#to be fair both usopp and luffy are asleep in this chapter but they are sleeping on the same bed and like cuddling so fight me it is lusopp

[onlytibki]

Yelling into the void about OPLA

Spoilers ahead!

Neutral: Some major scenes that outlined certain themes of the original story were changed, which is fair. Some things were added in certain areas, which is also fair. There's pros and cons to these things in various directions so I'm keeping it all under 'neutral'--by the same token, my disappointment about it not fitting the original story is tempered by how much just knowing the original story made me excited to see these characters and places in a live action. The two things kinda cancel, so, neutral.

Pros:

Set building. Urgh,, this summer has been a highlight for physical sets as opposed to greenscreening things. It was GORGEOUS and it paid off SO WELL.

Make-up. Again, physical make-up (I think) not CGI'ing a face, and it went so well. The Fishmen are high-key terrifying and honestly it fits the narrative. (The CGI was also amazing, though)

Fitting like 50+ episodes into 8 hours. A LOT ended up on the cutting room floor but the result was cohesive and coherent and that could not have been easy. And yet, even with so much on the floor, I think they only completely culled two or three characters? (Johnny and Yosaku (tragic) and the Island of the Rare Animals dude (but his island was shown in the maps)

Cons:

Fight choreography. There was a lot of variation in quality, imho. Kuina was incredible, as well she should be, but in some of the major fights there were moments of stillness in the background, etc. I should not have seen Luffy just stand there with his fists up while Zoro engaged Cpt. Morgan.

Make-up. If they did the Fishmen, and Merry, so goddamn well, why the hell are we missing Sanji's eyebrow and Usopp's nose? Usopp's nose might've been distracting but it didn't have to be ridiculous.

I'm not sure if it's cinematography, or editing, or directorial decisions, but I feel like they wasted precious time on a few scenes, whose minutes would've been well-spent including short, more cinematic shots. Ex: scrap kid!Sanji's "Day 2", replace with a shot of grown!Sanji bowing in front of the Baratie. Quite a few of Oda's iconic double-page shots would've translated SO WELL to the screen. Why not use them??

Side Notes

ZORO WAS IN GOA KINGDOM holy shit the things that could've changed. I wonder if Johnny and Yosaku were there too? Also his scar wasn't big or bloody enough.

Helmeppo was there. I somewhat had an opinion on him by the end of the season, which is an impressive achievement.

Scratch that, my opinion on Helmeppo is that Zoro's cutting of his hair was hilarious but the butt shot was unnecessary. Ditto Sanji being shirtless to rescue Luffy. This is OPLA why the fan service.

Nami was in shackles until age 12. :( But Bechdel test, passed!

Also this version of Nami would've absolutely tried to get with Kaya before stepping aside given the Usopp/Kaya romance.

Mihawk was PERFECT. Like absolutely iconic. Honestly the whole cast was, obviously, but you don't see as many people gushing about this fact regarding Mihawk

What the hell happened to Gin. He ate the food and then vanished from the face of the earth.

Garp's development/arc was an interesting take, and honestly it was a chunk of the really engaging part of the watch for me. I guess in canon he was too busy doing Marine things to chase after Luffy after he left Dawn Island so this is a good take.

On a related note, it does take a bit away that we didn't go through 250-ish chapters before learning about any of Luffy's family, but obviously that wasn't going to happen anyway. Also, kinda wish we'd seen him yell out 'Fist of Love' or them both fall asleep at the same time post-Enies Lobby arc style, but he was definitely using haki so it's fine.

On a different related note, actually VERY upset that we (1) didn't get Garp saying that line about how he left Luffy with Dadan so he could grow up to be a respectable Marine, and have Loof respond with Garp's training and (2) had to listen to Garp telling Luffy that the GL isn't a game, given that Luffy's already lost Sabo to the world and (3) didn't get any mention of Luffy's brothers or Dadan at all, actually.

Quick Summary: I do think a degree of enjoyment was both added and subtracted due to my knowledge of the original story. Not sure if I would've sat through the whole thing if I wasn't already tied heart and soul to the crew, but I am and I did.

But it was definitely fun and really well built. 8/10.

