#being surrounded by a bunch of usopp’s

[pyr0frnzy]

Sanji’s gonna die of blood loss no Usopp get away from him 😭😭😭

also this is based off this cute picture i saw on twitter loll (also drew a doodle of the aftermath)

[inoreuct]

thinking about zoro being the crew's main protector.

it’s quite literally his role amongst the straw hats; luffy's captain, usopp's their sniper, sanji cooks, nami navigates, chopper's their doctor, franky's their shipwright, jinbei's their helmsman and brook's their musician but zoro? zoro's their swordsman. zoro’s their guardian. his job is to be the first line of defense and protect everybody else so they can focus on doing their own thing and sure, none of them really need protecting— but they don't have to worry about defending themselves, either, because whoever they can't or don't want to handle zoro will finish up (if he hasn't gotten to them first).

like imagine a bunch of idiots cornering one of the crew (bad idea.) and picking nami because she's the woman without a devil fruit, as opposed to robin (BAD idea.). they've got her surrounded in the dead end of an alleyway and have somehow neutralised her clima-tact and she’s not worried, she’s not.

but against twelve men and with her weapon essentially now just a regular staff, she might be panicking. just a little. she’s gotten a couple of them good enough that they’re down for the count before a chain wrapped around her ankle trips her. it pulls at enough memories, faded but never forgotten, to bring up a sickening wave of fear and anger— and nami decides that she’s had enough of the bullshit.

she takes a deep breath and screams. “ZORO!”

the silence afterwards is deafening. the wind shifts, gently lifting the pieces of hair stuck to her sweaty face, and the men laugh uneasily. one of them yanks hard on the chain and she spits at him, heels scrabbling against the dusty ground even as he starts reeling her in like a fish on a hook. “he can’t hear you, little missy,” he snickers, grin widening the longer nobody shows up.

it’s still on his face when his head slides right off his neck.

blood sprays right before his body crumples like a doll. it takes a second for the others to realise and then the screaming starts— none of them get any farther than three steps before zoro’s cutting them down, swift swings of his sword and almost surgically precise slices rendering them incapacitated if not plain dead.

“sorry i’m late, witch.” the swordsman’s breathing hard, gore dripping off his blades even as he arcs one down and snaps the chain off nami’s leg with a growl. “did they hurt you?”

“no. no, i’m fine,” nami breathes, her smile quivering just a little— not because she’s shaken, no. because she’s pissed.

zoro’s voice is gruff as always, but his hands are careful if not outright gentle as he kneels to inspect her ankle before pulling her to her feet. “stay close,” he mutters, making sure that she’s nodded before cutting them a path through the fray. they bump into chopper next, and the doctor’s out cold over zoro’s shoulder in his regular form by the time sanji joins them to guard their flank. nami’s taken to just using her clima-tact as a bat for now, and it’s admittedly efficient.

she knew zoro would come. he always does. for all that they bicker and snip at each other, zoro has always protected his crew— even when said crew was just three people on what could barely be called a boat. he’d fought for her at arlong park and he fights for her now, his sword slicing over her head at an enemy she can’t see as she ducks low to jam her staff into another’s stomach.

they’ve moved closer to their ship when they find jinbei, then robin, then usopp, then brook and franky, and then zoro’s yelling luff, time to go! and their captain’s launching them all back onto the Sunny with a gleeful cackle that makes nami wheeze a laugh as they land in a mildly painful pile of limbs. somebody’s elbow digs into her ribs and she’s pretty sure that’s sanji’s bony kneecap pressed into her lower back. the swordsman swears as he sets about trying to pry them all apart and luffy seems to be actively fighting him, based on how his cursing’s getting more and more colourful.

behind them, their enemies burn, sliced to pieces. they debrief in the galley and zoro refuses to come away from the door until nami drags him by the ear and sanji threatens to personally shove dessert down his throat. they both know it’s because zoro’s still guarding them from a threat that doesn’t exist anymore.

they know he pretends not to care as much as he does. they know he keeps his words blunt and his swords sharp, but zoro lets luffy hang off him, unfazed, and makes a marginal effort to stick to nami’s budget even when he’s getting booze, and he eats his dessert. every last bit. he lets usopp fire moving targets to slice through so they can both practice. he keeps collateral damage when sparring with sanji to a minimum. he stitches whoever needs it up himself when chopper’s a little too tired.

and when his crew calls, he answers.

(now with a part from nami’s pov!)

[makos-ribcage]

No one loses ㅡ ༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝

[] - You make Sanji jealous with the help of Zoro

𓇼afab!reader, she/her

! - Toxic relationship, hard language, sanji angst, soft nsfw and implied harsh nsfw

so ive realized how many ppl dont add the fact that sanji is a player when writing stuff about him, so i wanted to write smth based on it, i rlly like the start, enjoy :) if this get enough love ill write a second part :o

You knew what you were getting your ass into. You just didn't expected for it to be so bad from time to time.

You've been dating Sanji for a little longer than 3 months know, but knew him for years. You knew about his issues when it came to women. The fact that he would become a total dumbass, blindfolded, stupid ass man the second a woman appeared in his sight.

You knew that, but you also knew you really loved him, he would make you really happy, you loved the way he was such a gentleman, how he kept himself motivated despite his tragic past and every single little detail about his personality and looks that made him unique.

He also loved you deeply, more than any other woman, he thinks you're the prettiest and best woman out there. But that doesn't stop him to go back to his brainless self in front of women every now and then. You would usually just scold him a little, touch him or just talk to him and he would remember that he was taken and that he had to control his ass.

But not that night, you didn't even recognized him.

Once the Straw Hats became popular, a good amount of pirates and even just random people became "fanatics" of you. Fanatics of Sanji as well.

That blonde cook was good looking, with a deep sensual voice mixed with his height and his ability to cook, enough to make any woman fall over heels to him. Now that his popularity grew, women would even let slide when he was borderline a pervert just to get close to the straw hats or being able to fuck anyone that was part of the crew.

You were at a fancy bar, taking a lil rest from the piracy. Each one of the Straw Hats had a small group of people come around them as they entered the place and each one of them got rid of them in their own way.

Zoro ignored women until they grew tired, Nami stole every single men's wallet, Robin freaked them out with her hands, Luffy acted like Luffy, Usopp told a few lies so obvious that women realized it and you insulted any guy that approached you.

But Sanji? Oh, no. He totally forgot the fact that he was in a relationship the second more than 3 women surrounded him. Flirting with them, telling them that he can cook anything that they wanted, using that deep raspy voice that he knew you loved and place his big soft hands on the women's thigh.

You tried to get him out of there but he would make a comment about "Being enough for everyone", when you called him he basically ignored you, when you touched him he barely noticed. You felt terrible,

After that humiliation, you decided to seat down, your sadness quickly being replaced by anger. You stared at him from the bar with your drink in one hand. He was sitting on the opposite side of the bar with a bunch of women, one on each side of him, the rest surrounding him, massaging his shoulders, giving him compliments, making sure their boobs touched his arms.

You snapped when you saw one of those girls grab his cheeks and playfully kiss his lips. Him just accepting it with a big dumb smile on his face. What the fuck was he even thinking about? You came to the conclusion he wasn't thinking at all.

If he wanted to play a jealousy game, you could play too, and you were going to be the best at it. You knew how to hurt him, you were his girlfriend after all. Zoro.

Zoro and you were quite close. You were strong and independent and he really respected that coming from a woman, specially considering his childhood. You both saw each other as the same, you used to train together, you knowing he wasn't going to hold back because "You're a girl".

It wasn't something unknown that Sanji hated Zoro for some reason, he hated the fact that you trained together, getting to a point where he would just sit and watch your training sessions just to make sure he wasn't going to try anything on you.

You approached him on the bar. He was drinking one of the many drinks that he had planned for the night, slightly drunk but so were all of you. He stared at you as you came closer.

"I need help." You told him, an angry expression on your face that he mimicked right away, thinking it was a dead or life situationship. "Help me get Sanji jealous." His face relaxed.

"Are you serious?" He whispered, feeling like you were teenagers at school.

"Very. Look at him!" You pointed at him, knowing that you could be yelling his name and he wouldn't notice, he was staring directly into some women boobs as he grabbed her waist. "I'm mad as fuck, and you hate him, let's make him mad. No one loses" Besides of Sanji, of course, but he deserves it.

Zoro considered it for a second. He did hated him, he did wanted to help you and you were hot. He gets to be drunk, flirt with a hot girl and make his nemesis mad, he truly don't loses anything.

He chugged his drink, then stared at you. "'Kay, what's the plan?". You smiled.

He put one of his hands on your hip, his hand lingering to your ass slowly. Both of you stood next to a wall near Sanji, you against the wall and Zoro in front of you. Now that you had him so close you realized how big he was. Sanji was tall, sure, but Zoro was big, he covered your body completely, and you felt tiny with his hand on your waist.

Zoro put a happy hand on one of your thighs again, playfully sticking a few fingers under your skirt, wanting to make the best of the situation now that he was at it. You placed a hand on his chest, and he drew you closer with his free hand. Talking to each other while being very near of each other faces. You could breathe the alcohol on Zoro's mouth, and he had a nice view of your cleavage.

Sanji stared at both of you in confusion, he was jealous of you simply talking to him back in the Sunny, seeing both of you so touchy definitely called his attention. But not enough for him to put a stop to his playful flirting with the women.

"It's not working..." You whispered to Zoro, directing your view to Sanji, slightly pouting. He stared into your eyes. "How jealous you wanna make him?".  He grabbed your chin, making you face him again. Oh, he was drunk drunk.

His hand drifted to your neck, squeezing it slightly, enough for you to open your mouth slowly to breathe better. Not even trying to dismiss it as a romantic kiss, he licked your lips slowly, kissing you and quickly turning it into a french kiss.

Out of surprise, and maybe something else, you slightly moaned in his mouth, and you felt his lips curl up into a small smile. His hands kept you in place by your waist, you touched his chest not being sure what to do, deciding to hug him by the neck and pull him closer as well. That heated kiss lasted longer than you expected. Zoro's hands explored your body confidently, the hand on your neck slowly going down until reaching one of your boobs.

You grabbed his wrist, not sure if it was being too much. But his hand didn't stopped at all and you didn't knew if Sanji saw you.

It was something childish and dumb, you didn't just wanted to make him a little jealous, you wanted him to feel bad, as bad as you felt watching him not pay attention to you just get some other girls boobs on his face. It made you feel terrible, feel like you weren't enough, like you were replaceable and you were just some girl he said yes to being her boyfriend just to have some pussy that he was certain he would have available always.

Zoro broke the kiss first, staring directly to your red lips, not because of lipstick but because of such type of kiss.

You felt a presence next to you, when you turned your head, Sanji was there, clearly really mad.

"Oh, you're here, I thought I'd had to fuck Zoro to call your attention." You said, probably as mad as him, but keeping a calm nonchalant expression. It was obvious his actions affected you, but you didn't wanted to show that they did, yet.

"I don't mind." Zoro said, back to his usual, less hot, self, also staring at Sanji.

Sanji pushed both of you aside, deciding to deal with you first and then beat the living shit out of Zoro after he was done with you.

He grabbed your hand dragging you out of the bar. Being cornered in a wall once again on an alley a few streets out of the bar and near the docks where the sunny was, now by your boyfriend, you stared at him straight into his eyes.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He said, clear anger on the sound of his voice. "Out of all the men on that bar, It had to be Zoro, of course." He was mad, you could tell, but you decided to play your little act of not caring for longer.

"Yeah, but they were focused on how you were almost fucking every single girl in the bar, I bet they were jealous." You said, staring right into his eyes, he seemed to feel ashamed of his actions, just for a few seconds, a feeling that faded quickly as you kept talking. "But Zoro didn't seem to care, and since you were experimenting with girls hotter than me, I thought I'd do the same with someone hotter than you."

His face turned red quickly. He grabbed your face with one hand harshly. A grip tight enough to make your face hurt a little.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He yelled at you, startling you for a second, but you were sure he wouldn't hurt you, either because you trusted him, because you were drunk or because you were mad, you weren't too sure.

"I don't know, you tell me, you've been an asshole to me all night!" You answered, as harshly as him, quickly getting more and more heated by his lack of excuses, you knew you were wrong, but so was him. And he started the whole deal so he had to apologize first.

He released your face, placing his hand on one of his hips as the other one rested next to your head against the wall. "Of course not! I'd never do such thing! You were the one almost fucking Zoro." Now he was treating you like you were insane. Flirting with other girls was already bad enough, but acting like you hallucinated everything and faking dementia was going to make you genuinely insane.

"Yes you did such thing!" You mocked him, watching his gaze get madder and madder. "I even saw you kiss one!"

"Nope, I don't remember that" He played dumb, and you stared at him dumbfounded.

"You're unbelievable! I can't believe I even started dating you!" You turned your head way from him.

He stared at you in surprise, he knew he had a problem, but he did love you, as much as his stupid behavior allowed him. "What the fuck do you mean?" His expression of surprise was quickly replaced by the same stare of anger you saw directed to you all night. You were forced to face him again as he grabbed your forearm with a little too much strength. Pulling you closer where you could feel his familiar breath. "I mean that I hate you!" You replied quickly, not giving it a lot of thought, probably going to regret saying that as much as he's going to regret not paying you attention that night.

"Fine! I hate you too!" He answered, not letting you go neither pulling you away despite of his words. You stared at him, his blue eyes that looked at you with a hatred that you didn't believe was genuine at all, he probably thought the same of your own stare of hatred.

"Fine." You whispered, looking down to his lips for a few seconds, as you licked yours.

"Fine." He mirrored your expression. Staring into your lips.

Before you could even process that you "Hated each other", you pulled him closer, pressing your lips into his own. He placed a hand on the back of your head while the other one got around your waist.

