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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 4 years ago

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The Voyage So Far: Enies Lobby

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

this is still one of my very favorite nami panels. i think she’s really great through all of water 7 and enies lobby in general, actually, even though she isn’t really one of the characters in focus for a lot of it- like zoro and sanji, she stays pretty steadfast and very badass even though everything that happens, and never gives up on robin for a moment despite being one of the ‘weaker’ members of the crew. and it’s always fun to see her playing with lightning.

one of my favorite jokes from the first half or so of enies lobby is the strawhats both being completely unsurprised that luffy charges in ahead of them as soon as they arrive AND being able to find him immediately by following the explosions. they know him so well.

luffy’s never been scared of dying, going all the way back to when he told coby he was fine with dying for his dream back in chapter two or three. that conversation is what his exchange with blueno here reminds me of- blueno asks him how long he intends to keep fighting, and luffy says until he dies, like there’s nothing to it.

it’s always been a trait of his to face death unflinching with a grin, so long as it’s for the sake of something he cares about, be it his crew or his brother or his dream, and i just really like that about him.

i’ll go into it in the dressrosa post too, but i think it’s really impressive just how long oda held off on giving luffy any sort of significant power-up. he gets his first big power boost in the whole series here, forty volumes in. i’ve always liked that oda is very conservative with power boosts like this, because it both keeps the series’ powerscaling in check and makes the times it does happen much weightier. this is a monumental moment, and it feels like it.

also, i love the way gear two is drawn pre-timeskip, especially with the steam. it looks very cool and atmospheric.

i really like how united the strawhat crew feels throughout enies lobby, after all the internal turmoil and discord of water seven. even though the matter of usopp leaving the crew is still unresolved, they’ll all together once more, on the same page, and fully united in the goal of saving robin, whatever consequences it might bring.

the tree of knowledge has such a cool design- it looks massive, and even more than that, it looks old. you look at that tree and you know its been there for easily thousands of years. its seen entire eras of history, and it would be priceless even without the countless books stored inside it.

and then it burns.

i’m so endlessly sad about the tragedy that is robin’s relationship with her mother. they never even got to see each other until their world was ending, and even then only for a couple minutes.

olvia is a very interesting character, because she’s someone who chose her dream over the people she loved. that’s not an inherently good or bad choice, but it is a choice she made, and it’s what led to the ending she and robin had to have. i’ve wondered a lot what might have happened if she chose the other way, if she never left or if she came back sooner or if she chose to flee the buster call with robin, and how different (and almost certainly better) robin’s life would have been if she had.

in a way, olvia reminds me a lot of kouzuki toki. they both die in order to fling a light of knowledge and hope into the future, and they both send their children away and choose to stay behind to choke on ash for the sake of a better tomorrow.

i didn’t really notice until putting these panels together, but a lot of things burn in enies lobby. ohara burns, and the pluton plans and the world government flag, and enies lobby itself, and at the end, the going merry burns, too. if you extend it back to water seven, there’s the galley-la headquarters, too. in an arc that deals so much with the preservation and destruction of history and knowledge, it’s a fitting motif.

the world government flag burning is still to this day one of the most striking panels out of a series full of them, in my opinion. in one act, the strawhats proclaim their absolute defiance against the world government, and their willingness to make enemies of the greatest power in the world for the sake of their friend.

it’s also another one of those moments that’s interesting to think about in the context of luffy’s past. it was a ship flying that same flag that shot sabo down, and while luffy wasn’t there to see it, i don’t think he’s oblivious to that fact, especially given how he says just before this he understands robin’s enemies perfectly.

dadan told him and ace that there was nothing they could do against the whole world, and luffy went and did it anyways.

sometimes i just think about how scary it must have been for robin, someone who’s been weighed down by the shackles of her past with no escape in sight for so very long, to open herself up and let herself hope, for life and freedom and a dream that’s always been out of reach.

franky has a lot of really great moments between this arc and water seven- his conversation with usopp as usopp is working on merry and his talk with robin on the sea train are two others. it’s almost impressive how quickly he becomes an immensely likable character once we start getting to know him, given how he’s first introduced as an absolute piece of shit.

his burning of the pluton plans is a favorite of mine, and i think it might be because, like so many people before and after him, he’s choosing here to stake all his hopes on the strawhats, on luffy’s ability to pull off the impossible and on robin’s goodness. when robin’s only ever been chased and hated and called a demon by the world, franky chooses to trust her and luffy with the legacy his dad died for, and neither of them let him down.

monster point looks SO FUCKING TERRIFYING in enies lobby, and i LOVE it. look at that. franky is seven and half feet tall, and in front of monster point he’s tiny. monster point is huge, and dead-eyed, and a force of absolute destruction. i do kind of wish we got to see chopper go completely feral like this more often. he deserves to be terrifying!

i love how much FAITH all the rest of the strawhats continue to have in usopp throughout enies lobby. he left the crew and they really would have a right to be angry at him if they chose to, but it doesn’t even seem to cross any of their minds. they’re just happy he’s okay, and they include him again without missing a beat, because he’s still their friend and they know down to their bones they can trust him, even after everything.

i’ve always really loved zoro and kaku’s little moment of post-battle banter here- zoro relays paulie’s message about cp9 being fired, kaku says he’s out of a job, zoro tells him to try the zoo, and kaku cracks up.

it feels very real to me for whatever reason, and i think part of it ties back into how well one piece handles morality with its characters- zoro and kaku are genuinely pretty similar people who get along decently, it just happens that they wound up on opposite sides. there are series where you’d never see moments like this due to the lines between good and bad being so firmly drawn, and i love how one piece blurs those lines so much they may as well not exist a lot of the time.

this is the other sequence, along with luffy climbing the drum rockies barehanded, that always makes me physically cringe to look at. it looks so painful. robin is so nearly powerless here, but not quite- she can still buy time for her crew to catch up, even if it’s only seconds, even if she risks shattering her teeth or even her jaw in the process. she’s spent so long giving up and has only just started daring to hope- she’s not about to go gentle.

there aren’t many panels that give me catharsis like this one. there really aren’t.

oda’s villains are usually complicated and awful and often a little admirable, if only for how clever or how terrifyingly powerful they are, but every now and then he comes up with someone who’s just pathetic and cowardly and pointlessly cruel. spandam is like this, obviously, and so is orochi, and the celestial dragons, and i’d argue flampe from whole cake island as well. and there’s nothing like seeing characters like them- weak, cruel people so assured in their own power and rightness- get obliterated.

one of the things i really like about enies lobby is that nobody really gets sidelined- everybody gets multiple chances to shine. luffy, usopp, and obviously robin are the most in focus, obviously, but zoro, sanji, nami, chopper, and even franky all get a bunch of individual awesome moments. oda’s ability to handle his cast satisfyingly is consistently really impressive (if sometimes strained in huge ensemble arcs like dressrosa or wano) and it really shows here, i think.

i just really love the entire climax of enies lobby. much like the arc as a whole, it just feels triumphant, even though the situation is extremely dire. luffy unlocking gear three, robin’s cuffs getting unlocked, usopp shooting spandam and the marines all the way from the tower of justice- it’s all just good, a long chain of much-needed victories and catharses, and it feels very good to read.

i’ll always be impressed by just how much characterization oda manages to give merry, a boat. she’s only really a character in water seven and the end of enies lobby, only about two chapters of which she actually speaks in. and yet i don’t think you’d find a single one piece fan who disagrees that merry’s death is easily one of the most heartwrenching in the entire series.

i love the reactions of the strawhats to robin’s thanks. they’ve just gone through hell to save her, most of them are beat to shit and they all risked their lives, and yet they all just smile, or brush it off, because to them there’s nothing else they could have done. it’s all worth it, so long as they got her back, so long as she’s safe and happy.

merry’s funeral just hits me in the chest every single time i read it. it’s tragic, of course, but there’s also something almost lovely about it, something peaceful about her getting to go out on her own terms, carrying her crew to safety one last time, defying every rule of the universe to do it. just like a strawhat pirate.

oda’s ability to communicate emotion through expressions really comes through here, too. merry has the only lines in this scene, fitting for her death in the limelight, but the shots of every other crewmate’s face let us know at a glance just what they’re all feeling and just how strongly they’re feeling it.

you know, i’d forgotten we only learn the name of the new world after enies lobby. we only get proper exposition about the revolutionary army and the yonkou here, too, despite them being set up since loguetown and jaya (or alabasta, or even chapter one if you count from shanks’s introduction) respectively. oda’s ability to parse out exposition and explanation so we always have just the right amount of information is really impressive- we always have more questions, but we also always have the feeling that those questions have answers, and that sooner or later they’ll be revealed.

points at shanks. i just think he’s neat.

it’s my opinion that one of the great joys of one piece is seeing luffy and the crew rise up in the world, and seeing them gain more and more notoriety. i love nothing they do ever happens in a vacuum- everything has impacts, and there are always outside eyes watching, and often those impacts are things that they never could have predicted.

ace and blackbeard is still, i think, definitely one of the coolest looking fights in the whole series. it’s not all that often we get to see two people with extremely flashy and showy abilities go all-out against each other, and the resulting fireworks are still really something to behold, despite how badly it all ends.

#the voyage so far #one piece #opmeta #long post #arc: enies lobby #arc: post enies lobby #not japanese

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sashi-ya · 4 years ago

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{+18} – Cherry Blossom & Tangerines – Trafalgar Law x Y/n – Part 2

Modern AU. Living in Seoul, Sk. Trip to Jeju Do (Island). Everybody is alive. No spoilers. Female reader. No physical descriptions. Everybody is +18, canon ages. Chopper is human.

Tw: anxiety, fear of flying. No further tw warnings. Mostly SFW. Nami x Vivi & and some ZoSan.

A/N: The AU is inspired on Jeju Island, SK. I've made some research on cute places from there, such as touristic attractions and coffee shops. Even though, it may not be 100% accurate, so keep in mind is mostly inspired♥

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31059467

Word Count: 4K

» List of parts: {P1} {P2} {P3} {P4} {P5} {P6}«

Chapter 2. “Law?!...” I said surprised. “Y/n-ya?...” he asked, also surprised, but before I could say anything else, Luffy came running through the aisle and hugged Law, and I came to the conclusion that he was, indeed, Zoro and Luffy’s friend.

I moved my stuff out of the way, and after he got rid of Luffy, Law helped me to put my backpack on the overhead locker and then sat next to me.

I remained silent for a little bit, waiting perhaps for him to talk, but he didn’t. The flight attendant announced the takeoff was about to happen, so we fasten our seatbelts as the plane started moving. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, and I could see how he seemed a little bit nervous. I thought it was my imagination, but when the plane gathered a little more speed through the runway, he began to breathe faster.

I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and I had to ask, “Law, are you ok? Are you feeling bad?”. He directed his gaze at me with blushing cheeks, and after a few seconds, he said “Y-Yes. I just tend to get a little nervous during the take off, but I’m… ok”. Poor thing, he was trying to cover his heavy breathing… “Don’t worry, it's completely normal, would you like me to hold your hand? You can squeeze it as much as you can”, I said kindly, keeping my cool just for him to see how it wasn’t a big deal, and nothing to get embarrassed of. I placed my hand, palm up, over the armrest that separated our seats and waited for him to hold it. He doubted a little bit, but he finally did it, first softly, still ashamed, but then firmly. “Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon, try to focus on your breathing”, I guided him, with a calm speech, and looking directly into his deep grey eyes, smiling kindly. He slowly calmed his respiratory frequency, and a few minutes after the plane was already flying at cruise level, he sweetly let go of my hand. Our palms were a little sweaty, but I couldn’t care less.

“T-Th- Thanks…” He said, looking at the floor. “Don’t worry, you saved me three times the other day, now I owe you only two” I said, winking an eye at him. Law smiled a little, but kept looking at the floor. I was about to point out the fact that he was Zoro’s friend when Nami peaked through our seat backs saying “Oi Torao, you finally decided to come with us!! You normally don’t go anywhere, I’m glad you separated from your books for good!... Oh, and you two must know each other, right Y/n?” she said pointing at us, “Both of you study at the same U and are becoming doctors soon”. Vivi who was next to Nami began to giggle covering his mouth. Suddenly I realized that both of my friends already knew who Law was, and began to suspect that for some reason they wanted to perhaps pair us up.

“I know him from other circumstances”, I said smirking at them, but with an underhand expression of “I’m gonna kill both of you for not telling me”. Law smiled at them, but didn’t say much, and the girls returned to their seats.

“So, your surname must be Trafalgar, right? I thought you were a Donquixote…”, I asked him. “Yeah, is a long story…”, he said with no emotion at all, and I realized it wasn’t a good topic, so I changed the curse of the conversation. “Oh, you were the one who was complemented by Dr. Marco? You are amazing, doc!”.

“Uhum, but I’m not that good. Dr. Phoenix is just an amazing teacher”, he replied. “Indeed, he is”, I said. The small talk came to an end when the flight attendant offered us something to drink. I opted for a glass of plain water, and so did Law. He then grabbed a manga from his little bag, and began to read. “Maybe he doesn’t wanna talk to me…” I thought, put my air pods on and turned on the music. Some minutes after I regretted not having any sleep last night, as my eyes were trying to close...

The voice of the captain announced over the speakers that we will be arriving on Jeju Island in a few minutes. I was being lazy to open my eyes, as I felt extremely comfy sleeping in that position… until I realized I had my head - and almost the right side of my body - over Law’s shoulder. “Oh my… I’m sorry!” I said gaining composure and sitting properly on my spot. Law gave me a smile with kind eyes, and said “Don’t worry, I was asleep too, I used your head as a pillow, I didn’t want to wake you up, though”. Behind us a few laughs from the girls were heard, and I asked, confused, “You… what?. But the landing was already happening and the cabin crew asked us to prepare, so I decided to shut my mouth. I gazed at Law to see if he needed any help with the landing, but he didn’t seem as scared as he was with the taking off.

We all descended the plane, waited for our luggage and headed to the car rental picking point. I’ve booked three cars, so we distributed perfectly on each one. Franky picked the blue Hyundai Venue. Usopp, Chopper and Brook went with him. Law chose a yellow Hyundai Sonata, of course he would, he looks so cool… Zoro, Sanji, and of course Luffy followed him. I chose the white Tucson, for me and the girls.

We left the airport and drove through the streets of Jeju, admiring the beauty of the cherry blossom trees and the yellow flowers on the side of the road. Law’s car was behind us, and sometimes I spied through the rear mirror, just to see his face fully concentrated on the road.

I asked Nami to put the GPS for me, because our Airbnb was a little bit remote from the center and I was afraid of getting lost. The girls and I sang the whole drive to the songs the radio was playing.

