#shanks is not bad but naive

[readsrealm]

Buggy & The Roger Pirates Thing (maybe even a little Corabug!?)

Buggy always feeing like he doesn’t belong on Rogers crew. Like he was just brought on to be a playmate for Shanks (practically a pet). He’s not entirely wrong either most of the crew shows unintentional favoritism to Shanks and don’t really remember that Buggy’s there half the time.

The next island they visit they actually forget Buggy. Buggy himself doesn’t even realize until hours later, Roger Pirates far away and still unaware of their mistake. Buggy’s devastated, he kinda wanders around the islands small town and into its forest in shock and despair before coming upon a familiar face. A blond marine who he’d met in the town earlier who was now running through the woods. They had a good conversation earlier and all Buggy had really learned was the boys name. Rosinante.

Rosinante takes Buggy back to Sengoku who goes “WAIT A MINUTE” and then declares that Buggy’s been taken in for ransom. Buggy tells them that nobody is going to come for him.

They wait a couple days, then a week, then a couple weeks, finally two whole months go by and nobody’s showed up for Buggy. Sengoku is disturbed by this and does some digging. Apparently a vote to retrieve Buggy was placed and the majority thought it was too much work for the second cabin boy (the add on, the spare, the unpromising backup). There was also info that Roger and the losing side were upset with the polling results but weren’t going to do much about it.

Sengoku decides right there and then he’s gonna see why Roger let Buggy onto his crew in the first place and why they don’t want Buggy back.

And…..

Sengoku has no clue why they wouldn’t want Buggy to return to them. He’s crafty, smart, loyal. He’s a good kid by pirate standards. Clearly a trouble maker but the passion he has for chemistry and science is unmatched. The way he solves puzzles and can worm his way out of any situation socially is insane. His treatment of people around him and of Cora himself (even if it’s special treatment😉) is admirable. Not to mention the boys luck.

Sengoku suspect it’s cause of Buggy’s less upfront way of fighting and actually assessing situations is what put The Rogers off. Buggy may be cowardly but if he really is needed he’ll do his part. Plus his long range weapons (bombs, altered guns) are nothing to sneeze at.

Buggy ends up staying with the marines for a really long time even if in the beginning he said he was going to escape and get far far away from them. Instead staying, training and getting stronger.

Decades later Red Haired Shanks comes face to face with a marine with long blue hair and the nickname Ringmaster.

Okay first of all thank you for writing this.

now right now I’m crying because that’s just fucking sad.

them leaving buggy there and how they decided is disgusting and I’m literally devastated. Poor buggy wanna hug him so bad.

For me Roger here failed as the captain bc who tf cares what the crew thinks. He is the captain and he should have been defending Buggy but he didn’t. In here Ace was right Roger was a monster bc left a child who looked up to him like no one else ever did in a town from nowhere behind. I wonder how shanks reacted.

I kinda wished that- I don’t know if you watched the LA but there Garp is on the Plattform where Roger gets killed. I wish that buggy would arrive the Plattform when Roger finished his speech him thinking he will die with no regrets and with starting the new era but the moment he saw buggy his smile vanished and he knew he could no longer die at peace.

I have two things in mind of what buggy could say

He would smile at roger with a trembling body saying something like: “I hoped you lived a good live “captain”

or

2. He would be cold and saying shit like: “That’s it Gol D. Roger. You and your loved one will pay for your crimes” and he would mean it bc with people who believe in him he would get stronger and have more determination

I’m kinda surprised that Sengoku would take with if we think about what he did to Ace considering that wanted to execute him for being roger son not being the second commander of Whitebeard who was equal to roger. But I do not complain. If I think about it Buggy could be trained by Sengoku and Garp and Tsuru. Sengoku and Garp were also equal to roger. And while Sengoku could teach him to be smarter fight smarter, Garp could train him in strength combat and haki. Tsuru could help him to calm himself down and always keep his cool. So he could be powerful yonko level bc that what actually oda said. If Buggy would take effort he would be yonko level.

You know what a sad part of this is Buggy is the kind of character who gets treated bad by the “good” ones (in here the goal of the main character) but he would not get justice. He would die and maybe the others would regret it but probably not the same episode one person would say “he would want that you hate yourself…” like BITCH OFC HE WOULDNT BUT YOU SHOULD BC YOU DESERVE THAT.

anyways I’m getting of the topic I think Buggy is smart and a sweetheart if you treat him well. He maybe loves treasure in an unhealthy amount and can be a little arrogant but it’s like he is be mean but still would do everything for you if you treat him right. (I also believe that he would not have a pride problem to apologize if he did something wrong but that another thing).

again with the Plattform (I hope it’s Plattform English is not my native’s language) the thing is Shanks would see it. And I think no matter if choice one or two you choose he would be angry…even though he has no right too. But Buggy doesn’t care about shanks…well not anymore bc he has Rosi. While he hadn’t a bad relationship with Shanks his relationship with Rosi is much better. Shanks if not meant to be mean only teased him which lead to the whole crew teasing him and Buggy didn’t like that. I mean I don’t think he had a problem with some teasing bc that normal and fun you know? Everyone does that but they teased him about everything and it kinda hurt bc it gave off the feeling he wasn’t taking seriously at all. That he couldn’t be allowed to be sad or scared…genuinely.

With Rosi it wasn’t like that he got comforted motivated. Instea if being told that “a pirate isn’t allowed to be scared” or “are you hiding again” or “you wouldn’t be scared if you trained harder like shanks” he gets “it’s fine I protect you” or “don’t be scared buggy! Your strong and if anything happens I’m right here” and it helps bc it motivates him and them saying that they believe he is strong wants him to prove that and he doesn’t and he makes mistakes and learns from them and gets better bc that how it should be done

So if Buggy and Shanks would meet after decades Shanks would be furious at Buggy for doing this to their captain. But with just a few sentences Shanks anger turned into guilt

“Roger didn’t want me. He left me and abandoned me. No one wanted me”

So I think Shanks would withdraw and just go with it. But now he would feel emptier. It was one thing not having seen buggy and him officially cutting of the relationship was hard for Shanks but he shouldn’t complain he didn’t say anything when they voted to leave him even if he didn’t want that he could do more. Bc they would listen to him.

Buggy himself would live a good life being a very much known marine (vice admiral) having Rosi by his side (this is a Corazon lives AU) and be happy.

I even think that Luffy would be on Buggy’s side if he heard that story. But still would not stop being a pirate

[wood-white-writer]

“Didn’t mean to make your heart Blue” || [1/…]

- OPLA!Buggy x F!Reader

“So, I don’t blame you if you want to bury me in your memories,”

— Mitski, "Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart"

Pairing: Buggy the Clown (Live Action) x F!Reader

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Summary: You were an apprentice of Gol D. Roger’s crew in your youth, long before his eventual demise. Along with the Red-Haired Shanks and Buggy, you were a formidable trio; the embodiment of a new generation of pirates yet to come. But times changed, and so did you and your friends. Years have passed since you last saw Buggy following the dispute that you thought ended your friendship. When you finally reunite with the blue-haired menace you once considered your closest friend, it’s under less than “friendly” circumstances.

Warnings: Fem!Reader, Canon Typical Violence, Slight Canon Divergence, Buggy is an asshole, The reader used to go by "Cross-Hairs" in the past.

A/N: I’m basing this primarily on the LA! version of “One Piece”, as I’ve just recently begun to watch the Anime.

Luffy, for his unyielding devotion towards his dreams of becoming the King of Pirates, evidently lacks the sense of foresight required of a pirate to successfully navigate the seven seas. Then again, it's nothing new.

You’ve always known. The kid's been a hazard to society even in his youth; no filter between his brain and his mouth despite the ungodly amount of food he pushes between his jaws. You used to watch him make his proclamations in front of Shanks' merry band with little more than vaguely piqued interest, indifferent to the youthful albeit naive optimism he exhibited.

Shanks, meanwhile, always used to find his demeanor endearing - “He’s a good kid. Let him dream,”

And so you let him. You watched him dream for the next ten years, making sure that his dreams didn't catch the wrong kind of attention until he was old enough to hold his own weight.

However, back then, Luffy's actions seldom warranted any real consequences. Save for the incident with the Bandit and the Sea King, he's rarely been in any real danger prior to his debut as a pirate.

An unruly child spouting declarations of desiring to become the next “King of Pirates” hardly would’ve caused more of a ripple effect than to make other people shake their heads and laugh. And if it did, you were there to make sure it didn’t.

Now, not only has his actions earned you the ire of the Marines by stealing the Map of the Grand Line, but it has also garnered the attention of other opponents. Far more dangerous ones than the likes of Alvida or even that Axe-Hand Moron.

It was only a matter of time.

So when you find yourself waking up in a wooden cage with the rest of your reluctant crew mates, accompanied by a head-throbbing headache at that, your first instinct is to heave an exasperated sigh.

"Goddamn it."

"Oh, you're up." It's Luffy. He looks unharmed, albeit disoriented, not too unlike yourself. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I just snorted a bottle of rum through my nostrils." You get up into a crouching position, eying your surroundings, which doesn't leave much up for inspection considering your cage consists of broad wide planks. "What the fuck happened?"

The last thing you recall before being knocked out was a Jolly Roger in the distance, too far away for you to make out properly. So, not Marines, but pirates.

You can't tell if that's a good or a bad thing.

"Think we wouldn't have told you if we knew?" The swordsman - Zoro - replies with a deadpan look of boredom on his face as he attempts to peek through the cracks in your confinement. You have half a mind to tell him where to shove it but opt for a more quiet approach.

It's during moments like these when you realize you actually miss that scrawny pink-haired kid with the glasses - Koby. He never spoke to you like this. Granted, he was probably intimidated by the way you were always hovering behind Luffy like a silent guardian, but he didn't provide unnecessary comments like Bounty Hunter over there does.

Small blessings and all that. Very small.

You provide a solid kick to the plank on Zoro's right side without warning, catching him off-guard and earning you a short-lived glare. The planks loosen considerably, probably not meant to contain you for long.

Meanwhile, you listen half-heartedly to Luffy and Nami as they discuss the potential identities of your captors.

"They're not marines," Luffy assures her. "Before I got knocked out, I saw a Jolly Roger. We've been captured by pirates."

You glance at him from over your shoulder. "What'd it look like?"

"I don't know, it looked ... like ..." he pauses in thought. "A skull with crossbones, and a red ... dot? It almost looked like a nose, if bones could have noses, but they don't."

The blood in your veins freezes up, as does the rest of your body until their voices blur into nothing.

You've been keeping occasional track of him in the years that's passed since you parted ways, and when he amounted to a considerable bounty on his head, his signature Jolly Roger was hard not to miss on his wanted posters.

-------

"I didn't know there were so many pirates."

You tilt your head at the wall decorated with various wanted posters of different pirates, some more torn and discoloured than others, some more dead than others. You can't find your own amongst them in Shells Town, but then again, it has been some time since last you were on the Marines' radar. More likely than not, your poster is hidden somewhere underneath the several layers of—

"Hey, there's yours!" Luffy damn-near exclaims in wonder and points at— Oh yeah, there it is, right above Foxy's poster, a little yellow around the edges but still holding strong.

WANTED Dead or Alive "Cross-Hairs" 25,000,000

"Oh, wow, a 25-million bounty. That's a lot of berries."

The image is well over a decade old, taken back in your early twenties, and you were much more easy to identify back then. You were sharper in some angles, softer in others, compared to the present.

You look different now. Less robust, a little older, but no less dangerous in the grand scheme of things. Your sharp eyes remain the same, a trait Gol D. used to remark upon with a mischievous glimmer in his own eyes.

"You have eyes sharp enough to cut through steele," he'd say and ruffle your hair. A sense of loss perforating your being at the memory.

Despite being in your thirties, age tends to alter the appearance of most people, and you consider that a pretty good advantage right about now as you're standing surrounded by an army of Marine officers. Given the fact that you've spent the last couple of years away from the sea without a trace or clue, the World Government probably assumes you've died or gone into hiding.

Be that as it may, they didn't even bother to decrease the bounty since last time. How odd.

While Luffy spends a few moments admiring your old picture like a child that just learned their relative is some kind of famous celebrity, Koby is less than enthralled by this revelation.

"T-That's one of the highest bounties in the East-Blue." He is hesitant to look up at you. "What did ... What did you do to earn it?"

"A little here, a little there. Kicked a few asses, stole a bit of treasure along the way. Nothing too bad." You admit with a half-assed shrug as you continue to inspect the various posters.

For the boy's peace of mind, you won't go into the less ... child-friendly details regarding your reputation. About the way you used to fight to the blood with most of your opponents, Marines and pirates in equal measure. How you'd stand victorious atop a pile of broken limbs and pleading sounds from the defeated crowd.

"Yeah, yeah ..." Koby agrees with a feeble nod. "There are way worse pirates on the Grand Line."

Your gaze happens upon a particular wanted poster, and your demeanor stiffens. Not enough to notice from an ordinary point of view, but it does nonetheless.

His sharp cerulean eyes and bright red nose seem to mock you from his picture, and a heavy feeling settles in your heart. A feeling of hurt and betrayal you've long since thought abandoned in the corners of your heart. Not even the loss of your old captain could hope to compare to it

You snap back to Luffy, your voice a little strained as you speak though you desperately try to cover it up. "Are we done here, Luffy?"

------

It's your fucking luck it had to be him of all people to come after Luffy first.

Why him?

Fuuuuuu—

"We don't need to fight." Luffy's voice snaps you back to the present. "I can talk to them, pirate to pirate."

"Not with this one," you whisper more to yourself than anyone else. The only one who seems to catch onto this is Zoro, but the moment he opens his mouth to ask, Nami beats him to it.

A discussion regarding the duality of piracy quickly causes you to lose all interest in the following sequence.

You don't trust either the thief or the bounty hunter as far as you can throw them, and the feeling is mutual in both parts. Sure, they proved useful in getting rid of the Axe-Hand, and have had thus far been tolerable enough for you not to throw them overboard.

Still, Zoro recognized you on the spot where the Marines failed to, and though Nami doesn't, your status as a pirate is enough reason for her to distrust you.

As mentioned, you don't trust them, but Luffy does, and his lead is the only one you'll follow. This is his voyage, and you’re not here to keep him from making mistakes unless you consider them particularly vital. If this bites him in the end, then you'll be there to keep him afloat.

