#i like to imagine that sanji is annoying on purpose

[mueslicrumbs]

[soapsilly]

Cardio - Roronoa Zoro Imagine

Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x Reader

Spoilers for One Piece (?), also kinda NSFW?

Summary: Ever since she joined the crew flirting with a certain green-haired swordsman has been (Y/N)'s favourite past time - even though she was told to not get her hopes up. Zoro doesn't do romance... or relationships... or situashionships. But what harm could a little harmless flirting do?

Requests are closed

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"So, (Y/N)-san, are you single?", the cook asked her during dinner. (Y/N) enjoyed that the crew ate dinner together every evening. It felt like family. Ever since she joined the Straw Hats the whole crew embraced her with open arms.

"Well, yes I am, but I'm hoping not for long", she answered the blonde but kept her eyes firmly trained on a certain green-haired swordsman that sat at the other end of the table, sending him a playful smile. It was no secret that the girl had cast an eye on the man know as the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro, who, at the moment, didn't even seem to notice her advances.

"Oooh (Y/N)-swaaaan I humbly volunteer myself as your boyfriend and partner!~", Sanji exclaimed.

The newest member couldn't hold back her giggles, "And I would be honoured, Sanji. Truly! But what would poor Robin and Nami do if you were taken?"

"Oh but of course, how could I forget? (Y/N)-san, you are so thoughtful~ ! But don't worry. I have enough love for all three of you, Ladies~"

(Y/N) giggled at his sing-song voice. She really liked the whole crew - all of them - but there was one person she took an instant liking to.

"Oi, Marimo! It's your turn to do the dishes! Don't you think you can weasel yourself out of it again", Sanji's sing-song was quickly replaced by a harsh holler.

"Oh, I'll help!", (Y/N) exclaimed. She was almost shocked at herself being so excited at the prospect of doing the dishes but spending time with Zoro didn't seem so bad.

"No, no, no. (Y/N)-san, -", Sanji tried to protest but the girl insisted. And so, shortly after, she found herself standing next to the mosshead rinsing the dishes.

"Soooo, what are you plans for the evening?", she asked the man standing next to her.

"Training", he hummed.

"You do that alot"

"Comes with the goal of being the strongest"

"I admire that", she smiles at him. It was quiet in the kitchen. The only things to be heard were the clinking of the plates and the occasional swooshing of the water in the sink, "Can you teach me some?"

The swordsman let out a laugh, "That would take years"

"I mean, just the basics", she shrugged.

"As I said, that would take years"

"You're being difficult on purpose", she grew frustrated, "I'm just trying to get to know you a little, y'know? Spend some time with you..."

The kitchen fell silent for a few moments before she came up with another idea.

"Would you like some company then?"

He looked at her for a few seconds but then decided to send her a nod anyways - maybe because she helped him with the dishes or maybe because he truly didn't care.

"Great! That's far better anyways, I get to sit back and enjoy a nice cold iced tea while watching a hot guy exercise", she nudged him in the side but didn't get a smile back, "You know you're no fun, right?"

Just a little later the two of them found themselves on the deck - Zoro practicing his form and (Y/N) off to the side shouting over some things here and there.

"Wait, so you trained with Mihawk? That Dracule Mihawk? One of the seven warlords of the sea?", she was shocked. She knew Zoro was good - in fact the whole crew was known to be extremely strong especially for how young they were compared to other crews - but this really put into perspective how strong he probably was.

"You talk a lot, you know?", his voice was gruff.

"Oh... Sorry", she didn't mean to annoy him, "I just wanted to get to know you a little..."

When the fighter noticed how quiet she had become he sighed, "Yes, he trained me for two years"

Her eyes lit up at his answer, "How is he like??"

"You're doing it again, woman!!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!!"

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It was early in the evening. The sun was set low on the sky, painting it in an aray of reds and oranges. Like usual Zoro was on deck training his skills like everyday. Most evenings (Y/N) would join him but tonight she wasn't there. The green-haired man didn't give it much thought though and just continued as usual until the girl entered the deck wrapped in a towel, her hair still damp.

"You shouldn't run around like this", he told her once she noticed her scantily dressed form, "Do you want the waiter to get a seizure?"

"Well, good thing we have a great doctor on the ship then", she answered, "But don't worry. This isn't for Sanji anyways"

Zoro raised his brows.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. It's not for you either", she paused for a second, squinting her eyes, "I mean... unless it's working?"

When he stayed quiet, she continued.

"I put my clothes out here. I like it when my clothes are warm and cozy after a shower"

When he looked over her shirt and shorts were indeed hanging over the railing.

"As much as I'd like to ge there someday, I don't think we're there yet sooo... Would you kindly turn around?"

Zoro scrambled to avert his eyes. Is she really getting dressed here on deck? He didn't get to think about it for long as he was smacked at the back of his head with her towel.

"Done", he heard her voice, "C'mon. Let's get some snacks"

She grabbed him by his sleeve and pulled him with her towards the kitchen.

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"So, I'll go shopping, Sanji-kun is going to accompany me to look for supplies. Franky decided to stay on the Sunny for maintenance, so all you others have free time to explore the island for yourselves. Get your allowances before you leave or I will add yours to mine", Nami anounced.

"Great, I'll go with Zoro", (Y/N) immediately looped her arm into the swordman's. Her exclamation was merely a formality at this point as the last times they explored different islands weren't any different. Looking for firewood, hunting, exploring the wildlife to make sure there wasn't any threat around them - (Y/N) teamed up with Zoro. The pirate hunter never objected, much to the girl's delight. Having some free time now, however, was a welcome change for the whole crew though.

Just as they were about to leave Nami stopped the other woman.

"Hey (Y/N), wait I need to talk to you for a sec"

"Sure, what's up, Nami?", (Y/N) beamed at the navigator.

"Oi, if the two of you want to have your chit chat either have it quick or have it later, I'm not waiting for you, (Y/N)!", Zoro shouted at his companion from where he was standing a few feet ahead already.

"Without my help, you wouldn't even find the bar! You have no choice but to wait for me!", she hollered back but then quickly turned to Nami, "But seriously, if he wanders off without me, he's probably lost forever, so we should be quick before I lose sight of him", she giggled.

"Yeah, about that... I wanted to talk to you about Zoro", Nami awkwardly scratched the back of her neck.

"Why what about him?", (Y/N) was still smiling brightly.

"I noticed you flirting with him... like a lot-"

"Oh... Is he-? Are you? Are the two of you- ?", (Y/N) could feel her cheeks heat up. That would explain why Zoro never really went for any of her flirts...

"Are we what? Oh... OH! Oh god no! Zoro and me? God forbid!", Nami looked shocked.

"Thank god", (Y/N) let out a relieved laugh, "but what is the problem then?"

"Well, Zoro doesn't really do romance or relationships. He never goes for it whenever girls try to flirt with him. He probably doesn't even notice it to be perfectly honest", Nami continued, "I don't want you to get your hopes up just to get disappointed in the end"

"Oh that", (Y/N) made a dismissive hand gesture, "I noticed already. It's fine though. I mean, as long as it doesn't bother him it doesn't bother me either. I like spending time with him", she shrugged but then hugged her friend, "thanks for looking out for me though"

Nami was a little confused but hugged her friend back. She didn't understand how she could be happily having a crush on someone with no sign of reciprocation but as long as she was happy Nami was happy.

"Oh shit. Where is that mosshead gone?? Sorry, Nami! I gotta run. Who know's where that idiot wandered off to?", (Y/N) laughed happily whilst already running in the direction she suspected the swordsman to have disappeared into.

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"You're buying", she grumbled.

"What, why?"

"Why? Are you serious? Because of you, we had to make a half-hour detour! My feet hurt... If you had just waited for me, we would've just taken a road straight into town but you had to wander into the forrest"

"I didn't force you to come with me, you know?"

She just huffed. It was quiet for a few moments then she heard a sigh.

"What do you drink?"

"You're the best!", she side-hugged the mosshead.

For the next hour, the two of them sat in the bar drinking and occasionally even joking around.

"Oof, I need some fresh air...", (Y/N) stumbled down from her bar stool.

"You're such a light-weight, it's a shame", Zoro let out a bark like laugh.

"And you're an alcoholic", she stuck out her tongue at him but then made her way out of the stuffy bar. Once outside she leaned against the wall to steady herself. She let a few deep breaths fill her lungs and thought about Nami's words from earlier once again. It really didn't matter if Zoro liked her back... did it? Nah...

She enjoyed spending time with him - be it as friends or as lovers. Eventhough, she much rather preferred one thing over the other. She knew Zoro never flirted back or even gave an indication that he even took notice of her attempts of gaining his affection but she knew that he at least enjoyed spending time with her, which was good enough for the girl. Maybe someday they could be something more than friends though...

It got chilly outside so she decided to enter the bar again. Once inside she saw Zoro sorrounded by a group of girls. (Y/N) furrowed her brows.

"You're the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro!", one of the girls gushed.

"So?", he huffed.

"We heard that you and your crew challenged the world goventment", another girl continued.

"I'm trying to have a drink here...", Zoro tried to tell them. Unfortunately, those poor girls took this as an invitation to join him.

"Ah yes! A drink would sound lovely! I'd like a -"

"That seat is taken", the mosshead put his hand over the empty bar stool, where (Y/N) had just sat a few minutes prior. (Y/N) felt like her heart skipped a beat. Maybe he did indeed like he at least a little bit.

"Oh really? I don't see anybody", the girl that just tried to take (Y/N)'s seat demanded to know why she couldn't sit next to the swordsman.

(Y/N) took this as her sign to take action.

"Thaaaaank you, love, for keeping my seat safe", she threw her arms around the man, "and who are your friends here?", she asked sweetly. (Y/N) didn't have a problem with the group of women sorrounding Zoro - not at all. She just decided to help him out here.

"I don't know them", he grumbled.

The group awkwardly shuffled away, mumbling something about being fans but needing to get going now.

(Y/N) turned to the pirate hunter with a wide grin on her face.

"For real though, thanks for saving my seat"

"I just want to have my drink in peace. They seemed annoying", he shrugged, "Why is your face all red?", he asked her.

Her face fell, "I'm drunk... idiot"

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It was right after a fight. Most of the Straw Hats were unharmed - a few scatches here and a few bruises there. Nothing Dr. Chopper couldn't fix.

"That's going to be a scar, I'm sure of it", Nami complained about a cut she had suffered on her thigh.

"Don't worry, Nami!", (Y/N) yelled over from where she was sitting on the floor, "I think scars are sexy!"

"Oh really? Then why do I remember you almost having a mental breakdown after needing stitches on your forearm?", the red-head wasn't having it.

