#there could be so much more said about this connection to how law saved luffy and luffy in turned saved him. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

badgerbl00d · 2 years ago

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one piece boys confessing their feelings

☆ characters: zoro, mihawk

☆ up next: what are we? (law x reader)

☆ a/n: my two favorite swordsmen.. i didn't realize how much i missed writing for zoro so definitely expect more marimo content in upcoming posts. enjoy lovelies!

zoro

“Let’s go fishing, Usopp,” Luffy laughed, “Oi! Zoro! Wanna fish with us? I heard there’s Sea Kings in these waters!”

Zoro waved a hand in Luffy’s direction to dissent, though he wasn’t really paying attention to anything happening around him.

A third bottle of beer found its way into the hands of the scarred swordsman, and was happily chugged within seconds.

His head was buzzing, though not from alcohol.

He was nervous.

He wiped his sweaty palms against his shirt for the umpteenth time that night, trying to work up a sense of courage.

To his satisfaction, no one else had seemed to notice his behavior,

You were flipping through a magazine with Nami, suntanning in the tiniest bikini he’d ever seen.

He couldn’t think straight when you were around and he really needed to- now more than ever.

For weeks now he’d been trying to think of how to admit his feelings to you- a harder feat for him than most.

To completely let down every wall he’d spent years and years building up for even just a moment or two of vulnerability.

He’d come close to telling you several times already, and he was pretty sure he might have let something slip before when he was drunk, leading to more than one awkward morning after. He’d avoid you, beat himself up over it, get drunk again that night to forget anything ever happened, and repeat the night before.

It was a disaster.

“You know,” Sanji had said one particularly awkward morning after- more to himself than Zoro, “You’d have a better shot if you didn’t ignore her completely the morning after a horrendously drunk and half-assed confession.”

Zoro had ignored him and stormed out to cut something in half but his advice- if you could call it that- stuck with him.

So here he was now, looking for a quiet place so he could rehearse what he was going to say.

What did he want to say? He paced back and forth, muttering lines he’d written down from movies or famous love quotes.

“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more,” he’d tried, turning towards a mirror to see how he looked.

Absolutely not. You’d definitely read that book.

“You have bewitched me body and soul- No. No way, I’m not saying that.”

He crushed the piece of paper in his fist and opted to take a nap and have a drink, failproof support systems that had yet to fail him.

“I don’t know, Nami,” you said, “I mean he’s been drunk every single time and it’s starting to really piss me off.

It’s like… every time I’m stupid enough to believe it! Even though I know he’s drunk he gets so sincere for a moment or two and says stuff like ‘You're really beautiful you know that?’ or ‘I feel… a connection with you’. And I’m dumb enough to believe it every damn time.”

“And then he ignores you the next day and pretends nothing happened.”

“Yeah. It’s so weird though, ‘cause I swear- it’s like he gets possessed by rationality and calm in the midst of being a drunken idiot and he says these things with such intent! It’s jarring. I mean he goes from a moron to a Jane Austen romantic hero. What the hell is that?”

“I mean, no offense,” Nami started, your stomach churned with dread before she could even continue, “But maybe he’s just.. you know, trying to hook up. Drop some half assed compliments and hope that’s enough to get him laid.”

An uncomfortable feeling of sadness swallowed you whole. You sighed, taking a sip of your drink.

“I know. I don’t think he’s lying about the attraction, but it would save me a lot of grief if he was just straightforward. That way I could just hook up with him and get it over with.”

Nami laughed, “Gross! You know he showers like once a week right?”

“I can fix him,” you said, laughing with her.

The boys had caught a mountain of fish and sea creatures, so Sanji had promised you all a feast.

Brook had started playing before the sun had set and Robin and Franky were dancing.

You played some beer pong with Luffy and Usopp, while Nami helped Sanji in the kitchen.

You loved nights like these, but as much as you wanted to enjoy yourself you knew that with parties and fun came booze.

And with booze came a certain drunken swordsman promising you sweet nothings.

You tried to focus on the game but were getting badly beat.

You walked into the kitchen to sit with Nami who was sipping on a piña colada, special treatment from Sanji, of course.

“Make me one too Sanji-kun! Please,” you asked.

He gladly obliged.

The three of you talked and laughed while Sanji cooked, enjoying the music and sight of the younger boys playing with Chopper.

The kitchen door swung open and in walked Zoro, who had been very clearly napping. His hair was matted in some places and his eyes still carried the sag of someone who’d been involuntarily woken up from a nap.

“Smelled food,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

You finished your drink and got up out of your seat.

“Leaving, Y/n?” Sanji asked.

Zoro turned to look at you, like he was about to say something.

“Uh, yeah, I’m gonna go read for a bit. Thank you for the food!”

Nami shot you a sympathetic look and waved bye to you.

Zoro sighed, not totally oblivious to the timing of his entrance and your departure.

Sanji and Nami glared at him.

He rolled his eyes at them, “I’ll fix it.”

And he walked out to join Luffy.

Amidst the general excitement that had spread itself throughout the crew over the course of the night was Zoro who was making his way toward the crow’s nest, in hopes of finding you.

You were tucked into a corner of the room, reading a book.

Your knees were up on the sofa and you seemed to be nearly asleep.

He felt somewhat guilty interrupting you.

But it was now or never.

He walked in, not saying anything.

You sat up, closing your book.

Your stomach was in a knot.

The swordsman sat next to you, close enough that his knee touched yours.

He was sitting up straighter than usual, and seemed restless, fidgeting with his hands until he finally set his left hand on top of your right one that was resting beside you.

Your eyes widened, you were surprised by this, but didn’t say anything.

“Y/n, can I tell you something? I’ve been meaning to for a while but I- Well, I’ve never done anything like this before so I fucked it up. More than once. So I’m going to fix it right now.”

You nodded hesitantly, caught somewhat off-guard by his unusual behavior.

“I love you.”

Your heart stopped.

Everything around you momentarily stopped as your brain tried to catch up to speed with everything that had just happened.

In an instant you were suddenly hyper-aware of everything- the strong pulse of your heartbeat, the sweat that had gathered on your palms, how you felt suspended in both motion and time as he sat waiting for some kind of response.

But you knew Zoro, and recognized that rosy glow on his cheeks. You knew that when he approached you after midnight with unusual confidence and gusto, on a night when you’d all been celebrating.

How he always sat next to you, closer and closer every time, this time placing his hand on top of yours.

You broke eye contact to look down at your hands.

“I love you, too,” you chose to interpret it as a friendly drunken slip-up, “Make sure you tell everyone else that you love them too, or they’ll get jealous.”

You turned back to your book, trying to ignore the ache in your chest, covering it up with an unconvincing smile.

“No.”

You turned, confused, “N-no?”

“I meant it.”

You didn’t say anything, just stared at him.

“I love you.”

The air around the two of you was completely stagnant, full of tension.

He’d done this before; gotten drunk, been suddenly affectionate and touchy, and then acted completely normal the next day, even ignoring you when you tried to talk to him about it.

You weren’t going to let it happen again.

Scoffing, you brushed him off, moving your hand out from under his.

“You’re drunk,” you said, trying to ignore the disappointment that had started to spread throughout your body, “Why don’t you get some water? Or bread? But don’t do this to me again.”

You got up and placed your book down, ready to make your way to your room and try and forget anything had happened, like he would.

A hand grabbed your wrist, stopping you in your tracks.

Zoro stood up behind you and turned you around to face him.

“I’m not drunk,” he started, “Last thing I’d want to do is ruin this with some kind of idiotic drunken rant. I-I want to remember this- I want you to remember this!

Everything about this- how damn cold it is up here, what you’re wearing, what I say to you, how it ends, everything.”

His hands were squeezing your shoulders, and his stare was full of an intensity you couldn’t have reciprocated if you tried.

You’d seen him before in battle- swords drawn, back hunched, and eyes settled onto his victim like a hungry animal.

But this was different, it was vulnerable. He was being weak in front of you.

He took a deep breath.

You had never felt so focused in your life, your eyes were intently set on his and your brows furrowed in concentration as you took in everything about this moment.

“I love you! I love you and- and I don’t mean it the way we say it to each other in battle, or as crewmates.

I hate that! I hate calling you my crewmate, my friend, my companion.

You are!

You are, but I hate that that’s all I can call you.

So I came to you to tell you that I love you.

Entirely.”

He brought his hands down to interlace them with yours.

“I love you,” he said again, this time bending down slightly to level his eyesight with yours.

He looked at you with concern, lips slightly parted.

Your breath was shaky and you had unconsciously grabbed onto his forearms to stabilize yourself while you tried to process what was happening.

You stayed silent, your confusion as evident as his desperation.

Another few moments passed with no words exchanged, it felt like the whole world was holding its breath- waiting for you to say anything.

You took a deep breath and swallowed, your mind racing through the millions of different things you wanted to say.

How dare you? Are you serious? I love you too! I never want to talk to you again. I love you too! What happens now?

Zoro’s grip on your shoulders softened and his shoulders sunk. A look of disappointment settled itself onto his stoic features and he let go of you, in a kind of heartbroken acceptance.

He nodded, more to himself than you.

“Goodnight,” he said, walking back out.

“Zoro- Zoro, wait! Wait, please.”

He stopped and turned around- Were those tears in his eyes?

“I love you, too,” you said, in a much calmer tone than expected, “I have since I set foot on this ship, since I first saw you. I love you.”

His eyes widened and he picked you up in his arms, wrapping them around your waist as you sunk into his chest hugging him back with all the force you could muster.

He spun you around, pressing kisses to the top of your head.

You cried into his chest, and felt a tear or two fall onto your forehead when you looked up at him as he finally set you down.

“I thought that- I thought I’d fucked everything up and that-”

Zoro was rambling, his hands holding onto you again, with a grip that reassured you he didn’t want to let go.

You interrupted him by crashing your lips into his, sending him reeling backwards.

He landed on the floor, one arm breaking the fall and the other wrapped around you.

You straddled him and deepened the kiss bringing your hands to rest on his chest as he pulled you closer into his body.

The two of you kissed and kissed, pulling away only when you were desperate for breath, before resuming again.

When you were finally tired enough, you simply sat smiling like idiots at each other.

“I should’ve been honest with you months ago,” Zoro said, bringing a hand up to your face, his thumb gently brushing over your cheek.

You grabbed his forearm, leaning your cheek into his hold.

A smile spread out over your face.

“It’s okay, I knew.”

mihawk

He’d been dreading it for weeks- months, even.

Never in his life did he think that he’d find himself in a position of having to stay on Red Hair’s ship, but here he was. Sat at a table on the deck, an overflowing pint of beer in his hand, and Red Haired pirates laughing and swearing and drinking on all sides of him. And then out of nowhere, there was you.

They told him you’d been part of the crew for 5 months now, a rookie pirate in need of a ship and some stability and had found your way onto the Red Force after winning several games of poker against Shanks.

He’d had an eye on you from the moment you walked out onto the deck, in a pair of deliciously short shorts and a tank top that hugged your curves in the most alluring way he’d ever seen.

You poured yourself a pint and played a game of blackjack with members of the crew whose name’s he didn’t know, or care to know.

He sat with Shanks and the other officers in the crew.

“She’s somethin’, isn’t she?” Shanks asked, laughing as he took note of his friend’s interest in you, much to his evident annoyance.

“I suppose I just didn’t think a woman like that would be on a crew like yours, Red Hair.”

“Neither did we,” Benn chimed in, earning a playful nudge from his captain.

A sudden eruption of noise diverted their attention towards the betting table you were sitting at.

You were smiling, graciously accepting your winnings from your crewmates who were alleging cheating.

“There’s only four jacks in a deck!”

“I saw her hand moving!”

“She was card counting!”

Yasopp laughed and called you over, “Before they start swinging!”

You approached their table, weaving your way toward them through your drunk and rowdy crewmates, before taking a seat next to Mihawk, who was clearly uneasy with your presence.

What was he supposed to do? He felt a strange desire to make a good impression on you, and realized part of him was hoping to form a friendship. His stomach churned at the unusual feeling.

“Didn’t think I’d ever meet a legend like yourself,” you’d said to him, as you extended your hand, “Y/n, pleasure to meet you.

You’re a lot less scary in person! And a lot more handsome.”

You smelled like cherries and whiskey, sweet and addicting.

He took your hand, despite his embarrassment at your compliments and against his better judgment followed up with, “Likewise.”

Shanks whistled, and put his arm around the swordsman’s shoulders, “Never seen you flirt before!”

The table laughed and you asked Benn for a cigarette, bending over to let him light it for you.

“Calm down, Shanks,” you said as you puffed a small cloud of smoke, “No one’s flirting.”

He felt his chest tighten slightly, had you not been flirting? He wasn’t experienced but he figured that you had at least professed some kind of interest.

You turned to look at him and winked.

His chest tightened again.

Lucky had started another card game, and you played as you talked. Mihawk asked about your life before piracy- a story for another time, you’d told him. He talked about details of his life that were unknown even to Shanks- small things like his garden at home, his favorite things to cook, and even certain details of his warlord duties. It was unlike him to share anything with anyone, but the way you stared up at him batting your big doe eyes with a cigarette hanging lazily from your plump glossy lips… he found himself unable to resist the urge to keep you interested in his presence.

The noise of the ship eventually faded into the background, the talking and laughing melting into their own conversations.

Hours passed and eventually music started playing, some other new crew members that had brought their instruments on board with them.

“We finally have some good musicians, don’t we Y/n?” Shanks asked.

“Mhmm,” you replied, looking through your cards barely paying him any attention. You tapped your feet rhythmically against the floor, humming along to the quick paced flamenco melody that was playing.

“Do you dance, swordsman?” you asked, turning to look at Mihawk.

You heard Shanks groan in the background.

“Occasionally.”

You set your cards down, face up, revealing a winning hand. The rest of the table threw their cards down in frustration.

“Will you do me the honors?”

A rare smile settled onto his face. He offered his hand to help you up out of your chair, and you guided him to a more open area on the deck. He placed a hand on your waist, and you took a guilty pleasure in how unyielding his grip was against you. You could feel the pads of each of his fingers holding onto your soft skin, and trailed your hand up to his face, lightly tracing a finger down the side of his neck before resting your hand on his shoulder.

People whistled and clapped.

“Keep up,” you said.

“I’ll try.”

He appreciated your warning, you were like a different person when dancing. The cool, calculated demeanor you adopted when playing cards with your poker face perfected and your breathing steady and even, was completely washed over by a fiery intent to move.

He did struggle to keep up at first, you slipped through his hold like water, your feet moving and landing between and around him like a downpour of rain.

He managed to match your tempo- catch the tail end of your movements and proved a worthy partner, but he didn’t come close to matching your mastery of the art.

By the time the song was finished beads of sweat dripped down his neck, and his heart was pounding loud enough that he could barely hear the cheering coming from the other pirates.

He wanted to give you the credit of wearing someone of his caliber out, he could take on a hundred men and barely increase his heart rate.

This was different though- the beating in his chest, the excitement in his belly, the way his eyes clung to your figure as though attached with string. He couldn’t get enough of you, he inhaled smelling your perfume again.

Another smile settled onto his face, one of satisfaction.

Three week had passed and Mihawk was grabbing the last of his things- a photo of the two of you you’d forced him to take. It was of you pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Shanks lightly knocked on his door.

“Sure you don’t want to stay another week?” he asked, awkwardly standing by the door.

“That’s what you came to ask?”

Shanks rubbed the back of his neck, “No, it’s actually about Y/n.”

This caught his attention.

“What about her?”

“Well,” Shanks walked over to sit on the bed, “I think you should talk to her before you leave, tell her how ya feel.”

“How I… feel? And how exactly do you think I feel?”

“C’mon man, it’s obvious- No offense. The way you two look at each other? You danced with her. In front of people.”

The swordsman scoffed, but didn’t disagree and chose to maintain his silence as he packed the rest of his clothes.

“She likes ya, Hawk-eye. I think you knew that though.

Don’t say anything if you’re gonna hurt her.”

He got up and gave him a friendly pat on the back before heading back out, “We’re headed to a bar right now, so you’ll have the ship to yourself. Take care of her!”

It was unclear whether he was talking about the ship or you.

Mihawk sighed, he adjusted the collar of his loosely fitting white shirt, and set out to find you.

You were in one of the common areas, one of the musicians was showing you how to play the guitar. Plucking at a few strings here and there, you laughed and sang, trying to play a song with your clearly limited ability.

Mihawk stood and watched you for a moment, before clearing his throat.

You turned, smiling when you saw him.

“What do you think? Good enough to dance to?”

He let out a light laugh, “Maybe in ten years.”

You smiled, plucking a few more strings before asking, “What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be packing?”

“I was hoping to speak with you for a moment,” he paused when you stayed put, “Alone.”

Your eyes widened, “Oh! Of course!”

You handed the guitar back to its owner, ignoring the whistles that followed you out of the room.

You took Mihawk’s arm and walked toward the deck, your stomach turning.

You stopped at the railing, leaning over it, trying to take deep breaths of the salty air to calm yourself.

