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#I am a better man than sanji I swear-
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Me: yeah I think Nami is pretty
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Yeah she's like really pretty
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realisticfanfictions · 5 months
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Being Sanji's Girlfriend & Baratie's Head Waitress - Part 2.
Sanji x Waitress!Reader: Part One.
Working at Baratie wasn't without its challenges, and the fights that sprung up because of them weren't rare either. You and your boyfriend never sweated the small stuff, after all working in a high stress environment made you, well, stressed. But maybe some things can't be resolved that easily.
Tags: Sanji x Reader, Waitress!Reader, constant bickering, mostly fluff with some angst, (heavy) swearing.
A/N: I'm so glad the first one was well received! I'm pretty self-concious about my writing, but seeing everyone's hearts and reblogs has made me so happy! There's also been a ton of new people following this page, and I'm so appreciative you guys are liking my stuff enough to keep up to date with my writing <3.
Word Count is 5,427. Hope you enjoy!
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"What the hell was that?" You knew that this made you look like a crazy girlfriend, dragging your significant other into the cold room and locking the door behind you. You'd gotten a few curious and slightly concerned glances from other staff, but by this point they knew better than to intervene. White fog spewed from your mouth as you spoke, giving you the appearance of a mighty dragon ready to burn down anyone who stood in her way.
Sanji, who hadn't fought you the entire way here, rubbed his face with his hand and shoved the other into his pocket. "I was just trying to be friendly." He shrugged.
A cold breeze caused you to flinch, but you refused to show any weakness. "Bullshit." You hissed and gritted your teeth, unable to fathom this man's arrogance. "I'm not dumb, Sanji-"
"And I never said you were." Both hands were now in his pockets and he finally met your gaze. He looked tired and you could tell he was chewing on the inside of his cheek - a habit you knew stemmed from his nicotine addiction. But his forced eye contact didn't last long and his gaze soon drifted to the corner of the cold room. He let out a small sigh. "I'm sorry. I can't help what I say to women-"
You held up a hand. "I don't care about you miserably failing at flirting. Well, I do care, but that's beside the point." You took a breath, counted to five and stared at your boyfriend's beautiful blue eyes. "I know that you're upset, and though I am very annoyed at you, I will say that I appreciate you telling me you're sorry."
"So it is about the-"
"Sanji." He slowly closed his mouth and subtly nodded. He was listening. "I know that you like women, and that you'll move heaven and earth for one to glance your way. I know that. I knew that when I started going out with you." You licked your suddenly dry lips. "What I get upset about, is that you went over my head and spoke to my customers in a rather vulgar way. I know you think it's beneath you, but I take a lot of pride in what I do. I'm good at it. And when-" God, your lips were so dry. "And when you go over my head, take over my table, insult the place that took me in when I had nowhere else to go-when we had nowhere else to go, and then ignore my discomfort and make a joke of it?" You met his eyes. "I am your girlfriend, Sanji. Something that you're meant to love and cherish- like how- I can't-"
Before you realised it, you found yourself slowly enveloped by the love of your life. "Hey," He shushed you gently as he cradled you against his chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel that way." He murmured and placed a kiss against your temple. "My love, you're shaking. I didn't realise I made you this upset. Please, forgive me."
You couldn't help but laugh. "I'm just cold, dumbass. And still pissed at you." Despite what you said, you still buried your head in his chest and soaked up his warmth. It was then you realised how long it'd been since the two of you had been alone like this. Just soaking up each other's warmth and committing the other's smell, touch and the feel of their skin to memory. You're embarrassed to admit you forgot just how much you love his cologne. "Guess this is what happens when we don't have sex for a while."
He gave a breathy chuckle and leaned back enough just to press his lips against your forehead and stare into your eyes. "Well, I'd offer to remedy that, but I'm afraid the cold will affect my performance."
"Like you need an excuse for a bad performance."
"Oh, really?"
"Really."
His usual, charming smile stretched across his face and he licked his lips, before hungrily diving in and punishing you with a particularly brutal kiss. He softly moaned into the kiss, and pulled back enough for you to see the devilish look in his eye as he bent down to press a kiss to your neck.
The door suddenly flung open and Pattie groaned. "I should've known." He exclaimed and threw his towel at the both of you. "Move. I'm trying to get some stuff for dessert."
Sanji grew a wicked grin. "What a coincidence. I'm trying to get me some dessert too." He chuckled and moved in to continue his assault, but was thwarted by an incoming barrage of hits from the disgruntled chef.
Backed by the sound of Pattie yelling in disgust, you laughed and shook your head, worming out of Sanji's hold and skipping out of the cold room with said blond on your heels. You both quickly ducked out of the kitchen and into a small hallway where you turned around to look at him once more. "Thank you for listening to me, Sanji. I may have blown my lid a bit too much back there." You fished around in your pocket and pulled out your lighter. "Go take a smoke break."
"Darling-"
You pushed it into his hand. "Take a break, and have a smoke. If not for you, for me. Because I honestly can't handle you when you're being all bitchy."
His shoulders dropped and a tired smile replaced his worried expression. He wrapped his hands around your own and placed a kiss against your knuckles. "Thank you, my love." He exclaimed and you waved him off with a smile.
"Whatever, you wallowing wag. While you're walking, watch the weather and water, and warn the workers if we're wayward. We don't want any wild winds, or another wreck this week."
He smiled. "You still don't realise you do that, do you?"
You blinked. "Do what?"
A hearty chuckle escapes him and he presses a kiss to your forehead. "Don't worry about it." That damn smile of his made your heart flutter and while you were confused, you returned his kiss with a quick peak of his lips and watched as he walked off. You didn't understand why he was so weird, but you guess it's just part of dating someone.
Before you could go back to serving, a faintly familiar face poked his head around the corner. You squinted your eyes and watched as he walked around aimlessly. "Excuse me, are you lost?"
The boy in the straw hat turned his head in your direction and smiled when he noticed you. "Oh! You're (Y/N), our waitress!" He spun himself around and hastily walked up to you, almost tripping on the aging floorboards. "I didn't get to introduce myself," He tipped his hat. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be King of the Pirates!"
That made you pause. "Oh." You dumbly said, not really sure how to respond. "That's... nice. But this is a staff only area-"
"You're a good fighter." The boy- Luffy you corrected yourself, interrupted and leaned in uncomfortably close. "Well, Sanji's a really good fighter, but you're pretty good too!" He made a pistol with his fingers and pretended to shoot. "You seem good with a gun. And the way you backed up Sanji and knocked that guy out? So good!"
Again, you weren't really sure how to respond. "I was only helping out, but thanks, I guess." You put your hands on your hips. "Is there something I can help you with?"
He tilted his head in confusion. "No, I'm fine."
You blinked. "But you're in a staff only area."
He nodded. "I am."
"...And you know you're not a staff member?"
He shook his head. "I'm not."
You sighed and squeezed the bridge of your nose. "I mean, why are you here?"
A smile returned to his face. "Oh, why didn't you just say so!" He waved his hand around as if announcing something great. His eyes wandered around the room, as if searching for something in the distance. You were intrigued. "I'm trying to find..."
You leaned in. "You're trying to find...?"
"Yes, I am trying to find..." His eyes slowly drifted downward until they met yours. They sparkled with great mysteries waiting to be unveiled, a sense of adventure and bravery and fearlessness that you couldn't help but admire. He smiled. "A toilet!"
Before you could stop yourself, you smacked him upside the head. "Don't pretend like it's some big, life-altering explanation, you dumbass!" With each word, you brought your hand down to slap him on any part of his body you could touch. "Besides, there's three signs for the bathroom on the way here!"
He held up his hands, trying to block your attacks. "Ow! I'm sorry! Stop hitting me!"
You rolled your eyes and stepped back, crossing your arms and glaring at him. "You're such an idiot. Fine, come with me. You can use the staff bathroom, it's right down this hall."
Luffy slowly uncurled himself and nodded. "Thanks a lot! I was sure I was going to crap my pants, you're a life saver!"
"I didn't need to know that." You sighed and beckoned him to follow with a finger. "So, King of the Pirates, huh?"
He nodded, his straw hat bobbing with him as you both walked. "Yep! We have a map to the Grand Line, and we're going to find the One Piece."
You laughed. "Only idiots with a death wish go after that thing."
"Hm, not really. I don't have a death wish." He replied with a shrug.
With a dramatic sigh, you playfully shove him. "Sure you don't, straw boy. What's next? You're gonna tell me you don't plunder and raid villages wherever you go?"
He shook his head. "We don't."
You quirked an eyebrow. "Don't yet?"
He shook his head again. "No."
"Fine then, where are you going to get money?"
"Finding the One Piece will give us all the money we'll ever need."
"And until then?"
"I don't know, but we'll figure something out."
You scoffed. "They always say that."
He tilted his head. "Do you know?"
"I do. You can kidnap a princess and random her, rob an orphanage, maybe even take a business hostage and demand money or you'll start executing patrons."
Luffy stopped and stared at you. "That's really dark."
You shrugged and continued walking. "That's what you have to do if you want to find a crazy man's last fuck-you to the government."
His smile turned into a frown. "You don't think it's real?"
"I think that Gold Rodger wanted to bring about the age of pirates, and he did." You explained. "Doesn't matter if it's real or not. Its impact on the world is more valuable than any treasure he ever got his hands on."
Within a second, he was in front of you with a cheeky grin. "Ah ha! So you do think it's real!"
A sigh escaped you. "I honestly don't care enough to believe if it's real or not. What is real is the pain, and death it's caused. Nations tearing each other and themselves apart just to find a glimpse of a shred of evidence that horrid thing is real. And men setting sail and abandoning everything just because they think finding a gold chest is worth losing their family over. Then those same men kill other men with families just like theirs, spreading their filth and disease to every home, town and village just because they can't stand the thought of a man doing the right thing by taking care of his family."
Luffy tilted his head. "You sound like you care a lot."
A tense silence filled the air and you stared at this strange, but oddly charming character. So innocent, so naive. He had no idea of the world you knew, the one that you grew up in. It's rare to find someone this optimistic, or sheltered. You pointed behind him. "Bathroom's there. Leave when you're done."
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To say that you were affected by his words would've been both an understatement, and a poor choice of phrasing. You weren't affected, per say. They rubbed you the wrong way, and brought up memories you would rather just forget. It didn't help that they ordered one of everything on the menu, and you were constantly bringing out dishes to a smiling, unbothered Luffy who just shoveled food into his mouth. It was actually really impressive, and you were glad that they didn't come last week when the Baratie did that eating competition. You're pretty sure you probably would've gone out of business.
With a perfectly manufactured smile, you set down the plate of ribs on the only available space between piles of plates and stacked glasses. "And this is the final dish - our limited-time French-Style Ribs braised in red wine and cranberry." You straightened up and the plate was instantly pulled towards the centre of the table. The man in the pirate attire groaned, but he shoved a rib in his mouth and moaned. "I hope everything's been to your satisfaction. Can I get anything else for you tonight? A refill perhaps?"
The orange-haired woman smiled. "We're fine for now, thanks." With a nod, you turned to leave. "When does the bar close?"
"It's open all night, but we do a deep clean around three to four in the morning. So you may not be able to get anything on tap, but prepackaged drinks are always available." The words flowed off your tongue like a rehearsed speech, probably because it was. She smiled and nodded her thanks, before turning back to the conversation they were in. As you walked away, you spotted a certain red-haired pig-tail wearing waitress near the till. "Macy."
Said waitress flinched and slowly turned to you. "Yes, Ma'am?"
More than a little annoyed, you walked up to her and lent against the counter. "Why are you at the till?" She opened and closed her mouth like a fish, trying and failing to start a proper sentence until you stopped her with a hand. "Macy, there was one rule; don't touch the till. What are you doing right now?"
She paused. "Touching the till?"
You nodded. "Good job, you got something right." With a small glare, you pushed past her and looked at the total that she was charging, then compared it to the bill laying on the countertop. "Unless they've agreed to add a ฿65 tip on top of your 10%, I guess we've just found out who's been messing with the till."
"I-"
"You're done for the night." Her shocked expression turned into a bitter snarl and she began to tug at her apron. "Macy, you've got the body of a used fucking tube of toothpaste. No one wants to see you undress here, get the fuck out. You'll make the customers sick." She gasped, but you dismissed her with a wave and she stormed out of the restaurant. You sighed and opened the drawer beneath the counter, pulling out the book of paid receipts and bookings. Both luckily and unluckily, it was getting close to end-of-shift which meant that you had time to fix Macy's mess, but that the mess was probably smeared dog shit on a window at this point.
Grabbing out your pen and a calculator, you mentally prepared yourself for the long night ahead, when you felt something touch your back. "Hello, my darling." Sanji greeted with a kiss to the back of your neck, then rested his chin on your shoulder to watch what you were doing while his hand lazily stroked your side.
With a sigh, you turned your head to kiss him. "Hey, jerkface. Glad to see someone with a shred of intelligence." You greeted, then scribbled down some notes. "Someone's fucked the till again, and screwed the customers' out of at least three-hundred berri from what I can see."
His smile dropped and he reached for the book, tilting it so that he can see it. "Closer to five-hundred than anything. This table didn't even order the Lobster Thermidor, what the hell's going on."
You slammed your pen down in frustration and leaned back against him. "No idea, but I'm going to have to make some calls and refund tables." He wrapped his arm around your stomach and kissed the back of your ear which made you sigh and rub your face. "I need to make a list and figure out how much we fucked people out of money." You happened to look over at Luffy's table. They looked like they were toasting. "Can you bill them? It'd help a lot."
He smiled and took the piece of paper you had offered him. "Of course, my love. And give me a list of the rich pricks you want me to call. We'll divide and conquer."
"What did I do to deserve you?" You asked as he picked up the golden dish used to store cash.
"You, my love, didn't need to do anything." He pressed a kiss to your forehead and then your lips, before turning around and walking over to do as you asked.
Turning back to your mammoth task, now with a smile, you picked up your pen again and started to scribble down the sum total of every receipt that was put in by Macy. It was a good call by Zeff to bar everyone else but yourself from accessing the till. It was pretty easy to differentiate your neat and straightforward ones from Macy's abominations, but it still didn't make it any less painful. The Baratie didn't even serve quiches, so why would she even put that in there?
The telltale sound of Sanji's shoes smacking against the floorboards broke your concentration, and you looked up confused. "That was fast-" You were interrupted by him flashing you what was on the bill. You frowned at his abrupt interruption, but then squinted and jolted back slightly to look at your boyfriend. "What the shit is a 'treasure tab'?"
"We're going to find out." He said with a smile and walked past you to the kitchen. This was going to be interesting.
Just as you thought, the kitchen door slammed open and Zeff's wide, intimating frame appeared in the doorway. "Who the hell is Monkey D. Luffy?"
Luffy, sweet and innocent Luffy, popped his head out of his booth and waved his milkshake. "Here!" Zeff locked onto him and marched toward the young boy.
"You seem to be confused about the rules of the house," You and Sanji, who had just come out of the kitchen, exchanged knowing glances and you placed down your pen. Led by your boyfriend, you grabbed a jug of water while he grabbed a tray of complimentary scones and he slowly walked around the scene that was unfolding. "But Baratie doesn't offer credit. You eat, you pay." You both stopped at a nearby empty table. You started to examine the glasses in detail, admiring the way the light hit the material, while Sanji wiped the table with a piece of lettuce someone forgot to clean up.
Setting down his glass, Luffy looked up at Zeff. "I think you're confused." Sanji and you shared a look. "The meal has already been paid for. I just haven't given you the money yet."
Pretending to look around the room, you caught the stern, no-shits-given look Zeff was offering the kid. "Yeah, and how's that?"
Luffy smiled. "You can add it to my treasure tab."
You and Sanji snickered at the tone in Zeff's voice. "And what, pray tell, is that?"
"A way to get your ass beat." You mumbled and Sanji quietly shushed you with a smile, trying to hear the rest of what was being said.
Still not realising what's happening, Luffy kept talking. "I may not look like a big deal yet, but you're talking with the future King of the Pirates. And as soon as I find the One Piece, I'm gonna come back here, pay this bill in full, and with interest."
Zeff chuckled. "I got a better idea." And yanked Luffy out of his booth, dragging the confused pirate to the kitchen.
A sigh escaped you. "That certainly didn't disappoint." You commented and picked up Sanji's makeshift lettuce-rag, pocketing it to throw out later. "Guess we have a new busboy."
Sanji shook his head, but kept his eyes on the door. "Wouldn't be good at anything besides dishes." He said and paused for a second. You could see the metaphorical gears in his head turning, before he nodded toward the kitchen. "Hold on."
"Sanji, don't-" But it was too late, the love of your life had walked off, probably to rejoin the line. Your fists balled up and you let out a frustrated groan, your heels clicking as you followed after him. "Sanji! Don't piss him off. Sanji-"
The doors swung open as the blond barged in the kitchen with you on his heels. Your words fell on deaf ears and you rolled your eyes at Zeff who looked between you two confused. "Oy, oy. What do you think you're doing?"
You threw up your hands, but helped Sanji shrug off his coat. "I tried to stop him." You said as you wrapped his jacket around your arm and lent against the wall behind you.
The blond scoffed and held up a hand. "Com on, old man. Enough's enough-"
"Put the jacket back on, little Eggplant. You're not done with your shift yet." Zeff's face was tired and stern as always, and all you wanted to do was pull Sanji back and apologise for the extra stress. However, you knew that the two were stubborn and that would only cause more trouble than it's worth.
Sanji's tone suddenly sharpened. "Let me back on the line, or I walk." You almost said something, but considering you said something similar this afternoon, you settled for a glare.
"You can walk right back into the ocean for all I care. You cook another meal like that in my kitchen, it's going right where the last one did."
"You can kick me out of the kitchen all you like. I'll never be a waiter."
"Well that's fine by me, because you sure as hell are never gonna be a cook in my restaurant. Have you got that?"