You gripped his shirt as the kiss continued, unbuttoning the first buttons of his shirt while Sanji's hand on your waist lingered lower and lower.

"Let's go to the sunny." You felt that deep, raspy voice that you loved against your lips once again.

"Yes."

[beanghostprincess]

I don’t have many Op friends I can talk about this with but one of my top ship tropes is when it’s established that Luffy is slow on the uptake regarding people’s relationships and even HE knows someone is in love and pining. Like, to make a point at how utterly obvious it is. Sanji cuts food for Usopp into little bite sized pieces? Luffy just asks him something that indicates Sanji and Usopp are in a relationship and the cook almost chokes. Nami tries to write a letter and is getting visibly frustrated at not finding the right words and he just looks over her shoulder like „Say Vivi I said hi!“. He witnessed Shank and Buggy finally meeting at laughtale and there is just a bunch of „I WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED YOU!“ „I never wanted you to leave!“ „YOU WERE A COWARD!“ „Why does that matter now?!“ „BECAUSE I ALMOST GAVE UP MY DREAM FOR YOU!“ and Luffy just looks at this insane display in front of him while his idol does a homoerotic sword vs dagger fight with a clown and just „Are you seeing this shit Zoro?“ like… congrats . You’re being such a lovesick idiot even Luffy is like „Damn bitch you got it bad“

Honestly, this is extremely in character and pretty much not far from the truth. Luffy, despite being a dumbass, is a very perceptive person when it comes to people's feelings. One of his best traits as a main character is that he's empathetic to the point of knowing how people feel or what they want without needing to know the background or the rest of the story. I actually hate when the fanon perception of Luffy gets simplified to "he's an idiot" because yeah, he might be reckless and stupid and he's very silly, but he's emotionally mature to a sickening extent. Savior complex much? (Not that he wants to be a hero, god forbid, he would hate that. I just mean that his constant need to save everyone so nobody he cares about dies on him or gets hurt again has made him really aware of his surroundings and people's feelings). And, well, tbh he has always been like that. Very honest and perceptive, I mean. He might be a bit slow when catching up to some things and he might not know why people feel what they feel sometimes, but he knows what they're feeling. Get me? Like he might be aware of Nami being mad at him, for example, and not knowing why, but being aware that he has to do something to change that.

What I want to say with all of this is that Luffy noticing romance within the crew is extremely canon because he knows how his friends act, and if he notices changes in a person towards someone else, he might be stupid but he's not that oblivious. Like, he knows something's up. And to him the whole concept of pining is so stupid because if you feel something, just let the other person know! But then again, his relationship with Zoro is just different from that, and not everyone can have a devoted long-term marriage without saying a word.

And his reaction towards people pining would be hilarious because the guy would be exhausted from the crew having crushes and not doing anything. A Sanuso trope I love is Luffy going to Usopp like "Hey, confess already because Sanji has been distracted lately, and if he stops cooking because he is sad and pining for you I will be very mad" and he says shit like this and goes away and leaves Usopp alone with that information as if it was the most obvious and normal thing to do. But, you know, Luffy gets things done around here, at least.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Eri Reader x Straw Hats Christmas Special- Eri and the Nutcracker

I had someone request this and I thought this would work perfectly with Eri Reader! I hope you all enjoy and I'll post the next actual part of Eri Reader tomorrow! Merry Christmas!

-Your smile was so bright as Robin finished telling you the story of the Nutcracker, in celebration of Christmas tomorrow! You had never celebrated Christmas and the crew wanted to make it extra special for you!

-You help Sanji in the kitchen making some cookies as he told you all about the yummy meal you were going to get tomorrow.

-Luffy and Usopp told you all about Santa, which did lead to some laughter after you asked Chopper if he was one of Santa’s reindeer.

-Franky stole you away to show you some surprises he was working on, new upgrades for the ship, which was actually just to distract you while the others set up a Christmas tree to surprise you with.

-Brook played you beautiful Christmas music which Nami danced with you to, waltzing with you while you squealed with delight before you got to meet Santa, who was actually Zoro in disguise.

-They couldn’t stand how cute you were, being shy, hiding behind Luffy’s leg, waving at Santa as he was holding out a present towards you.

-It wound up being the Nutcracker book, something to surprise you with before Christmas day and when Robin put you to bed, she read you the story.

-You knocked out shortly after she finished, which was good as it gave everyone time to set up for the party tomorrow.

-You opened your eyes, now dreaming, and found yourself in a magical world, surrounded by a land made up entirely of sweets, everything was candy- the roads, the trees and flowers, it was amazing!

-You then heard, “Y/N!!” you turned, hearing Luffy and you froze, seeing him running up to you, dressed like the Nutcracker in the book and he beamed at you, “I found you! Now let’s get going- I’m going to be King of the Nutcrackers!”

-You weren’t sure what was going on, but this was so much fun, as you got to eat some of the trees, after Luffy told you that it was okay.

-You then heard three voices yelling out, “Hey you idiot!” and you were stunned to see Nami and Sanji, both dressed up like fairies, in pink and white outfits with large glittery wings, Nami in a dress and Sanji in a suit, before you saw Chopper, wearing a whole Santa outfit, looking like Santa, just with some bells, like one of Santa’s reindeer.

-Sanji and Nami were yelling at Luffy, after beating him black and blue, telling him that you can’t just have sweets, that’s its not healthy for you before turning to you, “Are you Sugar Plum fairies?” they both posed, looking dramatic as Sanji spoke, “We are- but we also encourage healthy eating habits- especially in ones so young!”

-Nami and Chopper danced around with you as Sanji whipped up a massive feast of fruit, veggies, and meat, so you would have a balanced diet.

-When you and Luffy finished eating and got ready to leave, the three said they were coming with you, as they were going to celebrate Luffy becoming King of the Nutcrackers!

-As you reached an area where everything was made of toys, your eyes were sparkly before you saw Franky, “Yo!! It’s my SUPER niece!!” it was your uncle, ‘Franky-meyer’, who made the Nutcracker Luffy for you and you squealed as he spun you around, showing you all the new toys he had made before he decided to come with you on the journey to the kingdom of the Nutcrackers.

-You met Robin and Usopp next, who were both snow fairies, Usopp was throwing snowballs at the others while Robin picked you up, dancing with you, “You look like a princess mama!” she just smiled, twirling around, “You are close- I’m the Snow Fairy Queen~” your eyes were sparkly before you laughed, seeing everyone getting into a snowball fight.

-When you reached the castle where Luffy would become king, you were scared, seeing a bunch of mice, including the Mouse King, who looked like Crocodile, wearing a long red cape with a crown on his head, saying that this kingdom was his!

-Luffy tried to fight him and his minions, who looked like chibi Crocodiles in miniature long red capes, but he was blown back, he needed backup!

-Two more soldiers then stepped forward, Brook and Zoro, who had been locked in the tower, after King Crocodile invaded the kingdom, and Brook spoke, “Allow us to help you!”

-Soldier Zoro easily took care of the underlings, using three large candy canes instead of swords, before Brook charged forward with his own giant candy cane and hit King Crocodile back, weakening him.

-Luffy beat him, and you saw all the citizens of this world, from the candy area, the toy area, the snow area, and the kingdom all come out and celebrate, watching Luffy being crowned King.

-Luffy held you up in his arms, “It’s all thanks to Y/N!” and everyone was quickly chanting your name, making you smile.

-You stirred, hearing Luffy and Chopper calling your name, much like how they were chanting in your dream, as they woke you up, both wearing Santa hats, “Santa came- Santa came!” your eyes went huge and you headed to the galley with them, finding a huge feast, one that looked even better than the one Sanji had made for you in your dream, as well as a bunch of presents under the tree for everyone.

-Robin put a Santa hat on your own head, one that was a little too large for your head, but you were all smiles as Usopp held you on his lap as you got to try all of the special Christmas foods.

-Once you were finished eating, everyone unwrapped their presents from Santa, getting exactly what they wanted, Luffy got a gift wrapped meat on a stick, Zoro got a sword cleaning kit, Usopp got a new scope, Nami got a bag of money, Sanji got new cooking knives, Brook got a violin repair kit, Franky got some new and durable tools, Chopper got a new doctor’s bag and some candy, and Robin got some new books, and you got more picture books, ones that you could have the others read to you.

-The day was spent having fun with your family, eating nummy food, and just enjoying your first Christmas together.

[bluegalaxygirl]

Blizzard Castle (Zosan X reader) Part 4

Zoro X Sanji X Reader, poly relationship, established relationship, reader is Female (Sorry)

Plot: A vampire has their sights set on reader capturing them and taking them to his castle. It up to Sanji and Zoro to save them.

Warning: Bad language, Drinking, blood, injury, making out, slight sexual content.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

With night approaching and the villagers happy that their nightmare is over they set up a massive festival in the town center a large bonfire being the focus, food vendors went all out with cooking Sanji of course wanting to help out sharing some techniques and recipes with the towns folk. Bars brought out drinks for everyone Zoro and Franky mainly trying to get their hands on whatever they could while Brook joined the band in music. Most of the crew were off the ship at the party enjoying the celebrations, dancing, singing, eating and drinking. Meanwhile, you and Chopper were on the sunny. You've had a few hours of rest and Chopper made sure you were patched up. it was hard for the doctor at first when Sanji got a good look of your neck and started fussing over you and Zoro refusing to leave the room even for a moment. Zoro wouldn't let Chopper deal with the cut on his arm until he knew you were taken care of and it ended up with you pulling on his ear telling him to just let Chopper work. It ended though thanks to Nami and Luffy who got the two to leave you and chopper alone for a few hours dragging the two away form the sunny and to the festival. Now that you were well rested, patched up and in a new change of clothes, you and Chopper headed off the ship and to where the party was being held.

"Thanks again Chopper and sorry about Sanji and Zoro. is your voice ok?" you ask since Chopper had to yell at the two boys multiple times almost straining his voice "Its no problem and my voice is fine. Although a cold fruit drink would be nice" the reindeer smiled up at you holding your hand as you two walked into the town "Well lets go and find you one then" You commented picking the doctor up in your arms and carrying him the rest of the way "I can walk you know, you lost too much blood to carry me" he yelled at you worried about you exhausting yourself "Oh but Doctor Chopper your super light plus you've been so hard at work being a great doctor how can i not help you out" your sweet words seemed to make the deer happy smiling big but trying to act like he didn't care. Making it to the village you walked up to one of the bars serving drinks only to hear one of your favorite voices "Oi. i was wondering when you would be joining us" Zoro laughed a large bottle of sake in one hand while the other went around your shoulder pulling you in closer to kiss your forehead "Thanks Chopper" The swords man smiles down at the doctor in your arms who squirm a little "Thanking me isn't gonna make me happy or anything" you giggle setting him down and ordering a drink for chopper and yourself both none alcoholic since Chopper can't have it and with the meds Chopper gave you there's no way you should be drinking.

With drinks in hand the three of you walked out the bar into the crowded streets immediately spotting Luffy and Usopp dancing together next to the brightly lite bonfire , a few other people joining them. Robin and Franky were sitting over on a bench nearby with a bunch of people around them as Franky showed off and Robin seemed to be talking, probably telling them about the vampire. Brook was on the big stage with his guitar and singing people cheering for him and dancing to his music while Nami seemed to be on the stage with him dancing away with some other girls. "I'm gonna join luffy and Usopp. Don't do too much ok" Chopper smiles up at you patting your leg before running off to join his captain and sniper. "Where's sanji?" you ask looking at Zoro who points over to some massive grills Sanji being in the middle cooking up something amazing while the surrounding cooks watched in aw. "Of course... showing off" you laughed the swords man join in and walking you over to the cook his arm now around your waist. He didn't want to show it, but he was still concerned for you, the bit on your neck looked bad and Chopper said you lost a lot of blood even though you acted perfectly fine.

Flipping knives into the air Sanji cut up fish, meat and vegetables throwing them into a wok on the big gill and frying them to perfection before adding some pasta and sauce flipping it all together so it mixed well. He was so focused on his cooking he didn't notice you and Zoro walk up to watch the show. Adding salt pepper and some spices he flipped it one more time before putting it into several bowls placing them down for people to eat. he kept two though placing them on the table behind him. The crowd clapped and thanked him for the food while the cook and food vendors starting asking question, your laugh thru the noise caught Sanji's attention looking up to see you and Zoro. He grabbed the two bowls from behind him and excused his way thru the cooks to get to the two of you a big smile on his face "Your up. i was going to head to the sunny and give you this" The cook smiles down at you but when you reached for the bowl and thanked him he pulled it away "Oh no my love, you need to save your energy so I'll feed you" Sanji laughs Zoro shaking his head and taking the other bowl off the cook after removing his hand from your hip "You just want an excuse to feed her" The swords man teased earning a pout from the cook and a look that told him to shut up.

The three of you sat yourselves down on one of the many curved cushioned benches Zoro sitting on your right side while Sanji sat on your left feeding you with a fork watching your face smile with the flavor of his food "Sanji, this is amazing" you say covering you mouth since it still have food in it, your words make the cook smile wider and blush slightly "Its always a joy to hear you say that my love" Zoro looks over at you two with a smile digging into his food "Aren't you eating?" he asks Sanji knowing full well that the bowl he's holding is for you and you only. "Oh I'll get something later" Sanji waves off the question only to have a fork full of food shoved in his face "Here at least have a little" Zoro held the fork out for the cook who took a moment before giving in and taking the food enjoying the flavor of his own creation. Zoro repeated this a few times while Sanji made sure you ate until the food was all gone. The three of you rested Sanji's back against the arm of the chair as your back laid in his chest between his legs, Your legs and one of Sanji's resting on Zoro's lap while the swords man leaned back and looked up at the night sky covered in starts. Music playing in the back ground and the warmth of the bonfire made this moment perfect in your eyes. Sanji's hands went to yours resting on your lap and interlocked his fingers with yours while Zoro rubbed your leg his light touch almost tickling you.

