn’t bad when I ordered them, but, you know, the festival and all. Our candy apples have been doing well since my granddad came up with the recipe ages ago. I was also really close to remaking whatever was special about the caramel we got from Goldenricht. It was all lining up, I just didn’t think the festival was going to get canceled a second time!”

“Well, people will still buy some of them I guess, but this is the third one! We can’t sell that many! Or eat them, for that matter.”

“I know I know!” the man muttered, leaning down, hands on the edge of the crate. “The rain came last year even without the festival, but I feel like twice in a row is tempting fate…”

---

Evening shifting to night over the island, the lights of the town were beginning to drift out, one by one. The last disgruntled citizen left the dimly lit throne room in a huff, its residing king arched over, fingers drawn over his wrinkled face. “Festival festival festival,” King Lulouis DuPont groaned, his nose matching the arc of his back. His gray hair only having a few remaining strands of black, his hand scrapped against the five’o’clock shadow at his jaw, the man letting out a yawn. Plush red mantle over his back, glistening crown having grown rather accustomed to his head, he stood slowly, practically hobbling towards the back chambers, dreading the stairwell to his bedside while the knights saluted him in his passing.

“Economy this, livelihood that. You had your fun two years ago, didn’t you?” Passing by a window on the spiral staircase up, he glanced at the fading lights of the town. “My wife was laying in her deathbed, and you all carried on like it was your God given right.” These days, the Ko’Bo’Ka’Na Festival only filled him with disgust. He could hardly believe he’d ever enjoyed it, and any flashes to those memories were ones he quickly buried in his revulsion and anger. “The rain always comes, quit bellyaching,” he continued to mutter, taking to the steps one at a time.

Then, there was a sound unlike anything Lulouis had heard in a long while. It was a whistle of sorts, long and piercing. Lulouis had a brief flash to a military demonstration of cannonball target practice, his men spending their peacetime preparing for the potential threat of an enemy. Just as he dismissed the possibility, there was a rupture in the air, lights flittering through the stairwell in blue and green, reflected off the cold stone from the small windows, the explosion followed by the smattering of smaller crackles. The man nearly slipped from his step, a burst of adrenaline firing him to the nearest window. There was another whistle, another explosion, this time red and gold. Scrambling, he finally got a good view, this time watching a purple eruption over the lake, joined by a pink and orange one, both briefly forming flowers of light in the air.

“What in God’s name!?” Lulouis cried to the heavens, but the cavalcade of flame, light, and noise didn’t stop for the cries of one man.

---

The distant light also reached the town below. The barking of dogs filled the gaps between the explosions, so no one was left out of the happening. The elders felt the hearts quaver as they waited for the explosions to reach them. The kids trembled in the arms of their mothers as though it were a passing thunderstorm. Men grabbed their arms, scrambling about as they wondered where the fire was. But not one firework strayed close to the village, even as the people called for their offender to show themselves. As the firework show continued, ramping up, some threw themselves behind buildings, hiding in fear, but others grew curious, and dared watch, observing a wonderful display of colors and shapes in the sky beyond prior imagination. Streams of silver, flowers of blue and gold, spirals of smoke shimmering against a white ball of light burning like a small sun as it streaked through the night sky, only to fizzle without a sound. Then, the spiral firework erupted into a ring of rainbow colored sparks and one final boom that echoed across the whole island. And for the rest of the night, all was silent, the townsfolk to mystified to easily sleep after that. It was only after the investigation of the local knights that some were able to find a level of peace, but despite the examination of the lake, nothing odd was found, baffling the soldiers who would have expected a high level of ordinance to put on a show like that. The matter was pushed aside to morning, but King Lulouis wasn’t going to rest easily, not after that.

Had the knights arrived a little earlier to the lake, they might have spotted a certain outlaw shuffling back to town after hiding a rowboat in the brush. Had they arrived just after the completion of the show, they might have spotted that lone rowboat adrift in the middle of the lake, its pilot collapsed in the middle, breathing heavily. “Oh god my body,” Rico wheezed, the boy too fatigued to let even one popper hit the ground.

One Piece: The Devil's Due (Always Accepting!)

