#yeah no Luffy and Nami are thieves | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

galamalion · 2 years ago

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┈ ✧.* 𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑒

┈ ✧.* summary﹕after a group breakfast, you attend your totally boring not-at-all-cool college classes and end your night on a particularly high note.

╰┈➤ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ pairing﹕one piece x fem!reader

┈ ✧.* chapters﹕[i] [ii] [iii] [iv]

╰┈➤ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ w/c﹕3.6k

┈ ✧.* chapter iv﹕breakfast, books, and bedtimes

“Wakey-wakey, sleepyhead…” a feminine voice whispered from above.

You twitched at the sudden interruption to your sleep, blinking your eyes open once, then twice, and then snapping them fully shut before tucking under your blankets and turning the other direction.

“No…” you groaned, pressing your face into the pillow. “Five more minutes…”

“This isn’t a TV show, get up!” a different voice barked, yanking your blankets off.

Jumping up, sleep still plaguing your body, you lunged towards the blanket-thief, attempting to take your blanket back from their thieving hands.

“Give it back,” you whined, unable to pull it away from her.

“Nope! It’s time for class, no more sleeping!” she cooed.

You sat back in your bed, watching the figure as you slowly began to focus on objects, realizing it was Nami you were fighting.

“God damnit, Nami!” you hissed, stretching your tired body.

“I’m sorry,” Vivi pleaded, looking incredibly guilty. “Nami told me that we could wake you up, I didn’t know you would be so…unreceptive to the idea.”

“It’s fine, Vivi. I guess it’s good that I’m awake now. Do we have plans or something this morning?” you said, sluggishly getting out of bed and walking to your closet.

“Just breakfast,” Nami replied, sitting down on Vivi’s bed.

“With the boys?”

“With the boys,” she said, checking her phone. “They should be there already, want us to wait?”

“Nah.” You grabbed your shower-bag, towel, and fresh pair of clothes. “I’ll shower and be down in a little bit.”

“You sure?” Vivi asked, watching you walk into the small bathroom.

“Yeah, go ahead,” you called from inside, “I’m not leaving this room till I’m clean, you get me?”

“For sure,” you heard Nami sigh in understanding, “well, we’ll see you in a bit, ‘kay?”

“Got it!” You heard the door open and then shut, proceeding to then turn on the shower and hop in.

Once you finished and dried off, you changed into your clean clothes. After carefully brushing your wet hair, you quickly washed your face and headed out towards the dining hall. On your way there you checked your phone for the time, noticing a couple different texts from about half an hour ago.

Oh, shit. Maybe this is why Vivi and Nami woke you up. You continued scrolling through your phone, seeing another text.

It took another minute of walking before you reached the dining hall, climbing the small flight of stairs to reach the top. Your appearance was immediately noted by your table of friends as you spotted Luffy waving excitedly at your entrance. Before he could scream your name—or whatever he planned on yelling—his mouth was quickly covered by Usopp who was then assisted by Sanji in dragging him back down to his chair.

You quickly grabbed a tray of food and made your way over to the table, sitting next to Vivi.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!” Sanji cooed, giving you a teasing finger wave.

“She’s not a fairy tale character, you half-rate cook,” Zoro scoffed.

“The hell’s that supposed to mean, huh?” Sanji hissed, easily enraged by the words of his nemesis. “You tellin’ me she doesn’t look like a princess? What kind of gentlemen do you think you are?”

“I didn’t say she was ugly, I just think she’s not defined by the time she wakes up,” Zoro retorted, finishing his third bowl of rice.

“It’s alright, Zoro,” you reassured, “I mean, doesn’t every girl dream of being a princess? It’s kind of nice to hear it, I guess.”

“Not me!” Nami cheerily answered, peeling away at an orange. “I wanted to be rich, like that Rumplestiltskin guy!”

Sanji swooned, “I’ll be your Rumplestiltskin, my orange blossom!”

“I said I wanna be him, not owe anyone favors,” she scoffed. “But if you’re offering to spin straw into gold for me, go ahead!”

You listened into their three-way conversation for a little longer before turning to Vivi in hopes of a less fiery conversation.

“So, Vi, what classes have you got today?” you asked politely.

Vivi looked excited as she began her explanation, “Well, I have a civics class in about an hour, and then I’ll have a philosophy class after that, and then an economy class…I think that wraps up my day!”

“Wow, pretty wide area of studies,” you remarked. “You’re a political science major, right?”

“Yep!” Vivi clasped her hands together. “It’s good to have an open mind in this field, so I’m trying to gain more perspectives while studying here, so I think these kinds of classes suit me best.”

“Luffy could take a page out of your book,” you sighed.

“What? I don’t need any books! I already have mine!” Luffy hollered from across the table, mouth stuffed with meat. It was a miracle you could even tell what he was saying.

“Nothing, Luffy!” you called back, hoping the food flying from Luffy’s mouth wouldn’t land on anyone nearby.

Vivi politely cleared her throat, “What kind of classes do you have today?”

“Ugh,” you groaned, slouching in your seat.

“Well, that doesn’t appear to be a good sign,” Vivi observed.

“I just don’t want to go to chemistry,” you made a quick vomiting gesture. “I have two psychology classes after that, but I’d rather go to those first and chemistry last, ya feel me?”

Vivi nodded astutely, “Yes, but if you have chemistry now, then you can end your day off on a high note!”

“Always seeing the glass half-full, huh?” you asked, smiling at her enthusiasm.

“I certainly try to. I think it helps me view the world more brightly.”

“Not a bad reason to,” you sighed.

The eight of you ate breakfast together, constantly switching conversations as you all learned new bits and pieces from one another. Sanji was studying culinary arts, Usopp was studying engineering, Vivi had a personal butler back home, and Zoro grew up in a dojo. All in all, your friends' lives were far more interesting than your own. Growing up in a well-maintained orphanage didn’t do much for character growth, after all.

“Well,” you stood up, “my class is starting soon, so I should head out now,”

“Ah, leaving so soon, just like last time!” Sanji cried. “I’ll miss you, my sweet princess!”

“Have fun,” Zoro murmured, drinking from a flask of booze.

“Where the hell’d you get that?!” Usopp gaped.

You decided to make your exit before the situation got out of hand.

“I hate chemistry,” you groaned, trekking over to the science building.

It wasn’t that chemistry was particularly hard, but it was a lot of work. Concepts could be explained, equations could be understood, and values could be memorized. But it was just so damn boring at times. Sitting still during lecture was insufferable, but you could keep up for a little bit, at least until the next new thing was introduced. Then you’d be lost. But that’s what office hours and tutors were for, you supposed.

You climbed the stairs up to your class, dreading the pit of boredom that awaited you within. Reaching the classroom, you carefully turned the handle and stepped inside. Immediately upon entering, you immediately noticed a familiar face.

Sitting at a lone table off to the side was your lab assistant, Law, if you remembered correctly. Was he really assisting two chemistry classes? What kind of psychotic lunatic would subject themselves to that kind of pain?

His mental state wasn’t something you particularly cared about, especially considering your somewhat embarrassing encounter with him. You decided to just claim a seat and ignore him until further notice, most likely until you needed help with something.

The class itself was cut and dry; Avogrado’s number is important and we’re all made of molecules. Once the lesson was over and the hour was up, you began to pack up your things, particularly slower than your fellow students, who were racing to exit the building.

Once you had your laptop (and pens, pencils, notebook, and calculator) all stored within your bag, you stood from your chair to leave.

“Last one to leave again, huh?” Law’s voice rang out as he stood from his table.

You took a deep breath in, “I guess so, yeah. Last one to wake up, last one to leave.”

“Bad habits can be hard to break,” he advised, walking to the door.

“And that’s why we have alarm clocks,” you muttered, following behind him.

Law snickered at your comment, “That’s what I thought when I was a freshman. They’re pretty effective until you pull three all-nighters in a row.”

“Well, I guess I won’t be pulling any all-nighters, then,” you asserted. “I’ll just have to study before I have a test.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” he smirked, turning into a different hallway than you, leaving you behind.

“Maybe I will,” you murmured to yourself, walking out of the building.

You strolled through campus, intent on heading back to your dorm and studying a little, maybe getting lunch with Vi and Nami later.

“____!” a voice shrilled from across your path.

Turning to your left, you saw Usopp and Zoro making their way towards you, the former waving.

“Hey, ____,” Usopp began, “me and Zoro were gonna go to the library and study, wanna come?”

You thought for a moment, “Yeah sure, sounds like fun. I’ve got some work I need to finish up on.”

“Sweet!” Usopp cheered, charging towards the direction of the library. “Follow me, Usoppites!”

You and Zoro gave each other a knowing before the latter shrugged his shoulders, stomping after the young man.

The three of you gathered together at a table, pulling up chairs and setting your notebooks and laptops up on top.

“So,” you began, opening up your computer, “anyone have exciting stories from their first week?”

“It’s only Tuesday,” Zoro groaned, rubbing his forehead and leaning back in his chair.

You rolled your eyes, “That doesn’t mean cool stuff can’t have happened, mossy .”

“Only annoying if it’s from Sanji,” he scoffed, crossing his arms with a tiny smirk on his face. What, was it the curly eyebrows that ruined the name for him?

“I have a story, kind of,” Usopp interjected sheepishly. “It’s about a guy in one of my engineering classes…”

“Well, spit it out,” Zoro grunted.

“Look who’s interested now,” you teased, poking him in the shoulder.

“Never said I wasn’t,” he fired back.

Usopp cleared his throat, “Well, there’s a huge guy in my mechanical engineering class, and I mean massive guy. Everything about him his huge—shoulders, thighs, calves, neck,”

“Dick?” Zoro chuckled, earning a playful shove from you.

“I can only assume so,” Usopp answered honestly. “But anyways, I don’t know why he’s in the class, he’s a junior .”

‘I know a thing or two about juniors,’ you thought to yourself, flipping through your notebook.

“I’ve heard some rumors from other students. A few say that the school’s making him retake the class because he beat up the teacher, but I’ve also heard that he beat up his entire class,” Usopp whispered, looking around as if the student would appear behind him. “But most importantly, people have said that he’s a G-A-N-G leader!”

You and Zoro shared a brief look before turning to Usopp.

“I know that Grand Line isn’t exactly known for its prim and properness, Usopp,” you reasoned, “however, if this guy really beat the shit out of his teacher or class or whatever he did, the school would probably expel him, not make him retake the class.”

“____ has a point,” Zoro yawned, “but there’s probably a reason he has those rumors around him. I’d keep an eye out.”

“No problemo!” Usopp straightened his papers, “I’m keeping a close eye on him, just in case he tries something dastardly. I won’t end up like my predecessors!”

All you could do was hesitantly accept Usopp’s resolution, slightly fearing for his safety if he were to be caught.

“Am I really the only one with a problem student in my classes?” Usopp grumbled, “I thought bad boys would be more widespread at Grand Line…”

“Well, I don’t have a problem student per se,” you lightly coughed, “but I have an assistant in two of my classes, and I think he’s gonna be a pain in my ass.”

Zoro quirked an eyebrow, “You think he’s gonna fail you or somethin’?”

“Well, no,” you admitted, “I just think he’s gonna be a pain in my ass.”

“Repeating what you said doesn’t make your meaning any clearer…” Usopp pointed out, chewing on the back of his pencil.

“Ok, well, it doesn’t matter,” you sighed, glaring down at your papers.

“I have a class with Luffy,” Zoro said coolly.

“What makes you think he counts as a bad boy?!” you and Usopp snarled.

After your little discussion, the three of you began working separately on your assignments. You focused on studying in advance of your next chemistry class, hoping to prove Law wrong in his assumptions. By keeping ahead of your work, you could easily sleep in far longer than intended. At least until you had a morning class. But you could worry about that next semester, or whenever the universe decided to sprinkle a little misfortune in your idealistic college experience. Damned universe.

The silence persisted for an hour, only interrupted by an occasional cough or hurried knee-bouncing beneath the table. Your phone was the first real disturbance, buzzing on the table and causing a light shiver to course through it. You hurriedly removed it and checked to see what caused the notification, spotting a text from Nami.

You looked at Nami’s picture, seeing a selfie of her sitting in the middle of a small tile floor, a sink and shower in the background.

“Alright guys,” you breathed, standing up and gathering your things. “I have been cordially invited to attend a slumber party and must take my leave.”

“Will you be okay walking back alone?” Usopp asked.

You swung your bag over your shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’ll call you guys if I need anything.”

“Stay safe,” Zoro muttered, hunched over a stack of papers.

“Yeah, good luck with all that,” you laughed quietly, leaving the library.

“Nami?” you called out, stepping into the hallway of your dorm floor.

“Right here!” Nami’s voice echoed back, spotting you and offering a small wave.

She was sitting up against the wall right next to your dorm room’s door and wearing her pajamas, peeling a small tangerine with her left hand and scrolling on her phone with her right.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she groaned, pointing to a pile of tangerine peels, “I’ve been bored out of my mind waiting for Vi to finish setting up.”

“I assume a picturesque site awaits us behind the door,” you joked, sliding down beside her.

“Ugh, you and your big fancy-pants lingo,” she pouted, popping a tangerine slice into her mouth.

“What, is picturesque too big a word for your shiny golden brain?” you teased. “I’ll rephrase—It’s gonna be real purty in that room! How’d I do?”

Nami jabbed you with her elbow, earning a yelp from you.

“I’ll have you know, Little Miss Knows-a-Lot, that I won my elementary school’s spelling bee when I was—”

Before Nami could finish her retort, the door beside her flew open, revealing a very chipper Vivi dressed in her matching silk pajamas, holding another matching pair and a blindfold.

“Oh, good afternoon, ____! Thank you very much for agreeing to attend my slumber party. I have prepared a pair of pajamas for you to wear, but you’ll have to put on this blindfold to go get changed, I do not want my surprise ruined!”

You nodded, giving Nami a salute before allowing Vivi to lead you blindfolded into the bathroom to get changed. And, after changing, you patiently waited for Vivi to give you the go ahead to leave.

“You done yet, Vi?” you tapped on the bathroom door while reading the labels on everyone's skin care products.

“Almost, I promise!” she hollered back, “I just need to put on the finishing touches to make sure nothing falls down!”

“Falls down?” Nami shouted through the door. “Just what are you doing to our room?”

“Nothing permanent!” Vivi sang, clearly rushing back and forth in the room judging by her voice.

“I’ve had to start reading the backs of shampoo bottles now, Vi! If I run out of labels to read I think I’ll die,” you pleaded.

“Hey, be careful touching my stuff! Break it and you pay for it!” Nami barked, knocking viciously on her door.

“How am I gonna break a shampoo bottle?” you scoffed, placing it back down and reciprocating her violent knocks.

Just as you were about to send another knock Nami’s way, the bathroom door flew open, causing you to stumble forward and onto the floor.

“Oops! I’m so sorry!” Vivi cried, helping you up and opening the door to the dorm.

“Well, let’s see this awesome slumber party room…” Nami started, the words quickly dying on her tongue as she took in the room.

Beautiful was too dull a word to describe how absolutely stunning the room was. The blankets had been rearranged to form a tent structure between the two beds, using a tall stick that had come from who knows where with a base that allowed it to remain firmly planted without fear of toppling over. Little fairy lights decorated the ceiling of the fort, both large and tiny pillows decorated the sides of the fort, and soft, fluffy blankets were scattered about for snuggling purposes. Snacks were stacked within the fort along the bed frames, easily within reach of anyone who wanted anything, bowls sitting underneath a bed. On the other side of the fort was Vivi’s laptop with about fifteen tabs of different streaming services open for your viewing pleasure during this slumber party.

Nami gaped at the sight, “Vi, it’s…”

“...Picturesque?” you breathed, staring in amazement.

“Welcome!” Vivi clasped her hands in excitement before spreading them out, “to my very first slumber party!”

tag list: @sylum , @dimplewonie

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zorosangell · 7 months ago

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⛥ﾟ・。 protector: chapter twenty

synopsis: " you were supposed to stay a crewate, just another back to watch, " he tightened his hold, " i didn't even notice the change until i woke up one day and realized i'd take a bullet for you "

cw: violence, gore, fighting, mature themes, profanity, MAJOR/MINOR ANIME SPOILERS, follows the plot of the anime, slowww burn.

a/n: reposting from another account

A lot had happened in the crew's travels through the desert.

You ran into monstrous lizards, horrible sandstorms, thieving birds, sudden sinkholes, fake rebel armies, a desolate town, said goodbye to Ace, and everything else in between.

But now, you all had finally made it to your true destination...

Rainbase.

The current safe haven to the rebel army, Crocodile, and all of Baroque Works.

Luffy and Usopp had run off to go find some water, and Chopper went to the bathroom, so the rest of the crew was sitting in the shade, waiting for the three to return.

"I heard this place was a casino town," you smirked, looking up at Zoro, "Maybe we could hit up the slot machines before the final battle."

You had taken a nice shady spot next to Zoro, laying your head in his lap as you two conversed to pass the time.

And after a couple minutes of red cheeks and sweating from the man, which you blamed on the heat, he finally started responding in things other than rushed, one word replies.

Zoro smiled, tossing the stick he had been fiddling with in a nearby bush, "Eh, knowing Luffy and Usopp, they're bound to screw something up. I'd start getting ready to run."

You snickered, nodding your head, "Yeah, you're probably right. But we might as well enjoy this moment of peace while we got it, y'know?"

Suddenly, Zoro paused, and his eyes flickered with a question.

"How's it feel? ...Knowing that you're gonna be the first of the crew to reach your goal?" He asked, closing his eyes and tucking his hands behind his head.

"It feels... accomplishing. After all this time, I'll finally feel complete," you smiled, sticking out your tongue.

"It's almost too good to be true."

Zoro almost let his own smile crack through, before he turned serious again, clearing his throat.

"After you do complete your dream, are you... leaving the crew?" he asked, looking at everything but you.

You smirked, the man's nervous state fueling your confidence, "Why you ask, swordsman? Don't want me to go?"

The poor man blushed profusely. "I was just wondering! You always gotta make everything weird..."

You hummed, calming shutting your eyes and shifting in his lap, getting comfortable.

"Whatever you say, Zoro."

"Run away! Protect the water!" the familiar voice of your captain shouted, him and Usopp running towards the crew lugging barrels of water, a large group of marines not too far behind.

"Looks like the marines are chasing them," Sanji sighed.

"Why are they leading them this way?!" Nami shouted.

"Y'know, just once I'd like to have two minutes of peace," you groaned, standing up and stretching your wings.

"Wouldn't we all," Zoro agreed, standing up as well.

"But Tony hasn't made his way back yet," Vivi chimed.

"Chopper can handle himself. We gotta get moving," you assured, pushing off the ground and flying away, the crew in tow.

The crew had split up once you reached Crocodile's casino, Raindinners, but now Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Usopp, and you had reconvened on the casino floor, now being chased by Captain Smoker.

'I knew I recognized him from that other town! I just have the worst luck.'

"Hey, Smoker Captain Smoker! Never thought I'd see you again!" tou smirked, turning around in mid-air to face him.

"You didn't tell me you were part of the Strawhats!" his eyebrows furrowed.

"You never asked," you shrugged.

"You know this guy?" Zoro asked, cocking a brow.

"I met him back at Loguetown. We talked for a bit," you answered truthfully, "Why ask?"

The swordsman shook his head, "No reason."

"Please step this way! The VIP lounge welcomes you," a man in a suit cheesed, throwing up some flower petals and motioning towards a very ornate door.

"Did he say VIP lounge?" Usopp asked.

"Hold on, do you think this could be a trap?" Nami chimed.

"Don't places like these usually have free drinks for their guests?" Zoro smirked.

"Idiot," you scoffed, smacking him upside the head.

"Not like we have a choice! Run for it!" Luffy shouted, sprinting through the doors.

"What's a Vip, anyways?!"

As the five of you ran down the hall, you began to approach a sign that said VIPs left and Pirates right.

"Which way do we go?" Nami asked, frantically.

"VIPs! Go VIPs!" you quickly answered.

"Nuh uh! We're pirates! We go right!" Luffy shouted again, turning right.

'Idiot!'

Everyone turned the corner, only to see it was a dead end, and you landed.

"See. I told you s—" Just like that, the ground dropped from beneath your feet.

"CRAP!" "(Y/N)!" Zoro quickly grabbed you, pulling you into him to shield your fall.

You held on tightly to him, flinching at the painful thud that echoed in the room as the two of you landed.

"Crap! Zoro! Are you alright?!" you frantically asked, wiggling out of his grip and sitting on your knees to face him.

"Relax. I'm fine. I've been through worse," he assured, sitting up with a groan.

You could feel the eyes of a certain gray haired individual practically burning into you, but you decided to ignore it for the time being.

You felt this sudden wave of relief and gratitude wash over you, and despite the current situation, nothing mattered more than making sure he was okay and thanking him for his gesture.

It was something you've never felt before.

"Thank you," you smiled, looking into his eyes sincerely.

He blushed, quickly turning his gaze away from you.

"Let's focus," he quickly replied, standing up.

You shook yourself out of it, turning your attention to the matter at hand.

"Right," you nodded.

"What a foolproof trick," Usopp sighed.

"Never woulda guessed this," Luffy agreed.

"(y/n) tried to tell you idiots!" Nami exclaimed, smacking them both upside the head.

BAM!

"Crap!" you groaned, slumping against the bars as you held your fist painfully.

