#Usopp is my favorite straw hat and I wish him so much happiness

[fallensnowfan]

After bouncing ideas around for a post involving the WT100 popularity poll results for a while, I decided writing out my quick thoughts of the top 50 sounds fun. Don’t take this too seriously, it’s meant to be mostly silly or light-hearted.

Luffy - Always fun to see what following him leads to, a little guy.

Zoro - Like him a lot, though want to see him have more big moments that aren't fights.

Nami - My favorite character in the series, has been given so many varying roles and pulls them all off. Her belief in Luffy during the escape from Whole Cake and when refusing to back down against Ulti, and later Kaido when he claims that Luffy was defeated, are so cool.

Sanji - Once my favorite Straw Hat, has gradually fallen to least favorite since Thriller Bark.

Law - Good character, I'm just not much for moody gloomy characters, not much to say.

Robin - Seeing her gradually develop such a strong belief and connection to her friends is wonderful. Her doing the Huh face at after learning that Luffy was defeated by Kaido is what perfect character development looks like.

Hancock - I think she's a great character though the way the story has handled her trauma is less than ideal to me. Healing from trauma is not so linear, there are relapses, creeping doubts, etc. Her story including some of that and having her work through it by relying on others who have been through similar experiences, Koala perhaps, would make her character that much greater.

Carrot - Chapter 888 is so cool. Best bunny little sister. Pedroooo!

Ace - No strong opinion.

Sabo - No strong opinion, though kinda feel he overshadows Koala a bit too much, who I like much more.

Yamato - Fun character though is built on traits from characters that were already established. Luffy's energy, Tama has a connection to Ace that feels more natural, Kin'emon is Momo's father/mentor, and the Akazaya love Oden more than anyone and inherited his will. The unique part of Yama's character is a wish to be accept by the samurai of Wano, something that has happened now. His story feels complete, though if I were asked why I think his story was included in the manga, I don't think I could give an answer. Forcing Luffy away from reaching the Scabbards on the roof was a stupid and grossly selfish move from Yamato.

Shanks - Mystery man, what are you up to, Red Hair?

Corazon - He's a great character, very intense about his goals and cares a lot the people and things he wants to protect. His dynamics with the Doffy family had me very invested in that story.

Katakuri - Best donut-loving big bro.

Usopp - When he's at his best, he is amazing, though isn't consistently depicted as his best.

Chopper - Me: "Doctor Chopper! I'm impressed by your amazing medical skills, you're so skilled at such a young age!"

Chopper: "Shut up asshole! You saying that doesn't make me happy at all! ehehe." Chopper is so cute y'all. ahhh

Crocodile - Still no backstory yet he doesn't even need one to be one of the best villain in the series. A real love to hate kinda guy.

Jinbei - Shark uncle, we all thought he would be logical with Robin but he just lets Luffy do what he wants(mostly,) amazing.

Marco - Fruit-shaped bird.

Doflamingo - I want to punch him in the face.

Vivi - The original princess, I love her and Luffy's dynamic as leaders that learned from the other.

Bon Clay - The queen of last minutes saves. Bon's introduction wasn't perfect though he has been framed in a positive way and been a great ally since helping the crew escape Hina. I think he's great.

Kidd -  Angry magnet man, I like many of the Supernovas introduced during Sabaody and Kidd is one of the group I enjoy more, though also agree with Oda, nine was perhaps too many.

Oden - Good on him for gathering and uniting the group of wonderful retainers. Terrible leader until he is a great one. No in between measures exist within this man.

Perona - I love how extra she is, I know many find her annoying but that makes her even funnier for me. Acts so above it all though is just as much of a dumb weirdo as Zoro, in her own way. If she had joined the crew at the end of Thriller Bark, I would have been all for it.

Brook - Brook and Thriller Bark signify the biggest shift in what One Piece is as a story in terms of tone and how bizarre it can be. He often fell to the wayside after joining, though has a fantastic story. Really got to shine during Whole Cake and Wano as a great support crew member, graciously allowing others to take the spotlight. Yohohoho.

Smoker - Top ten introductions to a character in the series. At the rate he gets promotions, earned or otherwise, he'll outrank Imu by series end.

Franky - Suuuuuuper! Leave it to Franky. He's great and always reliable for his crew. Can't help but feel kinda bad for the guy. He was so loved pre-ts(not that I was caught up at the time) though just doesn't get as much from the readers these days.

Roger - The man who started it all. The only reason he was allowed to take over the Wano flashback for a bit was because Oda needed time to establish his himbofication. So silly that he told Neptune he thought his daughter would be hairy.

Mihawk - His sudden appearance at the Baratie is what got me hooked on One Piece. Just so cool with his coffin boat and vampire aesthetic. Vastly under-prepared for suddenly gaining two goth family members to take care of and I love it.

Whitebeard - Always the Pops to his crew, wanted a family and was able to have one.

Merry - Best girl.

Rayleigh - He's the best greasy mentor a fella like Luffy could ask for. Love the guy's carefree attitude.

Buggy - He's the great Captain Buggy, words are useless to describe his majesty.

Enel - Playboy acting out the role of god. Part of me hopes that he never shows up again and Oda never explains why beyond a "he left to another galaxy" or some nonsense. I would find that hilarious for reasons I'm unable to explain.

Aokiji - Mystery man the second, what are you up to, ice man?

Woop Slap - Mayor guy.

Tashigi - People are always wondering if Tashigi is Kuina but no! I figured it out. Kuina is Kuina and Tashigi is Mocha's sword friend!

Reiju - Best part about Reiju and the Vinsmoke siblings as characters is that they show that it's okay to leave harmful blood family behind.

Barto - Broccoli.

X Drake - Quadruple agent shy boy. I want to see his dino ability. He has always been present throughout the New World though hasn't really been given the spotlight, yet I'm hoping.

Koby - First and foremost now, I can't help but think of him as Hibari's senpai. He's grown so much since we met him.

Rob Lucci - Die

Garp - Intense guy who has been through a lot and usually expresses himself through violence.

Pudding - I could write an essay about her, I'll keep it short and say she's one of Oda's most complex characters and so much is shown about how the Charlotte family operates through getting to know Pudding.

Blackbeard - Would you believe me if I told you that it took me until I was reading Zou to realize that he was cherry pie guy? The roughly eight-year break I took between Water 7(just before the Sunny was first uncovered) and Thriller Bark is probably the reason. It really shaped how I view the character and I still find it hard to think of him as a villain because of it. It's somewhat like he and cherry pie guy are different characters in my head, but I know they're the same. It's weird.

Kiku - Perfect and beautiful and resilient and...

Izo - Very cool dual wielder and dramatic in the best way, a legend. I can't believe this man is in his 40s, he's so silly.

Hiyori - Her friendship with Toko is adorable, Kawamatsu is best kappa dad, and there's no way she isn't concealing knives, poisons, seastone needles, etc. in the sleeves or obi of her kimono at all times, Denjiro taught her well. When and how did she learn that someone she could trust was keeping her father's swords safe? When Oden gave his swords to Toki, Sukiyaki would have been imprisoned at the time, though he knew he had grandkids at the end of the arc. Either something is up or Oda didn't quite figure out the details to make everything line up, which is possible.

Shirahoshi - My favorite princess in the series, she is great and so is Otohime and her bros. Has potential to be an all time favorite. I want to see her, Jinbei, Nami, Nojiko, Koala, Hachi, and Aladdin all gather together in one place and all be cute.

[oakdll]

my favorite straw hats ranked :3

01 robin - she is genuinely just so unbelievably well written, her concept as a character is insane, but my favorite trait of hers is how she thinks so similarly to luffy. this place is also interchangeable w luffy

02 luffy - i normally don’t like main characters this much, but luffy is just so likable, i love his backstory so much, and having him be the emotional core of the paramount war saga + him losing ace is a stroke of genius. one of the best written characters literally ever

03 zoro - he’s cool as fuck and his tits are the biggest on the whole crew

04 nami - her character arc in east blue is so perfect, and seeing her be so happy in the straw hats is just amazing. her character interactions with the rest of the straw hats are so entertaining, her faith in luffy (like w her fight against ulti) is undying, and the fact she is so frightened yet so brave is super cool. she normally gets very afraid by the situations luffys antics get them into, but when things get serious, she knows she can’t stop luffy and suddenly gets very brave. i love her

05 usopp - i hope after elbaf this ranking will be a bit higher, but having such a human character in contrast to literal gods like luffy is so cool. his bravery and character moments are peak, water 7 in particular might have the single most emotional and realistic moment in one piece with his argument and fight with luffy. i just wish he had more character moments post time skip. the only time he really had a standout moment was dressrosa and i hope elbaf can give him some needed character development

06 sanji - he would be so much higher, maybe top 3, but the whole “pervert” gimmick sucks and i hate it. not only is his backstory amazing in east blue, but he is SO CLUTCH ALWAYS. he is constantly making super important decisions behind the scenes and saving everyone constantly. mr prince in alabasta, sea train in water 7, not to mention his importance being the cook of the straw hats. his backstory was already good enough, but then he got a SECOND ONE in whole cake, one of the best arcs in the whole series. one of my favorite moments of his is when he was kidnapped by black maria in wano and asked robin for help, his sheer faith in robin makes me so happy. his emotional moments are incredible, his fight scenes are amazing, the only issue is how annoying the “perverted” gimmick is.

07 franky - SUPER!!! he’s just so fun, his personality and dynamic with the whole crew is amazing. him being a cyborg and everybody being so enamored with his silly mechanics is an incredible bit. him being able to press on his nose to change hairstyles, and his massive hands post time skip having smaller hands inside of them is hilarious. the moment with robin and the big robot transformation on thriller bark where she rejects their transformation is one of the best jokes in the whole series. he doesn’t have too many emotional moments besides his backstory and his fight with senor pink (incredible fight btw) but he’s one of my favorites because of just how fun he is

08 jinbei - jinbei is kind of tied with franky, i love him but he has only really been a straw hat for like 1-2 arcs. him being so nice and noble is amazing, his relationship with nami and feeling guilty for arlongs actions, and his backstory with fisher tiger is absolutely phenomenal, i just wish there was more of him. he hasn’t had too many defining character moments as an actual straw hat besides showing no fear in front of big mom (but even then he wasn’t really a straw hat at the time). i love him as a character i love him though

09 brook - brook is also just a super fun character, his skeleton puns never get old, and his moments on whole cake and wano were COLD (literally). calling big mom “young lady” is a moment for history books and him actually getting the road poneglyph is amazing. his backstory is tragic, maybe the saddest on the whole crew, and him being a musician makes me very happy (as a musician). he is a great character but he also has the “pervert” gimmick which kinda sucks. it’s definitely less bad than sanji though, it doesn’t really interfere with his character much, he just blushes and asks to see women’s panties (asking to see big moms panties is insane btw) and it’s definitely a big character flaw, but it’s not as irritating as with sanji.