We finally reached the house. It was just as the photos, a white two-story house, big enough for all of us. The beach was next to our patio, the typical style of grey rocks of Jeju Do garnished the entrance and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore with a few seagulls squawking made the whole atmosphere unique.

I gave the entrance code to Robin and she opened the door. Luffy entered first running excited and went directly to the garden to see the beach. We followed him, pretty excited too. Inside, the house had a minimalistic style, everything was white and the floor and furniture was made of light wood.

There were four rooms, so the guys distributed in two of them, Robin and I went to another and we let Nami and Vivi have a room for them. We took turns to use the shower and got ready to explore the island right away.

Sanji suggested that we should go first to Dongmun traditional market to buy fresh ingredients for him to cook for us. He became a professional chef a few years ago and works with his father Zeff, on his well-known restaurant, “The Baratie”. His cooking skills are heavenly, and he loves to cook for us, so we agreed immediately.

We arrived after a 10 minute drive, the market was extremely busy, the food stalls offered a variety of typical korean dishes, kimbap, tteokbokki, tteokgalbi and fresh and canned ingredients, such as typical fishes from the island and the famous kimchi.

Luffy, as always, drove by the smell of the delicious food, ran desperately inside and tasted every single sample the sellers offered to him. Nami, Vivi and I, decided to try the famed tangerines of the island. Nami, who is an expert on tangerines, would give us the final verdict on if they are good as people say. The juicy mandarin slices we tried were exquisite, the sweetness mixed with a little bit of tartness made us want to buy bags of them.

I saw Law approaching us, he had separated from Zoro’s group who were trying the variety of Sojus. I called him with a big smile and some tangerine slices on my hands, “Law!! Come here, you should try this!”. He came closer also with a little grin. I stood on tiptoes and said, “Open your mouth!” and without any shame I offered him a big juicy slice of mandarin. He opened his mouth surprised, but accepted the fruit and while taking it, his lips softly touched the point of my fingers. It felt almost as if he was kissing them, or for a moment I wished it was the case… A little drop of juice ran from his mouth through the commissure of his lips, so I immediately rubbed my thumb over it to clean it. He fixed his eyes on mine, and for a few seconds it seemed as if the rest of the world stopped existing around us. He swallowed up the fruit and thanked me still without taking his gaze off me. The moment broke when the old lady at the tangerine selling stall asked us if we wanted a box or a bag for the fruits. I turned to her, and saw Nami and Vivi looking at the lady wanting her to shut her mouth. My cheeks thanked the interruption, though, because they couldn’t get any more flushed.

“A box would be great, thanks!” I told the seller. Law carried the box himself, and we reunited with the rest of the group.

Sanji had already gathered everything he needed, Zoro had bought his alcohol provision for the next few days, Luffy had his face completely stuffed with some meat, Franky had a cola on his hands, Brook a milkshake, Robin a bag of tangerine tea, Chopper of course some candy cotton on both of his hands and Usopp was eating some type of ramyon. We left the market and headed to our temporary house to leave the provisions and decide the plans for the afternoon and night.

“I want to go to Bomnal Cafe, I heard they serve delicious pastries! Can we go there?” suggested Chopper. “We can go there for the afternoon, and then have a picnic with a bonfire at the beach for the night. What do you think, guys?”, I proposed. “BONFIRE! BONFIRE! Sanji, you could also make some barbecue!!” screamed Luffy, excited, and everyone agreed that it would be a great idea.

Some of us headed to the coffee shop, while Sanji, Zoro, Law, Usopp and Franky stayed at home to prepare everything for the night.

The little coffee shop had a minimalistic, all white and grey, and maybe a little vintage atmosphere. We ordered a few pastries, puddings and lattes that tasted exquisite. We sat by a big window that let us admire the beauty of a little garden with cherry trees and a little pond with some fishies swimming peacefully. We were making stories for Instagram, taking photos, having fun. “Oi, Y/n, pose for me!” said Nami and took a photo of me with her iPhone. I didn’t have time to pose properly, so it was a pretty casual photo of me drinking a matcha latte. Brook insisted on me posting it, because he said it was cute. Chopper and the girls agreed with him, so I uploaded it to my Instagram.

Suddenly, a new notification popped up on my screen, “@DrHeartSteeler liked and commented on your photo”. “Hey guys, do you know who is @DrHeart…” I was asking them while opening the notification and realized it was no other than Law. “@DrHeartSteeler > Beautiful… place. Can you bring me one of those when you come back home?”. I hadn’t had the chance to say anything else when my friends began to make a fuss about the comment. “WHEN YOU COME BACK HOME?, Torao what the fuck?” said Nami laughing out loud. Chopper who was a little innocent, started asking why everyone was laughing, and it only fanned up the flames that were blushing my cheeks. “Yohoho… I guess you have to bring him “home” a matcha latte, Y/n, he probably misses you already…” mocked me Brook. Robin, who is the most mature of all of us, simply laughed and looked at me with kind eyes.

“Stop it guys, he is just asking for a latte…” I said, fanning my face with my hand. “Oh, yes, of course. He wasn’t even following your account. Before we left home, he asked Vivi for your user, right babe?…” said Nami and Vivi nodded with her mouth full of chocolate cake. I didn’t want to show the excitement I was feeling on my insides, so I simply replied that he probably wanted to follow me because he was already following everybody in the group. We decided to come back before the sun set, so we could see it on the beach and after buying Law his tea, and some pastries for the guys we left the pretty tea room and drove home.

“Guys, we are home! we brought you some pastries!!” I said, while carrying the papers bags, and Law’s latte on the other hand. Everyone came running to me and grabbed the bags, while Law, who was sitting on the couch reading, looked at me above his manga, as if he was waiting for me to say something. I tried to act cool, so I said “And oh, uhm, Law your matcha Latte. I hope it’s the right size for you”. He smiled at me, left the book on the armchair and stood up. He walked towards me slowly, I didn’t know if he was trying to be sexy or it was just how he was… Because he certainly was, only using black with yellow spots, swim shorts and a yellow open shirt, that let me admire his tattooed chest and abs.

“Thanks, Y/n-ya. When I saw your picture, I craved for…” he made a little pause, and continued while grabbing the plastic cup, “some matcha latte”. Well, now I crave... you… I thought. I gave him a look from head to toe, and said smirking “It’s nothing, now I only owe you only one favor, so, you tell me if you need something more”. “Mh... I’ll keep it in mind”, he said with his low sexy voice and a little side smirk. I smiled at him and went upstairs.

I threw myself on the bed and sighed loudly. My heart was racing, my lower parts were feeling funny and the sexual tension I’ve just experienced was too much to handle for me. “How hot he is, damn it”, I expressed out loud covering my eyes. “Who is hot, Y/n?” asked Zoro, who apparently was entering my bedroom to ask me something. I almost had a heart attack, but calmed myself down and asked him what he needed. He told me that we were getting ready to go to the beach to prepare the picnic and watch the sunset and if I could bring some blankets. I told him ok and he left my room laughing.

“I came here to rest, and I’m getting more stressed than during finals”, I thought, annoyed, while gathering for a few blankets and pillows to bring to the beach. I headed downstairs. Everybody has already left the house and I could see them walking towards the beach from our patio. I was about to leave and closed the door trying not to throw the blankets I had in my hand, when someone scared the hell out of me. “Oi, you almost let me locked in..., let me help you with that”, said Law who was still inside. “God… Law, you scared me… what are you doing? I thought I was alone…”. “Sanji forgot the salt shaker, I returned to bring it to him”, he calmly answered. “Oh, I see… Well let’s go” I said, still breathing fast from getting scared, and handed him a few blankets to help me carry them.

The chilly sea breeze kissed our cheeks, and the sound of the beach began to fill my ears. I was wearing a long silky dress that danced with the wind, as well as my hair. The sun was going down, everything was golden. Oranges, violets, reds, were the colours that tinted the clouds above the sea. Law was walking right by my side, and both were admiring the beauty of the evening lights that bathed the cliffs. I decided to stop, and take a picture with my analog camera, and as I did, Law kept walking a few steps more until he realized I had stopped. He turned around and looked at me, just when I pressed the shutter. “I’m sorry, I… didn’t know…” Law excused himself for appearing in the photo, but I wasn’t mad at all. I gave him a smile and told him, “It’s ok, you are part of the trip, I’ll give you a copy when I develop the film if you want”. “Thanks…”, he said, and we kept on walking admiring the beauty of the sun setting.

We finally arrived at where everybody else was. Law gave the salt to Sanji and helped him with the barbecue. I started to set up the blankets with the girls and told Brook to play some music with his guitar. The boys had already put up the bonfire and some torchlights that lit up our night.

The night was lovely, it was a little cold, but a few beers after I was dancing with the girls barefoot on the sand to “A lovely night” from the movie Lalaland. Suddenly, Robin said to me “Hey, Y/n… it seems that Torao-kun can’t take his eyes off from you tonight”. “Huh?” I told Robin, confused. She pointed to where the boys were cooking and I turned my face to them. Law was indeed looking at me, with a beer in his hand. I smiled gazing at him over my shoulder, and he did too. I turned back at the girls and kept on dancing covering my mouth, giggling a little. Vivi, Nami and Robin also giggled and gave me a complicit smile.

“Dinner is ready, everybody! “announced Sanji and we gathered all around the grill to receive the plates that surprisingly Zoro helped Sanji to serve. I guess alcohol and food made them somehow get along, at least for a few hours. I wonder when they are going to stop the fighting and begin the kissing… fufufu…

The brochettes were heavenly, we ate them sitting around the bonfire while singing “Binks no Sake”, one of Brooks classics. He is the musician of the group, and even started his professional career a few years ago as “Soul King”. He is such a talented guy.

As the night passed Law and I sometimes interlocked eyes, or exchanged little smiles. I took some more photos during the picnic and we kept on dancing until 3 am, when we decided to raise camps and head to our beds.

I was exhausted, yet, the idea of stalking Law on Instagram was on my head and didn’t let me sleep. I covered myself completely with the sheets and searched for his user on my phone. He has no more than 5 photos posted. One of them was with Luffy and Zoro, after training, another one of him and Rosinante -he called him “Cora-san” on the image caption, how cute - when he was a little boy. The rest of the photos were with some friends dressed up as pirates for Halloween and in the comment section they called themselves the “Heart pirates”, ha-ha funny.

I suspired whenever I zoomed the photos over his eyes. I was starting to like this man, way too much... I tossed and turned in bed trying to fall asleep, but I simply couldn’t, so I thought drinking some tea would help me. I went downstairs, trying not to wake anybody up and got to the kitchen. From the big glass door that looked at the beach I saw how the moonlight lit up the waves crashing on the cliffs and the whole kitchen. The scenery and the chamomile tea were slowly fading away the image of Law’s eyes, until I felt someone placing a hand over my shoulder. I slightly gazed at it, and it only took me a few seconds to know it was the tattooed hand of the guy who was keeping me awake. He was wearing black shorts, and a loose white shirt. His hair was more disheveled than ever. What is it with this guy that looks so good no matter what he looks?...

“I see I’m not the only one who can’t sleep”, Law whispered. “Yeah, I’m exhausted but somehow I can’t fall asleep… I guess it must be the bed, I don’t know. Do you want some tea?”, I offered him. “Yes, that would be great”, he accepted.

I was turning on the electric kettle when we heard some noises coming from the living room. I looked at Law and both of us peaked through the kitchen entrance to see what was going on…

“Shitty cook… we shouldn’t….”, “What? are you afraid, idiot Marimo?”. Sanji and Zoro seemed a little drunk and were somehow hugging and walking at the same time. At first I thought they were trying to help each other to go upstairs, so I started walking towards them to help. I couldn’t walk any further because immediately Law grabbed me by my waist, and pulled me back into the kitchen covering my mouth. “Shh… just wait”, he whispered into my ear and let go of me. What I saw next was something we’ve all been waiting for. Finally, Zoro and Sanji accepted how much they loved each other, and went upstairs kissing as two teenagers in love.

I opened my mouth and looked at Law with a surprised expression, that soon turned into a happy face. I started making little jumps in my place. “I knew it!!” I said and Law giggled almost without making any sound. With the excitement I didn’t notice how near we were from each other, until Law softly caressed my face with one of his soft hands. He, of course had the hands of a surgeon, long fingers, soft skin, perfectly cut nails. “Why don’t we do the same as them?” he asked me, and I gasped and stood still in front of him. He slowly approached his face to mine until the point of our noses were almost touching. I got lost into his grey eyes, my mouth was ready to receive his lips. The sweet torture of the moments before a first kiss, I wished I could make it last as much as I could, but at the same time, I wanted him to kiss me, passionately, now, right now.

My eyes probably showed how desperately I was for him to kiss me, that he smirked and finally planted his luscious lips against mine. He explored my mouth with his tongue, with no modesty at all, and as we were passionately kissing he lifted me up and sited me over the kitchen counter.

Without stopping the kissing, I open my legs to allow him to come further and as he did, he slid a hand to my sex…

Part 3

PT1

#trafalgar d law x reader #trafalgardwaterlaw #trafalgar law x reader #trafalgar law x y/n #trafalgar law #law x reader #one piece law #torao #one piece x reader #one piece x y/n #onepiece #one piece #monkey d. luffy #straw hat nami #one piece zosan #zosan #zoro x sanji

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mooshs-crack-headcanons · 4 years ago

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Hi! Can I ask some headcanons with Sanji, Zoro, Franky and Robin where they meet a female reader who is a singer, she and Brook are good friends and have had perform together (on the time skip), and later on they find out she actually sings metal or some heavy rock? How would they react? :3

Brook hadn't shut up about you for literal days.

An advertisement for your upcoming concert was plastered all over the World Economy newspapers, your fans littered the streets with fan posters and clad in your merch.

The News coo of the day flew by the Sunny early that morning, the Strawhats after their breakfast off to do their own activities for the day while they traveled for the next island.

Out on next Brook had been sharing a cup of tea with Robin, him quietly humming Binks sake to himself as he tapped his foot and both skeletal hands cupped his tea.

The News coo flew hovered over him, landing in his afro.

"Why hello, News coo-san." He greeted the bird.

The News coo chirped in response demanding for its payment.

Out of his pocket the musician pulled out a few berries and dropped it in the small bag around the bird's torso.

The News coo chirped once more in acceptance of the payment before it pulled out a newspaper and plopped it in the skeleton's lap.

Robin next to him smiled at the scene.

In a matter of moments as the bird took back off, Brook picked up the newspaper with interest.

Let's see what was going on in the world.

His eyes (except he has none, Yo ho ho ho!) scanned the headlines.

Nothing really caught his interest.

Until he saw your ad.

The skeleton absolutely squealed in excitement! So loud in fact it drew the interest of the rest of the crew.

They all gathered around the skeleton concerned, asking him what was the matter.

