#because sanji has only heard that from zeff so......... so just thinking. i have thoughts. i told you brook is one of sanji's father figure

[beanghostprincess]

Sanji and Usopp during The Sabaody Incident™ won't leave my mind.

Usopp standing in front of Sanji protectively because he is wounded and he can't fight, so Usopp will do it for him ("I'll do what you can't do").

There is just something about Sanji's expression when he realizes he might actually lose Usopp. This is my interpretation, at least. He is literally frightened.

Usopp helping Sanji stand up to run away. This is crucial for something I want to point out later: Sanji needs help to stand up. (Also, Brook disappears trying to protect them both and saying he will do anything to save them even if it costs him his life. I am feeling sick).

Sanji being self-sacrificing and blaming himself for not being able to protect them/act sooner is not new. But he does manage to gain the strength to fight when Usopp is the only one left with him and the possibility of losing him is even more real now.

The thing that I love the most about this is not Sanji sacrificing himself for Usopp, because he does that. He is like that. But Usopp not running away or moving in the slightest because he refuses to leave Sanji on his own.

Something I'd like to point out too is that Sanji actually touches Kuma before Usopp disappears. He tries to fight and protect him and Kuma could've easily sent Sanji to Momoiro Island right away, and yet Sanji was just sent flying far from the scene and forced to see Usopp disappear in front of him.

And I am not saying that "not being able to protect both Brook and Usopp (especially Usopp) is needed for Sanji to realize he has to become stronger and find more reasons to go back with the crew" but not being able to protect both Brook and Usopp (especially Usopp) is needed for Sanji to realize he has to become stronger and find more reasons to go back with the crew.

Not to mention that we can't deny (right after Water 7/Enies Lobby) that Usopp is one of Sanji's strongest bonds within the crew. This specific scene focusing on them both is more than enough to prove it.

Sanji seeing Usopp disappear in front of his eyes without being able to do anything to save him.

Remember what I said about Sanji needing help to stand up seconds ago? Well. This is him the moment Usopp disappears. What adrenaline and the power of love do to a mf.

They are so "I can lose everything, but not you. Oh God, not you" shaped.

[anarchycox]

Hey!! Merry Christmas!! 🥰 Gimme some of that sweet sanlu/lusan. Tradition (or whatever word you’d like!)

Luffy woke up and his brain decided to tell him today was super important, but it didn't provide why it was important. He wasn't mad, just meant his brain wanted it to be a fun surprise. That was nice of his brain.

He leapt out of bed and steadied himself. Didn't need to steady himself a lot though. Looked around, and right, this ship was bigger than the Sunny. Every morning, he assumed he was on the Sunny, but this wasn't that morning.

Luffy smiled, because it would be tomorrow. He didn't need his brain to remind him, he remembered why today was important. Luffy ran downstairs and out the door and to their berth. "Sunny!" he waved at his ship. "Today's the day!" He swore he heard the Sunny laugh. But if today was the day, that meant everyone was going to be here.

Luffy ran around the whole of the Baratie and sure enough all the ships were there. He tore into the kitchen even though he wasn't really supposed to go in there. Some people got grumpy. He landed on Sanji's back. "They're here!"

"Of course they are, think they'd be late? It's tradition. Also, fuck, Luffy, you are getting too heavy to keep doing that. My back isn't what it was."

Luffy laughed. "Sanji is still strong and fast and good and the best. It doesn't matter that he's ancient now."

"Ancient?"

Okay that was the wrong word, because Luffy got dumped onto a chair that was miles away from the food. There was a glare. "Forty is coming for you next year, Luffy."

"Nah, has to catch me first! I'm faster than Sanji so maybe it won't catch me."

"I will hold you in place to make sure it catches you." There was a scowl but also a kiss to his nose. "Go sit at our table, everyone is waiting."

"Not without Sanji." Luffy beamed at him. "I can wait."

"No you can't, and I love that about you. I'll be there in a sec."

"Right!" Luffy hurried out of the kitchen and to the table where his crew were all waiting. He landed on Zoro who grunted but held him easily. Stretch and hug Nami and Usopp. And then more stretching so he could hug everyone else. "It's today!" Today was the best day of every year.

"Yup," Zoro agreed. "It's today." Everyone cheered to today, which Luffy thought they should have waited for Sanji. Who was taking a long time. Where was food.

"Oi, you'll miss the tide," Zeff shouted.

Luffy realized that today today, Sanji would only have food in one place. Luffy ran to the Sunny and sure enough Sanji was there cooking in his kitchen. Luffy sat at the counter, and soon enough the crew had the Sunny out of berth and onto her next adventure. Their next adventure.

Ten years now, and every new year, they all made their way to the Baratie, left spouses and children behind for two months of sailing the seas and being the Straw Hats. Of being them. Sanji handed him a plate. "Go on," Sanji said with a smile. "Sunny's been missing you."

Luffy smiled. "Later, now with you." Tradition to eat the first meal his husband cooked on the Sunny with his husband. "You cook better on the Sunny than the Baratie."

"You say that every year."

"Mean it every year." Luffy ate and it was better. "What do you think we'll find this time?"

"Don't know, but it will be fun to see."

"Hey, Luffy, there's a sea king in our way, wanna have some fun?" Zoro's voice echoed. Luffy looked down at his plate and quickly licked it clean.

"Love you!" Luffy shoved the plate at Sanji and ran. His brain had been wrong, it wasn't just an important day, it was the best day. It was they were home day.

[aglaerucoieriel]

So here’s the thing. I started babysitting this adorable little girl and discovered the wonderful realm of lullabies on Spotify. I started curating my own playlist, and had this brain wave of a thought “This song perfectly fits Luffy”. So the only natural thing left to do was find lullabies that fit all the Strawhats… plus some honorable mentions

Hey so I only made it to like the beginning of Wano, I know who Yamato is but I haven’t met him yet.

You are my Sunshine: Luffy, Ace and Sabo would sing it to him. He now sings it to the crew simply because he can.

Lost Boy: Zoro, he didn’t need lullabies as a kid (anybody who said otherwise is lying) that being said, I just think this song fits him.

My Mother Told Me: Usopp, Banchina would sing this to him encouraging him to love the sea and go on adventures. He’s very much like his father and she could see that.

Grand Adventure: Going Merry, this song is the epitome of the beginning of their journey with Merry. The imagery this brings forth is so whimsical.

Oh! The places you’ll go!: Sanji, Sora sang this once and it stuck. Zeff heard him humming it one time, and would go on to sing to him when he got sick.

Wildflowers: Nami, Bellemere, the powerful woman that she was, encouraged her daughters to do what they wanted. It’s freedom finding where you want to be.

Noble Maiden Fair: Vivi (she is a strawhat, fight me) Titi would sing this, it’s been in the royal family for generations. Rough translation, this song is about a girl who loves her country and the country loves her back.

Hushabye Mountain: Chopper, Dr. Hiriluk recognize that Chopper was a traumatized child and basked him in as much love as he possibly could. He wanted his son to find his freedom, and he knew that was in the sea.

Always Remember: Robin, Olvia and Saul never had the opportunity to sing to her, but if they did this is what they would sing.

Pitter Patter: Going Merry, this is her goodbye to crew at Enis Lobby. One last adventure.

Dream Ship: Franky, like Zoro, didn’t need lullabies. He wrote this one himself for the Strawhats.

Here Comes the Sun: Thousand Sunny, I mean come in… it’s in the name.

River Flows in You: Brook, knows and has composed many songs. I just like this one for at night and thought it fit.

Leaves from the Vine: Jimbe, he gives me soooo many Uncle Iroh vibes. He has gained and lost so much.

Honorable mentions:

Lullaby: Ace, Rouge sang this while she was carrying him. You can tear that from my corpse, this will be the hill I die on. She loved her child and wanted the absolute best for him. He was her little miracle.

Dreamer: Sabo, Kuma is the only one I could see singing to him, he has dad vibes.

Go the Distance: Honestly? This is Koby’s anthem after he met Luffy.

In the Morning: Law, Corazon sang to him after he would use the calm spell. Encouraging him about what the new day would bring.

I Sit Beside the Fire and Think: Rayleigh, this is introspective. I like to think he sang it after Luffy fell asleep, thinking about the past and what this plucky boy would bring to the future.

Daughter of the Sea: Shirahoshi, of course Otohime would sing to her children. But honest to goodness I need feed back on this one, help. 😅

River Lullaby: Momonosuke, Mom (for fear of spoilers I have not looked up her name) This was her hope to have the river (of time) to keep her baby safe.

Remember Me: Rebecca, Kyros would sing this to her at night. She didn’t understand why it sometimes made her sad.

You’ll be in my Heart: Otama, Ace sang to Luffy of course he is going to sing to her. He made a promise to come back, he sang true to his heart.

Any suggestions??

[oceanofstardust]

Not to get One Piece on main but I honestly do think that the series is a master class in setting up plot threads and handling foreshadowing, and it’s probably one of the reasons that it works so well as a long-running story. 

From as early on as Drum island we get the introduction of Ace looking for Blackbeard, a story line that happens largely aside from the main narrative, but which then suddenly intersects with the main story when Ace is going to be executed and Luffy goes to save him. We meet Ace in Alabasta but between then we have Skypiea and Water 7/Enies Lobby and even Thriller Back and we only see small glimpses of what’s going on at the end of each arc until Luffy really hears what’s going on after the crew get separated in Shaboady.

We have hints about Sanji’s backstory with Zeff in East Blue not being all there is to him from as early on as Jaya when we hear he’s from North Blue and it would not be unreasonable to suppose that the gag of him never getting his picture on a bounty poster until after Dressrosa was all build up to the events that were set in motion when his picture did finally reach the world government. 

Similarly, we get our first mention of ‘smiles’ in Jaya, when we also get introduced to Doflamingo. Now, I don’t really believe that Oda knew all the details for Dressrosa at this point, but you really do get the sense that with each character he introduces, especially those in the worldbuilding moments in the lulls between arcs, he has some idea of how they will play a role later on in the story. So he can hint at events to come because knows that he’s planning to pick up those story threads again later.

And that’s just some of the really large scale foreshadowing, because he also has series of arcs that naturally build on one another like everything from Whiskey Peak leading up to Alabasta and Punk Hazard, Dressrosa, Zou, Whole Cake Island, and Wano all clearly having plotlines connecting them. From the foreshadowing we get with Kin’emon and Mononosuke in Punk Hazard, it’s clear that Oda had a pretty good idea of their backstory with Oden and Kaidou back when he first introduced those characters, even if he only fed it to us bit by bit. We didn’t even get the reveal that Mononosuke was actually Oden’s son until Zou, but it’s that, a reveal, rather than a retcon, and that’s in part because Oda is good at setting these things up. And I think this is also where the long-running nature of the series actually works in Oda’s favour, because these kind of reveals hit all the harder when we do think Mononosuke is Kin’emon’s son for years.

And I think this goes for other pieces of set up coming back too: If the series had run as long as Oda had first intended, we would have encountered Brook eventually and found out he was part of the crew Laboon was waiting for, and it would have been a really cool call-back, but with it being over half a decade between the Laboon and Brook’s appearances, it is such an unexpected reveal that still makes absolute sense. I imagine most people barely remembered the whale the crew encountered when they entered the Grand Line. Hell, the 4kids dub apparently thought it was such a minor event that they could edit Laboon out entirely. And yet Oda took what worked as a simple warning about the dangers of the Grand Line and a sad tale about unfulfilled promises and returned to it to break our hearts with Brook’s side of the tale.

One Piece is full of these kinds of moments. Scenes or throwaway references that might intrigue a reader at first, but which are mostly lost in the larger story, only to be picked up on again later and make you go ‘hey, didn’t I hear about that before?’ and ‘ah, of course’. Often Oda will give us enough story hooks that we actually lose track, but when they come back you can’t deny that he played fair with the setting up. We heard that Tamatebako was rigged to explode and we knew it was going to be send to Big Mom for her tea party, and four arcs later we get the satisfaction of finally seeing that explosion go off. 

This kind of foreshadowing has two parts: You have to do the initial setting up of plot lines well in advance, and then you need to pick those story threads up again later. And I think Oda excels at both of these, and it’s part of what makes One Piece a story that actually benefits from it’s long-running nature. He can set up events and storylines years in advance, if only because his story always seems to take longer to tell than he plans, and the call-backs seamlessly tie current day One Piece with came before. And the story is all the richer for it.

tl;dr: one piece is pretty cool

[tooweirdforyou]

Sanji With A Comforting F! S/O

A/N : I will never use that sad GIF of Sanji crying. And I will never watch that scene. I’m not there yet, but I am not watching it.

Summary : Sanji often thinks about Zeff and becomes saddened at the thought, so his significant other tries to comfort him.

“Still awake?”

Hearing your familiar voice, Sanji returns from his deep thoughts and contemplating stare towards the ocean and smiles softly at you.

“[Name]-chan. You should be sleeping, it’s late.”

You smile back at him and shake your head playfully. “I should saying that to you. You always have to get up early to make breakfast, right?”

Sanji didn’t say anything in response as you stand beside him, leaning forward against the railing and turn to the shining ocean, lit by the moonlight.

“What’s on your mind? Other than the many extravagant recipes for your delicious meals, of course~” you lightly joke to bring a chuckle to his lips, which worked as Sanji smiles at you in amusement.

