#did ace look at robin's wanted poster and think

[trans-fushiguro]

good morning everyone today i will think about the robin and ace parallels and the sanji and sabo parallels

[grandline-fics]

Hiiiii this is my first time requesting something so sorry if this doesn’t make any sense, but is it okay if you do some silly Headcanons of Ace, Shanks, or Crocodile with a serious s/o that is just the complete opposite when seeing something cute like a puppy??

DESCRIPTION: You’re completely serious until you see something cute

WARNINGS: nothing comes to mind

CHARACTERS: Ace, Shanks, Crocodile

WORDS: 1,933

A/N: Thank you for this request, sorry you had to wait so long for this and I hope you like how it turned out.

I've been making the most of this burst of energy and feeling well by getting as much writing done as I can. Here's hoping it lasts. As always thank you all for reading. Enjoy

*REQUESTS ARE OPEN*

MASTERLIST | PROMPT LIST

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ACE

You were a naturally serious person and you couldn’t help it. Sure you enjoyed spending time with the people you loved and cared about but when it came to expressing that emotion, especially a smile that went beyond the brief upturn of the corner of your mouth it was a rare occurrence. You made no turn to apologise for your personality, those that knew you had no doubt about how loving and loyal you were and they wouldn’t change you for anything. Ace especially adored you just the way you were. Besides he was the one that smiled constantly so he would always say you both balanced each other out perfectly. 

There was also another reason why he liked how your smile and expressions of light-heartedness were so rare. He loved that they were mostly reserved for him and if anyone else got to see them then they’d try and take you from him. Obviously Ace knew that was impossible but he still liked to think of something that was intimately yours and his. However one day Ace and the rest of the crew stumbled across a sure fire way to get passed your natural stoicism completely by accident and it was all Ace’s doing. 

“Hey check it out! My little brother’s crew got posters!” Ace called out the the crew one day with a proud grin as he read over the story that accompanied the Strawhat crew’s introductory bounties. Playfully you rolled your eyes despite your expression remaining as calm as always as you approached your boyfriend. You’d heard him talk countless times about his little brother and had heard about the small crew he’d assembled from the time Ace briefly reunited with them in Alabasta but apart from the Captain and his second in command, Zoro you hadn’t seen their appearances until now. 

“They attacked Enies Lobby?” You asked, letting out a low whistle of respect at the new crew’s reckless actions. The rest of the crew listening finally took notice too, all of them could repeat Ace’s adoring speeches about Luffy word for word by now so hadn’t really taken noticed of the second division commander’s announcement until now. “At least they know how to get the world’s attention.” You mused, taking the pile of posters into your hand to inspect the totals. Your eyes flicked over the likes of Luffy, Zoro, and Robin with familiarity. They already had bounties so it was nothing new. For Sanji, Nami, Franky, and Usopp you took in their features to recognise them in future. In Ace’s mind his little brother’s crew were like family too.

Finally you pulled out the last poster and a strange noise broke from your lips, startling everyone in the crew as they looked at you. The noise had been shocking enough but to see your eyes all but sparkling and giddy smile light your face threw them off even more. “He’s so cute!” You grinned at the picture of Chopper in your hands, overcome by the adorable reindeer. “Ace! Why did you hide this from me!”

“I did!” Ace protested, recovering faster than the others since he’d been privileged to see this side of you before. “I told you there was a reindeer thing on Luffy’s crew!” Wincing when you lightly flicked his forehead.

“He’s not a thing! He’s adorable!” You admonished before smiling broadly at the bounty photo again. ”He looks so soft, I just want to hug him.” Ace watched you with a deepening pout, jealous suddenly of a photo and hoped you and the reindeer never crossed paths.

SHANKS

Sometimes your seriousness felt like a curse when you were on Shanks’ crew. While everyone else followed their Captain’s whims of adventure and revelry without any thought of consequences or limitations, you felt alone at times in being the one to offer a voice of reason when the occasion called for it. While you knew your crew was an immensely strong one, practically undefeated you also knew how quickly the tide could turn against anyone who wasn’t careful. In the unpredictability and cruelty of the life you’d all chosen for yourselves, it was better to be safe than sorry. When you and Shanks became a partnership in a physical and romantic sense, that weight of having to be the serious and level-headed one only seemed to increase. 

Thankfully Shanks was the perfect partner to have, even before you were a couple he would boast to anyone that would listen that he knew you’re every emotion despite the neutral and serious expression you had. As imperceivable as you appeared to many, Shanks could read you like a book. It was also a little infuriating that he knew your weaknesses and what would make you show your feelings a little more to others. You don’t even know how it happened but Shanks liked to make a game out of it, whoever could make you a full smile got anything they wanted. Obviously Shanks wasn’t allowed to take part and the game was only when you permitted it such as when you were all in a safe territory. In all the crew’s attempts no-one had ever won. 

On one evening you sat beside Shanks as you waited patiently for the others to start making their first of many turns to get a reaction out of you. As always, everyone that was taking part was filled with swagger and ‘had the winning technique’ but after a couple hours with your expression as unmoving as always, the bolster had ebbed into mass dejection and turning to their drinks for consolation. The only people truly enjoying their night were those that knew better than to try and Shanks who laughed happily and pulled you close. “Imagine if they found out how easy it was.” He grinned in your ear. Quickly you glanced at him, amusement in your eyes while you expression was masterfully neutral. 

Just as you were about to relax you heard a rustling behind you and you looked towards the noise while the others paid no notice. Which was why they hadn’t known what took your attention until you’d gotten out of your seat to investigate and you let out a surprised squeal when you found what it was. Having never heard the sound from you before the crew was frozen in place and their eyes bugged out when you reappeared, the largest adoring smile on your face aimed at the bundle of fur in your arms. 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Ben muttered as he watched you settle back into your seat beside Shanks, your attention raptly on what he now saw what the answer to Shanks’ game was. “A kitten? They smile for a kitten.”

“Well anything cute, but yeah.” Shanks grinned, looking over your shoulder to lightly scratch under the kitten’s chin as it purred. 

“He’s just like you Shanks, look.” You cooed, the smile never leaving your face as you adjusted the kitten against your chest to show it only had three legs. “He’s coming with us, by the way.” You added before getting lost in pouring affection onto the tiny creature. Shanks let out a small amused huff. All the other times you’d pleaded to bring all the cute animals you came across onto the ship, he had to restrain himself from giving in to your every wish and tell you no, this time however there was no room for arguing and he wasn’t going to if it meant he got to enjoy your smile more.  

CROCODILE

“Crocodile, you might want to go to do some damage control before they murder someone.” Crocodile looked up from his stack of paperwork to see Mihawk had already left his doorway. There was only one person that the swordsman would warn him about, you. With a heavy breath he rose and walked down the hallway and opened the door to see you sitting at your desk, papers fisted tightly in one hand while the other was clamped against your head as you tried to rub the knot causing a tension headache away. Slowly you lifted your head at stared at your lover with cold fury. 

“If that clown blows the budget I’ve assigned him one more time I’ll kill him and I don’t care how valuable he is to the face of this business.” You seethed, watching him approach and set himself against the edge of the large desk. You eyed him evenly watching as a growing smirk appeared on his handsome face. Obviously you didn’t share his humour in this situation but then again you were the outwardly colder of the couple. Compared to your constantly serious expression, Crocodile came across as a sweetheart. When his large hand fell over yours and lightly coaxed your fist to relaxed you only then realised how tightly you’d been holding the now wrecked papers. With a sigh you discarded them with a swipe before returning your hand to Crocodile’s hold. “Out of curiosity, is there anyway we can just get rid of him and hire a normal clown to take his place?”

“As much as I’d love to fulfil your wish, my love sadly he’s needed and the Marines would notice a fake.” Crocodile chuckled.

“You give them too much credit.” You muttered evenly, you had more faith in Buggy’s ability to stick to a spending budget than you did in the Marines as a whole. You glared at your ruined paperwork that had caused your anger and the untouched bundle of work that you couldn’t bring yourself to touch. Sitting back in your seat, you dropped your free hand to pinch the bridge of your nose while your eyes closed slowly. 

“Headache still there?” He asked, watching you nod. Crocodile made a note to punish Buggy in his own way later on but at this moment you were the priority and he grinned triumphantly when the surprise he was withholding until later on was now just what you needed. Crocodile stood and pulled your hand, a silent request for you to stand. “Come on, I know what will help.”

“Unless it’s putting a sea prism stone boot up the clown’s ass I’m not in the mood.” 

“Oh come now, entertain me.” Crocodile urged smoothly, leading you out of the office and down the corridors. “I’ve never steered you wrong have I?”

“Apart from seducing me, corrupting my innocent soul, and leading me into a life of crime? No.” You said sarcastically earning a laugh from your lover. The only thing he was guilty of in that list was seducing you. You were already a criminal and far from innocent when he met you. 

When you both approached the basement you gave Crocodile a suspicious look before realisation hit you. Without him needing to say anything you hurried into the area only you and he entered, the Bananawari enclosure. You approached the warmest section and gasped in excitement to see heavy cracks had appeared in the cluster of eggs in the centre. Crocodile smirked as he stood beside you, it seemed your timing couldn’t have been more perfect. In moments the eggs broke open and the newest additions of his pets appeared eliciting an excited laugh from you. With a bright smile that only Crocodile got to see you started to talk affectionately to the newborns as someone else would a puppy or baby. To him there was no better sight in the world.

“Oh you’re all so precious, yes you are.” You grinned. “Would you all like to meet your dear, possibly delicious Uncle Buggy?”

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TAG LIST (If I've missed anyone or if you want to be added just let me know) @3v37773, @tsaaps , @i-am-all-love-puns-and-lazy , @sanemisnonexistenteyebrow , @fiery-captain-spider-santa

[mayordea]

TIME FOR THE LONG ASS 2024 REVIEW

i am once again gonna review each highlighted piece i have made in 2024 so far like last year even though it's sort of unnecessary i have a bit to commit to

yappery under the cut

JANUARY

jan's piece is my smash poster celebrating the 25TH anniversary! this after i got rlly into making giant multi-character ensemble pieces, and i've wanted to do a poster like this to celebrate smash, so i'm glad i was able to step up to plate. usually i think my art from january ages pretty bad in these reviews, but i actually still like it from the composition, colors, and the drawings of the characters. i still have the print of it hanging in my room! ^o^ other highlights from the month is the complimentary poster i did with smash ultimate's dlc cast... well i kinda mention that out of obligation because i actually do think this one aged like ass, mainly the shading on the characters looking pretty bad (especially as a print). i think i shoulda saved this idea for later in the year to time it with smash ultimate's release day of december 7 (i am extremely deadline-pilled) but i probably wouldn't have cared by then so i just did it like, immediately after the 64 poster. so it probably smacks of burnout + i can't shade with blue that well

FEBRUARY

this one sorta represents seven whole drawings i did for one series. it's my seven piece set of artworks based on mothy's evillious chronicles, and i chose rilliane's because i think at the time i was putting this together i thought she came out the best (i began assembling this starting april 2024 lol), but idk! i still think she's pretty solid but i think she's tied up with kayo and banica. one thing's for sure, i know sateriasis is my least favorite of the bunch by a wide ass margin, i really wish i executed it better! not much other interesting highlights for this month besides my other vocaloid art series, the alice of human sacrifice ace cards. i think they aged alright but again this is another idea that i wanna execute better in the future.

MARCH

oh boy another series!!! this was part of my four part series redrawing the crossed paths artwork from octopath traveler ii. i chose the one featuring partitio and osvald because it was my favorite at the time. i still think it aged pretty nicely but it has some rendering hiccups that rlly bother me but in terms of colors/the background i still like it. if i had to pick a new favorite, it might go to throné and tenemos or cassti and ochette. another notable highlight of this year was a piece of oc art i made. i need to do something unabashedly overdramatic and angsty with my ocs again cuz i still like this one too. i think i opted out of selecting this one to highlight since cropping a face was kinda awkward lol.

APRIL

an overdramatic oc art has been highlighted! another one i like (it's almost like i picked my best for this chart). it was sorta the origin of me using my favorite watercolor brush in procreate to have an extremely rough idea of the colors that naturally blend together, creating a pretty cohesive palette when i render it (which is the current basis for how i render in my current style). april otherwise is kinda boring idk i don't like a lot of the other drawings here lol. this utsu-p album redraw ft robin is still pretty cool tho imo.

MAY

i feel like i had some nice variety to pick from, but i chose my improvisational and edgy grima drawing since i think stylistically it stands out the most. i found my new favorite sketching/doodling pencil brush in procreate and made a whole drawing using it, and the texture is so niiiice. other highlights: COOL OC ART (ft kandy). part of me feels like it's kinda corny but i was born on da cob so whatever, this one was fun and i still like it!!! there was also my art based on bad end night. i'm a tiny bit mixed on the rendering/colors, idk i was experimenting with a different brush for lining and shading and the slight difference in texture makes it a little weird but that is shit that only matters to me. i think it's a hell of a lot better than the bad end night drawing i made back in 2022, so in terms of "redemption" i think it was successful.

JUNE

kind of a boring month tbh, i got miitopia-pilled again so i was probably busy playing that this month + i was home for the summer and i am extremely lazy when i am at home lol. but to compliment the dive back in my miitopia era i made a sorta sketchy drawing with kandy as my great sage. check it, it's another with my new pencil brush, and i definitely remember having fun with this one (though her robe physics kinda make no sense based on how i drew her ref, i never look at my refs for my ocs/i usually break their designs to fit certain poses silhouettes 💀💀💀). uh i guess the one other interesting piece (imo) from this month was my giant miitopia poster that i was too chicken shit to share proper until recently (if you missed the edit where you can fully see it, there ya go). it's kinda oversaturated vomit and i'm not crazy proud of the execution but it was ambitious and kandy's section still looks really good imo so it has value in that regard to me.

JULY

i participated in my first artfight this july! i drew many cool ocs. by about the halfway mark i got hella burnt out tho and started doing my own stuff to freshen things up (it was also around here when galasynth entered production and i met MANY AMAZING VOCALOID ARTISTS!!! SHOUTOUT TO THOSE MUTUALS :)))))). for this month i chose my poster based on touhou eosd since i think this might be the most gracefully aged piece the whole year (it's probably my favorite!!). the colors just came out real nice.... idk!! a notable piece from this month that couldn't be posted in july cuz of zine nda's was my actual galasynth piece. this was a pretty significant piece since it permanently altered my current rendering/coloring workflow (sorta established in the highlighted piece in april but now with lineart and with a differently textured brush). the touhou poster was created shortly after as a response to this new workflow! other one of note was my perfect cherry blossom poster

AUGUST

brave frobin's design for feh was revealed and i drew it 😼😼😼 (AND I CALLED IT earlier this month. not that i needed to use a lotta braincells but). this was a further step in practicing my new rendering style and see how detailed and meticulous i could get with the colors when i had ONE character to focus on with NO background and i think it was pretty successful. though im glad i posted the wip cuz the colors were probably better there than the rendered... what overthinking does to a mf. another banger from this month was a piece of oc art, it's nothing special but it was a rendered panel redraw of an unpublished comic i made of them and i liked it so yeah. (i also posted my decora una drawing this month which was my scrapped concept for galasynth, but according to my notes it was actually finished in july... but shoutouts to it regardless)

SEPTEMBER

aaaagh this month didn't have much goin on, probably cuz i went back to school around here and the work was getting crazy 💀💀 but i still found time to make something i'm proud of! i drew my oc based on a twitter prompt a mutual of mine shared and i reeeaaally still like it!! especially the details on the corals waow... (i don't really have much else from this month that i consider noteworthy enough to mention here so :P)

OCTOBER

spooky art!!!!! i didn't have much interesting going on this month because again i got very academically demanded of and didn't have much time to draw, BUT i vowed to make a tribute piece to "trick&treat" by oster project for halloween, so i hauled ass to get something ready for that and to have ONE traditional drawing this year (yeah i didn't draw a lot on paper this year unfortunately ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️). other highlights: a traditional drawing of gekiyaku pills for vsynthtober which i did a whole two prompts of (you just saw all of them) + a digital drawing of geki (i really started to like gekiyaku around this time). as much as i still like the latter's colors and texture it sorta started a bad trend where i sorta just drew characters from the shoulders up with not much pose to speak of + no interesting background just for the sake of coloring it. not that it's completely devoid of value but it was a pattern i was starting to get a little to comfortable with. i'll touch more on this in the closing thoughts section, but this new rendering style did sorta hinder my want to experiment with my digital rendering styles compared to previous years where i prided myself on having a bunch.

NOVEMBER

BOTH of my favorite pieces from this month fall in the same trap as the thing i mentioned above. i picked my drawing of hibiki koto for the chart since the pastels added a nice value shakeup. i STILL LIKE IT, it's nice, but did perpetuate this bad habit/shortcut. the other one was my drawing of great sage kandy (current pfp!). the colors here are pretty fuckin nice still imo, so as a coloring tech demo like this flavor of drawing i was doing i think it succeeded.

