#maybe ​usopp put on the hat to stop the other two from fighting

[im-still-watching-anime]

sabaody is kinda foul for separating all the strawhats the very DAY that zoro, sanji, and usopp decided to wear their cute little matching stripe outfits like they probably planned that kuma, they’re not gonna look as good all separated like that🙄

[grandline-fics]

Green Eyes, Red Lips

DESCRIPTION: When jealousy leads to a confession

WARNINGS: swearing, some suggestive themes(maybe?) 

CHARACTERS: Zoro

WORDS: 1,386

A/N: I really liked how this came out so I might do this as a series with other characters. Feel free to request any you’d like to see.

*REQUESTS ARE OPEN*

MASTERLIST

“Shit, Marines!” Usopp hissed with worry. Zoro lazily slid his good eye open to spy the two uniformed men walking down the street. It wouldn’t take long for their presence to be known and that would mean a fight. His hand dropped to rest over the hilts of his swords in preparation but frowned when his crew-mate’s hand griped his shoulder tightly. “We promised Nami! No attention, we’re only here for supplies, not fights.” The sniper reminded him sharply. Zoro clicked his tongue in annoyance and kept his eye on the marines as they stopped to briefly talk to one of the locals. It seemed they were just on a routine patrol, that was good. If they weren’t actively looking for them it gave them more time.

You poked your head out from the doorway and followed Usopp and Zoro’s stares. Your mood soured to see the Marines, you and Nami were hoping to actually enjoy a relaxed shopping day on this island before having to set off. Oh well, at least the others were almost done. A movement caught your eye and you scowled to see Zoro’s fingers twitching against his swords. He was hoping the Marine’s noticed them and from the burning glare he was sending their way it was clear he wanted a fight and damn the promise he’d made when he left the Sunny that afternoon. Roughly you slapped his forearm, knowing it wouldn’t actually hurt him but it was enough to make him turn his attention to you. 

“Don’t you even think bout it! You’ve been itching for a fight since we left the last island. If you can’t control yourself go back to the Sunny.” Zoro’s behaviour had been pissing you off lately. Normally you didn’t mind his colder attitude if you knew what was wrong but this time there had been no warning. Up until the night before you left the last island things had been good. It was just exhausting having your mood spoiled by him and it was clear you were the one he was taking it out on.

Zoro glared down at you, his jaw clenched and eyebrows furrowed so tightly together you thought a vein was about to burst where they met on his forehead. “Well it’ll be a fight either way once they realise it’s us.” he ground out tightly. “Unless you’ve got a better idea? They’re getting closer.” You rolled your eyes at him and strode back into the store, grabbing a pair of sunglasses and hat from their displays. After telling the owner to add it to your crew’s bill you put them on while ignoring the curious stares you were getting from Nami, Franky, and Luffy as they were lifting the crates of supplies into their arms. 

Spotting a mirror you reapplied your lipstick and pulled off your jacket, shoving it into Zoro’s chest as you stormed by him and out into the street. “Make yourself useful and hold this.” You instructed and he was half tempted to just let it fall to the ground. But Zoro couldn’t help but grip it tightly as he watched you with practiced apathy. Despite how guarded he was he couldn’t help but push away from the wall when you looked around yourself as you walked and purposely bumped into the two Marines, even making a point to gasp in surprise, whirling to look at the two men. “Oh I’m so sorry!”

“Please don’t apologise!” the shorter of the two men dismissed with a bright smile while he looked you over with interest. “Are you lost?” Zoro ground his teeth together to hear you laugh shyly and play with the end of a lock of your hair. 

“Was it that obvious?” You asked stepping closer to the two Marines and pointed behind them, to make them turn. “I’m trying to get to the Fountain Square. Everyone says it’s beautiful at this time of day but I just keep getting turned around.” You explained looping your arms through theirs. “Could you both show me the way?”

“Oh it happens to everyone! Don’t worry you’re in safe hands with us!” the taller Marine promised as he began to walk with you and his companion in the opposite direction. While they rambled, you glanced over your shoulder and gave a single nod to Luffy before you disappeared into the crowd. 

“Looks like they’ve got it covered!” Luffy cheered with a unfazed grin. “Let’s get this back to the Sunny, I’m hungry.”

“Zoro?” Zoro stood where he was, barely registering Nami’s call. Everything told him to follow you and make sure you got away from the Marines safely but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything about it or move. If he did it would only admit the feelings he had for you that he’d been trying to kill with his harsh words and cold attitude. “Zoro come on! Don’t tell me you’re lost already. The ship is this way!” Nami called louder. The swordsman bit back a growl and turned on his heel, catching up with the crew and lifted one of the crates from Usopp’s shaking arms. With every step he took, he let his nails dig into the box. 

By the time you returned to the ship everything was restocked and you were ready to set sail. As the Sunny pulled from the docks you climbed the crows nest, knowing you’d find Zoro there with your jacket. Only when you saw it had been thrown carelessly over one of the benches you rolled your eyes and grabbed it, ready to go back to your own quarters. You didn’t want to deal with the first mate when the tension rolling off of his body was a hundred times worse than it had been that morning. “Sad to be leaving your boyfriends?” He sneered at you. Angrily you slammed the hatch closed and turned to glare at him. 

“Alright what the fuck is wrong with you?” You’d had enough of this and you weren’t leaving until you got to the bottom of this. “Did I offend you in some way? Rip your favourite bandana or something? What have I done that’s so bad for you to look at me like I’m your enemy?”

“Just forget it.” 

“No, Zoro. I won’t forget it but do you know what I will do?” You hissed viciously. “I’ll do us both a favour and leave. Unless I get an answer out of you I’ll leave at the next island we get to and never come back because I’m not dealing with this bullshit anymore.” 

Faster than you could blink Zoro was in front of you, hands slamming against the wall on either side of your head. Before you could say anything else his lips were on yours; strong, insistent, and overwhelming. Your head was spinning but you managed to regain enough control to return the kiss, hands finding purchase on his broad shoulders, pulling him closer. Hungrily Zoro’s hands slipped to grip your waist and thread into your hair. He couldn’t tell you how he felt but it all came out through his touch and powerful kiss. Finally you broke free and caught your breath enough to manage out a dazed. “Oh…so you don’t hate me then…”

“Definitely not.” You didn’t think that Zoro’s voice could get any lower and you held back a shudder to meet the burning stare that finally made sense. “Hated those assholes cosying up to you though.”

“Two nobody Marines made you jealous?” you asked with a small laugh. You couldn’t help but find it funny, the Demon Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro was capable of jealousy. “They’re far too scrawny to be my type.”

“Not just those runts. That last island-”

“Oh him!” you gasped with a grin, remembering the self proclaimed King that you and the rest of the crew helped save. “I didn’t think anyone heard him propose to me before we left though.”

“He what?!” Zoro growled suddenly making you yelped in surprise as his grip tightened and he pushed you against the wall. His lips claiming yours once more with the intention of wiping that stupid king and any other man from your memory until it was only him on your mind and you were only too eager to let him. 

[mewnewew]

hiii I had a random idea

Zoro x reader

zoro and reader used to be tgt but broke up(mutual?) a long time ago, somehow the straw hats recruited a new member(reader) while zoro was asleep during the whole situation

Maybe there’s prob still some romantic tension between them? I think the both of them would somehow act like an old married couple lol

Heeey! Hope this fits. I think I threw more Strawhat stuff there more than needed oops. Yes I made that icon thing. Is it good?

A page left unfinished: Zoro x Reader

"It's weird...."

"Yeah it kind of feels like...."

"They're married?" Say both Nami and Usopp, simultaneously as the rest of the Strawhats watch you and Zoro bicker.

The argument had started when his swords had accidentally bumped against your hip while you were carrying some produce to Sanji. This caused you to yell at him, keeping the produce and him to get back at you.

"You can keep them down, you know? No one's going to steal them!"

"I said I'm sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't cut it! It's hit me hundreds of times!"

"Oh please, it's not hundreds."

"How would you know?!"

And so on and so forth.

You were a new member, having joined the crew only a few islands back. While you were easygoing and quite amiable with the rest of the crew, they quickly found out your other side when you interacted with Zoro. In fact, the first time they saw you interacting with him was quite funny in hindsight.

(Zoro yawned, getting up and stretching. He'd been up all night, since there was a pirate attack via a pink, living submarine that he and was fighting off and probably had missed their stop to Plum Island. Scratching his scalp, he meanderd towards the kitchen where the rest of the crew were, taking a seat, he ignored Sanji's usual retort of how late he was and started drinking sake.

. . .Eh?

He proceeded to spit it out onto your face, realising his ex was sitting opposite him, shrieking at the sudden spray.

"You bastard!" You cursed.

"What?! What are you doing here?!"

"I'm your new nurse, you dumbass."

"Chopper doesn't need a clumsy idiot like you!"

"Why you-" You were getting up, already rolling up your sleeves, face still dripping with sake onto your shirt. Zoro getting ready with his swords.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Cried Nami, standing up and putting both hands in each of your directions. "What's happening here? Zoro, why're you acting like this? How do you know each other?"

With that, the both of you sat down, huffing. "We used to date, a few years ago."

"WHAAAAT?!" echoed the entire crew.

You looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "What, you didn't tell them?"

He grumbled, having folded his arms and shrugging. "If I knew you were going to be coming, I woulda told them."

With a sigh you flicked his forehead. "Pay attention and stop sleeping all the time!")

And that started it all. However, there were times where you two worked perfectly well. You had a power similar to Law's. Pulling. Not exactly switching something into it's place, just pulling the object or being to you. They had seen how well you and Zoro worked together when you managed to get on one side of the island when your group needed him, instantly pulling him to join the battle on this side. When you were in danger, you could yank him over to you, even over 5 ships lined tip to tip away. Hell, the entire crew was more than thankful for your power. (It saved them from being dragged by Luffy into the chaos)

Chopper couldn't be more than thankful when you yanked him back to his bed instantly, in order to not let him ruin his bandages. Sanji, praised you more than usual, thanking you with more of your favourite dishes when you could instantly just yank the man to your side, even if he was snoring in the Crows nest. Ussop thanked you profusely when you yanked him back when everyone was getting back to the ship, not letting the man get lost again.

Sanji, as he did with the rest of the crew, chatted and was generally on good terms with everyone, and since you were new, tried to cater to you more than usual, in order learn about your eating habits. Zoro, would do nothing out the ordinary other than roll his eye more than usual, and huff. Although, he did realise how closely you two moved.

⚔️

During one particular, ordinary meal after a battle, you sighed, and looked exhausted. Poor thing, you'd been using your power like anything and that took a lot out of you, if done with many people, regardless of amount of use. While everyone was quite tired, you looked almost dead on your feet. Before Sanji could offer to take you to your bed or something, Zoro stood, and nudged at your almost asleep state.

"C'mon, up" He coaxed.

"Hah? Whuzzat-?" You mumbled, blinking up at him.

"We're going to your cabin. C'mon"

"Huh? Oh, okay." You murmured, getting up almost unsteadily on your feet, where Zoro caught your hand, tugging you gently against him, so that you could lean on him.

Sanji, for once, towards Zoro, was speechless. He'd never seen that look on his face. It was a face of care, under a layer of worry. Another thing he had seen not necessarily only on the Swordsman's face but in his body language was the unspoken love. He knew what to say, how to handle you. That was love. Hell, he saw the trust that you had with him. Granted, you were quite comfortable with the crew now, there was something with Zoro, that was almost....natural. Just between you two.

"Well, I'll be." He whispered, half to himself, as he watched the duo go.

"Oi, Luffy! Don't steal Sanji's food!"

Robin walked past your room, humming to herself. Then paused. Walked back a little and looked in. There sat Zoro, frowning. He was looking at you, pointing at a....chart?

⚔️⚔️

"....She married Zack, you remember Zack right?"

"Why the hell would she do that."

"Exactly!" You threw your hands in the air. "That's exactly what I said!"

He crossed his arms, nodding for you to continue. "And what did she say?"

You clasped your hands together, put them on your chest and bore a sappy expression, blinking coquettishly. ""Oh, you don't get it. I love him!"" You said in a falsetto voice.

"Ugh!" Zoro scowled, shaking his head. It was at this point that Robin realised you were doing another married couple thing: gossiping.

"Thank you! Someone understood me!" You exclaimed.

"How the hell did her brother allow that? You told me he hated that guy."

"Heh" You grinned. "I don't think he'd much hate the guy, not when he was also dating him."

"What?-" and on you two continued.

She shook her head and moved on, stifling her laughter. What a pair you two were.

⚔️⚔️⚔️

Another moment was when Brook was sitting with Chopper, singing him a song he had heard about reindeer.

"And so they huffed..

And so they puffed

And they raised their heads up hi-i-gh..

For they pushed against, the cold, and the ice,

To sleep with a happy smi-ile~"

Laughing, Chopper clapped his hooves together. Then paused, looking behind him.

"What is it Chopper-san?"

"It's Zoro. He's holding chocolates? I thought he didn't like chocolates!"

Blinking, Brook stood up from his chair, coming to also see over the railing. Yes Zoro was indeed walking on the deck, towards you, holding chocolates in one hand. Coming over to you, he spun you around, dumped them in your hands and left. Quickly recovering from the shock, you yanked the table from where Brook and Chopper were, to crash onto Zoro, since he was in its path. Cursing at you, he turned-only to hear giggles as you had run off. Though the pair could clearly see he didn't have any real malice or anger in him. He was happy.

"I don't get it." Announced Chopper.

"Get what?"

"Why do they act like that? They, seem like they like each other, but they...."

"Act like enemies?"

He nodded. Brook looked at his violin, thinking how to best answer him. The violin had been bought by Robin, as a birthday gift, from a island known for it's instruments.

"Love isn't always erased after the relationship ends."

"It's still there? Even after so long?"

"Unless both or one party officially turns that love into something else that ruins what the other side or both sides cannot tolerate, it's still there. Just like how Sabo and Luffy loved and cared for each other, even when one party thought the other had died."

"Like me, Doctorine, and Doctor Hiriluk?"

Brook now looked at the young reindeer, his voice now soft, bearing an evident smile in the tone. "Yes. I'd imagine our young friends are somewhat similar in that aspect as well."

Then he chuckled conspiratorially, hand over his mouth. "Plus, no one said we couldn't keep bets and enjoy their antics, yo-ho-ho-ho-ho!"

At the final battle, a lot of people managed to fulfill their dreams. Zoro was one of them, having defeated Mihawk in a duel. He was due to go back to his hometown, to return Kuina's sword in a few days. The night before he left, you grabbed his plate of food, and went to find him. As expected, you found him at the Crows Nest, staring out at the distance.

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Oi, Greatest Swordsman" You called out.

"Hah?" He turned back, then relaxed slightly, and you knew he was somewhat pleased by that reaction.

"Got yer dinner."

"Thanks."

You came, and handed him his plate, before settling down next to him, sharing the view.

"So, how's it feel?"

"....Like normal actually. I knew I'd get there one day."

"Well" you sighed, leaning on his arm. "You were always gunning towards it, even when it seemed like you weren't."

"Heh, guess so."

Neither of you commented when Zoro's hand held one of yours. Nor when your thumb took the initiative of lightly stroking his.

In the morning, none of the crew would question it when the pair of you set out together, to his home, rather than just him. In fact, they were grinning as they saw you already yelling at him for somehow going in the opposite direction-even when the path was straight. None of them also commented or yelled out, when they saw Zoro clearly holding back a grin.

