#he is the swordsman. and also the second strongest on the crew and knows this

[theclearblue]

A tragic event when someone makes a mostly good post about Zoro but then says "Zoro does x because he's first mate!" BUT HE'S NOOOOOOOTTTTTT there is no first mate on the strawhat crew and it doesn't influence his actions because that's never been his role I need this misconception to die

[soapsilly]

Cardio - Roronoa Zoro Imagine

Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x Reader

Spoilers for One Piece (?), also kinda NSFW?

Summary: Ever since she joined the crew flirting with a certain green-haired swordsman has been (Y/N)'s favourite past time - even though she was told to not get her hopes up. Zoro doesn't do romance... or relationships... or situashionships. But what harm could a little harmless flirting do?

Requests are closed

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"So, (Y/N)-san, are you single?", the cook asked her during dinner. (Y/N) enjoyed that the crew ate dinner together every evening. It felt like family. Ever since she joined the Straw Hats the whole crew embraced her with open arms.

"Well, yes I am, but I'm hoping not for long", she answered the blonde but kept her eyes firmly trained on a certain green-haired swordsman that sat at the other end of the table, sending him a playful smile. It was no secret that the girl had cast an eye on the man know as the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro, who, at the moment, didn't even seem to notice her advances.

"Oooh (Y/N)-swaaaan I humbly volunteer myself as your boyfriend and partner!~", Sanji exclaimed.

The newest member couldn't hold back her giggles, "And I would be honoured, Sanji. Truly! But what would poor Robin and Nami do if you were taken?"

"Oh but of course, how could I forget? (Y/N)-san, you are so thoughtful~ ! But don't worry. I have enough love for all three of you, Ladies~"

(Y/N) giggled at his sing-song voice. She really liked the whole crew - all of them - but there was one person she took an instant liking to.

"Oi, Marimo! It's your turn to do the dishes! Don't you think you can weasel yourself out of it again", Sanji's sing-song was quickly replaced by a harsh holler.

"Oh, I'll help!", (Y/N) exclaimed. She was almost shocked at herself being so excited at the prospect of doing the dishes but spending time with Zoro didn't seem so bad.

"No, no, no. (Y/N)-san, -", Sanji tried to protest but the girl insisted. And so, shortly after, she found herself standing next to the mosshead rinsing the dishes.

"Soooo, what are you plans for the evening?", she asked the man standing next to her.

"Training", he hummed.

"You do that alot"

"Comes with the goal of being the strongest"

"I admire that", she smiles at him. It was quiet in the kitchen. The only things to be heard were the clinking of the plates and the occasional swooshing of the water in the sink, "Can you teach me some?"

The swordsman let out a laugh, "That would take years"

"I mean, just the basics", she shrugged.

"As I said, that would take years"

"You're being difficult on purpose", she grew frustrated, "I'm just trying to get to know you a little, y'know? Spend some time with you..."

The kitchen fell silent for a few moments before she came up with another idea.

"Would you like some company then?"

He looked at her for a few seconds but then decided to send her a nod anyways - maybe because she helped him with the dishes or maybe because he truly didn't care.

"Great! That's far better anyways, I get to sit back and enjoy a nice cold iced tea while watching a hot guy exercise", she nudged him in the side but didn't get a smile back, "You know you're no fun, right?"

Just a little later the two of them found themselves on the deck - Zoro practicing his form and (Y/N) off to the side shouting over some things here and there.

"Wait, so you trained with Mihawk? That Dracule Mihawk? One of the seven warlords of the sea?", she was shocked. She knew Zoro was good - in fact the whole crew was known to be extremely strong especially for how young they were compared to other crews - but this really put into perspective how strong he probably was.

"You talk a lot, you know?", his voice was gruff.

"Oh... Sorry", she didn't mean to annoy him, "I just wanted to get to know you a little..."

When the fighter noticed how quiet she had become he sighed, "Yes, he trained me for two years"

Her eyes lit up at his answer, "How is he like??"

"You're doing it again, woman!!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!!"

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It was early in the evening. The sun was set low on the sky, painting it in an aray of reds and oranges. Like usual Zoro was on deck training his skills like everyday. Most evenings (Y/N) would join him but tonight she wasn't there. The green-haired man didn't give it much thought though and just continued as usual until the girl entered the deck wrapped in a towel, her hair still damp.

"You shouldn't run around like this", he told her once she noticed her scantily dressed form, "Do you want the waiter to get a seizure?"

"Well, good thing we have a great doctor on the ship then", she answered, "But don't worry. This isn't for Sanji anyways"

Zoro raised his brows.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. It's not for you either", she paused for a second, squinting her eyes, "I mean... unless it's working?"

When he stayed quiet, she continued.

"I put my clothes out here. I like it when my clothes are warm and cozy after a shower"

When he looked over her shirt and shorts were indeed hanging over the railing.

"As much as I'd like to ge there someday, I don't think we're there yet sooo... Would you kindly turn around?"

Zoro scrambled to avert his eyes. Is she really getting dressed here on deck? He didn't get to think about it for long as he was smacked at the back of his head with her towel.

"Done", he heard her voice, "C'mon. Let's get some snacks"

She grabbed him by his sleeve and pulled him with her towards the kitchen.

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"So, I'll go shopping, Sanji-kun is going to accompany me to look for supplies. Franky decided to stay on the Sunny for maintenance, so all you others have free time to explore the island for yourselves. Get your allowances before you leave or I will add yours to mine", Nami anounced.

"Great, I'll go with Zoro", (Y/N) immediately looped her arm into the swordman's. Her exclamation was merely a formality at this point as the last times they explored different islands weren't any different. Looking for firewood, hunting, exploring the wildlife to make sure there wasn't any threat around them - (Y/N) teamed up with Zoro. The pirate hunter never objected, much to the girl's delight. Having some free time now, however, was a welcome change for the whole crew though.

Just as they were about to leave Nami stopped the other woman.

"Hey (Y/N), wait I need to talk to you for a sec"

"Sure, what's up, Nami?", (Y/N) beamed at the navigator.

"Oi, if the two of you want to have your chit chat either have it quick or have it later, I'm not waiting for you, (Y/N)!", Zoro shouted at his companion from where he was standing a few feet ahead already.

"Without my help, you wouldn't even find the bar! You have no choice but to wait for me!", she hollered back but then quickly turned to Nami, "But seriously, if he wanders off without me, he's probably lost forever, so we should be quick before I lose sight of him", she giggled.

"Yeah, about that... I wanted to talk to you about Zoro", Nami awkwardly scratched the back of her neck.

"Why what about him?", (Y/N) was still smiling brightly.

"I noticed you flirting with him... like a lot-"

"Oh... Is he-? Are you? Are the two of you- ?", (Y/N) could feel her cheeks heat up. That would explain why Zoro never really went for any of her flirts...

"Are we what? Oh... OH! Oh god no! Zoro and me? God forbid!", Nami looked shocked.

"Thank god", (Y/N) let out a relieved laugh, "but what is the problem then?"

"Well, Zoro doesn't really do romance or relationships. He never goes for it whenever girls try to flirt with him. He probably doesn't even notice it to be perfectly honest", Nami continued, "I don't want you to get your hopes up just to get disappointed in the end"

"Oh that", (Y/N) made a dismissive hand gesture, "I noticed already. It's fine though. I mean, as long as it doesn't bother him it doesn't bother me either. I like spending time with him", she shrugged but then hugged her friend, "thanks for looking out for me though"

Nami was a little confused but hugged her friend back. She didn't understand how she could be happily having a crush on someone with no sign of reciprocation but as long as she was happy Nami was happy.

"Oh shit. Where is that mosshead gone?? Sorry, Nami! I gotta run. Who know's where that idiot wandered off to?", (Y/N) laughed happily whilst already running in the direction she suspected the swordsman to have disappeared into.

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"You're buying", she grumbled.

"What, why?"

"Why? Are you serious? Because of you, we had to make a half-hour detour! My feet hurt... If you had just waited for me, we would've just taken a road straight into town but you had to wander into the forrest"

"I didn't force you to come with me, you know?"

She just huffed. It was quiet for a few moments then she heard a sigh.

"What do you drink?"

"You're the best!", she side-hugged the mosshead.

For the next hour, the two of them sat in the bar drinking and occasionally even joking around.

"Oof, I need some fresh air...", (Y/N) stumbled down from her bar stool.

"You're such a light-weight, it's a shame", Zoro let out a bark like laugh.

"And you're an alcoholic", she stuck out her tongue at him but then made her way out of the stuffy bar. Once outside she leaned against the wall to steady herself. She let a few deep breaths fill her lungs and thought about Nami's words from earlier once again. It really didn't matter if Zoro liked her back... did it? Nah...

She enjoyed spending time with him - be it as friends or as lovers. Eventhough, she much rather preferred one thing over the other. She knew Zoro never flirted back or even gave an indication that he even took notice of her attempts of gaining his affection but she knew that he at least enjoyed spending time with her, which was good enough for the girl. Maybe someday they could be something more than friends though...

It got chilly outside so she decided to enter the bar again. Once inside she saw Zoro sorrounded by a group of girls. (Y/N) furrowed her brows.

"You're the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro!", one of the girls gushed.

"So?", he huffed.

"We heard that you and your crew challenged the world goventment", another girl continued.

"I'm trying to have a drink here...", Zoro tried to tell them. Unfortunately, those poor girls took this as an invitation to join him.

"Ah yes! A drink would sound lovely! I'd like a -"

"That seat is taken", the mosshead put his hand over the empty bar stool, where (Y/N) had just sat a few minutes prior. (Y/N) felt like her heart skipped a beat. Maybe he did indeed like he at least a little bit.

"Oh really? I don't see anybody", the girl that just tried to take (Y/N)'s seat demanded to know why she couldn't sit next to the swordsman.

(Y/N) took this as her sign to take action.

"Thaaaaank you, love, for keeping my seat safe", she threw her arms around the man, "and who are your friends here?", she asked sweetly. (Y/N) didn't have a problem with the group of women sorrounding Zoro - not at all. She just decided to help him out here.

"I don't know them", he grumbled.

The group awkwardly shuffled away, mumbling something about being fans but needing to get going now.

(Y/N) turned to the pirate hunter with a wide grin on her face.

"For real though, thanks for saving my seat"

"I just want to have my drink in peace. They seemed annoying", he shrugged, "Why is your face all red?", he asked her.

Her face fell, "I'm drunk... idiot"

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It was right after a fight. Most of the Straw Hats were unharmed - a few scatches here and a few bruises there. Nothing Dr. Chopper couldn't fix.

"That's going to be a scar, I'm sure of it", Nami complained about a cut she had suffered on her thigh.

"Don't worry, Nami!", (Y/N) yelled over from where she was sitting on the floor, "I think scars are sexy!"

"Oh really? Then why do I remember you almost having a mental breakdown after needing stitches on your forearm?", the red-head wasn't having it.

"First of all, that was my pretty arm! The other one already had blemishes...", (Y/N) rolled her eyes, "and second of all, I obviously wasn't talking about myself but rather on other people, isn't that right Zoro?" The girl sent the mosshead a shameless wink clearly alluding to the numerous scars that decorated the fighter's body.

Before Zoro had the chance to react, Sanji chimed in, "How come the stupid marimo is now somehow getting praise for sucking at fighting and always getting hit? Some of us are good enough to come out of a fight unharmed, you know?"

"What? WHAT? It's not my fault I'm actually fighting actual opponents! The only thing you are fighting are your eybrows", Zoro immediately shot back. It didn't take long for the two of them to be at each other's throats. Usually it would be Nami to separate them but everybody was too tired, so they just let them have at it.

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(Y/N) had only heard of the massive feasts the Straw Hat pirates had after every fight - Luffy baited her with them to lure her into joining the crew, but this was far bigger then she had anticipated. There was more food than she could ever eat, enough alcohol for the whole island - and some more just for Zoro - and Brook played his most popular tunes.

(Y/N) was pleasantly buzzed already when she decided to join Zoro where he was sitting in the corner of the room. On her way there she grabber herself a cup and a big bottle of rum, once she plopped down next to him she poured herself a cup and then handed him the rest of the bottle, knowing he'd empty any cup she could've given him in an instant anyways. He didn't complain and gladly took it.

"Are you having fun?", she yelled over the music.

"As long as I have a drink I'm always having fun", he answered her and indeed, he did look like he loosened up for a change.

She sent him a smile and raised her glass at him before taking a deep swig. For a while the two of them just sat in comfortable silence. She knew flirting with him was kind of her thing by now but at the moment she just wanted to enjoy spending time with her friend. If things would always stay the way they were right now - things wouldn't be half bad.

"You did good today", Zoro was talking about the battle they had earlier.

"Am I hearing right? I must've bumped my head... A compliment! By the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro! I feel honored", she feigned shock.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. I meant you did good for your standards", he added with his lopsided grin that always made her heart skip a beat. To conceal an upcoming squeal she took another drink out of her cup. Okay, maybe staying friends wouldn't be as easy as she had hoped for - at least not with the adrenaline from the fight and the alcohol from the party still rushing through her veins.

"Why is your face all red?"

"You're not usually that observant, are you?", she grimaced.

"You'd be surprised", he smiled goofily before taking another big gulp of his drink.

Before (Y/N) had the chance to even think about what the swordsman was saying there, the song changed and so did the expression on the girl's face. A wide smile lit up her features and she excitedly turned to her friend next to her, who had no idea yet what she was about to propose to him.

"I know that song!", she sounded like a little child in a candy shop, "Do you dance?"

"Never", he barked out a laugh but made sure that she knew that he was aboslutely serious.

She pouted for a second but didn't want to waist any time before the song was over.

"Your loss", she shrugged and then skipped over to where Luffy, Usopp and Chopper where already dancing together arm in arm, joining them and singing at the top of her lungs.

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"Okay you know how it is! We need a team for supplies, a team for guard duty, a team for hunting... you know the drill", Nami announced. The Straw Hats had just arrived on a new island neither of them knew personally. Robin had read about it in one of her books but other than that none of them knew what they would find there. Robin already decided that she would explore the ruins that were supposed to be hidden deep in the woods - the island was supposed to be abandoned - but the others had to divide the remaining tasks among themselves.

(Y/N) was just about to announce that she was gonna team up with Zoro when the swordfighter himself interrupted her.

"(Y/N) and I take guard duty", he spoke up.

"No surprise there", Nami commented.

It was true that the two of them, (Y/N) and Zoro, usually teamed up - today would have been no exception. What was different though, was that it was usually always (Y/N) that would just decide for them to be a team - Zoro most of the time had no choice but to simply go along with it. Today - though - today was different and nobody but (Y/N) caught on. She was so busy with her thoughts that she didn't notice the other guys leave until it was suddenly just her and Zoro all alone on that big ship they called their home.

"So, guess it's just you and me, huh?"

"We don't have to talk, you know?", Zoro stated matter of factly, already preparing himself for a nice long nap.

"I know a few things we could do instead of talking, you know?", she repeated his statement, "In fact, it's gonna be a good few hours before any of them come back... a lot of things one could do in that time... instead of talking I mean", she pursed her lips as if she was really thinking about different possibilities instead of clearly alluding to one thing, before sending the fighter a grin.

"You keep flirting with me" - it was more of a statement than a question. There was no emotion in Zoro's voice that would have given the girl any indication as to how he felt about the fact. She felt her heart drop. And the others would only return in a couple of hours... this was gonna be uncomfortable.

"You - you noticed?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"Nami said something along those lines a while back..."

"Nami always thinks she knows everything" - there was still no reaction on his face.

"Does it bother you? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable", (Y/N) could feel her face heat up. She felt bad and embarrassed at the same time.

"Bother me?", he let out a dry laugh - finally a sign of emotion, but now (Y/N) still didn't know what to make of it - "There's worse things in life than a pretty girl flirting with you"

(Y/N) let out a sigh of relieve. She would've been mortified if she made her friend uncomfortable in any way. The compliment didn't even register until a few moments later.

"Oh is that so?", a devious smile lit up her face but as fast as it appeared it disappeared again when she realized something, "Wait but why did you never flirt back? I mean, not even with me... but also with all those girls that always try to get with you... like those girls in the bar a few months back"

"Do I look like the ero-cook or what?", he truly looked insulted but (Y/N) didn't settle for that cheap of an answer. When she stayed quiet he continued, "Girls like these are always annoying. Idolizing you and wanting you to share your drinks with them. I mean not that you're not also annoying but looks like I'm not getting rid of you anytime soon", he shrugged.

