#answered asks ; ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪɴɢ sᴘᴇᴀᴋs

[gumfist]

Strolls over to her captain and hands him an accurately proportioned wooden beetle. ❝Here! Usopp said you liked these, and I found a wood chip that kind of looked like one, so...❞

     ♛─𝐆𝐔𝐌𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐓

❝SUUUUUUGGOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIII─!!!❞

                The captain’s face instantly lights up brighter than a sunny day, and his eyes are sparkling like diamonds in the sky as the petite puppeteer hands him the carefully crafted toy, and he holds the gift considerably gingerly in his grasp for a guy who was reputable for his rough and incautious ways.

What the heck was this-? It wasn’t a real insect, that much was obvious, seeing as it was made of wood and all, but those impressive horns! And those charming little beetle legs! ALL SIX OF THEM! Could it be…? ❝IT’S ATLAS!!❞ Luffy exclaimed, utterly stoked over recognising the exact species without glancing twice. Of course he would; it was one of his favourite beetles, one that he would recount spending hours on end hunting down with bug-catching nets gripped in tiny hands during the nostalgic days of his childhood, rummaging through the forest from sun-rise to sunset and emerging sweaty but satisfied when all was said and done. 

Such memories would be enough to stir up his inner-child even more than usual, and he’s easily overcome with a feeling that can only be pinpointed as endearment.

                ❝That’s SO cool, are you sure I can have this Bambo?!?!❞ Was the question, yet he was already playing with it, making it walk over the surface of a counter nearby. ❝Thank ya! And Usopp, too! Hey, hey, can this thing fly?? Do ya think that we can get Franky to do some of his robot-magic-stuff on it so we can make it even more like THE REAL DEAL?❞

                        𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐒𝐔𝐍; 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓─♕

[gumfist]

[Holds up a bag of sesame seed dumplings] ^_^

      ♛─𝐆𝐔𝐌𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐓

         He raises his head at the whiff of something DELICIOUS in the air, much like a stray animal that had been roaming the streets without a scrap of a morsel to eat for days; in spite of the fact that breakfast was very scarcely an hour ago. That hardly mattered to a man whose appetite was more or less insatiable— anyone who knew him knew that he could stuff himself at banquets across the New World for days on end and still have room for several rounds of dessert afterwards. The tangy sea breeze would ruffle his raven locks as he pokes his head out from where he was, and the call that escapes him rang boisterously throughout the ship in attempt to capture the attention of his crew mate. ❝Hey, Robin, what d’ya have with ya? It smells REALLY good!❞ Luffy hollered, stepping up onto the railings surrounding him. Then, with an energetic spring, he leaps out from the crow’s nest up above to land lithely on his sandaled feet, plodding over to where she was.

          ❝Oooh, are those DUMPLINGS?! I want some too!!❞ Of course he did. He wanted everything and anything that could be barely be considered edible, and sometimes, even a few things that would typically be considered not by the norm. ❝Did Sanji make those just now? Are there any more in the kitchen?❞ He was sorely hoping there was, nibbling hungrily at the tip of a pinky finger jammed into the corner of his gnawing mouth. It wasn’t exactly a difficult feat to imagine what the young Straw Hat captain was thinking about as he stared yearningly at her bag of snacks. Perhaps asking outright would be a teensy bit rude, seeing as how they were Robin’s dumplings after all- and what if she was really hungry just like him?- and, yet: ❝…Say, ya think ya could spare one or two (or ten) for me if there aren’t-?❞ Luffy uttered hopefully, gaze now redirecting itself to look at the archeologist in the eye. The words seemed to come flowing out of him without realisation or the chance to stop them, instinct taking over and seizing control. Had it been Usopp, or Zoro, or another one of his other Nakama, the dumplings would’ve been as good as long gone by now, disappearing down Luffy’s throat and into the unreachable pits of his bottomless stomach. At least he asked this time, right? 

