The Velvet Grave

Name: Hōseki Hōseki no Mi (Gem Gem Fruit)

Type: Paramecia

Power: Mae can create, manipulate, and fuse with crystalline gemstones—rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, etc.

Abilities:

• Crystal Armor & Weaponry: She can encase her body in gorgeous gem-like armor, forming weapons like swords, whips, or claws from different gemstones.

• Reflective Defense: Diamonds or sapphires reflect light or redirect energy attacks.

• Gem Constructs: She can create structures or traps from the ground—like growing a wall of jagged crystals or pinning enemies.

• Emotional Resonance: Each gem has an emotional tie—Mae draws on feelings to make stronger constructs. For example:

• Ruby = anger → more aggressive, explosive shards

• Sapphire = calm → precise and defensive structures

• Amethyst = fear → illusions or mirages using light refraction

Weakness:

• Resonance Overload: If she overuses one emotion or overextends her constructs, the gems can shatter and cause feedback pain or temporary paralysis.

• Time Delay: Larger constructs take longer to grow—she’s strongest mid-fight, not at the start.

Symbolism:

• She seems polished, beautiful, and untouchable—but the emotional link to her power shows that her strength comes from her vulnerability and passion. Perfect for a pirate captain who inspires loyalty, fear, and love.

Mae’s Signature Techniques

1. Ruby Fang

• Mae forms gauntlets of jagged ruby and launches a flurry of slashing strikes.

• Tied to rage—she uses this when someone hurts her crew.

• Rubies glow red-hot and may explode on impact if overcharged.

2. Sapphire Shell

• Defensive dome of sapphire crystal surrounds her or an ally.

• Tied to calm and focus—she uses it to regroup or protect others.

• Reflects light-based or elemental attacks like lasers or fire.

3. Emerald Lure

• Creates glimmering, vine-like constructs of emerald that hypnotize or confuse enemies by refracting light.

• Tied to curiosity or cunning—great for ambushes or escape.

4. Amethyst Mirage

• Mae creates a shimmering illusion of herself or her surroundings.

• Tied to fear—used in high-stakes fights or against overwhelming odds.

• Illusions crack or fade if touched.

5. “Gemfall” Ultimate Move

• Mae channels multiple emotions at once and calls down a storm of different gem shards—each type behaving uniquely (exploding, freezing, binding).

• High risk, high power: the more mixed her emotions, the harder it is to control.

🏴‍☠️ The Velvet Grave — Mae's pirate crew

⚔️ Sam’s Fighting Style Concept:

Core Style: Rokushiki (Six Powers) — the elite martial arts style taught to top Marine officers.

Sam’s Custom Combat Profile

Primary Combat Style:
Rokushiki Mastery + Polearm Proficiency (Trident/Spear)

✅ Rokushiki Techniques (simplified for story flow):

* Soru (Shave): Lightning-fast movement to dash and dodge.

* Tekkai (Iron Body): Hardens muscles to block attacks (but not against Mae’s emotion-fueled gem strikes for long).

* Geppou (Moonwalk): Lets him leap and walk through the air—great for aerial combat with Mae.

* Rankyaku (Storm Leg): Sends slicing air blades from a kick—he channels this through his spear too.

Weapon: Trident Named "Jūrei" (Heavy Spirit)

* Made of seastone alloy—a nod to his Marine loyalty.

* Symbolic: sharp, controlled, precise—opposite Mae’s emotionally reactive powers.

* Has one prong broken from a past fight, showing he’s not as “clean cut” as he pretends.

Signature Moves:

1. Ocean Fang Thrust

* A high-speed pierce enhanced with Soru and Rankyaku, sending a shockwave ahead of the strike.

2. Iron Shell Guard

* Combines Tekkai with the trident’s seastone to parry Devil Fruit attacks. He uses this instinctively against Mae at first.

3. Wavebreaker Spin

* A spinning slash using the trident and Rankyaku—deflects projectiles (like Mae’s gem shards) mid-air.