When the girl heard that she squinted her eyes, "You know, I'll choose to take that as a compliment". A wide smile lit up her face as she made her way over to the mosshead, "You liiiike meeee", she teased him as she almost was chest to chest with the taller man.

"I liked the you from two minutes ago... You know? When you were too shocked to even form a sentence"

"And I liked the you that just called me pretty", she tried to look serious as she looked up at him, their faces only a few inches apart, before her face split into a grin again as she got on her tippy toes and pecked the swordfighter on his lips.

When she tried to pull back Zoro however had already cupped her face with both of his hands, going in for another kiss. (Y/N) hands almost automatically found their way into the pirate hunter's green hair and for a while the two of them just stood there as if the world stood still until Zoro parted from her lips.

"You know, I think you were right", his voice was low, barely more than a growl, "we do have the ship to ourselves for at least another two or so hours..."

"I'm a fucking genius", she mumbled agains his lips breathing heavily already.

"Jump", he commanded.

She knew exactly what he wanted from her, so without parting from his lips she did as she was told. He caught her with ease as she wrapped her legs around his waist, carrying her into the sleeping quarters of the Sunny. Once inside he laid her onto her matress, only breaking the kiss to basically tear the clothes off of her body.

"Fuck", he took the time to admire the woman in front of him. The cold air from suddenly being exposed had led to goosebumps forming on her body.

"Zoro" - when he heard her impatient whining it was his time to tease her now, taking his time with undressing himself before finally crawling on top of her again. Every touch felt electric, his skin felt hot against hers as she arched her back into him. Anything to get closer to him.

"Is that what you've been thinking about all this time, huh?", his voice was hoarse as he leaned down nibbling on her earlobe. Instead of an answer he earned himself a breathless moan, which in turn seemed to have it's effect on him.

"Zoro, please...", she whined. The swordfighter enjoyed seeing her like this. For months now he had grown to like the overly confident young woman - eventhough her big mouth could become exhausting after a while - but now there was no more sassy banter anymore. Right now all that counted was how good her body felt against his and how perfectly his name sounded when she moaned it.

He leaned down for another kiss, which she eagerly returned. His hands found their way into her hair tuggin at the strands, making the girl underneath him gasp from the sudden sensation. He isn't know to be a patient man but he thought to himself that he was gonna take his sweet time with this - partly to tease her, partly because he wanted to savour every moment of it - but (Y/N) had other plans. As they parted she looked up at him, lips swollen from the make out session and she looked to damn perfect. And then he felt her hand wandering down his torso and between his legs. To hell with taking it slow - they could always squeeze in a round two, he thought, as he pinned the girl's hand over her head and started kissing down between the valley of her breasts.

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"Well, that was a failure", Nami complained to Sanji as they walked up the gangway to the Sunny. This island was puny. There way nothing interesting there. Not only were there indeed no people left, but there was also no sign of human life at all. No abandoned shops. No ghost town. Nothing. And even the trees in the forrest barely held enough fruit to top up their food supplies for the next part of the journey, so that they definitely would have to make a stop at yet another island before going on to their actual destiny.

"At least Robin-chwan had luck with her ruins", the cook babbled along, delighted at the thought of at least one of the women having had a good time. Most of the crew had found their way back to the Sunny again - all of them with similar news - except for Nico Robin, who indeed had found what she was looking for.

"Hey guys we're... back? Where are they?", the navigator was just about to announce their early arrival when she noticed that neither (Y/N) nor Zoro were anywhere to be found on the deck.

"They're not in the crow's nest either", Sanji confirmed, "What if something terrible happend to (Y/N)-san? I know it was a mistake leaving her here with that second class sword-clown"

"Calm down, Sanji", Chopper assured him, "Zoro probably wandered off again and (Y/N) now has to make sure he isn't lost or something. The island is abandoned. Nobody attacked them"

"That's just as bad, that stupid marimo", Sanji swore under his breath.

Nami was just about to answer the cook when a loud crash followed by a "fuck" interrupted her train of thought.

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Zoro and (Y/N) just laid there at the moment, the sheets lazily draped over their exposed bodies. Zoro was just about to propose a round two when they heard the voices of Nami and that ero-cook outside of the cabin coming continuously closer.

"What are they doing back already?", (Y/N) looked panicked, scrambling out of bed trying to gather her clothing but only so far finding her bra, "Where the fuck are my clothes?"

Zoro couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her running around like a headless chicken. He was in no rush to get dressed - he much rather enjoyed the show that unfolded before his eyes.

"Stop laughing, Zoro, and help me", she whined. He noticed that her whining wasn't as annoying anymore... endearing rather.

"And what do you want me to do?", he laughed but actually got out of bed and gathered his clothes along with some of hers.

"Here", he handed her her panties, which she gladly took and tried to hastily put on. In the rush, however, she wobbled on one leg and then stumbled backwards into a dresser.

"Fuck"

"Good job... I'm sure they won't be coming straight in here now", Zoro sarcastically commented. How did he already get his pants and shoes on???

Unfortunately though, Zoro was right. The once muffled voices of their crew mates were coming closer and closer. As much as he enjoyed seeing her struggle, time was running out now and the swordsman was not about to let (Y/N) be exposed like that, so he held out his green robe for her.

For a moment she hesitated.

"Are you sure?"

"It's wide. Easier to slip into than those tight clothes of yours", he shrugged - that was one reason, sure, another reason was, that he really wanted to see the waiters face when he saw (Y/N) in his clothes.

"That's nice", she smiled at him, "smells like you"

When he saw her in his clothes, there was a feeling in his chest he couldn't quite place. It was too big for her, the sleeves hanging over her hand and one side of the collar falling off of her shoulder exposing the naked skin underneath. He grabbed her jaw with one of his hands, making her cheeks puff out adorably and pressed a firm kiss on her lips.

"We should do this more often"

(Y/N) was just about to answer when the door to the sleeping rooms flew open. The girl tried to step away from Zoro as soon as she noticed that they weren't alone anymore but apparently not soon enough.

"Here you are! You know guard duty means guard duty and not nap time...", Nami's voice trailed off once she processed the image that presented itself infront of her.

Once she did, she began shrieking, "What do you two think you're doing???"

(Y/N) slipped out of the room squeezing past the red-head, closely followed by Zoro but to her horror outside most of the crew already stood and waited aswell.

"We - we were...", (Y/N) was usually quick-witted but right now her mind drew a blank.

"Doing cardio", Zoro chimed in from behind her, still shirtless and seemingly not bothered by the situation at all.

"Yep", (Y/N) went along with it, "Cardio"

Robin, who of course caught on to the situation, snickered behind her hand but refused to enlighten Dr. Chopper as to why that was funny, not wanting to tarnish the gullible reindeer's innocence.

Sanji however found nothing humorous in the situation - almost in shock he turned to (Y/N), "(Y/N)-san! I'm sorry I left you alone on this ship with this pervert! I promise I'll make it up to you"

"What did you just call me, ero-cook?"

"You heard me! If you just as much as put a single finger on (Y/N)-san I'll make you regret it"

"Sorry, to disappoint you, but I did a little more than that", Zoro laughed.

That was enough for the cook to lunge for the swordsman, "You are not good enough for her! You dirty bastard!"

Nami massaged the bridge of her nose. First, the island turned out to be a total failure and now this.

"Look what you've done. No more guard duty for the both of you", she deadpanned.

"Sick! I hate guard duty", (Y/N) grinned.

"I meant together", the navigator pressed out between her teeth.

"Oh! Yeah. I can't promise that", the other woman nodded thoughtfully and then turned to leave but then remembered one last thing.

"Oi, Nami!", the red-head looked up to where the voice was coming from. From behind her, (Y/N) could see Usopp furiously signaling for her to shut up - and (Y/N) knew she really should listen to him - but there was this little voice in the back of her head telling her to poke the bear, so she continued, "by the way... you were wrong!"

The last thing (Y/N) saw, before a furious Nami was chasing after her was a facepalming Usopp but she didn't have the time to justify her decision because the navigator was hot on her heels, with a raised hand. A punishment she usually only reserved for Luffy and sometimes Zoro whenever they were being stupid but (Y/N) guessed that the stress from today paired with the reminder of her error about the advice she gave (Y/N) about Zoro, was too much for the red-head.

"Sanjiiiiii, help! Nami's gone crazy and is trying to kill meeeee", she screamed at the top of her lungs as she was fully sprinting away in order to not get hit.

"I'm coming, (Y/N)-saaaaaan~", the cook sing-songed.

And as Nami was chasing after (Y/N) and Sanji was chasing after the two of them, she couldn't help but think about how she wouldn't wanna be anywhere else at the moment than on this ship with those idiots. Especially a certain green-haired swordsman that she had liked for a while and - as she now just found out - wasn't as clueless as she thought.

[zorosq]

like a puzzle ; roronoa zoro

↻ fluff, jealous zoro, friends to lovers, sanji being sanji, grammatical error

↻ pairing ↬ zoro (opla) x f!reader!

@trafalgardvivi asked: Hey hey hey! I have a Zoro LA request for you. Can you please do a Zoro x former slave reader who is somewhat like a package deal with Zoro? How does she fit into the crew? I would like maybe around the time they are at the Baratie maybe Sanji hits on her and Zoro (of course is not happy). Idk exactly. But I know your work and it will be great whatever you decide. Thanks. 😊

a/n i dont usually take requests that includes former slave reader bcs i find that topic uncomfortable and unsettling. also bcs when i write, the reader's background was never mentioned. so...

"hey, you don't think he was hitting on y/n, right?" usopp asked, taking a sip from his drink as he stared at you. nami only shrugged while zoro mumbled something under his breath. "i- i don't think he was hitting on me. maybe he was just being nice," you chuckled softly.

"yeah, right. calling someone pretty is being nice," zoro grunts. "oh, come on! you call me pretty all the time! isn't that being nice?" you tilted your head slightly. "well- that's different!" the green haired male stood up abruptly. nami and usopp made eye contact and smirked. "sure is different," usopp snicked behind his drink.

the swordsman only huffed in annoyance. "so... when's the food arriving? i'm already starving," luffy sighed. not a while after luffy said that, the blond waiter came back with a charming smile on his face. "for you, mademoiselle," he winked and placed the drink in front of you. "uhh... we didn't order this," you speaked up.

"it's on the house. enjoy, miss," he nodded at you and nami. zoro was staring holes into the blond waiter. "zoro... it's not good to stare at people like that..." you nudged him. "what's not good is flirting with every women he sees," he said in a low tone. "you're out of limit. he can't do that with you," he hissed at the blond waiter.

usopp and nami snickered, trying to cover it up by looking away. luffy was already in his owm world, eating and complimenting how good the food is. nami nudged you slightly, signaling for you to get closer to her. "you like zoro?" she asked teasingly. your face flushed a little, suddenly feeling conscious of your surroundings. "is it obvious?" you asked.

"to us, yes. but don't worry. zoro won't catch a single thing," she chuckled. "we'll help you out if you want," usopp butts in. "oh... i don't think that's necessary," you waved your hand dismissively.

.

after the fight with mihawk, zoro was terribly injured. you were worried that he might not wake up at all. you sat by his side the entire time. holding his hand one second and then you were pacing around the room. "you have to wake up... you said that you wanted to be the world strongest swordsman..." you muttered under your breath. "you said that you want me to be there to witness it..." you cried softly.

"hey, don't cry," zoro croaked out. you immediately looked at him with wide eyes. "you're awake..." he wiped away the tears that's slowly flowing freely. "i'm alright. i'm not going anywhere," he kissed your forehead. he immediately accepted your hug when you basically threw yourself on him.

for a while, the two of you kept hugging, not ready to let the other go.

[an-au-blog]

Re-ordering (highest to lowest) the bounties in the strawhat crew because Oda is either way too bias or has the memory of a goldfish. (I'm rating them if I was a marine in canon) (updated I didn't mean to miss anyone I'm so sorry)

1. Luffy

for obvious reasons: he's the captain, strongest, etc.

2. Nico Robin

i cannot stress this enough. NICO ROBIN IS SECOND!

She is the only person left alive that can read the ponegliphs, therefore the only one who can get ANYONE to Laugh tale. She had been chased by the government since she was eight. She's not only one of the smartest people not only on the crew, but dare I say on the Grand Line, but she's also one of the strongest. (like idk how people keep forgetting this, did we not watch Wano???) She's been an assassin and the right hand man of one of the seven warlords for years. I'd even say she was kind of his body guard tbh...

3. Franky

I'm putting Franky so high up because of a couple of factors. The obvious ones: He is physically strong, also extremely smart (as he was an apprentice to a man so feared by the marines they looked for any excuse to execute him, whether because of his social standing or skills) He has lasers(one of the strongest, if not THE strongest weapons in their universe) designed by Vega Punk himself. But most importantly: he memorized the blue prints of a weapon important enough for the world government to try and assassinate as many people as they need to get their hands on. He can build it at any point and there's no other copy of it.

4. Zoro and Sanji (same bounty)

I'm putting them above the rest mainly because I still respect Oda's decision to put them higher up. Physical strength aside, each of them, in my opinion, has a good reason to be deemed as dangerous. Logically, one would put the Captain's right-hand man above the other, but Sanji's "Vinsmoke" status, much as he hates it, boosts him up. He may not have grown up with them or have the same mutations or "upgrades", but the people don't know that. Fear wins half the battle.

5. Jinbei and Brook

By very little below №4, if they're not the same, they are very close (but IDK which one is above the other.) What would be scariest to me if I was the world government's shoes, would be influenced and propaganda, and these two are extremely influential figures and loved by many.

But let's start with Jinbei: He's an ex-warlord. He is lobed by man, if not all of Fiahman island. He's highly respected and feared. The waters are his domain, plus he's physically very strong.

Brook: a master swordsman and a man who can control people with music?!?! I feel like we keep forgetting that. He also spent the time skip become an infamous rockstar, who's fans FOUGHT THE NAVIE so they could listen to him! Influence-wise, Brook takes the cake.

6. Usopp

With half-a-mind to put him in the №5 bundle, I'm putting him a bit lower for one reason only: not everyone would know or believe what happened in Dresrossa. Undoubtedly, he had created a cult-like following there and he can spin a tale to his advantage, and technically being pronounced a "God" would make it... a cult... But that would lose brownie points in the major public's eyes. Even though his skills are admirable, he's not as strong or wildly influential as Jinbei (a literal warlord) and Brook (the Michael Jackson of op)

7. Nami

Navigator, they can't go far or fast without her. She has had a record with the navie before as a petty thief, but other than her charms and wits, there's no reason for them to put her higher...

8. Chopper

The Navie does not care for Chopper. I don't think they'd put him anywhere above the last spot in any universe... sorry.

[rollinouttahere-writes]

How about strawhats with a reader who has bad nightmares? It can be about anything (personal fears, past events or even just random spooky stuff). But tries to keep them private cause they think it’s embarrassing cause they’re on a ship with some of the strongest people they’ve met?

Platonic Yandere Straw Hats x GN!Reader

Good luck keeping that a secret with how nosy this whole crew is. You might be able to get away with it for like a week before you’re found out. That being said, they’re all very understanding. Of you having nightmares, at least. They think it’s kinda dumb that you would want to keep it a secret. What? You think only the strongest man in the world is allowed to have nightmares? That’s silly!

Luffy teases you the most about it, but it’s all lighthearted. You’re all friends, you should have said so sooner! He will pester you to tell him about your nightmares, and won’t take no for an answer. If they’re about your personal fears or are simply abstract nightmares, he’ll try to make light of them. Making jokes and bluntly pointing out how little sense they make, and promising that he’ll punch them if they do ever become realized. Even if that isn’t physically possible, it’s Luffy, he’ll find a way.

If these nightmares are about things that have happened to you before, that’s different. In the scenario where you went through something generally upsetting, he just kinda shrugs it off. It’s in the past, so you don’t need to worry about it anymore! Now if someone hurt you… Would you look at that, they suddenly need to make a detour to where that person lives. Not that they’re going to live for much longer.

Zoro isn’t great with this kind of stuff and is not the best person to go to. He’s probably why you were so hesitant to begin with, which does make him feel bad if it’s pointed out to him. It’s not like he looks down on you for having nightmares or being scared by them, he just doesn’t think it’s a big deal. It’s not like a nightmare can physically hurt you, so it’s fine. Right? At least that’s what he believed until Nami and Sanji laid into him for being so dismissive.

