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nejibaby · 3 years

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Burn

Pairing: Portgas D. Ace x Reader

Summary: For Ace you’d do anything; even set yourself on fire if it meant he’d be safe, happy, and most importantly, alive.

The Sun - Part 2

Word Count: 2.4k

A/N: I’ve finished this and it has finished me. That’s all I wanted to say. 🤐 Jk... English isn’t my first language and I haven’t proofread this so I’m sorry if there’s grammatical errors and typographical errors. Also, I’d love to hear what your thoughts are on this 🥺✌🏼

There’s something about Ace that makes you so attracted to him. You couldn’t really pinpoint what it is. You aren’t sure if it’s his boyish smile, cocky smirk, lovely freckles, lean figure, easygoing and carefree attitude, the generous compliments he gives, or all of the above.

The dynamic between the two of you is almost like how a moth is attracted to a flame. But then again, Ace isn’t merely a flame. He’s more likely the sun — bright, warm, and all-consuming.

However, you can only ever get so close to the sun before you actually burn.

It was only in hindsight that you realize you should’ve kept your distance with Ace.

Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten through all the trouble of fighting against the bandits that started a brawl with the Spade Pirates at your hometown. Maybe you shouldn’t have fallen for Ace’s compliments on your skills on using knives as weapons. Maybe you shouldn’t have accommodated his curiosity on how to wield it. Maybe you shouldn’t have held his hand as you tried to show him the proper way of handling the knife. Because quite frankly, that one touch had sparked something in you. And it was that touch that started this whole mess — the mess of falling truly, madly, deeply in love with Portgas D. Ace.

But Ace only sees you as a crewmate of the Spade Pirates and later on as a subordinate when he became the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Unfortunately, you know that’s all you’ll ever be.

You can tell that Ace has no interest in falling in love — at least not yet; not until he achieves his goal. And you hate to admit it, but even after all the years you spend following him, you still have no idea what his true goal is. You aren’t even sure if you’ll ever find it out. Because unlike you, Ace knows how to keep a safe distance from people.

There’s only one time that Ace allowed himself to blur the lines of friendship, and it was when you were both too drunk after celebrating a successful mission together. Somehow in the middle of your conversation, in a drunken haze, he leaned into you and kissed you on the lips. And as expected of you, you kissed him back with equal fervor.

That night, you have learned that fire is quite a fitting power for Ace. If his lips were fire, then your blood was gasoline. His kiss ignited everything in you until you’re fully consumed by him.

The next day came by way too quickly, but… he had no memory of what had transpired, and you wished it was the same with you. It would’ve been easier to live in blissful ignorance, but instead of that, you’re left to treat the burns that Ace unknowingly left in his wake — not physically, of course, he would never hurt you that way, but it doesn’t exactly hurt any less.

No matter how hurt you’ve been that night, you didn’t really stay away from Ace. You’re just so stubborn and unrelenting that you continue to tredge the line that Ace has so clearly drawn.

And it’s because of that attitude that you have taken it upon yourself to find Ace and stop him searching for Teach. Marco couldn’t stop him, maybe even Deuce wouldn’t, but you might be able to, because you aren’t afraid to burn, at least not any more than you already have. And this makes all the difference between you and Ace’s friends, although he has yet to realize that.

You find Ace in Mock Town. He’s walking the street with his back to you.

There’s no doubt that you’re extremely worried about him but with how long you traveled just to get to him, you have started to feel angry because of his reckless actions.

So instead of calling out his name to get his attention, you grab one of the daggers strapped to your legs and throw it at him. With Ace’s logia-type power, it only goes through him. Ace doesn’t even stop walking.

Since his back is facing you, you couldn’t tell what type of look he has on his face, although you’re willing to bet your life that he has an arrogant smirk on his face. You’re tempted to throw another dagger at him and use your haki, but that would be too much; your intent is to get his attention, not to hurt him, no matter how annoying he can be.

The dagger lands a few feet away from Ace and he walks up to grab it. He tenses a bit after he crouches down and picks it up. You know he recognizes the unique handle of the weapon. Before you know it, he turns his body around to find you, sporting that awfully breathtaking smile that makes you go crazy.

For a moment your anger dissipates while your heart stutters across your chest. You wonder, “Why does the sun still bother rising when Ace obviously shines so much brighter?”

But your thoughts are cut off when all of a sudden you’re tackled into a hug by Ace. Your mind automatically goes blank.

You have no problem with skinship and Ace doesn’t mind too, but a hug certainly isn’t how the both of you greet each other.

The hug is short lived as Ace pulls away before you can even wrap your arms around him. He then proceeds to throw his arm over your shoulder. He starts walking with you across the town, the grin on his face never leaving. “Ya know, I just saw my brother a while back in Alabasta!” He happily tells you.

You’re happy for Ace, you really are, but you have to admit that you’re a tad bit disappointed. You’re disappointed that his excitement isn’t because of you; it’s more like leftover enthusiasm he had after seeing his little brother. But you chase those thoughts away immediately, knowing full well it’s unreasonable for you to expect something like that from Ace.

He continues telling you about his brother and his crew with that proud expression reserved for talks about Luffy. With the way he’s animatedly speaking, you couldn’t help the smile form on your lips. It’s at this moment that you realize that you’d do absolutely anything and everything for Ace to be happy and remain happy.

You’re listening intently as he recounts every single thing that happened during their encounter. By the time he’s done, he turns to you and asks, “Oh, by the way, what’cha doing here?”

You shrug. “I came to get you,” you casually say.

He retracts his arm that’s draped on your shoulder. He drops his smile as well. “No.”

“Stop making a fuss, Commander. Pops wants you back on the ship.”

“I said no. I’m going to find Blackbeard and teach him a lesson.”

You grit your teeth at annoyance while Ace stares you down. Noticing the people listening in on your conversation, you stride to Ace, use your haki to grab his wrist, and then lead him to an abandoned alleyway. The touch immediately quickens your pulse rate, but you don’t let it waver you.

You let go of his wrist once you reach the alleyway. When you turn to face him, you can instantly tell that he’s taken aback by your actions. It’s not often you act like this when things don’t go your way after all.

“Commander, come back to the crew,” you say once again.

“No!” He stubbornly says. You can tell he’s getting angry by the flames that started appearing on his shoulders. “Teach broke the iron rule in the ship! Thatch won’t be able to rest peacefully and Pops—”

“I know, Commander!” You raise your voice. “I know this!”

“Great! Now let me be,” he says as he turns his back to leave.

“Goddammit Ace! Why are you doing this again?!” You exclaimed, clenching your fists in the process. Ace stops in his tracks upon hearing you. He’s surprised that you’ve addressed him by his name. “Why are you so dead-set on carrying the burden alone? Can’t you see how reckless you’re being? You’re diving headfirst into something dangerous!”

“Do you think I’m weak?” He asks, still with his back to you.

“No.”

“Then trust me on this.”

You scoff. “Not everything is a matter of strength.”

Ace pivots his body so he’s facing you and then he leans against the wall. He crosses his arms and gives you a look to continue your speech.

“Has it ever crossed your mind that we want to avenge Thatch as well? I know you two were close since you’re both Commanders, but we were close too!”

“I’m Teach’s Commander, that’s why I have to—”

You don’t listen to him speak, opting to continue what you’re saying. “Thatch was like an older brother to me. But I lost him. I don’t want to lose you too,” you whisper almost inaudibly. “Because I love you…”

Ace freezes at your declaration, but he’s quick to recover and says, “You know I love you too.”

You sigh and look at him in the eyes. Tears are forming in your eyes, making Ace look blurry. “But not in the same way, right?”

Ace goes silent. But his eyes could communicate with you in ways you’d never understand. His eyes never lie, and from them you can clearly see the guilt of not being able to reciprocate your feelings.

Oh, how things change so quickly. Back then, you’d be ecstatic whenever his eyes would land on you. Back then, you’d do anything to keep his eyes on you a little longer. But now, you just wish he stopped looking at you with those eyes.

“I’d die for you,” he says after a while, as if it’s the answer you’re searching for.

This would’ve been such a romantic thing to say for others, but it doesn’t hold the same weight if Ace says this. You know he would risk his life for anyone on the crew, not just you.

“But that’s the thing. I don’t want you to die for me, I want you to live, even if it’s not for me or with me,” you exasperatedly tell him.

Ace’s eyes widen, almost as if you’ve reached something deep inside him with what you’ve just said.

“I knew it from the beginning that you don’t love me the same way, so it’s fine. But that doesn’t matter.”

You try changing the topic in order to shift your focus, “Listen, Commander, I’m not telling you to sit still and forget about Teach. You said so yourself, you’re his Commander, but you’re my Commander too, along with the rest of the Second Division. And right now, we need you. Hell, even Pops needs you.

“I know Pops won’t let Teach get away with this either, but he knows this isn’t the right time yet. Let’s gather intel first, before doing anything.”

Ace remains silent, obviously thinking about what you’ve just said.

“Does that sound good, Commander?” You ask quietly.

He nods his head slowly.

You hum. “Alright. Now that that’s settled, let’s head on to your Striker.”

The walk back to the port is unusually silent. Ace has one of his hands in his pocket while the other on his hat. You, on the other hand, are staring straight ahead, recounting the conversation that has just happened.

Truthfully, the conversation didn’t go as you planned. You’re certain that convincing Ace would be so much harder. In fact, you’ve readied yourself to pick a fight with him if he didn’t want to go back to the crew.

You’ve prevented the fight from happening at the expense of your stupid confession. And you aren’t sure if it’s for the better or for the worse.

A part of you knows it’s for the better, because this way Ace would be safe. But the pain coursing all throughout your body and the tears that you’re trying so hard to hold back makes you doubt it a little bit.

By the time you both reach the port, you head on straight to your boat and grab the supplies you have already separated for Ace. You throw the sack at him and he catches it with ease.

“You have Marco’s vivre card, right?” You ask.

He nods.

“Good. Just follow that. With the Striker, I’m sure you’ll reach the crew in a week or two.”

“You aren’t coming with me?”

You shake your head. “No. I actually have another mission to do,” you lie. You raise your right hand to point to the town. “Actually I’m heading there right now,” you say as you slowly walk backwards away from Ace. “So, see you in a month, I guess?”

You turn around to head back to the town, but Ace grabs a hold of your hand. “Wait!”

Ace isn’t using his powers, but why does his touch burn?

You look back at him, but your eyes refuse to meet his, so instead, you stare at the knife safely strapped on his hips. It’s the knife you originally owned but you have given it to him as a sign of your loyalty when he became your captain.

He removes his hold on you.

“What?” You ask.

“I can help you with it and we’ll—”

“No, don’t,” you sharply say.

Ace flinches at your tone.

You internally scold yourself for your hostility. Ace doesn’t deserve this. It isn’t his fault he doesn’t like you the same way. You sigh, “I’m sorry. I’ll just… see you off first before I go do this mission.”

You don’t leave any option for him so he has no choice but to comply. You can only watch in silence as Ace prepares to leave.

The truth is that you don’t have any mission aside from bringing Ace back to the crew. But you know Ace, you know that he’s not going to be able to stop thinking about Blackbeard and his deed. He won’t ever be able to rest properly and peacefully if no one’s going to continue this search. So for once, you’re shouldering this task for him.

It’s a dangerous mission, you’re aware. Espionage isn’t exactly what you’re best at. But for Ace you’d do this. For him, you’d set yourself on fire if it meant keeping him safe. For Ace you’d even die as long as he lived.

Once he has safely boarded on his raft, you both bid each other goodbyes. Even if you’re determined to get back to him, somehow it feels like this goodbye is going to be the last. And yet, you watch him go along with the sun.

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victorie552onepiecespeedrun · 3 years

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Reading One Piece pt 276: Hancock/Luffy And Holy Shit, This is Intense

Chapter 523

Thoughts:

- “Volume 54: Impel Down!” I… I have no idea what’s happening on that cover. It’s a lot

- ohhhh, but that one is nice

- nice

- Fpos/cs: Guys, guys, it’s Spandam! He’s in intensive care unit! He looks like sh*t. That’s what you get for being a jerk, Spandam :D

- ohhh, Hancock has a cruuuuush :D

- no, seriously, she doesn’t know what’s happening

- Grandma will explain. Oh, I feel the bullsh*t coming

- “I agreed to go to the Central Zone without even thinking it over. But I don’t mind!” it’s because Luffy asked you to. You and Zoro would have a lot to talk about I think :D

- oh no, just look at that

- *sign* ok, let’s do this

- „By choosing to go with that man, you’ve saved your own life.” I’m offended by the concept here, you know, The “Woman Needs A Man” Thing but in the context it actually holds. Hancock really needed to go to Capital with Marines as Warlord to keep her people safe. But as we see, she would never do this without her “sudden love insanity” thing. In that aspect, Luffy, or more likely her Love for Luffy saved the day here. (And let’s be real, everyone in One Piece needs Freedom that Luffy represents) And Hancock’s crush on Luffy makes perfect sense! Luffy was really great for her and all over this arc! It was way too fast for Big Feelings to develop but. This is a shounen manga about FRIENDSHIP made by an old Japanese man and if ‘kinda fast’ and ‘why did a whole-ass adult woman fell for a teenager’ is all that’s wrong… we’re good here, guys (if that teenager was or looked like Zoro, NO ONE would complain and you know it).