After all, you made a promise to your old red-haired friend.

"Look after the lad for me, will you? Help him achieve his dream."

With no patience left to wait to get the fuck out of here as quickly as possible, you prepare to kick through the planks. Just then, the top piece of your confinements unfold, and what you're greeted with is the pinpoint definiton of a fever dream on acid.

Tightrope walkers swinging in the air, acrobatics performing acts of impressive feats, someone fire-breathing, and-- was that a guy juggling on a unicycle passing you just now?

A circus troupe. You've been captured by a fucking circus troupe.

"Oh, what the actual fuck?" Is all you can manage to mutter, a sentiment Zoro surprisingly agrees with if the nod he adds serves as any indication.

The troupe has an audience, you come to observe in the distance. They're clapping and cheering on cue with the sign being held in the air, yet they look ... wrong. Forced. Puppets with strings embedded in their limbs, so to speak.

You narrow your eyes in distaste at the view. The hell has he been up to as of late?

In the midst of the enforced round of applause, a voice gradually makes itself more and more prominent through the masses. Deeper and huskier since last you heard it, but yet painfully known to your ears.

"No, no, no, NO! Stop clapping!"

And then he appears. The ringleader himself, exasperated as he throws his arms out to each side and effectively silencing the crowd.

"No, stop! This is all wrong!"

You momentarily forget to breathe as you watch him come into view from behind the audience. He's taller than the last you saw him, that's for damn certain. Must've hit a second growth spurt in your absence because, while you were relatively on equal foot in your youth, he now seems to have grown a head or so taller than yourself.

And like yourself, he's changed, and not inherently for the better. It's a relative statement considering that the life of a pirate is oftentimes a hard one, but it's a fact nonetheless. The years have not been any kinder to him than they've been for yourself. He still has the same hair, the same general appearance, but he's changed.

Out of the three of you, Shanks seems to have had it the easiest in recent years, appearance-wise. He never lost his smile or affinity for the brighter things in life, even when he had his damn arm chewed off.

Meanwhile, you lost your dreams, and he seems to have lost everything you recognized about him in your youth. His smile, his laughter, and even his stance had been replaced by some replica that fails to hold a candle to the original one.

This is a show master, not your friend. Then again, you haven't been friends for a long time now.

Still, changed as he may be from an outward point of view, Buggy's eyes have not. They're clear like the seas, just as they were long ago. (And his nose, of course. How could you forget?).

You can't tell if that's a relief yet.

You're not a fearful person by nature, having lost the distinct ability years ago. Now, however, you feel the tremors vibrating through your ribcage at the sight of him. That's why you decide to turn your face slightly to the side for now, hoping to prolong the inevitable.

Fortunately, your presence evades Buggy's notice for just a while longer as he berates his crew. "The spotlight was late! You completely missed my entrance!"

The sound of said spotlight changing its focus can be heard.

"And where, oh where, was the dancing lion?"

Good! While he's occupied, maybe you can find the right moment to grab Luffy and get the hell--

"Hey! I know you! I saw your wanted poster in Shells Town!"

... You want to dig a hole in the sand and bury yourself right about now.

"You're the clown guy! Uhm ... Binky, right?"

Buggy, you scream inside as you suppress the urge to yank Luffy by the shoulders and shake him until all of his limbs drop down on the ground. Fuck Shanks and fuck the promise. He's Buggy the fucking Clown, and you did not have to go out of your way to pinpoint that fact!

In your internal state of dismay, you settle with trying to locate potential escape routes. Maybe a hole in the walls of the tent, or an absent-minded guard by the entrance. You're stronger than most, with years of experience behind you, but you're not capable of fighting your way through a crowd with three tagalongs so seamlessly.

"Buggy," the man of the hour states as he approaches, still having failed to notice you. "Buggy the Clown."

No one says anything, which he takes as a sign to continue on with - what you personally regard - as a moronic long line of titles.

"Buggy, the Flashy Fool." Still nothing. He raises his arms, like a lost puppy begging for scraps of recognition. "Buggy, the Genius Jester."

Seriously, what's with him and all the names? He’s always been … overdramatic, but this cuts the cake even for him.

"Wow," Luffy seems genuinely impressed, a stark contrast to his companions, who would rather be anywhere than here. "You have a lot of names. I bet everyone in the East Blue knows who you are."

A range of gasps echo from the unwilling audience, and you finally snap your head to the front in alarm. Fuck, he couldn't have used a better word than that. Granted, Luffy didn't mean it in that context, or even that word, but it doesn't matter.

Another thing that hasn't changed about Buggy... And that very same thing might as well be what snaps him out of his theatric act.

You thought Buggy finally would've noticed you by now, seeing it as you're finally willing to face him, but his eyes remain eerily glued to the kid.

"What did you just say?" Buggy asks, calmly.

Way too calmly for your liking.

Oh, no.

Luffy blinks in confusion. "Just that everyone knows who you are?"

You notice the clown lunging before Luffy does.

In the span of a second, you plant yourself between them, the only barrier between him and the clown's rage. You don't move an inch even as Buggy closes in with his gloved hand outstretched towards the boy, having not yet registered your sudden appearance until his fingers are inches from your face.

Your eyes finally lock, the blue in his eyes more prominent now than ever. Almost two decades since the last time you saw each other, and Buggy ceases his attempted assault as though time itself freezes.

At first, there is nothing in his eyes but surprise. Anger. Maybe even a trace of admiration towards the one who dared stand against him. Hot and burning beneath his irises, like glowing embers left behind in a dying pyre.

Finally, there is recognition, and the fire reignites warmer and scorching more than ever before.

He doesn't say anything at first, and neither do you, but the glare in your eyes conveys the message loudly enough that even the performers and troupe members alike know not to interfere.

"Leave him be."

You think of what to say, what you can say, after years of being silent. A simple “Hi” will not suffice, and considering the way of which you parted, there is little room for confessions.

Then, Buggy begins to laugh.

It starts out as a whisper of a chuckle, then gradually develops until he's full-out holding his stomach in wheezes, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes and smudging his make-up.

He points his arm up as he tries to contain himself, and the guy holding the APPLAUSE-sign picks up on the subliminal message. Everyone in the place begins to laugh, both the captives and the captors, so loudly this time that it makes you feel small in a way you haven’t felt since you were a child.

You glance cautiously around yourself, sharing brief looks with your companions before the noises abruptly stop, having most likely been forced to do so.

When you look back at Buggy again, he's smiling wider than ever, but his eyes hold no genuine humor. No, there's an unidentifiable emotion swirling in the depths of his blue eyes that you fail to decipher before he speaks.

"Well, well, well! Isn't this an unexpected surprise?" He raises his arm to gesture to you, as if you're an exotic exhibition behind a display case for everyone to behold. The spotlight is now aimed at you, momentarily blinding your vision.

"Ladies and gentlemen! It is my honor to present to you, the one and only, the myth, the legendary 'Cross-Hairs'! The Beast of the East!"

Applause rings again in the air as Buggy continues.

"She was famous throughout all of East Blue for her many endeavors, with a bounty greater than even yours flashy truly." Admitting that fact looks like it physically hurt him, but he prevails. "And then, almost ten years ago, after her biggest heist yet, she just POOFS!" He snaps his fingers and lets them slowly decline for dramatic effect. "Vanishes out of the blue. Leaving the seas for an unforeseen amount of time."

It would seem like you were keeping track of each other all along.

The next words Buggy utters are so hushed that only you hear them, and his smile is gone.

"Then again, you do have a track-record of leaving things behind, haven’t you?"

Oh, the fucking nerve of this guy. You take a step forward, clenching and unclenching you jaw so much your teeth feel on the bring of cracking. How dare he? How fucking dare he?

You’re about to shout back at him, argue, throwing every caution to the wind just to correct him and scream:

("You're the one who left me, remember?")

Before you can, something taps your right shoulder. Thinking it's Luffy, you turn around, and the last thing you recall before it all fades to black is an air of red dust clouding your vision.

[viiiiiiiiiin]

Hiiiiii viiiiiiiiin!!!!!!!! Hope your doing just lovely💗💗💗💗❤❤❤❤❤❤. Last fic you wrote for me was so good thank you again your the best.!!!!😭😭😭🥺🥺🥺😭😭💋💋💋💋 I was again wondering if I could please request the same type of reader(fem pls) from last time x red hair pirates again but in a different scenario it could anything from fluff/cute or angst just anything.

Thank you so much 💋💋💋😭😭🥺🥺. Have a super duder amazing day!!!!!❤💗❤❤💗❤💗

~🍮 anon~

Red Haired Pirates x Fem ! Sweet / Naive Reader

Includes: Red Haired Pirates and Female Reader

A / N: Hey Puddin !! I'm glad you're requesting from me again !! I'm always happy to write for the red haired sillies LOL. I hope you have an amazing day as well <33 Also , you can call me Vin or Vix ! Sorry that this is a lot shorter than normal !! I hope you still enjoy <3

It was another casual day on the Red Force. Everyone was either chilling or playing games. You were in the kitchen , swaying your hips to a song you were whistling. You had found another recipe that you wanted to try out. It happened to be a chocolate mousse cake with a smooth exterior.

You hummed some sea shanties as you sprinkled unflavored gelatin powder over a small dish filled with water. While waiting for the gelatin to become gelatinous and clear , you heated a pot of heavy cream just until it started steaming. When the gelatin 'bloomed' , you whisked it into the heavy cream.

While you were whisking , the door to the kitchen was pushed ajar. You didn't bother to look over since you knew they weren't gonna bother you. You checked the mixer to see if the cream came out as stiff peaks , which it did. You smiled while you whipped egg whites along with cream of tartar and sugar to create a fluffy meringue.

From behind you , you heard a gruff voice speak to you. "Are you making some kind of fluffy cake ?" It was the captain of the ship himself , Red Haired Shanks. The two mixes you made were individually folded into the bowl of chocolate you set aside a bit ago. To fold , you used a rubber spatula to gently run it around the mousse and through.

"I'm making a Chocolate Mousse cake !" You responded cheerily. You continued folding the batter around until it was the perfect consistency. You poured it into the cake platter and pushed it into the already preheated oven. You turned to your captain and brought the rubber spatula to his lips. "Here , try it ! It's a new recipe that I wanted to try out." As your words slipped past your lips , his tongue trailed along the utensil.

"Sweetheart , this is delicious !" He laughed heartily and took the spatula from your hand to finish it. "Thank you , Shanks !" His laugh was contagious. Because of that fact , it caused you to laugh along with him.

"Lucky wanted to know if ya needed any help in here , but it don't seem like you need any lil missy." He patted your head , ruffling your (color) locks. Your smile widened as you pulled him into a hug.

"Oh ! When you're done , Beck says he has a surprise for ya." Shanks spoke smoothly , placing his arm around your smaller waist. "Ooh ! I have the timer going , so can I come now ?!" You asked , stars lighting up in your doe like eyes.

"Of course !" He pulled away from your embrace and gently pushed you towards the door. "Hey , Beck ! Lil Missy wants to see her surprise !" Shanks shouted from across the deck to his first mate.

"I'm right here , Shanks. There's no need to shout for me." Speak of the devil and he shall appear. The gray haired man stepped out of the shadows and stood next to you and the captain. Shanks' brown eyes met with Benn's black ones. The one armed man chuckled and stumbled away from you as Benn walked towards you. He handed you a small , black bag.

"Here. We feel bad that we ruined one of your other bathing suits , so we pitched in and got you some new ones. Along with that perfume that you said you liked. Yasopp also got you a necklace with your name engraved on it." As he said that , he showed you the red heart pendant that said 'Sweetheart of the Red Haired Pirates' on the back.

As you read it , you huffed. "Sweetheart of the Red Haired Pirates ??" Cue some laughs erupting from the crew who now surrounded the two of you. Despite your initial embarrassment from the necklace , you looked back at them with tears filling your eyes.

The crew started panicking. You heard variations of 'we didn't mean to hurt you' and stuff like that. You laughed and held the bag close to your chest. "Thank you , everyone. I appreciate it." Your smile could replace the sun , according to them. It was so bright and so sweet that it made them question how you were even a wanted criminal in the first place.

Benn patted your back gently and gave you a soft smile. "Glad you like it , doll." Your face burned a bit , but you just smiled kindly at him. "Why don't we have a party for our little missy ?!" You heard your captain yell. You turned your (color) eyes towards his direction and noticed him slamming down bottles of alcohol. The crew cheered and basically all yelled 'hell yeah !'

---

Though the party raged on , you had to retreat to the kitchen to check on your dish. You combined the layers together and waited for it to cool on the stove. You sat on the counter and huffed. As much as you loved the boys , they could be a bit too rowdy for you sometimes.

Being in the kitchen by yourself gave you the quiet time you needed to rejuvenate. Your eyes turned to the door as you heard it crack open. Your eyes met with playful brown ones. "Oh , hey Yasopp !"

"What up , missy ?" He replied , closing the door behind him. "Whatcha doin' in here ? The party is out there." He walked over to your side and stared down at you , his smirk never leaving his face.

"Oh ! I was finishing up this chocolate mousse cake ! And I needed a bit of quiet time. Hope I didn't upset you guys too much !" As if to make up for it , you kissed his chin. He laughed and slung an arm around your shoulder. "You didn't upset us ! We were worried aboutcha." He shrugged and put his large hand on your smaller head.

"I'm sorry , I didn't mean to worry you guys . ." A hint of sadness coated your voice. This made Yasopp feel horrible. He panicked and smiled nervously. "No , fuck. That's not what I meant. Forget what I said. Did ya make the cake for us ?" He asked in an attempt to change the topic. It worked. It seemed like you had completely forgotten what he said previously.

"Yeah ! I hope I made it big enough. Wanna try a piece ?" You asked as you began cutting slices into it. You pulled a piece off and placed it onto a clean plate. "Only if ya feed it to me !" He laughed and placed his rifle on the table.

You nodded and got a fork from the drawer next to the cabinet. You took a piece off of the cake and placed it towards his lips. "Say ah ~" He opened his mouth and you gently placed the slice on his tongue. He wrapped his lips around the fork and made a noise of satisfaction.

"You're gonna feed him and not me ?? Wow , Sweetheart. I'm - HIC - I'm offended !" You heard from the doorway. Your head snapped over to find the source of the voice , Shanks. He had clearly drunken too much. You swore that he would find any chance he could to drink.