4. Spirit Drop

* Uses Geppou to leap high, then drives the trident into the ground or a ship’s deck with crushing force.

Character Symbolism:

* Sam = Control, duty, precision. He’s everything the Marines want.

* Mae = Emotion, freedom, chaos. She’s everything they fear.

* When they fight together, it’s a perfect blend: control + passion, structure + instinct.

Setting: 
A ruined port town under heavy rainfall. Mae’s ship has just escaped an ambush, but she stayed behind to buy time for her crew. She’s wounded, cornered, and angry. Sam is leading the marine pursuit, trident in hand.

[SCENE BEGIN]

Mae limped into the broken square, boots crunching over shattered cobblestone and shattered gemstone shards. Ruby fragments glimmered behind her like blood in the rain.

Sam was already waiting.

His coat flared behind him in the wind, soaked and heavy. His trident was slung across his back like a cross he carried willingly.

“You’re Mae,” he said. Not a question. “Captain of the Velvet Grave.”

She smirked, lips stained crimson. “You know, that name sounds better coming from someone who wants me dead.”

“I don’t want you dead,” he said. “Just in chains.”

Mae raised her hand. Sapphire gleamed at her fingertips, forming a crystal blade from her wrist down.

“Then you’re gonna be disappointed.”

He didn’t waste words. Soru cracked the air as he vanished and reappeared at her side, trident swinging low. Mae ducked, sliding across rain-slick stone and hurling a spray of gem shards behind her.

Sam’s leg kicked out—a Rankyaku flash—and her crystal wall shattered like glass.

She grinned. “Fast. Cold. All that marine training makes you predictable.”

“I’m not here to impress you,” he said, spinning his trident with practiced ease. “I’m here to stop you.”

She slammed both palms into the ground. Emerald pillars erupted beneath his feet, forcing him airborne. But he twisted in the air with Geppou, landing with a spear thrust straight at her heart.

A sapphire dome burst around her just in time—he bounced back, his trident scraping harmlessly.

“Nice block,” he said.

“Nice try,” she replied.

For a moment, they stood across from each other, breathing hard. Lightning flashed overhead.

Mae touched her gem-streaked arm, breathing steady. “What’s your name, Marine?”

“Sam”

“I’ll remember it. For when I win.”

And then she launched herself at him, ruby fists glowing like coals.

The Grand Line was quiet—for once.

Dark clouds stretched like old bruises across the sky, bleeding rain onto the charred remnants of Port Thalos, a forgotten harbor town too small for the world to care about and too bold for the Marines to ignore.

Smoke curled up from shattered rooftops, and puddles shimmered with soot and ash.

Footsteps broke the silence—measured, heavy, deliberate.

Sam moved like a tide—unrelenting, cold, and impossible to reason with. His blue Marine coat stuck to his back from the rain, his face calm beneath a soaked officer's cap. In his right hand, he carried his trident, Jūrei—its broken middle prong glinting like a wound that never healed.

He paused before the smoldering wreckage of a tavern.

And from the wreckage, she emerged.

Mae walked with a limp, smoke curling from her coat, a gash on her shoulder crusted over with sapphire. Her hair clung to her face, streaked with dust and gem-glitter. The shattered cobblestones beneath her feet reflected the glow of the rain-soaked gems growing from her skin.

“Didn’t think the great Sam would waste time chasing down one pirate,” she said, voice hoarse but proud.

Sam’s trident twitched slightly in his grip.

“You’re not just one pirate. You’re the heart of the Velvet Grave. Word is you’ve sunk three ships, raided a World Noble’s convoy, and you made an Admiral bleed.”

Mae spat a shard of ruby from her mouth. “He asked for it.”

They stared at each other, silence weighted with history neither had the time to explain.

Then—movement. A shimmer at her fingertips. A flash of sapphire. And then—

Clash.

Their first fight wasn’t elegant. It wasn’t poetic. It was brutal.