“As much as I’d love to tell you about everything, my sweet mademoiselle... I’m afraid this is a little personal.” He says a bit solemnly, still plastering his sweet loving smile to you.

You stare blankly at him a bit, your soft smile fading as you turn away from him and shake your head a bit. “I respect that, Sanji.. but I noticed that you’ve been staying up late at night a lot more recently. Whatever’s on your mind, I’m here to listen. You know that right?”

Noticing the delicate, light frown that overtook your lips, Sanji stares at you for a moment before sighing in defeat.

“Of course I know that, [Name]-chan. I just don’t want to burden you with my thoughts is all. I’m honored that such a beautiful lady like yourself cares so much, but—“

“You dummy.” Despite being a bit annoyed with Sanji for not wanting to share his feelings and thoughts with you, you couldn’t suppress the curve of your lips tugging upwards at him and his foolishness.

“I love to hear you talk, Sanji. You often come to me and listen to me talk for hours. It’s my turn to listen to you. So please share with me.”

You turn your body to face him, moving his hands away from the cigarette by his lips and the railing and held them in your own. You brought it up to your face and smile warmly at him.

“If you truly don’t want to, you don’t have to, but I want to be there for you, for all your ups and downs. No overly affectionate actions and your sweet, flirty compliments... Just a nice deep conversation about your innermost thoughts and personal issues, so we can solve it together. Okay?”

Sanji’s heart would literally melt at your words, his eyes closing as he smiles a bit shyly for himself. ‘That’s right..’ He didn’t have to worry about keeping up his always flirt, positive act.

‘I have you in my life now.’ Someone who was always there from the beginning, to love and cherish him as a whole, for himself and his flaws.

Sanji would look down in the ocean with a saddened smile before closing his eyes. He’d reach into his jacket pocket and pull out a photograph.

It seemed to be a picture of kid Sanji, behind him was the old man, Zeff. Owner of Baratie.

“Isn’t that Zeff..? The old man who saved your life?” You point out, leaning over to him to take a closer and better look at the photo.

Sanji nods softly, his free hand going up to hold the cigarette between his teeth by his two fingers, puffing out a bit out smoke he inhaled. “Yeah.”

“Do you miss him?”

Sanji smiles a bit more to himself at your question. He closed his eyes once more and gripped the edge of the photo tightly a bit. “Every day.”

You lean your head down onto his shoulder and give a small smile. “It’s good that you do. You must think about him all the time. So what’s making you so worried about Zeff?”

Sanji stiffens a bit, his heart beating quickly with his cheeks warm, as he tries to contain the joy inside him from you laying on his shoulder.

Fortunately, he managed to hold it in and eventually relaxed, clearing his throat a bit and opened his eyes.

“I...” he let out a weak half-hearted laugh, almost as if what he was feeling was stupid and a joke, eyes half-lidded as he stared at the ocean.

“I spent majority of my life with that old man, he taught me everything I know today.” Sanji starts, inhaling another puff of smoke before exhaling it out.

“I never thought I’d leave him, the other stupid cooks or the Baratie.. after Luffy invited me to join his crew, I left without a real proper goodbye, because I knew I’d come see him again, after I sailed the seas and found the All Blue.”

Recognizing his dream, you nod along to signal you were listening.

Sanji’s body started to tense up, him trembling and shaking a bit as he bit his lip hard, his grip on his cigarette tightening.

You slowly pull away and listened to him attentively, noticing the tears forming in his eyes as he tried hard to hold them back and frown slightly.

“I.. even though he keeps saying he still has 100 years left in him.. i-i can’t help but think that I’ll one day, get a letter from Patty or Carne that the old fool finally passed away.. before I could eventually come back and say goodbye to him properly.”

Tears welled up in his eyes, it slowly streaming down his cheeks quickly as he drops his cigarette into the ocean, by accident, and shut his eyes tightly.

“I’m scared that.. I won’t be able to see him one last time!-“

He hadn’t even realize that you were hugging him, until you tightened the hug and pulled him closer to yourself.

His eyes would widen a bit, tears falling quicker as he clutches you tightly back, letting it all out for the first time. His eyes would be shut and he’d wrap himself so tightly around you, almost suffocating you but you didn’t care.

You didn’t say a word. Just letting him cry on your shoulder and let all of his feelings out was enough for the both of you.

After a bit, you would slowly pull away and offer him a small, sweet smile. You cup his cheeks and wipe away his tears with your thumb and whispered softly.

“Hey.. you will see him. Whether it’s in the next few years or in just a day or maybe even longer than a few years...you will see him once again, with plenty of crazy stories to share.” you smile wider and brush part of his hair away, leaning up to kiss his lips gently.

Sanji would blow a fuse if he wasn’t in the middle of a teary mess.

He leaned closer to deepen the kiss, his eyes are still a bit teary and puffy but he was feeling pure joy and happiness as of this moment.

Sanji would wrap his arms around your waist and pull you closer, enjoying this special moment with you before pulling away, smiling softly at you.

“Thank you, [Name]-chan.” He whispers to you, his heart warm as he wiped the rest of his tears away with his sleeve, you only smiling back lovingly.

“Of course, Sanji. I’m always here for you. And I’m glad you shared your personal thoughts with me.” You hum, turning over to the photo in his hand.

“And if you ever feel sad about this again, I’ll cheer you up again and again, until you don’t feel sad anymore. I like it when you smile.”

Each time you spoke, Sanji could just feel his heart beating faster every time, it melting at your kindness.

‘So cute.. I’m going to die. No.. perhaps I’ve already died and I’m in heaven..’

“You know..”

Sanji returns to reality when he heard you and hums, seeing you holding the photo card in your hand. He didn’t even notice you taking it.

“I wish I can meet Zeff someday soon.” You suddenly spoke, a bright, warm smile on your face as you took another glance at the photo.

Sanji glances to you a bit curiously, wondering your reason for wanting to meet the old fart. “Why’s that, my sweet?”

“Well, I have to thank him for saving and raising the love of my life, and perhaps know his secret for making him such a great cook!”

You grin cheekily with closed eyes, and seconds after, Sanji’s nose immediately shoots out a good amount of blood, him collapsing onto the floor with his heart beating right out of his chest.

“Eh— Sanji?!”

‘Now, I’ve officially died.’

-

A/N : Sanji deserves so much :/ I don’t believe he’s appreciated enough. 💙

[sanjisock]

puddles

ao3

i. arlong park

It does not take long for Sanji to learn that Zoro is a man who does not do things in halves.

He watches in fascination as Zoro faces Mihawk without a single moment’s of hesitation — cut in half, bleeding all over the deck, but his sword stays true still. Zoro dreams, not of being a great swordsman, but of being the greatest; either you are, or you are not.

Sanji can understand that. It is not quite different from his own, if you look at it in the right ways — you either believe in the All Blue, or you don’t. It either exists, or it doesn’t. You can’t bargain with faith.

But Sanji isn’t the same kid with the iron mask all those years ago who had nothing to lose; he has Zeff now, and a debt as heavy as a lost limb that he could never even begin to repay. He knows how much a dream can cost. He knows how much love — true love, the kind with complete and utter devotion — can cost.

Cocoyashi Village is in celebration, and Sanji finds himself tucked into a corner of the party together with Zoro, somehow untouched by the cacophony. They’re still sizing each other up, barely knowing one another past a fight and a promise to a captain. But Zoro has trusted him easily in that very fight, and right now there’s a spark in the air between them, something not entirely different from attraction .

Zoro takes a large gulp from his bottle and gestures back at the ship. “You coming?”

This could be something , Sanji thinks. Wants to try, if he’s being honest.

But Zoro is a man who does not do things in halves — he is not a man who tries . If Sanji takes the leap, this is it — they either are, or they aren’t. And if they aren’t — Sanji isn’t sure a crew as small and as tight-knitted as the Straw Hats can handle a break up, especially so early on in their journey.

(Sanji isn’t sure a heart as weak as his can handle a break up). 

“I’ll catch up later,” he shrugs, scrambling for an excuse. He suddenly feels like he’s ten again, terrified and running away. “Been wanting to check out this one recipe from that guy over there.”

“If you say so,” Zoro takes the dismissal in stride, and dumps the empty sake bottle into a barrel as he stands up to leave.

Sanji watches him disappear into the night.

+

ii. enies lobby

The Mosshead has been giving him the nastiest look ever since the ship sailed away from Water Seven, so Sanji isn’t particularly surprised when Zoro stops him on his track on the way to Usopp’s workshop.

Zoro eyes the colorful drink on the tray in Sanji’s hand like it’s challenged him into a duel, before finally grunting, “you need to stop treating Usopp like that.”

Sanji’s eyes unwittingly follow Zoro’s gaze on the drink he made for Usopp — it has five colors, three different fruits, and a whip cream on top. Entirely too flashy for the male crewmembers, usually reserved for important occasions. Sanji feigns obliviousness, still. “Like what?”

“Like he’s going to break anytime soon,” Zoro says.

“You mean nicely ?” Sanji snarls back. “Like a normal human being? Not everyone is like you, Marimo. Some people have emotions. ”

“It’s insulting , is what it is,” Zoro retorts, his whole body leaning into Sanji’s personal space, like a challenge. “There’s never a need for you to coddle him. Usopp made his decisions as a man back then, and he had to learn the consequences for it — ”

“And he has learned , Zoro,” Sanji cuts in, feeling exhausted all of a sudden, the fight leaving his body in a snap. He sighs. “Look — I get that it’s your thing, protecting our pride as a crew and all. I was on your side, remember? But it’s all in the past, and Usopp’s got your message, loud and clear.”

Sanji thinks of a little boy with the iron mask, who were forced to learn all his lessons the hard way; and what comes out next is, “I’m the cook of this ship. Let me feed him.”

Let me take care of him , he doesn’t say, but it means pretty much the same thing.

There must’ve been something in his voice, because Zoro seems taken aback; all the tension bleeds out from his shoulders, and he’s now looking at Sanji with an unreadable expression.

There’s a moment of silence, stretched long enough to the point of awkwardness, before Zoro says, “ — didn’t mean to. I mean — quite a lot of shit went down, just didn’t wanna see you — don’t overexert yourself.”

Sanji blinks. “What are you saying .”

“All this talk about taking care of people,” Zoro says, hand rubbing the back of his neck in a rare display of — what? Embarrassment ? “Why wouldn’t you let me —”

Zoro pauses there, sentence trailing off into nothing; but Sanji has always been good at reading Zoro, and he hears the words anyway.

Why wouldn’t you let me take care of you .

Sanji thinks of the party in Cocoyashi, and then hundreds of moments after that — quiet moments in the galley when Zoro helped him wash up the dishes, playful banters that Zoro could only keep up with. Countless enemies they fight side by side, together, the way he feels his heart beat in sync with Zoro’s from across the battlefield.

“Cook —” Zoro puts his hand on Sanji’s shoulder then, and the touch burns , like an electric shock; it jolts Sanji back from his thoughts, a reminder of the reality between them, the way they would fight as hard as they love, and what would that leave him, in the aftermath?

“Let me go ,” Sanji says before he can stop himself, and practically runs to Usopp’s workshop.

+

iii. thriller bark

“You’re a dumbass ,” Sanji says.

“Hn,” Zoro says, not arguing for once.

“I’ve always known you have moss for brains,” Sanji continues, fully aware he’s rambling but unable to stop himself, “but who would’ve thought you’d be this dumb. What kind of complete and utter idiot would be so fucking reckless against a warlord for the second time in his life.”

Zoro hums noncommittally.

Sanji tightens the bandage across his torso with a little more force than necessary.

Zoro makes a pained grunt, and Sanji winces at the sound; they’ve roughhoused each other countless of times before, but this is the first time Zoro can’t take something Sanji dished. It shouldn’t be surprising though, not after the wounds he has taken from Bartholomew Kuma —

“You need to learn to pick your battles,” Sanji rambles on, because he’s suddenly hit with the realization that if he stops talking he might actually cry . “Or at least employ some strategies. Ever heard of those? That’s what people with brains usually do when they fight instead of simply waving some pointy sticks against the enemy. Raise your hand a bit —” he moves to the wound on Zoro’s arm, taking greater care to make sure he’s as gentle as possible, a silent apology for the earlier mishap. “Right there. Yeah. Anyways, I was saying —”

“Sanji,” Zoro says, and Sanji stops.

It’s so unfamiliar — the way Sanji’s name rolls off Zoro’s tongue, shaped by his deep voice. It sends a shiver down his spine, Sanji’s heart suddenly rattling against his ribcage.

When he looks up, Zoro is staring back at him with half-lidded eyes, something other than pain marring his gaze.

Longing .

Sanji feels his throat dry all of a sudden.

“Sanji,” Zoro says, voice low and rasp, but steady. And then: “stay.”

Sanji drops the bandages in his hands. He can’t do this — not when he’s staring at the very reminder of what it would cost . The idea of losing Zoro, as a nakama , has already torn him from the inside; he can’t imagine what it’s like to see Zoro’s lifeless body on the infirmary bed, as a lover.

He remembers standing in front of her mother’s grave, feeling like he’s coming apart at the seams, and wanting to tear up the stitches; wishing he could just unravel after so much hurt . 

“Zoro,” he says, feeling like he’s on the verge of a panic attack, “I — I can’t —”

But when he dares himself to finally meet Zoro’s eyes, the Swordsman has lost consciousness again.

