"anti-zosans just dont get it! the appeal IS that they hate each other!"

me, a zosan shipper:

Ayo I wondering if you could the straw hats or heart pirates with reader who's personality involves them being sarcastic, mischievous and brazenly condescending yet sly and humorous. they also have the genso genso no mi that allows the user to create physical illusions that can be seen by everyone. These illusions are highly convincing and shatter like glass when reader dispels them, or someone breaks them. Their most apparent use of them is creating illusions around their body, either to disguise themselves or for their opponent to target while they escapes or moves unseen to another point of attack.  They also seem to be somewhat resilient to damage. While fighting an opponent, the illusion concealing reader's outfit was not dispelled even after taking or landing some hits.  They also learned to use their devil fruit abilities for psychological manipulation, exploiting the appearance of close friends and families in their enemies to torment and overpower them. Reader at one point displayed their mastery over their devil fruit, where they managed to completely disguise an entire navy ship to physically resemble a marine ship, implying that they could maintain the facade long enough to fool the marines. Their devil fruit awakening would allow the reader to cast illusions from any object or living thing from their own surroundings. An example would be zoro who was cast an illusion on him to make others see him as Charlos (aka the ugly celestial dragon). that would make the opportunity for Luffy or any of the straw hats to fight him while not realizing that is zoro while reader comes up with a plan.

─Strawhats & Heart Pirates x reader

─Summary: You're a mischievous person, you like to cause some chaos with your powers, even if it's your own crew, you just enjoy the drama too much.

─Warnings: none

─ You are a threat and a salvation in equal parts for this crew.

─ Reliable enough to get them out of trouble thanks to your illusions, and evil enough to create small fights between them with your power.

─ You live for drama, and what better drama than blaming others for acts they haven't done? You love causing chaos wherever you step, did you think that just because they are your friends they would get rid of your bad jokes?

─ Nami has probably hit you more than once for being silly or making an unfortunate comment on more than one occasion, but your sarcasm can't be stopped.

─ Robin and Jinbe are the ones who fall least into your traps of illusion, they know how to detect when you are going to do something mischievous, they can read you like an open book.

─ Zoro and Sanji are the ones you mess with the most, confusing them and making their bromance more than just bros, but you're just trying to make love blossom, at least that's your legitimate defense.

─ You can be sarcastic, stubborn… and countless other things, but Chopper is not part of your jokes, at least, not most of the time.

─ Although you will use his appearance in your hallucinations to scare Usopp, there is nothing that scares the sniper more than meeting a monstrous and unreal version of his cute friend.

─ Something that is not so common to use with them is the 'mental control' that you began to develop, it seemed to you that it was something that you should only use with enemies… and with the occasional whim.

─ Do you want to go to a snowy island just to ride a sleigh and make snowmen? Not to mention more! A couple of wishful thinking, some sweet words and you'll be on a winter island the next day.

─ Although they probably scolded you for altering the route, you defend yourself by saying that it wasn't you who agreed to change it, they can't really blame you when they were the ones who "agreed".

─ You have a list with all the most hated people in the crew just to create illusions and provoke everyone to go against each other.

─ Literally sometimes you are the definition of “why have enemies when you have friends.”

─ Law is so fed up with your behaviour but you are so useful in avoiding marines that he allows some of your comments and antics.

─ Although he will probably send you many more tasks than the others as a punishment for taking years off his life with your jokes.

─ You will make him think that he is eating bread, getting on your captain's nerves and doing a puzzle with your body so that you can kill the boredom rebuilding it.

─ Shachi and Penguin have a lot of fights because of you, but they are so easy to fool that it is impossible for you not to confuse them with some of your illusions so that they end up arguing over trivial things.

─ Ikkaku has strictly forbidden you entry to the kitchen because the last thing she needs is to cause more disasters in the kitchen, and she's also a tough nut to crack, your illusions don't work so well with her.

─ Of course Law also learned to see through your power, so you started using a little psychology for your antics.

─ One day you simply decided that it would be a good idea to use your powers to convince everyone to dress up as penguins for a mission, the moment was unforgettable just like cleaning the floor of the submarine with a toothbrush…

─ Once you made Jean Bart take the form of Bepo, although only Law could see him like that, everyone laughed at him for seeing him hug the wrong person.

─ It goes without saying that you had to do another arduous task after messing with your captain.

─ Bepo is probably the only one who escapes the worst jokes, you will use him as a shield for some scoldings, he really is your most powerful weapon against your captain.

─ They always send you to the rear in case they need you to create some illusion for an unexpected situation, Law is usually calculating and rarely prefers to take action if it is not planned in advance.

─ What seems boring to you and sometimes you decide to improvise a little, without ruining the plan, but it's more fun to watch the bad guys beat each other while you just watch the fight like it's a movie

─ The probability of arguing with Law for disobeying him is lower, since at least you didn't ruin the mission, or at least, he doesn't have to remember that you ruined something, you just have to alter his mind a little so that he doesn't realize that your little mistakes.

I just saw a take on zosan that was awful enough I had to block the person. They labelled their post "hot takes" and it annoyed me enough that I felt like hating on it from afar in a vague way would be less destructive than writing an entire essay in this person's comments section.

If you like treating Sanji like a babygirl - just say so. Nothing wrong with that. Don't act like uke-ifying him is accurate to his canon characterization though. If you don't like Zoro as a character, just SAY THAT. Don't act like your shitty understanding of him as a character should be common sense. Their premise was that zosan would work best as a non sexual relationship - sure I'm fine with that. Sounds like an interesting premise. Why tho?

The reasons were stupid.

1. Apparently bc Zoro is too much of a neanderthal and BC he doesn't shower frequently Sanji would never touch him blah blah (Sanji smokes ten million cigarettes a day, I assure you he doesn't smell good) y'all should stop treating him like a babygirl bc bleh Zoro stinky and likes drinking and where did that whole he's Nami's gay best friend thing come from, he isn't that, he doesn't deserve it. Okay??? First of all - last I checked babygirl didn't require certain qualifications - so fuck off? I've concluded that Zoro is the only babygirl and you can foam at the mouth all you want, I'm not changing my mind. Second of all, did you forget that NAMI can drink people under the table too?? Zoro does canonically have a very friendship/sibling-like dynamic with Nami. They argue and fight, but they care about each other. If there is anyone who would make sense as a headcanon of one of Nami's close friends? Zoro would be a candidate. Usopp I would argue would be a better option, but Zoro also makes sense. Third of all, Sanji spends all day cooking (often cooking SEAFOOD) in a three piece suit and then smoking like a chimney. He may shower more frequently than Zoro but I assure you he doesn't smell like a rose garden either. You also can't be a cook if you shy away from a little elbow grease and sweat. Getting dirty for your craft is something he understands. He also has atrocious fashion sense when it comes to clothes that are not suits and he's a lil crazy in the same way all the strawhats are but he hides it well. Sanji is a ridiculous man and I like him that way. Stop it.

2. Sanji isn't some fainting flower, and it annoys me that this person was trying to paint him that way as if it's a forgone conclusion. Their argument was that he screams at bugs, and they were using it as an argument on why Sanji is apparently a babygirl who could never top anyone (why in the world does sex position even play a factor here??). They also pinpointed that Sanji wears suits and swoons at women as a reason why he's likely not gonna top anyone and is gonna remain a virgin. Admittedly I stopped reading at that point bc I made the executive decision to block the person for my own peace of mind, so I perhaps misunderstood (I barely understood the argument in the first place) but I still don't see how any of these factors have anything to do with sex position, or a sexual relationship not working with zosan. I'm all for asexual zosan. But y'all need to stop treating Sanji like some frail twink. That man is badass. He has a strong enough kick to kill a man, his leg catches on fire, he can fucking fly, he gives as good as he gets when it comes to his interactions with Zoro, he survived years and years of abuse from his family and came out a kindhearted person with principles. He is strong af. Again. STOP. IT.

3. None of those reasons for why they wouldn't have sex make sense to me because they operate under an assumption that Sanji would find Zoro gross so obvi they wouldn't have sex. The person fundamentally misunderstood that most people who like zosan aren't there bc they want smut, they're there because Zoro and Sanji are equal and opposites and they understand each other in a very fundamental way from the moment they met. Yes, their relationship is antagonistic, but in the way that Brogy and Dorry are set up in that one episode. If you understand that, then you get that when it comes to rivals, when it comes to their competition and their interactions with each other, Sanji wouldn't give a shit about avoiding getting his hands dirty. That is not the type of person he is. Zoro is his one exception in that sense. He has etiquette and acts like a refined gentleman, and then Zoro issues a challenge and Sanji is there, IMMEDIATELY ready and willing to throw down. He swoons over women, Zoro says anything and IMMEDIATELY Sanji's attention is all on Zoro. I have to wonder if this person even fucking watched the show before deciding to pass a bunch of unfounded judgements.