"First of all, that was my pretty arm! The other one already had blemishes...", (Y/N) rolled her eyes, "and second of all, I obviously wasn't talking about myself but rather on other people, isn't that right Zoro?" The girl sent the mosshead a shameless wink clearly alluding to the numerous scars that decorated the fighter's body.

Before Zoro had the chance to react, Sanji chimed in, "How come the stupid marimo is now somehow getting praise for sucking at fighting and always getting hit? Some of us are good enough to come out of a fight unharmed, you know?"

"What? WHAT? It's not my fault I'm actually fighting actual opponents! The only thing you are fighting are your eybrows", Zoro immediately shot back. It didn't take long for the two of them to be at each other's throats. Usually it would be Nami to separate them but everybody was too tired, so they just let them have at it.

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(Y/N) had only heard of the massive feasts the Straw Hat pirates had after every fight - Luffy baited her with them to lure her into joining the crew, but this was far bigger then she had anticipated. There was more food than she could ever eat, enough alcohol for the whole island - and some more just for Zoro - and Brook played his most popular tunes.

(Y/N) was pleasantly buzzed already when she decided to join Zoro where he was sitting in the corner of the room. On her way there she grabber herself a cup and a big bottle of rum, once she plopped down next to him she poured herself a cup and then handed him the rest of the bottle, knowing he'd empty any cup she could've given him in an instant anyways. He didn't complain and gladly took it.

"Are you having fun?", she yelled over the music.

"As long as I have a drink I'm always having fun", he answered her and indeed, he did look like he loosened up for a change.

She sent him a smile and raised her glass at him before taking a deep swig. For a while the two of them just sat in comfortable silence. She knew flirting with him was kind of her thing by now but at the moment she just wanted to enjoy spending time with her friend. If things would always stay the way they were right now - things wouldn't be half bad.

"You did good today", Zoro was talking about the battle they had earlier.

"Am I hearing right? I must've bumped my head... A compliment! By the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro! I feel honored", she feigned shock.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. I meant you did good for your standards", he added with his lopsided grin that always made her heart skip a beat. To conceal an upcoming squeal she took another drink out of her cup. Okay, maybe staying friends wouldn't be as easy as she had hoped for - at least not with the adrenaline from the fight and the alcohol from the party still rushing through her veins.

"Why is your face all red?"

"You're not usually that observant, are you?", she grimaced.

"You'd be surprised", he smiled goofily before taking another big gulp of his drink.

Before (Y/N) had the chance to even think about what the swordsman was saying there, the song changed and so did the expression on the girl's face. A wide smile lit up her features and she excitedly turned to her friend next to her, who had no idea yet what she was about to propose to him.

"I know that song!", she sounded like a little child in a candy shop, "Do you dance?"

"Never", he barked out a laugh but made sure that she knew that he was aboslutely serious.

She pouted for a second but didn't want to waist any time before the song was over.

"Your loss", she shrugged and then skipped over to where Luffy, Usopp and Chopper where already dancing together arm in arm, joining them and singing at the top of her lungs.

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"Okay you know how it is! We need a team for supplies, a team for guard duty, a team for hunting... you know the drill", Nami announced. The Straw Hats had just arrived on a new island neither of them knew personally. Robin had read about it in one of her books but other than that none of them knew what they would find there. Robin already decided that she would explore the ruins that were supposed to be hidden deep in the woods - the island was supposed to be abandoned - but the others had to divide the remaining tasks among themselves.

(Y/N) was just about to announce that she was gonna team up with Zoro when the swordfighter himself interrupted her.

"(Y/N) and I take guard duty", he spoke up.

"No surprise there", Nami commented.

It was true that the two of them, (Y/N) and Zoro, usually teamed up - today would have been no exception. What was different though, was that it was usually always (Y/N) that would just decide for them to be a team - Zoro most of the time had no choice but to simply go along with it. Today - though - today was different and nobody but (Y/N) caught on. She was so busy with her thoughts that she didn't notice the other guys leave until it was suddenly just her and Zoro all alone on that big ship they called their home.

"So, guess it's just you and me, huh?"

"We don't have to talk, you know?", Zoro stated matter of factly, already preparing himself for a nice long nap.

"I know a few things we could do instead of talking, you know?", she repeated his statement, "In fact, it's gonna be a good few hours before any of them come back... a lot of things one could do in that time... instead of talking I mean", she pursed her lips as if she was really thinking about different possibilities instead of clearly alluding to one thing, before sending the fighter a grin.

"You keep flirting with me" - it was more of a statement than a question. There was no emotion in Zoro's voice that would have given the girl any indication as to how he felt about the fact. She felt her heart drop. And the others would only return in a couple of hours... this was gonna be uncomfortable.

"You - you noticed?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"Nami said something along those lines a while back..."

"Nami always thinks she knows everything" - there was still no reaction on his face.

"Does it bother you? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable", (Y/N) could feel her face heat up. She felt bad and embarrassed at the same time.

"Bother me?", he let out a dry laugh - finally a sign of emotion, but now (Y/N) still didn't know what to make of it - "There's worse things in life than a pretty girl flirting with you"

(Y/N) let out a sigh of relieve. She would've been mortified if she made her friend uncomfortable in any way. The compliment didn't even register until a few moments later.

"Oh is that so?", a devious smile lit up her face but as fast as it appeared it disappeared again when she realized something, "Wait but why did you never flirt back? I mean, not even with me... but also with all those girls that always try to get with you... like those girls in the bar a few months back"

"Do I look like the ero-cook or what?", he truly looked insulted but (Y/N) didn't settle for that cheap of an answer. When she stayed quiet he continued, "Girls like these are always annoying. Idolizing you and wanting you to share your drinks with them. I mean not that you're not also annoying but looks like I'm not getting rid of you anytime soon", he shrugged.

When the girl heard that she squinted her eyes, "You know, I'll choose to take that as a compliment". A wide smile lit up her face as she made her way over to the mosshead, "You liiiike meeee", she teased him as she almost was chest to chest with the taller man.

"I liked the you from two minutes ago... You know? When you were too shocked to even form a sentence"

"And I liked the you that just called me pretty", she tried to look serious as she looked up at him, their faces only a few inches apart, before her face split into a grin again as she got on her tippy toes and pecked the swordfighter on his lips.

When she tried to pull back Zoro however had already cupped her face with both of his hands, going in for another kiss. (Y/N) hands almost automatically found their way into the pirate hunter's green hair and for a while the two of them just stood there as if the world stood still until Zoro parted from her lips.

"You know, I think you were right", his voice was low, barely more than a growl, "we do have the ship to ourselves for at least another two or so hours..."

"I'm a fucking genius", she mumbled agains his lips breathing heavily already.

"Jump", he commanded.

She knew exactly what he wanted from her, so without parting from his lips she did as she was told. He caught her with ease as she wrapped her legs around his waist, carrying her into the sleeping quarters of the Sunny. Once inside he laid her onto her matress, only breaking the kiss to basically tear the clothes off of her body.

"Fuck", he took the time to admire the woman in front of him. The cold air from suddenly being exposed had led to goosebumps forming on her body.

"Zoro" - when he heard her impatient whining it was his time to tease her now, taking his time with undressing himself before finally crawling on top of her again. Every touch felt electric, his skin felt hot against hers as she arched her back into him. Anything to get closer to him.

"Is that what you've been thinking about all this time, huh?", his voice was hoarse as he leaned down nibbling on her earlobe. Instead of an answer he earned himself a breathless moan, which in turn seemed to have it's effect on him.

"Zoro, please...", she whined. The swordfighter enjoyed seeing her like this. For months now he had grown to like the overly confident young woman - eventhough her big mouth could become exhausting after a while - but now there was no more sassy banter anymore. Right now all that counted was how good her body felt against his and how perfectly his name sounded when she moaned it.

He leaned down for another kiss, which she eagerly returned. His hands found their way into her hair tuggin at the strands, making the girl underneath him gasp from the sudden sensation. He isn't know to be a patient man but he thought to himself that he was gonna take his sweet time with this - partly to tease her, partly because he wanted to savour every moment of it - but (Y/N) had other plans. As they parted she looked up at him, lips swollen from the make out session and she looked to damn perfect. And then he felt her hand wandering down his torso and between his legs. To hell with taking it slow - they could always squeeze in a round two, he thought, as he pinned the girl's hand over her head and started kissing down between the valley of her breasts.

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"Well, that was a failure", Nami complained to Sanji as they walked up the gangway to the Sunny. This island was puny. There way nothing interesting there. Not only were there indeed no people left, but there was also no sign of human life at all. No abandoned shops. No ghost town. Nothing. And even the trees in the forrest barely held enough fruit to top up their food supplies for the next part of the journey, so that they definitely would have to make a stop at yet another island before going on to their actual destiny.

"At least Robin-chwan had luck with her ruins", the cook babbled along, delighted at the thought of at least one of the women having had a good time. Most of the crew had found their way back to the Sunny again - all of them with similar news - except for Nico Robin, who indeed had found what she was looking for.

"Hey guys we're... back? Where are they?", the navigator was just about to announce their early arrival when she noticed that neither (Y/N) nor Zoro were anywhere to be found on the deck.

"They're not in the crow's nest either", Sanji confirmed, "What if something terrible happend to (Y/N)-san? I know it was a mistake leaving her here with that second class sword-clown"

"Calm down, Sanji", Chopper assured him, "Zoro probably wandered off again and (Y/N) now has to make sure he isn't lost or something. The island is abandoned. Nobody attacked them"

"That's just as bad, that stupid marimo", Sanji swore under his breath.

Nami was just about to answer the cook when a loud crash followed by a "fuck" interrupted her train of thought.

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Zoro and (Y/N) just laid there at the moment, the sheets lazily draped over their exposed bodies. Zoro was just about to propose a round two when they heard the voices of Nami and that ero-cook outside of the cabin coming continuously closer.

"What are they doing back already?", (Y/N) looked panicked, scrambling out of bed trying to gather her clothing but only so far finding her bra, "Where the fuck are my clothes?"

Zoro couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her running around like a headless chicken. He was in no rush to get dressed - he much rather enjoyed the show that unfolded before his eyes.

"Stop laughing, Zoro, and help me", she whined. He noticed that her whining wasn't as annoying anymore... endearing rather.

"And what do you want me to do?", he laughed but actually got out of bed and gathered his clothes along with some of hers.

"Here", he handed her her panties, which she gladly took and tried to hastily put on. In the rush, however, she wobbled on one leg and then stumbled backwards into a dresser.

"Fuck"

"Good job... I'm sure they won't be coming straight in here now", Zoro sarcastically commented. How did he already get his pants and shoes on???