What on Earth could he have to talk to you about? Shanks had promised not to say anything… Could he possibly-

“I’m… very appreciative of your company these past few weeks.

You’re a very intelligent, talented, beautiful woman, and I cannot think of a better companion with whom to have spent my time,” he started, interrupting your train of thought.

You softly smiled, a light breeze dancing around you both.

You said nothing and only looked up at him, unsure of how to pick up from where he left off.

Luckily, he continued, “You… You are a good friend. Of mine, I mean. And I hope that my departure from this ship won’t change our proximity.”

Friend. A dull, warm pain ebbed in your chest.

It wasn’t sharp like a direct rejection would have been, it felt more like a heavy rock had been gently placed right on your heart.

You nodded, looking out toward the ocean when you felt some tears well up in your lash line.

Blinking them away you turned back toward him suddenly emboldened by the memory of how he held you that night when you danced.

“I hope this isn’t too forward, but can I ask if you hold me in any higher regard than that of a friend?”

He was silent. Color rushed to his cheeks and he stared down at you. His eyes were undersold in legend. To say they were hypnotizing was a disservice. They were compelling- when you made eye contact with him your entire being longed to be with him.

“I do.”

You exhaled, tension lifting itself from your shoulders.

“I like you, swordsman,” you gently wrapped your hands around his, bringing his hand up to your chest, placing it against the left side, “I’ll miss dancing with you. Please visit. Please don’t forget me.”

In a sudden motion, Mihawk wrapped you into his chest, his strong arms wrapping around your shoulders as he pressed you into him.

You wiggled your arms free and quickly reciprocated the hug.

You breathed in a long, long inhale, and as you exhaled sunk even further into him.

“I’ll visit,” he promised, “I’ll write. I’ll call- I’ll think of you always. You’re quite unforgettable, you know?”

You laughed and looked up to him as his hold on you softened.

You inched yourself up onto the tips of your toes, hovering your lips just slightly over his.

A smile creeped onto his face, and his hands dispersed across your body, one grabbing onto your ass- something he’d longed to do since the first moment he saw you. The other hand wrapped around your waist to provide you support.

You brought your hands to the collar of his shirt, gently tugging him toward you.

His lips closed around yours, and you deepened the kiss- pulling him closer into you, your tongues swiping at each other as you closed your eyes and indulged.

You inhaled each other- the taste of wine and mint flooding your mouth, the smell of his cologne overwhelming your senses.

The strong grip he had on your ass was so deliciously indulgent.

You let out a soft moan into his mouth before you pulled away from one another.

He tucked some stray hair behind your ears, and you gently wiped some of your gloss from his bottom lip.

“I’ve been waiting for that for weeks now.”

He picked you up, making his way toward your room, peppering your face and neck with kisses and you laughed and kissed him back.

“Let me make it up to you, hermosa.”

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bobauthorman · 2 years ago

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The Luffy-Kid Connection

With the recent chapter of One Piece being released, I thought I should talk more about Eustass Kid This isn’t an in-depth analysis of his character and motivations, but instead delves into how he parallels our main protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy.

From the very beginning, Kid is introduced as a dark reflection to Luffy, from having roughly the same bounty (Albeit a little higher) and having a Number 2 with a 9-digit bounty of his own. They even want the same thing, to be Pirate King. Hell, when they are first seen fighting together, they unveil the thematically same technique.

However, while Luffy and his crew have saved numerous nations from destruction and freed them from tyranny, Kid is infamous in-universe for wreaking havoc on the common folk. It could be easy to write this off as propaganda or exaggeration, but as we see in chapter 594, Kid has no problem with crucifying people he’s beaten. This is a level of viciousness we’ve only seen on the worst of enemies, and a sign that whatever’s said about Kid may not be entirely fabricated. And while Luffy has always been concern about non-coms getting caught in the crossfire, Kid makes it clear he doesn’t care who gets hurt outside of his crew.

Furthermore, there is the matter of humility. Luffy always had people question or mock his dream of being Pirate King, but he just shrugs them off, only throwing down with those who plan on trying to get his way of that. Kid, on the other hand, admits to killing people who laughed at him. Remember the time in Mock Town when neither Luffy or Zoro bothered to fight back against the Bellamy Pirates for mocking the concept of dreams? I sincerely doubt neither Kid or Killer would be so restrained.

When the story brings Kid back into the spotlight, we see he is trying to form an alliance among his fellow pirates…just like Luffy, at the time, went into an alliance with Law to take down one of the Four Emperors. And while Luffy made it clear at the time that he wanted to beat the Emperors except for Shanks (Or, more accurately, that Shanks not be the first), Kid’s prospective alliance was made for the explicit purpose of beating Shanks. And while Luffy’s alliance works out, Kid ends up betrayed and cheated by the pirates he tried to trust.

In Wano, where both men are beaten and captured by Kaido, Luffy and Kid end up in competition over who can do the most labor (And, I am deeply impressed that Kid can carry just as much as Luffy with one arm). But while Luffy helps Old Man Hyo and learns a new Haki technique, Kid walks out as soon as he can, and doesn’t.

And finally, we reach Elbaf, where Kid finds himself in a rematch with Shanks. A very short rematch, to be precise (I was rooting for Shanks, btw), but it’s here that we see two more old friends, Dorry and Broggy from Little Garden. The same technique that once cleared the path for the Straw Hats to sail on their way, it is used to sink Kid’s ship. And speaking of this fight, recollect back to Alabasta, when the Straw Hats saw the Barogue Works fleet but chose not to attack, not wanting to waist their time on small-fry. Kid, on the other hand, made the choice to attack the lesser pirates in Shanks’ fleet…which played a big part in why Shanks waisted no time stomping Kid.

In short, Kid’s role is in part how integral Luffy’s natural kindness and empathy is to his becoming Pirate King…by showing how screwed he’d be without it.

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bluepecanpie · 1 year ago

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Going back to my last post, let’s explore Garp as a character for a bit - since this chapter goes into his connections as it play with his career in the Marines.

Yes. Garp is a legend. He’s the “Hero of the Marines”. He saved the world from Rocks D. Xebec. But what’s interesting is that he got these accolades in the Marines, in spite of not following the rules and doing his own thing. A lot has been said about how much Garp is similar to Luffy. But what is ironic is that despite the perception of him as this grand, heroic figure, he is a complete failure when it comes to raising and mentoring the next generation. And it all comes down to how he approaches life: Garp views every problem can be resolved by just punching it.

Pirates running amok, breaking the law? Punch ‘em, and book ‘em.

Some rookie asking you to train him? Either punch him so he’ll go away, or let him join you in punching battleships.

Your son became a revolutionary? Either punch him when you see him, or take it out on the Marine battleships.

Your grandchildren wanna be pirates? Punch them out of those silly ideas, or take it out on the battleships.

Even Luffy of all people, pointed out that Garp didn’t so much as raise him, Ace, and Sabo, as so much as drop in, punch them, and leave to continue being a Marine. All they learned is to be scared of Garp, rather than understand why he wants them to be Marines - especially if their parents are like Roger or Dragon. He never addressed Ace’s insecurities about his heritage, or whether he really could be anything more than a fiend or a public menace. He just said that being a Marine will make it better, though given that guys like Sakazuki are around, clearly it won’t be better - it’ll just bring new problems.

Garp is also a massive hypocrite since he’s all about his personal freedom to do what we wants and pursue justice his own way. But Dragon, Kuzan, Ace, Luffy and Sabo did the exact same thing as he does, and it led to different outcomes - Garp is outraged at the results and wants them to just do as he told, but is any wonder that they turned out how they did? They just followed his example. The Marines are part of an utterly corrupt and authoritarian institution - which views bloodlines as a determinant as to whether one should be treated as a devil or a god. It wages massive campaigns of slaughter based on whatever is suspected to have the potential undermine their rule. Dragon, Kuzan, Ace, Sabo and Luffy all saw the same things. Garp was confronted with this very contradiction when he had to save the Celestial Dragons from Xebec - but he chooses not to address it. He didn’t give any of his family members or pupils the tools to deal with that at all - because if he did, they’d all be Marines right now! But how does Garp deal with it? Maybe there’s no justifiable answer and he knows it. He can’t bullshit them, or maybe he did, but they never bought it. I’m sure fans are very curious as to why Garp is still involved in the Marines, but more so - what he sees in it? How much has it really changed from when he enlisted? (Maybe not much) Has he treated Coby and Helmeppo any differently from his previous “failures”? Or is there ideological breaks there as well? I mean, Coby’s in SWORD - but we don’t know if Garp is.

It’s all very interesting. I think that this is what Oda was trying to convey with Garp and Kuzan. More than just “Kuzan has lost his way, can he be redeemed” stuff. Just look back to his talk with Smoker, Kuzan hasn’t actually changed at all. The following chapters will make that clear. But I think we should pay attention to Garp. Beneath the knuckle sandwiches he delivers, and goofy old-guy demeanour, there’s complexity there. We’ll have to see.

#one piece #one piece 1087 #monkey d. garp #vice admiral garp #garp #hero of the marines #kuzan #aokiji #monkey d. luffy #luffy #portgas d. ace #ace #sabo #monkey d. dragon #dragon the revolutionary #dragon one piece #coby #helmeppo #the marines

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one-piecee · 3 years ago

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#ONEPIECE1046

Chapter title: Raizo.

- I know a lot of people were disappointed when they saw the chapter title because they wanted more of Luffy's fight (and a lot of you don't like Raizo either) but personally, I am happy we got more of Raizo because of how important he was for both the minks and the Scabbards.

Anyways-

Okay, I usually don't talk much about the cover story but this one was super interesting (and some of them do end up being canon or part of the story so!!)

A lot of people are debating who these two could ranging from the more predictable Germa 66 or even Blackbeard pirates - I'll join the prediction line of saying they (kind of?) look like revolutionary? I mean their shoes are definitely not Germa - so my first guess was the blackbeard piraates but the long coats and the silhouette is just giving me revolutionary and i don't know why so don't ask... I guess we'll see.

We start the chapter off with some Kaido vs. Luffy battle continuing, and Zunisha even saying/thinking (addressing it to Joy Boy): This all seems like fate. I can't help but think we should put our faith in this boy.

AND WE ALSO GET THE ICONIC, NEVER AGING, NEVER BORING SAYING

I AM MONKEY D. LUFFY, I WILL-

And!! Oda legit told everyone who's talking about reincarnation and whatnot to shut up, everyone debating whether or not this is really Luffy, he is Luffy, and this is his awakening--

Kaido: "We call this an awakening. Your mind and body are finally able to harness the potential of your ability" --->

and this just leaves us questioning; when is Kaido's awakening coming? Because surely he has to do it now...

And we get some more exchanges of blows, and it's always interesting to see how Luffy can bend and control himself and his surroundings now with the awakening... bending himself like this, and even bending Kaido's body when he's punching him to give more effect to the punch

AND I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE whenever we get those "they got me - i got them moments" - We got Kaido saying that everyone's gonna burn to death in the inferno below and Luffy just says

"I left it all to them, I've got nothing to worry about."

AND AGAIN- I just want to repeat that I LOVE this fight, it's just a blend of serious, and really really goofy and I love every part of it

Like c'mon look at this

Anyways... so currently everything is on fire in Onigashima. Bepo and crew are complaining about the heat - and just can we just take a moment to discuss how they've done... nothing? like they're yelling for Law to come and save them but they've seriously done nothing and to me, at this point, if Bepo were to ever go Sulong and do something it's more of a "finally" than a "wow" moment. yeah. we'll see.

We've got a little bit more of all of the crew, Nami and Chopper are together, Robin and Brook still running, Usopp trying everything he can to stop the fire to save Kiku and Kinemon, and

Sanji with his cute little rat Chuuji

And Franky carrying passed out Zoro who needs urgent care from Chopper (😭😭😭😭😭😭)

ALSO!! We get shown Apoo and Ibi again, and remember we said they could be the samurai prisoners imprisoned with Yamato in the past? That theory still holds up, because why else show them this much...

The connection has to be coming...

And then we finally get to the man of the hour, Raizo!!

The fire is everywhere, no one can escape it and people are going crazy - that's when Oda gives Raizo the opportunity to save everybody on Onigashima, and repay the debt of everyone saving and protecting him -

He teams up with Jinbe to put an end to the fire - and because he has the Maki Maki fruit (scroll scroll) he has the ability to store things and what did he store? The water that Zunisha uses to wash it's back - So he uses Elephant Bath Restoration and paired with Jinbe's Ocean Current Should Throw they manage to send the water flooding everywhere to put out the fire.

Despite my Ninjutsu, I was unable to protect any of them. I can never make up for that failure, but I will never let myself be that helpless again!! Never!!

And now we know that the preparation undertaken in chapter 1041 that Raizo was speaking of has nothing to do with Denjiro, which leaves the question - where the hell is Denjiro?

PS. Can we also talk about how this means that Raizo has had water on hand for this long and refused to save himself from the fire during his fight? He's extremely strong, and extremely underappreciated.

We know Momonosuke still has to create flame clouds, so we're waiting on that, I still hold on the hopes and dreams that Zoro will get up and we'll get answers on whatever happens to the Grim Reaper-

We know Kaido is at his limit now, so predicting the fight will officially end in about 4-5 chapters- when will we get awakening though? Hm.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

WE GET THIS RANDOM PANEL OF LUFFY HOLDING ON TO A LIGHTNING BOLT? TO STRIKE KAIDO WITH???? HE IS SO COOL

And could this mean we could potentially get a Nami-Luffy Combo someday`?

With that said, break next week. This chapter was great, and I'll see you in two weeks for another cry-

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baristabomb · 3 years ago

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MARINEFORD SPOILERS

For a while I’ve been thinking about this but, I really feel like Ace actually didn’t need to die for Luffy‘s development? It’s really touching to think about it especially with how much Ace is being brought up in Wano, but it’s so much wasted potential. Luffy definitely didn’t need his whole ass brother dying in his arms to know he wasn’t strong enough for the New World.

Marineford would’ve been a great opportunity for Ace himself to develop as a character and get stronger. Like that was when he realized he was actually loved way more than he thought he was and that question he asked Garp years ago would’ve been answered...that he was indeed worthy of being born and he could’ve lived out his life there after improving upon himself now that he knew that. After he and Luffy were saved it could’ve been used as a chance for them to reminisce about the years they spent together and nicely introduce Sabo without making him feel like a cop out? (Makes me feel bad but I feel like he is one. I’m just glad he exists at all at this point and the S on Ace’s tattoo makes him pretty relevant since the Alabasta arc but I digress). It would’ve been better to have Sabo appear as another "secret" brother rather than a replacement brother.

And it makes all of what Luffy did in Impel Down and what he went through feel like it was for nothing. Luffy could've realized himself that he and his crew were just not strong enough for new world because he COULD NOT have gotten to Marineford without those connections and help and led to the strawhats still training for two years... Not to mention that whitebeard was right there and he could’ve done something to keep ace from getting fisted like how he was beating akainu up A FT ER ace was killt. Did he black out or something??

Cool things that happened because of Ace’s death that may not've happened otherwise:

-Law coming to save Luffy and establishing a background for their alliance

-Shanks showing up and seeing Buggy again

-uh....

-wait a second

-all those coulda happened anyways.

Law still could’ve been there as their escape and Luffy could've just been sleeping like he tends to do after big battles. And Ace could’ve been watching him sleep w a smile on his face while he reminisced about their childhood days perhaps??!!?!!

And you know what it’s never sat right with me how Oda just shows Luffy being upset about Ace’s death for, what in his time is only maybe at most a couple hours, and then when Jinbei gets to him he basically tells Luffy to get over it and says that the lives of those he still has should be enough for him to immediately stop being absolutely distraught over the death of his big brother.

I get that for readers of the time, those chapters (including the flashbacks) would be serialized over weeks or maybe even a couple months? In that case it might feel like Luffy had time to process it but like I said it can’t be more than a couple hours for him so?? Like if you’re gonna kill off Ace I’m just saying make it make sense!!!!!!

Sure remembering his friends can help a BIT....but Ace was his number one!!!!!!!!! His ace if you will!!!! His b w o t h e r..,,.,,., His big bwo................most loved person in his l i f e???? Not just that but the way Ace died? WAS KILLED???? RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM?????? Dadan said it best when she said Ace was the one Luffy loved the most in the world......his bROHETR..............of 10 entire years. They spent all their time together and Luffy just? Gets over it......smiling like always even.......,,? No.......,,,....,,...no.................

The way his friends and family reacted to hearing that Ace was dead was panic on top of grief because they knew that Luffy would be suffering out of his mind in that moment and they wanted to get back to him so they could be there for him. No one expected him to get over it. With that logic it doesn’t make sense in universe that he did so quickly because it’s not even expected that you can just get over the loss of a loved one like that. It makes him seem callous tbh.

