#Garp just wants to see his grandsons

[fluffywing-e-tarot]

The God that Marks Garps Student

Koby was marked. Garp knew the scrawny brat was marked the moment he laid eyes on him.

Koby had a strong sense of Justice and a Protector of the weak.

So, Tsuisu mark wouldn't be surprising. However, by his Background report and his own personal testimony. Koby arrived on Shells with Luffy. And punched Koby declaring him not a member of the now named Strawhat Pirates

Nika's markings wouldn't be out of place either. 

The Cadet was kind too. There was a partnership blooming with the blond twigs. He has seen Astrus mark a Dog for its Loyalty.

Astrus' mark might be a stretch. As by some of the Reports he's snooped off of Senny's desk Ace has been making a mess in the New World.

So when he took them onto his ship. He was fully prepared for one of his three Godly Grandsons to show up.

He set about the offerings on the shrines. In his quarters. Knowing none of them could resist a snack after using their abilities to hop to a shrine.

Garp snapped awake when he heard shuffling in his room. He spotted the tails of a coat exiting his room.

It could only be Sabo that came to check on his student.

He bolted towards his Wayward grandson.

"You Get black here you brat." Garp said, running out onto the deck only to see Sabo leep off the ship like an escaping boy after hours.

The half-shaded face looked at him with the usual terror. As he disembarked from the ship. 

"Sabo, at least have the decency of a man to say hello to your grandpa!" he shouted after the boy. Sabo would be fine In the water. He could walk on moonlight. But his grandson didn't say anything as he swam away.

" Sir should we go after the stowaway?" One of the twigs on night watch asked.

"No. We'll just lose him in the moonlight. Return to your watch." Garp growled "I'm going back to bed."

" Yes sir." The twig said.

Continue

[charkyzombicorn]

Luffy has a higher bounty in the wing AU than in cannon mostly due to the bat wings.

Yup! Instead of 100 million post-Alabasta he gets around 120 because a bat-winged demon child defeating a warlord scared the right people.

Smoker is a little annoyed but he can't really do anything

[marinehero-a]

the navy absolutely do not want to let go of garp because, yes, he's an incredibly powerful soldier. Even as an old man, he remains a more than capable fighter. But above all is for his legacy. His accomplishments throughout his 50+ year career makes him legendary. THE Navy Hero. Losing Garp would be a massive moral blow to the Marines and the public who rely on the Marines. The World Government dislike Garp's work ethics and opinions, but they know that if they want to keep face, they need him. They refuse to let him go.

[theouger]

if my friend is about to fault me for not liking MONKEY "CHILD ABUSE" GARP, I SWEAR TO GOD,

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

Real Talk: Ace Didn't Need to Ask For Help, It's On Garp

i always hate when i see comments about how ace was an idiot or ace should have just asked garp for help because, no? like dawg wtf do you mean?

the one thing we have been told repeatedly across the manga and anime is that ace could have lived his entire life being perfect and he still would have ended up on that podium

he could have become a marine, a police officer, a teacher, a chef and all of that would have been reduced to nothing the moment his parentage was discovered

yes, ace became a pirate of his own volition, but sengoku never mentioned his piracy

he never mentioned all the criminal activity ace did as the captain of the spade pirates or even later as the second division leader of the whitebeard pirates

you know what sengoku did bring up though the moment he got on that damn podium? ace's parentage

he mentions nothing that gained ace his bounty to begin with when he gets that den den mushi in his hand. why?

because it doesn't matter that ace is a pirate. what matters is that they are eradicating the last gol d roger's bloodline

bear in mind that they were killing pregnant women and young children who could have even had the slightest possibility of being roger's lover or kin

akainu deadass says that he doesn't care if every other pirate at marineford escapes as long as ace and luffy died and he would ensure their deaths personally. and for what? not their piracy. none of their crimes. not even for ensuring that the truth that certain countries and lands that were actually saved by pirates instead of the marines never got out

but because their fathers were gol d roger and monkey d dragon respectively

solely because of that, he deemed neither of them deserved to live

and as far as garp goes - i love garp as much as the next person but garp has never done anything for ace to trust him enough to ask for help even if he felt he deserved to ask

garp's negligent parenting coupled with the abusive words ace grew up hearing led ace to believe he didn't even deserve to be born. when he even asks garp if his being born was a good thing, garp can't even tell him 'yes'. he just says 'time will tell'. my brother in the blue seas, that is an elementary schooler questioning his right to exist

ace is defeated by blackbeard in episode 325 (chapters 434-441), luffy hears about his execution being set in episode 416 (chapter 522) and then finally ace is killed in episode 483 (chapter 574). that is 158 episodes and 140 chapters total and in that time what ace receives from garp are conversations that boil down to

"you did this to yourself"

"i just wanted you to become a fine marine"

"i don't have sympathy for criminals but i do have sympathy for family"

and garp actively preventing those who wish to save ace from reaching him. yes after akainu strikes ace, garp does react viscerally with instinct to protect his grandson, but that's too little too damn late at that point

garp having his moral dilemmas mean nothing when, however long ace spent in impel down, he isn't trying to help him

garp having his 'wishing things had been different' thoughts mean nothing when garp is preventing people from saving his grandson

there's a reason garp lets dadan beat and berate him when they reunite in windmill village and it's because he knows she's right

over the course of 20 years, garp has consistently chosen work over ace and luffy. as much as i love dadan and co, bandits are not a good choice to have raise your grandkids and then be the surprised pikachu meme when neither of them wish to become marines

garp's inability to see past the system he disdains yet clings onto actively shoots him in the foot

prevents him from seeing that ace is right when he says he never could have become a marine

luffy could have never become a marine. i do hear arguments saying that luffy might have had a fair chance considering garp is biologically his grandfather but i say that's truly up in the air considering how, even with that knowledge, akainu still wants to put luffy on a poster

but that's all to say, asking why ace never asked garp for help is ridiculous

the fuck would ace look like asking the man who has done nothing but

unintentionally fostered ace's resentment towards luffy in their early childhood

told ace it was his own fault he landed where he did

falcon punched marco halfway across marineford

for help?