DECEMBER

AND FINALLY, the end of the year. i finished my december piece early in the year kinda just to check the box off and get this chart off my back (a totally normal thing people do when drawing art throughout the year). i have wanted to do a legacy of lunatic kingdom poster like my eosd one for a while after falling in love with its ost, but it just felt scary. the characters were very detailed and also there were moreeee 😭😭😭 but i got myself to do it cuz i found myself tempted to fall in the same trap as described in october/november (i was gonna draw koishi with the same crop/thought for the bg/emphasis on rendering. you might see her done by the end of the year), but i was like "NO, i must earn this laziness" and finally did something ambitious again. and yeah, i think i did pretty good with this one, even if the crowding of characters and details is sorta unruly.

ok so maybe i'm a little artistically constipated rn

doing this thorough review has sorta gotten me worried. i talked about this in my review last year, but i wondered if my progress has plateaued since i liked a lot of my art throughout the year and didn't see much significant improvement. but looking back no i definitely improved from 2023, and i'd say i broke some new ground with experiments i did throughout the year (the piece from december is still my banner!!). i also had a few different digital rendering styles i played around with for some variety.

this year, after the completion of my galasynth piece, i got really stuck in a specific rendering style and didn't rlly experiment that much with shaking it up. i also didn't feel compelled to try doing solid lineart or rough paintings, and i got stuck in a "halfbody with basic poses and backgrounds" pit when i know i can do better and more cool if i just TRIED.

i am writing this pretty early in december so hopefully i can bring something new to the table..... idk, maybe the differences in my digital coloring styles are only visible to me, but i certainly notice this repetition and wanna break out of my current bubble! i am working on a collab piece that should go live by spring next year that will hopefully do this :) (and i certainly won't be abandoning my current style, at least not overnight/without trying to evolve it, cuz i really like it and have received many kind compliments from people about it! so thank you thank you!!!!)

i look back at some of my pieces from last year and earlier this year and see some variety in how i go about rendering or textures or colors and wanna go back to that. so that'll be my goal for the rest of december + 2025!!!!! ^_^

anyway that's that, it was a good year despite my current crisis, i think i made some good art. also don't be like me and feel obligated to make nice art every month for an aesthetic chart, i do it cuz i draw fast and i am easily satisfied by them. take breaks touch grass drink water, play and draw. yay!

[psychicxhearts-blog1]

Adding more to the Rook being Robin Hood Theory/ Rare Beastmen Theory:

Hello folks. Me at it again with another theory, but this time about Rook. Now if you don't know there has been a theory about Rook being Robin Hood for years. Thing is I have my own take on the theory and I want to share it. Sad to say I can't find the original poster for the "Rook is Robin Hood theory" But if you can please tell me so I can credit the OP. But I do want to share this theory someone else did on twitter about Rook being a beastmen as well by in a different point of view. Here is the link: https://twitter.com/MoonlightEquin1/status/1625355871999098880 I also want to add the theory that me and my friend @dgttwisted had about a rare beastmen birth that could happen. I promise it's not gross. Just a theory that could connect to Rook, but first I am going to cover the Robin Hood Rook theory. As well as cover one thing that people forget about Robin Hood that could connect to Rook more. With that out the way let's go to the theory. Also Spoilers to the Robin Hood movie and Twisted wonderland so warning when reading.

For those who don't know there is a theory that Rook might be a twst version of Robin Hood. To recap I want to abridge what the theory points out, and even bring up what others over looks for how similar Rook and Robin are. Sadly I can't find the original post of the theory so if I forgot something or if I point out something that was addressed to it in things I noticed, then I apologize for that mistake. What has been said by others of the theory:

1.) Rook Hunt and Robin Hood have the same initials. (R.H) 2.) Both are good archers or known to be archers. 3.) Rook's unique magic is "I see you" Which is him being able to locate anyone in Twisted wonderland with a arrow. Which could connect to Robin Hood's skill to always lock onto a target. 4.) Rook has a great sense of smell, has good eyesight, and amazing hearing which are almost super human in a way. Which also translates to his archery and hunter theme. Because of these things people think Rook might be related to fox Beastmen in some way.

5.) Both Rook and Robin like to tease a lion who are not king. 6.)Rook has 5 siblings meaning his parents have 6 kids. Same number of kids Robin told Marian he wanted to have with her. 7.) Robin told Marian that he wanted to travel the world with her. Rook mentions that his family own villas all over the world. As well his family loved to travel. 8.) Both have feathers on there hats. Things that people over look with the both of them:

Finally! Time to flex about this. The reason I know of these things is because I found out from my mom, that this was the movie I watched a lot as a lil kid, and re watching it again I noticed more details about Rook and Robin. Which I do want to go into detail with. Now on with the facts 1.) Both Rook and Robin praises those to make things happen. With Rook he praised everyone's talents and even how to work on there weaknesses in chapter 5. Not only that but Rook convinced Vil to let Deuce and Ace into the group, cause if he didn't then Ace and Deuce would have not been in that battle with Vil's OB. As well as Rook helping Epel out with Vil in Epel's Ceremonial Robe SR card. Robin on the other hand has used his words to find out things or to let people drop there guard. In points of the movie you can see this with Robin praising sheriff of Nottingham and the sheriff smiling over his praises from the start of him disguising as a Romani woman (I am not saying the G slur!) to him disguising as a bird to shake the sheriff's hand, and when he was a guard to help him sleep to get the keys to make the jail brake happen. 2.) Speaking of them praising others did you know that Robin hood can go on and on with praises to get what he wants to the point of talking forever unless someone stops him? It could be due to the fact that foxes are very vocal animals. If you don't believe me on that then look it up for yourself. And we know that Rook is very vocal as a person as well. With us finding out in chapter 6 that him and Vil talked for hours in winter to the point that both got sick the next day.

3.) So as you know Robin likes to mess with the king in the movie or just seems to know where he is at in the movie? Did you also know he likes to mess with and know where sheriff of Nottingham as well? A man who is doing what he is told and even a debt collector collecting taxes from the town's folk. Hey guess what. You know who Rook likes to mess with or know where they are at all points? Both Leona and the leech twins. And you know what the leech twins do? They help collect debts for Azul as well as the sheriff of Nottingham having yellow eyes like the twins who have a yellow eye due to there heterochromia didn't escape me. 4.) Did you know that Maid Marian and Snow white have something in common? A well known fact is that in the making of Robin Hood they had to cut corners due to having low funds with making the movie. So in Robin Hood there is a scene where Maid Marian's dance is rotoscoped from the scene of Snow White dancing with Dopey as well as a earlier scene of when Maid Marian clapping mirroring before Snow white starts to dance with her clapping as well. Which means that Rook being a fan of Neige might have a double meaning form this. 5.) Rook and Robin's eyes go smaller when they are shocked. I know others in the game do this as well, but look at them! Same vibe. 6.) Both are sneaky or always plotting. Robin plotting to be with Maiden Mary, giving King John a hard time, and helping out the townsfolk. Rook wanting to be around Vil, helping others out, or wanting to find out others weaknesses, and only using his UM to track people when he can't do it in normal means. Rook is a rare beastmen birth theory:

Now that I am done with those facts I want to talk about the Rook is a beastmen theory. This theory was made thanks to the help of @dgttwisted who really opened my eyes to this what if and me adding to it with my knowledge of basic fox facts. So remembering me pointing out how Rook Hunt is Robin Hood with that recap and other things people over look? Well I think it's not that Rook is Robin Hood, but what if Rook's dad is Robin Hood based? I mean hear me out here. As much as kids don't want to admit it, but we get traits or pick up things form our parents. For me I get a lot of traits of my father. I move my leg to help me sleep, We have this small birth mole like thing on the side of our eye, and we both don't talk a lot and just enjoy vibes. So I was wondering if that same applied to Rook? What if Rook got to be so good at hunting and archery due to his dad? So that begs the question about his mother. Well I was thinking he got her passion? I am not saying Robin Hood wouldn't be passionate. I mean dear god they have six kids together. That's a lot to handle Especially if you know that Maiden Mary wanted a dozen kids, which is 12 kids at least when she was talking to Robin Hood about kids in the movie! Not only that but when Rook mentions that his family travels that means his parents traveled a lot with them. Which was something Robin and Mary wanted to do for there honey moon. So as you can see I am of the camp of this being the case with these facts in mind. Back on topic since they are fox beastmen or maybe one of them is a fox beastmen and the other is human (I have seen some people do fan art of it as of late). One of which I think the mother being a fox beastwoman while the dad is human, cause fun fact Maiden Mary design was reused to make Vixey from the Fox and the hound. But I can't deny that people believe that Robin Hood might have been reused to make Nick from Zootopia. (Sorry I couldn't find if Robin Hood was reused to make Nick, but did find the theory of Robin and Nick might being related.) Back to Rook. I think nearly all there kid's have fox physical characteristics. All but Rook. Think about it. Here is what the wiki says about this traits: Rook has very good eyesight, being able to tell what book Epel was reading from afar, He has a good sense of smell, and yet again he is good at hunting. So what if he has the inherent animal traits then the physical traits? Meaning he has things a fox beastmen has, but no tail or ears? Also know I need to address this as well, but what if that's why he was in Savanaclaw? I know others can go to Savanaclaw. It's not just full of beastmen, and other beastmen are in other dorms, but in early game that was the case until Yana (The creator/writer) pretty much changed it that anyone can join savanaclaw. Which I am thankful for. Which makes me wonder if Ruggie and Leona now that Rook is half beastmen or a 100 percent fox beastman, but kept that to themselves or maybe they don't know? If so if it's reviled that he is a beastmen with a rare birth, then I want it for when Rook just invites some of the cast to meet his family for a event, and his little siblings are running around him with fox ears and tail. And he is like, Rook: "Oh sorry. Guess the cat is out of the bag. But I am a fox beastmen. A rare one at that. If you don't believe me then ask my parents. Also look at my siblings! We are so alike that you can tell we came from the same parents." You have no idea how badly I want this! if me and my friend's theory is true.

UPDATE: 8/10/24 Another thing that is odd about him that could connect to Rook being a beastman is that well is least favorite food. If you go to his character bio you see that garlic is his least favorite food, and if you look up garlic and foxes you find out that foxes hate the smell of garlic, and so not like it what so ever. I found this out today so I thought I should share it before I forget. And that's it for the theory and facts about Rook. Did you like it? Hate it? Or was I just plan wrong about something or forgot another thing about Rook and Robin I over looked? Either way I would like to hear any and all options on this and I hope you are all having a lovely day. Edit: So more bonus stuff. For one of the merch they are selling we are shown stuff for each of the dorm students and will you look at that. Rook's is a GREEN ARROW! If that's not on the nose with him being connected to Robin Hood then I don't know what is, but nope there is one more.

Got this on twitter btw from a post replied to by YuuRei20 by a different person covering up the theory as well. This proves that Rook pretty much has a final smoking gun to being or is connected to Robin Hood in some way.

Done talking about it now until Yana says if he is a beastmen, half one, decented, a rare beastmen birth, is connected to Robin Hood or is just a normal human with Light Magic plot armor. Hope you enjoyed the post so far. Bye bye for now.

[cavernofstars]

Unprompted hypotheticals i send my friends part 2

All post-marineford spoilers

1: Do you think a part of why Luffy was so confident he could save Ace was because he was able to save Robin from enies lobby?

Do you think Luffy ever looks at Robin and thinks about enies lobby and how he was able to save her, but then thinks about Ace and doesnt understand why he couldnt save him if he could save her?

He would never trade one person for another, but do you think he ever gets sad when he sees her, thinking of how Ace wanted to live just like she did, but he didnt get to?

2: Luffy coping with Aces death in a opposite way to how he had coped with Sabos, since he tried not to talk about Sabo because it hurt, but now he talks about Ace because it hurts, but it helps.

Luffy pointing out little things the crew does that Ace did, little memories that he can watch live on through his closest friends, feeling like hes still there in all the ways he failed to keep Sabo around in his mind.

And the crew avoiding bringing Ace up at first, but then realizing it helps and frequently purposely doing those things because they knew Luffy likes seeing it?

3: Do you think that Luffy collects things that remind him of Ace or Sabo, and he keeps like any pictures from the newspapers or wanted posters of them?

Like after Ace died he started scrounging around any newspapers looking for images of Ace so that he wouldnt forget his face?

Like he has a whole collage of images up in his room.

4: Do u think that all the people who were the most important to Ace took a bead each of his necklace?

And either Luffy took the extras, and gave one to Yamato in Wano.

OR.

Even though it rlly hurt to do so, he gave his one to Yamato?

Shanks was the one to pick up the beads at the end of the battle, since it was because of him that the remains of Whitebeards crew even got to collect Ace's body.

Ivankov was the one who actually got the bead(s) to Luffy, since Luffy was already scooped up and taken away by Law, Iva would take em to plan to find him later on but then discovered Sanji and was like 'take.'

[msfantasy-anime]

My Wife

Monkey D. Luffy x Reader

Summary: a short story on Luffy treating reader as wife even though it was pretend luffy is adement it was legit.

Part I

“Y/n!” Luffy’s boisterous voice booms across the crowded dock. “What the heck are you doing here?! I missed you!”

Turning around, you see your beloved childhood friend with a wide cheesy smile. His arms sling shot out and begins to pull you into a hug, making any attempted escape impossible. Flying straight into Luffy with a loud ‘oft’. Usually you would be thrown into a foul mood when Luffy would carelessly manhandle you like this. But the joyous occasion of seeing your greatest friend has you in a more forgiving mood. Returning his wide smile, you lean into his hug with a bone crushing one of your own.

“I can’t believe you’re here Stretch! I missed you so much.” You announce leaving the crew somewhat dumbfounded.

“Ah Luffy, aren’t you going to introduce us to this beauty?” Sanji questions, taking your hand and begins to pucker his lips as he lean into your knuckles for a royal smooch.

Before Sanji had the pleasure to kiss your knuckles, Luffy’s thick hand smacks centre into Sanji’s face, pushing him away from your form.

“Don’t kiss my wife!” Luffy announces making his crew drop their jaws at the sudden proclamation.

“Your WHAT?!” They all scream in unison, making you belt an infectious laugh.

“Don’t tell me you’re still telling people that.” But Luffy only stands there with his arms crossed.

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re still my wife after all.” You just about choked.

“Luffy, I’m not your wife and you know it! It was just make believe!” But Luffy just tuned you out like he always did whenever you tried setting the record straight. A red-headed girl you recognised to be Nami from the wanted posters is the first to ask questions.

“Wait, what do you mean? Are you not Luffy’s wife?” As you were about to deny the status of your relationship, Luffy butts in.

“Are you deaf Nami?! I just said Y/n is my wife!” A vein pops straight from Nami’s head.

“I can hear perfectly fine moron!” Luffy begins to whine in pain as Nami pinches harshly at her captains cheeks.

“Soooooo…. Are you going to tell us the story on why Luffy thinks you’re married.” Brook asks sipping his tea.

“Sure, I mean, it’s nothing crazy. Back in the day, Luffy kept bringing me flowers everyday, and one day, just to tease him. Ace and Sabo held a fake wedding at their pirate hangout.” Luffy loudly deny’s any suggestion of the marriage being illegitimate.

“It wasn’t fake! We kissed and everything!” Luffy exclaim which makes you sigh in submission everytime he gets like this.

Sanji takes a long drag of his cigarette, his eyes bulging with an epiphany. “It all makes sense now. You know, I thought you were crazy for flat out rejecting Boa-Hancock, but now it all makes sense. Our captain is loyal to a fault, no matter what.” Luffy just nods as your jaw was left hanging on the ground.

“You denied THE pirate princess over a stupid fake ceremony we held as kids?! I don’t even think I have the will power to deny the pirate princesses advances.” You exclaim in utter surprise. But Luffy merely chuckles at your shocked demeanour.

“You can do whatever you want, it makes no difference to me. But you’re the only one for me.” His words are said so honestly, it was thoughtless. But his words pierced your heart like nothing else.

Franky begins to sob loudly into his elbow. “You guys! That was so sweet, ugh god, I’m so alone!” Robin begins to pat Franky’s shoulder.

“There- there Franky, even if you are lucky enough to to find romance, we all die alone in the end. So there is really no need to be anxious over being alone now, because will still be alone to the bitter end.” Franky jerks away from Robins ‘comfort’.

“Cut-it-out with all that depressing stuff! You’re making me feel worse.” The crew all just laugh.

But you continue to look at Luffy whose laughing hysterically.

Did he always look like that? When did he start looking so masculine? When did he start looking… so appealing? Was he always this attractive? As if feeling your stare, Luffy makes eye contact with you and proceeds to embarrass the living hell out of you.

“Hey Y/n, why are you so red? Are you sick or something.” You begin to blush furiously as Luffy’s hand reaches out to feel your forehead. “Hm, feels normal, are you red because your embarrassed or somethin?” His loud questions only serve to irritate you further at the humiliation.

But you can’t deny your Luffy has always been this stupid.

If you have the means to, tips are always appreciated.

[i-amsoup]

This actually reminds me of a theory I had a while back.

In real life one of the reasons (definitely not the only one but it is the one I know) that last names became a common thing was because when people started moving looking for work they needed a title or something similar to distinguish them from other people with the same first name (Jeff carpenter,Jeff cooper,etc)

So my theory is that it might be similar in one piece. Many towns are small enough that there would probably be no repeats. So the main people who would need a distinguishing title would be people who travel a lot. Pirates,traders,historians,etc (Also I’m not including royals and celestials since they’ve got a whole separate reason) and this really fits when you consider who has.