But then I got to thinking…and I have reasonable “proof” that Oda didn’t intend to actually kill Ace during Marineford: the fact that he hastily drew up a crew that Ace had started before joining whitebeard? But they were never ever relevant? And they didn’t show up at all during the battle when it would’ve been way more heart wrenching and awesome and fun if they had? Like Deuce and Kotatsu? Deuce’s design is way too intricate and thought out to be forgotten from the story if he was supposed to be there like that. Not to mention the fact that he was supposed to be Ace’s First mate

And who wouldn’t want to see a big cat fighting to save Ace???? They could’ve gotten a flashback story like Little Oars Jr. did before he died. They never even show up in the anime...even though there was a flashback where Ace went to thank Shanks for saving Luffy and Deuce wasn’t in his crew? Are you kidding me. I’m so mad.

It would’ve been even more relevant to how much Ace has actually changed peoples lives if they showed up.

ALSO Oda had to phone in a bunch of stuff after Marineford to make Ace seem more powerful than he probably actually was like saying he was offered a position as a warlord when, based off of his results in Marineford, honestly doesn’t feel very warranted. Ace actually feels like the least utilized character in the story since he died before he could really do anything. MR. 3 IS MORE UTILIZED THAN HIM.

And then Oda has to go and say that “if you die it means you’re weak” after he kills the only character he’s ever killed during the course of the story and it just had to be Ace (also Whitebeard). 🧍‍♂️ Seriously, maybe if fans weren’t so sure that Ace was going to survive past Marineford things could’ve been really different because I recall reading that many of them didn’t believe Ace was going to die.

It’s like Oda impulsively decided “you know what?? I’m going to kill him!!!!” And then after he did he was like “HAHAHAHA I BETCHA DIDNT SEE THAT COMING!!!!! WHAT NOW BITCHEEES AHAHAHAHA......wait............what now....”

And then he hastily scribbled up some bullshit like “uhhhhh Ace was so strong the government wanted to make him a warlord uhmhhh he had a 550 million berri bounty on his head” etc. And then he thought up some cool looking crewmembers and gave them some backstory and was like “phew! problemo solved. I can’t have Luffy out of commission for a long time so I’ll just make him remember his friends and get over it completely!!” And Luffy pays homage to Ace in the first New World arc by coming up with a new attack that uses fire and never uses it again…has Sabo come back in Dressrosa to inherit the mera mera fruit....and now he’s got this thing in Wano where Ace is all over the place and has even influenced Yamato..which is cool and all but...wtf.......... this and since he didn’t have ace show up all that much before marineford he didn’t expect him to be such a popular character.

It just shows to go you that Ace dying was never really a part of the plan, but Oda didn’t want to derail Luffy’s personality either. Honestly if oda at least just had luffy be straight faced or melancholy before he reunited with his crew, and brighten up only when he saw them again? 😔

It would’ve been cool if Oda put in little things like Luffy laughing for less time or laughing and then stopping like as if he remembered Ace’s death. Even though the Strawhats were so eager to get back to Luffy to comfort him, they don’t even mention Ace when they meet again. Picking up where they left off like nothing happened. It would be sad to see luffy laugh less but THEN JUST DONT KILL ACE IN THE FIRST PLACE...

I am so sad

#one piece #op #monkey d. luffy #Portgas D. Ace #sabo one piece #ASL brothers #straw hat pirates #marineford #one piece spoilers #wano #i've been agonizing over this for a few days and it hit me #yes saying ‘shows to go you’ was intentional #as you can see I’m very bitter about this #Oda did it to make me upset personally I just know it fhkhdfhj

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sashi-ya · 3 years ago

Note

interested to know what you're thoughts are on how law's character arc will end in op? his alliance with luffy, his ability to obtain the one piece, anything really.

i'm convinced he's going to die. idk why, and i really feel like it'll have something to do with the eternal life surgery. hopefully i'm wrong! but as resident law lover, i want your opinion!

Hi babe!! thank u for asking! It is a liiiilte bit (a lot) long so I hope you don't mind ♥

Well, first in first I HOPE HE DOESN’T DIE because Idk if I can handle losing him. That being said, let me tell you what I think…

As much as Law tries to hide it, Law is Luffy’s friend. So no need to have an alliance anymore. He has found in Luffy someone who wants the same as him. Law is not interested in the One Piece treasure at all. His true motivations are a little different from being the “pirate king”. Let me tell you why….

Spoilers from “One Piece Novel: Law” (canon) and Manga under the cut. -And a LONG theory -

The novel tells us about what happened after Cora’s death, how Law managed to cure himself and how he ended up meeting Mr. Wolff, Bepo, Shachi and Penguin. In the novel it is stated that Law didn’t really care about being a pirate, but his true reasons to set sail were no other than taking down Doflamingo (What Law believed was Cora’s purpose). So, in order to fulfil Cora’s will he spent two years training not only his df powers but also as a surgeon working at a local hospital. Bepo, Shachi and Pen did the same, of course. So, to be honest, I don’t think Law's first purpose was in no way to become the Pirate King.

After the battle of Dressrosa, once Doffy was defeated and Law spoke to ex admiral Sengoku, he understood that;

First, as we all know, Cora’s love was beyond any type of revenge or plan against Doffy.

And then, the unknown meaning of the D. That meaning he was probably not really interested in until he saw how Doffy reacted knowing he was a D. And of course I’m sure he asked himself a lot about why Luffy has the same secret name? Is he supposed to do something similar to Mugiwara-ya? What does that D hide?.

Then, in Wano… he states his intentions to know about the meaning of the D clearly on ch. 995 of the manga. He even asks Robin if she knows about it.

But, let’s discuss something else here. His relationship with Smoker, X-Drake and Koby. (And ofc his step grandad Sengoku)

So, as you may know before the alliance with Luffy, Law was a Shichibukai right?

So, what happened in the two years of time skip for him to become a warlord? Most of the people accepted the quick explanation that this little emo doctor one day appeared at Marineford with a box of 100 PIRATE hearts and so the marine said “Oh amazing, let’s make him an ouka shichibukai”. Weird, right? Specially when it comes to One Piece. And mainly because how the fuck did they check if those hearts were from pirates? And what does that even mean? Did Law want to show the Marine how strong he was? or...

In the same chapter Law is presented as “Trafalgar D. Water Law, Surgeon of Death & Mastermind of the Rocky Port incident”. WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? WHAT HAPPENED THERE?

So, the only information we have about it till now (+10 years) is that it also involves Koby. Koby was decorated as Hero and Captain of the Marine after that because he “saved many civilians' lives”. So, we could say that if Law was the one who planned the incident and Koby fought in it at least they have met each other -at least once-.

And of course we all think Law was probably the bad guy, right? But, there are NO proofs of it whatsoever. What if Law AND Koby worked together against the 100 pirates Law left heartless? What if Law is not a real pirate, but perhaps has something to do with the Marine? Maybe the idea of creating this incident was to show fake information to the Marine. One possibility is that they wanted to show Law as a rival to hide his connections with some marines (Koby, X-Drake, Smoker) or maybe just the opposite, like "hey, this guy helps the marine" let's give him the Shichibukai title.

And by this I’m not really saying Law is a Marine. I don’t really think so. But, maybe he has something to do with the S.W.O.R.D. project where Koby, X- Drake, probably Smoker and Tashigi and Kuzan are involved.

From here I think it is important for me to clarify that -in my opinion- there are two sides of the Marine. The “bad guys” who let’s say are represented by Akainu; people who use the word “justice” WRONGLY. Those who work in the Marine just to protect nobles and tenryuubitos. And then the "good guys" those represented by Smoker, Cora, Bellemere, Koby, Garp, X-Drake, Ishoo who fight for TRUE JUSTICE. Even though if that depended on fighting with and not against some pirates.

A good example and I think Oda wanted to show this as a foreshadow of the future big war was these specific moment at Punk Hazard

Marines + SWORD + Pirates together against people sent by Doffy (a former Celestial Dragon). Or even during Dressrosa!

Aaaand what about Law’s relationship with Smoker? Remember how Law saved Smoker ass during his fight against Vergo? Remember how Law told Smoker about Green bit? Why the fuck would Law tell a marine about his plans? There is some info missing here that I hope Oda will enlighten us with it sooner.

Another of the many reasons Law might be involved in the SWORD project is his relationship with X-Drake. Back to Dressrosa arc, specifically during Cora’s flashback, X-Drake literally saved Law’s life indirectly. How? Well… the Ope Ope no mi was stolen by Cora from X-Drake's father. Little Drake was there too.

When Doffy heard the Marine radio stating they had found a child he thought it was Law and so they escaped. But in reality, the child was no other than X-Drake. Drake was adopted by Sengoku, just as he did with Cora and became a Marine. Drake and Smoker TRAINED together.

And then again, up until the current arc, with the help of Drake I think Law was able to escape Wano prison and attacked Hawkins.

And why would Drake help Law to escape if after all his dad was killed because of the events that involved little Law?... well, maybe because they are more than fellow supernovas… and what's Drake? A marine from Sword like Koby.

(Not to mention how Drake got even with Law because of his past by hitting the shit out of him during the “acting” at Wano prison in from of Hawkins).

So… to not make this text endless (even though I have many other reasons to believe Law is not a pirate at all) I'm sure Law FIGHTS for TRUE JUSTICE (besides him wanting to know about the will of D) for many reasons; 1. To avenge his family deaths, 2. To end up with the endless night the WG has brought into the world… after all he is a D, right?

But if you ask me about what's gonna happen with Luffy? I don't think he will get mad when he learns the truth about his precious Torao. After all Luffy is used to fight with the good marines against injustice! He even accepted X Drake to join them during Wano raid (Ch.990)

About his possible death, I really hope he doesn’t die, but to be honest, Oda has the power to decide it so… let’s pray this won't happen. And as he said many times “the moment someone makes a theory that’s true I will change it”.

So I could make this theory ENDLESS but for the sake of your sanity I won't go any further hahaha.

Thank u for asking, darling! ♥

#one piece spoilers #one piece theory #law theory #s.w.o.r.d.#x drake #one piece koby #smoker #trafalgar law

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chenziee · 4 years ago

Text

Thank you @kerowyn-fr for the cute prompt :D I hope you like it :)

[READ ON AO3 OR UNDER THE CUT]

----------

When Garp handed him the newspaper with a stupid grin on his face, former fleet admiral Sengoku already knew he wouldn't like what was written inside. Taking a deep breath, he slowly unfolded the papers and immediately, the huge, bold headline punched him in the face, making him nearly choke on his tea.

Somehow, he wasn’t even surprised that Morgans found out about Kaido’s defeat faster than the navy but goddamn it, this bunch of kids really did it. Sengoku honestly didn’t think he’s see the day of Kaido’s fall, much less for it to happen thanks to some stupidly young pirates—the words ‘Straw Hat - Heart - Kid Alliance’ seemed almost mocking at this point. Damn brats doing the government’s job for them again.

Although, he did have to admit he would love to see Sakazuki’s face when he found out about this.

Looking at the attached photo of the apparent post-victory celebration, Sengoku’s eyes zeroed in on Trafalgar Law’s blurred figure and despite himself, he smiled. The kid might be a pirate, a member of the worst generation no less, but Sengoku still couldn’t help but feel proud of him, proud of the child Rocinante died to save. When he had talked to him on Dressrosa, he was worried the pirate was going to burn out, or completely lose his way after getting his revenge, but his lively—if annoyed—expression while he ate his rice ball and shoved at an equally annoyed Eustass Kid’s face with his foot… It gave Sengoku the feeling that instead, he had found himself somewhere along the way.

With the ruins of Onigashima behind him, he really looked like he was about to own the seas and Sengoku hoped Roci was watching and was happy about the man his adopted son had grown into, about the great things he had managed to accomplish.

Just then, Garp moved to stand right behind Sengoku, reaching over his shoulder to poke at the photo. “Can you believe these three? They can’t even celebrate beating two of the emperors at once without fighting. I bet you Luffy started this,” he said, before bursting out in loud laughter.

Sengoku had to laugh as well. It really was ridiculous; they were like three little peacocks showing off their tails to see whose is the prettiest.

Wait, three?

He frowned, looking at the photo again. Now that he thought about it, Law really wasn’t the type to shove at someone with his bare foot, judging from how reserved he always acted during warlord meetings—all two of them that he actually bothered to show up for anyway. But he could only see Law and Eustass so where was the little Monkey?

Now that he looked closer, he could see that the foot in Eustass face was twisted at an unnatural angle that could only mean the ankle was either fractured several times over, or it was made of rubber. Following the limb with his eyes, he finally noticed another body splayed on the ground in between Eustass and Law, and soon he also found the arms that held up a plate stacked full of rice balls. It looked like the little Monkey was trying to keep the plate as far away from Eustass as he could and Sengoku was sure those rice balls were the whole reason of this scuffle. Then, he finally reached his head resting against Law’s thigh, clear threat in his eyes as he bared his teeth, looking like he was ready to bite Eustass’ metal arm off.

Sengoku shook his head in disbelief. It was no wonder he didn’t notice him at first; for one, his black hair was blending almost perfectly with Law’s dark coat, and two, who would look for the little Monkey in someone else’s lap? Certainly not Sengoku, and certainly not in Law’s lap.

Suddenly, the reality of what he was seeing downed on him.

Someone had a few questions to answer.

—————

As the Polar Tang pulled up to the Thousand Sunny one sunny afternoon, Law was surprised to see another small ship already there, swaying gently in the waves next to the Straw Hats’ ship. He didn’t recognise the vessel so at first he assumed maybe Straw Hat’s brother came to visit but then he noticed the navy flag and froze.

Listening carefully, he couldn’t hear any fighting; it was completely quiet, almost eerily so. But Law couldn’t see any damage anywhere, and the navy ship seemed too small to be a threat in the first place. The more he thought about it, the stranger it all seemed. He gripped Kikoku tighter, gesturing to his crew to wait at the Tang for now before he called forth a room and teleported himself onto the Sunny.

His anxiety wasn’t eased when he opened his eyes to see absolutely no one on the ship. Looking around the deserted deck, he tried to at least find some signs to tell him what in the world had happened but there was nothing except something that looked like a half-eaten newspaper page.

He was almost starting to panic when he noticed some movement in the direction of the kitchen and when he looked, he found all the missing Straw Hats in a huddle by the door, the movement he saw apparently being Tony climbing over everyone else to get as close to the door as he could.

Law sighed, rubbing at his forehead. He swore he would murder all these people one day—if they didn’t manage to stress him out enough to kill him first.

“What the hell is going on here?” he asked when he made it up the stairs to stand behind the Straw Hats, making everyone turn around to stare at him.

“Torao, hi!” Tony whisper-shouted from where he was hanging onto Nami’s shoulder, the only one who bothered with a greeting.

A long and heavy silence filled only with the crews judgmental, accusing stares followed. Honestly, this crew was so damn lucky their doctor was so cute or he would have beheaded all of them and stuck them to the mast.

“Well?” he prompted, raising an impatient eyebrow.

Several glances were exchanged until finally, Roronoa looked at him. “We were hoping you would explain why Luffy is getting a lecture.”

Law only gave him a blank look, trying to let his silence speak for itself but before the intended effect could arrive, Usopp interrupted, “Yeah, you could have warned us. Why didn’t you tell us who your grandfather was?”

What?

“For real. I almost had a heart attack when he got on board,” Nami added with a glare at Law as if it was somehow his fault.

“Right? Between Sanji, Luffy, and Torao, I can’t tell whose family is crazier.” Usopp shook his head before continuing in a disappointed tone, “And the fact neither of them bothered to tell us is ridiculous.”

Black Leg clicked his tongue then, lightly kicking Usopp in his shin. “Don’t lump me in with them, my only family is in East Blue.”

What?

“What the fuck are you people on about? My whole family is long dead,” Law snapped, his fingers flexing threateningly as his grip on Kikoku tightened again.

A beat of silence passed. Then Robot slowly raised his hand and pointed at the kitchen with his thumb. “Explain why this guy came here demanding he talks to his ‘grandson’s super boyfriend’, then.”

“And why he then grabbed Luffy and dragged him inside to talk about you. They’ve been in there for about half an hour now. I only hope Luffy isn’t getting squeezed to death,” Nico Robin added oh-so-helpfully.

Law’s head was spinning. First a nonexistent grandfather, now he was suddenly Straw Hat’s boyfriend? Ridiculous. He might have liked being around him, maybe his heart even fluttered when Straw Hat smiled at him in that blinding way of his, and perhaps he's been letting Straw Hat touch him more than strictly necessary, possibly even holding his hand once or twice but they weren't dating. Hell, Law hadn't even confessed yet.

He shook his head to make himself focus on the matter at hand. This 'grandfather' was a more pressing matter than his unaddressed feelings. "I'm going in," he sighed, then paused, looking around the eavesdropping huddle of people. "And get the hell out of here or I'll toss you in the sea."

"Sure you will," Nami muttered with a roll of her eyes, a smirk on her lips.

Law shot her and all the other grinning idiots a glare, which finally made them all shuffle away. Law was sure they’d be back the second he closed the door behind himself, though. With a sigh, Law gripped the handle and pushed the door open.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, two people and a goat turned to look at him and Law did a double take. Straw Hat was one thing. A random, actual, live animal on board was weird, but he’d seen much weirder on this ship. The old man who was sitting opposite of Straw Hat, however, that was a completely different issue.