Your heart broke seeing your boyfriend's face when he glanced over at you. He was so angry, and hurt, and upset. His hands were balled into fists, but you just shook your head. It wasn't worth it. His gaze shifted back to the man who had taken the both of you in, and then he turned heel, storming out of the kitchen via the hallway.
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"So it was Macy, then?" When you nodded, Zeff sighed and held his face in his palm. The two of you were alone on the balcony overlooking the ocean. You were all on a thirty minute break before the next service, and you'd stumbled across the old man while trying to get some peace and quiet. The man you both admired and respected more than anyone was sat beside you tiredly rubbing his face. "And where is she now?"
You fought back what you really wanted to say, and simply shrugged, picking up your glass and taking a sip. "I sent her home for the night. Didn't want to see her fucking face, the red-haired bitch."
He shifted in his chair and leaned forward toward you, pointing a finger in your direction. "There is no talk like that in the Baratie."
You rolled your eyes and put your glass down. "It's not a big deal. Everyone here curses-"
"But you never use such vulgar language when talking about a woman." He said, his tone firm and leaving no room for arguing. "I always taught both you and that boyfriend of yours to never speak badly about, or to, a woman. Just because you're twenty-one now, doesn't mean a thing. Get that?" Ever since you were fifteen, he's drilled his way of life into your head. From scrubbing the decks every time you dropped food, to spending late nights learning the difference between the various cutlery the Baratie offered, it was almost like his life's mission to turn you into a mini-him. To this day, you couldn't eat salad with a table fork, even though the minute difference between a salad fork and a table fork were so inconsequential they were practically the same fucking thing.
You bit the inside of your lip. "Well that bitch-"
"Macy."
The condensation floating slowly down your glass seemed to be more interesting than his face. "Macy has ruined all the work I've done to make the Baratie a place where you can just sit down and enjoy a good meal with the best service around. You know, I've had to deal with so much shit. More than anyone in this goddamn place. All the harassment explained away as jokes and if I'm uncomfortable with it, I'm just 'not getting the joke'. And then having to spend hours listening to the most intolerable stories about slick, rich pricks with small dicks bitching about their toxic chicks with plastic tits. And expecting me to not spit or get sick when they talk about me like I'm some quick flick." You took a breath, counted to five, and licked your lips. "But it's not enough that she'll get away with it. You also won't let me complain about her."
He sighed. "She isn't going to get away with it." You scoffed and raised your glass to take another sip, but a hand under your chin guided your gaze to him. "Look at me." Hesitantly, you lifted your eyes to meet his. "She," He spoke slowly, his intense blue eyes piercing into mine in a way that made you feel small. "Is going to be dealt with." His hand released your chin and migrated upwards to rest atop your head, softly patting your head like he used to when you were younger. "You've done well, little Sprout." You sucked in a breath and nodded, but your pseudo-confidence wasn't fooling the old man. "And if any of these 'rich pricks with small dicks' ever bothers you again, tell me. Nothing is worth you being treated like a sack of shit over. Not the Baratie, not anything."
A fake chuckle wormed its way out of you, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Thanks, Dad."
A smile spread across his face and he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you in and pressing his lips to your forehead. Zeff smelled like a thousand scents, oregano, paprika, and a dash of vanilla extract, but his warm touch and the feeling of his scruffy beard against your scalp only felt like one thing: safe. You hadn't realised you closed your eyes until you felt him pull away. "Now then, I've got some calls to make."
With a groan, he got up to his feet. "Are you sure? My waitress, my mistake."
He shook his head. "My Baratie, my mistake." He walked past, patting you on the head as he left the balcony.
It was time to face your boyfriend, and you were dreading it. With his coat jacket wrapped over your arm, you slowly made your way down the hall to the kitchen. The doors were swinging slightly, so you knew that someone had just walked in, and you took a deep breath, walking over to the entrance - ready to go in.
"...banned from the line." You paused when you heard Sanji's voice float through the air.
"But that meal you cooked was incredible!"
A smile graced your face and you lent against the wall just beside the doors. "The True Bluefin Sauté?"
"Yeah!"
"You tried it?"
"Yeah, of course I did! I couldn't help myself. I didn't think the food here could get any better. You know, you're a really good cook. Why is Zeff making you wait tables?"
"'Cause he's jealous. I should be running this place, but the old man's so stubborn it'll never happen."
"So, that's your dream. To be head chef of the Baratie."
A pause. "I guess-"
"No, it's not." Both men looked up at you when you entered the double doors.
The other voice who you now realised was Luffy looked at you confused. "It's not?"
Sanji laughed breathlessly and looked at the table he was sitting at, flicking open his lighter and closing it again. "It's not." He confirmed. You smiled and walked over to where your boyfriend sat, draping his coat over an empty chair.
"So you love to cook. You just don't want to cook here?"
The blond grabbed out a cigarette and looked to you where you had taken up residence next to him. When you nodded, he ignited the lighter you gave him earlier and lit the end of his cigarette. He took a drag and hummed. "There's... this place," He started and his eyes drifted to yours. You both shared a small smile. "Where you can find ingredients from all four seas. East Blue, West Blue, North and South - they call it the All Blue. Nobody knows where it is, but..." His gaze lifts heavenward. "There's fish there that have never been seen. You know, rare seaweeds, spices that have never been tasted. It's a cook's paradise, and I'm gonna find it one day." He looked back at you and placed his hand over yours. "That's my dream."
Luffy's gaze was soft, but also intense. "If you want to cook, you should cook. Don't let some stubborn old man stand in the way of your dream." He smiled. "Stand up to him! Tell him what you want."
"It's more..." Sanji looked over at you. "Complicated, than that."
The young boy shrugged. "I don't really do complicated either."
You scoffed. "For someone who claims to be a pirate, you don't like a lot of things that pirates are known for."
Luffy looked at you. "For someone who doesn't like pirates, you sure do act like one."
Before you could say anything, frantic banging on the staff exit caught you all off guard. Begging for help, a man tumbled in and fell to the floor, barely having the strength to cling onto the countertop. On instinct, you went to pull out your gun but stopped when your boyfriend raised a hand to you and marched toward the man. Being the good Samaritan you certainly weren't, Sanji and Luffy helped him up onto a chair. "Are you okay?"
The man's voice sounded croaky and scratchy. "I'm so hungry, please."
Sanji nodded and moved to the stove. "Okay, you got it, man. How does some corned-beef fried rice sound?"
Pattie, appearing from his break, quickly stood up and followed after him. "What do you think you're doing?" He demanded.
The blond didn't bother to look at him and you gave the pirate a warning look before moving to the fridge. "At Baratie, everyone eats." The love of your life explained as you rifled through the fridge for the ingredients he would need.
"And who's gonna pay for that? This is a business, we can't be giving handouts to every down-on-his-luck pirate that washes up."
"If a man is hungry, I feed him. Thank you, darling." He said when you handed him the beef.
Pattie looked at you for help, then back at him when you just shrugged. "Zeff kicked you off the line."
"Yeah, well, I don't see the old man here. Do you?"
The other chef looked at you once more, and you shrugged at him again. You both knew it was a losing battle, and so he waved his hand dismissively. "Fine, your funeral."
You couldn't keep your eyes off the strange pirate while he sat and ate, and explained what had happened to him. Sanji was way too nice a person for people like him to deserve. You knew pirates, and a part of you was tempted to hide the silverware.
"He's a good guy." Luffy, who was slowly becoming less and less of a pirate in your eyes, said and you nodded.
"Sanji's brilliant." The words came easily. "He's the kind of guy that only comes once a generation. He's a dumbass, sure, but he's a good dumbass."
He thought for a second, before turning to Sanji. "You know, if Zeff doesn't appreciate you, you should join my crew."
Your chair scraped as you stood and left the room.
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A/N: I am genuinely loving writing this! As said above, I normally tend to leave the reader's backstory and personality ambiguous, but this character has just taken on a personality of her own! This one is a bit longer because I felt like there wasn't enough content in this upload to justify it. I wouldn't want to waste everyone's time with like, two conversations. I'm kinda happier with the longer/more in-depth parts because I get to spend more time building up characters and relationships, and I'm less tempted to accidentally write and spoil things that the OPLA fans haven't seen yet.
Also, I've grappled with the ages for a while now, and I've officially decided that this AU will have Sanji and (Y/N) be 21. Normally I'd leave the reader's age ambiguous, but since age is important to this story, it's needed to be put in there.
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beanghostprincess · 4 months
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Yes! Please talk more about transfem!Usopp x Nami!!! Power couple!! You think they were annoying together when they were just friends? Its ten times worse now that they're dating <3<3<3<3
Anon, I can't thank you enough. I appreciate this ask so much because they've been living in my head rent free and if I don't talk about this I might collapse. I need it. So. Thank you. Really. I'm gonna add transfem!genderfluid!Sanji and Sanuso too, by the way, to the surprise of literally no one because I am obsessed with them. It's like. My whole online personality. Sanuso, Nami and being a lesbian.
Okay, first things first, transfem!Usopp. She has a hard time realizing she's a girl and accepting it, not because she thinks it's wrong or weird, but because she's so, so focused on being the guy her father would like (Yasopp, before going away, always told Usopp (s)he'd grow up to be an amazing man like him). Usopp still admires him and she doesn't want to be a disappointment. It's kind of dumb, but she has his words in her head all the time. Not to mention that "maybe if I had been that type of boy he would've stayed with us" and also the fact that Usopp just... It feels like lying to her mom, you know? Banchina always knew she had a daughter, but Usopp didn't know yet and never found out about her mom knowing, so she thinks that being a girl now only turns the years she spent with her mom into a lie because she wasn't truly herself. Again, irrational thinking, but it keeps her from accepting she's a girl. When she hangs out with Kaya she feels way better than when she is near guys. She feels safer. At home. Maybe it's just because they're best friends, really. Maybe it's just that being in love makes you feel like this. Safe. But Kaya knows. And sometimes, when they were 15 or so, they used to get drunk without anybody else knowing. And sometimes Usopp told her how nice it'd be to be a girl. Not to wear dresses and having cute stuff like Kaya, she- She wouldn't be like that. Or maybe she would. It's kind of a mix. "If I were a girl, which- Which I'm not, but just imagine for a moment. I'd be so fricking cool, right?" / "Usopp, sweetie-" / "I'd be the coolest woman in the world! Strong. With long hair, oh God, long hair. That would suit me, wouldn't it? And okay, not dresses, because, uh- They don't look comfy. But maybe long skirts. You know that green, long skirt my mom used to wear? That one. But the point is- Hear me out. Boobs. I like yours. They're nice" / "Thank you? Usopp! Please, let me speak-" / "I wish I had boobs. I don't want girly clothes, I really like my overalls. But- But they'd look great with boobs, wouldn't they? And-" / "Usopp!" / "Wha- What?" / "First, stop drinking. You've had enough, honey. And second... You know you can just... Be a girl, right?" / "Mm? Come again?" / "A girl. If you- You can trust me, alright? If you feel more comfortable being addressed as a girl-" / "No! No! Me? A girl? What? Nope. Never. I'm a man, what- What are you even saying? Kaya, babe, I- My dad-" / "Your dad? Usopp, this is about you. Follow your heart-" / "My heart tells me I'm a man. I swear. I'm not a liar".
She has always been one, but she wasn't sober enough for the words to make sense to her. It did hurt to say it, though.
So Usopp joins the Strawhats knowing something is weird about her gender but never quite accepting it. Until she starts spending more time with Nami. The thing about Nami is that she's extremely feminine but unapologetically a menace to society and she doesn't give a fuck about what other people think. She's strong in her own way and she's the smartest person Usopp has ever met. She's gorgeous, too, it makes Usopp wonder what the hell she's doing with this crew when she would rule the world on her own. So she's... She's the girliest of girls and yet she manages to be extremely ruthless and scary too. It's kind of the perfect mix. And it's not that Usopp accepts instantly that she's a girl, but Nami helps quite a lot. Who makes her realize, though, surprisingly, is Sanji.
These are two different stories, you know, but the point right now is that Sanji treats women differently. We all know this. And Usopp isn't sure when it starts. Maybe Skypiea? Water 7? Perhaps even a little bit earlier. But she has this huge crush on Sanji and hates it. Because he's just a guy! Nami won't stop telling her, too. He's!!! He's so annoying!!! But-- But Usopp sees more of him than others do, and he's just so kind and self-sacrificing and he has the biggest heart in the world. So when Usopp sees him interacting with both Nami and Robin and, you know, all the girls he meets... She thinks "Oh, that'd be nice" and it turns into a "Oh. Oh, fuck. Fuuuuuck. Nooooo" because she just realized that imagining herself as a girl being treated as such is not normal man behavior. She comes to terms with that thanks to Nami, because she's the first person she comes out to. She opens up her heart to her best friend. She tells her everything about her parents and her experience with Kaya and how badly she wants to be seen as a girl but doesn't know if people would like her that way. If people would be disappointed. But Nami? Nami loves Usopp deeply. Nobody has ever trusted Nami so much before. it kind of makes her want to cry, so she hugs Usopp to hide the tears a little bit. Usopp hugs her back even tighter. Long story short, Nami makes her see that being a girl is so much more than what people think, and that nobody in the crew would ever think less of her for that. And by the way: "Really? Sanji?" / "He's- He's cute, okay? I know he's a moron but you know how he is" / "I know. I know, don't worry, sweetie. It could be worse".
MEANWHILE! While Usopp was falling for Sanji and coming to terms with her gender, Nami was having a sexuality crisis! She's a lesbian. She's always been a lesbian. She has always known, ever since she was a kid. She has never liked a man that way. Never will. But- But Usopp. You know? But Usopp. They've always been a duo. From moment one. They've always been so, so close. She feels a connection to her (him, at that moment for Nami, but you know) in a way she has never felt before. They have intimate moments she can't quite explain and she never wants to use any romantic labels here because she's a lesbian. She's not supposed to see Usopp that way? But it's not even sexual or anything she's not- She's not attracted to her but if she wanted to she would and if they kissed she wouldn't move away and- And, okay, it's just weird. And when Water 7 happens she knows she's completely, utterly fucked. Because the second she leaves the crew? That's the moment Nami knows she's losing the love of her life (one of them. Vivi is her long-distance girlfriend and is also the love of her life). So imagine her face. When Usopp comes to her to tell her she's a girl (yay! Sexuality crisis solved. Nami's gaydar is awesome. But also- Fuck, she's in love with her best friend) and that she's in love with Sanji. In love. With Sanji. Of all people. And she's in love with him. And not her. And it kind of kills Nami. But they're best friends. She's supposed to help. So she deals with Usopp's drama all the time, pining in the background as she sees this new relationship happen in front of her.
Okay, So Usopp comes out to crew. And guess who was having another sexuality crisis at the same time as Nami? Exactly, Sanji. So everything makes sense right now, and Usopp and Sanji start dating not so long after Usopp comes out. Usopp starts dressing a bit more fem sometimes, everyone of course starts seeing her with different eyes, she moves to the girl's room... Etc, etc. Sanji and Usopp are-- Awfully clingy. It's horrible to witness. Nami is going through the worst time of her life because Usopp right now is the happiest woman ever and,, And Nami should be happy for her. She should move on. But they won't stop kissing everywhere. And hugging. And Sanji pays way more attention to Usopp now, so, okay, whatever, less snacks for her too, to hurt her even more. Nami and Usopp often have private talks together in the middle of the night. They always do. They literally sleep in the same fucking bed which is, the worst thing right now because Usopp is touchy and clingy when she sleeps. And sometimes she spends hours talking about Sanji and- And Nami can't stand having her so close yet so far. And most of the time she can't even stand the sight of Sanji himself. But she has to live with it. She wishes Vivi was here.
So, we have Sanuso dating. Transfem!Usopp being extremely happy right now. And Nami having the worst moment of her life. Yeah?
Well. There's MORE.
Because of course, Sanji and Usopp have THE talk about Nami. Because we all know Sanji loves her to death and isn't sure how... Usopp feels about that. Long story short, after a very brief but emotional conversation, they both realize they're in love with Nami. So. Fucking hilarious. Because they can't make her just?? Join their relationship, right???
Well, things happen.
While everything was going on, Sanji was having a gender crisis. I don't need to explain much about this because we all know how trans-coded Sanji's story is, so I'll just say: Genderfluid Sanji realizing in the timeskip that she wants to have a more normative fem body (Ivankov we love you). She goes by any pronouns but, you know, it changes and she usually prefers she/her but she's alright with whatever. Usopp coming out to the crew truly helped her realize what she wanted. Usopp and... Also Nami. Basically for the same reasons Usopp has. I have a whole post about this. The point is! The timeskip happens and Sanji comes back with a different body and comes out to the crew. Usopp comes back, still in love with Sanji and Nami (idk if they get help from Ivankov or if it's Chopper the one who helps or maybe even Law, but they help her transition. Choose your fav. The girlie wants boobs, I don't care how she gets them). And Nami comes back, still in love with Usopp but finally accepting their relationship. Well, jokes on all of them, because there's more drama.
Whole Cake Island is... It's fucking awful. Sanji comes back to a family that doesn't love her and just wants to play with her feelings. They make her act like somebody she isn't. They make her pretend to be a boy and bind her chest and it's,, Leaving Luffy. Leaving the crew. Leaving Usopp and Nami. It's killing her. While she tortures herself this way, Usopp begs Nami to bring Sanji back with her. And Nami-- When they were at Zou with Sanji. The time she spent with her without Usopp and the others around. Sanji smiling at them before sacrificing herself. Nami is starting to feel things she thought she would never feel for Sanji. And while Usopp waits in Wano, Nami goes to look for Sanji. And when the fight with Luffy happens, she's angry. She's angry at Sanji for treating them this way. She's hurt because she knows this isn't her Sanji if Sanji was even hers in the first place. She's frustrated because she can't do anything to fix this. And she's furious, too, at herself, because she just found out she's in love with Sanji too. So imagine this poly lesbian realizing she can't be with the ones she loves because they're already in a relationship and one of them just left their fucking crew.