Unfortunately though, Zoro was right. The once muffled voices of their crew mates were coming closer and closer. As much as he enjoyed seeing her struggle, time was running out now and the swordsman was not about to let (Y/N) be exposed like that, so he held out his green robe for her.

For a moment she hesitated.

"Are you sure?"

"It's wide. Easier to slip into than those tight clothes of yours", he shrugged - that was one reason, sure, another reason was, that he really wanted to see the waiters face when he saw (Y/N) in his clothes.

"That's nice", she smiled at him, "smells like you"

When he saw her in his clothes, there was a feeling in his chest he couldn't quite place. It was too big for her, the sleeves hanging over her hand and one side of the collar falling off of her shoulder exposing the naked skin underneath. He grabbed her jaw with one of his hands, making her cheeks puff out adorably and pressed a firm kiss on her lips.

"We should do this more often"

(Y/N) was just about to answer when the door to the sleeping rooms flew open. The girl tried to step away from Zoro as soon as she noticed that they weren't alone anymore but apparently not soon enough.

"Here you are! You know guard duty means guard duty and not nap time...", Nami's voice trailed off once she processed the image that presented itself infront of her.

Once she did, she began shrieking, "What do you two think you're doing???"

(Y/N) slipped out of the room squeezing past the red-head, closely followed by Zoro but to her horror outside most of the crew already stood and waited aswell.

"We - we were...", (Y/N) was usually quick-witted but right now her mind drew a blank.

"Doing cardio", Zoro chimed in from behind her, still shirtless and seemingly not bothered by the situation at all.

"Yep", (Y/N) went along with it, "Cardio"

Robin, who of course caught on to the situation, snickered behind her hand but refused to enlighten Dr. Chopper as to why that was funny, not wanting to tarnish the gullible reindeer's innocence.

Sanji however found nothing humorous in the situation - almost in shock he turned to (Y/N), "(Y/N)-san! I'm sorry I left you alone on this ship with this pervert! I promise I'll make it up to you"

"What did you just call me, ero-cook?"

"You heard me! If you just as much as put a single finger on (Y/N)-san I'll make you regret it"

"Sorry, to disappoint you, but I did a little more than that", Zoro laughed.

That was enough for the cook to lunge for the swordsman, "You are not good enough for her! You dirty bastard!"

Nami massaged the bridge of her nose. First, the island turned out to be a total failure and now this.

"Look what you've done. No more guard duty for the both of you", she deadpanned.

"Sick! I hate guard duty", (Y/N) grinned.

"I meant together", the navigator pressed out between her teeth.

"Oh! Yeah. I can't promise that", the other woman nodded thoughtfully and then turned to leave but then remembered one last thing.

"Oi, Nami!", the red-head looked up to where the voice was coming from. From behind her, (Y/N) could see Usopp furiously signaling for her to shut up - and (Y/N) knew she really should listen to him - but there was this little voice in the back of her head telling her to poke the bear, so she continued, "by the way... you were wrong!"

The last thing (Y/N) saw, before a furious Nami was chasing after her was a facepalming Usopp but she didn't have the time to justify her decision because the navigator was hot on her heels, with a raised hand. A punishment she usually only reserved for Luffy and sometimes Zoro whenever they were being stupid but (Y/N) guessed that the stress from today paired with the reminder of her error about the advice she gave (Y/N) about Zoro, was too much for the red-head.

"Sanjiiiiii, help! Nami's gone crazy and is trying to kill meeeee", she screamed at the top of her lungs as she was fully sprinting away in order to not get hit.

"I'm coming, (Y/N)-saaaaaan~", the cook sing-songed.

And as Nami was chasing after (Y/N) and Sanji was chasing after the two of them, she couldn't help but think about how she wouldn't wanna be anywhere else at the moment than on this ship with those idiots. Especially a certain green-haired swordsman that she had liked for a while and - as she now just found out - wasn't as clueless as she thought.

[make-it-one-piece]

I love love love domestic ZoSan

Like they comforting each other, saying things to encourage the other, so on and so forth

Imagine with me for a sec here

Sanji might've been hiding his nightmares or how he sometimes feels lonely at night. Specially when its his turn to watch for danger and has to be outside.

But we know Zoro trains at odd hours, so maybe he went with him, to be in company. And Zoro is so used to this he doesn't even question it when Sanji enters his gym at night without saying a word.

They might always be hating on each other, but they share a deep respect.

And also Zoro going for Sanji during the day.

Maybe the sun got to annoying, but insted of going to the room to sleep, he would go to the kitchen to take his nap.

He would be lying if he said he did it on purpose when Sanji was cooking his fave meals. Sweets might not be his favorite, but the smell is comforting and relaxing.

Sanji ofc has noticed this and sometimes brings a lil pillow with him when he is about to make something he is sure Zoro will come to the kitchen for.

This could be seen as platonic or romantic idc, but I love this dynamic.

[cozage]

If we're getting another chapter for made for two can we know the real reason why Zoro decided to end the relationship? I feel like there's something more than him getting annoyed at us like cheating or jealousy or whatever

Hello dear reader!

I'm so glad you're enjoying the fic and are super invested in it all! I actually did consider having Zoro do something awful like cheat on you or something, but (even for the sake of moving the story forward) I don't think he'd do that. Let me explain more below the cut (and show you why it's still just as tragic)

TL;DR: Zoro and the reader do love each other, but show it in very different ways, and they were doomed from the start because of it.

I think Zoro does care about and loves the reader in his own way, but Zoro doesn't show it in the same way other people on the crew do, especially you. Just because he cares about you doesn't mean he's going to alter his day to be with you more often, and in his mind, training (so he can protect you and the other people he cares about on the crew) is the most important thing. He's selfish, and he doesn't care about large romantic gestures. He doesn't remember important events like birthdays or anniversaries or even what day it is in general.

He's the kind of person who likes you around when he needs you around - which we see at the beginning of the story when he's playful in bed. But after his morning shower, his mindset shifts to training, and he doesn't need you around anymore because you'll just distract him. He's not the kind to spare feelings or tell you unnecessary words of affirmation. He gets to the point because that's what he understands, especially when he's upset.

And then we have the reader, who is someone that loves quality time, and wants to spend time together with not just Zoro but everyone on the ship. They love loudly and they want to be loved the same, which is something that Zoro has never had the capacity to understand or appreciate. This has resulted in months of arguments; most days looking like the one I had written.

The day written wasn't any different than most island days, expect for the date. The island you all landed on marked 6 months of you all dating, and Zoro never commented on it, he didn't want to be around you, he broke his promise and his compromise made with you, and he purposely avoided the one thing you guys do on a normal day (watching the sunset). He was angry with you and purposely avoided it all out of spite. He was itching for a screaming match because normally those types of fights end with you begging for forgiveness and you tiptoeing around him for the next few days because you don't want to lose him, and thats what he expected. But today was the day you gave up fighting, because of how hurt you were over the 6 months being forgotten by him. It was the straw that broke the camels back.

Sometimes people love each other deeply, but they simply aren't compatible. Such is the case with the reader and Zoro (which we can see from your POV and Zoro's argument with Sanji). That doesn't nullify the love that still remains between you two, in fact it makes it all the more painful. It's the reason I added a very small line into Dance for Two, actually.

"You wanted to run away, restart the day, or just go back to when you and Zoro first broke up and beg for his forgiveness."

It's a line that most people probably miss or doesn't mean anything to them. But the reader is used to this to portray just how messy their relationship is with Zoro. They're used to screaming and fighting, just to make up the next. This is the way their relationship has always been, so it must be normal.

You know how you're in a dimly lit room and you can almost see everything then a bright light blinds you? But when your eyes adjust, you realize you've been missing out on so many details and colors while you were sitting in the dark. It's a whole new world now, something you didn't know was possible.

I imagine Sanji is that light for the reader, and now that you've learned that there are people who will sacrifice for you rather than give you an occasional compromise, it's impossible to go back to the way it was before.

I must admit, I know this is not as enthralling as catching him cheating or having some other big thing happen that is earth-shattering for the reader. I don't think Zoro is a bad person, after all. He's just bad for you.

[baahsu]

Uh- well, I'm a huge fan of shipps like Zosan, Lusan, Acesan and more, and I finally have the courage to say some of my AU's with these shipps and the Vismoke's siblings! (Mostly are Trans Fem! Sanji or just Fem! Sanji because idk)

Ok, the first one is a fantasy AU with a Fem! Sanji and Lusan. Where most of the world is habited by non-humans creatures, like demons, sirens and etc. Germa is only of the little amount of kingdoms who is totally human, and is isolated from the world because of the others creatures. Judge still makes the experiments on his childrens, with the purpose of turn them into better humans to take the world in the future.

And Sanji — the failure, the princesse who never had bern born — is secretly talking with these non-humans creatures, mostly specific, Monkey D. Luffy, the future King of Pirates, and his friends and brothers. With them, she tells the horrible things her fathers and brothers do, and this let the little demons sad about everything she pass in her home. So almost every day, they go see her and make sure that she feels loved — and during this, Luffy maybe have created a crush on the human grils.

Sanji still make contact with them every chance she have. And when she's 10 years old, she run away with the help from her demon friends. After that, she's mostly "adopted" by the old demon Zeff and still have a strong friendship with her dear friends.

11 years later, when Judge thinks it's the right hout to attack the Pirate Kingdom — or, the strongest kingdom of the world — and send his sons. But they fail, and all the five are captured by the oldests princes Sabo and Ace (who both neglected the title of King). The plan of the demons was kill them, but with the king and the queen are away because of a business conference so they have to wait.

During the time before the rulers come, the Vinsmoke sibling end up intrigued about the real family of the Pirate Kingdom. Who's the youngest son? And why he's the king? Who's the queen? The five of them appear to have so much questions it gets annoying.

In the end, they discover that the youngest prince is a boy named Monkey D. Luffy and he's the king because the two others don't want the title.

But, much to their dismay, none of them said who's the queen. And every time they ask, the answer is always the same "You'll know soon, and this will broke the surprise". The siblings end up thinking about how the queen might have be.

The day the king and the queen come back, the five were anxious about the fact they'll know who's the queen. When they see Luffy, they're calm bit when they discover that Sanji is the QUEEN?! Oh boy-

Anyway, how you'll think about this? And how you think the Vismoke sibling will react?

And you can call me Purple Poppy! It's a pleasure talk with you and I hope I haven't annoy you.

Hello purple poppy!!!! Honestly the idea of human sanji being surrounded by demons that want nothing more than to protect and care for them is just so good!!!!! 🤌🤌🤌

The way 124ji and reiju would react I think would depend on how the see other creatures? Do they usually fear them or are disgusted by them or are intrigued by them but have to pretend they aren't because of judge?

