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chenziee · 1 year ago

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News Coo

@lawluevents - Day 10: Pirate King Luffy AU/Confessions @onepiece-bingo: News Coo

Alternate summary: can't hide shit from Morgans...

HAPPY LAWLU DAY!!

I hope you enjoyed this series because I'm not done with it xD still have some bingo squares left 👀

[ Read on AO3 | series ]

—————

Stretching her arms over her head, Nami sighed in content. Peaceful days spent sunbathing in the Sunny’s garden were always the best.

“Caw!”

Nami paused, shielding her eyes carefully before she turned her eyes upwards, looking at the sky… just before a bundle of papers the News Coo dropped fell right on top of her head.

“Hey! I don’t pay your insanely expensive subscription to be treated like this! I’ll sue!” she threatened.

She only got another “caw!” in response. Somehow, it sounded to her like the stupid bird was laughing and she was so going to have a word with its employer.

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, she grabbed the tightly wrapped papers, trying to untie the cord in a way that didn’t tear the news inside. She really should go grab some scissors. Who the hell tied this thing?!

She barely managed to finish the thought when Robin’s hand grew right in front of her, bearing the very scissors she so needed. Huffing out a small laugh, Nami thanked the archeologist who didn’t even move from her chair or so much as put her book down the entire time Nami was struggling with this stupid News Coo delivery.

The moment Nami snipped the cord, the tightly rolled bundle unfurled and Nami winced at being greeted with her own face smiling seductively up at her from a brand new wanted poster. Why did it keep going up? She couldn’t even collect a single berry from that stupidly high bounty… At least the picture was cute, she supposed.

“The boys are gonna get so noisy again,” Nami groaned to no one in particular. Maybe she should hide these, at least for a little while. Just hold on to this peace a little longer…

Quickly sifting through the stack of wanted posters for both their and Torao’s crew, Nami barely paid attention to the numbers—even their previous ones were stupid high, what did a zero here or there matter anymore? She would never understand why the others always made such a big deal about it. Except maybe Chopper and Bepo, the poor boys deserved to finally get some recognition by now; even Nami felt bad for them.

But then, she reached the end of the bounties and instead, a special report came to view.

And Nami completely froze, staring at the headline with wide eyes. She read it over and over and over again, trying to wrap her head around it but failing.

STRAW HAT LUFFY—THE NEW PIRATE KING

It really said that.

It really fucking said that.

“How?!” Nami cried loudly before she could stop herself. “What the fuck kind of sources—?! We literally left the island two hours ago!”

“Oh my,” Robin said with a chuckle, undoubtedly peeking over Nami’s shoulder with an extra pair of eyes. “Morgans’ quick. He needs to introduce me to the souls of the dead who report to him. I could use them as well.”

“Not now, Robin,” Nami groaned. She had hoped to get in one shopping trip before the world blew up but no.

Not only did the world get turned on it’s fucking head four times over in the span of the past maybe two months—and then eight times more once Robin pieced the poneglyphs together—now she couldn’t even buy some nice clothes in peace.

And judging by the hands that appeared like omens or disaster on the railing right next to her…

She was not not going to even get to enjoy one quiet, sunny afternoon.

—————

“Torao! Look!!” Luffy called, bursting with excitement as he propelled himself away from the garden and back to where Law was taking a nap with Bepo. He felt a little bad about the way he crashed right into the two of them, but he was just so giddy!

“Fucking—What the hell, Straw Hat-ya?” Law snapped once he got his bearings.

“Sorry. But look!” Luffy repeated, shoving the special report he stole from Nami in Torao’s face.

Luffy watched expectantly while Torao read the headline, his eyebrows furrowing more and more with each passing second. Well… that wasn’t a reaction Luffy was expecting.

“Torao?” Luffy tried.

Law was silent for a second longer before he slowly opened his mouth to speak, his eyes not leaving the paper in Luffy’s hands. “How the fuck does Morgans know we’re soulmates and why the fuck does he think we’re getting married?”

“Huh?” Luffy blinked a few times, tilting his head to the side. What was Torao talking about?

As he looked at the paper in his hands, he finally noticed he was holding it out backwards—the front with the headline announcing him conquering the Grand Line was facing towards him… which meant he was currently showing Torao the backside.

The backside, which was apparently also the front side with another bombshell headline.

Slowly turning the paper in his hands, Luffy quickly skimmed the announcement on the other side.