"What do you want?" Zoro's voice spoke out of the blue sensing someone staring at you three, a young girl stepped out of the crowd and walked over to you three. Zoro and Sanji remembered her right away the girl from the office, she was dressed nice but messing with her hands in an attempt to calm herself down "Hello again" Sanji greeted getting the young girl's attention, she smiled a little at him before turning her attention to you. Confused you look from Zoro to Sanji and then to the girl who quickly bowed "Im so sorry" she almost yelled staying down waiting for you to berate her. "For what?" you ask wondering why she was doing this "She's from the town hall, tried to hide where you were from us" Zoro spoke up trying to clear things up only for Sanji to nudge him with his foot "she did help us" Zoro turned to give Sanji an annoyed look "Yea after we kicked the shit out of her boss" Finally getting the picture you reach her hand out and place it on her shoulder, her head shooting up to look at it "Its ok. Its not like your the one who grabbed me" you say leaning back against Sanji as the girl stands up straight "But.. I- i was supposed to be in the line up. i watched you get taken and.." You stopped her leaning over and placing a hand on her small head "Hay stop that" you say ruffling her hair "Its over now and you made up for it by helping my boys out so there's nothing to be sorry about" you smile pulling away.

"Your too nice" Zoro mutters into his bottle with a smug smile turning your attention to Zoro you take the bottle from his hands hold it away form him as he reaches for it laughing watching him struggle for it "Hay that's not fair" He yells trying to grab the drink from you while also trying not to lean on you. Getting an idea Zoro's hands grab your ankles and pull you closer to him your legs being separated by his waist as he leans over you and grabs the bottle from your hands "Little shit" he calls you with a smug smile "You deserved that Zoro for being mean to the young lady" Sanji laughs watching the two of you, Zoro's free hand runs up the cooks leg "You want wanna go cook" The two playfully snarling at each other. The young girl couldn't help but let out a laugh, the three of you turning to look at her confused. She wipes some tears away trying to calm herself down "You know i didn't get it before but now i do" she states calming down and smiling at the three of you "I hope to have a relationship like yours one day" her smile grows bigger before bowing again "Thank you for everything" she says before running off.

"Strange girl" You and Zoro comment but shrug it off Sanji on the other hand blushing like crazy his hand over his mouth and cheeks to cover it up but you and Zoro notice. Zoro takes his last swig of the bottle before putting it down and leaning over you, your face almost in his bare chest as he reaches to pull Sanji's hand away from his face "Is my prince blushing?" the swords man asks feeling cocky enough to pull the cook by his tie and crashing his lips onto Sanji's. The blonde cook couldn't help but lean in placing one hand on Zoro's shoulder and the other sliding down to meet your cheek. You laid there enjoying the view of Zoro's bare chest and the two kissing above you the night sky barley visible. The two pull away before looking down at you, Zoro moved back a bit and places his hand on either side of your head leaning over you your noses almost touching "You want some too?" he asks earning a nod from you, his lips met yours and you could taste the sake on his lips and the slight hit of smoke from sanji's. Your hand reached up and into his hair taking a fist full to pull him closer prompting the swords man to shove his tongue into your mouth. You couldn't help but moan into him using on of your legs to hook around his waist. he pulled away at the feeling laughing a little. "We're in public baby" he whispers down to you so only you and Sanji can hear "Sorry" you whisper back Zoro helping you sit up right.

Sanji moves his legs round so you can sit up right on the bench taking your hand and kissing it once your sat up "Come here my love, i want to hold you" Sanji helps you over onto his lap so your straddling him and your arms are around his neck. Leaning his back against the bench Sanji reaches out for Zoro who moves in closer laying his head on the cooks shoulder "Im so glad to have you back.. dont ever leave us." Sanji's hand runs over your cheek and down to your neck running over the bandage covering the bit. You take his hand and bring it to your lips "You know i would never leave you two willingly" leaning in to place a soft kiss on his lips. Sanji's hand went down to your lower back rubbing it lightly as his tongue slipped into your mouth. Normally he would ask for permission to enter by licking your lip or biting your lip, but he was needy tonight after almost losing you. You let him do as he pleased knowing he needed the comfort that words couldn't give. You stayed like that enjoying his lips on yours until air was needed pulling away panting and a little light-headed "You ok?" Zoro noticed holding your cheek "Yea i'm fine." you lie while laying your head down on Sanji's shoulder, Zoro seemed to notice keeping his hand on your cheek and watching your tired eyes "You're tired. Do you want to head back to the sunny?" he asks sanji running a hand thru your hair "No.. i wanna stay here" you whisper trying to stay awake. You wanted to stay here with them, just like this, you felt so loved, warm and comforted "Its ok love, if you fall asleep I'll carry you back later" Sanji's words made your body relax against him letting sleep take over you.

[camels-pen]

(i haven't read Whole Cake in a while, and i never really watched it, so bear with me)

I'd love to write a fic with Usopp on Whole Cake. it'd be sooo fucking long and i'd need to refresh myself on the entire arc, but god i'd probably be so satisfied when it's done. specifically for having brought a single moment in my head to life, but we'll get to that.

On Zou, he insists to be taken along on the Sanji rescue team and has worked himself up with a whole bunch of very good reasons as to why he should go there instead of helping in Wano, but of course Luffy just immediately accepts with a "yeah sure"

With Whole Cake, I think he'd be flipping between having fun as part of the idiot trio/quartet (Luffy, Chopper, Carrot), and being terrified with Nami. There wouldn't be that many differences in the arc as a whole, though; some things would be easier/better and some things would be worse- I don't necessarily think Usopp's presence would be overall an advantage or disadvantage, just different. Like, major events would stay mostly the same, but little details would change and maybe those little details would build to a far more drastic change-

for example, maybe one of Big Mom's kids considers themself a great sniper and wants a match with Usopp, or is motivated to work harder because Usopp is around and they want to take him out and boast about it. Maybe it means Sunny takes more damage than canon, or maybe Usopp's help means less damage to Sunny. (idk if i'd really do smth like this, but it's just an example)

skjdhf fuck i'm really not equipped to try and figure this out when i don't remember shit from Whole Cake aaaa

I do know that, despite his penchant for talking and rambling, I'd probably have Usopp be dead silent after his initial shock when Sanji fights Luffy. Everything about that is the same, except Usopp is just watching Sanji the whole time- not panicking, not moving, and not speaking. He doesn't say a word the entire time, doesn't even make a sound, and that, along with Luffy's words and Nami's begging, stick with Sanji.

(Usopp is thinking of his own fight with Luffy in Water 7, he's partially wondering if this was what it was like- if it was this painful to watch from the sidelines- and partially knowing he doesn't have to say a word, because he knew, like he knew back then, that it didn't matter what was said. It wasn't quite the same, but he could tell in the way Sanji moved, in the way he spoke and held himself, that he was putting on a front, trying to be brave in all the wrong ways. Usopp didn't say a word to Sanji because there was nothing he could say that Sanji himself didn't already know. Should've known. And his quiet, direct stare, was more than enough.)

the singular moment i really wanna write, is a scene where Sanji is apologizing for dragging them into his mess- either during the big meeting in Bege's castle or some other time- and Usopp's like "I'll do what you can't, you do what I can't, right?" and Sanji pauses, a little confused, until he remembers Enies Lobby and a stupid mask and cape and-

and tears are gathering in his eyes now, fuck, but he laughs a little. It sounds wet and his face is itchy and they're surrounded by tentative allies, but he- he laughs again and he says, "Fuck, you remembered that?"

Usopp shrugs, a little smile on his face. "They were some wise words from a wise man."

Sanji laughs a third time. "You think I'm wise?"

And they banter a little more before Bege tells them to quit it since they're on a time constraint or something. Quietly, Usopp will ask, "It-it helps. On bad days. And I figured, 'what's a worse day than this?' Ah, not that you getting married would ever be bad per se-"

"Usopp," Sanji says, looking more relaxed and settled. He smiles fondly and grabs his friend in a one armed hug, crushing him to his side. "Thanks."

And yeah, don't remember much beyond that, except the whole "hiding and then busting out of the cake" bit, which would mean Usopp in a cute little tuxedo or smth- maybe with a fedora aaaaaa <- loves fedoras- helping out with the fighting and eventually sailing with everyone to Wano.

He would be so distressed about fixing up Sunny now that the whole thing with Whole Cake is over. Maybe there'd be a gag about him promising Franky to take good care of Sunny while they were gone and being confident, after being Franky's tinkering partner and learning from him over time, that he could handle minor repair work much better than he did the first time around with Merry. And so when he finally takes in all the very-not-minor repairs he has to do, he's certain Franky is gonna strangle him for not keeping his promise. Probably also try to write in some nostalgic 'repairman Usopp' vibes from pre-Water 7.

Also something something, Sanji, wanting to do more for the crew bc he still feels guilty about Whole Cake, decides to take it upon himself to help Usopp not fall into a whole anxiety spiral about the ship. In turn, Usopp ends up helping Sanji not feel so guilty- usually by handing his own words back to him on a silver platter. And, yknow, having the two of them bonding and being buddies again like they so rarely get to be in canon nowadays qwq

[empressofmankind]

God I hope you don’t mind me dumping that here but your story about you having a crush on kid Buggy when you were at the approximate age just hits me so hard and I don’t have anyone to talk about this with so here goes:

Way back when the anime first got translated in my neck of the world and I was a wee pre-teen, my friends quickly latched onto either Zoro or Sanji as their anime guy crushes. I used to pretend they were both not my type and that I didn’t crush on anyone in the series but that was a lie. A coverup to a truth I felt I couldn’t admit to my 12-13 year old gal pals. I had the most massive fucking kid crush on Usopp. He hit all of my buttons, he was fun, he was a bit of a coward but not to the point he was unlikeable, the episode that show him and Kaya meeting for the first time had him sitting on a tree branch in front of her window like he’s a goddamn Aladin type Disney prince. Just goddamn he did a number on me. But again, back then he felt like the weirdest option to get a crush on so I kept my mouth shut because teen me couldn’t take the teasing.

Some time passes and I haven’t watched OP for a long time, didn’t really care about it that much. I hear about the live action show and apperantly… it’s … good? Interest peaked. Watching it and having a great time. Getting back into the fandom. Find out there are a lot more people like me who not only have Usopp as their favorite but also think he’s super cute. Jacob Romero Gibson playing him helped a lot but, there are also a bunch of posts about people loving his animated form and appreciating him and many of them stating they had wee little babby crushes on him as well, even before timeskip buffed him up too.

And it’s like… it’s mildly emberassing to think back on baby’s first Blorbo ™️, but it’s also just so satisfying to be like “Uh-huh, yeah. This character is great. I know. I Love him!” And People wholeheartedly agreeing. And now I’m slowly making my way trough the series again and it’s just… so good. I am sorry for dumping this all on you on anon but it’s just my way of toasting to you in a very “To us! Us weird adults that used to be weird little kids with even weirder little crushes. We always had the best taste.” Way.

I am so happy you feel good about it now! I loved reading about your experience so don't apologise! It's all good! I like it when people interact with me over fandom. And I feel pretty special rn that you'd tell me this, Anon. I bet it is so recognisable for a lot of us. I can totally understand you keeping that under wraps as a baby, especially surrounded by Sanji and Zoro fanbabies. I apparently told everyone who wanted to hear and plenty who didn't. And, honestly, I still do that, haha. The live action being good had me so shook as well, because live actions have been doing so terribly poorly. But I am down with Ward as Buggy.

[unknownwriting]

ｓｕｍｍａｒｙ- request: prom hc

ｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒ ｓ- Portgas D. Ace, Sabo, Monkey D. Luffy, Trafalgar Water D. Law

ｗａｒｎｉｎｇｓ- underage drinking, besides that none :)

ａ/ｎ- so like I’m still a junior so I have no idea what proms like but I mean I seen a very movies sooo...I hope you still enjoy 💕

Unedited

Portgas D. Ace

Definitely the flustered type but he’s so unbelievably sweet about everything.

The classic type tho, showing up to give your roses and meeting your parents. Embarrassing by everything your parents say.

Ace was so sweet that your parents eve joke about y’all getting married and all that. It’s safe to say that the both of y’all left the house redder than the tie Ace was wearing.

As soon as y’all drove off tho, you were in total control of the date. All that Ace knew was what Garp and the others told them, so the rest of the night was all up to you.

Ace looked hella awkward when It came to the party. Ace is all down for a good party but a formal one, so not his thing. So a lot of the night he was following your lead.

Obnoxious eating? Yes. Drinking a lot? Yup. Passing out afterwards and scarring the shit out of the others? Of course, it wouldn’t be a party without it!

Y’all would met up Sabo and his crew and just goofed around for the most part. Sabo joked about y’all being a couple and all that, y’all would sneak off the pull pranks on the teachers, piss of the love-dovey couple, then did it all again

When it came to dancing, you and some other girls would go dancing while Ace and the others watch from the outside. When the slow dance came on you bet your ass your dragging Ace out.

Very lazy slow dancing, your hands wrapped around his neck with your face buried in the crook of it, while Ace’s hands rested on your bottom. y’all would sway back and forwards just embracing each and enjoying the warmth. and then once the song was over, the 2 of y’all would end with a passionate kiss.

The night was a pretty simple night, Ace wasn’t to into the party so he didn’t want to do much. As long as he was with you, he doesn’t care. You didn’t want to stay the whole night either, you just wanted to make your appearance hang out with the others a bit then leave.

Once y’all leave, y’all send the rest of the night as Ace’s place. Watching movies, ruining yalls clothes, then passing out in some tangled position. The drinks, food, and sore muscles is a problem for the morning

Sabo

Prom king and queen hands down. It’s just a known fact. Going with this man means the nights gonna be almost perfect.