WCI happens and... Okay. This is probably Nami's fault. Or Sanji's. Nobody knows who leans in first but right after WCI, they kiss. It's short and sweet and soft and Nami won't stop crying because Sanji is finally back and she won't let her go. Never again. But she's now panicking and Sanji will probably die from a heart attack because she just kissed Sanji??? And Sanji has a girlfriend??? And her girlfriend is also Nami's best friend??? And she just happens to be in love with her too??? So Nami does the most reasonable thing ever and runs away without explaining anything. Yay. She's sure, once they get to Wano, that Sanji will tell Usopp and they're going to hate her forever. She's not used to this! She usually has everything under control! She's losing her mind. God.
But... But Sanji just experienced the one thing he's been waiting for for years??? God, she needs to tell Usopp right away. Wano happens and it's not like they have much time for talking. Sanji is still going through her, um, 'bring on more past trauma' era, so it's pretty difficult. And Nami spends Wano all the time with Usopp and it's so, so hard not to focus constantly on the fact that she has kissed Sanji. And she's about to die when she's fighting against Ulti and sees her whole life passing right before her eyes so she realizes, then, that she has to be honest with both Sanji and Usopp if she gets out of there. When she actually survives she kind of hates herself for making that promise. Yadda yadda, post-Wano happens. They're all partying, still there, and Nami tries to distract herself from all this drama because if she thinks more about it she might end up having a breakdown. But Sanji and Usopp do talk and- And they need to approach this. Usopp is a bit hurt that perhaps Nami only wants Sanji, but she can deal with it. If Nami wants to be with Sanji, that's completely fine with them. So they have the talk, finally, in a private corner of the festival where nobody they know is around.
Nami starts uncharacteristically apologizing? Which is weird for her to act like that, but she does. She's lost so many people already and she refuses to let that happen again. So she apologizes. She should've never kissed Sanji and- And what's even worse is that she's also in love with Usopp. With both. And it makes her look so selfish and greedy and she swears it isn't like that. Her feelings are genuine. But then Usopp starts?? Laughing??? She finds this whole situation hilarious and explains that they've been stupid the whole time.
So, uh, yeah. They're idiots. This is biblically accurate because lesbians are always like this. We do not know how to communicate.
They're all,, So relieved. So, so happy. They won't stop smiling. And Usopp is honestly feeling a bit left out because?? She hasn't yet kissed Nami??? So they finally kiss. And then they kiss again. And Sanji joins. And they're the cutest thing on earth. And telling the crew is just as easy as Franky seeing them like that, telling him... And the word spreads fast enough.
This is getting long but, basically: They're the clingiest throuple in the whole world. If they were all annoying at first, imagine how annoying they are now. At this point, there's no "girls' room" anymore because Robin has moved to sleep with Franky, so Sanji, Usopp, and Nami have their own room. Which is good for literally all the crew because imagine having to deal with them. Sanji is so loud about her love for her girls... She's constantly showering them equally with love and cooking their favorite meals. She's always panicking a bit because she wants to give attention to both but sometimes Usopp is in her workshop and Nami is taking care of her trees so what is she supposed to do??!!! She wishes she could be everywhere at the same time... They end up telling her to do whatever she wants and follow her heart and split her time because they know she loves them equally and she doesn't need to prove anything. For Nami, dating her best friend and the person she thought was incredibly annoying at first is... Weird. She isn't used to so much affection from Sanji. Like, reciprocating the affection and loving him back. It's weird because now he isn't annoying at all but incredibly sweet? And her relationship with Usopp is pretty much the same except that now they kiss and hold hands and whenever Nami is like "Zoro! Carry me!" he always goes "Tell one of your girlfriends to do it" and it sucks because tbh Zoro does look like he has comfy muscles to rest on. Usopp is so excited about this! She loves both of them deeply she never thought this would happen. She sends letters to Kaya constantly about them, too! They're just,,, So so sweet. They go to sleep together and wake up cuddling and all tangled up. Usopp and Nami do gardening together but they always end up making out behind the trees. Sanji and Nami try to be casual about it but Sanji just loves showing all the love she has for her girlfriend to the world so PDA is something assured. Sanji and Usopp always spend the night watches together (Nami doesn't because it's comfier in bed and bold of you to assume she's getting out of there). Usopp gets stronger and toned post-ts and Nami and Sanji are always sitting on top of her. Sanji has a lot of issues going on after what happened in WCI/Wano and both Usopp and Nami help them go through their panic attacks. Usopp draws them all the time and has her whole sketchbook filled with drawings of her partners. Nami always peels the best tangerines from her trees and brings them to them even though Sanji insists on being the one doing it, but Nami says that sometimes she needs to be the one eating and not just serving. They share clothes constantly, but they have different clothing styles so sharing clothes pretty much happens either on accident or whenever they want to make Sanji go insane. Usopp leaves notes and drawings for them all over the ship. Nami is always offering to put makeup on them but it's always an excuse to be close. She also often falls asleep while working on her maps so they have to carry her to their room without waking her up. Nami loves brushing Usopp's hair!! Sanji absolutely adores feeding them sometimes like, playfully, and you can imagine how that ends. Oh!!! And Usopp is always giving them flowers. Not to mention that Nami often creates rainbows for them because they're pretty!! Also, when the fight isn't that serious, both Usopp and Nami act like they need saving because they know how much Sanji adores playing the hero. Usopp tells them stories while they paint each other's nails and talk shit about other people together.
This is the best relationship ever because it's just three best friends to lovers. My absolute beloved. I have a lot of,,, More ideas for them,,, But yeah,,,, Thank you so much for this ask. I love talking about them.
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dragon-queen21 · 1 year
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Sanji vent regression hc's
tw: vent post, self harm
~~~
Why am I obsessed with Sanji being small and soggy?
Like, vent regression? Nah, nah, nah. Soggy baby hours™
Sanji spending most of his time curled up with Zoro or Luffy cuddling. They’re the strongest on the ship his mind supplies, so therefore able to protect him better than say Nami or Robin, who he much rather be cuddling with in any different situation.
No cooking allowed, he’s too baby. “Besides he’d probably do something dumb like burn his hand and cry about it.” Explained Zoro, who had no idea that said explanation was going to make Sanji cry anyways.
He misses Zeff and gets bad thoughts thinking that his father figure left him on purpose. That he was no longer being useful and no longer wanted at the Baratie. The old man probably didn’t want a burden like him. Luffy does his best to explain why that isn’t true, bringing up his own father figure Shanks and telling stories as a nice distraction for the little guy.
Possibly calling up the ex-pirate when Sanji needs verbal reassurance. He’d probably be super embarrassed, even if Zeff already knew he regressed when he was back at the Baratie. ‘Stupid eggplant, what in heavens name got into that brain of yours to make you think I hated you? Hmm!? I swear if I was there I’d give you something to actually cry about. No more tears, okay?” and they’d sit on the phone talking for hours till Sanji feels better overall.
He’ll cry at the drop of a hat. Literally. Will literally start crying if Luffy drops his hat even if it happens across the deck and has nothing to do with Sanji himself. Just reminds him that he isn’t doing anything useful at the moment besides feeling soggy.
Nami would share one of her tangerines with him, only on particularly bad days, just to try and get a smile from the regressed cook.
He probably has old (and maybe some more recent) self harm scars. Triggering as hell if they’re ever brought up. The original crew knows not to even mention his arms when he’s small but probably not some of the newer members like Robin and Franky. When they first joined they bring it up due to concern without knowing any better. “Sanji, what are these from?” “Are these new?” “Why didn’t you let Chopper take a look at you if you were injured?” “Who did this to you?” He starts crying again at all this, trying to push whoever it was away and damn near hyperventilates. They’d apologized after for coming off as so insensitive and promised not to bring it up again unless it was deemed an emergency.
Will also be sad if he so much as sees his own arms littered in scars. Just start shaking his arms a bunch, as if that would do him any good with getting the marks to show up less. This situation leads him to wearing oversized clothes most of the time when he’s feeling small and a direct order from Luffy to his crew as reminder not to tease Sanji about the change of outfit.
Just sitting next to Robin and sniffling while she reads to him a story and pets the top of his head in a soothing manner, reassuring him that everything is going to be okay and that all the bad, icky feelings, are going to get better eventually.
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cyborg-franky · 3 years
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Husband I am mourning the loss of Sanji in your poll. 😭
To comfort me, can I please have the fluffy dialogue prompts “Let’s go, I’ll buy (make) you dinner. And maybe breakfast.” 🥺💖
It's okay! he might do better in the future!
Sanji x GN Reader SFW Modern AU Word Count: 600
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Sanji hadn’t been on a date in longer than he’d ever admit to anyone, work got in the way mostly, though his friends would tell you that was just an excuse he told himself, something he hid behind because he didn’t want to admit that he was just nervous.
He was in his 40s now and dating was a bigger minefield then he’d ever remembered it being. All the different websites, apps, even walking down the street in certain areas of town at night he was given choices.
When he was a younger, he would have loved all these opportunities to have one night stands and string of meaningless conquests, now though? They all rang hallow to him; his appetite had changed as he matured into a proper adult.
So, when Robin announced over their weekly coffee date that she found the perfect person for him, the chef was intrigued. Robin always had impeccable taste in who she allowed to be part of her inner circle. She had a playful smirk on her lips when he asked a thousand questions about you, she would simply sip her coffee.
-
Blind dates had never been your idea of a fun evening, meeting someone you knew little about? It just seemed like a gambling with feelings. You trusted Robin, you’d seen his picture and you felt butterflies, you hoped he was as wonderful as the historian had made him out to be.
The date was already going awful, the rain poured down harder and harder ruining how you’d done your hair, clothes clinging to you. You waited for your date under the awning of the restaurant. Sanji mumbled, he wanted to cancel, his blond hair was plastered to his face and his dress shirt soaked through.
“Sanji?” You asked seeing the man with an annoyed look. He quirked a curly brow in your direction then realised who you had to be. “Oh! Hello, yes, I’m sorry about how I look.. I swear I’m normally far more put together” He offered you his hand which you gladly shook.
“Same, I didn’t expect the weather to be so… bad” You huffed and brushed some of your own soaking wet hair behind your ear. “I booked a table for six” He added and stepped forward.
From bad to worse the restaurant had overbooked and you were turned away, trudging in the rain you looked for another place to eat, nothing. You didn’t mind other then the rain beating down on you both.
Sanji put his hair up in a messy bun, sick of it feeling limp in the downpour, you couldn’t help but think he looked handsome with his hair that way. You joked and laughed with one another, the time spent walking between places to find somewhere to eat or even drink on the busy Saturday night was at least giving you time to talk.
“I can’t believe this.. we’ve been trying for hours now” He chuckled as he pulled you close to him in a doorway, the rain couldn’t get you there. “I’m sorry for such a crap date” You sighed and leaned against the locked door.
“It was meant to get to know one another, right? I think we managed that…” You nodded, that was true, between the hopping over puddles, dashing down alleys and trying to find shelter you’d learned enough about the man to know you’d like to see him again.
He brushed his wet bangs back, giving you a smile. “Let’s go, I’ll make you dinner. And maybe breakfast.”
Maybe this was the best first date you’d ever had..
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robinchan-hananomi · 3 years
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One Piece 1023
I have a lot of thoughts here about the new chapter. There is a lot of things to unpack here!
So first, things I loved! I absolutely loved Zoro and Sanji’s dynamic in this chapter. Yes, the two were bickering a bit but honestly it felt like their comments were more to reassure each other than anything. Zoro immediately noticed that something was wrong with Sanji and Sanji responded honestly, that his body has felt funny ever since using the raid suit a second time. Zoro probes to see just how deep the concern is, asking if Sanji is going to slow him down, and Sanji’s answer seems to reassure him enough that he almost jokes, teasing Sanji about his eyebrows. One the flip side Sanji knows better than almost anyone just what kind of shape Zoro is in right now. They both look out for each other and they tease each other during the start of this fight, but it is mostly them being more like ‘look asshole, I know you’re trying to see what the extent of the damage is but I swear I am fine enough to knock this son of a bitch out’.
And make no mistake, Zoro and Sanji are probably going to have a lot of physical issues after this chapter. Sanji mentions that his body is feeling weird. This could be anything from the raid suit being intentionally designed to hurt Sanji to his body just not being able to cope with the strain the new technology is putting on him. The mink doctor also just reminded Chopper that while Zoro is up now, he won’t be for long and that he doesn't even want to imagine what kind of shape Zoro is going to be at the end of the fight. No matter how Wano shakes out, Zoro and Sanji are going to be hurting and will require some serious rest and TLC.
After Sanji and Zoro face off against King and Queen, we also get a small moment for the opponents to communicate. On Queen and Sanji’s side, Queen talks about how Judge experimented on his children and questions the validity of Sanji’s claim of being completely human since he can light his body on fire. Sanji admits he’s probably just that dramatic. On the other side Zoro notes King’s unorthodox fighting and when King points out there is no need to follow technique and method in combat, Zoro agrees and reminds King there really isn’t anything preventing Zoro from ripping out King’s throat with his teeth.
Now Zoro and Sanji are only able to fight King and Queen in peace due to Hyogoro and Kawamatsu’s efforts. Kawamatsu prevented a Beast Pirate from taking a shot at Zoro and Hyogoro explains that anyone who tries to help either side at this point would just be in the four combatants way. While they watch the fight, they comment about Zoro.
The thing is, Zoro has been connected to the Shimotsuki Clan from the start. Zoro’s hometown is Shimotsuki Village. In the SBS corner, Oda explained that the village was founded about 55 years ago by Shimotsuki Kozaburo, the man who forged Wado Ichimonji and Enma. Kozaburo’s son Koshiro ran the Isshin Dojo, which used the Shimotsuki Clan crest as it’s symbol and Zoro had worn that crest his entire childhood. Koshiro’s daughter Kuina was Zoro’s best friend and rival. Then Zoro met and fought Shimotsuki Ryuma, whose family name was again confirmed in the SBS corner. More on Ryuma in a minute. Ever since Zoro has entered Wano, he has been even more connected to the Shimotsuki Clan. The Clan had two Daimyo’s that we know of, Ushimaru and Yasuie. Zoro has spent a lot of time in Ringo, Ushimaru’s territory, and even combated with Ushimaru’s retainer Onimaru a few times now for Ryuma’s sword Shusui. On the other side Zoro befriended Yasuie and his daughter Toko. While all the strawhats were seen to be fond of Toko and quite a few met Yasuie, Zoro spent the majority of time with him.
Now as for Ryuma. Ever since the Monsters oneshot was tied to the One Piece Manga, fans had noticed the similarities between Zoro and Ryuma. The two look very alike in appearance and they had many similar mannerisms. They also have the connection of sharing a sword, Shusui, and both decapitated a dragon in the air. And now, apparently, Ryuma had lost an eye in his adventures and was known as a one eyed swordsman...which I mean his zombie did have a scar on his face that would have gone over his right eye along with bandages covering his right eye so it’s not really a surprise.
The two citizens of Wano comment that Ushimaru is a direct descendant of Ryuma and note that Zoro has a similar appearance and style of fighting to Ushimaru and by extension Ryuma. Now if this is because Zoro is somehow part of the Shimotsuki Clan (which I actually kind of hope not), or if it is just a coincidence about appearance and the other similarities are because Zoro trained at a dojo from the Shimotsuki Clan is still up in the air. Either way, I really do like the idea of developing Zoro more and I have been waiting for someone, anyone, in the manga to finally notice just how much Zoro seems to be connected to this family.
Anyway, back to the chapter! While Zoro and Sanji keep two of the three calamities busy, we see there is a LOT of other things going on. I’m not going to go in order of the rest of the chapter because I want to organize my thoughts a little.
So first, which is actually the last thing to happen, is Momo is now 28 years old. He has Shinobu turn him into an adult because he can only do so much as an eight year old. It is a fantastic way to follow the panels of the battle that came before it, because we see the samurai are willing to die to bring about an age where Kaido’s reign has ended and Momo’s time can start. They believe that Momo will bring Oden’s will and bring Wano to a wonderful future, they believe it so much that they are willing to die for it. Momo answers that belief by giving up twenty years of his life. Understand while twenty years have passed for everyone else, it hasn’t for Momo. Momo just had Shinobu mature his body by twenty years in order to get stronger, bigger, and be able to take a stand against Kaido. There is going to be a lot of issues in the future with having an eight year old in a twenty eight year old man’s body, but just like Zoro and quite possibly Sanji’s physical health; this is a bridge to cross when we get to it. After all everyone has to survive the battle and win before they can worry about what is next. So now as a much bigger and stronger dragon, Momo and Luffy can go face Kaido together.
On a side note with everyone talking about being ghosts and all, it’s kinda fitting that it is implied that Momo looks like Oden. Now we really will have people think they’re seeing ghosts.
We also have Inu and Neko fighting Jack and Big Mom’s son. These fights are not just about defeating Kaido either. There is an element of revenge to them both. As Inu sends Jack through a wall, he expresses recalls all the pain Jack brought to the people of Zou. Just like Neko talks about Pedro while fighting. And yet the two talk about how everything they lost, all that they suffered through, was all part of the road to get there, now, to bring Kaido and his Beast Pirates to an end. And the two are using their badass Sulong Form.
The last big note for this chapter is Marco’s memory of his discussion with Whitebeard. It is implied that King’s race are the Lunarian, and that King is the last one. They lived up on the Red Line in a long ago past. Marco recalls Whitebeard talking about how it was ‘God’s Land’ which is honestly giving me super Skypeia vibes. What exactly is this God’s Land?
Because we hadn’t talked too much of the Red Line, I for whatever reason, always imagined other people living up there. We knew the Celestial Dragons lived on the Red Line, but because it is like a long continent of linked together islands I just naturally assumed other races and beings lived up there. That doesn't appear to be the case. Which to be fair I am a fool for even thinking that because now that it’s put that way I realize a group so pompous and self important as the Celestial Dragons would never allow anyone so lowly as normal people to live so high in the world as they do. So they enjoy their life in the clouds while driving any peoples and race either off the Red Line or to extinction.