I think reiju would be relieved sanji found a good place for him regardless, but the other three I'm not too sure. I can imagine yonji being curious af about these demons and wanting to test his strength against them. Niji would probably wonder why they took in a failure like sanji (asl would try to beat him up for speaking about sanji like that and sanji would have to stop them 🤭), and ichiji I really have no idea, I feel like he could either follow judge's orders to capture sanji or figure he might as well let the failure go for good (and face judge's wrath later because of this decision)

[pure-kirarin]

Things that annoy One piece dudes in a relationship

A/N: Hello hello, coming back with some Headcanons because why not, I have some time to spare and these are hilarious. Just for fun and to take with a grain of salt. Please don't annoy your S/O in any of these ways , it could make you break up

Let's go!

Sabo

-Not closing bottles after drinking

-Asking him who he is talking to on the phone multiple times

-Nagging about him going out at night or on a mission. Nagging about things in general

-Chewing gum loudly when he’s trying to work or focus

-Messaging him saying that you need to tell him an important thing then pretending that you have forgotten

-Bringing up old fights (bonus if you have receipts and screenshots)

-”When will we get married? (have a child?)"

-Being too close to other guys when you’re together.

-Sending him multiple messages and nagging when he is too busy to answer

Ace

-Waxing his legs when he’s asleep.

-Teasing him a lot then saying that you’re on your period or that you’re not in the mood anymore.

-Blaming him for things he didn’t do

-Turning the TV or console off while he’s in the middle of a game

-Organizing his “organized mess”. He knows where to find his stuff.

-Putting too much perfume on and kissing him on purpose in order to suffocate him.

-Throwing out his old things. Who knows when he will need that broken ten years old can opener?

Law

-Pretty much everything? It’s so easy to annoy him or to get on his nerves

-Saying “I’m okay” when you’re not then getting mad at him for not guessing the reason why you’re not.

-Being indecisive about simple things, like taking too long to choose the movie you’d like to watch.

-Blaming him for not calling you stupid cutesy names like “babycakes” and “cutie pie”

-Imagine Trafalgar Law calling his S/O “cutie pie”...lmao

-Babytalking, like if you talk to him in a baby voice to be all cutesy. He.fucking.hates.that.

-Trying to make him jealous on purpose. Spoiler alert: it won’t work. Bonus if you get mad at him for not getting jealous.

-Taking his bepo

-”Does this dress make me look fat?”

Luffy

-Saying you don’t want to eat ice cream then asking to take a bite from his food. Or best, sharing the meal with him

-Getting mad at him for not being punctual and things like that

-Getting overly jealous of other girls (for absolutely no reason) or being too possessive

-Making plans months ahead

-Trying to change his diet, like making him vegetarian or gluten free or whatever

-Eating the last piece of cake

Zoro

-Asking him “Who do you love more, me or sake?”

-Getting mad at him for not caring about your friend’s gossip

-Alternatively, making him listen to your friends gossip

-Taking too long to get ready to go out

-Asking him how he likes your outfit and getting mad at him for saying his honest unfiltered opinion.

-Getting mad at him for not having an opinion on your outfits.

Doflamingo

-Talking about other men in his presence or how other guys flirted with you.

-Mentioning your ex or previous relationships.

-Texting other people or being on your phone while you’re together

-Commenting on his receding hairline in public

Sanji

-He’d never get annoyed by you. Even if he’s annoyed or irritated he won’t forgive himself for it.

[tooweirdforyou]

Intense Training Session With Zoro - F! S/O

A/N : if you think I wasn’t going to make a steamy nsfw post for Zoro, especially based on this? Then you’re wrong. lol

Warning : SMALL NSFW AHEAD!

Summary : Asking Zoro for some advice and tips on training, leads to a different kind of lesson. Not good with summaries—

-

“Hey, Zoro?”

Emerging from below and helping yourself up from the ladder that lead up to the crows nest, you smile at Zoro.

The swordsman stops his lifts for a brief second to glance at you, nodding his head to acknowledge your presence before continuing his lifts. “Oh, [Name]. What’s up?”

“Nothing really, I just have a favor to ask.” You say cautiously, smiling more at him as you walk towards him and then took a seat on the couch by the window.

Zoro grunts a bit as he sets down the barbell and picks up his towel to wipe his sweat a bit, glancing to you from the corner of his eye.

“What is it?” He asks suspiciously, his eyes narrowing at you and your awkward, shifting figure.

“Uh, nothing much. Just, do you think you could...” You slowly stood up, walking around side to side, back and forth slowly.

Zoro raises a brow at you before you finally blurted it out.

“Can you please train me? Let me join your training sessions. Give me some lessons to get stronger!” You stop in your tracks and bowed a complete 90° to him.

He was pretty taken back, not expecting you to be so forward as he clears his throat, his cheeks a bit pink as he furrows his brows.

“W-Why me?” His tone sounded a bit harsh, but it wasn’t his intention.

You stand straight and look at him confusedly. “Because you’re the strongest one in the crew... you’re really strong, and I figured if I want to get stronger, you’re the best person to ask. But if you don’t want to, it’s fine! I can ask Sanji or-“

“It’s fine.”

You widen your eyes at Zoro, who was turned away and still holding the towel up to his face. “We’re starting in 20 minutes. Get changed and come up here by then. I’ll teach you some lessons.”

You smile brightly and grin at Zoro. “Of course. Thanks, Zoro!” With that, you’d head down from the crows nest, careful not to fall from the ladder as you made it to the main deck and went to change.

Zoro continued to hide his pink cheeks behind his towel as he exhales softly, wiping the rest of his sweat away.

He felt a bit surprised that you thought of him to train you, and that he was the strongest one in the crew. ( other than Luffy. )

He felt a bit embarrassed hearing that from his crush and couldn’t help the warm cheeks of his.

He was contemplating answering you, but mostly just thinking about how’d he feel, but after hearing you mention the stupid love-cook, it made him annoyed and he spoke without thinking.

He wasn’t sure if he was going to regret this or not, but regardless, you asked him to help you train so that’s what he was going to do.

-

Why did he agree to help you?

Currently doing some stretches as you were told, he couldn’t stop his lingering eyes from wandering all over your body, your curves being accentuated by your spandex shorts and tight tanktop.

It didn’t help you were in the middle of toe taps, bending over each time and showing off your ass directly in front of him.

Zoro shifts a bit uncomfortably, clearing his throat as he averts his eyes. “Alright, that’s enough stretching. Let’s get started.”

Standing up straight, you turn to see Zoro heading over to the dumbbells and you nod, following after him.

“Let’s start off with something easy. Grab a dumbbell and do a 100 squats with 100 lifts.”

You did a double take, widening your eyes. “T-that’s easy?” You ask, clear disbelief in your expression.

Zoro raises a brow and nods. “Of course. If we’d been doing this for a while, I’d make you do five hundred or more.” He says, as if it was obvious enough.

Giving a small hum, almost a whimper escaping your lips, you sweatdrop a bit.

‘Perhaps I asked the wrong person to train me..’

Seeing his skeptic look, you sigh and grabbed the lightest dumbbell you could find, before going over to the center of the room and positioned yourself.

Then, gripping the dumbbell tightly in your hand and into a lifting motion, you spread yours legs and began to squat.

Zoro made his way over and watches as you begin to squat and lift in unison, walking around you in a circle. His eyes glossed over your figure to make sure you wouldn’t hurt yourself with any bad form you accidentally had, but he was quick to be distracted by the sight of your ass.

Imagination was quick to take over his mind, letting himself see that you were bouncing yourself up and down on an imaginary dildo, with the heavy pants from you being heard as you picked up the pace to get it done quicker.

Biting his lip, Zoro slowly walks around to look at you from the front and stare at your big breasts bouncing with each quick squat you made.

His mind let himself imagine his hands squeezing them, one for each hand and let his ears be filled with the sound of your sweet moans as he pinches your buds.

Then he started to imagine you were bouncing on his semi-hard cock, that he hadn’t realized was forming.

With each big bounce you made on his cock, he would harden and let his arms and hands roam your ass and then up your curves.

“Zoro~”

He’d shut his eyes tightly, small grunts escaping his lips and right into your ear as he huskily spoke into it.

“You wanted this to happen, didn’t you? You purposely asked me to train you because you knew it’d lead to this, so you even wore such clothes in front of me..”

“Zoro..” was all that could be heard from you as he pulls you close and thrusts up into you, breathy loud moans filling the room.

“Zoro!”

The way your walls tightened and clenched around him would make him groan out, even more so at your nails clawing at his back and pressing his face into your breasts as you rode him hard.

Zoro would growl a bit and just as he began to thrust roughly, he’d—

“ZORO!”

Widening his eyes, Zoro snaps to reality and sees you standing in front of him with furrowed brows. A bit of sweat could be seen on your forehead as you wiped it away and stare at the green-haired swordsman.

“You okay? I’ve been calling you for a while, you just stood there with your eyes shut.”

Zoro blinks a bit as he takes a look at your body before his own. Slowly, a blush rose to his cheeks as he turns away from you, scoffing.

“I’m fine, did you already finish the 100 squats and lifts?” He says, turned away from you and you nod, a bit confusingly. “Yeah, I did.”

“Good.. do 100 more.”

Pouting, you huff and went towards him, moving so you stood in front of him and disregarded his red face.

“Come on, training isn’t just squats and lifts— I-I’m sure anyways. Let me do something else!”

Zoro looks down at you, and felt his cheeks warm further when he caught a glimpse of your cleavage. He scratches the back of his head before exhaling heavily.

“Fine, we’ll spar a bit. Grab a staff.” Pointing to the stacked bo staffs on the shelf against the wall, Zoro went to his own that was on the ground and picked it up.

Smiling in satisfaction, you nod and went over to the stands and picked a light staff up. Though it was wood, it was smooth and had rounded ends. Gripping it allowed you to not have to worry about splinters, so that was nice.

Walking over to the mat where Zoro stood, you showed him the staff and he nods.

“Good, now try and hit me.”

Humming a bit, you didn’t waste any time to start swinging the staff towards him, charging towards him with each swing but Zoro merely blocked and dodged with ease.

Each lunging towards him let your breasts bounce and Zoro was slowly becoming distracted again. His erection was still there from earlier, and if you stopped and looked closely, you could see the bulge in his grey sweatpants.

Biting his lip and watching the way your legs move since you were quick on his feet, made him so distracted that you managed to get a hit on him in his gut and the action startled him enough to knock him down.