@Daxam

There he is, accepted! The other half of the duo is here! I'm even more curious at seeing the unfolding of their journey and coming to understand the two halves of their entwined story. I'm also curious as to how the contrast of one character who wears her heart on her sleeve and another who buries his true emotions, and what they'll draw out of each other when they meet. Go ahead and drop him in the character tab!

One Piece: The Devil's Due (Always Accepting!)

CATHERINE CORIANDER

---

Light cast evenly over the golden grass of Melody through the overcast skies, the party of five had gotten away from the hills where Tune Town rested, reaching the flatter part of the island, a long dirt road stretching off into the horizon. To the north was the woods, but to the south were rolling fields of wheat, waving gently in the breeze, stalks having yet to flower. Coriander wasn’t letting their journey be idle.

“Um…” Verbena mumbled, scratching his curly hair as he tried to think. “My mom was making me study. I couldn't play earlier when Cassia came by. Rue would have been free though.”

Following the trail, Cori went to the small girl. “Huh? He didn’t find me. I was in the backyard of my house, having a funeral for the crow who kept bothering Sorrel. I haven’t seen Cassia all day.”

At the receiving end of Cori’s question about Cassia, Sorrel shook his head. “Grandpa Cicely wanted my help at the library so I told Cassia to go play with Peppermint. How did Rue know that was the same crow though?”

Cori didn’t have time to seek answers for him, instead going to the last link in the chain. “Yeah, I saw him. I wanted to play with him, but I was making my lunch and he’d already eaten. I said he could wait but when I was done with the dishes, he was gone. It looked like he was heading to your house though.”

“He went to my house!?” Coriander squawked. Pursing her lips, she tried to think, only for a brief memory to return, one of her Cassia stopping by while she had been busy with laundry. “O-oh. He did go to my house.”

The kids shuffled in closer on their walk, intent as the answer had finally come. “I told him to go find you guys. Waugh!” Cori squealed as Verbena and Sorrel grabbed her arms, holding her arms apart. Rue handed her bear to Peppermint before running back, then running forward. “Ack! Nonono don’t you dare!” Coriander pleaded before Rue tackled her, Verbena and Sorrel releasing their grip on them moment before impact. Cori and Rue collapsed into a heap, Coriander’s stomach folded in pain from Rue’s strike. Coughing as Rue scrambled back to her feet, Coriander whined, “You guys are so bad!”

Rue jeered, “Repent, sinner!” Coriander was too starstruck to even muster a response.

“It was your fault Cassia went and got himself lost!” Verbena cried.

“And you were interrogating us like we did something wrong,” Sorrel sneered.

“Y-you...you guys kept acting like you were doing something wrong!”

“Yeah, and we were freaking out because we thought it was our fault, but it was yours!” Verbena shouted. Coriander pouted, trapped in her own web. Getting to her feet, she struggled. “Could you guys at least untie my sleeves? It’s been like half an hour.”

“No, you will remain idiot jail for your crimes,” Rue declared. Trudging along, Cori suffered through the three trouble maker’s chants of “Idiot jail! Idiot jail!” until they got bored, Peppermint not bothering to get involved.

Path long, day longer, the group eventually found the first people they’d seen in a good while. Stumps pulled out of the earth, a handful of men sat around with lunchboxes open and round cups of tea enjoyed their late lunch. Scent of sawdust permeating, Cori spotted a few felled trees, still being processed.

“Oh, it’s Cori!” called one of the men, the others perking up and giving a wave. Cori returned it as best she could, while the kids went stiff. “Where’s Cassia?” asked the red haired main [Dill, Cassia’s father].

Coriander smiled, “He’s not feeling the best, so we’re going to pick him up later!” Coriander called. “What’re these trees going towards?”

“Cicely wants to patch up some old areas of the docks, before they get too worn down. Plus we’re going to need a new crib: Costmary’s about to pop!”

“I bet she’s got twins, so get enough for two!” Cori suggested.