[aetherdoesthings]

Love triangle with nami and sanji (not poly) both in love with a fem straw hat reader (maybe the crews seemstress or botenist?) I just think it would be really funny to see those characters go against each other competing for a girls love😂

elo anon! i had a fun time writing this one. just two people competing for your love and doing everything in their power to win you over is just 🤭

forethoughts: just two lovestruck hooligans trying to win your love 😁

notes: oblivious reader, a lot of pampering from both sides, competitive nami and sanji, robin being a third wheel but loving it

You were the new botanist of the Straw Hat Pirates (for some reason Luffy deemed the job useful for his crew and ship)

You spent your days tending to the plants in a greenhouse Franky had built for you that had vegetables and fruits growing

You thought your life was going to be boring, even though you were on Monkey D. Luffy’s ship. You didn’t necessarily have the capabilities to fight, so mostly you just stayed behind and guarded the ship. 

But you never expected life on the ship would be chaotic.

The first day you had joined the crew, Nami and Sanji already had their eyes on you, their minds set on getting as close to you as possible.

Of course, seeing that you were a girl, Sanji was already lovestruck. 

Nami was ecstatic that a. another girl was finally going to be joining the crew (aside from Robin who she considered to be a sister), and b. you were cute and adorable.

Nami and Sanji knew that they had a crush on you, but blinded by their love, they were prepared to fight to gain your love. Sanji was even willing to put aside his love for Nami for the sake of yours.

Since you were a girl, you shared a room with Nami and Robin. That gave Nami the upper hand, as the two of you were the same gender. And of course, Nami abused this advantage as much as she could. Every time the Sunny landed on a new island, she’d take you shopping, calling it ‘girl’s day’, while Robin just walked a few feet behind the two of you (She knew Nami was in love with you, and decided to just stand back and watch the chaos unfold). Nami would let you use her money without reimbursing you at all. Every night, she’ll always stay up talking to you about anything you wanted until the two of you fell asleep. She always lets you borrow her clothes, use her hair products, makeup, etc., anything that you wanted.

Sanji knew about Nami’s advantage, and hated it, but he found his own way. For every meal of the day, he made the most luxurious, gourmet food for you (and only you), while everyone else got the remnants of your gourmet dish. Robin still had better food than the boys, but Nami got a more subpar dish than you and Robin. It wasn’t bad, it was just not as good as before you joined.

After every meal, Sanji would wait for an hour or two to pass, before entering your greenhouse and bringing a small plate of desserts or treats for you. In exchange, you’d always give him your fresh and finest crops ready for the kitchen. Oh, how weak Sanji felt when it was always 3pm. 

You were completely oblivious to Sani and Nami’s actions. You had initially asked Robin if Nami was ‘always like this’, and Robin simply smiled at you, telling you to just go along with whatever the navigator wishes to do. And you always assumed Sanji was just this gentleman-like, according to Zoro and Usopp.

To this day, they still haven’t stopped their fight against each other, and the oblivious soul you were, you just continued on with your day, appreciating the clothes and gifts Nami would get you and the food Sanji would make for you.

[thedepthsoffandomminds]

The lost Princess of the ocean - eleven

Masterlist

When you reached the village the sun had begun to rise in the sky. Tears fell down Nami's face, you held her hand.

“Arlong did this? Why?” Sanji asked.

“To punish the villagers and to punish me.” Nami wept.

Usopp uses a bucket of water to put out more of the fire. Nojiko walks up with the villagers behind her.

“ What's going on?” Nami asked.

“Nojiko told us about your sacrifice. We didn't know. Can you ever forgive us?” The uniformed man explained.

“There's nothing to forgive,” Nami replied. “Coco Village is my home.”

“Then it's our turn to sacrifice. We're done living in fear. We're gonna march on Arlong Park. If those fishmen want a fight” he cheers.

“That's not a fight. That's a massacre. You will all be killed.” Nami panicked.

“If there's no hope for us to buy our freedom,

then I say we die trying to fight for it!” The villagers errupt.

“No, everyone, please! No, I.. I won't let you do that. This is my fight.” Nami tried to calm them all.

“No. This is our fight. Right, guys?” Luffy said.

“Finally, I get to cut something.” Zoro said blankly beside you.

“But how are we gonna beat Arlong? We saw what he did at Baratie.”

“Every creature has a weakness.” You announce.

“Even bulletproof ones?”

“ I'll know it when I see it And when I do, I won't hesitate.” Luffy growled.

There was no real plan, only that they would all go to Arlong Park. Zoro occasionally looks back at you walking alongside Nami.

“You're talking now.” Nami smiles at you.

“Well you were gone, somebody had to keep them in line.” You both laugh and she slides her arm around yours. The closeness is uneasy, the whole straw hat crew are very tactile, which is foreign to you. Still, it was nice to have another girl with you.

Outside Arlong Park, you all take one of Usopp's smoke bombs and throw them into the fort before running in. You stand behind the others. Luffy and Nami split away from the rest of you, heading inside to the map room as the fighting starts. Keeping yourself out of the way.one of the fishmen grabs you by the throat pulling you against him. Both Zoro and Sanji fight off their opponents to run for you.

“She'll die before you can get to me.” He laughs.

“You'll die before you have a chance.” Zoro glares at him. Your eyes meet his in a sorrowful plea, hoping they both understand. A small knife drops from your sleeve to your palm, you take in a staggered breath filling your lungs as much as you could. There's a beat of silence and you spin the blade round, stabbing it into the fishman’s leg. He lurched backward pushing you away. You stumble and slip into the pool, your shoulder smacking into one of the stepping stones. Zoro leaps forward with his sword and kills the fishman, fending off four others as Sanji pulls you from the pool.

Zoro drops to one knee catching his breath and a hand on his wounded chest.

“You look tired!” Sanji called over to him, “ maybe you should take a rest.”

“Maybe you oughta get back in the kitchen.” Zoro huffed out.

“Quit screwing around! Luffy needs us!” Samji calls out.

“You just got here. You don't know what Luffy needs.” Zoro.bit.

“I know he needs my cooking.” the blonde man kicked yet another fishman.

“ Putting two slices of bread together?” Zoro said.

“Will you both stop!” you shout at them.

“Shut up! Then get me back to my body! We're close. I can feel my toes. Trust me. I can help you guys win this thing.” Buggy calls from inside the bag on your back.

“I swear, clown, if you screw us over-” Zoro threatened as you opened the bag. The clown head flew out and landed on the body tied to a prize wall.

“Ow! God! Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh! Oh, it's so much better than I even remembered.” Buggy wriggled around now back on his body. “Hey, so, um I'm gonna get out of here.”

“Hey! You promised.” you calm after him.

Buggy stopped and looked at you, there is a moment of hesitation in his resolve.

“Sorry, kiddo, I'd love to make things right, but it's time to exit stage left.” He ran off.

“Fucking clown.” Zoro grumbled.

More of the fishmen rushed at you all. Zoro grabbed your hand and held you behind him as he splashed his sword.

“How dare you strike down my brother's! You won't be so lucky against my fishman karate.” The very large fishman charged forward. You stumble back away from Zoro dropping behind one of the kiosks. The fishman is strong and knocks both men down. Zoro is holding his chest again and gasping for breath.

“Nami is a fool to have her faith in such weak compatriots.” The fishman taunts.

“You don't ever badmouth Nami.” Sanji slips out of his suit jacket.

“Now you've done it.” Zoro Grins.

You can hardly keep up with Sanji's movements as he kicks his opponent over and over until he is flying into the kiosk beside you. Zoro pulls you up to your feet.

“mountain shot?” He asks over his shoulder.

“All great fighters call out their finishing moves.” Sanji replied

“Yeah, you're gonna fit in just fine.” You and Zoro laugh.

“Never fear, the Great Captain Usopp is

is- Oh. You guys did pretty good in here. Good job, guys.” Usopp screams as he runs back in.

There is movement behind you all and Nami comes running out of the building. She runs into Usopp and Zoro's arms before turning and hugging you and Sanji.

“You're all okay!” She sighs in relief.

"Where's Luffy?” Zoro asks

“Still inside, fighting Arlong.” She turns back to the building.

“He's gonna be all right. Right?” Usopp asks.

As you all watch the building begins to creak and crumble, tumbling down into a pile.of rubble.

“Luffy!” Nami begins to cry. Sanji holds onto her shoulders, keeping her from falling. You feel Zoro's hand creep up to your neck, holding you, as much for his own comfort as yours. There is silence. Then movement. You all hold your breath waiting to see who would crawl out of the rubble. A fist bursts into the air and you all know it.

“Nami!” Luffy leaps from the distraction, “You are our friend! We are your crew!” He shouts out. None of you could stop the smile on your faces.

With the fishmen defeated and the village now free, everyone spends the evening celebrating. Sanji cooked an amazing meal with rice and olives that everyone enjoyed. Even Zoro went back for seconds. There was a lot of laughter and a lot of happiness amongst the people. You kept a smile on your face though deep down you still felt the conflict within yourself. Zoro's eyes would stare at you and you could feel them boring into you. You had very obviously been avoiding him, keeping yourself surrounded with others at all times.

You say with Nami just off from the frivolity and Nojiko stepped and spoke to her sister. Hoping he could find a moment with you, Zoro slowly walks your way.

“Y/n, can we talk?” He asks. As you're about to answer him a large garrison of Marines came marching in. There to arrest the straw hat crew. Luffy and his grandfather, Garp fight. Something about it felt off, like Garp wasn't really trying to hurt Luffy.

“Lower your weapons!” Garp shouted to his men, leaving Luffy in a heap behind him, “What are you all standing around for? Arlong's pirates are still on the loose. Hunt them down and arrest them.” The garrison turn and march away.

“What about these Straw Hats?” One of the officers question.

“What about them?” Garp asks.

“Arrest them too! They are the real criminals.” Nami used her extendable stick to hit the officer in the back of the head knocking him out. The grand admiral turned his back, hiding his grin.

“Ooh. I knew I'd never be able to change your mind.” He addressed his grandson once more, “You're stubborn. Just like me. But I know who you are, boy. I just needed to make sure you knew it too.”

“You were testing me? Couldn't you have gone a little bit easier?” Luffy smiled.

“Where's the fun in that? You're on your own now.” Garp told him.

“No. I'm not.” Luffy looked back at you all standing behind him, “I have my friends.”

Garp nodded his head in approval and walked away.

Three days later, after helping the villagers to rebuild much of the houses, you were all readying the ship to leave. When Luffy came running into the mess hall.

“Ah! Guys! Check it out.” He unrolls the parchment on the counter revealing a wanted poster.

“Well done Luffy.” You congratulate him.

“This is gonna make things much harder.

With that price on your head, every bounty hunter in the East Blue will be gunning for you.” Zoro explains to you all.

“Not just Luffy. They're gonna be gunning for all of us.” Nami adds.

“Then it's a good thing we're not staying in the East Blue. We're going to the Grand Line.” Luffy smiled.

—---

Peaceful was the word you'd describe the night, a still ocean with a gentle breeze. Luffy had ordered the anchor dropped so you could all sleep. Leaving Nami’s village behind had been emotional for everyone. Your mind, however, would not settle. The wound on your shoulder made it hard to sleep, so you'd wandered out to the main deck to watch the stars. Part of you still could not believe that you were free.

Footsteps on the wood made you hold your breath for a moment.

”I'm sorry I didn't realise you were up here” Zoro averted his eyes from yours.

“It's okay, I can leave if you want me to. I don't want to be a-”

“Please stop.” He said, cutting you off. “You have me wrong, I wanted to tell you that the only distraction is not not knowing…not understanding what I'm feeling I…what is that?” he looked out past your shoulder at the water. You follow his eyeline seeing the streak of movement below the water.

“Did one or Arlong's crew get away?” He asks.

“No, no, Zoro, move back!” You try to shove him away from the edge, he grabs your shoulders.

“It's her, the siren. Please Zoro go!” You feel the splash of sea water on your back, two webbed hands clasped around your arms, dragging you back. Zoro begins to draw his sword but a tail whips round smacking him against the boards. A trickle of blood runs down his forehead. He sees you being pulled into the water before his eyes closed.

“Y/n”

“Zoro, come on man, wake up!” Sanji shook his shoulder. Zoro's eyes flick open and he grabs at the cook. “Whoa, chill, man what happened? You get drunk and slip?” Sanji asks, keeping the swordsman at bay.

“Y/n, I couldn't stop it, there was a mermaid.” His head dropped into his open palm, “It couldn't, it was too fast.”

“Wait, a mermaid took y/n?” Sanji asked as Nami and the others stepped out of their cabins.

“A mermaid? Arlong told me about the assassins, they have a mermaid.” Nami tells them all.

They all look at each other, at Zoro, a tear fell from his eye mixing with the drying blood.

“I guess we're off to fight assassins.” Luffy laughed.

[ijwrsmff]

Hello there

This one is a bit lengthy but can i please get headcanons of the straw hats reaction to an admiral reader(gender neutral please) who quits the marine to join them, and is at first is distrusted but does something to gain theirs trust

I hope it's not too much trouble

It's no trouble at all! I really like this idea, it was a ton of fun to write! I hope you enjoy it ^^

Luffy:

He found you during a fight with the marines

He noticed...you were so much stronger than the marines you were fighting with

Maybe not strong in comparison to Luffy...but he was extremely powerful so comparing to him isn’t fair

He saw you deal what should have been a finishing blow to his crewmates…

But for some reason you never hit them hard enough to kill them

Down them, sure...but never kill

He makes quick work of the other marines, and approaches you with a smile

“Join my crew!”

You looked at him baffled

“Quit the marines and throw away all my hard work to become an admiral because some...kid thinks I would be a good match for his crew? No thanks.”

Luffy left it at that, but knew he’d see you again soon

You encountered him once more at a nearby island

“Is...is that offer still on the table?”

He grinned wide and pulled you by your hand to his ship

He couldn’t put his finger on it...but something was special about you

He just knew the crew would love you

After they get over their initial distrust that is

But Luffy? He trusted you already

No hesitation, he knew you had a good heart and that’s what really mattered

Zoro:

He didn’t trust you...at all

He would go silent when you talked to him, giving you the silent treatment

He didn’t trust the marines...how was he supposed to know you weren’t there as a spy?

You tried to talk to him a couple times...but he just pretended he was sleeping

One day, he was up in the crow’s nest training and you walked in

“Mind if we spar? It’s been a while since I was able to.”

Since you left the marines

He huffed but gave a firm “sure”

He didn’t go easy on you, which surprised him when you handled yourself fairly well

You parried his attacks, and gave a few good jabs of your own

He respected your strength

He still won...but he expected to beat you within seconds

Not minutes, nearly half an hour of sparring

From then on, he’ll make small talk with you

Every once in a while he’ll go to take a nap and he’ll pull you down to lay beside him

He also sits next to you at the dinner table, even helping you fend off Luffy when he tries to steal your food

Overall...he respected strength. And if Luffy chose you...you were here to stay

Once he starts to trust you, he’ll protect you at all costs

Nami:

She trusts Luffy’s decision...but that doesn't mean she has to trust YOU

She won’t go out of her way to be mean...but she won’t help you if it means bending over backwards

She interrogates you, wanting to know why Luffy had chosen you

After days of interrogation on and off...she thinks she sees why

You were unhappy in the marines

Sure...you managed to become an admiral...but the happiness you had hoped to feel just wasn’t there

She discovered that in the short time you’ve been on this ship, you’ve felt happier than you ever did in the marines

She’ll be nicer after that, slowly building up her trust in you

“Want me to show you how I chart the islands we go to?”