Luffy(whole family of adventurers and I’m sure that wackiness doesn’t stop at garp)

Zoro(Descendant of a wano citizen I’ll explain that later)

Portgas D ace (we don’t know enough about rouge to know for sure, but to be a D, fall in love with Roger, and hold a baby in for an extra year requires some skill)

Trafalgar d water law( he’s either a perfect example or another exception, if hes an exception here’s someone that explains it better than me)

Most of the D clan (all of them are widely spread which implies a lot of travel at some point)

Nico Robin and Nico Olivia(Olivia traveled for the scholars and presumably she had also predecessors that did similar)

Silvers rayleigh(we first see him as a drifter after his house burned down and It’s my headcanon he chose silvers to match Roger when his name was misspelled on the poster)

Wano citizens(a definite exception since wanos been closed and is more directly based on historical Japan so the reasons for last names are very different)

Also a bit more of a wild guess than a theory but I think the marines also had a hand in it. Since they put wanted posters up with the nicknames “god ussop, gold Roger, soul king Brook, etc” Many people would only learn about pirates through those posters and the nicknames start to become titles which could eventually become surnames. Just like how people sometimes call Zoro pirate hunter or jimbe first son of the sea.

three things about One Piece and names:

does nami straight up not have a last name.

actually how many of the straw hats even have last names. i'm aware that luffy and zoro have surnames (i think sanji maaaaybe has a surname but i can't tell if vinsmoke is supposed to be a last name or like a clan title or something), but a quick google search shows that most of them don't have last names actually? is there a special reason for that? does one piece's world have the surname/no surname distinction in universe or is it literally just about the aesthetic.

every day i go onto this webbed site and get forcefully reminded that luffy's first name is. in fact. monkey.

[superman86to99]

Adventures of Superman #506 (November 1993)

Superman vs. Superboy! I mean, vs. Superman, since the Kid still insists that Superboy is definitely NOT his name and never will be. The two Supermen meet while the younger, radder one is dealing with some sort of deformed flying babies that are trying to kill him, which is the sort of thing that happens to you when you wear an “S” emblem on your chest.

These turn out to be deformed flying babies THAT EXPLODE, but the Kid is able to push them away with his (very non-Superman-esque) telekinesis powers. He then deduces that these things must have come out of Project Cadmus, the top secret genetic experimentation facility that created him, and brushes off the elder Superman to get back at those geeks by doing what he does best: being a brat on live TV.

So I guess the “top secret” part of Cadmus’ description is no longer accurate, thanks to the Kid. On the other hand, I kinda feel like the people of Metropolis deserved to know that there's a nearby government facility churning out genetic atrocities into their sewers.

The Cadmus gang sends Guardian to bring their wayward creation home so they can talk to him. Obviously the Kid isn't very interested, and for a while it looks like we might get the fight scene teased in the cover, but then Superman the First convinces Superman the Second that he should at least hear them out. And, while at it, ask Cadmus to tell him exactly what the hell he is. If he’s Superman’s clone, why does he have those weird TK powers? The Kid agrees, but... he doesn't like the answers he gets.

The Kid finds out that he's NOT a clone of Superman since, as established a while back, Kryptonians are damn hard to clone. So, since Cadmus was determined to create a new Superman after the original appeared to be dead, they instead took a clone of a regular, non-super man and genetically modified it to approximate Superman's powers (for instance, translating Superman’s “aura” into a telekinetic field). But who was that human DNA donor? Surely it was someone good and cool!

Just after the Kid wonders that, the quite evil and deeply uncool Director Westfield bursts into the lab and demands that this "super-punk" be taken into custody, probably so they can flush him down the toilet like Cadmus' other failed experiments. Superman makes Westfield see that making Cadmus' whistleblower disappear wouldn't look very good right now, but they can't just let him run around unsupervised. So, at Guardian's recommendation, the esteemed telepath Dubbilex is assigned to follow the Kid wherever he goes. I smell a sitcom! (Or a spin-off comic.)

As a last order of business, the Kid decides to give Superman his trademark to the Superman name, which his manager Rex Leech doesn't take too well. So what are they gonna call this teenage “S” emblem-wearing hero now? Superman has an interesting suggestion: SUPERBOY. Our young friend still isn't a fan.

But after storming out and thinking about it for a couple of pages (and trying out the name on some guys robbing a jewelry shop), the Kid realizes he's "earned" the title of Superboy and accepts it. Character development! And just in time for his solo series. ("That Non-Superman Clone Who Also Calls Himself Superman" wouldn't look good on a cover.)

Plotline-Watch:

The final page shows a shadowy figure shaped like the recently introduced Bloodthirst outfitting someone with a weapon-teleporting gizmo, then calling him "Bloodsport"... except that this dude is quite paler than the Bloodsport we met way back in Superman #4 (in an issue inked by current writer Karl Kesel, so you'd think he'd remember the character). This looks nothing like Idris Elba! What gives?!

Superboy is still bummed out because his friend Tana Moon left Metropolis without telling him where she was going, which is now known as "ghosting". In the end, Rex talks about sending Superboy on a promotional tour to establish his new brand, and the first destination of that tour will be... exactly where Tana went to hide from Superboy. This is now known as "time to get a restraining order."

Clark Kent is slowly morphing into a hipster the longer he rooms with Jimmy Olsen. For a long time I assumed all the bands listed in the panel below were made up, but turns out the only non-existing ones are “James Rock” and "Axel Rose". Luckily, Superboy was happy to give Clark's old apartment back to him (apparently only Pulitzer-winning journalists can afford it), so Jimmy won't hipsterize him for much longer.

Westfield gladly assigns Dubbilex to Superboy because it means there won't be a telepath at Cadmus to read his thoughts and find out about his evil plans (like sending the ugly flying babies after Superboy). Very clever, Westfield! Except for the fact that he thought that right in front of Dubbilex, who clearly "heard" the whole thing.

Incidentally, there's an apparent error in this issue when Superboy thinks "They won't take me without a fight!" and Guardian shows up and says "That's too bad, son. Because I don't want to fight you." How did Guardian know what Superboy was thinking? Obviously, Dubbilex patched Guardian through to Superboy's mind to assist in finding him. Now where's my damn Baldy Award?!

Is it me or is this page reminiscent of the cover to Superboy Prime's first appearance during Crisis on Infinite Earths?

Patreon-Watch:

Special thanks to your Patreon pals Aaron, Murray Qualie, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, and Samuel Doran, and welcome aboard to Bheki Latha (our first $6.50 patron ever!), Mark Syp, and Ryan Bush! You are all excellent. This month they got to read a long-ass post entitled 45 Things I Learned by Reading the “Death of Superman” Novel (Part 1), in which I talked about the stuff Roger Stern added to the canon in the first part of the Death and Life of Superman book. This includes Superman’s private thoughts on the JLI (and Guy Gardner in particular), what Lex Jr. calls Supergirl in bed, and Professor Hamilton getting romantic. Find out more at https://www.patreon.com/superman86to99

But now: the Don Sparrow show! Take it away, Don.

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow​):

The end of an era, at least temporarily, as Tom Grummett draws his last Adventures of Superman issue, moving onto Superboy (and I think still doing Robin at this time?) with Karl Kesel.  He’ll return for the quarterly Superman: Man of Tomorrow and other things, but it’s a long gap until he does.

A pretty good cover, with Superman and Superboy about to tussle.   Though it can be seen as cheaping out on the backgrounds, I always love radial rays as an effect.  

Inside the issue, we have a great splash page of Superboy getting attacked by botched clones, and I love the gesture here—having his head snapping away from the camera adds to the motion and action.  Great stuff. 

Though he won’t be drawing her again for a while, Grummett excels at the new, shorter-haired Lois in these pages.  Superman soaring to the skies is a great panel as well, and I especially like the way his cape and fist slightly break the panel barrier, giving it a sense of motion, again.

The sequence of Guardian acrobatically flipping from one ledge to another is very well drawn.  Ditto the splash on page 13, where Superboy loses his temper.  The body language in this whole sequence tells the story very well, as Superman is calm and patient, confident in his ability not only to reach Superboy with his words, but also withstand him physically.  

The way Superboy snaps the carpet, but controls it mentally with his Tactile Telekinesis is a great example of his unique powers in use.  It reminds me of a technique they tried on the CW Supergirl show (but almost immediately abandoned) where they made like the Kryptonian fabric of their capes was like “smart fabric” and could be used as a weapon.  

Lastly, the dreamy, child-like expression on Superboy’s face during the Peter Pan exchange is wonderful, and a fitting end for Tom’s run on the book. [Max: You mean the William Shatner exchange, Don.]

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

I almost never like it when they reference pop culture stuff in Superman comics, particularly music.  Karl Kesel isn’t the worst offender in that department (that would be JM DeMatties a few years down the line, who had Clark Kent bizarrely asserting he loved the Beastie Boys) but Clark’s discussion with Jimmy about an apparently fictional musician working with a rolodex of early nineties names makes me cringe (as does trying to imagine how awful a “Hip Hop Lyle Lovett” or “Grunge Frank Sinatra” would sound).

The car poster on the wall of Jimmy’s bachelor pad looks for all the world like Robin’s Redbird, also a Tom Grummett creation.  (Fun fact:  Tom once told me he still gets {very small} royalty cheques from the Batman & Robin movie, because Robin’s motorcycle was called the Redbird, though that might no longer be true with Paul Levitz no longer in charge of such matters.)

Superboy (in no less than his third time calling those pink creatures “spuds”) references John Candy and Joe Flaherty’s “Farm Film Celebrity Blow Up” where the guests would frequently “blow up real good” and it does my SCTV loving Canadian heart good.  

It’s interesting (and a little sad) that they again note that Superboy knows things (pop culture, etc) without ever having experienced it.  I feel like there’s a lot they could do with this concept.

This issue reads very much like the end of the Superboy “Reign” issues, as Superman is more of a secondary character to the kid.  All of it begs the question of why Superman, or Guardian put up with Cadmus.  Superman has said in previous issues that he has moral problems with how Cadmus treats life with their cloning experiments, and they’ve attacked him in the past (and also stole his corpse!) so other than the fact that it’s a launchpad for Superboy’s series, there’s really no reason any of these heroes should associate with Cadmus.  Especially Guardian, who comes off as little more than an errand boy here.  He wants to bring Superboy in, but won’t promise Superboy won’t be harmed or imprisoned?  

Nice to see Superboy return to his “Slammin’” catch phrase!

An interesting bit of foreshadowing when Superboy asks Big Words whose clone he is, and who immediately enters but Westfield. [Max: That’s right, Westfield! Not Luthor! Sorry, sorry.]

[whirlybirdwhat]

Happy

Prompt answer for anon who requested

“may I ask for a Gin/Sanji that's happy? I loved how super sad it was in the au but I would really like Gin meeting the crew/Luffy without it being so horribly sad. (also sanji going "hey so this is my bf" amuses me)” 

SO ENJOY THE SANGIN I wrote this in a possessed haze last night.

Also @junemel this has elements from that one conversation that we had about gin meeting Duval its not close to it but I was this close to putting gin smacking the ever living shit out of Duval in it - this close

Anyway, enjoy! Sorry it took so long anon! Its a lil angsty but its very happy after that lol

Also on Ao3!

-

Six months after Gin’s life was changed by a hot meal and cigarette smoke on the Baratie of all places, he’s out on the Grand Line, chasing his dream – to escape from the life Krieg built, and create one better, one that is a true pirate’s life.

And six months after Gin last saw him, he sees Sanji’s grey blue eyes again… in the most hideous wanted poster he’s ever seen.

He promptly spits out his coffee when his first mate gives the paper with it to him at breakfast.

“What the fuck-“

Kinzo has the patience of a saint as he speaks while washing the coffee from his face (how the hell is the man not screaming from the hot liquid?)

“Straw Hat Luffy and crew razed Ennies Lobby to the ground eight days ago while seizing Devil Child Nico Robin from custody. All crew members received bounties and escaped Vice Admiral Garp on their way out of Water Seven, and are currently at large. Isn’t…” And here, a small smile breaks out on Kinzo’s face. “Sanji on that crew? It appears he has a bounty higher than yours’s now captain. 77,000,000 Belli?”

“That’s not Sanji.”

It can’t be.

The wanted poster is hand drawn, but the artist must be blind because there is no way Sanji’s nose looks like that, or his lips, and his eyes are sea blue not whatever that is.

The only thing they got right even slightly is his eyebrow, but even that could take some criticism.

“You sure captain?” Hashi asks from his corner of the galley. “Seems like he fits the description – blue eyes, blond hair, smoker, weird eye brow.”

“That’s NOT Sanji! It’s – its- “ Gin can’t even finish his sentence. It’s only been six months, surely Sanji hasn’t changed that much? Getting stronger he can picture (The paper is vague, doesn’t tell a lot, damn marine supporters, but isn’t Ennies Lobby the supposed home of CP9?) but this? No.

“It’s a stranger? Doesn’t have heaven made food?”

“Smile sent from heaven?”

“Eyes like the sea?”

“Super soft hands?”

“The kindest voice on earth?”

“SHUT UP! How do you even know all that?” His face is red. Man Demon Gin has never been so humiliated.

“You talk about him a lot when you’re… inebriated.” Kinzo states, taking a sip of his own coffee (is it boiling? Its boiling. Does his first mate have secret devil fruit powers or does he have no pain receptors?) to avoid continuing.

“CAPTAIN HAS A CRUSH!~” He is going to toss Hashi overboard, devil fruit or not.

“OOOOOH!”

“LIKE IT WAS A SECRET!”

“EVERYONE SHUT UP!” Gin slaps a hand to his head. “Breakfast is over, I do not have a crush, and that is not what Sanji looks like – and do you really want to insult a man who is worth twice all of your bounties and just smacked CP9 into the ground?”

Finally, his crew shuts up.

“Like I thought. Get to your stations – weather looks dark outside, might be a storm.”

And the Silver Horn Pirates rush to do as their captain orders – but not without a few passing remarks.

“Captain and Sanji Kissing in a tree – K – I – S – S –“

Splash.

“SHUT UP!”

-

Another two months go by, full of teasing and laughter from his crew about Sanji, but it’s been quiet for the most part. The Straw hats haven’t made any big news officially, but there are rumors that Moira’s been kicked out of his position, and there’s only one crew crazy enough to do that unintentionally, so Gin’s sure that their doing all right.

Then the newspaper flops in his lap. It’s Kinzo again, and Sanji half expects it to be another Sanji poster – he likes to give him them, as if whoever on that poster can take the place of Sanji, but something in his face tells Gin otherwise.

He sets his cup down, and opens the paper.

STRAW-HAT LUFFY ATTACKS CELESTIAL DRAGON – CREW DISAPPEARS AFTER RESPONSE FROM WARLORD KUMA

Oh no – Sanji. Luffy. The rest of them – oh no.

There’s an odd note in his voice as he looks up at Kinzo. “Tell the crew to prepare to set sail. We head for Sabaody in three hours.”

Kinzo only nods – they’re five islands away, possible more because this is the Grand Line of all places, but half the crew is from Don Krieg’s armada.

They were at the Baratie when Luffy saved them, when Sanji gave them food. They know what’s at stake – they have to help the Straw Hats.

And so they will.

-

Three weeks later, Fire Fist Ace and Whitebeard are dead, and Straw Hat has reappeared at Marineford to ring in a new era.

Gin has tears in his eyes when he learns that Straw Hat is okay, because if he knows anyone, he knows that Straw Hat will never leave his nakama behind, and Sanji is nakama.

Sanji is alive.

(And the other straw hats, but forgive Gin for being biases, alright?)

Now he just has to find him.

-

On Sabaody, he does not meet Sanji – instead, he finds the face on the wanted poster, protecting Sanji’s ship.

“Duval?” Gin asks dubiously, as the man before him grins and attempts to wink, showing off his new face with the old wanted poster as comparison.

“In the handsome flesh! Are you friends of the Straw hats?”

“Yeah… One moment please?”

“Certainly!”

Gin turns to his crew with the most shit-eating grin.

“I told you it wasn’t Sanji.”

He turns back to Duval, not without catching a glimpse of resignation from his crew. He was right.

“So Duval –“

“Yes?”

“You know when the Straw Hats are going to meet back up?” Gin wasn’t stupid. He’s seen the face of a king, and Sanji was on that King’s crew. There was no way they would be down for long.

Duval looks sad, or at least as sad as he can get with that face. “No, we do not… We don’t even know if they are coming back all.”

Again, Gin’s not stupid. Or maybe he is, he just has unwavering faith in a captain that isn’t his and a cook he’d only met once.

“But we will protect their beloved ship! Whatever it takes!”  There’s a fire in Duval’s eyes, one Gin’s sure is matched on his own face.

“Of course – but do you have any idea where they are now?”

“Well…”

-

Duval doesn’t have an answer, but he does have a rumor, and that rumor is that the Straw Hats were scattered to the winds with a swipe of a paw, more literal than the papers stated.