“Ugh-“

You quickly used this to your advantage and jumped over to hover on top of him and held the bo staff horizontally over his neck, ready to press down but instead just held it above him.

Slowly, a grin took over your lips as the realization settled in. “Hey, I did it!”

Overwhelmed with your victory, you hadn’t noticed you were straddling his hips and more specially, ass pressed against Zoro’s crotch below you.

It wasn’t you sat up straight, panting a bit, did you realize what you were sitting on and what was poking you.

Glancing down at Zoro, you see his eyes shut tightly as he quietly grunts and panted a bit himself. His face was flushed.

Tilting your head innocently, you swayed your hips up and down and the softest moan was heard.

“O-Oi, what are you doing?-“

“Did you even try to hide it?”

Chuckling at Zoro, you began to grind onto him a bit, feeling his bulge grow beneath you. “It was visible as soon as you started staring at me while I was squatting.”

Zoro widens his eyes as his blush deepens, him scoffing a bit. “Shut up, I can’t believe you decided to wear this instead of something else.”

You simply roll your eyes. “Would you have become aroused if I wore a hoodie and some sweats like you?” You cheekily question, grinding against his crotch harder.

As you said this, you hum and began to reach for his hand and bring it up to your breasts, letting him grasp it.

“Come on, tell me what’s distracting you from your teaching. Is it my outfit? Because any other woman could wear it... or is it just me in general?”

Zoro bit his lower lip as his eyes began to fill with lust, watching you smirk at him and tease him.

He growls lowly as he forces himself up and turns so you were now on the ground and he hovered above you, hands pressed on the floor on either sides of your head.

“You think you can tease and play around with me like that?” He scoffs, his eyes shining a dangerous glint in them.

Quickly, he plasters a devilish grin and leans down to your ear, hands making their way to the hem of your spandex shorts, gripping the waistband between his fingers.

“Looks like you need to be taught a different kind of lesson.”

-

A/N : this has been in my drafts for so long ( 2 months ) and it’s so old and like, this is just a little something and I know it’s not great but it’s something ;-;

This is completely different from how I wanted it when I first started writing this and because I can’t remember, I changed it that’s why it’s a little messed up, weird, rushed and doesnt match the title nor summary at all.

[hanamiyaaaa]

ONE PIECE HCs: Jealousy Headcanons

This has been done over and over and over and oveeeer again, but here *pushes hcs towards everyone* please have them!! Also, I missed writing stuff huhu. I tried my best so I hope you like them!! 

Monkey D. Luffy

Pre-TS Luffy would be jealous whenever he noticed that you're paying more attention to something/somebody else. He'd jump right into your bubble and do stupid stuff so that he could be the most interesting person in your life again. Like a little kid, his jealousy is harmless. He'd be upset for a while, but once you’ve you given him what he wanted, he'd be smiling again and would leave you in peace. Lucky for you, Pre-TS Luffy is pure and easily distracted so you probably could handle him quite easily. This is mostly cute, but probably could get real annoying especially because you’re not allowed to pull the exact same shit on him. He’d be annoyed lol. Pre-TS Luffy is a child, definitely not yet mentally and emotionally ready for a relationship.

Post-TS Luffy is a whole level different. Even though he's still our bhabie, he matured and has calmed down. He won't be jealous over something like you talking to somebody else, or you reading a book (than watching him run around) anymore. He probably wouldn't be even feel threatened when you get close to other guys. He just have so much trust on you that you cheating on him wouldn’t cross his mind. But, of course, he has his limits. You're his. You swore, you promised to be only his so when other people start getting a little bit too touchy and you’re allowing it, he would snatch you away and he’d make sure that the fact that you're his s/o is known. There would be arguments, but he wouldn't be upset for that long. If you tried to make him jealous, you can just apologize and he'd accept it but wouldn't get why you'd want him to get jealous. 

Roronoa Zoro

Despite being known to be straightforward, Jealous!Zoro is probably going to be the one to give you the cold shoulder/silent treatment mostly because he tends to bottle up stupid feelings like these. He'd try to be chill about it, but seeing you way too friendly with swirly brows (or someone he doesn’t like) will get him worked up but since he doesn't to appear like a pathetic loser in front his you and the others, he'd be like 'meh i'm cool yo'. BUT NO, HE'S NOT. He wouldn't be able to completely hide the feelings of scorn and envy. No matter how hard he tries to hide it, his irritation will bleed through his exterior in the form of spicy words, sarcasm and silence that would initiate arguments. Since he's already frustrated, things would heat up right away and the whole thing would just explode into a full blown fight whether it's in a form of verbal exchange or uncomfortable silence.

Making up is casual? It's weird because no one needs to apologize. Zoro would just walk up to you and start a conversation, and he'd know that you guys are okay if you properly replied to him, and vice versa. It's usually Zoro who'd break the ice first, regardless of the who was in the wrong, but just know that it wouldn't be anything like "I'm sorry about earlier," but be more like "Do we have still have sake around?". It's not like he'd never apologize verbally, though. He just saves it for things that are actually meant apologizing for (petty, childish fights don't qualify).

Yellow ranger Vinsmoke Sanji

Okay. So, we can all agree that this one would be the most jealous out of these four, yes? Sanji's basically like Pre-TS Luffy but a tad more reasonable. He wouldn't get mad if you indulge in your hobby more than you spend time with him, but he would get upset if you talked too much or acted too friendly with other men. Unlike the marimo, he'd be open about his feelings. He'd rush to your side right away, take you away and let the other guy know that you're taken by him. He'd be very clingy to you and would be showy as well. Definitely, he's not embarrassed to hold you in public and he's also not afraid to do more than shoot daggers at people who looks at you funny (sometimes it's just Sanji's imagination really). Most of the time, he'd be angry at those people but when it comes to you, he'd just be sad and disappointed at most, which only ever happens if he figured out you made him jealous on purpose ...or not, if you're the 'polite' type who flirts back unknowingly or something like that idk. He'd never treat you the way he treats those garbage trying to get your attention like ever.

If a fight broke out between the two of you, Sanji would always be the one to apologize first, usually accompanied with gifts like flowers and jewelry. He'd make up to you even though he's not at fault. You're the most important person in his life and he'd be willing to swallow his every ounce of pride for you. Sanji definitely is that one friend of ours who we give advise about his toxic love life but doesn't ever listen or that one friend who gets back with his ex after a pathetic apology lol. He's just like that so please take care of this baby.

Usopp

Usopp probably thinks he's no good for you. I feel like he's filled with insecurities which he hides beneath his jolly exterior; these insecurities blind him from seeing his worth causing him to feel undeserving of you. Usopp is strong; he's got his own game and he plays it real good, unfortunately butterflies don't see their own wings. Like any other man, he'd get jealous if he sees you being questionably chummy with some other guy who he views as a much better fit for you. He'd actually be really sensitive about it, and the one who's prone to overthink. He won't get upset, but he'd get really sad. He'd laugh it off, shrug it off but it's not like it's your fault if you find someone else interesting right? Despite being known as a liar, I don't think he'd be able to hide his feelings from you completely, but he wouldn't voice them out either. However, you'd easily see through him. You'd have to be the one to bring this up because Usopp would never do it. I mean he probably would try but he'd be like "You know this guy you were talking to... uhh well, umm nevermind haha," and yeet himself out of that awkward situation. But even when you confront him, he'd initially play it cool but you know that it's not okay- he's not okay.

He wouldn't argue with you about this matter even if you try to lure him into one. He'd probably be irritated if you continued to push this topic, but sometimes insisting to talk about it might be the best choice even if it hurt the both of you. After all, Usopp can't always run away from his feelings and insecurities. He'd want to apologize first, but there would be moments where you both do it at the same time and it's just the cutest and probably the calmest way to end an argument right? He'd need reassurance from time to time so make sure to be patient with him okay? He'd be more confident in time just trust him and don’t stop loving him!!

[rueririn]

Rambling about my mishmash Soulmate AU

This was made because soulmate AUs where a character meets their soulmate and within a conversation they are each other’s babes and darlings? and then immediately they kiss? those annoy the heck out of me. you just met TWO MINUTES AGO. Also what if I don’t want to pursue a relationship at all, people are romance-repulsed Aros, geez.

All soulmates are platonic in the ‘they’re meant to guide you and support you for your life’ way. Romantic partners come and go, but soulmates are always there for you. Of course, broken relationships (as in human relationships) still apply for angst purposes. 

Which means any age, gender, and etc can be soulmates. Yes, even family members. Usually people have 2-3, maybe rare ones have up to 5 or 7. If you’re a main character, a dozen is possible, maybe.

Yes, people that hate each other / rivals / enemies can be soulmates. No, this does not mean their relationship has to improve-- they just understand each other uniquely, and can use it against each other. 

They’re connected differently for each bond-- some people share emotions. Some people share pain. Some people are telepathically connected. Some people just know where the other person is at all times, like a homing instinct. Every bond is different within a soulmate circle. 

Not every soulmate circle is fully joined everywhere. One person may have two soulmates, but those two soulmates might not be each other’s soulmates. 

Once you turn 18 (or whatever age of consent) you can start releasing bonds. Some choose one (or some) of their soulmates to settle down with, others release all of them to go independent of it. This is usually done with proper announcement and proper relationship breakoffs, usually involving conversations and well wishes. 

And that’s it. :/ I’ve only used this AU in my KnB fanfic’s extra chapter for now. Honestly, I really think that concepts like soulmates and hanahaki are the best when they’re not about romance. 

Hanahaki, but what the character loves is a toxic family he would give everything for. They never come to accept him, but he gets a Found Family instead and it’s all alright. 

Imagine a soulmate AU, but it’s Sanji, soul-bonded to his family. But they’re machines. They don’t have soul bonds, and certainly don’t care about Sanji. But Sanji’s only remaining one, the only one that actually matters? Zeff. 

[lunnamars]

strange connection - chap 2

Chap 2! First part can be read [here].

Can also be read in AO3 e FFNET.

Chapter 2 - waves

When Tashigi called again, the field mission had been complicated as usual, but with a different result. She had won, she had been able to protect civilians successfully and the pride she felt of herself filled her chest to the point of overflowing. On those days, she even goes out to celebrate with the crew.

But she was stupidly surprised and furious that a certain green-haired man was the first thing that came to her mind.

Surprised because it was Roronoa Zoro. Furious because it was Roronoa Zoro.

But... I wanted to tell him that I won.

So, instead of going out to celebrate the victory, she decided to go back to the base, take a relaxing bath and… who knows, maybe not be annoyed by the infamous pirate.

However, when they finally answered on the other end of the line, she didn't expect Nico Robin's voice.