Marco brings up the old conversation to Izo, after the latter saves him for drifting off in a battle, and Izo says Marco sounds like Whitebeard when he was drunk. Whitebeard was part of the Rocks Pirates, the Pirate crew that shook the world to it’s core almost a whole generation before Roger even appeared. Whitebeard has seen some real shit. I wonder just what all Whitebeard knew about the world, and I wonder just how much he tried to impart on his children only for them to think he was drunkenly rambling?
Anyway, it was a fantastic chapter and I am so freaking excited to see where we go next!!!
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yukipri · 4 years
Text
On the Baratie, Part 3 - a One Piece Mermaid AU Text Story
Third part of the Baratie story tonight!
Warnings for: Thatch x Luffy, Sanji x Luffy, bg Ace x Luffy
Continues off of past parts!
👒🐟On the Baratie, Part 1
👒🐟On the Baratie, Prologue
👒🐟On the Baratie, Part 2
~~
Sanji's never been left this speechless by someone else's food before.
He's long considered Zeff to be the best chef he knows, the mentor from whom Sanji's polished his own skills, once acquired from lonely textbooks in a cold, cold dungeon cell. Sanji's improved, but there are few dishes he can serve that he feels can top Zeff's.
"Well?" Thatch asks, crossing his arms, a gentle smile curling his lips.
There's a small feast laid out before them, and to an untrained eye, it looks simple. But when Zeff finishes his first sip of soup, he makes a low, rumbling sound of appreciation, and honestly Sanji can't do anything but silently echo the sentiment.
Food can be incredible. Not only do living things require nourishment to survive, certain kinds can bring out various physical and mental reactions in the consumer. The right diet can encourage healing, grant clearer vision, even strengthen the body to seemingly inhuman degrees. Food builds the body after all, and the right kind can cause miracles.
But some recipes, Sanji has heard, take food even further beyond.
And this food, this does all of that and more.
Because from the first sip, Sanji immediately feels his body thrum with energy and warmth, and he jolts. What is this? There's no way his body can physically change from taking just a single sip of soup...and yet it feels like it has.
To eat like this, every meal, every day, every crew member...suddenly, "the Strongest Pirate Crew in the World" seems less an obscure, far away concept, but defined in a way that Sanji not only understands, but leaves him feeling nothing but awe. This, he thinks, this is what you eat to be the Strongest.
Sanji hates to admit it, but he's never had anything like it, not even from Zeff. And the cook, Thatch, did it in with the exact same tools, ingredients, and kitchen that Sanji uses every day.
And while the physical effects are mind boggling enough, there's more.
Because in this food, Sanji can feel the cook's raw intent in an undiluted form that perhaps only Sanji himself can recognize and interpret, as a cook who strives to do the same, but has never quite managed to this level of mastery. And in every ingredient that Thatch added, in every careful stir, Sanji knows what he was pouring in.
Love.
Sanji doesn't set his spoon down until the bowl is empty, but when he does, his thoughts feel more organized. And this, Sanji thinks, this food...it's practically a culinary love letter that only Sanji can read.
And Sanji somehow instinctively knows that the love letter is addressed to Luffy.
Sanji's torn. On one hand, he feels that his attraction to Luffy, not even a day old, is painfully inadequate in comparison to not just the devotion of her current cook, but his ability to convey it through his cooking alone. And Sanji knows that at this moment, he has no hope of coming close to replicating the way Thatch shows his love through his food. It's the first time Sanji's felt this way about his craft, and it's humbling.
But on the other hand...Sanji slowly lifts his gaze from the soup to see Thatch with new eyes, but the man's attention is fixed solely on Luffy, who guzzles the soup without a care in the world, no doubt completely unaware of just how special it really is.
On the other hand, the things Sanji could learn from this cook.
"Thatch's cooking is the best," Luffy croons, as Ace reaches around her to roughly wipe her messy face with a napkin. "But! Sanji's cooking is amazing too, and Sanji's cooking will also be the best if he joins our crew!"
Zeff wasn't exaggerating; it really is an honor to be compared to Thatch. Sanji feels his heart thump heavily, and for once it's not just because of lovely, lovely Luffy.
Sanji doesn't have a response for Luffy, but at the moment he doesn't need to--because Don Krieg walks in.
~~
Things happen in rapid succession.
Gin and Krieg arrive.
Then the greatest swordsman in the world, Dracule Mihawk shows up, and the green haired idiot pounces at the opportunity to challenge him, and immediately loses.
"Hawk Eyes," Thatch says warningly, with far too much familiarity and lack of fear facing down a Warlord, but perhaps that's to be expected, given that he's a Whitebeard pirate.
"Thatch," the swordsman acknowledges. "The boy's not dead. Even if he were not under your crew's protection, he has captured my interest."
Sanji frowns at their exchange.
But then he's fighting, and there's no time to worry about it, and the Baratie's in danger, Zeff's in danger, so Sanji has to fight--
And then for some reason, Luffy's fighting.
Sanji's heart leaps into his throat the first time he sees her slam into Krieg, and he moves to abandon his own fight to go to her aid, when a hand stops him.
It's the Dangerous Man, Ace, the one who acted like he was Luffy's keeper, though that antagonism is gone from him now as he watches the mermaid engage in combat with Krieg. He looks surprisingly calm, and he doesn't move to help Luffy, or even to call her back, but instead looks on silently from the sidelines, leaning against the outer wall of the Baratie next to Thatch and the blue-haired man, who are likewise quiet.
"Let her fight," Ace says, though he and his crew mates don't look away.
"You don't care if she gets hurt?! That's Don Krieg!" Sanji spits out blood and tries to move towards her again, but Ace's hand doesn't budge.
"And she's my co-captain." Ace says, and Sanji jolts. "We're headed to the Grand Line. Krieg is nothing compared to the opponents we'll face there."
Sanji wants to object, to call the man utterly insane and heartless for using this as what, a training exercise?! for Luffy, who isn't just a delicate lady, but a vulnerable mermaid! Adrenaline has completely shot Sanji's restraint, and it suddenly doesn't matter how much stronger Ace is, because Sanji's about to give him a piece of his mind--but he stops.
Because when Sanji looks at Ace, he doesn't see the cold eyes of a master evaluating the performance of his subordinate. Ace, for all his power, looks so incredibly human as he watches Luffy fight. Sanji can tell that he cares for her, that he's worried, but above all, that he has absolute trust in Luffy. And it's that belief in her that keeps him rooted to the spot when Sanji can now see that he's itching to annihilate Krieg like he no doubt could.
It's the look that true family gives, that people who don't love you can never hope to replicate, and Sanji knows the difference all too painfully well.
And so Sanji turns to watch Luffy as well. He can't say that the fight looks easy for her, but she's holding her own, far better than Sanji would have expected. Despite being a mermaid, she balances easily with her tail to hurl punches that fly far and true with her devil fruit powers, before she spins on her arms to lash out with her fins, delivering a slam that sends Krieg crashing through the wreckage of his own ship.
Her fighting isn't what even Sanji could call particularly elegant, much more like brawling, but he still can't look away.
~~
Luffy's bare hands shatter Krieg's golden armor, before her tail deals the final blow, even as the mermaid herself, bleeding and entangled in Krieg's net, plummets into the sea.
Conviction, Sanji thinks, repeating Zeff's words, his observations of the mermaid.
The three by the Baratie make their moves then, all at once. Ace and Thatch leap forward to dive into the sea after the mermaid, but are slammed to the deck by their blue-haired companion before they can touch the water.
"Hey you! Blond cook!" the blue-haired man shouts, and Sanji realizes he's referring to Sanji. "Go in after her! She's eaten a devil fruit and can't swim, and neither can these idiots! She'll drown!"
"You'd best do as he says," Zeff agrees, and Sanji swears and takes off sprinting.
Down beneath the waves, it's like the battle overhead never took place, and Sanji wonders if he'd imagined it after all as he finally reaches Luffy. Her eyes are closed, and the majority of blood has already been washed away by the water. Her body is completely limp as Sanji cuts it free of the net so she slides into his arms.
It's his first time touching her, and though she settles heavily and unnaturally against him without a hint of buoyancy...she's soft. Small bubbles rise from her lips, and Sanji realizes that she's breathing underwater. With light from the surface dancing across her face, she looks so incredibly different from when she was awake. She's hauntingly beautiful and serene, and the blue veil over her makes her look like she belongs to another world, like a sleeping sea goddess waiting to be awakened by a kiss. She looks like a true mermaid princess straight out of a fairy tale, not a pirate capable of pummeling an infamous pirate commodore.
Sanji feels his own lungs beginning to scream, and regretfully kicks out, but keeps firm grip of the mermaid in his arms.
When they break the surface, wreckage is around them, and hands immediately pull them onto the deck. Sanji reluctantly lets Luffy go.
"Luffy!" Ace shouts, all pretense of calm gone as he pulls Luffy into his arms to peer down at her.
Luffy doesn't gasp for air like a human who's been under water, but rather takes a longer, deeper breath, and slowly opens her eyes as though finally realizing that it isn't fluid, but air in her lungs.
"Hey, Ace," she says, lips quirking into a smile as she continues to breath in deeply. "Told you I could beat him."
"So you did," he agrees, crushing her briefly against his chest, before pulling them apart so he can catalog her injuries.
"Thanks for that," a new voice says, and Sanji looks up to see the blue-haired man offering him a hand, which he takes. "I can't guarantee Ace'll agree, but I for one am all for more swimmers joining us. I'm Deuce."
~~
~~
(Deuce, probably: So Nami stole our ship, Usopp's following her with a half-dead Zoro and the two bounty hunters, leaving...fantastic, me alone with three stupid devil fruit users. Again.)
I did skim through the manga again for a vague sense of order of events, but I have zero interest in writing every detail of canon into my AU stories. Sure, I'm sure some things could have gone interestingly different that I didn't mention, like Lu possibly avoiding Krieg's gas by dunking her head under water, or Thatch sucking it all up into a black hole....but eh, you can imagine that if you want LOL! This was already getting too long ^ ^;
Some other notes: I re-read Novel A again, and confirmed several things:
1) Thatch is confirmed Head Cook/Head of Dining of the entire Whitebeard Fleet
2) Thatch's division, the 4th, is also primarily in charge of Dining, including but not limited to cooking, gathering food such as hunting and fishing, and presumably procuring other foodstuffs from their territory. I already HC'd this, but nice to have it be confirmed canon!
3) It's a little hard to tell from the wording whether he's just calling it that, or whether it really is Special, but possibly implied that he can cook especially energizing and nourishing foods (in the novel, stamina soup for Pops), possibly like the Kamabakka Kingdom recipes.
(note, I have not read the official English translation, so have no clue what they chose to translate these things as, I only got the original Japanese which is enough for me ^ ^;)
Regarding the last point, I do HC that Thatch knows those recipes and is friends with Kamabakka Kingdom cooks. I also HC that Iva-chan's okama aren't the only country or culture that has Special Foods like that, and Thatch has a very, VERY broad repertoire ;D
I also just love the idea of both Thatch and Sanji, master cooks, being able to read parts of each other through their cooking that goes completely unnoticed by everyone else on the crew <3
As always, thank you so much for reading, and any thoughts you'd like to share with me are immensely appreciated! <3
❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀
Read the next part: On the Baratie, Part 4
~This ask has been added to the Mermaid AU Text Headcanons Compilation post~
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deathlikesdeep-dish · 4 years
Text
Three Sword Strike (Zoro)
AU WHERE EVERYTHING IS THE SAME EXCEPT THERE’S MUSIC STREAMING APPS AND PHONES AND BARTOLOMEO IS A SOUNDCLOUD RAPPER. 
Alright so my best friend sent me this song, and I thought it was so fucking hilarious that I had to sit down and write a whole ass fic about it. If you spend two minutes listening to it beforehand, I promise it’ll be worth it. 
PLEASE ENJOY
Fluff fluff fluffity fluff (some cussing because obvs) 
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Zoro’s nap is interrupted by a Luffy’s roaring laugh from across the deck. He opens his one eye and grits his teeth, annoyed. What is this idiot laughing about now?
“SHISHISHISHISHI!” Luffy howls, crying with how much he is laughing. Now, Usopp, Nami, Brook and Chopper have started laughing, and Zoro’s annoyance (and slight curiosity) have peaked.
Ugh. Unfolding his arms, Zoro moves to a standing position crossing the deck. When he looks up and sees Luffy with a mockingly stern look on his face and one eye closed.
“Ah, shit,” Zoro grumbles to himself, knowing that his captain was laughing at his vice captain’s expense. To the delight of the crew, Zoro’s grumbling approach does not go unnoticed.
“Ah there he is, the man of the hour!” Nami says through her laughter. Robin, closing her book, approaches Nami, a soft smile on her face. She stops with a questioning look on her face and Nami leans in close, quietly informing her of what’s happening.
“Yohohohoho! The man? I think you mean the muse. Yohohohoho...” Brook corrects. As Chopper joins in their laughter, Zoro can’t help but feel a little betrayed. The little raccoon dog had become a pretty close ally in situations like this, but it seems like even Chopper isn’t exempt from Luffy’s antics.
I’ll remember that next time your ass needs saving. Zoro thinks to himself as he narrows his eye in Chopper’s direction.
“What the hell are you idiots laughing about?” Zoro finally asks, coming to a stop in front of the circle.
“Yeah, what are you guys laughing about? Sounds super funny!” Franky chimes in, popping his head up from below deck. He hoists himself up fully and joins the captain and his band of traitors.
“Don’t encourage them,” Zoro growls towards Franky.
“Whoa, hold up Zor-bro,” Franky dismisses the swordsman. “I think we should hear them out.”
Luffy stretches a long arm out and throws it around Franky’s massive shoulders with another cackle. “And this is why he’s on our crew, Zoro!”
Zoro clenches his fist along with his jaw. “Last time. What are you idiots laughing about?”
Before anyone can answer, Sanji noodle dances out of the kitchen, no doubt summoned by the sound of Nami and Robin’s laughter. Fucking great. Last thing this situation needs is that stupid cook. Zoro’s fist is only tightening.
“Nami-swan! Robin-chwan! Is that enchanting melody the sound of your laughter? Oh how it makes my heart soar!” Sanji exclaims.
Everyone pauses a beat and busts out laughing again. “No, I don’t think that’s quite the enchanting melody that you’re hearing, Sanji,” Chopper manages through guffaws.
Nami rolls her eyes at Sanji but approaches Zoro with a wide grin, holding her phone in her hand. “Well, you know Bartolomeo, obviously...”
That was not the sentence Zoro expected to hear. He furrows his brow. “Yes....”
“And you know he’s as much as super fan of you, Zoro-senpai, as he is of Luffy,” She says his name with her best Bartolomeo impression.
His frown deepens. “Yes...”
“Well,” Brook continues. “It seems as if he’s got a bit of a musical bone in him as well. I dare say, he almost has better ears than I do! If I had any ears, of course. Yohohohoho!”
Zoro is confused. “What are you saying?”
“He’s saying—“
“CRESTHEAD WROTE A SONG ABOUT YOU!” Luffy bursts out not being able to hold it in anymore. He’s cackling uncontrollably now.
Nami shows Zoro her phone. The screen is displaying one of the music streaming apps, set to the song “Three Sword Strike (Zoro Rap)” by The Cannibal, Bartholomeo’s rapper name.
“Goddamn it!” Zoro yells out. “Give me that,” he snatches the phone out of Nami’s hand. The album cover is a giant picture of Zoro’s face from his wanted poster. “Three Sword Strike? A fucking rap??” He’s getting angrier now.
Luffy can hardly breathe he is laughing so hard. But he suddenly stops, seeming to have an idea as a wide mischievous grin spreads across his face. He looks at Franky and Zoro knows exactly where this is going.
“Don’t. You. Dare.” Zoro threatens Luffy.
“Excuse me, I am your CAPTAIN and you will treat me with respect.” Luffy’s grin widens as Franky’s light up with recognition.
“Oh hell yeah,” He says, laughing. He scans through his own computer’s music streaming app and finds the song. And he plays it. At full volume.
RAH!! Hit em with a three sword strike RAH!! Grindin' every day every night I'ma killer better reconsider Cus I hit em with a two sword, three sword strike
“Jesus Ch—" Zoro is at a loss. The rest of the crew is on the floor. Even the normally cool Robin is howling.
Luffy starts to bounce along with the beat, closing his eye again and putting a giant meat drumstick in either hand along with one in his mouth, wielding them like the swords Zoro had on his hip. Usopp joins in, but only for a brief moment until Zoro growls and brandishes one of the actual swords, rather than one of the crude meat editions.
“C’mon, Zoro, don’t be like that,” Usopp laughs nervously, clapping a hand on Zoro’s shoulder. 
“Yeah, Zoro, I mean, it’s an honor to have someone write a song about you!” Chopper says, almost sorry for his teasing.
Oni Giri, you fear me, I could never bore you I’m bring my three swords, Santoryu What have I taught you? Get down and kneel And if this is how you feel I’m cuttin’ you down like steel
Zoro manages to catch some of the lyrics through their laughter. Well, it could be worse? He thinks to himself. That thought quickly leaves his head when the chorus comes in again.
RAH!! Hit em with a three sword strike RAH!! Grindin' every day every night I'ma killer better reconsider Cus I hit em with a two sword, three sword strike
“That’s not even how it works...”. Zoro grumbles dejectedly, knowing that there’s no way of stopping this now.
The entire crew is now singing along with the “rahs” in the chorus. Luffy taking over in rapping the rest of it. Clearly, he’s listened to it more than once now.
The song, mercifully, comes to a close.
“ONE. MORE. TIME.” Luffy yells, and Franky goes to start it again, but Zoro’s Sandai Kitetsu is under Franky’s chin before anyone can even blink.
