#we usually talk about sanji at parties but what about Usopp feeling a bit too himself and going fuck it I'm telling my crush i like him?

[arttlars]

This was way funnier in my head, I hate coloring so uuh I think I fucked it up there but oh well who cares it's done

[beanghostprincess]

They've been drinking for a while, and Usopp, surprisingly, isn't drunk enough to handle what's happening. Usually, he's the first one to not be able to stand, but for some reason, he has decided to control himself a little bit today. First mistake, he thinks.

Because Sanji is clingier than usual. And Usopp isn't really bothered by that, exactly, he's now used to Sanji laying his head down on his lap while he plays with the sniper's undone, messy hair. And not exclusively when they're drunk. They're just like that, now. Apparently? Usopp isn't sure how their relationship has reached this point, but he would never be bothered by his crush stroking his hair with a lovesick smile. He would have to be stupid for that to happen.

And he's the stupidest man alive.

Usopp feels his heart aching every time his eyes meet blue, and he can't help but fake a smile whenever Sanji grins at him. They're partying on the ship just because Luffy said so. Because pirates don't really need a reason to do this sort of thing. And the others are too far forgotten on the other side of the deck for Sanji to give a fuck about them seeing him like this. Usually, the cook's caresses are hidden from the rest. Usually, whenever he acts like this, he tries hard for people not to see. As if he didn't want them to know he feels something for Usopp.

The sniper knows there's something between them. Sanji does too. It's just something hard to accept when the cook seems like he's going to throw up whenever somebody sees him with Usopp. With a man.

And, you know, the sniper feels selfish for wanting to ask more from Sanji. But he wishes- He sometimes wishes they could be more than this. He wishes Sanji acted this way around others too, not only when he has chugged like five glasses of wine and a couple of shots of whisky.

Sanji keeps playing with a strand of his hair, and Usopp is lost in his thoughts when the cook speaks. "Did you know I love your hair? It's- It's pretty."

Usopp can only laugh, but Sanji's soft voice makes him want to die. "I know. You've told me already." Like five seconds ago.

The cook nods, as if he was trying to understand a very complex situation. And then his laughter fills the little corner they're at. "I guess I just..." Then Sanji looks up, and his laughter turns into a trembling sigh. "You're beautiful, ma moitié."

Usopp feels like crying. He can't- He can't do this right now. "Sanji-" He tries to warn him. Because he knows what comes next. He knows what's going to happen and he knows the cook will act like nothing is going on the next day. Usopp can't have that. "I think we should-"

But the cook turns his head around and rests it closer to Usopp's chest as quickly as he can. Scared. Hugging him. Placing both of his arms around Usopp, with the fear he might go away. He buries his face there, and his insecure, drunken voice is muffled by the embrace. "Don't leave me." Usopp holds back the urge to hug him back, his hands shaking on either side of his body. "Don't- Please. I'm sorry." His voice breaks. He's begging, and Usopp has always been too weak to deny him these nights. "I think-"

He can't deal with this.

"Sanji, please." He tries to push him away, but Sanji keeps holding onto him with a strength he only uses with Usopp when it comes to never letting him go. The strength of two thousand men and the passion of a broken heart. Usopp feels his throat closing with every word. "Don't do this to me."

"I'm in love with you."

Usopp gives up after hearing that, because there's no going back from this. He lets Sanji hug him through the night, whispering sweet nothings that carry the weight of the world on Usopp's shoulders, and placing tender kisses on his skin that probably taste horribly to alcohol.

The sniper gives him this night, too, saying it's the last one before they actually talk things out properly.

But he knows it's a lie.

[robinchan-hananomi]

I’m very glad the One Piece live action left Rika and Gin in, even if it scrapped most of their story lines.

Luffy grew up watching and admiring Shank’s crew. And to be honest, Shanks is the only REAL pirate crew Luffy had much exposure to growing up. (Blue jam could be considered too, but he was operating more like a bandit by the time the brothers were assisting him than sea pirates). Because of them, Luffy had rather romantic ideas of what a pirate should be. They should be people who live to party, who eat and drink while singing and overall being in a celebratory mood. He saw them as free and adventurous spirits, who traveled the world chasing dreams and treasure.

But one other thing Shanks really taught Luffy, was his code. Luffy isn’t a hero. Technically he isn’t a ‘good guy’ either. Luffy will help someone who needs it, but usually it’s because he’s effected in some way. He befriended someone, he liked the attitude someone showed, he wanted some food, ect. Luffy doesn’t go out of his way to liberate countries like the Revolutionaries but he also doesn’t stand by and watch people suffer or be hurt either.

Luffy became a pirate with the goal in mind to have a crew better than Shank’s. That meant all the people in the crew had to be ‘good’ people in the way Luffy saw real pirates being. People who wanted dreams and adventures, not to pillage or harm others. People who would follow Luffy’s path but also not be afraid to tell Luffy what they need to tell him to keep him from veering off too. And with all that in mind, Luffy was actually pretty careful in his crew selection, especially in the beginning.

Usopp was originally turned down (to be Captain by Usopp’s own offer) before the crew saw what he could do and brought him in. Nami was also someone Luffy saw a bit in action before he fully cemented his ideas on her too. But Zoro and Sanji were the ones that we really see the moment where Luffy decided he cannot have his crew without them.

When Luffy was first talking about and to Zoro, he even said he wasn’t sure if he would invite Zoro to join his crew. Luffy’s attention was definitely captured when he saw Zoro not only attempt to chase Rika away from the marine’s grounds before she was spotted but then eating the disgusting rice balls and telling Luffy to inform Rika that not only had Zoro eaten all of it, but that he liked it. Now Luffy had no way of knowing that Zoro hated sweets at that time, but he did know the rice was full of dirt and mud and it wasn’t good due to Helmeppo’s reaction. Luffy knew that Zoro was doing it to be kind to Rika. Then Rika told Luffy about how Zoro was only in the situation because not only did he protect Rika, a complete stranger, but he also gave himself up in her place to be punished! Zoro had actually put himself at risk to protect a little girl and despite the danger he was in, he still prioritized the strange girl’s feelings above his own welfare. Luffy had realized that at his core, Zoro was a kind and honorable man and adamantly refused to leave Shell’s Town without Zoro.

Then Luffy had already met Sanji and was interacting with him, but Luffy didn’t show any interest in Sanji as a crew member until the incident with Gin. Gin had already presented himself as a threat, pointing a gun at the cooks and threatening to shoot them for food. Yet Sanji showed great kindness, compassion, and empathy for Gin by going into the kitchen and making Gin something to eat. Sanji couldn’t stand by and watch a man suffer while the other cooks had been content to toss Gin out and wash their hands of him. And when Luffy saw Sanji feed Gin, Luffy had said right then that he had found his cook.

I am sad we didn’t get many characters that we loved in the live action, but I honestly don’t think you could show Luffy’s recruitment of Zoro and Sanji without Rika and Gin.

[pure-kirarin]

The rose left unwatered (Law x f!reader)

Heyo guys ! this is my first multi part fanfiction and I hope that you will all like it =w=.  No TW for now apart for coming smut in next chapters~  This was originally a request by @soul-stealer-reaper​ . Thanks for requesting :) originally you asked for a scenario with rough NSFW where Law has a crush on a girl that the government is afraid of and that has high bounty. As this will have some parts, everything you asked for will come in the next chapters so no worries :’) ! I won’t hide that wrote quite freely tho, I hope that it’s fine.  Synopsis : You have felt unwanted for so long that you forgot the last time you felt like you belonged. Quite paradoxical, when you are one of the most wanted “criminals” in the new world. You cross paths with Law after joining the strawhats at Fishman Island to “kill some time” and you both feel a weird connection from the moment your eyes met, curiosity, hatred or desire, did it really matter as long as feelings were involved ? ---------------------------

A rose left unwatered will wither, A heart left unloved will rot, A sweet dream left untouched will go bitter,  A love left unspoken will be forgot. Nemo -  Murder in Venice

The first time that Law saw you, he found you extremely annoying. He remembered that he saw your wanted poster somewhere, with one of the highest bounties that he has ever seen. Seeing such a high bounty made him raise an eyebrow at first, what could you have done to have the whole world on your back ? The second thought that came to his mind was that of detachement, then he flinched at that thought.

The first time that Law saw you in person was after his Allience with the strawhats. You stayed at the ship the whole time, you didn't even bother to follow others to punk Hazard or to help them with their plans. He thought that you were an extremely selfish person and you reminded him of the person that he hated most. That way you had of doing what you wanted without caring about others, the smirk you had on your lips at all times, never submitting, always acting so sure of yourself, it irritated him.

How could someone get such a strong reaction out of him ? He didn't even know, he always eyed you from afar and it was enough to know that you prfoundly, passionately got on his nerves.

You joined the strawhats in the Fishmen Island, finding your way to them and just asking to join. Luffy's simplistic demeanor meant that he accepted right away, not caring about who you were and not flinching at your high bounty.

You made it clear that you were just staying to be entertained, in fact, you didn't want to fight, you didn't want to help anyone, your curiosity was just peaked by Luffy, by that man that defied the world government, by that man that defied everyone at Marineford. You weren't impressed, but you just felt sympathy towards him and wanted to find some company.

You found what you were looking for, in fact, life with the strawhats was enjoyable, you didn't get along with Usopp or Nami. The former thought that you were « too scary » and would kill them in their sleep, the latter hated how little you were willing to cooperate.

You had your own reason, but nobody on that ship was able to grasp your personnality, you just had your own way of thinking, your own internal logic that nobody seemed to get. Who were you ? Why were you there and why was the whole world on your back ? All these questions were provoking Law, teasing him endlessly. His curiosity was growing day after day and you were always there, on a lounge chair enjoying the burn of the sun on your skin, not caring about anything else, not caring about him, not that he cared...did he ? You got on his nerves just by being there, he felt obseverd yet, he wasn't the kind of people to get flustered but your gaze was so intense, feline.

It was a soft night on the sunny, a few days before getting to Dressrosa.  On this night, the strawhats decided to gather around after dinner like always. They enjoyed socializing and spending time together, telling stories and playing silly games.  It was quite late so Momo was already sleeping. Everyone was on the deck enjoying some drinks and you were on the crow's nest, peaceful.

« Y/N-chaaawn~ » Screamed Sanji, making you look down. « Come have some fun with us, don't stay there on your own ! »

« - Yeah Y/N ! We're all having fun here. »  Said Luffy.

You jumped gracefully from the crow's nest just like a cat. You then looked around circularly before taking place between Law and Robin as she silently made some space for you. The atmosphere was light and everyone was enjoying themselves. Zoro was drinking bottle after bottle as Sanji was screaming at him. Usopp was telling you all for the tenth time about how he took down a sea king with his little finger and Luffy and Chopper were captivated by how cool that was.

You were just silently enjoying that sense of peace till Nami asked you out of nowhere

« Oh true Y/N, I actually never asked but I am curious, why is your bounty so high ? What have you done ? »

For a second your expression changed and everyone's eyes were on you. You just decided to tell them some kind of lie and you said that you killed a celestial dragon. Everyone looked at you in awe, killing a celestial dragon means that you had to escape from admirals. You excused yourself then saying you were tired, therefore going to sleep.

After hours of partying Strawhats went to sleep. You got out of the girl's quarter wearing only a night gown. Your thoughts were waltzing since earlier's events and you were looking melancolically at the ocean. The sound of the waves was so calming, you got close to the board of the sunny, placing your elbows on the wooden surface. You didn't notice it when Law came your way, he wasn't sleeping either, his sleeping schedule was always herractic. He was still intrigued by the lie you told earlier and by your overall attitude, something about you drew him towards you like a magnet.

-(Y/N)-ya...You didn't kill a celestial dragon, did you?

His voice was low and hoarse, stealing a murmur out of your lips. Your eyes met his, gray, icy. It was the first time he said your name outloud, actually, you briefly ever interacted since he got on this ship.

-Trafalgar ?..

You were wondering why did he bring this up, he never ever showed interest in you and you in him. In fact, now that you looked at him more in detail, you could say that he was an exceptionally handsome male with soft dark hair and a gloomy but all the more seductive cast of demeanor.

He could obtain any female he wanted at a snap of his fingers. You looked away and added :

-I thought that you disliked me. Why do you even ask ?

He raised an eyebrow, but got back to his stoic expression almost immediatly. He didn't know that it showed. However, you were wrong, he was starting to get intrigued by you, by your high bounty, by the detached way you acted. He was usually the one to observe and analyse people, but something about you...He couldn't put a finger on.

-I don't like lies.

-I have my own reasons...I'm sure there are a lot of things that you want to keep secret.

You hesitated then looked his side. He seemed calm still and just shrugged, ready to go back to his spot but then you added ;

-I lied because I didn't want to involve anyone in this...When I was just a child, I was a part of a dozen kids that were selected to take part into a « government experiment »...I don't want to go into details but...you clenched your fist, eyes fixed on an imaginary point in front of you I am the only survivor of that experiment...Therefore I'm being tracked... We were given power...To this day I don't know its extent...But I know that with just a blow of my fingers I could...you gasped How could a child be granted such a power ? Why did they have to choose for me ? I didn't want any of this....I never wanted to fight, I don't want to fight. I just wanted to be normal, to have a family, to feel wanted...haha...your laugh was bitter I mean, I know that I am the most wanted person you probably met, but I didn't mean it in that way. I hope that this satisfies your curiosity, Trafalgar Law.

Your eyes met, he looked in them, deep, searching for traces of honesty. You were telling the truth, there wasn't a doubt. He liked the way his name sounded out of your lips, it was the first time that he heard these three letters murmured by you. It's as if his first name sounded different, you had that way of saying it, almost like a whisper. You looked so vulnerable in your nightgown, so fragile despite your usual arrogant carapace. The fiery tigress looked like a sweet kitten and he was surprised by the way he just wanted to reassure you. He brushed that thought quickly and added, stoic ;

-I see, why did you tell me ?  

-You just asked me to, no ? I just felt like we were a bit alike...Ah. Also, quit asking me questions....This is starting to feel like a doctor examination...Now it's my turn to ask. Why do you even care ? I didn't think that the surgeon of death was such a curious person.

He scratched his chin, hesitating for a second, but then he just said bluntly ;

-The first time I saw you, I thought that you were extremely annoying.

- Ah ? you looked at him with a straight face, but still a bit offended If we're playing first impressions then...

-But I get it now.

He wasn't annoyed, in fact, he was just fascinated. It wasn't animosity that he felt but desire to know more about you. It wasn't that he was making sure that you're not endangering anyone, he wanted to look at you, it was just excuses upon excuses, rationalization for a case of irrational fascination. Now that the diagnostic was there, he could understand his emotions more clearly.

-You are talking in riddles but well...Whatever...Why did you form an alliance with Luffy by the way ? I wonder how you're able to handle all of his energy if you can't even stand mine haha.

-Let me correct you ; I don't hate you. He stops for a moment then he adds. There is a man that I would like to kill.

You turn now, back against the wooden border of the ship. You had an amused look on your face, wondering who was that man that he wanted to take down ;

-Now that's interesting ! Let me guess, who is it ?

-You are quite curious yourself, (Y/N)-ya...

He thought it was only fair, you opened up to him, he opened up to you, but telling you the details wasn't for now.

-So you are using the strawhats ?

-I am not sure who is using who. And what is your reason for joing the strawhats ?

-Luffy, you said with dreamy eyes, it's the D in his name...I have been drawn to people with this letter in their names like a magnet...I don't know...I just believe it's fate...

He was startled by your answer, so you knew about the « D » letter ? He also had this letter in his name...He just added then, with a face that didn't betray his surprise ;

-Oh , a girl like you believes in such romantic stories ?

-And what is a girl like me like ? You added, amused. I mean, apart from annoying.

-...Quit it already.

His tone was stable as always. He didn't show it but he thought that it was cute of you, how you insisted and played along. You faced him, your eyes looking right into his and you weren't one to look down, oh no. Irisis into his irisis, looking for him and digging something into him. He didn't even know what you meant by such a look, once again, feline.

The salty smell of the ocean's water mixed with the odor of your fruity perfume made that moment a bit more enjoyable and he wasn't even the type of person to enjoy chatting.

Check mate, you made up for that horrible first impression. You added then ;

-You avoided my question by the way, why wouldn't I believe in « such romantic stories » ? What do you think you know about « a girl like me » ?

You got a bit closer, amused, and he thought that it was getting a bit dangerous. You had a fake woeful look in your eyes. His limbs were filled to the brim with that ocean perfume of yours mixed with that sweet taste, and for a second it was as if that odor operated some kind of spell over him, because a surprising thought occured to his mind ; what would your lips taste like ? Certainly salty like the ocean and a tad like peaches.

Unsettled and unfocused he said ;

-Shouldn't you be sleeping ?

In reality, he didn't want these thoughts to make a nest out of his head and decided to cut the conversation quite abruptly. Your rocked your body back, almost like a child and rose your eyebrows in a semi-sarcastic semi-dramatic way.