                         𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐒𝐔𝐍; 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓─♕

[gumfist]

His left eye twitches, and there's a smile on his lips that's unmistakably sinister. It wouldn't have done his little brother any harm to have have checked the general vicinity to make sure he wasn't within earshot before pulling that stunt. ❝You wanna try that one again, 'Loofae'?❞

♛─𝐆𝐔𝐌𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐓

                   ❝…❞ 

                                            LEGS IT.                   (ICan’tDieHereIStillGottaBecomeTheNextPirateKingGOODBYEFOREVER)

              𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐒𝐔𝐍; 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓─♕

[gumfist]

❝IT WASN'T.❞

WAS IT.

[gumfist]

tag dump!

memes ; ɢᴏᴍᴜ ɢᴏᴍᴜ ɴᴏ ᴍᴇᴍᴇ

treasures ; ɪ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴀ ᴘʀᴏᴍɪsᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ɢᴀᴠᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴛʜɪs sᴛʀᴀᴡ ʜᴀᴛ

promos ; ᴀɴ ᴀʟʟɪᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴍᴇᴀɴs ғʀɪᴇɴᴅsʜɪᴘ

ooc ; ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴇ

interests ; ᴄᴏᴏʟ ᴛʜɪɴɢs

visage ; ᴏᴜʀ ᴋɪɴɢ ʙᴇᴀʀs ɴᴏ ᴄʀᴏᴡɴ

music ; ᴏɴʟʏ ʀᴇᴀʟ ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇs sɪɴɢ

crack ; ʜᴇ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ʙᴇ ᴀ ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ sᴡɪᴍ

memories ; sʜᴏʀᴛ ᴀᴛᴛᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ sᴘᴀɴ

musings ; ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴀɴɴᴀ ʙᴇ ɴᴏ ʜᴇʀᴏ ɪғ ɪ ɢᴏᴛᴛᴀ sʜᴀʀᴇ ᴍʏ ᴍᴇᴀᴛ

modern day ;  ʜᴇ’s ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪɴɢ: ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪɢɢᴇsᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴄᴋᴏᴜᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴋɪɴɢ

childhood ; ᴘᴇᴛᴇʀ ᴘᴀɴ: ᴛʜᴀᴛ's ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴄᴀʟʟ ᴍᴇ

pre ; ʟᴇᴛ's ɢᴏ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴀɴᴅ sᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ: ғᴏʀɢᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴇ ɢᴏᴛ ʜᴜʀᴛ

post ; ғᴏʀɢᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴛᴛᴏᴍ: ɪ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴘ

[gumfist]

Tiny miniature wooden drumsticks are scattered across her desk.

     ♛─𝐆𝐔𝐌𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐓

           Sticking out an elastic tongue, he tries to greedily rope a good number of them into his mouth in a single swooping motion, only noticing that something was OFF mid-chew when he felt splinters jabbing into him. 

                                  ❝BLEUGH! Gross─!! This isn’t meat!❞ Starts spitting out all of her hard work one by one, the bulk of them coated in both teeth marks and spit. How can something so tasty-looking be so deceiving?! Needless to say, the pirate boy was wholly disgruntled by the deception.

                             ❝What a dirty trick!❞ he grumbled.

                𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐒𝐔𝐍; 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓─♕

[gumfist]

(Whilst doing impressions of friends and family, she offers her portrayal of his freckly brother.) ❝Looooofffaaaaae, what are ya doin', Loofae? Quit makin' your brother worry, Loofae; Not now, Loofae, I gotta go bonk our sister and knock over aaaaaaaaaaall of her roomie's work and chip the paint on an unvarnished puppet leg while I'm leaving HUHUHUHUHUHUH.❞ No, she's not over it, yes she's bitter, and no, she doesn't care that he apologized quite politely.

    ♛─𝐆𝐔𝐌𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐓

         Ugly, deafening bursts of inelegant laughter would soon follow suit, never ceasing to be amused by one of Bambo’s famous, comical impressions of people they knew; even if the target in question happened to be his very own brother. ❝-AHAHAHA, THAT’S A GOOD ONE, BAMBO! ACE TOTALLY SOUNDS LIKE THAT!❞ Luffy spluttered, clutching his cramping sides, barely at the point of being able to stand upright anymore with all the violent shaking he was doing.

