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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 4 years

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The Voyage So Far: Enies Lobby

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

this is still one of my very favorite nami panels. i think she’s really great through all of water 7 and enies lobby in general, actually, even though she isn’t really one of the characters in focus for a lot of it- like zoro and sanji, she stays pretty steadfast and very badass even though everything that happens, and never gives up on robin for a moment despite being one of the ‘weaker’ members of the crew. and it’s always fun to see her playing with lightning.

one of my favorite jokes from the first half or so of enies lobby is the strawhats both being completely unsurprised that luffy charges in ahead of them as soon as they arrive AND being able to find him immediately by following the explosions. they know him so well.

luffy’s never been scared of dying, going all the way back to when he told coby he was fine with dying for his dream back in chapter two or three. that conversation is what his exchange with blueno here reminds me of- blueno asks him how long he intends to keep fighting, and luffy says until he dies, like there’s nothing to it.

it’s always been a trait of his to face death unflinching with a grin, so long as it’s for the sake of something he cares about, be it his crew or his brother or his dream, and i just really like that about him.

i’ll go into it in the dressrosa post too, but i think it’s really impressive just how long oda held off on giving luffy any sort of significant power-up. he gets his first big power boost in the whole series here, forty volumes in. i’ve always liked that oda is very conservative with power boosts like this, because it both keeps the series’ powerscaling in check and makes the times it does happen much weightier. this is a monumental moment, and it feels like it.

also, i love the way gear two is drawn pre-timeskip, especially with the steam. it looks very cool and atmospheric.

i really like how united the strawhat crew feels throughout enies lobby, after all the internal turmoil and discord of water seven. even though the matter of usopp leaving the crew is still unresolved, they’ll all together once more, on the same page, and fully united in the goal of saving robin, whatever consequences it might bring.

the tree of knowledge has such a cool design- it looks massive, and even more than that, it looks old. you look at that tree and you know its been there for easily thousands of years. its seen entire eras of history, and it would be priceless even without the countless books stored inside it.

and then it burns.

i’m so endlessly sad about the tragedy that is robin’s relationship with her mother. they never even got to see each other until their world was ending, and even then only for a couple minutes.

olvia is a very interesting character, because she’s someone who chose her dream over the people she loved. that’s not an inherently good or bad choice, but it is a choice she made, and it’s what led to the ending she and robin had to have. i’ve wondered a lot what might have happened if she chose the other way, if she never left or if she came back sooner or if she chose to flee the buster call with robin, and how different (and almost certainly better) robin’s life would have been if she had.

in a way, olvia reminds me a lot of kouzuki toki. they both die in order to fling a light of knowledge and hope into the future, and they both send their children away and choose to stay behind to choke on ash for the sake of a better tomorrow.

i didn’t really notice until putting these panels together, but a lot of things burn in enies lobby. ohara burns, and the pluton plans and the world government flag, and enies lobby itself, and at the end, the going merry burns, too. if you extend it back to water seven, there’s the galley-la headquarters, too. in an arc that deals so much with the preservation and destruction of history and knowledge, it’s a fitting motif.

the world government flag burning is still to this day one of the most striking panels out of a series full of them, in my opinion. in one act, the strawhats proclaim their absolute defiance against the world government, and their willingness to make enemies of the greatest power in the world for the sake of their friend.

it’s also another one of those moments that’s interesting to think about in the context of luffy’s past. it was a ship flying that same flag that shot sabo down, and while luffy wasn’t there to see it, i don’t think he’s oblivious to that fact, especially given how he says just before this he understands robin’s enemies perfectly.

dadan told him and ace that there was nothing they could do against the whole world, and luffy went and did it anyways.

sometimes i just think about how scary it must have been for robin, someone who’s been weighed down by the shackles of her past with no escape in sight for so very long, to open herself up and let herself hope, for life and freedom and a dream that’s always been out of reach.

franky has a lot of really great moments between this arc and water seven- his conversation with usopp as usopp is working on merry and his talk with robin on the sea train are two others. it’s almost impressive how quickly he becomes an immensely likable character once we start getting to know him, given how he’s first introduced as an absolute piece of shit.

his burning of the pluton plans is a favorite of mine, and i think it might be because, like so many people before and after him, he’s choosing here to stake all his hopes on the strawhats, on luffy’s ability to pull off the impossible and on robin’s goodness. when robin’s only ever been chased and hated and called a demon by the world, franky chooses to trust her and luffy with the legacy his dad died for, and neither of them let him down.

monster point looks SO FUCKING TERRIFYING in enies lobby, and i LOVE it. look at that. franky is seven and half feet tall, and in front of monster point he’s tiny. monster point is huge, and dead-eyed, and a force of absolute destruction. i do kind of wish we got to see chopper go completely feral like this more often. he deserves to be terrifying!

i love how much FAITH all the rest of the strawhats continue to have in usopp throughout enies lobby. he left the crew and they really would have a right to be angry at him if they chose to, but it doesn’t even seem to cross any of their minds. they’re just happy he’s okay, and they include him again without missing a beat, because he’s still their friend and they know down to their bones they can trust him, even after everything.

i’ve always really loved zoro and kaku’s little moment of post-battle banter here- zoro relays paulie’s message about cp9 being fired, kaku says he’s out of a job, zoro tells him to try the zoo, and kaku cracks up.

it feels very real to me for whatever reason, and i think part of it ties back into how well one piece handles morality with its characters- zoro and kaku are genuinely pretty similar people who get along decently, it just happens that they wound up on opposite sides. there are series where you’d never see moments like this due to the lines between good and bad being so firmly drawn, and i love how one piece blurs those lines so much they may as well not exist a lot of the time.

this is the other sequence, along with luffy climbing the drum rockies barehanded, that always makes me physically cringe to look at. it looks so painful. robin is so nearly powerless here, but not quite- she can still buy time for her crew to catch up, even if it’s only seconds, even if she risks shattering her teeth or even her jaw in the process. she’s spent so long giving up and has only just started daring to hope- she’s not about to go gentle.

there aren’t many panels that give me catharsis like this one. there really aren’t.

oda’s villains are usually complicated and awful and often a little admirable, if only for how clever or how terrifyingly powerful they are, but every now and then he comes up with someone who’s just pathetic and cowardly and pointlessly cruel. spandam is like this, obviously, and so is orochi, and the celestial dragons, and i’d argue flampe from whole cake island as well. and there’s nothing like seeing characters like them- weak, cruel people so assured in their own power and rightness- get obliterated.

one of the things i really like about enies lobby is that nobody really gets sidelined- everybody gets multiple chances to shine. luffy, usopp, and obviously robin are the most in focus, obviously, but zoro, sanji, nami, chopper, and even franky all get a bunch of individual awesome moments. oda’s ability to handle his cast satisfyingly is consistently really impressive (if sometimes strained in huge ensemble arcs like dressrosa or wano) and it really shows here, i think.

i just really love the entire climax of enies lobby. much like the arc as a whole, it just feels triumphant, even though the situation is extremely dire. luffy unlocking gear three, robin’s cuffs getting unlocked, usopp shooting spandam and the marines all the way from the tower of justice- it’s all just good, a long chain of much-needed victories and catharses, and it feels very good to read.

i’ll always be impressed by just how much characterization oda manages to give merry, a boat. she’s only really a character in water seven and the end of enies lobby, only about two chapters of which she actually speaks in. and yet i don’t think you’d find a single one piece fan who disagrees that merry’s death is easily one of the most heartwrenching in the entire series.

i love the reactions of the strawhats to robin’s thanks. they’ve just gone through hell to save her, most of them are beat to shit and they all risked their lives, and yet they all just smile, or brush it off, because to them there’s nothing else they could have done. it’s all worth it, so long as they got her back, so long as she’s safe and happy.

merry’s funeral just hits me in the chest every single time i read it. it’s tragic, of course, but there’s also something almost lovely about it, something peaceful about her getting to go out on her own terms, carrying her crew to safety one last time, defying every rule of the universe to do it. just like a strawhat pirate.

oda’s ability to communicate emotion through expressions really comes through here, too. merry has the only lines in this scene, fitting for her death in the limelight, but the shots of every other crewmate’s face let us know at a glance just what they’re all feeling and just how strongly they’re feeling it.

you know, i’d forgotten we only learn the name of the new world after enies lobby. we only get proper exposition about the revolutionary army and the yonkou here, too, despite them being set up since loguetown and jaya (or alabasta, or even chapter one if you count from shanks’s introduction) respectively. oda’s ability to parse out exposition and explanation so we always have just the right amount of information is really impressive- we always have more questions, but we also always have the feeling that those questions have answers, and that sooner or later they’ll be revealed.

points at shanks. i just think he’s neat.

it’s my opinion that one of the great joys of one piece is seeing luffy and the crew rise up in the world, and seeing them gain more and more notoriety. i love nothing they do ever happens in a vacuum- everything has impacts, and there are always outside eyes watching, and often those impacts are things that they never could have predicted.

ace and blackbeard is still, i think, definitely one of the coolest looking fights in the whole series. it’s not all that often we get to see two people with extremely flashy and showy abilities go all-out against each other, and the resulting fireworks are still really something to behold, despite how badly it all ends.

#the voyage so far #one piece #opmeta #long post #arc: enies lobby #arc: post enies lobby #not japanese

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writingwhimsey · 3 years

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Romance with Mr. Right...hand Man Ch. 1

A/N: This is just a fanfic I am starting following Hideyoshi's romantic route ending. I hope it's something everyone can enjoy! This will be a multi-chapter fic and I'll be bouncing between it and my Shingen fic. I will hopefully be moving my Nobunaga and Mitsuhide fics over here from fanfiction as well soon.

Chapter 1

I found myself sitting in front of Nobunaga on his horse. His arms were on either side of me, holding the reins. We were in an open field outside of Azuchi. It had been a little over a year since I had traveled through time and been living in the Sengoku with the Oda forces.

Mitsuhide and Masamune were on either side of us. We had a small portion of the Oda army behind us. On the opposite side of the field at the head of his own army was the love of my life, Hideyoshi. He was flanked by Ieyasu and Mitsunari, with their own portion of the Oda forces behind them.

I can't believe I agreed to go along with this. Granted it's not like I was truly given a choice in the matter. I thought to myself.

"You seem rather tense, Ava." Nobunaga observed, though there was a smile on his face.

"Oh, you know, just wondering why this is all necessary?" I replied, my tone a bit disgruntled.

Nobunaga grinned at me. "It is the only way." He answered.

I let out a sigh as I turned to look at Hideyoshi across the field. We were close enough I could see the determined look on his face and noticed when he leaned over to discuss something with Mitsunari or Ieyasu, but we weren't close enough for me to hear what was being said.

"Ava, aren't you the least bit curious as to how determined Hideyoshi is about all of this?" Mitsuhide asked, his tone teasing. "What lengths he will go to?"

"I would think you would be excited that he was willing to do this in the first place." Masamune added.

"I mean...it is definitely impressive." I replied. "But I also know how much he's going to be hating this the entire time."

"Don't worry, this was my idea. I will hold nothing against him when this is over." Nobunaga replied.

"The rest of us won't ever let him live it down though." Masamune replied grinning. "That is assuming none of us run off with the prize."

I rolled my eyes and sighed once again. My thoughts then turned to the events that led us to where we all stood right now.

Three days ago...

I was going around the room of the great hall, carrying a bottle of sake and pouring for everyone. We were having a banquet to celebrate the anniversary of Nobunaga surviving the Hono-ji incident.

"Ava." Nobunaga had said just as I was about to go join Hideyoshi.

"Uh...yeah?" I asked. "Were you needing a refill?"

"I would not say no." Nobunaga replied. "But you should also allow me to pour for you. This banquet is as much about celebrating you as it is me."

"I don't..." I began to protest.

"Without you saving me that night, we would not all be here now. So, come drink with me a moment." He said.

"Uh...alright." I reluctantly agreed. I wanted to go be with Hideyoshi, but I knew that even he would tell me I had better get up there to follow Nobunaga's orders. Hideyoshi was basically the president of the Nobunaga fan club.

I made my way up to the dais and sat by Nobunaga and filled his cup. He handed me another one and then poured for me. "Thank you." I said.

"You have earned it and proven yourself." He told me. "This haori coat you made is excellent as well. I commend your work."

I couldn't help but to smile. I always felt proud when my work was complimented. "Thank you." He had commissioned the haori from me a couple of weeks ago and I had put a lot of work into it.

"You know, you should share a drink with the rest of us." Masamune spoke up. "We want to celebrate the brave lass who saved our lord as well."

"Why do you always say we like you're including me?" Ieyasu grumbled.

"Because you're just as happy to have Ava around as the rest of us, lad." Masamune replied.

So, I ended up not getting to go join Hideyoshi and drinking with everyone. I planned for just one drink with each of them and then I would join Hideyoshi. Hopefully I could catch Nobunaga in a good enough mood that I'd be able to go home with Hideyoshi to his manor tonight.

What I did not realize at the time, was that everyone was enjoying the game they had stared. They were playing keep away with me and Hideyoshi. What I was also unaware of, was that Mitsuhide had manipulated Hideyoshi into drinking quite a bit more than he normally would. Hideyoshi was not the most composed drunk. When drinking he would speak much more freely than normal.

"Alright, Ava, it is my turn to share a drink with you." Mitsuhide said, taking my hand and pulling me to sit beside him.

"Only one drink." I said, remembering the last time I had drank with Mitsuhide. It was seriously the worst hangover the next day.

Mitsuhide grinned at me. "Why, my dear little seamstress, are you worried about what will happen if you drink with me?"

"I am not wanting the hangover from hell again." I replied. "Your alcohol tolerance isn't human."

"What if I promise to take it easy on you?" Mitsuhide asked, leaning in close.

"That's it!"

I jumped at the sound of Hideyoshi's voice. He was then coming over to sit beside me, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close. "Hideyoshi?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I will not have the lot of you taking all of Ava's time. I will not stand for this anymore." Hideyoshi boldly declared.

"Are you challenging us for our dear little sister?" Mitsuhide asked, his voice teasing.

"As the man who loves her, yes I am." Hideyoshi answered. "And not just tonight. I am going insane not having her by my side every night."

My breath caught in my throat as I looked up at the man I loved. "Hideyoshi...what...are you saying?" I asked.

Those warm golden eyes focused on me. "Ava, I can't stand the thought of another night not having you come home with me. I want you to live with me and to be my wife."

I felt the tears stinging my eyes and the smile tugging my lips. "Oh...Hideyoshi!"

"That is quite the bold declaration, Hideyoshi." Nobunaga's deep voice came from his seat.

We all turned to look at him. "It is the truth." Hideyoshi replied. "If Ava will have me, I want to take her home and make her my wife."

"Have you forgotten, Hideyoshi?" Nobunaga replied, an amused smile on his face.

"My...Lord?" Hideyoshi asked.

"Ava is my treasured little sister." Nobunaga answered. "You truly intend to take her from me?"

"I...Lord Nobunaga...it's already been too long. I can't take it another day." Hideyoshi replied, looking Nobunaga in the eye.

Holy cats! He's...he's actually challenging Nobunaga for me?! I felt a swirl of conflicting emotions in my chest at this moment.

"You believe you are the best man for her?" Nobunaga asked.

"I will do everything to see to her happiness." Hideyoshi answered.

"How far are you willing to go for Ava?" Nobunaga asked.

"Uh...what...what are you trying to say, my lord?" Hideyoshi asked, confused.

"You have challenged me for her. You've made quite a bold declaration, Hideyoshi." Nobunaga replied. "Would you fight for her?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I would." Hideyoshi answered.

Nobunaga's grin became devilish at this. "Then it is settled."

"What exactly is settled, Nobunaga?" I found myself asking. Is he agreeing to letting me finally move in with Hideyoshi...and then us planning our wedding? I thought with cautious excitement.

"Hideyoshi, you will prove your resolve to take my precious little sister from me." Nobunaga declared. "In three days time, I will have the perfect challenge for you."

"You name it and I will meet the challenge." Hideyoshi declared.

"You shall face me in battle." Nobunaga declared.

I am pretty sure my jaw hit the floor as Hideyoshi's eyes widened. "L-lord Nobunaga?"

"If you truly wish to make Ava your wife, you shall face me in battle." Nobunaga repeated. "We will work out the details over the next few days."

I looked at Hideyoshi. I half expected him to back down at the thought of fighting Nobunaga. There's no way...right? I should probably say something. Take it off of Hideyoshi. I thought, though I couldn't deny that a part of me was holding back, hoping he would respond and accept the challenge. "Nobunaga, come on, this is a bit ridiculous. Besides, you didn't wait to hear my answer. You spoke up before I really had the chance."

"Because I already know your answer." Nobunaga replied. "But that is not what is important here. Hideyoshi, will you fight for Ava?"