“Luffy...” He calls to Luffy while still looking at Franky dead in the eyes.
Luffy whines. “Ah c’mon Zoro you’re such a fun ruiner!”
At that, Zoro drops his sword. “I swear, when I get my hands on that green-haired idiot...” he rumbles.
“Oh, so you’re going to attack yourself, Mosshead?” Sanji quips.
Zoro whirls around to Sanji, rage in his silvery gaze and his sword raised again. “You son-of-a—”
~~~~~
It isn’t until much, much later that Zoro and the rest of the crew have calmed down enough to get anything done, and even then, every once in a while, Zoro will hear a “rah” from under someone’s breath, which only gets the whole crew going again.
Zoro just sighs and rips the cork off his second bottle of sake for the evening with his teeth and takes a long drag of the beverage. And perhaps it is that bottle (or his third) that has Zoro muttering under his breath late into the evening, long after everyone is asleep.
“Rah, hit ‘em with the three sword strike…” He hums, absently finding the song on his own phone, and discretely adding it to his Crow’s Nest workout playlist and making sure that playlist is, in fact, set to “private.”
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mugiwara-rosewolf · 4 years
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Hiiii💚hope ur have a good day/night if it not to much to ask can i have Zoro with a female reader who to shy to confess her feeling for him. You could end it anyway u want 💚
Hello Anon! I loved the concept you sent me, but it turned out a *little* different than I anticipated. If this isn’t what you were hoping for, feel free to Bop me in the DM’s and I’ll try again. Hope you enjoy!
Timid Confession
Zoro x Shy!Reader
6 Romantic Do’s and Don’ts--Swordsman Edition
(Warning: mild cursing. Stupid pirates.)
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There comes a time, when every soul on Earth must be open and unbearably honest with another. A time when you must expose yourself. A time where you must open the ribcage of your chest to reveal the butterflies in your stomach, the fluttering of your heartbeat, and the way your breath hitches when a certain silhouette walks by. There comes a time when you have no choice but to lay your life--mind, body and soul--on the line and take a risk. In theory, this is something you know quite well. As a warrior of the Straw hat crew, this willingness to put everything at risk for your dreams is an everyday reality. But what about when that risk is a person? Surely the basic gist is still the same...right?
Wrong. Johnny and Yosaku used to laugh about this a lot--to your face--about how you are an absolute disaster outside of battle. The stoic, competent warrior shown on your bounty poster would vaporize as soon as you sheath your sword. Otherwise, you were a bashful, stumbling mess. And once a certain moss-haired hunter joined the crew...you were finished. With the flash of his sword, he caught your attention. With his wicked-sharp slit of a smile, he punctured the deepest parts of you. Your fate was sealed. Roronoa Zoro would be the death of you. 
Everyone seemed to know what this strange phenomenon was, but to you, it was a goddamned mystery. It was a miracle that you were ever able to speak more than a dozen words to him on any given day. When your paths diverged for the first time, it was almost a relief. But from then on, there was always a gap in your plans. An empty bunk on your ship that used to be filled with snores at the most random hours. Your chest always ached at the memory. 
It was in that space of absence that you realized--you loved him. The thought alone was enough to turn your whole world turned topsy-turvy. Then the Baratie happened. Then Mihawk, then Arlong and then--this peculiar straw-hat pirate, this boy that Zoro had sworn his fealty to--invites you along on his grand adventure. After all the things you’d seen and done, seeing the anticipation glistening in Roronoa’s eyes...how could you say no?
Life since then has been the wildest ride you could ever dream of. Marines, mercenaries, Giant whales and dinosaurs--it’s like something out of a fairy tale. And during all that time, one thing hasn’t changed. Zoro. Your heart pounds in your chest when you hear his footfalls approaching. Butterflies swim up to your throat every time you hear his voice. butterflies in your stomach. Your breath hitches, just from the way he looks at you. There were so many nights, hunkered down with Johnny and Yosaku in some tavern somewhere, where you wondered what you would say to him. To Zoro, if your paths ever crossed again. 
Now here you are, reunited, chasing your dreams together. And yet you still can’t speak, let alone freaking breath in his presence. It was a nightmare. Stuttering every line, palms sweating, knees trembling, face catching fire--every possible symptom under the sun now seemed to increase ten-fold. How the heck were you supposed to genuinely bond with the man you loved when you could barely talk?
Nami was the first to catch on. Of course, she was. Her suggestion was to trick him into confessing his feelings for you. The moment she said the words you just stared at her. You swore right then and there this lady was crazy. Like, ‘dingo ate my baby’ crazy. There was no way in any of the Blues that Zoro had feelings for you. How could he? Every interaction was stilted and awkward. The only reason you two fought well together was that you’d done it before. God, how you’d missed it, in the time he’d been away. You quickly shook yourself free of the thought.
 “Z-Zoro doesn’t work like that,” you’d told her. “Anything underhanded is either--is either gonna fly over his head or piss him off. I-I can’t, I can’t do that…” 
The second time was Chopper’s idea. He hadn’t meant to overhear, but his curious little ears were very sensitive and… “well, I want to help you and Zoro”. 
Which--okay. Zoro and Chopper adore each other. The swordsman is always co concerned and gentle with the young doctor. But he never belittles your resident reindeer for his age or size. That was something you already admired about the elder swordsman. He maintained gratifying respect for everyone in the crew--even Sanji. Nevertheless. You found it very endearing that Copper wanted to help you confess your feelings. As you soon discovered, however...that sweet, innocent winter reindeer had no clue about human romance whatsoever. 
“Well, that was a waste-a--” 
“Wonderful lesson in reindeer culture!” You interjected. Cutting off the cat burglar before she could finish her sentence. “But, uh, m-maybe there are other ways I can go about...er, ya know.”
And so, Nami called in reinforcements. Usopp the Liar. The long-nosed sniper was dragged into the room by his ear. Nami recounted the situation as I hid my face in my hands. His eyes practically sparkled with excitement.
 “Ooh! Okay! I have a great idea! How about I go up to Zoro and start bragging about you, ya know, all the awesome adventures you went on before you saw each other again. Then he’d know just how awesome you are and he’d have to ask you out. I mean, he’s already in lo--” 
“L-loudly snoring in the galley, I’m sure,” you excused quickly, shaking your head. “But if you interrupt his nap, all he’s gonna do is skin you alive.” Ussop visibly paled at the matter-of-fact statement. “I don’t--I don’t want anyone else getting hurt on my behalf so let’s just--I’ll figure something else out.”
Leaving the little pow-wow below decks, you bump into none other than your beloved’s worst enemy--Sanji, the ‘Ero-Cook’. “Ah, Y/N!” He cried in jubilation.
“Sanji!” You squeaked out. Your sudden alarm gave him pause.
“You look distressed, mademoiselle,” The observation alone was enough to turn his expression into a stormcloud incarnate. “If that damned Marimo broke your heart, I swear--”
“N-n-n-n-no!” You hurried to reassure him, waving your hand before Sanji could start kicking anything. “That’s not it at all! I mean, we were talking about--but he didn’t--I mean, he wasn’t even--” after so many fumbles you eventually just gave up, heaving a heavy sigh. “It’s nothing. I’m just bad at being brave.”
“I don’t believe it,” The cook’s immediate reply has you looking up at him in surprise. You saw him pull a cigarette from the pocket of his suit. “Not in a million years. You are one of the bravest angels sailing the seas, Y/N--whatever it is that scares you, they should be ten times more afraid.”
“You still talking about Zoro?”
“Damn right I am,” Sanji growled, his vitriol for Zoro overpowering his typical decorum. His lighter flickered to life as his eyes met yours. “It’s a gentleman’s job to court a lady, make her feel precious and desired. That brute can’t tell romance from a brick wall.”
“Whatchu talkin’ bout bricks for?” Another voice queried. Both you and Sanji turn. There, at the other end of the hall, is your captain. “Bricks got nothin’ to do with Zoro.”
“L-Luffy,” You stammered. “I thought you were at the figurehead, with Zoro?”
“I was, but then he decided to nap somewhere else. So I came here.” Luffy stated clearly, hands perched proudly on his hips. He looked between you and Sanji again, still curious. “So, why you guys talking about Zoro and bricks?”
“Because that’s how dense he is,” Sanji retorted. “Moss-head can’t tell that our darling Y/N is head-over-heels for his dumbass.” a trail of smoke slithered from between his gritted teeth. 
At the mention of your name, Luffy turned and cocked his head. “But your head is below your heels. Isn’t that how people work?”
“M-most of the time, yes,” Sanji let out a sigh and a low curse. You bit your lip a moment before electing to explain. “But that’s not--what he means is, er, that I....uh, oh how do I explain this? Um. I want to tell Zoro something. But I’m not sure how.”
Your captain stared blankly at you. As if you’d smacked yourself in the face with a plank of wood and he couldn’t sure why. “Why are you so scared?” He asked, point-blank. “Whatever’s the most you thing to do, do it that way. Don’t worry about anything else, Y/N.” 
Both you and Sanji shared a glance. The cook’s narrowed eyes told you he was a little bit sceptical. But he shrugged. He knew better than to question your captain’s logic. You, on the other hand, felt as if the sky had suddenly opened up. The next time you looked back at Luffy, your smile was as bright as the midday sun. “I think...I think you got the right idea, Luffy. I’ll give it a shot!”
Walking past both young men, you found your way to one of Zoro’s favourite napping places. Nami’s orchard. When you find him there, time seems to pause for a moment. The wash of the waves against the ship, the scent of the sun and the salt of the sea. That tang of citrus and those bright spots of colour in the trees--all those things seem hushed now. All you see is that head of mossy green hair and the entrancing rise-and-fall of his breath. You found a rake near Usopp’s garden boxes. It was like you had told the sniper earlier. If you prod a sleeping swordsman, you’ll get skinned alive. That is if you stand within swords-length. 
Blades of grass softly crunch under your shoes as you tip-toe your way to the tree where Zoro is resting. When you’re close enough to reach, you turn the rake over in your hand; electing to poke him with the wooden tip instead of the metal points. If he felt the metal he might mistake it for a weapon and a genuine threat. Goodness knows you and your old bounty-hunting crew had plenty of threats to your sleep over the years. 
One poke. No response. Two pokes. A groan and a slight shift. Then the snoring returns. You poke him three times; poke-poke-poke. He groans and shifts, his brow furrowing at the disturbance. But he still doesn’t open his eyes. You huffed to yourself. You really thought the three-pokes would work. Three was Zoro’s favourite number, after all. Patience fizzling along with your nerve, you finally jab him in the side. 
“Zoro!”
The swordsman jolts awake. He looks up, seeing the broomstick near his shoulder, and traces it to you. “Why are you poking me with a rake?” 
The moment his eyes land on you, all your fizzling patience and brazen nerve seem to vanish into the air. Butterflies surge from your stomach in a tidal wave, suddenly clogging up your throat. Your heartbeat jolts in speed at the sudden onslaught. The rake clatters from your hands as you flounder in embarrassment. “T-to, to avoid being fileted by a grumpy swordsman.”
Zoro huffed. “Put that thing away,” You hurry to do so. It is a vain hope that you might beagle to drain the warm flush from your face by the time you return. All the while, your fellow swordsman scrubs the sleep from his face with one hand. “Why’d you wake me up?” 
“I-I, I wanna talk to you.” You abruptly drop yourself into the grass beside him. Standing above him in this orange grove somehow made you feel weird. If you were gonna have this conversation, you felt you needed to be on the same level.
“Okay, then talk.” 
“Er, okay. So…Zoro, I-I mean I’ve been meaning to tell you that I--” you hesitate. But this time you swallow the lump in your throat, summon your courage--and expose your beating heart. “--I love you.”
Zoro is silent for a long moment. His eyes never waver from where you now sit beside him. Swords propped on his other side, he has his arms wrapped around his knees. Ever since he woke up, his expression hasn’t changed. He just looks at you, plain and straightforward as can be when he says; “Okay.” 
You splutter. The single word response is nearly enough to throw you into conniptions. “Wha-what do you mean just, ‘okay’? I’ve been agonizing over how to tell you how I feel for-for ages! And all you have to say is ‘okay’?!” 
The swordsman snorted. “Like words are the only thing that matters. Your actions speak for you, Y/N. I thought my actions made it clear that I--” 
“...You what?” You blink, watching the spark of a blush rush vividly across the swordsman's’ cheeks. 
“I-I love you, dammit! There. You happy now?” 
The instant those words reached your ears, your smile bloomed like a sunflower. After all the ideas and voices and fears you’d heard today, you could hardly believe it--they were right! After all the years preparing for this moment, you could finally look someone in the eye and speak your truth. “I couldn’t be happier.”
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483-484: ‘Looking for the Answer! Fire Fist Ace Dies On the Battlefield!’ and ‘The Navy Headquarters Falls! Whitebeard's Unspeakable Wrath.’
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...
Actually watched these on Friday but was too bummed about what had happened to post. Turns out one of the spoilers was real, after all. Joy of joys. One more to go and then all I’ll have floating around my head is that Sanji has a sister.
Annoyed at the spoiler-tastic title, though. Thanks, Toei, for ruining that in advance. I was also unwittingly spoiled by the latest Uniqlo/SJ 50 t-shirt drop (but didn’t know it at the time because I was clueless about the panel’s context).
Yes, I am delaying the inevitable...
Better get on with it.
R.I.P. Fire Fist Ace
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I am sad and mad at the waste of life.
Ace had so much to live for, but he had no regrets, so from his perspective, it is okay. I mean, the old cliche is true, right? Death is easy for the dead. Those they leave behind have to deal with the fallout. And Luffy is... beyond distraught. Catatonic with despair, actually, to the point Jimbei had to step in or else he would have been fried by Akainu.
Picking up where 483 left off, despite the Big Damned Spoiler Title, I knew Ace was not in a good way. If that title hadn’t ruined it, I might have thought even then that Ace would make it through. If Whitebeard can fight on with a hole in his chest, why couldn’t Ace? And the Pirate Alliance had Emporio Ivankov on their side, right?
There were a few final twists and turns, a few flashes of drama, before the quiet, sad moment happened. Garp rushing down to Ace, Sengoku having to pin him to stop Garp killing Akainu (I wish he hadn’t. I still want that Garp Monkey D. Family Team to happen). The nightmare fuel scene when Akainu was shot point blank by bazooka fire and walked back through the flames like a zombie with parts missing. The moment when Jimbei stood between Ace and Akainu “You will not touch him again! I have been ready to die since the beginning!” with Akainu retorting, “Looks like I need to execute a traitor.” Marco breaking free courtesy of Mr 3, enabling Luffy to take Ace away...
Damn, I really didn’t think Oda would have the cajones to kill off Ace. The moment was done well, though, so at least there’s that. Weirdly, the scene reminded me of Mufasa’s death (from The Lion King). Just Luffy’s fragile, tentative questions, “Hey. Hey... are you alright?” mixed with the horror of realisation something was terribly wrong when he placed his hand on Ace’s back and it came back thick with blood.
But still, he could deny it then. Ace could be treated. Ace could be cured. Emporio Ivankov was on his side!
Unfortunately, the damage was irreparable. Ace’s organs had been completely burned away. The moment Ivankov had to break that news was horrible. I felt so bad for Luffy. He tried to bargain desperately: “You can’t die! You promised you would never die, no matter what!”
Knowing he didn’t have much time left, Ace took advantage of the quiet moment to have a last talk with his little brother. I liked how Toei froze the battle, cast everything and everyone but Ace and Luffy in greyscale, because for that moment, the only alive people in the world were two brothers. 
“I wouldn't even have had a will to live if it weren't for Sabo and a high maintenance brother like you. If you see Dadan someday, say hello for me. When I face my own death, I even miss a woman like her. There is one thing that makes me wanna stay. That is my desire to see you fulfill your dream. But I'm sure that you can do it. Because you're my brother. Like we promised that day, I have no regrets in life. Something tells me that what I truly wanted was not fame. Did I deserve to be born? What I wanted was the answer to that question.
I can't raise my voice to let anyone hear anymore, Could you tell them what I'm about to say now? Old man, everyone, and you Luffy. Thank you... for loving someone like me: a good for nothing who has such bad blood in his veins... Thank you!”
Yeah, so at that point, I was just staring at the screen, watching Ace die and labouring under the same haze of denial as Luffy. It still wasn’t real. Then Ace’s eyes glazed over, the little flame inside him finally winked out and he slumped to the ground with a smile on his face. Even the vivre card burned to ashes.
Watching Luffy realise his brother was dead was worse than Ace’s last words. Eyes wide, he just stared at his blood-soaked hands and shook. “Ace...? Ace...?”
Then he screamed. The grief was too much and he shut down completely.
This is the second gut-wrenching loss Luffy has suffered in quick succession. As far as he’s concerned, he’s lost his crew. Now, he has lost his only brother. I wonder how this will affect Luffy going forward? I’m assuming Luffy will use Ace’s death to swear vengeance on the Marines and World Government. Take note, Marines: this is how you create a mighty enemy. Luffy does need to be stronger. But, damn, if that is not a harsh way to learn that lesson...
Oh, and I don’t ever want to see Jimbei sobbing again. That was too much on top of everything else. ;_;
Akainu Is Not A Good Person
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He’s behind me, isn’t he?
That shot is honestly the only thing that cheered me up over these two episodes. I watched it three times and laughed like a drain every time.
Then it just got better because Oda let Whitebeard loose on Akainu and it was glorious! It’s as if Oda realised, “Yeah, the fans will be grieving and seething, let’s give them an outlet for their feelz.”
Akainu made another swipe at Luffy, but Marco stepped in. Unfortunately, Marco was wearing sandals. (Not the most effective footwear for facing off against Akainu. You’d need steel toe capped boots or special heat-entry PPE for that. Marco, you must update your look. Function over fashion. I know it will sting but it is for a good cause.) He couldn’t hold off Akainu completely. But someone who could rumbled up behind him.