"Oh , come on ya oaf. I'll feed you too." You handed the plate to the blonde , who gratefully accepted the offer. He picked his weapon up from the table and walked outside with a smile on his face.

You cut a piece off for Shanks and fork fed him as well. "And what about us ??" You sighed and shook your head playfully as you noticed the line behind the red haired captain.

---

After cutting off slices and feeding everyone , you were exhausted. You sat against the door of the kitchen and watched everyone play around and sing loudly.

You shifted as you felt someone sit beside you. "Hey , Roux. Did ya enjoy the cake ?" You asked happily. "Is that even a question ? Definitely. You're the baker of the Red Haired Pirates , missy. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He took a bite from the meat he had in his left hand and laughed.

"Of course ! I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's a new recipe." You informed , taking a sip from the alcohol you had gotten earlier. "Really ? It was VERY good." He complimented while putting hid large hand on the small of your back.

"Aww !! Thanks !!" Your cheeks lit up a red shade from his compliment. You kissed his cheek and giggled softly. "Heyyy ! I want one too !!" You heard from a drunken crewmate. Another line . . Sigh.

---

After hugging and kissing everyone's chin or cheek , you were more tired. Without knowing , you ended up passing out on the deck.

---

You woke up in the women's quarters , accompanied by Beck and Shanks. You jumped out of bed and stared at them. "What are you two doing here ?"

Benn rolled to his side and yawned. "Mornin' sleepy head. You asked us to stay." You tilted your head at his words. "Yeah , you begged us to stay here with ya , Missy." Came the voice of Shanks from your right. You scratched your cheek from embarrassment.

"Fuck , sorry you two." You kissed both of their foreheads before you were dragged back down by Shanks.

"Now hush up and go back to sleep , Reader." Before you could complain , you heard light snoring from behind you. It was Shanks , of course. He was already out. You couldn't leave either , since both of them had their arms trapping you against the bed.

Eventually , you just let it happen. The smell of smoke , cologne , and alcohol have you a slight headache , but it lulled you back into sleep.

[rollinouttahere-writes]

I wanted to write out the character dynamics between Lucky and the Straw Hats because I have fallen deep into the Little Lucky AU. At first it was just gonna be a series of one shots with little to no plot for funsies but now I’ve gone and fleshed it out into its own fully developed AU and I feel compelled to share my thoughts on it.

Since I have this happening right after Arlong Park, I realized that at most, they’ve known her for like a week and some change with Sanji only knowing her for a couple of days. I think that this would make adjusting to her becoming a child much easier because ultimately, none of them really knew her. Hell, with her amnesia Lucky barely knew herself. 

It would take about a week for everyone to accept that this is how it is now. The devil fruit user tried to warn them that the effects were permanent (meaning that she’s not going to suddenly switch back, not that she’s permanently 4 she is still going to age normally), but they thought this person was bluffing in order to get mercy or something. As time passes and Lucky is showing no signs of turning back, everyone begins to feel some regret about punting the user into the sea, but now it’s too late.

In Lucky Break, she doesn’t come clean about the truth of where she came from until after Enel is defeated in Skypeia, but in this AU she would tell them the truth during the Alabasta arc. After Drum Island when Nami is recovered because she felt bad for keeping it a secret when Nami was sick.

Luffy’s relationship with Lucky has by far been my favorite to develop, I find it super interesting. Despite not knowing the adult Lucky for very long, Luffy’s emotional intelligence being sky high helped him to understand her better than she probably even understood herself. There was something off about her, and he knew it within their first conversation. The way she had a tendency to shrink in on herself and physically close herself off, and the fact that her smile never once reaches her eyes told him a lot. He doesn’t know where she came from or what it’s like, but he can’t imagine it’s all that great if this is how she acts. He still wants to go there, but now it’s because he needs to throw hands with whoever made her that way. After she’s turned into a child, he immediately notices that she now has that spark that was missing from her eyes before, and he’s bound and determined to fan that spark into a flame so that he doesn’t see that same look when she becomes an adult again.

Having a small child on board does ever so slightly mature him. At first he’s like “Oh there’s a little kid here now? Fun!” but then it evolves into “Hang on I’m responsible for her”. He realizes that this little kid is going to depend on him for everything. Sure, he has his other crewmates to help, but as captain he feels the weight on his shoulder more.

After the Enel situation happens he becomes more noticeably mature and goes out of his way to hover around her more and make her happy. He’s more prone to involving himself in the actual childcare aspects of her life instead of just being ‘the fun best friend’ to her. He sits in on her appointments with Chopper and helps as much as Chopper will allow, both because he wants to help and also as a way for him to see what she had to go through in the moment that he wasn’t there to protect her. He also tries to give advice, mostly about following her dreams and understanding how valuable the freedom to do so is. He’s still her best friend at the end of the day, but there is an air of seriousness to it now.

Lucky idolizes Luffy intensely, he is her Shanks pretty much. Between him being her best friend and saving her, she wants to be just like him when she grows up. He’s the best person ever in her book and she will fight anyone who tries to trash talk him (much to the horror of everyone else who is rushing to stop her).

Zoro naively thought he would be escaping Lucky fussing over him now that she’s a little kid, but he was very wrong. She’s still trailing behind and yelling at him to sit down so she can “make it better”, but now she’s just got a box of colorful kid band-aids instead of actual bandages. Zoro is covered in a rainbow of band-aids at any given moment and he can’t even take them off because she’ll put more on there while scolding him. 

There’s a post where I talk about their interactions a little bit here. With the part about sword fighting, he is very serious about it, but if you look closely you can see small smiles here and there as she makes more progress. He is very proud. He wishes Kuina could have met her, he thinks she would have liked Lucky. Tries to shield her from the idea that she will only be able to go so far because of being a woman, he doesn’t want that stupid mentality weighing her down.

If someone asks him what his relationship to her is, he would state that he’s her teacher. If you asked Lucky, she would say he’s her big brother. Zoro feels like he’s going into cardiac arrest but keeps a straight face and says “that’s fine too”. Lucky looks up to him too, but she also lowkey likes to bully him in true sibling fashion. Like telling him to put his boobs away, running off with his sake, pulling pranks on him when he’s trying to nap, that kind of stuff.

Right after Arlong Park, Nami was feeling very attached to Lucky (tbh she’s the first to start showing yandere tendencies in Lucky Break), so she was honestly a little disappointed at first when they realized Lucky wasn’t turning back into an adult. She would never admit this out loud, but she did feel that way. She snaps out of it pretty quick though and declares herself ‘big sister Nami’. She gets very into it, and likes being the big sister for a change.

As far as she’s concerned, she’s the only responsible adult on board (until Robin comes in). As such, she’s constantly trying to keep Lucky attached to her hip because she’s worried that the others are going to hurt her by doing something stupid. This doesn’t work all that well because there are other people on the ship that are more fun and goofy than she is, so Nami spends most of her day running after Lucky. Lucky is the only person that she doesn’t have a tab for. She’s a little kid, and as adults, it’s everyone’s job on board to take care of her and that includes buying her stuff like clothes/toys/etc. Nami does teach her the value of money and how to be responsible with it for when she’s old enough to have some money of her own, but Lucky isn’t indebted to her or anything.

Lucky finds it a little odd at first when some woman she barely knows insists that she’s her big sister, but she goes with it. Nami can be a little bit of a stick in the mud, but Lucky knows that she can go to her when she needs help. Since they sleep in the same room (sometimes at least, there are lots of sleepovers in the guys’ room), Nami is usually the person she goes to when she has a nightmare.

Usopp is great with kids, and that includes Lucky. He found adult Lucky a little intimidating (for reasons we will get to soon enough), so he honestly gets along with child Lucky more. He loves having a gullible little kid around that he can tell his tall tales to, given that she’s too young to be able to immediately call bullshit. However, he doesn’t anticipate how many questions she’s going to ask about the story. He wasn’t ready for the constant flow of why’s, how come’s, and what’s that’s that get thrown his way. On the bright side, his improvisational skills skyrocket from this.

His job in regards to Lucky is to grab her in a dangerous situation and run away as fast as he can, a role he chose for himself. He does fall victim to being roasted by a tot over this because she will call him a big baby for screaming and crying (lessens post Enel). As a sniper, he is supposed to be further from the battle than others, so he typically is the best choice for her to be with. Like Zoro, he wants to teach her how to use his own weapon of choice and even makes her a tiny slingshot. This backfires because now she’s terrorizing him and Zoro with it (and also takes cracks at marines sometimes).

Usopp is her friend. He doesn’t have the title of best friend or big brother which hurts a bit, but he learns to cope. Lucky does spend a lot of time with him since she thinks he’s funny and fun to play with. He only helped her prank Zoro once because she immediately played innocent and threw him under the bus. That being said, only she can bully him, Franky better sleep with one eye open for beating him up!

Sanji is her dad now, and no one can rob him of that, he will kill for this title. He held off for a week tops after she was turned to make sure that she wasn’t just going to go back to normal, but after that he took a page out of Zeff’s book and adopted her. He wants to go back to the Baratie long enough to let Zeff know he’s a grandpa, but for now will have to wait. He’s always trying to get her to call him “papa” to varying levels of success. She doesn’t cooperate at first because she really doesn’t know him, but she’ll warm up eventually and start calling him that. Though she does sometimes switch back to using Sanji just to mess with him.

Lucky is his entire world basically. You thought he was obsessed with women? That pales in comparison to his devotion to his little princess! His wallet has more pictures of her in it than it has actual money. What money isn’t spent on getting food gets spent on her. If she looks at something for too long, she’s getting it. Nami gets on him frequently about spoiling her too much, even though he says there’s no such thing. Ironically, he has better luck with women now because he’s more toned down around them and it’s just cute to see a doting dad, but he is completely oblivious to it. He genuinely believes that the women are only approaching him because they think Lucky is cute and doesn’t even pick up on them flirting with him because he’s too busy showing off the pictures in his wallet. Nami thinks this is hysterical and won’t point it out.

He wants to cook with her so much, he’s always trying to involve her in the kitchen (with age appropriate things of course). There are limits to what she can safely do, but he’s happy just to have her in the kitchen as a taste tester if that’s all she can do. She doesn’t need to become a chef or anything, but he wants her to know the basics at the very least. If she wants to have a tea party, he’ll get her to help make the little treats to go with it and show her how to perfectly steep the tea. No imaginary tea parties on his watch. The one thing he’s strict on is her eating habits, she needs to stay healthy and that’s not up for debate. If she just genuinely doesn’t like something, that’s understandable, but she can’t just feed Luffy under the table to get dessert faster.

Lucky’s actual father was very emotionally and physically distant, so it takes very little time for her to latch onto Sanji as her new dad. When she does, she basically becomes a daddy’s girl overnight. Sanji gets pulled into playtime whenever he isn’t in the kitchen, whether it be including him in the tea parties, “styling” his hair with dozens of colorful barrettes, or simply making him get in on the games she was playing with the others. With how god awful his childhood was, it’s honestly a little healing for him. He’s happy that he can give someone else the childhood he didn’t get to have. 

Chopper doesn’t get to be the baby of the crew anymore. Lucky would probably be the first to be able to really get close to him on Drum Island, because even Chopper isn’t going to be scared of a four year old. Wary, but not scared. However, after seeing that she isn’t afraid of him and is genuinely trying to befriend him, he comes around. It’s shocking to him to learn that she’s part of a pirate crew, but also inspiring. If someone so young can do it, he can too! They’re fast friends and become thick as thieves. 

Lucky thinks all of his doctor stuff is super interesting and likes to watch when he’s making medicine. She asks lots of questions and also gives out compliments easily. Chopper even shows her how to do some very basic first aid since that’s a good thing to know in emergencies. He also goes over what plants are poisonous and to not eat anything she doesn’t know for a fact is safe. Besides the medical stuff, Lucky enjoys hanging out with him lots because she thinks he’s around her age (and does not believe him when he insists that he’s 15). 

Lucky keeps referring to him as her little brother and it’s driving him insane. No amount of “I told you I’m 15!” will stop her. She thinks he’s lying because they’re both the same height give or take so obviously that means they must be the same age. He can’t even grow into a bigger form because she’ll just say that it doesn’t count since it’s not permanent. Like Luffy, being responsible for the safety of a child does make Chopper slightly more mature. Don’t get me wrong, he will still run away if Lucky is already safe, but if she isn’t then he will square up. Maybe if she sees him protect her, she’ll start calling him big brother! She doesn’t.

Robin feels so conflicted when they first meet. It’s one thing to be taking on grown adults that knew what they were getting into by taking on Baroque Works, it’s another to see a small child being dragged into by association. She intentionally leaves Lucky out of reports to Crocodile. She keeps hoping that Lucky will be dropped off somewhere else and be off the radar, and feels sicker and sicker as they keep getting closer to Alabasta. She’s just a little kid and doesn’t deserve to be dragged into something like this.

After joining the Straw Hats, she finds herself drawn to Lucky, and even uses her name. She does some mental gymnastics to justify this by telling herself that technically it’s a nickname so she’s in the clear. She’s totally not getting attached, she tells herself as she tucks Lucky into bed and reads her a bedtime story. It doesn’t help that Lucky follows her around like a duckling because she finds her very mysterious and cool. Having Lucky think that her devil fruit and all her knowledge is awesome really warms her heart.

It takes a while for her to be called it (post Enies Lobby), but she becomes the mom of the group. Unlike with Sanji, Lucky came to call her this entirely on her own. Robin needs a minute after she gets called that for the first time. That being said, she fills the role well. She’s got that calm and caring vibe to her, while also being a total mama bear. If anyone looks at Lucky the wrong way, she’s eliminating the threat on the spot. Her baby is not about to be punished for existing with what the government deems to be “bad people”. She’s harsh towards anyone she sees as a threat, but especially with marines/government agents. 

Franky is definitely surprised to see a little kid with the Straw Hats, but it also earns some respect from him. He appreciates seeing pirates that don’t just abandon their children, thank you very much. Franky has an energy to him that kids love, and Lucky isn’t immune to it. Granted, at first she just wants to fight him and he can expect to be pelted with pebbles from her slingshot until she’s forgiven him for the Usopp incident. He doesn’t take this personally. In fact, he encourages it. Hell yeah kid! You stick up for your friends! Show me who’s boss! His attitude makes it very hard for her to stay mad for long, especially with Usopp telling her that it’s okay they already made up.