10 chopper - chopper is the only straw hat i’m kinda disappointed by. he’s a great character, but as a straw hat he barely has any defining moments. his personality is kinda basic, and the last really impactful moment for me was monster point on enies lobby. the interesting thing about monster point is that he can’t control it, and then he only uses it like one more time for a tiny bit on sabaody before he gains control of it over the time skip. other than that, he’s just kind of a nice person with a really sad backstory. this feels a bit too harsh on him, i do really like him as a character, but for being one of the main characters, he is a little lackluster.

[braindeadmaggot]

Hiya! For the OP ask: #3. Favorite romantic ship with Shanks? And Vivi? Hawkins too? #4. Favorite platonic ship with Usopp? And Robin?

I will be answering both of these from my pov as a writer. As a reader, I will read anything and will give you a 10 star rating no matter the pairing. Always. I found a random ZoroxBuggy knife kink PWP years ago (that is lost forever because I can't remember the name) and it was awesome. I recommend it.

3. Favorite romantic ship with Shanks? And Vivi? Hawkins too? I like to believe that Shanks had a preteen, puppy love romance with Buggy. While Buggy may have always had feelings for Shanks, he never acted on it until they were 13 and had their first pints of ale, got drunk and Shanks noticed how Buggy always looks at him with dreamy eyes. Since then Shanks instigated all their interactions and urged Buggy to open up and explore each other more. When the crew disbanded Shanks grew up and met new people, leaving Buggy behind to pine for him; begrudgingly so. It's one of the reasons why Buggy's so pissed off at Shanks now as adults. Of course Buggy got over it and no longer has feels for Shanks, not in the last decade or so, but getting over him was NOT easy especially when it wasn't even in his agenda to get under him, that was all Shanks' doing.

Shanks is now married to Makino and they have a baby boy together. I haven't seen Film Red yet, as it has not yet been released to the public, but whoever the fuck Uta is, she is not canon and I will be viewing this film as a very expensive fanfiction. Just like HP and the cursed child. She ain't real.

With Vivi, I do enjoy reading her shipped with Ace (there's this one fic I read ages ago that I can't find again, I thought it was Water Sector but alas I was wrong) but in my own writing Ace is with Smoker and only Smoker. Vivi: I don't mind her with Koza, I think she might actually marry him one day in canonverse... maybe. I like the idea of her with Nami, just not sure if i can write that. I mean literally I can, but I don't know if I can write it well. My heart's not in it just yet. I noticed when color coding names, Vivi's partners are all orange. It's fate

Hawkins... This is hard. When HAK (Hawkins/Apoo/Kid) alliance first came up, I immediately shipped him with Apoo. Why? Because rule 34 that's why. Like, I had it aaaall planned out. The meet cute, the debacles, the inconveniences, the second meet cute, all of it. It was like a Hallmark movie where Hawkins was a 30+ year old head strong business person that moved to a small town on a whim in the milk of autumn and met an eccentric local that pissed him off every which way and what, but they had exactly one, count it, ONE thing in common and now they're madly in love. Hawkins and Apoo..... Why did I do this? I don't even remember what it was anymore!! Wano arc came and *spoilers* the bitches were bitches and now I hate them Fuck their love, they can die alone.

That being said, ship Hawkins with his black cat mink crew member Faust because fuck it I don't care anymore. Joey Jordison looking bastard can go to hell (this makes me so sad because I fucking love Joey Jordison so fucking much. RIP #1)

4. Favorite platonic ship with Usopp? And Robin? Usopp is technically in a platonic relationship with everyone accept Kaya. But if we want to get into the could-have-been relationships, first off is Nami. I like to think she fell in love with the nerd some time after Little Garden or Drum but he shot her down and she was hurt for a while but got over it. I can kind of see her in a Shakky/Rayleigh type marriage with Luffy, but that's more like a "I'm your wife so you better listen to me" kinda thing because someone needs to be able to legally control the rubber idiot and also she gets 50% of everything he has so it's also an investment. But this isn't about Nami!!

Second chb is with Sanji. I love seeing SanUso art and they look so great together. In a perfect world I think SanUso could definitely be a strong and healthy thing, but this is One Piece and not a single thing is even remotely healthy about anything.

Third (and fourth) chb is if Usopp had stayed behind on Water 7. Franky joined Luffy and left, leaving Usopp all alone with no one on a completely new island. No friends, no Merry; nothing. He probably would have started working for Iceburg and became Paulie's apprentice. His ship designs would be highly sought for and he more than likely would have invented a lot of stuff of the yagara bulls and he also probably would have a Sogeking statue somewhere like how the dwarves have a Noland bust in Tontatta Kingdom. The entire island would be his friends but the two people that would love him the most, and he would love the most would be Kiwi and Mozu. They're just a couple of years older than him (Kiwi was 20, Mozu 19 when they met SHP), they're Franky's backup dancers/little sisters, they know the ins and outs of the underworld and black market, AND they look like Banchina. HIS MOTHER. He would have followed them around like a lost puppy calling them "Big Sisses Big Sisses". They don't know why he looks that them weird sometimes, why he always makes sure they're comfortable and makes them tea, like, ALWAYS, all the time. TEA. He even has extra blankets out in case they get cold because one, his mom, and two, they wear bikinis everywhere. They might get cold. He'd subconsciously revert back to his 10 year old self talking care of his sickly mom, K&M would more than likely get fed up because A) they're older than him and B) not in their own house you treat them like little kids. It would be very awkward but in the end I think Franky Family would have turned into Usopp Pirates 2.0.

Robin's got a major broship with Zoro.

[ace-no-isha]

birthday boy!

a surprise party for your favorite chef. sanji x gn!reader

———————————————————————

as you added the finishing touches to the cake, you couldn’t help but feel proud. you’d been working on it as the rest of the crew decorated the deck. you’d planned this out with everyone. nami had sunny dock at a port to restock on supplies. you had been left behind to watch the ship that day. after sanji left to go grocery shopping, the rest of the straw hats made their way back to the ship to help you set up. franky and usopp made a little cannon to stream confetti down. luffy and (begrudgingly) zoro put up the banner. you called sanji, asking him if he could come back to the ship after he was done shopping. when he came into the dining room, he saw that the lights were off. when he switched them on, his eyes widened. “SURPRISE!!” filled the room along with confetti and the sound of party horns blowing. you brought out the cake with the candles lit. “happy birthday, sanji! we wanted to do something to celebrate you today,” you say with a sheepish grin. “did you plan this? all this for me?” he sputtered, still incredulous that you made so much effort for him. “it’s nothing compared to what you do for us every day. now make a wish so we can party!” you hold up the cake to him, and after a moment to think, he blows out the candles. whoops and hollers and the party begins! brook plays a new song titled “happy birthday sanji-san,” accompanied by franky. chopper, luffy and usopp dance with chopsticks in their nose. robin and nami enjoy the food you made. zoro’s enjoying the good sake you pulled out for the occasion. and sanji takes you to dance. he twirls you and pulls you into a hug. “thank you, love. you really didn’t have to do all this.” you scoff. “sanji, i would give you the world on a platter if you asked. let us celebrate you! it was my pleasure, truly. now come cut the cake before luffy gets to it. i want pictures.” he laughs and lets you pull him to the food. the night ends with full stomachs and lots of smiles.

[unknown-writing]

It’s hard doing this on my own...

Summary: You’ve gone into another Depressive state...This time. It’s far more violent than the last Depressive spell.

Warning(s): TRIGGERING CONTENT ABOUT EXTREME DEPRESSIVE EPISODES! DO NOT READ IF YOUR NOT COMFORTABLE! Ends with fluff. No gifs.

Word count: 2.9k+

A/N: I’m ok.

Luffy has always known you were...Different, than the others. Sure, everybody in the crew went through some tough times in their past but, they made up for that time to make them and their friends smile more. You however...Struggled with genuinely smiling these days again.

It concerned him how distant and emotionless you became. You kept yourself locked away inside that room, to protect the others from being hurt or feeling guilty...All he saw was that you were locked away in a Cage of Sadness that he couldn’t seem to pull you out of no matter how hard he tried too.

Tonight was no exception to his daily routine. He placed the food that Sanji had made on the floor so you could grab it whenever you were ready, then sat down beside your door on the floor of the ship. “Y/n-san...Dinner’s here....” He said loud enough for you to hear, but not enough to startle you.

Nothing....Just silence.

He waited for a few more minutes before getting worried that you weren’t opening the door for the food, but before his worry could worsen. Your door slightly opened wide enough to drag the tray back in...He wanted to see your face again...He missed it. he missed /you/.  Shockingly enough, you /didn’t/ close the door after grabbing the food. Which confused him to say the least because you never allowed him to see you So Sad.

“Y/n-san?” he called out, stepping up to walk into the room, only to pause when he sees you...So....Hurt. It hurt /him/ seeing you like this. His body moved on it’s own and he hugged you tightly, quite literally wrapping his arms around your body.

You didn’t do anything...No smiles, no tears....Nothing.

That worried him.

      “Y-Y/n-san?...” He calls out to you as he still held you. You looked up at him with dead, red eyes from crying so much before now. “Sorry...Luffy...” You weakly started then gave an expressionless chuckle that lacked any kind of excitement, worrying him further, “I can’t feel anything....”

That hit him like a two ton truck. “Can’t feel anything?” What did that mean? Was his hug not working?...He hugged tighter...No real response other than a grunt from being hugged tighter., It didn’t irritate you. It was just uncomfortable and hard to breath properly. Luffy got sad when you didn’t show any response towards his hugs like you used too. So he let go to let you breath better. “You can’t.....Feel anything y/n-san??” He asked again as he held your face, staring dead in your emotionless, empty eyes.

“No....Sorry....” You simply responded, only feeling his hands /slightly/ on your face. Luffy frowned, he was confused on why you were so numb and emotionless now. Was it the Depression you mentioned before? Or was somebody taking your feelings from you against your will? All he could do was sigh and then lift you up bridal style, it hurt not seeing you get flustered about it, but instead, look limp and dead-like in his arms. You seemed a lot more heavier than he expected as well.

He went to chopper, asking for help on what to do, the whole crew was there with you as you just...Quietly sat on the chair you were placed on, and stared at the floor while absorbing everything in. “She’s broken?...” Luffy asked, confused on how you could be broken “Well...Not exactly....But, it’ll take a VERY long time for them to gain their feelings back to normal....They’re hurting.” Choppers words affected the crew, as they were all friends with you. But more importantly, Luffy was affected the most since he was your boyfriend.

