Life is about self-preservation.
You eat to fuel your stomach. You sleep to give your mind a break. You betray others if it means saving your own skin for at least another minute, another day, another who-knows-how-long.
Apoo has lived by this code ever since he was young, and it hasn't failed him yet!
But he knows what people think of him: a spineless Supernova that easily bends to the will of others.
"How could someone like him be of the Worst Generation?" Nay-sayers wonder. But what they don't realize is that if you bend, if you're flexible, if you adapt quickly, you don't break. You live to see another sunrise, and if you're lucky, you can have some fun while you're at it.
When Apoo first entered the New World, he felt he might have been too overzealous, too ambitious, too confident in his Devil Fruit abilities. Their first encounter with New World animals led to him and his crew narrowly escaping, with every encounter afterwards singing the same tune. That could've worked itself out if it wasn't for that fateful day, when the On-Air Pirates escaped yet another frying pan only to fall into the strongest fire they ever could have imagined.
Kaido, regardless of what anyone says, isn't a man. He's a god, someone that can't be harmed by normal means. Scratchmen Apoo, who wasn't even sure the attacks made from his Devil Fruit would affect a being like Kaido, knew the only way to last was to give in.
Luckily, Apoo knew the trick to every pirate's heart: good entertainment. And so he did, not with battle, but instead, with song and false mirth that managed to sway God himself into not crushing him and his crew where they stood. Kaido's mood just so happened to be pliable that day, and it helped that a good entertainer would boost the morale of his men.
So was it spineless for Apoo to allow himself to bend to Kaido's will? Maybe, but hey! His time working with the Beast Pirates only proved how right he was to make that call. He watched up close and personal as tiny pirate crews had their hopes and ambition beat, tortured and burnt out of them. Anyone that didn't easily submit was eventually steamrolled over, and any inconveniences were only a speck on Kaido's clothing.
But Apoo knew better than to be complacent. He had to work his way up and gain the trust of Kaido's top men, if only for them to vouch for him to stay alive another day.
And he did.
Don't get him wrong. Have the On-Air Pirates fought alongside the Beast Pirates ever since their "induction" into the group? Of course. Does that mean they all have a kind of bond from all those parties they had and all those battles they survived together? Sure. Does that mean Apoo would ever take a bullet for anyone in the Beast Pirates, even if Kaido himself asked? Of course not. That kind of sentimentality was for the Strawhats and look where that got them.
Apoo would figure out a way for him and his crew to wiggle out from Kaido's thumb eventually, even if that meant waiting for him to keel over, as unlikely as that was.
At the end of the day, he was a pirate, a Supernova of the Worst generation, and although he had to give up his body to Kaido the God, there was no way he'd give up his mind.
And when, not if, Apoo made his great breakaway, he was going to be sure it was loud, flashy and as entertaining as the 'Sea Roar' could ensure.
Heyo! I don't think I've posted fanfic here before, but as I'm currently head deep into OP rn, I decided to write something for one of my fav characters, Apoo!
throws content into the abyss*
I may or may not come back to edit this at a later point because it's 2 am. but I hope you all enjoy!