Private Log [Deer Country]
May. 3rd, 2023 03:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marimo"Old man can't tell his ass from his elbow," Zoro grouses to himself as he steps into a certain gaudy burlesque club in Red Cellar. "And now he's a pervert, too. Great."
Bad enough that it took him a few days (and some patronizing locals) to reach his destination. Now? He's finally stepped into the halls where that old-geezer Hunter told him he could find a mentor willing to help him. A master who, even without the gifts imparted to Sleepers, achieved something so few people in this land do: Control over the wild art of Beasthood when willpower alone wasn't enough.
Only to be surrounded by stale cigarette smoke, pounding music, raucous laughter, and half-naked performers hustling for their next meal.
Not that Zoro gives a shit what people do during their free time. But after the hell he's gone through, he needs a goddamn drink. Dragging a stool over to the bar, Zoro slouches over the counter and waves someone down. "Oi—"
That's also when he feels a pair of eyes boring into the back of his head. Clenching his jaw, he whips his gaze around, a defensive snarl of "what're you looking at?" on the edge of his teeth.
And then he stops. His eyes widen.
"...!!"
And his mouth splits into a wide beam.
"LUFFY!"
Bad enough that it took him a few days (and some patronizing locals) to reach his destination. Now? He's finally stepped into the halls where that old-geezer Hunter told him he could find a mentor willing to help him. A master who, even without the gifts imparted to Sleepers, achieved something so few people in this land do: Control over the wild art of Beasthood when willpower alone wasn't enough.
Only to be surrounded by stale cigarette smoke, pounding music, raucous laughter, and half-naked performers hustling for their next meal.
Not that Zoro gives a shit what people do during their free time. But after the hell he's gone through, he needs a goddamn drink. Dragging a stool over to the bar, Zoro slouches over the counter and waves someone down. "Oi—"
That's also when he feels a pair of eyes boring into the back of his head. Clenching his jaw, he whips his gaze around, a defensive snarl of "what're you looking at?" on the edge of his teeth.
And then he stops. His eyes widen.
"...!!"
And his mouth splits into a wide beam.
"LUFFY!"
no subject
Date: 2023-05-14 10:59 pm (UTC)"Candy can do that! Right?" Black eyes dart to her for confirmation. Or a skeptical look if he's way off the mark. Her wide smile suggests they're both correct, thankfully.
"I'm a master," she tells them both. And then with a wink, Candy saunters to the stage. Luffy knows exactly what they're in for, so he sits back with arms behind his head to watch. He spares a glance for Zoro and an eager snicker.
When her hand reaches the pole, Candy takes one smooth spin around and continues down the catwalk. At the end of it, she squats down on platform heels with her ass popping in front of her audience as she looks over her shoulder at the two of them. Her eyes are not her eyes anymore, though. They are slitted and glare almost ruby red when light hits them.
"Ho hoo hoooo! So cool, yeah?" He whoops along with the crowd, but for completely different reasons.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-15 01:56 am (UTC)And the way her pupils coil into blood-red serpentine eyes.
When Hedge said he'd find people here to teach him, this is not what he expected. But Zoro schools his expression into a level gaze, even if Luffy's enthusiasm is still infectious.
"'Cool' is one word for it," he says. His own teeth bare into a hard smile, the kind of look he gets when faced with a challenge that hangs just beyond the boundaries of what he can do. "A monster normally makes people scream for a different reason. But she's got enough control over her own Beasthood that she can pretty much turn it into a game."
A lucrative game, even, if the plethora of shiny bobbles and trinkets being shoved at her are any indicator. As a gambling man, he can respect that. Most people wouldn't have the guts to let that side of them out in a venue like this.
"You've seen this song and dance before?" he asks Luffy.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-15 10:36 pm (UTC)The small crowd, mostly consisting of men, suddenly gasps. Turning his attention back, Luffy sees that Candy has opened her mouth unnaturally wide. Fangs like you would find on a viper stretch out dripping what he can only assume is venom.
"Is this what you wanna do?" he asks between a few more wings.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-26 11:41 pm (UTC)Granted, the old man took great pains beating it into his thick skull that it's not so simple as controlling it. But as he sees it now, the only alternative is letting the beast inside of him run wild, with no purpose in its carnage, and no help to either his or Luffy's goals. That is unacceptable. And so here they are.
Lulu, meanwhile, rises from the table and saunters onto the stage alongside her partner. A pair of dark, leathery batwings unfurl from her back, sharp carpals gleaming underneath the bright stage lights.
"What about you?" Zoro asks. He's watching the spectacle, taking note of the fine control Lulu exudes over her own shape with the same calm detachment he'd have if he were watching his junior perform katas back at the dojo. "You turn into any animals lately?"
no subject
Date: 2023-05-29 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-05-29 02:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-05-29 04:19 am (UTC)"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" His words are bright but dismissive. He's moved on to more exciting subjects than pulling his friend's leg. "So, what is it then? Your 'not circus' animal."
no subject
Date: 2023-05-29 05:19 pm (UTC)It didn't seem important at the time. But now that Luffy's raised the question, Zoro would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little curious.
"All I know is," he adds, "it's got fangs and claws. And a taste for blood."
Same shit, different body, in other words.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-30 11:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-03 03:28 pm (UTC)