Man... Whitebeard was mad. Beyond mad. “I will hammer you into the ground like a tent peg” mad. “I will punch you to pate” mad. I actually cheered when that first punch connected. The best part was when he grabbed Akainu by the collar, tossed him in the air and broke him with a devastating punch. I’ve never been happy to see someone bleed before. That was new.
But Akainu did get a hit in. Note to All Pirates: Do not let Akainu anywhere near your torso. Reblog to save a life!
It’s maybe too late for Whitebeard, though. I am not going to jump the gun again because Oda has subverted tropes before, but it seems like Whitebeard is intent on Marineford being his last stand. He split the battlefield so the Pirate Allies could escape, trapping himself on the other side with all the Marines. 
It was also satisfying to see Marineford sinking into the sea along with Akainu! I may also have cheered at this and laughed: “YES! BYE, SAKAZUKI! SINK INTO THE OCEAN AND DROWN!” A measured response? Absolutely not. Do I think he will be saved? Hopefully not!
Then Teach appeared.
This is the first time I was not excited to see him and his crew. I thought, “Come on, mate. There’s a time and a place...” 
But clearly, for Blackbeard, this is the perfect time and place.
Not Even In The Mood For Blackbeard
Teach has the chutzpah to turn up at Whitebeard’s last stand and advertise his new crew. I might be going off them. There are now ten Blackbeard pirates, so that’s my Individual Blackbeards vs Individual Strawhats theory up in smoke.  (Unless Luffy recruits another crew member. Then it’s back on!) 
So far, we have:
1. Blackbeard 2. Van Augr 3. Jacques Laffite 4. Jesus Burgess 5. Doc Q 6. San Juan Wolf 7. Catalina Devon 8. Shiryu of the Rain 9. Vasco Shot 10. Guy With Horns I Don’t Remember
Now it makes sense why Teach was sniffing about Impel Down. He was recruiting! Still don’t know what his game is, though. Why is he here now? What’s the point in having a chuckle at Whitebeard’s expense? Why advertise your new crew? I don’t think the Marines will be impressed that you took time off to recruit while there was a big battle going on.
I also have questions about San Juan Wolf.
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How does San Juan Wolf fit on any ship? He is so massive he barely fits into shot and suffers from goddamned distance fade. Does he just trail after Teach’s ship like a massive, violent puppy? Where did they keep him in Impel Down? Would Ikea be interested in such space-defying dimensions?
I’ll have to stay tuned, I guess.
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No, thank you, Ace. You’ve been great. ;_;
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... remember when I had that good swing on that long self-insert fic going? Yeah, me too. Good times. [ffn] [AO3]
Well... I sat the fuck down and finished up the next one. Joke is... 33 will be the hardest to do lmao I’m so not ready
Anyway, this instalment takes a Definitely Spoopy turn; wanted to publish it at Halloween for a reason, but, uh, as you can see... it’s mid fucking December. Not even the Robin time can rectify that.
32. White noise
“Oh, my, what pretty flowers have sprouted here overnight,” comes the amused voice of Robin from behind them not two seconds later.
Law’s eyes shoot up immediately, and he also sits up post-haste, almost headbutting the railing himself. “Nico-ya…” he starts with a wary drawl; “since when have you been here?” She's the nosy type, too… might have heard fucking everything. Shit.
Kat also turns towards her with open arms. “Ah, Robin!”
“I see you’re in a much better mood than before…. good for you,” she smiles at Kat immediately upon seeing her enthusiastic, flushed little face, and sprouts a hand on her back to give her head a scratching, which she seems to enjoy quite a lot. “As for your question… five minutes, maybe?” she shrugs then at Law as the moaning watering can in her hands is put to work. “Your vivid duet was hard to miss,” she continues with a chuckle. “You shouldn’t lie around in this weather, though, lest you catch Miss Kat a cold for next week.”
He feels blood rush to his face again. For some reason, getting caught laughing by her is as embarrassing as anything else. As is getting talked to like a toddler.
“I wasn’t planning on staying here much longer anyhow,” he grumbles with a huff. “We have business to attend to, not to mention that you being out gardening equals to everything getting wetter and colder, anyway.”
Next thing he knows is that she’s holding the can directly above him for a quick shower; he’s just dumbfounded, and Kat snorts as soon as the action registers.
“You’ll be the one to give me a cold this way, Robin,” she giggles then just as the woman moves on.
“Sorry, couldn’t resist… do you want me to get him one, too?” the archeologist asks then, offering the business end of the object.
“What’s with all of you today, I swear…” Law shakes his head, and the curly hair sprays everyone with the water that’s stuck among the curls. “Are you standing in for Nose-ya, or what?” Him, Carrot and Luffy are the only ones up for this kind of bullshit at any given time. And Chopper, whenever they can rake him into idiocy.
“I suppose someone has to,” she hums, pouring a little of the leftover water on Kat while passing. “It gets mundane without the kids around.” The can sinks into a barrel of water to refill.
“It sure was too peaceful out here to be true,” the man mumbles standing up, then bows down to shake out whatever water is left and willing to drop. “Or inside, for that matter. I’m missing a bunch of my crew for sure, and by the looks of it, so do you,” he says then, straightening up. He’ll need to fetch a towel, goddamn. Also, he’s officially really, really cold.
“Oh… everyone’s being scarce?” asks Kat while wiping the water off her face, then also swishing whatever possible out of her hair. Nami kept her company, but she couldn't help notice the empty seats during breakfast.
The archeologist nods. “Yes… I went ahead and checked the other ship on my way up myself. Nary a soul. And, as you may have noticed already, our wacky musician and sniper, as well as little doctor are yet to be accounted for. Since Franky just left with Sanji and Carrot to shop for odds and ends, this ship is as good as dead,” she states, pulling the filled container out of the barrel. She stops to think for a second. “I am a little worried, though,” she notes then, looking out towards town. “The boys may have gone out together, but Chopper is not one to stay out for an entire night. As an animal, he needs plenty of rest. I doubt he has that luxury out there… the commotion died off early in the morning, and the music is already starting up again.”
“Yeah, it's always pretty noisy on this weekend,” agrees Kat while Law murmurs something that sounds like a ‘thought so,’ likely referring to his crewmates. The ruckus is bad enough that she’s decidedly happy over being able to stay over for these two nights specifically.
“If they don’t get back soon I’ll have to assume they got themselves lynched in a dark alley,” the woman declares as the moaning ghost starts spewing water again.
“… even Brook?” muses the girl two seconds down the line with a raised brow and half a smile.
Hearing that brings back Robin’s, too. “Even though he’s already dead? Yes.”
Law finds the idea less funny. “Don’t jinx it, Nico-ya. I doubt they would have any problems with some ragtag thieves, but we know for a fact that there are some shifty folks out in some alleys,” he informs the woman while pointing towards Kat with a thumb, then starts rubbing himself for some warmth. He could have lived his entire life without having been reminded of that situation, really.
“… oh. Yeah, there was that, too, huh.” She… forgot about that, despite the adventure freaking her out quite a lot at the time. Thinking about this, she also stands up at last, patting the dirt and whatever there is off her dew-soaked thighs.
The tense focus returns. “Oh my… then I better get looking as soon as possible, don’t I.”
“I’m about to send Jean Bart out to collect our entourage, too. Might as well join him.” He’s there for sure, heard him cursing on his way up. Also the only other person to keep people on task on board of the Polar Tang, so there’s noone better to get those sad excuses of pirates moving again.
“Would you be so kind as to ask him to look for our lost ones in my stead, then?” Robin turns to Law after short consideration.
“Huh?” Backing out? Nico-ya, of all people? “Why that?”
She sighs. “I would prefer not to spend more time out with all the bushoo around is all… They make me feel uneasy, even despite the cute costumes.” She still thinks it was silly to miss out on most of the fair on Tuesday because of the minute weakness of being reminded of what happened in the city of water when she was alone with Chopper for a little, but last night, the entire flocks of them really made her nervous for some reason. She constantly felt like being watched by those vacant, painted-on eyes. All in all, soon after Nami and Carrot left, she also excused herself.
“Well, fine by me,” the man sighs then, giving his freezing self one last rub. “I guess you’ll be willing to come practice now, too?” he turns then to Kat while wiping a stray drop of water falling out of his hair.
“Um… yeah.” She’s getting unsure again, and can already see today becoming extremely awkward with the two of them just… being stuck in the same, cluttered room. Alone. Just… don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.
“Thank you,” Robin nods with notable relief, with the once more empty can in her flailing hand. “And you do your best, alright?” she smiles then at Kat, who’s also starting to get cold by the looks of it.
“No need to, Nico-ya,” Law replies while moving back direction hellcave, with Kat tiptoeing backwards in tow with a wave and hum.
Pretty much as soon as they enter the metal staircase, it becomes obvious how few people are around. Not because they are not physically present, but rather… the silence is too big for this to be a ship with twenty plus people on board.
Hearing someone make a racket under these circumstances sticks out like a sore thumb, though. As is the one making it in general.
Law turns a corner Kat has never taken before. She follows him awkwardly after a second of consideration, then takes a quick look around the humid room they arrive at; the showers are about as utilitarian as a place like this can get. There's four stalls, and a metal bench and shelves across them where some people have left some clothing articles and soap lying about. She also notes some pipes on the floor next to Jean Bart, who is standing in the middle in a small puddle and fills half the midspace himself… they must be for that leakage problem from the other day. Explains why he's ripping off half the metal ceiling, if nothing else.
“Jean, sorry to bother you right now, but would you be so kind and, uh, ‘collect’ our idiots from town?” asks Law without beating around the bush.
The burly man sighs. “Did think it right when considering it myself, ey? Will do, capt’n. I’m not the man for the rest of this, anyway.”
“Thanks,” Law waves with a nod, already turning around to trod deeper down into the submarine. “Oh, and… keep an eye out for the other bunch, while at it.”
An unwilling grunt. “… if I must.”
By the time they arrive at the bottom, a total silence sets in. And soon enough Kat has to admit that unfortunately, she cannot concentrate to save her life… exactly as she’s feared, she has difficulty paying attention. Only after five minutes, she becomes sickeningly aware of the fact that she’s all alone with Law, or, occasionally, it’s her imagination that starts tugging her away to other times and places. It’s all bad or embarrassing memories… no matter which happens, however, it’s on the uncomfortable side of nervous. Instead of butterflies, there are barely not cramping muscles on the menu. Not sure whether this is the better of the two worlds…
Just to make things harder, the ambience really seems off today. Like, yeah, the buzzing is still there, but at any other time, there’s the crew up and about every now and then on this floor, not to mention their voices can echo down here all the way up from the dining hall. But today… there’s nothing. Apart from her grumbling stomach, that is. Like in the evening, she couldn't get much food down her throat at breakfast, and it's finally catching up with her…
After an hour or so, the silence itself has grown into just another reason to be on edge, and soon enough, it’s Kat’s main concern. Instead of wanting to be in another room altogether, she gets the feeling that there’s some monster lurking outside in wait, making this room with Law in it the safest place available. Whenever the bells ring outside, it’s like thunder rolling in the dead of the night.
As such, she gets especially nervous upon him leaving said safe bubble after one of these ghastly tolls; if nothing else, it’s extra relieving to see his return in a few minutes. He doesn’t look all that happy with the situation, either.
“This is getting… weird,” he states upon arrival.
“… are they still not back?” That does not sound reassuring. Also, she does need her usual background noise to be somewhat less useless.
The man just hums. “A few of them are, including my three idiots… but something is definitely fishy about this. According to Bepo, they haven’t seen most of the crew since around 2 am when they wobbled back home, not to mention that they have apparently not run into Jean Bart this morning, either.” He sighs with worry, putting up his right to the chin in contemplation. “Maybe they are planning something stupid, since the other crew seems to be involved… but Clione and Uni are not the types who would participate in that, and they’ve been the first to bail.” In their case, it’s been nearly a day by now, too…
Kat also groans. “The submarine is really spooky with nothing but random noises down here… if this is supposed to be a joke, it’s not funny.”
“Same here. Those three just left again, so I asked them to keep an eye out… we’ll see in an hour or two. Until that… might as well have lunch? Or a very belated breakfast… while Fugu is still in.” He’d rather not tempt his luck twice.
As such, the girl gets to be in the dining hall once more. It is a very different experience with only eight people around, counting her, Law and the cook. Latter doesn’t even stay, but packs up to go grocery shopping as soon as they get their servings. Overall, the eerie silence persists. Once three other people leave to go fishing, it becomes nigh unbearable; it’s pure luck that she’s finished up by then. She pours another mug of the tasty, warm tea before descending back into the panic room.
Then the seconds, minutes, then likely multiple hours just pass, and pass in the same vein, until there is quite a racket, first upstairs, then quickly closing in as the staircase is indicating. Almost immediately after, the door bursts open, with three very familiar faces.
“Thank god, you’re still here,” sighs Penguin and nearly collapses from the relief.
“… I’m going to skip the ‘learn knocking’ part, and go straight to questions,” Law insists, his hand nervously grabbing onto the back of the chair. There’s officially a problem, and by god, is he in no position to be of use right now.
“Noone’s here!” cries Shachi; “First it was just weird, then weirder… since we saw literally no friends out in town…!! But then there was one of the fishing rods just lying around outside, and now we didn’t find anyone in the hall, either! I poked my nose into the kitchen while Pengu and Bepo had a look at the bedrooms, but not even Fugu is around! Half of the soup has gone and evaporated already… he should have been back ages ago!” By the time his rant comes to a close, he’s on the verge on tears. Bepo has been at it since the second line, and is sobbing into Penguin’s hat, who’s not even in the mood to scold him for getting it all bear snotty.
Without another word, Law is already outside, busting up door after door.
They open every single one of them, one by one, but there’s no life to be found. Wherever they look, the hallways, Ikkaku’s room, back door of the dining hall, engine, or even the cold room… it's all fallen silent. Not a single soul around apart from Kat, Law, Bepo, Shachi and Penguin. They don’t hear any noise until they enter the showers, where the faulty pipe is still dripping from above through the removed panels. The pulsating darkness gives Kat, who’s been following the boys around in panicked silence, the chills; were she alone, she’d get spooked by her own shadow.
There’s but a ringing in her ears. And it’s deafening.
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darthchic · 6 years
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Whole Cake Island Arc - 7.5/10?
Felt like rating and writing about this arc, just to get it straight in my head how I feel about it. 
I wanna give it a higher rating, just from the pure emotions it gave me, especially since Luffy and Sanji are my two favourite One Piece characters, and I’d never really appreciated their relationship this much until now, but I’m with a lot of other critics who were displeased with the torturingly (that a word?) slow pacing in certain chapters. That really hurt (probably still not as bad as Dressrosa’s pacing though). To be fair, the pacing was really only bad during some sections of the Seducing Wood chapters, and then during the chapters 871-886 (til they finally got that damn cake moving!) The Seducing Wood chapters were saved by the Sanji backstory/family reveals, that stuff was great, but I never really cared about the Luffy vs Cracker fight. For me, anime fights can be pretty hit or miss since a lot of the time you feel like you already know who’s going to win, and since this fight occurred quite early on in the arc, it was a foregone conclusion that Luffy was going to win. I mean, what, he’s gonna lose, die and not meet Sanji? Pffft! I just wasn’t invested, but the Sanji stuff = Awesome. Everything between Chapters 844-870, I really loved/enjoyed, but then all the running away, making the cake, running away, and still making that damn cake!!!! ….Feels like that could have been shortened down somewhat, just saying. And I’m pretty sure a lot of other fans got frustrated in the same way as well.
I wasn’t even comforted by the Luffy vs Katakuri fight. I don’t know why. I like Katakuri, really like him, emphasis on like, but I didn’t get into the major hype of his character. I couldn’t tell you why, but I do wish I loved him as much as other fans do. It’s not fair!!! T_T
But maybe this is why I’m not too bothered by the outcome of their fight either, lack of investment. People seemed really angry over the way the fight ended, but I was just glad that it didn’t drag out much longer. I am pretty happy though, after reading Chapter 902, that there’s an implication that Katakuri may have slightly let Luffy win. (Seriously, I really do like Katakuri, the guy’s cool and I respect the dude.) A part of me did want Luffy to either lose or have the fight end ambiguously cause there’s only so many times in fiction where you see this supremely badass character get super hyped up, made to seem undefeatable, only to have the protagonist beat them through sheer willpower or friendship. That’s something that turned a lot of people off ‘Fairy Tail’ after all. Oda can usually pull off these kinds of fights without us rolling our eyes, and the Luffy vs Katakuri was decent, I guess I’m saying that if I had a chance to change things, I would have the fight play out mostly the same but to have the victor be a mystery (and eventually revealed in a later chapter), just to avoid too much major salt. Or, have Katakuri about to win, having Luffy at his mercy, only to let him leave because he really does know (or hint to know) that Luffy will become Pirate King, and he doesn’t want to interfere with that particular awesome future! But only I’d probably be satisfied with that ending.
I do like, for the most part how the arc ended. I’ve seen some people say that there’s a lot of loose ends left, but the only one that really bugs me is the threat against Zeff’s life/The Baratie. Are we to assume that they’re safe now? I don’t know why. All the way back in Chapter 852(?) I was scratching my head when even Reiju was telling Sanji that he doesn’t need to worry about Zeff or the Baratie, but why not? Big Mom was the one threatening Zeff’s life, right? And as we’d seen from a later Chapter (860 I think?), even some small time criminal that had been invited to the Tea Party and couldn’t attend had his father’s decapitated head sent to him (the scene was made into an even bigger deal in the anime), so why did anyone think that Sanji, the groom, running away from the wedding, wouldn’t have to face repercussions? And especially now that he was involved in an assassination attempt on her life, why would the extremely petty Big Mom let this go? Like for real, this all bothers me!!! Maybe it will still get brought up, and result in Sanji going to see Zeff again? Telling him to go into hiding or something? If this little thread is picked up again in any way, I think I’d be happy, cause I clearly can’t just sweep this under the rug.