Alright, rant done.

OPLA Zosan Fic Rec (P1)

For the truth, break me loose by MarionetteFtHJM

“What?” He grunts, crossing his arms over his chest

“What is your problem with Sanji?” She hisses lowly.

He shrugs but keeps silent. He was hoping it would take her longer to notice that there indeed was a problem. Honestly, he thought he’d have a few more days at least. But she’s quick and sharp and nothing escapes her eye.

“Nothing, he’s just annoying.” He settles on saying and it’s true, she can’t deny it and he sees the protest forming on her lips. “He’s annoying.” He repeats, trying to urge her to drop the subject but she seems to instead read something in his inflection because her eyes widen and her mouth rounds.

“Oh, Zoro.” The shock quickly morphs into a sly grin that he doesn’t like one bit – her eyes are sparkling.

aka Zoro has a lot of pent up emotions about Sanji and how annoying he is.

Word Count: 13,227 - Enemies to Lovers, Getting Together, Flirting, First Time, OPLA, Explicit

For All The Times I Never Could (I’ll Be Good) by Apocalypic_Space_They

After his defeat at the hands of Dracule Mihawk, Zoro wakes up back on the ship, feeling equally physically and emotionally beat.

Luckily the Straw hat pirates had a distracting new cook who was determined to get him to stop brooding and eat.

Zoro doesn't actually hate that.

Aka Sanji brings Zoro soup, they snarky flirt.

Soup is maybe Zoro's new favorite thing.

Word Count: 3,156 - Pre-Relationship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Getting to Know Each Other, Fluff, OPLA

Laws of Men by Blasphemyandtheboys

Sanji has a lot to learn about love and attraction, the Strawhat pirates are his unwitting teachers.

Word Count: 10,042 Chapters 4/4 - Character Study, Internalized Homophobia, Platonic Relationships, Light Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, OPLA

Get a Room Series -- by Blasphemyandtheboys

the tragedy of the dreamer by encyclopediabitch_jpeg

“People care, cook. People trust you, so return the favour. Trust that they’ll listen. That’s what a crew does,”

“I’ll take that advice if you will mosshead,”

“Alright. You’ve got a deal,”

Or

What Zoro does

Word Count: 5,087 - Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Feels, OPLA

Complimentary by TastyTaboo

It’s surprisingly not as easy as his crew members make it seem to compliment Sanji’s food.

Word Count: 4,716 - Compliments, Food, Praise Kink, Pinning, OPLA, Explicit

a single nail, a single ruby by okayprairie

In a large bowl, beat a cup of heavy cream with a tablespoon of powdered sugar and a dash of vanilla until stiff peaks form.

"Stiff peaks?” Zoro mutters, frowning, flipping the page back and forth. The Going Merry lilts gently beneath his feet. “What the hell are stiff peaks?”

/ / /

Sanji eats like a line cook. Zoro learns the uses for tenderness.

Word Count: 4,181 - Getting to Know Each Other, Food, Crew As a Family, Tender, OPLA

How to save a life by anthea_tesdinic

Zoro is very familiar with how heavy an unconscious body can be. He’s carried several hundred pounds worth of ruthless pirate captain many a time to collect his bounty. Somehow, none of them have felt as heavy as Sanji feels in his arms at that moment.

---

Or: Zoro is bad at communicating, but good at saving Sanji's life. And catching feelings.

Word Count: 7,508 Chapters 2/2 - Mutual Pining, Drowning, First Kiss, Idiots in Love, OPLA, Mature

Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji Friendship HCs

Rules Word Count: 0.8k Spoilers: None

Luffy

Great friend but also not💀

Bro will show up uninvited to drag you into something possibly illegal

He’ll take your food too, your not safe

He will always be clinging to you in some way. Like he'll have his arms stretched around you or he'll carry you on his back.

He loves giving you gifts, but he's really bad at it

like he'll give you a box of leaves he thought were cool, or a really long worm he found in Usopp's garden

Sometimes he'll wander into your room and sleep in the room with you.

You'll wake up with him hanging off the end of your bed or snoring on the floor.

If you ever seem stressed or upset, he'll put his strawhat on your head. It's kinda his way of trying to comfort you without being pushy about what's bothering you

You'll pretend to be Zoro and he'll pretend to be Sanji and the two of you will jokingly fight with each other

He'll trade you his goldfish for your Capri Sun

Most things you do are gonna be a competition with him

The two of you tried to start your own band once but Nami said you were being too obnoxious

There's no chance he washes his hands so, for the sake of everyone else, please make sure he's somewhat hygenic

Your hype man

He'll find you before breaking into the fridge. You're the iconic duo Sanji despises

Very spontaneous friendship, it's very common for the two of you to be playing tag or hide n' seek at the worst possible moments on the worst possible islands

Zoro

He'll try to trip you when you walk by

You're one of the few people he wouldn't mind taking a nap with

Would ask if you wanted to work out with him and secretly be really happy if you agreed

He'd share his alcohol with you

You two would do drinking games with each other every other day

The crews gotta somehow separate the two of you and send you to bed cause you're both laughing wa too loud and none of them can get any sleep

I imagine his love language would be acts of service, so he might offer to help you with whatever chore you were assigned that week or just anything in general

He'd push you to be your best self physically and mentally

He would never admit it, but he loves spending time with you

Let's hope you're good with directions, cause the two of you are going to end up lost a lot. The crew eventually just appoints you to keep him from wandering.

You'll have to get a leash for him or something.

He's a very loyal friend and would never dare betray your trust in any way

Throw your trust and abandonment issues out the window cause you aren't getting rid of him anytime soon

He hates physical affection, it just makes him feel kinda uncomfortable

Although if you really needed it, he'd give you a very stiff hug and an awkward pat on the back

One time you were fishing together and you fished up a beer. Zoro now looks forward to fishing.

Sanji

Your confidence will skyrocket after hanging out with him

He'll give you the kindest and most genuine compliments you've ever received, regardless of your gender

Out of these three, he's probably the best to go to for advice

He’ll do whatever you wanna do. He loves talking to you and just spending time with you overall

You know that meme where it’s like “they asked for NO pickles”? That’s him. He’ll be defending you for absolutely everything

He’ll try to give you fashion tips, but it’s 50/50 whether it’s good or bad

Would probably cry if you gave him a gift

I feel like he’d really like watching movies with you. He just strikes me as a movie kinda guy.

He’s physically affectionate but also kinda not (?)

It’s almost as if he holds back on it cause he doesn’t wanna overwhelm you

When you’re out on the town he’ll be your self-appointed bodyguard

He’s gonna love cooking with/for you.

He’d be so excited if you wanted to learn to cook or were just a little interested in it.

Very concerned about your well-being and will constantly make sure you're doing good. He’s ready to solve all your problems even if it's completely out of his control

There’s gonna be a lot of times when the two of you are just hanging out in the kitchen as he gives you random samples of food he wants your opinion on before continuing whatever conversation you were having earlier

Your biggest supporter

You and he would team up to attack Luffy after he steals food from the kitchen

Would probably go to you for advice on how to approach Zoro women, even tho he considers him an expert

Overall, a very positive friendship :)

Did any of the Strawhats ever find about the details of Sanji's past e.g. the abuse? I think they know bits and pieces, like that Germa 66 is not a good kingdom (to put it lightly lmaoo) and Judge especially doesn't like Sanji, but I remember Luffy's anger was never really directed at them, it was more towards Big Mom and her children for plotting to kill Sanji.

The only one who probably knows that Sanji's family was abusive is still Pudding, I remember none of them really ever got the full picture.

And to be honest, that has always been one of my favorite things about One Piece. You don't need to tell your backstory to Luffy, or anyone for that matter, because in the end, he doesn't care where you come from. You don't need to explain yourself to him at all, he sees who you are here and now and he doesn't demand anything else from you, ever. I think most of the Strawhats don't know the details of each others pasts (if any in some cases), they're only shown to the reader so we can see where these characters come from and why they are who they are now. I also liked that it was up to Sanji to finally tell Judge off, not Luffy or anyone else.

