#basically if one straw hat has to die at the end

[softepilogues]

ok but for real what does a good ending look like for zoro? like sure he becomes the world's greatest swordsman but then what? he stays on the sunny forever? surely not, the whole point of one piece was that eras change and things move forward, there has to be a new generation and a new pirate king after luffy. he pulls a mihawk 2.0 and either wanders the seas or parks himself on an island and fights off weaker challengers? mihawk was so bored doing that that he decided to train the guy who would take the title from him. the very thing that got zoro started on this whole journey was his rivalry with the much stronger kuina. what do you do when your whole life is built around a being stronger than others and then you fulfil your dream and there's no one stronger to challenge?

[icedfini-tea]

•Imagine, Idol!reader thats also a pirate, their crew is basically their whole staff( /first fan base) and their right hand man as their manager. Reason why they became a pirate in the first place is that they just go wherever they want to have a concert and just…trespass, even tho they can just get a permit, but wheres the thrill in that?

•Idol!reader has a huge fanbase since they go around the seas to perform. Their concerts in the East blue is more tame since most of the fans there are teenagers and kids alike while on the North blue,,, theres no limit of what a performer can do ;). (South and West blue are one the middle)

•Sometimes they do collabs with other artists/musicians, like uta. When the announcement of their collab got announced and spread world wide, not even a day, almost all of the people celebrated (esp their die hard fans) in joy since- hello?? Two of the infamous idols are gonna do a music together and perform!

•The concerts of theirs is randomly vogue. since they don’t give schedules or any heads up to the people. the most they can do is give a singular clue to their fans and the rest is for them to solve (cause of the marines), Its like an investigation of when and where their next concert will be. If you got the info’s right then enjoy the show! If not then better luck next time ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ .

•Since they have a high bounty, the marines always keep track of them whenever they left a clue, sometimes they would be right and crash the show (just like how they crashes soul king’s performance) but most of the time,,,, not so much, since they’re cheeky like that.

•They have their own light sticks and merch like those kpop groups. Fans can collect photo cards (some are limited), keychains, stickers, pins, etc. reason why they have the budget of effects and other stuff.

₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊ ₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊ ₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊ ₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊

▶︎•၊၊||၊|။||||။၊|။• Extra

“Holy shit man, i cant believe we got to see them in live!” “Damn theres so many people here” “The code they gave for this concert is confusing as shit but i still managed to crack it!” “Your sacrifice for sleep will not be in vain brother”

as more people came to the venue to watch others kept chatting amongst themselves waiting for the performance to start.

Meanwhile a ship with a lion’s head approached an island, the sound of many voices chattering captivated the crew’s attention. Luffy, always one to follow his instincts, leaped to his feet, his eyes alight with curiosity.

"Hey, what's that sound?" he exclaimed, pointing toward the shore.

Nami, peered through her binoculars and grinned. "Looks like there's a concert happening on the island. Let's check it out!"

Excited at the prospect of new entertainment, the Straw Hats disembarked onto the lively island. Crowds of people gathered around a grand stage, where colorful lights danced to the rhythm of the music. The source of the beginning melody stood at the center of the stage, captivating the audience with their captivating voice and mesmerizing performance. The crowd roared with excitement as the show progressed.

“Oh my, how lucky we are to watch their live performance” The woman chuckled

“huh? What do you mean about that robin?” The reindeer tugged the woman’s hand, Robin then looked down at chopper

“ A legend among the seas, whose fame transcended oceans and boundaries. With their captivating charisma and unmatched talent, she held sway over the hearts of both pirates and civilians alike.” She then looked back at the stage seing the idol perform.

“Their voice carried the weight of countless adventures, each note resonating with the spirit of freedom and adventure.” As her story ended, the rest of the straw hats that were listening to her went back to the idol singing.

“YOHOHOHO, i couldnt believe i get to meet the infamous idol so soon!”

“Seems like it’s our lucky day!- wait where’s sanji?-“ ussop then looked around when suddenly

“LOVELY IDOL-CHAAAAAAAAAN~~~” popped out of nowhere holding two light sticks on each hand and a whole bag of merchandize in his back

“WHERE- AND HOW DID YOU EVEN MANAGE TO GET ALL THAT STUFF-“ ussop screached

“WOW! THIS CONCERT IS VERY SUUUUPEEEERRR!” As franky did his usual pose

“WAAAAH! LOOK AT ALL THOSE LIGHTS AND CONFETTIS!” chopper looked around amazed

“ tch, its theres too many people here..” zoro grumbled

“Well what do you expect from a very famous idol” nami smiled watching the performance

“We couldn’t go back now since theres too many people blocking the way, so lets just enjoy the show” jimbe chuckled abit at zoro

“Then ill make a way” before he pulls out one of his sword he then got bonked

“ARE YOU THAT HARD HEADED!?” Yelled nami and sanji at the same time

As the crew kept chatting/bickering while watching the performance, Luffy couldn’t help but wonder why the idol performing looks someone familiar he met before his adventure to be the pirate king. But in the end he just shrugged it off and continue enjoying the lively atmosphere of the concert with his crew.

[eroguron0nsense]

Marineford is basically just the really ambitious dark what-if bad ending for Water Seven/Enies Lobby (ONE PIECE SPOILERS)

Let's review: you've got two victims imprisoned and awaiting execution for supposed crimes against the world government. Their supposed offences are inextricably tied to the nature of their existence through absolutely no fault of their own. Neither of them think they particularly deserve to be alive and are horrified that the people they love–whose lives they value way more than their own–are facing near certain death to rescue them. Like, to the extent they're both begging to be abandoned and left for dead as they're chained up and helpless, watching good people struggling and falling one by one in the struggle to save them and the situation getting more and more dire. Both have a moment where they have a breakthrough and express that in spite of all their trauma and suicidal self hatred, they want to live and seek joy and meaning with Luffy and their respective crews as it becomes evident that their loved ones will take on the world to get them out.

The difference is just that in Water Seven, you have dozens of really hype moments and everything is cathartic and saving Robin is arguably the greatest moment of triumph in the series. Everyone you think might die gets saved by deus ex machinas (Sodom and Gomorrah, the Franky family, the Straw Hats themselves). In Marineford, we get to watch Ace's friends die in front of him and we watch him scream as the Whitebeards suffer for him; Oars is kind of a perfect microcosm of this who literally has his body trampled over in the effort to rescue him. The brief moment of catharsis you get when he's almost rescued gets shattered with his murder, and then we end on a desperate rush to get Luffy out alive because he's so exhausted and traumatized he can't fight any more. It's one of the biggest downer endings to any arc in fiction and it's made doubly so by all the parallels we've seen in which the Straw Hats are rewarded for their boundless love for each other and their fellow man, their "all for one, one for all" ethos that underscores the entire series, and their willingness to throw themselves against any enemy–and quite literally take on the world– for their friends in the face of horrible injustice against them.

And instead of "I want to live" we get this kinda subtly dark ending for his character because as beautiful as him dying for Luffy and the whole "thank you for loving me" speech is, it reaffirms that as much as Ace has found meaning in his existence, he'll never get to go through Robin's (ongoing) journey of self acceptance. He'll never realize that his friends love him for who he is and not in spite of it. He does't get to grow past the last of the trauma and self hatred and survivor's guilt holding him back as a person, or meet Rayleigh in the postwar and learn things about his parents and the real history of the world that could have given him the catharsis he always needed, or just that he has immense value and brings as much joy to the people he's devoted his life to as they do to him. His final words just make it really clear that as much as he wishes he could keep living with his friends and family, he still cannot fathom the concept that he personally was worth saving or sacrifice at all.

[blackholesun321]

New One Piece AU dropped focusing around Zoro and Mihawk! You shall be subjected to it.

TW: Long Ask

Okay, so basically, this au has a long title but I dubbed it Child of the Sword. It started off with Zoro being able to see the spirits of the swords since in One Piece, swords are sentient and are possessed in a way. Only Zoro can see these spirits and talks to them all the time. At first, he didn't realize others couldn't see them. My friend and I played around with this a lot, and now's it's developed into a whole thing.