Even if cartography wasn’t your thing, you figured it would help get you closer to Nami

After that, you would spend hours upon hours with Nami

She can be very...very protective

So once she trusts you, any comments about you that weren’t warranted she’d defend you

She wants to get closer to you, and spends the majority of her time with you

Either sitting on the deck or working on her maps

She even tells Sanji off if he starts to bother you, making the hearts in his eyes break

She’ll protect you...and she knows in her heart you’d protect her too

Usopp:

He is so...so scared of you at first

You were an ADMIRAL

How could you just give up that position to join a crew?

Doesn’t trust you for a good long while

He’s convinced you’re a spy

He lets his imagination get to him, and that drives a wedge between you two

You don’t blame him...the situation is sketchy, but you were genuine

You would spend all the time needed to get the crew to trust you

After only being with them a short period of time...you trusted them with your life

And that’s never happened before

In the marines...people wouldn’t go out of their way to save another if it meant getting hurt in the process

During battle, you stepped in front of Usopp and took a harsh blow, forming a long slash across your chest

After that...he’s significantly nicer to you

He visits you in the infirmary and looks...troubled

“What’s wrong Usopp?” You give him a concerned look

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you save me...you’re hurt now. Because of me.”

You smiled at him...so he did care

This was a good first step

Maybe eventually you can become even closer

Sanji:

He’s reluctant to trust you at first, but Luffy seems to see something in you…

Just like he saw something in him

So he tries to get closer to you, even going so far as to not flirt with you

Not until he got to know you better

The first time he really began to see the trust between you building was a regular day

Nothing particularly special about it, except you went into the kitchen while he was cooking

“Mind if I help?” It was your attempt to get closer to him

“Of course! Here, I need this mixed.”

You cooked together in relative silence, small talking every once in a while

Overall it was...nice

It was a bonding experience and he cherished it

That day, he sat next to you at the dinner table

You gave him a wide smile, which he returned

He would defend you to anyone who spoke ill of you after that

He could be quite protective, and it showed

Especially to Zoro, who made comments about your being a spy (which only made Usopp and Chopper panic more about the situation)

“Hey marimo! They don’t deserve the bullshit you’re throwing at them. Back off.”

“What are you gonna do about it, shitty cook?” A smirk formed on Zoro’s face

Oh dear...it looks like they’re fighting again

You went to speak up, but Nami stopped you

“They get like this sometimes. Though it’s impressive how quick Sanji was to take the bait this time...I think he likes you.” She gives you a wink and your face flushes

Who knows what the future will bring...all you know? Is that you made the right choice to join this crew

Chopper:

He wants to trust you...he really does

But the nagging fear of you hurting his crew is at the back of him mind

He avoids you, not wanting to risk getting hurt

Once you get injured in battle...he realizes how unfair it was that he did so

“I’m sorry y/n...you’re hurt. Please follow me to the infirmary.”

He keeps it relatively formal, only talking when he needed to do something to check on you

“Would you...come back in a couple days so I can check on the wound and how it’s healing?”

You gave him a smile “yes doctor! Thank you!”

“Hehe you don’t have to thank me I don’t deserve your thanks I was just doing what I’d do for any of our crew!” He swayed back and forth, his paws on his face as he smiled

You could swear you saw flowers around him…

After that, he invited you to play games with him, Usopp, and Luffy

While Usopp was still reluctant, Luffy was 100% on board

“Come on y/n! Play with us!” Chopper smiled up at you and...well...there’s no way you could say no to his adorable face

So you joined in

It was fun...more fun than you thought possible to have

You laughed as Chopper tagged you, and you spun around picking him up in a hug

“Chopper...thank you.”

He smiled and laughed, “for what? Tagging you?”

You shook your head, putting him down

“No...for being a good friend.”

And he was, he was your best friend. You grew closer to him in the days following and you were certain you made the right decision

Robin:

She knows what it’s like to not be trusted by the crew initially...but at least with her it was one pirate to another

You were a marine

And not just a marine...but an admiral

She is reluctant to trust you, but will give you the benefit of the doubt

She spends a lot of time with you, gauging if you’re a threat to her crew or not

She would sacrifice herself for any one of them...you’re no exception

She almost thinks its her JOB to determine if you’re a threat or not

It wasn’t until your first battle together that she finds she trusts you

You give her a look, and she knows to use her devil’s fruit

You both coordinate perfectly together, and it shows your trust

She has only battled so flawlessly with her crew...which means you’re entirely one of them now

She will defend you from that fight forward, and stands up for you when the others express their doubts

“Y/n? Would you like to read with me?” She pats the spot next to her and smiled at you

“Of course! What are we reading today?”

The two of you grow closer and closer, spending hours upon hours just...enjoying each other’s company

She looks at your smile and knows...she would do anything to keep that happy smile on your face

Franky:

He doesn’t trust you...but he doesn’t...NOT trust you

He’s reluctant to get close, but finds it’s really easy with you

He’s newer to the crew, but he trusts Luffy’s judgement

So he doesn’t have any reason not to give you a chance

He’ll spend time with you, requesting you sit in his workroom as he works on a specialized weapon for you

Over that time, you make a lot of small talk

It brings you closer together

“Y/n! What do you think?” He’ll say holding up your now finished weapon “Pretty super, right? Don’t you just love it?” He has a look of pride on his face that makes you grin

You take the weapon into your hands and feel the weight is perfect

Not light, but not overly heavy either

“Thank you Franky!” You jump up to hug him and miss seeing his face turn a dark crimson

“O-of course! Anything for a crewmate!” He hugs you back, lightly as if he’s afraid he’ll break you

This makes you laugh, “Franky...I was an admiral remember? I won’t break from a hug!”

“Well then...take this!” He lifts you up, spinning you around in circles

You both laugh, pulling each other closer and closer

Once he sets you down you see the fleeting color of pink on his cheeks

You were sure your face mirrored the same color

He knows in that moment he would protect you

Even if you didn’t need it

Maybe...protect isn’t the right word

It sounds so...one sided

“I’ll protect you...will you protect me?” He looks sheepish, almost as if he hated asking

You lean up and kiss his cheek

“I’ll protect you Franky. I’ll protect all of us...this crew...it’s special.”

He nods, knowing exactly what you meant

“Then we’ll protect each other.”

And it was settled

Brook:

As soon as you stepped onto the ship he approached you

“Your name is y/n...correct?”

“Yup! That’s me!”

He leaned down so your…”eyes” were level with each other

“Can I see your panties?”

SLAP

“...is that a no?”

It’s safe to assume...he doesn’t judge you for being an admirable

Though seeing some of the crew be distant from you...it only motivates him to speak to you more

You looked tired after playing with the crew on deck, so he approached you

“Would you like me to play you a song to help you sleep?”

You stared wide eyed, not knowing he was the musician on the ship

“Sure! Would you...maybe be able to teach me how to play an instrument?”

“Which instrument would you like to learn?”

You hummed, “I’m not sure. I’ll get back to you on that.”

And so he played you a song

It put not only you, but Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper to sleep

He would have grinned if he could, and looked over his crewmates with love

As he finished the song he looked at you once again

“Sleep well y/n...I’ll see you tomorrow.”

[as-i-watch]

You better get ready bc its time for

The Straw Hats' Tragic Backstories

Ranked from what i personally consider to be less tragic to most tragic. With pictures!

I accounted not only how scaring their backstories are but also how long they suffered for, balancing the bad and the good times. Be ready

N°9 (Less Tragic): Usopp

Less Tragic is still Tragic. He lost his mom, never knew his father and never felt he fitted in at his hometown where he gain the reputation of problem child. That said, he still had a pretty 'normal' childhood and was a happy and emotionally stable kid, somehow.

N°8: Zoro

Now with Zoro there's the issue there's a lot we (or at least I) dont know. The times he spend at the dojo gave him somewhat of a home but before that he appeared to be a homless orphan maybe? Also then there is Kuina's death which defined so much about him through pain. Beyond that, he grew up in a safe space with people that cared about him.

N°7: Luffy

He never had a parental figure to look up to and he was raised in a way by many people. He's sense of familly lied with Sabo and Ace bc nobody else stayed around long enough (except for Dadan). Similar to Zoro, the 'death' of Sabo defined a lot about him through pain. He ranks above Zoro because he lived to survive and his and his brothers lives were often put in mortal danger.

N°6: Brook

The fact that he had a whole happy life didnt allowed me to rank him very high but at the same time, wandering arround for decades alone, traped in the darknes, souraded only by the dead bodies of his nakama. I couldn't put him last either. Not to mention the lost of his body.

N°5: Franky

Now it's getting real. Franky did have a happy childhood with his found family doing what he loved that is building ships. But, the boats he created were used against him to bring down and arrest his father figure/mentor. In desperation he traid to fight a train to stop it and lost his body in the process. He never saw Tom again.

N°4: Sanji

There are two sides to this. One, so far all we (or at leats I) know of Sanji is from when he was already an apprentice at a kitchen, what's the story before that? Idk but i bet is not happy. Then ofc is the issue that he almost starved to death at the ripe age of 8 and had to carry on with the guilt of costing this pirate-chef his leg and career, who eventually became his mentor/father figure. No wonder he is so closed off emotionally. Thanksfully, after that he seemed to have gronw up without other insidents and he loved it in the Baratie

How are you doing? Sad yet?

Well buckle the fuck in bc we are entering the top three and oh boy

N°3: Chopper

Rejected by everyone since he was born and it only got worse after the ate the devil fruit. He was attacked by his own and also by humans. The only one that showed him love and kindness was Hiluluk, his father figure/mentor, who he ended up killing while trying to find a medicing to save him. All things considered he had some happy times in the middle.

N°2: Nami

She was a happy kid until Arlong came along, murdered her mom infront of her eyes and took her away. Not only she was forced to work and live with Arlong, but she also had the lives of everyone on her village on her shoulders, and she made it so at the age of 8! She lived the next decade terrorized by Arlong, alone, thinking everyone hated her and carrying that weight on her own. Her final snap when she stabs herself on her tattoo cannot be more heartbraking

N°1 (Most Tragic): Robin

There's just, so much to unpack. She lived alone, her mother left her and her adoptive family rejected her. The only solance she found was studying but then the Marine came along. They killed everyone she loved in front of her eyes, they burned her entire island and made her the sole survivor. After that they persecuted her all her life, she was betrayed and sell out more times than she can count probably. She was forced to live in the run, never trusting anyone and never belonging anywhere, which was all she ever wanted.

- Thanksfully they all found happiness later in life having wonderful adventures with the Straw Hats, one big fam -

I hope you liked my post (ಥ‿ಥ)b

[fireflykaizoku]

Law x Reader | Alliance

another oneshot from my folder called "i gave up but maybe not" that i finished today after a couple of months LOL

ღ

ꟷ They were crazy, noisy. Their captain was almost a child that couldn’t be left unsupervised, and he also couldn’t stick to a plan even when his life depended on it. I regretted forming an alliance a couple of hours later. But not her, she was different. Of course, she laughed of Luffy and his shenanigans; she laughed and talked quite a lot. But at the same time, she felt like a calm place. A peaceful and safe place to be, you know? — Law started, smiling softly at the memory of when you first met. — Our start wasn’t the best, it was a bit of a disaster when I confessed, but after that, it was great…

On your way to Zou, your Captain was eating everything he could, while the others were singing and drinking with the rest of the other members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. You were still tired after all the Dressrosa events, so you got your drink and went to sit somewhere else further from the others. And apparently, Trafalgar Law was doing the same.

You didn’t have an opportunity to talk to the man when you met in Punk Hazard, you just knew that Luffy and him now started an alliance, and that apparently, the Surgeon Of Death wouldn’t betray your crew. He was very quiet, the opposite from the others.

— Hey you. — you said, smiling and sitting next to the man. — Are you feeling better?

— Yes, thanks (Y/N)-ya. — apparently not a man of many words.

The crew started singing Bink’s Sake, which didn’t sound the same without Brook, but it was still as fun. Zoro approached you two, with a mug of beer for Law, making him drink and stop frowning.

— You’ll get used to it. — you smiled. — They’re a bit chaotic, but they mean well. Just don’t ask Luffy to follow a plan, I mean, you see what happens. And he’s telling everyone you two are friends.

— I noticed that… — he sighed. — But we’re not.

— It’s too late to convince him otherwise now. — you giggled, seeing the regret in his eyes. — I think you two will be friends for real eventually, though.

Ever since that day, Law seemed to try to approach you, either by commenting about the book you were reading, to share a drink with you or when he just wanted to be quiet for a while. Sometimes, he seemed to be friendly, while some other times he was distant and started to acting rude for no reason. During a fight, he’d either act as if he was protecting you, while sometimes he’d scold you for almost getting hurt.

Law was hard to read, so you were very confused for months. Sometimes you thought he hated you, sometimes you caught him blushing looking at you. Eventually you were tired of his odd behavior, and one night, when he was scolding you in front of both crews, saying you were reckless for getting hurt during a fight, you had enough of it.

— Trafalgar, what’s wrong with you? — you asked, fixing your bandages yourself. — You’re being weird for so long! You give me a book to read, and minutes later you’re ignoring me; you make small conversations, and then act hostile towards me. So tell me, what’s your problem with me?

The crew had eyes wide open, not expecting this kind of reaction from you, someone who used to be quite patient. Robin suggested everyone to leave and let you and the doctor talk alone. Usopp and Nami were reluctant at first, wanting to see what would happen next. Penguin and Shachi didn’t want to leave either.

When you were alone with Law, you still looked at him with an angry look, arms crossed wanting to hear if he had anything to say that would explain his actions, or if he was simply rude.

— If you’re hating this whole thing so much, you can simply walk away, talk to Luffy and end this alliance. But you don’t need to act like an idiot if you don’t like us! — you continued when you noticed his silence.

He turned his back, putting his supplies in place. You got even angrier thinking he was ignoring you. But he broke the silence before you could say anything else.

— It’s not that I don’t like you, (Y/N)-ya. — he said, shutting his medical books. — It’s the opposite.

— What? — you tilted your head in confusion.

— I like you and I appreciate you. Haven’t you noticed that?

How would you notice?

— Obviously not! — you said, cheeks getting warm due the embarrassment of this confession. — That’s how you show you like people?

— I’m not good with this sort of thing, alright? I tried my best. — he sighed and looked at you, crossing his arms and trying to hide how nervous he was. — I don’t know how to do this kind of confession thing, so now you can do whatever you want with this information.

— Well… — you still tried to act angry, but how could you? You had an eye on him for a long time now. Not only he was good looking, but he was smart, he had a nice voice. And he was interesting when he wasn’t acting weird. — We might leave this island soon, so… You know, if you want to ask me on a date…

When the crew went back to check if you two were okay after everything being very quiet for minutes now, they saw you and the captain of the Heart Pirates smiling and talking, as if nothing had happened, leaving the ship. When you came back, you two seemed closer than before, and things didn’t seem so tense anymore.

— She’s amazing, I know you would’ve loved her and her personality. I’m sure she would’ve loved you too. — his tattooed fingers pulled the grass, avoid looking at the place where Corazon rested. It was more like a symbolic place, so he could visit and feel closer to his father figure from time to time. — You two would set a house on fire together, because she’s as clumsy as you. I hate the fact that Doflamingo took your life, and you won't have the chance of you attending to our wedding in a couple of months. But I guess you’re always watching me, watching us. Well at least that’s why (Y/N) says.