And so Brook then excitedly told them about you!

In the two years the Strawhats had separated, you were just an upcoming phenomenon.

And with Brook also starting out it made sense for the two of you to collab, and you did, many times

He really got into the sound of your voice, how it made the messages of your songs more defined.

Sure, Brook could be a creep sometimes but you liked his skeleton jokes! He was a joy to be around.

From the sound of your ad, your concert wouldn't be for another two weeks, a perfect amount of time for a visit. So he began to write you a quick letter.

With luck and skill you managed to come onto the Sunny unfollowed.

It'd look really bad if a celebrity like you were conversing with not just wanted pirates, but ones that had declared war on the World Government itself.

But fuck the government, right?

Sanji

This is Sanji.

You know what the first interactions going to be like.

But after all the nosebleeding and swooning over you, did Sanji take a good look at you.

You looked nothing like you did in your ad.

In the ad your face was heavily covered with makeup and your hair was pushed back to the extreme to show off your sharp features. The clothing you wore was heavily leather clad and chains covered your every joint, your expression alone could kill anyone on sight.

This was definitely not the woman standing before him.

A wide grin spread wide on your face as you conversed with your old skeleton friend. You clothing was lose yet comfortable and your hair carelessly flowed down your shoulders.

How could a woman look like two completely separate people?

No, but you still looked hot either way.

Sanji finally got his answer when Chopper was the one to pipe up and ask what type of music you sang.

Heavy metal.

Like the type of music with shredding guitars and screamed vocals?

Huh.

Well.

Something about that awakened something in him he never knew about.

Zoro

So what? You're a singer, that's not really a big deal.

Sure, Brook's music makes him feel relaxed enough to tap his foot while he's looking to take a nap but that doesn't mean anything.

You know what IS a big deal? Swords.

Swords are a big deal.

What was that? You have an album called The Call of the Righteous Blade?

Okay maybe he's willing to hear you out.

Late into the evening you arrived Luffy excitedly asked for you to play a song with Brook.

For old times sake you two decided to go for it.

Brook provided the instrumental with his guitar while you sang a hard melody that popped in your mind.

Zoro found himself caught on every word, the sound of your voice mystified him.

Okay, maybe it was a medium sized deal.

Franky

Sweet, you're a musician?!

SUUUUUUPER!!!

He considered himself a patron of the arts as well as being a SUPER cyborg.

From what Brook showed him of your old albums covers he came to the conclusion that heavy metal was your thing.

Franky respected that.

As well the apocalyptic theme they seemed to heavily themed robots as well as cyborg imagery.

It brought a little tear to his eye.

The moment you stepped on ship he and Brook were the direct first ones to immediately greet you.

With one look at him your lips gaped like a goldfish before the absolute nerd burst out of you.

You gasped in awe at his robotic arms.

Don't get me started how you reacted when you saw his hair change function with his nose.

Honey, the sight of it alone almost made you cream your pants with the full force of NERD.

The whole time you stayed on board a constant smile was on your face as you studied Franky's tech.

You jokingly suggested about writing a song about his possibly ridiculous struggle of daily life as a cyborg, thinking it would get a giggle out of him.

He only stared back, his face 10000x serious.

It took you and the Strawhats, who had never seen him this serious before, back.

"It better be called the Ultra SUUUPER life of Cyborg Franky. That's not a suggestion, that's a demand."

Robin

Robin is a woman of many arts.

Her archaeology, her gathered knowledge of history, her passion to read, her love to draw.

Her enjoyment of music was also one of them.

She was the one to see first handily Brook’s reaction to seeing your ad, so she could tell right off the bat that you and the skeleton were old friends even before Brook explained that to the rest of the crew.

But something else caught her interest when she asked Brook about your songs.

A lot of them seemed to hold interesting hidden meanings to them.

Messages that a ‘higher power’ was holding the ‘truth’ of the voided days from the lower rest of the ‘followers’? Messages that the ‘absuructed past’ was orchestrated with foul intentions of grandeur?

Not only did it seem that you somehow knew that the void century was purposefully covered up by the World Government, but you seemed to get away with passing along the messages to your audience somehow with them not realising it.

Something made her heart swell by the thoughts of rebellion against the bastards who Buster Called down her island.

When you were asked to perform with Brook by Luffy did she find herself entranced even more than the rest of her crew at your voice.

The thought that your same voice demanding for truth from the World's oppressors really did make her hang onto your every sung word.

Long after you left to go back to traveling to your first concert venues did she find herself humming your song time to time.

Every time, your messages loud and clear in her head.

#one piece #one piece/reader #one piece hcs #mine #roronoa zoro #sanji #Franky #nico robin #SUUUUUUUPERR #sanji/reader #zoro/reader #franky/reader #robin/reader

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springwritess · 5 years ago

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Hi so um I just lost someone in my family and I was wondering if you do some hcs for Law and Zoro comforting their so.

anime: one piece

dedicated to: @a-bi-who-just-wants-sweaters

note: im sorry for your loss. if you want to talk to anyone about it, my DMs are open. you don’t have to go through this alone. your feelings matter. i also decided to do all the strawhats and law

***

Luffy:

Luffy tends to be a bright, simple minded person. He takes things at face value and usually isn’t serious. However, he genuinely does care about his crewmates - which includes you. As Rayleigh described, Luffy has a special type of observation haki. It allows him to understand the emotions of others. He was the first person to notice your grief.

Luffy is a man of action. The way he’ll try to help you cope by giving the space you need, or the physical affection you need. It depends on what you’re feeling that day. He understands how difficult it is to loose a family member, and how these things take time. If you’re not feeling particularly bright or happy on some days, he’ll try his best not to annoy you. If you’re looking for a hug or a shoulder to cry on, Luffy will offer it to you. He’ll even give you his strawhat and place it on your head. It’s special to him, and so are you to him. It’s his way of showing everything will be okay.

If you’re feeling particularly bad on a day, he might come into your room and see if there’s anything he can do. He’ll try to make you food or give you something to cheer you up. Luffy might try to make jokes (such as making silly faces) to get you to laugh. If it isn’t working, he’ll sit there with you. If you want to talk, that’s fine. If you don’t, that’s also fine. He won’t pry.

There are also days where Luffy is also feeling particularly blue, whenever he thinks about Ace. On those days, he may come and talk about the horrors he faced during Impel Down, or the war he had to go through. On those days, you’ll open up and talk about your family member. You’ll be there for each other, and help each other cope and find ways to push through in life.

Zoro:

Zoro is someone who’s quiet and is not the best at showing his concern for others through his actions. He shows his concern and care for his crewmates (you included) by little things. Checking to see if they’re okay, protecting them in battle and staying close to them. He’s not the type to voice his love and care for his crewmates.

Zoro would check up on you every now and then. He would keep his space, because he knows having too many people check up on you can be overwhelming. He would ask Chopper if you’re doing any better mentally. He would also ask Sanji if you’ve been skipping any meals.

The times he would check up on you would be at night. Zoro doesn’t seem much. He usually gets about 3-4 hours of sleep a night, and take naps throughout the day. If he realizes you’re up and wondering about the ship, he might talk to you and see if you’re doing any better. Whether you talk to him a lot or a little, he’ll still stay and listen to you.

Sometimes, he may ask you to join him while he’s working out. You’ll stay with him, whether that means you’ll work out or not. It’ll comfort you just having him close by. Whenever you do choose to excercise, it’ll be relieving. It takes your mind off things, and it greatly improves your mood.

Nami:

Nami will be one of the first people to realize there’s something wrong. She’ll see you one night silently crying to yourself. She’ll come up to you and see what’s wrong. She’ll sit you down and try to talk to you. She’ll comfort you, whether it’s through her words, giving you a hug or just sitting there with you. Nami understands grief takes time, she’ll be there with you 100% along the way.

Nami is one of the first people you’ll go to whenever you feel like talking about your family member. She’ll sit there and listen to you talk about them for hours. Sometimes, she’ll share stories of Bellemare.

You have your tasks and duties on the ship. Sometimes, it’s difficult for you to be able to fulfill your role of being a strawhat. Nami will make sure everything goes along smoothly whenever you need to sit down and be by yourself. She’ll assign everyone orders, and they’ll happily do your job if it means letting you feel better.

She’ll also check up on you now and then, like a big sister. She’ll ask Sanji if you’re eating. She’ll ask Chopper if you’re feeling any better emotionally. If you aren’t doing those things, she’ll come and talk to you. She’ll gently remind you that eating healthy is important. She’ll also remind you that everyone is there for you. You can talk when you’re ready.

Usopp:

Unlike Nami, Usopp isn’t as perceptive when it comes to learning about the feelings of others on the crew. It might take him awhile to notice the little things, like how you look tired all the time, or how you’re overeating/not eating at all during meals. He’ll still try to be there for you however

Usopp understands the pain of losing a close family member too well. He lost his mother at a young age. He’ll try to talk to you about how you feel, and give you some of his own personal experiences. He may sit closer to you during meals.

When the crew is fooling around and playing games, he’ll make sure you’re always there. He’ll want you to have a good time, so he’ll make sure you’re included. By doing this, Usopp wants to remind you that you’re not alone. The crew cares about you so much.

Sanji:

Sanji is emotionally perceptive, and he’ll realize right away something bad happened to you. He starts to notice you’re skipping meals and spending less time with the crew. You would always have a blank look on your face, staring out to see. His first instinct would be to rush over to you and see if you’re sick, or if anything is wrong. You’d brush him off, and say everything is fine. You would explain to him you’re just tired. This would happen frequently. Eventually, Sanji would give you space. He doesn’t want to pressure you into telling him anything.

Sanji would instead focus on making sure you’re eating enough, and eating the right foods. He’ll bring food to your room if you don’t come down during a meal. He’ll make you small healthy snacks throughout the day too. He’ll focus on what he’s capable on, which is your eating habits. If you have trouble sleeping at night, he’ll make you tea. He’ll make sure there’s always a cup of tea waiting for you every night before he heads to bed. When he’s on night watch, he’ll leave a kettle on the stove for you.

If you do choose to tell him what happens, he’ll be 100% willing to listen. He’ll drop whatever he’s doing to hear you talk. He won’t interrupt you, or become emotional, or try to offer you any advice. Despite acting like an idiot sometimes, Sanji is emotionally smart. He knows that he can’t solve anything, or that advice won’t always help. He’ll sit there and listen patiently.

Sanji may invite you into the kitchen to watch him cook if you’re sitting by yourself some days. He’ll make jokes, and talk about things to cheer you up. You’ll help him set and clear the table, which makes you feel much better.

Chopper:

Despite being the doctor of the crew, Chopper is quite naive. He isn’t as good as noticing things as the other crewmates. Chopper would have no idea anything is upsetting you, until you bring it up to him one day. He would be fooling around with Luffy and Usopp, and you would ask him if you’d like a checkup. He’ll take you to do one.

You’ll first ask him about his stance on mental health, and how important he thinks it is. He’ll explain to you, that your mental and emotional health is just as important as your physical health. You’ll bring up your family member who recently passed away, and how difficult it’s been for you.

You would see Chopper every week about how you’re feeling. Chopper would remain calm, and won’t pry for details. He’ll listen to everything you say, and may even take notes. He would become your therapist in a way. Everything you tell him, he would keep a secret. He doesn’t want to loose your trust.

Robin:

Similar to the other strawhats, Robin also had an extremely difficult life. Her home island was destroyed when she was just a child. She lost her mom at a young age and lived a life on the run for twenty years. It’s difficult for her to open up, and she still struggles with it till this day. She’ll understand that you’ll need time to process what happened. She won’t talk to you about it, or ever bring it up to you.

She may recommend a book for you to read, to help you make you feel better. She’ll make you a cup of tea too whenever she’s going to read her book. You’ll find yourself often reading with Robin side by side. It’s a great stress-reliever for the both of you.

If you ever do choose to open up to Robin, she’ll listen to everything you say. She may give you words of advice, or offer you words of comfort. She’ll almost act like your mom in a way afterwards.

Franky:

Franky may act like an idiot sometimes, but he does have rare times when he acts mature. These are times where a crew member needs his help, or if he needs to step up and do his job as a strawhat. This is one of those times.

It’ll take him a bit of time however to notice that something is wrong. Similar to Robin, he won’t pressure you to say anything to him. He’ll just do what he’s capable of. He may offer you a cola drink once in awhile. It makes him feel better, so he’ll try to give you one I’m hopes of making you feel better

Franky may ask you to try out some of the cool inventions he’s working on. He may even invite you to his workshop, where you’ll watch and try to help him out. It’ll just be small things, such as handing him a tool or trying to tighten a screw. You’ll start to bond with Franky from here on out.

Brook:

Brook understands the pain of losing someone close to you. He lost his friends before his eyes and had to live around their dead bodies for decades. He’ll be extremely mature when it comes to try and helping you through these difficult times.

Brook copes through music. Expect him to play various pieces for you every day, some happy and some sad. Many will give you the feeling of happiness and peace. His music will bring back many memories of your deceased family member. Some days you’ll listen to his music and just cry.

Brook will also give you music tapes to listen to in your room. They all be songs he written and performed himself. You’ll find yourself often in your room, listening to music and reminiscing about your family member.

Trafalgar Law:

Law may seem like a cold, calm and collected individual. He can even be ruthless at times. He tends to keep to himself and doesn’t find himself having many friends. He does however, deeply care about his crew. He’s not the best at showing his affection towards them, but he does genuinely does care about them. He cares about you.

Law will realize immediately that something happened. He’ll assume you’re sick or injured, but it’ll turn out that’s not the case. He’ll ask you about it. If you’re not comfortable opening up and sharing yet, it’ll frustrate him. He wants to help you, but he wouldn’t know what’s bothering you. If you do tell him early on, it’ll shock him. He’ll stay calm however, and try to help you feel better as much as he can.

Similar to Chopper, he’ll check up on you every week. He’ll ask you how you’re feeling and other questions. He won’t pry, and you’ll tell him as much as you’re comfortable telling him. He’ll write down everything you say. He’ll become your therapist in a way too.

Law isn’t the best at expressing his affection and care towards his crew, so he’ll ask the others to do so. He’ll tell them to remind you in both subtle and grand ways that everyone cares. Expect lots of hugs from Bepo. Your other crewmates will try to spend more time with you.

Law will also give you space. He understands that some days you need time by yourself. Law also has days where he needs his own space. If you’re feeling particularly bad on one day, Law won’t bother you. He won’t force you to complete your tasks on the crew and will ask the others to do them instead. He may complete them if nobody else can.

At the end of the day, all your crewmates care about you. They want to remind you that you’re not alone. That it’s okay to be sad. That it’s okay to cry. That it’s okay to have bad days. They all express their love and care for you, each in their own way.