       Several months later, Luffy did his hardest to try and make your life just a little bit easier for you. Protecting you during battles. making sure the crew respected your wishes when it came to privacy. Making sure that you ate and slept a healthy amount of each thing so you wouldn’t hurt yourself anymore than you were.

The crew was celebrating another Team-Up mission with the Heart Pirates, they knew that Law was a Doctor so, they confirmed that you did in fact, have Severe Depression...And it started getting REALLY bad over time, but that a shift was going to change after a while. Which surprised Luffy to say the least but, he didn’t force you to change for anything.

You were off in your own corner with Zoro, as the two of you had gotten to be close friends before your Depressive state. Luffy was sitting with the two of you since he’s gotten fairly protective over you, over the last several months. You just drinking some Tea and had some of your favorites out of this feast that Sanji and the Heart’s crew had prepared for everybody, minding your own business as you absorbed everything.

You felt....Lighter...MUCH lighter than before...It’s not 100% happiness but, it’s /something/ to say the least. Zoro saw the slight shine that came back to your eyes for a split second, but didn’t comment on it and just left you be. Meanwhile, Luffy was reenacting his fight with a recent enemy that was super strong, you listened in every now and then, but heard that Luffy nearly got killed.

That worried you...Your face warped in concern but, went away fairly quick when he said that he managed to make it out somewhat alright thanks to the crew. You were thankful for them keeping him alive. He was your boyfriend after all.

Your boyfriend........

Your Boyfriend.....

The thought of the fact that you nearly lost your boyfriend to an enemy hit you like a two ton truck. You sat there deadpanned, but you felt something Wet falling down your cheeks. You didn’t move or say anything. Luffy paused when he heard a faint sniffle from your throat...You were crying.

He started to panic, wondering why you were crying all of a sudden. You rubbed your face and held up a hand to make him pause, “I...I’m ok....I’m ok...” You repeated, “How are you ok y/n-san!? Your crying!” he yelled, worried that his story may have triggered you into a relapse. Once you started calming down, you chuckled, albeit it was very soft and awkward, “Sorry...I’m Sorry...It’s just...The thought of losing my boyfriend got me more upset than my Depression that I started crying...” You admitted, now shocking Luffy and the crew that could hear you.

Luffy paused, somewhat stunned by you just admitting that outright...”Y/n-san?...” he asked while waiting for a response from you...You weren’t exactly back to normal, but the very, /very/ small smile you gave was Bright enough for him to notice that you were coming back from being so numb for so long. Luffy was ecstatic to say the least. Even if your smile was small and awkward. You still /smiled/ after so long of being unable too.

Luffy shouted your name out when he flung into your lap, startling you, which caught /everybody’s attention/ this time and turned to see what was happening. Much to their surprise. There you were. Giving a soft smile as your boyfriend hugged you tightly, keeping you close to him. The crew sighed in relief that you were starting to express emotions again.

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

Sanji was always in-tune with your emotions. He could sense that something would be eating at you before you even mentioned it, he made himself become synced with your emotions so that way he could be there for you in any way possible, even if it’s for a short time.

However, when your too quiet and distant. He can’t really do much to help you out. He can’t guess what your feeling that day because you’re avoiding him and the others. He can’t be there for you for emotional support if you’re not willing to accept it from him.

Soon enough. After a couple of months of realizing this familiar pattern of yours, he knew what was up. He knew that you were having yet another Really Bad Depressive episode again...Only this time, it seemed to be FAR worse than what happened the last time. Lasting a longer time than usual...It affected him quite a lot. He felt guilty that he couldn’t hold you or kiss you goodnight/good morning. He couldn’t so much as see your face because you refused to let him see this Ugly Demon of yours.

      Today was different. It felt off to him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it but, while he was out shopping for food supplies on this small Island with the others. Nami had left YOU to take care of the ship. Sanji had to force Usopp to stay behind and help in case the ship got attacked while they were gone.

“--anji-kun??” Nami called out, “SANJI-KUN!!” She yelled, snapping him out of his worried trance over you. “H-Huh?? Sorry..What were you saying??” he asked, snapping back to reality. Nami could only groan in irritation, sighing as she rubbed her face. “Look. If your that worried about y/n-san. Then go back to the ship. Give me your grocery list and I’ll do the shopping for you.” She says while shooing him.

You weren’t expecting to be outside of your room...But it’s not like it was your fault to begin with. You gave an irritated scowl as the guy held you in his bigger arms, practically choking you in the process. You were being used as a hostage to calm down Usopp, and hopefully lure out the other Straw Hats to collect their bounties and turn them in.

“Right...We’ll be taking this lovely lady as well with your treasure...” The guy starts off, but saw that Usopp was about to fight back, so he held out a gun to your head and chuckled. “Don’t even try anything...You move, this girl gets her head blown off.” He threatens before going into a chuckle fit. You looked up at him with your expressionless eyes, a smile was there but, it was creepy. “Sure...go ahead and kill me....But, I don’t think you got the stomach to handle that.” You teased, giving out a small Pfftt sound effect afterwards when he cringed and released you, just letting you fall on your knees.

“Y-Y/n-san! Don’t give him any ideas!!” Usopp shouted, scared for you. All you could do was sigh sadly, “As I thought...” You paused to look up, “You didn’t have the guts to shoot...” You teased again, making the Pirate Hunter flinch again and re-point the gun at you face in point-blank range. “Creepy girl.” He insulted.

        But before he could shoot, his head got kicked in and his aim barely missed your head. You sat there, wide-eyed when you saw your boyfriend Sanji, He looked angry as he was literally on fire. You then saw his face up close when he started to fight the other guys, kicking them off the ship or sending them flying into the deeper part of the ocean. By the time he was done, the main leader of the Pirate Hunters had been placed underneath his foot, Sanji was holding his face there, you could see the other guy’s face warping in fear for his own life

Sanji then lifted his leg up, and then a loud /thump/ rang in your ear. he crushed the guy’s skull in, killing him right in front of you. “DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT HURTING /MY/ Y/N-SAN!” He screamed, which made the last remaining few of the Pirate hunters run for it, jumping overboard as they panicked in fear from Black-Leg Sanji.

You stayed still. Shocked as to what exactly had happened. You were about to be killed while you were Depressed....You /wanted it/..You /craved it/....But even so, the feeling of being rescued by your boyfriend...Overwhelmed you. You stayed still and started to cry out loud, startling Sanji out of his anger-trance to go to you and hold you tightly. At first, you didn’t do anything. But after a while, the crying got worse, you clung to him for dear life.

You /wanted to die/...But even so...Being saved by him made you thankful for the save he just did. “T-Thank you Sanji!! I....I thought I w-was gonna...Gonna die!” You panicked, somewhat yelling within your hiccupped sobs. Sanji kept you close and did his best to calm you down from your meltdown, cooing you as he ignored Usopp and his surroundings. “I’m just glad that your feeling better y-y/n-san...” He says, knowing that you weren’t 100% there but, you were alive regardless.

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

Despite how Zoro is. He instantly knew that you weren’t.../There/ mentally for the last while the first minute he saw that you hadn’t woken up with him in his bed this time.

This time however....Had gotten pretty bad. A lot of your old habits started showing themselves but, they seemed to be doubled over time. At first he decided to just....Leave you be, in case if you just needed the time to yourself so that way you can focus on getting better. But...Over time when this started to become a constant with your routine. That’s when his panic really started to kick in.

Today marked the 34th day that you kept in your room. Sure, you’d peak out for food and something to drink or snack on, but that was way in the beginning. It’s been three weeks since you barely showed up. Zoro paced back and forth in front of your room, softly mumbling to himself on what he should do. Should he knock on the door? No, that’d startle you..Should he just barge in if it’s unlocked? No..You’d probably hate him if he did that..What if you were blacked out? Or sick? oR DEAD!? “Zoro....If you keep pacing back and forth like that...It won’t fix anything...” Nami said in a worried tone of voice, seeing her friend pace back and forth with worry. Zoro only scoffed and shooed her out. so he could focus on helping you somehow.

            Suddenly, a loud /thump/ echoed your room when he listened in, that was enough to get him to just slam the door open in a frenzy, worried out of his god damn mind on what was happening. “Y/n!?” He called out....Nothing. he looked around your small room and noticed that it was a complete disaster. it seemed like you had fought somebody in here. he clicked his tongue, disappointed in himself for being unable to be there during one of your meltdowns when you needed him most.

He paused when he saw your body on the ground, panicking, he started calling out your name loudly. You weren’t dead...Thank god. But you were very weak...Too weak. Zoro yelled to get the other crew member’s attention as he lifted up your weakened body. You were breathing but, it was heavy. “The hell happened??” He asked, feeling a sense of guilt start to wash over, before he moved further though, he felt something tap against his boot. “A bottle?” he turned it over so he could get the label and read it’s content.

He couldn’t fully read it properly but, he got enough of an idea that it completely shocked him. Before the others had arrived, he rushed with your limp body to Chopper’s “office” so he could check up on what was happening with you from a professional...He had an idea but, he didn’t want to assume either.

“Y/n was trying to overdose on something.” Chopper said bluntly while looking at the content from the blood he took from you. He sighed and noticed that it was a medicine that he used to numb his patience when they need severe stitches. “But...They’ll be ok....Luckily you caught them just in time Zoro. Anymore of this could’ve killed them.” Zoro didn’t say much. he just thanked Chopper for the hard work and patted his head gently.

     It took a while for you to get back to normal after that night. You felt extremely guilty and kept apologizing to both Zoro and the rest of the crew for what you tried to do. At first, they where angry but after a while, they understood what you were going through and left you alone. Zoro on the other hand, was NOT happy....Not one bit. He wasn’t /livid/ either but, he wasn’t too pleased with what he saw. The scene of him finding your nearly dead body kept playing in his mind. he was terrified of losing you, so terrified that it actually scared him.

Eventually though, you and Zoro were able to talk a little less awkwardly now. The two of you stayed in the workout room just talking about random stuff. A small silence filled the air after a while...You sighed, rubbing the back of your head awkwardly. “...Thank you...” You say quietly, but loud enough for Zoro to hear. “...For saving me that night...”  After hearing you thank him for saving you. At first, he wanted to be petty and make you sit in that guilt for a bit.

But after a short few moment, he caved in and wrapped his arms around you tightly. You didn’t say anything but, you could tell he was upset, as he shivered a bit within the hug. “Don’t ever do that again y/n...” He starts off then paused to inhale, “If you need to talk to somebody. I’m here. I’ll always be here.” he lets go so that way he can kiss your forehead and put you on his lap to cuddle you again. “I can’t stand the thought of you not being by my side.” he admits, which really warmed your heart. 