and that's not even mentioning the fact that up until that point, ace didn't believe he deserved to live. he didn't think he had the right to exist. the only thing that kept him going up until that point was hoping he'd find an answer that justified his being born and his love for luffy and sabo. ace tells luffy in his dying breaths if it weren't for the two of them, he would have gave up on living a long time ago

yes, garp loves ace and luffy

he loves them both dearly but he is also incapable of putting them before work, before his ideals of justice. these two truths can coexist at the same time. garp's stubborn to a fault and his moral dilemma resulted in both inaction and the prevention of ace's escape

so to say that marineford would have gone differently if ace had asked is seriously undermining the character work. because in reality, it's up in the air on whether or not that would have done anything. ace asking garp for help could have gone either way and that's the beauty of the gray area regarding garp's actions during the summit war

and yes, i can get why it's frustrating that ace turned around to fight akainu when he could have just left and got it back in a blood a different time

but aside from ace having a temper about specific topics, we do get an answer as to why he couldn't bring himself to runaway when we finally are able to dive into his past with luffy and sabo:

he doesn't want to run away from any situation because ace is deathly afraid of losing something if running away ends up being the bad call

and in that moment, luffy was behind him

even if akainu hadn't talked down whitebeard, ace would have inevitably turned back around because he wouldn't have been able to shake his fear of losing something or someone he cared about

as long as there is something precious for him to potentially lose, ace will never run

he was doomed from the start

his being the son of gol d roger doomed him from the start

and that's what makes ace so tragic

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

Can I ask for Untitled 3? (I'm not tagged just curious)

oh, excellent choice. this one has layers

so this was a little diddy i came up with @lunart-ce (check out their stuff i love the game changer vids they have) and we were thinking up what game changer clips would work well with which op characters for funsies. and this resulted me in having the best idea anyone probably had ever, too bad i didnt have to motivation to see it out.

So i was thinking up a situation where Garp wanted to fuck with his grandsons because they didnt follow down the path of becoming marines, so he invites them to his game show.

The idea sounded fun enough and he promised to not try to recruit or capture them whilst they were there so the three brothers hopped along to play some silly little games with their gramps.

One of the games garp would play with them is the Sam Says episode with all three brothers, and the other would be the yes or no episode with just Sabo, but with koby and helmeppoas the other two contestants.

in both the games sabo would "be" brennan, luffy would be izzy, ace would be Lou, helmeppo would be Zac, and koby would be Ally.

So basically garp would invite the brothers over so that they can all together play a game that they cannot win at unless they listen to everything that Garp tells them to do, and so that Sabo plays a game that he cannot physically win at at all.

heres the link to the sam says episode

and heres a link to the brennan lee mulligan monologue that my art references

thanks for the ask!

[shanksbaby]

Admirals as dads

Borsalino

he would spoil his child 100 %, and he would buy the best clothes too...like you see his suit and glasses? that man loves show off his wealth, and he would shows off through his child too. I think he would buy them mostly classy clothes, nothing casual or sportive.

he is a man who is very polite, so i guess he would teach his child to be polite too. i don't think he would be stern like sakazuki, but he would teach them through corrections of their speach, like:

"y\n, you have to say please when you ask something. please repeat it now properly"

he wuould tell them with a sweet voice, not wanting his child to feel like he is judging them.

he would be smitten with his child's cuteness, saying "so kawai" and smiling softly at them, probably for that little face that his child manages to get away with almost everything. Almost with everything because I feel like he would love that his child would be polite like him.

100% he would take his child at work and showing them off with all the others admirals, even if he has to meet akainu's irritation. He would carry them on his broad shoulder, and he would let them see all marineford, of course he won't take them to the renuion.

he would fear that his child could become a pirate, even if he never tells anyone. He fears this scenario because he already knows that it would put him in an umfortable position

i don't think he would really attack\hurt them, but he would be really struggle at the beginning since he always have followed the orders.

still, he won't push to become a marine.

Sakazuki

oh boy, i think he would be a very stern dad, he wouldn't take care of his child he would TRAIN them, like he would be more a sergent than an actual dad. He would still spend time with his child playing, but he would mostly teaching them to be a marine since birth.

he can't allow his child become an enemy of the law like happened to garp, he would lose respect of himself (we know that sakazuki doesn't like garp much because his child and grandson are both enemy of world government).

probabily he would have a stroke if his child would become a pirate lmao.

he is stil smart enough to know that being too strict would led them to resent them, so he learns to be more lenient with them, letting them getting away with few things, playing with any game the want ( as long as the game isn't too stupid).

i feel like he would be a bit controlling, expecially about friendship that his child has.

he would take his child at work too, to show them the importance of working as marine. He would take them to the training camp, then he would take them to his office; he would take them to a mission too ( not extremly dangerous, he just wants let them know how marine operate)

Kuzan

the most chill dad 100%, he would let and would spur his child to become an indipendent person. He won't teach like sakazuki the importance to be a marine, he would let his child choose his way. Even if they would choose to be a pirate, he would accept them, even if he would be worried about them

he would still protect them even if it's from a far

he won't spoil their child too much, more like he would teach them to be humble, and expecially to be kind towards others. When he see them to act compassionate, even towards an animal, he would be so proud and warm <3

more than pay for very expensive clothes, he spends time with them. He would play whatever game his child wanna play, even if he have to act a bit silly, he would do it. And he would loove nap with them.

he would sleep with his child in a bed full of cushions under a warm blanket cuddling

i know he is a very aloof but i feel like with his child would be really warm and tender, liike i know he would use pet names like "honey, sweety, sweetheart etc"

he won't take them to marineford, he thinks his job is too ruthless for your innocence, but he would take to garp, letting him see you and letting you see how he trained.

he would let you see even smoker, since he's a kind guy even if he looks intimidating.

he won't let you see akainu 100% , even if you asked the answer will be always no.

[eroguron0nsense]

Garp, Fascism, and Parental Failure

Garp is truly one of the most interesting One Piece characters for me because of the extent to which his dogged, relentless devotion to a fascist system–and the supposed "order" it promises to uphold in the face of anarchy or rebellion–perseveres no matter how many times it fails him and his son and his grandsons. He's fully aware of the deep-seated corruption and atrocity, and feels some kind of moral obligation to bend its rules to protect the innocent (as we can see with his attempts to protect Rouge and Ace), but when faced with widespread femicide and infanticide, genocide, slavery and endless examples of egregious cruelty, he is unable to comprehend the notion that the system is indefensible, or that the only moral choice he can possibly make when faced with that level of atrocity is to leave and resist it. His son recognizing the inherent, inexcusable failures of the World Government and its armed enforcers–literally quitting the force to start a revolution– changes nothing. The order to slaughter pregnant people and infants at Baterilla can't convince him otherwise. The countless instances of bribery, the tolerance of atrocity from state-sanctioned privateers, everything about the history of the Valley of the Gods are all things he's aware of, and takes issue with, but never comes to the conclusion that he cannot affect positive change within a system designed for oppression. The public execution of his grandson–a prime example of the marine's fundamentally irrational, arrogant, vindictive cruelty clearly bound to blow up in all of their faces even before their Pyrrhic victory at the summit war–makes him waver, but even when confronted with this obvious, indefensible injustice against a child he raised and rescued by people seeking to murder him on live TV and desecrate his corpse as a show of power, he cannot bring himself to act against it in any meaningful way no matter how much it hurts him to leave his grandson to die. If he can't veto it, he'll stay Vice Admiral and suffer through Ace being sacrificed on the altar of fascist state control, and functionally leave Luffy for dead in the process while he's at it. He fails every single person he wanted to love–Ace, Luffy, and almost certainly Dragon–and allows himself to be reluctantly complicit in countless crimes against humanity again and again and again because he's so deeply steeped in this notion of preservation of order through state control that he convinces himself that even this disgusting, atrocious, fundamentally flawed and untenable excuse for a government is better than abolition, better than revolution, or just the act of expecting accountability or literally anything better from the systems that issue false promises to protect you. Dadan beating the living shit out of him and calling him a failure as a grandfather, as a self proclaimed defender of the people, is one of the most important scenes in the Postwar Arc because a lesser series might frame Garp as a tragic, helpless figure suffering more than anyone else due to conflict of love and duty, but One Piece refuses to whitewash his actions/inaction or allow the grief and suffering caused by systems he's complicit in to take precedence over its real victims: the D brothers.