Sapphire domes, ruby daggers, and emerald vines clashed with iron-hard kicks, blinding speed, and the roar of Sam’s spear splitting the air. Buildings crumbled. Rain boiled against the heat of power. Mae fought like a wildfire with a mind, Sam like the cold inevitability of a crashing wave.

But even flames flicker.

Mae stumbled at the wrong moment—pain flared in her leg, and she fell hard against the wet ground. Sam raised his trident.

Then paused.

She looked up at him, blood streaking her lip, crystal blooming from her collarbone in response to fear.

He should’ve ended it. He could’ve.

But something in her eyes—a fire, a defiance he hadn’t seen in a long time—stopped him.

Then came the explosion.

A collapsing building. A misfired cannon. The ground split with thunder, and before either could react, the world fell out from under them.

They both crashed into the sea.

The sun was too bright.

Mae stirred, her eyes blinking against the burning light cutting through the palm trees. She was lying on warm sand, soaked, half-buried in broken coral and seaweed. Her shoulder throbbed. Her ribs ached.

But she was alive.

She coughed up saltwater and rolled over, one hand instinctively gripping the broken hilt of a gem-blade that had shattered in the fall. Her body still hummed with the aftershock of her power—sapphire veins glowing faintly along her arms before fading.

She wasn’t alone.

Not twenty feet away, washed up among driftwood and kelp, lay the Marine.

Sam.

Face down. Unmoving.

She didn’t want to move. Part of her wanted to leave him there. The part of her that remembered the sharp edge of his trident. The part that still flinched when she thought about being dragged back to Impel Down in chains.

But the other part—the stupid, bleeding, still-human part—crawled over anyway.

She flipped him onto his back. His skin was pale, lips blue. His uniform was torn, and his chest wasn’t rising.

Mae swore under her breath.

She shoved her palms against his chest and started compressions. “Don’t you dare die on me, you infuriating bastard,” she hissed.

Nothing.

“Breathe, damn it.”

She clenched her jaw and leaned in, giving him air. Again. Again.

And then—

He gasped.

Sam sputtered water, coughing violently, then rolled to the side with a groan. “You... should’ve let me drown.”

Mae dropped beside him, breathing hard. “Trust me, I considered it.”

He didn’t respond. Just stared at the sky.

Finally, after what felt like hours, he sat up. His hair clung to his face, one eye swelling shut. “Where are we?”

“No idea. Doesn’t look like any island I’ve seen on a map.” Mae stood, wobbling a little. “No flags. No harbors. Nothing but trees and tide.”

Sam looked around, his gaze already calculating. “We need shelter. Water. A way to signal.”

Mae raised an eyebrow. “You always give orders like that, or am I just lucky?”

“I’m a Marine. Habit.”

She snorted. “Well, Marine, unless you’ve got a secret base tucked under these palm trees, we’re stuck here together.”

He didn’t answer.

They moved.

Mae used a small emerald shard to slice open coconuts. Sam climbed trees like it was a drill exercise. They found a stream, a cave, and enough edible fruit to last a few days. By sunset, they'd built a fire.

Mae sat by the flames, holding a piece of amethyst to the light. The purple crystal refracted the fire’s glow in soft pulses.

Sam sat across from her, silent, sharpening a piece of driftwood into a spear.

Finally, she spoke. “Why didn’t you kill me?”

He didn’t look up. “Why did you save me?”

Mae tilted her head. “Touché.”

The fire crackled between them.

Then she tossed the amethyst at his feet. “For nightmares. Keep it close.”

He looked down at it. “You believe in that?”

“I believe everything carries weight. Emotions, memories, regrets.” She leaned back. “Might as well let the gems carry some of it for us.”

Sam picked up the stone and held it in his hand for a long moment.

“I don’t dream,” he said quietly.

Mae smiled faintly. “Then maybe start.”

The fire had died down. The stars above the canopy blinked like scattered diamonds.