- as a ship, I think it holds too, at least for me, especially in the future when the age gap and life experience aren’t that much to think about (also she’s not coming onto him). He helped her! And she will help him! Mutual aid and respect! They’re both strong and silly! Pirate King and Empress! And, well, at this point it’s one-sided much and Luffy is more or less clueless when it comes to romantic relationships (aroace. He’s aroace in my eyes) but that doesn’t mean he can’t be happy with someone or that he can’t make someone happy, everything can work out in the world, especially a fictional one

- (One Piece is short at couples. All I can remember now is Yasopp/Usopp’s Mom [where she went and died when he was away], Usopp/Kaya [strongly implied but not ACTUALLY canon goddammit also they’re both 17 come on] and whatever Rayleigh and Shakky have going on [because COME ON]. Not a stellar record if you ask me but they make it work and even are happy)

- The point. I had a point

- oh right. What I’m saying is that Oda is absolutely using a cheap plot device to give Luffy a much needed help and allies AND girlfriend, BUT (and that’s the annoying part) he’s using said cheap plot device Masterfully and I’m both in Awe and mad about it. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

- ok, in the chapter they are leaving the island. Damn, Luffy really charmed everyone

- Hancock is here. She just kicked a puppy and a baby seal to illustrate she’s still That B*tch, mushy feelings aside. I deeply disapprove but it’s a nice touch. Damn you Oda, damn you

- “Just call me Hancock.” “Okay, Hammock.” Godammit, Luffy

- bye, Amazon Lily! You were a nice place when you didn’t try to kill us!

- onto Marine Ship they go. (And they will stop at Impel Down!)

- all marines are un-stoned now :D (I think that made Badass Marine Captain really happy. It couldn’t be a nice two days for him, alone and not even knowing if his crew is gone for good or not)

- lol, Luffy is literary hiding under Hancock’s coat :D

- to Impel Down!

- At Navy Headquarters. Hey, Sengoku

- So he know Boa will cooperate. Six out of Seven Warlords will in fact. Who’s the odd one out?

- Jimbei?

- There are problems at Sabaody Archipelago (they mention labor camps and god, WG just keeps getting more awful, it’s like they don’t how to stop) but Sengoku doesn’t want to hear anything that isn’t about Whitebeard. I feel your pain, man

- (I like him, sue me)

- oh. Grandpa Garp went to Impel Down. Probably to talk to Ace… oww, that will be a hard conversation

- Whitebeard’s on the move! And destroying marines’ spying network!

- “Tell everyone to be ready for attack on Impel Down!” oh no

- everything is so INTENSE now

- Impel Down

- with Garp and Ace

- …that does not look good…

- oh for the LOVE OF… stop jumping places, manga!

- !!!! NAMI !!!!

- weather magic

- “This is a small Sky Island called Weatheria. We study the science of weather here” ohhhhhh!!! Power-up arcs begin!!!

- with Franky, he’s on some winter island

- “This is mechanical Island! It was created by a genius!”

- “Peachy Island – Island of Dreams” oh, I don’t like where this is going

- “This is the famous second Island of Women. All the plants and animals here are pink” huh. You know, I never had a pink phase when I was a kid, wonder why

- “And the people on this island… all have the hearts of maidens.” Cool. Why is that so ominous

- HOLY SHIT IT’S SANJI. God, what is happening to him

“Right now… I’m in hell.” From the look of it, accurate. Jesus, what is happening to that guy.

rOP 275 rOP 277

#one piece #one piece speed read #boiiiiii #chapter 523 #one piece chapter 523 #523 #spoiler #spoilers #have a nice day #rOP 276

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danwhobrowses · 3 years

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One Piece Chapter 998 - Initial Thoughts

And we are back in the room. Returning from the week break puts One piece on track for that juicy Christmas Chapter 1000 release. We are inches away but nobody’s at the top of the dome, so let’s see how it goes!

Spoilers for Chapter 998, also support the Official Release

We all thought we’d be getting Straw Hat-oriented cover pages now that the cover story is over and yet we got Enel XD That mouse is so ticked off as well I love it

Marco makes a great first impression for the crew by *checks notes* setting Chopper on fire!

Of course, it’s passive healing flames but Brook and Zoro didn’t know that, given how well he dodged both of them you have to wonder how powerful Marco is at 100%

And the Mink Doctors have arrived too, with a lab ready to mass-produce the antibody, so this floor is almost golden for the crew

I can’t believe anyone there is gonna believe Queen telling them that Chopper wouldn’t save them when he and Marco have done nothing but show them how to survive the virus Queen made so far

Marco knows that Zoro wants up, and Brook and Robin coming along too definitely won’t go amiss, both seem to have a way of handling the other Yonko up there

And the Yakuza bosses will hold off the enemy for Chopper, which is nice since these guys haven’t been seen too much

Apoo, just...sit down somewhere. He just got munched by Drake, which becomes enough for Zoro to be okay with letting him hold off any higher tiered enemies

Luffy your haki is fine, it’s your simp energy that’s not on Sanji’s level XD not that it should be

But alas Jimbei decides to stay behind now and with all these cat-themed enemies you know who this would be

Back to Franky though and Sasaki has been forced to fight himself, a Triceratops DF. It’s fine I mean I was learning on an Ankylosaur DF but it still looks good, got enough force and size to match up with General Franky now

Over with the Simp though and his escapes are futile, Black Maria is an ancient spider, but just not the Jorogumo. Just a Rosamygale - the oldest known genus of non-Aranea spiders, so like Tarantulas and Trapdoor spiders. Like Sasaki it’s fine (and one has to wonder how all the goods are not out for show given how loose that kimono is) but it wasn’t an improvement of what I’d hoped

Sanji though yes there are all women here but have you looked at all the women there individually? Not all of them are lookers

And that leaves one more of the Flying Six, Sabretooth Who’s Who. Kinda guessed this one, what with all his cat-themed, including his sexy cat girls, but also gotta like Old Red Cat lady and shady Rabid Pedro

Who’s Who doesn’t wanna show his face though? Interesting, would he be recognizable to the audience as well as Jimbei?

Also worth noting that Jimbei is on the 4th Floor, so that means Luffy is in the 5th and closing in on the Dome itself

Ulti and Pay-Pay though have made it past Hihimaru and come chasing after Nami, Tama and Usopp from outside the dome. I dunno what it is but Ulti seems to be drawn differently doesn’t she? Could be that we haven’t seen her full Zoan but she seems more cartoonish, maybe I’m just more used to her hybrid form

She definitely wants to hurt Nami, but that could mean we have a Round 2

But over at the storage area (wasn’t Law near there?) Yamato has found a safe spot for Momo, next to a giant dragon statue! Turns out it was a broken ornament which can explain why it looks like it’s been sucker punched

And of course, it was Ace. Who Yamato calls their friend and was gonna kill Kaido! New info on the Ace in Wano story huh? Clearly he failed and thus meant he failed Tama but was a deal struck? This was Pre-Whitebeard after all and for Yamato to be friends with him meant there was at least some extensive interaction, unless it was a friendship forged in the ‘many battles’ Yamato spoke of before to Luffy.

So yeah, looks like battle lines are being drawn again! It’s a bit concerning however that it’s the Tobi Roppo getting these fights while Queen and King don’t do anything. Luffy looks to make the top of the dome, which may be a reflection of any Ace content we’re about to learn too. And with Brook, Robin and Zoro about to skip the floors to support Luffy and the Scabbards against Kaido and Big Mom we’re sure to be getting more fights

I am still curious over Tama’s 3 minutes and Yamato’s alternative form but of course the arc doesn’t end at Chapter 1000 so we still have plenty to go, I will say though that the pacing was a teensy bit rushed here, we got the rest of the Tobi Roppo’s DF with little fanfare and then one page later that’s the chapter! Was kinda hoping for more, and for Sanji to contribute more to this Chapter. We cannot underestimate these guys though, remember they were all captains of their own ships in the New World, so they are bound to be formidable.

We haven’t heard much from Peros vs Carrot and Wanda yet mind you, plenty of factors still in waiting and both 999 and 1000 are said to be color spreads, so a lot still to look forward to.

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tsvestidiabolus · 3 years

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♥ SHIP QUESTIONARE // Robin x Yamato and/or Robin x Law

Drop a ship in my inbox and I’ll fill everything out below ! It’s a mix from fluff to nsfw .

Ah, the crack ship that has turned into one of my OTPs. When Yamato joins the Straw Hats, then you will all see the potential too. Also, slight mentions of 1021 spoilers.

18+ content below

How did they first meet? Depends entirely on the verse. In canon, they’d meet during or a bit after the raid on Onigashima, presumably during the battle or during the celebrations. Yamato would beg Robin to teach him how to read the Poneglyphs, and she would quite frankly be stunned but happily surprised that someone shows interest in the ancient history like her. Then Yamato joins the crew and-

In Beasts!Robin verse, Yamato sneaks in and finds Robin while she’s being held in a cage under King’s care. They get to know each other, telling each other stories, and Yamato lets Robin know that he’s there for her. Mostly, he met her out of curiosity for the devil his father had caught.

For this questionnaire, I’ll be using Beasts verse, as that’s the main verse I write this ship in.

Who felt romantic feelings first? Robin. Yamato thought those feelings were just friendship, except they were stronger than his feelings for Jack, which were friendship. Robin was the first to acknowledge that she was in love with Yamato.

Did either of them try to resist their feelings? Holy Fuck Robin. This girl does not know HOW to handle their feelings, especially romantic ones. A lot of the early stages of their relationship was spent dancing around the fact that they had a relationship, as they feared what the Beasts would do if they found out. It was Yamato that said “fuck it” and kissed Robin in front of Kaido.

Who initiated their feelings first? Yamato.

Who said “I love you” first? Yamato. Robin has a hard time saying it.

Who gets jealous easily? Robin

Who is more protective? Yamato

Who remembers the little things? Robin

Who talks about their feelings more? Imagine Robin talking about their feelings :crine:

Who uses the cheesier pickup lines? Robin, actually. You’d expect it to be Yamato, but Robin’s cheese comes in form of long-winded poetry and skirting so hard around the words “I love you” that it becomes this Achilles/Patroclus dynamic between the two of them where no one can tell if they’re in love or not because they never say it but then Robin says shit like “I would like our ashes to be buried together when we die so that we’ll always be together” and I don’t understand how people cannot think they are not gay.

What does a first date look like for them? Awful. Either Robin’s in a cage, Yamato’s trying to sneak past King to visit her, or Robin has joined the Beasts and they decide to eat together one night in Onigashima. Yamato would try so damn hard to be a good date, and Robin would be so fucking nervous because what if her being with Yamato was a bad idea. What if Yamato got punished for being with her. What if. And then Robin would be freaking out while holding Yamato’s hand and Yamato would be smiling but freaking out too. Eventually, though, they’d find somewhere private and decide not to call it a date - then everything goes back to normal.

What do they like to do together? Study! Study study study! They also enjoy creating something with their own hands, be it a garden or a painting or something else. They also take turns reading books aloud.

Which one gets angry the most, leaving the other to calm them down? Yamato’s rage is hot-headed, while Robin’s is a cold, seething demon. Also Robin happens to be an enabler, unless Yamato is putting himself in danger. Yamato calms down Robin more, because he’s more prone to pick up when Robin is angry.

Do they like PDA? They’re literally afraid of being tortured if they were found out.

What are their big spoon / little spoon arrangements? It goes Robin small spoon, Yamato big spoon, and then [1021 spoilers] giant demon Robin as the biggest spoon of them all.

Does one like the cuddle more than the other? Robin has ~trauma~ so it takes her a lot to be able to feel comfortable enough to hug someone, even if that person is Yamato.

Who hogs the blankets? Yamato IS the blanket, as far as Robin is concerned. Especially in his zoan form.

Who’s more likely to initiate sex? Robin.

Who’s the kinkiest? HAVE YOU SEEN ROBIN?

Who is the top and bottom in their sex life? Are they interchangeable? Robin is afraid to relinquish control in the bedroom, the one place in her life where she feels she can have power, have a say in her life. Yamato likes getting pegged by her. It’s interchangeable, of course, but top!Robin and bottom!Yamato is how it usually goes.

Who likes giving and who likes receiving oral? Unfortunately, Robin’s tongue is way too small to give any stimulation to Yamato. I mean, unless she used her powers creatively...

Can they last more than one round? Yes. I refuse to elaborate.

Which one is a morning person? Robin. She doesn’t sleep.

Do either of them like to cook? Robin is afraid of fire now so it WOULD be up to Yamato to cook, except they just eat the food that the Beasts have.

If they get married, who proposes first? “Hey Robin?” “Hm?” “Wanna cosplay as Kozuki Toki for me?” “...No, but I will marry you.” “YES!”

What kind of wedding do they have? They get married in secret once they join Luffy’s crew :)

Does anyone object to their relationship? Initially, the Beasts - particularly Kaido and King - are against it. But then they realised the benefits of having Robin, the one person who can read the poneglyphs, be infatuated with Kaido’s son.

They came to regret it when Straw Hat’s crew landed on Onigashima.

Do they have any kids? No. Do not trust these two around kids. Yamato would walk without watching where he was going and kick a child into orbit. Robin has enough trauma as it is.

Do they have any pets? Yamato is the pet - I mean. Yes.

#;; ooc #;; ask #;; ship: romato #romato

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madlymiho · 5 years

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Scenario: next part of Ace and his Marine. Marineford. She's gotta go all out to save this pirate that she somehow fell in love with, though she still wouldn't say it to his face. Ace has to live!! Angst me up!!! Thank you, Miho!!

Eddddddddie!!! You don’t know how much I was WAITING for this!! 😩😩😩

Such a damn pleasure to work on this scenario, again, I loooooove this story so much! Hope this will suit your little heart, my friend, that was so ANGSTY to throw myself back in the memories of Marineford.

Words : 2819

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Ace scenario : Save Ace! (read after the cut)

Her heart is about to stop. Her legs almost unable to lift her. Down there, on the frozen place, it’s an incredible mess. The Whitebeard’s crew, but also Luffy and his strange allies, are all fighting against the Marines. But for her, it’s not so easy to pick a side today. First because she has tried to help Ace a few days ago, begging him not to look for Blackbeard, throwing her vows to Akainu and his total justice to the ground. They have kissed, and for some reasons, she still feels his burning lips on her mouth, and the sweet scent of his body surrounding her. Second, because now, she’s nothing but stateless. Fighting with the Marines feels terribly wrong. She can’t barely look at any of them in the eyes, too ashamed to call them brothers or sisters, has she has deliberately tried to save Ace.

