The Slice of Life! Siblings at Sea!

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #6}

---

“I can give you some tips,” Tally responded, finally breaking from a silence both awkward and brimming with concentration — a silence that Sweeney attributed to a mix of personal feelings and the natural rhythm of working with three pairs of arms on a task that required strength and finesse. Heavens knew she would have been just as quiet trying to shuck oysters with such diligence, watching from the side as the octopus Gyojin managed through multiple arms to double the experienced chef’s own rate. Within a little over five the pair were done.

“…And… I do know a few things,” came the addition. Sweeney smiled, though said nothing more, uncertain of what else she could say to try and make the woman feel better. In due time she would open up further — better to give people comfort and allow them to make what they would of it. After all, that’s what Big Sis always seemed to do, giving all and almost expecting nothing in return.

^{“Th– Th– Thanks, Tally,” Sawyer stammered:
“I should be good on my own now!”}

“Mm! That’d be great, Tally!” Sweeney chirped as the blubbery man set half the oysters to grill and gathered some condiments from one of the cupboards. “I think when it comes to Fishmen and martial artists, you’re best making that offer to Voorhees. He’s a bit difficult to understand, but he’s really fascinated with Fishman culture,” the hairdresser added, offering some enlightenment regarding her travelling companions. “I’ll see you outside~!” With that, she took her leave from the kitchen, giving Sawyer the space he needed as he neatly washed and arranged what needed it.

^{—— ON DECK ——}

“You’re not a fan, either, are you?” Bateman whispered to Quinn as the latter sidled closer, not finding much of a need to directly address the entity that was Lilin. For perhaps very different reasons, the two wanted to keep their distance from the Smoking Devil. “We’ll just have to put some faith in Scarlette’s decision — the other two seem rather amicable, at least,” he added, shrugging off as much of the lingering tension as possible as the talks between the siblings continued.

It was Krueger who had taken to explaining the intended game to Sadako, though the latter still seemed to be recovering from the previous encounter. Even from Scarlette’s place upon the deck, it was easy to see that she was a little unsteady, though perhaps more due to fatigue than actual damage. As far as she’d been able to discern, Miss Yamamura had only taken one true blow, but her fragile nature by and large had definitely meant a mark had been left. Yet there she was, much to the Red Terror’s delight, pushing through and making the most of the situation.

She’s quiet and frail, but… unbreakable, Miss Grimm-Rosa noted, herself having perked up a little more through functionally indifferent as her chocolate eyes lazily scanned the gatherings. Gobbie was a blessing. Her skills as a shipwright were impressive, though by what metric the one-armed woman could measure it was unknown; Kramer’s own point of view seemed to be similar, at least. It was around then that Lecter returned, drinks in tow, setting them down upon the deck.

^{“Sawyer’s just grilling those oysters,” he spoke:
“He’ll probably be another ten minutes…”}

The passage of time was swift, admittedly, and soon enough did the chef emerge with two platters full of oysters — one grilled and buttered and one not. With appropriate priority, he approached the dark-haired woman and offered the plates, from which Scarlette feebly claimed a grilled oyster. It took her a moment, but it was eventually consumed. And so it was that Torrance set down a bag of dice, plucking out enough for as many as he could, and holding some between his fingers.

^{“Alright! Just enough with two each,” he smiled:
“Everyone ready to go…?”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>Stuff!

Notes:
• None

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Lilith Lilin | #f0b333
Tally | #3656b0
Ophelia [NPC] | #ff72d7
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

Quinn started briefly when Bateman whispered to him, making his head snap up from where he’d been looking at the deck of the ship. It took him a moment to register what Bateman had said, earning the man a sigh and uncomfortable frown. He rubbed the back of his head and glanced idly off down the deck like he was thinking about someone else instead of the heathen woman hanging above.

“No, can’t say I am,” Quinn whispered back. He shrugged noncommittally at the bit about having faith, which could be interpreted any number of ways including the way that Bateman was shrugging it off. He wouldn’t be here for very much longer, so very soon, it wouldn’t be his problem anymore. He just needed to lay low and avoid the devil woman’s attention. It shouldn’t be too hard. There were tons more people on this ship more interesting than him.

It wasn’t long before Gobbie burst back out onto the deck with her little toolbox in hand. The sight of her set Quinn a little more at ease, which instantly made him feel like he was pathetic. And, maybe he was, hanging around the least bombastic of the siblings and always using others as shields. Like Sadako. Quinn sighed and blew a stray lock of hair from his face.

Gobbie set about carefully removing the door that had been busted off and started making repairs to the frame first, the familiar sound of hammering filling the air. It was in quick succession that drink, food, and dice were brought out, all in that order. Quinn walked over to Torrance, plucking up four dice - one set for him, one for Gobbie - and picking up an oyster on his way. He moved over to where Gobbie was hard at work and glanced over at her.

“Do you want me to roll for you while you’re doing that?”

“Oh! Thanks, Aniki!” she cheerily replied.

Quinn sipped down the oyster and tossed the shell over the side, taking a seat next to her toolbox so that he was out of her way. With a casual flick of his wrist he rolled once. It was a middling roll. And then once more with the other dice, immediately grimacing when he saw the result. Dammit. High roll. He didn’t actually want to play. As the others started calling out their rolls, he looked over at Gobbie.

“Gobbie, you’re it.”

“Nuh-uh, Aniki, those are yours!”

“Wha- What do you mean?!” he snapped incredulously, making Gobbie turn around and point at the first pair he’d rolled. They were pink.