Hideyoshi's eyes met mine. He gave me a smile and then turned to Nobunaga, determination set on his face. "Alright, if that's what it takes, then yes, I will face you in battle, my lord."

A devilishly gleeful smile came to Nobunaga's face. "Good. I look forward to this."

Now...

And that was the story of how we ended up here. The details had been worked out that Hideyoshi would face Nobunaga in battle essentially for my hand in marriage. Nobunaga had declared that Ieyasu and Mitsunari would be Hideyoshi's subordinates in the battle, while Mitsuhide and Masamune were his to command.

The rules were relatively simple. It was similar to an actual fight, but the goal was not that anyone would be hurt. Or only minor injuries were allowed. Hideyoshi was to command his forces in an effort to take me from Nobunaga. He literally had to physically take me from Nobunaga and run off with me.

Of course this meant that he would have to fight Nobunaga and more than likely try to knock him off of his horse or something. I knew that is that happened, Hideyoshi would be devastated at having caused any injury no matter how minor to Nobunaga. I knew he would also be terrified of hurting me in the process.

"Don't worry little mouse, no one will get hurt." Mitsuhide told me from his place beside Nobunaga and me. "Especially you. You are our most precious little sister after all."

I found myself rolling my eyes once again.

"I am very much looking forward to this." Nobunaga said, smiling like a little kid.

"Why exactly is that?" I asked.

"To see exactly how Hideyoshi plans to pull this off." He answered. "It has been quite amusing to see him change since being with you."

I looked up at the man whose arms I was currently trapped in. I raised a brow at him. "I don't think I've really changed him that much." I replied.

"He values his life now." Nobunaga replied. "He is no longer willing to throw it away. That is something I am happy to finally see."

"What else are you hoping to see today?" I asked.

Nobunaga smiled. "I am just looking to have a bit of amusement today." He answered, but I could tell that that wasn't the truth. Though I am not sure what he was really searching for, I was certain that it was more than amusement. Something told me that Nobunaga really did care about Hideyoshi and this was somehow his way of proving a point or trying to get Hideyoshi to learn something new.

It was a few moments later that a the war cries sounded. Horses and soldiers from both sides took off. I found myself gripping the saddle to keep steady as Nobunaga kicked our horse into a run. I was preparing myself to be able to jump off and into Hideyoshi's arms at a moment's notice. I didn't want him to have to do all of the work when it came to this mock battle. I also wanted to try and make this as easy on him as possible. I knew what Nobunaga meant to him. So the fact that he was willing to participate in this mock battle was major and showed how much he truly loved me. Even if it was something he agreed to when he was drunk.

I hope this ends well. I thought as I kept my eyes open and waited for my opportunity. Though you know this is the stuff most girls dream of...I mean I literally have men fighting over me right now. I couldn't help the rueful smile that came to my lips at that thought. Though no matter who the victor in this mock battle is, my heart will always be Hideyoshi's.

Read the next chapter below!

https://writingwhimsey.tumblr.com/post/659310015236177920/romance-with-mr-righthand-man-ch-2

#ikesen #ikesen hideyoshi #romance #fanfic #chapter 1

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opbackgrounds · 4 years

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Alright, friends, you know the drill by now. Here’s Part III of Sarcasticles’ overblown thoughts on sexism in One Piece. If you haven’t already, go read Part I and Part II before proceeding.

I promise after this I’ll be done. By hook or by crook, we’re getting through the point of the original question. To the Anon who originally sent the ask, sorry it took this long to get here, I hope it’s helpful.

Also, I allude to some very, very minor Wano spoilers, so if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing here’s your warning.

Characterization? I Don’t Know Her

What makes a good character?

I’ve spent an awful lot of time talking about character designs, when, funnily enough, it’s one of the aspects I pay the least attention to when it comes to deciding if I like how an author portrays their characters. I personally don’t care for fanservice, never have and never will. But unless it’s particularly egregious, I tend to ignore it because there are other factors I think are more important.

The secret sauce for building characters is hard to define, because a good writer can take a concept that has no right being any good and turn it into something incredible (Oda does this all the time) where bad writers will seemingly slot all the right information in the right holes and still have their characters come out of the developmental oven flat and under cooked.

One of the biggest buzzwords floating around these days is agency. Is a character active in their own story, or are they jerked around by the needs of the plot? Is their voice heard? Is their voice unique, or do they blend in with the background?

This is particularly important, because the term Strong Female Protagonist has been warped into shorthand for “girl who fights a lot and looks pretty doing it”. You can have a girl strong enough to lift mountains and still have her be a shit character. You can write a girl who’s main motivation is to get married and have babies with phenomenal depth. What matters is execution.

The Petition to Call A Group of Rescue Arcs a ‘Damsel’

Both Nami and Robin had to be rescued, their main arcs bearing similarities that are impossible to ignore. But these aren’t copies of one another as much as variations on a theme, and with the existence of Marineford and Whole Cake Island I think anyone would be hard-pressed to say that One Piece’s rescue arcs are a girl’s thing. At this point it’s a feature, not a bug.

Which makes sense given how fundamental the idea freedom is to the series. Hell, the first thing Luffy does after becoming a pirate is free Coby from Alvida’s tyrannical reign. Then he frees Zoro from an unjust authority that would have killed him had Luffy not intervened.

Notice a pattern here?

One Piece is written like Pachelbel Canon, in that a very simple core of ideas are repeated over and over with layers of complexity and nuance added over time, examining the same themes from every possible angle.

And when you look at the Four Big Rescue Arcs -- Nami, Robin, Ace, Sanji -- you’ll see that it’s Ace who’s given the least agency throughout his arc. Nami chose to hijack the Going Merry, repeatedly chose to push away the Straw Hats until she reached her breaking point, at which she chose to ask for help, with Luffy only intervening once she does.

Robin is a little less obvious, but during the post-Water 7 party chapters, Aokiji makes the interesting observation that Robin could have escaped CP9, but chose not to

Remember that before Robin’s backstory was shown, Luffy specifically said he didn’t care if she wanted to die or not, so long as she was with the Straw Hats when she made her decision. No one bullied her into “I wanna live”. It was a choice she made of her own volition after realizing the depths the Straw Hats would go on her behalf.

I know there are people who disagree with me, but Nami and Robin are well-written characters. I’ve expounded enough on my reasoning both here and on my main that I don’t want to spend the time belaboring the point. What I do want is to note that Luffy wouldn’t be able to attain his dreams without them. Nami keeps them on course while also severing as a sort of moral compass for the crew -- remember she was the one who insisted on saving the giant kids at Punk Hazard -- while Robin’s ability to read the poneglyphs is what’s going to get the crew to Raftel.

Robin admittedly doesn’t have the same presence within the Straw Hat Pirates as Nami, but I would hardly call that sexism. Since Water 7/Enies Lobby she’s been pretty content to go with whatever Luffy says, and the fact that she’s literally quieter than anyone else in the crew means she doesn’t get as much focus. I think there could be more scenes with her using her specific skill set, like her investigations in Wano and the forensic anthropology scene in the pre-Jaya chapters, but I’m okay with her being a supporting character.

The East Blue Crew have consistently gotten the most focus of any of the Straw Hats. They are the core of the crew, something Oda admits in a roundabout way in the Color Walk where they all appear together for the first time in a color spread

With the main cast as large as it is, not everyone is going to have the same amount of focus or development. Robin is given a unique voice within the story because she doesn’t overreact the way literally everyone else does. Through her silence, she stands out. I find there to be very meaningful character development when she feels comfortable enough with the Straw Hats to start calling them by name in Thriller Bark, relaxed enough with her friends to comitt her first facefaults in a series lousy with them in both Dressrosa and Wano.

In an ideal world, Oda would better rotate through his cast, much like how Brook was the unsung MVP on Whole Cake Island (where Nami was also excellent in a supporting role) but I don’t think people realize how hard it is to juggle almost a dozen different people in a story that’s bloated exponentially over time. To his credit, Oda has handled his expanding crew better than most writers.

I also find it hard to judge this aspect of the series because the manga’s not done yet. I don’t know how Robin and Nami will be used in the future. I mean, Robin never got a chapter title declaring her “The Seventh” which I find suspicious, so Oda could very well have events in store that completely turn our perceptions upside down. It’s impossible to say.

I will acknowledge that the lack of big fights is somewhat disappointing, but neither Robin nor Nami’s dreams revolve around them getting stronger. Robin doesn’t need to use her power to make people explode from the inside out, Nami doesn’t need to fry end-game bosses with her lightning stick. That’s simply not their narrative purpose. With the exception of Tashigi, I’ve found that the female characters advertised as fighters have lived up to their billing. Hancock came out of Marineford unscathed. Carrot’s sulong form was awesome, in the old-fashioned sense of the word. The whole climax of Whole Cake Island revolved around surviving Big Mom’s wrath. Not beating her, not fighting her, it took all the Straw Hats had to just survive. Once again you’re left with a number’s game where where there just aren’t enough female characters to even pretend things are balanced.

All said, I think if you’re going to complain about the lack of Robin fights then I think you also have to complain about the lack of Brook fights, and that’s just not something you hear about, especially after Whole Cake Island. You can’t have it both ways. Either there needs to be more even distribution of major fights throughout the entire crew, or you have to acknowledge that a character’s worth isn’t dependent on their fighting prowess.

One Piece is a battle manga, and I do think that it’s fair to criticize when a character isn’t allowed to fight when they’re perfectly capable of kicking ass. But it’s also an adventure story, and that opens up entirely new space for a character to occupy, and that’s where I think Nami and Robin (but especially Nami) really shine

That Moment You Realize Humor Isn’t A Universal Language

I’ve spent so much time defending Oda’s designs and characters that it might seem like I’m perfectly okay with everything that’s portrayed in the manga. To be clear, I’m not. If the messages and comments I’ve gotten over the past several days have taught me anything, it’s that many fans share the same sticking points I do, namely in regards to some of the gags.

I again want to be careful here, because I’m hardly an expert on Japanese culture and it’s really hard to tell if Oda writes his jokes because he thinks they’re funny, or if he thinks his audience will find them funny. I’m again going to default to somewhere in the middle, because if Oda truly found the perviness distasteful he probably wouldn’t have included it, and I’ve read enough SBS to know the guy likes his dick jokes.

First and foremost, one must address the culture gap. Japan ranks last among G7 nations on gender equality, In 2004 two-thirds of Tokyo women in their 20-30s reported to being groped while on public transport. There are numerous barriers that make it difficult for a woman to succeed either in the workplace or politics.

From what I can gather, some of these trends are reversing, albeit slowly and with great resistance. Contrary to what many people seem to believe culture is not always value neutral. And I say that as an American, recognizing there are plenty of things about my culture and country that are really fucked up.

But who gets to decide who’s right and who’s wrong?

When inside that kind of environment, that kind of culture, it’s a lot easier to understand how a character like Sanji can exist. It’s easy to understand why Momo shoving his face into Nami and Robin’s boobs might be played for laughs. It’s not an excuse, but an explanation. And with Sanji failing more often than not, being the butt of his own joke as he slowly turns into a parody of what he once was, one could almost say Oda is pointing those types of people and saying, “Look how pathetic this guy is. Now go laugh as he gets a nosebleed so bad he needs multiple blood transfusions in order to not die.”

I say almost, because Sanji is never condemned for his actions, nor does he learn from them. Instead you have this character who’s supposed to be one of the kindest characters in the series decide to immediately go peep on a woman’s bath house after gaining the power of invisibility.

Stay classy, Oda.

As distasteful as I find it, I don’t find fanservice to be an inherently evil thing that must be eradicated at all costs, and with Oda doing things like putting his entire cast, male and female, into skintight leathers you can hardly say that he’s excluding the men.

Everyone will have their line in the sand, and mine goes back to agency. When Nami did her Happiness Punch way back in Alabasta, that was of her own volition. When Nami and Robin dress in clothes that show everything but the nipple, that’s something they chose and feel comfortable in.

But when Smoker and Tashigi swapped bodies at Punk Hazard, Tashigi specifically asked Smoker not to strip, and he did anyway, opening her coat and removing her bra. This is especially egregious as Tashigi is one of the very few women in the series who is always shown wearing very conservative clothing. Oda specifically showed Tashigi getting upset at Smoker’s actions, and Smoker repeatedly refusing to listen to her.

That’s where I draw my line.

Some Final Thoughts I Couldn’t Fit Anywhere Else

Thought The First--Oda has an interesting habit of turning his most despicable, scummy pieces of flaming human garbage into the butt of the joke. Villains like Crocodile and Doflamingo are certainly evil, but it’s the idealized, cool type of evil that makes you almost admire them. There aren’t very many real-world Crocodiles, but just about everyone knows a Spandam, or an Absalom, or a Vander Decken. These kinds of villains aren’t scary because of their physical prowess, but their unyielding obsessions and the power they’re able to wring from the system, and -- surprise, surprise -- all three are either actively trying to be creepy sex pests or coded as such with the visual language of the comic.

And Oda turns them into a mockery.

While there are some who feel like not treating serious issues like sexual assault seriously are doing a disservice to people who have endured similar experiences I think there’s merit to turning them into a laughingstock. As someone much smarter than me said once, if an opinion cannot withstand mockery it’s revealed to be ridiculous, and these scummy-scum villains are certainly ridiculous.

Thought The Second--It’s hard to say how much sexism is a thing in-universe. Kuina is the only one who is explicitly told her dreams were impossible because of her gender, but with the recent reveal confirming that her family came from Wano, which in turn is based on Feudal Japan, it’s hard to say how widespread these beliefs are. Tashigi brought it up again at Loguetown and Bellemere specifically told her girls that they lived in an era where “girls needed to be strong, too”, but otherwise it’s not a topic that’s been explored in any depth

Thought The Third--The in-universe fetishization of mermaids has some implications that I think are unintended but worth discussing. Shirahoshi has a reputation of being one of the most beautiful women in the world despite not leaving her tower for over 10 years (she’s 16). Mermaids whose tails have split are worth less on the slave market than those whose are intact. Even Zoro erased Kokoro from his memory after meeting the more attractive Caime. It’s one of those odd things that when combined with the more obvious racism themes could have some unfortunate implications, and I think could have been avoided had Oda show a little more restraint with some of his jokes. Unintended consequences are still consequences.

Thought The Forth--There are many other instances throughout the series that people bring up with talking about sexism in One Piece. I feel like a lot of these can be explained away individually -- for example, both Belo Betty and Rebecca’s stripperific outfits were inspired by other media, the painting Liberty of the People and Red Sonja respectively; Lola chasing after an obviously abusive man makes a whole lot more sense when you meet Big Mom; Hancock’s love sickness could be seen as an emotionally stunted woman experiencing her first crush, etc., etc -- it’s when they’re all put together that they begin to read as “Problematic”.

It would be impossible to go over all these individually, but I tend to fall on the side of leniency. In the end, everyone has to make their own decisions based on their own values. I’m hardly unbiased, and my enjoyment for the series will undoubtedly make me look the other way when another might call the exact same incident The Worst Thing Ever. The thing is, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and most are convinced that theirs don’t stink. I include myself in that statement. In the end it’s a comic for kids. It’s supposed to be fun.

Thought The Last--I have spent entirely too much of my time writing this up, but in the end I guess I have to go back to what I said when I talked about my thoughts on Sanji: Everyone has their own personal line of acceptable bullshit, and for me Oda does more good than bad. Sanji specifically gets very little leniency from me because I don’t like a lot of the gross behavior Oda passes over as a joke. But the female characters themselves, generally speaking? They’re fine. There are other mangaka that have more equal male to female ratios or have women play more active roles in the story, but Oda does a lot better than most other shonen titles I’ve read.

It’s okay to be critical of media you enjoy. It’s okay to complain. But remember that One Piece is a very long series, and there are some fans who have been a round for literally decades. I myself started reading weekly around the time Duval was introduced, way back in 2008. Every time a new batch of fans comes in the same old arguments get stirred to the top of the pot: Sanji is a creep, Oda can’t draw women, why doesn’t Robin ever get to fight?

It can be exhausting to go through the same hoops time and time again. So if you’re someone who is being critical and feel like no one is listening, or that a bunch of fans are going out of their way to defend Oda, that could be one of the reasons why. They’re tired of having a series they enjoy be shit on.

There are other fans who legitimately don’t think that Oda’s done anything wrong, that jokes are just jokes. If you happen to fall in that category, remember that not everyone feels that way. Art reflects life, which in turn reflects art. One Piece is a few million copies away from outselling Batman. To say it isn’t influential to young readers, both in Japan and abroad, is beyond asinine.

I thank everyone who’s taken the time to read this so far. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how civil the discussion and my inbox as stayed. Even if I didn’t respond to your message, I promise that I did read it.

I wrote as much as I did because I know this is a topic a lot of people care about, and also so I hopefully don’t have to write about it again. A lot of hours has gone into this project, and it’s been exhausting, but in a good way, if that makes any sense. I’m ready to put it to rest.