After that, he tries to be a bit more empathetic. His attempts are so awkward that you can’t help but laugh. Finally, he thinks of something he can do! He asks what your nightmares are about, and provided that they are about something tangible, he’ll offer to cut them down for you. He’s a swordsman afterall, that’s what he does best! Even if you don’t want him to, he will. You just don’t know what’s good for you, so let him handle it.

Nami understands where you’re coming from and your point of view on this. She’s also prone to nightmares and prefers to keep them to herself, but now she feels bad about it. Would you be more willing to open up and share if she had done it before? She starts talking about her own nightmares with you, hoping that it’ll inspire you to do the same. If you don’t she gets irritated and low key offended. Why aren’t you talking to her? Don’t you trust her? She’s so nice to you!

You’re sleeping in her bed with her now, and it’s not an option. Nami is a light sleeper, so if you start tossing and turning or crying in your sleep, she will know. Rather than waking you up immediately, she simply watches for a while, hoping you’ll say something in your sleep that will tell her more about your nightmares. You better hope that any names uttered in your sleep are people you aren’t fond of.

Usopp acts like this is second nature to him. Of course you would come to him even if you didn’t for help! He defeated the god of nightmares once, and it looks like he’ll need to do so again! He’s admittedly baffled that you would try to keep your nightmares from him. For all his false bravado, he REALLY is not anywhere near being the strongest or bravest Straw Hat. Yet you thought HE would judge YOU for having nightmares? Are you okay? Did you hit your head?

His method for helping you is offering to stay up with you on nights where you’re wracked with nightmares. Whether that be hanging out in the crows nest to keep watch or working on something in his workshop together. If you choose to share what your nightmare was about, he’ll go on these long tangents about how he would deal with these nightmares and show them who’s boss! His ultimate goal here is to make you laugh, that’s the most that he believes he can do. Though if you do mention the nightmares being about someone, he’ll relay that information to someone more capable of handling it.

Sanji is one of the best people to go to about this, he’s so sweet. Even if you don’t approach him, he’s very observant (especially about you) so it’s only a matter of time before he clocks it. When it is out in the open, he goes all out. You’ve woken up in the middle of the night because of your nightmares? He’s already awake somehow and making you tea and snacks (this probably summons Luffy tbh). He will ask about the nature of those nightmares, but won’t push you to explain if you become visibly uncomfortable. Some things are best left in the past and he gets that. Though he will offer to kick anyone they could be about. He says it like a lighthearted joke, but it is not.

Outside of that, he offers to stay up with you on nights where you don’t want to sleep. Yes, he would prefer that you get a good night’s sleep, but he can understand that sometimes you just don’t want to after a particularly upsetting nightmare. What you two do at night is up to you. You guys can just sit around and talk, partake in a hobby of yours, or have a late night baking session. If you do want to sleep, or if you’ve stayed up too much for his personal liking so now he’s forcing you, he’ll offer to sleep in your bed with you. He doesn’t really sleep though, instead preferring to watch you sleep in case another nightmare rears its ugly head. 

Chopper scolds you for keeping this from them. You’re missing out on valuable sleep! That isn’t good for you! That being said, he feels bad because he doesn’t really know what to do to fix this. There isn’t exactly a cure for nightmares, you know. Dreams in general are your brain’s way of dealing with the problems plaguing your mind, and nightmares are just an extreme form of that. You can’t control what your mind is going to try and cope with that night, and there is no treatment he can give you to make your mind cut it out.

The best that he, or anyone really, can do is get you to talk about it. If you talk about it when you’re awake, you might understand your problems well enough to not have nightmares about them. At least in theory. Even that isn’t a guarantee, much to Chopper’s chagrin. Worrying about you not getting adequate sleep keeps Chopper up at night, and he finds himself going to check on you a lot. Eventually, he decides to just sleep in your bed, hoping that having a friend around will help keep the nightmares away. If he finds out they’re about a particular person, he gets so upset as your doctor that he forgets his own fears and finds himself wanting to deal with them his damn self.

Robin feels really bad for you. She gets nightmares herself and probably finds out because she was already awake from her own. Figuring it’s best to suffer through this together, she’ll wake you up and coerce you into having a late night hang out with her. You two will be out on the deck talking about anything, not necessarily about your nightmares, just whatever comes to mind. She’ll also offer to read to you if you would be interested. That being said, she only stays lax about it if this happens once in a while. If you’re having them multiple times a week, that changes things. These are clearly bothering you way more than the average nightmare, so you can’t keep it to yourself. She’s not going to let you.

The questions and conversations get way more pointed, you won’t be able to avoid answering them without shutting down completely. Not that she’ll give you that option, she’s a very convincing woman. Sooner or later, you’ll find yourself spilling your soul to her. She’ll talk you through it and give the best advice she can come up with. If she finds out someone is to blame for this, they’ll be dealt with swiftly, don’t worry your little head about it. :)

[beanghostprincess]

Anon who suggested Hiyori×Kuina here.

I was elaborating on the whole "Kuina is alive and training in Wano" what if and something occured to me: imagine Kuina meeting Ace and instantly becoming best friends with him

They could have a similar first meeting to Ace and Yamato. They chill out one night, talk with each other sharing their dreams and ambitions, and they learn that they are both very similar actually.

If you think about it, Ace and Kuina were both oppressed by a society that hated them due to the circumstances of their births. Ace being the son of a criminal, and Kuina doing something in a male dominated field. Both struggled with self hatred but eventually found people who loved and supported them. They would both end up respecting each other a whole lot as well. And they would defenetely end up sharing stories about their younger siblings, Ace would warn her about Luffy emerging in a few yeats and Kuina would then tell him about Zoro likely doing the same as well.

But eventually Ace leaves, not before exchanging vivre cards tho. Kuina would keep herself updated on what happenes outside of Wano of course, so she woukd learn about Zoro and Luffy being on the same crew. She is surprised about this coincidence but also extited about the possibility of her and Ace meeting them again and the four of them hanging out togheter. After all they will have catching up to do, she wants to meet Luffy and Zoro has to meet Ace.

Except that never happens. Kuina would helplessly watch as Ace's vivre card disintegrates in her hands, becoming smaller and smaller until it ceases to exist, and the news about Marineford arrive shortly afterwards. Suddentely everything is just awful. One of her best friends in gone and his beloved brother that she hoped she would one day meet has been severely injured and has dissapeared. She can't stop thinking about them, and Zoro. Just how badly he must feel about not being with his captain in that moment. Kuina knows him very well, how hard he can be on hinself. She knows full well how he is hurting just as much as her.

But she made a promise. One with Zoro, and another one with Ace about one day meeting Luffy. So she keeps training, harder than before. She wants to be strong, the strongest swordsman and the strongest person ever for the people that believed in her, but also for herself.

Once Luffy finally arrives at Wano, she embraces him in a hug, being finally able to see the great man she was told about in person. They have a lot of cathing up ti do.

But on a more humorous note (cause this ask got pretty depressing) Ace and Kuina both pulled some fine bitches from this great country of Wano.

HELLO ANON I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT YOU ALL DAY I AM SO GLAD YOU CAME BACK BECAUSE MY MIND HAS BEEN FILLED WITH HIYOKU ALL DAY (yes that's their shipname now) AND I NEEDED YOU BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEY HEY HEY <333333

I mean, if you take into consideration that Kuina probably moved to Wano the second she was old enough (meaning, idk, say 17) to train (while Zoro went on his own journey too and followed what happens in canon, but his ambition is basically wanting to be the greatest swordsman by having this competition with Kuina yadda yadda) then it sort of makes sense that she and Ace met. I mean, you could easily just say that when Ace arrives she's there too and she's the one trying to protect Tama and the other citizens from Ace. And then it's when Ace shows he's the nicest person ever and they start talking and becoming friends.

Side note -> 17 y/o Kuina moving to Wano and meeting a 21 y/o Hiyori (I think she's 4 years older? I'm awful with numbers maybe not. Because she's technically one year older than Zoro and Zoro's 21 so she'd be 22 now? And Hiyori is 26, right? So 4 years) and having a crush on her and wanting to protect her because she sees the kindness and pain in her that nobody else does?? And she becomes extremely devoted to her and her protection while she trains. It makes me melt. However, I don't know if I want Kuina to know about Hiyori's identity because she told her at some point and Kuina kept it secret and protected her alongside Denjiro or if it's better that Hiyori kept it from her to protect her too and then the whole Wano drama happens and when Kuina finds out, Hiyori feels all guilty for lying to her but she doesn't care because she knows that even if her name was a lie, she has always been honest about her heart to her. (<- poetic devoted lesbian can't let go of her princess). Anyway, getting too carried away with the girls, I'm sorry.

And I- I absolutely love this. I'm sure Kuina would love Ace, and Ace wouldn't stop talking about Luffy to her. And tbh she would be the same about Zoro. They just wouldn't stop saying how bad they want to see them again and how proud they are of them. They'd talk about their dreams and Ace would believe in Kuina's wholeheartedly. He'd say he's waiting for the time in which she becomes the world's greatest swordsman impatiently. He's dying to see it. They both feel a bit left out in the world because of their different situations and they'd get each other so well!! And I can't stop thinking about Ace being like "Oh, yes, I almost died a couple of times. Being a kid in the woods is fun but, uh, fucking hard sometimes" and she's like "Well, at least you didn't fall down some stairs and almost died. That happened to me and Zoro wouldn't stop reminding me it would've been such a ridiculous death for me". Because I just find it funny that she actually almost died but didn't. Funny story to tell.

Then Ace dies, and her hopes of meeting him again are ruined. It's awful. She doesn't want to tell Tama because she keeps waiting for him and it would destroy her. So she keeps it to herself but Hiyori knows something is wrong. She doesn't want to insist if Kuina doesn't want to talk. But it's alright, because Kuina keeps saying things are going to change for the good in a few years, and Hiyori trusts her (swordsman's) words.

Side note² -> I just know they both take care of Toko. Those are her moms. I just know.

[halsinshoneypot]

You Are More Than Her Lies pt.2

Zoro

Zoro knew the mission that took place on WCI succeeded, he felt the overpowering relief and joy flow through the bond – clearly from Sanji’s end. Zoro is also glad that he has good control over his own emotions;  Sanji's current relief would be pushed to the side and replaced with worry, as Zoro has found himself in a sticky situation. The green haired swordsman seemed to of taken Trafalgar Law’s advice to lay low and thrown it out the window of a 20 story building into a pit of fire. Quite typical of himself if he should say so, Law should know not to tell Zoro to do anything that might personally benefit him, he’d just spit it back in Law’s face and ask for a new plan on how to fix something he fucked up consequently by doing the opposite of Law’s demands. This is when Sanji would jump in, reprimand Zoro for being such a stubborn asshole and try to tell Zoro how useful common sense is. If Zoro knew how to use common sense in situations like these, he wouldn’t be on the journey he is today.  

In a traditional Japanese garden, there were a handful of officials of the Flower Capital (the capital of Wano, FC). They were a respectful distance away from where Zoro was sitting, presumably so they didn’t get covered in any of Zoro’s blood when he would be charged guilty and demanded to commit seppuku. This turn of events from laying low happened because there was a murderer in Wano, and Zoro happened to witness the murderer commit the act and flee. Although Zoro was too late to of stopped the murder from taking place, or to even warn the victim he was being followed, the justice that flowed through Zoro made him push Law’s advice to the back of his brain and pursue the murderer. The unexpected happened and Zoro found himself to be named the murder instead, while the person he was pursuing posed as a just and fair official for the governing of the FC, who had finally caught the murderer that struck terror into the citizens of Wano.  

A plan formed in Zoro’s mind. He can admit that it isn’t a great one, his cover would certainly be blown out of the water, and he would have to hide in Wano without the help of the other crew members as he can’t put their cover at risk too. Zoro can admit that the plan will make him a wanted man in Wano for sure. If the Beast Pirates thought they were safe from the Straw hat Pirates, then they were about to be in for a surprise. As having the right-hand man of the captain and the second strongest crewmember running around Wano after killing an official would constitute as a reason to worry.  

The only real disadvantage that Zoro currently faced was his swords being taken away. When the swordsman was captured and imprisoned, the guards confiscated his swords and put them in a secure location. Meaning Zoro had to work with what he had, which was a small dagger with only a bandaged wrapped around the hilt as a handle – he figured the dagger could imbue his haki and send a slash to the murderer, killing the man and making Zoro seem like a brutal killer. The official started to blabber on, Zoro ignored it for the most part, finding his speech rather boring and predictable.  

“A proper death is a samurais honor!” the man droned on, almost making Zoro fall asleep.

Making sure his emotions are in check (being grateful that Sanji’s joy is giving Zoro a hold to focus on imbuing the dagger) and to make sure there is no hint to the guard's of his actions, Zoro started putting his reckless plan in motion. As he prepared, Zoro felt the presence of the executioner behind him start to lift the katana, ready to finish the execution in case Zoro couldn't. Zoro lifts the dagger while portraying a face of stubborn calm, his hands steady and body shifting to expose his stomach, then he swings down and halts not too far from his abs.  

“I smell blood. You are the slasher”, as Zoro declares the truth he knows, the official starts to panic. He sends a scared demand for the guards to kill Zoro while backing away, the murderer knew his fate was now in the hands of his newest victim and their haki flowing through the dagger.  

Zoro sends the dagger’s slash to the real murderer, and it hits true, spreading from the left shoulder and extending down to the right waist as the man's blood spews into the air. The guards stopped for a short second, trying to take in what just happened, and finally turn back to aim for the killer of their boss. The short moment was enough for Zoro to steal the katana from the executioner behind him and expertly finish the execution with a flourish of a katana and dagger – leaving few injured and others alive, he ran.  

Sanji

Sanji awoke on a beach, mouth dry and full of sand. His head was aching with such an intensity that he had to squint while observing his surroundings. The confusion was the first thing that hit Sanji; Where is he? Why is he laying on a beach? Where are the rest of the crew? Did he get thrown overboard? Where were they going? Then just as quick as the questions formed, a slew of memories hit Sanji one after the other. He remembered Luffy giving the order to escape after Jimbe came to the aid, then sailing to Wano after reconciliation with the crew and the celebration of Sanji’s rescue. He remembers Luffy declaring the next destination as Wano and the Thousand Sunny setting sailing in the direction of Nami’s log pose – and the feeling of Zoro being anxious for some reason.  

The unmistakable feeling of repressed anxiety was constant for a short few days while the Sunny made it's journey to Wano. Knowing this anxiety wasn’t his owns feelings – there was a subtle difference between the feelings that were felt down the bond, Sanji could tell when it was Zoro’s feelings or his own as there was a sort of unnatural presence – and it worried Sanji. What could make Zoro worry? The only time Sanji felt the swordsman get slightly worried was during a tough part of battle. The most notable time being Sabaody, that was the second time Sanji felt Zoro truly panic, truly scared. So, as anyone who was worried about what was happening to his crewmates and what they were to face in Wano, Sanji approached Luffy and began interrogating the captain. Luffy was on the head of Sunny while Franky maned the wheel and Nami studied the sky, they seemed to be in a relaxed conversation. That had to be good? If they hadn't heard anything then there was no need to be worried. But it was always better to be safe than sorry.  

“So, what’s the plan for when we reach Wano?” Sanji said as he approached the crew, lighting a smoke as he went. Luffy jumped up from his sitting position, with hands in the air and exclaimed “Strong samurai! And meat! Lots of meat!”. The three of them laughed at Luffy’s enthusiasm, the fun in exploring the Grand Line and the New World was the food and the people for Luffy, no worry about unbelievable strong navy/pirates or any strange weather. Sanji favoured that about his captain, the carefree adventurer that originally drew the crew in - it has only dimmed a little since the war. But the anxiety was still there, “Have we heard anything from the other crew? How’s Robin-chwan? Some asshole better not of made their move and swept her up!”  

From the wheel Franky chimed in, “I don’t think we have to worry about that, I’m sure she’s gotten comfortable and laid low like Trafalgar told her. Robin wouldn’t up and leave me- I mean US! She wouldn’t leave US like that!” and laughed nervously at the end. The crew new that Robin and Franky had something going on between them (except Luffy, that boy was in the dark about romance – poor Hancock), ever since Robin gripped Franky’s Jewells and ‘persuaded’ him to join the crew, the two have been inseparable and have a dating vibe. Sanji picked up on their chemistry straight away, but since the two haven’t made anything official and neither have told Sanji to relax with the constant flirting then he didn’t see a reason to stop. It wasn’t like Robin wouldn’t hold back if Sanji was making her uncomfortable, she’s a powerful devil fruit user who’s a threat to be reckoned with, if words didn’t get through to Sanji then receiving a slap from her fleurs would definitely give him the hint.  