The loggers looked between each other, weighing the validity of Coriander’s thought. By the time the topic shifted, Coriander and the kids were just about out of the way. “Hey, where are you guys going, anyway?” Dill looked ahead to see Cori waving back at them with her bound sleeve, a bit too far out of earshot. “Oh well…”

The kids far enough away from the adults, Coriander wiped her forehead. “Whew.” Turning back to the others, she was met with a barrage of stares. “What?”

“I feel like I don’t even know you anymore!” Peppermint pouted.

Rue had a glimmer of light in her red eyes, barely visible under her bangs. “You’re bad!” she grinned, as much in reverence as she was in glee at having something to hold over her.

“As easily as she breathed,” Sorrel muttered.

“I bet you’ve done everything you’ve ever scolded us for, but look at you now, Liar Queen,” Verbena grumbled.

“Lady of Lies!” Rue giggled.

“Sis...Deceister? Siceit? Uh…give me a minute,” Sorrel mumbled.

Coriander’s cheeks flushed red. “This...you...we...I’M BIGGER THAN YOU!”

“Idiot jail! Idiot jail! Idiot jail!”

Besieged by their incessant chants, Tacet City was still a ways off, much to Coriander’s misfortune.

One Piece: The Devil's Due (Always Accepting!)

Valery Shimamoto

@pkken

Accepted! Children going out into the world is a core facet of One Piece, and you matching that with your own foray in this Advanced RP is a neat connection there! A story with a lot of potential directions is always fun. Go ahead and put Valery in the character tab!

One Piece: The Devil's Due (Always Accepting!)

Aw yiss Saturday.

Still waiting on @Yankee but there've been some messages in Discord, so it’s not as though they've fallen out of touch. @Hillan’s also a bit late (though plenty active OOC so no fear there)! @LostDestiny had a post due yesterday but hopefully we’ll see the next one sometime soon. Must have been a busy week for some people! Or just a regular slump~

@Daxam should be looking to post around the 20th/21st, as should @Restalaan. I will aim to get another Coriander post up this weekend, while Rico can wait until the 21st unless I get some time to make one earlier.

No OOC topic this week! I invite anyone to respond to any previous ones you haven’t though (and you're welcome to reply on Discord as well if you prefer it). However, I do have something else to share. I was digging around my notes and I found the beta version of this RP from the old Guild! I can really see some of my growth in comparing the two first posts, which are rather similar in premise but presented very differently. Just a neat little piece of personal history I found interesting to look back on. And Hillan was there!

I’ll do Coriander’s impressions of the other characters at a later date, but for now I’ll do her SBS questions! Her birthday would be April 5th, which has been the suggested revival date of Jesus, (not that I see her as an allegory, but when thinking of Christian imagery and revival I couldn’t think of anything more fitting). Her associated animal would be a hen/chicken. Blood type B (F). She’d smell like either bread and yeast or earth depending on how recently or long she’s been home or outside. Her favorite foods are apples, milk, and wafers. She doesn’t like anything grape related (like raisins or wine she tried once), though the grossest thing she’s ever eaten was a weird fruit, not that she remembers anything about it other than its taste. Her favorite Grand Line season would be spring on a summer island or summer on a spring island, though on Melody Island she loves spring the most. Her typical thoughts are: fun kids God prayer growing-up. Her symbolized flower is the calla lily. Her hobbies are reading books (especially non-fiction), playing with the kids, or taking long walks on the island. She bathes every day, like all the characters in the RP, which makes me think on how the Straw Hats (or well, half of them) are freakin’ gross.

One Piece: The Devil's Due (Always Accepting!)

RICO

---

Riding on the back of Negrigan’s mount, Rico was all smiles as he took to his first horseback ride with the glee of a child.

“Consider the trip back to town the first of my apologies for running you over. That said, you will have to leave. We are currently barring foreigners from the island,” Prince Alliant explained, mid length hair draped over his shoulder as the three horses headed back to the capital.

“Aw, lame! I just got here. Oh well, I’m supposed to be somewhere else anyway. Where’s here?” Rico wondered, throwing his arms behind his head, leaning back only to flail as he regained his lost balance.

Jolibi bored a hole in the boy’s coat with his eyes. “I for one, don’t trust him.”

Alliant put that aside for now. “We’re on Gunwhale Island, I’m Prince Alliant of the Puddle Kingdom.”