I was joking with some friends that I think I’ve hit just about every hot topic issue now, so hopefully I can go back to fun questions like speculating if Wapol can eat a person and poop out a devil fruit.

Until then, Sarcasticles, out

#sexism #one piece #long post #sarc talks

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danwhobrowses · 4 years

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One Piece Chapter 1001 - Initial Thoughts

God this wait has felt like an eternity While the official release of Chapter 1000 has been out for about 11 days the fan translations of the chapter have been up a week longer

And 1000 was one hell of a show, hyping up a big moment as we look to go into the climactic stage of the raid

Spoilers for Chapter 1001, Support the Official Release as well!

A cool cover page to start with Jimbei getting some much-needed lounging, feels a bit like a Ponyo reference too

Big Mom shouting at Luffy like he hadn’t just introduced Kaido to the floor

Come on Zoro I’m pretty sure you know Ryou too

Killer...did you not have faith?

The image of Luffy with WB, Shanks, Oden, Rocks and Roger behind him though is a top notch image, interestingly no Blackbeard behind him either despite being recognized as a Yonko

Dang Oda really likes to draw Thunder Bagua doesn’t he?

This time though base Luffy survives so that definitely is growth

I never considered Kaido to be deceptively fast, especially given how we’ve never really seen his motion, but to be fast enough to bypass Luffy’s futuresight is a bad thing

EXCUSE ME ZORO WHAT STYLE!?

Zoro out here using Kin’emon’s moveset! That is definitely an upgrade for him to be able to cut fire

Prometheus deserves this though, he’s always been an ass and Zeus already gets cut in half by Brook all the time

‘Luffy don’t let your guard down’ as Luffy lets his guard down and gets saved by Law

Law this isn’t the time to be a tsundere Nakama, save the ‘I was gonna do it without you asking anyway’ stuff for later

Lots of scrub talk here, come on guys you’re supposed to be fighting 2 Yonko here

Oda really likes this Wano face doesn’t he?

But Law you too? You’re supposed to be the brain cell of the trio!

Kaido wanting to solo these guys is a worrisome thought though, does that mean BM may plan something else?

Zoro got the bandanna on so you know he’s on the serious shit

Please Killer, you’re cool and all but those are excuses, I mean you were fighting Zoro who was a sword short and had Gyukimaru prodding him in his blind spot, it’s hardly the same

Looks like Zoro’s gauging Enma’s power too much though, could this bite him if he goes too far?

As I thought, Kaido’s beginning to enjoy himself, which is a scary thought when the heroes are about to unleash their big guns

Luffy’s Kong Gun looks like the same pose as his Jet Pistol on Blackbeard in Impel Down

Out comes the Dragon again, everyone’s using their strong suits this round

Oda nooooooo, not another break! Our hearts can’t take it!

Well okay then Now we have a fight!

While the chapter didn’t divert away from the action it was good to at least find a stopping point to move on to a different part of the raid later, what mattered here though was showing that the Red Roc merely stunned Kaido a little rather than Bellamy’d him We also got to see Zoro show something new which was pretty cool, there’s much more to this fight and it definitely feels like the Yonko are the ones with the advantage, at the same time though I don’t think any of these five will quit

Perhaps it’ll reach a point where the crew comes to support, as well as any recovered minks (Carrot and Wanda for instance) as well as Marco and Yamato. But it is a matter of dealing with Perospero, King and Queen down below

Overall still an awesome chapter and we are hopefully getting to the part of Wano where Oda has been saying it makes Marineford look small. Just gotta wait that extra week again and hope for more to come.

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weirdofrustratedmakata · 4 years

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20 Things I Love About One Piece

Hey ya’ll! First entry on my ”revived” Tumblr blog is of course about One Piece. Just a quick background, I’m a One Piece fan since of young age (currently 24) and it has been my #1 Manga/Anime ever since. Most posts you’ll be seeing here will probably be about One Piece (+ other Manga/Anime I’m currently reading/watching, I’ve read/watched, Will read/watch +random thoughts +random creative writing of mine. So hope you’ll like what you’ll be seeing lol

Actually... Blog came from my Amino account hahaha (3yrs. ago lol)

Just going to repost it here for starters lol add me on Amino :D

https://aminoapps.com/c/one-piece/page/blog/20-things-i-love-about-one-piece/dv6d_DXsbu1klM4vGpeeWq1dMZN75vRZRYIP

Yo! For the 20th Anniversary of my favorite Manga/Anime, I've decided to create a list of the 20 Things I Love About One Piece

Of course, it is not in particular order and incomplete 'cause meeeeen words won't be enough to describe how much I (and we) love One Piece hahahaha

Sooooo... let us begin!

20. Art

I like the art of One Piece. The color balance and the style of Oda-sama doesn't hurt my eyes. This is one of the first things I look at in a manga I'll read or an anime I'll watch. If I don't like the art, I usually don't continue reading or watching it.

19. Storyline

Nuff said. The image says it all. I really salute Oda-sama's imagination. There's never been a dull moment in One Piece in my opinion (no bias). The story really progresses and continues in depth.

18. Action

What else are you looking for in a shonen manga/anime but action. Those awesome fight scenes and power upgrades. The different devil fruits maaaaaan what more can I say? Marines vs. Pirates fighting for glory satisfies me.

17. Drama

Aside from all the action and fighting, of course there's a reason behind them (those fights). The backstories and flashbacks bring tears to my eyes. (T_T)

16. Humor

This completes and balances the emotions. Who doesn't care for a good laugh aye?

15. History

I love how Oda-sama actually uses real pirates' names and real places for the characters and their backstories. There's research and context behind the characters and the story as a whole. History is incorporated and I like that. We like that, don't we?

14. Plot Twists

Everybody loves plot twists! Damn all those mysteries. These things give you the "ugh", "wtf", "da hell" kinds of emotions. And I can't get enough of all the plot twists One Piece offered and is yet to offer.

One of the best plot twists: SABO IS ALIVE MEN I KNEW IT!!!

13. Government

This really affects me. My friends asked me before why I like One Piece and I answered "It's because of the government vs. rebels kind of thing, the core that the gov't hides, and the heroes mistaken as foes, people's justice that is injusticed". And they tell me "WTF, you dig that deep? meanwhile me, just looking after the fight scenes". Maybe I'm a deep person or because this is what really happens in reality 'elite vs. masses' LOL

Ugh hate those tenryuubitos

12. Marines

I'm a girl but I'm a reservist in the army and ever since I've been a fan of military shizz. That is why I love the concept of the Marines and the ranks ooooh I love talking about ranks and even memorizing their insignias LOL

11. Cool antagonists

I have a love-hate relationship with all of One Piece's antagonists. What can I say? Doffy is cool. I hate Akainu but I think he is cool no he's not cool I take it back 'cause he's magma baby MAGMA FREAKING HOT MAGMA LOL and even if I reallyyyy hate Teach he's still cool with the way he talked to Luffy 'bout pirates' dreams.

10. Cool protagonists

What more can I say? Where can you ever find a protagonist whose power is rubber? What a foolish powerless character righttttttt *wink wink*

09. Awesome characters

All in all everyone's just awesome (well there are some 'ewww' characters like Wapol tho XD). I just don't know anymore. I really bow down to Oda-sama's imagination. Every character has an identity and a unique one at that. The different races. Amazing. All those different species too, men.

08. Nakama

True friends. True loyalty. True respect. Will never let you down. Will never leave you behind. Will always be there for you. Hands down.

07. Generation, Family, and Bloodlines

Man, how amazed I am thinking about Rayleigh-Luffy, Mihawk-Zoro, Zeff-Sanji, Yasopp-Usopp, Hiluluk-Chopper, Tom-Franky, Belmere-Nami, Olvia-Robin... Brook? Laboon-Brook... ugh The Donquixote family, now the Vinsmokes family and the Charlotte family?!!

06. ASL Brotherhood

This will forever be engraved in my heart

05. Portgas D. Ace

Sorry guys, no matter what you say I love Ace forever. Some say he's dumb for dying (and I respect everyone's opinion) but damn I like him still. He's freaking hot men, literally and figuratively. HE'S FIRE BAAABY FIIIIREE

04. Dreams

One Piece taught me a lot and one of them is to never stop dreaming... cliche but yeah, DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM!!!

03. Fighting

And so... Fight for your dreams... and Fight for what you believe in... conviction and virtue men awww suuuuuper

02. The Strawhats

MAN I LOVE THEM ALL

The question is will there be an addition to the crew? Mehehehe HYPE!!!

01. ONE PIECE

What the hell is One Piece anyway? Or maybe who? or where? The most intriguing part of it all. HAHAHA damn I LOVE ONE PIECE FOREVER!!!

tldr; sorry for the long post XD

The bottomline is I LOVE ONE PIECE

HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY ONE PIECE!!!

#weirdofrustratedmakata #mangaanime #shounen #onepiece #strawhat

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neverwatchedonepiece · 5 years

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652-654: "The Last - and Bloodiest - Block! Block D Battle Begins!", "A Decisive Battle! Giolla vs the Straw Hats!" and "Beautiful Sword! Cavendish of the White Horse!"

“Complication?”

YOU ARE A CELESTIAL DRAGON!!

Or is he...?

Shins of Steel

Usually leave the huge reveals to the end but I can’t wait to talk about this major plot point, since it’s knocked a dent into my immovable “All Celestial Dragons Are Wet Lettuces” viewpoint. It’s like I smugly posted a “Change My Mind” meme and Doflamingo cracked his knuckles and proved me wrong.

Or did he?

After opening with Rebecca and Cavendish in the Colosseum (more on that later), the story veered back to Law, Doflamingo and Fujitora. I thought, “This is nice. Haven’t seen Law in a while. Let’s see what the rascal is up to.”

He was pretty much where Oda had left him: running like hell from a chuckling Doflamingo. And he was still reeling from Doflamingo’s deception.

“I have no interest in your past!” Law proclaimed. Which was totally unfair because I was definitely interested. “The only people who can use the World Government to deceive us are Celestial Dragons!”

“So what?” Doflamingo answered.

At this point I figured Doflamingo somehow had them in his pocket. That Doflamingo was so wealthy and well-connected he could even manipulate them.

There was a flurry of attacks. Doflamingo pulled a Sasuke vs Orochimaru in the chuunin exams: wired up Law and pinned him to a tree. He was like, “You can’t buy any more time, Law.”

“You said it’s complicated before,” Law said, (buying time). What do you mean?”

But Doflamingo is not so easily led into talking.

“If you wanna chat, hand over Caesar and his heart first.”

“Caesar... no, those SMILEs are that important to you? I guess they are,” Law laughed. “Without the SMILEs, Kaidou’s gonna kill you and it’s all over for you.”

A different sort of attempt at buying time, as Law’s shit-talking made Doflamingo lose his temper and attack. Law shambled his way out of the literal bind but Doflamingo was too quick. It was lucky Fujitora was there because Doflamingo was ready to kill and loot for Caesar’s heart.

Boom went the gravity. Law was pinned to the ground beneath crushing force. (I think I’ve said this before but Fujitora’s power is... it’s just great.)

Doflamingo was like, “Wtf, Fujitora? I almost had him, you party pooper!”

Fujitora, who has played this entire situation suspiciously by-the-book, just said, “Gotta stop you right there, Heavenly Yaksha. I am here to arrest, not execute. Soz.”

Doflamingo had a quiet seethe to himself, then said, “FINE! But I need Caesar’s heart back.” Once Doflamingo stringed the heart into his hands, he cheered up a bit. The odds seemingly in his favour, he was more willing to talk. “By the way, you seem quite curious about that complication I mentioned. You wanna hear about it?”

At this point, I was thinking, “Law, if you do not say yes, I will start flipping tables.”

Luckily, Doflamingo was now in a talkative mood.

“A long time ago - it goes back eight-hundred years, Law - twenty kings from twenty countries came together at the centre of the world and formed one giant organisation. The World Government. The kings who created it decided to move to Mariejois and live there with their families. The Nefertari family of Alabasta refused, so there were nineteen, to be exact. The descendants of those creators who still live there and reign over the world are known as the Celestial Dragons. It means, however, that those nineteen countries lost their royal families eight-hundred years ago. In those countries, they elected new kings out of necessity and new royal families arose. In the case of my country, Dressrosa, the new royalty was the Riku Family. And the old family who moved to Mariejois as the creators of the world was the Donquixote family.”

THE DONQUIXOTE FAMILY.

“But, but, but....” I thought. “Weren’t all Celestial Dragons useless, dangerous spoiled brats like St Charloss and What’s-His-Face who washed up on Fishman Island?” Doflamingo is hyper-competent. How could this be?? Muh prejudices!

I guess that explained the Heavenly Yaksha nickname. Heavenly is similar to celestial, right? I suppose Vergo’s warning to Law, re. lack of knowledge on Doflamingo’s past also makes sense now. Law was technically pitting himself against a Celestial Dragon who can pull World Government-level strings.

Not only that, but it seems the situation really is complicated.

Because Doflamingo had a bit more to say.

“So you’re called a Celestial Dragon, Doflamingo!” Law raged.

“I was. But not anymore. What is bloodline? What is destiny? I don’t think there are many people who have lived such a chequered life as mine. I wish I could tell the story of my life before I met you, over drinks. But I don’t have time for that. I’ve got to do something about the Strawhats in Dressrosa. I know there are quite a few people who underestimated them and got hurt.”

THANK YOU, ODA!

The plot gods have answered my plea. But these answers have raised only more questions.

1. Doflamingo used to be a Celestial Dragon. Not anymore. What happened? Did he abandon the rank willingly or was it taken from him? The whole “What is bloodline? What is destiny?” stuff is highly suspicious. Makes me think Doflamingo is not a fan of the Celestial Dragons.

2. The Riku Family. They were the ones who took over. They were elected fair and square. Everything seemed to be fine. Until Doflamingo came back to claim the territory his family abandoned eight-hundred years ago. Why return to Dressrosa? The answer to this question is probably tied up with point one.

3. The Nefertari were Originals. Even back then, the future Celestials must have been total moonfruits because the Nefertaris were like, “Ehhhh, nah, you guys go and have a good time on your island.” Imagine being stuck with those losers for eight-hundred years? No thanks.

4. Not underestimating the Strawhats. Doflamingo is smart. He has seen these new whippersnapper pirates topple too many Big Names and institutions to ignore the threat they pose to his territory. I actually cheered when he said this. A villain who can lay aside ego for the sake of the task at hand. I suppose Doflamingo does have the benefit of hindsight. Crocodile never had that luxury.

After that, there was a funny scene with Caesar and a heart-swap (Law still has his heart! Those heat-seeking Karma missiles are locked on Caesar. (LOCK ONNNNN!)) Fujitora also heard a KABOOM of thunder from the direction of the sea, even though the weather was perfectly calm. Law knew that would be Nami. The Strawhats were heading his way.

This was not a good thing.

Amid the chaos, Law made a desperate bid for freedom. Doflamingo pursued. He tried to lure him away but unfortunately, Doflamingo is smart.

Which leads us nicely to...

Debatable, But Okay...

(Side note: I loved how Toei segued seamlessly from Doflamingo’s sinister villain reveal laughter to Brook’s cheerful deceit laughter in 653. Did me a big lol there.)

And at first it seemed like Brook had found a new pal on Sunny. Not only that... he had betrayed the Strawhats? Surely not?

Had Soul King placed his art above his solid gold friendships with Nami and Chopper? Why was he hanging with Giolla? This was an outrage!

Giolla wanted to surprise Law (and gain Donquixote points) by picking up Caesar in Sunny instead of the Strawhats. Oh, what an excellent day it had turned out to be. Her latest art transformation depicted the tragedy of Dressrosa so perfectly! And it would only take ten more minutes for Nami, Chopper and Momonosuke to become part of her art and suffocate.

Like a total rookie, she babbled her plan to Brook, who smiled (if he could smile) and nodded and played the perfect gentleman. In the background, the others wailed and lamented Brook deserting them for art.

“May I play a song to celebrate?” he asked.

“Of course!”

“Then could you turn my violin and bow back to normal, please?”

Oh, Brook, you absolute legend. As soon as Giolla made that fatal error, Brook said, “You see this violin? There’s a cane sword inside. I already cut you.”

Suddenly, Brook was the hero! (Brook is always the hero.) Imagine doubting him, Nami and Chopper, you silly sausages!

There was a bit I didn’t like much that followed when they bickered over who would cuff Giolla. Nami demanded that Brook or Chopper did it, which was ridiculous because they are Devil Fruit eaters. If they touched those cuffs, their strength would sap and Giolla could overpower them. Nami, you should have done it. Doesn’t matter if you think you’re a coward or you view yourself as weak, you should have taken one for the team there. Not cool.

