#(I just wanted to draw Luffy being silly after my last drawing) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kingofthe-egirls · 9 months

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Hello hello!

Ok, I have a thought, hear me out!

Silly is the New sexy was amazing and we could need a Part 2~

Like, luffy can't help but think about your body and wants to do it again but she turns him down because you know people are literally being everywhere.

So! New Island, she stayed behind because of the short staw she draw, letting everyone go. She was totally fine and made stuff around the sunny. Imagine, she being in the kitchen as Lu burst in with a happy grin and be like >were alone! We can Do it again!< she just laughs and >give me a few after I wash the dishes<.

Lu pouts but sit down between her legs and be like prompt 8!

👀👀👀

ok im not gonna write the preamble bc u already did lmao let's skip straight to the smut, shall we?

DIRTY DISHES: LUFFY x Y/N

part 1

(cw: silly = sexy, est relationship, misuse of devil fruit, nipple play, face sitting, also this is my kitsune oc so kill the part of you that cringes, blowjob)

(a/n: i'll never stop playing dress up)

Songs: "Hard Feelings/Loveless" by Lorde, "The Bomb" by Florence + the Machine, "Morning Elvis" by Florence + the Machine

words: 1.5k

Luffy sits between your legs, head bumping back against the counter. His legs are splayed out in front of him, rolling back and forth like a little kid's. "Come onnnn," he whines, tugging at the cuffs of your denim shorts. He drags his fingertips up and down your fishnets, ribbing them in a satisfying, slow rumble.

You reach over him to finish scrubbing the dirty dish in your hands. Pizza sauce is crusted on from last night's dinner (sometimes even Sanji sets dirty plates to soak in the sink overnight).

"Okay, okay," you say, swiftly drying the plate with a soft towel. You set it in the dishrack, sparkling and clean, before turning back to your boyfriend. He's grinning up at you like a fucking capuchin.

"Hey."

You snort, rolling your eyes before crouching down to his eye level. He reaches forward to grab a strand of your hair, rubbing the damaged, bleached ends between his finger and thumb. It scratches against his skin. "Wanna play?"

"Obviously, Luffy. Now take your clothes off." You pull your own sweater off over your head--a baby blue cropped thing that you paired over a black bralette. You're wearing dark denim shorts with silver buttons down the side. Luffy tugs at the laces of your black boots. Steel-toed, a gift from Robin last time you docked portside.

Luffy giggles, and pulls his red t-shirt off over his shoulders. He slides down so he's lying on his back, stretching his rubber arms out to grab your hips. He slams you down onto his own face, cunt first.

"Fuck--!" You squeal, squirming in his arms so as not to crush his sweet little face. He's grinning at you like the devil.

"Sit," he commands, and you do. He bites at the denim of your shorts, not even bothering to take them off before he's running his thick hands all over you. You shrug off your bralette, letting your tits hang down, soft and bouncy above your ribcage. Luffy eagerly reaches up to grab them. He rolls his thumbs around your nipples in wide, slow circles. "So fuckin' pretty f'me," he murmurs, before stretching his neck up to suck on them. It's kinda alien, seeing his neck stretched out like a rubber band, but his tongue is magic so you don't fucking mind. You tilt your head back in pleasure, softly moaning.

"So good," you praise him, running your fingers over his hair. It's soft, and you pet him for a bit as he sucks on your sensitive nipples. You ride his abdomen, sitting on his stomach while he plays with you.

Your tails flick in pleasure.

"S'pretty, kitty," he says again, bucking his hips up behind you. He pops off your tits with a smack. His hands reach up to scritch at the base of your foxy ears. You hum, eyes closed in comfort.

"So are you," you say, reaching down to unbutton your shorts. You stand up, over him, to slide them down your legs. You leave the fishnets on. You're straddling him, looking down at your sweet captain with your legs on either side of his waist. Your boots stay on, too. The rose-gold bellybutton piercing sparkles at your abdomen: something you and Nami did on a whim last island, too.

"Spread your legs f'me," he says, staring up at your fishnet heat, so you lift a leg to place your boot on the counter. He's staring open mouthed at your cunt, left bare and dripping without any panties.

He licks his lips.

Suddenly, he's grabbing you by the waist again and slamming you down hard onto his waiting face. He slurps at your sensitivity, swiftly turning his hair white as he activates Gear 5. His tongue expands, shoving inside your slippery cunt as his eyes swirl rosy. Somewhere, a train whistle sounds in an honest to god awooga.

Shit.

"Luffy!!" You complain, as he rips your tights to give himself more room. Steam is pouring out of his ears, his eyes rolled back and crossed as he sloppily licks at your cunt. You're already dripping.

It's so cartoony, with him.

The sea laps at the side of the sunny, sparkling and sapphire in the afternoon sun. Seagulls call overhead. You watch them circle in the pastel sky through the window over the sink. Sparks soar into view as Luffy warps the energy of reality around him. You feel it pulling into you like gravity, bringing you ever and always closer to your captain.

He sucks on your clit.

You scream, surprised at the sudden suction. He slaps your ass cheek, the sound reverberating with several boi-oings throughout the empty room. You groan, sending your head back to just enjoy the sensations. You roll your hips over his tongue, sending shivers down your spine. He grips your hips, bringing you down harder.

"Sit!"

You squeal, letting your full weight sink down onto your captain's face. Supporting yourself on the sink, your hands grip around the cool porcelain as Luffy sends stars into your eyes. Sparkles alight overhead as his own pleasure creeps up. He's bucking his hips up behind you, and you turn to stretch yourself enough to reach his hard cock through his jeans. He lets you lean over, supporting your hips in his searing grasp. Your tails frizz out, shivering and shaking as he sends you over the edge.

Stars.

You gasp, coming to with sore thighs and an aching belly.

"Sweet girl," Luffy croons, letting you slide off him to the side. You collapse onto the tile, letting the coolness seep into your heated skin.

He sits up, wiping off your slick from his soaking chin.

"My turn?"

You smile, nodding eagerly as Luffy rips off his shorts. You settle onto your own back this time, letting him straddle your head. His sticky cockhead is shimmering with precum, and you reach out for an experimental lick. He shivers, letting out a hiss through his teeth.

"That's it," he says, rocking his hips forward. The tip hits your lips, and you let him in. You start sucking hard on his head, and he lets out a strangled moan. You run sweet, kitten licks up and down his aching shaft. The veins are bulging and sensitive, and every slide or dart of your tongue elicits sharp inhales and gasps from your lover above you. He shallowly thrusts his cock deeper into your mouth.

Stretching, you take him down your throat.

Luffy groans, softening your skin with ripples of elastic energy. His hair is fluffy and white, with matching clouds floating above his head. Your tails are squished behind you, but they flutter in soft, shivering arcs. He reaches down to grab one, wrapping it around his wrist.

He tugs.

"Ouch!" You yelp, trying to pull your seventh tail out of his grasp. He giggles, and doesn't let go. Instead, he pulls harder. An airhorn sounds. "Luffy!!!" You complain, face heating up. His cock muffles your words, but you glare up at him anyway.

"Shishi, sorry," he giggles, slowing his pace slightly. You relax, slowly sucking on his shaft as his thrusts grow erratic and sloppy.

His balls smack harsh against your chin.

Sizzles and pops sound overhead, and you open your eyes to watch star shapes dance around Luffy's face. His cheeks are flushed, and his head is tilted back. His adams apple bobs with his raspy pants.

The stars float down over both of you, sparkling and bursting in silvery rainbow shimmers. Luffy speeds up, his hips now a blur as you do your best to take it. A star slips down to bounce off your cheek and onto the floor. It sizzles out of existence.

A slight halo glows around your lover's face.

You wrap your hands around his thighs, and suck harder. He gasps, and spills his seed into your mouth. It spurts out from the corners of your lips, filling your senses with musky bitterness.

"Shit, shit shit," he groans, arching his back as he shudders and gasps. You moan, vibrations sending through his pulsing cock.

"Sweetheart," he moans, pulling out of your mouth. He sits back on his heels, giving you room to sit up. You rub at your sore jaw, before wiping his spend off the sides of your face. It smears into the soft hairs on your forearm, sticky and sweet. He grins, and reaches forward to pull you up into a kiss. He tastes like sugar.

"Sweet," you tease him, pulling on a lock of his downy hair. He snickers, swatting your hand away. "Snackies?"

He laughs outright, slapping his belly. He giggles, hiding his face in one hand. "Shishishi, hahahahaa!" He slips backward, bouncing on the now-rubbery floor. It buoys him, snickering and rolling on the elastic tile. It rocks you, too, as you stand on shaky legs.

"Luffy," you grin, tripping over your own feet onto his smiling frame. He catches you with an oof! as two arms come to snake around you. He brings you down to nuzzle against his face, skin soft and sweaty. He breathes into your hair, inhaling deeply. His fingers scritch at your scalp, and you peak up to see his hair swirling black.

The floor steadies beneath you.

"Snackies," he agrees, before he stands up with his arms still wrapped around you.

****

#dumpster dive #my writing #one piece fanfic #luffy fanfic #luffy x reader #luffy x y/n #luffy smut #luffy x you #luffy x oc #vasya #fox tales #one piece smut

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kuroashims · 6 months

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☠ CHRONICLES OF A BRAINROT ☠

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After many years simming in my corner, I finally decided to step out of my comfort zone and share my pixel babies with the simblr/tumblr sphere!

I started playing sims with the first opus when I was pretty tiny, and couldn't stop ever since. This game allows my creativity and inner world to express like no other game would, and that's what I love so much about it.

I created many different worlds, kingdoms and stories, but the one I enjoy the most is my One Piece save I started a year ago. It is the first time I am really eager to leave CAS to actually play the game!

Back in 2015 I've been introduced to the manga/anime universe and I never went back! It truly was a revelation, and a revolution in my own stories. But when I discovered One Piece, all of a sudden I was hooked. This universe is so colorful and deep at the same time, it is the safe place I go whenever I feel down, and it never fails me. It may sound silly but I can't explain how warm it makes me feel. Especially Luffy's vibe and laugh, he's so precious.

So last year when I had to stop working because of bad health issues, my last two brain cells met and said to each other "hey, why not One Piece sims?", and that was it, I began this crazy journey of looking for the perfect OP custom content for the perfect OP babies, being disappointed of not finding many or really old ones...and that is when, after weeks and weeks of research, I decided to create my own One Piece custom content, because, why not?!

I never touched Blender (and a year later I still feel such a newbie with it) nor Photoshop before, but it didn't stop me to throw myself into it and man, despite all the crying seeing my creations in game unexpectedly float in the air or be filled with "???" in CAS and such, I can say that I don't regret anything!

I can sing on stage, write songs or dance, but can I properly draw? No, I cannot. And I've been frustrated for so long since I wanted to do fanarts for my fandoms but I tried, aaand it was bad. Like, really really bad. Fortunately simming is now one of my places of expression, and I'm SO EXCITED about my lil creations & stories.

My wish is to grow a small community of One Piece fans and/or fellow simmers with whom I could share my passions and enjoy theirs. I know you guys are out there, and I love you already!!

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➨ useful informations for navigation:

• Some of my posts may contain dark topics, blood and mature rp ships (18+)

• I'll do my best to limit spoilers but take note that there might me some here

• I am WCIF friendly but it might take a while for me to answer since I literally use thousands of cc. So please ask for 1 or 2 items at a time. I will happily share their names and creators

• I will not share any download links of my own OP custom content, because I often use other artist's meshes parts, then I mix them with my own etc ; so claiming these items as my own and share them to dl would break those artist's TOUs. Thank you for your comprehension

• That said, if I ever grow a significant sim community, I would eventually contact these artists one by one to ask their permissions to share my content with you! (with credits ofc)

• On this page I'll only reblog sims from other people that are One Piece characters, as well as One Piece fanarts or anything related

• Aside from my sims I also really enjoy editing my own gifs and manga/anime panels so you can expect to see a lot of them ♡

• Don't be surprised if some of my sims seem really different from one screenshot to another, that is because I have different saves with different timelines (children, pre timeskip, post timeskip, Wano), and various AUs like high school, dark fantasy world etc. For example, by now I already have 8 different Sanji sims in several styles and stages of his life (my biggest number for a single character, but I can't help it...I just love him so much!)

• If there are any suggestions, requests, ships (personally into Zosan/Zolu/Lusan/Lawlu/Acesan/Shuggy/Mishanks/Frobin) and more that you would like to see, feel free to ask and I will enjoy making it happen for you!

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SO HERE WE ARE ☻

THANKS FOR READING...

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY ✿❁❀

#intro post #new simblr #sims community #one piece #cc creator #maxis mix #text post

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sketchinarkomana · 2 years

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Hi!!!

This is my first time sending you a message, but let me tell you... I love you so much!! ❤️

You are an amazing artist and your art is awesome!!!! Thank you for feeding me with your lovely drawings constantly!!! Idk why, but every time I'm feeling down, you upload something and it brightens my day!! 🥰

Lusan is my main OP ship! I really love your Lusan drawings!!! And I love when you draw their older versions because I absolutely LOVE the idea of Luffy growing taller than Sanji but still being silly and Sanji having to babysit him. 😂

And you don't know how much I love your strawhat babies!!!!! 💕 They're so cute 🥺

BTW Your hybrid island babies idea is so good!!! I just love AceSanLu babies so muuuuuch! ❤️ I particularly like Lusan baby boy, he looks so sweet and he's such a great combination of his parents! Not that I don't love Acesan baby boy!! Gosh~ He's so handsome! 😍

Sorry, I'm not making much sense here, but I really have been thinking about leaving you a comment or sending you a message, but I'm kinda shy, so I'll be your anonymous fan! 😅

And hey talking about your strawhat babies... After watching your last post of hybrid island babies I realized haven't seen any Zoro babies???? 😲 Does he have any??? 🤔

You don't have to take my idea seriously! But when I thought about Zoro having a baby too, the first thing I thought was about him having a baby girl with Sanji 😳

But then it would be a complete chaos aboard the Sunny, considering that Sanji already has two baby boys with Ace and Luffy! 🤣

I don't know if things would work out and how, but hey~ If Lusan an Acesan baby boys were to have a little sister, I bet they would spoil her and protect her at all costs!!!!!