There's so much I could say about statism and anarchism and the ways people have internalized the supposed necessity of state violence to the extent they can't oppose that violence even when it ruins them or their loved ones, but that horrible indoctrination and its devastating consequences for both him and his family are what makes Garp so fascinating to watch and so thematically/politically important to One Piece as a whole.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

A cute little ‘What-If’ scenario with Eri, what if Eri met Garp instead of Luffy? (Just to take a little break before Wano because there is a LOT happening in Wano)

Garp found Eri kidnapped and tortured by a Pirate Crew/Corrupted High Ranked Marine who’s been using Eri for their selfish purposes (He beats them to a bloody pulp for harming a child)

Garp doesn’t know nor does he care why they took Eri because he immediately takes her under his wing as her Grandpa! (Instant Adoption, and the only time Garp is 1st Grandpa!)

When Garp finds out about Eri’s power he tells her she doesn’t ever need to worry anymore as he’ll always be there to take care of her from now on so she doesn’t need to use her power unless she wants too and he’ll protect her so no one can ever force her to use her powers against her will (He’ll keep her little secret to himself, after all he made a Pinkie Promise *He’s sobbing obnoxiously over how cute and sweet she is unlike his ingrate grandsons who are ‘very mean’ to his feelings!*)

Sengoku is Eri’s other Grandfather, because he knows Garp doesn’t actually know how to properly raise a child (They Co-Parent, or rather Co-Grandparent) and he will admit Eri helps him unwind and reminds him that there’s still good in this world (He even gifted her a few coloring books and crayons)

Garp encourages Eri to eat as much as she wants but always obnoxiously sobs because she always shares her food with him since it’s all so yummy! (Eri won all the Marines hearts)

Eri likes Tsuru, Smoker, Tashigi, Coby, Fujitora, Kuzan and Hina, she’s shy around the other Marines, Borsalino and Akainu

I can definitely picture Garp telling Eri that Akainu and Ryokugyo are the ‘Dark Side’ of the Marines (Resulting in Eri calling them a ‘Bad Guy’ resulting in emotional damage for these two with Garp, Kuzan and Fujitora in the background, laughing their asses off)

Fujitora is another one of Eri’s favorites and worries about him since he’s blind (He smiles that finds it very sweet but tells her he’s alright as he promises he won’t get hurt)

Eri wears cute Sailor Dresses and lives with her Grandpa Garp whenever he goes

-Garp was seething in rage, holding the fragile bundle close to his chest as he was radiating heat from how furious he was. He glanced down, his eyes softening as he saw two large eyes peering up at him, safely wrapped up in his cloak.

-He had attacked a pirate ship, taking all of them into custody, to make Sengoku happy as he had been a little cranky as of late, but when he heard the crying of a child, he was stunned to see you there, trapped in a tiny cage, scars covering almost every inch of you.

-He didn’t know what made you so special to these pirates, but you must have been as there was a lot of research notes around about a unique, natural ability you had. From what he was able to gather it was a healing ability, but not exactly.

-Your little hand was holding onto his suit, peeking out from the cloak as he was taking you to the infirmary, and not letting anyone stop him as he kept walking.

-Sengoku had heard the commotion when Garp’s ship had arrived, as he shouted at others to come and get the pirates while he seemed to be holding something. When he saw Garp he was quick to catch up to him, calling out to him, but Garp didn’t stop, “Not stopping- catch up if you need me.”

-Sengoku was surprised to see Garp so serious for once and it made him curious as to what he was holding as they made it to the infirmary.

-Garp grabbed one of the doctors he knew would keep his mouth shut and went to a private bed, pulling the curtain around the three men before he lowered his cape from around you, revealing you to them.

-Instantly the doctor panicked, reaching for you but you curled in on yourself, pressing closer to Garp who took a seat on the bed, “This nice doctor is going to help you, Y/N.”

-You looked up at him, you trusted him, as he rescued you from these bad men after you woke up in this strange world, away from Overhaul. However, after they saw you using your ability to heal a wound you had gotten, they were quick to start researching as well, treating you just like how Overhaul did, wanting to know about your ability.

-Garp explained what he could about your ability as the doctor was very gentle, looking at your scars, seeing that they were deliberately done, as he called for a nurse to get some food, seeing that you were very malnourished as well.

-Sengoku was sitting on a chair in front of you, letting you hold onto one of his fingers, as he was trying not to scare you as they listened about your ability, the ability to rewind time, more specifically, rewind wounds.

-The doctor was very patient with you, showing you each thing, “I’m looking in your eyes with this. This is to check what your heart rate is.” And many other things like that.

-You didn’t feel as scared as he was telling you each thing he was doing or showing you on Sengoku or Garp what he was going to do to you.

-When the food arrived, you were surprised to see the mound of food, as the nurse thought it was for Garp, who always ate big meals. Your eyes were huge as the doctor was looking over what notes Garp managed to collect, while Garp was helping you eat, holding the tray for you.

-You stuffed an apple slice into your mouth and your eyes were bright and sparkly, “It’s yummy!” they had to wonder what kind of life you were living until right then, if you thought just an apple slice was yummy.

-You held up another to Garp, “Here grandpa!” Garp did not take the apple, he set the tray down then passed you to Sengoku before quickly collapsing, holding on his chest as he cried obnoxiously on how sweet you were.

-Sengoku seemed exasperated with Garp’s antics as he held you, looking down at you, “Did he tell you to call him that, Y/N?” you nodded softly, “When he wrapped me up in his fancy cape, he said he was going to be my grandpa, and nobody was going to hurt me again!”

-Sengoku was the next to have heart related issues due to your cuteness as you were so precious and he agreed to allow Garp to adopt you, because from what the doctor found out, after confirming with you that you have bad fevers after using your ability too much, that you would be the safest with them.