After telling the stories of the first date, the first I love you, the first fight and the day Law finally proposed, the man went back to the submarine, where you were waiting for him to come back and finish helping with the wedding plans.

ღ

tag list: @pure-kirarin - @lofi-coffee - @vemuabhi - @undercoverweeeb - @tsunderedoctor

[holykillercake]

Strawberry and Cigarretes

pairing: Sanji x Reader

word count: 2.6k

highlight: ¨Everything hurt, and for the first time, you wished to forget what the ocean sounded like.¨ 

warnings: slight angst

notes: This was a request from @vemuabhi​! <3 Very special because it was my first ever request! I wanted to doge the obvious path (which I almost took) and do something that didn´t involve Whole Cake Island, so maybe it is not the biggest angst (hats off to Mr. Oda cause he is Father angst) but I did my very best! I hope you all enjoy and Happy Birthday, Sanji-kun! <3

𝕃𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤, 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤, 𝕠𝕣 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤!

Do you remember when you were a kid, and you´d find a shell laying on the sand? And you would pick it up and put it on your ear, hoping to listen to the ocean? It´d always make a smile grow on your face before you tossed it aside and jumped into the water.

That time was different. When you heard the ocean share its endless secrets and tell its adventurous stories, you just wanted to sit there all day and listen. 

This specific event happened a couple of months after you joined the Strawhats. Chopper had borrowed you his stethoscope cause you thought it was cool, and in the middle of thousands of things you´ve already heard in your life, good and bad, the heartbeat was something that you were oblivious to. 

Some would think that asking to hear someone else´s heartbeat was weird, but inside the Thousand Sunny... well, those guys put ¨weird¨ on another level, and you would have to work your ass off to surpass that. 

Chopper got all blushed when you leaned closer to his tiny and furry torso, Usopp told you stories about a war he once won but had to have his heart replaced by a lion´s, Franky said that if you wanted to see a heart he could simply pull it out for you, Brook invested on the same ¨Oh, I don´t have a heart. Yohohoho¨ joke, Zoro let you listen to his wrist, Nami and Robin almost had you sinking into their generous breasts, and Sanji... you left him for last because you didn´t know how to ask him. So you just tiptoed quietly inside the kitchen, sneaked behind him, and tried to listen to his heart through his back. You feared that your nose would start bleeding if he faced you while you were doing it. 

That was exactly what he did, by the way. He poured more water into the stew he was cooking and turned around, putting out his cigarette so ashes wouldn´t fall on you. Immediately you began to sweat, your breath quickened, and hold the stethoscope with a steady hand became a herculean task. 

His lean fingers moved to the collar of his blue shirt and started to unbutton a few, enough for you to have better access. At that point, you believed that the reason why you weren´t bleeding yet was that you were slowly having a stroke, and Sanji´s action was God´s gift to you for being a good person while alive. 

Then he didn´t do anything else, just put both hands in his pockets and waited while you listened to every single bubble popping inside his chest like you were afraid to miss one. In the end, he tucked a lock of hair behind your ear and went back to his stew.

But that was all about it. The following months were just like any other, the crew kept acting as weird as their minds allowed, and you kept shutting whatever your stupid heart was yelling at you. Although... if you could be honest for one moment, deep down you were hurt. 

Maybe you scared or crept him away with your childish curiosity. Maybe he had noticed your feelings for him and got disgusted. Well, not disgusted, he probably didn´t like you the same way and didn´t know how to tell you, so keeping words to a minimum was his way to go. 

He stopped singing and twirling around you, he´d rather call your name respectfully; when you shared the night watches, he just remained quiet by your side, answering briefly to your questions or comments; he even stopped trying to sneak into your baths or make suggestive comments - which you didn´t love before, but you know, you only miss something when it's gone. 

The whole crew had noticed the change in both of your behaviors, but they too were not sure how to address it. Whenever someone asked something about it you would say ¨Really? I didn´t notice anything.¨. Either too proud to confront him or too afraid of the truth. 

~

¨Oi, you ok?¨ Zoro asked, breaking into your personal bubble of sadness. 

You knew it was Zoro because you two were taking the night watch, but you didn´t expect him to show interest or concern about your upset state. 

The night was chilly, so you were sitting on Sunny´s grass, arms around your knees, holding them close to your chest to keep the warmth. 

¨Why do you care?¨ you answered bitterly, but he didn´t mind since he was the king of freaking Bitter Land. 

¨I don´t. But I´ll go crazy if I hear you sigh one more time.¨ he sat close to you, not too close, just enough for you to listen to each other.

A chuckle left your mouth involuntarily, you never expected his grouchy temper would come in handy in times like this. Then your frowned expression came back, and you let out another sigh. 

Before you realized Zoro had pushed you with his Sandai Kitetsu scabbard, making you fall to your side with a squeak. 

¨I told you.¨

You sat again, taking some grass off your leg ¨Yeah. Can´t deny it.¨

¨Yeah, you´ve been doing that a lot lately.¨ 

He didn´t look like he was teasing you, his eyes focusing on the line where the sky met the ocean, where the stars disappeared and became blurry white brushes on the water. 

¨I... I don´t-¨

¨I think you can do better than the stupid cook.¨he kept his usual tone ¨ But I guess we don´t get to choose these things.¨ 

You were taken aback by his words, and despite you trying to fight your lips from trembling and tears from falling, it was useless. You had been crushing these feelings inside you for too long, and it killed you the more you ignored it. 

The swordsman wasn´t saying those things because he loved you or anything like that, but because the entire crew - except for Luffy - had already noticed and began acting weird about it. And despite being the captain´s duty to solve any problem or an uncomfortable situation, your captain was a bit too oblivious, so he had to step in. 

Besides, his nakama was getting hurt. He didn´t care about the ero cook. 

¨If you want me to beat him up... just let me know.¨ 

He said it to cheer you up - not that he didn´t mean, he´d do it for much less - but nothing seemed worth smiling for now. You just bit your lip in order to avoid an embarrassing whining, since you were unable to stop the painful tears from rolling down your cheeks. 

Everything hurt, and for the first time, you wished to forget what the ocean sounded like.

¨W-What should I do?¨

¨That´s not my problem to solve, Y/N.¨ he stood up beside you ¨But sometimes, when I have a difficult problem that I can´t solve my way...¨ his gaze still locked with the horizon ¨... I think about what my captain would do.¨ he left without any further words, leaving you not only sad but confused as well. 

You slept on it for the next couple of days, still not understanding what he meant. Maybe he just wanted to leave the conversation and said whatever came to mind. But even that didn´t fit right. If he didn´t want to be stuck in an uncomfortable conversation, he wouldn´t have started one. 

So you took as a personal mission to observe your captain until you learned how to think like him, hoping that figuring that out would solve your problem. 

You had joined the crew as a historian, the person responsible for writing down every adventure meticulously, every tiny detail of every battle, and every glorious victory along the Strawhats journey. So in one dusk, when you were in charge of the night watch with Robin and the moon was full and bright, you took your journals and began rolling through the pages, looking for a pattern, something that anticipated every major decision of your captain.

You even borrowed old diaries from the time you were not part of their crew. The stories lacked details, but they served to paint a picture. Basically:

Luffy insults an ugly lady, saves a kid, eats something, finds Zoro, beats the crap out of a crazy marine, saves the day, gets his first crewmate. 

Luffy gets eaten by a bird, then vomited in a town, finds Nami, eats something, is put in a cage, beat the crap out of some pirates, saves the day.

 Luffy wants a new ship, meets Usopp, eats something, gets thrown from a cliff, beats the crap out of some pirates, saves the day, gets Going Merry and a liar. 

Luffy wants a cook, explodes a restaurant, becomes a waiter, eats something, meets Sanji, beats the crap out of some pirates, saves the day, gets a cook. 

Luffy eats something, finds the fishmen, goes for a walk, is thrown in the water, beats the crap out of some pirates, saves the day, gets a navigator.

Luffy wants a doctor, eats everything, fights some crazy ass bunnies, climbs a mountain, meets Chopper, beats the crap out of some pirates, saves the day, gets a doctor. 

Luffy eats something, wants to fix Going Merry, meets Franky, loses Robin, beats the crap out of some world government agents, saves the day, gets an archeologist, a shipwright, and Thousand Sunny. 

Luffy hears a ghoulish singing, finds a speaking skeleton in a busted ship, has his shadow stolen, beats the crap out of some Warlord of the Sea, gets a musician.

When you finished the last journal, the weight of your body pushed you to the floor, and you laid on your back for a couple of minutes, overwhelmed by the amount of information in your head.

¨I know what to do...¨ you took a deep breath ¨... I´m gonna eat something.¨

You mumbled something to Robin, telling her that you´d be back in a few minutes, and wandered to the kitchen. 

As soon as you entered the room a sweet and comforting aroma like whipped cream and strawberries invaded your senses, making your head turn to the counter immediately. 

¨Y/N-chan...¨ the cook said.

You opened and closed your mouth a couple of times, looked at him, and then to your feet, your fingers fidgeting as a sign of your anxious state. 

¨D-Didn't know you were awake.¨ you marched to the table and helped yourself with some sugar cookies.

¨Oh... It won´t take much longer...¨ you heard his muffled voice somewhere in the back of your mind, all you could hear was the blood pumping in your ears ¨... cake because today is my birthday and I thought we...¨ your vision was focused on the cookie jar, crushing the granular biscuit with your fingertips ¨...and I...I didn´t know if-¨

¨What would Luffy do?¨ you whispered to yourself.

¨W-What?¨ 

¨What would Luffy do?¨ 

The question wasn´t for him, it was for you. You felt something growing inside your chest, like the blood that pumped in your heart was boiling and burning, giving you the strength and courage you needed. 

¨I have been trying to find answers to a lot of things, you know?¨ you stood up to face the cook, palms spread on the table, ¨I ... do you hate me, Sanji?¨ 

He stopped what he was doing and let the knife rest on the cutting board. When his gaze found yours, there was no way back. That is what Luffy would do. He´d eat something, do whatever came to his mind, and deal with the consequences. No need to go back. 

¨Y/N-chan... why do you...¨

¨I mean, I ask this because...¨ you clenched your hands, cursing yourself for feeling the need to cry ¨I can´t take this anymore, Sanji! If I did something to offend you or if I said something...¨ your voice was broken and weak, and you were a mess of tears and sobs ¨You don´t have to love me back, that´s not what I am saying, but... I can´t stand-¨

¨Y/N-chan... why do you think I hate you?¨ he wiped his hands with a towel and made his way towards you, slowly.

¨Oh, come on, Sanji... You treat me differently, you´re cold and distant, you don´t say a word to me even when we share night shifts! If you don´t hate me, then this must be a sick game you´re playing.¨ your legs felt wobbly, and you sat back in the chair, not being able to face him anymore.  The courage and strenght you had minutes ago was gone.

You just watched him get closer and kneel in front of you, his cold fingers gently brushing away the hot tears on your cheeks. 

¨I could never hate you, Y/N.¨ he said softly ¨I am sorry I made you feel like this, I am sorry I made you cry...¨ his fingers touched your trembling lips. 

¨Then why...¨

¨I didn´t want to scare you away like I always do, Y/N... I know I can be too much sometimes, with the nose bleeding and everything. But that´s how I am, and I didn´t want you to think of me as an idiot... so I prefer being silent, then say something stupid and... ¨ 

¨You don´t have to say this. I don´t need pity talk...¨you spoke as more tears fell, giving him a chance to take his statement back.

¨I have to, Y/N. But not because of pity talk.¨ he gently pressed his forehead against yours, like bunnies do when they apologize. 

¨Then why?¨ 

¨Because I love you, Y/N.¨ the blonde closed the space left between the two of you, kissing you passionately. 

He helped you get up without breaking the kiss and leaned you against the kitchen table, his hands holding your body close while yours ran through his golden hair. His mouth tasted like strawberries and cigarettes, a flavor to which you could easily get addicted. 

You parted the kiss just enough to get some oxygen, your noses were touching, and you could feel his heavy breathing against your skin. 

¨I didn´t know today is your birthday...¨ you whispered, afraid that this was a dream and you´d wake up alone again. 

¨Yeah, I was hoping to get a Happy Birthday from you, you know.¨ he chuckled.

¨I think you´ll be getting more than that.¨

You stared into each other´s eyes for a moment before he pulled you to a hug. When you leaned against his warm chest you heard it again, the same babble of the ocean, only this time you smiled, knowing that it wanted to listen to your stories and secrets as well. 

¨Sanji?¨

¨Hm?¨

¨Happy Birthday... I love you.¨

¨I love you too, Y/N.¨ he kissed you again.

¨Please, don´t have sex on the dinner table.¨ you jumped when Robin spoke.

 When you turned, you saw all your crewmates dressed in pajamas and messy hair staring back at you with sparkly sleepy eyes. You spot Zoro back in the crowd, you smiled and gave him a silent ¨Thank you.¨. You couldn´t help but wonder how the guy who manages to gets lost walking down a straight path was able to guide some sense into you. 

In any way, you´ve found it. Inside of his chest, inside of his heart was the All Blue you heard so much of. Maybe that was the thing with it, and why only a few people found it. Everyone assumes that it is a place, where the four Blues meet, but it´s easy to forget that when you´re a pirate the ocean becomes the essence of who you are.

Little did you know that Sanji had found his All Blue too.

[skygemspeaks]

fusion au for one piece!!!!

the asl brothers spend almost as much time fused as they do apart. it’s second nature to them, fighting as one, laughing as one, living as one. after they lose sabo, it takes years for ace and luffy to fuse again for more than a few minutes at a time. it takes years for them to get used to that stomach-churning feeling of incompleteness, like a huge chunk of them is just gone.

the first time zoro ever fuses with luffy, he’s tied to a post in a marine base and half starved to death. he’s only ever fused with one other person before in his life, and she’s long dead. but he has a promise to keep, and so he sucks it up and accepts the rubbery idiot’s offer, just this once. zoro expects to hate it, expects the fusion to fall apart within moments, when his partner proves himself unable to keep up. what he finds instead is a dream as ridiculous as his own, and a motivation as deep as the ocean. they fight together like a well oiled machine, and later, when morgan is down and the marines around them are cheering and they fall back apart into their separate selves, luffy once again asks zoro to join his crew, even though they both know what the answer will be. zoro rolls his eyes, and responds in a long-suffering voice. “aye, captain.”

when nami sits there, sobbing and desperate and asking for help, luffy doesn’t put his hat on her head. instead, he reaches out a hand. and maybe nami doesn’t have anything to offer him, no strength, no fighting prowess, no strategy to defeat his enemy, but he takes her into his heart and lets her be the one to take down arlong once and for all. luffy lends nami his strength to get revenge for bellemere, for nojiko and genzo and all the other townspeople. For her own lost childhood. Nami doesn't think she'll ever be able to pay him back.

when ace sees his little brother in alabasta for the first time in three years, he’s so excited he launches himself at luffy, who doesn’t know he’s fused until they pick themselves up from the floor, blinking around in confusion and excitement. Fighting like this is second nature to them, but now they have an exciting new devil fruit to play with and the marines will never know what hit them. The part of them that is wholely Ace grins maliciously at Smoker as they crack their knuckles. "How dare you try and lay a hand on my precious little brother?"