-I'm a bit too old for a bed time don't you think, Trafalgar ?

-Just Law.

-Yes yes ! L-a-w...See you tomorrow ! You're not as uptight as I thought.

-(Y/N)-ya.

He just said your name in a strict way, probably indicating that you needed to go. His tone was firm, stop teasing already.

You looked at him with a diminishing smile, pronouncing every single letter so slowly, stretching his name on your lips so that these three tiny letters seemed endless. You tossed your hair, and something about the whole situation, about your feminine charm, something about the breeze of the night made the both of you feel unbearable tension. The type of tension that happens between a man and a woman at three in the morning, that tension that makes every little detail, every look in the eyes, every brush of the fingers feel indecent.

The eyes of a woman can't lie, his ego was stroked as he thought he had a glimpse of your hidden desire.You turned to go back to the girl's quarters, his eyes still hanged on your silhouette. ----------- I hope that you liked this first part. Please tell me what you think. It is a great motivator to know that I’m writing and being read. <3 I wish you all a nice day !

[softrozene]

“Me… Me?!”

@bug-ahboo​ requested: Thank you so much! For even taking the time to respond. If it’s not too much trouble would it be alright if I requested a Shachi x reader Au where the boys are In a night club, And the readers a super pretty girl who makes all the boys take a second glance. But instead of heading over to law or Luffy’s friends she Decides she’s going to flirt with the redhead and it catches him off guard. It can end fluffy or really how ever you want it too. :) (again thank you so much! This means a lot!)

I had so much fun with this! This was my first time actually writing just for Shachi, so it was a bit odd but very welcoming! I do hope you enjoy it love and sorry for the long wait, Lovely!

Shachi x Female Reader

Warnings: Fluff, mentions of alcohol and flirty suggestions- They are at a night club, a bit on the comedy side (Can we please give Shachi some confidence here?)

Words: 1377

-

Shachi has never been to a club like this before. It was the hottest ones by far with so many people and insanely loud music- It would have been impossible to count all the bodies dancing. It felt exhilarating. That is what he and Penguin at least think. Their friend Law dragged them since he has been here before with their other companions who are here tonight as well: Luffy and quite a few of his own friends.

It is packed and Shachi loves it. So far- It is already the number one place he should visit in the future. With the smell of alcohol ad fun in the air while gorgeous human beings dance together. It nearly lit him on fire. Penguin felt the same way but their friend Law- He is upset since he knows he is going to be babysitting whoever gets shit faced first ad from the looks of it, Zoro is getting Usopp and Nami on that path.

Shachi thinks for a moment he wants to be on the path of drunken fun as well until they get further into the nightclub. Snagging a wonderful circle bench where they can all sit, chat, and take turns going out on the dance floor or getting drinks. He and Penguin feel like they are in heaven at all the beautiful ladies dancing.

It will not hurt to mingle right?

The thought was great until Penguin already points at their friend Law with Zoro (trying to stop Zoro from getting too many drinks already) and all the females in the area just stare them down. Welp… It was a nice idea to think he had a chance. Penguin is still going to try but Shachi knows when to not try.

He needs a second to feel glommed out before he returns to his partying self. Law and Zoro return with drinks while Usopp and Nami take a shot and head straight to the dance floor. Penguin follows so he can try and flirt with someone out on the dance floor.

“Where did Luffy go?” Shachi asks the two who are observing the night club.

Zoro answers, “Don’t know. He is around here somewhere.”

“Last time Luffy-ya made a new friend. I did not see her, but everyone made a big deal out of it. So, he is probably trying to find her if he invited her,” Law answers.

Shachi hums getting a glass of a fruity alcoholic beverage that the duo brought over. It is his guilty pleasure- Fruity drinks compared to the hard shit his friends down. Not that he would say it, but it is obvious from how much he drinks it. They usually would tease him slightly but this time Law and Zoro both seem to be wondering where Luffy went as well- In search of what stranger he could have possibly made friends with this time.

“Who are we waiting for to party?” Luffy asks right beside Shachi scaring the living life out of all three males.

Zoro huffs. “Weren’t we waiting for your friend?”

“Oh! (Name)?! I already saw her- She said something about scouting you guys. I don’t know what she meant but she should introduce herself soon! I’m going to dance!” Luffy announces.

His words leave the three males confused- Why would his friend scout them?

Shachi voices just that. “Why is she scouting us?”

“Well- last time we were here everyone made a big deal about her so maybe she is trying to see what kind of friends her new friend has? I am unsure but she sounds interesting,” Law murmurs.

Zoro says nothing his eyes already trying to find a female watching them. Of course- an impossible feat in a nightclub filled with too many people. Shachi sighs as he feels the fruity drink starting to get to him- Maybe he will have the courage to ask someone to dance? Or maybe he will end up pouting with Penguin as their better looking, in his opinion, friends get all the girls.

Either way- His hopes are going down but that makes the path to a drunken fun seem all the much better. The downer thoughts nearly make him miss the nightclub growing louder- In their area in the form of very loud, trying to be hushed and failing, whispers.

A hand lands on Shachi’s shoulders making him jump but quickly notice how all the heads in this area are staring in a certain direction. It is Penguin who is holding his shoulder as he points meekly in that direction.

Law and Zoro straighten up and their own eyes widen at who they see. Shachi nearly misses her- He sees no one at first until he does a second glance and becomes frozen. His heart stops. He is certain everyone is just like him now, feeling love at first sight (or with his certain friends like Sanji then lust at first sight).

“YO- YO, you need to look! Except for you marimo, no way is she looking at you. That absolute queen is staring at one of you guys! Well, now I guess me since I am over here as well,” Sanji murmurs beside Shachi and Penguin.

Law and Zoro remain silent- Their hopes also getting up because as everyone is fully aware of. This woman is beyond beautiful.

Shachi can’t take his eyes off of her until he realizes that she is… No way- Is she staring at him? That can’t be. He quickly tries to crush his own heart before life ultimately does for him. He looks away and scowls.

Penguin is shaking and that indicates that she is slowly making her way over here. Eventually, she is in front of their table and leans against it. Shachi refuses to look at her until she coughs.

“My name is (Name) and I am wondering if ‘that’ handsome guy would like to dance with me?” (Name) states.

Law, Zoro, and Sanji practically start to choke on air. When one of them calms down it is Law that asks, “You are (Name)? Luffy’s new friend?”

“Hm? Luffy- Oh you must be his friends then. I did not even notice. I was too busy staring at him,” She admits.

Finally- Shachi gives in and stares at her. His eyes widen as he makes eye contact with her… There is no possible way she can mean him… Not when his much better-looking friends, Law, Zoro, and even Sanji, are here beside him!

One of them finally asks- It is Penguin who is making sure- “Wait, wait a moment, who are you talking about?”

“The red-head,” She replies without a hitch.

Penguin and Sanji are staring at Shachi with full-on confusion while Law and Zoro merely huff- It was a nice thought that she could be one of theirs for the night.

Shachi finally asks in a surprised tone, “Me… Me?!”

-

You laugh at his cute and rather flustered expression.

“Yes, you, handsome. Won’t you tell me your name and dance with me? Or am I getting my hopes up?” You ask suddenly feeling embarrassed.

Though- You could have sworn that he was staring at you with those cute curious eyes. Maybe you had it wrong. Either way, it was worth a shot. You get ready to turn around when you see him jump up immediately.

“The name is Shachi! I would love to dance!” He says happily.

You reach for his hand and you can feel him shaking with nervousness. Cute.

“By the end of this night- I would love to give you my number. You seem like the type who enjoys going on actual day dates- Am I wrong?” You ask.

Despite the fast beat music playing on the dance floor- Both of you sway in a gentle manner. Shachi is so thankful for the low lighting on the dance floor- He would die of embarrassment if you saw how red his face was turning.

“No, you aren’t wrong at all! I would love to go on a date with you!” And now he wishes he could shut up.

Shachi just really can’t believe that you- A super pretty woman, actually saw him standing out instead of his friends. Yeah- This nightclub is definitely his favorite now.

[catatonic-writes]

The Fool - Zoro x Reader

Title: The Fool Summary: After a drunk, passionate night with the swordsman it’s time to talk about an unpleasant thing - feelings. Relationship: Zoro x Reader Warnings: - mention of sexual content - Prompt/AU: 120 words - 120 oneshots AO3 Link

"Still awake?", you asked mischievously and dropped onto the wood next to Zoro. It was the fourth night in a row that he had been given the night shift in the crow's nest - he really shouldn't mess with Nami! "Very funny, really." the swordsman rumbled sullenly. Although Zoro was only too happy to take on the task of the lookout - since that was his training room after all - four nights in a row was tough. "You need a shower." you turned up your nose as you moved a bit closer and handed him an apple from the galley. Sanji didn't like it when you secretly went to the supplies and plundered the fruit. Fortunately it was almost three o'clock in the morning and he was already fast asleep. "I was training." you got in reply. "I can't shower on guard duty." "True." you admitted and bit heartily into the red, juicy fruit. It was a deliciously sweet apple, just the way you liked it. Zoro also ate his nightly snack while you two stared out at the black open sea. It was a very calm night, hardly any wind was blowing around the sails of Sunny and the ship itself was dead quiet. That was probably the best thing about Zoro: he wasn't too talkative. Luffy, Chopper and Usopp were already making enough noise throughout the day, so you welcomed some peace in your chaotic everyday life very much. And since Zoro was definitely the calmest of the pirates - besides Robin - you got along wonderfully. Maybe even a little too wonderful, considering the incident two weeks ago.

First of all, it should be said that relationships under Nakama were not forbidden, just not very welcome. Feelings usually only caused problems in battles, but it was actually a little different with the straw hats. This gang was more of a family, except for Sanji, who danced around Nami and Robin like a love-crazed teenager. And that you were with Zoro of all people... Well, you had made good use of your time together as sentries in the night. Since then it's been a little strange between you two. It wasn't a broken relationship, but you already knew about the difficult circumstances of the situation. What would Luffy say if it came out? After all, the captain had the last word on such things. And what would Nami think about it - the scolding would be horrible. "Are we going to talk about it?", you asked hesitantly and continued gnawing on your apple. "Why should we." That was not a question, but a statement. He didn't want to talk about it - that was too bad, because you did. "About the other day." you went on and looked up at one of the twinkling stars above you. "The kiss. The sex." Now Zoro became visibly uncomfortable in his skin as he avoided your gaze and threw the last remnant of the apple core into the sea. He didn't answer you at first, but then he thought of something better when he had sorted his thoughts a bit. That's okay, you thought. We have time. The night is still young. "We were drunk. Like, really drunk." Zoro finally said. He wasn't wrong about that, after a wild party with lots of alcohol you had your very own party. Of course, the beer had loosened your spirits, only intensified the temptations that had always been there and finally a voice had rumbled in your heads: Why not? And now you were here, together and yet not actually together. Two weeks later with sad faces and regrets in your hearts. Which of you two was the bigger fool? You, because you had just kissed Zoro - or he, because he had gone for it? It's hard to say which of you two was more guilty of all this. More important was how things would go on now. "I don't really regret it." you said quietly and you too threw the apple's remains overboard. "I am only unhappy about the circumstances under which it happened." "What do you mean by that?" "We were drunk." you gestured impatiently with your hand. Didn't he understand at all what you meant? "I had imagined it to be without alcohol. Sober." "Imagined?", the swordsman caught you and looked at you sideways. "So this was planned?" Oh, shit. "Not planned." you mumbled evasively. "More like... ...wanted. Or hoped for." "Wait, wait." Now Zoro turned to you. "So you really think there's something behind this, not just a physical attraction?" "Perhaps." you returned, evasively again, avoiding looking directly at him. This conversation quickly became quite embarrassing as you wanted to keep your feelings out of it. Of course you liked Zoro and of course you wanted physical contact. Nobody could have guessed that this would end in a passionate night in the lookout! He sighed, a little resigned. Rarely did you see him depressed, but at this moment he didn't seem to be happy about your statement. "It's not possible." he finally said and his serious look gave you goose bumps. "You know that as well as I do. As tempting as it may be, it will only bring us trouble." "Hmm, I thought you'd say something like that," you replied with some light sadness in your voice. Hope died last but now it was officially dead. "We really are idiots." you muttered to the starry sky. "To do something this stupid..." "I wouldn't call it stupid." You felt a warm shoulder on yours as Zoro moved a little closer and the two of you finally stared out to sea together with that tiny physical contact. "Wrong time, wrong place. That's all." "Will there ever be a right time and place?" you asked, leaning your head on his shoulder. He didn't avoid your touch, just put on a wry grin and sighed again. "Who knows, once Luffy has become pirate king we might have some free time on our hands, y'know?" Zoro replied with an amused undertone and you felt a short twitch in the muscle of his arm. You knew what he was thinking but didn't dare. So you grabbed his wrist, pulled his arm over your shoulder and took a deep breath. You had never experienced such a pleasant, tingling warmth before - but the vice was absolutely right. There was no room for a relationship, no room for romantic feelings in this crew. But maybe the opportunity arose at some point, who knew? Until then, you two idiots would have to leave it on a wonderful night together. A nice memory that connected the two of you - just you two idiots. "You really need a shower." "Ugh, I know."

[one-piece-but-smitten]