They spent so much time bickering, Giolla woke up and they missed the opportunity to restrain her. They were forced into fighting. Which was actually kind of good, in the end. Nami, Chopper and Brook used their heads to outsmart Giolla’s Giant Picasso Form and fire a Gaon Cannon bolt. Then Momonosuke shanked her from behind when she was down. Nami finished her off with a thunderbolt.

Teamwork, amirite?

Unfortunately, Fujitora heard the thunderbolt and told Doflamingo. So when they sailed round to Green Bit to collect Law and Caesar, Chopper saw the horrendous sight of Doflamingo approaching at speed through his binoculars.

I hope he recovers soon.

Who Says Zoro Can’t Compromise?

Once again, the Strawhats have split up. Usopp and Robin have reunited with Franky at the King Riku Army HQ beneath Flower Field. Zoro originally left with Wicka to check in on Sunny and rescue the others from Giolla, but met Sanji and Foxfire on the way.

Wick was like, “Who dat?”

In keeping with the Legendary Heroes names, Zoro introduced Sanji and Foxfire as Spiral-Brows-land and Topknot-Land (lmao)

Zoro updated Sanji on the dire situation on Sunny. Of course, Sanji was intent on rescuing Nami and the others, so Zoro stayed behind with Foxfire to find Luffy.

Then Violet appeared like a ninja from the shadows to tell him Giolla had hijacked Sunny. How did she know this?

Turns out she has a Very Useful Power.

Clairvoyance. It usually means seeing into the future, but it can also mean gaining information about a person, including their location, through extra-sensory perception. Nice. For Violet, this means she can see things within a 4000km radius, top-down, as a bird would. She is a walking surveillance satellite and can see everything going on in Dressrosa. She guided Sanji to Sunny and updated him on what was going on in Sunny.

Like I said, a Very Useful Power.

But, since it is a Very Useful Power, the Donquixote Crew are not pleased that she’s betrayed them. Back at the palace, a new character called Gladius is Very Upset. Since he despises and wishes death upon people who cannot follow plans and are not punctual, I’m guessing Violet has used up her two strikes already and is dead to this hilarious weirdo.

(Why does his hair explode?)

Violet eventually picked up Sunny and informed Sanji the dreadfully bad news that Sunny had been struck by lightning. She was puzzled when Sanji did not react as expected. Instead, he boosted with fury to the ship, where, I expect, he was surprised to find Doflamingo doing the exact same thing.

“Watch this, Law!” Doflamingo laughed. “I will viciously slay your allies right before your eyes!”

Doflamingo sure knows how to turn the thumb screws and punish people, doesn’t he?

But Sanji was like, “NOT TODAY, SATAN!”

He smashed shins with Doflamingo.

And I cheered.

Sanji, you have just gained all your cool points back. I forgive you for being distracted by Violet.

(Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Bartolomeo recognised Zoro and totally splooshed on sight.)

Rebecca and Cavendish: You Beautiful Legends!

Now Doflamingo has spilled some of the beans on his past, his treatment of Rebecca is odd. If he wanted to get rid of the Riku Family, he could have easily killed her years ago. It’s almost like he wants to drag their memory and reputation thoroughly through the mud. If it’s a propaganda campaign, it makes sense. Keep the people blind to what’s been going on by dangling the scapegoat in front of them. But this is a cruel and unusual punishment. It’s almost like he actually *hates* the Riku family. Or am I reading way too much into this?

In the first scene of 652, Rebecca walked out into the ring. The way Oda had the crowd behave - reduced to shadows, red-eyed, shrieking, inhumane shapes - might be a dig at the sorts of people who love blood sports. Animals and humans risking their lives to entertain uncaring humans and prop up gambling industries.

The insults they hurled at Rebecca were harsh. “Drop dead, Rebecca!” “Foul blooded!” “Today’s your execution day!” “The shame of Dressrosa!” And the worst one, for some reason, “Set her on fire! That’ll make her pyro grandfather happy.”

Ooft.

Well, it was pretty disgusting, and I wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Enter Cavendish on his Farul, his white horse.

Ohhhhhh, he was not happy. Not happy at all. He heaped abuse on the crowd and called out their rank hypocrisy.

“ENOUGH! I don’t care why you hate her so much but she’s a young woman who stands in the ring putting her life on the line. You guys are not risking yoru lives so you have no right to jeer at her. If you really want to kill her, take a weapon and come down to the ring yourself! The voices of people who have no guts are nothing but irritating noise! I have my reasons for entering this competition, but even so, I cannot stomach it. The lives and deaths of warriors are not a show!”

Well, Cabbage just earned himself some major cool points there. I was like, “YOU TELL ‘EM, CABBAGE! NO MERCY!”

Even Luffy agreed. “Oh, Cabbage spoke up and said the right thing. I’m impressed!”

Well.. sort of.

“Still don’t like him, though.” (Lmao, Luffy.)

Cavendish’s impromptu speech had an interesting effect on the crowd. They still hate Rebecca but instead of focusing their abuse on her, they decided they would use all that energy to support Cavendish, instead.

It’s a win-win situation. Rebecca can kick-ass in peace and Cavendish, well, since the crowd started chanting his name, he had a tear-filled, “YOU LOVE ME! YOU REALLY LOVE ME!” moment.

He’s already contemplating his media strategy.

Classic Cavendish.

When Doflamingo’s here, and you feel the end is near.

Diarrhea. Diarrhea.

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slbp-secret-cupid · 6 years

Text

Relaxation Therapy

This is my fanfic for the exchange. It is a pretty long Toshihisa fic. There is smut at the end so I was planning on just having the first few sentences be readable and then have the read more bar after that. I’m a nervous wreck since this is the first fic I’m posting so pray for your girl. And thank you so much for putting this thing together. I had a lot of fun participating!!

RELAXATION THERAPY for @ravenhaired-mc

By: @jojobah526

A small shift by his side was what woke him that morning. Usually no one would take notice of such a minuscule movement, but he did. He always paid attention when it came to her. No one else could ever compete when it came to winning his attention, and frankly he should be quite disappointed in himself for allowing it to get to this point. His whole life he had been taught to focus on the matters of his clan and well being of his people, yet she had crept her way into his heart and soul. Honestly though, how could he be upset when it was the love of his life that caused it to be this way.

Just like any morning the futon was warm from his sleeping form, accompanied by the sun shining through the morning sky. Yet it was her warmth that seeped it’s way into his very being. Warmth like no other he had ever known. It was becoming quite hard for him not to simply wake up with a smile gracing his lips every single morning. Was this what pure bliss was? It was undoubtedly the closest he had ever come to it.

He cracked his eyes open slowly, adjusting to the pounding rays of the daylight. One glance to his side granted him a look to her. Her mouth slightly ajar, small snores filling the otherwise quiet air. Peaceful was the best way to describe it. He reached over to her, his thumb softly stroking her cheek. Her lips spread into a small smile, making his heart jump in his chest. Oh what this woman did to him.

He sat up slowly, skin prickling ever so slightly to the cold air of winter, the contrast between it and the warmth of the futon very evident. In the next few months spring would be on it’s way, but for now the February air left a pleasant zing in his blood. Maybe come spring he could take her to see the cherry blossoms bloom, they could take a pleasant stroll and view the flowers that she so shamelessly loved. Before her these thoughts would have never taken root in his mind, so used to focusing on his clan and it’s well being alone. Now however, he caught his mind constantly drifting to her. Everything reminded him of her somehow, though he would never admit it.

He truly was in love with her. There was no doubt about it in his mind that she was truly destined to find him. Soulmates would be the best way to put it. She was the lost puzzle piece that completed him. Cheesy, romantic things only found in the books he would hide away for late night reading in secret, he truly never thought it would have a place in his life.

Hell before she stumbled into his life he was content on being alone forever. He adopted Keiji so the Meada Clan would continue on after he passed. His sole purpose in this life was to be the head of the clan, looking after his people and their well being. Nothing else had really mattered. Then came stumbling in this tiny little cook (quite literally she fell onto him during their first ever encounter) and his world was flipped upside down. He smiled gently at the memory of that fated day.

She awoke to the ghost a feeling as if someone brushed against her face, consciousness coming to her slowly. The sun was blocked out by the silhouette of the man next to her. When she was fully coherent she took in the fact that Toshisha was sitting up in the futon, clearly in deep thought about something. The small smile that sat on his handsome face sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach. How had she gotten so lucky as to be with this man? Someone up above was really looking out for her in this life, that was for sure. She thanked the gods everyday for allowing this to be her life and allowing her to be with the man that she loved.

Not wanting to interrupt the moment he was clearly having, she continued to admire him silently. From the top of his black hair to the tip of his toes, Toshihisa was undeniably gorgeous. His eyelashes fanned out so beautifully against his cheeks, his lips thinner than hers yet so plush and kissable right now. Then there was the matter of those eyes. Those red eyes that just seemed to pierce her very soul. Those eyes intimidated men with a single glance yet looked upon her with such soft, tender love.

Though she would love to enjoy this peaceful scene forever, she also knew soon enough she would be needed in the kitchens for breakfast preparations.

“Toshihisa” She whispered.

That seemed to catch his attention quickly enough, his eyes coming to rest on her.

“Good morning” he whispered back, his voice still raspy from sleep.

She couldn’t help but giggle at the flush of embarrassment across his cheeks, it was rather endearing.

Peaceful mornings like this had luckily become routine around the castle, war hadn’t been on anyone’s mind in quite a while. The lands they governed had been prosperous. It was almost too good to be true. It reminded her of life back in Kyoto with her mom and little brother.

She smiled fondly at the memory of her old life. From what she read from the letters she had been receiving as of late. The restaurant had booming since Inuchiyo and Toshihisa had run that wicked magistrate running for the hills. It had been a very interesting “meet the family” moment to say the least. Yahiko was stepping up and working even harder to become an even better chef than he already was. Their father’s culinary legacy would not be forgotten anytime soon.

Reeling herself in from her thoughts she noticed one of the maids making their way over to her. A friendly smile lit up her face as she announced she had been tasked in making sure this letter found its way to her.

She thanked the maid kindly, turning her attention to the letter now in hand. She recognized the swirling text immediately. It had to be from her dear European friends Fran and Lu. She tucked it away in her robes for after breakfast service.

Once her duties for the morning were complete, she allowed herself to pat the area where the letter had been hidden away. Excitement bubbled up inside her, prompting her to hastily make her way back to her private quarters. She slid the door closed and made her way to her quaint desk.

She glanced down at the letter in her hand, excitement practically rolling off her in waves at this point. Ever since she received it that morning, she had been buzzing to open it. Fran and Lu had been sending her messages for a good while now. Since her coming to live at the castle with Lord Toshihisa, they had been dying to meet him. They had promised in the last letter that when they had some free time on their hands they wanted to get together. It had been quite a while since they had seen each other in person. In fact the last time she had seen her friends had been a random visit back when she was still at Lord Nobunaga’s castle, though in the time between then and the present so much had changed and letters could only hold so much information.

Her deft fingers tore the letter open in record speed. Her eyes scanned the page, taking in the words quickly.

“Our dearest friend, we finally shall have enough time on our hands and we wish to be able to come visit you as soon as possible. We simply cannot wait to see you once more and are absolutely besides ourselves with excitement to meet this man who has stolen your heart. To think our sweet friend has found herself a man, why the happiness alone is enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Hope to see you soon,

- Francesco and Luis “

With the Europeans being in town, Nobunaga had sent orders to Toshihisa to make sure to gain their good graces. It would be a piece of cake considering his love’s connection with them, but lord was he dreading what came along with it.

It wasn’t the first time Nobunaga had thrust a task such as this in his lap, and it surely wouldn’t be the last. One thing never changed, and that was the stress that came with Oda’s orders. It always meant Toshihisa would be doubled down, doing triple the workload he was used to. Letters upon letters would have to be worked on, reports would need to be sent, and of course he would have the manage his usual work on top of all of this.

He grimaced down at the letters on his desk he already needed to answer, praying the work would get done quickly enough.

He placed his fingers on his temple. There was sure to be a pounding pain blooming there soon enough.

Toshihisa had informed her of Nobunaga’s request that night. They lay together in their futon facing each other like any other night, but as soon as it was out in the air her nervous couldn’t be calmed. Orders from Nobunaga were always stress inducing, it was just fact at this point. It had been that way when she was in Owari and that hadn’t changed now.

She could see the fatigue already sinking into him, the dark circles under his eyes taking residency upon his handsome face. His eyes closed much sooner than usual as they rest there together in the futon. Though he lie there sleeping, he looked anything from peaceful.

A twist of guilt started to build in her gut. She knew Nobunaga was aware of her relationship with Fran and Luis. Of course he would then see an opportunity with them being in the area. He never missed a chance to expand his influence, yet she hadn’t seen it coming.

She sensed deep down inside that she was going to be the cause of so much of Toshihisa impending stress this next little while. That didn’t sit well in her heart. She knew how hard he worked, and adding this onto his plate wasn’t a great feeling. She also worried for his health. He hadn’t had any scares as of recent but that didn’t ease the tightness that crept it’s way into her chest at the thought.

Rummaging through her mind, all that came up was the fact that she could act as his page, help him with letters and ease this process as much as she could. But she wanted to do more, beyond what she usually could do to ease this burden.

She fell asleep that night, determined to help her lover get through this somehow.

She recognizes the tell tale signs of him staying up far longer than normal, waking up with deep set circles under his eyes every morning. His shoulders seemed to stay tense, probably from all the late nights bent over answering letters. Yet throughout it all he had still taken the time to check on her, make sure she was doing okay, just all in all being a wonderfully, attentive lover.

She wanted to do something for him, simply staying up and helping him with this work was nice, but not good enough. He was more than grateful for her kindness but she wanted to do more for him. Trying to rack her brain for ideas she came up empty once again. It was very frustrating, feeling like she did nothing but add to his workload because of her friendships.

There had to be something she could do for him. She just had to figure out what that would be. In the meantime she devoted herself to answering letters and trying her best to ease Toshihisa worries.

That night as they lay in bed, she watches him closely. The rise and fall of his chest normal as ever. There was however a small crease on his forehead. A minuscule thing that bothered her to no end.

Gently leaning over, she planted a small kiss over it. That seemed to do the trick. The muscles of his face visibly relaxed, smoothing out to a peaceful expression.

She had to figure something else out, she just had to.

The day for her dear friends arrival was almost here at last, yet she had still not figured out how else to assist Toshihisa. Every time she wracked her brain for ideas, she came up short handed. Maybe it was all the stress clogging her thinking process, hell maybe she was simply overthinking. Regardless it was quite aggravating for her to not be able to come up with sufficient ideas.

Toshihisa had luckily had a break since most of the letters had been sent off already. She took pride in being able to help him effectively finish those off. Though he still had his regular duties to attend to.

She had been brewing him special tea that a healer in town had suggested. It had been very essential in healing his sickness back in it’s rough patches. She silently thanked the gods that she hadn’t had to break it out in quite a while.

Maybe she was being a worrywart, but she wanted to make sure Toshihisa didn’t fall ill once again. She had seen how far her lover had come, and didn’t want this stress to deter his healing. After she made sure the water was nice and hot, she took her leave.

Tea set in hand, she strode off making sure to carefully carry everything. She smiled to a few retainers as she brushed by them in the corridor. No one knew of his previous sickness, so she made sure to make it seem like a normal tea service.

The steam from the cup seeped into his pores. The aroma wafting into the air.

Sipping on freshly brewed tea always soothed his nerves. She seemed to always know exactly when he needed this. He knew it was to boost his health as well. He tried not to think too much of the time where his condition ruled his life. She had bared witness to quite a few attacks since coming to live here at the castle. Throughout all of it she had been there, the fits, the blood, all of it. Though that was in the past, he knew she probably still had it on her mind. Her thoughtfulness never failed to warm his heart.

Luckily he had been feeling alright besides the usual fatigue that came with working hard. He knew she was worried about him and made a mental note to thank her for her kindness greatly after all of this was done.

He sighed looking down at what all he needed to finish up before the Europeans arrived. Though it was still a few days off, he wanted to finish up everything he could in order to truly devote time to meeting and aquatinting himself with them, more so for his lover than for Nobunaga.

From what his love had told him, they were both quite interesting people. They have knowledge unprecedented to the common man residing here. Their wares were intricate, they had customs beyond our wildest dreams and apparently their stories of romance are quite out there. He remembered her cheeks flushing ever so slightly when she mentioned it to him the first time.

He smiled softly, it was sure to be an interesting visit to say the least.

Luis and Francisco arrived early that morning. She was awake anyway, the excitement of seeing them after so long keeping her from sleep.

When news reached Toshihisa and her, they quickly made their way to the main hall. They finally made it in front of the doors leading to the main hall. Glancing to her side she noticed Toshihisa’s eyes seeking hers. Turning to meet his gaze, she was met with a tender expression.