“Whoa, puddles? Man, I loved playing in those as a kid. Still kinda do, actually. And you’re a puddle prince?”

“Er, no, that’s just what the kingdom is called…” Alliant mumbled.

“That’s stupid, what would a puddle prince even be? It sounds like a kid’s fantasy,” Negrigan shot back at the slightly younger man behind him.

“Says you! You were just chasing after a unicorn!” Three right eyes all twitched in unison, three grown men unable to properly retort.

“How did you even get here? Most of the island is surrounded in sheer cliffs and rocks just under the surface.”

“Yeah, that sucked. I can’t really pilot a boat really well so the currents took it into the wall. If I didn’t climb up I would’ve been a goner for sure, haha!” Alliant saw no reason to disbelieve him, but his attitude didn’t match one who’d had two close encounters with death in the same day. Even so, despite getting run over by a horse less than a half hour ago, he was right as rain.

“You’re one crazy kid,” Jolibi sighed, shaking his head.

“But I’d rather discover an accidental illegal entrant than a drowned shipwreck victim, that is certain. You’re welcome to stay the night, and we’ll arrange your passage off the island as soon as possible,” Alliant reasoned.

“Cool! I wanna go to Shuffle Island.”

Jolibi’s eyes narrowed. “You’ll be on the first boat out of here. Anything after that is on you.” Rico pouted. Mercifully for the royal entourage, the young pirate was relatively quiet as they came down the golden hills into the town. Houses of wood, stone, and straw dotted the cobbled streets, their group far from the only horses about (the lingering smell of dung permanent, no matter the hurried efforts of young street cleaners in their constant struggle). Their group caught a number of eyes. Alliant garnered enough attention, but Rico was a brightly colored eyesore among the muted hair colors and earthen tunics and breeches. Rico didn’t exactly revel in the attention, but those who lit up upon seeing him more than often were a bit sullen before. So many shoulders were heavy, even without the well water and sacks of food weighing them down.

Rico, so typically full of smiles, didn’t restrain himself. “Someone important die? Everyone’s looking kinda rough.”

Jolibi glared. “You have no tact or respect. Your majesty, I think you’ve spent far too much time on this one.”

Alliant kept his grip on his reins firm. “Jolibi, I cannot say I expect much in the way of manners from someone outside of the scope of nobility. I do, in fact, appreciate his honesty.” Mouth going tight, forming a thin line, he admitted, “I’ll admit, I hadn’t thought about it in a while. Perhaps it had become normal for me. Should we not be wondering? Why…” Alliant hesitated, words sticking in his throat like mochi.

“Why nobody here is smiling?” Rico finished, his words bearing a slight edge.

Eyes closing, Alliant felt a pang of relief as the words he’d been unable to say came out so freely from the mouth the outsider. Alliant felt the edges of his lips cinching in strain as he smiled, just a bit, for what must have been the first time in a long time. Back a bit straighter, he asked, “I never did get your name.”

Eyebrows popping up as he was addressed, Rico leaned forward just a bit, cocksure smile coming to his face. “Name’s Rico: I’m an outlaw.”

The bold statement made Alliant give a curt laugh. “Yes, I suppose you are.” Jolibi and Negrigan exchanged glances, apprehension clear as they struggled to parse how genuine he was being.

Party reaching the Marshwiggle (an inn whom’s name made Rico say ‘that is the best ever why wasn’t I named that’ loud enough to make the innkeeper blush), Jolibi and Negrigan took their leave, Alliant himself arranging for Rico’s room, joining the beriless young man in his quarters for a moment.

“What’s the haps?” Rico said, grabbing a spindly wooden chair and sitting in it backwards, arms over the headrest. Alliant stared, the man in his mid twenties not sure what to make of it. “Er, I mean, what’s up?”

Taking a seat on the bed, the young prince looked rather out of place in the lower end room with sparse furniture and a pale gray coloring to the wood all around. “I hope you’ll excuse me: for some reason I feel like I can talk to you.”