"Hello, Captain Tashigi. What can I do for you?", the pirate's calm voice still made her feel shivers down her spine since the confrontation at Alabasta.

"N-Nico R-robin! I-I-I just called-"

"To talk to our swordsman?"

The captain suddenly shut up.

Great. Give your feelings in a silver platter to the clever Nico Robin, Tashigi.

"I'll take the silence as a yes. He's not here at the moment. The den den mushi is always at the little table next to his bed, so when he comes back from the shower, he can call you back. Want to leave a message?"

Tashigi heard no malice in the archaeologist's voice and she seemed genuinely solicitous. But Tashigi was surprised to feel genuinely uncomfortable. "Y-Y-You-are in his b-bed?"

"If you stutter more than that, I won't be able to understand you, Captain. But yes, I am. Do you have any problem?"

"N-n-no!!", Tashigi got a little more worked up than she should have.

I don't know.

"Fufufu. Anyway, I'll have to go now, Captain-san, but I'll let him know. Have a good night!"

Maybe I won't have it anymore.

"R-Right! G-Good n-night!"

Tashigi hung up, but continued to stare at the den den mushi as if he could miraculously explain what she was feeling. Because the captain herself had no idea.

Nico Robin in the boys' room.

Nico Robin near the den den mushi that was in the hands of Roronoa.

In Roronoa's bed.

What… can that possibly mean?

Tashigi was convinced that Zoro wouldn't return the call, because, during these past few months, the girl had been the one who initiated any interaction since every week she contacted the crew in order to take the den den mushi back. But deep down… the snail was no longer the main reason.

In the first few weeks, she could easily recite, without stuttering or thinking twice, the reasons why she would call week after week. But over time, Roronoa's baritone voice became a sweet lullaby every time they spoke and Tashigi always slept very well on those nights, but until now she still couldn't understand why.

The only thing that Tashigi was able to realize was the fact that, in the vast majority of situations, she is able to remain calm in the same way that peaceful waves crash in the ocean on a sunny day. But when his voice answers on the other side, for some reason, the waves seem to become uncontrollable and unpredictable.

The captain had also talked to most of the Sunny's crew - Nami, Sanji, the cutest reindeer of all the seas, even Luffy (she remembers that it was one of the funniest conversations she had in her life since the boy didn't have a serious bone in his body) and every time, the waves remained calm.

Perhaps the water has been static because all these times, these people on the other end were never in his bed.

This is none of your concern, Tashigi. Just forget it.

But she couldn't because the girl kept going through all the conversations she had with Zoro through den den mushi until then. There weren't many of them to the point that Tashigi could say she knew him very well as if they were longtime friends, but in general, they were… good. Occasionally, Zoro would offer pieces of his thoughts and Tashigi always imagined that these conversations were like small wrapped papers spread on a table. Depending on the subject or the mood, he would open a random one and share it with her.

However, it wasn't always like that. Initially, the two would just fight with each other through the snail...

"How the hell do you have such a bad sense of direction, Roronoa? You are so clueless!!"

"Haaaa? And you're a pain in the ass, woman!!",

Or calling each other stupid names ...

"You sword nerd!!"

"Marimo."

"HAAA? REPEAT THAT, FOUR-EYES!!"

...or competing for the most foolish things.

"I am sure that if I throw you in a maze, you will die there because you will never be able to find your way out!!"

"Whaat?? You insufferable, are you challenging me??"

"My God, you are so thick-headed."

Until one day, when she passed by Zoro's wanted poster, she had a huge urge to know where he was and what he could be doing. It was so incredibly sudden that Tashigi thought she had been hit by a bolt of lightning because of the shock that ran from her hair to the tip of her toes.

She stopped dead on her tracks. Her heart sped up without warning.

Maybe he was… kicking Sanji? Calling Nami a witch? Giving attention to Chopper? Training? Drinking sake? Sleeping?

Thinking about her?

No. Impossible. He has said over and over that he hates me.

Even though she knew that, she called him at night on the pretext of trying, once again, to persuade them to return the snail. Zoro just laughed smugly and said no, Tashigi snorted, but after a certain silence, the swordsman asked how her hunts for the Meito swords were going. She was astonished because, judging by the complicated relationship they have, the captain thought the swordsman would have already erased any relevant information about her from his mind. Especially a lost memory at a sword store in Loguetown.

Although he realized that my rank has changed.

But after the astonishment passed, she happily told about some successful operations.

That day, they talked until midnight. That day, she realized that something about her had changed.

Since then, Tashigi seemed to be always living inside her own mind, always replaying that night. The conversation, his voice calm and low, an almost silent laugh that didn't seem pretentious at all. She was constantly thinking about how, at least for that short time, their relationship seemed to be more friendly.

And how she had liked that.

プルルル purururu

She almost threw the den den mushi on the floor when it ringed.

"H-Hello?"

"Oe, madam cap'n. Robin said you called…"

She thought she was either imagining things or he was talking to someone close because she heard a whisper that sounded a lot like "after two months...".

Two months. Sixty-one days and twenty-two hours (it was coming to sixty-two days now). She knew it was two months because she counted every day and fought against herself to not call. It's impossible that Roronoa Zoro would have bothered to count too.

Impossible. He must be talking to someone else.

"A-Ah y-y-yes. Y-Yeah."

"Why the hell are you stuttering so much?"

"F-For n-nothing!!"

"Something happened because you're really stuttering."

"I already said it's nothing, damn it!!"

"Great, you stopped. So what do you want?"

She wasn't going to lie that she was surprised that he pissed her off just so she would stop stuttering. Annoying each other is something that came naturally due to the eccentricity of their relationship, but knowing that doing that could also be used for another purpose like getting her to stop stuttering?

And why the hell did she stutter so much?

Tashigi was stunned for a few seconds and thought about it in silence.

"Four eyes?"

His voice seemed to awaken her from any spiral of thoughts she was having and she remembered why she called. And, just for now, she would let herself be taken once again by the illusion of companionship between them.

"I won today."

"Congratulations.", Zoro simply replied.

"You don't even know what I'm talking about, you blockhead."

"Yes, I do know."

How? How do you know?

For some reason, the two had this strange connection that was completely inexplicable and Zoro usually managed to understand it somehow. Tashigi always found it very curious because… what could that mean? Maybe they were always doomed to know each other? A connection between rivals? A connection from friends in another life?

Or maybe... a connection in the form of a very imperceptible red line tied to her pinky?

Yeah, right. Don't be stupid, Tashigi, she thought.

Anyway, she always forced herself to never think about it because he most certainly did not.

"Why did you call that night?"

Once again. The inexplicable connection. She knew what night he was referring to because she thought about it every day and, for a second, she thought about denying it and saying she didn't know what he was talking about. But as she couldn't explain the connection and she knew he would be able to pinpoint the lie the moment it'd leave her mouth, so there was no reason to run. If she is going to live this false camaraderie just for today, then what is wrong with speaking the truth?

An illusion. Only for today. Don't stutter.

"Because I lost and wanted to talk to someone."

"And you called me.", Zoro didn't ask, he just spoke as a matter of fact.

"Yes. I usually… don't have many people to talk to, so I thought you could listen to me. At least once... without caring about the issue of navy and pirates. But... it's completely wrong and silly of me. I mean, I'm a marine and I shouldn't-"

"You didn't call for two months.", Zoro totally ignored Tashigi's last words.

So he had actually whispered that, but... either he read her thoughts or the snail had some way of seeing the last call. It's not possible that he had counted the days and weeks. How did he know then?

Lie. Lie. Lie.

Don't say it was because of him.

"Ah yes. I was busy working on the G-5 and after Smoker-san found out, we ended up leaving the den den mushi with you guys once and for all, so I didn't have to call-"

"Liar.", Zoro cut her off once again.

"Liar?! I'm not a liar, you madcap!", Tashigi was already snorting with the pirate's audacity. It was amazing how easily he managed to get her worked up.

"Liar."

"Roronoa-!"

"If you're going to keep lying, I'll hang up."

"Then hang up! I don’t care!"

"Fine."

"Fine!"

Why couldn't she be honest with him? Why couldn't she act right around him? Maybe… because she didn't want him to think she was weaker than he already does? Because she didn't want him to have an advantage over her in any way? Because she didn't want him to find out that his opinion has become important to her?

Give in just once, Tashigi.

Then she swallowed her embarrassment and pride and answered in an almost inaudible voice.

"I don't like being a nuisance. I never liked. But anyway... what difference does it make whether I called or not?"

"Haa? Wasn't you who said you would be my conscience since I told you about my fight against Mihawk?

"Yes, but because that was stupidly stupid!! I still can't believe you were stupid to that extent. I honestly can't understand how your crew lets you do these stupid things.", Tashigi exclaimed once more. Yeah, it looks like Zoro was really skilled at getting her to act that way.

"Oee, there were many 'stupid' there!!"

"Anyway. It's not like you need me for something, so it makes no difference."

"But you called today. So… does that mean it's you who needs me?", Zoro replied in the blink of an eye and his deep tone momentarily stunned Tashigi.

Silence.

She could almost see his cocky grin as if he himself was in front of her. She could hear her own heart beating frantically.

Perhaps.

"W-W-what ?? W-What are y-you talking about???!!!"

Tashigi knew that he had no way of seeing her through the den den mushi, but the action of hiding her completely red face with her arms was totally involuntary. Zoro just laughed out loud and she could hear Sanji's voice in the background (“Oe shitty marimo, shut up! Hey… are you talking to Tashigi-chan?!? You bastard, let me talk to her!!”).

"You're always so uptight. I'm just kidding, four-eyes."

But somehow... you nailed it.

She couldn't speak anymore because, apparently, Sanji had decided to take the den den mushi from Zoro's hand and now the two were fighting. In the midst of so much insult, Tashigi could make out just a few sentences - the cook asked how she was doing, how the children were doing and the swordsman shouted at him telling him to leave because “she called to talk to me and not the pervert of this crew!”. Soon, Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp joined the chorus and everything became a mess.

She just laughed and calmly called the cook.

"Sanji-san."

"Yeeees, Tashigi-chaaan!?"

"I will hang up soon. Can I say one last thing to Roronoa?"

She heard Zoro mocking Sanji, but couldn't understand what it was. Tashigi laughed softly because she always thought their relationship was funny and was always impressed to see Zoro so free when they argued. Nami said that the cook was one of the few able to get on the swordsman's nerve, but that Tashigi was not far behind.

In the end, Sanji accepted, cursed Zoro once more and said goodbye to her. Apparently, the others did the same - all saying good night to the captain. And with the cook's departure, the silence returned. It was an old friend of theirs - at times it was suffocating and unbearable, but at times it was welcoming.