STRAW HAT LUFFY TO MARRY HIS SOULMATE, TRAFALGAR LAW

As he read the words over, Luffy hummed thoughtfully. “Oh, is this because I was planning to ask you once we got to Sabaody?”

“Excuse me?!” Law asked, full of shock, but Luffy didn’t pay him any attention.

“Who cares about that, look at this!” Luffy made sure he was holding the paper right when he showed it to Torao again. He was grinning so wide his cheeks were starting to hurt.

“Did you seriously just casually blurt out you were going to propose to me only to follow that with ‘who cares’?” Law asked flatly, his eyebrows shooting up as he stared at Luffy over the paper—and not paying attention to what was written on it, goddamn it!

“Torao~!” Luffy whined and raised the paper higher. “Pay attention!”

With a resigned sigh, Law finally turned his attention to the most important thing—only for his reaction to be completely underwhelming.

“You needed a newspaper to tell you were the Pirate King now?” Law asked in a tone that sounded so very unimpressed.

“This makes it official! Torao, come on~” Luffy said, a large pout on his lips as he slumped forward, sprawling himself over Law’s lap where he was leaning back against the still sleeping Bepo in a half-sitting position.

At that… Torao finally laughed, the sound light and easy and sending vibrations through Luffy’s body. Ah, Luffy really could enjoy this little moment forever…

“Sorry, I’m joking,” Law huffed, his body still lightly shaking with amusement when he leaned down to press a small kiss to Luffy’s temple. “Congrats.”

“Why are you so mean, I hate you,” Luffy huffed—but his grin made it back on his face full force and he giggled happily. “Thanks!”

Luffy almost had to stop himself from purring when Law’s hand found its way to his hair, running through the strands carefully, fingers lightly scratching his scalp. How did Law do that? Was Luffy turning into a cat now?

Oh well.

Leaning into the touch, Luffy felt himself relax completely. This really was the best day ever—the ending of his dream was within sight, he had the best ship and crew to see it through with, and he had his Torao right next to him.

The only thing that was missing was some meat and—

“The answer is no, by the way.”

“What?” Luffy asked with confusion, turning his head to the side to gaze up at Torao.

“To your proposal. I’m not going to marry you,” Law explained, closing his eyes momentarily. “Who put that idea in your head anyway?”

“Sanji and Penguin,” Luffy replied without hesitation.

Law rolled his eyes. “Of course,” he said with a sigh. “Look, do you even want to get married? Do you realise you’d have to stand there for the ceremony while the cake was right there and you weren’t allowed to eat any of it?”

Luffy paused while the information processed in his head. Damn, he really didn’t think of that…

“Yeah, okay.” Luffy nodded to himself decisively. “Can we just skip to the party?”

At that, Law laughed again, shaking his head as he ruffled Luffy’s hair. “Yeah, sure. I’ll ask Black Leg to make a fancy cake and all.”

“Yay!” Luffy cried before a snicker forced its way past his lips. “As long as you’re happy, too!”

Law rolled his eyes. “I feel like we’ve had this conversation before but you’re literally my soulmate and I love you so what the hell would we need a wedding for? Not to mention the World Government is basically on fire right now, who even has the authority to do weddings as it is?” Law asked in a tone that suggested he wasn’t looking for an answer before he added, “Also it’s just way too much of a bitch so yeah, I’m happy as it is.”

“Okay! No bitch ceremonies,” Luffy said, his voice shaking with laughter at the way Law clicked his tongue at the teasing remark.

And when Luffy pulled Law down to his level, the both of them smiling into the soft kiss they shared… Luffy decided not to mention this was the first time Law told him “I love you” directly.

After all, Law showed his love to Luffy every day in the way he smiled, the way he always left enough room next to him when taking a nap with Bepo, the way he brought out his precious Sora, Warrior of the Sea comic collection from the Tang’s safe storage space so that Luffy could read them.

He showed Luffy he loved him in all the little things, all the little moments they shared—just as Luffy did for him.

And Torao was right; they didn’t need words, a wedding, or even their soulmarks to know it.

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seyaryminamoto · 2 years ago

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I'm gonna join the little crowd of canon Zuko dislikers who believe he becomes a lot more likeable character in Gladiator. He's not scarcely developed like he is in canon. I can notice how he grows from his anger issues that could lead to dangerous outbursts into someone who knows how to keep calm and in control. From self-centered to considerate of others. From entitled to responsible. From having a confused moral compass that depends greatly on Iroh to a man who knows how to make his own decisions enough to even call Iroh out on his mistakes (removing Iroh from Zuko's growth journey was something that greatly benefited him since Iroh burdening Zuko with expectations and plans for his life, with Zuko simply shifting from following a parental figure to another, at least according to my reading of canon).