OMG! I ship Sanji with everyone, but I don't know if I should feel guilty or not for wanting him to have more babies to take care of! hahaha 😅

Thanks for reading me out!

Hope you have a nice day~!

– 🌿

Thank you very much, I am very pleased to see a positive response to what I am doing!!!(❁´◡`❁)

It makes me do even more! (*/ω＼*)

(we'll just imagine for a second that this could happen)

#one piece #hybrid island kids #vinsmoke sanji #roronoa zoro #zosan #nico robin

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majoraop · 3 years

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It partially overlapped with the Corazon Week so I didn’t have much time to make something for the Heart Pirates Week, but I managed to write a short story inspired by several prompts at once ("strength", "longing", "soft", and "caged"). The prompts are mostly used in the song pictured above (written by Law’s reincarnation in my “A Tale of Two Dragons” soulmate AU), which I included in the fanfic. The story features the CoraLaw pairing, the core Heart Pirates crew (Shachi/Penguin/Bepo), and a one-sided LuLaw.

A Tale of Two Dragons – Moon Chapter “You could smile for once, you know?” Penguin told Law while elbowing a chuckling Shachi. “Is he always like this?” Rocinante sat next to Law, smiling at the camera Luffy was holding. “Yeah. He has always been like this.” Law sighed, already exhausted even if they had just departed for their Moon Tour—as Luffy had dubbed it. “My��brother”—just a moment of hesitation, but Rocinante couldn’t avoid forever bringing Doffy up—“told me that all people inhabiting our world came from the moon. I wonder what we’ll find there!” “I told you already,” Law said with a grin. “There are people with wings on the moon—like angels.” “Really?” Bepo, the younger component of their band, was staring at Law with a gaping mouth. “Really,” Law echoed him with a serious face. Penguin and Shachi tried to say something, but Law sent a glare in their direction and they closed their mouths. “They have fluffy wings and celestial voices,” he continued. “Oh…” Bepo blushed. He was a timid boy with a soft spot for pretty singers—but a skilled drummer for his age. “Law…you should stop now,” Rocinante reproached him playfully. “But it’s real!” Luffy exclaimed. “I remember people with wings living in the old world!” Everyone looked at him, wondering if he was joking. However, there was no trace of doubts or lies in Luffy’s eyes. Law actually believed in those stories too, but he still had fun teasing Bepo. “I can’t wait to meet them!” the boy whispered, blushing even more, and everyone laughed. --- “Look, Law, we’re almost there!” Luffy’s enthusiasm rubbed off on Law, too, when he looked out of the porthole of the flying ship they rented for their journey. The moon was so near now that he could distinguish a large city quite clearly. Sentient beings were living up there, and he wouldn’t be able to refuse Luffy his craved moon concert. Law groaned. His life had changed so fast he hadn’t been able to adapt yet. He hadn't even finished writing his new song! “It looks beautiful,” Rocinante whispered, putting an arm around his shoulders. “I can’t believe we’re travelling together as we promised to do.” “If only those troublemakers weren't around…” “Oh no, it’s better like this!” Rocinante smiled. “Your friends are a nice, funny bunch, and I can help with your band. You know, I’ve learned some useful skills.” Law stared at his confident grin. “What skills?” he asked, mildly worried. He hoped it didn’t involve setting things on fire—the speciality of Rocinante’s old self. “I’m a dresser,” Rocinante said proudly. “Well, not really—not yet at least, but I studied costume design. I have a great fashion sense, you know?” Law didn’t remember the old Roci and his Corazon alter ego having a great fashion sense at all—if anything else, it was the contrary. “Leave it to me,” Rocinante said, puffing up his chest. Law felt a shiver running down his spine as he hesitantly nodded at him. --- You always gave me strength Once, I was a child who lost his heart Once, I was a child who got your heart On the second night after they arrived at their destination, Law was finally able to sit down and work on his song. Penguin was playing his guitar in another room together with Shachi, the bassist of their band. Bepo and Luffy were keeping them company, and Law heard the latter singing. His cheerful voice put him in a good mood, which helped him resolve a difficult verse. He would have loved to spend some time alone with Rocinante, but he needed to finish writing his composition first. Besides, Roci was busy designing their stage costumes. Law looked down at his laptop and deleted a sentence. He remained pensive for a moment. Then, he typed a new line. He hummed the refrain one last time and nodded, satisfied. He would sing this song alone, Luffy only joining him for the chorus. He needed to sing this song alone. Law saved the file and closed the lid of his laptop. --- They still needed an agent so, after finishing working on his song, Law started searching for one. Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin accompanied him while Roci kept working on their costumes. Luffy, too, decided to stay back: he hadn't had much time to learn Law's new song, and even if he would only sing the chorus he wanted to practise some more. Law wondered if Luffy understood how much that song was important for him and thus wanted to make a perfect performance. Sorry, he thought, knowing how Luffy felt about him. “This place is huge!” Penguin’s comment pulled Law out of his thoughts, and he surveyed his surroundings. That city was the main hub of the moon. The skyscrapers that soared against the starry night looked like buildings out of an ancient civilization, but they were made from glass and not blocks of stone. A giant bubble covered the city under a protective dome and shielded it from cosmic radiations, and at its outskirts, smaller bubbles encircled fields and farms. Factories were situated on the dark side of the moon and connected to the central hub by underground bullet train. During their stay there, Law had learned that water was scarce on the moon: there weren’t rivers, lakes, or seas, but people had been able to survive thanks to their advanced technology. Tiny humanoid robots took care of manual labour, so the citizens of the moon had plenty of free time. Unsurprisingly, upon learning that Law and his group were a rock band, they had immediately asked them to hold a concert. “People of the moon do have wings, but they are small,” Bepo interrupted Law’s thoughts, sounding a bit disappointed. “They can't fly like that.” “They don’t need wings to fly,” Shachi told him. “Can’t you see the floating vehicles above our heads?” “It’s not the same.” Bepo pouted. “But their wings are still fluffy at least,” Shachi insisted, clearly amused. “Aye-Aye, they are fluffy.” Bepo nodded, smiling. Law barely registered their silly conversation as he wondered how many marvellous things were waiting for him and Roci to discover. The thought of being able to experience all of that with him filled him with a happiness he had never felt before in his current of previous lives. --- Finding an agent turned out to be surprisingly easy. After talking with some local people, they met an extravagant man with sparkly, ambitious eyes—a foreigner probably, since he didn't have wings. Nevertheless, he had the right contacts, so they hired him. The day of the concert arrived in no time, and now Law was staring, appalled, at the clothes and accessories displayed before him. “What. Are. These.” He managed to say after the first moment of shock. “These? Your stage costume and accessories, of course!” Rocinante said with a big grin on his face. Law glared at the black leather pants, the belt with a ridiculous-looking, heart-shaped buckle, the earrings, the rings, and the “shoes”. The shoes were the worst part: how was he supposed to sing and dance on those stilts?! Law put his hand to his face, sighing, and flung himself upon the armchair behind him. “You’ll look great in them, Law!” Luffy exclaimed, looking at him like he usually looked at delicious meat—his favourite food. Law felt a bit bad for him since he couldn’t reciprocate his feelings, but Luffy was a good person and had accepted Law's relationship with Roci without hesitation. Law sighed again and closed his eyes, massaging his temples with his thumbs. “I love it!” Bepo cried next to him when Roci showed him his costume. Law glanced at it and was only able to distinguish a white fur-something. “And these are for you,” Rocinante told Penguin and Shachi with a smiling face. Law straightened his back, ready to savour the horror on his friends’ faces, but they didn't react as he expected but just let out their breath in relief. Law stood up to see their costumes closer and then frowned. “Why do their clothes look normal and they also have a shirt? Why can’t I wear a shirt too?!” “It’s because you’re the star, my dear!” Rocinante beamed. “But Luffy is the co-star, and yet he'll wear a shirt!” Law felt he was losing his sanity. “It fits his look better,” Rocinante replied with a serious expression. “…I give up.” Law threw his hands on the air and returned to his armchair. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time he appeared in public shirtless...Oh. He had just remembered about that. So, there were still parts of his past pirate life that he had not recalled yet. Ok, let’s go all out then. “Roci, I need you to paint my chest,” he said, trying not to blush. At that, even Rocinante looked surprised. “What do you mean?” “I mean a fake tattoo—nothing too complex, just some black ink.” “Oh, I remember that!” Luffy chimed in. Just perfect. Law wanted to disappear, but it wasn’t like his heart-shaped tattoo had been a mystery in his past life. He had walked around showing it on his bare chest like war painting when—no, he needed to stop thinking about that. Doflamingo wasn’t an enemy anymore. Now, we’re all free from our past. “I…can draw it if you show me the design you’ve in mind,” Roci told him. “Follow me.” Law stood up. “Just you,” he added when he saw the others moving too. That symbol on his chest had been his source of strength during his turbulent, painful past. More importantly, it had been a memento of his Cora-san. Only Rocinante could hear about it. --- When Law stepped out of his dressing room, he was welcomed by Penguin and Shachi’s barely held laughter and Luffy’s loud cheering. Bepo, instead, just looked at him with a worried expression. Law sighed and tried a few slow steps on his heels. Thankfully, he was able to walk normally. “You look fantastic,” Rocinante whispered, his eyes lingering on Law’s painted chest. Law blushed. There were no secrets left between them: he literally wore his heart on his skin—his feelings for that man for all to see. Now, he was ready to step on stage and scream his love for him. The white sea of clouds below me is spotless, I recall colourless roofs and skin now spotted, I recall cries and tears, smoke and flames, I recall being saved and then encaged. I remember falling on a pile of trash, I remember silence—and when it crashed. You always gave me strength Once, I was a child who lost his heart Once, I was a child who got your heart The waves are rolling and splashing before me, I recall blue oceans and endless adventures, I recall allies, friends, and their laughter, I recall legends, myths, and old treasures. I remember searching for the truth of my name, I remember crowning the very King of Pirates. You always gave me strength Once, I was a child who lost his heart Once, I was a child who got your heart The boundless sea of stars is sparkling above me, I recall worlds below and above the mountains, I recall the promise I exchanged with you, I recall black feathers, comfy and soft. I remember longing for you in the night, I remember you smiling for the last time. You always gave me strength Once, I was a child who lost his heart Once, I was a child who got your heart You always gave me strength Once, I was a child who lost his heart Once, I was a child who got your heart… A child no more, I give your heart back. [SOULMATE]

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lunnamars · 4 years

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prompt for luffy/nami: maps

Am I super late? Yes, of course. I think I received this ask in...June? May? I don't remember, so I apologize from the bottom of my heart, dear anon, but I was going mad with deadlines and I'm still going through a writing block, so I really hope you like it! I swear I did my best. <3

You can read this on AO3 too!

map of the problematique

The day was almost ending, the sky burning with the sunset, and Nami still had a pencil in her hand, scribbling lines and forms on a once empty paper. Other supplies scattered across the table, along with the quietness of the library, helped her finish another map successfully.

Being able to see the piece of work coming to life filled Nami's chest with pride and joy; there wasn't a clear explanation to what she felt every time.

She took a deep breath and tried to rest her sight — looking intently at one thing for an extended period always gave her a headache, even if it was her beloved maps or tangerines. Robin was there with her too, but her silence was welcoming and contrasted so much with the usual ruckus of the ship. Nami rested her face on her right hand, admiring the neatly drawn shapes and lines, how her scale was correctly measured, she double-checked, and the vivid colors on the paper. She ran her free hand over the map with fondness, a soft smile on her face while thanking the heavens for being free to do what she liked; what she was meant to do.

Sometimes, Nami wondered how her life would have been like if she had never met Luffy. Where would she be now? Still with shackles on her feet, bound to Arlong? Stealing, risking her life, suffocating more and more?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock on the door and the voice of her captain, "Oi, Nami, are you there? Can I come in?"

Robin chuckled and stood up, walking in the direction of the door to let the firecracker of a man get in. She opened the door and smiled at him, saying with the calm voice of usual, "Hello, Luffy. Can we help you with anything?"

"Hey, Robin, didn't know you were here. Can I stay here with you two?" he asked with his never-ending energy.

Hmph, always brighter than the sun, Nami thought.

"Why, of course. But I was already on my way out. Nami is still staying for a while. Want to keep her company?" Robin asked and looked over her shoulder to the navigator, winking at her.. Nami narrowed her eyes and pouted, catching on the implicit invitation behind her words.

Why must Robin be so damn smart? For fuck's sake.

Luffy had no idea of what had just transpired between the girls and happily added, "Sure! Bye, Robin!"

The archeologist softly grinned and sprouted two hands, patting their heads and bidding them goodbye. Nami heard Luffy's chuckle before the door clicking shut and right after, the sound of his flip-flops across the floor. She felt his breathing on her neck and couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine, her heart starting to beat at an alarming pace in the blink of an eye.

He rested his head on hers and asked, cheerful and beaming as a goddamn sunflower, "Hey Nami! Can I see your maps?"

She knew she couldn't be the sun like him, especially not after the trick he played on her the day before so she grunted, "No."

"C'mon, Nami! Lemme!" Luffy whined like a spoiled brat, entangling his rubber arms around her neck. Took a shower and smelling nice, aren't you?

Nami sighed and crossed her arms, fighting the urge to look in his direction and forcing her heartbeat to stabilize. Damn him and his damned carefree laugh. She snorted, "Luffy, what are you doing here? Don't you have anything else to do?"

"Sheesh, Nami! You're mean! If you don't want me here then just tell me." He let a deep breath and she could feel him pouting. Luffy was still holding her when he spoke again, voice low, "You have been away for almost the whole day, Nami. I was just worried."