“Those are mine. Pink’s my favorite! You know that, Aniki. Besides, the other ones are green like you!”

Quinn’s eye twitched. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he inhaled through his teeth sharply. So much for making this painless. Might as well get it over with.

“I guess… I’m up then… Who rolled the lowest?”

---

Quinn | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 6

[Jade]

Lilin Post #6 / Tally Post #6

Tally stepped out onto the deck behind the chef, careful not to crowd him and the two plates of shellfish he bore but standing close enough behind him to catch one should it tip and fall. Fortunately, that didn't come to pass - and instead, the large fishwoman found herself standing amidst a gathering of the crew. She looked about and eventually locked eyes with Ophelia, who had moved closer into the crowd to take some of the grilled oyster.

"So, they're playing some form of game...?" she asked as she approached the thief, her voice low less from fear of being overheard and more so that she did not threaten to talk over the others gathered on deck. "I'm afraid I didn't catch the details."

Just as Ophelia was about to give her answer, the space between the two women went black - a lance of inky void shot between them and splattered on the deck for the second time that morning, only to snap back into the silhouette form of Lilin half a moment later. "Aye. Two dice apiece, low roller is asked a question by the high. Tha should play with us, tha wet blanket~"

Tally narrowed her eyes behind her tea shades, but otherwise showed no outward signs of her annoyance at the imp's antics. "Maybe a few rounds," she answered. Ophelia seemed quite pleased by the answer, even if she was less pleased that Lilin had nearly knocked her over - but before either of them could comment on her decision, the octopod woman leaned forward and grabbed Lilin by the front of her shirt. For her part, the imp seemed willing to comply rather than dissipate into smoke as Tally leaned forward until their mismatched sunglasses were nearly touching. "You aim to cheat."

The accusation was scarcely louder than a whisper. If it bothered Lilin, she sure didn't let it show; her grin only widened in response. "Aye, a'course."

"..." Tally studied the little devil for a moment without speaking. "I have a question for one of them," she said, and just barely tilted her head toward one of the individuals on the deck. "If you're going to anyway..."

"Well, well," Lilin answered as her odd diamond-shaped eyes followed the head tilt - only for them to snap back onto the large woman who was holding her in place. "Didn't think tha a cheat. Color me impressed! Aye, let me work my magic."

---

Dice clattered across the deck as the game began. Tally had taken a kneeling position on the deck near where Ophelia had pulled up a chair, and was clearly watching Lilin across the way rather than the dice leaving her hands. The imp certainly didn't seem to be paying any attention, instead attempting to talk the ear off of the man who had suggested they play the game in the first place.

And yet, true to the imp's words, the dice came out how Tally had wanted them. Her own roll was the highest achievable with the dice they were using, and Sadako's the lowest. Lilin flashed a quick grin across the deck at her just as everyone began to quiet down to hear the first of what would hopefully be many questions.

"Mm. First, allow me to once again apologize for yesterday's events," Tally began. Her whole body moved forward in an awkward half-bow in the young woman's direction - it lasted only a moment before the fishwoman sat up again. "If it's any consolation, I saw you as a legitimate threat and was moving to subdue you as quickly as possible as a result. In fact... That's what I wished to ask you. Your ability to control your hair isn't from a Devil Fruit. Would you be able to explain the nature of your ability?"

As soon as the actual question was out, Tally's stiffness lessened. "Not that you need to divulge every secret, I mean... I'm just curious. I've never seen anything quite like it."

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #7}

---

The clattering of dice amidst friendly murmurs and the sharing of food signified the first round — the one to answer the first question and the one to be asked. For a moment, it seemed like it would be Quinn boasting the highest roll, dice finding higher values of five and six. But a sound eleven was beaten by the double sixes of Quinn’s fellow cephalopod as Tally’s dice settled.

^{“Damn,” Lecter muttered:
“Glad this isn’t Liar’s Dice…”}

“Snake eyes… I ‘lose’,” Miss Yamamura said, looking up from the two dots staring back up at her from the deck and setting her eyes upon Tally as muttering quietened. Slowly consuming oysters, Scarlette didn’t even look in their respective directions — she didn’t need to. All she needed to do was listen to the words coming from the Gyojin’s mouth to know the situation as it was. The question itself was an interesting one, to which the Red Terror actually responded with eyes towards Sadako. This was an interesting tale.

“Thank you,” began the girl with long black locks, recognising the honesty behind her former foe’s apology. All the same, this was Sadako — every word spoken was done quietly even as she projected her voice. “It’s… I’ve always been very sensitive to anything touching me, or my hair,” she explained, even more acutely aware of the feeling of fabric against her skin and the soft breeze filtering between follicles as she did so, like being told about breathing. She winced as if recalling a phantom pain.

^{—— SOME DAYS AGO, ON RONDURE ——}

“…You can barely take a hit,” Scarlette said, chocolate brown eyes looking down upon the fallen mass of black coils upon the grass of a Rondurian hilltop. In her hand, she held a perfectly cylindrical stick, disturbed only by perfectly circular knots as seemed to be typical of that strange land. The mass moved, pushing itself to its feet, hair parted from her face with one forearm as if opening a curtain to the twilight sky.

^{“How do you do it?” Sadako panted:
“How do you ignore being hurt…?”}

^{“Eh…? Because… I don’t feel it…”}

^{“…You don’t feel it at all?” she questioned:
“That… That tracks with your arm…”}

“I can feel when something touches me,” Bis Sis explained. “But I don’t feel any pain at all — flames are warm, steel is cool, a punch is hard,” she said, contemplating the last time she felt truly excruciating agony. Even trying to recall the moment created no phantom sensation, just the knowledge of it hurting like hell. But Scarlette knew that despite her strength, she wasn’t physically powerful, so it begged the question of why — after just a few sharp taps from a bendy stick — Sadako seemed to be suffering.