OR I REALLY JUST DON'T REMEMBER IT CORRECTLY AND I NEED TO RE-READ WCI LMAO

But still, though I would've loved a scene where Sanji told Luffy everything, the manga didn't need it (I just love angst & drama lol). Also, it's so heartbreaking that Pudding is the only one he ever trusts that fact about himself and she ends up mocking him for it. WCI really is something else hngggh

Nope! Sanji never told them anything, Luffy's anger was more at the fact everyone was just holding Sanji back (and away from him lmao). Luffy didn't exactly have an anger at big mum, but he had a determination to do whatever it took to get Sanji back. I really do love that Luffy doesn't ask the "why why why" of what's happening, he can just feel something is wrong, someone needs help, and that's all he needs.

I know not everyone has experienced it, but to retell your past, your pain, and abuse, is essentially reliving it. It's hard to talk about, many people don't WANT to talk about it, and Luffy never asks anyone to relive their pain for him. That's something I appreciate so much about Luffy, that he's not looking for an explanation nor reason to help you, he doesn't need to pity you to love you, he just loves you for you. It's why when Sanji quite literally rambles about everything when Luffy says "Tell me how you really feel!", it's why when Sanji can't help but break down and say he hates his family but he still wants to save them - because obviously he feels conflicted and he must feel weak for that - LUFFY DOESN'T QUESTION IT! He doesn't ask Sanji to explain what his family did to him, he doesn't try to reason Sanji's feelings down to anything, he just says "That's who you are!"

And how fucking cathartic must that be?? For Sanji to not have to EXPLAIN himself to Luffy, for Sanji to not have to relive his abuse verbally for Luffy? Luffy will just help him, because Sanji is Sanji.

It's gorgeous, Luffy is just such an emotionally intelligent man, and I really have yet to see another protagonist quite like him.

➪ a/n: it's been super stormy as of late and all the thunder keeps scaring me lol. I have a very love hate relationship with storms and I'm really not liking them lately. but it inspired this fic (does it count as one idk). I love doing imagery and explaining storms is one of my favorite things to do

➪ includes: Sanji (w/ a gn!reader)

➪ warnings: smoking (also a lot of alluding to possibly dying)

Another loud bang yanked you from any possibility of gaining sleep. Your tired eyes are glued to the wooden ceiling above you, overtaken with the dread that it’ll just cave in on you from the vicious rain hitting the deck from outside. The constant sway of your hammock was only making you sicker by the second, and every rumble of thunder almost sent you tumbling over the edge of it.

The storm was wild and angry. You hated it down to your core, it was too loud, the ship rocked too much and the black sea below you all felt too much like your destined grave. Unable to shake the thought, you sat up and stepped out of your hammock. The wooden floor sent shivers up your spine and you wrapped your blanket close around yourself, making your way through the creaking bedroom door.

The hallway from the sleeping quarter was dark, only being illuminated by the flashes of thunder lighting up the porthole windows. With a sickening crack and boom, it sounded like the heavens were crashing down as the floor beneath your quivering feet shook. The wind howled against the groaning wood of the ship, the sound similar to that of wolves circling their wounded prey, a portent of doom as sick as the feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Nami had told you plenty of times already that the storm was nothing to worry about, telling you it’d blow over by morning and it’d be nothing but sunny skies the rest of the week. Weather like this was common along the Grand Line, and it was nowhere near as bad as some of the other things they’d encountered. But as a new addition to the Strawhats you felt nothing but dread over the sound of the raging storm.

You felt like you were drowning in the churning black sea.

You wrapped yourself tighter in the blanket, waddling down the hall like you'd just stepped out of the shower. You were just wandering aimlessly through the ship, trying to give yourself something to do till day break. At least your blanket provided some comfort from the chill in the air, but not enough to wash away the panic coursing through your veins.

You wanted to wake someone up to have someone to talk to, possibly provide a distraction to your anxiety filled thoughts. But everyone was sound asleep, the clock had not long ago let out twelve loud chimes, announcing that it was midnight. None of your crewmates were that fond of being woken up this late at night, and some were impossible to even stir from their sleep.

As you turn the corner, the strong smell of cigarettes and an almost too powerful cologne overtakes your senses. Someone clears their throat loudly, just enough to be heard over the next boom of thunder that rips through the air. Sanji must've gotten up to take a quick smoke, secluding himself to the far end of the ship to avoid bothering anyone with the smell. Your eyes have adjusted just enough to the dark to make out the outline of the man in the hall, and he seems to have noticed you too.

“It's twelve at night? What are you doing up?” He questions you but it sounds like he was the one up to no good. Stubbing out his cigarette, he leaves it in the ashtray but his hands seem restless as they fall by his side.

“Can’t sleep.” You say without a care to explain, letting the fading rumbles give Sanji your answer. He fumbles to turn on the light so the two of you can actually see properly aside from the occasional burst of light from the lightning.

Sanji’s hand is playing with his lighter as he joins you at the counter, the flame flickering to life and disappearing with each click. He looks just as tired as you with dark circles surrounding his eyes, the little sparkle in it wasn’t as noticeable. “Me and you too. I can’t tell what’s worse, all the noise from the storm or listening to the damn Marimo snore. I woke up thinking we accidentally took a bear aboard.”

You laugh, covering your mouth to stifle the noise but your whole body shudders with giggles. “I should be used to all this noise because of his snoring.” Sanji snickers at your jab. “But here I am, I can’t sleep with the storm and it’s making me nervous. I don’t like storms and I don’t like them a lot more when I’m stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean.”

“Franky made sure this boat is safe for this weather, but you never know. Maybe a Sea King will just eat us whole.” The hair on the back of your neck stands up and you’re convinced Sanji has spent a little too much time around Robin. Quick to reassure, Sanji waves his hand in the air as if he’s shooing away all the bad possibilities. “We’ll be fine though, Nami-san is keeping us on track.”

You bite your tongue to keep yourself from responding with your doubts. “It’s still all just… too much. The storm is just overwhelming and I hate all the loud noises… It makes me nervous.” You sigh and drop your head into your hands.

Sanji clicks his tongue, shuffling to his feet. “Then you can stick with me, we can hang out in the library till the storm blows over.” Sanji suggests and you cave to the idea, gathering yourself up in the blanket to trudge to the library. Sanji leads you both, his arm finding its way around you to not only lead you through the dark halls, but also hold you steady with each jump running through your body from the sudden cracks of thunder.

The library is calm, carefully constructed to keep out sound better than the rest of the ship. The thunder only felt like a distant rumble once Sanji closed the door behind you two. Stooping down, Sanji gathers up tossed pillows and places them on the comfortable couches, creating a bed for you to lay in. You blink blearily, settling into your spot and curling up under your blanket. Sanji sits down near you, a few inches left between the two of you.

You look at him for a few moments, he doesn’t look any more calm than you. His jaw is clenched and you wonder for a moment if it was from you interrupting him in the middle of a smoke. Yet he rarely ever got up this late to do so, making you more confused. “Sanji?”

“Hm?”

“Why were you up so late smoking?” You inquire, sitting up and resting your head on your knees to sit more closely.

Sanji doesn’t answer immediately, his fingers playing with the loose strands on your blanket. “I don’t like storms either.”

He admits it like a dirty secret, filled with shame. Yet you almost want to burst out with a laugh, you were the one looking like you’d drop dead out of mere anxiety but he’s the one who’s awkward about it. Although it clicked, not as cleanly as the perfect puzzle piece but you could understand. Sanji was meant to be fearless, but in the eye of the storm, he was anything but that.

“Should’ve said something then.” You scoot closer to toss the blanket onto him too, leaning into his side. A red blush blooms on his cheeks and he seems scared to look you in the face. You rest your head on his chest and close your eyes. “Nothing to be ashamed of. Fear is what makes us human, isn’t it? You gotta feel something to be alive.” You hum under your breath as you get comfortable in his eyes. When you look up there’s a distant look in his eyes that you can’t read, but his tense shoulders fall.

“I guess.” Sanji’s hand runs over your hair, smoothing it over and giving him something to do. You let your eyes fall closed again and nuzzle closer. Sanji doesn’t speak, the room has faded into darkness along with the sounds of the storm dissipating in the ocean. His heart thumps dully in your ear, a soft rhythm that you fall asleep to.

tag list: @cjm-cookiethief @acesmarigold @sanjithesimp @smallhybridart @rosiinante @doublebird

Hiiii sweetie I love your Law writings so much! Oh this sounds like your others are bad, no I didn't mean to say that! I'm sure your others are good too, I just didn't read them yet because I'm Law obsessed lately. Anyways, could I request something? It's actually my first time to request something so I hope I did it right??? I'm sorry if I didn't. Coming back to the request, could you do something like Law x reader (preferably female but gn would be okay too though so everyone can relate!) being kinda close to each other and always teasing each other (she is a Strawhat member) and he is deeply in love with her but his heart breaks seeing her hugging a guy of her crew? Like he knows she's a cutiepie and loves hugging her friends but he just gets so jealous seeing her with Zoro or whoever and his mood changes and he distances himself from her, leaving her all confused because he thinks it's impossible for her to like him when it's so much more likely and also practical to date someone of her crew. But then she asks him about him being so weird and cold lately and he kind of let's everything out and confesses? I'm so sorry if this is too long or complicated, ignore it if that's the case! Sending lots of love to you from Germany! <3

Oh my freaking goodness you’re so sweet! I’m glad you enjoy all of my Law writings as much as I love writing for him! Don’t even worry, you don’t have to read my other’s if you don’t want to, if it’s just Law you wanna read the go right ahead! :) GERMANY?! I have people reading my works in GERMANY?! It always baffles me when I get asks that say they’re from another country because I forget that not everyone is going to live near me. Thank you for all the love all the way from Germany! ❤️

Warnings: None, other than some swearing here and there, not proofread in the slightest.

