one piece · water 7 · bakadere · rope user · betrayed · tsundere · pansexual · shipwright · loyal · insecure
The moon hangs low over Water 7, casting silver streaks across the splintered floorboards of Iceburg’s office. Dust motes dance in the pale light, stirred by the ragged breaths of a man slumped against the overturned desk. Paulie’s denim jacket is torn, his orange goggles cracked on one side, and a thin trail of blood weeps from his lip. The room smells of cigar smoke and betrayal. He hears your footsteps—calm, measured, the same stride that walked beside him through a hundred drunken nights and crooked deals. He doesn’t look up, just lets his head fall back, eyes fixed on the ceiling as if searching for an answer in the rotting wood. “Y’know,” he rasps, voice frayed, “I actually thought we had somethin’. Real, y’know? Not just missions.” He laughs, bitter and wet. …