You sighed and patted his head gently, “...I promise to turn to you from now on.” You say as the two of you cuddled then fell asleep in each others arms.

[missallsundaes]

Usopp is my favorite character! And I was so excited to see that you love him too 🥰 there aren’t many stories about him and I was wondering if I could ask that you write another when you found the time? Maybe something smutty? Or fluffy? Or both after he and reader reunite again after the time skip? Where he’s confident now that reader will notice him but obvi they already did ♥️

UHM I love Usopp so fucking much you are so valid he's one of my fav characters of all time.

SO rereading your request after I got an idea, I realized that you asked for… a hook up post time skip but like. I couldn’t not do a big fluffy “i missed you so much” reunion after two years so they have a prev relationship but returned with Usopp being more confident and reader learning things about themself haha.

This is so fluffy and so gushy but also nsfw. It’s cringe worthy sweet because I’m a fucking sucker for Usopp and I want him to be happy.

This turned out so much longer than I meant for it to, bc I was just going to do a drabble but here’s this 1900 word fic, haha.

TLDR: MUSHY fic bc Usopp deserves happiness.

NSFW undercut but it's just like.. Very loving emotional sex. No real kinks but there is crying during sex, but not written to be kinky.

______________________

“USOPP!” You screamed, running at top speed, past all of your other crew mates and straight into the arms of your boyfriend. Sure you were happy to see the other Straw Hats, but there was only one man who your heart beat for, and finally after two years apart, here he was.

He braced himself for your hug and you felt him lift you up and spin you around in his arms, “[y/n] oh my god I missed you!” He was all smiles, kissing across your face and holding you as close as he could, your feet still far from the ground.

His arms were more defined, muscles you weren’t used to feeling, flexing against your body to hold you up. “Wow you’ve been busy,” You smiled, kissing him back, hands finding their way to his strong arms. “Are you sure this is my Usopp?”

He laughed, setting you down, smiling the bright smile you missed so much, “What, you don’t remember all of this?” He joked, flexing both of his arms for you, acting out mock scenes of strength and showing off the rippling muscles that you didn’t quite know that you were into until well, just now.

You touched his exposed chest, fingers lingering over hard abs, “Well maybe I just forgot how absolutely strong my brave warrior was..”

You smiled at him, raising your chin to kiss his soft lips. Your words causing him to blush a bit, clearly melting at your praise, before returning your kiss, his arms wrapping around you again, hands in the small of your back to hold you close to him as he deepened the kiss passionately, clearly he had missed you just as much, ached for you just as much. These past two years had been hell, but finally everyone was back together.

“Get a room you two,” You heard someone laugh from behind you, and you suddenly realized how handsy you were being, how absolutely embarrassingly clingy you were being, causing you to flush a beet red.

The party the first night back on the Sunny was, no contest, one of the most fun nights you had ever had with your crew. Sanji had prepared a feast so big that even Luffy was having trouble by the end of the night, everyone catching each other up on the years apart and enjoying being with their family again. Everyone had grown so much in two years, both in visibly noticeable differences and emotionally. Everyone was still who you remembered, but matured. You supposed the same thing could be said about yourself, even though you couldn’t point out in yourself what had changed.

Drinks had flowed freely, Brook providing the most excellent of tunes, laughter and familiarity unbounded. How you had missed this. More than you realized. Just being together, being a family and feeling comfortable.

It was getting late now, and your head swam a bit from the drinks in you, despite how much you had eaten to soak it up. Cuddled up under the tangerine trees on the deck you were wrapped in Usopp’s arms, sitting between his thighs, his face pressed between your neck and collarbone comfortably, occasionally leaving kisses. He hummed in tune to the music on the deck below, Brook playing the piano and singing, Luffy and Sanji had drunkenly joined in singing along, not keeping the tune nearly as well.

“I missed you so much,” He said, arms squeezing you tightly, like he couldn’t get close enough, “I was so worried about you, I wish I could have just heard your voice.”

“C’mon, Uso,” You smiled, leaning against him and holding his arms under yours sweetly, “I’m a big girl, you know I can hold my own.”

“You’re even more beautiful than the last time I saw you,” He said, the tone in his voice so honest and clear with you, even tinged with the slur of his drink. “I must be the luckiest man sailing the seas.”

Your face was flushed, thankful for the darkening sky hiding it, “Shush you, it’s just the drink talking.” You patted his arm with your hand, as if to shush him.

“I mean it, you’re so gorgeous, you’re everything I’ve ever dreamed about my whole life,” His voice broke a little and you felt hot tears on your shoulder, “I was worried you wouldn’t wait for me the two years, I’d die if you realized how much better you were than me.”

“No no, none of that!” You said, spinning around suddenly, bumping noses with him as you turned, “You’re so much more than what you think of yourself.” You locked lips with the marksman, kissing deeper and more brazen than you meant, the passion getting to you.

His lips parted, and you took the opportunity to slip your tongue between them, his hands finding your hips as he deepened the kiss. Has he always been this good at kissing? Or was it the drink? Or how much you had missed each other's bodies?

“If we snuck off to the rooms, no one would notice,” You whispered, lips still touching his lips as you spoke. You smiled as you watched the blush spread across his cheeks, one thing hadn’t changed at least, he was so easy to fluster.

Your hand trailed down his chest, lingering on his waist, teasing at the last section of exposed skin before his trousers.

He tried to stutter out a reply, but ended up just nodding his head quickly as a response, lifting you up in a quick motion, carrying you bridal style down to the cabins below deck.

He set you down gently on the bed, treating you like a princess, kissing you and trailing those kisses down to your neck and chest, unbuttoning your blouse and kissing your breasts gently, always using such a soft touch with you.

“You’re so gorgeous,” He whispered against your skin, “So perfect.”

He climbed into bed next to you, hands slipping under your trousers, touching your body over your undergarments, his lips finding yours again, kissing you as you found your hands exploring his body. It would take some getting used to the new terrain under your fingers, where he was such a beanpole before, he had obviously trained so hard over the last two years, and his body was so familiar but so different.

Kissing and fondling quickly becoming more heated between you, he unbuttoned his coveralls, kicking them off his legs to the ground below the bed. You followed suit in quick succession, tossing your blouse aside and kicking off trousers to join his on the floor. His hands wrapped around your back to unhook your bra without breaking the kiss, you slipping your arms free of the straps and letting him toss it away.

His strong hand, more rough than you remembered, found its way to your heat again, slipping his hand under your panties, fumbling a bit in the moment before finding your clit with a gasp from you, some things hadn’t changed, really. His fingers slipped down your slit to find the moistening of your opening, dragging your slick back up to your clit to make his movements smoother, rolling your clit in circles under his fingers.

His mouth left yours, to trail kisses to your neck, leaving gentle marks against your skin, adjusting his weight on the bed until his mouth was at your breasts, his other hand cupping a breast to his mouth, a flash of tongue against your nipple before he sucked it into his mouth, kneading the soft flesh in his calloused hand.

“Usopp, please,” You moaned under his ministrations on your body, “I want you.”

You felt him freeze a bit, always easy to fluster, always easy to shy away. You stifled a laugh, “C’mon Uso~” you purred, arching your back and adjusting your legs to press your thigh against his member through his boxers, feeling the damp of his precum even through his underwear. “Please?”

“W-well I can’t very well deny such a request from a Goddess, can I?” He said masking a stutter and sliding your underwear from your hips before pulling his off and adjusting.

You looked down, eyes widening, “Usopp I know.. I keep saying you’ve grown but.. Did your dick.. Get bigger?” There was no doubt to you that there was at least another inch on your boyfriend’s length.

He looked down, having not thought about it before, “Uh.. oh.. Maybe?” He laughed, “Not too scary for you I hope.”

“No,” You said, wrapping your hands around his neck and pulling him down on top of you, “Just be gentle with me, it’s been a while even without the extra size..”

“Always,” He said, kissing you again as he slid his length into your waiting sex, letting you adjust to his cock as he did. Fully inside of you he gave you a moment to adjust, “Ready?” He said, and you nodded, eyes half lidded and biting your lip.

He started thrusting against you, a steady pace, his hands firmly gripping your hips to piston his hips against you. The air between you was hot and heavy, full of your desperate breath, your mouths barely separating except to let moans slip between your lips. Your hands found his hair, slipping your hands to the back of his head, fingers threaded through his thick curls, gripping him closer to you as his pace quickened from the passion between you.

It wasn’t long before you felt the familiar feeling of an orgasm building within you, taut like a rubberband, ready to snap with each pump of his hips into you, his pace steady but getting sloppier as he neared his own orgasm.

You wrapped your legs around his waist, holding him closer to you, his pumping action now more shallow but hitting you deeper, rubbing that sweet spot inside you that you swear he wasn’t long enough to hit the last time you were together, and god it was driving you crazy.

“I’m going to cum, Usopp,” You moaned against his lips, arching your back against his chest and pressing your sex into him desperately.

“Come for me, baby,” He moaned, pulling you into him rhythmically, “I’m close too.” His confidence in telling you to come for him was all it took to push you to that edge, feeling your orgasm take over your body you moaned his name loudly, fingers gripping in his hair for dear life.

Your body tightening on his cock was all it took for him to release his own orgasm, pumping inside you until your own orgasm had subsided, then pulling out to splash his slick jizz across your stomach, secondary pumps splashing lower, covering your body in his seed.

His lips met yours again and you felt tears splash your cheeks as he let his body fall into yours, curling up next to you to hold you close to him. “I love you so much, so so much,” he cried, huge tears pooling in the corners of his eyes.

You felt your own tears pooling, threatening to spill over your lids. “Shuush, don’t cry Usopp,” you trailed your hand across his cheek lovingly, “I love you so much, you’re my everything.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” He said, looking into your eyes with all the love and devotion in his heart.

“I could say the same thing, my darling.” You said, kissing his nose, “We’ll never be apart again.”

[eirist]

Little Bits and Pieces of Heaven

WISH COME TRUE

One-shot #: 27

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

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

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T

Note: What is there to say but… HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAMI!!!

Summary: Birthday wishes might be overrated but not when they are made to come true.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAMI!!!”

The whole crew greeted in unison the moment the orange-haired navigator stepped inside the decorated galley—in the midst of popping confetti, clapping and shouting.

Their voices were surprisingly in sync and Nami wondered if they practiced the greeting days before her birthday or they were just that enthusiastic.

“Ah! Minna! Thank you!” She gushed as she looked at the happy, grinning faces of her crewmates and her own smile widened some more.