In the moment Sanji thought it would be a good idea to send this relaxed joy down the bond, hoping it would comfort marimo in the way the swordsman did with his own for the cook. It might not be a comforting sight of the crew appearing and fighting whatever was causing marimo to worry, but with this distance and destination arrival time, Sanji was willing to break the uncaring act for Zoro. “I’m not saying I don’t have faith in Robin. I guess I’m just worried about how everyone in Wano is doing. It’s not like Wano has snail phones. What if Kaido is there waiting for us after capturing them and getting information out of them?” It killed Sanji to admit that the anxiety of Zoro wasn’t making his head spin with unpleasant possibilities.  

The other three exchanged look’s, probably wondering what got into the cook’s head. Before anyone could offer any comfort for Sanji’s worries, Nami jumps up and starts ordering the crew to prep the ship for the storm coming their way.  

By the time Sanji came to, he remembered the recent events of the waterfall, the koi, travelling up the waterfall with the koi and then the ship sinking into a whirlpool. The cook came to the conclusion that the ship sank, and he got washed up on a beach of – hopefully – Wano. It would explain the mess on the beach, as if it was quite common for the wreckage of ships to wash up after they were destroyed in the whirlpool. He only hoped the Sunny would be strong enough to stay intact with minor damages, with the materials Franky made the ship from he’d wish the ship was fine. Finally standing up and getting his strength to keep him standing, Sanji started walking along the beach, keeping a look out for any signs of other crewmates or civilization.  

Sanji tried to feel for the bond, trying to see if it would hint at Zoro’s presence being nearby, but it was quiet. Determination settled over the man, survival instincts kicking in, if being stranded on that rock with Zeff taught Sanji anything it was that being on unknown land was better than stranded at sea. As his gaze was searching the beach for any food supplies or drinkable water, he felt the bond come to life. Zoro felt happy, really happy. It was a welcomed change after the previous bout of either quiet or anxious feelings and it made Sanji feel hopeful. Zoro must’ve found one of the crew from WCI, that’s got to be it, there could be no other explanation – at least someone was safe from the aftermath of the whirlpool.  

Someone was running towards Sanji. The blond turned towards the sound, the sound of happy yelling? “Curly! Is that you? Where’s...” The voice was deep, so it wasn’t a damsel in distress coming to jump in Sanji’s arms and beg to be saved, which disappointed him a bit. As the figure started to take shape in the distance and the voice got clearer, Sanji recognized that the person was carrying three swords and had an uncommon head of green hair.  

Zoro

Zoro couldn’t believe his eye, that had to be his cook. The blond head and unique brow were unmistakable. As Zoro ran quicker, he noticed that Sanji was amongst a lot of ship wreckage. Worrying the Sunny was what surrounded Sanji, he had to ask and make sure it wasn’t “Are you okay? What’s up with the wreckage, you didn’t lose your cool, did you?”. The cook didn’t answer, instead, he started running towards Zoro ‘Why is he running at me? Is there someone behind me?’. The swordsman did a quick head turn behind him and found the desert he’d been wondering, ‘Nobody, like I thought. Why is he running then?’ Zoro turned his head back to make eye contact with Sanji. The blond was still a few feet away but even from there Zoro could feel the electricity of the eye contact, the bond flaring with anger and a hint of relief. That’s when Zoro realized he was about to become a victim of a cooking technique.  

He did an impressive U-turn and tried to start pleading his case, “Why are you picking a fight already shitty cook?! I just yelled some questio- omph!”. The U-turn waisted precious seconds which led to Sanji catching Zoro with a swift kick to the ass.  

“Because you did something reckless and that’s why we’ve been riddled with your anxiety asshole!”  

“This fucking bond. I thought I managed to hide that from you.”  

“Well you didn’t, what did you do?!”, Sanji was red and now had Zoro's yukata in his hands, his face inches away but still shouting.  

Zoro mumbled “I killed an official of the capital...”  

“Huh?!”  

Zoro didn’t need the bond to know Sanji was about to beat his ass and that there was no way out of it

-------------------

Part 2! I'm also posting this series on ao3 which I will post the link for separately. I am dyslexic and my eyes are heavy so any spelling mistakes or weird phrasing? soz - I will do an edit at a later time but it's late so bare with. Thank you for the likes and repost! I'll update in hopefully the next week! <3

[blackcat2907]

For the character ask, Zoro, Mihawk, and/or Doflamingo!

*cracks knuckles* Oh yeah, I am doing all three. Thank you for indulging in my hyperfixation with these characters. Be prepared for a long post!

RORONOA ZORO

First Impression: Okay, this guy seems cool. He's badass with a sword and he is hot. I like him. Impression Now: LOML! I love him so much! He is my baby and he will not hesitate to drop kick you if you disrespect his crew. I don't have the words to fully explain how much I love him. Favorite Moment: From the live action, when he fights Mihawk or when he declares his loyalty love for Luffy. In the anime, probably when he takes on Luffy's pain and bears it. "nothing happened" Idea for a Story: Well, I have a few, but right now it's between my Bounty Hunter Zoro betrays the Straw Hats at the end of OPLA and ends up joining the Heart Pirates or the Spade Pirates. The second idea is Winged AU child Zoro being raised by Mihawk. Unpopular Opinion: Zoro could have been a great traitor character. I genuinely like the idea of Zoro biding his time to stab everyone in the back. Favorite Relationship: Canon would probably be his loyalty to Luffy and non-canon would be ZoLaw or a parent-child relationship with Mihawk. (it's canon in my heart) Favorite Headcanon: Zoro has severe dyslexia.

DRACULE MIHAWK

First Impression: Okay, goth pirate who loves his naps. Impression Now: I love him. He is father material, he is daddy material, and he is housewife material. He is Zoro's father. Canon doesn't exist. Favorite Moment: When he destroyed the Don Krieg pirates for disturbing his nap. Like, yeah, they deserved it. Don't disturb a person's nap. It's rude. It's cruel. And you are inviting death when you do. Idea for a story: Winged au of being a father to Zoro and Perona, and another OPLA au where Mihawk joins the Straw Hats because Luffy refused his refusal. TLDR: Mihawk accidentally adopts five kids and suffers the consequences of becoming attached. Unpopular Opinion: He could have been an awesome ally to the Straw Hats instead of staying neutral. Favorite Relationship: His mentor-student relationship with Zoro and MiShanks. Favorite Headcanon: He is a vampire /hj Nah, my real favorite headcanon is that he wants to retire and become a simple farmer but stays in the game so Zoro can achieve his dream of taking his title of World's Strongest Swordsman.

DONQUIXOTE DOFLAMINGO

First Impression: Fashionable Slenderman. Tall, lanky man with pink feathered coat. Semi-cool design, ig. Don't know much about him to care enough. Impression Now: MY BOI JUST NEEDS A HUG AND NEEDED A LOT OF LOVE! Yeah, he's done a lot of bad, evil things. He's an incredible villain with Azula vibes imo. And like Azula, i think things would have been different if his mother had survived and was the main parent. I firmly believe Doffy was/is a Mama's boy. Favorite Moment: His speech on justice. Chef's kiss. It is beautiful. <3 Idea for a story: Well, I have some modern au ideas where he is still an evil mafia boss, but I take away the child slavery and slavery in general and anything to do with exploiting kids. Another idea I have is that his mom survives and how it affects everything. Unpopular Opinion: Doffy is incredibly evil but he was also manipulated by Trebol and had every right to be mad at his father for dragging the entire family down. Favorite Relationship: The manipulative relationship he has with Law. It's so interesting to watch and see how much his has affected Law. Favorite Headcanon: Deep down, he cared for his brother and he regrets killing Rosinante and how things developed.

I warned you it was gonna be long, but I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to send in more characters!

[wellfine]

Hey so I rambled for like a million words on Sanji’s and Zoro’s and a little bit of Luffy’s characterisation re: living for the sake of other people vs. yourself inspired by @eastdemons recent very good character analysis so I tucked it behind a read-more to spare you all

(WCI spoilers)

realised/remembered that Sanji as a child went seamlessly from being born to exist for the sake of others (his biological family), to wanting desperately to exist for the sake of others but being rejected and treated as though his very existence were a nuisance no matter how hard he tried, to finally finding a sort of unspoken crude acceptance with the Baratie and Zeff which was conditional (in his own mind) on him existing for their sake instead, that he finally had a target to project his rejected desire to be useful onto, to finally have a reason to exist and a tangible benefit he could point to - “if I weren’t here, then the Baratie wouldn’t run as smoothly, cook so nicely, defend itself so strongly”

and sure, tethering himself to that one floating restaurant meant he could never actually go out and achieve his own dreams but he was used to that, he had already accepted from childhood that his life never belonged to him, that he existed for the sake of others and self-sacrifice was naturally a part of that to the point he didn’t even consider it “sacrifice” any more but rather just the natural order of his birth. Like how you know to queue at the supermarket because that’s what your parents taught you. I don’t know if he ever even would’ve registered on a conscious level that that’s how he thought of himself? You could argue that a lot of the Straw Hats (maybe even all of them, in their own way) believe that sacrificing yourself is "natural” to do when your convictions are on the line, like Luffy’s acceptance of his fate at Loguetown, but Sanji’s is different. The Straw Hats might say, “it’s only natural to risk yourself for what you believe in,” but Sanji believes “it’s only natural that I would sacrifice myself for others.” The others all may have a sort of “put your money where your mouth is” attitude towards self-preservation (even Usopp and Nami), but moreso than any others I think Sanji says “no, the rest of you, sit down. None of you get to sacrifice yourselves, that’s foolish. Only I may die for the drama of it all”

So even at age 19 it’s not until Sanji meets the Straw Hats that he even considers the choice of living his life for himself, based on what he wants, and not what others want or need from him. Like obviously he cared about Zeff and the Baratie and he did genuinely want to see it succeed, but it wasn’t his life’s goal. He was trying to make it his life’s goal but you could see the look on his face when he talked about All Blue and traveling for his own sake. And then a bunch of smelly weird pirates crash into their restaurant and confront him with the idea that “hey, you know, your life belongs to you, and you actually have, you know, CHOICES you can make, and it’s okay for you to prioritise your own goals and live your life the way YOU want to”

You could argue that this is a recurring theme with all the Straw Hats - “personal freedom” is probably one of, if not the most prominent theme in One Piece - where most of the crew has felt like they’ve been held back from living the life they want to lead before joining the Straw Hats. Some were held back by external influences (Nami with the Arlong Pirates and Marines, Robin with the Marines again, Brook by Hogback), some by personal obstacles (Usopp’s struggles with his own cowardice, and fear of leaving the comfort of his seemingly safe village for the risk but allure of the sea). There were other members who were held back by a sense of social obligation, too - Chopper to Dr. Kureha and his memories of Hiluluk, Franky to Galley-La in general, the Franky Family, and his memories of Puffing Tom - but those were also slightly different. Chopper, who was still just a kid, all things considered, needed “permission” from his parental figure to leave home, and Franky, conversely, needed to be sure that his adoptive family-figures would be fine on their own. Sanji and Zeff obviously have a father-son relationship but Sanji didn’t need Zeff’s specific permission or approval, nor did he need reassurance that the Baratie would be okay without him - because he already KNEW he had both those things. Zeff is implied to have been trying to get Sanji to leave for a long time. What Sanji really needed was someone to tell him that he would be okay. That he could exist outside of the construct by which he defined his existence (his usefulness to Zeff and the Baratie). That this was a thing he was allowed to do. That God wouldn’t smite him where he stood if he dared to get out of bed in the morning for his own sake, and not someone else’s. And that came from meeting the Straw Hats - all of them, but Zoro a little bit more, and Luffy most of all.

Of course he still struggles with that even after joining the Straw Hats LMAO and the poor dude has a self-sacrificial streak longer than his legs. But now I’m gonna pivot into talking about how Zoro and Sanji contrast against each other in this exact regard

Of all the Straw Hats, Zoro (and I’m still not 100% up to date with the current Wano happenings so maybe we have more insight into why Zoro is the way he is but I still don’t think it could totally disrupt anything I’m about to say) is the person who is least able to identify with where Sanji is coming from but also somehow, the most?? Because Zoro is a paradox of both living fully and wholly for himself in the moment but also being someone who has dedicated his entire life to living out someone else’s dream. Like, yeah, it’s his dream, too, but it’s been made clear throughout the series that the force behind his terrifying drive is his oath to Kuina, not just his own desire to be the strongest swordsman.

But I’m not sure Zoro sees a distinction there? And I’m not sure it’s even relevant to make the distinction in the first place? Kuina has passed away, so Zoro’s own interpretation of what her dream would’ve been, how to fulfil it, and what their promise to each other means is, essentially, his own free will. Often times in fiction when you see a character living in another character’s memory they basically model themselves around what they think the other person would’ve done, but not Zoro. He doesn’t model his fighting style after Kuina’s (quite the opposite). He doesn’t train how he thinks she would’ve trained. He even went ahead and defined the parameters of their “dream” all on his own - defeating Mihawk (is that how Kuina would’ve defined “becoming the strongest swords[wo]man”?). He is, undeniably, living life however it naturally occurs to him and pursuing whatever he wants to pursue.

But Kuina is still also undeniably a fixture in his life. He still wields her sword (fingers crossed for Wano). He still thinks of her and is still driven by the bond and oath they shared when they were younger, and he still considers her father to be his mentor. He would say that he wants to become the strongest swordsman because it is his dream and also because he’s doing it for Kuina, and they would both be independently true.

And so all of this culminates into Zoro not understanding Sanji’s perspective one tiny little bit, lmao. You’d think he would because on the surface they both live for another person’s sake but when you get deeper into it they’re opposites, as is usually the way with those two. Sanji is someone who presents himself as a “lone wolf”, sort of - the strong, cool, independent “Mr. Prince” who is often separated from the other characters, working on his own. But he’s not. He defines his entire existence by his utility to others and the capacity for his sacrifice to them. That’s why he keeps TRYING to sacrifice himself for others even when it’s pretty unnecessary lmao. And Zoro is someone who readily claims to be living his life for the sake of another person, but then doesn’t give a second thought to how that person might have lived their life. He can live his own life while also living FOR someone else. That’s not a contradiction at all in his mind. Zoro has made it no secret that he would leave the Straw Hats if he had to in order to pursue his own dreams and I genuinely still think he would, as loyal as he is to Luffy (which, btw, Luffy would unequivocably support).

And so it’s why Sanji can’t understand why Zoro would fight against Mihawk knowing that he would lose, because in that moment Zoro was living blisteringly for his own sake and nothing else, because throwing yourself into a fight you KNOW you will lose simply because it’s what you WANT is the culmination of “living your own life”. To Sanji, that makes no sense, because Zoro could still live and be useful to others. Sanji completely understands dying to protect others and so thinks dying because of your own resolutions would be a “waste”. And it’s why Sanji left so easily in WCI, and why Zoro couldn’t/can’t understand that, because to Sanji it made sense in what he still believed to be true in his mind - that he ultimately only existed to be useful to others, and that his brief sojourn with the Straw Hats had been fun, but that leaving them would be inevitable, because it was too “selfish” on his part to dare to live life for himself and that the universe would correct itself eventually. He still thought that it was wrong of him to live his own life. He still, on some level, thought that his life belonged to someone else. And at least, like this, he could save the people he actually cared about (the Straw Hats) along the way, making the best of a foregone conclusion, in his mind. I genuinely think even after everything the SHs went through together it wasn’t until he saw Luffy still waiting for him that it finally clicked in Sanji’s mind that he was the sole owner of his own life and that he had a choice in what he dedicated it to.

Speaking of Luffy, I think he 100% lives his own life for himself only, even more than Zoro - he sacrifices himself for others, but only because he wants to because he personally likes those people, not because he thinks it’s the “right” thing to do - but I also think he deeply understands and appreciates Sanji’s mentality in a way that Zoro doesn’t/can’t. I think Luffy learned from Shanks that the way you act/the things you do have a broader impact on the world around you, and so living life “for yourself” is something you have to do mindfully and consciously of how that will affect other people. And I think he learned about the idea of being expected to live for the purpose of others from Sabo and Ace, and the subsequent rejection of that idea. So he fully embraces the notion of living your life for yourself only, but he does so being aware of the implications that has for the other people in your life.