When Kuina died, Zoro's anger and grief erupted and Zoro discovered he was the incarnation of the Ancient Weapon: Ares. Created by the war god Asura. The sensei makes Zoro swear to never use his power in public unless it was life or death. Zoro goes on to see Kuina's spirit tied to Wado Ichimonji. During the shells town arc, Morgan is extra cruel bc he is Morgan, and when Zoro is tied in the courtyard he has the swordsman whipped on the back, marring and littering Zoro's back with scars. Zoro's honor is in shambles when Luffy shows up and helps him. During Baratie, Zoro fights Mihawk and loses, ending up with the scar on his chest. After Zoro promises to never fail, he whipsers "Finally a worthy scar" and Mihawk overhears. Mihawk almost noted how Zoro always seemed to be looking at things that aren't there.

So naturally, the warlord decides to kidnap Zoro instead of Luffy (yes I am mashing up OPLA and the anime, fight me). The Straw hats go on the free Nami from Arlong then make plans to get Zoro back from Mihawk. Zoro is less than pleased to be kidnapped by the strongest swordsman. Mihawk brings Zoro with him to meet with Shanks about Luffy's bounty poster and Shanks convinces Mihawk to give Zoro back to the Straw Hats, but before that happens, Mihawk and Zoro end up talking about Zoro's special abilities. Mihawk comes to the realization of what Zoro is and keeps it to himself.

During the two year time skip, Zoro reunites with Mihawk (even though he never stopped talking with the warlord after being dropped off ((begrudgingly)) at lougetown). Mihawk trains Zoro in the way of the sword AND helps him to realize his full potential.

This is all I have for now, but I have ideas for Dressrosa and Wano. :D

FUCK YEAH ASKS AGAIN! I’ve been ignoring the rest of my wings au ask gotta go finish those up lol just kinda sitting in my drafts. Anyways.

Oh fuck yeah again! I love the guy can see spirits no one else can mixed with reincarnation trope my little Bleach nerd heart is swooning.

But yesss constantly talking to air and technically he doesn’t need to but the swords haven’t told him that because it’s funny. And he’s just this ball of angst plus weirdo probably crazy guy who talks to his swords— so he’d be even more ostracized then in canon yeah the mentality Ill are stigmatized and treated poorly in all universes. Expect he not mentally ill I mean if we don’t count the Kuina trauma ™️ probably which is what gives Ironjaw the gaul and to whip him as well as tie him up to suffer dehydration and probably heat stroke so fun.

Maybe Kuina tags along in the form of wado-ichumongi? Maybe he can talk to her sometimes? Idk I just want him to be constantly fighting and loosing to a preteen girl that lives in his sword, I think that would be funny.

Mihawk please! Mihawk that’s kidnapping! Mihawk you’ve kidnapped a child. Because of course he has and did because Zoro=interesting equals if I leave him alone he could die and with the looks of his crew probably will die. Ugh guess I have to steal him.

You know he shows up at that beach eyeliner on, lip gloss applied and cunting it up to shore and with Zoro trying to stab him every other step. Shanks is very worried and weirded out. But also laughs his ass off because of course this is how Mihawk acquires a kid. But also he’s like Mihawk seriously no bad we don’t kidnap… Whitebeards the exception not the rule!

[xamaxenta]

god i LOOOVEEE feral animal asl its so true. they truly could not care less about "laws" or "public decency" whatever that is. the straw hats manage with just luffy but the whitebeards sometimes have to deal with TWO of them? at ONCE? theyre used to ace because sometimes pirates are just like that, pops has seen plenty of them and hes just happy to see that nasty stray cat finally come inside to relax and he simply counts the shredded furniture as a Personality Trait to keep the house interesting. but then sabo rolls up and everyone at first chuckles and says oh well at least one of them has manners. except. sabo is secretly 4 ravenous feral dogs wearing a top hat. sabo is polite until the food comes out when he starts snarling and snapping (he and ace start wrestling on the floor BITING each other for a single chicken wing) or when he gets the Predator Stare and anyone who crosses within view of it feels their hair stand completely on end. marco has no particularly strong feelings about sabo when they first meet aside from "ace loves him, hes probably a freak, and he looks ridiculous dressed like that (kinda cute)" except. sometimes ace and sabo make noises at each other that are so far from human language they sound like an entirely different species. he swore one time he saw ace come up and just Lick the side of sabos face, who bit his whole ear in return like they were discussing the weather. there is something Wrong with sabo for sure. but its not until he and ace are bickering at the table and thatch throws a spare chunk of raw meat trimmings at ace (because theyve learned ace can and will eat raw meat, even the fatty or gristly bits, and as much as marco insists its not good At All for his health, the crew likes feeding large and dangerous animals) and as soon as the meat hits the table both ace and sabo go perfevtly still for roughly half a second before SABO lunges forward and grabs it in his TEETH while ace starts pummeling him for it. the top hat goes flying, theres the sound of the galley bench screeching across the floor and boots and fingernails scrabbling across the wood and the Chief Of Staff of the Revolutionary Army runs, hissing, on all fucking fours, with a chunk of raw meat in his mouth up the rigging while ace quite literally snaps at his heels. theres distant snarling and growling. sounds of tearing fabric. screams of shock and horror from the crew on the deck. and it is in that moment marco comes to the devastating realization that he is unfortunately attracted to sabo, and that his taste in men simply cannot be salvaged

Sabo standing there all prim and proper, all neatly buttoned up and his accent has this crisp edge to it like a winters morning flinty with fresh snow or perhaps new parchment waiting to be scored by the writers pen

And then Ace shows up and the mask slips abruptly something wicked spills past the pleasantries and hes kinda like fangs bared growly in a way only animals get with each other

Everyone up until this point knows the basic history Ace loves this guy, Sabo to put it bluntly would die to protect Ace with his life, they share a childhood the jungle that fucking jungle, this means Sabos also a beast but what kind theyre hoping if Ace is anything to go by he would be the same

Except Sabo brings out a monster in Ace and clearly hes so much worse, the raw meat spectacle and then the poor crowsnest lookout scrambling down trembling cold sweat like what the fuck happened to those two?

Eventually they comeback down sabos clothes are in tatters and Ace is just naked lmao theyre blood smeared and everyone hopes its the meat but its wishful thinking because thats way too much blood for a fist sized piece of flank steak

Marco unfortunately realises he has a type

Sabo pins him with a baleful pale eyed stare, those freaky mismatched eyes of his locked the fuck on, someone whos blind in one eye really shouldnt have that sort of focus, Ace headbutts him nippy bitey for being ignored but

Follows Sabos gaze and smiles

[slowcatsisland]

Roronoa Zoro; Pre Timeskip Headcanons

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Zoro’s father developed his love for swords training as early as Zoro can remember. His father didn’t teach him three sword style though.

Zoro’s father was a man that would travel for long periods before coming home to Shimotsuki Village (wandering is in the roronoa genes)

Zoro’s mother would comb Zoro’s hair with her fingers and it lulled Zoro into sleep instantly. He hasn’t had someone do that to him since she died but every time someone ends up putting their hand on his head for whatever reason, he starts to get droopy.

The first time he saw someone die was pirates attacking his village before his father fell in battle. Zoro remembers the anger and pain he felt when he saw his father get slain. The puddle of blood that dripped from him ran Zoro’s blood cold and he’s still not sure if it ever warmed back up.

His mother died of illness, but it was really heartbreak. Zoro could tell. Zoro didn’t want to watch anything like that again, someone deteriorating. It was the worst way to die to him.

After his mother died he went to the next village over. He did this to start anew and with a purpose for living; he didn’t want to waste away and die a nobody like his parents.

Kuina only practiced one sword style, but her father helped Zoro train in three sword style.

Zoro at first couldn’t hold a sword in his mouth, and ended up with a chipped tooth and a fractured jaw the first time he tried to fight Kuina legitimately with three sword style.

He got scolded by Kuina a lot after she would win their duels about his form and tactics.

Kuina was the first female friend Zoro ever had, and her proud nature ended up making Zoro a little nervous of all girls. (Bro blushes a lot even if he doesn’t mean to/doesnt feel anything)

Kuina’s death reminded him too much of his parents. He could save them, and he couldn’t save her.

When Kuina died Zoro went through a period where he couldn’t get through a training session without crying. One time it got so bad he ended up passing out and woke up 2 days later with the Master staring down at him worriedly.

From that point Zoro stopped crying and focused directly on improving his swordsmanship.