You are not alone.

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soggy-paradise · 5 years ago

Text

Hey I know I dont usually make posts because I’m awkward- but I’ve had an idea for an au for one piece and I really just wanted to get it out of my head even if it’s messy and maybe doesn’t make sense and is dumb rip.

Ps I’m only on ep like 340 of one piece ive only been watching a month or two rip

So in this au Brooke owns one of those cool cafe book shop bars? Where you could get a coffee, a little rum or both together in one glass while you pick a book off of one of the many shelves (Mostly curated by one of the book worms in the group of employees he’s accumulated; Robin and chopper most likely).

And in addition to the great drinks and books there’s often live musicians; including Brooke himself, and many local artists making the place extremely popular. However very quickly the night to be there becomes Saturday night when the most well received band, the straw hats, comprised of the staff of the cafe take the stage.

Im imaging all the workers pretty much know an instrument and different combinations of them will go up to play different songs while the others pick up the slack with Luffy as the drummer, Zoro as the guitarist, nami on the keyboard, Robin on bass, maybe Franky on guitar too or something fun? Chopper with a tambourine or soundboard and finally Usopp as lead vocals (as I’ve recently found he’s quite skilled when he sung as sogeking). They’re having a great time and everything’s awesome but after a string of particularly bad chefs and bakers the cafe seems to perhaps be in danger of closing after like a health code violation or food poisoning incident??

In comes suave new chef Sanji who’s food is out of this world but also who has trouble letting loose like whatsoever.

But eventually usopp and the crew lure him out of his shell with their antics and music and usopp the cute barista makes him lattes with funny faces on them which eventually turn into hearts and yes this is sanuso I have brain rot for them; anyways this makes no sense but I just had to get it out of my head and maybe if I have time this week I’ll try to write a fix this week rip okay bye

#onepiece #onepiece au #sanuso #onepiece band au

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luccislegs · 5 years ago

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Law/male!so/Luffy in which their S/o can speak to ghosts and sometimes helps ghost. And, after some insisting by two very persistent ghosts (Ace and Cora), goes and finds Luffy and Law, and finds themselves wanting to stick around?

you have absolutely no idea how these two spirits found you, just that they are extremely persistent and are driving you crazy. so you do as they ask and find yourself standing before an ostentatious red boat, watching one stoic man watch another man in a straw hat bounce around like a fool.

you feel yourself developing a headache as the two spirits chatter incessantly in your ear, telling you to go introduce yourself. you have no idea how they’re going to react, but if the look in law’s eyes are anything to go by, you have a good chance of being murdered.

but you explain as clearly as you can, pressing your fingers to your temple as you’re inundated with small details only ace and rosi would know, and you watch law’s grip on his sword loosen even as his face pales. you aren’t sure you have him totally convinced, but he hasn’t slaughtered you yet, which you take as a good sign.

luffy on the other hand takes you at your word, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement as he chatters to ace like he can see him right in front of him. it’s a little less tedious than you expected to relay ace’s responses, and you can see the deep love the two have for each other.

usually, the loved ones of deceased people become melancholy once you explain to them about their ghosts. this is true in law, and you can’t help but feel a little guilty. rosi does as well, and asks you to encourage law in his place. you do your best, but you know he can tell it’s feigned. your comfort of him isn’t, though, and in your own way you’re helping him come to terms with it.

luffy on the other hand is completely unconcerned, and you learn from the others that that’s just how he is. nothing has ever kept him down, and even after ace’s death he bounced back remarkably quickly. he seeks you out a lot, usually to talk to ace, but it slowly morphs into discussions about pasts. he regales you with tales of his, ace’s, and sabo’s shared childhood and all the trouble they caused, and you find you look forward to the time you spend with him.

law is a little more closed off. He seeks you out to speak to cora, but they’re not the same as luffy’s conversations with ace. it makes sense, given the vastly different personalities, but cora is so lively that you really wish he were able to talk to law himself. you know you make a poor substitute, and you know law thinks so too. you begin to dread whenever he comes to you, until one night he apologizes. he knows you’re doing your best, and he’s been ungrateful. he tells you some details of his past with cora, but you know he’s leaving out a lot of– probably ugly– ones, but you understand him a little better after that.

watching law and luffy is almost comical, because you can recognize the intense attraction they have to each other, but they seem entirely unaware of it. the way luffy’s smile, already so wide, threatens to split his face in half when law comes on deck can only be described as adorable. law is harder to read, but the way he watches luffy bound to and fro across the ship is softened by amusement, and he’s remarkably patient with the hyperactive man.

you feel almost at home with them and, when it’s time for them to depart, you almost ask them if you can go with them. but no, they likely don’t want you too, and it would be too selfish to ask. so you prepare to leave, saying goodbye to the others, confused by the subtle smirks they all wear as you do.

as soon as you get to law, he stops and stares at you knowingly. “i’m afraid it won’t be that easy, ___-ya,” he says, but won’t elaborate.

you go looking for luffy, knowing that he’s going to be the hardest to say goodbye to, purely because he’s the last person you have before you really have to leave. you find him in the kitchen, raiding the fridge, and his head hits the top of the fridge when you sneak up behind him.

“goodbye? what do you mean goodbye, ___? you’re gonna join my crew, aren’t you?” he asks, and you think your brain might have frozen.

by the time it restarts, you’re already nodding. luffy’s arms instantly wrap around you, his face nuzzling against yours, and you can’t help the skip of your heart at the motion.

when you emerge from the kitchen, everyone has gathered down below, waiting for your answer. before you can say anything, luffy yells out, “he said yes!” and the others laugh. you want to facepalm at his choice of words, and you meet law’s eyes again and you think you can see relief in them.

luffy is an affectionate man. he doesn’t care where he’s at, if he feels the need to hug someone, he will. but you note right off the bat there’s a difference in the way he interacts with the rest of the crew and law. it’s adorable, and you ask robin one day if he even realizes it. the look she gives you is exasperated as she tells you no, and then asks if you even realize he acts the exact same way with you. you flush red and stutter half an answer out, and you decide never to ask robin’s opinion on something again.

after that, though, you do begin to notice that he pays more attention to you than anyone else. well, except law. but that doesn’t make a difference because you find law in your presence more often than before, and he doesn’t even always talk to rosi. a lot of times, he’s just looking for a quiet place to relax and that just so happens to be in your presence. you like law a lot, as much as luffy, and that’s a little confusing since you know they like each other, but you know they also like you.

speaking of the spirits of those two clowns, since you boarded the boat, you’ve found yourself without them more often than not, unless they want to speak to law or luffy. sometimes, you find them trailing after their respective family members, watching in amusement as they go about their day. other times, though, they’re nowhere to be found, and you have no idea where they go.

there are a few months of the three of you circling each other gently. well, you and law do. you’re pretty sure luffy is just going with the flow. he doesn’t seem to care and will lay in your lap or law’s, or pull either of you into tight, octopus-like hugs before bounding off to do other luffy things.

you’re pretty sure law has feelings for you, and you know you have them for him. rosi encourages you to tell him, but you refuse. law isn’t uncomfortable with you, you know that, but there’s still a wall up that you haven’t figured out how to bypass. it’s enough that law joins you in the crows nest on watch, or in the kitchen at night for a cup of tea when you can’t sleep. you adore luffy, but you find law’s calm presence relaxing.

it all comes to a head one night when the crew docks and decides to wander the town a little before dark. nami, robin, and chopper head off in the direction of the shopping district, sanji takes brook and goes off to look for groceries, and franky takes usopp to go look for a parts shop. zoro, being zoro, stays behind to “watch the ship”, leaving just you, luffy, and law. based on the snickers and the quick brush offs, you think the others did it on purpose.

luffy is raring to go, and you and law are just along for the ride. he finds a bar that is doing a meat special and drags the two of you inside. you nurse a drink while luffy stuffs his face, and it isn’t so bad until another pirate comes up, hitting on you. law looks murderous, luffy watching carefully, but both let you handle it. you politely brush him off, telling him you’re with the other two, but he gives them a once over and seems to think they aren’t much of a challenge, so he grabs your hand.

“oi, ___, you don’t wanna go with him, do you?” luffy asks, and you’re suspicious of the tone of his voice. law is behind him with a white knuckled grip on kikoku, and you worry he’s going to take out half the patrons in the bar. when you shake your head and pull your hand from the other man’s, you’re quickly pulled behind luffy and shoved into law’s arms.

you try to scramble back, apologizing, but law won’t let go. luffy is shielding you with his arms crossed. “he said no, now go away. you’re interrupting our date,” and there’s no way he doesn’t mean the three of you.

you almost choke, and the way law tenses says he wasn’t aware either, but neither of you say a word, just looking at each other with mild curiosity. the other pirate shuffles off, whether because he realized it wasn’t worth a fight or to bide his time, you weren’t sure, nor did you care. luffy turns back to you with a wide smile, and you can’t tell if it’s calculated or not because, knowing him he could really be oblivious to how a date worked.

when you get back to the ship, law pulls you off to the side while luffy wanders into the kitchen to pester sanji for a snack. he looks at you seriously and asks, “are you okay with that?” he hesitates before rephrasing, not even allowing you to answer the first question. “would you be okay with that? i’m not sure if luffy actually understands that he has to ask first, but it’s out there now. do you want to try with the three of us?”

you’re definitely at a loss for words for a few moments but then nod, laughing as you ask if you should bring it up with luffy. law shakes his head, wearing an amused smirk. “we’ll just let him figure it out for himself,” he says before pulling you close. “can i kiss you, ___-ya?”

you nod and his lips, chapped and rough, cover yours– just in time for luffy to burst out of the kitchen and onto the deck in front of you.

“no fair, tra, i wanted to kiss him first,” luffy says and quickly snatches you from law, who glares fiercely at him.

“maybe you should ask if he wants to, luffy,” law points out, but he’s relaxed, amused even, watching your head swivel back and forth between them.

luffy turns back to you with a puppy dog look. “can i, ___? please.” you nod without really thinking about it, and then lips are slammed on yours. He isn’t very graceful, and you can feel his teeth clack against yours. you can hear law laughing in the background and, when luffy pulls back, you’re enveloped in another set of arms and law doesn’t even ask if he can kiss luffy, but it doesn’t even matter because luffy was already reaching out to him.

ace and cora had the decency to remain silent right up until then before bursting out into whoops, doing some stupid dance in celebration for the three of you finally figuring your shit out. they’re quickly silenced when you rat them out to the other two, who start scolding the air where they think they are. all in all it looks pretty ridiculous, and you start laughing, followed by the others until you’re all doubled over in tears.

luffy is the first to recover, and he slings his arms around the two of you, squeezing you both close. law looks a little uncomfortable, but relaxes when you reach out and take his hand. he isn’t quite used to such open and obnoxious affection, and would probably always prefer your quieter version, but he can’t deny that luffy’s happy optimism is infectious.

nothing changes on luffy’s part. he’s never been overly concerned about ‘personal space’ and you’ve gotten used to that. it’s even become endearing when you come back to the ship from a shopping trip and he flings himself into your arms or law’s, littering your face with kisses as he proclaims how much he missed you. law doesn’t take that quite so well, but he tolerates it long enough to make luffy happy.

the first thing luffy does that’s a big change is to buy a bed large enough for the three of you. it’s strange, going from sleeping in a hammock to an actual bed again, and even stranger is sleeping as a triad in a room full of other people. it’s tiring never having any real privacy, but you would rather deal with that than not having them at all.

generally, you and law and curled up together while luffy is splayed out across half the bed. that means luffy is never, ever in the middle. you tried it once, and you and law almost got kicked to the floor. law absolutely has kicked luffy off the bed when he gets too rowdy, and sometimes luffy just sleeps in a hammock and leaves the bed to the two of you.

overall, it’s a calm and open relationship with a lot of physical affection and quiet comfort. and to think, you would have missed it if you hadn’t listened to those two pain in the ass ghosts all those months ago.

#trafalgar law #trafalgar law x reader #monkey d. luffy #monkey d. luffy x reader #monkey d. luffy x trafalgar law #monkey d. luffy x reader x trafalgar law #one piece headcanons

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lunnamars · 5 years ago

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copycat

In the midst of all the suffering, in one last effort, her eyes met his and she smiled. A sweet smile she reserved only for him.

(and as a reader kindly told me, I should be putting a side note of my babies being kinda OOC. I'm okay with it in this story, but so all of you know)

It was her blood pouring out nonstop and what it represented that kept him from thinking rationally.

If there was one thing Zoro was proud of, it was his ability to analyze any situation and be able to stay calm on critical occasions. Just like this one.

The difference was that he was doing quite the opposite of what he was trained to do because it was her blood pouring out nonstop and what it represented that kept him from thinking rationally.

Zoro's hands were red and sticky from pressing the wound on Tashigi's back. The bright red blood, the strong smell of iron and the sound of every drop running down his hand and dripping on the floor were starting to make him sick, his stomach twisting as if his body wanted to throw out everything he ate or drank in the past forty-eight hours.

It was her blood pouring out nonstop and what it represented that kept him from thinking rationally.

Tashigi was already in a half-awake and half-sleepy state, but Zoro couldn't, under any circumstance, let her close her eyes. One hand continued to press the wound to her back and the other held her face. Now it was the bright red blood, the smell of iron, the sound of every drop dripping on the floor and her face dirty with the fresh blood that was in his hand that made him sick again, but she needed to pay attention, she needed to look at him.

“Oe, four-eyes, don't you fucking dare to die on me.”

The words were harsh, but the situation was critical and he was unable to stay calm. With every desperate step from Chopper, every weeping from Nami, every yell from Smoker, every gasp from Robin, every curse from Sanji was making the swordsman lose his fucking mind. With each passing minute, it was as if all those noises were slowly muffled and only Tashigi's shallow breathing remained.

Her eyes didn't seem to focus on anything and neither did his. He could only hear her whispering disconnected phrases and every time Zoro told her to not be stubborn at least once in her god damn life because if she kept talking, more blood would come out and God (or any divine entity that exists in this world) knows he was about to lose all sanity.

“I… hurt… Smoker-san… guys… I…”

“For the last time, just keep quiet, four eyes. I’m just asking that of you, damn it. Can you fucking do this just once?”

Zoro really didn't want to swear that much, but all of his brain efforts were focused only on making that woman not close her eyes and, at the same time, continue to stop the blood until Chopper managed to do something.

After getting out of her stupor, Robin also started using Hana Hana no Mi to help him with the task. Because he only has two hands and no one was stopping the blood that spurted from the wound in Tashigi's chest.

Zoro was never a religious man and he doesn't even believe in anything divine, but what he wouldn't give now for his prayers to be answered. Please don't let her die, please, please.

But how do you survive a sword through your chest?