“What the fuck?” Law muttered, unable to say anything more coherent.

“Hello, Law,” fleet admiral Sengoku said with a nod.

“Torao!” Straw Hat greeted as well, grinning and waving at him before he pulled out the chair next to him. “Come sit, your gramps has really good rice cakes!”

Law slowly turned to stare at Straw Hat instead and, a short moment later, moved forward as if on autopilot, too stunned to do anything but comply. Only when sat down and Sengoku tilted his rice cake packet towards him did Law manage to break out of his trance. “You're not my grandfather," he blurted out, eyeing the rice cakes suspiciously.

Sengoku hummed. "Technically not but you are still Rocinante's boy so I feel responsible for you."

Law blinked; it was true Cora-san was like a father to him and Sengoku did say Cora-san was like a son to him but that seemed a little shaky a connection to warrant the old man going around claiming he was his grandfather.

"We've been chatting about you," Straw Hat said, stretching his hand out to grab a handful of the rice cakes Sengoku was still holding out, then offering a few to Law.

At that, Law finally conceded and accepted the snack. He had to admit they were pretty tasty. "What about me have you talked about?" he asked, doubtful, yet almost afraid of the answer.

Straw Hat pursed his lips and frowned, quite obviously trying to remember the actual contents of the conversation. "Just how cool your powers are and that I shouldn't break your heart or something. It's not like I'm going to do that though, why would anyone do that?"

"Break my—" Law sputtered, his eyes going wide as he stared at the pirate who seemed like he didn't understand the implications of such a statement.

"I was just making sure your boyfriend was aware of the worth certain people place on you and your devil fruit and the danger that puts you in. Also that I will feed his precious hat to Baarbara if he makes Roci cry,” Sengoku explained, pulling out a rice cake of his own.

Ignoring the use of Cora-san’s name over his own, Law took a slow, deep breath before responding curtly, “I can take care of myself—”

“That’s what I said,” Straw Hat next to him announced proudly.

Law paid him no mind, simply continuing— “and he’s not my boyfriend.” He frowned, then added one last question, “Also who the hell is Barbara?”

“Baarbara is my goat,” Sengoku said fondly as he glanced at his pet, who was by his side happily chewing on something that looked suspiciously like one of Nami’s maps—Law really hoped he was wrong about that one. “But are you sure about that?” the former fleet admiral asked with a raised eyebrow, his eyes dropping down’t Law’s body to pointedly stare somewhere just above the tabletop.

Only when he followed his gaze did Law realize the position he was in. Somewhere along the way, Straw Hat had turned to the side in his chair, putting his legs over Law’s lap and, for some reason, Law had apparently put his own hand on his knee without even noticing. It was… yeah, it felt pretty damn intimate and Law felt heat raising to his face.

Slowly, he looked up at Sengoku, who looked like he was trying very hard not to burst out laughing. Then, his gaze slid to the side to glance at Straw Hat.

The other pirate was grinning back at him, looking entirely too amused by Law’s mortification, and Law scowled. “You’re not my boyfriend,” he said quietly, sounding uncertain even to his own eyes.

“I kind of am,” Straw Hat said, his grin widening even more. “Torao, you can be so stupid sometimes.” As soon as he was finished speaking, he started laughing in that cute, contagious, absolutely maddening way of his and Law…

Law has never felt so dumb and mortified in his life.

Yet, he still couldn’t find it in himself to push Straw Hat away when he leaned forward to give Law a messy, loud kiss on the cheek. Somehow, this had turned out to be simultaneously the absolute worst and best day of Law’s life.

He was still not showing his face around the Sunny again for a while though.

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imalemonthatrants · 3 years ago

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Alien Invasion Apocalypse AU LawZo

Detailed summary fic style, because I can't write full fics without wanting to die. This one is pretty fragmented with my ideas, so it'll be choppy. I just wanted to put out my dark!Law and Zoro fic. Alien!Law and Human!Zoro

Part one, cause I didn't realize I was going to write such a long fucking world building opening. Dark Lawzo should be found in part two. I will admit, it does seem pretty zolu in this though.

Earth was invaded by aliens when Zoro was 18 and chilling at Luffy's place, a promise to the younger boy's older brothers to take care of Luffy until they came back. Not that Zoro needed to make that type of promise, as he saw the excitable, straw hat wearing boy as his own younger brother, but sometimes, it's the words being said that make his resolve that much stronger.

And his resolve to take care of Luffy and make sure he stayed safe and alive in the midst of an alien fucking apocalypse had to be strong when it came to the crazy boy.

At first, Zoro convinced Luffy to wait at home, in the throes of their city where the aliens have yet to descend to, that's protected by policemen and army men and all that jazz. It worked well for about a week before Luffy declared that they should just go to Ace and Sabo instead. Two people that were in two very different locations.

It didn't help that civilian communication lines have gone completely down, leaving them in the dark of how the two brothers were doing. And Zoro, though he KNEW that staying in a well guarded and protected place was the best course of action, was also secretly worried for the two men. Anyways, Luffy had him watching his back, and there's no way Zoro would let Luffy die in any way, shape, or form without him dying first. And he doesn't plan on dying.

So they leave. Literally having to sneak out the city turned base with a food supply that Zoro clumsily gathered and in an old beat up car. Luffy, of course the shitty brat, goes through what Zoro had thought would be a week's worth of food within a day, they're fucking lost as all hell, because the GPS obviously doesn't work, what with satellites being taken over by aliens, and neither of them really knew which way to go, and aliens could be at the next fucking exits they take, ready to kill and murder them or capture and enslave them or whatever the fuck the aliens were doing with humans. Fuck if Zoro knew at that time.

How they got from that fucked situation to it being a year later, Zoro, 19, Luffy, a young 17, and somehow, the kid is a beacon of HOPE to humanity in a world on the brink of destruction against another species far superior in all ways to humans. Through that year of struggle, as they go from city to city, war zone to war zone, trying to find Ace and Sabo, who's fled their original location as it was one of the first places to be attacked, Zoro's stuck by his promise without a hint of hesitation.

He's taken plasma bullet after plasma bullet for the younger boy. Clashed plasma swords (that he's looted or snatched off of unsuspecting aliens) against plasma swords aimed at his precious best friend's neck. He's learned to keep one eye open in the nights, as both of them slept like the dead, and grew experienced in battle, in fights against creatures physically stronger and faster than him. He's broken bone after bone, bled out pint after pint of blood, but he never hesitated to follow Luffy into battle. Doesn't hesitate to go through with Luffy's definitely-not-a-plan-but-Luffy-says-it-is plans and fully supported the straw hat wearing boy through all his choices.

But even then, Zoro knew that Luffy was wearing down. Through their travels, they've met people after people, saved hundreds and lost handfuls, and all of them grew to rely on the never faltering smile that was etched onto Luffy's face. But Zoro knew Luffy, and despite the insanity and seemingly unstoppable force that the boy portrayed, Luffy was still that.

A young boy.

And the fact that they've yet to see or hear about his older brothers were beginning to weigh on the boy. It's there, lingering in Luffy's eyes, when he's staring up at the skies, away from prying eyes. Luffy, no matter how naive he acted or seemed, knew what he meant to their current growing army. He was their source of strength, their rock, the anchor to weigh them on rocky ocean waves, and him showing weakness would only incite fear and incertainty.

One night, long after a wild party thrown for another close victory in a skirmish against the aliens, Luffy had shuffled over to his side. ("Zoro, let's have a sleepover!" Luffy said with his usual odd laugh. It's not much a sleepover, considering they've been sleeping next to each other for the past year, but Zoro lets the younger boy call it that.) Even though there was plenty of room to camp out in the worn and battered building, Luffy had slid his bedroll next to Zoro's, connecting the two with the zippers and slipping in to curl next to him.

Surprisingly, Luffy doesn't chatter away like he always did until he fell asleep. The boy doesn't fall asleep, either. Zoro knew Luffy wasn't asleep because they've slept next to each more times within the past year than they had in the other remaining 10 years that he's known the kid. He's stayed awake from the pain of his injuries, listening to his very much alive and mostly unharmed best friend breath in and out, a snore often times breaking the rhythm, and occasionally, some sleep talk.

So it doesn't surprise him when he felt Luffy's fingers grip onto his tattered shirt, head bowed against his back.

"...Do you think Ace and Sabo are alive?" Luffy asked quietly, then and there, his voice so weak, so fearful, that Zoro could be told it was someone else other than Luffy, and he'd probably believe them.

But Zoro knew that this was Luffy. And if he were to be honest, he would tell the boy that he didn't know, that with how the world was currently there was a high chance that they weren't. But he doesn't. Instead, he told him,

"Of course."

Because who was Luffy to rely on if not for him, the boy's best friend and the one who's followed him throughout this entire journey through a time of chaos and danger.

Luffy chuckled into his shirt, grip relaxing, the tension leaving his body.

"If Zoro says so, then it has to be true." Luffy said sleepily, his voice so calm and serene that Zoro doesn't regret lying. "Zoro never lies to me."

Even with those words slipping out of the boy's lips as he went to sleep, Zoro does not regret. Instead, he simply believed in his own words, silently reminding himself of a promise to two men and pressing himself back against the younger boy as he fell into a light sleep.

It was weeks later, when their close victories were slowly becoming closer and closer to losses. Not quite losses, as at the end of the battles, it is they that come out on top, the aliens forced to retreat back instead of scouring the area for stragglers to kill or enslave. But the increasing number of casualties, the way the aliens were beginning to become stronger and more powerful than before, now with unique abilities that Zoro had believed only to have existed in fiction, and the way Luffy was beginning to exit battle more and more battered, as Zoro is unable to defend the boy's back as much due to the increasingly difficult opponents, told a different story.

Then it finally happened. The end of yet another close battle, Luffy, weak and wobbly, perhaps from lost of blood and blows to the head. A falling water tower loosened by the battle around them. Zoro doesn't hesitate, as always. Doesn't hesitate to rush over, forcing his battered and destroyed body over to knock the boy out of the way pounds of falling steel.

A broken corner of a steel plate jammed into his body, knocking him down to his back. He's clumsily trying to resist the weight of gravity and steel with his arms, trying to stop the mess from completely cutting him in two and he could feel muscles and tendons and ligaments snapping, bones succumbing to a weight that his battered body could not longer support. Vaguely, he could feel support pipes stabbing through him like a pin cushion in his stomach and his thighs and something crushing parts of his ankles, guaranteeing that he would not walk out of this alive.

There's water, too. Dripping onto his face, but Zoro wondered if it was sweat or blood, and knew for a fact that the warm liquid he felt pooling under him was his own blood.

When everything finally settled, when the fog of exhaustion clears a little to every single bit of his body screaming of pain, he made of Luffy's voice. Shrill, distressed. He could hear the boy banging at the steel that's piled on top of him, could feel parts shifting, making him wanting to scream as metal dug deeper into his body with every movement.

"ZORO." He could hear Luffy scream. The boy repeated it over and over, and Zoro gritted his teeth, because moments before this, he saw the telltale signs of reinforcements coming in. Enemy reinforcements.

"Luffy." Zoro forced out, his voice more steady than he had expected.

"Zoro, you're okay!" Luffy replied back. "You're okay. I'm going to get you out of this." And Zoro gritted his teeth at the relief in the boy's voice, glad that the other cannot see the state his body was in.

"No, Luf." Zoro said. "You have to go."

"...What?" Luffy said, small and frightened.

"Luffy, you have to get away." Zoro repeated.

"No!" He could hear the boy scream, anger and desperation in his voice. "No! I'm not leaving you here! I can get you out!" The metal moved some more and Zoro held back his scream, even as tears pricked at his eyes, blurring his vision more than it already was.

"Luffy." Zoro choked out. "There are more coming. I saw them."

"It's fine! I can beat them." Luffy shouted. "I can get you out of this!" The metal shuffled more violently, stars dancing in Zoro's vision.

"Luffy, no." He gasped out. "You can't stay. Everyone needs you, Luf. You need to get them out of here."

And this paused Luffy. Zoro knew it would, because he knew Luffy felt responsible for the lives standing behind him. A responsibility Zoro never wanted to use against the young boy. But he had to, to get Luffy to live.

"...I can't leave you here." He heard Luffy whisper. And Zoro squeezed his eyes shut, guilt hurting him far more than the physical injuries that he had.

"I can get out of here on my own." Zoro lied.

"You're lying." Luffy said, his voice shaking. Zoro forced out a laugh.

"When have I ever lied to you?" Zoro said. Luffy doesn't respond, and Zoro pushed once more.

"Just go on ahead, I'll be right behind you."

"...You promise?" Luffy asked, voice as small and weak as the night of their sleepover many nights ago.

"Yes." Zoro said, without hesitation. "I promise."

There was the sound of shuffling, but to Zoro's luck, no shifting of the metal.

"You promised, Zoro." Luffy said, his voice low. "So I better see you again." And then there's the sound of Luffy's footsteps as it grew quieter and quieter as the boy went further and further away.

No doubt, Luffy would try to come back with others, but Zoro is also damn sure that they'll stop Luffy from doing so, because they've probably seen the signs of reinforcements coming in as well.

And because Zoro promised Luffy, he truly did try to escape his steel cage. He forced the snapped muscles and crushed bones of his arms to uselessly push at the steel plate stuck jabbed into his body. Even as it caused the feeling of blood to pool more and more underneath him. Even as his vision goes black for brief moments from the pain. Because as long as he was still breathing, he had to try.

He doesn't know long he had left. Doesn't know how long it'll be for the alien reinforcement to arrive and cut out his possible escape, despite his inability to move anything. He does know when they arrive, though, because he could feel the strange pressure the stronger ones emitted, oddly enough, gathering around him. There's the faint murmur of alien language, that's mostly drowned out of the sound of his own gasping breaths, as he felt his body slowly give up despite his urging not to. And that's all he remembered as he felt the spike of the deadly pressure sending him into what he thought would be eternal darkness.

Zoro doesn't expect to wake up, later on, well and alive, chained naked onto a cold, steel table. Nor the inhuman golden eyes staring coldly at him as he awoke.

"For a human," the alien said, shocking Zoro as he never expected them to speak their language, "you're rather durable." The humanoid creature walked over to him, a needle filled with an unknown substance in their claws. "Perhaps my efforts in keeping you alive will reward me with a subject that won't die within minutes."

#lawzo #roronoa zoro #writing blurb #fanfic #but not really #i cant write full fanfics cause my brain dies in the detailing process

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cienie-isengardu · 4 years ago

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Luffy and Zoro, equality presented by Wano Arc...?

The feeling of equality between Luffy & Zoro has been sitting on my mind a lot lately, so I finally decided to write down my chaotic thoughts on that matter.

First, to be precise: I’m not talking about power levels between Straw Hats because One Piece proved on many occasions that power alone is not a good measure how one character will fare in a fight or that beating X does not automatically guarantee beating Y. In Thriller Bark Perona took down Luffy, Sanji, Zoro and Franky without a problem, but lost to Usopp out of all people. At the same time, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji will always be the main fighters of Straw Hats no matter the gap of power between them. Everyone is powerful on their own, but they may fare better in different fighting settings. I personally tend to think that Luffy and Zoro are closer to each other in terms of power, raw strength and will, but this is not exactly the matter of equality I wish to talk about. What I wish to talk about is how the Wano arc set Luffy and Zoro apart from the rest of the crew in a more tangible (visual) way.

Even before Wano Arc, Luffy and Zoro were singled out by narrative on various occasions. The most memorable is: the first meeting with Shichibukai (and Mihawk acknowledging them both), taking a beating in Mock Town to Nami’s dismay and Bellamy Pirates’ amusement, earning the title of Supernova and with that becoming part of the Worst Generation, independently attacking Charlos/Tenryūbito (though sadly, Zoro was stopped by Bonney) or killing together a dragon on Punk Hazard. In all cases, Luffy and Zoro were set apart from the rest of the crew and even other pirates, sharing unspoken understanding of other actions and needs or becoming a part of something bigger and more dangerous.

Luffy will always be the captain (leader) and as the main character, the hero saving the day at the end of the arc. At the same time, Zoro may never be officially called the vice captain by other crew members (which is fair, Straw Hats Pirates don’t care nor have any need for ranks) but narrative puts him as the protector of crew (i.e. Kuma), the leader in the absence of Luffy what consistently is marked by narrative boxes (i.e. “Zoro team”,”Zoro side”) and the layout of frames (Zoro taking the central position that normally belongs to Luffy) or even having some confrontation with the final boss (Arlong, Hody). Zoro is also treated like the voice of reason; even if his words are harsh and emotionless, he will speak what must be said for the Luffy and crew’s sake (Alabasta, Davy Back Fight Arc, Water 7, Enies Lobby, Zou). He is also the one that provides Luffy comfort and support in dire situations (Usopp leaving the crew).