One other major thing that a lot of people seem pissed about this arc is Sanji himself. Of course it’s the usual shebang: “Sanji is Lanji”, “Sanji be taking more Ls!”, “Sanji didn’t do anthing this arc!”, “Sanji was useless”, and so on and so forth. It’s annoying yet also hilariously ironic. To me, I would not be surprised if Oda based Vinsmoke Judge and Sanji’s brothers on all the fans that constantly rag on Sanji’s character. Look at Chapter 899 for Gawd’s sake, Judge says things like, “Sanji is worthless!”, “Sanji is weak!”, “All he does is cook!”, “He’s good for nothing!” and I swear these are the exact negative things that people have been saying about him. And they can’t see the bloody irony! For me, this arc, or the year of Sanji, was a tribute to Sanji’s character/values, not his fighting ability. We already know he’s an awesome fighter, why does he need to prove this again? Besides, he’s a Love Cook first, a fighter second. If he were given the choice between never cooking or never fighting again, which do you think he’d choose?
And besides, I don’t understand why anyone thinks that Sanji did nothing useful. Or didn’t achieve any wins. Here’s a list: Saved his friends from Bege & Co. (This may have happened before the arc officially started, but I’m still counting it), Discovered he’s in fact the ‘Success’ of his family rather than the ‘failure’ that his shitty family (and shitty fans) labelled him, Using just his sheer ‘Sanji-ness’ to prevent a bloodthirsty girl from murdering him, Saving his family/abusers and proving he’s a better man than his father (which we already knew anyway), Pioneering a cake that stopped Big Mom from completely destroying the Sunny, killing his friends and killing islands of people, and thanks to him being awesome and saving his family in the first place, he and Luffy got away from the Big Mom Pirates with their lives. Germa couldn’t have had their moment and swooped in to save the day if he hadn’t swooped in and saved them to begin with. To me, it feels like Oda really wanted to show Sanji’s kindness and passion for cooking saving the day, instead of him just using brute force/fighting ability, which someone like Judge prized above all else, but it’s Sanji’s ‘weak and useless’ qualities that come in the most handy in the end. So again, just seeing these certain fans act like real-life versions of Judge…. You just gotta facepalm man. Well done you guys (you know the ones), you would make great best friends with a man whose chin looks like a set of testicles.
So yeah, it’s really frustration that brings the rating down for me on this arc, and also wishing a few things here and there were written a little differently. It’s definitely an arc that everyone has differing opinions about, it’s not a universally loved arc like ‘Ennies Lobby’ or ‘Marineford’, or even a rather hated one like the ‘Fishman Island” arc. I’m still hoping we’ll get more discussion between the Straw-Hats about the Sanji beating Luffy incident, and I wanna know if Sanji’s face has healed or if he’s still wearing that mask. Only time will tell. Well, perhaps around May-time will tell, since we are technically on break now, right?
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shadowlugia141 · 6 years
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Monster Hunter: Open Ocean chapter 2 ( One Piece x Monster Hunter Stories)
"I wanted the Dragon Lady to join us", Luffy pouted.  
SMACK!  
"Owww!  What was that for?!", Luffy whined, holding his head where Nami and Sanji had smacked/kicked him.  
"First she threatened to kill us!", Nami shouted angrily, "Second, we don't have room for a dragon!"
Nami regained her composure after a moment, if only slightly.
"Besides, we're just here to get supplies, then it's off the Little Garden", Nami explained, "Getting Vivi to Alabasta is our top priority.  Anyways, she said there was a village here, guess we just follow the path."
The Straw Hats trekked up the path leading away from the cove.  The forest around them seemed to bustle with small animals, and giant trees towered above the rest of the forest.  As Vivi knelt down to pick a small, pink flower, a nearby bush began to rustle.  She went to take a closer look, when suddenly something jumped out.  
It was a bipedal feline creature, with tan fur marked with dark brown, including a paw print on its belly.  In its paws it held a large egg almost as big as its body.  
Suddenly two more creatures jumped out of the bushes, and they did NOT look friendly.  They stood almost as tall as Luffy, and were light blue with horizontal, dark blue stripes running along their backs.  Their slender faces were yellow, and an orange crest topped their heads.  Their most terrifying features were their slender jaws lined with needle sharp teeth, and their talons, seven on each hand and four on each foot.  
"NYAAA!", The cat shrieked, "GO AWAY BIRD BRAINS!"
The raptor like creatures lunged at the cat, who swiftly jumped and dodged, using the head of one raptor as a springboard.  The other raptor snapped its jaws and the cat pivoted mid jump, just barely avoiding having its tail bitten clean off.  Still holding the egg, the cat landed and began running, disappearing into the bushes with the two raptors chasing it.  
"Well that was weird", Sanji commented, "anyways, we should get go-"
"NYAAA!  COMING THROUGH!"
The crew looked to see the cat emerge from another set of bushes, with the two raptors still chasing it.  This time another raptor had joined in the chase as well.  The three raptors all lunged at the cat, who quickly jumped to avoid their jaws.  The three raptors crashed into the underbrush, and several loud squawks were heard.  
"Phew, that was close", the cat said, wiping his brow, "Thought they were actually gonna catch me."
He then puffed his chest out in pride.
"I mean, not like they could actually catch me, the great Navirou!", the cat declared confidently.  Navirou then noticed Luffy and co.
"Sorry about that folks, just dealing with some persistent Velociprey", Navirou explained, "I swear those guys never give up.  So, who are you guys?"
"I'm Luffy, and I'm gonna be king of the pirates", Luffy stated boldly, "and these guys are my crew."
The others introduced themselves to Navirou.  
"So what were those things exactly?", Nami asked, referring to the Velociprey.
"They're monsters called Velociprey.  They're bird wyverns that hunt in packs led by a Velocidrome.  Thankfully their boss isn't around otherwise we'd be in-", Navirou started, but froze when he felt something behind him.
He slowly turned around, and paled when he saw a Velocidrome towering over him.  It looked much like a Velociprey, but with a larger, brighter crest, longer claws, and it was much taller, taller than Zoro even.  Navirou gulped nervously.
"Trouble", he said nervously, finishing his earlier statement.  He tried to slowly back away, but the Velocidrome let out a loud screeching roar, causing Navirou to stumble back in a panic.  He was about to use his lightning powers, when suddenly he heard Luffy shout.
"Gum gum…PISTOL!"
Luffy pulled his arm back and punched forward, causing his arm to stretch like a rubber band and driving his fist into the Velocidrome's face.  The impact sent the bird wyvern flying into a nearby tree, knocking it out.  Navirou's jaw dropped at the sight of the unconscious Velocidrome.  He'd never seen anyone take down a monster with just a single punch.
"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!", Navirou exclaimed, "NO HUMAN CAN STRETCH LIKE THAT!"
"I ate the Gum Gum fruit", Luffy said cheerfully, "Now I'm a rubber man."
"How does that work?", Navirou questioned.
"Haven't you heard of Devil Fruits?", Luffy asked.
"Nope", Navirou replied, "I'm not exactly from around here.  Me and my pawtner just wound up here about 2 weeks ago."
"Pawtner?", Zoro questioned.
"Yeah!  She's a super awesome monster rider!", Navirou shouted with glee, "You've gotta meet her!"  
Grabbing the egg, Navirou jumped up onto Luffy's shoulder.  
"Come on, the village is just up ahead.  There shouldn't be anymore monsters", Navirou said.
"So much for those pirates being a threat", I huffed, checking the sharpness of one of the spikes on my sword, "They're just passing through.  Still, that Alabasta place sounds like a great place to find a challenge.  I think they said that guy's name was Crocodile, right?  Maybe he'd be a worthy foe."
I set my great sword down and took off my helmet.  
"I hope Navirou didn't run into any trouble.  That Velocidrome is still out there."
I stood up and grabbed my sword, before heading into town.  
"Better go check and see if he made it back."  
"We're here!", Navirou exclaimed, hopping off of Luffy's shoulder.  Of course, the villagers seemed less than enthusiastic to see pirates wandering about their settlement.  
"Why is everyone acting all scared?", Navirou wondered, noticing the nervous villagers.
"According to that dragon rider woman, the villagers think we're here to attack them", Zoro explained.
"Dragon rider?  Oh, you guys met my pawtner then", Navirou said, "She's the coolest isn't she?"  His eyes sparkled.
"She's…something", Zoro and Usopp remarked, remembering how she had almost taken Zoro's head off.
"Navirou!", a familiar voice called out.  Both the pirates and the villagers turned to see the silver-clad hunter walking towards them, "Good to see you made it back!"
"SAURUS!", Navirou cried out with joy.  He ran over to her and jumped into her arms.  "These guys saved me from that Velocidrome.". Saurus looked up at Luffy's crew.  "Is that so?", she questioned.
"Luffy knocked it out with a single punch!  It was so cool!", Navirou explained, eyes sparkling.
Saurus's eyes widened at that.  A single punch?!  Just what was this kid?
"I see why the villagers were scared of you", Saurus said, "Taking down a monster with just a punch is almost unheard of, even if it was just a Velocidrome.  Still, you did save Navirou, so it's pretty obvious you aren't all bad."
Saurus then turned to the villagers.
"Pirate kid and his friends are alright, let them stay", she said, "They aren't here to cause trouble."
The villagers seemed wary at first, unsure if they should let the pirates stay.
"Glad to see you finally made some friends, Saurus", an elderly voice said.
The group turned to see an elderly woman emerge from the crowd.  
"They are hardly my friends, elder Kirika", Saurus said, "They just saved Navirou, that's all."
"Whatever you say dear", Kirika replied, turning to Luffy, "I am elder Kirika, chief of Kori Village.  I apologize if the others are wary of your presence, we've had trouble with pirates before.  They and the marines frequently come and harass us, taking our supplies, so we do not frequently tolerate newcomers."
"Saurus and I chased some of those guys away last week", Navirou explained.  Kirika nodded.  "These two have become sort of like our protectors", she said.  
"Well, we're not here to steal", Nami said, "We just need to restock and wait for the log pose to reset."
Kirika nodded once more.  "You are welcome to stay at my home for the time being.  Saurus and Navirou are staying there as well.  My home has plenty of room, so don't worry."
The Straw Hats followed Kirika, Saurus and Navirou to the house in the woods.  Inside the house it was quite spacious, with several bedrooms, which Kirika explained were more frequently used when the island received peaceful visitors.  However, the number of invasions in recent months have reduced those visitors' numbers significantly.  
In the main room there was a fireplace, a table, and several chairs surrounding it.  There was a medium sized kitchen, and a dining room which a table that could seat all of them comfortably.  Once everyone was settled in they decided to go out and explore the village.  
"If they are going out, so am I", Saurus said, "Besides, that Velocidrome is probably awake by now and needs to be slain."
Saurus grabbed her silver Rathalos sword, put on her helmet, and left.  She called for Ratha, who flew over to her.  She hopped on his back and they took off to hunt down the Velocidrome.  
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onepiecefeatstuff · 7 years
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The Proposal| Sanami June Bride 2017 |
Since the very first moment he saw her, Sanji knew. Everything was like slow-motion, him standing there with a bottle of wine, looking for the source of the scandalous laughter. Him, breathless, when he saw her. He had to return the bottle to the table, and, still incapable of mouthing a single word, he managed to come closer and take a better look.
Her short ginger hair, her long eyelashes and big brown eyes. Everything in her was telling him that the most wonderful creature on earth had arrived, that an angel had descended from the sky. Of course, he had to make sure she acknowledged that, and he had to thank whoever made the miracle of her coming into the restaurant with the thing he was best at: cooking. Still, the mysterious angel didn’t even give him the time of day, and in fact, she only made eye contact with him a couple of times. It wasn’t what Sanji had expected, and normally, he would have given up. He was a rational man and he knew when a woman wasn’t into him. But when she looked at him in the eye, he saw so much in that brown orbs that he knew he couldn’t give up on her.
Not even when everyone thought she was a traitor. There was no way he could believe that, and luckily he was right. It wasn’t a lie when he declared that he would stay in the crew partly because his goddess was in it too. From the moment she walked into his life, he knew he would never recover.
Sanji remembered vividly the first moment that thought passed through his mind. Actually, it wasn’t the first moment he ever thought of it, but it was the most significant one. It was after hearing the bells of Shandora, when he was half-recovered from the lightning that fake God attacked him with. The last thing he remembered before the lightning struck him was Nami shouting his name and trying to reach to him. In that moment, seeing her painful expression, he knew.
They threw a big party afterwards, and he couldn’t stop looking at her. She had been drinking, and she had a slight blush due to the alcohol, and an enormous smile on her face. When she came closer to him, he had to blink twice.
“You’ve been staring at me longer than usual” she declared, and Sanji figured out that she wasn’t as drunk as she pretended to be. That, or her senses were more developed that anyone he ever met. “What is it?”
“It’s… nothing” Sanji gulped, and drank all the alcohol he had in the jar next to him. Nami cheered him, and the thought came back to him again.
“There’s that face again” Nami commented “You’re about to say something stupid, aren’t you? I swear the next time one of you idiots make a stupid comment I’m going to charge you.”
This time, he couldn’t contain himself. The words slipped through his mouth before he could stop them. “Girl, I’m going to marry you someday.”
Nami made him pay fifty beris, but she laughed. And that was enough for him. As time passed by, they never mentioned that conversation again. Not even when they started dating. Sanji supposed she had forgotten it. After all, it happened a long time ago.
But he hadn’t forget it, not once, since that they. He couldn’t. The thought kept growing, it became stronger and stronger. Sometimes, when he was lying next to her in bed, he felt a part of his brain shouting: do it. Do it now. You know you want it. You’ve wanted it since the very first time. And every time, he tried to shoo that thought away.
It was harder and harder each time, until the thought won the battle. It was the only thing he could think of at any time of the day. He was distracted, off-focused, and clumsier than ever. It was exasperating trying to fight back, and he was tired. He knew that part of him was right: he wanted it. He has always wanted it. And even if the answer was a “no”, he knew that he couldn’t spend much longer before losing his sanity if he didn’t at least try.
He arranged everything with a little help from his crewmates. Nami had announced before that they were headed to an island, which was just perfect. Robin offered to keep her distracted, and when they arrived to the port, she made sure Nami was prepared for going shopping with her.
It was a little harder getting the permission of the mayor to use the town square to hold such an important event in his life, but Brook did his best to present it as a party and he volunteered to play some music. There are some things in life that light up a small town, and a concert is one of them. Especially if it the performer is the Soul King himself.
By the time the sun set, everything was prepared. Franky and Usopp had managed to create the perfect ring in just a few hours, and he couldn’t help them enough. Chopper found the perfect little box and Luffy did what he does best: running. He ran to Nami and Robin and told them Zoro was lost again, which gave Sanji the perfect amount of time to arrange all the lightning. With the help of the villagers, they put orange lanterns all around the square, and Brook started playing the violin.
When Nami, Robin and Luffy got to the square, with a grumpy Zoro behind them, they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
“You really outdid yourself, cook-san” Robin commented with a smile, and Luffy let out a little laugh.
“What is going on?” Nami asked, looking into Sanji’s eyes for an answer. Sanji felt like trembling. He couldn’t back up now. He had to do it, he had to shut up those voices in his head. The more he looked at her, still confused and staring at everything around her, the more the voice intensified.
“Nami-san, I…” he started, but he decided to start all over. Without suffixes this time. “Nami. I know this might seem crazy and probably a little bit impulsive but it’s not. Not for me, at least. I’ve known it since the moment I met you.”
He got in one knee, in the center of the square. Just like he had practiced. Brook’s melody was reaching to its higher point, and when he took out a small box from his pocket, Nami put her hands on her mouth. She let out a small “oh my god”.
“Nami…” he continued, only to be interrupted by Nami.
“Oh God you’re going to say something stupid aren’t you?” she rushed to say, and Sanji couldn’t feel more blessed by that single question. She remembered.
“Girl” he said, imitating what he said long ago “Would you marry me?”
Everyone busted into cheers, and some of them even into tears (Franky was the first one, but not the last). Brook’s music was loud and everyone was clapping the couple in the center. Still, Nami hadn’t given her answer yet.
Her mind was blank, and she was unable to process all the information. He’s got to be kidding, she thought. Her brain was rapidly going through all the reasons why that wasn’t a good idea. Being a pirate married couple the first one.
“I am not good at sharing.” She murmured, only loud enough for Sanji to hear. “Don’t expect me to share my blanket with you, to share my tangerine, to share my gold. I just don’t understand how people rush to give things to others, asking for nothing in return.”
Sanji’s world fell down. He felt his heart breaking into pieces, small and sharp. He had told himself he was prepared for the worst scenario, but now he knew it wasn’t true. The “no” was a harsher answer than he expected.
“But I also don’t know how anybody survives in this life without someone like you.” Nami said, placing a hand in Sanji’s shoulder. He looked at her, and when he saw her smile, his eyes started to sparkle with hope. “I can’t understand why and you surely owe me fifty beris for this, but… Yes.”
The last word she mouthed was almost a whisper, before everyone started to cheer again. Sanji needed to be sure.
“Could you please shut up?!” he yelled at the crowd “I can’t hear the answer.”
He turned to Nami again, who rolled her eyes before giving him the answer he wanted. The one he always knew he wanted.
“I said yes.” She said, taking the small ring from the little box and placing it in her finger. “Yes!”
“Yes!” Sanji repeated, getting up and lifting her off the ground. Nami kissed him and they both laughed. When she got back to the ground, Nami stared at the ring.
“You made quite a big deal for such a small ring” she teased him, showing it off. It was a simple, golden ring, but it had a blue little rock in the center. “I’m kidding. It’s perfect.”
“You are perfect” Sanji corrected her, kissing her again. “And now you’re my perfect fiancée.”
Author note: This fic was inspired by one of my fave proposals of tv of all time, from one of my fave tv shows: New Girl. I hope you enjoyed it!