“Oh, I’ve always been told I’m a great listener. The old folks back home could go on forever, about the same things and the same stories and the same jokes again and again and again and again and again and again and again and I would just listen. Every. Time.” Rico’s drawl ended with him staring out a thousand yards, red eyes wide and empty.

Alliant’s neck craned back slightly. “I...hope you’re better at listening than you are with animals.” Rico gave a thumbs up, but Alliant wasn’t about to take it at face value, instead glancing at the window for a moment as he collected his thoughts. “I suppose in some ways its easier to confer in an outsider who will be gone tomorrow than my own subjects, my own people, who find themselves in the same dilemma. We’re nearing the time of the Ko’Bo’Ka’Na Festival. It’s also my...father’s...birthday.”

Alliant’s staggered words came after Rico jumped up at the mention of the word ‘festival’. “Festival? What kind of festival?” he grinned.

“The festival has been canceled, just like last year.” Once again, Alliant struggled to continue, his attention stolen by Rico as he slumped into his chair as though crushed by a boulder. “It’s meant to invite the rainy season, with hopes of a fair balance between having enough water to last us until the next wet season, and not having the disastrous floods we have in the past. Our island is known for its vast difference between the dry summers and torrential winters.”

Recovered, Rico nodded. “Okay, gotcha.”

“The celebration also invites a number of events like games or contests, food, drinks, and all sorts of revelry.” Rico fell from his chair, crashing into the floor, dark lines of depression like stakes in his arms and legs, crumpling the tent propped up by his dreams. “A-are you quite alright?”

Head shifting up, chin against the floor, Rico growled, “Hell no! Who banned the festival? No wonder everyone’s in a shitty mood.” Finger drawing circles in the floor, he muttered, “And here I was thinking it was so lucky I made it here right when some crazy fun stuff was about to happen.”

“My father doesn’t want the festival to happen,” Alliant said suddenly. Rico looked up to see Alliant’s tense face. “He...King Lulouis has been getting older. He argues that the noise and revelry would be bad for his heart.” Silently, Rico got back up and returned to his chair. “But everyone in the castle, and most of the villagers, know the truth. Almost two years ago, my mother died, Queen Lycien. The Ko’Bo’Ka’Na Festival was her favorite time of year. No other holiday could compare. So it’s that time of year that we all think of her the most.” Alliant gave a hollow laugh. “It’s not as though it changes anything, he was still miserable last year, though perhaps everyone else being miserable gave him some solace. We’ve all been a little worried. Our island has a rather rare mineral, Drunken Iron Ore. Its value allows us to sell at a high price, but that in itself puts the island in a precarious position. The more we sell, the lesser its value, and the more difficult it might become to pay the Heavenly Tribute in the future. There’s also the chance that the market collapses. Never mind the invitation of crime: our outlaw of foreigners is a way to prevent suspicious eyes and treacherous hands.” Rico held his cheek in his hand, slumped hard over his chair, interest having faded within the last few sentences. “I-it’s a difficult problem. My father thinks he’ll come to an answer, but he doesn’t think that anything will be done after his death, so he set a bounty for a unicorn horn in hopes of extending his lifespan. My older brother, Petre, the first prince, has been tossing around some reasonable ideas, but-”

“You chose the unicorn,” Rico stated plainly.

Alliant swallowed, slumping his head. “W-well, when you put it like that, you make it sound like I have no faith in my brother. I think he could be an able king. He’s nearly twice my age, after all. But…” Alliant paused, reflecting back as he chased the unicorn horn without feeling much need for justifying himself, because he’d already known what he wanted the most.

It was like Rico saw right through him. “And what do you want?”

Alliant shut his eyes for a moment, breath coming in hard for a moment. “I just...want him to be happy again, no matter how long it takes.” Cheeks glowing red, he stammered, “Y-you-! Look at what you’ve got me saying!” Rico giggled. “And what do you want?”

“Mmmmmm...I wanna be Pirate King.”

Alliant stared, wide-eyed. ...What King? No, I must have misheard. Puddle King? Luckily for him, Rico added, “But right now a festival would be really nice.” Shifting about in his chair, he kicked his feet up, leaning the chair back on its two hind legs while his own laid on the bed.