Luffy cares equally about his nakama, yet the narrative likes to single out Zoro as someone usually standing by him but also as someone taking Luffy’s position of captain very seriously. Further details adding to the feeling of equality set up by narrative include the visuality of their most notable scars (under left eye/left eye and middle of chest), the running joke of people mistaking Zoro for an actual captain of Straw Hats Pirates or acknowledging him as a dangerous “beast”, Luffy and Zoro’s very similar mindset and attitude towards fighting powerful enemies and all the parallels in which both captain and first mate* did the same things on various points in the manga or color spreads/covers (x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x).

In general, the story established how despite their different nature of extrovert and introvert, Luffy and Zoro are similar when it comes to the serious and trivial matters about whose I could talk for days. What is vital though, for years such treatment of Zoro created the feeling of equality between him and Luffy. Not in the power sense per se because narrative has never been objective about that, but how they progress from rookies to men getting closer and closer to fulfilling their dreams.

And now the Wano Arc seems to single them out in ever more visible ways.

For one, anime dropped the individual eye catchers for the whole crew, except for Luffy and Zoro. At the end of each, all Straw Hats are showed standing together:

In both cases, Zoro is on Luffy’s right and both carry similar looking katanas: Kitetsu II and Sandal Kitetsu III. The swords may have different colors, but their tsuba have the same patterns, which double the feeling of equality between those two.

Manga provides similar moments, starting with chapter 912

and cover of volume 91 (which was used for Luffy’s eye catcher apparently) and inside illustration included in volume 92

Then from all the crew, only Luffy and Zoro were pretending to be ronin (the masterless samurai), seen in box info

while the rest Straw Hats played the role of ninja (Chopper), kunoichi (Nami), ghost (Brook), geisha (Robin), toad oil salesman (Usopp), carpenter (Franky) and soba cook (Sanji). Even Law, another Supernova and equal to Luffy, hid his identity pretending to be some sort of wandering monk. And thinking logically, Law would be better ronin because unlike Luffy, he knows how to use sword in fight.

Another visually prominent detail - Zoro and Luffy are the only one Straw Hats who have kimonos with ornaments resembling the sun that may be a symbol of the coming dawn, foretold by Lady Toki. A dawn that will end Kaido and Orochi’s reign on Wano.

Luffy’s ornament is straight taken from the crest of the Kozuki clan (and resembling the symbol Alabasta Kingdom). I have much more to tell about Zoro’s design but that will need wait for another time. For now, though it looks much sharper is no less reminiscent of the same solar symbol. Adding to the sign their status of ronin and we may call Luffy and Zoro, figuratively speaking, the samurai bringing sun (hope, new era, peace) to a country plunged in darkness, most likely in nearest future fulfilling late Kozuki Oden’s desire to defeat Kaido and open Wano to world.

Of course, all Straw Hats, Heart Pirates, Minks and people of Wano are working together to defeat Kaido but Luffy and Zoro were visually set apart from everyone from the beginning of the arc. There is also their personal, strong connection to Oden’s children: Momonosuke and Hiyori who both were very impressed and protected by Luffy (Momonsuke) and Zoro (Hiyori).

Another detail binding Luffy and Zoro more to Oden and setting them apart from the rest of characters are new things they have acquired through the course of the arc. Namely, the better understanding & advanced techniques of Busoshoku Haki (Luffy) and late Oden’s great sword Enma (Zoro). Both things are capable of hurting Kaido.

Usually, during the arc, Luffy gets separated from the crew for the longest part of the story. And indeed, he gets struck first in prison (where he managed to win over imprisoned there samurais) and now, during battle, is running to face Kaido escorted only by Jimbei and Sanji (who wandered away in chapter 997). Surprisingly, Zoro too was separated by quite a long period of time, in which he met and befriended Yasue, Hiyori and Toko before he rejoined the crew for the final battle. Luffy and Zoro are the Straw Hats that openly admit they want to face Kaido in fight.

Another detail setting them apart from the rest of the crew: interacting with (and in case of Zoro, beating down) other Supernovas. They met Hawkins at the beginning of arc and fought him (Sanji too, met Hawkins and Drake once in public baths but ran away, securing Nami, Robin and Shinobi well being), then Killer and Kid before and during battle, Apoo and Drake which whom they had small crash, but now Drake were working with Roronoa against Apoo. Ironically, Drake is a friend with Coby who is a friend of both Luffy and Zoro. Coby literally met those two before Nami debuted. Also, the Supernovas allied with Luffy are learning in hard way that dealing with Zoro is not less stressing that working with Luffy.

How the Wano arc will turn out will show the upcoming chapters, for now though, not only Straw Hat has a strong connection to people of this land. For one, there is Tama, that both Luffy and Zoro came to like very much and literally started wreaking havoc in enemy territory because of her. Twice. Then there is mentioned connection to Oden - symbolic samurais of dawn and carrying Momonosuke and Hiyori’s wish to defeat Kaido and save the country but also Zoro’s personal connection to Shimotsuki clan that was hinted time after time and briefly explained in SBS that may or may not play bigger role, especially since Shimotsuki clan support Kozuki family. Which only adds to the whole connection between Luffy and Zoro and (good) people of Wano.

I feel like Wano arc was set up to establish the equality of Luffy and Zoro, not in the power sense that so many fans love to argue about, but as the relationship between them. Not just as captain and (powerful) subordinate but more like partners, the way Roger and Rayleigh or Kid and Killer are seen. The manga put a lot effort in creating parallels and the visual similarity between those two characters to dismiss the potential hints of Luffy and Zoro slowly falling apart from the crew in the sense of the role they will play in this and maybe future arcs.

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purplehairedwonder · 4 years ago

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Hearts With(out) Chains Chapter 15

Fandom: One Piece Rating: PG-13 Pairings: Gen (eventual Lawlu) Words: 4,006 Characters: Trafalgar Law, Bepo, Shachi, Penguin, Ikkaku, Jean Bart, Clione, Monkey D. Luffy Notes: I’m taking my turn at the Corazon!Law AU because my brain won’t leave me alone until this is written down. Tags will be updated as the chapters come out.

Summary: Law is reclaimed by the Family when he's 17 and, with Doflamingo holding the lives of his crew as collateral for his good behavior, eventually becomes the third Corazon. Years later, trapped by his impossible situation, Law finds a strange connection to Monkey D. Luffy, which offers a glimpse of something he's repeatedly had ripped away from him: hope.

Previous chapters: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

Read also at AO3 / FF.N

Bepo started when the door at the top of the dungeon stairs banged open and was followed by an ugly thumping sound that made his ears twitch. After a moment, he placed the sound as that of a body being dragged down the stairs. His eyes widened in alarm. Had one of the others been caught?

Or—

“What—” Penguin started from the cell next to Bepo, but he fell silent just as Bepo’s stomach dropped.

A familiar pair of spotted jeans was dragged past Bepo’s cell door and into the cell across from his and next to Shachi’s. The dungeon was dimly lit by torches, and even Bepo’s mink vision couldn’t make out much as Trebol and Diamante dragged a limp form into the cell. There was a rattling of shackles before the two executives exited the cell with some choice words for the prisoner before slamming the door shut. They thumped up the stairs, and, a few moments later, the door banged shut. The dungeon was quiet once again.

Bepo could hear a light rustling coming from the newly occupied cell, so he called hesitantly, “Captain?”

“Bepo,” Law’s familiar voice rasped out after a painfully long moment.

Bepo swallowed, relief at war with worry in his chest. The last he’d heard from Law was two days earlier when he’d called in from his mission with a warning that Vergo had followed him. The crew had gone into high alert, but there had been no further news from their captain. They’d all heard he’d returned to Dressrosa earlier today—and Bepo had been admittedly disappointed Law hadn’t immediately come to see them, though he had been relieved to find the note Law had left on his desk—but all the Hearts had known was that Law was in some kind of trouble, which, by extension, put them in danger. They’d expected to find out what was going on when Law came to see them after dinner, but that was before…

Bepo swallowed, cutting off his own thought and turning his attention back to Law.

“Are you okay, Captain?” he asked. If Law was being forcibly dragged into the dungeon, he must have been overcome by Trebol and Diamante—and was now undoubtedly shackled with Seastone, considering the danger his Fruit posed.

“I’m…” Law started but trailed off as though he didn’t quite know how to respond. After a moment, Bepo heard him clear his throat before asking, “What happened?”

“Shouldn’t we be asking you that, Captain?”

“Penguin,” Law breathed worriedly. “Who else is in here?”

“Me.”

“Shachi. Anyone else?”

“We were the only ones captured,” Bepo said.

A brief hesitation then, “Where is everyone else?”

“Escaped,” Shachi said.

Law let out a relieved breath as Bepo belatedly realized Law had probably taken his words to mean the others had been killed. He tamped down on the urge to apologize, instead rubbing his face through his paws in embarrassment, glad none of his lesser mink friends could see him in the dimness.

“What’s going on, Law?” Penguin pressed. “We haven’t heard from you since you called Bepo, and then we’re being thrown in the dungeon.”

Law’s cell was silent for several moments, and Bepo wished he could make out more than the outline of Law’s shape across from him. Finally, Law said, “I’ll tell you everything. Just… First, I need to know. What happened here?”

He sounded more tired than Bepo had heard him in a long time, and it was that, more than anything, that caused Bepo to take pity on his best friend. “After reading your note, I got word to the others to meet up after dinner,” he explained. “We were gathering in the common area when…” Bepo swallowed.

“Pica and Machvise showed up,” Penguin picked up as Bepo faltered. Law cursed quietly. “They said Doflamingo wanted to see us.”

“After your call, we knew something was up,” Shachi added. “Other executives don’t just come to our wing of the palace.”

“So, we told them his royal featherness could come to us,” Penguin said, the smirk evident in his voice.

“They didn’t like that,” Shachi added.

“Idiots,” Law said, fond despite himself.

“They attacked then,” Bepo said, remembering the uncanny feeling of the world shaking as Pica had merged with the walls. It had reminded him of Zunesha’s daily showers for the briefest of moments before it had turned into a horror show. “Penguin, Shachi, and I tried to hold them off while the others got away.”

“Jean Bart wanted to stay behind,” Shachi said. “But we told him to take the others and get out.”

“We fought them off as long as we could,” Bepo said quietly, grimacing as he shifted. Even with his fortified mink body, he was still sporting bruises and probably some cracked ribs. Shachi and Penguin weren’t any better, fragile humans that they were.

They’d fought with everything they had—which was quite a bit, since, as the crew of Doflamingo’s second, there were high expectations of their capabilities—but none of them were Devil Fruit users, so they’d been taken down eventually. Neither Pica nor Machvise had been particularly gentle with their capture and imprisonment.

Bepo still hoped they’d done their captain proud.

“They must have all gotten out because we haven’t seen anyone but you,” Penguin said. “Hopefully, they’ve gone to ground.”

Doflamingo had eyes all over the city, but the Hearts had been in Dressrosa long enough to know it like the back of their own hands—or paws—in their own right; they’d made connections and were owed favors they could now call in.

“Good.”

“So, are you going to tell us what happened out there?” Shachi asked when it was clear Law wasn’t going to say anything else.

“Okay,” Law said at length. His shackles clanked as he shifted, and he let out a breath. “Doflamingo sent me to Punk Hazard to take out some intruders. It should have been a quick in and out.”

Bepo remembered meeting Law at the palace gates before he’d left, Law deflecting their attempts at joining him by claiming the mission was easy—the type he’d done countless times before with no complication. Briefly, Bepo felt a wave of frustration flow under his skin; if Law had taken them with him on this mission, maybe whatever had happened with Vergo wouldn’t have. They could have helped.

But that surge was as gone as quickly as it had arrived. What good did it do to worry about the past now? Plus, Law was opening up to them again, something he hadn’t done in two years.

“What went wrong?” Shachi asked quietly.

Law snorted, a hollow sound that made Bepo’s hackles raise. “Everything.”

“Captain?” Bepo prompted when Law fell silent once more. Law got like this sometimes, stuck in his own head as he turned his thoughts over endlessly, creating a spiral it sometimes took days to pull him from.

“There were two groups of intruders,” Law finally said. “Smoker was leading a group of hapless Marines from G-5.”

“And the other group?” Penguin asked. They all knew a group of Marines, even led by a vice admiral like Smoker, shouldn’t pose much of a threat to Law.

“Straw Hat-ya and his merry band of misfits.”

Bepo’s eyes widened. The Straw Hats were active again? And Law had been sent to kill the very person he’d risked everything to save two years earlier?

Of course he had. That was absolutely something Doflamingo would revel in. Law had taken a major risk by defying Doflamingo when he’d saved Straw Hat Luffy, and Shachi had lost his arm in the aftermath, causing Law to shut down completely in his guilt. Doflamingo would love pushing Law to see how he’d react to such an order after everything he and the Hearts had sacrificed in the wake of Marineford. The idea of rendering those sacrifices moot would amuse the bastard to no end. And to erase the living reminder of Law’s rebellion would only further cement his hold over his second.

If Law had gone through with it, Bepo could only wonder at what version of his friend would have returned from Punk Hazard.

“Captain,” Bepo said, nearly whining in a show of sympathy. He wished he could see his friend’s face, could offer more than just words of comfort.

With a heavy exhale, Law told them about fighting but losing when Smoker and the Straw Hats joined forces and being taken captive by the Straw Hats. Something warmed in Bepo’s chest as Law haltingly, disbelievingly, described Luffy’s unwavering determination that Law was a good person for no other reason than he felt it.

Something Law hadn’t understood had pushed him to save the boy that day—something Bepo, as a mink, considered a sign from the Earth herself, though he knew Law, man of science that he was, didn’t agree—and perhaps Luffy was similarly driven toward their captain. Bepo knew what it felt like to be drawn to Law, so nothing about the situation surprised him.

There were things even science couldn’t explain, after all.

That warmth in Bepo’s chest turned cold as Law described Vergo’s arrival on the Straw Hats’ ship with a fake accusation of Law’s treachery. So, that was what Law had meant by Vergo turning on him.

“What?!” Penguin demanded as Law continued speaking about the Straw Hats, clearly unable to believe what he’d just heard.

Law sighed and repeated himself. “We agreed to work together.”

“Like an alliance?” Shachi asked, tone rising slightly in disbelief. Bepo couldn’t blame him; Law didn’t typically play well with others, especially in his position as Corazon.

“I suppose,” Law allowed. Bepo knew by the tone of his voice that, had his hands been free, Law would have scrubbed a hand over his face—a frustrated gesture Bepo had seen countless times over the years. “I didn’t have much choice in the moment but to accept the help.”

“But Captain,” Bepo interrupted, “that’s great!”

After Law had saved Straw Hat Luffy for no other reason than a feeling, Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin had done some digging into the Straw Hat pirates and been astonished by the string of miracles they’d left in their wake, from Alabasta to Enies Lobby. If there was anyone the Hearts could want on their side in a confrontation with Doflamingo, it was a crew like that.

“Great?” Penguin echoed.

“It means we aren’t alone,” Bepo said, hope rising in his chest.

After Law had called with his warning about Vergo, Bepo couldn’t help but run the worst-case scenarios over and over in his mind, with Law not returning from his mission at the forefront. But when his captain had returned, those scenarios had turned into the crew facing Doflamingo’s wrath alone, perhaps even being forced to hurt and kill one another. Those scenarios had not seemed far-fetched once Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin had been locked in irons and thrown into separate cells in the dungeon. And when Law himself had arrived as a captive…

Well, having allies seemed a lot better than the alternative.

“What happened with Vergo?” Shachi asked, interrupting Bepo’s reverie.

“He’s dead,” Law said flatly.

“Good,” Bepo said without thinking.

“Bepo?”

Bepo pulled at his snout, a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

Penguin snorted. “No, you’re not.”

Bepo blushed. “No, I’m not. It’s good that he’s dead,” he said firmly.

“He was a bastard,” Shachi agreed.

“Fuck that guy,” Penguin added.

Law huffed tiredly. It was small, but Bepo had heard enough of Law’s laughs over the years to know it was genuine. “Right. But he was always Doffy’s favorite.”

“Ah hell,” Shachi muttered.

“Exactly. And Doffy has more spies than just Vergo in the Marines, so at some point today he heard that Vergo was dead and Caesar-ya and Monet were arrested.”

“And that’s when…” Penguin said, trailing off as if he lacked an adequate way to refer to everything happening now.

Law grunted in response.

“Where are the Straw Hats now?” Bepo asked after a moment. Would it be possible for their free crewmates to find their allies and get their help?

“They should be on the Tang,” Law said, his tone implying that where the Straw Hats should be was not necessarily the same as where they actually were. “Waiting for me to check in.” (The irony, of course, was that Law currently wasn’t where he was supposed to be, though Bepo doubted his friend would appreciate him mentioning it, so he just suppressed a laugh.)

“Which you obviously can’t do from the dungeon,” Shachi noted.

“Indeed.”