"Of course I was, you moron! Have you forgotten what you did yesterday? You almost fucked up the maps that took me almost two weeks to finish!" How easy it was for him to stir her up and make her angry. Luffy was amazing but sometimes he acted like a child, something that always drove her mad.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry!" He held her tight so she wouldn't escape but careful enough to not strangle her. A great show of controlled strength. She tried to disentangle herself from his embrace, but that only made him encircle his legs around her torso now. Acting like a child again, wanting the adult to forgive him at all costs. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to! I swear I'll… I swear I'll… I swear I'll eat vegetables for a week, and I won't complain!"

His plea seemed sincere, but the idea that he was bargaining a thing that should be on his menu on a daily basis, instead of the huge chunks of meat he thinks is the only necessary thing to make him survive, baffled her. Then, it came in fits and bursts. One snort, then a second, the third was already mixed with laughter, and in the end, Nami was laughing at her heart's content.

He followed her, chuckling slowly and grinning warmly, then his candy-coated laugh that always melted her heart finally reached her ears. They laughed until their ribs hurt. Luffy's occasional child behavior would always provoke two reactions in her: complete anger or complete amusement. Sometimes both.

"Okay, okay. I'm fine, you silly goose. Thanks for apologizing." Nami patted his head, finally having the courage to look into his owlish eyes. His grin became bashful when their eyes met, but he stayed wrapped around her. She pinched his nose lightly and said in a loving voice, "C'mon, let me go. You must be feeling uncomfortable holding me like that, with the chair between us."

Luffy instantly released her, the characteristic sound of his arms and legs retracting echoing in her ears before grabbing another chair and sitting beside her. Her anger towards him long forgotten Nami decided to get back to work. Sometimes it was complicated to get things done when the captain was around but there were times where Luffy would seek her for silence.

The boy from two years ago wasn't like that. But the man he was now valued quiet and peaceful times as well. He was often watching the sunset, humming some song sitting on top of the Sunny's figurehead. Sometimes he was even lost in thought.

He rested his head on her shoulder, watching her pencil carefully slide across a new blank paper, firm and precise black lines appearing. Luffy's silence and steady breathing allowed Nami to enter her focused mode once again.

“Whaddya wanna do after you finish the map of the world?” Her captain spoke again after a while, voice a bit rough from disuse and a bit husky, something she hasn’t gotten used to yet and still has no idea how to deal with. It made her hand falter, the perfect line broken now, and a vein popped on her forehead.

Nami took a deep breath, picking up the pencil and sharpening it before answering him, "I… Don't know?"

"Wanna go back to your village?" Luffy asked, apparently not paying attention to the way her concentration was interrupted.

She looked down at his face resting on her shoulder, meeting his eyes and responding warily, "I still haven’t thought about it, Luffy. We still have a long way to go before all of our goals are achieved."

Nami heard his agreement in the form of an "Mm-hmm,” and they both fell silent again. It was completely dark outside now, and the lights of the library had turned on automatically. The navigator decided to call it a day and give some attention to her friend, waiting patiently for her. Waiting was not precisely the right word since she could hear soft snores, but he stayed there, by her side trying not to bother her, but wanting a bit of her presence.

She put away the new map with the others, organized her drawing supplies and putting them away in the drawer below her dedicated desk in the library. Nami rested her hand on her now empty desk, drumming her fingers following the rhythm of the happy-go-lucky songs coming to life through Brook’s violin and thinking about what she could do right now with the moron glued to her side.

A stolen glance at his peaceful face was all she needed to make her forget any of her worries. The face of someone who's half boy and half man, who has kindness in every movement and was able to see right through people. A beautiful soul able to connect with anyone's soul. Her best friend and the boyish man she loves, a person who lived his life to its fullest. Always wanting people around to do the same.

Nami scooped him in her arms — he always became a bit lighter when sleeping — and nestled him to her chest when she settled them down on the couch next to the window. The motion woke him up, but he only curled more against her. The red head rested her chin on his head and mumbled softly, "And you? What do you wanna do after becoming the Pirate King, Luffy?"

"Keep traveling, I guess." He answered and shrugged, voice still hoarse, now from sleeping.

Nami knew that was an answer that suited him. The freest man in the world would like to keep traveling, learning new things, and meeting new people. She just nodded as he started to play with a thread of her hair before asking, absentminded, "Do you think you'll finish the map of the world before I become Pirate King, Nami?"

"Honestly, I don't think so. The world is huge, and the sea is vast. It will take me a long while, I guess."

It was true. Nami would probably be one of the last to achieve her dream. Not that she minded, no. If the Pirate King wanted to keep traveling then she would continue being his navigator for however long he needed. Eventually she'd finish her map, and his promises to her would be fulfilled.

"Good. That means you'll stay," Luffy replied quietly.

She chuckled and watched him wrap a thread of her hair around his finger, "Are you still so dependent on your navigator, Captain? I can make you a copy of my maps."

"It's not that!" Luffy turned around fast, almost headbutting her, his face closer than before. She meant to scold him, she really did. But the way he was looking at her, with pleading eyes and some emotion behind it she couldn't quite put her finger on it forced her to shut up. Was he truly afraid of being left alone? Did he think they'd separate again?

But there it was once more, the fuzzy feeling every time she was the focus of his undivided attention. The mysterious warmth that enveloped her when he was that close, when she was caught off guard. Although she knew there was no mystery there, she knew the reason behind the phenomenon, definitely knew how to spell the word that explained it all.

It had been easy falling for that mess of a man, there was no one in the word that was immune to Luffy's charm. The man had the whole world in his hands, always captivating people everywhere he went with his simplicity. But admitting that… Admitting that had been hard.

And there wasn't a time where Nami didn't have to fight the urge of finally reaching, of finally closing the gap. Maybe I can do it today?

"Then what is it, Captain?" she leaned in, her lips almost brushing against his and let herself hope he wouldn't push her away.

Luffy stared at her lips, her eyes, and then her lips again.

She wondered if Luffy had ever kissed anyone. And if he did, how would he kiss? How would it feel— her lips on his? Would it be like kissing a rubber? That’d definitely be weird. Would she find out today? Why couldn’t she close the gap?

Afraid. You’re afraid this would change everything.

And losing Luffy would be like a nightmare. It would be suffocating the same way she felt when working on her maps for Arlong in that lonely room.

But Luffy had another idea in mind. There was almost no one as straightforward as him and he made the decision for her.

Oh.

It felt like rubber and she finally satiated her curiosity, but for some reason it wasn’t weird. It was a simple peck on her lips, gentle and chaste. Maybe that answered her question, maybe he hasn’t kissed anyone yet and her heart soared as she thought she might be the first one, feeling like a little girl again.

He indeed had the world and her heart in his hands.

Luffy moved away a bit, his owlish eyes piercing hers, studying her reaction. It had been so quick, so fleeting, but her lips tingled. And that was so unfair because she wanted more but had no idea if she could ask for it. She was a greedy witch, but this was way more dangerous than money and bets.

But then he dived in again, this time with a hand on her neck and the other on her hip, squeezing and making her open her mouth in protest. She felt the tip of his tongue and felt his hesitation. He was unsure of what to do despite his initiative. It was sweet and endearing, but she remembered how greedy she was. And Luffy was her treasure much like her gold and maps.

Hands tangling in the hair on the back of his neck, the growl he let out making her pull him closer, as much closer they could be. Her tongue brushed against his and it’s really all downhill from there.

When she broke the kiss, who knows how much time later, she looked at him, trying to make him see that she wanted to know the answer to her question.

His big toothy smile told her he was about to assure her everything was okay, but he actually didn’t need to. Everything was always okay when he was around, even with his shenanigans, even after he almost destroyed two weeks’ worth of work.

""It's not about the maps! I just don't wanna sail without you, Nami!"

#lunami #luffy x nami #monkey d. luffy #cat burglar nami #one piece #opfanfic #fic prompts #lunamars writes

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whirlybirdwhat · 4 years

Text

flowers (still blooming)

Ace doesn’t know what his mother looks like. Makino met a woman twelve years ago.

(There are flowers in Rouge's hair.)

Read on AO3 for better quality!

Makino runs a bar – this is common knowledge to anyone who has ever visited Foosha.

She’s always behind the counter or at serving drinks, all with a kind smile and a laugh at hijinks. No one misbehaves, and there’s a shiny new gun behind the counter for any unwanted visitors.

(Rumor has it a pirate taught her how to shoot.)

She a barmaid and a bar tender and a bar owner – anything really. The Party Bar is her pride and joy.

And left over from her mother, a generation previous, it is her information hub as well.

People come in from all sorts of places for the taste of beers delivered directly by Vice Admiral hands and homebrews from the other side of the island. With them they bring stories, and tales, and wanted posters, secrets about criminals Makino has never known and praise for villains she never wants to meet. Alcohol loosens lips, and it’s an easy task to ask the right questions to get the right answers.

Makino’s smart. She knows the power she holds with all the information locked tight in her brain. She sends letters to Garp, sometimes, to warn about an upcoming raid on some poor island, and smiles at the news of the Hero of the Navy saving yet another place.

(She calls Shanks sometimes, to hear his voice, and to tell him that some upstart is planning on challenging him, to tell him that the Marines are planning some ambush but its only rookies, really, to tell him that she misses him and Luffy isn’t in Foosha much now a days, so can’t he come visit?

He doesn’t. But that’s okay.)

Wanted posters find their way onto the Party Bar’s walls, for one reason or another. A nice young man who tipped well, off to becoming a pirate, or a couple of scoundrels smacked down by Garp the Fist himself. Shanks is there, serious faced over a hefty bounty, with the rest of the crew smiling alongside him.

(A spot is reserved on the other wall for the bounty of three young to-be pirates – she can’t wait to see how high their bounties soar.)

It’s not often Makino looks through them, but then she meets Ace, whose face is so similar to one she has known before – one who smiled at her and gave her a hug when her mother didn’t bother paying attention to her.

Makino visit’s Luffy’s brothers, and cries, just a little bit, when she gets home.

Luffy is so happy but someone dear is gone.

Garp keeps secrets when he wants to but Makino knows how to get them out of him. A drop of knowledge here, a drink there, a smile, a private place with no prying ears, and the mention of grandsons is all it takes for the tears to well up in his eyes and for the words to spill out.

Ace, his first grandson’s name is, adopted or not, Portgas D. Ace –

All the information Makino wanted, really, but Garp keeps on talking –

Gol D. Ace, son of the Pirate King –

And Makino’s heart shatters.

(Like any bar, the Party Bar receives its fair share of unruly customers, those with cruel words on their tongues and hatred for people they have never met.

The Son of the King? They say, referring to the only king that ever really mattered. Hope he doesn’t exist! Should kill 'em if he does, sins of the father, right? Drown him at birth, noose around the neck, whatever works! Kid will turn out to be just as bad as his bastard father!)

Ace has demons in his eyes. Makino knows why.

Ace proudly calls himself Portgas D. Ace, so Makino has hope, and she loves this boy because he is Ace, the one who Luffy calls brother and the one who makes Luffy less lonely, and because Ace is a child and deserves love no matter what she thinks.

She works past the lump in her heart, when she gets home from that conversation from Garp, and opens the chest in her room.

(Tears drip from her eyes and the Party Bar is closed for the day, but that doesn’t matter.

Whatever has, in the face of this bloodline?)

Makino was seven when the woman came into town. She was the most beautiful woman Makino had ever seen, gliding into port with hair the color of morning skies and a dash of freckles across her cheek. A flower rose in her hair, vibrant and beautiful, and her smile changed her face into something different, something Makino wished she had. She was pregnant but didn’t stumble under the weight of her still small belly, and instead stood tall and imposing, almost as tall as Garp.

Portgas D. Rouge came into port like a storm and exited like a whisper

“Child,” she had said to the only one at port that day, Makino, playing in the waves. “Where is everyone?”

“At the bar,” Makino told her blindly, because Foosha was small and had no need for anyone to be wary of strangers.

(The era of pirates was beginning today after all.)

“The Pirate King is being executed – everyone’s watching it.”

It was strange, how people’s faces broke at the strangest things.

“My name is Rouge,” the woman introduced herself. “Will you take me to the bar?”

“Sure.” And Makino did.

(She grabbed Makino’s outstretched hand when Makino lead her to the bar, and didn’t let go when they were inside. Makino didn’t mind (her mother never held her hand anymore). Eventually, the woman, Rouge, lifted her up and placed her on her hip, so she could see the Pirate King.

(He looked big, up on that stage. Who could ever kill him?)

They stood in the back of the bar as Roger shouted his last words – You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place. Now you'll just have to find it! – and an era was born with the death of one man.

Rouge cried when it happened, and Makino didn’t know why. She was smiling though, still smiling that beautiful smile she gave Makino, so she figured it was alright even as tears dripped from her face onto Makino’s hair.

She clung tighter to Rouge, hoping to give her some comfort.

(Hoping she could make this woman happy again.)

It worked, as they left the bar where people were cheering, screaming, at the death of a King. Rouge smiled and her tears mixed with the salt spray from the beach, as she and Makino played in the sand.

Rouge stayed for a week, playing with Makino and giving her more attention than anyone else ever did. She left a flower in her hair when she left, whispered secrets of men and women Makino had never known, and kissed her forehead when Makino went to sleep on her shoulder.

Makino loved her, didn’t you know?

(She left, and never came back.)

Makino knows the path to the bandit den like the back of her hand by now. She makes journeys up there in the middle of the week, when the bar is quiet, to give boys a well-cooked meal and some bandits some booze. Its tradition, at this point.

This isn’t her usual day, so it’s a miracle the boys are even at the bandit den (she had heard from an excited Luffy that they were hiding out in a tree house now.) They cheer at her presence and the meal she brought while Dadan gives her a curious look.

They are covered in bruises, a blessing from Garp before he visited Makino, but are still running around, screeching and wrestling in the mud.