[sniperofmyheart]

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: One Piece Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Usopp, Portgas D. Ace/Usopp, if you squint Characters: Roronoa Zoro, Tony Tony Chopper, Monkey D. Luffy, Usopp (One Piece), Portgas D. Ace, Blackleg Sanji, Sabo (One Piece), Franky (One Piece) Summary:

Spoilers for Dressrosa. A certain other brother appears and finds the name God Usopp awfully familiar.

[cienie-isengardu]

The development of Law’s relationship with Zoro - Part 5: Zou, The Kindred Spirits (Traveling together)

<<Part I: Before Meeting>> <<Part II: Sabaody Archipelago, The First Meeting>> <<Part III: Punk Hazard, The Alliance (A)>> <<Part III: Punk Hazard, The Alliance (B)>>  <<Part IV: Dressrosa, The Breaking Point (The Plan Failed)__ (Saving Law)__(Protecting Law)__ (Birdcage, Pica and Doflamingo)__ (Aftermath)>> <<Part V: Zou, The Kindred Spirits (Traveling Together)__(Searching for Nakama)__ (Reunion)__ (Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance)__(The Last Moments before War)>>

Dressrosa was the breaking point in the relationship between Zoro and Law. The previously visible distance (and maybe, distrust too) now is gone, and those two - despite Law’s unhappy face -  drank together during the victory party. Through the voyage to Zou and later, during the arc, both men were more often seen around each other, usually in quite close range. Starting with chapter 802, when dangerous hail was failing on Bartolomeo’s ship. As it turned out, Bartolomeo and his crew did not have a navigator (to give proper orders to steersman, to sail avoiding danger) and all their “wisdom” came from talking over Den Den Mushi with grandma… who in during such crisis was telling them how to remove sticked to floor gum. As crazy Straw Hats are when it comes to challenging the world, they aren’t that insane to sail unprepared on the deadly sea of the New World. Even Luffy panicked, crying for Nami to save them. Zoro and Law on the other hand, seemed more irritated by Bartolomeo’s crew incompetence. Zoro guessed they will have to handle the situation themselves (did he say that to Law in specific, or general, to people around him?) while Law wondered if these guys were for real.

Law and Zoro already had their weapons ready for action, while were standing side by side. Their reaction to the crisis was visually similar, contrasting with panicked Luffy & Usopp and the laughing Robin.

Zoro showed his pragmatic side, by telling Bartolomeo to use his devil fruit power to put an indestructible barrier to protect the ship and everyone on it. Only to hear that he couldn’t do that because of grandma's superstition. With that, Roronoa’s patience for idiocy ran out and he too wondered how that crew survived for so long.

Zoro and Law were on the same page: Bartolomeo and his men were absurd.

The journey was full of dangers.

Judging by the splash of blood on the monster's head that resembles the effect of flying slash, Zoro (or maybe Law) in fact needed to take care of the situation by themselves. According to the narrator box, the journey took a week. Which means Zoro and Law were forced to deal with other people’s idiocy for a long time. Maybe that was another factor to bond over, because both don’t like to put up with the morons (at least, unless it wasn’t their own crews).

On the journey, Law showed his… playful is not the right word, more like deadpan trolling (a trait he will show from on more often). Like calling Usopp the “god”, using the title given to him by Doffy during the Battle of Dressrosa and later used by Marines on his bounty poster. Only to shut down Usopp’s happiness by reminding him in an emotionless way that now all Admirals will look out for him. What of course terrified the sniper.

Trafalgar did not pay to that any mind, explaining Luffy they must be already close to Zou. None Straw Hats (beside Usopp?)  seemed to be bothered by Law’s dark sense of humor, so either they were already used to this or simply didn’t care. Though I suspect if Law picked at Chopper, Robin and Zoro reaction could be much different. 

Both Zoro and Law had their own way to deal with Bartolomeo and his men. Zoro usually got irritated and told them to shut up, once they were fanboying over something too much. Like seeing Thousand Sunny (chapter 803):

Law, who wasn’t part of Straw Hats thus was treated less nicely, simply changed his request from “give something to us” to “give it to Straw Hats” which worked just fine (chapter 802).

Pirate alliance reached Zou and learned no one was on Thousand Sunny moored next to it. Usopp wanted to stay on the ship while others would search for missing crew members, but Zoro wouldn’t let him. Law was standing close to Usopp and Roronoa, instead of isolating himself like he used to do previously.