 "Sorry for the mess."

"It's okay."

A heartbeat. Tashigi decided to muster courage. She couldn't sleep with that question stuck in her throat.

"Roronoa."

"Hm?"

"Why was Robin-san in your bed earlier?", she asked on an impulse but regretted it right after. What kind of question was that, Tashigi??

"What?? What kind of question is that??"

"I just wanted to know."

"Don't you think you wanna know too much?", Zoro sounded really uncomfortable.

"Right. Forgive me.", she knew she shouldn't have asked that because it was none of her business, but she couldn't help it. Robin's voice and Roronoa's bed echoed in her head over and over until he called. The waves were very violent in that short time.

Then she forced herself to remember the reason for the call. "Roronoa."

"What."

"I'll get stronger.", Tashigi spoke with determination because giving up was not in her nature.

"I'm waiting for that.", and Zoro replied as if he understood the meaning behind her stern voice.

"Thanks and good night."

"Yeah. You too."

Tashigi did not call for the next two weeks because it was only now that she began to have a vague idea of ​​what had changed since the day they talked until midnight.

The legend of The Red Thread of Fate says that everyone is born with a red thread tied to his finger that would be linked to someone else.

I really think it applies to Zoro and Tashigi - something that may have to do with destiny, whether they believe it or not. :)

[lockdaisy]

Unpopular Opinion: Shinobu's Ultimately in the Wrong and Law’s Justified in his Feelings of Anger against Her

Ok, since it seems like everyone and their mother in the fandom and in the narrative itself has set up a Shinobu defense squad and is 100% devoted to shutting down any criticisms of her, I know that this is going to be an extremely unpopular opinion, but still, I just wanna say it

Honestly, I don’t think any of Shinobu’s treatment of Law in the past few chapters (accusing his crewmates of betraying the alliance and threatening to kill them) was justified in any way whatsoever, and I believe that Law’s right in feeling angry at her

I mean...

1. It’s at least partially Shinobu’s fault that Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo were captured and are being tortured

Before they were captured, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi were dutifully laying low and carrying out their part of the plan in the Flower Capital. However, most likely because of the heightened security at the Flower Capital, they ended up getting captured and tortured. Now, pray tell, what caused this heightened security in the first place? Why, it was caused at least in part by Shinobu, Nami, and Robin causing chaos in Orochi’s palace and messing around in the bathhouse for no discernible reason. Consequently, Shinobu’s at least in part responsible for Law’s crewmates being captured and tortured

Granted, Shinobu didn’t mean for that to happen. Nevertheless, regardless of whether she meant for it to happen or not, she should take at least some sort of responsibility for the suffering that her fuck-ups helped inflict on Law’s crew

And just... listen, Shinobu blaming Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin for being in a situation that the consequences of her own mistakes are at least partially responsible for putting them in is a really bad look, ok??

2. The emotional reasoning underlying her accusations and threats falls flat because of her actions

Apparently, according to literally every character who was present at the scene, Law’s anger at Shinobu is overblown and unreasonable because the reason why she did what she did is that she’s frustrated over seeing the plan 20 years in the making go awry and that all of them have to take any and all precautions whatsoever to prevent their plans from falling apart since “this isn’t a game.” 

On its own, this statement seems incredibly fair. However, just two chapters before she accused and threatened Law’s crew, Shinobu was just messing around in the bathhouse for no reason and ended up getting exposed because of it (which, as I mentioned before, helped cause the heightened security that led to the capture and torture of Law’s crew). As a result, because her cavalier actions contradict her assertion that “this isn’t a game,” Shinobu herself makes it seem like the situation not only isn’t all that dire, but that it certainly isn’t serious enough to threaten to kill Law’s crew, which is never a declaration that you should throw around lightly. Similarly, because her carefree and risky frolicking at the bathhouse contradicts her assertion that that they have to take any and all precautions possible to prevent the plan from getting ruined, Shinobu not only comes across as a massive hypocrite, but it also seems like she’s selectively picking and choosing which types of risks she’s willing to allow, and apparently while messing around in the bathhouse is an “acceptable” risk that isn’t worthy of censure, Law’s crew getting captured is worthy of death

3. Out of all the allies that were captured, Shinobu specifically and only accuses Law’s crew of betraying the alliance

Like... pretty much any of those captured allies--and many who weren’t--could’ve leaked the plans, and yet she automatically accuses specifically and only Law’s crew of betraying the alliance!! 

Granted, in comparison to the other allies, who are presumably people she knows very well, the Heart Pirates are practically strangers to her, which might explain why she’s much more willing to lay the blame on Law’s crew rather than on any of her other allies. However, she doesn’t even entertain the possibility that it could’ve been one of them and that Law’s crew is innocent. Like, it’s not a case of her going “oh, there must be a traitor, and because I’m almost completely sure that it wasn’t any of our Wano allies that leaked our plans, do you think it’s possible that the Heart Pirates betrayed the alliance?” Instead, it’s a case of her going, “It’s 100% certainly a fact that Law’s crew betrayed the alliance, and I’m going to kill them for it.” And listen, considering the weight of these accusations and the fact that she’s apparently planning to kill whoever snitched, it looks really bad that she’s just immediately rushing to blame Law’s crew of betrayal

Also, her immediate accusation of Law’s crew looks even worse when you consider the fact that she never even entertains the possibility that other non-Wano allies that she doesn’t know all that well--such as Luffy--could’ve been the ones to leak the plan instead!! Yeah, Shinobu saw how strong-willed Luffy was when he attacked Kaido, but she still doesn’t know him well enough to know that he wouldn’t squeal if he were tortured. And while we as an audience know that Luffy would never do such a thing, Shinobu doesn’t, making the reasoning underlying her insults against and apparent decision to kill Law’s crew seem even more arbitrary. I mean, she’s just singling out the Heart Pirates for pretty much no reason by now!! And considering that she’s seemingly arbitrarily singling them out for the purposes of accusing them of being traitors and threatening to kill them, it just looks really, really bad!!!

4. Shinobu never took back her words or apologized 

Listen, I understand that Shinobu said these things in the heat of the moment out of frustration and panic. I understand. But listen, accusations of betrayal and death threats against one’s crew are never things that should be said lightly. These are serious and grave things that can pretty much amount to a declaration of war. So if Shinobu took back what she said and apologized to Law after she got scolded by Kanjuro, while I would be thinking that she’s playing a real dangerous game saying such serious things, I could ultimately view her actions as not being damning

However, the fact of the matter is... she never took back what she said or apologized. As a result, Shinobu is essentially sending Law the message that she not only isn’t sorry for insulting and threatening to kill his crew without any real justification, but that she stands by it and that she really did mean every single word of it

Like can you imagine if Shinobu not only insulted but threatened to kill members of the Straw Hat crew who were captured and being tortured, but also refused to apologize after the fact?? Luffy would be furious. Like, Law’s in this exact same situation, and??? Honestly??? I don’t blame Law at all for getting upset

5. Speaking of that, think about how Luffy would’ve reacted in this same exact scenario and how we as a fandom would’ve reacted as well

If it were Nami, Zoro, and Sanji instead of Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo who were captured and being tortured, and Shinobu were accusing them of being snitches and threatening to kill them, Luffy would be unimaginably pissed at her. Not only that, but the narrative would be treating her as a bad guy as well, and we as a fandom would rake her over the coals. But apparently, if it’s Law’s crew that it’s happening to, then all of a sudden the narrative and the fandom and narrative as a whole decide to bend backwards in order to justify everything that she said??? What??????

6. She did the exact same thing she accused Law’s crew of doing and that she threatened to kill them for

Shinobu accuses Law’s crew of leaking valuable intel to the enemy and threatens to kill them for it, yet like 15 minutes after Law leaves she basically spills all the plan’s details to someone she outright admitted she doesn’t even know??? What???? Listen, this is another case of Shinobu seeming like a hypocrite--apparently if she or one of her friends does it, it’s forgivable, but if Law’s crew does it, then they’re worthy of death smh

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Overall, you gotta admit that, on every front, it makes Shinobu look bad and it makes the narrative’s depiction of them being in a “they’re both right, so you can’t blame either” situation look... really unfair to Law at best, let’s be honest here

Also, another reason why this annoys me so bad is that the narrative is??? doing everything to make Law look unreasonable in this situation???? Like

1) Nobody backed Law up during the argument at all. Shinobu literally threatened to kill his crew, but apparently nobody aside from Law was upset by this or felt the need to have Law’s back in this situation 

2) Contrastingly, several characters leapt to Shinobu’s defense by trying to rationalize her behavior by saying “don’t be angry at her, think about her ~feelings~ in this situation” 

3) The way several characters discuss Law after he leaves (“geez/sigh, he just stormed off”) basically makes it look like they’re portraying Law as an unreasonable drama queen throwing a hissy fit just because he’s angry that, y’know, Shinobu threatened to kill his crew 

4) The casual way that they’re talking about Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi’s situation, aka conversationally musing over how long they would last if they were in their shoes, really trivializes the direness of their circumstances and makes it look even more like they think Law’s getting angry over nothing

Just... I absolutely love the Straw Hats, and I absolutely love Law (Law, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, and Luffy are like in my top ten faves of the series). So I hate how uncharacteristically callous the narrative’s defense of Shinobu makes the Straw Hats seem to be right now in regards to Law’s feelings and the safety of their Heart Pirates allies, and I hate how this basically makes many of Law’s interactions with others in this arc cases where Law has genuinely been treated like garbage by his allies when before it was more of a lighthearted “oh, Law’s suffering because of the alliance” gag 

[neverwatchedonepiece]

526-528: "Undersea Volcanic Eruption! Drifting to the Fish-Man Island!", "Landing at the Fish-Man Island! Beautiful Mermaids!" and "Excitement Blow-out! Sanji's Life Under Threat!"

HOORAY! :D:D:D

Will this be one of those arcs that’s filled with sympathetic villains? The kind of characters who... well, you get where they’re coming from because they have a cast-iron reason for their villainy and you feel conflicted about cheering for the heroes? Or will it be more complicated than that? 

I hope I like this arc. Ever since Arlong Park, since I learned about the Sun Pirates from Hachi and the racism Fishmen experience I’ve been hoping Oda might dig deeper into the theme. It’s early days yet, but from what I’ve seen in this episode, I’m quietly confident he’ll deliver.

Cthulhu Is... Friendly?

Must admit the Flying Dutchman action was a bit of a let-down. I thought Captain Vander Decken would be the next villain (or at least the henchman of the next villain). It was built up so well. The creepy “Dead men tell no tales” speech, Brook confirming he was the Real Deal, that the legend told of how the captain lost his mind, killed his crew and cursed the gods (who got their revenge by cursing him to drift forever).