Midnight Baking Lesson

Sanji × Reader

Tags/TWs: Minor injury mention

~~~~~~~

It all started with the wrong decision on how to hold the knife. Your index finger had been perched atop the back of the blade as you roughly sliced the vanilla bean pods. You didn't know why, but it was somewhat impossible to get under control. You had tried to reposition the bean pod, and that was when your finger and the knife slipped.

You quietly nursed your cut finger with a damp washcloth, glaring at the herb in frustration. It was the middle of the night, you couldn't risk waking up your friends, especially Sanji. He was the one you were trying to make this for, after all.

A month ago, he had mentioned his birthday, and despite offers from the crew of having a party, he declined for some reason. It had only been about a year since you had been traveling with the band of wild pirates, but you had gotten to know them all pretty well, and you knew Sanji wouldn't pass up a celebration. You looked at the clock through the dim lighting of the moon, frowning. It was about 12:14 A.M., Sanji would be awake by sunrise. You had time, but if you kept slipping up like this that wouldn't count for much. You sighed, picking up a small bandage and tying it around your finger before going back to the cutting board. Initially, you had planned to make him a pie, but you thought it would just be easier to make him a little cake instead. The rough handling of the bean pods had made little noise, but it was enough to stir Sanji and put him on high alert. He crept out of bed, convinced Luffy was attempting to break into the refrigerator again. He snuck down the stairs stealthily, his sock-padded feet silent on the wood as he made his way to the kitchen. He opened the door, blowing his sneaky cover out of the surprise of seeing you.

"[Name]?? What the hell are you doing in here?" He asked, startling you. You hadn't heard him come in, so it was a bit of a cold shock to see him out of the blue. You set down the knife quickly, making a futile attempt to hide the sloppy slicing job behind you.

"S-Sanji!! I could ask you the same thing, why are you up so late?"

You asked, internally twinging at the nervous edge of your voice. He frowned at you, his eyes wandering to the mess behind your back in curiosity.

"I thought I heard Luffy gorging himself in here, so I was going to surprise attack the shithead.. But instead I found you."

He explained, raising one twirling eyebrow at the cutting board.

"What were you trying to do in here...?"

Damn, you were caught. You sigh, looking down at the ground.

"Well, when we were all talking a month ago, you mentioned your birthday. I know you said you didn't want a party, but I thought I should.. Well.. Let you kick your feet up for the day, and bake you something special.."

The last few sentences were mumbled, your face growing flustered as you revealed your birthday plans to him. You look down at the floor, feeling dumb and expecting no less of an insult from the ship's cook. You heard nothing, and looked up to see the cook with a rather surprised look on his face. Not only that, his cheeks were tinted a rosy hue.

"You.. You wanted to do that... For me??"

He asked in confirmation. You nodded, looking up at him sheepishly. You watched as he took a moment to process, looking a little red in the face as he faced you again. He let out a huff, your face burning as he came up behind you and started to correct your mishandling of the pods.

"W-Well, let's start by showing you how to actually deal with these."

He picked up his own paring knife from the block and took a piece of the butchered pod, focusing on his cutting as he explained your mistakes.

"First, you gently make a slit through the center like so,"

his knife gracefully glided through the vanilla, and he spread the newly-cut wings of the bean pod. You clumsily followed, your large chef's knife feeling a little clunky for this job. He nodded in approval, looking around at the assortment of ingredients in mild confusion.

"Before we go further... What exactly was your game plan here?"

He inquired. You blushed slightly, feeling dumb with the gradual realization that you forgot to plan ahead of that.

"I.. Was going to wing it. I would have flipped through some of your cookbooks to see for a recipe."

You admitted. He sighed, but it wasn't out of exasperation. You were surprised to hear a small chuckle follow as he lit a cigarette, opening a few windows to let the cool night air in. His laugh is kind of cute, you realized, blushing more. He took a drag from the lit cigarette, chuckling again.

"What am I gonna do with you?"

He asked rhetorically. You were left to sit for a bit as he put away and pulled out new ingredients, but you let it go as soon as he brought out the buttermilk from the fridge. You frowned, you may not be an expert in the kitchen, but you knew buttermilk wasn't something you'd usually use in cakes.

"Buttermilk?"

You asked aloud, wondering what the blonde was up to. He looked back at you, grinning as he pulled the griddle from it's hanging hook on the wall.

"I figured we make something quick and easy, and breakfast is a pretty easy start to a day, so why not some old-fashioned pancakes?"

Well.. It was technically morning. That, and pancakes were fun too. You nod, getting out some whisks and mixing bowls from the cabinets. With that, Sanji started instruction.

"First order of business, Mise en Place."

He stated. You cocked your head to the side, unfamiliar with the phrase. He took a drag from his cigarette before elaborating.

"It's a phrase that helps with organization while cooking. Getting out equipment and measuring everything beforehand to make the process easier."

He explained. Ah, so getting everything ready. You nod, looking around you to see the equipment was mostly there. The only thing needed was measuring cups and bowls for the measured ingredients. You got to work, being stopped almost immediately by the blonde.

"[Name], you need to sift the flour first. If you mix it in like that, there will be clumps."

He instructed gently, coming from behind you with the sifter to do it. It was only about a few seconds, but the warmth from his proximity almost made you want to scream. However, you let none of this show as you continued to work under his supervision, listening diligently as he showed you small tricks on how to make your food better. You got to the point of mixing everything, and he once again came up from behind to guide your hand as you whisked the wet and dry ingredients together.

"See, you need to watch how much you mix it, because it's super easy to let all of that air out of the egg whites we fluffed."

He explained. You nodded, letting him lead the way as your hand relaxed into his. The blonde's cheeks were dusted a light pink, but he dared not comment on it. He cleared his throat, separating before gesturing to the skillet. On the counter beside it lay a butter try with about half a stick settled on top of it. Sanji took out a butter knife from the drawer, cutting off a bit before flicking it onto the hot surface. A soft hiss sounded, letting you know it was ready to go. Before starting on cooking the pancakes, he glanced over at you.

"Would you like to do the honors?"

He asked. You chuckled nervously, feeling a little inexperienced compared to him. Even so, it was his birthday. You needed to at least do something to lighten the load. You grabbed a flipper, giving him a determined look.

"Yeah I do!"

He laughed, stunning you for a second. It was still so pretty, even if you'd heard it so many times before. You snap out of the daze as he goes over to the batter bowl, taking up a ladle and dropping small amounts of pancake batter into the skillet. The butter and mix hissed dully, letting you know that it was cooking. You shuffled over to the stovetop, monitoring the pancakes carefully.

"Make sure you don't flip them prematurely, then it's going to take longer. You'll know it's done when the bubbles rise up from the backside."

Sanji said, peeking over your shoulder. You stiffened a bit, something Sanji managed to notice. He frowned with mild concern, looking at you.

"Are you okay? You're acting a little weird, [Name]. Have you had any water lately?"

He asked. You shake your head vigorously, anything to get him from being so damn close. You see bubbles rising to the top of the batter, but you wait. You watch as more bubbles come up, and you decide to flip. To your surprise, the pancakes are a beautiful golden color, the outside browning crisp thanks to the butter. You look back at Sanji eagerly, and he returns the smile you give him twofold.

"Look at that! Not bad for the first batch. They usually turn out pretty iffy when I flip the first few."

He said. You rolled your eyes, knowing it to be a lie. You punched his shoulder gently, chuckling.

"Don't pull an Usopp on me, blondie. I know everything you make in here comes out perfect."

You retort lightly, surprised to see Sanji's blush of a reaction. You turn back to the pancakes quickly, feeling a blush creep up in your cheeks as well. A small silence settled on the both of you as he poured batter and you flipped. As it progressed, your thoughts ate at you. Looking at the situation clearly, your plan was backfiring. Sanji was being forced to cook on his birthday, all because you were too ditzy to handle baking him something. These intrusive words shifted your attention, causing you to use more strength than necessary to try and flip a pancake. Alas, the spatula slipped, and so followed your hand. There came a yelp, a clatter, and small shouts of concern from Sanji. Your hand had made contact with the sizzling skillet only for a moment, but your pinky and palm still hurt like hell.

"[Name]!!"

In an instant, he snatched up your arm, taking you over and plopping you down in a chair before moving the skillet off of the burner and grabbing a clean washcloth off of the counter. He ran it under the tap, squeezing out the excess before gently setting it against the burn. You winced, feeling horrible. He squatted down next to you, emotions in turmoil within those blue eyes of his. You avoid his gaze, feeling ashamed.

"[Name], please look at me."

You bit your lip to keep it from trembling, your good hand curled into a fist as it sat in your lap.

"I'm sorry, Sanji, I really am.."

You whimper shakily.

"Why are you apologizing? It was just an accide-"

"That's not what I'm talking about... I mean I'm sorry you had to cook on your birthday because of me."

There was a small silence before Sanji finally chuckled, taking your good hand into one of his. You blushed, it was rough and somewhat calloused from cooking over the years. You look into his eyes, unable to stop the tears from rolling down your cheeks. He was so sweet, even on the day he should be treated like a king he was there, tending to you. His eyes softened as he wiped your tears away, a smile on his lips.

"You're too kind, [Name], but you don't realize.."

He softly squeezed your hand in his, turning red as he gave you his best grin.

"Being able to cook with you makes this one of my best birthdays."

You burned a bright scarlet, registering his words. You can almost see the steam pouring out of your ears from the heat in your cheeks, uttering out incomprehensible babble. He laughed, letting out a little sigh before kissing your forehead. You jumped at the affection, looking up at him in silent bewilderment

"Alright, now no more tears from you. Hang tight over there, you can't cook with your hand seared like that. I'll be done shortly."

He stated, standing up to his full height before going back to the flapjacks. All you could manage was a dumb nod, watching him intently as he focused. You let out a little sigh, unable to help the rush of affection you felt for him. Despite being a weirdo sometimes, he was one of the most polite, gentle people you had ever met. Soon, he had finished the work the both of you had started in a timely manner, even managing to wash the dishes as well. He went to plating, breaking out some fresh fruits for additional garnishes before setting down two beautiful plates of food on the table. One was topped with raspberries and lightly drizzled with honey, and the other happened to be topped with your favorite fruit along with honey garnish. He slid the latter plate towards you, handing you a small bundle of silverware tucked neatly with a napkin. You chuckled, taking it.

"You can't go without being a little fancy, can you?"

"You're acting like it's a bad thing."

You smiled at each other before digging in.

Without fail, both plates were without a speck of food. You let out a contented sigh, looking over at Sanji. He had lit another cigarette, the stick sitting delicately in between his fingers as he looked out at the sea through the window. He was so pretty, you had always known that, but you had never bothered to acknowledge it. You were pulled out of your thoughts as he got up from his seat, letting out a sigh.

"Well, I'm gonna go."

Sanji said, giving you a smile before turning to leave. You got up from your own seat, getting in front of him before giving him a hug. Surprised, he took a moment before reciprocating, his arms holding you close. If you couldn't manage to express it through his field, maybe you could do it in a way you both understood.

"Happy birthday, Sanji."

You whispered. He chuckled, resting his nose in the crook of your neck.

"Thank you for making it happy, [Name]."

~~~~~~~

This is a repost from a book I have on my Wattpad, a friend suggested I put it here so you all know how I write (although this is very, VERY old)

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece 1000 - 10 Confessions as a One Piece Fan

Although we did the Initial Thoughts a week ago (a long week ago, damn) which you can read here I wanted to do something for the official release of One Piece’s 1000th Chapter At first it started out to be ‘10 things I wanna ask Oda that I don’t think we’ll ever know’ but I couldn’t think of 10, then I was gonna do a General opinion post about it, but didn’t want it to come off too negative. So I am settling on a confessions post, which will have elements of these anyway.

So as we have a happy 1000, let’s talk about some stuff I usually don’t get to talk about in One Piece

Note: There will probably be spoilers so make sure you’re up to date

10. Late Beginnings I think the first confession I have to have is that despite being older than One Piece I am unfortunately not a ‘Day One’ fan. In fact I think I mainly got into One Piece around mid-Whole Cake Island arc, before I had of course known about One Piece, it was a ‘Big Three’ anime after all but the most I knew about it was that they had a guy named Luff-y and another called Zorro, and it was about ‘Pirates who can’t swim’. My curiosity only developed when in a youtube deep-dive of anime clips I kept being recommended One Piece clips, and decided to give a couple a go. Most of them were Paradise arc stuff from the anime, the dub voices were mostly atrocious so I stuck to sub. I was happily surprised about the amount of fun and emotional weight these clips gave me, which led me to check where One Piece was as of current and backtrack from there (Ironically I did the same with Beastars). I did eventually get caught up around the time of the Mafia Meeting and I’ve kept up with each chapter since.

9. I mostly still prefer the Pre-Timeskip looks When I first felt this I thought it to be pretty controversial, nowadays not so much. I understand that Oda wanted to change the look for many characters but some of them did feel like a downgrade. I think the ones who got it worst was Franky, I think it’s the bulbous shoulders, Franky was no stranger to body horror from Enies Lobby to Sabaody but I kinda preferred that he still had a lot of his humanity rather than looking like an action figure. Otherwise I think Robin, Nami and Chopper had it bad, maybe Brook too but his was more fashion than design; the women in general took heavy hits by Oda’s proportion design - I mean I get it boobs are nice but proportions are what make them better - but Robin also underwent a skin color change in the anime, who pre-timeskip shaded her skin darker than in the manga and corrected it to match the manga, I think most of us would’ve preferred Robin to have kept the darker skin tone and possibly even the fringe, Robin’s hairstyle (and her fashion in general) can be hit and miss. I go to and fro about Nami, other than the general waist and bust adjustments I think it fits her character to use her sexuality a bit, she was no stranger to that pre-Timeskip, sometimes though I can’t tell whether I preferred her with short or long hair (Short was definitely better on Nojiko), I do think though that Oda could have her show less skin, she is still very pretty in outfits such as Water 7, Thriller Bark and even her fake pirate disguise in the early chapters/episodes. Finally with Chopper I think it was a bad move to alter the hat, that was a memento from his father figure Hiriluk, it’d be like if Luffy altered his straw hat or Zoro replacing Wado Ichimonji, I do also feel that the design for Chopper’s points while easier to draw don’t look as good, I think a lot of it is the scruff, or lack thereof in favour of smoothness, Walk Point is fine but Heavy Point, Guard Point and Horn Point seem less threatening, Monster Point especially too, in Enies Lobby he looked like a cave painting of menace and destruction, now he’s smoother and his scruff lighter so it’s not as good. The rest of the designs I’m quite fine with though.

8. I wish some markings stuck as well Tattoos and Scars seem to be optional in the One Piece world sometimes, unless it’s branded in molten heat like the Dragon’s hoof, Sun Pirates logo or an attack from Sakazuki. While Nami’s redesigned tattoo has stuck around and Luffy and Zoro’s scars persist, they are mainly character reminders/mysteries for huge moments in the story, and I kinda wish that some of the Straw Hats had littler markings, not just scars either. For instance, the Alabasta X on the arm, I really wish that stayed on each of the Alabasta characters’ arms since it was a symbol of friendship with Vivi, I also wish that Luffy kept the 3D2Y mark on his arm. In terms of scars though it would’ve been nice to see the characters a bit more battle-worn; Zoro’s ankle scars from Mr. 3 have faded and frankly he should be covered in little and long scratches given his fights with Mr. 1 and 2 years of Mihawk Training, Nami’s shoulder scar is hidden completely by her tattoo and she has no scars on her hand (from fake stabbing Usopp) or foot (from blocking Miss Doublefinger), Usopp himself could’ve used some small scratches because lord knows how there’s even still bones in his nose plus he was in murder island for 2 years, Chopper could at least have a small bald patch from when his shoulder was impaled and burned by Shura’s fire lance too, other than that there’s just Jimbei’s potentially missing shoulder scar from Marineford, though Oda has kept it obscured a lot so maybe that is still there. I understand why Oda doesn’t or forgets to, but it would’ve been nice if we lived in a vacuum of no time limits and whatnot.

7. Dead End Adventure is my favourite One Piece film I don’t know what it is, but Dead End Adventure just gives me the most fun out of the One Piece films. It has a good side plot and the side character Shuraiya was a blast of a character. Granted, Gaspard wasn’t too good of a villain side for actually harming the straw hat and his defeat was a bit underwhelming but the race, the settings it was all fun. It is not to say I don’t enjoy any other One Piece movies, I delight in the horror fuel of Baron Omatsuri - and that killer final punch - and Z’s tragic tale of a fallen marine, Strong World has that epic entrance to the party and Stampede also had some great team up moments and fantastic writing for Usopp and Smoker but Dead End Adventure always feels like the movie I could watch in any mood.

6. Skypeia and Fishman Island are some of my favourite arcs While I can understand the criticism of the Long Ring Long Land arc (especially since the anime dragged out the Davy Back Fight) it surprised me that people found Skypeia and Fishman Island arcs to be boring or less entertaining than previous arcs. Everyone has their preferences of course but I felt that Skypeia and Fishman Island were very powerful arcs especially with the theme of racism. Both had glorious setting design different to the common customs of the world we had seen, Oda made both Skypeia and Fishman Island feel very much lived in with its own budding culture and prejudices, with a villain who was dead set on destroying everything just to have their way. With Enel and his priests we were able to push several characters to newer limits, with Robin showing her fighting capabilities, Zoro learning his projectile slashes, Chopper having to endure fighting 3 priests and even Usopp growing all the more braver in the face of seemingly indestructible opponents and later gaining access to the dials. With Fishman Island it was different because it was basically a ‘flex arc’: where the main villain is meant to be a stepping stone rather than a threat but even then the symbolism of the enemy is what’s significant with them, the inherited hatred of humans. But at the same time we do learn new strengths from the crew; Red Hawk, the use of armament Haki, Skywalk, Hell Memories, Franky Shogun, Usopp’s pop greens, Nami’s weather eggs, Brook’s Soul Solid and his new DF power (which is possibly an awakening), as well as the first true steps of Jimbei joining the crew. The biggest strength of both arcs is the flashback as well, like Wano would in present time both arcs demonstrated that Oda can carry a story without his main characters and still keep it as captivating as ever, be it the friendship of Noland and Calgara, the tragedies of Otohime and Fisher Tiger or the life of Kozuki Oden and the man who would be Pirate King. And the impact of Fishman Island and Skypeia’s flashbacks both come back around in Dressrosa with the dwarves and Koala, and Fishman Island really does kick off the whole Yonko saga with Luffy challenging Big Mom, these arcs were definitely significant as they were entertaining with silly faces, strong fights, challenging themes, lorebuilding, good side characters and unique twists. And the overall message of healing from the past is still significant to this day. Through Wyper’s sacrifice and the Bell ringing to Jimbei giving blood and the Ryugu royals wanting to attend the Reverie, it is all very powerful stuff and while the arcs are similar in nature its their similarities that make me love them. Also the cover stories with Enel and Gedatsu on their own mini adventures are fun

5. I really want to know where Ghin is Ghin/Gin was such an interesting character in Baratie. Given that this was right before Arlong Park too so we had not seen a character conflict with different loyalties in One Piece until then, his gratitude to Sanji against his loyalty to Krieg created a fantastically complex character, but then he left and we didn’t hear about him ever since. Did he survive Krieg’s poison gas? Is he still with Krieg? One reactor of the episode said “maybe he’ll become the next Don” which was a concept I kinda really liked. The guy was pretty strong given that he had bested Sanji at that time, and since he didn’t appear in a cover story my mind does wonder. It’s not just Ghin either, a lot of the early East Blue characters kinda fell off the map; where is Morgan? Last we saw he was sleeping as he sailed past Jango, where is Kuro? For someone wanting to resume piracy after some years off he has been very quiet, where is Krieg? Only Arlong and Morgan were arrested and the latter escaped so the rest of these characters are a mystery. Recently in Wano I am still wondering where Law’s crew that he brought to Onigashima went, as well as Caribou - where is that slippery bugger?