****Law x Strawhat!Reader

He hated it. There was nothing more that Law hated right now was seeing you draped over Zoro’s back while you watched something over his shoulder. He was stupid to think that you wouldn’t have a close relationship with them, of course you would. Law could only grit his teeth and endure it. It wasn’t like the two of you were in a relationship, he couldn’t tell you to stop.

Law actually could think of something he hated more. It was the fact that Zoro didn’t seem to mind, not in the slightest. It was like this was a daily occurrence for him and it was something he was used to. Part of him wanted to see the marimo push you off and act annoyed. But something told him that even then, you wouldn’t care and would simply do it again.

“Hey Law! Come look at what Usopp made-!” you slid off of Zoro’s back and turned around with a smile, hoping to see the other swordsman you had seen just a moment ago. Your sweet smile turned into a frown, then a pout when you realized he wasn’t there anymore. ‘Where did he go?’ You thought to yourself as you looked around the deck.

You knew that the other captain was a bit more reclusive than you’d like since you enjoyed being around him and it never seemed like he wanted to be around the rest of the crew-probably because most of the crew was so boisturious and loud and Law was, well...the opposite of boisturious and loud.

It didn’t take you long to find him. “You left us!” you say to him, playfully feigning like you were upset as you crossed your arms. “How rude!”

“And for a reason.” he simply responded back, not even looking at you while he did.

“Sorry, were we being too loud?” you chuckled and smiled. “You’re gonna have to get used to that on this ship while you’re here with us.”

Am I going to have to get used to seeing you all over your crew as well? Law kept his thoughts to himself while he opted not to give you another response.

“Um...I’ll just…” you pointed back to Zoro and the others, leaving him to be by himself since that’s what you thought he wanted. It was the opposite. He wanted to be around you, but he just couldn’t stand seeing you so close to them as well. As much as he wished that was him, he’d never say it aloud.

It was something that you had been noticing the past few days. The two of you got along great when you were on Punk Hazard together, so what was different now? You felt more comfortable since you were on your own ship and maybe that was it. There weren't any battles happening and everyone was quite lax...so shouldn’t it be the opposite? Shouldn’t he be more relaxed now that he knew he was safe? Or was that even it? You weren’t sure.

It took you a few days to finally approach him about it. You noticed that every time you he was around you and then when you went over to your crew mates, he’d be gone before you even turned back around.

The crew was inside eating and Law had finished first, opting to go outside in the quiet after he was done. You soon followed after you were done and left the loud dining room to find him. It wasn’t difficult since there was only a limited area outside on the deck.

“Don’t like how loud it is in there?” you chuckled as you walked up to the railing next to him. “I’m not sure how long you’ll stay with us, but you get used to it, you actually tend to enjoy it after a while and when it’s quiet, you feel a little weird.”

“I don’t think I’ll be getting used to Mugiwara-ya anytime soon and I don’t know how you deal with��” Luffy’s loud shriek was heard in the distance and Law’s face scrunched up, “that.”

You only laugh at the other captain, “I take it your crew isn’t like this then?”

He rolled his eyes and almost cringed at the thought. “No. They are. I just choose to ignore it most of the time.”

“And does that work?”

He answered almost immediately, “Never.”

You laughed again and Law felt like his breath almost caught in his throat. It was something he would be able to listen to over and over again and never get sick of-unlike your captain.

“I wanted to ask you something too…” your fingers tapped the railing and traced the design of the wood. “Are you okay? Or did I do something wrong? I thought we were getting along really well and lately it feels like you’ve been more distant for some reason. I just...I like talking to you and I thought you did too. We’ll be in the middle of a conversation and I’ll turn to talk to someone and then when I turn back to talk to you again, you’re gone. But maybe I just misinterpreted it and you didn’t want to talk to me in the first place.” you let out an almost pitiful sounding laugh, along with a sad smile.

Fuck...That wasn’t the reason in the slightest and he hated that he made you think that it was your fault he was just a little jealous of your crew mates that you live with.

“No.. that’s not it…” he sighed to himself, feeling guilty that he had made you feel that way. He was fighting with himself internally. Do I say something to them or not? He knew that there wouldn’t be much of a relationship since the two of you were on separate crews. Pair that with the fact that he doesn’t even know if he’ll survive this attack on Doflamingo.

Law wouldn’t want to get your hopes up about anything if you felt the same way about him. At the same time, this could possibly be one of his only chances to tell you how he felt. All he could think about was embarrassing himself. From the first time he saw you on Sabaody, he knew that there was something about you because of the way you never left his mind since then.

It was a stroke of luck that you managed to see him again on Punk Hazard. Since you were relatively new to the crew at that time, you still hadn’t bonded with anyone in particular so he never saw you acting like you do now with them.

You raised your brow in an attempt to get him to continue with what he was trying to say. “Then what is it?” you ask him slowly. “If you don’t want to say anything, that’s fine I guess. As long as I’m not doing anything to make you mad or hate me.”

“I’m not mad at you. I don’t hate you either.” he paused for a moment, gritting his teeth together. Law couldn’t believe that he was even doing this to himself. “Quite the opposite actually…”

Your brow raised again in slight confusion. “Oh?” you hesitated, the thought registering in your head about what he meant. You knew he wasn’t exactly the person who would let his feelings gush out. A small smile slipped out and you tried your best not to smirk.. “Ooh~ I see.” you drug your words out slowly.

As Law went to open his mouth, whether to object to what you were saying-even though he wasn’t-or let you know that you were right, he didn’t get to say anything before your Captain burst onto the deck.

“Y/N-chaaan!!! Come play with us!!” and you couldn’t even object or tell Luffy that you would be there in a minute when a long arm stretched out to grab you. It wrapped around your waist and you before it was able to yank you away from Law, you grabbed the collar of his shirt and planted your lips firmly on his.

“I’m glad you don’t hate me~” you grin as you pull away, not because you want to but because you’re being forced away by Luffy.

Law could feel his cheeks heat up from the sudden kiss and all he wanted to do was grab his hat and pull it over his face. But then he would’ve missed seeing your smile as you notice just how flustered you made him. He wouldn’t mind being a little embarrassed if he gets to see your smile every time.

How The Strawhats Would Celebrate Halloween With You

「Modern Au Edition」

☆ Luffy

• This could go two ways. Either he’s going out trick or treating and getting weird looks from kids and adults around him, or he’s hanging out with you and everyone else at some type of party. (Probably the one Nami’s hosting.) What kind of Halloween would it be if he just sat at home and did nothing? Of course he has to go out and celebrate! And you’re getting dragged along whether you like it or not, because none of his friends get left behind. He usually gets a new costume every year, but his favorite would be the pirate costume he got a while back.

‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· . ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡

☆ Zoro

• All of the lights are shut off and there’s a crumpled piece of paper taped to his door that reads, “no candy sorry.” Any trick or treater who knocks for candy will be met with silence or him whipping open the door to tell them to go away. He’ll begrudgingly go out and celebrate with you if you plan to, but don’t put too much thought on his mood, it’ll lighten up later in the night. He’ll have a few pieces of candy here and there, but he’s not crazy over it. He likes the green tea flavored Kitkats, but those are pretty hard to come by.

‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· . ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡

☆ Nami

• She’s throwing a huge party that everyone knows about, and you’re helping out. There’s a small entry fee of $5 for women and $10 for men, but it’s worth it in most people’s opinion. She has lights flashing through the house and music blaring so loud you can feel the bass rattle your brain and knocking over cups recklessly balanced on table edges. Her neighbors either love her or harbor an egregious hate towards her, resulting in the cops getting called every year.

‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· . ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡

☆ Usopp

• He likes handing candy out to children, it makes him happy seeing them so happy over a piece of candy. He sits outside on a chair with you right beside him, as still as possible to look like a decoration, and then you both jump out and scare the living shit out of any kid who dares to approach the bowl of candy in his lap. You and the trick or treaters get a good laugh out of that stunt. He usually has a pretty good candy selection too, so kids come to his house early in the night to get the first picks.

‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· . ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡

☆ Sanji

• He likes to make special deserts/snacks to bring to Nami’s party, and everyone always grabs whatever they can before it’s all gone. He cycles through wearing a vampire costume or a prince costume every halloween, but no one is brave enough to comment on it in fear of him not bringing good food to next year’s celebration. He’ll also be gone for a portion of the party because he’s out smoking, but he’ll come right back in to hang out if anyone asks. He likes to host his own little party with you the day after halloween with just the rest of the Strawhats, so everyone has a chance to get together and see each other.

‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· . ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡

☆ Chopper

[Hes just human in this version, not a reindeer.]

• He goes out trick or treating every year, and loves when you or Luffy go out with him. It takes special convincing to get everyone else to go out with you guys but they’ll come. He’s a little shorter so he doesn’t look as old as he should, which is why he’s able to get away with trick or treating at 17 without any weird looks. He likes trading candy with the rest of the group and his favorite type of candy to get are cotton candy flavored Dum Dums.

‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· . ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡

☆ Robin

• She’s marathoning the goriest and downright terrifying horror movies she can find, with you and her huddled on the couch with a wide spread of candy and other junk foods around you. You might visit Nami before the her party gets too crazy, but Robin prefers to just be home and spending time with you. She has a small bowl on her porch filled with some candy for the trick or treaters, but she’s not trying to interact with any of them. You can take all the candy you like, but leave the bowl behind or nothing will be out the next year.

‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· . ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡

☆ Franky

• He’ll turn his garage into a haunted house, spending weeks making pathways and mechanical props that would make anyone scream. You help out with the theme when he runs out of ideas. He hands out candy at the end of the attraction, and it’s everyone’s favorite place to go. He’s usually the first house everyone hits, and there’s a crowded line out of his garage throughout the whole night. It’s a different theme every year, and he always puts his whole heart into it. The rest of his house is gloriously decorated as well, with cobwebs and giant spiders and over decorations littered throughout his porch and lawn. It’s really annoying to take down, but seeing the end result makes it worth it.

‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· . ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡

☆ Brook

• He’s dressed up as a skeleton every year, and will never be anything else, no matter how much everyone comments on it. He’s wearing one of the full body suits with face paint on, and it looks pretty realistic. If he’s handing out candy, he likes to crack jokes with anyone who comes by, and gives extra candy to anyone else dressed up as a skeleton. He usually hands out just a bowl of candy before calling it a night and doing whatever you two have planned.

‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· . ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡ °. ·˙‧̍̊ ‧̍̊˙· .° ｡˚˚｡

☆ Jinbe

• He doesn’t really dress up or decorate, but might pull out a karate gi or something if he’s going to some type of costume party, but that’s it. In all honesty, he doesn’t care too much for the holiday, but he’ll go wherever you’re going just for the sake of being together. He also watches over you and makes sure you don’t drink too much or get too wild at any party you plan on attending. Trick or treaters are left with nothing, and everyone knows to skip Jinbe’s house unless they want to have an awkward encounter with Jinbe. He might give them something from his own pantry out of pity but it’s not the candy the trick or treaters demand.

Thank you for reading! ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

Starry night

a/n: Guys! Listen to me! Smoking is bad! It is bad and I simply hate it. Like how are so many people okay with that smell?! My head hurts so damn much whenever I smell it and my nose starts to burn. But that’s not the point. It´s just that I want to make clear that smoking is bad not only for the smoker but also for the people around them. Oh and: Smoking is not cool! (For the little kids that think its "SOOO COOOOL". Shut up. It´s not!) Anyways, enjoy the little work of me that was made out of a little daydream of mine.

Genre: anime imagine?

Words: 1291

Character(s): Sanji x Reader (Rose)

Spoiler(s): None

Info: Please keep in mind that the words in italic are the train of thoughts of Rose (reader).

!!! Please do not steal my idea or work. Credit me if this is shared or published in any other platform or any other way. Please respect me as the writer and my work. Picture is not mine. Credits to: @yn.xx.l (can be seen in the pic) !!!

A calm night with a clear sky surrounded the sunny. A starry night worth to be seen and spent on deck. A comfortable warm weather spread around the area of the New World in which the Sunny sailed since a few hours and made the crew relax and sleep in peace. Usually the Strawhats would use a night like this to celebrate and be as loud and energetic as they are and would only stop when no one is able to stand anymore. Sometimes they are even so loud that Rose couldn´t help but feel bad for their ally Trafalgar Law, who was a naturally calm and introverted person. The thought of him locking himself up in the girls cabin still manages to make her laugh each time. Even Nami who didn’t like any boy be in the cabin felt bad for him and let him stay there. But the money loving woman she is, she wanted him to pay for his stay and if Robin, Chopper and her didn´t interfere the poor man would have paid as frustrated as he was.

Rose took a deep breath and closed her eyes while she enjoyed the calm silence that was accompanied by the waves crashing onto the sunny. A soft cool breeze made the brunette shiver what caused her to wonder if she should go and grab a blanket or at least a jacket if she planned to stay on deck but that thought quickly left her mind when she felt a jacket being placed on her shoulders. “Hello my dear. What are you doing all alone this late?”, Rose turned around and was surprised to see the blond cook behind her. A bit startled she looked him in the eyes “How come I didn´t hear you coming?”, she asked surprised what made the tall man next to her smile. “It seems like you were lost in thoughts. Is everything alright?”, he asked and leant against the railing. Rose gave him a tender smile and shook her head. “No worries. Everything is fine. I just thought that the night was really beautiful and needed to be seen.”

She gave him one last smile and looked back up to the sky when she heard a little click that made her look back to the man beside her. With a new cigar between his lips the man beside her loosened his tie and tried to put his lighter to work. But his lighter to his luck was working against his will. “Even your lighter is tired of lighting up your cigars.”, Rose said with a sad smile while she put on the jacket her crew mate put over her shoulder. A bit confused the cook looked up at her. “10 minute is the longest time you did not have a cigarette between your lips. 10 minutes was what I counted. Don´t you think your smoking habit is a bit too much?”, overwhelmed but also surprised by her words Sanji stopped in his tracks with the lighter still lingering close to his cigarette that wanted to be light up. “I´m sorry I didn´t wanted to put you in any uncomfortable situation. I´m sure that you have a reason for the constant smoking but I just can´t help but be worried. It´s detrimental for you after all.” Another click could be heard and Rose spotted a small source of light out of the corner of her eyes. First puff, …. second puff, …. thrid puff, …. fourth puff. Rose counted silently in her head before she saw him flick the spent ashes over the railing. Fifth puff. “I know.”

“If you already know this why don´t you try to smoke less?”, the cigarette was put between his pink lips when he rolled up his sleeves. Little smoke clouds were dancing around the somehow majestic looking man while he rolled up his left sleeve then the right sleeve. With his cigar still in his mouth he put his hands in his pockets. Rose followed each of his movements with a sad but tender and loving gaze. “Smoking is a part of me. It belongs to me just like cooking. I mean, I do know that smoking is not healthy, partly also because Chopper tells me that on a daily basis, but going honest I never cared. Smoking was a way for me to grow one way or another. It… well… I´m really sorry, dear. But I just don´t know how to explain it. Just know that it´s a part of me and can not be taken from me that easily.”

Rose looked down at the railing and focused on her hands but kept talking to the man that managed to take her heart. “Did you know that one cigarette shortens your life up to 10 minutes? This might not sound a lot but just think about what you can do in 10 minutes. And think about the fact that one package of cigarettes has 21 cigars. That makes 3 hours and 30 minutes you threw away and . I.. I mean… I´m sorry. I should keep quiet. Please forgive me if I hurt you. I didn´t mean that.”

Sanji was confused and didn´t know how to react to her words of concern, what was unusual for someone that is constantly flirting with every woman passing him. “Rose, please. You don´t have to apologize. You didn´t do anything wrong. It´s okay, because you´re just worried and going honest that´s actually really sweet of you.”, a little blush spread across the young pirates cheeks and made her close her eyes. No matter what he says or does. Even if it´s just a tiny compliment or a smile he is able to make my heart race. But it´s fine because we are dating, right? “Rose, how come you always tell me that? I mean, tell me that I should stop smoking?”, Sanji slowly came closer and stood right beside her with one hand of his taking hers in his to intertwine them. “I might sound annoying but I´m just saying this because I care for you, a lot.”