I don’t know if this makes any sense or if it’s still coherent at this point I have written (checks) almost 2000 words about one piece and I’m a litte embarrassed but you know what I'm just gonna hit ‘publish’ without proof reading thanks for coming to my TED Talk i’m sorry if any of these paragraphs just stopped mid-sentence as I hopped to finish off some other sentence

[gildedmuse]

How about a Nico Robin x Photographer! Reader where the two of them are searching Poneglyphs and the reader has a camera that he will use to take pictures of the Poneglyphs and mostly Nico Robin

Fair Warning: I've never done a x Reader fix before. I don't know if second person is something I do well. We're about to find out together.

Documents For The Future

"And do you notice how the writing wraps around? Usually, the four sides will carry the same message, as if the creators wished to ensure the entirety of the message remained readae even if the monument itself were damaged in several places. In the few cases where the symbols do not repeat, each of the four faces has it's own message, but here you can see-"

"Actually, I can't." The second the words leave your mouth you feel guilty. In the past four days since the Strawhats landed on your island you have gotten to know a good deal about the crew, so much so you sometimes forget that they are relative strangers - pirates who appeared from nowhere and would surely sail off again soon enough never to return to this little corner of the grand line. And yet, maybe due to all you went through together, or perhaps simply because the crew is so.... Enthused and unrestrained, it feels as though they are old friends. You know their habits, their likes and dislikes, what they sound like when they're arguing and how they sound when they are actually, truly incensed. They are a very outgoing, ridiculous group of characters and you are deeply thankful for each one of them, eccentricities and all. And your grateful to get this chance to know them, though honestly with as wild as they could be it seems it would be more difficult NOT to know them so well.

All except for Nico Robin, who for the most part has seemed more than content to stand off to the side; watching her crewmates antics with a warm smile, offering a small word of advice or an observation, occasionally interjecting to suggest the most morbid of all possible sceneries in such a way that you can't tell if she's teasing or worryingly grim. Just now, examining the Marked Stone (Poneglyph she had called it) is easily the most you have heard her say over the last four days combined. And then you had to go say something stupid and cut her off.

Luckily you have your camera to stare down at, readjusting the lens and fiddling with the knobs. Anything so you can berate yourself with a little more privacy, as you can feel the woman's kind eyes right on you.

"Right, of course," Nico Robin answers in a way you can tell that she is wearing that smile of hers. It is also so unlike the rest of her crew, all of whom have effusive, bright smiles (even, it turns out, the swordsman though it took until enough sake had been poured in his cup at the town festival in their honor for you to catch sight of it). They are as open as their hearts and spirits, utterly unrestrained and boldly on display.

And you respect and admire that about the pirates, you truly do.

Robin's smile is different, though you can tell theirs just as much joy in it as there is the animated, elated smile of their captain. Perhaps her joy is not as flashy, not so wild or unrestrained as that of her crew mates, but it looks honest. And you like to think you have a good eye for such things.

There is plenty of sincere happiness in Robin's soft, gentle smiles, but there's a lot of years of pain there, too. Maybe it's the artist in you, but such a paradox is alluring. You want to be able to capture it and study all it's secrets.

Which you can't do if you insist on staring down at your camera like a fool. So you cautiously, shyly some might say, glance up.

Nico Robin is still standing where you'd last seen her, hand resting against the Marked - the Poneglyph as though she could feel a heart beat in the old piece of rock. Sure enough, she is wearing that smile, smiling for you. "How silly of me. It must be very difficult to take your pictures with me standing here."

"What?" Too loud, too loud! You have never been that good at talking to people, but you at least have the basics down. Or you thought you did. "No, no it's not! Haha well I mean sure but, err, no you can stay it's fine if you want to I mean -" God, how in the last five minutes have you forgotten how language worked? You stop yourself from going on, drawing in a deep, calming breath. It doesn't actually calm you down, but at least you feel ready to try stringing words together again. This time, hopefully, in a way that makes sense. "I just mean, I don't really get what you mean. I can't actually read any of it, you know. As far as everyone here knew, they weren't words at all. So..."

You give the woman a helpless shrug and hope she'll just giggle away your poor explanation. Instead, Nico Robin studies you, not with as much fondness as she does the Poneglyph. Apparently you are more.difficult to understand than an ancient, unreadable rock.

It's not exactly a confidence boost.

"I suppose that's true." She looks back to the Poneglyph, hand running along the lines of some of the markings. You wonder if that particular one says something special, or if they are all special to her regardless of what they say. "I apologize. Sometimes I get carried away-"

"I think it's beautiful!" God, could you let this poor woman finish one thought without awkwardly interrupting to yell in her face? What is wrong with you? This time when she turns back, staring at you in mild surprise (And mild interest which makes it a little better... And a little worse) "I mean... I know I don't understand any of it, but I think... I think it's beautiful, how passionate you are about it all. It may not be as obvious as Fraanky with inventions or Zoro with swords or Nami with money or Luffy with.... Well, with just about everything I guess," you trail off a bit, but in your momentary distraction from the point, you went the smallest of giggles. It's a soft sound, the perfect match for her smile, and it makes you refocus, finding enough strength to power through with your thoughts. "But you have a real, sincere passion that shines through, and even if I don't get it, I think... I think anytime someone can find something they feel that way about, it's a beautiful thing."

You close your mouth, feeling awkward and embarrassed and knowing you sounded like an utter idiot. Anytime someone can find something they feel that way about? Urg, who says such nonsense? And why would you say it now of all possible times in your life?

"I agree." Your neck nearly snaps you stare back at Nico Robin so fast. She is, thankfully, not watching you, but has her eyes back on the stone wall in front of her. She's smiling too, but it's such a private thing you almost feel bad for having looked in the first place, and at the same time it's so hard to take your eyes away. "That is what I love about sailing with Luffy. He could have gone out and found the strongest or the best, men who would have done anything he asked or anything at all if paid enough gold. But he instead he looked for those of us who had little but our passions, our dreams. It is what draws him finds and us to him."

You swallow hard, unsure where to look or what to do. You are sure this moment is meant for Robin herself and your not sure why she's sharing it with you or how to tell her you're grateful that she would.

Luckily, it is Robin who breaks the silence, perhaps to spare you both from more of your inability to speak. "Thank you again, for your time, Recorder-san. It would be very difficult for me to transcribe all this before we leave. Your photographs are sure to be a great assistance."

"I told you you didn't have to call me that," you mutter, buy can't keep from smiling even as you correct her. When you had told the Strawhats you thought of it as your job to keep a record of what was happening on the island, you didn't think it would stick in the way it has. "Besides, it's the least I could do after you - after what all of you did for us... Anyway, we should probably get started, before the light gets too low."

Robin nods, looking back to the Poneglyph before turning to you. "Should I stand back so not to be in your way?"

"No, no, you're just fine!" You might answer a bit too quickly, but the truth is you'd feel like a jerk, making Nico Robin - one if the heroes who saved your family, friends, the entirety of this island - stand back when she obviously wanted to be close, to see and touch the history that is apparently inscribed into the stone's face. "I'll just shot around you. It won't be a problem."

*

It had been a problem.

*

The Strawhats had decided to leave in two days, which gave you more than ample time to probably develope the photographs you'd taken from your trip down to the Marked Stone with Nico Robin. Still, you decide to work on them the next morning, just in case they might still be helpful to her while she's here.

That's when you realize your mistake.

But! It's okay! No need to panic! Which you do do for a couple of hours, sure, but then you realize there is an easy solution.

You grab your camera and run out the door, hardly pausing to give a hurried hello to the always friendly Chopper and Usopp as you dash out of town and all the way to the other side of the island.

The next morning, there's a knock on your door just as you've finished slipping the last of the photographs into an envelope. You start towards the door before pausing and taking another one of those non calling breaths. It's more a delay tactic than anything else. St the very least you have a few seconds to go over what you're going to say in hopes of looking s little less like a fool.

"Oh, Nico Robin, I was just coming to find you," you lie, opening the door with the biggest smile you can manage. A smile that says don't worry I've definitely slept plenty in the last day. "You're here for your photographs, right? Of course! Let me just... I know I out them right here." Literally a second ago, right before you answered the door.

If your acting skills are less than impressive, Robin doesn't comment. She gives you her sweet, soft smile and thanks you sincerely. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble," she says, holding the package to her chest. You keep trying not to stare at them.

"No, of course not. No trouble at all. I certainly hope their helpful! Well, umm... Good luck... At sea? Yes, and tell everyone else goodbye for me!"

You didn't mean to exactly slam the door, but given that you have a physical barrier that can get you out if this conversation, it seems like the best move. For everyone involved.

The second it's shut you very nearly collapse against it, sighing. In relief. In disappointment. Maybe it's the lack of sleep, your not even sure exactly what it is your feeling by this point just -

"Ouch." Well, you felt that. The knock at the door right where your head had been laying. It's not the kindest thing to do to someone nursing a headache.

Without even thinking you yank open the door, ready to return to the daily village business already.

So it takes a moment to process Nico Robin still standing there, still smiling. "Umm..."

"Forgive me, Recorder-san," Robin says, sounding just as kind and casual as could be. But you're still caught off guard, unsure why she's still there at all, and the way she says it all as.of it's so normal isn't helping you process. "I was just curious if I could see the originals?"

"Th-the originals?"

She nods, unaffected by your sudden wide eyes look of shock. "The ones from the other day. These are beautifully shot, I have to say, and I do believe I will find them to be quite helpful in my work. I was just hoping I could see the ones we took together."

"Oh." You suddenly feel your cheeks warming up. You look towards your backdoor and mentally calculate if you'd have time to run from a woman who can grow multiple limbs where ever she wants. You realize you really don't want to even if you did stand a chance.

So with a sigh you open the door wider, waving her in. Robin steps inside and you can see her eyes taking in your entire home. Not judging, not critical just.... Recording it. Documentation. You understand the impulse well.

"They umm..." Walking to your desk, you take out a second envelope. You stare at it for a moment, wondering why you even kept them. Why hadn't you thrown them away once you'd gone and retaken the new ones? "They didn't turn out very well you see..."

You hand them over with a wince, even as Robin takes them with a polite care. As she opens the package you find yourself caught trying to look anywhere but her, finding that you can't help but glance up now and again for the inevitable reaction.

She must think you're an idiot. She must think you're a joke. She must think you're a creepy ass stalker.

She must think your a stupid kid, that swhat she must think.

"I didn't realize," Robin says after she looks through the photographs, examining each one in turn. It's a process that seems to you to take forever, dreading every additional second of her eyes scanning over the prints. "That I made such a fascinating model."

You close your eyes and wonder if their is some sort of god of photography and of so, would he kindly kill you know?

You open your mouth to offer an explanation, any sort of excuse, maybe just a bold face lie of you could actually think of one. But before you can start babbling, you feel a small, warm hand on your shoulder.

You open your eyes to see Robin giving you not just her usual soft smile, but one that is honestly the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. She passes the envelope back to you, where you quickly end up hugging it to your own chest, though it's a little last to protect the secret.

"You're very talented," Robin says, and all you can do is nod your head in recognition of the compliment. Your heart is pounding up into your throat making speaking something of a challenge. "I think it's a beautiful thing," Robin goes on, smiling at you gently, kindly, openly. "When someone is so passionate about something, don't you?"

Before you can get yourself to answer, Robin leans forwards to place a gentle kiss on your cheek.

By the time she pulls back you are already beat red and weak kneed and smiling in a way that might possibly rival Luffy's.

"Thank you again, Recorder-san, for the pictures. All of them. It's important that we have these documents for the future, even just our own." And with that Nico Robin is gone from your home, probably not soon to be gone from the island all together. And what are the chances pirates like those will ever come to this corner of the grand line ever again.

You look down at the package still clenched in your fingers and smile. Maybe you won't throw them away after all. It's not as if they were mistakes. If anything, they're a record of a beautiful person doing what they loved, and how could that be a mistake?

[bakugoukatsuki-rising]

Alright I know I'm late but I can no go into the connection brethren the strawhats and class 1A. 🦔

Katsuki Bakugou as Monkey D Luffy/Roronoa Zoro

Monkey D Luffy is the pirate captain of the strawhat pirates, named after his most cherished item, his strawhat. So luffy is completely the unconventional way a captain would be. He can't cook, he can barely read and write, doesn't know how to navigate or administer medicine. But he's a highly respected and loved leader for the crew because he's the number one to fight against any challenge or adversity and would die and would challenge the entire world for you to be safe and happy. Also he's a precious ball of sunshine and life that rivals mirio, and they'd be great friends. Luffy wants to be king of the pirates as his dream since he was little, and he's a force of nature to get what he wants.

Roronoa Zoro is the first mate o of the crew and the right hand to luffy in terms of giving orders but he's more than willing to let others have a say of the courses of actions needed for the crew but only when it's a highly crucial moment is to where he will not take weakness from anyone that could cause a kind of poison for the crew. He wants to be the greatest swordsman in the world and he'll keep fighting and training to teach the top. He's mostly calm and the anchor for the crew and the second strongest.

Neither of them really has the kind of temper that bakugou has . But they do share the unwavering ambition to become the number one. Also luffy admires Gol D. Roger and is basically following in his footsteps to becoming the pirate king, but he's not trying to be like roger.

OHOHOHO I didn’t know any of this but wow this puts into perspective a lot with that new art lmao 

How fucking interesting 

[pastel9girlbunny000die]

{I was reading this other fic & I really like the idea of the reader getting pushed down to thinking their not good enough for the anime character then they run off later on get encourage words from their friends, I really loved it so I tried it with one of my long time OC character}

***

Zoro x OC (Zay)

Humans were disgusting in every way possible. It was a normal thought for Zay a demon and literally only himself.

Of course, there were some humans who could regain his mind to morals and right ways, but then again…

Luffy a silly childish Captain, and a overpowered rubber man the strongest on the crew, the childlike boy was able to make him join the straw hats

Most of the crew where normal well maybe, not counting the devil fruit users

Zay a demon.

Franky is half cyborg not normal, Sanji is basically human?

Nami I don't know that woman can rob you faster than you could say "Fuck!"

Usopp... I don't think a long nose like that can be counted as normal

And then there was Zoro. He is 100% pretty much human...

 Well maybe?

In other words, this man was unbelievably attractive. With his sexy body and the way he train none stop letting sweat drop from his well built chest and abs, it made Zay's heart beat out of his chest getting all Sanji-like.

Well maybe only in Zay's eyes.

Zay has the most attractive boyfriend in exsistins. But sometimes, not so much could be said the same for Zoro's personality.

When Zay asked Zoro to be with him, it came as a surprise, he didn't have any talent he has a shitty personality and well his looks... well?

Zay is a tall man about same as Sanji's height, His whole body is covered in bandages which are used to hide his burned skin. With his short black hair and his sharp yellow eyes.

In the end Zoro said yes.

It was a normal hot summer day, on a summer island the straw hat crew decided to dock at, the whole island just being a tavern where by passers can stop to restock booze or sit back and relax with thier own BBQ near the tavern.

The hot sun high in the sky the tavern was stopped out on a small hill near the ocean waters as there where many customers pirates civilians and some marines.

The island welcomed any costumers along as thier a paying costumer.

Many at the bar drinking till thier hearts satisfied, some cooking up thier own little feast. One rare sight that there where many people laughing and chatting along with each other,

The Tavern owner let the bar out side multiple tables and seats set out for all the customers, the bartender refilling drinks giving them too waitress who's handing out drinks to the others that where outside the tavern.

The Straw hat crew decided to grab thier own little table near the shoreline setting up lawn chairs under an umbrella, Nami and Robin relaxed drinking and chatting with each other.

Luffy, Usopp and Chopper ran off to explore the small island running around like silly children.

Franky and Brook was all up in thier own conversation at the table.

Sanji at thier little table with a grill, cooking up some delicious mouthwatering BBQ, dress in a apron without a shirt and some short pants.

He was sipping his wine glass eyeing all the girls who were walking pass the table in their bikinis while doing his work.

Zay and Zoro laid a blanket under the shade of a tree nearby drinking from thier mugs enjoying the taste of booze on thier tongues, sitting next to each other, Zoro in his swimming shorts, exposing his bare chest with a large scare bare into flesh it kinda gave into his attractiveness.

Zay was just looking at Zoro from time to time when he gaze away Zoro would also be taking a few glimpses next to him at Zay who was dress only in his swimming shorts his whole body covered in bandages not a peek of skin showing

The scent of his delusions cooking traveled through the air making Zay a little hungry.

The Straws, being the some famous pirates, drew some attention from the people there.