-That’s how Garp and Sengoku adopted you, keeping you protected while they co-parented you. You became a staple in Sengoku’s office, either coloring or sitting on his lap, wearing an adorable long sleeve dress with leggings and a matching marine hat.

-Kuzan adored you, as he would always ‘kidnap’ you, stealing you away and taking you to get ice cream or cotton candy or to take naps with you. Sengoku found it exasperating, as he wasn’t doing his work, while Garp was chasing him, demanding that you be returned to him.

-You were a little shy with Kizaru and Sakazuki, usually hiding behind Garp’s leg or Sengoku’s leg, peeking out at them. Kizaru always tried to give you candy, wanting to win you over, but Sakazuki was almost shy with you, as he was afraid of scaring you.

-Fujitora was your next ‘grandpa’ after you met him, seeing his scars and when you learned he was blind, he felt your tiny hands on his cheeks, “They don’t hurt, do they?” hearing that you were about to cry, he just smiled, cupping your hands gently, “They don’t hurt Y/N. I’m okay, I pinkie promise.”

-He had to explain what a pinkie promise was to you, and when you sounded so excited, you were quickly crying as had to be admitted to the infirmary for heart related issues right after.

-Garp and Sengoku kept your abilities under wraps, telling you not to use them at all, which you did like as your ability always took a lot out of you. Only those two and the doctor knew, so everyone else just thought that you were rescued from pirates who had been torturing you for fun, and not for your ability.

-You liked not using your ability, you felt like a normal kid, running around, and playing with other children of marine officers. It felt so nice having friends.

-Garp liked seeing you happy, but he didn’t like seeing boys around you, thinking they were going to steal you away and he would always shout and get scary, with glowing red eyes, telling the boys to get away from you.

-Garp told you all about Luffy, your big brother, since you were adopted, that makes Luffy your big brother, but he didn’t want you to be a knucklehead like him, he wanted you to stay with him and be a good girl.

-You just beamed up at him with a huge smile, “I want to stay with grandpa forever! I love you grandpa!”

-Sengoku had to watch you for the rest of the day, with you helping him stamp his paperwork, as Garp was in the infirmary, still ugly crying on how precious you were while getting yelled at by the doctors for being disruptive.

-You’re so happy that Garp found you!

[deadsnothere]

Gunslinger Girl!

Synopsis - After getting a call from Garp, Alias made her way to the Baratie for a nice bite to eat and a long needed reunion.

Part 2

WARNINGS!! - READER HAS A NAME!!

Request - no, not taking them sorry.

Word count - 2.8k

Speak Ali! - Both parts together make 5,340 words, this Fic has literally taken up my brain.

Monkey D. Luffy.

Garp was a cheeky bastard.

I, Alias Foreman, Swore to be on Monkey D. Luffy's pirate crew when we both turned sixteen and fled to the sea together. I had a dream of becoming one of the most versatile people known to man. I want to learn as much as I can, to cook, to clean, to navigate boats and ships, anything you can teach me I will try my hardest to understand and learn. Now I'm not saying that I want to be the best at everything, there will always be people better. But I want to at least understand the basics of as much as possible. But for all of my life I've been known as a Gunslinger.

I'm ‘The Cheshire Cat’. Cool name with a stupid job. I hate being a Warlord of the Sea, it's the stupidest job on this side of the east blue, and they wouldn't even give me a proper crew. Just a few bumbling idiots who don't know what being a pirate really means.

Luffy always understood what being a pirate meant. I remember watching Garp train him day in and day out. Parts of me understand why Garp was so hard on him, I mean people say he takes after Gold Roger. Imagine your grandson taking after someone you helped execute. I don't think I'd be fond of it either. I’ve never thought Garp nor Luffy were wrong for what they want but, I think one knows what he's doing and the other doesn't.

-

It's always quite bothersome when halfway through my delicious dinner, I get interrupted by a soggy mean fishman running in here and trying to take my table for dinner. If he had waited a few minutes I would've gladly given it up, I just wanted to finish my meal. But the inpatient idiot just had to have it now.

“I'm afraid there are no more tables.” Arlong and two of his crew members were walking down the stairs of the Baratie. They’re bodies are still wet and leaving water as they walk, which is just plain disrespectful. “I see a bunch of tables.” I couldn't help but roll my eyes, to think I would have a peaceful dinner, just hopeful dreaming. People started to whisper and get up from their tables but I stayed in my seat, intending to finish the nice meal served to me. Plus it's not as if they got far, Arlong was yelling at them as soon as he got to the middle of the staircase. “Sit down!” he yelled in his degrading, chalkboard scratching voice. I continued to cut my steak in pieces to eat, they over cooked it a bit but a fine job was done anyways. Seasoned almost perfectly. A little too much oregano, but I'm just too picky with my food. Arlong went around as if he owned the place. “No one leaves.”

He looked at me with malice in his smile. “Except you.” His webbed hand went to grab the collar of my shirt but I stopped it with my own, barely even looking back. “I only have a bite or two left, I'll give it up when I'm done.” I took another drink from my wine and let go of his hand, continuing on with my meal. I could tell it pissed him off from the way he growled close to my ear. A stupid amount of spit landing on my dinner plate and shoulder. I shivered in disgust and stood up from my table. “You know what- take it.” I grabbed my plate and wine and stood up, leaving the small round table for the fishmen to sit at. I felt bad not eating the steak so I got a to-go box from the reservations desk and put it in there to give to someone later. Deciding that maybe i'll get a nice drink from the bar instead.

I was a wine kind of gal so I got a nice glass of Merlot, it was tasty. Had lots of flavor, some of which I enjoyed and some I didn't. I was enjoying the peace. I always knew it wouldn't last long but god was i sad when it was over. “Which one of you is Arlong?” Oh shit. I knew his voice anywhere, the voice I was sent for by his grandfather, the voice of a new age. I got a refill on my wine, and bought the whole bottle while I was at it, due to the lingering feeling that this wasn't going to look pretty.

When I got back into the restaurant I decided to just rest a little under the staircase, hidden by the shadows hopefully. Seeing Luffy again made me nervous. Something about it..something about how he’d be even a little bit different. When I assessed the situation in front of me it confused me a bit. I could hear that Arlong was yelling from the bar but he's an idiot so I tuned it out and tried to enjoy the bit of ‘quiet’ I had. Arlong has an older gentleman by his shirt collar, while Luffy was halfway down the main staircase. He had two men behind him, one named Usopp the other Sanji. I heard about them both, one from a customer here and the other, from a bartender. “So this is the pirate I've heard so much about.” Arlong was starting to circle around some of the tables, pacing I guess. “You know, I was expecting someone… bigger.”