Save Ace. Everyone seems to need this, at the moment. All those pirates, combatting the Justice as one man, despite their gripes and pasts; all the hate they once have sensed gone in order to reach the same goal. She’s lost. And terrified. Earlier, Ace has almost died in front of her eyes, the blades of the two executioners only stopped thank to Crocodile and his sand power. She has fallen on her knees, her eyes full of terror, and despair, watching the man she desperately loves dying in front of her. And now, this terrible feeling sticks to her soul, softly whispering her that she’s on the wrong side of the battle. She knows it. It’s hurtful to admit it, but she knows that she can’t live without him. Ace might be a pirate, a terrible teaser than she wishes to slap and insult… Yet, she doesn’t want him to die. She wants to feel his lips seeking for hers one more time, and his strong arms circling her body to hold her close.

“What the hell is Garp doing?” A marine snaps near her, and she has no choice but to look up, one more time.

Her heart wrenches when she notices that Luffy is now running on some new stone stairs, chasing for his big brother. He’s climbing fast, and she watches his assumption, her fingers holding her mallet with all her strength. She wishes she can encourage him, cheers his race, throwing away her guilty feelings to fully embrace her real nature. It really feels like this is what she really needs at the moment. But Garp is in the middle of Luffy’s way, and she doesn’t know if this young little man has the strength to fight the Hero of the Marine. However, despite her strong doubts about the situation, and before she can perfectly understand the situation, the scaffold is broke down, and the entire place sets on fire. She barely has time to jump aside and avoids a critical injury, yet, she doesn’t really care about her own health at the moment. She tries to understand what just happened, and for a moment, her heart is squeezed inside her chest, as she already imagines the worse.

“Please…Please,” she only manages to whisper, her hand gripping hard the handle of her mallet.

He must be alive. He has no choice but to remain alive ; otherwise she’s losing everything. She knows that if his heart stops, hers wouldn’t make it. But as soon as she’s sure that everything is done, she notices a sudden radiance coming up in the air. A soft glow which suddenly turns into a ravenous fire, and soon enough, Fire Fist Ace is like a devilish angel, holding his little brother to come down from the scaffold, jumping between his men down in the place. She runs to avoid the fall of many fragments, now as well in the middle of the crowded place, where the pirates cheer violently the return of their beloved captain. Her mind is boiling shamelessly, trying to figure out what she could do at the moment, and finally, she decides that it’s more than time to act. As she turns her head, she notices that one of the soldier who has been in charge of the execution tries to run away. She frowns, then jumps forwards to catch this person, recognizing someone with a 3 shaped with his hair, and who could be a great value at the moment.

***

“You’re a coward,” a voice shouts as he runs behind Luffy and Marco to join the ships and escape this war. “You’re just like your father!”

Ace stops his race, his heart falling deep into the depth of his guts. He recognizes that voice ; he has heard it many times. He turns around and faces the lovely marine girl he loves for many months now. She looks at him right in the eyes, her face scratches here and there, and her uniform seriously ripped in many places. She takes a step forwards, not even blinking, more determined that she has ever been before. Ace doesn’t really know what she’s looking for at the moment. He pinches his lips together and clenches his fist, ready to take care of it if need be.

“Stay back, Name.” He says with a serious voice, far from his usual teasing habits. “Please, don’t come any closer.”

“Or what?” She answers furiously, lifting her mallet from the ground as she’s now ready to fight. “You’re going to play like Whitebeard? You’re going to make me a beautiful speech about friendship, or love, and then you’re going to run away? You’re such a coward! Just like him! I hate all the pirates like your damn father!”

Ace can’t believe what she has just said. She must know, how important Whitebeard is for him, and how it’s imprudent to tease his emotions on such a sensitive subject. She must know it, and yet, she’s standing in front of him, this furious gleam inside her irises, while she can’t control her words. Ace slowly raises his fist in the air, setting it on fire, hoping that she would understand that she needs to remain quiet. He’s a man of honor, and if she ever tries to insult his father again, she would suffer from the consequences.

“Don’t try to pretend that you will attack me, Fire Fist” She smirks, so close right now that Ace can almost touch her skin with his flames. “Turn around and run, this is what pirates under Whitebeard’s orders usually do.”

Ace is so furious, he wishes that she actually shuts her mouth. She keeps provoking him, and he clearly doesn’t understand what’s the point of being so mean, after all they have shared before that particular moment. That kiss was real, he knows it. Her feelings weren’t an utopia, and she has promised him to keep his hat safely. Why would she try to harm him, right now? Why trying to make him believe that none of their feelings are real? But before he could perfectly analyze the situation, she suddenly jumps forwards and tries to pelt him with all her strength. Ace feels that deep fury in her gesture, and more than wrathful because he has been so wrong about her, he decides to fight back. This time, there’s no teasing anymore. They fight like two enemies would do, every hits and every strikes here to harm the other. He feels that his fists sometimes touch her skin, and her rageous screams only prove how much he hurts her. He hates every minutes of it, but since she wants to play that way, he can’t let her saying these things without being lectured. She seems to have chosen her side, and truth is, perhaps it’s for the best. Now, he can properly fight her, his love but also his deception boiling inside his chest like a magma he can’t control.

“Now!” She suddenly yells, pushing Ace with her gigantic mallet with all her strength. “Now, 3, now!”

Ace frowns and catches his breath back. He turns his head to find the person who she addresses to, and only finds the deadly stare of Akainu on them, looking at their fight with some suspicion in his stare. She doesn’t seem to talk to him, and for a moment, Ace believes that she only fights him to avoid Akainu to face him. Ace curls his lips, disgusted by this man behaviors. He suddenly feels the handle of her mallet propulsed inside his stomach, and for a moment, he remains breathless, bending down as he looks back at her. She’s crying now. The look on her face is entirely different. Ace spits on the ground and straightens up, making a step forwards. What is she trying to do? She doesn’t want to hurt him anymore and he can tell it, but she keeps fighting. Is it because Akainu doesn’t trust her?

“I’m so sorry Ace…,” She whispers, lifting once again her hammer, pitifully staggering on her legs. “I…This is the only way…,”

She seems almost lifeless, her white uniform burnt and torn everywhere, her face covered with bruises and dirt. Ace can’t even lift his fists anymore. He wants her to stop. He wishes that he could run and catch her waist, force her to stop her useless fight, and convince her to stay with him. But even if she’s shaking from her hair to her toes, her hand doesn’t move. Her digits are the only part of her who don’t hesitate, strongly maintaining their grip on her handle, as she looks at his face and tries to find some comfort on his features. However Ace remains impassible. He lets down his guard, and for some reasons, he accepts whatever she wants to do. He’s too heartbroken to actually remain mad at her, and he clearly doesn’t want to fight anymore. He understands that she needs to do something, and deep down, his instinct yells at him to trust her. To have faith, no matter what.

“Name, there’s a submarine!” A particular voice screams at her, and Ace perfectly notices that spark of hope inside her eyes. “It’s now or never!”

“That’s…,” she turns her head to look at the sea, tears falling on her cheeks, as a brightful smile grows on her lips. “That’s… Yes…!”

Ace tries to spot her partner in crime, but he has no time to do it, because she seems more determined than before, and raises her weapon up in the air. He only manages to notice the odd shape of a 3 on the head of someone and a pill of wax next to them.

“Wait, Name!” Ace tries to argue one more time ; but it’s already too late.

And just like that, she closes her eyes, and with the most powerful swing of her body, she pelts him directly into the sea. Ace feels a few of his ribs crack during his fall. For a moment, he’s suspended in the air, his body flying over the ships and the battle, as if he’s already on his way for another world. He feels the wind blows his raven hair, and the weight of the world ripping his stomach apart. He thinks about everyone on that place, who has tried to rescue him, the laughter of his little brother suddenly bursting into his mind like a firework in the middle of the night. He’s ashamed. After all of his brother’s journey, all the risks he took to save him, he has abandoned the fight almost easily. He hopes that his brother would understand, that sometimes, when you love someone really deeply, you can’t raise your arms anymore, and refuse to hurt them, even if it leads you to your end.

“Ace!” Someone yells, and a second before he digs into the cold sea, he perfectly pictures her body falling next to him.

She tries to reach his hand, but as soon as their fingers softly brush, she lets out a painful cry, drops of scarlet blood splashing his own shocked face. She has been shot by a massive flying object ; a stack that she couldn’t avoid, probably sent by Whitebeard himself. Ace doesn’t even have time to catch her ; his body touches the salty and dangerous water, transforming him as a numb and useless puppet. He tries to desperately swim, screaming her name in the water as he vision becomes awfully blurry. His strength diminishes while his body keeps digging into the sea, his brain still on fire, trying his best to fight over the awful law of the nature when it comes to devil fruit users.

But then, he feels a strong grip circling his waist, as someone is pulling him back at the surface. He can’t move his arms nor his legs, only focus on his dying breathing while he’s about to reach the fresh air up there. When he’s finally able to catch his breath, he furiously coughs and tries to call her name, his eyes desperately looking everywhere.

“Don’t move like that!” A male voice screams at him, and Ace eventually notices that there’s something else than his body in the water.

He turns his head and almost freaks out to come face to face with a gigantic polar bear in an orange suit.

“Do you have him, Bepo?” Another voice shouts impatiently, right above their heads.

“Yes, captain!”

Ace raises his chin, furrowing his eyebrows because of the bright sun, unable to recognize the odd shape of the ship that the polar bear is strongly gripping. He pinches his lips when he feels that the talking animal is lifting him up, and before he can ask who the hell are these people, his back hits the metal deck of the submarine almost violently. Ace gasps and rolls on his hips, putting his hand against his ribs as the pain is almost unbearable. For a moment, he feels like he can’t move anymore, but he suddenly remembers that he saw her falling with him in the water. With difficulty, he finds the strength to stand back up, holding the metal rail boarding the deck, his eyes looking for any sign of her. He suddenly freezes when he finally spots a white human form floating at the surface of the ocean, a puddle of blood surrounding her body. Ace grips the barrier with all his strength, but a strong palm on his shoulder prevents him to stupidly jump in the ocean.

“Look down,” a lazy voice says, the one of the captain of the submarine, Trafalgar Law. “It’s not her, there. It’s a body made of wax.”

He immediately obeys, gazing down to the bottom of the submarine to finally see that two men are lifting a marine girl up to the deck. Ace ignores his own pain, and vividly jumps down to hang at the rail of the submarine, in order to extend his hand and tries his best to help the two men with her wounded body, gripping her uniform more than desperately to lift her over the metal bar. As soon as she’s safe on the deck, Ace drops on his knees and brushes her face, his eyes first looking at her scratches and bruises on her cheeks, to finally look at the stake stuck in her shoulder.

“Name…,” Ace whispers, sitting behind her to lift her back against his torso. “Name, don’t you dare die on me…,”

He circles her waist, gently putting some tender kisses on her temple, while he listens to her weak but present breathing. She coughs and spits some water, and after a moment, she manages to open her eyes, blinking because of the sun above their heads.

“I’m…I’m the one who’s rescuing you, idiot…” She manages to answer, her powerless fingers finding their way to his arm.

Ace laughs, even if his vision is full of tears. He tucks a strand of her damp hair behind her ear, unable to contain his emotions at this point.

“That was very lame, if you really want to have a review of your work,” Ace jokes as he cries and smiles at the same time, his fingers brushing her face carefully.

“Get lost, Fire Fist,” she smiles back, yet suddenly grimaces because of her wound. “It was a perfect plan because I’m so much better than you at saving your ass.”

“Oï, Oï, you’re done, love birds?” Law says, slightly annoyed by their behaviors as he comes right in front of them and sighs loudly. “Your girlfriend gots a stack in the shoulder if you haven’t notice, Portgas D. Ace.”

Ace nods, ready to let her go to have some medical assistance, but she grabs his arm and throws a deadly look to the doctor captain.

“Who the hell are you calling his girlfriend?” She hisses, before she collapses against Ace’s chest, absolutely drained after her fight.

But the job is done. She saved Portgas D. Ace.

#one piece headcanons #one piece scenario #portgas d ace #portgas d. ace #ace one piece #one piece imagine #one piece hc #one piece hcs #portgas d ace x reader #portgas d. ace x reader #angsty scenario #hurt comfort situation #happy ending #takethethirdoption #one piece request

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neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years

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479-480: “The Scaffold at Last! the Way to Ace Has Opened!” and “Each On Different Paths! Luffy Vs. Garp!”

Right there with you, Luffy! Never thought I’d be so glad to see a scaffold. xD

Another two solid episodes, with a daring rescue courtesy of Mr 3 at the end! @supramp9000 asked me for a prediction to what he was doing, sneaking away and I GOT IT!

Sort of. I mentioned Mr 3 moulding wax inside a lock to create a key copy. I thought he was going to open a gate somewhere and let all the escaping pirates out (because who would guess Hancock’s key would snap?). Never thought he’d mould a skeleton key while falling. Oda and those damned curve balls. Always ruining my predictions.

Also, I want to watch more episodes a week (I haven’t done the math but if I don’t pick up the pace, Luffy will find the One Piece before I’m caught up). The last entry took me three hours to put together and, to be honest, it was way too long. Folk would have sprained fingers scrolling down on the app, so I’m going to try and shorten the entries a bit. I was too obsessed with trying to catch every little detail (so I could say, “Ha, I predicted it!”) but if I miss something, I miss something. That’s why you guys are here. :)

Conqueror’s Haki Fallout and Perceptions

Now I know Luffy didn’t execute a Shanks-scale mass fainting, the hype from 478 is not as strong. In a way, that’s better because it means Luffy has room to improve (which makes his development more interesting to watch, story-wise).

The reactions to it were interesting too.