Y’all would be the couple that has matching outfits. Like your dress with match Sabo’s blue tie, stuff like that. He would also spoil you as much as he could too when it comes to getting ready, like he’ll pay for you to get your nails and hair done.

And when it comes to the night of the dance he’ll pick you up, give you flowers, talk with your family, take you out to dinner, then y’all will arrive at the yall walk hand in hand to the ball room. As if y’all were royalty. From there on out, y’all let whatever happens.

When y’all arrive, Sabo was quick to find Ace and his date. You know damn well your not gonna enjoy the party without him. You didn’t mind tho, whenever the 2 of them are together crazy stuff always happens.

Not only does Sabo buddy up with Ace most of the night, but Ace is a social guy, having ties with a lot of people. So y’all spend a lot of the time hanging out with other people. Of course Sabo’s not going anyways where without his date. So if your not going Sabo ain’t either.

Not much time is spent on the dance floor because y’all are always with some group of people goofing off and talking. But once the slow dance comes on the 2 of y’all are definitely gonna be floor dancing.

Similarly to Ace, y’all have a very lazy dance style. Your hands around his neck and his hands wrapped around your waist. A few words would be exchanged between y’all but besides that’s y’all just enjoy each other’s embrace.

Y’all do end up staying most of the night. The plan was to leave a little after the slow dance after y’all had finished talking to everyone. Y’all were gonna join Ace and his date do a double movie date at their house. But everyone insisted y’all stay

So y’all end up staying bc luckily enough this is when y’all are named prom king and queen, it’s was mostly sabo who won but everyone still voted you too bc let’s be honest y’all are still a perfect couple.

But after the crowning y’all basically said your thanks you and all that then snuck off with Ace and his date to crash at their place.

It was a very active night with you and sabo talking with everyone and then being named prom king and queen. And as always to end a very active night, the 2 of y’all cuddle in each other arms and just savor the embrace of each other.

Monkey D. Luffy

Very spontaneous with this one. You don’t even know your going with him until like 3 days before. And he didnt event bother to ask you, someone brought up the question in which Luffy answered, “Oh, I’m taking s/o.” Never once did you hear anything about it

But although you had 3 days to buy a dress and schedule hair and make up appointments, you went anyways. A party with Luffy and the Strawhats, no way your were gonna miss out on this.

Now Luffy’s not as romantic as his brothers but he’s knows that he at least has to take you out to dinner, he mostly heard that from Grap and the others. However Garp seemed to forget to see Luffy when. But you got into the car you thought he just simply forgot, but it wouldn’t till after dance would he take you.

The dance it’s was a whole experience. You wouldn’t expect any less tho. With the strawhats involved it always a party that either ends in 2 ways: 1- in disaster or 2- not a planned at all.

To start of with, somehow they were able to find the alcohol?? Which shouldn’t even be on the school grounds?? And they were already drinking it like no tomorrow. Zoro was on his 5th glass already and Nami was in a drinking contest

Brook took control of the Dj booth was just playing songs at random, ‘big green tracker’ by Jason aldean then ‘kiss me more’ by Doja cat, then some classical track

Usopp and Franky were doing god knows what. Something to do with the lightings or something. Making the dance floor much more like a club. Sanji was chancing off a group of girls around the floor, and then finally Robin and Chopper were just in the back enjoying the food

They were all over the place but it’s what makes them the life of the party. Even though they were all over the place and doing their out think, Luffy was jumping around everywhere too but he still knows that y’all are on a date, so where ever he goes you follow behind.

This prom is definitely going down in school history. There is no way that people won’t be talking about it. Anything to do with the Strawhats goes down in history.

Of course unlike the others, y’all end up partying all night long and then crashing at some restaurants Luffy promised he’d take you. Although it wasn’t much of a prom date, you still enjoyed the time you spent with the others. And Luffy made sure to keep you close to his side all night long.

Trafalgar Water D Law

Law was that one cool senior, who had like a cool car and all that. With that being said, you were his 1 year younger lover. So while he doesn’t go to school anymore, he was still your date to prom.

Practically the talk of the school when y’all arrive, not because y’all are still dating but mostly because you were able to keep up with someone like him. With Law being cool he was still kinda a jerk, so having you with him was a relief

So law may be a jerk but he’s is a romantic one at least. Like sabo, he picks you up and gives you a bunch of flowers, he not to social with your parents but they are still cool with him. Then take you out to dinner

At dinner you joke about how he just left high school and now he’s back and how awkward it would be to see his old teachers. Of course, he doesn’t care. Law was more curious to see how the night played out. His senior year he didn’t go to prom so it’s the first with you.

When y’all first get to the party, Law’s pretty much glued to your side. Not because he find it awkward and uncomfortable but he just doesn’t know anyways besides the teachers. So you take him around and introduce him to all your friends.

Whether you introduced a boy or girl, Law kept a hand on you the whole time, almost as a way of saying that your his. This is when you first realized just how intimidating Law is. He really does seem to only have a soft spot for you. So when it come to dancing, Law stood near the wall letting you enjoy the dance floor with your friends without him.

He made sure to scare of any boy who got to close tho, as he watched you with such an intense gaze. However once the slow dance come on that all changed. You dragged Law out to the dance floor where y’all were both surrounded by a bunch of other couples.

Surprisingly for how much Law doesn’t say he’s not a good dancer he was amazing when it came to the slow dance. He was such a passionate dancing too, but so much love in the dance. With y’all’s hands intertwined and his hands resting on your hip and yours on his shoulder, the 2 of y’all swayed back and forward.

However once the slower dance was over, y’all really had no other reason to stay. So you law and a few other friends snuck out and just crashed at some bar where y’all celebrated both prom and graduation that was coming up soon.

Although Law already graduated, he would never miss an opportunity to share a drink and few heated kisses between his tipsy lover.

[linawritesfanficandmore]

Close Enough To Call This A Pack?

“Guys, be careful when falling!” While falling? They certainly did not expect this. Even Merry's eyes popped out of their sockets when they suddenly began to fall. Fortunately, before long, the special octopus balloon from white sea surrounded their ship and slowed their fall. “Hahahaha. It was a lot of fun.” Luffy's laugh spread like a bell all over the sky. The captain of the Straw Hats no doubt enjoyed their adventures on the sky island. They had not yet landed, but they were no longer in the sky. Just like their current situation… They weren't just a regular crew, but were they really close enough to be called a pack? Luffy wanted them to be his pack. Just like with Ace and Sabo when… Just like with them. "Hey, guys..." Zoro realized that his captain's mood had changed and he was preparing for a serious conversation. That's why he warned and stopped Chopper and Usopp, who were still dancing. Realizing this, Luffy smiled: “I think it's time for us to be a pack.” Yes… An awkward silence. This was another unexpected event. “Luffy is right.” Were unexpected events happening too often? Nami couldn't have formed this sentence, could she? “We've been through so much together and if we're going to continue this long adventure, I think we should be a pack too. Being a crew is good but not enough. As a pack, we become stronger.” “Nami…” “Luffy, I'd be happy to be a pack with you. If you accept me too." Meanwhile, their cute doctor slowly approached their captain. “Luffy.” “Yes, Chopper.” “I don't have a sub-gender like you. Can I still be in the pack?" “Do you want to be Chopper?” ' asked Nami. “Doctorin would sometimes talk about having a pack is such a good thing and he misses her old pack. I want to be in a pack with you too.” “Then you're in my pack, Chopper. Right now it's you, me and Nami." Nami was slightly annoyed. It was Luffy, after all. How many times have he saved them, their captain who could risk everything for them. How could they not want to be a pack with him? Would they remain silent? “Say something! He may be an idiot, but he is our captain and you have an obligation to answer him.” It didn't come off. “Zoro!” Zoro turned to Nami as she called out to him. “Frankly, I don't care about these types of things. Luffy ,do you really want me to be in your pack?" "Yeah." “Then I'm in your pack. You're our pack leader and head omega." "Since you're in Zoro, you're the head alpha." "Ha! I did not accept that.” “You expect me to be? See in your dreams. Take some responsibility as vice-captain.” “What about shitty cook. He also could be it.” “Look, you reminded me. Sanji-kun!” The cook who had been averting her gaze until then realised he had nowhere to run when she directly called out for him. “Yes, Nami-swan?” "Your answer?" “Nami-san I am so sorry.” “I really can't believe you. You're all a bunch of cowards. C'mon Luffy, Chopper, Zoro!” “Where to sea witch?” “What do you mean where? If we're going to be a pack, we have to make it official. Robin, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to share our room with these idiots for a while. Of course, if you want to join the pack, it would be different story" “Sorry, Navigator-san.” Nami glared at her angrily and then took her three idiots and went to her room. Others just stared after her. *** Nami and Chopper had been working on building a nest ever since they arrived in the room. Despite being one of the Omegas' favorite things, Luffy didn't join them and was uncomfortably quiet. Realizing that the captain was restless, Zoro left the room and went to the room where the boys were staying, collected the pillows and duvets that Luffy, himself and Chopper were using, and went back to the room and threw them on Luffy. "You're going to be the pack leader and not even helping to nest?" He was surprised at his move at first, but realized that he was trying to comfort him and he chuckled. "Shishishi is not the usual zoro?" "I told you right, you should be the head alpha." “Don't get involved, sea witch.” “Zoro has a really kind heart.” "Isn't it, Chopper?" "Shut up both of you." Laughing as Zoro struggled between the other two, their captain had finally begun to help build the nest.

*** They were all relieved when they managed to build a nest in the middle of the room, albeit a little messy and small. Just when they're going to lie down together: “Nami-swan, Luffy we're so close to the ground we're going to go down to the sea soon and I prepared a snack. Come out, let's eat together." With Sanji's voice, they all remembered that they were actually falling from the sky. “Oh right, Luffy we haven't landed yet, let's go down to the sea and see our situation on the route, shall we? Let me check the weather too. I really want to formalize our pack and enter the nest but..” “Of course Nami. You are our navigator. I was also sore. Food, Sanji!!!” They stared after their captain, who came out of the room shouting. I guess he got over it, didn't he? “Hora Luffy I told you I've already prepared a snack, wait… Hey who am I talking to? Wait!!” “But Sanji, I am really hungry.” “I prepared it cause I know, you idiot. Come on, others, you too. Your tea is ready, my ladies." While they were drinking their tea and snacking together, they were saying welcome to the blue sea and goodbye to the sun. Maybe not yet, but soon enough they would be close enough.

Chapter 2

Fic Information

[thousandsunnywrites]

How about law meeting a girl who has the same energy as Luffy and tends to touch him in some way all the time, her favorite being ridding on his back. He has long since given up trying to get her to stop, only to find out when he teams up with the straw hats she’s Luffy’s sister by blood. The oldest of Ace Sabo and Luffy.

Law

Law x f!reader; romantic

⤷ a/n: g o l l y this ficlet was a whopping 2.7k words 😭😭i really do love picking on law; also ps this isn’t proofread yet so enjoy the rawness ty

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“traaafFFFYYYY!” He stumbles forward to balance the sudden weight tossed on his back, hands instinctively grabbing the legs wrapped around him. His life was never like this, until you came around.

It was a regular night in the submarine, Law doing his routinely watch through the sub’s finder. What the hell is that, he zoomed in to get a better view of the blurry image, hm, what is that?

He found a floating bucket under the sea with a tightly sealed lid and a hole carved on the upside with a plastic straw sticking out. Confused and hoping it was some lost gold, he made Bepo fish out the container and check it out. Instead of finding what he hoped to uncover, he discovered a limp body of a young female.

“It’s not breathing, captain! What if it’s been purposely tossed into sea... what if...” his words begin to trail off when the horrid realization of the sea being the graveyard to rest the corpse crossed his mind. He shrieked. They messed with the dead! They’re going to die! He watched too many Asian horror films to know where this is going.

Not before long, Law sighed out of annoyance, moving Bepo’s paw from the right side of the chest to the left, instantly calming down his tremors and leaving the poor bear sheepish.

Footsteps approach Law’s office and busted through the door. Low and behold, it was no other than Penguin and Shachi.

“Cap’n!! What’s wrong? We heard Bepo scream!—” Penguin tugged on Shachi’s sleeve, forcing his attention to the corpse curled in the bucket. Bepo covered both mouths before a squall was ripped from their throats, “Shh... it’s alive.”

“Room,” the iconic blue sphere encapsulates the room as Law unsheathes his Kikoku, “Scan.” The sliver glint of the sword flickered against the blue hue as it perused the physique. Producing no results, he sheathed his sword. “None” was all he could report.

“Oh thank god!” Penguin leaned over the large wooden pail, examining the face of the woman. “She’s kinda cute,” his hand reaches out to caress her cheek. “Mind if I say that I saved her?” He bantered with a sly smile.

“Move outta the way, lemme see!” Shachi shoved Penguin, an instant grin apparent inside his face.

“Stop fucking around.” Law jostled the apologetic duo to hoist majority of the body’s upper half out the bucket. “Bepo-ya, grab the feet”

“Roger!” He saluted before doing as told.

“Pen-ya, Shachi-ya,” their attentions turned to him, responding with a “Yes, boss?”, to which Law replied, “Get out.” As they left, the captain and first mate transfer the patient to the resting ward and laid her on a more comfortable bed.

“Catch some sleep, Bepo-ya.”

“What about you Captain? Who’s gonna watch her if she wakes up?”

“I will. Go ahead and sleep. Lack of sleep isn’t good for your fur.”

Bepo bowed, trusting all will go well since the captain was watching over her, and left to do as told. Meanwhile, Law pulled out a chair and raised his feet atop the bed. It was going to be a long night.

Surely, he must’ve fallen asleep because next thing he knows, he’s the one in bed and his crew bustled in the kitchen. It was a different ruckus this time; it wasn’t the same morning liveliness he knew, no, it was something more like... a party?