When Zoro left his village, he was actually chasing after a pirate that was threatening the town. He actually wasn’t ready to leave just yet on his search for Mihawk. He literally had traveled so far away he couldn’t find his way back.

As Zoro picked up the bounty hunter gig to earn some money and rest stops, he had no idea where Mihawk was. He was searching for him rather loosely. He would hear whispers and rumors, but still ended up as a bounty hunter for over two years.

He didn’t actually know that he had a reputation until he joined the Straw Hats. He knew that people feared him but he wasn’t aware of his title ‘Pirate Hunter’ because to himself he wasn’t a ‘pirate Hunter’ . Same goes for the ‘Demon of the East Blue’ name.

Zoro would either go long periods of talking to himself or not talking at all when he was a bounty hunter. He was isolated heavily during his travel.

Learned how to make food as a bounty hunter, a young boy he had saved from a pirate showed him how to cook some basics and start a fire.

Got his earrings at a gambling hub he walked into during his early days of traveling. They were actually a shit load of berri but the lady behind the counter said she would give them up for free if Zoro did some personal favors for her. He put his bag of all his berri on the counter stone faced after she said that. He got the earrings. She threw him out. He has never taken them out since.

Has been told by numerous broads that he’s a good looking guy, but always denied their advances. He wasn’t interested in sexual relations.

He only had sex once, and it was to a woman with fingers so cold he would flinch away. He was real drunk and she was a server at the bar he was in. He doesn’t remember anything other than the feel of her cold fingers in his hair and how a trail of crisp goosebumps followed her hands down his chest. (He doesn’t remember what she looked like, and he stopped trying to remember what fully happened pretty quickly)

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Mwah 😽

[blacklegsanjiii]

I love the warlord!Sanji acesan shovel talk sm <3 also this is really sad but what would have happnd if sanji's execution had succeeded and he really did die? i nkow the warlords prbly wouldve still declared war on the wg and the straw hats would wreak havoc as wle, but do you have any thoughts? how does each parent grieve, how do the crew react upon finding sanji's secret only after his death? can sanji ever be brought back- maybe reiju pulls through again somehow with germa tech that somehow revives sanji- or is he gone forever? these thoughts are haunting me

JESUS OW! THAT HURTS I LOVE IT!

First, his execution if succeeded, would have been taped and possibly broadcasted after the fact, ensuring the fact his death is in fact truthful. The only person up on the platform who looks pleased is Akainu the fucker. Kizaru, usually so unbothered, and Sengoku watched this kid grow up in Warlord meetings but justice comes first and Sanji is a pirate. When Sanji is asked if his parents would be proud Sanji just smiles and in a way similar to Ace and says his parents would be proud, but not the ones the Government wants. After all, he was raised by five Warlords. He's smiling at Akainu, smiling in the face of death and stabbed by the spear/trident things they use in the executions.

The next the newscoo brings reports of Doflamingo and Boa Hancock declaring war on the World Government, the day after Mihawk, a few days later Crocodile and those he rounded up from Baroque Works. Jinbei doesn't but the crew sees how stricken he is. It is immensely heartbreaking to hear Jinbei cry about Sanji, his son, which rocks the crew. They plan a funeral and send out the calls to inform everyone when and where.

Everyone turns up, Law and his crew, Vivi and Karoo, Ace and the White Beard fleet, Perona, and the four warlords who declared war against the government. Law and Vivi are immediately ready for a fight but Jinbei stops them, reminding them they're all here for the same reason. They don't entirely let their guard down and when Zoro asks Perona how she knew Sanji she looks at him like he's dumb.

"We grew up in the warlord meetings together, dummy. He was my baby brother basically." Perona huffs and Mihawk sends a glare at them both.

"Does Moria know you're here?" Crocodile asks her.

"He let me go to Mihawk's for weeks on end to see Sanji, I don't see how his funeral would be different." Perona says solemnly and Crocodile nods. After the "service" if you could call it that everyone parts ways. The crew deals with the fact Sanji was raised differently. Zoro and Nami are angry at the secret, Franky and Robin understand the necessity of such a secret. Brook tries to comfort Jinbei but no parent should have to bury their child. Luffy is angry that Sanji is dead, furious, he doesn't care who Sanji's parents are, doesn't matter. Usopp and Chopper are crying, they've always been pretty free with their emotions so more secrets are just more tears for them.

As for the warlords grieving? Crocodile has always been a workaholic so he's definitely rebuilding his empire while waging war. Boa retakes Amazon Lily and builds a shrine to Sanji that's private, for her and Sanji's fathers. She sits by it every time she gets home and just sobs and lets her anger fester until she goes out again. Doflamingo lets his fury guide him, he's never really had to mourn before. He doesn't understand it and so he just kills whoever is in his way to get to whoever sanctioned the killing of his child. Similarly Mihawk has never really had to mourn before, but he understands the process in theory. He probably calls Shanks up at one point to ask when he stopped crying about Roger and Shanks admits he still cries about it, not as often, maybe a couple of times a year but in the beginning it was a lot and often.

Below is if Sanji is saved, miraculously.

IF SANJI is brought back by Reiju, or in my beautiful world of all the siblings defying Judge because the brothers are learning emotions, 0124 bring Sanji back I can't imagine them bringing Sanji to the Sunny is a safe option. Nor is Amazon Lily or Kuriagana and Doffy doesn't even have a ship which leads to four genetically modified siblings dropping off the least modified sibling in front of Daz, Croc, and a few others as they rush to explain they saved Sanji and revived him and they can't see their brother's crew because of the pact Judge has with Luffy. Sanji is also probably a mess because he died and now he's not dead and is having several issues with that and being away from crew.

Croc's first thought is to get his dumbass kid re-acclimated to being alive first and reuniting him with his crew second. The first does involve some of the best doctors Croc knows running tests on his kid to make sure he's alright because he knows Sanji has been revived before when he was a kid in Germa, also they used Germa tech to do it which makes it worse. But once Sanji is relatively calmed down and used to being alive again Crocodile calls the parents and lets them know A. Sanji is alive thanks to Germa tech and his siblings and B. Is taking him to his crew.

His crew is ecstatic to see him and there's happy tears all over but also he's alive. Reiju explains everything and Sanji is tucked away in a pile of Strawhat Pirates.

[cosmicatta]

lawlu AU in which Law is Death, and he's been losing his mind lately because there's this stupid boy with a straw hat who won't stop putting himself in danger 24 hours a day, and it makes his "person about to die" alert turn on.

It is very frustrating because said boy always ends up surviving somehow, thus wasting Law's precious time. He's so tired of it all that he eventually shows up in his room one night to basically tell him:

"Listen, either you stop doing crazy shit, or you actually die for once. I don't care which one you choose, but please, please just stop this madness, I'm exhausted and it's all your fault, I hate you so much."

He's probably on the verge of tears as he says this, but the boy, who introduces himself as Luffy, doesn't seem too bothered.

"You're funny, death guy!"

He laughs. This foolish excuse of a human being laughs. And oh boy, if he doesn't have the brightest, most charming smile Law has ever seen.

Well he's fucked.

[abbythewritor]

"Fairness" One Piece x Saitama reader, 1.

"Just a Normal girl looking for an everyday life. At least, if you call sailing across the seas with idiots with useless dreams a simple task, then you might wanna see a doctor. Seriously."

Warnings: Blood, gore, mentions of Luekimia, and heaps amount of blood and strength. It might be a little cursing, but not bad, and maybe some flirting in there, but it's mostly clean.

Other things:

-You didn't get bald due to your powers; you got bald to an extreme illness.

-You part of the straw hat crew, but others are interested in you and your power.

-Everyone that is a male is taller than you.

-Monsters from the OPM world will appear in One Piece, and I'll make some new monsters you will fight.

Enjoy the first chapter, everyone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-15 years later-

-Location: Impel down.-

“And yeah, that’s how I got my powers, and how I ended up here is a long story."

I was held in a prison of some sort, as I was chained next to a black hair dude and a giant ass sumo-looking man who looked like a fish. They both listened to my story as the fish dude hummed in response. “I see, so you were fighting someone and woke up here, as you killed the monster who brought you here, bringing you to have no way back? That is interesting, ma’am; your clothing is quite odd, so I knew you weren’t from this area.” He explained as he sighed, my body leaning against the wall. “Yeah, but it’s exciting; the people here are stronger than where I’m from; you all have powers, too? What’s both of your deal? Why are you arrested?”