Simple words but with a heavy and deep meaning left her mouth that made the blond man’s heart race like crazy. He tried his best to keep a calm and controlled facet but failed when Rose slightly turned towards him to look him in the eyes. “I care for you Sanji, more than anyone in the planet.”, Rose hesitated for a second but decided to follow her heart and mind that screamed for his warmth. She placed her hand that was not intertwined with his and placed it on his cheek just to caress it slowly and make him close his eyes and whimper. “I am not sure if I´m allowed to do this since we went on just one date, but it´s something I wanted for a long time.”

She released her hand that laid in his and used it to take his cigarette. She didn´t take it out of his mouth instantly but rather waited for a reaction of his. But he didn´t do anything. He stood still and let her do whatever she wanted. Rose gave him a genuine smile and took his cigarette from him and threw it over board. “Rose…”, Sanji was confused and wanted to ask what she wanted but never had the chance to do it because everything was long forgotten when she placed a soft kiss at the corner of his lips. A quiet moan could be heard that came from the cook. He wanted to hold her closer and ask for more but before his brain could process everything she placed a short kiss on his cheek and wished him a good night.

The Voyage So Far: Water Seven

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

i’ve mentioned several times before that the davy back fight is one of my least favorite arcs, mostly because i found it very dragging and tedious when i was reading it, but there are a couple things i really like in it, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, most of them have to do with zoro. i really like his moment here with chopper, and it also showcases his ability to act as more of an authority figure to the crew, which is something that makes a substantial return after enies lobby with the matter of usopp’s return. 

zoro and sanji’s match in the davy back fight is far and away my favorite part of the entire arc. it’s just really fun.

like i said, this arc isn’t a favorite of mine, but i do definitely understand why it’s important to the saga and greater story in a couple different ways. one of them is that it’s just an easy, lighthearted detour that both gives the audience a chance to breathe and the strawhats a chance to showcase just how much they love each other and work well together- which turns into a fucking sledgehammer to the skull in the next arc when that unity is directly threatened. and the other reason this arc is important...

...is because of aokiji.

aokiji’s introductory scene is a brutal showcase of absolute power, and a very clear reminder that the strawhats are still very much little fish in a very, very big pond. all of the strawhats are impacted by this to some degree- it’s how badly they get curb-stomped here that leads luffy to come up with his gears as a way of closing the huge power gap he’s just learned about.

most important, though, are robin and usopp. for robin, this is a stark reminder of the fact that the government will never stop hunting her down; for usopp, who’s less obvious, it’s the seeds of the full-blown inferiority crisis that will later explode with the news about merry. both of their arcs throughout water 7 and enies lobby, essentially the twin emotional backbones of the saga, start right here.

i really like that the other strawhats all fell asleep waiting for robin and luffy to wake up. it calls back to them doing the same when nami was sick before drum, and also it’s just so fucking sweet. 

water seven is my favorite island, full stop. if i was going to live anywhere in one piece’s world, i’d want to live on water seven. it’s just so creatively designed and visually great, with the canals and the tiered city and the massive fountain in the middle. the supporting cast are still one of my favorites, and the culture feels very real and authentic. i just love water seven a lot.

i just said it but it bears repeating- the water seven supporting cast is really good. iceburg, the galley-la shipwrights, franky and his family, kokoro and chimney are all really memorable, and most of them are really likable, too- and cp9, with all their eccentricities, fit in perfectly. water seven’s cast is very interconnected, as well, and their relationships all feel very believable.

all of which, of course, only makes the later treachery hurt all the more.

the atmosphere of water seven is really, really well done. the bad starts slow, with the news that merry is unfixable, and then continues into an accelerating downwards spiral of hopelessness: usopp and luffy’s fight and usopp leaving the crew, robin’s seeming betrayal, the assassination attempt on iceburg, the city and galley-la turning on them as a result, and the agua laguna- it just gets worse and worse and worse.

and then, after they’ve been stomped down about as far as they can go and come out alive anyways, they pick themselves back up again and go to save their friend, because that’s what the strawhat pirates do.

i just really like getting to see these four going feral on the franky family, it’s one of my favorite scenes in this whole arc. in general, i tend to love the moments where luffy specifically gets properly angry, and we get a lot of them in this arc. 

even though the fight between luffy and usopp is genuinely very tense and  fast-paced and would probably be exciting if it were any other two characters fighting, it never really feels anything other than melancholy. i think that’s a testament to just how good oda is at setting the mood of the scene. it’s made very clear, especially through the reactions of the other characters- merry ‘crying’ is fucking heartbreaking- that this is nothing less than a tragedy. 

:(

i think it’s kind of interesting we aren’t shown franky’s face until about halfway into water seven. prior to this, we’re given pretty much only reasons to hate him, with his theft of the strawhats’ money and the franky family beating usopp to shit. but just after this point is when we start getting our first humanizing and sympathetic moments for him, starting when he gets worried and a little frantic when he hears about the attempt on iceburg’s life.

i just really, really like the way some of these water seven action sequences are depicted. they feel very tense and desperate, which matches the general mood of this part of the arc perfectly.

this panel of usopp working on merry always reminds me of the shots of the klabautermann doing the same during skypiea. i’m not sure if it’s even intentional, honestly, but it’s an extra little bit of heartbreak either way.

one piece has a lot of amazing spreads, but this might be one of my favorites for sheer impact. cp9, watching as the city they’ve lived and worked in for years burns down in a fire they set, satisfied by a job well done. it’s almost all in black and white with very little grey, which creates some fantastic contrast, and their pitch-black silhouettes against the nighttime inferno are just striking. 

this entire scene between usopp and franky, as usopp works on the merry and franky gives him advice and tries to make him see its hopeless and they kind of awkwardly, accidentally bond, is probably my favorite in the whole of water seven. it was also the scene that singlehandedly made me love franky as a character.

they have a really good, really enjoyable dynamic, and at the same time the conflict between them is real and understandable, and brought about because they’re both trying to do the right thing.

tom’s workers are one of my favorite little groups of characters in the whole of one piece’s story, and they deserve more appreciation. they’re family!! a little family of broken pieces who worked together to build something really, really amazing. and they still care about each other in the present, even though they got shattered apart so badly and none of them ever really recovered. 

this is a tremendously under-appreciated chopper moment. not only did he carry two full-grown men out of a fire, he even managed to get zoro’s sword and iceburg’s hamster. extremely cool of him.

this is also the exact moment the strawhats’ collective luck begins to turn: chopper saves the day, and nami learns that robin did what she did to protect them, and sanji gets aboard the sea train, and from there it’s a no-brakes train from their very lowest low straight to the triumph at enies lobby.

i love all the shenanigans sanji gets up to with the sea train, i think the whole sequence is absolutely one of his shining moments. it’s always a delight to see sanji get up to Sneaky Bastard Bullshit, and the whole thing is just so fun, which is a dearly needed breath of fresh air after how relentless this arc has been until this point.

robin’s little smile when thinking of luffy and when she joined the strawhats... :( i’ve noticed it’s a recurring trend for strawhats who try to leave the crew to flash back to when they joined as they do. usopp has it earlier this same arc just before leaving, and sanji does it in whole cake island in the sanji vs. luffy chapter. 

i really like how much everyone comes together at the end of water seven leading into enies lobby. after how fractured and fraught things have been throughout the arc, both within and without the strawhat crew, it’s great to see them not only all united again for a common goal, but with a huge group of allies at their backs. 

these three are SUCH a hilarious team, and i would love to see them work together again like this sometime. they’re literally just clowning on the marines all the way up the train, it’s fantastic. 

factually i understand sanji’s aversion to fighting with his hands and his fighting style is very unique and cool and also meaningful to him because he learned from zeff, and also if i remember right it’s implied he learned how to swordfight from the vinsmokes which makes it very reasonable he would want absolutely nothing to do with that skillset 

but speaking purely in terms of stupid idiot lizard brain i think sanji should fight with knives more

this is another of my absolute favorite spreads, and i think what makes it for me is the casual confidence- luffy tells zoro to cut the train, and zoro does, both of them with no doubts at all about zoro’s ability to do so. it really goes to show how far they’ve come from back in east blue when zoro couldn’t even cut luffy out of a metal cage.

there’s something very impactful about the fact that of all the strawhats, robin gets this speech from usopp. usopp, who’s had the worst falling-out with luffy in the series to date, is the one who tells robin: you haven’t left the crew yet, you can’t leave the crew yet, luffy is coming to get you. believe in him. 

franky’s “existing is not a crime” line is one of the most memorable and iconic lines from this entire saga, and for good reason. it sums up one of the main themes of not just this arc but also the series as a whole- the very same idea will come up again for ace during marineford, and in law’s backstory as well. it’s never a crime to just exist, and people should not never be persecuted for their blood or heritage. one piece doesn’t fuck around with its theming, it really doesn’t. 

to be continued next time, with enies lobby!