-----

Ikkaku glanced at Jean Bart and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Jean Bart peered out of the window into the quiet night, clearly looking for any sign of pursuit, before turning back to Ikkaku and Clione. He nodded but put a finger to his lips. The streets might appear quiet, but that did not mean Doflamingo’s spies weren’t still looking for them. Ikkaku and Clione nodded.

Ikkaku turned back toward the storage room, where their hosts were watching them. Mateo, the shopkeeper, and his wife, Isabella, stood in the doorway. She approached them.

“We’ll be leaving now,” Ikkaku whispered, voice only loud enough to carry to them. “Thank you for hiding us.”

“Gladly, Miss Ikkaku. We are forever in your debt,” Mateo replied, voice equally quiet. The citizens of Dressrosa knew full well some walls had ears, after all.

After they’d fled the palace—Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin stupidly (bravely) staying behind to give them a chance—the Hearts had split into smaller groups before going to ground. When considering where to take cover, Ikkaku had decided to call in a favor owed to her by Mateo and Isabella, the owners of a textile shop.

Three years earlier, Ikkaku, who had been on a routine patrol around the city with Iruka, had found their toddler son, Alexander, wandering around the streets, lost and crying. Apparently, there had been a break-in at their shop, and his parents had been seriously injured. The boy had run off during the attack in fear. Ikkaku and Iruka had managed to make enough sense of the boy’s sob-stricken words to wind their way back to the shop, where they found his parents. Using medical care they’d learned from Law, they were able to stabilize them before summoning proper medics, who took them to the hospital.

Meanwhile, they’d gathered the Hearts to investigate, asking questions around the city until they found out who had attacked the shop and bringing them to justice—or Dressrosa’s version of justice, anyway; all three attackers would face the colosseum. Ikkaku had visited Mateo and Isabella in the hospital to tell them the news, and they had claimed they were in Ikkaku and her crew’s debt. Though Ikkaku had waved the debt off then, she took advantage of it now.

She, Jean Bart, and Clione had hid in their storeroom until night had fallen. Once the store closed, they gladly accepted food from Isabella and waited, plotting their next move. They’d decided that in the early hours of the morning, they would head for the Polar Tang when the watch was likely to be paying the least amount of attention. On the Tang, they could wait for the others and figure out what to do now that they were apparently wanted by the king.

That was something else they needed to figure out—what had happened with Law’s mission to cause this? Why were the Hearts—and presumably their captain—public enemy number one?

One problem at a time, Ikkaku reminded herself.

“Stay safe,” she told the shopkeepers.

“We have no worries,” Isabella replied. “After all, we haven’t seen any criminals tonight.” She turned back to the storeroom and grabbed some dark cloth. “Cloaks,” she said, offering them to Ikkaku.

Ikkaku gratefully accepted the proffered items—they’d been wearing light-colored clothing when they’d fled—and saluted before turning back to her crewmates. “Let’s go.”

The trio donned the cloaks then carefully exited the shop and, staying in the shadows, made for the harbor. Jean Bart took point, leaving Ikkaku and Clione in his shadow. As they moved through the quiet streets, the city’s clock rang out two o’clock. The bars would be closing, so they would need to keep an eye out for late-night patrons who might recognize them. There would also be parties going on for hours more in some areas of the city, but they avoided the more populous parts of the city.

As they approached the harbor entrance, Jean Bart paused, raising a hand in warning. Ikkaku and Clione came to a halt just behind him. The larger man nodded toward the watchtower. There was a single light in the small room at the top, meaning there was at least one guard watching over the harbor, as expected.

Ikkaku pointed to herself. She was the smallest so would be the quietest. Clione raised an eyebrow—Are you sure?—and Ikkaku nodded. Jean Bart and Clione stepped aside, and Ikkaku slid past them. She hadn’t been a fighter when she joined Law’s crew, but she was a quick study, and in the intervening years, she liked to think she’d picked up enough to hold her own against any of the others—except her captain, not that she’d admit it to his face. They hadn’t had a chance to grab any weapons when they’d fled from Pica and Machvise back at the palace, but Ikkaku didn’t need her staff to take on some low-level harbor guards.

Light on her feet, she soundlessly climbed the stairs that rounded the watchtower before coming to a stop just outside the door. It was cracked open, and inside, she could see two figures sitting at a table. They seemed to be playing cards. Assessing the situation quickly, Ikkaku knocked on the door then pressed her back against the wall and melted back into the shadows. A moment later, the door opened all the way and a head stuck out of the doorway.

“Hello?” the guard asked, looking around in confusion.

Ikkaku inched further back into the darkness, and the guard stepped out into the night. Ikkaku knocked lightly against the wall behind her, drawing the guard’s attention in her direction, though he couldn’t see her.

“Who’s there?”

The guard stepped toward the noise, and once he was out of sight of the doorway, Ikkaku struck—an elbow to the solar plexus had the man doubled over before he knew what hit him. She swept a foot at his ankles, knocking him off balance, then struck him in the back of the head twice more, once with her elbow and once with her balled hands. He went down in a heap, never making a sound other than a surprised gasp at the first strike.

Ikkaku then turned and rounded the tower, coming to a stop on the other side of the doorway, fading back into the darkness as she waited for the other guard to appear.

“Jax?” the other guard called, stepping out of the doorway after several moments. “What the hell?” he yelped when he saw his fallen friend. He hurried over to the other guard’s side and knelt next to him.

Ikkaku crept up behind him and took him out with two quick blows as he checked his companion’s vitals. She then pulled the limp forms into the watchtower (fine, she could have used Jean Bart or Clione for this part) and shoved them in the small closet, blocking the door handle with a chair.

Satisfied, Ikkaku headed back down the stairs to her crewmates.

“Well?” Clione asked quietly as she sauntered up.

Ikkaku put a hand to her breast. “I’m wounded you’d even ask me that.”

Clione snorted, and Jean Bart shook his head fondly before leading them toward the Polar Tang. Jean Bart kept an eye out as Ikkaku and Clione boarded the Tang before following them up the ladder and across the deck.

“Wait,” Jean Bart said as Clione reached for the door handle.

“What?” Clione asked.

“It sounds like someone is inside.”

“Doflamingo’s?” Clione asked, tensing.

“Or nakama?” Ikkaku suggested. Though there hadn’t been time to set a rendezvous point when they’d run, it would make sense for the crew to meet at the ship.

But the Family would know that as well.

“Only one way to find out,” Jean Bart said, sliding past Clione to take point once more. He opened the door lightly and moved inside with a quietness that belied his size. Clione nodded for Ikkaku to go next, and he followed her inside, lightly shutting the door behind them.

Now that they were inside, Ikkaku could hear the unfamiliar sounds—footsteps, metal clanking, voices she didn’t recognize. Definitely not nakama then. Ikkaku swallowed. Dressrosans, even criminals, would know better than to mess with Corazon’s ship, so it had to be the Family.

“Should we get out?” Clione asked quietly, clearly thinking the same thing.

Ikkaku shook her head. “The Tang is ours,” she said fiercely, a rush of anger flooding through her at the thought. The Tang had brought her from her old, shitty life to the Hearts. It wasn’t a perfect life, but it was hers—the people in it were hers—and that was what mattered. “We can’t let them have her too.”

Jean Bart and Clione nodded in response; they understood exactly how she felt.

“So, what do we do?” Clione whispered.

“The noises seem to be coming from the mess,” Jean Bart replied, considering.

The mess had two doors, plus access to the kitchen, and the kitchen had a separate door of its own. That was three doors for three pirates.

“Split up?” she asked. “One of us for each door?”

“Is that a good idea?” Clione replied, looking between her and Jean Bart. Depending on which Family members were in there, spreading their fighting power out might be a big mistake. But at the same time…

“If we leave any doors uncovered, someone could get out and report our location back to the palace,” Jean Bart said. “Ikkaku’s right. We need to block all the exits.”

Clione chewed on his lip for a moment before nodding. “We can’t go in unarmed, though.”

Ikkaku nodded. Taking out two harbor guards barehanded one thing; fighting Donquixote Pirates was another. “Training room?”

Clione nodded. “I’ll go.”’

He disappeared back into the hallways toward the small training room that should have some weapons in storage. The Hearts usually took their favored weapons with them when they returned from missions, but they had additional arms on the ship. Ikkaku and Jean Bart waited, keeping an ear on the voices they didn’t recognize coming from the heart of their ship. The longer she waited, the angrier Ikkaku got at the invasion of her home—of her namaka’s home.

Clione eventually returned, a blade in hand. He handed a set of brass knuckles to Jean Bart and a bo staff to Ikkaku. Ikkaku immediately felt better, more able to defend the Tang, with the familiar weight of the staff in her hands.

“I’ll take the kitchen,” Clione murmured.

“I’ll take the back mess door,” Ikkaku said.

Jean Bart nodded. That left the front mess door for him. “I’ll give you five minutes to get into place. Then we go in together.”

Clione and Ikkaku nodded and turned in opposite directions, heading for their respective doors. Ikkaku found her place by the back door within three minutes, leaving two minutes to wait for Jean Bart’s signal. She could feel her heartrate speeding up as she thought about the impending fight. She took a few calming breaths. This was her home. This was her nakama’s home. She would fight for her home and her nakama.

She was in the middle of a steady exhale when the door in front of her slammed open. She yelped in surprise.

“Sanji, more mea— Huh?”

Ikkaku gaped as she came face to face with Straw Hat Luffy.

#Oh look an update #Trafalgar Law #Heart Pirates #One Piece fanfiction #One Piece fanfic #Caitlin's fic

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danwhobrowses · 4 years ago

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One Piece Chapter 999 - Initial Thoughts

One to go We are within breathing distance of Chapter 1000, but we still have 999 to sate us The tower climb continues as down in the basement Yamato mentions Ace, implying a flashback too

so let’s get into it

Spoilers below for the chapter, Support the Official Release Too!

As the color spread combines with 1000, I won’t talk much about it, but it does look like it’s an updated homage to Chapter 100′s color spread

We start immediately into an Ace vs Yamato flashback

It kinda surprises me how much hassle Yamato is having with Ace, I mean we knew Ace was strong but he was only 550 million, which isn’t that big in the new world

Not ‘daughter’ guys, ‘son’ - also WHERE TF IS MASKED DEUCE!?

Kaido not being around does explain a few things though; Ace would’ve never ran away from a fight - this much we painfully know - and at the very least they got to free some abducted children

It is cool that Ace and Yamato found some common ground over the fact that they hate their bio fathers, though it is more tragic that Ace hates Roger who wanted nothing but love for him compared to Yamato hating Kaido because he’s abusive, negligent and a horrible creature

Turns out that Yamato broke the dragon statue first, using it as a gesture to declare his intention to go out to sea. It kinda reminded me to when Calgara killed the snake in front of Noland

The ace has to get a punch in while it’s down XD friendship is sealed at least

HAHAHA Cavendish losing all the respect, at least Ace remembers half his name XD

Yamato’s face though hearing about the budding supernovas is precious

I guess Ace’s drink of choice has been the ‘Gush about Luffy’ Juice, order 10 more! It’s wonderful how much Ace is talking up Luffy to the oblivious Yamato, even with that evil grin

Seems that Ace made 2 promises in Wano he couldn’t keep :/ if only he didn’t let Akainu get to him...

Momo and Shinobu do catch on that Yamato said ‘Father’ though, and from that they completely lose it. But like, come on, random allies in the den of Kaido are likely to come from Kaido’s ranks

Shinobu though just rolling away XD Yamato took cannonfire for you I think you’re good

I can’t seem to grasp who’s surprised about Ace’s death, either Yamato is responding to the question or Momo/Shinobu are pointing out that Ace has been dead for a while and Yamato didn’t know

At the same time we also note the Ace connection with Tama, as someone (Nami with the long nose) tells her of Luffy’s connection to Ace

Kaido’s forces attacking Marco because they don’t want to be killed by Queen is a better reasoning than they just believe that Chopper is lying

Robin and Brook taking the stairs? Looks like they’ll be halted by someone, or tag in for someone else having a fight

I think this is the first time Zoro’s been carried by a bird and he’s actually okay with it XD

Through Marco we get more of Ace’s side as to why he didn’t return to Wano

So nobody has been 2nd Division Commander because the WB crew learned of Oden’s death much later, I wonder how that went down. It’s interesting that Ace was told about Oden though

Oda though going all in with Marco and the Pineapples, first the attack pun now he’s just eating one

I mean, WB is right, Ace can’t beat Kaido, but at the same time avoiding casualties would’ve been easy if you just stormed Onigashima

SHUT UP MARSHALL! all gloaty because he could scar Shanks and would later take WB’s devil fruit and become a ‘big shot’ himself...

Looks like Izo and Marco were always gonna come support Luffy, out of the same solidarity they had for Ace, Whitebeard’s last order is still in effect

The tears! Hit me in the heart why don’t you?

King has finally showed himself again, direct opposition for Zoro and Marco

‘The New Generation’ huh, better than the ‘worst generation’

Wait...Does Queen have Gun Tongues!? He could’ve killed Luffy and Zoro when he had them in his mouth if he had gun tongues!

The penny finally drops for Tama, but it’s adorable that she immediately thinks about how harsh she was to Luffy, luckily Nami is there to ease her

At the same time, Momo’s learning that Ace’s Roger’s son and Luffy’s brother, serendipity in the air since Roger always believed that his son would be the reincarnation of Joy Boy

It’s a nice metaphor, but I don’t think Yamato has ever tried to count stars in the sky XD

It does seem fateful doesn’t it, or is Oda doing that out of a rug-pull intention?

The way Yamato is looking at Oden’s Journal makes me feel like answers about the D. are in them

Welp, Zeus and Prometheus are fully recharged, meaning that Big Mom will be certainly at full strength

It doesn’t surprise me that they want Robin alive, Inu and Neko did warn her of this, but again - doubt you’d be able to force her to read it

Rare Pudding mention there, ‘True Awakening’ does imply more things would come from the eye

Ah, so Onigashima’s mainly gonna be dropped on Oden Castle rather than smack bang in the middle of the Flower Capital? Less casualties but still a lot

It kinda felt uncharacteristic for BM to be so cruel to innocent, neglected people, and to even consider slaves, someone needs to bonk her head again!

Wait Wait, you’re telling me that Kaido hid his Road Poneglyph in the place the Wano lot were bunking in while WCI happened!?

Little Brother? Sure Linlin. But we got a little more God Valley juice, looks like Kaido was broken bad and BM saved him

But a Fish-Fish Fruit? I guess you can say it’s Of-fish-ial? I mean, she said Mythical Fish and people are thinking it’s more a Koi that becomes a dragon by rising the waterfall, it’d explain his orange tattoo, but why is Kaido a creature then? Why not say what animal? There seems to be more to it, and what does this mean for Yamato?

Oooh you said the thing you do not say, Luffy’s radar is gonna go ballistic

So yeah, 999 is building up with full strength Yonko waiting for Luffy, but they do have to remember that Zoro and Kid are on their way, Law of course is taking his sweet time too

With Robin and Brook climbing manually it may be a point where Robin has a target on her back, but she could also provide a key distraction.

The Ace stuff was nice, good clarity there, and Tama finding out about Luffy being Ace’s brother may further push their dynamic. Still a lot to look out for, I mean we still haven’t gotten back to Carrot and Wanda vs Perospero, none of the Tobi Roppo fights resumed and Luffy wasn’t in this chapter at all All in build for 1000

Hopefully it’s a good xmas present rather one of complete devastation XD

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disneydeb1928 · 4 years ago

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One Piece Theories: The Truth of the D. Clan

- The Void Century Theories, Part 3

This is the third part of my Void Century Theories Series. This one is a long one (I apologize).

The D. Clan

So, first I think we should review, what exactly has been mentioned, in canon, on this topic:

1) It is first brought up by Kureha, on Drum Island, when she revealed that the true name of the late Pirate King was “Gol D. Roger” and told Dolton that Chopper had joined up with a very “dangerous man” (Ch. 154)

After stating Chopper has joined up with a “dangerous man”, she then smiles and says, “D’s will is still alive?”

2) In chapter 594, which takes place after Marineford, the Gorosei are discussing the possible connection between Rayleigh and Luffy when one of them says, “The ‘D.’s are always the troublemakers… especially Portgas… it seems his name has been a little too visible lately.”

3) Law actually talks about the D. Clan twice. The first time, is right before the timeskip, in chapter 729. After leaving Amazon Lily with Luffy in Rayleigh’s care he says “Still, I wonder what the Dark King’s [Rayleigh] is up to… the ‘D.’ will always bring a storm without fail… heheh…”. Later, during the Dressrosa arc, Doflamingo questions Law about why he would trust the Straw Hat Pirates as much as he does. Law replies “Because I know the ‘D.’ will blow up a storm again!”. However, both of these statements are merely echoing what Rosinante told him as a child.