Robin is gone and merry is broken and usopp is fighting with their captain. Everything is going horribly wrong, and just as it seems like things are reaching a breaking point from which there is no return, luffy reaches out and puts both hands on usopp's stubborn shoulders. Fusing with this stubborn asshole is the last thing usopp wants to do right now, but he's never been able to say no to his captain. So he accepts, and next thing he knows, he's drowning in a love as fierce as the ocean, and he's always been a good swimmer but now he finds he can barely keep his head above water. The depth of that love...it terrifies him, because he knows just how close he had been to throwing it all away. He sees now a grief for merry that rivals his own, and he knows he's not alone. He sees the heavy weight of a captain's responsibility, and it makes his knees buckle, to think that luffy has been shouldering it all this time. "I'm sorry" they choke out. Zoro huffs and rolls his eyes, steps forward and joins them. There are tears running down their face now as the love within them nearly doubles. Nami joins them next, then Chopper, and Sanji, and suddenly they're a towering, monstrous thing. With too many sets of arms, too many pairs of eyes, and so tall they almost break through poor merry's ceiling and walls. They fall apart into their separate selves a few seconds later, gigglin and tripping over each other. And it's almost perfect. But Robin is missing and they have to go bring her back home.

Marineford is a mess of a battlefield this time. with fusions forming and breaking in the blink of an eye, a chaotic mess where no enemy ever stays the same. Luffy succeeds in getting those damned handcuffs off him as the execution platform falls apart, and when they land on the ground, it is as one. Before any of the marines around them even has a chance to react, they're on the ground unconscious. They carve a bloody swathe through the battlefield, making their way to their escape ship. And this time when Akainu starts insulting Whitebeard, Ace does not stop. Because Luffy is right there with him and Ace loves his father more than life itself, but he won't risk Luffy's chance at escaping with his life, not even for him. Whitebeard dies with peace in his heart, knowing that his children have escaped safely.

A few weeks later, the Revolutionary Army's chief of staff stares at the newspaper, at a wide rubber grin wreathed in flames and mischievous black eyes looking out from beneath a ratty straw hat. Part of him is marvelling at how stable the fusion is, how strong. The two people that made them must know and love each other dearly. But a bigger part of him can't help but think that they're incomplete. His eyes trace out a pair of missing sky blue eyes, and search for messy blond curls among those black locks. He's hyperventilating now, his hands trembling and blood roaring in his ears as memories of his brothers come flooding back to him. He faints, and crumples to the floor before anyone can catch him.

[lawxbread]

hiya!!!can I ask for a scenario with some angsttt?😂😂I was thinking maybe sanji got hurt in a fight and was hiding his injuries but his fem!s/o found out? thanks so much in advance!! (I don't rly like nsfw smut stuff I just love angsty stuff for some reason loool)

(´• ω •`) ♡ Hey yo!! Thanks a bunch for requesting! I got so upbeat reading your ask since we all love Sanji, so I couldn’t wait to write it! Like you, I find myself appreciating writing/reading angst stuff lately so... your request came in handy !! I hope you enjoy it, have a nice and safe day! <3

I’d never think of you as a failure

Sanji x fem!reader

  Summary: Sanji has been acting weird since he came back from an exploration mission. Thanks to that, an excruciating event happened between you and Sanji. Obviously, you couldn’t help but try to figure out what’s going on with him. Sanji’s cheeling past with his family certainly has to do with it. Well, at least he has you to count on.

 Warnings: angst, disagreements, troubled past

Word count: ~1.7k

"I miss him..." You mumble to yourself as soon as you wake up, seeing the left side of your bed empty.

 It's been a few days since Sanji, your boyfriend, left the ship with Luffy, Robin, Franky, and Law's crew to explore an island. The band split into two groups to streamline the process of going in search of the blue poneglyphs. Consequently, you and the rest of the crew are in charge of keeping tabs on the ship, while the other group is using  Law's submarine since all of you agreed to meet at the next island.

 You and the others have been waiting for the rest of the crew as you already arrived on the encounter island four days ago.

  "Good morning, Nami." You greet the Straw hats' navigator while you approach Sunny's aquarium. She is sitting on the bench, "Morning, Y/N!". You both start a conversation, then you bring up the subject of the rest of the crew's members comeback, showing your worries about Sanji's safety. "I can't stand it anymore. I miss him so freaking much." You say as you cross your arms, with your hands gripping upper them. "I guess I've been used to be by his side." Nami can't help but give you a sad look. She tries to comfort you by saying they will arrive when you least expect it.

  Suddenly, You hear someone yells, "THEY'RE HERE!! LUFFY AND THE OTHERS!!"

 "Oh my god. And I want to earn a hundred million bellies!" Nami jokes as soon as she realizes the amused fluke. You don't hesitate a second and run towards the room's door in an attempt to check if it's true, with your heart pounding out of your chest, utterly desperate.

  You see Usopp in the ship's mainmast, with his hands screening his eyes from the sun's light as he tries to get a better view of the group coming. He can't stop smiling and screaming about the other group's return, giving you a glad feeling.

 "Oi!! Oi, oi, oi!" It's Luffy, happily waving at all of you. Your eyes automatically start looking for Sanji in the crowd. As soon as you see your boyfriend, without a second thought, you run towards him, immediately jumping out of Sunny, "Sanji!!".

 When Sanji notices you, a smile from ear to ear on his face appears. He opens his arms, implying to give you a tight hug.

 Quickly, you hug him. The warmth you feel when you both embrace each other is incomparable, "I missed you." Sanji whispers as he holds you. 

 When you are about to let go of the embrace, you slowly rub your arm over Sanji's right shoulder, "Ouch!" Sanji unintentionally lets out, as if he was in pain. "What happened??" You worriedly ask. "It's Nothing, Y/N-chan." Sanji grins while he tucks a lock of your hair behind your ear, "I'm okay. Don't worry." You can't help but fret about him. Still, you pass this matter over for a while.

Thereabout eight hours have passed since Luffy's group return. Since then, you've been spending this whole time with Sanji. 

 You are sitting on a bench in front of the kitchen countertop while you watch Sanji cooking the banquet for the celebration later, "You look tired.", you say with a concerned voice tone as you fold your hands together on the countertop. "How long has it been since you've slept decently?" Sanji scratches his neck with his index finger, "I'm not tired, Y/N-chan." Sanji replies while he puts some flour on the tip of your nose, leaving it entirely white. So then, he chuckles. "I've been sleeping well, don't worry." Afresh, he smiles, but you know he's hiding something from you. Sanji is unsettled, for sure.

  The big celebration starts, lots of food all over the dinner table, which follows the Straw hats' classic menu: basically, the favorite dish of each one of the members. All of these, prepared by your sweet boyfriend and, also, the best cooker you've ever met, Sanji. 

 Luffy approaches the table, his mouth drooling for complete. Expectedly, he starts eating a piece of meat. When suddenly he asks with his mouth full, "Where's Sanji?" He's right. Sanji said he was quickly going to go to the room of you both about 45 minutes ago. You lean back and look up, wondering why Sanji is taking so long. Owing to that, you get up from your seat, "I'm gonna go call him."

 An anxiety awareness comes as you walk towards your room. You don't know why, but you are having an awful feeling about Sanji's absence; a quickened breath takes over your lungs. Perhaps this is due to his behavior since he arrived. Genuinely, you know that he is not well, and it worries the hell out of you.

 Even though it's also your room, you try to respect Sanji's privacy, considering that you don't know what he is doing inside there. 

 In reason of that, you knock on the door. No answer. You try it again. Still no answer. You do it five more times, and Sanji doesn't reply. 

 So you decide to come in.

  You gradually open the door as you murmur, "Sanji?" 

 You take slow steps on the wooden floor. Sanji is not in the main room, so you call on his name using a louder voice, "Sanji!". Suddenly, a noise comes from the bathroom. 

  You immediately head over there. Hence, a feeling of shock erodes your body as you see Sanji failing to try to hide a big bruise on his right shoulder. You can't stop looking at the wound as you put your hands over your mouth in shock. The wound is really bad. It looks like it was an extremely strong punch's blow or something like that. Apparently, the injury has been there for about a week, so it's not recent. That is, Sanji was hiding it from you. 

  Sanji freezes and stares at you with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, " Y/N-chan..." His voice, a stuttering timbre. "Why didn't you tell me?" You ask him as you crease your brow and twist your mouth, trying to think of a logical reason that explains why he'd done that.

  Sanji is simply shocked. He presses his fingers firmly against the palm of his hand. As if he is holding on to the urge to do something he doesn't want at all. Unexpectedly, his eyes flood with tears. Sanji was holding back the urge to cry. Cry in front of you.

 "No, don't cry!! I hate it when you cry!!" You give him the saddest look you've ever had. He's paralyzed from head to toe. The only movement you see as you look at him is the tears running down his cheeks. 

 "Sanji!!!!" You shout to him while you fight back the craving to cry. Hands lead to your forehead as you feel your bloodstream on fire. Sanji is not saying a thing. He is doing nothing but cries and staring at you while he does so. "God...This is breaking my heart." Your voice is in a whiney tone, implying an inevitable shedding of tears. Then, eventually, your eyes well up.

  "J-just talk to me...Please." You beg. Sanji shakes his head slightly as if he is trying to take a kind of stupor away. He glances at you with a fake smile, "I'm sorry for not telling you." He wipes his tears with his left hand, "I don't know why I cried." Sanji artificially chuckles, "I'm okay."

 The cooker is lying to you again, so you confront him, "Stop telling me you're okay!!!!!" You exclaim. Sanji looks surprised at you. Then you add, "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong." And when he opens his mouth to answer you, you interrupt him, "And don't try lying to me again." You give him a severe look.

  A bleak silence takes over the bathroom for about 10 seconds. Sanji keeps staring at you, hesitating to speak the truth.

  But then, he decides to blow off steam to you. "I got hurt in a fight." He looks down, avoiding your glance, "I didn't wanna you to think..." A line appears between your brows. "To think I'm weak." He looks back at you, "Damn it! How pathetic am I for crying like a baby in front of you??!" Sanji sighs as he palms his forehead.

  You give Sanji a once-over, "Sanji!!!". He wide-eyed stares at you, "Why would you think that??" You can't help but be nervous, "I can't..." You cross your arms, "I can't just sit by and do nothing when obviously you're suffering." Further, Sanji is hesitating again. He lights a cigarette as a down look fills his face. When, finally, he confesses, "My family... used to treat me like..." Sanji blows a cigarette smoke, "... like a failure because they thought I wasn't strong enough."  Sanji admits as he squeezes his eyes shut, fighting back his tears. "I don't wanna you to think I'm a failure and to doubt my strength as they did." He adds, "That's why I hid my injuries from you." Sanji quivers his lips as you gradually approach him.

 "Sanji..." you mumble his name while you walk towards him. He opens his tearful eyes and gazes at you. When, suddenly, you hug him like you're never going to let him go, "I'd never, under any circumstances..." You look up, trying to maintain eye contact with him, "...Think of you as a failure." You smile with your eyes and mouth at him. 

 Sanji is shaken. Now he's crying again. But with joy. He can't stop smiling and crying at the same time. He holds you even more tightly in his arms; even though it is painful for his injured shoulder, he doesn't care. It's like he's anesthetized at the moment. 

 "Mmm...You're warm." He says.

  The words you just said ended up comforting Sanji's traumatized and troubled soul.  "Now, let me treat your injury properly." You ask him with a grin.

 Later, you're sitting on the edge of the bed with Sanji as you bandage his injured shoulder. When, suddenly, you stop bandaging and then, you kiss it, "If I could..." You say as you look at Sanji's profile face, "I'd kiss away all of your scars." Lovingly, you smile at him. At last, Sanji looks back at you. 

  A pleasant silence fills the room as he presses his forehead against yours, "I love you." Sanji whispers.

[cienie-isengardu]

Luffy and Zoro, equality presented by Wano Arc...?

The feeling of equality between Luffy & Zoro has been sitting on my mind a lot lately, so I finally decided to write down my chaotic thoughts on that matter. 

First, to be precise: I’m not talking about power levels between Straw Hats because One Piece proved on many occasions that power alone is not a good measure how one character will fare in a fight or that beating X does not automatically guarantee beating Y. In Thriller Bark Perona took down Luffy, Sanji, Zoro and Franky without a problem, but lost to Usopp out of all people. At the same time, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji will always be the main fighters of Straw Hats no matter the gap of power between them. Everyone is powerful on their own, but they may fare better in different fighting settings. I personally tend to think that Luffy and Zoro are closer to each other in terms of power, raw strength and will, but this is not exactly the matter of equality I wish to talk about. What I wish to talk about is how the Wano arc set Luffy and Zoro apart from the rest of the crew in a more tangible (visual) way.

Even before Wano Arc, Luffy and Zoro were singled out by narrative on various occasions. The most memorable is: the first meeting with Shichibukai (and Mihawk acknowledging them both), taking a beating in Mock Town to Nami’s dismay and Bellamy Pirates’ amusement, earning the title of Supernova and with that becoming part of the Worst Generation, independently attacking Charlos/Tenryūbito (though sadly, Zoro was stopped by Bonney) or killing together a dragon on Punk Hazard. In all cases, Luffy and Zoro were set apart from the rest of the crew and even other pirates, sharing unspoken understanding of other actions and needs or becoming a part of something bigger and more dangerous. 

Luffy will always be the captain (leader) and as the main character, the hero saving the day at the end of the arc. At the same time, Zoro may never be officially called the vice captain by other crew members (which is fair, Straw Hats Pirates don’t care nor have any need for ranks) but narrative puts him as the protector of crew (i.e. Kuma), the leader in the absence of Luffy what consistently is marked by narrative boxes (i.e. “Zoro team”,”Zoro side”) and the layout of frames (Zoro taking the central position that normally belongs to Luffy) or even having some confrontation with the final boss (Arlong, Hody). Zoro is also treated like the voice of reason; even if his words are harsh and emotionless, he will speak what must be said for the Luffy and crew’s sake (Alabasta, Davy Back Fight Arc, Water 7, Enies Lobby, Zou). He is also the one that provides Luffy comfort and support in dire situations (Usopp leaving the crew). 

Luffy cares equally about his nakama, yet the narrative likes to single out Zoro as someone usually standing by him but also as someone taking Luffy’s position of captain very seriously. Further details adding to the feeling of equality set up by narrative include the visuality of their most notable scars (under left eye/left eye and middle of chest), the running joke of people mistaking Zoro for an actual captain of Straw Hats Pirates or acknowledging him as a dangerous “beast”, Luffy and Zoro’s very similar mindset and attitude towards fighting powerful enemies and all the parallels in which both captain and first mate* did the same things on various points in the manga or color spreads/covers (x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x).

In general, the story established how despite their different nature of extrovert and introvert,  Luffy and Zoro are similar when it comes to the serious and trivial matters about whose I could talk for days. What is vital though, for years such treatment of Zoro created the feeling of equality between him and Luffy. Not in the power sense per se because narrative has never been objective about that, but how they progress from rookies to men getting closer and closer to fulfilling their dreams.

And now the Wano Arc seems to single them out in ever more visible ways.

For one, anime dropped the individual eye catchers for the whole crew, except for Luffy and Zoro. At the end of each, all Straw Hats are showed standing together:

In both cases, Zoro is on Luffy’s right and both carry similar looking katanas: Kitetsu II and Sandal Kitetsu III. The swords may have different colors, but their tsuba have the same patterns, which double the feeling of equality between those two. 