Akainu and Ivankov both noticed Luffy’s use of it was unconscious. The law of shounen dictates he must train to now use it consciously. I’m in the middle of Boku no Hero Academia right now and it’s interesting that Luffy’s situation is the opposite to Midoriya’s. Luffy has all the natural talent and has to work to consciously use it, while Midoriya is very conscious of figuring out how to handle the unnatural power he’s been given and has to work to use it unconsciously. I’m guessing shounen heros fall into one of these two categories. But where would you place Gon from HxH? Is he both? (I’m a sucker for shounen anime. It’s an addiction. halp!)

Kizaru was surprised Luffy had so much power. As soon as he realised this, he ordered his soldiers to take out Strawhat nao, damn it! Does this show an increased level of respect? Will Kizaru stop shit-talking Luffy?

True to form, Aokiji didn’t say much at all (what is this man’s game?) Whitebeard didn’t say much either but you could tell he was surprised - and maybe pleased?

Whitebeard’s Legacy

It’s hard watching Whitebeard, who is the loveliest pirate ever to sail, suffering so much, though he would hate me for saying so because his Sea Dad Pride is strong.

Luffy’s haki seems to be a turning point. Once he saw that, he ordered his men to back up Luffy “with all your strength!” and said to himself, ”You have the middle initial D. Show me how the world will be in years to come.” Oda reinforced this by having Ivankov notice and say to Luffy, “The strongest pirate in the world his putting his hopes in you.”

After the haki, Whitebeard has faith in Luffy. I’d hesitate to say he’s passing the torch because if Ace does get out of this, Whitebeard cannot have placed his hopes in two people. He’d back Ace for Pirate King out of loyalty to his son. Luffy ain’t a son. But still... maybe this is a sign of Whitebeard’s respect for a new, Shanks-style rival who will take the Old Ways into the New Era.

Love how Jimbei disobeyed and defended Whitebeard. That fishman’s loyalty is unbreakable. Yes, he is there to defend Luffy, but his ultimate loyalty is to Ace and Whitebeard.

Help From Everyone

Now I’m neck deep in Boku no Hero Academia, I can make more parallels. Luffy does resemble Midoriya in a way. He accepts and is grateful for help if it gets him where he needs to go. I think Luffy, though, being on the grey side, would accept it from (almost) anyone. Maybe Midoriya is more honourable. Can’t make that judgement yet, as I’m only 29 episodes in.

The help list for 479 includes:

Crocodile and Daz Bones: cannot believe Daz Bones deflected Mihawk’s swipes. Even though he had to be bailed out by Crocodile, that was impressive. He’s stronger than I thought.

Boa Hancock: I love how cleverly she’s balancing helping out Luffy and retaining her status as a Shichibukai. More than any of the others, she has an entire nation relying on her, whom she has to protect. If she discards her status, a Buster Call might descend on her island. She’s found a way to protect Luffy and her people. Nice. Also, random observation: I know she can’t do this in battle because it would reveal her motives, but can Hancock turn the Kumas to stone?

Inazuma and Ivankov: Ivankov’s hair is like Mary Poppins’ bag except instead of hatstands, he pulls out revolutionaries. That moment when Inazuma cut a ribbon of concrete and made a path for Luffy was awesome. With Ivankov guarding the path below, Luffy had a clear run.

Grandpa Garp

Except Grandpa Garp stood in the way. Cannot lie, this was a tense moment. I wondered whether Garp would go full Lawful Good and actually fight his adorable, rubbery grandson. If he had, he would have lost character points from me. I mean, if he had, I would have understood why, but still... he’s Garp. Don’t think I’m hypocritical, though. If Luffy had killed Garp, he would have lost points too.

At it was, Garp did put on the show. He did try to steel his resolve. “I’ve been fighting pirates since before you were born! If you wanna pass through here, you’re gonna have to kill me first - because of the path you have chosen to live!”

That was the cliffhanger point, so I was left in suspense for a while. Must have killed manga readers who were caught up at that point. I can only imagine the mess of speculation on the forums.

Then, in 480, came the flashbacks. It was basically Garp’s Monkey Training Camp and Garp’s Gorilla Training Camp, wherein Garp worried if Luffy hated him because he was an intimidating Grandpa. Nah, Garp. Luffy has never hated you. You could see the fear in his eyes at the thought of having to kill or hurt you to reach Ace. Plus, you swiped food from the Marines to give him a post-training feast and carried him on your back when he was too sleepy to walk. Luffy knows you love him.

And he’ll definitely know now that you looked him in the eye and could not go through with your threat, choosing to take that punch rather than harm a hair on Luffy’s head. Sengoku noticed too. I hope he doesn’t blame Garp for it. (But in a way, I kind of hope he does. I’m holding out for a Monkey D. Family Revolutionary Reunion!)

And then... finally...

Luffy reached the scaffold and Sengoku lifted a finger! There was a point when Luffy grabbed onto the platform where I thought, Sengoku, if you kick him off I will flip a fucking table... But no! He actually revealed his power. Or a bit of it, anyway. I have no clue how it works. He stole rivets from the scaffold to aid his transformation into a bonafide massive gold Buddha. Enel would have been very interested in Sengoku, haha.

Funnily enough, Kizaru was the one who really hampered Luffy’s rescue effort. He sniped the key from a distance (that guy is hyper competent) and Luffy was left floundering for a moment.

Then Mr 3 stepped up. That was a masterpiece twist. I was not expecting him to appear, so I legit cheered. I liked how Oda gave him a motivation to help Luffy. Mr 3 is doing it for Bon-chan, whose friendship with Luffy never wavered and who never ran in the face of adversity. Now I come to think of it, Mr 3 and Bon-chan must have been pretty good friends, as Luffy and Mr 3 were the ones who were really left mourning on the ship post-Impel Down. Good for you, Galdino. Be inspired by Bon-chan. He’d love it if he knew.

There was a large KABOOM at the very moment of rescue. Then a moment of tension, obscured by fire and a smoke.

That moment when Ace, Luffy and Mr 3 emerged from a pillar of fire was worth the watch. Will Ace cut loose and fight his way out? How will the Whitebeards escape? I don’t think for one minute that Sengoku will let them walk away.

I KNOW, RIGHT?? ^_^

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purghhappenings · 6 years

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For poly strawhats hcs (you're on a roll) could we get some reactions to the crew's 'unique' dynamic from outsides: enemies, allies, ect. Nsfw and not. (I love dramatic/wft situations like that n the crew not giving two shits)

So there are like thousands of different bets in the marines it’s insane Garp is just like 🤷🏼‍♀️ so long as he doesn’t get pregnant and Sengoku doesn’t have the time nor patience to tell him that’s not how it works Sengoku is fuckin pissed because all the strawhats fuck around and confuse the new recruits by saying “not my boyfriend!” And then a minute later to a different member “not my boyfriend!!!!” And all the recruits are confused and then they have to hold a class and it’s a lot Blackbeard is pissed cause he can’t land even one piece of ass but Luffy can easily land over 12Sabo willingly gave shovel talk to pretty much anyone who’s ever spoken to Luffy Dragon cant judge because well i mean at least he’s happy??? We’re bringing in Sir Crocodile because that’s luffys mom and lemme just say there were some threatening looks sent to luffys partners because even though crocodile knows first hand Luffy will fuck someone up that’s still his son Bonney: they’re all so fuckin weirdKid: how the fuck did law manage to seduce the entire crew?!Law: they seduced me, I’m a victim Doflamingo was oddly supportive?? Fujitora congratulated them because he thought it was beautifulBoa is two different emotions: pissed it’s not her, but she’s happy if luffys happyZoro told Mihawk and Mihawk said “I’m shocked you can’t find your way around my castle but you can figure out your way around multiple bodies”There was a duel that dayPerona thinks it’s too much work 🤷🏼‍♀️Ivan threw a giant fucking party

When the celestial dragons find out, there are literal riots “First they’re pirates and horrible and now they partake in a relationship like that?!?!”The Strawhats send their Christmas card to Marie Jois every year :) Smoker just wants them to stop with the Public indecency and the offers to join

Reporter: who is your partner?Zoro being a shit head: well i can’t figure out my way anywhere so instead of choosing i chose all of them

To this day everyone is still confused on how it works and the crew always gives dumb answers“Magic”“Sacrifice”“I didn’t eat any rice growing up”“Hair spray”“The power of friendship”“For spite”“Rock paper scissors”

They’ve stopped asking at this point Shanks high fives every single one of them Mihawk threatens to kill him Surprising shanks gives Luffy the shovel talk Benn then gives shanks the shovel talkThen there’s an actual shovel and well it doesn’t go well from there

So here you go! I’d like to think that the entire grand line is just so used to monkey d. Luffy and all of the shenanigans so they half expected it and people are usually in awe and jealous cause even a one on one relationship doesn’t work as well as theirs

I hope you like these!!!!!!! I’m gonna try to space the few asks out so people aren’t bombarded so if you don’t see yours it’s for that reason Thank you so much for poly!strawhat asks cause this is my favorite hc ❤️👌🏼👍🏼Keep em coming!!!!

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jollyinha · 6 years

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Soooo... I saw an One Piece tag in Reddit, and for some reason I really like doing tags, even though no one gives a fuck about it. Since I have nothing better to do, LET’S ANSWER IT!

1 - Who is your favorite character and why? (Additionally, who is you fav Straw Hat?)

Most people would guess that it’s Sanji, since I’m crazy for this boy literally since I put my eyes on him... But my favorite character is Luffy, because without him, I wouldn’t stay interested in One Piece for much time. I kept watching the anime because I thought he was a funny and interesting protagonist, and it changed my life.

Besides, he is everything I love in a character (Especially in a protagonist): Dreamer, determinated, funny loyal and dumb. He inspired/inspires me in many, many ways, and I just love this strawhat boy.

2 - Who is your favorite villain and why?

That’s a tough one... Arlong impacted me the most (I hate, haaaaate his guts!) and Lucci akuma-no-mi is pretty cool. But I’m saying Crocodile. I mean, c’mon, the guy tricked an entire kingdom, defeated Luffy TWICE (I think it was twice, correct me if I’m saying shit), had an entire organization... And had banana crocodiles and a cool casino. And his akuma-no-mi is badass too. I kind of hope that he appears again in these recents arcs, even if it’s very unlikely!

3 - What is your favorite quote or statement?

Oh man, there’s so many of them... Screw that, I’m making a small list.

- "When does a man die? Does he die when he's been shot? No. Does he die when he's ravaged with disease? No. Does he die when he's been poisoned? NO! A man dies when, and only when, he is FORGOTTEN! “

- "A man's dream will never die!"

- “The government says your existence is a crime, but no matter what kind of weapons you may hold, just being alive isn't a sin! THERE'S NO CRIME IN LIVING!!!''

- “Don't start a fight you can't finish.”

4 - Who is your favorite female character?

Urgh, I love all my girls! I love Robin, Vivi and Nami nearly equally, but I’m saying Nami. Her backstory was the first one that actually made me cry. It’s amazing to think that he was stealing from pirates that could kill her, even though that she was just a child! That moment when she asked for help... Damn, it brings me chills.

And I also love how even though she was already extremely important for the crew while being only the navigator, she still wanted to become stronger, and asked for Usopp to create the Clima Tact. She uses her intelligence to fight, fights for her friends when it’s necessary and still saves everyone’s butts by being the amazing navigator we know!

5 - What is your favorite fight?

I gotta say the fight against Lucci. Not only was a very intense battle and it was the first time Luffy used a Gear, but I love its meaning. If he needs to kick the World Government’s ass to save a crewmate, he will absolutely do it. Nothing shall stand in his and his nakama’s way!

6 - What is your favorite episode?

Well, I don’t ACTUALLY watch the anime since Alabasta. After that, I’ve only watched a few loose episodes, so I don’t know a lot about the anime. But I’m saying the episode that Brook joined the crew. The expressions and the voice acting are just on point!

7 - What is your favorite One Piece opening?

We Are!, of freaking course. It’s the only opening that I never skipped while I watched the anime. Although We Go! comes in a close second. Believe in Wonderland is good too.

8 - What is your favorite movie, special or "episode of"?

I did enjoyed Strong World and 3D2Y a lot, but Gold was amazeballs, starting with that freaking catchy song in the beginning. The animation is GORGEOUS, Tesoro is very interesting in my opinion, the outfits are amazing, and the final battles were pretty cool too. I didn’t liked Carina very much, tho

9 - What is your favorite arc in One Piece?

Alabasta, without any doubt. Baroque Works was freaking charismatic, the scenarios were interesting as hell, Vivi was an amazing character in general, the battles were intense and fun, and it’s such a funny arc! I really like the filler were Ace spends a while with the Strawhats too. Water 7 comes in a close second place.

10 - What is your favorite One Piece videogame?

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3. It’s so much fun to play with characters like Hancock, Ace, Law and Tashigi! The story log is very nostalgic and the dream log is addicting as hell.

11 - If you were in the One Piece universe, who's crew would you join and why?

What kind of question is that? Strawhat Crew, of course! They all have this sense of one for all and all for one, and they really look like a family, and this is very heart-warming to me.

12 - What is the saddest One Piece moment?

Weeeeeeell... I’ve been stuck in Dressrosa for a while, and the saddest moment in my opinion is at Whole Cake. I took EVERY SINGLE POSSIBLE SPOILER of this arc, though. Without hesitation, it’s Sanji’s backstory. I feel like crying when I only see PICTURES of his backstory... I don’t even want to think what I’m going to feel when I actually get in Whole Cake. Sanji occupies a very special place in my heart, so it hurts a lot to see that this was his past. Congratulations, Oda, you completely broke my heart once again. Also, Pudding can stick her finger in her third eye and go to hell

13 - What is the most shocking moment?

The third scene that made me cry in One Piece: Usopp VS Luffy in Water 7. These two are such good friends! That’s why I remember that I was freaking out when they began to fight.

14 - What is the funniest One Piece moment and who is the funniest character?

There are plenty of funny moments in this beautiful story, so I’m going to say more than one. Zoro getting lost, Luffy’s impressions, Robin’s imagination and all the “Can you poop?” moments. And of course that Luffy is the funniest character.