Most Zuko stories I read are either focused on milking extra sympathy for him or washing the flaws down the drain into awkward turtleduck, and both of these narratives are cringeworthy, with the comics doing him no favors either but doubling down on these flaws.

So his characterizations in Gladiator was a breath of fresh air. That one line when Guru Pathik told him "He damaged your willingness to open yourself to others… to let someone else look after you, out of fear of being vulnerable, I expect." was moving and even relatable.

Ah, damn, thank you very much for saying so! You know all too well that I have plenty of gripes with Zuko's canon writing, so I'm really glad that you feel this way about my portrayal of him in Gladiator... I have to say, I think a lot of my issues with canon Zuko became clearer precisely because I was writing him from scratch in this story. I struggled to understand many things about him back when I watched the show, without my full awareness initially, and I genuinely realized what those things were once I started writing him in Gladiator.

My inability to grasp Zuko properly is one of the reasons why I chose to rewrite Zuko's entire journey. Not only did it make sense to do so in this setting, but the truth is that I hoped it would help me get a better handle of his character: I'd written post-canon content already and the one character I wasn't sure I was writing correctly was Zuko. People would tell me that I shouldn't write him being so moody anymore, that he had become more mature, that he had become basically a perfectly decent person, that he would be a better brother to Azula than how I depicted him, and that I had to work on that. I'd hear all that criticism and then I'd take a look at canon Zuko... and I'd wonder if I was missing episodes or something, since there were many instances, post-redemption, where Zuko made displays of many flaws (be it his temper, be it his narrow mind, be it selfishness, you name it) that a lot of people were constantly pretending he had relinquished completely as soon as he joined the Gaang.

So... it became clear that I just couldn't write him the way they wanted me to X'D it wasn't natural for me, the character they were asking me to write didn't feel like Zuko to me at all, and I honestly didn't understand why right away. And so, as Gladiator's idea crystallized, I realized I'd have a clear shot at writing Zuko's character arc from scratch, I'd get to develop him on my terms, and I'd be the one to decide which traits and flaws he'd preserve throughout his growth process. Doing this helped in a lot of ways, of course, as in changing his journey, I started to realize just what were the elements of his canon storyline that I wasn't 100% pleased with.

Even from the start, I've had readers who felt very sorry for Gladiator's Zuko (especially because Mai married someone else when he was hoping she would have been waiting for him) since he definitely was starting out in a very bad place and a lot of people were immediately emotionally attached to him because they already were in canon. Still, I think part of why he resonated with readers in a different way than canon Zuko was that the challenges I was giving him were different from the ones canon did. For one thing, I let him go home without having captured the Avatar: he knew that he wouldn't have the "approval" of his father from the start. Instead of using Mai as a manner of compensation for him, or as his only true bond in the Fire Nation, Mai was actually another source of anguish simply because she moved on with her life, something Zuko never anticipated she would do. Iroh's sudden interest in the Gladiator League, his sister being up to her own business and becoming a hugely popular public figure while he was mostly sorting out how to live life again... Zuko had a lot on his plate for sure from the very beginning.

Instead of simply making these inconveniences go away, though, instead of featuring every character validating him at every turn and grieving along with him over how unfair his life was, Gladiator's Zuko had to learn how to live with all those things that changed while he was gone. He learned to let go of so many things he couldn't control. He started developing his own interests, connecting with new people, and he tried to figure out how he wanted to live his life, above all else. If he was never going to reclaim his role as Ozai's heir because Ozai wouldn't let him? Zuko would have to decide what to make of himself beyond the idealized future on the throne that he used to cling to... and he did just that.

At this point, back in Part 1, I realized that a lot of what I was doing with Zuko had never really happened in canon. His personal worldview wasn't defied: his father's worldview, which he had adopted, but that he apparently didn't believe all that faithfully, was what he changed his mind about, and he wound up adopting Iroh's belief system instead. It's not Zuko's own beliefs that are contested and challenged: one example of that is his belief in canon that his sister was born lucky, that she didn't work for anything, that he was the one who had to struggle and that was why he was ultimately stronger than her: at no point does the story make him look at his sister any differently. At no point does he conclude that maybe it's fine if she's a stronger fighter because his convictions are the right ones, because his bonds with people are truer, because maybe the true worth of a person isn't how skilled they are at combat. He was never confronted with any of this, never had to think on it at all, and so, the story concludes by as good as rewarding him with a fight where he's beating up his sister and proving himself superior to her. How was his belief defied? It wasn't. It was only reinforced, confirmed, reiterated, and he got away with his dream scenario in which he "put Azula in her place". As in, chains and an asylum. How much of a challenge was this, in terms of conviction, for Zuko? It wasn't one whatsoever.