How he managed to work himself to the bone and still look so handsome and grace her with such a beautiful love filled smile was beyond her. He motioned to the door, gently urging her to open it.

To no surprise they were both greeted with giant grins and even bigger hugs. It was what she had come to expect from her friends. Laughing at their greetings she took a peak at Toshihisa to find a slight blush on his cheeks.

She giggled slightly at his taken aback look. He couldn’t say she didn’t warn him.

They exchanged pleasantries, discussing their travels and business ventures with Toshihsa. As time passed she could tell he was getting more comfortable around them. It was good to see him sporting a small smile instead of that signature glare he had with new people.

The conversation flowed naturally, the air so friendly and familiar. She noticed Luis had jumped headfirst into an impassioned tale about “young love in Europe”. The blush was sure to be back on dear Toshihsa’s face in no time.

Smiling quietly to herself she caught Fran’s eye. He motioned for her to come closer, a grin teasing his lips.

“You two truly are the picture of love. He is quite fetching my dear, I’m glad you snacthed him up before I could get my hands on him” he whispered into her ear.

It was her turn to have a blush flare on her cheeks. He winked at her, the grin turning to a full on smile.

It gave her a deep sense of satisfaction to know that they did come off as a loving couple. She really did trust Fran when it came to love. He had always had a good eye for it. With all his knowledge he was sure to have quite a few magical tricks up his sleeve.

In that moment something clicked in her mind. Surely Fran and Lu would have some kind of idea for what she could do for Toshihisa. This was exactly what she needed.

Toshihisa was truly not prepared for the whirlwind that was the Europeans. They were quite vocal and had no shame when it came to matters of love, even more shockingly when it came to sex. He doubted he would be forgetting any of the things that Luis whispered in his ear.

Though it was a shocking experience he could confidently say he enjoyed his time around him and was almost sad to part ways to work on his final report.

Francesco shouted to him as he they parted ways, “Till we meet next time, It was quite the pleasure talking to you Lord Toshihisa” . The tone mixed with the flirty wink at the end left his cheeks red once again.

Almost sad was correct.

They all sat in her chambers, smiles wide and bright. Having Fran and Lu with her in private gave her the perfect opportunity to discuss some questions she had involving their ideas when it came to romance.

“Fran, Lu…. Can I ask you something that might be a bit embarrassing?” simply putting the words out there had a blush flaring on her face. They both nodded, signalling her to continue.

“ I want to do something for Lord Toshihisa, just some way that I can truly show my love and appreciation for him that is kind of outside the normal here”.

They looked between each other, a gleam in their eyes. If she was anyone else she may be a bit intimidated right now, but knowing them it was going to be quite interesting indeed.

“Well you know, in Europe we have this Holiday called “Valentine’s Day”. It is the perfect time for romantic endeavors and trying some new exciting things with your lover”

Luis nodded along, adding in his own things here and there.

“We could definitely take some inspiration from the Holiday, it may be a few days late but ehh it’s the thought that counts”.

They all sit there brainstorming ideas till they have a makeshift plan. Realizing they need supplies they propose a shopping trip into town. She wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to have more time with them and also have the help in spoiling Toshihisa.

They make it out into the town together to gather everything she would need for this randevu of hers. She finds the ingredients for the sweets easily enough, that is of course he area of expertise. She had come up with that part of the plan a good while ago. Everything else she left up to them.

They made a point to take her to the book sellers. She immediately sees the covers of the books they are reading through and a blush forms on her cheeks. The lovers guides hadn’t been in her life personally though she had seen them before. She had noticed many of the maids around Nobunaga’s castle reading them before she departed, noting that they seemed to be quite popular and very much in demand. To think they had made it all the way here though just confirms they are growing in popularity.

Fran and Luis both searched through the copies, their unabashed quest drawing the attention of some of the other customers. It was amazing how much they couldn’t care less, especially when the mere glance at the section would tend to leave the majority of patrons rosy cheeked .

They quickly found just the one they were looking for, noting that is looks to be a new edition of the books. Titled simply “How to please your lover”, the name alone would turn heads, she couldn’t imagine actually reading it.

From there they continued on their quest. Luis talked about small details that could really make a huge difference in a romantic night. Scent and ambience were the next areas they wanted to tackle. Moving along the lines of shops they finally found what they seemed to be looking for. Fran purchased a variety of scented oils while Luis opted for an array of candles.

The two of them beamed at their finds, telling her confidently that this plan was going to be absolutely jaw dropping.

She could only hope it went as well as they believed it would.

After a long day of gathering goods they finally made their way back to the castle. They hand over all the goodies, smiles gracing their lips at all they were able to accomplish on their trip. The sun setting against the castle gates alerting them to the realization they would be parting ways in the next few minutes. Fran and Lu looked at her proudly. They gave warm, tight hugs and bid each other farwell, making her promise to write them about how it goes.

She waved them off, only heading in when the sun was almost set and they could no longer be seen. A orange hue filled the evening sky. A sign for what she hoped was good fortune to come.

Smiling at the items in hand, she silently thanked her European friends once again. Their help had been what she needed this whole time. She was absolutely determined for this to be good for Toshihisa. Now with the help of the boys she has high hopes for the actual event.

Once back inside the castle she made a beeline for her room, she had a new pep in her step. She gazed down at the thick book in her hand, a light blush forming once again. She would have a lot of heavy reading to get done that night. God’s help her soul.

He noticed that she seemed a bit antsy the past few days. He simply put it down to that fact that she was excited about her European friends coming to visit after so long. He hoped that was all it was. If something was amiss she would surely come to him about it. His heart stuttered in his chest, he prayed he didn’t do something wrong.

He calmed himself down quickly enough, he knew she loved him and that he was stressing himself out for nothing. They had a relationship where they could simply come to each other is something was wrong.

Toshihisa had some deep rooted insecurities, he had talked to her about it before as good lovers do. He always thought deep down inside that she was too bright for him. A man who felt so truly undeserving of her love. He was awkward at times never having a true lover before. He knew he came off kind a gruff sometimes,and he scowled far too often for his own good. There was also the fact that he was pretty positive that his brother was in love with her. Though since they had become a couple, Toshiie had been nothing but supportive.

Then came the matter of his health. Though it was currently on the incline he knew his lingering sickness had caused her so much worry. She had seen her fair share of coughing fits that stained his fingers crimson. She has smelt the air turn to an unforgiving copper stench far more than he would like to recall. Yet she didn’t turn her back on him, simply rubbing his back and healing his soul with her teas and devoted love. She was a gift from the gods to him truly.

He shook his head, clearing the negativity in his mind. Every night she still lay beside him, always being there in the morning. He was probably simply overthinking the whole situation. It wouldn’t have been the first time. The stress from Nobunaga’s orders was obviously still taking its toll on him.

She sets up a romantic atmosphere, following the tips given by her foreign friends. Tonight would be the night it finally happened. Toshihisa has commented about how his work was finally done, which made this night the perfect opportunity.

She scattered petals all over the floor, lit candles and laid out a fresh set of bedding in the middle of the floor, making sure to follow the plan precisely. She had been working on a new dessert to feed to Toshihisa as well. She had finally mastered it the night before, a fresh batch on the floor on a tray. It had all been coming together just as planned.

She opened up the lovers guide that Fran and Lu had gifted her that day in town. She had stashed it away in her secret drawer, reading from it to figure out what exactly she wanted to try.

She opened it once again to refresh her memory before the big event. Though a lot of the things in this particular addition would leave most people flushed, she pushed through. It had been very embarrassing at first but she had gotten so into it at this point she couldn’t be deterred. She desperately wanted to make this good for her lover and convey just how much she loves and appreciates everything he does.

The guide speaks of kissing and caressing your partner in certain places and how no matter the gender of your lover, these will surely get them excited. The depictions, though embarrassing to look at, were actually quite helpful. Who would have guessed that seeing how it was done would make her feel so more confident in herself.

The time was quickly approaching that she had asked him to meet her by. Her heart rate accelerated as the time grew nearer, equal parts excitement and nervousness. She was thrilled to get this opportunity though, Toshihisa deserved this.

Toshihisa is completely and utterly shocked to say the least. Entering the room like he always did after a long day, shoulders sunk in a bit from the amount of weight they carried on them. He closed the door routinely, only to turn and finally notice the display. You could visibly see the look of utter astonishment on his face. His mouth slightly agape, his eyes flitting across the room finally stopping to take her in.

She took his hand in her own, leading him into the middle of the room. The faint glow of the candles illuminated their bodies in the dark room. Fran was right, this was quite romantic.

Smiling at his still shocked expression, she guided him to lay him down in the bedding, both of them now sitting on it facing one another. Everything was going according to plan which settled the racing of her heart a bit.

”Toshihisa, would you care for some sweets” she whispered, finally breaking the silence.

He was still very much entranced, only responding with a quiet nod.

Giggling at his antics she moves the tray over to the futon. She had specially made these treats for him, pouring in as much love as she could. They were a type of mini castella. Sweet bite sized treats that had him moaning at the first bite, sugar melting on his tongue, overwhelming his taste buds in the best way.

After his stomach was full she moved behind him to massage his shoulders, easing the tension of all the long nights he has spent of late, diligently working for his clan. He allowed moans to spill from deep within as she really gets in there deep, a twinge of pain and pleasure from the pressure sending him into a blissful state. She smiled down at him, watching him slowly loosening up at last.

From there she worked her way into his hair, massaging his scalp with finely scented oil. His silky hair felt even softer as the oil was massaged in. She always did love his hair. Such a gorgeous color for a gorgeous man, her gorgeous man at that. The aroma wafted through the air adding to the already soothing, yet sultry atmosphere.

Once he was nice and relaxed she faced him, making her way into his lap. They exchanged sweet smiles, the love between the two radiating so bright. She leaned down, placing a warm, chaste kiss to his lips, leaving behind a whisper of a smile.

“I love you” she spoke then, the small smile on his face becoming wider and the blush on his cheeks becoming more evident.

“You are my world Toshihisa”

“As are you mine my love”

Bringing her face closer to his, she brushed his nose softly with her own.

“Please let me show you how much I appreciate you, Milord”

He grunted at that. The way she practically purred the word struck a chord in him, heat quickly pooling between his legs. She was always beautiful but in this moment he was putty in her clever fingers.

She mustered up the courage to bring her lips to his neck, leaving a peck as light as a feather in its wake. He tensed at that, almost as if it has tickled him.

Smiling gently to herself, she continued leaving the trail of butterfly kisses up and down his neck, finally bringing her mouth to his ear. She licked the shell of it, a delicious moan cascading from his parted lips.

Following the guides instructions, she blew slightly. Goosebumps arose all across him, his nerve ends standing on edge, waiting for her next move.

She gently took his earlobe between her teeth, nibbling slightly. She gave it a light tug, playfulness winning over.

She pulled back just enough to catch a glimpse of his expression. He looked absolutely ravished. The flush of his cheeks suited his blown out pupils. It was a delicious sight to see indeed.

A bead of sweat rolled down his neck just then. She didn’t miss her opportunity, leaning down to lap it up, worshiping his skin with the tip of her tongue.

“Please” he whimpered, voice sounding almost pained.

She took mercy on him, pulling back to undress him slowly. The flush from his skin made its way down his parted collar. She wanted to see more, to take him all in, to worship every inch of his body.

She finally got him naked, eyes raking his bare form. His robes discarded to the side, finally out of her way. Hunger claimed her very being, he was hers and hers only.

He was panting now, she continued making teasing touches all over his body, never enough to satisfy the hunger that steadily built up inside him.

He gets restless, squirming under her touch, begging to be able to touch her too. She smirked at that. Seeing him looking so wrecked was quite the turn on, desperation looked really good on his usually collected features.

Having some mercy on him, she allowed him to undress her. The urgency of his actions obvious in the way he practically ripped her robes from her body. The cool air hitting her skin in an instant, drastically different than the warmth she felt on the inside.

He embraces her strongly, pulling her body to his, heat radiating between the two of them as they finally lay skin to skin. They shared fevered touches, hands grabbing, squeezing and feeling what all they could reach.

He allows himself time to explore her as she did him. Taking his time mapping out the curves of her, so different from his own. She was so soft and pliant under him now, allowing him to finally do as he pleased. The power back in his hands awoke something inside of him. A lustful thirst that he desperately wanted to be quenched. His mind was racing with all the possibilities, what he could do to her, what they could do together.

He sucked in a quick breath of surprise ,choking a bit from shock. His thoughts coming to an abrupt stop, feeling her hand wrap around his length. He sat there frozen, his brain not wanting to function. She took hold of him once more, slowly pumping him up and down, flicking her wrist the way she knew he liked. In his moment of shock, she bent down leaving a feather light kiss to the tip, beaming up at him afterwards.

That look wasn’t fair. She wasn’t fair, taking him by surprise like this. He groaned feeling his release building up, slowly but surely. The teasing from earlier taking its toll. White brimming at the edge of his vision. So much for him taking control after all. He placed his hand over her own, signalling her to stop. He didn’t want this to end so soon, not when the fun was only starting.

Her hands released him, falling back at her side for the time being. She looked to him then, trying to gauge what his next move would be. He pulls her to him once again, taking her by surprise. Suddenly so close together once again they find each other in a searing kiss, his tongue quickly finding itself tangled with hers. They explored each others mouths like it was the first time, not leaving an inch unclaimed. They stay like this for a good while, kissing , touching and just enjoying eachothers company. It became hard to breathe but neither of them cared in the slightest. They both wanted to take their sweet time with this, savouring the moment they finally got to have after all this stress.

It was a nice feeling to not be so rushed for once.

Wanting to treat his lady right, he laid her on her back gently, his hand coming to rest on her breast. The supple softness of it in his hand did wonders for him. He massaged the breast in his hand while his mouth claimed her other. Biting on her perky nipples, enjoying the reactions he got out of her. He pinched the one currently in his hand, loving the sharp intakes of breathe above him. Those sounds she made always drove him crazy. Wanting to hear more he makes sure to tease both breasts equally , leaving a few marks in their wake. Leaning back he admired his handy work, she was marked as his and he loved it more than he should.

He wastes no time in allowing his hands to find their way to her heat, feeling the pool of her arousal cover his hand. Sure proof that she had been enjoying herself just as much as he had.

His fingers ran across her folds, gathering what liquid he found there. He hummed with approval at the juices running down his digits. Bringing them up to his mouth he licked the clean, grinning down at her deep set blush.

“Delicious, I would expect nothing else from my sweet girl”

She whimpered at that, clearly enjoying being teased like this.

“Seems I haven’t had my fill, maybe I need an other taste” he whispered , slowly leaning down and lapping his thick tongue over her entrance. Her thighs clenched, body jolting at the new sensation. He takes his time thoroughly tasting her, making her thrash above him. He switched between pumping his tongue in and out to gently sucking on that little bundle of nerves. She was seeing stars, panting his name like it was a prayer. He didn’t stop till her thighs closed around his head, shaking from her blinding release.

She lay there panting, looking so fucked out but still greedy for more. She spread her legs further apart, luring him into her once more. Begging to be taken. He lined himself up, so ready to be one with her. He teased her entrance earning him a small gasp, she was surely still sensitive. He pushed on, entered her slowing. Loving the feeling of finally coming together. He allowed her time to adjust, only starting to move when she whined out a his name.

The sounds of their wet skin bounced off the walls mixing in perfectly harmony with the passion filled moans filling the space around them. Whimpers, gasps and whines came together to make a sympathy of their love. They switched position, allowing her to lay in his lap, a position quite intimate and very much appreciated. The pace was slower, really allowing for her to take her time, swiveling her hips, grinding down for more friction. Chest to chest like this allowed for a closer view of their faces. Smiles making their way to their lips. It was a sweet moment which soon turned to a kiss.

He could tell she was getting a bit tired, desperation marking her actions. He gently placed her back on the futon, allowing him to take the lead once more. He guided himself back into her, mustering all his strength to push them both over the edge. She felt the second wave of blinding pleasure take her. Her body shaking a bit with the intensity of it all. He pounded into her mercilessly, a final wanton moan escaping his lips and he poured himself into her, collapsing onto her body. They were both truly spent.

They lay there, gathering their breath, their skin cooling from all the sweat. He pulled out of her gently, grabbing his forgotten robes to wipe her down softly. She hummed, feeling like her bones were jelly.

“That was… extraordinary” she whispered.

He leaned over, leaving a warm kiss to her puffy lips.

“It certainly was” his eyes started to droop.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself Toshihisa”

“Thank you… for all of this” he whispered back, holding her gently in his arms. “I needed that”.

“I love you”

“I love you too”

Those were his final words of the night as sleep finally claimed him.

She lay there, Toshihisa asleep with his arms wrapped around her protectively. He looked absolutely at peace in that moment. No signs of tension or stress could be found. He was peacefully sleeping, making her heart feel so full and content. Mission accomplished.