Mae sat with her legs folded beneath her, holding a glowing crystal—deep red, jagged around the edges. It pulsed softly, like a heartbeat.

Sam watched her from the shadows of the cave.

“What is that one?” he asked.

She didn’t look at him. “Carnelian. Grief and guilt. The really ugly kind.”

She let the silence stretch before speaking again, voice quiet.

“His name was Jori. He was fifteen. Barely taller than my shoulder. He wanted to be a shipwright, but he had no parents and no town that gave a damn about him. I found him stowing away on my ship, wrapped in a torn flag and two weeks from starving.”

A pause. She turned the carnelian in her hand.

“I let him stay. Taught him how to shape gem daggers. He wasn’t strong, but he was fast. I called him Rubyfoot.”

Sam didn’t interrupt.

“We got caught in a Navy ambush off of Water Seven. I told him to run. He didn’t. He stayed to buy us time. One of the vice captains ran him through.”

Her voice cracked. Just once.

“The stone formed the moment he died. It just… bloomed out of my chest like a scream. That’s how I learned the fruit doesn’t only work off my feelings. It reacts to pain around me too.”

She pressed the carnelian to her sternum.

“I carry this one always.”

Sam said nothing for a long time.

Then finally: “He died with loyalty. That’s more than most Marines ever give.”

Later that night, Mae dozed near the fire, but Sam couldn’t sleep.

He sat upright, watching the waves roll in and out. The memory came uninvited.

A cold morning. Six years ago.

He was still a cadet—barely twenty, stiff-backed and proud. His squad raided a coastal town known for harboring pirates. Mostly poor fishermen and old women. They found nothing... until a scared, sunburnt kid darted from under a porch.

Ten years old. Maybe less.

The boy had a blade. Sam moved faster.

He remembered pinning the kid down, trident at his throat. The boy spat at him, eyes filled with terror and hatred.

“I’m not a pirate!” he screamed. “You just think anyone who’s poor is!”

His squad captain barked an order: “End it. Loose ends drown.”

Sam hesitated.

And in that hesitation, he saw his own reflection in the boy’s eyes.

He knocked the kid out and dumped him into a smuggler's rowboat. Set it adrift with food. Told no one.

When the squad returned, they assumed the body had sunk.

That night, alone in his bunk, Sam sharpened his trident until his hands bled.

“I told myself I was serving justice,” he murmured, still staring at the ocean. “But I think I just didn’t want to see myself in a mirror that small.”

Mae’s voice drifted from behind him, soft and raw:
“Do you think he lived?”

Sam didn’t look back. “I hope he did.”

A pause.

Mae sat beside him, shoulder brushing his. The silence between them wasn’t cold anymore.

The jungle was alive.

Every rustle, every snap of a twig, carried a warning. Mae’s sapphire veins pulsed faintly beneath her skin, attuned to the tension in the air. Sam’s trident was steady in his hands, eyes scanning every shadow.

“Whatever’s out there,” Mae whispered, voice sharp, “it’s not natural.”

Sam nodded, stepping beside her. “I’ve seen my share of beasts, but this…” He gestured to the thick canopy, where the sunlight barely pierced.

Suddenly, a guttural growl echoed from the trees.

Mae’s hand shot to her chest, her gemstone glowing bright blue — a sapphire — flooding her veins with icy strength.

“Get ready.”

From the shadows, it burst.

A massive creature—scaly and sinewy—half-lizard, half-beast. Its yellow eyes locked on them, jaws snapping with rows of jagged teeth.

Sam lunged, spear aimed, but the creature was fast—too fast.

Mae summoned a cascade of sharp amethyst shards, swirling them around her like a deadly storm. The creature snarled, snapping through the barrier of flying gems but slowing as cuts appeared along its scales.

Sam dodged a swipe of the claw and slammed his trident into the beast’s shoulder. The beast howled, retreating a few steps.

Mae’s eyes narrowed. “This thing is defending something… or someone.”