Sounds like my cue. I came out of the shady area setting the wine glass and bottle on the table and grabbing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from a pocket in my shorts, picking the lucky one and placing it in my mouth delicately. “Tell me about it..I've had someone in my ear all day. ‘Find that dumbass.’ I have a headache at this point.” I laughed and leant on the chair. Luffy looks away from Arlong for a millisecond, to look at me but I don't think it registered in his brain. He couldn't have forgotten me. Luffy spoke, in his normal, nonchalant, Luffy way. “So was I.” I was puffing from my cigarette as I laughed. The snicker making smoke pour out of my nose. That got Luffy's attention. His head snapped to look at me, his eyes didn’t leave me, it looked like he was inspecting every part of my body. Probably looking for the one sign it was me. The small skull shaped scar just above my left knee. I wore shorts today just so he would see it.

His eyes were as wide as the plates they were using to serve that delicious soup I had for an appetizer. “ALIAS?!-” internally I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Externally, all I could do was smile. Luffy had a bright smile on his cheeks and I couldn't help but smile back. It was a smile I yearned for, for so long. I knew with even a bit of it, I was going to be addicted again.

I could see how excited luffy was that I was here (which made me VERY happy), but Arlong being himself did not like that attention wasn't on him for those few seconds so he cleared his throat obnoxiously. “Do you know who I am, boy?” Luffy's attention went to him but came right back when I spoke up. “Arlong the Saw.” There was a moment of silence, I taped the ash away from my cigarette into an empty glass off the table of people in front of me, and took another drag from it. “And just who are you-” - “I’m The Cheshire Cat.” I undid two of the buttons on my button up shirt with one hand, letting my collar fall back to show off the cat like scratches that laid on my collar bone (If those cats were lions that scratched almost all the way down my torso and arm). I did a stupid little bow. A few people reacted but I enjoyed the way Luffy looked so wowed. Arlongs eyes widened but they just went right back to a dumb smug smile. “You, Arlong, go for 20 million berrys.” I took another drag, exhaling calmly. “Which is impressive for the east blue but..Not so much other places.” He laughed from his chest, his friends going along with it. “What does the sell out have to say about it?” I sighed softly.

A part of me wished I was a sell out, instead of a kidnapped child forced to do the government's dirty work. The other part knew I would never do that, knew I would never betray my own crew like that. “Oh nothing honestly, I don't care about you.” I looked over to Luffy who still had a smile on his face. When we made eye contact he started to beam. I've only visited him once since I became a warlord, it makes me happy to see him so full of joy just from a moment of eye contact with me. “I'm here for him.” Luffy's hands started to shake, it was something small he always did around me. Blurted it out one day, said when I was excited sometimes I gave him a look, a glint in my eye that made him so happy his entire body shook. It was the sweetest thing he’d ever said to me. Arlong growled once again, leaving spit in someone's food. Those poor people.

He was circling the tables to get to me, circling around me slowly as if I was fish bait he was waiting to snap on. “Well I was here first.” I thought about correcting him, telling him that I was in fact here first. But Luffy interrupted the thought anyway. “How’d you find me anyway?” Luffy sounded completely confident in himself, Arlong just let out another horrid chuckle and made his way back to where he originally stood. “Old friend helped me track you down.” At first Luffy looked over to me, but I was drinking a sip of wine, just listening to what was happening in front of me. Arlong clicked his tongue and one of the other fish men grabbed the clown pirate's head out of a bag. “Heya, Straw hat. Did you miss me?” Luffy looked extremely confused, Sanji looked exhausted and Usopp looked terrified. “Burpy?” The name he called him almost made me spit out my wine from laughter (Which made Luffy happy, I could tell because he glanced at me. Even just for a second.) “What are you doing here?”

The fact that there was only a clown head confused and disturbed me, but I looked past it. “Believe me, it wasn't my first choice either.” He looked a bit nervous as he spoke. “But these fine fishy folk persuaded me to point them in the right direction, which ain't easy when you don't have any hands!” The joke made me raise my eyebrows and laugh a bit, it was funny i'll give him that. But Luffy still looked confused. “How’d you even know where to find me?” Suddenly the clown had the most serious expression I've ever seen him in. “I told you, I've got eyes and ears everywhere.” I noticed an ear start to climb out of the red band of Luffys hat. It was quite strange. The ear went back to the clown and popped right back in place, laughing. Luffy took the hat off his head inspecting it, while the two men behind him shared a look. “Stereo!” Luffy looked shocked. “You were listening all along? You heard everything?” The clown was quite happy. “Everything! and that old quick. 'Cause you shi-diots have no idea what you're doing.” The mashup word made me giggle a bit, it sounded so stupid, but it was kinda funny. (But luffy frowned a bit when he saw I laughed so i stopped as quick as i started).

The clown's head jumped towards the fishman with the huge lips. “Hey lips? How about a scratch behind the old ear, huh?” That made me roll my eyes, he was stupid enough to ask his captors that? The fishmen put him back in the bag. Buggy complaining about how sandy and wet it was.

“Listen here. I want my map.” It was so stupid. Watching them fight over the map to the entrance to the grand line, I understand why Luffy wanted it, but Arlong has a giant crew of thieves who could easily take it from another marine base. “Along with half of whatever you plunder as tribute.” Tribute? for getting a map, does he want tribute for his own existence now? “And if you bow down to me, I might even let you serve in my kingdom.” Stupid men. All of them were the same. Well not all, but most were extremely similar. “I don't bow down to any man.” Luffy stood tall, his head held up high as usual. That's my boy. “I'm no man.” Luffy continued. “Or fish.” That made Arlong growl and made me laugh. “And you’re no king.” There was a certain feeling in the air, the aggression that at any moment, one or the other would attack. Everyone was on high alert, my wine made that hard. It was just so delicate. Hard to enjoy in this environment but perfect in others.

“I will be, when I get my grand line map.” Luffy just smiled, which was a little bit attractive. “Then” He placed his hat back on his head. “You’re gonna have to fight me for it.” I take the attractive comment back, he's stupid. “Then let the fighting begin.” A bullet bounced off the fishmans skin. My hands almost drew closer to my own guns but instead I decided to pour another glass of wine. The old man that cooked my food was standing with a gun in his hand, the trigger pulled in his fingers clutches.

The thing about fishmen (I had learned the hard way) is that regular bullets don't affect them. I have very special bullets, made from some weird unmeltable ice, something about them coming from a town inside the grand line called drum town, from the deepest parts of frozen lakes. They're so sharp they even pierce fishman skin but don't go as deep as I would like.