"The hell? I'm using Godlike Strength right now. The door should've been blown off its hinges."

A sudden wave of vertigo washed over you, making the world muddle and your strength sap away.

"I don't feel so good," Luffy grumbled, sticking his tongue out as he too slumped against the bars.

"Luffy! Watch out!" Zoro randomly warned.

Suddenly, the woosh of a staff cut through the air and knocked Luffy upside the head, the tip of it pinning him when he was on the ground.

"AHHHH! WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!" Usopp squealed.

Zoro got ready to draw his swords, but in a blink, you had already drew your mace and held its spikes up to Smoker's throat, a dangerous look in your eye.

"Bleugh! Why do I feel so weak all of a sudden? It's like when I fall into the sea," Luffy whined.

"The tip of my staff is made from a substance known as sea prism stone, a rare mineral. Not much is known about it but it supposedly gives off mystical energy at the same wavelength as the sea," Smoker curtly explained, his eyes intensely trained on you.

"So it affects those two the same as if they fell in the ocean?" Zoro asked, glaringly.

"Cells at navy headquarters are built with the same substance to keep criminals with devil fruit powers from escaping," Smoker confirmed.

"I may not have my powers at the moment, but that does not permit you to attack my captain. And seeing as you don't have your powers either, there's nothing stopping my spikes from finding a home in your throat. So choose your next actions carefully," you warned in a frigid tone, your demeanor glacial compared to who he met in Loguetown.

"Never took you for a pirate," he scoffed.

"Never took you as someone to kick a man while he's down," you scoffed right back.

"There's no point in fighting in a situation like this! Quit it!" Nami stated.

"She's right. Give it up," a gravelly voice smirked from across the room, everyone's attention turning to its source.

The chair at the desk swivels around to reveal man with greasy, slicked back hair and a very punchable face.

"Crocodile," Smoker spat.

"Navy Captain Smoker. A pleasure to finally meet you. You seem to be every bit of dog the rumors say," Crocodile sneered.

"So this is a warlord?" Zoro stated, quizzically.

Crocodile began to monologue about how stupid the navy was to trust him as a warlord, and how he had the entirety of Alabasta under his thumb, hell, he even started to eat.

That is, until Vivi came bursting in, setting off her ultimate peacock slasher attack and seemingly decapitating the warmonger.

Key word being seemingly.

In no time, the warlord had her in his grasp, having turned his neck into sand before she could cut it.

"Since you're a citizen of this country, you must surely know that I hold the power of the Sand-Sand fruit," he smirked, grabbing her face.

"Want to become a mummy?"

"Vivi!" you exclaimed, taking your mace away from Smoker's neck and bashing it against the bars, not making a single dent.

"Hey! You better leave her alone or I'm gonna kick your ass!" Luffy shouted, throwing up his arms in anguish.

Just then, Miss All-Sunday came up out of nowhere, a pocket watch in hand.

"It's exactly noon. Time for Operation Utopia to begin," she smiled, setting off Crocodile's malicious laughter.

"What's a Operation Utopia?" Luffy asked, scratching his head.

"It means that it's time for me to wipe Alabasta off the map as if it never was," he turned to Vivi with an evil smirk, "Miss Wednesday."

The situation had gone from zero to a hundred pretty quickly.

Crocodile gave Vivi a choice of going to Alubarna to stop the war, or staying back to save the Strawhats plus Smoker, and naturally she picked the latter.

Though of course it wouldn't be Crocodile without making Vivi's life impossibly difficult, so he began to flood the room with water, fed the only key to the cage to a banan-o-dile, and released the banan-o-dile to eat Vivi.

She was doing her best trying to dodge the attacks of the monster, but time was of the essence and the rushing water was now up to waist level, making you, Luffy, and Smoker pretty much useless.

"I hate everything wet," you slurred, limp in Zoro's arms, "The sea can kiss my ass."

"I'd say trading the ability to tolerate water over a couple a powers is a pretty shitty deal on your end," he sighed.

"Shut up... mosshead," you groaned.

Just then, Sanji broke through the ceiling, beating up the creature and using an oddly discovered Mr. 3 to make a new key and free everyone.

Too bad his ceiling busting caused a gigantic wave of water to flood the room, sweeping everyone out of the casino.

Suddenly, a certain swordsman had placed you onto land, begrudgingly plopping a certain navy captain on the ground as well.

"Devil fruits... are a pain... in my ass," he panted, trying to catch his breath.

You groaned, still in a soaked haze as you coughed up some water, violently.

"Hey, hey, you alright?" Zoro's complaining turned concerned, him scooping you upright so you could breath.

"Peachy," you grumbled, abruptly sitting up, only to be met with the lips of the swordsman.

In your haze, you hadn't realized how close you two really were.

After a moment of shock, you two quickly jumped off each other.

"SORRY!" you two loudly apologized, both beet red and embarrassed as the entire crew snickered in the background.

"RORONOA!" Smoker shouted, launching an attack at the swordsman.

Zoro recovered from the incident quickly, blocking the captain's attack with ease.

"Why did you save me?"

"All I did was follow my captain's orders, so I wouldn't read too much into it if I were you. It's one of his crazy whims, pay it no mind," the swordsman answered, glaringly, turning to Luffy, who had Usopp cranking his arm like a water spout to help resuscitate him.

"And you wouldn't have any cripes with me carrying out my duties and arresting you, right..." Smoker added.

"See, this is what you get for helping a marine," Sanji groaned.

You stood up from your spot on the floor, holding the navy captain's gaze as you walked up to him.

You stopped right before him, still keeping eye contact as you rested a hand on his chest.

"Now that we've saved your life... can you in clear conscious arrest us..." you looked up at him with doe eyes, "Smoker Captain Smoker?"

His breath hitched and he scoffed, removing your hand from him, though you could already tell his heartbeat accelerated.

"Just get out of here," he grumbled, turning away from you.

He had to.

If he continued to look in your stupid (e/c) eyes, he would've done something very regrettable.

"Thanks a ton, Smokey," you smiled, flashing him a quick wink.

The gray haired man scoffed, a small tinge of blush coming to his cheeks as he looked away from you once more.

"Devil woman," he grumbled.

"I love my (y/n) when she's flirty!" Sanji fawned, his eyes quite literally hearts.

Zoro crossed his arms, internally eye rolling at the scene in front of him.

"Alright, guys, let's head to Alubarna!" you cheered.

"YEAHHHHH!!" Luffy shouted, running off already.

"Wait, Luffy! I have to show you the way!" Vivi exclaimed, running off to catch up with him.

"Don't leave us behind!" Nami and Usopp followed, Sanji twirling behind them.

You and Zoro started to run as well, you opting for the more aerial option.

"What was all that back there?" Zoro curtly asked, trying his best not to come off as... off.

"That, my dear swordsman," you cheesed, sticking out your tongue and winking, "is the power of womanly charm."

Zoro went wide for a moment, before scoffing, "You're evil."

"I just know how to play the game, Zo~" you smirked, flying closer to him and caressing his cheek.

The poor man blushed at the new nickname and frantically shooed you away, grumbling.

"Let's just get to this damn capital already!" he hushed you.

You smiled widely, turning your attention ahead of you.

"Whatever you say," you snickered, "...Zo~"

"SHADDUP!"

#one piece x reader #one piece #op x reader #op #roronoa x reader #roronoa zoro x reader #roronoa #roronoa zoro #zoro #zoro x reader #zorosangell #zorosangell--protector

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pure-garbage · 11 months ago

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One Calm Moment... Overdue Kiss Behind The Grove

After the seahorse was defeated and the crew's memories all returned, Lana found herself overwhelmed with exhaustion, but unable to sleep. Instead, she lay behind Nami's tangerine grove and watched the sky as sunset painted it with brilliant array. It had been two full days since she'd slept, two days since she handed Zoro her sash and he accepted it in the spirit in which it had been given.

'We never got to follow up on that exchange... meddling memory-thieving seahorse monster,' Lana thought with disdain. She kept replaying the events of that incident in her mind. One moment in particular was haunting her sleep-deprived psyche.

For the first time in ten years, Lana had laid eyes on her father. She knew it wasn't real, just an illusion conjured by that cruel creature as a last-ditch effort to save itself and keep their memories. Still, the impact of seeing him again, even for a moment, was hardly lessened.

Zoro's footsteps interrupted her reflections, alerting her to his approach. The weight of his footfalls was intentional, she knew. He could move in perfect silence if he wanted to, but he let her know he was coming to avoid startling her. Lana was grateful for his consideration. Seeing him reminded her of something. A small girl with blue hair, another manifestation of the seahorse's trickery. Even in the midst of her own shock at the echoes of her past, the way Zoro looked at that girl hadn't escaped her notice.

'I wonder if that was his Kuina. I guess she did look like that sergeant major. It would make sense.'

"That cook's looking for you," he informed her, breaking the reverie of her pondering. Lana only sighed. "Come on, you can't tell me you aren't hungry after all that."

"I guess I am," she admitted.

"So come eat."

"I'll eat later. The sun feels so nice right now."

"It does."

Zoro settled down on the deck cross-legged to enjoy the sun's final rays with her. Of all the traits they shared, hedonism was the most pronounced. They were both accustomed to taking whatever they wanted whenever they wanted it. When it came to each other, that tendency was curbed both by respect and doubt.

At least, it had been.

Zoro reached out and ran the tips of his fingers through Lana's violet hair. The dusk light gleamed off her dark locks, tinting them red in places. She sighed, but the tone of this soft exhalation was completely different from the one she'd loosed before. The setting sun's radiant glow accentuated the blush coloring her cheeks as she glanced up to meet Zoro's eyes. He grinned down at her, winding his fingers deeper when she didn't stop him. Lana's eyelids slid shut blissfully as she let him rub her scalp.

'So he did get the message.'

"That feels even nicer than the sun," she purred, leaning into his touch. Zoro hummed in accord, tracing the shell of her ear.

"Lana?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise you'll never forget me again."

"That was pretty awful, huh?"

"There was a moment back there," he mused, tone dark despite his contentment. "... after my memories came back, before yours did."

"Oh. When you were still fighting Luffy," Lana recalled.

"The way you looked at me..."

"I thought you must have been a demon," Lana winced. 'I'm sure my face was a sight and a half.'

"You looked so scared."

Lana shifted, leaning up on her elbow. She took Zoro's hand from her hair, twining her fingers through his.

"Nah. I could never be scared of you," she assured him.

"But you were."

"That wasn't me. It wasn't you, either. Don't waste time reading into things some dumb seahorse made us do," she pointed out. "Besides..."

She dropped his hand, reaching up to flick his earrings with her finger, eyes gleaming playfully.

"... Demon Zoro saved me once, remember? I really like that scary guy."

Her words brought an easy smile to Zoro's face. He was learning that her reasoning was never what he expected, and he liked it when she surprised him.

"And that's an easy promise to make," she went on. "Cryptid sea creatures aside, I don't see how I could ever forget you."

He could have told her that he liked her too, but her beauty overcame him as the golden light show of sunset on the sea reached its pinnacle, gilding Lana like some goddess of old. He leaned down, cupping her cheek with one hand and bracing against the deck with the other, coming close enough to feel her quickening breaths on his face.

He paused an inch from touching her, waiting to give her time to pull away if she wanted to. She remained still except for her fingers. They crept forward to cover his, winding around his wrist to steady herself. Zoro pushed forward, kissing her for the first time. He'd thought about doing so many times after the battle on Corrin's ship. Now, the apprehension that had always held him back seemed silly with hindsight. Lana's lips were as soft as he remembered, a heavenly balm against his after such a long wait. She still tasted as sweet as she had under the water when she'd saved him from drowning.

The kiss was short and soon they parted. Lana didn't say another word, just rolled over on the deck to rest her head in Zoro's lap.

'I never want you to forget me either, Zoro,' she thought, but she held the words close to her heart.

He stroked her hair with gentleness that belied his great strength and Lana passed out before she even realized sleep was calling her. It wasn't long before Zoro joined her in slumber, snoring softly against the ship's rail as the waves rocked them like the hands of some vast mother on a tiny cradle.

______________________________________________

<== Previous Chapter

Next Chapter ==>

== First Chapter ==

#fanfic #oc #one piece #roronoa zoro #sandbox adventures

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slowlyreadingonepiece · 4 months ago

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One Piece, Chapter 17

Thoughts, reactions and spoilers below the cut!

Nami's good at her job and taking advantage of the fact that Buggy's distracted. She's leaving it up to Luffy to get the map under the deal that she'll work with them if he does, though I'm guessing she's putting all her money on that hope because there's no way she's getting it back from Buggy herself. Or maybe I'm underestimating her thievery skills? Idk!

"Only this light" 💀

Cabaji is bringing circus tricks to a swordfight and honestly I love that. Dude pulled a sword out and then did everything but use it

Buggy interfering to hold Zoro down in place is so unsportsmanful 🙄 I mean yeah, he's trying to make sure they win and has no reason to care about Zoros dream but I do so let them have a fair duel 😒 God bless you Luffy for stepping in

The moment it turns into an actual swordfight Zoro wins in one swing. Hell yeah.

Zoro saying "We're not common thieves, we're pirates" like WOW he transitioned from pirate hunter to proud pirate quick didn't he 😭

He keeps collapsing on the ground but honestly who can blame him. Now he has someone to watch his back :)

He knows Shanks 🙈 Wonder if he's just calling him a dog as an insult or if he has a specific reason for it. I'm excited to see these two fight, I wonder how Buggy could use his power against Luffy.

Extra thoughts:

•He's so goddamn funny

#one piece #one piece manga #liveblogging #one piece liveblog

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llycaons · 1 year ago

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one piece remains the only one of the shonen big three I never even attempted because the women were drawn Like That and because the length was so intimidating. but on a friend's recommendation I did start the live-action OP and im sobbing because it's actually genuinely really good and why couldn't WE have gotten this for yyh???? I didn't think it was possible to adapt a fantasy shonen into a live action without looking goofy as hell (I would wince wherver I saw shots of the fma LA) but it's a great time! in fairness my issues with yyh were less that it looked silly and more that it spedrun all the character work, but I genuinely got chills watching the opening scenes of OP and I've never seen the original but they seem to be nailing the character beats that they need to for the story to work. more specific thoughts

luffy is charming and likeable. characters with high ambitions can be obnoxious (BLACK STAR) but he just comes off as an excited kid with a dream. the actor is fantastic, he seems like such a sweetheart. especially since he has nothing else to hold on to and because he's so friendly and agreeable, and isn't trying to hurt or upset anyone except in self-defense. pirates are warmth and kindness and family and fun and excitement and freedom to him

speaking of, I read somewhere this mangaka was like, an anarchist? and...yeah. yep.

I can tell this used to be a manga bc the art, character design, and motifs are just...very fantastical. but it doesn't feel like a goofy fantasy forced into reality, it just feels like colorful and creative designs that are high-concept and well-executed. like, zoro looks SO fucking cool. they nailed him. I didn't think conveying anime cool factor in LA was even possible, but they got there

also I don't know how the women in this show are going to be treated but any real woman has got to be better than the shit that comes up when I google their anime counterparts

having said that I have no idea why luffy opened a treasure box, saw a weird fruit, and ate ALL of it. like??? they didn't establish that he was hungry or that he wanted anything, he just...did it. he doesn't even seem to be enjoying it

but it was really bog of shanks to not pick a fight with that asshole. I hope that comes back soon enough to see in the LA

it's so exciting that there are so frequent shots to other places in this setting - a marine base, another ship, a thief out on the blue. it gives the sense that this world really is massive

NAMI!!!!!

honest to god he has such a charming smile I just wanna be his friend

okay. the fight scenes are cool and it builds the relationship between nami, luffy, and zoro really well. but holding the last sword in his TEETH is not practical. it might work in the manga but in a LA I'm just thinking about how much it must hurt his jaw. he's not even holding the blade, he's holding the FULL HILT

it's kind of thrilling that they have absolutely no leg to stand on. nami and luffy are just straight-up thieves. zoro has more of an honorable thing going on, but there is no legitimacy here for them in their quest. there's no reason to root for them except they're fun and scrappy. and godammit, I do like them! I am rooting for them! I'm sure the world government is corrupt as hell, but even if it's not. fuck em!

ohh this guy is NOT pulling off that design. needs more makeup

OH WHAT THE FUCK. THIS BITCH

okay his design is actually working for me because he's clearly unhinged and his actor makes it work, but the over-dramatic threats of death and maniacal laughter really pushed it over the edge

final score: 9/10 what a fantastic time

#op la lb

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silkendandelion · 2 years ago

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Mirage In The Desert - Chapter 11

Summary: Operation Utopia is tomorrow. All sides take their positions, and Vivi understands exactly what kind of pirate she hired.

Rated Teen and Up Audiences for language, violence. Cross-posted to Ao3, same username. Send me a DM: yell at me, send flowers. Cheers.

~*~

Days to Operation Utopia: 2

“Food… Food, water… Mercy,” Luffy said to no one as they trudged along. Getting from Nanohana to Yuba on foot seemed easy as an idea, though it melted their brains in practice.

“You drank all your water in the first 10 minutes, of course you’re thirsty,” Nami said, though she was in no better shape.

Luffy just groaned at the sky, squinting his eyes free of sweat as the horizon began to ripple. “I see… I see—”

“You’re hallucinating.” Zoro wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

“I see a man!”

“Definitely hallucinating,” Usopp sighed.

“A man with a… a backpack, big one. Maybe he has food!”

His friends cried after him, “LUFFY NO!”, though none of them had a prayer (or the strength) to do anything over than watch him tear over the dunes and up the trail of a very real man with a pack on his shoulders bigger than a camel.

“Hey! Share some of your food!” Luffy yelled, more of a war cry as he rocketed over the last dune, into the air on a snap of his rubbery legs and down onto the top of the enormous backpack. So large, in fact, that the wearer went unaware he had a visitor, who now gnawed on the flap and strap to attempt to burgle some of the provisions within.

He did notice, however, when his owl circled back to dive towards the top of his pack.

“What is it, girl?” He called up, only answered by the knock-knock-knock of her beak hitting something hard over and over, and the far away yells of a person.

‘Ow! Hey! Get your own! This is my food!’

Luffy grunted when the pack was set down in the sand, holding his hands over his head and waving to shoo away the guard owl that tried to peck a hole in the top of his skull.

“Come down from there, thief.” The man tilted the pack to knock him off, and he fell to the sand with a thud.

“Watch out! That owl’s mean!” He pointed, and the brindled owl glided down to land silently on the man’s outstretched arm.

“She’s not mean, she’s meant to help me. With thieves, or otherwise.”

“My bad,” Luffy laid back in the sand, still rubbing his smarting scalp. “I’m just so hungry. Can I have some food? Water? But like, preferably food? Please.”

“Luffy!” Chopper called as the friends finally came over the dune. “Oh, Luffy was right. it is a man.”

“With a big backpack,” Nami blinked at him.

“Are you all hungry?” The man called out to them and his first smile touched his lips, all white teeth against his dark skin. He took a quick inventory of the crew’s members, believing himself to be lucky that Ace had already separated from them, lest his identity be compromised by someone else who did most of their work in the New World.

“… well, yeah!” Usopp called back, cheerfully, when no one else spoke up.

The man lifted the owl to coax her to fly. “Then let’s eat. Rinai, if you please.”

She gave an obedient flap of her wings up to the top of the enormous pack, and picked the latch to let it fall open, unrolling to reveal a massive spread of dried meat, fish, and local fruits, all arranged carefully around a barrel of water.

Luffy, Chopper and Usopp’s eyes nearly left their heads as they fell to their knees. “G-God, he must be a god. Stranger! You’ve saved our lives!”

“A stranger, indeed,” Vivi and Nami looked at each other.

“We don’t have to be. My name is Aurelio.” He took a seat next to the impromptu picnic, content to eat without anymore questions, whether the strangers joined him or not.

“It’s all high quality ingredients. And if he’s eating it, it probably isn’t a trick.” Sanji sat down next to Zoro, though he watched carefully the way the stranger—Aurelio—ate politely across the blanket.

“Maybe.” Zoro felt his stomach growl, even as he tried to be suspicious. “Shit.”

A few of the boys wrestled to pry the water barrel open with clumsy fingers, and the owl fluttered over to sit gently on the rim.

“Cups, we needs cups—” The owl reached under her wing to offer a little tin cup, the handle in her beak.

“Oh! Thank you.” Usopp smiled at her. “Eh—did you understand me?”

“That’s Rinai. She’s very intelligent,” Aurelio said.

Zoro swallowed his bite of fish before he spoke. “I just don’t like birds.”

“Mm?” Chopper leaned to hear her better, giggling suddenly. “She said she doesn’t like you either.”

“Sorry about before, you know,” Luffy said from where he ate beside her, cheeks full of food, and she reached under her wing to offer him a band-aid.

“Haha! I guess that means you forgive me.” He smiled, and she pretended to peck his hand just to hear him laugh again.

Aurelio picked apart a few pieces of fresh fish to give them to her one by one. “She ate the Pocket-Pocket fruit, and now she’s my best friend. A near infinite amount of non-living things can be stored in her dimension through the pockets under her wings.”

“Wow…” Usopp chewed and sipped while he watched her. “What does she keep in there?”

“Mostly mice,” Aurelio said, and the seriousness of his delivery had all of them giggling or choking to various degrees.

“What are you doing out here, Aurelio?” Vivi asked, her cup in her lap. “In the middle of the desert?”