4. Basil Hawkins is probably one of my Top 5 Supernova There’s something about that dude I gravitate towards, which makes it quite frustrating when the anime decides to add extra malice and creepy faces to him. Hawkins in Wano is still a victim, if anything he is simply a prisoner with better working conditions, if he thought he could survive escaping Kaido he would but he doesn’t so he won’t, he’s also gonna feel sore about Drake betraying him and letting Law cut him up, so it annoys me that Hawkins is seen like a villain. Not only does he have an extremely interesting Devil Fruit and creativity with it but he’s also audaciously confident in his fortunetelling, even Luffy ran from Kizaru at Sabaody while Hawkins looked at his cards while Kizaru was about to boot him to holy hell and said ‘nah I’m not dying today’, you gotta respect that moxie. At the same time though as a pirate he has that shades of grey element, he’s okay with letting some of his crew be disposable and we don’t even know to what end, he doesn’t look like a guy too concerned about being Pirate King or having riches. I also get a good laugh in that his hobbies are interior design, it makes me really want to see what the inside of his ship looks like. I think as a top 5, I have Luffy, Zoro, Law, Hawkins and then Kid, Bege, Killer and Bonney are not far behind with Apoo dead last because fuck Apoo. Kid and Killer are cool but I do feel like they need a bit more character, Bege earned some points in being funny and his care for his family in WCI and then there’s Bonney - I really hope we dig into Bonney’s significance, she feels really important and that mystery keeps her fresh whenever we see her. Drake too has only really started to become interesting because of SWORD, we could still see more fleshing but for now he is like bottom 3. It’s a shame Urouge has to be so low, he’s not bad but he’s not spectacular either, gotta admire his hobby of lovemaking though, you do you Urouge.

3. I don’t think that either of the ‘Most Beautiful Women in the World’ are the Most Beautiful Women in One Piece The in-world consensus seems to be that the Most Beautiful Women in the World are Boa Hancock, Komurasaki and Shirahoshi, and granted they are very pretty, but the most? Not for me. I mean, y’all know that Nico Robin, Nami and Vinsmoke Reiju exist right? Makino as well is stunning, as are Tashigi, Bonney, Margaret, Ishilly, Nojiko, Vivi, Rebecca, Pudding, Perona, Cosette and I’m sure a few others, realistically I think they could all give them a run for their money. I get how for those three their beauty is a plot point (Boa it’s drilling home Luffy’s obliviousness to it, Komurasaki it’s the swerve of her not being awful and for Shirahoshi it’s due to Vander Decken IX pulling the creep factor on her) but it would’ve worked the same way without the ‘world’ hyperbole I think. As much as Oda is iffy with proportions and rarely writes women with as much attention as the boys he sure knows how to make them attractive.

2. Some of my favourite individual Straw Hat scenes aren’t in Canon If I were to have a top 5 moments of each character, it may surprise you that some of it comes from movies or filler episodes, particularly Sanji’s flexing on Jessica in the G8 Arc (in fact, Jonathon is one of my favourite marines, T-Bone is in there too, but I don’t have room to fit that). Some are of course obvious because of how iconic they are but it does go to show that sometimes filler isn’t all bad. Since you’re probably curious: As a Group Goodbye Merry [Enies Lobby] Entering Shiki’s Palace [Strong World] Walk to Arlong Park [Arlong Park] Entering the Grand Line [Reverse Mountain] vs a Stuck Oars [Thriller Bark] Jimbei Giving Luffy Blood [FMI] Vagabond Drill on Big Mom [WCI] Leaving the Big Mom Pirates [WCI] Returning in Wano [Wano] Trying to argue with Luffy [FMI] Brook vs Chess Soldiers & Big Mom [WCI] Flashback [Thriller Bark] Breaking Mother Carmel’s Picture [WCI] Baron Corpse vs Dog Minks [Zou] Hysterically laughing at seeing Duval [Sabaody] Franky vs Senor Pink [Dressrosa] Playing with the Kids [Punk Hazard] vs Fukurou [Enies Lobby] Freedom Roller [Wano] Trapping Caribou in the Barrel [FMI] Robin  I Want to Live [Enies Lobby] Clutching Spandam [Enies Lobby] Throwing Usopp under the bus [G8] vs Yama [Skypeia] Clutching Tequila Wolf guards [Amazon Lily] Chopper Monster Point [Enies Lobby] Flashback [Drum Island] Chopper Man (& Minoru Kazeno) vs Usobada [Chopper Man Special] Don’t blow the whistle: Immediately blows whistle [Skypeia] Dr Chopper the definitely Human Doctor not wearing fake glasses [G8] Vivi w/ Karoo (she counts okay!) Goodbye speech [Alabasta] Escaping Bon Clay [Alabasta] Karoo Digging Luffy Out [Little Garden] Luffy Fan Club Meeting [Reverie] Slapping Usopp awake [Drum Island] Nami vs Kalifa [Enies Lobby] Standing by the kids [Punk Hazard] Saying goodbye to Bell-mere [Arlong Park] Helping Luffy vs Cracker via Lola’s Vivre Card [WCI] Luffy WILL be Pirate King [Wano] Sanji ‘I needed a light’ [Skypeia] Flexing on Jessica [G8] Saving the Vinsmokes [WCI] O-Soba Mask [Wano] vs Doflamingo [Dressrosa]  Usopp Alabasta speech [Alabasta] Awakening Observation Haki [Dressrosa] Sogeking Theme Song [Enies Lobby] vs Perona [Thriller Bark] Saving Luffy from the fire [Stampede]  Zoro Nothing Happened [Thriller Bark] vs Ryuma [Thriller Bark] vs Mr. 1 [Alabasta] vs Gyukimaru & Kamazo [Wano] “He’s sweeping our floors that fiend!” Test of Luck [Loguetown] Luffy ‘On the Sea, you fight Pirates’ [Wano] Red Roc [Wano] vs Katakuri [WCI] Haki clash with Doflamingo [Dressrosa] Punching Saint Charloss [Sabaody] I will have to say that for some characters I could go to 20 so if one’s missing it may’ve just missed the mark, such as Usopp and Nami vs Enel or Luffy putting back a Zombie or Stealth Luffy, I mean it is 1000 chapters as well as movies and filler episodes/specials...

1. I’ve learned quite a lot due to One Piece Since my fascination started with a deep dive of checks, I did start to learn a hell of a lot more not just about the franchise itself (you know it’s almost catching up BATMAN on total sales, which has been around more than 3 times longer?) but I also learned a lot about stuff Oda has used as a reference key; folklore, actual pirates, actual practices, the amount of detail Oda puts in is astounding. Which does lean into another thing I’ve learned, One Piece has changed the way I approach some of my ideas for writings and whatnot, before I would be afraid of either spoonfeeding or being too vague, Oda’s mastery not only in storytelling but character development, character quality and pacing has both helped and intimidated me a lot of times, I mean consider this: it took hundreds of chapters to get a proper backstory on Luffy, the main character, how unprecedented is that? Often I could fall into the trap of making sure you knew everything about the main character from day one but now I wonder about what’s necessary for the now and what can I work on. Another thing that both inspires and intimidates me is his drawing, I suck at colours and still do, and a lot of Oda’s attention to detail is incredible considering he’s gotta whip that out on the weekly, but at the same time you see some of his rough sketches and they’re pretty similar to a rough sketch of my own, so in a way it’s a ‘there’s still hope for you’ moment seeing those. I can’t say I’ve learned Japanese from listening to One Piece, but I have picked up on some stuff, some hiragana there, some phonetics here, I also appreciated some of the stuff kaizokuou-ni-naru does (I won’t tag them in case that’s a bit rude to do it out of the blue but check out their tumblr) when it came to deciphering the Japanese of chapters and the little puns and hints Oda puts in his native tongue. And of course any One Piece fan has learned one thing above all else: Patience. Oda himself included, it took over 20 years to get to 1000 chapters and we still have plenty of questions to ask, plenty of islands to see and thus plenty of chapters to go. So Straw Hats off to you Oda, and a happy 1000th!

[kbstories]

Signification

sig·ni·fi·ca·tion (n.)

The process of assigning meaning to something.

Captain and First Mate, two years later.

(Or: Zoro adores his captain. A lot.)

Tags: Reunions, Nakamaship, Introspection, Fluff, Domesticity (!)

Post-Timeskip setting, between Sabaody and Fishman Island. Read Chapter 2 here.

***

Surrounded by tumultuous battle and the distant booming of cannons, the Thousand Sunny begins to sink. The waves churn and slosh against her hull with increasing might; glinting foam breaks across the sky in half-formed arcs and yet not a single drop touches the grass below.

The crew watches, wonder shining in their eyes. Roronoa Zoro counts, sharp gaze touching upon every familiar face, every smile that glows with shared relief, then starts over.

Nine. Nine, again.

Finally complete, the Strawhats are swallowed by the sea.

In a heartbeat, the breathless moment dissolves into the usual chaos as Nami commands their gradual descent: Usopp and Chopper screech in unison about this sea king and that monster over Franky’s good-natured reassurances at the helm and the melodic humming coming from Brook; blooming and wilting like flowers, Robin’s elegant hands crop up all over the deck where Sanji and Zoro are wrangling the sails against the ocean’s massive current–

The Sunny moves like a living thing underneath them and through it all, Luffy laughs and laughs like he couldn’t get himself to stop even if he tried.

Having his friends back is a delight in and of itself but it’s that sound that does it. Zoro can feel the rough edges of the past months knit themselves together into something nostalgic, something fond, a type of gooey-warm devotion that became second nature somewhere along the line.

Like muscle memory, dormant for a while and never forgotten. It’s good to be home.

And yeah, he’s the first to admit soft things don’t come easy to him. There is a private smile on his lips, though, one he doesn’t care to hide. There’s no reason to, not here. Above them, a school of fish swims by, silhouetted by the sun like silver-coated birds and–

“Woah, it’s huge! Is that a shark?”

–the smile turns into a grin. Zoro’s eye meets those of his captain and, before Monkey D. Luffy can utter the idea brewing in that rubber brain of his, Shusui glides out of its sheath smoothly. Luffy cackles and together they stand, with their crew behind and the vast ocean ahead.

“You ready, Zoro?”

Those three little words settle in the spaces between skin and muscle and bone and – after two long years of worrying, wishing, waiting – Zoro nods and gladly takes his place beside the man who will be Pirate King.

*

The reunion party takes days to run its course until, on the third night, even the most energetic among the Strawhats are turning to their spot on Sunny’s deck for a cozy evening. A bonfire burns brightly in their midst and, under Sanji’s watchful eye, all kinds of sausages and vegetables sizzle away on a makeshift grill. Curiously, the smoke it produces leaves the resin coating of the ship in small, harmless bubbles – arms crossed and leaning back against the railing, Zoro follows their path until they disappear into depths unknown like sticky shooting stars.

A bit of imagination and even this cobalt sky can yield a few constellations, though it would take a creative mind like Usopp’s to name them all. Their presence is soothing, regardless.

No need to look so glum, Mihawk had said, that first night an eternity ago, after awkwardly hovering in Zoro’s periphery for far too long.

It had been a clumsy attempt at comfort at best. There was blood on the cuffs of his shirt and the soot of cannon fire still clung to his coat; made vague by the darkness, it was nonetheless the kind of tangible proof that all those headlines in the paper lacked. Somewhere out there, the ruins of Marineford smoldered. Somewhere out there, his captain was hurting.

Zoro had just huffed and stared out into the void. There was nothing to say, nothing at all.

There had been a quiet sigh, and steps echoing in the silence. Arms crossed, Mihawk had stared until Zoro couldn’t but stare back, quietly surprised by the intensity of emotion burning where nobody dared to look for it.

Don’t grieve what you haven’t lost, kid. You’re all under the same sky, after all.

Still, Zoro muses, eye slipping shut and shoulders relaxing against the Sunny’s comfortable embrace. Around him, the ever-present chatter of the crew dulls to a low rush. This is better.

The transition between sleep and consciousness is so gradual that Zoro doesn’t bother to track down the moment he dozes off. Eventually, there is a subtle shift around him, like gravity itself bends and realigns towards a greater force – a silent force, and that is what makes Zoro glance up between sleepy blinks.

There Luffy stands, hand on his hat and his hat on his chest and a woven-straw brim barely covering the crater of a scar below it. The fire casts shadows on Luffy’s face (Is it doubt flickering there? Indecisiveness?) and yet they’re fleeting enough to make Zoro question what he sees, fractured as his vision has become.

Then Luffy notices he’s awake and it’s all gone with a smile. “Napping already?”, he chuckles as he hops on the railing next to him. Zoro shrugs and stretches with a satisfied grunt.

“We getting close?”

“Nope, not yet.” Luffy snickers as Zoro slumps right back to where he was, his back snug against warmed wood. Sandals flip-flop along with the carefree swinging of Luffy's feet. “It’s okay, though. More chances to listen to Usopp’s stories! He met the Hercules, can you imagine?”

“Hardly”, Zoro grumbles indistinctly enough to not disturb the starry-eyed marvel on Luffy’s face. “Did he tell the one about the man-eating plant turned island yet?”

“The what?!”

It’s impossible not to laugh at how wide Luffy’s eyes can get: Zoro snorts and gestures towards the shape of Usopp on the other side of deck, a silent have at him that Luffy almost follows.

Almost. Cheers and laughter carry over from Usopp’s loosely assembled audience, and Chopper’s astounded What, really?! proves the story being told is a good one. Even so, the motion to launch himself into an unsuspecting Usopp is stopped mid-way and Luffy bounces back to the railing.

Huh.

At Zoro’s questioning grunt, the man just shakes his head and lowers his hat to his lap. “Ah, y’know. We have time now, right?”, he says with a thread of serenity woven into his voice – one that wasn’t there, last time they spoke, and the realization that Luffy is pacing himself shouldn’t feel this monumental.

Zoro lets his gaze linger, this time: over the subtle lines around Luffy’s eyes and the hint of exhaustion underneath; over all the little scars dusting his knuckles, old and new, and the gentle back-and-forth of his thumb over the ribbon of his hat, a mindless gesture of comfort that aches, somehow.

Threadbare it has become, this most faithful of companions. The red is long washed out by the sun and the sea and hell knows what else. Gratitude registers as a warm glow at Zoro’s core, for it being there when none of them could. For weathering the storms and the tears and the laughter, from the instant it left Shanks’ head to this very moment.

“It’s looking good”, Zoro comments lightly as he sits up and rubs the last traces of sleep from his eye. “Feels like ages ago that Nami had to stitch the hat back together. After… Buggy, was it? The clown guy.”

The expression on Luffy’s face goes a bit funny at that, half-way to a grimace yet too fond to be one. “Hah, yeah, him. I’ll have to thank him next time we see him, him and Jinbei and the others.”

Zoro blinks. That… makes no sense at all. Then again, Mihawk did grumble about the clown becoming a warlord, so weirder things have happened. “Who’s Jinbei?”

Luffy smiles, then, bright and toothy. “A friend! Don’t worry, you’ll meet him soon. He’s all serious and talks about honor a lot, so.”

So you’ll like him, Zoro fills in for him and huffs to himself. That part of himself that is fiercely independent wants to argue the point – then again, Luffy’s instincts are rarely off the mark.

Another thing to look forward to, then. Hopefully this Jinbei guy likes to drink.

“Say, Zoro?”

In a bundle of rubbery limbs and rustling fabric, Luffy joins him on the grassy deck, legs crossed and hat back where it belongs. His head tilts curiously, the steady weight of his full attention one Zoro shoulders with ease. “Where did you go?”

Ah, that. It’s a question he’s heard a few times this week, along with How in the world were you first? and What the hell happened to your eye? and Zoro has no room to complain. He, too, keeps a list of names in his heart, and the question marks around their fates are a subtle discomfort but very much there.

It’s weird to think of adventure as something they can experience even when forced apart.

And so Zoro tells him, about the castle standing proud among ruins and the ship that wrecked before it even touched the sea and the day he bowed to become stronger. He doesn’t mention the tense days spent in-between, reading the newspaper near-obsessively for even a scrap of new information. That black-and-white image of his captain standing alone on a battlefield is fresh in his memory, and will remain there for eternity. “Took me a while to get what you were trying to say”, he admonishes without heat, and Luffy nods sagely.

“I know, right? So complicated… Without Rayleigh I would’ve mixed everything up.”

That confirms that theory, then. A whole library of those exists in Zoro’s mind, years’ worth of theories and questions gone unanswered and wild speculation and it doesn’t matter, not anymore. Not with Luffy sitting next to him, looking more at peace than Zoro expected, deep down.

“You did well, Luffy.”

The words are out before he really thinks them through. It feels right, though, to see surprise dawn on Luffy’s face; the pride Zoro places in his voice soon takes root in the square set of Luffy’s shoulders, too, and the strong line of his back.

Then, he grins, eyes alight and squinting with it. Like this, the signs of weariness melt off entirely and there Luffy is, a little older, a little more mature and scarred to hell but still the happy-go-lucky idiot Zoro chose to follow two years ago.

“We really made it, huh, Zoro? It felt like forever and I was wondering if I’m just dreaming or something but… We’re finally here.”

Zoro sighs and reaches over and pulls the hat down, the brim briefly covering the amused chuckle on Luffy’s lips before it’s righted again. “’course it’s real, captain. You think we’d all bust our asses to be on time for some dream? Seriously.”

Luffy is still laughing, “I mean, you were early! Everyone was so surprised!”, poking him in the cheek and wiggling his feet in delight. Zoro lets him have it for a second longer than he normally would have before he rolls his eye and gets up.