^{“But you,” she addressed:
“You’re the complete opposite, oui?”}

^{“…Mm. Touch is uncomfortable…”}

^{“Your reactions are good,” Scarlette commended:
“The moment I got close you started to move!”}

“Yes… I felt the change in my hair, but you’re a lot faster,” Miss Yamamura spoke softly, realising that it probably sounded a little odd to anyone not related to her, or even from Marchen. That, however, didn’t seem to make much of a difference to Miss Grimm-Rosa, who — for the first time since Sadako had known her — looked like she was seriously thinking about something strategic. The long-haired lady wasn’t sure whether to be concerned or congratulative.

“I still sometimes feel like I have my arm,” Scarlette said, even going so far as to ‘wave’ the non-existent left, phantom in its response yet still strangely tangible to her mind. “Drop everything. Focus on your body and see what else you can feel,” she said, entertaining possibilities. If this strange girl’s ability to sense things beyond mere sight was what she thought it was, then that in and of itself was incredible. But if it wasn’t? Well, then it was something altogether more intriguing…

^{“Alright…,” Sadako focused:
“… …? …!!”}

^{—— THE PRESENT ——}

“If I focus on that feeling, I can move it. There’s not much more to it than that,” Sadako finalised. Silence lingered. There really wasn’t anything else to add — any secrets were so well kept that even her own body had yet to give them up to her. “So… Let’s keep going,” she added quietly, scooping up the pair of eyes staring up at her from the deck and casting them once again. Others followed suit, highs and lows and an array of decidedly average scores, as well as a forced reroll from Ray’s overzealous throws. It was with typical carefree excitement that Torrance announced his score.

^{“Hey! Eleven!”}

^{“Same…,” Kramer revealed:
“Anyone got a twelve…?”}

^{“Doesn’t look like it… Rollies!”
Clickity…
“Seven…?”}

“Twelve. Guess it’s me,” Kramer huffed. “Who’s got the lowest?” The lowest, it turned out, was rolled for Gobbie, and that legitimately sparked an interest in the normally rather stern craftsman’s gaze. He had to hand it to the Gyojin woman, she was talented, and he was curious. “Where’d you learn to build ships? I know your people don’t exactly swim everywhere and I’m no boatswain but,” he said with a knock on the boards of the Mercy Bouquet’s deck, “this kind of work is no small feat…”

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>Stuff!

Notes:
• None

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Lilith Lilin | #f0b333
Tally | #3656b0
Ophelia [NPC] | #ff72d7
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

Quinn thanked his lucky stars that he didn’t actually roll the highest. He sighed a breath of relief and leaned back while Gobbie worked idly next to him. Tally was actually the highest roller and the question she asked was of Sadako. Quinn had to admit to a little bit of curiosity too, so his eyes fell on her when she called upon. He put a hand to his chin as she mentioned her sensitivity to being touched. That… was probably why she had reacted poorly back then… He sighed. He’d really gone and made a mess of things, hadn’t he?

In the end, Sadako’s answer was short and sweet. It didn’t really explain too much to be perfectly honest, but it was a weird enough ability that it was likely that was all there was to it. Everyone geared up for the next round. Quinn leaned forward to roll his own dice - the green ones as Gobbie had pointed out. Middling results. Probably safe for another round then. Quinn glanced up at Gobbie, and she nodded, so he rolled again for her. Ooh. Low roll. Well, it wasn’t him.

“I lose!” Gobbie said cheerily at the results, “Yay!”

Quinn raised an eyebrow and chuckled to himself at her sheer enthusiasm at losing. Gobbie turned away from the door, which was almost finished, and stared at Kramer with such enthusiastic intensity that Quinn rubbed the bridge of his nose. That was the same stare that had terrified and startled many a random passerby. She meant it with purely good intentions but her face… Well, it was intimidating to put it very lightly. Kramer probably wouldn’t be too bothered by it, seeing as he’d known her for longer than two seconds.

“Oh! That’s easy! I worked at a shipyard!”

Quinn waited a moment and then looked up a Gobbie as she seemed perfectly happy to leave it at that. He tried to contain his exasperation. She normally couldn’t shut up about these kinds of things.

“Gobbie, please. Tell them a little more. Where the shipyard was… Why you chose to go into it… Things like that, you know?”

“Oh! Right!” Gobbie perked up with a smile like it had only hit her just now that this wasn’t a game with right or wrong answers, “Me an’ Aniki are from Ryugu!”

“Fishman Island - under the Red Line - at the end of the Grand Line,” Quinn added for additional context in a tired, almost strained voice.

“Right! An’ ships pass through all the time, so’s they need people to work on them! I like putting stuff together to make a home for people! A home’s where smiles are made and where the heart rests, so it’s super important! You gotta do an extra good job so people can rest easy.”

Gobbie shot Kramer a bright smile and then looked down to Quinn for confirmation that that answer had been enough. He just nodded, which seemed to set her at ease. She twirled around with surprising grace for her size on one foot and went back to the door. She’d probably be able to roll next round herself. Quinn picked up the dice and rolled them both, his face falling at the results. He’d rolled high again. Curse his luck!

“Twelve. Anyone else…no? Just me? Okay…” Quinn shed an invisible tear for himself before looking around to see who had rolled the lowest. Fortunately for him, the lowest roller wasn’t one he was particularly dreading. It was Bateman.