She silently thanked everyone who helped her get to this point. Fran and Lu would most definitely be getting a letter about how well their plan went. Laughing quietly to herself she peaked at him one more time, leaning up to place a gentle kiss on his lips. His mouth twitched into a small smile of his own, matching the one that found itself on her face. Settling herself back down in his arms, she snuggled closer to him, finally closing her eyes to join Toshihisa in a deep and well deserved sleep.

#slbp #2019SLBPCupidExchange #slbp toshihisa #smut #jojobah526 #ravenhaired-mc #fanfic #submission

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shogetsus · 6 years

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Stripes of Auburn, Eye of Sapphire

11. Mai

Read on Ao3 | Read on FFN | Masterlist

Summary: “Well, Nobunaga, I’m not ‘bedding’ you,” With her chin perked up, she meets his crimson gaze, determined to stand her ground. “I don’t like you that way, I’m afraid.”

Nobunaga cracks up a pleased smirk. “What you like and what you don’t is of no matter to me…”

And with that statement, they’re back in court. However, he doesn’t yet attempt to make a move to stand nor threatens to approach her in any way, leaving her to ponder on it. Does he truly seem to believe she’ll do whatever whim he has it merely because he said so?

Spoiler alert! - Shingen's route. TW: Sexual innuendo

Mai

“Tonight, I shall bed you.”

Nobunaga’s declaration drifts onto his royal quarters to the very edge of the door she’s currently frozen in place, his commanding voice feeling like a slap in the face. Is she really hearing him right? He wants her to sleep with him? As if like… having sex?

“Don’t be shy, little fireball. Come in, now,” He seems pleased with himself—as he always does when he orders her around, for that matter—not bothering with extricating himself from his work desk just yet.

Mai’s body absolutely refuses to obey, alarms flaring in her head, getting the feeling she’s been invited to cross the gates of hell. With her mind struggling to scramble in several different directions, it’s way easier to become upset with the guy.

Her hands curl into tight fists, knuckles going white. “You know, I expect you to be kidding me,” She says low, brows knitting together in a frown, “The answer is and will be no.”

“Of course I’m not kidding…” Nobunaga stares at her from his working desk as if their roles were suddenly reversed and she’s the one acting nonsensical.

He really thinks he can just tell me we’re going to sleep together? I don’t even care which century we’re in, that’s not happening. Ever.

She uses that train of thought to strengthen her resolve, daring to step into his room with a sense of defiance around her. “Well, Nobunaga, I’m not ‘bedding’ you,” With her chin perked up, she meets his crimson gaze, determined to stand her ground. “I don’t like you that way, I’m afraid.”

Nobunaga cracks up a pleased smirk. “What you like and what you don’t is of no matter to me…”

Sure, Mai’s not oblivious to the fact it may be an honor for too many to share a bed with the current shogun of Japan—and she must be practically privileged to even be in the same room with the guy. Still, she doesn’t belong to that group of people, and Nobunaga knows so. Could he be that arrogant to pretend believing she’d obey nonetheless?

In that preposterous case, then all it should take is some logic to turn the situation around on him, and to her personal advantage. “Alright, listen—“ But whatever argument she was mentally preparing drifts by, forgotten, as something else captures her attention. “Huh?”

The first time she’d visited Azuchi Castle’s tenshu, Mai truly hadn’t notice how the room definitely is one of a kind; decorated from head to toe, lush artifacts and expensive silks spreading everywhere she lays her eyes upon. Even the tatami mats seem to sigh softly at her weight, almost as if she’s walking on clouds.

Her awe doesn’t seem to go by unnoticed; catching a brief curious glance from the corner of Nobunaga’s eyes before he returns to finish what seems to be one of many letters. “Your interest in my collections is appreciated. Feel free to look around if that is your wish…”

His manners never stop irking her, and most likely he’s goading her on purely to get on her good graces, but Mai isn’t up to look a gift horse in the mouth, seizing the chance and sauntering inside before he suddenly changes his mind. She almost can’t believe her eyes, though—the sheer amount of culture contained inside one single room looking like almost too much for one person alone. But this is Nobunaga Oda, and knowing as much as she does about the guy, it doesn’t come off truly odd as it’d be.

Remarkable hakamas, kimonos and haoris are tucked neatly on one corner of the room, and against her wishes of not crossing a line Mai easily finds herself brushing her fingertips over the fabrics. How did people manage to dye the silks into such vivid colors without traditional modern tools? And gods above, the intricate patterns are a sight for sore eyes.

It’s such a magnificent sight she nearly feels unworthy of touching them, and it doesn’t take long before she pries her fingers away, too on edge of even scratching anything by accident. She startles when Nobunaga speaks from the other end of the room, the lush tatami barely producing a sound as he comes to a stand.

“There are many of these to spare in Azuchi,” He comments, pointing to a gorgeous roll of red silk nearby, “Say the word and I’ll have the seamstresses produce something for you,”

“I can do it myself, actually,” Mai says without thinking, but doesn’t try to make up a lie afterwards—her fashion design skills aren’t truly a secret after all, and if he’d find out sooner or later, may that be from her rather than Masamune. “You could say I am a, um, seamstress myself,”

“Ah, right. I almost forgot that,” She frowns at that comment, subtly changing her stance as Nobunaga smugly approaches, placing his precious clothes in between them. So he did know already? Masamune Date, if this came from you, consider yourself in big, big trouble. “Then have at them, if you so wish. A Princess of the Oda deserves nothing but the finest silks this world can offer,”

It is indeed a generous offer, but somehow she’s reluctant to take it right away. There must be a catch, I can feel it. Mai mulls it over for a moment, although it’s right as she turns to face the owner of such luxuries when a radiant glint catches her eye, right past Nobunaga’s shoulder.

Her breath catches in her lips, “Oh...” Then again, Mai can’t barely believe her eyes, never considering the idea she’d be seeing such precious artifacts in exhibition before her. Memories of her childhood surge through her as she walks to the display, unable to tear her gaze away. “But this… I never thought I’d be seeing this with my own eyes…”

Nobunaga just follows, an air of sheer curiosity around him. “Is that so?” When she casts a shy glance his way, inwardly asking for permission, his interest seems to turn into wariness, “I think you’ve gotten it wrong. Those are weapons, Princess, not—“

“May I?” She insists, holding his eyes with intent, not taken aback by the frown showing in Nobunaga’s face, appearing partially offended for being interrupted.

His curiosity seems to win the battle, nodding tentatively, watching very carefully as Mai approaches the display, her hands nearly itching in anticipation, and grabs the closest iron fan in her reach. First, she takes some time to admire the crafting, appreciating the delicate patterns painted over the cloth; all in gorgeous hues of gold, amber and orange, resembling a beautiful landscape of a dawning sun.

Then, without really giving it a thought, she tests its weight, turning it around and between her hands, her past dexterity coming back to her just as easily—pretty much like riding a bike. Despite having its inner ribs made in thin bronze, it feels as lightweight as it can come, deeming it a true masterpiece.

“Be careful with that, you will cut—“ Nobunaga’s words die in his lips as Mai flicks the iron fan close before his surprised eyes, the sharp noise of the irons clashing together prompting his mouth shut for once.

Overcome with near glee, she opens it again and sends it spinning in the air, excited to be recalling her past trainings with her father just as effortlessly. The dim light catches on the delicate painting on the gunsen, a flash of red dancing prettily in the air between them. Through the corner of her eye, Nobunaga’s gaze brims with what’s close to amazement, the sight of him so rooted in his spot definitely amusing.

A smug smirk crosses her face, “I think not.” However, it’s not long before she reconsiders her impromptu behavior, her mirth fading as quickly as it came before she flicks the iron fan close. “Or, well, um, sorry. Couldn’t help myself…”

It’s hard to act cocky in front of such an imposing person like Nobunaga, and yet, judging purely by the intense look on his crimson eyes, he doesn’t seem to disapprove. “Well, well, fireball. That’s not something I witness quite often.” His brows quirk up, “You managed to impress me once again.” He says pleasingly, his gaze falling to the gunsen still in her hands, “You appear to have a proper hold on it. Your master should be proud…”

“Y-you really think so?” Mai can’t help to wonder, the grinning picture of Haru Mizusaki crossing her mind, nodding thoughtfully and messing her hair in the endearing way he used to when she was a young and hopeful girl.

“I do, and commend you for it.” Nobunaga insists as if truly meaning it before appraising her with a more challenging look, “However, I wonder if you can make it dance…”

She raises an apologetic hand before letting him continue on that line of thought. “I… thanks for the praises, but I’m afraid I only know some defense techniques.” She says honestly, not looking forward to having a demonstration either, “It doesn’t really go further than that,”

“It’s a useful skill to have nonetheless.” He adds on without an ounce of doubt, somewhat managing to impress her as well.

Nobunaga never struck her as a thoughtful person, very much less so with how history and fictional dramas portray him on that matter. And having the living person before her proving her wrong on her assumptions is starting to become genuinely better than she believed so at first.

Said thought leads her onto another pondering. “Why, speaking of useful. You do know it’s quite late in the night, do you?” Mai comments, tilting her head in direction of his balcony, the moon on its peak making its sole statement. “Commanders of your caliber should be having their proper rest at these hours, I believe,”

Her consideration seems to amuse him, snorting low while she turns to return the war fan onto its proper place on the display. “Don’t concern yourself in my stead, Princess. I sleep only the strictly necessary amount,”

It’s not truly about him, but she’s rather still concerned for herself. Regardless, that’s an interesting comment. “You mean, you do that every night?” Mai quirks a brow, “It’s not healthy to have just naps for a sleep.”

“It is how I have slept for as long as I can remember…” The pleased smirk in his face falters slightly, appearing to ponder on it, “It’s become a boon, a necessity when having enemies on all sides,”

She lets the words sink in momentarily. Not being able to have a proper sleep sounds quite sad, even for an intimidating man such as Nobunaga, and he voices it as if not being safe to do so. It makes her wonder, how many enemies does he have lurking in the shadows as they speak?

“May I ask you something? With all due respect, that is,” Nobunaga tilts a curious brow and nods, “Why did you decide to pursue this idea of unifying the country throughout conquest when it’s turned almost everyone against you?”

Historians may not know Nobunaga Oda’s true aims, but she has the man right in front of her. It doesn’t seem plausible his actions are out of mere love for war—even the most villainous characters in history had their own reasons to fight, insane or not. Is it the desperate urge for surviving, then?

He takes a thoughtful pause before a self-assured smirk clings to his face. “It’s the only way to bring me closer to the world I wish to see.” Nobunaga replies, truly convinced of his words, “My aims are for a strong and prosperous Japan that can compete with foreign countries on an equal footing. Bringing the country under my rule so it doesn’t tear itself apart is only the first step to helping it grow fully.”

There’s sheer determination in his features, painting the picture of a ruthless, yet clear-minded man. She’s born and grow up with the concept of war being the most despicable act made by humankind; and yet, regardless of her hatred for it, Nobunaga’s fighting doesn’t sound like one done for personal gain. And as it’s historically mentioned, his actions and those of his allies—like Hideyoshi, Ieyasu and even Masamune—are what leads to a long period of peace in Japanese history after all.

That realization begins to kindle a certain respect for what all of them did and currently do, and their true reasons why. Wow, how funny is this, now I’m bothered by this guy not allowing himself to sleep. However, the truth is Nobunaga just survived an assassination attempt less than two weeks ago, he shouldn’t wreck his health just then.

A soft chuckle escapes her at the silliness of the situation, and Nobunaga’s face hardens at that. “What is it you find amusing, Mai?” He doesn’t seem to think she’s actually laughing at his expenses, though, crossing his arms and looking confused, “And why are you looking at me like that?”

With a newfound motivation, Mai flashes a wicked smirk at him. “Tonight, Nobunaga, I shall put you to bed.”

“… What?”

Ignoring his nearly stunned look, she reaches out and gently pulls him by the arm to the other end of the room. “Lie down on the futon,” She nods towards the quite extravagant silk bedding placed close to a corner.

With a surprising obedience, Nobunaga actually does as she says, glancing her way as he drops onto his bedding. “Like this?”

Mai smiles in genuine approval, tucking her kimono and kneeling next to the futon. “What’s next?” His crimson gaze gleams in anticipation—in regards of what, though, she has some clues it’s not precisely what he’s expecting.

Silently, she tucks him into the blankets. As absurd as it seems—and very much looks like to her!—Nobunaga returns her smile with one of his own, proving how he appears to be enjoying the experience. With only his head poking out of the futon, for a hot second he looks like the very picture of an eager child.

Which, as a matter of fact, comes with a neat timing, “Next, I’m going to tell you a bedtime story!” Mai says excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.

“A… bedtime story?”

“Yeah. It’s a story to help you sleep,” She’s quick to add, hoping deep down not to encounter another cultural barrier she’s accidentally overlooked. Nah, he surely must have someone doing this to him in his youth… right?

“Once upon a time, there was a man called Monogusa Taro, and though he was despised by all villagers for his—“

“—You’re not seriously going to recite children’s stories from the Otogizoshi for me?”

“Yes I am! And come on, this is a good one! It’s about people having a hidden virtue beyond their off-putting exterior,” Just like you, she finishes the sentence inwardly. “Really, didn’t anyone ever read you a bedtime story when you were a child?” She can’t help her wondering on it, quirking a doubtful brow at him.

Her small fears are practically confirmed by Nobunaga’s blank stare. “Never.”

Oh, man. “Well, that explains a lot…” For all it takes, the guy doesn’t seem to be buying the Scheherazade Method—and which she hasn’t realized she’d been trying on until then, for that matter. However, she’s passed the point of giving up already, “Alright, never mind the story. How about a lullaby? I could do that for you,”

He hums, curious. “Is that another method of putting children to sleep?”

“Yes. Especially cranky ones,” She remarks with a narrowing of her eyes. All of a sudden and to add up to her sheer surprise, Nobunaga bursts out laughing, startling her for a brief moment, “Hey, what’s so funny?”

“Because you seem insistent upon treating me like a child,” Nobunaga cackles as it’s the most ridiculous thing ever, bringing a hand up from the covers of the futon to rub at his mirthful eyes, “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to laugh at something so absurd! But you amused me, so I commend you,”

“… Commendation taken,”

She’s not sure whether to feel insulting or relieved at him laughing so hard, yet quite out of the blue, Mai finds herself sharing in Nobunaga’s mirth, letting out a small giggle. I can’t believe this guy can actually laugh this freely! This is so unlike anything I thought of him, huh.

“Tell me more about you, instead. Your voice may help to while away the hours,”

And just like that, Nobunaga’s back with his regular demands, although luckily she’s growing ever the more tolerant of that attitude. “That sounds fair. Okay, close your eyes and lean back,” Switching places, she takes a seat at the head of his bedding, hoping deep down some massaging on his scalp may finally lull him onto sleep. “What do you want to know?”

As if by cue, he rests his head on her lap, but she opts out for letting that be. “Who taught you in the art of gunsen fans?” He wonders.

Nobunaga’s curiosity sounds as genuine as it can come, leaving her to consider her options for a hot second. However, no matter how much she tries to find a true reason to make up a lie, in the end she’s left with nothing at all. It’s not like it’d hurt to tell him anything, though…

“It was my father. His name was Haru Mizusaki, and was proficient with many war fan techniques back in the day.” Mai’s fingers sink into his dark locks, nails scratching his scalp so very gently, letting her guard down briefly and drifting onto her memories of easier times. “I was quite young when he leaned me in on it. Despite being reluctant at first, I happened to have a… unpleasant event, so to say, so he thought I could use some ways to defend myself in the case he couldn’t be there to protect me…”

Not truly delving into specific details, she still lets him in on bits and pieces of her life throughout the night; from her father’s passion for the ancient martial arts, to her mother’s work as a ‘traveler’—for the lack of a better definition of a tour guide—to her adored grandmother and her glorious food.

Nobunaga doesn’t fall asleep as quick as she hopes so, but luckily doesn’t ask further than what she’s comfortable with sharing. And as the night goes by, Mai finds herself more at ease.

The next day, Mai meets the morning with lidded eyes, the first rays of dawn reaching the window of her room sending her groaning and burying herself further into her futon. Half an hour later and with the regular rushing of servants echoing across the hallways, she knows it’s no use to keep loafing around, cursing her lack of beauty sleep she had while blindly tying up her hair.

On her way to Mitsunari’s quarters, breakfast tray in hand, she’s stopped by a wolfish whistle. “And there’s the woman of the hour!”

Masamune meets her on his apparent way to a war council, grinning wildly and followed by a smirking Mitsuhide. “Huh? Uh, good morning to you guys too,” No matter the effort she puts onto it, her smile doesn’t reach her tired eyes, frowning as the pair approach her with impish ones to match.