Gin figured it would go like this. The Straw Hats went at their own pace (their own world-toppling, war declaring, impossible pace that no one else could keep up with-) and it was unlikely that they would be seen before they wanted to be seen.

Likely in an international incident.

That doesn’t mean Gin won’t stop searching and training for the day he meets Sanji again.

He doesn’t know what the other is doing, but it has something to do with Straw Hat’s message – and Gin doesn’t think Sanji would take the death of his captain’s brother lying down.

Sanji’s getting stronger out there somewhere on the grand line, and like hell if Gin is falling behind.

-

It takes two and a half years to find him, but at least by then he can show his crew an actual picture of Sanji’s face – if in that stupid caricature he gets around girls.

Kinzo smiles at it, hands deep in boiling water as he washes the plates after dinner, and asks genteelly “That your man Captain?”

Gin blushes very, very hard before changing the topic entirely. “Yeah – but I’m wondering about the Only Alive bit – what do you think it means?”

“No clue – but its no surprise the bounty went up – Sabaody’s a wreck from what I here, and Fish Man Island’s got a new protectorate.”

“Rumors say Straw Hat ticked off Big Mom.”

“Only one Island in in the New World and this is what they do? Damn.”

“We better catch up then, aye Kinzo?” Gin grins.

“Aye Captain.”

“MEN! SET SAIL FOR THE NEW WORLD!”

“AYE!”

-

Vinsmoke Sanji, the papers say, and Gin thinks back to the flowing restaurant in the East Blue and crosses it out. In its place is Black Leg, stark and true, and it’s a much better fit.

Black Leg Sanji’s Captain better get him back or Gin’s going to have to fight an Emperor and he and his crew are all going to die because Sanji went to go get married.

-

A week later, and Luffy had apparently plotted to assassinate Big Mom and ended up defeated two of her Sweet Commanders.

Sanji has a new bounty, and Gin doesn’t know why he even bothered to worry.

When he pictured meeting Sanji again, he imagined it in battle, showing off his new skills and he and Sanji fighting back to back.

He did not picture it in the back alley of some bar in the New World, where he was taking a break from the commotion inside.

Apparently, someone had died in the middle of eating and then rose again. Gin doesn’t want to know, so he goes out to smoke a bit.

“Damnit” he mutters, realizing he doesn’t have his lighter on him.

“Need a light?”

“Yea actually, Tha-” Gin stops dead, and stares at the face in front of him that’s gently smiling beneath a mop of blond hair.

The eyebrows are as distinct as ever, if on a different side, and the blue of his eyes stands out even now. (Privately, Gin thinks they might be the color of the All Blue that mythic ocean that Sanji plans to find – he has no doubt he will.) There’s a goatee beneath his lips, quirked up in a smile while biting on an unlit cigarette. The suit and tie is a fashion statement few wear so well on the Grand Line and that just means the person standing in front of him is none other than –

“Sanji,” Gin breathes and feels his heart swell.

“Hey Gin – long time no see.” A hand reaches out to light the cigarette between Gin’s teeth and then his own, and Sanji is almost as tall as him now, and smiling, and strong and –

-

A giant dork.

They found a cafe two streets over from the bar where they are now currently sitting, eating something other than greasy bar food and probably poisoned drinks.

According to Sanji, it was his Captain who had collapsed in his food and caused the commotion.

“He’s fine,” Sanji tells Gin carelessly, a smile on his face still – he hasn’t stopped smiling since he met Gin again, something Gin is not so secretly proud of – “Shitty rubber captain just does that sometimes. You get used to it. Chopper’s trying to work something out though –“

“Chopper? Isn’t he your pet?”

Sanji laughs, bright and bold, and he’s so much more than he ever was on the Baratie. “I forgot! You haven’t seen us since the Baratie have you? We have a lot more people on our crew –“

“Are they anything like their wanted posters? I’ve been trying to find you by them and it hasn’t been working out so well…”

Heck. He just admitted he had been trying to find Sanji. Way to go you dumb shit.

But Sanji just dusts the ashes off his cigarette and nods to him. “I knew you’d find us. You promised, didn’t you?”

I’ll grow stronger, without Don Krieg, and meet you all on the Grand Line!

He had, hadn’t he? And the Straw Hats put a lot of faith in promises.

“I guess I did – I definitely grew stronger too. And I have my own crew – though they aren’t as weird as yours.”

“Gin. We have a walking, talking, shitting skeleton pop star on our crew and our doctor is a reindeer. Nothing’s weirder than our crew.”

“You have a what for your doctor?” Oh god, he’s missed so much. He hates the newspaper.

-

Eventually, Sanji convinces Gin to introduce him to his crew after learning that Gin became his own pirate captain.

“No one can order you around, now, right?” There’s an innuendo in there somewhere, but frankly, Gin’s too nervous to care.

His crew always takes great joy in embarrassing him, and introducing him to Sanji, where most of the teasing stems from, is going to be hell.

Whatever. He’ll have proved them wrong at least. – and the rest of the crew who had only gotten glimpses of Sanji at the Baratie when he was smacking down the rest of the crew, will get the chance to meet him.

He entertains the thought of reaching for Sanji’s hand, but settles for brushing his knuckles and shoulders with him instead.

At the Baratie, he hadn’t known this man long – not long enough – and now, he’s endlessly curious to know more.

(What’s his favorite food? His favorite color? Memory? Place? What does he think of me? He thinks, casting glances at the man beside him as they talk about anything and everything down the streets, fitting like two puzzle pieces with frayed ends – perfectly matching but too old to quite click perfectly immediately.

He wonders, too, what Sanji will think of the crew.)

Eventually, they reach the Silver Serpent (sue him – he like’s the silver motif, its better than the demon one at any rate. (There are too many demons on this wretched sea anyway.)), its masts. Reaching high into the sky with the skull waving in the breeze. Sanji smiles at the engravings on the side (waves with metal inlays – Gin wanted this ship to carry them for years, and its grand enough to do so.)

“Nice ship,” He compliments and Gin grins in return.

“Wait till you see the crew.” He cups his mouth and prepares to shout. “MEN! THERE’S SOMEONE YOU NEED TO MEET!”

Heads pop up all over the ship, peering at Gin before wild expressions cross their faces.

“Holy Shit-“

“Is that who I think it is?”

“Captains brought a guy home!”

“Is that him?”

“Black-leg?”

“Kinzo – Kinzo wake up you need to see this” Hashi nudges the first mate awake before pointing at the plank that Sanji and Gin are climbing up. “It’s him.”

Sanji looks positively bewildered, more so when Gin offers a meager explanation. “I, uh, may have talked about you. A lot, actually. Maybe?”

Sanji snickers, and goes to introduce himself to the crew, leaving Gin to contemplate his life decisions.

“Hello everyone, the name’s Sanji – though I hear you already know that?”

“Damn right we do – Captain won’t shut up about you.” Kinzo answers for the entirety of the crew. “I’m Kinzo, the Silver Horn Pirate’s first mate.”

“Nice to meet you then.”

“And I’m Hashi! Cook aboard this ship! Tell me your secrets!”

“Wha-“

“Hashi, stop, damn it you can get cooking lessons later.”

“Actually,” Sanji interjects, before Gin can direct his crew to bring out food and such, “You can have them now. Luffy will want to meet all of you, and that means a party.”

In true pirate fashion, the deck explodes with joy.

“PARTY! AYE!”

“On the Sunny of course – I’ve been wanting to show you it.” And doesn’t that send butterflies down Gin’s spine. “Follow me!”

And the crew charges after the man who saved Gin’s life, leaving him to catch up.

-

Gin’s seen the Sunny before, not that Sanji knows, but seeing her with her crew aboard is something entirely different. The Soul King’s providing music, and there is a reindeer with chopsticks up his nose while a cyborg with two extra arms cheers him on. The owner of those arms is chuckling as she watches Sanji and a green haired swordsman – still wrapped in as many bandages as he had been at the Baratie – fight with fire and steel.

That’s nothing on the captain of the crew, whose downing ten-times his body weight in meat alone who. Laughs hysterically with the story telling sniper as the navigator punches Zoro and Sanji on the head to get them to stop.

The effect is instantaneous as Zoro. Immediately grumbles about witches and Sanji becomes pliant to her demands.

Thousand Sunny is so much more livelier now, with her crew filling up the empty space on deck and lanterns strung about the rigging. There’s platters of food and music and life and joy, things Gin had experienced before but never quite to this magnitude.

And according to Usopp, this is a small-scale party.

Bonfires on Sky Islands, parties at the Ryugu Palace, dancing with former zombies on a floating island ship in the middle of the Floridian triangle-

This crew has been everywhere.

(And, Gin knows, they are going to the end – to Raftel – and if he knows anything, they will find a way to go beyond that as well.)

“So,” Sanji startles him, now broken away from the mosshead, “What do you think?” And there’s something in his eyes that says I want you to like them but also They are mine and I won’t care if don’t. Gin understands the feeling.

“They’re wild.” Gin grins – he’s been doing that a lot today, hasn’t he? More than usual? “I like them.”

“Good!” They are close enough that Gin can smell the alcohol on Sanji’s breath, and he can see the droplets that have spattered on his impeccable suit and tie – loose now, that the party is in full swing, but still giving him an air of I know what the fuck I’m doing.

Sanji’s just like that, he guesses.

Suddenly, Sanji blinks around, noticing the crew and how Luffy has been distracted from the food by now by the swordsman’s cheering of ‘Sogeking’s theme’.

“Come on,” He says, hauling Gin to his feet, “I want to show you something.”

Gin thinks about making a dick joke, but decides to follow Sanji instead.

-

They go to the back of the Sunny, where the party’s music is only a mute faded sound, and the water lapping on the edge of the boat in their harmony.  The sun has just set, so there’s still pink in the sky, but the moon is already casting light upon the quiet waves of this tropical port town cove.

It’s nice as they lean arms crossed over the railing.

(It’s a good place for a confession.)

Sanji offers Gin a smoke and when he declines, shrugs and lights one for himself.

“Your crew tells me you were talking about me?”

Sanji’s trying to be suave again. Its working. Gin is so screwed.

“Maybe. What about it?” He deflects.

Sanji flicks some ashes out to the water. “Just wanted to know if it was true. If you really thought I was all that.”

“Why?” Sanji’s quiet after this.

Gin doesn’t speak up to offer an explanation, to say yes I do think you’re the most amazing cook I ever met, and that time where we held hands on the Baratie was the best in my life, and every other island we go to I hear about how kind you were, and who couldn’t think you were all that?

Because Gin doesn’t really speak in waxing poetry unless he’s had a few to many drinks, and he’s only had two tonight, shoved into his hands by the man next to him himself.

He does, however, hope Sanji understands all that.

By the look that he’s giving Gin, he does. And finally, he speaks. “Cause it depends if I want to do this or not.”

As he says that enunciated this, he reaches over and grabs Gin’s hand where its gripping the railing.

-

Here’s the thing. Sanji and Gin knew each other for five days before Don Krieg was defeated. In that time, Sanji cooked Gin the best meal he had ever had in his life, and shared a room with him as Giin washed dishes to work off the debt.

(Someone had to, as the new chore boy kept dropping them instead of washing them.)

On the last day, Gin had left and brought his former captain on to the Baratie, feeling so sick about what he was doing, and then left the Baratie freed and ready to create his own crew.

Before that, Gin and Sanji talked, and held hands, and it felt like a cheesy teen romance but somehow Gin had found his other half, in a way.

It’s a small history, and history that has not gone away despite the many ports they’ve visited.

Gin’s thankful for that, because it means he can smile as he grabs Sanji’s hands back, and say “Yeah. I meant it.”

And Sanji’s smile as he leans in for a kiss means everything to him.

He tastes like smoke and alcohol and the aftermath of a Straw Hat party, and something explodes in Gin’s chests.

Hell, he’s happy.

-

Of course, that isn’t the end of it. After a couple more heated kisses and quiet moments, Sanji jumps up and drags Gin back to the party.

“HEY!” He shouts, loud and clear from the upper deck. “HEY EVERYONE! LOOK!”

Everyone looks.

“THIS IS MY BOYFRIEND NOW!” And he holds Gin’s hand up in the air, because maybe they snuck into the kitchen before coming out here and stole drinks from Zoro’s stash, because he doesn’t think Sanji would want to raise Gin’s hand like it was a wrestling champion winner.

There’s a moment of silence after the announcement, before the deck explodes into motion and raucous cheering.

“ABOUT TIME SHITTY COOK!”

“FINALLY!”

“HELL YEAH CAPTAIN!”

“WOOHOO! YAY! SANJI!” Gin doesn’t care though, not now, and not next morning when he has the worst headache of his life and the most handsome man in the world at his side.

Sanji smiles at him, and he smiles back.

Happy, with the man he searched for at last.

[one-idea]

This is my favorite one!!!

I never thought about him staying in half reindeer. But now it’s all I can think about!!! I love this what a way to honor his son. You’ve done it. I’m changing my canon just for you. This is such a good idea.

Also him keeping pictures of the crew to pull out like a proud dad is so great.

Middle of the battle he see Kaya make a great hit. “Did you see that! That’s my apprentice! Her names’s Kaya and she’s amazing. Here let me show you some pictures.” The guys he’s fighting has stoped in confusion because “um what?” But Hiriluk doesn’t not care he’s pulling out pictures from when Kaya was 14 “look how small she was” a very much 19 year old Kaya over hearing “stop showing them my baby photos!!!”

A marine yelling about how Ace is the devil and should die. Hiriluk pulling out 50 photos of Ace sleeping in weird places, he’s checks still have baby fat as this is from when he was 17. “Look at these I think you’ll change your mind. The devil can’t be this cute.” Ace is part touched but also “Stop! I have a reputation!!!”

Mihawk has definitely bought some of Kuina’s baby pictures off of Hiriluk. Not even a question. They have a trade set up. Hiriluk’s from pretime skip for Mihawk’s during the time skip.

All of Whole Cake island is him yelling at Judge “how could you do this to such a precious angel” photos of Reiju in hand “no you don’t get to look at them!”

He calls the marines to tell them he has “more appropriate pictures of Nojiko that they could have used for her bounty poster. He’ll send them for free just take that one down! Nojiko slaps the phone out of his hand and scolds him. The phot is of her bundled up right before they left Drum island.

Anytime someone even breaths Olivia’s name he perks up. “You want to talk about my amazing Olivia!!!”

The man loves his family a lot.

Meeting the Strawhats is a nightmare. He’s half made they don’t have as many pictures of Chopper (Robin has a boat load she shares with him later don’t worry) at the same time he’s give the strawhats the worst photos of their relatives

Luffy has 15 new photos of Ace sleeping with his face in something it shouldn’t be.

Sanji has a collection of Reiju’s worst hair days

Nami is teasing Nojiko over all the photos of her with blankets or doctor coats over her shoulder until Hiriluk walks by them and throws his coat over Nami’s shoulder ‘just in case there are any camera’s near by’

Usopp doesn’t get any at first and it’s because Kaya has told Hiriluk that if he gives any ‘of those embarrassing pictures’ to her Usopp she will never forgive him. He’s not sure if Usopp’s from other dimensions count as her Usopp. He shall play cautious… for now.

Kuina on the other hand has call the man over and asked him to take as many pictures as he wants of her and Zoro together. She wants the memories and so does he. The other strawhats quickly follow their example.

Robin loves the photos of her mom. And Hiriluk and her have already come to the arrangement of him taking mother daughter photos of Robin and Olivia and in exchange Robin will take father son photos of Hiriluk and Chopper. They definitely get some full family photos as well.

Fanny is crying over the pictures of Iceburg because he looks so relaxed and happy. They also get some photos together.

Before the two crews go their separate ways they get at least one group photo of both crews. A copy to each crew. This is very sweet and the strawhats keep theirs on display in the kitchen. The reverse crew does as well….

Except the Hiriluk is a menace who has a third copy. He pulls it out in the middle of fights “this is my captain and my captains younger brother from a different dimension, and this is our swordswoman and her brother their swordsman and….” He doesn’t stop. Ever.

For @one-idea 's reverse strawhats crew, I've made dr. Hiriluk! This will be my last fandesign for the au. Well, at least for now. Since Brook and Jimbei's roles haven't been filled yet and I kinda wanna jeep Ace for later since I'm afraid of not doing him justice.

Anyway, let's analize it shall we:

At 70-73 (pretimeskip) he looks mostly as in canon. I changed his outfit a bit but not too much, although I wanted to give him a brighter clour pallette to give off the "crazy science guy" vibes. But I also gave him antleers and reindeer ears since he is a reindeer zoa user, and I think that he would like to stay in his semi hybrid form to show them off. He also has the same cross that Chopper had on his hat.

At 75 he is mostly the same. He wears pink because if the Sakuras, gender roles will be damned. I wanted to actually maje him look like a doctor, because I noticed that most of the doctor characters in one piece just wear their regular clothes all the time. (Kureha, Chopper, Marco, Law ecc.)

So he has a professional button up with a cross, a name tag (probably not a good idea when you're a wanted man but alright) and one of those things with a circular cd like object on his head. I don't know what those things are called, I've only seen them in cartoons.