Sanji flees the infirmary.

+

iv. zou

He flips BIg Mom’s invitation to the tea party over and over again, staring at the words etched on the paper.

Groom: Third Son of the Vinsmokes, Sanji.

The words settle unpleasantly in his gut, and he swallows, trying to calm himself down. He’s no longer the same weak kid with the iron mask; he’s now a Straw Hat, and he’s going to settle his issues with his pathetic excuse of a family once and for all.

That’s all.

...so why does it feel like this isn’t going to end well with Zoro?

Thoughts of the Shitty Swordsman appear in his mind, unbidden. A scowl, definitely — maybe a few scathing words to accompany the look. Something about Sanji and his self-sacrificial tendencies — as if Zoro has any right to lecture anyone about that — or maybe some diatribe about trusting the crew to take care of one of their own.

Which is not what this is about, at all. Of course Sanji trusts everyone in the crew — trusts Luffy  to be able to take care of himself. But this is his problem, and he’s the only one responsible to fix it. There’s no need to trouble everyone with a little family problems.

(So why does it still feel like he’s running away?)

+ 

v. whole cake island

“First of all, the captain of my own ship came all this way to track me down,” he says, raising a finger for emphasis, “only for me to insult and hurt him to the best of my ability despite no resistance from him whatsoever. That means I cannot go back to your ship right now.”

Run , he remembers being ten, hearing Reiju’s voice through the prison bars. There is no turning back. Your mistakes are final.

“Second of all,” he continues, “the shitty geezer who saved my life and the home where I was raised are being held hostage in case I don’t play along. That means I cannot escape from this wedding.”

Run , he remembers thinking every time he catches sight of Zeff’s leg. This is the cost of your dream. This is the cost of your love.

“Third of all,” he says, voice rising even higher, “the evil family to which I’m related to is walking into Big Mom’s trap, and they’ll all be slaughtered in a matter of hours. They’re scum of the earth to whom I owe nothing but my hatred but I cannot bring myself to abandon them to their fate and run away!”

Run , he tells himself. Your love worths nothing. You are not worth anyone’s love.

“For these three reason,” he says, eyes avoiding Luffy’s. “I cannot return with the rest of you.”

There’s a bright sunburst of pain against his cheek, and the momentum of the punch throws him against a tree bark, shattering under the impact.

“Tell me how you really feel ,” Luffy yells. “What do you want, Sanji?”

For the first time in his life, Sanji stops running.

+

(i. wano)

Sanji didn’t notice at first, with all the flurry and chaos of the fight against Kaido; but once things have settled down, it occurs to him that Wano is a spring island.

The air is tinged with the kind of heat that barely tips over to unpleasant, uncomfortable without the unbearable fever of summer. Even the nights are wearily humid, which is why he decided to stray away from the celebration feast into the forest, and finds Zoro training alone, swinging his new sword against the wind.

They have not had a moment to themselves ever since — ever since . All of their conversations have mostly been in the heat of the battle, and Sanji isn’t quite sure if they simply did not have the time, or if Zoro has been avoiding him.

It doesn’t matter — here they are, gravitating towards each other still. As if fate herself has weaved a path for them, time and again.

He thinks he can still hear Luffy asking, in the rain: what do you want, Sanji?

“Zoro,” he says, and faces him, head on. “I am in love with you.”

He thinks Zoro would’ve been surprised, once upon a time; maybe if Sanji dared to say it under the Alabasta moonlight, or bathed by the campfire light in the Sky Islands; but now, it feels superfluous, almost redundant. It is no longer the truth that matters between them.

Zoro finally turns to meet his eyes, and sheathes his sword into its scabbard. “What do you want, Cook?”

The same question, again. He’s been running away for so long, he’s forgotten what truly matters, before the risks and the tragedies and the costs . What he truly wants .

The answer to that has always been simple.

“I want us, Zoro. Together. In whichever way you’ll have me.”

Zoro walks up and stops, right in front of Sanji. “You have me ,” he says. “You’ve always had me. It’s you who’s always —” Zoro pauses, gritting his teeth, frustration written all over his face.

“I know,” Sanji says, heartbeat rising up his throat, his ears, his mouth. “Zoro, I —”

“I need to know ,” Zoro says, hand a hair’s breadth away from Sanji’s own, but not quite touching. “I need to know if you will keep running away from me or not.”

Sanji takes the offered hand and closes the distance between them.

It is a short kiss at first, only a cling of lips — and then he feels Zoro’s free hand drifting up to cradle his face as Zoro leans in for another kiss, and another, little dips of kisses, as if Zoro needed the constant reassurance that Sanji is here, with him. And Sanji can give him that, owe him that much — he breathes into the kiss, chases Zoro’s lips and mouths at the curve of his smile.

“This is it, right?” Zoro says when they part, forehead still pressed against one another’s. “Because this is it for me, Cook.”

Sanji thinks of Zoro, who doesn’t do things in halves. Either they are, or they aren’t. And for once he realizes — not the fear or the risk, but how much of an honor it is, to be loved by this man. Entirely and all-consuming.

“This is it,” he tells Zoro, and squeezes Zoro’s hand. “No more running away.”

[yukipri]

On the Baratie, Part 3 - a One Piece Mermaid AU Text Story

Third part of the Baratie story tonight!

Warnings for: Thatch x Luffy, Sanji x Luffy, bg Ace x Luffy

Continues off of past parts!

👒🐟On the Baratie, Part 1

👒🐟On the Baratie, Prologue

👒🐟On the Baratie, Part 2

~~

Sanji's never been left this speechless by someone else's food before.

He's long considered Zeff to be the best chef he knows, the mentor from whom Sanji's polished his own skills, once acquired from lonely textbooks in a cold, cold dungeon cell. Sanji's improved, but there are few dishes he can serve that he feels can top Zeff's.

"Well?" Thatch asks, crossing his arms, a gentle smile curling his lips.

There's a small feast laid out before them, and to an untrained eye, it looks simple. But when Zeff finishes his first sip of soup, he makes a low, rumbling sound of appreciation, and honestly Sanji can't do anything but silently echo the sentiment.

Food can be incredible. Not only do living things require nourishment to survive, certain kinds can bring out various physical and mental reactions in the consumer. The right diet can encourage healing, grant clearer vision, even strengthen the body to seemingly inhuman degrees. Food builds the body after all, and the right kind can cause miracles.

But some recipes, Sanji has heard, take food even further beyond.

And this food, this does all of that and more.

Because from the first sip, Sanji immediately feels his body thrum with energy and warmth, and he jolts. What is this? There's no way his body can physically change from taking just a single sip of soup...and yet it feels like it has.

To eat like this, every meal, every day, every crew member...suddenly, "the Strongest Pirate Crew in the World" seems less an obscure, far away concept, but defined in a way that Sanji not only understands, but leaves him feeling nothing but awe. This, he thinks, this is what you eat to be the Strongest.

Sanji hates to admit it, but he's never had anything like it, not even from Zeff. And the cook, Thatch, did it in with the exact same tools, ingredients, and kitchen that Sanji uses every day.

And while the physical effects are mind boggling enough, there's more.

Because in this food, Sanji can feel the cook's raw intent in an undiluted form that perhaps only Sanji himself can recognize and interpret, as a cook who strives to do the same, but has never quite managed to this level of mastery. And in every ingredient that Thatch added, in every careful stir, Sanji knows what he was pouring in.

Love.

Sanji doesn't set his spoon down until the bowl is empty, but when he does, his thoughts feel more organized. And this, Sanji thinks, this food...it's practically a culinary love letter that only Sanji can read.

And Sanji somehow instinctively knows that the love letter is addressed to Luffy.

Sanji's torn. On one hand, he feels that his attraction to Luffy, not even a day old, is painfully inadequate in comparison to not just the devotion of her current cook, but his ability to convey it through his cooking alone. And Sanji knows that at this moment, he has no hope of coming close to replicating the way Thatch shows his love through his food. It's the first time Sanji's felt this way about his craft, and it's humbling.

But on the other hand...Sanji slowly lifts his gaze from the soup to see Thatch with new eyes, but the man's attention is fixed solely on Luffy, who guzzles the soup without a care in the world, no doubt completely unaware of just how special it really is.

On the other hand, the things Sanji could learn from this cook.

"Thatch's cooking is the best," Luffy croons, as Ace reaches around her to roughly wipe her messy face with a napkin. "But! Sanji's cooking is amazing too, and Sanji's cooking will also be the best if he joins our crew!"

Zeff wasn't exaggerating; it really is an honor to be compared to Thatch. Sanji feels his heart thump heavily, and for once it's not just because of lovely, lovely Luffy.

Sanji doesn't have a response for Luffy, but at the moment he doesn't need to--because Don Krieg walks in.

~~

Things happen in rapid succession.

Gin and Krieg arrive.

Then the greatest swordsman in the world, Dracule Mihawk shows up, and the green haired idiot pounces at the opportunity to challenge him, and immediately loses.

"Hawk Eyes," Thatch says warningly, with far too much familiarity and lack of fear facing down a Warlord, but perhaps that's to be expected, given that he's a Whitebeard pirate.

"Thatch," the swordsman acknowledges. "The boy's not dead. Even if he were not under your crew's protection, he has captured my interest."

Sanji frowns at their exchange.

But then he's fighting, and there's no time to worry about it, and the Baratie's in danger, Zeff's in danger, so Sanji has to fight--

And then for some reason, Luffy's fighting.

Sanji's heart leaps into his throat the first time he sees her slam into Krieg, and he moves to abandon his own fight to go to her aid, when a hand stops him.

It's the Dangerous Man, Ace, the one who acted like he was Luffy's keeper, though that antagonism is gone from him now as he watches the mermaid engage in combat with Krieg. He looks surprisingly calm, and he doesn't move to help Luffy, or even to call her back, but instead looks on silently from the sidelines, leaning against the outer wall of the Baratie next to Thatch and the blue-haired man, who are likewise quiet.

"Let her fight," Ace says, though he and his crew mates don't look away.

"You don't care if she gets hurt?! That's Don Krieg!" Sanji spits out blood and tries to move towards her again, but Ace's hand doesn't budge.

"And she's my co-captain." Ace says, and Sanji jolts. "We're headed to the Grand Line. Krieg is nothing compared to the opponents we'll face there."

Sanji wants to object, to call the man utterly insane and heartless for using this as what, a training exercise?! for Luffy, who isn't just a delicate lady, but a vulnerable mermaid! Adrenaline has completely shot Sanji's restraint, and it suddenly doesn't matter how much stronger Ace is, because Sanji's about to give him a piece of his mind--but he stops.

Because when Sanji looks at Ace, he doesn't see the cold eyes of a master evaluating the performance of his subordinate. Ace, for all his power, looks so incredibly human as he watches Luffy fight. Sanji can tell that he cares for her, that he's worried, but above all, that he has absolute trust in Luffy. And it's that belief in her that keeps him rooted to the spot when Sanji can now see that he's itching to annihilate Krieg like he no doubt could.

It's the look that true family gives, that people who don't love you can never hope to replicate, and Sanji knows the difference all too painfully well.

And so Sanji turns to watch Luffy as well. He can't say that the fight looks easy for her, but she's holding her own, far better than Sanji would have expected. Despite being a mermaid, she balances easily with her tail to hurl punches that fly far and true with her devil fruit powers, before she spins on her arms to lash out with her fins, delivering a slam that sends Krieg crashing through the wreckage of his own ship.

Her fighting isn't what even Sanji could call particularly elegant, much more like brawling, but he still can't look away.

~~

Luffy's bare hands shatter Krieg's golden armor, before her tail deals the final blow, even as the mermaid herself, bleeding and entangled in Krieg's net, plummets into the sea.

Conviction, Sanji thinks, repeating Zeff's words, his observations of the mermaid.

The three by the Baratie make their moves then, all at once. Ace and Thatch leap forward to dive into the sea after the mermaid, but are slammed to the deck by their blue-haired companion before they can touch the water.

"Hey you! Blond cook!" the blue-haired man shouts, and Sanji realizes he's referring to Sanji. "Go in after her! She's eaten a devil fruit and can't swim, and neither can these idiots! She'll drown!"

"You'd best do as he says," Zeff agrees, and Sanji swears and takes off sprinting.

Down beneath the waves, it's like the battle overhead never took place, and Sanji wonders if he'd imagined it after all as he finally reaches Luffy. Her eyes are closed, and the majority of blood has already been washed away by the water. Her body is completely limp as Sanji cuts it free of the net so she slides into his arms.

It's his first time touching her, and though she settles heavily and unnaturally against him without a hint of buoyancy...she's soft. Small bubbles rise from her lips, and Sanji realizes that she's breathing underwater. With light from the surface dancing across her face, she looks so incredibly different from when she was awake. She's hauntingly beautiful and serene, and the blue veil over her makes her look like she belongs to another world, like a sleeping sea goddess waiting to be awakened by a kiss. She looks like a true mermaid princess straight out of a fairy tale, not a pirate capable of pummeling an infamous pirate commodore.

Sanji feels his own lungs beginning to scream, and regretfully kicks out, but keeps firm grip of the mermaid in his arms.

When they break the surface, wreckage is around them, and hands immediately pull them onto the deck. Sanji reluctantly lets Luffy go.

"Luffy!" Ace shouts, all pretense of calm gone as he pulls Luffy into his arms to peer down at her.