The room was filled with balloons in different colors of orange, white and silver. Some were floating up the ceiling with glittering streamers hanging down from them. Others were scattered all over the galley floor. There were letter balloons at the far end of the room with the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY spelled out.

The Straw Hats went all out with the decorating and Nami can’t help but be pleased.

“You guys… this is wonderful!” She exclaimed as a whirl of hearts appeared suddenly in front of her.

“Nami-swan! Happy birthday!” Sanji stopped twirling and dropped down on one knee in front of the mapmaker. He held her hand in his, bowing slightly before planting a kiss on it. “Your birthday feast is ready my sweet mellorine!”

“Arigatou, Sanji-kun!” Nami glanced at the table, filled with delicious food and desserts, with a beautifully made three-tier cake in the middle, complete with sparklers.  “Everything looks amazing!”

“Anything for you my love!” The blond cook sang and froze in happiness when Nami blew him a kiss.

“Nami! Happy birthday!” Chopper cheerily approached her and took her other hand, tugging her towards the direction of the table. They left Sanji, still frozen and kneeling down on one knee.

“Thank you Chopper!” She lifted him up and kissed his cheek. Chopper blushed and giggled and pointed towards the cake. “Time to blow the candles and make a wish.”

“Yeah!” Luffy shouted, eyes sparkling from too much excitement at the food in front of him. “Come on Nami hurry, hurry!”

Nami just chuckled at her captain’s impatience. Normally that would earn him a knuckle on the head but since this day is special… she decided to just let it go.

“Alright. Alright!” She said as she approached the table. She smiled at Robin, Franky and Brook as they all greeted her before marveling at the astounding cake in front of her.

“Wow!” She breathed out.

“Make a wish Nami!” Chopper said as he jumped on the empty dining chair to get a good view when she finally blew the candles out.

“Faster witch,” Zoro drawled on her other side. He was sitting on the chair on her left, already enjoying a tankard of his favorite alcohol. “Luffy’s about to turn rabid from hunger.”

She narrowed her eyes at him yet he only smirked at her, muttering a ‘happy birthday’ before taking a drink from his mug as Luffy chanted ‘meshi! meshi!’ in the background.

“Come on birthday girl!” Usopp coerced her. “Make a wish and then blow the candles!”

“Oi you idiots! Don’t rush Nami-san!” Sanji bellowed as he finally recovered from Nami’s earlier blown kiss.

“It’s alright Sanji-kun!” Nami’s smile at him was enough to stop the chef in his tracks as hearts started popping out from him. She closed her eyes, silently making some wishes from her heart, before taking a deep breath and blowing the cake’s candles so they can start the celebration.

Cheers broke out when she was able to blow them all in one go. Chopper was elatedly announcing how her wish will come true because of that.

Nami certainly hope so.

“Well what are we waiting for?” Usopp hollered as Sanji took her hand again to guide her to the seat at the head of the table—something Luffy graciously gave up for Nami’s special day (with some cajoling and promises of meat).

“It’s time to celebrate Nami’s birthday!!!”

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

“Gimme.”

Zoro paused in the middle of bringing his mug to his lips when Nami held out her hand to him, her palm facing upward.

“What?” He cocked an eyebrow at her.

Nami thrust her hand closer to his face, her fingers moving in a give me motion.

Zoro just continued looking at her blankly.

She made a face at him. “Gosh Zoro. Even Luffy has given me something for my birthday.”

“Tch.”

Nami sighed, resting both hands on her hips. No use teasing this surly swordsman if he have a birthday present for her.

Because the answer’s most likely no.

Well she was expecting it. But of course that doesn’t mean she wasn’t disappointed.

She just decided to shove that thought down the deepest recesses of her mind and just enjoy her birthday celebration.

“You going anywhere tomorrow?” Zoro suddenly asked just when she was about to turn her back on him.

“Huh?” She blinked curiously at him. “Why?”

Zoro regarded her for a moment. “Let’s go somewhere.”

Nami’s ears perked up at that and her eyes widened. Go somewhere?

Did he just… did he mean…

“Where?” She inquired almost breathlessly, her heart racing.

Zoro smirked. “You’ll find out tomorrow.” He stood up and made a grab for the bottle half-filled with sake. “Happy Birthday Nami.” With that he moved to exit the galley to head to the nest for his watch, leaving her dumbfounded.

Honestly… did he just like… ask her out?

Seems like one of her birthday wishes will come true after all.

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

“So where are we going?”

That was the first thing Nami asked Zoro when they met each other on the deck the next morning after breakfast.

“Didn’t Robin tell you?” The swordsman frowned at her.

“Robin?”

“Yeah. Robin’s coming with us.”

“Oh.” Nami blinked. Robin’s coming with them? The archaeologist didn’t mention anything about that last night before they went to bed.

Yet she nodded to show her agreement and understanding… even if she doesn’t really get it.

“Don’t worry, you’ll like it,” Zoro assured her, when he saw her doubtful expression. “Just don’t wear any of those pointy shoes you fancy.”

Nami stared hard at him. She shouldn’t wear pointy shoes? Does he mean high heels?

Why? Where are they going?

“Ara… are you two ready?” Robin’s soft voice put a stop to their conversation. The raven-haired beauty was walking towards them, dressed in her hiking gear.

Nami looked at Zoro inquisitively who just nodded at her. “We’ll go once Nami’s ready.” Then he walked away from her and headed towards the boy’s quarters… probably to change as well.

“Not a problem,” Robin smiled at him then at Nami.

“Oi!!! Luffy suddenly shouted as he bounded across the lawn, full of energy, with his adventure backpack already on his back. “Let’s get going! Sanji! Where’s our bento?!”

“Damn it aho sencho!” The blond cook shouted from the galley. “Can you just wait?!”

“Are you still not ready Nami?” Usopp walked past her, eyeing her up and down as he adjusted the straps of his own backpack.

“Ok wait.” Nami held up a hand in a stopping motion. Everyone is in their hiking-slash-explorer apparels. “What is happening? Are we all going?”

“Of course!” Luffy said, pumping both arms up in the air. “It’s an adventure!”

“Definitely!” Usopp frowned at her, offended that she sound disappointed that they will be joining them.

Nami mirrored his expression. “But…”

Usopp raised an eyebrow at her. “What? Wait don’t tell me you think this is gonna be just you and Zoro?”

“No!” Nami growled under her breath, inwardly horrified that Usopp somehow sensed that. “Where did that even come from?!”

How in the world did they all know about today? She was pretty sure she was the only one Zoro asked last night.

The grin that appeared on Usopp’s face was evil. “Oh. You do think it’s just gonna be the two of you?”

“WHAT?!”

“Oooh… I did hear him tell you.” the sharpshooter cooed as her face turned red. “But Robin also told us last night that we’ll all be heading somewhere today.”

Nami’s frown deepened at that. So… they weren’t actually going to be alone today. She honestly thought that was the case.

Because as far as she knows… she was the only one he asked.

Well… it wasn’t though.

Nami shoulders slumped dejectedly. This is Zoro they’re talking about. There is a much better chance of trying to shoot at the moon and hitting it. “I’ll just go and get changed so we can head out to wherever we are going.” She mumbled glumly.

So much for one of her birthday wishes coming true.

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

“Where are we heading?” Nami muttered under her breath as she trudged along the dense jungle trail, shoving away the enormous plant leaves that were blocking their path.

She had been rather excited about today last night. Right after Zoro told her they were going somewhere.

They. Them and their crew.

She pouted as felt annoyance stirring up inside her. She felt rather cheated. Not to mention, they had been hiking for about an hour now and she was getting tired. Robin has kept mum about where they were going. The same goes for Zoro, who was already a closemouthed person to begin with.

Between Luffy’s constant hollering, Usopp complaining, Chopper getting excited with all the plant life growing along the trail, Zoro and Sanji’s bickering every ten minutes and this excursion turning out to be one big of a disappointing trip… she was about to reach her breaking point.

“Are you ok Nami?”

Robin had stopped walking to wait for her, with a gentle smile gracing her lips. But Nami can see how brightly her usually cool blue eyes were shining from excitement.

Wherever they are heading… Robin’s eager to get to it as fast as possible.

But she still doesn’t get it why Zoro asked her last night. Robin could’ve just told her that she was planning on a hiking trip to the jungle… just right after her birthday.

“Where are we going Robin?” Nami can’t stop herself from asking. She watched as the boys continued moving forward, noisy as ever. She wouldn’t be surprised if they provoked whatever animals are lurking in this place because of racket they are making.

Good thing Franky and Brook decided to stay behind… or it’ll be much noisier.

“Are you alright?” Robin inquired again. “Just a few more kilometers and we’ll be there.”

“Where and what is there?”

“Something that you like.”

Nami looked startled at that. Then she narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You know Zoro said the same thing.”

Robin chuckled.

“Robin come on! Spill! Tell me something!” Nami whined.

The older woman just smiled at her. “Let’s go before the boys take a wrong turn or lose Zoro.”

“Just let him get lost. We have Chopper. We’ll find him later.” Nami huffed as she followed Robin who had resumed trekking.

“That would be a shame.”

“Why?!”

Robin glanced behind her mischievously. “Wherever we are going… Zoro has something for you there.”

That made Nami stop in her tracks.

Zoro has something for her?

Robin chuckled again as she watched Nami’s eyes widened.

“Let’s get going shall we Nami?”

This time the navigator followed her almost immediately in stunned silence.

Is that why Zoro told her they were going somewhere today? Because he actually has something for her?

Her birthday present?

Nami fought the smile that was threatening to appear on her lips. Robin’s sharp eyes might notice that she is excited about this.

A few more minutes of marching along the trail and Nami can’t help but ask.

“What does he have for me anyway? And why is it inside this jungle?” Nami muttered darkly. She was excited at the thought of getting a gift from the ever-stoic swordsman but seriously, this non-stop hiking is slowly dampening her enthusiasm.

Robin glanced back at her amusedly. “It’s a actually surprise. You don’t like surprises?”

“From Zoro?” Nami blinked at that. “That thought is already a surprise in itself. Seriously, I don’t think he’s capable of doing anything like this.” She glared at the idiot mosshead who were walking a few feet ahead of them. “Besides what kind of surprise is this that you have to exert so much effort to get it?”

The archaeologist giggled at her impatience. “Well to be honest, with a right push he is capable of anything. Give our swordsman some credit. Besides… as I have said you will like it.”

Nami buried to her side. “You’re behind this?”

“Hmm… yes and no.”

“Robin! Stop teasing me!”

Robin turned to her and smiled that certain mysterious smile of hers.

“Let’s just say, Zoro stumbled upon something in this place.”

“You mean he got lost again and accidentally found something here right?”

“Fufufu… yes.”