Arlong turned to the old man, one of his crew members kicking him away and down before punching him into a pillar. Sanji called out his name and ran over, jumping on the table and kicking the fishman in the face. Which just pissed him off more. He got a few good kicks to the face and arms, even the legs but Luffy distracted him. “Really good fighter.” By the time he went to do a quite nice spinning kick to the face again, he caught his foot in his arm. I reached for both guns in my holsters, Checking that they had the correct bullets and shot multiple rounds from Alice, all of them making a trail up his arm and letting Sanji get away. The fishman looked back at me, anger and confusion in his eyes. “These bullets are made of ice, so sharp they even pierce fishman skin. I got them specially made.” There was a delicate smile on my lips, blowing the smoke out of my mouth and away from my guns. Normally i wouldn't touch these but i had a feeling about bringing them today, i'm glad i did. they may be expensive but Luffy was worth it anyways.

Everything was happening so quickly, Luffy's gum gum pistol, Arlong grabbing and pulling him closer. “Uh-” I could tell there was panic in his voice, but I couldn't tell if helping would really be helping at all. He was thrown at a pillar, landing on the floor with a thud. “Get up!” Arlong yelled, if i was him i would've stayed on the floor in spite, but he got up regardless. He kept stretching his arms three punches, one to each shoulder and one to the face. “Not bad for a human.”

I lifted my pistol to shoot Arlong but luffy put his hand up, his middle and ring finger were intertwined and the other three fingers touched. That was our sign when we were kids to stay out of it. It was our secret signal, not even Ace or Sabo or Dadan knew what it meant. I lowered my pistol, spinning it and putting it back in its holster. I grabbed the wine bottle taking a nice big gulp. Glad i’d gotten the entire bottle because this in fact, was not going to be pretty.

Part 2!!

[diminuel]

Most people would not think Dragon and Luffy have ANYTHING in common (maybe the through-line of Garp’s stubbornness, but most who know Garp would never argue that they don’t see echos of him in his son and grandson)

But someone like Sabo? robin? Never believe it if you didn’t tell them.

But Ivankov and Kuma? Oh they’d fucking tell you the apple fell STRAIGHT off that fucking tree. They REMEMBER straight-out-of-the-Marines Dragon, and no matter how serious or mysterious he tries to be he will ALWAYS be THEIR baby brother to them he is EXACTLY like Luffy just in a very clever disguise to the rest of the world.

;w;

I do like that thought. I think at the core they are similar, both want similar things (freedom above everything else), but have chosen entirely different paths.

(I do try to project some of Luffy onto him whenever I can in my comics. I think it's interesting to examine!! And on the other hand it's also interesting to see if we can find some of his parents' traits in Luffy~)

[chromatic-lamina]

ももも

Chapter 1117 Spoilers

Ahhh. I'm quivering. We don't get Law, but we get!

Bepo and Bepo is thinking about Captain (so he's not dead, and neither is Bepo...All patched up with his little bandage). Not too distraught, so I'm trusting the Hearts are okay, AND

Will of D. <3

The scans say that the Japanese ends with mo (も), which can be a conjunction similar to 'and' (or is it a particle? I don't know). BUT, could also be the beginning of a name or noun (Momonosuke). Or extra thing (more...)

BUT, it's interesting that all are named or shown, bar Law. Bepo of course is a representative, but where is Law? Also, I don't think the navy knows about Law's status (so I don't know if Vegapunk did), BUT intriguing. Where is Jaguar D. Saul? (maybe Oda forgot him, or there will be another reveal).

Honorable mention to this D. too!

Vivi! Shown, but not named. (Interesting that the Wiki lists her as a D. by the way, but not Law's family. I think it's an oversight for Law).

Ah, Robin and Law must be champing at the bit. I'm hoping Law's not part of SWORD, but I'll roll with it if he is (just looking at those backgrounds). Bepo's is similar to the marines featured. Also, I hope that Law's listening in!

Ay-oop! look who washed up on the soar! Heh-heh. Shore. Our favourite ancient zoan, Drake. So, he saved Garp and Co? I wasn't sure which Captain Kujaku was referring to here (below)).

It doesn't seem very Garp-like to want space. I am betting that Hibari is Akainu's granddaughter rather than daughter in the way that Kujaku is Tsuru's granddaughter, and Luffy is Garp's grandson, because it makes sense (generation-wise), and ties into the "It's our turn to step up" line from Kujaku. Interesting!

Anyway, just popping in to drop a bit of excitement. It seems the iron giant got blitzed, but I'd say it's its own form of ancient weapon, so it might not be over and out yet. I wanted to repost what Sandman said on Twitter last week, and which I also thought:

The Japanese has 'tanoshimi' (enjoy, fun, etc.) in quotation marks, which strikes me as maybe Rayleigh being sarcastic. For example, what knowledge has the older generation withheld from the younger? and is that withholding a benefit to them, or does it just make it that much harder for them to find the truth? (and increase their chances of being in danger?)

Speaking of which, do you think Rayleigh will survive? Does he know too much? Knowing Oda, he will, but it's curious that there are remnants of the crew out there with all the answers that others are seeking.

Of course, the true history and Will of D. and One Piece are not necessarily of equal weight, but man, Oda's not discounting any of them either!

Just rambling. Also, link to Sandman's post.

OOH, I almost forgot. Talk about gritty characters (even if they're made of smoke)

Smoker!!! It's been too long. Good to see ya'! (where there's Smoke there's Law...maybe? Heh-heh. Just joshing. They look good together, though).

Another also bit! It's way at the end of my post but at the beginning of the manga: Pearl's look has always reminded me of the Pearl Diving bells (or the helmets divers wore), so I think it's clever of Oda to place him at the section where they're talking about exploring below the sea.

[arthrobug]

Kobylu Week Day 1: Roleswap

LAST FEW MINUTES OF THE DAY SHUSSSSH

Okay silly lore I thought of since I'm free now-

The only ones swapped are Koby and Luffy, and I also adore the Rocks D. Koby AUs so of course I alluded to that lmao, and basically Luffy is just the most unhinged Marine you've ever fucking seen 💀

Rumor that Xebec had a descendant got out a while before Koby was born, around the time Roger was executed. Koby was soon involuntarily abandoned after he was born, since his parents got found out and killed by Marines. He was taken into the care of a communication line of fishermen, who found out Koby's bloodline pretty quickly, but decided to keep it a secret. He was passed island to island to keep his existence a secret (oh hey sorta like Luffy lol), but he was still kidnapped by Alvida at 14. However, Koby was aware of his lineage and was already trained in how to defend himself, and he managed to escape only after a few weeks, albeit badly injured. By pure coincidence, he ran into Red-Haired Shanks, who decided to give Koby some medical attention before dropping him off someplace. In the time they knew each other, Shanks decided to give Koby -instead of his whole hat- the red ribbon attached to his strawhat to Koby. Koby still wears the ribbon as a bandana to this day.