Manga provides similar moments, starting with chapter 912

and cover of volume 91 (which was used for Luffy’s eye catcher apparently) and inside illustration included in volume 92

Then from all the crew, only Luffy and Zoro were pretending to be ronin (the masterless samurai), seen in box info

while the rest Straw Hats played the role of ninja (Chopper), kunoichi (Nami), ghost (Brook), geisha (Robin), toad oil salesman (Usopp), carpenter (Franky) and soba cook (Sanji). Even Law, another Supernova and equal to Luffy, hid his identity pretending to be some sort of wandering monk. And thinking logically, Law would be better ronin because unlike Luffy, he knows how to use sword in fight. 

Another visually prominent detail - Zoro and Luffy are the only one Straw Hats who have kimonos with ornaments resembling the sun that may be a symbol of the coming dawn, foretold by Lady Toki. A dawn that will end Kaido and Orochi’s reign on Wano.

Luffy’s ornament is straight taken from the crest of the Kozuki clan (and resembling the symbol Alabasta Kingdom). I have much more to tell about Zoro’s design but that will need wait for another time. For now, though it looks much sharper is no less reminiscent of the same solar symbol. Adding to the sign their status of ronin and we may call Luffy and Zoro, figuratively speaking, the samurai bringing sun (hope, new era, peace) to a country plunged in darkness, most likely in nearest future fulfilling late Kozuki Oden’s desire to defeat Kaido and open Wano  to world.

Of course, all Straw Hats, Heart Pirates, Minks and people of Wano are working together to defeat Kaido but Luffy and Zoro were visually set apart from everyone from the beginning of the arc. There is also their personal, strong connection to Oden’s children: Momonosuke and Hiyori who both were very impressed and protected by Luffy (Momonsuke) and Zoro (Hiyori).

Another detail binding Luffy and Zoro more to Oden and setting them apart from the rest of characters are new things they have acquired through the course of the arc. Namely, the better understanding & advanced techniques of Busoshoku Haki (Luffy) and late Oden’s great sword Enma (Zoro). Both things are capable of hurting Kaido.

Usually, during the arc, Luffy gets separated from the crew for the longest part of the story. And indeed, he gets struck first in prison (where he managed to win over imprisoned there samurais) and now, during battle, is running to face Kaido escorted only by Jimbei and Sanji (who wandered away in chapter 997). Surprisingly, Zoro too was separated by quite a long period of time, in which he met and befriended Yasue, Hiyori and Toko before he rejoined the crew for the final battle. Luffy and Zoro are the Straw Hats that openly admit they want to face Kaido in fight.

Another detail setting them apart from the rest of the crew: interacting with (and in case of Zoro, beating down) other Supernovas. They met Hawkins at the beginning of arc and fought him (Sanji too, met Hawkins and Drake once in public baths but ran away, securing Nami, Robin and Shinobi well being), then Killer and Kid before and during battle, Apoo and Drake which whom they had small crash, but now Drake were working with Roronoa against Apoo. Ironically, Drake is a friend with Coby who is a friend of both Luffy and Zoro. Coby literally met those two before Nami debuted. Also, the Supernovas allied with Luffy are learning in hard way that dealing with Zoro is not less stressing that working with Luffy.

How the Wano arc will turn out will show the upcoming chapters, for now though, not only Straw Hat has a strong connection to people of this land. For one, there is Tama, that both Luffy and Zoro came to like very much and literally started wreaking havoc in enemy territory because of her. Twice. Then there is mentioned connection to Oden - symbolic samurais of dawn and carrying Momonosuke and Hiyori’s wish to defeat Kaido and save the country but also Zoro’s personal connection to Shimotsuki clan that was hinted time after time and briefly explained in SBS that may or may not play bigger role, especially since Shimotsuki clan support Kozuki family. Which only adds to the whole connection between Luffy and Zoro and (good) people of Wano.

I feel like Wano arc was set up to establish the equality of Luffy and Zoro, not in the power sense that so many fans love to argue about, but as the relationship between them. Not just as captain and (powerful) subordinate but more like partners, the way Roger and Rayleigh or Kid and Killer are seen. The manga put a lot effort in creating parallels and the visual similarity between those two characters to dismiss the potential hints of Luffy and Zoro slowly falling apart from the crew in the sense of the role they will play in this and maybe future arcs.

[eirist]

Winter Whimsies ❄️

CUSTOM MADE

Vignette #: 3

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T

Note: Vignette for the ZoNa Holiday 2020 at @zonamievents in Tumblr. December 18 theme: Ornaments / Traditions. Well, I honestly don’t think it’s a vignette anymore. And I’m still aiming to finish all themes even if the event has ended. It’s still holidays after all. 

Summary: All in all… they pretty much started a weird tree decorating tradition.  And Zoro, as usual, doesn’t want to be a part of it.

The Mugiwara Christmas tree stood in all its glory inside the Sunny’s library.

It was the crew’s first time in two years to put one up. Luffy was enthusiastic with the idea. And with Chopper who was just as excited at the prospect of enjoying the festivity that comes along with the said tree… there was no room to say no.

So off Zoro went—along with Franky—to scour the island for a suitable tree to cut down and use. Brook and Jinbei undertook the task of preparing the library. Nami and Robin headed to town to buy decorations and do some more shopping while Sanji busied himself preparing the Christmas dinner. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper took turns stealing some of the cookie dough whenever the chef’s back was turned.

Trimming the tree was chaos unfolding. The moment Zoro was able to situate it in the library, an argument started on what ornaments to adorn the tree as all of them wanted to have their own specific contribution dangling from the evergreen branches—ranging from normal festive baubles, edible confections to weird knick-knacks.

And that is how Nami and Robin found them when they arrived back on the ship. The navigator immediately hit the roof and the boys (including the older ones), trembled in fear.

When she stared at them with blazing eyes and stated in a tone as cold as the winter island that they all better stop because tree trimming was her and Robin’s job... Usopp immediately volunteered that he and the boys would be the ones to decorate the outside of their ship... far away from the fuming map maker.

He high-tailed it out of the library, miraculously dragging the others with him while Nami threatened that if they do an awful job… she will charged them with all the shopping expenses plus interest.

So the two girls busied themselves with the Christmas tree as the others hang wreaths, garlands and boughs of holly in the library, galley and other parts of the Sunny. Franky and Jinbei then suspended some ice lights on the decks and yellow string lights in the rooms, giving the whole area a more festive ambience.

As more and more Christmas ornaments and decorations were put up on the Sunny… the more excited the crew became.

When Nami and Robin finished decorating the tree, Franky added some string lights to it as well. They all hold off placing the star on the top as they reserved that honor for Luffy and Chopper.

They were putting some finishing touches in the tree and fixing the presents underneath it when Brook walked up to them, humming as he nonchalanty hung additional ornaments on the branches that looked like miniature pirates wearing little red, Santa hats—with hair colors oddly similar to the crews’.

“Brook that is cute!” Nami gushed as she stared at a familiar orange-haired pirate. “Where did you get them?”

“Yohohoho! It’s a secret Nami-san.”

“Fine. Keep it to yourself!”

“Perhaps if you show me your—”

“Not in this life or the next!”

“It’s really charming Brook,” Robin interjected as she studied the mini pirates while Nami smacked the musician with her Clima-tact. “Good find.” She touched one that looks just like her.

“Yohohoho! Thank you Robin-san!”

The sound of Sanji’s voice, crooning for his beloved ladies pulled their attention away. He had baked some Christmas cookies and prepared tea for the girls’ snack time.

With the Christmas tree done and decked out they decided it was time for a break.

-------------------------

When Nami stepped inside the library later that afternoon she was surprised to see that the Straw Hats’ Christmas tree got additional decorations.

Aside from the mini pirates Brook has placed earlier, there were also the cardboard drawings of their faces that Usopp made back in Punk Hazard when Trafalgar Law shambled half of the crew and some flowers from Robin’s flower bed. There intricately-made trinkets obviously made by Franky and transparent Christmas balls with little sea kings inside which looks like Jinbei’s.

Nami’s lips twitched a little. She had just left Luffy and Chopper stringing popcorns and cranberries under the direction of Sanji. Aside from the candy canes they wanted to place on the tree, the blond cook also suggested they make an edible garland to circle it… much to the reindeer and rubber man’s delight.

And since pretty much everything eatable hung on the tree will not go to waste—thanks to Luffy—Nami decided to affix some of her precious mikans on it. She carefully wrapped red ribbons around them so she can string it on the branches for all to enjoy after tonight’s dinner.

A loud snore interrupted her as she was beginning to hang the fruits.

With brows furrowed, she slowly peered behind the tree and was surprised to find their swordsman snoozing against the wall, hidden behind the all that green, without a care in the world.

Was he here all the time?!

Damn the man unwittingly camouflaged himself using the Christmas tree!

She stared at him for a good few seconds, pondering if she should wake him up.

But she remembered that it was Christmas and that she promised to play nice and that Zoro was the one reason why they currently have a tree on display.

“Tch! Guess this is your contribution then, you lazy ass,” she muttered as she continued with what she was doing.

There was silence. Before she heard a ‘hmph’ and grumble.

“Yeah… you try lugging that back here while your idiot companion decides to play in the snow.”

Nami rolled her eyes even if he cannot see her. “Fine,” she groused. “I’m letting you off the hook since you did a good job with this tree.”

“Tch.”

She tilted her head slightly to peer at him again. “Just so you know. Everyone have something distinctively theirs in this tree.”

Zoro studied the tree for a moment before scoffing. “That’s overkill.”

Nami glared at him. “It’s called Christmas spirit idiot!” She frowned as she hung the last two of her mikans. “If it’s not too much for you, maybe YOU can also join us in this activity!” 

“Maybe it is too much for me.”

“Ugh,” she groaned out in frustration. With her hands on her hips she glowered at him. “Really Zoro?”

“Yeah.”

Nami scowled. Sometimes his lone wolf persona grates her nerves. Especially at times like these when the whole crew is involved and he’s acting like he doesn’t give any rat’s ass about it.

Still she doesn't wanna start a fight with him today of all days. Instead, she just sighed and settled on glowering at him. “Just get your dumb self in the galley in half an hour. If it's not too much for you to join your crew for dinner." 

There was a bite in her tone. Then she swiveled around to leave him, ignoring the wondering gaze he was now giving her.

All in all… they pretty much started a weird tree decorating tradition.  And Zoro, as usual, doesn’t want to be a part of it.

And that makes her feel a bit disappointed. 

Yet when he didn't appear when they started the Christmas dinner, she was the one who went to check if he was still snoring in the library.

Why her? The hell she even knows. 

Maybe because the others are already busy celebrating in the galley that she was the only who noticed that he wasn't there?

She opened the library door. The lights on the tree were already lit. Franky or Usopp may have switched it on. It looks more beautiful even if it was decorated with random trinkets, baubles and food the crew decided to hang on it. 

Yet the star still needs to be placed on the top—which Luffy and Chopper will do after dinner and before they start exchanging presents.

To her surprise, Zoro was still where she had left him earlier. 

She strode towards him to wake him, when she accidentally snagged something from the tree, causing it to fall. 

She stared at the object quietly sitting on the floor. It looked like paper folded into a shape of...

She picked it up and studied it. 

A bird? 

"Paper crane."

She spun around and saw Robin standing in the doorway.

"In Wano, it means good luck," Robin explained as she approached her, lightly touching it with one finger. She smiled at Nami. "It also means a wish for someone to get their heart's desire."

Nami just stared back at her amazed. 

"And there are ten of them." Robin observed, eyes crinkling with mirth at the tree before returning her gaze at her. "One for each of us."

Nami's eyes settled back at the crane in her hand. 

Robin chuckled. "Thoughtful isn't it Nami?" 

"I guess..."

The older woman gave her shoulder an affectionate pat. "See you two at the galley." She nodded at the still sleeping Zoro.

Nami watched her leave before shifting her attention again at the green-haired man, still slumbering peacefully against the wall, the red scarf she wrapped around his neck earlier hiding the lower part of his face.

He may appear cold and uncaring, but sometimes looks can be deceiving.

She crouched down beside him. Leaning forward she kissed his exposed nose. 

"Not bad Zoro. Not bad." 

Addendum: I went and tweaked the paper crane legend a bit. Though I honestly think it’s not really that far from the original one. 

[victorie552onepiecespeedrun]

Reading One Piece pt 250: Today’s Topic Is: Everything Wrong With Feudal System. And Slavery. Cause We Have Slavery Now.

Chapter 497

Thoughts:

- Fpos/cs: “Save Rob Lucci: Kumadori performs to raise money for medical expenses” Goddammit, it’s always like this. Good people, keep it up! That’s so sweet! Keep it up! (tiny people on this island)

- rOP 250, yay!

- Franky and Usopp will work on Sunny while rest of them (minus Sanji) will go into town

- “I’m a slave to love!” Oh Sanji

- “Zoro! Where are you going all alone!?” “For a walk” *cue panic*

- I won’t type the whole exchange here, just know Zoro didn’t walk two steps away of Sunny and he’s already lost :D comedy gold

- Rest of Straw Hats went with Hachi and Camie (good thinking with transport, guys) into town

- “Some call them the world nobles, others the celestial dragons. They’re so arrogant they wear helmets to avoid breathing the air of common people.” Wow, ok

- “Remember, you mustn’t oppose them!” please oppose them

- Good thing they got Hachi with them, he’ll tell them outs and ins of that island

- Everyone stops on SA, including pirates, Navy, bounty hunters and human traffickers

- “If human traffickers catch you, they’ll sell you. And the law won’t protect you.” …

- I was pretty excited about SA last chapter but apparently it’s actually a horrible place to live

- Hachi put plasters on his face. That means nothing, nosir

- Haha, Luffy went into the bubble :D

- And now he got a bubble bike :D

- They all have bikes now :) it looks very fairy-tale-like (Camie has a really nice skirt, I want one)

- Hachi says bubbles pop when they leave SA climate (we got a demonstration with Luffy)

- BUT they work on Fishman Island!

- “I can’t wait to get to Fishman Island! I wish we were there right now!” I’m relatively sure they don’t go to Fishman Island until time-skip, which fills that comment with indescribable irony

- Lots of foods and hotels, which makes sense, that’s a main port

- Exploring islands is fun

- I don’t know how it looks in anime but here hotel rooms/buildings look like Christmas decorations :D

- they got souvenirs :D tourism at its best

- they split up, Nami and Robin went to the mall, boys+Camie will do the coating

- Robin says Camie is kinda quiet. I didn’t notice? But, traffickers. I get it. Straw Hats, keep your fish-people safe, I’m serious

- They went racing THE MOMENT responsible adults left the building :D

- Wait, what’s this?

- Oh SHIT that’s a slave

- …this is fucking horrible

- “Slavers wear collars tied to a chain. If you break a chain and run, the collar explodes!”  

- “That’s horrible!” yeah, Luffy :(

- “That’s a runaway slave! Get away! Don’t have anything to have with him!” what did these villagers see that causes that reaction

- “We… we have to help him!” “Arghh! What’s wrong with this place!” Brook and Chopper, Straw Hats represent

- Noble/Celestial Dragon alert (who calls themselves celestial dragons? They better can change into actual dragons or I swear to god will strike them off the list of respectful villains. Slavery is evil, just as villains should be, so. But this thing? No. You need to be THAT badass to call yourself a dragon. Galaxy level of badass, goddammit. Celestial requires a high badass level too, so I’m just. aaaaa)

- “DON’T MAKE EYE CONTACT!” oh Hachi

- WHAT DID THAT DOG JUST DO

- …nobles alert

- So. This is happening.