Along with that belief, he also believed the throne was his birthright (... and I reiterate that I don't understand why he treated it that way, considering that he spent many years of his life believing Iroh and Lu Ten would be Fire Lord and Crown Prince respectively, far more years than he spent being banished or being Crown Prince for Ozai...), but by the end of the story, he becomes Fire Lord indeed, so what he was chasing for happened anyhow: Zuko is rewarded, yet again, by the confirmation of the beliefs he held all along. Yes, he had a hard time throughout the show, but that doesn't change that when the story wraps up, he's exactly where he always envisioned he would be. So, as much as he may have changed and grown, ultimately his two primary beliefs ("Azula needs to go down", "I will be Fire Lord"), at the very core of his character, were never put into question.

This is without going into all those times where his behavior leaves much to be desired, where he acts irresponsibly, where he even withholds vital information from his new friends for reasons that don't make sense, and he gets away with all of it without even a slap on the wrist. There's no pushback, all be it so he can have, again, exactly what he wants: a group of friends who cherish him deeply, so much that he can do completely senseless things like attack them over their inaction due to their lack of information, which he didn't bother disclosing to them because "it was obvious" (it wasn't), and nobody finds that alarming or worrisome, anything he says or does is 100% fine because it's him and everyone must love him, of course.

All this flies against some of my fundamental passions as a storyteller. I've always enjoyed doing something that is, honestly, a really simple way to build a character arc: give a character something they want, and then take them on a journey of existential crisis that will eventually make them question whether or not that's really what they want anymore x'D I've been doing it since well before I got into ATLA, and it's 100% what I've done with a LOT of characters in Gladiator. There was nothing quite as distressing for someone like Azula than falling in love with the defiant Water Tribe warrior who refuses to bow down to the Fire Nation's alleged superiority, all of which leads her to question her beliefs, her assumptions about life -- is the Fire Nation truly superior? Is Sokka right to defy it and rebel as often as he does? Her father, obviously, doesn't want her to marry anyone outside Fire Nation nobility -- is he right to want that, though? Isn't it up to her to decide what she should do in life? If she chooses to be with Sokka, does it mean she's rebelling against her father? Is that wrong or right? After over twenty years of following Ozai's ideology, does she have the courage to turn her back on him and open her heart to a different way of living?

It's particularly easy to see it in Azula, but it really has happened with basically every important character in the story (save for the more villainous ones, I guess), and Zuko is no exception. The goals he sought, the people he idealized and idolized, have changed a lot in his eyes as he grows and changes too. And by specifically choosing every element of his growth, and how they impact him, I've also pushed his development all the way to the point where, like you mentioned, he meets Guru Pathik and, upon opening his fire chakra, Zuko is basically set free. Everything he went through up until that moment has been adding up to a conclusion he hadn't quite unlocked... until he did that day. It was difficult, it wasn't intuitive for him, but it's as if he had opened his eyes to the world fully for the first time, and he could see things so much more clearly because he finally knows how to do so. And it doesn't mean that he will be at all merciful with Ozai, just as it doesn't mean that he will condemn Iroh to hell for the horrors he's responsible for... but it means that he's ready to stand on his own, and to not let other people choose his identity for him, particularly these two.

I'm honestly surprised by how his development has reached the point it has. After all these years of being well-known for being ambivalent towards Zuko even at the best of times, I've honestly felt proud of this guy for the first time ever while writing Gladiator Part 3 xD it's not exactly common for me to feel that I'm in a good spot with Zuko, but it really took me breaking him down from the get-go, rewinding him to his earliest stages, with very little to no development, and taking his growth into my own hands completely. I'm sure a few people thought I was a mindless Zuko hater after everything I put him through in Part 1, and that everything I was doing to him was some manner of vendetta because he had a better outcome in canon than Azula, and I was overcompensating for that in Gladiator... well, I hope that, if any of those people are still here now, they'll actually see what the point was xD the point honestly wasn't to punish Zuko: I just needed to develop him on my own terms, and it wasn't an easy journey, but it's one I'm genuinely pleased with. His hard-gained maturity, his reliability, his strength of heart even when facing that the world isn't quite what he thought he was... all those things have led me to feel like I can actually write, at last, the characterization of Zuko that so many people thought I should have been doing since day one. But this time, I handled it myself. This time, I know this character personally, and I know that his journey adds up to the man he has become up to the newest chapters. I'm not standing on shaky grounds, confused about what I'm doing, the way I was with his character back when I was writing canon-based content primarily.