I also gave him many pockets on his pants because I think that he would keep pictures of the reverse-strawhats in them. Like mid fight he just pulls them out and goes "These are my kids and my wife, touch them and you die!" And maybe he'll go full dad mode talking about them too.

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: “A New Approach”

A friend of mine has a van that she calls the Fun Bus. Oh that’s cute, I thought. I should chuck that into a recap sometime. “All aboard the RWBY Fun Bus!” Except my fun levels are ehhh right now, so how about we just don’t.

In fact, let’s be totally up front about things and get the major positives out of the way:

The animation this volume is absolutely stunning holy shit

I would once again die for James Ironwood. All hail the Hug King

Excellent introduction for Tyrian and Watts. I love feeling like the villains are actually dangerous again

The rest? I’ve got some things to say.

We open on Ruby looking appropriately downtrodden over their circumstances. Getting carted off in an Atlas police craft and all that. We get a pan across each side of the airship with the group looking angry (Yang) or defeated (everyone else)... with the exception of Nora, who is trying to eat through her bonds. I’m well aware that I’m nit-picking at this point, but for once I’d like the serious moments to remain serious in this show. Given her reaction to Salem, Kuroyuri, etc. we’re all well aware by now that Nora is more than just the comic relief. Undermining the others’ reactions with her making dog noises was an early cue that the writers weren’t going to treat the group’s arrest earnestly. To say nothing of the disservice it does to her character. 

Actually, there were a lot of coincidental dog references in this scene. Nora’s growling. Referring to the Ace-Ops as Ironwood’s “personal attack dogs.” Deducing that he must have a “bone to pick” with them. Obviously this all means precisely nothing. What I want it to mean is that Zwei will arrive in another package courtesy of Tai, wondering how his kids are doing after one ran off and the other went to find her.

(Seriously though, does everyone remember Volume Five’s ending with Raven? Heaven only knows when that will become relevant again.)

While Nora continues to try and eat metal like a rabid animal, Jaune expresses disbelief that the Ace-Ops “took us out like it was nothing.” Honestly, it never ceases to amaze me how often the group is surprised by other people being stronger than them. Like they’re not the youngest and least trained in a world of professional huntsmen. Rather than acknowledging their need for improvement though---callback to Ruby’s “But we already know how to fight” anyone?---Weiss frames it as an exceptionalism intrinsic to her city. “Welcome to Atlas.” You know, the same city she quickly agreed to steal from and then draw the attention of the guards by giving a racist civilian what-for. The speed with which the show flip-flops between ‘We should fear this city’ and ‘But we shouldn’t take any actual precautions’ is pretty impressive.

All of which is made weirder by Weiss’ next line to the other prisoner locked up with them: “They’re not that big of a deal.” So... which is it, Weiss? Are the Ace-Ops Ironwood’s elites who can obviously take out a group of nine in seconds flat? Or are they worth scoffing and rolling your eyes at? Because you had a rather different opinion literally seconds ago. She does the same thing when the prisoner uses the term “tyranny” to describe the situation in Mantle. She claims now that the label is a “bit much” when before the whole group decided not to approach Ironwood precisely because of how tyrannical he appeared. I swear, good chunks of the dialogue just functions as openings for the plot---let the random prisoner explain all the horrors of this city!---rather than something the character in question would actually say.

But I’m harping. We learn a bit more about Hill and her “Happy Huntresses,” clearly a parallel to Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. I was actually surprised to learn that she’s a full-on freedom fighter, just based on her posters last episode. The number of them and their professional look felt more like Atlas’ brand of propaganda. Big brother sister is watching you and all that. Then again, we also learn that Hill is gunning for a seat on the council, so it sounds like she’s not an ally of Ironwood’s plotting betrayal, and not a radical entirely removed from him either. We’ll have to wait and see precisely where she falls in this divide between Atlas and Mantle.

That fight is treated rather cheaply by the writing though. In this episode at least. Despite providing numerous looks at how horrible things are for the citizens here, this prisoner, currently representing that fight against the elite, is depicted as an absolute buffoon. He’s not engaging in an important, glorious battle for human rights. He just chucked a brick at an airship. He’s over the top, overly passionate, crazed enough that the group is looking away as he desperately tries to convince the guards up front that these things are important. The thing is? He’s right. But the writing doesn’t encourage us to treat his cause with respect, not when he’s bouncing off the walls and yelling like a conspiracy theorist. Actually, that’s the best comparison I can think of here. It’s like if someone laying out 100% real issues with climate change were written like a crack-pot loner who believes in aliens. That’s this guy.

We’re shown again that literally everyone recognizes Weiss Schnee---does no one else in all of Remnant have white hair?---before Jaune and a few others get distracted by how pretty the view is outside. Qrow commented earlier that they were no doubt going to jail.

Spoiler! It’s not jail.

It’s Atlas Academy, animated in a truly stunning design that reminds me of Weiss’ trip to the CTV tower to contact her dad. Looking back, that skyscraper-esque building probably made her anxious for reasons outside of just the call.

“I guess we will be seeing the General,” Ruby says because yeah, why would we have the group experiencing one iota of punishment before being handed the solution to their current predicament? 

Look, anyone who follows these recaps is well aware of my feelings towards the airship debacle. I said last week that I wanted the writing to treat the group’s horrific mistakes and criminal activities seriously, but I wasn’t overly hopeful. I was right not to be. From now until the conversation about Salem, the ‘protagonists can do no wrong’ mindset that drove Volume Six is pulled out again in full force.

First, Winter sees the group in handcuffs and responds with, “You have ten seconds to take those off before I start hurting you.” Which is completely out of character to me. Does Winter adore Weiss? Without a doubt. But Winter is also a stickler for protocol and rules. This is the women who threatened to remove Qrow’s tongue over a few vague, anti-Atlas statements. She is all about devotion to her Kingdom. So how should she react when she sees a group of kids being formally brought in for charges? I don’t know, maybe find out what’s going on before demanding an immediate release? Here, Winter prioritizes the emotional assumption that Weiss and her friends are perfectly innocent as opposed to trusting that they’re in handcuffs for a reason. Which they are. Combine that with the humor of the guards scrambling to obey her with more silly sound effects and it’s once again clear that the group’s arrest was never going to be taken seriously.

Things get so much worse though. Ironwood starts apologizing to them, also working under the assumption that this was all some sort of silly mistake. Of course you shouldn’t be in handcuffs. You’re the good guys! Yang and a few others have the gall to be haughty here (yeah, how dare you arrest us after we committed multiple crimes) and for a moment I think all of this will actually amount to something when Ironwood laughs and says, “We assumed [the ship] was stolen!”

Uh yeah, goes Ruby. It... was?

Which results in a brief moment of shock and about three seconds of anger from Winter... and then that’s it. That’s all we get. Weiss interrupts her with, “I’m sorry I worried you, but we did what we had to do” which, no?? Okay first off, worrying Winter is not the issue here. She’s been worried for literally those three seconds and nothing more. Second, as I’ve established numerous times in the past, they did not “do what they had to do.” Absolutely nothing in Argus forced their hand to the point where stealing military property, fighting Cordovin, drawing that grimm, and then deliberately hiding out from Atlas authorities was justified. Why doesn’t Winter or Ironwood challenge them on this? Why the hell would two military personnel accept at face value that committing all of these crimes was necessary? Imagine your younger sister steals a car (which is in no way comparable to an Atlas airship, but let’s run with it). She and her friends then get caught by the neighbor they stole it from, started a fight instead of giving it back, endangered a bunch of other people on the road, got the police involved, and hid out until they were finally arrested. Then at the police station big sister gets angry at the officers for daring to book you and is pacified with a hug. Don’t worry, dear. I know there’s no possible way you could be in the wrong here. No reason to acknowledge, let alone address, why you thought those were acceptable actions in the first place.

Qrow is briefly called out for letting this happen, but like Maria’s comment last episode about the group being incapable of keeping a low profile, he shrugs it off with a joke. “You try stopping these kids when they have their mind set on something.” You know what these ‘jokes’ remind me of? Privilege. Stuff like “Boys will be boys ¯\_(ツ)_/¯” where people accept that change is impossible, so why would we bother calling anyone out on their mistakes? Boys are just hardwired to hurt girls and call it love. Teens are just hardwired to steal airships and call it necessary. You know what they’re like. Putting your foot down is useless because that’s just how they naturally function... and we’re all going to ignore the fact that no one else could get away with this shit. They’re the special ones exempt from repercussions. There’s a reason why both both Oscar and Ruby smile here. They know they’re not in trouble. 

What all of this boils down to is that the group is above both the law and basic decency. That’s what Cordovin, Ironwood, Winter, and the writing all tell us. It doesn’t matter how many people you endanger. What you steal. What you break in order to accomplish that. Or how long you might try to hide what you’ve done. You’re you, a nebulous acceptance that you’re somehow above everyone and everything. These kids are never going to learn anything because each time they make a mistake---even massive mistakes that put a whole city in danger---they’re rewarded with smiles and a blanket acceptance that they did what they had to do. That is beyond frustrating to me. For the love of god, let them face an actual consequence for once.

It’s not going to happen though. Even the Ace-Ops apologize for doing their job (and treat Ruby like some sort of celebrity in the process). RWBYJNRQO is painted as victims for suffering the indignity of arrest... when they did numerous things they should have been arrested for. I particularly love Weiss’, “You could have asked us some questions first.” Yes, because everyone should be in the habit of taking a criminal’s word at face value and then letting them go when they say, “I’m innocent.” Rather than acknowledging any of this, the writing has the Ace-Ops go out of their way to emphasize how special the group is. You’re kids, but only technically. You’re students, but who cares. You’re as good as us, regardless of training or qualifications. That fact remains that the group did in fact do everything they were accused of and more, something that should generate reflection on whether they’re up for being paired with professionals, rather than an insistence that they’re automatically on par with these adults who complete their missions in a legal, safe manner. If that Argus fight gets them hugs and cool new weaponry, I shudder to think what else the group can not only get away with, but be rewarded for.

Once everyone blindly bypasses one of the biggest conflicts of Volume Six, we hit on the other divisive choice this episode: Ruby lying to Ironwood about Ozpin and the relic.

Okay. I’m going to be as clear as I can here: Ruby is being a massive hypocrite. That’s it. That’s the situation. I shouldn’t have been surprised by the fandom’s reaction, and yet I somehow still was. In just a few hours I’ve seen at least twenty posts detailing how Ruby is not a hypocrite because her situation is totally different from Ozpin’s. HE can’t keep secrets. SHE can. Which is the definition of hypocrisy: the group holding someone to a moral standard that they themselves will not strive for. Are there differences between telling the group about Salem and telling Ironwood about Salem? Yes, but the decision of whether or not to tell them derives from the exact same concerns:

Ozpin: I don’t know if I should tell these kids about Salem. I don’t know if I can fully trust them. I worry that admitting the relic still has questions will result in them using one irresponsibly.

Ruby: I don’t know if I should tell Ironwood about Salem. I don’t know if we can fully trust him. I worry that admitting the relic still has a question left will result in him using it irresponsibly.

And everyone is in on it. During the elevator ride up they all want to know what Ruby will say, meaning that they’re ready and willing to lie the moment she decides that’s best. “We’ll follow your lead,” Blake says. No one pipes up with, “Hey. Why are we considering lying to Ironwood when we decided that there’s no moral justification for keeping secrets like that? Especially from an ally involved in this fight?” Except, the group obviously never decided that. Jaune was happy to keep his secret back at Beacon. Blake too. Yang is still withholding info about the Spring Maiden. They’re all perfectly happy to lie provided they’re the ones doing the lying. Someone else doing that to them though? Omg, how dare you. 

That’s hypocrisy.

(As a side note: good lord this group is so astoundingly bad at fighting a strategic war. They announce that they should be careful about what they say to Ironwood while two of Ironwood’s guards are in the elevator with them. This is a needless conversation! No one has to establish that they’ll follow Ruby’s lead! But yes, let’s talk about our plans to withhold information from the General while two of his men are very obviously listening in. We even get a shot of one guard looking over at that little tid-bit. I wouldn’t be surprised if this came back to bite them in the form of:

Guard, who I am naming Brad: “Sir, I thought you should be aware... the prisoners that just left? I overheard them discussing whether or not they would tell you something.”

Ironwood: “What? But I thought we trusted one another... did they say what this something was?”

Brad: “No, sir. They just agreed to be careful about what they said in front of you. They clearly intended to hide something though.”

Ironwood. “Huh. Now that I think about it, Ruby did interrupt Oscar when he was about to say something. And she was awfully nervous about it.”

Brad: “Sounds suspicious, sir. I’d look into it.”

Ironwood: “Right you are, Brad. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’ll be sure you get a hefty bonus at the holiday party.”

Brad: “Thank you, sir! My husband and I appreciate it.”

Gay guards aside, this is why Ozpin was right to be cautious. This group is too hot-headed, too immature, and often too plain dense to keep world-shattering secrets safe. This moment gets put up alongside Yang’s demand that Ozpin spill all his top-secret info while the random old woman they picked up 30 seconds ago watches. They just don’t think.)

In short, they are in the same exact situation as Ozpin. Weighing truth against potential repercussions. The fact that said repercussions vary in severity---a group of teens betraying him and/or caving under the pressure vs. a potential dictator betraying them and/or caving under pressure---doesn’t matter. They’re both really bad potential outcomes and both parties are right to be cautious. So yes, I agree with Ruby’s hesitance. It’s the smart thing to do. What I don’t agree with is the characters’ and the fandom’s insistence that Ozpin is not likewise smart for doing the exact same thing. Now that Ruby has made this choice she’d better damn well acknowledge her own hypocrisy. If the writing doesn’t give us a serious moment in which the group reconsiders their actions against Ozpin in light of their recent choices, then the ‘protagonists can do no wrong’ mindset has irrevocably damaged this show. Because you can’t have Ruby making the exact same choices her mentor made and not change her perspective now that she’s had the chance to walk in his shoes. “Oh wow. Sometimes you do want to play information close to your chest. Maybe we were wrong to respond so viciously to Ozpin’s secrecy when I literally just did the exact same thing to someone else. I get it now.”

All that being said, I’d actually argue that Ironwood is in a more justified position to have that information. He’s a chosen member of Ozpin’s inner circle. Ozpin never got the chance to vet this group. He’s a fully fledged huntsmen in charge of an entire Kingdom. They’re a bunch of half-trained kids. Checking in on/taking the relic to Atlas does not require knowing about Salem’s immortality. Enacting a plan to tell the whole world about her really, really does.

Because what else is Ironwood’s end game here? The only way this plan makes any sense is if he believes that Salem is mortal. Ozpin may have failed to kill her, but if we get an entire world to attack her at once we’re bound to win! This plan straight up falls apart when you realize that defeating Salem is not a matter of more manpower. Salem’s immortality is the Achilles’ heel of this scheme, whereas fighting the good fight is something the group signed up for right from the start. Not that Ironwood’s plan is a great one, even if it were viable. I’m sorry, but plunging a whole world into despair---something that draws literal monsters out of the woodwork---is a pretty terrible idea. Ironwood’s army can’t be everywhere at once and an announcement of that proportion would cause an untold amount of death and destruction. I can sort of get Ironwood’s sacrificial perspective. Deal with the fallout because the end result (finally defeating Salem) will be worth it. “Trying to hide the truth from the world will eventually kill us all,” he says, except hiding the truth hasn’t limited humanity in the way he assumes it has. It has allowed humanity to live in peace while a select few try to figure out how to kill an immortal woman.

...speaking of, how has Ironwood not realized Salem immortality? This remains a basic if/then construction of the story that blows my mind whenever people fail to pass it. “If Ozpin has fought Salem for over a thousand years, then Salem is either immortal or reincarnating like he does.” Because nothing else is possible! I mean, maybe Ironwood does know about her immortality and he intends his plan to work for reasons I can’t fathom right now, but it’s looking really unlikely after this episode. It just astounds me that we haven’t had a single character go, “Of course she’s immortal. Why is that surprising to everyone?”

Anyway, I’ve gotten horrendously off topic plot-wise. We learn that Penny and Winter now know about the relics and Maidens---something that worries me a bit because, as a piece of technology, Penny is potentially hackable. Especially with Watts on the loose. The Ace-Ops know as well. We also learn that they’ve already found the Winter Maiden who, according to Qrow, is “not exactly a spring chicken.” Huh. Another important piece of information that wasn’t blithely announced because people naturally work on a need-to-know basis... Sorry. Not diving back into the salt. That comment does actually intrigue me though. We know the powers can only pass to young women, so it’s a cool setup to present us with someone who has actually survived with that power for most of her life. I’m also eager to know whether Winter is set up to be the next Maiden. “Young” is a subjective marker and one of the criticisms fans have leveled at Ozpin is the fact that he put that pressure on Pyrrha instead of asking an older, fully trained huntress to be the Fall Maiden. Making Winter the next Maiden will lend support to that criticism. Ozpin could have chosen someone older, an actual adult, and actively chose to give it to a teen. As opposed to the assumption I’ve always worked under: those like Glynda and Winter are now too old. We’ll have to see.