His goofball personality and eccentric behavior make him a lot of fun to be around. On top of that, Lucky likes to sometimes watch him work. He’s very quick to engage her in it, too. He’ll explain what he’s doing and why in great detail, and is happy to answer any questions she has. He’ll even let her hold a flashlight for him even though he has his own built in. Very supportive if she wants to learn more from him, but won’t push it either.

After Lucky comes around on him, she calls him uncle Franky. He’s just got those fun uncle vibes to her. He truly loves the title and is proud of it. He gets a bit cocky and asks if he’s her favorite uncle only to get humbled by her saying no with zero hesitation. Sorry, Franky, you’re no competition for uncle Ace. Despite the devastating blow to his ego, he is a very fun uncle and is insanely protective. 

[hannahbarberra162]

Struck Twice By Lightning, Chapter 13

18+ MDNI on Ao3

Link to all chapters

TW: jealousy

A few days later and you were laying on the bed in the early evening, resting after a huge supper. You felt like a snake, basking in the sun after a large meal. And like a snake, you didn’t think you’d want to eat again for another month. Damn Lucky and his fantastic chicken pot pie. Laying there, you heard the ringing of your den den mushi.

Puru puru puru puru puru puru

You looked at the Buggy snail and your mouth twisted. You still hadn’t called him back after all his missed calls. You didn’t want to worry him but you hadn’t wanted to hear how he was right, how you screwed up, and how you shouldn’t have gone with Shanks in the first place. The worst part of it all was, he was right. But he didn’t deserve to be left hanging for so long. You rolled off the bed and grabbed the snail, bringing it to sit on the bed with you.

“Hi.” 

“About time, babe. I was getting worried. I was gonna leave for the Grand Line if I didn’t hear back from you soon.” You felt guilty, Buggy really was a good friend.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just kinda…going through it.” Buggy hummed through the snail.

“Yeah, I’d imagine so. Everyone and their Captain saw the article. That's all anyone is talking about.” You cringed. You had some small naive hope that everyone would forget about it after the next big story broke. “You looked great, though. At least they got a good picture of you.” 

“Yeah, I mean but did you see Shanks? That asshole has never taken a bad picture.”

“Fuck him, did you at least stab him? I have no doubt that it’s his fault somehow.” You laughed, something Buggy could always get you to do. It was Shank’s fault, but you didn’t want to poison Buggy against Shanks even more.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t. Thought about it though.”

“Do you want me to come get you?” You knew Buggy’s offer was sincere. But you’d thought about that too - the only place that you’d really be safe would be with an Emperor. Buggy was strong, but not if someone like Linlin or Kaido wanted to get you. They’d send wave after wave of powerful fighters, Emperors had a shared quality of being goal oriented when they wanted something or someone.

“No, but thanks. I’m gonna ride on the Dead Horse with Stanks. I think it’ll be OK, at least for a while. If I need you, I’ll make my way out to the East Blue.”

“Like hell you will, if you need me, I’ll come out there. We can stab that idiot together, as a bonding activity.”

“Hi Buggy!” The man himself had appeared, entering the cabin through the doorway. He walked over and sat next to you on the bed, leaning back on you as if you were a sitting pillow.

“Fuck off,” Buggy replied angrily. This was the first time they’d directly interacted since you’d been on board. 

“Aw, c’mon Bugs, I haven’t talked to you in forever.” Shanks was pouting. He had a lot of love for Buggy, but it wasn’t always reciprocated. You understood why, but it still made you a little sad.

“Fuck off,” Buggy repeated. “Why do you have to fuck things up for everyone you’re involved with? It’s like the Mierdas touch, everything you touch turns to shit.” Shanks laughed.

“That’s a good one, never heard it before. But it's not true! How was I supposed to know -”

“- that your actions have consequences? Gee, Shanks, I don’t know, it’s a lesson most of us have learned by our thirties. Anyway, fuck you. Doll, listen, say the word and I’ll set sail. Kisses.” 

“Love ya, Bug.” You hung up the snail. Shanks was looking at you with an amused expression. “What?” 

“Why did you call it the ‘Dead Horse? ‘Stanks’ I get, no questions asked. Buggy’s been calling me that since we were 12.”

“Oh, ‘cus the presence of your ship is like beating a dead horse. We get it - you’re Shanks and the Red Haired Pirates . No need for all the fuss.” You waved your hand at him dismissively.

“It’s not my fault we’re greeted with fanfare everywhere! I didn’t ask for it, people like me!” Shanks scoffed.

“ Some people like you, sure,” you said, rolling your eyes with a smirk.

“And some people like being tickled,” Shanks replied. Your smirk dropped but as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he’d grabbed your foot with his hand and yanked your leg into the air. 

“Ha! Whatcha gonna do now? No other hand to tickle with!” You were weakly trying to kick him.

“This.” Shanks licked the sole of your foot, causing you to shriek. 

“Shanks!! That’s absolutely disgusting! Don’t do thaaaaa-” but you couldn’t finish your sentence as he licked it again and you were laughing. 

“You’re right, that’s too hard with one hand. How about here?” He pinned your legs under his and started tickling the inside of your thighs. You were laughing hard.

“Stanks! Stop!” You weren’t serious, you knew he’d stop if you changed your tone.

“Stanks, is it? You really want to play hard ball, huh?” He pinned your arm under a knee and tickled your side up to your armpit. You were laughing so much tears were coming out of your eyes.

“O-k ok ok I surrender! I won’t call you Stanks!” He moved off you, freeing your arm while your giggles subsided. “Fake surrender!” You launched yourself over him and started tickling him back. You knew Shanks was letting you hold him down, but it was still fun. The two of you were goofing off for a while, ending with you leaning down over him, breathing heavily, with his one large hand pinned by both of yours.

“So, what do I get for defeating the Emperor?” 

“You can keep me as a prize of war,” Shanks rasped, wrapping his legs around your waist. You moved your face closer to his. 

“Mmm, not sure about that. What makes you worth keeping?”

“This,” he said as he leaned forward and kissed you on the lips. You pressed forward, lying down on top of him, releasing his hand. You ran your nails down his chest, feeling the muscle twitch under your fingertips. You’d been having a lot of soft moments with Shanks recently. You still fell into bouts of sadness and loss, but there was no other solution you could see. You were sailing back to your island and you’d be there before you knew it. Life would continue in some kind of way, but right now you were enjoying time with your…husband.

You kissed him along his prominent collar bones, leading to the hollow of his neck. You spent some time there, flicking your tongue on the sensitive areas. Shanks was moaning, gripping your ass and thrusting up slowly, turned on by your actions. You whipped off your shirt and bra, throwing them onto the floor. You leaned forward so your breasts dangled in front of his mouth. He quickly captured one nipple in his mouth, sucking and biting. He released it only to put the other in. You had undone his belt and were shimmying his pants down his legs. You didn’t want to wait any longer, you could feel you were already wet. 

You didn’t even remove your own clothes, just moved your skirt aside. You sat up a bit, taking your breasts away from Shank’s eager mouth. You hooked your panties to the side and sank down onto Shank’s eager cock. As you lowered yourself, you groaned. This is exactly what you needed. The stretch always felt good, but this time you wished you could make it last. You started bouncing on Shanks, pulling your hips down harder with every stroke.

“Come on, Love. I’m here for you,” Shanks was talking to you sweetly as you used him to get to your peak. You suddenly felt tears pricking the corners of your eyes but you didn’t know why. You shifted yourself to lay down next to him, hoping Shanks would take up the mantle and fuck you while spooning. You wanted to continue but were feeling too raw to have Shanks watch you. Shanks looked down at your face but didn’t say anything. He pulled out and fixed your panties, covering you up once more. He pulled your back flush to his front, gently kissing your face, while your tears threatened to spill.

“Where’d you go? Come back to me,” Shanks said softly. That made the dam break and you started crying.

“I’m s-sorry Shanks. I don’t know what’s w-wrong with me,” you cried, covering your face with your hands.

“Nothing’s wrong with you. Take whatever you need, I’ll always wait for you.” That just made you cry harder. Shanks comforted you until your tears ended, letting you cry into his chest. 

“S-sorry,” you eventually said. You felt bad about starting something you couldn’t finish and ending it with a huge crying session. Shanks turned your face to his and kissed you. 

“Don’t be. I love you.” You blinked. That was the first time he’d said it directly. Maybe you weren’t the only one guarding your heart this second time around. He joked and teased and beat around the bush but rarely expressed his emotions so frankly.

“I love you too.” You put your forehead against his. “Guess you’re stuck with me now.”

“Wouldn’t want it any other way,” he replied. 

~~~

It didn’t take too long to get to your island since you’d only been with Shanks for a few weeks at that point. The closer you got, the more anxious you became. You were nervous to see what remained in and of your house. You were on edge as the Red Force docked near your island and you were chewing your nails to shreds as the dingy brought you to the wharf. Unfortunately, the article had brought notoriety to the island and to you, so locals were waiting to catch a glimpse of you and Shanks together.

“Leave,” was all he said. He was serious, intimidating, and had his hand resting on Gryphon's hilt. The villagers, all of whom you knew, quickly dispersed to their houses. 

“You didn’t have to do that, they’re just townsfolk.” You felt awkward that the people who sold you milk were being threatened by one of the most powerful pirates in the world.

“Did you want one of them taking another picture of you and I together to sell to Morgan?” You pursed your lips. You were hoping the story would die down, Shanks had a point. You walked hand in hand towards your little house. From the outside, it didn't look too bad. Your garden was a little trampled, but someone had been watering it.

You pushed open the now unlocked door, braced for the worst. Shanks trailed in behind you, inspecting various trinkets you’d gathered over the years. You were surprised to see most of your belongings still in their places. You went from room to room, looking for your favorite possessions - a knife from Buggy, an empty bottle from the first sake you’d sold, old pictures of friends, and they were all where you expected them to be. You went into your office and found someone had rifled through all your documents, but you had been expecting that. You yelled to Shanks through the open door of your office.

“Shanks, you’re not going to believe this, almost everything is still here! And unbroken, too. I was so sure this place would have been looted, but no -” Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a shock of blond hair.

“You’re welcome yoi,” said a familiar voice.

~~~

You skipped up to your old friend and gave him a hug around his middle. “Marco! What are you doing here?”

“Buggy called in a favor and asked me to watch over your house yoi. Prevent looting, stealing, that kind of thing. He said you’d be by soon and I was in the area anyway.” God, you loved Buggy. You really needed to send him a gift after all he'd done for you. 

“Honeydew, I can’t believe you kept this old shell from that beach -” Shanks was walking back to you, holding a shell in his hand. He stopped short when he saw Marco. Internally, you groaned. 

“Shanks, Marco’s the reason the house wasn’t looted. He’s been staying here.” Shanks smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Thanks, Marco. Owe ya one.” 

“That’s so kind of you, Marco, I really appreciate it.” You beamed at The Phoenix, who popped a tomato in his mouth. “Was it you who watered the plants?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t leave them parched. You have a great little house yoi. It’s so cozy and comfortable, I relaxed more than I have in years. You have great taste in interior design yoi.”

“Yeah, she does, doesn’t she?” Shanks had come to stand next to you and hooked his arm around your middle. You wanted to roll your eyes - you’d already told Shanks you hadn’t slept with Marco, he didn’t need to be jealous. 

“Thank you, I spent a lot of time over the years getting everything just right. Listen, I’d like to invite you to dinner, it’s the very least I can do,” you said. You were incredibly grateful, he’d saved you a lot of heartache. 

“-That WE can do,” Shanks interrupted with a laugh. You’d meant the invitation to include Shanks, but hadn’t specified. 

“Thank you, that sounds great. But it really was no problem yoi. Always ready to help a friend in need,” he said, smiling. He leaned against your office bookcase, holding a tomato from your garden in his other hand.

“Here, would you like it? They’ve been coming in, they’re good yoi.” Marco underhand tossed the fruit to you. Shanks let go of your waist and caught it. 

“Thanks, bud.” Shanks was trying to speak casually but was failing. He looked like he wanted to throw you over his shoulder and haul you off to the nearest cave. The twinkle in Marco’s eyes told you he was enjoying riling up Shanks. This time you did roll your eyes. This would not end well for someone, probably you. 

“Quit it,” you whispered angrily, turning to Shanks. Marco pretended not to hear. You turned back to Marco. “Please, feel free to stay here as long as you’d like. I’ll get dinner later today, I still need to get my house in order. It will be our pleasure.” You dragged Shanks out the back door of the house by his empty sleeve.

“What are you doing?!” you whisper yelled at him.

“What am I doing? What are you doing?” he wasn’t yelling, but Shanks wasn’t happy. “ You’re the one trying to go on a date with Marco.” You tutted at him.

“You’re being ridiculous, and you know it. Marco was helping as a friend after Buggy called him. You heard all that, right? Behave or I’ll uninvite you to dinner.” You would too, you didn’t have a lot of patience for Shanks’s jealousy. Shanks huffed.

“Fine, we’ll have the rooster over for dinner. But I’m gonna call you my wife the entire time .” If your eyes rolled any harder, they’d be out of your head.

~~~

You hadn’t specified that you’d be the one cooking dinner for a reason. You weren’t the best cook on the Grand Line, to say the least. You bribed Lucky to make the dinner for the three of you with a large bottle of sake. He obliged and made a fantastic orange duck dish with jasmine rice. Of course, you brought out a nice bottle of wine and some sake, unsure which Marco would prefer. You were setting the table while Shanks sat in your overstuffed armchair.

“This thing’s great, we should bring it back to the ship.” You hummed in response.

“I know it’s great, that’s why I bought it. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the house and most of my belongings. It’s not like I can bring it all with me.” Shanks was messing around and finally found the lever for the footrest. He pulled it and launched himself backwards, enjoying the full recline.

“Oh yeah, this is definitely coming with us. Now, if I had this chair when you first came on board I wouldn’t have had to sleep in the bed.”

“Shanks, be serious for a minute. What should I do with the house? I can’t be here at any regular intervals. I guess I’ll have to sell it.” The thought made you sad - you really loved this house. 

“Sell it? Why?” Shanks asked.

“Well, it’s not like I’ll be here to stop anyone from taking things, and I don’t want to ask Marco -” Shanks cut you off with a wave of his hand.

“No one’s gonna take anything from here. I’m gonna spread the word that this is my vacation house. No one will touch it. And maybe we really can vacation here, this place is great.” 

“Do you think that will work?” You gnawed at your fingernail, while setting the final silverware down.

“Sure, I’m not an Emperor for nothing. Keep your house, keep your stuff, take whatever you want with you. But we’re bringing this chair.”