15 - What is the most memorable moment?

That moment when Luffy gets Zoro’s swords, and he defends his captain for the first time. C’mon, it’s the beginning of the crew!

“Nice, Zoro!”

“It was no trouble, Captain.”

16 - What is your favorite ability in One Piece?

Hana-Hana No Mi. It’s elegant, has many uses and it can be powerful as heck. I totally want it! Emperor’s Haki is a close second, tho...

17 - Do you own any One Piece merchandise? (Official or not)

Many of them! All the mangas that were/are being released on Brazil, the special editions (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Wanted!) an giant wallpaper, plenty of posters, many figure actions, an Sanji cosplay, a flag, a strawhat, a keychain and a notepad (The last two actually came from Japan!), a necklace and a shirt.

18 - Do you prefer watching One Piece in sub or dub?

As I said up there, I’m brazilian... So I never actually had acess to the english dub, and the portuguese dub (It’s a very good dub, btw) came out before I knew One Piece. So, it’s sub.

19 - What is the #1 thing you love the most about One Piece?

I’m a sucker for this kind of thing: The whole dreams, freedom, friendship and bravery message that it passes. I keep the lessons that One Piece gave me deep in my heart. They give me hope and happiness in hard moments.

20 - What is the #1 thing you hate the most about One Piece?

There’s two of them: The brazilian fandom and what they did to Sanji after the timeskip. Brazil’s fandom is full of toxicity, arguing, homophobia and sexism. And Sanji was so smooth and serious before the timeskip, but I feel like he became a gag after the timeskip. Where’s the suave Sanji, goddamnit?!

21 - Does One Piece take your number 1 spot in your top 10 animes? (If not, where?)

Absolutely yes. One Piece saved me from dispair countless times. Its jokes, its lessons, its characters... And if it weren’t for One Piece, I wouldn’t have known half of my friends, and honestly, I don’t know where I was going to be nowdays if I didn’t had them. In many aspects, One Piece saved my life. I’m eternally grateful to Oda. One Piece is a huge inspiration to me in both emotional aspects and in a writer’s point of view. Watching One Piece was the best choice I ever made, because that silly strawhat boy changed my life and took me out of the darkness many times. I love this masterpiece with all my soul.

#one piece #tag #tags #reddit tags #this last part was actually very deep #but 100% truthful #i got a little emotional tbh #but i have no regrets

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twopeace-onepiecehcs · 6 years

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Oh my! First request! I’m not really good with angst but I do enjoy reading it. For you, I’ll give it a try. I don’t know if you want the character or the s/o in grief so I just picked which one was better.

Ace:

-Your chest was rising and falling at a steady pace. You felt your body slightly shaking out of pain.

- you were actually diagnosed with an unknown illness that slowly ate your life span away. You hated the thought of dying. You hated the thought of not fighting anymore. You hated the thought of…….leaving the man you held dearly so much.

You were currently at Marineford sitting on a wheelchair because you lost the ability to walk, seeing everyone fighting for the sake of the man you loved so much. You were currently guarded by the other Whitebeard Pirates that guarded the ship.

You felt like you were the worst person ever not able to do anything. You did help from afar because you being the sniper of the ship and you constantly wanted to help but you weren’t aloud to move from your spot. You silently cursed almost every second

“Fuck you, Fuck the marines, fuck me!” You muttered.

but the cursing stopped when you saw the last moments of Ace’s life. You saw some damn marine did it. Your eyes widen like it was gonna burst.

-“WHAT THE HECK, ACEEE!! YOU CAN’T FUCKING DIE YET!” you screamed until your throat was hoarse. You force your legs to move stand up. Shaking like a new born giraffe. You walked towards the scene, throwing your weapon in the process.

-you tried running towards Akainu, with your wobbly legs. Activating your haki, you punched him with all the power you tried to muster. Akainu just glared at you. He didn’t do anything knowing how pityful you were. You hated it

- you couldn’t accept it. You were supposed to die first. You landed face first onto ground because your legs could no longer support your weight. You looked at Ace that was in Luffy’s embracement. You fell blood coming out of your nose with your knees scrapped.

-“tch, Ace you jerk. You’re the worst.” You laughed at yourself. Akainu looked at you closely. “Call the paramedics, this girl here has “that” disease!“ He roared.

-what is “that” disease? How come he knows? You asked yourself. You felt cold hands snaking around your body and picking you up.

- you heard the crew shouting to let you go. You gave a sad glance at them “it’s okay, guys. I’m just a burden to you guys anyway. They might know a thing or two about this disease” you said as you remembered the moments where you needed the crew’s aid for almost everything.

-“Please tell Ace after you burried him, thanks for teaching me how great life is. I’ll treasure the memories with you guys forever” you smiled. You made a deal with the marines that if you followed them, they wouldn’t touch a single hair.

- Marco was nice enough and hanged your favourite hairpin at Ace’s grave. They grieved your disappearance the same level as Ace

- so, there you were, shackles on your ankle and wrists. Almost everyday, you were a labrat. Being injected with drugs and undergoing weird side affects. It was a miracle or according to you , torture, that you were still alive.

- you still refused to cry out of stubbornness and maintaining your ego. You just gave a bitter smile to them.

“Ace, I miss you. When can I join you? But for you, I’ll live”

Sabo:

- you couldn’t technically call yourself human. You were a forest spirit that lived in the forest near the Revolutionary base. Forest spirits are usually just a soul with no body but there was a tree that made you have a body. The golden sakura. You were technically one with the tree, of the tree dies, your body dies And you had a special relationship with a blond haired man.

- Sabo enjoyed visiting you from time to time to release stress. You guys would lie on the ground together while looking at the sunset together. You were happy with your current place.

-you were also close with the others. So, you were considered one of them. One day, you heard some bitter news. The Celestial Dragons had plans on the island but they were not pretty.

- you knew about, the revolutionaries knew about it but none of them dared to utter a word about it. They secretly planned on stopping them with hopes they would get to stay at the base

-your were also planning something on your own. You had the ability to control plants and other floral life but you were not a devil fruit user

-you stood infront of the huge army, ready to destroy. The other revolutionaries where captured and chained.You decided to attack using all your strength. Everytime you received an attack, your limbs would just grow back or heal.

-" you brat, hurry up an scram!" The leader shouted as he kept shooting. "Like hell I would" you said calmly. "This is my, no. OUR HOME"

-"Friendship huh?" The celestial dragon laughed. He then pointed the gun he was holding towards Sabo's head. Your expression changed for a mere moment but quickly morphed back.

-you sighed. "How about we trade something? I give you something and you leave" you said as you folded your arms.

- "What would that be?" You put both of your hands onto the rich soil and chanted something. Suddenly, the dear tree that was the one that gave you a 'life' appeared out of the ground.

-Everyones face was painted with shock. "T-the golden sakura...this is worth more than any bounty".

-"yes because it's able to heal any illness" you looked at them with a stoic look. "Fine, I agree with this trade"

-"WHAT!? YOU CAN'T DO THAT (Y/N). DON'T DO SOMETHING STUPID LIKE THAT" Sabo shouted as he protested, trying to free himself.

-you raised your hand Sabo to calm down. You then proceeded "I'll be the one chopping down the tree and you people will have to stay away from here." "How will I know your not lying to us" the cruel man said with a untrusting tone. "A forest spirit is not aloud to lie or I am cursed with a dying forest" you said calmly. "You also need to free my friends"

- the man stayed silent for a while. "fine" he said while telling his army to depart.

-"Are you crazy! Don't do it (y/n)! You're gonna die" Sabo said while the others noded. "Ahahaha, I would never die. Just my body....so, don't worry guys. I'll still be here watching all of you, here" you said while grabbing hold of your axe.

- you swinged your axe. As the blade hit on the bark, you were met with a jolt of pain. You stopped and hissed in pain. You took a deep breath and continued. You felt red liquid coming out of your mouth. Blood, the first time you ever got to see it coming out of you.

- you felt Sabo's eyes stared at you with agony but you didn't look at him. Finally, the tree hit the ground.

-" could you guys help me and send this to them?" You said trying to stop the tears. You felt your body slowly turning into stone. Suddenly, you heard Koala burst into tears. You then saw the others burst into tears but Sabo just looked at the ground out of grief.

-you chuckled. "Don't worry guys, you guys can still visit me everyday". Sabo walked to you and held your cheek while your body was slowly hardening.

- he gave you a sad smile "I'll visit you every damn day". He said stroking your cheek. "Fine then, I'll be waiting" you said smiling while a tear slid down.

-you froze into stone with the most beautiful smile, according to Sabo. He would come everyday and polish your stoned body. He would ask how were you.

- You would respond to him but he couldn't hear. You wanted to touch him but couldn't. You could see and hear him. But it was torture not able to talk to him and touch him

"As long as I can see you everyday is fine even though it's technically torturing myself"

Luffy:

-you were an ex slave but you managed to escape both your master and death at the same time. When you almost died out of your injuries, the Strawhats found you and took you in. For the first time in years, you felt loved.

-the rubbery captain was especially attached to you. He liked how brave and hardworking you were. You knew that you were never technically free from your master's grasp but you decided to ignore it for a while.

-you almost got a heart attack when you knew that your master was able to track you down. He kidnapped Chopper and Nami out of the blue asked for a trade and threatened they would immediately be sent to the government to turn into slaves.

-if course, Luffy was furious and demanded to move immediately. You just bit your lips, guilt slowly eating you on the inside.

-"Why do you look so sad (y/n)? We're gonna save them for sure!" Luffy said when he saw you.

- you just gave him an uneasy smile. You paused and noded with agreement. Alone, you were planning something. You didn't want to burden the others. You were gonna save them no matter what.

- when arrived, you ran after Luffy to look for your master. "YOU, GIVE BACK MY FRIENDS" the young man shouted. "Sure, looks like you brought what I wanted anyway" the master said smirking.

-he pointed to you. Sweat formed on your forehead. Luffy was confused until he figured out you were the 'thing' he wanted.

- as Luffy was about to get ready to attack, you injected a drug to knock out Luffy. You were actually prepared for this and was ready to take full responsibility for this.

-He just looked at you with sad eyes and blacked out. You looked at his unconscious body with guilt. You picked him up then hugged him with all your might.

-"please let me contact someone first". Your master just stood there silently but signalled his minions to free your unconscious friends.

-"Franky, could please come and pick them up. Tell Luffy I'm forever sorry and thank you." You said with a miserable tone. Tears then proceeded to drop down your cheeks and you gripped the den den mushi tighter. "I LOVE YOU GUYS, FOREVEEErrr!IM SORRY I CAN'T COME WITH YOU GUYS ANYMORE!!!UWAHHH!" You shouted with all you can knowing this was your last chance to tell them.

- the other strawhats knew about this except Luffy. They tried to stop you but you were persistent. You didn't have the heart to tell him but you left a note.

-"welcome back, my toy" your master chuckled. "Thank you, master" you said with a insincere smile plastered on your face. You stroked the unwanted logo on the back of your hand.

"Even though it was short, thank you for showing how beautiful the world is, Luffy"

Warghhhh, I think I got a lot of facts wrong but I tried. Sorry if it looked rushed. I'm really sorry it didn't really follow the theme you wanted but I had fun writing Sabo's part. I'm also sorry it's not angsty enough because I'm not really good. Sorry for Luffy's being so bland because I'm used to reading Luffy fluff. Thank you for reading. Love you

#one piece headcanons #one piece scenarios #monkey d. luffy #one piece #portagas d. ace #revolutionary sabo #angst

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kingcocoabutter · 6 years

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The Road to Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions

I saw a video recently discussing the merits of Whole Cake Island and Sanji’s character arc within said story arc and there was a word that caught my attention. Intentions. The author asserted that Sanji is willing to forgive Pudding for shooting his sister and he was willing to place himself at BM’s mercy because he felt that their intentions were good. It is a fascinating idea and one I want to explore in more depth in this editorial. Fair warning that this editorial will be somewhat lengthy. It is going to explore a range of seemingly diverse topics but I swear that they are all interrelated. Let’s start with the easy stuff.

What You See Is What You Get?

If you were to ask fans what the central “theme” of Whole Cake Island (insomuch as it has one) you’d probably get answers like: parenting, family, race relations, self-discovery, and acceptance. Fair and true. But it is also an arc about dealing with personal pain and overcoming trauma. After all it’s the main defense that fans use to support Sanji’s actions during this arc. Sanji’s “self-sacrificial nature” is a result of the endless years of abuse at the hands of the people that were supposed to love and support him come hell or high water: his family. And while Sanji may have managed to escape that hellhole and learn the true meaning of love and family he’s never really addressed his conflicted feelings about his “real” family or confronted his abusers. But more on that later.

I’ve said it before in a previous editorial but I understand why Sanji made the decisions he did at the start of this arc. I don’t think any of the other Straw-hat would have behaved any differently when protecting their friends from harm. Especially when that Strawhat, as we have been repeatedly told, is so kind. I even understand why certain key events in this arc played out the way they did. Especially Pudding and Katakuri’s character arc’s, which really are a central lynchpin around which so many of the events of this arc revolve around. But first please permit me a brief digression.

Most fan expectations for this arc skew towards the idea that the Charlotte Family and the Straw Hats conflict will be resolved by having them end up as allies by the end of the arc (whatever shape that may take). I know some fans are opposed to this because of the belief that one cannot know an author’s intentions before the story is complete and that setting strong expectations can only inevitably lead to disappointment. Fair. That said I land firmly in the camp of The Charlotte’s will be allies for a number of simple reasons:

1) Oda cannot realistically expect to convince me that half of the SH crew were able to storm an Emperor’s territory and defeat all their forces, no matter how unusual the circumstances. I’m putting aside arguments regarding the expectation of running away from the clash or other related arguments because they are not relevant to the contents of this work. If I feel they are relevant to the arguments I’m making then I may address them later on.