I thought that might make a good plot line (that was before Hammond appeared and the Real Plot kicked in).

The Kraken coming back and sucker punching the Sea Bonze was so worth it. I laughed like a drain and could not believe I was cheering a Kraken like it was Hell in a Cell. Top it all off, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji came paddling back in a single bubble. And Luffy had made the Kraken his pet and named it Surume! Only Luffy can get separated from his crew and return with a pet Kraken. And laugh about the fact that he almost died.

The volcanic eruption action scene was fun. The Flying Dutchman crew and the Kraken would not mess with nature. The water glowed an ominous red and before Luffy gave any orders, Surume the Kraken was already checking out. Nami made the call for them to leap into the deep trench ahead to avoid the pyroclastic flow (is that even possible underwater? I have no idea.)

Usopp got to show off some of his skills by shooting a net-like plant weapon that stopped the debris from the eruption from smashing Sunny to pieces. (Could be good in combat for subduing bad guys.) I liked how Luffy was a good captain and praised Usopp and his cute Kraken pet for doing a good job. There’s that leadership shining through.

This was just before a stray rock bonked Surume on the head and the Strawhats woke up... ten thousand meters under the sea?

But... how? I thought. 

It was bright. There was natural light and vivid colours. How? 

Because it was Fishman Island! :D

Cannot lie. I was excited to finally see it. I wonder how it was for manga readers then to see that place brought to life after so long. I mean, how many chapters was it since it was first mentioned in Arlong Park until now when it was animated. I mean, it was huge! And there were entire massive trees inside the bubble. I still have no idea where the natural light was coming from, but pffft, did I care? It was FISHMAN ISLAND! :D

Then the Border Patrol Arrived?

At least, that’s who I thought they were at first.

And they brought Plot, which, let’s face it, is always good.

Three shady-looking Fishmen rode up on massive Sea Kings. They were so tough, they spoke to Surume the Kraken like it was a disobedient pet. Or... more accurately, as if it was a race traitor. “Why are you obeying such fools as humans, Kraken?” Surume fled the scene (obviously scared of these guys).

They recognised the Straw Hats too. I love how Luffy said, “Who are you? How do you know about us?” Um, Luffy... everyone knows about you now. xD

But these guys went way back. Much further than Alabasta, Enies Lobby, Impel Down or Marineford.

“You are the ones who foiled the Arlong Pirates’ plan. You stood up for Hachi and knocked out a hateful Celestial Dragon, just like Fisher Tiger, the hero of Fishman Island.”

They claimed they were the New Fishman Pirates and demanded the Strawhats enlist under their banner or be sunk.

Hammod did most of the talking but two others tagged along (Hyouzo and Kasagon). 

Nami and Franky knew Luffy would say no (and possibly put them in danger because they couldn’t fight back). They took a huge gamble and spent the last of Sunny’s air crashing through Fishman Island’s protective bubbles.

The dramatic tension when the coating shrank, pinning all the Strawhats to the deck was great. But it really ramped up when the first bubble ripped off the coating and the second one turned out to be full of water. I didn’t expect that twist.

Was that the closest the Strawhats have been yet to almost dying? 

Camie to the Rescue!

Luckily, they have a friend who was sort of expecting them. Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Sanji woke up at none other than Camie’s place! (The others were separated. Franky, Nami and Robin are together. I have no idea where Brook is and Zoro is on his own.)

Turns out she works at a Mermaid Cafe on the sea floor of Mermaid Cove. The dorms are more affordable on the sea floor, as opposed to the ones higher up with more natural light. I liked that Oda has imagined an entire class system here. Mermaid Cove seems an okay place. Pappagu the starfish is in the fanciest district: Fishverly Hills (lol!) and is a famous designer. Hachi lives in Fishman District, which Camie said was a ‘rough place’. Luffy still thinks Pappagu is Camie’s pet. I don’t think Luffy completely gets how Fishman Island works yet, but Camie was nice and didn’t say anything. Hammond also hinted at another Fishman Island faction: Neptune’s Army, who were introduced later but I don’t know which side they’re on yet, so they seem like a neutral third party so far. 10/10 world building from Oda there.

Camie showed them around. They took a cute turtle elevator up to the “surface”, where there were clouds, blue sky, trees and rainbows. Luffy mentioned reuniting with Jimbei because “when Ace died two years ago, I didn’t lose heart thanks to him” (yes, Luffy. I’m glad you realise just how much Jimbei did for you!)

But Jimbei was not on the island. Camie seemed to hint the War in Marineford caused a bit of trouble in Fishman Island. She didn’t go into it, damn it.

Then, the royal family’s Fish Boat swam into view, heading straight for them, carrying the Neptune Princes (Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi and Sanboshi). The mermaids hid the Straw Hats, in case they were arrested for illegally entering Fishman Island. One mermaid made the mistake of holding Sanji... let’s just say a little close to her chest.

And Lots of Beautiful Mermaids

You know what, I didn’t want to say but over the past couple of episodes, Sanji’s weakness had been annoying me. Not really badly. Just that the joke was getting a bit thin because it’d been played so many times for laughs.

Now I know why.

Does Oda do nothing without a purpose?

He had to set up all the blood loss stuff because blood transfusions are a central tenet in the hatred a lot of Fishmen have over humans.

When Sanji had his Vesuvius Moment, Dr Chopper bravely came to the rescue. Just as the Princes seemed about to take the Strawhats (though they didn’t want to arrest them. Still not sure what their deal is), Chopper placed himself in harm’s way and shouted, “Stop! I’m a Doctor! Can anyone donate S RH negative blood? If Fishman blood is the same, would anyone be willing to donate?”

Chopper unwittingly referenced an Old, Highly Politicised Grudge.

Fisher Tiger: The Hero of Fishman Island

Hammond, who had been lurking, waiting for an opportune moment to catch the Strawhats, couldn’t stay quiet at that point.

“No one on this island would give blood to lowly humans,” he scoffed. “If anyone did, they’d risk punishment from the Dark Night, from human haters. The Old Law in the kingdom states that donating blood to humans is prohibited.”

When the Strawhats protested, Hammond fired back with some Context.

“You humans set that rule first! You people have a long history of fearing us. Didn’t want your blood mixed up with ours. That’s how the hero, Fisher Tiger, died. He risked his own life to free slaves of all races. But after a bloody war, he died. He could have lived if he had a transfusion. The heartless humans refused to give their blood to him.”

I was gobsmacked by that. Honestly. What a great twist, in terms of both plot and morality! How are the Strawhats going to fight against years of racism, abuse, toxic politics and the veneration of a martyr-like figure who means so much to the people of Fishman Island? 

This is going to be a wild ride.

Usopp dismissed the old law. He begged someone, anyone, to help Sanji. Hammod tried to take Luffy by force but severely underestimated how much stronger he’d become (that Haki, honestly... it is so badass).

Camie hijacked the Royal Fish Boat (the royals here seem pretty laid back because if that was real life, you’d be in your local Impel Down faster than you can say, “But I need a blood transfusion!”)

And it seems something is rotten in the state of Fishman Island. Not only are the Strawhats the first human visitors in a while, the Princes were unable to deliver a message to Jimbei.

I wonder if it’s anything to do with this shady character?

This is the guy who wants to see Luffy. The one Hammond calls “Boss.” Hordy Jones, I think his name was? And here we have a shady face, not entirely revealed, sharp teeth and a good voice actor? This has happened before with Moria and Crocodile. Could this be the villain? Is this Hordy Jones, or is he higher up the chain?

I hope so. Was blue-balled with the Flying Dutchman stuff. Don’t want it happening again, haha.

Also, who or what is Noah? Was confused as to whether it was a location or a person.

*insert Rocky Theme tune*

[zosan-fic-recs]

Random Zosan Recs 3

Impel Down by BlackBarBooks

Pros: 1. This is an incredibly well-planned alternate timeline fic of One Piece canon where Sanji didn’t meet Luffy in East Blue, and instead he works in Impel Down as a cook where Zoro is sent as a prisoner. The setting is interesting and uses what we do know in canon very well, while also adding intriguing new concepts to the staff and structure of the Marine prison.

2. The writer uses Sanji’s naturally compassionate personality and curiosity to slowly build a bond with Zoro by having the cook observe that the swordsman isn’t like the other prisoners. The result is that it’s very believable when they come to care for each other, and it’s easy to become invested in their struggle to survive in the dangerous prison together.

Cons: There is quite a bit of coincidence that occurs when getting back Zoro’s swords.

Watching Their Light by SummerOtaku

Pros: 1. This fic takes the concept of vivre cards and creatively expands it into vivre candles.

2. The way Zoro and Sanji learn to communicate while using the candles is charming and interesting.

Cons: While the writer mentions that the two of them find a way to use the candles to have their own version of phone sex - it’s not actually written out or explained even though it’s implicated that the sexual stuff is a big part of their communications. There are a number of other situations mentioned that are detailed with how they experience them using the candles so the exclusion of the sex (especially since the writer says they do it frequently) makes it feel like something is missing.

Restlessness by AlphaShae

Pros: 1. Zoro can’t sleep so he annoys Sanji.

2. This is a cute little story where the two of them obviously have a healthy, established relationship.

Cons: The very last line is confusing. It’s probably meant to be a sort of declaration from an unseen narrator. However, because there’s no clear transition from Sanji’s POV to the narrator’s it makes it look like Sanji is commenting on a situation where he was mostly asleep.

In Dreams by Sinisterbug

Pros: 1. This fic places all the Strawhat crew in a historical AU where they are all part of the French court in the 1700s. The setting and culture is researched well enough to feel reasonably accurate, and it’s a lot of fun to see how the writer chose to use the characters in this environment.

2. There are several conversations about love regarding one-sided affections and a person who is being pursued by someone they do not love the same way; each of these conversations are deeply meaningful with good points made for each party.

Cons: There is a twist ending that is fairly cliche. Since the rest of the story is so rich and creative the ending is a stark contrast to all of that. For the most part the contrast is purposeful as it serves as part of the plot, but honestly I would have rather seen that kind of twist in a story where the first part was less engaging and unique.

Snow Ballet by NightRhain

Pros: 1. Sanji as a figure-skater is too perfect. Also @exzireart has some lovely art for this AU.

2. The whole setting of the Olympics is a lot of fun, and seeing how the One Piece crew is written in with real athletes is interesting.

Cons: There are some issues with the formatting that can make it harder to realize what’s going on in certain conversations. Also at one point Sanji imagines Robin and Nami together while jerking off.

Note: As of yet this fic is unfinished.