Luffy doesn't gasp for air like a human who's been under water, but rather takes a longer, deeper breath, and slowly opens her eyes as though finally realizing that it isn't fluid, but air in her lungs.

"Hey, Ace," she says, lips quirking into a smile as she continues to breath in deeply. "Told you I could beat him."

"So you did," he agrees, crushing her briefly against his chest, before pulling them apart so he can catalog her injuries.

"Thanks for that," a new voice says, and Sanji looks up to see the blue-haired man offering him a hand, which he takes. "I can't guarantee Ace'll agree, but I for one am all for more swimmers joining us. I'm Deuce."

~~

~~

(Deuce, probably: So Nami stole our ship, Usopp's following her with a half-dead Zoro and the two bounty hunters, leaving...fantastic, me alone with three stupid devil fruit users. Again.)

I did skim through the manga again for a vague sense of order of events, but I have zero interest in writing every detail of canon into my AU stories. Sure, I'm sure some things could have gone interestingly different that I didn't mention, like Lu possibly avoiding Krieg's gas by dunking her head under water, or Thatch sucking it all up into a black hole....but eh, you can imagine that if you want LOL! This was already getting too long ^ ^;

Some other notes: I re-read Novel A again, and confirmed several things:

1) Thatch is confirmed Head Cook/Head of Dining of the entire Whitebeard Fleet

2) Thatch's division, the 4th, is also primarily in charge of Dining, including but not limited to cooking, gathering food such as hunting and fishing, and presumably procuring other foodstuffs from their territory. I already HC'd this, but nice to have it be confirmed canon!

3) It's a little hard to tell from the wording whether he's just calling it that, or whether it really is Special, but possibly implied that he can cook especially energizing and nourishing foods (in the novel, stamina soup for Pops), possibly like the Kamabakka Kingdom recipes.

(note, I have not read the official English translation, so have no clue what they chose to translate these things as, I only got the original Japanese which is enough for me ^ ^;)

Regarding the last point, I do HC that Thatch knows those recipes and is friends with Kamabakka Kingdom cooks. I also HC that Iva-chan's okama aren't the only country or culture that has Special Foods like that, and Thatch has a very, VERY broad repertoire ;D

I also just love the idea of both Thatch and Sanji, master cooks, being able to read parts of each other through their cooking that goes completely unnoticed by everyone else on the crew <3

As always, thank you so much for reading, and any thoughts you'd like to share with me are immensely appreciated! <3

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

Read the next part: On the Baratie, Part 4

~This ask has been added to the Mermaid AU Text Headcanons Compilation post~

[where-s-all-blue]

More University Headcanons!

Straw Hat Pirates Edition

Luffy

He's studying to become a photographer because he looked up to Roger, who himself was a professional photographer during the time he was alive.

Another reason for this is the fact that photographers get to see a lot of things their life, sometimes even danger, it's like an adventure.

Like most of his friends, he resides in Gold dorm and has done his fair share of stealing furniture for it.

He keeps a diary which he decorates with cute stickers and Polaroids.

He has a good eye, which helps him with setting the camera in just right way to get the perfect shot.

He's one of the louder residents which often makes people who need the silence to concentrate, like Law, go absolutely bonkers.

He's banned from the kitchen.

He keeps dragging people into the dorm.

Somehow? You just can't hate him.

Zoro

Decided to study social work when he realised how unfair the world could be.

Is also in the kendo club which he joined upon learning that the person who is seen as the best is its captain, he intends to best him.

Currently he supports one hundred and fifty-one wins and one loss.

The only loss was against Mihawk.

He's naturally good when it comes to dealing with people, but he truly shines when he's around kids.

He's often helping around the dorm by moving large objects in/out.

He was the one to clear the large area which later on came to support the workout area and the garden.

He often takes strolls on the woods located behind the dorm, he's easily the scariest being there.

His sense of direction is so bad that he was given his own device which tells him his location and how to get to the place he wants to go to. This device was made by Eustass and Usopp with Law telling them to turn it into a wrist watch which also measures Zoro's vitals so he can monitor his own health and sport related achievements. The data of his vital signs is transferred into his phone.

Usopp

He majors in engineering and thrives when it comes to inventions, his secondary is English literature.

He writes plays and stories on his spare time, some of them are pitched to the theatre club and art majors.

He's good at crafting and thus is often seen working on something for the dorm like name signs that all match the personalities of the residents.

He was the one who thought of turning the street sign poles into a fence around the dorm's garden.

He's also in charge of modifying the stolen property to ensure that nobody realises where they originally came from.

He was the one who turned that one car into a bed after he moved it inside in pieces. The car bed is in a room called "Silence Room" which was made to have no sounds get in or out of it. He and Killer designed the interior of it to help those who have hyper senses and are more proun to headaches (or just can't stand being around people too long). It's also used as a guest room from time to time.

He works the best with people who are smart like Sanji, Law and Eustass, he also gets very well along Chopper, the therapy dog that goes around the campus.

He's free spirited goof ball with very wide interests who gets along with almost everybody.

Being the jokester of the lot is his attempt to have people think of him as a good guy to be around with and to see that he's not just brain.

He struggles with seeing his own self worth and is very proun to feeling melancholic due to his high Intel making him realise things that he'd rather not know of. He has a low self-esteem because of being dismissed as a child due to his dreams and goals being too ahead of his time.

Sanji

Culinary arts and management major.

He was raised in a foster home, more specifically by the owner of the Baratier restaurant Zeff who he considers to be his dad more than his biological father.

He was kicked out of the Vinsmoke estate by his father Judge due to his wish to be a chef instead of becoming a lawyer or a doctor or a politician.

Technically he's still eligible of inheriting the throne of Germa Kingdom even if he was exiled.

He's still expected to marry a high class member of the society and thus Judge keeps messaging him about his choices, fully believing that Sanji will one day see his way and abandon his dream of being a chef in favour of the kingdom.

He even has a fiancé, Charlotte Pudding, though he never agreed to the scheme that was orchestrated by Vinsmoke Judge and Charlotte Linlin. Pudding also isn't too happy about the situation.

His foster father is the actual lecturer in charge of the culinary studies, but as he was in an accident and thus hospitalised, Charlotte Linlin is subbing him much to Sanji's demise.

He's one of the few people who who can cook in the dorm and he takes notice of other people's likes, dislikes and allergies.

Sanji's kindness is often noticed by others.

Nami

She's a architecture major, her second interest being banking.

When she moved into the dorm, she quickly noticed that the students who renovated it had no idea how things worked, so she had them redo few things. The dorm is now a lot easier to keep warm during the winter.

She was the one to pitch the idea of the Silent Room upon noticing how Law was struggling because of how loud the dorm had become as a result of the new first years moving in.

She works part time as a waitress at Baratier and she is known for her ability to negotiate the costs a lot lower that they usually would be.

She's a bit of a kleptomaniac, result of her growing up on a poor and unsafe area dictated by gangs.

She's also a honours student, who's part of the special program which basically ensures that she has enough money to buy her school items and food.

She often chats with the local witch coven to obtain more information, she also likes to hangout with Killer and Usopp.

Her best friend Vivi Nefertari is currently in an exchange program.

Chopper

A golden retriever akita mix.

He was originally Sabo's therapy dog, nowadays he's more or less the therapy dog of anyone who needs him. He still sticks by Sabo for the most of the time.

He's broken into the classrooms during lectures to deliver forgotten items to Sabo so often that he has his own attendance record and he's almost considered to be a student at this point.

His job includes going to the local pharmacy every Friday to pick up a specifically constructed herbal infusion packet and bring it to the Lair.

He's highly intelligent dog who was capable of deducing which herbs were part of the herbal infusion treatment and then retrieve the plants based on their scent.

He picked these herbs and spices from the garden of Gold Dorm.

His bestfriend is Bepo, a samoyed owned by Law, who also happens to be the only other dog on the campus.

Robin

Social Work major, secondary studies in history.

She chose her line of studies due to wanting to prevent other kids being forced to go through the same kind of neglect and abuse as she did.

She's fluent in multiple languages and writes her notes in one of the dead languages, which she self taught herself to read.

She prefers to keep her information confidential and she enjoys the confusion some of her antics cause.

She takes part in the weekly movie night and enjoys them greatly.

Franky

Robotics major.

The only member of the group who doesn't live in a dorm. Nobody knows if he even sleeps or eats, but if you need him, you can always find him form the workshop.

You need to drag him out forcibly to have him even leave the room.

Thanks to Luffy, he now visits the Gold dorm few times a week to hangout, but the second he sees something that gives him an idea, he bolts out back to the workshop.

100% workaholic, 0% sleep, 120% Cola.

Brook

Actual university cryptid.

Is literally dead and walking around.

Formerly a music major.

Nobody knows how long he's been there and frankly nobody cares, his flamboyant style is a mood and his cravings for food and drinks is something we all relate to.

He knows every nook and cranny of the campus.

He's been there so long that nobody even questions it and he even gets invited to university parties and to hang out.

The only time someone freaked out was when the group went to a fast food restaurant and forgot that the outside world isn't aware of him. He tipped the waiter generously with something that looked like an old coin. It was probably worth more than the whole restaurant.

If you talk to him, there's 80% chance of you triggering his natural response to anything which is singing and dancing.

He's literally a walking musical.

He's one of the few who has heard Katakuri's doughnut song and lived to tell the tale. Except that he's dead already yohohoho.

He's very likely to console you if you're not feeling okay.

When it comes to the modern technology and stuff, he's a bit confused, but has the right spirit.

Jinbe

The current captain of the karate club.

Nobody knows what he majors in nor from which dorm he's from.

When Shirahoshi from Atlantis (=Fishman Island) started her studies in the University, he was quick to form a protection team to her and her brothers from the members of the karate club.

He might be the instructor of the club? Apparently he's one of the strongest.

I woke up one morning and he was eating soba noodles in the kitchen, why and how is he in our dorm. Is he even a student here?!

Oh my god he's now fighting against Ace, I swear to god sport majors are so dramatic.

It was a tie. How am I supposed to feel about this.

They both are now emptying our fridge, someone please get them out.

[whereistheonepiece]

So @lesbian-space-ranger​ and I accidentally created a new Zosan AU that we’ve been talking about since last night. A note: half of this is me summarizing, half of it is pulled directly from Discord because Cas (lesbian-space-ranger) has such great ideas.

This is a long post. I don’t feel like putting it under a read more. So. Enjoy. Or keep scrolling. Either works.

So this post happened

These roles just came to me. Didn’t need to give it much thought because Sanji has the appearance and demeanor of a lead singer and I like the idea of him using his skilled hands to play piano at the same time.

I also watched the movie Rocketman earlier in the week. You know, that Elton John biopic. I adored it and it’s been heavy on my mind lately and I liked the idea of Sanji giving a high energy performance from the piano. (Sir Elton John’s music comes into play later.)

And as for Zoro, I find the bass and/or the beat the sexiest part of the music in a song and, naturally, I can see him rocking at either.

So I asked Cas if she had any other headcanons for this AU and this thing is too good to not share.

Yeah, so Zoro and Sanji are in a boy band with Usopp and Luffy. Luffy started the band. Luffy does guitar, Zoro is on bass, Usopp is on drums, and Sanji is on keyboard and vocals.

Nami is their manager. She works them hard and has taken a 40% cut of the profits because of the guys’ naivete and inexperience. But she’s why they took off. She booked their gigs at every venue she could manage, no matter how small.

They got their big break when Nami met Vivi, who’s a talent scout for the record label Baroque Works. Nami insisted that Vivi had to see the boys perform because they’re something else and Vivi’s heard that a thousand times, but she agreed because Nami is cute. Nami and Vivi are dating. Also, re Baroque Works: Crocodile looks like a sleazy music producer, doesn’t he? So does Doflamingo.

So Sanji is the pretty one, Luffy is the funny one, Zoro is the quiet/broody one, and Usopp is the smart one.

Zoro has a lot of deals with fitness brands, but secretly finds the famous life unfulfilling. This comes back later, so keep that in your back pocket.

Robin runs their social media. She’s so good at her job, running all of their accounts and tweeting simultaneously, you’d swear she had four sets of hands. Wink.

Franky does pyrotechnics/lighting.

Brook is their stylist.

Chopper was their first real fan. He and Zoro grew up in the same neighborhood and Chopper just always idolized him. He followed them before anyone knew their names. He was their hype man, saying encouraging things like "I know you guys are gonna be great!" He believed in them even when they didn't believe in themselves.

Usopp set up their recordings before they got signed because he’s savvy. And then Chopper would sell their crappy CDs. At these tiny gigs. Like coffeehouses and stuff.

Sanji can play keyboard because his parents forced him to play piano as a kid. They had this idea that classical music would teach him discipline and make him smarter. This is how he meets Zeff. Zeff’s your typical stern instructor, but he’s the first adult to ask Sanji what he actually wants and likes. Zeff sees Sanji’s not into it so he asks him what music he likes and Sanji tells him he likes pop, so Zeff gives Sanji a more rounded education. This includes Elton John because I say so. It did inspire me to put Sanji on keyboard, after all.