Rosinante refers to where “I come from”, which must be referring to Mary Goise, the home of the Celestial Dragons. He says that will someone “with the name of ‘D.’ begins to make a name for themselves in the world… all the elders all groan and mutter… that ‘D.’ will surely bring with them another storm…”. We know that this is true based off the comments the Gorosei made (see above). He also says that it is a name that people have “secretly” been inheriting throughout history. This is highlighted by the fact that, just a chapter prior, when Law revealed his true name to Baby 5, he said “the ‘D.’ is a secret’ (Ch. 763). Rosinante then states that, in Mary Goise, the “’Family of D.’” is know as “God’s Natural Enemy”. Of course, many have taken this to mean ‘the Celestial Dragons natural enemy’ since the Celestial Dragons see themselves as gods.

When Law demands to know if that makes him a monster, Rosinante admits that “no one knows the actual truth”. However, we know that’s not true. This sentence is important because of a connection it has to the conversation between Law and Sengoku in Episode 743. Sengoku says,

“At least, I know Rosinante had no idea [about the meaning of that ‘D’]. So that wasn’t the reason he saved you.”

While it was a beautiful moment, it should be noted that Sengoku seems to be implying that had Rosinante have known about the true meaning behind the ‘D.’, it might have played a role in why he saved Law (even though we all know Rosinante was a big softy). Sengoku almost seems relieved to hear Rosinante didn’t know the truth. Then, he thinks,

“So he is one, too. The people with the name “D.” always lead a checkered life.”

The dictionary defines ‘checkered’ as: marked by periods of varied fortune or discreditable incidents. It at least implies that Sengoku knows something about the D. Clan.

Now, let’s review the people who appear to know something about the ‘D.’ (at least part of it) and the implications that could have:

1.) Dr. Kureha – (See Explanation Above)

Implications: Kureha aas born on September 8th, 1383. To put this into perspective, that makes her older than every known ‘D.’-bearer we’ve been introduced to in the story so far. In fact, that makes her 141 years old. As mentioned before, she is one of the people who knows Gold Roger’s real name. We know that Roger began to complain about the papers calling him that when he met with Whitebeard (around August) in 1500, so it is very plausible that she simply remembers what he used to be called before the propaganda began. However, her last comment, “D’s will is still alive?” is something of interest.

Grammatically, structuring the sentence as “D’s will” would give the same meaning as “Will of D.”. Both are describing a possessive condition. So we know that she is specifically referring to the Will of D. in this sentence. When she says this, she is smiling, implying that she is pleased with this fact. My question is, why would she have reason to believe that it wasn’t alive. I understand that some families with the ‘D.’ in their name have gone about hiding it, but there is still Monkey D. Garp, who is very public with his name. It’s possible that she’s been living a secluded life for a long time, but if she knew about Roger how had she not known of Garp? Also, I would stipulate, that her reaction makes me believe that there is an emotional connection to the “Will of D.”. It is absolutely possible, that her sentiment could more general, in that she’s happy to see that the World Government wasn’t able to extinguish another token of the past. Or it could imply something else. I think a lot of people wouldn’t be surprised if Kureha had met Roger in the past. He was a sick man and she was a genius doctor, capable of amazing advances in medicine. I think it is also possible that she knew others bearing that initial.

2.) Roger and some of the Roger Pirates – (As mentioned during my discussion on Joy Boy’s treasure, they discovered the true meaning at Laugh Tale)

Implications: While Roger appeared put out by the idea that the newspaper was covering up his name, he didn’t seem too beat up about it. In fact, we honestly can’t garner much from Roger’s reactions to anything. He, much like Luffy, didn’t seem to let things bother him.

However, I would like to take a look at his last words before his execution. There are two main versions I have seen floating around, but I am sure, due to translations, that there are many more. They are:

· “Inherited will, the swelling of the changing times, and the dreams of people. These are things that cannot be stopped. As long as people seek the answer to freedom, these will never cease to be!”

· “Inherited Will, The Destiny of the Age, The Dreams of its People. As long as people continue to pursue the meaning of Freedom, these things will never cease!”

Of course, the first person who springs to mind when I read this, is Luffy, who talks about freedom being a large reason in why he wanted to become a pirate. What I believe Roger is saying, is that as long as people are not content with oppression, and instead chose freedom (which can taken many forms), then people’s dreams and will (Joy Boy’s, Roger’s, Ace’s) can never fully be extinguished (which parallels to what Whitebeard said during Marineford).

Now, freedom mean many things, to different people. Luffy sees freedom as becoming a pirate; Zoro sees it as becoming the world’s greatest swordsman; Koby sees it as becoming a Marine. If you notice, despite having a dislike at the idea of becoming a Marine, Luffy never does anything but encourage Koby (in his own way). Because ‘freedom’ in this sense, is more about following your ambitions – your heart’s desires – reaching for the stars.

3.) Whitebeard – Roger informs Whitebeard the true meaning of the “D.” during their last meeting before turning himself in. In fact, Whitebeard has enough understanding on the subject that he can confidently say that Blackbeard is not the man that Roger is waiting for [to find the One Piece]

Implications: After Roger complains about his name change, WB asked him this,

“Now and then I come across some people with the name “D.”. Even in my own crew, there’s Teach. Just what is ‘D.’?”

So, Whitebeard is admitting that “now and then” he comes across ‘D.’-bearers. He doesn’t specify how often or even how many bearers he’s come across during his time (at this point WB is 50). However, we know that by 1500, the only ‘D.’-bearers that we know (currently) existed were:

· Jaguar D. Saul (born March 6, 1397)

· Monkey D. Garp (born May 2, 1446)

· Rocks D. Xebec

· Gol D. Roger (born December 31, 1447)

· Monkey D. Dragon (born 1469)

· Portrgas D. Rouge

· Marshall D. Teach (born August 3, 1484)

We know that Whitebeard was a part of a infamous pirate crew known as the Rocks Pirates and that his captain, Rocks D. Xebec was a ‘D.’-bearer. Now, we have no idea what went down during the crew before they separated – or even when they separated. We don’t even know if the entire crew participated in the God’s Valley Incident. But what we do know, is that the Rocks Pirates were involved in a lot of the taboo subjects of the world. I go into this a lot deeper in one of my previous theories specifically on the Rocks Pirates, but it is very telling that two of the previous crew members end up with a Road Poneglyph. We also know that he is including Roger in his statement, but I also think it is likely he knows Garp as well. I think it is obvious that we have not discovered all of the current or past ‘D.’-bearers, so all we can do, beyond this list, is speculate.

Whatever it was that Roger ended up telling him, Whitebeard appears to keep to himself for the next 24 years. Not that I’m surprised, that man really didn’t care about pursuing any power other then keeping his family safe. However, at Marineford, he says,

“It’s not you [Blackbeard]… The man Roger is waiting for… is definitely not you, Teach. There are those who inherited Roger’s will… and one day, someone will appear who will inherit Ace’s will… As long as that ‘bloodline’ survives, their flames will never die… that will has been passed down from long ago…!!!”

4.) The Marines – They seem to have some awareness of the significance – or at least Sengoku does (as shown by his conversation with Law during episode 743)

5.) Doflamingo – After Law makes the comment about blowing the D. clan being able to blow up a “storm”, Doffy becomes enraged. This sees to indicate that he knows what Law is referencing. This wouldn’t be surprising since he knows the truth about the Treasure in Mary Geoise.

Implications: However, it could simply be that he, much like his brother, was reacting to the fear that the Celestial Dragons instilled in their children about the ‘D.’ clan and was angry that Law knew.

6.) Im-Sama – I think it is clear that if anyone in this story holds all the answers, it’s Im-Sama. They are clearly deeply rooted in the one piece mythology

7.) The Gorosei – Being second to Im-Sama and who the rest of the world view as the most powerful group in the world, it can be concluded that they, at least, know what Im wants them to know on the subject

Commonalities Between “D.”-bearers: All of the members who have passed, have all died with a smile on their face, in what appears to be, acceptance of their fate. This is, of course, with the exception of Teach, who feared death during Marineford.

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lunnamars · 5 years ago

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strange connection - chap 1

And here I go again on my journey of learning to write with yet another zotash story. :)

An important note is that I quote about the den den mushi that Tashigi gave to Zoro in the DLC The Void Mirror Prototype of the game One Piece: World Seeker. By the way, if you haven't seen the interactions of these two in this DLC, please go. It is basically a fanfic! There is a video on youtube that brings together all their scenes.

A reminder that english is not my primary language, so please, forgive me for any mistakes. I'm currently searching for a beta-reader though, so have some patience with me, hahaha.

Once again: everything happens after Punk Hazard, but unrelated to any canonical arc.

And our daily disclaimer: obviously, I don't own anything in One Piece because if it were, Luffy and Nami would already be together, as well as Zoro and Tashigi. So, that's it.

It can also be read on FFNET and AO3.

Chapter 1 - den den mushi

プルルル purururu

"What do you want, four-eyes?"

Roronoa Zoro answered with a not so friendly voice. He didn't seem to be asleep, so she must not have hindered him. Perhaps he didn't want to talk to her? Well, the odds were high. The swordsman always seemed to despise her, but, in a similar way, she never made an effort to show her best side.

I don't know. I guess I just wanted to talk to someone, she thought.

"Why did you decide to become a pirate?"

Tashigi was able to notice a little hesitation in his sudden silence. First of all, she was sure he wasn't expecting a call in the middle of the night; second of all, he didn't expect it to be a call from her and lastly, wasn't expecting this question at all. But after the nasty day she had, she just didn't care.

And it's not like he cares either.

Since she gave Zoro the den den mushi when they were investigating KAGERO, the girl has been desperately trying to get it back and maybe, find where the crew was hiding. So these somewhat unexpected calls became a routine between them for the past few months.

Smoker had no idea she had given this communication snail and Tashigi hoped it stayed that way. It had been two months since this happened and so far all of her attempts have been unsuccessful - the Strawhats refused to return it and always managed to flee from her sight.

But the only thing she didn't expect was that the snail would be in possession of the swordsman Roronoa Zoro.

Tashigi believes that this could only have been Nami's idea. Zoro didn't look like a person who would like to have a den den mushi near him, much less look like someone who would like to talk to her. Nami always likes to upset Roronoa and there would have no better way, she thought. The last time they met, for some reason, Nami and Nico Robin arranged for the pirate to stay close to her all night during a celebration that reminded her very much of what happened at Punk Hazard.

The situation was almost the same again.

Pirates saving the day. The Navy always a step behind. The Strawhat pirates victorious once again. And Tashigi didn't know what else to do with them. Deep down, she knew that even Smoker had no idea what to do.

Monkey D. Luffy messed up with the whole concept that the world (and she too) had about pirates and their villainy. And consequently, Roronoa Zoro messed up with the whole concept she had about justice and freedom.

So, today I just wanted to chat as Tashigi and Roronoa.

Tashigi spent the whole evening avoiding that thought at all costs and tried to convince herself that he was the only person who might be available because... it just had been a very bad day and quite frankly, Tashigi didn't have many people to call a friend.

So what harm would it do to be selfish just for today?

"For Luffy." He answered after a while in silence. The answer was short and firm, leaving no room for any kind of inquiry. But inquiring is what she did.

"Mugiwara?"

"Yes. Look, Captain Four-Eyes, I don't have that crazy sense of justice and all that prejudice like you have. Things are not always black and white for me, woman. Luffy saved my life and gave me a chance to achieve my goal. In return, I would join him. Simple as that."

Crazy sense of justice and all that prejudice, you say...

"But you used to hunt pirates…"

"Yes. But Luffy is not just any pirate. I know you know that. Even Smokey knows it. The Navy likes to hunt us and I understand why, but you need to get it out of your head that everyone is the same. I'm sure we did a lot more for people in one year than the Navy did in five."

Tashigi wanted to yell at him. She wanted to rage and spit in his face how wrong he was, how unfair and prejudiced he was being, but no sound came out.

Because he is right.

Because she lived all her life seeing black and white. And Vergo's betrayal simply stained the paper that was her conscience.

Except… what the hell is she doing? How weak is she still to the point of having to depend on a group of misfits to effectively solve problems that the Navy has been trying to solve for years? How much more would this bunch still rub in her face that she was not being able to do her job properly?

She really wanted to yell at him. She wanted to yell at everyone. She wanted to shout at admirals, vice admirals, marines and the like. She wanted to yell at herself and ask why are you so weak why are you so weak why are you so weak.

"The weak don't get to choose how they die."

Trafalgar Law's words still hurt her to this day. They hurt a lot. It hurt the truth that she was no match for him. It hurt the truth that she was no match for Zoro. It hurt the truth that if it were necessary to battle against either to save some innocent life, she would be defeated and that life could be lost. It hurt the truth that she was weak.

But that pain never stopped Tashigi from moving forward and always pushing herself to exhaustion. Nobody knew how much she trained, how much she studied, how much time she devoted to her own improvement. Just as no one knew how much she cried every time she was unable to win.

How much she cried every time she crossed blades with Roronoa Zoro and lost.

Always losing.

"I know. You guys are… different. I… have always known. Since Alabasta."

"Anyway. Did you just call to ask that, woman? If not, I'm already warning you we're not returning the snail. The witch said it was good to keep it since we don't have one".

"That's not why I called. I just… needed to talk to someone."

"Haa? And that person had to be me? You didn't have anyone else?"

Of course… how silly of me. No one wants to hear you, Tashigi.

"I see. I'm sorry, Roronoa. I didn't want to bother." The girl gave an empty laugh and continued. "I'll call another time to convince you all to return it to me! See you!

"O-oe…"

"Good night." She didn't wait for his answer and just hung up. Zoro didn't return the call either which confirmed her suspicions - she had really bothered him.

I just wanted to talk a bit...

Another day on a field mission and yet another failure for the captain's collection. Another confrontation with pirates that resulted in tragedy and another shitty day for her. The feeling of helplessness is one of the worst, especially if it tends to be your fault.

Tashigi knows that she will always get on her feet every time she falls, but there are times when she finds it incredibly difficult. And at those times, she wished she could have someone to turn to, but ... that's not the case. Or maybe she went to the wrong person.

Why resort to Roronoa Zoro of all people?

She didn't call again for two months.

#roronoa zoro #tashigi #zoro x tashigi #ZoTash #opfanfic #help me god #i'm trying #fanfiction

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psychedelic-ink · 5 years ago

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Arrival at the Maiden Island

We talked for I don’t know how long, sitting on opposites ends of the couch facing each other, our legs lying by each other’s sides over the cushions. We talked about things that mattered and things that didn’t, letting it hurt only a little at a time. He told me about his sister that ended up leading to him saying he despised bread. I had to laugh but that brought up Makino and how she’d make me and my brothers nice little snacks once in a while and how once Ace pretended there was a spider in my hair and my food went all over the place. It was his turn to laugh as I mimicked my panic state. This brought up Cora-san and how he was a walking disaster, clumsy as they came but how it was that man that saved his life… There was a silence for a moment before I mentioned Shanks and how he liked to act like a goofball but was really the greatest man I had ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was baffled that I knew one of the 4 Emperors of the sea so casually, I shrugged reminding him that they were people. From the Emperors we ended up talking about Whitebeard and how I never really got a chance to talk to him before the war but from what Ace had said and from the little bit that I did talk to him, he seemed like a great man – not just anybody gets Ace’s respect like that and for my brother to call him father…? I knew better than most what that meant to him… I tried, as casually as I could, to ask if he knew how the newspapers had heard about the connection between Ace and Gol D. Roger, Law explained that Sengoku had announced it to the world before Whitebeard arrived at Marineford.

And Vice-Admiral Garp let them.

Law must’ve caught on with my annoyance as he said that I was making the same face he did when people tried to feed him umeboshi. I reflexively shook and tucked my tongue out, thinking of the horrible taste, my reaction must’ve been amusing since he laughed so much that he had to hold his belly. I liked the sound of his laugh… I didn’t even notice that I had leaned my head on the back of the couch that was actually to my left as I chuckled, watching him laugh.

How long had I known this guy…? How long had he known me?! And we were chatting like old friends, like we’d known each other for years. Makino once told me that it might sometimes be easier to talk to a stranger than to an old friend, I didn’t really understand. Still, it had been what I told Nami after we took down Arlong and his goons, despite the fact that I considered her a friend before I think that’s when our friendship solidified. How long ago had that been…? Even so, I just understood it that moment, that moment when Law was laughing and my heart was light despite everything that had happened.

“I’m scared…” I admitted as his laugh died down, his golden eyes finding my grey ones as my head remained on the couch’s back “There’s nothing I want more right now than my brother to wake up… Nothing. And nothing I wouldn’t give to make it happen…”

“But…?” he asked, his deep voice calm and kind.

I took a deep breath “But what am I gonna say when he wakes up…? How’s he going to react…?” I saw Law frown in confusion “It’s the second brother that I can’t save… The second time that I’m too weak… The second time that all I can do is watch…” I took a deep breath to stop the tears that I felt brimming behind my eyes, I shift my gaze from his eyes to my hands, remembering the warmth of my brother’s hand on mine “I didn’t hold on to him… What if Luffy hates—” I stopped when he reached out to hold my hands.