- Oda doesn’t fuck around, huh?

- She killed him! SHE KILLED HIM

- After 

- (Hachi stopped Luffy from intervening)

- Oh, she might have not killed him. But not because she didn’t try

- “I feel sick” you and me both, buddy

- Apparently, if you harm a noble here, they call an Admiral to fight you

- “Is it Aokiji!?” that was my first thought too, Luffy :D It would be convenient for Straw Hats :D

- On second thought, I kinda hope not. That would mean Aokiji was actively helping slavers and I like Aokiji. I mean, WG clearly agrees to, maybe even encourages the situation on SA. By that means, Aokiji, by not interfering, passively agrees to everything here. I get that. But still

- “It could be Akainu or Kizaru” yeah. It tells me nothing. Was one of them in Ohara? Who was working hard on that promotion there

- (Yup, it was Akainu, he was there to kill survivors. What a first impression that was)

- “Why are these people so special?” “They have the blood of the creators” oh bullshit

- “Eight hundred years ago, twenty kings banded together to create the World Government. Their descendants are the Celestial Dragons.” LORE AND BULLSHIT, 2in1!

- “Over time, their power has gotten out of control” YOU THINK!?  

Ugh. Give me that lore and leave.

rOP 249  rOP 251

[whirlybirdwhat]

AU where Morgan reign of terror traumatizes Coby and he leaves with Luffy and Zoro instead of becoming a marine.

ANON I LOVE YOU YOU HAVE INSPIRED ME!!!! I don’t know how to make this a comprehensive story yet so have some headcanons about 

~~REVOLUTIONARY COBY!!!~~~

Coby is disgusted by way marines are run

He has a “THIS ISNT JUSTICE” Revelation like in Marineford, but on a smaller scale. He sees how thin Zoro is, from being starved and crucified for saving a young, and how happy the people are now that Axe Hand is gone and is like - this isn’t the justice I wanted.

“I want to catch criminals, not harm innocent people.”

Coby starts thinking about his new companions and thinks Luffy’s rough and luffs feral, but he hasn’t hurt anyone. Axe Hand Morgan and his son have.

So Coby follows Luffy and Zoro into the great unknown.

He’s not entirely sure he wants to be a pirate however. Unlike everyone else he does have a moral compass.

“I don’t think I want to be a pirate.” He says after watching Zoro keep calling Luffy Captain.

 “Then be a bounty hunter? Go after whomever you want” – Zoro, who does not give a shit about Coby’s internal crisis, but wants to support him.

⁃Coby: “Huh. Okay”

⁃Cue nights where cobys just thinking about his future as he drifts in the waves with Zoro and Luffy being dumb idiots together and just heading for their dreams

HE doesn’t know if he wants to be a bounty hunter, because how can he tell which bounties are for genuine crimes and which are for people the government wants to kill?

Potential other au lmao coby becomes a bounty hunter

⁃At orange town, he panics at Buggy and hides - he doesn’t know how to fight, but he does get the key from chouchou the dog. He’s helping, in his own way.

⁃Zoro sees this and is like “NO. You need to learn how to fight cmon we’ll teach you.” Like Luffy, he has an aversion to people who cant stand up for themselves, but he likes Coby so he’s gonna help.

⁃So Zoro and Luffy tag team each other and teach coby how to fight. He learns a weird mix of swordsman ship and punching that really don’t go together, but its better than what he had.  

⁃In the meantime, Coby keeps on seeing all the places the marines dont reach and keeps losing his faith in the system. He starts wondering why the Marines are hailed as this awesome force when really a lot of the times they just abuse their power or do nothing to help people.

⁃At Syrup, he helps get Kaya to safety with Usopp, still unwilling to fight, but starting to regain his resolve to do something – to reclaim a dream thought lost.

⁃Coby’s disgusted at the Fullbuster guy on the Baratie and punches him. 

⁃“YOUR FIRST CRIME!” Luffy says, cheerfully. The chefs applaud. Go Coby.

⁃Now, Coby isn’t advancing as fast in training, because one, luffy and zoro (and Sanji, eventually) aren’t Garp, and two, he doesn’t have that drive anymore. Why does he want to be a Marine who punishes justice?

⁃But when Arlong shows up Coby figures out his new dream. He knows what he is going to do.

⁃“I’m gonna take down the Marines - they can’t be this corrupt forever, and how many people are just innocent people? I want to give the world justice again!”

Luffy doesn’t really care about anybody else, innocent or not, unless his crew cares, but Coby cares. He’s not a pirate, but maybe if the law isn’t right, being free to do as he wish shouldn’t incriminate him?

⁃THEN the Strawhats run into Vivi and Chopper and suddenly there are more caring people like him, and more evidence that the system is corrupt which he already knows but how can he change it. He’s able to fight off some men now, and helps fight off some of Wapols men and the Whiskey Peak people, but that isn’t enough.

⁃All his friends have goals that seem impossible but they are so sure they alone are going to reach it, even without the crew there. Coby doesn’t feel like he can do the same.

⁃But hen theres alabasta - He’s stronger now, can through a punch, hes more lean with more muscle. He helps fight, and maybe it doesn’t do much, maybe the man (Luffy) who opened his eyes to the world is still there bleeding out, but he did something.

⁃And Ace and Robin have a hint for him, for his dream.

⁃(Who is this, Ace asks, referring to Coby. He has no role on the ship, but Luffy is proud to call him my friend, and say he wants to change the world for the better. To bring back what Justice really is. Ace cringes at the thoughhht of Garp but hums, and says theres a group of people who will do that – The Revolutionaries. Look for them, Ace says, and leaves. They will help you)

⁃(Robin, who knows all, tells him about Dragon unknown in the East Blue, his home, buth the most wanted man elsewhere. He has a plan, to take down the World Government, and perhaps Coby can find equal footing.)

⁃The Revolutionaries -  Dragon, Luffy’s father.

⁃Coby has a goal now.

⁃He doesn’t want to say goodbye to the Strawhats, but he does, taking a boat lent to him by Vivi, and setting off to find the Revolutionaries. Pirates don’t care about fair fights and Justice, but Coby does, and the Revolutionaries do. His dream will grow there, but he will always be an honorary crew member of the Straw Hat Pirates (the first in some stories).

⁃At sea he runs into Helmeppo, whose drifting at sea stranded due to the marines, and helps him. They bond, and Helmeppo has done a little growth in character as well, and decides to follow Coby, much like Coby decided to follow Luffy.

⁃They run into Garp who is losing faith in the new generation and believes that maybe his son is right, gives them a few fists of training after asking about his grandson, and goes on his way.

⁃They save a town or two

⁃Coby punches several people in the face.

⁃Still no sign of the revolutionaries, but they have heard things from the grape vine that a pirate ship has fallen out of the sky into a navy base. Coby assumes at least Luffy is doing fine.

⁃Finally they run into - guess who – Sabo, on a information recovery mission, which Coby helps with. He questions them at first and learns their story.

⁃And knocks himself the fuck out when Coby says “Ace” “Luffy” and “Brothers”

⁃“OH SHIT THEY ARE GOING TO KILL ME” - sabo,after waking up, to a confused Coby and then profusely thanking him.

⁃Sabo agrees to let Coby and helmeppo into the Revolutionaries and trains them (wow Coby’s been trained by a lot of ppl at this point) if Coby helps him find Luffy and Ace.

⁃CUE WILD GOOSE CHASE WHICH ENTAILS COBY BECOMING THE HERO OF THE REVOLUTION just like Garp is the hero of the marines!! They just fight ppl but instead of in the name of becoming the pirate king, its for REVOLUTION and JUSTICE because Coby has a working moral compass.

⁃Coby develops new moves combining all that he’s been taught into a rather weird fighting style with a mix of weapons and martial arts. He gets a bounty, and it’s the worst day of his entire life and also the best. He can’t decide, Helmeppo Sabo and Koala (whom he met when Sabo had to explain why he wasn’t on his mission) laugh at him.

⁃Then Sabo runs into Ace, ands that reunion goes as well as you would expect, but that not the important thing, because its still not enough to not send Ace to Marineford. But they don’t know this. Yet.

⁃Sabo and Ace both get news about Ennies Lobby at the same time. Coby, when Luffy mentions knowing Coby to his visiting grandfather, receives a shudder down his spine as if he has narrowly avoided a horrible fate.

⁃But its whatever. Sabo contacts Dragon and plans to meet with him and Luffy at Sabaody, to keep an eye on the Supernovas and let Sabao and Coby see Luffy again.

⁃They never get a chance, as the Strawhat Pirates have disappeared by the time they arrive… and Ace is on the execution block.

⁃Sabo has to go save him and drags Coby along for the ride, who eagerly awaits the opportunity to THROW DOWN SOME MARINES

⁃Luffy still goes through Impel down and all that, but Sabo and Coby still arrive late to the battle.

⁃You know how Sabo saves Luffy and Ace in that one excerpt? Cue coby punching akainu in the face for trying to hurt his friends then dodging the hell outta there as sabo saves ace and luffy.

⁃He Learns his haki! Is like oh shit my crush is gonna die, better do some shit about that! The haki allows him to actually stop Akainu for a second, and stop the fighting, as he attempts to question the people – is this what justice is?

⁃Coby meets trafalagr law and also buggy again. He isn’t afraid anymore, and doesn’t hide. People are quietly proud.

⁃Luffy gets saved and ASL reunion happens.

⁃Luffy decides to train, and tries to get coby to come along with him.

⁃Coby Is just frustrated because he has a moral compass and Luffy is just here saying he’s now best friends with corrupt war lords and the pirate kings right hand man, who is a cool dude, but why luffy, coby is hurt, please stop punching people because you feel like it.

⁃(Coby’s just putting on appearances)

⁃HEs just a good boy who wants to tear down corrupt systems why do you make friends with criminals luffy why do you hurt coby like this

(Again, appearances, he’s not insane, thank you very much)

After leaving Luffy to train and after helping him due his oxbell thing, he leaves with sabo to FINALLY MEET DRAGON

He goes through his own two year training with helpmeppo who is along for the ride. Who Coby has now decided is stuck with him for life.

Training is hell, because Coby wants to find his own fighting style which means a lot of different stuff and seeing what works best and it HURTS

 “Just be grateful im not my father-“ – dragon

 Coby feels the shudder again

Yknow how The revs have that steam punk theme? Well

 STEAMPUNK COBY!!!!
 this is. so cool oh my gosh

 Coby goes around freeing people and when they asked what inspired you hes like “rubber bastard who doesn’t have a moral compass fkdjsha,dk”

Hes gay for luffy he cant deny it

Luffy fanclub #1

Anyway, Coby goes on to take down Akainu and corrupt governments across the world, and makes his dream of tearing down the marines a reality post Pirate King Luffy

[thekytchensynk]

Ain’t No Picnic (7/9)

Summary: They were just supposed to head over to the island real quick, just to see what was going on. After all, if pirates were trying to ambush and kill the Straw Hat crew, how could Coby NOT go? And how could Helmeppo let him go alone? It should be simple enough, but nothing can be taken for granted in the New World, and when things go awry, Helmeppo finds himself separated from his captain on an island chain full of pirates who probably won’t be too happy to see a Marine if their paths cross.Oh yeah. And one of those pirates is the infamous “Surgeon of Death,” Trafalgar Law… Warnings: Occasional strong language Read it on AO3

__________

As they approached, Helmeppo heard someone shout out another line of words. This was followed a few seconds later by explosions, off to their left.

“This is a … sniper?” Helmeppo asked. It sounded more like a small artillery unit crossed with a demented gardener.

Law’s answer took so long to arrive that Helmeppo half thought the man wasn’t going to answer. “I guess maybe that’s not exactly right,” he amended. “But it’s the easiest way to put it. Let me go first.”

They stepped around a cluster of three massive leaves, Helmeppo letting Law lead the way. On the other side, they found a dark-skinned young man with a truly massive slingshot in hand. His sodden clothes and damp hair suggested he’d also taken at least one dunking today, and somewhat recently. He must have figured out the same thing Law had, then. He watched growing smoke plumes about half a mile off through a pair of goggles, a look of grim satisfaction on his face.

“Nose-ya,” Law said as he approached. His voice startled the sniper, who hopped in surprise and whirled on the pair. “Where is he?”

The sniper’s face told a whole story -- from relief at seeing it was someone he recognized to surprise at seeing a second person behind Law, to a searching glance away from them, off in the direction of the smoke plumes, as he considered the question. Whatever their relationship, apparently the guy trusted that if Helmeppo were a problem, Law wouldn’t have allowed him over here. Which … fair. So rather than asking the obvious question himself, he just said, “A little under a mile that way. I don’t know what exactly is going on, but I think they could use you.”

“Something wrong?”

“Maybe. Something’s going on near her tank. Everything I try gets intercepted. And Luffy should have already ended this. For some reason they can’t get to her and it’s hamstringing them.” Frustration weighed down his words. His attention kept going to the horizon, though there was too much distance and foliage for him to be seeing a mile off clearly. Haki. Definitely.

“And everyone else?”

The sniper looked like he wanted to protest the query, then thought the better of it. “Beppo was over there last I knew.” he pointed at about two o’clock from where he’d said Luffy was. “Shachi, Penguin, Franky and a couple others went back to protect the ships, in case they got rushed. Brook is with Luffy. Nami and Robin are with Chopper on one of the other islands.” He idly pointed in the direction of the stormclouds. “Zoro and Sanji both keep moving. For different reasons I assume.” He added the last partly under his breath.

Helmeppo couldn’t help it. “And Coby?”

For the first time, the sniper looked directly at Helmeppo, studying his bedraggled state. Then his eyes slid over toward Law, asking a question he didn’t want heard.

“That guy who showed up right before the island swallowed everyone,” Law clarified.

“Ah.” He looked off toward the battle’s center again, then back to Helmeppo. “Can’t be sure, but I think he’s up there too. Not too many people just hopping around in the sky, and I know the other one.”

Some internal spring that had been wound so tight for so long that Helmeppo had stopped even noticing it relaxed at that. So he’s still alive and fighting. He’s OK.

“Thanks,” he said, trying to pass it off as nonchalant. But this close, he could see the guy’s eyes through the lenses of his goggles. And in those eyes, he saw two things. First, the sniper was not buying his tone.

And second, the guy understood. Understood the relief of knowing a friend was safe, and understood the need to pretend that things were otherwise.

So- “Thanks,” Helmeppo said again, and this time it sounded like he meant it.

“I’ll cover you guys if you’re going in,” the sniper said. “Oh, and here.” He tossed something small, one to Law and then, after a brief hesitation, one to Helmeppo. Helmeppo glanced at the item -- a clear capsule with something green inside. Green and squirming. “Snap it if you need to get some distance. And cover your ears, I haven’t had much of a chance to test them yet.” He grinned.

Helmeppo pocketed the item, still a little unnerved that the guy was just accepting his presence -- and honestly still weirded out that Law hadn’t just ditched him once they got back here. Grateful, sure, but also very weirded out.

The pair moved through the ruined undergrowth in the rough direction of the first battlefield. The fighting must have been intense, and the ammunition types the Straw Hat sniper -- God Usopp, wasn’t it? -- used were doing it no favors. Large patches were open all the way down to the dark water,the surface littered with little torn bits of plant material. Massive leaves had been knocked over, letting the sun beat down on their path. Unconscious pirates lay here and there, often with no visible damage. Helmeppo tried not to be too impressed with the pirate, and maybe it was the stress of the day or the heat of the sun, but he was finding it difficult once again.