Outside of the Salem part of the plan, I think making Amity Arena into a satellite is an excellent idea. Provided grimm like the Nevermore really can’t reach it. It’s actually cool to see how our real life, kind of boring tech makes its way into a sci-fi/fantasy series.

And while all this stuff is getting revealed we see how utterly thrilled Ironwood is to have them all back. To be blunt: I adore this characterization. I want this to be real. Not only because it’s a breath of fresh air to have someone acting so loving and optimistic  towards everyone---He acknowledges Ozpin’s existence! Look at that smile! Kneeling down!---but also because it would be an excellent subversion of the premier’s setup. Dictator-y military figures buckling under paranoia is out. Tired but loving military figures making mistakes they’re willing to fix is in. That hug with Qrow? It added ten years to my life. Tender moments between two stoic guys will carry me through these cold winter months.

But (there’s always a “but”...) I’m not willing to buy into this characterization just yet. Not only because Ruby herself obviously isn’t ready to trust it. Not only because this is a story and we expect conflicts in the form of twists and surprises. Not even because there are moments where our trio feels vaguely threatening, stationed perfectly behind that desk, separated from the rest of the group.

No, I’m  hesitating because this whole encounters feels... staged. Let’s review the series of events from Ironwood’s perspective:

You learn that one of your airships has been stolen

Instead of sending some everyday guards like the situation calls for, you send out your most elite group to take care of this issue

They immediately confiscate the relic, demonstrating a) that they know it’s important (they recognize it as a relic) while likewise b) not showing any surprise that one of the four, magical objects in the world just happened to turn up among these random teens

They bring the relic to you

Someone orders the pilots to bring RWBYJNRQO to Atlas Academy, not jail

You then act surprised when the group suddenly arrives

Which, under the circumstances, makes no sense to me. Even if Ironwood had no idea who stole the airship (I’d have expected Cordovin to have contacted him about the distinctive group heading his way...), he would have figured it out the moment the Ace-Ops walked in with a relic in their possession. Someone obviously gave the order for them to bypass jail and come straight to him. Basically, Ironwood is expecting them. Ironwood set up the arrest and everything attached to it. The surprise at their arrival, the fawning over their treatment, really over the top emphasis on trusting each other... This whole thing feels fishy to me considering that he had to have known it was all happening in the first place. It feels like a man crafting a situation where he can look approachable and kindly, arriving like a savior and endearing the group to him. Remember who got you out of those bonds? Huh? Huh? Even the choice to give Ruby the relic back. Do I need to point out how incredibly stupid that is? Ironwood isn’t stupid. He wouldn’t give an invaluable, magical object back to a 17yo unless he had another, good reason for doing so; unless the need to make Ruby and her followers blindly trust him outweighs the risk the relic is in while she carries it.

I mean... seriously. The entire point of coming to Atlas was to put the relic in a safe place. And then Ironwood decides that carrying it around on the streets is somehow better than locking it up in the vault? When Ruby and everyone else just got beat by the Ace-Ops in about five seconds flat? Someone could take the relic off them in a heartbeat! It doesn’t even need to be a main villain. Some stronger-than-average goons could manage it under the right circumstances and a bit of luck. Look at this bright, shiny thing we can sell for quick lien. No, I have to believe Ironwood has an ulterior motive here. As much as I want him to genuinely be what he presents himself as---the embodiment of our opening, “When we trust in love and open up our eyes”---a lot of this just doesn’t fit.

(Then again... it’s RWBY. And the writers are clearly still working with protagonist vision goggles. Maybe Ironwood really does think Ruby keeping the relic is the best option here. In which case he’s just a fool.)

All of which, notably, still keeps our group from tackling the core, ethical issue: why they want to fight Salem when they think it’s impossible. They’re ignoring that question by keeping the truth from Ironwood. The plot avoided them completing their mission by having them get the relic back. We’re just existing in perpetual limbo here.

Which finally brings me to Penny. The end of this episode has her leading the group on an exhausting tour of Atlas Academy, the exact sort of bubbly, silly, casual interaction we got with her in the early volumes. Last week when I pointed out how inappropriate everyone’s reactions were to finding out a friend is back from the dead, a lot of people commented that we’d get to the emotional stuff later. Or going so far as to claim that the group, Ruby in particular, is suffering from a delayed reaction. Except we didn’t see that. There’s a difference between a setup and a non-evidence based assumption that what we want to watch will eventually end up on screen. There was no setup for a delayed reaction. No Ruby holding back tears. Or a closeup on someone grappling with an emotion. Or someone else trying to say something before they were cut off by the sirens. All of those imply that an emotion exists but, since we don’t have the time or the inclination to deal with it now, we’ll come back to it later. That wasn’t the case last week. Every emotion was clear and complete, no variation in regards to the overall chill acceptance of Penny’s resurrection. Now, we’ve seen that trend continue. Ruby doesn’t stop in shock when Penny appears in the Academy hall. We’re given no indication that anyone is distracted by her while discussing business, in the way one might be when a friend and ally is unexpectedly back in your life. When she’s left alone with them, there’s nothing except the montage of exhausted tourism and Ruby’s demands to know where they’re sleeping. Basically, I think this is it. Sure, maybe later down the line---maybe even next week---Ruby will have a heart-to-heart with Penny, but by that point it’ll be too late to feel emotionally fulfilling. We’ve already seen their first meeting, a surprise encounter, doing business, and hanging out together, none of which acknowledges her status as a miracle. Hell, in this episode at least, no one even cares that she knows about relics and Maidens now. Penny has never been closer to the group, but she’s still being treated primarily as the comic relief.

As @valasania-the-pale​  pointed out to me, we also have the question of when Penny was rebuilt. Doesn’t anyone, at the very least Ruby, care that their friend was brought back and no one thought to tell them about it? Would Ironwood, Pietro, and Penny herself have just let them live with her death indefinitely? It’s a pretty messed up situation when you think about it. A fantastic setup in my opinion, but one that Rooster Teeth isn’t equipped to handle well. Like with so much of RWBY, there’s great potential and very little follow-through.

At least Watts and Tyrian were introduced appropriately. We got confirmation that Watts helped build the Atlas code and now controls it at his whim, causing crashes and powering down security cameras. It’s the perfect threat for a city almost entirely reliant on its technology. Even down to, as said, an ally like Penny who knows all these secrets. Hell, Winter’s comment about the group having access to Atlas’ best weaponry while they’re here is worrisome. What if their upgrades end up hackable as well?

Tyrian, meanwhile, is still Tyrian. That blood pool was a great shot in my opinion. Wonderful creep factor as he sets off into the city. “I suppose we all have our talents” indeed.

Obviously then, there’s a lot going on. A lot to cover and, on my end, continually dwindling hopes that RWBY will cover it well. I can’t be too excited about the group lying when we 100% bypassed their choices last volume. If the show isn’t willing to call them out on those mistakes, I doubt they’ll be willing to call them out on this one either. I’m preparing myself to watch precisely what we’re getting in the fandom right now: an insistence that Ruby is wonderful for keeping her secrets while further demonizing Ozpin for keeping his. Because that’s where we’ve been for the past fifteen episodes: perpetually insisting that everything the group does is, by default, heroic. Logic and hypocrisy aside. 

But we’ll have to see.

Until next week 💜

Minor Things of Note

1. Please pay attention to precisely how many long, wide, and aerial shots we get throughout the episode. This is what happens when your main cast is made up of twelve people all working in the same place. Plus six more including Maria and the Ace-Ops. That’s far, far too many characters.

2. I really love how the Ace-Ops’ tail gives away how excited he is. That was adorable.

3. Despite my enjoyment at Ironwood’s obvious joy over seeing Ozpin... morally this is so fucked up for Oscar. He’s introduced by Qrow as, “the next Ozpin,” essentially undermining his identity as his own person (note how massively uncomfortable his body language is in this moment). Ironwood then immediately starts speaking to him as Ozpin, not at all interested in the kid he’s housed in. If he even understands that Oscar is a separate person. We should all keep in mind that just a few days ago Qrow told Oscar to stop thinking of himself as an individual. Ruby agreed with him via her silence. The whole group was happy-go-lucky when Oscar announced that he’s resigned himself to just disappearing someday. As happy as I am that someone actually acknowledged Ozpin’s existence and (gasp!) was happy to see him, Oscar is still getting the short straw in all this. The group really treats him like he’s some form of transportation and nothing more. Penny, our resident robot, has more agency than he does.

4. Maria is still just hanging out with Pietro, I guess? Does she care that the group got arrested? Is she trying to do anything about it? I’m half expecting a comedic moment where she barges in, prepared to break them out and take on all their captors... only to realize they never needed her help in the first place.

5. I like this shot of the relic, the first thing to be bathed in light when Ironwood’s presentation ends. Not convinced it means anything, but a cool perspective nonetheless.

6. Intrigued by this guy. 

7. Love, love, love, love, love Watts’ purple outfit. I mean, I’m just a sucker for purple in general. So... yeah. There’s that. 

[doctorgerth]

A New Light at the End of the Tunnel

Chosen Characters: Straw Hat Pirates

Chosen Word: Nightmare

Fic Type: Mostly fluff with a hint of angst

Appropriate Warnings: Blood, gore, implied character death

Nightmares were a rarity for Luffy.

It made sense, considering the life he was leading. He was a pirate captain. He was on his journey to becoming king of the pirates with all of his friends and the best part was he’s gotten his share of the best meat ever. With a life like this, Luffy’s never had many nightmares. Most of them just consisted of him not being able to reach the delectable meat before he woke up (which, granted, was a true horror). 

That was until two years ago. That was when the true nightmares began.

For the most part, they always end up the same, with a few variety in between. He was there, in Marine HQ, the scaffold where Ace stood unnaturally high against the dark clouds. Sometimes he’d be by himself, and other times, there would be the screaming pirates and marines all around him. 

But without fail, he’d always be looking for the most important person. The one he ran straight through hell to get to. The one that he needed to find. The panic would start to creep up his spine, his heart beating harder and harder. Sometimes his vision would twirl around, faster and faster, like his head was a spin top, with no end in sight.

And then, like a beacon of light, Ace would be standing there, fire surrounding him, chasing away the darkness. 

Luffy laughed, glee warming him up as the doubt retreated. “Ace!” he cried, throwing his arms up and out. “There you are!”

Ace turned back to him, with a grin as bright as the light around him. “You never could stop yourself from getting into trouble, could you, Luffy?”

Luffy giggled. “That’s no fun, Ace!” 

There was always something wrong, though. Something whispering in Luffy’s ear, words that he couldn’t quite grasp in tones that slicked down the side of his neck like tar. His stomach would roll, in ways different than when he was hungry. He’d push it aside, forcing the grin to stay on his face. Everything’s fine. Ace is here and he’s going to be fine. That thought would be his barrier, but nothing seemed to stop the icy fingers from crawling up his back. 

He ignored it. “Let’s go, Ace!” Luffy cheered, his fists in the air as an unspoken defiance against the people who tried to take his big brother away from him. “I’ve come to save you!”

That’s when the silence would hit him at full force. Regardless of whether he had been by himself before or only now was didn’t matter. He’d only realize it until that moment. His shoulders would tense, like waiting for an enemy to appear just before him. Would it be Aokiji? Or maybe Smokey was waiting for another chance? 

His eyes snapped to his sides and then behind him. His senses went on full alert. Until the bright red would catch his attention. Head whirling back around, no matter how many times he’d beg for it to be different, the results would always be the same. 

The whole in Ace’s chest was large, blood steadily pouring out and splattering onto the ground. A trickle of the red would drip down from Ace’s mouth to his chin. Luffy’s heart stopped, every muscle in his body frozen, despite how he desperately wished to run towards Ace. “You… were always… so reckless…” Ace was struggling to breathe. 

Run. Go. RUN. 

His legs wouldn’t listen. Had Aokiji frozen him like last time? He couldn’t tell. His eyes wouldn’t tear away from the sight before him. “A-Ace…” Luffy gasped. “No. Ace.” He strained his muscles, but something was holding him back, unseen hands grasping at his ankles to keep him in one spot. 

Ace’s eyes lifted up to his. “Sorry, Luffy…” Tears were already streaming down his face, mixing with the blood, turning the bright color dull. “This is it for me.”

A gust of wind and Ace would disappear. His fire was gone and Luffy was back in darkness again. Luffy screamed, but nothing could pierce through it. He didn’t care and continued to yell. He kept at it until his lungs burned. The darkness was suffocating him, and he couldn’t find his way out. He lashed out but there wasn’t any air. He couldn’t make sense of it anymore. 

He was all alone. 

He was all alone. 

Luffy wailed. 

Luffy’s eyes snapped open and he practically threw himself off his bunk. He crashed onto the floor. He gasped for breath, trying to make sense of where he was. I’m on my ship, some part of him insisted. I’m on the ship. 

The silence in the quarters encouraged him to scream, but he fought it as he scrambled up and towards the exit. Throwing open the door, he paused just before leaving and scrubbed his tears away. Then, he stepped out and onto the deck. The light blinded him for a second, and he couldn’t breathe. 

His eyes adjusted quickly.

The sun was starting to set. The darkness was closing in from above his head and his heart was thrumming so painfully in his chest. “Oi, shit captain!” Luffy caught Sanji standing over the railing, chewing on his cigarette. “Geez, I called you like a million times. It’s not like you to miss dinner.” 

Dinner. 

Luffy was already running across the deck, but the smile on his face was frayed at the edges as the darkness crept along his back. His muscles were tense and he wished more than anything that he could fight this off like any of the other men that he’s faced before. 

But you fought hard at Marineford and that did nothing to help Ace.

His shoulders tightened, trying to ignore the whispers. “Yosh!” He forced the word out, but it was stale at the back of his tongue. Luffy was always genuine with his emotions and this was as wrong to him as anything else. He didn’t like lying, but he also didn’t like these emotions. He wanted them gone, and he desperately hoped that this would quiet them. 

He threw himself into the dinning room, ignoring Sanji’s angry yelling about not breaking anything. The light in the room made his sight go bright for a second and his head ached and pounded for a minute. 

His vision cleared. 

His crew was sitting at the table. They all turned towards him when he entered. “Ah, Captain,” Robin greeted softly. She smiled over at him. “I was worried that you had died in your sleep when you didn’t come for food.”

“ROBIN!” Usopp smacked his hands on the table, leaning forwards towards her. “How many times do I have to tell you to stop saying such creepy things!”

Luffy walked over to the empty spot and sat himself down. His shoulders started to relax.

“Don’t you worry, Luffy!” He turned to see Chopper staring up at him earnestly. “I’ll always make sure you’re healthy.” 

Franky stepped in. “Luffy’s never going to worry about that, bro!” Franky yelled boisterously. “Not when we got such a SUPER doctor on our crew!” Franky stood up just to throw his arms together in his famous pose. 

Chopper gasped, and without missing a beat, started wiggling around in his chair. “Don’t think for one second that I’m flattered, you stupid human!” Chopper said with a giggle. “Compliments don’t work on me like that!”

“Pretty sure they’re working just fine…” Usopp muttered.

His heartbeat slowed.

“Here Luffy,” Zoro forced a mug of ale into his hands. “Maybe you finally just’ve grown enough in the two years that you’ve got a taste for alcohol finally!” The grin on Zoro’s face was vicious.

“Yeah right!” Nami came in and smacked Zoro hard in the head. His face hit the table with the force. “Like that’ll ever happen with Luffy!” She snatched the mug right out of Luffy’s hands. “How many times do I have to tell you, idiot?” Nami growled, waving the cup around wildly. “If Luffy is this much of an idiot, then we do not need to find out how what he is like if he ever got drunk!”

His breathing smoothed.

“Why you…” Zoro’s head snapped up, and even with a sizable egg now blooming on his head, he was still terrifying as he grasped onto his swords. Not that Nami even flinched. She gave his glare back to him tenfold. 

“Oi!” Zoro’s natural fighting instincts protected him from Sanji’s kick. “If you even think of using one of those ugly swords on my beautiful Nami, I’ll kick your ass so hard you’ll need a new wanted poster.”

“At least mine came out good the first time!” Zoro threw back, hitting Sanji right where it hurt.

Sanji gave an inhuman roar and Zoro responded instantly. They were already kicking and slicing before anyone could stop them. 

“Ugh…” Nami dropped herself back down onto her chair and rolled her eyes. Everyone knew it was useless to try and break them up. “What morons…” 

The whispers were getting farther away.

Robin giggled. “Seems like some things never do change.”

“Or ever will…” Usopp was happy to lend Nami some company in the pity party. 

“Yohohohoho!” Brook slid in with a joyous laugh. “Now, now, everyone! Why don’t I play us a song that will help those ears be just as full as our stomachs!” 

“That sounds like a SUPER idea!” Franky cheered.

Chopper clapped. “Oh yes, please Brook!” 

Nami put her head in her hand. “Well, at least the nice music will drown them out a bit…” she muttered.

“But first...” Brook appeared next to Nami. She raised an eyebrow. “May I see your panties, Nami?”

Nami didn’t even hesitate. “NO WAY IN HELL!” She swung a leg out and sent Brook flying across the room. He slammed into the other side. Nami flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Seems like this crew is full of idiots…” Nami grumbled.

You’re home.