2) The way Oda has structured the relationship between the two prominent main characters on both the SH’s and Charlotte sides (Luffy/Sanji, Katakuri/Pudding) leaves me no doubt in my mind that there will be no protracted conflict between the two groups. Again maybe a discussion for further in the editorial.

So many fans whose analysis of WCI I read bring up pretty much the same arguments and defense of the characters. All of them see Pudding/Sanji/Katakuri as sympathetic and relatable characters and it’s not hard to see why. Each of them has had expectations placed on them regarding behavior since the day they were born in spite of the fact that their personalities seem to run counter to said expectations. Sanji was supposed to be an apathetic killer working in the service of his father to restore the glory of a fading nation. Katakuri is…well we ASSUME that he has spent a lifetime striving to achieve a state of perfection so…perfect, so that he can compensate for his relatively minor “flaw” despite it not being perceived as such by his family. Pudding is much the same in she puts on a mask to plays the role of the perfect daughter who is a pawn in her mother’s machinations (much like all her siblings) to gain power/alliances that will allow her mother to achieve her dream of creating a utopia for all races.

We are also shown how tenuous the bonds of blood that bind the Charlotte family together seem frail and frayed in the presence of a family like the SH’s whose bonds have been forged in the fires of love, friendship, conflict, and perhaps most importantly choice. Given that it makes sense then why the crux of this arc relies on us understanding that the reason Katakuri/Pudding are swayed by Luffy/Sanji is because they are genuine people with good intentions who have shown them something they have never gotten from their family: kindness. It’s most likely the reason Sanji so strictly adheres to Zeff’s teachings and code is that he was one of the first people to show Sanji kindness. He was the person that selflessly gave of himself so that Sanji could live. And for a kid who has spent his entire life being told that he was worthless, a mistake, and an embarrassment, that is a powerful action indeed. So let’s talk about that Pudding eye scene.

The single most “powerful” defense of the Pudding scene is the idea that Sanji saw a kindred spirit in Pudding, much like Zeff did in Sanji all those years ago. That the sentiment behind his exclamation of the beauty of her eye was grounded in something deeper, something empathetic, and something…genuine. And given that we know Sanji is doing his best to model himself after the man he admires, maybe Oda’s intentions with that scene were to capture that same feeling. After all Pudding has basically been stuck in a situation similar to Sanji for far longer than he had without the possibility of escape. And given what we what we know of the Charlotte family, it would seem kindness is not a trait they value. So when seemingly confronted with someone that shows her something she has never experienced before what else would Pudding do? Especially when it’s directed at a perceived flaw that seems so trivial when compared to the whole.

It all seems so perfect doesn’t it? Sanji was born into a family that saw his kindness as a weakness until a man showed him that his perceived flaw was not something to be ashamed of but rather should be carried as a mark of pride. Then when he comes across someone in a similar situation to his he emulates the actions of the man he so admires to lift them up much like what was once done for him. All these pieces fit together so well it almost seems like WCI should be one of Oda’s better arcs. So why don’t I feel it? Well that’s probably because that while Totland, may seem like a Utopia from a cursory examination, a closer look would reveal all the hidden cracks and imperfections that mar its flawless façade. And what better place to begin examining its structural flaws then with one of its mightiest pillars: Sanj’s character arc.

You Are The Weakest Link! Goodbye.

Is Sanji shallow? I heard a fan ask once why other fans (mostly women) were bothered by Sanji’s preferences regarding women. Why were they trying to shame him for being physically attracted to a certain “type” of woman? Well…it’s complicated but I’ll do my best to give input.

One reason it’s so problematic is how Oda embraces a problematic cultural trend that has been emblematic of a societal problem that has plagued us for centuries. We have been fed a media diet that has conditioned us to recognize certain body shapes as being the model of attractiveness, and Oda has taken that to an EXTREME with his female characters. Any DESIREABLE WOMAN in the series has a certain body shape and they are almost always meant to be perceived via “The Male Gaze”. Chapter 898 being a perfect example, with all the Vinsmoke brothers being drawn in dynamic action panels and yet when we see Reiju attack it’s with a nice front row seat to her ass. Or even consider the infamous bath scene in Capone’s hideout. It is very telling that Oda only draws Nami/Carrot “naked” in the bath and has Chiffon sitting off to the side fully clothed. Saying “well Chiffon was holding Pez” is an excuse and an example of how good Oda is at illusion, and misdirection. He believes that Chiffon isn’t attractive like the others and so he shunted her off to the side. What does this have to do with Sanji? I wrote an entire editorial about this but to reiterate: What does Sanji love about women? Answer: He loves their looks.

Now I know fans will want to bombard with me all manner of “That’s not true” and “he loves Pudding” and maybe even a “So?” I’ll address the latter but with regards to the former the only question I’ll ask is: Does he really though? What exactly does he love about Pudding? I haven’t been as attentive to the events of this arc due to my lack of emotional investment and so maybe someone will prove me wrong, but off the top of my head I cannot remember Sanji ever stating what exactly he loves about Pudding. And I mean something specific apart from she’s sweet/kind. Mostly because that was a façade she was putting on but also because those are very generic character traits that can be broadly applied.

I am not going to judge someone for taking physical appearances and traits into account when choosing a partner (stones and glass houses as it were) because that’s how we’re programmed and it’s something we have had jammed down our throat for years. There’s a trend starting recently that’s starting to make a move away from that with body positivity but it’s hard to undo centuries of mental conditioning so easily. So I’m not saying Sanji is shallow for being attracted to certain kinds of women but I will totally call him shallow for that being the only DEFINING trait that he claims to LOVE about women. And it plays into one of the biggest problems I have with this arc: The pudding eye scene.

My question to fans would be: Would Sanji have reacted the same way if Pudding was not a conventionally attractive woman? What if instead of her it had been Chiffon that he was to marry? Would he still be able to convince himself that he would be happy? Would he still have reacted the same way to any potential third eyes she had? Yes? Bullshit. I don’t buy it for a second and none of Sanji’s actions throughout the series have convinced me otherwise or even given me cause for reasonable doubt. The reason that the Pudding eye scene falls so flat for me is that Pudding is GORGEOUS. There is no believable world in which Sanji’s reaction to her eye would be anything BUT positive. Especially given his reputation for being a horn dog and ESPECIALLY when considering the kinds of women he finds attractive. A cynical person might even note that maybe that’s the reason Oda has spent so much time this arc reiterating how Sanji is KIND.

I know some fans will justify it by saying that Sanji could have seen something in Pudding that gave him insight into her inner turmoil. After all we as readers are not privy to every single event that the Straw Hats are involved in because they aren’t relevant to the story. Something could have happened during all the time that Sanji was with Pudding while we readers were preoccupied with one of the other groups on Whole Cake Island. Fair. But it’s not enough. That scene serves as a central crux of this arc and its importance means that reading between the lines and general assumptions aren’t enough. And given everything we know about Sanji that runs counter to what we’re supposed to believe I don’t think it’s unfair to ask for more. Which brings me to the core of this editorial.

The Missing Link

I’ve been privy to a number of conversations recently regarding “villainous” characters and how fans don’t understand how or why someone could like someone so heinous. The prime example of this being Bakugo from My Hero Academia. I’ll provide a quick refresher/primer for those that are unfamiliar with this character. Bakugo was basically the golden child, that was naturally gifted with a powerful superpower and whose arrogance was fanned by the flames of admiration.

He develops a dislike for another child (Midoriyia) whom he perceives as weak (because he lacks a “quirk”) and he relentlessly torments him and bullies him for much of his childhood. Bakugo is seemingly an irredeemable asshole. That said a core part of the story focuses on Bakugo’s development as he comes to terms with his past behavior so that he can set himself on the path to becoming the person he wants to be. He’s a kid that’s some done some horrific shit because that’s what you do when you’re a kid. You’re focused on your wants, your desires, and your pain. It’s basically all what can the world do for me and I deserve this. But the lesson most people learn is that actions have consequences and some of them may unintentionally or ignorantly cause harm to others because you don’t know better. A person’s past should not define their future but neither should it be wholly discounted. And that’s one of the things that kind of bothers me about Luffy.

Fans have questioned before why Luffy never pays attention to the backstories of his crew or the people he befriends and I feel like it’s because he doesn’t care about their past. Luffy only cares about what actions a person takes now because what’s done is done and there really isn’t much you can do to change that. It’s even easier to ignore when you consider that Oda has written someone like Luffy to be able to instinctually tell (much like Sanji this arc) what someone’s intentions/personality are like. And much like Sanji that has NEVER backfired on him. But more than that it also means you either don’t want to consider what terrible things a person has done or you don’t think it’s important. And that is problematic.

I’m not going to go dive into speculation about whether the SH’s are good people or not because that’s a mighty big rabbit hole to fall down. So instead let’s focus solely on the actions of the characters on Whole Cake Island and how it ties into the broader theme of empathy.

Empathy at its core is simply the ability to relate to another person’s perspective. To put yourself in their shoes. It’s the basis for “The Golden Rule” i.e. treat others how you’d like to be treated and phrases like “walk a mile in her shoes”. It is also, as Mihawk so observantly noted during Marineford, one of Luffy’s greatest weapons. It was also brought up more recently when, during a flashback, Luffy told Rayleigh that he felt a person’s personality was important to him in regards to predicting the future and observation haki.

I’ve speculated on this countless times but to summarize: I believe the inherent power of Observation Haki is basically Oda turning empathy into a superpower. Consider all the most powerful observation haki users we’ve seen in the story thus far: Otohime, Asia, Coby, Madame Shyarly (potentially), Sanji, Luffy, Katakuri. When you consider all their personalities it would seem that they are all extraordinarily empathic/sensitive to other people’s emotions/auras. The sole “logical” and “powerful” argument in defense of the Pudding eye scene relies heavily on the reader’s assumption that this was why Pudding reacted so strongly to Sanji’s comment. The same could be said for the end of the Katakuri/Luffy fight when Luffy covered up Katakuri’s fangs with his hat. And I would further argue that we as readers are supposed to assume that since Luffy/Katakuri were both pushing their observation to the max, they gained some sort of insight into each other’s character that led to them developing “mutual respect”.

Empathy is so inherently important to so many of the events of this arc that I’m surprised that so many fans don’t bother mentioning it by name or acknowledging it’s importance. But here’s the thing about empathy. It doesn’t make you omnipotent. It doesn’t let you read someone’s mind. Observation haki may let you read someone’s aura/spirit/chi whatever you want to call it but in the end the observer is essentially making assumptions based on a number of minutiae (body language, tone of voice etc.) to determine how someone is FEELING. And thinking about it so much of this arc rides on the assumptions people are making without realizing how problematic that is. Cause here’s the thing about intentions/assumptions: they are flimsy. They are insubstantial. And we place far more weight on them than they can bear. Yet despite that they’re wielded like shields and swords to deflect or detract from a number of troublesome behaviors.

An argument I’ve heard repeatedly again and again is that “X character doesn’t need a reason to do Y” or my favorite “X character having a flaw doesn’t make them a bad person” or my favorite “X character’s flaw is part of their personality and you should learn to accept it because it makes them who they are”. And that last one especially is a doozy, but let’s start with the simple stuff first: reasons. Let’s take the example of two people brought in for the crime of stealing medicine. One because they can’t afford to pay for it and their child is very sick and one because they want to get high off the fumes. So does this mean:

a) Both of them should be charged and receive the same sentence or;

b) The one stealing medicine for his daughter should face a lenient sentence if any because of the circumstances around their actions?

Would reasons matter in this case? Should they matter? Can we even be sure either one is telling the truth or should we just take them at their word? The road that people pave during the journey of life is a complexly interweaved web of the choices they’ve made and the circumstances/situations they’ve faced that has made them whom they are. And empathy is an ability that allows you to untangle that web to try and understand the how and the why. It’s easy to judge a broad group of people by measuring them against a single standard. It’s much more complicated to judge a group of people individually and tailoring the judgement after considering all the divergent paths they’ve faced and the ones they’ve chosen that led them to where they are. It’s a problem that Sanji has and something I’ve addressed before in that he tends to tailor his actions towards groups of people rather than considering their individual merits. Hence why he treats an entire marginalized group so poorly and why he will not harm a woman regardless of how heinous the acts she has or may have committed. Pudding shot his sister, gloated about how she was involved in a plot to assassinate him and his “family”, mercilessly mocked him, and yet Sanji will not hold that against her. Why? Because he is “kind”.

But the thing about kindness is that it is none at all to turn a blind eye to someone’s heinous actions. There are any number of reasons that Pudding may have done what she did. She was scared of BM. She was made this way because she was bullied. She was “acting”. But none of that excuses the actions she took no matter what her intentions were. A true kindness would be to help someone understand why they act out this way and help them become the kind of people they want to be. And that brings me back to the point I made above regarding flaws. Because it’s one thing to acknowledge that you have flaw. A person may be able to look at an aspect of their personality and say “yeah this is my weakness” and as long as it doesn’t hurt someone that’s fine (for the most part). But what if your flaw is something dangerous that could put the people that you love in danger?

The thing that annoys me about Sanji’s “flaw” is fans accept it as part of his personality and they’re willing to ignore it because he’s got an exceptional group of friends that will help him. After all it’s like Luffy said: I’ll do what you can’t do and you do what I can’t do. Ah! But the key word there is can’t. As in I literally cannot physically/psychologically or whatever do this thing. Sanji doesn’t want to hit women. It’s not something he cannot do. Usopp does not want to place himself in danger. His cowardice is his weakness. And he could do the same thing and say that he can’t fight. And I don’t think the crew would ever hold it against him. YET whenever Usopp exhibits this cowardice and considers running away, fans are very quick to eviscerate him. Yet when Sanji was selfishly unwilling to fight a woman, when time was a critical factor, it was shrugged off. Fans are more willing to accept that Sanji will never hit a woman and that doing so “would ruin his character” and yet they get infuriated that Usopp is “still a coward”. And that’s likely because it’s been instilled in us that hitting women is not something a moral/noble person would do. But you know what? Refusing to acknowledge or even introspectively consider the actions of your weakness and instead relying on your crew to compensate for you is the most selfish and cowardly thing you can do. You know why Usopp’s moment on Arlong Park was one of the most goddamn powerful moments in the series? It’s because Usopp is brave enough to recognize his weakness and strong enough to overcome it because he wants to support his friends. He wants to become the kind of man that would be proud to stand next to them shoulder to shoulder, KNOWING that he has done everything he possibly could have to help them during their journey.