“We heard it aaaaall about last night, lass,” Masamune wiggles his brows teasingly, “You tamed Nobunaga and used some clever trick to put him to sleep?”

“Do tell your methods, dear chatelaine. I could always use more ways to catch people off guard…” The roguish look Mitsuhide shoots her way isn’t truly compelling for her to start talking about—

Hey, wait a minute… “Y-you two know about that?” Is the place a rumor mill or an actual castle? It’s barely morning, those two must have just had breakfast and it’s been merely hours since she left Nobunaga’s tenshu for the guys to already know whatever they do about it.

Besides, Nobunaga doesn’t strike me as the type of indulging gossip, but what do I know. We even had some good laughs last night…

“Hold on for a moment, there,” She hurries to correct whatever misconceptions Masamune and Mitsuhide most certainly could have on last night’s events, “It’s not what you think and I didn’t ‘tame’ him, mind you. Just… told him some stories and tales until he fell asleep, but that’s all there was to it!” She fixes the pair with a glare, “And it’s not that he even did that, he just closed his eyes. Eventually I got tired and bid goodnight,”

“My, my. It appears our lovely chatelaine has surpassed fearlessness and become something entirely new. And interesting…” Mitsuhide’s intent of praising and the apparent admiration in Masamune’s eye strikes her somewhat a bit disconcerting.

“… He was having trouble sleeping. What’s so weird about that?”

“Rumors say you told him some fascinating stories. Something about a man named Haru and a story about the boy and the peach?” His golden eyes dart to the side as if to struggling to properly recall whatever he’s heard of it.

Mai shrugs dismissively, not even pretending for it to be a big deal. “Well, Haru was the name of my father,”

“’Was’?”

“Uh, passed away 5 years ago. And you mean the Adventures of Momotaro?” She cuts Mitsuhide’s line of conversation short, not up to get on it that early in the morning, “That’s a good one. It’s a cute story about a boy and his animal friends…”

She makes quick work of summarizing the tale, and Masamune bursts out in one of his musical laughs when she finishes. “… So the lad goes on to defeat all the demons at the end? I can’t imagine Nobunaga cared much for that part!”

Struggling not to join in the mirth, Mai makes an addition. “In fact, he did stir when I mentioned the animals jumping on the demon’s shoulders and scratching them,”

“Surely our Lord was preparing to kill Momotaro in revenge for the very cruel treatment on his kin,” Mitsuhide snickers, raising a fist in pure mocking offense.

“Hey, you two—bwahaha! T-that’s mean!” Unable to help it any longer, she laughs alongside them, mindful of not losing her hold on the tray in her hands. “… Hahaha! But, how did you two even hear about me and Nobunaga?”

Mitsuhide’s mobile brows quirk up, not truly looking up to reveal his sources, “The whole castle is talking about it,”

“W-what?” Her eyes almost bulge out of her sockets, her mirth fading in an instant.

“Don’t fret, kitten. It’s a good thing,” Masamune reassures her with a friendly pat on her shoulder, “You’ve created a reputation on yourself,”

“I dare say you’ve even earned the whole castle’s respect, Princess.”

“Well, that’s surprising. But I’m glad to hear that,” The truth is, she just wanted out of the non-con zone. She couldn’t have anticipated having made a real place for herself with doing just that.

And so, the day goes by with Mai being the entire talk of the castle. While it was somewhat weird at first, the morning met her with several introductions to servants of the castle, but she’s quickly put at ease as everyone regards her pleasantly and friendly, making her feel truly welcomed for the first time since she arrived.

A bright smile stays plastered on her face way later onto the afternoon, navigating the streets of Azuchi town and checking up on the directions marked in Mitsunari’s map, aiming to retrieve a stack of books he’d ordered for him.

That is, until she almost crashes face first into a broad chest. Stammering, Mai instantly mumbles a quick apology.

“Excuse me, young lady?” The man says instead, a voice so warm and practically coated in honey stopping her running thoughts.

She knows how the story goes, though—the hot guy smiles, she smiles back, but in fact he’s actually looking past her. Pretty much the story of her life, in short.

“Thank you for stopping. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to give chase,”

He does smile, but once Mai’s eyes shoot up to the source of that lovely voice, she feels her heart skipping several beats. First of all, because the man is clearly looking at her instead of past her, and second… because that face belongs to one of the most beautiful creatures she’s ever laid eyes upon.

Thirdly, is one particular face she couldn’t possibly forget in her entire life.

Tenshu: An architectural typology found in Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle.

Gunsen: A type of folding war fan used by the average warriors to cool themselves off.

#Cassie writes #Stripes fic #Ikesen #Ikemen Sengoku #Ikesen Masamune x MC #Ikesen Shingen x MC #Mai Mizusaki #Ikesen fanfiction #SPOILERS: Shingen's route #Ikesennw reblog

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sparda3g · 6 years

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One Piece Chapter 920 Review

Gather around, fans. It’s time for a story about the Wano Country; a country that was once beloved for all and currently beloved for scums. After the shocking revelation of Kin’emon and others, it’s most fitting to clear out some of the past history’s mysteries. While it won’t answer all, in fact leaving some questions behind, this chapter evaluated the value of recovering the country to its former glory with the rising hype for a potential warfare.

If you are fond of the series’ rich world-building, then this chapter is for you. Throughout, it’s about the origin of Oden, Kin’emon and others’ backstory before time-warping to the present, and connections with many present characters. Oden Castle was actually called Kuri Castle; already presenting Oden as a caring and lovable man. Putting his people first above all. Although he was beloved, he was considered as a wild card as he went through violent fights and essentially exiled from the Flower Capital.

The country wasn’t completely paradise as there was once a lawless area, which is self-explanatory with criminals and such. The real shocker about it is that place was Kuri; in other words, it was once an awful place. Even Shogun back then didn’t want to touch it. That’s where Oden reappeared and took on Ashura Douji. I’m very aware of the reference to Japanese culture. No, there won’t be any reincarnation…for now. Anyway, he was so evil and powerful, and yet Oden defeated him. That’s where the paradise feel was born.

I should mention that Oden was the son of Shogun Kouzuki Sukiyaki. While Shogun failed to act upon Kuri’s problems, Oden took on the challenge and won. For an exile, he sure was capable to be a Shogun. To top it all off, he forced the criminals to become workers and created a paradise for the citizens. Eventually, his father heard the story and bestowed him the title of Daimyo of Kuri at the age of 20. That’s pretty impressive. The one fond quote Kin’emon would always remember from him is “It’s too cramped here.” To me, that tells me Oden was indeed a nice fellow.

The story gets a short break with Zoro, who is of course lost. The funny thing about him is he believes his friends are the one that are lost. He believe it because he rode on that Komainu. Why Luffy and Zoro’s logic are going bonkers lately? Oh well, they do make me laugh. I don’t know what will happen to him, but I get the feeling he will drag trouble along with him. What else is new?

Duke Inuarashi makes his return. I do like him, so I was happy to see him again. I do wonder on who will break the news about Pedro’s demise. It’s going to suck when it happens. Outside of the prediction, it’s rather touching when he is at the beach, recollecting the good memories he has with his first meeting with Oden. It’s already said that he and Nekomamushi have fond connection with the Samurai, so this was heartwarming to know where it began.

I really like the silent storytelling treatment while pointing out Oden and his establishments. He was so beloved by many, including Whitebeard and Gol D. Roger. The part that makes it heartwarming is how there’s no speech bubbles coming from Kin’emon and others, but their reactions are delightful. You can see how great Oden was just by watching their expressions. It will make you laugh, it will have you in awed, and it will make you feel happy. Sadly, it will make you feel sad and frustrated.

It’s a smooth move of Oda to skip the story for us fans and let only Strawhats hear about the turning event. It keeps us engaged with the story, leaving us wondering why Oden had to die the way it did. It appears to me that Orochi was probably a friend of Oden, only to backstab him in the end. I can only guess based on Nami’s reaction. It’s a smart move in writing perspective to keep us interested in Orochi. After the early soothing atmosphere, it’s sad to see Kin’emon and others from the past to breakdown into tears. His saddening words about Oden’s final moment was emotional; words about 20 years ago, only it happened a few months ago for them felt heavy.

Kin’emon and others’ last action before time-warp is tragic and questionable. I feel bad for them for running towards to the castle, only to find it already in fire, thanks to Kaido. That’s one tie-in to hate Kaido. It’s rather sad that they had to “ignore” Inuarashi and Nekomamushi when they were caught by Orochi’s subordinates. I don’t blame them for their minds most likely were running wild with fear and sorrow.

Then we enter the questionable part of the story but in a good way. Lady Toki, the wife of Oden, was with Hiyori and Momo inside the burning castle. The story does confirm that she was the one with the ability to go to the future, but cannot go back to the past. The interesting part is she came from the distant past; at least according to the rumor. This has a good potential to expand the lore with some of her recollections that could associate with Gol D. Roger, D. Family, or even beyond. Don’t forget how Law is part of D. and that didn’t cross my mind at all, so you never know when we get a visual flashback.

It was at that point that Kin’emon made a final pledge with her that no matter how far into the future he and others will go, they will do whatever it takes to fulfill Oden’s wish. She gave them Momo to take care of and the time-warp took them 20 years later. What about Hiyori? Was she dead already? Can Toki foresee the future of when the time of Orochi and Kaido’s reign end? Was choosing 20 years a random time-warp destination or was it “destiny?” Shame that she couldn’t warp time with them, but perhaps she was hurt or can’t do it on herself anymore.

It’s rather frightening to instantly warp to the future and witness the same country under new lifestyle. It’s equivalent to a prisoner, who was imprisoned for 20 years, now able to roam back to the city, only life has advanced far ahead of him, and that can turn his head off. In here, they felt that they have no chance to fulfill Oden’s wish for everything seems paradise for the rotten and hell for the poor. Their mind changed when they met few people that had been waiting for their return.

Judging by that guy’s words, it appears that Toki may in fact can see the future or at least set the time destination. 20 years is pretty specific. That said does that mean it’s guaranteed that this present time is where the Wano Country will “reborn?” The only problem is at what cost. Hope was slowly rising back in their heart, but then they all split apart under unlucky circumstances.

Raizou was separated during the chase from the country. That’s when they were told to meet back at Zou. Then due to bad navigation and landed on Dressrosa, out of all places, Kanjuro was separated. Lastly, the rest landed on Punk Hazard and were taken by Caesar. The story of the rising sun began when Luffy meets Kin’emon. That’s one touching story. It’s amazing how it feels like one big saga, starring with Punk Hazard Arc. It’s like one massive build-up for this arc, including Whole Cake Island Arc, if we were to believe Big Mom and Kaido joined forces. What a journey.

Now we have the backstory out of the way, it’s time to increase the hype level for the next action phase. Kin’emon enters the war plan phase, which already has me pumping up. He names all the forces they currently have: Straw Hat Crew, The Musketeers and The Guardians of the Mink Tribe, Heart Pirates (Law), and the Rebels. The idea is to have 5000 strong to match up. Oh, that has “calling for Luffy’s fleet” written all over it. Damn, this is hype. Sure, starting a war is not an idea, but you damn sure know it’s going to happen. Okay, I am jumping ahead.

Anyway, the idea now is to wait for two weeks. Their intention is to gather information and take the Commander’s head. Damn, that’s hardcore, but necessary. In two weeks, they will commence the raid on Onigashima, where Kaido resides. Holy crap, what!? Translation: our main hype begins in two weeks; the series’ timeline, not ours (sadly). Oda knows when and we can only starve until he feeds it to us. After the backstory and the gathering names of troops, I couldn’t be any more excited.

Overall, this was a compelling and interesting chapter from top to bottom. I really enjoyed the backstory, even with some skipped moments, but it only got me more curious and interested. I’m glad Toki’s Devil Fruit ability can only make her travel to the future, which spares from fans from the headache, let alone Oda himself. The hype level continue to escalate higher with the two-week plan that will be massive. Once again, One Piece is taking a break. The future is killing me.

Oh, and the chapter’s cover is hilarious.

#one piece #chapter 920 #review #spoilers

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ikemenfics · 7 years

Text

Kissing a Fox

Word Count: 2343

Dedicated to: ME! RIDICULOUS SELF INSERTION HERE, PEOPLE. Also, any Mitsuhide fans. Especially @melissenpai

But you'll never find

Peace of mind

Til you listen to your heart ~George Michael- Kissing a Fool

[Alright, I went to the market, got new fabrics for orders, managed to get a cute pair of geta, dropped off a package for Hideyoshi, and managed to check in on Mitsunari. Is there anything I’m missing…]

You weren’t watching where you were going, lost in thought at your to do list as you were, and missed the figure in front of you. At least, you would have had you not crashed face first into a chest. Before you could even back off to apologize to your hapless victim, and even before it could register that you should question why said person never even moved out of the way in a straight hallway, an amused “oomph,” caught your attention. You peeked up, finding golden eyes and a smirk looking down at you.

“I had not expected such an enthusiastic greeting from you. Though, it isn’t unappreciated,” you could hear the mirth dripping from his voice, your face heating as your eyes widened. Sputtering, you backed away, denying that you had meant to crash into him, his expression never changing as you tried to reorder yourself in a feeble attempt at damage control. [How does he do that? Turning a simple, already embarrassing spaceout accident into a flirt from me?]

“I can’t help but assume such, as your face is always quite so blank whenever I seem to see you,” he said pleasantly, giving answer to your thoughts. You bit your tongue, arguing with him only goads him on and drowning in quicksand was never a pleasant way to go, you’ve been told. Pressing your lips together in a line, you bow, effectively hiding your eyes from his view, hoping it would at least dampen his inner X-man, apologizing for crashing into him.

“No need for apologies. I have grown accustomed to such and since have learned not carry sharp objects, lest you cause me to stab myself.” Oh, he was having too much fun with this, your heart picking up speed with each jab. You were a sucker for it. Your heart just refused to listen in the presence of Mitsuhide Akechi. It ran a marathon while your brain decided to flee in the presence of such a mysterious figure. Worse still, the part of you that still could function couldn’t even defend yourself, agreeing to almost every word he teased you with. [Damn stupid hormones and attraction…]

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” he continued, either feinting obliviousness to your raging insides, or showing far more perception you were comfortable admitting to. You remained as you were, debating if you should answer or not. A finger crossed your vision, sliding under your chin, pressure causing you to raise your head to meet the eyes of Azuchi’s famous real live kitsune. Electricity shot through your toes at his touch. [Don’t squeal, don’t swoon, don’t laugh, FOR GOD’S SAKES DON’T SPUTTER AGAIN] You quietly met his gaze, your ears burning as you debated your options here.

“Better,” he said, “It’s no fun if I can’t watch your reactions.” Your mind sputtered at him, but thankfully your body at least would obey your earlier commands. Your chin was suddenly cold and tingled as he took his hand back. Your throat closed, your heart galloping away without you in feels that you couldn’t even help but be swept away in.

The moment wouldn’t last, a vassal calling to Mitsuhide for some task or another, you barely heard, but was snapped back to reality as he excused himself to attend business matters. Left alone in the hall, you finally sighed, a small tremor shaking your body as tension you didn’t even know you had released with the breath. You couldn’t help yourself, you were in love and he seemed distant at best. As long as you weren’t alone like just then, you were ok and could maintain...but in times like that? You were lost. [Hopeless.] Even if he did return any affections, you couldn’t stay. In a short time, you would be swept back to your own time but your heart just simply wouldn’t listen to you.

“Someone’s going to walk away with you if you stand so lost looking in a hallway, lass.” You turned, a blue eye looking at you in deep regard. He grinned as your eyes met, “Might even be able to steal a kiss you’re so far off.” You took a step back, hedging against his statement. “That’s ok. No kisses needed!” You knew from previous experience that if you ran, he’d chase, so you settled for putting a bit of space between the two of you, breathing room, as it were. Masamune Date was the impulsive, wild single eyed dragon of the Oda army and it was near impossible for you to keep up with him, but you did learn to keep on guard with him around.

“Kisses are great!” Masamune argued, looking entirely ready to defend his position and prove his point. You gave a somewhat nervous look, a laugh escaping you as you shook your head, assuring him that was still not required. He shrugged, “Suit yourself, kitten. But why so daydreamy? Did someone else sweep you out from under me?”

[HAHAHAHAHA…] You tried to avoid his eye, brushing off his statement, “Not sure what you mean. No one’s sweeping me anywhere.” Despite his challenges that he was going to take you away and nab you for his own, Masamune was honorable and hadn’t crossed any lines. It made your stay at Azuchi much easier knowing at least you didn’t have to worry about that.

He snorted, causing you to look at him in question, finding an almost angry looking Masamune eyeing you, “Bad to lie, lass.” You winced.

“Mitsuhide’s *gifts* are rubbing off on people.”

“Nah, you’re just really moony. Who is he?”