Makino doesn’t mind, and in a quiet moment, takes Ace away to talk to him.

“Ace,” She starts, kneeling down to be at his level. “Garp told me about your parents.”

Ace locks up, body freezing as his eyes go wide. There’s terror in them, and Makino feels her heart break. His mouth opens and shuts, words not coming out, but that’s okay.

Makino knows his question.

“I don’t care, Ace, I still love you.”

His eyes well up and he bites his lip, like he can’t bear to believe it. He’s trying to stay strong, and Makino can’t help but wonder at how similar he is to his mother.

(The freckles are a spitting image of Rouge, and Makino can’t help but wonder what he would look like if he had his mother’s hair.)

Ace sniffles and she draws him in. He’s too flustered to fight back, to unused to hugs to hug back, but that’s why Makino drew him away from everyone else.

Her shoulder grows wet from his tears as she gently brushes his hair back. “Shh. It’s okay, Ace. It’s okay.” When he grows quiet, eyes dried up, just a little, she says what she truly came up here to do.

“I have a present for you.”

He lifts his head up, face curious. “More clothes?”

“No, silly.” She laughs and then laughs again at the redness of his face. “Do you know what your mother looked like?”

Ace shakes his head, stilling. “No. Shitty Gramps told me stories though…”

And by the tone in his voice, it’s probably stories of his birth – not the ones Rouge told Makino on Foosha’s beaches twelve years ago. She’s going to have to fix that.

Makino pulls the old and faded paper out of her pocket. “Here”

Ace takes one look at the poster and promptly breaks again

Two weeks after Rouge left Foosha, the News Coos brings another round of papers. Everyone scrambles for one, eager to hear what has happened since the Pirate King fell, but Makino is lucky enough to grab her mother’s copy.

Her reading isn’t the best now, but she likes looking at the wanted posters that come with them. There are so many new pirates now

The wanted poster that falls out is a new one, an updated one, with a face Makino hasn’t seen on a wanted poster before - but has seen in reality, cupped in her hands and counted the freckles of a stranger’s face

‘SEA STORM’ PORTGAS D. ROUGE - WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE: 1.5 BILLION BERRIES

Rouge... the pregnant woman who laughed and dance with Makino as if she was her own child. is wanted? is a pirate? Why?

Makino can’t fathom it and worries for the woman who she had known for a week.

She hopes she’s alive

She hopes she comes back

(She asks Garp about the woman, once, and some strange happenings run across his face, like worry and concern and anger all at once. He curses then interrogates Makino about everything she knows about the woman, which she tells him, trembling. Her mother scolds her for being dishonest but Garp thanks her, tells her she’s keeping her safe. That Rouge will be safe.

Makino is thankful.)

Raids start for the pirate Kings son the next week. Makino stays at home, afraid and hidden as soldiers interrogate every woman on the isle, how long they been there, if any people visited port before the capture of the king.

She hopes Rouge, regnant and tall and bold, escapes it.

Her bounty comes in again with a New Coo a year later, when raids have died down, and Makino is sure she’s alive.

1.7 billion, and she’s smiling.

Rouge survived. Makino can’t wait to see her again.

(That is the last picture she ever gets of Rouge. It’s not put up with the others when Makino takes over the bar at 16. It’s much too precious for that. instead, she hides it in her chest of precious things in her room, taking care to make sure the paper doesn’t crumble or fray. It’s a treasure she doesn’t admit to having, and dream she doesn’t say to the world but keeps close to her heart.)

Makino sees ace and knows Rouge didn’t survive for that woman, who played with her when no one else would, would never abandon her child willingly.

The wanted poster is faded but the picture is still clear through meticulous care. a woman stares out from in, angled away from the camera but with her face fully visible. her hair flows in the morning light of the picture, pink against the sea in the background, and freckles dash across her face. she’s closed mouth but smiling eye amused but with one eyebrow raised. A hibiscus, pink and blooming, is nestled in her hair. Her skin is warm and glowing and she looks like an older Ace.

Its Rouge, queen of the seas.

Its Rouge, Aces mother.

In the wanted poster he takes gently from Makino, he sees his mother for the first time.

“Mom?” he croaks out, voice shaky and so, so hopeful. Makino hums, and settles in, guiding Ace to sit next to her as they stare at the wanted poster.

“Yes. When I was girl she visited this island... you look just like her, you know? I knew it was her the moment I saw you.”

“What... what was she like?” Aces voice is soft and hopeful as he traces the bounty number, so unbelievably high for someone he has never heard of.

Makino smiles. “She was kind, so unbelievably kind, to me at least. Just wandered into Foosha one day and took my hand – I think she was pregnant with you at the time, isn’t that fun?”

Ace gives a tiny smile, eyes wide and big as he stares at her. He hangs onto every word, trying to show that he isn’t lest she decides not to tell it, which she never would, but it’s endearing all the same.

“But to others,” Makino continues, “She was the storm at sea. Sea Storm Rouge, the papers called her, a legend known by the burning flower in her hair. She would appear like a maelstrom at sea, suddenly there before you could blink and taking down ships at a speed no one could rival save for a select few. She would free slaves from nobles in the same breath she took off with all their loot. She took nothing lying down.”

Sabo and Luffy sneak in to their tiny clearing and find their place next to Ace, knowing there’s a story to be told and not willing to miss it. She laughs at their curious expressions, and continues wither her tale of the woman she might have called mother as Ace pulls his brothers in close.

“She told me once of how she stared a sea king the size of an island down because he was bothering her morning meal…”

Rouge leaves in the quiet moments of dawn, when the sun is only barely rising and all is quiet save for the fishermen already out in the waters.

She takes Makino with her, out to the shore, taking her by the hand and leading her out as the girl rubbed sleep from her eyes.

There’s sadness in Rouge, Makino notes as they leave, passing by houses and towards the abandon beach half a mile from Foosha.

She doesn’t like the sadness there, but she senses it’s not her job to get rid of it – it’s the selfish kind of sadness, the kind that comes with loving some great.

(Makino’s young, but all the children of this world know that feeling.)

They watch the sunrise together in front of Rouge’s small ship, and lean into each other. Rouge’s hand braids Makino’s hair as she plays with the sword handle at the woman’s hip.

“Rouge,” She asks, quiet. It’s not the time for loudness. “Why are you leaving?”

Why are you leaving me?

(Makino’s mother runs the Party Bar and doesn’t leave time for anyone else. Her father isn’t around and the closest she has is Garp and Woopslap, and it should be enough, but it isn’t. Not next to this stranger who has told her of legends and let her hold her hand and dance under the stars. It’s not enough to the raging storm of Rouge’s love.)

Rouge smiles, face softening as she finishes tying off Makino’s braid. “I have to, to keep those I love safe. If I fight, I can win, but others won’t. And I won’t hurt them for their selflessness.”

“But what if its selfishness?”

What if I want you here for me?

Rouge rests a hand on her stomach and one on Makino’s head, and the world seems to still. There’s a pressure from Rouge, one that seems to make the light from the sun flicker under the force from it. It relents, after a moment, but Makino feels safe.

Secure.

Rouge loves her.

“Then you must live with that selfishness, like I do mine.” Her voice is soft. Makino takes the words and keeps them in her heart. It’s hers.

The sun is half over the horizon now. Rouge gets up, and lifts Makino from the railing where they sit to put her on the sandy ground. They are both barefoot, now, having run in the sand half an hour before, and their toes sink into sand as water runs over their toes.

It’s a peaceful kind of ending.

Rouge kneels, soaking her pants in the shore to look Makino in her eyes. She pulls the flower out of her hair, still immaculately pristine and beautiful, and places it behind Makino’s ear. “A gift,” she says, and kisses Makino on the forehead, “so you don’t forget me, alright?”

Makino nods and knows she never will.

No one but Makino knows the Maelstrom of the Grand Line was on Dawn Island, but as Rouge sails off into the raising son, one child left behind and one yet to be born, she finds that’s quite alright.

She was there, and that was enough.

(Never, her selfish heart whispers, never enough.)

Ace is the only one still awake by the time Makino tells the last of her few tales. He’s tired, clearly, resting heavily on Sabo as Luffy rests in his lap, but he keeps on blinking his eyes open. The sun is setting now, and Makino must really be going, but she has one last thing to show him.

“Come on,” She says, pulling Ace up and leaving his brothers to collapse on each other. “I have another gift for you.”

Ace looks at the wanted poster still held so gently in his hands, and follows into the woods.

There’s a field on the west side of the island, the cliffside above the shore half a mile from Foosha. Its filled with beautiful hibiscuses the shades of vibrant pink.

Ace had seen it before, on his ventures.

But now, Makino shows him the truth.

“Your mother gave me her flower, one of them at least, that was in that poster. It started wilting after a few days, so I found a way to replant the seeds and pressed the original… they quickly spread over the valley…”

The sun makes them burn like fire, and Makino sees the love of a mother reflected in Ace’s eyes.

Saltwater falls down her cheeks as she sees Ace take a flower like it is the most precious thing in the world (like Makino had treated the flower Rouge gave her) and place it in his hair. It’s just long enough in the step that it nestles gently in his hair, and he smiles, so happily, like she hasn’t seen him do unless he’s with his brothers.

Tears mirror hers on his cheeks and suddenly she’s staring at Rouge on the day she met her.

He gives her a flower next, and they walk under the setting sun to Dadan’s hut with Rouge’s love intertwined in their hair.

Makino is a bartender, which means she keeps information, and it means she inherited the place where she met a woman who changed her life.

She sees Ace off on the same shore she saw Rouge off, and cries and waves with joy in every moment. He sails into the sun, brilliant and bold, as flowers float around the waiting crowd, and she’s so, so happy.

She is a bartender so she gets the wanted posters two months later first: information is key, after all.

The poster is put up on the reserved wall, a place of pride for three two boys.

Fire Fist Ace, it declares, Captain of the Spades Pirates WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE!

The picture on it is a smiling boy on fire, freckled and smiling. His hat has two charms around it and a wreath of beads is around his neck, a gift from his bandit mother. Expected, for a runaway pirate.

Intertwined in the hat and in his hair, however, are brilliant pink hibiscuses – a tribute to a woman forgotten by the world.

(The rumors Makino hears tell of a boy who doesn’t care what you do to him, but if you harm his crew or the flowers on his ship and hat, there will be hell to pay from a boy made of fire.)

Makino thinks Rouge would be proud.

“Rouge? What are you going to name your baby?”

“Ann if it’s a girl. I would name her Makino, but I think the one I know is great enough!”

“Sesesese! And if it’s a boy?”

“Then Ace! That’s the name his father loved – it’s a good name, don’t you think? I love him already.”

“Can I be his big sister?”

“Of course.”

(Makino is a bartender, and that mean Makino has connections.

She asks Shanks to fill Ace’s grave with pink hibiscuses, and for Rayleigh to give Luffy a bouquet of them to give to the cracks in the Earth at Marineford.

It’s not nearly enough, but she will be selfish, just this once, and will cry about it.)

She names her child Ann and calls her my little sea storm, my little flower.

She knows Rouge would be proud.

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readerstories · 4 years

Text

My best friend - Roronoa Zoro x fem!reader

Don’t know if this is exactly what the requester wanted, but here you go :P Placed somewhere between Sky Island and Water 7. If you see any typos, please tell me. (AO3)

Warnings: none

Wordcount: 1985

Request: Hi! I was wondering if you could d a zoro roronoa x reader where the reader is a swordswomen and they become good friends but they slowly start to become romantically interested in eachother??

You and Zoro had know each other for a very long time. The two of you had first met when you were children, long before Zoro joined Luffy’s crew. Over the years you had gone separate ways, but you had a habit of running into each other without meaning to.

Every time it was like you two never left each other’s side, and you just took up the conversation where it last left off.

When Zoro joined Luffy’s crew, the meetings stopped, since they headed for the Grand Line while you stayed in the East Blue.

Zoro didn’t really speak of you to the other crew members, but he misses you none the less. The crew are his friends, but you are his best friend.

Sometimes, when he misses you the most, he would spend most of his down time gazing at the sky and wondering what you are up to. He guessed it couldn’t be anything too bad, since he never saw anything in the newspapers that was or could be about you.

You could also be dead, but as soon as that idea popped into his head, he quickly abandoned it. You were not some kind of person he could imagine that would go out without at least making it news worthy.

He knew that you probably had some idea as what he was up to, since the crew was making a name for themselves. He knew that you must have seen his bounty poster at some point, and he wonders how you felt.

He knew that you most likely didn’t care, as you both had been on the grey side of the law most of the time anyways, but he couldn’t help but think about it.

It’s a calm day on the Merry, and as usual Zoro is napping on deck while the rest of the crew does whatever they like. He is vaguely aware of Luffy and Usopp sitting on the railing and fishing, while trading silly jokes between themselves.

He’s half asleep and barely listening, but when Luffy says something about an approaching boat, he starts paying attention. Luffy and Usopp is arguing if the boat is coming closer or not, so Zoro decides he should go have a look.

He gets up and walks over to Luffy and Usopp, and indeed, there is a small boat there. It’s tiny even to the Sunny, mainly comprised of a mast with a sail and a small cabin. He can’t see anyone on the boat.

“I think it is coming closer.” Usopp’s looks at Zoro where he is standing a few meters behind them and then back to Luffy.

“See I told you so! What do you think it is? Maybe it’s-” Usopp’s out loud train of thought is broken right there, as something splashes over the water towards them, and before they know it, a person is between Luffy and Usopp.

The seemingly half second they are there, Usopp has time to notice a smirk on their lips half hidden under a hood, and Zoro has barely enough time to draw two of his katanas to block theirs.

The force of it sends him sliding backwards on the deck, he has no time at all before the person is attacking him again. The power behind the attacks are fierce, relentless, and weirdly enough, somewhat familiar. Zoro can’t pinpoint why, as he has little time to think between attacks.