Zoro facked a loud yawn slowly placing an arm around Zay's waist, the faking made him chuckle, he and Zoro bordly took another sips of thier drinks. Just enjoying thier drinks and each others company

That’s when the whispers began to float from a table near them, all girls.

Being Zay also known as the thriller of death, and from the demon race Zay gained a big reputation before joining the straw hat crew, by terrorizing towns and being Heartless.

His sensible hearing was able to immediately pick up the whispering

 “Is that Roronoa Zoro?”

“The pirate hunter?”

“Is that Zay? I tought that weirdo died in a crossfire back ages ago?”

“Why would the fuck would a demon like him be with Zoro?”

“You think his dating that Mummy?”

“He’s a beast and just eww. Of course his going to leash on the nearest person he could find.”

“In reality all the rumours about an Psychopath and bloodlust killing machine, all lies bet he only hide and pretend to play it big?”

Zay quietly placed his drink down, taking a glance at Zoro.

The look in his eye showed that he wasn't happy mostly pissed but he kept his cool, so there was no doubt that he heard them too.

His eye narrowed at thier table as more whispers about the Zay left thier mouths. The black haired Male let out a small breath, more of a sigh trying to calm himself down. They were just a bunch of jealous whores, Zoro wouldn’t think any less of me… would he?

A memory flashed past Zay as he moved away from Zoro taking off his hand from his. Kuina. Of course, Zay remember the name, Zoro childhood friend.

Not long after they fell in love..

Zoro trusted Zay very much he even opened up to him about his past, until a girl Zay doesn't know of came up the way Zoro spoke about her made him unsure about Zoro's feelings toward himself.

Zay would have understood if Zoro loved her. After all, not only was she described as pretty, but she kind and nice at the same time. Zay, on the other hand was the exact opposite rude and careless, would probably lose half himself in bloodlust nearly 10 seconds of a battle killing who ever gets in his way.

“Babe?” Zoro's voice brought Zay out of his thought. “Are you okay?”

“Fine. Whatever.” Zat growled before standing up walking off not hearing Zoro's questions. Leaving the swordsman.

Zay passed Robin and Nami both girls saw the look on Zay's face, he walked off to the Sunny it was a short walk as he went to the boys room slamming the door shut falling onto his and Zoro shared hammock.

The black haired Male felt his heart sink. Heavy breaths began to escape his mouth. Not only were he on the edge of riping off those girls heads and furious thinking so, but he couldn’t stand them.

Zay thought that maybe with Zoro there he would just drink the night away and stay at the swordsman hip being lovavble. He definitely helped, but the whispers that filled his ears were the last things he wanted to hear.

“Zay? Is everything okay?” Nami's voice traveled through the door as she knocking, Zay forced himself to look at the closer door, not a second later he flopped his face into Zoro's pillow with his hungry bloodlust grin.

“What? what do you want Nami?” Zay huffed an even more annoying thing to deal with.

“Is this about those annoying girls?” Robin questioned. “You don’t deserve that, Zay. No one does!”

“But their right,” Zay mumbled. “I’m rude, heartless, probably dengerous… Zoro deserves someone better, someone nice, cute, and more human girly someone who could be of actual love.”

“You’re actually very helpful, if it not for you Zoro would probably be training or sleeping himself to death.” Nami exclaimed, determined to prove Zay wrong. “You might not know the whole story. Zoro has never been happier ever since he met you! You take care of him, love him and you’re always there for him!”

“Zay you probably haven't heard what he says about you?” Robin asked, a gentle smile “He’s always telling everyone, Zay is mine and no one dares to take him from me I'll cut anyone down. Zay he loves you so don't push him away”

“Sush it you idoits-”

“They're only jealous, your the most basass bitch there is.” Nami and Robin said together and the two of them burst into giggles and Zay let out a loud hateful laugh.

He wanted to beat them up so badly, words ain't gonna cut it.

Zay let out a small sigh thankful for such good words. “Yeah. You useless girls are right for once.” and with that the blacked haired man slamded open the door waking pass them, Nothing left to say to the two.

***

Zoro found Zay in about an hour or so, after Zay left the boys room. He was a little worried but. He knew he should have told those girls off, after all, they were the reason Zay got angry.

“Hey, are you- oof!”

Zay clenched his eyes closed as he pressed his lips to Zoro's. His hands found Zay's waist as he pulled him closer to himself.

Feeling their tongues dancing with each other's the taste in thier mouths mixing and the biggest was the booze. The heat rising Zays fingers ran through the green hair of the swordsman, Zoro tightly wrapped his arms around Zays hips pulling him closed leaving no space between them they're skin would've been pressing together if it wasn't for Zay's bandages in the way.

Zay slowly pulled away not really wanting too, his cheeks a little blush and his eyes not leaving Zoro's.

“Well damn, ... your so fucking sexy”

Zay let out a low moan and buried his face in Zoro's neck. As the swordsman let out a low chuckle, kissing Zay's cheek softly.

“I love you.”

“You better cause you belong to me... and I love you too.”

***

(Almost to what Zay looks like {and Yes I know who this is}🖤❤🖤)

[razorblade180]

Skirmish pt1

The Void, a realm between realms. Here the kids and characters of alternate universes can communicate freely. Though knowledge and experiences gained here isn’t retained when they leave, that doesn’t stop them from seeking ways to improve by communications with others. Currently The Void was fuller than ever with all kids who have entered before; everyone enjoying their time in the simulated Emerald Forest. Until…

“Lucas, can I ask you a favor?” Carmine asked as she stood over the resting boy. His hands rested behind his head and he looked up into the pools of silver that held an analyzing gleam.

“What kind of favor?”

“Fight me.” Her tone was completely deadpanned.

Not a single soul let that go unheard. Relaxing quickly turned into intriguement. Eliza, the newest member, saw the look of surprise that the longer residents had.

“Pardon my ignorance, but is this a big deal?”

Yujin nodded, “Carmine is the strongest of us here. A few of us tried fighting her, me included. It didn’t go so well. She’s accepted challengers before but Carmine has never approached us to fight.”

“I see. Is this Lucas a skilled fighter or something?”

Yujin threw up her arms, “Who knows!? We’ve seen him fight a little once before but nothing too noticeable, besides him seeing the future.”

“Huh...interesting.”

Lucas sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Fight you?”

“Yes, a sword fight to be specific. I’d like to test my ability since there’s improvements I know I could make.”

Carmine pulls out her curved greatsword that resembles a dorsal fin or Nevermore talon. “You come from two very accomplished swordsmen so I know your skills must be up to par.”

I suppose she isn’t wrong. Belladonna and Arc swordplay is quite different. He thought to himself. “Sorry but I think I’ll pass. I don’t need my semblance to know how that would end.”

“I’m not concerned with the outcome but the experience.” She countered.

Lucas laid back down and shut his eyes to Carmine’s displeasure. This was expected unfortunately. Carmine didn’t move from her spot. She did however look over her shoulder to see Nick walk up to her.

“I don’t mind fighting you Carmine.” He smiled brightly with excitement. “If you want a person that has two accomplished swordsmen then you can’t get much better than a Schnee and Arc combo.”

Carmine turned towards him and gave a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her head. “Not to be insensitive, but pushing my limits would be harder with you. I need Lucas for this.” She turned back around, brushing him off.

Nick froze for a moment. He just got dismissed. Nicholas Schnee had gotten the cold shoulder before but not like this. Carmine…didn’t even think twice. It stung a bit for sure, maybe more than it should’ve.

Nick quietly walked away stewing in that feeling. Other’s from his world silently watched him sulk. Jacquelyn also felt a bit bad for him before turning back to Carmine who was still trying to get her way.

“What’s the point of having a sword if you don’t use it?”

“I use it, just not here.”

“I would think an Arc would pride themselves and be invigorated to test their skills. At least Nick and I have that fire.”

Lucas crossed his legs and sunk his weight into the grass. “Well I guess I’m more Belladonna than Arc.”

Carmine folded her arms. “I see.” She took a long, dissatisfying sigh. “Running away must be a genetic thing.”

No one was expecting that. A gasp came out of them except for Veronica, whose arm was grabbed immediately by Sparrow to prevent any unwanted fighting.

“Let me go.” She said through her teeth.

He did but placed his arm in front of her. “Let’s see how this plays out.”

Lucas opened his eyes again at Carmine. Both of them now visibly unamused. “I know what you’re doing, pretty shameful for the daughter of Ruby. You think she would’ve raised you better.”

“Heh” Carmine held back an insult in favor of clicking her tongue. “I don’t know about you but a kid should defend their parents name when it’s insulted right?” Lucas stood up and showed a smirk.

“I do believe that to be the case, you devious girl. A son in particular wouldn’t be much of a good one if he took such an insult with no problem.”

“Like I said before, I’m asking you for sword practice. I won’t be using my nightstick, semblance, or dust. I’d appreciate it if you did the same.

“Deal, except for one adjustment. I’ll allow you to use your semblance since mine can be rather unpredictable at times. Plus I’m sure it’ll be more realistic in this way.”

“Alright, then we are in agreement.” Carmine twirls her blade. “Since I challenged you, it’s only fair you pick the arena.”

Lucas runs his chin for a moment before deciding on the spot. One snap of his fingers shifted the entire forest into a desert, devoid of anything except palm trees for the others to be under. A good move since Eliza, Summer, Nick, and Valerie were wholefully unprepared.

“Oh my god!” Valerie said, removing her jacket and tossing it. “This heat, Lucas what the hell!?”

“I’m used to sand and so is Carmine. It’s pretty fair here.”

“I’m sure it would’ve been fair in a grassland with moderate temperature!” Valerie sat down to catch her breath. Even the air stung. Eliza grouped them all together then created a single cloud over them. Snowflakes fell from it gently, evaporating almost immediately but still creating a patch of cooler land.

“Better?” She asked Valerie.

The girl nodded. For once she was happy that Eliza had magic. “I don’t know how but I’ll repay you for this.”

With everyone else already comfortable it was time for the skirmish to begin. It was bound to be interesting. Carmine gave Lucas an appreciative nod before jumping several feet back. Her slander to Blake was honestly a bit rude and she felt a tad bad. “Hey-”

“No hard feelings, right?” Lucas said as he pulled out his golden katana. “I know, still gonna stab you.”

Carmine smiled and rested her sword on her right shoulder. Her knees were slightly bent and she studied Lucas. She liked what she saw. Lucas took a stance where both his hands gripped the blade and angled it slightly outwards in front of him, the hilt at waist level. His right foot was forward and he seemed rooted deep into the ground as his legs bent a little while his posture remained perfect. Even his elbows were in place!

His stance looks right out of a training book, not a hair out of place. Countering and defense must be good so- “Huh?”

The crew watched Lucas switch into another stance. This one had him bend down even lower and raised his blade up to the side of his face where it pointed straight ahead. He then transitioned into putting his left foot forward as his entire body leaned in that direction while his sword arm went by his back leg. His left arm went in front of him as if he had a shield.

A bead of sweat ran down Carmine’s brow. She put her left foot forward and went into a half squat while keeping her sword where it rested on her body. She clenched it tight as Lucas went back to his first stance and smirked.

So that’s how it’s gonna be huh? Carmine slowed her breathing. Let’s do this…

She kicked off the ground with a power for lunge towards Lucas that sent sand flying. Carmine closed the gap between them in a matter of seconds, swinging her blade at his ribs but was met with a perfect block by Lucas. Carmine’s arms flew back from the impact, leaving her exposed to get slashed across her stomach; the force swift strike slid her back a couple feet before Carmine stopped herself.

Lucas watched her rush at him again and jumped over a sweep directed at his legs. Carmine used her momentum to follow through with a complete spin to aim the next strike at chest level. She slashed nothing but air. Lucas had already ducked the attack, then followed up with his own leg sweep that sent Carmine falling on her side. She instinctively rolled backwards to gain distance and ended up avoiding a stab straight down where she fell.

Good reflexes, thought I had her. Oh well. He goes back to his second stance and waits for her to get up. “You good?”

Carmine says nothing. She grabs her scarf and tears it off of her then tossed it in the air. Eliza and a few others made the mistake of drawing their attention to it, until a thunderous boom brought them back to Carmine. She was gone, so was Lucas. Both of them had them zipping around the desert and causing sparks to fly with each sword clash.

But now matter how many times they clashed, Carmine didn’t get a clean hit. A few grazes but the so-called ‘strongest’ kept missing. All why Lucas dodged and connected attacks as if-

Eliza gasped he’s actually seeing her moves? The girl wondered. She took her eyes off the match to gaze at the other’s reaction, only to get a chill down her spine. Nick, no, every swordsman had this intensity in their eyes that felt inhuman.

Yujin and Summer seemed a bit sad. As if they felt inadequate, while Nick and Jael looked so aggravated. It was the same as Carmine in the beginning of the match. Jael clenched her fist tightly. “Hey…”

“I know.” Nick gritted his teeth, clearly the most upset. “I don’t like how calm Lucas is in all those stances either.”

Eliza wanted to ask a question but felt a little out of place. Did those stances mean something? Why was it bad to be calm? Fortunately Jacquelyn saw the girl’s troubled look and got closer to her. She bent down and leaned into her ear.

“Swordsmen have a preferred style that they try to master. Those styles might have a few different stances but mastering each one is fairly difficult and having the judgment to know when to switch takes practice. Even then, they usually have a stance they regularly stick with.”

That made sense. Eliza has seen Nick and Summer fight before and they definitely had a stance that was commonly seen. Were they on edge because Lucas seemingly has mastered multiple? That would be frustrating no doubt but why look annoyed? Judgment would come easy if…

“Oh…” she looked back at their faces, then the fight. Lucas had blocked another downward slash with a perfect block that flowed into a shoulder check that pushed Carmine away. “He’s basically cheating.”

Jael bit her lip. “I wouldn’t call it cheating but that semblance definitely puts him on easy street. Swordplay is basically it’s own language and his constant perfect switching is basically saying “you’re predictable” or “I’m better” and it’s annoying.

“Because it’s not entirely earned.” Nick added. “He’s naturally hard to beat regardless of how much he may or may not practice. Then there’s his ears.”

“If they’re anything like mine of Veronica’s then he could probably hear the way Carmine’s muscles move. She’s an open book to him.” Sienna said.

She watched Nick sit down and sulk a bit. Someone is feeling inferior, I wonder if he’ll realize in terms of actual skill, he’s the best here. Lucas might have an easy pass at birth but…

Carmine backflipped away before charging forward. Mix him up!

Halfway from him, she did a hard sidestep to his left side then lunged forward. Lucas didn’t even move. Carmine jumped straight and reeled her sword back to throw it. At that same moment she saw Lucas start moving his sword and decided to stop, spooking him into backing up. Confirming a suspension she had.

Crap...Lucas thought. He knew he messed up. Carmine landed and finally stopped attacking.

He didn’t flinch when I was right in front of him but moved whenever my sword was gonna get thrown. He knew my plan to bait him but wasn’t expecting me to stop.

She walked over to her scarf to retrieve it. They had to be at least thirty feet apart but the sound of her laughter reached him.A feeling of excitement ran through her. She hadn’t landed a single hit while he’s had at least fifteen. Laughter slowly grew louder and more impulsive to the point it sounded a little scary to...well everyone.

“Man! I knew I’d have my work cut out for me! This is what I was hoping for, a chance to really strut my stuff!” Her cackling and pure excitement in her eyes gave Lucas a concerned look. “Care to share the joke?”

“Okay, how do you beat someone who may know your next move?” The biggest boom from Carmine running off came right after. Eliza watched the reaper advance in a zigzag motion at a speed that made her body seem to flicker in and out of reality. Lucas’s eyes couldn’t keep up!

She’s faster! There was no time to move before Carmine was out of sight completely. The shifting sand behind him made Lucas around to see Carmine aiming for a hit right side. He raised his sword to defend but Carmine stopped right before contact and swung in the exact opposite direction. There wasn’t any time for Lucas to block and his ribs were finally greeted with her blade.

“Out pace him!” Carmine said, thrilled by the challenge.

His purple aura immediately flickered a little and sent him flying. Lucas tumbled onto his feet and greeted Carmine's eyes inches away before a sword thrust went right to his stomach, then cut straight down his hip. Lucas hissed in pain and backstepped, sheath is sword.

“Oh no you don’t!” Carmine yelled, finally getting into a groove. Her sword glowed red as she ran her hand along it. Carmine swung vertically in his direction and a wave of red aura flew off it as a projectile. “AND ONE MORE!” Carmine screamed while swinging horizontally.