“C’mon, rubber-for-brains, there’s some sake I brought that’s calling my name. Oi, Usopp! What was that thing with the plant island again?”

And with the sound of stretching rubber and a not-so-distant crash, Luffy is gone and Usopp yells.

>>Read Chapter 2

[deathlikesdeep-dish]

The Razr (Zoro AU Scenario)

Hi guys!

I’m so flattered that I’ve had some people join me here on this fun writing journey!! I truly truly do a little happy dance every time I get a follow. :D 

I keep meaning to just sit down and write a quick lil somethin somethin, but it always ends up longer than I intend 😅

This is a headcanon I came up with about Zoro having a crazy outdated flip phone that he refused to get rid of and his friends finally forced him to get a smartphone so he could use GPS. 

It turned out a little more serious and emotional than I originally intended, but I’m pretty pleased with it!! Would love to get y’alls feedback. 

xx

Warnings: obscene amounts of fluff, language 

Word Count: 1862

“Zoro, where the fuck are you??” Nami yelled on the other end of the phone. He could hear the irritation in her voice.

He groaned and rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. “I really don’t know, Nami. I think I made a wrong turn,” He paused and sighed. “Or two? Shit, I don’t know.”

Zoro could hear Nami yelling on the other end of the line, and he placed his phone in the cup holder, knowing that this might be a while. He hit his head a few times on the steering wheel of his car, closing his eyes as he waited for her to finish screeching. He was used to this. He knew that he wasn’t the most directionally adept member of his friend group, but he got by….when others were around.

What made matters worse is that Zoro absolutely refused to get rid of his ancient, bulky flip phone, a fact that Nami never failed to bring up in situations just like this. He didn’t see a point in getting a new phone when his old one worked just fine. He thought back to a conversation he’d had about it just the other day with his friends.

-

“Bro, you’ve gotta be kidding me,” Their newest friend Franky said upon seeing Zoro pull his phone out of his pocket. “A fucking Motorola Razr? That thing has gotta be 10 years old!”

“It’s actually 12 years old,” Luffy chimed in with a laugh. “It was Kuina’s before it was Zoro’s.”

“Kuina? Who’s Kuina?” Franky asked. Zoro tensed up at the mention of her name, and the room went silent. Even Luffy noticed that he’d made a mistake in bringing her up. Zoro squeezed the phone tightly in his pocket.

Kuina was Zoro’s older sister. Five years his senior, Kuina had used the phone as her own for several years before she upgraded and passed it to Zoro. At first, he resented that she always got the newest stuff, and that he got the hand-me-downs. Now, he wouldn’t dream of letting it go. Kuina had died in a tragic accident just a couple years back. She was only 25. This phone was one of the only things that she had ever given him that was hers, along with the family katana that had been passed down for generations.

“Sorry, Zoro,” Luffy murmured, stuffing a bite of food into his mouth uncomfortably. Zoro simply grumbled in response with a shrug.

“Still,” Nami ventured tentatively. “Maybe it would be helpful for you to get a smartphone sometime soon. They all come with GPS systems built in.”

“And what’s wrong with a map?” Zoro snapped back.

“Well, nothing…” Nami said.

“Unless you can’t actually read it!” Luffy shouted out, not able to help himself. He cackled. Zoro shot him a glare, and he laughed even more. He crossed his arms over his broad chest.

“Yeah, well whatever. Next time I get lost, I’ll get a fucking smartphone. Deal?” Zoro said, to get them off his back more than anything.

Nami’s eyes lit up conspiratorially. “Don’t say stuff like that unless you mean it, Zoro.”

Zoro waved her off. They all knew that he certainly wasn’t going to purchase his own phone, so it was a moot point. It worked perfectly fine. Plus, it was hers. He’d keep it as long as it worked.

-

He was pulled from his reverie by Nami yelling his name.

“ZORO,” She yelled. He picked his phone back up and placed it at his ear.

“Goddamn it, Nami. I fucking know I suck at directions, please stop bitching at me,” He growled.

She started to say something, but stopped herself with a sigh. “Ugh. You exhaust me.” She replied.

“What else is new?” He snapped back.

“Whatever, Zoro. I just can’t believe you got lost on the way to your own birthday party.”

“Like I even care about this shit anyway,” He said. “It’s you and Luffy that always insist on throwing a party in the first place.”

“Hey man, don’t pretend like you don’t like eating food and getting shit-faced.”

He rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. He knew he didn’t have an argument there.

“Can you see a street sign anywhere?” Nami finally asked after a few moments when there was no reply.

Zoro looked up towards the streetlight and squinted at a sign in the distance. “Yeah, it looks like I’m at the corner of Alabasta and Logue Town drive.”

“Thank Christ,” Nami sighed. “You’re not that far. I’ll send Franky and Sanji to go get you.”

Zoro groaned. “Why does Sanji have to come? Doesn’t he have a fucking cake to bake or something?”

“They need to go out and get a few things from the store,” Nami said. “Listen, you’re the one that’s lost. Suck it up.”

“Ugh. Fine. See you soon.” He hung up, not wanting to hear anything else.

It took Franky and Sanji about 10 minutes to get to him.Thankfully, they just decided to have Zoro follow behind them in his car rather than ride together. Zoro wasn’t sure he could stop himself from punching that jackass directly in the face if he said anything to him.

They finally got back to Robin’s house where they were having the party. Robin was for sure the most adult out of any of them. She’d already bought this crazy historic home and had a job at an archeology firm while everybody else was living in shitty, thrown-together apartment complexes, eating pizza rolls and beer for every meal.

Sanji had looked like he was going to start some shit when they got out of the car, but decided against it when Zoro gave him a look. Plus, Sanji thought, it’s the guy’s birthday. Probably should lay off for one night.

Everyone was pleased to see him, and only gave him a moderately hard time about getting lost on the way to his own party. And despite himself, Zoro gave in to the jovial atmosphere. A few beers certainly helped. By the time he and Luffy had teamed up to play beer pong against Law and Usopp (“Sniper-king, my ass,” Zoro had thought to himself on Usopp’s third consecutive loss), Zoro was feeling pretty damn good. These were his people. They’d been the ones that were there for him. Even when new friends were added to the group, they’d always fit in. Luffy was the usual recruiter, and he somehow managed to find some cool-ass people.

The best time to give Zoro any gifts, Nami had discovered, was when he was sufficiently plastered enough to not object to them. Zoro was always more affectionate and willing to be the recipient of attention when he was drunk.

“Alright!” Nami announced over the blare of the music. “It’s present time, you degenerates! Sit your asses down!”

Franky turned the music down from his smartwatch, lowering it to a dull roar. Zoro was feeling warm and smiley, so he didn’t object when Robin lead him to the couch in the middle of the living room to receive his gift.

“What did y’all fuckers get me this time?” Zoro laughed, slurring a bit as he talked.

Nami rolled her eyes and Luffy just bounced excitedly from the armchair across the room. No matter how much he had to drink, it would seem, Luffy was always one big ball of energy.

“Remember,” Nami said, handing him a small, delicately wrapped box. “You promised.”

Zoro furrowed his brow, confusedly. “I promised?” He started to open the box, a bit nervous all of a sudden about what he would find under the shiny paper.

When he finally finished unwrapping the box, he froze. In his hand, he found a brand new iPhone. He looked up at his friends, knowing how much something like this cost.

“Guys, this is ridiculous,” He said, not knowing exactly how he felt.

“Stop,” Nami said, holding a hand up.

“Yeah, we all pitched in! Even Sanji!” Luffy grinned from his chair. “So no take backsies!”

He looked up at the room full of expectant faces, flushed from the alcohol and the good company. There was a pit in his stomach. On the one hand, he was angry. They knew how he felt about his phone. They knew what it meant to him. It wasn’t just a stupid phone. On the other hand, he was touched. Touched that his friends had come together to help him out. He found himself putting his hand in his pocket, thumbing over the ancient flip-phone that had once been hers.

“Guys, my phone works perfectly well,” He managed after swallowing. “This is completely unnecessary.”

“C’mon man,” Usopp clapped his hand on his shoulder. “You know it isn’t unnecessary. Do you need a reminder that you got lost on the way to your own party tonight?” He laughed.

Zoro remained silent, one hand gripping the new phone, and the other deep in the pocket of his pants.

“So, of course, we figured that you’d feel this way,” Robin chimed in. “So, that’s only one part of the gift.”

Zoro snapped his head towards Robin, the crease in his brow deepening. She pulled out another box from behind her back and handed it to him. This one was slightly larger, and a bit heavier. He peeled back the wrapping paper.

“It’s a shadow box,” Franky said. “So you can still keep your old phone, too.”

“Just on display on the shelf,” Nami said. “Instead of in your pocket.”

“We know how much it means to you, mosshead,” Sanji grumbled from the doorway. “You don’t have to get rid of the old phone. So, just accept the gift already.”

Zoro felt himself get teary-eyed. He told himself it was the alcohol as he wiped his hand over his eyes before tears could fall down his cheeks. “Thanks guys,” Was all he could manage.

Knowing that he needed the attention off of him, his friends just laughed and cheered, turning the music up to get back to the party. Franky spent the rest of the evening helping set up Zoro’s phone and showing him all of the functions that he would have access to. Zoro was still so overwhelmed, but he tried to make himself pay attention. Finally, and most importantly, Franky downloaded Google Maps and showed him how to use it. Zoro pocketed the phone with a slight smile and a ‘thank you.’ It felt heavy and big in the back pocket of his jeans. His heart felt heavy too. He couldn’t help but feel like this was the end of something. But somewhere, he knew that Kuina would be looking down on him, so happy that he had found such thoughtful friends.

Luffy raised his glass for a toast. “To Zoro! And never getting lost again!”

The rest of them raised their glasses, looking over to Zoro expectantly as they waited for him to raise his glass too. He reached for his beer and raised it slightly with a smirk.

“You motherfuckers are gonna regret this,” He grinned finally. “Getting lost was my only character defect. Now I’ll be unstoppable.”

[where-s-all-blue]

More University Headcanons!

Straw Hat Pirates Edition

Luffy

He's studying to become a photographer because he looked up to Roger, who himself was a professional photographer during the time he was alive.

Another reason for this is the fact that photographers get to see a lot of things their life, sometimes even danger, it's like an adventure.

Like most of his friends, he resides in Gold dorm and has done his fair share of stealing furniture for it.

He keeps a diary which he decorates with cute stickers and Polaroids.

He has a good eye, which helps him with setting the camera in just right way to get the perfect shot.

He's one of the louder residents which often makes people who need the silence to concentrate, like Law, go absolutely bonkers.

He's banned from the kitchen.

He keeps dragging people into the dorm.

Somehow? You just can't hate him.

Zoro

Decided to study social work when he realised how unfair the world could be.

Is also in the kendo club which he joined upon learning that the person who is seen as the best is its captain, he intends to best him.

Currently he supports one hundred and fifty-one wins and one loss.

The only loss was against Mihawk.

He's naturally good when it comes to dealing with people, but he truly shines when he's around kids.

He's often helping around the dorm by moving large objects in/out.

He was the one to clear the large area which later on came to support the workout area and the garden.

He often takes strolls on the woods located behind the dorm, he's easily the scariest being there.

His sense of direction is so bad that he was given his own device which tells him his location and how to get to the place he wants to go to. This device was made by Eustass and Usopp with Law telling them to turn it into a wrist watch which also measures Zoro's vitals so he can monitor his own health and sport related achievements. The data of his vital signs is transferred into his phone.

Usopp

He majors in engineering and thrives when it comes to inventions, his secondary is English literature.

He writes plays and stories on his spare time, some of them are pitched to the theatre club and art majors.

He's good at crafting and thus is often seen working on something for the dorm like name signs that all match the personalities of the residents.

He was the one who thought of turning the street sign poles into a fence around the dorm's garden.

He's also in charge of modifying the stolen property to ensure that nobody realises where they originally came from.

He was the one who turned that one car into a bed after he moved it inside in pieces. The car bed is in a room called "Silence Room" which was made to have no sounds get in or out of it. He and Killer designed the interior of it to help those who have hyper senses and are more proun to headaches (or just can't stand being around people too long). It's also used as a guest room from time to time.

He works the best with people who are smart like Sanji, Law and Eustass, he also gets very well along Chopper, the therapy dog that goes around the campus.

He's free spirited goof ball with very wide interests who gets along with almost everybody.

Being the jokester of the lot is his attempt to have people think of him as a good guy to be around with and to see that he's not just brain.

He struggles with seeing his own self worth and is very proun to feeling melancholic due to his high Intel making him realise things that he'd rather not know of. He has a low self-esteem because of being dismissed as a child due to his dreams and goals being too ahead of his time.

Sanji

Culinary arts and management major.

He was raised in a foster home, more specifically by the owner of the Baratier restaurant Zeff who he considers to be his dad more than his biological father.

He was kicked out of the Vinsmoke estate by his father Judge due to his wish to be a chef instead of becoming a lawyer or a doctor or a politician.

Technically he's still eligible of inheriting the throne of Germa Kingdom even if he was exiled.

He's still expected to marry a high class member of the society and thus Judge keeps messaging him about his choices, fully believing that Sanji will one day see his way and abandon his dream of being a chef in favour of the kingdom.

He even has a fiancé, Charlotte Pudding, though he never agreed to the scheme that was orchestrated by Vinsmoke Judge and Charlotte Linlin. Pudding also isn't too happy about the situation.

His foster father is the actual lecturer in charge of the culinary studies, but as he was in an accident and thus hospitalised, Charlotte Linlin is subbing him much to Sanji's demise.

He's one of the few people who who can cook in the dorm and he takes notice of other people's likes, dislikes and allergies.

Sanji's kindness is often noticed by others.

Nami

She's a architecture major, her second interest being banking.

When she moved into the dorm, she quickly noticed that the students who renovated it had no idea how things worked, so she had them redo few things. The dorm is now a lot easier to keep warm during the winter.

She was the one to pitch the idea of the Silent Room upon noticing how Law was struggling because of how loud the dorm had become as a result of the new first years moving in.

She works part time as a waitress at Baratier and she is known for her ability to negotiate the costs a lot lower that they usually would be.

She's a bit of a kleptomaniac, result of her growing up on a poor and unsafe area dictated by gangs.

She's also a honours student, who's part of the special program which basically ensures that she has enough money to buy her school items and food.

She often chats with the local witch coven to obtain more information, she also likes to hangout with Killer and Usopp.

Her best friend Vivi Nefertari is currently in an exchange program.

Chopper

A golden retriever akita mix.

He was originally Sabo's therapy dog, nowadays he's more or less the therapy dog of anyone who needs him. He still sticks by Sabo for the most of the time.

He's broken into the classrooms during lectures to deliver forgotten items to Sabo so often that he has his own attendance record and he's almost considered to be a student at this point.

His job includes going to the local pharmacy every Friday to pick up a specifically constructed herbal infusion packet and bring it to the Lair.

He's highly intelligent dog who was capable of deducing which herbs were part of the herbal infusion treatment and then retrieve the plants based on their scent.

He picked these herbs and spices from the garden of Gold Dorm.

His bestfriend is Bepo, a samoyed owned by Law, who also happens to be the only other dog on the campus.

Robin

Social Work major, secondary studies in history.

She chose her line of studies due to wanting to prevent other kids being forced to go through the same kind of neglect and abuse as she did.

She's fluent in multiple languages and writes her notes in one of the dead languages, which she self taught herself to read.

She prefers to keep her information confidential and she enjoys the confusion some of her antics cause.

She takes part in the weekly movie night and enjoys them greatly.

Franky

Robotics major.

The only member of the group who doesn't live in a dorm. Nobody knows if he even sleeps or eats, but if you need him, you can always find him form the workshop.

You need to drag him out forcibly to have him even leave the room.

Thanks to Luffy, he now visits the Gold dorm few times a week to hangout, but the second he sees something that gives him an idea, he bolts out back to the workshop.

100% workaholic, 0% sleep, 120% Cola.

Brook

Actual university cryptid.

Is literally dead and walking around.

Formerly a music major.

Nobody knows how long he's been there and frankly nobody cares, his flamboyant style is a mood and his cravings for food and drinks is something we all relate to.

He knows every nook and cranny of the campus.

He's been there so long that nobody even questions it and he even gets invited to university parties and to hang out.

The only time someone freaked out was when the group went to a fast food restaurant and forgot that the outside world isn't aware of him. He tipped the waiter generously with something that looked like an old coin. It was probably worth more than the whole restaurant.

If you talk to him, there's 80% chance of you triggering his natural response to anything which is singing and dancing.

He's literally a walking musical.

He's one of the few who has heard Katakuri's doughnut song and lived to tell the tale. Except that he's dead already yohohoho.

He's very likely to console you if you're not feeling okay.

When it comes to the modern technology and stuff, he's a bit confused, but has the right spirit.

Jinbe

The current captain of the karate club.

Nobody knows what he majors in nor from which dorm he's from.