Luffy and Usopp yells out, which makes the rest of the crew come to see what the hell is going on. Luffy tries to reach out, but before Zoro can yell for him to stay out of it, the swordsman deflects Luffy’s hands, sending him crashing into a wall.

Zoro notices that Luffy isn’t bleeding at all when he gets up. The swordsman must have been using the blunt sides of the blades. Which means they only want to fight him, and not hurt anyone else. He yells this out loud to the rest of the crew.

The momentarily slip of full concentration seems to give his opponent the tiniest of windows, and they send him reeling backwards again. As he gets some distance, the figure talks.

“Still not letting others fight your battles for you Zoro? Very good!” He realises then why the attacks seemed so familiar. He has blocked them hundreds, if not thousands times before. He almost doesn’t dare speak your name in fear of being wrong, but when the figure takes their hood off, he lets it slip anyway. You grin.

“Thought you might have forgotten me there for a second.” Zoro finds himself smiling back, and then his katanas clatter to the ground as he rushes forward to hug you. You laugh and hug him back. The rest of his crew sends confused looks between themselves, not understanding the sudden shift in tone. Zoro lets go of you so he can face them all.

“Everyone, meet my best friend.” You wave, presenting yourself properly with your full name and a peace sign.

“Nice to meet everyone!” Before anyone can say anything else, Sanji runs over and takes it in his. He kisses your hand, his eyes almost going heart shaped.

“Ahhh, such a pretty lady. How do you know such a brute as Zoro?” Zoro ignores the glare sent his way, while you pull your hand out of Sanjis.

“Oh, we known each other since we were kids, and since we always ran into each other back in East Blue, we stayed friends over the years.” You sling an arm around Zoro’s shoulder and he can’t help but smile at the familiar weight of it.

“And then this dummy up and left East Blue, so eventually I decided I should probably follow him.” You ruffle his hair. Zoro can see the confusion on his crew members faces, except from Luffy, who nods.

“It’s decided then.” Luffy says, confusing everyone even more, including you.

“What?” You ask, but Zoro already knows the words that are going to come out his captains mouth.

“You are going to be our new crew member” A chorus of groans and “Luffy, no”, rises from the crew. Zoro notices you seem slack-jawed, but you regain your composure quickly.

“Yeah, sure!” You say with a smile, and just like that, the Strawhats have another member.

-----------

After that first day, you settle in rather quickly. You learn that the whole crew is quite the cast of characters and you love it. You have some favourites of course (Robin is interesting to say the least) and some not so favorite (Sanji had gotten a few bonks on the head with the handle of your katanas before the heart eyes stopped), but all in all you really like everyone.

It also feels wonderful traveling with others again, especially when one of them is your best friend. It was so good to see Zoro again and hang out with him. And now you were in the same crew, so you wouldn’t need to be apart again.

Which both of you enjoyed immensely, maybe you even more than him, since your old crush on him was flaring up again. You do your best to ignore it however, not wanting to spoil the friend reunion.

One night, after dinner, you and Zoro start drinking together while reminiscing about old times. You get so into the conversation that the rest of the crew leaves you to it.

In the middle of another story about how you beat up someone who challenged you in a bar, you hear two splashes, and then Nami screaming. It quickly becomes apparent that Luffy and Chopper have gone overboard.

Without even thinking, you run forward to the railing, jumping over it and down to the freezing water down below. As soon as you are under, you spot the two of them sinking.

A splash next to you and then Zoro is there too.

You exchange a glance, and then you swim towards Chopper while he goes for Luffy. Dragging them both towards the surface, all four of you gasp for air as soon as you can.

Careful not to lose Chopper, you carefully swim towards the boat and climb the ladder Usopp threw down. As soon as you place Chopper on the deck, he coughs up even more water, Luffy doing the same as soon Zoro and him joins you.

“You guys okay?” Luffy and Chopper nod, but says nothing. You breathe a sigh of relief while standing up.

“Good. Going to go out on a limb here and say don’t play wrestle that close to the railing next time all right?” You take their silence as an yes. You wring out as much water as you can from your clothes. You’re soaked and so is Zoro.

“Zoro, going to need to borrow one of your shirts, mine is still hanging out to dry after I washed them.”

“Sure.” You had done similar things over the years, so it comes naturally for you to ask and for Zoro to say yes. You follow Zoro while Nami yells at Chopper and Luffy for being so stupid. When the hatch closes behind you and you have your feet on the floor, you groan and stretch.

“Gotta say, Devil Fruits are really cool and all, but don’t think I would ever give up the ability to svim.” Zoro just hums, used to hearing you talk without needing a response.

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind like being my own personal lighter or something but-” You are cut off by Zoro’s shirt hitting you in the face.

“Thanks!” Without hesitation you pull of your own shirt, letting it drop to the floor.

“You got any towels around here?” You look up and catch Zoro looking the the new scars on your stomach.

“Those new?”

“Yeah, got them in a bar fight of all things.”

“Look nasty.”

“You’re one to talk, with the one all over your chest.” Zoro shrugs and takes of his own shirt, letting that too fall to the floor. You can’t help the small hitch in your breath that comes from seeing it in its entirety. You walk closer to him, and in the small space it only takes a few steps. You touch the upper edge of the big scar, Zoro lets you, just watching.

“I wish I was there when it happened.” Zoro grunts, not really sure how to approach the subject, since he’s rarely a man of many words.

“Hey, you’re here now. I don’t care that you weren’t there then, I’m just happy that we found each other again.”

“Well, more like I found you.” Zoro snorts.

“Besides, it’s not like I don’t think the same about these.” Zoro touches the scars on your stomach, and you draw in a sharp breath. Looking up, you lock gazes with him. You feel your heart having its own 100 meter race in your chest.

You don’t know if it’s Zoro’s touch or his words, but you feel the love for the man soar. Which guides your next action.

You keep eye contact while your hands go the his shoulders, and then you are leaning forward, pressing your lips to his.

It is brief, and when you lean back, Zoro mirrors you, and then he is kissing you.

The brief shock is gone in second and then you are ecstatic, kissing him back. You can hardly believe it, but the man you love is kissing you.

After a while you break apart, and you lean your head on Zoro’s shoulder. His arms circle your back, stroking you slowly.

“We should probably go back up so the others won’t start to wonder what we are doing back here.”

“Mhm.” You look up at Zoro and grin, he finds himself matching it. You share one more kiss before putting your dry shirts on and joining the rest of the crew.

#roronoa zoro #One Piece Fanfiction #one piece #roronoa zoro x reader #zoro x reader #one piece fanfic #reader #reader insert #readerinsert #written #fem!reader #1500

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soyouareandrewdobson · 4 years

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Alex ze Pirate Mini Review 5: Why I love One Piece and my final verdict

(Warning. Post contains initial geek out about One Piece that is meant to correlate to my opinion on Alex in general)

When I started this series of posts, one thing I asked myself was, how could I sum up my problems with the Sam story while also tackling some general issues with AzP without redundantly repeating major points of my previous posts.

… So I decided instead of giving a straight answer, I would first tell you how I came to fall in love with One Piece.

Around 14+ years ago, I began reading manga, with works such as Ranma 1/2, Pokemon and Dragon Ball being my starting point. You know, the average stuff everyone had read at some point. One Piece, already back then consisting of over 25+ volumes, was only something a friend started to lend me and I read the first seven volumes, not really quite getting why it was that popular. I did not hate what I read, but there was nothing outright standing out to me the way the story was told that got to me. And then I hit the Arlong arc with volume 8 and onwards. While it was mostly the adventure of Luffy with his crew against Crocodile and his Baroque Corporation that totally sold me on the manga later on, the Arlong arc was what really got my attention. Seeing the character of Nami betray her friends, pieces of worldbuilding that would years later play a role and so much more, made me curious where things were going. Particularly, why Nami would betray Luffy. And when I reached chapter 77 to 81, where I got to read Nami’s backstory, how Arlong killed her adoptive mother in front of her eyes when she was just a little kid and Luffy declaring he was going to help her and her village, I was hooked. This was the first time in my life as a manga reader, I was not just entertained, I was emotionally invested. Because not only was Nami’s backstory genuinely saddening to me, but seeing Luffy determined to help her and the ensuing battles was exciting. Exciting because it truly showed to me, how awesome of a character this goofball with stretching powers really is. Not because he was physically strong, but because he was willing to do all of that for someone just “because” he considers that person a friend. Seeing Luffy not just beat up Arlong, but destroying everything this bastard had build on the suffering of the village and in doing so setting Nami free of the past that haunted her, because he cared for her as a person not in a romantic but platonic manner, was satisfying on so many levels.

And ever since then Eiichiro Oda proved to me time and time again, even if he hits a bump in the road (seriously, fuck most of the Fishmen Island arc) he knows how to write a world that doesn’t just manage to be cartoonishly entertaining, but also filled with heartfelt moments, where true heroism is not defined just by physical strength, but the willingness of the main characters to help and care for each other and the people they meet across the journey. There are many stories out there where the power of friendship as a virtue, and the virtues it is build on are a theme. But in the world of shonen manga, One Piece for me is still the top.

And Andrew Dobson’s Alex ze Pirate is the complete antithesis to everything Oda EVER created in One Piece.

While One Piece has one of the most complex worlds I have ever seen in fiction, with Oda often times setting building stones for future story arcs years in advance (seriously, the thing with Brook and Laboon alone is worth mentioning) , Dobson can’t even bother to properly tell us in what part of the ocean Alex has her adventure or why there is a beaver dog thing walking around a bunch of humans.

While One Piece has some gorgeous artwork and unique designs with an insane level of cartoonish detail, Dobson has some very generic designs and draws like a 15 year old girl that read Spirou and manga too much and now starts doing scribble artwork.

While Oda draws chapters for over 20 years now, Dobson could not even bother to finish up the adventure of the crew getting properly together back in 2004, as only one volume was released.

While One piece tells a story that defines the shonen genre for over a decade, Dobson tells stupid newspaper strip jokes that are not even interconnected much.

While Oda’s Strawhats are the embodiment of the word nakama, Dobson’s characters only bring the following old saying to mind:

With friends like this, who needs enemies?

Bottom line, Alex ze Pirate is absolute garbage as a work of entertainment, particularly in the world of kids entertainment. It was so already long before Dobson wrote the three part story I reviewed in detail, but this story in my opinion was for anyone with a bit of brains the last nail in the coffin. Cause overall, this was likely Dobson’s last chance in his and the eyes of the readers.

The last chance, because he was going to put all his talent as a writer and artist into this one story to prove his critics wrong; That he could tell an engaging and emotionally fulfilling story in a multi part story, longer than his 15 pagers. But like with everything else I have seen so far, he failed.

He failed artistically, because damn does this not look even remotely professional compared to other professionally published work or even other silly webcomics like Cludscratcher or Housepets (which I highly recommend you to read).

He failed as a storywriter, because instead of emotionally engaging and well paced, this shit is rushed, works more on “tell, don’t show” than anything else and really just magnifies the worst aspects of his characters and Dobson’s mean spirited humor in general. Cause this is not a tale where we feel like Sam genuinely has found a family and friends in Alex and her crew. It is the tale of Sam just accepting that he has nothing better going on in his life.

He failed, because instead of actually putting care, effort and love for his characters and work into this, he likely just wanted to get it out and hope that just because he “put effort” into this more than usual, he would already get praise by default.

And once this thing was out, all that happened was the following: Even more people realized what kind of hack he is, that this project was not going to be salvaged even if actual stories instead of strip based jokes are told and he misinterpreted the disinterest as reason to just completely give up, instead of trying harder.

And as a result, even if Dobson still went on to do shitty redesigns and a few more pages for it, Alex ze Pirate soon after ended. Put into everlasting hiatus, where it joins such work as Pilote Candidate or Frank Millers All Star Batman and Robin.

Dobson, if you ever read this, let me just say it how it is: You failing to make even the most basic story about people appreciating their friends, particularly when within the last decade there has been an entire fandom of manchildren out there that was build on a show with “Friendship is Magic” in the title, just shows how bad of a storyteller and creator you are. You shouldn’t have gone to college in order to become an animator, you should have joined fanfiction.net in order to get some basic understanding on how to even write. Cause your writing is so bad, it makes fanfiction look genuinely complex and thoughtful. Well that and you should perhaps go out and find genuinely friends and not just online supporters that mistake you for some persecuted innocent artist, when in reality you are just a toxic idiot who attempts to manipulate people so he can profit of them and their fleeting interest in his substandard comics based on the lowest common denominator cartoons.

I wrap this review up. We will revisit Alex one day again, but for now, I just want to focus on something more positive. So within the next weeks, if I post something, I will try to make it focused on something NOT Dobson related. You know, stuff to genuinely enjoy. Till then, I just want to say thank you. Thank you @hypocricyofandrewdobson for reblogging my entries. Thank you to everyone who liked this, reblogged this or started to follow me because of it. I hope I managed to educate and entertain you all in a positive manner, without making myself come off too much like an assholish nerd with too many interests. Stay safe.

And hey, if any of you has his own two cents on Sam, Alex or the others, even ideas how to make them genuinely better, I am always open.

See ya.

#andrew dobson #syac #so you are a cartoonist #one piece #webcomic #comics #western animation #tom preston #adobsonartwork

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my-muses-in-op · 3 years

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Love as strong as the sea

@asktheseawitch Oops my mind slipped XD

It wasn’t often they came across the Thousand Sunny, the ship of the Straw Hat Pirates, but when they did, it wasoftne the same. Luffy trying to get Whitebeard to fight him, declaring that he would be the King of Pirates and not the old man or whoever he wanted to be the King and Whitebeard laughing amused by the young boy’s bluntness. After some shouting, teasing and good hearted advice - not the the young captain would ever listen to them - Luffy ‘attacked’ Ace, trying to defeat his brother.