“Well, here’s one thats a little broad, I suppose,” Quinn started gesturing widely, “How did you all… erm… come to be a family? Like meet and decide to say we’re a family now? How did that happen?”

---

Quinn | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 7

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #8}

---

“Huh… The more you know,” Kramer grunted in acceptance of the answer he’d been given, even returning a small smile of his own. Gobbie certainly was an anomaly of her own special kind, but if anything — and Grimm-Rosa Scarlette could see it — her heart shone bright in nearly any situation. Every word the Gyojin lady had spoken resonated with a certain liveliness and naïveté, despite all she’d been through, and that was inspiring in its own regard. Perhaps inspiring enough to raise the Red Terror’s own energy a little, perhaps helped by the oysters.

They needed this.

^{“Twelve,” Quinn announced:
“Anyone else…? No? Well…”}

Really…? It was a very unusual question all things considered, enough to make Scarlette herself give the curious cosmetologist a confused look as other sets of eyes turned upon him. For just a moment, he was the absolute centre of attention, albeit for a variety of different reasons. Many had accepted it, but some still held their odd reservations in regards to what it meant to be a part of this — an adoptive family unlike any other. Still, the question was rather broadly offered, but Bateman’s one and two roll was the lowest of the set.

“Well, as much as I could, I won’t speak for others at all,” the financier stated, prompting a roll of the eyes from Lecter. “I know that none of our situations were particularly great coming into this, so I reckon a brief summary of events should suffice, at least as far as generalising goes. Scarlette came into our lives — prisoners of damned justice and slaves against our wills — and offered us the option,” he explained, remembering the very hectic circumstances of his own ‘recruitment’ into siblinghood. A part of him wanted to recite the words she had said, but he held his tongue.

That was her lot.

^{“…She made an offer,” he added with small smile:
“That, due to circumstance, I just couldn’t refuse…”}

Why are you sad, Bateman? Her question was silent as chocolate eyes looked to him, his head bowing to the dice as he and everyone else gathered the pool and took to the roll. Big Sis herself was the last to do so, scooping up the two cubes with a little more energy now that events had rekindled her and casting them to the deck. Five and four. Nine was by no means a low roll, but with the number of dice being scattered, the most basic laws of mathematics certainly would apply, with the highest roll being two fives — Krueger.

^“…”

^{“Good L– Krueger,” Lecter spoke up:
“Do you have a question for–?”}

“Yes! Yeah, I do,” the wrinkled man began, eyes apparently closed as Scarlette observed him. She wondered often about his condition — his habits of falling asleep and yet still being ‘present’ in the action of conversation — and what it meant. But that was a question for a different time because, despite him being apparently out of it, he still seemed to pose the right question to the freshest faces. “Devil Fruits are very strange things, but I have to ask, if I may: What was it that drove you to eat it…?”

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>Stuff!

Notes:
• Jade is up next!

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Lilith Lilin | #f0b333
Tally | #3656b0
Ophelia [NPC] | #ff72d7
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Jade]

Lilin Post #7 / Tally Post #7

As the next few rounds went on without their direct input, the trio of former Shoguns sat back and kept, for some, uncharacteristically quiet. Tally's eyes, from behind those opaque from the outside tea shades, never left the imp - who, for her part, seemed almost disinterested in the game as her rolls had no impact on who would be asking and answering questions. In fact, while the other fishman on board was answering her question and talking about how she and her brother were from Fishman Island (a fact that Tally mentally took note of), Lilin had pulled a bottle of some dark fluid that had a nose-burning, noxious smell to it even from across the deck that she'd begun taking swigs from.

Even if she hadn't pressed for details at the time she'd accused Lilin, Tally was curious how the imp was cheating in broad daylight, without anyone catching on. There had to be a trick to it, but so far she couldn't tell if the little devil was even bothering to influence the rolls past the first round's...

"Devil Fruits are very strange things..." Kreuger started, directed at the low roller of the round, Ophelia. "What was it that drove you to eat it...?"

"Now, that is a question..." The Phantom Thief sat back in the chair she'd pulled up and readjusted her crossed legs, tapping her chin a few times in thought. The grin on her face suggested she was simply letting the anticipation of those gathered mount rather than actually taking the time to think, however. "Well, for me at least, I'm afraid it isn't a very glamorous answer. The Fruit was my payment for a job I took for a certain long-time client," her eyes darted to Lilin, who for her part was mid-swig and missed it entirely, "and, upon identifying the Fruit and what its ability was, determined that it would be more beneficial for me to take its power than to try to sell it off for a profit."

Ophelia raised her hands up, palms pressed against one another - and when she pulled them apart, a clear glass bottle formed between them. "I think a number of you would agree, no? There's very little I can't steal with an ability like this."

"Mine was inheritance," Lilin offered not even half a moment after Ophelia finished, even though the question hadn't really been meant for her. She didn't meet anyone's eye as she spoke, instead lifting the dark bottle of noxious booze to the sky to gauge how much was left. "Left to me 'fore my Mother went off in a blaze of glory."

Piercing golden eyes scanned the gathered crew as smoke began pouring out of the diminutive woman's mouth, nose, ears, and even began to billow out from where her pants were tucked into her shoes and the sleeves of the shirt she was wearing. "Would've ate it anyway, 'course, given the chance. Kashashashasha!"

Before the smoke could choke out the entire deck, it was whisked away - bottled up by Ophelia in the bottle she had just made, revealing Lilin again as she chugged more of her foul beverage. "So, next round?"