Nami pondered at the information she had been given. What is in this place that she likes?

Based on all the green foliage around her… there is nothing here that piques her interest.

So what the hell?

She glanced at Robin who had an almost serene expression on her face. Yet she was moving a bit faster than before. The boys had already disappeared from their sight. A few seconds passed and there were a lot of shouting and yelling ahead of them.

Robin motioned for her to pick up her pace. Ahead of them, multiple hands bloomed to part the gigantic leaves and branches that were blocking their path so they can easily make their way through it.

“Zoro accidentally found this place,” Robin explained. “And I stumbled across him here while I was out exploring yesterday.”

They reached the end of the trail. And Nami stared in awe at the scene before her.

A few feet ahead of them were ancient stone ruins of what could be a palace or a temple.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Robin murmured as she made her way towards the place.

The boys have now wandered off to explore the place. Nami can hear their excited voices echoing along the vast abandoned site.

But this is something that Robin likes… not her. She couldn’t understand what’s in it that both Zoro and Robin think she’ll like.

Robin approached Zoro who was standing before a rather large boulder that was blocking the entrance towards what Nami could make out as a stone chamber.

She slowly followed her and watched as Zoro drew out one of his katanas and effortlessly sliced the boulder into pieces. He kicked off some of the rubbles, clearing the area as Robin beckoned for Nami to come closer.

Nami could make out a hole on the ground. Her questioning gaze met Robin’s and the older woman just smiled at her.

“Happy birthday again Nami.” And with that she left Zoro and her alone as she headed towards the now accessible chamber to explore what was inside.

Zoro was dusting his hands on his pants. “Let’s go.” He said.

“Go where?”

He pointed to the rather large hole on the ground.

Nami stared at him with wide eyes. It was then that she realized that the boulder earlier was meant to cover the hole rather than block the chamber’s entrance.

“Nuh-uh.” She stubbornly folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t like gaping dark holes that looks like it’s gonna swallow you and make you disappear to oblivion.”

Zoro chuckled at her reaction. “Don’t be such a chicken Nami. You’ll like what’s down there.”

“Why is your gift for me down there?”

He frowned. “Robin told you?”

“Yeah.”

He scratched the back of his head.

“It better be not the entrance to hell Zoro!”

“If it is then I would be dragging you to it! Not asking you to jump down with me!”

“Do you need any help?” Robin’s voice suddenly spoke out of nowhere, interrupting their brewing verbal battle. A hand had bloomed out from one of the stone columns surrounding them, unsurprisingly with a mouth on it.

“Nah I got this.” Zoro replied, scooping Nami into his arms suddenly.

“Zoro!!!”

With a shark-like grin, he leapt down the hole.

Nami screamed bloody murder at his ear, her arms clinging around his neck as hard as she could to the point of almost choking him.

They hit the ground not shortly after. And Nami’s screamed was suddenly brought to a halt. She realized it wasn’t the hole wasn’t as deep as she initially thought it was.

But it was still dark… and scary. And her heart was still racing and thudding against her chest.

If this is Zoro’s gift for her… she would maim him with his own swords once they get back to the Sunny.

Zoro set her down to her feet. But Nami did not remove her arms around his neck and clung tighter even as she glared at him in the dark.

She can hear him chuckling at her expense; feel him reaching down his pocket to pull something out.

There was a flicking sound and light suddenly filled the room. Zoro was grinning down at her, holding a lighter that he probably snagged from Sanji-kun’s collection.

“Happy Birthday Nami.”

And as the light slowly lit the room and bounced against some reflective surfaces, so did Nami’s eyes as it widened with the realization of what was really Zoro’s birthday present for her.

He had stumbled upon a chamber in the ruins filled with treasure.

And it was all for her.

Zoro just made some of her birthday wishes come true.

[opgrandfleet]

Let’s Talk (Entry #1) Straw Hat Pirates

Welcome to the very first entry on the Grand Fleet. The topic of discussion is the Straw Hat Pirates; favorite to least favorite - brief reasons included.

Before I start, I am but one member of the Grand Fleet blog. You can view my main @likesugarandcyanide​ or @mydisenchantedeulogy​ at the links. This blog was made out of appreciation for One Piece, so the only content is obviously OP related. Let’s begin.

Number 1 favorite Straw Hat member: Monkey D. Luffy.

This was a no brainer for me. I love Luffy. He’s dense; he’s strong; he is a very determined captain. Literally his various quirky lines and actions in the series gave me goose bumps. Example: catching Doflamingo’s foot with his own before said man stepped on Law. I absolutely went crazy seeing this in the manga. 

I could go on for days about my reasons, but I’m making this post short to allow more feedback.

Number 2: Nami

She is my boo. Most were probably expecting Sanji or Zoro, but for me, it’s Nami. She’s smart and gorgeous - I won’t even go into detail about the fact her boobs are huge … and seem to get bigger throughout the series. 

From the start of the series she has been a favorite of mine. Her love of money, tangerines, and beating up Luffy when he acts up makes her my second favorite.

Number 3: Vinsmoke Sanji

Now, I normally hate perverted characters, and Sanji is certainly one. He’s also much more though; he’s a cook and a gentleman, and one of the strongest members of the Straw Hats. It’s hard to hate him. His fighting style is amazing, and throughout the series it gets much better. Lets not forget he’s incredibly hot too - no pun intended. 

Number 4: Roronoa Zoro

It was hard not to put Zoro closer to number one on my list. He made it in the top 5, so that’s something. His swordsmanship is interesting; 3 swords - not as easy as he makes it look.

Zoro is a favorite of mine because he’s also a voice of reason for the crew. When Luffy went against Usopp he stated to Luffy that he’d leave if Luffy forgave Usopp and allowed him back into the crew without apologizing. That hit home to me, because it showed that Zoro respects Luffy and he believes the crew should as well.

Number 5: Nico Robin

A classy lady, she first appeared as a villain to the Straw Hats, but much like the other villains in the show, Robin had a reason; her past. It took her a while to adjust to them, and I’m happy the series went this way with her character. It made her wish to live and continue sailing with them so much better. That scene always gives me the chills.

Aside from her past, Robin has a dark sense of humor and a one track mind when it comes to something that interests her. I adore her character for these reasons.  

Number 6: Brook

The list takes a tumble from here. I do love Brook; his music is beautiful and his back story is extremely sad, but there is still so much I hope to see from him. He hasn’t had much of a power up since the time skip, but his bone jokes still get me.

Number 7: Usopp

Like number 6, Usopp is a character I hope to see more from. His battle with Sugar proved he has much to offer, but sadly that power hasn’t been seen since then.

It was Stampede that brought Usopp up in my list. His loyalty to Luffy made me tear up. Not to mention he’s pretty funny at time.

Number 8: Tony Tony Chopper

Cuteness alone was not enough to convince me on where to rank Chopper. Yes, he is adorable, and his past is sad, but until I see more from him, he’ll remain at number 8.

Number 9: Franky

There are no Straw Hats that I hate. Each of them holds a spot in my heart, but unfortunately Franky nearly made it to last place. He’s an interesting character, and has room to grow, but I’ve yet to see anything, aside from the fight with Senor Pink to make me like him more. 

Number 10: Jimbei

New to the Straw Hat crew, I don’t know too much about him yet. His backstory has been touched on, and honestly I’m a little concerned with how much of his lifespan he gave up to Big Mom in order to leave her crew, He may not have much time left. That’s why he’s at the bottom of the list.

Let us know what your list is. We’d love to hear back from fans of the series.

[fivedayslater]

I’m bored and with no one piece chapter or episode this week I have to fill that void somehow

So I went onto ao3 and decided to rate the first 10 sanji pairings I came across

LETS GO

Zoro/Sanji: this ship. This ship right here. Is It. It’s the first ship you’ll find in the port and it’s the last ship you’ll ever need. What do you like in a ship? Do you like bickering? Check. Do you like teamwork so tight they don’t need to talk about it? Check. Do you like them trying to die for each other? Double check. They can be anything you want, friends t lovers? Got that. Enemies to lovers? Done. Enemies to friends to lovers? In spades. Skip lovers and go right to fuckbuddies? They can do that to, they can be anything you want them to be. They have that thing that chemistry that just clicks together with every part of each other. Yeah, they’re the ship you can’t escape but sometimes popular things are popular for a reason and it’s pretty great. You got something real specific - and I mean real specific - that you’re craving? Someone wrote that fic 10 years ago you are set for life with these two. 10/10

Katakuri/Sanji: listen I’ve been digging this since Sanji dodged his bean during the wedding and honestly? Still digging it. Polar opposites on some levels, the failure Prince/the favored son, but so similar on others. What’s that katakuri, your family’s turning their back on you because you’ve show a weakness? Sanji’s been there, Sanji understands let Sanji love you. The fact that they’re on opposite sides of this fight? Absolutely fansatsic. They fact that they aren’t the ones going at it personally? Disappointing. 7/10

Ace/Sanji: the OG flame boys. Remember in the anime when when ace shows up and just. Lights Sanji’s cigarette for him?? With his devil fruit powers?? Super casual like?? Absolute power move Sanji was super into that. And then when Ace was super polite?? And offered to help with shit?? That had never happened to Sanji before ever he was in love instantly. Not a lot of canon interaction between the but the potential, the potential people, it is there and it’s endless and Does Not Disappoint. 8/10

Luffy/Sanji: okay so this?? This right here?? Is the shit. I mean Luffy loves food, and Sanji? He makes the food. Match made in heaven. Also there’s that thing where Luffy literally gave Sanji his life back twice now and Sanji would straight up give it all away again and then some just to see Luffy happy and safe but JOKES ON YOU Sanji he’s never safe and he’s happiest with you. You’re stuck with this boy for life and neither of you would have it any other way. Yeah that’s every straw hat and Luffy on some level but with Sanji it’s like super personal. Remember “without you I can’t become the pirate king”?? Yeah I wish someone loved me like that. Pairings strive to be as perfect as this and fall short every time. And no one ships this outside of me and three other people?? Like are you all blind?? Can you not see how perfect they are for each other?? Absolute madness. The entire fandom should be Ashamed that this isn’t more popular. 10/10

Law/Sanji: this ship lemme tell you I was there Gandalf at the very beginning, when the only thing to ship them on was that they were both from north blue, but ship them we did, and it was Glorious. Then they interacted and that too was Glorious. Here’s the thing, you know how Sanji usually is around guys? Angry and cursing and kicking. You know how he is around Law? Thoughtful and polite and considerate. Why’s that, you wonder, but you know. Deep down you Know. But then Sanji fucked off to zou halfway through dressrossa, and law is just. Skipping WCI like it doesn’t even matter. No way to treat your boyfriend. 7/10

Nami/Sanji: the ship that sucks you In and never let’s go. You think, oh hey theyre kinda cute together and that’s it, it has you forever. Here’s the thing, Sanji loves Nami and yeah he likes all women but Nami is by and far his Favorite. Sanji is the runaway prince that has too much love to give and Nami is the renegade theif that doesn’t realize she needs love until she has all of his. One piece isn’t into endgames but if it was they’d be running a restaurant together by the coast with 2.5 kids and a dog. 8/10.