Daring to stand, Alliant admitted, “It really is a shame. Thank you for hearing out my complaints, it’s not a situation one man can solve, so there’s no need to dwell on our problems. I’ll have someone send for you when your arrangements off the island are secured. If I don’t see you again, I wish you luck on your travels.”

Rico gave a short wave as Alliant headed out. As he closed the door behind him, he could have sworn he heard, “Yeah, a damn shame...” His concerns fled from his mind a moment later as Rico crashed to the ground, chair slipping and falling with him coming down right after. “Oh shit! Unlucky,” Alliant heard from the other side of the door before Rico burst into laughter. Alliant was torn between amusement at the boy’s purity, and anxiety at the boy’s purity...

One Piece: The Devil's Due (Always Accepting!)

CATHERINE CORIANDER

---

Tune Town, Melody Island, East Blue

---

Blue eyes reflected white clouds, those that blanketed the whole sky above Melody Island. Her short, platinum blonde hair hanging back with her head, Catherine Coriander looked closely enough to see the clouds drifting against each above in the high winds. So vast and distant, she was completely sucked in by the sight, not so uncommon, yet still so fascinating all the same. If she could walk to the sky, how long would it take to reach those clouds? If she were to ride them, how far would they take her? If-

“Coriander, I’m not washing anything you muss up because you’re spacing out,” came a voice from the window, snapping her from her daze. Seeing the flash of her mother’s ponytail floating out of sight, Corainder became more aware of herself, looking down to see her soggy nun’s habit brushing against the dirt and grass. Gasping out, she lifted it up, brushing off the bottom before clipping the garb to a line stretched across their yard. “It’s fine, jeez,” mumbled the teen girl, before she grabbed the next article of clothing, continuing on the line. Laundry was a day long chore, but finally it was coming to an end, and Cori still had the rest of the afternoon to herself. The young nun hardly looked it at the moment, wearing a somewhat over-sized dark blue shirt with long sleeves that once belonged to her father, and a long gray skirt, but it was plenty fine to bum around the island for a bit, even if she felt a bit awkward. She’d spent so much time in her nun’s habit it was starting to wear out, honestly.

As she finished hanging the last of the laundry, she tucked the basket to the side, wondering if there would be any more rain, only to spot a visitor. A short ways away, Verbena came up the hill, eyes scanning the area, the chubby boy scratching at his curly hair, a hoodie over his form. The two met eyes, Coriander giving a wave.

“Who’re you?” Verbena wondered.

“What do you mean, it’s me!”

Verbena shrugged. “I don’t know an Amy, but there’s a nun who lives here called Cori.”

“I’ve known you since you were in your mom’s tummy, don’t give me that!” Coriander grumbled.

“Whatever,” Verbena grumbled, heading off in another direction. Coriander blinked, knowing nothing in particular was off that way. It was also weird for Verbena to be alone, never mind that he seemed to be looking for something. How very curious, Coriander thought. It seemed she had some searching to do as well, giving her mother a farewell promise to be back in time for dinner.

Her first stop happened to be the library, where she caught Sorrel’s mop of purple hair skulking in between the rows of books. “Who’s sneaking around? Not me! Why don’t you go mind your own business.”

Hands on her hips, Coriander snapped, “There’s no need to get an attitude with me, mister!”

Sorrel flinched, hand fiddling with the bowtie under his shirt collar. “S-sorry, it’s just…” Coriander leaned in slightly. “Nothing! Everything’s fine.”

Coriander pursed her lips. “Uh-huh.”

“Y-yup,” he grumbled, before putting his hands behind the straps of his suspenders and whistling, the boy moving on his way. Coriander at once learned nothing, and oh so much.

She found Rue by the docks next, the day slow, port mostly empty, waves lapping against wood, shore, and stone in the breeze. The small girl froze like a deer when she spotted Coriander coming her way. Feet skittering as she looked for a place to run, Cori got to her first. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on or not?”

Pink bow struck stiff, a braid lagged behind as the girl went to the dock edge, holding her teddy bear out over the seawater. She held the faded brown stufftie by the top of the head, the neck blatantly thin and stretched with all the filling squished out from years of hugs. “Don’t move or he gets it!”