But other than being Sanji’s piano instructor, Zeff becomes the one positive adult figure in young Sanji’s life and he becomes something of a mentor figure for him. Zeff has a garden and he lets Sanji work in it with him. This garden is how Sanji gets his “little eggplant” nickname. Sanji pulls an eggplant out before it’s ready and it’s so small and pitiful and Zeff won’t let him live it down. Like, Sanji keeps in touch with Zeff even into adulthood and after he makes it big and he still calls Sanji little eggplant.

Zoro and Sanji are always doing that, "Kind of flirting, not really” thing on stage.  Sanji is always like walking up to Zoro on stage and acting like he's going to kiss him but pushing him away at the last moment. And it's this huge mystery whether they're actually an item or not. This comes from Nami. Sanji and Zoro have this natural chemistry with each other that leads to speculation and Nami, knowing how boy band fan bases work, saw dollar signs. But it’s not just pragmatism on her part; she knows that one cannot simply go up to Zoro and Sanji and say “You obviously like each other. You should date.” So she makes money and helps her friends find happiness.

Usopp has speculation going on as well. People are always confused as to who he’s dating. Tabloids keep being like "Usopp dumped Nami and is now dating Luffy!" "Luffy Scorned?" "Luffy ditches Usopp and steals his girl!" And they just think the entire thing is hilarious. They collect headlines. The answer is Usopp is dating Luffy and Nami and Luffy and Nami just become really affectionate with each other after dating Usopp long enough. Also Nami is dating Vivi, like I mentioned, and sometimes Nami brings her on as a plus one. 

Sanji and Zoro keep giving conflicting answers about their relationship status. Like they'll tell one person they hate each other and another person they're gonna get married someday. Sanji has to walk this fine line of being "in love" with all of his female fans and also "in love" with Zoro. Or not. Who knows? Like Sanji enjoys the attention but he really really plays shit up for his fangirls. This makes Sanji even more popular. Just picture pages upon pages of Sanji/Reader and “Zanji” fics on Wattpad. Nami is one smart lady. "I am the smartest, prettiest, most clever person alive."

Zosan getting together really is just a bunch of Fake Dating tropes. At first it really is just to get more press for the band. Nami schemes with Usopp and Robin to push them together. Robin's a social media genius and knows how to craft tweets and Instagram posts that fans will overanalyze. 

Meanwhile eventually Zoro and Sanji admit to each other they have actual feelings and one day Usopp finds Sanji sleeping in Zoro's bed, both of them completely tuckered out. But they don’t know Nami crafted this. They just come clean and hope she won't be mad and she's like, "Yes! Finally!" and they're like "What?" and she's like, "I've been waiting for you two to realize you have actual feelings. Did you really think I'd just use you for profit like that?" and they're both like "Yes" "Of course"

Zoro’s mad at her for meddling. Secretly he’s grateful, but he doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction and he’s yelling until Sanji grabs his hand and he just calms down.

And to bring Elton John back into the picture, just picture Sanji doing a cover of “Your Song” and uploading it online and thinking about Zoro. Naturally the comments are abuzz with people speculating that he’s singing about Zoro. And like. Onstage Sanji does his rendition and sends these small glances Zoro’s way, partially because he knows it’ll get the band a lot of attention, partially because that song is sweet and beautiful and it’s such a simple way to explain his feelings. (There is a reason why Moulin Rouge included it!!) I imagine this happens before they come clean to each other. Like, Zoro comes to him and is all “I keep thinking about that song you did...” And they go from there.

And eventually the band comes to its natural end. 

Usopp goes solo and flourishes, working as a songwriter and a producer. He wrote the band’s songs and he’s had a drum kit since he was, like, ten and he can make his own beats. He’s not the singing type (though he is good at it and could reach new heights if he came out of his shell), so he’s the kind of artist who makes the beat and then gets super famous pop singers to feature on his tracks. But he also writes songs for other singers and is so good at it and produces other artists’ tracks. I also like the idea that he’s taught himself to play multiple instruments, but he prefers the drums/percussion. He totally played percussion in school and was in marching band. I was in marching band for one year. I loathed every second of it, but I know he’d be phenomenal in drum corps.

Luffy isn’t much in music anymore, but he keeps himself busy. He’s something of an influencer, the kind of celebrity who gets paid to wear fashion brands’ clothing. He’s also Usopp’s trophy husband, living off the money he made off the band. Usopp grew wise to Nami’s antics and made sure he and Luffy would live comfortably for the rest of their lives, even if Usopp were to retire. Luffy also is secretly a Buzzfeed journalist because it’s fun for him to write these hit articles and people not know it’s him because he’s writing on this super bland pseudonym. 

And then there’s Zosan. They have a falling out after the band splits and go their separate ways.

Sanji quits being a professional singer because he’s tired of the prying into his personal life, but he still mentors and/or teaches. He has a string of girlfriends and finds no fulfillment in those relationships because the women are only interested in his celebrity.

And they aren’t Zoro.

Zoro tried branching off into commercials for fitness, but his heart wasn’t in it. He kind of takes up ranching on a whim and learns that he’s really good at it. He likes the physical labor, the quiet, being away from it all, nobody knowing his name. He doesn’t pursue anyone after Sanji because he feels like if it’s meant to be, someone will appear.

And Sanji does.

Sanji finds out where Zoro is through Luffy. So he makes his way to the ranch and finds Zoro and Sanji is all “Come back. I miss you.”

And there’s just a lot of soft Zosan content during Sanji’s visit. Sanji’s always been afraid of horses, but he’s not afraid when he’s with Zoro, and Zoro teaches him they can be gentle creatures, it’s just that you just have to respect them. (Ha. Get it?) Zoro takes Sanji on a ride and they go out and he takes him up the mountain and shows him how beautiful the view is. Sanji's watching the sunset and he's like, "Damn that's the prettiest thing I've ever seen." And Zoro is looking at Sanji and he says, "It sure is." And Sanji's like, "you're not... even looking." And Zoro's like, "No, I'm looking alright. Prettiest thing I've ever seen for sure."

More soft things like Zoro taking off his cowboy hat and putting it on Sanji. Them sitting by the fire, Zoro playing acoustic while Sanji sings. Whenever people see them they’ll ask them if they’re musicians and they share a knowing smile and say “Yeah. Something like that.”

And Zoro convinces Sanji to move out there with him. The others come to visit. Luffy and Chopper are obsessed with the cows and horses and the chickens. Luffy wants, like, eight pet chickens. Usopp is skeptical. Doesn’t believe Lu can look after a pet.

And it kind of ends there. It was us going back and forth, oftentimes out of chronological order, and so here I am putting it all together because it’s too good not to share. But it was a lot of fun.

[beanghostprincess]

my mom came up(?) with a concept of asexual Sanji and I need your professional opinion on this

Oh, this one's new! I never heard of this headcanon before but as an asexual and a person who relates to Sanji a very insane amount, I can actually see it. I think I never thought about it due to his... Behavior. And also the perception the fandom has about him. I guess I just always used the Bisexual headcanon for him. But!! Guess what? I love turning horny characters that are used as comedy relief Asexual!! Breaking stereotypes and all that shit.

I think Sanji's sexual attraction to women, asexual or not, comes from a need to be loved and accepted and have somebody to care for. He's a natural caretaker and protector; his core need is to feel useful and wanted. Which, you know, comes from all that trauma of not being wanted or useful. And I think sex is the easiest way to feel needed and wanted, so it wouldn't be weird for him to just convince himself that he feels sexual attraction when actually he just wants to be wanted. Which has happened to me. A lot of times. It's not fun.

He worships women both because of his mom and because of Zeff's words, so it isn't weird that the concept of sexuality and romance toward them is mainly because of his past. Also, the concept of toxic masculinity the Vinsmokes made him grow up with can also be a reason why he feels the need to like women sexually.

Perhaps it's just Sanji adapting to the world, seeing the men at the Baratie liking people that way and feeling left out because of that. And if you mix that with his worship toward women (this is very real though) he just becomes a very chaotic simp. Not because he actually feels aroused, but because his feelings toward women are strong enough for him to confuse sexual attraction with admiration or worshipping.

And don't get me started on men. I think he's just straight-up repulsed by the idea of being with a man. And it's not even because of his internalized homophobia due to toxic masculinity (that too, though) but because of plain fear. Literally the people who have hurt him the most are men, so of course he doesn't like them. And the most important people in his life are women, so of course he just assumes he only likes women and should like them sexually and worship them in every way.

So here we have Sanji, who has severe issues with men and a fixation toward women, thinking he likes them sexually when actually he just... He just wants to feel loved and needed and wanted. Sex is the quickest and easiest way for that to happen, honestly.

And maybe this is just me projecting and all that, but I think that despite being the way he is he wouldn't like sex that much? I think he keeps acting this way to pretend (he thinks he likes sex himself, even, until he tries it) but sex just feels odd. Uncomfortable. It's a very intimate and personal thing and I think he has had trauma regarding sex (not getting into this right now but I think it's obvious what I'm trying to say here). And if he has sex, do you really think he'd be proactive? I genuinely don't like the concept of Sanji topping (unless he's like, service top or power bottom) because I think he'd just like to be useful, not really caring about his own pleasure.

I think he doesn't feel sexual attraction but his libido is pretty high. He is not repulsed by the idea of sex, like, the concept and blurry images of it are fine. But actually having sex? I don't think he has had good experiences but he forces himself to be in these situations. Either to feel valid or useful or whatever. But he could have sex and enjoy it when it comes to a deep bond.

I actually love this headcanon now?? You've opened my eyes, tbh. Thank you. Sending you hugs.

[whirlybirdwhat]

Prompt: modern au (?) Gin wants to ask Sanji out, but he has to go through Zeff first

let me preface this with a HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIN I LOVE YOU!!!!  and a thank you for the request! 

Now, onto the story! Also read it here on ao3!

what you do for love

Gin has broken into a great many places. Some were worth it! Some were not. Some had the security of Fort Knox, and others were like an open door. He’s done it across the coast from east to west, but never, never, has he found a place so hard to get into like the Baratie.

And this time he isn’t even doing it for fucking Krieg!

It’s for Sanji.

Whom he likes, very much, and would like to invite on a date, thank you very much.

It’s not happening – different schools, Sanji has work, Gin has a job, Sanji’s taking down governments with his own gang, there’s never a time to get to him.

So Gin decided to ask him out at Sanji’s work.

Only… Gin had forgotten that the Baratie wasn’t only Sanji’s workplace… but his home. Where his dad and pseudo big brothers lived.

The first time he walked in to ask, he was met with Zeff, smaller than Gin but twice as muscular with a mean kick despite only having one leg. Zeff had given him a once over, taking in Gin’s leather jacket, tattoos, bandana and flyer to next month’s fight arena and promptly… did nothing, except give Gin a warm meal.

(It wasn’t the first time, nor the last.)

Until that is, Gin went up to go talk to Sanji.

Then Zeff swept his feet out from under him and sent him flying out the door, laughing.

From his place on the sidewalk, hidden by the high storefront windows, Gin heard Sanji asking “What was that,” and Zeff brushing him off.

Surely a fluke, Gin foolishly thought.

Only to find that the second time he went in, Carne was there, waiting with a strong hand to lift Gin by his collar and drag him out to the back-door entryway and throw him into the ground outside.

“Bye,” Gin could see Carne mouthing, mischief in his eye, followed by a swear.

Fuck off! Gin wanted to scream back but decided to rest in the ground instead, contemplating his failure.

Why, he thought, why.

He tried again, and again, and again. Zeff kicked him out the window with a first aid, kick, did a round of combat with flying kicks, gave him a warm meal then had Patty and Carne throw him onto the shallow beach outside.

Gin didn’t get it, because each time Zeff had this look that he approved of Gin, which, what.

Why was he kicking him out then?

Dads were weird as fucking hell.

After the seventh time this happened, Gin decided to get a little smarter, which leads to the current situation: breaking into the Baratie.

Which, as previously mentioned, is hard as hell.

He doesn’t want to get to the money, so he’s thankfully avoided the more dubious traps, but he’s tapping on what he assumes to be Sanji’s window and it’s not opening.

He questions why he thought this was a good idea, then remembers that Sanji did the same thing last year because he wanted to ask what food Gin wanted for his birthday, so this is just him returning the favor.

The windows finally opening, thank fuck, he was scaling the gutter for this.

“Hey, San-” That’s not Sanji.

That’s Zeff.

“Shit.” Gin says out loud and isn’t fast enough to dodge the kick that smacks him into sliding down the gutter.

Fuck.

Zeff gives him a wave, throws down and ice pack, and leaves.

Should have known Red Leg Zeff wouldn’t let anyone near his home without his permission. Hell, even the gang members follow his lead.

Gin sighs, staring up at the window which apparently isn’t Sanji’s, and decides he’s not being smart enough.

Or maybe, he thinks, staring at the straw-hatted jolly roger emblazoned in graffiti on the side of the building, I’m not being crazy enough.

-

Gin’s phone was destroyed in a fight two weeks back, half of his troubles with talking to Sanji, but that also means he has to track down the Straw Hats in person.

It’s not the most difficult task though – just look for the biggest commotion and you’re sure to find at least one Straw Hat in the fray.

Gin turns the corner, swearing to find a Straw Hat tonight, and runs smack into the Straw Hat, who is sprinting and holding a bag of what looks to be… meat themed jewelry? Gold? Gold nuggets but chicken nuggets? Gin can’t tell and doesn’t want to ask, but takes the opportunity anyway.