He made his way to the kitchen, head slightly pounding due to the loud vibrations bouncing off the walls. Swinging the kitchen door open, he’s faced with a festive bunch surrounding a stranger. Who the hell is she and how’d she infiltrate my ship?

Now on alert, he reached for his sword, preparing to attack but was stopped by his lovable white bear, who had multiple syrup stains resting on his fur. “Captain!!! Look!! She’s awake!!”

Who?

Oh yeah, the bucket girl.

“Yeah man that was suuuuperrrr crazy! I really thought I was gonna die out there!” A guffaw rumbled in the room, the crowd listening intently to what you have to say, “dude there was this big—and I mean big— whirlpool! With nowhere else to go, I just hid in a good ol’ barrel and hoped for the best.”

“Woah, you’re so cool Y/n!” The crew chanted as Law made his way through the crowd, sitting rightfully at his bench, head against his propped up hand.

“Hey, you must be the captain!” You greeted him with a hearty laugh while you reached over to the opposite side to pat his back, unintentionally thrusting his body forward with every rough pat.

“Don’t touch me,” he pulled away and dusted himself off, “I take it you’re better. Any pain?”

Completely ignoring his question, you continued, “Yeah how rude of me, I’m Y/n!!! I’m sorry for intruding so suddenly, it’s just I thought I was gonna die out there because—“

He held up a hand and finished the same sentence you said prior, “Yeah, yeah, there was a whirlpool and you thought you were gonna die, so your pea-sized brain said to stuff yourself in a barrel and hope for the best, yes, I’ve heard it earlier.” He said all in one breath. This amount of stupidity reminded him of a certain captain he was supposed to meet soon.

Instead of feeling offended, a big cackle bursted in the suddenly tense room. “I like you!” Slamming down your fist on his table as a sign of determination, he saw that same look of craze. Oh, how he could never forget that gaze.

“From here on out, I’m your crewmate now.” Cheers erupted from your mates, picking you up in rejoice to congratulate your recruitment.

“No, everyone quiet. You are not a part of my crew. Find yourself another place to loiter in. We don’t accept stowaways here.”

“Yeah no, it’s fine! I’ve been looking for a crew anyways.”

“I am captain of this ship and when I say I will toss you overboard if you insist you’re a Heart Pirate, I will toss you—”

“Y’all I’m hungry, got any food? Preferably meat, yeah?”

“Do not feed her.”

They feed you anyways despite his protests. He didn’t need another one like him on his ship, let alone in his crew.

“By the way, what’s your name Mr. Captain?” A piece of meat was ripped right off the bone. What a slob, Law grit his teeth, and as if I’ll accept her messy behavior. I’m tossing her right off the sub when she’s done.

“It’s Trafalgar Law!” Penguin chimes in, beating the captain to his own introduction. He grunts in annoyance. “Address him as Captain or doctor,” added Bepo.

“MMmmmmm,” your face twisted comically after a brief ponder, “Too boring, how ‘bout Lawsy?”

“No.”

“Trally?”

“Not a chance.”

“Gar.”

“Just shut up, I’m losing brain cells from you. Address me accordingly.”

“Okay, Traffy.” You burped as you chugged down the last of the juice.

Law could only sigh, because even if he threw you overboard, he’d still be stuck with you.

And that’s how it all circles back to Law giving you a ride on his back while walking along in the designated plaza. This is how his normal looks like nowadays. And nowadays, he doesn’t complain, even if he hates being ordered around, he just does it. His crew speculates him having only a soft spot for you, but he denies it every time. It was obvious though.

Today was the day he and Luffy agreed to meet at Dressrosa to take down that son of a bitch named Doflamingo. Everything was going as plan.

“Hey, Tra-guy!” The strawhats called putting from the other end of plaza, stirring a commotion contrasting the daily chatter of the citizens. He scans around and only sees Zoro, Usopp, Robin, Franky out of the troublesome gang. Where’s Luffy?

His grip tightened to hold you in place after your legs thrashed around in excitement, that never leaving irksome grin plastered on your features as always. “Stay still,” he sneered as he forced your legs to settle.

“Woah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Y/n,” Usopp whispered to Nami, to which she nodded in agreement.

“My, they have gotten quite close,” Robin’s chuckle was covered by her hand.

“Wow!” Franky drawled out, his stance in his usual super pose, “Since when did you two get together?” The glint of his shades gleamed as Law approached.

Law simply responded with a “Never” and carried on with discussing the plan that Luffy and most likely his crew won’t follow suit—but it was worth a shot. Hell, he didn’t even bother to explain it to you, knowing you’d do your own thing anyways like what you were trying to do now.

“Traff, Traff, Traff!” With every chant, you kicked your legs outwards to catch his attention.

“What, what, what.” He propped his arms upwards to readjust your sagging position caused by the sudden movements. The strawhats paused their chatter, noting that the stoic doctor had no sign of vexation on his face. That was a first.

“I’m hungry,” you smooshed his cheeks together. With a lilt, you asked, “Food?”

He casually nods, telling you “Later”, inattentive to the cheek smooshing and now cheek pulling. Nobody said anything, but it was obvious he had a soft spot. I mean, nobody can touch him—let alone his face— like that. If they tried, they’d be in a million pieces.

“Guys!!” The scream approached fast along with a mob of angry citizens following, “Got the meat! Now run!” The strawhat captain zoomed by, dragging the rest of his crew and allies along with him until stopping at a hidden alleyway.

During the time of escape, you hung your head down as Law transferred you from his back to his chest, face-to-face, in one swift motion, so you never caught a glimpse of the runner.

“‘Eyyyy, Tra-guy! Didn’t even notice you’re here!” The man gnawed on his meat while stuffing the leftovers into his big orange bag.

“Glad to see you too, Strawhat-ya,” he greeted back, eyes meeting with yours for a hasty second before trailing his gaze to your relaxed lips. It was intimate, seeing you close to him, bodies pressed together, arms around his neck and waist whilst his rested on the underside of your thighs. You and him always been together since the day he was held at gunpoint to recruit you, so it was normal for him to have some form of physical contact, whether it’d be hand holding to prevent you from straying away or the constant elbow hitting the back of his head while you whistled a verse or two. Giving you piggyback rides was common, so why did his heart start racing? This is what he always did, what was so different that could make him feel heated?

His chain of thoughts broke when you ripped yourself off of him to hug Luffy. “It’s been so long,” the shorter make cried, “I missed you Y/n! So nice seeing you out here! Especially with Tra-guy.” Seemingly impossible, your arms drew him tighter to you. “I missed you Luffy. God, I’m so happy to see you alive, I read all those articles. Really making big moves out there, kiddo.” Dramatic tears flowed out both his and your eyes, basking in the nostalgia and memories you shared.

To you, it was a touching moment; but to others, it was a cloud of confusion.

“Wait, you two know each other?” Usopp’s question dripping in disarray. But, their confusion was unparalleled to Law’s. That’s who you reminded him of—Luffy. He fell in love with someone who’s basically Luffy. He fell in love with Luffy’s sister. He fell in lo— no. No he’s not in love, what is he thinking?

“Huh, that’s a shocker,” Law’s lips were dry, mouth slightly agape as he watched the two monkeys hit it off.

Parting ways as the sun retired for business, Law took you to the hotel he had a reservation for. He was definitely gonna ask about Luffy. Grabbing the keys, it was a nonstop travel to the bedroom. Gotta hand it to Mingo, the bastard is a sick fck but he has some classy taste. The hotel was flooded with the natural shine of the moon, decorations silk and simple to compliment each other and the luxurious smell that was hard to miss.

Immediately upon entering the room, the first thing you checked was the fridge, searching for sweets whilst Law leaned idly against the doorframe as he watched.

“Yes, they have kinder eggs,” you shoved an egg in his field of view, “See?” He lowered your hand away from his face and ran his calloused fingers against his hair. It was a long day today, and he was tired as hell, but in this moment, all he wanted to do was to watch you.

“Want some?” Already munching on the Cadbury you found, you waved your face in front of his to break his daze.

“What?”

You simply pointed and broke off a piece to lay it against his outstretched palm.

“No wonder you seemed familiar to me,” he started, “You’re his sister.” Responding in a hum, he continued, “How did that happen? Sister by blood or by choice?”

“By blood dummy,” you popped a jawbreaker in your mouth, “We grew up together. If Ace and Sabo were being a jackass, I’d beat their ass flat. They were such bad influences! But seemingly in a good way..? They were like brothers to me too, ha, I was kinda like their mom if you really think ‘bout it,” Your mouth stopped sucking as the words you said became more and more sentimental. “I miss them. Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. But I’m happy. I guess it’s just... with everything... it’s nice seeing him alive and laughing. Enjoying life. And happy! Must’ve been hard on him all by himself. Besides, I can’t bear to lose another brother, not again.”

“I understand,” naturally that was his response, being that he could empathize since he did lose a sibling, a mother, and a father—twice— because of people. The world was fucked up. No other words were exchanged, effectively ending that convo.

You dug through the multiple bottles of wine, haphazardly throwing them away to search for more candy. A set of hands joined you on this search, crouching right beside you.

“Seems like you need help.” He offered a tiny, yet genuine, smile, to which you smiled back.

After endless digging, you found a can of whip cream and laughed as you sprayed a heaping load on the doctor’s nose before running around. He chased after you, grunting and hitting his long limbs against the small obstacles you placed, and lost you after he moved said objects to clear the path. You climbed onto the wall and pounced on his back, causing him to fall down completely, the cream crushed against his pointed nose and marbled floor.

“I win,” you sat on him as he struggled like a caught spider underneath your weight.

“Okay, I concede. Get off me.”

You flipped him over so his face was towards the ceiling, which was dark after you turned off the lights, and laid back on his chest. His chest had a subtle, yet rhythmic rise to it and made you fall asleep without trying too hard. You peeped a sigh of content before snoring away.

He admired how peaceful you looked when he wasn’t busy babysitting you. The moonlight doused your features in a soft light, turning even the harsh features into something delicate like a flower. The way your lips parted to let out obnoxious snores, the way your hair is tousled in a perfectly imperfect manner, the way your eyelashes contrast your skin tone, the way how there’s something about this moonlight that makes him wanna just lean down and plant a chaste kiss on your lips.

So he does.

You barely felt it graze against yours.

His hand caressed your hair with feathery light touches and his other brushed against your cheek.

Only the moon knew about the endearing look hidden in Law’s eyes that night; it was that same endearing look that showed he was in love.

[nuttyjellyfishlover]

One Piece Anime Wano Arc Episodes 890

One Piece Anime: Wano Arc, Episodes 890 This honestly is less going to be a review and more of a commentary as I watch through the anime's rendition of the Wano arc. I've honestly never really watched too much of the One Pieceanime, mostly just looking up the highlights of the arcs I read in the manga. I did watch the filler episodes and most of the movies, as I've talked about at length recently. And everyone tells me that the anime has some rather terrible pacing, particularly around the time of Dressrossa, which is apparently pretty padded out. But then I heard the absolute opposite for Wano, where the anime has received a new art-style and one hell of a fancy makeover. And I thought... hey, I'm on a One Piece kick this year, clearly, so yeah, I think I'm going to give this a shot.

The Wano arc, I think, is one that works a lot better because it has the reverse problem of a lot of One Piece arcs -- there are a lot of moments in Act One of the manga's version of the story that the writer clearly purposefully threw in a couple of off-screened moments that the anime could expand into full action scenes. I already know that Sanji versus Page One is fully animated in the anime, and scenes like Big Mom vs. Kaido or Zoro vs. Basil Hawkins are extended a lot more than the couple of panels we had in the manga. And Wano's got a lot of supporting characters, some of which actually get swept under the rug when I first read through the manga chapters weekly. So yeah, having bright colours and voices and music is going to make this a much more fun experience!

Anyway, here goes my collection of random notes and commentary. Be aware that there will be MANGA SPOILERS, as I will point out a couple of things here and there about stuff I notice that's foreshadowing or whatever:

* Marco's blue-and-yellow phoenix form looks so, so much more vibrant and pops out compared to anything else in the series in colour, huh? I think out of any other character, Marco is extra-memorable in animated format. * That said, basically half this episode is just a recap of the Paramount War. I mean, I haven't seen the Paramount War in full animated format, so it's nice to hear Whitebeard and Ace and Marco speak some of their more famous lines there. But on the other hand, it's also it's kind of one of the more-criticized parts of the One Piece anime that any time they could pad out an episode with scenes from a previously-produced episode, they will. * We actually get to see the Grudge/Payback War in the anime! I think this is less of a showcase of events that actually happened and more of a symbolic one, but hey, we get to see Blackbeard doing some sky-quakes and black holes and Marco turning phoenix. It just shows the Whitebeard division commanders getting sucked into a giant Dragon-Ball-esque spirit bomb Black Hole. Actually pretty neat! * Jozu has both arms in that vision. Whether it's an error or a spoiler or if he has a prosthetic a la Akainu in Film: Z, we'll see eventually.

* This episode also has a bit of a recap of the revelations about Wano from the Zou arc, but it's a lot shorter and feels a lot more relevant to the upcoming arc. * Brook actually expresses some interest on Vivi, apparently having heard of her from the others. I've always liked this from the filler episodes, of the newer Straw Hats slowly learning about prior adventures. Brook being Brook, of course, a panty joke was tossed in. * The Japanese-art style water waves look so pretty when animated! * The random octopus that makes Japanese kabuki theater (?) sounds is another thing that works so much better in the anime. I've always thought it felt a bit forced and random in the manga version. * The high-tempo music when the Sunny sails into the koi waves is very, very fun! * Ah, yes, the very first chapter of Wano in the manga shows off a bunch of carps jumping up a waterfall. You know, considering the whole legend that a carp that jumps over the waterfall transforms into a dragon... i.e., a fish that is also a dragon...