↪ Clearly, all Straw Hats, the two samurais and Law had their backpacks fully packed, ready for the next journey. Law provided as much information as he could, but he has never been on Zou himself. Since the group was heading into the unknown, it makes sense they took everything that could be useful during the trip, including spare (warm?) clothes, I guess. But since Law was a guest on Thousand Sunny and we didn’t see him taking much with himself from Punk Hazard (unless it was stored on the ship before the party, but then would Zoro be so surprised by Law joining them?) nor during escaping Dressrosa, I assume Straw Hats equipped him appropriately for the journey. On one hand, there was Kinemon who could easily provide Law clothes thanks to his devil fruit. On another, no one could know what awaited them on Zou and the group could be easily separated and once clothes made by Kinemon were taken down, they disappeared for good, so couldn’t be re-used. Which is why I wonder, if Straw Hats borrowed Law some of their own clothes. Since Zoro and Sanji were the closest to Law’s build, Law could get something from their wardrobe, just in case. 

↪ Thinking more about it, what about the one week trip to Zou? The alliance ran away from Dressrosa in hurry taking no baggage with them.Of course, former colosseum fighters turned into Straw Hat Grand Fleet had time to organize everything needed on journey for their heroes and once again, Kinemon’s useful powers were at hand. But Bartolomeo made it clear, he didn’t care at all about Law, so did anyone think to bring spare clothes for him? And if yes, was that something acceptable for Law to wear?

↪ Visually interesting detail, how Zoro and Law have alternating colors. As in, Zoro’s black pants and backpack to Law’s white and white shirt to his black. This will be soon even more noticeable once they get on Zou.

To climb on a gigantic elephant's leg, with his devil fruit powers Kanjuro animated the (poorly drawn) dragon. Manga panel did not show in a clear way who and where was standing (chapter 803) yet judging by what looks like the silhouette of swords, Law and Zoro were standing far away from others but not that far from each other.

Later, Zoro’s position changed, which most likely means some time passed before Kanjuro finished his drawing. Law’s position wasn’t shown, it is hard to tell where he actually went.

The anime (episode 752) put Law much closer to Zoro (and later both around Franky) for the whole waiting to samurai finish his art:

Once the dragon was alive, the alliance rode on it to the Zou’s top, sitting  in the following order: Luffy - Zoro - Usopp - Robin - Law - Franky - Kinemon - Kanjuro:

Of course, Luffy had to be the first - Zoro most likely sat after his captain to make sure the idiot will not do something stupid, like… failing asleep. Law sat in the middle between Robin and Franky. In all fairness, he and Zoro had similar posture - the crossed arms.

↪ There is in fact an actual divergence between frames, because at one Law was actually shown between Usopp (who most likely sat close to Zoro in hopes the swordsman will protect him and keep from failing) and Robin. And who knows, maybe Law intended to sit closer to the other Supernovas but Usopp & Robin claimed the seat before him?

During the climb, the samurais explained a bit their situation, mentioning their missing friend who actually happened to be ninja. All Straw Hat boys and Law immediately showed their delight (in case of Law, nerdy side that will show up from time to time from on):

Even though the word “ninja” sparked their interest, the faces of Zoro and Law showed similar expression - a frown. Visually, the Straw Hat & Heart pirates looked funny, with so contrasting mimicries. Open jaw (Luffy) - Frown (Zoro) - Open jaw (Usopp) - Frown (Law).

Out of nowhere, some animal (Mink) fell down and accidentally threw the samurais off the dragon (chapter 804). Thankfully, somehow the men did not die. All Straw Hats were happy to hear that. Law’s face was hard to read anything, but he too looked down after fallen comrades. Because samurais were friends in need of saving, Zoro ordered the dragon to start climbing down, clearly with rescue in the mind. Law didn’t protest.

Despite pain (tiresomess?), the dragon wanted to finish his mission. Seeing how the creature suffered already and with the reassurance from the samurai that they were fine, Straw Hats decided to head ahead.

After a long journey, the alliance finally got to the top. Luffy and Usopp were delighted, Franky cried, Robin and Zoro smiled. Sadly, Law’s face was not presented, but most likely his reaction, the same as Roronoa and Nico was of a “quiet” kind.

Then, the Straw Hats joy died, once the painted dragon - after so much suffering - changed back into picture. The moment was very heartbreaking for everyone… except for Zoro and Law.