So let me present a hypothetical. What if all the SH’s were otherwise pre-occupied and Sanji was the only one that could have saved Robin? He can’t just pass it off onto Usopp/Nami saying I WON’T hit a woman. I know that Sanji is probably so attached to Zeff’s teachings because he wants Zeff to be proud of him. He want his mentor that he loves/respects more than anything to be proud of the life he’s lived and he doesn’t want him to think that saving Sanji was a mistake. But here’s the thing. Sanji isn’t living his life for Zeff and I don’t think Zeff saved his life because he wanted Sanji to feel obligated to him. Zeff made choice to take a chance on a kid that might achieve the dream that he never could. I don’t think Zeff is the kind of man that would blame/fault Sanji for not being perfect, or deciding that maybe he doesn’t want to find the All Blue after all. And I’m not saying that if Sanji kicks one woman that all bets are off and he should just go around kicking any potential female enemy they come across. See above where I said I want him to stop tailoring his actions to a broad group of people. If Sanji wants Zeff to be proud of him then maybe he should live his life on his own terms. Because at the end of the day that’s all that matters. Is Sanji proud of who he became? When he dies will he die satisfied that it was a life well lived? If he can stand next to Zeff one day and say yes to all of the former isn’t that all that matters? And if Zeff was ever the kind of person that judged Sanji for hitting a woman to save his friends, then maybe he’s not the kind of person he should give his respect to in the first place.

Bakugo has made some shitty choices as a kid either out of selfishness, ignorance, or arrogance. BUT he’s starting to learn. He’s changing himself and his approach to others. And I hope that eventually he makes amends with Midoriya for all the atrocious shit he puts him through. And Midoriya might not forgive him. And that’s okay too. Because the point of the apology is not to make yourself feel better that your intentions were good because you are defined by the actions you take. All you can do is understand how your actions hurt other people and then going forward work to make sure it doesn’t happen again (at least intentionally but again that’s a complicated issue for another time). But this is the big kicker and one of the storytelling elements that’s been weakest in Whole Cake Island. Like I said it’s one thing to acknowledge a flaw and another thing to overcome it. But can a thing really be called a flaw if never results in consequences?

It Ain’t Over Till The Fat Lady Sings:

I’ve always imagined that having the Grand Line being split into Paradise and the New World was reflective of the process of growing up. The first half is the journey towards adulthood where you make friends, set your sights on a goal/dream you want to reach, and learn what your values are. In the second half your CONVICTION in all those areas is tested. Is your bond with your friends/family based on something real or were the connections so tenuous and superficial that they were never there in the first place? Placed in a desperate situation where your values are tested will you still have the strength to hold onto them? What cost are you willing to pay to achieve your dreams? And how many people are you willing to step on to reach that goal if any?

Avid followers of my Twitter theory posts will note that I’ve stated this before but I want the Strawhats to be tested in ways they’ve never been tested before in the New World. After all they are in the big leagues now. We’ve seen how the New World takes in hopeful, optimistic, ambitious rookies and spit them out again as callous, hardened, broken men and women. One of the reasons I love Sabaoady and Marineford so much is that those arcs are the first time that Luffy has ever really tasted defeat. No amount of luck or skill could have saved him from those situations, even though he did his absolute best, because he was weak. In his case it meant that he wasn’t powerful enough and I don’t expect that to always be the case. But in a series like One Piece, where people’s convictions in their dreams are represented by their ability to overpower their opponents it’s something that can’t be ignored. So how do you push people past their limits? You attack their weaknesses (an idea I’ve explored in my other editorial “The Hero’s Dilemma”). If you want to test the strength of a person’s convictions and push them past their limit then you have to place them in a situation where they are FORCED to grow, change, and adapt. But you can’t just place the character at the precipice of the volcano and then pull them back at the ending and let them go on their merry way. It’ll instill fear in them for a little while but then they’ll forget about it because there was no CONSEQUNCE! And it’s something that is especially important in a series like One Piece.

One of the big problems I’ve had with this arc is Sanji’s general attitude and treatment of women. So you can imagine I was a little bit infuriated in a recent chapter when he so easily made light of all of Pudding’s actions up to that point, even thanking her for “playing the role of his bride”. It was first brought up in Water 7 when Sanji told chopper that “a man forgives a woman’s lies” and it’s been heavily played up this arc with Sanji calling out Pudding’s “acting” and questioning whom was she really fooling. Remember how I mentioned that empathy is a not a mind-reading power? Well Oda has been really heavy handed in treating it like one. We are to ASSUME that Sanji somehow has an intimate understanding of a woman’s true intentions because he is “kind”. And quite frankly that’s something that’s very easy for him to do when he is RIGHT EVERY TIME. And it’s even easier for him to do when there’s been no consequences.

Because that’s the thing isn’t it? It’s easy for Sanji to say that he believes in his captain when he has no real personal stakes in the matter. I hate that Oda made the bomb cuffs a red herring and then used the wedding as plot convenience to ensure that Sanji didn’t have to lose anything. . It’s bugged me throughout this arc that Sanji didn’t have any faith in Luffy or the crew being able to help him out of his hopeless situation but as soon as he’s free then he can start spouting all that nonsense again about how his captain will become the Pirate King. And what makes it worse is that Oda has repeatedly dropped hints about it throughout the series. Luffy wants to be the Pirate King because he wants to be a man with unlimited freedom. But that’s not something he can just have for free because other people will fight him for that same right. So he has to have POWER. It can be interpreted as you like: physical power? Authority? Alliances? Weapons? If he wants to be the Pirate King then he needs to ensure that he doesn’t have any weaknesses that can be exploited. And of Luffy’s greatest strength and his greatest weakness is his crew. He would do anything for them, including invading an underwater prison (his brother now crew but they are the same for this purpose), the HQ of a clandestine government organization, or the territory of an Emperor of the sea. But the thing is he can’t do it alone. And I don’t just mean that he can’t do it without the help of his friends (though there is that) but rather the person he’s saving has want to be saved. Fans like to compare Sanji’s actions to Robin’s during Water 7 and Nami’s during Arlong and that’s fair. Fans may not like the comparison but it stand that in each of these cases the lesson they had to learn was that they needed to trust in their friends. There are some challenges they might face alone that they can’t overcome but that there aren’t any challenges they can’t overcome if they work together and trust in each other’s strengths. And Sanji didn’t do that when he was at his lowest point. He only did that after he was unburdened from having to make the choice to lose something he valued the most. And I don’t want to hear arguments about Sanji’s self-worth and all that because it doesn’t matter. At this point in the series there is no excuse for Sanji to EVER doubt in the strength of his crew or his captain and the things that they can achieve for their love of one another.

One of my favorite panels from Zou is the one where Pekoms tells Luffy that Big Mom could have the heads of a loved one sent to anyone that declines her tea party invitation because that’s true power. And if Luffy ever wants to claim to be the Pirate King then he has to wield a similar level of power. The sight of his flag flying on an island should inspire the same level of respect that pirates had when they saw Whitebeard’s flag on Fishman Island. Luffy’s reputation should be so well know that no-one would dare harm anyone that claims his protection because the consequences would be DIRE. And that’s the thing I didn’t see Sanji acknowledge. Yes he was stuck in a seemingly impossible situation. He had the best of intentions when he did everything that he did because he thought he was protecting everyone. But he was being selfish. He thought he could/should shoulder his burden himself. He didn’t want to ask his friends for help because he didn’t want them to get hurt. But you know what? They did.

They invaded the territory of an Emperor and started a fight with her at a time they could ill afford to do so. Luffy was brutally beaten, almost had his hand chopped off, and he lost a tooth. The Sunny took massive damage. And Pedro is dead. Except…none of that matters does it?

Luffy almost got his arm chopped off and yet there’s no scar to show for it and it didn’t hinder him in his fight against Katakuri in the least. He lost a tooth, and while the gag was funny the first time, he grew it back again leaving no trace. And the Sunny? Well this isn’t like the first half of the series is it? The sunny will get repaired because they have Franky. Any “damage” it takes is temporary and there’s no reason to pretend that we’re supposed to care because the Strawhat’s do because we know better. We know that the good guys always win in the end. So how do you still make it FEEL like they achieved something? How do you make it look like they changes? That they learned a lesson? That there was a cost? You have consequences.

Empathy is one of the most powerful tools in a storyteller’s repertoire because the easiest way to get you invested in a story is to have you be invested in the characters. Having a sad backstory in One Piece is not something unique. Sure it may set your starting point on the path of life but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a straight one or that you are confined to its borders. And despite Oda being heavy-handed in his use of it during this arc it really feels like he’s just going through the motions. He’s given us a few panels of backstory for Pudding/Katakuri and used his characterization of Big Mom to justify their actions and make us sympathize with them. It feels like we’re supposed to feel sorry for them because they had a shitty past. But does that mean we just assume their actions are justified? That they’ve never once done a single heinous thing in the service of Big Mom. Or are we supposed to sympathize with them because we ASSUME Luffy/Sanji are good judges of character? How great would it be if they turned out to be wrong? If someone they trusted/admired betrayed them and they never saw it coming? Because that’s the thing about reading a series like One Piece. We know the good guys will beat out the bad guys in the end. But reading a story where they always win is boring. It’s more interesting to see them fail and get knocked down. Because then we get to see them climb back up again over and over and over. And each time they get knocked down they would learn something new about themselves. It’s why some of the most powerful moments in the series are just that: powerful. Whether it’s Zoro being cut down by Mihawk, Usopp confronting his weakness, or Nami/Robin learning to ask for help. All these little moments make us cheer that much harder for these characters because we know they’re going through hell but the moment they get their reward it’ll all have been worth it. And that is something I’ve been advocating for either through my criticism of the series or even via the theories I create. And that’s why I can only see WCI really ending satisfactorily in one way.

Because Whole Cake Island is about more than just Sanji learning that kindness isn’t a weakness (or whatever bullshit it was). It’s about learning what being a Utopia truly means, it’s about confronting your abusers and coming to terms with your past, it’s about shattering illusions, it’s about power and family and kindness. But more importantly it’s the beginning of learning exactly what the Strawhats role in the grand scheme of things is. But that’s a theory for another day. Whole Cake Island could be the start of a trend in the way One Piece approaches stories going forward. But it really depends on what Oda chooses to do going forward. I want to believe that Oda has good intentions but that’s just not enough anymore. Show me that you are the great storyteller I know you can be. One Piece has the potential to be the greatest story ever told and just know that no-one wants that to be more true than me.

#WholeCakeIsland Intentions Empathy

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mystical-flute · 6 years

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Come Sail Away Ch. 7

@ouathunter @spiritualpuzzleshipper, it’s finally done! 3,750 words later this fucker is DONE. I don’t even care if it’s bad. It’s done.

Sitting at the table long table with the rest of her squad and Kenji, Reika could barely focus on the words that Kenji was speaking. Nothing had been found in the Big Five's meeting room aside from a video feed into the virtual game Seto and the others had been trapped in, and they'd torn through anything else they (legally) could. Even so…

"How did they escape? Half of them are ancient!" Reika snapped as she looked at Kenji. Snapping in the middle of a meeting wasn't something she liked to do, but between everything that had happened the minute she'd gotten back to Domino and the nightmare the previous night, she was on edge.

"I don't know," Kenji admitted. "We did, however, get Kemo and the other guards working with them into custody… I know that isn't much consolation."

Reika gripped the table tight, trying not to let the wave of fear consume her. "If the Big Five are still out there… "

"Trust me, I know. Until we find them we've increased surveillance around Kaiba Corp and around your grandfather's shop. Fuguta knows what needs to be done without arousing Mr. Kaiba's suspicions."

Fuguta was a strong, capable bodyguard and fighter, but Reika had a hard time believing that Seto's suspicions wouldn't be raised after some amount of time. Seto was antsy about security on a good day, but after the events of the previous weekend – and God only knew how long this had been going on before the start of the Duelist Kingdom tournament – she knew Seto was probably in his office right now cleaning house of everyone that could have been involved in what happened.

"Reika, why don't you present your findings from your work in the Pirate Dimension?" Kenji suggested, leaning back in his chair casually.

She exhaled and stood, going to the front of the room.

"The Straw Hat pirates are a… unique bunch. They are captained by Monkey D. Luffy, a Devil Fruit user. On his crew are the navigator Nami, swordsman Roronoa Zoro, chef Sanji, sniper Usopp and doctor Chopper. When I left them, they had just taken down a criminal organization known as Baroque Works, which was terrorizing the kingdom of Alabasta," she explained. "Its leader was Crocodile, a Shichibukai."

Kenji's eyes widened. "You're telling me that some rookie pirate defeated a Shichibukai? How?"

There was a deep chuckle from the doorway as Reika opened her mouth to answer. An unnaturally tall man wearing a green cloak looked in on the meeting with amusement, jet-black hair brushing against the large tattoo on his face. "Come now. You should know that Shichibukai are no better than any other pirate."

Kenji was rendered speechless, and Reika had no idea who he was, but she saw Yume's brown hair bouncing behind the man, trying to get into the room. Finally, Yume managed to squeeze herself through the small opening the man left, clearing her throat as she addressed the room.

"My apologies for interrupting your meeting… but I would like to introduce you all to Dragon. He's The Boss."

The air was sucked from the room before there was a loud clatter of agents dropping to their knees before the man. That explained the mysterious phone call Yume had received the day before.