“Hey…” I looked up at him, still feeling his thumb caressing my fingers as his hands held mine “I don’t know Straw Hat, I met him once and we ended up fighting some marines. And I also don’t know the specifics of what happened with Fire Fist.” He paused for a moment, licking his lips “But from what I’ve seen, I doubt there is anything you can do that’ll make him hate you.”

I meant to pull my hands away but he didn’t let me “You don’t know that.”

“I know that I’ve cut him up, touched his internal organs, stitched him back up, disinfected his wounds and more and I didn’t hear a peep out of him. Know when that changed?” I shook my head “When you’d scream. When you’d have a nightmare so bad you’d scream and then he’d react.” I saw him smile a bit “It’s not like he could do anything really, the guy is out for the count, but I’d say that says a lot about how he feels about his little sister.”

I smiled and I was about to say something when the door opened and Bepo came barging in “Captain!” he looked at us, blushed furiously, then left again closing the door behind him “Sorry!”

Me and Law looked at the bear, the door, then at each other. I saw his cheeks flush a soft shade of pink before he stuttered out some incoherent sounds and placed my hands over my knees before getting off the couch “Bepo! Stop being an idiot, what’s wrong?”

“Uh…” he started as Law opened the door, but I saw him glance between me and his captain a couple of times. Wonder why he’s being so weird “We’ve arrived at the designated area by the Pirate Empress.”

My eyes went wide “Hancock?!”

Law glanced over his shoulder and nodded “We met her and the Kujas on her way out of the war, while you were still out. She insisted in giving us shelter why you and your brother recovered.”

I raised him an eyebrow remembering the commotion it was to just have Luffy in the island “And you guys were allowed to get on the island…?”

He scoffed “No. This old lady was with them and made sure we weren’t allowed in the actual village, they arranged a bit off the bay for us to set anchor while you guys need my medical care.”

I smiled “Sounds like Granny Nyon.”

He nodded then turned back to his friend “I’ll go to the bridge for the surfacing of the sub and to meet the Empress.” He then turned back to me “Wanna come?”

I nodded without even needing to think “Yes! I have to talk with Hancock too.” I got off the couch as Law grabbed his hat and sword off the side. I followed the two through the halls, the sub seemed a lot smaller when you actually knew where you were going – not that I did, but I was with people that did. I hadn’t been in the bridge yet, there wasn’t much to see, Law took his seat, told me to hold on then started giving orders as I felt the submarine tilt then level out again. Law got up with his sword and tilted his head for me to follow them out, I did. A BIG door opened, letting the sunlight touch my skin for the first time since that fight with the marines and as I stepped out, it dawned on me that me and Law ended up talking the night away. The brightness of the day blinded me a bit, but as I blinked a couple of times, I could make out the island just beside us, some curtains with the Kuja mark blocking the view deeper into the island and Hancock standing with some of her warriors waiting for us.

The Heart Pirates brought a plank from inside the sub and connected the submarine with the shore, out of respect, I disembarked behind Bepo that followed behind Law. I hadn’t even stepped on land when I hear Hancock’s voice “How’s my darling Luffy and his sister? Any changes?”

“Straw Hat is still the same.” Law replied and I stepped out from behind Bepo “Tiger Luna’s been doing better though.” It was strange to hear him call me by my nickname, but I guess that the weird thing was that I’d started us on first names right off the bat. I wasn’t that different from Luffy in that.

“Hi Han—” she had her arms wrapped around me before I even finished.

“I’m so sorry, sweety.” I felt my heart jump at her words, then she pulled back to look me up and down “How are you feeling? How are your injuries? Have you been eating properly? Sleeping?”

I nodded “I’m alright, Hancock, thank you.”

“You’re welcome to come with us to the castle.” She invited immediately “I’ll have a room prepared for you and my warriors will be at your disposal.”

I lightly raised my right hand as she spoke “It’s alright.” I replied “I think I’ll stick here.” She seemed to go to speak again, but I beat her to it “I couldn’t bear to leave my brother.”

“I understand but—”

“She also still needs medical care.” Law interrupted the Empress with a stern voice that turned her attention to him “The fact that she’s walking around is actually worse since her worst wound can open back up at any time.” His golden eyes then glanced over at me “Plus she has the bad habit of not standing still.” And back to Hancock “So it’s better if she stays here anyway.”

She nodded “Alright.” Her voice now devoid of any of the emotion it had when she was addressing me “You won’t have to worry about supplies, I’ll have my warriors bring you food while you’re here.”

“That’s appreciated, we’ll need our own supplies for when we leave.” Law said.

Hancock nodded at him then stepped over to me again “While the men might be restricted to staying here, you’re always welcome among us, Luna dear.”

I nodded “Thanks.”

“Whatever you need, just ask.” She emphasized and I nodded again.

“Thanks Hancock.” She was about to turn away, but I grabbed her wrist, making her turn back to me “Not just for this, for everything.” I added as her eyes met mine again “We wouldn’t have made it to Ace without your help, I’ll never forget it. Thank you.”

She took my bandaged rough hands in her soft ones and smiled “I wish I could’ve done more.”

“You did more than you were meant to.” I replied honestly before I pulled my hand back behind my back, I could feel myself shaking even as she turned back to Law.

“If any of your men are caught beyond this point, they will be killed.” She warned in a cold tone.

Law grinned “Sounds fair.”

The Kuja ended up leaving and I hurried back into the submarine as everyone enjoyed the fresh air outside, I could tell by my shadow that my ears had shifted and my tail had appeared, I also felt my claws scratch he wall I was holding onto. It was happening again, I could feel my heart trying to jump out of my chest. I tried breathing like Law had showed me before but I still wouldn’t stop shaking “Hey.” I turned to find the captain walking over to me “You’re doing ok.” He slowly came closer, my eyes wouldn’t leave him for a second, I could tell it was my predatory instinct taking over but I couldn’t shake it “May I?” he slowly reached for my hand and I let him “Here.” He took my wrist to my eye level and showed me as he took my bracelet off, putting it in my palm and closing my fist “Hold onto this and close your eyes, try breathing then…” I found myself doing as he instructed, with my eyes closed, all I could see was the memories in the darkness, slowly, my heart calmed down and I opened my eyes again to find that Law was still there, I don’t know why that surprised me…

“Thanks…” I whispered looking at the silver bracelet in my hand.

“Do you know what triggers it?” I shook my head “C’mon…” I looked at him to see him walk back out “You need some fresh air.” I quickly caught up to him, feeling my body shift back into human as my predatory instincts slip away with the panic, then he raised me an eyebrow “How do you know the Pirate Empress?”

I smiled, it seemed so long ago “Me and Luffy crashed into her bath once.” He made a half surprised half impressed expression that only made me chuckle.

Once I was outside, Bepo, Penguin and Shachi pulled me over for a conversation over the fantasies that surrounded the island “Is it true that they’re all women?” “Yup.” “Do they ALL dress like the pirates?” “Yeah, but they can also break you in two with ease.” “Are there any female bears?” “No Bepo, I’m afraid not.” “It’s an island of women! Human women, you idiot.” “I’m sorry…” “Don’t Bepo, it’s a normal question.” “Stop enabling him, Luna.”

Ikkaku saved me from the eternal conversation with the boys by asking me for a tour of the island, which I obliged. I was sure Hancock wouldn’t mind, Ikkaku was a woman after all. We walked around, loads of the women on the island would talk to me and I tried to be as polite as possible, I noticed that the Kuja were at the bottom of the castle with those curtains raised and I knew what that meant. They greeted me and asked their questions, everything sounded the same “How are you?” “How’s Luffy?” “I know he’ll be alright, don’t worry.” “I’m sorry about your brother.” I was starting to regret coming into town. Ikkaku seemed to read my mind and pulled me over to other parts of the island. It was a nice stroll as my time with Ikkaky tended to be – made me miss Nami.

We returned to the sub at around dinner time, Law didn’t ask us where we’d been or what we’d been doing so I suspected that he had been the one to ask her to take me for a change of scenery. Poor Ikkaku, had the patience of a saint.

At dinner, I again noticed the absence of the captain “Penguin?” I called his attention from the bowl of pasta he was stuffing in his mouth, he glanced over at me “Where’s Law?”

He shrugged “The captain rarely joins us at meal times, he loses track of time easily when he’s working.”

I raised him an eyebrow “Is that so…?”

He nodded “Yeah, we take him dinner later to be sure that he eats something.”

I set my jaw “Huh.”

“I feel like you’re planning something.” He said and I grinned at him before getting up “Luna? Where are you going?”

“Infirmary!” that’s where I’d find him, I was sure. If there was a path I knew was from the infirmary to the mess hall and reverse. I opened his office door and there he is, eyes in a book with five other books opened around him, he was so in thought that he didn’t even look at me. Oh, he was asking for it.

I came up behind him and pulled the back of his chair until it tipped him behind “FUCK!” his eyes met mine upside down but I didn’t give him time to realize what was going on, I start pulling the chair with him still sitting on it “HEY! HEY! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Dragging you to dinner, you clearly can’t get there yourself.” I blankly replied.

“Put me down!” he demanded as I dragged him and the chair behind me.

“No.”

“Room. Shambles!” I looked over my shoulder to see he had his sword in his hand instead of a book “Amputate!”

I dropped his chair quickly enough to avoid the attack. I grinned through my sharp canines as he regained his balance after the chair fell. I held out my arms on my side, feeling the air shift around us “Tiger’s grip!” I shifted the air around his body so that I could hold him in place. He wasn’t happy but my white and black tail kept casually swinging from side to side as I held him in place “Grumpy panda, I was raised by mountain bandits with three unruly older brothers in a forest with giant animals.” I smirked “You lose the moment you’re not willing to go all out on me.”

“Shambles.”

I was where he had been before I knew it, feeling his sword to my back made my tiger ears perk up “You shouldn’t boast. It’s rude.”

I spin to my left, shove the sword out of the way and make him step back “This is fun. Shame you’re pulling your punches.”

He shrugged “I can be a bit sadistic and you’re still injured.”

“Oh, I can be very sadistic.” I grinned “Comes with package.”

He grinned back and I used my powers to lift his chair beside me, putting it straight as I sat on it. I motioned over to his sword as he sheathed it “A bit dramatic, no?”

He flipped me off “It’s called a fight or flight reaction.” I laughed before flipping him off too.

“Come on captain grumpy, it’s dinner time.” I said putting my hand down.

He started walking over to me “I’ll be there later.”

“No, you won’t.” I retorted, looking up at him “I haven’t seen you, even once, eat with your crew.”

He crossed his arms over his chest “How is that any of your business?”

“How is it not?” I counter and I see him blink a couple of times, with a lack of response I continue “Come to the mess hall, eat with your crew. The world feels less lonely when you eat with your friends, you know? Plus, the work will still be there when you come back.”

He sighed, rubbing his face “You’re not gonna stop nagging me until I say yes, are you?”

I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head once “Nope.”

“Fine then. Fine!” he looked at me “Get off the chair, I’ll meet you there.”

“Heck no.” I grinned “The chair can stay here, it’s not gonna run away.” I got up and hooked my arm on his, basically dragging him to the mess hall.

“You’re a pain in my ass!” he grumbled but I only grinned up at him.

“I have that effect on people!”

#burntsubmit #one piece oc #oc #monkey d luna #lunna-star-8 #submission

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strawbewwysamurai · 5 years ago

Note

Is one piece a good show? I haven't had anything catch my eye recently so I've got no manga or anime to watch :(( On that note, any recommendations?

HIYA!!!

Well for one, I'm biased to say it absolutely is! But if you want details then lemme give you some along with some warnings ! I’ll put them under the cut though to avoid a super long ask on people’s dash oh goodness,,,

I’ll make this ask mostly about One Piece, but some quick reccs for you to look into will be:

- Mairimashita! Iruma-Kun!

- Natsume Yuujinchou

- Ao No Exorcist

- Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun [I DIDN’T FINISH IT YET CAUSE ONE PIECE GRABBED ME SO IF THERE’S ANYTHING WEIRD OUT OF THE BLUE IN THE LAST EPS I’M SORRY BUT IT WAS VERY CUTE FROM EVERYTHING I SAW??]

- The Disastrous Life of Saiki K

- Gakuen Babysitters [Again, haven’t finished, but super cute from what I have seen!]

And now it’s time for: Ashley Rants About One Piece ! There’s vaguing/minor spoilers since I’m warning about some stuff, but I’m gonna be as vague as I possibly can !

Good stuff [There’s a LOT so this is just notable things]:

- Found family is STRONG, main focus is more of finding a family you can love and protect and does the same back rather than romance for literally majority of the series. Adults taking in kids is also a huge theme and they canonly call them their kid/they're the parent. And once families are found and bonds are made, it is extremely impossible to break them again. From many events with the Straw Hats, to minor stories out of the main manga/anime with people like Law/The Heart Pirates, you’ll see the absolute most worst things trying to break their bonds apart, but it does not happen. Because the people who made them love and care for each other too much for anything short of a mutual decision to break it will break it.

[I could go on about other ways found family is prominent in one piece, cause it's THAT huge but i'll stop here. But it’s literally one of the main major themes!]

- The lore and story and world is one of the deepest and most engrossing I have ever seen. I used to watch and love Gravity Falls with my sister, and short of having actual ciphers in the show, One Piece is definitely similar in how much it makes you think. There are cameos and characters that pop up at the very start who are extremely important, and you don’t even know it until much further in episodes, by like, a lot. It’s extremely captivating, theories are everywhere for everything, not just what this grand treasure known as the ‘One Piece’ is, but also on so many other little things. And if you think something doesn’t tie together into the story, or a character isn’t going to be very relevant, give it some time, you will be surprised.

- Heroics. The Straw hats are very adamant in the fact they aren’t heroes, despite the thousands of people they have saved and helped in their adventures. I personally love heroes and stories about helping people, so it’s a real attention grabber for me- They are literally just a rough and tumble group of kind people who will help anyone. And when I say anyone, I mean it. They have witnessed pirates they are trying to fight get mistreated by their captain, and their first thought is not to continue fighting said pirates- it’s to attack the captain for treating those who should be family to them so badly. But literally, every where you turn there is a kind act, whether large or small, by one of the characters. Even side characters do it, it’s just all very heartwarming.

- Empowerment. The whole series is about following your dreams, no matter what it may be, and fighting for it. It can be something like finding a legendary ocean that everyone says doesn't exist, to even something minor. It’s about fighting for yourself and what you believe in and having the people who love you there to back you up, or finding people who will do so for you as you move to achieve your dreams.

Bad stuff:

- There are a lot of heavy themes. We're dealing with pirates after all! Extremely sad backstories, especially Trafalgar Law's and Sanji's, kidnapping and destroying human trafficking rings/slavery, government corruption and grey areas- it could be a bit much if you're looking for something solely good times and goofy! I will say though, OP is very good at gags and goofs to balance out, and also inspirational moments that come from the bad- The Straw Hats may be pirates, but they're good people and will help anyone they can in danger even at their own risk.

- A few bad tropes. My fave, Sanji, is main victim to the 'pervert' trope, though at the starting half it's more hes a gentleman who likes ladies too much rather than actually weird for the most part. After a timeskip and dealing with a different bad trope, he's cranked up though so I mostly ignore it cause it REALLY doesn’t fit his character but I'm here to tell you the bad so!

The bad trope he had to deal with is what i can basically describe as trans gags. He ends up on an island full of drag queens/trans people who do nothing but make his life hell/assault him because 'hes not embracing his true self.'

Its a much later arc, and only around for a few episodes really scattered here and there, but if that’s something you wouldn't like you could always skip the episodes and get a run down from me. Drag queens/Trans people are there again part of a different arc around the same time, but they're portrayed much kinder/chiller so it's less of a Deal than the Sanji one.

I will add though that in a recent arc, there is a main lady who we find out is trans, and from my perspective as someone who is trans, it was dealt with respectfully and nicely, much more so compared to the above, but no duh.

- Racism: one of the main characters is victim to 'old media racist designs' and several background characters. The main problem besides that is their designs never got changed after the nineties, so Usopp- one of the Straw Hat’s and an excellent main character- and recurring background characters can be very- yeah, design wise, and even new characters pop up with racist gags inserted. Also after the time skip a lot of characters get lightened to fit their manga colors, which is kinda concerning to say the least.

Now again, this is all off the top of my head, so there could be more good/bad stuff I’m not listing simply because I just woke up and yelled here, so forgive me! But another thing I wish to say is despite the bad, it’s a really good show. Nothing has ever made me cry so hard as One Piece has [especially the Sanji arc I’m currently rewatching as it hits hard and close to home in a lot of ways], or feel so connected to or feel so Seen as One Piece. I relate extremely heavily to Luffy and Sanji especially, including some of the hardships and things they have gone through, so it’s an extremely comforting and inspiring piece of work for me to watch, to the point words can’t really describe how attached I am to it unless I go off on a tangent.

I hope this post was helpful to you though!

#the bad stuff never stopped me from watching but i know it could for some people so i included it to be safe!#ask #anonymous #one piece #but when i say there is a LOT of good like #i mean it its frickin covered in so much good and so many emotional moments #i cant even begin to name them all

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