* The first one that's properly and almost fully drawn in the new Wano art style! And it looks gorgeous. * Also a new theme song! I've never paid that much attention to theme songs in anime, but I definitely like "One Dream One Wish" more than "We're the Super Powers". Shame that, as with most anime, the opening sort of spoils, like, half of the things that happens in the arc. * Speaking of great background music... the tempo of that opening instrumental that Komurasaki plays on shamisen is pretty catchy, especially with that octopus going iyooo~ in the background. It also makes for very fun background music for Zoro's rampage at the end of the episode. * Anime Wano is so freaking colourful. The rooftops, the kimonos, the hair... I think I remembered reading that Oda made it a point to subvert the fact that everyone in feudal Japan had black hair by explicitly doing the opposite -- black hair is the exception rather than the norm in Wano. Fun! * The frog on Usopp's hat is a real frog! I always thought it was just a hat! It's adorable! The wiki tells me it's called Gama Pyonnosuke. It's an adorable friend! Forget Carrot or Kin'emon or Yamato, Gama Pyonnosuke for next Straw Hat! * The biggest expansion here is that we actually follow Zoro around as he wanders around the city until he gets arrested by the corrupt magistrate. And Zoro actually bumps into the man-slayer and corrupt magistrate, actually explaining why he recognizes the specific scent of blood during the whole seppuku court. * And then we get around a minute of Zoro fighting the magistrate guards with the seppuku knife and good ol' fisticuffs, something that I didn't think I needed, but is certainly very fun to watch! * This new animation studio loves the angled zoom-in into eyes, and I highly approve. I think we had that like at least three times when Zoro decides to get dangerous.

* I never quite realized that if Luffy hadn't been interrupted by the octopus and washed up next to the Thousand Sunny, the poor ship would be literally left to its own devices. You'd think after losing Merry, the Straw Hats would be more careful with their ships... * Zoro gets to slash the magistrates up even more! It's a single Tatsu Maki, but god damn what a pretty Tatsu Maki. The shot of his feet kicking and breaking the wooden floor, the black aura around his blades, the way that the dragon aura appears behind him, the demonic red eyes as Zoro slams down from the sky, and the shots of the surrounding terrain being cut up into cubes... pretty awesome! * Luffy dodging the bullet from the random Beast Pirate goon with Observation Haki and the gomu-gomu-long-range-bitchslap has always been cool in the manga, and this episode makes it even cooler. Those glowing eyes! This is going to be the whole commentary, isn't it? Just me commenting on the scenes I find to be really cool? * Luffy's Conqueror Haki against the giant baboon is another very cool one. From the expression to the delivery of the line to the sound effect... Luffy's expression is actually pretty cool and borderline scary as he beats up the second goon. No wonder Tama went straight into "This is the I surrender pose!" * Also added in the anime is a vignette of Franky, Robin and Usopp seeing the news of Zorojuro becoming a wanted criminal. Again, not entirely necessary to know the story, but actually scenes that I don't mind being shown to us. Particularly that scene of Usopp utterly bullshitting an officer. * Luffy pets Komachiyo with his rubber arms. Komachiyo is a good boy. This is the most important scene.

* Did the manga show Luffy hiding the Sunny and letting it anchor in a cave? I don't remember it. I know that before the flashback and the raid we see the Sunny there, but it's nice to actually show Luffy not being so callous with the Sunny. * They got a pretty good voice actress for Tama that really makes her pretty adorable! So many times these kid guest star characters end up being annoying if they don't get a good voice, but between the voice-acting and the expressions, she's pretty fun! * Also, I think this is going to be something I repeat a couple of times, but both Tama and Tenguyama are so much more visually interesting with their full colour palettes. * Oh, right, Drake was the one that ransacked Tama's village. Wonder if that'll actually come up later on in the story... * Okay, thanks to the anime, it's really going to drill to me that it's pronounced 'Diez Drake' and not 'Eks Drake'. * I'm pretty sure everyone noticed it, but Ace learned to weave hats in Wano! That's how he became buddies with Oars Junior! I didn't notice it until just now!

* (Episode is the Cidre Guild filler arc that ties in to Stampede.) * What is Tenguyama waiting for? It's probably Oden or his retainers, but I don't think he's part of the samurai that was recruited by Kin'emon's group. Maybe he just missed the big recruitment drive, but that's weird. I wonder what role he's going to play in the arc... * There is a random metal guitar riff when Luffy sees the Nidai Kitetsu. And a glow of Observation Haki on Luffy's eyes. That's a small detail, but very cool! He also uses Observation when Hawkins arrives later on. I love the little trail of glowing red that streams out of his pupils when he activates it. * Tenguyama's sword has a very cool leaf-based handguard! Never noticed that. * Speaking of cool Observation Haki effects, Zoro's apparently activates when he senses sake. Appropriate! * I know it's me repeating this over and over, and we'll get so many cooler scenes later on, but Zoro casually launching that Phoenix Cannon to blow up the two random raptor-riders when he saves Tsuru? Such a simple scene but still so cool. Also very cool is the very brief slo-mo as Zoro re-angles the pathway of his slice when cutting down the second random goon. * Unlike most of the other things, I've always noticed that Basil Hawkins has a very cool Koma-deer mount. It looks even cooler in motion!

* This is perhaps one of the more extended scenes, since it features... fight scenes! In the manga, I think this lasted... maybe half a chapter? Less? A couple of page spreads? It's not just the Hawkins fight, either, Luffy's 'swordfighting' with Nidai Kitetsu also gets extended. Luffy's a bit more successful in using the sword to block and parry here. * Luffy's voice actor really makes the 'de gozaru' sound really funny. * I 100% missed Tsuru the first time I read through this chapter since we only see part of her in a single panel before her full-body debut after the Hawkins fight, and it's a lot less likely that you'll make that mistake in the anime. * Some 'elite' goons show up here, including a guy that uses his ponytail as a whip against Zoro, and a dude that makes fissures with a hammer that fights Luffy. Probably feels a bit more filler-y compared to the rest of the action scenes, but that's honestly nitpicking. * Zoro launching a Phoenix Cannon that slashes Hawkins's face is very cool. * Hawkins' little straw dolls gets an extended scene of it crawling out of his arm. It's so creepy, I love it. * Hawkins' giant straw demon StandBankaigets an very cool summoning animation and it's so creepy. The skies darkens and everything. Most importantly, it makes noises! Again, I love it.

* Luffy and Zoro vs. Hawkins! It's extended beyond just the simple 'dodge, then one-shot-slash' that it was in the manga. I really like Hawkins and his creepy-ass Straw Stand, so I am a huge fan of this. We get a couple of nice juxtaposition shots of Hawkins and the straw monster. Also Zoro goes shirtless in the fight. That's an important detail! * I really, really love how Zoro is having a gritted-teeth expression as he fights the giant straw demon; the straw demon is going gakakakakakakaka like a lunatic... then we cut to Hawkins who has a deadpan, bored expression as he swings his sword in the distance. * The animators really like to let the straw monster use the nails entwined to the tips of its fingers. That's fun! Zoro backhand-blocking the nails from hitting Luffy and Tama? That's cool! * Zoro does Ichi-Gorilla-Ni-Gorilla at one point, and totally slices and 'kills' Hawkins a bunch of times. * Also, speaking of pretty, glowing-eyes motion shots, Zoro using Nigiri: Toro Samon? Yeah. The cut itself is cool, but the zoom-in on Zoro's eyes as he does so? I'm sorry, I have a weakness for that kind of shot, it appears. * To extend the fight so that it's not just a single exchange of blows, Komachiyo gets knocked to the ground so that Zoro and the straw demon can actually fight for a bit. * Also shots I have a weakness to? DBZ-style 'aftermath of a powerful move'. This one isn't too over-the-top, but the slash extending into the sky and the shockwave rippling out from where Zoro slices the strawman thing is cool. * We actually see the scene of Okiku being harassed by Urashima in chronological order, and Urashima scares off a customer. Also, the implied scene of Zoro scaring off Urashima is actually shown here.

* This episode kind of extends the scenes in Tsuru's shop a bit more. Not the most exciting thing, but it does really help to build up Tama, Tsuru and Kiku. * ...wait, Tsuru's shop just displays the Kozuki crest very, very evidently on its door awning. If simply speaking the Kozuki name alone is a punishable crime, how did they get away with that? * Zoro trying to get Luffy to adopt a Wano-ized name is extra-funny in the anime! * Speaking of extended fight scenes, Batman gets to shoot alotmore arrows at Luffy and Zoro. It's kind of over-the-top on Batman's part, if we're being honest, even if Zoro and Luffy very easily dispatches of them.

* The anime does give Batman the ability to control his arrows via sonic waves or something, but he lasted for a much, much longer time than he really should have. * Batman fucking blocks Luffy's Busoshoku-empowered punch! He most definitely doesn't do it in the manga, and sure, knocking Luffy down with sonic waves? I buy that. Blocking Luffy and causing a small explosion in the air? ...I'm pretty sure just some random Gifter isn't supposed to be able to do that. Unless they're thinking of the other Batman? * They make the initial shot of Holdem answering the phone with the lion face pretty intimidating! * Holdem's lion beating their shared balls is still one of the weirdest jokes in the manga. * Some really nice face shots in this one, from Tama to Holdem to the lion to Luffy's group.

* A pretty obvious extended filler is Urashima bullying other sumo wrestlers. Urashima is kind of a dipshit, so it's not a particularly enjoyable filler for me. * Zoro gets to sumo-wrestle with one of Urashima's goons! This one, on the other hand, is pretty fun. We also get a little added bit where Zoro smirks after remembering Kiku's earlier insistence that she's a samurai, so it's less of a 'he doesn't give a shit' and more 'he wants to see what Kiku's skill is' or something.

* Luffy vs. Urashima is prolonged a bit in here, obviously. Not as entertaining as fighting Hawkins or even Batman, but okay, sure. Lots of grunting and growling in this one. Urashima cheats a bit more, Luffy has to use Armament Haki at one point... really don't think Urashima's someone that you should bother using hardening on, Luffy. * The kabuki-style delivery of "I'm going to be the king of pirates" is very well done. * Poor Tama! Holdem's a jackass. * We actually get to see Urashima crashing into Holdem's house, in yet another obvious 'hey, anime team, this is something for you to animate' scene from the manga. * Law gets an extended scene with seeing the sick Bepo, including a Room/Scan showcase and Bepo looking cute and Law being unable to keep being angry at him.

* The fight against the pirates and samurai in Bakura Town gets extended a fair bit in this episode. Luffy throws Nidai Kitetsu's scabbard around again, repeating the thing he did before. * This episode noticeably has a bunch of brief flashbacks to previous episodes. Anime episodes do this all the time to easily eat up like, ten or fifteen seconds of runtime. But I felt this one was particularly noticeable since it's to the previous episode which we already had a recap segment of before the episode begun. * Ball-de-boo!

* We get an adorable crayon drawing memory when Luffy remembers Zunisha one-shotting Jack's fleet. * Luffy and Zoro's synchronized neck-crick is pretty fun. Also fun is their super-speed when they simultaneously rescue Tama and steal the food barge. The question is, where is this super-speed when they were bamboozled by Batman and Gazelleman? * Unlike the anime, Holdem is able to turn his sword into a flaming segmented sword. It's like Zabimaru from Bleach, but on fire! * We get an extra scene of a random goon holding Kiku hostage and Zoro locking eyes with her and saying "I'm not going to help you", knowing full well she's pretending to be a damsel in distress. * Speed also gets to do something here! She gets to shoot Armament Haki'd arrows at Zoro and Kiku! In the manga she doesn't do anything while this is happening. * REDDO HAAAAAWK! * God damn that's a very satisfying Red Hawk. Such a pretty-looking one! This was the scene that a friend showed me that got me excited to sit down and watch the Wano arc in anime format. From Holdem shooting a lion's fire (how does that work?) and engulfing Luffy, to Tama's yelling, to the zoom-in to Luffy's angry eyes, to the orb of flame dissipating, the zoom-in to Luffy's angry face, the impact, the music... it's just Luffy beating up Holdem, who means jack-all in the grand scheme of things, but what a badass Red Hawk.

And I think that's a neat place to stop off, with the initial Hawkins-Urashima-Holdem opening prologue to Wano done with. I'm not sure how often I'll update this little watch-along series, but I certainly am enjoying myself!

[beanghostprincess]

Thinking about the “Usopp loves Darkwing Duck and Sanji loves Card Captor Sakura” thing from ages ago and now I’m imagining them going trough the hardest challenge a weeabo and a western animation geek can go trough: moving in together.

All the merchandise, the prints, the commissions they gave years ago and the buttons from various cons, it’s an actual nightmare for both of them to somehow try and find space for everything. Sanji hates Funko Pops with a passion, Usopp loves them. Sanji has a giant body pillow of some random anime girl and Usopp feels inadequate. The biggest issue however arrives when they try and decide where Sanjis collection of ero figurines is supposed to go. Sorry not sorry but you KNOW he has some of them. It’s actually not as bad as Usopp expected at first but it’s still a challenge to find a place for them because Usopp does NOT want them in the bedroom like Sanji used to have in his bachelor pad

They actually get into a heated argument at one point while they are running on coffee and lack of sleep. “OH YES IT WAS SOOOOO IMPORTANT TO YOU TO HAVE A SPACE FOR YOUR CRAFTS BUT NOOOO DONT LET YOUR BOYFRIEND HAVE SPACE FOR HIS STUFF AT ALL!” “FUNNY YOU SAY THAT, BECAUSE IM NOT THE ONE FLIPPING OUT BECAUSE I JUST NEED MY BIG TITTED CATGIRL FIGURINE TO LUST OVER IN THE HALLWAY FOR EVERYONE TO SEE!” “*GASP* DONT TALK ABOUT HIBIKI-CHAN LIKE THAT!!”