That scene once again showed how similar they were to each other. As in: emotionally unaffected and harsh in their judgment. The dragon was in their opinion “just a crappy drawing” and “joke”. Even Usopp’s angry screaming how heartless they were didn’t change their opinion. 

Also, nice thing to note: the minimal (or even a lack of) personal space between those two, despite not walking together a moment ago. 

While everyone was crying after the brave dragon, Zoro and Law went ahead. To Usopp’s angry rebuke, the Pirate Hunter said: 

“We’re in a strange, unfamiliar land. Don’t turn back. Always concentrate on what’s ahead of you.”

With what Law apparently agreed, because none of them stopped for a moment from examining the new place. They shared their observations about gate and watchtower - how dangerously unguarded the place was. What is a nice contrast to Dressrosa, where Law did not add any of his input to the Roronoa’s conclusions about Pica.

Usopp(?) even called them out “all business, no heart”, which highlights how clinically they approached the situation. No emotions, just coolness. 

In contrast, Luffy climbed at the watchtower and was totally excited about the whole place. To the point of simply jumping ahead, without worrying about his friends. Usopp (who accompanied Luffy) notified Zoro about the captain's disappearance. 

Zoro didn’t show worry nor surprise about their captain’s antics - instead asked if Usopp could see Sanji. Robin wondered shouldn’t they wait for the missing samurai, to which Zoro decided they would go ahead.

Now, without Luffy around, Zoro became the leader of Straw Hats. No one questioned his judgment of the situation. Nor nakama, nor Law.

Next part: Searching for Nakama

[itsthemoofacewriting]

Sick Day

Figured since the first one was more of an introduction; I thought I’d post this a bit earlier than intended. I actually have a few written out, but I’m pacing myself so I can keep this regularly updated.

Chapter One This can also be found on AO3 and FFN. 

Summary: They were going to need each other if they wanted to survive education. A-level/School AU. LuNami Rating: K, just more shenanigans

Enjoy.

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Weeks had flown by since Nami’s first day at college and she couldn’t be more pleased. She had finally caught up on the missing two weeks from the start of term and had made a great group of friends, courtesy of Luffy. He was a moron and gave her a headache with some of the things he did or came out with, but she was grateful, nonetheless. Although the description of him sounded harsh, he was all of those things, yes, but also the first to make her laugh.  

However, this would officially be Nami’s first day off sick. She’d caught a cold and felt like death. Belle-mère had taken one look at her when she had gotten up that morning and sent her back to bed with some fresh orange juice and toast, saying something about a dose of vitamin C would sort her out.

Nami had sent out a group text to her friends, telling them she wouldn’t be in because she was sick. They’d all sent something back. Chopper was giving her advice, Usopp told her he’d make notes for her from business that day, Sanji was incredibly dramatic and when she filtered through all the mush there was actually a few nutritional notes thrown in. The rest gave variations of telling her to get better.

The oddest though, was Luffy. All he’d said is that he’d see her later and that had been it. Not only was it incredibly short but that’s all he’d sent.

They’d grown fairly close over the last couple of weeks, sending each other texts to make it through the day. He’d send her pictures of things he found funny or would ask her for help with his homework. That would of course lead to a phone conversation about essay structures. To be fair, he was actually very bright, but he struggled to pay attention for long when it wasn’t physically challenging, and she got the feeling he didn’t necessarily want to be doing A-levels. Whilst they were close, it had only been a few weeks and she didn’t want to push on something he may not want to speak about. Perhaps Usopp would know. Maybe she’d try her luck with Zoro, but he wasn’t as forthcoming as Usopp.

She didn’t give it another thought as she rolled over to go to sleep. She did that for most of the day, she’d watch TV for a bit, maybe go to the toilet or eat something and then sleep again. It was close to four in the afternoon and she was starting to feel better, she decided to go have a shower. When she got back to her room and dressed herself, she laid back down and figured a nap wouldn’t be a bad idea.

As she was starting to fall asleep, she could faintly make out some voices. Was she dreaming or was this real?

“Nami, you there? Nope. Okay well I’m coming in.”

“Oi shithead, what do you think you’re doing?” A loud, disapproving voice spoke, “If you’re going up there, I’m going first! I need to protect Nami’s virtue.”