He doesn't know anyone who has survived. But who knows, maybe Tashigi will be the first.

Tashigi. Honored captain, defender of justice, admirable swordsman, co-leader of the Navy revolution, war heroine, daughter of Wano, Kuina's older sister.

The woman who has no regard for her own life if it meant protecting others.

The woman who just sacrificed herself to save his life and his crew’s.

The woman he argued the day before and said so many bad things was now on her knees in front of him with a sword stuck in her chest and blood spurting everywhere.

Tashigi was losing consciousness and was losing fast.

“Hey, hey, hey, just keep looking at me, Tashigi.”

She did, but he could see that her eyelids were getting heavier and heavier.

Please don't let her die, please please.

The lips that he wanted to kiss so much but didn't have the courage now were stained red and heaven knows how he preferred it to be lipstick and not death. Every time she tried to say something, she ended up spitting blood and his face was already soaked, but Zoro couldn't, for anything in this world, care about it.

Robin released him from the task of stopping the bleeding and he managed to put both hands on Tashigi's face to force her to look at him. His hands were completely painted red and he hated to wear her blood - hands, arms, face, chest, everything. It didn't suit him well and he was really about to lose his fucking mind.

She blinked heavily but was managing to maintain eye contact and Zoro let himself be hopeful. Chopper ran around, trying incessantly to control the situation, but the swordsman could see how his little paws were shaking and how his eyes were red from crying.

If Chopper said there was no solution, it was because it was the end.

Please don't let her die, please please.

Not her, please, please.

There was so much he still wanted to say, she couldn't leave now. He wanted to say good things, not the bad things he spat on her face. Instead of saying that she would never be as good as her sister, he wanted to be able to say that she became so strong that she became his rival and that he was so proud of her that the feeling couldn’t fit in his own the chest; he wanted to say that she was an incredibly strong woman and that standing her ground after everything she had been through in life was admirable, but instead, he called her weak.

He vomited so many mean words because uncontrollable anger washed over him when she volunteered for a suicide mission. Wano's war was nearing its end, but they lost so many people in so many bloody battles. Zoro did not want to lose her. My God, not her.

Death, take someone bad, not her. She's too good. Please.

He hurt her. It was the first time that Tashigi didn’t argue back and Zoro found it very strange. But if that was what it took for her not to go out the door and return in a coffin, it would be worth it. She might hate him for the rest of her life, but she would hate him alive.

"After all, I thought you didn't think that way about me anymore. Too bad because I don't think the same about you anymore."

Zoro never saw such sadness overflow in her eyes as at that moment. Not even when she told her story to the Straw Hats - and that sadness was similar to what he saw so often on Robin's face. But what she expressed right after hearing his angry words was as if someone was putting a knife in the swordsman's heart and spinning. She knows that pain now.

“Oe, four-eyes, you're doing well. Just keep looking at me, okay? If you keep doing well, how about I let you train with Wado or Enma? You are now like a sword goddess here in Wano, right? They all obey you, so what do you think?”, Zoro knew he was being a blabbermouth, but he needed to keep her awake and maybe talking about swords could keep her focused on him.

“Sandai… don’t… obey me… you… only master…”

“I know. You found her for me, remember? Do you remember, Tashigi?”

The swordsman looked at Chopper out of the corner of his eye and saw the little reindeer crying copiously on Usopp's lap. Then, Zoro realized that he had no solution. That was the end.

His heart just stopped beating and he couldn't think of anything else. His mind was empty with just a white noise in the background.

No no no no no. Please don’t.

Zoro was sure that he must be looking like a maniac, with extremely wide eyes, frowns and a completely unformed smile. Smiling might make her endure a little longer, so he tried, but it was in vain.

Tashigi could no longer lift her head and Zoro could feel the life being drained from her. He held her face tightly as if that simple act could prevent her existence from leaving this world.

“C’mon, four-eyes. Hold on a little longer…“

“Ro… ronoa…”

“Come on, there's still so much for you to do-”

He felt someone's strong hand on his shoulder, but he felt no comfort at all. This person didn’t want to say that everything would be okay - the gesture was asking him to accept and let go.

No, no, no.

“Zoro. There's… there's nothing else we can do.”

Sanji's voice sounded as choked up as his. Zoro was sure that the cook was crying and then realized that the blood that was running down his face didn’t come from an injury. It was his own tears melting it.

Tashigi spat violently again and he understood that she wanted to say something.

“G-guys, I…“

Zoro already had a scold on the tip of his tongue, but Nami grabbed his arm. The girl bit her lip to keep from crying, but she was failing miserably. She sobbed desperately in the same way as Robin and Chopper. Sanji, Usopp, and Franky wept silently. Torao watched with a frightened expression, not knowing how to react and Smoker did the same.

Zoro didn't even want to think about Luffy's reaction when he found out.

Over the past few months, Tashigi has stood by the Straw Hat by Smoker's order to fight on behalf of the Navy revolutionaries for Wano - her home that has been denied to her for so many years. The captain was extremely suspicious at the beginning of the alliance, but Luffy always manages to unite any type of person and Tashigi was no exception. She fought alongside them and for them.

Her courage seemed to know no bounds.

That's probably why it didn't take long for the crew to fall in love with her and consider her one of them. And being considered part of the Straw Hats meant that she’d have all the treatment that anyone in the crew did. It meant that they would all protect her no matter what.

So where did they messed up so that Zoro was holding a nearly dead Tashigi in his arms?

“Guys… t-thanks for t-taking care… of a weakling like me…”

Zoro couldn't believe the words she had just said. She was dying and that was what she thought? How idiotic were they to make this woman so kind to think that until the last seconds of her life?

“No, Tashigi-chan!!! Y-you're not weak!! If it weren't for you, this war wouldn't be w-won!!”, Nami screamed and with eyes filled with tears.

“Y-y-you're our m-m-mate, Tashigi-chan!! I don't w-w-want you to go!”, Chopper cried like a baby and it was almost impossible to understand what he was talking about.

“Y-you are o-one of the m-most brave person I have ever m-met, Tashigi!!”, Robin's voice was completely choked.

They all gathered around her, hugging her and holding her tightly, trying to keep her there, with them. Everyone hoping for some miracle, anything that would make her not leave them.

Zoro continued to hold her face while everyone cried and sobbed hysterically. In the midst of all the suffering, in one last effort, her eyes met his and she smiled. A sweet smile she reserved only for him.

She whispered with great difficulty, but no one seemed to hear.

Zoro did.

“I-I… I re-really wanted… to be more… than… a copycat for you… Zoro.”

The swordsman's eyes widened and his heart ached as if it was squirming inside his chest. But no, he wouldn't let it be that way. He had been a coward all these months, never admitting any feelings for her and always admiring her from afar as if the mere thought of getting close to her was wrong.

And now what he has left is a feeling of guilt and regret.

He could have lived so many things in the past few months, but he had been a coward.

He wouldn't be a coward now. She deserved much more than his cowardice.

Zoro leaned in and kissed her lips. Their foreheads touched and whispered in a shaky voice.

“You’re anything but a copycat to me.”

She was almost gone, he could feel it. He kissed her again.

“You are everything.”

She was crying silently, but couldn’t speak anymore. The only thing he had in those last moments was her smile.

"You too."

Zoro opened his mouth to speak, but the sparkle in Tashigi's eyes had already faded. He only held the shell where she lived and he never thought he’d feel so much pain in his life.

It was unbearable and suffocating.

Zoro howled and cried desperately along with his companions. He hadn't cried like that since Kuina's death and even so, now it was so much more. He didn't know how to stop and he didn't even know if he wanted to stop.

His head was heavy, his body ached, his chest looked like it was going to explode, he couldn't feel anything but suffering, but he was able to hear clearly when Luffy cried out Tashigi's name in anguish.

“Zoro, her funeral is today. You coming?”, Sanji's voice was so hoarse that if it weren't for the years they spent together, he wouldn't have recognized the cook.

Zoro remained silent, his eyes fixed on the waves breaking lightly in the ocean. Probably a considerable amount of time had passed because Sanji spoke again cautiously.

“I think she’d like you to go.”

It had been three days since Tashigi's death and Zoro had entered a cycle of monstrous violence. No one survived against his swords and no one was able to stop him.

Not even his crew.

The captain's death raised indignation inside everyone's chest and even those who had given up fighting decided to step on the battlefield once again. The woman had become a symbol of resistance and neither Kaido nor Orochi would be able to contain the rebellion.

Because this war had taken a woman pure and just. There was no way to forgive that.

Since then, Zoro has survived on sake. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, he didn't say anything, he just fought. Until Sanji decided to stop this rampant train of self-destruction before it was too late. The cook confronted him ("You're doing everything contrary to what she wanted!! She died to save us and you want to kill yourself!? Fuck you, Zoro!!") and this resulted in a nasty fight between them. Not even Luffy was able to intervene.

Sanji always had that collected manner about him, but he was also in a rage, just like Zoro. The swordsman noticed by the abrupt way he spoke and the bad words he used. But he also realized afterward that Sanji's real intention was to get him to expel all the accumulated anger before it grew to alarming levels. It was better for him to blow up on Sanji now than to blow up on the entire crew. They wouldn't stand a chance against Zoro's bloodlust. Then the cook withstood all the blows, returned all the attacks, sometimes allowed himself to be a punching bag and other times he just screamed at him. Sanji was trying to tire Zoro at all costs.

When neither of them could stand it anymore because of so many injuries, Zoro let out a cry so painful that Sanji ended up hugging him. He understood the swordsman's despair because Tashigi had become a great friend of the cook. The tiredness won and the two could only cry. Soon after, the two felt Luffy's embrace and tears and when they least realized it, the entire crew enveloped them in a huge hug.

Zoro didn't know how much time they stood there in that way because everything looked like a blur, but when he came down from his numb state, he noticed Sanji was holding out a large plate of food for him.

"Please, Zoro, eat. Things are going to get harder now because her death was a huge blow to us and we’re going to need you."

That was the day before. The two ate together and Zoro needed to thank him because Sanji had been, in fact, very patient and, despite suffering too, was willing to help him. Despite always bickering with each other, the swordsman knew that Sanji was a very valuable friend and one who understood him the most.

“I'll go.”

Sanji nodded and kept silent. After a while, he spoke again.

“They’ll grant her the maximum ranking. It should be Vice-Admiral, but they want her to be remembered as an Admiral.”

The cook lit his cigarette and after just one drag, Zoro snorted.

“As if she’d care about that shit.”

“Yeah.”

Tashigi never cared about ranks and Zoro knew that. The only thing that mattered to her was protecting people. For her and Smoker, ranks were just names to inflate empty people's ego.

“Come on, Zoro. Everyone must be waiting for us by now.”

“Yeah.”

Halfway he stopped and Sanji did too when he realized that Zoro wasn’t following him. He looked confused and his expression was one of inquiry.

“Sanji.”

Zoro noticed that the usual eye covered by the blonde bangs widened for a fraction of a second, but then he just nodded, telling him that he was paying attention.

“Thanks.”

Sanji smiled slightly and turned away, walking towards Sunny's exit again.

“Come on, moss head.”

The funeral was pompous, but it had great honor in the whole ceremony. Zoro couldn't say what it was, but he felt as if everyone present had a huge regard for Tashigi. Hiyori asked for the woman to be buried in her country of ancestry and the Navy granted the request. Luffy asked Smoker for him and Zoro to carry her coffin and the Vice-Admiral had no strength to deny it. Thus, Smoker, Rear-Admiral Hina, Luffy, and Zoro were the last to see Admiral Tashigi's face before she was delicately delivered to the soil.

Zoro was so numb that he didn't even feel his fingertips. Beside him, Nami and Robin were crying profusely - the first hugging Luffy as if her life depended on it and the second had the face hidden in Franky's neck. The two were the ones who became closest to Tashigi and Zoro could imagine the pain they felt for the loss of their friend.

He knew it well because he had lost a friend, a rival and the only woman he loved (and would love) in his entire life.

After the whole ceremony was over, Zoro waited patiently for everyone to say his last goodbye to Admiral in front of her tombstone so he could say some last words to her.

I don't know if there’s this afterlife shit, but if it does, I hope you’ll listen to me, Admiral Four-eyes.

All of the Straw Hats were gone and the last one in front of the tombstone was Smoker. Zoro decided to approach.

Smoker probably noticed the swordsman's presence but chose not to recognize it. The two remained in heavy silence and neither moved. Until suddenly, the marine looked at the sky and grunted.

“You know, that idiot was completely head over heels for a pirate.”

This caught Zoro's attention. Smoker lit only one cigar.

"She did some crazy shit because she said she needed to reach and overcome the damn pirate. She trained her finger to the bone and whenever I asked why he, she always replied that it was because he was the best swordsman she had ever met.”

Smoker took the cigar out of his mouth and held it between his fingers. Zoro bit his lip because he didn't want to collapse in front of the other man.

“She also told me once that he and his crew saved her and made her see how wrong we were.”

Zoro clenched his fists so hard that he was afraid of tearing his hand. Smoker continued.

“She said that this pirate was different. That the bastard and the crew were different and that she’d protect them at all costs.”

The Vice-Admiral continued to stare at the cigar in his hand.

“Tashigi usually had a bunch of imbeciles drooling over her, but she never gave them the time of day. She told Hina that although she hated the fact, she had already been swept off her feet in Loguetown.”

Zoro's shoulders were shaking and his eyes started to water. Smoker sniffed but the swordsman gave the marine privacy. He took the cigar and put it in the base of the tombstone. The pirate seemed to have lost his voice during the Vice Admiral's monologue, but now, in the silence, he seemed to find it again to make one last request.

“Smoker. Can I have Shigure?”

The man answered nothing, just took the sword from his back and handed it to Zoro. The swordsman held Shigure with both hands and for some reason, he could feel Tashigi. Now you’ll be with me, four-eyes. Smoker rubbed his face and turned to go. Before actually leaving, he seemed to hesitate, but stopped and put a hand on Zoro's left shoulder.

“Stay safe, boy.”

And with that, he headed for the exit of the cemetery, leaving Zoro with his chest hurting more than the healthy limit. He sat down, crossed one leg on top of the other, rested Shigure on his thighs and meditated, focusing only on the presence of Tashigi and the longing that suffocated him. He doesn't know how much time he spent there, in that position, with the wind blowing through his hair and swinging his three earrings, but meditation helped to calm his heart.

When his breathing seemed to ease, he decided to throw words at the wind.

“Seriously, how stupid I was… do you forgive me, Tashigi?”

Your sister was my friend, but you were… the most important woman to me.

Zoro looked at the sky and remembered the day when the two decided to have a truce and how Tashigi slept so close to him that she was able to warm him up in the cold night.

“Is there such a stupid thing as another life, Tashigi?”