As those gathered began to prepare their dice, Lilin's diamond-shaped eyes locked onto Tally's, and even as Lilin cast her own dice. The imp finished chugging the bottle of booze in her hand and wiped her mouth off, and her gaze slid across the way to the merman present on the ship. Tally frowned, watching the dice for any clue as to what was happening - but nothing, not even as Lilin's dice rolled to show two 6's and Quinn's came up as two 1's. "So, spore-sprout," Lilin started as soon as the bottle was pulled away from her mouth, casually wiping her mouth with the back of her other hand and using the bottle to gesture at Quinn, "what's got tha knickers all a-twist? If I didn't know any better, I'd say tha were looking for the first chance tha get to jump overboard - but we know how that goes for us hammers, don't we?"

[Fox]

Ah.

All eyes had turned to Quinn. He immediately wished for the sweet release of death, but somehow managed to stay stone faced. An impressive show of willpower for him. Thankfully, after a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, Quinn was rescued from his fate by Bateman, forever earning him Quinn’s gratitude. The answer was one that he hadn’t been expecting. In truth, Quinn hadn’t known exactly what to expect. He had just supposed that Scarlette picked people up off the street like stray animals. This made… more sense than that, he supposed.

Quinn simply nodded in response to his answer. He didn’t want to imagine himself in a similar circumstance, but if they didn’t like it, couldn’t they just leave? Quinn regarded Bateman curiously, but decided that some questions were best left unasked. It seemed like a rather tumultuous experience to relive.

As everyone picked up their dice to roll again, Quinn reached out for Gobbie’s dice. She plopped down beside him with a thump that made him bounce up into the air just the slightest amount. His eyes were wide with surprise, and it had been all he could do to not let out a little yelp of surprise.

“I got this one Aniki!” Gobbie said cheerily, her work on the door finished. She scooped up her dice in a single hand. They looked tiny in her grasp.

“Ah… right.”

Quinn picked up his own dice instead, shaking them about in his hands and casting them onto the deck of the ship. Not him this time. He breathed a sigh of relief and sat back a little, watching Krueger ask the new crazy people why they’d eaten their Devil Fruits. Ophelia’s answer at least made sense from a logical perspective. Lilin’s… Quinn understood a little less. Her smoke spread across the deck, much to Quinn’s discomfort before Ophelia bottled it up.

Next round. Quinn picked up his dice and cast them once again. They stared back at him. Two ones. Snake eyes. Ugh. His luck was atrocious. He glanced up to see who had rolled the most and went pale when he saw who it was. His luck was unbelievably atrocious. Out of everyone on deck, it had to be her. He squinted at her turn of phrase, processing her question slowly.

“Well, I am, technically,” Quinn said before glancing to Gobbie and correcting himself, “We are. This was always just a temporary arrangement. Gobbie built a ship for them, so we got to hitch a ride. Once I find what I came out here for, we’ll both be headed back to the Ryugu Kingdom, so we can get on with our lives.”

Quinn felt smug about having such a ready answer. It’d come as no surprise to ninety percent of the people here. He didn’t let it show and instead shrugged nonchalantly.

“That’s how it is.”

He leaned forward and picked up his dice, rolling again. Thankfully, this roll was entirely average and it was Gobbie who had rolled high. He looked up at her and frowned at her expression.

“...?”

She looked oddly troubled. The girl wore her heart on her sleeve, but her, uh, unique appearance sometimes made it difficult for others to intuit her expressions and gestures. What… was going on in that head of hers? Had he said something to upset her? He’d just said the truth. Gobbie made eye contact with Scarlette. Oh no.

“What was the offa’ ya made to Mister Bateman and da others, Big Sis?”

What.

---

Quinn | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 8

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #9}

---

Krueger’s curiosities sated by comparatively mundane yet enlightening answers, the tired man nodded and gave them the thumbs up for their contribution, still never showing any actual solid sign that he was awake. At least from Miss Grimm-Rosa’s point of view, Ophelia and Lilin’s powers were obtained a little more fairly than her own—they had a choice once the object had fallen into their possession. The conversations shifted, the rolls and the questions resuming a randomness, but eventually it was the Smoking Devil’s next query that seemed to rile up Quinn.

“This was always just a temporary arrangement,” he replied, cryptic about whatever it was he was searching for, but his answer wasn’t exactly to be expected. Well, more precisely, a still mostly out of it Red Terror gave him an empty-eyed expression. Not out of malicious intent or concern, just persistent fatigue as she tried to read him. It didn’t last long, admittedly, and soon the dice were cast again from her own hand.

One and two.

“What was the offa’ ya made, Big Sis?” Gobbie posed the question, the others remained silent. Awkwardly so. Eyes upon the woman who had so far been out of the loop through sheerly average rolls, and upon the Gyojin who had so willingly followed up a curious question. Hollow eyes came to life a little as she raised her head, a soft smile spreading itself over her scarred visage as she actually stifled a yawn and stretched stiffly. Quinn might not have been ready, but Gobbie? No, she was much more of an open heart than her brother seemed.

^{“Oh… She’s actually gonna–”
“The reason we call her ‘Big Sis’ is…”
“Mm…”}

^{“Ah… Gobbie,” she exhaled:
“…Wanna be my little sibling?”}

Several faces turned to calm smiles—Lecter, Bateman, Myers, Sweeney, even Kramer—as those words quietly echoed out across the deck of the ship. Each and every one of them had been asked that same question. Some of them had needed some time to think it through, others had been practically instant in their decision. In the end, not one said ‘no’. Escapees from a desolate, dreary, once tyrannised isle, or slaves busted from their inhumane transport, it was either say ‘yes’ and have a rough but definite shot at freedom anew, or refuse and dread to see what the next day had in store for them.

