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one of doflamingo's strings has been buried in his spine ever since he showed his face in dressrosa.
the first time hes been strung up was jaya, when bellamy almost died to his puppet show. scarred and more importantly, a failure to doflamingo, he found a way up to the sky island to bring a prize that might make him worth forgiving, that might give him a second chance, because that matters more than anything.
doflamingo is a captain, a king, a god, that bellamy once feared he'd never be able to meet, but he has. he has, he even got permission to use his flag, but he just had to fuck it up, he is thankful to even be spared after such a horrible crime. he has to make himself worth even asking for forgiveness, and to do that hes going to retreive a bounty of glittering gold from the very sky.
his crew isn't going to risk it. the sky island is just a foolish dream, ''you know that, captain,'' that means nothing in this new age that doflamingo leads. he doesn't care. they can either follow him to the sky island, take every risk to gain a reward worthy enough to give to donquixote doflamingo and ask for forgiveness.
bellamy is no longer a captain.
as soon as he returns to the blue sea, bellamy sails alone to the new world, straight to dressrosa with an eternal pose one of doflamingo's men gave him with a smile, when he first met the man.
— — —
(father, where are the slaves?)
the toys and the tonatta keep dressrosa running smoothly as nobody above knows a thing about the forgotten, SMILEs all around the world.
(why don't you prostrate before me?! don't you know who I am?!)
doflamingo never expected to see bellamy's face again (frankly, he thought he keeled over in jaya,) neither had he expected that he would grovel, on his knees and forehead pressed to the ground, as soon as he had his audience with dressrosa's king. not even a second of hesitation, not even to any prompting.
he apologizes for dishonoring his flag, on his knees for the slightest perceived transgression that doflamingo only strung him up for because he was bored. he brings treasure from a sky island, knowing and saying that he couldn't even show his face if he didn't bring anything, let alone ask for forgiveness, to become apart of the donquixote family.
the sum he brought is pathetic. not even half a billion berri, and he makes that much with SMILE from his deals with kaido in a week alone, not to mention everyone else who purchases them. this is nothing compared to the passive income of the donquixote family.
the only family to him are his dear, dear officers. they are the only people who matter in this world, the only people that he values as people. everyone else, value is based in one of two things.
usefulness, which bellamy lacks,
and-
entertainment.
bellamy doesn't know that, because he would believe anything doflamingo said to him. if he told bellamy to die, that it would help me if you died, he would, and he'd thank his king with his dying breath.
so instead, doflamingo decides to play. he asks bellamy to rise his head, still on his knees on the ground, but now able to see doflamingo squatting right in front of him.
doflamingo tells him:
"you came back with all of this? all by yourself? i guess i underestimated you, bellamy. but where did your crew go?"
"... they refused to go with you, sailed back to their life of luxury? what a shame, that they betrayed you. but really, your meant for better things then leading them."
and he lifts bellamy's chin,
"welcome to the donquixote family."
saying it all with a small smile that rises and falls in sympathy and assurance at the perfect times and eyes unseen behind his glasses, what he says is taken as the word of god.
and with that, a fool is added to donquixote doflamingo's court.
— — —
the routine he puts on for his court is a fun one, and it stays fun even after the novelty has worn off.
he is always set up to fail. never anything important, nothing that actually matters, things that any of his officers could do with a flick of the wrist and bellamy couldn't ever dream of, if he had any dreams.
and everytime he comes back, on his knees just like the first time, he owns up to every mistake doflamingo already knew he was going to make. and everytime, doflamingo says the perfect words to bury into bellamy's brain as parasite string burrows into his spine. all in fun, to see if he'll ever open his goddam eyes and think about what he does to him and how its in complete incongruence with what he says.
"you know the punishment for failure, but you know i'd never kill you,"
parasite string, already in bellamy, pulls taught and digs sharp into his nerves.
"i have high, high hopes for you, as one of my officers someday."
and the puppet dances.
the other lower ranks, cannon fodder, arent nearly as devoted as bellamy (its the only thing interesting about him, thats what i like about you, ) but thats perfectly fine, because hes not stringing any of them up just to see how much itll take till they open their eyes, but, unknowingly, they reinforce his words.