The black haired male laughed, as a skull with a mustache was tattooed onto his back. “Well..how I got here is a long story. I was fighting a pirate named Blackbeard, who murdered a crew member of mine.” My eyes widened. “Pirate? So theirs pirates here?” He laughed. “Man your clueless, no wonder, but yes, the whole world is filled with pirates, I’m one as well, apart of a strong crew, the white beard pirates.” My head tilted. “I’m guessing the tattoo on your back is the marking of your captain?” He smirked. “Close, it’s white-beards Jolly Roger, every crew member has a marking of it on part of their body.” “I see.” I smiled slightly. “So it’s like a tribal thing? A promise?” The boy nodded. “I guess, I wouldn’t call it tribal, I’d call the tattoo meaning, fearful and exciting.” I smiled more. “It looks cool, though you never told me why you got here?” He sighed.

“After Blackbeard got a kick of me, the marines captured me, and here I am now, probably to get executed.” My eyes widened. “Executed, what for? Being a pirate?” He nodded as the fish man spoke. “Fire fist ace is one of the strongest members of the white beard pirates; any pirate in the world that roams these seas will get executed, no matter how low or high the bounty is.” I looked to the ground. “Doesn’t seem fair, since this black beard guy seems to be why you here….?” “The name's Ace.” I nodded. “Right, Ace. Don’t you not want to die?” He chuckled lightly From my question. “Y/n, a pirate in a life and death situation, always has to make a choice for the better of his crew or the people. Even though I’m not a threat to most, but to the naked eye, I am, so the Marines give them what they want, but me, if I do die on that platform, I’ll die doing what I loved, sailing across the world.” My heart broke slightly. "But, from what I heard from evidence, aren't pirates supposed to treat their crew like family, Ace? Isn't your crew basically your family?" "Of course." Ace smiled more. "But, even a pirate has to die, even if the family is against it." I nod again. "That seems understandable. Too bad these chains drain our powers; I would get us out of here. Say, fish man, what's your deal?" The fish male looked to the floor as his legs were crossed. "My deal, hmm? Well, first, my name is Jimbei, and I used to be one of the warlords of the sea."

My head tilted. "Used to be?" He nodded. "Indeed, I was against the marine's actions to go against the white-beard pirates and arresting Ace, and for that, I'm here." My brows furrowed with irritation. "That's dumb for wanting someone to not get executed; you say he said they shouldn't mess with your crew, Ace-san. How strong are they?" Ace laughed. "That's a good question, Y/n, but my crew is pretty strong, as my Captain is a Yonko himself, as all of the seas fear his name; it's pretty impressive, as he's rather old and sick now." "Ah, I'm sorry to hear that, but he must be the best captain to you and your crew mates." He nodded. "Indeed, without him, I'd probably be forced to be a Marine and to walk without freedom." I smile gently. "You made a great choice then; freedom sounds nice; you guys must have gone on many adventures." "We did, and it was terrific; I'd never forget the people and creatures I've met; my life grew more since I joined him, and I could never repay him." My heart warmed with his explanation as I looked to the Jail floor, feeling terrible that this friendly stranger was getting executed for something so simple, living his life.

As silence arose through the three of us, footsteps came to our cell as guards stood before Ace, probably getting him for his execution. I stayed silent, as Jimbei, as we just watched, our hearts ill and disgusted as they showed no emotion. "Oi Y/n, Jimbei." We looked at him as he turned with a smile. "Don't let other people tell you what you should do or look like; that's a decision you should make yourself. Besides, Y/n, too bad I'm getting executed, or I'd take you out, but it was nice to meet a cute girl like you." His wink didn't affect me, as I smiled. "Thank you, Ace; I wish your death to be quick and painless and that you will be in a better place." He chuckled. "I hope so, but..I have a favor, Jimbei...if..you ever see my brother...tell him I love him..ok?" Jimbei hesitated, sad that he said this, as he nodded sternly, accepting his request before the guards took him away, leaving me and Jimbei in the cell. An empty feeling was in my heart, as the thought of that Ace guy dying from what he didn't even do in the first place made me angry.

The silence was heard for an hour or two until new voices rose as your head perked up. Jimbei raised a hand to be quiet, as the voices didn't sound like Marine guards but a younger singer, a masculine-gay-like voice, and a deeper elegant voice. Confused, I saw a boy with a straw hat that described the brother Ace was talking about me, and Jimbei's eyes widened as a unique-looking woman and man were following him. He seemed to be looking around for Ace as he stopped in front of our cell, looking straight at the fishman. "Oi?! Have you seen Ace?! Where is he?!" I frowned. "I-uhm sorry, sir, they just took him a few minutes ago..." His eyes widened with fear as he turned to the group, telling them they needed to find him, but Jimbei and I were confused about how they could get there until Luffy explained the situation.

My eyes widened at how he broke into this place as the lady-man beside him explained how she lived here for words, as they all planned to escape and go save Ace. As he called for him, I wanted to help, as did Jembie, causing the straw hat boy to turn. "Let us help you!" I nodded., as Luffy's head tilted. "Help? How should I trust you both? How do you know my brother? "I only knew Ace for 5 hours, but he is lovely and deserves a little fairness instead of death," I spoke as Jimbei explained. The straw hat boy smiled brightly and then laughed. "Alright! Any friend of my brothers is a trusted ally for me!" Soon enough, the man with white and orange clothing cut our cell with his scissors hands; as both of us were free, I smiled, turning to him. "Man, that's a cool power you got." He bowed. "Thank you, madam!" I nodded while turning to Jimbei. "Are you alright?" He nodded. "Just a few grazes from the cuffs, but I'm stronger that, what's the plan, Mugiwara?" Jimbei looked to him and continued. "We can still get to your brother, as they are just transferring him now, but we must hurry!" He nodded simply. "Sure, but who are you?" Bianca's eyes shot open, surprised that Luffy didn't know him. "Luffy! That's Jimbei! One of the warlords of the sea!!" His eyes widened this time. "REALLY?! COOL!" Jimbei shook his head. "Used to be, not now, but we must not chat; we need to get to the ship they are transferring Ace to!" Luffy nodded. "Yes! But, how do we get out of here-" He was interrupted when a weird laugh arose, and I saw Luffy freeze, turning in the direction of another cell, where a man with stitches across his face was laughing and smirking at him. "If you wanna get out of here, set me free...I can create a hole in the ceiling! What do you think?" I was surprised at this man's height, as he had a golden hook for a hand. He looked straight at Luffy with a sly smile still on his face. "It's been a while......"

"Straw hat..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Luffy, do you know this guy?" He seems pissed and irritated as both of them stared watch each other down, the tall man still holding a smirk on his face. It was silent as your question wasn't answered until the hookman spoke. "I thought there was no reason to get back on the street. But Whitebeard and the Navy are gonna start a war? It's my chance to finally bring down that old man..." He honestly spoke, my head tilting. "Wait, white beard, you mean Ace's captain? How are you supposed to defeat him when Ace says he's one of the Yonko's? Aren't they supposed to be strong?" Your question was ignored again when Crocodile looked you up and down, not recognizing you immediately as he turned back to Luffy.

"I don't care how strong he is; this war has piqued my interest. And with my power, you and I could get out of here." He spoke, still looking at Luffy, who clenched his fists. "It's not bad, huh? We both get what we want, after all...." "His voice was defiantly deep, as it didn't affect you, but it was pretty attractive, as my arms crossed.

"Why should we trust you? Are you an ally of Luffy's or something?" His face fell annoyed as he looked at me. "I'm never or never will be an Ally...just making a deal with this brat...and how should he trust you or the fishman either..? You look like a dangerous girl yourself, cute, but probably untrustworthy..." My head tilted. "Untrustworthy? Is it because I'm bald? It always confuses people, but Luffy here seems angry towards you, which means you must have been in his past, correct?" The man chuckled. "You are smart, girl, but yes, I was...this brat ruined my plans..." "SCREW YOU WERE GONNA DESTROY VIVI'S HOME ASSHOLE!" As I understood the situation, Luffy snapped as the man blankly looked at him. "That was a long time ago. I lost interest in that country." He spoke, Luffy glaring harshly at him, as Crocodile smirked and Bianca stepped forward. "Straw hat, boy, release him." My and his eyes widened. "Wait, are you serious?!" He asked, as I was confused. "Yeah, why would we do that as Luffy feels in danger from him?"