Come to think of it, nobody had actually ever refused…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>Stuff!

Notes:
• N/A

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Lilith Lilin | #f0b333
Tally | #3656b0
Ophelia [NPC] | #ff72d7
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

The mood shifted rather dramatically after Gobbie asked her question. So much so that Quinn felt his skin prickle uncomfortably. Whatever was about to happen here, he didn’t feel great about it. Watching Scarlette didn’t comfort him. Her eyes lit up in that way that he was already all too familiar with when something shook off that weird blase zombie-like attitude that she had most times. And then she answered and asked a question in one.

“Wha…?”

A quick scan of the faces indicated that the mood had shifted yet again. Everyone was smiling as if reminiscing of the day that they’d been asked. Ha, there was no way that Gobbie would accept though. Quinn’s lips twisted up into a rather pained looking smile as he looked up at Gobbie. She wasn’t looking at him. He’d expected her usual look to him for approval. To make sure that this was okay. So he could remind her that they weren’t staying. But…

“Ya!” Gobbie cheered happily, clapping her giant hands together and smiling, showing all her needle teeth, “I’d lov’ ta!”

There hadn’t even been a moment’s hesitation. The smile was instantly wiped from Quinn’s face and replaced with a stunned blank stare. At some point along the way, he’d just totally forgotten that Gobbie was her own person with her own wants and thoughts. She always just looked up to him and… they’d always been together.

Quinn put a hand to his mouth to cover it, unable to properly school his expression at the moment, and lowered his head to stare at the deck of the ship. She was going to leave. Leave him for these… insane people?! She… Quinn bit his lip. His chest felt tight. He felt light headed like he couldn’t breathe. Like someone had just jabbed a knife into his lungs.

Oblivious to him, Gobbie rushed forward to embrace Scarlette in one of her signature bear hugs. She was deceptively gentle with these hugs because she never actually wanted to hurt the person that she was hugging. While Gobbie was doing that, Quinn stood up and slipped inside the ship. He didn’t want to be here. This… this had been a bad idea.

Gobbie gently set down Scarlette and kneeled down to look at her properly.

“O’ course, I gotta help Aniki get rid o’ his Devil Fruit firs’!” she said, glancing back at where Quinn had been, her smile turning into genuine confusion to not see him there, “Aniki?”

---

Quinn | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 9
Gobbie | #afeeee

[Jade]

Lilin Post #8 / Tally Post #8

"Aniki?"

"Spoilsport took off." Lilin was the one to answer, taking the empty bottle she'd been drinking from for the duration of the game and carelessly chucking it off the deck. As she did, the dice that had been left on the ship's deck suddenly rose up into the air, held aloft on thin pillars of void - the imp raised one boot up, revealing the thin tendrils that had slipped between miniscule cracks, and then the dice were each swallowed up by the darkness and brought together in the center. "S'pose we call it there, aye? No sense continuing when one's been unglued - even if he evaded the question leveled his way."

The bubble of void holding the dice collapsed, depositing the collection onto the deck in a shockingly neat pile - Lilin, for her part, similarly collapsed into darkness, slipping below the very cracks she'd been manipulating the game through into the depths of the ship in an instant. Ophelia gave a little sigh before collecting herself and, after giving everyone else still gathered on the deck a polite smile, excused herself to follow after the little devil through more conventional means, following in Quinn's tentacle-steps.

Which just left Tally on deck of the former Shoguns trio. She stepped forward and knelt down, collecting the dice Lilin had been manipulating in her hands without a word. Only once they were all in her hands did she stand again, another one of her free hands going up behind her neck to steady it as she turned it one way and then the other with a series of quick cracking pops. "Here, we had a bag for these, right...?" she asked, scanning the gathered members of the Big Sis crew and offering up her lowest pair of hands for whoever stepped forward.

While she waited, though, the octopus fishman turned her head over to Gobbie. "I'm from Fishman Island as well, you know. I made a promise to a certain person to take those two," her middle set of hands gestured vaguely, the individuals she was speaking of no longer being on the deck with them, "through to the New World. And speaking of which, I sort of assumed that this crew would be heading that way as well, no? You're a group of pirates sailing the Grand Line - there's really only the option to go forward when you sail these waters, which means you'll reach that point eventually. If we're still sailing with you at that point, I can guarantee this ship's safe passage down to Fishman Island and then back up to the other side." Tally cracked a smile at the other fishman on deck. "And if your brother still wants to stay behind, I can take him back home with me once that's done."

---

Inky blackness stretched across the ceiling below deck, snaking its way through the ship until it'd spotted its prey: A certain merman who had tried to slip away. The void sped up, and then dropped to the ground in front of Quinn, reforming first into a silhouette of the horned woman before color emerged from the abyss.

Lilin gave him a toothy grin, her long pipe flipping from one side of her mouth to the other in the process. "Pretty tricky, kid. But tha know as well as I that wasn't the answer to my question - I didn't want to know if tha wanted off the ship, I wanted to know what's got tha all wound up."

"Lilin..." And from behind Quinn came Ophelia's voice, crossing her arms a little as she stared past him toward her diminutive friend. "Did you just come into the ship to harass him?"

"Aye, I did," Lilin punctuated the thought by shifting her pipe again, pointing it directly at the thief solely through minute movements of her pointed teeth. "Ain't like there's much else in the way of entertainment right this second, now is there?"