“Being more prepared than you all, apparently,” he said, though his smile implied he was joking. “Seriously, who walks across the desert without food and water?”

“It’s our first time.” Nami sighed.

He took another sip to give himself time to formulate a reply. “I’m actually on my way to Yuba. The rebel army is expecting me.”

Vivi sat up straighter, leaning over and almost spilling her cup. “Really? So are we!”

“Are you with the Revolutionary Army?” Sanji asked, ever perceptive and searching for a reason why a foreigner would be called to a civil war.

“Kind of. The rebels sent a message to the RA but it traveled so far that most of it was destroyed by the time it arrived. Dragon has sent me to investigate.”

“They were so close…” Vivi said quietly, mostly to herself, as she realized any aid that Aurelio could call for would arrive too late for the war that was at their door. Whether it was more bad luck or sabotage didn’t matter now, only that they were on their own.

At most, they had one more ally: a strange, jovial man with a devil fruit eating owl and a shadow to his face that didn’t let his smile quite reach his eyes.

“Would you like to walk with us to Yuba?” She said.

The smile ran from his face to be replaced by genuine confusion, startlingly young for his heavy brown eyes, and a reflexive suspicion that felt more akin to an animal instinct than rudeness.

“… Okay. It’s still several more hours away, so please, eat your fill. And I will carry the leftovers until we get hungry again.”

“He thinks there’s gonna be leftovers,” Nami said into her cup while she looked over at Luffy, who was still going strong. ____ ___ __ _

Days to Operation Utopia: 1

At Raindinners, Robin found Crocodile admiring the Bananawani tank as he always did when his poet was nowhere in sight. He had watched the beasts a lot over the past weeks.

“The Billions in Nanohana were defeated by pirates.”

He turned to acknowledge her, letting the curtain fall shut. “It doesn’t matter, not now. Replace them.”

“The lizard runners are already dispatched. And the officers are on their way.”

Silence stretched between them except for the quiet rumble of the tank, and Crocodile reflected on the empty seat in front of his desk, an open letter beside the lamp that read ‘I will return before the meeting’ across the footnote in a loopy scribble.

“He’s late.”

Her unburdened smile threatened to create a headache in the front of his apathetic face, both of them so careful to never give too much away.

“That’s just how he is.”

“No, he’s not, Miss All Sunday. And you know that.”

They didn’t know that he was arriving as they spoke. Through the lobby and upstairs faster than he could manage without stumbling out of the elevator, and right to his room.

Sweat drenched clothes form a pile beside the door, and he wrenches the suitcase from under his bed to let it bounce on the mattress. The lid is getting dirty from so much handling, latch weak from rough treatment, and the envelope he deposits inside seems like it might be the last straw for the straining suitcase.

No time for anything more than a bath, he decides, not when the officers would arrive any moment, and he was meant to be among them. Another performance, to act surprised until the very end. All in a day’s work—these days, at least.

A knock at the door startled him to almost drop his brush, suddenly frozen except for the drips of his hair onto his dressing gown, and his eyes darting back to the suitcase on the duvet.

“Who is it?”

“May I come in?”, came Crocodile’s muffled voice.

He stared down at him through the tiny sliver that appeared between the door and the frame, like he would wait forever even as a cloud of perfumed bathwater drifted out into the hall, tempting his nose and his memory. But he no longer had permission to intrude.

“I’m getting ready for the meeting,” River said, though the lock slips free. Crocodile finds a seat on the edge of the unmade bed, denied anywhere else to sit with the outfits piled over the back of the couch and books in stacks on the chairs beside his table.

He notices the empty cartons of cigarettes in the wastebasket, none in the bed this time, and the sun setting outside the window almost obscures the fading dark circles under the violet eyes that scrutinize him so gently.

“Is that what you’re wearing tonight?” Crocodile gestures to a hanging suit, black, with a green waistcoat. “It will bring out your eyes—”

“We’ve already said goodbye, Crocodile.” The curls of his bangs, damp against his cheek, nearly obscure his face. “Why have you come here?”

He stands to reach out to him, cup his cheek and touch the bags under his eyes with a gentle thumb. Long lashes flutter closed, perhaps taken by a daydream he would kiss him. If fate was kinder, he might open his eyes to a warm bed and a warmer sunrise coming in the window.

“I don’t want you to sit at the table tonight.”

His eyes flick open, confused, and he almost follows the hand that leaves his cheek. “What do you mean?”

“The table is for my subordinates.” He goes to fetch the suit that hangs waiting, and lays it across the bed to begin unwrapping the outfit.

“Not for you.”

“�� Crocodile.” They had already said goodbye to what they once were, agreed to work together once more, purely professional, and yet the fondness in the warlord’s eyes as he arranged the pieces of the silk suit made his chest tight.

“I’m perfectly aware of what we are, where we stand.” He goes to the closet to riffle through River’s pretty things, choose a pair of boots and some earrings, always gold.

“But you will never be one of them. Stand beside me.”

River considered the offer, unaware how long he stared to think, though he felt the brush of fingers on his neck as he pulled the dressing gown aside was wholly unfair. “After everything? When there is so little left between us?”

But he couldn’t manage to sound angry, not anything more than lovesick, an ache behind his eyes to press his nose to the space between his ear and neck, scent his cologne on warm skin.

“Oh,” Crocodile pondered gently as he allowed it, helpless to not scent him back for the starfruit in his shampoo. “… If you refuse, all you have to do is tell me to go.”

He dresses the Oasin like a parting gift, slowly and silent, content to fasten each button with care and iron his edges until he shines. The intimacy fills River’s face with heat, wondering if Crocodile has ever given such a subservient gesture to anyone before, whether he ever will again.

Get away. Don’t you know you polish a Judas to stand beside you at this critical moment?

Do you not care?

A wordless request passes between them, understood, and River moves his hair to allow him to hang sapphires from his ears, drape his neck in gold as he touches a tiny bruise on the front of his neck.

The Pirate Hunter couldn’t manage to scratch him, though the mottled spot was evidence of their meeting.

And Crocodile almost asked if he was all right, feeling silly for stopping to rub a mark smaller than a coin.

“You’re ready.” The quiet of his voice startled River back from where he stared out the window.

“Am I?” He stands to admire himself in the mirror, as laced up as ever, pity that the light of his jewels can’t reach his eyes.

“Look at me.” Spoken not like a warlord’s command, but a man wanting to see his love up close one more time.

The world continues to be cruel to me, that you are the poet and I am the one who wishes to write verses about your face.

You were never mine. But I will never forget you.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

River scoffs, the moisture in his eyes chased away by the absurdity of a man in love, and replaced by a bubble of a laugh. Just a little at first, until he’s smiling so hard his cheeks hurt, out of breath and eyes wet again as they find Crocodile’s own smile.

“More than anything.” ____ ___ __ _

Downstairs, the officers were already gathered, doomed to bicker when left alone with only each other’s company and the bubbling of the wani tank along the wall.

“This is ridiculous, how much longer are we meant to wait?” Mr. 2 said, hands slapping the table to demand seafood desserts or at least a beverage for their trouble.

“Please be quiet, Mr. 2, or at least complain about things that matter. Like your missing partner,” Miss Double-finger said from across the table.

“Why do you think I’m so hungry? I’ve worried myself sick!” They looked all around, hoping to find River in a chair or at least in the room, but no sign.

In another part of the house, the sound of leather-soled loafers approach the luxury hall.

“I suppose I can’t hope to have you all get along,” came Miss All Sunday’s voice from the stairs. “Though it’s not necessary anyway. Welcome to Rainbase, a city of dreams in a desert such as this.”

She descended the stairs to her captive audience, the officers mostly unimpressed and too impatient to be complaint.

“Can we skip the formalities and get to the point?” Mr. 1 spoke up finally.

“Of course. You all were summoned here regarding the identity of our boss, whose face you have never seen. Mr. i, the door, if you please.”

River stepped from a shadow at the back of the room, all eyes turning wide to see him go to a door on the wall.

“… you—” Mr. 2 found they couldn’t speak, nothing more than a grunt of surprise among the table’s shocked murmurs, some more spiteful than others.

But as River turned the golden handle, the footfalls now on the other side of the door, he met their eyes.

I’m sorry.

Crocodile’s appearance needed no introduction, and he ignored them to extend his hand to River and escort him to the table. Though all the officers gawked, struck speechless, Mr. 2 felt the shock behind their ribs turn sharp, stuck on a vein and stinging when Crocodile took his seat and River stood beside his chair. The perfect posture of a soldier, even as he bends to offer his lighter to the warlord’s lips, and the realization flushed Mr. 2’s face scarlet when they identified the intimate air between them.

I suppose it was always impossible for me to know all of your secrets, River. But aren’t we friends?

They felt possessed to rip the lighter from his hands, force the two apart and shield him with their body from the famously cruel warlord. To grip his shoulders, demand an answer, first to “Why?”, then “How long?”, and “Did he hurt you?”

But Mr. 2 didn’t move. And Crocodile commanded the room.

“The time has come for Baroque Work’s final mission: Operation Utopia.”

“Wait a moment, I have questions. What is a warlord doing with a company like this?” Miss Double-finger said.

“Right? What a big-shot.” Miss Merry Christmas agreed.

His ruthless glare was enough to silence their protests. “Dissatisfied?”

They all looked down at their laps, obedient while he smoked. An explanation was owed, he decided, and he took the time to outline both the purpose of their organization, and how his plans for the fate of Alabasta had to do with the secret buried beneath the sand. By the time he was finished, a neat pile of cigars smoldered in the ashtray.

“Mr. i.” His voice startled River from where he had been watching the wani pass by the window.

A series of envelopes were produced from his breast pocket, the final orders of the officers, and passed around the table according to rank.

“These are your last orders. In a single night, Alabasta will fall to us. Failure is not an option.”

But a voice interrupted their meeting from the stairs.

“Ahem. I hope you’ll excuse my interruption. But you must put a hold on this Operation Utopia.”

“Mr. 3.” River gasped. The mission to eliminate him had failed when the wax man went missing, now suddenly standing before them. Injured, worse for the wear, but alive.

“How did you get down here?” Miss All Sunday asked, and he was happy to ignore her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, boss. I’ve humbly come to ask for another chance... I failed my mission, after all.”

Crocodile set his tea down to give him his attention. “What are you talking about?”

“Well…” The candle-man began to sweat. “Letting the Strawhats go, of course.”

His teacup shattered under his grip and River managed not to flinch. So that’s the assignment Mr. 3 disappeared from.

“You said you took care of them. On the phone.”

“I… I didn’t. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He swallowed when Crocodile stood to his full height. “The—the intel was wrong! The Princess had four pirate escorts!”

“Them?” A stack of sketches slid across the table, all beside a photo of a small Vivi, presumably the last time she publicly appeared.

Mr. 2 paled, suddenly ill as they touched the drawings. “I met them.”

“You what?” Crocodile demanded.

“Him! Him! And her!” He flipped through their faces and looked to River. “It was before you stopped in Nanohana. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“… You didn’t tell me you were in Nanohana.” His rumble sent a shiver of fear up River’s spine, feeling eyes on the side of his face as he struggled to find an untruth that would bide his time.

Calm down. Don’t give away too much. To him or them.

But of all the Rivers scrambling to retain control in the terrifying final hour, the brat is the one who answered. The first mistake.

“I don’t tell you most of my business.” The thik of River lighting a cigarette plucked at the last string of his patience, almost as much as the tick of his hip in his bored posture.

Around the table, the officers were satisfied with his answer, familiar with the River that didn’t speak until spoken to, with a sharp tongue and unapproachable silhouette, but Crocodile knew better. And he was still the one in control.

“Of course.” A cruel smile slid across his face as he turned back to Mr. 3.

“Mr. 3, do you know why you’re ranked as high as you are? Despite the fact that even Mr. 4 outranks you in combat abilities?”

“W-Well, I—” He choked when Crocodile grabbed him around the throat, and River’s cigarette wobbled.

“Crocodile—!” The hook silenced him, a powerful gesture in just it’s appearance.

“Your intelligence has always been useful, and that underhanded tenacity. But letting those kids get away is inexcusable.”

Mr. 3’s skin shriveled faster than anyone could react, the officers around the table visibly nauseous to see him sucked dry by Crocodile’s hand, flung away into a fragile heap.

River’s cigarette fell to the floor, the only movement as a cold dread sunk into his belly.

He was staring at a warning.

To everyone in this room: failure will not be tolerated, and neither will any contact with the Strawhats that didn’t end in their demise.

“W-water…” Mr. 3 looked up at the person closest to him, his eyeballs wrinkling and limbs unable to hold him up with only crumbling, rubbery fibers attached to his bones. “M-Mr. i—”

“Have all the water you like.”

The press of a button sent him plummeting to the Bananawani tank below. Whimpers echoed up the metal of the chute, cutoff screams the last of the noise in the room when the hatch slid shut.

“Miss All Sunday?”

“Sir.”

“Give the order: kill the Princess and the Strawhats on sight. At the very least they can bring confusion to the rebel army, and I want no further issues.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Mr. i.”

He acknowledged him only by the flicker of his eyes, his cigarette burning out black beside his shoes.

“Hold the casino with Miss All Sunday.” He didn’t bother to meet his gaze. “And you will answer me.”

“… Yes, Sir.”

Mr. 2 watched the shadow pass over his face, an ache in their chest for a friend but no will to challenge his oppressor. Not yet.

“The rest of you have your orders. Go, enjoy yourselves. This time tomorrow, this country will be ours.” ____ ___ __ _

Nearby, in Yuba, the Strawhats trudged over the last dune to find no rebel base or army waiting for them. What had previously been an oasis seemed to crumble with the weight of it’s own shell, lined with decrepit buildings and abandoned even by the wildlife.

Vivi’s knees wobbled, threatening to collapse as she looked out over the remains of the city and the choking, desiccated fruit of their long walk.

Aurelio held up his hand to shield his eyes from the sunset. “They might have been gone before I made land.”

“… I don’t understand.” Her voice quivered.

“Hello? Is someone there? Welcome!” They heard from a hole in the center of town, sand flying up and over the side in shovel-fulls.

An old man climbed out as quick as he could, which wasn’t fast at all, brushing the dust off the holey rags of his clothes and his smile beaming despite the sand clinging to the wrinkles of his face.

“You—”, he stopped when he saw the blue-haired girl among them. “Miss Vivi?”

Luffy jumped to distract him, hands waving. “You’re wrong, that is NOT the Princess Vivi—”

“You moron!” Zoro bonked the still-sore top of his head.

“It… It’s really you, isn’t it? I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t recognize me, I’ve lost a lot of weight.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

She stared at him for a long moment, this weathered man whose smile never faulted even as he dug until his hands bled, threadbare bandages catching on the dry skin around his face. Memories flooded back to her, warm in her heart but heavy on her stomach, of the jolly, overweight man that was her friend, Koza’s father.

She ran to hug him, almost pushing them both into the hole as he held her. “I thought I’d never see you again, Mr. Toto.”

“I’ll always be here… I know it’s not much, but you all can rest here for the night. The inns are Yuba’s pride, after all.”

“Where did the rebels go?” Aurelio said from where he gazed into a crumbling fountain.

Suddenly no longer welcoming, the old man bristled and braced to yell at him. “What do you want with them, anyway? You’re not stupid enough to join them too, are you?”

“I’m hoping to talk them down,” he said, and the wind rushed out of the old man’s tired anger.

“… well, they haven’t been here for weeks. They moved their operation to Katorea.”

“K-Katorea?” Vivi cried. “But we were just there!”

“It would have been only a few hours walk from Nanohana,” Nami said.

“We… we were just there.” Vivi wiped at her eyes, the weight of their journey finally taking it’s toll.

“Well, no sense wasting time,” Aurelio looked to the sky for due north. “Thanks for the info, old man,” he said and began walking in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going?!” The teenagers all cried.

“Hm? You all are going to rest here, aren’t you? I can travel faster if I’m alone, I’ll be back to Katorea before morning.”

“Let him go,” Zoro said.

“You’re not going to change Luffy’s mind. He’s tired, we’re all tired.” He jerked his thumb to where Luffy was already inspecting the old man’s trenches, half because he was curious, and half because the air was cooler at the bottom of a hole.

“It was nice to meet you all.” Aurelio waved.

“Bye, Mr. Revolutionary!”

“Bye-bye, Aurelio!” They waved back with various intensity, all too preoccupied with the idea of beds and shelter to worry that they didn’t have dinner, or water. Luffy had, predictably, eaten the last of Aurelio’s stash, and the young man walked out of sight with his owl on his shoulder and a goal on his mind.

“He was nice.” Usopp said to Chopper at his side.

“He’s going to beat us there… Maybe it’s too optimistic to think that by the time we arrive, this might all be over,” Vivi said, more to herself than any of her friends.

They just needed time.

Time, that marches equally for the Baroque Works agents drawing up plans, and the rebels who struggle to sleep because they were given orders to march out at dawn. The Strawhats, exhausted beyond their bones, sleep easily because they don’t know they won’t follow Aurelio to Katorea in the morning. They don’t know that by noon they’ll be in Rainbase to face a Warlord of the Sea with only their friends and an unlikely marine captain for an ally.

So they sleep well.

And when Luffy’s patience runs out moments after leaving the drought-stricken town, Vivi will realize they never had to look for the rebels at all.

#one piece #sir crocodile x reader #sir crocodile x oc #sir crocodile #mirage in the desert #ao3 fanfic #oc fanfiction #male reader #x reader #x oc

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agreenseil · 2 years ago

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Fic Idea:

reincarnation cycle with a pair (or group, but pairs sounds easier to organize), but instead of dramatic tragedy until the Canon life, they're just being besties and picking up hobbies that carry on to the next life

for example, zosan (not in any chronological order):

rivalry on sight (obviously)

sanji learns to cook because he met zoro in an alley eating a yellow thing that definitely shouldn't be fuzzy like that

zoro's the feral bodyguard bc while pretty boi Sanji can hold his own, should he have to???

crap, I cant think of anything else. this all came from that one YT short about past lives but it wasn't fancy or dramatic cycles

they're just hanging out in a yard, harassing chickens and squirrels

sanji keeps his knives hidden away after the doctor tried to use them to "treat" zoro's dying via plague (yoinked scene from the Short)

is that dramatic? yes, but it kinda suits them lol

also example, nami and usopp:

disaster lesbian nami, disaster bi usopp

usopp talking bout a girl he met and rejected and nami asks why and lists all the good things and usopp's like, "why don't you date her then??" and nami's like "wait, I can do that?" bc historical whatevers and usopp's like, "yeah." and nami's like "okay, bet" and then usopp regrets it bc nami cant stop waxing poetic about her partners but also he doesnt regret it bc bestie happy = you happy

and then he finds a hot guy with great muscles and oh, how the turns have tabled

also art buddies

be gay, do crime. nami does the thieving thing with usopp sometimes

isnt it nice to have someone so resourceful?

Also I think Robin should be in one too but idk who with.

Mayhaps Brook. I rlly liked that one fic where Robin dreams of Brook's ship while on the run and Brook sometimes gets this kid on his ghost ship and he cant tell if he's hallucinating and they do the friendship

Robin and Brook at a fair, robin stops to listen to his street performance after they reached for the same book at one of the stands

they don't even know each others names yet but they had a nicer day after meeting each other

in the next life, Robin listens to violin and piano music while she reads, though she can never find the same jaunty tune

brook performs in all the book related events he can find, tailors his style into something fun, but chill enough not to distract you from your book

maybe in canon he visits ohara to perform accompanying music? 👀✨ and robin finds her friend sooner

franky and chopper:

franky, who makes himself into a type of monster

and chopper, who didnt want to be a monster, but learns to accept it

idk how this will work, actually, I just think they complement each other

forgive me, I know nothing about jinbei ;w; I welcome your thoughts about him

and luffy seems to be someone who would be in all of their lives, but he's so bright I think that would make a big impact in their lives

oh! what if he is always there but hinted in the background details because he's not in the pairing

and then he gets his pov scenes where it ties all those hints together and does the fluff and his crew realizes that he had always been there and ahhhh I'm very happy and definitely not going to be writing this anytime soon.

anyone who wants to adopt this idea is free to do so :] pls call me over when you do so I can read it ✨

or if it already exists and you have the link 👀

#one piece #fanfic

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gildedmuse · 2 years ago

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[And with that single line, Kuina had more characterization than every other woman in her extended family combine.]

2. Let Me Guess, It Was Very Tragic & Character Defining

(aka Every-Mom Story)

Now, I know a lot of people are going to say, "To be fair, Mina/Muse, it makes SENSE that Zoro's parents were dead! Otherwise they would have to let their son walk around challenging dojos whenever he wanted, and no sane person let a child with Zoro's sense of direction just go town to town on his own like that! Plus, if you actually think about Zoro's whole -"

First off, love the engagement Fictional Tumblr Surfer. I also adore discussing media and hearing different perspectives but before you go any further: trust me, I have thought about Zoro. I have had all the thoughts about Zoro.

Also, this idea that Zoro's parents HAD to be dead seems to be based entirely on, "or else he wouldn't be wandering the countryside looking for dojos". The problem with that line of logic is, well, it doesn't make sense. Look what Luffy was getting up to, he'd got family. Hell, Franky had both his parents and you know what they did? Tossed him into the sea. Parents being alive is not a guarantee of anything. It says she died of an illness but for all we know, she passed away when Zoro was 15. All those Kuina scenes? His mom was just kicking back at the house, doing her own thing. "Oh, yeah, no worries, go hang in out with your little sword clubs. Just remember: what's the one rule when we go out?"