“...Rue, that’s not my bear. That’s not how it works.”

“Yeah but when I start crying I’m going to tell everyone that you threw my bear in the ocean because you’re mad about not being able to swim anymore! Then you’ll be sorry!”

“I-I can swim! I could a few years ago!”

“Then explain yesterday!” Rue demanded.

“You explain yesterday! How did you guys even get lost? You all know the island like the back of your hand!” Rue was struck, jaw gaping. “And who taught you to be like this, anyway?” Coriander muttered. Rue pulled her bear back into her arms, the hem of her black dress trailing behind her as she fled. “You’re being such a brat! I’m just going to find out what’s going on from Peppermint or Cassia anyway!” Rue didn’t stop, turning off and out of sight. “If you’re gonna be in trouble then running won’t help! Oh whatever.” Rubbing her forehead, she wondered, “What did you guys do?”

A short time later, Corainder found the next kid at Cassia’s house, but it wasn’t Cassia peeking into the windows. Coriander channeled her inner cat as she skulked up on the unassuming Peppermint, the green haired girl shrouding her eyes as she looked into the window, clad in gray jeans and a pink T-shirt with an angry faced red chili pepper on it.

Coriander brought her mouth right up to Peppermint’s ear. “Find Cassia yet?” If Peppermint could have jumped to the moon, she would have. With a squeal and a pair of flailing arms, she scrambled away from the window, just as quickly trying to calm herself, arms going back to her sides as she stopped mid run.

“C-Coriander! F-funny seeing you here.” The nun’s arms didn’t leave her hips, and her stern expression was unyielding. “I-I was just wondering if Cassia could play! He probably...I mean...you know…” Her blue eyes bored into Peppermint’s teal. The young girl’s head lowered, chin resting against her chest, tears starting to form in her eyes. “We lost Cassia.”

“You lost Cassia!?”

“We don’t know where he went! We looked everywhere, except…”

Coriander raised a hand, silencing her. “Just get everybody and tell them to meet at the well. Okay?” Swallowing back her tears, Peppermint nodded before dashing off.

The cloudy day still relatively bright, wind picking up a little, Coriander assembled with the four kids, sitting on the edge of the stone well with the children lingered in front of her. Verbena jabbed a finger at Peppermint. “Traitor.” The girl pouted, once again pushed to the verge of tears.

“We’re so in trouble now!” Sorrel groaned. The two boys had their spines struck stiff when Coriander raised a hand, beckoning them over. Daring to do so, they headed up to the well. Coriander brought her arms down, karate chopping both of them on the head. “Ow! It wasn’t our fault, he went off on his own!”

“That’s not why I’m mad!” Coriander burst out. “You’re not in trouble because of Cassia, I’m mad because you didn’t tell anyone that something is wrong! If he, or any of you guys, got hurt or lost, you can’t hide that from us! Even if it was because you did something wrong. You guys being hurt will last way longer than us being mad or frustrated. If the whole town has to go out to find him, we will, and you should never feel bad about that, okay?” Sorrel and Verbena both nodded. “Okay?”

“Yeah…” the two boys said. Coriander grabbed the two of them by the shoulder before looking to the two girls and jerking her head, calling Rue and Peppermint over into the huddle.

“Okay, where have you guys looked so far?”

“He wasn’t at your house. Or Amy’s,” Verbena said.

“Who the heck’s Amy? But he wasn’t at the library either,” Sorrel mentioned.

“And he wasn’t at his house or the docks, I know. What about your hideout?”

“Hideout? We don’t have a hideout!” Rue sneered.

“Not for people over 13 we don’t!” Peppermint blurted. Verbena and Sorrel shot her nasty looks.

“We’re not gonna hang out with you anymore if you keep snitching,” Verbena grumbled.

“Fine, fine, there is no hideout,” Coriander sighed, rolling her eyes. “What about Tacet City?”

The four kids all froze, as though struck by an unseasonable chill. Sorrel shook his head. “No way, he’s a scaredy cat! He’d never go there alone.”

“‘Sides, we’re not allowed to go there,” Rue said.