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #10}

---

As Grimm-Rosa Scarlette found herself taken up in the arms of the Gyojin goliath, she too was oblivious to Mister Bathory’s departure from the deck, up until she was set down and Gobbie couldn’t find him. A cursory scan of the deck itself found no trace of the Merman, with Lilin being the one to highlight his disappearing act while silently demonstrating an act all her own. Ophelia, offering not a single word, simply walked below deck of her own accord.

^{“So she was cheating,” Bateman uttered:
“I’m not quite sure how to feel…”}

“Here, we had a bag for these, right?” Tally asked, dice gathered neatly in one pair of hands as Torrance stepped forwards and nodded with the bag open. A quick exchange of thanks was all that was really needed, the man seemingly unfazed by the whole turn of note that the game had taken in its final throes, but that was him in a nutshell. Nothing bothered him. “And speaking of which,” Tally continued, mentioning a promise she had made, “I sort of assumed that this crew would be heading that way as well, no…?”

“Well…,” Lecter began, though he wasn’t quite sure how to progress at first, as made evident by the way his brow furrowed and his initiation trailed. “To be completely honest with you, Tally, we’ve been mostly following the winds and currents and hoping for the best. Until Ophelia, Lilin, and yourself joined us, we didn’t even have a Log Pose to navigate with,” he mentioned, the man’s aura dampening somewhat at the prospect of blind sailing any further on such a dangerous sea. At least the Mercy Bouquet could somewhat compensate for getting lost on the open seas.

^{“What’s that…?”}

^{“What’s what, Big Sis?” Sweeney asked:
“I thought you knew about Fishman Island…?”}

“No,” Miss Grimm-Rosa groaned slightly, her fatigue still not wholly faded, but she was definitely more lively. “The New World. What is it?” If she had heard it mentioned before, it had been in passing and she either hadn’t been paying it any mind, or had forgotten already. She somewhat doubted the latter, because it seemed important enough to warrant knowing about, though her chocolate eyes noted various expressions from present siblings. Some—namely the more recent additions such as Cujo and Kramer—seem confused that she didn’t know what it was, while others seemed to express a little concern.

^{“How have you made it this far,” Bateman snapped:
“And don’t know what the New World is?!”}

^{“It– It– It– It’s the second half of the Grand Line…”}

“Wait… You’re saying it doesn’t go all the way around the world from that weird mountain?” It was sometimes baffling to her chosen family. How could such a strong individual be so clueless about the world at large? Still, it seemed to Scarlette that most were hesitant to actually explain what the ‘New World’ was, and that certainly served to pique her interest—for better or worse…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>As the game wraps up, Tally’s offer highlights the fact that Scarlette doesn’t know anything about the New World!

Notes:
• N/A

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Lilith Lilin | #f0b333
Tally | #3656b0
Ophelia [NPC] | #ff72d7
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

“Cheating?” Gobbie put her hands to her mouth as if she’d said a naughty word. Why would someone cheat at a game like this though? That didn’t make no sense. She scratched her head, frowning. Mysteries upon mysteries! Looking at Tally as the other Fishman approached her, Gobbie shot her a smile and nodded, listening curiously. Lecter was first to speak after, letting Gobbie have time to mull it over before speaking up.

“Aniki and I have also just been wanderin’! We’re lookin’ fer… Hm… a library? Er, something. A cure fer sure! Aniki keeps talking about libraries tho’. I don’t think Fishman Island had nothin’ ‘bout curin’ Devil Fruit stuff. Mebbe we’ll find somethin’ on the way tho’?”

Tally’s kind offer made Gobbie beam at the other Fishman.

“Oh, that’d be swell! I’d really appreciate you lookin’ after Aniki.”

That was a weight off of Gobbie’s heart. If he had a trustworthy friend to see him back to Fishman Island, she didn’t have to worry about going off with Big Sis and all her newfound siblings and leaving him on his own. Gobbie put her hands on her hips and nodded proudly. It was all looking up! Gobbie glanced over to Scarlette as she asked about the New World.

“Oh! Ya, Big Sis! Lots of scary strong people are in da New World. I used ta build ships for crews passin’ through Fishman Island! Da seas over there are even crazier den dey are ‘ere too.”

Gobbie scratched her head.

“Come ta think of it, if we’re goin’ that way, I probably need ta be strong too… I don’t wanna be a burden!” Gobbie looked over at Tally, “Do ya think ya could teach me? If ya know any?”

~Meanwhile~

Quinn tried to settle the cascading feeling of hurt and betrayal that prickled through his body like a wave of physical pain. It sometimes amazed him how anxiety could cause very visceral, physical reactions. He put a hand to his mouth to fight back the growing wave of nausea. Why had he expected Gobbie to answer differently? To look to him? Stupid. Quinn shook his head and pushed further below decks, walking down the stairs that would take him to the deck where his room resided. He stepped forward… and a dark void dropped in front of him, reforming into the shape of his most recent headache.

Quinn scowled as she grinned up at him. He didn’t have the time or patience for this. Anger rose up within him like bile. He was about to answer this dratted devil when another voice spoke up behind him. Quinn turned slightly to see Ophelia, but she hadn’t been addressing him. She didn’t seem like she was here to box him in though. He turned his attention back to Lilin, his scowl deepening at the mention of being entertainment.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Quinn snapped sarcastically, “Could it be because I’m trapped on a ship with a bunch of destructive lunatics? Could it be that I’m a Merfolk that can’t swim to save their life? Maybe it’s because I’m going to end up with a bounty or dead if I’m here much longer! Or maybe it’s that my own sister decided she wanted a different family?!”