~~~

The dinner was lovely, except for two things. The first was Shanks and the second was Marco. Shanks was in a pissy mood, trying to cover it up but not quite succeeding. Marco kept making little comments to annoy Shanks and they hit their mark every time. 

“Thank you again for watching over my house, Marco,” you said, pouring him a cup of sake. Shanks had sat right next to you and kept trailing his fingers up your thigh during the meal. Which was incredibly obvious because he had to stop eating to do it, due to having only one hand. You slapped it away as discreetly as you could.

“My pleasure yoi. I always enjoy coming here.” Marco gave a little half smile as he sipped his drink. Shanks stiffened incrementally. “This is excellent, is this aged?”

“Yeah, this is an older batch. It’s pretty good, I was thinking of entering it in a competition.” Maybe you could enter neutral territory by talking about work.

“My wife is so modest, it’s better than ‘pretty good.” Shanks kissed your cheek. He had kept his word and was referring to you only as his wife. 

“Mh. Speaking of which, were you thinking of gifting Whitebeard another bottle for his birthday? I can bring you that tokkuri if you want to use it again.” You rubbed one temple. These two idiots were going to be the death of you.

“I didn’t know you made sake for Whitebeard. How…thoughtful of you.” Shanks said through his teeth. 

“Just once, and no, I don’t think I can. I’ll be sailing with Shanks now, and the ship isn’t a great place for brewing.” Maybe you could move to Laughtale and live happily ever after by yourself.

“So you are still married? Last you said, you wanted to get divorced yoi.” Marco said it like he was talking about the weather but you swore Shanks’s haki was starting to build. Maybe you’d kill Marco before you moved to Laughtale. Or Shanks, whichever made your life easier.

“We’re still married,” Shanks gritted out, taking your hand in his. “My wife couldn’t get rid of me so easily.” He kissed the back of your hand. Marco smiled calmly. 

“It’s rare to see you like this, Shanks,” Marco said with a raised brow and knowing smile. Shanks was already moving his hand towards you under the table. 

“Like what?” You said as you swatted Shanks’s hand for the millionth time off your inner thigh.

“Jealous. I only ever see you relaxed or serious, with nothing in between yoi. Your wife is the only person I’ve ever seen inspire such feelings in you. It’s endearing.” Shanks barked a genuine laugh.