Zoro covered his face with his left hand and swallowed all the misery.

“Can I meet you in another life?”

The swordsman fought bravely so that no tears would even come out, but judging by the sight that turned into a blur, he must have failed miserably.

“My dream is for you too now.”

Zoro decided to stay for a while, but he knew he was just delaying the final goodbye. Nothing would bring her back, but Shigure would stay with him forever. He even wondered whether his body would support the weight of yet another sword, but he would manage. Finally, with swollen eyes, he untied the black bandana he always carried on his arm and stuck it with a knife Tanto in the base of the headstone.

He got up and headed for the exit. Life needed to go on and it's not like he was going to forget about her. He didn't even know how it would be possible to forget her.

Me too, four-eyes. Since Loguetown.

This time, I wanted to go full angst because I woke up in that vibe hahaha and this fic is test for me to train that style. So if anything feels out of place, I apologize.

Again: everything happens after Punk Hazard, but with headcanons related to the current canonical arc.

A quick reminder that English is not my first language, so forgive me for any mistakes.

#zoro x tashigi #zotash #roronoa zoro #tashigi #opfanfic #fanfiction

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whirlybirdwhat · 5 years ago

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LETS TALK ABOUT ZORO. Again.

More specifically this time, his ‘loner’ type. This particular post was inspired by the filler episode where Zoro gets unwillingly adopted into the family at Water 7. You know the one.

Anyway, family plays a big part in One Piece, whether it is the absence of one, the loss/gain of one, or the treatment of one, its there.

Luffy has his brothers, Nami has her village, Nojiko and Bell-mere in particular, Usopp has his father to aspire towards and no mother, Sanji has Zeff (And the abuse by the V*nsmokes...) Chopper has the two doctors and the rejection by his herd, Robin lost Ohara, Franky has Tom, Icebarg, and the Franky Family, and Brook has his former crew Laboon (And Who Else Oda what has this man done where has he come from).

All of these people feature heavily in flashbacks, arcs and more.

In comparison... Zoro appears to only have his sensei, Koushirou, who, in canon, is very sexist, traditional, and absent of many emotions. And, to my knowledge, he only features heavily in One episode very early on in the series.

Kuina’s dead. He met Johnny and Yosaku later on, after he had set off, and as much as I like the Goth Family (Mihawk, Zoro, Perona) they came far later. Zoro has never even been shown to have any friends in the dojo.

Zoro has always been alone. He came into the dojo alone, dressed in rags and eating straw, and left alone, lost and with a goal.

Its very odd in comparison with the rest of the Straw Hats, who always seemed to come from backgrounds with a lot of companionship. Zoro never even seems to be at odds with it, even though knowledge of how people work (in regards to him being first mate and helping the crew go through emotional distress) technically shouldn't be in his nature, because he has not experience with it.

This is extremely interesting to look at in terms of his character development... and Luffy.

At first - Zoro only cared about himself, his next meal, and his goal, as evidenced by 1) the Shells Town Arc and 2) the episode of how Johnny, Yosaku, and Zoro met.

By the time of the Time Skip he is 1) willing to throw away his entire future for Luffy (Thriller Bark) 2) Throw away his pride as a swordsman for Luffy (Training with Mihawk) 3) Get irrationally angry to the point of summoning extra limbs and an entire demon (Enies Lobby, Battle with Kaku) 4) Be extremely tactile with the Strawhats (.... have you seen the Straw hats) and lastly, 5) Do anything and everything he can to protect what’s his captain’s and the safety of the crew (Usopp situation.)

Zoro has come a long way from the ‘loner’ type he started out to be.

What brought this change? I’d say Luffy, (With Johnny and Yosaku helping him open up to the process of hey, people aren’t so bad, of course.)

Zoro would fight for any member of the crew. He would live for them. But the only person I’d say that he die for, give up his dream for, like he has in canon is Luffy.

Luffy, who saved him from execution.

Luffy, who gave him a family that wasn’t a cold sensei with a dead daughter.

Luffy, whose dream he values more than his own.

My favorite thing about all of this is that Zoro appears not to have changed. He still seems to be a loner, always sleeping instead of joining the crew’s fun, typically fighting his battles on his own, etc. etc. Even opponents sometimes comment upon this! The consensus in the OP world seems to be that Zoro’s a big grouchy swordsman who doesn’t like people and will kill you if you look at. him wrong.

Even too the viewers we don’t see how far he’s come.

But he has! His life now is in total opposition to his life before. His character has developed so much, and I want to see it develop more.

Which brings me to my next point.

Wano.

You have all seen the theories. I agree with them - this is going to be Zoro’s past arc, because 1) similarities between Zoro and Wano and 2) Zoro has had one episode about his past. One. One canon one. To develop his character further away from the basis ‘loner’ type, something needs to happen. And 3) We haven’t had a character with this kind of ‘I don’t know what my past is’ storyline and it would be cool to see play out.

I think this is it.

In One Piece: Strong World, Zoro states while fighting the clown scientist that He was born and raised in the East Blue. Now if this was any other movie I’d take that with a grain of salt... but Oda wrote this movie himself. So. Moving on.

Zoro believes he was born in the East Blue.

I think (jokes about him getting lost from his parents and winding up in the East Blue aside) that he doesn’t know his parents. That its going to be a big reveal, his family may be dead, whatever. I don’t particularly care who his family is, only what his reaction will be.

I can see it going two ways, both of which would have never happened without his character development.

1) He doesn’t give a shit in typical Zoro fashion, but this time because he has his crew, and the past doesn’t matter on the Thousand Sunny.

or..

2) He does care. He wants to learn more of his family, because he has learned to value other people he cares about, and not just about himself .

tl;dr Zoro was a loner (due to his upbringing by Koushirou) in the beginning of the series, and while he may still appear to follow that line of character, he is not as his character has developed to be more open and accepting to other people, specifically his friends and crew. That is, in part, thanks to Luffy introducing him to the Straw Hat Pirate crew and his growing understanding of how people work. This will effect how his probably family/past arc in Wano plays out, though I am betting that he doesn't particularly care nor know who his parents are, and is completely content with just having the Straw Hat Pirates as a crew.

Thoughts

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heady-senpai · 5 years ago

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One Piece 955: Enma

I took all day to write this up just so much to talk about from this chapter!

Let me just start by saying what a chapter!! 8.75/10

I was not expecting it to drop a day early & had no idea what to expect of this chapter until I saw the title...Enma 🤔😏

First things first. I believe Bege & company just stumbled upon Dressrosa. He mentioned they were stopping there for supplies. I wonder if any Straw Hat supporters are still around and if a conversation will strike up about Luffy.

------

Ok now to the chapter...

It starts off with Hiyori telling Zoro & Kawamatsu that she will not meet up with the rest of the alliance in order to not stir unneccessary emotions before the battle. Her brother stated this before so it wasn't a surprise. What surprised me was that Kawamatsu told the rest of the Scabbards that Hiyori was still alive & well.

I guess it's a morale booster but I have this weird feeling that something bad will happen to her now that everyone knows she's ok.

A couple random facts about Hiyori:

• She puts up a coarse attitude but is actually a crybaby

• She was a Tomboy who didn't typically speak refined & politely

(So funny how Momo was like, "A flying kick from someone 18yrs older would really hurt." Lol ik the struggle of being terrorized by a little sister hahah)

Now we get to the crazy good stuff!!!

O-Kiku might be one of the MVPs for finding the randomly lost Nidai Kitetsu. I had no idea where it was. Thought Kaido must've done something with it when Luffy was thrown into the Udon Prison Mines like kept it in a storage within the prison or something. Zoro states that he knew it was a Meito (famous/named blade) I guess with Sandai at his side he could feel the cursed vibes.

Rarely does Oda show us the actual tying of loose ends.

I guess Hiyori didn't go off to retrieve Enma & Orochi doesn't have Ame no Habakiri...Hitetsu Tenguyama had them both the whole time. That's why he had been patiently awaiting the return of the Kozuki Family.

I love every aspect of the design especially the sheath.

Seems as if both swords are of the same grade level as Shusui, O Wazamono, 21 Great Grade Swords. So Zoro won't be getting one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords, Saijo O Wazamono, just yet and I'm fine with that.

Hitetsu tells Zoro only Oden was ever able to tame Enma & ODEN MUST'VE BEEN A BEAST because this sword is crazzyyyyy powerful. Kin'emon even said he himself would not even want to take the blade.

When testing out the sword Zoro tried to cut a tree but ended up cut off part of the cliff/island they were all on! Just insane lmao like I was not expecting that much of a power boost at all!

In the next panel we see the blade going black, coating in haki as Zoro's arm is also clad in haki, but looks drained & frail.

(Sanji's face was hilarious but damn I feel his pain lol Sanji is my favorite Straw Hat & just got a power boost now Zoro's power up makes Sanji's Raid Suit, look not as powerful so I have mixed feelings hahhaha but I love reading Zoro moments.)

So the thing with Enma is that it draws out its wielders haki to maximum extremes by itself. Any average sword wielder would've been drained completely and left dead.

Typically we've seen Zoro have swords with minds of their own but this one is just on another level.

Zoro yells for the sword to give him back his Ryou and takes it all back. Then we get that crazy Zoro smile like he knows this is going to be a challenge to tame the blade but he's ready to take that on to become even stronger. Hitetsu asks Zoro does he want another sword & obviously Zoro says he's keeping Enma, further impressing Kawamatsu.

[Now the text heavy part because I don't want to make 2 seperate posts for this review and want to only use my favorite images from the chapter]

Robin, Ashura Doji, & Kin'emon are discussing the sheer numbers that the alliance and their opposition have. Seems as if there will be approx. 30,000 enemies on Onigashima vs their 4000.

We then get quick panels of :

Franky yelling at his workers to prepare the boat to hold 10,000 men

(made me think hmmm Straw Hat Grand Fleet's over 5000 + the 4000+ men they already have...maybeeeee *Spongebob voice)

Luffy practicing Ryuo in Gear 4th stating that he used too much physical force

Zoro and Momo training in the forest and Zoro states an old man from his village is where he first heard Sunnachi (Snatch) & this surprises Momo.

With two days left before the raid Chopper, O-Tama, and Luffy return to meet with everyone else & the Yakuza bosses have added another 200 men to the resistance's ranks. (~4200 vs ~30,000)

Kin'emon states there hasn't been any word from Law (it's been a few days since he's been free & still hasn't contacted the group....hmmmm)

Silly Shinobu tells Kin'emon to forget about Law and Chopper has to speak some truth like hey Law is super strong. Law clearly makes a substantial difference, he's a cheat code in most situations!

There are still many men locked up in the Capital that wish to fight. I'm guessing only a few hundred more but still any help matters at this point. We also get to see many of the Wano townspeople discussing Yasu's encrypted message. Of course some still don't have faith but they will be proved wrong.

The alliance splits into its respective groups with the Scabbards, Shinobu, and Momo headed to the harbor, meeting Luffy there later.

The literature used here to describe the Scabbards and their shadows as the walked was magnificent. I also loved how the spelling for frost was shimo as in Shimotsuki. 🤔🤔

We see Pedro's & Lord Yasu's grave in the graveyard of Oden & his retainers. We also see Wanda & O-Toko shedding tears at theory loved one's graves. Carrot looks hardened & ready to go.

Hitetsu reveals to Zoro that he was the bladesmith of the Sandai Kitetsu. And states Enma & the Sandai cannot be wielded by the weak. Hitetsu also reveals why Zoro has had a quick take to Enma: the bladesmith who made Enma also created Zoro's main sword, the Wado Ichimonji. It was crafted by Yusaburo Shimotsuki, who fled Wano illegally over 50 years ago. Hiyori probably saw what swords Zoro held (Shusui, Wado Ichimonji, & Sandai Kitetsu) and decided he was worthy of her father's keepsake.

I just cannot believe that Hitetsu said that IN ZORO'S HANDS ENMA COULD RISE IN RANK & BECOME A BLACK BLADE! So then would it become O Saijo Wazamono???? Hmmmm I wonder.

It seems like Luffy has gotten a hell of a lot stronger! Didn't even get close to the tree and destroyed it from the other side (almost reminded me of that scene in Naruto when him and Sasuke battled on the roof of the hospital haha if you know you knowwww)

Law is definitely not the traitor. Like it's too obvious. Simply because Oda telegraphed this traitor vibe a couple times;I swear he's just messing with us.

Will Kyoshiro be revealed to be Denjiro soon?

I just wonder how Orochi found out this info.

And now we get a closing to Act II.

Just an epic chapter.

I swear Oda is hinting that Zoro may be a descendant/relative of the Shimotsuki family along with his teacher Koushirou.

Could even be a family tree like Hinata/Neji but I'm probably reaching there. Very interesting how bits and pieces of his past is flashed in front of us.

I guess only time will tell, but I bet Koushirou's father was Yusaburo Shimotsuki.

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neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years ago

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625: "Tension! Aokiji vs Doflamingo!"

One a scale of one to Kuzan, how bad is Doflamingo’s day going?

Only have time for one episode today but luckily it was a good one. 625 was crammed with intrigue and plot acceleration - not to mention adorable slice of life moments.

I know the next three episodes are filler (the thumbnail at the top corner of each video gave it away). Are they worth watching? I think I spied the Kung Fu Dugongs in the preview to 626. Those little guys were brilliant. xD

Mmmm... Dat Delicious Peril

Must confess I was hyped for this episode. The action continued were 624 left off: Doflamingo astride Smoker with Kuzan at his back.

“I need you to get off my friend.”

The way Doflamingo reacted to the imminent danger was interesting. The slow creep of ice towards him was a warning. He didn’t move. Slasher smile fixed to his face, he glanced about, considered: am I calm enough to retreat and let this slide?

Doflamingo served a large helping of Hell No.

He decided, “Screw it,” and went for the kill. Smoker almost went to the Big Cigar Shop in the sky. Luckily, his awesome friend had his back and froze Doflamingo’s feathery ass.

I knew Doflamingo wasn’t beaten because the cheeky little glint of his frozen shades told me so. He broke out of Kuzan’s ice casing and just stood there, staring at Kuzan, chuckling like a madman. (Also I love how Kuzan’s Devil Fruit lets opponents escape with all their clothing and accessories intact. He’s a good guy, really.)

For a second, I thought there might be a fight. Dramatic music kicked in. Kuzan and Doflamingo stared each other down. Then Doflamingo sauntered straight past Kuzan like it was nothing.

“I don’t want to fight you,” he said. “But if I can’t keep Smoker’s mouth shut, I will have to change my approach.”

Straight up threat there. Smoker now knows he can’t go blabbing about what Vergo has done. It’s probably in Smoker’s best interest, to be honest. If Vergo infiltrated the Marines, there might be more of Doflamingo’s agents crawling about the woodwork. Then again, Akainu is now in charge, and I’ll bet he’d love nothing more than to detect and crush any hidden pirates in the Marine ranks.