She smiled, looking at us both. "His power will aid us greatly." "AH! Ivan-chan! If you knew what he's done-" "You wanna keep going right?!" Jimbei spoke as Luffy paused, then nodded. "Then free him because we need Crocodile to make it to Navy HQ!" Crocodile scoffed while looking at Ivonka as She smirked at him. "Long time no see, crock boy." Luffy was shocked. "You know him?!" She nodded. "Just a passing acquaintance. I met him when he was just a rookie!" I smiled. "I see." Ivanka laughed. "So don't worry; if he does something funny, I can bring him under control in case he betrays us." I nodded. "Sounds like a plan; step back, you three." Confused, the three stepped back as I got close to Crocodile's cell, as I just quickly grabbed the bars, and Yanked the door off. "WOAH! SO STRONG!!" Ivanka yelled, her eyes shooting out of their sockets, as the tall man emerged. I looked at him. "Hey, is your power sand?" He seemed surprised as his eyes widened slightly. "Yeah..kid, how did you know?" I pointed to the sand under him. "Lucky guess, that's pretty cool." He smirked at you. "Thanks. You pretty strong yourself, lady." "Y/n." His head tilted as I smiled. "The name Abby, nice to meet you all." Luffy smiled as Ivonka smirked, Bowing back with respect. "Nice to me, you Y/n-san! I'm Ivonka! My My, you are quite cute, dear! Never met a bald girl before!~" My eyes widened. "How did you know I was bald?" She smirked. "I wear wigs myself, dear, so I know what's real hair and what's fake, so how did you lose your hair? A battle?" I sighed with a smile. "It's quite a long story, but it's a time for later; we should get out of here, Crocodile, right? How can you get us out?" He smirked down at you as sand flowed around his body; soon enough, he shot up it towards the ceiling, creating a giant hole to the next floor. My eyes widened slightly, impressed. "Let's go!" Luffy ordered, jumping up first, followed by Jimbei, Crocodile, and Ivanka, as the scissors man helped me up, all of us soon running to the exit.

But. as we escaped the hole, we ran into some other people, like a ballerina man named Bon-chan, as Crocodile got his regular close on. "Oi, Y/n." He spoke as I turned, us waiting to head deeper on this floor. He held up a cloth, looking down as a cigar was in his mouth. "Can you help me out?" He asked, as I looked at his dirty shoes, and I nodded. "Sure." As he sat on a box, I gently grabbed his foot as I cleaned his fancy shoes. "These must be expensive; how rich were you?" He smirked. "I'm still rich; it seems like you never were around money." My head shook. "Nah, I really wasn't into money, but seriously, you must have been in a powerful position to earn a lot of money." He chuckled. "I was a warlord, actually." My eyes widened. "You mean like Jimbei?" He nodded. "Yeah, but my actions removed me from my position, as Straw Hat kicked my ass.." I snorted as he glared harshly at me. "Why are you laughing?" I shook my head. "Think it's funny a kid like him kicked a grown man's ass. You must have done something terrible to the kingdom he talked about." He sighed. "Yeah, that was a long time ago...now I'm striving for something different, don't know what yet." I finished as I set the cloth aside. "Well, whatever it is, I hope you don't get caught by the Marines again." He chuckled. "You can say that again..." "ALRIGHT! LET'S GO!" Ivanka yelled as I nodded, everyone soon following her. We managed to get to the snowey area, as I was in the same clothing, the cold not effecting me as all of us surrounded Ivanka, as she told us the plain.

Crocodile was next to me, as I was next to Luffy, the group listening carefully.

She warned us if we still manage to get to through front, their will be enemies and marines everywhere, as we still will be fighting hard to get out of here. She said we should also steal a Navy ship, as it's our best chance of being able to get to the marine Headquarters ace was going to be at.

The plan sounded good, as she said we still need to get more people to fight with us. Jimbie nodded with agreement. "We already have a lot, but this place is still dangerous, and there might be a chance only little of us make it out alive, so it's best to free more prisoners." I nodded as well. "Yeah, and who knows how this 'war' is going to go on, and how strong you say Ace's crew and the marines are." Ivanka smiled. "Right! So, when doing to these different floors, our Job is to free as many prisoners as we can! So let's unleash mayhem in this place like it has never been seen before!" Everyone cheered, except crocodile, Luffy and I, as we were already ahead of the group.

I was next to Jimbei as the four of us were climbing up stairs, as Jimbei spoke up. "It's 10 before morning!" He spoke, then continued. "The execution is at 3 in the afternoon! They'll defiantly do it on time!" He finished, as Luffy ran faster, as we all followed, as I looked to Jimbei. "Why don't they do it earlier? I mean, it's like they are asking for something to go wrong." Crocodile smirked. "Because Marines are idiots..." I nod. "I see. well then..."

As we stopped at the lock door, I ran forwards, spinning, as I kicked the door right off, smoke arising as the boys eyes widened, but soon then smirked as I cracked my Knuckles, looking ahead as Marines began to surround us.

"Let's make sure to get there on time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[lemonyinks]

thinks about how love and sacrifice are major themes of one piece thinks about how love and sacrifice are major themes of one piece thinks about how love and sacrifice are major themes of one piece thinks about how love and sacrifice are major themes of one piece

Okay, but seriously, it was something I never noticed when I was young and reading One Piece for the very first time. Back then the emotional scenes were just that, emotional scenes. I never seen the parallels or the way the themes would often reappear in different ways. Now that I'm an adult and I'm reading it once again, it has become a whole lot more apparent just how much of a reoccurring theme they both are, and how they go hand in hand together. I've also begun to realize just how much impact on the narrative these scenes have on future events.

Shank's sacrificing his arm for Luffy is literally one of the first things to happen in the manga, which he did because he obviously loved and cared for Luffy. He calls him a friend only a few pages earlier. He would gladly lose and arm if it meant Luffy would live. It was right after this event as well when Luffy finally stops asking Shank's to take him out to sea with him and vows to become a pirate on his own, just before Shanks gives him his straw hat.

And that wouldn't be the first time someone would sacrifice a limb for someone they cared about in this series. Zeff quite literally ate his own leg so that he could give all of the rations they had to Sanji, hoping that the kid would live long enough to carry out the dream that the both of them shared. The All Blue may have been the initial reason he had for saving Sanji's life, but he undoubtedly grew to love Sanji like a son and I don't doubt for a second he would make that sacrifice a million times over for him.

And then comes Bellemere an arc later. Nami and Nojiko were her reason to keep living, she dedicated her entire life to taking care of those girls and she loved them with her whole being. To her, it was an easy choice to give her own life so that her girls wouldn't have to leave the only home they'd ever known and possibly die all alone out on the sea.

Hiriluk is a bit of a different sacrifice, but a sacrifice nonetheless. His decision to commit suicide was ultimately due to him not wanting Chopper to feel guilt over his death. He loved Chopper, he knew that he was only ever trying to help and that he loved Hiriliuk in return. The doctor couldn't just let that love and desire to help turn into what caused his death. So he chose to take his own life instead so that none of the responsibility landed on Chopper's shoulders.

Once we reach Alabasta, there is of course the iconic Pell scene. He was willing to throw his life away, not only for Vivi, who he loved dearly, but also for the country he served and it's people. I know some say that this scene isn't as impactful as some of the other sacrifices since he didn't truly die in that moment, but in my opinion that doesn't matter. He did it because he loved them all. His feelings were just as strong as those who died or lost limbs, and the Vivi's reaction is equally as real as the other's reactions to the sacrifices made for them. His intentions were to save everyone, and he did just that.

In water 7/Enies Loby (an arc that is itself basically one big love letter) we are introduced to Saul, who had only know Robin for a very short amount of time before the navy showed up to kill the scholars. And yet, in that small period he grew to care about Robin and had a real desire to protect her and ensure that she would not only live, but end up happy one day. He was willing to give up his own life so that this little girl, who he barely even knew, could live on.

Thriller Bark is where we see on of the most memorable Zoro scenes. While this isn't the first time one of the protags has sacrificed themselves for their crewmates, it is one of the most notable. Zoro here takes on all of Luffy's pain, simply because he loves his captain and believes that his dream is worth living on for. He was willing to give up his health, as well as what he thought would be his life, if it meant that Luffy would be able to live longer and carry on with his journey.

