the great irony of early one piece antagonists believing zoro was the actual captain and using luffy as a puppet ... oda really threw us a bone and curb-stomped it right in our faces. yes, zoro could be a captain in his own right. yes, zoro could match luffy in strength. yes, zoro knows this perfectly well. and you know what? he chose luffy two years ago, and he will continue to choose luffy again and again. roronoa zoro, the pirate hunter, who followed a wannabe pirate with a nonexistent crew on a whim because luffy brought him his swords and made a half-assed attempt at a bargain. zoro, who made a vow to never lose again on both his and luffy's honor. zoro, who told luffy he'd make him commit harakiri if he got in the way of zoro's goal, only to turn around and be willing to sacrifice his dream if it means that luffy reaches his. zoro, who stood in place and took luffy's pain and told a warlord to take his head instead of luffy's, who got down on his knees before his supposed rival and begged mihawk to mentor him so that he could return strong enough to protect his captain. zoro, who has conqueror's haki- a natural born leader- but chooses to stay at the right hand of a man he has deemed greater than himself.

and the thing that luffy fears most? being alone. being rejected. being left behind. and what should have been his foil- the pirate hunter to his pirate king, the nonbeliever to his divine, the king of hell to his sun god- instead becomes his first and most devout follower; the one who demands to follow him to hell and back. oughhhggg i'm sick to my stomach

it’s actually friday now in the UK... 

whatever.

I’m going to recommend in general that you check out the @carryon-anon-fest! we’re half way through and lots of fics (and one piece of art) have been posted. i’m not commenting or kudosing or indeed reccing so it’s less obvious which is mine/to keep the secret. but i’ve read everything - and liked what i read! check it out. the collection on AO3 is here!

plus - i also rec: 

You Exist To Torture Me by RoyalAsstronaut - explicit, WIP

new chapter!!! so good. non-magic AU, i love the way the relationship is written. such good banter/flirting, and sex. just an absolute pleasure to read. 

Con(man) by SaccharineSalts - explicit, WIP 

really good watford era simon is the chosen one, everything is the same, except baz comes back after eighth year and simon has started making money as a cam boy. the depth of baz’s can’t look/can’t look away is so good, as is the way simon starts gradually working out he likes baz. 

plus if you’re not reading my favourite long, complex, plotty ongoing slowburns, you should: 

Northern Downpour by @scone-lover  - teen, WIP (9/12) - canon divergence AU set in norway, part coffee shop AU, part political drama

On thin ice by @vampire-named-gampire - mature, WIP (26/?) - figureskating AU, tune in now to find out whether simon will get to the grand prix final!!