Shanks/Sanji: there were pairings I was expecting to find and there were pairings I wasn’t expecting to find and this is neither of them because I didn’t even consider it until i saw the words with my own two eyes. And now that I have honestly? I can see it. Shanks is real similar to Luffy except older and marginally more responsible, and Sanji would be super into that. As for Sanji, well he’s capable of cooking large quantities of delicious food with minimal time and ingredients - perfect for when all you wanna do is sail around and have parties - and is loyal enough to be endearing but feisty enough to be interesting. 6/10

Reiju/Sanji: no no nope no imma stop you right there. I don’t do incest I’m out -10/10 who’s next?

Usopp/Sanji: now this is my Shit. It’s the ultimate slowburn ship it’s right there bubbling below the surface and you don’t even realize it then BAM it’s becomes so obvious. Sanji is everything usopp wants to be and usopp is everything Sanji needs to be and it’s just. They’re so good together so good for each other. I’d write them more often but everytime I try it ends in tragedy and the deserve so much more. They deserve the world. 9/10

Pudding/Sanji: remember that episode of Hey Arnold! Where Delilah thinks that Arnold likes her so she gets a crush on him even tho he’s not that into her but then Arnold does end up crushing on her but by the time he realizes it she’s gotten over her crush on him? They are like that but with an attempted murder. There’s two versions of this ship, one where they end up perfectly happy and in love because honestly? They’re made for each other and one where everything ends up a dumpster fire because they are both human disasters. Either way 7/10

[hundredsunny]

yoo can u tell us who your ocs are and their story??

YES I WOULD LOVE THIS SO MUCH THIS IS THE BEST ASK I HAVE EVER RECEIVED !!!! im only gonna talk about like 4 of them bc im v attached to these 4 okokokokokokok here we go this answer bouta be long as hell 

april - ok this girl is my first oc. i made her in the middle of english class in 6th grade and shes been around ever since!!! tbh at this point idk if i want her to still be a straw hat or not but like??? anyways shes a rogue princess. she grew up just fine, but then one day her asshat dad killed her mom bc her mom was an “embarrassment of a ruler” and made their kingdom “look bad” anyways that happened when april was like 11. then once her dad took TOTAL control of the island he locked her tf away so she wouldnt be able to visit the citizens like she used to. so from 11 to 18 she was cooped up in the damn castle. when she was 16 she got her hands on a devil fruit that was locked away in some hidden room in her mother’s library (cliche i know im sorry) so then she ATE IT. THE AURA-AURA FRUIT. a v basic summary of that fruit is that she can manipulate her own aura and shit. imagine lucario from pokemon as a human honestly. idk. so when she ate the fruit she decided to fight her dad but of course she lost horribly and then she had to sit around in even more of a cooped up state for two more years until the STRAW HAT TEAM CAME ALONG ON ACCIDENT BAM SHE WAS ABLE TO LEAVE THE ISLAND BC OF THEM ok ok??? her whole story is complicated i tried to give the best watered down version im sorry. anyways shes v sweet and can be goofy but can be defensive as hell. she knows what she wants and will do anything to get that. yeehaw. shes an average height for a woman, she’s got shoulder-length brown hair and sky blue eyes. if u ever wanna know more bout her hmu

jack - OK MY 2ND OC EVER HE WAS MADE RIGHT AFTER APRIL AND HONESTLY HES MY FUCKING BABY. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!! anyways. he grew up on the same island april did. his dad was like the right hand man to april’s dad so like he had connections and shit. he had a v happy family. a sweet mom celest and a dope dad cain and a wonderful lil sis sho. when aprils mom was still alive, they would always visit the town so jack and april always hung out and went on adventures throughout the town together. when april’s mom died and her dad started locking her up more, they werent able to see each other much anymore. of course, jack being the rebellious son of a gun he was, he would always sneak around and find ways to still hang with her. jack’s 3 years older than her btw. anyways. one day out of NOWHERE jack’s dad just VANISHED from the island and it rly fucked him up. he was 14 when that happened. so then he had to take a step up and watch over his mom and sister. then april’s dad became even more of an asshat and more people started leaving the island, so jack’s mom and sis decided to leave. HOWEVER jack decided to stay so april wouldn’t be completely alone. that happened when he was 16. then he stayed on the down low and visited april as much as possible until he finally decided to leave and make a life for himself and also search for his family. he left when he was 18 and he promised april that shed be set free one day and theyd be able to meet up once again and have more adventures :’) anyways then he went on a search for his dad. turns out his dad left bc he was the leader of the LEAGUE OF ASSASSINS and had to tend to the duties over there. after YEARS jack finally found the LOA but his dad literally left AGAIN 3 months before he got there. that frustrated him. but then he decided to start a life in the league ((bc his dad lowkey taught him a whole lotta shit about that as a child but u kno)) and met CHAZ AND JO…anyways pause on the story. jack’s an uncooked piece of spaghetti. hes v tall and lanky. hes got messy black hair and red eyes. he deserves so much love ok. he needs a hug. covers up his problems with dumb humor. a little shit. v snarky. his weakness is overthinking. v good with daggers. his epithet after he becomes a wanted man is (lame) jack “the slicer” solo ok. hes 23 after the timeskip. yes. i could talk about him forever. pls lemme know if u wanna know more about him AHHHHHHHH ps april and jack are my favorite brotp and i wish someone was the jack to my april 

chaz - oh charles. dont call him charles he’ll kill a bitch. idk what it is about me and having my oc’s be of higher class but like chaz came from a family of nobles and Fucking Hated It (big shocker huh) so long story short he RAN away and started a life as a pirate but he was betrayed Too Many Times and ended up hating pirates. nerd. anyways. one day he ran into this guy named cain. jack’s dad. cain was like “yo u got somewhere to stay?” and chaz was like “lol no”. so then cain took chaz in and introduced him to the LEAGUE OF ASSASSINS and basically trained chaz for years and then VANISHED. chaz was SO FUCKING HURT!!!! but cain left him as the leader of the organization so chaz was also v shook. he got RLY defensive when jack stumbled along. he felt threatened that jack was gonna snatch his leader spot all bc he was cain’s son. tbh chaz was a dick to jack for a good bit of time. cain was the best kind of father figure chaz ever had and he just??? ah chaz also needs a hug. anyways eventually he and jack became nerd bros. they argue all the damn time. think of zoro and sanji but dumber. thats these two. chaz fights with whips (kinky) ((jk)) and hes a fuckin BEAST with them. run. they call him the dawn menace bc he mostly makes his move at that time of day. CHAZ THE DAWN MENACE. ok lame. but yea. hes 26 after the timeskip. hes a nerd. takes things seriously. easily stressed. chaz had a horrible event happen to him in the past so he lost one of his green eyes and (theres a whole other story about that where cain does a Good Thing but im tryna save time and space rn) his weakness is his right side bc he literally cannot see. hes a hothead sometimes. also a redhead. makes sense. hes got some good biceps tbh. strong dude. love him

jo - AYYY JOSEPHINE!!! her story isnt entirely developed tbh. she’s part of the league of assassins. literally the smartest damn person in the entire world. SO SMART. literally shes the reason why the league is still thriving. she knows everything about everyone. ALSO SHES SUCH AN INCREDIBLE SHARPSHOOTER. USOPP WHO? v v v v v good with guns. honestly. shes 25 after the time skip but honestly shes a mom to chaz and jack. always breaking up their dumb arguments. so kind. can be snarky. purple eyes and long blue hair that she wears in low pigtails all the time. she was around when chaz first joined the league so they’ve been good buds for a hot minute. she’s 2nd in command now!!!!! she needs a break so bad. oh my god. works so damn hard. i honestly feel like im forgetting a lot of things about her im sorry im rushing rn but!!!!! honestly jack chaz and jo are my fave dream team. they’re all fucking nerds. i love them. tbh on the sims 4 i made a household with the three of them in it and it was wild. 

codie - lil cordelia. redhead. amber eyes. V STUBBORN. serious as shit. will kill someone. she has a zoan fruit and the model is an albatross so since shes a redhead she just fuckin. turns into a red albatross. they call her the red feather bc 1) literally red and 2) the blood of her enemies sometimes stain her feathers. ooooo spooky. her story is fuckin insane. all im gonna tell u is that she’s just with the whitebeard pirates. 20 after the timeskip. sassiest gal i know. fuckin constantly flamed ace even though ace was the flame guy. bird bros with marco!!! yay!!!!!!!!!!! anyways. thats all i got rn im sorry!!!! thank u for asking and please feel free to ask me more questions if u ever wanna know about some of these kids o mine!!!!! 

[creative-type]

Why Tony Tony Chopper is my Least Favorite Straw Hat

I feel conflicted when I see people list characters from greatest to least favorite. Cut and dry lists in general - whether featuring power levels, most attractive, saddest backstory, etc - tend to elicit this reaction, because they’re so subjective and I think if an author has done a good job then the audience shouldn’t be able to make the list at all.

Which wouldn’t stop people from trying, but still. 

Using One Piece as an example, there are certain characters that resonate with me personally, the chief of whom is Nico Robin. I’m a total sucker for the misunderstood badass bookworm - Raven from the original Teen Titans cartoon, Tris Chandler from Tamora Pierce’s works, Roald Dahl’s Matilda, and Thistle from Daughter of the Lilies are just a few examples of this in other media.

But apart from Best Girl Robin, my feelings about the cast of One Piece tends to vary depending on how you define “favorite”. I love Luffy as a main character, but would hate to meet him in real life. I appreciate Zoro’s place in the crew, but find him boring and long wistfully for the days when he was allowed to be a goofball. Nami, Usopp, and Vivi grew on me over time, and if I could graph my feelings on Sanji over the course of the series it would look like I have ventricular tachycardia 

And then there’s Chopper. 

Just as I’ve liked Robin since her first appearance, I have never liked Chopper. I know typing it is akin to blasphemy amongst the One Piece fandom, but I was left unmoved by his backstory, and he’s never grown on me in the hundreds of chapters since then. The first thing I thought when I first saw his unused concept art was “what a wasted opportunity”. 