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sniperofmyheart · 7 years
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STORY STARTERS MEME
Rules: List the first lines of your last 15 stories. See if there are any patterns. Then tag 10 of your favourite authors!  Do it if you are interested? @maychorian​ @danosphere91​ Tagged by @justira​
I don’t even know if I have 15 stories. I am going with the first paragraph or first indent not including dialogue if that makes sense. Starting from most recent. I am including different chapters as otherwise I won’t have 15. I feel like I am missing a WIP but I can’t find it found it!
1. Sad Fic (WIP no real title yet)
“Hey guys!! Look who we’ve got!’
They hadn’t even arrived at Wano, and Luffy was already screaming. He stood on the railing and pointed proudly at Sanji, who tried his best to hide behind Brook.  So much for a silent approach.  Having just escaped from one Emperor, Sanji couldn’t shake the feeling that any second Kaido would come barrelling down on them. Best not to tempt fate. The Sunny pulled  into the hidden harbour with very little fanfare, besides the fanfare that Luffy self generated. There was a crowd to greet them but first glance he couldn’t spot any familiar faces. There wasn’t a smile among them.  Luffy was smiling enough for them all as he danced along the railing and dove into the crowd, his arms swinging back and shit, Sanji  and the rest was dragged down as well. One of these days he was going to figure out how far that his damn captain could stretch and stay a good foot beyond that near any high places.
2. Chopper’s Dream (WIP. Title to change)
The lights were off in the infirmary. Sanji had seen Chopper run in not too long ago, so just in case, he knocked as he entered. Chopper did take reindeernaps in here after all.
“Chopper? I brought some tea and cookies, the ladies didn’t want it all”
The small reindeer had his head on the desk, turned, eyes staring into the wall
Sanji carefully set the platter between Chopper and the wall, and waited.
Chopper continued to stare through the ever so delicious tea and cookies at the wall.
3. Raftel (WIP)
They had finally made it, Raftel. The imposing cliff face loomed over them. All those years of fighting, crying and laughing, suddenly felt very small before it. Even Usopp, brave warrior of the sea that he was, felt his knees shake a little. This was the end. The last island, X that marks the spot.  What could possibly be up there that was worth all this? Even with everything  they had seen, if he was really honest with himself, Usopp had no idea what the One Piece was. A mountain of gold? “Made you look” ponoglyphed into a wall? A doodle of sea gull with God D roger’s autograph at the bottom? Nothing could surprise him anymore. He looked over at Robin, she probably had a better idea. Even with the wind splashing the stinging seawater into the crew’s eyes, she kept looking forward, unblinkingly.
4. Reindeernapping Chapter 4 (WIP)
The Sunny was docked slightly away from the main harbour, tucked away half hidden. Apparently the locals (thanks Franky for the intel) were okay with pirates as long as they were seen and not heard. Zoro was on the deck trying to sleep as  Luffy continued the Chopper hunt. Cause of course Chopper might of just fallen asleep in a barrel or climbed up into the crow’s nest. Zoro couldn’t wait to see the shit cook’s face when he saw his kitchen, Luffy had opened every single drawer and cabinet, on the off chance that Chopper had somehow managed to shrink down to 6 inches and decided to hid with the spoons. Once he had satisfied himself that Chopper hadn’t buried himself into any of the bags of flour Luffy stumbled from the kitchen, caked in white powder and launched himself to the figure head. He lay out and stared at the sea
“This is sooooo booooringg! I want to look for Chopper too!”
5. Emergency Food Supply (WIP)
It has been 19 days, three hours, fifteen minutes and 30 seconds since they had last eaten. Not that Chopper was keeping count. Counting required energy. Luffy’s stomach didn’t so much as growl anymore, it was just a dull constant roar against the ocean.  Despite Thriller Bark being behind them, they still couldn’t find their way out of the fog that was the Florian Triangle. 
6. Shut Up Kiss Chapter 3 Lusopp 
They were sailing away. The cannonballs crashing into the ocean were so loud that Usopp could barely think straight, but the silence from the ship was deafening. They were going to leave him.
“If that’s what you want… let me say one last thing. You guys…” he tries to yell but it only comes out as a kind of whisper. What was the point, his throat was already sore from screaming and they were sailing away.
7. Physician Inquisition
“I HOPE YOU CHOKE ON THAT APPLE AND DIE YOU BASTARD!”
BZZZZZZ
“GOD DAMN CHARLEY HORSE!”
BZZZZZZ
“HEY I AM NOT A HORSE! I AM A REINDEER”
BZZZZZZ
Nami poked her head into the sick bay,
“Is everything all right in there?”
8. Don't Play With Your Food
Sanji stared at the freezer door and took a deep breath. He must have misread it, or it was mislabeled, or this was all some kind of fevered dream. If this was a fever dream, he expected some beautiful dancing ladies. He opened the freezer door and pulled out the parcel. Venison. So not dancing ladies then. In little black letters clear as day and beside it almost as an afterthought, reindeer. It sounded like a devil fruit, the venison venison fruit mode reindeer. A small slightly hysterical laugh escaped his mouth and he bit his lip but it still echoed through the kitchen. This wasn’t a devil fruit or some kind of joke, it was a slab of meat. Reindeer meat. In his freezer. Outside he could hear the tap-tap of hooves and a gentle high-pitched laugh. Their emergency food supply new crewmate, he really should stop those jokes, was fitting in well. He stared harder at the letters willing them to rearrange themselves. Fantastic.
9. Wedding Feast
“Welcome to my humble kitchen Lord Sanji” the head chef was groveling so hard his white chef hat scrapped on the ground. His hat seemed wrong, too small.
“Get up. I just wanted to have a look around, it is my wedding feast after all.”
The chef straightened himself.
“Why yes Lord Sanji, of course. I had heard rumours that our great Lord spent some time at a restaurant, so any comments or suggestions are more than welcome.”
The bustle of white smocks around him, the sizzling of pans and the smell of garlic filled the room. Throw in some swearing and a few half dozen tattooed men and you would almost have the Baratie. For the first time since he had arrived at Germa Kingdom, he almost felt at home. He had missed the bustle and the noise. The kitchen was never quiet even back on the Sunny. Someone was always whining for more meat, trying to sneak sake or sweets, and trying to drink all of his milk or cola in one go. Or just dropping by to talk and getting bullied into cutting veggies and washing dishes. He really should ask Franky to put a lock on the door, give him some peace and quiet for a change. But then the ladies wouldn't be able to drop by. Choices choices.
10. Man Overboard
“MAN OVER BOARD MAN OVER BOARD”
Sanji was already in the water looking around frantically so Usopp though it was safe to check who had fallen in. As Chopper and Luffy were the ones yelling their heads off a bit further down the ship with fishing rod in hand, or well hoof, it wasn’t them. Brook had come running over with his violin (how that would help a drowning person is anyone’s guess), and he could see one of Robin’s hand with an eye in the centre sprouted on the side of the ship scanning the water as well. So it wasn’t any of the devil fruit users, that was a relief. Nami had poked her head out of the girl’s room to see what the fuss was about her mapping pen still in hand and Franky had poked his head out of the bathroom. Which left Zoro. Had he somehow managed to wander off the ship into the sea, was that even possible? There weren’t any marine ships around so it wasn’t a surprise attack that had knocked him in. Maybe he fell asleep on the railing and tipped over? But just as Usopp had settled on this, he heard a loud voice behind him “What is taking that damn curly brow so long?”
11. The Question
There is a rare moment of silence, the Merry has burned and the Straw Hats are wiping their eyes and trying to catch their breath. The mighty Sogeking takes a deep breath and grabs Luffy’s hand, half dragging him away from everyone else. Or at least he tries to, but dragging a rubber man by the hand is surprisingly difficult and kind of awkward. You end up standing a few feet away with his stretched arm between the two of you as he picks his nose with the other. After some anxious head tilting and whispering what could be misunderstood to be the word meat, Luffy shuffles over. It is quiet and Luffy has to lean in a little to hear it properly but Sogeking manages to squeak it out
“Can I join the crew?”
no bravado no tall tales and Luffy just smiles.
“No way!”.
12. Reindeernapping Chapter 3
He had built the Shark Submerge III to carry up to three people so with only himself inside there was plenty of room, but the metallic echo of his own breathing and the itching sense that time was passing too fast was making Franky feel queasy. Being a dozen or so feet underwater and forced to wear unnatural pants wasn’t helping matters either. He would give anything for that squeaky little voice to start chirping away, dancing around the cabin asking silly questions about what each button did. Instead there was silence. Franky stared out the reinforced glass viewing window scanning the ocean view. If Little Bro was here, he wouldn’t miss him. One of the handy things about being a cyborg was that blinking was purely optional. With a few drops in his eyes every morning, he might blink once or twice a day, if at all. He had won a lot of money off Long Nose Bro that way, the poor kid couldn't say no to a staring contest. Franky usually wore his shades to avoid giving anyone the creeps but with an empty submarine, that wasn’t an issue.
13. Reindeernapping Chapter 2
The pink and purple smoke was still hanging in the air. Franky couldn’t help asking
“How do you guys usually go about finding lost people? This can’t be the first time this has happened, right?”
“ Chopper just tracks Zoro-I mean Chopper tends to sniff people out” Long Nose answered.
”Fantastic ”
He had seen a bit of their finding people attempts back at Water Seven, and been less than impressed. Franky sat down with a thud on the grass.
14. Reindeernapping Chapter 1
Grocery shopping was distinctly not super. Franky and Reindeer Gorilla had gotten stuck with last minute supplies duty as Cook Bro was too busy protecting the fresh meat and booze from Straw Hat and Sword Bro. Cook Bro had given them an extensive list and Reindeer Gorrilla had his own list of herbs and textbooks he wanted to get. It all added up to quite a haul so someone needed to order and pay while Reindeer Gorilla lugged everything around. Merchants didn’t take kindly to animals placing orders. So Franky volunteered to be Reindeer Gorilla’s designated human. He wanted to get to know his new crew mates outside the yelling and screaming that was Enies Lobby. The market place was jam packed, a lot of elbows to the stomach and competing smells that didn’t quite go together. Fresh flowers, half rotten cabbages and the body odour of the crowd (he was going to have to force Lil Bro to take a bath eventually, the smell was ridiculous) were enough to make his nose rust. It kind of reminded Franky of back home, he has barely left it 72 hours ago and he was definitely not crying. Rubbing his super dry eyes, he stared down at Cook Bro’s list. It seemed like he had everything. A note was scribbled on the bottom ‘Absolutely no cotton candy, that means you Chopper' Franky snorted.
“Reindeer Gorilla, look at this-”
But he was speaking to thin air. The parcel packed Reindeer Gorilla was gone.
15. Shut Up Kiss Chapter 2 Lusopp
“Thinking back, when I was about to sail out, you guys asked me to join you. That's all that's tying us together. We don't have to-”
Something slams into Usopp’s face and everything goes dark. Luffy had been across the room sulking in the wrecked table, right? Had Luffy punched him? Or Gum Gum belled him in the face? Usopp peeks his eyes open, he didn’t remember closing them, and finds himself staring into black circles. Luffy was close, too close. Close enough for Usopp to pluck out his stupid eyelashes one by one. The words won’t come out, he can’t breath. Something was blocking his mouth or rather someone was. Luffy. This wasn’t a surprise punch to the face or a head butt. This was something else.
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aerialflight · 7 years
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Okay, one idea I really want is the Straw Hats ending up in the Rise of the Guardians world and they all end up as spirits.
They’re all confused how they end up here, and who knows how long they’re around to influence things, but the very idea of them just existing in that kind of way is hilarious to think about.
Robin (Egypt) – sphynx, a speaker of truth yet is a mystery, talking in riddles and takes great fun in confusing people. Loves knowledge and loves people who loves it too. Shares knowledge to people if she could, loves books. Since there are so many different versions of sphynxes in different cultures and countries, she can pop up in those countries anytime she wants, haha. She never shares how she does it when most spirits can’t, and loves frustrating people by giving them cryptic answers if asked.
Usopp (Africa) – African storyteller like in the stories, tall tales, has a tendency to travel, which is unusual for his kind who is emphatic on tradition. He explores and searches for his crew actively, and on the way, collects stories as he does. Him and Robin actually are the ones who travel around the most (exempting Luffy, who none of the Straw Hats can find cause he can’t stand fucking still damn it Luffy) and keeps everyone updated on each other. Headcanon of mine is that he inspired and helped write the Anderson Fairy tales, LOL.
Zoro (Japan) – a ‘wandering samurai’. In the legends, ghosts of samurais wander in search of a purpose. Hilariously for Zoro, he does it cause he’s genuinely fucking lost, which Sanji finds incredibly amusing.
Nami (Irish) – an Irish witch, which also is hilarious. She mostly ends up in bars or inns, tricking other spirits to pay ludicrous prices or favors when they want gossip or info from her. She and Robin are kind of opposites of each other, with Robin always speaking the truth, yet twists and riddles it out so people would have to be clever enough to solve it themselves. Nami, on the other hand, just lies all the time and people would have to be clever enough to know when she is. However, she never breaks promises or deals. And she’s always lenient to children.
Chopper (Canada) – Bigfoot, which explains A LOT. Though, there are multiple Bigfoots, so he’s just one of the many. Instead, he is a DOCTOR BIGFOOT, which is even weirder and funnier. He’s like, basically that friendly monster you find in a forest that people warn off and is just misunderstood, haha. Whenever children get lost, he leads them back home and heals them if they’re injured.
Franky (American) – He’s an engineer, he embodies inventing and creating. He’s also a fixer upper and an inventor all at once. He inspires people to create new things and is so enthusiastic about all these new immigrants who come into the mixing pot. New ideas in the air! He’s ecstatic about the industrial times and its growth, but absolutely hates the conditions of the people, and rages against people who claim it was ‘progress.’ Bring in the new, sure that’s great. But to kick people down while doing so boils his blood. He and Luffy interact a lot cause America is A Hot Mess of everything, hahaha.
Brook (Austria) – He’s a fucking ghost. A genuine fucking ghost who haunts Austria’s castles and at night, people can hear a violin playing and rowdy songs that don’t fit the setting at all. People see a skeleton at the corner of their eye with a ridiculous afro prancing around the grounds and it’s really freaky. He gossips with other ghosts of old monarchs (I’m headcanoning people with strong influence over the country or has strong personalities end up lingering for a while) and Usopp visits from time to time.
Sanji (France) – he’s a Sea Cook. Kind of a minor sea god who helps sailors sail safely, makes sure to guide them to areas with lots of fish if they get hungry, and spends most of his time in the ships’ kitchens yelling at cooks to add citrus food, nonono what are you doing with that potato you’re skinning it wrong. What about the nutrients?! So basically this grumpy, neatly suited man swearing up a storm and fruitlessly kicking people’s heads when they’re acting like idiots and hovering around like a mother hen. Also, he is absolutely enraged at the old belief that having a woman onboard is bad luck. Fuck you idiots who have no manners do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve seen a woman? Stop fucking ruining this for me!
Luffy (Brazil) – He’s Freedom. Like, that’s it. If the Guardians of Childhood had been looking, they would’ve thought he would be PERFECT for the job, but the Man in the Moon is really, really amused by Luffy’s existence and leaves him be to his own devices. He’s too big even in this world, and he just ends up in countries that need people to rise up, to fight back. He’s in revolutions, protests, wars, cheering people on and fighting with them. He bolsters their strength, makes them laugh in hard times, make them invincible against things that are huge and indomitable looking. He’s just, unchangeable. No matter how bad it is, he keeps smiling.
And just, imagine everyone reacting to them? Like, Ombric meeting Robin and them talking about books and both enthusiastically sharing knowledge with each other, and Robin being all secretive the whole time.
“I want nothing but the truth.” The woman’s voice rang in the room, forthright and honest. With her masks stripped along with her sly words and subtle smiles, she looked powerful. A hungry girl who saw the world in shades of grey, hanging in the backdrop and always watching, observing, waiting.
There’s a finality to her voice, the verdict set with nothing stopping her path. This is her last ditch effort to get him to talk, a method that revealed her heart, her core.
The dark skin, mystery surrounding her like a cloak, clever words with clever answers. A familiar nose that he swore he’s seen missing from great wonders-
“You’re a sphinx!” Ombric exclaimed, shocked.
She laughed, the sound reverberating the room and just as warm as her natural climate.
“I am.” She conceded with a small smile. “I have to be something to people after all.”
Japan is an island, so Sanji ends up visiting Zoro a lot since even though the mosshead has no fucking idea from left to right, always is able to find a shoreline somehow and they constantly butt heads whenever they do.
“Feeding people your shit food? I feel sorry for them.”
“Shut up! At least I’m not called the ‘Wandering Samurai.’ Wandering my ass. More like ‘lost shitface who doesn’t know North from up.’”
“Yeah? And why do people call you Sea Cook? Should’ve been ‘swirlybrow bastard’ or ‘lovesick idiot.’”
Or Chopper the friendly Bigfoot helping lost children, sometimes in his small form to calm them down, and big when he needs to protect them from other predators or monsters. Usopp basically being their network, able to travel around the most and spread the Straw Hats adventures to others, or make up stories of his own. Luffy and Franky adventuring around America cause seriously, there’s so much weird shit going on there.
Nami abso-fucking-lutely delighted that there are maps, there are better tools, better ways to man the sea. And despite what mortals think in this world, the sea is still pretty exciting here though not as much as their old world. What withe the loch ness monster, atlantis, mermaids (Sanji was fucking delighted), and more. Sanji probably knows the sea better than any of them now.
“… Has Usopp found the others yet?”
“Yeah, the haggling witch is screwing people over back in Ireland as usual. And last I saw, Franky was ready to kill this guy building a train or something.”
“I met Chopper.” It had been difficult for the giant spirit to come near the ocean. His place was more inland. Sanji grimaced around his cigarette that looked nothing like what existed during this current time period. It was a mystery where he got his neverending supply, though he thanked every day for it. “He’s helping some kids out. Turns out people are the same no matter where we are.”
Yeah, I would really love to see someone write this.
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