They don’t talk to each other for what feels like ages (Twi hours maximum) and they finally make up when the guilt gets too much. They both compromise on each selling a few of the things they aren’t as invested in, Sanji agrees to move a few of his more risqué figures to a space where he gets to see them but they can easily be hidden if visitors come over, some of the more decent ones like the pinup one of a lady in the bathtub actually are tame enough to be put in a more open spot even Usopp has to admit (plus her sitting on the bathroom shelf surrounded by both of their soaps and haircare products looks quite cute actually). Usopp keeps most of the Funkos on his work desk at Sanjis request. It’s the nerdiest home ever with some clashing aesthetics but they make it work trough the power of love and because both of them are creative people who can incorporate that into their home space.

… also Usopp has started a game where he will just randomly replace his boyfriends figurines and wait for his boyfriend to notice. Like elf on the shelf but more elaborate and with anime or cartoon figurines. Currently Sakura is being carried away by a bunch of Pikmins in the shoe closet. Sanji has noticed she’s gone but hasn’t said anything because that’s not how the game works. He’s supposed to find her and then yell “GODDAMNIT SAKURA!” Before carrying her back to her spot…. He’s already planning his move though and has decided he’s gonna try and put Grunkle Stan in a glass of water in the freezer with a single lone ice Pikmin guarding him.

This is the realest, most accurate thing in the whole world. They'd move in together but they'd be a mess. They have... Very different tastes when it comes to games/shows and they obviously can't decide what to do with the space they have.

But! They also have things in common. The thing is... They like the content in different ways.

Usopp has a huge Alphonse figure. Beautiful. Next to his Gurren Lagann figurines and so, so many robots. So many mechas. He has the three Gravity Falls diaries. All the Ducktales comics. Darkwing Duck was just the start because he's also a huge DC fan and has so much Batman merch. He's got this extremely awesome replica of Junpei's sword from P3. Everything is high quality and he's very, very careful with his merch. He has his own fanarts in a sketchbook and nobody is allowed to touch his games and his consoles. From Play Station to all types of Nintendos. He has so many damn Funko Pops of everything. Typical "For the last time, Sanji, I keep them inside the box because the box is also part of the merch what aren't you understanding-". Not to mention that he's a huge Lord of The Rings fan and he definitely plays D&D and he's also a botanist so you can only imagine how their house looks like-- So many plants-- Forest aesthetic. Except their front door that looks exactly like the Tardis because Usopp was dying to do that ever since he was a kid, and when he showed Sanji the show he fell in love with it and let him do it.

Sanji likes the same stuff but he has a very explicit Lust figure. Next to his adorable Nia and Yoko figurines and so so so so so many cute simple merch. Like keychains and stickers. I am 100% sure Sanji has Gravity Falls pajamas and Ducktales too that nobody but Usopp knows about. I think one of the only man figurines he has is a Starlord one and maybe Shazam merch, but he's more of a Superman type of guy. He saw Lois Lane and fell in love with her instantly. He has a Mitsuru figurine riding her bike and one of Chidori and Junpei he doesn't let anybody touch. That's precious to him. He asks Usopp to draw him stuff and that's why Usopp is always late to his commissions because his boyfriend suddenly wants to be drawn next to Senshi cooking. Sanji doesn't like Funkos but he does like Nendoroids and Usopp hates it because they're so fucking expensive and Sanji is always crying in the background ("But- But-" / "Sanji, we've talked about this-" / "But this little Miku is so cute!"). Sanji also plays videogames but he's more of an Animal Crossing/Cooking Mama/Stardew Valley type of guy. So many Dating Sims, too. Also the Sims, he loves that.

Their bookshelf is a mix between shoujos and so so many shonens but mostly cooking books and artbooks. So many DC comics too. I feel like both of them prefer DC tbh, Usopp is just Batman and Sanji likes Superman and instead of fighting about it they just admit they're really gay for each other. They do watch Marvel movies, though. Sanji really, really, really likes Spider-man and it's funny because he has arachnophobia and he cannot watch the damn movies without shaking when a spider shows up-- Usopp has Miles' jacket and Nikes I am so so sure. While Sanji probably has a Gwen poster in his room.

They argue a lot when it comes to how to use the space they have but!! Sometimes Sanji walks out of their room to make breakfast with Usopp's Batman t-shirt. And sometimes Usopp uses Sanji's Kero themed hair ties to tie his hair. And... They wouldn't change that for anything in the world.

They're also the type to watch/play anything together and go "Hey they're just like us fr" so now they have their house full of ship merch because those ships remind them of them,,, Those are the true romantic gestures.

Edit: Forgot to say Sanji has all of Taylor Swift's CDs and Vinyls and he's a very intense swiftie that makes Usopp wake up at ungodly hours to hear the new albums, while Usopp is like "I guess she's okay??? She's alright idk" because he literally only listens to movie/game soundtracks, indie shit and Cavetown. They both listen to Vocaloid though that is true. I was there. Project Sekai players that's what they are (Sanji does it for the cute girls but ends up staying because the characters are a bit too relatable and Usopp just really likes rhythm games)

[usolu]

Luffy is an alien that crash landed in Usopp’s backyard for the AU requests. Bonus : One of the headcanons is a drawing of Alien!Luffy. (+lusopp as the ship)

YES OKAY!!! in reference this is what anon is referring to!

firstly i love this au a whole bunch like… for the past few days i couldn’t stop thinking about it! my imagination was really running wild here omg and i’m sure it’ll show though of course i had a blast thinking of some hc’s! ; v ;)b to start ;

headcanon #1 : a drawing rough sketch of alien!luffy. this is what he looks like!

headcanon #2 : how did luffy end up crashing into earth in the first place?

well the main reason is because that luffy felt like an outcast on his planet and wanted to leave and go on adventures, specifically to the human world! he’s heard a few things about it but not much, however there was a connection somehow. luffy knew there was something more out there like something bigger than him and what his tiny planet could offer so he packed his belongings (with lots of snacks of course) and left by stealing a ship. now since luffy is luffy after all he didn’t have a plan so he depended on his spontaneity and luck. for the most part the trip to earth went pretty well until a floating rock in space collided with his ship, that’s when he started to fall from the sky and then crash into usopp’s backyard! 

headcanon #3 : where in the world did luffy land?!

short answer: ITALY! where usopp lives! specifically he resides in florence by the country side (kinda like the outskirts) and has a small cottage all to himself since his parents aren’t around you know… but yeah this is where the story takes place! i still really love the headcanon of banchina being italian so i’m running with that! also in this au usopp knows how to speak fluent italian which later on he teaches luffy! (

headcanon #4 : what was usopp and luffy’s first interaction like?

so when usopp first heard the crash he was drawing at the time but just like how anyone else would react to a loud noise in the middle of the night - he freaked out LOL. eventually he went outside to figure out where the noise came from and from there he saw the ship and luffy. though he nerves started to simmer a little because luffy was on the ground bleeding and completely out of it. he began to feel more worried about luffy’s state rather than holding an alien from outer space in his arms. trying to heal luffy took his mind off of things like he noticed luffy’s green skin, antennae, tail (which is didn’t draw out omg) and other non human features but didn’t make much of it until later on. basically their first impressions were a delayed reaction.

fast forward to luffy explaining what happened and usopp not believing it until luffy happily proved his other worldly powers and showed usopp his foreign snacks. after all of that good stuff luffy mentions he doesn’t have anywhere to go so usopp invited him to stay for a while meaning they would start living together. they hit it off instantly and became close quickly. usopp liked having luffy around because their personalities clicked instantly.

as time when on they began to fall for each other!

headcanon #5 : how could luffy live on earth if he’s an alien?!

here’s a fun fact about alien luffy - he’s able to disguise himself as a human! he uses a gadget that’s able to alter his appearance! however he could only hold that appearance for 12 hours. when the time hits the 12 hour mark human appearance starts to revert back to his authentic appearance. this is something usopp and luffy have to keep a close eye on so just to stay safe at the 10 hour 30 minute mark they start to head home. 

though they have been a few instances where they lost track of time and accidentally stay out past the 12 hour mark meaning usopp has to quickly cover luffy up and rush home so no one could see him!

more headcanons under the cut because this is getting long LOL!!!! 

here are some misc. hc’s as a bonus! if you want me to expand on one or even a few feel free to drop me a message! 

headcanon #6 : luffy is born from a pod meaning he doesn’t have a belly button! this was a huge selling point to usopp in proof luffy is a genuine alien. 

headcanon #7: in this au usopp works a florist! he manages to get luffy a job there as well doing busy work so he can keep an eye on him. usopp doesn’t want to be too far away from luffy. 

headcanon #8 : is able to blend in with his surroundings just like a chameleon! though if someone touches luffy while he’s camouflaged he’ll go back to normal. 

headcanon #9 : in some aspects he resembles lizards, frogs and some insects! he loves beetles just like usopp! they loveeeee bugs (like in canon!

headcanon #10 : has never taken a real bath because on his planet they have sanitation rooms with sprays that kill bacteria. so usopp thought it would be a good idea to give him one and luffy loved it omg.

headcanon #11 : luffy is able to glow in the dark, lift things up in the air without touching them, using his antennae to hear better and has a tongue like a snake. also he has other charming powers i need to look into more!

headcanon #12: luffy can’t swim!!! usopp teaches him how though.

headcanon: #13 : the first ever human food he ate was a leftover steak from usopp’s fridge. from then on meat has become his fav food!

SO OMG!!! i think i’ll stop here for now! i have lots more to say but this is a good place to leave off! i’ll update the headcanon list soon! thank you again for sending me such a wonderful prompt!!! ESPECIALLY FOR LUSOPP!!! :’D

[neverwatchedonepiece]

638-639: "A Deadly Blow! The Astonishing King Punch!" and "The Fighting Fish Strike! Across the Deadly Iron Bridge!"

Franky offers to wipe Sol’s internet history.

I knew there was something up with that toy.

Never thought he’d be part of the Resistance, though. (May the force be with you, Sol.)

Once Block B’s Battle Royale concluded (more on that later), the action cut to Franky and Sol the Toy. Sol was suspicious and alarmed by Franky’s willingness to ask any random person he met about destroying a top secret local weapons factory. But Franky was unmoved. He needed intel. He followed Sol out into the stairwell.

At first, it seemed Sol wouldn’t talk. Franky threatened to leave and find someone else. “I said I need to beat up a Donquixote Family member and find out how to destroy the Smile factory!”

But Sol’s caginess stemmed from the fact that he was already involved in a similar plot! (Very cool.) “You keep talking about this radical plan, but why do you want to do such a thing? It seems like you know things ordinary people don’t. What is your true purpose?”

Franky kept his mouth shut. He’s streetwise enough to know not to let any old random in on the Strawheart Alliance’s Yonkou Stompin Plan.

But he was also smart enough to spot a potential ally. “Then you too!” he said. “Where is the factory? Tell me right now and I’ll destroy it.”

Sol refused. He was not against destroying the factory but first, “we want to save the workers.” The use of ‘we’ was a definite giveaway. Sol is not acting alone. He mentioned Rebecca earlier. Maybe she’s part of the Resistance too? I am also suspicious about this Ricky character. He also hates Doflamingo. I have a funny feeling he might be connected to Kyros too (maybe he is Kyros). After all, no one remembers seeing him fight, he just disappeared and it was only twenty years ago this happened.

Another issue Sol raised was that the fall of the factory could lead to the downfall of Dressrosa itself. (Hence Franky shouting about the factory in public not being a good idea.) Okay, I thought. That makes sense. It’d trash the local economy and bring upon the island the wrath of Kaidou. But in that case, why would Sol want that to happen? Well, maybe not *want* it to happen. It’s more like, why would Sol rather have Kaidou wreck the place rather than let the status quo run its course?

I felt like Sol almost gave it away when he said to Franky, “If you have the nerve and are determined to go against Doflamingo, I’m going to tell you everything about this tragic kingdom of Dressrosa!”

Yes, please! Please do tell us all about the tragic kingdom of Dressrosa!

But I was blueballed. The credits rolled and the plot hasn’t circled back to Sol and Franky.

I’ll make a mad prediction while I wait. I’m thinking all these invisible fairies hanging about might be the original inhabitants of Dressrosa and the Donquixote Family have enslaved them or are forcing them to work in the factory for practically nothing. 

And the Winner Is...?

Meanwhile, in the Colosseum, Block B’s battle was about to conclude.

The twists and turns here were great. I guessed Bartolomeo would emerge the victor (laws of shounen: the fighter who is totally relaxed and barely lifts a finger always ends up winning (this only applies to battles that aren’t vital to the plot)). But how the fight played out was really entertaining and I never imagined it ending that way.

The mystery of Bartolomeo’s Devil Fruit power was kept until the very end of the fight. Even Bellamy’s speed and power couldn’t break Bartolomeo’s strange, deflective powers. At first I thought it was a rebound power. This was only because Bartolomeo seemed surprised by one of Bellamy’s attacks (like the power seemed to happen automatically - not controlled by Bartolomeo). Now I know Bartolomeo must have had his fingers crossed while Bellamy was attacking. The only thing that planted a seed of doubt? Bellamy did manage to grab Bartolomeo. How had that worked?

The scene of multiple betrayals was fun. Dagama urged the fodder fighters to regroup, muster their strength and focus attacks on Blue Gilly - only for Dagama to cut them down when their backs were turned and reveal he had really teamed up with Blue Gilly all along! That was a fun twist in itself. Then, when Gilly double-crossed Dagama.... ooooh, the intrigue! The fact the fodders were probably coerced into fighting because Dagama had poisoned them only upped the scumbag stakes.