 A lot of this is subjective. I work in health care, so the quack doctor Hiliruk rubs me the wrong way on a purely professional level, which in turn makes it really hard for me to care when he dies. I dislike Chopper’s “mascot” status and how it’s affected his character design. I wish he would do more onscreen doctoring. I find his naivete annoying. I think his post-timeskip transformations look dumb. And so on and so forth, ad nauseum.

At the same time, Nami is never shown drawing maps and I regularly have her in my top 3-4 Straw Hats. Usopp and Luffy are just as stupid, but their antics don’t bother me half as much as Chopper’s do. When I decided to sit down and write about Chopper, I had to figure out what made me less tolerant about him specifically when there are plenty of others who share his same flaws. This is what I came up with.

Want vs Need and Forgotten Development

In his book The Anatomy of Story, John Truby describes the difference between a character’s want versus their need. While written with writing screenplays in mind, many of Truby’s techniques can be used regardless of medium. It’s an excellent tool for would-be writers, and I highly recommend it.

When looking at Chopper through the lens of want and need, it’s pretty easy to see what Oda had in mind.

Chopper wants to become a doctor who can heal any illness, but he needs to reconcile his human and reindeer natures and see himself as a complete person. Ironically, in doing so he willingly becomes the “monster” he was so afraid of.

 Since this transformation is for the sake of and with the support of his friends, it’s coded as positive when before it was negative. Chopper is no longer isolated and lonely, but an accepted and important member of an infamous pirate crew. Compare the above to his fight on Fishman Island

So Chopper does have a complete character arc through the first half of the series, and it’s a good one - simultaneously unique to him while bolstering the themes of One Pieces as a whole. Good job, Oda.

At the same time, I think there’s a secondary need that’s overlooked by the narrative, and by this point I doubt will be relevant to the story, and that’s the fact that Chopper needs to grow the fuck up.

To be fair, Chopper is only 15 at the start of the series, had spent the first years of his life as a reindeer and the rest isolated from the world for his own safety. It is understandable that he’d be naive. Dr. Kureha points this out for herself when he first joins the Straw Hat Pirates

What sets Chopper’s immaturity apart from, say, Luffy’s is that it is presented as something that he needs to overcome. This is especially true during the Skyepiea arc.

Remember that early on in the arc Chopper is left alone to guard the Going Merry. Chopper fails, losing quite badly to the Priest with all the strings whose name I can’t remember. Even with Gan Fall’s intervention it was plot armor sheer luck that kept the both of them from being killed. 

This loss nicely sets up Chopper’s battle with Gedatsu, which ended with Chopper’s first solo victory of the series. 

Chopper screams to the heavens that he’s a “real” pirate, which in context refers to reliable, brave, and strong. Note that this ties into his main need of self-actualization as the chapter before Chopper calls himself a monster just before hitting Gedatsu with his finisher. 

In doing so, Oda is effectively saying that Chopper needs to mature before he can become a complete character. In this way Chopper is like Usopp, whose desire to become a brave warrior the sea necessitates that he face his problems head on instead of run from them.

Later during the Davy Fight Back, Chopper is temporarily lost to the Foxy Pirates. He is understandably upset, but he goes overboard with his hysterics, causing Zoro to call him out.

Zoro in essence tells Chopper to man up. Now, masculinity as defined by One Piece is a pretty broad topic, and this isn’t the only time Chopper is told how to act “manly” by other members of the Straw Hat crew, one of the best examples I can think of being Sanji telling Chopper that “a man doesn’t believe a woman’s lies” when Robin tries to leave the crew. In this instance, however, I think “being a man” is interchangeable with “acting like an adult”, specifically in the area of taking responsibility for one’s actions. 

So we have the problem of Chopper’s naivete brought up by Kureha, the first steps of maturity seen during Skypiea, and the exposure that Chopper still has a long way to go during the Davy Fight Back. There’s even a moment during Thriller Bark when he has to deal with the realization that one of his idols is an evil dirtbag of Spandam-like proportion - a loss of idealism that most go through as a normal part of growing up.

The development isn’t fast nor especially profound. It’s never the main focus of Chopper’s arc because it’s not his primary need, and in a gag-happy series like One Piece I think Chopper’s childishness would always be the brunt of some sort of joke. But there is a sense of steadily marching forward toward a goal, and if things had kept trending in that direction I think it would have been enough to elevate Chopper from his dubious position as my least favorite Straw Hat.

But immediately after the timeskip we have this abomination of a scene

Words cannot express how much I hate this scene. Every other Straw Hat gets an awesome reintroduction. Nami and Usopp, who along with Chopper make up the so-called “weak trio”, even get to beat the crap out of some of the Fake Hat Pirates. 

Chopper mistakes creepy cucumber lady for Robin and runs away crying, undoing hundreds of chapters of development in one fell swoop. It’s stupid on so many levels I can’t even articulate enough to type them all out. The gag falls flat and makes it impossible for me to take him seriously going forward. I will admit that I’ve not done a lot of rereading of recent chapters to double check, but where Usopp and Luffy get plenty of moments post-timeskip to display a new-found maturity while maintaining their fun-loving nature, Chopper does not. He’s the same old Chopper.

I don’t have any way to confirm this, but I think part of this stagnation of character is due to Chopper’s status of cute mascot. To disrupt this status quo is to lessen his marketability. There is a reason why Chopper’s so damn cute when Oda originally wanted him to be kind of ugly. I mean, say what you want about Oda’s use of realistic body proportions, but there was a time when Chopper’s head wasn’t bigger than his torso.

Whether I’m right or not, I don’t think that it can be disputed that Chopper has gone through what I call “forgotten character development”. He’s just as immature (and in some places more so) as he was early in the series, and personally I can’t stand that kind of character. 

And again this is a highly subjective thing, but I don’t even think he’s that cute anymore. It’s a serious problem when your mascot ceases to be adorable and has no development to fall back on.

In the larger picture of One Piece, the loss of Chopper’s secondary development is a small thing, but it’s enough for me to not care about him at all. Sanji, for all his polarizing actions, at least makes me feel something. These days Chopper is just...there. 

I will admit that I might have let my initial distaste cloud my objectivity, so let me know what you think about Chopper’s development, or if there’s any other character that everyone else seems to like but you can’t stand. I’ll commiserate with the burden of having an unpopular opinion.

[gostraightzoro]

☠️ 20 YEARS OF ONE PIECE ☠️

7/20 Favorite male characters.

Portgas D. Ace: Ace’s personality is a bit like Luffy, but way too much different at the same time. He falls asleep while eating for long time and then when people think he’s dead, he suddenly wakes up, he cleans his mouth from a lady’s skirt, he apologizes when he walks through a unknown house interrupting lunch. Ace had one of the best character developments. When he was a kid he used to ask Garp if he should have been born. After meeting Luffy and Sabo, becoming brothers he had something to live for, he needed to protect his younger brother. When he was about to be executed, he saw all the people fighting for his sake, he couldn’t hold his tears and be happy of being alive. For the first time, he said he wanted to live. ISNT THAT A GREAT DEVELOPMENT. He was a really good brother. I have to stop or I’ll start crying.

Monkey D. Luffy: I love this dork so much. Luffy’s personality it’s my favorite of all to be honest. He’s easygoing. And his heart it’s bigger than his love for food probably. But don’t underestimate him, he can be smarter than anyone. I love the way he takes decisions too. He doesn’t care about people’s past and I really love that fact of him. And that he helps anyone who asks for help. He’s really kind. He treasures his nakamas and trusts them like a blind guy. He’s so pure.

Roronoa Zoro: He’s respectful. Zoro’s personality it’s one of my favorites. He’s the tough of the crew if we can say it like that, but he cares for everyone even if he’s a tsundere. His smile is precious. He respects Luffy so much and I love that fact as well. He’s pure sarcasm whenever he’s fighting. He’s so badass. But at the same time he’s always getting lost, ain’t that cute?? I liked how Oda added that to him. Like even being so badass, he’s always getting lost, plus it adds comedy to the series. He has his captain’s back. Always.

Akagami no Shanks: Is there a special reason to like this man? Like come on, it’s Shanks? He’s the sir “I came to finish this war” and what happened? No one wanted to fight him and the war ended. Like like, do I have to explain how badass and strong this man is no one dare to fight him? Like he just put a foot in the war and said it was over, and IT WAS OVER. He’s Luffy’s dada too. He cares a lot about him and they made a promise so it works for me to be one of my favorites. Plus, I love how he’s so feared with just one hand and haki.

Sanji Vinsmoke: I believe everyone is agree that he’s the kindest man in the series. He can be a dork and a perv and all that you want, but if someone’s hungry it doesn’t matter if it’s an enemy, he will feed him and I really love that about him. Also, he respects women and loves them too. He puts them above everything whenever there’s danger and that’s kinda cute and funny at the same time because he’s always joking about how he’s okay if the others get hurt, but actually he cares and loves all of them even if he’s a dork that can’t admit it. Like WHY IS HE WITH BIG MOM YET? Because he’s protecting all he has and don’t wanna lose. He was beating Luffy and who was crying? wasn’t Luffy, the one crying was HIM. He was crying because he hurt Luffy. He wouldn’t use his legs to hurt someone he loves like that. He was crying because he hurt his friend IM DONE.

Usopp: again, is there a special reason to like SOGEKING? Yes. Usopp had one of the best development of the series as well. After one year timeskip when everyone decided to train hard for Luffy’s sake, he didn’t step back. He trained and came back strong but even that, I like the fact that his cowardliness who isn’t a bad thing at all, still with him yet. Oda wanted someone in crew, someone that we will feel relate to him. And that’s Usopp. He acts like any of us would. I believe he’s the bravest guy in the straw hats crew. You know why? Brave is someone who stands against an enemy and fights but braver is someone who Is scare and yet, stands against an enemy. I really love that about Usopp, even if he runs and is scare, he thinks about his friends, he thinks about his dream about becoming the bravest man, and even if he’s shaking he returns to fight. GOD USOPP IS SO PURE TO THE WORLD.

Trafalgar Law: I think Law had a good development too, specially when it comes to friendship and bonds. Even if he’s a grumpy and only when it’s about do die he can almost admit it, he trusts Luffy and the straw hats. Back in Punk hazard when the alliance started, I think he thought he would use them for the sake of his revenge but he realized something spending time with them. Himself said so: Straw hats are a group of people that can make miracles happen. And not only that, he trusted Luffy his last wish, which was to kill Doflamingo. He told Cavendish: I lived for 13 years wanting revenged and this is everything I can do. I leave everything to him. And I want to see if he wins with own eyes, but if he dies, I will die along with HIM. If that ain’t trust and a beautiful bond idk what’s that. Plus, their different personality match really well. Luffy the reckless and Law the THE FUCK YOU DOING.