Coriander was silent for a moment, before reasoning, “It’s our best bet. If he’s not there then we’ll come back and rally the town to find him, okay?” With some trepidation, the kids nodded. “Let’s go find Cassia!” Coriander cried, pumping her fist in the air. Or at least, she attempted. Only her sleeve struck out, the loose, overly long fabric tied into a knot on not one but both of her arms. Holding them out in front of her, she stared, before glaring at Sorrel and Verbena, who chuckled at her expense. Rue let out a laugh, Peppermint failing to hold back her own snickering. “You guuuuuuys!” Bursting into laughter, the kids dashed off, Coriander rushing after them down the hill as they struck out to the far side of the island, where the colloquially named ‘Tacet City’ sat under the same gray sky. Far larger than the modest town of Tune, it had sat in ruin for hundreds of years, decrepit and fading, its true name lost to time. Yet it had sat there as an ever present fixture, not even known to the founders of the village for some years after Tune was first built, the city still having secrets yet unearthed and sights yet unseen. But that is a story for another day, while this tale still remained to unfold.

A Cloudy Day of Melody:

The Capital of Ghosts

One Piece: The Devil's Due (Always Accepting!)

Good Saturday comes after Good Friday, right?

There have been some exciting developments in the RP, both IC through some happenings in the posts, and OOC through some NPC planning here and there. As such, I gave a section a little update: the Notable NPCs being expanded with a write-up giving some examples on how collaborating with me on major NPCs might work.

Post updates! @Yankee is a little late, but no harm done there (except for the cliffhanger I’ve been waiting on growing ever deeper). @Hillan and @Daxam will hopefully have their post up on the 11th. I will work to post with Rico on or before the 12th, while @Restalaan and @LostDestiny have until the 14th. We almost got another player, but they have a couple more things to edit. Very much looking forward to having new characters in the RP to consider!

Speaking of such, you might have noticed a new character creeping into the RP: Coriander is here! Think of this as being my way to announce that, as the IC has been around for a month now, if you have 4 IC posts and have been active for around a month, you’re welcome to submit a second character. You should have a good idea as to how much the RP demands by this point, and what it would mean to double your workload postwise (though, you could also get away with maintaining one post a week, since the ‘deadline’ is rather lax, and mostly there to account for players leaving the game without word. You can take as long as you need, provided you maintain regular contact!). I very much look forward to what new characters you guys have cooking! Also, I promise, introducing a Nun character on Easter weekend was a complete coincidence.

Lastly, there’s the OOC topic. You’re always welcome to respond to prior ones you’ve missed, but this time, the name of the game is Devil Fruit. Excluding ones you already have in use, what are some canon/non-canon ones you might like to see expanded on in your hands? If your non-Devil Fruit using character were required to have a Fruit, what might it be? (Be careful of spoilers if you look at a list on the wiki. Thankfully prospective player Shovel came up with a list that you can use outside of the wiki). Or hell, do you have a favorite Devil Fruit?

Rico already has the Spark-Spark Fruit, but it was originally created because I wanted to use something like the Flame-Flame Fruit without actually using the Flame-Flame Fruit. The name of his crew is even still evocative, though I ended up liking the symbols present in the firework more than the initial idea of ‘fire’ I had in mind at first. Andou might be a good fit for either the Mark-Mark Fruit of Decken’s or the Arms-Arms Fruit used by Baby 5.

I recall an older OC of mine using the Kilo-Kilo Fruit, and I’ve been thinking about going back to play with its (relatively unused) abilities. There’s also Rocinante’s Calm-Calm Fruit, which is one of the most underpowered Fruits I can think of, so trying to expand its limited abilities sounds like a fun challenge.

Aside from the endlessly fun and creative uses of the Gum-Gum Fruit, the Op-Op Fruit I’m also really fond of. Rather than just be a power that switches things around, it offers a lot of variety around it’s clear theme, which I feel like I need to look to as I come up with powers to make them more interesting rather than simple (some of my past powers being on the bland side imo). Lots of Fruits are straightforward, but some (like Kuma’s) use themeing that works with a simple idea in ways that can allow for unexpected expansions or interesting limits on that initial, basic power, and Law’s is the most detailed example of that for me.