Robin laughed. Usopp shook his head. “You’d think he’d get it after a while.” 

Nami rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s clearly never going to happen.”

You’re with your family.

“Sanji!” Nami called to him from where he was still battling it out with Zoro. “Ignore him and serve dinner already! Before the glutton decides to eat it all off the stove.” There was no question who she was referring to.

“Of course, Nami-swan~!” Sanji immediately abandoned Zoro to twirl his way back over to dinner with hearts bursting from his very pores.

Zoro scoffed and sheathed his swords. “Erocook…” he muttered, even as he walked back over to the table.

What’s gone maybe gone, but you still have something left in this world to treasure, don’t you?

Luffy’s world brightened again. The grin that stretched from his lips this time around was as pure and as genuine as it ever was before. Everybody noticed. “What’s with that look, Luffy?” Usopp asked, leaning forward to catch his eye. “What’s got you so happy?”

“What else?” Nami scoffed. “Sanji’s about to serve dinner.”

“The captain does love his food,” Robin cooed. “Let’s hope he doesn’t eat so much he explodes.”

“Robin!” Usopped snapped.

His throat was no longer closed and his words came out easy this time. “I love my crew!” he yelled out from the bottom of his heart. He threw his hands up and out, the joy behind his words warming him to his very bones. “I’ve got the best crew in the entire world!”

There was a pause. Everyone shocked at such an outburst, but then, they all turned bright red. “Don’t think this will work against me~!” Chopper laughed and started wiggling again. 

Nami pressed a hand to her burning cheeks, trying to play it off. “Well of course you do, I mean, I’m the best you’re ever going to get!”

Brook laughed. “Oh dear me, I’m blushing as red as a cherry.” He paused for effect. “I mean, I would be if I had any skin! Yohohohoho~!”

“Aw shucks, Luffy, you’re making us blush.” Franky grinned and smacked Luffy on the back. “But you’re right about that! We’ve got a SUPER crew!”

Robin and Zoro just smiled, as they settled themselves in for the meal. 

“Alright,” Sanji called as he walked over with arms full of delicious food. “Bon appetit!” Luffy was more than happy to dig in. 

Yes, he would sometimes have nightmares. Sometimes the darkness would get a little too much for Luffy to handle. But, no matter where it happened or when, he knew one thing for certain. His crew would always be there to remind him of one thing. 

That, no matter what, there would always be a light at the end of his darkness.

[onepiecesmosthated]

Biggest Coal Getters At Christmas In One Piece

As you know from this blog, I rag on the most hated characters in One Piece. At at this merry Christmas time, I want to show you all the biggest coal getters in this series.

12.  Stelly

With being such an arrogant, self-important, entitled, and asshole brat, Sabo’s adoptive brother, Stelly, makes the first on the list on our naughty list. One has to feel sorry for the Gao kingdom for being ruled over such a spoiled king, who even thinks he can order Garp around because he’s originally from there.

11.  Wapol

 Another king on this list, but one who also is the president of his own toy company is Wapol. Like Stelly he was quite a horrible ruler when he was ruling Drum Kingdom, especially when he left the island to fend for itself when Blackbeard invaded and horded all the doctors so he could force people to pay high prices for them. Though he is currently living high now with his new kingdom gifted by the World Nobles, Santa still is going to leave a nice lump that fits his dark heart.

10. Judge

Just like with the earlier two entries, we have another asshole ruler and this one is the father of Strawhat member, Sanji. The ruler of the Germa 66, a seafaring kingdom that is notorious for conquering islands and being paid assassins, he is a social darwanist, who caused great abuse to Sanji throughout his childhood because he turned out normal. The only reason why he wanted Sanji back into his life was to cement an alliance with Big Mom by offering him as a groom for her daughter, Pudding, which turned out to be a trap because the Yonko planned to kill him and the other Vinsmokes off to get their technology. And at the wedding when the Big Mom Pirates’ true colors are showed, all that previous super macho bravado is melted away to reveal a sniveling coward who cries when someone puts him into the situation that he put others under. And for that the Germa clones will shoveling a lot of coal for a while.

9. Spandam

This guy is the poster child on why we should have anti-neoptism laws. A snively cowardly shit Spandam when he was head of the CP9 tortured Robin all the while she was under his captivity, while arrogantly believing his CP agents were untouchable. He also has little regard for human life when he accidentally triggered the buster call and didn’t care that his subordinates could die. He even called them needed sacrifices. He was also the reason why Tom, Iceburg and Franky’s mentor, was killed due to a frame up job he did in order to obtain the Pluton from him. It’s a bit karmic seeing him be forced to take orders from his former subordinate, Lucci, but even then the clumsy klutz should trip on his black pile of gifts he will get.

8. Hody Jones

Think Arlong, but with none of his few redeeming qualities. Although Hody can be said to be a product of his environment, he’s still a nasty racist shit, who should rot in the jail cell he was put in at the end of his starring arc. With his New Fishman Pirates, they planned on taking over the kingdom and go to Reverie where they planned to massarce everyone there. However, the worst thing he’s done is assassinate Queen Otohime, because she dared to try to aim to bring peace between humans and seafolk. If you think there can be a reason for his racism, then he would answer it himself: “nothing”. Nothing happened to him to make him hate humans personally he just grew up with the toxic belief that hating humans was justified. And for that Hody spends Christmas in a jail cell, while sharing it with the number of coals that can keep him and the other withered New Fishman Pirates company.

7. Mother Carmel

To the world (and to this day, Big Mom), Mother Carmel was a saintly figure who fostered peace between humans and giants plus opened up an orphanage for children of all races. However, underneath that facade lied a wicked slaver, who pretended to be a grandmotherly figure in order to sell children to the highest dollar. Her famed action of stopping the Elbaf crew from being executed was a staged event in order to gain the trust of the giants. Her most notable so-called prized asset was Charlotte Linlin (who would later become Big Mom), who to this day doesn’t know her foster mother never truly loved her and saw her as merchandise to be sold. Even though she’s a deceased character, she certainly deserves to have her stockings filled to the brim with stone, cold coal.

6. Blackbeard

Although he’s more of a love to hate example, we all know that Blackbeard deserves to be on this list. For one thing, if you want to know why the post-timeskip is chaotic as it is it’s thanks to this guy. He for years pretended to be a loyal member of Whitebeard’s crew and acted like one of the family knit setting. However, it’s all an at to get at the Yami Yami No Mi/Dark Dark Fruit. He killed one of his own brothers/crewmates, then went off to form his own crew where he fought Ace and got him handed over to the Marines, so that he could become a Warlord and get into Impel Down. There during the breakout he recruited level six members to his crew, then used them to kill his former captain and father figure Blackbeard. And postimeskip he has been shown to now be hunting down devil fruit users for his fellow crew. There is a reason why people say he’s the anti-Luffy and what a real non-romanticized pirate is like. So, I have a feeling Santa will be stopping by on Hive Island with some hefty packages that could fit his namesake.

5. Ceasar Clown

Although he’s shown as a butt monkey after his first appearance, the record of his misdeeds cannot be forgotten. On his island he kept children captive after a mole in the marines lied to their parents about them dying at sea, which he then proceeded to experiment on them with drugged candy which made them grow giant sized and shorten their live spans. All the while pretending he was actually curing them when he couldn’t give a shit. He also is notorious for making chemical weapons of mass destruction which is used by amoral individuals like the Beast Pirates. In other words, Santa strap this asshole to a big lump of coal and drown him.

4. Doflamingo

One of the most popular villians in the series is Donquixote Doflamingo, former Warlord, top broker, and King Of Dressrosa. Man, you could have a long list of all the shit he’s pulled throughout his career and life. On the outside he might look like a gaudy Elton John rip off, but on the inside bleeds one of the scariest and ruthless characters in the series. No wonder because he was born of the World Nobles, who are a sociopathic and psychotic bunch. From his take over to Dressrosa to funding Ceasar Clown’s research, he certainly can make you scared of the color pink. And that is why we have to heep this birds feathers with a black sheen.

3. Orochi

While Doffy is pretty to look at and is flamboyantly fun, Orochi just embodies “hate sink” stereotypes. He’s just made to be obvious that this guy is not going to be a good person. Spoilers ahead: I know he was influenced into becoming an asshole but he is still an asshole who sold out his country for his own benefit. Not to mention currently it was shown he was heavily implied to be the one who killed Suriyaki and lied to everyone about being named a successor with the help of that strange woman. His 20 years of terror have caused nothing but hurt to everyone under his rule as he causes a famine due to the occupying forces of the Beast Pirates. All of his because he believed he was entitled like his grandfather to be Shogun. He also wastes food, as his country is starving and feeds a whole village of hungry people failed “Smiles” so that they can quit crying about their dead loved ones. I know Santa would know of a way to get into this closed off country, so that he can deliver this shistain a coal that is as big as a mountain.

2. Kaido

Here is the man of thousand beasts and leader of the Beast pirates. Even though Blackbeard himself is no saint, he doesn’t seem to want to destroy the world like Kaido does. An unstoppable juggernaut, he sees suicide as a way to kill boredom and is often on his ass drunk. He’s ruled over Wano through Orochi for 2 decades, as he has decimated it into a famine wide place except the capitol where the rich and his toadie lives. He uses the land to function his own war effort and has caused many of the Wano people to go through great periods of grief. Like with Blackbeard, he’s an unromanticed version of what a pirate is really like. So, Kaido be prepared for Onigashima to reign coal like it’s no tomorrow.

1. World Nobles (Celestial Dragons)

By default, you know these shitty bastards would top the list. The biggest reason because of the fact that they are above the law and are allowed to do anything they like because they are so-called “gods”. They treat the general population like crap, while blatantly owning slaves when it was supposed to have been illegalized 2 centuries ago. They are also supported by a thing called heavenly tribute which country of the world government has to give continuously, lest they get kicked out and have no way of defending themselves from pirates or slave traffickers. So I can say the biggest coal getters go to these fat pigs in their towers. Better yet they should coal statues made in (dis)honor of them.

[petite-neko]

Chapter Characters: Law, Luffy, (Barto) Pairing: LawLu Rating: T Warnings: Swearing, Universe Alteration, angst, canon-typical violence A/N: None

.xxx. > Time/scene skip

.+++. > PoV change

(Wanna buy me a ko-fi? Link in blog description!)

Chapter 16 || Chapter 17: Can’ts || Chapter 18

Law wouldn’t say he was avoiding the other captain.

Or, should he say that he wasn’t avoiding him because of what had happened a few days ago. If he was avoiding Luffy, that wasn’t the cause – at least directly anyway. Law just – quite frankly? – didn’t know.

Sure, Luffy was an acquaintance – a friend even – and sure, sure, Luffy had been somewhat in his thoughts from time to time. Either as Mugiwara no Luffy or – more recently – Monkey D. Luffy, but…

Oh, are you talking about his collection of your wanted posters in the treasury?

It wasn’t like Luffy’s thoughts and feelings about him. No, nowhere close.

Luffy idolised him. Admired him. And, somewhere along the lines that very admiration had turned into something else.

Law only remembered the day he spent on the Sunny. Remembered the tour and the hasty briefing of the treasury. Remembered the way Luffy had been consistently staring at him. Remembered the way Luffy had sat too close. Remembered the insistence of being his ally. The clingingfingers…

It was so fucking obvious now - god damn it. But, of course, the idea of somebody crushing on him was the furthest thing from his mind.

You do know I am disappointed in you Law.

He was not planning on being here now. Not planning on any of this - which only brought him to his current dilemma:

What now?

Simply put, Law didn’t know what to do, how to react, what to say.

How to feel.

He was lost. So much had happened in the past week, and Luffy kissing him had not helped any. Live Sengoku had said. (So had Cora-san.) But - how? How could he live for himself?

He never had.

Ever.

You brought the hope back.

You gave us light in that dark place.

I’m happy I helped you.

Luffy had done for him just what he had done for the brothers. Luffy had freed him. Because, despite what he had told Ace, he was trapped. Trapped in a cycle of revenge. That - despite Cora-san’s interference - he had ended up on a path of vengeance. Just, instead of the world, he had set his sights on Doflamingo. And, by helping him obtain it - obtain revenge - by helping him live, Luffy had freed him.

The question however now was: did Law continue to allow it? Continue to allow Luffy to help him live his life? If so -- just how? How should he continue to let Luffy show him how to live?

As a friend -- or something more?

And still – still - Law just didn’t know.

He didn’t fucking know.

And so maybe - maybe yes - Law was avoiding the Strawhat, but simply because he didn’t know.

Not because Luffy kissed him.

(And, of course, Law knew the idiot would think the latter - he just knew it.)

.xxx.

His usual routes were out of the question. Well the ones where somebody had decided to flirt with him. Usually he just – well hurt them if they persisted. (Or, quite literally, steal their heart and then hide it on them.) And… well hurting his ally really wasn’t something he could – or should- do. (Especially without his own crew. On a boat that idolised Luffy.) And if he stole Luffy’s heart…

Good god he didn’t want to even think of the ramifications of that action…

(The alliance was bad enough – he realised now. A major mistake – well, when it came to his current predicament that is. A mistake, realising that Luffy had a crush on him and jumped at any and every opportunity to be with him. Even if it resulted in Doflamingo’s fall.)

Law had honestly contemplated just not talking about it. About simply not acknowledging that it had happened. But even if - if - he could have pretended that, pretended that Luffy had only imagined the scenario... well....

Simply put: it wasn’t a good idea.

One just did not assume Luffy would even come to that conclusion. No. He couldn’t place bets that Luffy would just think he thought up kissing him, or that it was a dream, or something. Hell, if he didn’t - well the idiot might think: ‘because Torao didn’t object, it must be okay to kiss him then!’ Or - heaven forbid - if he did happen to come to the desired conclusion, the thought might be ‘well, since I didn’t actually kiss Torao, I’ve got to now.’

...Either way, Law knew he would only end up being kissed again.

And this time - the bastard wouldn’t give him the blessing of passing out to give him time to react. No, he would have to react then and there and---

Yeah, that was something that Law was really trying to avoid.

And yet... yet he had to. Had to do something to stop him from stagnating and procrastinating.... Luffy was off over there - laughing and dancing and singing and....

And here he was - drinking in a corner because he just didn’t know how to fucking react over somebody kissing him.

Well – over Luffy kissing him.

--Part of him knew it was because he didn’t want to hurt Luffy’s feelings. He respected the other captain after all. And - well he wasn’t exactly repulsed by it, but, at the same time, he didn’t actually feel enthralled by it either.

He was just uncertain. Undecided. Unattached.

He couldn’t tell Luffy to wait. (The bastard had no patience.) He couldn’t say no honestly. (Not to mention Luffy’s feelings.) He couldn’t honestly say yes either. (He didn’t want to give Luffy false hope... Not to mention - well the idiot had no fucking control switch.)

And - of course - asking his crewmates was out of the fucking question. (Sure - they probably didn’t know about the kiss, but there was no waythey didn’t know about Luffy’s feelings towards him. Especially considering the idiot had babbled on about him for hours to a complete stranger.)

God damn Mugiwara no Luffy...

(Despite what Sengoku had said - right now he was regretting ever meeting him.)

Law decided that maybe, just maybe, he should go grab another drink...

And many more after that…

.xxx.

“Your bounty is the same as Luffy-senpai’s.”

--Oh. Oh fuck.

(No. No, it wasn’t the number that concerned him. It wasn’t that his warlord status had been revoked. No... It was the fact that his bounty was the same as Luffy’s. The fact that their bounties matched....)

He wasn’t going to hear the end of this.

“I actually almost threw it out - but Robin-senpai asked for it. If you ask her nicely I suppose you can see it.”

Law shrugged. “I could care-”

Luffy had cut him off. Cut him off with this fascination and awe and excitement in his voice.

“Can I see it Robin?!”

....Riiiiigggghhhttt....

He was going to walk away now. Yup. Pretend he never saw that gleam in Luffy’s eyes, or that hope. Pretend he didn’t see the way his whole body jumped with elation, and jittered with fervour. Pretend that this never happened. Just walk away and just go... watch the horizon or something.

Something that wasn’t watching Luffy fan boy over his wanted poster.

(...Besides, it wasn’t as if he was on some different route in the Grand Line. He was right here in the flesh. Just why did that bastard need to fawn over his poster when he could just fawn over the actual ‘Torao’? Actually… maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Yes, go fawn over his poster Luffy. Leave him in peace for once.)

And so, he settled himself on the upper level of the Going Luffy and just looked behind them. Look towards Dressrosa. Towards the place he had decided to be his grave. Towards the place that he buried his grudge against Doflamingo. The place that he truly buried his past – Cora-san. The place where he finally moved on, where his life truly began. Where…

“Torao!!”

...It had been so quiet. So blissfully quiet... where he could think and just... try and figure things out. But. No.

Nooo.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Apparently ignoring Luffy while the were on the same boat was also on the ‘could-not-do-to-cope-with-Luffy-kissing-him’ list.

(And, something told him that Robin wasn’t about to lend him a book to hide behind...)

Just.

Fuck.

Luffy’s eyes were sparkling.

“Our bounties match!”

His voice singing.

“Isn’t that awesome?”

His feet bouncing.