Time for my Ghost of Tsushima Review: Graphics To make it short, the game looks absolutely GORGEOUS. It goes with a realistic style. I didn’t had trouble with the character models, they looked good and unique and the facial expressions were well done. What got me, though, is the scenery. Tsushima is lush with nature and there were trees, flowers, pampas grass. You clearly could see what was a japanese settlement and what was a mongol camp, though I have to argue that they resuded a lot of assets for the buildings, like if you you knew one of them, you knew all of them, but that is nitpicking.  The water looked great, the fire effects looked great, the foxes were cute, the flowers were gorgeous. It was a joy to look at and I made some scenery screenshots which I all forgot to upload, oh well...  The last area was a bit duller though, because it was full of snow, but I like snow and we got footprints in the snow, so I was fine with it ^^ Sound/Music Sadly this game suffers from western Triple A problems... the music is generic and doesn’t stand out. I think I remember one song of the entire OST and that was in Yarikawa, when you unlock the Ghost Stance.  The music is generally played with japanese instruments which was a very nice touch though. It wasn’t there all the time also, leaving you room to listen to the atmosphere, which was nicely done. It never really was quiet in Tsushima, but it made me feel at ease. I am also amazed at the voice acting. The voice acting was really really good, though both me and my husband had one gripe with it... Ok, so I put them on english, but they are still talking japanese with each other, it’s just dubbed for our listening comfort, so why... why did so many VA’s speak with a fake japanese accent?! That didn’t make any sense at all!  It got even more hilarious when I read the names of the credits and Jin, one of the few who doesn’t sport a fake japanese accent was spoken by a japanese man! That was the only gripe I had with the voice acting though.  Gameplay  The game feels like a classic Open World game. I heard a lot of people got tired by it, but they probably have played like a hundred Open World titles already. I only played Breath of the Wild and Death Stranding (and Death Stranding is not a typical Open World title), so it felt all fresh and new enough for me. I am a person who really likes to see progress in games, so it always felt great for me when I found one of the locations in Tsushima that would give me some extra and make my Jin stronger. I loved the exploration part of the game.  The quests of the games? They were a bit generic, at least the optional quests. Lots of the same to do. The story quests were more interesting, for they sometimes forced a certain playstyle on you or gave you certain weapons to use. Like, sinking the ships with the hwacha was really cool and having to sneak out of the shogun’s castle was nerve wracking. I wasn’t bored with them though, for I liked the little stories behind the quests.  The combat was really fluid and played well, though the standoffs at Act 3 got ridiculously hard. I thought it was my problem, but I wasn’t the only one failing the standoffs in Act 3, the game really just made them super hard, apparently to encourage stealth? Yeah, but I don’t want to stealth the mongol patrols...  The boss battles in the game... they kinda felt like a dance. You had to find out what your opponent does and react accordingly and if you did it right, it felt like a beautiful rythm of a sword battle. I was pretty impressed by how fluid it felt when I didn’t mess up. The stealth mechanics were good. I hate stealth in games where you normally don’t do stealth, but here the stealth was a big part of the game. You had a lot of options for stealth, you could hide in grass or behind walls, you could assassinate the foes one by one, you could hide on a roof and shoot them with your bow, you get access to poison later in the game (shooting a brute with hallucination dart was always fun) and and and. It really hammers home that your character took up the practices of a shinobi to save his home.  The early game hell was pretty bad though... you start with not much of course, and that made me almost give up on the game because I did nothing but die... only when I found out that I can run up to archers and hit them with my sword instead of having an archer battle, I had fun again. Like, the game starts you out with low health and resolve and then gets you into missions with five archers shooting at you at once? You are dead before you could even aim!  Overall, I had fun with the gameplay.  Story/Characters Ok, that will be complicated, because I like the story and I dislike the story at the same time... But let’s talk about the characters first. I loved most of them, especially Jin, Yuna, Kenji and Norio. Every main character got their own questline which you could follow and it showed a lot about them, also that none of them a honourable hero or anything, but they all had their flaws and troubles... Especially Lady Masako’s quest made me thinking... for it was extreme that her family got slaughtered like that, but after hearing that she left her sister in an abusive marriage I couldn’t hate Lady Hana for it... she must have tremendously suffered and sadly all her negative energy got channeled at innocent people... Their stories went through the whole game and were a good thing to deepen them, because in the main story they felt a bit side lined in favour of Yuna’s and Jin’s friendship as well as the storyline about Ryuzo and the relationship between Jin and Shimura.  Ok, let’s talk about the story now.  The story is set on the 13th century of the island of Tsushima with the mongol invasion. Because the mongols fight not fair, the honourable Samurai lose the battle... almost all of them. Jito Shimura gets captured and Jin gets dragged away by thief Yuna who nurses him back to health. Of course he makes the decision to save Shimura, who is his uncle, but now he hasn’t an army in his back, he’s only one man. So Yuna teaches him the tactics of stealth and dirty fighting. More and more over the span of the game, Jin takes up the practices of a shinobi, with a lot of Ghost Weapons that get unlocked and a stealth based game play.  Jin, who has been raised as honourable samurai, has trouble with this and can’t accept his new role at first. He tells himself he stops doing it once the mongols are driven out, but...  A legend is getting spun. The Legend of the Ghost. I really like how this happens, for Jin does nothing supernatural to get the mongols down, he simply changes his tactics. But the people hear about it and they rumour and soon after they call him “The Ghost” and everything gets exxegerated a LOT. That is pretty much how legends must have started, so I loved this aspect.  And I loved how we see Jin’s inner struggle and how he thinks about the land first and his honour second and that there is a friendship with Yuna which never turns into romance, which is a plus as well. Act 2 was really epic and I loved the whole Yarikawa moment, when like everything screamed “For the Ghost”, that was POWERFUL. What I dislike is the story since the end of Act 2 and in the start of Act 3.   See, there’s Ryuzo. Ryuzo is Jin’s boyfriend childhood friend and he is a ronin. Jin asked him to join his forces, but Ryuzo betrays him and joins the mongols for his men hunger and the Khan did promise him food.  And during the second act, Ryuzo and his strawhat ronin act like secondary villains... and I was very much hoping for a redemption arc for Ryuzo, but instead the story lets Ryuzo pathetically cry for his life and Jin has to kill him. Um, what was that?! You missed a GREAT opportunity for a redemption arc here and it feels like you didn’t use the potential of Ryuzo at all...  And then Act 3 happened... see in Act 2 there is a mission where Jin gets poison and it is a powerful weapon, most players will probably use it. But there is a scene where Jin uses it without player control and his uncle is like “WTF Jin?”  The issue comes when we enter act 3 and now the mongols use the poison that Jin used on them... And the story turns into a “Oh Jin used poison, how horrible that is! Now the mongols have poison! Why did you use poison, Jin? You are clearly the villain now.” Which I am like... “No? What the fuck? This guy saved thousands of people because he decided that life was more imporant than honour and the narration wants to tell us that poison is bad? What?”  In the end, I liked that Lord Shimura came to help though and the ending tale... had some very powerful lines “You have no honour.” “And you are a slave to it.” Beautifully delivered those lines. My decision in the end was to let Lord Shimura leave, but not for the reason Jin had, for he said he wouldn’t kill family. My reason was the following: “Live! See the pain and suffering of your people and help them. Live with your shame and survive, because that is what Jin does. You don’t get an easy way out, old man.” Yeah, my reason was lot more spite...  Anyway, I wish the story in the later acts would have been better... it started so strong... Overall This isn’t a perfect game of course. But I had my fun with it and I wanted to explore the map and see the end of Jin’s story. Characters were adorable and fun, gameplay is smooth once early game hell is over. I would totally rec this game if you aren’t fatigued of open world titles.

Insubstantial

This is a piece I did for @nakunakunomi 's Trope Writing Challenge. Somehow, the prompt generator just smelled the angst on me, I nearly died laughing when I got the prompt xD.

The trope was: Confessing your love to someone unconscious/in a coma, only for them to wake up.

Random Word I had to include: arrangement.

Hope you enjoy, and #sorrynotsorry. I at least decided to end happily.