(The world always had a way to fall exactly into Luffy’s whims, and Gin supposes that if this must be happening it’s a sign of hope.)

“Straw hat!” Gin shouts, snatching out a hand and dragging Luffy into the alley corner.

“Bandana Guy!” Luffy says happily as Smoker rushes by the alley entrance. “What’s up? Sanji misses you!”

Gin lets a dopey smile bleed onto his face before speaking. “Yeah, I miss him to which is why I need your help right? I need you to bring your crew into the Baratie tomorrow, around sixish, and cause a ruckus so I can ask Sanji out, alright? Zeff and the others keep kicking me out.”

“They do that to you too? Shishishi! Sanji’s dad says I’m not allowed there without superpowers.”

“I think you mean supervision, anyway, will you be there?”

“Party at the Baratie tomorrow night, got it!”

That’s as close as Gin is going to get with Straw Hat, so he lets them go.

Time to get ready for action.

-

Gin should have expected this. He really should have expected this.

This being the Strawhat’s starting the ‘party’ whenever they feel like it, which is not six which was planned but five.

Gin sighs.

Whatever.

He can make this work.

Gin walks into the Baratie and, for once, is not immediately accosted by members of the Baratie’s staff.

Straw-hat can’t follow a plan but at least he can cause a ruckus. Gin looks to the left where the swordsman is balancing bottles of beer on his swords to raucous cheering, and steps to the right.

And then Gin spots him. Sanji, coming out of the kitchen, laughing and smiling the way he’s only prone to do around his crew (and Gin, on occasion.)

He’s not talking to anybody, just enjoying the chaos, which means this is Gin’s chance.

His only chance.

There’s a flash of yellow in his vision, accompanied by two flashes of white, and Gin knows he has to move fast if he wants to beat Zeff and Carne and Patty.

Gin runs, jumping over smashed glass and dodging around rushing waiters, all the while shouting “SANJI!”

Zeff trips him but he manages to turn into a roll, and comes up standing right in front of Sanji.

“Sanji!” He says again, out of breath but with a smile on his face, offering the carefully folded but now crumpled flyer in his hand. “Would you – would you like to go with me to Red Line’s Battle Arena on the twenty-third… as a date? If your family doesn’t kill me first?”

Sanji’s staring at him, and he hopes he hasn’t said the wrong thing. He had thought the date out perfectly, it was something they both enjoyed, food provided, near the sea, he had tickets to the booth seating so it wasn’t as chaotic as usual and –

Sanji cuts off his internal monologue with a smile. “Yes. I’d love to.”

Gin practically faints only managing to keep himself upright through sheer determination. He doesn’t know what to say after this, hadn’t really thought that far but—

“FINALLY!”

“Brat smartened up at last.”

“Now we can tease ‘em both at once! Boss, can we kick them both out?”

“Not until the party’s over. But yes. Eventually.”

“HELL YEAH!”

Gin is lost at the commotion coming from the chef’s around him, who have now stopped attacking him and started cheering for him.

Like… what?

Sanji takes pity on him. “They’ve been teasing me for months about you, trying to get me to ask you out. You stopped showing up so…”

“Oh. That was because your family kicked me out when I was trying to ask you out. Its been going on for a month. Tried banging on your window and everything but they literally kicked me out.”

“Oh.” Sanji starts snickering.

“Yeah.” Gin says to his boyfriends(?) apparent mirth at the situation.

Sanji snorts one last time before turning to his family and screeching. Gin swears there’s fire coming off of him as he yells “WHAT THE HELL YOU SHITTTY BASTARDS!? WHY THE FUCK WERE YOU KICKING HIM OUT? WHY ARE YOU THIS STUPID THIS COULD HAVE BEEN DONE AGES AGO AND-“

“It’s cause we like ya!”

“Yeah! We have to tease you!”

“Making up for that time you kicked me in the face.”

“And me! And the time you met the Straw Hat Brat!”

“Yeah!”

Zeff cuts in through the shouting. “Eggplant, you’re a bit short on the braincells. Had to make sure this brat was good enough to replace the ones you’ve lost. He passes. Welcome to the family brat, we got cake in the back. Straw Hat told us to throw a party, and I’m sure Sanji mentioned that it was your birthday today. Eat up.”

Gin gets a caked shoved in his hand and a hug from Sanji in a matter of seconds, followed by approving nods from the rest of the Baratie Staff as the Straw Hat pirates cause chaos in the background.

He’s bewildered. Confused. Bamboozled. Any other word to describe this feeling. Sanji just laughs at his face.

“They’re always like this,” he explains. “When Luffy first invited me to join his crew they thought pretending that they hated my food was a good way to make me leave and chase some dreams. You can see how well that turned out, but that’s just how they are. Hazing the new guy and me, at every. Single. Opportunity. Ugh.” Sanji’s complaining, but Gin can tell he loves this place.

“I can see that,” He says, and watches how Sanji smiles so brilliantly. “You want to escape this mess?”

Sanji laughs. “Definitely. Happy birthday, Gin.” He places a kiss on Gin’s cheek and strolls out the back door, waiting for him.

Gin smiles in return. “Thanks, Sanji.”

Zeff nods one last time behind his back before turning away.

Gin has finally passed the Baratie Bar of approval.

Thank God. That was exhausting.

[onepieceoftheoceanblues]

Scar headcanons for...whoever you feel like? XD sorry im not so specific, I just want to hear every bodies lol

Nah its fine, i dont mindScar headcanons for whoever I feel like! Lets gooooo!

Luffy-

Besides the obvious scars (his cheek scar and the one on his chest) he actually doesn’t have many, as his devil fruit makes it harder for him to scar.

Luffy traces his chest scar when he thinks of Ace. It also aches when it gets too hot or when he uses his Red Hawk.

He has 3, small and clean white lines on the left side of his stomach that curl up slightly from the Bear attack after Sabo died. They’re really light, so you have to really look to see them, but they’re there. When Luffy thinks of Sabo, he’s unconsciously put his hand on them.

He has a bunch of little white scars in his hair from when he got punched with spiked gloves. One or two just peek out from under his hairline, but they’re pretty fine and thin.

He also has similar thin white scars on the tips of his fingers from climbing the mountain on Drum Island.

Usopp

He has stretch marks from his 2 year training. He doesn’t normally mind them, but sometimes when he feels like he’s eating too much, looking at them can send him into a food avoiding spiral.

He has a few scars on his fingers and hand from when he was learning to shoot his slingshot when he was a kid. The most notable is a thin whitr scar between his thumb and finger from when his older slingshot shattered in his hand.

He has this thin, little cut on his left shoulder that he has no idea where he got it from, but he got it sometime after sailing with the crew.

He also some pretty deep scars on his arms and shoulders from using the reject dials, which also mark where he broke his arm bones from the same dial. His arm aches when it’s cold.

Sanji-

A few tiny little nicks on his fingers and hands from when he started to cook, also a burn or two. Otherwise his hands are completely injury free.

He has a rather long and straight surgical scar from his surgery on Drum Island to fix his broken back and ribs.

He has several scars on his legs. One of the most notable being a burn scar on his left leg from when he tried his Diable Jambe for the first time. The other are several small scars on the bottom of his feet and up his ankles, mostly from when he started training to use just his legs when he was younger.

He has small, jagged ’S’ shape scar at the nape of his neck that disappears up into his hairline. He knows it’s from when he was with the Vinesmoaks and it was most likely from an attack from his brothers, but he doesn’t know when or who. He only knows it’s there because Zeff once commented on it.

Robin-

She, next to Franky, has the most scars. She is absolutely littered with them.

Stab wounds, bullet wounds, shrapnel, burns, you name it, she has it. She has been in some of the worst company for most her life after all.

Most of the serious ones happen to be on her hands and arms, as whatever is done to her copies is translated back to her, just in a lesser degree. (If it was full translation, her hands would have been cut off ages ago im sure) Not every injury scars, but over the years they have built up to quite the collection. Mostly slashes and stab wounds, with a few burns and a gunshot wound or two, ect.

The stab wound from Crocodile ended up being a scar, a quite nasty one too, directly in the middle of her chest, between her breasts. It’s jagged and roundish, slightly longer and thinner near the top due to the shape of the hook. Thankfully most of it not noticeable. Though it always itches really bad and tends to be sensitive.

She also has a bit of a lightning scar on her right shoulder, running down her arm a bit, from Enru.

She also got a small scar above her left eyebrow, it goes into her hairline. She got it at Enies Lobby, she thinks it was Spandam, but he and a lot of other people hit her quite a lot that day so its hard to tell

Ace- (slight self harm warning)

Oh boy

This boi grew up in a jungle with mountain bandits

It’s surprising he’s not 99% scar tissue tbh with his upbringing

He has huge claw marks on his upper leg from inner thigh to out from a bear attack right after he meet Sabo

Actually he has several claw marks and lines from different animals all over, mostly on his limbs, but most are faded or lighter then that one

Has a bite marks from wolves in his lower left calf, left his hip, and the nape of his right shoulder.

Has a single, jagged line up the middle of his back from someone in Grey Terminal when he got careless (it got covered by his Whitebeard Tattoo later)

He has three self harm scars from when he was younger, before Sabo. He just didn’t know how else to deal with stuff, and he heard from some adults in Gray Terminal that it would help. He ended up not doing it again, just didn’t work out for him like he thought it would. But anyways, the scars themselves

One is on his left arm, near the inner elbow. It’s just a small, nick, his very first one and he wasn’t sure about it.

The other two are on his right arm. The first is more around the side, light and small. The last is directly across the wrist. It was done with a shattered, broken pipe piece, and he was very angry when he did it. The line is jagged, deep, and looks more like an accident then deliberate. He nearly bled out with that one, and from then decided not to do it anymore.

He doesn’t like looking at that one, always lies about where it came from

After eating his devil fruit, he stopped mostly stopped scarring (also because he got better with dodging and Haki XD)

He does however have a round, bullet scar on his right shoulder from a seastone bullet when he got cocky with his Logia powers.

[allblueblues]

Zoro and Sanji at Baratie

Hello, hello, hello! Long time no analysis! Or One Piece in general…. I don’t really know if or when I’ll be picking this blog up again for regular updates, but I do know that such a day will never come if I don’t get over this last thing I need to handle before finishing up Baratie – namely Zoro and Sanji’s relationship, and what I think the Baratie arc says about/brings to it. 

The fact is, I kind of froze here, not least because their relationship seems to be a touchy subject in this fandom, with a pretty extreme variety of opinions. On top of that, Zoro is also a touchy subject. Lots of interpretations of his character out there, too. Another reason is that putting my thoughts (and feelings) into words proved much more difficult than I anticipated. In fact, I’m still not sure I can do them justice. There was also the fact that we didn’t have all the information about Sanji’s more distant past at the time, and I wanted to know if any of it would influence my opinions. But enough about reasons. Let’s get this show on the road.

The first thing that struck me as I re-read this arc was how long it takes for Zoro and Sanji to interact at all. The next was that their interactions aren’t exactly volatile. Neither picks a fight with the other, and despite Sanji calling Zoro an idiot and referring to his dream as stupid, Zoro is respectful and calm talking to Sanji. I also found it funny that the one to pick a fight with Sanji is Usopp of all people, and when he tries to enlist Zoro to fight Sanji on his behalf, Zoro’s just like, “Fight him yourself.” On the topic of Sanji’s flirtatiousness, Zoro seems totally disinterested in his side of things, instead asking Nami if she bewitched him, though that was more of a quip (probably).

Their first and only conversation during this arc happens while Don Krieg is off feeding his remaining crew, and the story of what befell them on the Grand Line – and at whose hands – has come out:

It’s just common sense at this point that those panels where a character is just going “……..” aren’t there for no reason, though obviously what that reason may be is left up to interpretation. Here, I think it basically means that what Zoro said struck Sanji in some way, and this leads to the conclusion that what Sanji says next isn’t how he really feels/what he really thinks. Bolstering this belief is what follows:

Sanji’s clearly trying to brush these kids off as idiots, maybe even trying to convince himself that he definitely doesn’t want to go with them or anything!!, but the fact that there’s a panel focused on Zeff, who knows Sanji better than anyone, leads me to believe that he, at least, already knows that Sanji wants to go. And since this moment comes after Zoro spoke (pretty eloquently and poignantly), I can’t help but believe that Luffy isn’t the only reason/inspiration for Sanji ultimately leaving the Baratie despite his dedication and supposed debt to Zeff.

Words alone wouldn’t have had a big enough impact – action was necessary, and the first part of that was absolutely Zoro fighting Mihawk. The first thing I want to comment on is Sanji’s reaction to the revelation that Zoro is the infamous “Pirate Hunter” Zoro. Is he confused? Surprised? He has reason to be, considering Luffy has already introduced Zoro as part of his crew, so the Pirate Hunter is a pirate. Has Sanji, like Coby, heard rumours about this so-called demon? I’d say that’s pretty likely, and being surprised that he’s basically a kid like him makes sense. Especially since Sanji totally saw him try to force Luffy to drink booger water. I mean, come on.