Just what the fuck was he supposed to say here? The agreeing Sure? Or perhaps the nonchalant Whatever? What about the rude So?

“And your wanted poster Torao! Look at it!

Oh. Oh just great. Of course that fucker was just carrying around his fucking face and fawning over it and---

Yup.

Yup that was his wanted poster.

Shoved right in his fucking face, so he couldn’t even see anything clearly.

“Doesn’t it look awesome? Look! Look you’re smirking! You look cool when you smirk Torao! Ya know – at first I thought they took a picture of you at Dress—rosa but then I saw your bear in the background. So – it’s an older picture. I wish they took a new picture though.”

Luffy paused, and Law wished he hadn’t looked at the idiot because he was pouting.

“I mean – your outfit was so cool and awesome and it showed all your tattoos off and…”

Law chose to just stop listening now. Yup. He didn’t want to hear this. Didn’t want to hear Luffy fawn over his wanted pictures. Fawn over himfor fuck’s sake! He was trying to avoid any of this. Avoid the idolisation. Avoid reacting. Avoid the fawning. Avoid…

…mother fucking Mugiwara no Luffy.

“Torao…?”

--Ah. Shit, Luffy noticed.

“Are you okay Torao? Is your arm bothering you? You’re squeezing it.”

…Squeezing? Ah – damn it. Fucking subconscious habits… There he went, squeezing at it out of frustration and that wasn’t the best of ideas and –

Oh right. He had to answer Luffy, didn’t he?

And he wasn’t about to go admitting…

“…Yeah, sure. Sure, that’s it, Luffy-ya…”

…He shouldn’t have said that. He really shouldn’t have.

“Damn… I really wish Chopper was here right now. He could look at it and-“

Law inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and then exhaled slowly.

“You do realise I am a doctor as well, right Luffy-ya? I was the one that patched Ace’s and your own asses up two years ago after all.”

“But you’re in pain Torao!”

Law moved his hand to rub at the bridge of his nose.

“No pain, no gain Luffy-ya…”

Pouting. More of that fucking pouting. Didn’t Luffy know any other damn expression?

“Look – look on the bright side Luffy-ya. At least I didn’t die. A bit of arm pain is noth-”

“NO!”

…What?

“Torao can’t die! I won’t allow it!”

Another sigh left him. Another sigh and he moved his hand to just cover his face, shaking his head.

“…Torao, what’s wrong?”

There were hands now on his shoulders, and Law knew if he opened his eyes he would see Luffy standing in front of him, worry plastered all over his features. His wanted poster, too, was fluttering against his chest.

“Does your head hurt too? Did you drink too much last night? Do you need anything? What-”

Too much. This was just getting to be too much.

He wasn’t ready to deal with this right now damn it!

And he brought up his arms, pushing Luffy’s away from him in a single motion, hands fisting down at his sides at the end.

“Just—just shut up Luffy-ya!”

“Torao…”

Law brought his legs up and held his head.

“Just – leave me alone.”

And – as those footsteps echoed away from him, Law only realised just what he had done.

He just fucked up. Fucked up big time.

Fuck.

[yoshi4sushi]

(purupurupuru) (purupurupuru) (gocha!) (coo!) (coo!)

 Happy Monday, minna-san! I hope everyone had a good weekend. As for us, we are bracing for the typhoon that’s passing by Japan so we are making sure we stay safe and healthy. Hope it won’t last the whole day. However, it won’t stop us announcing our news and all so you know the drill. First off, last week’s chapter was just confusing and shocking. We first start off seeing Tama enjoying a very good meal in a while. Luffy asks Speed to take her back home so hopefully she’ll have the heart to not tell on them. In the Flower capital, a beastly lady is teaching horrible things about the Kozuki clan, and that they are responsible for the downfall of Wano kingdom, and that Orochi Kurozumi, the current shogun, brought peace to the country. We then move to a money exchange shop where we meet some hustler name Kishiro Inemuri. Robin is on undercover as a geisha to get the intel of Wano kingdom. So she overhears from Kishiro about the deaths of Kozuki clan. He goes saying that the 9 fallen samurai that protected the Kozuki clan will curse anyone at night since they all perished inside the castle 20 years ago believing it was the only way to rid the curse. So Luffy and the others finally made it to the ruins of Oden castle. He sees the graves of Oden, Kinemon, Raizou, Momo, and Kanjuro. He couldn’t believe what he saw, and demanded Law to explain the situation. So he says that everyone is in hiding. Then Kinemon appears, but in pain from a case of diarrhea. Could be from the poison water. O-kiku frolics and hugs Kinemon, happy to see him again after a while. Momo also appears and happy to see Luffy and Nami and the others finally showed up. They were at bay lost and looking for him. At the end, they all went inside an old shed to talk in secret, and Kinemon confessed to everyone about an unbelievable truth about them. He says that he, Raizou, Kanjuro, Momo, & O-kiku hail from the past exactly 20 years ago. That there is very confusing. They’re from the past, and yet how did they travel from the future? What more secrets does the Kozuki clan have? Guess we’ll see this week. Don’t miss it! Next, this past weekend’s episode is turning more violent. Luffy is hanging on as much as he can to defeat Katakuri, and yet he’s getting more aggravated by Luffy dodging his blows. Both fighters are feeling the frustration. Meanwhile, back at the castle, Mont’Dor is making sure that their plan to rid of the gang goes swell with the help of their critter hiding underwater. We then see Capone fending off Custard, the 6th daughter, and he sure is keeping them away with his strong ship. At the end, Katakuri unleashes his awakening to finish Luffy by suffocating him with loads of mochi. Next time, Katakuri attends to his so-called “snack-ritual” that no one is allowed to see. Will Luffy free himself? Don’t miss it! Now on with the goods. Due to the aftermath typhoon, our friend Tongari-san stayed at home, but he sent us a telegram. So he says that the tower is getting lively with more fun Halloween events. Remember if you visit the tower wearing a cosplay, you’ll be given a free sticker of any of the Straw Hats. Also, guests for the Halloween costume contest have been announced. Oct. 13th & 20th, voice actors of Brook and Franky, aka Cho-san and Yao-san, will be judging. Oct.27th, the children’s contest, will be judge once again by the lovely voice actress of Nami, Akemi-san.  Bring your “A” game! Neat prizes will be given away to runner ups and winners. Next, the tower finally reveals Marco’s birthday button and acrylic keychain. Cheerful with a pineapple. Totally him. It will be available on Oct.5th. Also, if you buy goods over 3000 yen, you’ll be given free birthday poster of Marco and Law. You can only choose one. Moreover, the 5th Log Gallery theme has been revealed. This time, its titled, “Smile.” Details of released date will be announced later. Next, the café also reveals the birthday meals they’ll serve. For Law’s dish, they’ll serve “We are the Heart pirates captain hat” spicy jambalaya omelet.” It’s wrapped in egg whites with some spices. For Marco’s dish, they’ll serve his blue flame healing noodles. It has some flower petals with a bit of shred purple cabbage with the Whitebeard jolly roger made from dry seaweed served with some warm soup. If you order either dishes, you’ll be given a free birthday card. Scrumptious! Boys! Can the drool! Next, Figurines! New ones! First, this new POP bikini figurine of Jewelry Bonney. It will come with her hat. A bit sensual, but it’s all good. Anyway, Megahobby will take reservation orders this week. Check your local Straw Hat stores to see if they will take reservation as well. She will be released in February. Next, this POP Neo DX figurine of Akainu will be available in March. Website should also have that available I think. Moving on, Megahobby will also be accepting reservations for these special straps of Luffy. Each one is partnered with Law, Sanji, Zoro, Ace, and ASL bros. Reservations start Oct.4th. To purchase, you must have an account so when you reserve it, you’ll be instructed to make an account. Next, new straps! This time, kids! It will have Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Ussop, Nami, Hancock, Law, Ace, Sabo, and Shirahoshi. The Straw Hat store will have a special strap of Luffy, Jump Shops will have a special strap of Ace, and Chara Ani website will have special strap of Sabo. They will be released in December. Next, Jump Shops, Straw Hat stores, and the Tower are selling these button set of the Vinsmoke family. Next, another new birthday of Law will be in stock this Saturday. This lovely tote bag. Good for groceries or personal goods. Next, stores are selling these shiny rhinestone jolly roger straps of Luffy, Shanks, and Law. Next, all Straw Hat stores will be selling original goods from the Hello! One Piece exhibition. They’ll sell shirts, button set, small ticket folders, clear files, and acrylic straps of the gang. Only thing not sold are the mugs. Tokyo Tower also has it in stock. Next, this awesome folder and long towel of various characters are in stock as well. Next, Jump shops will stock these limited ed. goods from the Jump exhibition such as this towel, water bottle, ticket folder, art coasters, mini acrylic stand, pouches, and much more. Next, stores will be selling these OP Waffle cookies of “Our Memories.” It will have special cards of different characters. All colorful and wonderful. Next, China will be holding Hello! One Piece exhibition as well. It will start from Nov.3rd to Jan.15th. It will be held at Shenzen. I’ll leave a link for anyone interested of going. All in Chinese. No English I guess. Moving on, here’s the new cover of vol.4 of the OP magazine. It will include a wanted poster of Law and will have his novel story as well. It will be in stock on Oct.19th. Next, here is a sneak peek of the new DVD cover of the special episode of Skypiea. If you order this from Amazon, you’ll get a free original projection pen. It will be released on Nov.23rd. Last, but not least, it has been announced last week that the lucky group to perform the 21st opening of OP will be long-time idol group, V6. They are known for their songs of Inuyasha such as Change the World & Brand New World. Title of the song is “Super Powers!” They commented that they are thrilled to be able to provide song of their fave anime. It will premiere this Saturday. POWER UP! Phew! I think we covered everything. That’s all we got for now, tune in next week for more news and goods. Boys! Let’s call it quits. Well done.

 Exhibition: http://hello-onepiece.cn/

Figurines & straps: https://t.co/vi4blcnwiA

[jollyinha]

Soooo... I saw an One Piece tag in Reddit, and for some reason I really like doing tags, even though no one gives a fuck about it. Since I have nothing better to do, LET’S ANSWER IT!

1 - Who is your favorite character and why? (Additionally, who is you fav Straw Hat?)

Most people would guess that it’s Sanji, since I’m crazy for this boy literally since I put my eyes on him... But my favorite character is Luffy, because without him, I wouldn’t stay interested in One Piece for much time. I kept watching the anime because I thought he was a funny and interesting protagonist, and it changed my life.

Besides, he is everything I love in a character (Especially in a protagonist): Dreamer, determinated, funny loyal and dumb. He inspired/inspires me in many, many ways, and I just love this strawhat boy.

2 - Who is your favorite villain and why?

That’s a tough one... Arlong impacted me the most (I hate, haaaaate his guts!) and Lucci akuma-no-mi is pretty cool. But I’m saying Crocodile. I mean, c’mon, the guy tricked an entire kingdom, defeated Luffy TWICE (I think it was twice, correct me if I’m saying shit), had an entire organization... And had banana crocodiles and a cool casino. And his akuma-no-mi is badass too. I kind of hope that he appears again in these recents arcs, even if it’s very unlikely!

3 - What is your favorite quote or statement? 

Oh man, there’s so many of them... Screw that, I’m making a small list.

-  "When does a man die? Does he die when he's been shot? No. Does he die when he's ravaged with disease? No. Does he die when he's been poisoned? NO! A man dies when, and only when, he is FORGOTTEN! “

-  "A man's dream will never die!"

- “The government says your existence is a crime, but no matter what kind of weapons you may hold, just being alive isn't a sin! THERE'S NO CRIME IN LIVING!!!''

-  “Don't start a fight you can't finish.”

4 - Who is your favorite female character?

Urgh, I love all my girls! I love Robin, Vivi and Nami nearly equally, but I’m saying Nami. Her backstory was the first one that actually made me cry. It’s amazing to think that he was stealing from pirates that could kill her, even though that she was just a child! That moment when she asked for help... Damn, it brings me chills. 

And I also love how even though she was already extremely important for the crew while being only the navigator, she still wanted to become stronger, and asked for Usopp to create the Clima Tact. She uses her intelligence to fight, fights for her friends when it’s necessary and still saves everyone’s butts by being the amazing navigator we know!

5 - What is your favorite fight? 

I gotta say the fight against Lucci. Not only was a very intense battle and it was the first time Luffy used a Gear, but I love its meaning. If he needs to kick the World Government’s ass to save a crewmate, he will absolutely do it. Nothing shall stand in his and his nakama’s way!

6 - What is your favorite episode? 

Well, I don’t ACTUALLY watch the anime since Alabasta. After that, I’ve only watched a few loose episodes, so I don’t know a lot about the anime. But I’m saying the episode that Brook joined the crew. The expressions and the voice acting are just on point!

7 - What is your favorite One Piece opening?

We Are!, of freaking course. It’s the only opening that I never skipped while I watched the anime. Although We Go! comes in a close second. Believe in Wonderland is good too.

8 - What is your favorite movie, special or "episode of"?

I did enjoyed Strong World and 3D2Y a lot, but Gold was amazeballs, starting with that freaking catchy song in the beginning. The animation is GORGEOUS, Tesoro is very interesting in my opinion, the outfits are amazing, and the final battles were pretty cool too. I didn’t liked Carina very much, tho

9 - What is your favorite arc in One Piece?

Alabasta, without any doubt. Baroque Works was freaking charismatic, the scenarios were interesting as hell, Vivi was an amazing character in general, the battles were intense and fun, and it’s such a funny arc! I really like the filler were Ace spends a while with the Strawhats too. Water 7 comes in a close second place.

10 - What is your favorite One Piece videogame? 

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3. It’s so much fun to play with characters like Hancock, Ace, Law and Tashigi! The story log is very nostalgic and the dream log is addicting as hell.

11 - If you were in the One Piece universe, who's crew would you join and why?

What kind of question is that? Strawhat Crew, of course! They all have this sense of one for all and all for one, and they really look like a family, and this is very heart-warming to me.

12 - What is the saddest One Piece moment?

Weeeeeeell... I’ve been stuck in Dressrosa for a while, and the saddest moment in my opinion is at Whole Cake. I took EVERY SINGLE POSSIBLE SPOILER of this arc, though. Without hesitation, it’s Sanji’s backstory. I feel like crying when I only see PICTURES of his backstory... I don’t even want to think what I’m going to feel when I actually get in Whole Cake. Sanji occupies a very special place in my heart, so it hurts a lot to see that this was his past. Congratulations, Oda, you completely broke my heart once again. Also, Pudding can stick her finger in her third eye and go to hell

13 - What is the most shocking moment? 

The third scene that made me cry in One Piece: Usopp VS Luffy in Water 7. These two are such good friends! That’s why I remember that I was freaking out when they began to fight. 

14 - What is the funniest One Piece moment and who is the funniest character?

There are plenty of funny moments in this beautiful story, so I’m going to say more than one. Zoro getting lost, Luffy’s impressions, Robin’s imagination and all the “Can you poop?” moments. And of course that Luffy is the funniest character.

15 - What is the most memorable moment? 

That moment when Luffy gets Zoro’s swords, and he defends his captain for the first time. C’mon, it’s the beginning of the crew!

“Nice, Zoro!”

“It was no trouble, Captain.” 

16 - What is your favorite ability in One Piece?

Hana-Hana No Mi. It’s elegant, has many uses and it can be powerful as heck. I totally want it! Emperor’s Haki is a close second, tho... 

17 - Do you own any One Piece merchandise? (Official or not)

Many of them! All the mangas that were/are being released on Brazil, the special editions (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Wanted!) an giant wallpaper, plenty of posters, many figure actions, an Sanji cosplay, a flag, a strawhat, a keychain and a notepad (The last two actually came from Japan!), a necklace and a shirt.

18 - Do you prefer watching One Piece in sub or dub?

As I said up there, I’m brazilian... So I never actually had acess to the english dub, and the portuguese dub (It’s a very good dub, btw) came out before I knew One Piece. So, it’s sub.

19 - What is the #1 thing you love the most about One Piece?

I’m a sucker for this kind of thing: The whole dreams, freedom, friendship and bravery message that it passes. I keep the lessons that One Piece gave me deep in my heart. They give me hope and happiness in hard moments.

20 - What is the #1 thing you hate the most about One Piece? 

There’s two of them: The brazilian fandom and what they did to Sanji after the timeskip. Brazil’s fandom is full of toxicity, arguing, homophobia and sexism. And Sanji was so smooth and serious before the timeskip, but I feel like he became a gag after the timeskip. Where’s the suave Sanji, goddamnit?!

21 - Does One Piece take your number 1 spot in your top 10 animes? (If not, where?)

Absolutely yes. One Piece saved me from dispair countless times. Its jokes, its lessons, its characters... And if it weren’t for One Piece, I wouldn’t have known half of my friends, and honestly, I don’t know where I was going to be nowdays if I didn’t had them. In many aspects, One Piece saved my life. I’m eternally grateful to Oda. One Piece is a huge inspiration to me in both emotional aspects and in a writer’s point of view. Watching One Piece was the best choice I ever made, because that silly strawhat boy changed my life and took me out of the darkness many times. I love this masterpiece with all my soul.