And this of course leads us to Marineford, where Ace threw himself in front of Akainu's molten fist in order to save his baby brother with zero hesitation. Ace loved Luffy deeply, he would never have allowed harm to come to him. The two of them loved each other deeply and would rather die than allow the other to be hurt.

Now comes a sacrifice that really parallels Bellameres, even down to their last words to their kids and the way that the both of them died. Cora cared for Law, he really did. He couldn't stand to see a child so young talking about how they were going to die and he wanted to help him, so much so that he all but abandoned the mission he was with the Donquixote pirates for in the first place just so that he could find a cure for Law's sickness. He inevitably came to truly love and care for Law. He gives his life in the confrontation between him and his brother, even going so far as forcing himself to hold on longer in order to let Law escape silently, just so that the child he'd come to love could grow up and live his life.

While Pedro may have sacrificed himself so that the strawhats could go farther on their journey, he didn't really do it for them. He may have thought of them as friends, but in the end his sacrifice was for the people of Zou. He did it for his people, because he loved them and wanted to do everything in his power to help save them from the cruel fate they were being subjected to. He knew that the only way this would be achieved would be if the Strawhats made it out of Big Mom's territory, so he did what he thought he had to in order to help them escape.

Finally, in Wano we have Oden's sacrifice. He let himself be boiled alive in a pot of oil for an hour straight while holding up the weight of nine other people, simply because he believed it gave his retainers, his family, the people he loved, a chance to escape the same fate. But he didn't just do it for them, he gave his life so that his entire country may have the chance at a better future. To the very end, he loved his country and he loved the other samurai.

And these are just a few select examples that I could think of at the time and some of the most memorable ones to me This doesn't even account for Nami giving up her childhood and teen years to free her village, or Sanji saving Nami and Luffy from the avalanche, or Tom turning himself in so that Franky wouldn't be killer, or Robin giving herself up to cp-9 to promise the Strawhats passage, or Luffy letting himself be tortured by Porchemy to keep Sabo and Ace's secret, or the way Dadan stayed behind to fight Bluejam for Ace, or how the Whitebeards all put themselves on the line to try and save Ace, or Pound stopping Oven several times to save his daughter, or when Scarlet tried to feed her starving daughter, or Sanji freeing the crew from Bege, or Killer eating the SMILE and doing Orochi's bidding to give Kid a chance to live, or Law giving himself over to Hawkins to save Bepo, Sachi, and Penguin, or Momo giving up his childhood, or the two times Bon Clay gave themself up to give Luffy time to escape, or the Going Merry sailing on despite being in no condition to, or how the minks allowed themselves to be tortured, or how Rouge literally killed herself to bring Ace into the world. It doesn't even cover the more subtle sacrifices like Usopp lying that there was no pirates so that his village wouldn't have to be afraid, or even Luffy's hunger strike.

There are countless sacrifices within this series that I don't think I could ever really hope of covering them all, unless I were to spend several hours that I don't have on them. But one thing is certain about every single one of them; they are displays of love. I mean, who else do you make sacrifices for, if not for someone you love.

[rainboneish]

seeing people saying that they think Egghead might end up being Sabaody 2.0 (not in the separation sense but in the big defeat for the straw hats way) and on the one hand it would kind of make sense just cause that way all three of the supernova crews would have a major loss of some kind in the same arc but on the other hand i do not want it and it would massively bum me out if anything more permanent than them having to run away with their tails between their legs happens (but also i definitely don’t think they can take all of the Gorōsei on at once right now)

edit: basically, i don’t want any of the strawhats (or bonney) to die and i also don’t want to spend another however many years in real time with the crew being split up into however many groups… i’m also not a fan of the “Luffy gets captured and his crew has to rescue him war of the best style” idea

[roydeezed]

Tin Foil Hat Theory-Bonney is a Clone

Bonney is dead, Long Live Bonney!

In where the original Bonney is dead, this Bonney is a clone with Bucaneer Blood, Kuma transferred her memories and as a result, her soul into the new body and also Weevil is a clone. Pretty much covers it. :)

Ok so I woke up in the middle of the night with one thought in my head, which was, Bonney is a clone. Let no one accuse me of not loving One Piece enough. I don't know if this is a thoery out there or not, and if it is, sorry for biting whoever's it was first. Also this could totally not happen, not beholden to it at all but there's a lot of things that stick out to me.

You might think that after the newest chapter, it's pretty much confirmed that Bonney isn't a Buccaneer by blood. And that we've seen Kuma suffer enough. I say nay, because Oda has laid out a very specific trail of breadcrumbs. Let's follow it.

First things first, Bonney's about to die. Either from Sapphire Poisoning or King Becori's return and maybe another culling game. Whatever the case, she's popping death flags left and right. Next, she is consistently shown to be around the Straw Hats Age, around 19 or so even though she's supposed to be around 12. Now, her fruit could take care of both of those issues, with her constantly shifting to an older age to bypass the poisoning but let's just assume that's not the case for the sake of the argument. Mainly cause of this:

In where Bonney transforms into a Buccaneer type version of herself. Now, considering it's called Distorted Future, it could be an alternate timeline version of her that she conceptually tapped into somehow. I could accept that explanation if this wasn't Chapter 1072, which literally on the page before this, had this to say.

Now, we assume that this was about Miss Buckingham Stussy as it shows her at the end of the chapter.

But it says the first successful Clone Experiment. It could say the first because of the Seraphim's being other successful clones, but knowing Vegapunk's perfectionism and his ridiculously high bar for things, could it possibly point to other one to one clones?

Such as Bonney?

Might be a stretch but I can't shake the feeling that all these disparate things Oda has shown us all add up. Also sandwhiched between two chapters that discuss cloning and memories, we get a glimpse at this guy-

Who Stussy adamantly states is Whitebeards son. A Whitebeard who Marco staunchly believes is not the father. Many have speculated Whitebeard to be gay to add even more credibility to Marco's position. But then how is Weevil so strong? Well, Vegapunk did get Stussy's DNA, and we did see how Bakkin tried to hang on to Whitebeard in the past. Maybe it was an exchange? In return for her cooperation, maybe Bakkin got the son she never could with Whitebeard.

Now if we assume this premise to be true, we also have to question why it was shoehorned in that bluntly? We all know that Oda like to repeat and layer. So why then would that be in this chain of events?

Because it's a question of what it is to be alive. That's what all these different people have in common. Kuma, Stussy, Weevil. They're living beings and others argue against thier very existence. It gets brought up in God Valley and in Kuma's backstory and in Kuma all throughout his life. From Slave to Outlaw to Robot. He's always been alive but people have debated the value of that. With what I believe Oda is doing with Bonney, I think he's saying that it doesn't matter who or what we are, as long as we're alive. Even Vegapunk with his satelites feeds into this.

And Vegapunk feeds into this another way as well.

Here he discusses what a soul is. Basically, it's tied to memories. So if memories were transferred, the soul would go with it. Here we see Kuma staunchly against this, but later we see Bonney mention that she knows that the giant paw in Egghead are Kuma's Memories.

So how does she know that? And why is Vegapunk so insistent on her not finding out?

I don't think it's just because she's a child and it would be hard for her. I also think Kuma losing his free will had something to do with it. Vegapunk probably did an exchange with Bakkin. What if he did the same with Kuma? What if Kuma losing his memories wasn't just about Ginny's death but also to forget his daughter's death?

So here's where it all comes together. I think the Bonney is going to become exposed to the light soon. Maybe Becori burns down the church. And as she dies, he extracts her memories. That could be where she knows that this specific bubble contains memories, she saw it done to herself. And in his pain, Kuma takes it upon himself to forget. And in exchange for bringing her back to life, he becomes the slave of the Celestial Dragons. But when Vegapunk makes her clone, he also puts Kuma's dna in her, thus allowing the strength we saw from "distorted future". The fate that Vegapunk is trying to save Bonney from is to stop her learning that she isn't the original Bonney. She was made in a lab and then her memories were implanted in her. This could lead to the very real possibility that Kuma suffers more in that he doesn't know this version of his daughter. The daughter that's alive.