*sigh* "I'm allowed to take shortcuts or whatever pass I please as long as it doesn't involve getting on a boat." *Grumble* "I'm six years old, I know my shortcut through the mountains already! Geeze mom!"

"Yeah, well you just do what your old lady says, since she does feed you and everything. Take all the mountain shortcuts you want, kiddo. No boats."

"No boats."

"See ya in a few weeks honey. REMEMBER, BEATING BAD GUYS UP FOR FOOD DOESN'T COUNT."

"I know! You always say that! I know how bounties work!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to make sure you're staying healthy, Kiddo. And if they're criminals, the Marines can't arrest you for beating them up. Call the home den den mushi if you need anything. Love you!"

"Bye!"

(I understand exactly where Oda was going with giving his mom three traits: she was raised by criminals/thieves/bad guys, married a samurai and died from illness. I see the storyline being set. But, listen, I dare anyone to step and tell me there is absolutely no part of them - not even the smallest silver - that wouldn't rejoice at seeing THIS Zoro's relationship with his still living mom, rather than the inevitable build up to Corazon/Bellamere/Sora/Otohime/Toki & Oden/Yusie Part Du....Di-Diez)

Which brings me around to my point: why kill Zoro's mom!? What is the point other than ensuring you don't have to do the work of having to come up with a whole other character? How does the story benefit from murdering everyone's parents!? Is this a theme of the work or just a personal kink!?

Sorry, let me pull that back.

The thing about Zoro's parents is: no one cares. Don't get me, fans care very much about Zoro. Their curios what was going on, but we've been with this character for years at this point, he's never once brought them up. There aren't even shades of it.

Viewed through a certain lens, the fact they're both dead is somehow WORSE. Because you realize the number of situations the Strawhats have come into where a key component is Illness Related, Evil Pirates Murdering Folks, Parents Suffering/Dying For Their Children, and People Who Lost Parents Looking For Revenge and sometimes nearly all of those things at once! And yet Zoro has never once been emotional triggered by these situations the way Nami is with children in trouble or Sanji is with mistreated women or Chopper is when he is unable to help someone....

Or Zoro is. With Tashigi.

No one dare try and tell, "Zoro isn't the kind to react to someone just because their situation reminds him of something tragic in his own past" because that is LITERALLY his entire DEAL with Tashigi. She has a shallow, surface appearance that is similar to his best friend who died and so even just seeing her brings that up despite Tashigi being entirely unrelated and also, really only Zoro's approximation of what Kuina might have looked like a decade in the future.

So the idea that Zoro lost both his parents in tragic situations which left him homeless and with no one to take him in and his sole emotional response was apparently shrugging off and going to get his walking shoes, he got some dojos to find doesn't speak particularly well for those family dynamics.

And the thing is, this doesn't inform Zoro's character, it doesn't build or explain anything, it's just what Oda appears to do when he needs characters to have a connection to or a history with something. Fine a parental figure. Have them murdered. And with Zoro he could have done something new and different, because Zoro doesn't NEED this history in order to help establish his motivations or explain his thinking, he doesn't need this to be emotionally invested, it doesn't raise any stakes or change his path. Zoro doesn't need any of that; boy figured that all out himself before he was ten, and the parts he missed, Luffy brought with him! Anything that could be added through knowing more of Zoro's history, all it does is add another layer to something he'd already gone and established himself.

With that in mind, why NOT mix it up? Since we've been watching the crew for years and he hasn't spoken a single about his family, you could as easily pull an Ace situation. This is my family, that I have never mentioned before.

I mean have fun with it. Go wild! "Where was she? Why wasn't she looking after her kid? Who would let a child just go off for weeks like that."

"To be fair, Zoro had beaten all the local kids and was really bored. And she did pack him a few lunches. Hey, he's a kid, if he wants to go running off to find another dojo, let him! He's having fun, what's the big deal?" And obviously when he told her his plan to leave the island to hunt down bounties and eventually face off against a warlord, well he was 15, he was an adult and if that's what he wanted to do.

You could have just made her Silvers Rayleigh but a mom. It would have been amazing.

But, no... No, of COURSE she was ill.

And I'll bet she was an absolutely lovely woman too, so sweet, so caring, someone who worked hard doing housework for others in order to feed her family after her husband was tragically killed fending off pirates from raiding the island. Oh, but lately work has been harder to get because her sickness leaves her just so small and frail. I'll bet she often tried to hide just how bad it was by praising little Zoro whenever he carried the groceries or brought in the water or did some physical chore. Like, "look how strong you are, carrying that bag all by yourself. Are you sure you don't want me to help? Zozozo, I think you're just using it as an excuse to train and show off how big you're growing!" Bet he feels so proud of himself, and aren't they just the cutest little household?

I feel like I know her already. I get the sense Ter would be the kind of mother who would tease that it wasn't right how HE was always protecting HER when SHE was supposed to be the one looking out for HIM. Her fearless little tiger! (I mean, sure, she's physically killing herself working keeping food on his plate and a roof over his head, but there was that on time when she was so sick during that big storm that Zoro did all the chores and she hadn't even asked! And that other night walking back from the market when a wolf had come out at woods and starting to growl at them and she'd been terrified they would have to drop the grocery and run when she'd worked so, so hard to get money to buy enough food for the next few days but Zoro wouldn't let it get their food and eventually the thing ran off like a scared little puppy. Such a brave boy!)

Which is good because he'll need, I'm 90% sure she said, while on her death bed. She'd probably surprised to a single down tear running down his little cheeks because she doesn't remember Zoro crying, not even as a baby, and she'd hate that she would be the reason that her strong boy cried for the first time, and she'd end up telling him all about how she used to cry all the time when he was baby. She was all alone and she knew she didn't have long left and he looked so helpless in arm. She couldn't stop worrying about what could happen to him when she was no longer there to feed and protect and help him.

And Zoro would be upset he has made his mom cry so much and she'd just laugh - Zozozo - it's been years since she cried like that. She doesn't have to anymore, seeing what a strong and brave person Zoro has become over the years, she no longer worries. He is so fearless and determined and she knows he will be okay, she believes in him. And with that last breath she'll make him give her his word, promise her he'd always remember how strong he was, that he would never stop getting strong. That way, no matter what, she can rest knowing he will always.

Is that the goal? A cheap emotional underpunch that probably would make cry but also... kind of undermines a lot of Zoro's character. And also raises a lot of questions about some of the stories internal paradox but also it's just so conveniently, predictably heartbreaking that probably that no one will notice.

We've been here, we've done this!

It's just such a boring answer. It's a safety answer. I can promise you, this was not part of the plan when he first tied Zoro to a pole in a marine courtyard. This is very much after the fact, and that's FINE. There are very, very, VERY few writers creating and sort of weekly/monthly/continuous series media that go in there with a full plan, entirely story laid out in detail and every single one followed through to the letter. That is actually a scientifically accurate way to diagnose someone who has signed a contract with a demon lord. The ability to continue to build your story while maintaining a mostly accurate canon while also half making it up on the fly because, oh, wow you hadn't expected that thing to go that way. Wait, what even was your original plan? I mean it's an amazing skill¹ to be able to put out serialized content keeping the story on track, the lore mostly without contradiction, and most importantly, still having a clear way forward even though it almost definitely not the path you cleared originally. It's not easy to do and I applaud and recognize when they have that skill, I have no problem with the idea that Zoro's parents had not really been solidified as characters until relatively recently.

But seeing as there has been over a decade to think on that one, it's amazing it ended up being... Exactly what you have guessed based on every other set of parents in One Piece. But again, it's a safe answer.

Look, this way no one expects to make an appearance, he doesn't have to maybe possibly change anything he'd already decided.

Ah, they never came because they're dead and we're never going to flash back to then so.... Great. Finished with that, job done. And he didn't even have to think about Zoro's backstory and risk accidentally developing.

But! If he ever needs to shove something into Zoro's backstory with absolutely no foreshadowing, he has now created emergency backups.

He could just... Pull a Vinesmoke Sanji, or close enough. He's given a Wano connection, absolutely no characterization and luckily only introduced plot points that would be incredibly useful when attempting to emotionally manipulate the audience so they fail to notice the giant new "Well, THIS is brand new!" Product, and it has to be accepted as valid because it happened in the past. That means it helped define Zoro!

#I know what I said; I got distracted #this one end on a bitchier not than intended #it's fine I'm tired leave it #one piece #roronoa zoro #one piece meta #zoro's family tree #zoro's mom #three post style: part two #look the sicker I get the I tag #So I guess thers is an upside to my pain #amusing musings #Zoro doesn't need your backstory #Zoro has swords #that's better than backstory

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astro-inky · 4 years ago

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fuck you, godly parents one piece au (not necessarily pjo but can be i guess????)

oh and as for canon bio parents uhhhhhhhhhhhh (ignores)

I think Luffy would definitely be a son of Hermes (god of thieves, travelers, merchants). No explanation just vibing with the idea.

Ares (god of violent war, rage and all that stuff) is a pretty obvious choice for Zoro.....but damn am i tempted to make him a son of Dionysus just for shits and giggles bc “haha alcohol”. but i think Ares is a much more fitting choice haha

honestly?? like for real?? Nami as a daughter of Poseidon (god of seas, storms, horses). I’m gonna say it right here and now since we’re doing this: I feel like i see a lot of people put main female characters in the Aphrodite area of Greek god/godly children aus and I’m not into it. or maybe I’m just seeing things lol idk. anyway, i think it fits her well cause she knows how to navigate waters well and uses storm related abilities in canon so...yeah I’m liking this placement

Usopp was kinda hard to pinpoint who’s godly parent i wanted assigned to him. i thought about Apollo, since hes the god of archery (among MANY other things) and it fits with my mans cool ass sniper skills. but it didnt fit that much. i thought about Demeter since he has those plant things post ts, but still didnt fit with the vibes. and then it hit me.....now here me out, stay with me.....Usopp as a son Zeus (god of the sky, thunder, lightning, King of the Gods)... now LISTEN. I feel like that parallels well with his canon relationship with his father, his dad being a pirate and him wanting to live up to that but viewing himself as weak. and Zeus is the king of the gods and I THINK THAT ITS A COOL MIRROR OK!! let me have this, i want him to be a son of Zeus with no major powers but tries to prove himself anyway ok. Also God Usopp.

Now look...I agree, Apollo would have been a GREAT choice for Sanji. Flirty, blonde (is most interpertations), poetic, extremely bisexual...theres a lot of parallels u could make. BUT. Consider MY opinion: Sanji as a son of Aphrodite (Goddess of love, beauty, lust, sexuality). Flirty TO THE MAX. He’s ball about love!! Even if canon wont show it, my boi is in love with love. and hes rlly pretty i think. He’s the type to use a winky face at an enemy in an attempt to distract them (in my opinion lol). Lust, sexuality, love...it’s HIM guys. like i wanna write a deep character study fic on this now just cause i love this idea so much. (also my zosan shipping ass seeing Ares and Aphrodite like—)

If we wanna go basic than we can assign Chopper with Apollo since he is a god of medicine and healing. BUT. Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing who is a son of Apollo, seems like much better pick. thats all this one was simple and i love my son

I really couldnt decide whether to make Robin a daughter of Persephone (goddess of spring, queen of the underworld; it goes with her aesthetic and her flower related powers what a queen) or Hecate (goddess of magic and witchcraft i just want a cool witchy power theme here). i still cant decide tbh. I think I’m going with Persephone tho.

My mind immedeitly went to Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths, forges and fire for Franky. I cant think of anything else tbh reblog with ur ideas if u got them

NOW we got a child of Apollo and his name is Brook. now THIS is who Apollo would fit and i wont take no for an answer. The music, the pervetedness, the art, the wisdom. It FITS damn it! And brook’s laugh....is like the sun........bright and amazing and gives me life.

i know it would probably fit Jinbei to put him with Poseidon....and it would create an interesting dynamic with him and Nami. But LOOK. i want everyone having different parents because why not? so what about Ceto, ancient goddess of sea monsters? i think it would be cool in this au for the fishmen to be children of the sea monster goddess and for jinbei to be one of them and still have some of his fish features ok? I would love opinions on this lol

thats all i got feel free to add ur own opinions to this lol

#one piece #one piece au #godly parent au #greek gods au #demigods au #straw hat pirates

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alkhale · 5 years ago

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so... that new his dark materials on HBO got me feeling some things and thinking... Memos HDM AU?

Memos His Dark Materials AU Ko-Fi Request

(for context for the excerpt down below this, when someone’s daemon makes contact with another person’s daemon, it’s considered very personal and intimate. This is normal between family members and very close friends or loved ones, say, Luffy’s daemon would probably touch all his nakama’s left and right just fine, but for certain others, this may come as a bit of an alarming little sensation for them since people feel what their daemons feel and the same vice versa as extension of their souls)

- Hoku’s daemon is a white panther named Hau.

The two of them don’t get along very well and tend to get on each other’s nerves due to personal reasons. They’re capable of being a fairly good distance apart even though this isn’t normal and considered painful for most people. They sort of trained themselves to be able to be apart because they felt following their independent values was most important. It’s a bit of a messy situation but they’re the first ones either of them would turn to no matter what. He has the same marking she has painted around the curve of his left eye because it’s tradition for Pokians to paint it onto their daemons when they come of age. All daemons from Artopoki are also always colored white just like their hair.

His name means “happiness” in Hawaiian.

- Mahina’s daemon is a white horse while Manu’s is a small white wild cat. Mihawk’s is a massive, massive ink black raven named Sable. She and Mahina’s daemon got along really well.

- Shank’s daemon is a reddish tinted lionness who goes by Reina. Hoku and Hau are a bit smitten by her but Hau kind of hates Shanks, maybe not hate but he tends to be on the more skeptical end of him versus Hoku being a little doe-eyed for the man. Hau loved Mihawk though. Mihawk was the first person to ever touch him outside of Hoku’s parents (human to daemon contact is a super big deal when it’s not family or intimate loved ones, daemon to daemon is a little more tolerable but raises some brows)

- Luffy’s daemon settles as a springy lionness name Soleil who he calls Sol. She’s very energetic and can’t really read a room but she makes up for it with energy. She and Luffy are two peas in a pod.

- Nami’s daemon is an orange fox named Riki, the greatest thieving duo across the East Blue.

- Zoro’s is a massive bengal tiger named Masumi and she’s got a much more approachable personality than her counterpart but tends to be just as lazy and ferocious.

- Usopp’s is a chameleon by the name of Emmo. She’s a bit of a coward too but she’s funny.

- Sanji’s is a beautiful, rather stunning lady jackrabbit by the name of Celine who loves beautiful people and kicking. She seems a little wiser than Sanji.

- Brook’s is the skeleton of a songbird named Aretha. They’re the strangest case on the Grand Line because of his devil fruit. She sings beautifully for a pile of bones though.

- Franky’s is a female beaver named Aspen, they’re pretty much carbon copies of each other.

- Robin’s is a black owl named Yuval. He’s on the quieter side and tends to creep people out on first glance but he’s a very gentlemanly owl.

- Ace’s ends up settling as a red and black lynx by the name of Iskra. Sabo’s is a peregrine falcon named Brisa.

- Vivi’s is a fennec fox named Seti.

- I couldn’t decide of Kid’s should be one hell of a murderous honey badger with attitude named Naga or a crocodile or a bear. Any of those three felt pretty right but I lean more toward the honey badger HAHAHA.

- Law’s daemon is a snow leopard named Estrella. These two are an especially dangerous duo and Estrella tends to be a bit more on the mysterious side at first.

- - - - - - -

“Your blood,” Shank said, cupping her cheek. “Is worth treasures more than his.”

Hau bit at Shanks’ cloak, snarling as a white husky in protest, trying to pull him away. Reina watched him in utter amusement.

Steam exploded from Hoku’s ears, her entire face flushing red.

“Oops, hey, someone get Makino! I’m worried dove’s got a fever!”

- - - - - - -

“It’s nothing but a childish crush,” Hau said pointedly to her, perfectly aware of the fluttery, gross feelings inside Hoku spilling over to him. He walked after her, lashing his tail angrily while Hoku stared up at the sky in a daze. Shanks had just given them a living, ripe kiionohi tree. “He just thinks we’re cute kids. He likes teasing us. This is how he took Luffy!”

Hau worked over-time to remain as indifferent toward Shanks as Hoku originally wanted to be. Hoku had just given up and rolled over to the fact that Shanks was just… so hard to dislike. Was there even a reason to dislike him? Sure, she still got jealous that Luffy was so damn fond of him, but when Luffy was always pulling her around despite that, promising she was his first before anyone else—

“Are you listening to me?” Hau hissed at her, biting her ankle in protest. Hoku looked down at him. “I don’t like him! He’s just another schmuck! Nothing’s gonna happen anyway! Dream on! We’re just kids to him, got it?”

“I know that,” Hoku snapped, cheeks flushing. “I-It’s just adoration. Childish adoration. What do you think I’m gonna do, ask him to marry me?”

“No,” Hau muttered, “but don’t get any ideas.”

“I’m not,” Hoku snapped back at him, lightly nudging his paws. Hau swiped at her. “He’s just… he’s just charming, is all. And you’re one to talk, you know. You look at anyone that’s willing to scratch your ears like they’re god!”

“I don’t let people scratch me behind the ears!” Hau protested. “No one’s allowed to touch me!”

“Yeah,” Hoku snorted. “Except Luffy, right? I feel what you feel too, dumbass. Think about how it feels for me to get scratched behind the ears too, okay?”

Hau grumpily settled down onto his haunches, stubbornly looking over to the side, “But it’s Luffy.”

Hoku could understand that, but it didn’t make the sensation any more normal. Actually, I might be starting to get used to that. Luffy’s so damn touchy it’ll kill me. She didn’t even flinch anymore when Hau and Soleil were pressed tight together, rolling around or tumbling about each other or cuddled up in a pile. Luffy’s warm fingers patting Hau’s head, hefting him up into his arms—that was still something she was getting used to.

Or Hoku, cupping Soleil’s head in her hands, pressing a kiss to the top of the daemon’s head, committing utter taboo. Hoku, letting Soleil cozy up to the crook of her neck, shove her face into Hoku’s hand, weave between her fingers while Luffy laughed beside them—

The four of them, touching each other’s daemons, each other’s partners, each other’s souls—

But I am getting used to it. Hoku shivered. Never touching anyone’s daemon, huh?

Hau lashed his tail, “I won’t let Shanks touch me, you can count on that.”

“You’re just jealous,” Hoku said. “Luffy and Soleil already said we’re first. And it’s not like Shanks is going to be here forever, he’s a pirate, remember?”

Hoku rubbed the side of her arm, looking down at her shoes, “He’s just… he’s just become Luffy’s idol. You see how he looks at him—Luffy knows what he wants to do now ‘cause of him.”

Hau huffed, whiskers twitching. Hoku gave him a little shove and Hau shifted into a bull, ramming at the back of her knees as Hoku laughed, shoving back at him.

Shanks was just a bit of fun, that was it.

- - - - - - - -

But Reina didn’t play by the rules.

“You’re getting faster, little dove.”

Hoku almost screamed. Her heart lodged into her throat, forcing her to choke as Mau nearly clattered onto the dirt from her hands had she not hooked it last minute. She apologized to the amused blade, checking for scratches and trying to work out a game plan in her head.

Hau frowned. As deep of a frown as an unhappy skunk could make, sitting by a log and looking pointedly Reina’s way.

She didn’t know when Shanks’ daemon had made her way over to them or where Shanks was, probably with Luffy to be honest, but there Reina was, living up to her name.

The lioness daemon was stretched out onto a fat slab of rock jutting upwards from the ground. Luffy used it as a launching platform a lot when they were playing. Her red-gold body rippled, leisurely soaking up the sunlight.

Hoku’s fingers itched.

Reina watched them with golden irises.

“Thanks,” Hoku said, trying not to be awkward but feeling very much so. “I’m not there yet though.”

Reina’s chest rumbled, a deep sound that made Hau wrinkle his nose in protest. She laid her head down onto her paws, rolling over onto her side. Hoku noticed the scars lining her softer underbelly, the notch missing from a piece of her flicking tail.

“You’ll get there,” Reina said soothingly. “Why don’t you take a break?”

I feel like I’m talking to the devil. Hoku shivered. Temptation incarnate. “I haven’t hit my number of swings yet.”

“Shanks and Luffy are playing by the harbor,” Reina almost purred. “Don’t you want to join?”

Hoku frowned at her boots. Yes. “No. I’m glad Shanks is taking up all his time.”

Reina’s ear twitched. Her eyes glimmered playfully. Hoku felt as though if her feet weren’t planted firmly to begin with, she’d already be making her way over to the lioness for no reason other than the fact that Reina seemed to be beckoning her over.

“How come you two can be so far apart?” Hau blurted. Hoku shot him a look of disbelief.

Reina’s whiskers twitched in amusement.

Hau hunkered down, waving his big bushy tail. “I-Isn’t it painful? It’s weird, daemons aren’t supposed to be able to do that.”

“You two seem to be able to go fairly far,” Reina murmured. “Is that not strange?”

Hoku and Hau flinched.