I love that Dagama had the cheek to complain Blue Gilly double-crossed him. It’s like Gilly said, “Can’t believe people would trust a dubious guy like him in the first place!”

While everyone was double-crossing each other, Elizabello shadow-boxed and sweat-dropped. A bunch of chuckling, vengeful thugs surrounded him. Gilly decided to gloat. Called him a “helpless king without a court” who couldn’t do anything without Dagama.

When Liz ceased so shadow box... that should have been everyone’s clue to take him out. Instead, the other idiots in the ring let Liz power up. The guy stood there red-faced, yelling and popping veins like he was locked in the bathroom suffering through a difficult poop.

Even the audience knew something was wrong before they did. A group of worried randoms figured out their section of the Colosseum would be wrecked if they didn’t scarper.

By the time Gilly and the other fighters noticed something was seriously wrong, Gilly’s attempt to take Liz out was too late. KABOOM! Liz threw the King Punch. It was pretty spectacular. A golden-tinged impact that would have done Caesar proud. It took out almost everyone. Bellamy, Gilly, everyone who had been knocked out, was blown away into the moat.

Only a single-person remained in the ring.

IT WAS ME, DIO BARTOLOMEO!

Yes, it was Bartolomeo! And the trick he had been using to job the entire fight was revealed by Liz’s King Punch. 

Bellamy was right: Bartolomeo was a Devil Fruit user. He has eaten the Barrier Barrier Fruit, which enables him to protect himself from (any?) attacks if he crosses his fingers. He also unwittingly used his powers to save a large section of the Colosseum and the crowd who would have been obliterated by the blast. Not sure if he’d like that. But a win was a win, right?

Interestingly, Bartolomeo also has a reason for fighting. After he told the audience to go to hell, he declared he would win the Mera Mera Fruit and dedicate it to “That Person.”

As yet, I have absolutely no clue who it could be. 

But Bartolomeo’s reaction to finding out Strawhat Luffy was in the mix was intriguing. Was that fear I saw on his face? I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever seen Bartolomeo before but am drawing a complete blank. The weirdest thing was that there was no confrontation between Luffy and Bartolomeo. Looking forward to seeing what is up with this guy later on.

Luffy cheering on Bellamy was a good twist too. Actually, it’s not really a twist. When it comes to most people Luffy doesn’t care much about the past (Teach and Akainu are probably on the shit list for good). If he can forgive you, then all is forgotten. Of course, Bellamy felt embarrassed being cheered on by the old enemy who gave him a pasting. Doubly so, since he has failed again and Luffy has become so much stronger (able to use Conqueror’s haki - like Doflamingo, I guess).

Now the focus is on Block C. The competitors here seem a bit fodderish, with the exception of Don Chinjao. We have Sai, Boo, Brutal Bull (lmao), Hajrudin a Giant pirate mercenary from Elbaf, some fighting champ called Ideo, the Funk Brothers (lmao) and some guy called Jean the Bandit. Rebecca should clean up here. Then, when Block D comes around, it’ll be Luffy vs Cabbage.

Unpopular Opinion Time

I am beginning to like Caesar.

There must be something wrong with me.

Oda, I can’t believe you’ve done this. It is entirely your fault.

The action cut from Bartolomeo’s horrified Luffy realisation to the Caesar Handover Team out on the bridge.

My prediction that it would take them ages to cross the bridge was shot down in glorious flames. Thanks to Caesar, it didn’t even take them half an episode! Thank you, Oda.

It turned out the solid-looking iron bridge praised by Usopp was not especially robust. I think Caesar jinxed it, though. He was the one who said, “We’ll be fine if the fish don’t strike.”

Then a bubbling rumble in the depths announced itself. I lol’d heartily when a Vast Horned Abomination slammed itself into the barrier and stared at them with a grin stretched across its face and a look of murder in its mad, red eyes that said, “There will not be a second smash.” (I liked their design, by the way. The fighting fish look awesome.)

As Law wanted to reserve most of his strength for the return journey, he left Robin and Usopp to smack down the fighting fish (literally in Robin’s case). They were doing a fine job, but when Law asked Usopp to uncuff Caesar so he could fight...

Holy moly, Caesar is actually pretty strong. I keep forgetting, since he acts like such a highly-strung goofball diva a lot of the time, but damn... those Gastille beams fried those fish like it was cookout season!

Still, there were a lot of fish. And the bridge had collapsed in the middle. With nowhere to run, Law almost used Room, but the offending fish was speared, netted and dragged away along the other half of the bridge by freaked out, invisible people. (Interesting.)

Once Caesar was convinced to fly them all over the broken bridge (Caesar is basically Law’s bitch now his heart’s in a box. He is hilariously bitter about it,) they discovered the netted fish drag marks led straight to Green Bit.

It’s a strange place, is Green Bit. It is supposedly deserted and is therefore overgrown, wild, full of animal life. Ships lie wrecked all round the coast. A single, huge rose towers over everything else (hence the name Dressrosa?) Usopp should be fine here. He’s used to hostile wilderness terrain. Unless the invisible fairy people attack them. Then all bets are off.

KNEW IT.

I totally knew Sanji was being played.

Still, I’m glad the dumb charade has finally run its course. At least it only lasted for a couple of minutes each episode. I was getting tired of Sanji dropping all his Strawhat responsibilities for a random.

Got to admit, though, the brief skirmish with the thugs in the warehouse was cool. Sanji was so fast, the guy never knew what hit him. Sanji is always so stylish when he fights.

And look at what it’s got him into. Cuffed and likely hauled off to who-knows-what fate. Sanji’s reaction to Violet was interesting. It was almost like he recognised her face. (Either that or realisation hit that he was being played the entire time.) Whatever the case, this plot line has just become ten times more interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing where it leads.

If I can make another mad prediction? Violet is a member of CP0. Absolutely no basis for this other than she looks pretty dead behind the eyes, is kinda scary and her working with CP0 would tie them into the main plot nicely.

“Excuse me, do you have a moment to talk about our lord and saviour, Donquixote Doflamingo?”

[creative-type]

Chapter 218 is Amazing and Here’s Why (Continued)

So I had intended to finish my analysis of chapter 218 of One Piece in one post, but things were starting to run a little long and I split it in two. Here’s Part 1 for those who are interested. For the rest of you, let’s jump in where we left off

I know I say this a lot, but I really like that panel. For one thing, Usopp is using a desk lamp. Knowing him, he probably invented it himself just for the occasion. 

On a more serious note, the entire feel of this scene is completely different than the last time the Straw Hats as a group interacted with Robin. I wrote extensively on chapter 114 here, but what I want to draw attention to now is how the tables have (supposedly) turned. Remember how Robin held all the power and was seated above the Straw Hats while tossing them around like a bunch of punks?

Yeah, that’s no longer the case. Robin is surrounded by Usopp, Zoro, and Nami, the three Straw Hats who distrust her most. And while Usopp’s too much of a chicken to be intimidating, there’s no mistaking Zoro and Nami’s body language. They’re closed off, guarded, and Zoro at least has his weapons close at hand. 

At the same time, the way the speech bubbles are placed draw attention to Chopper and Luffy. You can barely make out a hand, and one might assume it’s Sanji’s, as he’s the only Straw Hat not visible. 

Which, of course, it’s not

This set up is the impetuous for three hilarious pages where Robin one by one wins over the Straw Hats (except Zoro, because he’s a killjoy). I recommend reading the entire sequence to get the full effect. It’s classic Oda humor from start to finish that makes me smile every time I read it

(especially this)

Now going back a bit, Robin tells Usopp that she’s an archaeologist from a long line of archaeologists and has been on the run for twenty years. Never once in this entire “interview” does she lie. In fact, I can’t recall Robin ever  lying in the entire series, except for when she didn’t give Crocodile Pluton’s location. 

There are a couple of different reasons for this. For one, it’s convenient for the narrative if the audience doesn’t have to second-guess everything the main characters say. On the whole the Straw Hats are pretty honest people - Usopp being the obvious exception. (Nami is also a bit of a wheeler and a dealer, but since Arlong Park is more prone to using her good looks and force of will to get her way over straight-up lying. That, or stealing what she wants outright.)

Secondly, Robin has had a bounty on her head for a long time. The Ohara incident was publicized around the world. There’s no reason to hide certain aspects of her backstory when it’s essentially public knowledge. 

Still, it’s interesting to note that the one Straw Hat who is known world-wide as a demon who has betrayed every group she’s joined tells the truth here. It’s obvious that in addition to winning the Straw Hats over, Robin is using her ability to direct the attention away from herself. One might even suggest that Robin tells Usopp she’s an assassin to rattle him enough to avoid more personal questions. She does a masterful job of using each of the Straw Hat’s weaknesses against them. 

It becomes more apparent later on that Robin is an incredibly private person. When Chopper and Sanji are looking for her on Water 7 they don’t know where to even to start, because there are no ancient ruins about, and that’s the only place they can think of where she would go. 

Now, this falls more into the realm of theories and head canons, but since Robin’s whole dream focuses around finding The Truth and since her whole life has been ruined by vicious slander and falsehoods, I would imagine that Robin hates lying more than the average person. She will misdirect, avoid questions, or tell bits and pieces of well-known information without giving context, but she won’t lie.

Moving on, Robin uses the same intelligence and playful nature that was established in chapter 114 to avoid any more of Usopp’s questions (consistent characterization, gotta love it) before having a private word with Zoro. I like how Robin doesn’t even try the same tricks she used with the rest, because I think she knows it won’t work. Instead she addresses him more or less as an equal.

Assuming this is a nuanced and accurate translation, when Robin says “This isn’t that bad” we can make the assumption that she thought it would be bad. It’s understandable that she would think this way - the Straw Hats were her enemies not too long ago - but it brings up the point that Robin willingly stowed away on a ship she knew she wouldn’t be welcome because she had no place else to go. When Zoro affirms that the Straw Hats are basically a bunch of dorks, Robin smiles.

Now Robin smiles an awful lot for someone who wants to die. It’s basically her default expression, and it’s nothing but a front to hide her real feelings. She even smiles when she’s just been stabbed and is about to be buried alive after living a miserable, meaningless life without accomplishing anything she’s ever set out to do. That’s one deeply-rooted defense mechanism.

This is the first time we see Robin really be happy, and her surprise at learning that the Straw Hat Pirates are fun-loving and cheerful even when traveling with a former enemy is the kick-start to Robin’s character arc.

Because make no mistake, the Robin who joined the Straw Hat Pirates was the same Robin who joined Crocodile. All the stuff at the beginning of the chapter helps flesh her out into a fully-realized character instead of a cardboard Vivi replacement, but at this moment Robin’s beliefs about the Straw Hat Pirates are challenged, and a character can’t change if they aren’t challenged. 

There’s a cute Zoro-pouty face to that ends this scene, and our focus swings back to the Straw Hats as a whole. An undetermined amount of time has passed because now they’re talking about the weather and Zoro is back to lifting weights

I don’t know if you can have foreshadowing that’s paid off in one panel, but Oda doesn’t waste a beat with the little clacks of wood against wood. For the second chapter in a row there’s an amazing twist at the end that no one could have seen coming. I already shown this spread in my last post, but it’s so epic it deserves a second viewing

I can’t remember if this is the only time Oda has used a real life quote in One Piece, but if not, it’s one of very few. And honestly, what could be more appropriate for a series like One Piece? The whole composition of this page is beautiful, and all the little details take my breath away. I really don’t get it when people say Oda’s art is ugly, because they’re wrong. 

Anyway, things get crazy for a couple of pages while the Straw Hats try not to capsize. Oda has this thing he does when he uses square or rectangular panels for his dialogue and uneven shapes like trapezoids for action scenes. I think that’s pretty standard procedure for comics (I’m by no means an expert) but here Oda helps sell the chaos by composing his pages so it feels like the panels are tilting with the ship

There’s also a nice gag with Usopp that doubles as a character moment. Instead of grabbing hold for dear life Usopp sits and closes his eyes to pray, completely ignoring the problem in hopes that it goes away. It’s funny here when he gets a skeleton to the face, but it highlights a huge flaw that finally comes to a head during the Water 7/Enies Lobby arcs.

After that we get this sequence of panels

Please forgive my horrendous edit, but I wanted to show how the speech bubble fits into curve of the wave in the second panel and leads the eye through the rest of the sequence even though the individual images don’t really relate to one another. Oda constructs this scene in such a way that we feel the chaos, but he does so in an orderly fashion. Each panel gets smaller and smaller - similar to the “fade to black” technique I talked about previously, and it leads directly the last splash panel on the page

The chaos ends just as abruptly as it began. The Straw Hats are mystified, and, honestly, Oda could have ended the chapter here. It’s such a high note, a good dose of Grand Line craziness after so much focus on the crew. But Oda isn’t satisfied with stopping here. He ends the chapter with what I believe to be one of the best story hooks in the series, tied only with Zou for sheer “WTF, the Straw Hats are going where?” moments in all of One Piece.

Skypea isn’t my favorite arc in the series. A lot of people say the same. But if you can pretend that you’d never read/seen what was coming next and take the end of 218 for what it is - and that’s pure hype - then you’ve got to admit that Oda has done his job.

So that concludes our look into chapter 218 “The Log Pose and Why It Is Round”. To summarize my thoughts on the chapter and why it’s amazing

Ships fall from the sky

Oda never forgets 

But he does lure us into thinking he does

Ships fall from the sky

Robin is established as a “protagonist” without necessarily being a “good guy”

Symbolism

Excellent page composition

Gags that reveal character

Consistent characterization with hints of further development to come

and last but not least

      10. Ships falling from the sky

(Thanks to everyone who has the patience to read this far. Next I’ll continue my Nico Robin study with chapter 253, specifically looking at Robin’s place in the Skypea arc and how Oda prefers stealth development over big character moments. See you next time!)