A little disjointed but I hope I made the point I was trying to make. I don't think Kuma's suffering is over. He's very biblical in his suffering and it would be that cruel ironic twist of fate to see his daughter die from what his god is supposed to be, the sun. Nika is the sun god and Bonney can die from the sun's rays. And him not seeing her would add on to his suffering. So yeah, if all of these disparate pieces match up in the way I think they do then we could be in store for more tears. Happy crying everybody!

[harudnae]

Draft purge will resume soon. For now: angsty fic written between a fever and disappointing news on a very meh day 🤷

Basically: Rayleigh's internal monologue after the war in Marineford, with spoilers up to Wano, heavy feels included, hurt no comfort.

(I post this immediately after writing it because it hurt me enough that I don't want to read it again. We're all different, but a warning can't hurt. Ha. Hurt. I'm going to nest under a blanket once I'm done.)

Also posted on AO3 on 2024.01.31

Rating: General

Summary: Rayleigh, after the war.

Content warnings : angst, hurt no comfort, 3 out of 5 stages of grief (anger + bargaining + depression), Roger x Rayleigh if you squint (platonic works too, either way it's not the main focus), sad ending, I repeat: it starts bad and it ends worse

Word count: ~700

☠️ Gloom and doom

Rayleigh will never forgive Sakazuki, and vows to kill the man on the spot if he ever gets the chance. If he can't he'll die trying, and he'll make sure the bastard is permanently incapacitated.

Rayleigh will never forgive Teach, more so since he was a Whitebeard Pirate for decades. Rayleigh always had a bad feeling about him, even back when he was a rookie, but he went far beyond unforgivably despicable and dragged too many people down for him to rise with his dark schemes.

Rayleigh will never forgive Sengoku, even though he knows that the Fleet Admiral had his hands tied and the Five Elders have been ordering him around for a long time.

Rayleigh will never forgive Garp, even though he knows that he did whatever he could considering his rank and fame in the Marine.

Rayleigh will never forgive Whitebeard, to think that after all this time, the friendly rivalry, their epic battles, the feasts and drinks shared... He never told Rayleigh, or anyone else for that matter, never mentioned who he chose to replace Oden as Second Division Commander.

(Newgate entrusted Roger with his brother and took in his son in turn, he traded a brother for a son and they were family, but Roger's family was still there too–)

What was Roger thinking? He trusted Garp to a fair extent, but Rayleigh is the one with whom he raised two sons, and he could have raised another one, had Roger given him the chance.

And Rayleigh knows, has known for so long, that Roger didn't really think everything through, but this is just fucked up. Leave it to Roger to take the absolute worst decision of his life when Rayleigh isn't there to do anything about it.

Rayleigh will try, but he doesn't know if he can forgive Roger, either.

But above anyone else, Rayleigh will never forgive himself for not recognizing the rising pirate he met in Sabaody a few years ago.

His damn freckles were enough to distract him from the same eyes, same smile, same threatening Haki, even the fact that he had the same name as Roger's goddamn sword.

Ace. And his first mate, Deuce.

How could Rayleigh be so blind and absolutely out of his mind not to see how similar they were?

Ace died smiling.

So amazingly alike, until the very end...

Rayleigh buries his head between his hands and closes his eyes, heart heavy with the growing void inside it.

"The One Piece, huh... I wonder who will find it."

"My son, obviously!"

"You don't even have one!"

"I'll have one! Just you wait!"

Tears spill from Rayleigh's eyes, and heavy sobs shake his shoulders.

He was so focused on meeting the boy that Shanks entrusted the straw hat to, that he never even considered that Roger's biological son could be somewhere out there.

How stupid was he not to recognize the fire in the teenager's eyes? Devil Fruit aside, Rayleigh should have known. Should have, could have– and now it's too late.

How cursed is the Gol D. bloodline that Ace met Roger's nakama but none of them could do a thing to prevent either deaths?

How ironic that Rayleigh kept tabs on Shanks and Buggy as if they were Roger's only sons, but he never knew who Ace truly was...

How unfair is it that Ace grew up with Luffy – Garp's own grandson, of all absurd coincidences – who inherited Roger's dream and his straw hat, while Ace only had profound resentment towards the infamous reputation tainting his birth name?

How unforgiving is fate that Luffy is now the one going after the One Piece, while his sworn brother never even dreamed of going to Laugh Tale? His sworn brother, the son of the King of the Pirates, heir to the one that sent all these sailors on the Grand Line and without whom the title Luffy wants to claim wouldn't even exist!

How painful to lose a part of himself that Rayleigh didn't know existed until now...

Nothing makes any sense and everything's bitter.

Rayleigh doesn't even know what to believe in anymore.

Let's hope Shakky will let him drink her bar dry this time, too.

[redhatmeg]

The final reconciliation between Sanji and Luffy has some parallels to Robin's declaration of will to live, but there are few obvious differences.

The main similarity between Robin in Ennies Loby and Sanji in Whole Cake, is that they are both in desperate situation which they don't see any way out to. They both also were ready to just sacrifice themselves to terrible fate, believing that it's the only way to save their crew (and in case of Sanji - also Baratie), only to learn in last second that the bad guy doesn't intend to keep their end of the bargain and they're going to kill everybody either way.

And then comes a moment when Robin and Sanji face their captain once again, and even though they tell him to just leave, Luffy has none of it and tells them to state outright what they want. He asks Robin to say if she wants to die, and he asks Sanji to say what he really want.

Now, the main difference is the setting. Robin is on the upper level, surrounded by enemies and wearing seastone handcuffs, while Straw Hats just burned down the World Government flag to show they will go to war for her. Meanwhile, Sanji talks with Luffy on a desolated area, only with corpses of defeated soldiers around them; Sanji managed to sneak out of the Whole Cake Chateau to meet with his captain.

There is also the fact that Sanji points out reasons why he can't go back: because he attacked Luffy, because Baratie is held hostage and because his family is going to die. Because he and Luffy are alone, they can have a conversation like that, while Robin couldn't (partly also because a lot was happening around her, with Spandam, Franky burning Pluton and all).

I've read that people draw comparisons between the two arcs, but I actually think it's good. I've realized long time ago that there is a trend with female Straw Hats' arcs - Nami, Vivi and Robin - when they are dealing with terrible situation on their own and Luffy basically tells them it's alright to ask for help; that he will risk his life for them, because they are friends (maybe it's not as pronounced with Vivi, who - for most of the Arabasta Saga - hangs out with Straw Hats and tells them what they should do, but at some point Luffy has to remind her that during the fight people die and she shouldn't be the only one staking her life on the line to prevent it).

Meanwhile with guys, most of the time things just happen. Luffy says he's going to help them fight and the guys are like: "Okay, thanks!" This was how they defended Syrop Village, Baratie and Drum Kingdom etc. Well, maybe Franky was a dick at first, and Brook told the Straw Hats he doesn't want to risk their lives for him on Thriller Bark, but they quickly move past that, becuase hey, they have common enemy and they may as well fight with it together.

Bottom line is that for once we have a male Straw Hat in a situation which he originally wanted to deal on his own, but he soon realized that he can't do anything about it alone. This time it's Sanji that is told by Luffy to ask for help, because he has friends. And I think it's a nice change of pace.

[swordsmans]

Do we know if one piece will be finished soon? Thinking of it's end makes me so anxious haha

short answer is yes, long answer is... "soon" is extremely relative when it comes to one piece (lol). so i personally would not worry too much!! ive been in and out of one piece since thriller bark was releasing real-time, and im like... trying not to think of the end. this series has been a part of my life for like... fifteen years or smth crazy. BUT i don't think it's going to come any time soon irl. here's why! (that's what im telling myself, at least)

as of last fall, the manga has officially entered the "final saga" starting with the egghead arc (official twitter announcement), which is basically macro-plot endgame for the whole series. for context, one piece is so huge it's broken up into "sagas" and "arcs", with each saga most often containing multiple arcs. this means that sagas can last literal years of real-life time. there's some debate about where to actually draw lines around sagas--for example: i have seen some people combine WCI and Wano into the "Emperor Saga" before, but i think it's commonly accepted that Zou/WCI/Reverie are one saga and Wano is it's own thing.