Doflamingo’s next dig was more interesting.

“But could you tell me one thing? Just what are you now, Kuzan? The things I’ve heard about you aren’t cool. The face of a vagabond is different from one who has a purpose.”

Now I’ve watched Film Z, Doflamingo’s comment “What are you now?” echoes what Kuzan said about himself. At that point, Kuzan wasn’t sure and even asked himself, “Just what am I now?” He sort of answered his own question, referring to himself as “an ally of justice.” Maybe.

I still don’t know the full significance of Doflamingo’s pointed dig at Kuzan, but from the way Kuzan reacted once Doflamingo, Baby 5 and Buffalo flew off and Smoker said, “You’re not connected with the underworld, are you?”.... well, it got me wondering.

Kuzan sent the nosey G5 guys away while he had a quiet word with Smoker.

“I’m still the same person, Smoker.”

“That’s good then.”

I wonder if this means Kuzan *is* operating in the underworld, but that he told Smoker he was “the same person” means Smoker is no longer above dodgy dealings as long as Kuzan is still on the right side.

“At any rate, don’t take your eyes off Doflamingo. He is both a Shichibukai and a king of Dressrosa. He is an extremely dangerous pirate.”

Well, the king status explains why he has a massive house and a ton of servants. But this further complicates matters. Is Doflamingo an actual king, like one of the World Nobles? Or is this something lost in translation, like a kingpin, drug lord type of a banana republic?

“Tell Sakazuki to get the admirals moving. In the worst case scenario, the cogs will be destroyed and this will become the biggest threat that Sakazuki’s new Marines will have to face. I’ve warned you.”

Laying aside the whole aura of menace and the existence of important (metaphorical?) cogs, the fact that Kuzan is still willing to work with Akainu (Sakazuki is his real name, right?) speaks volumes about his character. I’m still not certain if Akainu knows Kuzan is still supporting them or whether this is a voluntary thing on Kuzan’s part and he continues to help from the shadows because he feels he must.

Either way, I like it.

Also laughed a lot when he forgot he was going to ask G5 to keep what had happened a secret. Lol, he’s still absent-minded.

Still, the escalating sense of imminent conflict is great. Glad the plot is building towards something again. I wonder if the Marines know about Doflamingo, Kaidou and SMILE? Maybe Kuzan knows and that’s why he’s secretly warning Akainu to mobilise?

Maybe it’s something completely different.

Either way, I place some of the blame on this guy.

Hi, Caesar!

Aww, look. He’s thrilled to be the cause of it all. xD

On board Sunny, Law explained the trade relationship between Doflamingo and Kaidou. For some reason, he was cool explaining the plan to Foxfire and Momonosuke, who were hanging around listening in for no real reason. Still not sure why Law was cool with the alliance’s secret plan being heard by a pair of randoms from Wano, but I’m sure there is a reason.

I loved that even Foxfire and Momonosuke were shocked at the Alliance going after Kaidou.

Law also explained the plan in greater detail, which is great for us fans.

“To defeat Kaidou,” he said, “we must whittle down his fighting force. Kaidou has been buying many Zoan SMILEs from Doflamingo. There are many risk to SMILEs, but despite that, Kaidou now has over five hundred Devil Fruit users in his crew.”

First off, holy crap. Five hundred Devil Fruit users in his crew? That is a number, it really is.

Secondly, I was wrong about Kaidou wanting to use the SMILEs to boost his own beastly strength. He’s creating stronger crew. That’s definitely better. Much more of a threat if you have strong crew as well as being an absolute unit yourself.

Thirdly, there are risks to SMILEs. I wonder if these risks will give the StrawHearts (my new name for the Alliance) an in with Kaidou’s crew? As in, the ones SMILE didn’t work on will be injured or bitter and willing to betray Kaidou? Hmm...

“But Kaidou won’t be making any more,” Law added, and looked straight at Caesar.

Caesar was like, “Who me? Ehehehehe.” I loved that moment when Chopper was like, “Omg, you create the ingredients for SMILE? That’s really impressive!” and when Law said, “Nah, he just improved Vegapunk’s work,” Chopper was like, “Oh.”

Totally don’t get why no one is impressed by that, to be honest. Science is all about improving and refining others’ work, even things that seem to be completely new. If Caesar adapted and improved SMILE, that’s still a legit achievement, I think. (I can’t believe I’m sticking up for Caesar. xD)

At any rate, Law also revealed there is another SMILE factory on Dressrosa. Their mission: find and destroy. Once that’s done, Kaidou won’t he able to increase his forces. The only caution (and a significant one at that) is that Doflamingo is a total pro and will not sit idly by while the StrawHearts mess up his business.

Luckily, Dressrosa is also where Foxfire and Momonosuke need to go. Apparently, they’re off to rescue a comrade who is imprisoned there. (Maybe that’s why Law was okay for Foxfire and Momo sticking around. It seems like Oda is going to include them in next arc’s plotline too. I think this is the first time this has happened in One Piece. And not only to them, but a villain too!)

This Was Just Great

Once Law was done explaining the plan, clouds gathered overhead. It was slice of life time. I know I love plot and intrigue but I also cherish those little peaceful moments between arcs, when the Strawhats are just hanging out on Sunny, enjoying the freedom of the sea.

There was a hair-raising moment when Sunny was almost crushed by a single giant hailstone (thanks Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Franky for timely avoidance tactics.) Momonosuke was super impressed by the Coup de Burst and Nami offered him a tour of Sunny.

I was like, “Yes! Give him a tour so I can see it too!” xD

Nami spent hours taking little Momonosuke round Sunny. He saw the fish tank, the library, got some lunch from Sanji, was examined by Dr Chopper - complete with hilarous tache - and sort of spoiled it with that moment in the bath with Robin but... meh, it’s Oda’s humour so whatever. :)

The nighttime scene was nice too. Usopp and Chopper dressing up in samurai armour and messing about on deck. Luffy fishing in armour (lol). Foxfire and Zoro sparring because Foxfire thought Zoro was the zombie swordsman from Thriller Bark because he had Shunsui (lol). Foxfire’s fiery sword slashes waking up and almost frying Caesar (double lol).

Brook said some pretty smart things about Doflamingo right at the end, which I am eighty-five percent certain no one will have heard because he was half talking to himself.

“Between losing his place as a Shichibukai and fighting a Yonko. I rather expect him to do neither and come after us.”

Me too, Brook. Me too.

And there was a rabbit turtle thing plus a guy with flowing cape, top hat and scary, shiny monocle. I’m guessing he is the filler bad guy?

Listen to Broooook. He knoooooows.

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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 4 years ago

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The Voyage So Far: Water Seven

i’ve mentioned several times before that the davy back fight is one of my least favorite arcs, mostly because i found it very dragging and tedious when i was reading it, but there are a couple things i really like in it, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, most of them have to do with zoro. i really like his moment here with chopper, and it also showcases his ability to act as more of an authority figure to the crew, which is something that makes a substantial return after enies lobby with the matter of usopp’s return.

zoro and sanji’s match in the davy back fight is far and away my favorite part of the entire arc. it’s just really fun.

like i said, this arc isn’t a favorite of mine, but i do definitely understand why it’s important to the saga and greater story in a couple different ways. one of them is that it’s just an easy, lighthearted detour that both gives the audience a chance to breathe and the strawhats a chance to showcase just how much they love each other and work well together- which turns into a fucking sledgehammer to the skull in the next arc when that unity is directly threatened. and the other reason this arc is important...

...is because of aokiji.

aokiji’s introductory scene is a brutal showcase of absolute power, and a very clear reminder that the strawhats are still very much little fish in a very, very big pond. all of the strawhats are impacted by this to some degree- it’s how badly they get curb-stomped here that leads luffy to come up with his gears as a way of closing the huge power gap he’s just learned about.

most important, though, are robin and usopp. for robin, this is a stark reminder of the fact that the government will never stop hunting her down; for usopp, who’s less obvious, it’s the seeds of the full-blown inferiority crisis that will later explode with the news about merry. both of their arcs throughout water 7 and enies lobby, essentially the twin emotional backbones of the saga, start right here.

i really like that the other strawhats all fell asleep waiting for robin and luffy to wake up. it calls back to them doing the same when nami was sick before drum, and also it’s just so fucking sweet.

water seven is my favorite island, full stop. if i was going to live anywhere in one piece’s world, i’d want to live on water seven. it’s just so creatively designed and visually great, with the canals and the tiered city and the massive fountain in the middle. the supporting cast are still one of my favorites, and the culture feels very real and authentic. i just love water seven a lot.

i just said it but it bears repeating- the water seven supporting cast is really good. iceburg, the galley-la shipwrights, franky and his family, kokoro and chimney are all really memorable, and most of them are really likable, too- and cp9, with all their eccentricities, fit in perfectly. water seven’s cast is very interconnected, as well, and their relationships all feel very believable.

all of which, of course, only makes the later treachery hurt all the more.

the atmosphere of water seven is really, really well done. the bad starts slow, with the news that merry is unfixable, and then continues into an accelerating downwards spiral of hopelessness: usopp and luffy’s fight and usopp leaving the crew, robin’s seeming betrayal, the assassination attempt on iceburg, the city and galley-la turning on them as a result, and the agua laguna- it just gets worse and worse and worse.

and then, after they’ve been stomped down about as far as they can go and come out alive anyways, they pick themselves back up again and go to save their friend, because that’s what the strawhat pirates do.

i just really like getting to see these four going feral on the franky family, it’s one of my favorite scenes in this whole arc. in general, i tend to love the moments where luffy specifically gets properly angry, and we get a lot of them in this arc.

even though the fight between luffy and usopp is genuinely very tense and fast-paced and would probably be exciting if it were any other two characters fighting, it never really feels anything other than melancholy. i think that’s a testament to just how good oda is at setting the mood of the scene. it’s made very clear, especially through the reactions of the other characters- merry ‘crying’ is fucking heartbreaking- that this is nothing less than a tragedy.

i think it’s kind of interesting we aren’t shown franky’s face until about halfway into water seven. prior to this, we’re given pretty much only reasons to hate him, with his theft of the strawhats’ money and the franky family beating usopp to shit. but just after this point is when we start getting our first humanizing and sympathetic moments for him, starting when he gets worried and a little frantic when he hears about the attempt on iceburg’s life.

i just really, really like the way some of these water seven action sequences are depicted. they feel very tense and desperate, which matches the general mood of this part of the arc perfectly.

this panel of usopp working on merry always reminds me of the shots of the klabautermann doing the same during skypiea. i’m not sure if it’s even intentional, honestly, but it’s an extra little bit of heartbreak either way.

one piece has a lot of amazing spreads, but this might be one of my favorites for sheer impact. cp9, watching as the city they’ve lived and worked in for years burns down in a fire they set, satisfied by a job well done. it’s almost all in black and white with very little grey, which creates some fantastic contrast, and their pitch-black silhouettes against the nighttime inferno are just striking.

this entire scene between usopp and franky, as usopp works on the merry and franky gives him advice and tries to make him see its hopeless and they kind of awkwardly, accidentally bond, is probably my favorite in the whole of water seven. it was also the scene that singlehandedly made me love franky as a character.

they have a really good, really enjoyable dynamic, and at the same time the conflict between them is real and understandable, and brought about because they’re both trying to do the right thing.

tom’s workers are one of my favorite little groups of characters in the whole of one piece’s story, and they deserve more appreciation. they’re family!! a little family of broken pieces who worked together to build something really, really amazing. and they still care about each other in the present, even though they got shattered apart so badly and none of them ever really recovered.

this is a tremendously under-appreciated chopper moment. not only did he carry two full-grown men out of a fire, he even managed to get zoro’s sword and iceburg’s hamster. extremely cool of him.

this is also the exact moment the strawhats’ collective luck begins to turn: chopper saves the day, and nami learns that robin did what she did to protect them, and sanji gets aboard the sea train, and from there it’s a no-brakes train from their very lowest low straight to the triumph at enies lobby.

i love all the shenanigans sanji gets up to with the sea train, i think the whole sequence is absolutely one of his shining moments. it’s always a delight to see sanji get up to Sneaky Bastard Bullshit, and the whole thing is just so fun, which is a dearly needed breath of fresh air after how relentless this arc has been until this point.

robin’s little smile when thinking of luffy and when she joined the strawhats... :( i’ve noticed it’s a recurring trend for strawhats who try to leave the crew to flash back to when they joined as they do. usopp has it earlier this same arc just before leaving, and sanji does it in whole cake island in the sanji vs. luffy chapter.

i really like how much everyone comes together at the end of water seven leading into enies lobby. after how fractured and fraught things have been throughout the arc, both within and without the strawhat crew, it’s great to see them not only all united again for a common goal, but with a huge group of allies at their backs.

these three are SUCH a hilarious team, and i would love to see them work together again like this sometime. they’re literally just clowning on the marines all the way up the train, it’s fantastic.

factually i understand sanji’s aversion to fighting with his hands and his fighting style is very unique and cool and also meaningful to him because he learned from zeff, and also if i remember right it’s implied he learned how to swordfight from the vinsmokes which makes it very reasonable he would want absolutely nothing to do with that skillset

but speaking purely in terms of stupid idiot lizard brain i think sanji should fight with knives more

this is another of my absolute favorite spreads, and i think what makes it for me is the casual confidence- luffy tells zoro to cut the train, and zoro does, both of them with no doubts at all about zoro’s ability to do so. it really goes to show how far they’ve come from back in east blue when zoro couldn’t even cut luffy out of a metal cage.

there’s something very impactful about the fact that of all the strawhats, robin gets this speech from usopp. usopp, who’s had the worst falling-out with luffy in the series to date, is the one who tells robin: you haven’t left the crew yet, you can’t leave the crew yet, luffy is coming to get you. believe in him.

franky’s “existing is not a crime” line is one of the most memorable and iconic lines from this entire saga, and for good reason. it sums up one of the main themes of not just this arc but also the series as a whole- the very same idea will come up again for ace during marineford, and in law’s backstory as well. it’s never a crime to just exist, and people should not never be persecuted for their blood or heritage. one piece doesn’t fuck around with its theming, it really doesn’t.

to be continued next time, with enies lobby!

#the voyage so far #one piece #long post #arc: water 7 #not japanese #opmeta

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recentanimenews · 4 years ago

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FEATURE SERIES: My Favorite One Piece Arc with Greg Werner

I love One Piece and I love talking to people who love One Piece. And with the series going on 23 years now, there is a whole lot to talk about. As the series is about to publish its 1000th chapter, a true feat in and of itself, we thought we should reflect upon the high-seas adventure and sit down with some notable names in the One Piece fan community and chat about the arcs they found to be especially important, or just ones they really, really liked.