No one can look away while Zoro and Mihawk fight, but we don’t get a glimpse of Sanji until Mihawk delivers the final blow and Zoro plunges into the ocean. At this point, Sanji is sweating even more than before, looking horrified, and perhaps even angry:

This is where I tend to get stuck, because I think there’s a lot going on internally with Sanji, and that’s hard to put into words. Let’s start with the easy part: he’s horrified. Easy enough to see why. The same man they all know just sliced a galleon in two without so much as breaking a sweat basically just cut this kid in two. If Mihawk can do that to a ship, killing some teenager would be simple. I also think there’s a kind of clash of values going on. As I’ve stated before, Sanji clearly has an immense will to survive. It becomes abundantly clear by the end of this arc that there is something (or rather, someone) Sanji is willing to die for, but it isn’t himself. Maybe he sees Zoro’s actions as not only foolish, because he’s obviously going to lose against Mihawk, but also selfish, since he doesn’t know Zoro’s story and could very well just see an arrogant guy with an unreachable dream rushing to his death. Either way, I think Zoro’s mentality of “I will strive for my dream with everything I have and then some, and if I die on the way, so be it” and Sanji’s “I will fight tooth and nail to live, except when the man who saved my life is threatened” are clashing here.

But what about the anger? Why would Sanji be mad?

Have you ever seen someone you care about deliberately do something really stupid and even potentially harmful, and reacted with anger? I certainly have, and while I’m not suggesting Sanji cares about Zoro with the same intensity as, say, a mother loving a child (and responding angrily to them, y’know, running across the street without looking, or getting drunk underage), I do believe Sanji cares strongly about people in general, and seeing  even a random stranger rush towards certain death set him off. I also think it’s possible he subconsciously drew some kind of vague parallel between Zoro and Judge’s soldiers, even though the situation is very different. Finally, I think part of his anger is rooted in a kind of envy, because at the end of the day, Sanji has a dream, too, but he is keeping himself from chasing it. He may even be angry at himself for doing exactly what he is now telling Zoro to do – abandoning his dream.

By the time Zoro makes his oath to Luffy, Sanji looks straight-up worried, and still a little confused:

Again, nothing odd about that, Zoro being half-dead and all. I think he’s probably somewhat overwhelmed, too. It would be easy to pin that on the fight, the near-dead moss man, and even just Mihawk’s presence. I don’t doubt that those are factors, but I also don’t think Zoro’s actions or words should be ignored.

We as readers are certainly moved by Zoro’s vow. It’s true that we have more background, both about Zoro himself, and his relationship with Luffy, but try to put yourself in Sanji’s shoes. I think he’d be moved, too, just not for all the same reasons. First, Zoro has suffered what can be seen as a humiliating defeat, yet he’s come out of it even more determined to achieve his dream. That would amaze, even inspire anyone – not least of all someone like Sanji, who is holding back and knows it, whether consciously or not. Second, in case I haven’t made it clear enough, Zoro is making this determined declaration while half-dead, bloody, and crying. Finally, he’s not only proclaiming that he will become the world’s greatest swordsman, he’s also saying that Luffy will become the Pirate King. I’m certain that sent shivers down the spines of every person present, except maybe Kreig, who clearly doesn’t value hard work and determination, but I digress.

So, what’s my point with all of this? Well, it’s obvious that scenes like the one discussed here, and Luffy’s fight against Krieg in general were instrumental in convincing Sanji to join the Straw Hats. However, I think Zoro’s clash with Mihawk and his oath to Luffy afterwards laid some solid groundwork. I also think that some kind of respect for Zoro was born in Sanji during this arc, and it has not gone away, no matter how either of them may behave. Finally, I think Sanji admires Zoro, and even strives to be more like him, though he would probably never admit it, and that began at Baratie. I doubt I can point to anything in the text to prove that last idea, feel free to take it as nothing more than my personal opinion.

EDIT: The real clincher for me was the fact that Sanji reflected on both Zoro and Luffy after the fighting was done:

Based on this, I think that if we accept that Luffy’s actions have made Sanji respect him and have an impact on Sanji’s ultimate decision to leave Baratie and join the Straw Hats, we have to accept that the same applies to Zoro.

[devilslcg]

So I just reblogged this gif of young Sanji showing his hurt hand to Zeff && he looks kind of afraid but also kind of like he knows he's messed up. && it got me thinking of how Sanji would have expected Zeff to treat him based on how his own father had treated him. What are your thoughts on Sanji's early experiences with his dad? (Zeff is his dad and anyone who says otherwise can fight me)

❤ — @aliamusae

Zeff is his dad! ZEFF IS HIS DAD! If anyone asks about his family, he’ll default to the Straw Hats and Zeff ( and the rest of the guys at Baratie. ) Vinsmoke Judge who? Never heard of ‘em. Sounds like an asshole.

As for how he expected Zeff to treat him, he most likely assumed it would be more of the same. Failure would be met with ridicule and disappointment. And it was in a very tough-love way. Zeff wasn’t and never has been soft on him, but he had something very important that Judge didn’t— love. He can hide it all he wants behind a wall of rock-solid grumpiness, but Zeff loves Sanji. He wasn’t good at showing it, but I highly doubt that Zeff thought for one second during his career as a pirate that a small, mess of a child would be plopped into his lap. There was no time for him to prepare for fatherhood, but there it was! They both worked with what they had. 

Sanji wouldn’t have known that at first, though. The first few months were rough as hell, I bet. Little mistakes probably made lil’ Sanji flinch, and he would self-reprimand because he thought it was what he deserved. If an adult wasn’t there to call him a failure, he’d do it himself. And when he did make a mistake in front of Zeff, Zeff would berate him for it and he’d be discouraged a little.

Aaaa it’s so hard because Zeff isn’t super great at parenting either, honestly?? But I feel like over time, Sanji would see the difference between Judge’s hatered for Sanji’s failure and Zeff’s determination to make him better.

Because some people grow up hating that their parents scolded them. Some people, when they were little, thought it was unfair that they were being scolded and corrected and molded. In some cases ( like mine ) I got to the age where I was like, “Oh.  .  . I see why she was like that now.” Sanji will have reached that point only as a teenager, I think.

As a kid, he would think Zeff is totally an unfair jerk that babies him and won’t let him learn. But there’s something behind it that Judge didn’t have, and I think he’d know it. Not know-know ‘cause he’s a kid, but whatever that feeling is, it makes him want to push back and prove he’d good enough to be as great a cook as Zeff. Whereas with Judge, he didn’t want to push because it might lead to a punishment so bad he wouldn’t come back from it.

Geeze, this is such a messy and convoluted answer.

TL;DR Sanji’s early experiences with Zeff were extremely rough and filled with tough love that he didn’t understand until he was older, but it motivated him to get stronger and get better because Zeff didn’t have the bar set so far out of reach that Sanji kept failing. It wasn’t what he wanted, but he knows now that it was what he needed.

[dissimulxte]

It seems unlikely that SO many people would get SO lost, and yet, here you all are.

Goodness gracious. I can’t even begin to say everything I should, but the bottom line I’ll stick with is thank you guys so much. I’m the queen of spotty activity and a meme mom for the ages, so I count my blessings that even some of you are willing to put up with me, let alone the number of real friendships which have been borne out of my time with Mari. And holy shit!! thank you!! for supporting my trash girl; queen of the garbage! honestly, when I was first making Ri, I never expected her to take off-- I was pretty resigned from roleplaying after some of my long-time writing partners moved on from the scene, and made my sweet lavender girl on a whim (like all of my other daughters, cough cough). I could never have anticipated how much she would mean to me, and the connections she would open up.

So thank you all, really. You’re the reason I’ve kept coming back, and I don’t intend on going anywhere anytime soon.

...but. I do have some favorites-- I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I don’t, y’all know anyways-- so I’m gonna take a few seconds to talk about them and then pour the rest of my love out in some shortlists.

                                                          Straight from the Vault

                                                                  My treasures. My beloveds. The gems in the crown.

JPP ( @valorandheart , @seeliesoldier )

                     As I’ve voiced before, including recently, and will continue to: you are... the sunshine in my days. Any time I see you on, or see you in my activity, I’m just filled with such a pure joy; like, I can count on one hand the number of people whom just the thought of can make me smile, and you’re definitely one of them. Jamie, too, is one of the most delightful characters I’ve ever met, and to his credit, he handles Mari with more grace than many (even if it comes at the cost of some potent anxiety). Both of you make me so happy, and I love you to pieces.

MIK ( @7hits , @jcllyfisn , @lcgion )

                    My! beautiful! bean! you are... one of the most talented people I’ve EVER come across; and we first met so LONG ago, my goodness; back on Hes’ original blog. Bedivere laid the foundation and I’ve loved every creation of yours ever since. I’m so inspired by your art, which you make seem so effortless and beautiful, as well as by your unique and thoroughly loved characters. And you’re so funny and charming, to boot, like, dang, you’re the whole package, and I just. I adore you.

RUBI ( @surrepo-iuvenisdomina , @infcrtunii , @rxbelluscruris )

                  MY WIFE. My beautiful, hilarious, and always amazing wife-- words could not begin to describe my absolute infatuation with you, but I can at least say that you have been a constant source of joy and laughter in my time here, and I just. My cheeks hurt I’m smiling so big. All of your muses are so special to me, admittedly with a special emphasis on Mari’s dynamic with Zeff, but honestly I just... love following you. I do! I read everything you write on Deuce and take so much happiness out of just seeing you around. You are, legitimately, a gift, and I just. Muah. MWAH. So many kisses.

            AND, finally, my dearly beloved papa BEAR ( @cadcnce , @rcguna )

                WOW??? ME??? LOVE BEAR??? never heard that one before, but there’s no way I could make one of these without some of this classic Bird’s Extremely Gay Feels for Bear™ so you’re just gonna have to deal with it. To be simple about it, you’re... one of my best friends; bar none, not “from tumblr” or “from [x]” you just are; I usually keep really small friend groups, and you’re absolutely on the same level with the boys I drink and play games with-- I’d have taken your ass to town in Catan numerous times by now if it weren’t for the distance, but that’s the only difference. And I know I say it a lot but you really do inspire me. Your love and dedication to your characters, your consistency, your humor-- I love and respect you so much. Goddamn did Wylan and Mari sneak up on me. 

From our businessy chats from the start, I’d never have known just how special these two would grow to become (leave Wy and Emké’s situation out of it until another day because I can only gush so much). It’s the greatest relationship I’ve ever had the privilege to write on any of my characters, and I think about them all the time. I’m so blessed to have them, and you, in my life, and I don’t intend to let you forget it.

                      --aaaand this is getting long as hell so the rest is under the cut!

                                                                                24kt / #flawless

                                                                                                  A cut above/special mentions.

ariel / @devilslcg , @bearxclaws

            We’ve known each other since??? god it’s been so long but I’ll never forget your Conan because what a goddamn TREAT those interactions were; you’ve been a highlight of my roleplaying experience on just about every blog I’ve had for these last few years, but Sanji and Anita have this special love poured into them that has made me so happy to be a part of. You are so talented, and so amazing, as well as graceful and sweet and; you’re just good people, y’know? You’re a light in every community you’re in and I am so glad to know you.

marshy / @siiinuously

                Y’all’re some’a the coolest fuckin cats I’ve ever seen in my life. Seriously, though, you and Mikah are just so goddamn sugoi, and I’m so, like, in awe of you sometimes. Your writing is really incredible, and your character is so strong, I’m enraptured All The Time. Following you is an absolute treat and from the banter we have had, you just seem like so dang rad, I’m... such a big fan... aaaah i’m love, okay? much love

tavs / @imtwentyfuckingfour / @cosmicuncanny & more

            FORGIVE ME MY DISAPPEARANCE, and like MONTHS of anticipation, but your writing literally stuns me sometimes-- you are this??? master storyteller who also caters the choicest of memes and it’s like the words just pour from you and they’re all such good shit, I sometimes feel like I’m just not mature enough or good enough-- I WANT TO IMPRESS YOU... SO BAD... you’re cool as all hell and I’m Some Nerd™ but I’m just glad that you’ve, like, decided I’m worthy. (but, seriously, i mean it when I say that following your personal is one of the best choices i’ve ever made, your reblogs are choice, fam)

mars / @zelotae

           I don’t give a shit if we don’t really interact much on Mari, you’re one of the loves of my life and I’m gonna take this opportunity to tell you that you mean so much to me and I. Love. You.

and thEN JUST IN CASE Y’ALL SEE THIS: @blackorgkaito / @kowoma + @sapphirexchild : THE TWO OF YOU STILL MEAN THE WORLD TO ME AND I THINK ABOUT Y’ALL EVERY DAY. KISSES. ALL OVER YOUR FACES.

                                                                      all the lovely lavender blooms

                                                                                            or “all my favorite ducks in a row.”

 @7hits | @alicehart | @bearxclaws | @blackorgkaito | @blckleg | @cadcnce | @cosmicuncanny | @devilslcg | @exsuperatus | @for-a-prxce | @gebeleixis | @ghostlyanon | @hikaup | @infcrtunii | @jakcby | @jcllyfisn | @kindhughes | @kowoma | @maelstromprodigy | @mooncaped | @rcguna | @rxbelluscruris | @sapphirexchild | @siiinuously | @shiirakeru | @soulchord | @surrepo-iuvenisdomina | @umbled | @valorandheart | @xpuriity | @zelotae

[namirotraeu]

Online Relationships

“Personalities and relationships tend to differ offline. “

(Part 1) I (Part 2)

Title: Online Relationships- Part 3

Pairing:Trafalgar Law X Nami

Genre: Romance/ AU

Rating: T

Word Count: 2828

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, they rightfully belong to Oda Eiichiro

"He stole a gun from where?!" Nami shouted in disbelief. 