There was never a dull moment with the boy around, his curious nature bringing up the most unusual questions. He made the seasoned pirates feel alive and grateful for not having such a ball of energy as captain. They once more apreciated Ace for his politeness and while the frekled commander could be a handful too, he was far from the level of his little brother.

The Straw Hats were all used to this and didn’t even lift a brow at the antics of Luffy, some even oining in on his silliness, which told how close the crew was and how much they knew each other. A good trait, if you asked the sixteenth commander. Once the crew knew that they were mostly welcome as guests on the Moby Dick, they ventured around, getting to know the crew a little.

Now when they met up, the crew went to those they’ve befriended with and from whom they might learn a few things from. Marco, Deuce and Marchel was bombed with medical questions from Chopper, while Robin was mostly found in the library, either reading or talking to Mihal, the latter almost living in the library.

Every single Straw Hat Pirate had someone or more they could spend time with. While Luffy was ‘lecturing’ Whitebeard and then sparing with Ace, the sniper soend some time with Izo, showing off his skills. It had taken some time, but with the help of a certain crew member of the Straw Hats - the lovely sea witch - did Usopp find courage and confidence in being around the sixteenth division comander and soaking in the wisdom he could give the younger sniper.

As soon as Luffy was ready to mingle, however, Usopp was at his captain’s side and telling people aout the adventures they’ve been on, even if he exaggerated a lot.

It gave Izo the perfect opportunity to sneak away with Serena to his room. Their relationship wasn’t a secret at all, but gettin galone time tgether could be tricky. Especially after they had kids. Avery and Yamato wanted to spend time withtheir father too, but today they were far more interested in spending time with their grandfather. Whitebeard had them on his knee, telling them sotries about the adventure they had since they last met.

Alone in their room, Izo pulled her close, their lips meetin for a long and passionate kiss. They were pressed against each other, as if they tried to melt to become one being. The time spend apart made them long for each other so much more. Balancing the short time they had with being alone, being a small family and part of th ebig family, was not easy, but they made it work somehow.

Their lips barely parted, as they needed air to breathe. Hungry hands roamed over soft skin and Izo loved that she was showing a lot of skin. He loved the feeling of her skin under his palm and fingertips, loved how his hands made her sigh softly into thee kiss. Her ands weren’t still either, roaming his free chest and forced his kimono of his shoulders, giving her more skin to touch.

He lifted her up, her legs wrapped around his waist, as he walked towards his bed. Wihtout letting her go, he kneeled on the edge of the bed and managed to get them both to lie down on the side. Heated kisses were exchanged, along with hands imprinting every feelin of the other. For a long while, they were just making out, hunger and need evident every kiss.

No words were spoken, they didn’t need them too know what the other wanted. Their bodies were pressed against each other and it was impossible to hide the arousal that filled Izo with every heated kiss. Sere was a tease, however, only ghosting her hand over his woken member. He shuddered and lt out a soft moan.

Being a tease himself, he let his hands ghost over her breasts, feeling the hardness of her nipples pressing against fabric. She mooaned softly into his mouth and he smirked a little. Without a warnin, he parted their lips and shifted position, so he could tease her more. His lips closed around her nipple and he slowly let his tonue lide ver it. He was rewared with a shudder and moan. Serena grabbed his hair, pressing her body closer, the need for him growing with every second.

He knew that they wouldn’t be able to tease each other for long, the need, the hunger and desire was too strong for them to ignore. It’d been a while for them both to feel each other and be intimate, so their first time after meeting up again, would always be rushed and yet oh so wonderful. Later they would tease more and fight to dominate the other. He enoyed how playfull they were in bed.

Without a word, he started to undress her and she him. It didn’t take long before they both were naked in each other’s arms again. Her hand found his hard cock and started to rub it, while he let his lips return to her nipple. Sucking and licking it, he soaked in her moans. HIs hand found her womanhood and he pressed a finger between her folds.

She was wet and eagerly letting his slender digit slide inside. Another finger was quickly added and she shifted her position to lie on her back. He rolled with her, getting onto his knees above her. Their bodies were so in sync and a proof to him that they were meant for each other.

Her moans got needier, small pleasing whimpers leaving her lips. She wanted him, wanted to feel his cock buried deep inside of her. Feeling the need to be inside of her, he gave into her unspoken wish. Smoothly he slid inside of her, drawing out sweet mans from both of them. Lips found hers, as he started to rock his hips, loving the feeling of her tight walls cramping around his pulsing member.

He was slow at first, wanting to soak in the feeling of her around him and under him. The feeling of their heated skin tingled so delightful and increased his lust and need for her. With every thrust he got slight rougher and also picked up the speed. Nails slid down his back, as she held onto him, pressing him closer.

Moans filled the room, heavy and fast breathing leaving thei lips inbetween moans. Izo felt his body tensing and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer and from the sound of it, neither would Serena. Grabbing her ass, he lifted her up a little, allowing his to reach a little deeper.

A loud, but muffled moan left her, as he started to thrust harder and faster. She clung onto him, pressing her body as much as she could against his. The fast pace and hic cock hitting her just the right way, she let go and cum over him, her juices sliding out of her, while a deep and lone moan left her lips. It was the last straw to his climax and he filled her up with his cum, her name leaving his lips. His hips slowed down, as his cock spilled all of the seed he had, until they came to a halt.

Panting heavily, they looked into each other’s eyes. Love and happiness shined in them. They might not be around each other on a daily basis, but their love was pure and strong as the sea. It made moments like these more intense and powerful.

“I love you.” Izo smiled and kissed her lightly.

Smiling back, she let a her fingers go his hair, which was messy by now. “I love you too.”

Their lips met for a loving kiss, before they needed to go out again or take another round.

#asktheseawitch #featherly love (izoxserena)#this is for the adults (nsfw)#love as strong as the sea #surprise fanfic for my lovely sister #long post

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saturdayxiii · 5 years

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The cute characters, shiny art, and exploration premise drew me into watching Made in Abyss season one; I have no other experience with this title.

I understand that it’s a pretty well loved show. I can see why, but after having watched it I don’t understand why. If I wasn’t aware of its popularity I’d tell the uninitiated that it’s a pretty show, but definitely not a “must see”. However, knowing that it’s considered the “best anime of 2017″ makes me want to recommend… that people pay attention to how bad it is. The fact that shows like this are considered the “best” is why I rarely watch anime anymore. Made in Abyss definitely contributes to my list of reasons to not like anime.

I will grant that the artwork, music, and premise are fantastic, but these three things do not a complete anime make. It’s possible that the manga could be phenomenal, and the premise is strong enough that I’d be interested in reading it, but I’m talking about the anime here because that’s what my media circles share with me. I’ve repeatedly heard the show described as “fantastic”, but the one word review I’d give it is “gross”.

I’m aware that “gross” is a very subjective term and maybe doesn't reflect quality, but I really think that should be the first thing that people notice when watching this show. Watch for how gross it is. Specifically? I’m going to make my number one issue to do with child sexuality. It’s honestly not something that’s at the forefront of the show, and I think many people over look it because, hey, it’s Japan; we've seen worse. But it’s actually sprinkled pretty heavily throughout the show. It also has next to nothing to do with our story, except maybe our budding protagonists are developing romantic feelings for each other, but it seems pretty obvious that this stuff isn’t in the show for development sake.

Our main characters are 12 years old (though I thought there were 8 by their designs) and at the first minute mark of the first episode we get a mention of the main character being “strung up naked” as a punishment for something. Okay… That’s odd, and very tonally out of place in our fun childrens adventure. Even odder is that they frame it as some kind of a gag that our hero is over reacting to as her company looks disinterested. Then it becomes straight up creepy when this gag reoccurs throughout the series even with different characters. Like this wondrous fantastical world is meant to draw you in and entice you, and hey also child abuse is a staple here, neat huh? It’s one thing if this kind of situation is used as a plot point or even some kind of commentary, then there’s a possibility that its use could be redeemed with context, but no. It doesn’t even drive any of our characters actions. It’s paced and stylized to get a rise out of the audience, nothing more.

Combine that with the times that our otherwise attentive main character forgets to put on clothes, and repeated references to the deuteragonist‘s penis, and characters pleas of feeling violated being regularly ignored, and the main char having her legs pulled apart to administer medicine that “can’t be take orally”, and yah, uh, the show is gross. And that’s not even the physically gross stuff. I mean like animals being sliced open, guts being pulled out, unsuccessful limb amputation, vomit, urine, human silly puddy?? And they tell you that once you go so far into the Abyss, you’re going to bleed out of all your orifices. They tell you this, and by golly they are going to show it. Here it is! Up close and everywhere, again and again. I get that this stuff exists in real life, and life is gross, but none of it serves the story or makes any kind of point. It’s there because they think you enjoy it. Do you enjoy it? I don’t sympathize with these characters and the less I can relate to them the better.

Speaking of the story, even if you fixed all the unnecessary gross stuff, the story just doesn’t exist. The show doesn’t end. I guess they’re holding out for another season? But if they had more space for story, then why did they fly through the Abyss so fast? Isn’t that place rather important? The main character regularly talked about all the cool things she wanted to see as she went deeper and deeper into the abyss, but none of it was actually explored. Just “There’s that thing I mentioned, okay either fight it quickly, or lets move on to the next area”. This is not the plot you are looking for.

I still do see how the story has potential, but they glaze over all the things that made me want to watch the show. Mystery world, cool monsters, lost technology, fun characters. They are there, minus the characters being fun, but the presented show wouldn’t really change if you completely took out those things. Nothing that I felt was advertised to me got developed. Instead our main character disregards her interest in exploration and treasure hunting, and sets off with the sole goal of finding her mother at the bottom of the Abyss. Leaving behind all the characters that I thought were going to be important. Were you preparing to get invested here? Woops.

That’s honestly fine, new directions are welcome, but even the mother plot point doesn’t deliver. It’s just a Shanks and Luffy dynamic, and the writers know that because they don’t bother having a back story like how Shanks made sacrifice to inspire Luffy. You’ve seen that before, so we just skip to the conclusion trope of “The fact that I’m not here for you is proof that I’m so awesome. Chase me.” Also, even Luffy had well developed settings ajg characters to support his story. Yes, I know One Piece is currently infinity longer than Made in Abyss, but 13 episodes is still plenty of time to develop something.

This season is squarely centered around our two main characters, but we learn as much about them as we do other characters that are only in the show for 2 or 3 episodes. The only consistent way we know that our characters are developing and progressing is by how far they get in the abyss, and they fly through it without expanding on anything that was previously hyped. Brand new dramatics happen, then the season ends with no hint of a conclusion. So you get no story.

The only real story is in the last episode, the “one hour special”, and it has nothing to do with our main characters. Maybe you could just watch that, but you probably won’t feel good about it.

So why is show with no story, being praised as the best anime of 2017? Was it (another) bad year for anime? Why are people whole heartedly recommending a show without mentioning that it goes no where, and children are regularly brutalized and assaulted? Recommending this show without context is the same as recommending Ebichu the hamster without mentioning that it’s nothing like Hamtaro. Not that I’d recommend either of those, but I think you know what I’m saying.

#rant #review #opinion #anime #made in abyss #tv #art

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thekytchensynk · 3 years

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Ain’t No Picnic (4/9)

Summary: They were just supposed to head over to the island real quick, just to see what was going on. After all, if pirates were trying to ambush and kill the Straw Hat crew, how could Coby NOT go? And how could Helmeppo let him go alone? It should be simple enough, but nothing can be taken for granted in the New World, and when things go awry, Helmeppo finds himself separated from his captain on an island chain full of pirates who probably won’t be too happy to see a Marine if their paths cross.Oh yeah. And one of those pirates is the infamous “Surgeon of Death,” Trafalgar Law… Warnings: Occasional strong language Read it on AO3

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Whether it was the distraction of the plant matter he was dropping behind him or if he’d just caused enough damage that the vines were getting scared, he only had to cut loose of a handful more on his ascent. This time, when he broke the surface, he barely stopped. In basically one move, he hauled himself out of the water. Exhausted, barefoot and dizzy with lack of oxygen, he nonetheless got to his feet, staggered a little, then grabbed the pirate by one foot.

“Hey,” he heard a voice say, but he wasn’t paying attention at this point. He just ran on pure adrenaline. Gotta get away from that hole. Then I can catch my breath or this pirate can kill me or whatever.

Helmeppo didn’t make it all that far -- only about thirty meters -- before his strength finally gave out. His fingers released the pirate’s ankle and he collapsed to hands and knees, panting and coughing and generally enjoying the feeling of being alive while it lasted.

“Hey!”

That voice again. Helmeppo looked over to see Law slowly trying to get up.

Being dragged through the undergrowth had done him no favors. The guy’s coat and shirt were both bunched up under his arms and there were little bits of leaves caught in his spiky hair. He looked disheveled. He looked waterlogged.

He looked irritated.

“Why did you do that?” he asked.

“Trying to save ... your life,” Helmeppo said, too worn out to be scared of the glare. He had to speak a few words at a time. His lungs were more interested in air in than air out . “If you must … kill me for it ... can you … wait until I’ve ... caught my breath?” He paused, took one more deep breath and finished, “So I have a fair chance to run?”

“With me, there is no fair chance to run,” Law replied.

For a moment, the two men stared at one another. He wasn’t sure what the pirate was thinking, but Helmeppo’s mind was only debating was that a threat … or a joke? Or a threat? Or maybe a joke?

After what felt like an excessively awkward span of time, Law said, “You pulled me out of the water?”

“Looks that way.”

The guy’s eyes narrowed, and for a second Helmeppo was sure he was going to get killed now for having the gall to help a guy out. But then the expression went somewhere … else. Mindlessly, the pirate started setting himself to rights -- straightening his shirt, raking his hair into some kind of order with his fingers, checking that his sword still hung safe in its scabbard. He didn’t seem to be thinking about the current situation and had completely dismissed or forgotten about Helmeppo’s presence, looking lost in thought.