Welcome to the next article in the series "My Favorite One Piece Arc!"

My next guest in this series is Greg Werner, the official One Piece columnist for Shueshia and Toei. For my chat with him, he chose the Arlong Park, in which Luffy and his crew take on Arlong and Nami officially joins Team Straw Hat.

A note on spoilers: If you haven't seen the Arlong Park arc yet, this interview does contain major plot points. Watch the Arlong Park arc starting RIGHT HERE if you'd like to catch up or rewatch!

Dan Dockery: Sell me on Arlong Park, in one sentence. Let's say that I'd gotten to the end of the Baratie Arc, and I decided "You know what? I don't think this is for me." What would you say to convince me to keep going?

Greg Werner: I don’t know if I could sell a bottle to a milkman, but I’ll give it a shot ... Can it be in the form of a question?

Yes.

Do you want to know Nami’s backstory? And that seems so facile, but you’re coming off Baratie with the knowledge that Nami has betrayed the crew, she has left the crew, and she has stolen the ship. But it seems like she’s not acting freely, and she mentions the name “Bellemere.” So if you’ve gone through One Piece and you’ve come to that point, that’s simple enough.

So, you have Luffy who wants to go get her, an injured Zoro, Usopp, who's gotta be in a weird state, and Sanji who finds her extremely attractive and cool. It's a fun dynamic.

Zoro and Usopp are an interesting combination, they always are. Usopp always feels like Zoro’s little brother and Zoro kind of has to take a back seat due to injuries here. But I always find their interactions to be very sweet, and you get to see a kind side of Zoro, which is the antithesis of how he interacts with Sanji. And you’re getting hints of the rivalry between Zoro and Sanji here, one that ramps up to the hunting contest in Little Garden, at which point they cease to call each other by their names and just insult one another. And between Luffy and Sanji, you get these kindred spirits due to their dreams. Usopp and Zoro are a little more straight-faced about their dreams, but both Sanji and Luffy utter their dreams with these big smiles. So even though Oda has his pieces all over the map, it’s nice to see the freshness of all of them working together, which is something you won’t find in anything but the best shonen action series.

When you meet Arlong, he's kind of a jerk. He doesn't seem very nice. But he's one of the first One Piece villains who seems like a complete character. He's mighty but underhanded and deceitful. What does his introduction do for One Piece?

So I bought the first ten volumes for a co-worker because he’d seemed interested in it, and I said “There, you’ve got the first ten volumes. Now you have no excuse not to get into it.” And we’ve been talking about it recently, especially the little details, and we found something very interesting about Arlong. There’s one aspect of Arlong that is completely different from every villain up to this point and it’s how he treats his crew. Buggy starts off beating up one of his crew members. Part of Kuro’s plan is to kill his crew. Krieg only sees his crew as numbers and will gas them. Arlong, though, to members of his crew, he’s extraordinarily loyal. When he finds out that Zoro has beaten up his crew, Arlong is pissed. In some ways, he’s very similar to Luffy, but he’s despicable and terrifying and he’s one of my favorite villains.

That's a great point; Arlong is the first bad guy to have pride in his crew. Speaking of Arlong's crew, this is the first time we get the classic 1v1 where a Straw Hat member matches up against an antagonist crew member. When you first read this, because it's electric every time I watch it, how did you feel to watch it go full-on battle manga?

Zoro’s a beast. Sanji’s a beast. But Usopp? Facing down this insurmountable force? How is he gonna do this? And I think that’s the moment that got me. The others are awesome, and I love them, and they’re great, funny battles. But with Usopp fighting Chew, it showed Oda’s ability to shine in a certain way. Like Toriyama and Dragon Ball, Oda’s been very influenced by Jackie Chan, because Jackie Chan fights are awesome, visually stunning fights, but they’re funny. And that’s what Oda strives for sometimes. When you combine the action with the gags, you get something very special. You’re not just excited, but you’re laughing, too. And I think Usopp’s battles represent the pinnacle of that. It clicked for me there and it became a page-turner. It feels like what a shonen action series should be. And I enjoy Oda’s different takes on it, but he does it so well here.

I’m glad you bring up Toriyama and Dragon Ball because if you read any interview with any Shonen Jump author, they praise Toriyama. And it’s deserved. The man’s battle scenes and pacing have never been beaten and probably never will be. He’s the master. But one of the things I like about Oda is that he doesn’t try to copy them. Rather, he takes bits and pieces and spins it off into his own thing. Do you remember the Oda interview with Toriyama where he was like “I really liked Tao Pai Pai …”

From Color Walk 1.

And Toriyama was like “I ... drew that?” It’s the funniest thing in the world to me.

I think his exact words were “Now you’re getting into the minor characters.” And Oda’s like “MINOR CHARACTERS?”

He nearly killed Goku! But I dig that kind of reverence and inspiration. So Nami’s backstory — it’s heart-wrenching. Bellemere’s awesome. Makes you wish she was still around in the series.

Isn’t that perfect? That’s exactly what he goes for.

In the end, she refuses to say that she doesn’t have children, even after a bad spat with Nami. This flashback is one of my favorite ones. What did you get out of it and how did it take the story to another level? Because to match it, every flashback to come had to do some heavy lifting.

Every detail in this flashback builds on itself. There’s no excess. And maybe outside of the Chopper backstory, I can’t think of another backstory that is so full of necessary information that weaves into a single narrative. Every event evokes an emotion in the reader and pushes the story forward. Bellemere has the fight with Nami, makes dinner to reconcile with her, a Fishman crew member sees the cooking smoke from her house, the Fishmen find her, she refuses to discount Nami as her family, and she’s killed. It all comes together so neatly in three chapters, I think. Oda sets a reeeeeally high bar for himself, but to be able to match that through nearly a hundred volumes of story takes a special kind of manga genius. It’s also the very first time I cried while reading manga.

Next, we run through basically a Greatist Hits collection of One Piece moments: Nami asks for help, Luffy gives Nami the hat, the march to Arlong Park, Luffy slugs Arlong, the fights happen, Luffy brings down the Gum Gum Battle Axe, Arlong’s spine gets turned into clam chowder, etc. So much of what we think about One Piece is distilled into the final chapters of Arlong Park. So do you have a favorite moment from this climax? I honestly can’t pick.

I didn’t realize this when I first read it, and it took me several years to understand the importance of the giving of the hat. It’s one of only two times in the series that Oda uses five exclamation points in a row. The other one is when Luffy comes swooping in to save Vivi from Crocodile. Even the famous “dreams of mankind will never end” doesn’t get five. Luffy’s pissed and the best part about this is that he doesn’t have a single reason to be. He knows nothing about Nami’s history and actively refuses to listen to it. He takes a nap instead. He’s just ready to be a tool for her, so when she asks him to help her? YOU GOT IT. And then, the next thing he tells her, after the fight with Arlong, he tells her that she’s his crewmate. Nami has held this by herself for so long, she’s so strong, and she finally opens up to accept help from someone else. And it tells us that Luffy knows what kind of person you are, even if he doesn’t know that much about you. He might be dumb and reckless and strong, but there’s a spark there. He can read you.

One thing I like in the anime is that Nami is the first Straw Hat introduced in the story. She’s at the boat party that gets attacked by Alvida, and her showing up there and then being the main focus of Arlong Park bookends East Blue and kind of turns it into her saga. But as they leave this arc and head to Loguetown, what is new about One Piece? What's there that wasn't around before?

That’s a good question.

Because I hear many people say “Arlong Park is what made me a One Piece fan.”

You get to see their daily routines onboard their full ship. You have the established East Blue crew in one location and we get a slice of life. In just a few scenes or panels, you finally get to watch the crew relax. You get a window on their lives and there’s a sense of completeness. It’s a warm, fuzzy feeling.

ONE PIECE LIGHTNING ROUND!

Favorite character?

Luffy, Franky, and Zoro.

Favorite villain?

Arlong.

Favorite fight scene?

Luffy vs Bellamy. It’s so satisfying.

One Piece island that you’d want to live on?

Skypiea.

What Devil Fruit would you eat?

Flower-Flower fruit that Nico Robin uses. I’d get so much work done.

One Piece moment that made you cry the most?

Bellemere’s death.

One Piece moment that made you cheer the loudest?

The defeat of Lucci. That was remarkable.

Stay tuned for the next installment of "My Favorite One Piece Arc" as we speak with Aggretsuko and The Black Mage writer Daniel Barnes about his favorite One Piece arc: Marineford!!

Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

By: Daniel Dockery

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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velkynkarma · 8 years ago

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Hey VelkynKarma! I just read that post you made about a hypothetical One Piece/Voltron crossover. It was awesome! One Piece is my favorite anime and I love Voltron! Here's my question to you: say, hypothetically, Shiro is with the Straw Hats and a Galra commander or whatever shows up. He starts taunting him with the usual Champion/broken soldier/belonging-to-the-Galra crap. What would be the crew's reactions? (Individual or group, I'll leave up to you.)

Oh man, what an interesting question! I got kind of into thinking about this one, so answers under the cut.

As a general rule, the Strawhat crew looks out for its own, but they also tend to not pry unless necessary. I don’t think a Galra commander showing up would particularly bother them, or even initially referring to Shiro as ‘Champion.’ Epithets are pretty common in One Piece after all, they’d probably just assume it’s Shiro’s marine-given name in the same way lots of people refer to Luffy as ‘Strawhat.’ There’s all manner of weird people in the One Piece universe, I don’t think they’d bat an eye at a furry purple guy showing up (hell, Luffy will probably ask if he poops). And everyone has enemies in One Piece, or pasts they don’t necessarily talk about as a general rule. The Strawhats tend to not dig into somebody’s backstory unless it becomes a key part of whatever adventure they’re on. (For example, Robin, who’s been wanted since she was a very young child, but Luffy didn’t consider knowing the ‘why’ of that all that important even when he was storming Enies Lobby to rescue her). As far as the Straw Hats are concerned, your crewmate’s past is their own business unless they want to share it with you, and I don’t think Shiro would bother to really explain it. There’s just too much to try an explain, both from the perspective of ‘there’s a lot of story to tell’ and ‘there’s a lot about my world I’d have to explain just to make this story make sense.’That said, once they realize Shiro is hurt in some way by this attacker, all bets are off. Shiro had a very visceral reaction to Sendak’s taunts in Crystal Venom, and I’m not sure he’d be able to avoid the same thing if a Galra officer really started messing with his head. And you know what the Straw Hat Pirates do to people who mess with their crew member’s heads? Mess’em up. Big time. Luffy flat-out will not stand for anyone hurting his crew in any way, shape or form, and Shiro’s an unofficial member. The moment he catches on to this guy hurting Shiro in any way, he’s going to pile drive him into the ground, probably entirely literally, and the rest of the Straw Hats won’t be far behind.That’s a general response, but I think a few other characters would have a more particular individual response. Luffy, of course, is going to be at the head of the pack messing up this Galra officer, but Luffy also has a weird tendency to see things very differently than most people. I can see him saying something surprisingly insightful or wise to support his newest crew member, something that will probably catch Shiro completely by surprise (because Luffy just...doesn’t seem the type, most of the time). Zoro I think could be an interesting case. He’s not the type of character to go out of his way to say nice things, but he is the big defender of the crew. If Luffy says beat it up or kill it, he does it, end of story, because Luffy Says. I think he’d mess up this Galra officer almost as much as Luffy would, but I think Zoro can also relate to Shiro in a way most crew members can’t. Zoro’s definitely one of the most bloodthirsty members of the team and willing to do whatever it takes to win; this is the guy ready and willing to cut his own limbs off to win a fight. I think he could probably resonate with the ‘Champion’ part of Shiro very well, and probably provide some silent support in that regard. (Or, if it’s very clearly messing with Shiro, he might even say something--although it will still be short, blunt, and to the point). Nami, I think, could also strongly relate. Nami also knows what it’s like to be ‘owned’ by a race that’s been absolutely cruel to you; her entire story with Arlong and being used for her own abilities is extremely similar. She knows what it’s like to be literally marked by that group owning you (with her tattoo, compared to Shiro’s scars and arm). Nami also knows what it’s like to feel powerless to escape it, and how isolated it can feel. She also has since learned what it means to have friends to support you in it, and how much that can really help when you feel otherwise completely helpless, so I think she could strongly relate. And Nami can have tact and kindness when she feels like it; I feel like afterwards she might go out of her way to do something to reassure him, just like she does with other characters who are “temporary crew members.” Robin I also feel will very strongly relate to Shiro, and if this were to take place after Enies Lobby, she may even willingly speak about her own experiences just to give him something to relate to. She knows what it’s like to be given a title you don’t want and to be accused of doing horrific things. She also knows what it’s like to do anything you can do to survive, and being forced to do some terrible things, just because you aren’t given a chance to leave that situation. The Galra officer taunting Shiro like that would leave her infuriated--a rare moment of anger usually reserved for destroying her precious artifacts and ruins. She’s been through that hell and she wouldn’t willingly wish it on anybody else. Robin, like Zoro, is also one of the few Straw Hat members implied to have done some darker stuff in her past, so I think she would also understand the ‘Champion’ part of Shiro very well, too.Franky I can see being absolutely LIVID the moment he realizes that it’s one of THESE guys that took Shiro’s arm and replaced it. Like, it’s cool tech okay, it’s the best of the best, but you don’t DO that without permission, and if you have to do it, you make sure you do it RIGHT. Lion-bro’s arm has been his job to look after since he first showed up and he’s pissed at whoever did that to him. The moment he’s got a target to go after for that, he’s gonna really do his best to mess him up. I think the only person who might get madder is Luffy, and that’s only because Luffy’s rages are classic. I don’t really see Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, or Brook having any particularly strong reactions outside of ‘hey that’s our crew member you mess with him and you mess with all of us.’ Chopper might know something about mental health or PTSD enough to help treat it, but mental illness isn’t really heavily covered in One Piece, so I’m not sure if that’d be a thing he knows about. Sanji might have a more visible reaction if he somehow learns of bad food rules or regulations while Shiro was a prisoner (I wouldn’t be surprised if withholding food was a punishment), but that’s only in the very specific instance that it comes up. Usopp and Brook might do their best to cheer Shiro up after the fact, if he needs it still, but I don’t think either of them could really connect to his situation or reaction. Just pray they don’t recruit Zoro, Sanji, and Franky for Docking as a way to cheer Shiro up because could you just fucking imagineBut yeah, basically they’d all beat the shit out of this Galra officer, and then some of them might try to help afterwards if they understand what he’s dealing with. In their own special ways, of course.

#anonymous #voltron #one piece #velkynkarma thoughts #hah this was fun #Anonymous

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