And indeed, in doing so, I've come to understand just why Zuko's canon journey didn't hit every mark I needed it to. I'm not going to pretend that I've handled him flawlessly, but I do think that I've let him be a version of himself that doesn't need to be coddled, doesn't need a second person to perpetually stand beside him, whispering in his ear what's right or wrong, doesn't need someone else to serve as his scapegoat, so he can blame all his misfortunes on them... above all else, it's a Zuko who can think properly on who he is, who he wants to be, and reflect on whether he's failing or succeeding at that endeavor. Yes, sometimes he'll feel the pull to be selfish, sometimes he'll be harsh, sometimes he'll be unsure of what path to follow, but ultimately? He will be ready to make the tough choices. He will also be ready to step out of his comfort zone to do right by the people he wants to protect. He will be responsible... he will actually learn to be a leader, and not simply for the sake of repurposing the skill for a future potential tenure as Fire Lord. That's not his ultimate motivation in this setting.

So, all of this really ended up putting in sharp focus for me that so many of these elements of growth are actually only implicit in canon, or outright non-existent. They hinge often on interpreting Zuko in the most positive light possible, in denying his flaws and in pretending the tropes he embodies are more representative of who he is than the person he actually proved to be through his actions and behavior throughout the show. In one breath, people will claim he's incredibly complex and in the next they will sweep away all such complexities to declare him exempt from all the consequences of his actions. As much as I can understand the protectiveness that comes with having a fictional character mean a lot to you, the fact that pointing out any single mistake or misbehavior by him in canon feels like such a threat to the character his fans think he is -- hence their immediate, alarming, wild arguments to defend him --, tells you that the idea of Zuko is more important than Zuko as a fictional character. It's all about what he "represents", and very little about who he actually is. In my experience, it's not common to find fic writers who actually handle Zuko correctly, and I sure love it when they do, but just as you said it, so many people bank on milking out extra sympathy for him (as if the show hadn't done a ton of that to begin with), and very little is about exploring him as a character in a deeper, more challenging way than what canon did.

As a long-time Zuko critic, I'll never stop saying that my problem with Zuko isn't who he's supposed to be, but who he actually is. It's in the writing flaws that make his growth process far more questionable in canon than it should be, and more than anything, that the fandom has taken to defending anything he chooses to do relentlessly, almost religiously. There are so many elements of his growth that could have been handled better... and as I wrote him in Gladiator, the clearer those elements became. Naturally, I'm working with an older Zuko, but similar beats could have happened in his character arc in the show and they simply didn't.

Anyway! All this is to say... thank you very much for sharing your thoughts :) I know there's been a ton of contentious arguments about these subjects lately, and I really am glad that I can write a Zuko that makes sense to those of us who are critical of him in canon. What I feel like a lot of the Zuko defenders don't understand is that we don't want him to be perfect: we want him to be treated in the same way other characters are treated, rather than getting preferential treatment where so many others, with similar traumas to his own, aren't given the same courtesy. But in my honest, sincere opinion, I wish I could love Zuko. I really wish I could enjoy his character as much as other people do. I absolutely believe I would, if the writing around him had addressed all the elements I needed it to address in order for his journey and character arc to add up successfully. And yes, it's fine by me if people love him exactly as he is: I don't have to, though. Neither do you. And if I'm writing a Zuko the two of us can genuinely enjoy, the better for us, am I right? XD

Thanks again for this ask <3

#wingsfreedom #gladiator #yeah it's been a while since my last long asks ahahaha oops #took me a while to answer sorry about that #as usual #I need to get it together yes I do #but honestly it's so reassuring to know that my Zuko is hitting the spot for other people aside from myself #I really looked forward to posting the Southern Air Temple arc because I just REALLY wanted you guys to see that scene #it made me so happy to finally set him free #the impact that scene had #and how it has genuinely helped him find stability safety and inner peace #it was such a wonderful breakthrough #and I cannot believe how proud I can be of this guy after all these years #but that's the power of stories :')#so glad you're enjoying him too! <3

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