Reina laid her head down onto the rock, letting the sun color her pelt. She looked crimson gold in the sunlight. “He and I simply found it in ourselves to promise to live our lives to the fullest and the freest.”

Reina seemed to smile, lips pulling back to show her fangs. “Besides, like this, I can be with Luffy and he can be with little dove at the same time, hmm?”

Hoku and Hau blinked in confusion. They looked at each other and back to Reina who’d rolled over to show them her back, settling down for a nice, long nap.

“Finish up those swings, dove,” Reina purred. “Then let’s play.”

I miss Luffy. Hoku miserably flattened herself down against the grass, Mau propped up onto a trunk beside her. Hau was chirping haughtily in the tree branch above her, flapping his white wings even though he was supposed to be a toucan. I always run off even when he’s playing with Shanks. Maybe I should just suck it up and have fun with them too. Or, not fun. Just… spend time. Yeah.

Hoku groaned, rubbing her sweaty face with her hands.

“About time,” Hau chirped at her. “Let’s go! I don’t care if Shanks and everyone else is there, I want to see Luffy and Sol.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hoku snapped. “I heard ya. You just want to get touched again.”

Hau flattened, ruffling his feathers, “That’s not true!”

It absolutely is. Hoku sighed, preparing her aching muscles to lift her sluggish body up. Hau was practically touched starved and Luffy’s generous pats were like a drug. He did a good job making sure Shanks never got near him though. Hoku didn’t even flinch. Touching other people’s daemons is still such a weird feeling though, I can’t get used to anyone else but them.

She’d only ever touched Sable twice. Ki and Kekoa didn’t count because they were family. Soleil was the only one she ever really touch-touched, and even then, it was still a sensation Hoku felt all the way to the tip of her toes and down to her bones. Intimate.

Bet no one else has a daemon willing to get himself pet. Hoku peeked through her fingers at Hau who jumped from the branch and shifted into a little white butterfly. He’d turn into a dog later because it was easier to play with Luffy like that. What daemon goes up to someone to get themselves touched?

Some taboos just weren’t meant to be crossed.

A shadow fell over Hoku’s face and she blinked, moving her hands away to look up.

Reina looked down at her.

Hoku froze, stiff against the ground like a corpse. Her heart hammered stupidly loud in her chest, loud enough to burst through her ears. From this spot, she could make out every fine, red-gold hair smoothed over Reina’s slender face. She could see the dark lines that traced her feline gold eyes, followed the slope of her muzzle, to the long, elegant whiskers—a few cut short, and the few scars that lined her soft nose.

This was the closest she had ever been to the daemon.

She could sense heat from the lioness, hulking power and muscle. Reina’s killing paws sat on either side of her head. She could crush Hoku’s skull without much effort. Rip her throat out. In another world, Hoku would be fearing for her life—even in this world, Hoku was still fearing for her life, but, but, maybe death at the hands of such a beautiful, powerful daemon couldn’t be that awful.

Hoku waited, staring at Reina with wide eyes.

Reina blinked once, slowly. Something like amusement seemed to shift over the fine hairs on her face and she lowered her head over Hoku’s. Her body seized up, unable to breathe.

And then languidly, a warm, wet and scratchy pink tongue rolled once across her face, down her forehead to her lips and over her chin. Reina pulled away, satisfied, looking down at Hoku’s disheveled, slightly wet face and bulging eyes before calmly sauntering off, hips swaying.

It took her a moment. A good, solid moment. Her heart did something funny, her body frozen stiff and ascended to some other plain of existence, her mind whirring and still buzzing from the electricity of the slightest contact with—

Someone else’s daemon—

Reina—

Shanks’ daemon—

Touched—

Hoku’s face blushed a bright, scarlet red. She grabbed her face with her hands and rolled around in the dirt like the little bug she was.

Hau jealously nudged her face with his little ferret nose, huffing and puffing in displeasure.

She’d never been touched by someone else’s daemon before.

- - - - - - - -

The final nail into her own coffin was done by Hoku’s own hands.

At the crack of dawn, when the light was just beginning to crawl its way out of the horizon to peek over into the sky. Just hours before, Hoku had finally shown Shanks the book, speaking with him in the low light of that bar and making a total fool of herself—enough for Hau to tease and taunt her about it for hours until they fell asleep.

She woke up earlier than Luffy today, leaving him snoring in her hammock with Soleil sprawled as a baby badger over him. Hau woke up, slithering into her shirt and keeping himself warm by her stomach as they walked out into the forest.

Reina was already waiting for them.

“Dove,” Reina greeted, velvet voice carrying over as Hoku trudged through the dewy grass. Sunlight was warming her pelt, heating it up like a forge and turning the red-gold of her pelt darker and brighter.

Hau muttered a low, half-reluctant protest. Yesterday, Luffy had picked him up, holding him close and willingly thrusted Hau toward Shanks like some kind of sacrificial offering.

Shanks didn’t take the daemon, simply grinning in understanding at Hau’s horrified expression. Her daemon had never felt more betrayed.

“Hau, you gotta get along with everyone!” Luffy laughed. “Don’t be dumb like Hoku!”

Hoku couldn’t stop the greedy, uncontrollable itch in her fingers.

“...good morning,” Hoku mumbled, tucking hair behind her ear out of habit. Reina was stretched out, regal and picture perfect on that same slab of stone. Dawn was rising over the fine curve of her spine and the lioness kept her gaze on them evenly, waiting as Hoku slowly came to stand beside the slab of rock.

Reina’s ears swiveled forward. She watched Hoku, eyes glittering. A soft sound left her parted jaws.

Hoku hesitantly took a seat on the rock, a few inches away from Reina. She could feel heat rising from the daemon, her head turning to follow Hoku as they stared at each other.

She weakly raised one hand. Hau’s heartbeat matched her own.

“Could I… Could I draw you?”

Reina’s jaws parted to let out a soft rumble. Her body curved more, keeping Hoku in the middle. Her paws stretched out and Reina kept her eyes evenly on Hoku’s.

Hoku softly set her hand down on Reina’s side. Warmth flooded into her fingertips, spreading up her arm and making half her body feel almost numb with the sensation. Hoku’s head spun, buzzing with that vibrant thrum of energy as Reina’s pelt shifted under her fingertips. Hoku daringly let her hand come down Reina’s spine, feeling the muscles and scars in one gentle stroke.

Reina’s scratchy tongue dragged over Hoku’s hand in approval.

“I hope that man is deep, deep asleep,” Hau muttered. Hoku agreed.

She thought her heart was going to burst.

- - - - - -- -- - -

“This place is crawling with marines now,” Smoker said. “What are you going to do? Let them arrest you like some kind of washed up drunk?”

Hoku lightly pushed the glass in front of her. The bartender nervously refilled the glass, jumping in fear when Smoker glared daggers at him.

“Hoku,” Smoker said.

The woman kept swallowing mouthfuls of the whiskey in her cup, ignoring him. Blanca’s fur had settled over her back, smoothing out. His daemon watched the woman before them in silence, looking at Hau and then back to Hoku.

A soft sound left Blanca’s lips. Smoker shot her a warning look. The smoky colored husky daemon lowered her tail.

“What happened to all that spunk?” Smoker continued. “You don’t give two shits if I cuff you and take you in from here?”

Hoku didn’t even turn to look at them. She kept her shoulders hunched, curling in on herself over the bar’s countertop and refusing to meet the gazes burning into her back. The empty glasses spread out across the wood counter beside her, the heavy smell of alcohol settling amidst the cigarette smoke.

Hau kept silent at her feet, curled up and head low. Smoker observed the daemon carefully, noticing the matted fur, the dirt stains in the crisp white that used to be his go-to for hunting them down in the crowd. His unsheathed claws, caked with dried dirt and blood. The cleanest spot was the blood red ink curled over his half-hidden face under the countertop’s shadow.

A new spot was inked into his fur. A small, blood red flame right where the muscle of his shoulder blade bunched under his right foreleg. Smoker’s eyes traveled upwards to the matching red flame inked into Hoku’s skin over her right shoulder blade.

“This is it?” Smoker said gruffly.

Hoku snorted. Blanca shot him a look, gray eyes hard to read but Smoker never needed to read her eyes, he could hear her thoughts loud and clear in his own head, in the space they shared.

“Who cares,” Hoku muttered bitterly. “You got what you wanted.”

Blanca fell silent. Smoker shot his daemon a sharp look, but she refused to meet his gaze, tail limp behind her and ears pricked far forward, focused on the woman before them.

Hoku bowed her head. Her hands went up, carding through her hair, holding them there as though she were cradling her head in her hands.

“You won,” Hoku whispered.

His daemon took a step forward.

“Blanca,” he warned.

The husky kept her muzzle shut, looking at him.

“Smoker.”

Smoker tossed his cigar to the side. His gloved hand clenched into a fist before it loosened. Smoker let out an aggravated sigh, shaking his head. He took a step forward, raising his hand up.

Hau’s growl ripped through the air like a knife. A single, resounding warning. Smoker glanced down to the daemon, glaring at them with icy venom, fangs and claws bared. Blanca lowered her head only an inch, her only way of showing they meant no harm. Hau pulled his lips back into a louder snarl, tail lashing in aggravation.

Hoku glanced down to her companion, frowning for a moment before she raised her head and looked back at Smoker.

Tears continued to trickle from the corners of her eyes. They slid down the curve of her cheeks, dripping down her chin. Hoku watched him in silence, expression unreadable.

The admiral hesitated for only a second. Blanca let out the softest, softest whine.

For a moment, Hau’s body untensed, staring. The foggy look started to clear. Hoku’s brows creased and Smoker reached out with his gloved hand one more time.

The doors to the bar slammed open.

The light winked out from Hoku’s eyes. Hau stood onto his paws, head lowered, eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

His men flooded the dimly lit room, raising their guns and shouting out orders as Smoker cursed in his head and Blanca’s ferocious barks of protest flooded the room over his, ordering the marine daemons to stand down.

Smoker lurched, eyes snapping in surprise to where Hau suddenly had Blanca pinned to the wooden floorboards of the bar. His daemon was silent, rigidly looking up at Hau with her teeth barely bared, body still while Hau’s jaws were wrapped around her neck. Smoker felt his teeth on his own, Hoku’s dead eyes looking at all of them.

“Go ahead,” Hoku said coldly. She turned to the marines by the door, half-smiling. “Just don’t forget, Hau’s got one more life over her.”

Blanca kept silent, staring imploringly at Hau. The panther ignored her gaze, keeping his jaws buried in the scruff of her throat, waiting. Smoker stared hard at Hoku and she kept her gaze on his men, expression devoid of emotion.

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

“Estrella,” Law drawled, ice dripping with the roll of his tongue.

His daemon pounced.

They poor no-body marine dog never stood a chance.

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

“No,” Law said. “This is rehab.”

He kicked Hoku’s lower back, sending her flying down the stairs with an ungoldy screech and down into the boiler room. Penguin and Sachi peeked their heads around the corner, staring down into the darkest depths of their sub while Law shoved a hand into his pocket.

“Is she still alive?” Penguin asked.

“She’s got a couple, right?” Law asked Hau. “Which one was that?”

Hau flicked his tail tip, the only sign of his annoyance. Estrella watched him with peering eyes, following the sway of Hau’s haunches as he slunk down the steps into the boiler room after Hoku.

“Fuck you, Law!” came the ghostly holler. “I’m going to blow up your submarine! You forgot I’m suicidal, asshole!”

Law looked satisfied, turning his back on them and closing the boiler room door. To Sachi and Penguin he added, “Make sure she doesn’t come out until she’s done.”

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

Law froze, his entire body stiff as ice.

He took a moment, reassessing the sensation he felt unfolding in his chest. He considered it carefully, made sure this… this feeling was not a mistake, that he had not wrongly interpreted the shared sensation between himself and his daemon. He picked it apart in seconds, slowly, rigidly turning his head to the corner of the deck.

It was dark, only a single headbeam lit from the corner pathway of the submarine. The deck on top of the rounded hull was bathed in darkness, but even in the thin light, he knew down to his bones he was not seeing wrongly.

Law gave the woman beside him one discreet, searching glance.

Hoku looked completely and utterly unaffected. He watched her a second longer to make sure it wasn’t an act, but her careless, bored demeanor showed truthfully she had no inclination whatsoever to sharing his barely, barely startled turmoil. Hoku looked completely at ease, still squinting in the distance to see if she could make out the constellation they’d just discussed, mouth moving around the dried fruit she’d just popped into her mouth.

Law carefully, with great composure, withheld the light, creeping shiver that traveled down his spine. He narrowed his eyes, looking back, but Estrella coyly kept her mind blank, hiding all of her thoughts from him the way they’d taught each other to.

There, against the side of the entry doorway, the two of them laid.

Hoku’s daemon had stretched out, directly in the middle of the deck to keep the perfect distance away from either side of the railings. His long, furred body turned a pale, ghostly shade of white under the moonlight, large paws hiding pearl white claws. Hau’s side rose and fell in lazy slumber, his tail stretched out behind him like a white whip, ears twitching only occasionally.

But the issue was who was beside him.

Estrella had silently made her way from Law’s side across the deck to his. Her lithe, powerful feline body almost nearly matched his in size. Law watched her with rapt, rigid focus, brows furrowed in dark disbelief as his daemon purposefully ignored his silent prodding.

She stopped inches from Hau’s form, sitting on her haunches, tail curled neatly over her paws. Hau’s ear flicked once in her direction to signal he’d noticed, but kept his eyes closed. Estrella stared down at him, icy gray gaze that had stared back as she ripped throats out of marines and pirates and their enemies alike, becoming almost clear.

Estrella rearranged herself, laying down on her stomach barely a centimeter—a heavy, tense centimeter Law could feel—from him. She folded her paws neatly over each other, staring out seemingly in boredom. Her striped black tail flicked from side to side, occasionally brushing against Hau’s limp one. A ghost of a touch.

Touch.

His daemon. Estrella.

Hau didn’t move, tail limp, body relaxed. Estrella turned her head to look down at the other daemon, expression carefully blank. Her tail curled and then the tip of it brushed against Hau’s flank. His fur seemed to shift, bright, scarred pink nose twitching but he remained relaxed. Estrella seemed pleased by this and her tail promptly laid out beside his own, curling idly over his.

Touching.

Law looked back at Hoku and she reached for another dried fruit, popping it into her mouth. She shuffled through her bag, debating whether or not to shove a handful more. Oblivious.

Is your connection to your daemon that terrible? Law almost bit out. Almost. It would have come out calm and cold and collected. Are you that dull? Is it that messed up? Are you an idiot—

He went rigid, gripping Kikoku with white knuckles.

Law exhaled, slowly. He carefully turned over his shoulder, inch by inch, glaring daggers behind him.

Estrella didn’t even blink at him, eyes trained sideways and away. She looked silver against Hau’s snow white. Her long, raspy pink tongue slid out languidly from her mouth in soothing, relaxed motions. It showed off the dangerous curve of bone-crushing fangs. But Estrella’s tongue was now running over the top of Hau’s face, over his ears, around his neck as she turned her face and—

“Are you grooming him?” Law spat out in disbelief at her.

The snow leopard lazily flicked her tail behind her in response. Hau yawned, stretching his paws out, unbothered, and resumed his slumber as Estrella continued her grooming, content.

Law ripped apart the shudder that almost raced down his spine. He shoved the sensations traveling from Estrella and Hau’s shared connection, the low buzz of energy, of electricity that came when two daemons touched each. A feeling he’d only ever felt when Corazon’s Rosa would curl her soft, furry body up around Estrella—

He grit his teeth, squaring his shoulders and forcibly maintaining his composure as he promptly knocked Kikoku against the metal railing once.

Hoku looked up, brows creasing. A fruit stuck out from between her lips. She gave him a look, as though he’d done something wrong for disturbing her.

Your daemon is touching my daemon.

“Somethin’ wrong?” Hoku asked.

Do you not feel what I feel?

Law gave her a flat look. Hoku continued to chew.

Go get your daemon—

“Hoku,” she and Law both looked down. Hau’s voice was smooth and not too low, like a melted rumble. He came up to her leg, pressing his big head against her hip and curling his tail over her leg. The white panther daemon blinked blue eyes up at them. Law could see gold.

Hau seemed to examine Law for a moment before his long whiskers twitched. The white panther blinked once. Law stared back at him, curious about the eye contact someone else’s daemon was making with him.

Without even pausing, Hoku’s hand ran over his face, pushing past his soft ears and turning against his cheek to scratch under his chin. Hau lifted his head for better access, a loud rumble filling the air.

Several feet away, Estrella slowly made her way toward them, nonchalant and shifting mass of silver and black fur. She didn’t even acknowledge the icy daggers her other half was fixing her with, haunches swaying as she came up and sat down loyally by Law’s feet. Estrella looked up at Hoku, whiskers twitching.

“What game are you playing?” Law thought at her.

“Nothing,” Estrella thought back at him, innocent. “Nothing at all.”

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

P.S - If you guys like this au, highly recommend checking out 500shadesofblue’s story “Echoes” on ao3, super good.

#memos #memos au #hdm au #daemons #straw hat crew #shanks #trafalgar law #mihawk #mahina #manu #hoku #ko fi requests #smoker

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where-s-all-blue · 5 years ago

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Okay so I've entered the Alabasta Arc now (I am actually pretty close to the climax in my rererewatch) so here's some thoughts:

Reverse Mountain:

I personally adored the mishaps the crew has on their way to the GrandLine, and the entire reverse mountain is very intriguing to me to this day. One day, I'll figure out just how on earth that thing works.

Laboon's story, tear jerking, absolutely devastating. Luffy being able to talk sense into a WHALE tells all you need about his ability to befriend beings. He also was the first one to hear Laboon, foreshadow for his later on found ability to Hear All Things or Haki?

Whiskey Peaks:

Ahh the time Vivi tried to be a villain. And Mister 9 is an absolute sweetheart. Honestly they made a pretty good team even if neither of them actually knew how fighting works. Personally I would've loved to see more of them, Mister 9 and Miss Monday seemed like interesting characters.

I keep forgetting about Zoro having supersonic speed in these, I kind of miss him just disappearing only to reappear right in middle of the group to mock their reaction of looking at the place he just was sitting on. The speed of him and his ability to momentarily cut through things he later on can't pretty much just tells you that he does have it in him, but it just isn't conscious thing yet. Also unconscious usage of haki spotted?

Vivi being The Vivi Nefertari is one of the more interesting and intense sequences in the pre-timeskip era, even if it takes less time than for example the Arlong Park does and shows just how devastatingly strong both Luffy and Zoro are. I can't believe that these idiots would retort to a fist fight mid battle.

Mister 5's ability is very unhygienic and I'd like to drown him in sanitizer, Miss Valentine needs to be silenced forever, her laughter creeps me out and she honestly doesn't add any value into the conversation. This is a duo I'd like to murder slowly.

Igram blowing up still gets me, the reactions of the characters, the devastated facial expression of Vivi, the sound design, the shocked looks, it's just so well executed.

Vivi's reaction of mixed feelings regarding Miss All Sunday/Robin, albeit just, is very confusing for me. I remember when I met her the first time and all I could think of was "She's a nice person" just based on her facial expression and the words she used.

I forgot that Luffy broke the eternal log pose Robin gave them. Not because he didn't trust her but because the choice Vivi would've been forced to make after the shock of loosing Igram would've been too much. Also because he didn't want anyone to dictate HOW they get there, he's the captain and as such it's his job to make the final decision, he also appears to have been convinced that this way Vivi would be safe.

Little Garden:

Aah, Little Garden, the island I'd simultaneously love and hate. Love because dinosaurs, hate because loud and probably insects large enough to use me as a quick caffeine filled pick-me-up. I might have a problem.

The fact that I can understand the thought process of these giants concerns me greatly. Is this the power of the Monkey Brain?

Mister 3 would be an amazing character if only we could see his self proclaimed genius in action and hear him go through plans etc. I feel like he's just trying to compensate on his lack of battlefield knowledge and experience. Miss Golden Week is highkey a mood and I love her. I, too, want to paint whatever I want and get paid for it.

Zoro actually started to hack through his own leg because he wanted to fight so badly, what a mad lad. Usopp honestly is flexing with his quick thinking and reflexes here. We love that for him. Go you funky little sniper.

Luffy might've used observation haki instinctively in the Mister 3 crowd.

Sanji managing to outright fool Crocodile to believe that he is Mister 3 indicates that Crocodile has never heard the voices of his underlings before and just assuming that the man who answered is Mister 3. The two also apparently have similar sense of humour. That Crocodile is aware of based on what Robin has told him.

Sanji both taking down the Unluckies without any hesitation nor stopping to think about where they came from really tells volumes about him. He also apparently lied so convincingly that Crocodile was 100% sure that it was Mister 3 fighting Luffy and not a chef beating up his long distance murder pets.

Nami was bitten by a bug, which was the carrier of a rare, nearly dead disease. Based on the amount of time one would usually need to wait for the sickness to develop, I'd say that they were about a week on the ocean before Nami developed the fever.

None of the crew members, Vivi included, thought about doing a full body check on her to see if there were any other symptoms than fever, ie her body actively fighting against the infection/sickness. Also her sickness isn't apparently something that spreads, so it's very unlikely for it to be virus based or spread similar to flu.

Drum Island/Sakura Kingdom:

Nami is capable of sensing the weather, and act upon her feelings, under 40C fever. If I have any level of fever, I am rendered near vegetative state until my fever either goes down or raises past certain level. What I'm saying is that Nami is some sort of Goddess or superhero because of being able to do anything with that fever.