“Only person I ever met who was worth being jealous over.”

~~~

The rest of the dinner went slightly better but not by much. You were doing the dishes while Marco insisted on clearing the table. Shanks had gone back to reclining in the chair, still drinking.

“Leave them, I’ll do it.” You felt bad your guest was helping. 

“I don’t mind yoi,” Marco replied. “Have you decided what you’re going to do with your house?” You nodded.

“Shanks is going to spread a rumor that it’s his vacation home to keep it safe. I think that’ll work. You can come here when you want though, it’s not like we’re going to be here all that often.” In your house inspection, you’d found that Marco had fixed a number of small projects you always meant to get to. That alone had earned him a permanent visit invitation. 

“Thank you, I just might. Nice to get away from my siblings now and again.” You hummed in response, still working on the dishes. “By the way, yoi. It seems like things are patched up between you two. But if you ever need to go somewhere else, you can come aboard the Moby yoi.” You paused for a moment. You hadn’t considered the possibility of staying with Whitebeard. He was another Yonko, you'd be safe. Before you could answer Shanks was by your side, leaning against you casually. But nothing about his demeanor was relaxed. Laughtale was looking like a better and better plan.

“You invited my wife to come with you?” Shanks was speaking in a clipped tone. Marco was unphased, still carrying plates. You looped your arm around Shanks, to attempt to calm him down.

“Shanks, stop. Marco, send my thanks to Whitebeard, but I’m staying with Shanks.”

“You’ve gotta be needed back on your ship, you’re the doctor after all,” said Shanks coolly. Marco laughed.

“You’re right, and I’ll be leaving soon. It’s nice to see you both again, yoi. Thank you for the dinner.” Marco deposited the remaining dishes in the sink. You said your goodbyes and you walked him to the door, giving him a final hug goodbye. He partially transformed and flew off into the night. You sighed, it was always so beautiful to watch him in his Zoan form.

“Show off,” Shanks grumbled. You walked back to the living room and plopped down on your couch. Shanks laid down next to you with his head on your lap.

“You’ve been such a brat all night! Marco was just being helpful.” You weren’t mad at Shanks but you’d wished he could contain his jealousy better.

“Inviting my wife onto another Yonko’s ship isn’t helpful, ” he replied. “Besides, Marco was provoking me!” Shanks’s mood was already on the mend with Marco gone.

“Mmm. And the all powerful Emperor just had to take the bait, right?” You jiggled your legs, making his head bounce slightly.

“I can make your thighs shake more than that,” Shanks said, turning his head towards your body.

“Show me, husband .” Shanks grinned. You hadn’t called him that yet. Hopefully the last of his jealousy would dissipate. And if not, well, jealousy sex was always fun. 

[hylianane]

I know it doesn’t have the same drama or canon-backing as the idea of Zoro being trained and even raised by Mihawk since young, but I’m still a little surprised that there’s practically no fan works playfully referencing the fact that Zoro was originally going to be a Buggy pirate. Walk with me here. Here’s how we could make this AU fall in line with Zoro’s final, canon characterization.

Yes, Zoro was hesitant to become a pirate with Luffy at first because being a criminal would limit his freedom of movement in his search for Mihawk. However, let’s look at the reason he ended up joining anyway: blackmail and the fact that Luffy was offering a real, tangible way to achieve his dream

Crazy thing is, Buggy is kind of the only other pirate in the East Blue who could offer him a similar thing. Though he would rather die than freely discuss his connection to Shanks, he is a pirate with connections (and a connection to Mihawk even this early in the story isn’t too much of a leap if we take in his interactions with Buggy and Shanks, as if they go way back). Buggy could very much use this fact to get what he wants. And what does the cowardly Buggy want? Protection, of course. Security in his place as the top dog pirate of the East Blue. A spot that the arrival of an upstart demon bounty hunter could threaten if he doesn’t play his cards right. And of course, his troupe could use a sword swallower.

Now, would Buggy be genuine in offering Zoro an easy way to reach Mihawk? Probably not. I mean, I’m sure he’d fail his way upwards into making it look that way so Zoro stays around, but what I’m getting at is that he wouldn’t have to be. Because Zoro, specially bounty hunter Zoro who only has himself to lose, can be just a liiittle bit naive. Because he has so much pride in his own word, he takes other, less deserving men at theirs. We see this when he expects Helmeppo, despite all his faults, to honor their deal. He’s genuinely shocked when the deal doesnt go through and he’s stuck tied up in ropes. We even see it a little with his blind faith in Luffy from day one. Yes, Luffy is a more than worthy Captain, but also for someone who had to be swindled into swearing himself to Luffy’s side, Zoro’s sense of honor and honesty led to him going to immense lengths to protect him before he really started to prove that, specially considering he’s someone who was already causing him way too much trouble within days of knowing him.

And mind you, it’s not like Buggy would give him no reason to stay loyal, either. His influence over the East Blue wasn’t anything to scoff at, and even though as a man he’s pretty corrupted, as a Captain he’s kind of brilliant. It’s a running gag how much the Buggy pirates are in love with him. He’s got wits and charisma and ways of gaining loyalty. He and Zoro wouldn’t be too bad a match.

And when Luffy does make his way to this Buggy Pirate Sword Swallower Zoro, and is taken in by his skill, determination and overall cool factor? Baby that’s the most exciting part about this. We’d get rivals to lovers Zolu but Zoro is dressed like a clown

[blu-oo]

Ok so I’m a complete sucker for buggy-shanks-roger pirates angsty time travel plots but I’ve noticed that it’s pretty much only ever Buggy (as far as I can recall) being the main POV/one to time travel. While i have absolutely no complaints about this (lol) i do wish we could see more with Shanks behind the wheel, especially since he’s still so mysterious he’s essentially a blank slate.

And im just imagining like:

shanks immediately just gunning to go. He WILL find a way to save his captain, he WILL make it so rouge and/or ace are safe, he WILL keep his relationships with everyone he lost touch with after his captain died, he WILL find a way to make Buggy not hate him anymore.

Except, shanks isn’t a naive little kid anymore. His captain is amazing, he loves him, but it isn’t until he’s back in time that he realizes this man he idolized was terribly flawed. He didn’t always think before he acted, he didn’t always do what was best for the safety of his crew. He didn’t always put his pride aside for the betterment of those who cared for him or the situation at hand. He didn’t listen when buggy was scared, ignored or even laughed at him, at his fear. Why would he do that? He knows roger wouldn’t let anything happen to them, but still, how had he never noticed that before-

He wasn’t too overly familiar with Rouge and her crew but they met up enough that shank’s starts to keep an eye on her and his captain, waiting for any hints of whats to come. He still has plenty of time before anything happens but he’s anxious, doesn’t know if he’ll be able to help them in time. So he decides to try putting ideas in their heads. A little “hey captain, if you ever have a kid one day I can’t wait to play with them and teach them how to sword fight!” here, and and little “our nakama is family! We can always count on one another when something super life changing happens!” there. But when he starts trying to drop hints, no one listens to him. He’s just a kid and no one is listening to him, why won’t they listen-

With his future knowledge, his already rapidly successful sword and haki training grows tenfold (despite having to reacclimate to having both his arms again and woah that’s trippy). And this is good! This means he’ll be even more ready to defend his nakama and their futures as certain events unfold. And everyone is excited for him, throwing prideful smiles his way, and he’s never felt so close, so connected and on equal footing (or as equal as a child could be) to the rest of the roger pirates. Except…

Except the already existing gap between him and buggy seems to become an ever growing cavern. Shanks has never been starved of praise and attention in this or his past lifetime, but now that he’s wise enough to not only look ahead but back, he sees his best friend standing farther and farther away from him. And now that he’s older, now that he’s reliving everything through a new lense, he realizes just how…lonely his best friend was underneath the brazen and cocky bravado. How for every praise he received, buggy got only mockery and impatient sighs. For every successful fight shanks took part in, buggy was told to keep back as to not get in anyone’s way. For every blinding smile he received from his captain, buggy got- and oh. Oh.

Beyond a certain age, Shanks never begrudged buggy’s lack of fighting spirit. He understood now that it wasn’t for everyone, and that buggy especially made do with clever tricks and conspiratorial luck. Shanks was shanks, and buggy was buggy and that was good enough for him. Too bad he seemed to be the only one who thought that. And finally, finally, things have started to make sense. He sees all of his interactions with buggy and the others, from both this new reality and from before, interactions long past and those still to come, and finally starts to understand. Shanks is a grown man parading around as a child, but buggy? Buggy’s just a little boy. Just like shanks used to be.

And if through his righteous indignation on buggys behalf, shanks starts to really perceive his own treatment by his former nakama? Starts to truly feel the weight of their expectations on his shoulders that has ALWAYS been there and is finally able to identify it? Well. No one said fixing the absolute clusterfuck that was the fall of the roger pirates would be easy.

[skygemspeaks]

thoughts on episode 5:

when luffy returns fire on garp's ship, it was hilarious to see garp burst out into disbelieving laughter. i understand that they're leaning into the awful parent aspect of his character in this, but it's also funny seeing him unable to hide that he's actually a little proud of luffy. like hey, if you're going to be a pirate, at least you're a good one

the baratie is absolutely gorgeous! as soon as the first pictures came out last year, i was so excited to see it in person, and it did not disappoint. i especially love the little floating patios they have outside, as well as the floating docks. i would love to eat there!

mihawk is finally introduced! i love that we get to see him fighting off don krieg. i can understand why they would cut out krieg's part from the baratie arc, but as with other plot points they've cut out of the past few episodes, i like that they gave a little nod to it anyways. also, garp being the one to call mihawk on luffy gives a logical reason for mihawk to be at the restaurant on the same day as the straw hats, instead of it being an entire coincidence.

zoro and the others ribbing nami after sanji hits on her is hilarious, it feels so accurate to how actual friend groups behave. they're such children! sanji overall seems a lot more likable in this than he is in the manga, i really like him!

the scene where sanji and luffy are talking about the all blue and luffy invites sanji to join his crew is really sweet! sanji's already looking at luffy like he's head over heels for him, and that's one thing i think the cast captured really well - just how utterly adored luffy is by his crew.

when luffy tells zeff about sanji feeding Gin, and Zeff just smiles and says "he's a good kid" i just about melted. i love that he refuses to be nice to sanji's face, but is really unapologetically proud of his son behind his back.

koby's conversation with garp was well played out. i'm a little iffy about koby's character arc this season though. it seems like a good set-up for the doe-eyed, naive, kid who knows nothing about the world to realize that the organization he looks up to to protect the innocents of the world is nothing but a sham, and for him to go his own separate way, but we know that can't happen. i've always been of the opinion that koby would make a much better revolutionary than a marine tbh, and this series is bringing that out full force. but at the same time, i think i really like garp's message that yeah, the world isn't fair and it's so grating that they have to put up with the double standards inherent in a group like the seven warlords, but that at the end of the day they have to believe that the marines are doing more good by taking down dangerous pirates than the bad they're doing by turning around to the doings of the seven warlords. one piece has always done a good job at moral ambiguity, and it shows in the live action as well

also, another aspect of this conversation that i liked was garp explaining to koby that he could have been fleet admiral by now if he really wanted to, but that doing so would mean him having to compromise on his values (and for those of us who follow the manga/anime, we know that more specifically relates to taking orders from the celestial dragons), and that doing so would mean having to give up his freedom. it's a great line, because it calls back to luffy's attitude of being a pirate means having freedom. you can see that luffy and garp are both the result of taking the same ideology to different extremes. it's easy to see how they're related, and how garp's ideals had an impact as well, in the same way that shanks did.

"you could never fail me" 🥺🥺🥺 i like how iñaki played this scene. there's still a lot of room for him to grow as an actor, but i like him as luffy, and i can't wait to see his career after this. i hope we can get more seasons, so we can see him become the luffy he was always meant to be

[acim-ed-ortsac]

Time on the Oro Jackson: 3

You deadpanned when, at the age of 13, you held the terrible duo by the back of their shirts after killing a large praying mantis that attempted to maul the younger ones. The two nine-year-olds had sheepish smiles, Shanks less sincere while Buggy was sweating, as you held them up. “Haha,” Shanks laughed awkwardly. “Great weather we’re having.”

Your lips tugged to a frown while your eyes narrowed at the ginger, “What were you thinking!?”

“Shanks made me! I even told him it was a bad idea!” Buggy defended himself while he waved his hands around.

“You could’ve stopped him, being the other one with a brain cell.” You hissed before turning around and walking back to the crew with the two youngest in tow. “You’re not five, you at least have the common sense to not go in there WITHOUT an adult!”

“But that’s boring!” Shanks whined. “We’re pirates! We’re not scared of anything!”

“You screams of terror said otherwise, Red.”

When you dragged them back, the crew laughed at your disgruntled expression while you hauled them two back on the beach shore. Rayleigh watched amused from his chair while Roger laughed.

“What trouble did they get into now?” The first mate asked, taking a sip of alcohol.

You threw the two kids at Scope, who caught them with ease, before glaring at your mentor. “They had the bright idea to fight a mantis that was thrice their size.”

The bespectacled blonde chuckled before he nudged his captain’s arm, who was on a chair. “See, they get it from you, captain.”

“And is that a bad thing?” Roger asked with his iconic jolly smile on his lips behind his bushy mustache.

“Would be if they keep trying to get themselves killed.” You grumbled while you walked past them.

*_*

Rayleigh knew that Mihawk was different than the typical teen boy, and he meant this in a non-discriminatory way.

It was evident from not only his bounty at a young age, (a damn 70,000,000 belli bounty with the epithet of ‘Hawkeye Demon’), which made the man rage and almost burn down a marine base if he didn’t hold his common sense, but also the way the kid held himself. Mature, too mature for his age. He didn’t have that naive light in his unique eyes but rather a guarded tensity in them. Mihawk’s posture was straight and confident as if he knew that he would win against that bounty hunter from before. And his skill…

Rayleigh knew that the kid would surpass him in the future, with just enough training, he’d have people fearing him and his sword. It was akin to destiny that the young hawk was sure to achieve greatness, as if the heavens had favored the child and decided a path—a course that would bring the child to majesty.

But right now… Rayleigh noticed that the young teen wasn’t beside him, glancing back to see Mihawk staring at a clothing store. Specifically, a black dress for teen girls.

Rayleigh raised a brow before he walked towards his student, “Found something you like?”

Mihawk tilted his head before nodding. An amused smile made its way to the older man’s lips, curious. Usually, the young swordsman would accept anything Rayleigh would buy him, a few months ago it was an almanac of swords and blades that he frequently shared with their other two apprentices and last year was a new sword. But this, this was the very few times that he would ask for something.

Rayleigh looked at the dress his student was eyeing; it was a knee-length dress with the top part more sturdy with flower-designed laces and a belt around it while the skirt poofed out a bit. It seemed to be Mihawk’s style, taking to the more gothic taste.

“Well come on,” Rayleigh pushed the door to the store with the young hawk at his trail. The store owner, a middle-aged woman with incoming wrinkles, greeted the two of them before the kid started picking out the ones he liked. And if Rayleigh didn’t know that Mihawk was an orphan, he would've thought that he was the son of a duke or royalty at least. The kid sure loved his dress shirts and pants. The same goes for his dresses.

By the end of it, Rayleigh was holding two bags of clothing and a very happy Mihawk.

When they got back to the ship, Rayleigh was glad that the crew didn’t question too much Mihawk’s choice of clothing that they brought. They supported him in his comfort and preference. But if the man really thought about it, the kid would’ve been indifferent to their opinions. Another thing that stood out about the boy was that he knew what he wanted.

The first time Mihawk wore the dress, the same dress as the lacy top, Rayleigh couldn’t help but think it fitted the boy. The kid would grow up to be a heartthrob, even if he wasn’t actively seeking said hearts. And Rayleigh wasn’t the only one with that sentiment.

The blush on Shanks's face and the open stare of Buggy were enough to tell, that these two boys' crushes were evident to the crew but Mihawk himself. 

*_*

Shanks, at the age of ten, believes that Mihawk is not human.

Because no human can be this pretty.

When he first gazed upon those eyes of rich color, his first thought as a young six-year-old was ‘Pretty eyes.’ Because those eyes were like the pretty jewels that they would occasionally find on islands.

Another thing was that Mihawk was cool! He knows how to use a sword and he uses it so well! Shanks wants to become at his level, wants to become a swordsman that Mihawk can look at and never turn away. He wants those eyes to shine at him, to see him smile at him, his attention on him and only him!

Sadly, Buggy also wants Mihawk's attention, but not on Shanks’s watch!

Can also be found in AO3 < Masterlist

[loyaltykask]

Chapter 24

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

WUKONG YOU ABSOLUTE ASSHOLE XD HE SO MEAN I LOVE IT

Wukong: You had a wild night didn't you Bajie: This is kosher being tied up!!

Even Wujing has to tease him there is no mercy for the middle child vibes

Precious

I like how they ask Wukong when they might be going there and they listen to him seriously. Like they know he is the strongest there and that he has been all around the world. Poor Sanzang being human has no idea when he could make it, whether in this lifetime or the next. But Wukong putting that tidbit of determination and will is actaully really sweet that he thinks Sanzang has a chance.

Haha Equal is Earth

Creepy fruit, however living to 47,000 is also kinda dope. Like that a fuck ton of years

These guys are just around Wukong's age. 1,212, and 1,200

These shits are like "But we Daoists and they Buddist why would we welcome them?" their teacher has to be like "Cause he a nice guy assholes now shut up and do it"

This guy is pretty generous but also what an ass. Oh sure, Sanzang gets 2 Fruits that like 94,000 years of life for his past life, TEN LIFETIMES AGO. And Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing getting nothing for being 'rowdy'

Even Wukong says this guy is full of himself which is saying SOMETHING from him.

Wukong has to pull a Sanzang life all over again and make sure no one eats his baby. These Fucking brats really are just as bad as they are in the Movies Not a single ounce of respect for Earth Even Wukong is behaving better than them