Clamping his jaw shut at that last remark, Quinn felt intense and immediate regret. It didn’t change that that was the way that he felt. Shaking his head, Quinn tried to push past Lilin to get to his room.

“Forget it. Just - leave me alone.”

---

Quinn | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 10
Gobbie | #afeeee

[Jade]

Lilin Post #9 / Tally Post #9

The imp's form shifted, growing taller as she adopted her hybrid form - filling more of the space of the hall to block the merman's attempt at pushing past and so that she could stare down the bridge of her nose at him. "Oooooooh, tha are the worst kind of arrogant prick, aren't tha? Hiding behind a mask of meekness while thinking tha are so much better than everyone else. Hate to break it to tha, but-"

"Lilin."

"Oh, take a fall from that high horse of yours!" Lilin shot back at the thief, who simply sighed - and then her sharp golden eyes were immediately locked back down on Quinn. "Face it, fun guy, tha are just as big a freak as anyone else on this boat. Don't got a thing to do with tha's tentacles or being a hammer, or even the combination of the two, or, hell, what you got for losing the ability to go for a dip. Minute tha realize that, and embrace it, well- Might find it easier to see where that sister of yours is coming from, aye?"

She leaned down suddenly, a little too inhumanly, putting her face right up against his until their noses were pressed together as cloying smoke poured from the edges of her dangerous grin. "'Sides - tha have potential, aye?" As quickly as she had leaned in, Lilin leaned back again - throwing her head back and laughing loudly. "Kashashashasha! Just take care not to throw it overboard! Kashasha!"

And, just as suddenly as she had arrived, Lilin was gone, twisting in on herself into a thin column of smoke that pressed up against the boards of the ceiling and through minute cracks and leaving only a few wisps in her wake. "She's only so cryptic because she gets a kick out of it," Ophelia offered up. "But I guess I'm just as bad. Have fun with your brooding, Quinn." And with that, the Phantom Thief departed as well, walking back the way she came.

---

Tally remained quiet for a time after saying so much, listening to the crew's discussion after her extended offer. Hearing their captain's lack of knowledge about how the world worked, and the crew's subsequent disbelief, got a chuckle out of her - and she offered a nod in support of Gobbie's answer.

"Yes, that is the gist of it. It's a sea ruled by the most dangerous of pirate crews - the Emperors - and the true final destination for those sailing the Grand Line," the octopus woman chimed in. "You'll find all sorts there, from what I've heard. I've never gone very far up on that side of the Red Line myself."

"I probably need ta be strong too..." Gobbie started, and then the other fishfolk on deck glanced her way. "Do ya think ya could teach me? If ya know any?"

"Do I know any...?" Tally echoed back, fixing Gobbie with a stare through her blue-tinted tea shades. "I am a practitioner of Fishman Karate, so I know a thing or two about fighting, if that's what you're asking - but I'm no teacher. I could probably show you some of the basics, or offer some feedback if you already have some fundamentals down, I guess?"

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #11}

---

“Lots of scary strong people are in da New World,” Gobbie said, prompting mixed reactions from the dysfunctional family that was the crew. Perhaps the most anxious of the lot were Sweeney, Bateman, Sawyer, who each seemed to shed a few beads of sweat at the prospect of their Big Sis having this information at her fingertips. Lecter watched cautiously, but otherwise seemed to accept it as an inevitability with a shrug of the shoulders, while the likes of Torrance and Ray seemed far less bothered by it.

“It’s a sea ruled by the most dangerous of pirate crews,” Tally elaborated, her words only further stirring the simmering broth that was Miss Grimm-Rosa’s interest. Chocolate eyes widened with intrigue like a child in a candy store, catching the light and dying themselves that curious crimson as stars of fascination took over. “You’ll find all sorts there, from what I’ve heard,” the octopus Gyojin affirmed, by which point the scarred woman’s form had raised itself from the floor like a vampire from their coffin, hands balled into fists of excitable determination under her chin as she smiled widely.

^{“Strongest and most dangerous,” Scarlette recited:
“That sounds like it’ll be fun~! Hihihihi~ …!”}

^{“I was afraid she’d say that…”}

“I am a practitioner of Fishman Karate,” Tally said as Miss Bathory posed her a curious question. But those words alone were enough to spark the interest of another, so far more silent member of the siblings. Having mostly lingered towards the back of the ship, even as the games were ongoing, Jason Voorhees peered from around the cabin’s corner with a look of fascination illuminating his small, aquamarine eyes. He was a tall, round man, with darker skin and a stubbled, mostly bald head, and had mostly remained silent and absent since the newcomers had been taken aboard.

^{“Hm? Oh,” Torrance chirped:
“Hi, Voorhees! …?”}

“Harroh!” A grunt of greeting mostly passive, Voorhees didn’t ignore any of those now paying attention to him, even going so far as to offer them a somewhat timid little wave from one of his meaty paws. However, it was clear that he had direction as he slid on over beside Gobbie and looked excitedly towards Tally, clapping his hands together. “Teach…?” Words seldom found themselves coming from the man’s mouth, but that was clear enunciation on his part as he gestured with one palm upon his chest, the other extended openly as if inviting the Gyojin woman to do as he’d asked. It was pleading excitement, his stature hunched a little in an excited bow in an unusual mirror of Scarlette’s own as she vibrated from anticipation…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>Both Scarlette and Voorhees are excited by future prospects!

Notes:
• N/A

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Lilith Lilin | #f0b333
Tally | #3656b0
Ophelia [NPC] | #ff72d7
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e