“No, you’re just being a pervert.” A deeper voice spoke.

She jumped when the window started to open, and a very real, sandaled foot appeared through the crack. That was certainly enough to fully wake her. However, the intruder couldn’t manoeuvre the blind that was pulled down, tripped over something they couldn’t see and came crashing in, landing in a heap on the floor.

A heap with a straw-hat.

“Luffy!?” Nami blinked in disbelief, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s not just the idiot, my swan,” Sanji sang as he gracefully manoeuvred through the window and stepped over Luffy. “Unfortunately, the Marimo came too. But at least I’m here, right? I even brought you soup!”

Zoro glared at Sanji as he moved through the window and offered Luffy a hand to help him up. “I had to come. You never know what Luffy is planning and all he said was he was going to drop by. Everyone knows that can’t end well, especially as you’re sick. Then swirly brow over there said he was coming at the mention of your name. Someone had to watch these idiots in your absence.”

Nami refrained from pointing out Zoro was also an idiot, instead she was struggling to pick an emotion. On one hand it was sweet they had come. On the other hand, why did they have to come through the window?

She rubbed her forehead and voiced her thoughts, “Why exactly did you have to come through the window? What if it was locked? Then what would you have done?”

“You didn’t answer the door,” Luffy ignored Zoro and Sanji saying he hadn’t even tried ringing the bell, “so I figured you’d be in your room. If not, I was going to try the fence next. I knew you’d be home, just wasn’t sure on the room.” He had a look on his face as if it was obvious and that she should be able to work that out.

Nami laughed, he said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world! She shouldn’t expect anything less. “Well, thanks for coming anyway. Did anyone think to bring Usopp’s notes from business today?”

All three looked at her blankly. That’s a no, Nami thought. So much for catching up before going back.  

“I’ll get them tomorrow; I’m feeling much better than this morning.”

“That’s great! We can walk to school in the morning and we have third period free together. We can go into town!” Luffy said, but Nami understood that going into town actually meant going to McDonald’s to get a free cheeseburger with his student card. “I really missed you today, that’s why I wanted to come.”

Nami could start to feel her cheeks flush at his blunt honesty. How did he do that? Say something so sweet in front of other people and act as if it were nothing. He was still looking at her though. “Oh- yeah… I missed you too,” Nami was thankful she managed to spit that out without stuttering.

“Maybe we should go, so you two can be alone?” A smug voice interrupted. She shot a glare at Zoro, but he didn’t even flinch, if anything his smile just widened as she felt her blush starting to go down her neck. She hated being teased.

“Woah. You have a Nintendo!?” Nami turned as Luffy broke the staring match between her and Zoro. Luffy had rudely started to snoop around her room, but as she looked closer, there was no mistaking the faint blush on his cheeks either.

“Oh yeah, you like to play? Well, look who I’m asking, of course you do. I have a couple of multiplayers that you might like.”

As if Nami had offered him free food for life, he beamed and excitedly nodded. He started asking her questions about what games she liked to play and the multiplayers she had. It turned out he really wasn’t that picky, but his eyes lit up when she turned to open her case for her games and showed him Super Smash Bro. Ultimate. Apparently, he had the old version for the Wii, he was saving up for a Switch.

Nami and Luffy was shoulder-to-shoulder and huddled over her game console as she explained all of the games she had and what she thought he’d like. Both completely unaware of the two forgotten members in the room as they glanced at each other with raised eyebrows.

Well.

This is certainly an interesting development to fill the group in with.

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Inspired by early manga days when it was just Luffy, Zoro and Nami. Luffy just climbing over fences into people’s properties when he’s not even bothered to knock still kills me.

Thanks for reading!

[generaldevi]

Prognosis

Chapter 2:  Vacation Goal

Rating: Mature

Pairing: Law x Luffy

Characters: Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Monkey D. Luffy, Trafalgar D. Water Law, Usopp, Donquixote Doflamingo (mentioned), Donquixote Rocinante (mentioned, Dr. Kureha (mentioned), Sanji (mentioned)

Warnings: References to Depression, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional Dependency

My part for the @lawlu-events BigBang 2018/19

The story got illustrated by the awesome artist @novicecomics

“Woaaaah!” Usopp and Luffy shouted in unison. They finally arrived at the harbor, where the cruise-ship was located. Both of them had been eager to finally see the ship in person. Counting from the day the tickets were booked, Luffy and Usopp had searched for boats and ships online, compared multiple steamers and cruisers, getting more and more excited.