Why did I agree to this? You knew this was insane but agreed to this! Lucas’s blade locked firmly in place, the sheath flattened around it and he hell his extended blade with both hands.

Yujin nearly flipped out. “Tenzen!!!! He’s got a katana and an odachi in one!”

“You’re drooling Jin”

“I know!!!”

Lucas tensed his arms and deflected the first one, while splitting the second in half. Carmine’s first attack carved a long crack into the ground that was quickly being filled by rushing sand. Second attack however, part of it was heading right for the crowd. Jael, to be specific.

The girl was quick to brandish her sword to defend but didn’t get the chance as Nick slid in front of her at the last second and blocked it with Mort Froid. An intense buzzing sensation went up his arm but he poker faced through the pain by casually shaking out his wrist.

“Oof, that has some kick to it! Carmine’s aura feels so dense, that move reminds me of Qrow.”

“I could’ve handled that myself you know?” Jael said, half heartedly at best. Frankly she had no idea.

“Sorry, got a little anxious from this fight. I just had to move. To think Lucas sliced through that.” Nick’s face soured, his spirit bruised. “No wonder she chose him over me.”

That was destructive thinking and he knew it, but Nick couldn’t help himself. Right now he couldn’t help but feel a little dissatisfied with himself. Lucas had two years more on him but it still stung.

“Gosh you’re such an idiot.” Eliza chimed in and grabbed all of their attention. Suddenly she felt a little embarrassed for speaking out without warning. “I may not know a lot about swordsmanship but…” her fingers started playing with her pigtails.

“I think it’s way more impressive seeing someone with no special trait block a move like that, rather than a person who has those things actually slice it. That means the first person had to work harder.”

Her reasoning caught Nick off guard, but in a good way. The boy smiled and patted her back. “Daaawwww look at you, cheering me up and stuff! How considerate!” He laughed.

“Shut up! Pay attention to the fight like everyone else. I think something might be happening.”

He looked outward to see Lucas and Carmine run pass each other and clash swords before quickly pivoting to repeat the attack. If one swung left then the other swung right. When Carmine jumped for an overhead attack then it was meant with a rising slash.

Both of them were drenched in sweat but didn’t seem to be all that exhausted. Lucas seemed poised and almost unaffected, except for his soiled clothes. Not even his breath wavered. Knowing how to react was clearly saving him energy by not doing any unnecessary movements. Still, his advantage was only getting him so far.

What Carmine lacked in perfect form, she made up with unreasonably high stamina and power. She’s been on the offensive this entire time. Instead of worrying about how she’d get countered, Carmine focused on how to recover afterwards. Even if Lucas saw it ahead of time it didn’t mean it was certain that he could evade, or that he saw it coming in the first place.

Everyone could see her chest rise and fall with each swing that failed to land its mark. Lucas had been able to hit her at least three times as much and yet no one thought it appropriate to think Carmine was losing.

Maybe it was because she admitted to wanting sword practice. The fact that was the only thing she was using spoke of her talents alone. It was roughly a fifth of her full wheelhouse of weapons. They all watched as Lucas landed another sidekick right to her gut, sending Carmine sliding back. Finally she stopped and took a knee.

Lucas seemed relieved. “Ready to call a quits!? I know I am.”

“Hardly!” Carmine shouted. “It’s rare to see you do anything and for me to have this kind of training. Even if it only matters here, it’s fun. I’m having fun.”

Carmine stood up and wrapped her scarf around her face until it was under her eyes. “From this point on however, you’re done. Lucas Belladonna, I got your number.

The man’s vision went black with a silhouette of Carmine glowing white. He saw it move forward doing a flip that ended in a slam on top of him. His vision went back to normal and he braced himself.

Another attack from above? Is she done with mix ups or… “Bring it on!” Lucas did a cross slash that mimicked Carmine’s aura attack, sending two shockwaves at her that grazed the ground.

He’s having fun too. Carmine smiled and ran straight at his attack. She tossed her sword into the air like a baton then went straight into a cartwheel that transitioned into a handspring midway.

Carmine’s body went cleanly over the first slash before landing. She used the moment of the descent to go right into a crouch and jumped straight up like a frog into the air, clearing the second slash. Carmine grabbed her sword midair and spun sideways like a saw towards Lucas. “Take this!”

“No thanks.” He moved backwards “That was pretty straight forward don’t you-”

Carmine’s sword and body glowed a bright red right before slamming against the ground. A massive shockwave pushed outwards, sending the sand flying into the air like a plume of smoke from a factory. It immediately caught up and shot past Lucas, covering the area in what was basically a tiny sandstorm.

“Oh man, we can’t see now. But I guess that’s kinda the point.” Sparrow thought, out loud to himself. “I guess that Lucas guy is done for huh? Not much future to see if it’s all sand.”

The others gasped except for Jacquelyn and Sienna who had figured out Carmine’s plan already. Whatever happened next was surely going to suck for Lucas.

The boy in question held his left arm in front of his face and squinted his eyes. The air stung his skin from the sand while the wind from the attack howled in his ears. His senses were now taken away from him.

“This is bad.” Suddenly the feeling of Carmine’s sword went across his back before retreating back into the haze. It appeared again against his legs, then his left forearm, and then once more right by his face. All Lucas could see each time was brief glimpses of Carmine come out to attack before hiding herself again. He made an effort to start running out of the smokescreen but was immediately hit from the front to send him flying in the opposite direction.

“This is really bad!” Lucas heard a footstep on his left and swung, only for an attack to get him from the right.

How did she…!?

He tried jumping straight out of it but felt a hand grab his ankle before flinging him down where he was treated to eight rapid sword thrusts to his torso.

“What’s wrong? The future must be pretty useless if you only see where my attack comes from but not anything that leads up to it.”

Another five strikes hit his back before he turned around to swing at absolutely nothing. Again he tried running but saw her blade swing at his midsection. Dodge it that time and turned around to try another direction until Carmine jumped out of the haze again right in front of him, drop kicking him and then hiding again. Lucas stood up and watched his aura flicker.

“I’m screwed, aren’t I?” He chuckled nervously.

“The others aren’t giving you enough credit Lucas. Taking in info in what must be seconds, applying it accordingly, listening and watching timing, that semblance is only good because you’re so smart.”

“So you took out all the ways I try to fill in the gaps of information. Now it really is your skills vs mine.” He put away his blade. “I don’t need to see the future to know how one sided that truly is, I give in.”

“Not even going to try and turn the tide?”

“In a place like this? Nah, I can’t even track your position and I have a sneaking suspicion about something. Carmine, is this smokescreen for me or so the others don’t see your semblance.

Lucas heard the girl give out a loud “Ha!” followed by a massive gut of wind that blew all the sand away.

Carmine stood in front of him with the tip of her sword right on his chest. “Why not both? I’ll accept your surrender if you remain silent.”

“Deal, not like I entirely understand it anyways.”

Carmine finally put her sword back on her back and gave Lucas a handshake. The environment changed back into the forest and the others walked over a little surprised that things ended so abruptly.

“Done already? Who won?” Yujin asked as if she didn’t already know by the look on Carmine’s face.

“I did, not that it really matters. I had a lot of fun fighting you Lucas. Had to do some real trial and error.” Carmine rubbed her head. “Nice way to spend the-”

“Fight me.” Nick said firmly. He had certainly gotten everyone’s attention with the way his voice commanded it. Carmine looked at the hunger in his eyes, the passion to achieve something. To prove her earlier words to him wrong.

“It should be no big deal if you’re so confident I won’t push your limits.” Nick said, trying not to sound too irritated by it.

Carmine looked at his wrist. She had noticed that Nick blocked her attack earlier. If she was honest, she only said those words earlier because fighting against a person who sees the future was going to be extremely tricky. Carmine was fully aware Nick was a capable swordsman. His skill with one might be the best here. Only fitting considering it’s his only weapon of choice.

“Okay.” She said, surprising everyone. “You’re on, Nicholas Schnee.”

[darthchic]

Character War: Zoro vs Sanji

Trying to put my own bias aside, and because I’m bored here in quarantine, I was thinking about how I could fairly break down parts of Zoro and Sanji’s characters and compare them. I want to see if I can analytically decide which character is more well realised or well written (just because there’s always that rivalry between both the characters and the fans, you often can’t help but ask yourself these kinds of questions).

EDIT: OH, and SPOILERS if you wish to read this and are not up to date

If the question was “Who’s the more popular character?” though, Zoro wins hands down, no contest.

 So, I broke the two characters down into categories:

–    Design

–    Fighting Style

–    Fights/Achievements

–    Coolness

–    Backstory

–    Gag

–    Development

 Design: Neither Zoro or Sanji have designs that particularly stand out to me, not within their own universe or in anime in general. Seriously, think of some crazy-ass looking characters you've seen in other anime and Zoro and Sanji simply pale in comparison. Heck, they pale in comparison to some of their fellow crewmates (Usopp, Chopper, Franky, Brook etc.) and over time their designs have probably been... how to put this... made more attractive as time goes on? Cause you know, you gotta let the female fans have some eye candy too. And with attractiveness tends to come more “normalness” (not a word but whatever) cause you can't go too crazy with the overall design in case it becomes off-putting. The only thing that really stands out for Zoro and Sanji respectively is hair colour and eyebrows.

–    Still if I had to declare one of them the winner... I'd have to say Sanji, just for his more 'unique' eyebrows. We've seen plenty of anime/manga featuring characters with hair colours that match every colour in the rainbow, so it's commonplace for someone to have green or pink hair and no-one really bats an eye. Peculiar eyebrows however are less common, although not rare (as far as I can tell), but for anime fans, it's something I think people still instantly notice more so than a character's hair colour. So.... point to SANJI! But barely, and it’s not much of a win.

 Sanji 1/0 Zoro

 Fighting Style: Again, neither a sword fighting style or kicking fight style is exactly uncommon, but I am edging towards Sanji's fighting style and I'll try to justify why, even if it is due to my own personal preferences. To me, sword fighting is often the go-to 'bad-ass' method of fighting, cause, come on, SWORDS ARE COOL (can't help but think about the overwhelming popularity of Pokemon Sword vs Pokemon Shield for example). Sword fights/fighters are iconic and that’s the issue at times for me because I feel like I've seen enough sword fights at this point, and not just in anime. So, while they're fun, their overexposure makes me appreciate something different a lot more.

–    To me, Sanji's style has a bit more 'kick' to it (oh yes!) and his reasons for using a kicking style are a bit more unique and interesting as well (being that he’s a cook and can’t damage his hands, the tools to his craft). His style is fun to watch, requires a bit more imagination when designing his moves, but it also has a strange kind of elegance to it which I appreciate. Not that sword fighting can't look elegant (Hello, ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’), but I love that people often joke that some shots of Sanji make it look like he could be a dancer which I find amusing, because it’s true. Plus, I admire the fact that he's the only Straw-hat that fights without either a magic power/devil fruit or a literal weapon (though he has now grown accustomed to the raid suit, so…). But, for the majority of the story so far, the dude has just used his legs and that’s it. And is the 3rd (or fourth if you count Jinbei now) most powerful member of the crew, and still impressively strong overall amongst a massive cast of crazy powerful characters. Also, dude can fly. Actually fly. He can fight in the skies, sing “Walking in the Air” and it would not seem completely ridiculous. So, people reading this may not agree, but, point to SANJI!

Sanji 2/0 Zoro

 Fights/Achievements: I feel that most fans prefer Zoro's fights as he tends to take on the second strongest villains of each arc (with Luffy obviously taking on the strongest), which is automatic epicness. I know some fans even argue that Zoro would have no problems taking on the strongest villains in Luffy's place anyway, though I would disagree simply due to the fact that if Luffy were weaker/equal in strength to Zoro then why would he even be captain? The guy who's gonna be the Pirate King can hardly be weaker than one of his own crewmates, it ain't right!

–    Anyway, Zoro's battles tend to be straight-up badass one-on-one feats of strength, while Sanji's can be a mix of badass and sometimes plain goofy (thinking of Sanji vs Mr. 2 here or Sanji vs Wanze). And I do think Oda makes it clear that Zoro is the more powerful of the two, making his wins a lot more impressive, awe-inspiring, and show how physically far he’ll go in order to succeed (man should really have no blood left in his body). For me personally though, I often found many of Zoro’s fights a bit dull, like his fight with Mr. 1 for e.g. (ha, ironic), and when I watch his big battle with Kaku, while I like Kaku as a character, I had a hard time taking the image of Zoro fighting a sword-wielding Giraffe seriously. Sanji fighting a wolf with a moustache often looks goofy as well, but at least wolves come across as a bit more threatening (unless you have been on a scary Safari tour o__O…).

–    Alas, I would give Zoro the point for fights simply because I know how much the fandom appreciates them and the effort he puts in, BUT.... as for achievements... Maybe I'm being sneaky with this, but for me, while Sanji's fights maybe aren't considered as iconic as Zoro's, his actions towards helping the crew solidified Sanji's usefulness to the crew as not only a fighter but a tactician, and without him at a certain point, there wouldn't be any epic Zoro fights to appreciate. Sanji's rescue of the crew in Alabasta was pretty damn awesome, the fact they wouldn't have even reached Alabasta in the first place if Sanji hadn't gotten a hold of the Alabasta eternal log pose is hilarious, his saving of Usopp and Nami in Skypeia, his enabling of the Merry to escape without being blown to smithereens in the Enies Lobby arc, it's all just undeniably awesome. And to me, just as equally iconic and important as Zoro's fights, sooooo... I'm calling it a TIE!

 Sanji 3/1 Zoro

 Coolness: HAHA! Ok, come on, I love Sanji, but Oda's portrayal of him can get a bit ridiculous at times and sometimes rob him of his dignity, whereas with Zoro, Oda really doesn't humiliate him that much. He's usually always cool and epic and never seems to leave a negative impression in the eyes of fans. So, no question about it, point to ZORO!

 Sanji 3/2 Zoro

 Backstory: Ok, maybe it's just me, but I don't think many are gonna argue that Sanji has the better backstory? There's just more of it, it's better fleshed out, it establishes his character relationships and motives far better, it's just... better? Zoro's backstory perhaps is still to be further developed, but as it stands...

–    Zoro = Wants to become the greatest swordsman because of a promise he made to his dead rival/childhood friend. Nice, but doesn’t feel very original or special. Where did he come from before all that? Where/who is Zoro's family? Why did he want to be a swordsman in the first place? Cause it's cool? It just leaves me feeling annoyed because there’s these gaps and things left unanswered within his story and I can't tell if Oda's even going to give us any answers! But with a possibility that Zoro is from Wano, maybe something is eventually going to be explained? Still, I feel like Oda needs to be careful he doesn't make a repetitive tragic backstory, cause I worry that at some point he's going to run out of ideas on how to make each new backstory more uniquely depressing than the last, to the point where it's gonna be a 'been there, done that' kind of deal. Or maybe he’ll actually reveal that Zoro has a DUN-DUN-DUN living mother. I mean, that’s rarely done in this series, so that would be pretty shocking.

–    Sanji = Born as a quadruplet (still so weird to me) to a royal family, kind mother but douche-bag father. Mother dies saving Sanji's humanity because said douche-bag father violated mother and children by tampering with them before birth in order to make his children into sociopathic weapons. Sanji grew up emotionally and physically abused by father and brothers because he had kindness and compassion, and the abuse got so bad that he was even locked in a jail cell with an iron mask on his face because his father was ashamed of his existence. Mother, of course, dies, leaving Sanji with only an older sister to turn to, who could only be nice to him in secret and laugh at him in public. He decided to become a chef during imprisonment due to his mother giving him the only praise he had ever received and he enjoyed making her happy. Finally escapes douche-bag family thanks to decent sister freeing him, but only after promising to never admit he was related to his douche-bag father, further destroying him emotionally. Next, the ship he worked on was destroyed in a tidal wave, killing all his friends at the time, and left him alone on a rock with little food and a pirate who recently kicked the crap out of him. Went months without food only to find out that the pirate he hated had given him all the food, forcing him to cannibalize himself to survive. And all this happened before he was just 10 years old. So, from then on Sanji grew up with a fixed dedication/appreciation for food, but a clearly messed up self-image due to years of abuse and being told he was a failure by his biological father. Not to mention the man who saved his life, while a good man at heart, kinda has a messed up moral compass of his own, and kinda f**ked up Sanji's head in his own way (seriously, Sanji can't bring himself to hit a woman to save his own life cause he can't bear disappointing/disobeying Zeff, the man who actually loved him like a son? Jeez).