Vivi needing to think about whether or not she can afford waiting extra days for being taken to Alabasta or to change the course to find a doctor is one of the stupidest things ever especially since the person who is sick with such a high fever happens to be the navigator.

Warm welcome by residents is warm. And by warm I mean freezingly cold. I can't believe that Luffy thought about yelling to the person before Vivi bowed her head prompting Luffy to do the same (though heavily "encouraged" by Vivi). Vivi saying that Luffy isn't fit to be the captain reflects very strongly her own views and beliefs, but she keeps forgetting something very simple, yet important. Background. She has no idea about Luffy's past nor how he grew up, she hasn't been long enough with the crew to be able to tell just why people follow Luffy, nor is she aware of how he communicates with people. She doesn't realise that when it comes to Luffy, humility isn't a word to describe him with nor that he would be able to set his own pride aside just yet, Luffy is a 17 year old, a mere child, who has just set out on the sea few months ago, who only knows the harshness of the world, where to survive, you must take things with force or be aggressive. She also isn't familiar with Luffy's way of helping others and going all in no matter the situation.

It's interesting to see how from the time Vivi is with them, Luffy is clearly paying attention to how she does things and how she presents herself, the mannerisms and the likes. It's not as clear idolisation and wish for being equal/better than someone as it was with Katakuri's use of haki, but he is striving to learn. If not because he acknowledges how important manners and humility are, but because it makes things easier on certain places. He especially starts to pay more attention to it once Ace joins them.

By the way the sickness Nami is struck with? It's most likely the same as the one that cost the life of Captain Yorkie of the Rumbar Pirates. After all, the ship doctor couldn't heal it, he didn't know how to, he could only prolong his death for a little while, few days max.

Chopper is a joy to have around and I'd physically fight Doctor Kureha at first sight because WOMAN! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ATTACKING YOUR PATIENTS JUST BECAUSE THEY GOT OUT OF THE BED! What if they need to use the restroom. I don't care if you're a youthful 139 year old lady, you can't just do that. Also how the hell are you still able to move that well? Most people I see start to slowly loose their mobility at 60 as their joints are starting to wear out causing pain and their muscle mass is lowering due to the inability to move as much as during their prime.

I am surprised that a reindeer even cares about something like a blue nose. The devilfruit thing? Yeah sure, but not the blue nose. These local reindeer are dicks with human level of obsession to look like the "norm". News flash, there is no default anything. Your appearances are purely dictated by a set of genes that decide to either activate or deactivate as they please without any warning and genes can skip multiple generations. That's why I apparently look identical to my great grandmother.

Nami is kind towards other women and animals. Men not so much, my assumption is that she is carrying a trauma from the Arlong time that she hasn't yet processed and as such she is even now a bit guarded against the rest of the crew.

Hiriluk's character is closer to that of a mad scientist or a very enthusiastic chemist who keeps forgetting that people aren't test subjects. His curiosity and and enthusiasm are something to strive for even if his methods are questionable, all he does want is to bring people sense of hope, wonder and awe. Though I can't help but to wonder about his story. The thief (him) having a serious incurable heart condition and seeing cherry blossoms that cured him. A metaphor for his past self being relentless and uncaring while thieving, but the indescribable beauty of the scenery he saw changed his heart to be more generous and kind?

Hiriluk's death is one of the most important ones in the series if you ask me, it defined Chopper and who he became; Doctor hoping to be capable of curing any disease there is.

#one piece #onepiece #One piece rewatch #One piece commentary #one piece meta #long post #meta commentary #r talks #laboon #Reverse mountain arc #Whiskey Peaks Arc #Little Garden Arc #drum island arc #Sakura Kingdom Arc #op spoilers?#op spoilers

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inexchangeforyoursoul · 7 years ago

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... remember when I had that good swing on that long self-insert fic going? Yeah, me too. Good times. [ffn] [AO3]

Well... I sat the fuck down and finished up the next one. Joke is... 33 will be the hardest to do lmao I’m so not ready

Anyway, this instalment takes a Definitely Spoopy turn; wanted to publish it at Halloween for a reason, but, uh, as you can see... it’s mid fucking December. Not even the Robin time can rectify that.

32. White noise

“Oh, my, what pretty flowers have sprouted here overnight,” comes the amused voice of Robin from behind them not two seconds later.

Law’s eyes shoot up immediately, and he also sits up post-haste, almost headbutting the railing himself. “Nico-ya…” he starts with a wary drawl; “since when have you been here?” She's the nosy type, too… might have heard fucking everything. Shit.

Kat also turns towards her with open arms. “Ah, Robin!”

“I see you’re in a much better mood than before…. good for you,” she smiles at Kat immediately upon seeing her enthusiastic, flushed little face, and sprouts a hand on her back to give her head a scratching, which she seems to enjoy quite a lot. “As for your question… five minutes, maybe?” she shrugs then at Law as the moaning watering can in her hands is put to work. “Your vivid duet was hard to miss,” she continues with a chuckle. “You shouldn’t lie around in this weather, though, lest you catch Miss Kat a cold for next week.”

He feels blood rush to his face again. For some reason, getting caught laughing by her is as embarrassing as anything else. As is getting talked to like a toddler.

“I wasn’t planning on staying here much longer anyhow,” he grumbles with a huff. “We have business to attend to, not to mention that you being out gardening equals to everything getting wetter and colder, anyway.”

Next thing he knows is that she’s holding the can directly above him for a quick shower; he’s just dumbfounded, and Kat snorts as soon as the action registers.

“You’ll be the one to give me a cold this way, Robin,” she giggles then just as the woman moves on.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist… do you want me to get him one, too?” the archeologist asks then, offering the business end of the object.

“What’s with all of you today, I swear…” Law shakes his head, and the curly hair sprays everyone with the water that’s stuck among the curls. “Are you standing in for Nose-ya, or what?” Him, Carrot and Luffy are the only ones up for this kind of bullshit at any given time. And Chopper, whenever they can rake him into idiocy.

“I suppose someone has to,” she hums, pouring a little of the leftover water on Kat while passing. “It gets mundane without the kids around.” The can sinks into a barrel of water to refill.

“It sure was too peaceful out here to be true,” the man mumbles standing up, then bows down to shake out whatever water is left and willing to drop. “Or inside, for that matter. I’m missing a bunch of my crew for sure, and by the looks of it, so do you,” he says then, straightening up. He’ll need to fetch a towel, goddamn. Also, he’s officially really, really cold.

“Oh… everyone’s being scarce?” asks Kat while wiping the water off her face, then also swishing whatever possible out of her hair. Nami kept her company, but she couldn't help notice the empty seats during breakfast.

The archeologist nods. “Yes… I went ahead and checked the other ship on my way up myself. Nary a soul. And, as you may have noticed already, our wacky musician and sniper, as well as little doctor are yet to be accounted for. Since Franky just left with Sanji and Carrot to shop for odds and ends, this ship is as good as dead,” she states, pulling the filled container out of the barrel. She stops to think for a second. “I am a little worried, though,” she notes then, looking out towards town. “The boys may have gone out together, but Chopper is not one to stay out for an entire night. As an animal, he needs plenty of rest. I doubt he has that luxury out there… the commotion died off early in the morning, and the music is already starting up again.”

“Yeah, it's always pretty noisy on this weekend,” agrees Kat while Law murmurs something that sounds like a ‘thought so,’ likely referring to his crewmates. The ruckus is bad enough that she’s decidedly happy over being able to stay over for these two nights specifically.

“If they don’t get back soon I’ll have to assume they got themselves lynched in a dark alley,” the woman declares as the moaning ghost starts spewing water again.

“… even Brook?” muses the girl two seconds down the line with a raised brow and half a smile.

Hearing that brings back Robin’s, too. “Even though he’s already dead? Yes.”

Law finds the idea less funny. “Don’t jinx it, Nico-ya. I doubt they would have any problems with some ragtag thieves, but we know for a fact that there are some shifty folks out in some alleys,” he informs the woman while pointing towards Kat with a thumb, then starts rubbing himself for some warmth. He could have lived his entire life without having been reminded of that situation, really.

“… oh. Yeah, there was that, too, huh.” She… forgot about that, despite the adventure freaking her out quite a lot at the time. Thinking about this, she also stands up at last, patting the dirt and whatever there is off her dew-soaked thighs.

The tense focus returns. “Oh my… then I better get looking as soon as possible, don’t I.”

“I’m about to send Jean Bart out to collect our entourage, too. Might as well join him.” He’s there for sure, heard him cursing on his way up. Also the only other person to keep people on task on board of the Polar Tang, so there’s noone better to get those sad excuses of pirates moving again.

“Would you be so kind as to ask him to look for our lost ones in my stead, then?” Robin turns to Law after short consideration.

“Huh?” Backing out? Nico-ya, of all people? “Why that?”

She sighs. “I would prefer not to spend more time out with all the bushoo around is all… They make me feel uneasy, even despite the cute costumes.” She still thinks it was silly to miss out on most of the fair on Tuesday because of the minute weakness of being reminded of what happened in the city of water when she was alone with Chopper for a little, but last night, the entire flocks of them really made her nervous for some reason. She constantly felt like being watched by those vacant, painted-on eyes. All in all, soon after Nami and Carrot left, she also excused herself.

“Well, fine by me,” the man sighs then, giving his freezing self one last rub. “I guess you’ll be willing to come practice now, too?” he turns then to Kat while wiping a stray drop of water falling out of his hair.

“Um… yeah.” She’s getting unsure again, and can already see today becoming extremely awkward with the two of them just… being stuck in the same, cluttered room. Alone. Just… don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.

“Thank you,” Robin nods with notable relief, with the once more empty can in her flailing hand. “And you do your best, alright?” she smiles then at Kat, who’s also starting to get cold by the looks of it.

“No need to, Nico-ya,” Law replies while moving back direction hellcave, with Kat tiptoeing backwards in tow with a wave and hum.

Pretty much as soon as they enter the metal staircase, it becomes obvious how few people are around. Not because they are not physically present, but rather… the silence is too big for this to be a ship with twenty plus people on board.

Hearing someone make a racket under these circumstances sticks out like a sore thumb, though. As is the one making it in general.

Law turns a corner Kat has never taken before. She follows him awkwardly after a second of consideration, then takes a quick look around the humid room they arrive at; the showers are about as utilitarian as a place like this can get. There's four stalls, and a metal bench and shelves across them where some people have left some clothing articles and soap lying about. She also notes some pipes on the floor next to Jean Bart, who is standing in the middle in a small puddle and fills half the midspace himself… they must be for that leakage problem from the other day. Explains why he's ripping off half the metal ceiling, if nothing else.

“Jean, sorry to bother you right now, but would you be so kind and, uh, ‘collect’ our idiots from town?” asks Law without beating around the bush.

The burly man sighs. “Did think it right when considering it myself, ey? Will do, capt’n. I’m not the man for the rest of this, anyway.”

“Thanks,” Law waves with a nod, already turning around to trod deeper down into the submarine. “Oh, and… keep an eye out for the other bunch, while at it.”

An unwilling grunt. “… if I must.”

By the time they arrive at the bottom, a total silence sets in. And soon enough Kat has to admit that unfortunately, she cannot concentrate to save her life… exactly as she’s feared, she has difficulty paying attention. Only after five minutes, she becomes sickeningly aware of the fact that she’s all alone with Law, or, occasionally, it’s her imagination that starts tugging her away to other times and places. It’s all bad or embarrassing memories… no matter which happens, however, it’s on the uncomfortable side of nervous. Instead of butterflies, there are barely not cramping muscles on the menu. Not sure whether this is the better of the two worlds…

Just to make things harder, the ambience really seems off today. Like, yeah, the buzzing is still there, but at any other time, there’s the crew up and about every now and then on this floor, not to mention their voices can echo down here all the way up from the dining hall. But today… there’s nothing. Apart from her grumbling stomach, that is. Like in the evening, she couldn't get much food down her throat at breakfast, and it's finally catching up with her…

After an hour or so, the silence itself has grown into just another reason to be on edge, and soon enough, it’s Kat’s main concern. Instead of wanting to be in another room altogether, she gets the feeling that there’s some monster lurking outside in wait, making this room with Law in it the safest place available. Whenever the bells ring outside, it’s like thunder rolling in the dead of the night.

As such, she gets especially nervous upon him leaving said safe bubble after one of these ghastly tolls; if nothing else, it’s extra relieving to see his return in a few minutes. He doesn’t look all that happy with the situation, either.

“This is getting… weird,” he states upon arrival.

“… are they still not back?” That does not sound reassuring. Also, she does need her usual background noise to be somewhat less useless.

The man just hums. “A few of them are, including my three idiots… but something is definitely fishy about this. According to Bepo, they haven’t seen most of the crew since around 2 am when they wobbled back home, not to mention that they have apparently not run into Jean Bart this morning, either.” He sighs with worry, putting up his right to the chin in contemplation. “Maybe they are planning something stupid, since the other crew seems to be involved… but Clione and Uni are not the types who would participate in that, and they’ve been the first to bail.” In their case, it’s been nearly a day by now, too…

Kat also groans. “The submarine is really spooky with nothing but random noises down here… if this is supposed to be a joke, it’s not funny.”

“Same here. Those three just left again, so I asked them to keep an eye out… we’ll see in an hour or two. Until that… might as well have lunch? Or a very belated breakfast… while Fugu is still in.” He’d rather not tempt his luck twice.

As such, the girl gets to be in the dining hall once more. It is a very different experience with only eight people around, counting her, Law and the cook. Latter doesn’t even stay, but packs up to go grocery shopping as soon as they get their servings. Overall, the eerie silence persists. Once three other people leave to go fishing, it becomes nigh unbearable; it’s pure luck that she’s finished up by then. She pours another mug of the tasty, warm tea before descending back into the panic room.

Then the seconds, minutes, then likely multiple hours just pass, and pass in the same vein, until there is quite a racket, first upstairs, then quickly closing in as the staircase is indicating. Almost immediately after, the door bursts open, with three very familiar faces.

“Thank god, you’re still here,” sighs Penguin and nearly collapses from the relief.

“… I’m going to skip the ‘learn knocking’ part, and go straight to questions,” Law insists, his hand nervously grabbing onto the back of the chair. There’s officially a problem, and by god, is he in no position to be of use right now.

“Noone’s here!” cries Shachi; “First it was just weird, then weirder… since we saw literally no friends out in town…!! But then there was one of the fishing rods just lying around outside, and now we didn’t find anyone in the hall, either! I poked my nose into the kitchen while Pengu and Bepo had a look at the bedrooms, but not even Fugu is around! Half of the soup has gone and evaporated already… he should have been back ages ago!” By the time his rant comes to a close, he’s on the verge on tears. Bepo has been at it since the second line, and is sobbing into Penguin’s hat, who’s not even in the mood to scold him for getting it all bear snotty.

Without another word, Law is already outside, busting up door after door.

They open every single one of them, one by one, but there’s no life to be found. Wherever they look, the hallways, Ikkaku’s room, back door of the dining hall, engine, or even the cold room… it's all fallen silent. Not a single soul around apart from Kat, Law, Bepo, Shachi and Penguin. They don’t hear any noise until they enter the showers, where the faulty pipe is still dripping from above through the removed panels. The pulsating darkness gives Kat, who’s been following the boys around in panicked silence, the chills; were she alone, she’d get spooked by her own shadow.

There’s but a ringing in her ears. And it’s deafening.

#KMKY #Kate writes #opfanfic

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sparda3g · 7 years ago

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One Piece Chapter 921 Review

One Piece is back. After the revelation of the Samurai from 20 years ago, it’s finally time to reclaim the rightful glory to Wano Country. If only the two-week break in real life applied to the series as well. You can feel the hype and it’s only going to rise higher. This chapter was more of a follow-up discussion with elaborated pre-planning details with new outfits for the crew and a dreary reminder of who will they be dealing with in two weeks.

It does make sense to continue on with the discussion since the last chapter was more about the backstory of the 5 Samurai from 20 years ago. Therefore, this one is about the preparation prior to the decisive battle. I still believe Luffy’s fleet will get involved and 2 weeks is plenty of time to call them over. That all said this chapter is text heavy from the start, though it is interestingly necessary to be aware of its world. It’s also humorous, so it’s good enough to keep my attention.

As said before, the decisive battle will take place at the Demon Island, Onigashima, where Kaidou and his Beasts Pirates’ HQ are located. Here is where the battle plan is explained. Kin’emon already has a ship to sail there and they don’t really have to ride a full-sale ship since they are so close by. The setting will take place during the Fire Festival, a grand festival that is celebrated annually. It sounds like a recipe for a major background stage for an epic battle.

Kaido is considered to be a Wise King. Yeah, a wise king who tried to kill himself dozens of time already. Sure, okay. Orochi and his followers continue to show their despicable nature by acting like they cherish the theme of the festival and pay their respects, but in reality, they’re just party animals. Well, if you include the Beasts Pirates, then jokes on me. Basically, they want to use the opportunity of when they’re drunk and out cold to reach for the Commander’s head. Not a bad idea.

There’s another revelation to be said. Apparently, Kin’emon is married already, well before a time warp. Here I thought Kiku was hitting on him. Then again, maybe she doesn’t have any shame when approaching to a married man. Speaking of married man, judging by Kiku’s words, Tsuru is his wife; the same woman who looks nearly identical to the traditional art style. He has yet to meet her, so there’s one reunion to expect. I like Sanji’s reaction towards him and his sudden popularity with women. He’s not wrong for some reason about a married man attracts women more than ever…

Going back to the serious discussion, Kin’emon has a symbol or symbols that marks the Will of Rebellion. It looks like a mask design. It’s kind of neat to learn each of the symbol’s representation. The crescent moon is the giveaway for who is behind the message, which is honorable. The cards need to be spread to issue an alliance from various places. This idea could play out similar to Vivi and Strawhats with their X mark on their arm, only this is about the mark of a new beginning. I like this concept. Funny how they said Zoro hasn’t been useful. Well, he did save Kin’emon’s wife (assumingly), so there’s that.

Franky works as an apprentice of the man who built Kaidou’s residence. That way, he can obtain the blueprints of that building. That’s a good idea and the most suited person to do the job. As for Robin, she’s masquerading as a Geisha to make Orochi grant her to his sitting room. That’s one risky task, but it’s Robin, so she’s used to it. Sanji would have love to see her as a Geisha. Who wouldn’t? I got to say, I’m impressed with Kin’emon with his crafty planning. I guess I was used to him being comical, so this is a good change of pace. He even has an idea for others based on their characteristics.

After the crew feeling the hype to change appearances and become part of the country’s culture, it is time for Clothes-Clothes no Jutsu. Is that seriously a jutsu? Because I want to learn it. Now, everyone dress their part. Brook has me laughing with his outfit as a ghost who still has battle scars or in this case, arrows sticking out. Chopper is an adorable ninja. Curious how well he will do with skills. Carrot is like a villager who is still doing chores. Sanji is normal, but the difference is he is mesmerized by Nami’s outfit. She dressed as a Kunoichi, but more revealing than necessary. I know they have a technique to seduce, but Kin’emon, ease your urge. Even Nami thought this is too much.

What got me laughing a lot is the proof of Kunoichi’s outfit to be what she’s wearing. Throughout the chapter, every time you see Sanji on panel, his reaction is towards the ladies more so than himself. Even when he was told that he’s going to suit up, all he thought was Nami as a hot ninja. It’s time for the real Kunoichi to appear and he was super hyped. Shinobu arrives at Kin’emon’s command and well, she is a Kunoichi but old as one can be. Not only this proved Nami’s thought is right, but Sanji is dying from disappointment. Take notes, Kaido. In Kin’emon’s defense, there are two types of Kunoichi. I think…

In One Piece, you can’t get enough of new characters, so here comes another one. Shinobu is a veteran and apparently, she has mastered the Art of Bewitchment. Sanji is slowly recovering, but the damage is severe. If Nami didn’t appear sexy earlier, he probably would have died. Death by disappointment; now that’s new. Hilarious how she believed her attractiveness is a threat to men. Sure, let’s go with that.

Right before the scene shifts elsewhere, Kin’emon was about to explain The Three Samurai they must recruit. Their names are Kawamatsu, Denjiro, and Ashura Douji. They are a must if they want increase manpower significantly in their squad. It stops there, which implies that perhaps next chapter, we will learn more about them and probably their backstory. Kin’emon sure has a lot of knowledge to tell, so be aware of more introductions.

Just when you think you are done with Okobore Town, we return there and this time, trouble is happening. Scums are roaming around and stealing everyone’s food. I thought it would be Beasts Pirates, reclaiming “their” stuff, but they’re bunch of thieves instead. The one in charge is a fat Samurai, Shutenmaru. I was wondering what the chapter’s title referring to, but can he be any larger. It doesn’t help with his nasty attitude towards the country, despite being a Samurai himself. I wonder what the deal with his introduction at this time. Connection to The Three Samurai maybe? One thing is certain is the demonstration of his skills.

Jack returns from slumber and gets ready to fight Shutenmaru. I thought it was time for Jack to get hype boost as Shuntenmaru gets annihilated. Instead, that large Samurai comes off as a shock and cut Jack with a quick slash. Only One Piece could this pull off. So yeah, I was surprised he’s that good. Hell, he matched up well with Jack. Hard to say who would have won, because it was interrupted by the highlight of the chapter.