“That looks so cool!” Luffy exclaimed loudly. He had been energetic and excited the entire train-ride towards the harbor. Usopp and Luffy had chatted non-stop about the soon-to-be-starting trip, waking up Zorro multiple times and annoying the hell out of Nami, while doing so.

“And so big! I did not expect the ship to be soo big!”

The pictures they had looked at online had shown a big cruiser, but it was different in person. The size was somehow intimidating and at the same time, it felt majestic. Luffy felt joy. This was going to be an awesome adventure. He had dreamt about voyaging since he could remember. As little child he had talked with his friend Shanks about traveling. It was one of his very first memories. Just him and his friends. No school, no duties, freedom and adventure! Meeting all kinds of people, making new friends. Changing fates.

“Oi Nami! Did you know that boats could be so big?” Luffy had only known and seen the little ships using the rivers. Even at the harbor close to the city he had never seen a ship of that size. Bigger boats yes, container ships even. The cruiser in front of them played in a different league considering size though.

“Of course, it is big, or do you think, I want to spend two weeks in a little nut-shell of a boat?” She sighed heavily with a hint of amusement on her face. She had overcome her earlier irritation. Luffy being energetic was exhilarating to watch. Somehow, he always managed to put his good mood on others. Nami was not sure how he did it, in the end it did not even matter. Luffy was just Luffy…

“Hey, as if you could be annoyed by us!” Usopp grinned. He had finally stopped gawking at their home for the next weeks. “I cannot wait to see the deck! Online was written, that they have many pools and slides. They have gambling rooms and several bars!” He wanted to explore it all!

“Hach, the gambling rooms.” Nami smiled. Maybe she had more money after the trip, then before. Well, having less than nothing was hard to achieve. She could have never afforded the tickets on her own. Paying Luffy’s and her train tickets was already blowing her budget by far. If she wanted to bring home some souvenirs, she either had to earn some money by gambling and playing against other people or she had to steal something, again. Nami knew, that Bellemere, her adoptive mother, was against stealing or illegal activities in general, but sometimes Nami felt, like it was only fair.

Her mother was a hard-working woman. She had managed to raise two children (and Nami knew, that neither she, nor her sister Nojiko had been easy), while working fulltime. It had been stressful. Nami never had been able to get new things or go shopping for cool clothes like other girls her age. They never had spent a holiday in another country. Too expensive. It was the main reason, she felt honored and blessed being able to take this trip with her friends now. If her mother could not visit a different country, Nami at least wanted to bring her some nice gifts and Souvenirs! Maybe one day, she earned enough money to pay for a trip for her mother. It was something Nami was going to work hard for.

“I cannot wait to check out their bars. There are multiple on every deck!” Zorro’s voice was rough from sleepiness. He had just woken up a few minutes ago. Sleeping on the train had been difficult with Usopp’s and Luffy’s eager chatting and Nami scolding them. He had managed to get his nap though. “So even if you get lost, you will still find something to drink!” A big grin was showing on Luffy’s face, as he looked at Zorro. His friends’ sense of direction was not the best. Not by far. Zorro did not even try to argue. Pointless.

“Let us go! It will take some time to check in!” Nami held their tickets. She was, next to Usopp, probably the most responsible. It felt unreal to finally see the ship, be on the ship. They all had been eager for the trip, since they got the tickets. It had not been easy time to decide on a goal for their vacation…

Zorro had been fine with everything as long as it contained enough napping time, as well as enough booze. He was neither a picky eater, nor was he really interested in deciding about where to go or what to see. Spending time with his friends and enjoying his free time, before he had to go to work again, was all that mattered to him.

Nami on the other hand wanted to travel further away. Exploring the world, different cities and countries. Enjoying foreign cultures.

After the holiday she was going to start to study at the local university. Even though she could stay at home with her sister and her mother, saving on rent and money for food, she knew the times would be rough considering money. They did not have a lot of free money to spend. Especially with Nami not being able to work full-time anymore due to the university courses. She felt rather happy and blessed, that her mother Bellemere had saved up some money for her to go studying. Traveling had always been a dream of the redhead. Knowing very well, that this would be the only vacation she could afford in the next years, she had tried to stand her ground.