They exchanged a glance.

Before either could speak, a low rumble rolled through the jungle. The ground trembled.

Sam gritted his teeth. “The Marines—they’re close.”

“Then we don’t have time to waste.”

With a nod, Mae gathered her strength, drawing a fist-sized cluster of smoky onyx from the earth. She crushed it in her palm, and the gems erupted like obsidian spikes, creating a barrier between them and the creature.

The beast snarled one last time before retreating into the jungle’s depths.

Sam exhaled. “That was close.”

Mae wiped sweat from her brow. “We fight better when we work together.”

He smiled—a rare, genuine flash.

“I might have to rethink my orders about turning you in.”

She laughed softly. “I’m full of surprises.”

The night thickened, the jungle alive with unseen eyes and whispered dangers.

But for the first time, Mae and Sam felt like more than enemies stranded on an island—they were a team.

Far beyond the treeline, the dark silhouette of a Marine ship cut through the waves, headed straight for them.

The fire crackled weakly between them, barely holding back the creeping shadows of the jungle. Mae sat on a fallen log, rubbing her bruised shoulder. Sam leaned against a tree, silent, trident resting beside him.

Mae broke the silence first, voice low and guarded.
“So… you still planning to turn me in when we get off this rock?”

Sam’s gaze didn’t waver. “That’s my duty. Pirate or not.”

She let out a humorless laugh. “And what about duty to yourself? To what you actually believe?”

He shifted, eyes flickering with something unspoken. “What I believe is to follow orders. To keep people safe—even if it means locking up the ones who don’t belong.”

Mae’s sapphire veins shimmered faintly as she clenched her fist. “Safe? Is it safe to lock someone up just because they don’t fit your mold? Because they fight back?”

Sam’s jaw tightened. “You think I don’t know what it means to be hunted? To be blamed for things beyond my control?”

She looked up, surprised by the crack in his armor. “Then why do you keep fighting against yourself?”

He sighed, the weight of years pressing down. “Because if I don’t, I’m nothing but a coward hiding behind a uniform.”

Mae stood, stepping closer, the heat of her gemlight washing over him. “Maybe it’s time to stop hiding.”

He met her gaze, conflicted but raw. “And if I cross that line… what happens to me?”

She reached out, placing a hand over his. The gemstones in her palm glowed warm—amber, for courage.
“We fight it. Together.”

A silence hung between them, heavy with unspoken promises.

Then Sam gave the faintest nod. “Together.”

The distant thrum of the Marine ship’s engines pulsed like a heartbeat through the island’s silence.

Mae stood, eyes sharp, the faint glow of her gem veins pulsing amber—steady, deliberate.

“We can’t wait for them to find us,” she said. “We take the fight to them.”

Sam nodded, checking his trident’s edge, eyes scanning the shoreline. “We know their routines. Shift changes, patrols… we hit the armory first.”

Mae smirked. “Leave the heavy lifting to me.”

They moved through the dense jungle like shadows, senses on high alert.

The clearing ahead was lit by the harsh glare of searchlights sweeping the trees.

“Timing,” Mae whispered, “is everything.”

Sam glanced at her. “You ready to make a pirate out of a marine?”

Her smile was fierce. “Only if you’re ready to lose your badge for good.”

With a nod, they split—Mae weaving through the underbrush to the supply tents, Sam creeping toward the docks.

Explosions shattered the night as Mae’s amethyst shards erupted from the ground, disabling guards and breaching armory doors.

Sam moved silently, disarming sentries with swift, precise strikes.

The Marine ship loomed—a fortress on the water—but tonight, it would become their battleground.

“Meet me at the quarterdeck,” Mae whispered through the comm.

“On my way.”

The stage was set.

The battle for freedom—and for each other—was about to begin.

The quarterdeck was bathed in cold moonlight, silent except for the creak of the ship’s timbers and distant shouts from below deck.

Mae crouched behind a barrel, her amethyst shards humming at her fingertips like coiled steel.