The moment the sky was swirling, I knew it had to be Kaido. Hell, I thought he was trying to fall down and see if he can die this time. That said I got chills from the sequence of the devil’s arrival. Ironic since he arrived from above. Everyone stopped fighting and Jack even feels intimidated. After Strawhats and others felt anticipated for the day to reclaim the country, they have a grim reminder on who they’re dealing with. Actually, this is their first time to see Kaido. He emerge from Heaven (Hell), but not as himself, but as a damn dragon.

It was bad enough with him being a giant and considered as the world strongest man. Now he can turn into a dragon. So what does this all mean with Momo? His design isn’t like the innocent or cutesy one like Momo; his is like a lost brother of Shenron from Dragon Ball, back when he was intimidated. Not to mention, he’s seriously huge as hell. Every time I see him, I go back and say, “The series is concluding earlier than I thought.” If Big Mom really allied with him, game over?

This was an intriguing chapter to boot after a break. It may not be the chapter fans have been craving for, well, depending if you’re all about action, but with its elaborated details of the plan and amusing moments such as Sanji’s near death experience from heartbreak, it doesn’t come off as bore. The art is pretty good as well, especially Kaido’s design as dragon. It also leaves expectations for future events, including The Three Samurai. Kaido continue to be the most fearsome foe. If this arc supposedly makes Marineford War Arc look childish in compare, then a god-like enemy is a good start. Where do we go from here is anyone’s guess.

#one piece #chapter 921 #review #spoilers

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bleachanimefan1 · 5 years ago

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King And Queen Of The Pirates

Chapter Four, Captain Buggy the Clown Pirate!

Luffy and Aya screamed as the fell from the sky. The blast from the cannon fire knocked Luffy and Aya away from each other. And now, they were rapidly plummeting to the ground.

"YOU IDIOT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" screamed Aya as she continued to fall. "IF I DIE FROM THIS, I'M GOING TO HAUNT YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!"

Luffy screamed in fear as tears ran from his eyes. "Aya! I'm sorry!" cried Luffy. "Don't haunt me!" Tears and snot were now running down his face. The two twins were descending faster down on the opposite sides of the island. Aya was too far away for Luffy to stretch his arm.

"Aya!" shouted Luffy.

"Luffy!" shouted Aya.

Luffy fell hard to the ground, landing on his head. Aya fell into a tree, crashing on every branch on the way down until she hit the ground. Aya closed her eyes as she fell unconscious.

Luffy groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head.

"That was...AWESOME!" He exclaimed, jumping into the air and landed on his feet. But, as soon as he turned around, Luffy noticed that he wasn't alone. A group of pirates and a young girl with orange hair was staring at him. Luffy's eyes widen when he recognized her. It was the same girl he saw back on the boat. He stared back at her. "She's kind of cute." thought Luffy to himself.

The girl smiled. "Hi, boss! Thanks for coming to save me!" She said in cheery voice. Luffy blinked and tilted his head giving her a confused look.

"Huh?" He asked. The girl giggled. "Who are you?" asked Luffy. Then the girl suddenly turned and started running away.

"They're all your's, boss! Have fun!" she shouted. Luffy scratched his head. "Girls are weird." thought Luffy. He turned to the three men who were glaring at him.

"Say, do you know a good place where a guy like me can get something good to eat?" he asked. The pirates glared at him narrowing their eyes into slits and raised their swords.

"You're dead, kid. You should've let your crony fend for herself." snarled one of the pirates. Luffy placed a hand on his stomach.

"Do you guys know of a good place to eat around here?" He said.

"Food's the least of your problems, kid!" yelled one of the men as he threw a punch at Luffy's head. Luffy gasped as the straw hat fell off his head. He made a fist and his arm stretched as he punched the guy in the face, sending him flying a few feet away. Luffy grabbed his hat and placed it back on his head.

"You better keep your hands off my hat!" He growled.

"You bastard!" yelled the other two pirates. They were in disbelief and shock at how strong the boy was. They charged at Luffy with their swords. Luffy bend back and shot two of his fist at them as he stretched his arms.

"Gum-Gum Pistol!" He shouted as he punched the two pirates in the face, knocking them out cold.

The orange-haired girl stared from the top of the roof in awe. "Wow! You sure are strong!" She called out to Luffy. Luffy looked up and blinked. "Even though they had swords, you beat them both bare handed. That's pretty cool." The girl said as she jumped off the roof and landed on her feet.

"Who are you? And why did you set me up?" asked Luffy.

"I'm a talented thief who steal from idiot pirates. The name's Nami. Say, wanna be a team?" asked Nami. Luffy crossed his arms behind his head.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks for the offer though." He said and started to walk away.

"Hey, come on! At least think about it!" called Nami as she started to follow after the straw hat pirate.

Luffy felt his stomach growl loudly and he fell to his knees and sighed. "I'm still hungry." He mumbled as he rubbed his stomach. Nami held her hand out.

"Well, come with me and I'll get you something to eat." She said. Luffy jumped up on his feet with a wide grin on his face, his eyes sparkling happily.

"Really?!" He cheered. Nami blinked. "What a weird guy." thought Nami to herself.

Nami had lead Luffy to an abandoned house and fixed the pirate up a hamburger and some rolls. She placed them on the table and took a seat across from him. Luffy's eyes sparkled as he saw the hamburger in front of him and picked it up.

"Mmm! This is really good!" said Luffy as he happily ate his burger in one bite. "So...do you live here all by yourself?" asked Luffy as he chewed.

"No, this isn't my home. I'm just staying here for awhile. Everyone left when Captain Buggy and his crew showed up." said Nami. Luffy made a loud burp.

"Oh, I see. You're just a petty thief." He said.

"How rude! I don't steal just from anybody. Just people who deserve it. Like no-good pirates. So don't be comparing me to petty thieves and robbers." said Nami. Luffy took a big bite out of a roll as he munched down on it.

"A thief's a thief's, as far as I"m concerned." He said with a shrug. Nami looked out the window.

"My goal is to get hundred-million berries, and I won't let nothing or no one stop me from reaching my goal." She said. Luffy gulped down the rest of his food.

"Who do you need so much money?" He asked. Nami crossed her arms.

"That's a secret. But with this chart of the Grand Line, my goal will soon come true." She said. Luffy placed his hand on his chin.

"A chart? So you must be a navigator, right?" He asked. Nami smiled and nodded.

"Yep. I bet I'll be the most skilled navigator you'll ever meet." She said. Luffy smiled and stood up.

"That's great. How would you like to join my crew? I've been looking for a navigator." He said. Nami grinned.

"You mean it?" She asked. Luffy grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, you can be our newest crew member!" He said. The grin from Nami's face fell.

"No." She said as her voice went flat. Luffy's grin from his face disappeared. Nami frowned. "Let me guess, you're on a pirate crew, right?" asked Nami in a disdained tone. Luffy grinned.

"Yeah." He said as he took off his straw hat holding it in his hand. "I promised a guy who gave me this hat that I'll be a pirate and gather a strong crew!" He said. Suddenly, Nami's hands slammed on the table. She had a hard glare on her face.

"There's nothing more in this world than I despise more than pirates! I only like money and tangerines!" She yelled. Luffy placed his hat back on his head.

"Come on. Join my crew." He said. Nami stared at the boy with a look of disbelief. The more she stared the more Nami felt her heart flutter as unknown feeling overwhelmed her, clouding her mind. There was no possible way that she liked this boy, could she? Nami sighed then she looked away, out the window.

"No." She said as she looked out the window with her arms crossed. Luffy shrugged and began eating again.

"You're loss." He said as he ate his food.

Suddenly, Nami spotted some of Buggy's pirates searching around in the streets. When they walked away, Nami clenched her teeth. "Damn. I gotta ditch these losers somehow. But how?" she wondered then she looked back at Luffy. A smirk appeared on her face as she walked over towards the straw hat captain. "You know what, maybe I will join your crew. There's just a certain condition I have, though." She said. Luffy looked up.

"Really? Okay, I'll do whatever you want." He said. Nami's eyes danced with delight.

"Ok. I want you to come with me to meet Buggy the Pirate. Let me tie you up, so, um...you can look good in front of Buggy. These are how new pirates meet each other!" She said as she pulled out a rope from her pocket and began to tie Luffy up.

"OK! LET'S GO! LET'S GO! LET'S GO!" cheered Luffy as he beamed excitedly. Nami rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Ok. Just hold your horses." She said as she and the captain walked out of the house.

The men of Buggy's crew silently whispered to each other as Nami and Luffy passed them. They stopped at a giant tent, Nami pushed Luffy to the ground. Luffy landed on his face and Nami stuck her tongue at him. She walked into the tent holding out a map. "I brought the thief, Captain Buggy. Here's your chart back." said Nami as she walked over to a man. The man had light blue hair like the sky, small black eyes. He was wearing an orange coat and hat and clown makeup. And also, what stood out the most was that he had a big round red nose.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, but, why the sudden change of heart, little girl?" asked Captain Buggy as Nami handed him the chart.

"I never really liked my boss and I just got sick of it. I want to see if I can join your crew." Nami lied. Captain Buggy's face began to twist as he grew angrier and snarled. His crew began to mumble to themselves, worried.

"Uh-oh! The captain's angry!"

"He's gonna use his devil fruit power!"

"Really?" asked Luffy. He looked at Captain Buggy curiously wondering what his Devil Fruit power was. Then Captain Buggy began snorting and laughing like a maniac.

He calmed down and looked at Nami. "Fed up with, are you? Alright, you seem like a fine young lady. Of course you can join!" said Buggy as he began laughing again. Nami gave a fake smile.

"What a doofus! Pirates are such idiots!" She thought.

"Hey, guys...why am I in a cage?" asked Luffy, who was still tied up. He was now in a stone, metal cage. The crew snickered at him.

Buggy snorted. "What a fine day to be a pirate. Tell me girl, what's your name?" the captain asked Nami.

"I'm Nami." she said. Buggy threw his hands in the air.

"Then let's celebrate the welcoming of our new member, Nami!" He yelled. He and his crew threw a party and celebrated. The crew members were drinking sake and performing circus tricks. Nami sat across from Buggy from a table that was filled to the top with food. Luffy's mouth watered at the sight of it. He sighed, sadly.

"What's the matter, Nami? The party's in your honor so have some fun." asked Buggy as he took a sip of his drink of sake.

Nami smiled. "Thanks for the party, Captain." She said. "I'll just wait a little longer to get the that chart back. Maybe I'll steal some of Buggy's loot while I'm at it!" She thought as she took a bite out of her food. While everyone was partying, Luffy stretched his arm out trying to reach for a piece of meat. But, he couldn't reach it and his hand snapped back to him.

"Damn it!" cursed Luffy.

"Alright, men! It's time to perform the Buggy ball!" cheered Captain Buggy. The crew members cheered and they brought a giant cannon and a large red cannon ball.

"What are you gonna do with that thing?" asked Nami as she raised an eyebrow. The big nosed captain smirked.

"Just observe, my friend." He said. The cannon was lit and was aimed at the town. Both Luffy's and Nami's eyes widen in shock.

BOOOOM!

Zoro's raised his eyebrow as he stared at the burning building. He and the pirates found a port and docked the boat and saw the house suddenly explode from the Buggy ball. "That was a hell of any explosion." said the swordsman.

"That must've been Captain Buggy's most awesome Buggy balls!" said one of the men in awe. Zoro smirked and nearly chuckled.

" Buggy balls?" He asked. Then something caught his eye in the distance. He walked over and his eyes widen in shock as he saw that it was Aya. Zoro rushed over to her checking the girl over. She wasn't moving but he could see her chest rise and fall slowly as she breathed. Zoro twitched his eye. She was sleeping. He bent down to his knees and slapped the girl on the cheeks gently.

"Oi, wake up," said Zoro. Aya groaned as she opened her eyes and she saw Zoro staring at her. Her eyes widen and she quickly sat up. She accidently banged her forehead against his when she did. They both grabbed their forehands in pain.

"What the hell?!" shouted Zoro. Aya hissed through her teeth, holding her head.

She quickly moved away from the swordsman.

"What are you doing!?" shouted Aya as she scooted away but her back hit the tree.

"Um, you're the one who was lying on the ground unconscious, remember?" said Zoro. Aya blushed and she crossed her arms over her chest, embarrassed. Then she narrowed her eyes at the swordsman, glaring at him. Zoro shivered from her icy stare.

"Thank you for your concern. But, I'm fine." She said coldly. Aya began to stand up.

But, as soon as she did, Aya suddenly began to feel lightheaded and she began to fall forward. Zoro caught her just before she fell. Aya blushed as she realized her face was pressed close against Zoro's chest. She had never been this close to another man besides her brother.

"Stop moving around so much." said Zoro as he hold Aya's shoulders steadying her. Aya pushed the swordsman away from her. "Don't tell me what to do." said Aya.

"Fine then, the next time you fall, I won't catch you." said Zoro as he muttered under his breath. "Ungrateful brat."

Then suddenly Aya began coughing. Zoro raised an eyebrow. Aya clutched her shirt as she tried to stifle her cough but it kept getting worse.

"Are you alright?" asked Zoro. He reached a hand out to her but Aya slapped it away. Aya reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bag. Zoro saw her shaking it and a small pill plopped right into her hand. She took it and little by little her cough started to manage itself and eventually it went away.

"Are you sick or something? asked Zoro.

"Something like that." said Aya in a monotone voice. She put the bag back into her pocket. "As long as I take this, it should lessen some of the coughing."

"Does Luffy know that your sick?" asked the swordsman. Aya looked away from him.

"Yes." said Aya, as she answered simply.

Zoro looked at the girl with a serious look in his eyes. Something by the tone of her voice was off. She wan't telling the truth. There was something more than she was letting on. "Did Luffy know that there was something wrong with her? Why didn't he say anything? Did he even know how sick she was?" thought the Zoro to himself. He sighed. He was going to have to keep a close watch on Aya just in case something did happen. He growled in annoyance. Great, how did he turn from a swordsman into a babysitter? Zoro placed a hand on his face in frustration. Then he heard a snapping sound which made him break out of his thoughts. Zoro blinked. He saw Aya snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Enough questions, we've already wasted a lot of time as it is." said Aya. She looked at the burning house that was hit by the Buggy ball. "And knowing my brother, we probably don't have much." She began to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" called out Zoro. Aya smirked. She turned around to him.

Aya hold her hand out. "You can hold my hand if you want. So, you won't get lost." said Aya in a teasing tone in her voice. A vein appeared on Zoro's head.

"Are you asking me to kick your ass?!" growled Zoro. Aya laughed.

"Come on, let's go find my stupid brother." She said.

Buggy's crew members cheered at the explosion and Captain Buggy smirked. "That was certainly flashy. With the power of my Buggy balls and Devil Fruit powers, nothing will stop me from conquering the Grand Line! Right, Nami?" asked Buggy. Nami made a fake smile.

"Um, yes! Of course!" She said.

"What? But it's my destiny to conquer the Grand Line!" shouted Luffy. Captain Buggy's jaw clenched as he turned to look at the straw hat captain in the cage, glaring at him. "And then I'll be the King of the Pirates!" said Luffy.

"Shut up, idiot!" yelled Nami. Captain Buggy chuckled.

"I see why you despise him as your boss, Nami. He seems quite the nuisance." He said. Nami smiled, nervously.

"Um, yep! He's so naive. He acts like a little kid." She said. Captain Buggy chuckled again.

"Then why don't I give you a Buggy ball to end his life?" He asked. Nami's breath hitched as she stared at the clown captain with wide eyes.

"What?" She asked.

"This is the perfect way to prove your loyalty. Boys." said Buggy. His men brought over the cannon and aimed it at Luffy. Luffy stared at it blankly. Buggy handed Nami a box of matches.

"But I-"

"Come on, take his life. You don't like him anyway, right?" Buggy interrupted her. Nami stared at the matches in his hand as the crew cheered around her. "Fire! Fire!"

"If I don't light it, then I'll get killed. But, if I do, then I'm no better than them." thought Nami with a worried look. She looked at Luffy who stared at her, who had an unreadable expression on his face. "I know you won't do it. You're not that kind of person." thought Luffy. Nami looked down as she clenched her fist tightly.

"Finish him, Nami!" yelled Buggy.

"What's the matter? You're hands are shaking." called Luffy. He had a light smile on his face. "That's what happens when you take on pirates with half-assed resolve." said Luffy.

"What resolve? To take a life of another? Is that the way of the pirate?" asked Nami. Luffy shook his head.

"No. You gotta be risking your own life." He said, smirking. Nami's hands continued to shake. Suddenly, the matches were taken from her as they were ripped out of Nami's hands by one of the crew members and lit the match. Both Luffy's and Nami's eyes widen and, in a flash, Nami quickly pulled out a long pole and smacked the guy on the head, knocking him out. Everyone went silent and gasped.

"Nami! What is the meaning of this!" yelled Buggy, furiously.

"I'm sorry!" shouted Nami.

"So now you want to save me?" asked Luffy, confused.

"No way, you moron! I will never stoop to these guys levels. Pirates took the life of someone very dear to me and I'll never join them! EVER!" yelled Nami. Luffy nodded, understanding.

"Ah, I see." He said. Suddenly, Luffy saw that the cannon was lit and was aimed at him. "Nami! Help!" He screamed.

"Get her!" yelled Buggy. His crew members ran at the girl with their swords. Nami easily dodged them and without wasting a second, she rushed over to the cannon and grabbed the lit fuse. Nami gritted her teeth tightly as she tried not to scream as the fire singed her skin. She sighed in relief as the flames went out.

"Look out!" yelled Luffy as he saw pirates coming at Nami from behind. They brought their swords down on her. Nami gasped and she closed her eyes.

But, nothing happened. Slowly, Nami opened her eyes and everyone let out a gasp. Zoro had blocked the swords from reaching Nami as he held them back. Aya walked up. "It's wrong to gang up on a lady." said Zoro. Luffy's face broke out into a grin.

"Zoro! Aya! Boy am I glad to see you!" He said, happily. Aya looked over at her brother in the cage. "Can't keep yourself out of trouble, can you?" asked Aya. "Maybe, I should just leave you in there. It'll save me the trouble." She smirked.

Luffy growled. "You better let me out of here! Aya this isn't funny!" shouted Luffy. Zoro looked at Nami.

"You alright?" He asked. Nami nodded her head slowly.

"Um, yeah, thanks." She said. Nami stared at Aya in shock. "There's two of them?" thought Nami to herself in disbelief. "And here I thought one was bad enough." Zoro nodded and looked at Luffy.

"This is just swell. First you get caught be a bird and now you're in a cage? Sheesh, you're a glutton for punishment, huh?" He asked. Luffy giggled.

"It's actually a funny story, really. I'll to you about it later." He said.

"The crew he mentioned earlier...are these two? And is that the great pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro?" Nami wondered as she stared at the swordsman with wide eyes.

"Heh, so you're the legendary Roronoa Zoro? If you're here for my head, then that will be quite a problem for you." said Buggy. Zoro closed his eyes.

"No, I'm not interested. I gave up on pirate hunting. I'm here for my friend." He said in a low monotone voice. Buggy smirked.

"But, I'm interested, though. Killing you would boost up my reputation." He snickered. Then Buggy's eyes glanced over towards Aya. "Maybe, I'll go for the girl first." Zoro's eyes widen and he gave a cold glare.

"If you try, you die." said the swordsman. Aya tilted her head as she looked at Zoro. Why was he so protective over her all of a sudden? She thought to herself. Buggy crackled and pulled out six daggers, twirling them with his fingers.

"Is that so?" asked the clown pirate captain in a teasing tone in his voice. Zoro sighed in frustration and furrowed his eyebrows.

"I tried to warn you." He muttered. The crew members cheered for their captain as he licked the blade of his dagger. Zoro gripped one of his katanas between his teeth while he held the other two in his hands.

Then Buggy rushed towards the swordsman with his six daggers. He jumped into the air. Zoro leaped as well and his swords cut through the clown captain in one sweep, slicing him into many pieces. Zoro turned to the pirate lying on the ground. "That wan't much of a fight, was it?" He asked.

"Wow, he was weak. Way to go, Zoro!" cheered Luffy. Nami blinked when she noticed that Buggy's crew members were snickering.

"Why are they laughing?" asked Luffy, confused.

"Their captain's is dead and they're laughing?" asked Nami, confused as well. Zoro raised his eyebrow.

"Hey, fellas, why are you-" Aya interrupted the swordsman as she saw something move behind him. "Behind you!" warned Aya. Zoro's eyes suddenly widen as he felt a sharp stab of pain in his abdomen. "Ah!" He looked behind him and what he saw made Luffy, Nami and Aya gasp.

Buggy's severed hand, which was holding a dagger, was the one that stabbed the swordsman. Zoro fell to his knees as blood began to stain through his shirt. "Zoro!" cried Luffy. The straw hat's eyes widen as panic began to rush over him.

"Buggy's hand...it moved on it's own!" exclaimed Nami.

"But, how is that possible? He was dead. We all saw it happen!" shouted Aya.

Zoro shut one eye in pain as he turned his back. The severed hand flew back and reattached itself to the clown pirate, who was now standing completely intact.

"W-what the... hell?!" chocked out Zoro. He stared at the pirate in disbelief as his breathing began to become irregular. Buggy made snickered and made a sickening smirk.