You weren’t going to tell him. No way in seven hells. You looked at the floor, feeling a little stab at that. [Sorry, Masamune. I’m sure you’re a great guy…] He shrugged, unconcerned with interrogating you for a name. You whispered an apology, squeaking when he flicked you on the forehead. He grinned, letting you know it was no big deal if he knew the name. “But,” he added, looking serious, “you can’t stand here moping about it. You’re cuter when you’re smiling.” You blanched at that, Masamune laughing. He leaned down, snatching your lips in a quick peck, your body stiffening in shock, “If you want something, you should go get it. Standing here won’t get you that.” You swore if he had two eyes, one would wink at you as he backed away, leaving your face flushed and unable to form a response as he passed. Before he was out of earshot, you heard him call, “If you don’t, kitten, I’m gonna take you for myself.”

[And he’s gone…]

You sighed, making your way to your room, your to do list entirely forgotten. You sat, contemplating the wall on what you should do. You knew the best decision was to leave it be, you were going back home, no need to rip your heart apart knowingly. [But…] part of you argued, [I’ll probably never find another like him...even five hundred years later]. You sniffled, your eyes stinging, but you refused to cry. You busied yourself in some busy work, hoping to stave off the longing feelings in you.

“Are you in there?” You heard Hideyoshi’s voice on the other side of the partition. You called back, granting him permission to slide the door open. He took in your expression, his eyes taking on an scrutinizing look. “Masamune says you’re depressed,” his face softened as he sat near you, “everything ok?” [Leave it to mom to come check on me?] You smiled at his sweetness, stating you were fine. He didn’t seem convinced, “Masamune said you were talking with Mitsuhide before you got so down, he say something to you? He’s mean to everyone, but I can talk to him to tone it down.” You had to try hard not to laugh at Hideyoshi’s car full of fighting kids soccer mom worrying.

Repeating that you were fine, Hideyoshi’s face turned dubious. He reached out, patting you on the head. “If you’re sure. But I think I’ll talk to him, anyway.” You did laugh then, shaking your head, assuring him it wasn’t his meanness that was the issue. Of course, Mamayoshi triggered in full gear at that, “But you admit you are down. Tell me what’s going on?” You blinked, sure that this was the face that only came out when he fussed over a certain warlord’s sweets addiction and couldn’t figure out if you were amused or flattered at the treatment.

“It’s nothing. It’s ok. Fine, fine…” you denied his intrusions, putting up your hands in a gesture of defense, “just thinking of home.” It wasn’t entirely a lie, after all. Hideyoshi still eyed you, his face becoming protective of you, but guarded of himself. You looked confused, staring back at him in question.

“You know…” he started, “we’ve grown very fond of you here. After all, you are Nobunaga’s lucky charm and have the position of princess. Maybe you should think on staying here. I know it’d make me happy,” he ended on a smile, guilt jabbing your heart harshly. Hideyoshi’s brotherly nature touched you deeply, but you weren’t sure if staying would be an option. You could only smile in return.

He got up, patting your head again, “Anyway, think about it. And don’t look so down. It bothers me to see you like that. It bothers all of us, actually.” With that, Hideyoshi walked towards the door. You doubted it bothered Mitsuhide so much as it amused him, but you weren’t going to try and argue with him on nuances. Just as he reached the exit, Hideyoshi turned around, “Oh. I forgot,” he pulled something from his kimono, handing it to you, “Nobunaga asked to have this delivered to Mitsuhide. And if he’s up to anything, let me know.” It was no secret that Hideyoshi tried to spy on Mitsuhide to suss out all his plans for his own sanity, but it always failed. You gave him an apologetic look as you took the note from his hands, “I will try, but I already will say there’s nothing I’m going to find.”

After that, he was gone, leaving you to look at the note. Nobunaga probably wouldn’t like for you to put it off until tomorrow, so you gathered yourself, preparing to hustle to Mitsuhide’s place. It was late in the day and you calculated that you could probably make it there and back by dark.

Arriving, you were shown to the room Mitsuhide was sequestered in, the man himself nigh buried in paperwork. You approached, slowly, curious if you could sneak a peek at what he was currently focused on. The paper seemed to vanish, Mitsuhide hiding it from your purview, watching you in already oh-you-came-back-for-more style glee. “Why, what brings you to my humble abode?” His voice felt like velvet covering you and you had to fight to keep your wits about you.

Stepping close, you handed him the letter, “This is from Nobunaga. Hideyoshi kinda made it seem urgent, since everyone was busy and he had to find me.” He took the paper, opened, and read the note. Unsure if that was dismissal or if you were supposed to wait for a response, you stood awkwardly, watching Mitsuhide. After a moment (or eternity), he folded the letter, setting it off to the side, and went back to the original document he’d been studying. “Um…” you started, feeling a little awkward, “should I bring him a response?”

He smiled, a pitying look, stating, “None is needed, thank you.” You stood a moment more, warring emotions going wild inside you. You thought to Hideyoshi’s words, remembering how he said everyone was fond of you. It made your heart lurch, almost in pain as you realized they all had wedged their way into your heart as well, the one before you most of all. You realized you didn’t want to leave without at least experiencing a man like Azuchi’s slickest snake. Men like him certainly didn’t come around every five hundred years, and you were afraid of missing out on his torments.

You thought to Masamune earlier, your fingers reaching up to touch your lips, remembering his stolen kiss [I definitely am getting him back for that, later.]. You recalled his advice. You nodded, whispering an “ok” to yourself, and knelt down to the floor. You crawled quietly towards the white haired warlord, Mitsuhide’s head raising, most likely to make an amused comment on your sudden felineness or something, but this time, you were faster. On hands and knees, your lips met his just as he had turned to face you. His lips were much softer than you had even imagined and your heart reveled in that secret knowledge. It was short lived, though, as you felt the man tense. You deflated, moving to pull back from the kiss, apology already prepared.

You didn’t get far. His hand snaked behind your head, pushing you back to his lips. “If you’re going to sneak around and launch a secret attack,” he murmured against your lip, his breath hot against your face, “then do not retreat once you begin.” He turned his head, sealing his lips over your, his tongue pushing into your mouth, feeling around forcing a loud whimper from you. He was a lot stronger than he looked, your head helpless to do anything but accept his wonderful passion and letting him lead. You kissed him back, eagerly giving the same as you got. You swear you could feel yourself melting under even this simple attention and you were entirely happy about it all. The future, the looming war, the unknown assassin still at large, the world, all faded in the sensation that was Mitsuhide.

[I’m definitely getting Masamune for this…He’ll be thrilled to hear thanks, I would think.]

#ikemen sengoku fanfiction #ikemenfics #mistuhide #notheresnobiasherewhateverdoyoumean #entirelyheadcanon #as he has no route yet #Mitsuhide Akechi #ikemen sengoku #ikesen

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zonamievents · 6 years

Note

I have to share my fears with someone because they are eating me. The more I see it, the more I believe it. I honestly believe Zoro x Tashigi will be a thing in the future. I read somewhere that Oda said Tashigi had a crush on Zoro. What if he, too, has a crush on her? If that’s the case i’ll be very disappointed. I can live with Zoro x Nami never happening, but i refuse to see my fave character with that Tashigi. What do you think about it? Do you think they’ll end up together?

I think that your fears are fair, but as a ZoNa blog admin, I of course have a few things to say that will hopefully make you feel better.

***PLEASE NOTE this is not meant to seem like I am bashing this pairing! I am only stating why I personally don’t see this relationship working out! Everyone is allowed to ship what they love!***

#1.) Zoro never sees Tashigi, and when he does, he is either saving her (like he does Nami) or he’s yelling at her (liiike he does Nami). Her character genuinely hasn’t done anything outstanding yet to really get Zoro’s attention. Everything he has done for her, he has done for someone in the crew or for someone who needed help on any island they have visited.

#2.) She is sooo attached to Smoker, and some can argue that it is or isn’t romantic. I think her interest in Zoro has changed since it’s no longer black and white, but her devotion to Smoker is more prominent than anything whenever we see her. If she didn’t look like Kuina, she’d mean nothing to Zoro from the beginning and therefore, I don’t think he’d pay much attention to her aside from her skill with a sword. At least Smoker respects her and she is loyal to him unquestionably.

#3.) If it’s true she has a crush, that doesn’t mean it will work out. Absalom wanted to marry Nami. Hell, SANJI would marry Nami in a heartbeat but that’s not going to happen (again, no hate, just my opinion) because Nami isn’t interested in him that way. I think Zoro is too oblivious to pick up on when someone like Tashigi would even like him, so it wouldn’t make a lick of difference to him. (I think he needs someone like Nami that would make their feelings clear, in order for him to even think about his own emotions like that).

#4.) I personally think it’s really creepy that Tashigi is even considered a love interest for Zoro. She looks like a dead friend he idolized and cherished when he literally had nothing else in the world. He trained with her father long after her passing, which gives off an adopted son-adopted father vibe. Now this girl comes along who looks like his deceased friend and she could end up with him? You could compare this to the Kikyo-InuYasha-Kagome love triangle as well, from the hit series InuYasha, but I would argue it is different because they had different personalities, different dispostions, and he had enough time with the both of them to separate them in his mind. He fell in love with Kagome because of who she was, because of how his feelings developed along the journey. When does Zoro see Tashigi? In Logue Town, in Alabasta, and in Punk Hazard? Zoro is too focused on his dream of becoming the World’s Greatest Swordsman to notice a girl he only sees every once in a while.

But again, for those who might find this post and be fans of that ship, THIS IS JUST MY OPINION! No hate, no shipping war necessary. These are just the reasons I cannot back them, no matter what. I hope this helped you feel better anon, because that’s what matters most. ~ Maiden

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forcedapotheosis-blog · 7 years

Text

In response to ..

@sanjiafsincedayone ‘s post “Regarding Sanji and Pudding” [read here].

Sorry that I’m going the long way, but I’m not a man of few words, I’m a lazy piece of shit of few deeds though.

Note: I’m gonna give you my honest opinion on SanjixViola and SanjixPuddin within this piece of garbage post, and that is my opinion alone. If you’re shipping one of those pairings, please go on. We’re all here for the fun of it and nothing could be further from the truth than me trying to suck the fun out of it for you (also, remind yourself that I’m just a random stranger on the internet and the impact of my opinion on your life is non-existant and should be handled as such).

So, as probably everyone involved I have my opinion on the matter. Two opinions, actually, which I will highlight as such.

1. With the shipping-goggles

Surprisingly enough, this one is going to be the shorter one. I actually went through the hassle of quickly re-reading the interactions between both Viola and Sanji and Pudding and Sanji to provide you with a more based view (which still doesn’t mean that I’m interpreting it right, mind you). So, first of all let me get this one out of my system: I personally think that an unknown amount of people only ship either Viola or Pudding with Sanji because .. well, it’d ‘free’ Nami.

To quickly elaborate this, most people actually don’t want to be jerks, but still have an opinion that differs from yours. Regarding shipping (let’s call it AxB) that would mean that while you ship AxB, they’d rather ship CxB and might even outright state that they don’t like AxB. But then person D gets introduced and has some kind of interaction with A. Some persons now, those that ship CxB, might want to say that AxD is a great ship, because of whatever. That way, they can support their own ship (CxB) while non-jerkishly taking away from AxB.

Alright, that got a little more confusing than I hoped it would, but I guess that you get the point anyway. Moving on.

As I already wrote, I re-read the interactions between Sanji/Viola and Sanji/Pudding and in my personal opinion, they’re .. nothing really special. Some people might say that there’s chemistry between either of those pairings (and they might be right and I’m the one unable to see because of my personal bias), but I honestly can’t see it. Imagine any (really, any) other beautiful female in Viola’s position when she asked Sanji to protect her and kill somebody for her. Would he have done it? I mean, it’s Sanji, so I’m betting my ass on it. The same goes for the moment with Pudding in which he sees her third eye for the first time. Now, let me get this straight: In my mind, one of the most wonderful things abut Sanji’s character is his utter, egalitarian admiration/love of female beauty, egalitarian regarding that he’s not following one standard for human female beauteousness, but that he simply loves women.

Want an example? We’ve got a few of them, too. Mermaids, for starters. I mean, yes, most of them have human proportions and half their body is actually human, but what about Shirahoshi? She’s about ten times the size of a normal human, it still doesn’t stop Sanji. Another example? The minks, of course.

So, Sanji could get the hots for giant half-fishes and furries, but a third eye is a no-go-area? Please. If it’s female and beautiful, this man will be all over it, bless his soul.

Alright, this part is getting way too long and I’m going to cut it here, hoping that I somewhat made my unimportant point.

2. Without the shipping-goggles (more of a writing-perspective)

First off, this might still come across as if I’d want to make a point from the shipping-perspective, but I’m giving my best not to do it. Cut me some slack, plox :D

Alright, so: From the end of chapter 824, in which Sanji first sees Pudding, he is portrayed with his usual, lecherous persona, so nothing new here. See, the thing I’m trying to get to is that, while he asked her to marry him, it would come somewhat out of the blue within the story if their pairing would become canon. Yes, he called her his ‘Ray of Hope’, but I think one might be overinterpreting it a little. Sanji’s situation is dire, he’s at his lowest of lows and, at this point, he is sure to never see his nakama again and be a thrall of BM. Add to that that the reunion with his family didn’t really went well and that they’ve threatened the safety of Zeff and the other cooks. One, at least myself, could say that this is a terrible situation to find yourself in.

Enter Pudding! She’s beautiful and seems kind, in that situation that’s probably better than the best Sanji could have hoped for, a small light at the end of the tunnel and, yes, a ray of hope in his darkest hour (hell, even I’d be a lot more optimistic about things if that happened to me). But from this perspective, is it somewhat feasible that he actually fell in love with her? Again, in my personal opinion, no. Infatuated? Hell yeah, sure. But that’s a part of his character, but in love? I’d doubt it (and might be totally wrong, again). Oda even undermines her importance when he’s going to bring her food (and flowers), remember that this, of course, was before she revealed her true colours. He brought the favourite food(s) of his nakama. She then proceeds to reveal her (and BM’s) true intentions and the chapter ends with something along the lines of “not a single ray of hope left in this world”.

We all know what happens after that, poor Sanji is shattered because the shittyness of his situation just went through the roof, he was betrayed and .. well, he might even be a little heart-broken, but I wasn’t able to find a definite clue for that (so there might be some). Yadda-yadda, he talks with Reiju and fills her in this situation, then moves on to reunite with Luffy, the alliance with Bege is forged and now shit’s already hitting the fan.

What I want to say with this part is that, at least in my humble opinion, it would be kind of out of the blue, even from Oda’s (current) perspective, to let them end up together. First off, I’m of the opinion that Oda is actually a pretty good writer and relationships need time to develop. Time that these two didn’t really have, and what little they had left was pretty much overshadowed by her betrayal, and I’m not even talking about the fact that Luffy and Nami might have died without her even so much as giving a shit about them. Now, One Piece is, first and foremost, about friendship. And even though Sanji will gladly mock and beat, for example, Zoro, if a woman is involved, I’m fairly certain that he’d still take even his side when push comes to shove (not by beating up said woman, of course, but within the boundaries of his character).

Yes, Pudding might be redeemed and I’m somewhat certain that it’ll happen within the next chapters, and she, most likely, will be forgiven. But with forgiveness, it’s the same thing as in real life. Stuff can be forgiven but not forgotten.

Another thing, going back to the point that Oda is a good writer, is that it would, at least in my eyes, incredibly devalue Pudding’s character if she only sits back to wait for Sanji. Some more pretty pivotal topics of One Piece are, besides friendship, growth and adventure (and those sometimes/oftentimes go hand in hand with growth). Growth can take many forms within the manga, sometimes it happens within a fight (Luffy vs. Lucci, for example), other times it happens over a pretty long time (I think that Nami and Usopp are the most outstanding examples for that). So yes, Pudding can be redeemed by siding with the Straw Hats, no questions asked, but in my humble opinion, this would only be the first step towards actual growth. Simply because of the fact that one act of kindness, even if it’s a rather huge one, can’t spirit away a lifetime of being a psycho. And when it comes to Pudding, just pulling this out of my ass, her personal redemption arc / or hero’s journey if we talk Joseph Campbell, would probably consist of her travelling the world and actually learn to love herself for what she is and experience true kindness from other people, those that will accept her for the person she is, not for being the daughter of a Yonkou. But that’s just my opinion and if Oda decides to let the two of them become a canon-pairing, I’ll just live with it. I mean, there’s nothing I could do about it, writing a billion posts about why I think that’s not good will not even reach him :D

Oh well, this has become longer than I wanted it to be. Sorry for wasting your time with my babble.

#I'm not even going to tag this with shipping stuff #One Piece #Sanji #Pudding #Viola #personal opinion #Don't hate #If you hate anyway #come tussle with me big boy style #writing

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