Helmeppo decided to follow suit -- with the setting himself to rights, not so much the getting lost in thought. He stood on exhausted legs and ran down the checklist. Two knives still, which was excellent. No shades -- the sun made him squint, but it was generally fine. He stripped off his vest and wrung it out before gingerly pulling it back on. Wet clothes. NOT his favorite thing. He sat down on the weathered stump of one of those massive leaves, still trying to catch his breath. It probably made him look weak, but his legs -- his everything -- needed a rest.

“So, assuming you’re not going to kill me or whatever, what’s the plan?” Helmeppo said when he was as put together as he figured he could get.

Law’s expression didn’t change. Has his devil fruit affected his face somehow? Instead of answering, he asked in return, “Isn’t it demeaning for a Marine to be begging favors from a pirate?”

The question startled a laugh out of Helmeppo. Probably a bad idea, but the question honestly surprised him. And the idea of it … pride had once been a constant companion, and he still clung to it when he thought he could. But pride didn’t last long when you were a chore boy for the marines, and it had an even shorter lifespan under Garp’s watchful eye.

Demeaning? What did that even mean anymore?

“I don’t want to die,” he said, letting the flat honesty just spill forth. “But frankly, I wouldn’t want to face my friend if I’d left you to die, either.”

He expected an eye roll or something like that -- fair considering that had been kiiiinda corny. What he didn’t expect was for the pirate’s stoic expression to finally change, however briefly, to a small, rueful smile.

“So let me guess,” he said to Helmeppo. “You’re another one of those who caught Straw Hat’s eye?”

Helmeppo let out a short, mirthless laugh. “You could put it like that.” Luffy had mostly just wanted to hit Helmeppo for being a jerk -- a not-undeserved reaction, he had to admit now. “But not me, so much. It was-”

And he stopped. Across the way a barely perceptible eyebrow raise was the only sign that the pirate had any interest in what he’d been about to say.

But he wasn’t sure if he should. Luffy was a secret Coby had kept reasonably well for two years now. Was it really a good idea to mention it now? Even if it might make this pirate more likely to let Helmeppo tag along? When Coby remained convinced his dream would be over if people found out?

Generally, Helmeppo didn’t think the other marines would care. Coby wasn’t the only one who had a dark shadow in his past. Hell, everyone knew Django had been a pirate before serving. And enough marines had a grudging respect for the Straw Hat crew that they might look at it as a positive mark.

But there was one who might see it as a terrible offense. The one that mattered most. Akainu, the one whose absolute justice burned through silly things like circumstance and history. And some nights, after they were called in to stop some depravity, to help some souls who had been pushed to their breaking point by evil men and women, Helmeppo’s dreams turned dark. In those dreams, someone -- usually his father -- traded information on Coby’s past and their fleet admiral turned his justice on his subordinate again, and-

Honestly, Helmeppo tried to think of his dad as little as possible these days. The guy had made it clear they weren’t family anymore, and that had taken … well, longer than he wanted to admit to actually come to terms with. He wasn’t entirely sure, even now, that he had come to terms with it. Sure, once your dad threatened to kill you to save his own skin, something in the relationship had broken beyond repair. And yeah, after a while he’d admitted he always knew his dad was like that. While he had definitely taken advantage of the perks his father’s promotion granted him, on some level he knew -- this is not a man to give this power to. Because his dad had always been excellent at leveraging any power he could lay his hands on.

But some part of him -- the part that remembered being small, and his father being the biggest, strongest, bravest person in the whole world -- kept wanting to insist it had been a mistake. That he wasn’t really as bad as everyone said. And he had to keep reminding himself of the depravity, of the soullessness, that his father had shown to the whole world.

And to him.

So yeah … he worried sometimes about his father coming back. Morgan had kept a low profile since his escape, so if he ever wanted to try to clean the slate, could he do it by trading information? And while accepting a known pirate into their ranks was on the marines, a man hiding his dark past -- actively lying -- would not fare so well under the gaze of absolute justice. Especially since the Fleet Admiral seemed to have forgiven or forgotten Coby’s insolence at Ace’s execution.

But had he?

And with all that haunting him, why would Helmeppo even consider giving that leverage to another pirate? To save his own skin?

But on the other hand, there was something about Straw Hat. He’d infected Coby with it, even. Some… energy. It made the people around him either hate him, or want to become better. And this pirate had worked alongside Straw Hat more than once. Which meant he probably wasn’t the same kind of asshole as Helmeppo’s father, at least.

Probably.

“My captain wants to grow strong enough to beat that Straw Hat kid someday,” he decided on. Then, realizing that could be VERY misconstrued, he hurried on. “Not because he… He… It’s …” The right words came all in a rush. “Watching that Straw Hat kid inspired him to stand up for himself. Let him think it was okay for him to … you know. To admit to his dreams. To chase ‘em. And I think he feels like, to pay him back, he needs to be as strong as Luffy.”

The pirate let out a small, sardonic chuckle. “Trust me, that doesn’t help. You can be just as strong as him, but he’ll drag you along behind him anyway.”

Yeah, that sounded about right. Drag you along. When they’d first met, it was clear that Coby’s bravery wasn’t quite the same as Luffy’s or Zoro’s. Right or wrong, those two acted on their decisions, from thought to movement with no hesitation. But with Coby -- slightly pudgy, short, soft -- there was that hesitation. He had to steel himself before he could act. But every time, the decision was to follow along in the current set forth by the pirates. Something had drawn him along behind them, even when it wasn’t easy. And now, Coby was the one drawing others in his wake.

“That’s what happened to you?” Helmeppo asked

A hesitation. Then, “More or less. We have common goals. But even in that case, you get swept up. Sometimes regardless of what you say.”

Helmeppo tried to remember what he knew of those two working together. Not many details came to mind, but not all the information that was fed to them at HQ matched reality. No surprise there.

“Does it always work out?” he found himself asking.

He wanted the answer to be yes. There was something about that kid. It seemed like when he set his mind to something, it would just happen. That the people around him would step up, and everything would be OK.

But he kind of knew the answer as soon as he asked. Nothing always worked out. No matter how powerful you were.

But when he looked up, Law had turned away, looking off toward where Helmeppo presumed he thought the shore was. “It works out enough,” he said. And he started walking away.

“Guess that means ‘moment of bonding over,’” Helmeppo muttered to the empty air. Shouldn’t have dug into that. He could use another few minutes of rest. He could still feel the shakiness in his limbs, but the pirate clearly wasn’t going to wait. His long legs were positively eating up the ground, his form disappearing into the overgrowth. With a sigh, Helmeppo looked around, hoping to see some sort of leaves he could use to make a makeshift pair of sandals from, or at least wrap around his feet to protect them. It was never, ever a good idea to traipse barefoot around a strange island. But nothing presented itself.

Well, make do. The sooner you get back the sooner you won’t have to worry about it anymore.

He started to stand up, but just as he got his legs under him, something slammed into the back of his head. He had just a moment of indignant surprise at being attacked, and he started to turn toward the source when the attacker struck again. The second blow pitched him forward.

He was out before he hit the ground.

#fanfic #one piece #helmeppo #trafalgar law

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pingo1387 · 7 years

Text

Duplication Disaster

Another 24-hour fic, written hastily and heavily based on a subplot from Paper Mario TTYD.

Read it on FFN

“And that’s the situation,” the village elder finished. He bowed his head. “You look very strong. Won’t you help us?”

“So, some kind of monster lives in the steeple on the hill,” Nami said.

“And villagers here are being turned one by one into pigs,” Zoro said.

“And you think it’s the work of the monster,” Usopp said.

“And you want us to help?” Luffy finished.

“Yes!” the village elder exclaimed. “It won’t be long before every one of us is rolling in the mud!”

“I mean, I’m sorry about that,” Luffy said. “But what’s in it for us?”

“We have a bit of gold we could offer you,” the village elder said, taken aback. “And perhaps some food, or other supplies, free of charge?”

“That sounds good,” Nami agreed, eyes already gleaming at the mention of money. “Luffy, go beat up this monster quick!”

“Come with me!” Luffy said indignantly. “You’re the one who wants the money! I’m just doing it for the food!”

“Do I have to come?” Usopp asked. “I mean, free supplies would be nice, but a monster sounds—”

“There you guys are!”

Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp looked up as Chopper burst into the tiny room.

“I was with Franky on the ship,” he cried, “and all of a sudden he turned into a pig!”

The Strawhats stood.

“That settles it,” Zoro said. “Let’s go get that monster.”

“Chopper, do you know where the others are, besides Franky?” Nami asked.

“Sanji’s with Franky, and Brook and Robin are in a bookstore,” Chopper said, catching his breath.

“Let’s go get the others, for backup,” Usopp said, gulping. “Chopper, we’ll explain on the way!”

“Thank you!” the village elder exclaimed, just before there was a puff of smoke, leaving behind a pink, squealing pig.

“So I’ll stay on the ship with Franky,” Chopper said when everyone had gathered at Sunny, Franky the blue pig snorting at their heels, “and you guys go take care of that monster!”

Everyone nodded. Luffy gave the signal and they ran for the hill where the steeple rested.

“Um,” Chopper said, sitting by Franky. “Can you understand me?”

Franky ignored him. Chopper sighed and patted his head.

The journey to the steeple was tough—the forest was thick and untraversed, not to mention chilly, and it was uphill the entire way. Usopp jumped at every clawlike branch and clung to Zoro the whole time.

But at last, the group stood in front of the door to the old steeple, a sign hanging above it.

“To enter, one must have their name written upon their body,” Robin read aloud.

“What kind of rule is that?” Zoro said, raising an eyebrow.

Nami took out a pen and wrote her name on her palm. “There’s mine,” she said. She handed the pen to Usopp. “Hurry up.”

“Um...”

They turned to Robin, who had entered the building with no problems.

“I think whoever made that rule did it as a prank,” she announced.

Nami blushed and took the pen back from Usopp. Luffy just laughed and hurried inside. “Come on, then!”

They walked down an eerie corridor, the building dank and dark and rank with mold.

“Or, perhaps,” Robin said, “whoever doesn’t have their name written on them will perish from a curse.”

“Nami, if I die, make sure everyone knows how brave I was,” Usopp wailed, clinging to her arm as Brook screamed.

“Well, if we all die except Nami, that’s just fate,” Zoro said.

“Zoro-san, please,” Brook exclaimed.

“I’m sure we’ll all be fine,” Sanji said. “But, Nami-san, you’re so wise, taking every possible precau—”

“Hey, what if this monster turns us all into pigs when we’re fighting it?” Luffy wondered aloud as the group started walking up spiral stairs. “What then?”

“Guess we’ll bite it?” Zoro said. “What do pigs do?”

“I don’t want to be a pig!” Nami exclaimed, clinging to Usopp. “Be my shield!”

“How can I shield you from a curse?!” he cried. “Curses go around and through things! Wasn’t Franky inside when he got transformed?!”

“The door’s locked,” Luffy said. Usopp and Nami bumped into Zoro and everyone looked up at the tall door. They had reached the end of the spiral staircase.

“Could we need this?” Zoro asked, pulling out a key.

“Where’d you get that?” Robin asked, taking it from him and inserting it into the lock.

“Saw it on the floor earlier.”

“Good eye.”

The door swung open, and they came face-to-face with a very strange being.

“Visitors?” it (or he, judging by the voice, high-pitched as it was) exclaimed, leaping from a cushy armchair. His body was covered by a white sheet with a silly face drawn on the front like a Halloween costume, and oddly a conical hat rested on his head.

Nami, Usopp, and Brook shrieked.

“A ghost!” Brook cried, backing up.

“It’s gonna eat us!” Usopp wailed.

“That’s not what ghosts do!” Nami snapped. “He’s gonna curse us!”

“Say, all of you, just get to the point!” the thing said impatiently. “I was resting!”

“Is this your bedroom?” Sanji asked. The room did indeed look very cozy.

“Never mind that,” Luffy said. “Are you the guy who’s been turning everyone into pigs?”

“Yep,” the thing said. He giggled. “It’s just for fun, you know?”

“Turn everyone back right now and maybe we won’t beat you up,” Zoro said, drawing a sword.

The thing looked around at them. “Hm... nope. Don’t feel like it.”

“Then we’re fighting,” Luffy announced, and everyone dove in, taking it in turns to attack the monster. The ghost thing had some good kicks and punches, but soon he was reeling where he stood.

“Now, now, just wait,” he said, wheezing. “I have a trick up my sleeve!”

He waggled his arms under the sheet, and with a puff of smoke, transformed into—

“Nami-san!” Sanji exclaimed. He looked at their own Nami, staring at the creature in disgust. “Two Nami-sans! My day is made!”

“How about that?” the creature said proudly, still in his own voice. “Duplication! Ever seen that before?”

“Yeah,” Zoro said. “And if you think taking on the appearance of a friend is gonna stop us, you’re sadly mistaken.”

“We do know you’re not our Nami-san,” Brook added, gesturing to the real Nami behind him. “That’s an interesting ability, but it won’t stop us from defeating you.”

“You don’t understand,” the creature insisted. “When I do this, I get all the person’s fighting ability!”

It drew out the Clima Tact and spun it. “Now, come at me!”

But with expert speed and agility, thunderous attacks were dodged and the creature, once more, was left swaying where he stood.

“This... isn’t over,” he gasped. He fell to his knees. “Or... maybe it is!”

The figure of Nami dissolved, leaving behind a barely discernable shadow figure lying on the floor. The Nami among the Strawhats jumped in surprise.

“We did it?” Sanji said, coming forward (for he had refused to fight the creature).

“We did,” Usopp said, throwing him an annoyed glance. “Geez, did that thing really think taking on Nami’s looks would stop us?”

“I hope you don’t take offense, Nami,” Robin said with a smile.

“None at all,” Nami said firmly. She put away her Clima Tact.

“Well, come on, let’s see if the curse is gone,” Luffy said, turning around. “And if it is, we get food!”

The others cheered and followed him out.

Several minutes passed before Nami woke up.