"hes giving you another chance,"
a comrade tells bellamy in the colosseum,
"dofy's soft-hearted. hes willing to give the man who failed to win another chance at redemption. your a lucky sap, bellamy."
and bellamy believes his comrades, of course.
"you'll finally be an officer."
and that's worth everything in the world. as much as he respects strawhat, he wont hesitate. nothing means as much as this.
— — —
parasite string has been woven into him for the past two years. it isnt uncomfortable (anymore?) he doesnt even remember what it felt like without it. he could even convince himself to call it a comfort. he doesnt even mind when doflamingo decides to use it, whether it be on a mission or as repercussion.
if doflamingo is deciding exactly what hes going to do, that means he wont make any mistakes. rather than failing to carry out his will, hes able to do it perfectly, with precise control of his nerves he can feel his body move seamlessly and without his thought.
ot is far more efficient. it is also far more painful, nerves pulled on and aching, but its fine. (welcomed, even, because its a guarantee he will not fail.) because its doflamingo. because its his captain.
its far neater than what you'd think of a strung up marionette, like the string bound toys in the light and dark of the kingdom.
as repercussion, it is far more painful. his muscles burn and the aching muscles try to spasm, but move wherever doflamingo wants them to be. and he cannot stop but he doesn't want to either, because this is deserved punishment. he is forever grateful of the king's mercy to let him live, to keep giving him chances and reassurance and faith that bellamy doesnt deserve, but graciously accepts.
doflamingo lets bellamy's wounds only just close, before gleefully ripping them back open, deeper and deeper just to see how much his puppet will take until it tries to think for itself, and just how fast he can shut it down with a few words.
the string never leaves his spine.
for as long as bellamy's show stays entertaining, he stays. its been a fun…what, two and a half years? but, things lose their appeal after long enough time, and what is bellamy but a thing?
"dellinger. finish off that waste of space for me, will you?"
— — —
doflamingo puppets him for what will be the final time, after slamming him into the earth to prove a point, of just how he doesnt mean anything. he never did.
even when parasite string is gone, ripped out and leaving a tiny, tiny exit wound where it left, bellamy knows exactly where it would pull him. its a phantom limb, he knows exactly where it would move, where it wants to go, (he has what his king wants ingrained in him) years upon years of mindless devotion doesn't go away in a snap, even if bellamy wanted to betray his captain.
it feels so, so wrong for his physical tether for his king to be gone. its been there for so, so long. its supposed to be there. its supposed to be there forever. its apart of him ever since his captain decided it will be. a part of him is missing now.
but he still knows exactly what to do.
he still knows the only thing of value he can do with his pathetic, waning life.
kill straw hat luffy.
because if he does, maybe, maybe doflamingo will remember him. it doesn't matter that hes thrown him away like garbage, bloody and beaten and worst of all discarded.
all that matters is mattering to the man he respects (idolizes, worships,) the most in this world.
(for a long time, the only man he ever respected in the world. but now here he is, giving everything he has left to kill the only person who hes respected, and been respected back from.)
he will be loyal till the end. he will give everything just to try and matter to the only man that matters.
if dying is what it takes to win, to deserve his approval, he'll gladly do it.
this is all he wants.
— — —
"DOFLAMINGO!"
monkey D. luffy screams loud enough to reach the islands resting on the white-white sea, not in any sort of prayer, but in fury.
"so bellamy is finally free, now that i've released him?"
luffy is going to beat him so hard he never gets up again, for every single person hes ever put on strings.
the battle rages on as bellamy lays in the cracked ground, still breathing as the birdcage shrinks and the city turns to string.
— — —
(when doflamingo is locked away, never to see the sun again, never able to hurt anyone ever again, bellamy still lives and breathes in the world thanks to luffy. all because he considered him a friend. as they tend to wounds in kryos' cabin, bellamy calls him an idiot for it and luffy just grins. its fond on both ends.)
(like he'd ever bow down to luffy like bartolomeo and everyone else he's rounded up during their stay at the palace. that's worth one hell of a good laugh, like he'd work for that kid. it's not like luffy's even gonna let them swear loyalty to him anyways.)
(guess he has to figure out how to live for himself now.)