#libreoffice says its 676 words but who knows lol

[swordsmans]

Hi !

I'm that anon that was gushing about finding you back on AO3 after loving "Always Gold" forever, right?

I just felt like I had to let you know, I never was a Zolu shipper, actually. Mostly, I enjoy the entire crew being completely platonic with each other.

THAT being said, you write them SO fucking well that you're basically converting me to them, but it's not the reason I follow you and stuff. Your writing is just... So good and evocative and you somehow always makes the most interesting plots, handdle them so interestingly and have the best Luffy in general.

(Somehow, a well written Luffy is always difficult to find 😭)

And I am a time-travel fics whore, you see, as well as devotions centric ones, so of course, I am basically worshipping the ground you walk on. The ships are just a bonus to me!

I cannot wait for next chapter, I am gnawing at my walls >x<

oh my god!!! hi!!! aaaahhh oh my god this is the nicest compliment, holy shit!!! aklsjdhfsdf im glad that my writing is impactful enough to break out of zolu containment (LOL) especially luffy!! i confess i am always the most worried about his characterization because his voice can be kind of hard to pin down sometimes (since we almost never see his internal monologue in canon and mostly oda just gives us, like, reaction panels) so this is like!!!! ahh!!! thank you so much!!!

like u i am a HUGE nakamaship fan and i love writing crew interactions the most so im hoping i can put together some shorter straw hat fics in the near future!! that being said... i would like to formally welcome u to my zolu corner. it is a delight to have you!!! lol

even tho it is zolu, albatross/always gold will stay very romance dawn trio/nakamaship-centric as it goes on, i promise. im glad you're looking forward to the next chapter!!! im really excited to get back into it when i finish my current project omg. it's waiting in the wings as a special little treat :3c anyway, it makes me sooo happy you like it so much. here is a little snippet of what i've already written for chapter 3 (if you want!)

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As he watches, she plants her feet in front of Luffy, who stops—staring at her with wide, curious eyes, mouth still half-full of food. Her knuckles tint white where she has them clasped together. Zoro blinks, stunned, but Luffy must see something her expression, must pick up on something because he tilts his head at her like a kind of curious animal—and then Kuina bows.

In one formal, breathy rush, she says, “Thank you for taking care of my stupid, gross little cousin. He’s not a very good swordsman, and he gets lost easily, and he’s terrible at talking to people—so he needs someone to watch out for him.”

And Luffy laughs, throwing his head back, and Kuina’s own head whips up with a kind of stunned expression on her face.

“He is stupid! And he’s gross!” Luffy crows, and Zoro sputters. “But Nami keeps us from getting lost, and he talks to me just fine, and—didn’t you know?” he says, grinning, leaning forward again. “He’s going to be the greatest swordsman.” He stands up straight, and Kuina blinks at him, her expression faltering—then Luffy asks, eyes sharp but still smiling, “You’re the white sword, right?”

Kuina frowns, “The—”

“Wa-do I-chi-mon-ji,” Luffy enunciates, hitting each syllable like he’s practiced it over and over again. Like he’s memorized it with intention, one of the few names among hundreds that matters enough to remember. And Zoro feels a kind of nausea in the base of his throat, a bundle of emotions he doesn’t want to deal with, because he knows Luffy knows his swords, but he’s never bothered to ask if he knew them.

A Zoro watches, Kuina looks at Luffy a little warily—like maybe he’s playing some kind of trick on her. She’s still stiff-backed, not quite risen from her bow, and there’s a formality to her posture that seems so wrong directed at Luffy. Habits drilled into them both about respect, respect, respect for the people with power.

Slowly, carefully, she says, “It’s my sword.”

“No, it’s not. It’s Zoro’s sword.” Then, peering at her, he gives a decisive nod. “I’m right,” he says.

“About wha—” Kuina starts, clearly frustrated—already forgetting that Luffy is a Captain because he’s just so Luffy.

Then, without warning, he beams at her—one hand on his hat in a gesture Zoro has seen a thousand times, but that he knows—in that way he always knows what Luffy is thinking—means he’s swearing on the most precious thing in the world that what he’s saying is true. “Thank you,” he says, grinning, “for Zoro.”

And Kuina looks at him, startled. “Don’t thank me for something I didn’t do.”

Luffy tilts his head, frowning at her like he’s thinking, even though Zoro knows—can see him assessing her. “Did you know he fights with his teeth?” he says, gesturing wildly. “He puts the sword in his mouth and—that way, the only way someone can take the sword is by taking his head, too. You’re his treasure.”

“That’s so stupid,” she laughs, almost forgetting, and Luffy grins at her. “He’s so stupid.”

“And strong, and cool, and kind, and funny, and strong—”

“You already said that.”

“Because it’s true!” Luffy says like she’s stupid, and Kuina makes a face because she hates that kind of tone on deep, existential level, Zoro knows. Too many lectures synonymizing stupid with girl, even though Luffy wouldn’t know (or care) if they beat him over the head with it. Case in point, Luffy sticks his tongue out at her. “What’s that look for?” he says, frowning. “Shouldn’t you be proud? You made him that way.”

And deeply, intrinsically, inexplicably Zoro feels like something’s lodged in his throat even though he hasn’t even touched his food—

—but Luffy looks up, then, and catches his eye, and his Captain absolutely lights up as he scrambles over, already moving on from Kuina and whatever that was—leaving a blinking, bewildered little girl behind in the grass.