"No need to bow to me," Dragon said as he stepped into the room, looking at Reika. "But tell me. What makes Luffy so powerful that he could defeat Crocodile?"

"Unwavering loyalty to his friends," she replied immediately as she stood to her full height. "We became friends with the princess of Alabasta, and when we found out that Baroque Works had essentially taken over the kingdom… Luffy's loyalty pushed him to fight until they were defeated. He'd do it for anyone he considers family."

"Including you?"

"If he were able to reach me here, I think he would, yes."

For a moment, Dragon's face was unreadable, and then a chuckle escaped from his throat. "Well then, it looks like Monkey D. Luffy is one that we should watch, hm?"

"Yes sir."

Watch for what, she didn't know, but whatever the question was, the answer was yes.

"What's your name?" Dragon asked, black eyes looking at her, face betraying no emotion.

"Mutou, sir. Reika Mutou."

Dragon's lips twitched just slightly. "Good work on your report, Miss Mutou. I suspect we'll be in touch."

Before Reika could respond, Dragon swept from the room, Yume following close behind. When they'd disappeared down the hall, there was a collective exhale of breath no one had realized were holding. Their mysterious figurehead was no longer mysterious. He was a human – an unnaturally tall human who looked like he could kill someone with one finger, but a human nonetheless.

Kenji cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yes… I think that's sufficient for your report. We've finished up your documents so you'll be posing as a student while you're back in town, Reika."

"Yeah… I've been meaning to ask about that. How long am I here?" she questioned with a small frown as she put her bag on her shoulder.

"We figured four months would be the best time frame in both worlds. Your family will think you're spending the rest of the semester here, which will lead into summertime for American universities and your crew will think your grandfather made a miraculous recovery. In the meantime, you'll do surveillance for us here."

"Did you need anything else from me today?"

The man shook his head as they stepped out of the meeting room. "No, that's all. We'll have your things moved out of storage tomorrow, and they should be at the shop by Saturday."

A majority of her things had been put into storage under pretense of being sent to her dormitory when she'd left to keep up the appearance of a college student. It would be nice to have them back.

Running a hand through her hair, she smiled at Kenji as she was handed the envelope of falsified documents from another of their co-workers as she approached the exit, her phone beginning to buzz in her hand. "I'll see you guys later. Hello?" she questioned, putting the phone to her ear as she stepped into the sunshine.

"Miss Mutou. It's good to hear your voice."

"Seto? What's with the formality?" Frowning, Reika paused outside the building, leaning against the brick exterior casually.

"I was speaking with my publicity chairwoman, and she believes that one way to improve the standing of Kaiba Corp's stocks and image would be to… perhaps, have a significant other. One that is public."

"You want to go public with our relationship? I'm surprised," she said, frowning a little.

"Only if you want to. I won't agree to it unless you're okay with it. You know that with it being exposed will mean that the press will be following after you." The formalities had dropped, so she suspected that he was now alone in his office.

She looked around to make sure there was no one to overhear the conversation. "Well, with Yugi winning at Duelist Kingdom I suspect that's going to happen anyway. So what's the grand plan to show off our relationship? Certainly your publicity team has come up with something."

"Naturally. Apparently there's some sort of museum exhibit on ancient Egypt coming to town and I got an exclusive invitation to its gala opening."

"I didn't realize you were a fan of ancient Egypt, Seto."

"I'm not. The past belongs in the past and not a priority in anyone's life But I know you are."

"How sweet that you'd go to something like that for me. So when is this gala?" she asked, stepping into the shop as the small bell chimed over her head.

"Tomorrow night."

"You don't leave a girl much time to get a dress, Mr. Kaiba."

"Sorry. I'll be by to pick you up at seven."

"Okay – I'll call you later," she said quickly when she noticed her grandfather stepping into the room with a bag in his hand. "Hey gramps. What's with the bag?"

He chuckled softly, guiding her into the kitchen with a wave. "Do you remember my old friend Arthur?"

"Sure, he was around all the time when I was a kid. You went on all of those epic adventures together, right?"

"That's right. Well, he's visiting Tokyo for his research and it just so happens to line up with a Duel Monsters convention, so I thought I would go visit him and go to the convention. It's supposed to be a big deal now that the Duelist Kingdom tournament is over and Yugi is the winner."

Her lips quirked into a smile as she got a glass of water and took a sip. "Let me guess, Aunt Kumi is going with you to supervise you so you don't get into too much trouble?"

"I'm going to get some more insight into the game that my son seems to love so much. But yes, I imagine that there's going to be plenty of supervising of your grandfather," her aunt replied, stepping into the room with her suitcase. "What about you, Reika? Any plans while we're gone?"

"Seto invited me to attend the opening of a museum exhibit on ancient Egypt with him," she said with a small shrug.

Her grandfather's eyes lit up at the news, but Kumi's lips pressed together in a thin line. "Oh. You and that boy are still friends after what happened to your grandfather?"

There was a harsh remark on her tongue, but her grandfather managed to step in before she spoke up.

"Kumi, I forgave him for what happened. He's been Reika's friend for years. We all are susceptible to the darkness inside of us, and at the end of the day, what's important to me is my friendship with Arthur. Who, by the way, I'm going to miss if we don't leave now," the older man said soothingly, obviously sensing the tension in the room that was bubbling just under the surface.

Her aunt looked like she wanted to say something more, but settled for a sigh and a nod, walking out of the room before her grandfather pulled her in for a hug.

"We'll talk when Kumi and I get back. Enjoy the exhibit, Reika."

"Thanks Gramps…" she whispered, pulling away and watching Solomon follow Kumi out the shop, the door slamming to signal their departure, and she let out a heavy sigh leaning her head against wall and listened to the steady tick of the clock.

"Tomorrow night, everything changes…" Azila said.

All she could do was let out a bitter chuckle as she looked into the reflection in the glass pot on the stove next to her. "You have no idea how right you are."

The next day came, and before she knew it, she was zipping up her new deep red gown, staring at herself in the mirror as she tucked a stray blonde curl behind her ear, listening to the muffled sounds of what she was quickly finding out was the chaos that came with her cousin's friends, who were staying over that night.

Azila hovered over her shoulder, smiling regally at her. "You look like you could take my place as queen."

Reika gave the reflection a wry smile. "Thank you. I'm just glad I found something with a high enough back to cover the scar…" Her back twinged at the thought.

"Why not wear your scar with pride? Does this world think it shameful to have a battle scar?" Azila asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"That's the problem, Azila," she sighed, putting on a light pink lipstick. "Battle scars aren't as common anymore. Especially ones that were caused by a man with a hook for a hand. Because in this world… that's just a fairy tale."

The sound of the door opening caught her attention then, and she grabbed her purse and went downstairs quickly to intervene if need be.

"Kaiba? What are you doing here?" came Yugi's confused tone.

"Yeah, rich boy. Don't you know the shop's closed?"

Seto's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stood tall in a purple trench coat that seemed to defy gravity, but a smirk broke out on his face when he caught Reika's eye. "Relax Wheeler, I'm not here to shop. I'm here to pick up my date."

"What the hell? Who would – "

"You really don't want to finish that sentence, Joey," she finally said, looking around the room. "I'll be back tonight to tell you guys about the exhibit."

Yugi's face lit up, although Reika couldn't tell if it was because of the news of the date or because she was going to the exhibit. "Have fun! I can't wait to hear all about it. Maybe you'll find some clues for the spirit of the puzzle!"

"That's what I'm hoping," she replied with a smile toward her cousin as Seto's hand settled against her lower back, leading her out the door.

When they pulled up to the museum, the lights from the photographers nearly blinded her. Did they really have so many journalists in Domino?

"Hm. Less than I thought there'd be," Seto hummed from her left. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied, twisting the bracelet so the golden eye faced her body instead of the cameras as Roland pulled the door open, the chattering of journalists beginning to ring in her ear.

It was subtle, but something transformed in Seto's face as he stepped out of the car and held his hand out to help her. He seemed to be taller, more rigid as they made their way up the museum steps, her violet eyes darting around to each voice shouting for them, his sharp blue staring straight at the doors, his arm firm against her back.

They made it through the glass doors of the museum, and she exhaled in relief as they walked around, looking at the artifacts. Azila chimed in once in a while, remarking about how she remembered this or that.

"Seto Kaiba!"

She noticed Seto's jaw tighten as an equally tall man with salt and pepper hair and blue eyes sauntered up to them.

"Fujio Yamazaki," Seto greeted curtly. "I'm surprised they invited you to something like this."

Fujio smirked. "Why Mr. Kaiba, Yamazaki Industries are doing just fine even without the help of your step-father's company. Why wouldn't we be invited to this beautiful event? I'm surprised you even showed up considering your hate for history."

"Yes, well, as you can see I'm not alone. I can do things for someone other than myself, you know."

Reika's spine straightened as high as it would go as she gazed at the man with a plastic smile on her face. "Reika Mutou. I'm studying archaeology so when Seto called and told me about the exhibit, how could I pass it up? It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Yamazaki."

She wished she could have a photograph of the shock on the older man's face as he wordlessly held out his hand, shaking hers and regarding Seto with a strange look before walking away.

"I don't know how you managed to shut him up so quickly. Good work," Seto said with an amused look on his face as they walked around the museum.

Reika grinned, pausing in front of a small statue as Seto was called away by one of the museum employees.

"Great Royal Consort Azila…" she murmured, seeing the bracelet light up, and she pressed it into her side to hide the light. "What is this thing doing?"

"Gathering power… being around my statue again, and these other things that were around in my life… it's making my power grow. That way people can actually see me face to face instead of just in a mirror. I can help better that way."

"Yes, I suppose so…"

"Excuse me, I don't mean to sound rude, but did you come in with Seto Kaiba?" a voice asked from behind her.

She blinked and turned around, finding herself face to face with an older woman, who looked like she couldn't be much older than seventy. "Oh, yes, I did. Why do you ask?"

The old woman smiled at the confirmation. "I'm so glad to hear that. It's about time that boy found someone that makes him happy. He deserves it after putting up with Gozaburo for so long."

"I – what? Who said anything about – "

"I have known Seto Kaiba since he was adopted, and I know he wouldn't have invited you here if you didn't mean something to him," the woman said with a chuckle, eyeing her again. "I am Maho Takagi. My company and I are partners with Kaiba Corporation."

Reika bowed respectfully. "My name is Reika Mutou. It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

"You as well. Are you a fan of ancient history?"

She nodded, trying not to let the still-glowing bracelet be visible to the woman's gaze. "I am, yes. It runs in my family I think. My grandfather is a massive fan of it as well. He's taken some trips to Egypt and I'd love to go myself one day."

Reika and Maho continued to walk through the exhibit, Reika taking mental notes about pieces that were connected to the mysterious Pharaoh that had taken up residence in the Puzzle.

"Mrs. Takagi. I didn't know you were invited to this little gathering," the unmistakable voice of her boyfriend rumbled, his shadow casting a slight bit of darkness over the shorter woman's head. "It's good to see you."

"Ah! There you are Seto."

Seto inclined his head. "I'm afraid we can't stay much longer. I need to get started on a new project we're developing. I'll call on you when I'm ready for some extra help," he explained, putting an arm around Reika's waist.

Maho rolled her eyes in amusement. "You're always ready to leave whenever things start to get good. It was lovely to meet you, Reika. I hope you're both very happy together."

She nodded and smiled, walking out of the museum with Seto. The press had cleared out during the few hours they'd been inside, much to her relief.

"Mrs. Takagi was very sweet. So what were you called away about?" she asked when they were back in the privacy of the car.

Seto pulled a card out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. "This. It's called an Egyptian God Card. The woman running the exhibit gave it to me… and she gave me an idea."

She didn't like the look of this card, and she heard Azila's sharp intake of breath. "An idea? What sort of idea?"

"You'll have to wait and see. I'll announce it soon."

"You don't even want to tell your girlfriend your grand idea?"

"I can't, we're already back at your game shop," he smirked as the car stopped.

"You got lucky this time," she chuckled, stepping out of the car after giving him a quick kiss. "Talk to you tomorrow." She turned to wave goodbye to Roland before going inside.

Predictably, the living room was a mess, half-empty bags of chips and soda bottles were shoved together on one table, and a Dungeon Dice Monsters board lay half-played on another. Duel Monsters cards were carefully resting near their owners. Five sleeping teenagers were spread out around the room, and Reika smiled softly. There was no need to disturb them tonight.

It was going to be hard enough to explain the appearance of ancient Egyptian spirits living in jewelry when everyone had a full night of rest.

The swnw stood just inside the king's throne room, clutching her medical equipment tight to her as she stared at the tall man at the window. The room had a heavy air of grief and sadness, and she felt her chest tighten just slightly. It wasn't too late to turn and run from the room, to insist that another look after the pharaoh, but she knew they already had a level of trust, and to tear that from him so soon after everything would do more harm than good.

She cleared her throat. "My king – "

"Is it time already?" the man replied, cutting off her sentence before it even began. He sighed heavily and took a seat at his throne. "Let's get this over with. I have a lot of work that needs to be done."

She shuffled over without a word, beginning the checkup of their beloved Pharaoh. "They say you have not been eating well, my king. As your swnw I'm conc – "

"I am the ruler of Egypt, overseeing massive rebuilding efforts, and mourning the loss of my best friend. Forgive me if I seem to be unable to eat," he snapped at her, his eyes narrowing. "If you continue to push me like this, I will have you and everyone gossiping about me, killed."

Her chin rose in defiance as she continued her checkup. "Then at least I would die doing my job – trying to keep Egypt's king alive. Haven't we lost enough, Pharaoh Seto? I don't think Egypt could bear another blow. He wouldn't want this, would he?" she implored.

His lips curled into a frown, never a look a servant should want to see when talking to their king."No. He wouldn't want this. Thank you Azila."

#come sail away #yugioh #seto kaiba #yugi mutou #joey wheeler #female oc #fanfiction

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