Wukong calls them FLIMFLAM

TARADIDDLE! BULL SHANK! THIS IS AN OLD MAN!

Also love that Sanzang is trying to change the subject else these two brats rile Wukong even more. Like Sanzang becoming a master of trying to dodge topics

I like how Sanzang is more worried that these brats are going to start some shit to rile Wukong up rather than Wukong actaully being riled up. Like he knows he talked to some brats but he can't change that XD just like customer server. I love that Sanzang just straight-up makes plans to fucking leave. Like "we can rest here but yeah lets gtfo" And now these boys are like "no please come in we were told to serve only you"

Bunch of two-faced assholes

Probs not even then, they represent hard Confucianism where Daoism and Buddhism are not meant to interact with one another and not even respect one another. Wukong is a legit representation of fighting that stereotype by being a symbol of both and achieving true immortality for it. Honestly, Sanzang refusing to believe those aren't real ass babies makes me wonder how fucking close to babies these fruits actaully looked liked. Like Sanzang the most gullible and naive of them all refuse to believe those are actaully ass babies XD That says something

I mean if I was eating something that looked too human I would also probs pass on it

This is honestly my favorite arc cause it is just such a 'boys will be boys' like the idea was Bajie's but he shared it with Wukong who was 100% on board, he didn't need an ounce of convincing, he just said "fuck yea, fuck those brats lets get that fruit, I'll do it myself" and then they just get Wujing his own too cause he just that good of a homie Like..... sometimes it's the stupid stuff you do together that makes it all the more memorable. Crimes committed together are enjoyed together.

WUJING WAS SO EXCITED HE WANTED TO TRY. WUKONG REALLY IS THE BEST BIG BRO HE GOT HIS HOMIE COVERED

I have to admit calling someone a baldhead is be fighting words indeed

Sanzang like: Hey even if they did commit the crime let's watch the fucking language

it's like breaking someone's sports car and being like "well we can at least say sorry, that should be enough" LIKE IF THAT IT SANZANG'S PHILOSOPHY NO WONDER HE LETS PEOPLE GET AWAY WITH SO MUCH SHIT DAMN And he still like: hmmm, doesn't sound like my boys

HE TRUSTS HIS BOYS He also got to love the homies for agreeing that snitches get stitches and that they should all lie together damnit

True brotherhood

[vro0m-but-not-cars]

Okay @sweatyflytrap asked for my final opinion on the one piece live action and I have a lot of things to say as always so I'm making a post.

Light, unspecific spoilers, but well.

First of all it's not bad. But also it's not good. I don't feel excited about it, but I didn't have as much of a hard time watching it than I thought. Except the first episode. I spent the first episode messaging all my friends about how ugly it looked.

About the story adaptation :

Some changes they made I understand, because the East Blue Saga is overall pretty rough in terms of rhythm and also kinda unthetered to how the story develops later on. Of course, it's very important and necessary as far as world building and putting the crew together go, but none of the more long term plotlines are there yet, or at least you don't know that they are, and that doesn't really work with live action tv shows or it makes them look like sitcoms. They had to introduce some more middle- long- term stuff to let people see that there are bigger things happening that are worth keeping up with the series. But it feels kinda weird when you've been reading and watching the manga and anime for fucking ever. Spoils some stuff that were big moments in the original story. But again : understandable.

Some other changes I just. Don't. What. Some were weird, some confused me, some were uncalled for and honestly kinda pissed me off (re: Usopp, iykyk).

One thing I was happy about is that there is, just like in the manga, some clever, more or less obvious, foreshadowing. Well played.

About the characters :

I saw a lot of people being very happy about the cast, I... Have doubts. I'm kinda sad some of them lose important character design aspects although I understand it would have been difficult to make them look like they're drawn. Usopp without his long nose is ??? I mean it's inherent to who he is so taking that away takes away from his characterisation for me. Also is Sanji really Sanji without the curly eyebrows? I like Nami, I think she's played by a good actress as well. She's the one who felt the more solid to me. Zoro looks okay, I kinda hate how they turned him into some edgy vocal-fried annoyed teenager but well. Hopefully he'll gain more depth as we go. Hopefully they all do. We've barely seen them yet.

Now Luffy... I mean it's tricky, obviously. I just don't understand his character in the LA tbh because he's supposed to be super naive and carefree and not very smart, and sometimes he is, and at other times he says elaborate things that don't match up. Seeing him more or less seriously plan and strategise at times is intensely OOC and really took me out of it. Also it would always have been difficult to translate in LA but I find his smile very sinister at times. Overall, because he's sometimes smarter than he's supposed to be and because of that smile, you get the idea that he's acting stupider than he actually is and it gives the impression he's more calculated and manipulative than happy-go-lucky. I can't really read him well. He feels weird.

And I sure hope they get a better wig and lenses budget in the future but seeing how the Witcher characters look in their third or whatever season I highly doubt it. Seeing them with shitty synthetic dry AF hair really really takes me out of it. I cannot possibly take Shanks seriously when that's what he looks like. Don't even get me started on Mihawk. Also I've posted about this before but why in hell did they turned tall glass of water future daddy Ben Beckmann into a short jowly pot-bellied 50yo? I'm sad. AND don't try to convice me that Alvida is ugly because what the hell. Please take me on a date, I will definitely tell you you're beautiful. Also not a problem but why the fuck is Garp Welsh?

Another issue I have discussed with friends is Sanji's characterisation. Obvi they couldn't make him as creepy as he is in the manga and anime where he's straight-up harassing women but this very central aspect of his personality is almost completely lost in the LA which makes him seem very weird. It makes it difficult to understand how he acts towards Nami at times, when they're supposed to be one of the most well-matched duos in the crew. In parallel, LA Zoro and Nami have sexual tension for zero reason. Their chemistry works much better than Nami and Sanji's at this point. It's fixable in the next seasons but in this one it's kinda weird when you know their characters.

About the production :

Okay so one thing I will say without any further "but" is that Sanji's and especially Zoro's fighting scenes look very good. They're well choregraphed, and badass, and dynamic.

Luffy's fighting scenes are bad though. The gomu gomu fruit abilities look bad. He barely uses them most of the time (I guess it's costly and difficult to create visually). He looks weak, and slow. The rhythm is terrible. Also it's difficult to see him sometimes use gomu gomu to be rubbery and thus fully flexible and sometimes see the actual actor jump and bend like a more or less normal person, thus lacking the elasticity Luffy is supposed to have. It's like sometimes the rubber ability is activated and sometimes not and he just becomes a normal human being. I fully understand that it's not realistic to half animate him all the time to make it fit but again, it was very noticeable to me.

I also struggle with the overall vibe of the LA. Some things feel overly childish, like all the discourse around dreams etc. It is there in OP though, it is generally key in shōnen, no problem. But at the same time, it's quite violent and sinister at times. Buggy is scary af, he feels incredibly creepy. Which is also fine, the OP world is violent and weird. But it doesn't look that violent and weird when it's drawn. The juxtaposition of the child-like, naive, idealistic themes and the creepiness is a bit confusing to me. I'm trying to think who's the target for this aside from the obvious OP fans. It seems a bit too grotesque for children, and it feels a bit too "✨the power of friendship✨" for teens and adults. But well. It was the case in the manga as well initally and it got darker and more serious with time so whatever, I'll reserve judgement.

Conclusion :

I still don't know what to think because I started with loads of questions and now I just have even more. Mostly about how they intend to adapt the rest of it. Are they gonna buy their wigs and lenses elsewhere than Claire's? What the fuck is Chopper gonna look like? What about Brooks? Are they gonna make Ace and Law ugly as well? Because if so I might burn Netflix's headquarters for ruining them for me. Is Luffy gonna get better at fighting or do they intend for Zoro and Sanji to do most of the work forever? Is Bon Clay gonna be extremely offensive or are they somehow gonna manage to make him tasteful without ruining him? Is he gonna be there at all? I mean I could go on and on.

Anyway, as I was saying it's not bad, but it's not good. I think it works much better for people who haven't seen or read OP yet.

[woodsfae]

Happy Weekend! :)

Babylon 5 s01e14: The Quality of Mercy

First Previous

ToC

I’ve learnt so much about the Centauri and Narn, can it be Minbari time?! edit: no. Not really.

Londo is frothing at the mouth at the opportunity to suborn the comically naive and sheltered Delenn’s Aide. Should be either quite funny, quite second-hand embarrassing, or both.

Judge: “may god have mercy on your soul,” Prisoner: *smiles*

I’m intrigued!

Medlabs aren’t free?? Not everyone can afford medical treatment??!! Oh no, Babylon 5 is absolutely and officially Space Dystopian Confirmed. :( :(

Unauthorized clinic = free clinic 😣😣😣

Ivanova-Franklin team-up yes! :-)

Talia episode, yes!! But goddamn boooo for more Talia Traumatization.

There’s so much going on in this episode.

Mysterious Alien Device Healer. (Laura) I understand disapproving of untested treatments, but it’s rich to scold someone who only takes donations, when your own medical practice charges. And doesn’t even seem to have a sliding scale!

Brain wiping people is ethically dubious enough, but reprogramming them into a new person and forcing that new person to serve the community for the rest of their life? That’s not ethically dubious so much as slavery by a different name. Reminds me of a short story I read recently.

Yeah, the strip club is definitely the “heart and soul of Babylon 5,” Londo. And getting the poorly paid Lennier to pay for it all. Extremely Londo Mollari.

“There’s no alcohol in here, is there? […] Because my people do not react well at all to alcohol. Even a small quantity causes psychotic impulses and - and violent, homicidal rages.”

Yeah better whisk that highly alcoholic beverage away, Londo. This isn't the only reason why you shouldn't drug people against their consent, but it sure is a great object lesson into ONE reason why it's a bad idea. For those persons that go "bodily autonomy and consent? Never met them."

“I have a quota to make, or the boss will take it out of my salary.”

really laying on the dystopian qualities of this universe - that is very illegal in my country but I keep waiting for attempts to roll back those worker protections.

Laura is a former doctor who had her license revoked. Very reassuring. And a dedicated daughter (Janice) who would rather not know if it really works or not than see her mom depressed about not seeing patients again 🫠

Hah, to the casino for Lennier and Londo! Bizarrely, this outing might actually be good for Lennier, or at least for his wallet up until Lennier gets banned from poker for card counting.

If they keep tormenting Talia she’s gonna end up my next poor little meow meow. She is so obviously dreading this and resents being asked slash required to do it.

It will only take a minute to wipe away a person and create a new one. How chilling. How frightful to live with that power and training. What is the purpose of requiring a mind scan before the wipe? This dude is absolutely freaking me out. Talia couldn’t even do the wipe/reprogramming after being in his mind.

MULTI-DAY VIEWING BREAK (oops)

nooooooo Lennier don’t let on that you’re counting cards automatically or you gonna get shanked!

Theory: Laura is using up her own life to heal these people. Via the Alien Device. I love her sweater. I want her sweater.

Theory confirmed! Life Force Transfer Device. And how creepy/cool that she repurposed a capital punishment machine. oooof. Wonder if the machine will stick around for Dues Ex Machina later in the show.

“If there is a discovery to be made, I will make it on my own terms!”

yeah, really she’ll probably make more progress with it as her only project for the rest of her short life than Franklin will. edit: not so short! I didn't see that twist coming.

Poor Talia, once again. Are they going to have to call for another telepath or send him to Earth to be wiped and reprogrammed? I bet Bester (my!! guy!!!) would out-creep him any day.

ESCAPE ATTEMPT. He really has a will to live. Understandably so! What a horrific punishment. Absolutely many many human rights violations.

LONDO. has. TENTACLES?! I’m moving on. That’s just something else.

😬 serial killer is definitely heading to Laura’s. And probably killing her. Of course Dr Franklin went there alone! Everyone except Laurel Takashima only has a 30% chance of using the shared brain cell at any given time. Laurel has something better: common sense at all times. (I miss you Laurel my beloved and hope daily that you pop back up as a guest star.)

Pain share! yesss. Every other episode is legit a horror short story. I hope she also took every bit of his life force and used it to heal her Lake’s Syndrome. edit: fuck yea

good grief, the device does need to be studied, but by the people who charge for healing?! Really. It’s such a dystopia.

Talia and Laura should talk. I think Talia could convince her that the right and necessary things are the same in this instance. That is not a death to regret.

Lennier is genuinely too naive and generous to survive on Babylon 5. Someone’s gonna shank him.

Tentacle Secrets. I do not want to know. And yet I am being told. I think I’d be slightly more OK with tentacle Centauri if it weren’t so gendered, and *gestures broadly* LONDO. He makes everything kinda gross and sleazy by proximity.

“I am going to take a vow of silence concerning this entire conversation.”

MEEE TOOOOO LENNIER.

Hermaphrodite Passion Goddess is pretty cool, tbh.

This woman redeemed herself for losing a patient and medical license by discovering and repurposing an execution method for healing. I can’t imagine what she’ll discover as her redemption for directly killing a person will be. Perhaps a less ethically obscene panacea!

And Samuel’s got a date. Janice is cute af! I ship it.

Here be lunatics and blessed dreamers. Seekers.

[viiiiiiiiiin]

Hiii viiiiiiiiin hope your day is going good your writing is really good😍😍💖💌❤💗🌹💋💞👍👍😭👏 so I was wondering if I could please request red hair pirates x reader(gender dosent really matter do what your comfortble with😊) and the reader has really cute personlity always giving everyone a hug/kiss to comfort them if they are having a bad bakes a almost all the time. Can be navie and too quick to trust people lol so innocent...always to the scenario i would like to request the reader makes a new friend brings them to the red force to meet the red hair pirates but later on the readers so called new friends starts to become mean often saying rude/mean comments to reader when reader crew mates arnt around their(red hair pirates) in readers innocent mind dosent really think or even tell them and tries to comfort their "new friend" but things only get worse. One day the reader new friend betrayes reader(does somthing really horrible) and makes reader cry and when the red hair pirates found out they ofc take action. By the way can you make this story end happliy?

Thanks so much for your hard work have a amazing day viiiiiiin!💗💗❤

Really appreciate you❤💌🥺😭👏💞💋🌹💋⚘⚘🌺🌹🌷🌷⚘🌷🌷🌷🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Red Haired Pirates x Sweet / Naive Reader

Includes: GN Reader , Red Haired Pirates , and Reader's "Friend"

A / N: THANK YOU !!! I'm glad you appreciate my work lol ! I hope you have an amazing day as well <33. I'm comfortable writing any gender ! I usually write GN readers though so anyone can fit themselves into the situation ! I can write for male or female readers too !! I hope this is up to your standards !!! If you'd like me to redo it lmk <33 enjoy !!

"Don't get yourselves hurt !!" You giggled while hugging Benn. You went to turn around to wander back onto the ship until you heard the clearing of a throat.

"Where's my hug , Reader ? You gonna leave me hangin' ?" You could recognize that voice from miles away. You turned your head , only for your gaze to be met with soft brown ones. You laughed again and embraced the red haired captain. Once you let go , he raised an eyebrow.

"Forgettin' somethin' , darling ?" He asked with a wide playful smile on his face. You rolled your eyes and scoffed , kissing his chin. The feeling of his stubble tickled your own chin , making you smile.

"Heyyy ! What about me !!" You heard from beside you. You turned your eyes to the pouting sniper next to you. "I'm sorry , Yasopp ! Didn't mean to forget you." You jumped up and wrapped your arms around his neck. He laughed at your actions and put his arms around your smaller waist , swinging you around like a little kid.

"I'm not gonna put you down until you finish !" He laughed , causing you to laugh as well. You were beginning to get dizzy , so you pressed a kiss to his cheek. Once he felt your lips against his skin , he finally dropped you. You staggered on the ground for a moment , head spinning like crazy. "Come on , Yasopp ! That was mean !" You pouted , crossing your arms and huffing.

The crew started laughing at the pout that formed on your lips. You stumbled into Roux , who had ended up behind you. You were about to turn to him , but he picked you up. "And don't forget me , Reader !" He laughed as he squeezed your smaller form. You made a noise of surprise and laughed louder. You kissed his cheek and jumped out of his arms.

"Go on , boys. If ya don't go now , you're not gonna remember what you gotta get. Have fun !!" You cheered , jumping onto the deck and waving at them. You would join them soon since you had to get some new clothes , but you wanted to go alone. Because of this , you waited for them to go ahead of you.

You weren't worried about protection. You could protect yourself , that's why you're on the crew. Shanks trusted you to watch the ship until they got back. Though , you weren't gonna stay on the ship. Your little secret.

---

It's been over an hour since the guys left the ship. You walked out of your quarters (after your little nap) and grabbed your weapon. You thought you'd maybe grab a drink while you were out.

You snuck off of the Red Force with your weapon attached to your hip. You skipped into the vibrant town nearby , a goofy smile on your lips. Your eyes scanned the area in an attempt to find a clothing store or a bar. You noticed a lot of stands , weapon shops , and many people walking up and down the streets.

Just as you began to lose hope , you noticed a medium sized building near a food court. The place had mannequins wearing outfits in the front window , so you assumed it was a clothing store. You smiled and walked into the store with a slight pep in your step.

"No . . No . . Aha ! " You picked up a top that matched one of the old ones you had , and you thought about grabbing it.

"That top would look cute on you !" You heard from next to you. You turned your doe eyes towards the woman standing next to you. She had beautiful , slicked back raven hair with vibrant blue eyes. She had pale skin and rosy cheeks that made her look adorable. She wore a white crop top with a heart cut on her chest. It had a turtleneck top to it and tightened underneath her breasts. She had black shorts and long , white high heels. She also had a star pin in her hair and her right arm had a tattoo sleeve on it.

You giggled and twirled with the top in your hand. "You think so ? Thank you !" You blushed , heart fluttering from the compliment. "Hey , would you want to help me find a top too ? You seem like you'd have great taste." She said kindly , smiling softly. "Of course !" You threw your arms in the air and smiled wider. She chuckled and brought you over to a section that she seemed to like.

---

You two ended up spending 2 hours together. She even bought you all of the outfits you picked out and you bought hers ! After shopping , you two had went to go get some food. You learned that you two shared a favorite food , which made you two laugh. You two spoke smoothly to each other. It seemed like you both had a lot in common.