"The Chop-Chop Fruit. That is the name of the Devil Fruit that gave me my powers. I'm a Chop-Chop person and I can never be defeated by a sword! Ever!" laughed Buggy.

"His body reattached himself. And I though the legend of the Devil Fruit was just a myth." said Nami.

"So he's a Chop-Chop man? That's pretty weird." said Luffy.

"You think that's weird? You're made out of rubber!" shouted Aya. Buggy began crackling.

"Wait, he has Devil Fruit powers too?!" exclaimed Nami as she looked at Luffy. "Yep." said the straw hat captain as he pulled back his mouth to show her. "See?" asked Luffy. Nami paled and she looked away from him.

"You're not really helping, right now, Luffy." said Aya. "You're freaking her out even more."

Nami was still trying to wrap her head around what she had saw. Then she looked at Aya "Please don't tell me you Devil Fruit powers as well?" asked Nami. Aya shook her head. Nami sighed in relief.

"I didn't hit any vital organs, but, it looks like my dagger stabbed you good. So that makes my the victor!" laughed the clown captian as his crew snickered along with him. Zoro gritted his teeth and shut his eyes.

"No, that makes you a cheater!" shouted Aya.

Buggy glared at the sea-foam eyed girl. "Do you want to die, girl?" Growled Buggy.

"Come and fight me then!" shouted Aya.

"Shut up!" shouted Nami as she struggled to hold Aya back.

"I...I let my guard down. That...that was a w-weak move." Zoro muttered as he gripped his wound trying to stop the bleeding as more blood began to pool out falling to the ground. Luffy clenched his teeth tightly as he glared angrily at the laughing clown pirate.

"STABBING HIM IN THE BACK WAS A COWARDLY MOVE, YOU BIG NOSE!" screamed Luffy at the top of his lungs.

Everyone went silent and stared at the straw hat captain, eyes wide and their mouths dropped.

"What's that? Did you... say...BIG NOSE?!" yelled Buggy as he threw his weapon at Luffy.

"Luffy!" yelled Zoro. Luffy smirked at looked up showing the dagger that was now clenched in between his teeth.

"Hey, Buggy. I'm gonna kick your ass as soon as I get out of this cage." He laughed. Luffy bit down on the dagger breaking it in half. Buggy began howling in laughter.

"You? Kick my ass? That's big talk, boy! If you want to do some ass kicking, you better do it quick. All four of you will die here by my hands!" said the clown pirate as he continued to laugh, his crew joining him as well. Zoro glared at him.

Luffy threw his head back and began to laugh. Buggy and the others stopped laughing. "I refuse to die! Zoro, get up!" yelled Luffy.

"What?" asked Zoro in disbelief.

"You better have a good reason or else we're dead!" yelled Nami. Luffy smiled at her then looked back at Zoro. The swordsman blinked then he smirked.

"I got'cha." He said. Nami nearly fell over. "This is why I hate pirates." she thought, worriedly. Buggy suddenly charged at Zoro and the two began to fight. Blades clash against each other. Then unexpectedly, Zoro jumps over him and made a dash towards the Buggy cannon. He lifted the cannon and aimed it at the clown pirates. Zoro fell back on his knees, placing hands on his wound, sweating dripping down his face. Aya walked over to the cannon and Nami tossed her the matches. She lit the match holding it in front of her.

Captain Buggy and the rest of his crew members gaped in horror. "NO DON'T AIM IT AT US! IT STILL HAS A BUGGY BALL!" yelled Buggy.

"Bye-Bye!" said Aya as she smirked and waved.

The fuse was lit and the cannon fired. The Buggy ball shot out of the cannon and fired straight towards the clown pirates, wiping them out and scattering them.

Zoro lifted the cage with Luffy inside of it.

"Zoro, are you ok?" asked Luffy in concern. He saw the blood dripping from his wound falling to the ground.

"Sh-shut up and don't worry about me. I'll...I'll get us out of this one way or another." muttered the injured swordsman as he struggled to walk, dragging the cage along with him. Then he notices Nami.

"By...by the way, Luffy, who's the girl?" muttered Zoro.

"Yeah, who is she? asked Aya. "You're new girlfriend?" Luffy blushed and he glared at her. Nami frowned.

"He/she is not my girlfriend/boyfriend!" They both shouted together. Aya rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"She's our new navigator." said Luffy.

"Seriously, who are you guys? You shouldn't be moving on that kind of injury." said Nami. A vein appeared on Zoro's head as he lifted the cage above his head with all his might.

"Get...out of the way!" He snapped. Nami blinked. "Even with a serious injury, he still doesn't want to leave his friends." she thought as she turned away and started walking away. Zoro carried the cage, with Aya following until they made it to the village square. He fell flat on his back on the ground, exhausted. He panted and breathed heavily trying to catch his breath.

"You okay?" asked Aya.

"Just need to rest." panted Zoro. For some reason, Zoro felt like he was being watched. He opened his eyes and saw a little white dog, sitting in front of the three. "What's with his dog?" asked Zoro with his eyebrows raised. Luffy's eyes lit up as soon as he saw the dog.

"Doggy!" squealed Luffy as he teetered his cage closer towards the canine. He pulled his eyelid and the corner of his lip, making faces at the dog. "Bleh!" The dog didn't move a muscle. "Zoro, this dog looks frozen." said Luffy. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"I don't give a damn. He can sit there forever for all I care." He muttered. Aya walked over to the dog and bent down, petting it. It still didn't move, not reacting, as she continued to pet it. Aya frowned. "What a weird dog?" she said to herself. Luffy giggled as he gently tapped the dog on the head with his finger. The dog immediately opened his mouth and sank his teeth on Luffy's head.

"AAHHHH! YOU DAMN MUTT! WHAT THE HELL?!" yelled Luffy. Aya laughed as Luffy tried to shake the dog off from his hand.

"STOP LAUGHING!" yelled Luffy. "WHY DIDN'T IT NOT BITE YOU, BUT ME?!"

Aya giggled. "Maybe, he just doesn't like you." she said. Luffy growled.

"Luffy! Get serious...or-" Zoro tried to get up but fell back to the ground. The white dog jumped back into it's guarding position.

"Damn mutt." Muttered Luffy, holding his hand in pain.

"I don't... feel so good..." groaned Zoro. Nami walked over and Luffy grinned as he saw her.

"Oh, hey, navigator." He said, cheerily. Nami smiled.

"I guess I should give you this. After all, you got me out of a sticky situation. Just make sure that this makes us even." she said. Nami tossed the key to Luffy's cage to the straw hat pirate.

"Awesome! You stole this for me? Thanks, Nami." said Luffy as he reached for the key. But, a pink tongue lapped it up as the white dog swallowed it whole. Zoro, Nami, and Luffy stared at the dog in shock. Aya snickered. Luffy grabbed the dog and started strangling it as he shook it wildly.

"You damn mutt! Give me back my key! Give it! Give it! Give it!" yelled Luffy.

"Hey, stop that! Stop picking on poor Chou Chou and leave him alone!" yelled a voice. The four turned and saw a man with white curly hair and glasses.

"And just who are you, old man?" asked Zoro. The man glared at the four.

"Old man? I happen to be the mayor of this town." He said. Then he noticed Zoro's wound and gave a concerned look. "My, that's some injury. You need to see a doctor." said the old man.

The mayor came out of his house that he led Zoro into and walked over to Luffy, Nami, Aya, and Chou Chou.

"Will Zoro be Ok?" asked Luffy, worried. The mayor sighed.

"I insisted he see a doctor, but, he said he just wanted to sleep it off." he said.

"So this dog's name is Chou Chou?" asked Nami as she petted the dog's head.

"Why is he acting so frozen? He sure is one lazy dog." joked Luffy.

"He's protecting the store." said the mayor. The three tilted their heads. "Chou Chou used to belong to owner of the pet shop. But, he passed away and he's been guarding it ever since thinking that he will come back. I've tried to get him to live with me but that dog's very adamant about protecting that store, like it's his most precious treasure. " explained the mayor. Aya looked at the dog sadly.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake unexpectedly. A loud roaring sound was heard. The mayor ran away and Nami and Aya chased after him. It eventually stopped. Luffy sighed.

"Come on, doggy. Something's here." He said. The dog just stared at him not moving an inch. Then, suddenly, a shadow towered over Luffy and he looked up. Blood-red eyes stared back into his as a giant lion stood over him. It had white fur and a purplish mane and there was also a man, with white hair, sitting on top of the lion's head in a furry suit.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Luffy, calmly, not even fazed by the gigantic beast.

"I am known as the Beast Tamer Mohji, a member of the Buggy pirates. Now, prepare to face your death!" yelled the white haired man. Luffy blinked and the lion slammed it's paw down, busting the cage, sending Luffy flying threw the air.

"Gum-Gum...!" yelled Luffy as he tied his hands around the lion's mane and threw him over his shoulder. "HAMMER!" yelled Luffy as he slammed the lion into the ground. Luffy's hat got knocked off in the process. He bent down and picked it up.

"What are you?!" yelled Mohji, completely terrified at what he had just witnessed. Luffy had his head lowered as his hat casted a shadow over his face. He looked up with a frown.

"Well, I ate the Gum-Gum fruit." He said in a low tone. Mohji flinched.

"So, you ate a Devil Fruit like Captain Buggy? Only your's make you stretch like rubber? I'm sorry! I don't want any trouble!" yelled Mohji. Luffy had his back to the lion tamer.

"There's no need to apologize to me. Because of you, that little dog will never get back his most precious treasure. And because of that," Luffy turned to him with a serious look in his eyes. "I'm gonna kick your ass." He snarled. Luffy grabbed the man by the chest and slammed him to the ground.

Luffy walked back to the pet shop that was completely demolished. Chou Chou was staring at it. "Oh, so you are alive, pirate. I thought that lion would rip your head off. But, since it didn't, maybe I should! Then there be one less of you monsters to exist!" yelled Nami as she ran with hatred in her eyes. The mayor and Aya rushed after her.

"Stop! There's no need for violence." said the mayor as he grabbed Nami's arm.

"As if you could kill me." said Luffy as he walked passed them.

"I could if I wanted to!" yelled Nami.

"Try it and you die." said Aya. Nami glared at her. "What did you say to me?!" she yelled. "That I can kick your ass and will if you try anything to my brother." said Aya, coldly. Nami stared at her with wide eyes. Luffy ignored them as he walked over to the dog. He lifted his hat and under was a bag of dog food. He placed in front of the dog and sat down next to him.

"Sorry, but that was all I could save. That bastard lion ate up all the rest." said Luffy, grinning at the white dog. "He...he fought the lion to save Chou Chou's food?" thought Nami as she stared in wide eyes in surprise.

"You fought well. Though I didn't see it. You're a really brave doggy." said Luffy as he petted Chou Chou's head. The dog grabbed the box of dog food and carried it off. It let out a happy bark. Luffy grinned. "Yeah, good luck to you, doggy." He said.

"Hey, sorry for snapping at you like that, Luffy." apologized Nami as she walked over. Luffy grinned and he stood up.

"It's ok. You've just been under a lot of stress. So there's no need to apologize." He said.

"It's all my fault! I'm the one who runs this town and I failed to protect it! I failed!" yelled the mayor. Suddenly, there was an explosion as the mayor's house was destroyed. Luffy's and Aya's eyes widen in shock.

"Zoro was in that building!" cried Luffy. He rushed over the demolished building and began pulling and digging through the rubble. "Zoro! Zoro! Are you ok? Please be alright! Please be alright!" yelled Luffy.

"He's probably dead by now." said the mayor.

"Don't say that." said Aya.

"No! No! Zoro is Ok! He's stronger than he looks! He's not dead! No way!" yelled Luffy.

"Ow...that's one good way to wake up." muttered a low gruff voice. Zoro groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. Luffy quickly ran over to him, hugging him.

"You're alive!" He cheered. Zoro cringed as he felt some of Luffy's snot fall on him.

"G-get off of me, idiot!" shouted the swordsman as he tried to pry the rubber boy off of him. Aya laughed.

"That's it! I'll defeat Buggy and his crew once and for all!" yelled the mayor as he sprinted away.

"Dear god, what is this world coming to? That guy's going to get himself killed!" muttered Nami. Zoro stood up with Luffy, who still had his arms wrapped around him, clinging on to him tightly.

"Then I guess we're gonna go help him out. Right, Luffy?" asked Zoro. Luffy grinned.

"You bet! Are you coming, Nami?" asked Luffy as he held his hand out to her. Nami slapped it away.

"I would never stoop so low to join a pirate crew. However," The orange-haired girl smirked. "I guess we could team up in order to reach our goals." she said. Luffy smiled and nodded in agreement.

The four ran through the town until they saw Buggy along with the mayor. Buggy had his hands around the old man's throat his he choked him. Luffy shot out his fist stretching his arm and slammed it into Buggy's face, making the clown pirate let go of the mayor, knocking him back. Zoro stood next to him with his black bandanna tied on his head. Nami stood beside Luffy with a smile on her face. Aya stood in between Zoro and Luffy, holding up her fist, wearing her necklace around her neck.

Luffy looked up at Buggy with a smirk, tilting his hat.

"Good to see ya again, Buggy. Now, what was that promise I made to you? Oh yeah, I'm gonna kick your ass!" He yelled with a determined look on his face.

#One Piece #one piece anime #fanfiction #monkey d. luffy #nami one piece #roronoa zoro #one piece oc #OC #one piece manga

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luffylaws · 8 years ago

Text

Cut Through The Clouds

10 Days of Lawlu Day 1: S is for... Stars

Summary: It's a clear night on the Sunny, and Law and Luffy do some stargazing when Law arrives to relieve Luffy on watch.

[read on AO3]

Luffy only had two modes – awake forever, or asleep by sundown.

Tonight he had opted for the second, still awake way past midnight. He had been the one to draw first watch and Law, his relief when he was present on the Sunny, arrived to find Luffy sitting on the lawn deck.

“Weren’t you supposed to keep watch up in the crow’s nest?” he asked, amused. It was no surprise to find Luffy down here, although he usually sat on the figurehead to watch the waters ahead of them.

“I did,” Luffy said, looking up at him. “But it was boring, and it gets smelly up there because it’s also the gym, and the night was so clear with so many stars, so I decided to come down here to be able to see the whole sky.”

Law sat down next to him. It was a very clear night, no clouds in sight, which was a rarity, and the moon had been reduced to a crescent, making the stars stand out even more.

“You don’t see lights like this in towns,” Law said. “Only in isolated places – or on the sea.”

“Oh, yeah, I noticed that,” Luffy said and nodded. “When I was in the village there were always less stars, and in Alabasta you could seem the so well in the desert but once we got to Alubarna they were always concealed.”

“It’s the light,” Law explained. “The more light there is from down here, the less we can see the stars through it. But out here, there is no other light sources...”

“There’s only the sea,” they said at the same time and Luffy giggled.

Law grinned. “So we can see them better,” he finished.

Luffy let himself fall back and his back hit the ground with a soft thud. “They have names, right?” he asked. “Some of them?”

“They do,” Law said and while he was still debating if he should lay down too, Luffy’s hand shot up and pulled him down next to him. He gave a small “oof” but didn’t protest.

Luffy pointed to the sky. “Which one is that?” he asked. Law couldn’t tell which one of the stars in the cluster he was pointing to, and he wasn’t even sure any of those had a name. If so, he didn’t know it.

“You never learned how to navigate by the stars, didn’t you?” Laws asked. It didn’t matter much out here on the Grand Line anyway – it loved to play tricks on you – but it was mind-boggling with how little preparation Luffy had set sail, when he had been planning to do it for years.

“Nope,” Luffy grinned. “Ace and Shanks both showed me the North Star or whatever but I couldn’t remember where it was.”

“In the north,” Law said drily.

“Oh haha,” Luffy said and punched him in the shoulder. “But if you don’t know where north is you’re supposed to find that star so you know the directions, right? But there’s so many stars, I can never remember which one it is.”

Law laughed quietly, rubbing his shoulder. It only ached dully, so used to Luffy’s punches and way of showing affection by now. “Fair enough, I’m sorry. You’re right.”

“So, which one is it?” Luffy asked.

“That one,” Law said and pointed to it. It was hard to miss, and Law had spent years looking at it to find his way when the Blue Tang’s technical localization equipment and the radar had failed them.

“Ohhh, so shiny,” Luffy said.

“That’s Venus,” Law said and pointed to the bright spot to the left of the waning crescent moon. Then Luffy’s hand was on his, presumably to trace the direction he was pointing in to see better. Law slowly let their hands fall together until he was pointing at something just above the horizon. “And that’s Mercury. Although neither of them are stars, they’re planets actually.”

“How?” Luffy sounded breathless with wonder and he threaded their fingers together distractedly. “They’re so bright.”

“They reflect the light of the sun, I think. You really should ask Nami-ya about this, she probably knows a lot more than me.”

“She’s not here though,” Luffy said.

“Because she’s asleep,” Law said drily and Luffy laughed.

This was probably the longest he had stayed still in a while when not asleep.

“She has that telescope thing upstairs in the gym but I couldn’t figure out how to use it on the sky properly,” Luffy said. “Do you know?”

“I think I could figure it out, yes,” Law said. His focus had been on microscopes for the longest time, looking down instead of up, but he had worked a telescope once or twice in his childhood, and the principle for looking at the stars couldn’t be much different from a regular long glass to observe the seas.

Luffy jumped up then, effectively pulling Law to his feet with him, although his arm stretched a little. Law really should have expected this. “Come on then!” Luffy grinned and was already pulling him towards the foremast and the rigging that led to the crow’s nest.

Law was not a fan of climbing. He preferred either keeping his feet on firm ground or just teleporting himself where he needed to go, but it was late, and he was tired, and the breeze felt better on his skin the higher they got. (And maybe he also knew that Luffy would catch him if he fell.)

They finally made it up into the crow’s nest and Law had to agree that it did smell a little of sweat. He sighed and pushed open two of the windows – they would need one of them for the telescope anyway, and the other was good for fresh air.

Then he went to inspect the telescope. It was already mostly set up, so he would only need to move it to be able to look out of the window and to adjust it to the part of the sky they wanted to inspect.

“What do you want to look at?” he asked Luffy.

“That one planet… you called it Mercury?”

“Ah,” Law made and went to peer through the telescope, then adjusted the angle until he found the planet. “There it is.”

“Let me see,” Luffy said excitedly and Law took a step back so Luffy could look through the telescope. “Ohhhh pretty. Can we get any closer?”

Law almost had to laugh again. “Unfortunately not. It’s extremely far away.”

“How far?”

“I don’t even know. But much farther than home.”

“That’s ridiculous, home is right here,” Luffy said earnestly, his eye still pressed to the telescope. Law blinked. There was always another surprise on the horizon with Luffy.

“North Blue or East Blue then,” Law said. “And much much further away than the moon. It’s so far away, probably no one is ever going to be able to touch it.”

“Hmm,” Luffy made and finally drew back from the telescope to look at Law, “if I wasn’t already going to be the pirate king, I would go to space.”

Law grinned and settled on the window sill. “Of course you would.”

Luffy joined him, although he hung almost his entire upper body out of the window, craning up his neck to look at the sky. “Does the name have a meaning? Mercury?”

“It’s the name of a god people used to believe in,” Law said. “He was the guardian deity of messengers, travelers and thieves. I guess we like naming things that are far away after people who are far away – like gods.”

“You think gods are just people?”

“Hm,” Law made, “do you want the long answer or the short answer?”

“I’m probably going to zone out, but give me the long answer,” Luffy said and finally settled on the windowsill himself, his knees drawn up to his chest and chin resting on his knees. It looked a little precarious, even though Law knew that he wouldn’t sustain any injuries even if he fell.

“I believed in a god once,” Law said. “It was how I was brought up, and even after my entire town died and all the buildings were laid to waste and everything happened with Cora-san and Doflamingo… I was angry, but I still believed. But gradually, I lost that. I thought: how could a god let something like this happen if he existed? And if there was a wrathful god, who enjoyed seeing his children suffer, then I didn’t want to believe in him.”

Luffy had scrunched his face up, but nodded – as much as he could, with his head on his knees.

“I’m sure other people would have drawn comfort from a god if they had been all alone. But not me. I was angry, and I was disillusioned, and I had seen more horror and death than any child ever should,” Law said. “So I stopped believing. I met Bepo not soon after, and soon I didn’t need to believe anymore, because there was whole world out there that was much richer – and much more cruel – than any god ever could be. I had a mission.”

Luffy was still looking at him expectantly and Law felt encouraged. He had never talked about his faith like this, because it had never felt relevant. He had gone through his skepticism and eventual refusal quietly at the time.

“So yes, I think that people believe in gods and higher powers so they can blame someone for the shortcomings of other people, or the government, or the world, or themselves. Gods are just people, which is why people can both believe in gods, and believe to be gods.”

“I met someone like that once,” Luffy said, grimacing in disgust.

Law gave a half-smile and looked back out onto the sea, and then up into the sky. “Now the stars… I can see them. I can’t touch them, but I know they’re there. They’re real.”

“We can never be lonely,” Luffy said. Law looked at him and raised his eyebrows.

“Why’s that?” he asked. He had experienced his fair share of loneliness.

“Well, for one, we have our nakama,” Luffy said, “and even when they’re not there, we have the stars.”

#10daysoflawlu #10 days of lawlu 2k17 #one piece #opfanfic #lawlu #my writing #my fics

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