Luffy never met Shanks in this AU, and Garp drilled Marine ideology into his grandson's head harsher than ever, but it of course didn't stick right, and Luffy interprets it in bizarre ways. Luffy is still extremely motivated to find the One Piece, but not to become the King of the Pirates. He just wants to out of spite and boredom.

Luffy and Koby met during the timeskip, about a year after Ace had been wrongly executed. In that time, Koby had become a prominant pirate from both his name and his grandfather's. People assumed he was after the One Piece as well, and they weren't wrong, but Koby's real reason to find the One Piece was to end the era of pirates, not to become King. Luffy had been on a sort of off-site probation after he tried publicly saving Ace (to keep him out of the public's eye/to forcefully make him cool down/to make people believe he was dead), and ran into Koby. Luffy was briefed who Koby was, but couldn't care less, and became good friends with him extremely quickly.

And that's all I got pff, might make a fic might not, anyways see ya tomorrow for the Modern Prompt 👍✨

[aegoniipascal]

His soft side | Mihawk x reader

Mihawk comes home to you on your lady day

warning: cute fluff

You were lying down on your and Mihawk’s big bed. Today was the worst day for you because you had your period this morning. When you are on your period, you are too emotional. You could bare with the pain but you couldn’t control the emotions that you were feeling.

Mihawk had just gotten home after a huge chaotic fight with Don Krieg. He won but he had got a call from the Vice-Admiral for a pirate, well more like his own grandson because he had stolen the map of the One Piece. Mihawk wasn’t going to pick up the Vice Admiral’s grandson just yet, he needed to go see his girlfriend before he left.

“My love?” Mihawk called for you. You heard your boyfriend’s voice, and you immediately started crying because you missed him.

Mihawk heard fainting sniffing sounds coming from his and your room. He walks over to the room to see the door closed and when he goes to open it. The door was locked.

“Y/n are you okay? Can you please open the door?” Mihawk gently asks you. You lift yourself from the bed and saunter to the door.

On the other side of the door, he could hear your steps coming towards the door. You open the door slowly came wide open and Mihawk sees how tired you look.

“Why are you crying?” Mihawk questioned you grabbed your cheeks and wiped the tears off your cheek.

“I just miss you so much.” You told your boyfriend and went near and cuddled into his chest.

Mihawk rarely doesn’t like hugs because it shows a sign of weakness but when it comes to you. He would do anything that would make him soft and gentle. The only person who could do that was you.

His two hands go to the side of your waist and tap it. Telling you to jump and you obeyed and leaped. Mihawk grabbed you within a second and you wrapped around his waist and laid your head down against his neck.

“I as well, my love,” Mihawk tells back to you and walks on over to the bed and lays you back on the large bed.

“How about this, when I come back, you can have all the cuddles you want. Does that sound good to you?” Mihawk asked you making you smile and nodding towards your boyfriend.

Mihawk kisses your forehead and walks to the bathroom. He does his business and washed his hands. He grabs the paper towel wipes the wettest of his hands and throws it into the trash. The warlord ends up missing the trash.

He sighed grabbed the crumpled paper and threw it properly. His eyes stopped in his tracks to see a tampon wrapper and when your boyfriend knew. You were on your lady’s day. Mihawk walks back to you seeing you curled up with the blanket.

Garp could wait for a few days and right now he needs to take care of his girl.

You watch your boyfriend come around and take off his long coat that was up to his boot and set it to the nearest chair that was beside him. Then grabs his hat from his head taking off revealing his curly hair. You loved watching him take off his clothes in front of you. Lastly, he kicks off his boots and lays right next to you.

Mihawk turns his body towards you gets in the covers and pulls your body into his chest. You immediately launched onto your boyfriend and on his chest. Your left hand was on his chest tracing his abs and soft skin. He was relaxed by you tracing his abs and rubbing his back to comfort her.

The whole two days, Mihawk brought you food on the bed and gave you lots of cuddles and kisses. You loved his side of him.

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

heart to heart

cw. selfship-coded, childhood friend au, pre-canon, pre-relationship, slight angst, fluff, one piece spoilers

pairing. portgas d. ace x reader

notes. apparently it isn't enough for me to brainrot in private about a character i've been obsessed with for a decade, you guys have to be subjected to it as well. whoops🤪

It is not hyperbole to say that early mornings are the only time of day when the Dadan Family base is peaceful.

The sun has barely risen, the morning birds have barely begun their song and most everyone is still snoring away in their cots. Early mornings and late evenings have become Dadan’s favorite time of day, citing them as the only times she is ever allowed a moment of peace.

That peace is stalled whenever Garp visits.

“You sure you don’t wanna come with us,” you ask Ace a final time before you leave for your hometown.

Ace shakes his head with a small smile, “they’re more your friends than mine.” A true sentiment, in your six years of knowing each other, there is still a distinction between your friends in Windmill Village and your friends living among bandits on Mt. Corvo. “Tell ‘em I said ‘congrats’ though. We might end up seeing them later down the road.”

“As marines!” Garp calls over his shoulder gruffly, not waiting for you to catch up. He has one more year to change his grandson’s mind about becoming a marine before the two of you left Dawn Island for saltier pastures. If he knew that fact, however, you’re sure the marine would grab you both by the back of your shirts and drag you to the port in Windmill Village this second. “You should take after those boys!”

The boys in question are Demarius and Stacey.

They’ve adored Garp since before you knew Ace was his grandchild, constantly pleading for him to take them to a naval base. He promised to do so once they turned 16. The least you could do was bid your friends farewell before they lived out their naval dreams.

Ace rolls his eyes, “Pirate!”

“It’s too early in the morning for you two to start that old fight again,” Dadan grumbles, turning around to head back inside. This was enough kissing Garp's butt for her, tucking away her handkerchief. “I get nothing but headaches when Garp comes around.”

You snicker at the grouchy woman’s exit, looking over her shoulder. The door to the room you share is shut close but you can easily picture Luffy stretched out and snoring, limbs all over the place wildly. He’ll be adding to Dadan’s headache soon enough. “Alright, well, I’ll be back later,” you tell Ace unnecessarily.

“You should spend the night in town,” Ace’s disgruntled expression shifts into something warm. You remember a time when he seldom smiled and could only offer you scowls. It’s hard to believe how much he smiles now, your lips quirking instinctively at the sight. “You haven’t been in town for a while. Everyone probably misses you.”

You lean forward, wiggling your eyebrows, “aww, trying to get rid of me now? You’re just trying to get more of a cut at dinner.”

“Maybe,” Ace’s grin widens and you share a laugh before Garp calls after you, further away than he was last.

Damn for an old man he moves fast. “See you,” you nudge your freckled friend before turning on your feet, nearly tripping as you stumble after his grandfather. “I’m okay,” you call over your shoulder.