When Shirahoshi from Atlantis (=Fishman Island) started her studies in the University, he was quick to form a protection team to her and her brothers from the members of the karate club.

He might be the instructor of the club? Apparently he's one of the strongest.

I woke up one morning and he was eating soba noodles in the kitchen, why and how is he in our dorm. Is he even a student here?!

Oh my god he's now fighting against Ace, I swear to god sport majors are so dramatic.

It was a tie. How am I supposed to feel about this.

They both are now emptying our fridge, someone please get them out.

[lawssword]

Day Nine: Vertigo (Dizzy) 

Law got a little nervous about asking Luffy to their highschool's dance. Even if the dance had already started, Law didn't think it was too late.

word count: 1.7k

Law felt somewhat out of place around Luffy's friends, even all dressed up like they were for the school dance. They were popular and didn't really care about it a bit. As a matter of fact, they didn't even care what the other students thought, they just did what they wanted, when they wanted to, and that was it.

Law liked to think he didn't care what others had to say about him, but that wasn't entirely true. Not really.

Law caught sight of Luffy heading out of the cafeteria into the enclosed courtyard of their high school. Luffy was alone, that was unusual. Law's instincts told him to follow after Luffy, so he did. Without thinking twice. Hanging around Luffy so much had that effect on Law, he just tended to stop thinking.

Law had been itching to kiss Luffy for weeks but it was impossible to catch him alone. And Law wasn't the type to go around making public displays of affection.  He and Luffy weren't exactly an item yet. Despite all indirect flirting they had been doing for weeks.

Especially not after he just realized he had a thing for guys as well as girls, was there even a name for that? Law pushed the thought aside, he could debate over the legitimacy of his sexuality later. Aside from that, Law really had no business kissing Luffy. It wasn't like he and Luffy weren't exactly an item yet. Despite all indirect flirting they had been doing for weeks. Right now it was just him and Luffy.

Law might as well take advantage of the opportunity though. It was now or never, as the saying goes. The worse that could happen is that Luffy rejected Law. Law caught sight of Luffy going around the corner of the building and followed. All the other students that were in the courtyard were near the entrance to the gym, so they didn't take much notice of Luffy, or Law.

"Luffy-ya," Law leaned against the railing that acted as a safety precaution against the steep drop that was bellow them. The school was on a hill, so the courtyard overlooked the street below and the park across the street.

"Oh! Hey Torao!" Luffy greeted Law with a smile, he pulled on his tie a little to loosen in. Law gulped and tried not to pay too much attention to how attractive that was. "It's so hot in there it makes out here feel like winter!"

"Yeah, it does," Law agreed, not really able to throw banter with Luffy like he usually did. Law felt really nervous now that he was here. This is ridiculous, it was Luffy for fucks sake.

"I think Usopp's gunna start a breakdance circle when the right song comes on, he was talking about it on the way here," Luffy said.

"I'd like to see you doing that," Law said with a smirk. he glanced over at Luffy to catch his reaction.

"If it looks fun I might!" Luffy grinned and looked down at the road below them. "Maybe I'll drag you in too!"

Law scoffed, "It will have to be my dead body."

"I don't think a dead body would dance very well, even if it was you," Luffy stated. Law turned to face Luffy, propping his elbow up on the railing and leaning against it still.

"Well, guess I won't be dancing," Law said.

"Why did you come to a dance if you don't like to dance?" Luffy asked, giving Law a puzzled glance. "That sounds like something an idiot would do.

"Oh, I like dancing, but only with my date," Law said. He was more than a little shocked that sentence even came out of his mouth. Law didn't even know where he was going with this. He didn't have a date and he had no idea what Luffy might say to that.

"Who's your date?" Luffy asked. "I'll get them to dance too!"

"Don't got one," Law said casually, he looked away from Luffy as he said it. His hands were starting to get sweaty.

"So you won't dance at all!?" Luffy huffed. He brought his hand up and rested his chin on his elbow, with a small pout on his lips. It was cute, the way his cheek scrunched up under his eye.

"Well..." Law paused. He had no clue what he was about to say and he was trying very hard not to think. When he let himself do that around Luffy he tended to get nervous and Law wasn't really in the mood for that at the moment. What fell out of Law's mouth was just as surprising to Law as it was to anyone else at the moment. "I wanted to ask someone, but they were already planning on going to the dance with their friends. So I opted to not bother them with the issue at all."

"You're weird, what if they really wanted to go with you?" Luffy asked he turned to face Law now.

Law shrugged. "They seemed really excited about going with their friends, their friends all put some money together to rent a party bus," Law said. It was exactly what Luffy and his friends had done.

"Woah, Usopp lied! He said we were the only ones that had a party bus!" Luffy said. Law wasn't sure how serious Luffy was. Sometimes it seemed like Luffy was intentionally flirting with Law, but then he said stuff like that and it threw Law off so much. Was Luffy really that oblivious?

Law pushed the thoughts aside, the doubt was making him nervous again.

"I think Usopp-ya was right on that one, your friends are the only ones I know that showed up in a party bus," Law admitted. Maybe Luffy would catch the hint there. Law had his doubts on that bit though.

"Oh!" Luffy grinned at Law and leaned a little closer to him. That grin had mischief written all over it. "You like one of my friends, huh? Who is it!? Nami? Oh, I bet it's Robin! You talk to her a lot!"

Law sighed, though he shouldn't be surprised at all, this was Luffy he was talking to. "What makes you think it's a girl I like?" Law asked. He stepped a little closer to Luffy.

"Oh, do you like Zoro then?" Luffy asked. "You talk to him a lot too, more than Robin!"

"Mm, no," Law said, he looked down at Luffy waiting to see if he'd even guess right and wanting to see how long it would take him to come to the right conclusion.

"Uh, Sanji?"

"No."

"Usopp!?"

"Try again,"

"Chopper?"

Law scrunched his nose at that one, Chopper reminded Law of a little kid and that was just gross. "Hard no."

Luffy started counting on his fingers, mouthing the names of his friends as he brought each finger into his fist.

"Jimbei!"

Luffy really was going to guess every single one of his friends before he got to himself, wasn't he? Maybe he knew and he was just messing with Law. Either way, Law didn't really care, he dug himself into this hole and he wasn't about to stop.

"No," Law said again.

"Franky?"

"No."

"Yeah, I didn't think so," Luffy agreed. He put down another finger.

"Brook?"

Law shook his head this time.

"Uh," Luffy looked down at his fingers again. "That's all my friends that came on the bus."

"There's one more guy that came on the bus," Law noted as if he were just thinking out loud.

"Me?" Luffy realized. "You like me?"

"Took you long enough to get there," Law said. He was trying not to clench his fist. His heart was pounding in his chest, trying to escape his ribcage as if his very life were on the line.

"Oh," Luffy put his hands down. Of course, Law confesses to Luffy of all people and he gets an "Oh" as a response.

Law threw caution to the wind and leaned in a bit closer to Luffy.

"I think I deserve a little more than 'Oh,'" Law muttered, he looked down at Luffy's lips and back up at his eyes, "Don't you?"

"Um," Luffy looked at Law like his brain was short-circuiting. Law wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if that were the case. Law took it upon himself to push things a little further.

"Can I kiss you?" Law asked quietly. Luffy glanced down at Law's lips and Law wanted to take that at a 'yes' but he knew better than that by a long shot.

"Y-yeah," Luffy said. Law brought his hand under Luffy's chin and tilted his head up. He pressed his lips to Luffy's.

His lips were soft and so much more than Law could have imagined. Law felt butterflies in his stomach going crazy, it made him dizzy. Luffy bit Law's lower lip, it was the last thing he expected but Law went with it, he dipped his tongue into Luffy's mouth and moved on arm around Luffy's waist.

Luffy's fists clutched Law's shirt and Luffy slowly pulled away, leaving Law breathless and wanting more. That dizzy feeling didn't go away, Law felt like he might pass out if he wasn't careful. It was like he had had one too many drinks.

Law and Luffy were still close, their forehead only centimeters apart.

"I liked that a lot," Luffy said.

Law couldn't help the smirk that made it's way to his face. "Good."

"Oh, does this mean you'll dance?"

"I don't know, are you my date?" Law asked.

"Yep!" Luffy said with plenty of enthusiasm for the both of them.

"I will certainly be dancing with you then," Law agreed. Luffy's grin grew massive. "But I will not be break dancing, I can't dance like that and I'm not in the mood to learn tonight, especially not in front of a bunch of people."

"Boo," Luffy pouted.

"That's not changing my mind," Law said with a small scoff.

"Will another kiss?" Luffy asked.

"No."

"Can I have another anyway?"

"Mhm," Law hummed. He was already leaning in again. This time Luffy met him halfway.

[luccislegs]

Lol I'm glad to be of help! I'm looking forward to the requests you get published. You probably don't write for Law, so I should ask for Zoro in that case. Could I please have a scenario for Zoro with a reader who's a brilliant actor/imitator but they're v shy? They want to be helpful aboard the ship and have a big crush on him, but they end up getting flustered whenever he come near. If I can add, a significant height difference would be cute lol.

sorry it took me so long to answer this lol i was hella partying this weekend and i’m pretty sure there’s still alcohol in me even a week later

anyway, my first ask! also thank you again for letting me know my asks were turned off, you rock!

–

A sigh escaped your lips for what seemed like the hundredth time that day as you watched Zoro train down on the main deck. You, on the other hand, were hidden away in Nami’s tangerine grove, scribbling away at a new musical composition piece. Or you were supposed to be, anyway. It seemed like every few seconds your concentration was stolen by the aforementioned swordsman.

“Hey, _____! Whatcha doin’?” Luffy shouted from behind you. You had been in the middle of writing and he scared you so badly that now there was a large score down the page. Some of it was ripped now as well, ruining the work.

You sighed, staring forlornly at the destroyed paper. It had taken you ages to finally work up the motivation to write, and just like that it had gone wrong. You turned to look at your captain, saying, “Nothing, Luffy. Just writing some new music.”

“Huh,” he said, staring down at the sheet music. “It looked like you were staring at Zoro more, _____.” A large, mischievous grin spread across his face as he locked eyes with the other man, who turned an even brighter shade of red than he already was.

You missed the exchange entirely as your eyes were locked on your paper in horror. Could he have said it any louder? Embarrassment and fear flooded through you and you barely glanced up at Zoro, just enough to gauge his reaction to Luffy’s words, but he wasn’t looking at you. In fact, he was no where to be seen anymore.

It was a few hours later when you finally felt the courage to show your face on deck again. You had initially decided that you were just going to hide out in your room for a few days, but you had managed a complete rough draft of your composition and wanted Brook to play it out, so you could hear what needed to be fixed.

Plus, you were starving.

The sounds of the others filtered out of the kitchen, typical in that you could hear Luffy and Usopp above all the others, but it was comforting because it was familiar.

The door creaked open and a chorus of greetings to you filled the room, and you flushed slightly. Waving back, you sat down in an open seat, and your eyes made a sweep of the room, looking for familiar green.

“Zoro isn’t here,” Luffy said around a huge mouthful of meat. He struggled to swallow it for a moment; you could see the way his throat expanded to accommodate what was surely too much food. “He’s sleeping in the crow’s nest.”

Your cheeks really turned red at that, and you couldn’t meet anyone’s eyes, but you heard the tell-tale sounds of Nami knocking him upside the head.

He whined and rubbed the back of his head, frowning at her. “What was that for? She was looking for him, right? She likes him, so I figured I’d tell her!”

“Luffy, you idiot,” Nami said with a huff. She looked like she was going to hit him  again, her fist raised in a threatening manner. “You aren’t supposed to point it out. They need to figure it out for themselves.”

“Well, they’re taking too long!” he whined, holding his hands up to defend himself. He looked around at you then. “_____, why don’t you just tell him?”

You couldn’t help but give him an incredulous look as you sputtered out half-formed excuses. Finally, you took a deep breath and calmed yourself, managing to say through grit teeth, “It isn’t that easy, Luffy. I’m not sure he feels the same.”

“You should just ask him then!” He was so naive it would be cute, if it wasn’t so embarrassing.You rolled your eyes as Nami continued to yell, with Sanji joining in after a moment. Things settled down after that, returning to normal levels of noise which, with your crew, were still extremely loud.

“Does anyone know where Brook is?” you asked when everyone was finished eating. “I want him to play this new piece for me.”

“I think he was talking about practicing on deck,” Robin piped up. She had been so quiet all night you had forgotten she was there, but as soon as she spoke, Sanji was swooning.

That signaled you that it was time to book it– whenever he got like that, you knew it was only a matter of time before he took turns around the room.

The cool air and quiet were a welcome relief from the stifling noisiness of the kitchen. Off towards the front of the boat came the faint sounds of guitar. Brook was just starting out on the instrument, and so the music wasn’t as smooth as it was when he played the violin or the piano. But he seemed to be picking it up quickly and, if he kept it up, it would give you yet another instrument to write music for in no time.

“Hello, _____. What can I do for you?” Brook’s voice broke through your stupor.

You hadn’t even realized you had made it to him, and you gave him an embarrassed smile. “I have a new piece I was hoping you would play for me. I’m sure there are kinks. But it’s for the violin this time.”

You put the paper into his expectant hand and waited as he scanned over it, bouncing back and forth on your feet.

“This will sound marvelous when it’s done, _____!” he said at last. “I’m going to get my violin right now so you can finish it up as soon as possible!”

You flushed at his praise. Although he said that about all of your work, it was still nice to hear. Sometimes you wondered what the point of you being on the boat was, and having that little bit of reassurance was nice. Besides, most of the music Brook was playing here lately were pieces you had created.

Footsteps sounded behind you, but they lacked the usual creaking that accompanied Brook when he walked. You nearly had a heart attack when you turned to look and found Zoro standing behind you. You could feel the heat flood your cheeks, and prayed it was dark enough that he couldn’t see. On the other hand, he was fully displayed in the moonlight and you could see that he was as red as you likely were.

“Uh, hey,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Could we talk?”

Your heart, which had already been beating harder than was normal just by being in his presence, almost exploded in your chest. You could feel it thundering away behind your ribs so hard you felt a little lightheaded for a moment.

“U-Um…sure?” you said, and cursed yourself for being so shy. It was hard enough having a crush on someone, let alone someone like him, but the whole thing was compounded by the fact that you could barely talk to him like a normal person.

“Sorry about earlier. Luffy can be a bit a of an idiot,” he said. He smirked a little when he heard you giggle.

You had to steel yourself for your next words, because you weren’t sure if you were bringing up something that you didn’t really need to, but you couldn’t keep a lid on it without feeling uncomfortable. “I’m sorry about…about earlier. I hope I-I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

His posture changed, you could see tension come into his shoulders and for a moment you thought it had backfired. But his next words made you feel like you would burst into flames.

“That’s okay. I wasn’t getting much training done anyway. Someone was up in the tangerines distracting me.” He wasn’t looking at you, and his hand was fidgeting with the swords attached to his hips.

You were a fool if you thought you couldn’t turn any more red. You would swear that you were going to be permanently stained, Sanji could use you as a tomato in his next meal. “W-Well…um…”

Words were escaping you, and it was just a relief that he didn’t find you weird because of Luffy.

“Brook is coming back,” Zoro said suddenly, shifting to look over his shoulder. You couldn’t hear anything, but trusted his word. “The next island is coming up in a few days. Do you want to go into town with me?”

You giggled again, giddy at the fact that Zoro had just asked you on a date, and nodded. “Yes, I’d like that.”

He smiled and lifted his hand, setting it on your head gently. Then it was sliding off and he was walking away, just as Brook came back into view.

“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got, _____. _____?”

–

this was unbelievably harder than i had initially thought it would be. i had to change the actor/imitator detail bc i absolutely could not figure out a way to incorporate that into any of the ideas i had, at least not without it getting severely out of hand, so I hope that wasn’t an extremely important detail. if it is, just let me know and i can whip something else up, but it’ll probably be way more involved and stupid long.

on the other hand, i do hope you like this!

[foxboymyles]

Pardon My Imprudence [Chp 3]

Note: This chapter is quite long. Hope you guys don’t mind! ^_^

The next day, Luffy hurried downstairs and ate his breakfast 2 times faster than usual.

Shanks looked at him in shock and slowly passed him a bottle of water. He thumbed at Luffy to Sabo.

“Is he ok?”

Ace interrupted before Sabo could speak. “He’s just going freaky over this new boyfriend he’s got.” Sabo went silent and nodded.

“Oh, gosh. That’s what’s been going on?” Shanks said, drinking his coffee. “Well, I’m not gonna stand around and let you do your own thing this time, Luff. I need to make sure this guy is good.”

Luffy nodded.”Yeah, I’ll invite him for dinner today!” Luffy was gonna run out the door when Shanks tossed him another bottle of water.

“What’s his name, by the way?”

“Roronoa Zoro!” Luffy said, rushing out the door.

Shanks paused for a second.”Eh?!? He’s Mihawk’s son! Wait, Luffy!”