       Wheezing, he struggled to straighten up and waved his hand in the air frantically.

                        ❝Me next, me next!❞

             Grabs a whole bunch of food from the fridge and starts SHOVELING it all into his mouth as HURRIEDLY as possible before, oh, there goes his head going slack mid-sentence, forehead planting against the nearest surface available with an audible CONK.

                                               ❝Zzzzz…❞

HEAD SUDDENLY SNAPS UP AGAIN. MIMICS RAPID AND CONFUSED BLINKING, MOUTH STILL STUFFED FULL OF FOOD. 

                           ❝-Hwuh? Wah? Where ‘m I?❞                                                                             Munch, munch.                                                             ❝…Eh, Ossan, what are all ‘deez people ‘starin at?❞

              𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐒𝐔𝐍; 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓─♕

[gumfist]

He had been doing a pretty good job at sneaking out of Shou's room and off the Sunny in the early hours of the morning until he tripped over one of the puppeteer's spare puppet legs and was promptly informally introduced to the wooden deck. The sound of his entire weight slamming against the floor probably wasn't that easy to ignore.

      ♛─𝐆𝐔𝐌𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐓

                  HUH? Whazzat?

       Zipping down the corridor with the intention of making his way to the kitchen to devour a hearty breakfast artfully served by his chef, Sanji, in mind, Luffy found himself screeching to an abrupt halt when he heard a loud, loud thumping out of nowhere. Wasn’t that Shou and Bambo’s room-? What were they doing in there? The Straw Hat captain’s initial thought was that his puppeteer was in the midst of working on one of her new creations again, and that had merely been the sound of her accidentally dropping a hunk of wood or a really heavy tool by mistake. Either that, or some kind of brawl was taking place behind those walls which was what truly intrigued him. Were his crew mates sparring? Were they being assaulted? Should he go in and find out? These were his Nakama after all, and he didn’t want them getting into trouble. 

The only thing stalling Luffy from immediately barging in right there and then was the faint reminder that Bambo had previously requested that the noodley young man not come in and out of their room uninvited when and as he liked (lest he walked in on something he wasn’t meant to see, or so to speak). However, that memory was about to briskly expire as he edged cautiously towards the room.

          Before long, curiosity would win over and he would eventually poke his head in through the door of where the source of the noise resonated from, half-expecting to see an intruder, or an attacking sea-king, or something of that illustration the second he entered. Instead, his attention landed on the wincing heap in front of him, nestling among pieces of loose and scattered puppet parts. What the heck?

❝HEY, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? What’s ‘goin on—❞ He started calling until recognition hit him, and eyes, round and blinking owlishly, altered into a comprehensible squint. ❝Ace?!? Oh, it’s just you. When did you get here? …And ‘whatcha ‘doin on the floor, all flat like that?❞ Confusion swept his features, and Luffy tilted his head to one side, his initial unease now fading away at the speed of light and all his muscles relaxed with him. Instead, what took its place was a frown of disapproval, too superior for the likes of an impulsive and irresponsible little brother such as himself. ❝You didn’t fall asleep again, did you? Someone’s gonna step on ya if you’re not careful.❞

He stepped closer and crouched down to where his fallen sibling was, poking an intrusive finger around his collarbone. ❝What’re those bruises around your neck? ‘Didja get into a fight?❞

                        𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐒𝐔𝐍; 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓─♕

[gumfist]

(Modern ASL+S) ❝Don't listen to them, Lu. Your Vespa's great.❞

     ♛─𝐆𝐔𝐌𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐓

❝Heh heh, she is, ain’t she—??❞ Listen to who, exactly? If there was anybody out there openly poking fun or laughing at his faithful little scooter, he sure has heck hasn’t noticed yet. Most likely was too oblivious to their mocking, or maybe he just straight up didn’t give a hoot. Besides, what do they know about style, anyway? His Vespa was cool! It was really cool! And he LOVES it.

❝You wanna go for a ride, Ace?! ‘Betcha me and the Going Inferno can get you ANYWHERE you wanna be in a blink!❞

                        𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐒𝐔𝐍; 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓─♕