"The Marine Head Quarters." Sabo, Luffy's brother, repeat for the nth time. 

"I know this is just our brother's stupidity, but we need your help, Nami." Ace, another brother of Luffy, pleaded. 

"Let's take him to the hospital. Chopper's already having a hard time taking the bullet in his chest with the tools he has." Nami said as she looks over her best friend, Luffy, that was groaning in pain as Chopper tries to touch his skin. 

"We've already told you, we should not. Our brother would get arrested for what he did." Sabo reasoned out. 

"Your grandfather is an Admiral. I'm sure he could pull some strings for Luffy. We need to do this or else he would die." Nami said in despair. 

"Luffy would die from Gramps' wrath. Sending him to jail would better than what would Gramps do to him if he knew what he did." Ace shivered at the thought. 

"Nami, Luffy's condition is worsening. I'm a failure as a doctor." Chopper's eyes teared. 

"Chopper, you can do it. Luffy would not die of something like that he has a very strong will that would keep him alive." Nami comforted his friend. 

"I know my limits as a doctor. I specialize in making medicines, not on surgeries. We really need a surgeon." 

"A surgeon." Nami thought for a second. "Law is a surgeon and he is the best one in his class." She gleamed as she finally has the answer to their problems. 

She quickly dialed his number and to her relief he quickly answered her call. 

"Law! It's Nami, I need your help."

"Nami-ya? What's the problem?" 

"It's Luffy." She briefly discussed how her best friend ended up being operated in her condominium unit. Around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Sabo and Ace came banging her unit's door. They brought the already injured Luffy. She hastily made the guest room's bed so his friend could comfortably rest. Sabo had already given his brother first aid treatment before they went to Nami's, however, they needed Chopper's assistance to get the bullet out of Luffy's body. 

Law sighed from the other line. "I'll ask more details later. Can you bring him over my apartment? I'll text you the address."

Sabo drive so fast that Nami swear she saw sparks of fire in the wheels. Thankfully, they all reach Law's apartment in one piece. They were greeted by Law in the garage to open a parking space for Sabo's car. 

"Law! Thank you for helping us." Chopper said while crying. 

"Tony-ya, it's my duty as an upcoming doctor. You need to compose yourself. I'll be needing your assistance." Law said to the reindeer. 

Law had a small clinic in his basement. He made it with the old apparatus and machines from his uncle's hospital. It is where he practices, experiments and other stuff like patching up Eustass Kid when he gets in trouble with the police. What he is doing could revoke his future medical license, but he is a man who does what he wants most of the time so it doesn't matter. 

Taking out the bullet from Luffy's body was an easy work for Law. Being a genius surgeon and someone who has been practicing medicine since the age of 7, he knew what to do in such case. Chopper was assistance was a great help that fasten up the operation, however, it still took hours to finish. Luffy lost a lot of blood so Law transferred some of Ace and Sabo's blood for him to recover. 

Nami was so worried about Luffy. Law did not allow her to enter the clinic so she settled in his living room. From time to time, Ace or Sabo would come out of the clinic and tell her what is happening. Relief washed over her when she heard that Luffy was stable. His brothers went out to get them dinner as a gratitude to their brother's successful operation. Nami wanted to see her friend, but Law still hasn't allowed her to enter the clinic. She decided to relax in the living room couch while waiting. All the fatigue, stress mixed with the relief she was feeling made her tired causing her to doze off and sleep on the couch. 

"Law, I'll finish wrapping up his wounds." Chopper said while carefully bandaging his friend. 

"I'll call Nami-ya. I'm sure she'll want to see her.... boyfriend?" Law was quite unsure what the relationship of the two is. There were rumors around the campus saying that Luffy was dating Nami. They are frequently seen together being too close to one another. Although it was Luffy who introduced to Nami, he can't help being jealous of how they interact with one another. 

"Luffy is not Nami's boyfriend. From what I know, she likes someone from the university. I overhead Sanji and Zoro talk about it, but I never knew who it was." Chopper clarified. 

Law simply nod, then, he went to where Nami was. She was sleeping soundly on the couch. He eyed her fair skin and cute sleeping face that draws him near her. To resist the temptation, he gently covered Nami's body with a blanket. Then, he sat on the carpet leaning on the legs of the couch. Being close to her, he could still smell the Tangerine mixed with the ocean smell from her. He sighed and tried to doze off. 

"Done with Luffy?" Nami said while her eyes peeking over the blanket covering her. 

Law turned his head to her direction. "Yeah. Strawhat-ya is safe now."

"Thank you, Law." She said fondly. She sat upright with the blanket still on her shoulder, then she taps the available space next to her. "Come sit here."

"Nah. Too tired to move." Law wanted to sit beside her, but he smells like blood because of the operation. He didn't want her to smell him like that. 

"Okay." Nami ruffled his hair. "Thank you again, Law. What you did mean so much to me. I don't know how could I take it if Luffy died."

“You two are really close.”

“We’ve known each other since first year college. I know I could always count on him like how he could rely on me. He’s a brother to me.” Nami said in nostalgia.

“Just a brother? I thought you two are dating.”

“Why would you think that? I mean we are always together, but our relationship was platonic. I’ll never see him more than a friend or brother.” Nami explained which soothe Law’s worries away.

Both liked how they can freely talk right now. They both wish this moment would repeat again whenever they see one another at the university.

It was almost closing time of Baratie Diner. Most customers are off their last plate or waiting for their bill. One table appeared to be cheerful like they still have all night. Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Robin were on that table. Luffy kept on asking for refills of his meal which was catered by their friend, Sanji, who was working in that restaurant. The diner' s owner, Chef Zeff, allows them to stay in and hang out in all Baratie's branches even way past closing time as long as Sanji was with them. Today, they were all gathered due to Sanji's requested. Ussop, Chopper. Franky and Chopper have some things to do so they weren't able to comply with his request.

When the other customers all left, Sanji quickly joined his friends. He has a very important news to share with them. 

"I'm getting married." Sanji said.

The shock was painted in the faces of his friends. They could not believe that the woman loving friend they have is settling down. Despite that, they greeted him congratulations except for Zoro. Luffy commented on how weddings have a lot of food and they should have the biggest cake in the world.

"So, who's the unlucky girl?" Zoro questioned.

"Unlucky? What do you mean by that?" Sanji glared. 

Zoro was about to answer, but Nami intercept. "Who's the girl, Sanji? We wanted to know the details." 

"My lovely Nami, I shall tell you how it happened." Sanji said in a deary tone. "My beautiful fianćee is the one and only Charlotte Pudding. The moment I saw her Facegram profile, I fell in love. "

"What you just met her online? Well, what do I expect from a love cook." Zoro mocked. 

"Shut up, Marimo. Let me finish my story." Sanji rebutted. "Both our families are prominent in the technology business which is why my father wanted an alliance. We were forced into this arranged marriage, however, I just can't help but fall in love with her. "

The girls awed at how bold he is expressing his feelings. Zoro wanted to puke hearing his love-sick friend. Luffy continued to eat with delight. 

 "Have you met her personally?" Robin inquired. 

"No, but based on her facegram account she's a really sweet and kind girl. She even asked me out to meet her in advance before our predestined meeting with our families. Pudding is really lovely." Sanji glee. 

"So, you chat one another, huh? That's really nice." Nami said while remembering her relationship with Law. 

"This cook might mess up like before." Zoro pointed at Sanji. "You know the Viola incident." 

All of them remembered that time. It was three years ago, during Zoro, Sanji, Luffy and Nami's first year in college. Robin has been already in her fourth year in the university that time. 

Viola was the university's superstar. She was a slender, charismatic dancer, sophisticated and came from a well-off family. Her beauty magnifies whenever she dances in her Flamenco dress in university events. Sanji was entranced by her beauty. He quickly added her up in facegram and messaged her. 

Hi, my one and only idol Viola ~

At first, she replies modestly in his messages. Everyone could be your idol when it comes to dancing. However, thank you. 

Sanji continued to chat her whenever he had a chance. There were even times he mentioned that he saw her inside her classes. She finds it very odd, but nevertheless she still answered. He even used his friend, Gin, as an excuse to get her number but he failed. He continued to pursue on chatting her till she stops replying. He wept for days to the he even wanted to confront her. Zoro knocked some sense into him by telling that they barely interact personally and he should just give up. 

That time Sanji went back to amorous flirty attitude to any attractive women he sees. He vowed never to settle down to loving just one girl again. He belonged to all the ladies in the world. 

"I believe Sanji has learned well from that incident. But, I suggest that you tone down for a little bit. You still haven't seen her aside from what is on the internet." Robin warned.

"Whatever makes you happy, we'll support you. Just be yourself with her. I'm sure it will work out fine." Nami said.

"Thank you, my lovely angels." Sanji was touched by his friends' words.

"Oi Sanji!" Luffy said seriously. "Don't forget to have a big cake in the wedding!"

They laughed at their friend's comment.

Navigation focuses on monitoring and controlling moments of a craft from one place to another. Ironic, that Nami specialized in this field, but failed to navigate her feelings and situations on the right track.

Her professor in Navigation was also her professor in Cartography 1, back when she was in her first year. Professor Arlong is sophisticated and hard to impress when it comes to Oceanographic subjects. His subjects became a bottleneck for his students. Though he was a good lecturer, it was his bossy and dominant attitude that makes his students dislike him. 

Even professors are not exempted with social media problems. Nami remembers that when she was taking up Cartography 1, a drop out student rant about Arlong in social media. It was a big issue for a lot of students are scared to say a thing about him. Arlong was enraged by the post in Facegram, he also talked about it in his classes, however, he decided not to take any other actions.

Back then, his actions scared Nami most. She was afraid that she would fail Cartography because her professor was mad. Her fear was lifted when she passed the said subject. It made her think that maybe Arlong was just misunderstood. 

"Okay class, you are dismissed." Arlong said to his students. "Bepo, Nami, stay for a while. There's something I'd like to discuss." His sharp eyes were serious as ever. 

The two students stayed behind. Bepo was curious why they were called by their professor. 

"I don't know if you heard, but there is another occurrence of social media rant about me. This time the faculty is quite shaken." Arlong started the conversation.

"You mean the #FireTheShark Campaign? I've heard it from some of my colleagues." Nami inquired.

The #FireTheShark Campaign is an on-going social media campaign that raises awareness of the hardships of the students taking up a course under Professor Arlong. The admin of the said website that holds the campaign remain anonymous and continue to gather petition from students. They wanted Arlong to be fired.

"Yes! That crazy campaign. I'm furious at how my students could do that. As college students, I expected you to be more open minded. " Arlong ranted.

"Um, I'm sorry, Professor, but this is the first time I've heard about it. We, Mink Tribe, are not too familiar to social media." Bepo said apologetically. 

Nami was quite skeptical of what she should say. She knew who are the masterminds in the campaign. It is Vander Decken and his crew. In front of Arlong, they act like they really like him, but outside the four corners of the room they despise Arlong. Not wanting to be involved in such issues, she decided not tell Arlong about it. 

Arlong looked at Nami to find an answer. "I'm sorry, Professor. I don't know who did it. But, I believe that you should be bothered by it. The world is still full of fun things to be upset over angry students." Nami advised. 

"Very well. Thank you to the two of you. You are dismissed." 

Chopper caught a flu at the peak of their midterms. Nami being a good friend took care of him. Sanji occasionally went to visit to bring food and check on Chopper. 

"Nami, I'm already late for my classes. Dr. Kureha would give me a bad grade if I don't show up in her classes." Chopper said weakly. 

"But Chopper you are still sick. Don't worry, I'll get some notes for you and talk to some of your classmates to inform your professors." 

"Thank you Nami." 

'Bing'. A notification rang on Nami's smart phone. 

Sanji-kun sent a photo to Strawhats

Nami laughed at the photo Sanji sent. It was a screencap of Law's latest status. Don't you think I'm a heart stealer? ;)

She quickly opened her facegram to check Law's account, however, she could not find the certain status anymore. Law probably deleted it because obviously, it’s his friends who posted it. He would never do such things. 

Remembering what Chopper needed, she quickly messaged Law. Hey, can you give Chopper some notes? He's been sick for 2 days now. 

Sure. I'll just take pictures then send it to you. He quickly replied. Then after a few minutes he sent the pictures. 

Thank you Mr. Heart stealer. Nami teased. 

Even you saw it? Damn. I couldn't delete it because a lot of people saw it. 

Aw, you didn't delete it? I was going to comment; however, it was gone after I clicked it. 

It’s still here. Anyway, I'm going to study. Bye. 

It was just a subtle conversation, but Nami was content. It puts her in a very good mood. Law was really dedicated in his studies. He doesn't talk too much when he is focused and Nami finds it inspiring. She also finds herself studying harder when he is studying. Which is good because tomorrow she has an examination. 

Tomorrow came and Nami was sitting in front of her room, waiting for the previous class to finish. Being bored she decided to open her facegram account. To her delight, Law's status last night popped up on her news feed. She read the comment section and saw most of his friends mentioned her name but didn't tag her. 

"Oh. A heart stealer, huh?" She quickly commented to tease him. Then she turned her phone into silent mode since she will enter the examination hall.

It was merely just to tease him a little bit. Little did Nami know, a simple comment could launch a series of events that could change their lives.