Length: 1.9k

Warnings: reader gets injured (not described in detail, but blood mentioned), angst

Summary:

Ao3: over here uwu

Usopp would be the first to (quietly) admit that he was a scaredy-cat. Did it ever hurt to err on the side of caution when living such a dangerous life? (He would argue that no, no it did not.)

But when it came to you, there were so, so many things that scared him. Not that you were scary, you were just– Oh gosh, everything you did set free kaleidoscopes of butterflies in his stomach; a simple smile meant just for him was enough to stop and restart his heart faster than any battle or foe ever had.

He wanted to tell you so badly that he lo– lov– liked you, very much. Usopp had rehearsed hundreds of scenarios in his head where he told you how he felt. Of course, he had also envisioned what your response may be. Some days, he imagined telling you poetry he wrote for you and you would swoon over his words, showering him in adoration and begging him not to stop. Other days, he imagined you laughing at his silly serenades but accepting them anyway, perhaps even making up a ditty of your own for him.

Oh, who was he kidding? At the end of the day, you didn’t reciprocate his feelings, not in that way. He didn’t want you to hate him for trying to force something that wasn’t meant to be. Your relationship was fine as it was right now, wasn’t it?

Usopp would crack jokes he just knew would make you laugh (and nearly got strangled several times by the crew for some of his pranks), and you would tease him and make references to inside jokes with him. He would save your favorite snacks for when you would help him tend to his pop-green garden, and you would steal his hat while you worked in the sun. Usopp even strayed further into battlefields than he normally would like, just to make sure you always had backup. And even then, you would always watch out for him to make sure no one got too close to him, saying “a sniper always worked best with distance, right?” The unspoken arrangement he had worked out in regards to how your relationship worked was something Usopp decided he could live with. Perhaps it was not perfectly ideal, but good friends would just have to be good enough.

Until it suddenly wasn’t good enough.

Until suddenly, you were crumpled on Sunny’s deck, life slowly seeping out of you, hit by an unexpected attack.

An attack you had shoved Usopp out of the way of.

It wasn’t enough as he scrambled across the deck to you, whilst the Strawhat Pirates rained justice upon those who dared harm their nakama.

It wasn’t anywhere near enough as he screamed for Chopper, clutching you desperately in his arms, trying to get some form of consciousness to register in your expression. Pressing his hand then shirt to the wound, anything to try to staunch the bleeding.

Everything he previously thought was enough for him felt wimpy and hollow as you lay limp in the infirmary, breathing ever so shallowly. Chopper had to eventually kick Usopp out for repeatedly panicking, thinking your breathing had stopped.

The words and feeling that he normally tucked away in the back of his mind now screamed relentlessly at him as he collapsed outside the infirmary with the rest of the crew, waiting for word of your condition. He nearly totally cried when Chopper said you were stable for now.

Day after day was spent by your side, coming up with a million reasons to stay with you whenever possible, a million excuses more as to why he always had to be there. All of the reasons were technically true, however, he never said his biggest reason of all.

That he lo-

lov-

Of– of course he was worried about his nakama, you had saved his life! He wanted to be there when you woke up, to thank you (and perhaps to smack you upside the head for doing something so foolish). To ask you why you would let yourself get hurt for him, when you had so many strong nakama around you. If you, perhaps– no. You were his nakama after all. That's all it was. Concern for a fellow crewmate. Nothing more.

He'd tinker by your bedside, quietly narrating his actions (and occasionally making up your responses as well.) He could almost picture exactly how the exchange would go when you woke up. You would open your eyes, groggy but feeling considerably better. You'd see him there and ask him if you had your favorite snack in his bag (which he totally did) and cheekily ask if he’d been worrying this whole time about you (which he totally had been). Usopp didn't like to think he was that predictable, but maybe you two just knew each other that well.

So when he walked into the galley to hear the words, “They may or may not wake up”, he was filled with a fear and a fury he had not felt so strongly since he was told they had to continue on their journey without Merry.

“What do you mean they may not wake up?” Usopp growled, clenching his fists in a feeble attempt to keep his hands from shaking. Chopper jumped guiltily at Usopp's question, and he could feel the eyes of the crew turn to him.

“They’re in a coma, Usopp. They could wake up in a few days. Or it could be weeks, months, years.” Chopper spoke reluctantly. “We have to be ready in case they never–”

“DON’T SAY IT!”

Choppers face creased worryingly. “We don’t want it to happen, but–”

“BUT WHAT? You’re just going to give up on your nakama!?” Tears were forming in the little deer’s eyes as Usopp yelled.

“Usopp.” Usopp froze as his friend and captain called his name. No other words had to be spoken. Usopp opened his mouth, but his throat was tight. None of the words felt right. There were too many of them. They were too harsh. Too painful. Too little for everything he needed to express. So he ran out.

He walked into his little tinkering space only to walk straight back out again. He was quite sure attempting to work on any project would simply leave him more frustrated than he already was. He tried to water his Pop-Greens, but the garden was so empty without you there. Before he knew it, his feet had carried him back to the infirmary. He sighed as he let himself in, head hung low; you would probably be upset at him for yelling at Chopper like that. It wasn’t Chopper’s fault you were in a coma. He needed to go apologize to Chopper, to everyone.

“Usopp.” Usopp startled at Franky’s voice, not having noticed the cyborg when he entered. The heavy weight of Franky’s hand settled on Usopp's head before he could try to escape or squeak out an apology. “They’ll wake up when they’re ready. And we’ll be right here waiting for them.” He then ruffled his hair and walked out, shutting the door softly behind him.

Usopp dug his nails into his palms until they stung, furiously straining to hold back the emotion slipping through every crack. His cheeks were soon soaked and he tasted blood from biting his lip in his attempt to stay quiet. A soft sound caught his attention and his head whipped in your direction.

You were still laying exactly as you were before, quietly breathing. Something about seeing you calmed him, despite all the bandages and IV’s. He was able to let all the racing thoughts drift to the back of his mind, and sunk exhaustedly into the chair beside your bed.

A single hand rested atop your sheets, and he found himself taking your hand into his. Your hand was so limp. It was so easy to imagine you were– no! You would wake up, and when you did, oh no, what if you lost your memory, or what if you couldn’t make a full recovery? Or–

“No! Damn it!” Usopp cursed. He wasn’t going to imagine the worst. For once in his god-damned life he was going to be positive! He was positive you would recover! He was positive you would smile again! You would remember him, you would remember the crew! You would get back to perfect health, and you would live out your dreams! You would... be happy to see him.

Usopp rubbed his thumbs against the back of your hand. There was still a little scar there from when one of his plants nipped you, back when he first planted his Pop-Greens, when the crew reunited in Sabaody after two years apart. The quiet moment you both had in the Sunny’s garden was something he held onto dearly and thought about frequently. You had listened so closely as he told you about his new plants and time in the Boin Archipelago. A certain flower caught your eye, and before he could warn you, it bit your hand. Of course, it had to be one of the poisonous ones, and just as Heracles’n had taught him, he sucked the poison out of the wound and spat it to the deck then wrapped it with bandage. For a fraction of a second, there was something he couldn’t quite identify in your eyes, but then he told you that you should have Chopper look at it just in case. As you walked away, something in him screamed to tell you how he felt, but just as usual, he let you walk away. He let himself act cowardly, despite all his declarations otherwise.

And now, more than ever, he regretted the words he frequently swallowed. And, maybe, just once, since you were asleep, he could say them. It would be good practice, to see if they fit right in his mouth. If they fit right, being said to you.

“Y/n… Please, wake up. We miss you… We need you.. I– I need you,” He gazed softly at your face, before lowering his head and holding your hand to his forehead. “I know I’m a damn coward, but please wake up so I can tell you at least once to your face, whatever you may think. I– I–”

Usopp cursed himself for stumbling over these words. Why was this so difficult?

“You’re– you're everything to me. You’re my friend. You’re my sunshine. You’re confusing and addicting and I always want to be with you, and I want to make you as happy as you make me. I just– I– I love you.” Usopp finally whispered. “And it’s a stupid dream, but I hope you love me too.” Tears flowed freely down his cheeks again, and he squeezed your hand tightly.

And something flicked his nose.

Usopp jerked up in shock to see you wearily smiling at him.

“Aww, you missed me?” You croaked. Usopp began openly sobbing and yelling incoherently. Softly chuckling, you weakly tugged him closer and moved the hand he held to his cheek and brushed it lightly. “I’m sorry I made you worry.” You then pulled him toward you and hugged him as best you could, and (after getting over his shock,) he wrapped his arms around you as well, holding as tightly as he could without causing you pain.

You found your eyes welling up from the emotion in his declaration, and tightened your hold on him. “I suppose I'm a coward for not telling you before, but I love you too, Usopp.”