…

Luffy spotted Zoro, after dashing through the gates where they meet. He hugged Zoro tightly and gave him another bottle of water.

“Here!”

“Oh, that’s fine. My sister started getting her own water.” Zoro said, in a warm voice.

Luffy’s interpretation of Zoro’s voice was always warm and mellow ever since that last night when he called him. It was then when Zoro moved closer to Luffy’s lips. He lifted Luffy’s chin with his hand and turning his head slightly. Luffy dropped his water and closed his eyes. Their lips met, slowly but surely, feeling like a mixture of soft skin and warm breath. Luffy’s reflex was to relax his body weight on Zoro, feeling secure to put his arms around Zoro’s neck. Their lips parted, but Luffy’s chest was still against Zoro’s. His cheeks were flushed, as he met lips with Zoro again. If he was just a little more out of space, he wouldn’t have heard Usopp calling out his name.

“Luffy! What the heck are ya doing?” Usopp said, a little surprised.

Nami was behind him, grinning and giggling at the scene.

Luffy chuckled and put his head against Zoro’s chest.

“Hi guys!”

“I knew he was gay! You owe me 20 dollars!” Nami said, putting out her hand to Usopp.

Usopp backed away.”What?!? I don’t remember making any bets!”

The bell rang, and all of them made their way to the stairs. Usopp got a dollar from his pocket.

“This is all I have right now. Heracle is giving me my allowance tomorrow.” Usopp said.

“How much you getting?” Nami said, grabbing the dollar.

“Uh, 15,” Usopp said shortly.

Nami smirked.”Great! I’ll get 50% of that! Which is 7 dollars and 50 cents.”

“I guess that’s ok,” Usopp said, out of relief.

“So I have to give you that amount for a few weeks?” He continued.

“Yup! Until I get my 20 dollars!” Nami said cheerfully.

She then grabbed his hand and ran off to their class.

Zoro put his arm around Luffy’s shoulder and got to his classroom. He said a short goodbye and maybe an ‘I love you’ from what Luffy’s ears could tell. He kissed Luffy’s forehead and went to his English class. As for Luffy, he had Math. Once he got to his seat, his friend Vivi greeted him. He told her the news about him and Zoro, and she gleamed. She explained that she’d known Zoro and that he seemed really lonely as a person, and that he had a good heart. Luffy smiled at her comments and said that he’d promise he’d take good care of Zoro. The teacher, Silvers Rayleigh came in. He had a silver-colored beard and long, slightly wavy hair. He always had a button up shirt on and dark pants.

“Alright class, get to page 398 in your textbook. You’ll be doing warm-ups from what we did yesterday.” Rayleigh said, pointing to the board which read the instructions.

Chopper was the student helper. He had taken this math class before for 2 months until he was moved to more advanced classes. Now it’s an extra class that he volunteers to be in. Chopper smiled and wrote the numbers of the problems on the board. Luffy was opening up his book until he felt something hit his back gently. He turned around and saw, of course, Eustass Kid.

“Hey, Straw-dork. How’s it going?” He said, a little vicious but friendly enough.

Luffy nodded.”It’s going good. How’s Law doing?

“He’s doin’ great. Still working on motorcycles, things like that. I heard you knocked Bellamy in the head good. Deserves it, that shit head.”

Luffy didn’t respond, but the girl in the back did.

“He was getting in the way anyways,” Rebecca said, ironically in a soft, polite voice.

She has shiny light pink hair that looked like sweet cotton candy. Her eyes were chocolate brown, and her skin was warm. It smelt of fresh flowers when you turned her way.

Kid raised his eyebrows and smiled.”Oh? Didn’t know a pretty lady like you was here. You’re awfully quiet.”

“Yeah, sure. I was hearing something off the announcements, though. Would you like to hear?” Rebecca asked.

“Go ahead.”

“Apparently our principal Marshall D. Teach is getting replaced,” Rebecca said in a lower tone.

Luffy and Vivi were listening and smile slightly. Kid nodded his head in approval. No one liked their Principal, Mr.Teach. He made it to where they were free, but a little too free. There’s been many fights and Luffy’s seen their friend Sanji smoke inside the school freely without getting caught. Luffy liked the idea, but he knew it’d cause disorder in the school, and that it upsets many people.

“The bad news is Sir Crocodile is running to be principal,” Rebecca said, unsettled.

Vivi bit her lip nervously.”I know him. He was the principal of my middle school. He ended up causing a lot of misery for some students and framed them for doing things they didn’t do. But the school never found out. They never believed anything anyone said against him.”

Luffy’s eyes slightly widened. “Really?” Kid and Rebecca listened and she continued. 

“Yeah. He was gonna go after me because I was generous with money at the time. Fortunately, he went to another school to teach.”

Rebecca gulped.”That’s really bad news-”

Rayleigh cleared his throat and looked at the 4 that were murmuring.

“Is there anything you want to share with the class?”

Luffy raised his hand, as Rayleigh sighed and accepted his comment.

“This guy is gonna try to be principal here and he’s really mean. He tricks students and gets them into trouble and steals their parents’ money. The school board hasn’t found out and they won’t believe kids when they say he’s bad.” Luffy grinned as Vivi slapped him against the head.

“You weren’t supposed to say that!” Vivi exclaimed.

The rest of the class mumbled to each other as Rayleigh quieted them down.

“I assure you, Luffy, that this school will never let in people such as him. Now, class. May we continue?” The rest of the class agreed.

…

It was lunch period. Zoro had just gotten out of PE and Luffy was out of History with his favorite teacher, Ms.Nico. She had taught him a few life lessons and was generally very calm. Ms.Nico was easy to follow and you could learn so much without hassle.

Luffy spotted Zoro and held his hand. “Hey, Zoro!”

“Hi, Luff.” He replied back.

“I heard some news about a guy trying to be the new principal. Apparently, he's a real bad guy.” Luffy explained.

“Of course. The school board is stupid with things like that.” Zoro said, putting his other hand in his pocket.

“Oh, by the way. My dad wants you to hang out with us for dinner tonight.” Luffy said, smiling.

Zoro nodded. “I can do that.”

“How’s your sister?”

“Bratty, like always. She’s tolerable sometimes. Don’t invite her.” Zoro warned.

Luffy laughed and accepted Zoro’s request. Kid signaled for Luffy to sit at his table. Luffy sat and Zoro told him he’d get both of their lunches. Sanji sat at the table subtly, looking through his phone.

“What’s moss head doing?” Sanji asked dryly.

“He’s just getting lunch.”

“Why’re you still here, then?” Sanji said, unwrapping a gum wrapper.

“He’s getting my lunch for me,” Luffy replied.

Sanji started to chuckle at the thought.

“So he’s seeing you?” Sanji asked.

Kid didn’t want to tune in to the conversation and took out his phone.

“Mhm,” Luffy said.

Zoro came back with Luffy’s tray and set it by him. He put his tray down and began eating after Luffy said a short thanks.

“How was confessing to him like? Did you pussy out on the first try?” Sanji asked with a ridiculous smile on his face.

Zoro glared. “I was cut off by his brother the first time. The second time Ace called me himself and I could only explain it as a rant directed at me.”

Sanji laughed hysterically. “It doesn’t matter what circumstances, you always get bad luck somehow! What a dumbass!”

Zoro pulled him by his shirt. “You wanna say that again?”

“Dumbass,” Sanji repeated in a drawl.

Kid groaned. “Will you ladies shut up? I’m watching a porno here.”

Usopp and Nami came over and sat down.

“What’re you guys going on about now?” Nami asked.

“Moss boy here is getting offended,” Sanji said, smirking.

“Fuck off.” Zoro mumbled, grabbing one of Luffy’s chicken tenders, then heard him yell ‘hey!’

Luffy turned Zoro around and growled. “Give it back!”

Zoro smiled and mumbled with his mouth full. “Make me.”

“I know where this is going, so here. Spare my life.” Usopp said as he grabbed 3 of his nuggets and gave them to Luffy.

Luffy smiled brightly and gobbled the nuggets up. “Usopp is my favorite friend!”

“Wow, what an unhealthy dynamic you have there, Zoro,” Sanji replied.

“Yeah, yeah. I was just teasing him, idiot.” Zoro said.

“I bet you do that a lot,” Sanji said, snickering. Usopp’s eyes widened and coughed.

“Yeah, and you can’t get at least one chick in your bed out of your whole lifespan,” Zoro replied. 

Kid made a sizzling sound with his mouth while staring at his phone.”Wow, that’s gotta hurt.”

Sanji grunted. “Yeah, yeah. The gay guy giving me advice about women.”

Zoro smiled. “Huh. What about that huge party I gave you the wrong address to. And you ended up in a homosexual org-”

“We don’t talk about that!” Sanji said, his face red.

“Oh, that’s hot.” Kid said, intentionally referring to the graphic images on his phone. But, Nami and Usopp didn’t see it that way. They stared at him awkwardly. “What?” Kid said, stuffing his mouth with pizza.

The bell rang as everyone went back to their classes. The rest of the day was normal.

As soon as the final bell rang, Luffy went to Zoro’s class. He was packing his stuff and talking to Ms.Nico.

“Hi, Ms.Nico!” Luffy said.

Ms.Nico Robin had long jet black hair. Her skin was fairly pale and she had beautiful light blue eyes.

“Hello, Luffy. What can I do for you?” She smiled politely.

“Oh, I’m just waiting for Zoro. He’s gonna come over for dinner tonight!”

“That’s delightful. He told me about your acquaintance with him as well.” Robin said, giggling.

Zoro blushed and continued to put his things in his backpack. Robin and Luffy had a conversation until Zoro stood up with his backpack and grabbed Luffy’s hand.

“Thank you for explaining that part in history, Ms.Nico. I’ll do good on that test, I promise.” Zoro said as she waved goodbye.

…

Zoro got to the le roux house and sat on the couch. Sabo sat by him and welcomed him.

“Where’s Ace?” Zoro asked.

Sabo shrugged. “He said he was getting Luffy his favorite snack and a couple other things. I hope he’s not out too long. I’m making homemade lasagna.”

Zoro nodded. “Do you have a job as a caterer or do you just like to cook a lot?”

“Oh, I’m not a caterer. I do have a job, though. I’m a freelance writer. I enter cooking competitions on the side.” Sabo said, excited to answer.

“How about Ace?”

“He’s a lifeguard in the summer. He also does some music and plays the acoustic guitar.” Sabo said.

“Ace is really talented! He can play a bunch of songs.” Luffy added.

They chatted for a while until Shanks opened the front door. Zoro stood up and shook his hand.

“Hi! You’re Zoro, correct?”

“Yeah. It’s nice to meet you, Shanks.” Zoro said.

Sabo put a hot turkey on the table and sides like mashed potatoes and peas. He placed a pitcher of water and another of homemade orange juice. Luffy sat by Zoro and on the other side was Ace, Sabo, and Shanks.

Zoro ate a piece of turkey and smiled. “You’re really great at cooking, Sabo.”

“Thank you! I have to cook a lot of food usually. Luffy tends to eat a lot.” Sabo said.

Shanks got the water pitcher and filled up his cup.

“So, I was surprised to hear Luffy was dating you because I’ve talked to your father and he’s mentioned your name.”

“He’s a really successful man, but he’s very strict,” Zoro explained, cutting his chunk of turkey again.

“That’s true. Do you work anywhere?” Shanks said. He took a sip from his cup and placed it down.

Zoro nodded. “I’m a waiter at Blue Creek. Our friend is a cook there.”

Luffy smiled. “Sanji’s a great cook like Sabo!”

Sabo blushed slightly and grinned, his hand scratched the back of his head. “You think so?”

Ace rolled his eyes at Sabo’s flustered-ness.

Zoro gave his leftovers to Luffy, who thanked him with a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Ace turned away, but Sabo laughed at how comfortable they were. Zoro didn’t react differently and ruffled Luffy’s hair.

Shanks jumped up, as he suddenly remembered something he was going to say.

“Luffy did a great job teaching that Bellamy kid a lesson, I heard!” Shanks said cheerfully.

“I’ve only known recently that he was that strong,” Zoro said.

“You’ll be learning a lot more about what he can do. It’s incredible how well he can get back on his feet. Remember when I tell you that.” Shanks informed Zoro.

“I’ll be aware of that,” Zoro remarked.

“Zoro fights too! He does heavy lifting and trains with katanas!” Luffy exclaimed, trying to show off his boyfriend.

Shanks chuckled. “Now that’s gonna be a duo no one will mess with.”

“Except Garp.” Ace mumbled.

Sabo’s eyes widened and he began hacking, nudging Ace in the side. Shanks turned his attention to them in curiosity.

“What about Garp?” Shanks asked.

“Remember? Garp is trying to take Luffy away to become a marine. His co-workers hate us.” Ace said aloud.

Shanks sighed. “I don’t think that was necessary, Ace.”

“I think he needed to know.” Ace said, as he stood up and put his plate away.

Sabo stood up and attempted to get him from going back into his room, but he quickly got up the steps and shut the door abruptly. Sabo sat back down and looked at Zoro. He still somehow looked calm. From that quarrel, he would have expected a little bit of a tense appearance. But alas, he looked the same as before. The only difference is that Zoro looked like he was going through deja vu. Somehow…

“I’m sorry that happened, Zoro. He’s a little personal about, you know, what’s going on with you and Luffy. I promise that he’ll get used to it! He does this very often.” Sabo said, reassuringly.

“He’s always like this. What made him split again anyways?” Shanks asked.

“I guess the mention of Zoro and Luffy being a duo? Also, Garp called Ace the other day. Same thing, about being a marine…”

“I’m sorry to leave you out,” Shanks said to Zoro. “Garp is Luffy’s biological grandfather. I’m a stepfather to all three of these kids. Ace had no parents and both Sabo and Luffy’s fathers didn’t want them. On top of that, Luffy and Ace had no mother. So I decided I would help them.”

Zoro nodded. “I understand. Luffy told me you've been  his adoptive parent  since he was 7.”

“Garp is obsessed with the fact of all three of them becoming marines, and they refuse. But he always tries to convince them to. As for his co-workers, they think we’re criminal’s because Luffy’s biological father was an infamous criminal.” Shanks explained.

Zoro’s eyebrows slightly went up.”Criminal?”

Luffy continued eating.

Shanks murmured for Sabo to get the wine and turned back to Zoro. “Yes, he’s rebelling against what would be the world government right now. It’s not helping any of their images, really.”

Sabo put the wine on the table and unscrewed the top. Shanks grabbed the bottle, and lightly tipped it, as the red sparkling liquid filled his wine glass.

Zoro looked at Luffy who was wiping out his mouth and smiling generously.

“Thank you for the meal, Sabo!” Luffy said.

“Anytime,” Sabo said.

Zoro looked up at Shanks, looking a little unsure.

“Should I go up there and talk to him?” Zoro asked.

“If you want to get yelled at,” Shanks said, sipping his wine.

Zoro stood up and went upstairs, as Luffy stayed in his seat.

Sabo frowned. “Why didn’t you stop him, Luffy? Ace is not gon-”

“Zoro knows what he’s doing,” Luffy said, smiling.

Luffy kept a conversation with Sabo, as Zoro knocked on Ace’s door. He heard a muffled ‘who is it’ from Ace.

“It’s Zoro.” He replied back.

Zoro could hear a soft sigh, as the other opened with a creek. Ace had an acoustic guitar strapped onto his body, and a small pick was in his right hand. He signaled for Zoro to sit down.

“I’m sorry about the public affection. I-”

“No, it’s fine. You don’t need to worry about doing that- I’m just a little protective over Luffy. So if I say anything crude don’t take it seriously. Just controls me a lot.” Ace explained, striking some chords.

“So, what’s with your grandfather? He doesn’t seem like much fun.” Zoro said.

Ace put his guitar down and threw his pick on the bed. He shrugged hopelessly and laid his head on his hands.

“I don’t know. He’s really stern on us being marines, but somehow I think he already knows we’ll never do that. But he keeps on trying.” Ace said.

“Either way, Luffy must handle it great,” Zoro said.

Ace smiled. “Of course, like everything. I’ve always wondered where he got his strong will from.”

There was silence. And then, Ace stood up. He grabbed a 20 dollar bill from his pocket and gave it to Zoro.

“Go out and get some ice cream with him, will you? Keep the rest, that’s all the money I have on me right now.” Ace said sternly.

Zoro smiled and grabbed the bill. He stopped.

“You’re not as bad as you make yourself out to be. It’s been nice meeting you.” Zoro said, grinning.

And so Zoro went down the steps. Ace’s eyes widened temporarily, then he smiled.

[ximca]

Evidence.ZIP: Nami's slow descent into love

Before we start I want to make clear a few things. This is not paid work which means it's substandard trash, all of the scans used are unofficial, but all the interpretations are mine.

Ready? Set. Go.

This first panel is not a shipping panel. LuNa or SaNa, it's not. However because it's been some days since Sanji took off, that means between that day and the day Luffy and company arrived, he's been on her mind. Again I stress, this is not a romantic sign or symbol of any note. Her tears are of worry and relief because she's been worried sick for her nakama and relief because finally, Luffy's here, let's get the rescue rolling.