Despite the story not getting out to the public at large, Helmeppo had heard a fair amount from gossip around headquarters. Of a guy using a slingshot to out-shoot the crew’s guns from the top of one of the towers. If this was him -- the guy who’d shot the World Government flag, the one with apparently superhuman range as he protected Nico Robin -- well, he was glad they were on the same side for now.

Now and then, something would go whizzing past them, close but not too close, and something would explode or erupt ahead of them, and dismayed pirate voices would shout. And thus, Law and Helmeppo made it to the main battlefield without actually having to fight anyone else. Helmeppo wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The battlefield featured far fewer combatants than it had earlier, but that just made the specific clashes easier to see. There seemed to be two big knots -- one by the mermaid’s tank, which still stood where it had been before and one all the way across the clear area. Like the last time he’d arrived on this battlefield, the guy he was following didn’t even hesitate, and that left Helmeppo trying very hard to keep up while attempting to even begin formulating a plan.

Coby was indeed on the battlefield, engaged with a wiry-looking fighter with bright red hair wearing loose, flowing clothing. They were darting around the space, clashing and parting and clashing again. Helmeppo could see the grim focus on his captain’s face. The other man said something, distance rendering it just movement for Helmeppo, but it led Coby to swing hard at the guy’s face.

It was a clean hit.

It should have been a clean hit.

It was a miss.

Helmeppo’s pace lagged as he tried to make sense of what he’d seen. The guy hadn’t moved. Coby’s punch should have caught him square in the jaw, but somehow slid off target, ruffling the ends of the guy’s red hair but causing no damage. The guy laughed, then countered, but Coby slid under his return strike.

Despite wanting to help, Helmeppo forced his attention away from that. He’d only be a distraction. Coby could take care of that guy, no problem, as long as he could focus.

Law was going to help out at the mermaid’s tank, where a press of people stood guard still, mostly watching the other fights. Though now, one or two had noticed Law’s approach and were pointing him out to the others.

Guess that’s the right place to go, Helmeppo thought, adjusting his angle.

From behind them, he heard another of the sniper’s projectiles whining across the island, growing closer. It shot overhead, on the dead-on course for the area near the Mermaid’s container.

Until it wasn’t.

At the last second, the projectile took a hard turn, veering into the undergrowth and exploding out of sight.

Law stopped at that, whirling to look back the way they’d come from, then toward the thin plume of smoke coming from, presumably, the impact site. Helmeppo stopped as well. What had the sniper said? Everything I try gets intercepted. That push and pull power -- was this related to that? That might also explain the weird difficulty Coby was having with his opponent.

“Hey.” Law’s voice cut through his thoughts. Helmeppo looked at the pirate, who gestured toward thesmoke with a tilt of his head. “The person who did that should be near the impact site. Can you take care of them?”

How was he supposed to know? But the guy did seem to have a quick mind for figuring things out. Would he ask if he thought the answer was no? And it might be the place he could be most useful.

“Sure.”

“Then go.”

He said it as though giving Helmeppo orders were an everyday thing. Maybe it was just a captain thing? Well, whatever. He wanted to watch Coby’s back, but maybe the best way would be to figure out what was going on. Law certainly seemed to have a better grasp on this situation than he did. So he only hesitated for a moment before changing his bearing yet again.

Ahead of him, a couple pirates moved to intercept him, though most eyes were still on other folks on the battlefield. Helmeppo pulled his weapons free, ready to cut his way through.

Then they were gone.

No. He was in a whole different place.

Slowing, he glanced over his shoulder to see those two pirates looking around, as confused as he felt. He’d been moved from there to … here. Near the edge of the clearing.

Well, that was unsettling. But again, he wasn’t going to let the moment escape. He shoved aside a leaf taller than he was and pushed into the dense vegetation yet again.

He wasn’t moving very quietly, but luckily the island was alive with massive noises -- shouts and explosions and the susurration of wind in the leaves. So he didn’t worry too much about it as he headed for the thin plume of smoke that indicated where the sniper’s attack had ultimately hit.

He wasn’t far from the battlefield when he caught sight of movement.

Slowing his pace, Helmeppo crept closer. Up ahead, a small cluster of pirates stood a little ways from a charred leaf stump. Smoke trailed from its sizzling ends in a thin line.

“I’m telling you, it’s not working,” one of them was saying as he got in earshot. “We lost the element of surprise. We need to run. And now that other pirate’s there!”

“No. Not yet,” another said. “We still have both twins. They’ll be calling him in any moment, as soon as someone takes care of that sniper. They still don’t really understand what they’re in for. We have to take this opportunity.”

“It’s not worth it. We’re going to lose!”

A slap echoed around the area, accompanied by a shocked sound from the first speaker. Helmeppo peered through a fan of long, grass-like leaves, trying to ignore that he’d stepped in something super oozy.

“You want to run, run Darvell,” the second person said. Helmeppo could see it was an older man, hair going salt and pepper, with a build and skin color that suggested there was shark fishman somewhere in his blood. Captain Darvell, presumably, stood a few feet away from him, one hand on his cheek, eyes furious. The captain wore a flamboyant coat over plain clothing. All looked dry.

“I just want us to be reasonable,” Darvell replied, voice tight and careful, enunciating every word. “Sure, Straw Hat killed the slave trade, but ain’t much revenge if you let the guy who ruined your life take it as well.”

“He ain’t taking anything yet,” the second man said.

In addition to the two arguing pirates, Helmeppo saw three others -- A woman in tight clothes and wearing two crossed belts full of little knives watching the pair with narrowed eyes, a scrawny young man with bright red hair who was looking up at the sky and a massive, older man with short hair with his back to everyone, talking to what Helmeppo assumed was a den den mushi in his hand.

Any further squabbling got cut off as the scrawny young man tilted his head and said, “Someone’s trying again. Watch out.”

He said it nonchalantly, as though commenting on the weather, while he walked toward the sizzling stump. The rest of the group shifted subtly away from the spot. The scrawny guy tilted his head the other way, then reached up into the air with both hands, closed his fingers as though grabbing the sky itself, and pulled.

As he did, Helmeppo heard it -- the whistling sound of another of the sniper’s shots, coming closer. The scrawny guy scampered away as something came hurtling out of the sky. On impact it unfolded into a series of vines -- not the same sort as had grabbed Helmeppo earlier, but clearly looking to do something similar. With no one close enough, they just waggled about impotently.

“He’s persistent,” the graying man said as the lady wandered over to peer at the vines from a safe distance.

“They all are,” the scrawny guy replied, looking at the sky once more. The others mirrored the movement. “We can’t let our guard down while we wait for the call.”

So, as if the hair wasn’t proof enough, that guy was the other twin. He didn’t understand the power, but figured that guy was the most important out of this group here. He felt like anyone else with the sort of power to match the Straw Hats would be out there fighting. So maybe they were here as a privilege of position or as a token defense force for that guy until he went to the battle? They definitely looked stronger than the ones from the cave, but he saw no guns and there were fewer of them. The power user looked like a kitten might be able to knock him over. Helmeppo thought he could take them.

Probably.

Assuming they didn’t have anything hidden up their sleeves.

At the very least, five on one wasn’t the worst odds he’d faced today.

He shifted his fingers, changing his grip until the kukri sat comfortably in his hands. The scrawny guy could use a pulling power, so he might lose his weapons fairly early. That meant he needed to move quick, get at least one of them out of the way very fast. If he went for the devil fruit user right away, they’d just gang up, and at this point, he didn’t want to deal with that. But if he took one out, that would mean fewer attackers and the others might hesitate.

He decided on the maybe-fishman first. He looked strongest of the four nearby pirates, and was the closest. Plus, he didn’t see a weapon, which might give Helmeppo a slight reach advantage. After that, he’d need to go for the power user. Either the woman or Darvell could be dangerous, but hopefully if they were, they’d display their strength quickly.

What was it people said? No plan survives contact with the enemy? No point in overthinking it. He focused on the fishman and rushed forward.

His target was caught off guard, eyes still turned toward the sky instead of the surroundings, but he recovered fast, crossing his arms to block Helmeppo’s strike. The blades bit in about half an inch, drawing blood and leaving a pair of long slices down his gray forearms.

“Attacker!” the guy shouted, pivoting and striking out at Helmeppo, who narrowly dodged. He could feel the strength of the punch as it split the air by his face.

Ok. This would need to end quickly.

Planting one foot, he spun and put the speed of that move into the next strike.

“Ren, duck!” Darvell shouted.

The shout disrupted them both. Helmeppo lost focus on where he intended to strike. As he was turning, the man started to duck, more out of knee-jerk reaction to the shouted suggestion than because he planned to. So what was intended to be two strikes near his elbow, to hopefully render it temporarily useless, turned into one knife into the shoulder.

And one in the neck.

Helmeppo froze as the fishman stumbled back away from him, one hand clapping to his wound. Blood spilled -- not to where Helmeppo thought he’d hit an artery, but enough. A lot.

“Shit. Get back to the ship, Ren! We’ll handle him,” the woman barked, casting a murderous look at Darvell, who shrank from her. The fishman backed off a few more steps, then turned and ran, presumably to do as she said.

Okay, four on one… wait, where had the one with the den den mushi gone?

No time to think about it. He’d take the better odds.

The woman had begun moving toward him, maybe angry about what he’d done to her friend. He considered just fighting her next. In all honesty, she looked stronger than Darvell, and her eyes showed more intensity than his. So while the man in the ridiculous coat was still closer, Helmeppo ignored that and eyed her.

Nope. Don’t draw this out. You have something to do.

He whirled toward the scrawny guy, blades ready. The man looked not at Helmeppo, but at the woman -- for orders? No matter. Helmeppo felt sure he could get to that guy before she could stop him. So he charged, trying to bypass her entirely.

The woman seemed ready for it, pulling one of the small knives from her belt and throwing it, not at him, but angled behind him.. To Darvell? But that man had a sword already, and the little knives didn’t even really have a handle -- they were meant for throwing, so-

He realized belatedly what might be happening, but understanding came at the same time as a sharp pain, lancing through him from a point low on the left side of his back. He stopped, startled, and reached back to yank the item free. The knife. Blood warned his fingertips and made a spot on the hilt of his kukri sticky. Looking up he saw the red-haired man’s hands balled into fists in front of him, not as though ready to hit him, but like he was holding something.

Fantastic. The guy had pulled that sniper's attack toward himself earlier, yanking it out of the sky. He’d realized he might lose his kukri to it. He’d had all the information he needed to realize that the guy could do the same thing with a tiny knife, he’d just been an idiot and not thought about it.

The woman already had another pair of the little weapons between her fingers. His understanding of the situation must have made its way to his face, because she grinned at him.

“Still time to run,” she said.

Not a bad idea.

So he did.

“Hey, hey!” the devil fruit user shouted, falling back a step as he saw Helmeppo again pounding in his direction. The guy almost bolted, then something caught his attention. He reached out, grabbing at the air.

Helmeppo threw himself to the left before the guy pulled. A knife soared by Helmeppo, flying straight toward the devil fruit user, who shrieked in an undignified manner and tried to dodge, but coordination didn’t seem to be a strong suit. He turned more than actually moving. The knife sunk into his left bicep. Then Helmeppo was there, channeling his first fight with Butterfingers.

At least this time, it only took one solid strike to the temple to put the guy out. Or maybe he wasn’t pulling his punches this time. With the water right there, he caught the guy by one limp arm and lowered him to the ground.

Jeeze, with the way this fight was going, maybe he could understand why these folks had been left out of the big fight.

If Darvell had kept his mouth shut, the blind-side attack he tried next might have actually hit home. Fortunately for Helmeppo, the guy let out a loud shout as before swinging at his back. There wasn’t enough time to move, but he did swing a weapon up and across his back before the sword struck home. The strike carried incredible weight, forcing his arm to an awkward angle and pushing the blunt side of Helmeppo’s weapon against his back hard enough that he felt sure he’d have a bruise across his shoulders later. Better than being split down the spine, he thought.

“Darvell, we’re getting beat by some sort of castaway,” the woman shouted in frustration. He thought she sounded closer. “Stop screwing around!”

The pressure on his blade let up enough that Helmeppo could shove it away and turn to face the two remaining fighters. “You should leave,” he said, both blades up in a ready stance as he tried to keep both of them in sight. “The Straw Hats and their allies are back together. They’re going to be cleaning up the ringleaders soon.”

The woman held fast, but Darvell had been primed for this. At Helmeppo’s words, he stepped back a few paces, glancing over at his sole remaining teammate. “Anne, I told you guys-”

“He’s trying to scare us off because we still have him outnumbered,” she replied with a patience that suggested this sort of dialogue was common between them. “We can take him if we just treat it like always. You always overreact.”

“Then where did Cap go?” Darvell said. “He was getting the reports from the guys with the mermaid. He booked it. Maybe this guy’s right.”

Anne’s eyes slid from her teammate to Helmeppo’s ready form. “Well if that’s the case, let’s kill him first. Maybe give us more time. Plus I’m mad now.”

As they discussed, Helmeppo took stock of his situation. Coming for the devil fruit user had put him at the edge of the huge hole in the lilypad -- not a great place to be, especially with the memory of those vines still fairly fresh. Plus, he wasn't exactly in great shape anymore. He didn’t have the free hand to check the wound in his back, but it definitely still hurt, and he could feel his clothes sticking to him worse where the blood soaked them. He didn’t fancy getting another dozen or so of those in him. He’d taken out the devil fruit user. Was that enough? If so, maybe a retreat of his own was in order. Maybe he could even draw them after him, so they couldn’t wake the guy back up.

Carefully, he side-stepped around the devil fruit user, edging toward the long, concealing leaves of the nearby forest. “Actually,” he said, “Maybe I’ll just go call one or two of them over here.” Come on, come on...

“Stop!” Anne shouted.

He pivoted and ran for cover, feeling a sense of relief as the plants closed around him.

Then something stepped into his path, too quick for Helmeppo to stop. The collision didn’t move the thing, but sent him rebounding back a step, caught entirely off guard. Before he could properly register what it was, a powerful kick slammed into his midsection, driving his breath from him and forcing him back out into the open. He tried to keep his balance, but the uneven ground tangled his feet and he fell backward to the ground.

“Cap!” Anne said. “Finally. Where did you go?”

“I was making sure this Marine didn’t run for help,” growled a voice.

“Marine?” Darvell sounded scandalized.

On the ground Helmeppo had released one of his weapons to wrap an arm around his chest. Oh boy. Something had definitely broken with that kick. Breathing in too deeply sent pain radiating from the center-right part of his torso. Got to get up,” he thought, pressing the knuckles of his other hand shakily to the ground. Got to get up now

“One of the two who showed up uninvited,” the new voice continued. “Weren’t you idiots paying attention to anything?”

The figure stepped out of the underbrush. In a petulant voice, Darvell said, “We had other things on our mind, Cap. You remember -- everyone getting dumped in the water?”

“So we should definitely kill him,” Anne mused.

Helmeppo looked up, gritting his teeth against the pain -- and stopped. His breath knotted in his throat for a second.

No.

The figure stopped just beyond the edge of the undergrowth, arms crossed. Helmeppo had to force his gaze up to the man’s face, just to confirm what he already knew in just those few words and that posture. The newcomer gazed down with a glower, all irritation and impatience, at the injured Marine. There was nothing like recognition there, and nothing like pity. But Helmeppo couldn’t stop one word from slipping past his lips.

“Dad?”