SPOILERS BELOW

however, even in a world where the final saga is one large "arc" (unlikely, since we're already starting to move off egghead imo) think about how long Wano was on it's own. i fell off reading consistently around the the middle/end of WCI and didn't pick things back up for four years, and all i missed was a hefty chunk of Wano. one arc/saga. i'm not saying that every arc/saga is going to be as long as Wano (i think it's the longest to date), but think about how many moving pieces are still on the table and how it took years to address two emperors and the samurai (which was set up in Thriller Bark). we still have:

the remaining emperors, shanks and blackbeard (and buggy, tentatively, but i do think cross guild is going to be an ally because buggy/croc/mihawk all have histories as "temporary" straw hat allies and once you cross that threshold you're in it for life)

marines (absolute justice), e.g. akainu and his followers

the five elders and imu (seperate from AJ marines because they're clearly making their own moves)

marines (honorable justice/SWORD), although it looks like they've starting moving as of 1080

revolutionary army

what's left of the supernovas, because i highly doubt the other two monster captains have died at this point

saul and the ohara survivors + straw hat grand fleet (again, allies, so they might just appear out of nowhere or not take an active plot role outside of narration [re: saul] or battle [re: shgf]), but they still have to do something)

yes, i realize that these are all pieces that he's basically moving across the board from where they are now to where the final battle is going to take place, but considering the pace of one piece chapters that could take years alone. at a rate of 40-ish chapters a year, even if the final saga is 150 chapters like Wano, that's still a lot of irl time.

and that's not to mention the narrative elements oda has left to wrap up (although i will admit, now that he's started cutting narrative/worldbuilding and putting things in SBSs exclusively, i do think there will be a lot of unanswered/unsatisfyingly answered questions by the end--why senor pink got a flashback backstory and not zoro's family/the shimotsuki lineage is one of the top 5 most burning questions i am going to ask god when i die). explanations for lore and worldbuilding often cover multiple chapters, especially if it's in the form of a flashback. and we still have so much plot plot to get through when you consider joyboy/void century "plot A" and current timeline "plot B".

i firmly believe we're going to get an extended flash-back sequence of joyboy/void century events because that has been the backbone of one piece's plot since alabasta. so at some point we're going to have to break away from the "plot B"/current timeline to get the full picture of what's been driving the world since joyboy's era. i think that's going to be a whole ~thing~ that's even longer than oden's flashback sequence, which people were calling "oden's flashback arc" at the time (literally, it was like a mini arc because releases covered six months irl time). so setting aside everything that has to happen in the main plot, there's also (hopefully) going to be a huge unaccounted for chunk of backstory/narrative.

so my guess? five years, personally. anything less would leave a lot of unanswered questions or cut huge corners. unless it ends abruptly like bleach or naruto (please please please no), i think it will be longer than wano's 150 chapters, so when you take into account release schedules and filler five years feels like a good estimate. (you could even say six because the there's about a year delay between the manga/anime, and i almost count that as... one piece TWO! because it's like a whole different experience sometimes [see: spandam manga vs. anime; ace's expanded backstory; SH timeskip extended sequences; etc])

(and on a purely selfish note, in five years i'll have been into the series for two decades, and i think it would be extremely satisfying to cross that threshold lol)

ANYWAY YEAH i'm feeling totally normal about the thought of one piece ending and have put a completely normal amount of effort into convincing myself it'll still go on as long as i possible. hope this answers your question(???) i got a little off track there lol

[an-au-blog]

One Piece warrior cats au because yes

The Straw Hats + some of their allies' equivalents are all chosen by StarClan to be part of the long-lost clan SunClan (basically SkyClan with a few extra steps). Some are from the four Clans: ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan and WindClan (the only thing that connects these incarnations of the Clans to their book counterparts are their names as no cats from Warriors canon appear in them and this AU is set in North America), while others are former loners, rogues or kittypets.

Luffy: Strawprance/Strawstar: A short but fluffy bright red-orange tabby with big brown eyes and a scar under his left eye from when he got into a skirmish as an apprentice. Originally of ThunderClan. His father is the rogue Gust (Dragon), a black ghost tabby and the leader of a rogue group that wants to bring a new era to the Clans. Gust's mate brought their kit to ThunderClan since they couldn't raise him, and Strawkit was raised alongside his adoptive brothers by Bearleaf (Dadan). Gust used to live in ThunderClan, but left because of a tyrannical leader and his influence on the cats of ThunderClan. However, Gust's father Coyotebite (Garp), a grayish-brown ticked tabby, still resides in ThunderClan. Strawstar is energetic, stubborn and somewhat childish, which has led to some cats doubting his ability to lead SunClan. However, Strawstar is extremely devoted to his Clanmates and often asks outsiders to join SunClan.

Zoro: Mosstiger: The deputy of SunClan, Mosstiger is a large, muscular dark brown tabby with one eye scarred shut (yes i know but in what universe would zoro's warrior cat counterpart NOT be a tigerstar clone). He was originally a rogue named Moss who hung out around ShadowClan's territory a lot, and when he was apprentice-aged, he used to have a rival in the form of ShadowClan apprentice Stoatpaw (Kuina), a gray-and-white she-cat. One day, Stoatpaw went out on a patrol by herself, tumbled down the side of a cliff and died from her injuries. From this day, Moss swore to get stronger for her sake. Strawstar saved him from being taken by Twolegs, and the two became close friends (although Mosstiger doesn't consider Strawstar his friend, even if he would die for him.) Fun fact: Mosstiger doesn't believe in StarClan. He considers it all a bunch of kits' tales told to keep cats in check.

Law: Snowspot: Snowspot, a white cat with black patches all over his body, is the medicine cat of SunClan. He hails from RiverClan and used to be a warrior apprentice, training under Nightswan (Corazon), a long-haired solid black cat. However, Nightswan was murdered by his brother, Gooseflower (Doffy), a lilac tabby, who was exiled for murdering several other cats before, including Snowspot's parents. Snowspot then decided to become a medicine cat apprentice so he could be able to speak with StarClan cats like Nightswan.

Ace: Pantherstone: Pantherstone is a black-and-white cat with faint rosette markings. His father was the notorious rogue Lion (Roger), who was also a black-and-white cat and was feared among the Clans for ransacking and attacking camps. Pantherstone gets his rosette markings from his mother Poppy (Rouge), who died while kitting Pantherstone and his two littermates, who both ended up dying. A ThunderClan patrol ended up finding Pantherkit and bringing him to the clan. He was very hotheaded and temperamental as a kit and young apprentice, often bullying his adoptive brother Strawstar for being whiny. However, after the disappearance of Blazewing, he calmed down and became more responsible. His mentor originally was Coyotebite, but after he told the entire clan Pantherpaw was Lion's kit and caused the poor apprentice to get endlessly bullied, the leader changed Pantherpaw's mentor to Cloudwhisker (Whitebeard).

Sabo: Blazewing: Blazewing is a purebred Russian Blue who once belonged to a rich breeder that only cared about his looks. He ended up running away and joining ThunderClan after befriending Pantherkit. However, when he was an apprentice and nearing his warrior ceremony, he went out on a solo patrol, only for a forest fire to rip through the territory. Blazewing was never seen again and presumed dead by the Clan, but in actuality Gust found him and brought him back to his rogue group, who nursed him back to health and offered him a place to stay. However, Blazewing didn't remember a thing except for his name.

Sanji: Goatfoot: Goatfoot is a golden-yellow cat with black back legs. He is one of the most skilled hunters in the Clans and never uses his teeth in battle with another cat, only to hunt. He also has a very prominent weakness towards she-cats (and possibly Mosstiger too). He was originally from RiverClan, and ran away with his older sister Salmontail to join ThunderClan to escape his cruel father and littermates.

Chopper: Antlerpaw: SunClan's medicine cat apprentice is Antlerpaw, a small brown-and-white cat. He used to be a loner, and was the runt of his litter. His parents left him to die, when he was found by two loners: Sparrow (Hiriluk), a light brown mottled cat, and Foxglove (Kureha), a gray tabby. Sparrow and Foxglove taught Antler about medicine and conversing with StarClan, but Sparrow ended up dying after eating a poisonous mushroom he thought could be a panacea.

Anyways, I don't want this to get too long, so maybe I'll do a part 2 soon

I know literally nothing about warrior cats, other than they are cats and also warriors. I watched like... two animatics when I was around 10, got confused about what was happening and that was it.

I'm still posting if anyone is interested :))