The person she had argued with most was Usopp. He had wanted to visit a tropical island at first, only to retract as soon as he heard about all the different kind of vaccinations he needed to go there. Weird diseases, possible parasite infections. Nope.

Next destination he had in his mind was one of the shooting places of a movie Luffy and he were fans from. Something with robots and ninjas and pirates. Nami had argued heavily against it. She did not want to visit an isolated island filled with only snow, ice and moose! Never! She would probably fall sick there.

Another possibility was the desert. Nami had always been fond of warm and sunny places. Visiting one of the famous desert cities of Alabasta, maybe they could have even meet Vivi again. A former exchange student in their school times. Seeing her again would be really nice. The tickets were too expensive though.

Luffy had been rather easy. As long as it was a fun place and his friends were there, he would have agreed on anything. Of course, he had his preferences. He would have liked the tropical island and jungle. The thoughts of cool bugs, insects in general, as well as cool predators excited him. A desert island would have been fun too in his opinion. He had talked about sand-surfing and trying out the exotic foods…

Their bickering went forth and back and at some point Nami was sure, that they would spend their entire free time arguing without actually going anywhere. The discussions about their vacation goal came to an abrupt end, when Luffy one day arrived with two tickets for a cruise trip.

“Grampa got these from some of the people he trained. They said, that some vacation was good for him, something about finally retiring. Gramps beat them up and gave the tickets to me” Luffy shrugged and looked at his friends. “Let us take the trip! There will be different islands!” Nami slowly raised one eyebrow, before taking a closer look at the tickets. Multiple islands? That sounded fancy. She did not question Garp beating up his poor Marine trainees.

As weird as Luffy was from time to time, it seemed to run in the family. Nami had only seen his grampa a few times. She could not exactly say, that these were pleasant memories. Garp was loud, brutal and loving at the same time. He ate as much as Luffy, had a tendency to fall asleep and Nami had never seen someone making Luffy run away. Usually the Strawhat fought everything and everyone, apparently Garp was on a different level. Nami was not sure if she should admire Garp for that or be scared of him.

“These are only two tickets though, we need four, don’t we?” Zorro asked, while Usopp was checking online if they could buy more tickets. “We just buy two more!” Luffy leaned over the shoulder of Usopp, looking at the Webpage. “Woah! This ship looks amazing! There are slides and loops! Swimming pools! All you can eat!!” From second to second he got more jittery and excited. He could not wait to be on the ship! There were so many things to explore and to do! He could do them with his friends. That was going to be awesome! Absolutely Amazing!

“That is.. expensive. How were those trainees able to pay for the two tickets?” Nami frowned. Even if they divided the price of the remaining two tickets, it was still more than she could afford. She bit her lip. Maybe the others should go without her?

“Don’t know. I think some other Marines helped with paying. They probably wanted to get rid of gramps too.” Luffy noticed Namis look. He hummed. “Oi, Usopp. Buy the two tickets! You can write in Grampas name! He is gonna pay for us! I will get his money card”

Nami frowned. His credit card? Was that even legal? She should not question Luffy. He was going to do, what he wanted anyway.

Their check-in did thankfully not take long. It was difficult for Luffy to remain still for a longer period of time. Waiting in a line, adventures and fun ahead. Nami was not sure, if Luffy had managed to stay in line for ten more minutes.

“Uff. Okay, should we check out our rooms?” The redhead sighed before walking towards one of the maps of the cruiser. It did not take long for her to memorize everything.

“Okay, here we are!” Nami smiled before giving each of them their key card to unlock the room. “Do.not.lose.it! Actually- I keep my card and Zorros. Usopp you take yours and Luffy's.” That way the cards would not get lost. Hopefully.

After exploring their rooms, they all went to the deck together. Soon the ship was going to hoist anchor. Usopp rested against the railing, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the soft breeze of wind on his skin. It felt wonderful. Zorro stood next to him, eyeing the sea. It was a relaxed atmosphere. Somewhat calm, even though there were a lot of people standing on the deck, wanting to see the start of their travel.

“Oi, Usopp!” Luffy looked around, observing the many people. “Don’t you think it is cool, that we are finally on our adventure!” He was curious about all the things they were going to do, the places they were going to explore and the new friends, they were going to make!