She was a pirate too ! She said her crew was a secret , however. You did tell her that you were part of the Red Haired Pirates , which surprised the hell out of her. Something about her reaction to that was . . odd. She asked you to bring her to your ship , which you obliged. You guys were gonna be docked here for a few days anyways.

As you got to the ship , you were surprised by a hug from Yasopp and Shanks. They squeezed you and said incoherent things. "Guys , guys ! I can't understand you when you're crying. What happened ? Are you guys okay ??" You asked like a worried parent , eyebrows scrunching.

"We thought you went missing !!" Drunken Shanks cried , smacking your head. The two guys finally let you go as you caught your breath. "I'm fine ! I met a friend ! We got some food and we got some clothes !! Her name is Rika !" You introduced as you walked over to her.

She chuckled and waved to your crew. "I'm Rika. It's a pleasure to meet you all." Some of the more drunken guys ogled at her beauty. Some came up to her , flirted , or just asked questions. You laughed and brought your clothes to your room.

When you came back out , you noticed Benn staring at you. You walked over to him and gently poked his arm to get his attention. "What's wrong , Benn ?" You ingeniously pondered as you stared at his serious face. "Also , what did i say about smokin' ? It's unhealthy. You're gonna kill yourself." You tried to take the cigarette from his lips , but he laughed and tilted his head upwards. Sadly , not even being on your tip toes made you tall enough. You grumbled and pouted.

"Fineee. But still , tell me what's wrong." You sat on the edge of the ship and swung your legs gently. "Nothin' , sweetheart. Nothin' you should worry about , at least." He patted your head and took a puff from his cigarette.

"I know ! Why don't I go make some brownies to make you feel better ?" You cheerfully jumped off of the ledge and smiled widely. As if on cue , Shanks walked up behind you and wrapped his arm around your shoulder. "Why don't cha make some for all of us , hun ?" He slurred , drunken giggles leaving his lips.

"Oh ! Sure ! I'll make some cake too !! A party for Rika , how does that sound ?!" You asked , causing the guys to cheer loudly. Rika chuckled and walked over to you. "I'm the baker on my ship , so why don't I help you in the kitchen ? It's the least I can do to help , Reader. You're my friend , after all !" She inquired with a strange look on her pale face.

"Are you sure ? I don't want to make you work !!" You turned to her and tilted your head. "Of course ! I insist !" The ravenette enthusiastically spoke. She put her hand in yours and you led her to the kitchen.

---

"You put too much water into the batter." She said as she used her hips to push you away from the bowl. "Oh ! Sorry . ." You didn't think you added too much , but you've never really had outside opinions. You believed her. She said she was a baker , after all.

As you wandered around the kitchen , Rika often bumped into you. Sometimes , you'd fall over or hit your hips on the counters. You thought she was either messing around or making mistakes , so you didn't mention it.

"Oh my god , how can you fuck up brownies that badly ? Just let me do it." She huffed , shoving you away from the rest of the batter. You fell into the counter and groaned. "I'm sorry , I didn't mean to. I don't wanna make you do it , please let me help." You pleaded with her , putting your smaller hands on her tattooed arm.

In response , her face turned into one of anger as she pushed you off of her. "Do NOT touch me !" She snided as she mixed the batter together. "Oh ! I'm sorry." You looked sadly at her , making her scoff. "Don't look at me like you're the victim. You just assaulted me ! I don't see why someone like Shanks keeps someone like YOU around."

At her words , you teared up and sniffled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Is there any way I can make it up to you ?" You inquired , dejected. Your cheeks turned rosy from the face you were trying to hold back your tears.

"You can make it up to me by leaving the crew. They don't need you. You're such a nuisance , GOD. I bet they have you on here out of pity. Or maybe to use you as a scapegoat. You saw how they acted with me. They clearly like me better , and they've only known me for a few hours !" She raged , shoving you into the cabinet. As she spoke , she had slowly gotten closer and closer to you until you were against the wooden cabinet.

"But I -" You attempted to speak , but your throat burned. "You can't even take criticism from a friend. How sad. You're a pirate , act like it." She released you from the cabinet as she put the pans of cake and brownies into the oven.

You sat on the island counter in the middle of the room and twiddled your fingers. "Uhm . . I can watch them from here if you want to go back out to the party." You noticed the faint smell of alcohol on her clothes , so you assumed she was drunk. Maybe she'd apologize in the morning. "Good. Don't fuck it up , sweetheart." She said smoothly , clearly mocking the nickname thay the crew gave you. As she strutted out of the room , you couldn't help but think . . . Did they like her better ? Were they gonna throw you out ? Maybe they told her that. Maybe they're gonna throw you out in the morning.

You didn't realize that you started crying until a sniffling sound made its way to your ears. You used a paper towel to rub your eyes of the tears that threatened to fall. You smiled and stayed in the kitchen until the goods were done.

---

Now , the crew was sitting around the deck , eating the treats you and Rika made. You walked over to the ravenette. You tapped her shoulder and watched as she quickly turned around and glared at you. "Yes ?" She harshly spoke , finishing her piece of cake.

"I'm sorry for making you upset earlier. I went into town and bought you a necklace since I remember you saying that you thought it was cute." You pulled the gift out of your pocket and handed it over to her. She nimbly pulled it out of your hand and examined it. She smiled and put it around her thin neck. "Thank you , Reader. I accept your apology." She smiled again. To anyone that wasn't her , it was seen to be fake. But someone else noticed. A certain gray haired , cigarette smoking man caught on. His eyes slowly followed her as she walked to speak to the others on the ship.

---

It was now nighttime. Many crew members were passed out on the deck , and those who were able had made their way to their quarters for the night. You had brought Rika to your room and let her sleep in your bed. Instead of giving you some blankets , you slept on the cold wooden floor. You didn't mind , at all. What you found weird was how she kicked you out. Instead of being on the floor in your room , you slept in the kitchen.

---

In the morning , you were awoken by someone shaking you. "What are you doing in here , Reader ?" You heard someone ask. You opened your eyes and blinked , taking in your surroundings. You attached the voice to the appearance of the guy in front of you. It was Lucky Roux. You had assumed that he came to make breakfast for the crew.

"Oh , good morning , Roux. I'm sorry if I'm in your way." You lazily sat up and rubbed your eyes. You yawned and stretched your limbs until you heard the satisfying pop of your joints. "You're not in my way. I'm just wonderin' why you're in here. Why aren't ya in your quarters ?" He asked , the sizzling of pans feeling your ears.

You smiled softly and yawned again. "I let Rika take my bed. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable , so I slept in here." Speak of the devil and she shall appear. The ravenette walked into the room and smiled softly.

"Good mornin' , you two." She waved and sat next to you. "I'm guessin' you're the cook ?" Tika pondered aloud. "Yep ! The name's Lucky Roux." His smile widened , but he didn't turn to her. Strange. He seemed to be iffy about her , but neither of you noticed.

The door opened again and you felt someone put their arms on your waist. You knew who it was when you smelled smoke and feint cologne. "Good mornin' , Beck !" You said happily , kissing his chin.

"Good mornin' , darlin'." He replied , putting his head against yours. Unbeknownst to you , sharp blue eyes lingered on the both of you. Those eyes burned holes in your head , jealousy bubbling in her heart.

"I'm almost done with breakfast. Can you three go wake up the rest of the crew ?" Roux asked , not turning his head as to not get distracted from his job. "Sure !" You answered , gently detaching Benn from your body. You jumped off the counter and led the other 2 outside.

---

After waking everyone up and eating , you found yourself in the shower room with Rika. You had gotten undressed and in the bath while she took a shower.

"You know , your body is really . . Not interesting." She commented slyly as she washed her slick hair. You looked over at her and tilted your head. "What do you mean ?" You asked while you played with the bubbled in your warm bath.

"You got the attention of the entire crew looking like . . That. You must've done something. What did you do ? Are you some kind of witch ? I wouldn't doubt it , considering you look like one." She answered her own question while not even looking at you. Her words shot you through the heart. You were already pretty insecure and you thought you were getting better.

Even after the shower , her words replayed in your head. Did all of them think that ? Your thoughts were interrupted when you were tripped. "Oops ! Are you okay , Reader ?" Rika sarcastically asked , suppressing a laugh behind her hand.

"Yeah ! I'm fine !" You stood up and brushed your bottom half off. "Everyone makes mistakes !" You smiled and bowed your head gently. "You would know a lot about that , considering your parents made you." This time , she couldn't suppress her laugh. She walked off , swaying her hips as she entered the main area.

You stood there for a minute. Was she okay ? Did you upset her ? Maybe you should get her another gift.

---

You had decided to take a walk in the town. You wanted to clear your mind and get Rika a gift to see if she'd forgive you. You know , after kissing and hugging the entire crew.

When on the way back , you wandered around the ship in an attempt to find her. You smiled when you finally found her. You were about to show her the gift , until you heard her voice.

"They don't suspect a thing. That stupid little pirate's bounty will be ours , captain. I can't believe you made me befriend them , though." She leaned against your wall and scoffed. "They're extremely annoying. I can't stand their voice ! Anytime I hear it , I want to rip my hair out." She ranted as she slammed her fist on the wall.

Your vision was clouded by hot tears. You continued listening , even though you knew it was wrong. "I just need to get them out of here. Their face pisses me off. If I don't get this done soon , I'm gonna end up beating them silly. God , I hate this. Why couldn't you put Killeen up to this ?" You didn't know who she was talking to , since you couldn't hear the other end. Though , her words were enough to send you over the edge.

You walked into the bathroom and locked the door. You fell to the ground and began sobbing. You had a problem in the past with insecurities. The Red Haired Pirates had helped you , and you thought you were past it. Her words , oh her words. They tore down any progress you thought you made.

You didn't know how long you were in there until you heard a knock on the door. You hadn't realized you were sobbing until you saw your face in the mirror. You quickly wiped your face and sniffled. "Yes ?" You croaked out , throat burning.

"Are you okay ?" It was Benn. He knew. You didn't know how , but he knew. You unlocked the door and just fell into his arms. You sobbed into his chest and gripped his shirt. He didn't say anything. Instead , he held you and patted your back. He rested his head on yours and rubbed your back. He let you cry for as long as you needed.

The smell of smoke lingering on his clothes , along with his gentle touch calmed you slightly. You finally managed to stop crying and you looked up at him. "Am I really -" "No. You're special to us , Reader. We already took care of Rika. Turns out she was a bounty hunter. Don't let people like her tear you down." You sniffled at his words and pulled away. He gently pushed you towards the kitchen , where you met Shanks , Yasopp , and Lucky Roux. Oh ! And Hongo.

Shanks walked up to you and pulled you in with his arm. "It's okay , Reader. You're so , so special to us. You're a Red Haired Pirate , yeah ? I wouldn't have you here if you weren't just the way you are." He smiled and laughed loudly.

You started laughing too , along with the others in the room. "Yeah , Reader. We love ya !" Yasopp chimed in , ruffling your hair. You continued laughing and hugged all of them.

"Thank you , guys." You teared up again , causing them to panic. "Woah , woah , sunshine ! We didn't mean to make ya cry !" Shanks panicked , hugging you again. "Yeah !" Hongo hugged you as well.

"It's not bad. I'm just . . So , so happy to be part of this crew." You sniffled and pulled away from them. "What happened to Rika ?"

As soon as you mentioned the woman , the men looked away and whisled. Shanks looked down at his wrist and put his arm behind his head. "Wellll ! Would ya look at the time ! It's time for us to check out the bar in town !" He changed the topic , marching out of the kitchen.

"Shanks !!" You giggled and ran after him. Any feeling you had disappeared. You didn't know why you doubted them. You knew deep down that you were wrong. You were loved and had as special place to the Red Haired Pirates

[3hams]

My thoughts on One Piece live action…

PROS

The casting is fantastic. Every actor put their all into it. If I had problems with characters, it was the writing and not the performances.

Favs:

Taz Skylar as Sanji. Very charming. Cooler than his dorky manga counterpoint, but not too much. That smile is killer and the way he approached the womanizing aspect was perfection. Funny but not gross.

Jeff Ward as Buggy. Everyone is right, he killed it. Hard to do an evil(ish) clown and not bring up thoughts of the Joker. He somehow managed it.

Steven John Ward as Mihawk. I confess, I am utterly uninterested in the anime and manga Mihawk, but this guy played him like a more butch Vincent Price with his tits out. It’s the kind of drama and scale I look for in an OP character. Thoroughly enjoyed him.

Emily Rudd as Nami. My absolute favorite by far. She is an incredible Nami and gave the show direction and emotional depth. Loved her dynamic with all of the crew. Her thieving was fun to watch. So so good.

Even some of the minor characters stood out to me. Lucky Roux and Yasopp. Nojiko. Kaya.

The sets are amazing. They really built their own world. Incredibly artistry there. The music was as epic and pirate-y as it needed to be. I loved seeing all kinds of people in the main cast and the extras. Racial diversity but also nationality and body type.

THE FIGHTS. Wow, the choreography was breathtaking. Of course, Mackenyu kills it as Zoro, but they also did a fantastic job on Luffy’s CG rubber moves and Nami’s staff fighting. I had a great time watching every brawl. They may have been my favorite parts of the show which is weird for me.

I was expecting the fish men to be cheesy and not scary, but they looked and sounded great actually.

CONS

Why this pacing? I was bored stiff during the unnecessary marine storyline and then they go and rush other stories meant to build on the camaraderie of our main cast and underline OP’s theme of freedom. The manga and anime regularly make me weep, but I was fairly unmoved by the sappy stuff here. It wasn’t earned.

Usopp got shafted. I get that they had to tone him down, but he disappeared for me. He wasn’t even the starring character in his own arc. He’s my favorite, so I was bummed despite the great acting.

Confused by some of the wig and makeup choices. Stylized and cartoony isn’t a bad approach, but some of these wigs would be mocked for crustiness at a local drag show. You can do a wacky orange but make it look like nice hair. Mihawk’s contacts looked like painted plastic to me. Why did they draw a random line of eyeliner on Sham’s nose?

Some of the camera angles were overdone and made me think of 90s fantasy shows like Xena and Hercules. All the low angles and fish lens.

Shanks and Garp lost most of their charm. Again, not because of the acting, but because they wrote the humor out of them. Shanks is scary because he covers his power with that sardonic goofiness. Garp is a senile doofus to hide his strength and threat to authority. The contrast is where the sweet stuff lies.

Like most shows these days, boy was this show dark. Not metaphorically. I could not see many scenes very well with my mid-thirties eyeballs.

MIXED FEELINGS ZONE

Inaki is so sweet and cute as Luffy. He’s got his enthusiasm and his love for his people down. But he’s more naive than stupid and way more considerate than manga Luffy who never second guesses his decisions. I like them both, but they feel totally different to me. Live action Luffy is gonna be a lovable but slightly more traditional hero than my boy in the manga.

Deadpan Zoro is a lot of fun, but I do wish he were less cool and laughed more. Again, manga and live action Zoro are both great, just different. You can tell one of the show runners is gaga over Zoro. He got a lot of development.

CONCLUSION

I liked it, but didn’t love it. Not much desire to watch it again save for maybe a few scenes.

However, I definitely want it to keep going.

It has so much potential, and they can develop these characters more over time. A first season is often tough. Also, Alabasta is an excellent arc to adapt. It’s self-contained, lots of interesting enemies. Live action Crocodile has the potential to be amazing. And Robin!!

I hope this strike gets settled in favor of the workers and Netflix invests in more of the show. The roots are decent and can grow into something great. Please watch it to help that happen.

[jumpingpuddles]

Stargate SG-1: Bad Guys

[seraphtrevs]

I remember being a little annoyed at Nacho’s dad when he told him to go to the police in season 4, because it was so clearly not an option if he wanted to stay alive. The cartel would send someone to shank him immediately.

(Don’t get me wrong - I don’t think his dad saw it that way and was not asking him to die for his sins. He always came across as bizarrely naive about the cartel , especially considering he’s a Mexican immigrant. I guess maybe he thinks that in America, justice prevails, which is also bizarrely naive.) 

But now in retrospect...yeah, going to the police was what he had to do to atone, even if it meant his death. Something the show is very good about portraying is that once you pass certain milestones on the bad choice road, there isn’t any going back. 

For Nacho, that milestone occured before the events of the show. When Nacho has to convince his dad to take Hector’s deal, he tells him that he went back to working for the Salamancas. That suggests that at one point, he was able to walk away with seemingly little fallout. Nacho got off the bad choice road - and then got right back on. 

(I mean, I guess it’s possible that he tried to leave and Tuco threatened him to make him come back, but it really didn’t seem characterized that way in the conversation and is at odds with the Nacho we see in season 1, who other than being worried Tuco was going to kill him seemed to have very little regrets about being a drug dealer.)

From that point on, Nacho continued to pass no-return milestones, each more dire than the last, until sacrificing his life really was the only option to redeem himself.

The point of his sacrifice isn’t that it retroactively makes him a saint and gives him absolution for all of his sins. By the end of his life, there was nothing he could do that would do that. He couldn’t apologize to everyone he stole from, or make ammends to the families of the people whose death he was involved in (I don’t think Nacho killed people directly other than the time with the Espinozas, but he certainly played a hand in many deaths). 

What he could do, though, was finally take responsibility for how his actions endangered his father’s life by sacrificing himself. When Mike told Gus Nacho deserved his respect for playing the hand he was dealt, Gus was dismissive - it didn’t matter what Nacho did because Gus hadn’t given him a choice. I agree with Mike that that’s hugely unfair to Nacho, who absolutely did have a choice. He could have told Gus to go fuck himself and let his dad die. Of course Nacho would never do that - because he loves his dad. That love is a choice and an act of agency at a time when Nacho’s agency was extremely limited.

Even at the end, he still had the choice to cut his losses and go on the run, which would have meant his dad’s death. He chose love instead. He also chose to keep his word, even though he could have ratted Gus out in his last moments - again, a very real choice he could have made that would have put his own spite above the love of his father. Sacificing himself a brave and noble choice he made, even if it was a situation of his own making, even if it didn’t atone for all of his sins,even if his options were severely limited. He took responsibilty. He kept his word. He lived a dishonorable life, but his death was an honorable one.