Garp is grumbling to himself as you approach him. You don’t need to hear his words clearly to know he is thinking about his pirate obsessed grandsons. “Those dolts,” he mutters. “You used to play marines all the time with those kids in town. Now they’ve got you talking about being a pirate. You’ll all be marines, mark my words!”

“I really only ever wanted to just sail on the seas,” you tell Garp truthfully. Even as a child when Demarius demanded you play marines because he always wanted to play marines, you never played because you aspired to be one. It didn’t have to be the marines, it didn’t have to be pirates, you just wanted to set sail on the ocean blue. Pirate merely became the subsequent medium you vowed to pursue. “The marines kinda seem,” you mull over your next words carefully. “Strict. I just wanna see the world, not be told what to do.”

“Discipline is a good thing,” is his rebuttal. He certainly was very strict in the training you unwittingly got pulled into once he discovered your true intentions.

Silence falls between you both but it isn’t comfortable, not like the silences you’re used to.

Silence in Dadan’s home is accompanied by snores or the movement of someone heading to the bath. Luffy mumbling in his sleep about the many adventures he and his dream crew are on causing you and Ace to share a look and chuckle quietly under your breaths.

It’s when you tell yourself ‘Today’s the day I actually do it’ and you count away in your head the number of Ace’s freckles until you inevitably mess up the count and have to start all over again.

It’s when it’s raining and you, Ace and Luffy sleep in an empty hollow of a tree, the croak of the frogs singing to the drops.

Silence with Garp is suffocating and the jungle is too quiet and your brain too full of anxiety-ridden hypotheticals to even think about your childhood friends you’d be bidding farewell to. Instead, the ones you wouldn’t be saying goodbye to were at the forefront of your mind.

Another minute of silence follows before you’re unable to stop the words from falling from your lips, “Mr. Garp?”

Garp hums gruffly, bark worse than his bite, “what is it?”

“Let’s say that, hypothetically speaking of course, Ace and Luffy do become pirates,” you begin nervously, wincing at how the older man’s eyes sharpened at the word. “Hypothetically!” You’ve been a recipient of many of the marine’s Fists of Love, despite not belonging to his family, you don’t fancy receiving another. “They hypothetically become pirates and end up getting taken in,” you lick your lips as you try to imagine the scenario.

To your discomfort, it is terrifyingly easy to imagine Ace and Luffy in shackles.

The spectacle the World Government would make of it all. The grand executions of the sons of Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Dragon.

The vitriol of the onlookers spewing words of hatred and damnation. No one would know who they are, not the onlookers in the crowds or the marines holding the weapons that would end their lives. Devils, they would be called. 

There would be one marine who knew them, however. Who truly knew them and not what they represented. It only breaks your heart that in your many years of knowing the older man that you don’t know what end of the spectrum he falls on. No, that’s an incorrect assessment. What breaks your heart is that it has always been too easy suspecting precisely where Monkey D. Garp would fall.

In spite of your suspicions, you still part your lips and ask, “would you help them?” Uncharacteristically, you fiddle with your fingers, the index finger of your right hand being nestled by the thumb and index finger of your left. Clad in a tacky red button up with white roosters, the stocky man’s back seems broader than usual.

It’s the long pause between your question and his answer that sinks in your chest like a knife. “They,” Garp begins but you cut the man off with a laugh.

“Don’t be so serious,” you laugh so convincingly you almost believe you’re unbothered. “I was just messing around. I’m up in the air on the pirate thing but for all we know, Luffy’ll start talking about being the Marine King the next time you see him.”

The elderly marine laughs at the absurdity of your thought, “a king among marines, that’ll be the day.”

ー

“Your shadows not with you for once?” Stacey jokes lightheartedly as he leans his head over in mock surprise at the lack of people accompanying you.

“I’m pretty sure Mr. Garp would drag them onto that boat if they did,” anything to make those two follow in their grandfather’s footsteps. “Ace sends his congratulations anyways.”

“I’m still convinced that guy was replaced by aliens,” Demarius murmurs, squinting at the mountain’s peaks with narrowed eyes. You snort at the absurdity. You, along with your village-bound friends, had met Ace when he was more angry at the world and nearly all of the people inhabiting it. To say they’d been shocked when, the next time they met him, Ace was polite and all smiles is an understatement. Demarius’ suspicious glance lasts a beat longer before he turns his dark eyes to you, shoulders set back. “You can still come with us, you know.”

You remember being 10, running down these dirt roads playing marines with your friends as a rowdy quintet.

The battles you pretended to have against whatever made-up opponents Demarius decided you’d be fighting against. He’d always been the leader of the five of you ー him, Stacy, Pierre, Lisa Lisa and you ー would find yourselves on the tempestuous seas of the Grand Line, all odds against you.

“This is not a good day for battle but it is a glorious day to die,” you remember resolutely saying, words too heavy for someone who hadn’t been in a real fight her entire life until that point.

Real fights came after you met Ace and Sabo. When you began running amok in the capital and Gray Terminal. Real battle came when their angering the Bluejam pirates caught up with them. You couldn’t say you felt glorious fighting the Bluejam pirates in the flames of their hideout. Nor could you say Sabo’s horrifying end was glorious either. There is no glory in fighting but you will do what you have to to protect who you have left.

Pulling yourself from the memories, you shake your head, “you’ll see me at sea next year,” you vow with a grin. You lower your voice so the cantankerous marine behind you cannot hear what you say next. “It’ll just be in a way that pisses off the old man.”

There’s simply one more year to go.

You, alongside the other locals, wave the boys down until they become nothing but a speck on the horizon. Well, off their asses go. You sit on the porch step of what used to be the house that belonged to you and your grandfather. I think the last time I came here it was like, you purse your lips thoughtfully. Shiiieet, 3 months ago? You seldom spend time in the empty shack now. It is only good for your occasional visits and when you’re too lazy to head back up to Dadan’s. That is where home is now.

It’s wherever Ace and Luffy are.

Ace and Luffy who you know Garp loves but will always choose work first. He always has and he always will, so you will always choose them instead.

[rollinouttahere-writes]

Garp: *watching Smoker and Smoker's kid fight about Smoker not letting them be a pirate* Wait so my grandsons just wanted my attention all this time? WELL THATS SOMETHING I CAN DO.

Luffy: NO,NO,NO, NO,NO, NO, NO.

LMAO

Like he asks Smoker how he deals with his kid being so bound and determined to be a pirate, and Smoker just shrugs and says that they don't. They just want attention and figured this was the best way to get it from a marine.

You can practically see the light bulb over Garp's head. Of course! It was so simple! They're hurt that he ditched them on an island and they're acting out to get his attention (Sabo's just going along with it to fit in or something)! He might actually do some semi-normal grandfather-grandson bonding activities with them now.