The next two pictures are about Nami being eager to get off their butts and go after Sanji right away. But Luffy and Zoro are in no hurry, and even Chopper and Brook in other panels are just sad that Sanji is gone but they're not like Nami who's gung ho about chasing him right away. Does that mean they’re not worried about Sanji? No, of course they are, but Nami obviously is the most worried here.

Right before everything happened, Nami was pretty belligerent towards Sanji. She's used to everything he does, including his antics. But by no means does that mean she's apathetic to him. After all, even as early as FI our guy Sanji put in the work. In PH even if he didn't like it, he followed Nami's wish to save the kids and his body serendipitously saved Nami from Caesar's explosion. Nami knows that Sanji would save any other of his nakama, but it was only during the time skip that she began to see how much special attention Sanji actually paid her. And she doesn't even know yet, that Sanji gave her body respect when he dived that lake to get Kinemon's torso, when just a few minutes ago he was cupping her breasts like a madlad for a punchline.

Nami also remembers quite clearly what little Sanji told them about his family. It doesn't seem anything special until you realize that when this happened, Nami asked Chopper right before to dig a spot up for gold, and forgot all about it entirely when Sanji was telling them about Liar Norland.

So then Sanji and co. got captured. This is what I think triggered Nami, the "I'll be back but not really" smile she's seen twice in her life now: Sanji's and Bellemere's. She never really knew what she had until he was gone.

In this panel Nami is mad at Zoro for victim blaming Sanji. Both sides have a point, but take note of Luffy. He noticed, as well as I did (and a few others), that Nami was being a teensy bit overreacting at this point. Why I judged that to be his action instead of Luffy observing the back and forth, is because he’s of the same opinion as Zoro...marriages are no big deal, it’s not like somebody won’t return from a marriage. But Nami’s uncomfortable with it, so in order to remedy the problem, he decides to go up to Sanji and ask him to come back, because their navigator was being cranky when he wasn’t around. Also because he didn’t want to be a Big Mom subordinate, but if it was really the basis of his decision then he should have decided the chase before Nami’s overreaction.

The other two victims, Brook and Chopper, had very different stances. Brook was the calm and mature narrator while Chopper just kept apologizing.

See again Luffy in this panel. But, in addition to noticing Nami's vehement objection to Sanji's Vinsmoke lineage, there's also what I call the "wait a minute!" graphic. It's those small lines that form a semicircle near a character when something catches their attention during someone else's monologue. So now he knows something's definitely up with Nami, if he wasn't sure before.

That face isn't a "wait a minute, what are Vinsmokes?" but rather a "wait a minute, why are you objecting?"

For comparison, this is Nami’s “wait a minute, I know who you’re talking about” panel.

After the Jack ownage, Luffy was open to another banquet like he wasn't done with one the night before. Nami feels once is enough, let's get going, and gives her usual excuse of "you can't go anywhere without a navigator" spiel like Luffy doesn't know what she does. Go back to when Luffy visited Pekoms, he was still saying no to her because the fewer the members the higher the chance of stealth. But now all he says is OK. He knows that somebody on his crew can't wait to see Sanji again, and he's all too happy to oblige.

Even in this catfight prelude, Nami wants to hurry up, giddy up. But when Pudding elaborates on her situation...

THIS is where I think Nami caught herself slippin'. Luffy's just happy with someone complimenting his cook, Chopper is concerned with fact checking, but Nami...is concerned about Sanji's emotional well-being? If she really didn't give him the time of day then why the hell does she care whether Sanji marries for love and not just for political reasons? Just Nami well-wishing? Can't be, because well-wishers would not question whether or not the bride loves her groom in a political marriage.

ANYBODY else would give the happy bride-to-be a congratulations but only a "former-gf-who-has-accepted-the-reality-of-the-situation-who-still-has-residual-feelings-of-love" would confirm for herself if the man she left/who left her is being loved by his bride-to-be.

And before someone says “But family members and to an extent nakama would ask that too!”, they won’t question the bride’s/groom’s feelings, but whether or not he/she is ready to take care of their partner for the rest of their life. Nami isn’t asking “Will you take care of Sanji for the rest of his life?”

Also I think this conversation makes One Piece finally fail the Bechdel Test after all these years.

Fast forward to when they caught up with the Germa, that's Nami's face of relief from being worried about not being able to see each other again. If Sanji were his normal self this is probably where he'd ask her Do you love me now, Nami-san? or something. And after Nami fighting about quarter/half of 11 hours vs Cracker (this dude could take several G4 punches too), she'd probably reply to him in kind at that point.

I have no doubt in my mind that this Nami was one who already recognized her feelings and had no problem acting on them.

But reality is cruel...Sanji wasn't taking any chances. Even going as far as mock Luffy for his dream...and she believed it...despite hearing about a week ago from his own mouth that Luffy was going to be PK!

Luffy never believed the cockbull Sanji was cranking out, so why did Nami? Well for starters, Nami never experienced Sanji lying to her. Ever. You can even search the whole manga for a panel up to that point where Sanji lied to her, you won't find it. That's why she believed Sanji's lies so easily.

Do you remember the Usopp vs Luffy fight? The stated reason is because Usopp doesn't want to leave the Merry behind, due to his own insecurity about being weak and his projection onto the boat being useless and needing replacement which snowballed into him cracking. But was that really all it was? Of course not, Usopp wasn't selfish enough to fight for himself. Flee for himself maybe. He wasn't just fighting for the Merry Go, he was also fighting for Kaya because Merry was his reminder of her.

Scour the manga, all of Usopp's most emotional fight moments are because he was fighting for someone else.

Back to Nami, what did the slap mean? Was it anger at beating Luffy up and spitting on his dream? Yes. Was it because of all the stress and worry for him being useless at that point? Yes. But as a natural opposite of Usopp, Nami's most emotional fight moments are about herself.

Nami decided to fight Arlong because of his continued tyranny towards Cocoyashi Village despite her doing her best to pay up their freedom, but the bulk of her anger was about how much Arlong fucked her life up. Thanks to him she never grew up with a normal childhood.

With Nami vs Ms. Doublefinger, I think Nami even decided to leave her to Zoro. However because she was being labeled a weakling (and underestimated), she decided to stay and fight. Nami vs Kalifa was a similar case of underestimation despite her taking the fight because Sanji was useless against Kalifa.

I think Nami was also mad that Sanji wasn't the same man she realized she fell in love with. Gone was the kind, humble, and goofy man who would stick up for his nakama and their dreams. In his place was a snotty brat who acted superior to everything and believed status gave them the right to shit on other people's dreams. Nami thinks Sanji has changed for the worse because of his newfound status, and drops the endearment term “-kun” which she only used for him.

It's framed like in TV dramas where the lady slaps the man out of passion. Yonji even lampshades it: "She's the fiery type!"

The last pic is just Nami’s “oh shit no” look compared to Luffy’s “oh shit” one.

I’m too tired to continue so I’m stopping this here.

Better researchers than I can spot where Nami first got infatuated by Sanji.

All I’m saying is, they don’t really care about us Sanami shippers should not worry about the character development Oda gave Nami in the Year of Sanji. It’s been a long time coming for us but it’s the last stretch before the game ends.

Don’t expect Oda to give them a flashy confession or an extraordinary action to validate the ship.

But if I read Oda right and this is where he wants Sanji and Nami to take the next step into their relationship, we’re in the green.

Naysayers will say things like “but Nami would do the same for the other nakama” or “so and so would act like that too” but take heed and remember, Oda does not write without reason. He MADE Nami overreact because he wants US to care that Sanji was taken from the crew. He WROTE Sanji into catching Nami with both of them sharing a brief smile because he wants US to feel the relief of both parties safe in each other’s hold.

And he DREW Pudding being jealous because that’s how some other ships feel about this arc. jk ilu guise this is just banter

Thanks for reading.

[1997onepiece]

Im that anon that requested for headcanon :D sorry i took so long. Can i get a headcanon of each of the strawhats drinking habits? Like how do each if then act if they get drunk? How much can each if them drink before getting drunk? What is the most embarrassing thing they did while drunk? Do they prefer wine or beer or any other alcoholic beverage? I Was always curious on this one because theres a couple of drinking scenes in op

thanks for this request! it was an interesting one. this ended up being really, really long so im putting it under a read more(probably due to all the pics of evidence i put in from a bunch of different arcs. ive been working on this since 7:30am and its 5:15pm now lol. dont worry though, i took a meal break!)

anyways, i tried to stick to canon/what could be plausibly canon as much as possible for each character (including the embarrassing bits). the headcanons go through jinbei!

i hope you all enjoy the read & if any of you feel differently/have some bit of contradictory evidence, feel free to send it in! im open to suggestions, i tried my best here but i know i probably missed some stuff

also before i start please note that all of them drink beer. all of them. theyre pirates, they kind of have to. pirates sing and pirates drink beer, thats just how it is in luffys mind, so thats the default drink for everyone at parties (i imagine thats how oda feels too)

though beer is the default drink, theyll drink anything. theyre not really that picky. like:

with that out of the way, ill talk personal preferences and experiences of each crew member now

also i will only be using manga evidence from here on out since thats what im familiar with/thats whats canon

luffy:

luffy is usually seen drinking in conjunction with eating a shit ton of food. he doesnt really drink for the sake of drinking alone, he likes food more than he does alcohol lol. he even says this in dressrosa:

so yeah, luffy drinks for the occasion (parties mostly). the only time i see him potentially drinking alcohol by itself outside of a party is maybe if he wanted to sing some tunes with the crew or something (again, based off that whole image of what it is to be a pirate)

like, look at his face here lol. idk whether thats coke or rum but he is not liking it

drunk personality - tuckered out and easily annoyed, after hes done partying. probably goes straight to sleep. itd take a lot to get him drunk though like, do you see how much he has to eat to get full? lol

drink preferences - beer mostly

heres luffy with some alcohol:

an embarrassing thing that could happen to him while drunk: hes made to wear something that insults his masculinity. basically like what happened to him at amazon lily

luffy doesnt really get embarrassed all that much in other contexts in the series, unless his friends are praising him, so this is what i went with

zoro:

he breathes alcohol and everyone knows it. just check out this panel of luffy trying to wake him up at thriller bark by enticing him with a fucking barrel of the stuff:

and also mihawk withholding alcohol from him while he masters haki:

as for his preferences, you see zoro drinking a lot of beer throughout the series but he goes for hard alcohol a lot of the time too. id like to see him on soju or vodka lmfao.

anyways heres some zoro drinking beer:

oktoberfest zoro! he looks so happy haha

heres him drinking some hard stuff:

note how hes supposedly drinking tea in this last one but hes got an alcohol bottle next to him. either hes pretending to drink tea or he spiked the shit lol

zoroll drink anything though hes greedy for alcohol lmao like:

as for his drunk personality, i dont think hed ever allow himself to be truly drunk. as you can see here, his morals get in the way:

thats not to say he cant get buzzed the fuck up though like:

drinking, however, does result in lowered inhibitions so i guess the most wed ever get out of him is some dumb decisions

going off of that, an embarrassing thing that could happen to him while drunk:he says/does something earnestly and someone makes fun of him for it. like what happened at thriller bark with pirate docking 6:

either that or he wakes up having done something he finds beneath him:

to sum it all up, watch this silly ass amv i found about zoros drinking habits lol

nami:

drinking habits/drunk personality: this woman can outdrink a horse like holy shit.

as you can see, shes a boisterous drunk. loud and happy, as well as a little competitive:

sidenote: ZORO AND NAMI ARE THE BEST DRINKING BUDDIES!! just imagine them goading each other on haha how cute

drink preferences - anything. she loves alcohol. shes the alcohol queen

although she can get down and dirty, she loves looking classy. we actually see her drinking fruity stuff/wine more often than beer (but again, shes the alcohol queen so shell do anything):

shes drinking apple juice here in this last one but the point about looking classy still stands

an embarrassing thing that could happen to her while drunk:hmm, i dont really see her doing anything she doesnt want to do tbh. the only time she gets embarrassed is when someone praises her really

i guess maybe going back to her cabin and trying to draw a map drunk, only to spill ink all over her maps? although thats not embarrassing so much as frustrating really

usopp:

drinking habits/drunk personality -  he seems like more of a social drinker than anything else. you dont really seem him drinking unless its a party

when he does drink, he has fun though

he doesnt really have a high tolerance for alcohol though lol just look at him here:

an embarrassing thing that could happen to him while drunk:he gets caught telling a big ass lie and has to pay for it dearly lmao

drink preferences - doesnt really seem all that adventurous outside of beer tbh

sanji:

i imagine he taste tests a lot of stuff as a chef but his favorite seems to be red wine:

thats not to say he cant appreciate a good ass beer when the occasion calls for it though:

going along with this panel, hes a flirty drunk. hes also flirty when hes not drunk though, so its not as if theres much difference

an embarrassing thing that could happen to him while drunk:his vision is so blurry that he ends up slutting it up with an old woman/a man

i dont imagine he gets drunk easily but hes definitely no zoro or nami

chopper:

drinking habits - he wouldnt go out of his way to drink on his own. hes more of a social drinker honestly. hed just take whatever his crewmates shove at him haha

going off of that, hed prefer beer usually (since thats what everyone else is drinking)

drunk personality - he has a little body, so hed get drunk rather quickly comparatively. hed still try to keep up with his friends though so hed probably pass out early. poor little guy would get tuckered out so quick. at some point he would probably learn to change his body size when he plans on drinking a lot lol

an embarrassing thing that could happen to him while drunk:someone praises him about how good hes gotten at holding his beer and he claps his hooves together without thinking, causing him to spill his beer all over himself and drop it

robin:

drink preferences - shes classy. on her own, she usually seeks out wine, maybe something fruity occasionally, but mostly wine

look at that fat fucking glass. shes having a fun time lol

its important to note that half the time at a party even shell drink wine. take these examples from the dressrosa and post-enies lobby parties:

drunk personality/an embarrassing thing that could happen to her while drunk: shes quiet but i can imagine everyone thinking shes sober and then she falls over lmao

drinking habits - i like to imagine her winding down with a glass of wineafter a long day. i can also see her drinking fine wines for the tasteof it. she doesnt really seem like the type to get drunk much

sidenote: honestly i like to think of robin, nami, and sanji as the classy drinks club lol. sanji likes giving the ladies the good stuff

like look at this. i could guess pretty confidently who those drinks are for lol

franky:

drinking habits - mostly with the crew. he probably drank more in the past when he was more ‘hard-boiled’ lol

drink preferences - he drinks cola more than anything else, so i would headcanon his tastes running more towards rum and coke

not to say that he doesnt drink other stuff though:

drunk personality - prone to slapstick humor, as per usual. kind of like this:

an embarrassing thing that could happen to him while drunk: his speedo getting stolen again lol

brook:

drink preferences/personality - he has no taste buds, so he has no preference! yohohoho!

nah but just kidding, jokes aside, it was confirmed he can taste and digest stuff like anyone else. i can see him indulging in some fancy wines while on tour as soul king, he doesnt really drink besides with the crew though

however, i can imagine him during his years alone getting sad and drinking in memory of his old crew, reenacting how they would sing and get drunk together LOL god thats depressing. consider the fact that he would play alone in the middle of the ocean with these panels to back that up:

lol sorry to dump sad shit on you. now he drinks with a happier purpose though

anyways, i guess these days around girls i could imagine him being a horny drunk, a la “let me see your panties”

BUT, of course, hes also a musical drunk! happy to sing and play for his friends

an embarrassing thing that could happen to him while drunk: he removes his soul from his body to go look at some panties but he has no idea where hes going because the alcohol fucked with his sense of direction so his souls just lurching all over the place and then he gets lost & it takes him a few days to find his body again

jinbei:

drinking habits/drunk personality - hed go for a buzz. hes not the type looking to get fall-on-your-ass drunk so much lol, hed know when to stop. i imagine him to be a happy drinker - all smiles and warm compliments

drink preferences - sake. we havent seen him drinking much but when he does drink, hes drinking what seems to be rice wine, based on what its contained in. though of course hes gonna be drinking more beer once he hangs out with the mugiwara crew in full haha

heres happy jinbei with some sake:

note that the character there, 酒, is sake (fun translation note: in japanese, 酒 refers to all varieties of alcohol, but in english it refers to japanese rice wine)

an embarrassing thing that could happen to him while drunk:he tells everyone in sight awesome luffy is and how hes gonna give his life to him and talks about literally nothing else. the next day everyone teases him about it haha

and thats it! i had fun writing this haha hope i was able to elaborate on their drinking habits to an extent that was satisfactory

i tried my best not to come up with ooc stuff but you all will be the judge of that i suppose

i hope the wait wasnt too long for you specifically, anon, & i hope youll forgive me for taking a few days to respond!

thanks for reading, for those that stuck this one out :D