–    For real, Sanji's story is a doozy, and Zoro's just doesn't compare (at least not at the moment). Sorry, but clear point goes to SANJI!

 Sanji 4/2 Zoro

 Gag: Possibly debatable again, but I honestly do prefer (and the fandom majority seem to prefer) Zoro's whole getting lost gag to Sanji being a looney tunes pervert (some of the faces Oda draws, I swear!) I don't mind anime perverts so long as they have some substance to their character, but Oda places ‘Pervert Sanji’ in some situations where you're left screaming, “NOW'S NOT THE TIME DAMMIT!” Some moments can be thrown off kilter by the perverseness and/or fanservice to the point where you're just left face-palming. Arguably, the same can be said for Zoro, especially with his wandering off and getting lost in Wano right before Luffy faced off against Kaido (not that Zoro could do much about that anyway if he hadn't gotten lost), but just how easily he gets lost is so ridiculous that it veers right around from being annoying and returns straight back to being hilarious because of how mind-boggling it is. xD So, point to ZZZZZORO!

 Sanji 4/3 Zoro

  Development: Once again, another debatable one. Too debatable! There's no way around it; some may say Sanji's ‘self-rediscovery’ arc in Whole Cake Island made him the better developed character (or didn’t develop him at all) and some will say that Zoro's “Nothing happened” moment is the pinnacle of character development in One Piece, and to me, too much of it comes down to preference and I find it hard to justify why one is potentially better developed than the other. Especially when there could still be further development for them to come. So.... yeah, another TIE!

 Sanji 5/4 Zoro

So, there it is, I killed some great time in quarantine with this(!) Maybe there’s more ‘categories’ I could have added, but with what I came up with, I really did try not to be bias here. I do think it’s important to have a character that can hit ‘all the beats’, deliver in terms of action scenes, comedy and the emotional hard-hitting moments too. I can’t help but appreciate the male characters who are more in touch with their emotions and show vulnerability, which is what I appreciate with Sanji, and why I probably don’t connect with Zoro as much as I’d like to?

Going through all of this however has made me think that I'm actually fairer than I thought I was. No? Yes? Close call anyway.

[xruffyx]

I WANT KATAKURI TO BE MUGIWARA, BUT...:

DISCLAIMER! Before I say anything, please keep in mind that these are my personal subjective observations. I am not stating anything. 

I just wanted to say some of the things that I thought about one of the greatest characters so far -- Charlotte Katakuri. In particular, whether he would make sense being a part of the Mugiwara crew. 

So first, Katakuri’s past perfectly matches to be one of the crewmembers. Growing up in the anti utopic world the second Charlotte’s son was greatly mentally abused and bullied by others for having a scary mouth. While at first, he did not care how people treated him, he later realized that his beloved people, like Brulee, could get hurt! However, taking into account that he is the second son and the strongest man, why would Kata still hide his mouth? I think that he is traumatized by being horribly treated that he cannot just simply reveal his “true” self to other people. That being said, all Mugiwaras had a tragic story. He never really did anything evil in his past because... he is not evil.

Secondly, Katakuri’s personality fits for Mugiwaras -- he is generous, loyal, caring, noble...and funny. Usually, whenever Oda would show an asshole, he would make a character kill/kick others for a no valid reason. Katakuri, even though his personal cooks brought him a cold tea, just calmly accepted it. The only reason why he killed those servants is that his privacy was violated by Luffy and he got out of himself. The proof is that Luffy could attack him because he was not calm to see the future! Though that does not make him evil (Franky also beat Usopp really badly).

Katakuri wants to protect his family, despite how he is treated (ex: Flambe), and that is the only motivation he needs. He cares for everyone’s safety. Then Katakuri does not like fighting dirty; when he found out that Flambe cheaply helped her brother to hurt Luffy, despite how much he cares about his fragile true self, he was not afraid to even everything, by stabbing himself and revealing his look. Katakuri is not selfish and shows respect to those who deserve it. 

I can even imagine this scene between Luffy and Katakuri, which could be identical to the one between Pudding and Sanji. Katakuri, telling Luffy that his mouth is scary, but the Mugiwara instead says that it is cool. Eventually, they could become friends...

BUT... why doesn’t it work?

The most obvious thing I can think about is that each member of the Straw Hat crew has a specific role: Luffy - the captain, Zoro - the captain’s right hand, Nami - the navigator, Sanji - the cook, etc. Katakuri is the general of Charlotte’s family, which probably means that, besides being strong, he probably has some leadership and tactical skills. Though this is Zoro’s place; the swordsman always protected his captain’s honor and sometimes he would be the voice of truth (ex: after Ennies Lobby it was Zoro who told everyone that Usopp must apologize to return). If Katakuri would join, then Zoro would lose his value as a Strawhat member.  - Since the beginning, Zoro was always second to Luffy in terms of the power. I don’t think that there is a huge power gap between the two of them (I even think that Zoro is stronger than Luffy in certain situations and vice-versa). Zoro is basically the muscles. If Katakuri joins, it is most likely that he is as strong or even stronger than Zoro. Hell, he even has the same type as Zoro -- both of them appear very serious but in reality, they have their quirks.  Also, Sanji is weaker than Zoro for the simple fact that he is a cook; mostly he spends his time cooking and sometimes training, while the swordsman constantly trains. There is no way for Sanji to catch up on Zoro’s pace of training. Plus, Sanji’s primary objective is to feed everybody, not to protect his melorine crewmates.  - Katakuri is simply as dominant as Luffy. I cannot really imagine Katakuri being submissive nor Luffy. I do not even think that Luffy is actually stronger than him? He was lucky that Brulle was nearby so he could chill for 10 min to restore his Haki powers. Seriously, Katakuri could’ve killed Luffy many times. Even when he fell on his back, Katakuri probably did this on purpose. Why would he ask if Luffy would come back to defeat Big mom? Either because he wants Luffy to become stronger and fight him again some other time or he does not fully agree with what Big Mom does (he has experienced the flaws of her “utopia”) and perhaps Luffy would change that. 

The other reason is that all Mugiwaras have their own motivation to join Luffy. We do not really know what Katakuri wants. Thinking about new crewmates - Jimbe and Carrot (possibly) - both of them are perfect. Jimbe knows how to best sail (Franky is only good at building ships and maintaining Sunny! That does not make him a good sailor!) and he wants Luffy to become the pirate king. Carrot never saw the world outside (her objective) and she could be a... “squire”?

To conclude, Katakuri has the potential to become a Mugiwara due to his backstory and personality. However, he still lacks any reason why would he want to leave Big Mom and what he wants to do for himself. If Katakuri would join, then it would mess Zoro’s role in the crew and bring chaos, rather than support and additional aid to them.

I really do like Katakuri. I love his wonderful relationship with complicated dynamics with himself and his family. Seriously, I never really liked secondary characters (there are some but I do not tend to think much about them). Katakuri is really well made detailed. I wish I could get more of him in the future. 

[remnantoforario]

The Road Not Travelled AKA Fairy Tail’s Lack of Motivation

I know. I know. Another long-winded post about why Fairy Tail isn’t good, but before you fire up the reblog button calling me a hater, I just wanted to say my peace about something that has been bothering me about the series, almost since it started. That is (as the title clearly states) Fairy Tail (and by extension Hiro Mashima’s) lack of motivation when it comes to its characters.

Warning: This post is going to be very messy. This is mostly a rant/scattered thoughts about a variety of different things in the series. If you’re looking for more cohesive breakdowns of the series faults, I suggest looking at posts from @thegreatrhapsode, @ac-fairytail, and a few others since they would be much better at this than I am. Let’s get started. 

So what do I mean by “A lack of motivation”? It’s simple really. None of the main characters in Fairy Tail have anything to do and thus aren’t motivated to do anything other than what they have been doing. I’ll break them down.

Natsu: When he is first introduced in the series it was established immediately that his one goal in the series was to find Igneel. It was this goal that lead him to Hargeon where he met Lucy, and it was also what spurned him to go find Macao for Romeo. It is also one of the first things Mirajane tells Lucy about Natsu after she joins the guild. He forms a connection to Gajeel over their missing parents, and it is also one of the first thing Jellal says about him when he bursts into Erza’s mock trial.

Natsu’s singular focus in the story should be investigating any lead he can on Igneel...but after Phantom Lord he seems to lose motivation (there’s that word again) in favor of just doing whatever at the guild. Now I’m not saying every single arc Natsu should be out looking, but the fact that after Phantom Lord, Igneel isn’t really mentioned again until Eclipse poses a very large problem for Natsu as a character and the story as a whole.

Even when given a new goal (that of killing Acnologia) he still meanders around until the final fight to put the guild back together. 

With a goal so concrete in his mind, it would only make sense for the story to form around this idea and have arcs centered on it, but it doesn’t so Natsu is left dicking around with nothing to do. But he’s not the only one with this problem.

Lucy: Arguably the best developed character in the series, she suffers from a lack of motivation very early on. It was established not long into the story that her goal after joining FT was to gather all the Zodiac Keys (and finish her novel but that was never all that important and more of a character quirk). It wasn’t as pronounced as Natsu’s goal was, but it was progressing further than his. She already had Aquarius, Cancer, and Taurus before the story began, she acquired Sagittarius as early as the second storyline after the Everlue job, helping Loke gained her his Leo key, beating Angel during the Oracion Seis arc granted her the Gemini Twins and Scorpio, and Loke defeating Caprico helped Lucy regain her mother’s Capricorn key (which she was originally supposed to have anyway). 

Her goal seemed attainable...until the GMG (This arc was responsible for A LOT of FT’s problems, but that’s a post for another day). Yukino presents Lucy the chance to complete her goal by offering the remaining zodiac keys, but Lucy refuses. 

Now her reasoning is sound enough, being a CS wizard herself she knows how important the bond between a spirit and their wizard is and wouldn’t feel right breaking that up. That is fine and speaks to Lucy’s character, but the problem arises in that there is nothing for her to do after this moment. You could argue that her new goal is finding Aquarius’ new key but that is established so late into the story that it’s pretty much moot (even the sequel hasn’t done much with it at this point). 

Happy: Never really had any long lasting motivation outside of what Natsu wanted. Moving on.

Gray: Probably one of the biggest wastes of potential in the series when it comes to rival/best friend characters, Gray almost immediately stagnated after Galuna Island. His mission of “killing” Deliora done. He was aimless until literally Tartaros when he met Silver, after which his motivation became “Kill END” and we all know how that ended. 

Erza: Has pretty much the same problem as Gray, but worse. After her issues in the Tower of Heaven were solved, she was pretty much done for the rest of the series. Any significant change that could have been brought to her character was swiftly tossed aside in order to keep the status quo and she became a shell of herself as early as Tenrou Island. A mere two arcs later. 

Wendy: Probably the most developed character after Lucy (in my opinion) she was both blessed and cursed by having her issues resolved in the same arc she was introduced. After that, she pretty much integrates into the guild immediately and seems to have no goals other than “get stronger” and “be less clumsy”. Both are admirable, but nothing worthy enough to justify her being a main character. 

Compare FT’s main cast to that of One Piece or My Hero Academia’s. Now you can argue that a lot of the characters in both these series aren’t well developed, but the one thing both Oda and Horikoshi excel at over Mashima is that their main characters have goals that can be carried throughout the series and, characters with less broad goals don’t overstay their welcome. They do what they are introduced to do and leave soon after.

In OP, the main goal of the story has always been finding the titular treasure. It’s a defined goal, but also broad enough to carry the characters throughout the entire series. 

Luffy’s goal is to find the One Piece, but not only is the story framed around this idea, Luffy’s crew is as well. Zoro wants to become the world’s strongest swordsman, an easy way to do that is travelling the world and defeating strong opponents. Nami wants to map the entire world, best way to do that is travelling it. Usopp wants to be a “brave warrior of the sea”. He does that by doing various feats across the world and building his legend. Sanji wants to find the All Blue, Chopper wants to be the world’s best doctor, Robin wants to find the Poneglyphs and learn the world’s dark history, Franky wants to create the world’s best ship, Brook wants to reunite with Laboon after travelling the world, and Jinbei wants peaceful coexistence between Fishmen and humans. 

With the possible exception of Jinbei, everyone’s goals (while vastly different) center around and are bolstered by Luffy’s search for One Piece. Helping him in turns helps them, its mutually beneficial and thus creates a group of characters who are together because they want to be, not because they have to. They want to see each other succeed and feel like actual friends (instead of yelling about friendship every five minutes while being massive dicks to each other)

Other characters who have arcs that are resolved leave before overstaying their welcome. Vivi is a prime example. She stayed with the straw hats long enough to reclaim her country from Crocodile, and then she was gone. Her arc was done, so there was no real reason for her to stay. She would only stagnate. 

In MHA, all of Class 1-A share the same goal of wanting to be pro heroes, but all have their own motivations that go a bit deeper than that. Both Deku and Bakugou want to be as great as All Might, Todoroki wants to spite his father, Uraraka wants to make enough money as a pro for her family to live comfortably, and Iida wants to live up to his brother’s example just to name a few. 

Since Deku is the main character the story focuses a lot on his personal journey to the top, but other notable characters get their shine when needed.

Even Naruto built its story about Naruto becoming Hokage from the very first chapter. 

Bringing all of this back to FT. None of the main characters have any established motivation, and if they do the story either isn’t structured around it (Natsu), Drops it entirely (Lucy), or finishes it and proceeds to do nothing else with the character (Gray, Erza, and Wendy).

It’s not like Mashima is incapable of writing motivated characters. Rave Master’s main cast had various different motivations that either carried them through the series, or evolved over the course of time. 

People called FT a ripoff of OP in its early stages (a comparison I still don’t quite understand), but maybe Mashima could have leaned a bit on Oda’s story structure. 

Have the story actually center around Natsu’s main goal of searching for Igneel. Have him ask questions and going on jobs based on leads he had found, taking him (and his team) on various locales across the world. Build up the continent and its history with the dragons. 

He could even leave the story for an arc or two, giving a side character (like Levy, Cana, Juvia, Mirajane, Lisanna or Elfman) a bit of time in the spotlight to develop their own stories along with the main cast. 

Change him over time to be a more single minded character post-Tartaros. Have him ignore bringing the guild back together in order to find Acnologia, which would cause tension between him and his friends and add more weight to the END turn as his obsession grows. 

If Lucy no longer wants the Zodiac keys, why not have her new goal be earning enough money to buy back her family’s home and land? Its a lofty goal to be sure, but it would add a little more weight to her desperation to go on a job other than “I need to pay rent”. It still amazes me that Lucy is supposedly came from a very influential family in terms of industry in Fiore, but no one recognized her name. They have a railroad named after them for God’s sake. Do something with that. Does she not have an inheritance?

Gray is a little harder to pin down since most of his character is tied to Deliora and with him gone there isn’t much for him to do. SO if you don’t want to phase him out, you could evolve his motivation from killing Deliora, to finding Ultear. Have Lyon or someone (possibly even Jellal in Tower of Heaven) mention that Ultear is still alive. Gray’s mission would be looking for her in order to make amends, which would lead to their fight on Tenrou, to which after his goal could once again evolve into defeating Zeref for creating Deliora in the first place, leading to the fight with Natsu. 

Erza is simple enough. She is heralded as Fairy Tail’s strongest woman, so why not have her actually lean into that and try to become a wizard saint? The near death experience would have spurned her choice, leading to an arc explaining the saints and how to become one. Erza could fail to be accepted (something she never seems to do post-Tenrou) and the rest of the story could be her working up towards that goal, and in a change of pace you could KEEP HER AS GUILD MASTER. 

One of Fairy Tail’s biggest problems is its unwillingness to change. Everything and everyone just sticks to the status quo and the story suffers all the more for it.

Keeping Erza as master changes the entire dynamic of the team because the story would have to phase Erza out and put someone else in (again either Juvia, Cana, Elfman, or some other notable side character).

Wendy’s motivations could be the same as Natsu’s, finding her dragon. Her relationship with Grandeeney is arguably as strong as Natsu’s with Igneel so her joining him on his jobs wouldn’t be much a stretch. You could even add Gajeel for an arc if you wanted. Three dragonslayers and three exceeds. 

I say all that to say that one of Fairy Tail’s most frustrating aspects is its refusal to realize the potential of its characters. There is so much to do in this world, so much lore and information imparted onto the audience, but the characters (and the author) seem to not care the least bit about it. They say they will do something, but don’t and that to me is worse than doing nothing at all.