Sam crept beside her, eyes sharp, muscles tense.

“This is it,” Mae whispered. “Once we start, there’s no turning back.”

Sam nodded, grip tightening on his trident. “Let’s do this.”

With a sudden burst, Mae unleashed a volley of razor-sharp shards at the gangway guards. The men dropped silently, no alarms raised yet.

Sam slipped up the stairs, disabling a pair of Marines with precise strikes — silent but deadly.

“Armory’s secured,” Mae hissed through the comm. “Grab the weapons and meet me near the helm.”

The ship’s corridors twisted like a maze, each step closer raising the stakes.

Suddenly, alarms blared — a Marine captain spotted the breach.

“Lockdown initiated!” came the crackling voice over the speakers.

“Too late for that,” Mae growled, eyes glowing bright violet as she summoned a glittering wall of amethyst and smoky onyx spikes to block reinforcements.

Sam charged forward, his trident sparking with electricity from a hidden Marine stun device he’d grabbed. He knocked the captain unconscious before he could raise the alarm.

They reached the helm.

Mae’s hand flew over the controls, her gem powers surging as the ship responded to her command.

Sam slammed the wheel to starboard. “We’ve got control.”

Outside, the remaining Marines gathered, weapons raised, but faced with the fierce pirate captain and the rogue marine at the helm, hesitation flickered.

Mae’s voice rang out, cold and clear.

“This ship sails with The Velvet Grave now. Any who stand against us… won’t live to see dawn.”

Sam met her gaze, a fierce grin breaking across his face.

“For once, I’m on the right side of the law.”

With a roar, the ship surged forward, engines humming under their command.

The night belonged to them.

The stolen Marine ship sliced through the waves, leaving behind a chaos of alarms and shouts.

Mae stood at the helm, her violet eyes reflecting the moonlit sea. The wind tugged at her coat as she grinned fiercely.

“Hold tight,” she called over the roar of the engines.

Sam stood beside her, still gripping his trident, watching the horizon.

“Reinforcements will be coming,” he warned, voice steady despite the adrenaline.

Mae’s smile softened. “Let them come. We’re ready.”

Mae activated her gem powers, weaving a sparkling shield around the stolen Marine vessel—onyx and amethyst gleaming in the night, shimmering like a ghost ship.

The Marines’ cannons fired, but the shield absorbed the blasts.

Sam’s eyes never left Mae.

When the last volley missed, he finally spoke, quieter now.

“You did all this… for me?”

Mae looked at him, breath catching, heart pounding.

“No,” she said softly. “For us. For what we could be.”

Sam stepped closer, hesitant.

“I never thought I’d find someone worth defying my own duty for.”

Mae reached out, her hand glowing faintly amber as she touched his cheek.

“Maybe duty isn’t just about following orders. Maybe it’s about following your heart.”

For a moment, time slowed—the chaos of the battle fading behind them.

Sam smiled, a genuine, rare smile.

“Then I’m ready to follow.”

The stars above bore silent witness as two souls, once enemies, now allies—maybe something more—sailed into the unknown.

The stolen Marine ship now bore a new name, hastily painted on the hull: The Velvet Grave.

Mae stood on the deck, the sea breeze tugging at her coat, eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of pursuit.

Beside her, Sam leaned against the railing, the weight of his past heavy but lessening with each passing wave.

“It’s strange,” he said, voice low, “how being hunted can feel like freedom.”

Mae smiled, her gem veins pulsing soft gold—the color of hope.

“We’re not just running anymore,” she said. “We’re carving out our own path.”

Sam caught Mae’s gaze and raised a bottle of rum.

“To new beginnings,” he toasted.

Mae clinked her cup against his, eyes shining.

“To us.”

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the stars emerged, promising endless possibilities.

And for the first time in a long while, Mae and Sam dared to dream of a future not defined by duty or bounty—but by choice, courage, and maybe, just maybe, love.