She pushed herself up from the floor of the cozy room where they had found the creature. She looked around, confused, and shook her head. Standing, she looked at her hands and flinched—they were mere shadows, and if they hadn’t been attached to her equally shadowy body, she wouldn’t have known they were hers.

Nami gulped and hurried out of the room. She had to find the others.

“Thanks so much, old guy!” Luffy said through another mouthful of food.

“Oh, no, thank you for saving us,” the village elder insisted. He looked around at the Strawhats munching down on the small feast. “This is the least we can do...”

“I still dunno what happened,” Franky said, scratching his head.

“I told you—never mind,” Chopper said. “Where’d Nami go?”

“Bathroom,” Usopp said, tearing into a spicy chicken wing.

“Hey, little lady!”

Nami froze and drew out her smoky Clima Tact, giving a hostile glare (though her shadowy features were invisible against the rest of her face) to her own body approaching her with a smirk. No one was in the alleyway but them.

“Have you figured it out yet?” her body, her own voice, went on. “As soon as you and your friends defeated me, I stole your body. Normally I can just replicate someone... but to really be someone, I have to take their body and name! Good girl, listening to that sign outside the door.”

Nami tried to yell, but found she could not speak.

“Oh, and since I have your body, I have your voice,” the creature added. “The best part? If your friends see you like that, they won’t know you at all! Can’t use your name if you don’t have one, right?”

Nami came at the creature with the Clima Tact, but though her strike was head-on, the shadow version went right through her body’s head.

“No, no, no,” the creature said, shaking its (Nami’s) head. “You can’t hurt me when I’m this powerful, and when you’re like that. But this doesn’t seem very fair to you. I’ll give you a sporting chance, little lady. If you guess my real name and tell me—oh, you can’t use your voice—well, write it down three times on a piece of paper and give it to me. If you can do that, maybe you’ll have a chance at beating me!”

The creature turned around. “So long, little lady, I have a party to get back to.”

Nami stared after it and fell to her knees. Something had to be done. Something...

In her shadowy body, Nami did not feel much, and that night she was able to sleep outside in the town without catching cold. She woke the next morning and crept to the edge of a house, peering around the corner to the Sunny. The crew was waking, too, and soon enough several dispersed throughout the town, including Nami’s imposter. Judging by that, the only ones still on the ship were Robin, Chopper, Zoro, and Sanji.

Then, her only chance would be...

Nami pressed herself low to the ground and crawled to the ship stealthily. She leapt onto the railing, landing lightly, and tiptoed around walls to the door she sought. Sanji, who rested against the opposite railing, looking out to sea, thankfully heard nothing.

Chopper, in his office, heard a soft knock, and went to answer it. When he saw the shadowy figure before him, he screamed, and Nami tumbled inside and pressed a hand to his mouth. As his eyes filled with fearful tears, she pressed a finger to her lips and slowly removed her hand.

“Wh—What do you want?” Chopper whimpered.

Nami gestured to her throat.

“You can’t talk?”

Nami nodded and pointed to the desk. Chopper, staring at her warily the whole time, jumped up to his chair and grabbed a pen and paper, setting them out. Nami straightened up and began to write.

I need your help.

“Help with what?” Chopper whispered. “Who are you?”

I’m

Nami frowned and tried to make her hand write the characters she needed.

My name is

She sighed.

My name and body were stolen from me, she wrote. My voice, too. I’m a friend, Chopper. Please help.

“Your name and body?!” Chopper exclaimed. “How does that happen?!”

I don’t know, but I need your help. And don’t tell anyone else.

“I... okay, I’ll help,” Chopper said bravely. “Why can’t I tell anyone?”

They’ll think I’m an enemy because I look like this.

“Oh, you do look scary,” Chopper agreed. “Got it. Okay. What do we do?”

The one who stole my identity told me that if I can find out his real name and write it three times, I can defeat him. I don’t have any idea where to start.

“Hm... I’ll ask Robin, she might know,” Chopper said. He nodded at Nami’s gesturing. “I won’t tell her! I promise! It’s our secret, mystery person!”

Nami clasped her hands together in thanks and sat on the bed, waiting as Chopper hurried out the door.

“Robin?”

“Yes?” Robin said, looking up from her writings.

“Um...” Chopper shifted. “How do you find out someone’s name if they won’t tell you what it is?”

Robin smiled. “I suppose... that depends. You could start by looking at their possessions or where they live. People often put their name on their things, or have it on their door.”

“Oh! Good idea, thanks!”

Chopper ran up the ladder. Robin stared after him, amused, before returning to her studies.

“So do you know where to go?” Chopper finished.

I have an idea. Follow me. We’ll sneak away.

“Okay!” Chopper said, eyes shining at the prospect of having a secret adventure.

Nami led Chopper away from the ship, keeping a lookout for wandering eyes. When they were out of sight, she broke into a brisk walk, leading him up the shady hill she had traversed with the others yesterday.

“Um,” Chopper whispered, shying away from the eerie flora. “Are you sure we’re going the right way?”

Nami nodded and picked him up, holding him close to her in comfort.

“You feel familiar,” Chopper said, leaning against her shoulder. “Who are you?”

Nami rested her head on his and continued walking. It wasn’t long before they stood in front of the steeple.

“‘Must have their name written on’ ...should I do that?” Chopper asked. Nami shook her head and set him down, leading him inside. She brought him up to the still-unlocked door, letting him stick close to her legs, and pushed it open.

The room was empty. Nami and Chopper looked at each other and moved to different corners, searching for something, anything with any clue to the monster’s name—but even after turning the room upside-down, their efforts were fruitless.

“Maybe somewhere else in this building?” Chopper suggested. Nami nodded and they left the room, heading down the staircase. As they went back down the corridor, Chopper tripped. Nami hurried back to help him up, and he looked back at where he’d fallen.

“Is this... ?” He knelt and scrabbled at the floor. With Nami helping, they uncovered a trapdoor with a ladder going into the darkness. Chopper gulped and reached out for Nami again; she held him with one arm as she dropped onto the ladder, climbing oh-so-carefully.

By feeling around, she found a short hallway, and was forced to crawl forward with Chopper. They came upon a tiny room, barely lit by light filtering in from a grate above them. The room had nothing in it but a parrot resting on a perch and a tiny box.

Nami and Chopper glanced at each other.

“Um, excuse me,” Chopper said to the parrot. “We’re looking for the name of someone who lives here. Can you help us?”

“Polly wanna cracker!” the parrot squawked. “Good girl? Polly wanna cracker!”

Nami tapped Chopper’s shoulder, waved goodbye to the bird, and crawled back into the short hallway, hiding Chopper behind her shadowy body.

And when a minute had passed, the bird spoke again.

“They’re gone... I guess,” she sighed. “So they want to know Rumpel’s name? Good luck! He told me he cursed the thing in this box, so if he ever took anyone’s body, they wouldn’t be able to write his name unless they touched this! I just wish I had a better job than guarding this...”

Nami and Chopper tumbled out of the hallway. Nami tackled the bird while Chopper seized the box and threw it to the floor, breaking it open without need for a key. Nami pushed the grate in the ceiling open and let the bird fly out.

“Thank you!” the bird cried, flying away.

“Here,” Chopper said, handing Nami a scrap of paper. Nami felt a shiver run through her and studied it: The letter L, written hastily.

“So the thing’s name is Rumpel?” Chopper said. Nami nodded. “Great! Then all we have to do is find him and you can defeat him!”

Nami nodded. She gave Chopper a boost up through the grate and then leapt up herself, accepting his helping hand. They were outside behind the steeple and hurried back down the hill.

No sooner had they agreed to split up in town to look for the monster (Nami could not describe the appearance, of course) when a familiar voice behind Nami said, “Hey, little lady!”

Nami whipped around to see her imposter approaching again.

“Your friends all seem convinced I’m you,” he said, smiling. “Maybe I’ll just take your place entirely and leave you here. Then again, if you’ve guessed my name, there’s nothing I can do!”

Mocking her, he drew out a pen and paper with a flourish and presented them. “Go on! Write it!”

Nami glared at her body and wrote Rumpel, Rumpel, Rumpel with such ferocity the paper nearly ripped. The moment she showed the name to its namesake, the color in his cheeks drained.

“No... no,” Rumpel whispered. “No, no, no, no! How?! You shouldn’t have been able to—! No!”

Nami whipped out her Clima Tact and smacked Rumpel in the shoulder. This time it connected, and Rumpel stumbled. But the look of horror on his (Nami’s) face was quickly replaced by one of cunning. He screamed and turned heel, running in the direction of the harbor.

“What happened?” Chopper exclaimed, running up a moment later. “Did you find him?”

Nami nodded and pointed. Chopper followed her.

“Guys!” Rumpel exclaimed, bursting in on lunchtime. “That guy from the steeple’s back!”

“What?!” Luffy exclaimed, jumping up.

Rumpel nodded fearfully. “I’m sorry I didn’t fight him, he startled me!”

“Is he coming here?” Zoro asked. Rumpel nodded again and led everyone outside, where Nami and Chopper had just boarded the ship.

“You wanna fight again?” Sanji said. “Chopper, why are you with that guy?”

“It’s okay,” Chopper said as Nami glared at Rumpel. “They’re friendly! I’m helping them!”

“Chopper, that’s the thing we fought in the steeple,” Robin said. “The one who cast the pig curse.”

“What?” Chopper whispered, looking at Nami, who shook her head.

“This is the guy?” Franky said, confused.

“It is indeed,” Brook said, drawing his sword. “Chopper-san, I’m afraid you were duped.”

Chopper backed away from Nami, who knelt, reaching out to him. “You tricked me?! After you were so nice and everything!” His eyes filled with tears. “You jerk!”

“It’s okay,” Rumpel said, throwing a sneaky smile to Nami. “Come here before he does anything to you.”

Chopper ran to the Strawhats, clinging to Robin and glaring at Nami. Nami balled her fists and stood, facing the group.

“Either leave or we’ll fight,” Zoro threatened, readying his swords.

Nami shook her head and drew out her weapon, charging for Rumpel, but Sanji blocked her, kicking away her weapon so it skittered across the deck.

“Why would you go straight for her?” he snapped. “Some man you are. And you still have that weird shadow form instead of your usual weird self?”

Nami shoved him aside and went for Rumpel again, who blocked her with her own Clima Tact. Nami seized it and used it to push Rumpel to the deck, but this time it was Luffy who blocked her.

“Why are you going after me?” Rumpel cried, frowning. “I didn’t do anything to you! No more than anyone else here, anyway!”

“Hey, Sanji,” Chopper said, still hiding behind Robin as Luffy kept Nami away from Rumpel. “What do you mean, weird shadow form?”

“The guy was a freak-in-a-sheet in the beginning of the fight,” Sanji explained, helping Rumpel up from the deck. “And then he made himself look like Nami-san to try to stop us from fighting.”

“Yeah, and the only one he stopped was the cook,” Zoro added, grabbing Nami in a headlock. She struggled and slapped and pinched him but he wouldn’t let go.

“Anyway, after we beat him up, he changed into this shadow form here,” Sanji finished, gesturing to Nami.

Chopper frowned. “He... made himself look like Nami,” he repeated. “And... did you ever find out the enemy’s name?”

“No,” Usopp said. “Why? Hey, ghost man, what is your name?”

Nami pointed to Rumpel.

“Are you still pretending to be me?” Rumpel exclaimed, indignant. “Of all the—!”

“Chopper,” Robin said. “You said you were helping him. What did he need help with?”

“They said they were a friend,” Chopper said, staring pensively at Nami. “And they couldn’t tell me their name, because their name and body were stolen from them.”

“Some kind of elaborate trick,” Rumpel interrupted even as Zoro, Robin, and Franky stared at him with suspicion. “I guess he thought the raccoon out of everyone would be the most trusting. He used you, Chopper.”

Zoro released Nami from the headlock and she looked at him in surprise.

“Go get him,” he said, gesturing to Rumpel.

“Excuse me—hey!” Rumpel exclaimed indignantly. “Zoro, why—?!”

“Hey, fake Nami?” Luffy said. “Chopper’s a reindeer.”

Sanji backed away from Rumpel as he looked around sheepishly. “Oh... slip of the tongue. Sorry—”

Nami tackled him. Everyone backed off, wincing, as she pummelled her own body over and over, held down by her weight and Robin’s helping hands.

At last, when her body was covered in bruises and lying still, the true form of Rumpel in the sheet reappeared beneath her. She stood, puffs of smoke covering her until her own body was hers once more, still bruised and bleeding in places.

“It was just a prank, little lady,” Rumpel whispered from the deck. “Just a prank. I promise. Please leave me alone.”

“My name is Nami,” Nami hissed. “Go to hell.”

She ripped away his sheet. To her shock, there was nothing beneath, and the sheet fell limply to the deck.

“That was weird,” Zoro said at last.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, my dear,” Sanji cried. “How could I ever mistake you for another?”

Nami pushed him away and knelt to hug Chopper. “Thanks for listening.”

“You’re back!” he exclaimed, beginning to cry again.

“Are you okay?” Luffy asked. “Sorry we didn’t know.”

“I’m fine,” Nami said. “I just wish he hadn’t given me back these injuries, too.”

“I’ll give you some ointment,” Chopper offered. She nodded and stood, following him to his office.

“That was a clever trick,” Zoro remarked, picking up the sheet and throwing it overboard.

“Wait!” Usopp exclaimed. “So, when did he switch himself with Nami? When he turned into the shadow version?”

“Probably, yes,” Brook said thoughtfully.

“And what was he?!”

“A demon,” Robin said.

“A kitsune,” Zoro suggested.

“No, he would’ve turned into a fox,” Sanji argued. “Whatever he was, he’s gone. If you’ll excuse me, I need to make my Nami-san some snacks.”

“Get me some, too,” Luffy called after him.

“Nami-san comes first!”

#one piece #opfanfic #writing adventures #nami #chopper

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